It was past nightfall when the Tenebrians all met. They'd been sent a message by the rebels to meet in the forest after the ambassadors returned to Luceat. Anyone who didn't want to fight was welcome to attend, as they were all looking to have a future without being under the control of Luceat. That, and the informed rebels felt that the Tenebrians who didn't want to fight still deserved to know that they were in danger of a genocide.
Bev, Ben, Mike, and Stan stood in a forest clearing with the dragons that had carried the first three to Tenebris. They'd long since befriended them, and knew at least they had the dragons on their side. The other rebels were with them, sitting in the shadows and waiting for the others.
Maggie has informed her former employers about the issue at hand and how her son was elsewhere gathering allies. They were all eager to protect their people, leaving them as some of the first at the meeting.
After an hour of silence in the dark, families began to make their way into the clearing. They knew they'd be safe as long as they weren't in the village, so they agreed to meet in the wooded area.
The dragons let out low growls at the sight of new people, but quieted down when they were scolded by one of their masters. Soon enough, a surplus of Tenebrians clothed in black were in the clearing, in the shadows, and even some in trees as they waited for whoever the leader was to speak.
Donald stepped forward, clearing his throat loudly. "I'm sure you all know of me; I'm one of the givers in Tenebris. My son and his friends are some of our best hunters and gatherers. We've called you here tonight because we are also rebels, as I'm sure you know," he said, stopping the extra murmurs that were passed between the people.
"We're all in danger. I sent five of our best to Pona to gather intel on shipments. We didn't learn about what was being shipped, but an ally from Luceat informed us that Klais is planning on wiping out every Tenebrian in existence. They've already attacked Konilla and have control over Pona. We must unite in order to protect our people and assist our allies."
There were whispers and questioning that filled the air.
"How can we trust a Lucantian?"
"They want us all dead?"
"What about our kids?!"
"Hey! Shut up! Lucantians are not the enemy!" Bev yelled, making everyone quiet down and turn their attention to her, utterly shocked by Bev's statement. She looked over at Donald, who nodded for her to continue.
"We can't trust all of them, but most of them are clueless about what's really happening in Tenebris. Three of our closest allies are children of council members who have learned the evil doings of Klais and have turned to help us," she said, placing a hand on Ben's shoulder to show one of their Lucantian allies.
It did not win them anything.
All at once, the Tenebrians began to yell at Ben, angrily shouting hatred at him. He stepped away, the dragon that he'd ridden hissing at the group of angry Tenebrians.
"Shut up!" Stan yelled angrily, standing in front of Ben. "He's protected our home more than any of you ever have! Our enemy is not all of Luceat! It's Klais!"
Everyone quieted down, but the air was still tense. To ease the tension, one of Maggie's former employer, Rowan Scott, walked to the front of the group. He was highly respected as one of the richer Tenebrian shopkeepers and as one of the more generous individuals. He always gave whatever extra food he made to the beggars and often to Bev and Stan's families.!
"I am siding with the rebels and their Lucantian allies. Myself and some of the other shop keepers have helped to formulate a plan."
He paused, making sure he had everyone's attention. "We are going to break down the wall."
The silence remained. It was terrifying to think about breaking down the wall. It had been there since before any of them were born, a symbol of the weakness and helplessness that the Tenebrians faced every day. No one had ever thought about breaking the barrier, as they didn't know what would happen if they did.
"How is that even possible?" a voice yelled from the crowd.
"We have dragons," Rowan said, glancing over at the three dragons that were sitting near to Bev, Mike, and Ben. "The wall is wooden. We burn it down."
"There's guards over there," Donald pointed out. He hadn't heard the shopkeepers' plan, and he had no clue if he agreed.
"I expect they'll cower when they see the dragons."
Bev scoffed. "There's only three of them, Rowan. Good idea or not, there's no way we can take down the wall and survive. We don't have weapons besides knives and our goal isn't to go in and kill. We shouldn't hurt any civilians."
Rowan glared at her, clearly annoyed. "Should we just sit here and wait for them to kill us all of then?" he snapped, daring Bev to challenge him.
"That's not what I'm saying."
"I have an idea," Mike said, speaking up to the group. "I'm from Pona, and their warriors are much more ready that anyone is here. Plus, the dragons are there and we have people taming them as we speak."
"I don't follow," Rowan said, crossing his arms.
Mike looked around at the group. "I say we raid the ports. Take the most abled here to Pona. Take the fight away from Tenebris, to where we can protect ourself. There's no point in putting innocent Lucantians and Tenebrians in danger," he said, earning approval from many of the people.
"I agree with that," Donald said, smiling when he saw Rowan agreeing. "We need to start getting people over to Luceat then. Take the dragons there."
Everyone began to move, each dragon taking a few people at a time. By the end of the movement process, there were nearly sixty people hidden in the harbors.
"Are we ready?" Donald asked his group.
They weren't armed with much besides the dragons, so the element of surprise was an enormous factor. Thankfully, there were very few people at the port and almost no ships going in or out. Since Luceat had control of Pona, there was no point in sending exports every day.
"We're ready," Bev whispered.
"Let's go."
It was a full fledge attack that didn't last long. The dragons attacked the guards, most of them diving into the ocean or running away. The Tenebrians easily took three ships, with the mass of people on two with the rebel leaders on the other. The port was burned when they were done with it, smoke spiraling high into the sky.
Stan, Mike, Bev, and Ben were all on the leading ship, sitting side by side. They hoped they'd be able to get to Pona quicker, though the knew the trip would take a few days.
"Do you think that Richie will be okay?" Stan asked, worried for his friend.
"He's smart," Bev said, looking back on the burned port.
"What if Klais catches him?"
Bev scoffed. "This is Richie we're talking about. There's no way Klais could catch him."
