February 15th, 4992

It was about 10:30 in the morning, when I called the first Council meeting to order. It wasn't exactly a large meeting, namely being made up of myself, Grandeur, Fruit Bat, Splendor and Flying Fox. But in the entire Rainforest, these were the smartest and most trustworthy dragons I knew.

"So," I began, tapping a half-coconut on the table, "I do hereby call this Council of Queens to order. I would like to thank you all for attending today, and hope this marks the beginning of a new, prosperous era for the Kingdom of the Rainforest. Our first order of business shall be the result of the Rainforest Census. Fruit Bat, if you please."

The pink dragoness sat up, unrolling a crudely drawn map of the Rainforest Kingdom, with notes and annotations next to each marked settlement. The Village was of course the largest, but I'd been surprised to see so many little hamlets and settlements scattered about this dense tropical forest.

"The figures provided in-dragon to Your Majesty," She began, "Have since been amended. It appears you were correct about the calculations of our, ahem, court mathematician. They only counted all those in their immediate line of sight, fell asleep halfway through, and forgot that camouflaged dragons still count. After a severe reprimand and promise of a food prize for a more accurate count using multiplication and division, our population is estimated as between nine and eleven thousand dragons, with the real number likely closer to nine thousand."

Xero sighed, remembering that whole experience. Billow, the mathematician in question, was also the math teacher for all the dragonets of the Village. So imagine my surprise and concern when her initial report had said that we only had fifty dragons in the village, and 500 in the entire jungle. I went over the numbers myself, and I was certain the poor sap had only a third-grader's understanding of math (a testament to the sad state of affairs here). Only after doing my own count (and instructing messengers heading to the rest of the jungle on how to do the same) was I certain I had accurate numbers.

"Of this," She continued, "I estimate that, in addition to the one hundred currently in our new 'army,' three hundred further able-bodied dragons could be asked to serve in our armed forces, although getting them to is beyond me. If needed to defend the realm, as many as a thousand in all could be made to heed the call, but such an expansion, I must warn you, would make it difficult to collect enough fruit to keep the kingdom fed. In my position as former Queen, I therefore suggest that you not do so."

"Very good." I smiled and nodded, as she gathered her things and returned to her seat. Her scales flashed yellow, and I felt my stomach flutter as she smiled back. "Grandeur, how are our latest defense initiatives going?"

"I do not know what sacrifice you gave to the spirits when you came to our land, Your Majesty," She sighed, "But it has worked wonders. Your assessment of what would motivate our dragons was beyond exceptional. Imagine my shock when dozens of RainWings come swarming our little village, all announcing their interest in the games you had established."

I smiled and nodded, remembering those crowds on Monday afternoon. Even the most easygoing and low-energy dragon couldn't resist the thrill of competition and victory, to see who was better at what. Majestic and Dazzling still remained at the top of the leaderboards, but there were enough dragons close enough to their records that we could start filling our Army with decent fighters. They might still be leery of taking a life, but we were confident that they could handle everything else the job required just fine.

"Nonetheless, I was more than happy to set up testing grounds for all who wished to prove themselves, and the results have been impressive. Blow-gunners capable of hitting a fig from twenty dragon-lengths, venom-spitters who can strafe an area eight dragon-lengths wide, and fliers able to circle the village in under a minute, among others! After some persuasion and a quick explanation in the concepts of scoreboards and statistics, all eagerly agreed to enlistment, nearly doubling our forces and pushing those already in them to act at least half-way competent. Of course, they are more interested in the games, and I doubt their willingness to use their talents for something as violent as war, but keeping an organized mob of RainWings united for a purpose - even that of playing games - is no small accomplishment!"

I shrugged. Sometimes all you need is to offer a challenge to people, and they rise up to meet it. And maybe sometimes you have to frame the challenge in such a way that they want to take it on. Or maybe I just got lucky. Wouldn't be the first time this week.

"I am also pleased to report that the palisade has received an additional mud layer and additional traps have been laid. I doubt even an animus-touched dragon could get through the forest untouched now without a guide. While I certainly did not expect our salvation to come from outside, Your Majesty has done much to restore the Rainforest Kingdom, even if there is much left to do."

"Thank you, Grandeur." I turned and motioned for Splendor to come up. The map of the Rainforest Kingdom was replaced with a map showing all of Phyrria. As I've had many years to think of it, doesn't it seem odd that our homeland comes in the shape of... well, us? Dragonkind, the largest, smartest and most dominant species in the world? I was never one to put much stock in the Spirits or Moons building the world for us, but things like that couldn't help but make me wonder.

"First and foremost," Splendor began, "Queen Scarlet is a big meanie! One of my friends, an everything merchant, offered her tasty fruit and shiny jewels, but the meanie Queen SLAPPED them across the snout and threatened to even KILL them if they offered again! I of course allowed them to come back and take all the sun time they need to recover."

"...Yeah, that sounds about right." I snorted. "The Skywing Queen is known for being, well, let's go with 'short-tempered'." We should be thankful she didn't toss the poor thing in a dungeon, I thought, Or worse, in the arena with Hypaethral.

"What's her problem?" Flying Fox asked, his scales flashing an indignant pale orange. "Who just goes around slapping random strangers like that?"

"Someone who enjoys watching other dragons suffer and die for her amusement." I stated. "Skywings tend to be a little hot-tempered, but Scarlet's someone even they've come to fear. Anyways, Splendor, please continue."

"Another friend, also a merchant, was able to talk to some officials after offering them fruit, however, including the ambassador to the SandWings! Like you said, they're all scared of Scarlet, but my friend tells me that they will keep not helping either Blister or Nightshade!"

I nodded. The fewer kingdoms that took part in that war, the better.

"Alright then," I said, "Now, what do we know about my ho-... My homeland?" I caught myself there. I couldn't really consider the Sand Kingdom my home anymore, could I? Not if I was King of the Rainforest. My loyalty and primary concern should be them, otherwise why should they keep me as their sovereign?

"Lots of friends here, mostly carrying water for all the soldiers. Water is super-duper expensive now because of how thirsty all the SeaWings and NightWings are! Lots of stuff has been going on the last couple months. Did you know the old Queen was killed by scavengers?"

"Yes, I did." I answered, resisting the urge to facepalm. "What I want to know is what's been going on since last week. What happened after the Royal Guard attacked Hawkstone?"

Splendor went through her notes, before finding sheets of newspapers and handing it to me. "There was a riot at the Palace last week." Splendor explained, "A pretty bad one at that. Several dragons died, including one of the Princesses."

I read the newspaper, and my paws began to shake. According to the article, an angry mob of dragons attacked the Sandwing Palace a mere hour after I had left. Infuriated by the loss of half of our armies and destruction brought about by foreign invaders and criminals, they pushed past the meager castle guards to get vengeance upon the Princesses who screwed them over. They charged into the Wyrdling Tower, where Burn was (reportedly) in the middle of a vivisection. For all of her flaws, cowardice wasn't one of them. It was said she personally took down six dragons before the mob overwhelmed her. Her body was mounted on a pike, and taken outside the Palace to be beaten with sticks, torn apart, and cremated in a ditch.

I didn't know how to feel. Burn was a terrible dragoness. She would've been an even worse Queen. She left me alone against the entire Court while she went after her mother's killers. She enjoyed harming others. She didn't deserve my pity or my sympathy or my guilt, and yet... And yet I couldn't help but feel my heart ache, and my vision get blurry with potential tears. The Princess had been my biggest supporter, after all. She got me in the Court, and for a time, she was a good friend and a crush. As much as it turned out for the best, leaving her behind was leaving a part of me. And now that part was gone forever, a chunk of my past lost to the dunes.

"Xero?" Batty asked, placing a paw on my shoulder, "Are you alright?"

I sighed, rubbing my eyes. "Yeah," I said, taking her paw in mine, "I will be. Thank you." She smiled and let me go, and I continued reading more of the article.

After the mob had dealt with Burn, they searched for the other Princesses. They found Princess Blaze in her chambers, attempting to pack all her possessions before fleeing. Out of residual respect for everyone's favorite Princess (and no doubt already having their bloodlust sated), they allowed the young dragoness to leave with whatever she could carry. Wisely, she took what she had and fled into the desert.

When it was Blister's turn, however, she was nowhere to be seen. Sensing that something was going to go down, she, Tanwen, the Princes and their entourage bailed, flying to Coral's camp before the mob arrived. General Tempest and the Seawings took flight over to Hawkstone, where Blister's ally Hallowglide welcomed them with open wings. For a few hours, the Palace truly did belong to the Sandwing people.

But then evening came, and that's when the real bloodshed occurred. As I requested before I left, the Northern Army had arrived to secure the Palace in case the Seawings attacked. What no one had anticipated was that that was when Nightshade would choose to strike out with his Bandit Army. The Palace became a madhouse, as angry civilians and barely trained criminals went up against professional warriors. As one would expect, this was a very one-sided fight, and General Coville looked to be victorious.

That was when the Nightwings attacked. Turns out the rumors of Nightshade working with Queen Battlewinner were true, and somehow the Nightwing Army had managed to sneak their way across the desert to arrive just in time to bail out the Warlord and his henchdrakes. But what seemed peculiar was that Nightshade wasn't with either group. Instead, the Nightwings were being led by a large, female Sandwing, wearing the Eye of Onyx! The merchant Flame, still loyal to Blaze even then, had gathered a small team of mercenaries in the time before the siege, and launched a desperate final attack into the Courtyard to take it back. Nightwings and Sandwings fought each other, giving the old merchant an opening to go for the Eye. He got close enough to the interloper to place his paw upon the necklace. It would be the last thing he ever did: No sooner had his claws wrapped around the enchanted metal, the old dragon became electrocuted, his whole body burning away in blue electrical fire in mere moments. By the time the Sandwing Army was destroyed, there was nothing left of him but ash.

But perhaps the greatest surprise was the identity of this mysterious Sandwing. I reread that sentence. Then again. Then a third time, certain my eyes were playing tricks.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on." I said, looking up at Splendor. "This says that Nightshade's a..."

"A female Sandwing, yes." Splendor replied. "Rumor has it that the Eye turns you into the ideal version of a Sandwing Queen, if you're worthy. If you're not, it zaps you and turns you into dust. Isn't that the craziest thing?"

"Yeah," I murmured, "Crazy." I had it. I thought, a chill running down my spine. I had it in my paws. It touched me and gave me that vision. Would that have happened to me, if the Eye had deemed me worthy?

I didn't know what bothered me more: That I could've been turned to dust in an instant, or that the necklace had magic potent enough to remake me as it saw fit? I really lucked out then, forfeiting my right when I did.

Anyways, the article finished up with reports that the Southern Sandwing Army (made up of former bandits and outclaws) had defected wholesale to "Queen" Nightshade, boosting her forces with another hundred fighters. Meanwhile, the Icewings had deployed a hundred of their own soldiers to occupy the northern region of the Sand Kingdom. It wasn't an out-and-out declaration of war, but rather an effort to "maintain peace and stability", or more accurately, to get their claws on vital resources while the land remained divided.

That was all that happened in the week I had become King of the Rainwings. The following week looked no less grim.

First and foremost, for one reason or another, "Queen" Nightshade had allowed the guard and claimant Sandstorm alone and untouched in the Palace. Whether out of hope of bringing her in to somehow legitimize their reign, or because they didn't think she was worth killing in public, I have no idea. What I DO know, however, is that by Monday the 8th, Nightwing guards entered her chamber only to discover that someone had already beaten them to the punch, and assassinated them. Nightshade insisted that they didn't do it, and I'm inclined to believe them, if only because of the second development that week.

Princess Blaze returned to the Sandwing Palace, and before an assembly of Sandwings and Nightwings proudly proclaimed her loyalty and support to Queen Nightshade. She would renounce her claim to the throne in exchange for being allowed back in the Court, and getting to live the life of luxury she used to have. This may've surprised some, but having watched her grow up over the years, I knew this was very much within her character. She didn't really care about power or leadership: She just wanted the privilege and luxury that came with being royalty. Blaze's inclusion in Nightshade's Court has become a gift and a curse for the warlord queen; while keeping the People's Princess shores up their support with the kingdom itself, the inclusion of so many Sandwings is drawing the ire of their Nightwing backers.

Elsewhere, the war continued, as Sandwings and Nightwings and Seawings do battle all across the desert. Baron Hallowglide, still nominally loyal to Blister, had sent his own militia to join the Seawing Army as they made a second attempt on the Sandwing Palace. Credit where credit is due, the Baron recognized the value of my inventions, as the crossbows he'd taken off the Royal Guards who attacked Hawkstone had been studied and rebuilt, bootleg copies of my work were used by his fighters to attack the Southern Army as they were en route to the Palace. Surprised, sleep-deprived and riddled with crossbow bolts, the last of the original Sandwing Armies was wiped out. Fortunately, enough of them managed to make it to the Palace to alert the Nightwing garrison, giving them precious time to prepare a counterattack.

The Nightwings were far more competent and disciplined than either Sandwing or Seawing force, attacking under the cover of night. Hallowglide's militia, still new to crossbow weaponry and running low on arrows, were overwhelmed, and after many hours of night fighting, Rear Admiral Tempest knew the battle had turned against them. By the time they made it back to Hawkstone, two hundred dragons had died on either side, mostly of Blister's smaller number. Hoping to make up for their failure, Tempest sent her army out to occupy the valuable Scorpion's Den, which Nightshade had left scarcely defended during their seizure of the Palace.

As of now, my hometown had become a base of operations for Blister and her ilk, her regime propped up by a foreign Queen and a warlord. Smolder and his brothers remained her hostages, though they were being increasingly vocal about their disapproval for both claimants. Nightshade was doing better; With Blaze's defection and the Eye of Onyx, they had the support of the people locked in. They also had the support of a foreign army in the Nightwings, but with most of Phyrrian royalty viewing them as a commoner and usurper, their position on the throne remains just as precarious as Blister. Doing some quick calculations, I jotted down the current Condition Tallies of the two claimants:

Condition 'Tallies'

Princess Blister: -7

Wanderer Nightshade: -8

This war was far from over yet.

"This is some truly... foreboding news," I said, folding the papers and returning them to Splendor, "What do our informants have to say on the matter?"

"My friend Sapphire went to show Nightshade some pretty jewels at the SandWing Palace." Splendor said, taking the papers. "Sapphire then 'accidentally' wrapped her jewels in some loose papers and made some copies. The guards believed her when she said it wasn't on purpose and laughed her off. Some of it is letters between Nightshade and Queen Battlewinner of the Nightwings. Nightshade is always addressed as 'Grand Duke' and the two were going to get married! However, Battlewinner seems grumpy now that Nightshade is a SandWing and accepted Blaze into her court.

Sapphire met Marshal Preymind, the NightWing Army commander, and offered him some fermented fruit. After an hour, he admitted that the NightWings were really worried Nightshade wasn't going to be a good NightWing - I mean duh, they're a SandWing now! - even though the NightWing army is the only reason Nightshade is in charge in the Palace. Sapphire was really nice to Preymind and he told her how many soldiers they had - about four hundred or so!"

"For being a bunch of big, tough dragons," Batty observed, "They're a lot like flowers. Take away their water, and all their fight just wilts away. If they keep having shortages, they'll have to leave in a few weeks."

"The situation is a lot worse for the Seawings." Splendor continued. "Mirage is another of my informants. She went to Hawkstone with some water instead of the Palace. The SeaWings are really, really thirsty. They offered Mirage a bunch of pearls for some extra! Mirage saw the SeaWing army when she brought them water, and Rear Admiral Tempest really really REALLY wants to leave. While she wasn't looking, Mirage read a letter Tempest was going to send to Nightshade. It said that they would stop fighting if Nightshade said sorry for the SeaWing ambassador's expulsion, paid them ten percent of their treasury, and signed a secret treaty with them to attack the MudWings at some point."

"It sounds like the SeaWings are one missed water shipment from retreat or surrender." Grandeur added. "However, the terms offered to Nightshade are the same as those offered to Blister, and Coral doesn't expect them to say yes. It's a 'sunk cost fallacy' - they put so much work into something that they don't want to give up. If Nightshade rejects the deal (which they likely will due to NightWing recalcitrance) Coral is likely to raise another army, and they're all back where they started."

I sighed, agreeing with the assessment. The desert was no place for an aquatic army. The oasis and wells within the Scorpion's Den could keep them going for a time, but being in the middle of the desert, so far away from the sea or other reliable sources of water, their logistics were held on by a thread. Coral had counted on a quick campaign for Blister, but the longer the war went on, the greater the chance she'd end up losing a lot more than just face.

Splendor shuffled through her papers, before finding one sprinkled in dirt and mud. "Friend - that's their name, by the way - was able to show a lot of pretty jewels to Queen Moorhen, and then was 'clumsy' and stayed a long time in the throne room while Moorhen talked with all her helpers. The MudWings are scared that the SeaWings want to take the Diamond Spray Delta and that the SkyWings and SandWings will join them against her. When she asked about the RainWings, everyone laughed. Moorhen's generals said they would start increasing the size of their military soon. My friend looked at the scrolls about the MudWing army, and wrote down the information."

Grandeur's scales turned light blue with worry. "A Mud Kingdom preparing for war," She cautioned, "Is rarely a good thing for the Rainforest, Xero. They've invaded our kingdom more than once over the years, and fighting them wasn't easy even when we were prepared for war. We must be careful with them."

"I understand." I looked down at the notes she provided. Under the command of General Katniss, the Mudwings had a decently disciplined force of 500 dragons, with a potential max of 800. More troubling, the Mudwings were already starting to work on the domestic production of my Xero crossbow, currently the deadliest weapon in all of Phyrria. I didn't want to pick a fight with them if it could be at all helped.

"My friend Misty offered some yummy lychee to Queen Glacier while she was meeting with her council, with that special sauce Batty wanted on it!"

"Modified Venom #65," Batty added proudly, "An experimental serum. It induces intoxication similar to eating lots of fermented fruit. Odorless, tasteless, completely undetectable."

"Is that so?" I teased. "Have you been running experiments without me?"

The little Rainwing flashed a brighter pink. "Maybe." She replied. "Just because I spend all day in the garden doesn't mean I don't know how to have fun."

"We should collaborate next time." I chuckled. "Exchange notes. I've done some research on fermented agave-"

"If you two could stop flirting for a second," Grandeur interrupted, turning orange, "We're in the middle of a meeting. Let's keep things professional, please."

"I think it's cute." Flying Fox countered, his scales an amused yellow. "Nerdy flirting is both adorable and informative."

At this point, even I was blushing, as Batty's scales turned so pink they looked neon. Ever since our sun-time session, something had changed between us. We found ourselves sitting closer together, brushing against each other as we walked through the gardens, glancing and smiling at each other whenever we crossed paths during our tasks. We'd spend many late nights in my workshop, talking shop about our research, talking about all manner of deep or personal subjects. And of course I'd become her new sun-time partner, carving out a half-hour of my busy schedule to snuggle up with the little pink dragoness. I didn't know if it was love per se, but there was definitely a level of mutual attraction, in a "two socially awkward nerds who like each other but don't know how to act on it" kind of way.

"Anyways," Splendor continued, quickly bringing the conversation back on track, "Everyone talked a lot after that! Glacier was mean. She called Blaze an 'uncommunicative idiot halfwit' and said that 'if nobody else is going to let me take the north, I'll just have to do it on my own.' She wants everyone to just leave the north to the IceWings. Glacier even meaner to the SandWings, saying that Pyrrhia as a whole should 'put those ungovernable SandWings where they belong - under the claws of their betters,' dividing the Sand Kingdom between them! However, Glacier was totally wasted when she said that, so she may not mean it too much. Misty wrapped the remaining fruit using scrolls about the IceWing army, with the details here."

In the notes, it said that the Icewings had three distinct army groups. The Royal Guard, considered some of the best warriors in Phyrria, remained in the Palace. The same with the Icewing Army proper, four hundred decently trained dragons who'd been growing complacent behind their magic ice wall. Finally there was the Icewing Occupation Force, a token force of a hundred soldiers representing their kingdom's interests in the Sand Kingdom. This group was the wimpiest of the bunch, to the point that I thought even our current batch of Rainwing forces could hold their own against them in battle.

"Damn," Fox observed, "Those Icewings sound like real assholes. What's so special about some cold, empty lands in the north anyway?"

"There's been speculation for a while now," I explained, "That the tundra is loaded with all manner of mineral wealth. Uncountable tons of gold, silver, iron and who knows what else lies underground, just waiting to be excavated. If the Ice Kingdom were to secure it, they'd supplant the Sand Kingdom as the most powerful nation in Phyrria."

The Rainwings all looked at each other, and then to me. "With all that in mind," Grandeur asked, "What would you have us do, Your Majesty?"

It took me a second to process that sentence. For almost my entire career, whenever I'd been in meetings like this, I was in the shadows, taking one of these seats, whispering advice to Burn over how to proceed. Now, all that responsibility rested upon my shoulders. An entire kingdom was looking to me to lead them into the storm of war and intrigue.

My homeland was on fire, and I had an entire kingdom at my command. What was I going to do about it?