Burning Flame (New Version)

Army Life

Siege and Solaris soared over the hills surrounding the cavern until the hills flattened into long stretches of flat, green grass. The scenery was the same for miles around, except the occasional tree, shrub, or rare thicket that showed up beneath them. Then they both spotted a river on the horizon and slanted their wings so that they dove gradually towards it. There were two arms of the river branching off into streams that eventually tapered off into small lakes. By each lake was a camp of large huts made of mud and stone. Each hut was large enough to fit at least 5 average sized dragons, and there were about 50 per camp. In the middle of the cluster of huts there was a smaller dome per each camp, and these were what the Generals called home.

"So are we going to gather them at the training grounds and go from there?" Solaris roared to Siege over the wind and their wingbeats.

"If that tickles your scales, then sure. Have at it!" Siege teased, sending a gust of wind over at her with his wing.

She rolled her eyes as the gust blew her back a few feet.

"I'm assuming you're coming, too."

"Inferno didn't declare us Generals for nothing," Siege sneered.

"Could you be serious for once?"

"I am serious. I just like to tick you off. It's quite entertaining."

"Sure it is. I'll meet you there."

Solaris turned towards one of the camps and increased her dive, plummeting faster and faster towards the cluster of huts. She tucked her wings closer to her body and grinned wickedly as adrenaline rushed through her veins. Everything below her seemed to grow larger by the minute until finally her wings exploded from her sides to catch the wind. She came to a hard stop only a few feet above the ground. She flapped a few times before silently landing on the ground below.

She had landed on the outskirts of the camp, but she knew the others were aware of her arrival. Nevertheless she let out a piercing screech that could drill through the walls of every single hut in the area. As if on cue, dragons appeared from the huts, moaning and groaning with obvious annoyance. Then there was a fearful hush as she sent an icy glare at the gathered crowd.

"Enough whining," she growled, pulling her neck back into a confident and threatening arch, "It's time to train. Now let's get moving!"

She turned and she was in the air once again. The swarm of dragons followed her lead in orderly rows behind her. She glanced in the direction of the other camp. She could see Siege and his squadron taking off in the same direction.

It was only another mile to get to the training grounds, so it did not take long for the dragons to get there flying at a leisurely pace. The grounds themselves were merely a large expanse of cleared terrain, devoid of any plant or animal life. This was due to the constant scorching and gouging of the soil during the rigorous training of the dragon army.

Siege and Solaris dove and landed before the rest of the soldiers, and after them it was an orderly procession of one row after another landing and marching forward in front of their supervisors. It was a chilling sight, for it was very precise and eerie in the way that hundreds of beasts were able to synchronize so completely.

When everyone was down and had found their places, Siege and Solaris walked towards one another and stopped directly in front of both groups. Solaris nodded once to her peer, allowing him to lead. They turned to their audience and Siege offered devilish grins from all three of his heads.

"Welcome everyone! Today we will be working on strength training. Simply try to wrestle your opponent down to the ground and keep him pinned. Claws and teeth are allowed, but no gouging or tearing of wings or scales... I prefer not to clean up after your messes. Pick your opponents and we will go from there," Siege declared.