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Alaine stood above the battered dragons, he looked at them, but none were so whittled away as Mock was. They were larger, a bit heavier on the chest, but none were in good condition. Two dragons, both of them barely distinguishable from each other except by the scarring that differed. One had a torn wing sail, the rip nearly obliterated the sensitive flesh and the other had a muzzle so scarred from jabs that it bulged oddly. They watched him from over their meal, their eyes dull and blank with pain and madness. Whatever had been hiding beneath those eyes was long hidden and buried under the abuse, they had lost themselves, been turned into little more than animals. It was his own fate he watched as he rested his chin on his head and considered them, his eyes slipped to one side where the broken looking creature Mock resided. His dark withered form was pressed against the wall as he watched the two drakes eat.

He was still shocked that Mock was alive, the creature was barely substantial, every breath was a miracle, but still he continued on. The rasping sound echoed in the small cave as Alaine shifted on his belly and stifled the urge to yawn. He was exhausted, so terribly exhausted, he had already slept for as long as he could, but at this point he couldn't sleep any longer. The sounds of the mines echoed with those who cleaned up the dead and rubble, young drakes who had taken no harm were pulling make shift carts that the poor wretches had once hauled. Now they did so with the dead loaded onto it, the enemy to be lit in great pyres and the fallen Tomian to be sent back to the Spit to be buried. Dragons that had lost their lives would be buried in the mines, cave-ins sealing them to their rest. He wanted to see the damned place destroyed, buried beneath the earth and extinguished from living memory.

A short rasping noise made him lift his head again, watching as Mock peeled his lips back to rasp out a cough before pushing his muzzle into a barrel to suck down some water. No one wanted to watch these drakes, he had tried to coax the younger dragons into joining him so that the former slaves would be surrounded by their own kind, but no one would do it. They were repulsed by the broken forms, the dull horrible scales, the scars and twisted wings. This was everything that a dragon should not be, he felt it himself, a loathing at what they were, a sickness at seeing what should have been three powerful drakes turned into snarling animals. Only Mock spoke, and when he spoke it had the ring of madness to it, a bitter mockery of the world that had spit him out.

He pushed himself onto all fours, ignoring the faint pain of his shoulders where the burn had recently been slathered with salve to keep the pain away. He had dozens of cuts on him, nicks and scrapes over his forelegs and muzzles where elves had tried to beat him off. His tongue was sliced several times, but that would heal swiftly or so he had been told. Thronnos had shown disgust that he had used his jaws to kill, his lips curled back in an expression of disgust that dragons had never had. He mimicked his rider, as if using the fangs he had been graced with were something to be ashamed of. He had been designed to fight and kill, his claws and teeth were his weapons, not the armor they had slapped on him. He had fought with thought to his charges, a brief flurry of blood and fire at the final charge.

"Are you hoping to get sense out of them?" Mock rasped as the barrel he was drinking from was knocked over, emptied. "Some benediction for your masters?"

"I have no masters." Alaine turned his head to give Mock an aloof look as the broken creature dropped down, his breath rattling with the effort. "You could be healed if you would only-"

He began the same conversation that he had had at least four or five times, but stopped with a shake of his head. Mock wanted to die, he had accepted his death with barbed words and sharp snarls, and that was his choice. He hated the elves being near him, touching him, and he had been away from this place for years. He lidded his eyes and snorted before stepping out of the cave, leaving the former slaves to their meal. He could only give them time to heal and their minds to return, soon enough this place would belong to dragons once more. He would bring Amber and they would stake out their own claim, their own aerie in which that she could bare their first clutch to grow up in the free air. Let the Riders have their war, this was his homeland, and the former slaves might one day heal when the elves were finally gone from this place. But to get them out, he would be forced to allow them to take the mines, at least for a short amount of time.

"Alaine? Sir?" A high pitched, for a dragon, voice stopped him as he exited the cave, a youngster nearly crashed against his shoulder before scrabbling backwards.

Alaine blinked a little at the pale red drake that blinked his eyes rapidly from beneath a helmet that was too large. His horns hadn't even grown thick enough to hold it in place, instead it was skewed to one side as the small fellow blinked his eyes rapidly and took several paces back. He was too young to be one of their fighters, none of the riderless had been this young, they had all been nearing of an age to take up a Rider.

"Who are you?" He blinked and tried to place the face, but the youngling only made himself smaller, shrinking back with a furtive look.

"Sir, please you must come with me." The drake hissed the words out softly and gave his wings a slight flutter. "I was sent to bring you out of here."

"Bring me out of here?" He tilted his head to one side, his tail tip lashing in annoyance. "Come along then, I was just heading up to speak with Thronnos." He wanted out of this place, perhaps he could arrange for help getting the former slaves into the air and sun, it would do them good, perhaps even Mock.

"No, we have to go. Now. Amber sent me." The youngster looked about again, a swift nervous twist of his head. "She's waiting for you, with Oake."

"Oake!" His head snapped up with a spike of fear. Why would Amber bring Oake here of all places? To a battle field. They should have been safe with the other dragoness' at Hayden's Spit, something must have gone wrong. A low growl vibrated deep in his throat. "What has happened?"

"Please, sir, I was only to tell you that you must come! You must not tell the Riders." The youngster looked ready to cower as Alaine's lips curled back. Treachery. "They are on a small reef to the south east, I can show you where."

"Who are you?" Alaine lashed his tail harder, snapping the edges against the walls as he did so. "Why should I believe you?"

"For Rowan. I was told to say that you are to follow me for Rowan." The youngster looked almost sick as Alaine loomed above him. The name made his stomach roil sickly before he took a step back, letting out a soft huffing noise. What had happened? Was Oake safe? Was she unharmed? He should have never have left them.

"Come, we'll go down the lower tunnels to the ocean." He pushed the young drake forward with a rough nudge of his nose. "If you are playing me false...."

"I swear to you, I'm not lying." The young drake licked his jaws nervously and ducked his head down. "We have to hurry, Thronnos has already seen me, I don't want him to ask questions. I was told not to be noticed."

Amber... Oake... If they have been harmed... He trailed the words off in a silent snarl.

~ ~ * ~ ~

The water ran over Alaine's paws as he kicked through the currents, his shoulder stung form the salt water in his wound, the salve being washed away as he strained forward in the water. His hind legs kicked time and time again, his forepaws barely moved except to keep him up as he kept his eyes focused on the distance. Coral, the young drake, was above him, circling and making sure that he wouldn't go off course. They had been able to slip down the tunnels without anything worse happening than someone asking if they were going to clear out the lower levels. He hadn't been able to get more out of the young drake, he had gone quiet saying only that Amber wished to talk to him and explain what was going on. He only knew that the island was in an uproar and that he and several other drakes had been taken as an escort by his mate.

His eyes were focused on the distance, the water was lapping up against a break in the ocean, little more than a rough pile of rocks. The sea was full of them between the islands, places where the reef crested during low tides, but this one was filled with movement. Wings spread and folded again, head turned on long necks, drakes were gathered, but all were small and lanky looking, they were youngsters. Likely they had just learned how to fly and now they were days away from their home, but he didn't truly care about them. One body rose up above the rest, a single tall form that was distinctly feminine, Amber. She didn't look harmed, she was perched on a cropping of rock that was well out of the water, taking a position that wouldn't soak her in the salt water, the younger drakes were on lower perches that were partially in the water. They were likely only dry when the tide was low.

He surged forward as Coral bugled out a greeting, one that was answered with the rest, including Amber's higher pitched welcome. Alaine lifted his head and tried to return the call, ignoring the ache of his body, the sting of the many scratches and spread his wings open beneath the water. He beat against the waves, the pain making him hiss out, but his eyes were locked on his mate. He couldn't see Oake, but he was likely curled in the safe curve of her tail or sleeping between her wings. The current helped take him closer, seeing the jewel like colors of the drakes and the golden hues of Amber's darkening hide. There were no wounds, no marks, no hints of scrapes or harm, she was safe. If she was safe, Oake was too. Relief made him almost feel faint as Amber shifted, thrumming out a greeting as his paws scrabbled against hard jagged rock.

Coral backwinged down from above, the wind rippling waves around him as Alaine hauled himself out of the water step by slow step. His body felt heavy after being in the water, but he ignored it as Amber, moved forward, her throat vibrating in a deep trilling sound before her muzzle slipped down against his own. There was barely enough room on the rock for both of them, but the feel of her soft hide against his muzzle, the warmth of her scent made him forget the discomfort of contorting his body as he pressed chest to chest with her, crooning lower and lower. She had no scent of pain or blood, just her warm sweet scent, tinged with the comforting warmth of her gravid condition. She was safe, she hadn't been harmed, whatever happened on the Spit hadn't hurt her.

"Oake?" He rumbled as he rested his head against her, taking in her warmth against his body and savoring the feel of it, savoring her. "He is here? He is alright?"

"Alaine.." The voice was high pitched, weak sounding when compared with booming draconic voices, but it made him freeze as if it were a roar. He jerked his head away from his mate while Amber shifted to one side and showed the curve of her swollen stomach.

There wasn't enough room for him to move, but he pushed his head forward, feeling her head resting over his neck to see the small forms tucked against her side well away from the water. Oake was settled against her tail as he normally preferred, but for once his eyes didn't gravitate to him, but to the matching female that was perched on Amber's hind paw. She was just as he remembered her, perhaps thinner than he had last seen her, certainly her features were drawn with exhaustion, but Rowan sat there looking up at him. She pushed onto her hooves, balancing on the sharp rock as he drank her in. The spill of her hair, the way that her ears were pricked forward, the smile on her features. It was a ghost, an echo of the past as he strained his head forward past Amber and flared his nostrils open wide. She was dead, she had been dead for months now, she was gone. She was dead. All he had of her was Oake.

The red drake began to shake, trembling so hard that he felt as if his bones were about to rattle loose as Rowan stepped towards him. Her hooves were dainty and sure despite the terrain as he tasted her scent on the air, like Oake, but softer and sweeter. He flared his nostrils wide and strained past his mate, drinking her in with his eyes as she lifted one hand to rest right on his broad muzzle. Her hand was so small, so deceptively tiny compared to his bulk, but he groaned out the moment he felt her touch him. She was real, the fingers were warm against his scales, her scent strong and reassuring as she moved her hand up and his legs went out beneath him. He dropped onto his stomach, contorting himself so that Amber curled above him, her paw rested over his shoulders as the doe wrapped her arms as far around his muzzle as she could get them, his nose tip pushed against her stomach as she hugged him as hard as she could.

He closed his eyes and purred, it rasped from his throat and grew in tone as he basked in her touch, only stirring when a small weight began to scramble along him. Sharp hooves caught against his cheek as Oake woke up and began to bleat wordless happy sounds. His purr rose up higher, vibrating along Amber as she pressed over him, her wing spreading to cover him. He found his world on a half broken piece of reef in the midst of the ocean, his family made up of soft golden tinged hide and the warm scent of fur. They were an answer and question in and of itself. His home. His life.

~ ~ * ~ ~

Rowan didn't want to move, she could feel the warmth that radiated from Alaine's scales as he twisted and contorted himself around them. The reef wasn't large enough that they could all fit comfortably, but he managed to wrap himself around Amber and place his head so that it was nearly resting against her. Oake claimed the spot just between his horns, clutching there as if there was nothing in the world wrong with sitting in the middle of the ocean. She didn't want to break the moment of peace, the warmth of seeing Alaine relaxed as he refused to allow her more than a few steps away from his muzzle before he nosed after her. He continued to breathe deep as if he were surviving on her scent alone, but she couldn't allow that peace to last. There were things that needed to be said, and she had to be the one to speak up.

It took her longer than she cared to admit to get up the courage to speak, and when she did she started slowly as she tried to explain what had happened. Alaine's muzzle remained against her, his body so close that she felt the crooning purr turn into a low growl. Oake didn't stir, the sound didn't phase him from whatever game he was playing, but she could feel it rising up as she talked about how the dragons had fell upon Canith. She relived her terror of seeing the large beasts descending on her and her fawn as they tried to escape. Her fawn slipped down from his playmate's head, tucking himself down against her as the snarls vibrated her chest. His eyes sharpened in a way that made her heart hurt, shifting from relaxed pleasure to rage that made his pupils flare open wide as she spoke about her injury, how they had tried to slaughter her like so many others.

"H'alright, H'Alaine!" Oake wriggled down as Alaine's teeth snapped at the air, his snarl growing louder as her fawn tried to grasp his muzzle. "H'It's h'alright!"

"The killed you to control me." Alaine's words were a rasp, answered by Amber's softer rumble as the dragoness tried to soothe him. He turned his head, watching her with narrowed eyes until she pulled her head backwards. "You knew?"

"No, I didn't know until they came for Oake." The dragoness shook her head. "None of us knew anything more than what you were told."

"She told the rest of her kind, or at least the females. They don't condone this." Rowan moved her hands up to catch the drake's muzzle. "They're helping to evacuate the children back to Canith, we can make a stand there, somewhere safe. We came to get you so we can leave, we can spread the words to the drakes with Riders and they can have-"

"Leave?" Alaine's head jerked up higher in the air, away from her touch, Oake let out a protesting noise that made him drop his head again for the fawn. His eyes were hard, barely any gold showed as the low growl started again. "As long as they hold this place in war there is no where we can live here."

"Then we will find someplace else." Amber murmured. "Someplace safe for me to lay my eggs and for the rest of the dragonesses to lay their eggs."

"Someplace they will come again to kill us all." Alaine lowered his chin down. "This war isn't our own, we never wanted it, our archipelago was never involved in it, but they brought it to us. They lied and murdered, they care nothing for what ideals they preach. They will bring war to any land they feel they can overpower. If we leave now, what then? Will they truly leave us in peace? Look at what they've done already!"

Rowan shifted on her hooves, crouching down instead of sitting, and pulled her son against her so that he was well away from Alaine as the drake lunged up to all fours with a snarl. The patch of exposed rock barely held him as he pulled away and spread his wings open to either side, part of his haunches and tail fell into the water as he allowed Amber to take most of the dry ground.

"You can't fight this war, Alaine, we will have the dragonesses, we have our children back. Let them war here if they must, but you can't fight a battle on two fronts." Rowan spoke softly, her hand wrapped securely around Oake's chest to keep him from wriggling towards his dragon friend. "We have these dragons with us, but any one of the adults would kill them."

"We don't need to have a war." Alaine snapped his jaws in the air, his teeth glittering as he pulled back his lips. "We need only cast them out. This is our home, our islands and seas. They have their magic, but we hold the gems they require on our Isle, the dragons are what make them strong enough to fight the Slokaken and they have just taken a harsh blow. We will drive them from our lands, but not with war." He drew in a breath, the next words growled out, biting the air with each word. "I... have... had... enough... war!"

~ ~ * ~ ~

"In four days we'll arrive at the Isle, we will fly faster without the drakes. We'll arrive in four days at noon, I'll send Coral to let you know that we are waiting. Wait for him!"

Amber had promised him before she took flight, taking with her all that mattered in the world with her; his eggs, Rowan, Oake... As he watched them take flight he had felt his heart in his throat, yearning after them before he had plunged into the water. The young drakes would remain, but further out to a small island that would provide them enough room to spread out and hunt for food. He would have felt better if they had gone with his mate, but they were too large, too heavy to achieve real speed. His mate would be able to take to air and make it in better time, and that was important. She would go to the Spit to rally the dragonesses, all of them that could be roused from the grounds for immediate flight. The ones who had eggs or were too egg heavy to make speed. They would all be told the same thing, what they already knew, the elves had gone too far, the Riders had done the unthinkable. And now it was time to take a stand.

He had nearly gone mad listening to Rowan talk about what had happened, every word had made his breath catch in his throat as the world had gone red. If Thronnos had been anywhere near him he would have attacked and be damned to consequences. It was every fear that he had, every tormented thought had flared through him. He had begun to grudgingly accept the damned creatures, he didn't like them, but he had been willing to accept them as a tool to use to take back his home. And they had made him into one, they had made him into a fool, a mockable creature that they wanted to hold under their thumb. They had tried to kill Rowan, they had killed others, a mass slaughter just to ensure that he would be compliant, be given a reason to stay on Hayden's Spit. The thought made his lips curl back, the raw fury building in his chest as his long tail whipped back and forth, nearly crashing into one of the drakes that was trying to clear the secondary mine entrance.

"Watch out!" The dark gold dragon gave him an annoyed look as he took a step back to avoid the tail, his Rider seemed to be more relaxed as the elf slid down his haunches to ensure the harness was well set.

Alaine glared at the drake, not giving him the dignity of a response as he stepped out beneath the sun and felt the warmth spreading along the line of his spine and head. The sound of work was all around him as every day the elves and dragons worked to clear out the mines so that they could be usable again. He disdained it, drawing away from them with a force of will, holding back the desire to attack Thronnos every time the drake went past him or attempted to speak to him. Every time the broad muzzle opened or he saw Minos he heard Rowan's story, he recalled his grief and torment. Time and again he had the chance to kill them both, and he withheld himself by the barest thread of his sanity. Instead, he avoided them both, he devoted himself to the former slaves, he gave himself over to the simple act of feeding the poor wretches and getting them out into the sun. His gambit counted on the dragonesses coming, of emptying the Spit.

He watched the skies as the sun crept higher in the sky, the fourth day had dawned gloriously as he woke far before the sun. He had taken a spot on an old dusty aerie that he could reach by climbing, settling where eggs had once rested and watched the dawn come. He could flee, he could escape these islands and take Rowan and Oake far away. He could leave the archipelago behind and go to the south where the rest of the dragons lived. Part of him wanted nothing more than to leave this all behind him, the messiness of war and death, the anger and fury, to cast it away and wash himself clean with a new clutch, a new home, a family. It would have all been so easy, he thought it time and again as he watched the Riders working on the land that should have been his home. Except, when would it stop? Would fleeing stop it or would they chase them down still? Would they bind the dragonesses in some way, ensuring the bloodline for their damned pet dragons continued? They were not weak. They would not become prey.

"Alaine!" Thronnos' cheerful voice bellowed out as he watched the former slaves resting in the sun, even Mock had come out, seemingly gaining strength despite the ragged wound that still look puckered and infected. "I wanted a word with you."

Alaine barely stirred as wind hammered over him, the wind swept down to batter him as the dark drake came in for a show landing, his neck curved with good humor as he lowered a forepaw with his Rider in it. Minos stepped off, his hair tousled by the wind, his riding outfit showed signs of scarring and dirt from the excavations, but his face was split in a smile. Alaine's paw twitched, it would be so easy to end the elf's life, so easy to destroy the source of so many senseless deaths. Thronnos would go mad, he would be easy to kill once the elf was gone...

And another will rise to take his place... He stilled his paw and averted his eyes from the elf to look up into the treacherous Thronnos' face.

"Watching the former slaves, are you?" Thronnos tilted his head to regard the trio, his features turning pitying. "We can only hope that their minds recover."

"What did you want?" Alaine kept his eyes on his charges, not even flinching when mad Mock lifted his head and gave a rasping laugh.

"He wants you to sit up and beg." Mock hissed out, his head tilting on his long neck. "Teach him, pretty dragon, teach him how to beg. You do it so well."

"Perhaps in time they might learn manners for their saviors." Thronnos gave an aloof look, not responding to the taunt directly. "We're getting ready to send a Flight back to the Spit to send for supplies, much of what the Slokaken had here is spoiled and we will also need to get some farmers in place. You will be left in charge in my absence, you have done well here and you shouldn't allow yourself to fall into a narrow world of just yourself and these poor beasts. It is better to broaden your horizon, get to know the Riders."

"I prefer to make sure that my fellows are taken care of." Alaine fought the urge to snap at him, this wasn't the first time that he'd done this, attempted to draw him away from his chosen vigil.

"When we return shall I bring Amber and Oake with us?" Thronnos canted his head and peeled his lips back in an elven smile. "I will most assuredly be bringing in our medics, it is time to see about repairing your damaged wings. We can afford to have you recover slowly now that we have claimed the mines. Perhaps by next spring you can give up the sea all together, unless you truly wish to swim that is."

He knows something is wrong. Alaine felt a small jolt of alarm, today Amber should arrive, but it would be easy to take them down and stop them in the air. He might just do it too if he was able to slaughter so many helpless females, what was a dragoness or two?

"That would please me, I would like her to have her clutch here." He tried to put warmth into his voice, but it was hard, hard to act when what he wanted was to rip the traitorous throat out.

"And so she shall." Thronnos dipped his head amiably, his tail curling slightly as Alaine kept his eyes on the trio in the sun. Mock was staring at them, his single eye gleaming brightly as the beast hunched his head down between his shoulders. "It would be my pleasure, she will be given a fine guard. I will make sure that her clutch is the first of our new home."

"And a fine strong clutch it'll be." Minos spoke up, the elf crouched on the dragon's paw. "I've never seen a warrior like you, Alaine, your children will magnificent."

Alaine swallowed a snarl, dropping his head down to rest on his forelegs while he watched Mock stretch out in the sun. The beast was watching him, not the other pair, but him alone, the eye flashing with a ring of sapphire even from a distance. What would Mock think of his plan? Would the mad drake give his approval to what he wished to do? Or rage at him for his mercy?

Please fly swiftly, fly with the wind and not against it. You must arrive before the Flight leaves. He breathed out a prayer as Thronnos rumbled a farewell. Aratha, bring them swiftly, safely.

~ ~ * ~ ~

Amber's wings were aching and burning, she tore through the sky as she drove herself forward and tried to keep her eyes on the distance. She heard the rest of them flying with her, the beats of wings, a flight that wasn't weighed down by armor and metal, but fleet and fast as the ocean spilled away beneath them. She felt the warmth at the small of her neck where Rowan was tucked down against her, but not Oake. Never Oake. She didn't know what they were going into, but she and Rowan had agreed that they could not take the little one into the mix. Instead, the fawn was on another dragoness, on his way to Canith with his sire. He would be safe there, any dragoness that was too heavy with eggs to fly swiftly had gone with there, helping to carry the eggs from the nesting grounds. They were emptying the Spit, with whatever youngsters they could take and everything they could carry.

They sent a dispatch rider.. Amber squeezed her eyes down against the wind as she led a shallow dive, a short burst of speed meant to try and reach the time that she had promised her mate that they would arrive.He's too slow, far too slow even without armor. He won't reach there in time..

They had been flying for nearly two straight days, doing something that they had never done in their lives. They flew without sleep, without flew, they flew in the way they were designed to fly from the day they first spread their wings. She had always known that their lack of scales meant they could fly for days if they had to, even weeks, a design in their species that meant that they could hunt for food in a wider range than any male. In times when food was short and they couldn't care for their hatchlings, they could range far and wide to ensure their species survival. None of them had ever done it, the elves had always provided for them. They had no need to spend their reserves, but now they did, all of them were stretching to their limits, struggling to answer the call. Each one of them had a rider of their own, a lightly armed and ready.

She had never wanted this, she had never wanted to live anywhere else but in the comfortable place on the grounds, males that wanted to court her, food and a comfortable safe life. She had enjoyed the attentions there and the luxury, but not now. The dragons that she brought had heard her, to her shock fully half of the younger ones had been ready to abandon the Spit even without the knowledge of what the elves had done. They had no bare memories of pain and death from the Isle, they had no horrors in their past, only the overriding sense that they did not want to live a life that felt unnatural to them, to their instincts. She had never wanted anything more than the safety of her old life and now she was flinging herself and others into uncertainty. Would they survive? Would the drakes back down? Alaine had been so firm that they would stand down.

It goes against everything they are to hurt us. Riders or no, they won't kill us. They won't fight us. They are our brothers and sons, our mates and fellows! She asserted to herself while she pumped her wings to regain her height, trying to gauge their position.

"Rowan!" She barely turned her head as she called out her rider's name to try and rouse the sleeping doe. She hated to do it, but the sun was rising higher and she saw a spot off in the distance, one in a large chain of circling fliers. "ROWAN!"

"Yes! I'm awake!" Rowan answered, stirring on the one warm spot on Amber's body, the rest of her hide was cool to the touch. The doe was given only a few straps to hold her in place, just enough to make sure she would stay on and nothing that would slow Amber's flight. "Are we close?"

"Yes! Get some feeling in you limbs." Amber tried to put on another burst of speed, one of the dragonesses behind her lunged forward as well. "ROUSE EVERYONE!!! GET THEM UP!!"

The cry was taken up, rumbling voices called back to one another as the otterkin, human and satyrs were woken up from their drowsing or dreaming. Ahead and below she saw a flash of brilliant vermillion as a young drake suddenly dove off in the distance. Another dove beyond him and another into the distance, sending the signal that the dragonesses had been sighted. The messenger would find Alaine, he would know they were coming. The sun flashed above them, warming her chilled hide as she felt Rowan working to string her bow on her uncertain seat. Aratha willing, they would not need it.

~ ~ * ~ ~

"GO BACK DAMNIT!" Alaine twisted his head to snap his jaws at Mock a fourth time as the drake continued to follow him. "Go chew on a rock, damn you!"

"No, Black, I don't think I will." Mock turned his head at an awkward angle so his bad eye could focus on Alaine. "I want to see you send off your Master."

"I thought you wished to die." Alaine glanced up at the youngling circling, the frantic beat of the wings showing the lads nervousness as he kept swinging around wide. "Or are you hoping I will kill you myself!"

The dragonling had appeared shortly before noon, nearly invisible with the crush of dragons that were aloft and landing as Flights were beginning to warm up for the long way back to the Spit. He had felt nothing but panic from the first sight, his heart was in his throat. Would they notice Coral up there? Or would they dismiss him in so many sets of wings rising and falling? Would they spot the females coming here? Or would they miss them because no Tomian had a dragon of their own. A hundred worries were spreading through his mind as he tried his best to get Mock to stop following him. The damnable beast seemed almost happy as he limped along despite the healers predictions that he would be dead within hours. That was what they had said time and again, but he continued to breathe and walk, he continued to live. The wound was sealed, puffy and angry looking, but it was no longer weeping puss on the ground as it had been.

"I will die soon enough I expect," Mock had to trot on three legs to keep up as Alaine tried to break away from him. He had to get to the beach where the Flight was getting set up. "Besides one I once love blessed me to live always in interesting times... And I smell interesting times coming.

"Curse you!" Alaine turned his head to snap his jaws before lunging forward into a run, be damned at how bad it looked. It was worse to be arguing with a maddened former slave.

"I told you, she already has!" Mock hissed after him, but his broken body couldn't run as swiftly as Alaine's well fed one.

He ignored the curses of some of the drakes working on hauling bricks from the broken down buildings, his teeth flashed in warning as he scrambled over a downed tree and began to slip down towards the low valley that they had decided to use as a Flight Court. He could see the Riders there, the dragons being rigged out like horses and the boxes of gems being loaded onto them so they could be taken back to the Spit. Thronnos even had boxes attached to either side of his shoulders as he watched with his Rider perched on his shoulder, but there were no shout of alarms, no hint that they knew what was going on. He felt the tightness in his chest relax as he scrabbled awkwardly down the hillside, dislodging rocks and dirt beneath his claws. His heart began to pound faster and faster, he felt nearly dizzy as he jumped down onto a small broken boulder. He couldn't turn back now, he had to finish this, he had to do it.

Please, give me strength. He flung the plea out into the darkness as he watched several of the dragons glance towards him, some in annoyance, some in greeting.

The world swum around him as he stood up onto his haunches, rearing high and coiling his tail around the rock to help balance himself. He had no idea how his forefathers had settled such things or how they would have handled what had become of their people. He had no idea if they would applaud him for his choice or revile him for his mercy, all he knew was that his world was shaped by blood and war and he couldn't live in it until the end of his days. It had to have an end, it had to stop, it had to allow for a peace or his eggs would be hatched in blood as he had been. Their days shaped into warriors and fighters with no hope for the lives they should lead. If his forefathers would shun him, he could accept it, he knew where his path lay.

"THRONNOS!!" Alaine bugled out the drake's name, his tattered wings flared wide in display. He did so before he could talk himself out of it and into fleeing with the dragoness. "MATE KILLER!!! I CALL DOWN ORON UPON YOU! OATH BREAKER! TRAITOR TO OUR BLOOD AND SCALES!!!"

His last roar vibrated around the valley as silence rippled over the gathering dragons and Riders, broken only by the creak of leather and rasp of scales. He held his wings open wide, stretching them as far as they would go despite the tips that went sharply downwards at the broken bone. He lifted his head high and had no care for any other dragon except for Thronnos who had stopped in his inspection. The drake turned his head to meet his gaze across the distance, his head lifted high and wings partially spread in answer to the challenging call. Would he attack? Would he simply go in for the kill at being challenged or would he do as he had in the past and attempt to use words? Alaine tried not to tremble in barely suppressed energy as the other drake stepped forward and lifted his head up in a dominant display, the lips barely curled back to show his teeth.

"Bold words, Alaine, do you call me these things now that our home is free of the treacherous elves that held it? Are you looking, perhaps, to displace us so that you can overtake this place?" Thronnos rumbled the words in a casual voice, as if asking about what Alaine planned to do that evening. There wasn't even a hint of a snarl. "I had thought better of you. Surely you see that together we can accomplish much more than on our own."

"I call you mate killer! The slaughterer of females so you might pry their young ones from their side." Alaine hissed venomously, barely flinching as he caught sight of Coral in the corner of his eyes. The youngling was diving down to land behind him. "I call you oath breaker! Your word pledging you had nothing to do with the slaughter on Canith. I call you traitor! For enslaving your people to those who would use us for their own gain."

"They are not enslaved." Minos called out, his voice weak compared to his dragon, but Thronnos was approaching with slow measured steps. Several drakes shifted uncomfortably in the ranks. Had they been the killlers? How many had been involved?

"We are not enslaved." Thronnos echoed his Rider. "You have the tale of how we came to be here, would you have us die nobly instead of taking what we are given? It grieves me that you would think such falsehoods and make such accusations, but being here must bring traumatic memories back to light."

"It is not my home that brings me to these accusations." Alaine bristled, his wings partially folding as the too young drake snarled from behind him. "Your claws are stained in the blood of a hundred innocents! You are responsible for the slaughter of Canith! You are responsible-"

A high pitched shriek cut him off, a warning sound that brought his head up in time to see a dragon diving towards the valley and hot on his heels was a bronze dragoness. Her hide flashed in the light as she chased a drake down from above, the armored male had to struggle to get his wings open in time to land. There was a clatter of armor has he crash landed, bugling his alarm call as the lighter bodied female gracefully opened her wings and powered up into the air. Beat by beat she surged upwards to where the sky was filling with females, their bodies catching in the light as they sent shadows spreading over the valley as their spread wings flitted across the sun. They dipped and dived, circled and flitted, layer upon layer so it seemed as if the world was filled with them. He lifted his head up higher as they began to drop, the females spreading out towards the rim one by one. Their soft hide catching the noon time sun as the drakes rumbled and stirred restlessly. It was a sight to make his heart swell, the dragonesses had come home.

One beloved form began to dive down towards him, her graceful wings maneuvering her body as gracefully as a falcon. He leapt down from the rock, catching himself on his forelegs and nearly scrambling to tuck his hind legs beneath him. His wings twitched open as the wind battered around him and he spared a glance to see Amber landing where he had just perched her gold tinged wings batting at the air to catch her balance. Rowan was perched on her back with her bow already drawn with an arrow notched while the drakes began to pull back, hissing in confusion as their Riders took their positions. Dimwitted dragons who were shades of what they should have been at this age, their personalities withered away and stunted into an almost childlike state. He had to hope that that mental state wouldn't bury their instincts, wouldn't make them so like an animal that they would blindly obey any order given.

"This is our home! Our island! Our land!" Alaine growled the words out as Thronnos bared his teeth. "You set out to kill Rowan to control me. You slaughtered mothers who were trying to protect their young. Did you think that would go unanswered?"

"Stand down! You cannot mean to have our females slaughtered in your bid to take what we have fought so hard for." Thronnos lifted his head up. "The fevered imaginings of a satyr? That is the basis of this little display? We have taken our Isle, our land, we have fought hard and I refuse to lose it because a half-mad drake refuses to listen to reason! Look around you, we are your people, we gave you everything you could wish for!"

"You lied, you murdered, do your ends justify the means?" Alaine snapped his teeth in the air, trying to fight the urge to go back to Amber, to hide her from sight. "You wanted our home back, we have gotten it, and you will allow the elves to continue in the mines. I have watched you working our people in the mines, bearing the harness that I once wore as they hauled rubble from the mines. Their war isn't our own! Their war is what did this to us!"

"Riders to the points!!" Minos called out the command as Alaine stepped forward, hearing the sound of bows being drawn taut. "Stop him, he speaks madness that might spread."

"Yes, silence me. Silence me because I speak the truth!" Alaine snarled the words out. "Will you kill your mothers and daughters? Your sisters and mates? We never wanted this war, we never wanted to be caught in the fire that has killed so many. You speak of a truce to take back our home, that you forged an alliance just for this moment, but now it continues, doesn't it? You will send our people to a war that has nothing to do with us!"

"I send them to battle for those that fought for us!" Thronnos roared out, starting to circle as Alaine mirrored him, his tail whipped back and forth in contained rage. "TO THE HEIGHTS! FIRST AND FOURTH FLIGHT! DEFENSIVE FORMATION!"

The drakes rippled and shifted, their riders already locking themselves in, but their eyes were watching the females that ringed the valley. Some still circled in the sky, flashing bright colors while two of the drakes started to flare their wings open and then folded them again. They didn't immediately leap into the sky, but were being roused as they moved about uneasily, their Rider's trying to urge them to take a higher position above the females.

"You send them to battle for nothing! This is not our war! This is not the satyr's war or the otterkin's! This is their battle!" Alaine snapped his jaws, his eyes sliding towards Minos. "This is our home, and we are taking it back. We belong here! The mine that scars the face of our island will be closed, it will be sealed and filled, we will not give the elves any more fuel for their war!"

"You cannot stand against us. I admire that you wish what you view as best for our kind, but you are wrong. War is here, Alaine, we are swept up in it and you must choose a side." Thronnos lifted up his forepaw as Minos moved on his back, swinging down with his attention focused on the hesitant drakes. "These satyrs and such, they are not your people! We are! You pit yourselves against us and care for species' that are on their own. Let them join us if they wish to free their homes, let them become our army and allies. We will fight for them if they will only fight for us."

As the Rider moved towards the drakes that were rumbling and swinging their heads in confusion, Alaine bared his teeth, his lips peeling back as far as they would go. "I WILL FIGHT FOR THEM! THEY WILL FIGHT FOR THEMSELVES, NOT AS SLAVES!" He roared the words out. "The elves brought this damned war here and they will not remain here destroying all that is left of this place! I will fight for the dragons and the satyrs, I will fight for the otterkin and dryads, I will fight for our land, our home, but never for invaders who bring their war to our homes!"

"It is the only way, you fool!" Thronnos gaped his jaws open and swung his wings down, sending his Rider tumbling behind him as Alaine feinted forward and snapped his jaws. "You flightless lizard, you will destroy our kinds only hope with your madness!"

Alaine barely had time to brace himself before the larger dragon launched himself forward, his teeth bared and paws stretched out to crash right against his shoulder and side. He took the weight that slammed him backwards, hearing the bugling calls of the dragonesses above him before he swung his tail up and around. He cracked his tail hard against Thronnos' side and twisted his body to one side, his claws tearing into the dark smooth scales as they went tumbling towards one side. He kicked out with his powerful hind legs, bracing himself as they clashed together and were forced up higher. The fore claws scraped against his sides, tearing and twisting while Alaine lifted his head up and locked his jaws with the other drake. Their teeth cracked together as he tried to get the upper hand, his claws tore against the harness wrapping over the broad chest. His claws curled beneath the scales, hooking into the muscle until he felt blood spilling along his toes.

There were sounds from all around him, the screeches of the females, the roars of the drakes as the world erupted in the pounding of wings. He couldn't spare more than a passing thought for them, it was too late now as he was thrown to one side. A scrape tore around the line of his chest, tearing through his scales in strips before he cracked his tail up to smack against the broad dark muzzle before Thronnos could strike his neck. This was no dim witted young drake, this was a warrior that had been blooded and tested in battle. Their bodies rolled over the ground, twisting and contorting, arching and snarling as they kicked out to try and break free of one another. He could taste blood in his mouth, harsh acrid blood from the drake that drove him down to the ground, forcing him on his hurt shoulder so he screeched out in pain.

He reached out with one paw, blindly striking, trying to hook his toes over the horn before tearing downwards. He could hear a shattering shriek come from somewhere above him, a dragoness screaming, but he couldn't look. He raked his claws down until he felt something soft and tore down and outwards to grip the flesh. Thronnos let out a roar of pain and reared backwards, one wing hitting Alaine hard enough that he scrabbled away on three legs as the massive drake shook his head back and forth. Blood and thicker things fell from the side of his head, great red wounds ran all the way down to the cheek before turning white where the bone was exposed. His eye gone in a mass of blood and the split eyelid . He batted his wings wildly, pawing at his own face as if he could put the pain out by simply getting his paw over the wound. It was horrible, the most horrible wound Alaine could imagine on a warrior that he had once nearly admired for his strength and power.

"THRONNOS!" Minos' cry came out high pitched, anguished, but Alaine was already in motion as the elf started towards the battle field.

He ran awkwardly, his wings spreading as wide as he could get them, vainly trying to beat them before he crashed over Thronnos' body and straddled the broad back. His claws dug in right at the muscles of the wings while his jaws snapped down to the back of the neck, the vulnerable spot right where the arteries rested. His serrated teeth dug down hard as Thronnos crumbled, his legs trying to keep him up, but the weight was too great. The drake dropped, snarling in a thick sounding voice as his chest crashed to the ground and Alaine was able to shove a paw down hard over the top of his head. His claws curled downwards right above the good eye before releasing the back of the neck and swinging his head around to hiss out at Minos, lips curled backwards in a threat display. The elf stopped, his face pale and eyes locked on the downed dragon.

"You will cede us the archipelago, this is our home." Alaine hissed out, unable to look around, he had to force them back, he had to force them to relinquish what was their own. "Your war nearly destroyed us as a people, but we will not lock ourselves into your battles, we will not have our lands, our peoples, corrupted and broken in your war."

He turned his head to glare at the rest of the elves and bound dragons, but found that he was blocked by layer after layer of wings. The dragonesses had dropped from the heights to form a line with their bodies, he could see the movement of the drakes, their anxious swinging heads and growls as they mock lunged forward. More females were on the wing above him as otterkin, humans, satyrs gathered inside the ring of dragons with bows drawn and ready in case the line broke. No male struck a blow against the females. Their soft hide would have given at a claw touch, every instinct, no matter how dull and dimmed by life with elves, refused to attack them. His heart was in his throat to see Amber in the first line, her wide gold edged wings spread as wide as they could possibly go, ready to risk her life, their clutch, for his mad plan.

"You wish to be king?" Minos spoke up as he approached slowly, his eyes on his dragon. "Who do you speak for that would accept your rule?"

"I wish to be no ones king." Alaine lowered his head with a venomous growl. "I speak for Canith! I speak for Hayden's Spit! I speak for our home and every home! I speak for the dragons and dryads, the satyrs and otterkin, the humans and all! I speak for those your war has ravaged! I speak for the dead and living! I speak not as a king, but as one of many! You will leave, all of you! Go back to your lands and wage your war there, go back to your homes and wives!"

"Do you think they'll go?" Thronnos snarled out, stirring with a baritone growl. "You think the Slokaken will just leave you alone? You will be killed by them without our aid at keeping them at bay!"

"They war with your elves," Alaine hissed down at the drake. "Take your war to their land, their homes, take your war away and they will follow. This land is OURS! These seas are OURS! These islands and inlets are OURS! You have forgotten that, your mind twisted in their convoluted plots and plans. The citizens will no longer tolerate you! They will do no trade, no sales, they will allow you no port or home! You have nothing here!"

"You declare war on us." Thronnos tried to throw him off, but Alaine shoved him down harder, straining to keep the larger drake down.

"Not war, we deny you our resources." He snapped his jaws again and lifted his head so he could raise his voice. "All dragons who claim Riders who wish for war are banished from our skies! Any Rider who willingly will give up war and take up the mantel of peace for the sake of his dragon will be welcome in our lands, but with conditions. If you so love your dragon you will give him his home back you will find one here as well. Any Tomaian or Slokaken found in our lands will be driven out, our skies patrolled by our females so that no rider may wage war! Once the Tomian go to their own land war will leave, their enemies will follow and we will close our borders!"

"Damn you..." Thronnos lashed beneath him, throwing his weight up. "I fought my entire life for my home!"

"You fought for the elves. You gave youngsters over to their war, but will they give up war for peace for you?" Alaine glared at Minos. "Will you stay, elf? Will you dismiss war and remain in peace with Thronnos? To till the land and raise your young in accordance to our laws?"

Minos stiffened, his eyes narrowed as he drew in a breath, his cheeks coloring slightly as he glared in response, but that was all Alaine needed. He lifted his head higher, moving his paw from Thronnos' horns and stepped away with a low rumble. The drake heaved himself up, turning his head to snap at him, but missed as the blinded eye ruined his depth perception. He stepped away, feeling the blood on his side spilling to the ground as he turned his eyes towards the ring of dragonesses, the dragons beyond who were watching with large eyes.

"You have one day, one sunrise, to leave this place. You have two weeks to leave our islands, to take your ships and set sail for your true homes. We will send out our dragons to every corner of the sea with messages to drop ships and outposts, war will not be carried out in our lands." Alaine turned his head slowly, keeping part of his attention on Thronnos, ready for another attack. "Ask your Riders to choose war or peace, their old home or a new life. No drake will be allowed to remain here that is not willing to uphold our peace and laws. You will go back with the rest, forbidden from our borders."

"You can't do this!" Thronnos snarled out as he heaved himself onto all fours, glaring at him from his ruined face. "I have worked all my life to bring back my home, I have sacrificed everything to bring our people here and now you will cast us out! We gave you a home, a mate, we could give you your wings, damn you, and you destroy it all because blood has been spilled?"

"Too much blood has been spilled." Alaine flicked his wings down to his sides, feeling a wash of weariness spill over him as he regarded the older dragon. "It has been shed by oceans, pouring out tears and despair, ripping apart families and hope. I am tired of fury and grief, I am tired of the smell of blood in my nose and on my tongue. It is bitter and gives me no pleasure, no warmth. Aratha never built us for this. Your war can go on, but not here. Go and fight your battles, Thronnos, rise up with those drakes that will follow you, but not here. Never here again. SEND UP THE MESSENGERS!"

He called out the last words as the dragonesses slowly folded their wings, the drakes didn't attack, their eyes looked dull and confused as they continued to turn their heads to their riders. Part of him had wanted to dismiss all of them, fling every last elf back from the land that spawned them, but his sympathy to Oake had offered them a chance at peace. If they would obey their laws they might stay, but it would be under his supervision and conditions. If a drake truly wished peace and their rider would forsake their lands, he could allow them to stay. He had had enough of so much war and death, he had had enough of vengeance and blood. He was so tired, so damned tired, all he wished was his mate, his friends, his family and the sun overhead to warm them all. Vengeance was an empty comfort compared to what he had experienced, it was hollow and cold, and the only end would come in death. Not life.

He watched as the so young dragons took off into the skies, each one ready to spread the word to one and all. His eyes locked on them as they disappeared into the blue sky. They all bore the same thing gripped in their claws, messages to every elven ship and city, already the dragonesses that hadn't come here would be spreading the word. They would spread it to every otterkin, every satyr, every human. The archipelago had fallen long ago when the elves had come, they had fallen to the magic and because every island stood alone. Every one of them had their own government, their own set of laws and rules, but no longer. They would stand together, at last. He lowered his eyes to see Amber watching him, her eyes expressive as he limped away from his opponent and felt the wounds on his side burning and aching.

"Leave, Thronnos, by the time the sun rises. We will be watching." Alaine rumbled as he stretched his neck out to touch the tip of his muzzle with Ambers. "We are no longer your battle grounds. Never again."

He rubbed his muzzle along his mates, his eyes closing as she let out the softest rumble. They could keep their magics and healers, he had flown higher on his broken wings than any dragon had ever dared.

~ ~ * ~ ~

Thronnos snarled out at the drakes that started to fly up towards the peaks so they could set off the moment dawn came. The darkness wrapped around him, making it harder to see out of his one good eye, the side of his head hurt so badly that he could barely think. The gaping darkness left him off balance as he resisted the urge to reach up and tear at the bandages the healers had placed there. He could sense the dragonesses up above, they were circling and waiting for them to leave. They had been there from the moment Alaine had left the valley, watching and waiting for anyone to make a break, to try and attack. His Flights, his brave drakes, had refused to strike them when they had been blocked, their vulnerable bodies offered like sacrifices to the stronger males. He railed against their failure even as he felt sick at the idea of such slaughter. If they could have taken the females down they could have gotten rid of Alaine and his few drakes, but they were an aerial guard that they couldn't push past. Not even he could force his drakes to attack them.

"Defeated by females." He growled under his breath as he reared back on his haunches, his large wings swaying slightly as he tried to balance himself.

"We can arrive with ships, we have the gems that will allow us to work magic enough to-" Minos started, for at least the third time in a row since they had begun the retreat.

"No." Thronnos snapped the word and gave himself a shake, looking down at his Rider. "I am not that far damned. You should make sure we've got the last of the gems, before they try and keep them from us. At least we will have them."

"We will leave soon. I promise you, I will not let this insult stand." Minos reached out to touch his leg lightly. "I'll check with the Flight Leaders and return."

Thronnos didn't answer, he lifted his head and canted it to one side so he could see the dragons gathering and stretching their wings. There were no vibrant rumbles and eager boasts being called drake to drake, they were subdued and strange as they moved. Most of his drakes were coming with them, but a handful had stayed and their Rider's too. They had agreed to Alaine's terms of peace, to lay down their arms and magic and stay with their dragons, to defend the place. They had turned aside from him, they had turned aside from everything they had ever known, how they were raised and chosen this place. He had snarled at them for their weakness, their inability to see that their loyalty lay to those that had saved them from death and starvation, but they had still stayed. He lowered his head and dropped his wings to his sides as he watched the stars rippling over the reflection of the ocean. He didn't know if he envied them or despised them.

Minos has not even asked if I wished to stay.. The disloyal thought made him flinch. Does he not ask because he knows I am loyal or does he not ask because he does not care? He dreams he can take revenege in a battle we have lost, a war we have lost.

This land was his, this land was what he had fought and bled for, what his parents had died for and his siblings had been slaughtered on. This land was coated in blood and memories, and it was being taken by a drake that had been still covered in egg wet when it had happened. He had believed he had finally accomplished his goal, that dragons and elves would have ruled here together. He would have protected his kind, watched it flourish again. Did Alaine truly think he could hold this place? That he could hold all of these islands? The Slokaken would rise once more, they would slaughter again and history would repeat itself anew. All that he had done had been to ensure it would never happen again, that eggs would hatch free of fear and pain, that his kind would never be bound in chains and enslaved. Did the drake not care that he was setting himself up for failure? Did he care about nothing except his own delusions of peace? Peace!

A rattling hiss drew him from his thoughts, his good eye opened to see a dark emaciated shape slowly lowering himself down to the ground from a log. One of the former slaves dropped down with a little bit of a rasping cough as he got all four paws beneath him and lifted his head up. It was the strange one, the one with only one eye that he had been told wouldn't live for more than a few hours at most. He wrinkled his lips back as he saw the shattered wings, feeling the same revulsion any dragon felt at the emaciated battered creature. He could see every joint, every bone, every vertebrae as the beast approached him with the large head lifted up on a thin neck. The single eye glinted in the bare light as the beast regarded him.

"Going with your master, boy?" The dragon rasped out, his voice sounding rough and rattling as he tilted his head to one side. "Not going to stay and enjoy the peace?"

"What peace? A few years before they're overrun and it starts all over again with a slaughter that they can't stop." Thronnos drew himself up as the former slave, Mock, that's what Alaine had called the pitiable creature, came to sit quite close to him. The acrid scent of him made Thronnos wrinkle his lips back in distaste.

"You'd be surprised." Mock barked out a rough sounding laugh. "An idealists dream would die, but he is no idealist. Idealism is the venue of the youth, you learn it from the time you crack the egg. The belief in ones parents, the belief that they can defend and protect you, the belief in good and evil. Why do you think we have Aratha and Oron? Good and evil. Painted out to define us. An idealist would have faith in a new peaceful world would start now, he has defeated the evil and all will be well in the world, but not one that hatched into our world. He knows the darkness, he knows that no great parent can shield them or protect them, he knows the cost of it. He knows peace is hand and hand with war."

"I know the cost of it!" Thronnos turned and snarled at the creature. "I tasted blood for this, I roused an army for this, I paid the cost that he takes from me. I paid it all. Go away, go and enjoy the peace while it lasts. I will fight my own battles."

"No." Mock rasped and gave his head a shake, his eye brightening slightly. "My cursed form lurking in this place? No, I do not remain in peaceful places such as this, where hatchlings will screech in terror at my ruined face and form. I'm not welcome here. I am not made for hope."

"You cannot come with me." Thronnos felt a rush of anger, bristling as he stood up and gave his tail a short lash. The pain on the side of his face was growing worse, it throbbed and staring into the ruined features of Mock only showed him what his face must look like. "Go, go where you wish, but I have no use for a cripple."

"No, no Thronnos, I will not go with you." Mock moved, his wings shifting brokenly against his back as he reared onto his haunches as if to flaunt his emaciated form, the tattered wings hung in a ragged backdrop in the darkness. "I cannot go with you, though I will admit I relish what interesting times you must bring. I came only to bless you before you left, because I was asked to give you a blessing."

"A blessing.." He wanted to pull his lips back, but he had enough pity in him withhold the snarl he wanted to give. The broken creature obviously was moved by madness to think a blessing from his pitiful form was welcome or perhaps he would bless him that he would truly avenge this place. Thronnos stopped his desire to snarl out, he had enough hold on his temper to lift his head up a bit proudly. "I would accept it before we fly."

He understands what I do, he suffered here for years. He kept himself from stiffening as the former slave stepped forward to touch his bony muzzle to his own, bringing with it the acrid scent of infection and decay.

"A blessing upon you Thronnos, from my lips to you and all those who leave with you," Mock murmured in a hissing voice. "A blessing for the broken vow that you gave, a blessing for my name invoked, a blessing for the blood you shed. For you gave me a rich blessing that tasted of tears and sorrow that day, when the sweetness of Aratha closed her eyes to you and you became my dominion. An invitation to my Feast."

The last word was breathed out in a wash of cold air, it spilled over his muzzle as he frantically tried to break up. Mock grew larger and stranger, his one silver and blue eye flared wide in the darkness with a glowing edge while Thronnos attempted to evade him. The broken wings faded on his back, spilling into the darkness as the broken creature reared up higher on his haunches and towered over him. He tasted of decay and fear and blood, it filled every breath as one large paw reached out to press against his forehead, pushing downwards until he felt the cold growing between his horns, searing him with a pain that drew a strangled shriek from his muzzle as Oron branded his scales with a mark that went deeper than any scale. It burned through his senses, ripped through his mind.

"May you carry my blessing for all of your days, Nameless One. You are not dragon or Aratha's child, you are Outcast. And with your last breath, I will Feast." The last word ran through the drake as he rocked backwards. The beast snarled at him, showing a blood red maw as the tongue curled upwards. "Your invitation laid down by the sins against your own kind and broken words. Fly well, Nameless One, fly fast, but know that you cannot fly far or fast enough to evade me in the end.

Oron spread his tattered wings wide and screeched out his judgment, taking to the skies beat after beat as he left the earth below. The nameless one left hunkered on the earth with the white brand of Oron's eye resting between his brow, his fate to live, and die, as less than an animal.

~ ~ * ~ ~

"In the years after Thronnos was banished, the dragons that he took with him became duller and dumber, they forgot speech and Aratha. They forgot their heritage. Oron stripped them of what made them a people." Nyrialla watched as her class drew in closer to her soft tones. "They became little more than animals who were killed off in the elves foolish wars. Today, the lands the elves once held are a barren place, destroyed by magic and war that we did not allow in our lands. For pride they warred with themselves and for pride they died."

The clutch of hatchlings gathered together with their eyes wide as Nyrialla finished the story, the little satyrs and human fawns clutched to them as she ended the story. The dark blue dragoness rested against a tree, her tail and hind legs draped into the water as the sun began to rise higher and warm her scaleless form. There wasn't the smallest bit of sound from the little ones until one of them let out a great snort and lifted his head up. Her elegant muzzle parted in a slight smile as a bold on, as red as Alaine himself, stepped forward with a snort and lifted his head up high. His immature wings spread open in an attempt to make himself larger in front of the rest of the audience, but failed when he nearly tumbled over onto his haunches.

"Oron would never catch me like that! I'd know it was him!" The little one squeaked out before trying to butt one of the satyr fawns. "I'd bite his tail off!!"

"You would never know him. He is Aratha's fallen lover, serving below her in the darkest places. He is not the villain of our stories, but a god of painful choices and paths." Nyrialla tilted her head to one side. "If you are ever so far from hope that you cannot breath again, if you are so weak that you cannot walk another pace, it is not Aratha that you call on. You call upon Oron, for he suffers with us and might answer you. He carries our wounds upon his body."

"Then why didn't he help Alaine?" Another one piped up, a satyr who was snuggled up with a huddled hatchling. "He coulda just killed all the elves!"

"They allow us the power of choice that we might grow wise and strong. Oron suffers beside us, taking our sins and trials with us that he might lighten the load. His life is a life of darkness and torment, but it will not always be so. And one day, when there is no more despair and darkness, he will find his wings again and go to meet her." She stretched herself out slowly and gave a shake. "But you will learn more of him later, you are just learning our history. These are too weighty subjects for younglings."

"What happened ta h'Alaine?" A buck asked curiously his tail nearly quivering in place. "h'And h'Oake?"

"They lived. We live on Alaine's Stand, named for what he did that day. He made a family for himself, no matter what their species, and forged a union that our small group of islands never again stood alone. Oake grew with Alaine's first clutch, he learned the lore of the dragons and satyrs, and with his courage we forged an alliance with the Fjarrds and the Nolltians. We grew and became powerful until we could never be conquered again." The dragoness lifted her head, her chest swelling with pride. "We are a country, a union, a gathering of all species that stand together as one. That is why we tell his story, that is why all of you are taught together no matter your species, that you might never forget where our strength comes from. That is the lesson that Alaine paid for in blood. The lesson we honor with each of your births."