Iron and Fire

Just as Arin predicted, they were late to the Council. Man did Ceto hate when Arin was smug. He'd never hear the end of it. Like the incident with Rose. Arin had said how much of a great matchmaker he was, even though the girl had only been in their school for the past week or so. But that was neither here nor there for Ceto. He knew that he and the girl were not going to happen. At least, he hoped not.

Ceto shook his head as he tried to focus on landing. Unlike Arin, who had to land perfectly on two legs with his wyvern form, Ceto had to land on all four. It should have been easy for any normal dragon. Again though, Ceto wasn't normal, he was blind. And as not to break the tradition, Ceto crashed into the floor, right into the hard metal that made up the Council room.

"Damn..." He cursed into the floor as he slowly started to shake it off.

He felt all the eyes on him as he tried to shake off what had happened and listened intently. The one voice that he really didn't want to hear responded to his crash with the most condescending tone that a dragon could muster. He rolled his eyes as soon as he heard the curtness in his voice.

"Ah. The Eldest Elder's blind son has once again made his dramatic entrance." Ceto shot a glare to the voice.

The Council's chief adviser, an ice dragon by the name of Xeno, had a thing against Ceto for a long while. Ever since he was a hatchling. Though, he couldn't be sure of what reason, other than Ceto's father giving him a bit of fire to save him from turning to stone. Ceto guessed that Xeno was not too fond of the idea of his nephew being a blind dragon. Though, being the last of the clutch didn't help either.

Ceto slowly walked forward and bowed his head. He knew by the presence in front of him that he was in front of the Eldest Elder, the one that gave him his flame. He tried to focus his steps as to not knock into Xeno, who prominently gave him the "cold shoulder", a cold breath hitting him in the shoulder where his wing met. But Ceto promptly ignored it.

"Father."

Ceto and his father did not have much of a connection as a normal father and son could. Even by dragon standards. As his father had sired many dragons over and over, Ceto was one of the last to survive. Him and his half family that didn't particularly like the idea of being related to such a "weak" dragon. Sure, Ceto had been given fire and he was by blood his son, the Elder dragons could not play favorites to their own children. He had to speak equally with them.

"Cetus. Glad you could join us." Ceto flinched at his true name and the tone of his father's voice. He was a bit harsh as well as a breeze, something that he inherited from where he got his power.

Arin must have kneel next to him because he felt another mass by him. And as many ways that Arin would, he changed the tone of his voice to something a bit more... posh. Maybe to impress, but then again, most of his actions were in mockery as it were.

"Elder Ladon. We apologize for our late arrival." Oh you suck up.

"Enough. Please take your places you too."

Ceto felt a glare behind him, and knowing by the icy feel that it was probably Xeno. Ceto and Arin must have interrupted his great spiel about how to save the dragons, through war.

"Yes Father."

Ceto took a few steps until Arin brushed against him to lead to a pedestal beside his father. His other siblings and family were on his father's other side. Though, Ceto felt everyone's eyes on him. The Eldest Elder's son, a screw up that never should have been given a flame. A determination had built up inside him long ago to prove them all wrong. But he had not found the chance to use it.

"Xeno, please continue with the report."

"Yes brother." Ceto listened to the unfurl of a roll of paper. "Two more dragons have gone missing in Moscow. No one has seen them. We believe it may have been due to the fact that the Knighthood has been becoming more active."

There was a hiss at the mention of the Knighthood. All the hatred and anger built up in the room that Ceto could feel it. He tried not to let it get to him, but it stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Enough everyone. Let us here the rest." Xeno cleared his throat as he continued.

"Many are fleeing back to this world and wonder what the Council will do to stop these kidnappings. What refuge we shall impose to protect our kind from the Knighthood?" There was a murmur of agreements from the rest of the Council.

Xeno always tried to find unrest in the people around him. He wanted to just keep the dragons out of the mortal world. Hide away and replenish their numbers.

"Brother, I think it is high time that we seal off our world so that we may regain our strength, take out the Knighthood where we can when we are at our strongest."

That's right... The blood moon is soon. The time when the dragons would be at their strongest was just a short few months away. But, that was months away. And there was nothing that they could do now.

"We are trying to live in peace, Xeno. A war against the Knighthood..."

"You mean hiding. Hiding who and what we truly are will not help. Let us use their fear of us against them." Ceto knew how stupid that would be.

The Knighthood had been growing more and more in numbers. If the dragons gained strength, then the Knighthood would have more reason and would relentlessly hunt them down. He was about the stand up when he felt Arin put pressure on his shoulder.

"Your father can handle it." Arin whispered harshly in Ceto's ear.

Ceto's muscles tensed, wanting to say something. But knowing better as Ladon stood up. The power from his legacy started emanating from him. In contradiction to Xeno's icy legacy, Ladon's burned that all the murmurs and unrest went silent. That was his power, to calm the masses, and give them a feeling of hope.

"Then we would be a threat. And they would have a true reason to hunt us down. And not just them, the whole human race." Everyone had gone dead silent. "If we lock ourselves away," Ceto's father continued. "The magic that has been keeping this world together for us and our children will be working overtime. And the magic would disappear much faster than it is now."

Ceto wished that he could see the expressions on everyone and hoped they understand that reasoning. That this world was only there until the magic ran out. If the magic ran out, they would be left to the mortal world to be dealt with.

"What would you have us do, Ladon?" Xeno's voice cut through the silence. Ceto's scales started to stand on end and rattle.

"That Lindworm... He's going to get us all killed..." Ceto muttered to Arin.

"He is your uncle, Ceto. He has always had a thirst for blood." Ceto sighed as more dragons started to argue about the safety of the dragons to the threat they posed to the rest of the world.

Ceto didn't really want to be where the dragons were arguing, that he had to hold his own tongue. His father had told him that it was best that the younger generation not get involved with the matters of the generation that gave them life. But there were times like now that proved that someone else needed to speak up.

"I wouldn't." Arin whispered harshly in his ear again. "But who am I to judge?"

The troublemaker trying to stop trouble? Has the apocalypse happened? But slowly Ceto rose. At first, his voice was really low.

"Everyone." Everyone kept talking. A droning sound that he could barely tell the difference in the voices. Raising his voice, he called out again. "Everyone!"

All the dragons started to fall to silence and their gazes fell onto Ceto. Great... More attention that I didn't need...

"Ah, the Eldest's son wants to speak." Xeno sneered slightly. Doubt started to fill Ceto, but he tried to shake it off. That was Xeno's power with ruling the ice, to instill doubt on people. "What does our blind young dragon have to say?"

Ceto felt more of an anger start to boil again in his chest. Oh how much he would have loved to burn his uncle just a little bit. Using his power against other dragons was just something that he couldn't truly understand, nor wanted.

Then, there was a yip sound that came in a higher pitch than normal and the sound of laughter.

"Didn't see that coming, did we, Elder Xeno?" Arin called out.

"Arin!" Ladon called out.

"What? Did you want to have a go at him first?" There were some giggles from the corner, but they must have gotten the hard look because silence fell in the corner of the court.

"You are just going to let it just slide, brother? That is disrespectful for a hatchling to do to an Elder, and from a hatchling such as him." There was probably a pointed finger and a glare that was aimed at Arin, who was chuckling like a mad man.

"Disrespectful? And using your power to cast doubt on others is not?" Arin's tone became serious.

"Go ahead Ceto."

Everyone's gaze fell back on Ceto. He could still feel the doubt, but with Ladon's consent, Ceto started.

"I think we can all agree that the Knighthood is starting to become a threat again, but if we can keep them guessing where we all are, Gawain's flame can continue. Bickering among ourselves is not going to solve anything." There were some half-hearted murmurs, though the doubt in the blind dragon's words. "Fighting should be a last option. If all else fails, then we should fight. But if we can convince people, the humans, we might be able to get refuge and have people there to help us."

Ceto knew he wasn't good with his words, and it was sure when so much anger was shot towards him. Sure, the humans were part of the reason that the last true dragon died out centuries ago, but Ceto believed that they may be the key to them making a stand against the Knighthood.

"The humans cannot help us, and after what the Knighthood has done, what humans cane we trust besides the mates we take?" A voice rang out.

"Maybe it is time to show the world exactly what we are and what we want. We are in different times from the days of hunting dragons." Ceto could feel some of the hate, but it was a little less on him than before.

Ladon waited a few moments, the awkward moments of silence before speaking up again. "We will stay with the old ways for now and figure out what to do at the next meeting. But for now, we all need to head back."

There was some protest and arguments, but the Elder was done with this audience. Ceto sighed. Nothing is ever going to get done. Ceto sighed again as Arin came beside him.

"Now how about that performance?"

"Xeno is not going to let that slide, you know. He's going to want revenge."

"Psh. Like he will know where to find me. I'm not exactly easy to find. Besides, the court jester is not worth the trouble of exacting revenge." Ceto rolled his eyes as he heard dragons start to leave.

"And you say I'm dramatic."

"You are dramatic. I just wear it better." There were more giggles from the corner.

"I think you may have a fanclub."

"Not as much as you." Ceto shook his head and rubbed the back of his head with his talons.

"Yeah. Do you think I got it out there?"

"Well..." There was a pause. "I'd say it did catch their attention. The younger ones have paid attention though. Maybe they'll do something to help."

"Maybe."

"Hey!" Ceto got whacked in the shoulder. "Be positive. We'll figure it out."

"Cetus!"

"Unless you are called by your father. So, while you are having a lovely conversation with the Eldest, I will go over and talk, spread the message." Ceto rolled his eyes as he started to walk towards the foreboding force that was his father.

"Or get their numbers." Ceto muttered under his breath.

Ceto hung his head as he approached his father. It has been a long while since he and his father had a "talk". And it was mainly for him to stay out of trouble. His father descended his seat, coming toward Ceto. Ceto could feel the heat radiating off him.

"Come with me." Ceto felt his scales start to stand on end and rattle again.

Well, I'm screwed. He listened to the heavy footsteps, though the echoing was throwing him off. but he tried to follow his father's footsteps, thinking he was going the right way. Until... Thunk! Ceto grounded his teeth as he hit one of the pillars. There was a snicker as he pulled away from the column. He couldn't be sure who had snickered, but tried not to think about it. It's a wonder that Ceto didn't have some sort of brain damage, but dragons were known for their hard bones. Ceto furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to focus again. He hadn't been ready for the looming figure off to his right. He felt something bump his wing and a whisper.

"Follow me."

Ceto nodded and followed the bumps to his wing as his father lead him to the hallway, somewhere that felt a bit more cramped to the Council room. Or that was probably just how it felt to Ceto. His father stopped leading him, standing in the dark. There was no light that Ceto could feel, but he wished that he could see his father's expression.

"Cetus..."

"I know father. I know. I shouldn't have spoken up." Ladon sighed softly.

"Cetus, you know we can't share who we are. Even mates that can't handle the truth."

Ceto let his eyes fall. The mates that couldn't handle when the dragon revealed who they were got their mind wiped as much as possible of them. And their children taken away. It was a sad fate, but many dragons, including Ceto himself had had that done to him. Some humans could not accept the dragon that they loved, or that the children they have are dragons either.

"We need to try something different. Hiding away cannot be the only option we have..."

"It's one of the only things that we can do. Until I know otherwise, I will not risk the last of the dragons on this idea. Xeno may threaten a war against me. And I have no idea what else to do. Just..."

"Keep our heads low. We know. But if we had proof?" Ladon possibly tensed, or so it felt to Ceto.

"That is a big if, Cetus. But it isn't just about convincing me." Ceto knew that. "Head home, cast those thoughts away. We will handle this some other way. If we could only get the scepter back..."

Ceto knew of the scepter. It had the power to help the dragons for various reasons. The fire to strengthen and help with making more of them, the magic to keep their world together. It was the only thing that may replenish the magic to this world. One of the last safe havens for dragons to live. But it was lost centuries ago. They believed that it was either lost with a flight of a dragon that was being hunted, or that the Knighthood or humans had somehow gotten it. It was one of the greater mysteries.

"Go Cetus. You have class tomorrow. Rather you not miss it." Ceto sighed and bowed his head.

"Yes father."

Ideas formed in his head. If he could find the scepter... Maybe he could prove himself to the others. That his father had made the right choice to give him his own flame. Before Ceto realized it, he was alone in the hallway, his father had long vanished. Arin kept calling his name, finding him in the hallway.

"Saw that you would be here." Arin came up beside him. "Had a lovely conversation with the Elder?"

"Shut up. We need to head home." Ceto then remembered. "How did the girls go?"

Arin probably shook his head, but Ceto waited. "Not my type. Some water dwimmerlakes and a proposal of a forest dragon, but you know how they are."

Ceto rolled his eyes. Forest dragons were known to be very free spirited and did not like to settle. And water dragons would rather drown their mate than anything else.

"Nobody is your type. One of a kind troublemaker. Let's head home." They took off and headed back to the portal, the words of Ceto's father ringing in his mind.