Wings Of fire: Shadowstalker

Chapter 33: The Desert Battle, Part I

Shadow and Starshifter were cozy on the rug, just lying together as they slept. The warmth that radiated off of her scales felt comforting and perfect for the prince. Everything was quiet and peaceful, that was, until Nighthawk burst through the door.

"Wake up! The Nightwings are here!" He barked and ran to them. The two sleeping dragons jolted awake and stood up, glancing around. The prince rubbed his eyes as he sat up with a yawn.

"..What?" He mumbled groggily. "Nightwings..?"

"They've sent a small army!" Nighthawk grumbled and got up. "Shadow, come on. We gotta defend the compound." He huffed. "Starshifter, I'd prefer you stay behind, hidden somewhere."

"They're here early.." Starshifter sighed and huddled into Shadow a little. "Hm.. alright.. I'll stay here."

"Great. Perfect, let's go." Nighthawk pulled on Shadow's talon, so the prince followed behind to the armory. "Gonna have to take them out."

"Take them out?" Shadow tilted his head. "As in kill them.?" He asked with a small wince. Nighthawk may have not had a problem with it, but Shadow certainly did. They were his tribe, his dragons. He couldn't kill them.

"Yes. We're going to have to. It'll send a message."

"Nighthawk I can't.." Shadow flinched and looked down at him. "I can't kill another Nightwing in battle.." He glanced down at him as they walked to the armory. "Nothing good will come of it.."

"Sometimes we must do whatever is necessary for survival. Do what you must then, but stay alive, yeah?" Nighthawk grinned and shrugged. Once they arrived in the armory, he watched as several sandwings were handed bows and crossbows. Swords, armor, spears, throwing knives and all sorts of weapons. Shadow was and wasn't surprised Viper had such a vast arsenal of equipment.

"Ah. Nighthawk.." The arms dragon sighed deeply. "What do you need?"

"Got everything I need in my cloak. Wanted to see whatcha had for my friend here." Nighthawk leaned against a counter as the two talked.

"Do we even have anything big enough for him?" She asked before turning to another worker in the back.

"Uhh.. maybe a hammer? We got some pretty big hammers. I'm sure Basilisk wouldn't mind lending one." A lighter colored male sandwing said.

"That works." She said. Shadow watched them roll an incredibly large stone hammer with a metal handle on a cart towards him. Iron bands were placed around either side of the block. It had some chips in the corners and sides, but otherwise it looked sturdy and powerful. "Hooh boy.."

"That is a weapon! Haha." Nighthawk nudged him lightly. "Gonna be great for taking out the bastards."

"If uh...if you say so." Shadow said with a small sigh. He reached down and picked it up. It was heavy. Much heavier than any normal dragon could lift. "Moons.."

"Thank you two." Nighthawk rushed outside while gesturing for Shadow to follow. The prince lifted the hammer over his shoulder and followed outside. Starhunter joined them too, but he seemed almost as uneasy as Shadow.

"That's a big hammer."

"I know.. wanna try it?" Shadow joked and sighed. "Because I certainly don't.." He mumbled and proceeded out of the compound. He looked at the southern sky and saw what appeared to be a vast black cloud obstructing a large space of the blue sky. All around the airspace above was filled with Thorn and Viper's soldiers. Immediately he knew the Nightwings were outnumbered. Thorn landed beside him, as well as a sandwing with a scar across his snout.

"Prince Shadowstalker." The queen said with a small bow. "Nice to finally meet you." The prince bowed and smiled soflty.

"Pleased to meet you too." Shadow said calmly before glancing at the other sandwing, tilting his head. "And you are?"

"Qibli." He responded with a nod. "I'm not surprised at all that your father has lost his mind again. No offense. At least you're doing the right thing." Shadow's ears went back and he sighed. "He and I don't have the best history."

"Yeah- I uh, I understand.." Shadow mumbled and lifted back up. The Nightwings drew closer, but no Darkstalker. General Bloodstrike led the charge as the Nightwings flew towards them. The closer they got, the more eager the sandwings were. A loud roar erupted from the Nightwing army. Many threw spears towards the sandwings on the ground, which was followed by several groups of Nightwings swooping down and taking the ground soldiers in claw to claw combat. Everything erupted into a fury of claws slashing, swords clashing and violent fights between the two tribes.

"Seems talking isn't an option." Qibli huffed before moving his tail barb around to fend off some soldiers. Shadow took note he stayed close to Thorn, which he figured was due to his unyielding loyalty to her. Starhunter and Nighthawk remained close to him, fighting off any soldiers from a distance until they got close.

Three Nightwings charged towards Starhunter, outnumbering him. Shadow ran over with the hammer and smacked one off, not wanting anything to happen to his closest friend. The Nightwing flung into a wall with a crash and groan before falling limp. "Wow-" He said with a huff, realizing what he just did. "Moons- I just-"

"Great work, keep it up!" Nighthawk called to him. Shadow sighed and fought with Starhunter, staying close to his friend as more Nightwings charged them. Any dragon he hit, he made sure to knock them out rather than kill. One landed on his neck and tried to bite down. The soldier howled with pain before falling back and holding his snout. When Shadow turned to him he saw his teeth had broken, likely due to his thick and tough scales.

"Hah! Serves you right for attacking the prince!" Starhunter laughed as the dragon scurried away. He and Starhunter continued to fend off any dragons wanting to attack them. Overhead Shadow could see the sandwings were winning against the Nightwings. They were winning, and everything was going well until a sudden and loud roar erupted from beside him. When Shadow turned he to see what it was, all he saw was a Nightwing standing over Starhunter,  driving a spear into his chest.