I've been battling some pretty severe writer's block. I'm very sorry for the delay, but hopefully I can get over this snafu soon. As an added apology, I've added another long-term poll that you are free to vote in! If you can't vote, then feel free to comment here for your vote!

Part Two

Having Yasaka in the Army brought an immediate change to Daunte's routine. When he woke up the following morning after recruiting Yasaka, he was startled to find the table in his room covered in dishes full of food. He'd gone to sleep hungry—today was the day they would seek out the inventor and depart for the Northern Continent. But the smell of the delicious food Yasaka had sent up reminded him he was hungry, and he pushed back the covers.

Arin was already sitting at the table, helping himself to the food. Daunte smiled as he joined his little brother at the table. "Good morning."

"Daunte, can you believe all this?" Arin said, motioning to the plates. "I feel like I'm dreaming! I mean, it wasn't too long ago that all we had to eat was stale bread and porridge!"

"It does seem like a longer time ago than it was," Daunte said. He dug in to the food. "I'm amazed that Yasaka can cook up so much food so quickly. I mean he does have a small staff that works under him, but yet he's still able to provide quality meals to the Army."

"Didn't they say he comes from a group of cooks that are the best in the entire world?" Arin grinned. "And now he works for you, Daunte!"

"I might as well enjoy the food while I can. We leave for the Northern Continent today, and not even Caesar knows how long we'll be gone."

Arin paused in eating, and set his chopsticks down. "Daunte?"

"What is it?"

"Can I really come with you?"

"Of course you can. Don't you want to visit the Toran Republic?"

Arin nodded eagerly. "Yes I do! And…" he suddenly looked a little uncomfortable.

"And what?"

"A-And since you said you'll be gone a long time; I don't want to be far away from you Big Brother."

"That's why I'm bringing you with us," Daunte said. "You don't have anything to worry about, Arin. We'll keep you safe."

"Who will be coming with us?"

"Well, Caesar and Silvano definitely," Daunte said. "Sharon will be coming with us as well, and she wants to bring her two dragons. So I can fill my party with two more combatants. I'll need to be careful with who I choose though, since I won't be able to simply swap out members of my party on a completely different continent."

Arin nodded and smiled. "I'm sure you'll choose the right people!"

"We'll be leaving today, so are you all packed?"

Arin shrugged. "I don't have any other clothes besides these."

Daunte felt a spike of shame at his nonchalant statement. He looked towards his outfit, which was hanging up. "I don't have any other clothes either," he said softly. "Besides pajamas."

"Well, it's not a big deal right? The clothes have lasted us for this long, so they're pretty durable."

Daunte nodded and looked back at Arin. "I'll get you another outfit, I promise."

"Daunte, I don't need another outfit. Don't get me one unless you get one yourself!"

There was no use arguing the point, so they finished breakfast and left Daunte's room. Before heading upstairs Daunte decided to stop by Surya's room on the same floor to see how the Falenan prince was doing. Even though they didn't share a room, Mokuren welcomed them inside. Much like Daunte earlier, Surya was sitting down for breakfast and he jumped to his feet when Daunte came in. "Oh, Lord Daunte! Good morning!"

Daunte waved a hand. "You don't need to defer to me, Surya."

"Yes, I do. I'm under your command." Surya sat back down. "But I'm glad you stopped by. Would you like an update on how the refugees are doing?"

"Yes, of course!" Daunte quickly said, rushing forward. "How are the children of the Dark Chasm doing?"

"I've heard that seventy-five percent of the children are making full recoveries, but there's at least thirty children that still need a lot of care. Aunt Lym has decreed that these children be transported to Lunas to finish out their recoveries. Lunas is up in the mountains and the land is protected by the government, so I think the fresh air and clean environment will do wonders for their health."

Daunte nodded. "Thank you guys for doing this."

Surya shrugged. "Aunt Lym is more to thank than I am. But that reminds me—you guys are leaving for the Northern Continent today, right?"

"That's right!" Arin said eagerly.

"Then I'll have to ask you to refrain from taking me along."

Daunte stared at him. "Why?"

"Because I'm Falenan and not Nagarean. With this type of diplomatic mission to the Toran Republic, it would be more appropriate for Nagarean's and Toran's to do such a mission. But don't worry." Surya grinned at him. "I'll be on my best behavior while you're gone."

Daunte slowly nodded. "I…understand."

"Don't worry, Lord Daunte," Mokuren chimed in, smiling. "You can trust Lord Silvano to come with you."

Daunte didn't doubt that but he still nodded again. "Thank you for the report. We'll see you both upstairs."

The brother left the room and headed upstairs. Arin ended up running ahead of Daunte, but Daunte was just pleased to see Arin have so much energy. After hearing about the other children of the Dark Chasm, it was still hard to believe that just a few months prior Arin was so weak that he couldn't stay conscious.

But that's behind us, and I'm going to win this war so that it doesn't happen to anyone else again.

"You."

On the fifth floor Arin yelped, and ran and hid behind Daunte as Yuber suddenly appeared before them. Daunte was gradually growing use to his presence and met his emotionless gaze unflinchingly, but he could feel his stomach churn. "Good morning, Yuber," he said.

"Since you summoned me you have not taken me out into a party," Yuber said. "You are not allowing me to do what you have summoned me to do. Why?"

Daunte tried not to sigh with exasperation. "I have been doing diplomatic missions that do not require lethal force, Yuber. I thought that since you like fighting so much, you would've gotten bored if you had come with me when I meet with other leaders to secure alliances."

"You guessed correctly," Yuber said. "But what was the point of summoning me if you're going to spend all of your time sucking up to idiot humans with political power?"

Daunte tried very hard not to lose his temper. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You're here to help me win, Yuber. Your defense of HQ helped immensely and I'm grateful to you for it. Because of your actions, nobody died when both Sheikhs marched here. You're integral to the defense of this place when I'm not here—"

"Acting on the defensive is not something that I do," Yuber seethed, taking a step closer. "I attack and I kill. You're not utilizing me properly, and it's wearing on my patience. Either put me to better use, or I will find someone else who will."

The fifth floor abruptly went silent from Yuber's threat. Daunte silently debated if he should appease Yuber or put him in his place. After a moment, he allowed himself to get angry and closed the distance between them, getting toe-to-toe with Yuber. "Don't ever threaten me like that again. I summoned you, and you agreed to join my cause. You stipulated that you would only leave if I lost. I'm not losing, so your threats of desertion are empty. And as much as you like to think we're so dependent upon you, the fact of the matter is that you need us just as much as we need you."

"Is that so?" Yuber said challengingly.

Daunte didn't back down. "We're dealing with a force greater than you. It prevented you from entering the capital. And you slaughtered over 300 soldiers of the Holy Army. You're just in as much trouble with the Theocracy as I am, and they'll send people after you."

"I'll kill them."

"And will you be able to kill the person who put up that barrier you can't penetrate?"

Yuber visibly twitched, and his frown deepened. Daunte continued. "You're my ally, Yuber. You agreed to join my cause. You don't get to rescind on that whenever you want. You're here until I win or I lose. That is what we agreed to, correct?"

Yuber was silent for a long moment. Finally, he said, "Put me to better use." and turned around and retreated to his original position without another word.

Arin let out the breath he'd been holding in, and Daunte noticed that the tension on the fifth floor had dissipated. Daunte took Arin by the hand and entered the war room.

"Ah, you're just in time Lord Daunte!" Caesar greeted him. He was wearing his usual grin. "I sent word to the inventor about our plans, and he was absolutely eager to try out his new invention on us! He's expecting us at any time, so let's depart whenever you're ready to go!"

Daunte nodded, and surveyed the people who had gathered before him. He did a minor double-take when he saw that Surya and Mokuren had arrived ahead of him, but he quickly recovered. "I will learn as much as I can in the Toran Republic before coming back. I appreciate the fact that all of you are willing to wait on me like this."

"There's nothing to worry about," Allise said, shrugging. "Lord Caesar is right. Re-establishing the Theocracy after we win may or may not be a good idea. You should see other structures of government before deciding which one is best for our country."

"And we won't be gone very long," Caesar reassured everyone. "The device the inventor has should get us to the Northern Continent fairly quickly."

"I hope so," Sharon quipped. She was holding Azul in her arms and Suna was sprawled on her feet. "It took us almost a month to get down here!"

"Who will be accompanying us, my Lord?" Caesar asked Daunte. "Please choose carefully, as you will not be able to change your party once we leave Nagarea."

Daunte nodded to this and looked out over the people in the room. "Silvano and Sharon. Suna and Azul, and Caesar and Arin."

"That's nice of you," Allise said sweetly.

Daunte hesitated on the last two people. Logically he wanted to bring Roen and Felicity with him, but at the same time he'd brought both of them with him on almost every outing. He trusted his two close friends more than anyone, however he did not want to put the rest of the Army off by continuously bringing them along with him. Plus he felt they could use a much deserved break from traveling all the time.

I just hope they don't get upset with me.

After a few moments he nodded and spoke. "Gunther and Viki."

"Me?" Gunther sputtered, pointing at himself. "Y-You want ME to go with you to the Northern Continent?!"

"Is that a problem?" Daunte asked.

Gunther quickly shook his head, and he grinned. "No, not at all! I'm actually thrilled that you've chosen me!"

"So now we have our full party," Caesar said. "Who will you institute as acting commander in your absence, Daunte?"

This was another matter that he had to consider carefully. The last time he was gone he put both Gunther and Varnaz in charge. He didn't want to show favoritism, but at the same time he didn't want to upset the allies he did have.

I could select Varnaz again. However…I think it would be wiser to choose someone else. So that I show my allies how widespread my trust is.

After giving it considerable thought, Daunte made his decision. "Keiran."

"Yes, my Lord?" the former Sheikh stepped forward. Daunte felt his stomach squirm when he saw the allies in the room shift with discomfort, but he knew it was too late to change his mind. "Keiran, until we return you are hereby in command. Everyone, please answer to Keiran as you would to me. Likewise, Keiran, do not overstep your bounds with command."

Keiran nodded and saluted. "Understood, my Lord. Thank you for this."

"Excellent choice, Lord Daunte," Caesar said, stepping forward. "Keiran is an experienced leader and I trust that he will watch over our allies in our absence."

Caesar's words of approval eased the tension in the room, but Daunte did not know if he agreed with him because he thought Daunte made the right decision, or if because he was faking it to keep their ranks united. Daunte nodded to everyone. "Thank you everyone. I will see you soon."

It wasn't until after they left the war room and were away from possible eavesdroppers, that Daunte pulled Caesar aside to speak to him. "Do you believe I made the right decision?"

Caesar looked surprised by the question. "I agreed with your decision, didn't I?"

"Caesar." Daunte squeezed his arm. "Remember what you told me before?"

"A strategist can always disagree with their commander in private, but in public they must always support any and all decisions they make."

Caesar grinned at him. "You're very observant, Lord Daunte. It makes you a good leader. But since we're in private I will give you my honest assessment."

Daunte braced himself.

"You did the right thing."

Daunte gaped at him. "What?"

"Choose Keiran Umed to take command was the right thing to do," Caesar said. "Not only does he have the experience for it, but this will serve as his biggest test of loyalty to you. You're probably aware of this, but many in the Army are still suspicious of him and they're suspicious of the men and women who serve under him. Keiran has worked very hard to win over the people here, but even now it's been slow. Giving him command elevates his status because it shows that you trust him. And if he's as successful with command as both Gunther and Varnaz were, then it's the final test he will need to pass to completely win everyone over."

"You're…You're not concerned he might turn on us?"

Caesar gave a slight tilt of his head. "No. And neither are you, because if you were then you wouldn't have given him command in the first place."

Daunte smiled at that. "Thank you, Caesar."

"Anytime."

The party was assembled, and quickly met with Eliasen to exchange their bits for Potch. Daunte still didn't know how the other man was able to accumulate so much Potch to convert their bits, but he supposed it didn't matter. He would be bringing the Potch back to Eliasen anyway to convert back into bits.

Since they hadn't reached any discernable landmarks on the island before, they had to travel back up there by boat again. Daunte didn't mind, though the travel still made him feel nervous. It was slowly sinking in what exactly he was doing. This wasn't merely traveling to another country. He was going across the ocean to another part of the world he'd never even heard of. And he didn't know when he would be back. His nerves were shot, but he knew as leader he couldn't show just how apprehensive he was about this mission. So he remained stoic and silent as their boat guided them up the underground cavern and towards the Northern Wharf.

They reached the island by early afternoon, and Daunte expected the inventor to be waiting on the beach for them. To his surprise, the beach was completely empty. He looked to Caesar, who shrugged. "He's up in the northeastern part of the island."

"Ah—SUNA!" Sharon suddenly cried out. Daunte looked up to see the golden dragon suddenly take to the skies and fly to the northwest towards a high cliff. Sharon then struggled with Azul, but the tinier dragon furiously beat its wings and flew after the bigger dragon.

"Well, we better get them back before we meet the inventor," Gunther said dryly.

"Oboro mentioned that I should check out that side of the island anyway," Daunte said, looking at the others. "It might be another recruit."

There was a dirt path directly north of them so they followed it. It led them straight until it branched into two paths going left and right. Since the dragons went left they started down that path. Along the way they had to deal with an assortment of enemies, including DoReMi elves and plenty of boars and holly leaves. But thankfully there was nothing too dangerous on the island.

On the far eastern side of the island they found Suna and Azul. Both dragons were digging into the dirt right before the cliff's edge. Sharon ran ahead of them, and Daunte squinted as they followed her. It looked like both dragons were…digging up a rock. A dark purple rock, almost black.

Sharon knelt beside her two dragons and began frantically pulling dirt away from the rock. Daunte came to a stop behind her and paused. The rock looked very familiar…

"I don't believe it!" Sharon shrieked. She succeeded in freeing the rock from the dirt and heaved it up into her lap. Suna and Azul sniffed at it excitedly. "Look, Lord Daunte! Another dragon egg!"

"We're sure finding a lot of dragon eggs in the wild, aren't we?" Gunther asked.

"I'm sure the Dragon Knights will be thrilled that another baby was claimed before it died or went mad," Silvano added.

Sharon snuggled the egg to her chest, but then it began violently jerking in her arms. She squealed and Daunte jumped slightly as the loud 'crack' filled the air. Within seconds the egg seemed to cave in on itself and pieces of shell went flying. Sharon helped to peel the eggshell off and Suna and Azul were croaking as a tiny form fell into Sharon's lap.

Daunte looked down at the newborn dragon Sharon cradled. It was eggplant purple and when the dragon opened its eyes Daunte saw that they were bright yellow. Suna and Azul sniffed and nudged at the dragon, who burrowed its head into the crook of Sharon's arm.

"Wow," Caesar said, folding his arms over his chest. "You have a knack for attracting dragons to you, don't you Sharon?"

Sharon was grinning toothily as she gently petted the dragon. "I'll christen you 'Zǐsè'." She looked up at Daunte. "Can I bring it with us?"

Daunte shrugged. "Sure. You have two dragons already, so one more shouldn't hurt."

"And you can turn them over to your mother too," Caesar added.

But Sharon shook her head and hugged Zǐsè to her chest. "Zǐsè is mine and I won't give her up!"

Daunte shrugged, seeing no point in arguing with her, and stood. "Well, let's go meet the inventor."

They walked back up the path they came and when they reached the fork in the road they instead went right. It led them towards a very steep hill and the group had to tread carefully so they wouldn't fall back down. But even with the steepness of the hill, monsters still tried to attack them. Luckily they lost their footing and simply fell back down the hill.

When they reached the top of the hill, Daunte paused as he saw what lap before him. It was a massively wide clearing littered with hundreds of tree stumps. It was clear that there used to be a forest up on this hill, but now there was not a tree in sight. Only an endless line of stumps stretched out seven hundred meters before them.

Silvano shuddered, clearly horrified. "W-What is this? What happened to this ecosystem?!"

"I think that's what happened," Caesar said, completely unfazed as he pointed ahead of them. Daunte looked in this direction and his eyes widened. At the end of the remains of what had been a forest, there was another large hill where he could make out a tiny house.

And right next to the tiny house was a bird. A giant wooden bird 30 meters long. A human figure was standing on the bird's back shouting down to a smaller human figure on the ground, pulling on a rope to adjust the bird's wing.

Daunte felt his jaw drop, and he looked at Caesar. "W…What is that?"

Caesar grinned from ear to ear. "That will get us to the Northern Continent."

Curious beyond belief (though Silvano was still horrified) the group raced towards the two individuals with the bird. As they got closer, Daunte was able to see the two people more clearly. The person on the ground was a young boy, maybe thirteen years old. His tawny hair was shaggy on his head, and his eyes were obscured by giant goggles. He wore a blue bomber jacket that was slightly dirty, and tanned pants that Daunte couldn't tell were dirty or not. But he had a lot of energy and enthusiastic.

"No, James, no!" the man on top of the bird shouted down to the boy. He was much older, possibly in his early sixties, but he wore the same large goggles. His silver hair was long and loose and wild, and he wore a black bomber jacket that looked more like a trench coat. He had his hands planted on his hips. "If you pull the rope like that, the wing is going to tear off!"

"Got it, Grandpa!" the boy, James, called back up to the older man. He pulled on the rope a little more gently.

"We—oh!" the older man looked up when he saw Daunte and the others. His eyes were freakishly magnified inside his goggles, making them look almost bugish. "Hold fast, boy! We have visitors!"

James immediately stopped what he was doing and took a defensive stance as the group approached him. Daunte saw that he was armed with some sort of mechanical crossbow. "Who are you?!" James demanded. "Are you here to arrest us?!"

"What a magnificent work of machinery," Caesar said, raising his hands as he looked the wooden up and down. "Is this based on the blueprints you found, Lord Hero?"

"What's it to you?" the older man, Hero, asked bluntly as he climbed down. He moved to stand beside his grandson, and he squinted at the group. "Hmm. You don't look like you're from the Theocracy."

"We're not," Daunte said. He gestured to himself. "I'm Daunte, leader of the Liberation Army."

"Oh, yes!" Hero said, relaxing. James also relaxed, and lowered his crossbow. He also pushed his goggles up onto his forehead. "You lot are interested in my skyship, right?"

"Skyship?" Sharon echoed, looking at the wooden bird.

"Yes, skyship," Hero answered her. "Just like the name says, this baby will fly."

"Fly?!" Sharon did a double take.

"Yes, fly," Hero said with mild irritation. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a roll of aging blueprints. "This is lost technology of the Sindarian race! How else do you think they were able to travel all over the world? It wasn't with sea ships, mind you! They flew over land and the sea! How else would you think they would have ruins in every single country in the world? Traveling by air is much safer than traveling by sea!" he paused briefly. "I think. I haven't tested this in the field yet."

"S-So this would fly? Like a bird?" Arin said excitedly.

"It should," Caesar said.

Daunte felt his jaw drop in shock. He looked between Caesar and Hero before he could find the words to speak. "I-If…could this skyship fly to the Northern Continent?"

"Yes," Hero said without hesitation.

"A-And if we wanted to go to the Northern Continent, how much time would it take?"

Hero pushed back his left sleeve, revealing six or seven watches strapped to his arm. He looked at them for a moment before looking up. "If the wind favors us, you would arrive in 26 hours."

"Whoa!" Gunther shouted. "That's just over a day! It took us even longer to reach Falena, and that's our neighboring country!"

"That's incredible!" Viki gushed. "That's almost like teleportation!"

"And to think, this is all based on lost technology," Caesar said. "You could make a fortune on something like this, Lord Hero!"

Hero shrugged. "What does money matter to me? I've brought back to life a tool that the Sindar race used."

Reis will be furious that I didn't bring her along to see this, Daunte thought dryly.

"So you destroyed the forest in order to build this thing?!"

Daunte was startled by the fury in Silvano's voice as he rounded upon Hero and James. "You've killed hundreds of trees and uprooted who knows how many animals from their homes just to advance your selfish desires?!"

James shifted with discomfort, but Hero didn't even flinch. "Of course I did. How else would I have been able to build this skyship?"

Silvano hadn't been expecting his blunt answer, and he looked to Daunte for help. Daunte honestly didn't know what to say. Should he agree with Hero or with Silvano on this?

Using the trees allowed for Hero to build this ship, but he did chop down an entire forest to create it.

Before Daunte could respond however, Hero and James were heading to an open door right after the wing. "Come in and see it from the inside!"

Daunte looked at the group, but most of them were already heading inside the wooden bird. Silvano sighed with exasperation and shook his head, but he followed them inside. Daunte did so as well.

To his left when he entered was a large and elevated captain's chair surrounded by switches and two levers. The windows directly in front of the chair were oval-shaped and showed them the sea to the north. Daunte realized that the captain's chair was in side of the bird's 'head'.

"Grandpa will sit there," James said, suddenly coming up to Daunte. "All he'll have to do is pull back on those levers, and it will flap the wings of this bird. And I'll sit there." he pointed to a chair lower in the floor. It also had its own pair of levers. "If we flipped this switch—" he leaned across the chair and pressed a button. Daunte jumped as the floor suddenly opened underneath the chair, revealing the ground…and an extremely steep hill leading towards the ocean. "That's the 'beak' of the ship. Grandpa said the Sindar designed it so that they could use rune magic for an aerial attack."

"Rune magic?" Daunte exclaimed, looking at James. "How will you use Rune magic?!"

"How else?" James said, shrugging. "With the Runes we put into the aeolipile."

"The what?"

"The—"

"James!" Hero admonished as he approached them. "This is the leader of the Liberation Army you're addressing! Show some respect!"

"R-Right!" James closed the 'mouth' and straightened. "Sorry, my Lord."

"What is the aeolipile?" Daunte asked Hero.

"Right here," Hero said, leading towards the center of the ship. Daunte noted that both the height and the width of the interior of the ship were about 300 centimeters. On either side of the ship was five seats line up along the walls, each of which had a window, and right behind the fifth row was a spherical object that was humming and slowly spinning vertically, and a stream of steam puffed out every so often. The sphere was surrounded on all sides by small panels. Daunte recognized the symbol of a Fire Rune in the front panel. He walked around the sphere to the right side panel and saw the symbol of a Wind Rune.

"This is the aeolipile," Hero said with pride. "And this is what will get the skyship off the ground. It's a steam engine, but the power of the Wind Rune will help us maintain balance after we take off. And it will ensure that the aeolipile doesn't overheat."

"What's the Fire Rune for?" Gunther asked.

"To keep the water inside the aeolipile heated. And to use as a defense if we're attacked."

"So the power of the Fire Rune would run from here." Caesar gestured to the aeolipile. "All the way to the front of the ship?"

"And the Wind Rune will dispense evenly throughout the ship. That's why the body is so thick beneath us," James chimed in. "We have pipes running through the whole ship! All I have to do is flip the right switches up front, and BOOM! The skyship will be breathing fire!"

"Hopefully we won't have to use that," Daunte said. He ignored the look of disappointment in James's face as he turned back to Hero. "Would you mind taking us to the Northern Continent?"

"Sure," Hero said. "We were going to go for a test fly anyway."

"How soon can we leave?"

Hero shrugged. "Thirty minutes."

"Really?" Caesar said with mild shock.

"Sure, why not? The skyship is done anyways, and we were planning on leaving today anyways. James!" Hero headed towards the front of the ship. "Change of plans! We're flying to the Northern Continent!"

"Right, Grandpa!" James said, leaning over his chair again.

"Well…I wasn't expecting this," Gunther said, rubbing his hands together.

"We're going to fly like birds!" Arin gushed, tugging on Daunte's hand.

"It would be better if this was shaped like a dragon and not a bird," Sharon quipped. But she guided her dragons to the last rows of seat. "Hopefully these guys will be seated for the whole trip."

"How do you feel about this, my Lord?" Caesar asked, approaching Daunte.

"They're confident in the capabilities of this ship," Daunte said, looking towards the grandfather and grandson duo tinkering over the controls. "So that puts me at ease."

"I don't like that they used so many trees to build this thing," Silvano said grimly, running his hand along the wall of the ship. But he shook his head. "But I suppose I have no right to complain about traveling in this when I came here on a sea ship that was even bigger than this."

"I'm excited about seeing the Northern Continent," Viki said enthusiastically. "I haven't been back there since…" her brow knitted as she thought about it, and began silently counting her fingers.

"Let's just say it's been a long time," Caesar interjected, smiling. "Why don't we help them finish getting ready so we can leave much quicker?"

Daunte nodded. "Good idea."

The group helped to clear away platforms and ropes, and double checked their inventory just to be sure that they were well prepared for this trip. Daunte's stomach was slightly knotted, but he focused on the excitement he was also feeling in order to keep his face calm. He didn't want to appear nervous to either his group, or to Hero and James.

True to Hero's word, thirty minutes later they were inside the ship and strapped into their seats. Daunte made sure Arin was strapped in before sitting down himself. In the back row, the dragons were fussing at being restrained, and Sharon kept feeding them pieces of raw meat to calm them down.

"Keep the dragons calm!" Hero called over his shoulder as he climbed into the seat. "If they start a fire, it'll destroy the ship!"

"What about us?" Gunther asked him.

"According to the blueprints, skyships like this are able to rise as high as 3 kilometers into the air. What do you think will happen to you if you fall from 3 kilometers?" Gunther flinched, and leaned back into his seat.

"All systems go, Grandpa!" James called up from his seat.

"Okay, everyone!" Hero turned back around in his seat to face the group. "I'm about to release the restraints, so brace yourselves!"

"What happens when you release the restraints?" Arin asked.

"Once I release the restraints, we're going to start sliding down this cliff. The speed will give us the momentum to lift off."

"What if we don't lift off?" Viki asked.

Hero paused for a long moment before bluntly asking, "Does anyone have a Resurrection Rune equipped?"

"What?!" Sharon shrieked.

"Releasing restraints!" James announced, flipping a switch.

Daunte heard a loud 'click' and suddenly slammed back into his seat as the skyship began sliding rapidly down the cliffside. The whole interior shook violently and Daunte's vision rattled. Frightened screaming filled the cabin as the edge of the steep hill rapidly approached, and they could see water. Even the dragons were wheezing with alarm, and Sharon tried to hush them.

"Speed is 150 kilometers per hour!" James announced, unfazed.

"GETMEOFFIDON'TWANNADIEIDON'TWANNADIE!" Gunther was hollering.

"200 kilometers per hour!"

"We're too slow!" Hero announced irritably. That was something Daunte did not want to hear, and he quickly looked at Arin, and the boy looked to be on the verge of tears. His gaze shifted them to Caesar, who was clinging to his seat but did not look concerned. Daunte swallowed thickly and looked back at the front of the ship, just in time for it to plunge off the cliff.

"255 kilometers per hour!" James shouted, still unfazed by the fact that they were about to plunge into the ocean.

"Perfect!" Hero shouted, and pulled back on the levers. Daunte heard a loud groaning sound, and just outside his window he saw the wings of the ship swoosh downward. Hero pushed the levers forward, and the wings sprung back up, and suddenly the ship made an arching turn away from the water and darted towards the sky. Hero repeated the gesture, and within seconds they were even higher. Daunte's eyes widened as they rose higher and higher with each beat of the wings until they leveled out at around 3 kilometers above the surface.

In Lunas, one of the priests rushed to see Haswar. "Lady Oracle! We spot a large object to the west of us!"

"That's vague," Craig observed. "What sort of object?"

"I-It looked like this massive, giant bird flying north!"

Both Haswar and Craig stared at the priest blankly for a long moment of silence. Archana laughed softly and closed the book she was reading. "Better that it flies north than here, right?"

"We did it!" James cheered, pumping his fists.

"I told you we would!" Hero said, nodding with satisfaction.

The rest of the group did not share in their mutual enthusiasm, but rather was relieved that they weren't going to die. Caesar nodded to himself, and released himself to stand up and face the group. "If Lord Hero's calculations are correct, we'll reach the Northern Continent in 26 hours. Better get yourselves comfortable."

Daunte let out a shaky breath and looked out the window. He saw nothing but the blue sea all around them. It was a beautiful sight, but he nerves were still in knots. They had left Nagarea, and the Southern Continent, and were heading towards a land that he'd only become aware of in the last few months.

But I need to have this experience to know what government is the best government for Nagarea. I need to see these governments firsthand.

The group kept themselves occupied inside the ship when Hero suddenly announced, "We're flying over the Island Nations Federation!"

"Maybe they can make a Rune Cannon for us!" James said excitedly.

"We should be glad that they don't have Rune Cannons anymore," Caesar mused. "Otherwise they could possibly shoot us out of the sky."

"What's a Rune Cannon?" Gunther asked.

"A lost technology utilized during the Island Nations War."

"Oh, I kind of remember them," Viki said thoughtfully.

On the sea between the islands of Obel and Mordo, the crew of the Lino En Kuldes caught sight of the skyship flying overhead. On the deck the sailors spoke in rapid, concerned tones, not knowing what to do.

At the bow, Admiral Bernadette Egan watched the skyship fly by in her usual stoic silence, her arms folded over her chest. The skipper rushed over to her. "Admiral! What should we do about that thing?"

After a moment, she shrugged. "That…thing has made no threatening gestures towards us so we will leave it be. For now."

"What do you think that is?"

Bernadette pulled out a spyglass and used it to look at the skyship. "Well, it's not an actual bird since it looks made of wood. It looks like a manmade structure, so it must be a ship."

"A ship for the sky?!"

Bernadette lowered it. "It must be. That's one way of crossing our waters without paying any tolls."

As fascinating as the flight was, after several hours Daunte couldn't help but feel restless confined to such a space. He kept himself busy by speaking with the group and reading to Arin. But as night fell he felt exhausted and settled down into his seat to fall asleep. Unfortunately, the seat was not fit for sleeping, and he found himself slouching in it. He didn't think he could possibly sleep in such an awkward position, but surprisingly he found himself drifting off.

He didn't realize he'd fallen asleep however, and was startled awake by three words he absolutely did not want to hear.

"We're losing power."

In an instant Daunte was awake and standing up. Hero was still at the front flying the ship, somehow still wide awake despite flying without rest for several hours. He became aware of the sound of loud hissing, Daunte turned towards the back of the skyship. James was inspecting the aeolipile very closely.

And the aeolipile wasn't merely blowing steam from the spout anymore. Steam was hissing out from the sphere itself.

"What's going on?!" Daunte demanded, hurrying towards James as the others came awake.

James looked up, but his lack of concern was not reassuring. "The power of the Fire Rune has overpowered the aeolipile and it's overheated. The Wind Rune isn't enough to keep it at steady temperature."

"W-Why didn't you guys attach a Water Rune to keep the temperature steady?!" Sharon demanded, checking on her dragons.

"Huh," James said thoughtfully. "That is a good idea."

"Everyone please take you seats!" Hero called from the front. Daunte and the others complied, and Daunte did feel relieved to see land beneath them. "We're going to have to make a crash landing!"

"Are we near Toran yet?" Caesar called up.

"Does it matter?" Hero barked back.

"Daunte!" Arin cried out fearfully. Daunte looked at him as he strapped himself in. He didn't know what was happening, or if they would even survive this.

"Everyone!" James called out to them. The whole cabin was violently shaking. "Get into bracing position! Lean forward over your lap, and put your hands behind your head!"

"How do you know what the right position is?!" Gunther demanded, though everyone followed the command. "This is your first flight!"

"I don't know! The Sindar blueprints just showed pictures of it!"

Daunte spared one final glance out the window, and was horrified by how quickly the ground was approaching. The last thing he saw was a sea of trees before a sickening crunched rattled in his ears and his vision went dark.

"…nte! Lord Daunte!"

Daunte's head ached horribly as he regained consciousness. It was difficult to open his eyes, and when he did his vision shook. He had to close them again, but bile rose in his throat as he was helped into a sitting position. He quickly raised his hand and forced down the nausea he was feeling. "H-Howl!"

The Rune of Restoration did its magic, and all at once Daunte felt leagues better. He opened his eyes and saw Caesar and Gunther sitting on either side of him. They were sitting on a grassy knoll, and just a few meters away was the skyship. Daunte felt nauseas once more though when he saw the condition of the ship. One of the wings had snapped in half, and the side had a giant hole in it.

"Big Brother!" Arin rushed over to him and gave him a tight hug. "You're all right!"

"I-Is everyone all right?" Daunte said shakily.

"We all had injuries, but since you used your True Rune we're much better," Caesar said. Daunte looked around them and saw Sharon sitting close by with her three dragons. Viki was admiring their surroundings with amazement, and Silvano and walking around in a daze. James stepped out of the large hole in the side of the ship, and Daunte slowly stood up as Hero approached him. Despite the rough landing, the older man looked rather pleased with himself. "Well! I would say that flight was a success! Although we're currently grounded."

"Can you fix the ship?" Daunte asked him. He felt nervous at the prospect of being stuck in a land he was unfamiliar with.

"Of course," Hero said. "The ship is salvageable, but the repairs will be extensive. I would say, with just my grandson and I, we can get the ship back in working condition in two or three weeks."

"Two or three weeks?!" Gunther exclaimed. He looked at Daunte. "That's a long time to be away from Nagarea!"

"We'll be fine," Caesar reassured him, smiling. "It will give Lord Daunte more time to learn in Gregminster. Plus, the added time may allow us to go further north, even."

Daunte looked at him. "What's further north?"

"Well—"

"Stay where you are!"

The shout startled Daunte, and he looked up. Within moments they were surrounded, angry faces pointing arrows at them. Daunte looked at each of them, and then paused when he looked beyond the skyship. He saw the aftermath of their landing; it had flattened several trees of a forest, leaving a long line of destruction in its wake.

"What have you done?!" An older man surged forward, his angry face hidden by long red hair. "You have destroyed this forest! Why have you done this heinous act?!"

Daunte then noticed the pointed ears on this man and realized that he was an elf. He looked at the others surrounding and noted that they were also elves. He didn't know what to say to this elf, and Hero didn't seem bothered by the threat against them.

Luckily, Daunte didn't have to say anything. Silvano stepped forward. "It's been a long time, Father."

The older elf looked towards Silvano, and the anger left his face. "S…Silvano?! That's you!" He rushed over and gave Silvano a hug. "My son! My son, it has been far too long!"

The elves around them slowly lowered their bows. After another moment Daunte felt a hand clap his shoulder, and he turned to see Caesar grinning. He spread his free arm wide. "Lord Daunte, welcome to the Toran Republic."