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Striking Out Part One

Written by Amethyst Mare (Arian Mabe)

The dark clouds looming overhead were only just beginning to disperse as the day finally came to an end. Blackend trees lay strewn across the bare ground like skeletons that were yet to be bleached white by the sun and the landscape was devoid of life as the stony, grey mountains stared coolly down on the scene laid out on the flatter land. Only the scent of blood and the lifeless bodies lying in the mud served as tribute to the not hour past massacre.

A lone soul surveyed the battle field, claws stained with crimson. The shine of the silver dragon's scales was diminished by his surroundings; he would have been better suited to sprawling across a mound of gold than pausing at the knoll of a battlefield. As if in a dream, he paced slowly forward, wings folded in neatly to his back, studying the bodies of comrades and enemies, all dragon-kind, with their scales scorched black. Fire and the bane for blood tingled in his throat yet he suppressed it, swallowing the strike fire for use another time. He lifted his feet high to clear the deep mud that sucked at his limbs, begging him to stay put, to not see anymore. Yet he could not stop himself.

Whilst dragons were primarily airborne predators and 'soldiers', so to speak, the length of the battle had worn them down to such an extent that they had eventually taken to wrestling with one another on the ground itself. The storm had quickly transformed the torn up ground into thick swathes of mud where fertile grassland had been but a day before. It was hard to imagine the scene, though he recalled every morbid detail of blood and gore, a dragon's entrails spilling on to his chest in a foul reek.

The mud clung to his scales, degrading their beauty, and he thought it fitting that his scales should be sullied. There was no beauty in what he had done that day and there should be no splendour in his appearance either. He was a tool used by the alpha and one irrevocably followed the will of the alpha, whether that will was directed towards the wellbeing of the flight or towards pure and utter destruction. When he had no will of his own, what right did he have to outward beauty? His soul was blackened by lives taken. No, it was befitting for him to appear rough and dishevelled. Again and again, he had stolen life from others as easily as a thief lifted a jewel. He hung his head so that his nose brushed the mud.

He was ashamed to have taken part in the carnage.

Wing beats on the air drew his attention and his head snapped up as the other dragon approached, heart pounding like a trapped bird against his ribcage. Was it him? This time, he had no need to worry as a familiar and friendly shape took form on the wing, not an enemy or the alpha he bowed to. He did not wish to test his skills another time that day, no, no more. Swinging his tail from left to right, he tested the air, awaiting his friend's approach. Yet he still had to be cautious.

I am not the only soul who has taken innocent lives today.

The green dragon circled above, unwilling to land. Each wing beat came with a great struggle, showing weariness in the drooping line of his body. Unlike the others, his scales were not darkened by mud; he must have remained airborne throughout the fight, heightening his exhaustion. In stark contrast to the silver dragon, his eyes were bright and his blood stained maw was held open in a draconian grin. If he had been human, he would have been described as relaxed and cheerful, though those were words rarely applied to one of dragon-kind in their world.

Staring down at the silver dragon, he roared a greeting, the sound reverberating through the air with enough dynamism to make the ground tremble. The roar broke off into a cough and his eyes glinted with good humour as he lost his louder voice, growls rasping forth in curls of smoke. Running his tongue around the confines of his mouth a few times, he tried to moisten it to attempt gentler speech.

"Cadoc," he called, voice echoing unnaturally in the barren landscape. "We are waiting for you. Jared's called for you to join us. We need to be on the move, this was nothing. There are better spoils to be had than what was claimed here today. We must continue on."

Cadoc sighed, mind already turning to the thought of even more bloodshed to come. He had tired of the acrid, metallic scent. He had tired of ripping into the throats of victims, proving he was the better and stronger fighter. It was a simple pleasure when he was a young drake but times had changed: Cadoc had changed. The leader of his coven seemed sane until the nightly pillages turned to all out warfare, attacking coven after coven until the land bowed at his claws. His blood thirsty nature was stark in the light of day and the alpha dragon thrilled in the battle cry, a roar as bloody as the sunset that should have held such beauty.

Jared moved his coven with the speed of an eagle from territory to territory, gaining land with every day and leaving bloody footprints in his wake. The dragon had never explained why they relentlessly conquered, it had to be said, though they, as the coven, followed him without question. It was unnecessary to query and unexpected, life ending in some instances. Once a dragon joined a coven, he belonged to that coven for life. It was unheard of for anything other to happen, thus their leader dictated their lives.

The mud sucked greedily at Cadoc's legs as he spread his wings, the dying light filtering through the thin, taut membranes. It would be too much trouble to fly, he groaned silently, muscles trembling beneath his bulk. No, he should lay down, rest a while, return to them later. Yet his friend keened above him and Jared waited with the remainder of the coven, somewhere, driving him on. He launched his body into a run, stifling a cry at the ache that thrummed through his body. There was no part of him that was not sore and he could only imagine that he would be put through an even more punishing ordeal on the morrow with another coven.

With the last reserves of his strength, he pushed down with his wings and hurled his body into the air. Each flap of his wings came with a laboured exhalation as he strained to gain altitude, head drooping below the level of his barrel chest. It was draining and it took every ounce of willpower the dragon possessed to stay aloft. How easy it would be to drift back to the ground and think no more...

However, the effort of flying had one benefit, thrusting less welcome thoughts from Cadoc's mind. He fell to deeper instinct and relished in relished in fighting the heavy air until he was at the same height as his companion, eyes scanning the burned trees below and mountains rolling into the distance like peaks on waves.

The air was a formidable enemy: he would rather perfect the art of flying than face another dragon in battle. A foe that he could not see, who consistently fought to push him down to the ground, was far more appealing to his fiery taste.

He shook himself, turning to Tadej in midair, wings spread to catch what little air current there was as they put the setting sun to their backs.

"Did Jared say why we are moving on so quickly, Tadej?" Cadoc asked.

He kept his voice even, trying to appear as if he did not care for the answer, whatever it was. Last time he had been too interested in something their leader did, he had earned a slashing scar across his hindquarters - a lucky escape. Tadej rolled his head from side to side, spines on his neck wavering.

"Does he ever?" He laughed hollowly. "Just keeps going on about the battle. Oh, the battle!"

Tadej paused and bared his teeth in a draconian grin.

"I will tell you as we fly. The others are near."

Cadoc dipped his head and they continued on, silver following green as the sun finally sank below the horizon, plunging the land into twilight.

Drawing away from the battle grounds, they used the wind to their back to speed on their flight, tails acting as rudders as the dragon form was designed. Ahead lay a snow-topped mountain range, one Cadoc was yet to venture into, but he could not resist the niggling urge to look back one last time. Without scarlet light spilling across the landscape, it could almost have been peaceful if he had not know what had occurred. The lifeless bodies could have been sleeping. He could ignored the blood marking their sides, the ragged gouges of teeth and claws through their scales. The dragon heaved a sigh, eyes half closed.

He could pretend that it was so, that he had not murdered. The mind was one's sweetest liar.

Tadej rambled about the battle, senseless babble to Cadoc, and he bobbed his muzzle from time to time, simply enjoying the sensation of cool air rushing past his scales. This tactic sufficed until silence enveloped them, Tadej having sensed Cadoc's indifference to his tails and setting his jaw into a tight line, a dragon well and truly sulking. Cadoc cast about for something to nudge the conversation into motion once more, guilty of ignoring his friend even if the subject matter did not appeal. Tadej was the only one he could call a friend. Though he may as well do some investigating, if there was no better conversation to be had. Cadoc's tail twitched anxiously.

"You are injured," Cadoc observed, noting a gash on Tadej's side, which dripped blood as he flew in dark drops.

The green dragon glanced down and started, taking an extra wing-beat, as if he was surprised to see the wound.

"A scratch, I cannot even feel it. One of the enemy caught me unawares during the fight."

"Is that so?"

"An underhand trick it was."

A sly grin distorted Tadej's features. Catching the signs before Tadej himself realised what he was about to say, Cadoc cut him off from launching into yet another explicitly detailed, gory account of his part in the battle.

"Was Jared involved in much of the fight?"

Tadej hesitated for several seconds that stretched out in the empty air between them.

"No, he was not... I did not see him around the main skirmish. Perhaps he simply was not in my line of sight." Tadej chuckled, the sound rasping from his dry throat. "I was somewhat preoccupied defending my own tail, you could say."

Cadoc tensed.

"Tadej! You avoid the subject!"

He snapped, more harshly than was necessary. Tadej flinched as if he had been bitten.

"Say what has happened and truthfully so. I know you well enough to know that you are not letting on all that you want to say. I would prefer to prepare myself for whatever awaits us at the coven, wherever they are."

Tadej flicked his tail in apology, having the good grace to appear sheepish, and flapped his wings harder to gain a fraction more height. And then the words came in a rush, an outpouring where they ran into one another, tumbling off his tongue.

"Cadoc, you know as well as me that Jared has changed, I simply do not know what has happened to him. I use to believe he was a good leader, he looked out for the coven and always had the best for us in the forefront of his mind. He did what was best for everyone to begin with, or so I thought, I must have been wrong if he is like this now, this...thing. He only cares for battles and warfare, if he even flies on to the battle field himself!"

Tadej shuddered.

"After what I heard today, I think differently, thought he thought was in my mind before. I cannot tell you much of what he said because I do not understand half of it myself. Jared talks and talks about power and battles like a mad thing. None of it made any sense to us. In the end, we left him to his ramblings."

The green dragon opened and closed his mouth, working his tongue for words that were unwilling to come.

"I have nothing against fighting, I do not fear for my life in battle. I only like to know why I am fighting."

A bitter note coloured his voice and Cadoc raised an eyebrow, a ridge of scales above his wise eye.

Unexpected.

Cadoc rumbled with satisfaction - he had gotten the elusive dragon to talk - but his smugness was short lived. He did not want Jared's madness to be confirmed any more than the next dragon, not when his fate was sealed.

In any case, it was not a subject that could be currently discussed as Tadej angled towards the ground, tucking in his wings closer to his body. Cursing under his breath, Cadoc followed, filing away Tadej's words for later analysis, for he intended to breach the topic again. Trapped within the claws of the alpha, there was perhaps little they could do but at least they could find solace in one another. For now, he needed to see for himself what kind of state his leader was in.

The duo dipped into a gentle dive, aiming for a cluster of boulders sheltered grey ridge. At first, Cadoc thought there was nothing below the ridge but uninviting grey stones: nothing of interest to them. Whatever had gotten into Tadej? When he peered closer, however, crimson scales could be glimpsed on the edge of the shadows, their leader standing half under the arc of the ridge. As they drew nearer still, the last member of their coven was revealed. Sadaki lay curled against one of the boulders in a ball of striking blue scales that rose and fell gently as he breathed, eyes closed against the night.

Landing in a clatter of claws, the pair loudly announced their arrival. Sadaki awoke with a start, tensing until he realised who had arrived and bared his teeth in a welcoming grin. Well, as welcoming a smile as a dragon was apt to give. The cheer was infections and Cadoc responded with an amiable, if weary, smile. It was good to see his friend in one piece, the gentlest of them.

Jared snorted, demanding attention, and Cadoc reluctantly faced their leader, who certainly was in as strange a disposition as Tadej had let on only a few minutes before. His eyes were narrowed, sickly yellow orbs twitching restlessly in their sockets while he shifted the weight of his bulky body from one clawed foot to the other, never still and ever restless. Immaculate, ruby scales crowned every inch of his body and his outward appearance was so flawless, Cadoc would have sworn that Jared had not participated in the fight at all. Only one of his curved horns was broken in testimony to a battle of the past.

The two dragons surveyed each other, both of an equal build and matched strength. If they ever had the misfortune to become locked in battle with each other, it would be difficult to suggest prior who would prove victorious. Fighting with himself to remain still, Cadoc exhaled slowly, calming himself the best he could, despite the shivers threatening to wrack his body. Jared swept his gaze over 'his' dragon, one of his coven, eyeing him as if to catalogue his minor injuries from battle.

After a silence that made Cadoc clench his teeth together to stay the shaking, Jared spoke.

"I see you stragglers have finally deigned to join us," he said evenly. "See that you are not so delayed in rejoining the coven next time."

Too tired to bite back with a scathing reply, he nodded once, slanting his gaze away. Who was Jared to berate him about being 'late' when the dragon himself had played such a small part in the battle? He had done nothing. He sent them out in his stead, Cadoc was sure of it. He padded from their leader and settled down upon the hard stones a short distance from the others. Jared whirled about, shifting his attention from Cadoc so swiftly that it was almost as if the dragon had bored him.

"We have done well today, my coven. We are growing in might and power under my rule. Every day, more covens cave to our strength. We will become unstoppable, but there is more to be gained before we can declare that particular title for ourselves. This victory and those which are now in the past are only the beginning. There is far more to be claimed and more glory to be won in the thrum of battle."

His eyes brightened and he licked his lips, heat rising feverishly to his muzzle as he stirred the eagerness for death in his followers. Impressions - memories tainted by Jared's whim - flashed through Cadoc's mind with blinding speed: the steely rasp of claws on scales, a crimson sunset tipping horns with blood, a triumphant roar as his enemy tumbled to the ground. The cries of the fatally wounded who fell, never to rise ever again. Jared's insanity was contagious. As Cadoc struggled with the primal part of him salivating for the closure of jaws on flesh and the screech of fangs tearing through scales and sinew, Jared continued, oblivious to the dragon's turmoil.

"We must move. To survive, we must gain territory and hunt, feed and grow. Land is power and power is status. We will be feared. Others shall _cower_when they hear our names spoken! They will not dare speak of us except in hushed tones in the dead of night! Tomorrow, we fly north and our target will be the coven of seven that lives on the borders of humanity. By noon, we shall meet them in battle!"

The coven was silent for a full minute, taking care to digest Jared's words. Momentarily diverted from his internal battle, Cadoc caught himself thinking that he would have to be well rested if he was not to lose his life the next day in yet another battle. Practicality won over all else when it came to survival. He looked down at his forepaws, claws lightly digging into soil and finely ground stone. He should not have been thinking for himself.

Sadaki was the first to break the silence.

"Jared," Sadaki spoke up, unwillingly to meet Jared's eyes. "What if there are humans around at the time of battle? We can't take a risk like that - we can't be exposed to them."

Cadoc started: it was unlike Sadaki to be so compassionate, despite being the quietest of them. He turned his muzzle expectantly to Jared. It was a fair notion, he had to admit. Surely Jared would reconsider the decision to attack another coven with so little rest if there was any possibility that humans may intervene. There was no surprise that they did not take kindly to dragons and their weapons could shoot a dragon clean out of the air before he even had the chance to part his jaws to unleash hellfire.

Jared rolled his eyes and flapped his wings just once as if to blow away Sadaki's concerns, tail swishing so that it thumped into the rocks.

"That is none of our concern. If some choose to interfere, then of course they shall be eliminated. We cannot have our existence leaking through gaps in our defence to humanity."

He could not have heard Jared correctly. Cadoc shook his head. The dragon could not be suggesting that they take the lives of humans. Humans! Humans whose affairs and lives were no concern of theirs. They left each other well enough alone and that was the way they both like it. If Jared drew them into the fight, more innocent lives would be lost. Cadoc suppressed a shudder, anger flaring in his eyes.

No.

"Allow me to clarify," Cadoc growled, struggling to keep his voice steady. "If humans do cross our path in this next battle, we are to simply kill them - murder them? I more than understand the need to keep our kind separate and not demonstrate to humans that we are present in such great numbers, but this is barbaric, even for you."

Oh, he should have said nothing, should have remained silent like he had all those other times when Jared had informed of a dubious attack. The red dragon rounded on Cadoc with a snarl that made Sadaki cower and Tadej flinch in sympathy. Cadoc, however, held his ground, meeting his leader's furious gaze with his own.

"Do you question my authority as your leader?"

Jared snarled, words laced with fury as stepped forward to place himself muzzle to muzzle with Cadoc.

"It is not your authority I question, Jared, solely your sanity," he replied bluntly, wings mantled over his back.

The others gasped at his raw nerve and Cadoc regretted it a heartbeat later. It was too late to take back the words. Jared hissed, inhaling and expanding his lungs out and out and out, only then released his tirade on to Cadoc with the force of a rockslide, unstoppable and deadly.

"How dare you, insubordinate! Do you believe you have a right to your words because you have survived another battle? Have you forgotten that we fight together here, that we make decisions together? We have all survived these battles together. This coven is on the brink of owning all territory across this land and you dare to question me? What we want is power and we will achieve that together, but not if hatchlings throw wild assumptions about my mental disposition and our cause around."

He levelled his gaze, eyes narrowing.

"If you question me, Cadoc, with such madness, you can only question your own sanity in following me."

The world was silent bar the sound of the two dragons that stood nose to nose but could not see eye to eye. Cadoc was the first to look away, anger already fading as common sense berated him. What a hasty move! Why had he done that? He should never have questioned his alpha. Sensing his deference, Jared growled as Cadoc took two slow, hesitant steps back, loathing himself for submitting. It was the only thing he could do without prompting the wrath of a fresh dragon against his own exhaustion, energy stores long depleted. It was not a battle he could win.

Only one sanctuary remained.

I shall never be like you, he told Jared in the silent confines of his mind that only he could read. You may rejoice in killing and you may thirst for power, yet I cannot and I will not. This will always be wrong, no matter what you make me do.

How he ached to say something, to throw himself against Jared with his fangs ready, glinting in the moonlight. This was one battle he wanted to fight. He wanted to fight for himself so that he no longer lived in the shadow of one whose heart was stained black by sin. He needed to escape this madness polluting his life.

If he did not, it would kill him.

Throughout this unspoken conflict, Jared carefully observed his charge, ensuring in his mind that the respect was not a trap. Satisfied with the outcome for the time being, he snorted, a thin tongue of fire licking Cadoc's scales and paced away, looking over his shoulder after four steady steps.

"Tomorrow you shall be the first to enter battle. Perhaps it shall sweeten your attitude."

Cadoc bristled and opened his mouth to respond but Tadej swung his tail sideways into a cluster of pebbles, sending them tumbling noisily over the rocky ground. He shook his head slightly, imploring Cadoc with his gaze alone to hold.

Jared folded in his wings neatly to his back, head raised high.

"There will be no more talk of what has happened. It is no longer of any importance. Instead, we shall speak of victories and victories alone. What new triumphs have you three to add to the grandeur of our coven?"

Night wrapped the dragons in her velvet cloak, concealing them from intruding eyes as they spoke, taking Jared's lead as they irrevocably did. Of course, they could see each other perfectly even in the pitch black, their eyesight far superior to even nocturnal creatures.

As if nightfall granted unseen permission, the talk of killing escalated, as each dragon attempted to outdo the other with grotesque descriptions of wounds and how they had ended numerous lives. Nausea rose in Cadoc as he listened and tried to participate with triumphs that he thought were his best, falling terribly short of their expectations with talk of aerial manoeuvres. Thus slammed down for the umpteenth time, he rested his head upon the ground and closed his eyes, trying in vain to drift off into much needed sleep. With the others talking about matters he wished to never think of again, he could not stave off the faces of those he had killed. He could imagine them in perfect detail, their eyes dark and accusing, knowing that he was the reason they no longer flew through washed out blue skies and rejoiced in life. It was his fault and his alone.

Cadoc clawed at the ground, pressing his cheek into the dirt. No, no... It could not have been him, he was following Jared. He followed the alpha.

I have done nothing truly wrong, he pleaded with them in the silence of his mind, a pained whimper escaping his muzzle. I am a dragon, I am doing what my leader has ordered me to. Why do you haunt me so?

The dead had no answer for him and he found their cold stares unyielding, unforgiving.

Cadoc's eyes snapped open. He had to get away, had to escape the madness somehow. His eyes roamed the boulders wildly as he searched for any means of distracting himself from these thoughts, yet there was nothing, nothing at all. Nothing in this desolate place, near those he called friends, to save him from himself.

Heaving himself gracelessly to his feet, he shook himself thoroughly, rattling loose scales. His scales clicked together where some had been torn loose in the fight in a reminder that he was a murderer, a cold blooded murderer. The others halted their conversation, turning to him as one. Under their gaze, Cadoc lowered his head, suddenly unwilling to meet their eyes.

"I will be back before dawn," he hissed quietly, leaving them with those words alone.

Spreading his wings, he launched his body into the air from a standstill with a powerful downward sweep, working hard to ascend quickly and leave them far behind, straining worn muscles to their limits.

But his soul remained behind, tied to them who lay so casually debating the carnage they had caused. It never mattered how hard he strived to break the chains binding him to them, it would be the same until the day he died. He would always be part of their endless butchery, their endless plotting and their endless scheming. And it killed him to know what his life had truly become, what he had become. Moisture pricked the corners of his eyes.

He had become a monster.