I love the story, but I hate the lame-sounding names. "Grofflings"? Really? Sometimes, stuff doesn't need names because they add nothing. It's not awesome. Great story, cut back on the lame names.

One minor point though. Regulus clearly has wings in the game, and stays afloat for long periods of time. Doesn't this kind of go against the story, where he cannot return to his kin? What's his motivation to fight in the tournaments, instead of returning home ever again (his kin never saw him again). Regulus says his path leads to a "place of death". Why is he unable to be satisfied with his revenge? Regulus says "You have shown me a world of love, but I cannot seem to touch it." If this is metaphorically speaking, it does not necessarily show. One interpretation of these words is that he has now become a raging lunatic unable to feel desire, something he laments but is unable to stop?