Aoife

While Erica was bringing Matt and Evelyn on board with things, Willow talked to the Fletchers, and I had a conversation with Chelsea. She was nervous around me, and I understood why, but she was still willing to talk. She even suggested that she and Matt be put through what she called “presence training.” She was hoping that by exposing herself to my presence at the greatest force I could manage, she might learn to recognize false emotions as they come and how to think her way around them. It was a smart plan, and I couldn’t say no, but I really wasn’t looking forward to it.

Before we could start that, however, there was something very important we needed to take care of. I wasn’t strong enough to beat Cyrus alone, I wasn’t even close. I needed help, and not just from Erica and Willow. We needed everyone, every single person who was willing and able to help would be necessary to even stand a chance. By winning the information war and revealing his manipulation to the humans, we could take care of his main fighting force, but that still left the angels and the bastard himself. The way I saw it, we had two options to bring him down. Either we restrain him long enough for me to finish him in one go, or we try to use the angel’s sword to wear him down. That thing burned, and kept burning for a short time after it was removed, with enough damage, it might overwhelm his ability to heal. Either way, we couldn’t do this alone.

Hence the town meeting.

Everyone was here, from the centaurs and the goblins to the elves, rat folk, and humans. They’d all come so I could tell them about our plan and (hopefully) get them on board. I was really, really not looking forward to this.

Whether I wanted to do this or not though, it had to get done, so with Willow and Erica at my back, I stepped forwards, addressing the gathered crowd.

“Before anything else, I’d like to thank you all for gathering here on such short notice. I know we’re all pretty busy keeping this place running, but this is important.” My voice was obviously shaky, but my words were still clear. That’s what mattered. “As you all know, I’m not the only dragon in the area. Cyrus, the sun dragon, is the latest in a long line of powerful golden dragons that fight for the cause of human supremacy. I’m the next in line to fight him, like every moon dragon before me.” I felt my presence shifting restlessly as I struggled to keep it contained, the stress of their attention causing fear and discomfort to roll off me in waves. Suddenly, a massive hand appeared on my shoulder as Erica gave it a little squeeze. I took a deep breath and continued.

“You all knew this when you agreed to join me. Most of you are also probably aware that Cyrus has begun dispatching scouts to try and find us before we can pose a threat. Simply put, we’re running out of time. We need to go on the offensive, and soon, or we’re all going to die.” Another deep breath as I tried  to tune out the murmur of the crowd. “Erica, Willow, and I have come up with a plan that we think might work. If it is going to work though, we’re going to need your support. I’m strong. I’m really strong, but I’m not strong enough to beat him on my own. Last time I tried, my wings were mangled, and I was in and out of consciousness for days as we fled. I cannot do this without your help, but together, I think we really might have a shot.”

That was Erica’s queue to take over, sharing the details of the plan with everyone who hadn’t yet been told. There was a tension in the air, and whispered dialogue floated across the crowd as people expressed their interest or discontent with their neighbors. When all every last part of the plan had been revealed, Erica opened things up for questions, and there were quite a few. Everyone was clamoring and calling, trying to get their concerns heard. It was an elf voice that stood out to me.

“In thousands of years of constant, immortal struggle, not once has the moon defeated the sun. Is that correct?” I’d never really talked to many of the elves, and they seemed to prefer it that way. They’d kept to themselves, hovering on the edge of the woods. I was really wishing I’d reached out to them before. Nevertheless, I nodded at them. “Then what makes you so sure you can win now?”

A valid question. A valid concern. If history was anything to go by, I was about to lead all these people to their deaths. In their shoes, I don’t think I’d trust me either. Even still, I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t try. Speaking long term, there were far more lives than just ours at stake here. If we lost, if I lost, Cyrus would be free to do what gold dragons have always done, conquer and kill in the name of humanity.

“I’m not.” I wouldn’t lie to them. They needed to know what fighting meant, what it would probably lead to. I was prepared to die for this, and if they were going to participate, they had to be too. “Odds are, we’ll all be dead soon. If we choose this fight, we won’t walk away unscathed if we walk away at all. Even still, I believe that refusing to try at all would only make things worse. Even if we fail, even if every single one of us burns into ash, if we can hurt him, if we can slow him down, if we can buy his next victims even a few more days of peace, then I think it’s worth it. I’d rather that than to die for nothing.”

“And what if we win?” Willow, who’d been silent till now, who’d become increasingly distant ever since we settled on this plan, spoke up in its defense. In my defense. “I’ll admit I have my own… issues with this plan. In fact, I hate it. I was against it from the start, but what if it works? What if we win? We get to rebuild then. We get to have families then. I get to have the entire rest of my life, however long that is now, to work through my feelings about it and forgive my girlfriends. I wish we didn’t have to do this, but I don’t have any better ideas, and if this gives me the chance to live, it’s worth it to me too. We’ll probably die, but what if we don’t? If we don’t even try, we’ll never know.”

After that, the questions went much more smoothly.