It was no exaggeration to say that Gehenna, or as the vast caldera was more commonly referred to as, the Crater, was easily the most dismal region on the planet. Almost everything within the volcanic depression was of a dull grey coloration, from its granite landscape to the stagnant lake at its center. The only respite from the lifeless hue came from the searing lances of white lighting regularly spat by the unnatural black fire clouds that constantly loomed over the accursed place. Devoid of moisture, Gehenna's violent thunderstorms brought forth blankets of fire more often than it did trickles of rain.
As a seasoned scavenger Spike routinely witnessed the potency of his prison's electric bars. Crouched behind an outcropping of rocks, the young fell drake's eyes were fixated on another dragon's carcass. Nearly forty feet in length the corpse would have made quite a spectacle in non draconic territory, but out here the sub adult's emaciated form was a pitiful and increasingly common sight. Too large to subsist off of Gehenna's small to medium sized fauna but too small to contend with adults over a dwindling supply of gemstones, young adults were dying in droves in recent years as they either succumbed to starvation or perished during desperate escape attempts. Given the sub adult's shattered state it was safe to conclude that the sub adult suffered the latter of the two fates.
Under normal circumstances, Spike avoided fresh carrion. Newly spilled blood typically attracted the attention of every predator within a five mile radius, and while he was more than able to hold his own in a dispute he knew he wouldn't last a minute in the mad frenzies that typically erupted around a carcass as large as this one. But today he could afford to make an exception as most of Gehenna's population were occupied elsewhere allowing him to claim this body completely uncontested.
Once he was sure that their weren't any other large predators in the area, Spike ambled out of his hiding place, his mere presence driving off the vast cluster of animals that had been squabbling over the body. Although he was absolutely dwarfed by adult dragons, as with other members of his phenotype, the fell drake was incredibly large and robust for his age.
As he approached the corpse Spike felt his stomach churn in disgust. Though he had long since become accustomed to the scent of rotting meat the rancid stench of another dragon's blood was a scent that he doubted he would ever get used to. Doing his best to ignore his revulsion, Spike clenched his fists tightly grunting in mild discomfort when sickle shaped claws burst out of the tips of his fingers. Raising his arms, the fell drake was poised to begin butchering the carcass when he heard the beating wings of a descending creature.
Startled, Spike whirled around, instinctively lunging at whatever was landing behind him. The smaller reptile was pinned in an instant and would've suffered from a fractured skull if it weren't for its distinctive features. Possessing a tubular head lined with three eyes on each side and flanked by leathery frills, the beast beneath him was easily one of the most looking bizarre creatures Spike had come across. The sinuous being raised three scrawny arms in appeasement. "Hey, take it easy big guy!"
Spike reluctantly allowed the other dragon to regain its footing. "I told you not sneak up on me like that Lask," he grumbled.
"Just wanted to make sure you didn't turn kin killer yet," Lask muttered irritability as he dusted himself off. He cringed when the other dragon drove his talons into the carcass's belly. "Seriously, you know eating that crap will turn you into something even freakier than me right?"
"There isn't a thing on this planet that could look freakier than you," Spike retorted. "Sides, I wasn't even going to eat this guy."
Lask tilted his head quizzically. "Then what are you doing?"
In response to his companions question, Spike brushed his tail against the massive amber composite bow strapped to his back. "I'm going to use this guys guts to make more strings and his teeth will make good arrow heads. I'll even take his horns in case I need to make another bow and some dumb ass decided to burn the last few trees left in this stinking hole."
"That thing is made of bits of us?" Lask gasped.
"Yeah, it is kind of messed up when I think about it, which is why I try not to," not wanting to dwell on this subject any further Spike asked, "So what are you doing here anyway? I thought you were going to go watch lord Guthrum maul whoever was dumb enough to challenge him."
"I did, but the fight was so short it was almost over when I showed up." Lask sighed dejectedly.
"Told you i'd be a waste of time."
"Well yeah the fight was boring but I wouldn't say it was a waste of time," Though Spike didn't bother to actually turn around to look at Lask he wanted to wipe the ridiculously smug smirk that was undoubtedly adorning his face.
"Why's that?" Spike drawled as he struggled to yank out a tooth as long as his thumb.
"Cause it was Guthrum that went down this time!"
Lask earned Spike's full attention upon uttering that statement. For several long moments the fell drake just blankly stared at his smaller companion. Unnerved by the uncomfortable silence, Lask began backing away from the larger blood drenched dragon.
"Piss off," Spike eventually said, turning his attention back to the corpse.
"Being completely serious. Guthrum didn't stand a chance against Æthelwold!" a relieved yet annoyed Lask hissed.
"Æthelwold?" That certainly wasn't a name that Lask seemed capable of making up, or any other dragon for that matter. Still, he remained skeptical. "So, if this Æthelwold guy really exists, what's he like?"
The awe in Lask's voice was palpable as he described the new lord of Gehenna. "He's the biggest dragon I've ever seen; almost twice Gunthrum size. But his scales were so dark that I could barely see him at night. At least until he started spewing lava anyway."
"He can breath lava?" Spike scoffed incredulously.
"Yeah!" Lask chirped excitedly. "And it was blue too! Near the very end of the flight Æthelwold covered his own fists in it and clobbered Gunthrum with them when it hardened!
"Well as sick as that sounds, that doesn't answer really answer my question."
"It doesn't?"
"No. All you told me about the guy is that he's huge and strong, which is a given since he's the new friggin lord. It's like telling me the skies blue."
"The sky ain't blue."
"Yes it is! I mean, it would be if it weren't for all the clouds and if it was daytime."
"How do you know that?"
"I just do," Spike sighed tiredly. "Anyway, as I was saying, I wanna know what this guy's actually like. You know, his personality and crap."
"Personality? Hmm. Hard to say, since he can't talk."
"He's mute?" Spike asked, astonished. After a beat, the fell drake's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Wait, how do you know his name if he can't talk?
"His pet wyvern announced it after the end of the fight. Apparently he figured out what Æthelwold says with his fingers."
"Pet wyv-y'know what I believe you. This guy sounds too weird to make up."
Spike was about to make further inquires on Æthelwold's wyvern companion when Lask's head suddenly whipped over his shoulder. A ridiculously long forked tongue shot out of his mouth, the tips of the blue organ assessing the taste of the air for a few seconds before Lask frantically took to the sky. Although he was incapable of flight, Spike's ability to flee was commendable. Within seconds he deposited the teeth he gathered into a leather bag strapped to his chest and wove a long section of intestine around his neck like a morbid scarf. He quickly galloped after Lask, rapidly scaling the tall cliff that stood between him and his airborne companion. He continued to run until Lask had flown out of view and his heart threatened to burst out of his chest. Fairly confident that he was out of any immediate danger he chanced a look backward. His blood ran cold when his eyes laid upon the most dreaded sights in Gehenna. A kin killer, the largest one Spike had ever seen, stood where he and Lask had been minutes before.
Like most of his kind, he was unnaturally thin, yet was armed with a wide assortment of hideous weapons, almost as if his body had been stripped of anything that couldn't be used to inflict violence. Although he looked nearly as emaciated as the corpse he was hungrily eyeing, the kin killer was hardly lacking in brute strength. Wielding his blade shaped rostrum like a butcher's knife, hacking away at the sub adult's corpse until it was reduced into a pile of bite-sized chunks. Spike watched in morbid fascinating as the kin killer's almost vestigial jaw's parted, allowing a lamprey-like parasite to shoot out and latch onto a hunk of meat. Within seconds of being in the loathsome creature's grasp, the meat had been drained of all fluids and the grey chunk of flesh was discarded down the kin killer's throat. The kin killer was able to devour a dozen more pieces of flesh in similar manner, before it attracted the attention of another pair of kin killer's that sought to claim the kill for themselves.
Not wanting to be the consolation prize for the losers of the contest Spike quietly departed.
