Flight For Peace - On Hold

Chapter 15

Anticipation claws at my chest: the war is looming ever closer. Our flight has grown and we have gained allies from neighboring flights who overthrew their leaders. Our name is spreading far and wide. It is only a matter of time until someone tries to stop us before we are ready.

    Bags hang under my eyes: nightmares still keep me awake at the dead of night. But I am not alone, many other dragons have dark bags under their eyes. Charity's are the worst, they contrast with her white scales.

    Ashen, Marlyn, Ferox, Purity, and I are all huddled together in the center of camp. Warmth radiates off of their scales and chases away the chill of my bones.

    We are silent, except for Ashen's murmuring, "It'll be okay, everything will be okay." But we all know her words are nothing but that, words. Nothing will be okay, really. Dragons will die, life will be lost. How can that be okay?

    Other dragons are spread around the camp, huddled together like we are. There is a group of newer dragons huddled around Eindor, one of the larger dragons in our flight. They are listening in childish earnest as he distracts them with stories of the past. And there is another group with some of the youngest flight members, even younger than I, who are huddled around Thunder and Everett. The two dragons who Ashen and I have trained against seemed to be soothing their cries.

    I am brought back to Altair's words. You were born into this world at a dark time. War has taken over and many dragons and younglings such as you do not deserve to be thrown into it.

    How many younglings will lose their life because of a war started by the elders?

    The answer echoes in my mind: too many.

    And I can't help but wonder if the war can ever truly stop. I want it to, of course. But, how can we make others see? And this thought brings back another. Did we really have to take this approach to win the war? Was there a peaceful option, one that would have fit our name even better, that would have resulted in few deaths?

    No. There couldn't be. Dragons, when they lose the connection to their soul, lose all remorse. They do not care who lives or who dies, as long as it is not them. Death is a necessity to put an end to the mess that was started hundreds of years before.

    My chest tightens at the thought and I force myself to listen to Ashen's nonsensical murmurings, "It'll all be okay. We will all live through this war."

    And I can only hope to Reonar that we all will.

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    "A flight is coming in from the east!" The roar of warning rings throughout the camp.

    Panicked cries fill the air as Charity's strong voice sounds above it all, "Everyone calm down! Find your partner from all the training sessions." Dragons frantically rush around to find their partners. I nearly tumble into Ashen's side as we both ran toward one another, "I expect you to stay close to your partner. Help them fight, and keep an eye out for the other dragons you both trained with. We need to stay united and keep a level head."

    My heart is thundering in her chest. My mind betrays me as visions of past battles flash before my eyes. Blood, screams, bodies falling to the ground, open wounds, death, destruction.

    I'm on the verge of tears as the dragons break into our camp. Deafening roars echo in the air as the enemy dragons charge. Three large dragons with scars all over their bodies run toward Ashen and me. Their growls of rage tear through the air and blood pumps through my veins. Ashen whispers quickly, "Stay strong, Eir," as she meets them head-on.