Wings Of fire: Shadowstalker

Chapter 13: The Council

Three more days passed. Shadow had spent them studying and learning about how the council functioned. There had been many lessons beforehand, but he wanted to make sure he was extra prepared for his introduction today. A knock rang on his door, so he went to open it.

"Hello?" Shadow asked with a head tilt, looking down. It was a large, old, scarred Nightwing by the name of Bloodstrike. He was just over Shadow's shoulder. This dragon was part of the council on the volcano back when the Nightwings lived there, and he had been one of the war councilors. Darkstalker had given him the same position due to his knowledge and skills in battle planning.

"Prince Shadowstalker, your presence is requested at the council meeting. Let's get moving, no time to waste." He spat in a hoarse voice, then proceeded to the council chamber. Shadow followed but found his attitude to be quite rude. Royalty or not, he didn't like it when anybody spoke to someone in such a manner. As the two walked, Bloodstrike stayed quiet, seeming grouchier than usual today.

"Everything okay?" Shadow asked.

"I'm fine. Stop asking." He grumbled. The old Nightwing's tail lashed slowly as they walked. Two servants opened the doors and the prince walked in with the general. The chamber was enormous; Enough to fit at least four or five Darkstalkers, it seemed. As soon as He'd entered, everyone bowed, including Nighthawk. He'd only ever seen drawings of it, so it was even grander than he could've imagined. Inside were thirteen seats in a circle. A large seat for Darkstalker, another for Moonglow to the right of his, and to his father's left sat a third seat. The prince quicky walked over and sat by his father.

"Hello son." Darkstalker smiled. "You must be excited." He hummed.

"You bet I am. I've been studying!"

"So I've heard." Darkstalker turned to him and ruffled his head slowly. "Such a good, perfect Nightwing. More of us should be like you, ah?" He said before laughing a little. "Anyway. Thank you Bloodstrike for bringing him."

"Of course, your majesty." Bloodstrike said in a much nicer tone than before. The general sat in the seat next to Moonglow's. Nighthawk was beside him sitting and smoking, much to the older dragon's discomfort. It was clear the two didn't like each other too much. Knowledge sat beside Shadow, followed by four more dragons he'd seen about in the palace. In addition to the seats for military and schooling, there were spots for agriculture, science, writing and publishing, intertribal affairs, prisoners, and several others he couldn't make out from where he was sitting. It was fascinating.

"Aye, wouldn't've minded finding him myself, but no worries." Nighthawk commented. "I'm a lot more friendly."

"Hmph." Bloodstrike huffed.

"Oh you two are always bickering." A female Nightwing said. She was tall and slightly thin, around the same age as Nighthawk. "Good evening, prince Shadowstalker." She bowed. "My name is Brighteyes." She said respectfully. "And I am in charge of the kingdom's science."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Shadow said. "I'm surprised we haven't met before. I think I seen you around the palace though." The prince smiled. So far the council seemed like a friendly bunch of dragons. Darkstalker cleared his throat above them and everyone turned their attention to him.

"We'll have more time for introductions later, but for now, let's discuss my grand plan for Pyrrhia." Darkstalker said calmly. Everyone kept their attention on the king, some seemed concerned as if they already knew what it was. "I want to take control of Pyrrhia, for the benefit of dragonkind." He said calmly. "No more sickness, no more poverty, everyone will be perfectly happy and safe." He smiled with a small hint of ambition. Many whisperes erupted amongst the council. Shadow could tell more members disliked it than approved.

"I think we should." Bloodstrike started. "Show all those lesser, subordinate dragons that we are the superior, most powerful tribe. Let them know who we are." Darkstalker certainly liked this comment, which made Shadow worry.

"Your majesty, with all due respect.." A male Nightwing said from the end of the circle. "There would be a tremendous amount of backlash from the other tribes. Wars would break out, families torn apart. Pyrrhia is at peace right now." He commented. Darkstalker raised a brow.

"Hm. Anyone else want to question me?" The king spat, which led to several others sinking back into their seats. Nighthawk stood and cleared his throat.

"I do. Your son and I are both concerned about this plan. It's not our place, and we should really focus on our kingdom above all else. As a veteran of the sandwing succession war, I know how awful and brutal it could be should another war break out." Nighthawk said calmly and confidently. "It was one of the most brutal, violent and bloody wars in the history of the land. Should one break out because of this act, it'll be much more gruesome and horrific."

"If they choose to attack us for trying to help them, that is not our fault." Darkstalker huffed, seeming a little amused by Nighthawk's comment. "Son? What do you think?"

"Well.." Shadow winced and took a deep breath. Now he felt nervous, as all the dragons in the council were staring at him. He knew he needed a good response, so he thought quicky and sat up straight. "We would likely have to invade other kingdoms, defeat their queens and remove the free will of all dragons under your rule. It's wrong. We should really only focus on our tribe in our kingdom, because it's not our responsibility or right to control how other tribes and cultures work." After he finished talking, the prince slouched back and exhaled slowly.

Darkstalker put a claw on his chin, studying his son for several long, uncomfortable minutes. Shadow could tell he was unhappy with his answer. The king opened his mouth to speak. "All in favor of my plan raise a talon. And those in favor, keep one down." He said. Seven raised their talon, including Darkstalker. The other five kept theirs down. Shadow assumed they were fearful, but this meant Darkstalker was going go to through with his plan.