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My deep slumber was interrupted with a great thud as I hit the deck. A gruff, commanding voice roused my groggy mind. "We've found our mark. Time to work, Adjudicator." Normally, the title had some sort of respect to it, but the captain spoke to me with resentment - disgust, even. I had been given the choice to die with indignity and a rope around my neck or find some sort of redemption working with the Conclave. After accepting my new role, they cut out my tongue for good measure; according to them, Adjudicators let their actions speak for themselves. I knew better, though. They wanted to humiliate me further, to show me that they were my masters from then on. As I donned my ceremonial headpiece and gathered my pistols, I prepared to face my first day as their puppet.
I stepped out onto the top deck, stretching my wings for the first time in almost a week. I shielded my eyes from the sun; we drachons aren't used to daylight, and there were no clouds to speak of. We'd be at a disadvantage in the upcoming battle - but then, so would our targets. We were hunting a boat filled with heretics on their way from the angel realms to Armageddon. They were almost out of reach, but a thin border of ocean between the two worlds kept them within our jurisdiction just long enough to catch up. Not only did they hold blasphemous beliefs, but angels are forbidden from visiting Armageddon unless absolutely necessary - especially drachons. My captain had decided to skip the trial and jump straight to the execution. I was to be his ax.
Our ship's invisibility was dispelled as the broadsides went off all at once, shattering the silence with their thundering bursts. I took to the air and began firing my flintlocks one after the other, raining lead down upon the enemy vessel. I found that I could see fine with my back to the sun, but their gunners would go blind if they dared look up at me. Two Conclave knights followed, swooping down with their swords to clean up stragglers. It was a brief fight, if it could even be called that; none of us had been even barely touched. I lead the knights to the cargo hold to confirm our mark. As I stepped below and my vision returned to normal, I could see them all - at least fifty angels, maybe more, all huddled in sheer terror. Many were injured from the cannon fire, and several were dead. I could see a white figure amongst the crowd - an archon - together with a drachon, the two cradling a small, wailing bundle of cloth. A single human stood in front of them all, his quivering hand pointing a cutlass in my direction. These were our 'heretics.'
"So, are you going to just stand there?" one of the knights asked me. "That man is clearly threatening you. Why don't you take care of him, eh, Adjudicator?" He chuckled as he nudged me forward. I pulled out two fresh pistols and, clicking back the hammers on each, raised one toward the human. He seemed to shake even more with the barrel leveled at his face, but his grip on the sword tightened. The fear in his eyes turned to resolve. Despite the doom he faced, he was ready to die if it meant saving these people - individuals he was unfamiliar with, for whom he was no doubt being paid to transport, and who would likely die anyway. People he had seemingly no reason to risk his life for. I took a deep breath...and with a single motion, I turned and shot both Conclave knights point-blank in their heads. I smirked a bit as their bodies crumpled to the floor; not only was satisfying to finally give the bastards what they deserved, but I wasn't quite sure even one of those shots was gonna clear the gap in their helms.
When I resurfaced alone, it wasn't long before I was surrounded by knights. I tried to fight them off, but as it turned out, it was a lot easier to kill them when they didn't expect my shots. Two or three fell as I put some distance between myself and the ships, and I almost thought I was in the clear. With a deafening crack, however, my hope was shot down along with me. I shuddered as one of their thunderbolt spells blew a hole through one of my wings, the energy coursing through my whole body. Wracked with pain, I plummeted into the ocean below. My wings kept me afloat as I drifted in and out of consciousness. I wasn't sure how much time had passed before a massive shape towered above me.
My time had finally come. The Conclave would recover my body, probably torture me for a while, then finally kill me outright. I wasn't even sure if the refugees we were after had found a way to fight back or escape. Still, as I was lifted out of the water by burly hands of a huge, stony figure, I was content with my fate. I would die - but I was finally free.

Description
My deep slumber was interrupted with a great thud as I hit the deck. A gruff, commanding voice roused my groggy mind. "We've found our mark. Time to work, Adjudicator." Normally, the title had some sort of respect to it, but the captain spoke to me with resentment - disgust, even. I had been given the choice to die with indignity and a rope around my neck or find some sort of redemption working with the Conclave. After accepting my new role, they cut out my tongue for good measure; according to them, Adjudicators let their actions speak for themselves. I knew better, though. They wanted to humiliate me further, to show me that they were my masters from then on. As I donned my ceremonial headpiece and gathered my pistols, I prepared to face my first day as their puppet.
I stepped out onto the top deck, stretching my wings for the first time in almost a week. I shielded my eyes from the sun; we drachons aren't used to daylight, and there were no clouds to speak of. We'd be at a disadvantage in the upcoming battle - but then, so would our targets. We were hunting a boat filled with heretics on their way from the angel realms to Armageddon. They were almost out of reach, but a thin border of ocean between the two worlds kept them within our jurisdiction just long enough to catch up. Not only did they hold blasphemous beliefs, but angels are forbidden from visiting Armageddon unless absolutely necessary - especially drachons. My captain had decided to skip the trial and jump straight to the execution. I was to be his ax.
Our ship's invisibility was dispelled as the broadsides went off all at once, shattering the silence with their thundering bursts. I took to the air and began firing my flintlocks one after the other, raining lead down upon the enemy vessel. I found that I could see fine with my back to the sun, but their gunners would go blind if they dared look up at me. Two Conclave knights followed, swooping down with their swords to clean up stragglers. It was a brief fight, if it could even be called that; none of us had been even barely touched. I lead the knights to the cargo hold to confirm our mark. As I stepped below and my vision returned to normal, I could see them all - at least fifty angels, maybe more, all huddled in sheer terror. Many were injured from the cannon fire, and several were dead. I could see a white figure amongst the crowd - an archon - together with a drachon, the two cradling a small, wailing bundle of cloth. A single human stood in front of them all, his quivering hand pointing a cutlass in my direction. These were our 'heretics.'
"So, are you going to just stand there?" one of the knights asked me. "That man is clearly threatening you. Why don't you take care of him, eh, Adjudicator?" He chuckled as he nudged me forward. I pulled out two fresh pistols and, clicking back the hammers on each, raised one toward the human. He seemed to shake even more with the barrel leveled at his face, but his grip on the sword tightened. The fear in his eyes turned to resolve. Despite the doom he faced, he was ready to die if it meant saving these people - individuals he was unfamiliar with, for whom he was no doubt being paid to transport, and who would likely die anyway. People he had seemingly no reason to risk his life for. I took a deep breath...and with a single motion, I turned and shot both Conclave knights point-blank in their heads. I smirked a bit as their bodies crumpled to the floor; not only was satisfying to finally give the bastards what they deserved, but I wasn't quite sure even one of those shots was gonna clear the gap in their helms.
When I resurfaced alone, it wasn't long before I was surrounded by knights. I tried to fight them off, but as it turned out, it was a lot easier to kill them when they didn't expect my shots. Two or three fell as I put some distance between myself and the ships, and I almost thought I was in the clear. With a deafening crack, however, my hope was shot down along with me. I shuddered as one of their thunderbolt spells blew a hole through one of my wings, the energy coursing through my whole body. Wracked with pain, I plummeted into the ocean below. My wings kept me afloat as I drifted in and out of consciousness. I wasn't sure how much time had passed before a massive shape towered above me.
My time had finally come. The Conclave would recover my body, probably torture me for a while, then finally kill me outright. I wasn't even sure if the refugees we were after had found a way to fight back or escape. Still, as I was lifted out of the water by burly hands of a huge, stony figure, I was content with my fate. I would die - but I was finally free.