Bell Mine Pass [Eastern Border]

Xl-li approached the guarded fortifications quickly in plain sight, in case of if she needed to identify herself. She did not like these cold wastes, but it was tolerable.

"I have important intelligence relating to the enemy, for our great Lord Enlidil!" She gave a bow to the guards stationed there at the pass.

(Before arriving at Cloud Spire)

Jun and Doobie are flying way overhead towards the tallest mountain they can find. They could barely even see the encampment below them, and from the perspective of those below would just appear as a giant crow, which is what they were riding.

<Exit to Cloud Spire>

The raven, though seen, would be cared for little by the men who patrolled what was now a wall of snow, ice and crumbled rock that filled and blocked the pass that once led to The Bell Mines. At one point, a horrific battle happened in this place and though few total men took part, of those many died violently.

The guards manned the post, eyes keenly on the entrance of the mountain range. They could see the sky between the two peaks in front of them, with the sun slowly rising to fill the pass with light from the east. It was early morning, yet they were especially vigilant; more than usual, in fact.

As the light began to bathe the snow, one of the Draxis guards called out upon seeing figures climb towards them. There were a good hundred, at the very least, with one man on a white steed that seemed to walk above the snow without weight leading the men right up towards the wall with no hint of aggression.

When the Elf-Lord called out for him, Enlidil, the man whose body was slowly being overtaken by the Draxis curse, stepped out onto the edge of the wall and looked down upon them. His entire right arm had been overtaken by scales and spikes, with dangerous claws tipping his fingers. However, unlike before, one of his boots had now gone. His left one, for where there had once been shining metal for walking was now a draconic limb, with what resembled talons more than toes.

"I see you are here finally. What I wrote was the truth and I am prepared to discuss everything. I consider this to be the start of our official negotiation and hope that, just as it starts, it ends well."

Enlidil dropped down from the wall with a slight thud, then walked up towards Ildesias without armaments.

"Very well, I will state my piece and my offers as plainly as possible. When our people first fought, in fact, the only time they have fought since, we believed you were invading us. We took the mines because you were trespassing and though we killed our hostages, we were acting only by our strict code of laws to protect our own people from outside threats. When our armies clashed here in this pass, it is because we wished to protect our land from invasion and you simply wished to find your missing men; is it not?"

"It is a misunderstanding, that's all," Enlidil told Ildesias while looking at the ground. He sighed, but his expression didn't seem completely genuine.

"Now we are in a war with your people that neither of us wish to be in. We wished to remain hidden, isolated from the world to follow our Father the Dragon God. However, now that you have forced us into the light once more, we must adapt or perish - as they say. Since that first fight, neither of us have moved to attack; only to defend. We have no interest in this war, that much is certain. We wish for peace, if you would accept it on behalf of your warriors. An official peace, with trade, open-borders and a military alliance... And... If you're willing... Perhaps more."

Enlidil paused, turning around slightly to look up at the peaks of the mountains that rose up around them. The air was chilly, but he barely felt it. "We are being attacked. They invaded from the north, though we don't know who they are or what they want. We have avoided them for now, as our mountains are perilous to navigate and our settlements even harder to find. They are aggressive, ruthless and seek to destroy us, our wise-men say. I hear your City is a republic, is it not? Well, if you were to aid us, we would offer our independence to the Isranian people. We would offer a merge; to officially join our states together. For The Norkari Mountains to become Isranian lands, for our people to become Isranian people. To cement not only peace and lasting friendship, but to literally become as one state together under Isra and benefit for all time."

Ildesias had no reaction to Mariah, though he recognized who she was. As far as he concerned, she was simply a person who was present as an observer and not someone he had to address or spend too much energy acknowledging. Instead, he kept his focus on Enlidil and slowly nodded.

"I see. Well, the Assembly has already discussed this matter. You see, after the battle, myself and the representative floor of the Isranian people have many time discussed how to handle you and your own as a 'situation'. It has long-since been decided that, should you ever attack again and threaten ourselves in our lands that we would have no choice but to force the complete defeat of your army and annex these mountains to remove any future threat," Ildesias explained, as he went into his winter cloak and pulled out a rolled-up scroll.

"And now, you offer yourself in friendship to join our state as part of it. Perhaps it is because you are being attacked and cannot afford to fight on your own, or perhaps it truly is out of regret and desire for future co-operation. We shall have to see. In that case, on behalf of The City of Isra, I accept your proposition on the non-negotiable terms that you agree to all clauses listed on this scroll and then sign with your own blood."

Ildesias nodded, before mounting his horse again. "We do. There are many logistical elements to work out and now that it is final we must quickly speed through them. Once it is done, Isra will deploy a legion to the mountains to aid in your defence of them - though we will try to ensure a diplomatic solution before any military action is taken. Now that your homes are the same as our homes, we won't just sit back and suffer an invasion. I am sure that, given Isra's strength, they will have no choice but to abandon their campaign and return any taken land."

"Let's go."

He turned his horse around towards the entrance of the pass, then led them all back to Isra.

Then, it came.


Thundering from afar, a good few miles away the beginning of pounding steps could be heard. Turning the corner along the flatter section of the path, it was seen. A massive beast, staring straight at them. Coming from its mouth a cold, greyish fog from the climate of the mountains. It's roar... sounded like the birth of a mountain, a crying, dry, grinding moan as it changed directions.

Heading straight for the fortification the beast began to charge. After a good fifteen paces it tripped upon itself, falling onto all fours and beginning to sprint in that manner, tail smashing around, leaving massive craters where it landed. The beast eventually changed direction, noticing the people, leaping onto the left side of the fortification to begin to climb it.

And climb it did. One mighty, powerful roar, shaking the ground as well as the skies with the sheer pressure emitted from this massive beast's oratory power signified his beginning ascent. The beast easily began to climb up the side of the arctic rocks, literally taking mouthfuls along its way. But it didn't stop, oh no. It had a better destination to feast: The Norkrai Mountains themselves. With one last leap, the massive beast as gone from the post, passing by with ease for how slow it was. A massive trail of dug out rock could be seen behind it as it climbed.

------------------------------------------ Strange Wyvern enters Norkrai Mountains-------------

"Right, we must take care not to get into any altercations on our path. There are fearsome warriors here and we are only 2." The old man agreed, he raised his hood to help shield himself from the cold winds of the mountain.