Dragon Wings -- Chapter Five

Chapter Five

“Jalen. You have been a fool to think you can escape me.”

Cial was floating in an endless void of black, glints of light shimmering around him like stars. He looked around, but the owner of the deep voice was nowhere to be seen.

“My name’s not Jalen.” Cial announced nervously. His voice seemed small and quiet, swallowed up in darkness.

“Of course not. Neither is mine.”

Cial blinked. “Um… who are you? Where am I?”

“Who am I? I hope you aren’t looking for a name. Names are useless things. Mine was abandoned long ago.” Though Cial could not see anything in front of him, he could feel a presence there, dark and ominous. It was approaching him slowly. “And as for where you are… I believe that at this moment, you are in the Fleet of Jade Oceans.”

“Don’t come any closer.” Cial tried to back up, but unfortunately it was difficult to do so while suspended in the air. The presence stopped.

“Don’t you recognize me?” The voice said, though not sounding rejected in the least. It sounded more like it felt that this whole thing was just a game. “We are kin. We are alike. We could have been brothers.” The lights that flickered around Cial began to dim slightly, bringing the world even closer to total darkness. “You can’t escape me, there is nowhere you can hide from your brother.”

“I don’t even know who you are!” Cial cried into the darkness, getting scared despite himself. “What are you talking about!? Tell me who you are!”

“I am nothing. No one.” The voice hissed, looming closer. Claws seemed to rise up from it, bearing down on Cial’s small form, even though there was still no visible presence. “But soon I will become.”

The claws lurched forward, and Cial let out a cry as they tore into him. But instead of pain and blood, there was only a freezing sensation, like his scales had turned to ice.

“Remember this, Cial.” The voice hissed. “You were Chosen. But I am worthy.”

And then the last of the glittering lights disappeared.


Cial’s eyes popped open. For a second he was panicked at what he saw around him, this wasn’t the Fighter’s Clearing! But then he remembered. He was sleeping in the Leader’s Glade tonight, away from his familiar surroundings. Retsam was curled up not far off, and his mate Relli beside him. The Leader’s Glade was a small area that lead off from the main Clearing, a half-circle of trees and plants. A small spring bubbled at the back end. It was probably the most beautiful area of the Fleet, but Cial wasn’t happy to be staying there. After all, he was only there because his attempt to become a Scout had failed miserably.

He stood up, stretching away the night’s stiffness. It was midmorning, later than he usually would have woken up. The summer heat hit him in a wave as soon as he got to his claws. He smiled a bit and turned his face upwards, wanting to bask in the sun for awhile. But in the Glade, the sky was hidden by a layer of leaves and branches.

The exit was only a few bounds away. Would Retsam mind if he stepped out for a bit…? The great black dragon muttered in his sleep as if on cue. Ah, well. There was no harm in trying for it. Surely they wouldn’t hold him prisoner!

Decisively, Cial got up and trotted to the exit. As he emerged from the small oasis, he was greeted with the sight of an older Fighter, Kora, standing guard. The older dragon nodded at Cial, but did not stop scanning the area for trouble. Obviously Retsam had chosen Kora to guard the Glade because he was trustworthy.

“Nice day.” Cial observed casually. Kora grunted in response. His pale orange-brown scales were beginning to gray, and his horns were slightly curved. Cial knew that the older a dragon got, the more curved it’s horns became, until they were almost ram-like.

“Mind if I step out for a bit? To get some sun?” Kora glanced at him. “All right,” He grumbled, “But stay where I can see you.”

“Thanks Kora!” Cial gave him his best innocent smile, before making his way out of the treeline and into the open sun. It felt great. There hadn’t been a heat wave like this for awhile, and every dragon loved to soak up some sun whenever possible.

Two dragonesses walked by, one of which Cial recognized as a Scout that he had seen on the mission. She turned and whispered something to her friend, and both of them glared at Cial as they went past. Cial tried to make himself seem smaller. Did all of the dragons really believe that that whole thing had been a plot to murder Wispen…?

Maybe they were just confused, and didn’t know what to believe. Maybe blaming Cial was simply the easiest thing for them to do. Cial scowled bitterly and looked away as the dragonesses walked out of sight. That didn’t make him feel any better.

Suddenly, something wet dripped onto his foot from up above. He started. Was it raining? But the sun was still bright…

He recoiled as he saw what had landed on him. There was a single, small drop of blood running down his claw that was not his. What the… blood was falling from the sky? Cial was about to start panicking until he looked up and made out a dragon flying high above. It must be bleeding. But why?

The dragon swooped a bit lower, and Cial was able to make out her pale blue scales. And grey wings. Lydia!? Was she hurt? Cial squinted, anxiously trying to see.

Some other dragons met Lydia in flight and they appeared to have a small conversation. One of them was Nogard, the burly Head Fighter. Cial urged them to land so he could see what was going on, and his prayers were answered several moments later as the small group began to descend.

They touched down a good distance away from Cial, but close enough so that he could still see them. He bounded over, desperate to find out what was going on, and if Lydia was injured. As he approached it was beginning to seem like she was.

Blood was running down one of her forelegs, and there was a deep scratch on her tail. Her left wing was torn slightly, and she was covered in small cuts and scrapes besides. She was standing without aid, however, and her peach-coloured eyes were bright and alert. Cial breathed a sigh of relief. She was okay.

“What happened?” He called when he finally stopped beside them. Nogard and another Fighter stiffened when he approached, but Lydia paid them no mind. “It’s okay, honey.” She said with a smile. “I just got into a bit of a fight, that’s all.”

“With who? I thought you were on patrol!”

“What happened?” Another voice called. Retsam and Relli were hurrying over, both now wide awake.

“It’s nothing, really.” Lydia tried to convince her audience. “There was a small group of dragons who attacked me when I was flying our borders.”

Retsam’s ears flew up in alarm. “Where?”

“Not close. Not even inside the outer mountain ring. There were maybe six of them, so it wasn’t a big group or anything.”

“Rogues, probably.” Relli suggested. She had a calm, low voice, that made Cial think that she knew exactly what she was talking about.

“Still, rogues are never a good thing.” Retsam frowned. “We’re going to have to send some Fighters to chase them out.”

“But… Leader.” Lydia glanced around, as if nervous to say anything more. “The rogues were very good fighters. I mean, I barely escaped once they had me in a circle.”

Retsam waved a claw dismissively. “Oh, I’m sure a big group of Fleet Fighters will have them flying away as fast as their wings can take them. Lydia, go to the Healer’s Cave and get some treatment for those.”

“Of course, sir.” Lydia dipped her head to Retsam and turned to limp away.

Cial frowned to himself as he turned to go back to the Glade’s entrance. Rogues? That could fight well? Normally, rogues were just groups of dragons who did not live in a Fleet, and sometimes attacked the said fleets to take their food or territory. But they were easily driven away by a good force of Fighters. What were these rogues that Lydia had encountered, that they knew how to fight? Were their kind growing smarter?

Cial shook his head, sitting back down in the sun. Even if the rogues were planning to storm the Fleet of Jade Oceans, Cial doubted they would get far. Even these new rogues would be stopped by all of the Fighters in the Fleet.

And besides, Cial would welcome a little action. Maybe he’d be allowed to leave his unofficial prison if something happened.

But of course, sometimes you get exactly what you wish for, even if it’s almost the exact opposite of what you wanted.