Kilani waited for Princess Kiriad and the survivors of her battalion to retreat home before she made her way down to the battlefield.  The ground was still warm from the fighting that took place here - the princess and her team against several dragon warriors.  And for what?  All for the life of another captured dragon warrior.  The dragons won this time, and Princess Kiriad’s forces suffered heavy casualties.

Kilani stood in the middle of it all and continued her private reflection.  Soon the heat of this battle would cool and fade.  But the scars would remain… for a long time.  Perhaps indefinitely.  This made Kilani even more uneasy as she continued to contemplate her purpose in life.  What did she stand to gain?  Hell, what did any of them - on either side - stand to gain?  Bloodshed led to more bloodshed - an endless cycle.

But where, when, and how did this cycle begin?  Kilani tried to remember, thinking back to when she was just a cub.  Even then there was fighting between tigers and dragons.  Kilani then remembered the old stories and songs that all little cubs were told growing up.  Every tale spoke of the war between dragons and tigers as being centuries old – a never-ending atrocity born out of racial hatred and birthed between individuals long-since dead.  And was anyone really winning?  For as long as it has gone on, it certainly didn’t seem to be the case.  What an ugly and stupid war – fought between two sides steeped in ignorance and unbridled hate. 

“Guess that’s something else that proves we aren’t that different,” Kilani thought to herself.  “They hate like us.  Their blood runs red just like ours.  And they die just like we do.”

Kilani made up her mind.  She was done with this war.  She would have no part of it anymore.  From now on, her battle was to end the war for good, to bring peace to both tigers and dragons, even if she had to pay for it with her life.

With her vow still fresh on her lips, she walked away from the battlefield forever...