Commander of the Eastern Gate

Azure blocked an arrow with his sword with practiced ease and let Icarus dive down to get the enemy on the cliff out of the way. He didn't even look anymore; he heard a wet ugly crunch and a clatter and knew that was it. 

It was dawn when the Southern Clan decided to strike. The southerners had been at war with the northerners for decades. Why, nobody remembered anymore. Mostly for resources these days. There was a reason why the northern lands with their high and rough mountains were surrounded by a wall built into the granite stone, giving the impression of a stronghold. Only downside when you can literally fly over it on the back of a dragon is it’s rather useless. And of course the southerners rode dragons too. 

On this day Azure came back to the castle in the main city from another exhausting event where he had to wear a fake smile and uncomfortable stiff clothes, to listen to others ramble about values of a white feathered dragon he knew first hand and would’ve never agreed to any of that nonsense the aristocracy babbled about. The way they glorified his dragon into something the beast simply wasn’t, made him sick. And also on the other hand they relentlessly tried to get on his good side with bribery and honey sweet words. Even though he had no real position of power on the political side. Being a friend of the nation’s symbol, means you’re following its values. And brought you and your family in a better light than the others. Same with Opals obsession trying to make her dragon the potential sire of Icarus pups. Adding your bonded dragons lineage to the holy dragon was one of the highest honors. That this so-called “honour” was forced on them, was only a small calamity. 

At least he could let Icarus rest on one of the towers this time and didn't have to parade with her down a main street like some kind of show pony. Since the incidents in the dragon barns at the castle they had both decided not to rest in a stable ever again: the enclosure had caused them both enough trauma. So they usually slept on top of one of the towers, cuddled together, even in the cold, where they could flee anytime one of his siblings tried something terrible again. Curse those fancy quarters they wanted to bribe Azure with.

They had been rather quiet about it the past years, but Azure knew they had been plotting something because he got a glimpse from both of them that evening. That was why he decided to leave the party late at night. He got dressed in his normal leather armour, put his sword belt on, grabbed his lance and climbed back into the saddle. As they looked back to the tower balcony he saw Opal and some guards swarming out from the attached door. 

He threw his sister a rude gesture while Icarus let out a screech at her which could wake up the dead, and hopefully damaged Opal's eardrums, as they flew off again to the eastern gate.

He was nearing the fortress he became the commander of 3 years ago when he saw the movement of the enemy down on the wall. He rang the alarm bell as soon as he arrived in the yard and was back in the air shortly after, to battle the approaching enemy.

Mid-fight Azure realised something was weird. There weren't a lot of soldiers from the other side, which was unusual. He gave Icarus a sign and the dragon roared up in the sky to oversee the scenery.

A few metres further he saw some dragons who had taken another one... hostage? He gave his dragon a slight tap with his foot and whistled to get the attention of four other riders in his unit, pointing in the direction of the weird constellation.

They charged at the others from above. Azure didn't hesitate long: it was either them or him, he had learned the hard way. He got on his knees and got ready to jump on the back of the dragon underneath him.

He fell down on the other dragon and unceremoniously kicked their rider out of the saddle before he made a leap over to another startled rider to tackle him down too. He nearly slipped from the strange dragon's back who buckled under him, but Icarus was already above them and caught him with her huge claws before he fell off. "Iccy, we need to get to the captured dragon!" He shouted.

She let out a huff and lowered her speed to let him climb back in the saddle easier before she sank down to the dark green dragon who had freed themselves in the meantime from the claws of their capturers. As they got closer, Azure saw that there was actually a rider on top of them but they seemed unconscious. 

"Grab the Rider!" He told his dragon.

Icarus did as she was told and flew up again as soon as she got the human secured. The dragon underneath let out a pained scream and tried to get after them, but Azure made a gesture at the fortress with his hand and the white feathered dragon sped up, using the strength in her white wings to roar through the sky  She was the fastest dragon of the whole eastern gate, the green dragon could barely keep up with her but tried its best. 

As they landed in the fortress yard the green beast behind them rushed into their trap. As soon as the green one approached the walls, nets came flying and pinned them down. 

Azure hopped from his saddle and looked curiously at their prisoner in Icarus’ paws. It was a slim man with black hair and a sharp angled face. Blood was running from a head wound so Azure sent for a healer immediately. He handed his new prisoner to his soldiers and told them to bring him to a guarded cell, that they shall come get him as soon as he's awake. After that was settled he had a short chat with his squire and right hand Sari to check if anything happened during his absence, and climbed back on one of the watchtowers where he and Icarus slept to have a nap himself next to the dragon who had already settled down in her nest, snoring softly. 

They had the same issues here as at the castle. Inside and on the ground, both of them tended to get anxious pretty fast for various reasons.

Azure got rid of his breastplate and shoulder harness and crawled under his pelts next to Icarus, pressing his forehead into the soft feathers on her flank. Whoever his new prisoners were, they were precious to someone and he already had a guess to whom. Because those soldiers of the “south” had an awful lot of northern clothing on them.

Azure was startled awake a few hours later by Icarus’ cautious growl. Sari, his squire and right hand waved from the other side of the platform at them. "Our prisoner is awake, Sire." Azure patted Icarus’ flank soothingly, got up, and put his armour back on. He never went out without it those days. Except for winter, the days on the wall were rough. The Southern Clan was the least of their problems usually. Bandits from the west and east were common too.

Heavy armed smugglers. Dragon poachers  Everyone tried to get through the eastern wall because it was the least secured of their kingdom. After being in charge for three and stationed for nearly ten years, Azure had seen close to everything out there and knew that this lack of safeguarding was on purpose. 

The old commander used to trade goods with the south all the time, which killed him in the end because they framed him as a traitor in the main city and beheaded him. The man got on the bad side of one of his customers on the northern side. 

The remains of his skull were still hanging somewhere from a spear in front of the castle walls. Azure tried not to care. He never got involved in any of that business, but after the twentieth shady merchant approached him in the city to hand out a deal in exchange for cheap booze and sex slaves from the south, he simply struck him down with his sword.

He was startled after the event. He never took himself for a mindless killer but the way people started to view him afterwards with fear and respect did him good. And nobody ever tried to talk him into some shady business anymore. To see that the rider of the white feathered dragon was indeed righteous and untempted by earthly desires and so on… Azure nearly vomited during the mess he had to attend after the incident when he heard the sermon. The high priest praised him and Icarus over the moon and back for being their moral compass but Azure knew from reliable sources that the church was the one who sent the man he killed in the first place. 

It also raised more hatred in his sister Opal if that was even possible. He knew by then that she was part of that fraud out here on the eastern wall to keep the rich and influential northerners on her side. But as long as the fortress was not attacked directly and they didn't see anyone on their patrols, Azure tended to ignore the frequent trades. He wanted to be left in peace out here. He knew being on his older sister's bad side was bad enough. He didn’t need to draw in more unwanted attention from this side.

He was only merciless with the human traffickers and the poachers. As long as it was only inanimate goods, he was fine with it. When some rich idiots from the north wanted tropical fruits from the south and drugs from the ocean harbours, so be it. But he despised it when they brought over living beings.

With that information on his mind he climbed down to the few cells they had and greeted  some of his soldiers on the way, who came back from scouting the terrain around the gate. Nobody else seemed to try to climb over the wall today.

They respected him by now. The others who had been as corrupt as their former commander vanished. He gave them the choice. Deserting or death. The deserters all went to the south. He envied them, if he was honest with himself. He thought of leaving so many times too. But with a dragon like Icarus it was like having a target on his back. They would kill him immediately on sight given what kind of symbolism he was for the north.

As he arrived at the cell an impressive emerald green pair of eyes glared at him from the narrow bed on the wall. Azure couldn't hide a grin. 

"So it is you," he smiled.

"Unfortunately yes," the other spit back. "I was hoping you weren’t still in the capital so we couldn’t pass in peace."

"Well you know I'm never long gone Rex, glad I could help stopping whatever that was." Azure shrugged his shoulders and sat down next to the bed on a chair.

Corvus Rex, as he called himself, leader of the free seven Clans of the south who named themselves the "Southern Clan". Both of them had been running into each other a lot over the past years. But usually their encounters were heavy short fights with close to no losses on both sides. Azure joked last time that they came over when they were bored and needed some stress relief, because other than that both sides never tried anything else. Their fights were more of a traditional beat up like Sari called it, their cultural exchange.

"What happened to you and your dragon?" Azure asked, "How did they capture you at all? I thought you didn't leave the south except for pestering me?"

"Better ask your sister." Rex spit. "Was on my way to some official negotiations we finally agreed on weeks ago and just passed by as soldiers attacked me and my people. They tried to drag me over the wall, when you suddenly appeared. Thanks for that I guess." Azure reached over to a side table and handed him a cup full of water.

The Clan leader threw him a thankful look and drank slowly. 

"I guess everything I saw and heard yesterday makes sense now," Azure muttered to himself.

"How so?" Rex asked.

"Oh it's alright, how are you feeling? I don't feel obliged to keep you. Don't have the space for all those southerners trying to get through. And it's a pain in the ass to keep a strange dragon calm. Heard them squeaking from here, they’re furious."

Rex blinked at him, surprised. "You don't wanna hand me over?"

"No. I hate my sister more than anything, I won't help her to hero herself up to the masses so she becomes the next king. She is one of the most despicable beings I know. I bet she only invited you to kill you. This woman doesn’t know how to negotiate." He stood up and helped Rex to his feet. Guided him outside to his dragon who started purring at the sight of their rider. 

Azure shoved him over to them. "Go." He just said and turned while giving his people a sign.

He didn't watch the Clan leader disappear. He knew after this decision his days were numbered anyway. He had tried to avoid the political minefield of the north for some time now. But intervening with his siblings’ actions like that would have dire consequences