Chrysalis

Chapter 2 - Poison of the Mind

SYNOPSIS:

Tension arises in both cities days after the explosion; in Fyrerost, young dragonet Ravel returns to her life after the devastating attack, which resulted in the loss of her wings; in Hymeno, HiveWings and SilkWings discuss for control and the future of the two nations.

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[scene begins with a HiveWing officer waking up dazedly. His vision is blurry, and he blinks a few times, adjusting his view. He sees multiple giant tanks of bubbling green liquid connected to pipes, which run across the entire room]

[the HiveWing officer flexes his claws, but he quickly realizes that both of his talons are tied to the back of the chair he's sitting on. He pants nervously, tugging on his talons and trying to release himself. He suddenly hears a loud bang across the room, which startled him and makes him turn to where it came from]

MOPANE: Where... [breathing heavily] where the hell am I?

[Mopane suddenly hears a voice behind him, and he gasps audibly. He tries to turn around, and he listens to the footsteps approaching him from behind. He pants in fear and gulps]

SYNO: Fear... always the first instinct of a troubled prey. [grabs Mopane's chair and spins him around, seeing the horror in his eyes] To watch as it slithers through all your nerves and takes control of you.

MOPANE: Y-you're a HiveWing...

[Syno flicks a lighter in front of his face, revealing himself to be a HiveWing. A deep scar runs across his face, slicing past his left eye. He stares at Mopane, who is seemingly afraid and confused]

SYNO: After that... little war, I would never expect to see any of you returning back here again. [grabs Syno's chair and drags him over to the large window panels at the side of the room, revealing the vast Hymeno ahead] It's glorious, isn't it?

[Mopane whimpers in fear, but he continues staring at the view of the undercity]

SYNO: A city of thousands of dragons, just like what's above. So why does one get all the glory, all the benefits, all the... prestige, yet another is forced to suffocate in the trench, reaping streets to earn just an extra day in their lives?

[Syno walks around Mopane, who is trembling in fear. Syno finally stops and grabs onto the backrest of the chair suddenly, startling Mopane]

SYNO: While progress flourishes up there, the undercity is drowning day by day. [looks at Mopane] Hymeno is so eluded by those fat, lazy HiveWings up there, they can't even grasp a glimpse of what's below them. [walks away from Mopane and stands in front of the window panels] But I thank them for their ignorance.

[a SilkWing in a mask approaches Syno from behind, showing him a vial of green liquid. Syno looks at the vial and grabs it, inspecting it closely. He turns to Mopane, who shrinks backward, watching in fear as Syno approaches him with the vial in his talon]

SYNO: I'd like you to know a little secret.

MOPANE: You're a monster.

SYNO: We all are. But it's up to how far we decide to take it. [leans closer to Mopane] You see, fear torments the minds, fogging everything. Overcome it, and another arrives. Conquer it... and nothing else would stand between you.

MOPANE: [stares at the vial and pants] It... it'll kill me.

SYNO: No...

[scene cuts to Syno throwing Mopane into a glass chamber. Mopane collapses onto the floor, slowly getting up and turning around, seeing Syno locking the entrance. Mopane nervously looked around the chamber, noticing another HiveWing officer tied to a pole at the end of the chamber]