Wings of Fire: A Game for Glory

Chapter 11: Cinderfell

Envy, Newt, and their army flew westward, towards their desired destination: Cinderfell. The dragons flew like migrating geese, the leading dragons in the front while the soldiers were in the back, flying steadily in a V-shaped formation. Envy was in awe when he watched the soldiers do it the first time. As if it was instinctive and hard-wired into their heads, they automatically began to get into formation whenever Envy and Newt took flight, trailing their commanders.

Envy has heard lots about the city of Cinderfell-- the large city built on an island that was formed by a underwater volcano, full of nomads and merchants. It was pretty far from the NightWing and SkyWing kingdom, so maybe it's safe there? Envy needed to find shelter for his army, and himself and Newt. Living in the Rainforest Kingdom was dangerous; it was too close to the NightWings and Envy couldn't risk getting his cover blown.

The dragons were currently flying over the Kingdom of Sand. The air was thick and hazy, each breath like drowning in lava.  The sun's never ending rays beat down onto Envy mercilessly, no sigh of any clouds to block the sun's broiling hot rays anytime soon. Envy glanced at Newt.

The ice dragon was panting harshly, conserving his energy by taking small flaps and then gliding with the wind, but even the wind that brushed against their faces as they flew was just as hot as the sun itself, barely giving the dragons any relief from the heat. An IceWing could not live in these conditions-- no dragon could live in these conditions, except for SandWings, of course. They were designed to live here, and even if Envy has semi-lavaproof scales, that didn't mean he was completely resistant to any form of heat. Envy huffed angrily, the arid air burning his lungs, slowly beginning to pant also.

 Every few minutes Envy would hope to the moons' that Newt wouldn't drop from a heatstroke.

"Are we-- there yet?" Newt pants as he swivel his head towards Envy's. "I can't... deal with this.. heat any longer."

Envy frowned, flying slightly closer to his friend. "Just keep going," Envy encouraged. "We're almost there.

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About three hours pasted, three hours of nonstop flying through the SandWing's scorching, barren land. Both Newt and Envy were panting, harshly, their bodies yearning for water, even if it was the slightest drop. Envy began to close his eyes as he grew weaker with each flap of his wings. Moments before he went unconscious, he heard a strong, high-pitched screech from behind. Envy and Newt turned their heads towards the sound with posthaste, coming to a complete halt to figure out what happened. One of the soldiers in the troop plummeted to the ground, its wings uselessly flailing as it fell. It wasn't long until the dragon crashed into the floor, lifting up sand that drifted in the light winds. The dragon never recovered, however. It didn't move one muscle.

"Stay," Envy commands to his soldiers. He beckons Newt to follow with a flick of his tail, and the two dove towards the ground. Newt roared in pain the second his talons touched the sand. Envy could see why; the sun-baked sands were torrid and dry, and even digging his talons underneath the sand didn't stir up anything cold.

Envy ignored the heat and went to investigate the fallen soldier. "Great," Newt grumbled, his spiked tail lashing back and forth as he stepped toward. "Now our army is dying from heat exhaustion!"

Envy unstrapped the soldier's helmet, examining the dragon. It was a dark emerald green SeaWing. Their lips were dried and cracked, eyes fixed and vacant. Envy crouched down, his ears turning back as he muttered a prayer to the moons for the unlucky sea dragon. The life that had dwelt within them has gone and they are safe from the perils of this world. No harm can come to them now. Newt didn't really say much. He just stared at the corpse, his tail curled as he sat on the sand. After a few minutes, Envy finally got back onto his claws. "We should really get going." Newt says in an irritable tone. The heat was obviously getting on the IceWing's nerves, and he wanted to leave.. now. Envy nodded. "...Yeah, you're right," Envy said. "Alright. Let's go."