"Hello Aurora," calls Cinis from the shadows of the command tent, causing the referenced IceWing to jump into a defensive position.

"Where are you!" calls the IceWing.

"Closer than you might think," Cinis moves to her ear, "I heard you've been considering defection."

"How do you know that!" calls Aurora snapping at where he was moments before.

"Leaving letters out in the open is very poor form," chides Cinis, "No wonder you've fallen so far."

"If you're here to kill me then do it!" calls Aurora.

"Flare wouldn't like it if I kill someone who can help us," answers Cinis.

"Flare? You're a SkyWing! Guards!"

"No need for that, Scarlet will get plenty of use out of them."

"I am an officer of the Fifth Circle! I will not be that easily swayed."

"Seventh," corrects Cinis, "Seventh Circle. Why not fight for us? After all, we've never purposely deformed dragons under the guise of 'research'. Or forced hatchlings to perform hard labor."

"Because you have killed many of my friends. I've seen dragons starve because your kind didn't want to fight us face to face."

"Friends? That isn't something fifth circle warriors worry themselves with. Though the SkyWings pride themselves for being able to have someone to discuss all of our problems with. Someone we trust."

"You are a bunch of sadistic brigands that like to watch dragons with no hope left murder each other. Why would I ever associate with such dragons!"

"You don't have many other choices."

"Of course I do! I can join up with Blister or strike out as a mercenary company in the Scorpions Den or Possibility."

Realizing he's losing her, Cinis' mind starts to race, "Glacier will find you no matter where you hide." At the lack of reaction Cinis' mind shifts into overdrive, "Blister can't protect you. Only we can."

"Yeah? Protect me from what?"

At this point Cinis reaches back into his memory and finds the one word that appears so often, and never in a good light, in the IceWing records Ignis decided he wanted to steal, "Th-the NightWings. The tribe that stole your magic, murdered your prince and created a bastard child that slaughtered hundreds of innocent IceWings. Blister has allied with them."

"NightWings!"

"Yes and they are planning a massive assault. We need all the information you have to stop them."

"They can't get past the Great Ice Cliff. Unless they use the Gift of Diplomacy."

"That's exactly their plan as told by the two NightWings we magically enchanted to do our bidding. They used your stolen magic to make more. Enough for an entire army."

"By the teeth of the great ice dragon! I must alert my tribe!"

"They won't believe you. You must tell us everything you know if we hope to defeat the mind reading and future seeing dragons that want nothing more than world domination."

"Okay I'll tell you everything," replies Aurora.

"Sir?" calls Jet from the tent flap.

"Hold that thought," calls Cinis, "Report."

"General Flare has arrived. Want me to carry a message?"

Cinis lowers his voice and moves to Jet's ear, "Pretend like you've been enchanted," at Jet's nod he moves back a bit, "No need NightWing, I'll speak to him myself. Now stay here and if she even has a whisper of a thought about trying something, kill her. However If I find that you've killed her for any other reason it will be a most unpleasant experience, for you."

"Yes Master!" snaps Jet.

Cinis turns the moon globe at his shoulder one rotation filling the tent with a dim light before sending it to float next to Jet who gives Aurora a snarl, "Flare will want some light."

Walking through the camp he finds Flare looking over the seventy-five new prisoners waiting to be processed in the dim light of dawn, "First Lieutenant Cinis reporting!"

"Come here," Flare motions to Cinis who obliges, "This is quite impressive. You had a plan to torch the camp and still captured it intact."

"With all due respect I only succeeded due to timing and luck. When I arrived to scout the area, Jet found a pair of letters," he removes the letters from his pouch, "It seems that this camp had had most of its dragons reassigned yesterday. If I had been any earlier or if we had gone up the river I wouldn't be here."

"That simply means the winds of fate are with you," answers Flare.

"There's another thing," starts Cinis, "In the command tent there is an IceWing that has decided to tell us all we need."

"How did you manage that? IceWing commanders are notoriously tight-lipped."

"I told her that NightWings were about to launch a massive attack on her kingdom and the only way to save it was to tell us all she knows."

"Creative," mutters Flare, "I wish I was that creative."

"Oh and also. I told her that Jet was a NightWing we magically brainwashed to follow our every word."

"What I'd give to be young and creative," mumbles Flare, "Meet up with Uraninite, she may not say so but I know she'd appreciate some help taking inventory."

After a bit of searching Cinis finds Uraninite moving between tents. After flagging her down Cinis salutes, "First Lieutenant Cinis reporting for providing assistance taking inventory."

"Let me guess," starts Uraninite, "Flare sent you?"

"Yes, What do you need me to do?"

She points to a tent, "Count what's in there and report back to me."

While the sun is setting after a long day of taking inventory, Cinis sees Flare watching the sunset cradled perfectly in the gap between two peaks. As Cinis is approaching Flare notices him, "Cinis! How about you join me? You look like you have a lot on your mind. Tell me."

After a moment of composure Cinis starts, "Did you get anything useful out of Aurora."

"Yes, a strategist's wet dream. Camp placements, supply routes, troop numbers she was remarkably well connected. Brilliant work."

"That's a lot," comments Cinis, "Must've taken a lot of effort."

"Not really. When a dragon is in a state of fear and panic it becomes almost effortless to convince them to voluntarily give up information. A stroke of genius that was."

"How can it be genius? I used her fear of NightWings to force her to betray her entire tribe! When this war is over she won't be welcome back home. Nor would any other tribe want her. She will never again see those she loves and cares for. She'd be tribeless. Forever wandering, welcome nowhere. She'd be a ghost, a specter of her former self. In one selfish move I ruined her life."

"We all have regrets, but when you get to my age you learn to ignore them. Time moves on and so must you."

"I can't just ignore it!" A rising panic starting to work its way into his mind, "Before I got wrapped up in this moon forsaken war I wouldn't have even considered ruining someone's life like that, not towards Moroz or even Frost. But what was my first thought? Lie and cheat and ruin a dragon's life for my own gain. I'm a monster. I'm no better than Frost or my father. What's next? Murdering dragonets?"

"That seems a bit extreme don't you think?" asks Flare but his question goes unheard.

"I could turn into my father! What if-" Cinis is cut off by Flare

"Collect yourself!" calls Flare giving Cinis a firm shake, "You won't go murder dragonets because you got an uncooperative dragon to cooperate. You've grown and matured since you were a dragonet. Not to mention nobody leaves a war unchanged! Now our current information will be invalid in mere days. As such I order you to find some way to keep me constantly apprised of the IceWing troop movements."

After taking a moment to calm down and think Cinis responds, "I have contacts. I just need to go to Possibility."

"Do what you need to and take Major Uraninite. I feel she needs more field experience if she is to make General someday. If you don't mind."

"Yes, Sir. I'll depart first thing tomorrow."