Glorious Politics

AN: Most of the replies I got were to split it up into three different parts, so that's what I'll do. Operation Queen-Maker is basically a stand-alone story set within the past of the Glorious Politics universe. The whole thing is written from Princess Greatness' POV in first person perspective. This is part one of three.

Fair warning, this is probably the darkest and most morally questionable story I've ever done. I just want to say that I do not approve or condone a lot of the stuff that happens in here. Such themes include, in technical terms: referenced/implied rape, murdering civilians, and worst of all, exploitation of a dragonet.

Queen-Maker is a black-ops stratagem concocted by Morrowseer, and we all know how morally compromised he was.

Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire. My OC Mistral belongs to me.

Before I get into the story itself, I'm going to start off by saying Queen-Maker was not my idea. In fact, I was completely opposed to it, mostly because it was a black-ops plan that involved me as the sole operator. I was just nine years old at the time, barely more than a dragonet, and I'd been raised as a princess, not as a spy. But this was around the point where Queen Battlewinner cared more for the continuation of her tribe than the continuation of her bloodline. It was also the point where Morrowseer was King in all but title, and since this was his idea, it was pure gold.

I mean, my mother wasn't that blind, was she? She had to realize Morrowseer was the real leader of the tribe by then. Had been for some time, actually. If she did, she didn't care. Or maybe she did care but was more concerned about our tribe's future rather than his ambitions. Of course, and I loathe to admit this, he was good for the tribe. Mastermind may have been the smartest of us, but Morrowseer was definitely the most cunning. The former was trying to figure out how we could survive in the present. The latter was planning how we could thrive in the future. Not all of his ideas panned out, obviously, but more often than not, they did. Without him—and again, I hate to admit this—the Nightwings might not have even had a future.

Yeah, he played puppet-master and prolonged the war, driving it to continue for far longer than it should have, but every non-Nightwing that died gave us a better chance for survival—his logic, not mine. The Dragonet Prophecy was what one might call 'a longshot', but he somehow proved its efficacy with math, so my mother ended up going along with it. It was his planned endgame, the way to achieve the outcome he needed for the Nightwings to not only return to Pyrrhia, but also be welcomed. As you know, that involved Blister becoming Queen of the Sandwings, thereby assuring us one ally on Pyrrhia.

But he also had other plans for the other tribes, plans that would not only increase his endgame's likelihood but give our tribe as a whole a better standing with the other tribes. Pretty much everyone knows his plan to either wipe out or enslave every Rainwing in the rainforest. With them neutral in the war and completely isolated in their borders, the chance of anyone realizing what was really going on before it was too late for the Rainwings was slim to none.

The Mudwings changing from Blister's side to Burn's side during the war was another of Morrowseer's operations—one he never told Blister about, obviously. He knew Blister would demand Moorhen's head for the betrayal once she became Queen, meaning he knew there was an opportunity to install a new Queen who was loyal not only to Blister, but us, as well.

The civil war between Ruby and Scarlet hadn't been planned, but he'd went along with it. Like the Sandwing War, he planned on prolonging it until our overall stance was better. Then, he'd pick whichever side he thought would be best for us and offer support, thereby scoring the Nightwings a third ally.

Operation Queen-Maker was his plan regarding the Icewings. He always knew they would be the biggest threat to our very existence. The war from two thousand years ago had never actually ended, no treaty had been signed, so he needed a way to crush the Icewings without even having to enter open conflict. His conclusion? Queen Glacier needed to die. As did her daughters.

But it wasn't as easy as all that. Simply saying you want to kill a Queen is a lot easier than actually doing it. Plus, the Icewings are notoriously stoic and disciplined. They have a list of succession a mile long, and it wasn't feasible to kill everyone on it until we got down to the one we wanted. They'd figure out what was going on before long, and all that anger would be directed squarely at us.

Morrowseer needed the Icewings to destroy themselves from the inside. Whether that meant a simple coup or a full-blown civil war, he didn't much care as long as the outcome remained the same. He spent a long time building psychological profiles on every Icewing royal and noble he could find, trying to discern who should and could become our ally—our puppet, really. When he finally decided on one, he then needed to figure out how to spark the necessary conflict.

That's when he discovered Glacier's youngest daughter—at the time, anyway—Snowfall, was particularly close friends with the only son of the two highest ranked nobles in the entire Ice Kingdom, barring the royals themselves. That whole family, in fact, was the second most prestigious in the entire Kingdom. They had a long history of being close allies and staunch supporters of the royal family. Morrowseer knew he had to break those ties and make them tear each other apart, but he also knew it wouldn't be easy.

And that's...where I came in.

Operation Queen-Maker - 13 years ago (2 years before Nightwing exodus):

Today started like any other. I was sitting on my 'throne' in the council chambers, speaking when I had to and keeping quiet the rest of the time. Despite being Princess, I didn't really have much power. Normally, I just acted as sort of a 'speaker', relaying my mother's opinions or orders to the rest of the gathered councilors and occasionally restoring order when arguments got a bit too loud. I was allowed to give opinions on matters, but I had no actual ability to sway the decision-making process.

But that was fine. I didn't want all that responsibility. Having someone—or multiple someones—depend directly on me was just stressful, and I hated it.

My normal morning turned into a normal afternoon, but then things became decidedly not normal. Morrowseer came into the council chambers and dismissed everyone, and then he called for me to follow him into my mother's chamber once they were all gone. My first thought, of course, was that I was in trouble for something, even if I couldn't think of what. I'd done nothing out of the ordinary today or yesterday. Perhaps this was just a 'you-need-to-be-better-and-start-acting-more-like-the-actual-heir-you-are' type of talk. I really hated those, and unfortunately, they'd seemed much more common as of late.

It soon became apparent that that's not what this was...but I was kind of wishing it was by the end of it. I was being briefed for an assignment on the mainland? I've been there, sure, but only a clawful of times. The whole meeting took over an hour. They gave me a target: a dragonet named Mistral. They gave me a new identity: a seven-year-old named Starfall who had been captured by Skywings briefly before escaping into the mountains. Then, they gave me an objective: use him to get close to Princess Snowfall, kill her, and frame him for the murder. And finally, they gave me a time limit: ten months. Any longer than that and there wouldn't be enough time for the ensuing unrest to cause enough damage.

Once the briefing was over, Morrowseer turned to me. "Do you understand your role in this assignment?" As big of an ass as he usually was, he wasn't stupid. He wasn't going to send me out unless he knew I knew everything I needed to. Sending someone on an important assignment like this ill-prepared was an all-around bad move.

"Uh...I have a few questions," I began quietly. He glared at me, more with frustration than anger, probably having thought he'd already covered everything that needed to be covered. "Why me? Isn't there anyone better for the job?"

Mother hissed in displeasure. She never liked it when I tried to shirk off any additional duties. Morrowseer's glare morphed into a resigned sigh, though it was quickly made clear that he wasn't sighing for the reason I thought he was. He wasn't sighing because he cared about my opinions, he was sighing because there was genuinely no one else, and all of his ambitions rested upon my undependable shoulders. "Unfortunately, no. Believe me when I say you were my last choice. No other female your age is as healthy—relatively speaking—as you. The dragonets are too valuable to risk, and anyone older than you wouldn't pass for a seven-year-old."

I always was a bit small for my age. "Okay...but a four-year-old? Doesn't this seem wrong to either of you?"

"Unpleasant things are often necessary during war," mother croaked, all but her head submerged in the lava.

"But—" That kind of excuse seemed shallow in this situation. Asking me, a nine-year-old young adult, to manipulate a four-year-old dragonet was wrong. Not to mention disgusting, unethical, and...and just wrong! Especially since they didn't care how I manipulated him, whether it be through a platonic friendship or an actual romantic relationship. It didn't matter that my assumed identity was only going to be seven, I was still nine!

It was wrong!

But they didn't care. This was for the good of the tribe—or so they kept telling themselves. "You will do this because it must be done!" Morrowseer shouted at me, fed up with my hesitation.

I bowed my head in submission and fear. I didn't dare argue with him. He had mother's complete support and refusing them would probably be the last straw for both of them. If mother didn't kill me herself, Morrowseer certainly would if his furious yet disgusted expression was anything to go by. And that's...if he didn't do something worse first. "H-How will I make contact?" If I was resigning myself to this...operation, I wanted to at least know what I was getting into.

He glared at me a moment longer before answering my question. "Mistral and his parents are scheduled to meet with Blaze south of the ice wall, in the more habitable area of the Ice Kingdom. Some Skywings will attempt to kill the three nobles and their guard retinue." Under his orders, no doubt—even if the Skywings didn't know who had really given them those orders. "Your job is to save Mistral. Preferably after his parents and guards are dead."

Despicable...

How cruel did he have to be to do this to a dragonet? This wasn't some 'unpleasant thing'...this was pure evil!

The revulsion I felt at this 'plan' was so strong I could taste bile. I had no choice to swallow nothing less than my morality to go along with this. And go along I would, for I simply had no choice. It wasn't just fear of Morrowseer that drove me, either, though that was a large part of it. The thing is, Morrowseer was many things: cruel, ambitious, probably a bit sadistic at times, clearly morally compromised.

The one thing he wasn't was selfish, at least in the sense that he never put his own desires or ambitions above the good of the tribe. It's why he was all but divorced from Secretkeeper. It's why he allowed Deathbringer to live despite the fact he absolutely loathed that assassin. Secretkeeper was a distraction because his sense of duty to the tribe superseded any personal relationships. Deathbringer was useful even if Morrowseer hated him and his poor sense of humor.

As despicable and outright evil as this plan seemed, I knew he never would've suggested it if it didn't have the absolute highest chance of succeeding. If this was for the better future he promised—and if there was anyone who could give us that future, it was him, as much as I hated to admit it—perhaps I could put my reservations aside. But I knew I would never forget this. I'd been lucky so far to not have been a part of, or even privy to, a lot of...morally questionable things. This one thing, wrong as it was, wouldn't be so bad, right? Right?

Ah, who am I kidding? This was going to be absolutely horrible...

I was pretty much kicked off the island after the briefing, though they were at least kind enough to equip me with some leather armor and a dagger. The armor wasn't anything fancy—just a chest-piece that pretty much covered the entire front half of my torso and some arm guards—but it would do its job well enough. The dagger was of Skywing make, plain but effective in design. It was currently hidden in its sheath under my left wing.

A pair of guards escorted me through the tunnel to the rainforest once night fell, and then they pointed me to the tunnel to the Sand Kingdom. They turned back once I was in the second tunnel, and a single Sandwing was waiting for me on the other side. The chill of the desert night was much different to the volcano's sweltering, toxic heat or the rainforest's humidity. "I take it you're Jackal," I assumed, to which he nodded, wordlessly motioning for me to follow him. We took flight heading north and keeping low to the ground until we were a good distance away from Burn's stronghold.

Jackal was to be my escort until we hit the northern border to the Sand Kingdom. He was one of Blister's operatives. Morrowseer had asked the future Sandwing Queen for a favor, one I was honestly surprised she agreed to. "We'll be traveling solely at night," he finally said about ten minutes later. "It's the best way to avoid detection. We should be at the border in...three days." Morrowseer didn't want anyone seeing me heading towards the Ice Kingdom, especially escorted by a Sandwing. That would definitely arouse suspicion. "Oh, by the way...Blister wanted me to mention that she was happy to assist."

Oh, I just bet she was. "But..."

He snickered, amused at how easily I'd seen through that statement. "But she doesn't like being kept in the dark. What's Morrowseer's interest in the meeting between the Icewings and Blaze? Blister wants to know, especially after he all but ordered her not to intervene after we received some actionable intel."

Yeah, she'd expected him to pry at some point. Morrowseer had, too, and had explicitly forbidden her from sharing any of the operation's details. "I'm not at liberty to say," she told him. He frowned at that. "But you can tell Blister that she can ask Morrowseer next time she sees him. Whether or not he answers is another matter entirely, though."

"Sounds big," he commented suspiciously.

"It is," she confirmed, not seeing any harm in admitting that.

He was quiet for a while before turning to study her. "Answer me this, then: This...interest of his in the Icewings...will it affect the war?"

"You want to know if this will weaken Blister's position in any way, don't you?" she asked. He nodded at the question, unsurprised she guessed his actual question. Greatness was silent for a moment, trying to decide what she could divulge without giving too much away. Morrowseer didn't want Blister to know what was actually going on; he wanted to keep this intel compartmentalized. There was less chance of anyone else figuring out the truth that way. "If all goes well..." she began slowly, uncertainly. "She'll find her position exponentially strengthened. That all depends on any...interference, obviously. More than that, I can't say. I'm sorry."

"Define 'interference'," he requested. "Interference in this meeting or with the Icewings in general?"

"Just the meeting," she hurriedly corrected. If Blister were to suddenly stop all offensive tactics in the north, it'd be sure to arouse questions from dragons they'd prefer to keep none-the-wiser. He hummed at that before nodding. She assumed that meant he was alright with that. She wasn't entirely sure how highly-ranked he was, but if Blister briefed him personally—as he implied—he had to be pretty high up there. If that were true, hopefully Blister would take his advice and stay away from the meeting.

They didn't talk much after that, even in the following days. They weren't there to become friends, so there wasn't much point in talking unless necessary, usually when he pointed out shelter, an enemy patrol, or a source of water. True to his estimate, though, they arrived at the border three days—or nights, actually—after they left.

It'd had gotten colder the further north they flew, and they were at the very southern edge of the Ice Kingdom proper by now. The no-dragon's-land was behind them, sand making way for permafrost with the tundra itself less than half-a-day's flight to the north. "The border fortress you want is about fifty miles that way," Jackal told her, pointing west. They were already on the ground, their breaths coming out as white mist, and dawn was still several hours away. Even when the sun came up, it wasn't going to get much warmer. Both were shivering, though she at least had the leather armor to keep in some heat. He didn't even have that luxury, yet he wasn't complaining. "It's the single largest Icewing military fortification south of the ice wall, so you can't miss it."

That's where the biggest chunk of Blaze's Sandwings were, seeing as that fortress was where she lived most of the time, the fortifications further north being too cold for her. With it being an Icewing fortification, there was also a full garrison of them there, too. All of the other border fortresses, each spread approximately one hundred and fifty miles apart, had split garrisons, half Sandwing and half Icewing. This one, the crown jewel, had about twelve thousand troops, in all—four times the others.

It was the nexus, the midpoint of the border fortress chain and the primary staging post for all offensive operations they conducted in the south. Troops could fly out from there to reinforce any other fortress in the defensive line, and there were constant patrols to and from each. One hundred and fifty miles was a long distance, but the flight could be done in barely more than two hours.

In other words, that fortress was really the only thing standing between Burn and her conquest of the Ice Kingdom. The only other fortress that even came close to that size was the border fortress farthest to the east, in the mountains. The highly defensive position meant it wasn't as big, but with it being the primary Skywing deterrent, it still had a garrison of seven thousand strong.

It was no wonder then why no army had ever breached the Ice Kingdom's borders. They truly were the masters of defensive warfare.

So yeah, I guess it's pretty easy to see why Morrowseer was so concerned about them.

Before Jackal could leave—his job was done, after all—I stopped him. "Do you know when the delegation is supposed to arrive?"

He looked at me askance. "Shouldn't you already know that?"

"I do," I confirmed. "I just want to compare our respective intel. See if there's any discrepancies."

He shrugged, seeming to understand where I was coming from. "About a week."

I frowned at that. "Ours said five days."

He shrugged once again. "Then follow yours. If they don't show up tomorrow, you'll just be waiting an extra few days." With that he turned and took off, calling back a "Good luck!"

And then I was alone in an area where I'd definitely be either captured or killed if anyone saw me. Best start heading north, then. I knew where the delegation would arrive and when...sort of. But it would be impossible to get to them in the fortress itself, so I needed to intercept them while they were in transit. Plus, there were far more patrols south of the fortress line than north. It'd be colder yet safer in the long run.

According to Morrowseer, the delegation would be flying along the mountains on the eastern border on their way south. The outposts along the mountains were barely more than watchtowers, and the Skywings were supposed to attack them approximately a hundred miles north of the actual big one. There would be no Icewing patrols to worry about there, so I just needed to be in that area before either of the other parties made it there.

And then...the morally hard part came.

Three days later and I was still feeling sick every time I thought of what I had to do. I dreaded when that moment actually came. How much worse would I feel after, knowing the dragonet's parents were dead because I was ordered to let them die? My flight became unsteady as a fresh wave of nausea hit me, so I swallowed that line of thought and pressed on. I had no choice but to do this. The very future of my tribe was at stake here.

Hunting was something I had to do on my own, and it was something I was decidedly poor at. When the alternative was starving, however, I ended up learning pretty quick. The first actual day in the Ice Kingdom was quite stressful, simply because there was nowhere to take shelter. If anyone passed by, they'd spot my black scales easily. I forced myself to walk through the entire day, and I only had to bury myself in snow twice when Icewing patrols went by. They never spotted me either time, thank the stars, but it was a constant reminder that I was in enemy territory. Once night fell, I started flying again, anxious to cover more ground and get closer to the mountains despite the fact I hadn't slept in over thirty-six hours by that point.

I was both physically and mentally exhausted by the time I found a small stand of evergreens to take shelter in. Trees were good. Trees meant I was close to the mountains, but that was a problem for when I caught up on sleep.

I ended up sleeping almost a full day, and then it was another mad flight to the gradually growing mountains in the distance. This was the third night since Jackal left, so I needed to be in position by tomorrow night or the day after at the absolute latest.

The thing I discovered about mountains in the Ice Kingdom was that they were colder than the actual tundra. A lot colder. The leather armor was basically a hindrance at this point, and I didn't even want to know how much weight I'd lost from simply shivering. In a desperate attempt to keep up my strength and energy, I ended up spending several hours that first day in the mountains gorging myself on any food I could find until I was fit to burst.

Despite how fat I ended up feeling, I knew the cold and exercise would cut through all that extra weight scarily fast. And I was right, by the next night, I was hungry again, having burned through all that energy in less than eighteen hours. But I was near the target location at that point, so I found a nearby cave that was thankfully empty and settled down, waiting for any sign of either Icewings or Skywings.

It was a mostly sleepless night, the cold keeping me awake. And I didn't dare start a fire for fear of it being seen. The next day was when our intel said they would be coming through this area, so I spent the entire day flying along the western half of the range, knowing the Icewings wouldn't go too far east for fear of Skywing ambush. Ironic...if they did fly farther east, they might actually get past the trap.

I didn't see anyone that day, though. No Icewings, no Skywings, and no signs of battle. That would have concerned me if I hadn't asked Jackal about what his intel said. There was a two day discrepancy between them, so if I didn't see anyone in four days—to be safe—it'd probably be too late to catch them.

If only that had turned out to be true.

It was the next day when I saw the smoke. I'd been flying a bit farther north today than yesterday, and it was almost midday when I saw the small column. It wasn't big at all, probably a tree or two that had caught fire. But trees didn't spontaneously combust. I landed on a high ridge, going prone and crawling over to the edge to peer down into what looked like a small valley.

There was, in fact, some trees on fire, and it looked to be a result of a stray blast from a Skywing. It was impossible to tell which one because, put simply, Morrowseer had failed to mention just how many he'd 'hired' to do his dirty work. There were probably fifteen that were already dead, and five were still alive, fighting the three remaining Icewing guards. Seven more Icewings were already dead.

My blood seemed to freeze as I scanned the valley frantically trying to find my actual target. None of the bodies were small enough to be a dragonet. The bodies suggested the battle had been going on for at least a little while. Had the nobles already fled? Was I too late?

"Hey!" I flinched at the close shout and looked to my left to see a Skywing standing there. He was pointing his spear at me. "What's a Nightwing doing in the Ice Kingdom?"

I stood slowly, making no threatening motions. He didn't seem too hostile, mostly just surprised to see me. Probably a bit suspicious, too. "I could ask you the same," I returned. He narrowed his eyes and stepped closer, the spear tip inches from my throat. I guess I wouldn't be getting intel that way.

"I asked first," he snapped.

Morrowseer had told me explicitly to not let anyone survive, both Skywing and Icewing...except for the dragonet, of course. I wasn't the greatest fighter, but I knew the basics. Mother made me learn when I was younger, said I might need to defend myself one day. A good foresight, in any event. "I'm looking for some Icewing nobles. Seen them?" If he was going to die anyway, there was no reason to keep my true purpose hidden.

He narrowed his gaze at me suspiciously. "They're being taken care of as we speak," he answered vaguely. "So if you came to kill them, you've made a wasted trip."

I nodded along, going with the lie. He thought I was here to kill them. "They're dead then?" I needed to know if I was too late.

"They will be soon," he nodded, lowering the spear. "Now leave. The Skywings have no issue with the Nightwings. We did your job for you, so there's no reason for you to linger."

He turned to fly away, but I called after him. "Where's the dragonet?" He paused and looked back at me in confusion. "I need him alive."

The suspicious gaze was back. "For what? A ransom? Sorry, Nightwing, but the dragonet will die like the rest." And then the spear was back to being pointed at me. "Is that going to be a problem?"

I shook my head and he huffed, clearly unconvinced. A single step forward, and then I lunged at him, swatting the spear away, the tip tearing a small hole in my armor but not penetrating fully. With the distance between us closed, his spear was pretty much useless. He open his mouth, to shout or breathe fire, I didn't know, but my dagger was at his throat before he could. "Where?" I snarled, pressing the blade harder against his neck. I probably looked more intimidating than I felt because he stood stock still, his head angled up because of the blade.

There was nothing stopping him from moving backwards, but he probably figured he'd be dead before he could do anything. And he was right. I may be small, but that just meant I was fast. "A few miles to the north in a cave," he growled.

"Thank you..." There was a moment of hesitation, and he had just started to step back when I plunged the blade into his neck. He stared at me in shock as he choked on his own blood, falling to the ground with a gurgle as he died upon the slope of this forsaken mountain. I just barely managed to stop myself from being sick, having never actually killed someone before. I'd seen death before. It was unfortunately common on our island, but this was a first for me. "Sorry..." I muttered to his corpse, as if that would make things better.

It didn't.

Taking one last look down below, I noticed that all of the combatants except two of the Skywings were dead. One of them appeared injured. Knowing I couldn't let anyone escape, I flew down and tackled the less injured one from above. Both of us rolled as the other Skywing screamed in surprise. It took me a few seconds to recover, but the Skywing I tackled didn't attempt to stand. If the dullness in his eyes was any clue, he probably died upon impact.

The injured Skywing—she had a pretty nasty gash on her right thigh and another on her chest—turned and unfolded her wings in an attempt to fly away. I picked up a spear and threw it shakily, though it was straight enough to impale her through her other thigh. She shrieked in agony as her legs buckled, her wings flapping against the ground futilely.

I hurried over and jumped on her back, slitting her throat before she could buck me off. She died almost immediately. I went back to the other Skywing to confirm he was dead, and this time I did get sick. A stone had cracked his skull open, and one of his eyes was dangling out of his head.

Wiping the sick off my muzzle, I took a few seconds to steady myself. "Stars damn you for this, Morrowseer!" If not for him, I wouldn't have to deal with the cold. I wouldn't have to be as hungry. And I wouldn't have had to kill three dragons!

And I still hadn't found that accursed dragonet!

I sighed. It wasn't Mistral's fault for simply existing. He just had the terrible luck of being the right dragon for Morrowseer's...plans.

The battlefield was now eerily still and quiet. With one last glance around, I left it behind and began flying north, looking for any sign of the cave that one Skywing mentioned. He said it was a few miles. Of course...there was every possibility he could've lied, I suppose.

But no, a few minutes later, I spotted an Icewing fighting three Skywings outside of a cave. Three additional Icewings lay dead nearby, and another four Skywings were also dead. The last surviving Icewing was covered in wounds, but he was still going, even taking down another Skywing as I circled above. He was also the only Icewing I'd seen that hadn't been wearing armor.

Which meant he was the father, trying so desperately to protect his family.

His victory over the one Skywing was rendered moot when one of the others stabbed him in the side. He collapsed, breathing heavily with a spear sticking out from between his ribs. The fact he was still alive even despite that was testament to his sheer willpower. The second Skywing, the one who still had a weapon, approached slowly, methodically. They were savoring this moment.

Another Icewing, this one a female, ran out of the cave and attacked the Skywing before he could kill her husband. It was clear she wasn't a fighter; she was thrown off easily and killed without mercy. Her husband, dying as he was, roared in grief an anger and threw himself upon the Skywing responsible for his wife's death. The second Skywing intervened to help his comrade, killing the Icewing. Moments later, the Skywing checked his downed comrade. When only one stood, I realized the Icewing had actually killed his wife's murderer.

But one Skywing still remained. The last one of over thirty who attacked this delegation. I flew down to the cave right as the Skywing entered. It wasn't a deep cave, and I could see the dragonet, Mistral huddled in on himself in the farthest corner, cowering away from the Skywing approaching him. I wasn't sure if the young Icewing wasn't much of a fighter like his mother or if he was just to scared and traumatized to do anything.

My orders were clear, though. Right when the Skywing lifted his spear to strike, I jumped upon his back, not even bothering to go for the throat. Instead, I jammed my dagger into his spine directly between his shoulders. He collapsed now that his spinal cord was severed. He screamed in fear when he realized he was paralyzed and helpless before me. With an roar of anger, both at myself and this Skywing for the tragedy that happened here, I plunged the dagger into his skull.

I shivered, but not from the cold. The nausea was returning after what I just did, but I swallowed it down as I turned to the young dragonet. He was staring at me with wide eyes, clearly more afraid of me than he was of the now-deceased Skywing. It wasn't hard to understand why. He'd probably never seen a Nightwing before. The only stories he knew about us were probably meant to make us sound like evil monsters that came in the night to abduct misbehaving dragonets. "It's okay..." I whispered, trying to calm him down with gentle tones. "You're safe now."

AN: My headcanon is that Morrowseer does all the wrong things for the right reasons. I believe he truly does care about his tribe, but his methods are a bit more extreme than actually necessary. Because of that, he's become desensitized to everything over time. And, of course, Battlewinner just goes along with it.

Greatness doesn't like any of it, though, and we'll see more of her moral struggle in part two.

Have a very merry Christmas!

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22