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"These decades that make up the first phase of the larger 'War of Shadows' are often referred to by scholars of today as the 'Dragon Civil War' though the dragons themselves still refer to this period as the 'Dragonhunts'. A more fitting name in the opinion of the author for dragons actively hunted other dragons with the sole purpose of exterminating each other, something that had not happened again in the centuries that followed. And there can be no other view on the matter: It was genocide.

The full reasons for the brutality of this series of horrific attacks are still debated today, even amongst the dragon scholars who devote their careers to the study of their early history. From the writings of the contemporary scholar, Laethia 'One-wing' skar Ortussa as well as the memoirs of her life-mate, Lúg'hir Gahntuar skir Ignehur, we do know that the Hunts were mainly orchestrated by the Barathrum Loyalists of the early Second Age who sought to bring about the rise of Juinkarr, but other theories have also been voiced that cannot be denied. Most importantly of these revolve around the Cynderskies itself. Dragons are after all very emotionally driven creatures, and both the humiliation of the defeat as well as the fact that the new Lumor clan chose to settle in the upper reaches of the Belthean River [which at the time was the heartland of the entire dragon species] must have weighed heavily on the collective psyche of the Umbrins.

However, testimonies gathered after the final collapse of the Umbrin Hierarchy also indicate that the Umbrins often viewed the Lumors as heretics who actively chose to stand against the will of the Great Creator and as such several fanatic leaders advocated that they had forfeited their right to exist completely. Though early attacks seemed to have been focused on merely driving the Lumors away from the ruins of Juinkarr, one dragon calling himself the 'Claw of the Master' actively hunted all the descendants of Lunintur with extreme prejudice irrespective of age. This order by Quattor [who is believed to be this 'Master'] to halt the famous prophecy by Xekrill the Witch led to the later waves of attacks becoming more brutal, with the focus now on destroying entire families with special focus being made on young, vulnerable families or nesting dragons. Archaeological evidence indicates that in the last few decades of the Hunts, almost no Lumor hatchling survived its second year.

As such, the strength of the Lumor clan plummeted and they were unable to hold onto any home range of their own, making them even easier pickings for the Umbrins. Later investigations would claim that their numbers dropped from around twelve hundred to just around a mere two hundred, all scattered in isolated pockets along the entire length of the Curndor Mountain range all the way north into the Ice Mountains. Genetic evidence of this time indicates that incest became rife amongst the Lumors as a result, which may have led to the formation of the derogatory term 'Shameblood'* which in turn only exasperated the hate towards them.

It was only with the formation of the Lúgroccae that the Lumor's plight finally changed. With the aid of the Amber Tower, Lúg'hir Gahntuar managed to secure the northern Curndor Mountains for the Lumors once more. Though attacks between the dragon clans continued for several years afterwards, they only ceased with the collapse of the Umbrin Hierarchy when the last 'Claw of the Master' was killed in battle. Ironically, the distinction between the clans would not survive the Undead Wars in the end, with all the dragons mixing back into one, unified nation. The term Umbrin was the only part of the Dragonhunts to survive to the present, becoming synonymous with Outcast while the term Lumor disappeared completely from the records."

Extract from "Cultures of the Second Age" by Elaine Longhorn, a scolar of Anthropolicy, Theranthropology and Tetrapology the Second Age.

[*It must be added that contemporary writings seem to indicate that the term was mainly used to refer to the descendants of Lunintur specifically.]

***

The foothills below them were still bathed in the dark of night, a few black clouds obstructing patches of the field of bright stars overhead. The waxing moon had set long before they even took flight, making their journey even more difficult. Dragons despised flying in the cool of the night, not to mention the coldest, darkest hours just before the sun showed itself again. At least their ordeal would soon be over as towards the east, a little to the left of their destination, the beginning of the sunrise starred to light up the broken horizon of the lower Curndor Mountains.

"Gullivarth's balls!" the bright blue drake who flew second from the front swore. The chuckle from his back did not improve his dwindling mood.

"I didn't know Gullivarth had balls!" The human on his back smirked when his steed and friend growled at him. "I thought he was smooth like any other drake!"

Like any of the civil species, the darker-skinned human produced the growls and hisses of the draconic speech with quite a bit of difficultly, his phrases threatening to stray towards a completely different meaning than what the primate had initially intended. But though he could barely speak the language, like all the experienced riders at the Dirt Tower he understood his steed's vocalisations fluently. As for the dragons themselves, they had become so used to the civils' attempts to speak draconic that they barely noticed the heavy ascent anymore. That even though the common trading language remained the preferred method of communication amidst the Dragonriders both on patrol or back at The Camp.

"Oh, shut up Charl! You know what I mean," the blue growled, his infamously childish good cheer failing him at that moment. With a swipe of a foreclaw towards the east he explained his outburst. "The sun is rising!"

"Why is that a problem?" the non-descript dull-green drake at the very front of the group asked worriedly, risking a momentarily glance behind himself. Despite having acted as an unrecruited informant for the Lúgroccae for more than three seasons now, he still found it strange to hear the civils try and for the most part succeed in speaking draconic.

"The Umbrin dragons always disperse at sunrise, irrespective of if they achieved their goal or not!" an olive-green draine shouted from near the back. "It makes it difficult for us to chase them down before they can make their way back towards Juinkarr!"

"Oh," the drake at the front muttered without truly understanding, his remark lost to the wind. As far as he was concerned, if the Umbrins always left at daybreak it was fine by him. Not to the eager dragons he currently was leading back to his lair though. Even in the dark, or maybe because of it, he found the group of five dragons following him to be rather intimidating. Unlike himself, each of the other dragons carried a rider and was equipped with a rudimentary set of armour that faintly caught the starlight. While the full set was still in development, the sections each of the Lúgroccan dragons now wore was still enough to be considered fully functional for any battle they may face. The multi-hinged helms and crinets, and the sturdy peytrals and pauldrons, for both the shoulders and haunches, were by now truly tried and tested pieces. A recent addition of a lamellar pauldron for the wing-shoulders was showing great promise as well. Then to round everything off, the missing sections that were meant to protect the vulnerable softer scales of the inner limbs, as well as the exposed saddle straps, were protected by a sturdy sheet of chainmail.

To be fair, it was not only the professional look of the armour that was intimidating but the fact that they were in the air at all. One would expect the impressive sheets of metal in addition to a rider would render any dragon completely flightless, but here they all were, flying as if unhindered through the most difficult time for staying airborne. As such, for any dragon outside the Lúgroccae, this seemed like these dragons were insanely strong. But of course, what he didn't know or could understand was the set of fine runes that augmented the steel, rendering it impossibly light without sacrificing any of the needed strength, with the Mana needed to fuel the spells being supplied by the very leather straps used to keep the sections in place.

"How far do we still need to go before we reach your nest, Evearin?" the youngish fox riding on the olive-green draine who spoke earlier asked. However, his voice did not have the strength to shout that far against the wind and his steed had to relay the question.

"Not far," Evearin admitted quickly, worried about what they would find. "Beyond this next ridge and..." He hesitated for a moment, not eager to reveal the exact location of his nest even to the Lúgroccae who reacted so quickly to come to his family's assistance. But there was no escaping the fact that: If they were to help, they had to know where he had hidden his lair. "... and in a narrow gorge around the corner. It is... um... ten-ten more minute's flight I'd say." Even after nearly nine full moons dealing with the Lúgroccae, he was still very unsure of the civil use to measure times and distances.

"Not far indeed!" the olive-green draine chirped hopefully. "With luck, there is still enough dark to the night left for the Umbrins to think they have some time left and delay their retreat."

"But they will still be preparing to leave by now!" their squad leader replied, still with an annoyed growl.

"Then may I suggest that we sweep a little to the right and try to approach Evearin's nest site from the southeast?" the fox suggested, his draine having to relay the suggestion again. "If we can approach them from the direction they intend to flee, it might catch them off guard."

"Good idea!" Roccan'gon Charl shouted back, the human squad leader sitting up a little straighter to look back at the two for a moment.

The fox rider, Roccan Cyril, came from a properly settled military background, being part of a Vulpine family with a long, proud history stretching back to The Shattering itself. But with an elder brother already making a name for himself as their father's heir in the vulpinae army, Cyril had decided to rather move out of his father and brother's shadows and pursue a completely different career with the newly formed Lúgroccae, even before their first major victory near the gryphon Aery of Sentinel-rock. Though the rest of the family did not share his hopeful visions for these Dragonriders, there was no ill will between the family. In fact, the father followed their progress with earnest interest that stemmed beyond mere parental instinct. And rightly so, for the young fox has already proven himself to be an excellent strategist, a skill he seems to have successfully imparted to his steed, Lúg Farriha. As such, the pair were quickly making a name for themselves amongst the Lúgroccae and there was a serious expectation that the pair would become the youngest squad leaders yet.

"You agree, Audenier?" the human asked, turning back to address his steed again.

"Works for me!" the bright blue drake grinned, momentarily glancing back at his riser as well. "Evearin?" he called to the dragon in the lead. "What about your hatchlings? Where have you and your mate hidden them?"

Evearin's maw moved but for a moment nothing came out. "To-to the north of here..."

That was enough for the squad leader. "Perfect!" he growled. "Go to them and wait there until you can see the light of the sun on the cliffs on the far side of the valley. We'll take it from here."

"Yes, sir!" Evearin sighed with audible relief. "Thank you, sir!"

Not waiting to be asked twice, the non-descript dull-green drake banked towards the left, eagerly disappearing into the dark sky as the rest of the thunder of dragons shifted determinedly towards their right. In only moments they were gone and the lone drake immediately headed straight to a narrow crooked side valley to the north. Though desperate to join his young family, he was still of sound enough mind to take his time and ensure everything was safe when he reached his destination. Even though he was still practically invisible against the black sky, he continued to complete a few lazy circles to make sure the coast was clear before landing near a clump of twisted Leucosidea trees where he waited a moment longer.

Finally satisfied that he was not being watched, he started walking across the mountainside to where a fast-flowing river sprinted down into the greater valley below. The sky was already paling to greyish blue and the mountainous environment was starting to become much more visible as he turned uphill and followed the stream to where it fell over a low lip of stone into more of the strange Leucosidea trees. The humans called these "Oldwood Trees" and considering the cracked and splintered trunks of the healthy plants, he couldn't agree more. But the dense foliage of tiny leaves that matched his scales proved to be the perfect hiding spot for his family. With one last glance around at the breaking day, he made sure that he was still alone before he ducked into the little hidden cave.

"Dad!" one overly excited hatchling chirped as Evearin pressed through the foliage.

"Your back!" a second echoed his elder sister. Together with two more hatchlings, the four little dragons of various shades of green momentarily forgot the need to be quiet as they tried to tackle their father with eager and excited licks and nuzzles. Despite the situation, he could not help but chuckle in relief to find them safe and he returned the affection with a nuzzle to each of the four happy hatchlings about the size of his head.

"That is enough!" their mother hissed sternly, glancing worriedly through the foliage at the quickly lightning sky. With his hatchlings allowing him to escape, Evearin quickly came up to nuzzle the light green draine he felt honoured to call his mate. She allowed herself a happy croon at his touch before the worry for her hatchlings made her pull away. "Are they gone?"

"Not yet, I think," he admitted, settling down to catch a moment's rest after the anxious night flight. He crooned in delight as his hatchlings curled up against his side.

"You think?" his mate hissed appalled. "And you still thought it was safe to return here?"

"I did not go back to the nest, Searie!" Evearin replied patiently. He understood she was worried about her youngsters. She was already a middle-aged draine nearing the end of her prime and was yet to raise a clutch past two years old. "The riders are clearing out the area right now and they said that we should stay hidden at least until we see the first light of the sun on the cliffs. Apparently, the Umbrins don't stick around long after sunrise anymore."

"And you trust them?" Searie growled irritated at her latest mate's lax approach towards the attack on their nest. "If you weren't so friendly with those dragons with their pet two-leggers, the Umbrins would never have... "

"The Umbrins would still have been around, looking for us!" Evearin snapped quickly, nipping at his larger mate for emphasis. Though the bite was weak and short, Searie still pulled her snout back in shock. "And don't give me that look, you know I am right about trusting the riders. If I weren't, would you have allowed me to mount you in the first place?"

"What is mount?" the eldest of the youngsters suddenly asked sleepily, making the worried mother chuckle at her mate's shock, her frill quivering in amusement.

"That is a secret between your dame and me," he replied with a quick nuzzle to the hatchling he thought had already fallen asleep. "We'll tell you when you are older! Now, go back to sleep!"

"I guess you have a point," Searie sighed, lying down on the other side of the cluster of hatchlings now that her tension was relieved a little bit. "Do you really think the riders will be able to chase them off for good this time?"

"You know they will be back!" Evearin reprimanded her. "They did not relent when they first started hunting us in the southern Curndors and they will definitely not give up this easily now." He was silent for a moment, staring out through a narrow opening between the foliage and the overhang as the sky turned from dark purple to peach. "You know, we will be safer if we moved the lair more to the west..."

"No!" Searie snapped, waking the hatchlings again. She sighed and after comforting them again, she continued softly but still sternly. "No, I don't trust those two-leggers as much as you do."

"I didn't mean onto the plains... oh never mind." Evearin relented with a sigh.

"Where else is west then?" Searie insisted, careful not to wake the tired hatchlings again. "There are too many nest sites already in the mountains just west of here. You know we need our own space to hunt and raise our hatchlings."

"That's what I had meant: Closer to the rider's camp..." Evearin explained. "If we are closer, then the Umbrins will be more hesitant to try and pick us off. And, if they do the riders will be able to react quicker..."

"But why do you insist on helping those riders?" Searie asked, an upset growl slipping into her voice. "Don't you think the Umbrins may be hunting us specifically because you scout for them?"

"No!" Evearin insisted determinedly. "I lost two mates and four clutches to them long before the Lúg'hir appeared. These," he nosed at the cluster of sleeping hatchlings between them "is the oldest hatchlings I've ever seen! No, our only hope is to work together!"

At that moment, Searie realised that her mate had more than once seriously considered joining up as a recruit. She could see it in his eyes. The only things that were still holding him back were the young hatchling and her reluctance to trust the riders. The two dragons became silent after that, lying there in the dusty cave as they watched the sky outside grow brighter until eventually the cliffs on the far side of the larger valley started to turn golden in the light of the rising sun.

"The Umbrins should be gone now," Evearin stated solemnly.

"You go look," Searie replied quickly. To hide her still overwhelming unease, she quickly added "I'll stay here and watch over the hatchlings. I think they could use a little more sleep after last night."

Evearin opened his maw to argue, but then realized she had a point. Though small, there was still the possibility that the Umbrins may yet be in the vicinity and the youngsters were still worn out after the frightful night. He agreed wordlessly with a nod and carefully extracted himself from the hatchlings. As if to prove his mate's point, they didn't even stir when he stood up again.

After a parting nuzzle with his mate, he wasted no time in crawl out again, habitually waiting to make sure the sky was clear of unknown wings before he took off again. It was a short flight back to his normal lair and even as he landed, he could see that there had been a serious fight. The Lúgroccan squad that had flown out with him was still there as expected, but busy with the final sweeping of the area to confirm that everything was safe again. The fight had gone well, judging by the two dead dragons that had been pulled side by side a little way away and another badly wounded red drake who had been captured. A young drake it seemed, not even of an age yet to hold his own territory.

"Everything okay?" Evearin asked even as he trotted to a halt after a hasty landing.

"More than okay!" Lúg'gon Audenier smirk. "This was a good fight."

"But... " Evearin muttered worriedly, looking back at the dead Umbrins "... but three of them are still out there..."

"I don't think they will be back anytime soon," the blue drake's rider replied. "We've defeated them soundly this morning and they seldom come back for a rematch."

"Don't worry about them returning," the Lúg'gon added quickly, shooting a withering glare at his rider. "We'll send a squad to patrol this way regularly for the next a few days, just to be sure they are not coming back soon."

"Err... thank you, sir!" Evearin replied, a little more relieved. He was about to ask about clearing up the slain dragons when the vocal, olive-green draine from earlier approached them.

"Lúg'gon Audenier, Roccan'gon Charl!" she spoke up, a little more loudly than what Evearin thought was needed. Surely, she didn't think she still needed to raise her voice against the wind, did she? "Requesting permission to return to the Dirt Tower for reinforcements! We need to get this one back to The Camp as soon as possible!"

"And... how do you propose we do that?" Audenier asked incredulously, also needlessly raising his voice towards her. "We cannot force him to fly with us and returning on foot will not only take too long but will expose us to a counterattack by the Umbrins."

"But..." she started to argue but was sternly interrupted by the human squad leader.

"Let him go," Charl announced loudly. "I have given him my word that no harm will come to him if he answers our questions, and he has kept his end of the bargain."

"Sir?" Evearin gasped, shocked. But before he could object to the ludicrous idea, Audenier confirmed his rider's order.

"Do it!" the blue drake stated and the two dragons who had the surviving Umbrin pinned, allowed him to go. The young Umbrin didn't think twice about the second chance offered to him. As soon as the claws pinning him to the ground lifted away, the wounded drake scrambled to get away from the group of Lúgroccae who was much scarier in person than he had always been led to believe. He immediately jumped into the air and dashed straight for Juinkarr.

"You sure this is a good idea, Roccan Cyril?" Audenier asked softly as he watched the Umbrin fly off without so much as a look behind him.

"Not really," the fox on the green draine admitted, equally soft. "There is always a risk that he realises what we are up to."

"But we don't have many alternatives, do we?" Charl stated thoughtfully. He turned to the olive-green draine and her rider expectantly. "Lúg Farriha, Roccan Cyril... this was your idea, so we'll let you follow this through. Stay on his tail, but make sure he doesn't notice you. And whatever you do, stay well clear of any other dragons he may come across. I want to know where he goes, I do not want the two of you to be playing heroes! Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" the two snapped to attention momentarily. Not waiting for any other orders, they quickly took off, staying as low as possible as they followed the fleeing Umbrin.

"Lúg Chervan!" Audenier called to one of the pairs who had been pinning the young drake. "You and Roccan Jean take Lúg Gharvon and Roccan Arnold and clear up those two before the rest of the family returns. We don't need the hatchlings to see them!"

"Yes, sir!" the female wolf rider quickly agreed.

"Right then," Audenier stated, seemingly satisfied. "The rest of you, to wing!"

***

"So, what makes this morning's reaction deployment so special?" Gahntuar grumbled as they were walking towards the large building nicknamed 'The War-room'. "Why call a council meeting instead of submitting the usual report to Laethia? She can review it and pass me the important facts."

As leaders of the fledgling Lúgroccae, the iridescent black-green drake and his human rider barely had time for themselves anymore. Meetings upon meetings concerning all topics of running the Lúgroccae was taking up much of their attention. And these meetings covered a wide range of topics, from keeping the Amber Tower who acted as their liege happy, to overseeing the completion of their encampment. Their most recent worry happened to be their creditors who were becoming restless waiting for the expected returns on the loans the Lúgroccae had to take when they first arrived here. Already, it was becoming obvious that the original attempts to bring in funds with raids on various First Age ruins were not profitable enough to reign in their debt and the selling of excess animal products from the dragons' hunts or shed scales was just enough to keep the interest in check.

How human and dragon alike longed for the simple times long ago when the only thing they had to worry about was to keep the knowledge of where Gahntuar's lair was a secret from the little town who didn't understand him at the time.

"We have received important information during this morning's deployment, sir!" their second-in-command rider, Aerhin answered crisply. The elf could understand the Lúg'hir's reluctance to sit through another meeting. Considering how his responsibilities were stacked up higher than could be healthy, he did not envy the position at the very top of the still unappreciated order of Dragonriders that most other leaders across Selebore had considered would collapse within months.

"Can it not wait for tomorrow?" Merec asked, sounding as tired as his dragon. "We are to meet with a local caravan hub owner regarding possible guarding duties for the caravans arriving and leaving the hub this afternoon, and we still have to prepare our sales pitch."

"We're afraid not, sir!" Aerhin's dragon, Jerielle quickly replied. The red draine looked around anxiously as if looking for someone. "The information is incredibly time-sensitive."

"Will Laethia need to join?" Gahntuar asked, hoping to find an excuse to stall the meeting they did not have time for. "I believe she has gone out to visit a draine nesting in the next valley over. She'll not be able to return before well after lunch."

Laethia, the draine to had been the original territory owner where the Lúgroccae had now settled themselves, had made it her duty to check up on all draines or drakes who were mated to a Lúgroccan steed and had to look after a clutch of eggs or young hatchlings with diminished support from the other parent. At present, there were already three nests with another soon to be laid, but the Lúg'hir was a little worried that as time passed these nests might take too much of a toll on the draine with just one wing.

"Truthfully, I believe she has not yet left The Camp, sir!" Jerielle stated carefully, hoping not to worry Gahntuar about the draine with a missing wing. "But her attendance is not needed this time. This is an operational meeting, not an administrative one."

"Does this regard the brewing war between Thendor and the canines?" Merec asked as he came to a quick halt, suddenly worried and more alert. In recent weeks, the posturing between Lendor and Lambthorre had escalated to the mobilizing of armies, making war between the kingdom of Thendor and the canid alliance of the Arthulle lowlands a dangerously real possibility. While authorities of both the humans on the one side and the foxes and wolves on the other were quick to dismiss the Lúgroccae as nothing more than a passing experiment with no lasting potential, now that war seemed inevitable both sides were eager to secure dragon support on their side and thus enable them to make ridiculous demands on the other party.

In all honesty, picking a side would have done wonders to their public image as something more than a grand experiment, but the demands for a ceasefire set forth by both opposing authorities were of such a nature that the council of the Lúgroccae could not justify supporting either side. And what was proving more troubling was that this threatening war was causing a noticeable tension between the humanoid and canid riders within the Lúgroccae itself. True, they could use more allies against the threat of Juinkarr but not those who threatened their unity.

"Luckily not, but this is still extremely important!" Aerhin insisted, sounding as relieved not to be talking about the war to the west as the Roccan'hir felt. Still, the elf looked around a little bit anxiously now that they were standing still. "I don't see Lúg'her Lekreh and Roccan'her Glenn yet."

"They are probably still on their way back from the Sentinel-rock Aery," Merec commented. Ever since the local gryphons played an unwilling part as bait to an Umbrin ambush against the Lúgroccae, they had been much more subdued. But that didn't mean that the jigsaws had accepted their presence yet and regular visits to appease one complaint or another was always happening. Thankfully, their Aerial Combat Instructor was a gryphon himself and usually managed these meetings on their behalf.

"We should go look for them!" Jerielle quickly stated, crouching to allow her rider to get on.

"Is this really that urgent?" Merec asked surprised as the elf mounted the draine.

"Afraid so," Aerhin replied, tapping his dragon's neck to indicate he was strapped in properly. "See you in a bit, hopefully!"

And with that, they were off. Gahntuar and Merec watched them fly off over the wall of the earthen work that surrounded their encampment and which had earned The Camp its nickname amongst the younger members as the Dirt Tower.

It was a catchy name when one considered the amber-like walls of the nearby Amber Tower, but Merec didn't like it at all. Somehow, it felt like a demeaning name to what they had managed to build here. True, it had always been meant as a temporary camp, but looking down upon it now he couldn't help but feel a tinge of pride at the sight.

Within the circle of the earthen wall, they had built sixteen barrack buildings, each large enough to hold a squadron of five Lúgroccan pairs. They were arranged in groups of four buildings, each group surrounding a small parade ground just large enough to allow these battle-wings to stand at attention for inspection while the main assembly ground was situated at the very centre of the complex. And associated with each cluster of barracks buildings stood a small apartment assigned as quarters to the appointed wing-commander, though all four of these lodgings were at present empty.

Further up the slight slope on which they had set up camp were the quarters of the council members as well as the various administration buildings set up in a straight line. And just behind this line, a little higher up from where they were standing now was the apartment the two of them shared as leaders of the Lúgroccae.

"Shall we head to the War-room then?" Merec asked his dragon as their second-in-command pair disappeared behind a half-finished guard tower by the gate at the very bottom of the slope.

"If we have to," Gahntuar sighed, momentarily glancing around at the flap of a set of feathery wings. He spotted their resident phoenix flying off to the clump of Yellowwoods at the back of The Camp where he often retired to at the end of a long day to recuperate a bit again. "Although, I get the distinct feeling that this is going to be another waste of time, despite Jerielle and Aerhin's urgency!"

With a shake of his head, the dragon turned around again to start walking to the large, hall-like building at the end of the administrative line. Merec spent one more moment looking down at the clusters of barracks at the centre of The Camp, an unsatisfied frown on his face. Despite the eager stories of young anthropoids that came here seeking to join up as riders, their ability to recruit had been severely lacking. To be honest, he had long ago feared that it would be the dragons who would be the most reluctant to join up with them. Instead, it turned out that the opposite was the case, with many embattled Lumors eager to join the push back at the Umbrins while civil confidence in their ability to achieve anything failing to amount to much. As such, nearly a third of the dragons present were riderless, eagerly waiting for a partner with whom they could finish their training and become fully-fledged lúgae. For a time, this imbalance caused a worrying trend that saw the dragons challenging each other for the most sought after riders as if they were territories, but a quick reaction from Gahntuar seems to have stopped it from taking fully root. Mostly.

Merec sighed and turned away from the depressingly empty buildings. The lack of riders was just another thing to worry about, added to the mountain of other things from their lacking finances to the vague threat presented by the Coral Tower trying to have them thrown out of their little safe haven of all things. But as he caught up with his dragon, he was surprised to find his friend suddenly frozen in place, legs stiff and frill quivering in barely contained agitation.

"Gahntuar?" he asked surprised, but the drake didn't seem to register. Glancing around the dragon's shoulder he didn't notice anything that would have caused such a reaction either. Roccan'her Eric, the old equine dragonslayer turned Lúgroccan Terrestrial Combat Instructor was talking to a light-grey wolf. Most of the council considered him to be the best candidate to take over training duties from Eric, ever since the elder equine indicated his intention to retire.

Roccan'gon Edward was already a promising soldier with significant experience to his name when he first joined the Lúgroccae. He came to them, seeking a new military home after he was dishonourably discharged from the lupinae army. Apparently, he was charged with hitting a superior officer, the same one on two different occasions. A fact the wolf had never bothered to confirm nor deny, nor offered up any explanation for his actions. But considering his stellar performance with them, Merec couldn't help but think the idiot of an officer he had punched had deserved it.

"So, how is Lainah doing?" the human asked in an attempt to defuse whatever had his dragon worked up. "Will she not be joining us today?"

"What?" Gahntuar growled irritated, blinking in surprise when Merec nodded his head towards the War-room to indicate he was speaking of the coming meeting. Instantly, Gahntuar's ears turned red and he refused to look at the even more confused human. "Oh, she... she said she is feeling a little wind-stirred... um... under the weather. Nothing serious, just... a little easily irritated is all. But, thanks for asking."

Despite trying to act calm, the dragon found himself shooting the drake standing beside Edward a dirty glance and immediately berated himself for unprofessional behaviour with a snap of his jaws.

"What's gotten into you?" the human asked worriedly. "Did something happen between you and Lúg'gon Gharavhan?"

"No!" Gahntuar snapped, a little too quickly. Something the drake seemed to have realized as he took a deep breath to relax his nerves again before speaking once more. "No, it is just... he is spending an awful lot of time with Lainah if you know what I'm saying."

Then it hit Merec what the problem with Gahntuar was. It was almost absurd, making the human chuckle to himself. But left alone, it could become problematic very quickly.

Edward's companion, Lúg'gon Gharavhan was a deep brown, near black drake almost five decades Gahntuar's senior. He had just started looking for a territory of his own when the Dragonhunts had started, thus he had lived most of his life as a drifter, always on the run from the Umbrins. Eventually, he seemed to have found his calling when he joined up with a small group of dragons who tried to create a safe territory for the struggling Lumors. They were led by a charismatic drake called Silchire, and though this group was nothing more than a desperate militia unit, Gharavhan took to the imitation of a military lifestyle eagerly. He rose within their ranks quickly, attaining a position similar to their squad leader when disaster struck. Silchire was led into an ambush by a more resilient Umbrin force and most of the dragons with him was slain.

Gharavhan barely escaped the catastrophe and tried to continue Silchire's work with the few stragglers that survived with him, but without any real success. Thanks to his overly serious and sometimes curt demeanour, he was not a popular leader and his little group seemed fated to only collapse on itself. Still, he managed to keep those with him safe long enough for news of Lunintur-reborn to reach the struggling group and they decided to seek this Hero of the Peninsula out themselves. Grateful for a new home, they joined the Lúgroccae and confronted with real military training and discipline, Gharavhan excelled. So much so in fact that he was now was expected to join Edward as the Lúgroccan Terrestrial Combat Trainer, thus he would be taking the role over from Lúg'gon Lainah. As such, it meant spending a lot of one-on-one time with... Gahntuar's current mate.

"Are you jealous?" Merec asked astounded, folding his arms as if scolding a youngster.

"N-no," Gahntuar muttered, trying another covert glare at Gharavhan.

"You know their relationship is strictly professional, right?" Merec insisted, aware of how quickly things can spiral out of control between conflicting dragons. "He and Lainah are never alone even when she is giving him tutoring on training. And he has such a strict discipline that I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me that Gharavhan had never mated before. And anyway, everyone knows that Lainah is your mate..."

" I know!" Gahntuar hissed, snapping his teeth at his human to let him know his point was understood. "It... it's just... I'm anxious about her. We expect Lainah's next heat to come over her any day now. I've even informed Jerielle that I may be taking my family-responsibility-leave soon."

Normally, a Lúgroccan pair is on duty for four days with one day's leave on a staggered, rotating shift. But when either rider or steed have a family to look after, they received an additional week every three moons off to give them more time as a parent. Then there were the special, Family-Responsibility-Leave for things where their constant presence was critical, such as sick children or in the case of the dragons, tending the eggs and newly hatched whelps for a whole month, two weeks either side of their expected hatching.

Or, in Gahntuar's upcoming case, the dragons got a week off when mating to ensure a proper conception. Or for a draine to deal with her heat away from temptation if she did not want to conceive. To be fair, it was not as if they needed to be off duty for the entire time and usually still took on small tasks around The Camp, but when in such a sexually heightened mood the dragons were practically useless for anything else.

"I guess it is just instinctual rivalries!" Gahntuar hissed, forcing himself to start walking again.

"We have done well to get all these dragons to live and work together here," Merec stated, jogging to catch up with his friend again. "Most scholars would have said that what we achieved here should have been impossible, but here we are. And most of this is thanks to you... So, don't go jeopardising all that hard work yourself now with an instinctual show of dominance." When he caught up with Gahntuar again, he punched the dragon playfully on the shoulder. "Anyway, you know Lainah wants to specifically lay your clutch, so give her self-control some credit."

"I know!" the dragon snapped with a growl, more irritated that the human was right than annoyed with the reprimand. Then a thought made the dragon smirk that dangerous display of teeth Merec had learnt to be wary of. "Speaking of breeding, how is Lesley doing?"

"How... how did you get from breeding to Lesley?" Merec spluttered, his face instantly turning a shade reader.

"Aren't you interested in having a clutch... an offspring with her?" the dragon asked loudly, frill raised in surprise.

"It's not like that!" Merec hissed under his breath, trying to get the dragon to quiet down. "I told you before there is nothing between the two of us!"

"Really?" the drake smirked, quieting down a little. Despite his age, his human was acting like a hatchling who first learned about intercourse. "Tell me then, how long have you courted her already?"

"I'm not courting her!" Merec hissed, though somehow his face did turn a shade redder.

"I can smell that you are interested in her, you know!" Gahntuar snorted dismissively. "And you were with her in our secluded grove an awfully, long, time last night."

"Then you should be able to smell that nothing happened between us," the human insisted with folded arms. At the challenge, Gahntuar leaned in to sniff his human's scent for himself even as Merec tried to slap the inquisitive snout away from his groin.

"So it seems," the dragon growled, confused. "Why are you holding back then? From what I understand of human females, she should be highly sought after!"

"It's... complicated!" Merec muttered, ignoring the confused croon from the dragon as he started a determined march to the War-room. But when the dragon didn't relent with a prodding snout, he had to concede with a sigh. "Alright, I'm worried a relationship might complicate things unnecessarily."

"Because you are Lúg'hir and she is our leather smith?" Gahntuar frowned. "I can't see what the problem is..."

"It is more because we are mated," Merec hissed under his breath, not wanting to be having this discussion as they were reaching their destination and they risk being overheard.

"But I don't mind who else you decide to mate with," the dragon continued, still frowning. Though he also dropped his voice, Merec still cringed at the dragon's relax nature. "You don't need my permission to... oh!"

"Yes, that's what my problem is," Merec grumbled when he noticed Gahntuar's frill shoot up in shock at the realization of the problem. "You know how Lainah sometimes gets in the mood to play with me!"

"Don't worry about it," Gahntuar rumbled softly as he nuzzled his human. "Yes, because you are interested in her, the thought of mating with her myself has crossed my mind," he admitted, making Merec even more worried. "But if she is not interested, I won't follow through. Think about it like this, Laethia is also part of our mated circle, but she is not interested in you and that is the end of that! So, I promise you that I won't scare her off when the two of you finally decide to breed." Then, the dragon perked up as a new thought occurred to him. "Tell you what, I'll try to find out if she will be interested in me in that manner as well, then you..."

"Do you know what this is about?" Harald asked as he walked up to them, interrupting Gahntuar's disastrous master plan.

"Not at all," Merec admitted, giving his dragon an evil eye that suggested he shouldn't do anything before they had talked this through properly. "The only thing I'm aware of is that Roccan'her Aerhin and Lúg'her Jerielle seems rather excited by something that happened this morning to a reactionary squad. I wish they didn't want to make this so theatrical, though."

"They probably don't want to tell everyone the same thing over and over," Roccan'her Harald decided as they followed Eric, Edward and Gharavhan through the large door. Even though neither he nor the old dragonslayer had ever been signed up with a steed of their own, they carried the title of Rider-Master with honour, even now that both of them had announced that they were ending their service in the Lúgroccae. But unlike Eric, who has his heart set on a small patch of land near his mother's uncle's farm, Harald had admitted that he did not intend to leave the accommodation built for him inside The Camp. And that suited Merec perfectly fine. He knew his old mentor's advice would always be invaluable to him.

"I guess," Merec sighed, taking his seat at the far end of the room. Despite the name, the War-room wasn't anything fancy, just a hall large enough to accommodate six dragons and their riders. The large table they rarely used stood in the centre of the room and one of the large dragon-sized maps they had made for them lay unfurled on it already. A glance at it showed the upper reaches of the Belthean River, just outside their borders.

"Do you know what this is about?" Harald tried his luck with Eric and Edward as well, but with a similar response as he had received from Merec. Luckily, Lúg'her Lekreh and Roccan'her Glenn entered at that moment, followed immediately by the two who had called the urgent meeting.

"Everyone present?" Aerhin asked, glancing around the room as the gryphon and human took their place as well. "Good then, so let's get started. This morning, the nesting site of one of our eastern most scouts was attacked by a group of Umbrin dragons."

"Luckily, the family managed to escape to a hiding spot in an adjacent valley without suffering any injuries before our scout managed to request assistance from us," Jerielle added quickly.

"Roccan'gon Charl and Lúg'gon Audenier lead the response squad and succeeded in driving off this strike team just as the sun was starting to rise," Aerhin continued, shooting his dragon a reprimanding glance not to interrupt him. "Our squad managed to inflict significant damage to the Umbrins without suffering injury themselves. However, today's action stands apart from any normal reaction mission because they also managed to gain some critical information about the Claw of the Master."

"Really?" Gahntuar gasped loudly, the rest of the room quickly descending into soft murmurs at the news. "The same one that the Amber Tower tells us is nothing more than propaganda to boost the Umbrin morale?"

"The same one," Aerhin confirmed. "It appears that this Claw of the Master that we could only find rumours about is a draine by the name of Ikessa. According to the informant, she was the last mate of the previous Claw of the Master, whom we have been correct in assuming was Seghrien."

"And it seems she is trying to complete what Seghrien started," Jerielle added when Aerhin started to study the map. "To kill both the Lúg'hir and Roccan'hir, and to bring back their hearts to whoever has taken up residence in Juinkarr. "

"But has Felicity not confirmed the Coral Tower's claims that Juinkarr is nothing but an abandoned ruin?" Harald asked.

"Somewhat," Merec reminded him. "Remember, she said that Juinkarr is akin to the modern Towers of the Magi and not at all a single structure. But with all the magical traps and regular patrols from the local orc tribe, it is too dangerous to perform a thorough search through all the ruined buildings in just a few weeks. So, it is still completely possible that something has set up shop there."

"Either way, our direct foe isn't a mere presence lurking in the shadows anymore," Aerhin stated triumphantly. "We now have a name... and possibly a location from where she is directing the raids against us."

"What?" the rest of the room gasped in shock, leaning in to look at where the elf was pointing on their admittedly incomplete map.

"Roccan'gon Charl had his best pair tail a young injured Umbrin," Aerhin continued to explain "and they followed him to a secluded ravine here, in the upper reaches of the Belthean River."

"That is very close to Juinkarr..." Roccan'her Glenn muttered, the human female glancing worriedly at her gryphon companion.

"How do we know that this... Ikessa has holed herself up there?" Harald asked, a little sceptically. "This feels like a good place to set up an ambush."

"Without infiltrating the place itself, we cannot be completely sure," Aerhin admitted a little defeated. "But our spies indicated that there were about two to three dozen dragons in the vicinity, so we can be sure that they are using it as a forward outpost at least."

"A congregation of Umbrin dragons that size can never be a good thing!" Eric grumbled. "If we don't do something about it, it will bite us in the arse before long. And if we can disperse them in a surprise attack, it will go a long way to securing our eastern boundaries."

"Agreed," Harald conceded. "But we will need to act swiftly before this Claw of the Master decides to relocate them. Even if she is not there herself, the Umbrins have the advantage of manoeuvrability on their side while we are bound to the Amber Tower. If I was her, I'd make sure to remain on the move as often as possible."

"Speaking of the Amber Tower," Merec sighed, obviously not looking forward to having to deal with the lupine archmagus "we will have to let the Amber Tower know of our intentions."

"But if this is to succeed, we need to act as soon as possible!" Lekreh snapped his beak, agitated with the same red tape cropping up again.

"I know, but we had agreed long ago to defer to the tower's council before we can do anything of significance." Merec groaned, looking out a window to where the Amber Tower was hidden behind a low rise, obviously upset with the agreement he was forced to make some three years ago. Then suddenly, a thought of how to deal with the magi occurred to him and he turned to his pair of Aerial Combat Instructors, his mouth twisting into a slight smirk.

"Roccan'her Glenn, Lúg'her Lekreh get a strike force ready to attack this stronghold," he instructed them. "I'll meet with the Archmagus as soon as possible and be sure to get that authorization for you today still! Oh, and keep a few of the unpaired dragons ready just in case..."

"In case?" Glenn asked confused.

"In case we are lucky enough to get magi support as well," he grinned. "If we put this right, the Tower may practically order us to go after this stronghold, and we might be lucky enough to have a few experienced magi join us. I know Felicity will be eager to interrogate this Claw of the Master herself, given the opportunity."

"As you command, sir!" Lekreh clacked his beak excitedly.

"What about the caravans?" Gahntuar whispered to Merec as the assembly started to break up.

"I forgot about them, thanks!" The human sighed, suddenly seemingly tired again. "The caravans will just have to wait."

***

Merec and Gahntuar were still talking about the recent news and their upcoming meeting with the Amber Triumvirate as they approached the living quarters built for them. It was nothing fancy, resembling the old hunting cabin Merec had lived in the last few years he stayed on the peninsula only resized to accommodate his dragon as well. But its rustic appearance helped calm Merec after a long day of leading a group that even he didn't know where it would end up. As for Gahntuar, he had lived in a hole in the ground his entire life and thought it was fit for the equine king of the Arthulle Highlands himself.

"You think Arch-magus Vicia will grant you an audience on such short notice?" Gahntuar asked with a dismissive snort. "We usually have to schedule a meeting two or more days in advance for her to hear us out."

"To be honest, I don't know!" Merec admitted though he smirked like a naughty child. "But I didn't give her much choice. The message I sent to her said that we will be taking action tomorrow morning before sunrise and I would like to speak to her about it. Pretty much told her that she will need to act if she doesn't want us to do anything."

"She is not going to be pleased about being forced into a corner like that!" Gahntuar replied, sharing his rider's grin.

"I know," Merec agreed, his grin fading a bit. "But I'm afraid we don't have the time to go through the usual routine for something of this magnitude. And I think, as long as we don't abuse this trick it will remain open to us."

"If you say so," Gahntuar stated, sounding not convinced in the least. "But I'll admit that I'm not looking forward to the talks this afternoon."

"Agreed!" Merec sighed as he lifted his hand to open the door. But before he could even touch the doorknob, the door opened and Laethia stepped out.

"Oh, hi there Gahnty!" she smiled, pretending and failing not to have noticed them coming up the incline.

"Laeth?" Gahntuar gasped surprised. "What are you going here? I thought you have already travelled to Ekriel's mate's lair!" Somewhere in the back of his mind, he recalled Jerielle stating something about Laethia not having left The Camp yet. "She is due to lay soon, right?"

"That is correct, I am on my way there now!" Laethia stated nonchalantly. "With her mate out on patrol at the moment, she'll need all the help we can provide."

"Then what are you still here for?" Gahntuar asked worriedly. The nest was, as per agreement not further than an hour's flight from The Camp, but since Laethia had only one wing, it meant that she had to walk to the next valley to visit the new nest. Make no mistake, he was incredibly grateful for her interest in the nests within what was supposed to have been her territory for without it, he didn't know how his dragons' families would have coped. But with the sun was already approaching its zenith, he was still worried about her having to return home in the dark of night.

He had originally envisioned that all the dragons of the Lúgroccae would live and nest together like one big dragon city. But Laethia was quick to rightly point out that forcing a self-sufficient species like the dragons together like the civil species would not work. This, of course, led Roccan'her Harald to suggest that breeding should be entirely disallowed within the ranks of the Lúgroccae instead, something which was also completely infeasible given the open sexual relationships dragons lived with. Not to mention it was a restriction he never had any intention of obeying from the start, so how could he entertain the idea of forcing it upon the rest of the dragons. So Harald's idea was knocked out of the sky before it even took flight. Still, it had its merit when it came to two serving Lúgae breeding as having both parents off on duty could not be a good thing for the hatchlings. But it didn't sit well with him to declare mating within the Lúgroccae forbidden as love should not be restricted. This sentiment was shared with the other dragons in the council and as such, they were very lax at enforcing such a rule of any kind, despite knowing of several pairs of dragons sneaking away for a quickie when they thought no one was aware of it. As long as they were careful not to slack in their duties while busy with recreational sex, they didn't mind.

Of course, it had been only a matter of time before they had to confront the issue and two of their draines ended up pregnant with eggs by other serving drakes in quick succession. Tembarah had quickly agreed to lay her clutch in her mother's lair, but they had yet to convince the other draine to find a nest site within visual range of The Camp.

"I... just needed to chat to Lainah quickly," Laethia stated mysteriously.

"About?" Gahntuar asked, feeling the black draine was hiding something important.

"Oh, stuff..." Laethia smirked, waving her remaining atrophied wing dismissively "You know, nothing special." It was a bad lie and more than confirmed Gahntuar's suspicion.

"Is 'nothing special' something we need to be worried about?" Merec asked also a bit worried. Laethia glared sideways at him when he spoke. The human was likeable enough she had decided long ago, but she was still not sure how Gahntuar could like him enough to take him as a casual mate as he did.

"I... don't think so," she replied, still smirking at them. "But I do think Gahnty here may be a little... indisposed for a few days."

"What do you mean?" Gahntuar asked, now truly worried.

"Let's just say Lainah has something to show you," she purred, starting to head down the hill again. "Anyway, as you have said I need to be going, so enjoy yourself. I'll be seeing you later."

"What has gotten into her?" Merec asked a little dumbfounded as they watched the draine trot down the hill as if she had just won an argument.

"No, idea!" Gahntuar admitted, turning back to their front door. "Only one way to find out, I guess."

Determinedly, he grabbed at the thick handle with his equally thick claws and pulled the door open. Then, even before he had time to put his head through the door, he understood what Laethia had meant. The thick aroma hit him in the face and immediately clogged up his nose, making it almost hard to move.

"Oh... oh, of course!" the dragon muttered as he took another deliberate sniff of a draine deep in heat.

"Gahntuar?" Lainah growled from deeper in the hut. The silvery draine who had lived with him on the peninsula and who had followed him here some three years ago, appeared from the gloom of the interior, moving with deadly grace almost as if she was stalking prey. Though the building was meant for Merec and himself, Gahntuar's mate stayed over on occasions so it was not strange to hind her here. Still, there was something off about her demeanour and she let out a low, needy whine as she recognized her mate. "Where have you been?"

"We... we went out to... um, to... remember?" Gahntuar muttered, his speech faltering as she practically jumped at the drake and started rubbing her side against his chest in overeager affection. Despite knowing better, he still dipped his shout to sniff at her back as she pressed up against him. "We still need to... go to the Amber Tower..."

"Do you have to go again already?" Lainah whined, sounding like a disappointed hatchling. "Can't you stay a little longer? Or much longer"

"Something... important happened!" Gahntuar replied, shaking his head to clear his mind as he recalled his duties. "Something I doubt can wait."

"Is something wrong?" Merec asked, frowning at his friend's momentarily lapse of cognition.

"No, nothing is wrong!" Gahntuar quickly stated, looking around at where Merec had squeezed past him and the doorframe to see what was going on. "Lainah's heat that we had been waiting for has finally arrived. It is surprisingly strong as well... how did I not notice it earlier?"

"It only became noticeable this morning," Lainah admitted, reluctantly stepping away from Gahntuar so that the two Lúgroccan leaders could enter their accommodation properly. "And I guess you were a bit preoccupied being... Lúg'hir to notice. But now that you are here... " She gave him a demanding nip at his jaw "... it is time for us to start that family we've been talking about ever since we left the Garbanan!"

"Right, then..." Merec smirked as Gahntuar returned the playful nip, completely ignoring his human for the moment. "I think I can speak to the archmagus on my own. I believe she'll understand that you won't be able to make it." He quickly disappeared into another room to grab the clean set of clothes he had come to retrieve, leaving the dragons to start making out in the sitting room of their apartment. Moments later, he returned intending to leave them be. "You two enjoy yourself, now!" he grinned as he started towards the front door. "Don't break the house down."

He had thought they were too engrossed with each other to care about what he had to say... he was wrong. In a flash, Lainah had disengaged from Gahntuar and pounced in front of him, blocking off his escape as she curled her head around his shoulders.

"Don't think you're going to escape so easil... oh!" she started to say but gasped in surprise as Gahntuar took his opening to sniff under the unintentionally presented tail. Lainah twisted her head around to berate him for his utterly bad timing when he went a step further and licked at her moist folds with complete disregard for what was going on around him. Her complaint turned into a needy moan as his tongue went to work cleaning her leaking juices up and Merec quickly took the opportunity to duck out of the way and escape through the door.

"Someone will need to go meet with Archmagus Vicia as she will be expecting us," he quickly explained once he stood in the relative safety of the doorway again. "Especially since we already indicated the urgency of the matter. And Jerielle and Aerhin cannot because they are already busy preparing a strike force for tomorrow!"

"Hurry up then and come back quickly!" Lainah snapped in a moment of lucidity. "I don't... ah!" She yelped again as Gahntuar pressed his tongue harder against her pussy before he pulled his snout free again. "I don't want to come looking for you!"

"Y-yes, ma'am!" Merec agreed quickly, smirking as Gahntuar flehmen grimaced behind her completely lost to their discussion. "I'll make sure to return." He knew it would be best not to test her resolve, she would come hunting him if he stayed away too long. And he didn't want to explain why his steed's mate was desperate to find him as well while the two dragons were meant to be alone mating. True, the riders were more than welcome to visit their steed's nest even if the hatchlings were still very small. In fact, they were encouraged to be more active in their steeds' personal lives, but being present for the actual conception of the eggs would raise some unneeded questions.

"You..." Lainah stated, losing her train of thought as Gahntuar rested his one forepaw on her haunch. She looked back around at him as he dipped his snout beneath her hiked tail again for another lick at her pussy. "... better … quick..."

"Still, I think you and Gahntuar need each other more than me right now!" the human commented one last time, pointing back to where Gahntuar's penis was flagging painfully erect already. But he was not sure if the draine's last comment was directed at him or his dragon. Already Lainah seemed to have followed the drake into a sexual stupor and did not respond to his remark. So Merec wordlessly took his leave, glancing one last time at where the two dragons were busy with one another.

"Will... will thou allowst me to seed thine eggs..." Gahntuar asked as he pulled away again, starting the rarely performed ritualistic first mating rite in his own moment of lucidity. But though some draines truly loved the ancient rights from even before the Dark Age, Lainah would have none of it.

"Don't ask stupid questions and breed me already!" she snapped a little desperately, crouching her chest low to the ground and curling her tail completely over her back. "I've waited years for this, and I will not waste this opportunity!"

"But I... I..." Gahntuar started to defend himself, but his hormone fuelled mind could not register a good agreement. "Ah, fuck it!"

Without another word or hesitation, he mounted her, his forelegs gripping possessively around her middle as his teeth locked into place around the base of her neck. With desperate, small thrusts he sought her opening. He found it easily and as the sharp tip of his penis pressed up against her swollen vulva, he pressed forward with a victorious snarl. She yelped as his entire shaft sank into her flesh up to the knot in one smooth motion, her cry probably heard all the way to the gate. The thought drove the heat in his loins ever higher and he growled dominantly as he started to copulate her in earnest. Unlike the tender times they spent together over the past three years, he now claimed her body with animalistic ferocity, thrusting forward into her with hard, fast movements of his hips. This was HIS mate and let all his rivals know!

Lainah did not even think of complaining as it was exactly what he wanted, what she needed right now. Her tail writhed around his quivering haunch with desperate urgency, finding his own by sheer instinct and twisting around it as possessively as he was biting her. She squeezed him with a vicelike grip that rivalled that of her pussy upon his dick. She moaned in delight as she started to push back into his loins, not quite able to match his quick, steady rhythm. Still, it did not take long before the beginning of his knot pressed up her body, the mating so quick that the small bump of flesh even entered into her vagina with relative ease. She bit her lower lip lightly in an attempt to stifle her lewd moaning, but it was a lost cause as her heat had made her nether much more sensitive than normal and the firm shaft and quickly inflating knot felt twice the size as it usually did.

Like her own loss of control over her vocalizations, he growled and grunted with lustful abandon atop of her almost as if he wanted everyone to know they were mating at this very moment. For his part, it was the first time in more than half a century that he had buried his penis inside a female in heat, and the hotter, moister than usual touch of her vagina was much more exhilarating than he could remember.

Before either of them expected it, his knot caught inside of her, making them both yelp in surprise when he pulled back for another feral thrust and the tie failed to budge. Still, being stuck already proved to be more of an incentive to push on to the final height of pleasure and he ground himself firmly into her flesh with the small movements allowed to him. Trying to make their copulation last longer as mates reaffirming their mateship often did, was an endeavour that couldn't possibly work with their senses heightened as they were by her heat. And in the throes of pheromone addled lust, they did not care either. All that mattered was the tie and the all-important release.

Pulling her rump firmly into his groin in an effort to push that last inch deeper, he was the first one to cum. Finally releasing the nape of her neck and roaring out his claim to her eggs, he shot the first of his lifegiving essence into her searing hot womb. As his second load lanced into her as well, she joined him in orgasm, her vagina clamping down almost painfully tight around his hard length to make sure none of the precious goo escaped past his knot. For a blissful minute, they rode on the highest winds of pleasure as he drained the contents of his testes into her eager womb, quenching her heat momentarily.

Gahntuar finally relaxed as he panted for breath after the best, if quickest orgasm he experienced in decades, easing his firm grip on her haunches again as his mind returned to him. He started to lick Lainah where he had bitten at her neck, comforting her as she also gasped to regain her breath.

"Better?" he asked with a smirk when they had calmed down somewhat.

"A little bit," she replied, smirking up at him. "But I hope do you don't think you are done yet."

"I may be out of practice when it comes to breeding," he stated confidently, returning her smirk "but I'm more experienced than that!"

"Good," she grinned, her tail squeezing his as she reached her snout around to nuzzle him. He purred in delight, returning her affection with tender licks to her crest. But then he remembered the situation and he pulled his head away from hers with a dissatisfied grunt. She, of course, noticed immediately. "What's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"I doubt I'll be able to stay with you the entire time you are in heat, as I should..." he confessed with an angry growl.

"What!" she growled, upset. "How so?"

"Lúg'hir business!" he stated with an upset growl, licking at her neck again as if in apology.

"Like that meeting with the archmagus you and Merec have to..." Lainah asked, remembering something being said about that and looking around to ask the human only to find him gone.

"Where's Merec?" Gahntuar asked, also seemingly having not realised they were alone.

"He probably went to meet with the archmagus already?" Lainah guessed. "Still, why can't Jerielle take over for you. You've given Ekriel the whole week off to breed properly when his mate came into heat! And Semiyene when her heat arrived and Ethrol with his mate. Surely..."

"I think Jerielle will be able to take over from me for most of the time," he reassured her, squeezing her haunches consolingly. "But some things I think I still need to be present for. Like this story with the archmagus right now: We've received information regarding the Claw of the Master only a few hours ago that... I think I will need to handle myself."

"I guess you are right" Lainah grumbled, her head hanging low in disappointment at the thought of having to be satisfied with an interrupted breeding, but she couldn't fault the logic. "How do civils manage to breed if they don't have time to themselves like this?"

"Don't worry," Gahntuar suddenly grinned, giving his mate a teasing thrust with his hips to drive the point home. "We won't copulate constantly during your heat, you know. There are times when I must take a break to refill. So, I promise you that I'll be with you for more than enough time to make sure I give you a full, health-..."

He was suddenly interrupted by an unexpected scratch at the door... the draconic way of knocking.

"What is it?" Lainah snapped with an angry growl, immediately irritated again.

"Um... is... is the Lúg'hir still here?" Tembarah's timid voice filtered through from the outside. "I need to speak to him about something important!"

"He's not here!" Lainah stated quickly just as Gahntuar also replied with an "I'm busy!"

"Lúg'hir, sir!" Tembarah stated hopefully, obviously having heard her father's voice. "I need to speak to you urgently. Can I come in?"

"NO!" Lainah cried out desperately, but as the bulky handle to the doorknob started to move she resorted to a dangerous threatening growl. An empty threat as she was rather helpless, pinned beneath Gahntuar's weight and stuck to his groin. "Go away! The Lúg'hir can't speak with you right now!"

"But it is very urgent..." the younger draine insisted a little desperately, as she continued to push the door open contrary to her normal timid nature.

"I'm a bit tied..." Gahntuar cringed at the unintended pun, but the door was already being opened and he could see Tembarah's green snout through the door "... tied up right now. I'll meet you outside in a few minutes."

"I wouldn't insist if I had another choice!" Tembarah insisted as she stepped inside. "I would have spoken to Roccan'her Glenn and Lúg'her Lekreh, but I cannot find them. I promise this won't take lo-..." She yelped in shock as her mind recognized the mating position of the two dragons.

"Oh! Sorry-sorry-sorry," she mumbled, looking away from them as a courtesy, but still, she made no move to leave them alone. "I didn't realize you meant it literally when you said you were tied up, Da... um, sir. But as I said this is very urgent..."

"You're already here," Gahntuar sighed with an annoyed growl that in any other situation would have appeared exaggerated. Although all his mates knew it was a strange quirk of his to prefer to remain mounted on his mate's back while waiting for his knot to go down, he now shifted to the side and slid off Lainah's back, grunting uncomfortably as his knot strained against the tie before popping out with very audible, wet slick sound. "What is this about then?"

He sat down, covering his angry erection with a wing when Tembarah's gaze drifted down unintendedly. Though dragons were usually not squeamish about sexual activities, there is something awkward about having an official meeting as the Lúg'hir with his dick still throbbing and leaking semen. Lainah on the other hand had no qualms about rolling over and licking herself clean to remind the youngster what she was interrupting.

"It-it is Lúg'gon Ethiene, sir!" the green draine quickly stated, deciding to come to the point as quickly as possible. "She... she cannot join us on the raid against the Umbrins tonight."

"Why?" Gahntuar asked worriedly, his protective instincts kicking in to overshadow his annoyance with the interruption. "What is the matter?"

"No-nothing serious, sir!" Tembarah stated a little too quickly. "I-I am told she just needs a good night's rest tonight."

"Why is that?" the Lúg'hir growled, his irritation starting to return. "Lúg'gon Ethiene is a very talented flier and skilled at directing the squad assigned to her. If Lúg'her Jerielle and Roccan'her Aerhin believe we need her, then how can you say that she cannot go?"

"I... I mean no disrespect towards the council, sir!" the squirming younger dragon said quickly. "But... but Lúg'gon Ethiene is... She is not fit enough to fight at this moment."

"I find that hard to believe!" the black drake growled impatiently. Was this why he and his mate were interrupted at such a disastrous moment? "She is very healthy and not injured in any way from what I have heard. Now, speak plainly or leave! What exactly is wrong with her?"

"She..." Tembarah swallowed like a nervous hatchling, not wanting to tell on the wrongdoings of a clutchmate. "She... please don't be mad, dad!" But dad would have none of it. Gahntuar only raised his crest in an instinctive show of domination, adding an expectant raised eye ridge all the dragons seemed to have picked up from their riders. The display was too much for the scared, timid draine and she cracked. "Her-her rider said she is suffering from a Manaburn!"

"A what?" Gahntuar asked startled, the completely unexpected news deflating his display completely. The statement was so astonishing that Lainah, who had pretended not to care about the conversation also perk up in interest.

"We didn't want to tell you that some of us can sometimes mould Mana, knowing how everyone here feels about Seghrien having been able to do that!" Tembarah admitted, everything gushing forth now that the storm had finally broken. "It started sometime last year, but it is not constant... it sometimes works and sometimes not. We don't know why... Please don't be mad!"

"Us?" Gahntuar asked, even more astounded.

"I mean..." Tembarah tried to scurry back some lost ground, but Gahntuar interrupted her.

"Can you mould Mana as well?" he asked her, a sudden urgency in his voice.

"I didn't say..." she started to say, her crest flat against her head like a hatchling trying to tell a poorly constructed lie.

"Which other dragons can mould Mana?" Gahntuar insisted before she could think of a way to get out of this mess she had created for herself.

"Please, don't make me tell you..." Tembarah whimpered, crouching low in submission, tail tucked firmly between her legs.

"Which dragons!" Gahntuar insisted sternly, raising his crest again.

"Gahnty, easy!" Lainah suddenly said, rubbing up against his side with purr. "You're scaring her."

"I..." Gahntuar blinked in surprise at Lainah before looking back at Tembarah. "I-I'm sorry," he sighed, his crest wilting in shame. He reached his snout down to nuzzle the scared younger draine reassuringly. "Tembarah, I was just surprised at the news and I handled that badly. You are not in trouble, not you nor Ethiene. Or any of the dragons who can mould Mana. But I must know who they are." The last part he still stressed to indicate the importance of the statement.

"Please, don't ask..." Tembarah started again, a little calmer but still unwilling to betray the trust placed in her.

"Is Jerielle one of those dragons?" Gahntuar asked calmly, deciding to try a different approach. When Tembarah quickly shook her head, he snorted both in relief as well as worry about how to broach the subject with her. "Okay then, I will speak to her and make up some excuse as to why Lúg'gon Ethiene won't be joining us on the raid tonight. A Manaburn is not something to be taken lightly, though it is also best that as few dragons as possible are aware of exactly what is wrong with her. Still, I must speak to her tomorrow after the raid. And you as well... and all of the other dragons you know who can mould Mana." He raised his voice again to stress the importance of the request, careful to keep his crest relaxed this time. "I promise you won't be in trouble for this. But Merec and I will need to explain everything to you then."

"You … know what causes this?" Tembarah asked surprised. Then Gahntuar nodded, she seemed more willing to tell her secret. "There... there are five of us. I... I'll arrange for you to meet with us then. But do Roccan'hir Merec also need to know?"

"Yes..." Gahntuar admitted, already wondering exactly they were going to broach the awkward subject of a sexual relationship between rider and dragon to the others. "Which reminds me, your riders will also need to attend the meeting as this involves them as well... and as soon as possible. We don't want another dragon to end up with a Manaburn." After a quick hesitation, he added "And any riders who are showing unusual magical abilities... along with their dragons of course."

"You mean like Roccan'her Glenn?" Tembarah asked surprised before clacking her jaws shut in embarrassment.

"Glenn and Lekreh as well!" Gahntuar gasped shocked, making Lainah chuckle amused. "Y-yes, we need to speak to them specifically as well."

"Y-yes, sir!" Tembarah replied, a little deflated having betrayed the trust placed in her. "Should I set the meeting up as soon as Lúg'her Lainah's heat has passed?"

"I..." Gahntuar gasped, looking shocked back at his mate. He had become so caught up in his Lúg'hir duties again that he had completely forgotten about her heat. With a defeated growl, he complained to the two draines with him. "Why does everything have to happen now? I think it may be best until..."

"I'll still be here later," Lainah purred seductively as she rubbed up against him again. "And still in heat. And as you said yourself, you're not going to be tied to my rump the whole time! I know how important this issue is to bring down before it gets out of range of your strike, and that Jerielle will not know to resolve this. So, go do what has to be done, Lúg'hir. Just," she nipped firmly at his jaw, making him yelp in surprise "be sure to come back and finish what you had started!"

Gahntuar purr in delight and returned her nip with an affectionate nuzzle, grateful for such an understanding mate as she was.

"Then, set please set the meeting up as soon as possible after tonight's raid is done!" he ordered the younger draine. Quickly, he explained to her how to find a secluded Manawell not too far away from The Camp where he also had received simple lessons in magic from the old green magus who had travelled with them a few years back. Satisfied, Tembarah excused herself and quickly left the two breeding dragons to themselves again.

"What are you planning?" Lainah asked worriedly once they were alone again.

"Well, Merec and I need to explain to them where this strange magical ability of theirs come from," Gahntuar sighed, already imagining their shock upon learning their esteemed leaders were sexually involved with each other and not looking forward to the reaction that will cause. "I also intend to teach them a few magic tricks that could help them in a pinch... stuff I had learnt myself. Nothing fancy that can be easily detected of course, but still useful tricks."

"You think that is a good idea?" the silvery draine asked, lying down next to him.

"Truth be told, I don't know!" he admitted with a sigh. "Still, Merec and I had agreed to go through with this when we first got to the Amber Tower..." He looked down to where Lainah had rolled over onto her back to stretch herself out like a lazy cat. Smirking, he grabbed the opportunity to step over her prone form, lying down on top of her exposed stomach. "But that is tomorrow's problem. Now... where were we?"

***

The gryphon he had just killed lay on her side, coughing up blood onto the cobblestone street as she wheezed out her final breaths.

Gryphons lie just below goblins on Mana Spectrum, who in turn was just below the elves. They had the potential to be great magi if they had ever decided to put their minds to it that is. He doubted the featherheads were even aware of their wasted potential, to be honest. Pity he had not been aware of it all those years ago, Berton thought to himself as he considered the value of the pile of ingredients on offer. The fur and feathers would have been good for attracting Mana for him even now after all these years on the shelf, but it would not have helped his current predicament had he had the presence of mind to pluck a few feathers. He still needed to create the shape and infuse it into the organic matter to focus that incredibly elusive Mana for him. True, had he powdered the stuff while fresh and sprinkled it over his food or drink, it would have given him the needed ability to attract Mana even without a Manashape. But now it was merely a wasted opportunity he was better off forgetting about, a task easier said than done.

The fresh blood would have been a better option though. He could have drunk it for an almost immediate effect, but by the time he had learned its value, it would have lost the species-specific qualities, retaining only a rather mediocre storage ability with a slight tendency to refill itself. The flesh had a stronger effect though and the bones even more so. The organs... well, their qualities differed as much as there were different organs to be sure. The eyes, tongue, liver and lungs were powerful ingredients, but it was the brain and the spine that were the true prizes, not to even speak of the reproductive organs or the heart. But strangely, while the stomach, kidneys and pancreas were important to live as well, they were rather weak when it came to the manipulation of Mana. As for the intestines, they were practically worthless.

"Thinking about that gryphon again?" the wolf with the missing ear growled annoyed. "Why does she bother you so much still? Did you fuck her?"

"Never seeing her till killing, sir!" Berton sighed, his attempt at black speech still coming out broken and faltering.

"I have never seen her before I killed her!" his new master corrected his tenses with a growl. "Honestly, if you want to get anywhere in Barathrum, you need to get a better grip on your Ukaausan! Especially if you want to impress that pale-blue draine friend of yours!"

"I have never seen her before I killed her, sir!" Berton repeated dutifully after the wolf, biting back an annoyed remark about the mention of the Claw of the Master who came to visit him from time to time. He didn't like the overly motherly draine at all, her constant complaints about missing her hatchling grow up, her insistent attempts to check up on how he was doing or her annoyance with the Master's constant demands for progress that she was unable to give. Honestly, he couldn't understand how the Masters could trust such a weak-willed creature with such an important job.

"Then why do you keep on thinking about her?" the wolf asked, almost sounding genuinely interested.

"I do not think about the Claw of the Master, sir!" Berton insisted angrily. "I finding her annoyed!"

"I was speaking of the gryphon!" the wolf growled, too amused to even correct his tenses again.

"Oh," Berton stuttered, looking down ashamed for his outburst. "I think you once spoken that you always remembered the first kill in service of Barathrum, sir!"

"Don't get smart with me, lad!" the wolf growled.

"I only thinking of her lost reagents, sir," Berton admitted quickly.

"Oh?" the wolf asked surprised. "And what would you have done had you known to gather some? By now, any species-related advantages would have been lost! You know this, foolish boy!"

"It is only self testing, sir!" Berton stated quickly, hoping his master wouldn't realise precisely what was going through his mind.

"Right..." the wolf growled, eying him suspiciously. But with nothing to pinpoint, he decided it was time to continue with the lesson. He turned around again to present the human with a red-hot rod of metal held securely with a pair of sturdy pliers. "Now, just as we discussed, infuse the augmented strength Manashape into the hot metal!"

Berton focused on his annoying collar, finding the Mana stored there earlier rather easily. With practised ease, he formed the required shape perfectly and lower it onto the offered piece. However, the shape disintegrated as soon as it touched the rod and splashed like water for a moment before it was lost.

"Fucking hell!" the black magus snarled in common, throwing the rod down onto anvil with enough force to make it bounce and clatter to the stone floor with a clang. "How did you mess that up? I know you are better than that!"

Berton watched the discarded metal with a strangely disconnected stare. Normal blacksmiths would never treat a piece of metal like that, even scrap metal. But here it didn't matter that much, it was a piece of practice steel anyway, meant to train the aspiring magi to shape and augment the materials they worked with. To be fair, it was reheated so many times that it was practically pure iron again and needed a new infusion of carbon to make anything useful with it. But the loss of the organic material in the steel did not account for his failure... the shape was meant to be focused on the iron specifically.

"I... I don't know, sir!" the human cowered also in common as the angry wolf stalked up next to him. "I honestly..."

He didn't manage to get out a proper excuse before the wolf grabbed him by the neck. A quick check of the collar revealed that it was empty, causing his master to swear loudly again. With no remorse for the younger human, he twisted the human around and harshly bent him over the still warm anvil.

"You know the penalty for such a simple blunder!" the wolf growled, shifting his apron to the side to reveal a quickly plumping sheath.

"Wait... wait..." Berton begged, struggling to get away. He was acutely aware that, alike his master behind him, he wore nothing but the blacksmith apron and his butt crack was unmistakably vulnerable.

"I've been too lenient with you the past few weeks!" the pale lupine interrupted his student's pleas for mercy as he covered the human's body with his own. Berton yelped as the coarse fur tickled naked back once more and he felt the sharp wet penis pricking at his inner thigh. "If I didn't know any better, I'd guess you're purposefully fucking up just to get me to..."

The wolf's questionable disciplinary action was suddenly interrupted by an urgent knock on the door.

"Procellerus's prick!" the wolf yelped and disengaged from his student as if electrocuted. Quickly, he shifted his apron back into place to be more presentable, hoping the noticeable bump would be inconspicuous enough in the gloomy room. With an accusing claw, he pointed at the human. "You, get out of sight! And don't think you're getting away with your blunder this easily!"

Berton quickly obeyed without being asked twice. Without an Evocaether of his own, he had no business in the Jet Tower at all and if he was to be discovered, his presence here will be bad for both him and his wolf master. He ducked behind a pile of stuff covered up with heavy leathers just as his master opened the door for whoever was outside. He heard the voices talking softly, but he was unable to hear exactly what was being said. At least, the voices sounded relax and normal and he allowed himself a sigh of relief: he was not discovered. Then he realised he should use the unexpected opportunity presented to him to the fullest.

With his master's attention directed to whoever was at the door, Berton pulled out a thin slither of amber he had managed to nick the previous lesson without the wolf noticing it. A quick check confirmed that it was bursting full of the Mana he had syphoned into it just now during the failed lesson, the amber's natural ability to pull Mana for him helping him to detect the power if just barely. The power there was weak, barely detectable as it were. But it was a source of Mana at his disposal his master didn't know about. It was a start.

But only a start though. If it was to be of any use to him, he needed to get his hand on the Evocaether shape. That was his next objective and one he needed to achieve quickly! Amber was not known for retaining Mana that well, so he only had a small window of opportunity in which to succeed with his plan, else he had to try and steal more Mana from his mentor. But once he has both the Mana and the needed shape, he could craft himself an Evocaether of gradually increasing strength until he could escape the tyrannical mentorship of the mountain of muscles that had become the centre his life revolved around these days. With an Evocaether he could enter the Jet Tower without fear of reprisal and have access to more lessons and opinions, not to mention the library! He could learn more than what had been deemed important for him to know. He could...

The voices stopped and Berton quickly hid his precious slither of amber. It would not do to be caught with it, or his master would know the truth of what had happened just now. The truth of what he was planning to do next! And then it would really be bad for him.

"Right then, where were we?" the wolf growled dangerously, grabbing at his apron to lift it to the side again. Only, he stopped startled when his apprentice jumped quickly from his hiding spot and reassumed his submissive stance, draped over the anvil again as he had been only moments before. "What the fuck, boy?"

Berton stepped back into place quickly, hanging his head as if ashamed of being caught out. He sighed for added effect before playing his next roll of the dice.

"You... you are right, sir!" Berton admitted with an ashamed huff. "The truth is that you are the only one I can interact with at all and... it gets lonely and boring in here between visits from the mistress. No books to read other than the few you've approved, no one to talk to. The Claw of the Master offered some welcome distractions in the days she had visited me, but she has been coming here less and less..."

He stopped when the wolf held up a claw for silence, fighting the urge to shift his weight nervously from one foot to the other. Did he overplay his new character? Did the wolf realise something was wrong? Why was his master staring so piercingly at him? Then he nearly breathed a sigh of relief as the wolf turned away from him, still wordlessly picking up pliers and retrieving the rod where it had rolled into a corner.

"Give me air!" he ordered his student as he replaced the rod in the fire. True, he could heat the metal with magic, but that was only done in great need as overexposure to Mana could not only risk him getting Manaburnt but it also seemed to affect the final charm negatively.

Berton jumped at the opportunity to do something again, aware that he appeared over-eager to work the bellows again. In no time, the iron had regained that glowing red appearance they were looking for again. With a quick touch to the human's neck, the wolf replaced the lost Mana in the collar and removed the now slightly bent iron rod from the fire.

"Right then," he growled, obviously amused as he held the piece of iron out towards the human. "Let's try this the other way around then!" With his free hand, he lifted his apron away and ran the side of a claw up along the underside of his erection for emphasis. "If you want this, you will do better this time round imbuing the iron with augmented strength.

Berton had to fight not to grin at the shift in teaching style but failed miserably. With a quick thought, he formed the shape required of him and effortlessly infused the offered iron as instructed. The red-hot iron cooled instantly as the shape took hold, taking on the strength of proper steel. The wolf tested the rod, first with a mundane test by tapping it on the side of the anvil before checking the quality of the enchantment with a simple spell of his own. He grinned excitedly at the result, nodding to the human in approval.

"Well, well, well! You really are the mistress's best toy!" he chuckled, pleased with the human's performance even as he tossed the rod they had been working on the past to hours away like trash. "Perfect execution, well done. I knew you had it in you! Now... for your reward..."

Despite himself, Berton smirked and quickly turned around to present himself as before. Once more, his lupine master covered his body and the human moaned encouragingly as the coarse fur pricked his naked back again. It was strange to consider how his life had changed the past three years. At the start, he despised this same wolf and his sexual punishments, but he quickly learned the ordeal was better when he accepted his position than when he tried to fight it. It was only recently that it had occurred to him to use the situation to his advantage. How the tables had turn against the wolf, who didn't even realize that he had lost control of his student even as he pressed the tip of his penis up onto the crack of the smaller human's arse.

Berton gasped as the wolf found his mark. Yeah, he could live with serving as a sex toy to the deprived lupine. It was still not something he would actively seek out, but if it continued to serve his purposes, he would be willing to submit to anything!

***

"It is almost time to gather at the main parade grounds, I think," Merec commented as he looked out the window at the deepening golden hue of the sky against the setting sun. He was finishing up the last buttons of his shirt again even without looking down at his chest.

"Already?" Lainah complained with a loud whine.

"I think," Gahntuar commented lazily, testing the firmness of his knot where he was still spooning his mate "I'm going to be immobile for a minute or so still..."

Though he had most of his golden coloured armour on already, the peytral for his chest and the chainmail that protected the insides of his limbs were still lying on the ground next to him. Those pieces had been in the way when the mood hit the dragons again and Merec had to remove them least Lainah try to tip them off her mate.

"I did say 'almost'," the human smirked, glancing back at the two dragons before looking around to find his trousers. "I still need to make myself presentable again. Best to avoid awkward questions as to why I'm dishevelled while you are the one breeding, you know."

"Oh, this time tomorrow a few other pairs will understand!" the dragon smirked, testing his knot again and yelping in surprise when it popped out with a slop. Instinctively, he lifted his leg and reached his snout down to start cleaning himself, but then hesitated. With a naughty grin, he looked over to where Merec was closing his belt buckle. "You want to clean me up?"

"Sounds tempting," his rider grinned "but I don't think we quite have the time now. I don't want to clean myself up more than I have to, you know."

"I'll take you up on that offer!" Lainah quickly chirped excitedly, twisting around and quickly going to work licking the softening flesh clean. Gahntuar rumbled in delight and bowed down to return the favour. Merec ignored them, kneeling to quickly fasten his boots again as the sound of a far-off horn signalled the order to assemble.

"Okay you two," the human sighed, getting up and giving his clothes one last check to make sure he was presentable. "Now it is really time to go, I'm afraid."

"The Lúg'hir can be a little late, I think!" Lainah commented between licks. "We can't have him erect and stiff as a battle lance while leading everyone into battle, you know."

"But not too late either!" Gahntuar reprimanded her playfully, pulling away from her lions to lick affectionately at her quivering crest. She gave him a last few licks before pulling away herself with an upset whine.

"Come, you two!" Merec hurried them along when they stared a quick kiss. "I can see most of the Lúgroccae assembling already. And we still need to put the rest of your armour on!"

The two dragons growl in irritation at him, but Gahntuar knew the human had a point. With a dissatisfied snort he complied, pulling away from the kiss and standing up stiff-legged. He started towards where Merec was waiting for him by the door, but not before nuzzling his mate one last time.

"I'll come to give you another dose as soon as we return tomorrow!" he teased as Merec quickly put on the missing pieces for him again.

"You better hurry back to me!" Lainah stated sternly as she watched the armour being fastened in place, loving how the bright yellow metal against the near-black scales made her mate look even more dashing. Quickly, the last pieces were in place and the two of them started heading to the door.

"See you soon," they both greeted her with a smile when they reached the door.

"Good luck!" she replied, a little sad that they had to go. As they started to leave, she quickly added "And Gahnty, Merec... be safe!"

"We will!" Merec gave the promise he knew he shouldn't make. But it seemed to be exactly what the draine needed to hear as she nodded to them with a satisfied grumble of understanding allowing her two mates to leave for the assembly without another complaint.

The hike to the main parade ground passed quicker than either of them expected and they were surprised to find the assembly not even expecting them yet. The lower ranks of Lúgroccan pairs were still milling about, talking amongst themselves and seemingly still unsure of the exact reason for this late call to arms while the council themselves were softly arguing amongst themselves.

"Wait, is the entire order here?" Gahntuar asked surprised, quickly counting off all twenty-eight trained pairs they had in residence, every single one fully armoured and armed, ready for the coming fight. To one side he noticed a tired Ethiene and her worried wolf rider, and he scolded himself for not seeking Jerielle out sooner as he had promised Tembarah earlier.

"I see our babysitters are ready, at least!" Merec commented, nodding to the back of the impressive display where eight of the most promising dragons who were still riderless also came to the assembly in their full battle armour, talking a little nervously with the eight yellow magi the archmagus had insisted needs to join them.

"... cannot leave The Camp completely unattended!" Harald was saying exasperatedly as the two of them approached the cluster of council members huddled together in deep discussion.

"But The Camp will not be completely deserted!" Roccan'her Aerhin countered, equally exasperated. "Most of the trainees will still be here as well as the..."

"Roccan'her Harald is right," Glenn sided with the old captain. "It will not be smart to leave our Camp and the untested trainees vulnerable."

"We need experienced pairs to watch our backs, least the Umbrins happen to find all of us away from The Camp and take the opportunity for a surprise counterattack," Harald pressed his point further "

"I... I understand, sir!" Aerhin conceded some ground. "But we are expecting there to be well over thirty Umbrins stationed at this forward base of theirs at the very least. We are already outnumbered as it is!"

"We will just have to make the most of the element of surprise!" Lekreh stated with a confident clack of his beak. "We've beaten attacks from them off before despite them usually having superior numbers on the field."

"Perhaps," Aerhin sighed. "Though, I don't like it. We have never attacked a strong point of theirs before."

"I don't like it either," Harald agreed. "but I like leaving our backs open even less."

"I have to concede to that point, sir!" Aerhin finally relented.

"Though, who are we going to leave behind then?" Jerielle asked, looking around at the assembled dragons and snorting in surprise when she noticed Gahntuar there.

"I suggest that you let Lúg'gon Ethiene remain behind," Gahntuar stated calmly, looking over to the mentioned golden draine.

"Ethiene?" Jerielle repeated, shocked at the proposal. "But she is one of our best squad leaders..."

"I know," Gahntuar sighed, trying to sound calm and not to look over at an anxious Tembarah nearby who herself pretended not to be listening in even though she was not joining the raid tonight. "I wanted to talk to you about it earlier, but I was a little caught up, to be honest. I sent her on an errand last night and she has barely had any rest as a result. You can see she is about to fall asleep where she is standing!" It was probably a bit of an exaggeration, he thought to himself. The deep golden draine's head seemed a little too heavy for her neck, but she stood at attention in a brave attempt to hide her exhaustion from a casual observer. "Another night's hard flight and little sleep and, despite her skill, she will not be of any use to you during the coming action."

"I... see what you mean..." Aerhin admitted, a little worried that he had missed that, too caught up in preparing for the coming battle as he was.

"What errant did you ask of her?" Jerielle asked surprised.

"You are a draine yourself," Gahntuar smirked, leaning over to her conspiratorially. "I think you know it is best not to ask about the cravings of a draine in heat..."

"Oh, yes!" the second in command of the Lúgroccae chirp excitedly like a hatchling presented her first meal. "I heard your mate is finally in heat!" When Gahntuar looked questioningly at her, she elaborated. "Oh, Laethia informed us, and Merec also mentioned something along those lines to me earlier after he returned from the Amber Tower."

"Right," the drake replied, crest flat in embarrassment and glaring at his rider. Breeding is nothing to be shy about amongst dragons, but nor was it something that needed to be announced for all to hear.

"So why don't you can take that week of yours off then?" Lekreh asked, not even bothering to hide his lewd grin. "I believe that is the policy for all breeding dragons."

"I definitely plan to be a much less active as the leader of the Lúgroccae for the next few days," Gahntuar admitted, returning the gryphon's smirk. "But surely I'm expected to join in with this attack? This is the largest action we've ever planned and the first time we are launching an attack on one of their strongholds as well."

"Actually, that is not the case!" Harald stated in his usual patient way of tutoring. "It is only for exceptional circumstances that you as the leader will need to lead an attack, and even though it is the first time that we truly strike back at our enemy, this doesn't count as important enough. Therefore, despite the Amber Tower giving you leave to go on the offensive, I strongly discourage you from personally leaving The Camp."

"Do not worry, sir!" Aerhin quickly said when both Gahntuar and Merec looked like they were going to argue the point. "Jerielle and I are more than capable to stand in for you."

"Just for the week, mind you!" Jerielle snapped quickly, sounding a little worried about the prospect of added responsibilities. "I don't want to be Lúg'hir permanently!" The red draine's outburst helped to relieve the tension the small group of council members had not even realised was in the air.

"Very well then, thank you!" Merec accepted through the light chuckling before Gahntuar could resume his arguments as to why he had to be present. "Good hunting then!"

"Thank you, sir!" Jerielle replied quickly, hoping for things to get moving again and for the small group to forget her reaction to becoming Lúg'hir Vicarium.

"Although," Harald suddenly stated before Merec could turn around again. "It will still be a good idea for the Roccan'hir and Lúg'hir to address to those assembled here and wish them luck before they leave."

"Let us just inform Lúg'gon Ethiene that she and her squad need to stay behind to guard The Camp!" Aerhin stated softly, still not that happy with not getting the number of dragons he wanted for the mission.

"They will not be pleased to hear they are to stay behind, I think!" Jerielle muttered as they walked away.

"What should we talk to them about?" Merec asked nervously as he watched the assembled dragons and riders finally notice that he and Gahntuar were also present. He had never been one for public speaking and he still couldn't shake the nerves whenever he had to address the Lúgroccae as a whole.

"Just summarise what happened and what it is you want from them," Harald suggested, understanding the young man's nerves. "As the strategist here, Lekreh will need to be one to give them more details about how things are to be done. Then finally just let them know that you have faith in them and wish them good luck."

"Yes, sir!" Merec replied, mulling the advice over a moment. To the side he saw Jerielle and Aerhin talk to Ethiene and Steivan. Knowing the truth of their situation, he could see that the pair were secretly relieved to remain behind, even though they pretended to be upset at having gotten guard duty while the rest of their colleagues would be flying off to war without them. Still, they accepted their fate without much convincing needed and with a now obviously tired nod, the golden draine called to her squad to fall out of the parade.

"Right then, let's get this going then," Merec sighed, giving Eric the nod to proceed when Aerhin and Jerielle returned to rejoin the council at the head of the parade ground.

"Lúgroccae!" the equine called out in his loud voice. "Ah-Ten-tion!"

There was a short rattle of plate armour setting into position as the Lúgroccae before them snapped quickly and orderly to attention. Merec and Gahntuar step forward from the line of council members so that they could address the assembly. There had been plans some time ago to create a stage for the council to sand on when addressing an assembly like this, but the slight rise in the natural lay of the land worked well enough for the dragons, so like many of their ideas they just never gotten around to it. Still, on the inspiration of the moment, Merec moulded a small Manashape he had seen the archmagus use from time to time to amplify sound for him and Gahntuar.

"This morning," Merec started, sounding much more confident than he truly felt "one of our reaction teams managed to successfully chase off a raiding party of Umbrin dragons from our south-eastern border without incurring any loss of life to themselves nor the family to whose aid they had flown. They were however able to gather some vital information for us. Today, we can finally put a name to the dragon who had been nipping at our tails and have been harassing the dragons within our territory. The dragon known as the Claw of the Master is a draine called Ikessa."

"She is the mate of the previous Claw of the Master," Gahntuar added quickly, not wanting to be left out "who we all know had once been Seghrien, the drake who lead the attack on Corrumwhell. She seems to have taken over his duties for, whoever this 'Master' is."

"Furthermore," Merec continued, shooting a questioning sideways glance at Gahntuar "they were able to ascertain a possible location from where this Ikessa is executing her raids against Lumor dragons who have come to us for protection."

At that, excited whispers started to hum from between the Lúgroccae ranks. Not interested to call for attention again, Merec used another Manashape he had seen the archmagus use to great effect, one that ignited with a loud snapping sound. As the startling clap faded into the dusky distance, silence befell the parade ground again.

"This is the first time we were able to identify the location of their current base of operations, as they have been careful not to stay too long in one area," Merec continued. "Therefore, we must act swiftly to turn the tide of this war. We are finally going to stop only reacting to their movements and take the initiative ourselves." There was another murmur of excitement at his words, but it faded before Merec could mould another snapping shape. "Roccan'her Glenn and Lúg'her Lekreh will take you through what is going to be happening tonight. If you please..."

Gahntuar and Merec step back, grateful to be out of direct scrutiny of the group of Dragonriders who could barely contain their excitement. Glenn and Lekreh step forward, obviously a little more confident in their role.

"Our target has been identified as a large overhang in a secluded ravine where the Belthean River turns westward," Glenn started, Aerhin quickly forming the same volume increasing shape for her. "Those that often execute missions in that direction will realize that we will be conducting this operation very close to the ruins of Juinkarr itself. Therefore, it is imperative that our approach remain undetected and we strike fast and true. To this end, we will be travelling there during the dead of night."

"I know dragons don't like flying in the cold of night," Lekreh quickly added just as the upset murmurs started up again "but our only hope of success is complete surprise. In the dark, we will be able to reach and surround this stronghold without alerting the Umbrins to our presence. Then, taking a lesson from their tactics against us, we need to strike hard and quick and disperse from the area before they can send for reinforcements from Juinkarr. We need to send them a message that we will not tolerate any congregation of hostile forces on our borders, we will not allow them the freedom to strike at the lands we protect." The ageing gryphon halted for a moment to let the contents of his speech sink in, especially the part about those whom they protected. Then, satisfied that the importance of their role was brought home to them, he turned to indicate to the dragon and rider behind him. "Roccan'her Edward and Lúg'her Gharavhan will be leading the attack. Now, the usual military strategy would dictate that we first scout the exact lay of the land and precisely assess the strength of our enemy before we make our move, but there is a strong indication that the Umbrins may be aware that the location of their base had been compromised so we must act swiftly before they could slip away from us again... or arrange a trap for us. Still, our scouts were able to report enough useful information for us to develop a proper plan of attack. Master Arathen, if you please."

Another elf in a bright yellow cape that indicated he was an affiliate of the Amber Tower, stepped up and with Aerhin, they create an illusion that representation of the mountains around their target as described by Farriha and Cyril's report. In simple but precise statements, the gryphon went through their plan of attack, how they were to approach the sheltered overhang, where the various squad leaders were to take up positions to surround the stronghold, and the signals to attack or withdraw. Finally, they covered the directions each squad were to disperse in at the end of the raid and where they were to meet up again after the attack. By the time the briefing was done, the sun had gone completely, and deep dusk was setting in.

"Lúg'gon Ethiene and her squad will be keeping the fort during this attack to ensure that the Umbrins do not use this opportunity to lay waste to The Camp while we are all out," Lekreh completed the mission briefing "Are there any questions?"

There was a slight murmur, but it died down on its own with no questions asked.

"Roccan'hir Merec..." the gryphon stated, handing the attention back to the startled human.

Merec cleared his throat, buying a second or so of time to try and decide what more could be said. Everything had been covered, right?

"Tonight," he finally decided to say "we will be turning the tables against the forces that had been harassing us these past three years. Tonight, we will be showing them that they cannot fly around, nipping at our tails without fear of reprisal. Tonight, we take the initiative from them and teach them it is time that they need to start looking over their shoulders!" For a desperate moment, he wondered exactly how he was to end this assembly. Everything he could think of sounded rather lame to him and considering what they were up against, they needed all the inspiration they could get. Eventually, he had to settle for the obvious. "Good luck, and good hunting!"

"Remain vigilant, fight hard, and fly true!" Gahntuar came to the rescue, feeling he had to add something to the discussions. It seemed to have been exactly what was needed as the excited murmuring started up again.

"Right then, Lúgroccae!" Lúg'gon Gharavhan snapped. "Saddle up!"

The excited murmur exploded into all-out hisses and whispers as the riders saddled up. One by one, the squads called in their readiness to take flight and in no time at all, the order was given to take to the wing. It was an impressive sight to see the Lúgroccae take to the sky, quickly disappearing amongst the first stars of the night.

"It is rather weird to be sending others out to do the fighting for you," Merec commented as he watched the last specks of dragon fade from view. "I hope they will be okay! "

"They will be fine," Harald stated, turning to follow Eric's example and retire for the night early. "Now, off with you two. I believe you are on a week's leave at the moment!" Merec blushed slightly at the mention of Gahntuar's leave that applied to him as well, but in the dark, the awkward moment was lost on the elder human. The drake, on the other hand, purred in delight at the thought of the coming week, making the old man chuckle.

"Yeah, I know a draine who will be thrilled to hear that someone did not have to go off to war." Merec agreed, trying to hide his awkwardness.

"Just a draine?" Gahntuar grinned, practically prancing on the spot.

"Oh, the vitality of dragons!" Harald chuckled, turning to take his leave. "Good luck, lad!" he smirked, not knowing the full extent to which the younger human male needed luck on his side. "If they become too loud to handle, you can always come crash with me for the week."

"Thank you, sir! But I think I'll just have to manage," Merec smiled, knowing that if he did try to escape, the desperate draine would just track him down and drag him back to her nest. Harald, obviously not understanding Merec's predicament just laughed as he left them alone.

"Right then," Gahntuar growled, already a little needy again as he started nudging his human back to their accommodation. "Time to go tell Lainah the good news!"

***

Sir Adulsworth wasn't sure if he would ever be able to eat meat again.

Even in the dark night around them, he could see the curl of the smoke in the amber light of the bonfires, carrying with it the acrid scent of burnt fur and charring flesh. He wanted to dismount his horse, run to the nearest bush and empty the contents of his stomach at the overpowering smell that was assaulting all his senses. But he did not. He had recently been promoted to major in the armed forces of the Alliance of Light after all, and as such was expected to attend these proceedings without fear or favour. It was one of his captains who had uncovered this band of Shadowfriends and made the arrest in the first place, and it was he who had agreed that these low-lives needed to be brought before the tribunal at the Temple of Light in Naeve.

They had waited for even the last red hue of sunlight to disappear completely before the executions were carried out. It was a ritualistic tradition, meant to impress upon those assembled to witness the death of the traitors to the Light that these condemned souls have abandoned the Light and now had to die in the dark. It was a powerful symbolic statement that there was no more hope for the Shadowfriends lost souls anymore.

'Still, there is the light of the fire itself to bring solace!' The strange thought occurred to the middle-aged human before he could catch himself and he sat there, wondering about the statement. Surely it was impossible for one who had turned away from the Light to ever enjoy its warm glory again. The Annuals of Light said as much! So why should the light of the fire matter? Could it be that the Light never truly abandoned someone? Or that the Light was never absent, even in the darkest of moments? Both ideas were far-fetched, yet he had trouble coming up with a written quote, either in the Sanctum Illud or the Annuals of Light to refute either suggestion on such short notice.

It left him with a cold feeling inside as he watched the flames of the bonfires lick and curl about the charred things that had only hours ago been living, speaking people. The bonfires had taken flame much more quickly than Adulsworth had anticipated. He knew how easily hair, and by extension fur could catch fire but he had not anticipated some quite that... dramatic.

'At least there is the light of the fire itself!' He shuddered at the thought. How bad does it have to get to find solace in the Light of the very thing that destroyed you? Pray the Light that he will never end up in a place where he had to resort to such drastic hopes. As he sat there on his feral horse, he promised himself that he will make sure never to deserves a fate like that!

'And the condemned in front of him did deserve it?' his rebellious mind suggested again, making him cringe inside.

'Yes!' he screamed at himself within his mind, but it left a bitter taste in his mouth. He tried to ignore it, but it just wouldn't go away. And he knew exactly why he couldn't shake the feeling of dread he was feeling!

The three Shadowfriends, two leonae and an ursine, had been tried and convicted by the sitting of a full tribunal panel of the Alliance. Unlike him, they were highly qualified to make such decisions and he had to trust their judgement on the matter. These three were after all caught in the middle of conducting a magical ritual despite not being affiliated with the Circle of Five. There was no question about it. Of course, the three had proclaimed their innocence, vehemently stating that they were merely exploring natural magic together where they could pursue their interest in healing and augmenting natural abilities without suffering the rejection of their families. But a witness testified that the activities they were involved in, was some kind of summoning ritual to contact a powerful warlock from the shadowlands.

There were none in the tribunal to confirm nor deny the statement, thus the fate of the Shadowfriends was sealed. And therein was what troubled the human so. Adulsworth would have felt better about this conviction if they had someone present who knew something about magic. But an unfortunate comment by the High Commissioner regarding the original roots of the Alliance back in the days of the Witchwars had caused the relationship between them and the Circle of Five to … slip.

Again, the human berated himself for his dangerous thoughts. It was not his place to question his betters. Lord Achius had followed the lead of Lady Fucia, both much wiser in the workings of the Light than himself, to gain more favour with the leonae, the ursidae and the tigrae. They were all three well-known species with a deep cultural dislike to magic. It did not mean that the Alliance was going to return to the culture where it came from in the First Age and start hunting down all magic users with extreme precedence! They would destroy only the Shadowspawn and those who openly followed their dark ways like those dragon-worshipers up north. True, that last group had found some kind of sanctuary at the Amber Tower, but it was still no reason to turn against all magi! Shadow's Pit, he was good friends with a kind-hearted cervine who had recently been accepted into the Nacre Tower!

Adulsworth sighed a deep breath to calm his troubled mood and instantly regretted it when the stinking smoke filled his nostrils.

"Divina lux illuminat tenebras, benedixitque gratiam dei!" he whispered to himself, steeling his resolve towards the Light. It was unwise to question the direct representatives of the Light on Selebore. The tribunal had found them guilty and as such, they had to pay the price.

He dared to look up again at the dancing flames that were burning at their highest right now. He could not start to question the motives of the Alliance, the justice of their fight, or the glory of the Light.

He would never betray his calling.

***

The pale blue draine hissed annoyed as she stared out at the night beyond the large cavernous overhang. Ikessa had felt exposed ever since that injured drake had returned from the previous day's strike mission. The drake may have been older than her, but even so, he was one of the younger and less experienced dragons taking shelter here. So, it was no surprise that the death of his companions and the intimidation of the Lúgroccae who had caught him afterwards had broken his resolve. Utterly humiliated, he had confessed to her about telling the Lúgroccae all that he knew about her. But despite his shortcomings, he remained adamant that he had not revealed this hiding spot to their enemy.

Ikessa had her doubts, however. She remembered her own escape from the disastrous invasion of the peninsula where her first mate had died. Scared and alone, she had been desperate to make her way back to safety and if she hadn't had found a spot to hide when the gryphon army first caught up with them, she would have fled back in a blind panic without looking back. She didn't blame the young drake, but she didn't think he had the presence of mind to make sure he was not being followed back here either. If she was in his place, she doubted she would have done better.

But what was done is now in the past. No matter what either of them thought about his performance, that didn't change the fact that she didn't feel safe right now. She wanted to leave, but there was one problem holding her back.

"Any news regarding Chilard?" she asked the dark brown drake who was keeping a wary eye on her behalf over the younger drakes keeping watch. He snorted in surprise, looking around at her sharply when she spoke.

"Should you not be resting, my lady?" he rumbled, genuinely worried about her wellbeing and despite her worry, she felt her heart soar at his consideration. He was an old drake, already a veteran of the very original Dragonhunts nearly a century before and as such he tended to watch over her like a father figure. But despite his more advanced age and experience, he was very willing to accept her authority as Claw of the Master over him and as such he respected and obeyed her with undying loyalty. She felt his devotion to her was something stronger than the simple fear Quattor's name invoked in the lower ranking dragons, but exactly what that was she was not sure. If she hadn't known better, she would have guessed that the old drake was in love with her.

"Harkor!" she berated him with a playful nip. "You are not my father!"

"Which I am very grateful for!" the elder drake grinned, lightly returning her nip much to her shock. "That means I don't have to feel bad about mating with you!" She nipped at him harder as a genuine reprimand, but only received a chuckle in return. "What? To be one of only two drakes allowed to mount the Claw herself is truly a great honour!"

With a snort she conceded the point, having learnt some time ago not to argue small points like this with him. Admittedly, she had taken to mating her two most trusted followers in a bit to rub her authority off on them in the eyes of the lower drakes. She had seen the Lúg'hir had started to delegate smaller tasks to trusted lieutenants instead of trying to manage everything himself, and she had decided to follow suit. It was a decision she was very glad she made, for as her war with the Lúgroccae intensified, she found their assistance more and more indispensable. And especially Harkor's level-headed advice and steady support was the only thing helping her through this impossible task set to her by the Master and her that stupid vow for vengeance.

Her other lieutenant, Fernel was also a great assistant in this fight. He did not have quite the decades on him that Harkor could boast with, but he was still quick of mind and experienced in the field, and as such a worthy choice for lieutenant. But she did not feel nearly the same way about him as her older confidant. The bluish-black drake often called himself the only remaining 'true' offspring of Gullivarth Himself and it created in him an impressive self-important image of himself that seemed to rule his every thought. And though he could name the drakes and draines he claims to be descended from back to the Black King Himself, Ikessa had always suspected it was only a story he used to get tail as often as possible.

Not that she cared about his motives either way! He was a good, natural leader and she made proper use of his skills, so she did not regret her decision to promote him... most of the time. He did have one great flaw other than his incredibly vain nature, and that was his brittle temper whenever his heritage was questioned. He once nearly struck Ikessa herself when she had pointed out that the Shameblood could also trace his linage back to Gullivarth and only Harkor's quick intervention had saved his position back then.

No, she did not like the black drake in the least. She will still allow him to claim her from time to time, to fix in place his role as her lieutenant. But when this was over, she intended never to see him again. She couldn't shake the feeling that he was using her only as a thermal to attain even greater heights, but she did not even care about those motives of his. He could take over the title of Claw of the Master as soon as her vow was fulfilled for all she cared if that would be the end of their interaction with one another. Harkor on the other hand... she allowed herself a smile at the thought of a dull decade or three hidden away with him, safe from the annoying demands of the rest of the Shadowlands. It has only ever been the previous Claw of the Master who had made her felt like this and she hoped to spend some really happy years with him! Maybe even her next clutch, Procellerus willing.

"I couldn't sleep," Ikessa finally admitted with a tired sigh, momentarily turning her back on her favourite lieutenant to look out into the night again. In the east, the first slithers of silver light were promising the dawn was not far off anymore. "I fear our time is short. I'm worried about Chilard's group who hasn't returned yet! I feel trapped here, but as long as we have dragons still out there, I dare not abandon this place. I do not want to abandon those who trust in me!"

Harkor hushed her with a quick nuzzle. "Don't worry about Chilard," he said "He has gone way north towards the Ice Mountains and shouldn't be back for another day at least. He is a smart dragon and can think on the wing, I would really suggest him if you are ever in need of a third lieutenant." He grinned at her, his smirk filled with hidden implications before he became serious again. "But if you think we need to leave, then we leave. Your military instincts are second to no one else I have ever had the pleasure to meet. As for Chilard, he will know to take precaution when he finds us gone."

"Thank you," Ikessa smiled, returning his nuzzle and fighting back a happy croon. "But I think we still have some time. Even if our enemy knew where we are hiding, it will take some time for them to get an attack organized." She sighed, looking northwest into the night to where her enemy's camp was situated. "Their best move would be to scout the region out first. They need to get a better feel of the land and the strength of our forces before they can dare to do anything constructive. At least our forward watchers haven't reported any movement from their direction yet, but the longer we wait the more vulnerable we become." She was silent for a bit before making her decision. "Still, I want to leave today, as soon as the air is warm enough for us to fly!"

"It will be done, my lady!" Harkor agreed professionally, the supportive parent suddenly gone. "Where do you intend for us to go next?"

"The Lumors has started to become a little too active for my liking in this region," Ikessa thought out loud. "I think it may prove fruitful to disband for a month or so and allow them to become complacent again."

"Very well," Harkor agreed with a firm nod, before tilting his head curiously. "I take it you are eager to return to the previous Claw's whelp again then?"

"Of course!" Ikessa smiled, not feeling awkward about admitting her desires to him.

That irritating vow of hers suddenly flared up in protest, but she soothed it away by reminding herself that over-eagerness will only get her killed and then the cursed vow will remain unfulfilled. It seemed to work, as the blazing fire in her chest dulled to a merely uncomfortable pressure. For a moment she wished she had never made that vow, but then her thoughts drifted to the Master. He was already impatient with her lack of progress, but since he had no direct power over her, she knew could handle him and his outbursts. It was the only thing to be thankful for about the vow.

"You could join me, you know!" Ikessa smiled once she had her vow under control again. "I am sure young Seghrien would be happy to meet you!"

"I would be honoured, my lady!" Harkor chirped, his frill raised high in excitement at the prospect of returning with Ikessa to her home.

Ikessa laughed at his reaction and was about to reply when she was interrupted by one of the nearby guards Harkor had posted around their cavern.

"What is that?" the sickly yellow-green drake asked curiously. The group of dragons there, including Ikessa turned to gawk at the strange little speck of green light that shot up high into the sky. It was unlike anything any of them had ever seen and as the light faded from view, they were still baffled as to what it could be.

"Is something happening at Juinkarr?" his companion on watch asked. "Do you think the way to Barathrum Proper is opening again?"

"No, the light seemed way too close!" Ikessa commented, frowning at the strange sight. It wasn't that far-off a suggestion, even she had heard that when Barathrum first opened to Selebore, there had been wondrous displays of light at all the large Manafountains, but she had always imagined them to be much more impressive than a quick spec of green light. A movement to her side caused her to turn her head and she saw that all the watchers had turned to look at the south-eastern horizon in the hopes of catching another glimpse of the strange sight. She growled annoyed with them, opening her mouth to berate them for their lack of discipline. What if the Lumors were to...

Her reprimanding snarl came out as a terrified squeak as cold realisation hit her.

"Quat..." she bit back her curse, not wanting to deal with the annoying Master more than she absolutely had to. Instead, she needed to take constructive action, now! "Everyone, up!" she roared. "Get up! Now!"

"My lady?" Harkor asked, stunned by her sudden outburst. "What...?"

"Help me get them up!" she snapped, cuffing one sleepy drake on the ear and drawing a painful yelp from him. "We're being attacked!"

Probably not the best way to have shared her suspicions, but it got the point across blindingly fast. As her statement registered, a slight panic started to set in amongst the dragons who were awake at that moment. Though some did try to do as they were ordered and wake the sleeping dragons deeper in the cave, most of those who were already up attempted to flee blindly in all directions. They did not get far, however as they were intercepted by the first Lúgroccan pairs even before they could get out from under the overhang.

"Harkor, Fernel! To me!" Ikessa shouted to her lieutenants, even though Harkor was already by her side. Fernel, though he had taken the second guard shift of the night was quick to respond and she sighed with relief when she noticed him bound over to her from where he had been sleeping at the back of the cave. "We need to divide our forces and scatter to not give our enemy a single target to trap!" She snapped her orders at them even as she was cuffing yet another drake who was slow to respond. "Harkor, lead as many as you can to the north while you, Fernel go directly east. We will meet up again at the Gurroc Gap when we are sure we have shaken any followers. Do NOT fight it out," she stressed this last part, glancing over at where the first Lumors and Umbrins were already battling it out. "I say again, DO NOT fight where you don't have to! We need to escape not to win!"

"What about you, my lady?" Fernel asked before Harkor could react, sounding more like he was considering tactics rather than truly worried about her safety.

Ikessa was about to answer when she spotted a deep blue drake with a human rider crash through their outer lines. The human, whose skin was much darker than Ikessa had thought was possible for those irritating monkeys, immediately noticed them and with a victorious shout to his steed, he pointed her out. The cold worry in her mind immediately turned to icy dread as Ikessa realised that bad had just turned to worse.

"They are here for me!" she snarled, realizing that as the only draine in the entire group here she was standing out painfully obvious. Still, that might work in their favour! "I'll lead as many of them as I can to the southeast!" she decided. "Hopefully they will be too preoccupied with chasing me down to be worried about crushing us completely!"

"My Lady!" Harkor gasped appalled. "You cannot truly expect us to..."

"Don't argue and do as I say!" Ikessa snapped, taking a quick swipe at him with a forepaw. Ikessa dared to look back again at the Lúgroccan pair who had identified her and almost squeaked in alarm when she noticed the blue had called over three other pairs and the group of them were already advancing hard upon them. "Go!" she gave her last command and not allowing them to respond, she turned and fled.

Harkor and Fernel finally noticed the group of Lúgroccae rush at them and despite her clear orders, Harkor turned and challenged the blue, who seemed to be leading the other dragons.

"Harkor!" Fernel snarled at his colleague. "The Claw has ordered!"

"Go," Harkor replied as some of the largest Umbrins gathered around him to assist in his last stand. "Someone must make a stand here or all will be lost!"

Deciding not to argue with the stubborn old drake, Fernel turned to flee himself, ramming hard into a smaller yellow draine, who was unable to react quickly enough to her equine rider's warning. The surprised draine stumbled and fell hard to the ground, nearly crushing her rider's leg in the process. It would have been a good opportunity to press his advantage, but the Claw had been right, this was not a fight to win. So, he continued past the draine who was struggling to get up in time to stop him.

"To me!" he called as he neared the edge of the overhang. "To me!"

His calls seemed to have drawn some attention, as another dark brown drake with a wolf rider reared up before him to block his escape off. The brown struck, but Fernel managed to block the attack with an upraised wing as had been done against him multiple times. With a twist of his wing, he intended to throw the Lumor to the ground. But the drake was well trained and slipped from Fernel's grasp without even as much as a stumble. But before either of them could try another move, three Umbrins came running up at them. Completely outnumbered the Lumor had to fall back to where more of his friends were fighting least he was overpowered, and the cluster of Umbrins with Fernel escaped through the opened gap. In the end, some ten Umbrins managed to escape through the gap before the Lumors could close it again.

"Ethor!" Fernel snapped to a dragon he knew off to his left when he noticed five new Lumors appearing from the side to chase after them. "Take three drakes and go east. You there, take three others and go south. Disperse as wide as you can and up meet up with the Claw at the Gurroc Gap! This order comes directly from her! The rest, with me!"

The Umbrins obeyed quickly, dispersing wide into the still dark sky not noticing that their pursuers had been called back to chase after a more valuable target.

***

The thought of calling as much attention to herself occurred to Ikessa as she rushed for the edge of the overhang deepest into the ravine. But she decided against it. Most of the Lumors there will be able to notice her easily enough, no need to do that blue drake's job for him in alerting everyone where she was. And though she wanted as many of the Umbrins to escape this disaster, it would be unwise to sacrifice herself this day. Her impromptu plan revolved around tying up as many of the enemy dragons in a fruitless search for her and to do that she needed to be confident in giving her pursuers the slip. Her ability to disappear was after all the saving grace that allowed her to be still fighting, and though it was her best skill, it would be easier to pull off if she didn't have other Umbrins to worry about with her.

She reached the ledge from where she intended to make her escape without too much trouble, but here she hesitated. It would not do either if she just disappeared altogether. The Lumors had to see in which direction she fled in for her plan to work at all. She turned around, to make sure that the blue drake was still on her heels when she noticed Harkor making a last stand in the middle of the cavern.

"You stupid..." she started to curse his disobedience, the thought of going back to his aid flashing through her mind. She could not bear losing another beloved mate to the Barathrum-forsaken Shameblood! But luckily for her, her military instincts the older drake had praised only moments before kicked in and she restrained herself from doing something stupid. And then she also realized how his action was tying up too many Lumors in the centre of their abandoned shelter, allowing most of the Umbrins to slip through the cracks in the trap and disappear into the still-dark morning sky. Far from a disaster for their side, this was rather becoming a wasted opportunity to the Lumors.

That was only if her best lieutenant managed to survive this assault, that is. Her heart went out to the brave warrior and for a moment she tried to think of a way to assist him. Would a challenging roar from herself work to...

But before she could properly consider a course of action, there was a challenging roar right behind and above her. On sheer instinct, she twisted away before the olive-green draine crashed down on top of her. The Lumor's fox rider was calling desperately to the other Lúgroccae as the draine jumped in front of Ikessa to block off her planned escape. It seems the two of them had identified this ledge as the most likely escape route for her to use and they have been lying in wait for her.

The green draine pounced, striking with a seemingly poor blow at her snout. Ikessa twisted easily out of way and lashed out with her tail in return. Her strike was much better than her opponent's, connecting against the side of the green's head. But the helm she was wearing blocked most of the blow's strength and she managed to step away for another rather poor lunge. Again Ikessa backtracked easily enough before she was pinned. The fox shouted again in a language she did not understand, and the green puffed out her chest and flared her wings and crest in a rather amusing display of challenge.

Then it hit Ikessa! This pathetic draine was not trying to defeat her, but purposefully fighting below her ability as a means to stall her long enough that the rest of her friends could arrive and overwhelm her! With an angry snarl at being outwitted so easily, she risked a glance behind her and noticed that the Lumors who had been fighting Harkor had disengaged from him and was heading her way. Her lieutenant, having seen that he would not be able to assist her any longer, finally obeyed her order and broke through another weak spot in the Lumor trap.

Ikessa returned her attention to her direct challenger, surprised to see her attempting another seemingly weak attack meant to be easily blocked. This will not do, Ikessa realised! She had to break free of this duel or all will be lost, even if most Umbrins had already escaped by now. She jumped to the side and fain an attack at green Lumor's snout. The Lumor reacted as expected, raising her wing to block the strike. Only, Ikessa diverted her blow at the last moment, landing the strike to her opponent's shoulder. The armour protected the green draine from her claws, but the unexpected force had her stumble. Ikessa pounced on this last opportunity, jumping with her whole weight onto the draine in front of her and thus pushing her to the ground. As she fell, Ikessa continued to escape over her back, giving the fox rider a furious swipe when he tried to lash out at her with a sword.

The green draine yelped in terror as Ikessa struck at her rider, rolling completely onto her side in an attempt to twist her rider to safety, but she was unable to save him. Ikessa's claws ripped into the chainmail, the force of her blow intensified by the harness that held him in place upon his steed's back. Ikessa did not wait to see what damage her attack had done. The green's desperate manoeuvre had only served to give her the opening she needed and she jumped cleanly over the downed draine, fleeing blindly down the rock-strewn valley and into the quickly failing dark.

"After her!" she heard a drake order sharply and she dove for a scattering of large boulders, with an opening barely visible in the gloom between them that seemed to be too small to fit a dragon. Still, she knew how the wriggle into such small spaces and within moments she was gone from sight. And just in time, as five Lumors rushed past her hiding spot in a desperate attempt to catch up with her in the breaking morning. With a soft sigh of relief, she settled down for the long wait, safe in her belief that they would not be able to find her hiding spot before they had to retreat themselves. She smirked at the confused shouts from the cavern above, and before long five more Lumors took to the wing attempting to assist their friends in tracking her down.

"Cyril, no!" the desperate wail of a draine from somewhere above her pulled Ikessa's attention away from the disappearing cluster of dragons. "Please! Hang on!"

Ikessa awkwardly twisted in the space barely big enough for her and was surprised to see it was the olive-green draine who had nearly caught her. Three other Lúgroccae pairs were with her, their riders quickly busy disconnecting her fox rider from her saddle and laying him down on the ground. The group of dragons were desperately trying to calm the anxious draine down as the civils started tending to their fallen friend. But it was quickly apparent that there was nothing to be done for him. As one covered the dead fox's face with a cloth in a strange form of reverence, the green drain screamed a call of deep sorrow and loss... as if she had lost a beloved whelp or mate.

For a moment, Ikessa felt bad at having inflicted such pain to another draine, recalling her own sorrow at the death of Seghrien. Was she doing the right thing opposing the Lumors so vehemently? But the vow... her vow... Ikessa snarled at herself. For once the burning vow was barely a dull ache in her chest and she couldn't use it as an excuse to harden her resolve against the Lumors.

But she couldn't afford to question the orders of the Master! For all his shortcomings, the God of Barathrum had ordained that the demon was her better and she had to obey his every command. Furthermore, the Lumors were responsible for Segrien's death and she will not let regret stand in her way of achieving her vengeance! Still, she could not help but bow her head in condolence with the green draine who had collapsed to the ground to mourn.

"Oranne!" the drake who seemed to be giving the orders snapped. Ikessa looked up again to see a drake who appeared black in the gloom of the breaking day walk up to the ledge. For a moment, as he looked out over the lightening valley below them, she thought it was the Shameblood. But no, this drake had a lupine rider and was wearing an armour that had a reddish tint to it rather than the gold she had seen the Shameblood start to wear. Another amber drake in a bluish armour came over and after a quick discussion, the amber one called over four more dragons. Orders were given and the five of them also disembarked from the cave, following the other groups of lumors who had thought they chased after her.

What was it with five all the time? And where was the Shameblood? True, from the dark confines of the little hollow created by the large fallen boulders where she was hiding, she could not see much of the world around her, but she did not see nor hear him at all that morning. Could it be that he was by now so strong within the Lumor ranks that he did not need to come out to fight her anymore? Did he direct the war now as Quattor did from the safety of his Sanctum? If that was the case, it complicated her job even more. It meant that nothing they could do here would be enough to lure him away from his encampment anymore.

Ikessa bit back an annoyed growl. If that was the case, they needed to come up with a new strategy to kill the Lumor leader and bring his heart to the Master. They had to somehow...

"Farriha!" one of the drakes with the green draine suddenly shouted. "No! Don't!"

Ikessa instinctively crouched low into the wet gravel her hiding spot, fearing that someone might have spotted her. A shadow appeared just above her hiding spot and for a moment Ikessa wanted to bolt, but another tackled it before it could gain the proper space for flight and pinned it to the ground uncomfortably close to her hiding spot.

"LET ME GO!" the olive-green draine snarled, clawing and even biting at the red drake who was holding her down. "SHE KILLED CYRIL!"

Another, brighter green dragon appeared to assist the red in holding her down. They were kicking up such a fuss that Ikessa was worried that they would draw attention to her. Indeed, many of the dragons still in the cavern above them came to the ledge to look at what was going on, only to quickly avert their gaze. Then she almost snorted in surprise as she realised the racket was against expectation assisting her escape, drawing attention away from the search for her!

"Lúg Farriha!" a new voice suddenly commanded and the blue drake with the dark human who had first come for her appeared. "That is enough!" Though he spoke softly, his tone was stern and filled with true authority that she even seemed to surpass her own. She was surprised to find the calm demeanour that simply expected obedience was scarier than the raging bully most of the Umbrin leaders chose to adopt! Only Harkor came close to commanding this much authority and for once she realized why he was her best lieutenant.

The green draine, Farriha, collapsed again, all fight gone again. "But... but..." she sobbed.

"I know your rider is dead," the blue continued patiently, a hint of a sad whine to his voice. "But remember your training, do not fall for the lure of reckless action!"

"Then let me go," the green whined, some of her fight returning but only to struggle weakly against the two holding her down. "I need to find her! I need to... need to..."

"And how will getting yourself killed help?" the blue snapped sternly. "What do you think Cyril would have said to you?"

At the statement, the draine seemed to give up completely.

"He... he would have reminded me that... we need her … alive..." she muttered dejectedly, hating the truth of the statement.

"And we need to be gone from here before the day breaks properly!" the blue added, looking up at the peach-coloured morning as five more dragons departed in a desperate pursuit of the escaped Claw. His human suddenly added something Ikessa didn't understand, pointing to where a rider needed to be assured that his badly wounded yellow drake was not in as bad a condition as he looked. Though she recognized the name Juinkarr, the comment was lost on the hiding draine. Yet, it seemed to have the desired effect as the now riderless draine agreed wordlessly and when the two holding her down released her, she wordlessly followed them back to the cave.

All fight had seemingly gone from her, though Ikessa had the distinct impression that it would not be good for her to ever glide on the same wind as that Farriha again. She could see it in her eyes as she turned to glared down the valley one last time, the tensing of her haunches as she momentarily considered taking flight again despite the clear orders given by her better. She remembered her own mood when Seghrien had died... and she could guess what was truly going through the green's mind.

Vengeance.

Somewhere, in the back of her mind, a strange thought started to form. Could it be that the Lúgroccae's greatest strength could also be their greatest weakness? It was an intriguing thought, and the more she considered it the more plausible it seemed. It was only when she attacked the rider directly that the green draine had allowed her the opportunity to escape.

She smirked at herself with new confidence. Yes, it was definitely something that needed further investigations, but also a tactic that she needed to keep to herself, at least until the most opportune moment.

With a soft sign, Ikessa settled down in the cold wet gravel covering the floor of her small hiding spot. This was going to be a long wait before she had the opportunity to escape back to the Shadowlands.

Before she can start to plan her next strike at them.

Whatever she decided on next, she had to make it count!

End.