A/N: Just a quick note here, this chapter is significantly larger than any other one in this story. This was also one of the several original concepts/stories that really caused me to start this story as a whole, so I had a lot of fun writing this one and I didn't want to break it up, especially with how the entire story is structured. Although I haven't named any chapters (aside from their date), this one can be called "The Frogs and the Lobsters", after the C.S. Forester story that heavily inspired it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and if you do, feel free to review!
Part XII: 26 AWSS
Soon after his arrest, Blizzard was executed, becoming the final victim of the Terror he had created. Afterwards, a new moderate party, known as the Thermoalgians, took control of the government and created a new constitution that sought to prevent the consolidation of power to one dragon. Now named the Third Assembly, the government tried to squash the radical ideas that had fueled the terror. Realizing that they could once again speak out, however, royalists that wanted to bring back the monarchy began to protest and riot in the capital. Luckily for the revolution, the general Napoleon was present in the city and put down the uprising. The other tribes saw what had happened, though, and they saw an opportunity to restore a monarch of their choice to the Icwing throne. With the help of royalist Icewing troops that had formerly fled the Ice Kingdom, the Skywings chose to mount a northern invasion by sea, completely bypassing the dreaded Ice Wall.
The ships in the water tossed and turned with the waves as the dragons pulling them did their best to ensure that they didn't capsize. The weather for their crossing was nowhere near as calm as they had hoped, and the supply ships had been slowing down their advance since they had left port. Dragons didn't normally use ships—they normally never had to—but the sheer amount of munitions required for an army made it necessary to use this mass transit system. After all, if each dragon had to carry their supplies over the sea, most would have been weighed down into the ocean and drowned by now. As it stood, all of the extra food and supplies for their force was on those ships, and it would be a shame if it were to all be lost this close to the mainland. It was going to be hard enough for the Skywings to fight in the cold without the extra trouble of having to procure all of their supplies from the Icewings.
Lieutenant Windblower of Her Majesty Ruby's Army already had a few trepidations about the success of their little endeavor. First was the fact that a sea invasion of this size by non-Seawings had not been tried in the memory of any dragon. Second was the mental health of the dragons who had to be flying almost nonstop over the sea for days. He knew that by the time they reached the coast later today many of them would be complexly exhausted and not in full fighting form. Last was, well, their royalist Icewing "allies".
Yes, they were working together, but not as well as anyone would like. The two forces interacted as little as possible, and when they did interact, fights almost always seemed to break out. Each side thought that they were in charge, causing problem after problem with the battle plans. The Icewings wanted to land here, the Skywings there. The Icewings wanted the Skywings to haul the ships, the Skywings wanted the Icewings to help. The Icewing general wanted full command over the combined force, the Skywing general actually had that command. Complicating matters further was how the Icewing outnumbered the Skywings, seeing as the plan was for the royalist army to actually invade and the Skywings were only supporting them. Windblower worried what would happen if both leaders gave different orders on the battlefield; it could be a massacre.
One of the ships was beginning to tip a little too far for the liking of the dragons pulling its ropes, and Windblower flew down to help them try to stabilize it. Spray from the ocean made him shiver with cold and got salt in his eyes as he pushed against its side to keep it from tipping. His stinging eyes could make out several white shapes around him doing the same, and he couldn't stop himself from thinking that of course it was the Icewings that let their ships go wayward. He let out a small growl to himself as the ship finally got out of danger of tipping; he was a lieutenant in the Skywing army, not some Icewing grunt, and this wasn't what he was supposed to be doing right now.
He stayed close to the ship for a few more minutes—just in case—then flew back higher into the air. The sting of the salt in his eyes was just beginning to go away when an orange Skywing flew up to him. He recognized the new arrival as Lieutenant Bluster, a rather quirky and smallish officer who had earned his rank through his family's wealth instead of training or valor, but still had a lot of heart and a fighting spirit.
"Lieutenant," Bluster said as he approached, giving a small salute. Windblower returned the gesture and greeting before the other dragon continued. "General Soar wishes to see you. He's currently flying point ahead one of the most northern ships."
Windblower nodded and began flying that direction, but he slowed when he saw Bluster following. Looking back, he fixed him with a questioning look; he had expected that Bluster would fill in for him. "I was supposed to find you and return with you," Bluster explained simply, and left it at that.
He turned his head back forewards just in time to avoid colliding with a large Icewing that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He flipped out of the way as the Icewing made no change in direction. He hissed and shouted, "watch it", but the other dragon just kept flying. Whether or not the other dragon hadn't heard or just didn't care was something Windblower would never know.
Bluster flew next to him as he silently fumed. "Ignore them," he said, "The sooner we're done with this whole thing the better."
"You don't trust them either?" Windblower asked.
"No, I don't. Look at them. They're tired; they have been since before we even left. They just want to go home, regardless of who's ruling." He paused for second of though before continuing, "Put yourself in their place. You've been living far from home in a climate that doesn't really agree with you, being with dragons you don't really like. You are then sent back home to battle with those dragons against dragons of your own tribe. What are you likely to do: fight your own tribe and destroy your country, or leave to go back home and try to get on with your life?" He shook his head, "I doubt we'll see much fight from our Icewing allies."
Windblower agreed, but before he could respond they found themselves flying right beside Skywing General Soar and his high-ranking officers as well as the Icewing leaders. They seemed to all be taking civilly with each other about some strategy, which gave him a little bit more hope that this could actually work.
Soar noticed them and gave a smile that looked far too condescending for Windblower's liking. "Ah, Lieutenants Bluster and…pardon…I don't…"
"Windblower, sir," he said. He hadn't really expected the general to remember him, even though they had met a couple of times before.
"Windblower. Yes, well," the general continued without hardly missing a beat, "I have received word from your superior that the two of you have proven yourselves to be competent in the past," he nodded to their captain, one of the dragons that was present, "…So I have a special job for the two of you. Due to a slight change in plans, your captain will need to remain with me for a portion of the upcoming invasion, so I will need you to take temporary control of the Red Wing Battalion. As you know, our target is the coastal city of Freon, but your force will land ten miles to the south at the small town of Shard, as the beaches there are more suitable to landing the ships and supplies. Unfortunately, the two locations are separated by a small river which would ordinarily cause no problem, but because we timed this venture in the summer to avoid the worst of the cold, the ice is at its thinnest. Since the quantitiy of supplies requires transport by land—just as it did by sea—your job is to hold the bridge on the river and ensure the supplies get to Freon once they are unloaded. The majority of the enemy force is expected to be concentrated far to the southwest of Freon and will likely avoid the smaller town, but expect to meet at least a little resistance," The general paused to hand him a scroll. "This is a map of the area, provided by our allies. In addition, you will be accompanied by the Icewing Major Coolidge, the former lord of the town, and a detachment of Icewing troops." A large male Icewing in the group made eye contact and nodded, indicating that he was the Major that Soar had spoken of. "Very well," the general finished, "You have your orders. Take command and veer south of our course to reach your landing area. We're almost to the coast now, and we should be there before noon. I'd advise you hurry to organize your dragons."
With a wave the general dismissed him and returned his attention to the other dragons present. Windblower saluted before turning to fly back to the ships he had left only minutes before. Bluster joined him as well as Major Coolidge, who by rank was now his superior.
"So…you're the former lord of Shard?" he heard Bluster say to the Icewing, no doubt trying to engage in a little bit of small talk, "I suppose your subjects will be happy to see you once more."
"Most of them will," said Coolidge, his eyes darkening, "Some will be sorry to see me. But I will be glad of the encounter."
They flew in silence once more after that until they reached the ships, whereupon Coolidge began to gather and issue orders to his royalist forces. Soon, the dragons pulling on the ships' ropes had adjusted their coarse southward to Shard. Meanwhile, the primary fighting force broke off and headed towards the main objective of Freon. About an hour later the coast of the Icewing Republic (or, rather, the Ice Kingdom as they still referred to it in the Sky Kingdom) appeared on the horizon. A few hours more saw them make their first landing on actual land in over two days, seeing as the only previous respite they had was resting on the wooden ships.
Being an officer, Windblower had the privilege of being one of the first dragons to land. Several soldiers followed and landed with him, but those who were in charge of the ships had to continue their duty at sea. The weather was rather cold (hardly an abnormality in the Ice Kingdom) but not near enough to cause him or his soldiers much harm. After all, dragons are creatures of fire; it would take more than just a bit of cold weather to take him out. He was still just enjoying the feeling of ground under his talons—even if it was snow covered—when Major Coolidge approached him.
"I have given orders for the disembarkation of supplies," the Icewing informed him, "The ships will be grounded along this strip of beach for unloading. I have ordered number four to be the first one unloaded."
"Number four?" he questioned. There were twenty ships that had been dragged across the ocean, and none had any real names or designations other than numbers—which was supposed to identify their order of landing. "Why start with number four, sir?"
"It has some of my…personal effects," the Coolidge said, "Some of which will be required upon reaching Shard. And…ah, it seems that the troops are ready to fly once more. Lieutenant Bluster will see to the unloading, I'm sure. I trust you will advance with me to the town."
"Er…of course, sir," came his unenthusiastic response. In truth, he wasn't quite ready to fly once more, but duty called.
"Ah, the Ice Kingdom," Coolidge said, not taking any notice of Windblower's tone, "Feel that clear, cool air? Feel the crunch of the snow and ice? This is the country Icewings were made for. Soon, we will take it back from those revolutionary worms. Our army may not be large right now, but the common Icewing will join us when they see us. Soon we will be an unstoppable force marching to the Ice Capital, and the monarchy will finally be restored to its rightful glory."
"Just so long as we end this war, sir," was his only reply before they took off.
They arrived in Shard only a few minutes later. Windblower couldn't help but notice that all of the town's Icewings immediately ducked into their homes when they saw the approach; it didn't look like Coolidge was going to receive the fanfare welcome he seemed to have been expecting. As soon as the Icewing forces landed, however, the soldiers began to burst into those same homes and drag the occupants outside. Coolidge landed gracefully and strode through the town's main street as the dragons was forcefully assembled in the snow. Windblower and his Skywing company landed behind him as a few scattered fights broke out between the soldiers and the dragons in the town. As this happened, however, Windblower couldn't help but notice that none of the dragons in the town were revolutionary soldiers. He would have expected at least a few troops stationed here—his commanders had speculated that the Icewings knew that this invasion was coming to the coast, even if they didn't know where or when—but there were none.
So where are they? He thought to himself.
He decided to leave the town in the talons of Coolidge and scout out the area, specifically the bridge. Considering that the Icewing major was now in the middle of giving a passionate but not well received speech to the populace, as the soldiers threatened that same populace into submission, he went ahead and took his troops to inspect the river. The Icewing soldiers paid them little head as they left.
The bridge, as it turned out, was a small stone structure half a mile outside of town that barely stretched the length of two dragons lined head to tail. It looked to be as old as the scorching itself, and Windblower doubted that it had even been used in the past several decades. He knew that the majority of dragons would simply fly over it without even giving it a glance, and it seemed ridiculous that any dragon would be ordered to die defending it.
Despite the way it looked, Windblower began ordering his men around in defensive positions. Only two of the Red Wing Battalion's five companies had come with him to the town and now the bridge, so it would be rather under-defended until the initial supplies were unloaded from the beach. The Icewings would help, in theory at least, but he didn't want to count too much on his allies to perform his mission.
Once his forces were adequately prepared and instructed, Windblower flew the short distance back to Shard. He arrived and landed just as the first carts laden with supplies were rolling in from the ships. Leading a small caravan of Icewing-pulled wagons was Bluster, who saluted upon seeing Windblower watching their progress.
"How goes the unloading?" he asked his fellow lieutenant once the distance between them had been closed.
"Slower than expected, unfortunately," came Bluster's reply as the carts rolled into the streets of town. "Our troops are tired from flying, and the Icewings aren't too eager to help. They say that pulling wagons is the job of cattle, not dragons."
Hardly a difference with this lot. Windblower couldn't help thinking but didn't dare say aloud for fear one of the Icewings would hear. Instead, he filled Bluster in on the situation surrounding their objective.
"I've placed two companies around the bridge with orders to report to the city at the first sight of the enemy," he informed the smaller Skywing, "It doesn't look like the bridge is anything special, but I've told them to hold it no matter the cost. Furthermore, I…what is it?" He noticed that Bluster's gaze had drifted from him and was fixed on one of the carts that the Icewing royalists were beginning to unload. It looked as though they pulling out a sort of wooden arch with ropes from the carts, and as he looked closer, Windblower thought that he saw a glint of steel from a blade.
"Three moons," Bluster said in almost a whisper, "Is that a headslasher?"
"I think so. Or it's a portable one at least. I've only seen drawings," he spoke in a similar hushed voice. Internally, he wondered if this was one of the "personal effects" that Coolidge had disrupted the ships' unloading schedule to get.
Bluster shook his head, "I don't want to even think about what they plan on doing with that. Where's the major? We need to discuss things with him."
They found Coolidge outside of what appeared to be the town courthouse (to be honest, Windblower couldn't really tell due to his lack of knowledge of Icewing architecture), sitting in front of a desk with a line of the town's populace standing in front of him. Surrounding them were several soldiers, and as they approached two more soldiers roughly dragged another Icewing out of a nearby building and forced it into the line.
Getting closer, they heard Coolidge's voice speaking almost monotonously: "Step forewords…name? Yes. You have been found guilty of treason and will be executed. Guards, secure this dragon in preparation. Next. Step forewords…name? I said name! Ah, yes, well…you have been found guilty of treason and will be executed. Guards, secure this dragon in preparation. Next." As he spoke, he marked on a scroll the names of the dragons that approached. He hardly looked up as Windblower and Bluster walked up to his desk.
"Ah, my Skywing friends," Coolidge said, giving them a brief glance before returning his gaze to his scroll, "I trust things are going well at the ships and the bridge."
"Um…yes sir," Windblower answered, a bit hesitantly, "Although we could use some more dragons at the bridge, and the unloading is going a bit slow."
The Icewing major sighed, his eyes not leaving the scroll. "Very well, you may take a company of my soldiers to assist you at the bridge, and you can inform those still at the ships that I will be very angry at them if they do not increase their pace. That should motivate them."
"Thank you, sir," Windblower said respectfully before Bluster cut in.
"With all due respect sir, what is going on here?"
Coolidge raised his eyes and looked at them for a second time. "Pardon?"
"These dragons. That headslasher," he gestured to where the Icewings were currently setting up the execution device, "What are you doing?"
The Icewing's eyes narrowed and his tone darkened as he answered. "I am dealing with the enemy in this town. In my town. These dragons are against us and will do all they can to keep us from retaking the Ice Kingdom. They are a vile lot, and I am merely ending their miserable lives before they end ours. You may fulfill your orders and guard the bridge, but you will not question my command over my troops and or my lordship of my town. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir," Windblower answered.
"But…" Bluster began, but Windblower halted him by setting his wing on Blusters wing-shoulder and giving him a look that said drop it.
Bluster backed down as Windblower went on to thank the major for his 'generosity' in letting them command his troops. As soon as they walked away, Coolidge returned to his unsettling business.
"What was that?" hissed Bluster as soon as they were out of earshot.
"As much as I share your sentiments, we cannot afford to make a scene," Windblower stressed to him, "He is our ally, and we cannot afford to make him angry at us. Look, even though I may not like Icewings, I hate the idea of those civilians being slaughtered like pigs as much as you do, but there is nothing we can do about it. Now come on, let's gather some reserves and I'll show you bridge."
"Very well," Bluster said, although he clearly was not happy about it.
By the time they gathered the Icewing soldiers and flew to the bridge, however, Bluster had calmed down considerably. What anger had remained turned to surprise upon seeing the bridge that they were sent here to secure. They landed next to the stone structure and the smaller Skywing fixed him with a skeptical look.
"This is our all-important objective?" he asked. "It hardly looks wide enough for our carts to pass over. Not to mention that the ice on the river looks thick enough to cross on without even needing it."
As if to prove his point he walked to the riverbank, set one of his paws on it, and pushed down. The Ice held, but both of them could hear an audible crack as it struggled to support his weight.
"Ok, maybe not," he conceded, "but it still seems a little anticlimactic to come all the way across the sea to guard a little bit of stone."
"Any sign of the enemy?" Windblower asked one of the Skywings who had been on guard since he had originally left them.
"No, sir. The only white dragons I've seen are the ones that just arrived with you."
Windblower and Bluster looked at each other. "That's a little concerning," Bluster said after a moment of silence, "We should have seen something by now."
"I suppose there is not much we can do except stay prepared for anything and make sure our defense will hold," Windblower said before letting out a sigh. "I hope the absence of the enemy is a good thing, but I fear that it isn't."
The two set about organizing the additional Icewing troops as well as reanalyzing the current Skywing defenses. By the time they were satisfied with the result, dusk was coming on fast and light was beginning to leave the land. Considering that the two lieutenants were sharing command, it was decided that one would spend the night with the troops at the bridge while the other returned to Shard to see to it that all was well in the town, and the two would exchange roles the following morning. Bluster volunteered to remain on guard duty, so Windblower left to see to the ships before returning to town.
He arrived on the beach to see a few scattered Icewings and Skywings milling around. After making a few inquiries, he was informed that the soldiers had successfully unloaded one and a half ships before they had been dismissed for the night (the orders had, apparently, come from Major Coolidge). Although he had hoped to be further along than that, Windblower knew it would be hopeless to try to do anything more tonight, so he posted a few guards on the beach before returning to town.
Before he even reached Shard, he could hear the weeping coming from the town. As he got closer, he heard the ringing of steel and muffled thumps; the headslasher was being used to its full potential. He couldn't bring himself to look at the scene as he made his landing in the town, although he could still hear the wails of dragons who had apparently either just lost loved ones or were about to be killed themselves. He approached Coolidge—still at his desk and writing in the scroll despite the dimming light—and gave a short report before walking into a nearby building. He felt all of the exhaustion from the days at sea as well as the stress of command, temporarily forgotten with the thrill of command, suddenly catch up to him all at once. After a quick check to ensure he was alone in the house, he curled up on the building's floor and closed his eyes. He fell asleep moments later, still hearing the wailing of the Icewings and the occasional ringing of the execution blade.
He woke up the next morning still feeling tired, but much more refreshed than the previous night. As he exited the building, he saw that the executions must have paused sometime during the night, as the headslasher was no long being used. Coolidge was awake and working at his desk, although Windblower was relieved to see that there was no line of dragons waiting to be condemned.
He approached the Icewing and saluted. "Any news of the night sir? Has the enemy been spotted?" he asked.
"No, no," the major answered with a wave of his paw, "The night has been quiet. The enemy has not shown themselves, and I personally believe they will not for some time; I expect they are already fleeing towards the capital after seeing our strength. No, my Skywing friend, do not trouble yourself over those revolutionary worms."
"As you wish, sir," he responded, although in truth he was unconvinced. "At any rate, I am returning to relieve Lieutenant Bluster at the bridge. If all goes well, I hope to begin the transfer of supplies to Freon at around midday."
"Very well," the Icewing said, dismissing him with another wave. "Do what you believe is right. Now, if you will excuse me, I have business to attend to."
Coolidge turned his attention back to his scroll as Windblower took off into the air. A few minutes later he arrived at the bridge and was met by a tired looking Bluster. Although the smaller orange dragon clearly had taken time to get at least a little sleep throughout the night, it was obvious that Bluster was rather weary.
"Anything?" he asked after they traded salutes.
"Not a thing." Bluster answered, "Not so much as an icicle out of place, but I've had a night to think of things."
"Go on," Windblower said, intrigued. Over their time together in the Queen's service, Bluster had proven to be a rather smart dragon, so whatever he was thinking was probably worth taking note of.
"Well, we have yet to see a single enemy soldier," he began, "despite the fact that we would expect to see at least a few scouts. I mean, the revolutionary army knew, or at least suspected, that an attack was coming, even if they didn't know where. They should have had constant surveillance of the coast at all times. I'm going to assume that our foes are not complete fools, which means that they must have withdrawn their troops for a reason. One theory is that they gathered their forces in order to respond in force once the attack arrived, meaning that only a few scouts if any were here and left before we could even see them. If this is the case, then I would be very surprised that we haven't seen their advance, as the army would surely fly to counterattack Freon. If their army was stationed southwest, and Shard is to the south, I would think that we would have seen such a force flying to battle. We have not." He paused and considered his next words. "The other theory is a bit…less pleasant. Think about it, why would the enemy withdraw all of their troops and hide their forces from the view of our small force? Why wouldn't the revolutionaries fly to engage the enemy in battle? They wouldn't do any of this unless…"
"…unless they knew we going to attack Freon, and they were already in position and ready for it," Windblower concluded.
Bluster fixed him with a serious look. "Windblower, did you or Major Coolidge post any troops north of the city, on the route to Freon?"
He thought hard. "I didn't, I only put troops to guard this bridge," he answered, "but I don't know about Coolidge."
Bluster began to pace, concern on his face. "What about news from Freon? Have you received any messages saying how taking the city went?"
"No. Nothing. Not that I am aware of, at least. You don't think…"
Bluster stopped pacing and looked him in the eyes. "Listen to me, Windblower, I'm going to send a messenger to ask the Major if any troops went north and if any message was received. I need you to fly north, just far enough to get a good look at Freon, and tell me if you see anything off. I hope that I'm wrong, but if I'm not then we're in trouble."
Windblower hesitated. After all, he was technically Bluster's senior due to experience, and it was somewhat out of order for Bluster to issue this kind of order to him. A look at the worry on his fellow lieutenant's face, however, convinced him to go along. With a nod, he flew off to the north.
A few minutes into the flight, though, he calmed down from his initial rush of panic at Bluster's words. He began to feel almost silly, leaving the bridge in such a manner. Surely they would have received word if anything had gone completely wrong. Bluster was tired and was probably overthinking things. Nothing was wrong. Why would anything be wrong? He should just turn around and return to his post.
Then he saw smoke in the distance coming from Freon, and several white shapes flying towards him through the blue sky. They were undoubtably Icewings, and the appearance of a red, white, and blue flag among them immediately identified them as revolutionaries. These dragons were not fleeing the city of Freon, as Windblower had initially hoped upon seeing them, but were rather flying in formation south. They were like as not flying to Shard, and there were many more of them there were dragons under his command.
Suddenly the situation became painfully clear. The revolutionary army had somehow known their plans and had countered perfectly. They had no doubt been waiting somewhere outside of Freon or even in the city itself and had engaged the main royalist/Skywing force before they could prepare or organize. Caught unawares and without supplies, the forces there likely hadn't even stood a chance. Windblower had no time to speculate as to what must have happened inside of Freon—right now he had to save his own troops!
He turned and raced back to the bridge as fast as his wings could carry him. Luckily, it didn't seem as if the enemy was intent on chasing and catching him, rather choosing to keep their formation and previous pacing. As such, they were only distant specs once more when Windblower landed at the bridge.
"You were right," he said to Bluster before the other dragon could get a word out, "The revolutionaries have already taken back Freon. If any of ours escaped, they're flying back home over the sea. The cause here is lost; holding the bridge means nothing now. Our best move now is to try to get the ships back out to sea and get as many dragons and supplies home as possible. We'll need to hold Shard until the ships are launched, move all of the troops here there."
Bluster nodded and began rapidly issuing orders to the dragons around them. Soon the Skywings were flying back south to the city, although Windblower noticed several of their Icewing allies flying to the west and abandoning the rest of the army.
"Cowards," he hissed under his breath as they flew. Then, turning to Bluster, "You take one of the two companies and help the ships get to sea. I'll take the other and help defend the town for as long as I can. If you don't get the ships out in time, we'll have to chance a retreat without any supplies or resting places, understand."
"Yeah," Bluster said, "Be careful and don't die. I'll see you at sea."
Bluster and his company veered off and flew towards the beach as Windblower and his company approached the town. Major Coolidge was once again at his desk and the headslasher was doing its work when they landed and approached him.
"Major," Windblower said, striding forewords.
"One moment, please. I'm busy." The Icewing said without looking up.
"Major, the enemy is approaching in force from the north. They will be here within minutes. If we do not prepare a defense right now, our entire force here will be lost. As important as your work of executing dragons is, it is you will be dead if you don't act now!"
That got the Coolidge's attention. His head snapped up and eyes widened. "They are attacking?" he asked.
"Yes, major, they are attacking."
"Then we must prepare at once!" In an instant the change came over the Icewing, who began to immediately issue orders to the royalist troops. Formations were set up, barricades were hastily constructed, and even the executions were halted as the major's troops prepared their desperate defense in the few minutes before the attack.
It was too little, too late.
The revolutionary force fell upon them from above and drove into the royalists ranks on the ground with ease. Frost breath bathed the streets as Icewing fought Icewing with teeth and claws. Yells and cheers reverberated through the air, deafening Windblower's ears. The Skywings fought alongside their allies, but it was clear that the fight was lost almost as soon as it began. Blue and red splattered the ground and building walls as soldiers on both sides fell.
In a midst of the chaos, Windblower happened to notice a rather curious thing. It was the kind of thing that he probably wouldn't have noticed but for the heightened senses of battle: the dragons that lived in Shard had come out of their homes and were fighting alongside the revolutionaries against the royalists. It didn't matter too much—the battle was already lost—but he couldn't help but recall Coolidge's belief that the Icewings would rise up and join him. The idea seemed laughable now.
The situation deteriorating, Windblower had no choice but to issue a retreat for the Skywings. He could only hope that they had bought enough time for the ships, even though it seemed like only a few minutes. As the Skywings took off, Windblower thought he saw—but couldn't be sure—Coolidge being held and dragged to the headslasher by the citizens of Shard, and he could have sworn that he heard the ringing of a falling blade and a dull thump over the sounds of the battle as he flew away.
Mercifully, few Icewings bothered to chase down what remained of the Skywings, choosing to focus instead on the royalists that remained in the town. As such, Windblower was able to reach the coast with minimal casualties. Five of the twenty ships were at sea, the rest still at the beach, and considering how few of the dragons were left compared to the original force, Windblower thought that five would be enough to get them home. He could see that Bluster was busy overseeing the dragons that were trying to drag a sixth ship out from the beach, but ordered the effort abandoned with Windblower's arrival and instead began to fly to the ships that were ready. A few minutes later, Windblower himself landed on one of the ship's decks and let out a sigh of relief that they had escaped.
Ordering the dragons that pulled the wooden vessels to do so with all speed, Windblower bid farewell to the coast of the Icewing Republic and prayed that he would never see it again.
Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire