didn't comment, just looked away in embarrassment.
"But my hand was forced. An invasion is imminent—an invasion we knew nothing of because our spy network in the Blue Dragons lands has gone. You might not realise it, but we've prevented many invasions in your past. Subtly done of course, but you'll find lots of very fortunate coincidences in your history where military exercises were scheduled just as Blue Dragon invasions were going to take place."
"And prevented us from doing the same to them?" Arthur asked coldly.
"Where we could, yes, as it was the right thing to do, but we've failed many times. We did everything we could think of to stop you wiping out your neighbours, but it still happened anyway."
"Everything?" Crystal asked.
"No. I suppose not everything. There's one thing we didn't do. We didn't ever fight. We never took sides and defended anyone from your attacks. Our laws and traditions make it very hard to do. That would include fighting against the Blues."
"So your people won't join us? There will be no alliance?" Arthur asked in disbelief.
"No, not as a nation. They will facilitate an alliance with the Dark Browns, and I am going to try to persuade them to allow a volunteer army to be formed. But even if that is allowed, I do not expect many to volunteer. They see Reds and Blues as pretty much the same."
"Then why are we even bothering?" Arthur asked angrily.
"Because we have no other options available to us. Doing nothing would mean dooming you all, as you are too heavily outnumbered. An alliance with the Dark Browns is all that your King is expecting and is all that I promised to try and obtain. I never promised anything with regard to my nation— a few days ago you didn't know we existed.
Before you judge us for not helping, you have to understand our position. Your history is one of killing every neighbour you've had and none are more familiar with that history than we are, having the most extensive library of historical records of any race and having witnessed and recorded most of your bloody, unprovoked wars with so many races that you can't even remember half of their names. My government would not want the Blues to win, or even want the war to be happening, but if we were to help, they would not trust you to not turn on us as soon as the Blues were defeated. Could any of you guarantee that wouldn't happen? If anyone had found out what I was when I arrived at your school do you think I would still be alive?"
No one responded, knowing the answer. John decided not to push the point. "Don't worry, I'm sure some will want to help. Not everyone agrees with the official stance and there are those who will be willing to live with the risk of being killed in order to stop the Blues. Besides, getting the Dark Browns to help is the main thing. We don't really have the numbers to make much of a difference, but they do."
"What about your land?" Daisy asked. "Can you tell us anything about it?"
John smiled. "Where to begin? It's not a large territory, perhaps comparable in size to one of your Principalities, but with an even smaller population. The northern border is formed by a mountain range, the one we shall fly along, and this range continues almost until it reaches the sea. To the north of us we have the Sandy Dragons and Dark Browns as neighbours. To the east we have the sea and not far from our shores are islands where the Sea Dragons live, who are among our closest friends, although sadly I've never seen one. To the west we have a series of hills that form the border with the Wasp Dragons. The southern border is a mighty river and we have three races that border us to the south. Small races, both in number and the size of dragon, and although they are not on friendly terms with each other, we have cordial relationships with all three.
We don't have many large cities and compared to your cities you could argue we have none. Our capital is in the north, and, well, I don't want to spoil the
"But my hand was forced. An invasion is imminent—an invasion we knew nothing of because our spy network in the Blue Dragons lands has gone. You might not realise it, but we've prevented many invasions in your past. Subtly done of course, but you'll find lots of very fortunate coincidences in your history where military exercises were scheduled just as Blue Dragon invasions were going to take place."
"And prevented us from doing the same to them?" Arthur asked coldly.
"Where we could, yes, as it was the right thing to do, but we've failed many times. We did everything we could think of to stop you wiping out your neighbours, but it still happened anyway."
"Everything?" Crystal asked.
"No. I suppose not everything. There's one thing we didn't do. We didn't ever fight. We never took sides and defended anyone from your attacks. Our laws and traditions make it very hard to do. That would include fighting against the Blues."
"So your people won't join us? There will be no alliance?" Arthur asked in disbelief.
"No, not as a nation. They will facilitate an alliance with the Dark Browns, and I am going to try to persuade them to allow a volunteer army to be formed. But even if that is allowed, I do not expect many to volunteer. They see Reds and Blues as pretty much the same."
"Then why are we even bothering?" Arthur asked angrily.
"Because we have no other options available to us. Doing nothing would mean dooming you all, as you are too heavily outnumbered. An alliance with the Dark Browns is all that your King is expecting and is all that I promised to try and obtain. I never promised anything with regard to my nation— a few days ago you didn't know we existed.
Before you judge us for not helping, you have to understand our position. Your history is one of killing every neighbour you've had and none are more familiar with that history than we are, having the most extensive library of historical records of any race and having witnessed and recorded most of your bloody, unprovoked wars with so many races that you can't even remember half of their names. My government would not want the Blues to win, or even want the war to be happening, but if we were to help, they would not trust you to not turn on us as soon as the Blues were defeated. Could any of you guarantee that wouldn't happen? If anyone had found out what I was when I arrived at your school do you think I would still be alive?"
No one responded, knowing the answer. John decided not to push the point. "Don't worry, I'm sure some will want to help. Not everyone agrees with the official stance and there are those who will be willing to live with the risk of being killed in order to stop the Blues. Besides, getting the Dark Browns to help is the main thing. We don't really have the numbers to make much of a difference, but they do."
"What about your land?" Daisy asked. "Can you tell us anything about it?"
John smiled. "Where to begin? It's not a large territory, perhaps comparable in size to one of your Principalities, but with an even smaller population. The northern border is formed by a mountain range, the one we shall fly along, and this range continues almost until it reaches the sea. To the north of us we have the Sandy Dragons and Dark Browns as neighbours. To the east we have the sea and not far from our shores are islands where the Sea Dragons live, who are among our closest friends, although sadly I've never seen one. To the west we have a series of hills that form the border with the Wasp Dragons. The southern border is a mighty river and we have three races that border us to the south. Small races, both in number and the size of dragon, and although they are not on friendly terms with each other, we have cordial relationships with all three.
We don't have many large cities and compared to your cities you could argue we have none. Our capital is in the north, and, well, I don't want to spoil the
Similar Books
