Glade was sitting alone in her cave while the intense battle started to rage outside. Loud bursts of thunder and flashes of lightning rang across the camp. The sound of trees burning and dead dragons falling from the sky could be heard from every corner of Tempest's camp. Glade had her front leg outstretched and she was holding a dragon's claw that had belonged to Thunder in the ball of her foot. She stared at Thunder's claw for a moment as she recalled what happened a week ago with perfect clarity.
Thunder was prowling about at night in the northern forests of Stormheim. Each step he took was silent and gentle as to not arouse any suspicion. When he arrived at the cliff overlooking Nithogg's camp, what he saw unnerved him to his very core. On one side of the camp, there were Vrykul and on the other side were purple dragons, sitting together and parlaying.
"Irglov's and Nithogg's clans unite against us?" Thunder said to himself. This news was troubling indeed as the only reason he could figure for such an alliance would be to dispose of their common enemy; Tempest.
Thunder quickly turned around to take flight and warn his clan of the impending threat but before he could he quickly ran into Glade who had been following him from camp.
"Glade?" Said Thunder, surprised as he wasn't expecting her. "What are you doing out here? It isn't safe! We have to get back to camp and warn the others!" He said grabbing a hold of Glade's front leg to tug her along but she wasn't moving. He turned back around to see Glade sitting still in front of him. "Glade what are you doing? We have to warn everyone, Now!" He said.
Glade was heartbroken on the inside. Her deepest fear was that Thunder would find out about what her clan was up to. Now that he knew, she had to make sure he kept quiet. "I can't let you do that..." She said with a faltering voice.
Thunder perked both of his brows and widened his eyes. "What on earth are you talking about? You..." He said with a pause. "What are you saying, Glade... are...are you with them?" He said, not wishing it to be true.
Glade was almost trembling at how torn she was. Deep down she had started to develope feelings for him but her duty to her clan was more important. "Thunder... Tempest has to go... The Council has to be brought down." She said, still with a lowered voice as she was still heartbroken but held on to hope that he would join her.
"Your clan thinks of my clan as nothing more than savages and monsters. We're not the evil ones, Tempest is!" She said, stepping closer to him. "Please I beg you, Thunder! Don't leave... stay with me! We can be together. We can be happy... We can have a life here..." She pleaded.
Thunders jaw was dropped. As Glade moved forward to try and place her wing on his shoulder, he swatted her wing away. "I can't believe what i'm hearing...You were with Nithogg this whole time..." He said, astonished.
Glade shook her head. "After the Battle of Stormheim, Nithogg was blinded by Aurora. I had my chance and I took it. I plunged my claws through his dead eyes and ended his terrible reign for good. What you see before you is not Nithogg's clan... It is my clan." She said, confirming that she had taken over as leader.
Thunder was speechless. His jaw was dropped in disbelief.
"Tempest and his council are corrupt. They preach peace, harmony, freedom, and happiness for all dragons yet they condemn my clan to death by starvation and exposure! I've seen countless friends of mine die to hunger out here! Tempest's territory encompasses much land, leaving little for the rest of us. He has to be stopped!" She insisted.
Thunder lowered his brows and scowled at her. "You lie! Tempest is the most honorable, noble, courageous, and just leader I have ever known in my entire life! All of you have been brainwashed by Nithogg. From the moment you all were born you have known nothing but violence and domination. When Tempest finds out about this, you'll be sorry!" He threatened as he looked away from her.
It was at this moment that Glade knew that they would never be able to be together. "He won't..." Glade said.
Thunder quickly looked back to her. "Oh really? How do you figure?" He said, figuring she was threatening him.
"Thunder..." Glade said almost in tears. "I'm giving you one last chance. Please come with me. I love you! and I want to be with you! but if you refuse and turn back to camp... I'll have no choice but to kill you." She threatened. "Please don't make me do this. Do you not care for me? Don't you not love me too?" She asked, desperately wanting him to love her.
Thunder nodded. When he did, Glade's face lit up with hope for a brief moment before Thunder spoke up. "I used to... Not anymore." He said giving her one last look. "You're dead to me." He said with an angry scowl as he turned to walk back to camp.
Glade closed her eyes and lowered her head as she despaired. She clenched her talons as hard as she could as she fought the turmoil she was feeling inside. Though she finally snapped and leaped onto Thunder's back as he was leaving. She wrapped her jaws around the back of his neck and twisted her head, causing his neck to snap. After taking him down, Glade rolled him over until he was laying on his back.
Thunder war completely paralyzed, unable to move any part of his body except for his eyes and mouth. When he looked up to her, she was crying out loud, her tears flowing down her purple cheeks and onto Thunder's belly.
She continued to weep. "Curse you for making me do this, Thunder!" She said through sobs. "We could have been happy!" She screamed. "We could have had a family! This is on you! My clan is not the evil one, yours is! Not mine! Not mine..." She said as she continued to cry. When she looked down at him she could tell that he was suffering and miserable from the great pain he was in. For a brief moment, Thunder's eyes met hers and a lone tear came to his eye as he knew deep down that he still loved her but he could never be with her after learning of her betrayal.
Glade couldn't bear to watch him suffer anymore. "I'm so sorry..." She said through faint whimpers as she brought her claws up to his neck and slit his throat so he could die quickly.
For a brief moment Thunder gasped as his throat was slit. It hurt for a brief moment but he soon started to pass out, his eyes closing, never to open again.
Already Glade knew that she would have to make his death look like an accident. If Tempest's clan found out he was missing they would never stop looking for him. She knew she had to dispose of his body somehow but for now she just buried her face into his shoulder and wept. The light from the moon started to fade, shrouding the land in darkness, leaving Glade all alone in the dark as she cried and grieved.
Back in the present time, Glade was still looking at Thunder's claw in her gasp. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before clenching her talons and turning to exit the cave, entering the battlefield outside.
Eclipse, Aurora, and Cyclone had managed to round up a few warriors and hunters to fight with them. All the other hunters and warriors in the camp were scattered and fighting for their lives with no direction or leadership. At least six hunters and three warriors joined the trio in the center of the battlefield. The group of them formed a circle, each one facing outwards to protect each others backs.
"This way!" Eclipse yelled out to all of them. "We have to get to Tempest before Glade kills him! Hurry!" She said looking up towards the hill where Tempest was resting in a cave. Many Vrykul and Purple Dragon's blocked their way and it would take some time to fight their way through the seemingly endless horde of enemies.
Tempest was laying in his cave, still wracked with pain. When he looked up, he saw Glade passing by her guards and coming to confront him. He growled and snarled at her angrily.
He lowered his brow as she sat down and looked over him. "You've come to leer over me like a crow have you? Come to watch me suffer?" He said with a scowl.
"You've caused no small amount of suffering yourself, Tempest." She said with her brows lowered also.
Tempest chuckled through his pain. "Just as Nithogg taught you, hmm? All wrongdoings must be repaid with revenge?"
She shook her head. "Not revenge. Justice. You claim to be a just leader, yet your actions say different."
"What is my crime then? Not letting your group of brutes and thugs into my camp?" He said, clenching his chest as he felt another sharp jab of pain from the poison.
"Nithogg is dead. I killed him myself. His influence has washed away. I lead my clan by my own set of rules, by my own judgment, yet you still label us as if we were all still Nithogg's lapdogs. If it were up to you, you would have my clan and your clan live separate and war with each other until the end of time. I have a different vision for the future, Tempest. Your clan and my clan will learn to live together. We will grow strong, far stronger than the Vrykul. Your clan will learn to live by my rules or they will die." Glade said.
Tempest huffed. "My clan will never bow to a lying, treacherous thug like you. If you rule through fear, the only thing to come of it will be revolution. Though who am I to lecture such a wise and experienced leader like yourself?" He said sarcastically.
"Don't patronize me, Tempest. I see through the lies and hypocrisies of this clan. You teach peace yet plan to slaughter my people in the dead of night... you preach freedom yet confine my clan to a land with barely any food... you preach equality yet you refuse to take in any dragon of purple scale color." Glade said.
He clenched his teeth and held his chest once more. "I took you in." He said looking up to her. "Nobody wanted you. Not even Nithogg. I believed in you... I believed that you had goodness inside of you despite your upbringings..." He huffed. "I was a fool to trust you."
She scowled at him at remained silent as she watched him cough and twitch slightly in pain.
"So what now? You think your people and mine will just follow you like that? Leadership has to be earned through respect. You assumed power by default just because you finished off your wounded leader. You haven't the first clue how to lead." He taunted.
Glade shook her head again. "My clan follows me because they believe what I say. They believe that your clan is corrupt. I watched as my own friends and family starved to death because of your greed for land. Your council makes you weak... it makes you slow to act. You knew about my camp for a week yet did nothing. A true leader needs to be swift and decisive. If something threatens your clan, you don't debate and discuss, you act. The will to act is everything." She said.
"Dragons weren't meant to live like this." Said Glade. "This feud between our clans is pointless. You would have us live apart and fight while the Vrykul take everything from us. The Vrykul are the real enemies to all dragons. This isn't how it should be, we should live together in harmony and take down our foe together." Glade added.
"Such wise words... one might even think you a scholar with such talk. Yet the only way you can accomplish your goals is through murder and mayhem." He said through increasingly painful breaths.
Glade turned her head away from him. "I small price to pay. Sometimes people have to die for things to change. You should have kept your eyes on the real threat instead of on us." She said.
"Don't lecture me, child." Tempest snapped. "You threw in your lot with the very Vrykul who threaten us both. You murdered your own Highdragon and usurped leadership and suddenly you think you're my peer? What a joke!" He snapped. "You haven't a clue what you speak of." He said angrily.
"I do." She said turning back and getting close to him. "You and your council are a disease upon this land... and I am the solution." She said, extending a toe towards him, placing a sharp claw on his neck. "You've caused enough pain and suffering. You have lived your last day." She said.
"My clan will rise up against you. Your days are already numbered. I have nothing further to discuss with you, Snake." He said as he watched her stand over him. He huffed one last time. "Well what are you waiting for? If you're wanting me to beg you'll be disappointed. Finish it you coward!" He said before spitting at her foot as she outstretched her claws towards his throat.
Glade wiped her claws off with her wings and leaned back over him. "We'll see..."
On the battlefield, Eclipse, Aurora, Cyclone, and ten other warriors were fighting there way up the hill to Tempest's cave.
"We're almost there! I can see Glade's bodyguards!" Eclipse said as she broke rank to viciously assault the guards standing watch over the cave.
Aurora and Cyclone stood shoulder to shoulder as they projected a barrier in front of the rest of the group. Already they were tiring and losing stamina but they soldiered onward to save Tempest. After holding the rear position long enough for Eclipse to dispatch the guards, Eclipse finally spoke up.
"The rest of you stand watch outside! Aurora and Cyclone with me! Let's go!" Said Eclipse as she was in a hurry to save her mate.
The three of them hurried into the cave, all the while Eclipse was growling with anger. "Glade! It's over!" She yelled as she got deeper into the cave but heard nothing from inside.
They scoped out the cave until they reached the end. Eclipse was still on the prowl looking for Glade but once she reached the back of the cave, there in front of her laid Tempest, his throat slit wide open and no longer moving.
"No..." Eclipse said, her heart sinking to the bottom of her chest.
Aurora and Cyclone's jaws dropped and they covered their mouths with their wings in shock and horror.
Eclipse ran up to Tempest's body. "No...no no no... Tempest..." Eclipse said as her eyes swelled up with tears. She looked down upon her beloved mate, and despaired. She wailed out loud as she hugged Tempest's dead body close to her chest, getting blood all over her but she didn't care. Her tears streamed down her cheeks and onto Tempest's once warm and friendly face.
Aurora and Cyclone were choked up. As they covered their mouths in horror, they couldn't help but shed a few tears. They were too late. Their once proud, respected, and brave leader had been executed. Their clan was no more.
After a while of silent respect, the guards outside started to shout for assistance as Glade's and Irglov's warriors were rapidly approaching.
Aurora and Cyclone quickly ran outside the cave and reformed the line with the remaining warriors. Both of them were enraged at their leaders death and began clawing, slashing, and burning everything in their path.
As Aurora looked around her, the rest of her clan had surrendered and they were all being tied up. Countless red and blue dragons were laying on the ground as Vrykul bound their limbs. Aurora, Cyclone, Eclipse, and the ten warriors were the only ones left.
The Vrykul and Glade's clan advanced forward up the hill, fighting vigorously with Aurora and Cyclone as they made their last stand. One by one the warriors started to fall until only Aurora and Cyclone were left, standing back to back, fighting desperately. Through all the chaos, violence, and bloodshed, one voice rang out.
"Enough!" Glade shouted loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Aurora, Cyclone...I suggest you surrendered immediately. I don't want to have to hurt the little one." She said holding up Daisy who was crying for her mother.
"Daisy..." Aurora said, as both she and Cyclone were horrified at seeing their child in the hands of the one who overthrew their clan.
"Okay Glade..." Cyclone said trying to sound calm. "We give up. Just please don't hurt her." He pleaded.
"On your bellies. Front and back legs stretched out." Glade demanded.
Aurora and Cyclone had no choice but to surrender. They both laid down on their bellies and did as Glade instructed.
"Tie their feet up." Glade said to the Vrykul. The Vrykul then started to wrap Aurora and Cyclone's feet together with rope.
Aurora remained still she felt her feet being bound. When she looked around, there were many dead bodies of Vrykul and dragons of all color. So much death, destruction, and misery. Even at this moment it all felt like a bad dream. Once she and her mate were firmly bound, Aurora looked up to Glade.
"You win... Please... please don't hurt my baby." She pleaded. "Let me have my baby please!" She said.
Glade nodded and let Daisy go. Once released, Daisy gently crawled her way over to her mother, crying all the way. Once she was close enough, Aurora scooped up her daughter in her front legs even though they were bound.
Glade appeared satisfied as she looked around at the camp, having successfully conquered it. Irglov, leader of the Vrykul approached Glade.
"We have done as you asked. We have kept out end of the deal. We trust you will keep yours?" He said as his clan rallied behind him.
Glade nodded to him. "You have done well. You may take Nithogg's old camp and my temporary camp for your own. Let peace exist between us for many years to come." Glade said before bowing.
Upon hearing this news, Cyclone was fuming with anger. "Glade had threw her lot in with Vrykul in exchange for land?!" He thought to himself.
As the Vrykul began to leave to colonize their new land, the leader of Glade's warriors spoke to her. "What should we do with them?" He said.
Glade wiped the blood off of her face and composed herself. "Gather them all up." She said. "It's time for a little clan meeting."