The Insignia

Cinders of War

Cinders of War

(Cinders POV)

The walls were dappled in shadows, moving, circling me, as I breathed in and out. In. Out. In....The stony enclosure was covered densely in fungi and other wastes, algae clung to the clumsily built prison. The bars were so rusted, only a crusty red could be seen, hiding the glimmer of blunt silver. My wings were draped against my body roughly, feathers sticking out at awkward angles. That didn't bother me, but the fact that a dark, almost black, crimson colored them frightened me the most. I could still hear the terror-stricken scream of the dying dragon, as his back collided with the spikes on the gate. I could still taste his blood, it was a copper, strong, salty taste, something I could never rid myself of. The worst of it was that the thought I had killed someone, consumed me, it raved and tore apart my insides, trying to pierce the thorn of self consciousness deep within my heart.

In. Out. In... I concentrated on my breathing, trying to think of something else, other than death's filthy presence on my hands. In. Out. In.... I screamed trying to rid the guilt and remorse swarming in my head. I saw the dragon's red eyes, his teeth pulled back in a snarl, his wings falling limp, his blood..Drip. Drip. In. out. In... I continued to chant in my head. In... My thoughts lingered on the light that faded from his pupils, the horror of seeing his own life swept away. How he watched me, and the fear in the eyes recognizing that I was a monster. "I am a monster," I whispered to myself. Tears threatened to fall. How could I live with myself? How could I be this mangled beast inside? I was just as bad as Sage. Here, I had been accusing him of being the monstrosity to humanity, while here I was ranting off my own fatal flaws, my own demonic qualities...

Clang! I perked my ears, what was that? I was curious, no one had come for me in the past few hours, I had been sitting here, listening to my own raspy breaths as I struggled to fight the evil that consumed me...

I heard steps, Splash. Splash. Splash. They were getting closer. Closer and closer and... I heard the sharp quick sound of a key sliding in metal and the I listened to a small click. The gate swung open, leaving me to stare into the cold eyes of the bald man. he smirked, avarice glinting in his expression, it was the only emotion I had witnessed from this foul beast of man anyways, so it was a start. He grasped the chain that looped around my neck, quickly and pulled me out, without another thought..

I held my head down, as I walked. I was a killer, this is what I deserved. i deserved to be beaten, and then burned. I deserved to be torn apart, then drowned, but instead I got the enthusiastic cheers of humans urging me to kill. They wanted me to be a monster, they wanted me to be myself, so that they could list their grievances. They wanted me to be a monster because then that way they would be able to call me one. To say that we burned their villages, stole their livestock, and robbed them of gold. To be fair, we all are monsters deep inside, we may have done these things. They may hate us, but we despise them. They have set our kingdoms on fire, killed our children, and made us fight to the death. All because we had the one thing they did not. We had immortality, and they had the greed pumping within their veins. We may all be killers. We may all be monsters, but at least we aren't born that way.

The crowds screamed in approval, as I was brought into the same arena, their tiny fists raised to meet the sky.The man unclipped the chain from me and then backed away from the arena, the grin of mockery and avarice never leaving his lips, his eyes, they glinted with so much satisfaction. I shook the thought of him away, and looked to meet eyes with my opponent.

In front of me stood a small red dragon, her green eyes glinting with fear and uncertainty. Her small frame quivering in terror. Black spots lined her body, and a lime color painted her fearful eyes. Even through her uttermost terror, she still ducked low into an attack stance, her small teeth bared, and claws dug deep into the sand. I closed my eyes and sighed, life wasn't fair, death wasn't either, not in this kill or be killed world. I lunged, bringing myself to reality. I imagined Sage, standing there, instead of the small dragon. I imagined tearing him limb by limb. Rage swallowed me, shooting adrenaline within me, for a moment everything was frozen, and then the next my teeth were clamped on her throat.

I saw Sage in my jaws, instead of her. I felt the hatred wanting me to make him suffer. "Please, p-please..." the red dragon pleaded, tears slithered down from her beautiful eyes. "Make it quick," she whispered. I nodded, the anger leaving me, I threw it away. Abandoning it. I closed my eyes, feeling the prickle of overwhelming guilt consume me. I twisted my head, hearing the sharp snap of her neck, the scream never left her throat. The crowd screamed in pleasure, " Angel. Angel. Angel. " They chanted.

The world spun around me, I looked down at the dragon, a tiny bone popped out of its place, a white, and red color, sticking out from her throat. Her eyes were so cold, so lifeless. Nothing remained in those eyes, no last glimmer of hope. Nothing.. Absolutely nothing... I realized in horror at what I had done. I fell to the ground. No. This couldn't be happening to me. No. NO. No. In. Out. In.... "Angel. ANgel. Angel." I blocked out their inhumane screams, staring down at the limp body of the creature. The match had lasted less than ten seconds.. Life and death passed so quickly...Nothing was fair anymore. Not life. Not liberty. Not death. Not even war. I was the cinders of war, pledged to fight. Pledged to kill..I was the cinders of war. The cinders of death....  

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So my goal was somewhat completed....Oh well, anyways Thank You for reading, I shall update soon again, lets hope to maybe get a few more views and likes as well. rainbows and Unicorns to all... 

:) 

-Ella Winters