?: *Is typing on a keyboard. They are cloaked and hooded, but their hands are clearly orange.*
Apollo: Grand Inquisitor. Care to tell me what you're doing out of your universe?
Grand Inquisitor: Oh, you know, world between worlds and all that...
Apollo: Just... go back to your universe. We're writing your story, alright? I've got at least 17 pages of it!
Grand Inquisitor: *Disappears*
Artemis and Hermes enter the room.
Apollo: First off, sorry for the delay. I wanted to have this out over two weeks ago, but we got sick, and school started again, and general life happened. We'll try to make this quick...
Hermes: To Unazaki: [REDACTED TO AVOID SPOILERS]. To Guest, thanks. We hope it'll continue to improve!
Artemis: To Jdragon8: Thanks! Keeping Gill alive may have been my idea. I liked his character in book 9 and really wanted to explore it more.
Apollo: It wasn't. It was my idea, because we'd already saved Dune, so why not?
Artemis: SHH! Anyway, to Dragonheart 07 and quinn: Thanks.
Apollo: And please relay to the patron god of Leeroy Jenkins that that's what makes us great. He's god of one thing, and he gotta share that with the better war deity. To PixieCA, thanks. No two wars are alike, so that's already accomplished.
Hermes: To TaziyaKoya: Apollo is the main writer, but we do contribute, and sometimes we argue over small details and where to take the story. As to the rest, thanks. To Unazaki (again): Thanks. It's not an intercontinental war, it's [REDACTED].
Apollo: We have replied to Fus Ro Duh's many reviews via PM. We're shifting towards replying to reviews via PM when it would expand the AN too much. I've got a couple of clues to help you all with the vision. The first is a phrase - "history never repeats, but it rhymes". The second is a word - finch. So far, everyone's been entertainingly wrong.
Artemis: Well, I guess a prophecy is better than a haiku. To conclude the AN, we do not own Wings of Fire, nor the terza rima style of poetry. Enjoy!
Apollo (announcer voice): Now, as Blister ponders stuff, Webs screws up, and Turtle's family is awesome...
EDIT: Apollo: I almost forgot! Near the end, Sunny's enchantment has a flaw in it. Find it for digital cookies. Glacier is using the Philidor defence - for more draco-chess information, check the profile. For status updates, check the profile. We put a lot of stuff on there. Also, how do you like the ending of the Tragedy of Orca? I felt terza rima was thematically appropriate, what with being invented to describe a man's descent into hell. Happy new year!
O brave daughter, what mistake did you make
That shall then cause my rule forevermore
The horror on your face could not be fake.
Has ever a mother mourned more than for
A daughter gone astray, kin against kin
Dead with a silent, agonizing roar?
My daughter, you were always great within.
The Tragedy of Orca, death stanzas, by Queen Coral of the SeaWings
A few hours ago…
Oh, how I hate the water.
Perhaps it is natural, for I am of the desert, of the heat and the sun, but what an inconvenience it is when my allies dwell beneath the waves and behind stone walls, hidden from view. Even worse when I cannot escape the water even above the surface. Now where were those spiral rocks…
Ah, there they are. Suppressing a shudder, I dive through the seaweed, making my way through the tunnel that had been redesigned specifically to accommodate me and mine, surfacing to find… oh no… he was supposed to be captured.
"King Gill… such a pleasure."
"Charmed, Princess Blister," Gill replies blandly, one of the few SeaWings who dared address me by the title I technically had not yet managed to cast off.
"I had heard you were captured by Scarlet… I feared the worst. How did you escape?"
"I didn't. I was rescued by six remarkable dragons as I slept. You might have heard of them…" he trailed off with a smirk. "Oh, and I'm afraid your cave flooded in the storm."
Damn him and damn the rain. "Have you alternative accommodations, Your Majesty?" I ask, unable to stop my annoyance from leaking into my voice. At that, the blasted SeaWing just grins.
"I'm afraid we were unaware of your arrival, Your Highness, as you neglected to send word that you were coming. However, feel free to look around and find a cave that's to your liking."
Translation: You didn't bother to tell us you were coming, so your discomfort is on your head, and as an added bonus, you can now go cave shopping in the rain, which I know you hate.
"I shall go and do that then. Where are these six remarkable dragons anyway?"
"Well, one of them went south after we got out of Scarlet's palace. The other five… one of them disappeared when we arrived here, haven't seen her since. One was allowed to roam free within the palace, and recently visited the Deep Palace alongside the queen. As for the other three…" his grin took up almost his entire face at that point. "Seeing as we didn't have any prepared cells here that wouldn't cause the two who were free to break them out and disappear from the palace, we elected to house them in your cave!"
Damn him. "The one that's flooded?"
"Oh, don't worry, we got them out."
Not what I meant and you know it, you insufferable dragon. You know what, I'm going to be eating fish for the next few days. Never mind the fact that I don't particularly like fish. It's healthy, anyway. "Then I shall take my leave, if that is all right with you."
"Oh, don't let me slow you down!"
Thank Jerboa for small mercies. Why Scarlet didn't kill him, I'll never know. If only it had been Burn that got her talons on him after I sounded the retreat that day…
"Your Majesty, the SeaWings have engaged the enemy! We await your signal!"
We stood on the shore of the Sky Kingdom. If Blaze was competent enough to follow simple directions, and if she wasn't Queen Glacier certainly was, the IceWings and SandWings of Blaze's faction were launching a series of raids into Burn's territory, as well as advancing on Scarlet's forces, keeping them pinned down and unable to assist our enemies of the day. A second messenger flew down.
"Queen Blister, the MudWings are attacking from the Diamond Spray Delta!"
"One second, please," I say with a forced smile. Then I wander behind a boulder and proceed to swear viciously, concluding with "Morrowseer, you camel-faced buffoon, this is not the time to test my patience!" Then I return to the messengers. I had hoped to do this in a controlled manner, being able to verify his death, which would devastate Coral and leave her even more open to my advice, but this would have to do. It would look more natural, anyway.
"Sound the retreat. We go back into the bay. Signal the reserves on the way."
"But, Your Majesty, the SeaWings!"
I'd kill him, but it's so rare that my underlings show independent thought, and I still need him. "They are to retreat also. If we're still here when the MudWings arrive, we're all dead."
"Y-yes, Your Majesty," the minion said, flying towards the front shouting "RETREAT!" at the top of his lungs. Gill always leads from the front, so upon the retreat, he will either succeed, which fulfills a tactical objective anyway, or fail and be captured, or better yet, killed. Commander Shark is a competent enough replacement, I think, and Gill's incapacitation one way or the other gives me more control over the SeaWings. Now, if Whirlpool can do what he says he can, I will effectively rule over two tribes at war's end, and it will be ever so satisfying to do what no other dragon ever has and likely will never do.
Ah, good times. But those meddlesome dragonets broke him out. At least they threw my enemies into chaos, but now my understanding with Blaze was in jeopardy. If she didn't stop to think, she could destroy Burn, and the IceWings were unassailable behind their Great Ice Cliff. If she did stop to think, she could damage me, enticing Burn to drive my army into the sea. No, better if the dragonets simply quietly obeyed me, but I'm no fool. That's never going to happen. All I can realistically hope for is for the NightWing to see reason. After Scarlet, they would never support Burn, and if I can stop them from going to Blaze… I had narrowly avoided disaster. If it had been Moorhen who captured them, or if Blaze were allowed near them… I am many things, but I'm not more charismatic than my irritating younger sister or the gentle queen of the MudWings. But first, caves. I spend a while going through caves, never satisfied. The ones near sea level are already flooded, or in danger of being so, but I find a good cave. There is only one problem - it is already occupied. However, it was by the very dragons I hoped to find. They are all asleep. How cute. I settle down in the mouth of the cave to wait.
Now…
Don't panic.
That was the advice Kestrel always gave the dragonets about going into a fight you weren't sure you could win. Of course, Starflight was sure she never anticipated them in a cave with Princess Blister of the SandWing tribe in the entrance. One false move, one errant word, and he was sure that the aspiring queen would have no qualms about killing them all where they stood.
Well, all except Tsunami. Queen Coral would probably be a little annoyed if her ally murdered one of her two daughters.
"Wake up, you lazy snoring manatees," Tsunami hissed quietly, poking Sunny and Clay. Clay grumbled a little, muttering about hippos, and Sunny calmly opened her eyes. Blister was, of course, watching all this with amusement.
"Well, hello," said the cause of Pyrrhia's suffering for the last twenty years or so. "So nice to meet you. I'm Queen Blister. They're up here," she called again. "Staying dry out of the storm, I presume," she went on conversationally. "Very wise. I would have done the same thing."
Bright smashing suns, now what? Glory was outside, safe and hidden, but also not in a position to help immediately. If this came to hostilities, Sunny's magic would be required to get all five dragonets out of the Summer Palace alive.
A flurry of wingbeats announced Queen Coral's arrival on the ledge outside the cave, Anemone in tow and three SeaWing guards, plus Gill, following close behind. "So they are," Queen Coral said. She took a deep breath before turning to Blister with outstretched arms and wings spread wide. "Queen Blister, my friend," she said. "You got my message! I'm so glad you came. I knew you'd want to hear right away that we found Gill. Oh, and the dragonets, too." She waved her tail at the four dragonets. Gill made a face behind Coral's back. Starflight couldn't see Blister's reaction.
Blister clasped Coral's front talons in hers and quickly let go. "I was… thrilled to hear it," she said. "And one of them was your beautiful missing daughter, as we always suspected. But Coral, where is the RainWing?"
When did she have time to look at Tsunami's patterns? And why did she narrow her eyes at Gill when she said that? And how did she know that Glory was a RainWing?
"She vanished soon after the dragonets arrived here. We think she's still here somewhere, but we don't know where." At that, Gill grinned at Blister for some reason. Coral didn't notice, continuing on. "Oh, yes! Tsunami, say hello to my ally, Queen Blister."
"We've met."
Oh, right, Morrowseer probably told her. He reached out to Glory.
"Do not visit us. Blister is here."
Wasn't planning to. I'm busy impersonating Tsunami to gain entry to the kitchens.
"Then introduce your friends," Coral ordered, smiling at Blister.
Sunny was craning her neck around Tsunami to get a better view. Catching his eye, she frowned. "Should I magic her?"
"No."
"Why not? She's the one that started the war, we were never going to choose her."
"We kill her here, we burn bridges with the NightWings."
"I never said kill…"
"Marvelous," Blister drawled smoothly, not knowing how close she had come to death… or incapacitation. Starflight must have missed Tsunami's introduction. "All so brave and clever-looking. SkyWings are overrated anyway."
What, did she think they were two? If Blister wanted to manipulate the dragonets, she could at least make an effort.
"So I've heard a lot about you," Blister continued, slithering up to Starflight and running a claw slowly down his neck. Incredibly creepy… and a transparent threat.
She glanced down at Sunny next. "Sweet," she commented. Sunny frowned.
"Can I magic her now?"
"No."
"And you must be the burly one," she said to Clay, squeezing one of the muscles in his forearm.
"I- I guess," Clay stammered.
"Now?"
"Just don't magic her! Yet."
"I'm sure you've heard things about me, too," Blister said, returning to the queen's side. Her tail slid across the cave floor, snakelike, the venomous tip rattling on the stone. Another threat. "But you can't always trust rumors and propaganda, especially when it comes to a big responsibility like the prophecy. So ask me anything you like. I'd be delighted to help you make your decision - although of course I hope you'll choose me." Her glittering eyes swept over all of them again and back to Coral. "So, Coral, what's for breakfast? Fish, I hope?" At that, she glared at Gill behind the oblivious queen's back, Gill winking - winking at one of the most dangerous dragons alive.
"Yes, what a good idea. There will be fish, don't worry. Let's go eat," said Queen Coral. "And then you can tell me the latest updates from the war. We hear something odd is going on with the SkyWings. Anemone, Tsunami, come."
Tsunami's gills flared.
"Let the others come, too," Blister said hurriedly. "I'd love to get to know them better."
Coral wrinkled her snout at the dragonets, but before she could deliver judgement, Gill spoke up. "What a magnificent idea, Blister!" He looked like he was barely restraining the impulse to cackle.
"All right," the queen said smoothly.
As they left the cave, Tsunami poked Starflight.
I think she's involved with the murders. I don't think she'd feel fine with heirs threatening Mother's life when Blister so easily controls her.
"On the contrary, I think she'd want a royal line that she could control. Coral's not young, after all. And don't underestimate Gill. I'm sure there's a story there."
The feasting hall was two levels above the kitchens, so the smells of pickled fish and roasting seagulls ("in honor of our SandWing guests," Queen Coral explained) surrounded them as they arranged themselves around the long, low oval table. Queen Coral's seat at one end of the table was higher than everyone else's, but Gill's, right beside her, was not much lower.
Gill was seated to the queen's right, and Blister to her left. Sunny, Clay, Tsunami, and Anemone were seated on Gill's side of the table, and Starflight found himself sitting beside Blister, opposite Clay. Shark and the other members of the Council filled the rest of the table.
SeaWing guards were arranged around the perimeter of the floor, and a few SandWings started filing in, still breathing hard from their flight. Tsunami glanced at Starflight and tapped her snout.
"What is it?"
I'm about to do something stupid.
"Wait, WHAT?"
"MOTHER!" Tsunami declared dramatically as the wait-staff set bowls of soup in front of each dragon. The reactions were mixed. Whirlpool nearly tipped his bowl onto himself, the queen looked startled, Gill was chuckling, Starflight was faceclawing, Blister's face froze in a pleasant smile (though Starflight could sense her mild confusion), and so on.
"I have something DREADFULLY SHOCKING to tell you!" Tsunami announced loudly.
"Oh?" said Coral. "Could we discuss it after breakfast? In a civilized fashion?"
"NO," Tsunami said, even louder. "This is TOO SHOCKING."
Even SeaWings not invited to the feast were peering out of their caves and poking their heads out of the lake to listen.
"Well, perhaps -" Coral started. Gill was making faces at Shark, who was failing to restrain a glare.
"WOULD YOU BELIEVE," Tsunami yelled calmly, "that my friends - the DRAGONETS OF DESTINY, remember - were CHAINED UP? In YOUR CAVES? By YOUR DRAGONS?"
"What?" Coral said, flapping her wings. She looked thoroughly alarmed (genuine), but was it because she knew and didn't expect to be called on it or just didn't know?
"I KNOW!" Tsunami practically bellowed. "It's UNBELIEVABLE. I'm sure you didn't know anything about it, of course."
"Of course," Coral said hurriedly. "I would never treat any dragonets that way! Especially my dearest daughter's dearest friends. Who are part of the prophecy and everything. And also saved Gill."
"And certainly, disobedience must be punished, right?" Tsunami continued.
"Absolutely," said the queen.
"Well, GUESS WHO ordered your guards to chain up the very dragonets who saved our beloved king?" Tsunami said inexorably. Gill grinned at Shark, who looked horrified. Tsunami flung an accusing talon toward Shark. The SandWing guards shot confused looks at their SeaWing counterparts, who looked like they were about to start cheering. "COMMANDER SHARK! Of all the dragons who should obey you in everything! Is that not UTTERLY SHOCKING?" Blister relaxed, picking up her soup bowl.
"It is," Coral said pleasantly, shooting a dark look at Shark. "Especially when I have never ordered anything remotely similar, and expressly stated that they were guests, not prisoners."
"Imagine the distress the poor guards felt," Tsunami said, "when they were caught between their commander and their queen! Naturally, they chose you as soon as they had the chance. Their commander's actions are hardly their responsibility, right?"
Queen Coral gave Tsunami an appraising glance as Blister looked on, amused. It was, however, Gill that responded. "Indeed. I imagine that their families would have been threatened to force them to do something even remotely treasonous. We should therefore punish the one who forced them to do this."
"Very well. To the dungeon with Commander Shark!" the queen proclaimed. "We will be having a little talk later, brother."
Shark shot a betrayed glance at Blister, brushed off the guards that tried to seize him, and calmly left the room. From the way the guards simply looked on and went to barricade the tunnel, he was going to the dungeons himself.
"That was anticlimactic," Gill rumbled, breaking all remaining tension. They all ate in silence for a few minutes before Blister spoke up.
"If we're quite finished with our morning theatrics, I would love to ask you brilliant little dragonets about the prophecy."
"Now can I magic her?"
"No."
"Starflight can recite it for you," Tsunami said. "He's really good at memorizing things. And he's probably got a plan, too."
"How splendid! How impressive!" Whirlpool said with sincere admiration.
"Squid-brain."
Gill snorted. Coral looked mildly disapproving. Whirlpool didn't notice.
"So shall we hear it?" Blister inquired. A hush fell over the feasting table. Ears were pricked all over the palace. Every dragon in Pyrrhia wanted to hear this.
Think, think, think! What could he say that wouldn't get them killed, but wouldn't outright say that their choice was Blister?
"It's a bit of a work in progress, Your Majesty," Starflight began, "and we've had to adapt it recently. Furthermore, if you know too much of it… how good an actress are you? You'd have to feign surprise before all of Pyrrhia. And if you failed, Burn's faction would no doubt accuse you of interfering and continue the war, prophecy or not." That should do it!
"I notice you didn't mention Blaze, young NightWing," Blister said pleasantly, "but can I count on you to support me?"
"Maybe," Sunny said, equally pleasantly, "you should focus more on what would happen to your plans if, say, a few key elements… died, for instance. Your Majesty."
"Does she speak for all of you?" Blister asked imperiously.
Thankfully, Gill broke in. "I don't think it a good idea to discuss these matters without all five of the dragonets present, Your Highness. Especially considering recent events in the SkyWing palace."
Coral looked alarmed. "Gill, she is the SandWing queen."
"Not. Yet."
"Let's just move on. How is our secret weapon coming along?" Blister said, smiling at Anemone.
"What secret weapon?" asked Gill, slightly nervously. Anemone dropped her head and stared unhappily at the table.
"You'll see, Gill. Whirlpool, come along."
Whirlpool puffed out his chest and stood up. Tsunami got up at the same time, but the queen shook her head, pearls glimmering in the green light. "You can skip this, dear. I'm sure it won't interest you."
"I'd like her to come," Anemone piped up. "Please?"
Blister shook her head minutely at Coral. Regardless, Tsunami soldiered on.
"I'm sure it'll be very interesting," Tsunami said, glancing at Sunny, then at Starflight. "Everything you do is interesting, Mother."
"Please?" Anemone said again.
"All right," Coral said with a sigh. "But not the others."
"I don't see the harm in letting them come," Blister said with a grimace. Gill grinned at her.
"Oh. That's all right, then," Coral amended. "They can come."
Tsunami shared an exasperated glance with Gill.
Blaze stared at the board. It was almost funny, how the war still raged. Her faction still had a king piece - a fully realized Animus, immortal and impervious to harm, but if Blaze's faction was the white army, Jerboa was a light blue piece. She was not Glacier's to command and would laugh if Blaze tried.
"Give up already?"
Oh, and Glacier sat on the other side of the table, playing the black army. Her RainWings were in an aggressive formation, but they limited the movement of her black-squared SkyWing, though that lack of mobility was offset by the fact that Blaze had given up the white white-squared SkyWing, allowing it to be captured by one of her other RainWings.
"No… I'm just thinking."
Of course, the game of queens was a faulty metaphor for the war, but some things fit. Commander Tempest had been a king piece, her death shifting the tide of the war away from Blister, while King Gill was more of a NightWing piece, unpredictable and always one step ahead of the SkyWings. Until he wasn't. Of course, if the SeaWings had an Animus, and given the history of that family they probably would at some point, they would be a RainWing piece primed to king.
Scarlet, of course, was also a NightWing piece, erratic and dangerous, but not overly important. Her champion, Peril, was another king piece, so rare at this stage in the war, and powerful for distinct reasons. Jerboa was one due to her magic, Tempest's charisma and strategic skill made her dangerous, and Peril was reportedly invincible in combat. Blaze reached out and advanced her king's RainWing two squares. Glacier promptly captured it.
What other kings were on the board? The Dragonets of Destiny, for one. Their power came from the prophecy, and they could end the war themselves. The warring princesses were all queen pieces - surprisingly powerful, again for different reasons, but their death - our death, Blaze corrected herself, she hadn't won yet - would end the war for their faction. No, perhaps the dragonets were a queen piece, the hope of the neutral parties. Their deaths would signal the failure of the prophecy and the continuation of the war, and they were destined to remove two queens from the board. Blaze advanced her queen's RainWing forward one square. Glacier captured it, the offending RainWing being captured in turn by the white queen's NightWing. Glacier responded by moving to trade NightWings.
Ah, she'd forgotten that the RainWing that would otherwise be protecting that NightWing had moved out of position to capture Blaze's SkyWing.
Of course, the RainWing pieces of the war were few and far between. The Outclaws of the Scorpion Den came to mind, and the Talons of Peace themselves were another. Blaze captured Glacier's NightWing, threatening her king, prompting a hissed curse and a hurried move two squares forward.
"...impressive."
Camel spit, that move was too clever for stupid vain Blaze! Blaze grinned vacantly.
"Thank you!"
She then proceeded to capture Glacier's lone RainWing with her king. Glacier huffed as she captured the NightWing. The position wasn't hopeless, but Blaze had been careless. She'd need to work harder to lose this game as spectacularly as she usually did.
Burn stared at a board of her own, but unlike Blaze's game, this one was a bit more serious. On the board, made to represent Pyrrhia, various tokens lay to represent troops and important dragons. Burn's own token was in the Diamond Spray Delta, from which she could coordinate the MudWings with Scarlet's rebels, as well as keep watch for when the Dragonets of Destiny left the Kingdom of the Sea. The deposed queen herself had been annoyingly elusive, the only indication of her continued existence being the occasional reports of SkyWing patrols being wiped out by a single dragon, with one survivor left to run back to Ruby and proclaim that the queen was not dead. It had been a terrible mistake, leaving the palace so soon, but Burn knew where the RainWing was aiming. If not for her timely use of Queen Scarlet as a shield, Burn herself would be severely injured or dead.
The tokens for Blaze's faction were arrayed to the north of the Kingdom of Sand. Their borders were mostly constant, always pressuring Burn's northern front, but they were massing on the borders of the Sky Kingdom now. If Burn had to guess, she would say that those troops were a threat to Ruby to join Blaze, and so the MudWings needed to get involved. Skilled though the queen and her loyalists were, far more competent than the palace guards at any rate, but the difference in numbers was too great for Scarlet to prevail alone.
Blister's faction, however, was more mysterious. Burn suspected that the SandWings were based in the vicinity of the scavenger castle near the Bay of a Thousand Scales, but the SeaWings were a massive unknown. Worse, King Gill had been rescued by the Dragonets, and they would have been fools not to bring him home. All of which left Burn in the uncomfortable position of waiting. She could do nothing more against Blaze than she already was, for fear of a SeaWing attack, she could do nothing against Blister's SandWings, again for fear of a SeaWing attack, and she could do nothing against the SeaWings because they were underwater. Sure, there was a palace above the surface, but it was hidden well, and scouts sent to the bay had a nasty habit of vanishing.
"Queen Burn! The spy Crocodile has returned!"
"Send her in at once!"
Crocodile… that was the spy she had sent to infiltrate the Talons of Peace some months ago. What was she doing back so soon? Surely the Talons weren't so stupid as to trust a new recruit with their deepest secrets?
The large MudWing entered the tent, still breathing hard from a no doubt hurried flight, and knelt.
"Crocodile. Have you brought me the secrets of the Talons of Peace?"
The MudWing looked up and grinned exhaustedly. "No, Queen Burn. I've brought you something better. An approach to the Summer Palace of the SeaWings!"
"How," Burn hissed excitedly.
"I convinced one of the Talons of Peace to return home and followed him part of the way. If I may?" Crocodile asked, indicating Burn's board.
"Very well."
Crocodile walked over to a map and traced out a flight path. It began not too far from their current position, likely where the Talon had left the mainland, and continued to the closest large island in the bay, at which it turned northwards. Crocodile jabbed a point east of the next large island.
"This is where I turned back. If you continue following this approach…" she traced another line, stopping at a specific island. "This is the only island large enough for a palace on that flight path. I was careful, I'm sure he didn't realize I was following him." She traced a line from the Diamond Spray Delta to an island near the possible location of the palace. "If a few flights were to be sent with dragonflame cacti and logs, they could rest here before continuing on to the palace itself. Wreck the place and fly back here before the SeaWings can retaliate."
"Very astute," Burn commended. "You have one hour."
"Your Majesty?"
"Eat, drink, rest. I will gather the troops and you will lead them to the palace yourself."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Crocodile intoned, bowing and leaving. She was sure Scarlet wouldn't mind if Burn borrowed the SkyWings she'd left at the delta…
The small procession - four of the five Dragonets of Destiny, Princesses Blister and Anemone, Queen Coral, King Gill, and Whirlpool - went to a high level of the pavilion, an armory by the look of it. Weapons were lined up along one side: white twisting horn spears like the one attached to the queen's tail; battle armor of chain link or scales hammered over more scales; gleaming metal claws not unlike the weapons carried by scavengers. None of the weapons looked particularly special, but they probably weren't there for the weapons. Tsunami was looking sharply at the armor. Following her gaze, Starflight spotted a nick in one of the vests.
"May I?" Whirlpool said officiously, gesturing to one of the strands of pearls on Coral's wings. She dipped her wing so he could remove it. He strutted to the center of the bowl and carefully laid the rope of pearls on the floor in front of him.
"Looks like we were right," Starflight broadcast to Tsunami. Tsunami grimaced.
"All right," he said, rubbing his talons together. "See if you can make it crawl over to the wall."
Sunny stared piercingly at Anemone. Clay looked confused for a second, then understood what exactly was happening. Gill looked conflicted. Anemone merely sat down next to Tsunami and sighed. "Do I have to?" she said. "It seems like a waste."
"Practicing is never time wasted," Whirlpool said, wagging a claw.
"But I don't want to end up like Albatross," Anemone said, flicking her wings and edging a little closer to Tsunami.
"He made an entire pavilion grow from stone before he went mad and tried to kill everyone," Whirlpool said patronizingly, prompting Gill to glare at him. "You have a way to go before that happens. Now. The necklace, please."
Anemone sighed again, prompting images of a statue to surface in Starflight's mind. She held out her front talons and the necklace began to slowly wind toward the wall, moving in curves like a snake.
"You're an Animus," Gill said, seeming as though he was unsure whether to be fearful or proud.
Anemone dropped her talons, and the necklace stopped moving. "I know," she said with an expression that suggested that she would rather be descended from a cactus.
"We've had a few Animus dragons in the royal family," Coral said proudly. "But not in several generations. Anemone was hatched just in time to help us win this war."
"Careful," Blister said with a hiss.
"Any fool can realize that an Animus dragon would be very useful in battle," Coral said. "There are lots of marvelous things we can do with this power."
"Yes, watch this," Whirlpool said. He picked up a metal armor breastplate and flung it up in the air, over the edge. "Catch it with a spear!" he called to Anemone.
None of the spears moved. The breastplate plummeted toward the lake.
"Sorry," Anemone said, not looking sorry at all. "You didn't give me enough warning."
"Ow!" someone yelled from below.
"Anemone," Whirlpool said with a sigh. "Battle is all about quick thinking."
True enough, Kestrel had spent years beating that knowledge into the dragonets' heads.
"How would you know that?" Anemone challenged.
Whirlpool frowned at her and Gill smiled faintly.
"Try it again," Queen Coral ordered, clapping her front talons together. "And this time do as you're told, Anemone."
Whirlpool flung another flat piece of metal armor into the air. Almost immediately, a spear flew off the rack and pierced it through.
Blister and Coral applauded as the spear carefully brought the armor to rest safely on the floor.
"It seems magic can be used non-verbally," Starflight noted, broadcasting to Sunny.
"So it can."
"Impressive," Blister said. "But not much more impressive than what I saw last time. What about progress? What about bigger objects? How much longer must this training go on?"
"I'm sure she's nearly ready," said the queen, at the same time that Anemone said "Years. Lots more years."
Blister's forked black tongue slipped through her teeth, and she narrowed her eyes at Anemone. "Coral," she said, tilting her head.
"Stay here," Coral ordered. She gestured for Gill to follow her, a move met with a grimace from Blister, and slid as far away as the harness would reach and crouched with her wings spread, whispering to Blister and Gill.
Whirlpool strutted over to the gathered dragonets. Anemone twitched a claw, and suddenly the pearl necklace he'd left on the floor whirled around, whipped under his belly, hovered tauntingly for a second, and soared off the ledge. With a yelp, the green dragon raced after it, diving over the edge.
"This is what you have to save me from," Anemone whispered quickly.
"The boring lessons?" Tsunami asked sardonically. "Sure, I'll get right on that."
"Don't bother answering," Clay broke in. "She's teasing you. You're talking about the wanton use of magic, aren't you?"
"Yes," Anemone said, relieved. "According to Blister, I should be able to enchant the Sky Kingdom's palace to cave in on all the SkyWings. She wants me to curse a spear to search for Burn's heart and not stop until it kills her." Anemone edged closer yet to Tsunami. "But I don't know for sure if I can do any of that. I'm scared to try. I don't want to try. Every time an Animus dragon uses her power, she loses a bit of herself." Tsunami's sister held out her talons as if they might not really be hers. "Albatross was a prince and a hero at first, but they didn't know about the price of Animus magic then. Building the pavilion turned him evil." She slipped a talon into Tsunami's grasp. "I don't want that to happen to me," she said softly.
Tsunami pulled Anemone into a hug. As she released her sister, Sunny spoke up.
"No one can make you do magic. They'd have to be dumber than Blaze to try. You have within you the power to crush mountains, but whether you do so is your choice. You have the power to destroy… but also to create, to make things that endure long beyond your death," she began quietly. "For instance, this pavilion, or the dreamvisitors, or the Eye of Onyx. Be wise, princess. What will be your legacy?"
Silence reigned for a few seconds, broken only by the fervent whispering of the elder royals. Clay coughed. "A bit deep, Sunny. Regardless," at this he turned to Anemone, "she's right. Your mother might tell you what to do, but what's your line in the sand? Where do you say 'enough'? Be true to yourself. Don't let anyone else make you compromise your morals."
"And who knows?" Starflight murmured. "Your father might understand where your mother does not."
"I… thank you," Anemone answered.
"In the meantime, we still need to figure out what's killing our sisters," Tsunami said. "That reminds me, if none of us survive, who's queen after Coral?"
Anemone flicked her tail around and studied the end of it. "Who knows? I don't think a queen has ever died and passed on the throne peacefully, at least not in our kingdom. And who else would challenge her? I heard Uncle Shark say once that maybe a son should inherit… but I guess it would probably be our cousin Moray. Except she doesn't want the job - she wants Coral to be queen forever. At least, that's what she says."
"You don't believe her?" Tsunami asked.
"There's just something weird about her," Anemone said. "Isn't there? It's like she must be faking, because nobody could really act like that all the time and mean it."
"Maybe…"
Queen Coral's wings fluttered closed. "In the meanwhile," Tsunami whispered quickly, "keep acting like you need more training. Make mistakes if you have to. Make them think you aren't ready for as long as you need to."
"Mistakes," Anemone sighed. "Why didn't I think of that?"
Queen Coral slid back to them, twisting her snout from side to side while Gill and Blister glared at each other behind her. "Where's Whirlpool?" she asked.
"I think he lost something," Anemone said innocently.
"Queen Blister wants you to try -"
Blister's head snapped up. She stared around the cavern, poised in eerie stillness, nothing but her eyes moving. Starflight reached out - minds around him, below him, and… above him?
Blister's gaze slowly lifted up to the canopy of leaves and vines overhead. The canopy rustled. Something - someone big was moving around up there. Someone familiar.
Queen Coral hissed softly. "I'll call my guards," she said.
"Wait." Blister lifted a claw. Her voice barely stirred the air. "We want to catch the intruder, not scare them off." She flicked her tail. "Come." Quietly she slithered over the side of the pavilion and flew to the cliff wall.
Coral, Anemone, and Gill followed immediately, and the four - five, Glory was flying invisibly from the kitchen level - dragonets of destiny went after them.
"It's Webs," sent Sunny.
"Yes, it is. Warn the others, I'll keep an eye on Blister."
"Will do."
Blister landed on a ledge beside the tallest waterfall. The water spilled out of a hole high above, nearly at the level of the canopy. It rushed in torrents down the cliff wall, dividing around boulders and sending out small clouds of spray.
More importantly, it was loud, loud enough to hide the wingbeats of nine dragons.
At the top of the waterfall, the SandWing hovered for a moment, studying the canopy carefully. From this height, the dragons far below looked like lizards, scurrying about. Starflight could see Whirlpool paddling frantically in circles with talons outstretched, trying to catch the pearl necklace as it twisted away from him. Glancing at Anemone, she was idly twirling her claw in circles, smirking slightly.
The canopy was thick and green, vines twisted together over centuries and leaves the size of dragon talons. Small blue flowers shaped like broken eggshells shone in the small sunlit gaps.
Webs stirred the leaves, crawling through the vines not far from the edge of the cliff.
"A spy," Queen Coral hissed under her breath.
Webs froze for a moment, and Blister struck, darting up into the leaves. She sank her talons into him, ripped him brutally out of the canopy, and flung him at Gill. A dragon-sized hole remained in the canopy.
Webs collided with Gill, slamming them both into the cliff wall. The Talon of Peace flapped his wings, pulling back, and Gill glared at Blister before realizing just who had been thrown at him.
"Oh," Blister said, sounding disappointed. "It's just a SeaWing."
"Not just any SeaWing," Coral said as Gill grabbed Webs by his neck. Her green eyes were sparks of rage and triumph. "This is Webs, our tribe's biggest traitor. I've been looking for him for years."
"Your Majesty - Majesties," Webs croaked, correcting himself when he recognized the king. He scrabbled at his throat. "Please. I've come to beg for mercy."
"Mercy," Coral hissed. "After what you did." She snarled at him. "Mercy denied." She moved to strike him, but Gill blocked her. "Gill, what is the meaning of this?"
"Coral, a traitor he may be, but we cannot ignore that through his crime, he saved Tsunami's life."
"But he is a traitor, and should be rewarded as a traitor deserves."
"Yet did he not raise Tsunami well? Did he not teach her Aquatic and help prepare her for life so well that she survived Queen Scarlet's arena?"
"Very well. He can plead his case," Coral hissed grudgingly.
"Wait," Tsunami broke in. "Webs, what are you doing here? We told you to wait at Jade Mountain with Dune!"
"Tsunami! You're safe! And the rest of you, too… where's Glory?"
"Hiding. And don't change the subject," Starflight answered. "Why did you leave Jade Mountain?"
Queen Coral was barking orders to ensure that no more Talons were in the area as Webs answered. "I had to warn the Talons that you were captured. They already knew - Scarlet wasn't exactly subtle - but they had a backup plan of sorts, one that meant they needed me dead. Crocodile helped me get away, and… I came here."
Gill shook him a little. "Were you followed?"
"I… no, I wasn't. I checked, and I swam part of the way, too deep to be seen from the surface. How did you escape?"
Sunny answered that one. "Starflight made a plan, got Clay to execute it when the NightWings took him away, and met up with us later."
"So," Queen Coral said menacingly, Blister looming behind her. "Welcome back, Webs. I thought you were too cowardly to ever return."
"I know I am not worthy of your mercy, Your Majesty," Webs said, kneeling. "But I heard - I hoped…"
"Why did you steal one of my eggs?" Queen Coral demanded. "You could have stolen from any other dragon in the Kingdom of the Sea."
Tsunami twitched.
"It had to be an egg due to hatch on the brightest night," Webs said, voice wavering. "And it had to fit the prophecy - the SeaWing egg of deepest blue. I'd seen your eggs when I was guarding them, before I… before I left."
"You mean ran away," Coral snarled. "In the middle of a battle."
"I remembered her egg," Webs pressed on, his wings drooping. Blister looked positively gleeful. "It was so blue - it had to be the right one. I'm so sorry, Your Majesty," he said in a rush. "But for peace… how could I not take that chance?"
"And how did you get into the hatchery?" Coral's tail lashed threateningly. "I had guards posted at that door every moment until the eggs hatched."
Could there be a secret way into the hatchery that the assassin could use?
"I drugged the guards," Webs admitted. "I - I knew someone who helped me slip a sleeping potion into their evening meal, bought it off a RainWing. They were asleep when I crawled in and out again with the egg. It wasn't their fault."
Coral struck him across the snout. "I killed them anyway," she snarled, "Their lack of vigilance risked what was not theirs to risk. As for the someone who helped you - your wife, I assume?"
Webs flinched.
"I thought so. Stupid of her not to run away with you. Of course, that's why she was reassigned from the kitchens to active duty in the war soon after. Too bad that first battle was such a bloodbath."
"Ordinarily, I would have spoken against it," Gill said quietly. "But you risked far too much in your theft. In your pursuit of peace, you risked Tsunami's sisters."
Webs looked as though all the light had been scraped out of his scales. Sunny edged a little closer, and Glory briefly shimmered light blue before returning to invisibility. Fortunately, no one noticed.
"The dragonets are safe…" Webs said quietly. "Do whatever you like to me, just… keep them safe. Please."
"I will," Coral rumbled. "We can start with you telling me where to find the Talons of Peace."
"Pointless," Gill interrupted before Tsunami could protest. "We can't spare the troops to hunt them down."
"For future reference, Gill, Shark keeps me updated on the war -"
"Your Majesty!" cried a messenger, tumbling out of the air and skidding to a stop at Queen Coral's claws. He bowed low, covering his head. "We found a suspicious dragon lurking outside. He must be working with Webs."
"Bring him to me," Queen Coral growled in a voice that rang off the cavern walls.
The messenger pointed down at the tunnel, where Piranha and a troop of SeaWing soldiers were dragging someone into the Summer Palace. They heaved him out of the water to fly him up to the queen. Riptide's talons flopped to the side, his eyes were closed, and he was bleeding heavily from a claw wound.
[Line Break]
It was a strange week.
Not exactly a bad strange, but Turtle had heard the rumors from the surface, that the king had been rescued, that the Dragonets of Destiny, the sister he had never met, had come to the Kingdom of the Sea. Then to see those rumors confirmed as his mother and her retinue had come storming down to check on the eggs, and the uproar when King Gill (not father, never father, he didn't deserve to call him that) had convinced Mother to bring the eggs to the Summer Palace (safety). He had even seen the wayward sister, waved to her, and seen the recognition in her eyes of the royal patterns on his wings. Now he, and five of his small army of brothers, sat in Fin's room in the Princes' Wing.
"So we have another sister," said Azure, who was from the same hatching as the mysterious elder princess. "I'd thought she was dead."
"So it seems," responded Fathom, one of the oldest princes, named for the Animus prince of old.
"What's her name?" asked Trench, the only prince at the little gathering younger than Turtle, being from Anemone's hatching.
"Tsunami," stated Fin, aspiring cartographer extraordinaire. "I heard from Uncle Shark."
"What's she like?" Octopus was talking, a prince from Turtle's own hatching.
Trench was the one to answer. "She's… nice. A little intense. I talked to her while Mother and Father were discussing what to do with our newest sisters. A bit rude, though, didn't really introduce herself."
Turtle winced. Fin was quick to comfort him.
"Turtle, that wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known what Snapper looked like, or where she was. She wasn't even in the Deep Palace when Father sent you to find her."
"No, no, there had to have been something I could do. I could have stood guard myself -"
"And what good is a two-year-old dragonet against an assassin that was killing since well before you hatched?" Fathom interrupted.
"I could have hid. Even if I couldn't save them, I could have hid and seen who did it."
Or used his magic, but nobody knew about that. Nobody could know about that.
"Father's back now," Fin noted. "You can clear things up with him. He's usually very calm, I don't think he really meant what he said to you that day -"
"But whether or not he did, he was still right. I failed. I volunteered for a task I couldn't do -"
"But not because of any failure of yours," Octopus said. "I was there, remember? Are you forgetting that you asked others where she was? Only an Animus could get to the Summer Palace and back in the time you would have had to."
"And Father failed too," Fathom added quickly. "He left to get a healer instead of waiting. I saw him berating himself over it - when I asked he said that Abalone told him not to leave."
Trench hugged Turtle. "If you want, I can be there when you talk to Father," he offered.
"Thanks, Trench, but I can't. The failure is mine." Turtle flexed his claws. "I could still have hidden in the hatchery."
"Consider it," Fin told him. "Sleep on it, and decide whether you prefer going to him yourself… or having us bring him to you. Either way, it's not healthy for you to keep going on blaming yourself when more capable dragons failed to do what you tried. You did your best."
"My best wasn't good enough," Turtle flashed dejectedly. "I need to be better. I - we are princes. We must be the best, an example to all other SeaWings. I failed in my duty as a prince by my composure, in my duty to our father by not succeeding in what he told me to do, and in my duty to myself by failing to keep my word."
"You acted with the urgency expected of that situation, so you succeeded in your duty as a prince. As to the others, you couldn't have kept your word. You had no control over Snapper's location, nor Abalone's sickness. It. Wasn't. Your. Fault." Fathom jabbed a claw at Turtle to emphasize the last four signals.
Before Turtle could respond, Fin beat his wings, sending a pulse of water through the room. "Think on it. Consider how you want to approach the conversation you will have with Father. Go to your room, get a good night's sleep. I'll go to the Summer Palace in the morning and see what's going on." Grinning a little, he continued. "This meeting of the Cheer Turtle Up Club is henceforth adjourned. Skedaddle, all of you!"
"But, Fin! It's midmorning!" Octopus protested.
"Then have a nice midmorning nap."
Yes, a strange week, and all the stranger for the morning's discussion. Still, it wasn't a bad strange.
Webs' scales paled nearly to gray as Riptide was tossed unceremoniously onto the ledge. Which was getting rather cramped.
"Bring them to the… library level." Queen Coral decided. Webs and Riptide were picked up and flown to the library level of the pavilion, the dragonets (one still invisible) and the royals following. Webs seemed to take the time to compose himself. Moray swooped into the library behind them.
"Your Majesty, he had nothing to do with this. He's never had any contact with me since I ran away."
"I think he's telling the truth," Tsunami chipped in. "If Webs was trying to sneak through the canopy, it makes no sense for an accomplice to be captured… where, exactly?"
"Near the main entrance, Your Highness," responded a guard.
"Exactly. Too far, and Riptide doesn't exactly need a sneaky way into the palace. If Webs was working with him, couldn't he just ask Riptide to do whatever he'd need done, since Riptide can just enter without being attacked - what was he even doing when you captured him?" She directed the last question to the guards.
"Screaming and pleading his innocence, Your Highness," Piranha deadpanned.
"Before that."
"Looking shifty."
Gill looked at Piranha. "You need a better reason than that to attack someone who's not obviously an enemy, Piranha, Tempest taught you better than that." Piranha winced. "Sorry, Your Majesty."
"But that family can't be trusted…" Blister murmured, almost too quiet for Starflight to hear. Gill shot her a sharp look.
"Indeed… admit your treachery," the queen spat at Riptide, who had by that time recovered enough to sit up. "Betrayal runs in your family, after all." She swiped half-heartedly at Riptide's snout, but he backed out of reach. Piranha moved to poke him with the spear, but Gill shook his head minutely.
"Don't hurt him," Tsunami said. "Please. He's probably not working for the Talons of Peace…"
Riptide winced, and Starflight shot him a look. Seriously? Regardless of Riptide's dubious loyalties, Starflight spoke up to support Tsunami.
"What are the odds of two Talons on completely unrelated missions in the same place at the same time, Your Majesty?"
"Throw them both in the new prison," Coral said. "We'll find out what we need to know about the Talons later, when I feel a little more violent."
"Don't you have one more question for them?" Blister interjected.
Gill and Coral looked at her, one suspiciously, and the other attentively.
"Why they killed all of your heirs," Blister purred. "I mean, obviously it was them, right?"
"Obviously!" Coral burst out. She glared at Webs and Riptide.
"Working together," Blister murmured. "It's the perfect climax to the story."
"It is," Coral agreed.
"Except that this isn't a story. Blister, what are you playing at?" Gill cut in harshly.
"Playing at? I'm merely solving the mystery, Gill," Blister said. While she appeared affronted, she was positively gleeful. Why?
"Why do you want Webs dead, Blister? Think about it, Coral. They couldn't have destroyed the eggs, at least not all of them. The ones in the hatching before Anemone's. Riptide was halfway across the bay, and where was Webs, Tsunami?"
"Two, three years ago? In the cave with us, helping Dune keep an eye on us. He couldn't have left easily without us knowing."
"How could he have done so?"
"An underground river, the same one we used to escape. It's a tricky swim. I don't think Webs could fit through there, and on the way back, he'd be fighting the current in a confined space. I'm not even sure it's possible." Tsunami finished with a grin.
"So if Webs and Riptide were not involved in one of the killings, that creates doubt in their involvement in the others. By Fathom, if Webs was the assassin, Tsunami would be dead, and the other three eggs would have been smashed that day instead of a week later."
"But there is a motive," Blister said smoothly.
"But no means," Gill countered.
"Their allies in the Talons could have done it. Nautilus, for -"
"And what would one of the three dragons we try hardest to avoid know of Talons leadership?" Webs hissed. Blister looked calm, but a bolt of alarm shot through her.
"I have my spies, of course, and no doubt my sisters have theirs," she responded smoothly.
She'd slipped up. That was the only way to explain the alarm. It would have been Morrowseer that told her, so that meant that the SeaWings didn't know about the agreement between Blister and the NightWings, and she didn't want them to know. Interesting…
"Anyway, this is the ending that wraps everything together. Like in The Claws of Murder, or A Tail of Blood. That one was genius, by the way."
"And you still haven't told us why you want Webs dead. Pardon my bluntness, but you have no stake in this."
Starflight focused on Blister's mind. Images of an island in a storm, Morrowseer, memories of frustration.
"So what you're saying is, two of the three dragons who could present a security risk to our backup plan are off the grid, and the third is being ambushed right now?"
What backup plan? Starflight gently broadcast "Ah, the backup plan," along with a faint feeling of smugness, and -
It's terribly rude to eavesdrop on one's private thoughts, NightWing. Get out.
Starflight complied. Blister glared at him.
"What's wrong?" Coral asked.
"It's nothing."
"Then take them to the prison," Gill ordered. "We'll continue later."
Starflight caught Gill's eye and broadcasted "We need to talk to you alone. Prophecy business."
Gill nodded, drawing a strange look from Coral, but no comments.
[Line Break]
The dragonets had been returned to the cave they had found, Glory following them, and soon enough Gill walked in.
"What's this about prophecy business?"
"Not that prophecy. I had one that's probably about the murders," Starflight explained.
Gill stiffened. "What is it?"
One recited prophecy later, Gill looked a little confused. "Yeah, that's probably Orca if her last words were any indication, but what's with the second bit?"
Tsunami responded. "I think it means that I need to go to the Royal Hatchery and fight the assassin. We need you to cover for me. I'll need a spear, armor, and one or two dragons you trust."
"The prophecy says 'alone'."
"I'll fight it alone. We think the assassin's some sort of enchanted statue, but it's probably enchanted to attack when it thinks it won't be detected, or whatever passes for thinking in a statue. If I can catch it out of position and force it into a situation where it'll be discovered, it'll stop, right?"
"That makes sense," Gill mused. "But I don't like the idea of you fighting an enchanted statue alone. It could be ridiculously strong, fast, invisible while attacking, invulnerable - there's a very real chance you won't make it out alive."
"It wouldn't need to be those things," Tsunami argued. "It's meant to smash eggs."
"At least let Sunny help you."
Starflight shook his head. "We tried to convince her. She's fixated on the idea of destroying the statue piece by piece without magical assistance."
"I won't help you unless you let Sunny help you," Gill said flatly.
"And if you don't help, I'll get the spear and armor from the armory, go to the Deep Palace, grab some dragons who seem trustworthy, and fight the statue anyway."
"Not if we restrain you."
"Prophecy. It's fated. I'll find some way down there."
"She has a point…" Glory murmured, shimmering into visibility.
"Then Sunny can help you whether you want to or not," Gill said, glancing at Sunny. "Right?"
"No," Sunny answered. "I can't know what spear she'll pick, or what armor."
"Can't Starflight?" Gill challenged.
"I'm good, but not that good. Short of having Sunny enchant all the spears and armor, there's no way to guarantee that Tsunami picks up enchanted gear."
"How about this?" Clay offered. "Tsunami can fight the murder-statue alone, with no enchanted gear except for a failsafe. If you feel like it's going to kill you, use the failsafe, ok?"
"Fine," Tsunami said. "What failsafe do you have in mind?"
"I was thinking the spear. You'll be underwater, right? Break the shaft and touch any part of the spear to the statue to encase it in ice, giving you time to escape and get help. Sound good?"
"Sounds good to me!" Sunny chirped.
"I dunno… what if the statue breaks it accidentally?"
"Sunny can also enchant it so that only you can break it, and only by intending to."
"That sounds like it could work," said Glory.
"Then it's settled. Gill, Tsunami, prepare what you need, then bring the spear here for Sunny to enchant. Then Gill will do whatever he can to ensure that Tsunami's not needed up here, and Tsunami will fulfil the prophecy."
"And if Gill fails, I can impersonate Tsunami again," Glory added. "Nobody noticed when I did it to get into the kitchens."
"That's a last resort," Sunny warned. "You won't be able to disguise yourself perfectly. You don't actually have gills or webbed talons, among other things."
Tsunami returned shortly, wearing a light set of scale armor and presenting a mid-sized spear to Sunny.
"I enchant this spear to, when broken and touched to a statue, push it back and encase it in enough ice to give Tsunami the SeaWing time to escape the Royal SeaWing Hatchery. I also enchant it to be unbreakable to any dragon save for Tsunami, and to only break when Tsunami intends to break it," Sunny intoned gravely, waving her talons over the newly enchanted spear.
"Did you need to do that?" Tsunami asked. "That thing with your talons, I mean."
"Nope! I just felt like it. I didn't really have to talk, either, but I wanted to be sure."
"Alright… wish me luck!"
With that, Tsunami turned and dove, being joined by two burly SeaWing guards as she entered the tunnel and left the Summer Palace. Starflight turned to Sunny.
"By the way, what happened with the enchanted stick?"
Sunny grinned and gestured to Glory, who indicated thin bands of seaweed wrapped around her leg.
"I passed it to Glory when we first ran into Shark. Couldn't risk the guards confiscating and losing such a unique item, and nobody notices the RainWing, even when she's stealing seaweed from the entrance. To be fair, it was only a little," Sunny said with a grin.
Glory left after a few minutes, saying it was to keep an eye on Blister. Nothing of consequence happened… until a statue came bursting from the water several hours later.
Gill sat in his pool on the Council level as a debate raged on around him. Now, ordinary debates in the Council were usually about which poor fool would be assigned to the Dragonet Care position, one currently occupied by a very fortunate Tortoise. Minutes later, and she would likely have had her teeth ripped out and her brains splattered all over the floor instead of merely being firmly reprimanded alongside Commander Shark. This argument, however, revolved around the known traitor Webs, and his son the suspected traitor Riptide, both of whom were held in the new prison - and how new the prison was, that Gill had never even heard of its existence, the plans being drafted and executed after his capture.
Of course, only ten of the twelve members of the Council were in attendance - Tortoise was managing the Royal Hatchery, and Shark was still in the dungeon pending a talk with Coral. Unfortunately, Princess Blister had seen fit to attend and was lounging next to Tortoise's pool.
"Let me interrogate Riptide, my queen! I'm sure I can determine whether he is a Talon," requested Cuttlefish, the blue dragon in charge of spying who had held that position since before Coral was queen.
"There is no indication that he is a traitor, Cuttlefish!" Porpoise argued. The dragon in charge of the queen's justice was often at odds with Cuttlefish over due process.
"Piranha captured him lurking outside the palace, what more indication do you want, an admission of guilt?" Cuttlefish snapped.
"Ideally, yes, considering that Piranha admitted that the only reason he was captured was, and I quote, 'looking shifty'."
Most of the Council simply sat back and watched the fierce, and extremely circular, argument, Blister occasionally adding something to help Cuttlefish and Gill supporting Porpoise. Coral looked rather amused. Of course, Gill's job was to keep the meeting going as long as possible, so as to cover Tsunami's absence. Not that Cuttlefish and Porpoise needed help, seeing as they had been arguing for close to half an hour solely over what was to be done with Riptide. Finally, Porpoise raised a new point.
"Perhaps we should discuss the proven traitor before the possible innocent," she pointed out.
"Yes, indeed! Webs is a deserter, a traitor, and a Talon of Peace. I think it obvious what should be done with him - hand him over to me and I'll have him spilling everything he knows about the Talons," Cuttlefish declared.
"I disagree," Blister countered. "He was under a mountain for seven years, at a remove from anything important. Anything he can tell you, my source in the Talons can match and exceed."
"And who is that source, Queen Blister? I would love to interview them," exclaimed Cuttlefish.
"You of all dragons should be aware of the possibility of a traitor, Councillor. All you need to know is that he is a highly placed mole."
Cuttlefish looked slightly disappointed, but didn't comment.
"He is useless to us," Blister continued. "For his crimes, he should be executed at once."
"Unless anyone has objections?" Gill asked, looking pointedly at Porpoise.
"I object. He should be handed over to me and Cuttlefish so that we can determine the full extent of his crimes. Queen Blister's source isn't here right now, so Webs is the only lead we currently have on the Talons of Peace, and therefore the only way for us to know whether other SeaWings are in the Talons."
"But, Porpoise, we have another Talon in custody, and one who has had much more contact with the outside world than Webs! He is superfluous, and therefore there is no point letting him live when his crimes are so great. Even disregarding other crimes he's committed, he is a deserter and guilty of high treason, both of which are punishable by death."
"Riptide is innocent until proven guilty, as you well know, Cuttlefish!"
"He was caught in the act of espionage!"
"He was caught 'looking shifty'. What was he going to hear at the entrance, secret military plans? Piranha, I would hope your dragons have more sense than that."
"They do," Piranha admitted.
"There we go! Right now, he is merely under suspicion of treason, and thus falls under my jurisdiction, which means that Webs is not, in fact, superfluous," Porpoise concluded triumphantly.
"In which case, we should shelve the discussion on what to do with Webs until after Riptide is interviewed by Porpoise's dragons," Gill added helpfully.
"On the contrary, we can simply hand Riptide over to Cuttlefish, as my source has told me that Riptide is a Talon," Blister countered.
"But is your witness reliable? I find it unlikely that your source would be able to name Riptide specifically, seeing as if he were a Talon, he wouldn't be a very important one since he has almost no opportunities to gather information," Gill argued. "In addition to that, you've been expressing a desire to have Webs killed since we caught him. Princess Blister, your judgement is skewed. It is Porpoise's duty to be impartial and thorough, so perhaps we should leave the matter of Riptide to her. My queen, is that acceptable?" And if it is, and Webs should happen to mysteriously escape…
Coral thought it over for a few seconds before nodding. "It is. Riptide shall be interviewed this evening by dragons of Porpoise's choosing."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Now, onto the matter of Webs…" Porpoise said with a grateful nod to Gill. She always hated it when due process was ignored.
"As Gill mentioned, that matter shall be shelved until the question of Riptide's guilt is settled," Coral added grudgingly.
Blister was inscrutable, but Gill was sure she was screaming inside. He had no idea why she wanted Webs dead, but he was more than happy to oppose her.
"My apologies for not being certain," Gill began, not sounding sorry at all. "I have, after all, been to only one other Council meeting in the last year, and that one was cut short, but the next matter to discuss is taxation, right?"
"Indeed," Pearl said. "All SeaWings, save for those currently in the army, pay a monthly tax of five percent of their income. To compensate for the lost tax revenue from the army, the army is not paid, but instead provided with free weapons and armor."
"And, just to check, they are also provided with free lodging?"
"Not just for their benefit but for ours as well," Piranha answered.
"Good, so the same as when I was captured. I'd been meaning to put forward a motion for an alteration to that law. If I may?" Coral nodded. "I propose that we should reduce the taxes levied on those who provide certain services - namely the hunters and Lagoon's aquaculture specialists. Without them, we could not have kept the army supplied adequately at the time I was captured. Piranha, has that changed?"
"If anything, the situation is worse now. When you were captured, the army was providing a third of its own food. Now, that number is down to a quarter owing to the frequent skirmishes and patrols cutting into the time they can use to hunt. Our surplus is dropping, and it was never that large to begin with. I've taken measures to increase the amount of time the army has to hunt for its own food, but that's only a stopgap measure."
"Then I feel that a tax reduction is warranted to entice more dragons to support the army. Those dragons who are barely scraping by but are hesitant to join the army will jump at the chance," Gill said.
"And the reduction in inflow to the crown?" Pearl asked. "This measure could drastically harm the Royal Treasury."
"Which is why we should also establish trade links with the RainWing tribe. Fruits, potions, that kind of thing. Would that work?"
"With a bit more fine-tuning, it should. We'd have to discuss it further."
"Is that all on that topic?" Coral asked.
"Yes, my queen," Gill responded.
"Then Pearl, Gill, Piranha, Lagoon, and Strait will stay behind after the meeting to further discuss alterations to the tax laws and trade links with the RainWings. Moray, anything to report?"
The discussion turned to communication and Piranha's issues with the current system. Yes, it should be simple to keep the meeting going for another few hours, and improve the kingdom while doing so.