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When Adinia wakes the next morning, she immediately speaks from downstairs, having somehow known that Crystalia was already awake.

"Crystalia, would you still like a tour?"

"Yeah, don't rush yourself though, it can wait."

"I'm fine, just give me a couple minutes to get ready and we can get underway."

Crystalia entertains herself by looking through the large dresser as she waits. She eventually stumbles across a small jewelry cabinet with her name carved into the top. As she looks through it, she finds gem-encrusted rings, necklaces, tail bands, the works. She puts a golden band encrusted with emeralds around the midpoint of her tail and takes a silver necklace with a lapis teardrop and puts it around her neck. As she does, the queen calls from below.

"Ok, you can come down now, sweetie.

"Coming Ma'am!"

As Crystalia glides down, the queen notices the tail band and smiles.

"So, you found my gift, huh?"

"Yes, it is okay that I wear them, right?"

"Of course! I wouldn't have given them to you if I didn't want you wearing them."

The queen opens the door, looking back to admire Crystalia's choice of clothing- a dark purple skirt and a similarly colored top, both encrusted with various gems. She motions for Crystalia to follow her and locks the doors behind them, signaling the guards with a few swipes of a forepaw.

"What did you tell them?"

"I told them we wouldn't be back 'till nightfall."

"So this place is that big?"

"Oh, no, it's far bigger, we're just going to tour the most important places and then run a few errands."

The queen leads Crystalia to the throne room first, allowing her guest to choose the route from there.

"We can go to the armory, the library, or the courtyard from here."

"Let's start with the armory."

"Okay, follow me!"

The queen leads Crystalia to a doorway not far from the entrance to the throne room and invites her to enter.

Crystalia's eyes widen as she enters, the room opening up into a large, orderly series of racks, each adorned with rune-engraved weapons. A large male dragon, clad with steel plate armor, steps forward to greet them.

"Good day Ma'am; who is this with you?"

"Good day, Olin; this is my student, Crystalia, she is here to hone her arcane abilities."

"Nice to meet you Crystalia." He nods, smiling.

"Nice to meet you too, Olin."

"I'll leave you two to tour the armory while I go get myself ready for the day."

"Yes, Adinia", Crystalia replies drawing a surprised glance from Olin.

"Wow, she isn't joking this time", Olin mutters, not realizing how quiet it was around them.

Only Crystalia hears, though, and she waits until the Queen is out of earshot before quietly replying.

"Does she joke about that often?"

"No, she just tends to pay too much attention to small miracles and less a dragon's overall ability."

"Oh... So, what you're saying is... that..." Crystalia stutters, unable to locate a word suitable for the situation.

"Oh! No, not at all, she came to me about you and showed me some of your achievements, and I agree with her this time, you really are something special."

Olin's stern face turns to a bright smile as he begins the tour, attempting to get Crystalia's mind on a less depressing track.

Crystalia marvels at the complexity of the armory, each guard has an arcane device to help them don armor faster and a weapon rack that, when the runes on their non-dominant leg are traced, will send them a weapon depending on the order in which the runes are traced.

At the far end of the long armory room, there is a mess hall where the first rotation of the royal guard currently sit, waiting to be called to duty.

They all turn to face Olin as he enters, each readjusting to their haunches and saluting him with an armored forepaw.

"At ease men, we have a guest."

The guards resume their more comfortable stances before Olin quietly urges Crystalia forward.

"Go on, they're waiting."

"But what if I make a fool of myself?" Crystalia replies in a worried tone.

"They'll help you up and laugh only if you do, these are my men, I know you can trust at least that much respect will be given."

Crystalia puts a confident look on her face, veiling her inner panic and takes a few measured steps forward, approaching Olin's men.

"Everyone, I would like to introduce Crystalia, trainee of the Queen."

An unintelligible murmur works its way around the room before Crystalia clears her throat and speaks confidently, briefing them as Olin had instructed her to on their way to the mess hall, "Good to meet you all, I hope to see all of you in the throne room today as the queen resumes her duties."

The men all sit back and give Crystalia a round of applause before introducing themselves in turn.

A black dragon is first to step forward, his armor clanging as he does. He bows before he introduces himself.

"Good morning, ma'am. I am Fen."

He is followed by a white dragon, then a yellow-orange dragon, then a blue, and finally, a purple dragon, whom Crystalia realizes, partially by the soothing nature of her tone, is female.

Just as they finish introducing themselves, a horn sounds, calling them out to their posts.

Crystalia is barely able to keep up with the royal guards as they rush out of the armory.

As Crystalia exits, the queen calls her down to the throne and motions for her to sit beside it on a large pillow that sits there, waiting for her.

"I thought we were going to do a tour?" Crystalia inquires as she lays down.

"Plans change quickly here. We have an emergency diplomatic meeting and you get to help."

"What do I need to do?"

"Just try to keep up with the conversation and if I require your help, I will let you know."

After a few minutes, a gryphon, about three quarters the size of a fully grown dragon, enters the room and runs up to the queen.

He bows before the queen, introducing himself before he stands back up.

"I'm sorry my queen, I don't mean to disturb you but my people are under attack." He says quickly, almost to the point of panicking.

"Please, ambassador, control yourself." The queen replies sourly.

"Very sorry, your highness, but I worry for my people's safety."

"You said your people are under attack, but by whom?"

"The exiled tribes of the north, your highness. They began a coordinated attack last night, we thought we could take them out but they had planned for our attack and they killed many of our men."

"I shall send a large regiment of soldiers with you upon your return, Crystalia will command them."

Crystalia immediately snaps to attention, surprised by the queen's comment, "No offense, Adinia, but I have no military experience. I couldn't command a squadron, let alone an entire regiment."

"You underestimate yourself Crystalia, you will do fine."

Olin speaks up from the opposite side of the throne, "Shall I take her to the forgemaster to get a suit?"

"Yes Olin, be sure to tell him the queen sent you."

"Follow me Crystalia, quickly!" Olin runs to the back of the throne room and down a long hallway, taking a left turn at the first juncture before descending a large staircase, Crystalia in tow.

By the time Crystalia reaches the bottom of the stairs, Olin is waiting alongside a grizzled male dragon. One of his eyes is covered by a patch and his jet black form is lacerated by several flesh-colored scars; remnants of wounds that would never heal.

"So, is this her?" He says, his voice course from overuse.

"Yes, that's her alright. So, you think you've got something that'll fit her?"

"I should somewhere, give me a couple minutes, and get that dress off'a her, she won't want anything more under my plate armor."

"Olin, who's that?"

"That, is the Forgemaster, he provides our armies with their armor and weapons, been doing it for his whole life."

"So, what do you want me to do?"

"He suggests you loose the dress, the plate armor gets incredibly hot, something you don't want to make worse."

"I guess... can you look away?" Crystalia asks embarrassedly.

"You can trust me not to look at you like that, I respect you. And besides, my mate wouldn't approve."

"I guess... Ok."

Crystalia quickly removes the flowing dress and top, handing them to Olin.

The two wait a few minutes before the Forgemaster returns, a suit of armor dragging behind him.

"Try this on for size. The fabric piece I know will fit you, the plate armor is a rough guess."

Crystalia dons the thin black cloth, a coolness flooding across her body as she finishes. The elastic cloth holds tightly to her form, something Crystalia takes a few seconds to get used to before allowing Olin to help her strap on the armor.

"You trace these runes here to retrieve your weapon", Olin says, pointing to the engravings on her right leg.

"Does it fit or not?", the Forgemaster hollers over the suddenly roaring fire in the forge.

"Yes, thank you", Crystalia replies kindly as the fire dies down.

Crystalia follows Olin up the stairs, struggling under the weight of the armor.

"Olin, how do you stand this?"

"I've worn it for years. You'll get used to the weight soon, give yourself time."

They eventually reach the top of the spiraling staircase and run to the throne room once more.

"Good, you're back." Adinia says as soon as they reach the throne room.

"Crystalia, your regiment is waiting for you in the grand hall, follow Olin and he'll lead you there."

Olin leads Crysalia to another room, briefing her a they walk, stopping to recap before she enters the grand hall.

"Here we are. Remember, your men need you as much as you need them; they will fight for you with no regard for their own lives if you tell them to. Just don't be afraid."

"Okay, I'll try, but I can't promise anything." Crystalia opens the doors. As they open inward, more and more armored soldiers come into view until Crystalia is able to step in, noticing she is on a small stage, surrounded by soldiers. Once the doors close behind her, the soldiers all adjust onto their haunches before saluting her with an armored forepaw.

"At ease", Crystalia says, remembering what Olin had told his men. "Today, I request your assistance in defeating the exiled tribes of the north. You shall split into three battalions, one will attempt a frontal assault while the other two will stagger and join from the flanks, each distracting the enemy from the next of our attacks. I will take a small attack force and circle around back and surprise them from the rear. Any questions?"

"No sir." The soldiers respond in unison.

"Good, split into your battalions and send two of your best men to join my attack force. Dismissed."

The soldiers begin exiting the grand hall through the multitude of entrances, returning to their barracks.

"That was amazing Crystalia!" Olin comments happily as Crystalia exits the grand hall.

"You really think so?"

"Yes, I do. I remember my first tactical briefing and it was nothing in comparison to that masterpiece."

"I learn from the best." Crystalia says, nudging Olin lightly.

"Thanks... We should head to the barracks and collect your strike force."

Olin leads Crystalia to the barracks, which stand beside the keep, within its inner wall.

A small group of nine walks to Crystalia. The commanders for the battalions each introduce themselves before expressing their concerns.

"With all do respect sir, shouldn't we wait for tomorrow before we attack?"

"No, we attack from the cover of darkness, the moon will be blocked by a thick cloud cover tonight so we will have little light to betray our position. We attack at 22:00."

The commanders nod before returning to their barracks, leaving their choice troops with Crystalia.

. . .

As nightfall approaches, the army takes to the sky, following the gryphon ambassador toward his kingdom.

Once they reach their destination, Crystalia takes her small group of soldiers around the view of the Northern Outcasts, getting into position behind them.

"I want as few casualties as possible, we are to take out the enemy's siege weapons and mobile armored cannons. Understood?"

"Sir, what if they attack us?" One of the commanders asks.

"Then you may attack back." Crystalia responds, more harshly than she had intended.

Soon after, a flare from the castle wall signals the frontal assault, bringing the enemy's attention forward as their cannons begin firing at the hundreds of dragons that fly overhead, dive bombing groups of enemy units before landing and continuing forward with powerful magic bolts and a variety of physical weapons.

The left flank is soon overrun as the second brigade overtakes the hill and fires on their distracted enemies from above, a flare from their position causing Crystalia's squadron to unleash a barrage of fireballs on the enemy's artillery and mobile armored cannons. The explosions signal the final attacking brigade to storm out from a field of tall grass on the enemy's right flank, catching the enemy off guard again.

Not long after they realize they're surrounded, the Northern Outcast Army surrenders, ceasing the barrage of arrows and fireballs from above.

Crystalia flies down, locating the enemy's commander in a heavily armored, tracked cannon, his bipedal form shaking visibly at being approached by a dragon.

"We surrender! We surrender!" He screams frantically, his self preservation instinct kicking in.

"Good choice, commander. Leave now, leave your war machines behind, and we will let you go in peace."

"I guess we have no choice, please allow me to fire the emergency retreat flare."

"You may fire the flare but if you try anything, I will personally make sure you are a red blotch on the inside of your vehicle." Crystalia replies threateningly.

"Ye... Yes... Okay." He stutters, waking to a small tube that extends through the top of the vehicle and placing a small cartridge in, and presses a button. A loud 'bang' sends the flare firing into the sky as it explodes into a large, white flag shape in the sky. The Northern Outcasts rush away from their war machines, the commander being one of the last to abandon his post.

Crystalia notices a faint beeping coming from somewhere in the cannon as a large chunk of metal shoots toward her face, crashing into her as her body goes limp.