I was shoved out onto the sand. Ooh.. the sand.. the grainy material was sticky under my talons... sand should not be sticky..
But this sand was stained with blood.
Red blood that clumped together and got under my talon webbing. It felt similar to the sand underwater, except it just seemed...
Wrong.
Sand should not feel like this.

A large IceWing was pushed into the arena by a burly SkyWing. Red against white.
Blood against snow.
The IceWing glared at me through pitch black eyes.
Eyes that looked like voids. I would disappear in their depths forever.
Never to be seen again.

"Ahhh... Today, fighting in the arena, we've got Kelp of the SeaWings, and Snowdrift of the IceWings!" The Queen's son, Vermillion, announced.

He sounded cheerful.

Too cheerful. What if it was him down here?
Sand clumping beneath his claws. Staining his talons red forever, with other dragons' lifeblood..
The sun beating down on his back, staring into death itself.
Knowing that he will never see his family again, the void will swallow him up forever..

I was so lost in my deep thoughts that I missed the "go" from Vermillion.

There was pain. Sharp pain. Nothing but pain.. it was so brutal. The talons. The ice cold talons, ripping into flesh.

The roar of anger. Fighting back.

Teeth. Teeth in my leg. My claws connecting with ice-cold, diamond hard scales.

Pain.

Sharp. Sharp bolts of it.

Too much. Far too much.

Opening his mouth. I know what's coming.

Stone cold. Right onto the face. Closed eyes. Blind.

Darkness. Nothing but darkness.

Is this the void?

The terrible pain, right on the wing.

The blood drips.

Drip.
Drop.
Drip.

Adding to the stained sand.

Knowing others will walk in it one day.

Weakness.

Oh.. the weakness. The feeling of losing a fight... but I don't want to lose.

I never want to lose..

Blindness. Darkness. Unable to fight back.

Unusually sharp talons ripping into your soft underbelly, I can practically feel my life dripping out onto this sand.

The roar of the crowd.

Why were they cheering? Were they cheering because a dragon was getting the life sucked out of themselves? Was it because they were glad it wasn't them?

Who knows? Maybe they take the souls of dragons for themselves.

I shake my head. Clearly pain is making me let my thoughts wander.

It does not matter now. The life is gone.

No more pain. Only sweet, sweet blackness as the mass tumbles to the ground.

Blood. Sand. Blood sticky sand. Clinging to wings, limbs, frostbitten face.

A last heave.

A body of Sea.

A body of water.

All is still.

What was this...?

This.

This was the arena.