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CLEARSIGHT
It got cloudier on the flight back. An overcast snuck in from the south, blanketing the sky in a murky haze that they couldn't avoid. As they flew over the mountains, rainwater patted their wings, and the silvery lining of the clouds illuminated by the moonlight soon vanished as they breached into the desert.
A chill ran through her scales. The wind swept over her wet skin, summoning phantom shivers from her tail to her clawtips.
The meeting, evidently, did not go as planned. And how it did go … she wasn't entirely sure how to feel about it. On the one talon, it was hard to imagine how Queen Pearl and the others could have made themselves more unlikable. If she were strong enough, she very well might have ran over and strangled Pearl herself at some point during the meeting. She wasn't a violent dragon, but after being cornered and coerced like that — it was terrifying, but also so infuriating.
On the other talon, Queen Pearl's proposal, at face value, was actually quite reasonable. None of the futures that she saw during the meeting gave her any objective insight, but placing animus magic in the control of multiple dragons seemed as though it would keep a lot of bad things from happening. And now that Darkstalker and Fathom were the only dragons with animus powers, there were lots of frighteningly straightforward paths to the more onerous futures.
On the third talon, it was hard to believe that the NightWings would have benefitted from Darkstalker and Fathom surrendering their powers. Maybe instead, she could convince Darkstalker to organize a congress of NightWings that would help him decide on what animus spells to cast, after he transferred his powers back into a new scroll. It was actually a little bit comforting to know that they didn't have to worry about magic from other tribes anymore. The only source of existential danger in this world would now be Darkstalker and Fathom, and they were right here with her.
On the fourth talon, she couldn't trust Darkstalker to keep himself from becoming an existential danger. And the stunt he pulled at the meeting to get them out of trouble didn't help. It felt as though a small tower inside of her heart that represented her trust in Darkstalker had suddenly crumbled. She was afraid of him again.
They landed by an oasis to take a drink and give their wings a rest. Clearsight made a splash in the sand when she landed, sending little particles into the oasis and causing Indigo to reflexively shield her face with her wing.
They hadn't spoken to each other about the aftermath of the meeting yet. Having long conversations in the sky while flying was much too physically taxing, as they'd have to shout over the wind to communicate, all while using their wings to stay aloft.
Everyone seemed inclined to talk about it now, though: behind the tiredness in everyone's eyes, there was a lingering uncertainty. It was as though they all collectively knew that there were some important words that were being unsaid.
After taking his drink in the oasis, Darkstalker started. "I know that you're all a little concerned. So let me assure you that life is going to get a lot easier for us now."
"Darkstalker, how come none of us knew about that enchantment?" Clearsight asked.
His eye glistened, and he gave Clearsight a smile that made him look very proud of himself. "Well, remember that idea that I had last night about shrinking myself with the goblet to write in a spell that would be too small for anyone to read?"
"No, I mean how come none of us knew about that enchantment?" she asked. "Why didn't you tell us about it?"
"Ah." Darkstalker sat down and swung his tail around to cover his claws. "I wanted the meeting to feel natural. I never wanted to use the enchantment in the first place; it was supposed to be a last resort if I had no other choice."
"But you still could have told us," Clearsight said, her eyes softening at him. "Darkstalker, you had me really worried."
"That was kind of the point," he explained. "You looked really worried — like we'd been bested and there was nothing that we could do."
"We could have acted the part. We were acting the other parts too, remember?"
"Yes, but this one was different. I tried to forget about the quill. I tried to do everything I could before I fell back to using it. I kept it a secret because I didn't want it to be on anyone's mind."
Nope, Clearsight wasn't buying it. "Or maybe you kept it a secret so that you'd be the one in control, and not us."
Darkstalker looked horrified. "Clearsight, no!"
"What was so bad about using that quill?" Clearsight asked. "Isn't this exactly what you want? You and Fathom are the only dragons with animus magic now. What's so bad about that?"
"My goal wasn't to end up being the one with all the power, Clearsight," he said. "My goal was to get everyone to leave us alone and stop sending soldiers over to try and kill our dragons."
"Well, you definitely got what you wanted, haven't you?"
"Of course, but only because they have no choice now," Darkstalker said. "If they'd still had their magic, the backup plan could have led to a full-blown animus war. It's a good thing that the other animus dragons were stupid enough to forfeit their powers like that."
Without a decent response to that, Clearsight answered with a slump in her posture. It must have soured Darkstalker to see her look like that, because he followed with a slump of his own. "Okay, I'm sorry I didn't tell you," he said. "I should have. Maybe I was afraid you would have talked me out of it, and I just didn't want to be convinced that it was a stupid idea."
It was hard for Clearsight to stay mad at that. She let out a sigh and smiled gently at him. "Well, sometimes you need someone to knock some humility into you from time to time. But I don't think I would have called this a stupid idea."
Fathom took a step towards them. "If you'd told me about it, I probably would have cast the enchantment myself," he said. "Then they would have found out about it, and we probably wouldn't be here. So who knows? Maybe it was a good thing that you kept it a secret."
Clearsight shook her head. "For goodness sake, Fathom, don't encourage him."
Darkstalker chuckled. "Come on, let's get going. I want to make it back home before morning."
Clearsight nodded, and started to spread her wings. She was looking forward to getting home as well. She was exhausted in both mind and body, and she hadn't had a good night's rest in weeks with all the stress that had been looming over her shoulders.
The four of them flew south again, past the southern desert and over the mountains that bordered the Sand and Night Kingdoms. She flew over the villages and canals that lined the outskirts of the Night Kingdom, catching tiny silhouettes of NightWings wisping over the roads and fields below. Before long, the Great Diamond loomed into the horizon.
It was well before dawn once they made it back to the palace. After entering the halls, she and Darkstalker wished Fathom and Indigo a good day's rest, and proceeded to their own chambers.
As they crossed through the courtyard, they ran into Listener, who was briskly walking down an adjacent corridor. She sprung to attention when she spotted them, looking like she usually did when she had important news to report. "Clearsight, Darkstalker! I heard you returned," she said, trotting over to them. "How did the meeting go?"
"Better than expected," Darkstalker answered, raising his head proudly. "We've settled matters with the SeaWings, and it appears as though the other tribes will be leaving us alone for quite some time. Has anything important happened since we left?"
"Yes," Listener said, nodding. "But I'm unsure of what to make of it. I've picked up rumors that Princess Acuity is planning on challenging you to the throne, Clearsight."
"You have?" Clearsight asked, tilting her head in surprise. She'd hardly heard a word from Vigilance's daughters since she and Darkstalker ascended to the throne. She'd nearly forgotten that she gave the princesses the right to challenge her when she became queen. "Who told you this?"
"One of my spiderlings, Ironscales," she said. "He'd been lurking around the princesses' chambers in the palace and overheard one of the guards mentioning that Acuity was preparing for a challenge to the NightWing throne. However, I spoke with Acuity afterwards, and she denied the allegations. I wasn't able to tell whether or not she was lying by reading her thoughts."
Clearsight hummed, and took a moment to examine the futures ahead of her. Her powers were definitely no longer being tampered with, which was a relief. She could see the futures just as clearly now as she'd been able to before.
She honestly didn't know what she'd do if she were challenged to the throne. She didn't want to choose between forfeiting the crown and risking her life. Although, Darkstalker would probably happily use magic to rig the fight in Clearsight's favor, and Clearsight honestly would be okay with that.
Fortunately, she didn't see any futures where she was challenged to the throne any time soon. Acuity and her sisters appeared to remain wholly disinterested in ruling over the NightWings, especially with how popular Clearsight had become as queen.
She looked back at Listener and said, "From what I can see in the future, those rumors were nothing more than hot air. I should be safe from Acuity for at least the next few months."
"Still, it is something we will be sure to keep an eye on," Darkstalker said. "Now if you'll excuse me, Clearsight and I are exhausted from a day of flying and would like to get to bed."
"Okay," Listener said, nodding. "I'll see you at tomorrow's council meeting."
Clearsight sighed and leaned her head tiredly on Darkstalker's neck before proceeding back to their chamber. It was good to be back home.
After returning to their corner of the palace, they stepped into Whiteout's room and eagerly gathered Solstice and Remedy in their arms. The four of them then retired to their private chamber. Solstice really wanted to play with his daddy, but Darkstalker didn't have the energy. "I promise I'll play with you extra long tomorrow, little fireball," he said with a yawn. "But only if you get ready for bed right now."
Solstice stomped his feet to express his disapproval, but after a loud sigh, he nodded and wandered off to clean his scales.
Darkstalker then gathered the dragonets and brought them to bed with him and Clearsight, and they slept together in a warm pile of wings and tails.
A council meeting was summoned early the next evening, as a message from the Sea Kingdom arrived some time in the afternoon. It was from Queen Pearl, who, as expected, issued a surrender. In gracious prose, she stated that she was willing to offer any reparations that the Night Kingdom felt that they were owed.
Whiteout, Thoughtful, Fathom, and Indigo were already in the council room when Darkstalker and Clearsight arrived. Listener arrived late and groggy, as she had been asleep when the message arrived. There was still sleep in her eyes as she stepped in, and she struggled to address the king and queen with the proper formalities before taking her seat at the council table.
"I take it the meeting went well?" Thoughtful asked, nodding his head at the scroll that Queen Pearl had sent them.
"It was a stressful meeting to say the least," Clearsight said, sighing at the already-distant-feeling memory. "But things turned out alright for us in the end."
"I'd say so," Thoughtful said. "Queen Pearl sounds utterly terrified of us now. I hope you didn't make any threats that could come back to bite us."
"None at all," Darkstalker said confidently. "Things just happened to turn out unexpectedly in our favor. We aren't under threat by any of the other kingdoms anymore. We're the ones in charge, and it's going to remain that way for a long time."
"Magic has been vanquished from the land, hasn't it?" Whiteout inquired. "Animuses no longer roam, except in the confines of this palace."
"Astute as ever, Whiteout," Darkstalker said, beaming at his sister. "You are correct. The other animus dragons surrendered their magic, hoping to domesticate animus powers into one central entity. They nearly forced Fathom and I to do the same thing, but we managed to outsmart them. Now we have nothing to fear from them."
There was a look of concern shared between Thoughtful and Whiteout, as if they were unsure whether or not this news would actually mark the beginning of a new era of prosperity.
Listener's ears raised in surprise at the news. "So Darkstalker and Fathom are the only dragons alive with animus powers? How did that happen?"
"It's complicated," Darkstalker said, "but I implore you to not worry about it. If you must know, they didn't lose their powers because I took them away. Like I said, they surrendered their magic voluntarily."
"It's not that that I'm worried about," Thoughtful said, frowning at Whiteout before looking back at Darkstalker. "I'm just worried about … how do I put it? The balance of things?"
"How do you mean?" Darkstalker asked.
"Well, before, there were animus dragons all over the continent. It felt more balanced, you know?"
"I'd say it felt more volatile," Darkstalker said. "Before we hatched, the only animus dragons were those in the Ice Kingdom. Nothing bad happened then, did it?"
"No, but the IceWings ..." Thoughtful shook his head. "Never mind. Let's get this meeting started. The sooner we're done here, the sooner Listener can take her nap."
Listener gave Thoughtful a grumble that probably signalled appreciation, then let out a long yawn.
Darkstalker nodded, then turned to Clearsight. She rose to her feet and cleared her throat. "We are here to determine the demands we shall issue to the Kingdom of the Sea. As usual, the floor is open for discussion."
"Well, we're in a bit of a strange position," Thoughtful said. "Usually there are negotiations of surrender in decisive war victories such as this one. But Queen Pearl has basically told us that she'll comply with anything we demand of them."
"Indeed," Darkstalker said, smiling confidently at Pearl's scroll, which was sitting half-curled on the council table atop a map of Pyrrhia. "How much do you think we can get out of them? Prior to the war, we traded quite extensively."
"Well, their main exports to us were fish, salt, and palmwood," Thoughtful said. "I'd have to go get the log books to see how much of each they gave us."
"Let's have them start giving us twice as much," Darkstalker said. "Also, let's stop exporting timber to them."
"Twice as much?" Thoughtful shook his head. "Your Majesty, I must caution against that. I'm not sure of the exact numbers, but we were the Sea Kingdom's biggest trading partner before the war."
"What's your point?" Darkstalker asked. "We're everyone's biggest trading partner."
"My point is that doubling their exports to us might not be something they can reasonably do," Listener explained. "A lot of their goods were already traded to us. You'd be asking a lot from them."
"Well, maybe they should have thought about that before threatening our tribe for the past several years. They can do it, can they? Fathom, Indigo, what do you think? You're from the Sea Kingdom."
"Uh … I'm not sure," Fathom said, flattening his ears. "I haven't been to the Sea Kingdom in years. And I never learned about our trade economy. That would have been something Pearl was taught, not me."
"They might be able to do it, but we should think about the long-term consequences of issuing harsh demands," Listener said. "If our demands are too strenuous, we may remain on bad terms with the Sea Kingdom for a much longer time. I think it would be better for us to try resolving tensions now that the war is over."
Darkstalker barked out a laugh. "I'll consider resolving tensions with the Sea Kingdom when Pearl is dead."
Out of the corner of her eye, Clearsight saw Fathom give a small wince.
"Pearl has proven herself to be far too terrible to be capable of establishing a friendship with the Night Kingdom," Darkstalker continued. "She has abused me and Queen Clearsight too much and for too long. The last of my patience with her burned away yesterday when she tried to take away my magic. I want to make sure she's remembered as the terrible queen that she is. If that means that she becomes responsible for a SeaWing economic collapse, then I'd say that's a good thing."
"Makes sense, actually," Listener said, nodding to Darkstalker's words. "What's the point of demanding reparations if it doesn't effectively punish the dragons giving them?"
"Well, some would argue that the purpose of reparations is to compensate for incurred losses, not to punish dragons for wrongdoing," Thoughtful said.
"Personally, I don't really see the difference," Darkstalker said, shrugging. "I want to make sure Pearl knows that she can't get away with treating me and Fathom the way she did. Nor can she get away with treating the entire Night Kingdom as a collection of disposable bats that she can kidnap and murder." He sighed. "This talk of trade and economics is starting to bore me, so let's try and wrap this up. I believe the Sea Kingdom is perfectly capable of meeting my suggested demands. If it turns out they aren't, we can renegotiate in the future."
Thoughtful muttered something under his breath, then said, "Very well."
"Sounds reasonable to me as well," Listener added.
"If renegotiations need to occur, would it be alright if Indigo and I go to the Sea Kingdom to serve as diplomats?" Fathom asked. "It'll be safe for us to go there now, and I think we would be better received. Plus, there are places in the Sea Kingdom that only SeaWings can access."
"Of course," Darkstalker said, smiling to his friend. "I know that you've wanted to revisit the Sea Kingdom for a long time now."
"How long will we demand reparations for?" Clearsight asked. "I propose we begin by issuing demands for the rest of the year, and then renegotiate them every year from that point forward."
"I think our first issued demands should remain in place for longer," Darkstalker said. "Five years at least."
"A lot can change in five years," Thoughtful said. "Why not three?"
"Three is a magic number," Whiteout said with an agreeable nod.
"Fine. Three years to start with," Darkstalker said. "I still think we're being too nice, though. How about this: in addition to the demands, we could also set up new settlements in the territories we conquered."
"Ooh, little black peppercorns in the north!" Whiteout said, delighted.
"But the Sea Kingdom is so far away from the Night Kingdom," Clearsight said. "It doesn't make sense to set up NightWing settlements so far from home."
"Why not?" Darkstalker asked. "The islands we conquered are actually quite rich in resources. If we get some dragons over there to occupy the islands and work the land, it'll make us that much richer."
Clearsight frowned, and took a moment to examine the futures. She had a feeling that the main reason Darkstalker was suggesting this was as a power play. By sending NightWings over to occupy and settle down in what was previously undisputed Sea Kingdom territory, he was conveying the idea that the Night Kingdom could impose its will on the other kingdoms whether they liked it or not.
Darkstalker interrupted her thoughts before she could delve too far into the futures, though. "Clearsight, can't you see this could be a great opportunity for our tribe?" he asked. "We have the smallest kingdom in all of Pyrrhia, and yet our tribe is more prosperous than all the others. Our population is growing: why shouldn't our borders grow with it?"
"He speaks in uniform rhymes, my queen," Whiteout said with a nod. "Our nightcaps are replete with meadows, and our meadows are replete with nightcaps. We should not let our new spores flutter into the wind when we still have ground for them to cling to"
Clearsight raised an eyebrow, then looked over at Thoughtful for his translation.
"She's saying that we're already overpopulated," he explained. "Since we have conquered land in the Sea Kingdom, we should settle new villages there while we still have a claim to it. We're running out of room here, after all."
It still wasn't an idea she was very comfortable with, but it was hard to argue with that logic. "Wouldn't the distance still pose a problem?" she asked. "How can we expect to rule over these potential settlements when they're on the other side of Pyrrhia?"
"If it becomes an issue, we do have the option of using magic," Darkstalker remarked. "I could drop a portal connecting the Night Kingdom to the conquered territories up north. But I don't think they'll be needed. The settlements will already be within the scope of our previous trade routes with the Sea Kingdom. We can communicate along the same path."
Clearsight nodded after a bit of hesitation. "I suppose you're right," she said. "We can issue an announcement throughout the kingdom in a few days, after we have completely settled matters with Queen Pearl. Fathom, Indigo: once we have established a group of settlers, would you be okay with overseeing them while they settle the new villages?"
"I think so," Fathom said. "It depends on how long it will take, though. We have a pair of eggs that are due to hatch in a few months."
"Play it by ear," Clearsight said. "Do you plan on taking the eggs with you?"
Fathom blinked. "Well, I wasn't really planning on anything," he said. "I mean, I guess they'd probably be safer here."
"Oh, no no no, we'll definitely be taking the eggs with us," Indigo quickly said.
"We'll definitely be taking the eggs with us," Fathom said with an agreeable nod.
"Just make sure you don't stay there too long," Darkstalker said with a bright smile that he only ever gave to his best friends. "It gets lonely in the palace without you around."
"In the meantime," Clearsight continued, "I'll put our demands to Queen Pearl into writing and have it sent to the messengers." She rose to her feet. "With that being said, I think we can call a close to this meeting."
"Finally!" Listener said, stepping away from the table. "Next time you decide to wake me up before sundown for one of these meetings, please let me know like, a week ahead of time." She started for the door. "If you need me, I'll be snoring on my chamber bed. Please don't need me."
The rest of the day went by at a dull-but-quick pace. Clearsight and Darkstalker received about a dozen greetings from dragons happy to see them return after their day of absence. They spent a few hours addressing various concerns from the kingdom's denizens, and Darkstalker finished the day with a speech to the NightWings announcing that Queen Pearl had surrendered, putting an end to this long and bloody war.
After writing, sealing, and mailing off her letter to Queen Pearl, Clearsight made her way back to their private chambers. Darkstalker was waiting for her at the head of the main corridor, his tail swishing eagerly.
That was a familiar posture, and Clearsight knew exactly what it meant. Darkstalker had made something, and he wanted to show it to her.
"What have you done now?" she asked, softening her eyes and smiling at him. She loved how adorable he looked when he was like this.
"Follow me to the western tower," he said as he began to trot away.
Clearsight tilted her head before running forward to catch up to him. "Why? What are you up to?"
"I have to show you something! And no using your future sight to peek."
"You know I don't do that anymore," Clearsight said, lightly shoving him with her wing.
As they started up a flight of stairs, Darkstalker let out an excited giggle.
"Darkstalker, what is it?" she asked. "You haven't been this excited to show me something since we were dragonets."
"Just wait and see!" he answered, speeding up to a gallop.
Clearsight wished she had his dexterity. Despite how big of a dragon Darkstalker was, he still was capable of weaving up the set of spiral stairs like it was open terrain. Clearsight had to call on him to slow down, flapping her wings in frustration as she struggled to keep up.
When she finally made it to the top of the tower, Darkstalker opened one of the six great windows surrounding the circular room, and threw himself out into the rain.
When Clearsight followed behind him, she caught him changing his flight course to land on the roof of the palace. Clearsight accidentally slipped on the tiles when she tried landing next to him, but Darkstalker caught her before she could fall off the roof.
"Thanks," she said as she pulled on Darkstalker's talon to lift herself up. After finding purchase on the rooftop, she shook the water off her wings and gave a sideways look at him. "So what did you drag me up here for?"
Darkstalker lifted a claw and pointed at one of the two nearly full moons in the sky. "Look closely at that moon," he said.
Clearsight leaned forward and squinted. At first it looked like the same moon that she'd seen thousands of times. It was white and blotchy and certainly pretty, especially with how bright it was glowing tonight, but not something worth being dragged into the rain to see.
But then she noticed something that she hadn't noticed before. Something that nearly caused her to lose her footing a second time and fall off the rooftop.
Near the bottom of the moon, there was a dark crescent shape outlined inside a circle, with four diamonds surrounding it. It was the symbol of the Great Diamond.
Pyrrhia's largest moon had been branded with the royal NightWing insignia.
A/N: I don't know how war reparations or diplomatic peacetime negotiations work, so please forgive me if it seemed like that council meeting was written by someone who didn't know how war reparations or diplomatic peacetime negotiations worked.
Whiteout holds the position of High Stewardess, which I'm interpreting in this world to mean something along the lines of "the dragon that's in charge of domestic affairs." This is why she in particular would be the dragon who's most concerned with regional overpopulation. Thoughtful, meanwhile, is the treasurer, so he was the one who was most aware of the economic situation of both the Night Kingdom and the Sea Kingdom.
By the way, thank you everyone for your support! You all made quite a bit of noise with the last chapter I uploaded, and this story has gotten a lot of new followers since then. It's an honor to have so many of you take a liking in my work. I hope I won't let you down as this story continues!