Theta

Despite the roar of the storm around her, Theta remained quiet. She would have been completely silent if it went for sound of her ribbons and gown flapping violently in the wind, but that was no louder than the snapping of a banner. But still, she hoped it was just loud enough for someone below to hear. Hoped that the sound would be just enough for a guard to get curious and come investigate, drawing close enough that she could strike them down before they had the chance to pose a threat to their ambush.

She coiled tighter around the bamboo she clung to, her claws digging deeper into hollow
shoots. She hated the quiet, the waiting. She was a creature of the battlefield, a true warrior. She lived for the adrenaline-fueled rage so potent that not even a spirals’ narcolepsy could touch her. She wanted nothing more than the rush of charging into front lines with nothing but her sword in her hand, and the taste of static in her mouth. She was a fighter, built for the heat of
the moment, not the stillness of an ambush.

She could not wait until her clan could finally strike.

Below her, nestled quietly beneath the cliffside bamboo forest where she waited, was another clan. Tents and lean-tos weighed down by stones and heavy iron stakes dotted the clearing, sheltered rocky shelf that Theta watched them from. Normally Rigil would have ordered them to have torn through here by now, stealing whatever food or valuables they clan may have. She had been excited at first, when August spotted smoke in the distance. Smoke meant another clan, or in the very last a campsite full of dragons to test her mettle against. Only one column of smoke meant it was a small group, it should have been easy picking. Instead they were met with a group of gaolers.

Her clan itself kept the company of a few gaolers. They were massive dragons nearly the size as guardians, with antlers big enough to rival imperial’s. Said to be the first children of The Iewarden, they rumored the perfect guards and were covered in fur so thick that they didn’t even need armor. Not that any of that mattered to her. Dragons were dragons, they were still mortal, and they could still bleed. If anything, their titanic size gave her the advantage, bigger dragons rarely ever paid attention to her, let alone notice her. It was rare for spirals to be taken seriously in battle, something she had come to rely on. She had lost count of how many times she snuck past towering dragons, only noticed once her sword was already buried deep within their throat or when lightning had struck them from the sky. Gaolers wouldn’t be any different.

But until then she would wait. Rigel had ordered her and the rest of her raiders to camp up wind of them, staying out of sight until given the signal. Behind her she could hear the bamboo creaking as another restless dragon readjusted itself. She wasn’t the only one getting antsy. As the storm picked up, Theta’s anticipation only grew, and she found herself almost grinning. Soon they would charge the unsuspecting encampment below with all the fury and rage of the tempest that swirled around them. Soon the guards would hear a clap of thunder, followed by the rushing sound of wing beats and then their own battle cry. And soon she would drop from the sky, striking them down like a bolt of lightning.

But for now, she would wait.

Lore Written by @SpaceCrab!!!