Lyn was led by Finala to a staircase near the far end of fortress, the furthest wing that split off from the main complex under Shiverburn Summit where Lyn's treasury, quarters, and council chamber were located. They ascended to the heights of a large tower, and Finala pointed out several rooms with various Newen and Duskari who were tending to ravens in various stages of development.
They arrived at the highest room, where Lyn was greeted with the cawing approximation of 'My Lady' as the spell-imbued birds spoke with their creaking voices. "And here we are," Finala stated as she pointed to an immaculate, midnight-black raven with flecks of crimson splotches upon the wings. "As instructed, your altered and revised spells have been applied. He is quite smarter than any other raven I have trained-"
"Oh! You're here!" the raven stated as he ruffled his feathers and hopped along the wooden beam he was latched onto. He looked at Lyn and dipped his beak in an approximation of a bow, "Call me Whisperwing. So, you're the lady I'm bound to? Great! You look fantastic by the way." His voice was upbeat and almost infectiously enthusiastic.
Perfect, exactly what I wanted his personality to be like. Lyn chuckled and walked over to Whisperwing, pointing to her horn atop her head, "Come on, your new perch. Just don't shit on me."
Whisperwing let out a cackling laugh and flapped over to perch atop her head, "Oh, this is nice! Warms my talons. Mmm. So comfy! Much better perching than that stupid wood beam."
Finala stuttered, "I-I-I apologize, My Lady-"
"Why?"
"He...was not supposed to be this opinionated."
Lyn reached up and scratched Whisperwing's head gently with a talon, "It's alright. The spell I gave you worked perfectly." She turned to the nearby balcony and walked out to the ledge. Glancing back at Finala she smiled, "Keep up the good work." She jumped off and the cloak activated, slowing her descent as she landed lightly on the grass.
"Wow, you can fly too?! No, wait, you weren't flapping. Just falling slow. Cool!"
"Yup. So, Whisperwing, tell me about yourself."
"Well, for starters, I love the color black. My favorite food is cherries even though I've only gotten my beak on those once, and..." it continued to trail on and on listing his favorite things.
Lyn kept silent, nodding and listening intently. She knew how lonely it could be at the top, and having a cute animal companion would help alleviate that loneliness. She began heading toward the lake, hoping the Sloren or Ari had arrived.
Thane Mol rode alongside his people. The grasslands in between the Slor Mountains and the Valley of the Volcano's range were pleasant to travel through, and the sweltering heat was the only source of discomfort. Carts laden with supplies were pulled behind the ram riders, and several more rode along the exterior of the caravan, patrolling and escorting the civilians and their property. They had to change their path and go along the smooth walls that had appeared along the river seemingly overnight, as much of the pasture they had planned to travel through was separated by – for Sloren – head high stone walls.
It had taken only a few days to convince the Thanes of the Roaring and Crashing Holds. The promise of revenge against Cecily Valagonia and her purges was convincing. The promise of plentiful grazing land, terraced farms, and protection from the outside world to prevent another genocide was more than enough to align the other Thanes. And, even better, they had elected Thane Mol to stand in as the Sloren representative to Lady Rivers' council.
As they approached the mountains, the Sloren were taken aback in shock at the change that was only visible now that they were closer. The mountain facing them was sheer cliff. There was an enormous keep with high walls abutting the river, and a guarded river-gate with Duskari atop the walls. There were shouts in Arinol, and the Sloren were admitted through the fortification. They traveled along a road that went under the mountains and emerged to find a large lake with several Ari longboats being unloaded.
Thane Mol looked around and spotted the Duskari woman with draconic features – Lyn Rivers. She had a raven perched upon her horn, and he waved to her. She walked over and he chuckled, "Ah, lass. Ye did a fine job. Them walls, divided pastures..." he pointed up to the mountains behind them, where carved stone steps led up to the unmistakable structure of terraced farms replete with small houses seemingly molded from a single chunk of stone. "This be incredible."
Lyn smiled and replied in Sloren, "Good. You're going to help me run it." She looked up at her raven, said something in Arinol, and the bird replied back in the same language before flying off towards Shiverburn Summit. She swapped back to his language, "Your people are now my people. They are under my protection within the Valley of the Volcano's borders."
Thane Mol nodded and let out a raucous laugh, slapping the Destroyer on her armored shoulder, "Yer a good lass. I'll get me folks set up. Where do ye want me after?"
"Lynhold," she replied, pointing to the volcano, "You're going to be my new Steward."
"You know it! Come on, let's get you someplace fantastic!" Whisperwing hopped along the ground as Gil followed it along.
Naila shook her head, "I assume spells to make the ravens your messengers?"
Lyn swapped to Arinol and nodded, "Yes. You will have one as well."
Naila raised an appraising eyebrow, "Why is that?"
"You're going to be my Admiral until someone better displaces you. You've proven yourself by getting the whole of the Ari here in one piece." She gestured to the buildings surrounding the lake, "They can stay here near the lake, or move towards Lynhold. I know how fond the Ari from your Conclaves are of the water, and while I want people of various races to integrate within my empire's borders, I want my people to be happy above all else."
Naila nodded and turned to the elder who had stepped off of the boat and had been listening in on their conversation, "Let's get our people settled in."
Brad rode in front of the column, holding up his badge from Lyn as he shouted up at the gates the Arinol word for "Enter!"
Thomas shook his head, If only he'd learned the language. Thomas rummaged inside his own pouch and produced the same emblem, holding it up and speaking in perfect Arinol, "I am the Knowledge hero. We were invited by Lady Rivers."
The Duskari atop the wall nodded, and a few moments later the large gates ponderously swung inward to greet them. A squadron stood at the ready on the other side, but relaxed slightly as Brad rode up to them. "You brought back quite a large number," the Duskari squad leader stated in Arinol.
Brad blinked in confusion, and Thomas rode up, "He doesn't know the language well. I'm fluent. Yes, we have a large group. Healers and their protectors, as well as the Guardian and Healer heroes and their family." He smiled gently, "We're here to help the empire grow."
"Right, follow us down the tunnel." The Duskari squadron turned around and led the large train down the expanded tunnel.
Thomas remembered this place perfectly despite the expansion. The memories of the heroes infiltrating the Valley of the Volcano to confront the Demonic Dragon was vivid in his mind. The struggle they faced pushing through the Duskari forces that were now treating them without prejudice, despite him recognizing the faces of two that they had fought and who fled from the hero party. Hopefully they don't hold grudges, he thought.
Ben rode up beside him, "We're too far in to get out," he muttered in English. "But you're confident we can trust this Lyn?"
Brad rode up behind the two, "Of course we can trust Lyn."
"Why didn't Volio come with you?" Ben asked the Alchemist hero.
"He was probably off doing some errand," he replied. "He was delivering a letter to Misty after you. He'll probably arrive after us."
Ben nodded and pulled his lead back to rejoin Trisha. Brad rode up in his place alongside Thomas, "We're going to do some amazing things for this new world order."
The Knowledge hero grimaced. He had read plenty of historical accounts of rulers throughout Earth's history that ended up in a horror show. Thankfully, he had those memories, and would be able to guide Lyn towards better decisions than those rulers made. "As long as we keep our heads on our shoulders and not in the clouds," he replied. "Keep grounded, you know?"
Brad popped a stick of chewing gum into his mouth, "Totally. Want some?"
Thomas chuckled and took one of the sticks, savoring the sweet, tangy flavor of lime. More important than that, he thought, is what I need to tell Lyn I discovered at the Ruins of Elent.