Chapter 51: The Dragon Accord
Atop the blackened summit of Mount Vel'Kaer—the ancient place where dragon and human once stood as allies—a circle of fire burned in the sky. The heavens trembled with an omen not seen since the First War.
Jean stood at the heart of the summit, cloaked in silver and white, her blade Eclipsion sheathed across her back. At her side stood Whitney, fur bristling, eyes locked on the distant edge of the storm.
Around the summit, the leaders of the world had gathered.
Valeria Durnstahl, Iron Empress, flanked by her Ducal Generals clad in flame-forged armor.
Erin Magus, Matriarch of the Magistery, with her son Ryan seated behind her—his aura flickering with barely contained instability.
Vaelros the Hollow, veiled and wreathed in shadow, his presence more specter than man.
Even Silvia Luther stood nearby, representing the Luther Clan not as heir, but as champion and war tactician.
The Dragon Accord—once a myth, now necessity—had been called.
And the only absent party…
...were the dragons.
---
Jean stepped forward and broke the silence.
"The Accord exists to prevent extinction," she began. "Not to offer peace. There is no peace with Antares. Only a chance to survive him."
Her voice echoed over the summit like a clarion.
Valeria raised her chin. "Your title is earned, Jean Luther. But this isn't the Academy. This is war. What proof do we have that the dragons will even parley?"
"They won't," Silvia answered flatly.
"They'll challenge."
Erin Magus turned her gaze toward the horizon. "Then we must respond in kind. A duel… like the ancient rite?"
Jean nodded once. "Antares has awakened. But he has not yet gathered the full Brood. If I can challenge his second—a Dragon Herald—and defeat them under the Accord's rules, it will bind the rest of the dragons to the pact… at least for a time."
"And who is his Herald now?" Vaelros asked from beneath his cowl.
Jean slowly unsheathed Eclipsion.
"The Black Flame. Virexion, the Branded."
A silence fell.
Even Ryan Magus looked uneasy.
The Black Flame was not a dragon. He was a calamity. A former dragon-lord who had betrayed his kind in the first war, only to be bound in chains forged by Antares himself. Now, reborn, he served as Antares's executioner.
Silvia frowned. "He's no mere opponent. He's the test."
Jean stepped forward, eyes bright with divine flame.
"Then I'll meet him in battle."
---
Far to the east, upon the scorched plains of Olyrath, Virexion stirred from his slumber.
His wings unfurled—blacker than void, crowned in living embers. His mouth curved in a fang-filled grin as he whispered Jean Luther's name.
And the ground began to melt beneath his feet.
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