Glorious Politics

AN: I'm back! It's been a while, I know, but all the craziness of the last couple months has finally gone away, and things are back to a relative normal. And let me tell you, after spending two months away, it was hard to sit my butt back in my chair and actually start writing again, but now that I've started, I'm feeling better than I have in a while. I just love writing. Even if it feels like work sometimes, I still love it, and I'm glad to be back.

In other news, in case you aren't following me on Twitter, I just ordered a new, very expensive, desktop. Mine is eight years old, and while it runs most games fine, all of the newer AAA games are too intensive for it to run. It's time for an upgrade, and with my network card seemingly on its last legs (I haven't confirmed that, but the connection keeps dropping even though the wifi extender is literally seven feet away from it), now was the perfect time. A couple comparisons: my old computer has a GTX 1060 graphics card and my new one is going to have an RTX 4070 Super FE. My old computer has an i5-6700 processor and my new one has an i5-14600K. It'll have double the RAM and quadruple the memory space. And it only cost 2600 bucks, which is a nice chunk of change that I paid all at once rather than financing because I refuse to use .

If you couldn't tell, I'm super excited for it. I am so getting Dragon's Dogma 2 now that I've got a system to run it. I played the original one when it first came out, and I've been so hyped about the new one ever since I heard of it, no joke, about two weeks ago.

But I've rambled enough. Enjoy the chapter. I know it's short, but I had trouble getting back into writing, as I stated before, so it took me longer to get into the swing of things.

Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire. Nimbus, Sobek, Mistral, and Veneno are my OCs. Bloodwalker belongs to SpyroAndSisuFan. Certus, Solstice, and Swiftback belong to Epsilon33. Bear belongs to Schwanze. The concept for the character Soulseer partially belongs to SpyroAndSisuFan. Mystic belongs to Flerovium.

Chapter Forty-Eight:

Once Peril returned with Bloodwalker, Glory explained the current situation to the Nightwing assassin, and then gave the two of them their assignments. Peril would follow the thief that stole the dreamvisitor, and Bloodwalker would track down Magnificent. He had only one question. "Is this a kill or capture mission?" The way he asked it made her think he didn't care either way, he was just looking for confirmation.

It made her pause, though. On one claw, capturing Magnificent might glean them some info in the long run. Then again, the cult might send someone to rescue her. Killing her then, might be the best option. However, on the flip side, with her being one of their best agents, the cult might retaliate no matter what they do.

"You've already got a plan to get info out of Deathbringer and Soulseer, the latter of which will probably know more about Vulture's plans, anyway, since he's been with him a lot longer than Magnificent has. Best to just kill her and remove one of their best pieces from the board." Foeslayer's analysis of the situation made sense, and after a moment's thought, she nodded in agreement.

"This is a kill mission," Glory told Bloodwalker. "She's been a thorn in our side for too long now. It's time to remove her from the equation. Permanently."

"But we can't do anything until our magic compasses arrive, right?" She nodded to Peril's question. "Do we know how much longer it's going to be? Because I may fly fast, even for a Skywing, but there's going to be a point where my target is going to have too much of a lead for even me to catch him up."

"Hopefully not much longer," Glory commented, though internally she doubted the truth of her words. Turtle wasn't known for being a fast worker. "I sent him to consult with Qibli on how to get his bowl here, which is what we need to duplicate our new tool. I told him I needed it within the hour, so knowing Turtle, we'll have it in..." She glanced out the window to judge the time and frowned. "Before sundown, I hope." That was still about two hours away, maybe less.

"In that case, I'm going to go pack some stuff for the mission," Bloodwalker declared, walking out of the pavilion.

"Might as well do the same," Peril shrugged. "Though I don't need much more than some rations and maybe a waterskin. The less I need to land for either, the better." With that, she left, too, and then it was just Glory and Foeslayer.

"So..." Foeslayer stood and walked around the desk to sit on the other side of the room, next to the window. She gazed outside just as one of the Sandwing guards walked by. She waited until he was out of sight before turning to the Rainwing. "What's my part in this? You never said."

"With both Peril and Bloodwalker out on assignment, I need a new bodyguard," Glory told her.

The Nightwing didn't look overly enthused. "Bodyguard, huh? Not gonna lie, I was hoping for something a bit more...active."

"There's been three attempts on my life in the past couple of months," Glory deadpanned. "You'll have your share of action. Besides, I'd love to see DB and Soulseer's reactions to seeing you getting involved."

Foeslayer hummed in thought at that before realization crossed her face. "You know, I'm a priority target to them, too. Having me hang around you all day might just make them more tempted to try something."

"Maybe," Glory shrugged. "But we've also seen that they want you alive. That gives you a distinct advantage in any confrontation."

"I suppose that's true..." the Nightwing acquiesced. But then she turned to Glory with a serious expression. "And you're willing to, quite literally, trust me with your life? Because I got the sense from our reintroduction that you don't much like me."

Glory shook her head, though. "It's not that I don't like you. It's more that I just don't know you. Plus, you're Darkstalker's mother, so that's a bit of a conflict of interest." Running that back through her head, Glory realized that, no, she didn't trust Foeslayer. "I don't really know what side you're on. You say you're with us, but could you really fight the last remaining member of your family?"

The stony look Foeslayer gave her almost made her regret asking. Almost. "My son died the day he murdered my husband and drove my tribe into exile." She looked away with a small growl. "And yes, I'm fully aware that my absence in his life is probably what drove Darkstalker to commit such heinous acts. If I had been there to protect him...to guide him..." She shook her head. "It matters not, though. Given the chance, I'd do everything different, but I can't just rewrite the past." With steely determination, the Nightwing looked back to the Rainwing Queen. "The monster that threatens Pyrrhia is not my son. Not anymore. Besides, I gave him a second chance, and look how that turned out. There will be no third chances. There's only two ways this ends, with Darkstalker as ruler of the entire world, or with me killing the thing I helped create."

Glory blinked, her shock at Foeslayer's speech and ultimate declaration clear upon her face. Needless to say, she hadn't expected the Nightwing to have such...strong feelings about the situation.

Foeslayer's serious expression melted away, and she chuckled lightly. "That ease your mind a bit?"

"Maybe a bit," she admitted. "Didn't think you'd feel so strongly about it. You really want to be the one to kill Darkstalker, then?"

"He's my responsibility," she responded curtly. "Killing him is my punishment for being a bad mother." She laughed humorlessly. "And...no matter what schemes you may come up with to kill him, I suspect I might be the only one who actually can kill him."

Brows furrowing in confusion, the Rainwing looked at Foeslayer skeptically. "How's that?"

"I'm not simple, Glory. I know my son put some enchantments on me to help me survive the war. I wouldn't be here without them. I don't know how many or what the effects of each are, but I do know I'm a bit stronger than I should be, and I don't get exhausted due to physical activity as quickly as I should. My night vision is stronger than it should be, and my senses are sharper than an average dragon's." Greatness was right, apparently. It did make sense, after all, but she hadn't thought that Foeslayer actually knew if there were or not. "What else he did to me, I couldn't say, but I, and I think you, might be interested in figuring that out."

Well, she was right about that. "Definitely. I'll add it to my mile-long to-do list and come back to it later, though." Seriously though, she still had what felt like an endless list of things that needed her attention, and they were all happening at once. There was the dreamvisitor recovery, the hit on Magnificent, the spell to link her and Mistral, Winter's rescue, the plan to dupe DB and Soulseer, and now figuring out what spells Darkstalker put on Foeslayer. And that was just off the top of her head. There were probably other things that needed her attention, too. A brief moment of thought was enough to remind her that she hadn't even dropped by Diamondback's grave to pay her last respects. Actually, she didn't even know if he was buried. For all she knew, his funeral hadn't even happened yet because she remembered Thorn mentioning it and asking if she would stop by. She'd wanted to, of course, but with everything happening, it had taken until now for her to even remember.

She'd have to ask Thorn about that later.

Oh yeah, and she needed to consult with Moon and Qibli about the spell she and Mistral wanted.

"What are you thinking about that's got you looking like that?" Foeslayer's question broke her line of thought, and she turned to the Nightwing, curious. "You were scowling heavily, and something tells me something other than the door has you all riled up."

Glory huffed. "I just realized how long my to-do list has gotten." Foeslayer made an 'ah' noise. A slightly humorous and slightly terrifying thought popped into her head just then. "Turtle has a bowl that can duplicate whatever's in it. If I stepped in it, do you think it would duplicate me?"

The Nightwing looked at her askance, no doubt wondering if she was serious or not. "I have no idea, and I wouldn't even try if I were you. I can't even begin to comprehend the number of possible consequences to making an exact clone of yourself."

Glory just shrugged. Funny as it might be, at first, she didn't doubt that Foeslayer was right. It'd probably just cause a whole slew of problems. For example, Glory knew that she was the Queen. So would her clone believe the same? If both of them knew the exact same things, how would their friends be able to tell them apart? And then, how would they know who the real Glory was and who the clone was if the two Glorys were completely identical, both physically and mentally?

The only dragon who might benefit from the situation would be Mistral, and that would only be because he'd have two dragonesses vying for his attention.

Then again, he'd probably just freak out about the whole thing...

Point being, it wasn't a serious idea. It was more just her talking and complaining for the sake of it. Because, if she was being honest, she really did have a lot on her plate, and it really would be nice to have someone to share the load with.

That's what Kings were for, she supposed. Then again, Ruby was the only Queen on Pyrrhia that was married. Anemone wasn't. Snowfall wasn't. Thorn wasn't. She wasn't. And Mudwings didn't do marriage, so Moorhen wasn't. She wondered why.

Not that it was important, she was literally just trying to make time go by quicker. All of her paperwork was already done, courtesy of Greatness, who seemed to be doing remarkably well running the two tribes in her absence. And Foeslayer's comment about there being nothing to do up here seemed quite a bit more noteworthy now that the one thing that took up most of her time was no longer a concern.

Normally, she'd spend her free time chatting with anyone who was available or go out into the village to find something to do, but one, Foeslayer didn't seem to be in the mood for a talk as she was looking out the window again with an expression of deep pondering on her face. And two, all of the dragons she was waiting on were supposed to meet her here, and she didn't want to waste time by having them come here only to find that she wasn't here and have to go look for her.

And so the two just sat there, silent, lost in their own thoughts. For her part, Glory tried to think of what the future might hold. Both regarding the cult and their potential plans, and regarding the potential consequences of her and Mistral's relationship. Because there would be some. She wasn't fool enough to think the world would be okay with it. Most importantly, Snowfall and the rest of the Icewings. Plus, she didn't think the Nightwings would be too enthused with her marrying an Icewing, and one that didn't like Nightwings at that.

Foeslayer, however, was probably thinking about Darkstalker. She had no proof, of course, but if the heavy scowl on her face was a clue, she wasn't thinking about butterflies and rainbows.

Peril arrived about twenty minutes later, and Bloodwalker about ten minutes after that. And then the three chatted about their assigned missions and what they should do if their targets evade them. Then, once all the nitty-gritty details got fleshed out, they just...talked. Not about anything important, mind. Just mindless chatter and small talk to pass the time. They each talked about how they'd been lately, what they'd been doing, how they were adjusting to their new stations, what they thought of the others in their group...

Stuff like that.

Eventually, right before sundown, Turtle finally arrived, though there was no sign of Qibli. She assumed the Sandwing went back to sleep after helping Turtle out. However, his trip was not in vain, as there, in his claws, was the bowl she had been waiting on ever since he'd told her about it what seemed like weeks ago.

Then, it was just a quick matter of handing the coral over to him to let him duplicate a few times, and then there were four copies of the thing. Glory kept one for herself, Bloodwalker got one, and Peril got the third. Turtle kept the original because, to be fair, it was his.

As soon as the Nightwing and Skywing got theirs, they told it to find their targets, and then they were off, flying as if death itself was chasing them. Glory watched them leave for a moment before turning to Turtle. "Thank you." It felt only right to say. She had been kind of hard on him today, and he deserved at least some praise. He didn't say anything. In fact, he was actively avoiding looking at her, which made her frown. Apparently, she'd really hurt his feelings. If that be the case, there was no sense in making him hang around. "Meet me at my quarters in the Sandwing Palace tomorrow around lunch. I'll have a job for you then." He nodded, still not meeting her gaze. She sighed. "Dismissed, Turtle. And I'm sorry for yelling at you." She wasn't. Not really. But he didn't need to know that.

After a moment, he glanced at her briefly, gave a small nod, and left without a word.

Fortunately, she couldn't stew on his behavior for long. "So what do you plan on doing with that one?" Foeslayer's question brought her mind back to more pressing matters.

"I'll discuss it with Mistral, first, but with this we can find where they're holding Winter. I'm hoping to send someone to scout the situation, see what sort of mess he's in." Foeslayer nodded and then stood with a stretch.

"I like that Icewing," she said. "I really hope to get him back safe and in one piece. I'd like to get to know him a bit better." She huffed in mild amusement. "As a friend, of course. I think my dating days are done."

"I wasn't even going there," Glory responded, her expression deadpan. Foeslayer just smirked knowingly, causing Glory to roll her eyes in mild exasperation. "Let's just get back to the Sand Kingdom." It wasn't fully dark yet, but it probably would be by the time they got back. Mistral told her not to travel in the dark, but something told her she'd be safe with her new Nightwing bodyguard. Then again, she could be completely wrong and Foeslayer's presence would just make whatever assassins out to get her even more bold.

"It'll be interesting to see how it's changed in the past two thousand years," Foeslayer commented. "The last time I was there, I was neck deep in corpses." That macabre statement made Glory pause and look at her with a raised brow. "What? It's true. The only memories I have of the Sand Kingdom are death and war. Not exactly good times."

"Well...I won't say it's completely changed, but that's mostly in the Scorpion Den now. The capital is peaceful." Mostly, she mentally added. There was still a risk of getting shanked for your money, but it wasn't nearly as high as in the Scorpion Den. The most common crimes in the Sandwing capital were more extortion, racketeering, smuggling, and theft.

There was a lot of money in that city. A lot of money. It was the second wealthiest city on Pyrrhia. The Skywing capital was the wealthiest, of course, but that margin was surprisingly slim considering the state the Sand Kingdom was in merely a decade ago. If a dragon could say one thing about Thorn, it was that she knew how to build a strong economy.

"Except for the two assassins we know are there to kill you," Foeslayer fired back, leading the way out of the pavilion. Glory followed behind her, prepared to argue, to say that they didn't know DB and Soulseer were actually there to kill her, but she thought better of it. At this point, she'd basically just be in denial.

So instead, she just shrugged. "Fair enough. But if you ever have some free time, you should go check out the city. The bazaars are extraordinary. Maybe not quite as big as the Skywing markets, but you'll find a whole slew of unique stuff there."

There were a few beats of silence as they walked through the slowly darkening forest, the shadows growing longer and the insects growing louder. At first, she thought Foeslayer wouldn't answer. But then, "I doubt there'll be anything there that I've not seen before. The old Nightwing markets were the largest in Pyrrhia back in my day, with goods from all across the continent. When everyone believes you control the future, they're surprisingly quick to sign treaties and trade deals with you." She scoffed. "I've been to the Skywing capital. I wasn't impressed."

Glory just blinked in utter shock. Exactly how big or grandiose was the old Nightwing capital? She'd never know. Nobody would. The whole place was a ruin. Nothing, not even stories, remained of that place. Of course, that wasn't entirely true anymore. There were two dragons out there that remembered. Darkstalker was one, and she didn't think he'd be in the mood to tell stories about his youth if or when the two crossed paths again. Foeslayer was the only other dragon alive who'd lived in that time. The only one alive that still remembered that ancient city.

Scratch that, she was the only one alive that remembered what the Nightwings were like before the first exodus. She was the key to unlocking the Nightwings' history, their culture and heritage. But for all that, Glory knew Foeslayer wouldn't spill her secrets. Not without serious persuasion, anyway, and she knew that she wasn't the one to even attempt it. No, only Greatness stood a chance at convincing Foeslayer to teach their tribe what it meant to be a Nightwing, and even then, Glory doubted the ancient Nightwing would. As she'd said before, the Nightwings were supposedly better off leaving the past forgotten.

AN: And now the pieces are in place for some serious action in the coming chapters. Bloodwalker's after Magnificent. Peril's after the Dreamvisitor thief, and Foeslayer is finally part of this, too. Plus, plans to rescue Winter are going to get drafted up now that they have a way to find him. It's all coming together, and I'm super excited to see where this leads.

I hope you guys are, too.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22