Wings of Fire: Beyond the Horizon

Chapter 9

Piedmont   701 CT

The usual quiet of his favorite peak to go to was filled with the sounds of stone smashing, leg blades scraping and stabbing, and talons landing on the snowy ground beneath Piedmont. He was training, trying to prepare himself for school.

Of course, this wasn’t the way any normal dragon would prepare themselves for school. It was much more like he was preparing to go to war. Piedmont knew that the PeakWings were regarded by most as a lower-class tribe due to their lack of wings and bizarre ways of life. He was preparing himself to fight against anyone who would dare challenge him. While his tribe was strong, he knew he wouldn’t be able to compete with a CrimsonWing’s strength. But the CrimsonWings didn’t have blades on their legs or venom in their bite.

He would make sure that anyone who tried to discriminate against him and his tribe would suffer the consequences. Hollow commented that this was quite a drastic change from his submissive, antisocial personality. But Piedmont was only doing what he expected was necessary. The PeakWings had separated themselves from the other tribes due to their opinions on the wingless tribe.

PeakWings survived perfectly well without the resources, culture, and influence of the other tribes. They did not need the others. Piedmont wondered if any of the students would know about the time the PeakWings spent fighting alongside the other tribes, and possibly respect him for it. But then again, could he really trust the other tribes, when they had to cut themselves off from them?

“Piedmont,” Hollow called from behind him, startling him. “You need to relax. You’ve been training for two hours.” She placed a talon on his back, trying to get his attention.

Piedmont turned around, being careful not to hit Hollow with his tail. “But I have to! If we’re going to this academy, we’ll be officially meeting with the other tribes for the first time in four hundred and fifty years!”

“Piedmont, what if they’ve changed?” Hollow cried, widening her eyes. “In the time that we’ve been separated, they could have changed their views on our tribe!”

Piedmont took a second to rack his memory. He remembered hearing something about the CrimsonWings’ military, the Crimson Raiders, suffering defeat for the first time against the SunWings. The commander of the Raiders (who he couldn’t remember the name of) released a statement saying that they were overwhelmed. Could they possibly be willing to accept the PeakWings back into their society, if it meant gaining an advantage against the forces of the Enclave?

Piedmont thought it was kind of fitting, considering that the tribes that had demoted them to second-class were now getting overwhelmed without their support. But the fact that they were desperate meant that their tribe could gain the support of the others once again.

“Come on, Piedmont, you need to relax.” Hollow spoke softly, in a way that made Piedmont’s scales crawl. “You’ve trained enough today.” As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. He was panting heavily, exhausted from his long session.

The two of them decided to return to the mountain they lived in, Ivory Mountain. It was relatively small compared to most mountains in the range, but the community was tightly woven together. Most PeakWings there knew nearly every dragon that called Ivory Mountain home.

Hollow led the way to her favorite place to wind down, Peak Cafe. Ever since it was finished, Hollow was practically living there. She enjoyed hanging out with the workers and customers alike. Piedmont had to admit, it was pretty nice there. But when they arrived, it was empty, deserted, even. There were no signs of life anywhere inside.

When Piedmont thought about it, he actually hadn’t seen any PeakWings yet. It was...bizarre, to say the least.

“Where is everyone?” Hollow asked loudly, her voice echoing through the empty room.