387. How to Train Your Wyverns
“Mama!”
The tinny voice echoed from the screen. A scene played out: a young woman with her three children living without a roof over their heads. The girl— and she was a girl, not anywhere near mature enough to take care of kids despite her appearance— had been far too irresponsible, and she now had to bear the consequences of her thoughtless actions.
“My daughter… how could this happen?”
Sal choked as he watched with tears in his eyes. He pressed a hand on the screen, eyeing Salvos. The girl was sputtering— saying something to her babies. But the Devil didn’t listen.
“So young and already a mother of three. You’re barely even five! Or ten! Or however old you are! I can’t believe this… I didn’t raise you to be like this!”
He dropped to his knees, mulling over his failure. Sal had thought he’d been a good father. He thought he’d been a good role model for Salvos. He hadn’t even gotten a daughter until he was fifty thousand years old! Yet, here she was, young and dumb, having children at such an early age before his very eyes.
The Devil spread his arms wide.
“Where did I go so wrong?”
And he paused. He thought about the question for a moment— only a single moment— before he knew the answer.
“Oh, right, I’ve been incredibly neglectful and spent most of my time out of her life. Man, I’m a terrible father.”
He shrugged and crossed his legs.
“Welp, might as well sit back and enjoy the show. This is gonna be good.”
Sal chuckled, enjoying the show as it played out before him.
“But I’m not a mother!”
I protested, but the three Wyvern babies still hugged me. Two of them were snuggling against my stubby legs, while the third was crawling up my wing-arm as it pointed at me once again.
“Mama!”
“I said I’m not your mother!”
These Wyverns were getting annoying. I glowered, speaking insistently and clearly. All three of them paused. The one that was on my arm looked up at me with round eyes. It— well, he, actually— was a pink little blob. So small, compared to an actual Wyvern. Like the size of a Human child. And he began to tear up.
“Not… mama?”
The other two Wyvern babies echoed his sentiment. I blinked a few times.
“...yes?”
I hesitated for a bit, before confirming my non-maternal relationship with them. The three little Wyverns exchanged a glance. Then they started to bawl. I flinched as their loud crying echoed in the little dome I put up.
“Wait, why are you— stop crying!”
I tried to hush them, but they continued. Willy glared at me.
“What you doing?!”
The [Will O’ Wisp] flitted up to my face, outraged. I sputtered.
“I mean, I am not their mother—”
And the Wyvern babies cried louder. Their wailings could’ve been heard from a mile away if I hadn’t cordoned off this area with space magic. I covered my ears as Willy flew down to them.
He wreathed the boy I’d been carrying with green flames, gently taking the Wyvern off my hand. The [Will O’ Wisp] spoke in a placating tone— and full sentences— as he wrapped them all in his warm fire.
“There, there. Yes, she mama.”
“What?”
I stared in shock. I opened my maw to defend myself, but he looked my way as he repeated himself.
“Yes. Ma. Ma.”
Slowly. Almost threateningly.
“Understand?”
I scowled, but the baby Wyverns quietened down. They looked up at the [Will O’ Wisp], their cheerful demeanors returning at once. They turned away from him and stared straight at me.
“Yay, mama!”
I crossed my arms, harrumphing. But I didn’t argue this time. I never said I was their mother. I already made my point. It wasn’t my fault Willy was lying to them. The three Wyverns were waving their little stubby arms at the [Will O’ Wisp] as he flew around them.
“Ugh, this is a pain.”
“Yes.”
Willy answered simply. I stared at the baby Wyverns. They crawled to their feet before stumbling back down. They crawled around, investigating the ground, the dirt, and the flowers in the dirt. They all looked kind of foolish. Waddling around like confused animals. One of them even suckled on a rock. That one didn’t look foolish. She actually looked pretty smart.
The first and third baby Wyverns to hatch were both boys, and the second one was a girl. I looked at all of them as they bumbled around. Then I turned to Willy as he floated back towards me.
“Now what?”
“You. Not me.”
“What do you mean this is my problem? We’re in this together, Willy!”
I pleaded with him as he snorted. The [Will O’ Wisp] hovered next to my face as one of the Wyverns stumbled into the other two. They collapsed into a pile of pink blobs. Willy finally spoke.
“Name.”
“Name?”
I blinked. Then I snapped my fingers.
“I guess we’ve got to name them, huh? I forgot about that.”
So far, I had just been calling them the baby Wyverns in my head, but I could give them a name. I scratched the back of my head. Willy looked at me expectantly.
“Well?”
“How about—”
I pointed at them from first to third born.
“Wyvy, Verny, Arny?”
They all paused. The Wyverns, Willy— all of them. They turned to me with a baffled look on their faces. The Wyverns started to cry, and Willy smacked me with a blast of flames.
“No.”
“Aw, why not! They’re good names! You like your name, didn’t you?”
“No.”
The [Will O’ Wisp] answered flatly. I felt my shoulders sag. The Wyverns continued to cry. I flailed my wing-arms in a panic, trying to offer another suggestion.
“Alright, how about—”
And ggrrrrrrr! I paused. The growl came from the trio of Wyverns. They ceased their crying for a single second before their bawling restarted— this time, even louder.
I backed up in a panic.
“What do I do, Willy? Why are they like this?”
“Hungry.”
The [Will O’ Wisp] scoffed. I looked around the dirt ground, but I couldn’t find anything nearby to feed them with. Then I had an idea.
“Oh, I know!”
I brought out my talons and produced a handful of dead roaches. The baby Wyverns stared at the little critters. They stopped crying. They sniffled, glancing between each other. Then they made a face of disgust.
“Eww…”
They chorused at once. I stepped back, aghast.
“You don’t like bugs?! How dare you!”
But Willy jumped in. He flitted up to the baby Wyverns, distracting them and cutting me off before I could lecture them on the savory goodness of eating bugs.
“Find food! Real food!”
“Fine!”
I huffed, turning back and walking out of the dome.
“They can’t call themselves my children if they can’t even eat bugs. Hpmh.”
I grumbled as I exited the cover of my magic. A group of [Mammoth Boars] stared straight at me the moment I stepped out. They blinked, ready to barge back in and retake their valley. And I was fully expecting them to charge me like they attempted earlier.
However, all at once, the group of [Mammoth Boars] turned tails and scattered. They escaped into the forest, kicking up quite the ruckus on their way out. The nearby monsters and animals heard the beating of their hooves. The shaking of the earth. And they fled as well. It was a full stampede exiting this forest.
And I looked back down at myself— at the Wyvern form I wore that stood out atop the canopy of trees— and nodded understandingly.
“Ah, they were scared of me.”
I raised my head, watching as a majority of everything living in the area escaped in fear— as all the potential food for the baby Wyverns vacated the forest. I sighed.
“This is… going to be a bit hard.”
“I apologize for my lateness.”
A figure strode into the throne room. Princess Rana Alyras straightened as she watched him enter. Her father, the king of Alyras, Artik Alyras, got to his feet as he opened his arms.
“Ah, Prince Peris! I do hope you’ve had a good rest. Come on in, this isn’t a formal meeting. Although, we’ll likely have to discuss more tomorrow.”
“Of course.”
Peris nodded back at the king simply, not even glancing Rana’s way as she bowed at him. He came to a halt five steps before the throne and raised a brow.
“I take it this is about the meeting in three days’ time?”
“Two days, at this point. But yes. Don’t worry about formalities. I heard you and your father have had some apprehension about the details of the meeting.”
“Yes. In fact, I have some questions.”
Rana’s gaze darkened as she listened to Peris converse with her father. He crossed his arms simply as Artik waited. There was no one else in the room except for both parties’ bodyguards. Not that Peris needed any.
“I do hope I can assuage your worries, Prince Peris.”
Artik spoke as he rubbed his hands together. But Peris’ eyes narrowed.
“We’ll see.”
This was the side no one ever saw of the Crown Prince of Dolonia. This was why he had the Title of a Prince. Rana pursed her lips as Peris spread his arms wide.
“Let me ask you this, king Artik: why should the Helbir League itself take up arms in its entirety against the Inoria Empire?”
It was a simple question. A challenge, even. One that even Rana didn’t expect. She opened her mouth, wanting to sputter, but her father raised a hand and stopped her.
“Let him speak, Rana.”
Peris crossed his arms, continuing.
“Is the Vaun Qieur Empire not enough? What about the adventurer coalitions? Surely together with whatever forces the Veridian Family and its wide network of connections can muster up, these groups alone would be enough to deal with this Demon threat.”
He gestured vaguely back where he came. He probably had just greeted Anya Veridian not too long ago and was now callously asking her to throw away her life on her own behind her back. It irked Rana. She clenched a fist, but Peris shook his head.
“I have even heard rumors. Talks of a [Hero]. One which you are sheltering in this kingdom.”
Rana furrowed her brows. Artik himself looked puzzled by that. Neither of them knew what Peris was talking about, but the Prince cared not. He simply sighed.
“Shouldn’t a single [Hero] leading an army be more than enough to vanquish these terrible Demonic foes? Why waste any more lives on this? Our people do not need to die for this, king Artik.”
Peris finished. Princess Rana had a lot of things she wanted to say back to the Crown Prince of Dolonia. But she knew her father wouldn’t let her. Artik himself just closed his eyes.
“I feared that would be your response. I am afraid I do not have much to say to convince you, Prince Peris.”
“Father!”
Rana tried to protest. But Peris himself shrugged and walked away.
“I see.”
The princess of Alyras gritted her teeth. She normally… well, she normally didn’t like speaking out about anything. Nor did she like ignoring her father. But she stepped forward and pointed at Peris.
“Prince Peris!”
The Crown Prince of Dolonia halted. Rana’s eyes flickered. She stared down at him indignantly.
“One of the most important conferences in Human history begins in two days, Peris Dolonia. It will be a meeting that will be talked about for generations to come. Just like the First Council of Alexandria. Tomorrow, delegations from all around the Human lands will trickle into our great city and offer us their strength. They will pledge themselves for the sake of justice.”
Peris Dolonia tilted his head slightly. She pursed her lips, speaking softly.
“I hope that you stand on the right side of history too.”
He chuckled and spun around.
“And the princess gained some confidence. How odd. We shall see, Rana. We shall see…”
He left as Rana stood thera, adrenaline racing through her. But she did it. She got it all out. She slumped back into her chair and wiped at her forehead.
I really don’t want to marry that jerk, she thought. And she was pretty certain he didn’t want to marry her either.
MelasD
Reminder: no chapter until Monday. Consider voting for me on TopWebFiction until then! Salvos | Top Web Fiction
Read up to 20 Salvos chapters ahead on my patreon.
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387. How to Train Your Wyverns
“Mama!”
The tinny voice echoed from the screen. A scene played out: a young woman with her three children living without a roof over their heads. The girl— and she was a girl, not anywhere near mature enough to take care of kids despite her appearance— had been far too irresponsible, and she now had to bear the consequences of her thoughtless actions.
“My daughter… how could this happen?”
Sal choked as he watched with tears in his eyes. He pressed a hand on the screen, eyeing Salvos. The girl was sputtering— saying something to her babies. But the Devil didn’t listen.
“So young and already a mother of three. You’re barely even five! Or ten! Or however old you are! I can’t believe this… I didn’t raise you to be like this!”
He dropped to his knees, mulling over his failure. Sal had thought he’d been a good father. He thought he’d been a good role model for Salvos. He hadn’t even gotten a daughter until he was fifty thousand years old! Yet, here she was, young and dumb, having children at such an early age before his very eyes.
The Devil spread his arms wide.
“Where did I go so wrong?”
And he paused. He thought about the question for a moment— only a single moment— before he knew the answer.
“Oh, right, I’ve been incredibly neglectful and spent most of my time out of her life. Man, I’m a terrible father.”
He shrugged and crossed his legs.
“Welp, might as well sit back and enjoy the show. This is gonna be good.”
Sal chuckled, enjoying the show as it played out before him.
“But I’m not a mother!”
I protested, but the three Wyvern babies still hugged me. Two of them were snuggling against my stubby legs, while the third was crawling up my wing-arm as it pointed at me once again.
“Mama!”
“I said I’m not your mother!”
These Wyverns were getting annoying. I glowered, speaking insistently and clearly. All three of them paused. The one that was on my arm looked up at me with round eyes. It— well, he, actually— was a pink little blob. So small, compared to an actual Wyvern. Like the size of a Human child. And he began to tear up.
“Not… mama?”
The other two Wyvern babies echoed his sentiment. I blinked a few times.
“...yes?”
I hesitated for a bit, before confirming my non-maternal relationship with them. The three little Wyverns exchanged a glance. Then they started to bawl. I flinched as their loud crying echoed in the little dome I put up.
“Wait, why are you— stop crying!”
I tried to hush them, but they continued. Willy glared at me.
“What you doing?!”
The [Will O’ Wisp] flitted up to my face, outraged. I sputtered.
“I mean, I am not their mother—”
And the Wyvern babies cried louder. Their wailings could’ve been heard from a mile away if I hadn’t cordoned off this area with space magic. I covered my ears as Willy flew down to them.
He wreathed the boy I’d been carrying with green flames, gently taking the Wyvern off my hand. The [Will O’ Wisp] spoke in a placating tone— and full sentences— as he wrapped them all in his warm fire.
“There, there. Yes, she mama.”
“What?”
I stared in shock. I opened my maw to defend myself, but he looked my way as he repeated himself.
“Yes. Ma. Ma.”
Slowly. Almost threateningly.
“Understand?”
I scowled, but the baby Wyverns quietened down. They looked up at the [Will O’ Wisp], their cheerful demeanors returning at once. They turned away from him and stared straight at me.
“Yay, mama!”
I crossed my arms, harrumphing. But I didn’t argue this time. I never said I was their mother. I already made my point. It wasn’t my fault Willy was lying to them. The three Wyverns were waving their little stubby arms at the [Will O’ Wisp] as he flew around them.
“Ugh, this is a pain.”
“Yes.”
Willy answered simply. I stared at the baby Wyverns. They crawled to their feet before stumbling back down. They crawled around, investigating the ground, the dirt, and the flowers in the dirt. They all looked kind of foolish. Waddling around like confused animals. One of them even suckled on a rock. That one didn’t look foolish. She actually looked pretty smart.
The first and third baby Wyverns to hatch were both boys, and the second one was a girl. I looked at all of them as they bumbled around. Then I turned to Willy as he floated back towards me.
“Now what?”
“You. Not me.”
“What do you mean this is my problem? We’re in this together, Willy!”
I pleaded with him as he snorted. The [Will O’ Wisp] hovered next to my face as one of the Wyverns stumbled into the other two. They collapsed into a pile of pink blobs. Willy finally spoke.
“Name.”
“Name?”
I blinked. Then I snapped my fingers.
“I guess we’ve got to name them, huh? I forgot about that.”
So far, I had just been calling them the baby Wyverns in my head, but I could give them a name. I scratched the back of my head. Willy looked at me expectantly.
“Well?”
“How about—”
I pointed at them from first to third born.
“Wyvy, Verny, Arny?”
They all paused. The Wyverns, Willy— all of them. They turned to me with a baffled look on their faces. The Wyverns started to cry, and Willy smacked me with a blast of flames.
“No.”
“Aw, why not! They’re good names! You like your name, didn’t you?”
“No.”
The [Will O’ Wisp] answered flatly. I felt my shoulders sag. The Wyverns continued to cry. I flailed my wing-arms in a panic, trying to offer another suggestion.
“Alright, how about—”
And ggrrrrrrr! I paused. The growl came from the trio of Wyverns. They ceased their crying for a single second before their bawling restarted— this time, even louder.
I backed up in a panic.
“What do I do, Willy? Why are they like this?”
“Hungry.”
The [Will O’ Wisp] scoffed. I looked around the dirt ground, but I couldn’t find anything nearby to feed them with. Then I had an idea.
“Oh, I know!”
I brought out my talons and produced a handful of dead roaches. The baby Wyverns stared at the little critters. They stopped crying. They sniffled, glancing between each other. Then they made a face of disgust.
“Eww…”
They chorused at once. I stepped back, aghast.
“You don’t like bugs?! How dare you!”
But Willy jumped in. He flitted up to the baby Wyverns, distracting them and cutting me off before I could lecture them on the savory goodness of eating bugs.
“Find food! Real food!”
“Fine!”
I huffed, turning back and walking out of the dome.
“They can’t call themselves my children if they can’t even eat bugs. Hpmh.”
I grumbled as I exited the cover of my magic. A group of [Mammoth Boars] stared straight at me the moment I stepped out. They blinked, ready to barge back in and retake their valley. And I was fully expecting them to charge me like they attempted earlier.
However, all at once, the group of [Mammoth Boars] turned tails and scattered. They escaped into the forest, kicking up quite the ruckus on their way out. The nearby monsters and animals heard the beating of their hooves. The shaking of the earth. And they fled as well. It was a full stampede exiting this forest.
And I looked back down at myself— at the Wyvern form I wore that stood out atop the canopy of trees— and nodded understandingly.
“Ah, they were scared of me.”
I raised my head, watching as a majority of everything living in the area escaped in fear— as all the potential food for the baby Wyverns vacated the forest. I sighed.
“This is… going to be a bit hard.”
“I apologize for my lateness.”
A figure strode into the throne room. Princess Rana Alyras straightened as she watched him enter. Her father, the king of Alyras, Artik Alyras, got to his feet as he opened his arms.
“Ah, Prince Peris! I do hope you’ve had a good rest. Come on in, this isn’t a formal meeting. Although, we’ll likely have to discuss more tomorrow.”
“Of course.”
Peris nodded back at the king simply, not even glancing Rana’s way as she bowed at him. He came to a halt five steps before the throne and raised a brow.
“I take it this is about the meeting in three days’ time?”
“Two days, at this point. But yes. Don’t worry about formalities. I heard you and your father have had some apprehension about the details of the meeting.”
“Yes. In fact, I have some questions.”
Rana’s gaze darkened as she listened to Peris converse with her father. He crossed his arms simply as Artik waited. There was no one else in the room except for both parties’ bodyguards. Not that Peris needed any.
“I do hope I can assuage your worries, Prince Peris.”
Artik spoke as he rubbed his hands together. But Peris’ eyes narrowed.
“We’ll see.”
This was the side no one ever saw of the Crown Prince of Dolonia. This was why he had the Title of a Prince. Rana pursed her lips as Peris spread his arms wide.
“Let me ask you this, king Artik: why should the Helbir League itself take up arms in its entirety against the Inoria Empire?”
It was a simple question. A challenge, even. One that even Rana didn’t expect. She opened her mouth, wanting to sputter, but her father raised a hand and stopped her.
“Let him speak, Rana.”
Peris crossed his arms, continuing.
“Is the Vaun Qieur Empire not enough? What about the adventurer coalitions? Surely together with whatever forces the Veridian Family and its wide network of connections can muster up, these groups alone would be enough to deal with this Demon threat.”
He gestured vaguely back where he came. He probably had just greeted Anya Veridian not too long ago and was now callously asking her to throw away her life on her own behind her back. It irked Rana. She clenched a fist, but Peris shook his head.
“I have even heard rumors. Talks of a [Hero]. One which you are sheltering in this kingdom.”
Rana furrowed her brows. Artik himself looked puzzled by that. Neither of them knew what Peris was talking about, but the Prince cared not. He simply sighed.
“Shouldn’t a single [Hero] leading an army be more than enough to vanquish these terrible Demonic foes? Why waste any more lives on this? Our people do not need to die for this, king Artik.”
Peris finished. Princess Rana had a lot of things she wanted to say back to the Crown Prince of Dolonia. But she knew her father wouldn’t let her. Artik himself just closed his eyes.
“I feared that would be your response. I am afraid I do not have much to say to convince you, Prince Peris.”
“Father!”
Rana tried to protest. But Peris himself shrugged and walked away.
“I see.”
The princess of Alyras gritted her teeth. She normally… well, she normally didn’t like speaking out about anything. Nor did she like ignoring her father. But she stepped forward and pointed at Peris.
“Prince Peris!”
The Crown Prince of Dolonia halted. Rana’s eyes flickered. She stared down at him indignantly.
“One of the most important conferences in Human history begins in two days, Peris Dolonia. It will be a meeting that will be talked about for generations to come. Just like the First Council of Alexandria. Tomorrow, delegations from all around the Human lands will trickle into our great city and offer us their strength. They will pledge themselves for the sake of justice.”
Peris Dolonia tilted his head slightly. She pursed her lips, speaking softly.
“I hope that you stand on the right side of history too.”
He chuckled and spun around.
“And the princess gained some confidence. How odd. We shall see, Rana. We shall see…”
He left as Rana stood thera, adrenaline racing through her. But she did it. She got it all out. She slumped back into her chair and wiped at her forehead.
I really don’t want to marry that jerk, she thought. And she was pretty certain he didn’t want to marry her either.
MelasD
Reminder: no chapter until Monday. Consider voting for me on TopWebFiction until then! Salvos | Top Web Fiction
Read up to 20 Salvos chapters ahead on my patreon.
Join my discord or subreddit.
Follow me on twitter or instagram.
