The rest of the battle went rather breezily. Without their monarch to rally around, the rest of the Nightwings lost all the will to fight on, and surrendered en masse. As we got closer and closer to the Palace, it seemed like the entire Tribe was being gathered up and placed under the watchful eye of my Rainwings. Everywhere we went, black dragons of all ages and sizes were being led out of caves and domiciles by pink, green or purple dragons with crossbows, RFCs or blowguns. The whole thing felt surreal, dreamlike. Not two months ago I was sleeping in the ruins of their ancient capital, a monument to their former greatness. And now here I was, walking into their palace a conquering hero.
What would those long-past dragons think, if they saw us then?
The Palace itself was a large, intimidating structure that had seen better days. Carved out of the sharp, black rocks that made up most of the mountain, the façade was about the size of the main keep of the Sandwing Palace. In front of it all was a large pavilion, in which a small group of Nightwings accompanied by my troops were awaiting me and my entourage. Three drakes approached us - two larger, more muscular ones on either side of a smaller, skinnier one with glasses.
"Um, hello," The middle dragon greeted us nervously, "Are you King Xerophilous?"
"I am." I replied, stepping forward. "Are you Mastermind?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." He bowed deeply, the gold-rimmed glasses held in place by the wires wrapped around his horns. "It's an honor to meet you, Xe- I mean, Your Highness. I just wish it was under better circumstances."
"Thanks," I replied, "I'm afraid I must agree. War's rarely a good time to make acquaintances. Would you mind taking me on a tour of your lovely home? There's some things I wish to discuss with you... privately."
Mastermind blinked, glancing nervously between the guards and me. Majestic also looked at me with confusion and concern. I turned and nodded to her, winking with the eye the Nightwings couldn't see. She relaxed ever-so-slightly - she had my permission to follow us invisibly.
"I, um, suppose we can do that." The nervous Nightwing replied, stepping away from the guards, "Why don't we head down to my laboratory? I've been working on a few projects that could benefit from a second opinion."
I followed him, as he led me down the winding stone corridors of the Palace. Our steps echoed eerily through the empty black-stone halls, only occasionally marked with doorways and statues of past Queens. I could almost feel their glares on me, as I passed by them. How dare I walk these halls, trespass their ancestral home, kill and capture their descendants!
"I take it you guys don't have a lot of guests here?" I prompted.
"You'd be correct," Mastermind agreed, "We've worked a long time at building an aura of mystery and power around us. Wouldn't do us any favors if we let everyone know we were barely scraping by on a volcanic wasteland of an island, would it?"
"No, I suppose it wouldn't," I admitted, "Lots of dragons don't seem to like talking about their homes, do they? The Icewings, the Seawings, you guys, we hardly know anything about your cultures and ways. Meanwhile, everyone knows how we Sandwings, Skywings and Mudwings live our lives. Even the Rainwings were a mystery, being such homebodies and all."
"Until now." He pointed out.
"Until now."
"Anyways, here we are." He gestured to an open doorway, where I could hear steam sizzling and gears turning. We walked into the room, and my heart skipped a beat. Mastermind's laboratory was what my workshops would've been with enough funding and resources. Large chemistry sets with test tubes and Bunsen burners; a forge roared with the fires of creation; scrolls and half-built inventions littered tables and shelves in an almost haphazard way. But while my workshops were "cozy" and "intimate" (polite ways of saying "small"), this place could hold three or four of mine within. I felt like I was a dragonet again, entering my dad's smithy or my mother's workshop, looking around in awe at their newest job or project.
"This is my humble abode," Mastermind announced, gesturing to the vast room. "It took a while to convince Battlewinner to get me the resources I needed. But I think I can confidently say I have the most advanced laboratory in all of Phyrria. Combined with my access to the royal library, this is one of the greatest hubs of knowledge in all the world."
"My, my," I said, a big, stupid grin on my face, "This is something else."
"Do you want to see my latest experiments?" He asked.
"By all means."
I found myself bonding quickly with Mastermind. We were birds of a feather, as they say. Two peas in a pod. Cut from the same cloth of scientific curiosity and ingenuity. That he was a fellow builder and inventor was icing on the cake. It didn't take me long to make my decision about the erudite Nightwing. But before I could make my announcement, I found a particularly... interesting scroll amongst Mastermind's library.
While many of the scrolls and books lining the shelves and cubbies were made of old, faded parchment or papyrus, this one was fresh, almost white. As Mastermind went on about his latest work in alloy refinement, I pulled out the scroll, and gave it a read. What I found made my blood run cold. There were two reports, both in preliminary stages, about the pros and cons of the enslavement or extermination of the Rainwings. I won't trouble you, dear readers, with the details written within; Only know that the details and notes within were as disturbing and infuriating as they were precise, methodical... and hauntingly familiar.
As I read through the various methods considered for wholesale genocide or indentured servitude, I couldn't help but think of my time with Burn. I thought about all the poor souls who fell under her knife, while I scribbled notes in the corner like a sick voyeur. I thought about the dragoness with insect wings, and the look she gave me as her fate was sealed. I thought about all the terrible things I witnessed or took part of, all in the name of science and progress.
That's not me anymore, I thought, thinking of my friends and lovers among the Rainwings, That's not who I want to be. They've shown me what I can be without submitting to cruelty. I can be better than that for them. I will be better for them.
"And over here, we have-" Mastermind had continued on, only to stop. I looked up, as he looked at me warily. He knew what I'd just read. More importantly, he knew I knew he wrote it. The room fell quiet then, his gaze bouncing back and forth between the scroll in my paw and me.
"This is very interesting," I told him, cutting off any kind of rebuttal or apology, "I take it you wrote this for Battlewinner?" He nodded cautiously.
"From a scientific standpoint," I told him solemnly, "There's a lot of interesting points raised here that should be researched. But I don't think I have to tell you about the political ramifications of this getting out, do I?"
"No, Your Grace." He agreed.
"No indeed. My subjects are a very kind and forgiving tribe, but everything has a breaking point. Whatever relationship we could have between our two kingdoms would be crushed in the egg if they learned what you had in store for them." I considered the scroll in my paw, and after a moment's consideration, did something I thought I'd never do. I spat a gentle flame on the parchment, watching it burn and flitter away into ash. Mastermind was taken aback, shifting nervously as though torn between wanting to stop me and avoiding my ire.
"You should be thankful," I told him, as I wiped my paws on my sides, "That I was the one who found that scroll, and not one of my subordinates. I understand that sometimes you must perform uncomfortable or unethical acts in order to keep your patroness happy. But my commanders and my bodyguard might be less understanding, what with being on the other side of the table, as it were." Mastermind looked down, somewhat guilty.
"But more importantly," I continued, taking a step closer, "I can't have my subjects going after the new King of the Nightwings."
He looked back up at me with full attention. "W-... What did you say?" He asked, taking a nervous step back.
"You," I said, "Mastermind, King of the Nightwings. C'mon, don't tell me you've never thought about it before? You could do such a better job than Battlewinner, don't you think?"
"I... suppose the thought might've crossed my mind," He admitted, "Though I never gave it serious thought until... recently. But surely there's someone with more experience-"
"I didn't have any more experience than you when I got my crown," I countered, "And I'd say I've been pretty successful. Maybe I'm just that special. Or maybe a scientific mind is just what's needed to turn our kingdoms around. You, my friend, are as ideal a candidate as I can find on this rock."
He nodded understandingly, but eyed me warily. "I'm sure there's something you want me to do, if you're handing me such a generous offer."
"You'd be correct," I agreed, "Though I assure you everything is for our mutual benefit. We need Nightshade to beat the Coalition, which means sending the Nightwing Armies back to the Palace after they've recovered. We will of course teach your soldiers how to use our crossbows and RFCs, which we will provide before you head out." Mastermind nodded, following along so far.
"Once the war's over," I continued, "The refugees in the Jade Mountains will go home, and your tribe will be allowed to settle there in exchange for handing this island over to us."
"You... you would do that for us?"
"Of course. I'm not a monster, Mastermind. I'm not a conqueror. The Rainforest has more than enough for the Rainwings, and the Mountains are the only unclaimed lands left in Phyrria. Leave me this island to perform my more dangerous experiments, and I will give your people a new homeland."
The Nightwing gasped, processing all of this. Then his expression darkened, as he remembered something. "What of the Princess and the Animus?"
"I just want the Animus to enchant a few things for me," I told him, "But you can keep the Princess. I have no need of her."
"...I'm afraid we can't do that." He warned me.
I blinked, tilting my head. "...Why?"
"I can't be King of the Nightwings if there are other claimants to the throne." He explained, sounding increasingly nervous. "Think about it, Xero. None of the commanders will see me as anything more than your puppet. Princess Greatness is THE heir to the throne. Stonemover might be a dragonet, but he's an Animus descended from the Darkstalker himself. We can send the Army back to the Sandwing Palace, but without your support, I suspect Slaughter will launch a coup the moment you're gone, and install one of them as the true ruler of our Tribe."
"Well, I mean... Yeah, that's fair and all, but what if you married Greatness? That would add legitimacy."
"Absolutely not. First and foremost, I'm already married to a wonderful dragoness. You might have a desire for multiple partners, but Farsight is more than enough for me. Secondly, making her my consort will only end with me being sidelined or executed, and making her de facto Queen."
He held himself up taller, trying to loom over me even as he still had the nervous look in his eyes. "That's my condition for taking the throne," He said, "If you want me to lead the Nightwings, Greatness and Stonemover have to go. If you don't take them, then I'll, I'll... I'll banish them!"
I frowned. Someone more experienced or coldhearted would've told him to suck it up and do as he was told. Spirits knew I knew it was going to be nothing but trouble getting engaged to a stranger under these circumstances. But I was afraid of Mastermind; I was afraid that I might push him too far, and he'd back out of the deal entirely. Every point he made was true, and I worried that, without having a puppet ruling the Nightwings for me, I'd have to essentially annex the Tribe (which would've given me so many extra problems to my already full plate, that even now I shudder at the thought of it). As much as I didn't want to, I felt like I had to suck it up and give him something. Throw him a bone, so to speak.
And, well, I thought my ladies wouldn't be too mad. They'd understand why I had to do this, surely. The Princess was going to be a Guest, not a Wife.
"...Fine." I said, trying (and failing) to hide my annoyance, "I'll take them. But I'll be expecting you and your commanders to present at our Council Meetings, starting next week."
"Understood." Mastermind nodded, looking visibly relieved. If I'd known just how much trouble I'd have for giving him this small boon, I would've swatted him and told him to suck it up. But then again, considering all the good that also came of it, I might've hugged him, too. Fate has a strange way of playing favorites...
We were on that dreadful island for three days before I could go back home. As stressful as the invasion had been, I was honestly more stressed about what I'd find in the Rainforest. How would the Rainwings react to this? Hell, how would Batty react to this? Coming back from a victorious campaign with a fiancée and a dragonet in tow? Marriages that lasted for decades have ended over far less.
Majestic wasn't mad at me, but instead gave me the "disappointed parent" act, which honestly hurt me even more. "I love you, Xero," She told me, "And my loyalty to you will never waiver. As your bodyguard, I understand why you did what you did, and I'll support you in whatever you need to do for the kingdom. But as your lover and Batty's, I can't begin to describe how badly you fucked this up. I'll do what I can to smooth things over with Batty, but she might just dump you as soon as she finds out. And if she does, you'll have no one to blame but yourself. You understand this, don't you?"
I did, but that did nothing to make me feel any better. If anything, I felt worse because I saw no other option.
Needless to say, I wasn't exactly looking forward to returning home.
My arrival was heralded by the return of our victorious army, and the first waves of refugees from the Night Kingdom. As promised, these civilians would be escorted to the Jade Mountains, ideally building their new temporary homes far enough away from the Sandwing refugees to keep the peace. If the Rainwings had issues (which I doubted they did), they didn't say anything.
Greatness was also sent out before us, transported in a large cage and regularly dosed with tranqs to keep her unconscious. Better that she woke up safely in our custody than have her pitch a fit while we took her away from her home. Unlike the other Nightwings, she wasn't to be bound, and would be placed in a cell that was specifically made to contain a firebreather comfortably. She'd be kept there until she (hopefully) calmed down and wouldn't pose a threat to anyone around her. Not a great first impression, but this is what we had to work with.
Finally, as Majestic, Mastermind and myself approached the portal, there was the little Nightwing dragonet to my side, wearing a silver collar adorned in sapphires. This quiet, slightly nervous five-year-old was Stonemover, and he was the Nightwing Animus. On our first meeting, I don't know which of us was more scared of the other, me or him. I might've taken out his Queen and taken over his homeland, but he... his existence was a violation of everything I understood of the natural world. It should be impossible for a wooden bowl to turn to gold, or a chess set to play itself, but the young drake could do just that with a simple command. With but a thought, he could bend reality to his will, and make (or unmake) anything he wanted. Thank the Spirits that godly power was in the paws of a sweet, innocent child, instead of a megalomaniac. When we told young Stonemover that he was coming with us to the Rainforest, he asked, "Do they have meat in the rainforest?" Maggy and I assured him that we did, and with a smile, he packed up his things and came along. If only everyone was that easy to please.
Finally, the four of us went through the long, dark tunnel, emerging back in the bright and humid Rainforest. Before us, beneath the tree that held the Portal, half the Village had gathered, welcoming back our victorious Army. Most were a happy, excited yellow or gold, but quite a few were confused green or worried blue, watching the Nightwings gathered off to the side. In the front row of this crowd, I saw Grandeur, Flying Fox... and Fruit Bat.
Fuuuuuck, I thought, I really wanted to tell her in private. I turned back to my retinue. Mastermind and Stonemover were blinking rapidly in the bright light, looking rather nervous at all the garishly-colored dragons looking at them. Maggy noticed my gaze, spotted Batty, and her frill flashed an apologetic dark blue. Still, she said nothing. Exhaling, I gathered my thoughts and stepped onto the edge of the tree limb, facing the crowd.
"Ladies and gentledrakes," I announced, "I come bearing great and important news! We are victorious! We-" I had to stop, as every single Rainwing started cheering, singing and dancing. A sea of yellow raged below me, like I was caught in a storm of bananas and daffodils. I bit back a growl - I hate being interrupted. Out of my peripheral vision, I saw Maggy raise her wings and flash orange, a signal for silence. My subjects settled down, the cheering quieting down to a low rumble.
"We have defeated the Nightwing Army," I continued, "And have pacified their Kingdom. Despite our best efforts, Queen Battlewinner refused to listen to peace and reason, and as a result fell in battle. As such, I have hereby declared my new friend and colleague Mastermind, King of the Nightwings." I turned and gestured to the bespectacled Nightwing, who waved nervously at the crowd. There were some scattered claps and cheers.
"As such," I pressed on, "Mastermind and I had a long, frank discussion about how our two tribes can move forward together. He has reaffirmed his kingdom's pledge to support Queen Nightshade, the true ruler of the Sand Kingdom. Once the situation there has been resolved, and the Sandwing refugees returned to their homes, the Nightwings will be allowed to move in and settle in the unclaimed peaks and valleys of the Jade Mountains. When all the people and treasure has been fully transferred, the Volcano Island will in turn be handed over to the Rainforest Kingdom, to use as we see fit."
This was met with polite nods of agreement all around. Rainwings weren't expansionist or imperialist or anything like that. If the Nightwings needed the empty lands out west to survive, they could have it. Having a volcanic island wasn't exactly an equal trade, but that didn't mean they couldn't find a use for it later.
Now came the bad news. "To further solidify our alliance," I admitted, the wind leaving my wings as I talked, "Mastermind has agreed to all of my... requests. As such, the Animus Stonemover will hereby be living with us in the Rainwing Village, where he shall learn our ways and use his powers for the betterment and benefit of all dragonkind." Behind me, the dragonet smiled and waved nervously. Some of the Rainwings waved back, while others whispered amongst themselves.
"And finally," I announced, swallowing the bad taste in my mouth forming at these words, "I do hereby announce that... that I am to be wed with Princess Greatness of the Nightwings. May the bonds between the Nightwings and Rainwings last forever!"
There was a silence in the crowd, then a smattering of applause grew and grew until the entire audience was stomping their feet. I could see it in their expressions that they were confused, but happy for me. I looked over to my VIPs, and they were less than enthralled. Grandeur was visibly facepalming, and a confused Flying Fox looked up at me quizzically, mouthing, Dude, what are you doing?
But then I looked at Fruit Bat, and my heart sank. The world fell away, and everything shrank down to just the two of us. The look on her face - all the pain and sadness and betrayal - hit me like a stinger to the heart. More than anything, I wanted to go down there and explain myself, to tell her that I didn't want this, that it was a temporary thing, that my heart belonged to her and Majestic and alone.
Before I could say or do anything more, she left her seat and ran through the crowd, turning invisible by the time she reached the jungle beyond. I started to go after her, but Maggy grabbed my tail.
"Don't," She cautioned, "You'll only make things worse. Let me talk to her first, see if we can fix things. You should go talk with Greatness when she wakes up."
I relented, accepting the feelings of worthlessness and guilt that rained upon me. Little did I know that this was only the start of my relationship troubles...
