Ryns.
The soldier caste of dragonlings, a particularly vicious species of shapeshifters.
Dragonlings are dangerous.
Ryns are deadly.
Born and raised to be a bloodthirsty soldier, Anita's life has never been her own. She always knew her fa...
We fight for our future in honor of our past. Just as our ancestors watch over us, we must watch over our young. One day they will be the ones honoring us.
This is Our Law.
~ From the Dragonling Grimoire
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My heart hammered in my chest as the Davnishniy took her place on the central ice pillar. The room was hushed, most staring in awe at the most ancient dragonling alive, and I felt like everyone could hear the anxious beating that rattled my body.
Slowly dragonlings took their drake forms and flew over, much perching on the lower rungs of the ice pillars that their king or queen was on. I shifted as well but hesitated as I looked for Queen Dominika. She technically was still my queen, no matter how much I wanted to kill her, and I didn't want to make a mistake with the Davnishniy watching.
Then my eyes caught on Queen Dominika and my poor heart stopped again. Her eyes were fixed on me with burning rage, like two pinpricks of orange fire. Her body was covered in fresh wounds, scales shifting rapidly from red to black where they weren't missing, and the end of her tail twitched threateningly.
I forced myself to meet Queen Dominika's gaze, acutely aware that she was nearly twice my size, and then walked to the base of the Davnishniy's pillar, where many of the younger dragonlings were gathered to watch the wyk with wide eyes. I sat beside a fyn who was barely older than me and wondered why he was there. Was he like me? Did he have the same problems I did?
The Davnishniy's powerful voice finally pulled me from my thoughts as she began to speak. "Welcome," she began, "to the Solstice. Though we are creatures of battle, this is a time of peace. Lay down your hostilities tonight. We are not colonies at war. Tonight, we are one. We are one species against the world that aims to destroy us and the fact that we have survived this far is cause for celebration."
Roars echoed around the room, but I barely heard them. The Davnishniy's charisma and eloquence were belied by her battle-worn body. Doubt boiled up in me. Can I ever be like that? Can I lead like her? Her words cut straight to my soul like a razor blade.
"Now," the Davnishniy continued once it quieted down, "is the time that I hear your voices and pass down the wisdom given to me by my time in this long life. This is-"
The speech was interrupted by the scrabbling of claws against the ice. A young draggy, too young to fly, was making his way up to the Davnishniy with a determination in this stubby little legs. There was a horrified gasp from a nearby wyk who was probably his mother, but then rumbling laughter rang out in the cavern.
The Davnishniy reached down, grasping the draggy gently between her teeth and pulling him up to her side. With a fierce little growl, the draggy began twisting and turning. Several of the kings and queens looked annoyed and I could hear a few angry mutters at the ruining of the solemn ceremony.
