"It all started… so long ago." Blizzard began. She and Swordfish were flying in the direction they had seen the Camaelists go in. "Frost and I grew up as friends, but with a rivalry. She was very much an Icewing. My parents were nobles, and so were hers, so we competed within the ranks, and for the recognition of the family." Blizzard swallowed, and Swordfish could see how nervous she was about telling this story. "But Frost… was an animus."
Swordfish would have reacted differently in the past, but now, an animus seemed like something relatively normal.
"She and I were the only ones who knew. She had no idea how she had gained her powers. She wasn't of royal blood." Blizzard paused, as if struggling to remember. "But she trusted me with her secret. I tried to ignore it for as long as I could, but every once in a while… She would start to get all dizzy and weak, and I couldn't help but wonder if she was using her powers in secret, and what she was doing with them." Blizzard paused for a bit, and the two dragonets looked around to make sure they weren't being tailed. "Eventually, I got too curious and spied on her. She was using her magic all the time. She enchanted scrolls to read themselves, and enchanted everyone who was suited to marry her get a horrific disease. When I confronted her about it, she confirmed it to me that she was very close to losing her soul. She said she had dreams of slaughtering every noble in the Ice Kingdom." Blizzard looked like she was going to throw up.
"I said she had to get out of the Ice Kingdom. She agreed, but she put a spell on me. She said if word ever got out she was an animus, and I had helped her escape, losing the Icewings another animus, they might kill me. She put a spell on me that made me a fantastic fighter, and invincible to any normal methods of killing me, and made me immune to any animus magic. She then faked her own death by enchanting a blanket to look like a dead version of herself."
"So THAT'S how you got past Darkstalker's enchantment on the mountains at the old Night Kingdom!" Swordfish said, glad that was finally resolved. Blizzard nodded.
"I helped Frost escape, and I haven't seen her since. But if you say Rainfall knew a Frost… and she resembled me, it could have been her." Blizzard said, still shaking. "I'm sorry for my nervousness, I haven't ever told anyone about her, or any of it."
"It's alright." Swordfish reassured her, glad she was finally telling him the truth. "So, that's how you survived the Darkists too, huh?" He asked. Blizzard quickly nodded. "And… if you're immune to animus magic… does that mean…" Swordfish began, and then stopped. "What?" Blizzard asked, concerned. Swordfish was lost in memory, remembering the Blizzard from the old world. When Cassriel had turned the world against Swordfish, that version of Blizzard was not affected. Swordfish remembered her at the end of the hallway, her eyes normal, fiddling with her ear, and when he called out to her, she ran away.
"When Cassriel turned the old world against me, that world's version of you remained unaffected by him." Swordfish said. Blizzard blinked. "Really?" She asked, intrigued. "If that version of you had the same enchantment on her, does that mean the Demons draw their real power from animus magic?" Swordfish theorized.
"Well… maybe." Blizzard said. "But… have you noticed that there doesn't seem to be animus magic here? Nor have any demons crossed our path." "Yeah, I did notice that." Swordfish said, nodding. "I wonder who the first animus dragon was." "Well, maybe we'll get to meet him or her." Blizzard said.
Suddenly, Blizzard pointed in the distance. Two dragons were flying towards them. Suddenly, Swordfish realized he was wearing his Old Monarchy armband, and so was Blizzard. "Quick! Get rid of your armband!" Swordfish whispered. He unclipped his as fast as he could and so did Blizzard. Swordfish didn't know what to do with his armband so he threw it down below. Blizzard did the same. They could always get new ones.
"Hey! You shouldn't be out here!" Yelled one of the dragons, a Sandwing. It had worked. They hadn't seen the armbands. They had fallen down into the rocky terrain below. "All dragonets coming of age need to be reporting to the base of Mount Magetticus." Said the other dragon, an Aniwing. "Your initiation into the Scales of Liberty is in a few hours!"
. . .
Vine woke up in a strange building. There were strange, burned tapestries hanging from the wall. A large Rockwing was standing in front of her. "Ah, you're awake." He said in a very deep voice. "Wraith told me your name is Vine. Is this so?" Vine didn't know what to say. She expected to still be restrained, but she got up to find herself freed from her restraints. She flared her wings. "W…Where am I?" Vine asked.
"I asked you a question." Said the Rockwing calmly. "Is your name Vine?" Vine faltered before answering. "…Yes." She said. "Nice to meet you Vine, I am Stone. You may hear others refer to me as General Stone, but you may just call me Stone. Is that clear?" "… I guess?" Vine responded. Stone's smile suddenly fell. "That was a 'yes or no' question, Vine. Is that clear?" Vine took a step backward. "Yes." She said quietly.
Vine took a look at the door. It had been broken open to make the gap big enough for even Stone to fit through. "You want to escape?" Stone asked, and chuckled. "Go ahead and do it. Leave." Vine turned toward the door. "But know that you are wearing a prisoner's armband instead of your Old Monarchy one." Stone said. "It cannot come off unless unlocked. You cannot change your scales and hide yourself. Go ahead and run. The others aren't as generous as I am."
Stone suddenly beat his wings loudly. Enough so that they made a sound. A young Rainwing a little bit older than Vine walked into the room, wearing an armband similar to the one Vine had around her arm. "Vine, this is Toucan. She has been with me since the beginning of the war. Before I saved her, she was an Old Monarchy soldier, like you were." Vine blinked. Was she no longer part of Old Monarchy?
"Being with Stone is much better than the life I used to lead." Toucan said suddenly. Her voice sliced through Vine's ears. She didn't sound… real. "Stone keeps me away from the war, and from the other Camaelists who might want to kill me for what I did in the past." Toucan's scales remained blue for the whole time she talked. Blue meant calm.
"Toucan… you haven't even introduced yourself." Stone said, chuckling. "Thank you Stone, I forgot." She said in her strange voice. "Hello Vine." She said, turning to Vine. "I am Toucan." Vine didn't respond. This was officially creepy. She could feel the pale green begin to wash over her scales. "Don't be afraid Vine." Stone said, and Toucan nodded. "Your life is about to get so much better."
. . .
Marie watched from underneath the bushes as the Black Star troops got off of their horses and took a rest. The group was dangerously large. Some of them even had bloodstains on their uniforms, like they had recently killed something. "Sir!" One of them called, and Marie watched as another soldier stepped forward. "We should get going as fast as we can. We're deep in enemy territory. Hell, we're in Arnia." "I know." Sighed the soldier in charge. "Trust me Kozlov. I know. But we can't just keep going until we reach the Lochberg area. You knew we had to stop. The horses need rest."
Just how far south are they going? Marie wondered. All the way to the Sudland front? Marie tried listening in on two other soldiers talking. "Tror du virkelig det, Helen?" One asked. Marie recognized the language as Vestadese, the language of the country of Vestad. Luckily for Marie, she had grown up near the Arnish/Vestadese border, and knew some of the language. Do you really think so, Helen? Is what the soldier had asked.
"I'm not sure." The other soldier, Helen, replied, still in Vestadese. "Apparently, Urbina really did find out."
Marie's eyes widened. They knew about Paisland. She started shifting herself backward to get out from under the bushes. She had to go tell the others as fast as she could, and then somehow get the message to command. Marie was almost out of the bush when she snapped a twig. The soldiers glanced over in her direction. The one named Kozlov reached for his gun. "Calm down." Said the commanding officer. "You're all nervous because we're in enemy territory." Marie stayed perfectly still. She had to stop herself from breathing too loud. She heard a musket load. She had to get out as fast as she could or pray that they would leave out of fear of getting caught themselves.
How did Black Star know? What happened? Marie thought, and then remembered what Vulture had said. Seilbrenner hand wrote those letters. It wasn't public information, only available to a select few. Which meant that there was a spy deep within Old Monarchy.
But who?
. . .
George Machado rode up toward General Jergens. "Are you sure it's a good idea to do this?" He asked. "What do you mean?" Jergens asked, turning his head toward George. "Not telling the Prophet about Hamza's relics. I mean… he should know about them more than anyone, he is the Prophet." "We have no time to waste." The General said gruffly. "Old Monarchy knows about this, and so do the Camaelists. We need to get there first. We need to get there now. That's why I've sent messengers to all other nearby squadrons. We will all go to Paisland, and steal the relics, and then return to Lloyd and give them to him, so he can truly become the savior of Earth."
George exhaled. Something about this didn't feel right. His mind recalled the story of The Daughters of Amrahiem, and how Luna could see the hunger for power and unfaithfulness within them, and they evaporated. There had always been secret talk that Zane Jergens could overthrow Axton Lloyd and take control of Black Star, and still have enough support from the public that it could work. George knew that there was only one person who was closer to the Prophet than Jergens, and that was Abd Al-Malik, the high priest, who was far too loyal to ever do anything.
Machado wondered if it was really the threat of the Camaelists and Old Monarchy that was propelling Jergens to do this, or if it was something else. What if he didn't want Axton Lloyd to know about the Relics of Hamza?
. . .
"At the very beginning…" Began Abd Al-Malik, reading from the Holy Words, the Prophet Hamza's book. Brittaney Colens shifted in her seat. She couldn't stop thinking about the death of that Rainwing dragonet. He looked… so innocent, despite being a devil. She had gone to hear the High Priest speak verses from the Holy Words to try and forget, and reassure herself that what she was doing was right.
"God created Earth, and breathed life into the plants and animals. But eventually knew he had to move on from this small world. He created three daughters, Luna, Sola, and Eclis, to watch over Earth, and then left, to do other, greater things."
The Holy Words were the stories of the world the Moon Goddesses told Hamza. This divine knowledge was meant to guide humanity through all the years. "Eventually, it was Sola who created the Angels, made to help watch over Earth. They were named, all twelve. Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Hestia, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Ares, Hermes, and Hephaestus. Created with godly blood running through their veins. Winged, yet human. Reptilian, yet mammal. Horned, yet haired."
Everyone knew this story, yet it was haunting to hear the High Priest tell it, especially at a time like this. This war had driven people to question if the dragons were a product of divine creation. "But Luna and Eclis feared that Sola had made them too powerful, and they would overthrow them as rulers of Earth. The two killed all of the Angels, save Zeus and Hera, which Luna transformed into mortal life, like everything else on Earth. They lost their wings, their horns, and became Adam and Eve, the first two Postangels. Humans. That same, godly, yet mortal blood, runs through all of us, and that is the reason, we are destined to live on as the dominant species."
Abd Al-Malik paused, and the church was filled with silence. "Many wonder if the dragons are Postangels as well. Sent on to us as punishment for heresy!" He slammed his fists on the wooden podium. "And this may be true! These devils! The physical embodiment of all the cursed power that the Moon Goddesses rightfully stole away from us! They are everything the Angels lost to become Postangels!" The crowd was still silent. Some people were on their knees praying. "And if this is true." Said Abd Al-Malik, quieting down again. "Then it is our duty to be faithful to The Moon Goddesses and rid the world of the remains of the Angels!" "Amen." Muttered the crowd.
The High Priest fell silent when the church doors opened, and Axton Lloyd himself walked in, guards clean and crisp behind him.
Abd Al-Malik turned and as fast as he could, and clutched his right hand to his heart, and left fist to the sky. "Hail the Prophet, the man who knows the holy will!" He cried, and everyone did the same salute. "HAIL!" The people recited.
Lloyd smiled and nodded. "Thank you for the warm welcome." He said in his voice that sent chills down Brittaney's spine. "My savior, why are you here?" Abd Al-Malik asked. Lloyd wavered for a second. "Celebration. I… have a feeling things have taken the right course."
. . .
Swordfish stood in the lines of dragonets his age, annoyed by the Nightwing jittering nervously next to him. He had lost Blizzard in all the rows of dragonets. The rows of dragonets chattered nervously. Swordfish and Blizzard had been taken back to a Camaelist village, the remnants of an old town tucked away behind Mount Magetticus, for their initiation into the Camaelist army, the Scales of Liberty. Swordfish had figured out that the Camaelists used a draft system with dragonets aged 6, and initiated them into the war. The two guards had thought Swordfish and Blizzard were Camaelists because of their lack of armbands, and brought them back here.
"Do you think Camael will speak here?" Asked an Icewing in front of Swordfish to a Grasswing. "Don't think so." Said the Grasswing. "He's far too busy, and he would burn down the entire forest!" Swordfish felt his stomach drop. Camael himself… He remembered Anthony telling him about the leader of the Camaelists. He burned everything around him. Almost as big as Jade Mountain itself.
Suddenly, Swordfish watched as Wraith, the traitor who had talked to Vine before the Battle of Sainsbury walked up in front of the crowd of dragonets. "Dragonets." He began. The crowd fell silent. Wraith extended his dark purple wings. "You are the next generation of the Scales of Liberty. The fighting force for our kind." Swordfish was glad the Icewing in front of him was big enough he could hide his face from Wraith. There was a chance Wraith would recognize him. Swordfish found himself worrying about Blizzard. He couldn't see her in the crowd. Did she have enough cover?
Compared with the rest of the Camaelist leaders, with their brutality and gruff exteriors, Wraith was oddly well-spoken and considerably quieter than the others. Giving his speech without roars and growls.
"You are at the doorstep of becoming legend. It is true, we as the Scales of Liberty will be remembered for centuries as the army that brought mankind to its knees, and brought dragons from dirt and nothingness to the superior rulers of Earth." The dragonets around Swordfish began flapping their wings in agreement.
"And yet we have one dragon who we thank for showing to us what we can truly do." Wraith's words got harsher and his eyes got more intense. "It is Camael who showed us that we are stronger and better suited for this world than those pests. Those insects. They have infested this world for long enough! And what do you do with pests? You exterminate them!" The dragonets began cheering.
Swordfish had heard what Wraith had done from Blizzard on the way here. He had no time to grieve over Polar's death, along with all the other dragons and the humans too. He remembered waking up inside the cell in the dragon prison, and Polar being the first dragon to talk to him.
"And that is why he is here now." Wraith said quietly, and the crowd seemed to get even quieter. Swordfish felt the jittery Nightwing next to him suddenly stop. Wraith stepped to the side and a plain looking Seawing walked up to the piece of building that Wraith had been standing on. Swordfish had to stop himself from reeling back at how much Camael looked like his father, Urchin.
"What is it that drives us?" Camael growled. Swordfish was still staring in amazement. This was Camael? The enormous creature Anthony spoke of? He hardly looked threatening at all.
"What is it that we sense from the moment we crawl out of our eggs? Is it anger? Is it fear? What moves us to do what we do? Why is it that we are born with talons and claws, teeth and fire, wings and horns? It is because it is INTENDED for us to dominate this world! That is what we hatch to do!" The dragonets began clapping vigorously. "You should be HONORED to fight for the claiming of this world! What the general said was true! You will be remembered for centuries in dragon legend as the brave soldiers that stamped out mankind!"
The dragonets continued clapping as Swordfish stared at Camael. Apparently the most terrifying dragon in existence. Something about him seemed off, made Swordfish's scars from Cassriel's stabbing hurt. There was something… unnatural about him. Other than the fact that Anthony had told Swordfish Camael was an enormous monster, and here he was, a normal Seawing.
Swordfish kept studying Camael, making sure Wraith couldn't get a good look at him, as he gave his speech. Worrying about Vine, Blizzard, and everyone back at the homestead.
. . .
"Vine, I want you to listen to me." Stone said calmly. Vine felt uneasy watching the staring eyes of Toucan behind the Camaelist general watch her every move. "You cannot go back to Old Monarchy. If you try to, the others, who have no appreciation for your… beauty. They will kill you without hesitation. I am your island of safety."
Vine certainly didn't feel safe. Stone was big, intimidating, and creepy. Toucan didn't provide any kind of comfort either. She hardly blinked. "What do you mean my beauty?" Vine asked. Stone stopped, and held out one of his talons. "Toucan, please get me a cigar." He ordered, and she sprang into action, running to a wooden crate across the room with TOSTO PREMIUM CIGARS stamped on the side. Toucan ran back as fast as she could with the tobacco product, which Vine had learned about from Michael.
Stone breathed the smallest bit of fire on the end of the cigar and put it in his mouth, puffing smoke up towards the half-broken ceiling. "You see Vine, Rainwings are the most beautiful of the tribes to me. Your color-changing scales, your exotic venom, your exquisite horns and spines." Stone took another puff of his cigar. "Now, I'm an old dragon. I don't actually know how old I really am, since when we dragons appeared in Jeoul thirteen years ago, we all appeared at different ages. I have been through many battles in both wars. I am old and weary, yet I continue to battle for freedom and righteousness. And at the end of the day, it pleases me to have such a young, beautiful thing soothe me. It reminds me what I'm fighting for."
"So I'm going to be your servant?!" Vine asked, stepping away, flaring her wings. "It's not a bad thing." Toucan said, sounding genuinely concerned and confused why Vine would be angry at this. "I won't overwork you or anything." Stone said.
A Seawing suddenly appeared at the busted-down doorway, and said something in another language. Stone responded in the same language, and the Seawing nodded and left. "I apologize I have to leave at a time like this." Stone said. "Toucan, why don't you tell her why it's not so bad." Stone got up and slowly walked out the door, sending an anxious look back at the two Rainwings before moving out of sight.
Vine turned to Toucan almost immediately. "Okay, how are we going to escape? Stone has the keys to the armbands." Vine said, tapping the metallic armband with one claw. If only she had any of the others with her. They were all so much better at this kind of thing. Vine flapped her wings a few times and peeked her head out one of the holes in the roof. Stone was right, if she tried to escape, there was no way she would be able to survive. She was deep inside Camaelist territory. Dragons of all different kinds of tribes flew around.
Vine descended again. Come on Vine! This isn't the Rainforest anymore! Things aren't going to be easy! Vine didn't have much of a memory, but she knew she must have grown up in the Rainforest, and been a lazy Rainwing like Jambu, or any of those other lazy dragons.
"Do you know if rocks can do anything to the metal?" Vine asked Toucan, but she turned to see Toucan staring at her like she had just grown an extra head. "What are you doing?" Toucan asked. "Why would you want to leave?"
Vine turned and looked at the other Rainwing. "You mean that wasn't an act!?" Vine asked incredulously. "You really like being his servant?" Toucan nodded vigorously. "He keeps me safe. He makes me feel needed. I love him." Toucan's scales had never wavered from blue. Vine felt the pale green begin to creep over her scales again. What had Stone done to her? What kind of trance was she in?
"Did he do something to you to make you this way?" Vine asked, worrying Stone would do the same to her, and then she would be a moon-eyed servant for the rest of time too. "As I said, he made me feel safe. He made me feel loved. He provided shelter from the war. As the world burns and everyone else dies, I am protected within his love." That sentence, along with Toucan's wide eyes and unreal voice, made Vine begin to shake. "Why would you want to leave? Why would you want to go die, when you can stay here and be loved?"
"No, I mean… what did he do to you that was unnatural?" Vine asked, more like a wonder out loud than a question to Toucan. If she's been with him since the beginning of the war, and hasn't just ran outside, not caring if she dies or not, I wonder… if this is how she really feels. Was she like me when she first came here?
"What does he make you do?" Vine asked. "He doesn't make me do anything." Toucan replied. "I want to serve him. I do this out of my own free will." "You don't have free will here!" Vine countered. "If you were really free, you wouldn't be chained to him like this. He's convinced you it's your own will, but you're really just his slave!" "No." Toucan replied. "Uh… yeah." Vine said, but Toucan didn't seem to be listening to her. She put her talons over her ears, clutching them tightly. "No. No. No. No. NO! NO! NO! NO! NOOOO!" Toucan began screaming, her eyes slammed shut and her talons gripped tightly over her ears. "NOO! NOO! NOO!" Vine stepped back, the pale green feeling a little more intense.
. . .
"Alright." Said the Sargent, leading Group C into a cave into the side of the mountain. "Here is where you will sleep." The large group of dragonets had been divided into groups, and Swordfish had noted that there was one of every tribe in each group. 10 dragonets per group. Swordfish found it interesting how similar they were to the winglets in Jade Mountain.
Swordfish filed in with the other dragonets, who quickly found a spot in the cave to put down their stuff. Swordfish stood in the middle of the cave as everyone claimed a spot for themselves. Great. He thought. Not enough room for me anywhere. Suddenly, a Grasswing called out to him. "Hey Seawing! There's room right here." The Grasswing moved a rock to reveal just enough space for Swordfish to put his stuff down. "Thanks." Swordfish said quietly, removing his simple satchel and putting it there.
"I don't think we've met." Said the Grasswing. "The name's Barley." "I'm Swordfish." Swordfish said. "You know, I've only ever really known one Seawing, and she was a jerk." Barley said. "Hm." Swordfish replied, lost in thought, wondering what was going on with Blizzard. He had seen her get put into Group A.
"Hey, who's ready for the arena!?" Asked a Skywing to the group of dragonets, which they responded to with shouts of "Yeah!" and flapping their wings. Swordfish almost asked what the arena was, but then realized that could raise suspicions, as all the dragonets seemed to know what it was. Swordfish pretended to be excited with the rest.
About an hour passed where Swordfish tried his hardest to speak as little as possible out of fear he would blow his cover. He wondered if Blizzard was doing the same back in Group A. Barley introduced him to his friend, Tornado the Skywing, the Skywing who had spoken to the group beforehand.
The hour of awkwardness for Swordfish ended when the sergeant returned. "The arena is happening in ten minutes." He said to the cheers of the dragonets. They began to get up and fly back towards the center of the old town. Swordfish was relieved to see Blizzard leave the Group A cave and shoot him a look. As the different groups of dragonets began to merge together, Swordfish left to go fly with Blizzard.
"This is weird." She said almost immediately. "Yeah I know." Swordfish agreed quietly. "Did… Camael give you a weird feeling? Like… something unnatural was going on there?" Blizzard froze, and then shook her head. "But… didn't Anthony tell you he was this giant monster dragon? Almost as big as Jade Mountain?" "Yeah." Swordfish said shaking his head. "It's like… the further we go into this… the weirder it gets." Swordfish looked up to see the sun almost right above his head. This day was only half way done.
. . .
Daniel Seilbrenner stood up in his chair, sending it back a little bit, making a scraping noise on the wooden floor. The sudden movement shook the glass of wine on his desk. "What?" Asked Henrik Solberg. "Black Star knows about the relics." Repeated the soldier. "Quick!" Yelled Solberg. "Send out dragonback forces to Paisland as fast as we can. We have dragons, Black Star doesn't!" The soldier nodded and ran back down the hallway she came from.
"I guess I was wrong." Seilbrenner said. "I guess our spy was a human." He paused. "General, do I have permission to go to Paisland as well?" Henrik stopped and gave Seilbrenner an odd look. "I suppose they will need as many high ranking soldiers as they can get." Solberg said. "If you are willing to go, you may go." Seilbrenner got up from his seat. "Thank you General." He thanked, and walked out the door and down the hall after the soldier. Solberg sighed and looked outside at the protesters. He saw a woman walking the other direction through the crowd. Solberg sighed again, and walked out of the room as well. The glass of wine that Nikita Petrov had poisoned sat on the desk untouched.