Hello, Everyone!
Last time, our heroes went to the white palace hanging over Zerakas tol and got an audience with Francesca Findabair and Edmund Bright. The Mage was very interested in what had happened with Trax’rion and Tesaya, and even had some peculiar insight into Mary’s inner feelings which freaked our girl out.
“So, you're saying that this Tesaya person was of Myth Adofhaer," Francesca Findabair said. “Does she have the Key?”
When Mary and the others nodded, the Mage sighed and drank from her tall glass.
"Then she can let Trax'rion into the forest,” she said. “Myth Adofhaer is doomed."
Everyone fell silent, ruminating on this horrible idea.
“Of course, not all is lost," the Mage continued, making Mary look up in hope. "Pamagos will stay strong, and so will Zerakas tol. The clauses of the Pamagos Agreement will come into effect, and the armies of the entire continent will rise to deal with the threat."
“What about Myth Adofhaer?" Mary said. "Will you help the elves?"
“No.”
Mary’s heart sank. How could that woman say this?! She was one of the most powerful people in Eastern Erathos! Her army was undefeated! It was as if she didn't even care that people were going to die!
“Lady Findabair?" Edmund Bright said, sheepishly rising his head. "I would like us to help Myth Adofhaer."
Francesca Findabair gave him a look of frustration and rolled her eyes.
“I'll… think about it, Edmund.”
Mary felt a pit forming in her stomach. She’d been imagining Edmund Bright as this shining, almost fairytale character that was going to unite the world and save everyone. She’d been dreaming of meeting him – the future Emperor, the one who had his grandfather's eyes and was noble, and kind, and spoke so eloquently about fighting for what you held dear.
But it seemed that she'd been wrong. He was just a pawn in Francesca Findabair’s game.
“Won’t it be good to have your enemies be indebted to you?” Agatha cut in. “If you were to help them, you can then make demands.”
“Dynatos tried that, didn't he? With his little ’befriending the elves’ project,” Lady Findabair scoffed. “How did that pan out?”
“It was going to work!” Aurum insisted. “Balaine was going to come to the negotiations that Edmund had called for, but Tesaya killed him before he was able to. Dynatos’ plan would have worked if it wasn’t for her!”
“One way or another, we can’t do anything about the elves,” Francesca Findabair said with a shrug. “They are not strong enough to defeat the dragon, especially now, with their army gone. Myth Adofhaer will burn and the unicorns will die.”
She smirked. “It’s about time that Tiriel got reincarnated.”
“Are you strong enough to defeat the dragon?” Mary said through gritted teeth.
Lady Findabair's eyes grew cold.
“With my Devoted, perhaps.”
"Then why won’t you help?”
Mary felt anger burn hot inside her chest. She couldn’t imagine that someone would have the strength to help, but wouldn’t want to. Was that something all people in power shared? Tiriel Elaire, Balaine Endoras, Francesca Findabair? They all let other people fight the hard battles and puppeteered them from behind the scenes.
It wasn’t fair!
“What will happen to Zerakas tol if my best wizards and I went to help Myth Adofhaer?” the Mage spat out, interrupting Mary’s thoughts. “Who will protect it? Who will protect its people? If some Kraken or another horrifying monster rises from the Deep, who will be here to defeat it?”
“But if Myth Adofhaer falls, Trax’rion will continue his conquest! He wants to be Emperor, he won’t stop at one city defeated!”
“If the dragon comes here, we’ll deal with him, easily,” Francesca Findabair said. “Zerakas tol will not fall. The Devoted and I will defend the city and Trax’rion will be defeated.”
Mary breathed out her disappointment and frustration. So, in the end Francesca Findabair wasn’t the mighty hero she’d imagined her to be. She was just a calculating, cynical woman.
She remembered Edmund’s words, the ones that Aurum had cited after his first encounter with the boy. They came into a different light now. ‘Fight for yourself and your own’ had sounded like a beautiful sentiment, back when the world's fate wasn’t at risk and millions of ordinary people weren’t in danger. Now, however, it sounded selfish and indifferent.
“Then who will stop the destruction?” she whispered.
“The armies will stop it. Capable people like you will stop it.”
“Us?!” Mary choked.
The visage of her and her friends fighting and dying at the talons of the dragon flashed in front of her eyes and she suddenly found it very hard to breathe. She clenched her fists in anger almost too overwhelming for her to take it.
“We are F-FOUR people!” she shouted.
(She almost said 'five'. A part of her insisted that Tesaya was still part of the group).
“FOUR!” she repeated. “We don’t stand a chance against an Ancient dragon! And even if we did manage to somehow defeat it, what would be the price? How many people will suffer? How many will DIE because you didn’t care?!”
Mary glared at Francesca Findabair but the Mage didn’t seem very touched by her speech. She just stood there with her eyebrows raised.
“How many people gave their life last time?” Mary added, her voice almost a whisper now.
“Last time, they were unprepared,” Francesca Findabair said. “They didn’t have a trap, didn’t have a plan." She gestured to her ward. "Edmund’s grandfather died in that battle!”
Her words hit like a whip. So that’s what had happened! It wasn’t Cremena Bright that'd poisoned the last Emperor, it wasn’t some conspirator behind the scenes. Ignas II had fought the dragon, along with the united armies of the world, and he had perished, leaving the continent weak and divided. That battle had changed everything.
(And, on a more personal note… Falka had died, leaving Mary’s father alone in a society that thought him weak and useless.)
Mary looked at Edmund and felt sudden sympathy for the boy. What right did she have to burst out like that, when he might still be mourning his grandfather?
She touched her copper ring and whispered a Message in his head.
"Oh!" Francesca Findabair interfered. "Edmund can't receive messages like that." She was staring at Mary with an inscrutable expression. "You see, there have been many attempts to pierce our young Emperor’s mind and influence his desicions. We can’t have that.”
“I wasn’t trying to influence him,” Mary said quietly. “I was just telling him I was sorry about his grandfather’s passing.”
Well. Damn. Never meet your heroes, eh? Poor Mary, she thought that once they were able to talk to Francesca Findabair, everything would be rainbows and roses. Little did she know, people don’t just jump at the prospect of fighting a dragon.
Oh, and by the way, what do you think of this little reveal at the end? Did you suspect that what happened with the last Emperor had something to do with Trax’rion? Or had you forgotten about it until now?
See you next time. Let's hope that it'll be less depressing :)
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide, the Glossaries (Part 1 and Part 2)
and the Map for the series. You're welcome!)
An important disclaimer: Mary Windfiddle's story is my notes from a D&D game turned into a narrative. All the worldbuilding and NPC encounters belong to our DM, and all the actions of the other main characters (Aurum, Bruno and Agatha) belong to my co-players. My contribution to the story is only everything Mary-related (actions, reactions, inner thoughts), as well as the writing itself.
This chapter was so intense! Mary's frustration and disillusionment really come through here, especially when she realizes that those in power may not always be the heroes she imagined. The complexity of Francesca’s motives makes her a fascinating character—cold and strategic, but you can almost see her perspective, even if it feels heartbreaking. And the reveal about the last Emperor and Trax’rion’s past actions was such a surprise! It adds a deeper layer to the stakes and makes you wonder just how much more there is to uncover. Can’t wait to see where this leads!
Thank you for your comment, I was thrilled to read it!
I hope the story doesn't disappoint from now on! ❤️