Reclamation, Part 1 [All Starlights]

Two years passed since the utter collapse of both the Sky Citadel and Light Palace, created by the mighty dragons only to fall victim of an unknown force of ferocious beasts. They came in many great sizes and shapes and knew no mercy, the same night they attacked in waves these beasts killed not with a voracious hunger but with murderous intent. Instead of stopping to claim their meal, they moved onto the next dragon adding more to the bed of corpses. For two years, the survivors, in the beginning, founded a new settlement and began their reconstruction of a new home. From then on, they survived the aftermath until they thrived as a while, more survivors and loners added to the Order of Starlights. Since their establishment the SkyWing-LightWing alliance had done well to plant the herbs they absolutely needed, beginning as hurt and scarred they grew ever so confident in hunting. But that never answered the question, what about their old homes? What was there to reclaim? And the answers came clear; one day they'd take back what was theirs and there was a lot to take back.

Attor had called forth a summoning of willing dragons, those who can still fight and kept their flight steady and wits about, to join him at the center of the settlement. For months he'd planned this, two and a half years, he dreamed the day he'd return to the one proud cities of the dragons. But this wasn't the day to reclaim, no. Today, as the dark skies began to light from the suns approach from under the horizon, he had planned on scouting the area. The nearest was clearly the Sky Dragon Citadel, the first of the two kingdoms to fall. Why this first? Simple, it was much closer, and though more of those creatures were culled down near the Light Palace years ago it was something most the tribe was familiar with. Every once in a while, the hunting parties would take down a few monsters here and there, claiming their bodies as prizes of trophies and food. Only though this was far and in-between, only when the group of hunters were large enough.

And though their numbers were still considerably low, Attor was confident in his decision. They needed to see what has happened these past years, they had to find out what they were up against. He knew well the Tower Cardinals and Hellkites were typical hunters of each other, so low numbers of either or, or perhaps one large number of one of the two depended on how this would effect their scouting. Ignorant at it may seem, Attor also thought about sneaking into the old city to reclaim a scroll or two, get something maybe vital to this cause. This was a risk he was willing to take, but as he sat there in the cool long grass he saw already two dragons had joined him.

A stack of letters the Sovereign wrote had all the details and took him all night to wrote each one. And of course, he didn't have any ink to use so he happened to replace that with blood, but the writing was still perfect regardless of the red color. It only stated that to those who were willing, those who could muster and were uninjured, could meet with him. Though it was much longer than that, he still had a job to do. This was one of them. He failed once before defending his people, he failed to overpower the overpowering forces, he wanted this to be a success.

Going into the old city with an invasion force was suicide in its own. Considering the odds of just waltzing in it'd be a death trap most likely, and images of how it would go down played the kings head time and time again. They needed to be organized and careful, this was a delicate situation even for scouting and for all he knew they were flying over the breeding grounds of these creatures. Attor held no confidence, in fact he had a lot to fear after all he witnessed, and gone was the cocky and bubbly dragon replaced by one serious yet calm as of this moment. He wanted to make it abundantly clear that this was no simple task, and he wanted to make it clear the risks that were involved.

The letter had reached her almost by accident. She hadn't planned on being home right now, but she had to go get some of her ledgers and notes from her little island, before returning to the Twilight Imperium. The last couple months had been very interesting, stressful and exciting. It was a great opportunity and she actually fully bloomed in her role as a scholar among the scholars and libraries of the Imperium. She had met so many new dragons and pushed forward in her research, but she was still a far way from being done. There were so many more questions. So many interesting things to find out, that's why she planned to go back to the Imperium for a little bit longer.

Then she had found Attor's letter and had decided to help. She tried to rationalize the decision as wanting to help her tribe and maybe finding useful information or scrolls in the ruins, but actually she was scared. She had sworn never to fight again and planned on keeping that promise, but it was no lie, that she was perfect for a mission like this. She could pretty much be invisible, that's what landed her all her scars in the first place.

Sternly she landed close to the Sovereign with a very stern face. To be quite frank, she was scared. Incredibly much, but it was nice to see her old Mentor again. "It's been a while, Attor." she greeted the King with a small smile, hiding her own anxiety. She hadn't seen Attor ever since he had left after bringing her to the Imperium.

Raak was in the middle of making a new sculpture when one of King Attor's guards delivered a letter. The first thing the hybrid noticed was the fact the letter was written in blood. That was most troubling. Why would Attor by writing with blood? Setting that thought aside for the moment, Raak read the letter. So he wants to go to the old territory, Raak thought as he finished reading. The sculpture would have to wait til later. Raak left his little den and flew off to the designated meeting spot. Attor and another LightWing were already there. Raak bowed to the former then looked at the latter. The bow he gave the female was much more respectful, gallant. "Good day, I'm Raak-tolIs." He looked back at Attor. "Sire. For what reason did you write the letter in blood?"

Waiting for a little longer, Attor noticed a familiar dragoness he hadn't seen in so long. Helia, finally returned to visit, and it made him feel more easy the more numbers they had. It still made him also feel worried, her being more a scholar than anything doesn't complicate things but he didn't know what Helia was capable of. Attor only hoped Helia could defend herself if anything goes wrong in this scouting mission. Certainly it had been months, perhaps she learned a lot and that can be useful in its own way?

"It certainly has, and a good time for you to return too." Attor replied to Helia.

Two, now six dragons joined the fray including one such Raak-Tolls who questioned the Sovereigns usage of blood on the letters. The king merely smiled, "Shortage of ink. Simple as that," Attor sounded almost amused by the question, he found it a bit funny that someone else found the writing in blood alarming. Truth be told, it wasn't anything extravagant to Attor and it clearly shown, "Red helps to get the message across, writing in blood? Yes, a but extreme, but necessary."

Seeing that eight dragons ((Six NPCs)) had gathered it was a small but comfortable number. Finally feeling enough had gathered, or perhaps more were to gather later, Attor spoke,

"We'll work with this," Attor said to himself quietly, but was still audible for listening ears before speaking in a serious tone "I have asked those who were willing to come to me because, as you all know the threat of the monsters has claimed our old kingdoms. I don't need to tell any of you what happened. For two years, two and a half, we've been here rebuilding and prospering compared to other nations, tribes, and to any other dragon we have accomplished so much. But today is not a day for such celebration, today is the the first step to reclaiming what is rightfully ours

The reason this was optional was namely because this mission can be life risking. We are going to scout the old Sky Citadel and it's city. Before I get into details, of you wish to back out now do so immediately, nothing will be held against you."

Attor waited for anyone to reply. True to his word, they wouldn't be viewed as cowards or lesser should they leave, everyone knew this mission had a high stake: their lives. This was no test to prove your worth, no, it was simply put a scouting mission to know what they're going to be dealing with when time comes to reclaim the kingdoms. For years, Attor witnessed the Sky and Light dragons show disdain toward another, most of it petty and easily missed but in their differences they came together in these trying times against a common foe. Out of fear or need. In the end, all impurities were removed and all these dragons, Attors little Starlights, had become a whole. And he was damned proud of it.

"I heard you needed the extra sets of wings." she smiled almost confidently, the time spent with the Earth- and Firewings having given her abit more security and confidence in herself, that now leaked out of the way she tended to speak. More jovially and sometimes with a friendly jab. Everytime she noticed herself doing that, she had to remind herself to spend less time with Neltharion, he seemed to rub off on her.

But the Lightwing was still rather sensitive, to her own and other's feelings, therefore noticing the worries in the Sovereign's eyes and tilting her head in silent question. Helia wasn't sure if he was worried about her or this quest of his. She was worried for herself a little bit. Attor had been sparse on details so far and she had sworn never to fight again, yet she had wanted to show her solidarity for this tribe and Attor's hard work. If only he had told her straight away what he was planning.

The two of them were interrupted when another Lightwing landed on the plateau. Helia did not know the one calling himself Raak-tolIs, but the bow he gave her was filled with respect and so gallant, that she couldn't do anything but smile in a flattered fashion. She bowed equally graceful, having practiced her bowing quite a lot in the Imperium, and gave the LightWing a smile. "My name is Helia. It is a pleasure to meet you, Raak-tolIs."

When more dragons arrived Attor moved to business, finally coming clean on his plan. A frown disturbed her usually so lighthearted expression as she listened to the sovereign explain his plans. When he asked them, if anyone wanted to back out, she stayed. Scouting. That she could do. She wasn't here to fight anymore, but with enough height or air currents, she could get in and out of the whole city without even alarming a single critter.
"What are we looking for exactly?" she asked the Sovereign while he was waiting for the others to make up their minds.

"Take the plunge." A cold feminine whisper lingered in Attors mind. Once they've finished with all this there would be a plan in action. For now he'd work with the dragons and have stealth, if his plan for this mission worked. Attor had remained between awake and asleep throughout the night working on this, though a normal dragon could have figured this out, it was more than simple looking or even a scavenger hunt.

Attor ignored Helias question, hearing it yet putting it off as he was getting to that point, "We need to see what we're dealing with. The monsters we fought before act not as murderers like before, no, they act as if they are like any other beast on this plain of existence. After studying them carefully, I was able to conclude that we may not be dealing with what we had during the fall. What we're looking for is how many monsters exist in our fallen kingdom, each nest, every coiled bundle of those things gathered in a single place.

However there will be two teams. The first team is arial, they will be just above the city just high enough to not get ambushed by something on the ground. They will need to be silent, keeping to the air and spotting any open nest or any horde gathered, any flock and any pathway that could gain us the advantage later on. You will need to be prepared to take on any toes in the sky, Hellkites, doubtful but possibly Tower Cardinals and Shadow Hawks. Team two will be a ground team, risky as it sounds, we need to sneak in and see what all we're up against within the city itself. We need to root out and discover any nest, we'll need to be careful of brood mother's that could ambush us, but we have to be especially careful not to cause a ruckus. Under no circumstances is team one to assist team two, not until we are airborne ourselves.

To help, there is a special oil found only in one place. We tested it out already and it serves as a coating of sorts, making the ground team invisible to most of those monsters. It's not a guarantee that you won't be attacked, as seen before these creatures play their own prey and predator. What we found especially odd was how quiet it's been in the city for those who fly over it daily. Take this oil and splash it all over your body. It stinks, but the smell you have will fade off from your senses. "

Attor nodded to someone in a tent. Hauling a massive crate of sorts, crude wood barrels that stunk of an odd fragrance. Pooping the top off one of the crates, Attor had two scouts pour a barrel of the slimy and clear liquid all over his being. As Attor stood holding his breath the liquid turned solid and eventually dried, his scales soaking in the substance. He wreaked of a putrid and decaying smell, getting stronger by the minute until it completely vanished. He looked to those around him, "I'm only taking two others with me. I'll fill you in on more details on our way there."

It had only been a few months since Neltharion had left to return to the Twilight Imperium, and Gleam was still having trouble breaking the habits she had developed during his months-long stay. In the mornings she would fly to the spot where he had been, and at twilight she would often find herself going through her potion cupboards for a Potion of Dreamless Sleep. It was when she came back from the clearing where she had taken care of Neltharion one morning that she recieved the letter.

The dragon who had delivered it had been waiting for some time, not that Gleam could blame him. Once he was gone, she had read the letter. Once. Twice. Three times. Anyone else in her position wouldn't have gone - she couldn't fight. But one word in the message made her pause, made her leave the settlement once again to fly to where he said to meet.

Uninjured. The word echoed in her mind even as she spotted the gathering. If King Attor was looking for uninjured dragons, that meant he wanted them to stay uninjured. And in the event that one of the others became injured, she was the dragon who could change that the quickest. She wouldn't be involved in the scouting itself, of course, but she was always a good ally to have along, just in case.

As Gleam glided down to where Attor and the others stood, the king's voice drifted up to her. He was explaining what they'd be doing. She felt a wash of relief; she wasn't so late that she wouldn't hear what they were doing, at least. She landed by the group and continued listening to their leader.

As he finished speaking, she stepped forward. "I apologize for being late," she said. "I was... well. Old habits die hard." Everyone in the Starlights certainly knew of Neltharion's stay, and it was fairly obvious that she was referring to the habits she'd picked up while taking care of him.

Raak frowned. "There are better ways to get ones message across. If nobility must bleed, let it be in service, not because he can't be bothered to just go get more ink." The half IceWing respected the king, but found him to be rather irresponsible at times. He looked at the female, who finally addressed him. "The pleasure is all mine, Helia." Raak bowed then turned his attention back to Attor, who started speaking.

Haneul arrived and found a spot away from all the LightWings that had shown up. Why was he always the only SkyWing to show up for these meetings? As Han settled onto his perch, yet another LightWing arrived. She was the only Healer. She said something about old habits which seemed weird to the Guardian. How would he know she had habits, old or new? He wished the LightWings would learn how to explain things instead of being vague and assuming everyone knew everything. The King gave a speech about going to the old SkyWing kingdom to find out which and how many monsters were there. The Guardian huffed. It had bad idea written all over it, and worse, the king expected them to cover themselves in some putrid concoction he created. "That's all well and good for you, sire, but I have feathers, as you can see. I can't entirely cover myself in that stuff. And what's the point of bringing an aerial team if you're going to forbid them from helping if something should happen to the three of you being on the ground? Supposed some high threat monster is in our old territory and you come across it? If you get killed because you decided to be a hero, we'll be left without a leader. I would suggest you use the aerial team to their full potential, or keep everyone together in one group."

The slender dragoness smiled at the polite respectfulness of the LightWing called Raak-TolIs. It was truly refreshing way of being greeted and made her feel a little flattered. It had been a long while since Helia had been among her own kind, even without counting the time spent in the Twilight Imperium, she had never been the dragon to be involved a lot, keeping more to herself, therefore she didn't know many dragons of the tribe or her own kind for that matter. Attor was an exception to that, as was the Healer landing on the plateau.

Helia had met Gleam before, even though it had only been a brief meeting, she remembered the name of the dragoness. Neltharion had spoken of her before as well, maybe she should tell her that the large Earthwing was doing alright thanks to her care, it would surely make her feel appreciated. But such things had to wait until this mission was over.
So she turned her attention back to the Sovereign and his plan. It sounded well mapped out, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it was a bit too dangerous, too discrete to be a simple scouting mission. Throwing Attor a questioning glance, she shuddered at the mention of all those monsters, thinking about where her place in all of this might be.

Luckily the SkyWing arriving during the speech, shared her concerns and voiced them as well. Helia remembered him faintly, not truly remembering his name but she was sure she had seen him before, somewhere.
She did not know much about battle tactics, but she knew, that keeping two teams fully seperated from each other was a waste of ressource and would endanger them all unnecessarily in case of emergency.

"He is right." She voiced her agreement with the SkyWing and wrinkled her nose at the stink coming from Attor. Discreetly taking a step away from the Sovereign. "Keeping the teams disconnected is inefficient and dangerous. One group might be too large and just draw attention to us, but we should at least keep an eye out for each other."

She was still indecisive about whether she should join Attor on the ground or stay in the air, knowing full well that she would not fight much, but had the advantage of turning invisible if the need be, which might be better suited to a ground team, if they were more prone to drawing the attention of monsters, in the end she decided to leave Attor and stay airborne. If they did run into trouble she could go down and help them, of course only if the Sovereign accepted the SkyWing's and her objections to his plans.

Attor was understanding of all dragons, and while he was set in stone with what he'd planned he knew opposition would come his way. It didn't surprise that Hanual said something about his own feathers, even stating a better suited strategy. True it was that Attor thinks of a lot of things, but this was a good reason why he needed an advisor. As much as Hanual had his... Frustrations with Attor, the sovereign viewed the Guardian as wiser than himself. Why wouldn't he, when Hanual was older than Attor and had been with the SkyWings much longer?

"A good point Hanual. Actually, that is much better than what I'd planned. Maybe you should become the next advisor?" Attor agreed with Hanual and even mused the rank. Granted the dragon didn't want it, every once in a blue moon Attor would hint toward it.

"Well, then it is settled. We can utilize the arial team that way, I'll take three more with the ground team. For the ground team I cannot stress utilizing this spluge," Attor nudged his head toward the containers of odd liquid, by now Attor didn't even reek of the scent but still the smell was strong, "Team one don't need it if you choose not to. Team two, you have no choice. The sooner you get the stuff on, the sooner that wretched smell goes away."

Attor was not playing hero, no, Hanual was wrong about that at least to the Sovereign. Attor didn't... Have a very high opinion of himself, he cared too much of what others would think and so far he's felt nothing toward the status of his own well-being. No, he felt the tribe was going steady and well, but that was to say they've come a long way, and even longer get to reach their goals. Attor was odd indeed, his actions odd, but, they have benefited before in... Some fashion.

"I'll take it." she chimed in after Attor had finished his conversation with the other Skywing, Haneul, hoping not to intrude. The slender LightWing crinkled her nose at the smell, but that way she'd at least be completely invisible to the Monster should the need for such things arise. "I'll stay in the air, but it should come in handy in case the ground team needs some reinforcements." Most likely Haneul would take to the air as well, since he didn't seem to fond of covering his feathers with the oil, that would make two for Team One, which meant Attor would probably take Gleam and Raak-TolIs with him into the city.

She stood still while another dragon poured the liquid over her body and wings, while she tried to hold her breath as well as she could. If this would mask their smell to the point where Monsters wouldn't even get suspicious she truly wondered how their noses worked or at least how wretched it must smell in their nests. Helia shuddered a bit, breathing through her mouth until she got used to the smell.

"And we're solely looking to figure out the numbers of Monsters inthe city or is there something else we should keep an eye out for?" A lost city would hold many treasures. Scrolls, books, accounts, maybe even more materialistic wealth, surely there was some other angle to this than just a scouting mission for monsters.

Her scholarly mind was already very intrigued at the possibility of finding some lost books and Attor might think in the same direction, judging from the way he cared for his plants and potions. If he could find a way to recover more recipes that would eventually benefit them all, would he take the chance even without telling them?
She would understand, after all she had trained to become a seeker, something like this would have been her job, but doing it in secret would be reckless and dangerous.
Oh well, maybe she was wrong and her imagination was just running wild with anxiety, after all she couldn't read anyone's mind, especially not Attor's.

With the smell now dissipated, Attor popped the bones when he twisted and turned, once on each side. He felt relief as the smell of fresh air greeted his nostrils... until Helia actually chirped that she'd be glad to take the sludge. Well, liquid if anything, as it soaked into the scales yet the smell would vanish in moments. The dragons who dumped the liquid on Attor did the exact same without warning from behind. It was unnecessary, really, but whatever worked he supposed. Another dragon decided to pour the liquid all over him however this one nearly vomited, quickly walking away as dry heaves could be heard from behind one of the buildings.

"Now, for those who don't want to wear I completely understand. Either you find no need to, you hate the smell, or simply your feathers can't handle it," Attor poked a bit of fun, it was of no disrespect at all in the fact he was trying to lighten the mood, before he became serious again, "With that said, I will repeat myself and the plan to make sure it's set in stone. Team A, the ground team, will be infiltrating the city ruins to find out what kind of threat we're dealing with and to recover any tomes, dried ingredients, seeds and scrolls if we come across any. Useless items like jewelry, heirlooms, and of the such can be retrieved in the counter strike. This is a stealth operation, nothing is needed that would draw attention. Should we fall in danger we will leave immediately with the second team aiding us.

Team B, or the aerial team, with be flying above head to cover us. If we fall in any danger you'll be the first to act. Again, we are relying on stealth, we cannot afford meaningless roaring. While you fly overhead the city, team A will be landing just outside. This is going to be a fast mission, so of anything be at the ready. And Hanuel, after this we should talk, you too Helia."

Attor repeated the plan, summing everything up into this as he didn't want to waste anymore time. He ended his suggestion to Hanuel and Helia with a chipper tone before running and using to wing pairs to take into the air. By gods, he sounded like a giant insect flapping, but it's advantage were he was fast enough and can hover, fly backward and side to side. Attor chose to land outside the city instead of directly within it to avoid wing flaps being noticed, this much true for himself. Hovering in the air, the few dragons (NPCs) followed him, Attor assuming the others would follow as well.

It truly had been some time since he last saw the Sky Citadel that Attor forgot how beautiful it was. The ghost of it burned in his mind as he flew silently lest someone fly next to him and speak. Concerns would be taken, caution as well due to the high risk. But Attor had a very good feeling about this, he felt it would pay off greatly in their favor. If, just if there were somehow surviving relics they could use for the settlement then he prayed they'd come across those. Or even better, survivors.

Surprised at the last part Helia simply nodded, although it was doubtful that Attor saw this, as he had already taken off. The slender dragoness hung back for a second, thinking about this mission and what Attor might need from her afterwards while watching the dragons ascend.
It had been a lucky incident, that the sovereigns letter had reached her while she was home for a few days to recover some much needed notes and books for her research, so this talk of his was most likely a spur of the moment kind of thing, but she couldn't think of anything he might want from her again, hopefully everything was okay.
As the other Lightwing had mentioned, the summon to this mission had been quite dramatic, probably unnecessarily so, but it seemed to be very important to the Skyking, she wondered what personal treasures he might have lost in that ruin.

Helia herself had never lived in the Skycitadel, only visited it a few times, all of her belongings had been lost elsewhere, but she could imagine this being rather painful or hard for some of the dragons more native to the former Skywing capital. She sighed, not wanting to waste anymore time on her useless musings, and took to the air, her six wings producing an audible flapping until she had gained enough elevation to soar on the winds. Helia quickly caught up with the rest of the group, that soon after split up into the teams.

The putrid smell had vanished by now, the wind hopefully taking care of the rest of it, as she watched the ground team land close to the city. They had to keep a close eye on them, but she couldn't help sparing a glance for the once magnificent city. It's colors still vibrant in the sunlight, even though you could see the years of neglect and life of monsters taking their toll. It was a beautiful place, towers as high as the skies themselves, making her gasp in surprise. She had still been very little the last time she had visited this place and couldn't fully remember it, naturally this view now impressed her.
"It's still so beautiful." She said quietly, more to herself, but audible for Hanual, the Skywing whom she was soaring next to. "What was in those towers?" she asked now directing her attention towards the other dragon, before searching the ground for the other team, making sure they weren't in any trouble.

As he landed with few other dragons, Attor began to quietly wall forward. The remaining dragons were in the sky watching for any signs of trouble, but it still kept the Sovereign on edge. As they approached, stalking their target, Attor observed one of the three entrances to the sky kingdom. Crumbled and completely caved in, there was no way to get through it the further he thought. The ground team could go over the ruined gates, however that could catch unwanted attention, and if they dug through the rubble it would surely attract many of those beasts.

Looking at the old wall Attor spotted something peculiar; on the high wall of the gate was a sizeable hole, perfect for a Sky Dragon to fit through. He turned and nudged his his, adverting his gaze twice over to the hole. One of the dragons went ahead of the group carefully and spotted the opening, then leapt and flapped his wings once to gain more leverage. After a scrape and claw, he managed to enter the hole.

Attor kept silent and still, waiting for anything to happen. A scream, a shout, the dragon flying out of the hole with a creature or more in tow. He felt his heart thumping violently, tensing for either combat or to flee from what came next. A head poked out, the dragons, and he jerked his head backward to give an all clear. A slow and quiet sigh escaped the Sovereign, and he slowly went forward, checking his surroundings.

One after the other, dragons began to climb into the hole, lighter and small dragons easily climbing through it while the heavier and larger not so much. Still, they were successful. When Attor made his way through, he climbed instead of flying, his wing beats would be too loud and frequent. Settling his sight before the darkness, sunlight pierced cracks and crags allowing minimal luminescence in the room. From what he could see, there was no monster in sight, the high wall had collapsed on either end that lead from the very building to the rest of halls within the high walls of the gate, which would later lead to the Citadel itself and other structures.

The high wall gates were built with eight guard towers that rose just as high as the citadel itself. They were meant for the purpose of scanning the entire area for threats and open topped for dragons to dive from and attack. It wasn't too bad an idea, if they'd account for the horde that took the kingdom. All the towers were collapsed however, originally used as barracks and for the guards, the room they stood was one such tower that was empty. Blood splatters and loose bones scattered the room, however either or were old and barely noticeable by the vines, roots, and dust that covered the floor.

Ahead was a door, and old wooden cracked one that the light pierced through it's gaps. It wasn't connected to a hinge, it simply leaned against the doorway. Other than that, old beds were strewn about either broken or flipped as well as other miscellaneous items and furniture. Looking around Attor could still see the well lit halls and the active tower from when he frequently visited them, once living dragons moving from shift to shift, moving with purpose, and the flashback stung hard when it all faded to ruin and decay. There would be a time when they retake the Sky Citadel, and one day the entire two regions. All in due time.