My arrow perfectly split the monstrosity's face in two, and I had to do my best to not immediately run towards Aros, who was now lying on the ground, in a state of convulsions, as if he was having a seizure. With a cry, I jumped out of Eimid's saddle and ran towards the shrieking Vortexia, who was attempting to pull the arrow out of its face with its disgusting, bony hands.

It seemed as if the monster felt no pain, for it did so with a disgusting slowness: the sound of tearing of soggy flesh resounded, and made me nauseous.

Behind me I heard the roar of my dragon, and I saw how he flung one of the creatures through the air. Before the Vortexia that I had shot could react, I grabbed Rellian's old dagger and slit open its throat, green slime dripping out of the monster as it fell dead to the ground.

Panting, I looked around the field, ready to strike again, but all I encountered was death and destruction. The clearing was littered with the bodies of Vortexiae, dragons, and Ecrians, and the fog of the night roamed over them, as if it was claiming the bodies as its property. Broken weapons were lit by the moons of Ecra, and there remained an almost absolute silence,  breached by the groans of the remaining guild members.

How many guild members did we lose?

"Nena...?"

I turned around, and my eyes met with Aros'. He had woken up again from the weird seizure-like attack he had suffered. 

Still lying on the grassy ground, he weakly extended his hand to me, and I crouched down next to him worriedly, even though at first glance he did not seem to have suffered much.

"Did we win...?"

The faint whisper almost brought me to tears. He sounded in pain.

"Yes. Yes we did."

...

"I want to take Nena with me."

The meeting after the attack took place in the morning in the large, tent-like building put up in the middle of the island. Up until now, I hadn't really been paying attention, as I was busy admiring the engineering talent of the guild's builders. With incredible skill, they had constructed the giant Viking-like hut in just a few days, all without getting in the way of others.

There was only one large, circular room, intended for meetings or large celebrations. But now was not the time for the latter.

While the leaders, who were sat around a wooden table, discussed what had happened the previous night, some builders of the Blue and Red Guild were busy hanging up banners of the various guilds on the walls, so as to have at least some kind of decoration. The other guild members had either come to listen to the meeting, or were resting, or looking after the younger Ecrians, or helping the medjacks.

When Rexus said my name, I startled up from my thoughts. What were they even talking about? I couldn't help but feel a little bit embarrassed about my absence.

"Nena, what do you think? Would you mind going back to Eastborne with Rex? We really need all the supplies we can get."

Kindle's talent for leadership surprised me. One minute, he would be a joker, giggling foolishly all the time; the next, he would be very dutiful and purposeful, ready to sacrifice everything for our guild. But then again, that's why Aros appointed him in the first place: to take over when he had other things to do. My thoughts drifted off to the green guild leader: Lec, one of our medjacks, had said that he would be fine, but that he needed a lot of rest. I wondered if he was sleeping well.

"Nena?"

Kindle was once again looking at me urgently, tilting his head slightly in an interrogative manner. The other leaders, who fortunately were not injured during the battle, also glanced at me.

So, all the dragon breeders would be going back to the Guild camps? Or at least, what was left of them? Now that the individual force fields were not maintained, anything and anyone could enter whenever they wanted. A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of the monsters I had fought last night, creeping through the Dragon Hall, rummaging through the personal belongings of my friends.

I let out a sigh before I gave my answer.

"I mean, it's the least I could do. After all, it's my fault that this whole battle took place."

Discordant murmurs rose from the small group of Ecrians gathered around the round table on wooden bleachers. It felt like I was in a talk show.

Kindle completely ignored the fact that I blamed myself for the whole fight, which did hurt me. Somehow, I hoped that he'd comfort me in some way, that he'd say it wasn't my fault. But he didn't.

"Good that. The other dragon breeders are already outside, you should fly in one group as much as possible, for your own safety."

Without waiting for me, Rexus walked towards the exit of the hut, which consisted of a red tent canvas, as if it were the entrance to a festival tent. Once there, he quickly looked over his shoulder and gave Kindle a quick nod before disappearing outside.

The knot in my stomach only grew bigger as I followed the dragon breeder, leaving the leaders and those interested in the gathering behind.

Eimid was already waiting for me, ready to go to home base.

Eastborne.

...

Our column of dragon breeders initially flew in one group, but after a while the dragon breeders of each guild had to go their own way. Yellow and Brown flew south, and we flew north together with Red and Blue. I could not help but feel totally out of place: why did Rexus ask me along if this was a mission strictly for dragon breeders? They knew everything there was to know about Kleim, about all of Ecra! I didn't even know the traditions that formed the basis of Ecrian society.

Rexus broke the sober silence by saying we were close enough to Eastborne to leave the four Dragon breeders of the Red and Blue guild, and they nodded respectfully before continuing their journey as Rexus and I descended just a little bit.

The dragon breeder held off talking until the others had become tiny, dark specs on the horizon, as we flew just above the tops of the jungle trees.

"I know we've only just entered our territory, but I needed to ask you something. Something important."

I couldn't immediately think of what he would want to ask, but he didn't wait for me to answer and he came flying right next to me.

"Aros may have told you that we have to pick out a new dragon breeder soon. Or at least, someone that will be trained by me to become one. A pupil, if you will."

I had to try my best to not pull on the reins as I stared at horizon, a deep sadness washing over me. The sun was coming up on our left at a rapid pace, warming my face with its rays. I didn't want to think about Rellian. It was too early for that, the hole his death left in my heart was still too fresh.

I stubbornly forced Eimid to fly faster, and Rexus let out an annoyed groan as he easily caught up on me with his sand dragon. He forced my dragon to fly on site as he hung right in front of me, holding a rigorous finger in front of my face.

"Listen here Nena. You're not the only one who lost a friend. Rellian was my best friend. I've known him since forever, since before the guilds were even a thing. At one point, I even wished we could be more than just friends, but I was too late to tell him how I felt. He's gone now. Forever."

He paused as he swallowed, clearly fighting back tears, frowning in an attempt to keep the same emotionless expression that always loomed on his face. I never knew that Rexus thought this way of Rellian, and I suddenly felt a deep compassion for my older friend.

"I'm not saying you should suck your feelings up, but you're not the only one grieving, okay? I'm sick and tired of having to hide my emotions all the time because I'm supposed to be the wise older friend. I'm done."

He almost shouted out those last words in pure frustration, but I knew that he wasn't angry at me. It's one of those things people do when they feel powerless, when they're angry at themselves.

Even our dragons looked uncomfortable.

"Rex..."

"We should go to Eastborne. We can talk there. This is not a good spot."

I let out a sad sigh after the dragon breeder had turned his back to me, and we started flying straight ahead again.

We flied on for a bit, until we saw the crest of the Dragon Hall.

Or at least, what was left of it.

Thick bluish grey smoke billowed up from the charred tree, and Rexus and I coughed as we made our way to the airstrip of our obviously destroyed camp.

Coughing, Rexus climbed out of the saddle, and I followed his example, wrapping my scarf around my mouth and nose to breathe in as little smoke as possible. The dragons emitted panicked noises, looking about at the ravaged Eastborne, jumping over piles of burnt wood.

"What in Brutheo's name happened here?"

I said those words louder than expected, and Rexus turned to look at me, pools of devastation mirrored in his gaze. This was the first time I used the common Ecrian saying, and even in this moment of despair, a small, warm flicker washed over me.

"Sherdol. He's probably done it to the other camps too."

My heart skipped a beat, and I had to think for a second before I replied, as my mind was flooded with countless questions that I wanted to ask. What was he doing here? How did he get here unnoticed? Why didn't Kleim, the capital, intervene?

"But the other guilds still have patron dragons...why didn't they do anything?"

A deep sorrowful sigh escaped the dragon breeder's lips.

"It's autumn. They're asleep. Hibernation. Nothing can wake them up. The only Patron dragon we have is Brutheo, who is technically Aros, and he wouldn't stand a chance against the bringer of death. He'd either transform into Brutheo and die, or he'd die before even getting the chance to shape shift, and we cannot lose him. He's the original founder of the guilds, for Kleim's sake."

He coughed again and kicked a burnt piece of barrel with his foot. Everything was in ruins, nothing was useful. A sob escaped my lips, and Rexus turned abruptly, slight surprise and concern on his face. Carefully, he walked over to me, and he embraced me, preserving the silence.