ruination ➤ REWRITING

one.

CHAOS AND RUINS RULED HER LIFE LIKE THE COMMANDER RULED ALL. Nela hadn't ever truly known happiness or stability, not until she had risen above the warriors in her class. She had proven herself to be one of the strongest trikru warriors among the boys and girls who had predicted she'd fail to ever be one of them. She had grown taller than the same people who told her she'd probably grow up to be an outcast. She had overcome every obstacle in her way and was a leader of a sizeable village. 

She had earned her spot. She had fought and killed to get her place in the trikru ranks and it was all taken away from her the moment skaikru landed. The people from the sky were reckless and acted without care. They paid no attention to trikru's warnings and instead continued to stomp their way over everyone who was there before them. Skaikru had no respect or any kind of human decency.

Nela stood across a war table, arms crossed as her newly appointed second stood only a pace behind her. She could still hear the young girl's excited breathing, remembering that this would be Thesda's first time in the war room during a meeting. Anya stood across from the blondes, her second, Tris, watching with focused eyes.

"Where is he, Anya?" Nela's light voice wafted into the air, capturing the attention of the others in the room. Until then, it had been silent.

"He'll be here," Anya promised her, glancing around the war table at the other trikru warriors.

The large table was surrounded by various village leaders, all dressed in armor with deadly weapons at everyone's side. Seconds were scattered throughout the room, though not every leader had one. Nela had been against having one, but her longtime friend had convinced her to at least give it a try. She had been blessed, being able to choose Thesda from a talented pool of warriors.

The teenager wasn't from her village, but Anya's. She had been eager to learn and prove herself as a warrior, much like Nela when she was her age. She was talented, able to wield any weapon Nela threw at her. The grey-eyed warrior knew her second would grow to become an extraordinary leader, she could've become the commander had she been a nightblood. Her only fault was her own confidence, Thesda struggled to be confident in her own actions, but it was all fixable.

"What's so important that we all had to come?" she questioned the other leader who had summoned them. "We will be marching on skaikru in a couple of weeks, don't tell me you've changed your mind."

Grumbles filled the room as the formidable leaders stared each other down. Anya's face remained stoic, as did the blonde's. "Lincoln has important news to share, Nela. He is a trustworthy warrior and if he has something important, it's best if everyone hears it."

Stormy eyes stared down brown ones before the fair-skinned girl gave a single nod. "So be it," She spoke, uncrossing her arms and turning her head around towards Thesda, who had her hands clasped in front of her. An eyebrow rose questioningly at her hands and her posture, grey eyes watching as her second corrected herself. Thesda's hands moved to her side and her back straightened. Nela gave the warrior a curt nod, turning back to the war table.

She had been there for nearly twenty minutes, waiting patiently for Lincoln to arrive with his news. The leaders' were fidgeting, knives weaving between fingers, spears being turned over. Doing nothing was something none of them were trained to do. They were warriors, strong leaders who were trained to always be doing something — anything productive.

Suddenly the door of the room opened with a bang, letting a cool rush of air into the war room. The blonde could feel her second jump slightly behind her and take a step back as a tall man entered the room, his skin covered in fur. His face was covered with a cloth, only showing his fierce brown eyes.

Lincoln had finally arrived. He lowered the brown cloth to his neck, eyes scanning the faces of each and every leader in the room. He gave a respectful nod before speaking. "The sky people want peace." shuffling was heard throughout the room amongst coughs and mumbles. "They want to make a treaty."

i'm like hey what's up hello? who enjoyed this chapter, it was kinda slow. (props to you if you sang that). anyways: kind of a shorter chapter, but i hope you guys enjoyed it? i just really miss lincoln tbh. most undeserving of death ever, the savior of the sky people, the love of my life. ALSO LMAO SORRY FOR HAVING LIKE a million chapters before the story began i had too much to share and so little space for photos and i'm a heaux for the aesthetic I'm so sorry.