The Dragon's Sign

Chapter 11

"Destruction is inevitable, the unpredictable doom upon which many civilizations have fallen or become lost admist the sands of time." ~Ja'hijjn, Scholar of the Eight Winds~

Sapheria scanned the skies ahead, the moon's pale light gleaming among the clouds beneath her. They had spent hours debating on the best route to take to the Nest, and came to the agreement of taking a north-eastern flight under the cover of night. Unaile flew beside her in silence, brooding over the recent attack with guilt. She should have seen the enemy from miles away, been able to calculate casualties, and turned her unit a different route. Instead, bloodlust and stubborn she lead her troops into battle, expecting a clean victory and swift journey home. So many unnecessary deaths had happened since then, and they all weighed upon her head. She had failed them just as she had failed her son. 

"No," she thought to herself, "This time I will save them, no matter what!"

Opening thought-speak, Sapheria hummed, "I should probably inform you that I won't be accompanying you into the Nest due to a.....slight misunderstanding that the Council and I had."

"Misunderstanding? What happened?" Unaile thought back in surprise, grateful for the distraction.

"Youngling you have so much to learn. You understand loss of a loved one, of a beloved. Not many in the Counsel have undergone such pain. My brother's shadow, or heavenly soul, whichever you believe , it came to warn us of the human weapons. My heart shattered at his presence and sent me into a fury; I lost my self-control." Sapheria flapped harder, rising closer to the moonlight.

  Unaile pondered for a moment, wondering how bad the situation had become between the Council and Sapheria. As hatchlings her kind were taught to never lose control of their emotions, that their duty was to remain calm and collective as the superior race of all the lands. They had the power to destroy forests, civilizations, and because of this power their sacred duty was to always remain in control and never use their abilities out of anger or hatred.

  "Perhaps speaking to the counsel is the wiser course of action Sapheria. If it was a misunderstanding, then you can still ask for forgiveness and aid the counsel in the rescue missions," Unaile urged as they decended lower into the sky, their bodies soon covered in dense grey clouds. 

 Sapheria grunted in response, letting her doubt flow into the thought-speak as she guided them swiftly through the coverage. She didn't need want to go back. In truth the Council had held back the defenses for their race for far too long in this war against the humans. Thousands had died in the past two years, more than those whom had fallen during Degulam wars between elves, dwarves, and dragonkind.

   She shook her tail with distain at the loss of life, how cruel their once-peaceful world had become. There hadn't always been death and destruction, but humans couldn't hold the sole blame to that factor. Their wicked natures may of caused unease in the other races, but they didn't start the circle of battles that became wars. 

   The sound of the human transportation devices below shook her from her thoughts, Unaile flying closer to her as they both turned their heads towards the sounds. Deep rumbles roared from below, and as much as she didn't want to make another stop Sapheria flapped backwards and halted. 

   Unaile followed suit, whipping her neck side to side in anticipation of Sapheria's orders. Signaling her to stay put, Sapheria flew down till she could poke her head out of the clouds. Below them rolled hills, dirt paths criss-crossing the land from the human territory below. Just a few hours more and the mountain of home would emerge boldly above these hills, glowing with the life born to this world. Focusing, she squinted as the clunky metal things came slowly over a hill. There was no mistaking it, those were the military metal carriages that the new humans had brought here. Which ment there was a chance of a few dragons from Unaile's unit being imprisioned inside the strange metal carriage with holes. 

   It was only logical since she had seen many others inside these things. Sometimes it would be livestock from the villages, but the timing was too suspiciously close from the capture area. Helping could compromise their position though, and the Queen and the Nest had priorities over captured souls. Steeling herself from emotion, Sapheria turned back and returned to Unaile, her decision final.

   "Lets go, its nothing more than a patrol heading towards their base. The Queen and the Nest hold more importance than survelliance." With that she continued forward, not looking back to see if Unaile followed.

  Unaile looked down for a moment, torn between curiosity and duty. Tearing herself away from her desire to burn the humans, she hissed and flapped hard to catch up with Sapheria. She had to keep in mind that personal matters would have to be kept away, that the Nest held countless females and fledglings, not to mention unhatched eggs. Yes, soldiers died in the war, but she would be damned if their home would suffer the same fate.