"No need to thank me," Smolder said as he exited the tent with Nightreader. Nightreader hadn't been planning on it. She'd thought Burn was bluffing about killing her, but then again, killing a friendly emissary just for the fun of it did seem like a very Burn thing to do, and Smolder had convinced her out of it. The plan to warn Burn might not have been such a good one after all.
Nightreader looked around, and continued to keep her head raised high in pride as SandWing soldiers looked on in curiosity, and occasionally fear. Smolder was weaponless, and didn't look like the greatest of fighters. If Nightreader had to, she could fight him to escape, but the worry would be that the other SandWing soldiers would attack, far outnumbering her. Maybe if she got alone with him . . .
"Don't think I was trying to help you out back there," Smolder explained, "I haven't survived this long by telling my sister not to kill dragons. Believe me, I put my own scales at risk back there. I know her well enough to say that she was seriously debating killing me for 'talking back.'"
"Mhmm," Nightreader murmured in idle agreement, even though she suspected Smolder wanted her to ask why he'd asked Burn not to kill her.
Smolder continued talking anyways. "You see, I'm just looking out for my own interests. Burn might have killed for that, but if she killed you and the NightWings joined one of my other sisters, she'd certainly lose the war, and I'd lose my head. I prefer my head being on."
Nightreader snorted. It was like Smolder was trying to convince her of his own intelligence and cunning, even if he was certainly no Blister. Still, Nightreader could sense that for all his talk, he had at least one good scale on him. More than that, she wasn't sure.
"So, er, Princess Burn is very sorry for offending you and the NightWings," Smolder suddenly stated, realizing that Nightreader still could mention this to her NightWing superiors. "She's just a bit antsy from her visit with Queen Scarlet. The arena was quite disappointing this time, and Burn only got to kill a single IceWing. And I had to go with her. She doesn't like me too much, if you couldn't tell. She's usually a much more reliable ally though, so I'd really suggest that the NightWings support her. Hey, would you be willing to set up talks with your queen?"
"No," Nightreader stated outright, not buying any of it. Princess Burn had kept her SkyWing allies for this long, so Burn might've been more reliable than Princess Blackice, but not by much. It looked like Smolder was leading her towards the edge of the camp, and she could see a large number of dragons, almost all SandWings and MudWings, gathered in the distance. Where the fighting spectacle would soon take place.
"So, about this animus threat," Smolder hurried, knowing he didn't have much longer to stop it, "anything else you can tell me?"
Nightreader shook her head. "Not much," she answered, "most of the vision was vague, but I saw an SandWing using magic to attack your sister. There's always the small possibility it could be metaphorical, but I doubt it."
"It can't come true though, right?" Smolder asked. He lowered his voice slightly, not wanting to be overheard. "The Dragonet Prophecy says the dragonets will end the war, and we've still got seven years."
"It's possible," Nightreader lied, "the Dragonet Prophecy says 'two will die and one shall learn,' but never states when exactly they'll die. Maybe Burn will die today, and it'll be another seven years before the second queen ends up dead. Or maybe Burn will be maimed so badly she has to drop out of the war. Or maybe the animus will be defeated. Who knows. As I mentioned, prophecies tend to work in mysterious ways."
Smolder furrowed his eye-ridges and flicked his forked tongue in and out, unsure what to do. "Well, thank you and the NightWings for warning us, even if we aren't allies yet. I'll make sure our soldiers are prepared for an animus threat." His voice seemed to shake a little as he said the word 'animus.'
Smolder motioned Nightreader over to the edge of the camp. Nightreader could see more clearly now what was happening. A large area of empty land had been marked off with stones, creating a makeshift arena. At all spaces around the borders were a huge number of SandWings and MudWings, some of which were Burn's soldiers, some Crosswinds residents. A roar of applause and shouting rose from the crowd.
"Over here," Smolder quickly directed Nightreader, moving over to a small portion of the border where the crowd of dragons had thinned. Apparently a small section for dragons more important than the rest of the rabble. A few SandWing soldiers were guarding the edges, and the only other dragon within it was a grumpy looking MudWing, who didn't look at all pleased to be there. He gave Nightreader a cautionary look as she entered, then looked back to the arena. One of the SandWing soldiers, a young one with her left foreleg somewhat smaller than her right, kept looking over at Nightreader as the NightWing pretended not to notice.
Smolder whispered something to one of the other soldiers, whose expression suddenly changed to one of surprise, and than anxiety. Smolder shooed her away. Most likely to send out a word of alarm about the animus threat. Not that Nightreader thought it would help much against Erosion. Unless Burn decided to suddenly heed Nightreader's advice and call off the fight, it was all up to Torrent, Gazelle, and Griffin now.
Suddenly, the roar of the spectators grew, and Nightreader saw Burn walk out into the field, the sun glinting off her chainmail. She stretched her claws and breathed a puff of flame into the air.
"Hooray, she can breath fire," the MudWing next to Nightreader sarcastically grumbled.
As Burn reached the center of the field, she stopped, and turned around, her claws itching for a fight. It wasn't long before four of her guards brought the fight out towards her. Two SeaWings trudged towards Burn as the guards prodded them with spears. Their wings were bound tightly to their bodies with chains. Nightreader was worried for a moment that one of them was Torrent, but looking closer at them, it was clear neither was him — one was green, and the blue one was far too small. Probably captured soldiers. Nightreader felt a pang of pity for them. She doubted either would get out of this alive, and was certain both had realized it by now.
The green one suddenly whipped around, standing on her hind legs and roaring at the guards, but they quickly prodded her with their spears, making sure not to injure her in any substantial way before the fight. "Blister will make you pay for this in blood!" she growled.
The second one, a light blue color, kept his eyes focused downwards, as if he was trying to accept his fate as he walked towards Burn.
Suddenly, Nightreader heard a dragon yell something in the distance. "Burn is a cruel monster! We don't want her as our queen!"
Burn's head whipped around to the source within the crowd at the edges of the arena, but decided not to move towards it. A small commotion started as soldiers entered the area of the arena border that the protest had emanated from. Before long, two SandWings dragged the limp body of a MudWing onto the edge of the arena, his head visibly smashed inwards. After making sure everyone watching the arena could see the fate of the protester, the SandWings heaved the body back through the crowd, leaving a trail of red blood behind them as SandWings and MudWings quickly moved out of their way.
As Nightreader gave a quick glance to the MudWing next to her, she could see him visibly biting his tongue with a snarl forming. He glanced over to Nightreader and gave her a glare, as if warning her not to mention the treasonous thoughts he was thinking right then.
"Stay here," Smolder suddenly whispered to Nightreader, almost pleading her not to try and escape. The prince walked out into the arena with a smile, drawing cheers from the SandWings and MudWings watching.
"Welcome, welcome!" Smolder shouted, motioning with his paw for the crowd to be quiet. "Loyal subjects of the honorable Queen Burn and her esteemed allies, I thank you all for coming here today! I present to you, her majesty, the mighty Queen Burn, rightful queen of the SandWings!"
He quickly bowed his head to his sister as the crowd roared. Burn continued to keep a frown on her snout, as if irritated that she hadn't killed anyone yet and had to listen to her annoying brother give a speech.
"In front of you today, far from deserving the honor of being ripped apart by our queen's claws, are two SeaWings, enemies of our alliance. Far beneath the ocean's surface, where the light of day never reaches their eyes, these slimy eels plot with the greedy false queen Blister to destroy the Sand and Mud Kingdoms. Blister has sold her soul to these water-breathing creatures, and plans to enslave the Sand Kingdom under their rule. I ask you, what punishment do these immoral worms deserve for murdering our soldiers, for slaughtering our innocent civilians?
"DEATH!" the crowd chanted in a muted tone, though they quickly were able to reach unison. "DEATH! DEATH! DEATH!"
Nightreader hissed, mildly disgusted. She liked Smolder somewhat less after that speech. 'Plotting? Slaughtering?' Almost laughable. If anyone was plotting, it was the NightWings. Torrent was hopefully somewhat nearby, but Nightreader was sorry he had to hear all this. It almost made her hope Erosion ended up killing Burn after all.
As the crowd continued to chant, Nightreader noticed that most of the MudWings within it didn't seem to be going along with it, and the few who were didn't seem particularly enthusiastic. The MudWing next to her was completely silent. Nightreader wasn't surprised — only a few years ago, the MudWings were allies with the SeaWings and Blister. The MudWings here had fought along SeaWings; they couldn't believe any of the fictions Smolder was making up. She supposed that was why Smolder was going to the trouble to make this speech, and hosting this event. A lot of the MudWings here, and anywhere on Pyrrhia, still viewed Burn as their enemy, and she needed to change that.
"Yes!" Smolder shouted as the chanting died down. "And death they shall receive! But us SandWings and MudWings are far more honorable than these creatures. We will give them an opportunity to prove their worth, and live. Ancient law dictates that the queen must be the most powerful dragon in the land, and if her majesty loses to two scummy SeaWings, she isn't worthy to be our leader." He said this last part almost with a laugh, trying to suggest that the idea that Burn was unworthy was completely absurd.
Still, Nightreader could see a hint of worry in Smolder's eyes. Something could always go wrong, and if Burn ended up killed by a SeaWing prisoner . . . well, things wouldn't end up very well for Smolder. He didn't seem like the type of dragon who enjoyed taking risks, unlike his sister Burn, so Nightreader guessed she was the one who came up with the fight idea, not him.
Nightreader glanced around the arena edges quickly. No sign of Torrent, Griffin, nor Gazelle. Nor her brother, Erosion, or any of the other animuses. After that speech, she decided that she wouldn't feel so bad after all if she escaped Smolder's 'imprisonment' and the cowardly SandWing ended up punished for it, but she'd wait at least until one of her group appeared.
"So!" Smolder continued. "Let the fight begin!" He started walking back towards Nightreader as the SandWings guarding the two SeaWings stepped backwards, leaving them with Burn.
The green SeaWing glanced over at her blue ally, and motioned for him to move around Burn. He nodded, and the two slowly walked towards the princess, keeping a distance between themselves and her. As they got into flanking position, one on either side of Burn, the SandWing princess remained unimpressed, flicking her tongue out from boredom.
With a sudden roar, the green SeaWing rushed at Burn, the blue one hesitating slightly before running at his opponent, either accepting or ignoring his imminent death.
As the green SeaWing attempted to slam into Burn, claws out and jaws open, Burn moved quickly, like a flash of lightning. Nightreader was surprised at the SandWing princess's speed; for such a large dragon, Nightreader had expected her to move much slower. The green SeaWing's fate was sealed within an instant, her claws barely scratching the surface of Burn's golden scales as Burn's barb flew through her throat before quickly being pulled out again, sticky blood dripping from its razor-sharp point.
The second SeaWing tackled at Burn with his claws ready, but barely nudged the SandWing. With a burst of speed, Burn's claws sailed beneath his underbelly, drawing streams of blood as she threw him into the air like he weighed nothing. When he hit the ground, he didn't have time to stand up before Burn pinned him down with by slamming her paw on his chest, crushing his lungs as she dug her claws far beneath his scales. He flailed once with his talons, swiping at Burn's thin layer of chainmail uselessly, before Burn's claws wrapped around his throat, ripping out a glob of pink flesh as she teared them into him.
Nightreader shuddered. If Burn had decided to kill her in the tent, she wouldn't have had a chance at survival. Maybe Burn's overconfidence wasn't so 'over' after all. The fight seemed over as soon as it began.
The crowd was silent for a moment, as shocked as Nightreader, before bursting into cheers and applause. "QUEEN BURN! QUEEN BURN! QUEEN BURN!" they chanted, as Burn lifted the body of the blue SeaWing into the air for everyone to see, parts of his flesh and throat dangling to the side as Burn's foreleg became covered in his red blood. She tossed his body to the side as Smolder walked back onto the battlefield with a grin Nightreader could tell was clearly feigned. He seemed just as disgusted as she was, maybe more so. Just far more cowardly.
"The outcome of this battle proves beyond a hint of doubt no one ever had that her majesty, Queen Burn, is the most powerful dragon in the Sand Kingdom, and is the most worthy to be queen! As soon as the false princesses are disposed of, Queen Burn will usher in a new golden era of SandWing success and victory, where our allies shall stand beside us, with the SeaWings and IceWings trembling before the might of the SandWings, MudWings, and SkyWings!"
"So, I ask" Smolder stated, "are there any foolish supporters of the false queens who wish to fight, and be defeated, in their place? Any dragons in this crowd who believe themselves more worthy to be queen than Burn?"
The crowd was silent for a moment, before the sudden shout of yelling dragons at the far end of the arena broke it. SandWings and MudWings appeared to be thrown to the side by an invisible force, creating a clearing in the crowd along the arena's border.
A huge SandWing, almost as large as Burn, stepped through the empty space, into the of the arena. A golden crown arrogantly sat on her horns, and she was grinning like things had gone even more perfectly than she could've ever imagined. She spread her wings wide, letting the sun glint off her shining golden scales. "I, Erosion, am the most powerful dragon in Pyrrhia, and its rightful ruler. I challenge Princess Burn for the SandWing throne!"