“It’s not far anymore!” her brother called, as he merrily ran up the hill, laughing all the way up. “You have to see this!”

Tritia was still far behind him, her staff acting as support as she tried to keep up with him. Just a few days prior, she had injured one of her legs after their camp had been attacked by dragons. In an attempt to drive one of the beasts away, she had tried to use her magic, but ultimately had been too slow and suffered a severe blow to her leg. Luckily the dragon had seemed to have no interest in killing her and had left her alone to join his comrades to plunder the clan’s food stores and destroy some of their huts.

Her brother was still young and had just recently begun his training. He would become one of the Skirmishers, responsible for guarding the clans and fighting in case of an attack. He was a dreamy one, and full of naiveté … He’s still half a child, she thought, as she finally reached the foot of the hill. Her brother was already at the top, waiving down to her and calling her name excitedly. “The view from up here is amazing!”

She smiled as she started to mount the hill, despite her leg aching. Since her brother had started his training, they had only few opportunities to see each other – and even before then, her own training required her to leave the camp often, sometimes for days, to meditate and train in the arts of magic. Despite all the effort it took her to climb the hill, she was still happy to be with her brother, and it was that happiness that made her endure the pain. Who knew how long they’d be separated afterwards?

Finally she reached the top and witnessed herself the view that had taken her brother’s breath away so many times before. He had been atop these hills several times already, despite knowing that he might be ambushed by enemies at any moment, and had told her about it numerous times. Yet she had never wanted to go herself – too great was her fear of being attacked by dragons there. But now that she saw for herself – saw the grass below them dance with the wind, saw the rivers running wild through the land and saw the great windmills that touched the sky – she was glad that her brother had finally managed to convince her to come. Overwhelmed by the beauty of it all, she sank to her knees, her staff falling to her side.

“Sister! Is everything alright?” Her brother came to her aid to catch her as she fell, his face clouded in worry.

“Yes, yes, it’s fine”, she said and got back to her feet. “Thank you, Aspis.” She turned her eyes back on the land below her, and as her brother gave her staff back to her, she said to him, “Thank you. Thank you so much. I never knew how beautiful our home really is. The view here really is quite amazing.”

“Look there!” Aspis suddenly exclaimed. He was pointing towards the horizon, where the windmills stood proudly. Several large figures were hovering above them, flying in circles, then up and down again, in a playful manner. Even though they were so far away, the wind still carried their laughter towards them.

Tritia’s expression hardened. “Dragons”, she hissed, and her fingers clenched around her staff as she remembered the attack from a few days ago. “They’re never up to anything good. I bet they’re planning their next attack right now.”

“Ah, don’t be so silly, Tritia.” Her brother sounded delighted, much to her surprise. “They’re just playing and enjoying the breeze. Don’t you see? I don’t think that those over there will cause us trouble. They probably won’t even notice us, since we’re so far away!”

“They might not be causing trouble now, but sooner or later they will. They’re dragons, after all.”

“Come on, not all of them are bad, are they now? At least I don’t think they are.”

“How would you know?” Tritia hissed. Aspis had been there when their camp had been attacked and had only barely avoided one of their attacks. He had witnessed how they had destroyed their huts and had taken their food, and not for the first time, either – how could he speak about them in that way? How could he watch them and smile? “We’ve been at war with them for centuries; they have stolen from us, destroyed our homes and relentlessly killed our brothers and sisters, time and time again. They took our land away from us and destroyed everything that we’ve created, not caring an ounce for what we deemed holy or what would happen to us. You know that as well as anyone else in our clan, and yet you talk about them like that? Please brother, you know as well as me that they don’t care about us – they’d kill us without a reason anytime. They simply take whatever they think belongs to them. There’s no sense in them other than the sense to kill anything non-draconic on sight. They’re greedy, despicable beasts.”

“I know that they’ve done bad things”, Aspis said, searching for the right words to use, “but I just can’t imagine them really being all that shallow and greedy as everyone always says. I understand your anger sister, of course I do … and I do hate those dragons that attack us and steal from us. But when I see them play with each other like that” – he pointed towards the group of dragons in the distance – “and when I hear their laughter … I just can’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, they aren’t all that bad. That maybe, they are just like us – or at least a bit like us, you know. They’re living, thinking beings, just like us. And I think that maybe, they might chang-“

“How dare you speak of them like that?” Tritia snapped. She was seething with rage now. “How dare you sympathize with them? After all they’ve done to us and to our other Beastclan brethren? How can you excuse their actions like that? They’ve done nothing but destroy and raid Beastclan territory. They only think about themselves, claiming that this is their land alone and that anyone else should be eliminated. We were attacked just a few days ago!

“Countless brothers and sisters have tried to make peace with those beasts, and most of them have been killed. We tried, brother, many, many times. We tried, we really did. But it never worked.” She was crying now. She averted her gaze in shame and began to climb down the hill. “Please, brother. They’re nothing but greedy, war-hungry beasts. There is no making peace with them. Let’s go home.”


Jupiter still remembers that day when she snapped at her own brother, filled with anger at his sympathy for the dragons, who had, back then, been nothing more to her than monsters, their teeth and claws stained with the blood of those she loved and cared for. She had despised them and had trained hard every day to become a skilled Magi, so that one day she might be able to cast spells that could wound even the hardiest of dragons. Back then she had cloven hooves for feet and fur instead of scales, and she had been rather diminutive in size, at least compared to what she is today. She had hated dragons with all of her being, and was ready to die in battle if it meant that she could kill at least one of them. Never would she have imagined that one day she would sympathize with them, and be able to see what her brother did.

But then, one unfortunate night, she met the white witch, and, paralyzed by her magic, found herself unable to flee. “Let me go, you demon”, she had hissed at her, as she heard the dragon’s laughter. She had tried to use her own magic to free herself, but to no avail – there was no escaping the witch’s magic grip.

“Why don’t you just kill me already?” she had asked as she finally resigned and accepted her fate.

“Oh, don’t be so silly”, the dragoness had answered, slowly circling around her, a sly grin on her face. “I don’t want to kill you. I just want to help you! Don’t you want to become stronger? To be able to face your enemy and protect those you love?”

That night, Jupiter had felt how her body was ripped apart, and how new limbs began to grow, how it felt to be completely reborn and changed into something else. Every part of her was made into something else, something new - and when she finally felt the tormenting pain subside, she was no longer the puny little Longneck she had used to be, but found herself instead in the skin of her own enemy.

She had tried to go back, hoping that someone – anyone – would recognize her. Surely they would see that this was all some evil trick, that it was her in that body – but when she had entered the camp and had tried to explain herself, she was only met with hatred. Her own family and friends were no longer able to understand her, and all they saw in her was a despicable, ugly, greedy beast that had come to kill them. And they drove her out, almost killing her in the process.

It took Jupiter years to accommodate to her new body, and she never really learned how to fly – being not used to an extra set of limbs at all – until she met Saturn. Until that day, she had tried to avoid all dragons, despite now being one of them, and although she was suspicious at first and tried to drive him away, he wouldn’t leave her alone – and in the end, it was his kindness that finally broke down the wall of hatred that she had built up in her former life as a Longneck. He gave her a new name and taught her how to fly and what he knew about the world - and in return, she taught him some of her magic tricks. He offered her to come back with him to his clan, but she refused, still wary of other dragons, and their ways parted on that day.

Over the years, she met more dragons that took her in and cared for her like she was their own daughter, and so she began to be more open towards them - and she finally began to see what her brother had seen, too: that they weren’t all greedy beasts that only wanted to conquer and kill, but kind and passionate beings that cared for each other and struggled for survival just as much as her Beastclan brethren. She learned their ways and started thinking more and more like a dragon – but she also never forgot to think and feel like a Beastclan member.

Nowadays, she travels the world on her own, happily accepting shelter and food from other dragons. In return for their kindness, she amuses them with magic tricks and tells them stories – her magic transforming dust and sand into figures of light to act out the scenes that she describes.

Her pockets are filled with all kinds of wondrous things that she has collected over the years, and sometimes, just sometimes, she will gift one of it to hatchlings or young dragons or leave one as a present for those who accommodated her.

She never stays long, and usually never says goodbye, but she always leaves behind fond memories of her. It makes her happy to know that others have enjoyed her presence, and those who have seen her once will often see her again, years later, when she comes to visit once again. Barachiel’s clan, too, is often visited by her, so that she might see Saturn and exchange stories with him. Over the years the two have become close friends, and she never forgot that it was him who brought her on this new path.

What time she doesn’t spend with traveling or at some other dragons’ den, she spends guarding her old Beastclan camp. Although her old friends and family do not recognize her, she has become a well-known and cherished sight. They have learned that she doesn’t wish them harm and that she watches over them – and whatever dragon dares to attack their camp will be warded off by her magic.

Other Beastclan camps have been blessed by her protection as well, and she is well known among many of them. Sometimes Jupiter brings them presents – an offering of piece – and some dragons have started following her example. She hopes that one day, the war between Beastclan and dragons will subside, and that both sides will be able to live in peace side by side.

Proxima Centauri

Saturn