American Gate

Chapter 19: Negotiations

Just a little while ago, they flew over an Imperial army camp. If he could somehow take control of the wyvern he was on... The other two knights wouldn't be able to shoot him down. Their orders were to take him back to Ronta; burning him to a crisp 2,000 meters in the air wasn't a good way to do that.

His hands were bound by rope, but luckily not behind his back. He grabbed the shoulder of the knight in front of him and pushed her over the side of the wyvern. The safety straps attached to her armor did their job and she didn't fall, unfortunately. The wyvern jerked to the side in response to the unexpected weight shift.

The knight tried to climb her way back up to the saddle, but he kicked her in the face.

"How's my boot taste, bitch!" He taunted.

The other two knights couldn't do anything directly to help their comrade. All they could do was maneuver themselves below his wyvern in a vain attempt to catch the knight should she fall.

Prince Cevlion was doing his best to make that happen. He reached for the connector that latched the safety harness to the wyvern. She screamed at him to stop, but she should have thought of that before turning against him. He was about to unhook the harness, but then thought better of it.

"Cut me loose!" He demanded of her.

She shook her head in refusal.

"Cut me loose or I will cut you loose," he said sinisterly.

This time she complied. She reached for her knife and cut his bindings.

"Thank you," he said, "for making your last act loyal to your Prince."

Then, he unclipped her safety harness from the wyvern, and she fell, screaming towards the ground far below. The other two wyverns dove after her in a futile attempt to catch her. At last he was free of his meddlesome sister's servants. He turned his wyvern around and headed back for the Imperial army.

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Prince Cevlion landed among the wyvern enclosures. His mount was stolen from the Order of the Dragon, so it didn't have the adornment worthy of someone of his stature. His sister was an embarrassment; she rarely demanded the respect a member of the Imperial family was entitled to, and it always seemed to bounce back on him. No one of any importance bothered to meet him when he landed.

The attending beast handler looked quite surprised to see him. "Prince... Prince Cevlion?"

Without breaking stride, he barked, "Kneel, you peasant," and continued on to find the general or lord in command.

After some searching, he found the commanding lord to be none other than his old friend, Lord Kighvum. Lord Kighvum was born to a wealthy noble family in Ronta and inherited his title. He was young for a Lord, no older than the Prince himself, but that didn't mean he was inexperienced. Years of studying at the Imperial Academy did him well.

A few years ago they had invaded one of the elven kingdoms on the eastern edge of the Vushfall Mountains. They managed to win some decisive battles and even capture a few cities. However, after they were recalled elsewhere in the Empire, the general who took their place squandered their success and lost control of the new territory.

Damn those elves and their magic. And damn that incompetent general. He managed to escape the Prince's wrath by falling in battle; a fate too kind for his failure.

"Lord Kighvum!" He exclaimed when he saw his friend. "I didn't expect to find you here. Don't you miss the good'ol days on the frontier?"

"Everyday!" Kighvum replied. "Remember the look of shock on that elven king's face as we burned his city to the ground?"