Mantis followed the cargo train, gripping his spear with a leg. The Changeling beside him had considered using magic to hold their weapon, however a glare from Mantis stopped them in their tracks.
Onboard the carts were dragons, held on tightly with rope. His small, blue eyes peered up to the tall, jagged Spire standing in the middle of the wasteland, surrounded by smaller ones, sighing as he reminded himself of the long distance to the Hive. But at least it would be worth it.
“Hoping this will be enough for the Hive, Mantis?”
He turned his head to the voice.
“Locust, hoping is all I can do now.” He raised his hoof, a large scar running down it. Growling, he looked at one of the sleeping dragons. “Those Dragons will pay for what they did.” His voice was low, and he felt a hoof placed on his withers.
“Don’t beat yourself over it, there was nothing you could do to save-“
Mantis glared at his friend, his stance becoming aggressive. “She was more important to the Hive than you think!”
Suddenly, cries from the front of the train alerted the two along with the others trailing behind. “Dragons! From the sky!”
Mantis raised his weapon, barely able to rally the others before a large reptilian claw slammed into him. Pinned to the ground, he was only barely able to see his assailant before his instinct took over, and he rammed the spear straight into the Dragon’s side, causing the Red-scaled beast to recoil and roar out in pain and ripping the spear away from him, only to drop it on the ground moments later.
Rolling over to a side, he stood up, wincing in pain. He rushed over to his weapon to face the large creature, though quickly discarding it as he transformed his body into a large arthropod and slamming into the Dragon.
He heard a familiar cry nearby. “Mantis! Help!”
Thinking quickly, he threw aside the Dragon with as much strength as he could garner and rushing over to help Locust. Slamming into his target, he briefly turned his head to his friend. “Run!” That was all he could cry out before he felt a claw dig into his back, causing him to screech and his boiling blood to pour out. The Dragon proceeded to rip one of his legs off before kicking him into the ground, the Changeling changing back into its primary four-legged form.
Locust could do nothing but watch as he began to retreat. To his horror, two of the large reptilians noticed him, one white and one red. They began their pursuit as he galloped as fast as his legs could allow, arriving at a cave where he dove in, hoping to find a hiding place too large for the Dragons to fit in.
-|-|-|-
He’s going to kill that Changeling! Damn it, it hasn’t done anything wrong, just because it was a part of the caravan! ‘We got what we wanted! Ignore him! Enough has died today.’
Briefly turning his head, he grinned ‘Yes, you got what you wanted, but what I want is vengeance.’ He turned to face the Changeling ‘Finally. Say your prayers, it is time to die.’ He threw a slash with his claws, his scales coated in blood red.
Leaping in the way, I felt the full force of his slash, I heard my wing ripping. Damn it. That hurt. He is stepping backwards, examining me, he looks surprised, shocked even. He’s retreating. Good, run. We’ll meet again.
I can barely see straight anymore; the weight of my body and the battle damage from earlier causes me to collapse, lifeblood pouring out of me. Come on strength, drag your body forward just a little bit. Bed is right there.
The Changeling is coming over... Come on... stay awake just a little longer-
-|-|-|-
Groggily opening my eyes, I noticed the roof above me was made of dark stone, instead of the usual concrete coated with a layer of white paint smeared with dust. ‘Urgh, weird dream... What the?’ Alright… Unfamiliar location, dangerous. First, check surroundings. Cave, somewhat dark, light from around the corner. Second, check myself for injuries. No visible injuries on my body, though difficult to turn and look around. Check body again for any discrepancies.
Problem. Big one.
‘This isn’t my body.’
‘These aren’t hands, either.’ They end in talons and start in scales. Pristine white scales. Can’t be good for camouflage, not in this environment. I stick out like a sore thumb, or a claw in this instance. Adrenaline begins to pump; I can feel my body becoming shakier by the second, adding to the fact it was already sore. However, stay calm. Panicking is not an option here. Also. ‘Damn it. Hungry, very hungry. Thirsty too.’
Idea.
Try movement first, then bother with the appearance later. Dragging my clawed feet along the ground isn’t easy, with this unfamiliar weight of a clearly oversized reptilian creature- I turned my head around and noticed wings. Dragon... Alright then.
Something I noticed however was my left wing had some damage to it, membrane having been torn somewhat. Can’t fly then, not that it was an option I would have considered in the first place.
Eventually, progress. I found myself only a few inches from my starting position, which I could clearly see now as a destroyed nest of sorts. Is this a lair? My lair? No, pondering for later, go to the light, focus on the light. Continuing my lumbering, dragging my oversized wings along the floor. ‘It is a miracle I haven’t collapse- ‘
Thud
‘-Never mind…’
‘What did I drop onto’? Looking down, I noticed a miniscule pebble, relative to me at least. ‘A mighty, terror of the skies is stopped by a pebble.’ My thoughts were mocking me now. Getting back onto my four legs, I could almost taste the light now. Brilliant.
Turning the corner, a talon gripping at the cave’s wall for support allowed the radiant beams of sunlight to grace my scales, and blind my, presumably draconic eyes. ‘Sun. Seems a little closer than I remember.’ I almost mumbled out my thoughts as I stepped forward, now a little more use to the quadrupedal form. I was clearly very high up, this cave was protruding from a mountain side.
Now, with a clear view of the landscape before me, my eyes scanned the area.
It was… empty. As far as my eyes could see, a barren land. Surrounding the land were several towering, jagged spires of rock with many connected by great arches and many others collapsed onto the dead earth beneath them, littered with gargantuan skeletal cages with skulls larger than even a three-storey building.
A thought made its way into my mind.
‘Where am I?’
-|-|-|-
The hunger persisted. Making it down the hill side where the cave was situated proved to be more tiring than expected. The body was more durable than I expected, or perhaps it was sheer willpower that dragged me forward. I looked forward.
‘River. Well, stream. Good enough for me, I suppose.’
The gruelling process of walking there, sunlight scalding my scales and the lack of any foodstuffs made me want to collapse. Arriving there, without a second thought I plunged myself into the stream.
‘Eurgh...’
Instant regret. But what else is there to do? ‘Hopefully, I don’t die early from some obscure waterborne disease.’ At least problem one is dealt with, sort of. I couldn’t stomach any more of that, so I looked up to the nearest spire in front, which provided plenty of shade, unfortunately not in my direction.
Heading over, I saw corpses littering the field. Carts laid on their sides with cut rope beside them. Clear signs of conflict with battered weapons made of Iron lying beside the smaller carcasses. The smaller ones had horns protruding from their heads, and the larger heads were elongated. Dragon corpses, but what are the smaller ones? Exploring the battlefield more, I witnessed some gruesome sights. One of the creatures even had a limp ripped from it, a scar running down the leg.
‘Why did they fight. Food?’
Without much time to ponder, I almost immediately collapsed against a boulder with a loud Thud. ‘Damn it.’ Thinking to myself, my expression most likely forlorn. Time’s running short. Looking at my body, I sighed, though what noise I made could only be described as a pained groan.
‘Not here… Not dying here.’ My mind could only convince me so much.
-|-|-|-
Time passed, as I had resigned myself to looking at the sun. It mustn’t have been a long time since I collapsed. The strength in my limbs was practically non-existent. My contemplating was abruptly halted when I heard the falling of some pebbles. Paranoia spiked; it’s been quiet for all this time.
Agonisingly, I rose my heavy body and cautiously stepped toward the sound. Paranoia told me that something, or someone even was watching. Almost huddling the spire, I noticed a wooden bowl, nothing particularly interesting about it. What piqued my interest was the contents.
Food. Specifically… ‘Gemstones?’ My mind seemed to think differently, however.
‘Delicious.’ My forked tongue licked one of my many fangs.
Almost savagely, I pounced the bowl with force I didn’t know I had. Ripping the thing apart before quickly composing myself. Looking down, I could see some wooden splinters and small shards of the gems remaining in the ground. ‘Right… don’t lose control of myself again.’
I swore I could almost hear a squeak whilst I was eating, and faintly the beating of hooves with the sound slowly rising up the spire. ‘Alright, someone is around here, scared possibly. They are generous too.’
Somewhat reinvigorated, I still take my time and slowly move along the spire, finding a pathway of sorts at the base of this massive, perhaps natural structure. I trek up the spire, eye glancing up at the tall structure.
‘This is going to take a while.’ I pondered as my talons dragged my body forward. ‘Survival first. Reach the top, look around for landmarks outside of these Spires. There has to be green somewhere…’ My hopeful thoughts continue to distract me as I make my way up.
My eyes were on the sun as it raced across the sky, reaching a point where it suddenly began to rapidly descend at an unnatural rate. Around the corner, I hear something trip over followed by the rolling of a few pebbles and an “Ow.”
I froze, turning around the corner and noticing… Some sort of creature. Charcoal black chitin, a damaged carapace on its back, blue luminescent eyes, small hole-filled wings, their legs looked like cheese with the number of apertures that dotted them. The same creature as the ones I found at the battlefield. It looked starved, not as much as I am. It was much smaller than I am, cowering as it noticed my approach.
‘First contact. Play it cool, act like nothing happened.’
Lowering my head to its level, I raised a talon and carefully moved it toward the creature. “Are you- oh!” Surprised by my voice, it was a lot deeper than I remember. Must be those dragon vocal cords. Chuckling at my own fumbling, I noticed the creature had not moved a bit, though it seemed a little less frightened and awkwardly chuckled with me.
“Apologies. I didn’t frighten you too much, did I?” I spoke, volume lowered from before.
To my surprise, it nodded its head and gave me a small smile, though it still looked uncomfortable. Despite its cheese-like and insectoid appearance breaching into the uncanny valley territory, I found it beyond adorable.
“Were you the one that left the bowl of… gemstones earlier?” ‘Seriously, gemstones. I have no idea why I suddenly have a craving for shiny crystals.’
“… Yes” He quietly responded, “It was just to repay the favour.”
I frowned, lifting an eyebrow and tilting my head left. “Favour?”
The creature, at this point I identified as male, grew frustrated and a blue flame suddenly engulfed his body, changing it to a large, armoured arthropod and cried out. “Y-yuh. You stupid dragon! Why does your species have to be so daft? You saved me earlier, remember?!” Suddenly, his eyes grew to the size of tennis balls, his arms covering his mouth and he took several steps backward, his form switching back to that of the previous charcoal creature.
I cautiously took another step forward, confused.
“W-wait I-I didn’t mean it-”
I placed a claw on his mouth, “Shh.” And he was successfully shushed. ‘Question’s time. My favourite time of the year.’ I retracted my claw, sitting down before him. “Let’s start fresh, shall we?”
He nodded, still terrified, probably about the fact I could kill him in a single slash.
“Tell me your name, and species. I am not from around here.” ‘At least I hope that re-assures him.’
The question might have caused confusion. He gulped, swallowing his fears. “My fellow Drones call me Locust. And I am a C-changeling…” The relief he must have felt when I gave him a smile.
‘Locust. Changeling. Fitting. Now, a name of my own. Think of something, quickly.’ I stood up offering a claw to lift him up from the ground. “Call me… Talon. No, I don’t mean you any harm.” ‘Really? Whatever, good enough.’ The wonderful little shapeshifting abomination stood up with my help.
The Drone stepped forward, turning his head to look at me before raising his hoof and beckoning me to follow. “How about this? I take you back to the hive, and we can talk later.” He asked, and I gave a simple nod. “This way! You still look quite famished; I have more gems at home.”
I obliged, walking beside him. ‘The relationship between Dragons and Changelings is clearly bloody. So, I probably shouldn’t trust him. It wouldn’t make sense for him to give me something unless I gave back, and he had already repaid the favour, somewhat.’ My eyes shifted toward Locust, narrowing before glancing away. ‘He might even be trying to capture me under the guise of helping.’
I looked out toward the wasteland. Nothing but sand, rock and misery. I noted that I was quite high up like the top floor of the tallest Skyscraper ever constructed. This structure was more massive than I gave credit for. ‘Backstabbing him won’t help, either. There is nowhere to go, and the spires seem to end just beneath the horizon. This must be the tallest one.’ I sighed, noting we were still nowhere near the top.
-|-|-|-
Raising a hoof, the Changelings clad in plate beside her nodded, turning and returning into the Hive to prepare for their ‘Visitor’. She was taller than the others, scars from hoof to hoof and carapace. Held tightly between a leg and her side was a helmet, engraved in an archaic fashion. Mane of blue, with draconic eyes, slitted eyes. Atop her head comfortably sat a crown, though damage, with antennae protruding from the top.
Her eyes were locked onto the White Dragon aside the Drone, her almost expressionless face calmed as she noted the lack of hostility between the two. As she looked closer, she felt a flood relief wash over her as she recognised who he was. Placing the helmet comfortably on her head, with a small circle cut out for her Crown to fit through, she turned and entered the hive, leaving Changelings outside to signal for the Dragon’s arrival.
The Gate to the entrance of the Hive was situated not at the top of the spire, however in an obscure cave out of sight. Whatever anonymity it had once was useless now. The Changelings did not even bother removing the bones of the deceased; just left them there to rot.
The Moonlight was now shining on the Spires, the silence of the world dawned as it darkened.
-|-|-|-
We arrived at the Entrance just after sunset, no words exchanged. Even if I wanted to leave, it was too late now. There was still nowhere else to go but the Hive. ‘He could have the rest of the Changelings ambush me right here, and I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.’ My paranoia spoke once again as we approached a gate made of blackened stone.
‘But what is the benefit of a dead Dragon anyway? Do these Changelings eat the Gemstones too? I doubt Locust enjoys the flesh of a dragon. He hasn’t even eaten anything during the trek, and he found a gemstone lying around earlier for me to eat.’
The Changeling pressed his hoof against it, and the door parted, revealing a dimly lit chamber with candles lining the carved-out wall. Locust turned to face me. He must’ve noticed my hesitant expression as I took several steps back.
Instead of questioning me, the Changeling Drone looked at the others, speaking to them. He was too quiet for me to hear what he had to say. But before I could interject, several other changelings came out of the darkness.
Their horns ignited in blue flame, their angered expressions told me everything I needed to know.
‘What are they- Whatever it is, they’re trying to capture me.’ Finding myself in a combat ready stance, I immediately attempted to charge a small group of the Changelings in armour. Their warriors. Using my sheer mass to my advantage, I slammed into them knocking them into the cave’s wall before they could raise their spears in defence.
Suddenly, something scorched my tail causing me to hiss. ‘Behind aswell? Very well!’ I whipped my tail, attempting to hit them as I heard the cries of several Changelings, followed by the sound of their bodies collapsing into the wall, ceiling and floor of the cave.
I felt several spears stab me in the side, a growl made its way out of my throat. Thrashing around, I turned my head to see the Changelings holding onto the spears for dear life, until they could not hold on for any longer, collapsing onto the ground. Then, heavy steps came from the darkness.
“ENOUGH!” Roared a voice from the shadows, followed by a tall Changeling stepping forward, its eyes at level with mine. The rest of the stepped aside as the maned Changeling took another step forward, a frown decorating its visage.
I ripped several of the spears from my side, wincing at the pain. Adrenaline flooding through my body, the pain is bearable for now.
The eyes of the larger Changeling glanced around the cave before it turned all of its attention to me. The Drones standing around me began to retreat and drop their spears to the ground, only for the spears to be gripped by a blue aura and begin levitating.
Levitating. ‘What.’
My confusion lasted for only a second before I found myself stepping aside, narrowly avoiding three spears as three more flew into my damaged wing. Gritting my teeth, I leapt forward, attempting to crash into the tall Changeling as I did its smaller counterparts.
The Changing took several steps back causing me to fall onto the floor. It proceeded to press its hoof against my skull, keeping my head pinned down whilst the others stepped forward to help.
Then the pain came back, in full force. Immense pain I never thought I would ever feel. Unable to contain a roar of pain, the cave echoed with my agony before I was silenced with a rope around my mouth.
The world began to fade away as my eyes followed the Tall Changeling who approached Locust, I swore a flash of relief covered their face before becoming stoic once again.
“Queen Sicarius.” Locust bowed his head, raising to face the Queen once again.
“Locust. Report on the Caravan, what happened to the others?” Her voice was filled with worry,
He sighed, looking down at the ground. He tried to speak as his jaw hung. Closing once again. “He’s gone. They ripped him apart… The rest of them were just butchered.” He continued, his voice wavering. “I only survived because this Dragon stopped one of his allies from killing me. It tried to lie to me about its involvement in the battle earlier, for whatever reason.”
“Mantis…” Sicarius barely whispered, her glare turning to me. “Take him to the Cage!” She commanded, and her Changelings obeyed.
That was all I could hear before my vision turned completely black.
-|-|-|-
Author's Note
Rewrite to the beginning and the ending of the Chapter.
