The world was burning. Woodwings fled and screamed and cried as they were forced out of their home. Warwings chased them, seemingly endlessly. Blood was everywhere, staining the ground. Queen Acacia, the longest ruling Woodwing queen, had just pushed a final group of survivors into the emergency underground tunnels and was galloping back to look for any more of her subjects. She pushed her way through some ivy, and it curled around her elegant, deer-like horns like beads of jewels. The green dragon stopped in a clearing, her sides heaving. Sunlight filtered through the leaves of the trees, and her eyes flicked around, lingering on any suspicious shadow. She relaxed her muscles slightly. But Acacia was not alone. Dark, amethyst colored eyes were tracking her silently from a dark-green bush. The large grey dragon was nearly twice the size of Acacia, and even the tiniest Woodwing dragonet knew and feared her name. Queen Bloodbath of the WarWings.

Her huge, dark gray horns curled, ram-like, into a deadly point and was covered in scar-marks from challengers. The blood-stained white claws on her thick feet have ended many dragons, and not all of them were WarWings. When she leapt at Acacia, her buly body moved surprisingly fluidly and gracefully, landing silently next to Acacia. "Hello, Acacia." Bloodbath purred, her voice feminine and deep. Acacia's eyes filled with fear, but she knew how to stay alive around Bloodbath. Act confident, she told herself, standing up to her full height. "Bloodbath." Acacia replied curtly. Her eyes flicked around, searching the clearing for an escape. Escape was impossible, however, since Bloodbath had jumped in front of Acacia in a way that blocked her from escape on all sides. She had just come to this conclusion when Bloodbath softly told her, "I wouldn't try to escape, my dear, unless you want a painful death." Acacia's jaw tightened.

"Why are you doing this?" The Woodwing spat, her voice dripping with venom. "We were all living in peace before-" "tsk, tsk, tsk. You jump to conclusion too quickly. You assume that since your tribe is living in peace that all tribes are living in peace. But my dragons were beginning to become restless, since we got the smallest share of land." Bloodbath spoke calmly but her eyes were full of hatred, a burning fire that made Acacia realize that she would not live to see her tribe safely underground. But the last sentence Bloodbath said caught her attention. "What do you mean your tribe has the least amount of land?? We split it evenly--" "Yes, yes, yes. You split the Island of Eleftheria 'evenly' so it would be fair. But I did my research, and I found that my land is the smallest. So my tribe fought back." "But-- but," Acacia spluttered." But you said you were satisfied!! You said--"

"I lied." Bloodbath snarled. "I am sick and tired of you and the Bugwings condemning my tribe just because our ways of life are 'too violent' for your sensitive little minds. Well, no more. The Warwings are taking over Eleftheria and there's nothing you can do to stop us." Acacia glared at Bloodbath defiantly. "You'll never win. The Bugwings will come to help us, and we'll be unstoppable." Bloodbath snarled and slammed Acacia up against the tree she was trapped in front of, cutting off her windpipe. She leaned in, and whispered in Acacia's ear, "The Bugwings will never help you again. I killed them all." Acacia stopped struggling. She managed to cough out, "You.... FOOL..." Bloodbath was genuinely surprised. Nobody had ever spoken to her that way. She dropped Acacia, who thumped to the ground, gasping for air. "What did you say?" She snarled, low and furious.

Acacia had gained enough composure to snap, "You FOOL! You have upset the delicate balance of this entire continent! Queen Stinger and I have excused many of your tribe's actions, but this has gone too far. I didn't think it was possible, but you have sunk to the bottom!" Bloodbath grinned malevolently. She lunged at Acacia and ripped out her throat. Acacia tried to scream, but blood burbled out of her wound. She flopped on the ground, thrashing in agony. Bloodbath leaned next to the dying dragon's ear, and the last thing Acacia heard before she died was: "Oh, my dear, you are wrong. I am not sinking to the bottom. I am rising to the top."

Chapter 1:

**Two years later...** Being the queen of the WoodWings, it turns out, is much harder than it seems. Attending meetings, blessing new-hatched dragonets, officiating weddings, blah blah blah. It made Koa want to scream, "LEAVE ME ALONE!" She knew she couldn't, though, because of the tragedy of two years ago, when the WarWings drove her tribe underground. Koa shuddered, recalling that sickening feeling of seeing the dead bodies of her tribe members. Her subjects. She and a patrol had gone out to look for bodies to bring back for burial. She had held her breath as they searched, hoping, desperately praying, that her mother wasn't with the bodies. They were almost done searching when Koa stepped into a clearing and found her mother's body. Her throat ripped out. Blood everywhere. The hopeless, empty feeling overwhelmed her, and a gaping hole where her heart was ripped through her chest. Then she noticed that Acacia's horns were broken off.

See, when royal Woodwings die, their horns are carefully sawed off and mounted in a hall of horns commemorating their lives and contributions to the Woodwing tribe. Never before had a royal set of horns been missing, until now. The fact that Acacia's were snapped off was a sign of extreme disrespect. Acacia wouldn't be given the honor she deserved. "Your Majesty." A voice snapped her back to the present. The council was staring at her, concern etched on their features. Lemongrass, Acacia's advisor when she was alive, had been the one to speak. Koa didn't particularly like Lemongrass, but he was at least helpful. "Olive asked you a question." Lemongrass said. "Oh, I'm sorry." Koa made eye contact with Olive. "That's okay, Your Majesty. I was just asking your opinion on food shortages."

Koa blinked. "Um--" She couldn't remember the numbers. Acacia had always been good at remembering things like this. At this thought, grief overwhelmed her and her throat closed off. The council murmured among themselves, but Koa wasn't listening. The pressure was too much. The walls began to close in. Air. She needed air. "Excuse me for a moment," Koa mumbled, rising. "What?" Lemongrass rose with her. "Keep going without me. Lemongrass will stand in my place." Koa raced out, and the council called after her. She turned in the direction of her personal room, then turned a different direction and sprinted the other way. Tears blurred her vision, and she felt like she was suffocating. She knew where she needed to go. The tunnels leading outside.

She ran to the throne room and scrambled underneath a tapestry depicting the meeting which split Eleftheria evenly between the three tribes. She climbed up, her wings brushing the walls and her talons slipping on the loose dirt. Bright light appeared up ahead, along with fresh air. Koa breathed deeply and trotted faster. She stepped outside, blinking in the sunlight. And walked straight into a WarWing.

(of the next chapter. If this gets five likes then I will post a sneak peek OF the next chapter).

thankee