Years had passed since the blessed day dragons and beasts finally found peace.
No war, nor massacre would taint the land with the blood of the innocents.
No more cities would be destroyed and caught up in a conflict that didn't concern them.
No more useless deaths would scar the hearts and the minds of innocent families who had already lost so much.
The deities watching over the land could finally smile with happiness as no more pain would tear their home apart.
Or so they hoped.

-Those wretched creatures are a danger to us! The resources of our land are wasted on them, we need more!-
-They crave the secrets of our elements and if they get what they want, soon we will become their familiars and not the other way around! If we let inferior creatures gain powers, they will use it against us!-
-And have you seen how some of those brutes live? They are savages!-

A particular clan wasn't that pleased with the situation.
It's members were all dragons who had been exalted by their former clans, one of the highest honor someone could achieve as they would become more than mere priests and go to live where the deities themselves were said to dwell, to receive knowledge and power and even be able to see and speak to the gods themselves.
But power was pretty good at corrupting minds and soon many of those that should have been the wise and noble ones, formed that clan who would look down at the others, give orders to whoever came to visit their temples and claim the right to punish those who, in their eyes, were doing wrong.
Many asked and asked again: why weren't the real dragon gods stopping them?
Why allow such a disgrace of a clan and an insult to their own name, to keep on it's wrongdoings?
The answer was simple, but it wasn't what everyone hoped for: the gods couldn't interfere too much with their lives.
Sure they could send messages to priests that resided in the clans, they could send warnings to those who were tormenting the innocents, but they couldn't walk on that earth and fight like they did in the past, when they stopped the Shade.
And so a dragoness stood up, right where the corrupted ones were deciding whether or not attack and destroy the Beastclans again.
She was a Pearlcatcher, but she didn't indulge in gossip and never ran in front of dangers like many of her specie, she was the first of thirteen sisters who were born under the blessing of Gladekeeper, the goddess of nature and life herself, so their reputation was good enough for her to interrupt the reunion and voice her opinion without repercussions.
But she still had to watch her tongue, for she knew that those she was dealing with could be really aggressive.

-If we exterminate the Beastclans like this, we would just risk a war with the clans who are their allies and, if we want to be honest, it wouldn't even be fun.-
-What are you doing?!-

Whispered a young Spiral behind her, the youngest of her sisters, who looked like she was about to pass out on the pearl she was "holding" for her.

-And what do you propose then? Should we ask them to move gently?-

Asked someone she couldn't identify right on the spot.

-No, I say we give them the opportunity to prove themselves.-

The crowd started whispering.
Some were growling at her to be quiet and not to interrupt their meeting, but others were curious about her idea.

-And how should they prove themselves, Brunhilde?-

She turned to an old Guardian, hiding the disgust in her gaze as she felt his eyes on her.

-I say we make them fight in a tournament for their own lives. They'll choose thirteen beasts who will face in a one-on-one combat thirteen of you, if they win the majority of the rounds, they will live.-

Silence followed her words.
Then came the first giggle, then the laughter and the compliments.

-Now this is a good joke!-
-To let a beast fight a dragon! How could they ever win?!-
-Even a small Spiral would light on fire those critters with a single spit! It wouldn't be fair!-

The Pearlcatcher, Brunhilde, hid a small grin as she cleared her throat and shrugged her shoulders, turning around like she wasn't being allowed to have fun.

-What a pity, I thought this could be the occasion to have fun and get rid of those pests in an entertaining way, but for the great Olympus Clan to back down from a challenge... are you prehaps...-

She turned her head slightly, enough to look at them all with one eye.

-... scared?-

The following silence was noisier than the cacophony of a crowd in the Colosseum, she could hear her little sister's heart beating fast like it went crazy.
And she could still hear it when the other dragons started screaming insults at her and threatening to cut her tongue and kill her for daring to offend them like that, but she stood her ground and showed no hint of fear, not even when Odin himself stood up and called the dragons' attention with a powerful roar.
She saw Zeus speaking to him while the crowd went mad and judging by the old creep's smile, she was about to win.

-We decided to grant the Beastclan the possibility to defend themselves...-

The two familiars of the black dragon looked almost shocked at his decision.

-... now get out of here and choose your fighters carefully, for soon they'll be crushed under our paws.-

"I knew it..."
She thanked them, got her pearl and her sister and went out of the "room".
"... they are so easy to taunt."