Wings of Fire: Beyond the Horizon

Chapter 5

Polyphemus    701 CT

No one knows why the war started. But one thing was certain: it was changing Solaria for good. The CavernWings tried to fight against the Concordians. But with the PeakWings and CrimsonWings on their side, they stood no chance. Their numbers went from a few thousand to twenty within six years. They were forced to fall back to the Caustic Caverns, the one place that they can survive and the other tribes couldn't. The CavernWings were born in the dark caverns of the Subterranean Systems, and knew how to live in the dark depths where no plants would grow.

The Caustic Caverns were dangerous, but the CavernWings' skill set was specifically adapted to survive in the harsh conditions. Before the war, they went out to the surface, but still primarily lived in the caverns. Their instincts haven't left them yet. Where the other tribes couldn't find a way, CavernWings will make their own. The other tribes would not wipe them out so easily.

Ever since their retreat to the Caverns, the few remaining CavernWings were intent on exacting revenge. So, the remaining elders came up with a plan: to return to their cave systems, block off any exits, and regain their numbers for five hundred years. After that, they would begin to dig their way back up, creating a crack in the ground large enough for them to fly out of. It was meant to be a kind of surprise attack, but they had no way of telling which region of the continent they would emerge from.

Polyphemus wasn't quite sure why they should rush back into battle with the same tribes that had nearly wiped them out five hundred years ago. After all, they were outnumbered, three to one. Two, if the Concordians hadn't eradicated the SunWings. That is, if the SunWings would be willing to help their tribe again. No CavernWing had left the caverns in five hundred years, and so nobody knew who would still be fighting with or against them.

One thing, he was certain about, was that he wanted to resolve the war without killing anyone. He didn’t want a repeat of last time, especially since the tribes would be even more focused on finishing the CavernWings for good this time. He had a few ideas on how to help, but most of them involved him going up to the surface, which just wasn’t feasible with just him alone.

Polyphemus had just finished spending two agonizing hours listening to Professor Bedrock drone on about boring things like the Battle of Alpine Hill or the Blade Mountain Skirmish. Apparently they were important to learn about because they taught lessons on why certain formations were inefficient and why you shouldn’t underestimate CrimsonWings, and blah blah blah, could his class be any more BORING?

Stupid history lessons aside, it was now time for Polyphemus’s least despised class: fighting. He got to learn how to take the fight to the “evils of Solaria” whenever their tribe decided to emerge from the ground, and more importantly, how to make bullies eat their tongues. It was about the only class that he found any use for in his daily life.

“Alright, maggots. We’re doing something special today.” Their fighting instructor Andesite was feeling particularly generous today in his choice of words. “I want you to split into pairs with someone who matches your tail weapon or weight group. Then, I’ll watch each of you spar with each other and grade you from there.”

A collective sigh from the class filled the silence. “And if I see ANY mistakes, I will subtract points. Understood?” Only the low murmur of two or three students echoed through the cave. “AM I UNDERSTOOD?” bellowed Andesite. About twenty-six or so “Yes sirs” filled the air.

Polyphemus searched for someone who possessed the same natural tail weapon as him: a hammer at the end of their tail. That, of course, was the easy part, as it was the more common tail weapon. The hard part would be finding a classmate who was around the same weight as him. Polyphemus was quite bulky, so he had around a hundred extra pounds compared to most of his fellow students. He settled on a particularly shy-looking CavernWing who looked to be around his weight.

“Do you want to pair for this assignment?” Polyphemus asked the dragon.

“Um, sure,” they replied. He? She? Polyphemus was quite convinced that it was a male, judging by its appearance. But the voice was so feminine that he had a hard time believing that. Polyphemus decided to try striking up a conversation while they were waiting.

“So, um, are you a guy or a girl?” Polyphemus asked. “I don’t mean to come off as rude, but your voice is very feminine, but your appearance is masculine.”

“I don’t think of myself as either,” the student responded. “If you don’t mind, please use gender neutral pronouns when you talk to me.”

Polyphemus nodded. That was a reasonable request in his opinion. To be honest, Polyphemus wasn’t even sure how he would choose between male or female pronouns, anyways. He spoke again. “What’s your name?”

“Tantite,” they said softly. “And you are?”

“Polyphemus,” he said with a bit more pride in his voice than he wanted. He internally cringed at the way he said it.

“Nice to meet you.” Polyphemus scratched his head. “I think I’ve seen you before…is there any chance you’ve taken Professor Bedrock’s classes?”

Tantite perked up at the mention of their professor. “Yes! I’ve seen you quite a bit, actually. I sit in the very back, so I’m not surprised you don’t see much of me.” They giggled.

“So, what do you think of his class?” Polyphemus was curious to know how many students hated Bedrock’s seemingly never-ending lectures.

“I hate his class,” Tantite grunted. “He goes on and on and on and he never shuts up.” Polyphemus had never heard such a simple but accurate description of his class.

“I know, right?” Polyphemus snorted. “I swear, I’m fighting sleep every day in his class.” He was glad that he could bond with this person over their common enemy.

Polyphemus was enjoying the conversation enough that the time in Instructor Andesite’s class was actually passing quite fast. Although he knew that he would have to train against his conversational partner soon, he wanted to enjoy this interaction while he could.

Eventually, Andesite made his way to Polyphemus and Tantite. He barked orders like usual, but Polyphemus didn’t mind. The two of them sparred, and Polyphemus ended up coming out on top. Tantite put up a considerable fight, but in the end, they hesitated, allowing Polyphemus to win.

“That was actually kind of fun,” Polyphemus said once they finished.

“I know. I never thought I would say this, but you actually managed to make one of my classes enjoyable,” Tantite said.

“Would you consider us friends?” Polyphemus asked.

“I suppose so,” Tantite responded. “I don’t see why not.”

“Excellent,” he said, “I need your help with something, then.”

“What is it?” Tantite asked.

“We may be returning to the surface.”

“Well, of course we are! Our tribe plans on returning to the surface soon to get revenge on the other tribes.” Tantite explained.

“No, not all of us. Just me and you,” Polyphemus said.

“Why?” Tantite asked.

“I want to find a peaceful solution to this war.”

“And you want to basically tell the other tribes, that, ‘Hey, we’re totally still alive, so you should, like, come and finish us off for good this time?’”

“Of course not,” Polyphemus said. “We’re going to find a band of rebels to join. We’ll be discreet, and make sure that we have allies when the rest of our tribe emerges. Then, we’ll put an end to this war.”

“What could we possibly do? We’re only two dragons.”

“Our tribe is going to change this continent forever. We just have to make sure that it’s us two, and not the thousands of CavernWings who wish to wipe out the others. We just need a way to do it.”

Hello, everyone! That’s the end of the first part of the story! I hope you enjoyed getting to meet our characters for the first time. The second part will contain some more action for you. If you have any questions, concerns, or feedback, make sure to leave a comment. Bye bye!