Fruit Bat 1, Greatness 1

Fruit Bat

March of 4991 was the happiest of my young life. I thought I knew what happiness before: I was a Rainwing, of course, we were always happy. I was fine just going through the motions as Queen a couple weeks at a time, gathering flowers, tending my garden and working on new perfumes. It wasn't a spectacular life, but it was simple and easy, and I had no regrets.

But then a great big dragon with new ideas and drive became our king, and found ME of all dragons as someone worth falling in love with. Xerophilous, the Animus-King. Xerophilous, the Great and Powerful. Xerophilous, the tall, smart, handsome drake from the desert who I could talk with about flowers all afternoon and cuddle during sun-time. Xerophilous, the dragon I kissed under twilight moons, who mated with me and Majestic the night after our greatest victory.

Xero.

Yes, those first couple of weeks were heavenly. But even the most perfect of relationships can have its rocky spots, and sometimes your partner will do something particularly annoying or dumb to remind you that, yes, your partner is normal dragon just like you. This can be made even worse when you and your partners are from different Tribes, as was the case between us and Xero. So when he made the political move to demand Battlwinner's daughter for a magic favor, Maggy had to stop me from dumping his ass then and there.

It wasn't that he was looking at other dragonesses as potential mates. Rainwings are a tolerant, promiscuous Tribe, and groups of more than three lovers is not unheard of, especially for royalty. It wasn't that he was looking at other dragonesses from other Tribes. WE were different Tribes, after all, and if Xero had asked us if we were okay adding Princess Greatness or Princess Blaze or even Nightshade or Tanwen, I'm sure Majestic and I would've said yes.

But that was the problem. The reason I was so mad at him was because he made the offer behind our backs. See, we Rainwings put a lot of value in trust and honesty. We're okay with having multiple partners and coming and going as our feelings tell us, but that's because we always how everyone's feeling. Keeping secrets and telling lies is a very rare thing among our kin, only done in the most dire circumstances. That someone I considered my mate would make such a deal and not even think of telling us was the greatest insult I'd ever experienced.

Perhaps older or more experienced Rainwings would've dumped him for his transgression. But despite it all, I still loved him more than anything in the world, and as he prepared to launch his attack on the Nightwings, any anger I had was buried beneath fear and concern for his safety. Were we really ready for an offensive war?

That morning, I'd left a little early to meet up with Maggy and Grandeur before Xero and the Army went through the portal. It felt like half of the Kingdom was gathered there, chatting happily and inspecting their weapons as they waited. All that nervousness from the month before was gone, replaced with confidence bordering on cockiness. We'd just wrecked the best soldiers the Nightwings had, after all - why wouldn't we be feeling full of ourselves?

"I hope you appreciate the historic nature of this moment." Grandeur said, as the sun peaked above the treetops. "This is the first time in Rainwing History that we've ever invaded another Kingdom."

"And hopefully," I added, "The last time in our lives we raise our weapons in anger."

"Speak for yourself," Maggy declared, stretching herself out in the morning sun, "I feel like I could take on all of Phyrria right now. Don't you?"

"Careful, Majestic." Grandeur warned, flashing an annoyed orange. "It's bad enough that Xerophilous has gotten full of himself since you three started fooling around. Don't fall into that trap yourself.

Maggy was about to respond, when we heard wings flapping.

"Hello, ladies," Xerophilous greeted us as he touched down, "How're the preparations coming along?"

"The Army has been gathered, as requested." Majestic announced, gesturing to the dragons now forming lines. "We're about to send in the first scouts. Once we have both ends of the portal secured, we can send the rest of our forces through."

The Sandwing nodded, turning to face me. "Fruit Bat," He said, "You're in charge of the Rainforest until we come back. Can you do that for me?"

I smiled and nodded, even as I felt a cold knot of fear and anxiety in my gut. We'd spent nearly every day together for the past two months together, from walking my gardens to working together in his workshop to cuddling at sun-time. This would be the longest time we'd spent apart, if he even came back at all.

He craned his neck over mine, and pulled me into him. I leaned in, savoring his warmth, ignoring the "Awww's" of the soldiers watching us. I felt his nose on my neck, taking in the scent of my perfume - roses and lavender, love and calm. My heart fluttered, as it always did. Most of my Tribe had thought my obsession with flowers and smells was weird, but Xero was nothing but encouraging. I loved that he enjoyed guessing my perfume; there are few things that make a dragoness feel wanted like a big, strong drake nuzzling their neck, breathing them in. The fact that he seemed to enjoy me as much, if not more, without an artificial scent, just thrilled me to no end. I'd never met anyone who made me feel this way, and I couldn't bare the thought of losing it all.

"Please, come back." I pleaded. "I know Maggy'll keep you safe, but... I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you."

We're going to be fine." He assured me, nuzzling my frill tenderly. "We're going to make Battlewinner see reason. We're going to finish this dumb war. And when we're done, we can go back to how things used to be. Just the three of us working together in your garden, like you've always wanted."

"And sun-time afterwards?" I asked, more of a lighthearted joke than anything.

"All the sun-time you want. I promise."

I sighed, and kissed him. I held it as long as I could, committing this moment to memory. I'll always remember the warmth of his scales and armor, his subtle scent of woodsmoke and ink, the gentle tingle of his lips on mine. Only when we had to breathe did he pull away, staying close enough to rest my forehead on his.

"I love you," I whispered, "Please stay safe."

"I will," He promised, "And I love you too."

I gave him one last peck on the cheek, pulling myself away from my mate. I hopped up and took flight, fighting to keep tears and sobs of worry back until the clearing was far behind me...

Greatness

Before that fateful day, my world was small. My entire life had been spent on the Island, in the shadow of the volcano. It was a bleak, dark place, stinking and toxic. I could count the number of times I saw the stars or moons on two paws, and the times I saw blue sky on one. The air outside stank of sulfur and the sea, and inside the palace stank of dust, rotting prey and unwashed dragons.

We were Kingdom of Night, and our illusion of power was a bluff. A lie. Our home was slowly becoming a prison. Prey was getting sparse, and we had to start rationing. No dragonet had hatched with psychic powers in decades, and many of us were starting to wonder if they were something we made up to intimidate the other Tribes. Mastermind, Battlewinner's personal scientist, warned us that we had about twenty years before the volcano erupted and rendered the island uninhabitable. Mother, eager to get us off the island and get us a proper homeland, began making preparations.

My mother found a rather "attractive" working partner in a wandering Nightwing crimeboss named Nightshade. She offered him the title of "Count", support for the Sandwing Throne and entrance to her royal chambers in exchange for giving us part of the kingdom to us as a new homeland. I kept myself busy and away from the Palace whenever he came to pay a visit - Three Moons forbid I hear them talking or doing whatever it was they did in her chamber next to mine, and I never liked him much to begin with. He always acted like he was up to something. Regardless, he convinced her to lend our Army to him in his bid for the throne, giving him one of the best fighting forces in all of Phyrria. And indeed, working with his gang, we were able to successfully take the Sandwing Palace from the last loyal Sandwing Army, the Seawing Army and even an angry mob.

But then the Eye of Onyx went and turned Nightshade in a Sandwing 'ness, and evidently scrambled his brain in the process. He was trying to cut deals with the other Queens, breaking his agreement with us to secure more power for himself. Mother didn't take the rejection well. Then she found out that the Rainwings had a new King of all things - a Sandwing who used to serve Princess Burn, named Xerophilous. The entire council found the mere idea laughable and absurd. How weak and pathetic were the Rainwings that none of their females could take the throne, and they had to resort to a male and a foreigner to run things? When we caught one of those poor, unlucky spies of his crawling around within the Sandwing Palace, and only five minutes of torture got them to reveal her mission, that settled it for mom.

The ultimatum we sent Xero was merely an excuse to take the Rainforest by force. That Nightshade was to come along was a last-minute change: Whatever feelings mom had for him had died when we learned of his betrayals, and with Morrowseer's help, his death on the field of battle was basically assured. We sent in the Royal Guard, confident that one hundred of our best fighters would be enough to take over their kingdom.

We waited a night. And then the next one. And the next. By the fourth night, we started to realize that something terrible had happened. A scout risked passing through the portals in the dead of night, and told us the terrible truth: The Guard, Morrowseer, even Nightshade, all had been captured by Xerophilous and his new Rainwing Army.

THAT was when Battlewinner started taking them seriously. A messenger was sent overseas to the Nightwing Army, calling them to come back as soon as possible. Without the portals, though, it'd take them weeks to get back home without anyone tracking them. In the meantime, mom had our remaining commanders and guards training as many of our subjects as possible, eagerly trying to build our numbers for an inevitable retaliation. Mom said she gave me responsibility for training the new recruits, but every time I went out to train with them, my mother or one of the generals had already started, and I was told to go back to my quarters and look over the latest reports. It was annoying, but truthfully not at all surprising. Whenever she started training me to be her replacement, she almost always ended up stepping in and doing everything on her own, regardless of how I was actually doing. It was so, SO frustrating, and it only made me hate my responsibilities more and more.

The straw that broke the camel's back, however, was when the Rainwing messenger arrived with Xero's list of demands. If only we had cameras back in those days, so you could've seen the look of all the dragons in the throne room as that little purple drake read off the "terms and conditions" to use OUR portals. I never saw mother that furious before, as she literally chased him out of the castle. "If I ever see that whelp in front of me," She shouted after him, "I'll wring his little neck, and toss his carcass into the sea! No sand-snorter is going to take my daughter from me, understand?!" It was scary seeing her like that, but also reassuring in a way. Despite how she treated me, despite how it seemed like she cared so little for how I felt, deep down she still loved me more than anything.

Two days later, scouts came in reporting that Rainwings had seized the portal, and more were coming through by the minute. Ignoring my protests (and those of the Council), she ordered her armor readied. I followed her into her chambers, where her attendants were helping her tie the large slabs of decorated metal across her body.

"Mother," I begged, rushing to her side, "Please don't go. We can still negotiate with them. They're Rainwings, after all. They're not asking for much, are they?"

"For much?!" She snapped, glaring at me as I stepped back. "Did you even listen to that bastard's demands? Typical. He blackmailed us, Greatness. We either help put my exe on the throne, or he'll take Stonemover and your hand in marriage! We must stop him, here and now, or he'll take everything from us. Now, make yourself useful and help put this armor on me."

I did as I was told. The other attendants moved aside, as I helped put on the plates and tied down the straps.

"Please, mom," I pleaded, almost whining at this point, "There must be another way! We can't, I don't, I just-"

Battlewinner turned to look at me, and sighed. She pulled me in for a hug, her wings wrapping around me in a comforting blanket. I leaned into her, taking in this moment of comfort while I could.

"Listen to me, Greatness," She murmured, "I love you. I don't always show it, but I do. I'm your mother, but I'm also a Queen, and Queens have responsibilities. Not just to their daughters, but to all the dragons who look up to them." She paused, leaning down and kissing my forehead. For a moment, her eyes were tender, and I remembered her looking at me just like that when I was still a dragonet. Back when she still saw me as just her daughter, and not her heir.

Just as quickly as the mask came off, it came back, and Battlewinner was back in Queen mode. "Now, go grab a spear," She instructed, "And hide here until you get a signal, alright? Can you do that for me, Greatness?"

I nodded. Everything was becoming blurry. Damned tears.

"Good," She said, stroking my cheek, "Now, remember what I told you. I'll win this battle, or my name's not Battlewinner."

The joke was so bad I couldn't help but chuckle. Tears soon followed.

"My poor daughter," I heard her murmur, "What am I going to do with you?" She pulled away, hopping out of the window with a pair of guards in tow.

That was the last thing she ever said to me.

I watched what happened next from the window. It wasn't a battle. It wasn't even a slaughter. My mother and that Sandwing talked for a few minutes, and then the Nightwing Army flew over the horizon. My heart soared, and for a moment everything was going to be okay. But then, like some horrific dream, hundreds and hundreds of brightly-colored little dragons just appeared out of nowhere, brandishing crossbows and blowguns. In mere moments, they overwhelmed our soldiers: covering them in arrow bolts, tranqing them with darts, tying them up. When some of them just started tossing aside their spears and raising their forelegs, I knew that the battle was over.

We'd lost.

I'd hoped that mother would realize this, but Battlewinner was always proud and stubborn. She charged at them, roaring and breathing fire, and then... and then...

Things get a little blurry at this point. I don't remember grabbing the spear, or jumping out the window. Everything was a mess, as my eyes filled with tears. I was screaming, crying, wailing. I had no idea where I was going, what I was going to do. But then, I saw HIM. Xerophilous. There he was, looking all high and mighty, looking over the bleeding corpse of my mother like she was just another body to dissect.

My vision cleared, narrowing down to that spike-tailed son of a bitch. My blood caught fire. My grip tightened around that spear, and I dove for him. I tried to roar, but all that came out was an anguished scream of fury. It was a suicide mission - a scared, dumb little girl with only a stick against an army - but I didn't care. All I wanted to do was to put a hole in his heart, right where mine was.

Of course it didn't work. Maybe a dozen or so dragon-lengths away, something bit my neck. I tried to ignore it, but whatever the Rainwings were using kicked in hard and fast. My claws felt clumsy, the spear falling from my grasp. My wings and body felt so heavy, and I started to drop. As everything faded to blackness, strong, comforting arms caught me, and the last thing in my mind was a memory of Battlewinner, holding me as a dragonet, rocking me to sleep.

"Mother," I asked her, "I wanna grow up to be big and strong, just like you."

"And you will," She assured me, "That's why I named you Greatness. Names have power among our Tribe, my dear. One night, my crown will pass to you. One night, you will lead our Tribe back to the mainland, and rule over a kingdom of our own. What I started, you will finish, and lead our people to a new golden age. A new Era of Greatness."

Mother... I'm sorry... I couldn't be... stronger...

Fruit Bat

It had been nearly three days before I saw Xero again, and the nerves were killing me. The messages coming out of the portal were hopeful, but... confusing. Battlewinner dead? Princess captured? Xero taking the island for the Rainwings? I wanted to go and find out what was going on, but Grandeur insisted I stayed in the jungle. He trusted me to keep things running in his absence, after all. But all the same, I couldn't help but feel a growing sense of dread.

When I received word that he was coming back, I turned so yellow that Fox said that I could almost pass as a Sandwing. Oh, how my heart raced at the thought of feeling his warmth again, to feel the tickle of his breath on my neck as he tried to guess my newest scent, to feel those strong arms wrap around and hold me close! But there was something else; some nagging feeling or idea in the back of my mind, urging me to tell Xero, but what it was, I still hadn't figured out yet.

On the third day, half the Village had gathered at the portals to welcome back our victorious Army. Grandeur, Flying Fox and I had front-row seating, eagerly awaiting our boys and girls' return. I should've known something was up, when both of them remained a worried light blue, even after the first dragons started coming out. Rainwing after Rainwing came through, some a little scuffed up and bandaged, but most looking completely fine.

Then the Nightwings started coming. I heard actual gasps around me, as the first black-scaled dragons came through the portal into broad daylight. They weren't the big, dangerous-looking soldiers that came before. These were thin, timid, scrawny-looking dragons that watched us nervously as they gathered in a circle by the guards. Many were old and infirm, many were mothers and fathers with young dragonets huddled closely to their sides. There were a lot of confused looks among us: Why was Xero letting them through?

Then, several Rainwings came through carrying a large cage. Inside this cage was a large, thin Nightwing dragoness, coiled up in a deep sleep. Why was she here? Was she injured? Was that Queen Battlewinner?

Finally, Xero came out, accompanied by Maggy, a Nightwing dragonet and a Nightwing drake with glasses and a crown of obsidian and diamonds. "Ladies and gentledrakes," He announced to the cheering crowds, "I come bearing great and important news! We are victorious! We-" He had to stop, as every single Rainwing started cheering, singing and dancing. There were so many bright yellow dragons gathered about and frolicking in the clearing, you'd think that all the bananas in the Rainforest had come alive and started a music festival in my boyfriend's honor. Xero's expression didn't match their mood. If anything it soured under their cheer. Majestic raised her wings, urging everyone to quiet down.

"We have defeated the Nightwing Army," He continued, "And pacified their Kingdom. Despite our best efforts, Queen Battlewinner refused to listen to peace and reason, and as a result fell in battle. As such, I have hereby declared my new friend and colleague Mastermind, King of the Nightwings." He paused to look at the spectacled Nightwing, who waved nervously at the crowd. There were scattered claps and cheers, the Tribe unsure how to react.

"As such," Xero said, "Mastermind and I had a long, frank discussion about how our two tribes can move forward together. He has reaffirmed his tribe's pledge to support Queen Nightshade, the true ruler of the Sand Kingdom. Once the situation there has been resolved, and the refugees returned to their homes, the Nightwings will be allowed to move and settle in the unclaimed reaches of the Jade Mountains. When the people and treasures have been fully transferred, the Volcano Island will in turn be transferred to the Rainforest Kingdom, to use as we see fit." This was met with polite nods of agreement. We weren't a tribe of expansionists - if the Nightwings needed the empty lands to the west to survive, we'd gladly turn it over and be good neighbors.

"To further cement our alliance," He added, his expression and tone souring, "Mastermind has agreed to all of my... requests. As such, the Animus Stonemover will hereby be living with us in the Rainwing Village, where he shall learn our ways and use his powers for the betterment of all dragonkind." Behind him, the Nightwing dragonet waved, smiling nervously. Some of the Rainwings waved back.

"And finally," He finished, looking like he just swallowed a spoiled tangerine, "I do hereby announce that I am to be wed with Princess Greatness of the Nightwings. May the bonds between the Nightwings and Rainwings last forever!"

The world started spinning. The crowd and rainforest faded away to nothingness. Everything faded away, until it was just me and him. I felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest. I felt the ground fall out beneath me, leaving me in freefall. I couldn't even see the sadness and regret in his eyes, as mine filled with tears. Before anyone could stop me, I turned and ran, fleeing into the forest as fast as I could.

Xero, I thought, running past trees and bushes in blinding anguish, How could you!

Greatness

I woke up in what passed for a Rainwing prison cell, thin sheets of tin covering walls and flooring made of bamboo. There wasn't much to the room itself, except a small hole to one side and a stuffed bedding. There were bars on the far side, opening up to… dense, almost aggressively green jungle. It took me awhile for my eyes to adjust to all that color, leaving me squinting through stinging eyes. Sniffing, I could feel the humidity, the wetness. The walls felt slick with moisture, the floor I walked squished and bent slightly under my weight.

Looking outside further, I could see RainWings going about their business. Some were napping in the sunlight. Some were weaving baskets. Some were playing on drums and singing some cheerful rainforest song. A couple had crossbows and blowguns, snacking on papayas or kumquats or whatever gross fruit things they ate. It was odd, though. I'd always been taught that the RainWings were lazy and incompetent, and yet they had defeat mother's army as if it were nothing.

Mom…

No, no, don't focus on that. I thought, shaking away the tears. Anything but that. Mom wouldn't have wanted me to be like this, either. She'd always been going on about how I needed to be strong, immovable, a mountain like our volcano home. About how I needed to be the Queen of the Greatest Tribe in all of Phyrria.

"When the other kingdoms call you a Queen," She'd say, the few times she'd allow herself to joke, "They better say it with a capital Q."

I hadn't ever really laughed at mom's bad jokes, just before the battle being the first time in months, maybe years. Now... Now I feel like kicking myself for not doing so. Sure, Battlewinner had never been one to notice how I felt most of the time, but it had to mean something, if not to mom, then at least to me.

As I sat in that cage - thinking about mom, about the battle, about what was going to happen to me - I heard the tink-tink-tink of claws on metal. I looked back outside, and saw a large, tan-ish drake looking in, smiling sheepishly.

"Hi, Greatness, was it? I wanted to-"

HIM. Blind rage ran through me like an erupting volcano, all focused on the Sandwing. The Bastard that killed my Queen. The drake that killed my mother. I charged at the metal bars with all my might, slashing and clawing and breathing fire as far as I could.

"COME BACK AND FACE ME, YOU COWARD!" I roared, not caring that I was crying. Not caring that he turned tail and left. Not caring that the Rainwings were now staring at her, looking concerned and aghast. "WE'LL SEE HOW TOUGH YOU ARE WITHOUT YOUR TOYS AND YOUR MINIONS, YOU MURDERER! YOU MONSTER! YOU MOTHERFU-...Motherf...mommy..."

Just as quickly as it came, the rage passed, leaving me nothing but bitter, crushing grief in its wake. I went over to the bed, curled myself into a ball, and tried to weep as quietly as possible. Even at my lowest, when I was well and truly alone, I knew I had to at least pretend to be strong. I might've disappointed Battlewinner in life, but I'd be damned if I'd disappoint her in death...