Brittaney Colens sat in her chair with anxiety, and the tea that had been served was not helping. Her job was keeping the news outlets in order with Mr. Lloyd's wishes. Why was she attending a meeting with Mr. Lloyd himself, along with a variety of military leaders and strategists? Along the table sat many notable faces, such as Zane Jergens, head of the Black Star military, and Gordon Thessali, Black Star's top military strategist. Along with other military men and women, Brittaney felt like she didn't belong here.
Suddenly, the large wooden doors opened, and in walked two guards, their uniforms clean and their hands behind their backs, rifles on their shoulders. And then, in walked High Priest Abd Al-Malik, dressed in his church robes and behind him… Prophet Axton Lloyd. The man who will save humanity from the monsters. Dressed in his overcoat and hat, with the symbol shining gold in its center. The sign of humanity's hope.
All around the table, they put their right hands to their hearts in a fist and raised their left fists into the air in the traditional Black Star salute. "Hail the prophet, the man who knows the holy will!" Al-Malik said, and everyone replied. "HAIL!"
Lloyd flashed a small smile with his thin lips and wrinkled face. Brittaney squashed her treasonous thoughts of how creepy this holy man was. If she did not believe, what made her better than those ignorant Old Monarchy sinners, or those devils from Jeoul?
The prophet took a seat at the head of the table, and the High Priest took the other end seat. Brittaney noticed Al-Malik was holding a copy of the Holy Words, the book written by the first prophet, Hamza.
"It has come to our attention that as our great influence spreads throughout the world, we are being met with resistance other than the Camaelist sinners." Lloyd said with his voice that was a strange mix of comforting and terrifying. "Of course, you all already know about this. We now face a direct front with an area with heavy Old Monarchy influence. Arnia, Vestad, Otkhod, Dieautel, are all directly north of our Sudland-Emigo front."
"I would like to pass over the reins of the meeting to our military commander." Lloyd said. "Thank you, my prophet." Zane Jergens said. Jergens was a black man with short black hair, and stocky build. He also wore a military overcoat and hat. "I think we all know what getting this close to Arnia means. Arnia is one of, if not the most powerful country within the Old Monarchy. Of course, if we were to take down all of Arnia, Hecate Finn would be priority target number one." Brittaney stirred her tea, thinking about how the Arnish royal family used to be respected throughout the world, but in recent years had fallen into a rut of ignorant and treasonous thinking.
"But, of course, assassination of the queen would be an insane idea. The security of the royal guard is too great for what we have in terms of stealth." Jergens paused. "But, we have found someone who could one day become a great threat to our Northward expansion. Old Monarchy commander Daniel Seilbrenner. While he is not a general, he is most likely on route to becoming one. Seilbrenner's improvised orders are what drove back our troops in San Palagino."
Brittaney remembered hearing about how the Old Monarchy troops had waited in San Palagino, Sudland, for an incoming sandstorm blowing from the nearby country of Akhad. Both sides were aware that it was coming, and it was expected nobody would fight during it, but Seilbrenner had sent troops wearing special protective gear improvised out of a variety of combat uniforms from various military branches into the sandstorm. Black Star suffered a mass of ground troops coming at them straight on through the storm, armed with shields, while snipers in the mountains above shot wildly at their defenses. It was reckless, but sent Black Star as far back as Montoia, Sudland, and allowed Old Monarchy to hold on to the "handle" of Sudland.
"We cannot let that commander do something like that again, especially with more soldiers and resources at his fingertips. That's why we have this." Jergens finished, and turned to the door. A petite white woman walked through wearing casual clothes. She had intense grey eyes and black hair. "Meet Nikita Petrov." Jergens said. "The prophet and I have already agreed to let her help us." Nikita did the Black Star salute. "Nikita leads a group of trained assassin mercenaries from Otkhod, originating from before The Demon Appearance in Jeoul. They specialize in taking out military leaders and politicians. She and her mercenaries will take care of Seilbrenner for us. We have already paid." Nikita smiled and nodded. "This commander will not live to become a general." She assured in her thick accent.
"This meeting was merely an introduction to all of you military leaders." Lloyd said. "Except you, Colens." The prophet turned to Brittaney, who jumped a little bit when his blue eyes swept over to her. "It is your job to keep these assassins quiet. Do not let them be known to the public, in case anyone… begins organizing treasonous groups from within. It is also your job to cover up any instance of any outlet reporting their existence. Your officers do a good job of keeping the news correct." Brittaney nodded, her treasonous mind wondering if this was an unholy thing to do, keeping information quiet.
Brittaney couldn't wonder if Jergens was thinking the same thing, looking at the prophet with a hint of distaste. It was well known that the only two people who could overthrow Axton Lloyd with enough public support were Abd Al-Malik, who was known to be too loyal, and Zane Jergens.
"My prophet, may I speak?" Gordon Thessali, head strategist asked. "Yes, go ahead Thessali." Lloyd said, sipping his tea. "I propose we attack where Seilbrenner is currently located. Sainsbury. A near direct line from the abandoned Verlassenist town of Lochberg. Attacking Sainsbury will create chaos, in not only witch Petrov's assassins can kill Seilbrenner, but we can kill all of the Camaelists they have in the Sainsbury Dragon War Prison. Of course, attacking Arnia outright is a great risk, but Sainsbury is a remote city. We can go in, and go out. Especially if we use our new weapons."
Lloyd paused, as if in thought, and then smiled. "I never doubt your strategy Thessali. Let's show them the bite of humanity's power."
. . .
Swordfish made eye contact with General Henrik Solberg as he sat down. The man who would decide his fate. Swordfish was sat down with the others by Seilbrenner. Swordfish looked across the outdoor court to see a young woman with dark skin and long black hair. She was wearing a black and white uniform with the Old Monarchy symbol, but with "Committee of Public Safety" written around the symbol. There was another woman behind her, and even a large Rockwing behind them, with an armband that also had the symbol.
"Let us begin." Solberg said in his deep voice. "First, we must do our traditional prayer." Solberg opened a drawer on his podium and pulled out a book and placed it on the wooden surface. "Luna, Sola, Eclis. Our three goddesses." Solberg began as the audience fell silent. "We ask you let only truth show in this court. Let your moonbeams guide us in the right direction, as you have for all of history. Although Sola and Eclis have left us, we believe you still look over us. And for that, we thank you." "Thank you." Everyone repeated.
Swordfish had no idea what was going on, but Blizzard and Rattlesnake had peculiar look on their faces. Rattlesnake looked concerned, and Blizzard looked scared.
"Let's get right into the subject." Solberg said. "Our subject today is the fate of these five dragonets. Vine of the Rainwings, Blizzard of the Icewings, Vulture of the Skywings, Swordfish of the Seawings, and Rattlesnake of the Sandwings. They were found in the King Burkhardt Bank in Lochberg, Verlassen by Demetrio Raneri and his bounty hunters. They were captured as suspected Camaelists, and purchased by us so that Raneri would not be able to sell them to Black Star, who killed all of their Rainwings without ever studying how to combat venom."
"But since then, we have been told by Anthony Conwell, who has returned from his mission, that these dragonets are in fact, not Camaelists, and followed him into the past when he escaped using the Necklace of Eclis. They are from the future, and a bad one at that. Conwell has reported many disturbing things about this future, but only a few of those things matter right now. One, dragons are the dominant race of the world." There was gasps and growling from the audience. Swordfish looked at the faces around the court and saw anger, fear, and disbelief.
"Second, almost all prior technology is gone. They live in a society similar to the 15th century. This can only mean that the Camaelists succeed in their goal of wiping away our civilization. They live on a singular continent called Pyrrhia, and live separated by their tribes." Swordfish saw the Rockwing from the Committee of Public Safety glaring at him.
"Third, humans are eaten daily by dragons. They call them 'scavengers' and think of them like cows or sheep. The dragons are also very violent towards each other in general." Solberg took a sip of water from a glass. "That is all. First, we will hear from Asha Wirnman of the Committee of Public Safety." Solberg said, and the dark-skinned woman began talking.
"Thank you, general." She said with a strange accent. "Although our original idea was that these dragonets were simply Camaelists, it has come to our attention that they are dangerous on their own terms. They come from a violent, dangerous world, where it appears the Camaelists have won. They may not be 'Camaelists,' but Camael's ideas shape their world, and by extension, them. They come from a world where dragons eat humans like it's nothing. They may not be extremists who want control like the Camaelists, but they still pose a threat to humans, and the ideas of their world are even more divisive than the current Camaelists. Separation of dragons can only lead to fantastic racism throughout the dragons."
Suddenly Swordfish got a horrible idea. He saw how angry the Rockwing looked. These three new tribes… what happened to them? What if… the entire tribes were wiped out by other tribes who thought they were better than them? And then it was covered up just like the rest of this was? Three entire genocides, covered up and taken out of history? By who? Swordfish answered his own question. The royal families of course. They're the only ones who would be able to do any of this. But why would all the aristocracies agree to cover up truth like this? The past, other tribes. Swordfish's mind thought to them all. Coral, Ruby, Glacier, Moorhen, Battlewinner, Blaze. Swordfish left out Glory, who wouldn't know anything, not being a member of a real royal lineage. Three moons… what did the other Sandwing sisters know?
And if the Camaelists, who are considered evil in this world, are accepting of all tribes like the Dragonets of Destiny are, what does that say about the rest of Pyrrhia? Even more extreme than Camael?
"We say we execute these dragonets. They are past the point of rehabilitation. They have five-thousand years of history telling them otherwise. If we let them live, they will most likely join the Camaelists and tell them valuable information, and only increase the racism in the Camaelists to the point where even tribes start to hate each other." Asha said.
"I see." The general said. "Now, we'll hear from Commander Daniel Seilbrenner from the Arnish army." Seilbrenner rose from his seat. "Thank you, general." He said. "The army has only decided to take action involving these five dragonets because of what Anthony Conwell told us. When he was on his expedition to the future with Rainfall, Rainfall befriended these dragonets. They went to the same school. We believe we can trust these dragonets. We also believe they will be able to help us with their knowledge of the future, so that we can avoid our destruction."
Swordfish looked over at Vulture, and they made eye contact. Seilbrenner really does want to change the future. If we ever return home… we could have changed things now, and… the whole world might be different. This technology… but five thousand years of progress added. Swordfish tried to imagine returning home to a world with humans, and technology of the deep future.
Three moons… what are we doing?
"How would you make sure they are compliant with this?" Asha asked. "How are you so confident that they will help you just because they were friends with another dragon? Are you forgetting that Rainfall is an enigma on his own? He has a shady past, refuses to help us look for the Necklace of Eclis or any of the other Holy Treasures, and to top it all off, he denies his Rainwing body its necessary sun time!"
Swordfish looked over at Vine to see her eyes looked concerned. Swordfish knew sun time was important for Rainwings to do on a daily basis… but did Rainfall never do it? Swordfish looked at Vine and went back in his mind to Rainfall's image. Rainfall was slightly duller than she was.
"Well, that all depends on them." Seilbrenner said, snapping Swordfish back to where he was. "They've already agreed to help us." "How do you know you can trust them?" Asha argued back. "What makes you think you can trust the word of a dragon like them?" Swordfish felt the same anger off of Asha that Ezra had. She hated the Camaelists. She had had someone she loved killed by dragons.
"We don't." Seilbrenner said, and the other woman behind Asha smirked. "But it's a gamble that we're willing to take. General Solberg, you are the same general who ended up trusting Rainfall of the Rainwings in the first place. Would you trust accomplices of him as well?" "But we still don't know if trusting Rainfall was a good choice in the first place!" Asha said.
"Oh, yes it was." Said a voice from the audience. Swordfish turned his head to see Marie LaToin, and behind her was Anthony and Michael. "Rainfall was a good friend to me in the short time I knew him. All three of us. It was some of his kind words that helped me get out of my depression." Suddenly, Michael spoke up. "He saved me from a Black Star soldier who was threatening my life!" And then, Anthony. "Rainfall kept me safe all the while I was in that strange future, and one of the few dragons he was open about even having me was with the Skywing and the Seawing. Vulture and Swordfish."
"Anthony!" Solberg said. "You should be able to help us decide if you can just get Rainfall in here if he hasn't already left." Anthony looked Solberg straight in the face. "Rainfall is dead. He was murdered by what we believe was a bounty hunter." Again, Anthony shot a quick look at Swordfish. Swordfish noted the strange looks on the other dragonets' faces. Looks of fear and worry. Swordfish began studying the crowd of humans and dragons, suddenly worried that Adnachiel had tracked them here.
"So, if you can't have Rainfall prove that they're not enemies…" Asha began. "We still don't know if we can trust them." "In fact, who's not to say that this was their plan!?" The Rockwing suddenly said. "Who's to say they're not just going to attack the general right now!?" Suddenly, Swordfish saw an Old Monarchy soldier hand something wrapped in blankets to Seilbrenner.
"Does anyone know what this is!?" Seilbrenner cried over the ruckus. He held it up, to see that it was a baby human. "Of course you do! This is a baby! To be specific, one from the orphanage. She has no mother or father to call her own. But one day, she will grow to be one of us. A human, fighting for the Old Monarchy!" Seilbrenner held out the baby, who was beginning to cry.
Suddenly, Seilbrenner smiled at the dragonets, and then yelled "WHOOPS!" And lightly tossed the baby.
Swordfish was shocked for a split second, before Rattlesnake knocked him over so she could catch the baby. Vine leapt forward too, also attempting to catch the young girl before she hit the stone floor. The baby landed in Rattlesnake's outstretched talons, who was careful not to let her claws hurt the baby in any way. Rattlesnake turned to look up at Seilbrenner with anger in her eyes.
"Look how angry she is over that!" Seilbrenner cried. The court stared with amazement that the commander had done such a thing. "What was the meaning of that?!" General Solberg cried. "You could have killed her!" "Ah, yes. I could have. But this young girl is not dead. Why? Because these dragonets made an effort to save her. A Camaelist would have just let it hit the ground, not to mention an extreme Camaelist. I believe that Anthony also listed that not all dragons think of humans like cattle, correct?" Seilbrenner then turned to Asha and the others with her. "You just witnessed these dragonets save a baby, and you think they are enemies of all of humanity?"
There was a silence in the court, only the noises of horses clopping and dragons flying outside made a sound. Until Solberg spoke again. "I am trusting my own judgement." He said, and looked up at the sky. "Dragonets, do as you are asked. And Seilbrenner, please speak to us afterwards." And General Henrik Solberg made his decision.
. . .
Swordfish squinted as he looked at the sunset over the city of Sainsbury. "This is just temporary." Polar said, showing the dragonets the small area with a tarp over it. "We don't have a good place for you five yet and we have all these little areas for refugees. The Verlassenist border is very close to Sainsbury." Vine looked at the tarp. "No place for the sun to come in?" "Hey Rainwing this is war. We're all making sacrifices here. You think this is a good place for an Icewing? But here I am!" Polar said. Blizzard nodded in agreement with Polar.
Swordfish sat down in one of the corners and felt the grass and dirt under him. It had been so long since he had been in water. He missed the small pool that was in Jade Mountain. Swordfish thought back to Jade Mountain, and how he may never see it again.
Swordfish closed his eyes and thought about all of Pyrrhia. How he may never return there. How it may change and never be the same, all thanks to the actions of him and the other four.
But he knew what must be done, must be done. Swordfish opened his eyes and looked into the sky again. He had to keep pushing forward like Abyss said. Whatever this world brought him. Wherever he was. He had to keep going.
Into the future.