A cool spring breeze blew through the fir and juniper trees lining the lake as a light drizzle fell from the grey clouds overhead. Such weather was common in mountains this time of year. Fireclaw gazed out across the smooth surface of the lake and at the towering peacks of the Blacktalons on the opposite shore, their summits obscured by the clouds. The gryphon never grew tired of the view from his lakeside home. He could always find peace by taking in the natural beauty that surrounded him.
Presently, a pair of dark shapes moved across the water. A small black fledgling with black plumage matching his own skimmed the surface of the lake while a light brown female with black wingtips followed close behind.
Fireclaw watched the pair circle over one spot and then the fledgling dived, thrusting her talons into the water and climbing back up with a rather impressive trout.
"Well done, Ravena!" Fireclaw exclaimed as his daughter made her way to shore with her catch.
Fireclaw chuckled as he stared down at Ravena. The young gryphoness's bright green eyes gleamed with excitement. Droplets of water clung to her jet black feathers, which matched her father, but her eyes were inherited from her mother.
Fireclaw directed his attention to the light brown gryphoness who came in to land beside them.
"Ravena will be quite a hunter one day, don't you think?" Fireclaw said warmly.
"Indeed." Said Rala, folding her wings as she landed beside her family. "It won't be long before…"
Her words trailed off another gryphon burst through the brush, his ears flattened against his skull and a look of fear in his eyes.
"Lord Fireclaw, come quick!" exclaimed the young gryphon.
"What's going on?" Fireclaw demanded.
Something must be terribly wrong. he thought to himself. Human trespassers perhaps...
"Dragons!" exclaimed the young male gryphon as he rushed back into the bushes.
A chill went down Fireclaw's spine and dread gripped his heart. He turned to his daughter.
"Go to the nest. Now!"
The young fledgling nodded and darted into the bushed still carrying her fish.
"Dragons? Here?" Rala gasped as she ran alongside Fireclaw. "What could they be doing here?"
"We're about to find out." Fireclaw replied.
The two gryphons ran past several wigwam-like structures that made up their lakeside settlement and encountered a gathering of gryphons standing at the edge of a clearing.
"Make way!" Fireclaw barked and the gryphons complied.
The black gryphon made his way to the front of the group and that was when he saw them. Three large dragons stood in the center of the clearing staring at the gryphons.
As the leader of his clan, it was Fireclaw's job to assess the situation and defend his clan. Swallowing his own fear, he cautiously made his way out into the clearing, ears folded back and tail lashing. Rala accompanied him as he made his way toward them. He studied the three dragons.
One dragon, standing in front of the other two, was a large teal-colored male with matching teal eyes. He sported six cheek spikes and a stubby horn on his snout. He bore a number of scars but they appeared to be quite old and healed.
The second dragon was a small green male with two cheek spikes and several fresh scars, including three clawmarks across his face, one of which narrowly missed his right eye.
Fireclaw's eyes shifted to the third dragon, a female with scales as gray as the rainclouds overhead. She had four cheek spikes and short curved horns. Her eyes were blank, as though she had seen unspeakable horrors. Her neck and shoulders were covered in injuries as if she had been savagely mauled by another dragon. She stood on three legs while her right front leg was holding two rounded objects.
Eggs! Fireclaw thought to himself.
He returned his attention to the teal male, who took a step toward him. The gryphon flared his wings in a threatening display.
That's close enough! He thought to himself.
Though the teal dragon dwarfed him, gryphons were not creatures to be trifled with. However, the dragon made no aggressive movements, but instead stopped and stared down at fireclaw. Then he slowly dipped his head. A sign of respect.
Fireclaw felt the dragon touch his mind and then he heard a deep, rumbling voice.
We hail from the land of Alagaesia cross the sea. We come in peace.
Fireclaw calmed a bit and lowered his wings, ears perking up, but he remained alert.
"Why have you come here?"
The traitorous Riders known as The Foresworn have driven us from our homeland. replied the teal dragon. We seek asylum among your people.
"Asylum?" Fireclaw scoffed, his tail lashing involuntarily as if it was a ludicrous idea. "What makes you think your kind are welcome here?"
Rala shot him a quick glance, her beak opening slightly and her ears slicking back.
The smaller green dragon stepped forward. His voice was utterly desperate. Please, we have nowhere else to go. We were lucky to even escape at all. They attacked our nest… slaughtered our brothers and sisters… We were only able to save two of our eggs.
Fireclaw remained silent, genuinely unsure of what to do. It was surprising to see something as powerful as a dragon begging a gryphon for help. Perhaps it was the utter desperation in the green dragons tone that made Fireclaw hesitate to deny their requests altogether. Painful memories of an old massacre flooded Fireclaw's mind.
"Love…" Rala whispered in his ear. "Can I speak with you?"
Without waiting for an answer, Rala turned and moved back under the cover of the trees.
"Excuse me for a moment." Fireclaw said to the dragons before turning to follow his mate.
Once they were out of earshot she rounded on him, eyes fierce and her hackle feathers standing on end.
"You're not going to send them away." she stated bluntly.
"I don't know…" Fireclaw started to say.
"You won't!" Rala demanded, flaring her wings. "I won't allow it! If you turn those dragons away, you sentence them to death!"
Fireclaw's heart pounded and he flattened his ears a bit. In that moment, he wasn't sure whether he'd rather face the fury of three dragons or his own mate. Always a kindhearted gryphon, Rala possessed a selflessness and compassion that he often lacked.
"I just…" he sighed. "I'm not sure they can be trusted."
"Fireclaw, look at them. They brought their eggs with them! They're desperate!"
"Do you remember King Roland and how he promised us peace, only to massacre our people?" Fireclaw whispered.
"That's not King Roland and his soldiers! That is a family of dragons who came to you for help!"
"Dragons!" Fireclaw snapped. "Not gryphons! My responsibility is to this clan first and foremost!"
"It makes no difference!" Rala snapped back. "If you turn them away then you are as good as killing them! Their blood will be on your talons! Now, you WILL go out there, you WILL make them an offer, and you WILL set a good example for your daughter!"
It was at this point that Fireclaw realized he had sunk into a cowering position as his mate towered over him with her wings flared and her green eyes aglow with fiery fury like had never seen before.
"Alright." He whispered.
As he turned to make his way back to the clearing, Rala continued to glare at him and Fireclaw felt the tiniest degree of shame.
As he neared the clearing, the dragons all stared at him and he could see the fear in their eyes. Their pleas had been genuine. They were not looking for trouble. He recalled the massacre that he had survived all those years ago. The horror and death, and the way the human soldiers seemed to kill his fellow gryphons purely for sport. He realized that the dragons had been through the same thing.
Rala is right… he told himself and he bowed his head with shame that he had ever considered turning them away.
The teal dragon touched Fireclaw's mind again. Please, we just want to live our lives in peace.
"Very well." Fireclaw said softly, making eye contact.
He gestured one wing toward the nearby mountains. "There is good hunting in those mountains. Deer, elk, moose, bears, whatever you could want to hunt. You may stay so long as you abide by our laws."
Name your terms. The teal dragon replied.
Fireclaw looked up at the dragon. "First, whatever territorial claims you had in your homeland no longer apply here. You may claim a nesting site as your own but all hunting grounds must remain open to all. Second, you must treat the gryphons who live here with respect. Do this and we will respect you in return."
Agreed.
"Humans are forbidden from entering these lands so you should be safe in the mountains. We will leave you to live your lives as you see fit."
The teal dragon turned to his companions and Fireclaw assumed he was communicating privately with them. The dragon then turned to him once more.
Thank you for your consideration and your kindness.
The teal dragon took off into the rainy sky and the other two followed him, disappearing into the clouds overhead and heading north into the mountain range.
Fireclaw sighed and turned to his nervous clan.
"The dragons will be staying in the mountains. You will treat them with respect as if they were fellow gryphons."
This seemed to put the clan at ease and Rala joined him.
"Well done." she whispered.
"I just hope you know what you're doing."
"Never underestimate the power of a kind act." Rala said reassuringly.
Fireclaw chuckled and draped a wing over her. In a way it did feel good to help the dragons.
Perhaps they'll repay us one day. he told himself.
Fireclaw glanced up at the sky wondering what the future might bring.
The end…
Because I refuse to believe that every single dragon was so stubborn that they would remain in Alagaesia and try to fight even when they knew it meant death. There comes a point where you have to realize that some battles aren't worth fighting and your survival is more important.