Wings of Fire: A Game for Glory

Chapter 4: Not an Object

The ringing screams of the citizens a few moments ago vibrated in Envy ears while his heart thumped against his chest. His talons clenched into a fist as he blinked away his tears once he realizes that he actually killed Shadowripper-- he actually killed an innocent dragon. Envy's eyes darted left and right.

"I'm-- I'm so--"

Beastslayer grabbed the dragonet, cutting Envy's apology off short, his entire claw perfectly gripping onto Envy's midsection. Envy whimpered as he was lifted from the ground... he was expecting some kind of punishment. However, Beastslayer, out of all dragons, was grinning. "What you've just demonstrated something extraordinary," Beastslayer marveled, his wings opening widely. This the was the first time he sounded-- excited for his son, and even Starflicker was confused. "I've never seen any dragon, not even a SkyWing or a firescale burst into flames that way!"

Envy was speechless. He was getting praise? Are they not going to worry about the fact he killed a dragon? It wasn't long until Envy became aware of the fact that rapacity  was in his family name. They did not care about anyone else at all. If getting the Gem of Tyranny costed the lives of dragons, then so be it. Envy's ears swiveled back, opening his mouth to talk. "I--"

Before the prince could speak, he was dragged back to the palace. He struggled in his father's talons, clawing at his jewel-hard scales, but there was no use. His father ignored Envy's protests and yells, and Starflicker only watched.

☆.｡.:*　　.｡.:*☆

Envy collapsed onto his side, panting heavily as he shuffled his wings. Dust lifted in the air, some of it getting into Envy's eyes and forcing him to squint.

"That's IT?" Darkthought, one of the queen's personal combat specialists, seethed, lashing his tail dangerously as he looked down at the fallen dragonet. He roughly lifted Envy back up, causing the prince to stumble onto his talons. It's been a few weeks after the fire incident and Starflicker was relentless when it came to attempting to find new, hidden abilities from her son. Bloody spit drooled down Envy's chin as he coughed out the blood that threatened to pool in his mouth, stretching his aching talons. Every time he dared to move, pain rippled through him, a sign that his body begged for a break. He needed rest, time to recover from the excessive training. He swore that one day he was going to drop from exhaustion.

"Dark," Envy gasps, flapping his wings lightly. "Please-- Can I just-- take a break?"

Darkthought avoided his question. "Try. Again. The NightWings need all of the power they can muster if we want the Gem! Now, COME ON, ENVY!"

Envy sighed, and he took a deep breath, stirring up some kind of power in his throat. For the first time, Envy saw his trainer smile, but it was more for his own pride and accomplishment if he really succeeds in shooting a so-called 'blue flame', even though it doesn't seem as powerful as fire at all-- it was more powerful than any flame Envy could generate, and that was what both the queen and Darkthought craved for. Envy's body twitched as he felt heat form in his stomach and throat, as if lava was just forced down Envy's mouth. It never caused him harm, but it felt as if all of his insides were going to be forced out of his mouth from the intense pressure if he kept trying to create the blue flame.

"Come on!" Darkthought blurts. The large NightWing cheered for him, anticipating that Envy was going to release the blue flame. If he did, the NightWings could be unstoppable.

Envy closed his eyes tightly, feeling the muscles in his wings contract and tighten. Come on, Envy... blast the flame. Do it! You have to! Envy tried to encourage himself, even though it was difficult while he focused on blasting fire, until he felt a tinging pain in his left wing. Still building up the blast, he opened his wings, seeing that his left wing was bulking up, bigger than his entire body alone.

"YES!" Darkthought continues to cheer. Envy's eyes started water as his wing continued to increase in size, with each crack and twitch, another wave of agony washed over him, causing Envy to scream. A bright blue glare shined from Envy's jaws as he yelled in pain, and he took a step back.

But, instead of the intense power or transformation Darkthought expected, Envy only coughed up a small amount of smoke and his enlarged wing receded back to it's normal size, the pain also fading away too.

Red flames shot from Darkthought's nostrils as he screamed with pure, searing hot fury. With barely anytime to react, the combat specialist whipped his tail against Envy's side, sending the dragonet flying towards other side of the courtyard. Envy roared in pain as he tumbled across the ground, dust in his wake, and he finally hit the other end of the courtyard's walls which crumbled under the force of the hit. The prince landed on the ground roughly, his body shaking uncontrollably, and he looked at his trainer as he feared for his very life. He was silent when Darkthought says, "learn how to harness that energy, dragonet. Another failure after failure. Your mother will not be happy," before he walked off, disappearing through the monstrous mahogany double-doors that were, truly, the size for a queen.

Beastslayer gave Envy an angry look before trailing behind Darkthought, and Envy was left alone. Envy leaned against the wall, dominated by a profound sadness, fatigue engraved on his worn face. I'm useless. A failure. I can't even protect my own tribe. With a sniffle, the tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down Envy's face. He felt the muscles of his chin tremble like a small dragonet and he look towards the sky, as if the sunlight that seeped through the clouds could soothe him, however, it never did.

Envy pressed his head onto the cracks of the wall, continuing to sob as the world turned into a blur, and so did all the sounds. The taste. The smell. Everything was gone. He kept wheezing, hastily inhaling air but only to keep crying and waste his breath. He was growing dizzy, so, so incredibly dizzy. His muscles tightened again, but it was eventually numbed during his cries. The last painful emotion slammed against Envy before he lost the feeling of feeling. Everything darkened into nothingness as he passed into the oblivion of unconsciousness.