Stone was still asleep when news was spreading.
"Did you hear that?"
"What are we going to do?"
"What will happen to us now?" All the dragons were murmuring.
Slowly the voices reached my cave and I woke up for once in a hurry. I waited outside in the dim light for a couple of seconds for my eyes to adjust. Then when my eyes adjusted I stopped and stared. The dark waves were hitting the shore giving off a faint roar as the ocean screamed its fury. The rocks that surrounded our camp were made from a volcano exploding. When the lava cooled it formed a wall of rock around a clearing that spread around in a giant circle keeping us safe from prying eyes. The moon sparkled and called out to me. Soon it would be time to consume the energy of the moon in what we call γεύμα. Since we live in the mountains there is little chance of food, so we drink the energy of the moon.
A sudden thought that I should send out a patrol to check the progress of the κηδεμόνες popped into my mind.
κηδεμόνες, the group of strange organisms who have been after our land. The κηδεμόνες are bald; without scales, and walk on two legs instead of four. The κηδεμόνες's live in crowded places and no dragon could survive that, especially since they had yet to adapt to do γεύμα.
While I walked toward the clearing I saw the dragons I had come to love walk with limps, or still have bald spots where a scale was torn off in the fighting. We were losing this war and it made me want to spit fire toward the heavens that have done nothing to help us.
All the caves around camp were dark but I heard voices in all of them. I flew up to the overhanging rock and called everyone by roaring to the sky, a roar so filled with hate and sorrow it echoed off the rocks and seemed to stay there, imprinting it onto to the rocks for older generations to see.
Usually we would have a vote to hold a meeting but I think that they will understand my haste. Its takes several days to actually decide if there will be a meeting or not and we don't have that much time.
Once everyone was settled I started by speaking the direct truth. There was no point in trying to sugar coat it.
"By now I can tell the news has spread, so I will say the truth, the κηδεμόνες have reached the outlying islands."
An outburst went from dragon to dragon.
"What are we going to do Stone?" Light said in a loud and clear voice. I can always tell it is him because the young dragon has a magical voice.
"We shall stay here until we know they are coming for us; they might take the other islands. Remember this is the only part completely surrounded by mountains with a rolling sea and the κηδεμόνες still have yet to learn of how to do γεύμα."
"What will happen then if we know they are coming, κηδεμόνες were always so hasty, and they could just kill us all so that they have the right to say they destroyed the "great and honorable" guild of the east." Growled Black.
I was a little alarmed at the way he said the great and honorable guild with disgust, but there was nothing that I could do about it. Black had always been a strange case.
We could go to other dragon's guilds but would they welcome us? Times are tough and there is no room to share for the guild. We could split up, but that would leave each other weak without the guild's protection. There was only one real chose but it was stupid and downright suicidal.
"We don't have all day; we don't want to end up as stones." There was humor in Light's voice since my scales where the same color as a stone. That was why I was the best in a patrol; I could almost blend into the landscape if I wanted to.
That left only one chose then. "We will fly away to a new place where dragons run free without a single thought about space, The Ruins of Mt. Symitra."
Pandemonium broke out the second I said that and I knew it was the best chance we had, κηδεμόνες would stop at nothing to kill us.
"Stone has lost his mind." Black yelled over the muttering. "I suggest a change in leadership."
I ignored the last piece of that statement because I know that Black has been after my position since he was a hatchling. Black's scales are darker than a black cat in the new moon, and has a heart with room only for him. The guild can stand me because I am a good "leader", but Black would just end the guild by becoming a tyrant.
"I have not lost my mind, it is the only chance we have, and you know what the κηδεμόνες will do to us. They will enslave us and make us fight each other for their amusement. They will feed us to their young, use our claws as trophies. They will destroy us completely and without remorse."
That sounded bitter and sad on my tongue, admitting defeat is not what I want to say, but if I must, I must.
"If any of you have a better idea, please speak."
"How do you know it even exists?" Black yowled. Some dragons nodded and then looked at me in scowls.
The guild was starting to turn on me.
"We have all heard of it from the elder, he has said he's been there."
The only problem is that some people don't like the elder, he is more than an eon old, and has survived the days in which the dragons ruled the lands. But lately, he has seemed to be losing his mind, muttering about nothing.
"The elder has lost his mind." Black said over the murmuring crowd. "How can we trust one who is so lost within himself?"
"It is a sad day indeed if no one will take wisdom from their elders." I muttered to myself.
"If you don't believe me then go to your caves and parish if you want, let the κηδεμόνες kill everything you know, and not do a single thing for it. I won't mind that most of you are making a huge mistake." But that was a huge lie; I love this place that I call my home, and the dragons I protect.
"I want to save this guild, but your idea is senile, I'd rather be enslaved!" Black yelled.
Then almost everyone turned and headed to their caves at once. It hurt me to think that all of them are giving up, but it is the dragon's way to sit and let time figure it out, for we are eternal.
"Thank you, all of you who have stayed. I will need volunteers to take with me on the long journey there and back. To make sure that it is indeed real, and it is safe for us to live in."
Five dragons turned their back and walked away. But as I was scanning them I saw Heart.
"Heart you can't come you are only 90 terms old."
"So? Why does age matter?" She said.
"It's a very dangerous mission. I don't want you to get hurt during it."
She looked down and walked away to her cave.
"I want to warn all of you this is a dangerous voyage and not many will succeed. You must be willing to leave behind everything that you have ever known and everyone."
After a moment of silence and serious thinking only one was left, leaving me and Flame.
She was a skilled dragon in combat, so that would come in handy.
"Thank you, Flame for your courage in helping me find The Ruins of Mt. Symitra. That will mean Black would be in charge but under certain circumstances I will leave the tribe to Green."
They could still hear me in their caves, so they all know what I said was law. Green was young but was a great dragon and would lead my tribe in peace not vengeance.
"Black you have dishonored me and you will be moved from level 9 to 7." (We have levels of rank, one being the lowest meaning you will be trained in the ways of our ancestors, and 10 being the highest, the teachers and leaders. Since his was the highest before me you could call him my "assistant")
"Is there anyone who wants to challenge?" No one made a single sound.
"Good." I turned to Flame.
"We will leave in the morning so get a good night's rest." And with those last words I left them to mumble.
