When the two friends landed, they almost jumped back as they saw the unconscious Skywing.

"Is he all right ?" Sunny asked Clay, who was still thumping the dragon.

Starflight came over to help. "Try this." He offered, then rolled the dragon onto his stomach with clay.

"Why did you attack him ?" Sunny anxiously blurted, her tail flicking back and forth.

"To save you !" Tsunami answered, hurt.

"But he wasn't doing anything." Sunny protested. "He was just flying by."

Four dragonets looked at Tsunami, giving her the glance you would give to a nasty person hiding behind a trashcan to scare people. Ashley scratched his head, feeling awkward.

"I thought he saw you, And Ashley too !" She growled, infuriated. " I thought he was going attack ! Did you see his smoke ?"

"Yes, I did." Glory said. "It must be hard to breathe under all those scars, and I'm pretty sure he was starting to fly away."

Scars ? I saw no scar.

"Pretty sure, you say ?" Tsunami blurted. "Would you risk our lives on 'pretty sure' ???"

Her voice was offended, but her eyes showed signs of hesitation.

"Maybe if you'd just stopped to think for a second." Starflight said in a suggesting tone.

"Or forever? Like you? Think think think, worry worry, never do anything?" Tsunami cried.

Suddenly, the corpse came back to life, and the Skywing coughed, gargling seawater out of his snout. Clay rubbed his talons with a pleased look.

"Oh, wonderful. Our enemy will survive. Well done. We have to get out of here." Glory said. She took a step back and glanced at the sky where the other Skywings had flown away. "So what do we do with him now, O Great Leader ?"

Tsunami looked around frantically, looking panicked, and almost struck Ashley with her tail.

"There's a tree." Starflight said, jumping on his feet. "In the forest."

"No WAY." Glory said, prompting Ashley to almost choke himself in a laugh. "A tree in the forest ?"

"Being sarcastic is not helping !" Tsunami yelled at her.

"I mean, a fallen tree." Starflight said. "We can use it. Glory, Ashley, stay and guard him ; Clay and Tsunami, come on, quick."

Ashley saw Clay quickly follow Starflight, stomping on the sand with his large talons. He approached Tsunami and patted her shoulder. "C'mon, do it. It's the best thing we can do right now anyway. If we want to sort that correctly, you'll discuss orders later."

She gave him a startled look but eventually joined the two dragonets with visible reluctance.

Ashley walked to the Skywing, whose chest was rising inconstantly, followed by Glory. He approached carefully, the creature showed many scars, most being visible claw marks, probably caused by fighting in the current war. He stood a small two meters away from the dragon's face, looking down at it.

The Skywing soldier was making gargling noises, bubbles coming from his disfigured snout. He was only moving when a cough made it to his throat, but Ashley could see his eyes move under his eyelids.

"I wouldn't recommend standing so close to a full grown-up dragon." He heard Glory say from behind him. "You already got yourself almost in a situation right the moment before. Throwing that rock must have been the most brain-dead idea I've seen from you so far."

"I don't know what happened." He answered, hesitant. "I felt... Something- for the first time."

"You felt for the first time ? Well, I guess being emotionless must suck." The Rainwing continued, yawning.

"N- no. It was like... fear. But not fear. Like if I already knew what was going to happen. Something new."

"Was that related to you knowing the future ?"

"No. It felt more... primal. To say the least." He turned and saw Glory squint her eyes at him in a visibly confused manner. Behind, he saw the other dragonets fight their way with the trunk of a tree in their claws, constantly slipping from their grasp.

He turned his attention back to the Skywing, who was now blinking with confusion, just like someone waking up. He reached for his back and grabbed his gun, then took a step toward the dragon's head.

He put the barrel of his weapon on the Skywing's head and released the security. The click of the action gained the complete focus of the soldier, whose eyes locked onto Ashley.

"It's crazy how drastically a situation can change." Ashley said, looking straight into the Skywing's eyes. "Just a few moments ago, I was a prey. But now, I just have to move a single finger to blow up your head."

The red dragon stared blankly, blinking twice but seemed to understand the assignment.

"Didn't you say you don't hurt people who can't fight back ?" Glory asked in a concerned tone.

"I'd rather prepare than repair. That doesn't mean I have to let my guard down." Ashley said plainly, firmly gripping his weapon, finger above the trigger.

He heard Tsunami and Clay drop the tree beside them, which threw particles of sand all around.

"So how does the tree help ?" Tsunami asked.

"We put it on top of him." Starflight said. "So he'll be trapped in place, at least long enough for us to get away."

And so they did, Ashley backed away, keeping his gun drawn on the Skywing. Tsunami and Clay slid the tree over the dragon and trapped him under the branches. He tried to resist but was still dizzy from the fight, and the dragonets were outnumbering him.

"What if he's stuck here forever ?" She worried.

Sunny stepped in to move a few branches when she saw that some were scratching him. But Clay was quick to pull her back when he saw the Skywing puffs smoke.

"Maybe we should just let him go." He said.

"We can't do that." Tsunami said.

"I wish you hadn't attacked him." Sunny said, ducking her head.

"Me too." Glory said.

"It wasn't the smartest move," Starflight agreed.

Tsunami's gills flared, and she spread out her wings in consternation. "You don't know that ! Maybe I saved us ! Again !"

She looked into Clay's eyes, who didn't seem very supportive of her saying, her shoulders lowered.

"Well." Ashley started, and all eyes drew on him. "I must say the most stupid part was attacking him completely by yourself, considering his build. If Clay didn't come to help, you may just be dead right now." He said while pointing at the Skywing who had been watching since the beginning of the argument. Tsunami's mouth opened in disbelief. "Although I'm not mad it happened, knowing my position, I might have been the one to die if nothing had happened." He was taken by a shiver as he said that, scratching his head.

"Hmpf. You scavengers." Glory huffed, rolling her eyes.

"Well, sorry I'm not as massive as a dragon." Ashley answered sarcastically.

"Hey, guys. Not to sound rude, but his friend might come back soon." Starflight cut.

"Yes." Glory agreed. "We should seriously get out of here."

"Wait." The Skywing on the ground called with a hoarse voice. He tried to wriggle out of the trap, lashing his tail, but only got more entangled in the branches. "Don't leave me like this."

Starflight walked towards him, putting himself in front of the Skywing's face, looking from above. "Remember we could have killed you." He said. "Remember that the dragonets of destiny were merciful. We want peace, not more death. We have come to save Pyrrhia."

"Oh, good grief." Tsunami sighed. "No more hanging out with Nightwings for you."

"I thought it sounded nice." Sunny interjected.

"Sunny, don't encourage him." Glory responded.

Starflight grabbed a few large leaves and put them over the Skywing's head in a way that he couldn't shake them off, blindfolding him. He then pointed in the opposite direction of the sea. "Just to be sure." he muttered.

Ashley could hear Tsunami sigh, as he understood that meant they'd have to go on a detour.

"Alright." Clay said. "We'll go faster this time, I'll carry Ashley." He signalled him to climb on his back.

Ashley jumped on him and slid himself between the Mudwing's shoulder. His scales were thicker and less comfortable, but he found him to be easier to have a grip on than Sunny.

Less comfort for more safety. That's a trade I can work with.

They took off in the wind, hovering over the sand and sending dust all around for a short moment, just like a helicopter would do, and flew away toward the land. The whole scene gave him special operation feelings, which ended up making a weird image in his mind.

They flew toward the south for a while, the sun warming their sides. After about a dozen minutes, they changed direction to circle the place they were at earlier. Eventually, they reached the sea again, except they didn't stop this time.

As soon as they got over the water, Ashley got blasted by the wind and nearly let off his grip on Clay. The five dragonets also lost their balance for an instant as they didn't expect it. From Ashley's perspective, it was obvious that they weren't used to flying in those conditions.

They eventually stabilized and took back a faster flying pace, and the tension present since the encounter seemed to finally fade away as they had caught back on their journey. Ashley loosened his grip and stretched, his backpack making a few clinging noises.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed Tsunami gliding closer.

"Hey." She called. "You said you 'dedicated your life to fighting for innocent' earlier. What did you mean by that ?"

"Err- honestly, that was kind of an exaggerated statement."

"I'm sorry ?" Tsunami tilted her head in confusion, incentivizing him to continue.

"Well, that was kind of the original idea. Y'know, fighting for the rights of others and their freedom, kind of. But you never really do that when you're in the army."

"You've been to the army ???" Sunny asked, flying closer to them.

"Yes, although I wasn't active lately." Ashley answered.

"But, aren't you a bit young for that ?" Clay wondered, raising his head to glance at him.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Ashley lifted an eyebrow questionably. "What do you mean ?"

"Well. You have less fur than most other scavengers we've seen or studied, doesn't that mean you're younger ?" Starflight said, having come closer to the conversation too. The five dragonets had all come closer in their formation, curious to know more about their guest.

"Huh..." Ashley rubbed his chin, feeling the beginning of beard hair growing. "No ? Well, yes, it grows with time, but we can shave it. It's more of an aesthetic choice, really."

"Fascinating." Starflight said in a whispering voice.

"Scavengers doing Scavenger things, that's one more reason why everyone finds you weird." Said Glory. Ashley let out a silent sigh, rolling his eyes up.

Sunny twisted her neck to look at him. "But how old are you then ?" She asked with a curious glint in her eyes.

"I'm twenty-three. That's around four times your age, I believe."

"Wait- you know how old we- Oh... of course you do." Starflight realized as he spoke.

Ashley looked on the side and saw Tsunami eyeing him with a new interest, judging him. "So, that means you fought, right ?" She asked.

"Yes." Ashley plainly answered.

"But wouldn't we have seen it if scavengers went on a war with each other somehow ?" Starflight wondered.

"Depends, I doubt it was a very big conflict in comparison. I don't think there are so many of them to be able to fight as badly as what we're having in Pyrrhia right now anyway." Glory sad with a disengaging tone. Ashley coughed hard, nearly choking himself.

Yeah, keep thinking that. It'd be easier for me. He raised his arm in an awkward thumbs-up.

"That reaction tells me you're wrong." Tsunami said to Glory.

"Oh yeah ?" The Rainwing flared. "I would be curious to know more in that case."

"Wait !" Clay suddenly went, raising his head in a moment of clarity, nearly throwing Ashley off. "Do you guys remember in Scarlet's throne room ?"

"Yes, Clay. We certainly remember that moment." Tsunami said.

"No. I mean. Yes. But do you remember what he said ?" Clay continued, Tsunami frowned, trying to remember what he was referring to.

Starflight's widened his eyes when he realized what Clay was trying to say. "I remember." He looked at Ashley. "When you talked to Scarlet, you mentioned the consequence of a war-based governance in a full-drawn war. Like if you had already seen that happen."

"Oh yeah, I remember that." Glory said, she leaned closer. "I guess it makes sense your species already had wars if you're able to think like we do. Was it for some piece of gold just like we always see you try to steal ?"

"Huh... no ?" Ashley said.

"If you've already seen conflicts, that means you've seen their end too, right ? You could help us figure out how to stop the Sandwing war !" Sunny jumped in, her face full of hope.

"Hoy, calm down not too fast, not too fast." Ashley said in an easing tone. "It's not that easy."

"Right."

"Let's settle things out. Yes, I did fight, but not in any 'major' conflict. Anything I know about that comes from history." A gust of wind blinded him for an instant, throwing his hair back. "And you're not going to like it, but a war only ends when one side can't fight anymore."

"You're saying that to end this war, two of the heirs have to die ?" Tsunami asked.

"Not necessarily, that could also happen by destroying their ability to fight, and by that, I mean hurting their army or economy so much that they know they cannot win anymore."

"I... don't think I like that." Sunny said. "It means more harm."

"Can't we just choose a queen and make the decision public ? Wouldn't that be better ?" Clay asked.

"Do you really believe Blister and Burn will stop fighting for the throne if you don't choose them ?" Ashley answered.

"No..." Clay looked down at the sea, disappointed.

The group flew silently for a moment, everyone in their thoughts. Tsunami seemed particularly worried compared to her friends. There was no land to see anymore. The only thing around them were clouds and a deep blue sea.

"You know it's really surprising this war managed to last twenty years." Ashley eventually broke out.

"What makes you say that ? It's the biggest conflict for decades, if not centuries." Starflight said on his right, flying slightly behind.

"The numbers don't match up. For a full-scale war, there aren't that many individuals involved."

The Nightwing blinked at him multiple times. "You do realize the whole tribes are mobilized, right ?"

"Yeah, I know that, but how many dragons are in a tribe ? A few thousand ?"

"I don't think anyone ever bothered to count." Clay said. "But everyone except the Rainwings is involved, I don't remember studying one conflict where so many tribes were fighting."

"Still, there are fights constantly, right ?" Ashley asked.

"Yes. There might even be multiples at the same time for all we know." Starflight responded in his I-know-all tone.

"So how is that that no one's side is completely exhausted in so much time then ? You would need insane logistics to hold for that long."

Starflight opened his mouth, then closed it before opening it again. "I don't know. We never talked about logistics."

"In all honestly, it seems to me this conflict is seeing a lower casualty rate than expected, and probably more sparse fights and slows during the two decades." Those were only theories, but Ashley could only guess at best.

"What do you mean 'lower casualty rate' ?" Sunny cried behind. "So many dragons have been hurt already !"

"Yes, but think about it. It's not like there were hundreds or thousands of deaths per day. With this rate, any tribe would be wiped out in a matter of days at most. What I mean is that there was no constant fighting, and due to high mobility, there probably isn't a battle that lasted more than a few days on the same battlefield."

Sunny stared at him for a moment, a shiver twisting down her spine as her wide eyes glowed with worry at the thought.

"This doesn't make any sense." Tsunami said on the side. "No tribe could sustain such a rate, even for just a day. This couldn't ever happen."

Ashley chose not to answer, simply staring back at the Seawing.

"It never happened, right ?" She asked.

For a long dozen seconds, no one raised a word, and only the flaps of the dragons' wings could be heard in the wind.

"Four years."

Tsunami quickly lifted her head to him. "What ?"

"That's the kind of conflict we humans have." Ashley sighed. "We... don't do with low numbers."

"I'm sorry. WHAT ?" Tsunami cried.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying ?" Starflight carefully asked.

"Certainly yes." Ashley confirmed.

"Excuse me, but... I don't think I'm following very well there." Sunny said.

Starflight twisted his neck to look at her. "Ashley is saying that scavengers had a war going on for four years and that there were hundreds of casualties every day."

Sunny's face went completely livid, and her eyes slowly drew to Ashley with a shocked expression.

"Erm... not hundreds." He said, Sunny's eyes grew wider. "Thousands, six thousand to be exact."

"What kind of conflict is that ?" Sunny cried. "It's horrible !"

"We called it a World War. There isn't one territory that wasn't involved." Ashley continued. "It's the kind of conflict that changes society from top to bottom and leaves huge holes in family trees."

"We- we're not talking about thousands of victims... are we ?" Starflight asked, his voice shaking.

Ashley sighed. He looked down at the sea. A small ambient fog had formed, covering the ocean in a thin blanket of cloud.

Clay was staring in the direction he was flying to, trying to look unfazed, but the conversation clearly reached his distracted ears. On his left, slightly behind, Sunny was looking at Ashley with horrified eyes. And on his right, Starflight was frowning, like someone deep into calculations, while simultaneously showing great concern on his face.

Tsunami and Glory were both a bit further on the side, not seeming bothered by the conversation.

"Three moons..." The Nightwing muttered. "Those are... unfathomably high numbers." Ashley nodded in agreement. "We're talking millions..." Starflight finished.

"Mi- millions ?" Ashley didn't know that was possible, but Sunny's face became even paler.

"We don't know the exact number." He said. "But it's between fifteen and twenty."

"How can that even happen ?" Clay finally asked.

Ashley raised a finger. "So that's the part where it comes good for us." The three dragons gave him a startled look as he detached his backpack and put it in front of him, holding it tight.

He plunged his hand inside and went through his stuff, pushing the bits of armour inside to grab his gun. "It's because of that kind of thing." He said, showing the weapon.

"What is that thing ?" Starflight wondered dubiously.

"This, is a gun. It's a weapon, and it's extremely deadly." He felt Clay twist a little at that mention. "Those were massively used and in many different sizes. It changed our way of fighting, and that's exactly why it got so bad. But I won't get deeper into it, at least not yet."

"And how does that help us ?" Starflight asked.

"Listen, you guys are probably the most wanted dragons on the planet right now. Also, you're off to find yourself in quite the predicaments now that you're out." Ashley stated. "If I recall correctly, Coral is a rather paranoid dragon and easily influenced by her Sandwing ally."

Clay raised his head. "Why do you tell us all this ?"

"You want to stop this war, right ?" Ashley asked.

"Of course, we all do." Clay said.

"You need to be ready. The most important fights for you will be in your head. And I think you need to know everything this can lead to, especially the worst scenarios."

"Didn't you say you knew what would happen ?" Sunny wondered, still looking hill from the prior revelations.

"I did. But I am scared my presence might change things, and it's a possibility that it doesn't make it for the best. And I can only see so far."

"Which means ?"

"I'm only trying to help, but what if by doing so I change the events enough that things don't happen the way they should ?" Ashley put back his glock in the bag and slid it on his back. "Wars don't just happen. The one I told you just a moment ago was both the consequence of other wars that happened before it and the cause of another one that took place later."

"Are you implying that even if we end this war, dragons may just fight again later in a possibly even worse way ?" Starflight asked in an almost shaking voice.

"That is a possibility, and if you chose one of the three pretenders to the throne as a queen, I am certain this will not be the last conflict you face." He saw the Nightwing's shoulders lower with a sigh. "I know you guys have quite the burden on your shoulders, and I feel like you may not even realize it. If I were you, I would think saving the world is easier."

"Isn't it pretty much the same ?" Clay asked.

"When you have to save the world, the only enemy you have is the thing you're trying to stop." He glanced at Starflight. "This is a war. You have no friend. Everyone fights for their interest, and the 'Dragonets of Destiny' is one of the best ways to reach that interest."

"How can we please everyone in that case then ?"

"You can't. You can only please a maximum amount of people."

"It sounds... hard." Sunny said.

"You can do it. No. In fact, you will." Sunny gave him a hopeful look. "I've seen it."

"Wait, so you know how we will end the war then ?" Starflight asked, startled.

Ashley mumbled. "Hum... erm... maybe."

"I thought you said you only knew a 'path' to it, not the end itself." Clay said, looking up at Ashley.

"I- sigh" He looked down, uncertain of which route was the best to take. "I shouldn't tell you more. I'm speaking too much, I shouldn't bother you with all this." Especially if it's something that never happened in your world.

"No." Sunny said sternly. "It's important, there are no lessons that don't matter in history, how unpleasant it may be."

Ashley looked at her, a bit surprised. Until Tsunami flew closer. "Hey, sorry to break it to you, but the Sun is getting low, and we're starting to get a bit tired. It would be a good time to take a break and find a place for the night."

"Agreed." Clay huffed. "I'm starting to feel a bit stiff. You're heavier than you look, Ashley."

Ashley straightened up, looking around. The dragonets lowered in altitude, passing through thin, low clouds. he squinted his eyes, looking for anything that could be an island.

"There, I see something pocking out of the water. Is it large enough ?" He raised his valid arm, pointing toward the west where the Sun was slowly closing in with the ground. On the surface, a small shadow was breaking the sunlight.

"It seems right." Tsunami said after an instant to find it. "Wait, how do you manage to see that."

"Did you ever mention how eerily similar our eyes were to dragons ?" Ashley said, widening his eyes with arms, smiling. "We see the same things. Your senses are just a bit more sensitive."

Tsunami stuck her tongue out and made a disgusted face. "Let's just go." She said.

She dived down, quickly followed by the others. Ashley grabbed Clay's scales stronger as the Mudwing folded his wings and plunged into the wind.

His eyes dried out for a second due to the speed, his green clothes clapping in the air. He lowered his shape to get a better grip and lower the wind's drag. In a matter of seconds, Clay became a literal bullet flying straight down, and for a brief moment, Ashley found himself in zero gravity.

Then, right before hitting the water, Clay suddenly opened his wings and took a drastic turn, which slammed Ashley hard into his back, nearly knocking him out. The sudden movement crushed his injured arm, and he had to grit his teeth to not make a noise. After a bit of heavy breathing, he eventually got his composure back.

Behind them, Sunny and Starflight quickly followed, both looking relieved. Above them, Glory was flying smoothly, losing altitude much slower, her scales glowing purple in the sunlight. And in front of them, Tsunami was having the time of her life.

She was flying inches above the surface, splattering water all around, and more especially on Clay and Ashley's faces. Her child-like excitement was visible from miles away. She even scared a group of seagulls that were flying by.

"Hey, we're right behind you, you know !" Clay shouted, but she couldn't hear him.

When Clay stabilized, Ashley straightened up, letting go of his hand, and let his arm loose in the air.

"Woooooooo !"

Clay turned his head to Ashley, a concerned look on his face. "Are you ok ? Did I scare you ?"

"Nah buddy, it's great. Loved it !" Ashley said, his heart beating fast. His arm was still hurting, but that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate the moment. "That's what I call flying now ! YEAH !"

The Mudwing gave him an awkward smile before porting his attention to the island drawing closer. "Although maybe don't do it again for now. My arm still hurts." Clay nodded in acknowledgement and apologized for it before continuing to the Island.

After a few wing beats, they had reached it and prepared for the night. It appeared to be more of a large rock picking out of the water than anything, with an oddly convenient hole to shelter for the night.

Surprisingly, Tsunami had managed to catch multiple fish before reaching the island. For their part, the other preferred the birds they caught instead, so Ashley chose to go for the fish, which was cooked by Clay again.

They didn't wait for the night to get to sleep. The dragonets were all a bit sore from flying, and riding a dragon was also rather tiring after all.

Ashley found a spot in a corner of the cave, setting up his 'bed'. He looked at the five dragonnets, Clay seemed to already be dreaming of food, and Glory was breathing slowly. She had taken the closest spot to the opening, catching the last rays of light. Tsunami was looking at him with a studying look. He winked at her, and she deported her head in a huff. Starflight and Sunny, for their part, had both the same expression on their face : "How does that happen ?"