Dragon Wars: Destined Through Fire (Book 2)

Chapter 30 (Jangras POV) Begin!

I looked at the dragon for a few moments, weighing in on the odds of me beating him. The chances that I had felt in fact quite slim as well. He was much stronger than me, a lot bigger than I was, more than likely faster, and he was older than I was as well.
It was what I had feared too, just not the way that I had expected. Of course it would have to be a dragon like this one as well. I looked down at the ground, as I hated to say it, as I was supposed to be the dragon of destiny, but the truth was that I was in fact quite a bit afraid.
I heard a bunch of dragons speaking up amongst themselves, as neither me, my father, nor Socra had stood up to speak back to the dragon. I saw the look of surprise on Socra's face too, and I did in fact look away from her as well, as I did not want her to see the fear in my eyes.
I just closed my eyes, as I did my best to hide the fear that I felt at the same time too. It was quite hard for me to do that at the same time. I just listened to what it was that all of the dragons in the clearing were saying to each other in their quiet voices, that were not so quiet to me.
"He is right... This is the son of a failed leader! We can't have him as our deputy, he is far too young anyways!" I heard one dragon say to the other. I knew that a part of what the dragon had said was right as well. It hurt me to admit to it, but it was.
I kept my eyes closed though, as my ears then went away from that conversation that 2 dragons were having with each other, unto another voice of a dragon. I wanted to put the voices out of my head, but it seemed as if it were damn near impossible, as I then listened to what it was that the dragon had to say.
"I can't wait to see this! I think it is funny that people actually believe that this puny little thing is the dragon of destiny!" I heard a dragon say to another. I kept my eyes closed, as I then tried to shake all of the voices away once again.
The clearing then suddenly became quiet, and I was a bit confused as to what was going on for just a few moments. I then opened my eyes, to see that all of the dragons that were in the clearing, they all had their eyes on one specific target.
I turned my head over to see what it was that they were so focused on in the first place. I then saw what it was, as I noticed that it was my father, and he had stood up on top of the rock, and he had his wings held high into the air as well, as he clearly wanted the crowd to he silent.
All of the dragons in the crowd moved back, as I could tell that they were in fact quite a bit scared as well. I looked at all of them, and then I looked over at the dragon that had challenged me as well. He did not look at all phased by the way that my father had stood up.
It got me even more scared than I was just a few seconds ago. I moved back, and lowered my head to the ground, as none of the dragons down beneath me had seemed to notice, as it seemed that they all had their eyes and their ears on my father at the moment.
I decided to turn my head over to my father, just like the rest of them as well, as I was in fact a bit interested in what it was that he had to say to all of the dragons that were below him. I then listened to him, as after my father had realized that the crowd had become silent, he then finally spoke up.
"He has just become the deputy of our tribe, and you want to do this! You have no idea what you are getting yourself in to if you even become deputy!" He said over to the dragon that was below him. All of the dragons in the crowd then turned their head over to the dragon that my father had just spoken to.
The dragon once again had no sort of phased look on his face at all, as it all seemed quite a bit normal to him at the same instance. I gulped, as the dragon seemed to almost look like he had a bit of a grin at the same time too. I then saw that he had turned his head over to me as well.
He then squinted his eyes at me, as he kept that awkward grin on his face too. I stared back at him, though it was very hard for me to do it, due to the fact that I was scared. I tried to think through the odds of me winning, and it seemed as though it were very slim.
He then looked away from me, as he then turned his head back over to me father, and he kept that same grin on his face too. My father did not seem to be a single bit worried about it though, as he grinned back at him, as it actually startled the dragon a bit, but he kept his head up, as he then began to speak.
"I know exactly what it is like, and so does he... I know he will make the smart decision. I am ready to step up for my tribe, very much unlike you I suppose." He said back to my father. His grin then reappeared, as I could tell that my father was a bit taken aback by what he had just said.
He then lowered his head to the ground, as both me and him, we both knew that he was right with what he had just said. I looked at my father a bit sadly, as it seemed that he had no sort of response to what the dragon had just said to him.
The crowd then began to speak to themselves again, as they all had noticed the look on my fathers face, as it was not hard to, even if you were not the brightest dragon alive. I stared down at the ground, as I was not sure what to say to the dragon, as I knew that I would have to speak soon.
I then heard the footsteps of Socra as she them began to step up, over the loud crowd that was speaking below us. I turned my head over to her, as I was curious what it was that she had to say in all of this, as she had not added into any of this just yet.
All of the dragons in the tribe then stopped speaking, as they saw that their new leader had stepped up to the rock to speak to all of them. As I could tell that they were interested in what it was that she had to add into all of this as well. I then listened to her, as she spoke loudly to the entire tribe.
"If this is truly what you want to do, Aklin, than it is settled then... Around this time tomorrow, the fight will be arranged, and whoever wins, will then be the new deputy... I wish you both the best of luck... You will need it." She said, as she squinted over to the dragon that was below her.
All of the dragons then began to look all over the place, as they were not sure what dragon was going to step up to the stage, and then begin to speak to the tribe. I gulped to myself, as I just kept my eyes focused on the dragon that Socra had just spoken to.
The dragon had a bit of a surprised look on his face, as he was looking at me, and then he squinted his eyes at me, as he then shook his head at me for some odd reason. He then lifted his head up once again, as he then spoke loudly for all of the dragons to be quiet, so that they could hear.
"If this is what he wants, and he does not want to forfeit, than so be it." He said back to Socra. I gulped once again, as I was not sure what to step up and say to the crowd. I hoped that none of this was real, and that it was just some sort of joke, but it was now beginning to dawn on me that it was real.
I turned my head to Socra, as I was more scared than I ever had been in my entire life. I was even more afraid than I had been when I had found out that the black dragons were planning an attack on us. She had her eyes squinted at me, as she was looking me dead in my eyes.
I could not keep my eyes locked on hers though, as I knew that I was too afraid to do this. As I then looked at her and I shook my head, as she then looked at me a bit surprised, and a bit confused on the fact that I had just shaken my head to her.
I felt stronger than I ever had in my entire life, but I did not feel strong enough to beat the dragon that was challenging me for my role as the deputy of the tribe. I stared at the ground for just a few seconds, as the voices of the crowd seemed to get silent, though I knew that they were only getting louder.
I then stood up, and I made my decision, as I then stepped in front of Socra at the front of the rock, and I coughed loudly to get the attention of the tribe. The slowly began to dim down their voices, as they then turned their heads over to me.
I was still in fact quite a bit scared, as it had been a while since the last time I had to step up and speak for the whole tribe to hear. I tried to think of something to say to them, and what it was that I should say to the dragon that had challenged me, but my mind was drawing a complete blank.
I looked over at one dragon in particular, as I saw him shake his head at me, as it was my best friend Kota. I then thought of just what it was that I was going to say to all of the dragons that were below me, as I then stepped up and began to speak loudly.
"I withdraw from my job as deputy, I do not want to fight this dragon, he is much stronger and older than me, hell, I do not even know if I am the dragon of destiny or not..." I said to the whole tribe. I expected them to burst up and speak to each other once again, but they all just stared at me.
I did not know what to do, as I remembered the time that I had fought Socra. She had told me that I was in fact the dragon of destiny, and I was supposed to be the leader of the tribe, but she was nowhere near the size of the dragon that was in front of me, plus she was way older.
The dragon that was in front of us, and had just spoken to us a few moments ago, then nodded, as it was clear to him that he thought that I had made the right decision on it. I was fairly sure that I had as well, as I then moved back, not wanting to be in the crowd any longer.
I then looked down at the ground for a few more moments, as I could not bare even having my eyes open for another second, as I then closed them at the same time as well. I shivered, as it seemed like a breeze had flown through, even though we were deep into the woods.
I stayed still, and I stayed silent, as I did not want to open my eyes, and see the look that all of the dragons below me were giving me at the same time. I sat there for a bit longer, as it seemed as though my father was almost whispering to me.
I opened my eyes to see if that were in fact the case, until I realized that he was not whispering at all, as I must have been so lost in thought. He was instead speaking up for every dragon in the tribe to hear. I listened to what it was that he had to say, as I was in fact quite interested in it.
"No... I challenge him to a fight to the death, and this is not for deputy... So it must happen now, these are the rules. If he wins, then you will cancel the challenge, and if I win, you can be the new deputy... I will prove to all of you, that he is the dragon of destiny!" He yelled loudly for all of the dragons to hear him.
I looked at him for a few moments, as I wondered if he was bluffing, but by the look I saw on his face, it looked as though he were dead serious as to what he had just said to the whole tribe, and to the dragon that had just challenged me as well.
I knew that I could not decline this challenge, and that is why it scared me so much. I wondered what it was that my father was doing... Was he sacrificing himself to keep me as the deputy, or was he trying to bluff the dragon to get him to recall his challenge?
I shivered, as I looked over at my father, as I saw that he was looking right back at me, with a bit of a sad look on his face. I gulped, as the tribe had plunged into chaos, as it was making it hard for me to think in the first place as well.
I looked away from my father though, as I heard the dragon then speak up over the entire tribe, as he was a bit surprised too, as I then listened to what it was that he had to add into all of this at the same time as well. The crowd then went quiet once they heard his voice.
"If this is what you want to do... Than so be it... I only want what is best for the tribe." He said to my father. I could tell that he was not falling for my fathers bluff. I then looked back over to my father, as I waited to hear what he had to say back to him.
Surely he was going to cancel the challenge right? He had to be bluffing. I looked at him dead in his eyes, as I could see that he was in a lot of pain at the moment. I was a bit scared, and I was not sure what to do at the exact moment in time.
He then turned his head back over to me, as he then began to speak over to the rest of the tribe, as they had stayed silent at the same time as well. It was clear that they were fairly interested in what it was that my father had to say back to Aklin.
"It will be done then... I will hand it over to the leader for her to arrange the battle!" He yelled to the whole crowd. No one said a word, as they were all surprised to see that my father was actually going through with what it was that he had just threatened me with.
None of it seemed real... Surely this had to be some sort of sacrifice... There was no way that I could beat my father... I was far too young for that, and he was far and away the best warrior in the entire tribe. I did not like the look that he had on his face though.
I then turned my head over to Socra, as I saw her walk past him, and I listened to hear what it was that she had to say to the entire tribe. I could see the look on her face as well, as I could tell that she was in a lot of pain at the same time too.
The crowd was all staring at her, as I saw that every dragon was staring at her, including my father, as we all waited for her to go ahead and speak. She sat there in silence for a few moments, until she finally felt like it was her time to speak, as she also stuttered over a couple of words.
"If this is what he wants... Then I need the clearing empty, and once it is, then the battle will commence..." She said to all of them. I looked at her, as I was a bit surprised that she was going through this as well... Did she know that this was some sort of sacrifice? Surely she knew that even if I did want to do this, I still stood no chance.
The crowd then began to nod to her, as they then separated, making way for me and my father to go ahead and get on with the fight. Once they had made enough room for us to have plenty of space to fight, I then looked back over to my father.
He did not have his eyes on me though, as I saw him then begin to fly over to the spot that had been made for our fight. I gulped to myself, but then I nodded to myself at the same time as well, as I then followed just as he had over to the clearing that had been made for us.
Once I was there, that is when I saw that my father then had his eyes locked on mine. I looked right back into his eyes, as I expected to see some sense of grief, or some sense of pain, but all that I saw in fact, was just I look of anger in his eyes.
It kind of scared me even more, as it seemed like he was really going through on this, and he really did think that I would beat him. He must really think that I was the dragon of destiny. I thought of some way out of this, but I knew that there was not... He was the one that had challenged me...
I looked around me, as I saw the crowd that was watching us. I could see a bit of some excited looks from a few dragons, but from what I could tell from most of the tribe, a lot of them looked more scared about this rather than excited.
Just like I was... I did not want to do this, and I was beginning to have less and less hope that I was in fact the dragon of destiny. As I closed my eyes at the same time, trying to shake it all off, and pretend that none of it was real just as before.
I kept them closed, until I heard one dragon in particular begin to speak up to the rest of the tribe, and to me as well. I opened my eyes and looked over at Socra. She had quite a bit of a pained look in her face, as she yelled loudly to everyone.
"It is now time to begin!"