Chapter 3
Lightseer slept little that night, which helped when he had to rise early the next morning - he found Deathbringer loitering around the vicinity - he looked agitated - as he always did when he wasn't within sight of his queen.
"What exactly are we meant to be doing then?" Lightseer greeted him with a friendly nod.
"I think just call out in the general area that there is an assembly at dawn, she's going to come to that platform there." He pointed towards a wooden platform stationed around a large redwood that gave her perfect oversight of the Nightwing village. Dawn was breaking but that didn't seem to cause the noises of the rainforest to increase or decrease. It was always loud with the chattering of macaws and toucans along with the frequent calls of the blasted sloths.
As morning moved on, the sun was in more of a position to break into the huts of the Nightwings and one by one they began to stir, whether it be inside or outside of their personal mudhuts.
"Assembly this morning, don't miss it!"
"Gloy has an announcement for the entire tribe this morning!" The majority of the tribe pretended to ignore their calls but notably they didn't stir out of the village. It was unusual for Queen Glory to make a personal announcement - usually announcements now came on the back of messengers.
It was about mid-morning before Glory showed up with a number of other Rainwings who looked a lot more anxious than their leader. Deathbringer instantly broke off from his friend and flew up beside his queen, they whispered a little before Queen Glory shooed him away and stepped forwards on the platform.
"Nightwings, I have received a message from Jade Academy, one of an… unusual nature. A Nightwing is coming here to meet you all, an ancient one, he wants to meet his fellow tribe and as far as we gather he isn't hostile in any way." She looked around unsure as blank black faces looked back at her, periodically turning away and shrugging their shoulders. "His name is Darkstalker!" Instantly there was an uproar of shocked gasps and busy chattering. "I'm assured this isn't a joke, it is him, but he has asked to meet with you as a changed dragon, professing that the stories written about him all those years ago are highly exaggerated." This didn't quieten the chattering going on down below her. Starcatcher looked up to Lightseer with a horrified expression to be met with a much calmer one.
"It'll be ok, I'll be here when he does come. Sunny told Queen Glory herself that as far as she can tell Darkstalker is peaceable." Even Starcatcher knew of Darkstalker without Lightseer's storytelling - he was a ghost story told by most parents to their children, generally to prevent them from doing something bad. The Darkstalker will get you if you go down that valley. If you do that again the Darkstalker will come for you. A nightmare every tribe member shared.
"How can we be sure he isn't here to kill us?" One of the louder Nightwings protested, with a number of older ones nodding and humming in agreement.
"I have been assured, his mission is peaceable. However, if worse comes to worse…" She looked around at the anticipating audience who had now quietened down. "We will all be by your side. As I said, hopefully that won't be necessary." She nodded to a number of Rainwing Guards by her side. Her confidence was radiant and this seemed to instill a sense of calm in the crowd.
"Well, when is he coming?" The same Nighting called out.
"Even now, he is on his way." The murmuring begin once again but quickly drifted off. There was a new determination that could be felt in the tribe, an atmosphere that said "We will not be taken advantage of!" and even though the Nightwing kingdom would never admit it, it was because of the numbers backing them in the Rainwing Kingdom along with that lethal Venom.
"So I encourage all of you, be ready, be vigilant and if any of the guards, on your rounds, see an unidentified… larger Nightwing. Report it to me immediately - I'm going to be on this platform all day." What exactly did she mean by larger? Either way the Nightwings broke formation and began slowly getting on with day-to-day duties but none of them left the village area, not even Lightseer.
It was late afternoon when the report came - A large black dragon followed by a number of dragonets - coming this way. This was it. The Queen stood up and beckoned the tribe to stand to attention - show this Darkstalker how strong we are together, even now. A sweet sentiment really but not one all the tribal members felt. Suddenly, from above, dove a massive Nightwing which landed with a formidable thumb on the wooden decking next to the Queen. Towering above her, at least four or five times her height this monster let loose a hypnotising grin to the collection of Nightwings below. Notably a number immediately scarpered towards the Rainwing village, possibly the smartest of the lot dependant on what transpired next.
The crowd was frozen with anticipation and to everyone's bewilderment he just began talking. He spoke of the glory days of the Nightwing kingdom, how the tribe - 2000 years ago mind you - was on the cusp of greatness. He wants to restore us to that greatness. Not a fan of grandiose speeches, although the enlarged Nightwing was growing on him, Lightseer backed off to the back of the crowd who were attentively listening to his various promises - if they left the sanctity of the Rainforest. He engaged his arauvision and had to stifle a sharp intake of breath - Dark purple and red hot orange burned and coursed through the dragon's body, swirling and twisting through his appendages. Noticeably his talons had a sort of purple fire surrounding them that he had never observed before in another dragon and on top of that brown lines emanated from his skull to every dragon presently watching him, even Queen Glory who was staring up at him. Lightseer had never seen this kind of energy before and it was mesmerizing to watch - that was until he noticed one of the brown channels connected himself to the massive dark dragon - then it was panic inducing. The swirling of dark energy within the dragon's massive body was enough to turn the strongest of dragons stomachs - he was shrouded in darkness - which meant nothing he said or did or smiled about could be trusted.
"What should we do then?" Little Starcatcher joined his larger brother on the branch of the large birch tree, startling him out of his vision. "Do we go with him - he seems kinda nice." He wanted to feel horrified at the dragonets suggestion but he himself was battling against feelings of familiarity and friendliness that he knew shouldn't exist.
"A-absolutely not." He managed to utter. "He's bad news, I know he is." As far as could be observed throughout the rest of the day, his promises went fulfilled, he bestowed powers upon a number of Nightwings which scared Lightseer further who was huddled up in his hut with Starcatcher, away from the firepit the powerful new Nightwing had created, seemingly from thin air.
"Could you imagine me with mind reading powers? Or, or super strength, imagine me lifting up trees with one talon! How great would that be?" The little nightwing was much too enthusiastic to Lightseer's liking.
"Keep in mind Starcatcher, he's giving these powers out very easily, I'm sure he can take them away just as easily. I'm pretty sure he's not here just to make friends…" The little Nightwing didn't seem so bother by his older brothers pessimism, but obediently stayed in the hut while the majority of the Nightwings were outside crowding round their glorious new leader, to save them from the supposed repression of the Rainwings. Even if we were slaves to the Rainwings it'd be more than we deserved…
Night fell but few of the Nightwings returned to Lightseer's concern, usually he would be gathering as much intelligence but there was a simple truth that continued to swim around his mind - A warning he had received from an elder way back when he was first enlisted
"Any amount of power has the power to corrupt a dragon but absolute power… that will corrupt a dragon with absolution."
And finally, after all these years, he finally thought he knew what that meant. A female voice outside pricked his ears, he wasn't going to sleep anyway so he slowly raised himself away from his sleeping brother who continued cooing in his sleep. Walking over to the entrance of his hut, the soft glow of the fire on the outskirts of the camp caught the tops of roofs and edges of badly made huts, creating contorted polygonal shapes on the forest floor.
"But think about everything Glory has done for us, she's looked after us even when we threatened to take everything from her. Surely you don't think we should just throw all that aside to follow someone we've only just met?" The voice reasoned.
"If you're asking me which I'd rather follow, a pretentious Rainwing Dragonet or an all-powerful Nightwing Animus hmmm let me think?" A male voice mocked in return. Lightseer's heart warmed, to think others didn't show the same infatuation as everyone else and shared his distrust, maybe there was hope after all.
The next morning didn't fill him with confidence, a good 90% of the tribe flew off, up above the canopy of the Rainforest, along with a couple of Seawings which was a bit odd, and of course they were all following that monster of a Nightwing, Darkstalker. He and his brother looked around and only saw a mixture of miserable and terrified expressions watching their friends, their families fly away to follow this suddenly self-anointed king of the Nightwings.
"Not my King…" Lightseer growled. His overseer was gone, the elders were gone along with the majority of the dragonets. He looked up towards Queen Glory and her Nightwing companion who looked down at their depleted auxiliary tribe.
"Thank you for your continued loyalty." The Queen began. "I have and will always protect you." She turned and departed from her wooden platform above the Nightwing village.
"Then why haven't you protected us from him…?" Lightseer found himself whispering under his breath, his little brother looking up at him questioningly.
"Do you think they will come back?" He clutched his older brother's talon in his own caringly.
"I don't know honestly… I don't know."