He was given a battalion to lead soon after finishing officer school. Again with executive privilege, but this is probably the only time Radiance wasn't upset about it. Aster would be joining him on their deployment. The only condition was no explicitly fraternizing behavior while on duty. What he was upset about was that he was commissioned as a Lieutenant. Why was he leading the same amount of dragons as a major?
No time to question, however. He was thrown into the woodworks right away, to the city of Dafin. Dafin was roughly a 2 hours flight south from the agreed border between the Icewings and Skywings. The Skywing crown has repeatedly backed down from conflict, seeing as most of the territory having encroached was largely just empty land, where Skywing authority was dodgy at best. Foolhardy battalions of Skywings met the Icewings in combat over the past couple of years in the empty lands, both sides emerging with nothing to show. None of the Skywing mobilizations were authorized by military brass. Unfortunately, Dafin was a strategically important city, controlling the mouth of the rivers that marked the border between Skywing and Sandwing territories, as well as the city of Possibility to the south. Icewings were on the cusp of laying siege. To lose the city would strain relations with the Sandwings, and so Radiance's new battalion and several others were sent to strengthen the city's garrison of 120 and drive the Icewings back.
So here Radiance was, planning the attack with the other battalion commanders.
"Understanding that the city of Dafin is located at the mouth of the river and that the Icewings are camped on the island, about 200 dragons strong, and acknowledging the Queen's orders, what's the battle plan?" Colonel Ardeur asked.
"I can take my battalion and launch a surprise attack in the dead of night. Communication wouldn't even be difficult," Radiance offered, hopeful for an opportunity to earn the respect of his fellow commanders and soldiers and make a name for himself.
"We know that you're capable, and fully acknowledge your ability in battlefield communications but you wield only 44 dragons. How can a single battalion possibly hope to take down a force 10 times the size?"
"I am worth a hundred dragons myself."
Major Crimson shot back. "It should be straightforward what we do. Full force attack, be it in a pitched battle in daylight for better coordination or in the dead of night for the surprise factor."
"Smaller attack groups have their advantages too. If a single battalion were to attack in the dark of night, we'd be much harder to detect than a full force of almost 300 dragons. Furthermore, they're on the island, so the more dragons we have, the easier we are to be detected. The moment we lose control of our dragons at night, our casualties will skyrocket. The goal is to drive them out, not destroy them," Major Tempest added. Radiance found himself nodding.
Colonel Ardeur nodded as well. As the leader of this operation, the final decision would naturally fall to him.
"Since Radiance is the only one who desires to risk his dragons and himself, and the only one seemingly capable of relaying orders and communications in the dark with his glowiness, then shall we send Radiance on a little visit to our Icewing opponents?" Colonel Ardeur asked all the commanders before him.
Crimson only shrugged. Tempest and Radiance both nodded, the latter fervently so.
"Take your dragons to the Icewing island tonight then. Do whatever you need to do to route them. I doubt they'll leave without a fight, so try to focus on killing as many of them as possible," Ardeur ordered.
"Kill them?" Radiance sputtered. "Surely that won't be necessary! I can go in by myself and grab their commanding officer."
"Kill them, no questions asked," Ardeur affirmed. Radiance only grimly nodded and saluted, before exiting the building. Aster was there waiting for him.
"What's the news, major?" Aster smirked. Radiance just sighed.
"Nighttime ambush. We're proving my ability on the battlefield. Should be bloodless for our side, but you should check the logistics one more time since we're feeding off of local hospital supplies until the shipments come in from the capital."
"Be careful," Aster answered, before walking away. Radiance found himself looking at her retreating form a little longer than was proper.
"We'll keep our troops on guard. If we see a red light in the sky, we're mobilizing. I don't trust the rookie to handle himself, no matter how powerful he is," Ardeur told the others now that Radiance was gone, before rolling up the map and leaving.
It wasn't long before he found himself leading the formation of Skywing shock troops, refitted with leather armor for basic frost protection and mobility, as well as serrated claw extensions. They were already informed of the plan. They would land on the island and surround the side of the camp that was facing the mainland, hoping to kill everyone and rebuff the Icewing's territorial claims once and for all. Radiance, in his young blood and quest for glory and respect, had told his troops something his superiors did not authorize, something Aster would surely have smacked him upside the head for.
"After you all take positions around the camp in a crescent shape facing towards the Ice Kingdom, I am to go alone into the center of their camp and take their commander hostage. If you see a bright red beam, that is your signal to attack, but do so with caution."
Radiance quietly stalked through the Icewing camp, seeing the neat rows of tents, the boxes of armor, and weapons. He had silenced the first few night guards with ease, and he was well on his way to the center of the camp, where the commander likely was. Keeping his footfalls light as a feather and calming his heart, he couldn't help but feel a little bit giddy. This would likely mark the first conflict of the war, and though Radiance didn't fancy bloodshed much, he was willing to lay down everything for his home. His pride and search for glory led him here, and he will not fail. He would return home a hero, provided he doesn't fail.
He ventured towards the large sleeping Icewing, grabbing him by his maw and putting him in a submission position. Radiance put his full weight on the Icewing's back, wrapping an arm around his neck and clamping his opponent's jaw shut. He utilized his tail to hold his enemy's in place. Radiance planned to quietly choke the commander into oblivion, before bringing his unconscious body back to his lines and demanding negotiations. Unfortunately, Radiance was too young and far too small to properly do this, and the commander's thrashing woke up the whole camp.
Radiance found himself locked in a wrestling competition where the winner got to live against a dragon far larger and more experienced than him, surrounded by Icewings who were still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes, but nonetheless alert.
"Stand back. I want this whelp for myself," the commander grinned, holding Radiance down with just a single forelimb. His thrashing and weak slashes did little.
"How foolish you are, young one. What shall I do with you? Maybe I should kill you, or use you as a bargaining chip. So many ideas, so few hostages. Tell me, what's your rank?"
"Eat shit, seal-snorter," Radiance growled. "Let me go now, or you'll regret it."
"Oh, you're ballsy, I'll give you that. Unfortunately, you snuck up on me and tried to do moons knows what. Felt like you were mounting me, to be honest. I don't swing that way, so I think I'll just kill you now."
Radiance started to panic. He didn't want to die. He wanted to go home. He felt insulted. He was not mounting the Icewing commander! He has Aster!
Heat started to build up behind his eyes. He snarled as the shit-eating grin on the Icewings' face melted. The startled yelps of fear and surprise started to grow as Radiance's eyes started to glow.
A short moment later, a body hit the ground, missing a head and seared at the neck.
Silence overtook the camp before all the dragons rallied to attack Radiance. He built up the heat once again, before going on the offensive. In all the commotion, he didn't notice a singular Icewing that was away from the action, laying low, equipped with an animus-enchanted spear.
"Target the Skywing with radiant eyes," the trembling Icewing whispered to the narwhal spear. He was on guard, but heard the commotion and returned as soon as he could, only to watch his commander's head get blown off by this freaky Skywing. His father crumpled to the ground in front of him like an iceberg into the black, inky ocean. He watched the singular silver circle his father wore fall to the ground. A symbol of all the work and pain his father endured to reach that position in Icewing society. It was fortunate that they were sent out with an animus spear that only needed a description of its victim.
An earlier battle in the war saw only one survivor, who returned and recounted a fierce Skywing with glowing eyes and a gaze that killed everything it met. He and the rest of his platoon were wiped out trying to ambush two lone Skywings bearing military insignia. The singular report of a platoon of high-ranking fighters dying in an instant to a single dragon deeply disturbed the command chain. While they concluded that such a dragon was unlikely to exist, they armed their troops with an animus enchanted spear that was lethal for a single target but had to be retrieved for more uses.
The Skywings roared in victory as they saw a singular Icewing soar out of their view, towards the Ice Kingdom. Thanks to their captain, they destroyed the Icewing force with zero casualties. They started cheering the flawless victory.
"Um," a single voice called out, bringing the crowd of dragons down from the high of their victory. "We lost one."
The dragons all turned towards the singular voice. There, amongst the burnt and severed bodies of Icewings, a singular Skywing, spear penetrating his head and planted in the ground, holding the corpse up in a gruesome manner. Blood poured out of his wound and drool dripped out of his gaping mouth. The battalions watched helplessly as the warm glow still left in his eyes flickered before fading out forever, talons twitching for the last time.
Radiance was dead.
The main body of the Skywing force descended moments, later, having mobilized seeing the glow of Radiance's lasers. The muted mood was immediately noted. Colonel Ardeur looked at the body and could only say one thing.
"Fucking idiot."