The Delta's Fire

Had he known, perhaps things would’ve been different than they are now. Maybe, just maybe, his sister would get to see his face one last time. Maybe the others would get to hear one more joke of his. Maybe they would share a meal together in the halls of the SkyWing Kingdom. But, Stork never knew, and he would never get to tell the others after him. Instead, the prime MudWing diplomat for SkyWing-MudWing relations was being assassinated on the very peaks of the same mountain where a treaty had been made not two days prior. A treaty for peace, to end this formidable war and give his people a chance to rest. Stork had pushed for this freedom clause ever since Queen Scarlet launched a war of her own, against the SandWings no less. Turns out, Scarlet wanted the mesas over the desert’s outer edges, as ‘technically’ those were mountains. However, Stork had opposed this idea, trying to speak on behalf of his own people.

Naturally, Scarlet resented the MudWing’s ideas, simply because he was nothing more than a moving pawn between mud and rock. His life was replaceable with the five other diplomats from the Kingdom of the Mud. Stork only now wished he could somehow warn them of the enslavement they’d face when shackled to the thrones of two queens. His heart beat faster as he thought of his own kin, Tadpole, a smaller MudWing who just wanted to help her people into a more favorable position within all the kingdoms. Of course, her dreams were enormous, but the SkyWing administration was her hypothetical foot in the door to accomplishing that goal. It was only now that Stork wished he’d killed her dream. But how could he have known that this was the price for playing the messenger.

The sky was perfectly clear above him.. How poetic. It wasn’t raining, there was no audience to witness his death. It was simply him, Queen Scarlet, and the sky above. ’Please.. Tadpole, I’m begging you.. Give up your foolish ambition! She’ll kill you too! Please.. Please Tadpole. Stop.’ His words echoed within his skull, hoping they’d somehow find a way to break through and invade the ears of the young dragonet. No doubt she was laying within the thick reeds of the westbank mud pool. It was where they always stayed.. A gentle tear rolled out from Stork’s eye. Seeing such a beautiful sky made him miss home. He missed his friends, his food. But there was nothing he could do now. Nothing could drag him back home. No dragon was coming to save him. Even the weather seemed to undermine his death. Truly, Scarlet had turned the world’s eyes away from this injustice. At least he wouldn’t be a part of this world anymore, if that was even a bright side. With his eyes gazing upwards, Stork felt the open air rush into his neck. No doubt, Scarlet had done it. The world spun some as he felt his legs give way, and his heartbeat quicken. The last person he saw was Tadpole, who was still sleeping peacefully in the mud. He hoped she rested well, and lived a full life.. Even if he wasn’t there. Had he known, perhaps things could’ve been different.