Far Patrol 45b59

A NineStar Press Publication www.ninestarpress.com

Far Patrol

ISBN: 978-1-64890-338-0 © 2021 Alex Powell Cover Art © 2021 Natasha Snow Published in July, 2021 by NineStar Press, New Mexico, USA.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher. To request permission and all other inquiries, NineStar Press at [email protected].

Also available in Print, ISBN: 978-1-64890-339-7

WARNING: This book contains sexual content, which may only be suitable for mature readers. Depictions of graphic violence and ritual sacrifice.

Far Patrol

Alex Powell

Table of Contents

Dedication Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Acknowledgements About the Author

To my parents

Prologue

The first thing the dragon ed seeing was the golden light right beyond the shell in front of them, flickering and lighting up tiny red and silver specks on the surface of their chamber. It must be time, then. They scrabbled at the curved inside of the shell, scratching away and scoring the surface. They felt the little nubs of their claws catch on the roughened inner surface. The dragon stopped, waiting to regain their strength. It was tiring work, and presently, the dragon fell asleep again. They repeated this cycle in longer and longer increments, scratching away at the inside of their chamber. Waiting was over for them, and it was time to emerge. Sleep, wake, sleep. Again, the light woke them, brighter this time. There were voices outside, and with some excitement, the dragon heard the voice. The one was here. It was definitely time now, and the dragon would stop at nothing to finally greet that voice. It was a high voice, and it penetrated the shell unlike all the other voices outside. The dragon didn’t care about those ones. They needed to reach the one. Kathely. The one. Their one. That voice had started coming a long time since. The moon had cycled countless times, and the dragon knew it well, the voice of the one who spoke to them from outside. That one whispered things to them, told them all about life on the outside. The dragon liked these stories, and even though they couldn’t yet make complete sense of them, the outside called. Kathely was calling, right now. “Ignius.”

The dragon rocked against the wall of their chamber, pushing as hard as they could. The shell, weakened by their earlier efforts, gave a little under their struggles. It was tiring, but Kathely was there, calling. “Ignius, you have been Named. It is time to come forth.” Ignius coiled their tail, lashing it against the weak spot of the shell. Then they struck again as they felt the shell fracture above them. The spikes on their tail made short work of breaking through, and once again, Ignius clawed at the shell, finding the opening. They forced it farther open, lifting their snout to the hole in the shell, taking their first deep breath of air. They couldn’t see yet, but after a few sneezes to clear their lungs of fluid, they could smell those around them. The nearest person was Kathely, and their one smelled divine, like home. They butted the shell with their head until the shell cracked further. Ignius gave a full-body flail, stretching out their legs, their tail, and their wings. The shell split with a deafening crack, and Ignius finally emerged into the outside world. They blinked hard, trying to clear the fluid from their eyes. A soft, scented cloth pressed to their face, clearing away the fluid, and the next moment, they could see the face of their one that had told them stories while they were waiting to wake up. Soft eyes, dark, with a fathomless round pupil and fragments of different shades in the surrounding iris looked down at them. Their face was speckled, like the shell of Ignius’s egg. Long tendrils of hair hung down, shining different colours in the light of the lamps. They were draped in folds of light cloth. Ignius blinked. Their one was beautiful. “I’m Kathely,” their one said and moved the corners of their mouth skyward. “Line of Aera. I have been given the honour of being Chosen for you, Ignius, line of Lockden.” Kathely drew a dagger from the belt at their waist, with an edge so sharp it sang. They dragged the dagger down their palm, and blood welled up and washed their hand crimson. They held out their bloodied hand in front of them. “Will you Choose me, Ignius Lockden?”

Ignius coughed, getting the remaining fluid out of their throat, and said in a voice raw with newness, “Yes, I Choose Kathely of Aera.” They leaned forward and swiped first one cheek, then the other through the blood on Kathely’s hand. It was hot against their scales which were still new, soft, and thin. Thus gifted, they waited as Kathely finished cleaning the fluid from their scales. Kathely left the blood on their face, and Ignius raised their head to proudly display the markings made by Kathely’s hand. This done, Kathely finally allowed a waiting attendant to wrap their hand. “ me for the Birthing Feast,” Kathely said, moving to stand from their kneeling position next to Ignius. “Yes,” Ignius said, voice getting stronger. Kathely had taught them how to speak words while they waited in the shell, but the novelty of speaking kept them from saying anything as they got shakily to their feet and followed Kathely. A quick glance around revealed a small stone chamber lined with torches. They followed Kathely to an arched doorway and down a long hallway of similar black stones. The pads of their feet were still new, and the smooth stones were soft against their scales. They could only imagine words like “beautiful” and “home” right now. Even Kathely’s voice through their shell couldn’t bring something to life in a way to make them truly understand. Vague concepts floated around in their mind, things like wide open sky, the colour blue, wind against someone’s face, the smell of air after it rained. They wanted that, yearned to know these details, to bring blessed context to the facts they knew only from listening to Kathely. But that could wait. Being born was such a tedious process. The two, followed by their attendants, emerged into a huge hallway beyond the birthing hall which dwarfed the pair of them. Kathely, still a youngling themself, was taller than Ignius, but only by a couple of heads. They both had much growing to do. Kathely reached out and put a hand on Ignius’s neck as they walked. It was warm, and Ignius leaned into the pressure of Kathely’s hand. The attendants followed silently behind, but Ignius ignored them. The world got bigger the farther down the hall they walked. They craned their

neck to look at the walls. If one looked carefully, there were designs carved into the stone walls that curved and looped around. The vast stones beneath their feet were warm, and ahead, through an arched doorway, light spilled out. They ed huge columns on either side, the hall lit with braziers interspaced with the columns. “Kathely,” Ignius said finally, delighting in saying the name of their Chosen one aloud. “You told me while I was waiting that humans are sometimes ‘he’ and sometimes ‘she’ in a way that dragons aren’t. Which are you?” “I am ‘they,’” Kathely said with a smile. “Something like dragons.” Ignius accepted this happily, but their thoughts were interrupted by the sudden overwhelming scent of still-warm flesh. Ignius’s appetite rumbled to life, and it was all they could do to keep in stride with Kathely without rushing forward. They entered the Feasting Hall from the corridor and realized there were others there waiting to feast as well. Five new pairings in total, and at the front of the room, a huge dragon, full grown and almost terrifying in their immensity. At their side was a human dressed in robes of red and silver matching the colours of the dragon’s shining scales. He dwarfed Ignius’s Chosen as much as the dragon dwarfed Ignius. Kathely led them to a space closest to the large dragon and the human. There was a trough filled with fresh meat next to a little ornate table laid out with cooked food. “Let the feast commence,” the man said, voice resounding throughout the hall as if he had a dragon’s voice. “And that you share the same meat with your Chosen.” Ignius tore in, unable to wait a moment longer. Kathely ate slowly, but Ignius could not stop eating, even to keep pace with their Chosen. They needed to fill the empty, hollow space they suddenly realized they possessed. They didn’t slacken pace for a while, letting the rich flavour of meat fill their mouth. It was tender and soft, and Ignius ate as much as possible. Once their stomach was filled, Ignius finally took the chance to look around. There were four other dragons, all newly hatched. All were primarily one colour

with bright splashes of another across their back and wings. Most, except one, whose wings were actually very small, were overlarge, spindly, and stuck out ridiculously. Their eyes were too big for their heads. They all looked proud to have their Chosen’s blood on their cheeks, but rather than fierce, they looked juvenile, especially next to the huge, older dragon. Altogether, they seemed to Ignius to be a rather odd-looking assortment. Ignius didn’t look like that as well, did they? Next to the hatchlings, the largest dragon was massive, stern, and commanded respect. Ignius asked, “Who are they?” “The Head of the Council of Dragons and their Chosen,” Kathely said. “You are of their line, Ignius. They are the Head of Lockden as well as the Head of the Council.” That made Ignius feel slightly better. They would grow up to look like that, eventually. “And their Chosen?” “My father,” Kathely said, sounding proud. Kathely’s father: Asarius of Aera. Ignius ed this from Kathely’s stories and all the times that Kathely tried to teach them the Aera family line while they were still waiting in the shell. That made the large dragon Pygnia Lockden, Ignius’s oldest aunt. The line of Lockden was powerful then. Kathely had never mentioned their own place in the hierarchy of dragons when explaining the dragon lines. Kathely wiped the leftover gore from Ignius’s face carefully, making sure not to wipe off their blood marks. The Head of the Council raised their head and emitted a deep roar before speaking. “Go now to your respective Houses,” Pygnia Lockden said. “You are now bonded formally, here and forever.”

“Bond” was also a word that Ignius didn’t have a concept for before now but was beginning to understand. They couldn’t imagine anything being more important than Kathely. To be separated from them would be unbearable. Ignius realized—as they looked at Kathely next to them—if Kathely did not exist, neither would they. “Let’s go, Ignius,” Kathely said. “I have waited seven years for you to grow enough to be hatched. I want to introduce you to my mother.” It was all out there, waiting for them. All Ignius had to do was take that step. Ignius followed Kathely into an ever-expanding world.

Chapter One

Ignius pumped their wings hard, a deep ache beginning to settle into their shoulders and run down the length of their back. This final test was important, however, and they couldn’t let themself or their Chosen down. If they wanted to Far Patrol, they had to finish in good time. It was just one more lap, and then they would collapse and have a nice soak in the hot springs under Lockden tower. “Come on, Ignius,” Kathely said, their voice nearly getting whipped away by the wind. “Don’t stop now. We can beat Hexara.” Up ahead of them, Hexara, line of Normont, flashed their massive green-onwhite wings, using the fan-like webbing on either side of their tail to make a sharp turn. It wasn’t exactly fair, as far as Ignius was concerned. Dragons of Normont had a ten-foot advantage in wingspan, and the tail webbing made them more agile than Lockden dragons. He couldn’t spare the breath to tell Kathely this at the moment, so they renewed their steady wingbeats. Below them, the great dragoncity of Azenath was sprawled out across the plains. From this height, Ignius could pick out all the dragontowers of the noble lines of Azenath, reaching up into the heavens with their spires of solid rock and iron. Clustered around them were the smaller, but no less magnificent towers of the midclass. On the west side was the train yard, with gleaming steam-powered engines, and in the south the merchant yards with goods ready to ship out to the southern quadrant. The clocktower in the centre of the dragontowers tolled the hour, sending up a billow of steam at the same time. “We’re almost done,” Kathely called from their back. “Not long now. And look, Hexara is slowing!” Ignius tore their eyes from the city below and looked ahead. Hexara, who had

only a moment before been beating their wings at a good, steady clip was lagging suddenly. All at once, Ignius breezed past them at a considerable speed. As satisfying as it was to beat a Normont dragon, Ignius couldn’t help but feel a prickle of worry. They shouldn’t be able to beat a Normont dragon at a test of endurance. Up ahead, the gate indicating the finish line came into sight. Just beyond it was a dragontower that Ignius could land on and finally rest. Somewhere above on a higher tower, the judges watched silently. Ignius was first through the gate, reaching out with all four clawed feet to make a landing. There were clawholds all over the vertical length of the tower for that purpose. This one was large enough and sturdy enough to land multiple heavyclass dragons. Their shoulders protested, and they forced themself to climb to the next ledge to rest. They heaved in one deep breath after another, curls of smoke emerging as the depth of their breathing reached that place where fire came from. A second later, another dragon landed. They were breathing hard enough that licks of flame were starting to spill up over their jaws, and they trembled as they stayed on the landing area for longer than was advisable with even more dragons coming in to land. “You made it,” Ignius said as Gwena Myrmont stuck their violet-and-goldstreaked head over the edge of the landing platform. “Only just,” Gwena said, dragging themself up and over the edge. “And I think that poor Mahalir dropped out in the last third of the distance. Managed the landing, though, so there is that.” “Did you Hexara?” asked Ignius. “Looked like they were failing.” “Mmm,” Gwena nodded. “Didn’t look too well to me.” “I’m going to go take a look,” Ignius said. “Kathely, don’t take the riding straps off yet.” “Right,” Kathely called from where they were stretching their legs after the long flight. They clambored on Ignius’s back and scrambled up to the riding seat at

the base of Ignius’s neck. Ignius climbed up and over the edge and made their way up the dragontower, ascending until they were high enough up that they could see the rest of the dragons coming in. Their cousin Cassius was just landing, and behind them, a cluster of mids. Where was Hexara? They launched themself backwards off the dragontower and into the air, flying up higher. “Can you see them?” asked Ignius anxiously. “You’ve got a glass, don’t you?” “Hold on, yes I do,” Kathely said. Ignius knew their Chosen had a glass, of course. It had been given to Kathely by their father for their nineteenth birthday in preparation for their chosen path. “They’re lagging!” Kathely shouted suddenly. “At this rate, they’re going to hit the ground if no one assists!” “Well, we must assist,” Ignius said. “Of course we must,” Kathely said. “Get Gwena. They’re probably most recovered of the lot.” They dropped swiftly and called out to the tower, “Hexara requires assistance!” As predicted, Gwena launched from the tower a moment later, although their Chosen, Varaly, had already unstrapped. The two of them made all possible speed back out toward Hexara, who was indeed failing in staying aloft. “Come on, we’ve practiced this,” Kathely called. “Get under their shoulder!” Hexara snapped at them as they came close, and Ignius yelled, “Chimena, you must not allow Hex to hurt us if they want assistance!” “I don’t need assistance!” Hexara snarled angrily, smoke billowing up out of their nostrils.

“Please, Hex, just let them,” Chimena pleaded from their back. “You’ve pulled your wing t!” Hexara roared angrily, but drifted on a thermal long enough that both Ignius and Gwena could get underneath them. Hexara’s weight made it much harder to fly, and Ignius’s shoulders were on fire with flying so soon after completing the endurance test. It wasn’t far, though, and up ahead the dragontower and the finish came into view. “Can you land on the tower?” Kathely called down to Chimena. “Yes,” Hexara huffed back. “Are you sure?” asked Gwena. “We could land you in the Fields.” The Fields weren’t really fields, not like the ones on the Merhen Steppe where farmers grew their crops. It was a place with soft ground where a dragon that couldn’t land on a dragontower came in. Usually, that meant they were sick or injured. Other times, it meant that they were simply too exhausted to land on the towers. It happened sometimes, if a runner from one of the outposts flew for too long. The Fields always had a doctor or two on hand for whatever reason they were needed. “No!” hissed Hexara, and so they all flew back to the dragontower. Hexara landed heavily, although they managed it. They limped slightly as they climbed up to the ledge where all the rest of the dragons were unstrapping. Chimena immediately sent a runner for a doctor, although Hexara protested that they didn’t need one. Now that they weren’t flying, Ignius saw the t in question, swollen and inflamed. It was a nasty pull, although how they had managed to hurt themself so badly was a mystery. “I told you not to show off,” Chimena onished Hex as she applied a warm compress to Hex’s shoulders in the meantime. “It’s an easy maneuver,” Hex replied sulkily. “This wasn’t a place for maneuvers,” Chimena said. “I was worried we were going to fall!”

“Sorry,” grumbled Hex with bad grace. So it had probably been the tight turn. Ignius couldn’t do the tight turn, but Mahalir’s Ayrtor line shared the tail webbing of the Normonts. Mahalir said that as long as they didn’t try to make the move too fancy, it should be fine. It was overextending that pulled wing ts. So Hexara had been trying to show off for everyone behind them to make their move look flashy and hurt themself in the process. Ignius kept the snort of derision to themself. They would never make Kathely so worried. Also, they had come in first. Lockden dragons weren’t known for their endurance, and the fact that their cousin Cassius had come in just ahead of the mids spoke to that fact. “Come on, let’s get back to Lockden tower,” Kathely said, coming around. Ignius dipped their head, and Kathely stroked their snout. Humans radiated warmth, and it was nice on the thin scales around their nose. They purred, and Kathely laughed. “Come on, dear creature. We have much to celebrate!” “Indeed,” Gwena said from behind them. “First place! Not bad for a red.” “Purple wyrm,” Ignius snorted in return. “I beat you, second-place snake.” “Yes, yes, you’re both very enduring, both on wing and in snark,” Cassius said. “Come then, let’s get back to Lockden, and we can have a nice long soak and forget all this happened.” As they all made their way to the city centre, the clock tolled its hour again. “You know, if we make Far Patrol, we’ll have to worry about it every day,” Ignius felt they needed to point out. “I won’t make Far Patrol,” Cassius said. “You know my mother wants me to be on the council anyway. They want me to replace them one day.” Cassius’s mother was Pygnia Lockden. Ignius hadn’t really been as much under Pygnia’s influence as Cassius, although Pygnia was the Head of Lockden. Their

own mother, Sendia, was the third daughter of the now-deceased Maurius Lockden, the previous head. Kathely knew Pygnia slightly better, because the Chosen of Pygnia was their father, Asarius, and Kathely’s mother was the Chosen of Mara Myrmont, sister of Pygnia’s mate, Lyenne. It all became a bit complicated when one took into relationships between mates, sires or dames, brothers and sisters, and all of their Chosen, mostly of the Aera line of Kathely’s family. Dragon families worked the exact opposite way of human families, as far as Ignius could tell. They would probably soon be of an age to want a mate, although it would be a while before anyone was chosen for them. Ignius was now twelve years out of the egg after spending seven years growing and developing in the shell. Kathely was nineteen now and of an age where they could technically choose a mate. Ignius secretly hoped that wouldn’t happen for a while. They liked having their Chosen to themself. Sendia Lockden, Ignius’s mother, had been on Far Patrol when they had been a young dragon and not aged past their prime. For a dragon, their prime could be anywhere from age thirty to fifty years. Sendia had been rather encouraging when Ignius had told them Ignius’s plan to try out. Far Patrol was hard on the body, and dragons who were on Far Patrol aged out much more quickly than dragons that were in the Azenath Aerial Legion. Sendia, for example, had aged out when they turned forty-four and their Chosen, Kalia, was fifty-two. But that didn’t matter to Ignius. Being a Far Patrol dragon was a chance at actually being useful to Orland and also a chance at adventure and prestige. Young noble-line dragons could try out for the Azenath Aerial Legion, Far Patrol, or become scholars. Other than that, they seemed to laze about their home tower doing nothing except be idle. Ignius wanted more than that, but they had to prove themself worthy first. “But if you were on Far Patrol, you would be back sooner, and then you could be on the council after that,” Ignius argued. “You know, Pygnia is not so old that they’ll think of retiring anytime in the next sixty years or so.” It seemed weird to Ignius that Pygnia insisted on their daughter being at home by their side so often. Azenath wasn’t dangerous, really. Anyway, Cassius could be

a politician when they were done with what Pygnia called “youthful frivolity.” “You would think so,” Cassius said dryly. “But they haven’t let up on telling me how foolish I am to risk myself, not when I could end up in the north. As if I would end up in the north with my endurance!” Ignius shrugged their wings in response. The north was cold, and there were fewer thermals to give a dragon a chance to rest their wings. Cassius, having come last out of everyone, would certainly not be heading north. Ignius, on the other hand… They squashed that idea as soon as it popped up. Better not to check the egg before it hatched. They soon found their way back to Lockden tower and, after they landed, made their way on foot down to the caverns underneath. Kathely, Varaly, and Cassius’s Chosen, Pharyn, followed them down at a much slower pace. Of course, they had to deal with the riding straps and find their way back either via steam trolley or one of the lower-class runners. They would all meet at the underground caverns. That’s where the hot springs were, and as the three dragons made their way vertically down the hollow centre of the Lockden tower, the warm heat of steam drifted up to them. “This will be nice,” Gwena sighed happily. The hot springs weren’t natural of course. The steam age had brought dragons many new technologies, including a way to heat both the water of the hot springs and the Birthing Chambers where eggs were kept. Ignius was, of course, too big to fit in the Birthing Chamber now, but the lower-class dragons were small enough to scamper around the smaller ageways in order to do their jobs relatively unseen. Ignius dropped in first, followed by Gwena and Cassius. Ignius rumbled as they settled in, twining around both Gwena and Cassius for added warmth and comfort. There were a few older dragons also using the springs, but farther off. It wasn’t long before a lower-class runner dropped off their riders. Now they could relax. The water, nearly at the boiling point for the dragons, was less blistering in the smaller pools that the three humans enjoyed. Ignius rested their head along Gwena’s back, avoiding the spikes along their ridged spine. They would worry

about the results of the tests tomorrow. The tests had been difficult to the last. The test of endurance was last, but no less difficult than the previous ones. “Do you think Mahalir did well on the geography test?” asked Ignius. “Of course they did,” Gwena replied with a yawn. “They’re more of a scholar than the rest of us. I’m actually surprised they even tried out for Far Patrol.” “Maybe it’s so they could show off Johim’s navigating ability,” Varaly called from the smaller pool. “You know this test was testing your Chosen’s abilities and not just yours, right?” It was hard to when Ignius had been doing the flying, but Kathely had been doing the navigating for them. Navigating was hard, and Kathely had completed a math test and a written navigation test as well. Kathely had done well in their navigating during the endurance test. Ignius was sure that they’d hit all their marks along the way with precision. “Kathely did a great job navigating,” Ignius commented. “So did Varaly,” Gwena input. “Yes, yes, my dear, we were both very good,” Kathely replied with some amusement. “At least I probably did well on the written and oral exams,” said Cassius with some reluctance. “Of course you did,” said Ignius, but they weren’t entirely sure about that. To be honest, even if Cassius wanted adventure, they were truly more suited to the life of a politician. If Cassius and Pharyn were to try out for Junior Council, they would with flying colours. And, that would make Pygnia happy as well. Those who entered the Junior Council most often became of the Council of Azenath later in life—the ruling body of Orland. It was always made up of of the noble houses.

But really, everyone wanted to be on Far Patrol. It was adventure and fame and glory rolled into one thing. Even if the borders of Orland had been secure for the past hundred years, it was due to the dragons of Far Patrol that they had remained so. Everyone Ignius knew and more had tried out. However, out of all the upper-class dragons that had tried out, only four of them would be chosen for Far Patrol, one for each quadrant. There would be no more tryouts for at least four years, maybe even ten, depending on how many dragons were nearing retirement age. Just four—and Ignius intended to be one of them.

*

The next morning, Ignius and Kathely set out to find out the results of their tests. Of the many tests, the endurance test had been the most important and the most difficult. The fact that Ignius had come in first made them hopeful, but they didn’t dare dream too hard in case their plans were dashed. Kathely didn’t seem at all nervous to them, but then again, Ignius was more prone to needless worrying—something they were willing to it only in their own head. Their shoulders still ached terribly, but after a few wingbeats, the soreness faded a little into a background annoyance. It was farther than any distance they had ever flown before in one go, and the fact they’d made it was something to be said. Poor Malahir probably wasn’t going to make it. Cassius and Gwena were already there waiting and looked up expectantly as Ignius landed on the dragontower and then made their way over. Kathely jumped off their back to stand near Varaly and Pharyn, both in their riding leathers with their family crest stamped on the back. “Do you think Mahalir will come?” Gwena asked, turning their head. “You know it’s not polite to talk about others while they’re not here,” Varaly

onished her Chosen. “Well, do you?” Cassius asked. “I think they’ll be here, and Johim too. They won’t have made it, but they will at least show up to hear it said to their faces.” “They’re an Ayrtor, so they should have made it,” Ignius pointed out sadly. “Yes, well yesterday didn’t at all turn out like it should have, did it?” Pharyn asked. “A Lockden came first, which hasn’t happened in over sixty years, a Normont came dead last, the Ayrtor didn’t finish, and twice as many middlings tried out as last year!” “Yes, well you know it’s because of their wings,” Gwena put in. “You oughtn’t say something like that about one of our friends, Gwena,” Varaly said fretfully. “It’s not Mahalir’s fault they were born with stunted wings.” “Well, you know why,” Pharyn said, rolling his eyes. “It’s no big secret, Varaly.” He smelled of musky, masculine self-importance as he said this, and Ignius sighed, but didn’t say anything. Pharyn might say anything he liked, with Cassius being the dragon they were. Cassius was destined for an ascendant position, and their mother would assure it. But Mahalir was of a second strain Ayrtor line which had interbred two Ayrtor dragons. No one would say anything to their face, as it wasn’t polite, but bad blood showed itself even three generations later. Of course, that wasn’t Mahalir’s fault, but it had caused stunted wing growth, making Mahalir unsuited to many occupations. It wasn’t as bad as Mahalir’s grandmother, who had been born without wings at all and eventually grown too infirm and fallen off a tower without a way to catch themself. Some even said they threw themself off on purpose, which was too horrible to contemplate. It was still impolite for Pharyn to have said it so openly, and with a bunch of mids close by. The mids were clustered at the other end of the platform chattering excitedly. Pharyn was right in that respect—there were rather a lot of middling class dragons trying out. They were allowed, of course, but were mostly only used as runners.

Ignius knew a lot of middling families liked to put their daughters to Far Patrol, and that such a career was often ed down in their families. However, Ignius hadn’t much talked to middling dragons at all, let alone their human companions —if they even had one. Speaking of the mids, a group of them were coming closer, as if they meant to talk to the upper-class dragons present. The impertinence made Ignius cringe in second-hand embarrassment, but there wasn’t much to be done except wait to find out what they wanted. “You’re the Locky that made it first,” said the dragon who seemed to be leading the group. “I…” Ignius said, not sure what to say to that, or whether they should even reply to such an informal mode of address in the first place. “This is Ignius, line of Lockden, Chosen of Kathely of Aera,” Gwena said promptly, correcting them. “I am Jack Matterly, and this is my companion, Pip,” Jack Matterly said, very cockily in Ignius’s opinion, head tilting to the side. “So you are the one that came first. Where’s the big whitey that went down? Not coming?” “I daresay that I haven’t any knowledge of the matter,” Ignius said, very taken aback. One of the other mids nudged Matterly out of the way and said, “I beg your pardon for them. They’re not used to talking to polite society.” They drew themself up and continued, “My name is Mirien of Cottonfeld, and my Chosen, Lexia of Burney. Some people have no shame at all.” Oddly, Mirien Cottonfeld seemed to be placing themself in the same social category as Ignius and their group, which made even less sense than what Jack Matterly had been saying. “You know how the nouveau riche like to give themselves airs,” Mirien Cottonfeld continued. All at once, there was a shadow overhead, and it looked as if Mahalir was coming in to land. Ignius was glad they were coming, after all, as they could still

save some face even after not finishing. “Oh, there is Mahalir,” Gwena said unnecessarily. “There shan’t be room on the platform.” There was plenty of room, but even if Mirien wasn’t inclined to move, Jack bustled them out of the way. To Ignius’s consternation, they could hear Jack saying, “Come on, Miri, clearly they don’t want to talk to us.” “Speaking of airs,” Cassius said, snorting hard enough that flames danced around their nostrils. “Did you hear them talk about their companion as ‘chosen,’ as if they were true Chosen? I daresay the lot of them simply wanted validation for their impertinent manner.” “What’s this about impertinence?” asked Mahalir, climbing over the edge of the platform. “Nothing, Mahalir, just be glad you escaped it,” Gwena said. Kathely, who had been listening to the conversation, said, “What if they were Chosen?” “Don’t be silly, Kath,” Pharyn said. “Of course they weren’t real Chosen.” “Well, why couldn’t they be?” asked Kathely. “What makes us different?” “What makes us different?” laughed Varaly. “You have to ask?” But no matter how Kathely asked, no one could give them a satisfactory answer. Ignius themself was stumped as to how to answer, as they suspected everyone else was. The upper class was simply bigger than all the other dragon classes, as far as they could tell. At one point in the past, they had told the lower class they were the descendants of the Creator, and that’s why they were bigger, but they knew that wasn’t true anymore. As far as Ignius could tell, there wasn’t a difference at all, just self-importance. But they were young, so maybe it made sense to the older dragons. Maybe they would ask Sendia later. “Oh, here come the examiners,” Varaly said, pointing at the sky where three

dragons were coming into land. Ignius didn’t recognize any of them, although one was of the Lockden line. The other two were Normont and Ayrtor, the two lines that usually did well in the tests. The fact that both Normont and Ayrtor had done poorly in the endurance test was probably what was making the latter two so somber. The Lockden dragon, however, only looked smugly satisfied, which gave Ignius hope—if not for themself, at least for Cassius, who was unhappy with Pygnia’s overbearing manner. The Lockden dragon opened by saying, “You are the happy few that have made it this far and shown your mettle in the very last test. You ed the first three exams and have proven yourselves worthy of standing in front of us today.” “Far Patrol is not for the faint of heart and is as rigorous as any a test you might take in the future. It requires not just wisdom, strength, and toughness; it requires the willpower to see it through. We are the ones that keep our borders safe, and we will not allow any threat to reach into our kingdom. “And it is with the greatest honour that I will announce the four dragons and their chosen companions who will our ranks today.” This was it. “On behalf of Merwyn of Kareth and Charys of Korra, Commanders of the Northern Watchtower, I welcome to the fold Ignius Lockden and Kathely of Aera.” There was a polite clicking of talons and clapping of hands, but Ignius barely even heard the rest of the names or the speech that followed. They had been named first, meaning they were top pick. There was an expanding feeling inside them, as if the fire inside was roaring to life. They had made it, and all their hard months of work had paid off. “Congratulations,” the dragons of the Far Patrol chorused. The Lockden dragon added, “Your orders will be sent to you by the seventh evening bell.” As it turned out, Hexara had been picked second, in spite of their failure at the very end. However, Mahalir couldn’t have been picked, not when they fell out of the endurance test so far before the finish. Far Patrol meant one had to fly long

distances at a time, over one hundred kilometers in some places that required flight over water bodies. Gwena had also made it, and they gave their friend a congratulatory head nudge. Jack Matterly, one of the mids, had also made it. Cassius had not and seemed to be in a black mood because of it. Not that they could be blamed when Gwena and Ignius were going on such a grand adventure, and Cassius would be stuck at home dictating letters and arguing politics with quarrelsome Normonts and Rancoves. Later, Ignius and Gwena met up to congratulate each other privately, not really wanting to rub it in their friends’ faces that they had succeeded. They met at Lockden tower, where Ignius and Kathely kept their own quarters. They were spacious, as befitted a dragon of the primary Lockden line, although Ignius couldn’t say they were especially fond of the somber architecture with its high, vaulted ceilings and excess of arched windows and odd columns. They knew the columns were necessary , but it made the mood slightly more solemn. At least there was a fireplace and heated floors, which were pleasant on sore muscles. “I’m for the east,” Gwena said. “I hear it’s damp in winter, but damnably hot in summer.” “I’ve heard the north is always cold,” Ignius said. “I’d better get new clothes then,” Kathely said, from where they and Varaly were sharing drinks by the fire. “All mine are meant for light summer riding.” “You’ll get them, no doubt,” Ignius said. “Your father was pleased.” “I couldn’t tell,” Kathely said glumly. “He always expects something of me, and I’m never quite sure what it is, just that I’m not doing a good enough job at it.” “He smelled pleased,” Ignius said. “You’re not just saying that, are you?” Kathely asked. “I’m nervous enough to read our orders, never mind meeting the commander, without my father’s disapproval.” “You know he can’t expect us on the council, not with Cassius there already,”

Ignius said. “Anyway, Pharyn is more suited to deskwork than us.” “I can’t believe that Cassius didn’t make it, and Hexara did,” sniffed Gwena. “You know they did badly in the endurance test.” “They could have been first,” Ignius said, knowing they never would have outpaced the famous Normont wingspan except for the injury. “Well, if they hadn’t been trying to show off their damnable fancy wingwork, they wouldn’t have wrenched the t to begin with,” Varaly said. “Their vanity got in the way of the test, which isn’t a good reflection on their character.” “That isn’t fair. The interviews we took earlier should have given an ing of Hexara’s character, more so than the physical test. And Chimena’s,” Ignius said. “They never said they would confine our assessments of character to just the one test,” Kathely said. “But I think we did well in all of them, which is what we should focus on. The math exam was the hardest part for me.” “If that’s the case, then maybe we did well for going back to help Hexara and Chimena,” Varaly pointed out. “I mean, they were watching the whole thing, and knew that someone helped them land. Does that not speak for our character?” “Hexara goes to the south, at least,” Gwena said. “Easier flying, or so I’ve heard. Southern thermals are apparently great for staying aloft longer.” “I guess we’ll find out soon,” Kathely said. “Winter flying sounds tough.” “It’s all hearsay and speculation till then, I suppose,” Ignius said. Their little party broke up soon after when a runner showed up to inform Ignius that a message had arrived from the Far Patrol headquarters in Azenath. Gwena and Varaly decided that the orders must have been sent out, and theirs were waiting at home at Myrmont tower. They had taken their leave of Ignius and Kathely and quitted Lockden tower in favour of home. Ignius and Kathely made their way to the main hall, Ignius up the centre hub and Kathely aboard one of the runners.

Sendia was waiting in the centre hall for them, as were Kathely’s parents. The orders had been written by human hands, and so Kathely took them from the runner and broke the seal so they could read the document aloud. “On this 12th day of May, 1797, this directive is for the eyes of Ignius, line of Lockden, and Kathely of Aera, hereafter referred to as patrol recruits. Our orders are thus: The patrol recruits shall report to Merwyn of Kareth and Charys of Korra, Commanders of the Northern Watchtower no later than the seventh evening bell on the 16th of May, 1797. The patrol recruits shall come fully equipped with all required material (list enclosed) and will arrive both in good health and spirits under their own power. Signed, Merwyn of Kareth and Charys of Korra, Commanders.” “That does not leave us much time to spare,” Ignius said. “It’s a three-day flight to the North Watchtower and across the Faar Range too.” “We’d best get you outfitted immediately,” Sendia said. “Although it was so in my day as well. I was assigned to the west when I was on Far Patrol.” “So, we can only take one day to find all necessary equipment?” asked Kathely, rereading the message and running a finger down the list that they hadn’t read out loud. “If we leave very early the day after next, we can make it to Tracks,” Ignius said. “It’s still in fairly warm territory too. At least we’re not doing this in winter!” “Yet,” Kathely pointed out and folded the letter. Well, they had their orders, and it looked like they were going to find themselves in a completely different part of the country in just a few days. It was all enormously exciting, and although neither Ignius or Kathely had been so far north before, they still longed for it. The next day was a flurry of activity around Lockden tower, but Sendia had insisted that neither of them would leave the tower at all that day, that they needed to rest as much as possible. Instead, they had sent away for all manner of midclass merchants and tradespeople, who came to the tower one after another. Ignius was fitted with an entirely brand-new flying harness, and a second one commissioned to be made and sent later on. Kathely got their new riding

leathers, and it was gratifying to see the Aera coat of arms shining so brightly in dyed leather on the back, where their old one had become rather faded. Apart from that, all matter of cold weather gear had been acquired in a hurry. Sub-zero sleeping gear, including a vast tarp meant to be slung overtop of Ignius in case of extreme weather such as snow, wind, or freezing rain were wrapped up and packed into bundles. At last it was time. It was early enough that there was still a little chill to the air, and a mild summer sunrise was starting to blossom out in lilac and cornflower blue. Sendia had woken to see them off, as well as Asarius and Kessendrie, Kathely’s parents. To Ignius’s amazement, Pygnia Lockden and Mara Myrmont, Kathely’s parents’ Chosen were also awake. The four dragons took off from Lockden tower, and flew northward in a diamond pattern formation. As they came upon the edge of the city of Azenath, the three dragons fell away, dipping their wings in farewell, before turning back. Ignius and Kathely were alone, for the first time in their lives, flying north.

Chapter Two

Ignius’s wings had never felt worse in their life. Not even the dreaded tryouts for Far Patrol could come close to inducing the same bone-deep weariness Ignius felt right in this moment. Another gust of frigid air blew stinging, frozen particles in their face, and Ignius blinked it away. They thought they had been prepared for the challenge of flying over—or rather through—the Faar Range, but nothing could have prepared them for mountain weather. “My wings feel like lead,” they reported back to Kathely. “The map says we’re almost there,” Kathely yelled in response, the strong northern wind almost tearing their words away. “You had better be right,” Ignius griped. “I won’t be able to fly much longer.” “I promise we’re nearly there,” Kathely repeated. Kathely was right to sound worried. Ignius hardly ever complained about being tired or in pain. They hated to appear weak or unable to cope with difficulty in front of others. So if they ever had any complaint, it had to be far worse than they were letting on. As for Ignius, they would have been happy to take an extra day, maybe even two, to get to the Northern Watchtower. However, the orders had said three days’ time, and it really meant three days. Far Patrol was not known for leniency. So in spite of sore wing ts and aching muscles, Ignius pressed on at the same speed, maintaining their pacing. There would be no excuse if they were late. Ignius now fully appreciated why only the strongest flyers could take the northern quadrant for Far Patrol. They had foolishly assumed it was because the area was remote, and the islands in the North Sea were farther apart. While that might have played some part in the reasoning, Ignius had never experienced flying in cold, damp air with gusting wind that had blown them off course more

than once. They had once come to rely a lot on the warm thermals of Azenath, which helped them rise and soar higher and farther. The cold air seemed to weigh them down, and getting back on course took even more effort. Simply put, it was exhausting, and Ignius hadn’t ever had to deal with any of these problems before. “What time do you think we’ll get in?” Ignius asked over their shoulder. “We’ll make it there on time—barely,” Kathely reported back. Ignius didn’t have a chance to ask how long it would take, because at that moment, they rounded the edge of one of the mountains, and there it was in front of them: the great Watchtower of the North, guarding the northern border against invaders. It was huge against the horizon, sending iron and stone pinnacles into the heavens. There were no entrances on foot—only a dragon could reach the dragontowers. The fortress was still at least twenty strokes away, but at last their destination was in sight. “It’s amazing!” Kathely yelled. It was. Even knowing the history behind the enormous structure and having seen drawings and paintings of it could not prepare them for the sight. The fortress looked solid, powerful, almost as if it were a mountain itself. Immovable and impenetrable, the stronghold loomed ever closer in front of them. The fortress dwarfed all the towers of Azenath, and as they flew closer, the circling fliers that Ignius had assumed to be birds were revealed to be dragons. Several of them peeled off at their approach and came winging towards them. Ignius felt sluggish and slow compared to the dragons who were literally flying circles around them. One of the dragons came to hover in front of them, so Ignius hovered as well, muscles screaming in protest at the change in flight pattern. Ignius waited, looking over the dragons around them. A large piece of cloth along the sides of the leader revealed them to be the sergeant of a patrol. “State your name and intention,” they said.

“I’m Ignius, line of Lockden, and my rider is Kathely of Aera,” Ignius said, trying not to sound as tired as they felt. “The commanders expect our arrival.” “Oh, you’re the greenies from the capital,” the sergeant replied. “I’m Danek Lynmor, Sergeant of Patrol Six. You follow me, and I’ll take you where you’re supposed to be. Corporal, you’re in charge.” The rest of the dragons and their riders fell away and continued their path around the fortress. Ignius limped after Danek, hardly even noticing where they were going. Danek took them to one of the smaller dragontowers and landed. Ignius followed suit and hissed in surprise at the sudden cold. They could feel it in their claws and toe ts. “Come on,” Kathely reminded them. Ignius struggled up the dragontower behind Danek and crawled inside after them. Danek was a northern dragon—if the name hadn’t given them away, their colouring would have. Danek was such a dark shade of blue they were almost black, streaked with swaths of ashy grey. Azenath dragons came in bright, jewel tones. “I’m taking you round the short way instead of through the main entrance,” Danek said. “One of my runners will tell the commander you’ve arrived, and you can see them in the morning.” “Not tonight?” Kathely demanded. “Of course not!” laughed Danek. “We weren’t even sure that you’d arrive by tonight. Some don’t. So good on you two; we were wondering if you’d make it.” “We made it?” Ignius asked, and some of their exhaustion leaked through. “Yes, you did,” replied Danek. “Barely, but you did. Now, here’s what I brought you this way for—hot springs!” Ignius soaked for two hours before they could come out and feel like a real dragon again. Kathely had put some poultices on their wing ts and shoulders to relieve the pain from the most unreal and arduous flight of their life.

“You do realize we’re going to have to go out and fly again tomorrow, right?” Kathely asked. Ignius groaned. “Why did we think this was a good idea?” “We’ll get used to it,” Kathely said with a laugh. “Not to worry, dear one.” “Speak for yourself,” Ignius griped. “My wings might fall off.” After the soak and treatment, Ignius’s wings did feel a lot better, and the two of them went over their gear. It had all seemed so impressive when it was brand new, but they had put it to good use on the way to the fortress. Kathely gave their riding leathers to one of the servants to clean, and Ignius handed over their harness to one of the lower-class dragons to mend and polish. One of the straps had already broken when Ignius caught it on a rock while landing. The pair of them were in rough shape. But they had made it. Ignius tried to keep that fixed in their mind as they prepared their bed for the night. The worst had to be over at this point. They could only hope Commander Merwyn and Commander Charys would be pleased with their progress.

*

Commander Merwyn Kareth surveyed them with a critical eye as their rider, Charys of Korra, walked around them, hands clasped behind her back. “So I’ve heard you flew in within the given timeframe,” Charys said. “That is an acceptable time.” “Yes, Commander,” they replied in unison, Ignius pitching their voice low so that it didn’t echo in the granite hall. The commander’s line was also a northern breed, like Danek’s. The Kareth line had thick, armour-like scales with a dull grey-and-white colouring. Although it looked ugly, they would be impossible to see against a backdrop of snow.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a Lockden dragon in the north,” Commander Merwyn continued. “Your kind are typically fighting dragons.” That was true, Ignius had many older cousins serving in the Aerial Legion back in Azenath. Lockden dragons had an extra-large lung capacity, which allowed them to breathe fire almost twice as long as any other breed. “We’ll have to have a demonstration later,” Charys said, with a flat smile. “As you wish, Commander,” Ignius said, and dipped their head. The commander shifted their tail, which had a club-like bone defence on the end. The sound of it rang against the stone, and it echoed through the hall. “We will see you again, Ignius Lockden and Kathely of Aera,” said Commander Merwyn. “Give a report on how your flight to the Watchtower went with my deputy, Markus Lynmor.” “You’re dismissed,” Charys added. After they left, Kathely whispered, “Did they seem…cold to you?” Ignius nodded. “As cold as the northern wind.” Hunting down Markus Lynmor was like chasing a windhawk. Every time they asked someone if they knew where they were, by the time they arrived, Markus had already rushed off elsewhere. When they finally found them, Markus was frantically going through lists and lists of something or other. When Kathely explained their purpose, Markus shifted their wings in exasperation. “Why is everything my job?” they asked in frustration. “Never mind. Go.” Between them, Ignius and Kathely explained their flight as best they could , but not only was Markus distracted, they didn’t even write anything down. Not only that, they had barely finished when Markus hurriedly dismissed them. Then, to their surprise, Markus rushed off, leaving them behind in stunned silence.

“I’m a bit worried no one will take our report seriously,” Kathely said. “They probably won’t,” Ignius replied morosely. “After all, we are just greenies.” “You’re right,” Kathely replied. “But what if it’s important?” Their reception at the city of Tracks had been less than welcoming. At first, Ignius had thought it was because of how isolated they were, and how few outsiders they saw. However, Jack Matterly had flown in the following morning and been much more warmly greeted. “They almost seemed hostile to me,” Kathely had remarked. They had both agreed at the time that they should put it in their report to on, but their report had hardly even been listened to. “Maybe it was just us overreacting,” Ignius suggested as they made their way back to their quarters. “I don’t think so,” Kathely said grimly. They had only just arrived in the north and they already missed their friends, especially Gwena. They even missed Cassius, as insufferable as they could be at times. Ignius tried to fortify their mind against such thoughts. They were a grown dragon now. They couldn’t be acting like a homesick dragonette. “Don’t be silly,” Kathely said. “We’ll write Gwena and Varaly and ask them how they’re doing.” “Hardly anything has happened yet,” Ignius protested. That was, of course, not entirely true, but Ignius couldn’t stand the thought of writing a letter only the day after they had arrived. It just seemed so juvenile to need reassurance so early on in the journey. Kathely sighed, but accepted Ignius’s reluctance without a struggle. They got to their feet and stretched. “Come on,” they said. “We can’t just stay in here all day. Let’s go see if we can

meet some others from Far Patrol.” Kathely was determined, and Ignius wasn’t inclined to argue with them. They lead the way back out of the living quarters to try and find others. The halls and gathering areas were strangely deserted, with only a few of the lower class scurrying underfoot, carrying out their duties. No one was in the hot springs, or in the great dining hall, or even in the library. They did see Commander Merwyn once, but Ignius decided they would rather stay out of the commander’s way. Questioning them about the whereabouts of all the others on Far Patrol was out of the question. “At least we’re exploring the fortress,” Kathely said optimistically. “Only a bit,” Ignius replied. The fortress was far too massive to explore in one afternoon. If anything, they had explored the Far Patrol wing. There were Aerial Legion dragons quartered elsewhere in the fortress, and all matter of other dragons and riders as well. There were even small hallways meant for lower-class dragons, unobtrusive and unmarked. The only reason they hadn’t become hopelessly lost was that hallways were marked at intervals with different colour banners. Far Patrol was blue, the Aerial Legion was red, and the Command centre in purple. As long as they stayed in hallways with blue banners, they were relatively safe. They couldn’t find a single Far Patrol dragon, and eventually they grew desperate enough to stop a servant and ask. “The others are all out on patrol,” the servant said irritably. “There isn’t any time for leisure here. Although, there is one other new Far Patrol dragon team being trained. They are expected back in tonight sometime. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” “We should have just asked from the start,” Ignius said. “Hindsight vision is always clear,” Kathely sang. “Anyway, we got to explore our new headquarters without looking like lost younglings in front of everyone else.”

Ignius and Kathely spent the rest of the day reading in the main gathering room. The big, hollowed-out cavern had smooth walls and heated floors. There were ledges and dips and perches for a dragon to arrange themself any which way they liked. Ignius borrowed a biblioscope from the library so they could read. It was a metal and glass contraption which could fit over Ignius’s eyes and allow them to read a book that would normally have print too small for a dragon’s eye to distinguish. They had one made of gold and crystal at home, but it had been too breakable to bring along. The two had been happily occupied when a loud commotion roused them. To Ignius, it sounded like a sudden flurry of wings. “There must be dragon teams back from patrol,” Kathely said. “Let’s go meet them out at the entrance!” Kathely’s enthusiasm couldn’t be quenched, and so they both made their way towards the noises of dragons landing. There were two big dragons in the entrance, an Ayrtor dragon and a Kareth. Behind them was a smaller Lynmor dragon who was more Ignius’s size. To their chagrin, Ignius had yet to reach their full growth and hadn’t filled out yet. They were still sleek and slim, a fact that irked them. “What do we have here?” boomed the Kareth dragon. “Must be your green trainees,” said the Ayrtor. “I’m Ignius Lockden,” Ignius said, trying to make their voice sound deeper. “And my Chosen is Kathely of Aera.” “Vedder Kareth and Rolin of Korra,” said the first dragon. “I’m going to be training you, by the sounds of it.” “Darius of Ayrtor and Nari of Hydrae,” said the other. “And this is your fellow trainee. You’ll both be going out on training runs.” “Well, I’m for the hot springs,” Vedder said. “We’ll leave you all to get acquainted.” The two dragon teams left, and the Lynmor dragon bobbed their head shyly at

them. “Sharn Lynmor and Verin of Zera,” Sharn said quietly. “Nice to meet you?” Ignius said, uncertain of why Sharn seemed so nervous. “Yes, nice to meet you,” Sharn said quickly. “I should go get out of my gear.” They scurried off rapidly, leaving Ignius and Kathely alone in the entrance hall. “That was strange,” Ignius remarked as they made their way back to the gathering room. “What was their problem?” “No idea,” Kathely said. “Maybe they haven’t seen a Lockden dragon before.” “That’s probably it,” Ignius replied doubtfully. They still couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that Sharn didn’t like them, and for no reason that they could possibly help. They hadn’t even met Sharn before. “Should we try and talk to them again?” Ignius asked Kathely as they settled in. “Of course we should,” Kathely replied. “We can’t just give up after only one try. I mean, we could, but what would that make us?” “Maybe Sharn was just tired and needs time to recover,” Ignius said hopefully. They didn’t want to end up having their only fellow trainee dislike them. Without Gwena and the others, Ignius really had no one to talk to except Kathely. Well, Kathely was a given constant in their life. If they didn’t have Kathely, then they really would be adrift. Sharn and Verin entered the gathering room, and Sharn stopped short as they realized that Ignius was in the room already. Seeming to realize they had paused noticeably, they made their way slowly into the room, settling self-consciously a bit farther away. The distance seemed calculated, not so far away it was rude or anti-social, but not so close that it suggested friendliness. Ignius tried not to feel offended at the distance. They were in this venture together. Why did they act like they didn’t want to talk to Ignius?

“So, how is your training going?” Ignius interjected into the tense silence. They had pitched their voice to reach Sharn, and they were speaking slightly louder than they normally would in a conversation. It wasn’t quite shouting, but it was an awkward volume. “Well,” Sharn replied, looking startled. There was a short silence as Ignius waited for Sharn to explain further. When they didn’t, Ignius bristled their wings in agitation. “We just arrived from Azenath yesterday,” Kathely said. “Was the flight difficult?” asked Verin. “Just terrible,” Kathely replied with more enthusiasm. The two riders chattered back and forth for a while, but Sharn avoided Ignius’s eyes. Ignius tried to control their agitation, but their tail kept twitching. While Kathely talked, Ignius wracked their brain for anything they could have said or done to offend Sharn or any other Lynmor dragon. There was nothing. They had never been far enough north to even come near the Lynmor domain. Lynmor dragons rarely ventured to Azenath, because northern dragons often found the weather too hot to bear for long. Ignius couldn’t think of a single thing wrong with the way they had comported themself. Ignius grew tired of listening to a conversation they didn’t feel like taking part in and got up to leave. As they did, Kathely patted the side of their neck in understanding. Ignius went back to where they were quartered and tried not to sulk. They had such high hopes for their training, and they couldn’t allow this to become a setback. They were reading again when Kathely returned, and to their surprise, Kathely looked quite smug and satisfied. “What is it?” Ignius asked curiously.

“I noticed that Sharn was a bit reticent with you,” Kathely said. “I didn’t even do anything!” Ignius protested. “Well, I talked to Verin after Sharn left, which they did after you did,” Kathely continued. “Verin said that he thinks that Sharn finds you attractive.” Ignius blinked, and a curl of smoke escaped their nostril in surprise. “They what?” Ignius asked tentatively. “They like you,” Kathely said. Ignius was silent as they tried to digest this information. It hadn’t even occurred to them that attraction could be the answer. It really should have, but like Kathely said, everything was clear in hindsight. “So they were shy because they didn’t want to seem too forward, especially since they aren’t from the city,” Kathely explained further. “Oh,” Ignius said, because that made sense. “So…” Kathely prompted. “What do you think of Sharn?” “I was just hoping they would be my friend, like Gwena,” Ignius replied. “Well,” Kathely said. “Just think about it.” Ignius couldn’t stop thinking about it. Rather than elated, the thought that Sharn was having those types of feelings was making Ignius nervous. Although Ignius wasn’t even certain if Sharn only felt sexual feelings or romantic ones, it was still awkward. This situation had never come up, and they had never had to deal with it. They had never even considered that it was a possibility that might occur in the future. Somehow, they had thought it would never happen to them. That seemed like a glaring oversight now. “How am I supposed to act around them now?” Ignius asked Kathely anxiously, claws grating against the stone in agitation.

“Just act like you do normally,” Kathely suggested. The main problem was that Ignius seemed to have completely forgotten how to act like a normal dragon. They found themself avoiding Sharn in order to escape the inevitable awkwardness. “I should write Gwena,” Ignius announced. “I thought you were a grown dragon that didn’t need to write anyone,” Kathely said teasingly. “But this is an emergency!” Ignius said. “I might even write Cassius about this.” “It’s not really an emergency,” Kathely said. “Feelings happen all the time.” “Has it happened to you?” demanded Ignius. “Of course,” said Kathely. “I’m nineteen, Ignius!” “Well, why hasn’t it happened to me yet, then?” Ignius asked plaintively. “Maybe the changes are slower for you,” Kathely said. “We can ask Gwena. Maybe they will know more about it.” “Yes, good plan,” Ignius said. “When shall I bring it up? Before I tell them about our terrible flight, or after?” “Probably after,” Kathely said. They dictated the letter to Kathely but kept interrupting themself and changing what they had said. Kathely bore this with patience, and Ignius struggled through it till the end. Letters usually didn’t give them this much trouble. In fact, they wrote another letter to the Azenath Lockden family to formally inform them of their arrival and had no problems getting through it. Both letters were sent off with a servant who promised to send them with the next courier. “I hope Gwena writes soon,” Ignius said. “The letter probably hasn’t even left the fortress yet,” Kathely said. “Try to be patient, dear heart.”

“I hate being patient,” Ignius grumbled. “Well, let’s go soak our muscles in the hot springs one last time before the patrol tomorrow morning,” Kathely said, getting to their feet. Ignius followed, still worried about what they were expected to do in this situation. At least their mind was off the patrol training!

*

Ignius could still feel the tightness in their sore shoulder and back muscles the next morning as Kathely helped them into their gear. They hadn’t pulled anything, but they would probably still struggle in the beginning before they hit their stride. They were not looking forward to that. Vedder was already waiting for them in the entrance hall. Both Vedder and Rolin were relaxed and chatting. Meanwhile, Ignius’s wings were held close to their body rigidly with nerves, and even Kathely’s legs were clenched more tightly than usual. “So, this is your very first training run, eh?” Vedder said cheerfully, not seeming to notice the chilliness of the air. “Yes, sir,” Ignius replied, trying not to shiver. Ignius let out a huff of breath, and a cloud rose up in front of their nostrils. Whenever they took in a breath, their lungs prickled. Their scales, not as thick as Vedder’s, didn’t keep the cold out entirely. “So, I hope you have your map close at hand,” Vedder continued. “Yes!” Kathely said, immediately scrambling to get it out. A gust of wind nearly tore the chart from their hands, but they flattened it against Ignius’s neck.

“Today, we’re only flying out to the first outpost,” Rolin explained. “We need to get Ignius more used to flying in the northern air before we fly anywhere over the ocean.” Ignius shuddered at the thought. They had never seen the ocean, and by all s, the northern ocean was frigid and rough. It was nothing like the calm, warm ocean in the south. “I’ll be getting the weather prediction for today, so hang tight,” Vedder said. Ignius and Kathely hadn’t been waiting very long when a shadow flickered through the dense rain outside the entrance hall. There was a flutter of wings, and the green-and-brown-flecked form of Jack Matterly appeared. “I thought it was you, Locky!” Jack exclaimed in great excitement. “Mr. Matterly,” Ignius responded with a dip of their head. “That was one hell of a flight, am I right?” Jack continued. “It was?” Ignius asked, growing confused. Jack Matterly shouldn’t be allowed in this area, even if they had made Far Patrol. Mids that made Far Patrol were still only used as message couriers. There was a whole different section of the fortress for those types of dragons. As if responding to Ignius’s dismay, another dragon landed behind Jack, wings mantling in agitation. “Matterly, this isn’t the area I told you to land in,” Danek Lynmor said. “Well, I thought I might take a detour, seeing as I know this Locky here,” Jack said dismissively. “You need to correct it quickly,” Danek said sternly. “This is an area for Far Patrol only.” “I ed the test, same as them,” Jack said, tone even, in spite of the defiant words.

“Jack Matterly, this is not your place. I’ll escort you out,” Danek said. They turned to Ignius and said, “Apologies for the intrusion.” They left, herding Jack Matterly in front of them. “Jack isn’t wrong,” Kathely said thoughtfully. “They did the same test as Ignius did to become a member of Far Patrol. They came in ahead of Hexara, too.” “Don’t let others hear you voice such an opinion,” a voice said from the hall entrance. “That kind of thinking is dangerous.” Vedder returned, eying the pair of them thoughtfully. “Why is it dangerous?” asked Kathely. “Jack is much smaller than Ignius.” “That kind of talk upsets order,” Vedder said. “Our society is based on a set of rules, and to upend them is to invite chaos. One day, you’ll understand why they are so important. But until then, simply follow this advice: do not consort with the mids. Those dragons are not in the same class and need to remain separate.” Ignius knew that mid- and lower-class dragons usually kept separate from the upper class, but in Azenath, that had always been how it was. Ignius had never felt any desire to talk to the lower classes. But dangerous? Simply talking to someone didn’t seem dangerous to them. Without much more in the way of instructions, Vedder and Rolin launched from the dragontower; they dipped their wings in the “follow” signal, and Ignius launched after them. “I guess this is the type of stuff Cassius is learning,” Ignius remarked to Kathely as they flapped hard to gain altitude. “Don’t talk to the lower classes. What a strange rule.” “Probably,” Kathely replied. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much.” “I should concentrate on flying as often as possible,” Ignius said. “This is way trickier flying than I anticipated.” “It’s true. The reports don’t give us a picture of what it’s really like to fly in the

north,” Kathely replied. Even after flying over the Faar Range, Ignius still couldn’t believe how cold it was here, and how heavy and moist the air was on their wings. Azenath was hot and dry, and Ignius was used to coping with the heat. It had never been this cold in Azenath as long as Ignius could recall. The thing that most alarmed Ignius was that it wasn’t even winter yet. How much colder could it possibly get? “How much colder?” Vedder laughed when Ignius asked them. “Oh, you have seen nothing yet. Have you ever seen snow?” Ignius had heard of snow, and it seemed somehow unreal to them, because it sounded so ridiculous. It didn’t seem possible that it could get so cold that moisture in the air froze and then fell like rain. Yet, they had read the yearly reports of snowfall on the north coast while in school, and most of the time, the average was three feet in a moonturn. That had to be an exaggeration to frighten younglings. “It’s not,” Vedder said, sounding more and more cheerful the longer the conversation went on. “What happens when you combine freezing temperatures and moisture from the ocean? Snow, and lots of it.” Ignius nodded, but they would believe it when they saw it with their own eyes. The amount of glee that Vedder had for the subject suggested a trick of some kind to Ignius. Perhaps it was a light form of hazing? “If only I could ask Sharn without it being awkward,” Ignius said. “It’s only awkward because you’ve made it so, dearest,” Kathely told them. “I resent that remark,” Ignius protested. “They contributed at least an equal amount of awkwardness, if not more.” “At least you can it it,” Kathely sighed. The flying was hard going. Ignius had thought the flight through the mountains was tough, with the cold air and howling wind. Weather in the Faar range was unpredictable, and often it had rained on them without warning. It was only luck that had spared them having to take cover from a ing thunderstorm. But flying on the coast was a whole different matter. Mist and rain was normal

weather here, and the chill was so pervasive that Ignius thought they might never be warm again. “You get used to it,” Vedder said. “Or, at least, so I’m told. I was born used to it.” Ignius wasn’t convinced they wanted to get used to it. They flew for hours until Ignius felt like their stomach was going to shrivel up and never recover. When Vedder finally signalled a break, they were more than ready for it. Their landing was slightly less graceful than usual, but luckily, neither Vedder nor Rolin were watching. Ignius sighed as Kathely prepared both their meals, watching morosely as Kathely made a strange sort of stew out of rehydrated vegetables, grain, and jerky. They would have dearly loved to have a fresh cow. They wouldn’t have even waited for it to be cooked. They gulped down the rations and resigned themself to getting used to eating field cooking for the majority of the time. “At least I’ll appreciate proper food more when I can get it,” Ignius said. They barely talked the second half of the day, and they were so tired upon arrival at the outpost that they barely stayed awake as they helped set up camp and make dinner rations. It seemed like they were asleep as soon as they lay their head to the ground.

Chapter Three

There was nothing quite like the sea, and Ignius found themself mesmerized by the incoming waves breaking on the rocks. There were massive iron ships and harbours in the southern ocean, but any ship that attempted to dock here would be driven and smashed relentlessly on the jagged shore. Ignius had never seen so much grey in their life. The entire sky was one big swath of grey, like a granite ceiling. The frothing water, too, swelled ashy blue. The shoreline was dull and solid, and even the landscape around them seemed washed of colour, fading into a hazy horizon. “Good thing we’re not flying tomorrow,” Vedder said. “It looks like a storm’s coming in.” Now that they were looking, Ignius could see a huge column of cloud coming in. Almost as if the weather was following command, the wind blew fiercely. Ignius tucked their wings in against their sides and huddled their head down. “Hurry and get your breakfast down,” Rolin called from the fireside. “As soon as we’re done, we’re pulling out.” “Will Sharn and Verin have to fly in this tomorrow?” Ignius asked. “If the job calls for it, yes, they will,” Vedder said. “Don’t mind it so much. Next time it might very well be you flying in a storm.” “I thought we weren’t supposed to fly in storms,” Kathely said. “That’s what it says in the books,” Rolin said, grinning. “But if we waited for good weather to do anything, then nothing would get done.” Ignius and Kathely shared a look, and Ignius wondered what they had gotten themselves into, and if they would be up for the job. “I have to be,” Ignius thought. “This is what we wanted.”

“Come on!” Vedder yelled over the wind. “Get your gear sorted; it’s time to go now. If we want to get back in time, we need to go soon.” Ignius helped Kathely gather the gear and get it attached to the riding harness. That was one thing they had learned from Vedder already—to pace themself throughout the day, and not to start late and rush at the end. Already, Ignius could tell this advice was paying off, because their wings hurt less than at the beginning of the training run. “Long-distance flying also increases your lung capacity and flaming ability,” Vedder explained cheerfully. “You’ll be a fairly valuable dragon once you’re finished training. Lockden dragons hardly ever make Far Patrol.” “My mother was on Far Patrol,” Ignius said. “In the western sector.” “Do you know any other Lockden dragons on Far Patrol?” Rolin asked. Ignius thought for a long moment, glancing at Kathely, and shook their head. They hadn’t really considered that before. “I think one of my second cousins is on Far Patrol in the south,” Kathely offered eventually. “His Chosen is a Lockden dragon.” “Up here, every second Kareth is on Far Patrol,” Vedder said. “Some dragons are made for it. Some have to work for it. You’re the first pick, which hasn’t happened in generations for your line.” Ignius had known that previously, but the fact one of the northern lines had common knowledge of it gave them pause. At first they had been proud of the accomplishment, but now it almost seemed like they were an anomaly. But Vedder had said they would be valuable in the future, so perhaps it was supposed to be a compliment. The flight back was fairly uneventful. Ignius found that it was starting to become less arduous to fly in the cold, moist air than they had found before. It was still terribly cold, however, and if they stayed still for very long, they began getting chilled. “Breathing exercises,” Vedder said when they noticed Ignius trying to shiver without being obvious. “If you do them right, you can raise the fire within you,

but not expel it, so it warms you instead. It can help tremendously.” “It can help with humans, too,” Rolin added. “It’s a temperature regulation practice that can make you less susceptible to the chill.” Ignius was somewhat dubious that breathing differently could help with being less cold, but seeing as they couldn’t wear anything to keep them warm because it would increase air resistance, they supposed breathing was a small thing. They could try, it at least. “I can show you when we get back,” Vedder said. “It’s a tough thing to teach in midair. Till then, you’ll just have to put up with it. Think warm thoughts.” That had been their plan anyway, so Ignius merely nodded and kept flying. As they were on their way back, they saw the other two dragonteams heading out again. Darius was in the lead, and Sharn was just behind and to their left. Darius dipped their wings in greeting, and both Vedder and Ignius dipped their wings back. Sharn made a sort of twitch with their wings that wasn’t quite a dip, as if they had gone to make a dip and then changed their mind halfway through. “I’m kind of glad they aren’t going to be there when we get back,” Ignius confided to Kathely. “It will save me a lot of awkwardness.” “You really should deal with it, like an adult,” scolded Kathely. “I don’t know how!” Ignius protested. “I’ve never had to deal with something like this.” “Well, what do you do when someone wants to be your friend?” asked Kathely. “I make friends with them,” Ignius said. “There you go,” Kathely replied. “But this is different,” Ignius argued, shaking their head in agitation. “How so?” asked Kathely. The real answer was that Ignius didn’t feel particularly inclined to try any sort of

non-friendly relationship with Sharn. The fact that Sharn did made them vastly uncomfortable. Ignius wasn’t entirely sure why that was, but it made anxiety shoot through them. “I don’t like Sharn like that,” Ignius said eventually. “Then tell them that,” Kathely said pragmatically. Ignius huffed. “I can’t. They haven’t said anything yet, just been extremely awkward in my general vicinity.” “Ignius, it almost seems like you’re avoiding a solution,” Kathely said. “My solution is to ignore it until Sharn doesn’t like me anymore,” Ignius responded. “As if that’s going to work,” Kathely snorted. Ignius chose not to reply to that, instead ducking through a low-lying cloud in revenge. Wet air hit them directly in the face, and Kathely sputtered and protested from their seat just above Ignius’s shoulder and wing t. The rest of the flight ed in relative calm, or at least, as calm as weather ever got in the north.

*

Not long after they landed, the storm hit the fortress, sending torrents of rain down from the heavens. Ignius hadn’t realized it before, because there hadn’t been enough rain, but the fortress was built to sluice rain away from the inside. From the outside, it looked as if it were covered in hundreds of tiny waterfalls. The inside of the fortress stayed perfectly warm and dry. Also, apparently, it was rainwater that filtered through the ground that was used to artificially create hot springs. Ignius didn’t envy Sharn and Verin, who were probably at that very moment

battling through a storm. “I wonder if Gwena received my letter yet,” Ignius said. “Your letter not only has to through the Faar Range, but also through Azenath on its way east, so I doubt it,” Kathely replied lazily. “I just want to know their opinion of what I should do about Sharn,” Ignius said, feeling anxious just thinking about it. “Or you could figure it out by yourself,” Kathely said. “Hey, even your father gets a council to help him make decisions,” Ignius said. “Why can’t I get advice too?” “Once your love life needs a council to rectify it, you’re in real trouble,” Kathely said, rolling their eyes. “I just need some time and an outside perspective,” Ignius said. “I gave you my advice already,” Kathely replied. “Shouldn’t that be enough?” “I don’t consider you an outside-enough source,” Ignius said. It was true. Ignius hadn’t even considered Kathely’s advice as an outside source. If asked what they had to say on the subject of Ignius’s problem with Sharn, Ignius already knew what Kathely would say. They had been right; the everpragmatic Kathely had told them to deal with it head on. “Anyway, it works differently for humans,” Ignius said. “Only what bits go where,” Kathely replied. Ignius’s ears fluttered in alarmed embarrassment. “Kathely!” “Oh, stop it,” Kathely said, waving a hand. “You know how it all works.” “I never considered it in a way that applied personally,” Ignius protested weakly. “Why not?” Kathely asked. “It’s a part of growing up, just like Far Patrol.”

Ignius had never considered it before, somehow. They didn’t particularly want to discuss anything like that with anyone. But so far, they had a worrying lack of any sort of feelings like that at all. Did it mean they weren’t developing normally? They couldn’t help but think of that inbred Ayrtor dragon who had been born without wings. They flexed their own wings restlessly at the idea that they were somehow deficient. Was there a way to fix this? They waited impatiently for Gwena to send a letter back, but there was no possibility of a reply before at least ten days, and probably more. It didn’t much matter because they had to go out on another training run the day after they got back, this time a few days longer, to the second outpost. The only really good thing about their busy schedule was that it meant less time around Sharn.

*

It was their second run, and this time, they were going to the next outpost. “Good, your pacing is better this run,” Vedder said approvingly. “We’ll make a Far Patrol dragon of you yet.” Ignius did feel better about this run. Their wings didn’t feel like they were going to fall off, and rather than exhausted, they felt energized and even excited for the trip. “We’re flying over the ocean this trip, so get your wings ready,” Vedder continued. “It’s a lot different from flying over land, just .” Vedder and Rolin had gone over new flying lessons the night before, and Ignius had felt a bit like they were a dragonette just learning to fly again. But Vedder had taught them a whole different pattern of flying. “You can’t just fly straight with the strong ocean currents, or you’ll end up way off track,” Rolin had said. “I know. Right now it seems like you’ll be making more work for yourself, but when we start flying, you’ll understand.”

Ignius had nodded earnestly in understanding, and Vedder had sighed. “There’s only so much theory we can cram into your head,” Vedder had said. “Then there’s nothing to do but practice.” They weren’t entirely sure they were ready for the challenge, but there was no other choice. They were going to have to try to overcome the challenge whether they thought they were ready or not. “Okay, here’s the thing,” Vedder said. “You don’t really want to launch over the ocean unless you have to.” “Why not?” asked Kathely as they strapped their flight goggles on. “Too much danger that your dragon wouldn’t be able to maintain their course and land in the water,” replied Vedder. “Oh,” Kathely said, and Ignius nodded. Water deep enough to drown a dragon was certainly very dangerous, as dragons were not buoyant. They were too heavy, and their wings would get in the way of any attempts to swim. Even Lockden dragons with their increased lung capacity were too heavy to stay afloat. “So, if at all possible,” Rolin said, “we try not to invite disaster. And in this kind of weather, that’s what it would be.” “Right, follow us,” Vedder said. “And your lesson. Don’t panic if you get off course. You can fix it easily enough.” Ignius looked out at the ocean and the waves again. The edge of the northern cliffs dropped off sharply, and when Ignius had glanced over the edge earlier, they’d seen jagged rocks and frothy waves at the bottom. The waves here were huge and dark, billowing up and cresting in white. Out on the ocean, there were islands dotting the horizon, small things barely large enough to hold more than one dragon. Most were tall islands with sheer cliffs and nesting seabirds. Vedder and Rolin went first, launching parallel to the edge of the northern cliffs and then making a wide arc back around. Ignius waited a moment for them to move out of the way, and then launched off the ground. They circled around and

then started out towards the ocean. “Here we go,” Kathely said, their hand patting Ignius’s scales. Another wingbeat, and they were out over the open ocean. The wind had been strong before, but now it buffeted them from the side, dragging at their wings. Ahead of them, Vedder flew in a pattern that would have made no sense at all to Ignius until they realized that the wind made it impossible to fly in a straight line. The current was too strong to resist. Still, it felt counter-intuitive to fly in what Ignius perceived to be the wrong direction. “Don’t forget,” Kathely reminded them, “those calculations have been around for generations. It’s always worked.” So although Ignius’s directional instinct told them they were flying the wrong way, they followed Vedder as closely as possible. At first, it seemed awkward, but soon, it began to make sense as Ignius fell into a different flying rhythm. It wasn’t one they were used to, but after a while, it started to prove to be the best way to handle the weather. “It’s called ‘tacking,’” Rolin had said. “Boats with sails use the same method to beat windward, which is what we’ll be doing using tacking methods.” Whatever it was, it was working exactly the way Vedder had explained it would, which was a huge relief. To Ignius, what hadn’t made sense on paper was suddenly made clear in practice. “I think I understand it now,” they said loudly, to be heard over the strong wind. Kathely patted their neck, because the wind was too strong for a human voice to shout over, or human ears to hear over. Ignius sometimes forgot human limitations, and it was especially hard to that human hearing was so abysmal that sometimes they couldn’t hear each other talking when up in the air. It was hard to figure out why humans and dragons had decided to pair up all that time ago. But humans had ideas. It was human ideas that lead to the creation of the city of Azenath, and riding harnesses, and steam power. The real human power was how their mind created things that a dragon wouldn’t ever have thought of doing. Humans were inventors and learners and introduced the idea of learning

to dragons. The partnership between humans and dragons had created amazing things, but it was difficult to think of that when Kathely was made almost deaf by the wind. Human bodies were so fragile and easy to destroy, but their weak bodies housed magnificent minds. Long ago, dragons had hoarded gold and jewels. Now they hoarded ideas. “You’re doing well, Ignius!” Vedder said. “You’ve caught on quickly,” “Thank you, sir,” Ignius replied, pleased with their progress. It was getting easier now that they were getting used to it, almost like regular flying. They didn’t have to concentrate as hard on flying. That’s when they noticed the ocean, and their wings froze for a moment in panic, and they swung wildly off course. Ignius had to work harder to correct their mistake, but once they were back on course, all they could do was stare at the ocean. A huge expanse in front of them was all that they could see on all sides, as far as the horizon. The mainland was a black line in the distance, and they couldn’t see the island they were flying towards. The sea had swallowed everything, and the sheer size and might of it was dizzying. It felt like a giant, and they knew if they became caught up in its endless waves, they would simply disappear. The ocean made them feel powerless and tiny. Kathely didn’t seem bothered by its magnitude, and they knew that they had been looking at it as well. Ignius supposed that if everything was huge to you, you had to get used to it. At times, humans didn’t seem afraid of anything. After a while, Ignius became used to the overwhelming presence of the ocean. The rest of the flight to the island outpost ed without incident, and Ignius was well on their way to learning the ropes of Far Patrol. It almost became… easy. When they made camp that night, Ignius shared their newfound confidence with Kathely, who agreed: the two of them seemed made for Far Patrol.

*

Two training runs later, all seemed to be operating optimally. Two pieces of good news arrived at the same time. First, the commander approved Ignius for a full circuit, their very first one, which meant two solid weeks in the field. Rather than finding that daunting, Ignius and Kathely looked forward to the challenge. Second, Gwena’s letter finally reached them. As an added bonus, Sharn was safely out on their own circuit, which meant they had time to digest the advice in Gwena’s letter. The preliminary teasing was unavoidable of course, and they had expected that from the beginning. But also, as they expected, Gwena had some good advice, and just reading it in Gwena’s voice made them less anxious about dealing with the situation. I wouldn’t worry about it too much, Ignius, dear, Gwena wrote. It’s not uncommon for a tiny bit of infatuation among young dragons. That doesn’t mean it’s serious, or that you need to get bonded. Anyway, even if this Lynmor dragon likes you, that doesn’t necessitate you reciprocating that affection. You can refuse their advance! That made much more sense to Ignius than Kathely’s advice. But then again, Kathely had never had any trouble with this sort of thing, and it confused them when others did, apparently. So, with that advice in mind, Ignius set off on their first full circuit run-through with Vedder there to mentor them and evaluate their performance, feeling ready for anything that came their way.

*

It was their fourth day out, and Vedder was sitting back and allowing Ignius and Kathely to set up the camp by themselves. Kathely set up the tents and made a campfire for the two humans, and Ignius prepared the site for where the two

dragons would sleep. There were already hollows dug in the ground, but Ignius was clearing the ground and breathing fire into the hollows to warm them. They were getting faster at it the more they practiced, and sometimes Ignius caught Rolin nodding approvingly as he made notes on their progress. They were almost done when a voice hailed the camp from above. Ignius, who hadn’t been expecting anything like this, tried to watch surreptitiously at the same time as finishing up their tasks for the evening. Luckily, the mid who circled around and landed next to Vedder was chattering with great excitement, and made no move to make their message secret. “It’s so lucky I caught you before you moved on!” they said. “I have a message for Vedder Kareth and Rolin of Korra.” “That’s us,” Vedder said. “This is highly irregular. Usually messages just wait for us at the fortress unless they’re important.” “Must be important then,” the mid said brightly. Rolin took the message from the mid’s rider, frowning as he read the missive. Ignius, realizing they had paused in their preparations, hurriedly got back to work. “Okay,” Rolin said to the mid. “I’ll explain the situation to the greenie, and then we’ll follow you back directly.” “Oh, you’d better go on ahead of me. I’ll just slow you down,” said the mid. “Right,” Rolin replied. “This is fairly important.” At this point, neither Kathely nor Ignius were pretending to work anymore. Rolin and Vedder came over to them to have a conference. “So, a situation has come up near the Watchtower, and it requires every trained dragon we have to handle it,” Rolin said. “What kind of situation?” asked Kathely. “Does this mean we have to go back with you right now?” “It’s a hostile insurgent group. It isn’t too much of a threat, but it needs to be put

down as soon as possible,” Vedder said. “But that’s for us to worry about.” “What you have to worry about is finishing the patrol,” Rolin continued. “I know it means setting you loose solo a bit earlier than planned, but we think you two are ready to handle it.” “Wait, we aren’t going back?” Ignius demanded, wings fluttering. “Nope, you and Kathely are continuing on as normal,” Vedder said. “Stay here tonight as planned and continue on schedule. Rolin and I are going by the shortest route back to the fortress.” Things went rather quickly after that. Only a quarter of a turn after that, Vedder took off for the fortress at a faster pace than usual. Not long after that, the mid took off too. “They’re heading in the wrong direction,” Kathely said. “They’re probably going to drop off more messages,” Ignius said. “You’re right,” Kathely sighed, but they continued frowning even as they put food on over the fire. “I’m more worried about the message itself,” Ignius said, watching the food heat up. “What did it say?” “It had to do with insurgents,” Kathely replied. “Our job is to finish the patrol, and to get back safely.” “We haven’t even had to chart the course ourself yet,” Ignius said fretfully. “If we make a mistake, we could easily end up anywhere!” “Vedder and Rolin think we can do it,” Kathely said. “And so do I.” “I think we can too,” Ignius said hastily. “I just worry about the worst-case scenario.” The might of the ocean weighed heavily on their mind. They couldn’t dismiss it from their head easily. The force of the waves would drag any dragon hapless enough to become lost under its surface without any trouble. Ignius had never

seen a body of water with a current strong enough to drown them until now. “We won’t get lost, Ignius,” Kathely said. “We can go over our charts now if you want to double-check.” “I would, actually,” Ignius said, relaxing a little. Kathely went into their bag and pulled out a roll of charts and a quill kit with Mazinia ink and quills made of skyhawk feathers. They cleared off a patch of ground and unrolled the chart, putting stones on the corners to hold it down. It was the chart that Vedder had given them from supply. Kathely took out a wooden ruler and their com as well as scrap parchment. Ignius calculated their course out and checked it against the predetermined calculation made by Vedder. It came out the same, so they redid it and got the same answer once again. Satisfied that they had it right, Ignius let Kathely put it all away again. Right before they went to sleep, they said, “I hope we’re ready.” “We are,” Kathely said drowsily. Ignius certainly hoped they were, because from this point on, they could only rely on each other for the right decisions.

*

It was a fairly calm day when Ignius and Kathely started out, and the wind was gusting less than usual. Even after the calculations they made the night previous, they had to redo all the calculations. Ignius had been put out a little, but Kathely had just laughed and told them that things would work out differently than expected sometimes. “But what if we do these calculations wrong?” Ignius had said fretfully. “We’ll double-check them,” Kathely had said confidently.

Ignius had triple and quadruple checked them before being satisfied they were correct. They were doing quite well for time, as they kept up the same pace as they had before. They would probably make it to the next outpost earlier than expected. Suddenly, they saw a flash of movement below them, on one of the smaller islands. “Did you see that?” they asked Kathely. “No, what was it?” Kathely asked. “I’m not sure. Get your glass and we’ll come around again,” Ignius said. “It’s a dragon!” Kathely yelled. “Come around quick, Ignius. I think they’re hurt!” Ignius wheeled about widely and saw a very small dragon on the island below. Their wings fluttered helplessly, but they failed to gain any altitude. By their size, they were one of the lower class. “What are they doing all the way out here?” Ignius questioned in surprise. Vedder and Rolin had told the two of them to question everything, no matter how small. “It might be the difference between life and death,” Vedder had said. The presence of a dragon out here, especially a lower-class dragon, just didn’t make sense. Ignius hesitated to help them, wondering what to do in this situation. “It doesn’t matter. Come on, we have to help them,” Kathely said impatiently. “But how did they get here in the first place?” Ignius asked. It didn’t make sense. Vedder and Rolin had said not to just trust people willynilly. Why was Kathely ignoring their advice? “Ignius,” Kathely onished them. “Come on, it’s our job to help. They must

have wrenched a wing in this wind. Do you think you can carry them?” Ignius definitely could, as they were barely bigger than Kathely in of size. It wasn’t as if this small dragon was a threat to them. As Ignius began their descent, they still worried that they were missing something obvious. There was a tidbit niggling the back of their brain, but Ignius could only concentrate on so many things at once. The dragon was a tiny smoke-grey and black creature, and as Ignius started coming in closer, they renewed their fluttering and struggling pathetically. It almost seemed like they were playacting. The niggling tidbit suddenly blossomed into a memory of a certain type of bird in Azenath. They would play-act being injured in order to lure predators away from their chicks. This dragon’s behaviour was so alike to that bird’s that Ignius didn’t think it could be a coincidence. They had no sooner had this thought, when suddenly the cliff below was teeming with small dragons. Ignius drew up sharply, and Kathely shouted in surprise. Ignius wasn’t sure what was going on, or why they were being tricked, until something dropped right on top of their back. They dropped suddenly from the force of the unexpected blow from above, something hitting them and dive-bombing like a hawk. They lost altitude quickly from the momentum and flapped their wings hard, trying to regain it. That’s when something actually landed on their back. It had to be one of the small lower-class dragons that were swarming around them, seeming poised to attack. The added weight drove Ignius down even more, and they tried to veer toward the island in panic. Even as calm as the ocean was right now, there would still be a strong undertow. The dragon on their back got off, and Ignius was momentarily relieved. Until the dragon zipped in front of their face with a net dangling from their claws. The smaller dragon brandished the net in front of Ignius’s snout. Ignius froze. “Surrender!” the small dragon demanded. “Or I’ll drop her in the ocean.” Ignius was hit with such a blinding level of panic that, for a moment, they couldn’t think. The only thing going through their head was one thought:

Kathely was in danger. Every instinct inside them was screaming. All they could think of doing was tearing the small dragon’s head off and taking Kathely as far away as possible as fast as they could. But the one thing holding them back was that if they attacked the small dragon, then the small dragon would hurt Kathely. Nothing made sense, and there was a rushing noise in their ears, like the crashing of the waves against the cliff below. Time slowed. And just as quickly came back into focus. Kathely, for their part in this, was screaming. They weren’t afraid at all—they were yelling in pure rage. Their straight, white human teeth were bared in anger. Ignius had to protect Kathely. Then Ignius ed that the small dragon had demanded their surrender. There was no real choice. If they didn’t surrender, then Kathely would die—and then Ignius would die, because in the event that Kathely were dropped in the ocean, Ignius would be right behind them, even if rescue was unlikely. Ignius surrendered. They chose a clear, even spot on the island below and landed awkwardly on the ground. As soon as they touched down, nets with weighted corners dropped on top of their wings and shoulders. In the blink of an eye, several of the smaller dragons had staked down the net with metal pegs, driving them deep into the ground. Ignius couldn’t move an inch. To their relief, the dragon rebels deposited Kathely nearby and staked down their net too. Kathely struggled against it, to no avail. They were both completely trapped and at the mercy of the rebel group. Kathely glared over at Ignius, “Why did you surrender? You’re far bigger than any of those dragons! You could have fought!” “They had you, Kathely. I definitely couldn’t have fought,” Ignius said. “You should have anyway; it doesn’t matter if I’m in danger,” Kathely yelled, chest heaving. “Don’t just give up! Me being threatened shouldn’t automatically mean you surrender. It makes us weaker.” “It doesn’t matter, Kathely. You can argue and use logic all you like over this,

but it doesn’t matter, even a bit. I couldn’t have put you in danger for the life of me,” Ignius replied. “Then we shouldn’t have ed Far Patrol,” Kathely said. “If you can’t handle danger, we should have stayed safe in Azenath.” Kathely couldn’t move at all with the net holding them down, but they turned to face away from Ignius. They felt a flare of irritation rise up inside their chest at Kathely’s stubborn attitude. Also, a ray of doubt. What if it had been Ignius in trouble? Would Kathely have allowed Ignius to come to harm? They tried not to dwell on it, or try to think of another solution that would have kept both Kathely safe, but also satisfied Kathely’s personal sense of honour. There wasn’t one they could see anyway. Ignius was only just starting combat training when they were back at the Watchtower. Their skill level wasn’t great yet, and there were just too many small dragons to fight. Their captors, having finished their dreadful deed, didn’t seem to have anything else to do with what was happening. They were happy to lay around and chatter incessantly in an odd dialect of old-Azenath tongue. “What are we waiting around for? What do you want with us?” Ignius questioned angrily. Their wings shuffled restlessly, making the net clink with the motion. “We wait for one of the captains,” the small dragon replied. “Captain?” Ignius asked in confusion. They assumed the small dragon didn’t mean the Aerial Legion. “They mean me,” a voice said. It was Jack Matterly.

Chapter Four

Kathely was so surprised that they forgot that they were mad at Ignius and turned to give them a look of amazement. Ignius was just as surprised as Kathely. How could Jack Matterly be here? Weren’t they supposed to be running messages? “Don’t worry, younglings, we ain’t gonna hurtcha none,” Jack Matterly said. “Hey, Jack, don’t tell them that. They’re supposed to be terrified of us!” the small dragon said in protest. “They don’t need to be terrified, Gertie, just smart,” Matterly said cheerfully. “Anyway, don’t take the quarrel of elders out on kids. These ’uns are just younglings, after all.” “Those younglings will grow up to hate us,” Gertie replied. “Gertie, please. They parrot what their sires and dames teach ’em and don’t know any better,” Jack said. “I’d give ’em a chance.” “You’ve made a huge mistake,” Kathely said. “When Pygnia Lockden finds out what you’ve done…” “That’s what I’m counting on, lassie,” said Matterly. “Don’t call me that,” Kathely spat, then curled up in a ball, once again refusing to turn to look at Ignius, or anyone for that matter. “Kathely,” Ignius said tentatively. “Don’t talk to me, Ignius,” Kathely snapped. “I can’t believe you’re blaming me for wanting to rescue you,” Ignius said. Kathely laughed harshly. “This isn’t rescuing—this is being captured. I thought I

knew you better than this. I guess I was wrong about that.” They refused to say anything more, no matter how much Ignius tried to engage them. Eventually, Ignius gave up. There was nothing else to do except focus on what was going outside the nets that caged them. There was a big bonfire going, as if the rebels weren’t scared anyone would notice their presence. It was mainly lower-class rabble, although there were also a few mids. Jack Matterly was the leader, sitting at the head of the group. The rebels were still chattering in an old dialect of the dragonic tongue, the kind of language dragons spoke before humans taught dragons their language. Ignius could only understand snatches of what they were saying. Ignius couldn’t believe that the lower-class dragons had somehow managed to plot their capture without anyone finding out. And that left the real question: what did these dragons want with Ignius and Kathely? They wanted to discuss this whole thing with Kathely, but since they refused to talk to them, that wasn’t an option. “Food.” Ignius jerked their head in surprise as a chunk of seared cow haunch on a skewer was thrust in front of their snout. Someone had liberally applied salt. It smelled divine after days of eating stew boiled to within an inch of being inedible. “Well, you gonna eat it, or what, Locky?” asked Jack Matterly. “It’s not poisoned, is it?” Ignius sniffed it dubiously. “Kid, if we wanted to kill you, we’d roll you off the cliff and be done with it,” Matterly said. “But here we are taking extra effort to keep you fed.” Ignius tilted their head in confusion. “It means you two are worth more alive than dead,” Matterly said. “Now eat up, kid.” The scent of actual, cooked meat was too much for Ignius to resist, and they tore right into the offering. Matterly chuckled a bit, and Kathely snorted in derision. They very pointedly refused their own portion of food when it was brought over

by one of the servants. No, that was the wrong word. Rebel. Ignius had nothing to do but try to figure out the best they could what exactly was going on, even though they had limited information to work with. One: There was a report brought to Vedder about trouble with rebel insurgents. The problem with that was that it had possibly been one of the rebels who brought the message to begin with. Who could tell if it was a real message or not? Ignius stared into the faces of those present but couldn’t even what the messenger had looked like. Two: The message, real or fake, took Vedder and Rolin away from Ignius’s side. Vedder would probably be almost to the Watchtower by this point, and it would be at least another day or two before anyone—enemy or friend—reached them from the Watchtower. Three: No one would realize that Ignius was in trouble until they didn’t return from patrol in ten days’ time, or unless someone came to check for them. Vedder had said they trusted Ignius and Kathely to do the job. Four: The rebel dragons had been after Ignius and Kathely for some reason, and they were to be kept alive. As far as Ignius could tell, the rebels didn’t want information, or anything they had been carrying. So the value of Ignius and Kathely must be intrinsic to their persons. Ignius tried to think of why the rebels needed them and couldn’t figure it out at all. Then again, the rebels were lower class, from what Ignius could see. Who knew how they thought? The rebels were in real cheer, so whatever plan they had must be working. Ignius watched them closely, but could hardly tell one from the other. They all looked so similar, with dull brownish-green and grey hides. They were the colour of dirt and weeds, and their voices buzzed like gnats. Matterly brought Ignius some water, and Ignius drank, convinced their life wasn’t in any danger—at least for tonight. Kathely once again refused sustenance wordlessly. This refusal worried Ignius, as it was unusual for Kathely to put their health in jeopardy.

“Why aren’t you drinking?” Ignius finally asked. “Didn’t you hear them? We’re worth more to these criminals alive than dead,” hissed Kathely. “I did, in fact, hear that, yes,” Ignius said, still puzzled at their behaviour. “Well, in that case, it’s our duty to our country to resist in any way we can. That includes dying, if necessary.” “But it’s not necessary,” Ignius replied in confusion. “It could be in this instance,” Kathely said fiercely. Now that made no sense at all to Ignius. Not only was Kathely not thinking clearly, they had clearly taken the path to self-sacrifice. Why was Kathely thinking like this? It was unusual, and Ignius was a tad alarmed. Surely Kathely had reached the same conclusion as them? “Or we could stay alive and try to bring back as much information about the rebels as possible, once we escape,” Ignius said. Kathely froze, barely breathing. Just as Ignius began to worry, Kathely gasped a deep breath in. “Like spies,” they said, eyes gleaming anew. “Of course, Ignius, you’re brilliant! We have to collect as much information as possible on the enemy and then escape!” That was more like it, but Ignius was still worried. It seemed as if Kathely was basing their choices on emotion rather than logic. That seemed unlike them, but then again, the two of them had never been in real danger before. Kathely came completely alive, the exact opposite of how they had been only a minute beforehand. They loudly demanded food and drink, and Jack Matterly gave them some with an air of satisfaction. Of course, Kathely’s approach to espionage was similar to the approach of a cannonball. It was blunt, to the point, and lacked all subtlety. “Why did you kidnap us?” Kathely demanded of Jack Matterly.

Jack simply looked amused, but they answered easily enough. “We want to ransom you back to your parents in exchange for some of our faction who are currently imprisoned.” “But why us?” Kathely dug their teeth into the questioning. “How are we valuable enough to be bargaining chips?” “You’re both first-line nobles,” Matterly said. “Ones we have the easiest access to. Don’t underestimate your worth, kids.” “But how could you know that Vedder would go off and leave us by ourselves?” Kathely asked. “It could have gone either way.” “It really couldn’t have,” Jack said, almost smugly. “We know Vedder and Rolin quite well. Vedder already thought you were ready, had an argument with the commander over it and everything. We know them as an instructor who is impatient to put greenies in the field. Rolin, who is Vedder’s more calming and logical half, would clearly see the matter as urgent, and wouldn’t want you slowing them down. Easy.” “Why are you telling us all this?” Ignius interrupted. “Haha, what, have we got a smart one here?” Matterly laughed. “Of course I can tell you’re trying to get information from me. The thing is, you’re not getting away from us.” “We definitely are!” Kathely flared up in sudden anger. Jack Matterly shook their head. “You won’t escape. I can tell you as much as you want, and it will make zero difference. Ze-ro.” “How can you predict that?” Ignius asked skeptically. Jack laughed. “Because we know you, too, Ignius Lockden and Kathely of Aera. Everything we needed. Servants make the perfect spies. No one ever watches them or even re what they look like.” Matterly was far too right about that last bit. If they could just what that messenger looked like. Then again, Jack was arrogantly answering all of their questions as if there were absolutely zero chance they could escape. That

was a mistake. “We will escape, I can promise you that,” Kathely announced with determination unstaunched by the heavy net. “You can try,” Jack Matterly said, grinning. “I will,” Kathely repeated, their dark eyes flickering in the firelight. Ignius almost didn’t recognize Kathely for just a moment. They suddenly seemed like a different person, a scary person. Ignius was many things, but scary wasn’t one of them. But perhaps Kathely could be. Kathely was theirs. Their one. They needed Kathely like air. Ignius could never forget that. They had Bonded with Kathely in the shell, and that’s all there was to it. Then Ignius blinked, and Kathely was back. Their Kathely, with their round human face with its odd brown dots across the nose. After Jack Matterly grew tired of answering questions and left to go back to the raucous circle around the bonfire, Kathely turned to Ignius. “We need to find a way to escape,” Kathely said urgently. “How long do you think we should gather information?” Ignius asked. “Matterly is an open book. They just keep telling us things.” “They could be lying,” Kathely said. Ignius didn’t think so. Matterly just seemed too confident for that. They weren’t even the smallest bit worried that they would escape. But Matterly didn’t really know Kathely if they didn’t realize they would try anyway. Ignius spent the night lying miserably on the cold ground, unable to even move into a more comfortable position. The thick, knotted net dug into their hide and constricted their wings. They had never been more miserable. They couldn’t sleep, and not only because of the discomfort. They had to find a way to escape, and their mind had raced for most of the night.

Kathely hadn’t fared much better, tossing and turning underneath the smaller net. Anytime Kathely tried to talk to Ignius, one of the small dragons guarding them would come over and bark “No talking!” at them and glower menacingly. The longer they were captive, the more tempted Ignius was to flame at them. They hadn’t had much combat training at all. They had put all their effort into becoming as fast as possible. That had worked, because they were the fastest. But now, it seemed like an oversight. Even Cassius had combat training. Vedder had started to rectify that in between patrols, but it wasn’t much. Ignius wracked their brain. They may not have any practical combat training, but they had read plenty of combat manuals as well as historical s of battles. They had several advantages over the rebels and only a few disadvantages, as far as they could tell. Kathely was their main disadvantage—Kathely was captured and being kept separate from Ignius. If only they could find their way to Kathely’s side. If Kathely were threatened in the course of escape, that was as good as checkmate. Kathely was their king. The other thing was that, obviously, they were both covered by these nets. The small lower-class dragons didn’t have combat training either, so there was that. Also, possibly, most of them didn’t even know how to read, so the information about combat was out of their reach. Ignius looked at the net holding them, examining the material—heavy rope, braided together tightly and coated with pitch. It was probably the type of rope used on ships in the south. So possibly the ropes had metal cores. All Ignius really had to do was flame, and the ropes would disintegrate. The other thing they had to work with was the terrain. They had trained to fly in this weather, and the rebels probably weren’t used to flying in the strong wind over the ocean. Not only that, there were tons of craggy cliffs and islands everywhere. It was dark now, so not the ideal time to fly over dangerous territory, for both Ignius and the rebels. They would have to wait until daybreak. If only they could tell Kathely their plan to escape, not that it was much of a plan.

The next day, Ignius woke up to aching muscles and a fuzzy head. They had gotten next to no sleep, and anytime they had managed to fall asleep, it seemed like the next second something would wake them up again. It had been a terrible night. “Come on, younglings, we’re on the move today!” Jack Matterly said, seeming to radiate cheer. “What?” Kathely demanded, sitting up underneath their net. “What, did you think I was going to keep you here on this island in the middle of the sea?” Matterly said. “No, we’re going back to our humble abode.” Ignius blinked in surprise. For some reason, it hadn’t occurred to them that the rebels would move them. Some of the human servants came and took the net off Kathely. Unfortunately, they also tied Kathely’s hands in front of them and tied a rope around their feet. It was long enough that Kathely could shuffle along in an odd sort of walk, but they wouldn’t be able to run. They were hobbled like a horse. Kathely obviously found this treatment demeaning, as their face turned red with anger. Their heart rate had picked up as well, and to Ignius, they smelled like anger. No doubt, Kathely resented being treated as if they were an animal. Ignius was disappointed when the rebels put Kathely on the back of one of the mids along with some human guards. Then, they watched in complete disbelief as the mid flew away with Kathely, leaving them behind on the island. Without thinking, Ignius began struggling against the net. “Kathely!” they bellowed, curls of smoke rising from their nostrils. “Now, now, calm down, youngling,” Matterly said. “You’ll see your Chosen again soon enough. You just gotta be patient.” “Why are you sending Kathely away?” Ignius demanded. “Why do you think?” Jack said. “If we send you off together, you might try to escape. Heck, you might have even succeeded. This is just a precaution.”

“I could try to escape anyway,” Ignius said angrily. “You could,” Matterly said. “But if you escape, we could make sure you didn’t find out where we took her.” “They,” interrupted Ignius. “You keep calling Kathely ‘her.’ It’s ‘they.’ Kathely doesn’t identify with being female.” “Funny you should say that,” Jack Matterly said. “Some of our rebels don’t want to be called ‘they.’ Instead, they feel like being called a human pronoun.” “But dragons have always been ‘they,’” Ignius protested. “And humans have always been ‘she’ or ‘he,’” Matterly replied. “What’s the difference? Either we both respect that or neither of us do.” That dragons could have genders was such a strange notion. How did that work? Come to think of it, they had never really asked Kathely why they felt the way they did—just accepted it. Was it because they had the same experience of having an androgynous gender? “It’s your turn now,” Matterly said. “We’re going to take it nice and slow.” “And if I try to escape?” Ignius asked. “Go ahead, escape,” Matterly replied. “We still have Kathely, and you’ll never see them again unless you cooperate.” At least Matterly had listened about the pronoun change. Apart from that, Ignius was lost. They hated to feel so helpless in the face of danger, not only to themself, but to their house and their community. They had to figure something out, but nothing they could think of doing would work. It always led to Ignius and Kathely being separated. Jack Matterly had some of the servants help take the nets off Ignius. They watched as the smaller dragons gleefully launched off the high island cliffs, dipping down until they were skimming the rough waves far below. “I can’t launch over the water,” Ignius said.

“Oh, don’t worry, Locky, we know that,” Matterly replied. “Take your time. Except also, try to hurry it up.” Ignius was sorely tempted to refuse to move, to resist as much as it was possible in their situation. But if they did, then they wouldn’t be able to find Kathely again. After they launched, Jack Matterly took the lead, dipping their wings in the familiar “follow me” signal that Far Patrol used. It made fire burn in the pit of Ignius’s stomach to see it used by enemies. However, they had no choice but to follow. As they did, the smaller dragons flew in formation around them in a cluster. The formation headed toward the mainland, and Ignius did their best to keep the position of the formation in their head. It was difficult, but Ignius thought they had a rough idea of where they were. If only they had Kathely with them to help chart their course. If only they had Kathely with them.

*

They had been flying for hours with periodic breaks, and Ignius was getting tired. They were better off than many of the smaller dragons, who were beginning to yawn with exhaustion. Once they reached the mainland, the formation veered off into uncharted territory. The forest below the group now was thick and dark. It was mostly made up of tall pine and spruce trees, a boreal forest with impenetrable brush. There was nothing like this around the flat, wide plains of Azenath. It looked as if a human could get lost in it for years. The northern wilderness seemed to be a mutual enemy, as many of the rebel dragons seemed uneasy flying near the treetops. Ignius peered through the bristling crowns of pines and spruce and couldn’t see the forest floor. The only person who was still in a good mood was Jack Matterly. “We’re almost there; don’t pull such long faces,” they said. “There’s dinner

waiting for us at home.” That seemed to perk at least a few dragons up. The only thing Ignius was looking forward to was being reunited with Kathely. They had never in their life been forcefully separated from their Chosen, and it was steadily making them more and more anxious. It was as if they were missing a part of themself. Perhaps that wasn’t the healthiest way of looking at it, but it was the way it was. Finally, up ahead, the deep reddish-orange glow of firelight came into sight, and the formation began its descent. “Where’s Kathely?” Ignius demanded as soon as they set down. “Hold onto your eggs; they’re right there,” Jack said in exasperation. Kathely was sitting on the ground, hands still tied in front of them, their foot tied by a long rope to a pole staked into the ground. They looked up as Ignius approached. “I tried to escape five times,” they said. “Obviously, I didn’t succeed.” “Do you know where we are?” Ignius asked. “I tried to keep track of our position.” Kathely grinned and said, “I did one better.” They leaned forward, and there, glittering in the folds of their shirt, nestled in their bust, was the com from their supplies. “I had it when we were being attacked,” Kathely whispered. Ignius whispered too. “You know the way back.” Kathely nodded very slightly. “We have to escape,” Ignius said. Before Kathely could answer, the smaller dragons had finished unpacking the nets and forced Ignius back to the clearing to stake them down. Ignius gave in

with bad grace. The best time to try to escape would be night, when the least amount of people would be awake. Now was just a waiting game. Ignius had never been patient, but this was like having a sharp rock stuck in one of their talons. The feeling just niggled away in the back of their head, and they were almost certain all the others could tell how agitated they were. Time crawled by in painful steps. It was first watch, and most of the camp was still awake. Kathely took a nap, telling Ignius they needed to be rested up for later. Ignius assumed “later” meant their escape attempt. Ignius tried to nap as well, but their mind kept racing, going back and forth over different options. Overthinking things, as usual. They were still awake halfway through the second watch, and they were beginning to despair of sleeping when Kathely stirred. They very slowly stretched, ts popping as they did. Ignius waited, attention rapt as Kathely woke up. “Let’s go, now,” Kathely breathed almost voicelessly. Ignius had been planning this for a while, with nothing better to do than go over and over it in their mind, looking for flaws. They superheated the air right in front of their nostrils, like they had done when they were just a dragonette, during fire-breathing exercises. They did so without breathing out even a spark. The ropes in front of their snout crinkled and began melting. They kept this up until there was a large hole in the net. Then, they put their head through and snaked along the ground till they were near Kathely. “Good, Ignius,” they whispered and reached out. Ignius parted their jaw slightly, and Kathely slipped their bound wrists over the serrated edge of one of Ignius’s teeth. Working quickly, they used Ignius’s tooth to saw through their bonds. “Time to go,” Kathely said. “Give me a head start.” Kathely, creeping with their body low to the ground, disappeared into the darkness beyond. They waited impatiently, counting the time in their head.

They were only halfway through the count when a cry went up. Kathely must have been spotted. There was nothing for it. Ignius took in a deep breath, and then another, expanding their lungs full until they couldn’t breathe in anymore. A curl of smoke escaped their nostril. They let the air loose from their lungs, and the fire ed it, roaring out of their jaw in an inferno. The force of it surprised even Ignius. All those long flights must have increased their lung capacity. The rope became red hot and melted all over the place, the iron core liquifying and running down Ignius’s hide in molten streaks. Dragonhide was meant to withstand fire, but this even burnt Ignius, although not badly. They spread their wings wide, but before they could take off, a heavy weight landed in the middle of their back. “Oh no, you don’t, Locky!” Jack Matterly said. Ignius folded their wings and rolled over to try to dislodge Jack, claws sending sprays of dirt in the air. They writhed frantically and roared as Matterly dug their talons into Ignius’s hide. That hurt far more than they imagined it would. Rather than subduing them, however, it only made Ignius desperate to escape. They whipped their tail, lashing at the determined dragon attached to their back. “Come on, we have to help,” one of the surrounding smaller dragons said. Several of them rushed at Ignius, and Ignius flared their wings automatically in response to the threat. The smaller dragons pinned their wings to the ground. Ignius flamed in rage, and then another weight landed on their neck. They flamed again and again in anger, their head pinned against the earth still moist with rain. The earth in front of their snout was baked hard from Ignius’s breath. Eventually, there was too much weight pinning them down for Ignius to breathe. The last thing they saw was the forest in front of them on fire. They hadn’t been careful enough. Where was Kathely? Where was…?

*

When Ignius woke, everything smelled like smoke, and everything hurt. Their throat was raw and dry, and as soon as they took in a breath, they began coughing. “They’re awake,” someone said nearby. Ignius blinked against the glare of midday and tried to look over their shoulder at their back. They were underneath another net, but this time, when they shifted their head, there was a neck manacle staked into the ground to stop them from moving. Now that Ignius was paying attention, they could feel chains around all of their wrists and ankles too. Their back felt on fire. ing the molten iron, Ignius concluded that perhaps that was the case. Also, Jack Matterly had clawed their back. “I hope you learned your lesson, youngling,” the now familiar voice of Jack Matterly said. Ignius simply glared and hissed in spite of their sore throat. Jack laughed, but the rest of the serving-class dragons seemed disturbed. Some of them bore signs of burns. Their hides were less thick than the upper-class lines. “Now, Locky, you’ve caused us some trouble, as I’m sure you’ll be pleased to hear,” Jack said. “We’ll have to accelerate our plan thanks to you.” Many of the stares Ignius was receiving suggested that no one except Ignius was happy about that. “You set half the forest on fire,” Jack continued. “We had to put it out by throwing dirt and ocean water on it and then use our wings to disperse the smoke. So thank you for that experience.” “Where’s Kathely?” Ignius demanded. Matterly got a hard look on their face. “We don’t know where Kathely is. We lost track of them in all the ruckus. They might have escaped to safety. They

might be dead. We just don’t know right now.” Ignius was silent. If Kathely were dead, they would know; they were certain of it. Ignius and Kathely were Bonded, and they were so sure Kathely was alive they would guarantee it. They didn’t know how they were so certain, but they felt it underneath their breastbone. That meant Kathely had escaped. Ignius thought of the deep, cold, dark forest between here and the Watchtower and shuddered. On foot, through all sorts of wild country with only a com for direction, that wouldn’t be an easy journey. They had to believe in Kathely and have faith they would make it. Kathely never gave up, and so Ignius wouldn’t either. They had to keep going forward and believe Kathely would make it to the Watchtower and lead the Aerial Legion back to deal with the insurgents. “As for right now, having to step up our plans means that instead of waiting to demand the release of one of our leaders, we’ve had to do it this morning.” Ignius checked the sky. It was late afternoon by this point, which meant Jack had had all day to hear back from them. Of course, depending on how far away Azenath was from the rebel camp, that could mean nothing. “Your family has demanded that we give them proof you’re alive and that we still have you. So sorry for this.” One of the dragons came forward. Ignius didn’t realize what was happening until one of the others handed them a surgical scale remover. Ignius felt a spike of fear-fueled adrenaline pump through them, and they struggled against their bonds. The manacles held, and there was nothing Ignius could do as the scaleremover was shoved roughly under one of their scales and pulled out. A white hot flash of pain made them cry out and pant roughly against the earth. Even after the initial pain of removal, the point where the scale was torn out ached fiercely. “As I said, sorry about that,” Matterly said. “We needed you awake and without sedation so that the scale would still have blood at the root.”

Ignius understood. A dragon’s scale still had a blood supply, sort of like a tooth. A dead dragon would cease to have one, and so the scale would be dull. Their surge of adrenaline supplied more blood as evidence that they were alive. It didn’t help the pain any, knowing why such an act of brutality was undertaken. Jack Matterly would send Ignius’s scale, still glowing bright red and gold, along with one of the runners. “And now for Kathely,” Jack Matterly said. “We’ll be running sweeps, of course. It’s not as if they’ll get far on foot.” Ignius watched as Jack organized squads to run grid pattern sweeps over the area. Ignius heard them complaining about it between runs, because many of them hadn’t had any rest since the night before Ignius had inadvertently started a forest fire. Ignius didn’t generally approve of careless destruction, but in this instance, if they could hinder their enemy, all the better. Nights went by, and they didn’t find Kathely. The first few days, Jack Matterly kept up the search with confidence. But as days turned into a week, Matterly finally called off the search. “I’m sorry, Ignius, I really am,” Jack said. “But we haven’t found them, so I have to conclude Kathely is dead.” Ignius didn’t bother to acknowledge this in any way, because Jack clearly believed their own words and would only see Ignius’s refusal to believe the same as pointless denial. However, they knew Kathely. Kathely was quick, clever, and twice as determined as anyone they knew. They were certain Kathely was alive, and it gave them hope that Jack and their rebel group hadn’t recaptured them. “On the bright side, today is the last day for your family to respond to our ransom demands, so with any luck, you’re going home.” Ignius didn’t want to go home; they wanted to stay and help fight the rebels. But right now, they didn’t have many options. Kathely was their only hope.

Chapter Five

Ignius could tell that the insurgents were getting restless, and Ignius hoped that meant that whatever their plans were, they weren’t going well. Once in a while, one of them would stare at Ignius, and they would stare back without blinking. Most insurgents would look away again, but a handful of them would lock gazes with Ignius and engage in a staring contest. Being a captive was surprisingly boring. There was nothing to do all day except watch ing birds and listen in on conversations. Most of these conversations were in the old draconic tongue. Ignius thought they might be picking up the dialect a little. The rebels continued to feed them well, so Ignius suspected the meat was stolen from someone’s farmlands. It was almost the end of the day, and no one in Azenath had send any sort of message in response to the rebel’s demands. Jack Matterly was pacing restlessly around the bonfire. “How is it that getting prisoners released is so important to you?” Ignius asked. In Ignius’s view, the prisoners Jack wanted released were all just servants. They were pretty much all the same as far as Ignius was concerned. Most were illiterate, none of them had any money or land, and they definitely had no important connections. Ignius had been a prisoner for a week, and they still only knew Jack Matterly’s name. The rest all looked and talked the same. “There’s a very active political speaker called Mary Scott, and I need them because of their skill at giving rousing speeches,” Jack said. “Mary is very motivating and is very fond of giving talks of workers’ rights.” “But workers don’t have rights,” Ignius said immediately. “That is exactly the issue at hand,” Jack said dryly. “Why do you need Mary Scott?” asked Ignius. “Can’t you just do it yourself?”

“Mary is far better at it than me,” Jack said with a laugh. “Good old Moll can really write a speech. Better at it than anyone. Smart one, Moll is.” “Hey, Jack,” one of the other dragons said. “Why you making nice with the prisoner?” “They’re just a youngling who don’t know any better. They just parrot what their parents say. I’m trying to educate here.” “You’re better off preaching to a rock,” another grumbled and turned away from them. “I do too know better,” Ignius grumbled. “Do you, now?” Jack said, clicking their talons. “Okay, so why are we rebelling, then? What use is that to us?” “You don’t know your place,” Ignius said. “You’re pretending to be better than you really are.” “And why are you better than us?” Jack asked. “We’re bigger than you. We can fly farther, we’re stronger and smarter, better fit to rule,” Ignius said, which they thought was fairly obvious. “Preaching to a rock,” someone muttered. Jack just laughed. “I’ll get to this one someday, you know.” “Here comes the runner now!” a cry went up. Everyone perked up, and even Ignius felt anticipation curling in their gut. Even now, Ignius was in conflict over whether they wanted the response to be positive or negative. On one hand, if the response were positive, it meant they would no longer be a prisoner, and they could come back and help fight the insurgents. But now that they were in this position, they could see what Kathely meant about wanting to resist the enemy, even if it put them in more danger. They knew it was selfish, but Ignius wanted to escape by themself, and not rely on others to free them. At

the same time, they had already been captive a week, and they hadn’t found a single way to escape. Above all, they didn’t want to be used against their own family by the rebels. Nothing made Ignius more angry than being forced to be a pawn in the rebel’s game plan. The tiny dot in the distance became a blotch, and grew into a dragon runner. They were flying flat out and barely slowed their pace as they came in for a landing. The messenger skidded on landing, leaving long gouges in the ground as they came to a halt. A servant jumped off their back and ran straight to Jack Matterly, handing the message right into their claws. At first, Ignius had wondered how the messengers kept from being followed by scouts from the Aerial Legion, and Jack had told them that messengers flew as fast as possible for a short distance, ing the message off to another runner, like a relay race. Ignius understood, because small dragons were very fast over short distances. The Aerial Legion would never be able to keep up to the relay sprints. Jack took the message and unrolled the scroll carefully. Ignius anxiously dug their claws into the ground. Jack read the message, and their face hardened. Ignius held their breath. With a look like that, they must have bad news, at least for the rebels. Jack clenched their throat. “This missive is directed to the leader of the rebel insurgents, Jack Matterly, and is dated this 27th day of May, 1797. We have received your demand that Mary Scott be released into your custody in exchange for Far Patrol scout Ignius, line of Lockden,” Matterly read. “We have also received a scale that you claim belongs to Ignius Lockden. We have no other proof of Ignius’s identity or that Ignius is still alive or even still your captive. In light of this lack of further information, we refuse your demands. Do not attempt further , as we are not in the practice of negotiating with criminals. Signed, Pygnia Lockden and Cassius Lockden.” Ignius could hardly believe it. They hadn’t expected Cassius to already be so involved in the political process. Ignius was so surprised by that, they almost forgot to be worried about the actual message.

The rumbling of the rebels brought Ignius back to the reality of the situation. Ignius nervously flattened their ears and looked around at the gathered dragons and servants. Wings were bristling and shifting in agitation, and talons were clawing the ground. The crowd pressed in on Ignius, who couldn’t move even if they wanted to. “We need an incentive,” Jack Matterly started to say. “We’ll send them one of their talons!” shouted one of the crowd. “The one with the signet ring!” “That’s really not…” Jack tried to say. But Jack’s reasonable and logical tone was swallowed up by the shifting, angry crowd. There was a wall of scales around them, and there was nothing they could do to escape the oncoming storm. “We should execute them and send the Lockdens their head!” came another suggestion. Ignius was chilled by how many of the surrounding crowd looked as if they ed this verdict. There was a hum in the air, as if the crowd had become a single, great, multi-headed beast. Ignius’s insides clenched up with panic, and a sour taste rose in their mouth. The closer the crowd came, the more stifling it was, like being next to one of the great coal furnaces of Azenath. Ignius couldn’t help it. They couldn’t control the instinctive urge to bolt, and struggled against the manacles around their neck. It held fast, and Ignius strained against it in panic. The metal dug into their scales, chafing them off, and the pain urged them on even more. The crowd jeered, some of the human servants coming to prod at Ignius’s side with sharpened stakes. Enough was enough. Ignius drew air into their lungs, filling the fire chamber within their chest. They would show these tiny dragonlings once and for all. Flames licked over their jaw, ready to spill forth in a wave of fire. “Enough!”

Somehow, Jack Matterly yelled loudly enough to be heard over the rumbles of the crowd. They had climbed up high on a nearby boulder and flared their wings to draw attention. Jack roared again, and the crowd’s steady hum grew silent as they turned to view Jack. “We aren’t like them,” Jack said. “We have to be better than them! We have to be fair where the tyrant is not.” “It is fair!” someone shouted. “They can suffer like we did!” “We need to get the Council of Dragons to listen to us!” Jack said. “They won’t listen if we execute a child of one of the noble lines.” Ignius wanted to protest that they weren’t a child, but staying quiet and keeping the attention off themself seemed like the smarter option. “It will show we’re serious!” someone shouted. A rumble of approval followed this proclamation. “What if we get Ignius to write a letter?” Matterly suggested. “That will prove that it really is Ignius, and we can seal it with their signet ring.” Ignius didn’t much like that option either, but getting executed was far worse than writing a letter. The net was drawn back from Ignius’s head, and someone pressed a skyhawk feather quill into their claws. Ignius surveyed the rebels in front of them with great suspicion as they dipped the quill in a pot of ink.

This missive comes from the hand of Ignius Lockden, Chosen of Kathely of Aera. I have come to be held in captivity by the most heinous group of rebel insurgents that ever existed. The scale delivered to you did, in fact, belong to myself and was of my body. These scoundrels tore it from my very hide without the istration of anaesthesia.

As it is, I must ask that my family does not give in to the demands of these rebels. I trust in the decision of the Council of Dragons.

Signed Yours Truly,

Ignius, line of Lockden

Jack read the letter and furrowed their snout. For a moment, Ignius thought they would protest Ignius’s message, but then they spoke. “It matters not what your message says, only that it is in your hand,” they said, shaking their head. A candle was procured, and Ignius was made to press their signet ring into the still-warm wax to create an indent of the Lockden crest. Another runner came forward to take the message from Jack and flew off into the gathering night. Jack didn’t bother to put the net back over Ignius now that it had been removed. Ignius kept their wings by their side and wondered if they got their wings flapping, if perhaps they could pull the stakes free. Ignius would have to wait until later to test this. “How can you be certain the letter will work when the scale didn’t?” Ignius asked Jack after the crowd had calmed and gone back to their regular duties. “It’s in your hand and sealed with your ring,” Jack said immediately. “That scale could have belonged to any Lockden dragon.” “Why didn’t you just send a letter to begin with?” Ignius asked. “Because I wanted to test the waters. I didn’t expect it to work the first time around,” Jack said. “This test gave me more insight than even I expected.” Ignius wondered if Jack had expected the crowd to demand Ignius’s execution,

but decided that if Jack was in a sharing kind of mood, then perhaps they could get their own insight. “Why do you need Mary Scott so much?” Ignius asked. “Why can’t you just write the speeches yourself? You’ve already convinced so many people to your rebellion.” “It’s not enough,” Jack replied, shaking their head. “We need far more people if we want to be successful. We need to bring others to our side, and that means I need someone who’s good with words.” “I think you are,” Ignius said. “You talked that crowd down.” “I’m charismatic, true,” Jack said, unfolding and refolding their wings. “But Mary…Mary is smart. They can put my frustration with the system into understandable words, and get people to listen. Our movement needs a person like that, to give our issues a voice.” “I don’t even know what your issues are,” Ignius said. “Only what you said before, about not having rights.” “That’s exactly the problem,” Jack said. “I know my own experiences and discuss it with other people with similar experiences because they already understand. I need to tell people who don’t already know what I mean. I find it hard to do. But Mary, they can put the right words down and everything.” Ignius almost wanted to meet this Mary person of whom Jack seemed so reverent. But surely such a potentially dangerous person would be better off staying in prison? “Why is Mary in prison to begin with?” Ignius asked. Jack laughed harshly and replied, “Exactly what we want to break them out for. Or, as the council likes to say, ‘spreading propaganda.’” “That doesn’t…” Ignius started to say but trailed off. They had been about to say it didn’t seem fair to imprison someone for having an idea, or a differing opinion, but that was very close to saying Jack was right and something needed to change. Cassius was always going on about stuff like

that. Cassius also complained about how the council was so old and afraid of change. Ignius hadn’t completely understood it at the time. Was this what Cassius meant? Cassius wasn’t a rebellious spirit, though; they were far too stuffy to go along with something like that. Right? Ignius wished they could discuss it with Kathely. And now they were thinking about Kathely again. They had been trying to avoid that if at all possible. They were certain that if Kathely had come to harm, they would somehow know it. But it didn’t stop them from worrying about them, out there all alone, and without Ignius’s protection. It was still cold, and Ignius could only be glad that Kathely had been wearing riding leathers at the time of the abduction. What if they ran into wild animals in the forest or lost their way in the dense wood? Ignius had seen it from the air, and the wilderness did not look friendly. Though pointless, they couldn’t help worrying about something that they had no control over, but they couldn’t help it. All they could do was repeat in their head what they knew to be true. Kathely was brave, determined, and strong. They would survive, if only to spite their enemies. Ignius had to hope, because Kathely was beyond their reach.

*

Every time Ignius started to go in another “being captive is really boring” thought spiral, they sternly reminded themself what it was like when it wasn’t boring. The increasingly restless group of dragons could become a seething crowd in the blink of an eye. Ignius had always assumed lower-class dragons to be weak, somewhat defenceless, and not very bright. They were just beginning to discover how very wrong they were. Jack, who was surprisingly benevolent for the leader of an army of rebel insurgents, seemed to be under the impression that it was Ignius’s

parents at fault for giving them such a skewed perception. Ignius wasn’t at all inclined to allow their parents to take the blame for such an oversight. They were an adult, after all, if barely. “At least we can give you some credit in that you appear to be taking this seriously, unlike your elders,” Jack said. Jack liked to talk to them for some reason. Ignius hadn’t asked why, not wanting to question the good fortune of being given free information. “It’s rather hard not to take someone seriously when one’s head is in a giant manacle,” Ignius said. “Where did you even find that?” “Catacombs,” Jack Matterly said cheerfully. “Ancient dungeons beneath Azenath. Funny things you can find crawling around in old ruins.” Ignius was half intrigued and half horrified by this unexpected revelation. They decided not to ask who the previous prisoner of these chains were. Waiting was so painfully tedious. There was that thought again, and Ignius thunked their head on the ground. They didn’t want to find out what would happen if the letter they sent still elicited a negative response from the council. It couldn’t take that much longer for a response to come. The council could be very slow at decision-making, but not in matters like this. An emergency meeting was likely called in response to the situation at hand. The thing was, Ignius wasn’t certain what the response would be, but they thought that it would likely be negative. They weren’t sure what would happen then, but it wasn’t going to be good. “Look, the runner!” someone shouted. Ignius squinted at the speaker, but they were still having trouble discerning which ones were which. Most of them looked and smelled very similar, at least to Ignius. None of them appeared to have any set role in this ragtag army to define them apart from one another. It was probably just Ignius being ignorant again.

The runner came in quickly. “I think I saw someone following me,” they said nervously. “No one else saw anything,” another replied. “You’re imagining things again, Vern.” “I’m not,” Vern protested. “I swear this time I’m not.” Ignius made a mental note in their head: Vern, runner with splotchy green patch of colour circling one eye and often imagines danger when there is none. Of course, there was also Jack Matterly, who was dark green with deep brown streaks on their wings. Easy to tell apart from size alone, and the gleaming of their scales. Jack was bigger than the lower-class dragons, but a tad smaller than the mids. Jack’s friend Mirien had flown in last night. They were an off-beige with grey stripes. There was also Gertie, the one who had engineered the ambush, who was similar in colouring to Vern—and almost every other lowerclass dragon. “Just the note, please, Vern,” Jack said, sounding tired. Jack unrolled the note, and their face fell almost immediately. Ignius’s gut clenched in anticipation of trouble. There wasn’t much else that was more dangerous than enraged dragons in a crowd. “Now can we chop off a talon?” asked Vern, sounding excited at the prospect. “Just one of the back ones. They don’t need them all.” The crowd had become riled up again, and Ignius flared their wings, ready to defend their back talon from an unwanted trimming. “Ware wings!” one of the sentries shouted, and then a horn trumpeted a warning. “Ware wings!” “I told you I saw something!” Vern said triumphantly. “Not the time, Vern!” Jack yelled. “Come on, I need wings launched now!” About half the dragons took to the air, and the human rebels ran for their posts on the ground. The insurgents had built all sorts of fortifications around the area with wood and packed earth.

Jack turned to Ignius, shaking their head. “The council must be calling our bluff,” Jack said, seemingly unconcerned about a possible impending battle. “How so?” Ignius asked, interested in spite of themself. “The council basically just replied that they don’t think that our group has it in us to kill a child in cold blood. And now they’re pushing us to prove it, one way or the other.” “And you’re not going to kill or otherwise hurt me,” surmised Ignius. “No, I couldn’t sanction that,” Matterly said. “I wonder how they found us. I would have thought my relay strategy would work.” “Your kind of thinking, leniency on behalf of enemies, will lose you this conflict,” Ignius pointed out. “Are you saying I should kill you?” Jack asked dryly. Ignius shrugged their wings. “You’re not ruthless enough.” “Interesting advice for a youngling,” Jack said, watching as the rest of the rebels prepared to defend against attacks. “You know, we learn strategy and tactics as a basic part of our education,” Ignius replied. “Good to know,” Jack said, watching the skies above. “Now where are the attackers coming from?” “You assume they will attack first?” Ignius asked. At that very moment, a shadow fell over them. A violet dragon flew overhead, a parlay flag flying below their wings. They circled around once and then hovered, waiting. “Gwena?” Ignius wondered aloud. “But it can’t be Gwena.” “You think you know that dragon?” Jack asked.

Ignius dipped their head in acknowledgement. “Well, then I suppose I’d better parlay then,” Jack said, taking off and leaving Ignius behind to watch from the ground. Ignius watched tersely as Jack flew up to meet the dragon who couldn’t possibly be Gwena, but who looked just like them. The pair circled each other a few times, and finally Jack returned to the ground. “What’s happening?” Ignius asked as soon as Jack touched down. “Youngling, I have no idea how to explain this to you,” Jack said. “But those aren’t messengers from the Council of Dragons. Somehow, your friends have found us and are demanding your immediate return.” “In exchange for what?” Ignius asked, hardly daring to breath. “In exchange for ‘not raining down fiery death on our heads’ is how your friend Gwena phrased it,” Jack said wryly. “So it is Gwena?” Ignius exclaimed. “And Kathely,” Jack said. “The thing is, kid, we need you. We can’t just give you up to them for nothing. The other problem is your friends don’t have the authority to promise the release of Mary Scott. So we’re kind of at a deadlock.” “It’s not a deadlock. They’re going to attack you,” said Ignius. “And I’m going to threaten to execute you unless they surrender,” Jack replied. “But you’re not going to hurt me,” Ignius protested. “They don’t know that,” Jack said. Jack quickly penned a message to send back up to Gwena, and Ignius watched and waited tersely. They could tell right now that this stand-off wasn’t going to end well for anyone. But they couldn’t help but be relieved. Gwena was here, and Kathely was fine. They had believed in them, but it was still a huge weight off their mind to know that Kathely was unharmed and safe. For how long that would remain to be true, Ignius didn’t know, because they anticipated that both

Kathely and Gwena would not take Jack’s answer to the parlay well at all. Flames erupted across the sky, and the smaller dragons rushed in, spouting smaller, geyser-like spouts of fire. The battle ed above them, and the dragons on the ground began launching flaming rocks into the air with catapults they had constructed. Ignius roared as loudly as they could, their throat and lungs aching with the force of it. Gwena roared back, flaming and clawing at the smaller dragons as if they were gnats rather than dragons. Ignius struggled even more against the chains holding down their head, wings flapping and straining. The chains held fast, the metal digging harshly into their scales. The chains around their wrists and ankles also held. Ignius roared again in frustration, flaming in anger. The ground around their head area was baked black and hard, cracking with the heat. “Ignius!” a shout came from above. “Mahalir?” Ignius asked in surprise. “You’re here too?” “No time to explain now. Let’s get you free,” Mahalir said. Mahalir grabbed the stake holding down Ignius’s head and pulled with all their strength, using their weight to add pressure. At first, Ignius thought it wouldn’t budge, but then it abruptly came free with a pop. Mahalir went over to the other stake and got that one out as well. With their head free, Ignius was able to help remove the stakes holding their limbs down. Ignius launched into the sky, roaring in triumph at their renewed freedom. “Ignius!” It was Kathely, who was perched behind Varaly on Gwena’s back. Ignius flew towards them eagerly. “Retreat!” Gwena yelled. “Ignius has been freed! Retreat!” The chains still dangled below their body, attached as they were around Ignius’s limbs. Ignius didn’t much care, because they were free again and would soon be reunited with Kathely and what looked like most of their friends. How this could

have possibly happened was beyond Ignius, but they weren’t about to question their incredible fortune. Dragons fell into formation around Ignius, creating a protective diamond shape around them. It felt wonderful to be flying among friends once more. A glance around revealed Gwena at the head of the formation with both Varaly and Kathely. Unfortunately, all of Ignius’s brand new Far Patrol equipment had been taken from them and not recovered. That meant that Kathely couldn’t fly with them until after they returned to the Watchtower. The extra flying harness they had ordered should have arrived by now, so at least they wouldn’t have to wait too long to fly with their Chosen. Mahalir was to their left, and to their surprise, Cassius was on their right. They couldn’t believe that Cassius had risked the wrath of Pygnia in order to help in the rescue. Surely this rescue effort of theirs was unsanctioned by the council. Not only that, Hexara was there. They could hardly believe it, because Normonts and Lockdens were opposite sides on the Council of Dragons, and a Normont shouldn’t be inclined to help a Lockden dragon who was in trouble. There was no time to ask any of the dozens of questions that Ignius had. They were all flying flat out to try to outpace the smaller dragons, who were much faster than the larger upper-class dragons, but only over short distances. The bigger dragons could fly for hours at the right pace. “Will we make it to the Watchtower?” Ignius asked. “Not tonight!” Gwena shouted back. “We’ll explain later.” They flew for a long time, and Ignius didn’t know exactly where they were in relation to the Watchtower. It was an uncomfortable feeling, flying blind, but they trusted their friends, especially Kathely, to lead them right. It was dusk by the time they landed in a clearing, and Ignius was tired and feeling the bruised ache of their injuries. They had no gear to set up, and they felt isolated standing there with nothing to do. “Ignius!” Kathely shouted, leaping from Gwena’s back. “I’m so glad you’re safe. I can’t believe they took a scale from you. Those rebels sure are vicious.”

“You can’t tell them apart either?” Ignius whispered. “Not in the slightest,” Kathely replied. “So how did they get a scale from you?” Kathely asked. “You were pretty trussed up, from the looks of it.” “They took a scale from my flank,” Ignius said, ears flattening at the memory of pain and sense of violation. Kathely walked around them to look at the spot, which had crusted over with blood. Kathely patted the area around the injury, and Ignius hissed in discomfort. “Sorry,” Kathely said. “I rather liked your letter.” “You did?” Ignius asked. “I wrote it under duress.” “I’m glad we were able to rescue you,” Kathely said. “We weren’t sure there would be enough of us.” “Mahalir was very brave, getting down on the ground to free me from the stakes holding me down,” Ignius said staunchly. “I’m sure they were,” Kathely replied. A look around the camp springing to life around them revealed there were a few new faces, and also, to their surprise and slight embarrassment, Sharn. “Hey, don’t skulk off and try to ditch your duties,” Hexara said grumpily. “I’m not trying to,” Ignius replied. “I’ll do the washing up after.” “Ignius, let me introduce you to our new friends,” Cassius said, sounding a bit anxious. “Of course,” Ignius said, turning to face the newest people in the group. “This is Olessia and Livia, both of House Rancove,” Cassius introduced them. Their Chosen are Nessidy and Portia of Terron.” The two dragons were obviously born of twin eggs, and their Chosen also looked

and smelled identical. Ignius blinked. That must be confusing. Maybe that was half the fun with having such similar faces? “And you know Sharn of the Lynmor line, and Verin of Zera. Lastly,” Cassius said, wingtips fluttering nervously, “this is Ceres of Skyvale and Taea of Seria.” A dragon with a shimmery lilac and seafoam hide dipped their head, and Cassius’s tail curled and uncurled with anxiety. Almost as if they wanted Ignius’s approval. Ignius dipped their head. “It is my pleasure,” Ignius said. “I can’t express how grateful I am for your intervention. I owe you all my life.” “As if we were going to let you have all the fun,” Gwena said, coming to nudge their shoulder playfully. “Speaking of that, how on earth and sky did you find your way back here after making a trek through the forest?” Ignius asked Kathely. “I used the com to triangulate where I was, using mountain peaks as my start point and using what I ed of the map to send me in the right direction,” Kathely said. “It was only sort of the right direction. Scouts from the Aerial Legion picked me up.” “And then when Kathely returned, none of the council wanted to negotiate with the insurgents,” Cassius interrupted, taking over the tale. “I did try to persuade them; you must believe me, Ignius.” “Of course, Cassius,” Ignius said. “We are family, after all.” “Then, we decided to rescue you ourselves,” Gwena said gleefully. “We knew we had to gather as many of us as possible, so we recruited a few people to our cause,” Cassius said, dipping their head in the direction of the Rancoves and Ceres. “You didn’t tell them the most important part!” Hexara said loudly. “The only reason you think it’s the most important is because it involves you,” Gwena said.

“Are you saying I’m wrong?” Hexara shot back. “We found you because we got the idea of following the messengers. The runners flew too fast for us to follow, so what we did was track the messengers until they were out of sight and mark it on a map. Then, we would plant Hexara there to watch where they went. Hexara’s hide is such a dark green that it’s hard to see in the trees,” Cassius finished. Ignius nodded, impressed. “You outsmarted their plan.” “Yes, and I’m very proud of all of us,” Cassius said. “There’s just one thing I’m worried about at this point.” “And what’s that?” Ignius asked. “Technically, the council said that we weren’t allowed to rescue you,” Gwena said. “We just chose not to pay attention to that. And look! You’re rescued now. All good.” Which meant, when they all got back to the Watchtower, they would be in some amount of trouble. Ignius sighed.

Chapter Six

Ignius and the formation of errant dragons who had helped with the rescue flew over the forest near the Watchtower, and Ignius goggled at the pure devastation of the wreckage below. The black and twisted forms of charred tree remains showed that it had been on fire at some point. Whether the fire was set by the rebels or the defending legion remained to be known. A large swath of the forest was nothing but cracked and blackened earth. The scent of ash and smoke filled their nostrils, and they sneezed, sending a small spout of flame out in front of them. “Ware wing!” It wasn’t one of their group shouting it, so it meant someone flying patrol had spotted the group and was sending up a warning cry. Scouts in red from the Aerial legion circled around them. “State your name and intentions!” shouted the nearest one, and as they flew closer, Ignius recognized Danek. “I’m Gwena line of Myrmont, and my Chosen is Varaly of Hydrae,” said Gwena. “We have returned successfully with Ignius Lockden, who was a captive of the rebel insurgents.” “Ignius?” Danek questioned, then scanned the faces in front of them. “By the fire, it is Ignius Lockden! We thought you were toast, my friend.” “I was lucky,” Ignius said. “I’ll have to take you directly to the commander, I hope you understand,” Danek said. “Your rescue, though successful and well-intentioned, was not sanctioned by the council.” “We understand perfectly,” Gwena said. “Escort away; we’ll follow.” Ignius had been dreading this. Of course, they would have instantly done the

same for any of their comrades-on-wing even if it meant that later they had to face punishment. It was strange, because although they had been the one to be captured, it was surely not fair to punish someone when they had no part in deciding to break the rules. Ignius felt instant shame at the uncharitable thought. Their formation fell in behind Danek and flew for the Watchtower, massive and foreboding on the horizon, backlit by the pale violet and blue of the setting sun. Though less than a day’s flight to the Watchtower, their group had allowed half the morning before taking to the sky. Their late return had mostly been Cassius’s fault, as they had not only been the latest to be roused, but they were also the most commanding presence, so everyone had listened to them. Of course, Ignius, Gwena, and Sharn had been among the first to wake, being much used to early mornings by this point. Breakfast had been slightly awkward as both Sharn and Ignius would only address their remarks to Gwena. Gwena had smiled in private amusement and not commented, but Ignius knew exactly what they were thinking and blinked in embarrassment. It was unfortunate that Ignius could have survived kidnapping and harm at the hands of insurgents and still have issues talking to Sharn. Surely, they should have figured out a solution by this point? The matter at hand, which was actually that their group was probably about to get reamed out by the commander for disobeying orders, and not the awkwardness between Sharn and Ignius, came to a head as Ignius realized Danek was leading them all to a much higher tower. “Commander Merwyn awaits your presence,” Danek said. “Land at that tower in front of us. One of the attendants will tell the commander of your arrival, and matters will proceed from there.” Ignius was not looking forward to this. Everyone hated to be in trouble, no matter how big or small, and this was something of substantial weight. They could only hope their friends would not be in too much trouble. They all landed and climbed to the entrance of the dragontower. Ignius still cringed as their talons met cold stone. Cassius actually yelped out loud in dismay when they landed, and Ignius held back a snort of amusement. They emerged into a huge antechamber which had four large stone pillars, one at

each corner of the room. The architecture here reminded Ignius of the older parts of Azenath, which were built in an ancient Gothic style, with intricate, wroughtiron designs, and arched windows and doorways. It wasn’t at all like the quarters they were housed in, which were meant to be basic but comfortable. At the far side, as promised, a lower-class attendant waited by the huge, arched doorway. “Gwena Myrmont and company here to see Commander Merwyn,” Gwena boomed across the chamber. The attendant didn’t even speak, just bobbed their head briefly and scurried away, disappearing into an unobtrusive little doorway hidden behind a silk cloth. The servant had seemed so subservient and disciplined compared to the rabble that had kidnapped Ignius. Or was it only a facade? Ignius couldn’t tell. The servant returned by the same way, and said, “You will wait here until the commander will see you.” The servant returned to their post. “Oh, no,” Cassius whispered. “What?” Gwena whispered back. “We’re being made to wait,” Cassius said. “That’s a bad sign.” “How so?” Ignius said. “Maybe the commander is busy with something.” Cassius snorted. “I have no doubt the commander has been waiting all day for us to return, and now that they know we are here they are going to settle down with a warm brandy and savour it. How long we are made to wait will depend on how angry the commander is about our rescue mission.” “Oh,” said Gwena, clicking their talons nervously. “I see.” “I shouldn’t have come with you nincompoops,” Hexara muttered. “I ought to have realized you hadn’t thought the entire thing through.” “We did,” Ceres input icily. “It is hardly our fault that you failed to do so.” “Now, now,” Gwena hushed them both. “We’re on the same team here. Think

about it. They have to punish us all the same, or not at all. And they can’t afford to have so many of us in exile or whatever, so it won’t be too bad.” “Gwena might be right,” Cassius sighed. “We may get off easier than expected.” “I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Kathely said. Nothing much happened while they waited. Any sound anyone made was amplified immensely by the stone walls of the chamber. Further inspection of the walls revealed them to be curved so they would echo the noises back even more. Ignius wondered how many miscreants had been in exactly their position in the past. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the bell above the door rang once, and Cassius sighed in relief. “Only three quarters of a turn,” said Cassius. “Not the worst that could happen.” “What’s the worst?” Ignius whispered quickly as the attendant opened the great doors with a lever which implemented an intricate pulley system above their heads. “People have waited all day to see the commander,” Cassius said. “Trust me, I’ve read the s myself. From the commander’s point of view, of course, but still.” “And I would have made you wait all day if you had arrived earlier,” Commander Merwyn said, and Cassius’s ears flattened tight against their skull. “But apparently some dilly-dallying took place.” Cassius could say nothing about that, as it had been primarily their fault that the group had not set out earlier. Still, Ignius was Cassius’s cousin, and it only made sense that Ignius should have been the one to try to hurry them homeward. They all waited for Commander Merwyn to move on, but it appeared they were composing their thoughts. “You have been brought to me today because you have broken the laws of this land and purposely gone against the wishes of the council,” said the commander. “You went to the aid of Ignius Lockden, even though you all knew what decision

the council had come to.” “The decision—” Cassius started to say. “Silence!” snapped the commander. “None of you shall say anything unless specifically asked.” Cowed, Cassius lowered their eyes, clearly ashamed. Even Hexara didn’t look as if they were going to argue with that. Ignius supposed that the commander had their position for a reason other than their imposing presence. “The decision made by the council may not have been one you agreed with,” the commander continued. “It may not even be the best possible decision. However, it was the decision made by the council, and as our governing body, their decision must stand.” Commander Merwyn looked them all over, one by one, with great yellow eyes, like a skyhawk. Ignius made themself meet them without flinching, as terrifying as that was. For a moment, the commander watched them, then nodded slightly in approval. Perhaps they had ed one test of mettle, at least in the commander’s eyes. “I do realize that most of you are friends of Ignius and did not agree with the council’s decision, based on personal and emotional reasons,” the commander said. “But in this respect, a dragon, no matter how young, must master this part of themself, and their Chosen is expected to uphold the same values. You have all disappointed your respective families.” Ignius cringed at that. Sendia had been so proud of them for making Far Patrol, and even Pygnia Lockden had come to see them off. Had they let all those people down who had believed in them? Maybe they hadn’t been involved in the actual rescue, but they had made the same decision in regards to Kathely. They had allowed themself to be captured rather than allow harm to come to Kathely. And they could not say with any confidence that if the positions had been reversed, they would have abided with the council’s decision. Commander Merwyn probably realized this. Kathely was the only thing in the world of which Ignius could not bear the loss. The possibility was too terrible to contemplate, and even ing what it had been like seeing Kathely dangled above the ocean, the very same ocean that

had captivated them with its immense power, made them shiver. No, they would have done it, no matter the consequence. “Now, as you all may have gathered, you are in disgrace,” Commander Merwyn went on. “As such, you must endure some sort of punishment in order to return yourselves to the good graces of the council. Luckily for you, the Head of the Council is Pygnia Lockden, and they were willing to be lenient.” Ignius could hardly believe it. Pygnia could have had them all exiled for breaking the laws and decisions of the council. That raised a question, however. Why was Pygnia Lockden being lenient on them? There had to be a reason for that, because not only was Pygnia not known for their leniency, but they always did everything for a reason. Sometimes their reasons had secondary reasons and so on. Ignius was immediately suspicious, but they couldn’t exactly ask any questions right now. “But not too lenient,” the commander continued. “You will all be sent to Azenath to serve out your sentence. You will not be sent to prison, so let that knowledge set you at ease.” Out of the corner of their eye, Ignius saw the rest of their little group relax. However, Ignius was still wary and did not let their guard down. Something was up; that was for sure. Maybe they could ask Cassius later. “But you will be set to labour for two moonturns, and you will not be allowed to return to your family tower while there. Instead, you will be housed communally, like the mids. In fact, you’ll be using mid’s quarters, and the size of them will be barely adequate, so prepare yourselves for that. After your punishment is fulfilled, you will return to your duties as normal.” Ignius blinked and only barely just managed to keep a frown off their brow. It was a very lenient punishment. Too lenient. “Sir, if I may,” said Sharn. Ignius’s head shot up in surprise, and everyone else stilled. “Yes, Sharn Lynmor?” said Commander Merwyn.

“We are all to be taken to Azenath?” asked Sharn. “Yes, all of you, even the house of Lynmor in the north and the house of Skyvale of the east are required to go to Azenath for their punishment. The eyes of the council will be watching you closely, young ones, so tread carefully, and watch your step,” the commander replied. “And can any of you tell me why this is so important?” There was silence in the hall, although Ignius saw Cassius’s brow furrow in their classic thinking pose that Ignius recognized so well. Cassius, at least, was trying to redeem their behaviour. “It’s because you did the same thing that the rebel insurgents did—you didn’t heed the rule of the council, and such thinking is dangerous and leads to worse things,” the commander said. “Do you think that those rebels started out like that? No, the ideas poisoned their minds for a long while before anything happened.” Ignius realized this was the truth and bowed their head. They had behaved badly in the eyes of their comrades and fellow dragons, especially their family. “Sir?” Gwena asked, seemingly emboldened by Sharn speaking. “What kind of labour will we be doing?” The commander looked their group over, and for the first time, the sides of their mouth turned up slightly in a smile. “We’re not sending you to the rock quarries, if that’s what you’re afraid of,” they said. “In fact, you’ll be working with young dragonettes in the forges to hopefully teach you more responsibility, and to give a lesson on behaviour to the younglings.” Ignius saw Cassius relax slightly out of the corner of their eye. Ignius supposed it would look bad if the next Head of the line of Lockden was seen labouring in a mine. It was bad enough that none of them were allowed to return to their homes and would be living in middling quarters. That would be humiliating, which was probably the purpose of housing them all there. “That’s all I have to say to you lot,” the commander finished. “You’ll all stay here tonight and leave for Azenath tomorrow. Ignius Lockden and Sharn

Lynmor, I expect I will see you in two months’ time back here, to continue your duty as Far Patrol dragons.” Ignius wished Sharn was staying elsewhere. Though a very uncharitable thought, especially since Sharn had been part of the rescue party, they were already dealing with being punished, never mind adding the awkwardness with Sharn. They knew very well this was childish, but they couldn’t deal with this by themself so they were glad Gwena would be there too. The gathering chamber was rather subdued that night. They all soaked in the hotsprings one last time before they had to leave and then sat together in the gathering chamber. All was somber for the first part of the evening as they all digested the news. “We can’t just sit around moping,” one of the Rancove dragons said. “Let’s play a word game or at the very least talk like we do normally.” “Olessia is right,” said the other Rancove, who Ignius assumed to be Livia. “We must not give in to despair. This is a temporary setback.” As a rule, Rancoves and Lockdens tended not to get along, but Ignius appreciated the optimism of the two dragons. Hexara nodded in agreement, shifting closer to the twins. Obviously, the Normont-Rancove allegiance still held strong. Ignius could hardly believe that they had all come to help them out of trouble, and at the expense of their dignity and respect. “What kind of word games do you enjoy?” Ceres asked, making an effort to remain cheerful. There were a few arguments over which game they should play, because even if they were on the same side, it didn’t mean that Lockdens and Rancoves necessarily got along. Still, even the debating took their attention off the impending punishment. The night ended on a surprisingly high note, and Ignius was grateful for their freedom, if nothing else. The next morning, as the group prepared for the flight back to Azenath, Danek Lynmor landed at the Far Patrol dragontower.

Everyone turned to look at them, and Danek said, “A runner has just come with urgent news. The city of Tracks is overrun by rebel insurgents, and it is advised that your group take another route back.” “Yes, sergeant. Thank you,” said Gwena. Ignius looked at Kathely after Danek left and said, “Kathely, our bad reception in Tracks on our way to the Watchtower? Maybe this current crisis has something to do with that.” “I’m sure it does, Ignius,” Kathely said. “If only someone had paid attention to our report.” Kathely didn’t have to voice their reluctance to say anything about it now. They were all in enough trouble as it was, without trying to stir up more. It was too late anyway, and telling people that they should have been paying more attention to a past matter would do nothing but exacerbate tempers. “The elders will handle it,” Ignius said, but the confidence they once had in the council was somewhat shaken. Ignius couldn’t put their claw on exactly what, but somewhere, somehow, there was a speck of doubt blooming. The flight back to Azenath was mostly uneventful. Their group had to take a different route through the Faar Range, one that was only used by runners most of the time. By this point, Ignius was used to strong air currents and freezing winds, and the flight through the was a breeze. They could see Cassius struggling, and poor Malahir was almost always falling behind. They arrived two days behind schedule, one because of thunderstorm avoidance, and another because of Malahir’s lagging. Only Hexara had complained about it, but Ignius had expected that. As soon as their formation came to the city walls of Azenath, a runner came to guide them to their destination. Apparently, they were expected. The runner winged their way in between dragontowers, not stopping at all along the way. Ignius’s chest panged as their formation flew right by Lockden tower, and they longed to go back and visit the familiar hallways. They had missed their home more than they had imagined back when they had started out on their journey. Now, here they were, going right past it, yet forbidden to enter.

“I know,” Gwena said to them. “We ed the Myrmont tower too. I’ve missed Azenath.” Ignius nodded, somehow unable to speak, their throat tight with an ineffable feeling. “Here we are,” said the runner. “Land on that dragontower below.” The runner began their descent, and the formation followed. The dragontower, if it could be called that, was barely adequate for landing purposes, and Ignius feared that they wouldn’t all fit inside. It would be a tight squeeze, no two ways about it. The mid circled the tower, then dipped their wings in farewell and departed. Gwena in the lead landed first, and Ignius could tell that there was no way that all of them would be able to land at once. “Olessia and Livia, follow Gwena. The rest of you, circle around again,” Ignius called. To Ignius’s surprise, no one argued, not even Hexara, who generally was not inclined to follow the orders of anyone, let alone Ignius. Gwena scaled the tower quickly, pausing at the entrance to the dragontower. They shook their head and slowly crawled forward into the tower. Olessia and Livia landed as well. It took a while to get everyone into the dragontower, and as Ignius imagined, it was a tight fit. Another half sunturn, and none of them would have been able to get inside. As it was, it was too cramped for Ignius to unfurl their wings, and they had to walk in a stunted half crouch in order to get anywhere. “Why is this tower abandoned?” asked Hexara. “It looks like no one’s used it in forever.” “The mids don’t all have family towers because there are so many of them, and not all of them can afford to have a tower,” Cassius said, puffing up with importance as they lectured. “Instead, they will rent a space in one of these towers and commute to work from here. Imagine, having to work for money in order to survive! At least some of the mids are merchants and can afford their own tower. But some can’t.”

“So we’re stuck in one of the mid’s non-permanent housing is what you’re telling me,” Hexara said, sounding unimpressed. “Yes,” Cassius said, sighing and looking around. I suppose it doesn’t matter which quarters we choose. They’ll all be pretty much the same.” “We could even stay in a different one each night, and the experience wouldn’t change a bit,” Pharyn said, walking next to Cassius’s front left talon. As they were discussing this, a runner appeared behind them and said, “The Forge Master is here to see you all out front.” That’s when Ignius realized that the hallways were too narrow to turn around. The rest of them realized that as well, and there was a slight amount of panic as Hexara tried to walk backwards and ran into Cassius. “The hallway is built like a square,” the runner said helpfully. “Just keep going forward and you’ll find another exit on the other side.” It was still undignified, and getting out of the tower proved to be another adventure in itself, as the antechamber for launching was too small for them to launch from. Gwena had to try a maneuver in which they crawled face-first down the dragontower and then turned around. They had to launch by pushing themself backwards off the tower and into the air. It was very awkward. The Forge Master was waiting for them impatiently, and when they all arrived, they looked them over and snorted. “You had better be useful, because there’s lots to do, and not much time to do it in,” the Forge Master said. The Forge Master was a mid, the leader of the Forge Guild. Their family could probably afford to have their own dragontower. “Excuse me, sir, but by what name should we call you?” asked Livia. “I’m Kirk Forge. You can call me Master Kirk,” the Guild Master said. “You will follow my direction, and hopefully we can all get through this painful experience without much difficulty.”

Master Kirk took them to the forges in which dragonettes from various noble lines were practicing flaming. Master Kirk gave them sparse, rather vague instructions and left. The dragonettes, who had tried to watch surreptitiously as Master Kirk gave them instructions, all turned to look at the newcomers inquisitively. “You’re that Locky who got kidnapped by bad guys,” said one of the dragonettes. “Shhh, Alward, don’t talk in lower-class slang,” another dragonette chastised them. “Um, apparently we’re supposed to help you with breathing exercises to deepen your fire breath,” Gwena told the younglings hesitantly. “So gather around, we’re going to do some counting along with some inhaling and exhaling.” Ignius ended up teaching the little ones how to do the breathing exercises that Vedder had taught them, what seemed like ages ago now. It didn’t take that long, and then Ignius went to the others, who had taken over keeping the forges running while Ignius had been busy teaching the dragonettes. Sharn and Ceres were breathing into the forges while the rest of them waited around, chatting. “We’re taking it in turns,” Gwena said. “Whenever the forges need more coal, we load them up, and two people are breathing into the forges at all times. Right now Cassius and Hexara are on coal duty.” “This is going to be more boring than anything,” Livia said. “So, how are the dragonettes?” “The dragonettes get a lunch break, or so they tell me,” Ignius said. “They could have been lying, but seeing as we’re keeping the forges running, they don’t have much to do now.” “Like I said, this is going to be a boring two months,” Livia said with a sigh. “Now what?” Hexara came over and said, “Ignius, you and Gwena can take a turn on coal duty.” “Fine by me,” Ignius said.

Livia was right. It was fairly boring, and they didn’t even have time to talk to Gwena about anything. A long day over, Ignius and the formation returned to the tower, where they discovered, much to their collective consternation, there were no nice, lovely hotsprings to soak their tired muscles. Instead, there were cold pools of water. “I’m covered in soot,” complained Hexara. “I need a bath!” “Hey, there’s a water pump and a stair down to the next level,” Kathely said. “Pharyn, Varaly, let’s go check it out.” It turned out that there was a pump for more water, and a way to heat the water down below on the next level. There was no way that the water could become as warm as the hotsprings, but at least it was something. There was wood stacked up below, and the humans were able to get a fire started to warm the water. “This is going to be a horrible two months,” Hexara said morosely. “Why’d you have to go and get captured, Ignius?” Ignius decided that this was a rhetorical question, and didn’t deign to answer it.

*

After a long week in the forges Ignius realized there was a lot more to the life of one of the middling-class dragons than they had imagined. They had to heat their own water, go get their own food, and replenish their own firewood that heated the tower. Ignius wondered what the point of all this was, because if it were simply a punishment for going against the council’s decision, it was an odd punishment. The best part of the entire situation was talking to the dragonettes. They were all surprisingly funny, and easy to talk to, because their attention spans were very short, and they were very excitable. “Thinking about having your own dragonettes someday?” teased Gwena.

“Not as such,” Ignius said nervously. Then Ignius realized that Sharn was nearby and had overheard the comment, which was likely a calculated move on Gwena’s part. Ignius’s ears fluttered slightly in embarrassment, and Sharn quickly abandoned whatever it was they had been doing and escaped elsewhere. Ignius sighed. After all that had happened, they still had to deal with awkwardness with Sharn. It didn’t seem fair. They started trying to avoid being alone with Sharn, because it was becoming more and more awkward, especially because it seemed as if Sharn realized that Ignius knew about their feelings. One such time, Ignius quickly ducked inside an empty apartment when they saw Sharn coming and hid around the corner. Everyone else had already left for the forge, and they and Sharn were the last ones in the tower. That was unfortunate, because it meant that Ignius couldn’t count on any other person to help dispel the awkwardness, or rescue them from a disted conversation. Even Kathely had gone ahead with Gwena and Varaly. It was just Ignius, by themself. They heard Sharn by and waited for them to leave the vicinity. Time went on, and Ignius was about to leave when they heard someone coming. Thinking it was Sharn coming back, they stayed as quiet as they could and waited. It wasn’t Sharn at all. However, the voice was very familiar. It was Pygnia Lockden! Ignius stifled a sigh. Now they really couldn’t leave. They strained their ears to hear what the conversation was all about, because they had nothing else to do while hiding . “This is a critical time, so I hope you realize what a setback this is for us,” Pygnia was saying. “I’m sorry,” Cassius said. “I realize the timing was unfortunate, but we couldn’t just allow Ignius to come to harm at the hands of the rebels.” “Those rebels weren’t going to harm your cousin,” Pygnia replied. “They still view Ignius as a child and, as such, wouldn’t have hurt them.”

“What about the scale they sent?” Cassius argued. “They removed it without numbing the spot first.” “Young dragons lose scales all the time,” Pygnia said. “There are more important things at stake, Cassius. We mustn’t allow this to hurt our cause.” “Our punishment was lenient,” said Cassius, and Ignius’s ears perked up. “Why?” “I need to be in the good graces of the other noble lines for this plan to work,” said Pygnia. “Really, Cassius, did you not think of that yourself? Your punishment was lenient because it puts the others in a good mood. My leniency puts them all in my favour. However, this tactic has the potential to backfire. You must keep the others in check, Cassius.” “Yes, sir,” Cassius said. “What about the rebels?” “Not to worry,” Pygnia said. “We’re going to deal with the rebels. We’re going to start off by publicly executing Mary Scott in order to send them a message.” “When will that happen?” Cassius asked. “Sometime soon,” Pygnia said. “I first have to convince the rest of the council of the merit of this plan. Not to say that it will be much trouble—it just takes a while to talk the council around to anything. Which is why we need to keep our strategy in motion. This must not become a setback, Cassius.” “It won’t,” Cassius said. “I’ll talk to Ignius. I’m sure they will agree.” Ignius wasn’t sure they would agree at all, whatever this was about. Pygnia and Cassius were secretly meeting over something. It seemed like that could cause some ruckus, whatever it might be about. Anything that required secrecy was probably not a good thing. Whatever the strategy was, Ignius was sure they would hear about it soon. One other thing Pygnia said had caught their attention. Pygnia had talked about Mary Scott, the public speaker that Jack Matterly had told them about. Jack said that the movement needed this dragon because of their ability to talk to the public. Was Pygnia hoping to crush the movement with the execution of Mary Scott?

Ignius wasn’t sure what they were going to do. Acting against the council had already got them and Kathely, not to mention everyone else, in trouble and punished. They didn’t want to risk that again if at all possible. Something strange was going on here, no two ways about it. Pygnia Lockden had actually deigned to visit Cassius in this terrible place and had even risked being seen entering the lowly middling tower. Ignius supposed the only thing left to do was discuss whatever it was with Cassius, when Cassius approached them about it. Ignius checked that the coast was clear and then made their way to the forges. “Where were you, Ignius?” asked Gwena curiously. “Oh, I was just slow getting ready,” Ignius said evasively. They weren’t sure what was going on, but they would have to wait until after the workday to talk to Kathely about it. How they wished Kathely had been there in order to hear the exact words exchanged. For now, though, all there was to do was wait.

Chapter Seven

The day was calm, just like any other. The forge had a rhythm that Ignius fell back into without any difficulty. They helped the dragonettes with daily breathing exercises. Then, they helped run the forge, taking shifts. Kathely and the other riders would bring barrows full of coal to throw into the huge furnaces. While the labour did require stamina, the work wasn’t exactly interesting. The shifts were hot and boring, and Ignius’s hide always came away covered in soot and ash. The water wasn’t very warm back in their dragontower, and they had to wait to use the bathing room if they weren’t the first back. They always raced to see who could get there first. Today wasn’t different than any of the other days they had spent here, carrying out their punishment, which was about halfway over now. Today was different only in that it was the day Cassius finally came to talk to them. Cassius chose to nab them at the end of the day, right when everyone else was rushing back to the tower, trying to be first in line for the bath. Ignius wished Cassius hadn’t chosen right now because they wanted a bath as much as everyone else. “Ignius,” Cassius said, “the reason I wanted to talk to you was this: my mother wanted me to discuss something important.” “Yes?” Ignius said, trying not to sound impatient. “You know how the council takes far too long to make decisions, and often, because the vote is split, the wrong decision is made? Case in point, your capture should have been decisively dealt with, and instead, you were left out in the cold, without an ally to lean on,” Cassius said. “Yes?” Ignius prompted, waiting for Cassius to just get to the point already.

“Pygnia actually wants to use your capture as a reasoning for their plan to go through, trying to spin it in a positive way,” Cassius rambled on. “Of course,” Ignius said. “What I’m trying to say is that Pygnia wants to break up the Council of Dragons,” Cassius said. Wait. “What?” Ignius asked, suddenly turning to stare at Cassius. “But the council is what holds all of our houses together. Without it, Lockdens would be at the Normonts’ throats all the time, and the Myrmonts at the Rancoves’, and poor Ayrtor stuck in the middle trying to be reasonable.” “You do have a point, but what Pygnia foresees is a new monarchy,” Cassius said. “And they want the monarch to be them, of course.” “And how are they planning to swing that?” asked Ignius. “Ah, well, right now Pygnia is embroiled in several stratagems, ones that I’m also a part of, to try to sway a majority of the council to give up power to Lockden. The insurgents are certainly helping on that front.” “So why are you telling me?” Ignius asked. “Because while you getting captured certainly highlighted why we need someone in charge with swift, decisive, executive power, we can’t have any other unexpected upsets,” Cassius said. “So I need you to keep your head down. You’ll be in the line of succession, of course.” “I’ll be what?” asked Ignius in surprise. “In the line of succession, are you even listening, Ignius?” Cassius said. “I’m giving you a warning so don’t make a mess of it. Keep your head down. Our next step is to execute that no-good Mary Scott.” “Why are you executing Mary Scott?” Ignius asked, still lost as to how Pygnia thought this plan would actually work.

“We need to send a message, not only to the rebels, but to our own people—our line can act decisively and is confident in our decision-making. This is why you’re not in politics, Ignius,” Cassius said with a snort. “I thought you didn’t want to be either,” Ignius said in confusion. “Won’t the rebels get mad if you do that?” “That’s exactly what we’re counting on,” Cassius said, looking pleased with themself. Ignius suddenly got an idea. “Well, if you’re going to execute them anyway… Can I speak to them before you do? I’ve wanted to ask them something about Jack Matterly.” “One of the insurgent leaders?” Cassius asked. “Of course! But you have to follow my instructions exactly…”

*

When the moon was at its darkest, Ignius and Kathely were the only ones out in the streets. Nothing stirred, the air was as still as death, and every step Ignius took sounded out of place in the gathered silence. Ignius wasn’t flying tonight. The place they were going to could not be reached on wing. “Are you sure you want to do this?” Kathely whispered. “Of course,” Ignius replied. “We have to find out the truth.” “It might not be the truth we find,” Kathely said, looking around the deserted street. They were on the lower levels of Azenath, and Kathely was on the lookout for rough, seedy types. Ignius didn’t think anyone would bother them, but better to be on the lookout, just in case. Ignius had never been on such a low level, and the alley was so dark that had the moon been out, the light would have barely illuminated the streets.

Kathely was carrying a lantern with a candle inside on a long pole. Ignius thought that the light didn’t so much show the way forward as illuminate them as a target, if any rough types were so inclined. Kathely had insisted on bringing it, so Ignius hadn’t argued. “Are you sure you know where the prison is?” Kathely asked quietly. “Of course I do. Cassius told me,” Ignius said. “The place shouldn’t be too hard to find.” The prison was harder to find than Ignius anticipated, but Kathely was determined. Eventually, they came to two huge, arched doors made of stone on the side of a squat tower with a massive circumference. Ignius looked at Kathely. “Well, go ahead,” Kathely said. “If you’re sure.” “I am!” Ignius said and knocked. The right door creaked open, and a middling guard poked their head through. Ignius did as they’d been instructed by Cassius and handed the guard a canvas pouch. The guard shook the pouch, and the contents jingled with the weight of gold pieces. The guard tucked it inside one of the many pouches on their harness and opened the doors wide. The door opened inward, and in front of them, there was nothing but a long, narrow hall sloping downward into darkness before curving off to the left. The hall was lined with torches that barely lit the way. Ignius stepped inside and jumped slightly as the door settled shut behind them with a deep, muffled noise. The guard settled back in their position and otherwise ignored their presence, so Ignius began walking. The hall sloped down and down, curving around in a spiralling pattern. Ignius couldn’t tell how far they went down, but they could easily imagine the weight of the earth above them. Dragons weren’t meant to be anywhere but the sky, and being underground was deeply unsettling. Kathely wasn’t rattled at all, and they weren’t just pretending for the sake of their pride, like some people did. Their heartbeat was even and steady, and their breathing matched. Kathely was unshakeable.

They reached another set of doors, in front of which another middling guard was sitting watch. Once again, Ignius handed this guard a pouch of gold, and once again, the pair of them were let in without a single question. Through that set of doors was a vast, underground cavern. It looked to Ignius as if one ramp spiralled up from their position, and another down. Suspended in the middle of all this was a guard post which sat atop a stone column. A spotlight of some sort had been rigged and it swept continuously around and around at all the cells that lined the walls. Ignius was at a loss as to how to proceed, but Kathely found a tiny, swaying bridge built of braided steel wires and wood. Kathely would have to go to the guard post alone. It looked as if only humans and lower-class dragons would be able to reach the guard house. “It doesn’t look especially safe,” Ignius fretted. “I’ll be fine,” Kathely said. “I’ll go get the guard. Give me the purse.” Ignius handed them the purse and watched as Kathely confidently marched across the bridge. As much as they worried, it was only a moment before they returned with one of the wardens. “Welcome to Pan’s Tower, young dragonling,” laughed the warden. “Follow me.” As they walked, taking the ramp that coiled downward into the dark, like a great, black snake, the light kept hitting them every time it ed. It was a bit unnerving. Ignius wondered how any of the prisoners here managed to sleep or do anything. “Oh, they don’t sleep,” the warden said. “Some people go a little mad down here. Sometimes we even send them to mad houses.” Ignius had heard of such a thing, but it was too terrible to comprehend now. “Here you are,” the prison warden said. “Wake up, Mary! You’ve got company.” A figure in the cell in front of them grunted as they rolled over, groaning and getting up.

“It can’t be breakfast yet,” said Mary Scott. Ignius had been about to ask how Mary could possibly sleep when the great big spotlight went by every ten seconds. However, the lantern Kathely was carrying illuminated their face, and Ignius recoiled in silent horror at the face in front of them. Mary’s face was grey and flaky from being underground without sky and sunlight for so long. Their scales were dull, and no longer looked as if they had any blood in them. Their eyes, which bulged slightly from their head, were pure white, no iris or pupil. Mary Scott was blind. Ignius looked into their dry, emaciated face and wondered what they had done to deserve such a punishment as this. Mary Scott, who was condemned to die and didn’t even know it yet. “You can leave now,” Kathely said to the guard. The guard shrugged his shoulders and made the long walk back up to the guard post. Ignius and Kathely looked at each other and back at Mary. Kathely jerked their head the tiniest bit as if to say, “Well, go on then.” “Mary Scott,” Ignius said uncertainly. “You’re high class,” Mary said. “I can tell by your diction. Young though. What do you want with me?” “I’m here because I was recently held captive by someone called Jack Matterly, and they wanted to exchange me for your release,” Ignius said. “Ah, well you’re here now, so I suppose that isn’t going to happen,” Mary said and coughed. Even Mary’s voice was dry and brittle. Some of their scales had cracks in them. Mary almost looked like a ghost, haunting their cell. “I was rescued,” Ignius continued. “But I wanted to know why I was captured, and why Jack wanted you to be free. No one on the council has explained that.”

“Ha! The council loves leaving people in the dark,” Mary said, coughing again. “Are you ill?” Kathely asked. “I have consumption,” Mary said. “I’ll die unless I can get proper treatment. Of course, in here, I’ll never get treatment.” Ignius and Kathely both recoiled instinctively. Consumption was a very nasty disease, both in humans and in dragons. It was the only known disease which could jump from human to dragon. No one knew how it was ed, only that those who were in close proximity to those who did have it often came down with it soon after. “No need to be scared, younglings,” Mary rasped. “I won’t it to either of you.” “So, why are you in here in the first place?” Ignius asked. “No one has told me.” “I wrote a book,” Mary said, laughing their dry laugh. “That’s all?” Ignius asked, frowning. “Not ‘all,’ youngling,” Mary said. “It was a very controversial book, and it denounced the high-born dragons and their riders, as well as all your ways. You see, I don’t think your council should be in charge. I think we need to have elections.” “Elections?” asked Kathely in surprise. “You mean…you think we should vote?” “Aye, I do,” Mary said. “It’s a very important cause to me. I also think that mids and low-class people should also have the right to vote.” The things coming out of Mary’s mouth were new and alarming. “That’s…” Ignius said, trailing off. “Scary?” Mary said. “I know. Lots of your council was scared when they read my book.” “But why did you write it?” Kathely asked.

“That’s related to another one of my ions: workers’ rights!” Mary said, laughing hard and then coughing more. “Why that?” Ignius said. “It doesn’t seem so bad. I’ve worked in the forges before.” “Not so bad?” Mary cried. “You high-born dragons only work there to improve your depth of breath. You don’t work long hours, you don’t get paid because everything is already provided for you, and you have your own home inside your family towers to go home to. Have you ever gone to the lower-class areas?” “The prison is in the lower-class area,” Kathely said. “Nah, younglings, go in daytime. It will open your eyes,” Mary said. “The lower class works fourteen-hour days average, and we get paid a pittance for our long hours. Our families are crammed into tiny rooms in communal housing, and we can barely afford enough to feed ourselves. Even our children work, and it’s hard, dangerous work, nothing like working in the forge, where breathing fire is your only worry.” “You seem to know a lot about workers’ rights,” Ignius said. “Of course I do—I’m one of them!” Mary said. “I want justice for all of us. I think that if we work all day at dangerous work, we should at least be able to house and feed our families in relative comfort. You upper class people don’t know anything about our suffering.” “And that’s why you were put here?” asked Kathely. “So that you wouldn’t spread your ideas?” “Ideas are dangerous things, youngling, and don’t you forget it,” Mary said, and coughed. “But I can talk to you about our terrible conditions all I like, and it won’t sway you until you’ve actually seen it with your own two eyes.” Ignius and Kathely left the prison soon after, sneaking back to the tower where they were temporarily housed. “I never stopped to think about it,” Ignius said. “But they’re right! If this middling tower seems bad, I wonder what the lower-class areas are like.”

“That’s what they want you to think,” Kathely said. “Besides, you said Cassius wanted us to keep our heads down, right?” “They did,” Ignius itted. “But Cassius doesn’t have to know about it.” “So what do you want to do?” Kathely asked. “I want to do it,” Ignius said. “I want to go down to the lower-class area after we’re done in the forges tomorrow and see it for myself.” “You’ll be last into the baths again,” Kathely reminded their. “I don’t care,” Ignius said. “I have to find this out.”

*

The lower areas were awful. Ignius had been expecting that, but it really was horrid. There were tiny little apartments in tiny little buildings, and it looked as if families of ten were cramped inside them. The smell was just terrible because there was no good sewer system extended to the lower class. When they got there, mainly only the elderly and toddlers were still at home. “Where is everybody?” Kathely asked. “ what Mary said?” asked Ignius. “Long hours. A lot of people are probably still working.” Some of the elderly were working in their homes, weaving and sewing, but it looked as if most people were still at work. “I guess most of them are in those buildings over there?” asked Kathely, pointing into the distance. Big, long buildings were located closer to the middling section of the city, and Kathely and Ignius made their way over on foot. The road down here was rough

and uneven, and there was a cart stuck by the side of the road, and two thin horses were munching on sparse grass close to the cart. As they got closer to the buildings, Ignius wrinkled their nose. “The smell,” they said. “Give it a few minutes, and you’ll smell it too.” The air was filled with the scent of unwashed bodies, urine and other odors that Ignius could hardly bear to contemplate. The first building had the massive steel door propped open so a breeze could get in. There were rows and rows of people and dragons. The humans were all sewing and weaving, and the dragons were pulling carts up and down the rows for finished products and putting them in a huge bin at the end. Ignius recognized some of these items as things their family could buy such as fine linens for tablecloths or the cotton for armbands. Fine silk for human clothes was stacked in one bin and leather for riding outfits in another. They tried almost every building. There were forges, masonry, leatherworks, pottery, all sorts of things. In one building, the dragons were building train cars. The farther the two of them walked, the more and more horrified they became with the conditions. A miasma of misery had settled over the entire area. Finally, they reached the outskirts of Azenath, where fields and fields of labourers were hard at work, picking fruit from the trees and vegetable from the gardens. Overseers walked among them, shouting at people who they deemed weren’t working hard enough. “Our city runs on their labour, and look how we treat them!” Ignius said in a hushed whisper. “No wonder they want to rebel!” “It is indeed horrible, Ignius, but we have to think this through,” Kathely said. “We mustn’t do anything rash, especially something that will upset our families.” Ignius heard Kathely’s words, but their mind was still filled with the sights they had seen, and the smell, the sour, stale smell that permeated everything. “We should get back,” Ignius said. Just as they were preparing to launch to fly back to the tower they were staying

in, they saw something falling from the sky all around them. To Ignius, it seemed like tiny bits of falling paper. Kathely snatched one out of the air, and it crinkled in their palm. Kathely smoothed it out and read aloud. “Don’t let the upper class use and abuse you. Choose freedom now,” Kathely read. “It’s rebel propaganda.” “I wonder who dropped it,” Ignius said, craning their head to look in the air. But it didn’t matter, because Ignius still had a hard time telling all the small, lower-class dragons apart, and even though they had tried to memorize faces in captivity, they didn’t recognize anyone in the area. “Now we should really get back,” Ignius said. “And tell Cassius about this.” “Of course we should,” Kathely said. “I can’t believe the rebels are bold enough to come right into the city and drop leaflets. We should show this one to Cassius.” Ignius flew back, and as they flew, they could see the entire city had been blanketed in the leaflets, like an odd sort of rainfall. There must have been more than one leaflet dropper, but Ignius was certain that none of them had been caught. Cassius and Pharyn were waiting for them at the tower already. “There you are!” Cassius said. “You’re still covered in soot. Haven’t you had a bath yet?” “Cassius, did you see these leaflets?” Ignius asked. “I did. Aren’t they perfect!” Cassius said gleefully. “I couldn’t have planned it better myself. I was about to go to see Pygnia about this. All the council will be in an uproar!” “But isn’t it bad?” Ignius asked in confusion. “Not at all, dear cousin,” Cassius said. “I was going to suggest that you come along with me, but I can’t take you to Lockden tower looking like that. I’ll see you around dinner, Ignius!”

With that, Pharyn climbed aboard, and Cassius launched without looking back. “I’m so confused,” Ignius said. “What was that all about?” “I’m not sure, but I don’t like all this unrest,” Kathely said. “I don’t know what’s going on anymore.” Neither did Ignius, and they had the distinct feeling things were only going to get more complicated.

*

Ignius was so worried about everything else that they almost completely forgot about Sharn. However, Sharn hadn’t forgotten about them. Ignius, deep in thought after dinner one night, failed to notice Sharn approaching them. They didn’t notice Sharn at all until Sharn spoke to them directly. “Ignius,” Sharn said. Ignius started, tail twitching in surprise. Sharn looked at them expectantly, as if waiting for something. Ignius waited, too, and there was a long, uncomfortable silence. “Yes, Sharn?” Ignius said eventually with some reluctance. “I think you know what I want to talk to you about,” Sharn said. “Er,” Ignius said. “Maybe a bit?” They weren’t sure about the particulars, but by this point, they were quite, quite certain that Sharn was interested in them, and that Sharn would talk to them about that. “I wanted to ask if I could court you,” Sharn blurted out quickly. “Properly, I mean.” “Oh!” Ignius said in surprise, without replying further.

Now this they had not been expecting in the least. Gwena had said that it probably wasn’t a serious attraction but more of an infatuation. However, formal courting implied that at least the suitor was interested in possibly marriage. “Um,” Sharn said. “Only if you’re comfortable with that.” “I see!” Ignius said hastily. “I wasn’t sure if your attraction was serious.” “It is,” Sharn said, ducking their head in embarrassment. “I don’t know if we’re compatible,” said Ignius. “Well, that’s what courting is for,” Sharn replied. “To see if we are or not.” “I suppose,” Ignius said. “I’ll… I’ll await your answer,” Sharn said. “At least consider it, please!” After that, Sharn departed hastily, leaving Ignius to stare after them in hopeless confusion. As it turned out, both Gwena and Kathely were wrong in this respect. How had this happened? Sharn and Ignius had barely interacted, and the only time they had talked in one another’s presence was when there was a group of them. Well, one thing was for certain. They had to talk to Kathely immediately. Kathely was soaking in one of the tubs along with a group of other riders. They were all chatting quite happily, and all of them turned their heads as Ignius bustled into the room. “Kathely, I need to talk to you,” Ignius blurted. “Now?” Kathely asked lazily. “Immediately!” Ignius said urgently. “Oh, all right, this had better be good,” Kathely said, stretching and getting out of the pool. “I was having a perfectly good soak and excellent conversation.” They waited impatiently for Kathely to dry off and get dressed. Kathely was in no great rush and was obviously relaxed from the pool, while an arrow of

anxiety was lodged in Ignius’s chest. They tapped their talons on the marble tile floor, waiting for Kathely to get out. “You’re impatient today, my dear,” said Kathely. “Oh, Kathely,” Ignius said miserably. “Sharn wants to court me!” Kathely actually stopped walking in absolute surprise. “I should get Gwena as well,” Ignius said fretfully. “I need to consult as many people as possible about this turn of sentiment!” “Ignius, don’t panic,” Kathely said. “We’ll deal with this like adults.” “Of course,” Ignius said. Gwena was taking a nap when Ignius found them and was none too pleased about being woken. They grumpily got up and shook their head. “Okay, so what’s the emergency?” Gwena asked. “I can tell just by looking at your face that something has happened to get you all in a kerfuffle.” “It’s Sharn,” Ignius started, and Gwena rolled their eyes. “They asked me to allow them to court me!” Ignius blurted. “What, really?” Gwena asked in surprise. “Not what I was expecting, to be honest.” “You both said that they probably didn’t have strong feelings for me, and now they do!” Ignius said. “Now what? Do I accept the courting, or not?” “Well, Ignius, it’s all about what you want,” Gwena said. “Do you think that you could come to have strong feelings for Sharn in return?” “I don’t know,” Ignius said, doubtfully. “I’m not sure.” “Well, whatever you decide, courting custom says that Sharn must accept your decision as final, and only you can reopen the courting between you two again,” Kathely said. “So don’t feel too pressured.”

“I’m not sure what to do,” Ignius said miserably. “Well, whatever you do, that you can always call the courting off if you decide it isn’t working out,” Gwena said. “It’s not set in stone.” “Okay,” Ignius said. Both Gwena and Kathely returned to what they had been doing, and Ignius pondered on this sudden situation, trying to puzzle through it to a solution. On one hand, right now, it was terribly awkward talking to Sharn, but only because there was an unspoken attraction on Sharn’s part. Now that the attraction was spoken, perhaps it would be less awkward. On the other hand, what if Ignius didn’t become attracted to Sharn? Ignius hadn’t felt any attraction at all to anyone as of yet, although they knew that some of the other young dragons had. Like Kathely had said in the past, it was a part of growing up. Ignius worried that they were somehow behind everyone else. Why hadn’t they felt something like that yet? Perhaps they just needed to try to find out by doing it instead of simply thinking about it. The task in front of them seemed more daunting than being kidnapped by rebels had been. Finally, Ignius decided, because dilly-dallying about it hadn’t worked in their favour thus far. After dinner, Ignius found Sharn and took them off to the side. “Yes,” they said. “You can court me, if you like.” Sharn shuffled their feet, and a slow smile curved over their face. “Oh. Good, yes. Thank you, Ignius.” “The pleasure is…mine?” Ignius asked hesitantly. “Oh, I have a present for you,” Sharn said. “Follow me.” Ignius followed Sharn until they came to the quarters that Sharn had been staying in. Ignius saw that the tiny space had been arranged neatly, and everything was given its own space. Ignius waited as Sharn found what they were looking for and turned to present it to Ignius.

It was a glass-blown rose with colour pigment to decorate it. It was a lovely creation, made with a fine and delicate touch. Ignius examined it carefully, watching as specks of light lit it up in different ways. Ignius was touched, as no one had given them such a lovingly crafted gift in person before. “It’s wonderful,” Ignius said. “Thank you. Who crafted this piece?” “I-I did,” Sharn stuttered. “I’m glad you like it.” Courting custom dictated that once the courting dragon had given their intended a gift, then it was up to the giftee to return the favour and find a gift to give the courter. Ignius wracked their brain for an idea because Sharn had actually crafted that rose by themself. It seemed amazing to Ignius that a dragon could create something so delicate. The main problem was that because they had been around Sharn only in the presence of others such far, they hadn’t had much of a chance to get to know Sharn. Most of the time, when Ignius was around, Sharn hadn’t spoken or voiced any opinion at all. How were they supposed to find something that Sharn would like? Later that evening, they talked to Kathely again. “I said yes,” they said to Kathely. “Good on you,” Kathely said. “Have they given you a courting gift yet?” Ignius showed Kathely the rose, and they ired it together. “We’ll have to keep it in a safe place,” Kathely said. “Do you know what you’ll give in return yet?” Ignius explained the problem, and Kathely listened intently. “Not to worry,” Kathely said. “We’ll think of something.” Ignius thought back to what had been in Sharn’s room and ed something. “They love reading. When I saw their quarters, there were stacks and stacks of big leather-bound books.”

“Wonderful,” Kathely said. “So what will you give them?” “I know just the thing,” Ignius said. They sent a runner to the Lockden tower to retrieve the gift, because they were not allowed to enter Lockden tower, no matter that Pygnia had allowed Cassius inside. The runner came back with the requested item in a silk cloth bag which was padded with more silk cloth to keep the breakable item inside intact. Thinking about how Mary Scott had talked about workers’ rights, and how many of the lower-class dragons had very little money for food and shelter, Ignius tipped the runner a silver piece. They weren’t sure how much was considered a good tip, but they had a few to spare. They had been cut off from having an allowance with the punishment, but they had a few left over. The runner’s eyes widened in shock as Ignius tipped the coin into their talons. “This is for me?” the runner asked in surprise. “It’s a tip,” Ignius said. “Is it not enough?” “It’s far more than enough,” the runner said. “Thank you.” Ignius shrugged, unconcerned. “It’s just a silver piece.” The runner bowed and then scrambled off, back to their duties. Ignius shrugged, confused about the small runner’s almost ingratiating thankfulness. But there were other things they needed to attend to. Sharn’s eyes widened at the present as they drew it from the silk bag. They turned over the gold and crystal biblioscope with wonder and tried them on. Ignius smiled a little, glad to see Sharn so entranced by their gift. “It’s lovely,” Sharn said. “Thank you.” “No problem,” Ignius replied bashfully. This courting thing was going much better than they had expected. However, it had only begun as exchanging gifts, there were a lot more steps to courting than just that. Ignius wasn’t even sure this was what courting was supposed to feel

like. In most s, there were strong feelings involved. They would have to talk to Gwena more about this. Unfortunately, while they had been distracted from everything by accepting Sharn’s courting, something else had happened. “Today’s the day, Ignius,” Cassius told them the next day. “Today’s the day that Pygnia Lockden becomes the reigning monarch of our vast kingdom.”

Chapter Eight

“What do you mean, Pygnia is going to be the monarch?” Ignius asked. “I don’t understand how Pygnia could even get the others to agree, especially the Head of Normont.” “I mean that the rebels have caused the council to become more open to the idea of someone having executive power,” Cassius said. “We’ve gone over this, Ignius.” “I still don’t understand how Pygnia got anyone to agree,” Ignius said. “They’re afraid,” Cassius said. “That’s the bottom line—they’re afraid, and they don’t want to be the ones to decide how to deal with them. They were relieved, Ignius. Relieved.” Ignius was baffled. This was why Cassius was going into politics, as much as they complained about it the rest of the time. Cassius understood people and their motives. Ignius would never have been able to put it all together the same way they did. “So what happens now?” Ignius asked. “Because Pygnia has promised to deal with the rebels—am I correct in thinking that?” “Yes, cousin, quite so,” Cassius said. “It will be a simple matter, really. All we need is the Aerial Legion to actually do what we pay them all for and defend our country. They’ll put down the rebels, no problem.” “But the rebels are also part of our country,” Ignius said. “Won’t that make people mad?” “Ignius,” Cassius said patiently. “You obviously don’t have a strong grasp of this situation, so you need to listen to me, and trust that Pygnia and I know what we’re doing.”

“Okay,” Ignius said dubiously. “Now, don’t let anyone else know; they should find out later when the time is right,” Cassius said. Ignius didn’t understand at all, and they asked, “Why are you telling me, then?” “Ignius, you’re family,” Cassius explained impatiently. “Family helps family. I’m counting on you to us in this move. Moreover, I don’t want you to go get yourself in trouble again and make a mess of our plan.” There, now that made more sense. If only Cassius would explain everything else in the same way! Cassius didn’t explain when everyone else would be told the plan, or why it was so important, but as they had just said, they had to trust in their family. Pygnia would be monarch. They tried to think hard about how long the council had existed and couldn’t exactly when their government had started being run by them. It had been a long time, and they didn’t know if there had been a monarch before that. If only they had access to the Lockden library right now so they could find out. They supposed that they could send a runner for a book, but how would a possibly illiterate runner be able to find the right one? Then they got an idea. Maybe Ignius didn’t know much about the past history of Azenath, or even how having a monarch would affect the current rebel situation. However, they did know who would.

*

Mary Scott was sleeping again when Ignius and Kathely visited. “You’re sure that Lockden is going to be the reigning line?” Kathely asked for about the hundredth time. “And that the rest agreed.”

“According to Cassius, yes,” Ignius said. “We need to talk to Mary Scott. They can tell us what is really going on.” “Well, first they have to wake up,” Kathely said, looking in on the figure of Mary asleep on the hard dungeon floor. “Mary,” Ignius said in a soft voice. “Wake up, Mary.” “Come on, can’t we just bang on the bars?” Kathely asked. “That’s rude,” Ignius said. “Would you like it if someone banged on the bedframe when you’re sleeping?” “Varaly does it often enough,” Kathely grumbled, but to Ignius’s relief, they took their words to heart. “Mary,” Ignius repeated. “Go away and let an old dragon sleep,” Mary croaked at them. “Mary, something’s happening that I need to ask you about,” Ignius said. “Why can’t you just ask your family, dragonling?” Mary asked. “They all think the same thing,” Ignius said. “I’m not so sure that I’m in agreement with their position.” “Oh, a young rebellious youth,” Mary sighed. “It’s not like that,” Ignius said, much taken aback. “Not agreeing is always a rebellious act, young dragon, and don’t you ever forget it,” Mary said. “The simple act of having a differing opinion can mean the difference between war and peace.” “That’s what I’m afraid of,” Ignius said. “Please wake up and talk to me.” “Why are you asking me, anyway?” Mary demanded. “I’m just a tired, old, lower-class dragon who’s been in this prison for years of my life.” “Jack trusts what you said—they said you were smart,” Ignius said. “I’m not

saying that I trust Jack Matterly, but the things they said were interesting, and sounded logical to me.” “That Jack Matterly is a keen tactician,” Mary said. “I’m not so sure they have a grasp on the long game. Now, what is it that brought you here?” “It’s my family,” Ignius said. “They’re changing our political system. I’m not so sure that what they are trying to do is what’s best for our country.” “And what of it?” Mary asked. “Can you change it either way?” “I can try, at least,” Ignius said. “I told you that you had a rebellious mind,” Mary laughed. “You know, just coming to visit me could be seen as a revolutionary act. I’ve written treatises and books and all manner of scandalous things. I could poison your mind, put all sorts of political pollution in there. Are you sure you want that?” “Yes,” Ignius said defiantly. “And what of your young friend there?” Mary asked. “I’m Kathely, Ignius’s Chosen,” Kathely said. “And I agree; we want to know what you think.” “Is it a secret?” Mary asked. “For now, yes,” Ignius said. “But it will soon be public knowledge.” “Ah, I love secrets,” Mary said. “Tell away, youngling.” “Pygnia Lockden has the council convinced to make them the reigning monarch and bring back kingship,” Ignius said. “I didn’t like that idea, but my cousin thinks it will work.” “Oh, I’m sure it will work for a while,” Mary said. “I can see why they think it’s a good idea to seize power now, because if they handle the rebellion well, then they might be in a better position to keep the crown later.” “I don’t get it,” Ignius itted.

“That’s all right,” Mary said. “I suppose it means you’re an idealist not in the habit of mass manipulation.” Ignius frowned. “Don’t worry your head about that,” Mary said. “What you should really be worrying about is what will happen if your family can’t handle the rebellion. I’d like it if they handled it well because it might mean better rights for the working class.” “And if not?” Kathely demanded. “If not, which is my main fear, youngling, then our country may be plunged into war,” Mary said. “Civil war. Never good, cripples economies, tears apart families. It is what your family must try and avoid at all costs.” “And how do they do that?” Ignius asked. “They negotiate,” Mary said. “But I’m afraid that the hard-headed Pygnia Lockden may not want to negotiate with the workers and will instead try to crush them.” Crushing them did sound like a tactic that Pygnia was likely to use. Pygnia loved order, and the chaos that the rebellion was causing was probably making them very unhappy. Also, Pygnia was one who always wanted to have their way, as seen by Pygnia strong-arming Cassius into politics. They would not want to negotiate with people that they saw as beneath their notice. “We need to do something,” Ignius said. “We have to try and talk them into handling this with care.” “I agree,” Kathely said. “This could get ugly.” “I’d much rather have an argument with Pygnia than have a war on our hands,” Ignius said. “But will they listen to us?” “You are young,” Mary signed. “No one ever listens to the young. Think you’re too naive. Maybe you are, but maybe that’s what we need in this world.” “We’ll come see you again,” Ignius said.

“Maybe you ought not, if you want to stay on the good side of your family,” Mary said in warning. “I don’t care what they say, and neither does Kathely,” Ignius declared, and Kathely solemnly nodded. “Rebellious spirits,” Mary muttered as the two began the trek back out of Pan’s Tower.

*

Ignius decided the best way to get to Pygnia was to take the long way around— and that meant swaying Cassius to their side before they tried to get Pygnia’s attention. Cassius was much better at wording arguments than Ignius. Also, having numbers on their side was best. Unfortunately, Cassius was none too pleased to have Ignius negotiating with them about it. Not that Ignius was trying to disagree, they just wanted Cassius to be careful. “Look, we already established the position that we don’t bargain with criminals,” Cassius said. “Those rebels aren’t citizens anymore—they’re traitors to our nation, and now they will be traitors to the monarch as well. We need to deal firmly with the insurgents.” “Firmly, maybe,” Kathely said. “But if you deal with them too harshly, it could send the wrong message.” “Kathely, please,” Pharyn said. “You and Ignius have itted many a time that you just don’t understand the political process. In fact, I’ve heard you call it boring. So now, when you finally think it’s interesting, don’t pretend you know anything about it.” Ignius had never been fond of Pharyn, and now he was annoyed about his casual dismissal of their concern. As far as Ignius was concerned, the possibility of war was a very valid fear to have. But Cassius was convinced there wasn’t going to

be a war, and Mary was convinced that the wrong approach could provoke violence. “Cassius, please at least consider that we might have a valid point,” Ignius said. “Why should I do that?” Cassius asked arrogantly. “You don’t have any political experience. You haven’t so much as sat in on a council meeting, never mind studied the intricacies of being a leader of a nation. Pygnia knows what they’re doing. They have been head of the council for almost half their life.” “Maybe that’s too long,” Ignius said, and as soon as they did, they knew that they had gone too far. Cassius narrowed their eyes. “You’re never this argumentative, Ignius. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought you’d actually been listening to the things the rebels said.” Ignius paused for just a moment too long, and Cassius visibly put two and two together. “Mary Scott,” they said. “I now, you wanted to talk to Mary Scott. I should never have given you access to them. You can’t go to see them again, Ignius.” “I’ll go if I want,” Ignius said mutinously. “No, or I’ll tell Pygnia what you’ve been up to,” Cassius said. “If you think our punishment was bad for rescuing you, it will pale in comparison to what will happen if they find out about this.” Ignius didn’t say anything, and Cassius continued, “You’ll thank me later, you’ll see, Ignius. We appreciate your concern, but you needn’t worry. We know exactly what we’re doing.”

*

Ignius was still irritated from this conversation when they ran into Sharn in the hallway. They didn’t even have Kathely with them as backup. They kept having to remind themself that this situation was going to start rectifying itself now that they had started courtship. For some reason, Ignius was still nervous about this, and added to the earlier annoyance with Cassius, they felt a little overwhelmed. “Hello,” Sharn said, still shy. At least Ignius wasn’t the only one who was still nervous. “Hello,” Ignius said back, and then realized how silly they must sound parroting the word back at Sharn. “So…” Sharn said, then paused. “I was thinking that maybe…we could…you know…” Ignius didn’t know, actually. “T-try…” Sharn said, ducking their head in embarrassment. “Er…you know?” Sharn was obviously under the mistaken impression that Ignius would understand very vague gestures and open-ended sentences. Ignius was still in the dark about what Sharn was asking for. “Sex?” Sharn said finally, after long moments of standing and waiting for Ignius to get it. “Oh!” Ignius said, realization shooting a spike of anxiety through their chest. “I see?” They looked at each other for another long moment, and then Ignius hesitantly said, “Yes?” “Oh! Okay,” Sharn said. “I… I found this chamber farther down that’s bigger than the other ones. Do you want to…?” “Right now?” Ignius asked fretfully. “Um, yes?” Sharn said.

“Okay!” Ignius said, following Sharn. Ignius had never had sex before, and going from the awkward initiation by Sharn, neither had they. The thing was, Ignius still wasn’t sure they wanted to have sex. Lots of young dragons did, but Ignius wasn’t sure how that felt. Gwena had talked about wanting it, feeling a burning need for it, but Ignius had never had that experience. They could do quite well without it, and wouldn’t have any need for it, except that the others all talked about their experiences with it, as if having sex made them more of an adult. So it was primarily the feeling of being left out that fuelled Ignius onward after Sharn, and possibly finally understanding what all the fuss was about. Sharn led them a long way down into the long unused lower rooms of the tower, and Ignius couldn’t help but feel like it wouldn’t be the best place for this particular experience. It was dusty, and there was a heavy musty smell, as if the halls hadn’t been aired out in a long while. Finally, after walking a bit, Sharn brought them to an unlit room far into the depths of the tower. At least it was big, as Sharn had said. However, as far as Ignius could tell, that was the only thing good about the room. That, and it was far away from prying eyes. This would be awkward enough without everyone else knowing what was going on. Even Gwena would probably poke fun at them. “So, how do we start?” Ignius asked, looking around the room. There wasn’t even any cushioning, and from what Ignius knew of what the texts had referred to as coitus, there was a lot of motion and friction involved. “Um,” Sharn said, looking at the empty room. “I think we have to…” It was a lot more rough than Ignius expected. Also, the awkwardness didn’t dissipate, as they had hoped, because as they had feared, neither of them knew what was happening. Ignius got an elbow to the side of the head once, and Sharn giggled nervously. All in all, not as noteworthy an experience as they had imagined. Well, at least Ignius could say they had done it now. They were going to have to take another bath as all the activity had left them a lot dirtier than when they had started. Goodness, would everyone know what had happened just from that?

Their hide was shiny with the exertion. Sharn looked at them nervously as the two of them lay on the floor, not touching any longer. “I don’t want to be rude, but…” Sharn said. “You either?” Ignius said in relief. “It appears not,” Sharn said, also looking relieved. “We can still be friends,” Ignius said. “We haven’t had much of a chance to talk.” “You’re right,” Sharn said. “Sorry for making it awkward for so long. So can we call off the courting?” “Yes,” Ignius said firmly. At least they had a grip on at least one thing in their life. Sort of. They still didn’t know whether it was just Sharn that they weren’t compatible with, or whether there was a different sort of problem. They still hadn’t found anyone else at all appealing in the same way as Gwena and even Cassius apparently did. Hopefully this would mean in the future they would be able to deal with a similar situation with more confidence. Then again, Ignius shouldn’t just assume one time meant they knew everything about it. Ignius sighed heavily. Relationships and sex were all so complicated. They still had questions. What was the difference between them? Did the two things automatically go together? If so, why? Never mind, then. Ignius had a long way to go in understanding a lot of things, sex and relationships among them.

*

Pygnia announced their new position to the world the next week, and the city was strangely subdued as everyone processed what this meant. The only place that seemed busy was Lockden tower, where Cassius was currently helping Pygnia arrange everything. Cassius was still technically being punished along with the rest of them, but when your mother was the monarch, apparently rules didn’t apply. “You could come with me, Ignius,” Cassius said. “You’re in the line of succession, like I said. Some of these things could be important for you to know.” “No thank you, Cassius, I’m staying here with Gwena and Sharn,” Ignius said. Ignius hadn’t realized this before now, but Sharn was surprisingly funny, and also loved reading, so once they actually started talking, there was a lot to talk about. Ignius had loaned Sharn some of their books, and Sharn had done the same. Gwena seemed to have picked up on what happened, at least a bit. Now that Ignius was more relaxed about talking to Sharn, Gwena had ed them, and the three of them were now a firm group of friends. Ignius wasn’t sure if that was the proper protocol for two ex-lovers—could they even call themself that?—but no one was saying it was strange, so they went with it. Gwena, at least, was strong in their of Ignius’s experimentation and the outcome. Ignius wasn’t sure if the rest of their friends even knew about the situation. Now that they considered it, the situation seemed so embarrassing, so it would be nice if no one else knew. Cassius’s tail twitched, interrupting Ignius’s train of thought. “You shouldn’t act as if this is unimportant, Ignius,” Cassius said sternly. “I know it’s important, Cassius,” Ignius said with a long sigh. “It may be even more important than you know.” “That’s why you need to come home with me,” Cassius said. “I’m really trying to include you here, Ignius.” Cassius wasn’t going to just let this go, so Ignius, with much reluctance on their

part, followed Cassius back to Lockden tower. “This kind of goes against the point of being punished,” Ignius said. “We’re only here for the meeting with Pygnia and the rest of the family,” Cassius said. “Then we’re coming straight back. It’s not every day your mother becomes a monarch.” The one thing that Ignius dreaded was seeing Sendia. Their mother hadn’t written to them at all since they had been punished, and they weren’t sure whether Sendia was angry with them or not. Sendia was off to one side with Ignius’s aunt, their heads ducked together. Cassius had already split off to go and talk to Pygnia, so they went to present themself to their mother. “Mother,” Ignius said, bowing their head and dipping their front leg. “Ignius,” said Sendia, dipping their head in return. “It’s good to see you again.” “I hope I have not shamed our house with my actions,” Ignius said, still looking at the floor. “Of course not, my Ignius,” Sendia said. “I myself championed your letter and asked for leniency from the council. But as a consequence, the council forbade me from writing to you.” “Will we be breaking any rules by being seen here together?” Ignius asked. “No, darling, you are always allowed to talk to me within Lockden tower,” Sendia said. “How are you finding the punishment?” Ignius’s aunt, Vallius, asked. “It goes well,” Ignius said. “We are almost through, so soon I will be heading back north.” Before the conversation could continue, Cassius began ringing the bell for silence, and the gathering hall grew quiet. Cassius cleared their throat and announced, “May I present the Head of the line of Lockden, Pygnia Lockden!”

Pygnia took the platform, ascending the dais and flaring their wings. “Welcome,” said Pygnia. “Tonight is a momentous occasion in that I am announcing the house of Lockden’s ascendance to kingdom. The Council of Dragons has acquiesced to my petition to create a ruling class, and that class is Lockden!” The gathered dragons clicked their talons on the stone floor politely. “As such,” continued Pygnia, “Lockden has a new responsibility to the people of this land to rule fairly, but with a firm claw. Many of you may know of the recent rebellion of some lower-class insurgents, who have risen from the midst of our society to wreak havoc on the order of our land. We need to make an example to begin our reign, and the rebel leader themself has provided the target. We will execute Mary Scott at dawn tomorrow.” The pomp and ceremony continued, but Ignius’s heart sank. For some reason, they thought that maybe Pygnia would change their mind and spare Mary. For some reason, the idea of that tired old dragon that they had seen in the cell being executed seemed wrong. Mary Scott had done nothing to deserve execution. Were ideas really so dangerous? It made them think—who else was in that damp pit underneath Azenath and didn’t deserve to be there? Who decided to put them there? Why? How long and for what crimes? It was then that Ignius realized that they were thinking thoughts that made them question the ultimate authority of the council—no, now the Lockden monarchy. It was meant to be an ultimate authority, and yet, here was Ignius questioning its existence. For the first time, Ignius realized what Mary Scott meant about dangerous ideas. Mary Scott had already told them that the Lockden line’s ascendance to monarchy would upset some of the people and would rally them to the side of the rebels. What would happen if Mary were to be executed? They needed to talk to Gwena and Kathely right now. It struck Ignius as slightly strange now that they considered it, but the fact that

the invitation to attend this ceremonial announcement had not been extended to the human line of Aera was not normal. Usually, Kathely would have come with them, but neither Kathely or Pharyn were here. Now that they were looking, they realized the whole hall was filled with dragons, but there wasn’t a human in sight. Even Asarius of Aera wasn’t there. What did it all mean? They would ask Cassius, except they were too busy staring up at their mother with shining eyes. Ignius needed to talk to someone—now. Ignius left Lockden tower in a daze. Where were all the Chosen? They were nowhere to be seen, and that confused Ignius. Were they doing a separate ceremony? Everything was too baffling without anyone else’s voice. Ignius flew back to the tiny middle-class tower with all haste, landing almost too fast to be safe. They went immediately to the gathering room where most of their group were sitting around, chatting. “I need to talk to everyone,” Ignius said. “Whoever is missing, I need them gathered.” “Cassius is at that meeting,” Gwena said. “Is that where you were?” “Is Pharyn here?” asked Ignius. “And Kathely?” “I’m here,” said Pharyn. “Why do you want to talk to me?” “There’s something odd going on at Lockden tower,” Ignius said. “Pygnia just announced that the Lockden line is rising to monarchy.” There was a gasp from around the chamber as everyone else took this in. Everyone looked around and chattering broke out as everyone began discussing it at once. “That’s not all!” Ignius said. “Pygnia wants to execute a prisoner for the crimes of another! Not to mention that every Chosen who’s paired with a Lockden dragon is missing!” “We’re not missing, Ignius,” said Pharyn. “Kathely and I are right here.” “Not you. I mean everyone else,” Ignius said. “They weren’t at the meeting.”

It was all too strange, and so Ignius organized everyone to fly back over to Lockden tower and look for the missing Chosen. Ignius landed, and both Kathely and Pharyn hopped off their back and ran into the tower. “We have to be quiet,” Gwena said. “None of us are supposed to be here.” The group crept through the tower, which was oddly silent. No one was in the halls, not even any of the lower-class servants. Where were they? None of the lamps were on, and it was so quiet Ignius could hear the deep droning tones of Pygnia still talking. Their voice echoed through all the halls. They looked everywhere, but no Chosen or servants were found. “Where is everyone?” Gwena whispered. “This is strange.” “My parents are missing,” Kathely said. Kathely was usually the strong one in the group, but it was obvious this had shaken them. The entire tower was empty and silent except for the gathering of dragons upstairs. “I should talk to Mary,” Ignius murmured to themself. “Mary, Mary, it’s always Mary with you,” Kathely said. “Why do you want to speak to them now, of all times?” “Mary might know what happened,” Ignius said. Kathely visibly struggled with themself and finally said, “Okay, let’s go.” The others followed them, and Ignius led them all to the strange underground prison. Ignius didn’t even bother to try to bribe the guards, and with such a large group at their back, the guards didn’t even try to stop them. As they made their way to Mary’s cell, their age caused many of the prisoners to come up to the bars of their cages to watch as they went by. The noise made by them had already woken Mary, who came up to the bars at their approach. “Is that you again, youngling?”

“My name is Ignius,” Ignius said. “I’ve come with some friends. Sorry if we disturbed you.” “Oh, no, it wasn’t you,” Mary said. “Quite the kerfuffle earlier, younglings. Something was happening, I’m not certain what. Couldn’t see, and no one would tell me.” “A commotion, you say?” Ignius asked. “Yes, huge group went past my cell, lots and lots. There were tons of them,” Mary said. “We have to go see,” Kathely said. “What if my family is down there?” “Why would they be here?” demanded Hexara from the back. “I don’t know, but it’s too much of a coincidence,” Kathely argued back. “Let’s go!” Ignius began moving, going down and down deeper into Pan’s Tower. The farther they went, the darker and damper it became. The cells began thinning out, and soon, there was just blank wall. Ignius couldn’t even imagine what was down here, or what so many people—Kathely’s family or not—were doing down here. Soon, they could hear people talking, a low rumble from below, like the grumbling of a great beast. Ignius slowed, creeping along as quietly as possible. For some reason, Ignius’s instinct hummed with caution. They didn’t want to be seen. “Who is it?” whispered Kathely. “I don’t know yet. Hush,” Ignius said. Ahead was an antechamber, the walls dripping with moisture and a strange moss growing in the corners—or perhaps mold. Ignius approached an open stone archway, large for a human, but small for a dragon. They moved at an angle so that people inside who happened to glance at the doorway wouldn’t see them. Everyone behind them followed their lead.

Ignius stopped, and Kathely jumped down and crept closer, silent as a mouse. All the riders followed suit, and the dragons gathered around as best they could. “What’s going on?” Hexara asked from the back. “Hush, my love,” Chimena said, and Hexara grumbled, but quieted. Ignius turned their attention to the gathering, and yes, there was Asarius of Aera on a raised platform, apparently halfway through addressing the crowd. Ignius strained their ears to hear what it was he was saying. The crowd was fixated on him, and Ignius supposed no one was going to turn around now. “It is the end of an era, and the beginning of a new one. The rituals of the old will give way to the new,” Asarius was saying. “We will become closer than ever to our Lockden counterparts. I have discovered a way, and the directions for our ascendance are written in the texts of old. Bring out the sacrifice.” “The what?” Kathely asked in alarm, but their counterparts shushed them. A lower-class dragon was brought forward, struggling against their bonds. There was an iron muzzle around their snout to prevent them from flaming. The chains that bound the prisoner were thick and held by many guards. From the flaking of their dry scales, Ignius presumed they were a prisoner of the jail, like Mary Scott. “What are they doing?” Pharyn asked. The dragon was dragged up to a strange, low marble platform in front of the dais and forced to lie down. They struggled even more, but to no avail. Ignius wasn’t sure where this was going, but an uneasy feeling swept through them. “I can’t see my parents,” Pharyn said. “Where are they?” “The new way that we have discovered will bring us to a new age in which humans and dragons will meld to become one,” Asarius was saying. “This does not come without sacrifice, but soon, we will be closer to our Chosen companion and become great alongside them. We will rise with them!” “What is he talking about?” Kathely asked, their voice tinged with fear. “I don’t understand.”

“The new way that I speak of dictates that the blood of the dragon holds grand properties, properties that we have never imagined. With our current bond with our companions, we have created great things. We have built the city of Azenath, and its many pinnacles reach for the sky. Imagine what we will be able to do once we have completed our ritual and stepped up to the sky.” “Kathely, your dad sounds nuts,” Varaly said. “I don’t understand,” Kathely said. Ignius knew that Kathely meant that they didn’t understand why their father was doing this. Asarius was obviously caught up in the power that he suddenly wielded. “Bring forth the knife!” Asarius boomed. Three servants came forward, one holding a pillow with a curvy-bladed dagger with rubies inlaid in its handle. Ignius had seen it before—it was an antique ceremonial dagger from ancient days, back before Azenath was built. “History has taken many things from us,” Asarius said. “We will now reclaim them as our own.” The servants knelt before Asarius, and he took the knife in his hand. He ired it for a moment, as if soaking in the triumph of the moment. He approached the platform, holding the dagger out in front of him. The dragon, seeing the approach of Asarius with the blade, increased their struggles, and the servants had to put in effort to hold them still. “Raise your chalices ready, my brethren!” Asarius said. “Tonight we drink of magic blood!” All over the hall, hands raised, clutching goblets of all sorts, some stamped with the symbol of the house of Aera, and some not. A servant brought two chalices forward on a metal tray and the two servants on either side of the servant who had brought the dagger took up the chalices. “Be ready to catch the fall of blood. Not to worry, my people. If there is not enough tonight, tomorrow we will do this ceremony again, in front of all of Azenath. I have a sacrifice already chosen for the task.”

Mary Scott. “Arise!” Asarius cried. And he brought the dagger down.

Chapter Nine

Ignius fled the gruesome scene without thinking. It was too horrible to even imagine, and they couldn’t understand why anyone was going along with it. “We have to free Mary Scott,” they said. “Of course we must,” Kathely said. “You know that they’ll only choose another prisoner to execute if you free Mary Scott, right?” Gwena said. “Do you propose to let them all go?” “Some of them must have committed crimes that deserve death,” Pharyn said. “Do any of them deserve to be sacrificed and have their blood consumed in a ritual?” Kathely asked. “I highly doubt that.” “What did we just witness?” Ignius asked, shaking their head. “I can’t believe it.” They reached Mary Scott, and before Mary could ask, Ignius said, “We have to get you out of here.” “How are we going to do it?” Kathely asked. “The guards are not going to let us have the keys.” “Like the rope,” Ignius said. “Right,” said Kathely. Ignius put their head right next to the iron bars and began doing the same breathing exercises that Vedder had taught them all that time ago. Years, it seemed like, but really it had only been a few weeks. The bars in front of their nose began heating up slowly, first smoking, and then turning red hot. Mary, possibly feeling the heat of Ignius’s breath, backed away.

“What’s going on?” they asked. “Pygnia and Asarius plan on sacrificing you, and we can’t let them do that,” Ignius said. “Why not?” asked Mary. “It makes more sense than going against your families, doesn’t it?” “Why are you arguing for your own execution?” Kathely asked. “I like arguments,” Mary said, with a dry, rattling sigh. Ignius watched as the bars in front of them slowly melted, dripping all over the floor in spatters. The great spotlight on the tower illuminated them for a flash, but it didn’t stop on its way. Ignius had almost stopped, but no alarm was raised. “Hurry, we have to get out before the meeting ends!” hissed Kathely. “We mustn’t be caught here.” Ignius didn’t take the time to bother telling them that they were going as fast as they could. The bars weren’t going to melt any faster, and if anyone distracted them, they’d have to do the breathing exercises all over again, which would take up even more time. The rest of the group watched with bated breath in surprising silence as the bars turned bright red and then turned to molten metal. The spotlight went by twice more, and still there was no shouting or any other way of telling if they had been noticed. “The gap is big enough,” Kathely said. “Come on, we have to go, I can hear everyone talking below. I think the meeting must be finished.” “The metal is still hot; it will burn their hide,” Ignius argued. “It’s something I’ll have to risk,” Mary said, and scooted forward. “Go forward two steps and one on a right incline, and the hole is there,” Kathely said. Mary found the hole with Kathely’s instructions, hissing as their hide came in with the incredibly hot metal. Still, they forged ahead, getting their body through the hole in spite of the pain of the burns.

“Hexara,” said Kathely, “Mary must go on your back.” “Why mine?” whined Hexara. “Get Ignius to do it.” “Your wingspan is biggest, and you’ll be able to hide Mary from the guards,” Kathely said. “I don’t know why I’m even here,” Hexara grumbled. “What an odd night this has been!” Hexara acquiesced in spite of their complaints and allowed Mary to climb on their back. Mary crouched as low as they could get, and Hexara folded their great, green, billowing wings around their small form. Mary’s hide was white, and any glimpse that Ignius could see of them could be easily attributed to the white swaths on Hexara’s wings. “Come on, let’s go!” Sharn called from the back. “I can really hear them now.” The metal bars had cooled, and it was so dark that it might even look as if there hadn’t been a breakout as long as the great spotlight on the tower didn’t swing by and illuminate the empty cell. They all hurried up the ramp, and Kathely muttered, “I would almost believe no one is watching the prisoners right now.” As they ed the guard post, Kathely went a ways down the bridge. “Kathely, get back here,” Varaly said. “Come on!” There were echoes of people climbing up the ramp below. “I’m just seeing something,” Kathely said. “There’s no one here, just as I thought!” “I thought I might find you here,” a voice from in front of them halted their progress. “Cassius!” said Pharyn in relief. “You’ve returned for me.” “What’s going on?” Cassius asked. “I noticed you weren’t at the gathering. I

thought you might come here.” “There was a strange ritual happening, Cassius,” Ignius said. “I don’t agree with what’s going on.” “You don’t think we should sacrifice criminals for the greater good of us all?” Cassius asked. “What did it all mean, Cassius?” Pharyn said. “We missed the first bit.” “I will explain,” Cassius said. They looked up at the approach of the voices below. “I must return to the Lockden activities, as I will be missed shortly. Ignius, you should come as well.” “But, I…” Ignius tried to argue. “Just go. We’ll take care of things here,” Kathely said, glancing over at Hexara, who was still grumpily allowing Mary a perch underneath their wings. Cassius didn’t appear to notice that there was anything at all odd going on, and Ignius followed them up and out of the prison. Cassius winged their way back to Lockden tower, Ignius right behind them. As they approached the tower, Ignius could see that everyone was still gathered in the main hall. Ignius landed near Cassius, and they continued on to the gathering. “Cassius,” Ignius said. “Please explain. I don’t understand, and it seems that you have a part to play in all that’s been going on.” “We have to make a statement,” Cassius said. “As the new ruling class, we need to make a mark.” The gathering was breaking up, and Ignius followed Cassius as they started bringing them further into Lockden tower, more focused on getting answers than rules that might be broken. Sendia went past with their twin sister Janius, but Cassius hurried past them all without breaking their stride. “Cassius,” Ignius said plaintively. “Please explain it to me.” “Look, I must show you the books that Asarius found in the old records,” Cassius said. “No one had cleared out that old section in ages, and we found a

hidden compartment by moving a bookshelf.” “Why are you being so secretive?” Ignius asked in exasperation. “Why do you think, Ignius?” Cassius asked but didn’t explain. Cassius lead Ignius to their quarters, and there on the shelf was a huge tome with warped pages and bound in a strange sort of material. “This is the book we found, and it speaks of the old magic of ancient times,” Cassius said. “Did you know that dragons actually are innately magical creatures?” “What does that have to do with anything?” Ignius asked. “It means that we have magic in our blood,” Cassius continued. “We found an of a ceremony that was once used to give humans magical properties as well.” “And it involves drinking a dragon’s blood,” Ignius said. Cassius nodded. “Here, I’ll show you. You won’t be able to read the old draconic tongue as I can.” The pages almost fell apart as Cassius handled the tome, ing Ignius a biblioscope in order to look at the pages in greater detail. The ancient script was made up of squarish shapes and runes. The parchment was yellowing with age and curling at the edges. The pages were bound in some sort of thick material. It almost looked like it was…scaled. Ignius shuddered. There was a picture depicting a dragon lying on a stone slab with a person standing above it and stabbing into the dragon. Thankfully, the pictures didn’t much look like a real human or a real dragon. “So, this is how you make a human have magic,” Ignius said. “Why does it matter? Dragons don’t have magic anymore either.” “Those ways were lost to us,” Cassius said. “We’re uncovering them again.” “It was a barbaric time,” Ignius said, tapping a talon pointedly on the image in

the book. Dragons had long ago abandoned the old ways. The only things that dragonkind kept from the old language were draconic pronouns. Humans had taught them better ways of doing things. The history had been largely forgotten, and it seemed to Ignius that there were reasons for that. “Don’t worry so much, Ignius,” Cassius said. “We know what we’re doing.” “Using one old text that you can hardly read,” Ignius said. “Anyway, what about Pharyn? He missed the ceremony today.” Cassius gave Ignius a sidelong look. “That was on purpose.” “You don’t make any sense,” Ignius said, shaking their head. “I’ve arranged to have a private ceremony,” Cassius said. “And in place of the sacrificial dragon, I’ll give my own blood.” “Why would you do that?” asked Ignius. “I’ve read something that suggests the ceremony works better with a willing donor,” said Cassius. Ignius didn’t voice it, but they were really very uncomfortable with all of this talk of magic and old texts and ancient ceremonies. Magic was a myth, and although there were tales of draconic magecraft in days of old, no solid history existed. Or, at least, so Ignius had thought. There was a reason the old ways had been abandoned, and it was starting to come back again, and at a time of political upheaval? It didn’t seem wise, but what was Ignius to know of that? Cassius, apparently unconcerned about rule-breaking now that they were a monarch, stayed in Lockden tower, while Ignius anxiously returned to the tiny tower that had been their home for the past two months. They wondered what had become of Mary Scott. The others were waiting for Ignius, and they had no sooner touched down when Gwena and the others had ushered them into the gathering room. It was a tight squeeze to fit them all in.

“So?” demanded Hexara. “What’s going on with all that ritual stuff?” It seemed like there was so much to explain, and Ignius didn’t even know all the answers. That didn’t stop the others from asking as many questions as possible. “So from what I gather, your family has gone mad,” Gwena said. Ignius shrugged their wings. “I can’t rightly say, but it would appear to be so. I have a question of my own–what did you do with Mary Scott, and what are we going to do with them now?” “It’s your fault that we have Mary Scott in the first place,” Hexara said grumpily. “We put them in one of the empty rooms,” input Gwena. “We decided it would be best to keep them away from Cassius’s quarters.” “We can’t keep Mary here,” Ignius said. “We have to take them to Jack Matterly.” “What?” Sharn said in surprise. “You mean the dragon that kidnapped you?” “Yes,” Ignius said. “It makes sense. They wanted to have Mary released anyway, and now Mary will have a safer place to go.” “You know aiding and abetting rebels is treason, right?” asked Ceres. “I do, but there’s nothing else we can do except let them execute Mary tomorrow, and I don’t want such a stain on my conscience,” Ignius replied. “Would you?” Everyone shuffled their wings uncomfortably and didn’t reply. “So how are we going to Jack Matterly?” asked Gwena. “No doubt they have moved the rebel camp elsewhere.” “Servants,” Ignius said. “Jack Matterly said servants make the best spies. All we have to do is give the message to one servant, and I’m pretty sure our message will make it to the right hands.” “Not all servants are rebels,” Ceres pointed out.

“Jack Matterly said that there were definitely spies in Lockden tower,” Ignius said. “Anyway, it’s all we’ve got. We have to try something, and fast, before people figure out it was us.” “You had better be right,” Hexara said. “I don’t want to have to give them any more of our food than is necessary.” “I know I’m right,” Ignius said confidently.

*

Ignius gave a message to the servants in Lockden tower, and all it said was this: We have MS—Ignius. Ignius and Kathely waited for their message to circulate, hoping that Jack would receive it in time to help Mary. Mary wouldn’t be able to stay for long without being noticed. Meanwhile, Ignius was still scared of the ritual they had seen that night and was determined to get ahold of the tome that Cassius was reading in order to do their own research. Cassius was more of the researching type, but it didn’t mean that Ignius wouldn’t be able to figure it out. Today was the day that Mary was supposed to have been executed, and they waited impatiently to find out if their plan to rescue Mary had been discovered. Obviously, it would be realized soon that Mary was gone, but would the guard give them away? There had only been one on guard at that time, but one was enough. “Geez, Ignius, I thought of that,” Hexara said. “I took care of that issue.” “How?” Ignius asked in surprise. “Bribed them, obviously,” Hexara said. “And pointed out that if they told anyone who did it, then they would also be implicated in our crime.” “Don’t call it that,” Gwena said.

“What? It is a crime,” Hexara said. “We might as well get used to the word.” The uproar came around the first morning bells, with a great noise of gongs going off, sending out the alarm to all the guard posts. Ignius and the others awoke and crowded outside where others were gathered to see what all the noise was about. They already knew what it was about, of course, but it would look odd if they didn’t give the appearance of surprise. Not long after, Cassius came tearing down out of the sky and landed in front of them. “Cassius—” Ignius started to say. “It was you, wasn’t it?” Cassius said. “You let Mary Scott out of prison. I should have realized you were all up to something. I couldn’t imagine what it was.” “We don’t know what you’re talking about, Cassius,” Hexara said steadily. “I know it was you,” Cassius said. “But it will look bad for us if my very own cousin were known to be the perpetrator of this upset. I don’t know for what purpose you wanted Mary Scott, and I don’t care. Don’t cross me again, Ignius. If you become too much of a liability, we’ll have no choice but to act.” “What do you mean by that?” Kathely demanded, coming to stand in front of Ignius. “I mean we can’t afford to seem divided at this point,” Cassius said. “Tread lightly. We’ll have to blame the fact there were no guards on duty.” “And what about Mary Scott?” asked Ignius. “We don’t need it to be Mary Scott. We can just pretend we still have them. No one knows what they look like,” Cassius said. “I’m warning you, Ignius. Stay out of this if you want no part in it.” Cassius flew off, and Ignius let out a sigh of relief. “I guess they’re still going to carry out the sacrifice, as planned,” Ignius said. It seemed terrible to them. It was wrong, and they knew that they should do

something, but they didn’t know what. How could just one dragon do something? Even if they had Kathely, two people against the whole world was a lot to handle. For one second, they considered just setting all the dragons in that horrible place free. But it was a miracle their group had gotten away with one rescue. They wouldn’t get away with a mass-scale breakout. “Looks like,” said Kathely grimly. “Should we go and see what has happened at Lockden tower?” “I’m a bit frightened,” Ignius itted, shuffling their wings nervously. “I didn’t like what was happening last night.” “Me either, dear heart, but I think we must,” Kathely said. As they launched out over Azenath, Ignius looked at the city below. It looked so peaceful from up in the air, as if nothing terrible could be happening within its confines. Even Lockden tower seemed peaceful. Once they landed, the first thing they noticed was the smell. It was strangely metallic, and it permeated the halls. Kathely didn’t notice it, but Ignius wrinkled their nose. It didn’t smell bad, per se, just different. Then Ignius saw them. They looked mostly human, and if they hadn’t been paying attention because of the smell, maybe they wouldn’t have noticed. Kathely did, and stifled a gasp with their hands. It looked strange and a little bit off, like it wasn’t quite normal. Some of the humans had tiny horns curving up out of their hair, like dragon horns. Some of them had scales growing down their arms or claws. Some even had slitted eyes. It was bizarre to see humans with traits that blurred human and dragon. “Is this what Cassius meant?” Ignius asked. “It smells strange in here, Kathely. Can we leave?” Kathely must have sensed how uneasy Ignius felt, because they put a hand on their hide to pat it soothingly. They left quickly after that, not staying to see Cassius or Sendia.

What were they supposed to do now? Every time they thought of the changes of the Aera family, it just seemed terribly wrong, and Ignius’s gut churned with the shock and disgust of it. How could anyone allow this to happen? Why was no one else protesting it? Why had they all just followed what Pygnia and Asarius said without any question, without any pause? Were their people really so callous and unfeeling?

*

Late the next evening, a knock came at the entrance to the tower, and Ignius went to investigate. At first, they didn’t think there was anyone there, until someone cleared their throat from above Ignius’s head. Hanging from above the doorway was the dragon that Ignius ed as Gertie. “You have Mary Scott?” Gertie said. “Yes, we do,” Ignius said. “We rescued them from the dungeon. My family was going to execute them.” “Can I see Mary?” asked Gertie. “Jack refuses to come here themself until I can your claim with my own eyes.” “Okay,” Ignius said. “Mary is further down in the tower, past the gathering place. Hurry, we mustn’t allow Cassius to see you.” Ignius led Gertie down past the gathering place, and Gertie said, “I’ll take the servant route.” The servant route was too small for an upper-class dragon to fit, so it was a good plan. Ignius made their way down further into the tower, and they could hear Gertie scrabbling through the servant’s route in the walls. “Mary is here,” Ignius said. “Mary? I’ve brought someone to see you.” “Is it Jack?” Mary asked, their voice raspy.

“Jack sent me,” Gertie said. “They wanted to be sure that the claims of these upper-class dragons were true before coming themself. Will you come with us?” “Of course I will. I’ve heard that Jack has been up to all sorts of mischief in trying to rescue me,” Mary said. “They always were a good dragon, that Jack.” “How can I know you’re Mary Scott?” asked Gertie. “I’m blind,” said Mary. “Not too many blind dragons about, are there?” “That’s true,” Gertie said. “I’m satisfied. I’ll go collect Jack.” It didn’t take long for Gertie to return with Jack, so they must have been waiting somewhere out of sight for Gertie to return. “I don’t understand why, though, Locky,” said Jack. “We took you captive and tried to ransom you.” “It’s the right thing to do,” Ignius said. “I couldn’t just leave Mary there to be executed, and now that we’ve rescued them, we can’t keep them here. You’re the only one we know who wants to keep them safe.” “You’re a right uncommonly good dragon, Locky,” Jack said. “We should go now. Mary, climb on my back, and we’ll be out of here in a jiffy.” Ignius watched as Mary scrambled aboard Jack, clinging to their neck like a dragonette. Jack launched, and for a moment, Jack tilted in the air, the weight of Mary driving Jack in the wrong direction. They quickly corrected course, and Jack flew off into the fading light. Ignius had been a whirlwind of troubled thought ever since the previous night, when they realized what was happening. It wasn’t making much sense to them, because what the Lockdens had been doing was something that made Ignius’s stomach churn in distaste. They couldn’t just let a dragon they knew, and had talked to, be executed in such a brutal fashion. But their actions had put them at odds with their family. How could Ignius reconcile these things? Ignius pondered this in dismay, as they knew that something would have to give

eventually, and Ignius feared it, one way or the other.

*

All was quiet for a few days after Mary Scott escaped with Jack Matterly. Ignius didn’t trust this kind of calm. It was like the hot, muggy day that came right before a thunderstorm, or the sea receding before the tidal wave. The punishment that Ignius and their friends was serving was almost at an end, and soon they would be sent back to their various postings. Sharn and Ignius were supposed to set forth the following week. They had received a letter from Commander Merwyn stating when they expected them back. Ignius wouldn’t even have time to go and visit their family. Then again, Ignius wasn’t sure that they wanted to visit their family to begin with. Lockden tower still had that strange half-human, half-dragon smell. It smelled like burnt blood, and Ignius could hardly stand it. They still wanted to talk to Sendia, because at the very least, they wanted to see if their mother was still all right after the ceremony. Cassius said to them one day, “You can return to the tower with me, you know. I know you want to see Sendia before you go.” Ignius knew that Pygnia wouldn’t be angry as long as Cassius was there as well. However, it was almost like a miasma of sickness permeated the tower. It made Ignius feel a bit sick even flying by it. Luckily for Ignius, Sendia seemed to realize Ignius’s reluctance, and one day after their labour had finished at the forges, Sendia appeared at the tower. “Mother!” Ignius said. They had been in the lead on the way back to the tower, and now Hexara gleefully took first place in the line-up for the baths. Ignius didn’t care—that much. This was more important than getting soot out of their scales.

“Sendia,” Ignius said. “Are you well?” What Ignius really wanted to ask was if Sendia’s Chosen was one of the strange hybrid creatures, but it wasn’t something that Ignius could just ask. “I am, and so is Kalia,” said Sendia. “I’m glad you asked. Kalia didn’t take the offering of transcendence.” “Is that what Pygnia is calling it?” asked Ignius. Sendia sighed and nodded. “It’s gotten strange at the tower. Humans who have drank of the blood of the offering don’t know how to handle draconic instincts, as they haven’t had them before.” “Is it very bad?” Ignius asked. “In some ways, yes,” Sendia said. “It is creating quarrels where once there were none.” “What kind of quarrels?” Ignius asked, frowning. “Mating quarrels,” Sendia said. “It’s very messy at the moment. But it’s not only that. The house is split on whether or not this new era of Lockden supremacy is a good idea.” “I did wonder,” Ignius said. “None of us are very happy with it.” “What is your reasoning, young one?” asked Sendia. “It’s not right,” Ignius said. “Maybe the sacrifices are criminals, and maybe they are also lower-class dragons that don’t matter. It’s just wrong. We can’t just kill them.” “Some in the tower agree, some don’t,” Sendia said. “Some have other reasons for disagreeing.” “I don’t understand,” Ignius said. “Why is Pygnia doing this now? Why are they doing this at the same time as announcing they are going to become the ruling monarch?”

“Pygnia has told me they are proving that they are worthy of being the ruler over all dragons,” said Sendia. “They are proving to everyone that they have the power to grant others supremacy over the mid and lower classes. Why else would the other houses allow this?” That didn’t sound good for the lower classes at all, especially Jack Matterly’s group. “What about the rebels?” Ignius said. “What is Pygnia going to do about them?” “I don’t know yet,” Sendia said. “The rebels have been quiet lately, so it’s possible that Pygnia thinks they are an insignificant obstacle at the moment.” What Pygnia didn’t realize was that the rebels had Mary Scott now. Ignius still didn’t know whether or not they had done the right thing in letting Mary free, and delivering them right into the hands of the rebels. On one hand, it was something that Ignius didn’t think was right—to allow Mary to be sacrificed in such a manner. But on the other, they had gone against their house and their people in doing so. That brought up the real question: Where did Ignius stand in all of this turmoil? They couldn’t help but think that they had made a real mess of things because they really didn’t understand exactly what was going on. They were doing their best, but maybe that wasn’t good enough. They had to do something more—or something less. But what? Only Cassius knew what had transpired. Would Cassius tell anyone else? Still uneasy about the whole situation, they bid Sendia farewell and returned to the tower, where the rest of their cohorts were busy scrubbing out their scales and claws. The dam would break much sooner than they imagined.

*

It was just a couple of days before Ignius was set to return to the northern Watchtower when Pygnia Lockden announced their monarchy over all of dragonkind. It was a beautiful day, and the sun was shining on all the towers, making them sparkle with their stained glass windows. In the center of the five towers of the upper class of Azenath was a large open space on top of a pedestal, a huge platform. It had wrought iron guard rails all around it, and cobblestone was laid down on it. In the very centre was a raised dais, and this was where Pygnia gathered all of the dragons that day. In spite of the wonderful weather, there were many somber faces at the ceremony. “Welcome, brethren,” Pygnia said, their sonorous voice echoing all around. “I have gathered you all here today to witness the crowning of a new king.” The idea of kingship had come from humans, like a lot of ideas dragons had adopted in the past. The human idea of monarchy was old, and it had been long since a king or queen had sat on a throne in Azenath. Ignius stood as close as they could to Gwena, uneasy with what was happening. “As you can see, among the line of Aera, there are a new type of people,” Pygnia said. “We have discovered old magic, and we are bringing it back. Do not fear it, as it is the times of change in Azenath. Our ruling line will be more connected than it ever was.” The crowd stirred as people mumbled to each other. Ignius couldn’t hear what anyone else was saying, and they looked over at Gwena. Gwena shrugged; they couldn’t hear either. “This change will bring us into the future,” Pygnia said. “It will bring us ever closer to 0ne another, and the Gods we once had who have been forgotten.” “Gods?” Ignius said, shooting Gwena a quizzical look. Ignius was not the only one to be surprised. A frisson of excitement rippled through the crowd. People everywhere were starting to get louder as they discussed the possibilities. What did Pygnia mean by that?

“Yes, Gods!” cried Pygnia. “We once worshipped a God of enormous power, who once granted us a much closer bond with our Chosen. We have forgotten, and our power has ed from us. By returning to the old teaching, and the old ways, we can regain power. We can make the kingdom of Azenath great again! I will tell you how it shall be done.” “What is Pygnia talking about?” Gwena said. “I’ve never heard of this before now.” “I’ll have to ask Sharn,” Ignius said. “They’re more of a scholar than I am. I don’t recall this either.” “History that’s been lost to us?” Gwena said. “I can’t believe it.” “What is Pygnia planning?” Ignius said. “They must have found something, because I don’t think that Pygnia would just make something up without having proof to back it up.” “Not that they will let anyone see the proof either way,” Gwena said. “We shall begin by setting up temples of old, and return to the old way of teaching,” Pygnia said. “The traditional way, which we lost. Then we shall back our class structure of having lords under the Lockden ruling class, and the lower class will again pledge their loyalty only to their lord.” “Wait, Pygnia wants to make us lords?” asked Gwena. “How does that make sense?” “Then,” Pygnia continued, “we shall crush this revolution by bringing our loyal serving class back to our side and pledging to protect them while at the same time, showing them what will happen to those who dissent.” That got a definite positive reaction from the crowd. Several dragons lifted their heads and roared their approval of this plan. There was a louder murmuring from the crowd. “This is what we will accomplish by abolishing the old council way of getting things done,” Pygnia continued, voice growing stronger as they noted the they were receiving. “We will be the ultimate voice of authority, and will make decisions fast, and carry them out. No more issues that need dealing with

will get tied up in bureaucracy and debating back and forth for weeks on end!” The crowd was beginning to get riled up, and Ignius could feel the energy of the crowd rising. The things Pygnia had been saying about Gods and old traditions were lost on most people, Ignius included, but this was something everyone had complained about at one time or another. “This is what I promise you now, and in our people’s glorious future!” Pygnia roared to the crowd, and the crowd roared back in excitement. “Now that we have decided our future, go and celebrate our return to ascendancy! Drink and eat to your hearts’ content. For tomorrow, we shall start bringing about a new order!” The crowd was chanting Pygnia’s name, and Pygnia spouted fire into the air to add to the excitement. Now the crowd was loud enough to hear. Most of what Ignius could hear was relief that Pygnia was going to take care of the rebel threat. Some of them were even saying that once the rebels were dealt with, then perhaps things could return to normal. What they didn’t seem to realize was that Pygnia would not give up power that easily once they had it. The other thing that no one knew was what kind of thing was done to change the humans of the Aera line into half-dragon half-human creatures. The more Ignius heard, the more they were afraid. At the same time, however, the more they heard, the more they realized they had to do something in spite of their fear. Even if it meant opposing everything they once stood for.

Chapter Ten

Ignius wondered what would happen in the days to come, but what they didn’t expect at all was what did happen. Gwena rushed in, wings bristling with excitement. “Ignius, it’s Jack Matterly,” Gwena said. “They are in the middle of the main square, and they’re beginning to build up a crowd!” Ignius didn’t even think. They ducked their head for Kathely to climb aboard, and off they went, right on Gwena’s tail. The word must have spread quickly, because there was already quite a gathering of mids and low class servants. This mob was excited already; Ignius could feel the agitation stirring in the air. Ignius had seen a fire on the plains of Azenath once, when they were just a youngling. Started with just a whisper of flame, a wind came up, and all of a sudden, half the plain was afire. The crowd today reminded Ignius of that fire. Jack Matterly was at the center podium, but they hadn’t even begun talking yet. More and more of the lower-class dragons were crowding onto the platform. Being the only upper-class dragons there made Ignius and Gwena very conspicuous. Lower-class dragons gave them odd looks that bordered on hostile. Ignius wasn’t scared of them, not here in Azenath, but they were very uncomfortable to have so many unfriendly, staring eyes. “Don’t let them get to you,” Gwena said out the side of their mouth. Jack Matterly, of course, noticed almost right away that Ignius and Gwena were there and got up and flew over. This drew even more attention to their presence, something that Ignius hadn’t wanted at all. Unfortunately, there was no way to stop Jack from coming over. “I thought I might see you here today, Locky,” said Jack.

“Why is that?” Ignius asked, taken aback. “You gave us MS,” Jack said, careful not to give away Ignius’s part in Mary’s escape. “That doesn’t mean I’m on your side,” Ignius said automatically. But didn’t it? Ignius wasn’t sure, but they were doing more and more which really made it seem like they were on Jack Matterly’s side after all. “I didn’t say that at all,” Jack said. “You don’t have to be on my side. You can be on your own side and still see that what’s going on here is utter madness.” “Did you see the ceremony yesterday, then?” asked Ignius. “If you can call it that,” Jack replied. “I’d say it was more of a ritual than a ceremony.” “Well, you can see why I’m worried,” Ignius said. “I still don’t know what I’m supposed to do, but I want to hear what you’ve got to say.” “That alone makes you one of the only upper-class dragons worth knowing,” Jack said. “I’ve got to get back, since it’s me speaking. But heed my words. There isn’t any good way for my side and our new king’s side to come to an agreement.” Ignius didn’t like the sounds of that, but they had to agree. Rather than trying to reach an agreement or a treaty of some kind, Pygnia and Asarius had escalated events instead. The matter was quickly coming to a head. “What did you do with MS?” asked Ignius before Jack could fly away. “Oh, they’re quite safe,” said Jack. “They wrote my speech for me, you know. We obviously couldn’t let them come and deliver it themself, but these are their words.” Matterly returned to the center pedestal, and now all of the surrounding dragons who had been watching the exchange were peering sidelong at Ignius and Gwena curiously. However, their attention quickly shifted back as Jack Matterly took the stage.

“My brothers and sisters! My wing-sibs!” they said, and the crowd roared back in return. “I am here before you today because I am tired of the way things are being run by the so-called ruling class. I want change!” The crowd roared again. Ignius kept very still as the bodies around them seethed restlessly. Ignius was starting to become alarmed by the strange energy of the crowd. “I’m sure some of you have heard the line of Lockden has declared themselves the rulers, the kings of our people!” People began shouting, egging Jack on. Everywhere, wings bristled and flared in excitement, and human servants sitting on the backs of their comrades threw their fists in the air. Ignius and Gwena were conspicuous in their silence. “I’ve been given an of something else the upper classes have been doing while we toil below their city, paid wages that are pitiful for our hard work and long hours,” Jack said. “Did you know that the Lockden line is trying to take us back to the dark times of sacrifice and feudalism? They want us to pledge allegiance to lords again, as if we were back in the times of old!” “How dare they!” shouted someone quite close to Ignius and Gwena. “I say we resist them!” Jack said. “I’m tired of this! We work all day from dawn till dusk, doing all the dirty, hard work that the upper class is too delicate for, and what do we get? Nothing! We live in terrible conditions in the bowels of this great city alongside the rats! “I say we fight back!” said Jack. “First, we need to stop working for them. No more forges running!” The crowd cheered and shouted, stamping their feet on the ground. “No more hotsprings to allow the upper class the luxury of hot water!” Jack cried, and the crowd cheered again. “No more trains going north to Tracks or any other place to bring grain to the tables of our overlords! No more of us labouring and covered in soot and grime

from cleaning! No more running messages, no more standing at the doors waiting to open them, or at tables to serve food!” Jack cried. The crowd wasn’t even waiting for Jack to name off the chores, now they were cheering without pause. Ignius could hardly hear Jack over the screaming of the crowd. Ignius thought it would erupt and overflow into the city at any moment. “We refuse!” Jack shouted over all the noise. “We refuse to do their bidding anymore! We want proper wages, and we want to have a shorter work day! We want to be able to feed our children and educate them properly! This is the end of our servitude!” The crowd had become alive with a mind of its own, one with many heads. Ignius was afraid that if this creature were turned loose, it could create widespread destruction. “And what will they do when we refuse? That’s up to them. But what we can do is to start our resistance of the so-called ruling class. We have to begin now! This is how we make our stand! I ask this of you, my people,” Jack said. “I ask you to spread the word among your friends and your family. Take this message to the city of Azenath: no more!” “I think maybe we should get out of here,” Ignius whispered to Kathely, who could barely hear over all the noise. “If we move, we’ll draw attention to ourselves, and I don’t think we want that right now,” Kathely said. Ignius, for once in their life, felt like a field mouse surrounded by skyhawks and cats and all manner of predator. Now, Ignius was beginning to realize a crowd like this could consume them and Gwena with ease. Rain was just rain until it collected in puddles, which would flow into streams and rivers and eventually the ocean. Ignius suddenly ed their all-consuming fear of falling in the ocean and was afraid. “Gwena, what do we do?” they whispered. “We keep very, very still and hope they’ve forgotten we’re here,” Gwena said.

Ignius wanted to leave, but there was nothing they could do. They didn’t know what would happen if they did, but they didn’t think it would be good. This crowd, in the mood it was now, might very well be inclined to tear them apart. Ignius ed the waves of the ocean dashing against the rocks on the cliffs of the northern shoreline. “Now, my brethren!” Jack said. “Make the city of Azenath hear us! They can never forget that their great city runs on the backs of people like us! They live in luxury while we live in the slums. We refuse to allow this to continue! Those people are no better than you and me. We are equal!” Since Ignius and Gwena were stuck where they were, Ignius listened to and contemplated Jack’s words to the masses. Were the lower-class dragons equal? If you had asked Ignius a few months ago, they would have said no—no the lower-class dragons were not equal to the upper, not in the least. The reasoning then had been a little foggy, but Ignius would have been very certain that it was so. Upper-class dragons were bigger, stronger, and smarter, or at least, Ignius had thought so. Now, Ignius knew better. They knew better, and that knowledge was damning. They knew, and now they were infected by that knowledge. It struck them suddenly that they had changed too. Here they were in the middle of a lowerclass rally, and their mere presence was for the message Jack Matterly was telling. What were they supposed to do? Caught between their family and the new beliefs they held, they didn’t know. They wished they could discuss it with the others, but the crowd was far too loud to hear over. All the individual words had become one collective yell of for Jack’s message. This crowd was far bigger than Ignius and spoke with one voice. How could Ignius say they were bigger than this, or stronger? And now, they knew for a fact they weren’t smarter just because they were better educated. Just look at Jack, building up this crowd out of nothing, and Mary, who wrote books that were alarming enough to have them jailed. That was not done by a stupid person. Ignius wasn’t sure where that left them now. Ignius felt paralyzed between two

different sides. Ignius should have been relieved when someone from the Aerial Legion appeared to try to break up the crowd, but they weren’t. A captain of the Aerial Legion came down and landed on the pedestal, forcing Jack to leap aside. They looked around at the gathered crowd, which was shifting with unease under their gaze. “I am Captain Jiren Myrmont,” said the captain. “I command you all to disperse immediately.” Jack stood tall and said, “And why should we do that? This gathering place is a place for all of us.” “You are preaching words of defiance against the ruling class and encouraging social disorder,” Captain Jiren said. “We cannot allow such speech to be read at a public gathering.” “Censorship!” Jack cried, not backing down. “I cannot give way when you try and stifle the voices of all of my people.” “Your people are resisting the rule of the rightful leaders,” Captain Jiren said. “We don’t think those people are the rightful leaders,” Jack said. “Their treatment of the lower class is inexcusable. We are not slaves to be used in strange rituals or forced to do hard labour for next to nothing.” Jack’s eyes were hard and immovable. “You shall cease to speak now or face the consequences,” Captain Jiren said. “I will never bow down to the wishes of a tyrant!” Jack said, and the crowd, which had been watching in uneasy silence, roared back to life in an instant. “You have made your decision,” Captain Jiren said. “Anyone who does not this position should leave now or face retribution.” Captain Jiren flew away, but not a single person left the platform. Jack hopped back up on the pedestal to continue addressing the crowd.

“That is the message we want to send to the upper-class tyrants!” Jack said. “We have to tell them that we, the people, refuse to give way to their commands and attempts to silence us!” The crowd cheered loudly. “What should we do?” Ignius asked Gwena. “I don’t know!” Gwena replied anxiously. “What if the crowd turns on us? We’re part of the upper class that they’re speaking about right now.” “I think we should stay through to the end,” said Kathely. “Why?” asked Varaly. “We’ve come here to hear the words of the lower class,” said Kathely. “Leaving now means we haven’t learned anything and that we reject their ideas.” Ignius’s first thought was what if they did reject their ideas? But then they realized, as if doused in cold water, that they didn’t reject those ideas. They believed them. And if they truly believed in them, then they couldn’t leave, no matter what. Ignius had to take a stand. “I’m staying,” they said firmly. “Me too,” said Kathely. The two shared a look. Yes, this was where their path lay. No matter what the consequences were. The crowd was getting warmed up again, when suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a huge ball of flame came out of the sky and exploded in the centre of the gathered crowd. It was a huge boulder coated in a thick layer of pitch. It hit several unfortunate souls on the way down, and it crushed wingts and shattered bone, scale, and flesh all the same. Flaming pitch splattered on impact, spraying the surrounding people with hot resin. “Incoming!” yelled Jack. “Scatter everyone!”

No one was paying attention to them anymore, far more focused on staying alive. More boulders coated in pitch were flying into the middle of the crowd, which was struggling to get up into the air and escape. Now that the crowd was aware of the threat, they tried to avoid the incoming boulders, but in some cases, they just weren’t fast enough. “It’s a massacre,” Kathely said. “This is horrible.” “Please can we just leave and discuss it later?” Gwena said frantically. “I’d rather be alive to discuss it later.” Ignius and Gwena scrambled to the edge and launched off in the opposite direction of where the boulders were flying in. There was another tall building nearby, and they both landed on it to watch what was happening below. Ignius frantically looked for where the incoming boulders were coming from. Maybe they could—but no, a whole flight of dragons and their Chosen were guarding the catapults that were firing the boulders. There was still a shadow of doubt in Ignius’s heart. They shouldn’t be on the side of the lower class, and everything they had been taught went against it. But they knew. They knew that this was wrong. They had never thought that something like this would happen, and that people from their own family could so callously disregard precious life. But that was just it—to them, the lower class lives were not precious or worth preserving at all. And Ignius knew they had to stop it, somehow. They had to do their part in bringing peace. But first, they had to fight, no matter the cost. Even if it meant… even if it meant they lost everything. The boulders were starting to burn out, but the crowd had almost completely cleared, save for one or two unfortunate dragons who had gotten a wing injured. The crushed and mangled bodies of several victims could be seen from their vantage point. Kathely put their hands over their mouth in horror. “How terrible!” they cried. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” Many of the others who had been in the crowd had gotten the same idea as them and flown to the nearest buildings to watch. They almost looked like birds

roosting on buildings, perching on anything they could in order to get a view of what was happening below. “Did Jack Matterly escape?” asked Gwena. “I did, younglings; thanks for thinking of me,” a voice came from above them. Jack Matterly was talking to them, but their eyes were fixed on the carnage below. Now that the platform had cleared of people that could escape, of the Aerial Legion came winging down. Some of the injured dragons were still alive, and Kathely gasped. Ignius expected the soldiers to help those that were injured to a hospital, but the soldiers ignored them, rolling the boulders to the edge of the platform and off. “They didn’t even warn anybody below to watch out!” Kathely exclaimed in horror. “Of course they didn’t,” Jack Matterly said. “Didn’t I tell you? They don’t care . We’re treated as expendable because there are so many of us. We’re replaceable. Watch.” Ignius didn’t want to watch, but felt that they had to witness this to the end. The boulders fell away, thundering down into the streets far below. Ignius heard screams echo up and flinched. The soldiers, finished with that task, came back to the corpses of those who had been killed by the boulders. They came and dragged the bodies to the edge and pushed them over as well. Lastly, they came to the injured. Those that were still alive were quickly culled off with a claw to the throat, and then tossed off as well. “I can’t believe it,” Gwena said in horror. The platform cleared of boulders and bodies, it was then thoroughly cleaned. Big tanks of water were brought up and sprayed over the marble, which soon washed back to pearlescent white. The bloody water poured over the edge to the boulders and the bodies below. “Come with me,” Jack Matterly said.

And they did. Below was different even than the area where the prison was. Ignius wrinkled their nose in intense disgust at the pungent stench of the streets. The streets were narrow, almost too narrow for Ignius and Gwena to fit. They had to carry their wings upright in order to fit. The street down here was cobbled unevenly and was missing in spots. “Welcome to the lower levels,” Jack said. “This is where most of the lower class lives unless they are a servant for one of the upper-class families and can get a room in the tower.” There were a few miserable-looking beggars in the dark nooks and crannies, and some of the dark alleyways were too narrow even for Jack to fit. The cobblestones had a black gunk stuck between the cracks, and Ignius’s feet were already grimy from stepping on them. The air was thick and heavy, and everyone seemed to have a cough. “Lots of us have lung problems,” Jack said. “I was lucky to escape that.” “Can’t any of you get out of here?” asked Ignius, staring around. “Where would we go?” Jack said. “We can’t live with the upper class.” Ignius didn’t know, but anywhere was better than here. “Where is everyone?” asked Kathely, peering as far as they could into the surrounding smog. “They’ve all scarpered,” laughed Jack. “There was a disturbance up top, so they’ve all gone to ground except those that are too out of it to notice, or who don’t care anymore.” They went along a ways, and there were the bodies that had fallen from above, and the boulders that had come down as well. The boulders had cracked the cobblestones, not that it had much impact on the street as a whole. “No one’s moving the bodies?” asked Gwena. “Body collection is on the last day of the week,” Jack said. “No one touches

them until then, unless it’s to loot the body.” “Loot?” asked Ignius in alarm. “Yeah, loot, you know, take stuff,” Jack said. “If there’s anything of any value on it.” “You can’t be serious,” Ignius said. “Very serious,” Jack said. “It’s how some of us survive. Come, that gathering up there was for show, for the upper class to see us coming together. The real way to get recruits is by word of mouth.” “Ignius,” Gwena hissed. “We really shouldn’t be here.” “It’s too late, isn’t it?” Ignius replied. “We’ve been seen up there with the gathering.” “Maybe no one noticed,” said Varaly. “Oh, they noticed,” Jack said. “At least, the lower class did. Everyone will know soon. Like I said, word of mouth—news travels fast.” “Was your little demonstration up there worth the lives that were lost up there?” demanded Kathely. “I didn’t know what was going to happen, that events would escalate so fast,” Jack said. “But nevertheless, it was worth it, certainly.” “We still shouldn’t go,” Gwena said, ears flattening. “You don’t have to come,” Ignius said. “But there’s something that’s happening here, and I intend to get to the bottom of it.” “More like get in the middle of it,” Gwena said, stopping. Jack Matterly kept walking, and Ignius and Kathely kept following. Gwena seemed torn, wavering in between getting out of this situation or continuing. As far as Ignius was concerned, they were already involved, everyone was. Whether they liked it or not.

Gwena gave an anguished groan and hurried to catch up. “Someone’s got to make sure that you don’t get into trouble down here,” Gwena said. Ignius was glad that Gwena was still here. They hadn’t wanted to it it, but they didn’t want to do this alone. Kathely was an ever-steadying presence by their side, but another opinion about what was going on was welcome. “This is dangerous,” Varaly said. “Being safe doesn’t get anything done,” Ignius said. “And like I said, you can leave if you want at any time, but we’re going on.” “I hate it when you’re right,” Gwena griped. “We’re almost there,” Jack said. “Come on, hurry.” They came to a set of doors, and from the design, these lead underground, like the prison. But unlike the prison, the doors were made of wood and pushed open easily. There was no sign to tell what it was they were entering. It was a tight fit for Gwena, who had a sturdier build than Ignius, but they made it inside. “What is this place?” Ignius said in a low voice. “It’s the Underground,” said Jack, laughing. “It’s the secret gathering place. I told people to be here right after the demonstration this morning. You’ll see.” There were rough columns of granite keeping the roof of the rock cavern in place, and it soon opened up into a huge amphitheatre. The vast space was absolutely full of dragons, an incredible amount of them. Ignius couldn’t ever seeing this many dragons in one place, not even at the address proclaiming the Lockden monarchy. There was a crude platform, and to their surprise, on the platform was Mary Scott. “You found a safe place for them,” said Ignius. “We did,” Jack said happily. “I would have liked to have them at the

demonstration today, but it wasn’t safe enough. Now, you get to hear them speak their own words instead of me parroting them.” “They can do the speaking?” asked Ignius. “But they were coughing and ill last we saw them.” “Yes, it will take a lot out of poor Moll, it will,” Jack said. “I’m sorry for that, but this cause is important. Now, younglings, you stay here. I’ll make sure no one bothers you, all right?” Jack went off, leaving them along off to the side. This time, it was dark enough that they could hardly tell the lower-class dragons apart—not that Ignius had been great at that to begin with. “Hey,” they said to Gwena. “Thanks.” “For what?” Gwena asked. “Coming with us,” Kathely said for both of them. “We had to come,” Gwena said. “Of course we did. You’re right, Ignius. We’re involved, and have been from the start.” Jack took the stage alongside Mary, and on seeing him, the dragons around them broke into cheers and roars of excitement. It shook the very walls of the vast underground coliseum, and Ignius watched nervously for falling rock. “My people!” Jack said. “I am here before you today to talk to you about what’s being going on in this here country. I know many of you were at today’s demonstration!” More cheers of acknowledgement, and Jack nodded, raising a talon for quiet. “I’m sure you all noticed how the upper class responded to our people’s plight. They bombarded us with fire and rocks!” There were more roars, angrier than before. The noise of it filled everything, resounding inside Ignius’s ears until there was nothing else to hear. “Many of you might not know this, but the words that I spoke then are not words

I wrote myself. They were those of the much-famed Mary Scott, who was unable to deliver them due to health limitations. But the very same Mary Scott is here today, and they are here to address us all!” Jack cried, raising their claws and flaring their wings in emphasis. Mary stepped forward, the pure white of their scales almost luminescent in the darkness. “My people!” Mary said, in a deep, dry voice, like a bullfrog. The crowd tapped their talons or stomped their feet on the floor in response. Even Ignius, who hadn’t cheered or done anything when Jack Matterly was speaking, felt compelled to click their claws against the floor. Gwena shot them a look but said nothing as the crescendo faded. “I am here before you today, because I have noticed a terrible discrepancy in our system. That discrepancy means that although my friends, my family, my peers are working as hard as they can for upwards of sixteen hours a day, they cannot afford to feed their families. Does that seem fair to you?” “NO!” The roar of the crowd came back to life like an ember. “That’s because it’s not!” Mary Scott roared back. “Some of you are servants in the upper halls. Have you seen the sorts of luxuries the upper class afford themselves? Have you seen their fancy gold and crystal contraptions, their leather-bound parchment books that we wrote out painstakingly by hand, the bread we made, the meat we raised gracing their tables. Have you seen it, my people?” The crowd screamed back, “YES,” like wind blowing life into a spark. “You’ve seen the upper class, lazing about, never having to worry about the education of their children because their position gives them assurance that those children will get a placement of some sort and will never go hungry?” “YES,” the crowd echoed again. “Well, I have news for you, my people!” Mary said. “We don’t have to take it, not anymore! And do you know why? It’s because we can fight back. Those upper-class dragons are helpless without all of the work we do to keep food on

their table, heat in their towers, and trains running to bring material back to the city. We need to fight back, and I am asking for your help. Are you with me?” “YES,” the crowd roared back one last time. “Good, because this young fellow Jack Matterly is looking for recruits to them on this quest. I’m not saying this won’t be dangerous, but those of stout heart will see it through. , my people, we do not have to put up with this treatment!” Ignius and Gwena stayed still and silent among the roaring, writhing crowd around them. Mary Scott stirred them up to tremendous fervour, and they were mindless with it. Not that what Mary Scott was saying was unimportant. These issues had been going on for a long time, and the lower-class dragons were fed up with it. Ignius had seen it with their own eyes, and it was terrifying. Ignius, who had been nurtured and pampered, hadn’t realized what was happening right under their own nose, but now they had seen it happening. By this point, Mary had started a chant of “No more!” and the dragons were repeating it over and over like a heartbeat. This was a call to action, to gain for Jack Matterly. Ignius still wasn’t sure what they thought about all that was going on. Jack Matterly had very good points, as did Mary Scott. But was the answer to their plight even more violence? Ignius watched the crowd, a strange, tight feeling in their chest. They had the feeling that this was it. This was the tipping point for their country, and then everything would be turmoil. Ignius wasn’t sure why they were so certain this was so, but this was the sort of thing one couldn’t come back from. The very worst thing was Ignius felt angry all of a sudden. It wasn’t fair. There was a tiny, selfish tidbit inside them that screamed it just wasn’t fair. Ignius and Kathely had worked so hard for months on end. And they knew that it was selfish because the lower-class dragons were literally dying, and it was their own family that had the biggest hand in that. Ignius had just made Far Patrol, and they hadn’t even been able to finish one patrol run yet. They had been on the cusp of a new career and had finally made it.

It seemed so long ago now when they had been out on the training patrols with Vedder and Rolin. Vedder had thought they’d been ready to do it by themselves. Ignius had been so proud of themself. And now this had happened, and it had ruined everything. This was bigger than Kathely and Ignius. There was nothing really that they could do. Even Cassius wouldn’t be able to stop what was about to happen. Anger was leaking out, pouring into the streets and infecting all the people of the land. Azenath was brimming with it. As Ignius watched the crowd, the anger ebbed slowly and left, leaving them with a sense of calm. There really was nothing they could do, was there? They could only react to what happened now, and they weren’t certain what that would be. They could only be certain that everything they had once known was about to be upended. Why were they reg themself to be swept along with everybody else without doing anything? They couldn’t continue as normal—that was for certain. “We have to do something,” Ignius said to Kathely. “What?” Kathely said. “What can we do?” “I don’t know yet,” Ignius replied. “We’ll have to think of something.” They were thinking now, mind racing. They had people who were their friends. Perhaps their friends would listen to them. But they had to do something because not acting was not an option. “We’ll have to talk to the others later,” Ignius said. “We have to tell them what we’ve seen and heard here and what happened this morning.” Ignius worried that none of the others would agree with them and see the situation the same way Ignius saw it. But the others simply nodded. The secret gathering went on for a long time, and Ignius and the others stayed for the entire time, mostly because Ignius insisted on it so they would leave nothing out in their report to the rest of their circle, but also because they

couldn’t move with so many other people around them. By the time they were finally able to leave, the entire experience had exhausted them thoroughly. As Ignius made their way back to the upper levels, Ignius marvelled that they could leave the world of filth and death behind them, but meanwhile, the lower-class dragons had no such luxury. They lived there. At last, Ignius’s once-blind eyes began to see the world in a new light.

Chapter Eleven

The next morning, Ignius didn’t get a chance to talk to the others before Cassius turned up. Ignius was still tired from last night. The crowd had left the gathering so late that by the time Ignius and Gwena got back, everyone else had been asleep. “Cassius,” Ignius said. “You, come with me, now,” Cassius said. Cassius flew off, and Ignius followed in silence. Cassius took them to Lockden tower, but to a part that was mostly empty. “We can talk here,” Cassius said. “About what?” asked Ignius. “About the fact that you were seen yesterday, you and Gwena. You were at that insurgent march yesterday. The Aerial Legion recognized you.” “How did they know it was me?” asked Ignius. “You are a bit well-known,” Cassius said. “As the dragon that got kidnapped by the rebels. Now, people are going to think that you are sympathetic with their cause.” “I don’t disagree…with…some of the things…” Ignius tried to say, trailing off more and more at the sight of Cassius’s face hardening in anger. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear you say that,” Cassius said levelly. “That kind of talk could get you sent to prison, even if you are a prince of the line.” “It doesn’t matter,” Ignius said. “I’m not in a position to change decisions one way or the other.”

At least, that’s what they told Cassius, but they were determined not to allow their country to fall into complete turmoil. However, it looked as if Cassius didn’t see it that way. Was this what the others would think too? That Ignius was being too naive and needed to smarten up? Ignius hoped not because they were counting on the rest to agree with them. “I’m glad you see it like that,” Cassius said. “As long as you stay out of the way and keep your head down, this will all turn out fine.” Cassius seemed to be under the impression that everything was still in control. But Cassius hadn’t seen that crowd last night, the sheer magnitude of it. It was a huge and immovable force, and it was rushing in like a tsunami. Right now was the calm before the storm, the waves receding before rushing in once more. “I’m counting on you, Ignius,” Cassius said warningly. “Don’t mess this up.” Cassius left, and Ignius went back to their little middling tower to ponder. They still had to talk this over with everybody else. Who knew, some of them might have the same ideas as Cassius about this and want to have no part of it. It did seem like the smartest thing to do if they wanted to keep their nose clean. Gwena was waiting for them and immediately demanded, “Where have you been?” “Cassius,” said Ignius by way of explanation. Gwena nodded in understanding. “I take it they were none too pleased about what happened yesterday.” Ignius shook their head. “No, they gave me a right dressing-down. Apparently we were both recognized.” “Were we?” asked Gwena in surprise. “Yes,” answered Ignius. “But I’m not too worried about that.” “You should be,” Gwena said. “You’re of Pygnia Lockden’s line.” “Not directly,” Ignius said. “Not like Cassius is.”

“Still,” Gwena said. “So now what?” “We tell the others what we saw,” Ignius said with determination. “What do you expect their reaction will be?” Gwena asked, wings fluttering. “I suppose we’ll see,” Ignius replied. Ignius gathered everyone together, and they started the meeting by saying, “We have something important to tell you about.” Ignius and Gwena launched into the tale, taking it in turns to say what they saw, and how it made them feel about what was going on. At first, there was a general disbelief that what Ignius and Gwena said could actually happen. “Are you sure that’s what you saw?” Ceres asked, not for the first time. “With my very own eyes,” Ignius said with a sigh. “I could hardly believe it myself, and I was there.” “It was only lower-class dragons, right?” asked Livia. “There were mids there, too,” answered Gwena. “And us. We were obviously there.” “But you weren’t hurt,” said Olessia. “You didn’t get hit by anything.” “We saw it though. It was awful,” Gwena replied. Finally, it seemed as if everyone present agreed that if Ignius and Gwena said that it happened, then that’s the way it must have occurred. However, then there was a general disagreement about what they should do. “But what can we do?” asked Hexara. “We don’t have any power. What will change?” That was the very thing that had plagued Ignius’s thoughts the night before, and that it was being brought up again made them flinch. “We have to try something,” Ignius said. “We can’t just sit around doing nothing.”

“Why not?” Hexara grumbled. “This is our country,” Ignius said. “We live in it, and it’s up to us to be proper citizens of the realm and to try to figure this out. We have to try something, or our country is going to crumble in ruins.” “You don’t know that,” Ceres said. “Maybe the Lockdens will resolve it.” “The Lockdens are making it worse,” Gwena said. “Matters are escalating quickly. That’s why I’m scared because there’s no end in sight.” “If there’s no end in sight, then what’s the point?” Livia said. “The point is, we must try, even if we don’t know what to do,” Olessia answered, surprising Ignius. “Because what’s happening is horrible, and if we don’t try something, then things will be worse in the long run.” With Olessia on their side, Livia quickly ed their camp. Ceres and Hexara didn’t want to be convinced, and Ignius felt helpless to explain why it was so important. Gwena, who was far less patient than them, started becoming frustrated. “You just want to sit around and let this happen without raising a claw to help,” Gwena said to Hexara, who, as a Normont dragon, was their natural adversary anyway. “That’s right, I do,” Hexara said. “I could get hurt if I get involved. I don’t want any boulders landing on me, thanks.” “Fine then!” Gwena said. “Go back to Normont tower and forget what happened. We’ll be fine without you anyway.” Whether Gwena knew it or not, that was the right thing to say. “Of course you need my help,” Hexara said, flaring their wings in dismay. “There’s no way any of you dingbats can get this all sorted without me.” So that left Ceres, who, seeing that everyone was in agreement finally, capitulated.

“Fine, I too will help,” Ceres said. “But I’m not certain we really can help at all. This could be for nothing in the end.” “At least we can say that we tried everything,” Ignius said. The meeting broke up then because today was their last day doing labour in punishment of going against the will of the council. Ignius wondered briefly why their punishment had continued even though the council had broken up. Ignius wasn’t sure what they were going to do now, for although they had managed to convince the others that something needed to be done. Soon, they would be scattered again, returned back to their posts in all parts of the country. However, that very day, upon their arrival, the Master of the Forges was there to meet them. Confused, all of them waited to hear what they had to say. “I have received word that you are no longer to be working in the forges,” Master Kirk said. “You should go back to your tower to await further instruction.” Ignius wasn’t all that put out, not having to do a full day keeping the forge running. It was hard, hot work, and Ignius had no idea how the smaller dragons could work fourteen hours or more in the forge without being exhausted beyond compare. How did they do that, day after day? The short answer was that they had to in order to survive, but their strength of willpower must be tremendous to keep them going like that. They waited at the tower for further instruction, as they had been told. It wasn’t long before a runner came winging down to give them their orders. Strangely enough, there was a sealed scroll for each of them. Sharn and Ignius each had one with a wax seal with the coat of arms of the Watchtower. Ignius opened theirs, and it was from Commander Merwyn.

To Ignius Lockden,

Commander Merwyn authorizes you to remain in Azenath for the time being. In light of recent events, it has been deemed safer for all new recruits to be returned to their home towers and to train in combat with the Aerial Legion. Go to Commander Ainworth of the Aerial Legion for your further orders.

Signed,

Commander Merwyn Kareth

and Charys of Korra

Ignius turned to Sharn and asked, “What did yours say?” “It says that I should stay in Azenath,” Sharn said, frowning. “I’ve been commanded to stay at Lockden tower with your family, and that permission has been given already for this.”‘ “I suppose they mean that because of the rebels, they want us to stay safe?” Ignius said. “I don’t really understand. We’re not children anymore.” “What do we do, Ignius?” asked Sharn. “You’ve already said that we have to do something. I don’t want to go into the Azenath Aerial Legion. I don’t even want to stay in Azenath at all! My home and my family is in the north.” Ignius knew that Sharn had been quite homesick, and that the oppressive heat of Azenath and that of the forges had made Sharn ill on occasion. Sharn had thicker scales than Ignius, and they were used to the chill and dampness of living near the ocean. The dry heat must have come as something of a shock. “So what are we supposed to do now?” Sharn asked. “Go back to Lockden tower?”

“It does seem strange,” Ignius itted. “After seeing what I saw, I don’t want to go back. It would be going against what I believe in.” “I, too, think it would be strange,” Gwena said uncomfortably. “A Myrmont dragon ordered those boulders thrown into the crowd. What if I saw them there? What could I say to such a person as that?” Ignius felt the same turmoil. They did want to see Sendia, but Lockden tower was full of strange and somewhat terrifying events now. There were so many Chosen that were half-draconian now, their features and smells changed, including Kathely’s father, Asarius. Not to mention that the Lockdens had let the power change go to their heads quickly. Ignius didn’t belong there anymore. “We should stay here,” Ignius said. “What?” asked Sharn. “We should stay here,” Ignius said. “No one said we couldn’t. No one is doing anything with this tower, so we should just stay here.” Gwena seemed to perk up. “We could stay here, couldn’t we?” “It’s tiny and the bath is always cold,” Hexara said, sighing. However, now that the idea was there, everyone seemed to accept it as the plan. A few people made quick arrangements to bring more of their things from home now that they were technically allowed back inside their home towers. It didn’t take long for everyone to gather everything together and bring it over. The bare, sterile rooms began to take on a new character now that decorations and personalization could be added to the tower. Ignius was cautiously pleased with how things were turning out. Well, apart from their orders to ranks with the Aerial Legion for combat training. Ignius wasn’t certain how much they wanted to follow those commands. It wasn’t that Ignius feared combat or fighting for what they believed in. However, they were afraid that the orders they could be given might cross their own moral code.

After everyone had settled in, Ignius called another meeting. “You call a lot of meetings,” Hexara complained. “If we actually are going against the grain, we should have our own name,” Sharn said. “What, like the Council of Dragons?” Livia asked. “Yes, except not with the word council in it. I don’t want to think of myself as a stuffy old geezer just yet,” Hexara put in. “We can think of a name later,” Ignius said. “There are more important matters at hand than that.” “You’re the life of the party, you are,” Hexara said. “Shush, dearest,” Chimena said. “What are we going to do about our orders to the Aerial Legion?” asked Ignius, trying to cut through both the deep rumbles of the dragons and the nattering of their human companions. “Well, it looks like we don’t have much choice but to ,” said Ceres. “We’ve all been ordered to stay in Azenath, am I right?” There were nods and grumbles from around the circle. “What are your thoughts on that?” Ignius asked. “I, for one, don’t like the idea that I might be asked to fight the rebels.” “Chicken,” said Hexara. “It’s not that—” Ignius protested. “Hexara knows. They’re just trying to provoke you,” Gwena said, shooting Hexara a quelling look. “I didn’t sign up to be part of the Aerial Legion,” Hexara said. “I wanted to be on Far Patrol.”

“I don’t agree with the actions of our elders,” Gwena said. “I think there are better ways to go about making peace with the rebels other than treating them as traitors.” “They are technically traitors,” said Livia. “But the best way to make peace and not to create more strife is to try and negotiate,” Olessia replied, just as quickly. “What is the best way?” asked Sharn. “To listen to them,” Ignius said. “What are their concerns?” Gwena said, “The lower classes lead a hard life full of harsh labour for very little money. That’s what I’ve heard from attending these meetings. If I had to worry if my family would starve or be homeless, I’d feel the same as them.” “I don’t know what we can do about that, though,” Sharn said. “That’s why we’re having this meeting, so we can think of something,” Ignius said. “I appreciate your concern, younglings, but I think it might be out of your hands,” said a voice at the opening to the gathering place. “Jack!” said Ignius in surprise. “What are you doing here? You could get in trouble if you’re found here by the guards. Possibly even executed!” “I wouldn’t worry so much about that now, young ones,” Jack said. “I’ve come to you because at this point, I feel like I owe it to you.” “Owe me?” Ignius said. “Why?” “Because, as I’ve said, you’re the only high-born dragon worth knowing,” Jack said. “Perhaps your friends here also, but we know each other quite well by this point, don’t we?” Ignius thought this over. While it was true that they had only come to know Jack so well because Jack had kidnapped them and tried to ransom them back to the Lockdens, Ignius understood so much better now why Jack had done it. And to

be quite honest, Ignius couldn’t blame Jack for that. Strangely enough, Ignius even thought they sort of liked Jack, to a certain extent. “We do, at that,” Ignius replied. “Why are you here?” “I’ve come to warn you that very soon, all of this is going to come to a head, and I don’t particularly want to get you trapped in the middle of it all,” Jack said. “Tomorrow, war will be declared on the city of Azenath.” “All of our orders say that we must stay here,” Ignius said. “We’re supposed to train with the Aerial Legion.” “To learn combat flying,” Jack said with a sigh. “Trying to stock up on troops fast. Sending young green recruits to fight farmers and forgers. What a mess this will be.” “That’s why we want to stop it,” Ignius said. “We don’t want our city to become a place of violence.” “Too late, youngling, it already has,” Jack said. “It doesn’t clear my conscience or my soul none to have warned you once it’s too late anyway, but I would have felt worse if I hadn’t given you any warning at all.” “You risked coming all this way to warn us, even though you could have been recognized by anyone and captured,” Ignius said. “It was thoughtful of you to come.” “Well, I’m not out of the woods yet,” said Jack. “No,” a new voice said. “You’re not.” “Cassius!” Ignius gasped. “I was wondering why none of you had returned to your home towers,” Cassius said. “I tried to bring your refusal to Pygnia and Asarius’s attention, but they both thought it youthful rebellion. This has gone too far this time.” “Cassius, I can explain,” Ignius said. “No, you can’t,” Cassius said. “This is too far, Ignius. I’ve put up with

everything you’ve been doing and all that you’ve been saying. I thought you wouldn’t betray us.” “I’m not betraying anyone,” Ignius said. “I’m trying to make things right.” “You’ve gone against your family and incited others to do so as well,” Cassius said. “Not to mention consorted with rebel insurgents. What are you thinking?” “If you had seen what we’ve seen and heard what the rebels had to say, then maybe you would agree with us,” Kathely piped up. “But you’ve been cooped up in Lockden tower, flying high on your own power.” Pharyn said, “Now see here, Kathely…” Within a moment, everyone was talking back and forth at once. This wasn’t what Ignius had wanted at all when they suggested they were to go against the word of the Lockdens. Somehow, consequences hadn’t seemed like a real threat. But here was Cassius, and Ignius wasn’t certain what was going to happen now. “Just what are you going to do about it, then?” demanded Hexara, voicing Ignius’s question. “I’m going to tell the elders that you were housing a dangerous fugitive of the state!” Cassius yelled back at them. “And what then?” asked Varaly. “You’ll all be taken into custody,” Pharyn replied promptly. “And?” Varaly asked. “What do you think will happen then?” “We’ll have a trial, and if convicted, we will be declared traitors,” Kathely said, seeming to catch on to what Varaly was saying. “You know what happens to traitors, right?” Gwena said. “They’re executed,” Cassius said. “Exactly,” Sharn cut in. “And you know that if they execute one of us, they’ll execute us all. Do you want to be responsible for having all of us executed?”

“Not to mention,” Ignius added. “Just because you turn us in doesn’t mean you won’t be associated with us.” “Yes, you’ll be known as the cousin of traitors,” Gwena said. “Do you want that?” “I don’t care!” Cassius said. “This is not what’s right! It’s not the natural order of things.” It was then Ignius realized that in all the kerfuffle, Jack Matterly had escaped. There was no sight of them. Cassius soon realized this as well. “Where is that scoundrel?” demanded Pharyn. “Are you hiding them?” “We don’t know where Matterly went,” denied Gwena. “They could be anywhere.” “I’m getting the guards!” Cassius said. The guards searched high and low, but there was no sign that Jack Matterly had even been there. Without evidence, there was nothing that Cassius could do to prove their claim. Ignius didn’t know what they would say if asked about Jack. Ignius was a terrible liar. Cassius must have forgotten this fact—that, or Pygnia had more important things to worry about. In any event, Jack escaped, and Cassius was very angry with the whole lot of them. “I refuse to have anything to do with any of you,” Cassius said. “That’s fine with us,” Gwena shot back. From the very start, Ignius had been surprised that Cassius had even agreed to take part in the rescue operation, since it went against the will of the council. They weren’t surprised to know the activities of their little group went too far for Cassius, and that Cassius considered them all to be troublemakers. However, it still saddened Ignius that their cousin didn’t see eye to eye with them. “I’m going to be keeping track of your movements,” said Cassius. “And if there’s even a hint of trouble, it will be brought to Pygnia’s attention.”

With rebels at large, Ignius doubted Pygnia would give much time or attention to their group, but who knew. Nothing made much sense to Ignius anymore.

*

Ignius had been expecting it, but the runner at the door with a scroll for everyone from the Azenath Aerial Legion still took them by surprise. The runner had a band of colour around their arm to denote their rank, and a bag full of messages slung over one flank. They took off, leaving Ignius with a pile of scrolls for everyone. Ignius delivered the messages to their owners and went back to their quarters with Kathely. They unsealed the scroll and read aloud. “To Ignius Lockden and Kathely of Aera,” Kathely read. “Your orders are enclosed herein. You are to report to Commander Ainworth tomorrow morning at nine bells. You are to come equipped with a combat harness. Your training will begin forthwith, and you are relieved from the duty of Commander Merwyn Kareth of the Northern Watchtower. Signed, Commander Ainworth Myrmont.” “I take it we aren’t going,” said Ignius. “Of course we cannot,” Kathely said. “I will write back. We can’t go, and we won’t. We disagree with what is happening.” “Do you think something bad will happen to us if we refuse?” Ignius asked, watching as Kathely found some spare parchment and a quill. “Perhaps, but it is our duty as citizens to do what we think is right,” Kathely said. “So there.” Kathely quickly scrawled a note refusing the orders they had received. Ignius tried to read over their shoulder, but their good biblioscope was still in Lockden tower. They had been unable to return to Lockden tower for it smelled so different and disturbing.

Kathely was still putting pen to parchment when there was a loud noise outside. Ignius hurried out and saw that most of their group had ed them out there. Propaganda pamphlets filled the air, raining down on the tower and all around them. It was raining paper, and Ignius watched it stream and flutter down into the depths of Azenath. Kathely reached out and plucked one out of the air. Ignius leaned over to look. All it said in huge, black letters was, THIS IS WAR. PICK YOUR SIDE. “I’m going to guess this is Jack Matterly’s doing,” said Kathely. “But where are they getting so much paper?” asked Ignius. “It isn’t cheap, this.” “They must have someone on the inside of a paper mill,” said Varaly from Gwena’s back. “What are you lot going on about paper for?” Hexara demanded, throwing a handful of the pamphlets up in the air. “That’s not the issue here! Who declared war and why?” “It’s probably Jack Matterly,” said Gwena. “And you know why. It’s the whole reason that this conflict is even a thing!” “I think you’re wrong,” Hexara said. “Look, this is Mazinia ink. Do you really think it’s Jack’s lot? As if they could afford this much ink or paper.” “Well, then who is it?” asked Ignius in confusion. “It’s the Lockdens. I’m sure of it,” said Hexara. “But they don’t want people to think it was them. They want people to think it was the rebels all along.” “That doesn’t make any sense, Hexara,” Ignius said. “No, I think Hex is right,” Sharn put in. “Don’t discount their idea. Their theory makes sense.” “I’m beginning to think that nothing makes sense,” Kathely said. “Well, who is declaring war, then?” Ignius asked. “Is it the Lockdens, or Jack’s

rebels?” “Like I said, it’s the Lockdens making everyone think it’s Jack’s rebels,” Hexara said. “It makes sense that the Lockdens want an excuse to go to war against the rebels, but they want all the possible they can get. That’s why they’re pretending it was the rebels.” “It doesn’t make sense,” Ignius repeated, shaking their head. “You’ll get it,” Hexara said. “Just wait. The Lockdens are going to try something.” Hexara was right. Later that day, the Lockdens called another meeting for the upper class to attend. Ignius and the others all went, because they wanted to understand what it was all about. The square was packed with dragons from everywhere, and the bells were ringing to call everyone in. “My people,” announced Pygnia Lockden, their speech mirroring Jack’s uncannily. “I am here today to tell you that the rebel threats have escalated exponentially. We can no longer pretend that there is nothing happening. As of today, I declare a state of emergency in the city of Azenath.” “I told you,” Hexara said. “The Lockdens want…” “I hereby grant to the Lockden family the emergency power to detain those that we deem suspicious and to incarcerate them or execute them without trial,” Pygnia finished. “Bingo,” Hexara said. “Told you.” “Yes, dearest, you’re very clever,” Chimena said in praise, and Hexara preened. “We are also beginning a curfew for all dragons,” Pygnia said. “Anyone out before the six bells in the morning, and after the eight bells at night will be deemed suspicious and will be taken into custody of the Azenath Aerial Legion.” “I don’t like the sounds of that,” Ignius said. “That will mean we can’t leave the tower. It’s a very limiting law.”

“The Azenath Aerial legion will have a new unit called the Azenath Secret Police,” Pygnia continued. “This unit is on the lookout for suspicious activity and will take into custody any ers of the rebel group. This unit is meant to ensure the safety of the citizens of Azenath. Please do not interfere in their investigations.” “What?” Ignius said in surprise. That did not sound good. “Anyone found to be harbouring any of these fugitive rebels or assisting them in any way will be taken into custody,” Pygnia said. “Those that seem sympathetic to the rebel cause will be put on a watch list to ensure they do not the rebels.” That was definitely not good. “ the kingdom in these trying times, and ensure that your neighbours follow the rules,” Pygnia said. “That is all for now. You are dismissed.” “I don’t like this,” Gwena said. “What’s happening? Is this in supposed response to those pamphlets?” “It must be,” Ignius said. That’s when Ignius realized that Cassius was in front of them once again. “How did you like the show?” asked Cassius, with a pleased smirk. “And the touch with the pamphlets this morning. Nice display of aggression, wasn’t it?” “That was you?” gasped Ignius because of course it would be Cassius. “Of course it was me,” Cassius said. “Who else would come up with something like that? The elders aren’t that creative, and I knew Jack Matterly had used the pamphlet system before.” “It was clever,” Gwena said begrudgingly. “Now you see this is what you’re up against,” Cassius said. “We’re going to catch you all.”

“We’re not on the wrong side,” Ignius said. “We don’t want to fight you. We just want our country to have peace, and for everyone to be able to live with their families without worrying about starving to death.” “You don’t see it, do you, how you’ve got into their mindset,” Cassius said. “You don’t realize it, do you?” “You don’t understand,” Ignius said. “No,” Cassius said. “It’s you who doesn’t understand, Ignius. You’re on the side of wrong, and you are going to lose. If I ever see you with Jack Matterly again, you’ll be in real trouble. We’ll be keeping a special eye on you.” “What do you mean a special eye?” asked Ignius. And that’s when Ignius realized that on Cassius’s side was a symbol of a snake in red on black. It was something that Ignius hadn’t seen before. “I’m the head of the Azenath Secret Police, so you know I’ll have eyes all over, ready to take you down if you cross me,” Cassius said. “I let you have chances, Ignius, and you let me down. This is the end.” Back in the tower, the mood was somber. “Well, this is it, everyone,” Ignius said. “Choosing a side is right. If any of you want to return to your families, now is the time to go.” “Look, Ignius,” said Sharn. “Do you know why we’re all here today?” Ignius shook their head. “It’s because of Gwena and Kathely,” Sharn said. “When you were first captured, Gwena and Kathely were doing all they could in order to rescue you. The council obviously didn’t do it. But do you know who did? We did.” “We knew that the older dragons wouldn’t want to, so we asked the younger dragons and riders if they would us in rescuing you. We knew they would be more likely to go against the council’s decision,” Kathely said. “And you know what? We still do.”

“We had to look for the young blood,” Gwena said. “The young blood,” Ignius said. “That’s us. And you will all stay here, although it’s a risk of extreme peril to do so?” “We already answered the call of extreme peril, wise one,” Hexara said. “We’re still here, aren’t we?” “I guess that’s true,” Ignius said. “We need a name. Cassius’s group of police gets a name, and so do we. What shall it be?” “You said it: we’re the young blood,” Kathely said. “The young blood what?” asked Ignius. “We can’t be a council.” “A committee?” asked Sharn. “Committees don’t do anything anyway,” Hexara said. “Well, what are we doing this for?” Olessia asked. “We’re doing it for the good of our society.” “The Youngblood Society,” Ignius said. “Very well.” And so it was.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to those who have beta read this story, including Siobhan Crosslin and Aili Newstead.

About Alex Powell

Alex is an author of LGBTQ+ romance. They live in northern Canada where it snows six months of the year. Currently, they are pursuing a PhD in English, but that won’t stop them from writing about space vampires or cyberpunk hackers or whatever else pops into their head. Mostly a SFF writer, Alex sometimes dabbles in other genres, including contemporary romance.

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