A/N:
Hails: Oh, my gosh. Is this the second book? Hell yeah it is! This prologue is a continuation of the first prologue from the first book. If you need to read the prologue there as a refresher, be my guest.
These five warriors, after protecting the land from darkness, returned home. Although solemn in their failed attempts to apprehend the White Prince's brother, they were satisfied that their land was at peace. They were free, for the time being, to relax and be careless. However, their mistake of having a lack of caution would only come back to haunt them.
See, not long after the White King created the land, his counterpart, the Black King, created the creatures. Humans and mystical beings; plants and animals; each of them filled with their own special touch. One species of these creatures were known as Serpentine. Serpent-like beasts with supernatural abilities, as well as capabilities of language and communication, transport, and technological superiority. They were the ultimate species.
However, the Serpentine soon clashed with the humans, and war broke out. Luckily, the humans stood their own as they were blessed with the abilities of the White King. The Black King, enraged, built up the Serpentine's arsenal to teach a lesson to the White King. Soon, the Serpentine were distinguishable through both physical and supernatural characteristics. They split themselves up into five tribes.
The Hypnobrai; Although they have a lack of strength compared to their four brother tribes, they make up for such lack with their lithe bodies and swiftness. They are known as the quickest of the Serpentine, and the most feared for their hypnotic capacity. They managed to control many of the opposing side's warriors with just a little mind play and simple, alluring words which caused betrayal and conflict among the humans.
The Fangpyre; They may not have been the strongest or the fastest, but they were feared for their massive amount in numbers. They were noted as the biggest tribe and could convert any human, animal, or creature to their will simply with their venomous, vampire-like bite. Many a human fell ill to their toxins, and had no choice but to become Serpentine along side the snakes. The Bite of the Fanpyre became infamous in the war.
The Venomari; Ranked third strongest with strength aptitude paired with the saliva glands that mixed with hallucinatory venom. They were feared for the hallucinogen that fogged one's judgement and perception. It was considered dangerous to be around, and many warriors fell to victim to the Venomari spit were almost always killed in action afterwards. No pity could a Venomari ever muster up against a human. They were dangerous.
The Constrictai; With their extreme labor-intensive power and aptness for weaponry paired with their mastery in burrowing underground in mere seconds before any elemental master could ever catch them, were lethal traits that would result in the downfall of many warriors. Their sharp claws, heavily muscled structure, and sharp night vision could allow for expert sneak attacks when the elemental masters thought themselves at peace.
The Anacondrai; The most feared Serpentine of all. With a scaly exterior that no weapon could pierce, their defense matched the strongest; with their exceptional physical prowess, their fists and claws made perfect weapons; they were hardly in need of any spears, swords, or blunt objects. Their intelligence went unmatched and they were master strategists with the quick thinking skills that could alter a plan last second that allowed them victory over every battle. They were the mightiest and most feared of the Serpentine. They spared no mercy to any of the fallen warriors which opposed them.
However, if it hadn't been for the Serpentine's lack of tranquility and truce between the five tribes and a simple lieutenant's genius idea to seal away the Serpentine into five separate using many magical charming flutes, the war would've been lost to the elemental masters.
These many warriors were great in their abilities to never quit under any pressure; to have sparks of madness; split second decision making accomplishments. This is why the White King's soldiers always defeated their enemies. No matter the sacrifices.
Now... if only their descendants could do the same.
"Remind me again why we're here." Kai hissed to his partner as he held the torch forward in the dank, dark, corridor. The tall, towering ceiling was dotted with stalactites, whilst the ground with stalagmites. Kai honestly wanted to leave. Why he agreed to this in the first place was a mystery entirely.
"You know, I forgot why we're here, Kai." Silver whispered back with a sarcastic taint. She crept forward, leading the way. "How about you think back to the four times I've already told you and remind us both?"
"Shut it, Silver!" Kai snapped. "Jeez. Normally I wouldn't consider what could possibly go wrong when doing something as dumb as this, but around you I'm getting second thoughts on this plan. Why did I let you talk me into this?"
"Because Sensei said 'no' and I didn't listen." Silver answered. "That and Zane got too technical on the consequences; Jay would rather stay in the safety of his own lab of stupid inventions; and Cole wasn't even paying attention when I literally shouted my plan out loud. You were the only one available."
"I didn't take you for a trouble maker." Kai raised an eyebrow in questioning. "Your a Sensei's pet. You never break rules."
Silver snorted and had to slap a hand over her mouth to keep from snickering to loudly.
"I'm the exact opposite of a Sensei's pet." Silver responded, turning to Kai with an incredulous look. She whipped her long, blonde braid behind her so it would whip Kai in the face. Fortunately for him, Kai saw it coming and dodged by mere inches; He had grown used to Silver's lengthy hair. "Trust me. When we're not saving the world from Lord Garmadon I'm more apt to get you in trouble than you are to get yourself in trouble."
"Fantastic." Kai muttered. He stared at her long hair for a moment, then sighed. "Why don't you pin that up? What happens when it gets snagged on a stalagmite?"
"Good idea." Silver complied, pulled a pin from God knows where (hammerspace) and tied her long braid into a short, messy bun.
"Okay. Now that that's taken care of, seriously, why do you want to do this?" Kai queried as the duo wandered into a large, echoing cavern. "You know, besides feeling left out as the only Ninja among us that doesn't have a dragon to ride?"
"Because I don't want to have to ride on yours or any of the others' dragons anymore." Silver's voice echoed around the cave; bouncing off the walls. "I know I'm a burden because I can hear Jay grumbling about having to carry me. It's inefficient and annoying."
"Fair enough." Kai shrugged. "But if we're here searching for a sky dragon, wouldn't it be in a place like, oh, I don't know, the sky? Not in a cave a hundred miles from the Monastery. I would've thought it was going to be farther away."
"Okay, first off, this cave is a 150 miles away from the monastery if you're looking for a more accurate distance." Silver corrected. She and Kai scouted their surroundings in the spacious cavern. "Second. This cave is hidden away in an incredibly high mountain about three miles high. That's like 16,000 feet high or somewhere around there. By the way, who said a sky dragon couldn't hide in a cave? What's wrong with that?"
"Well, you'd think a sky dragon would like sunshine and wind." Kai retorted. "Not dank caves that reek of earth and stale water."
"Maybe it likes the dark. I like the dark. Haven't you ever played night games?" Silver asked. "Besides. Not all dragons have an incredible temple to slumber in and an amazing golden weapon to protect like yours."
"Point taken."
"Okay." Silver cooed. "Here, dragon. Here, boy; or girl. Whichever one you are-"
Silver cut herself off, and she could hear Kai's breath hitch from right next to her. A wisp of cold air breezed against the wind and fire Ninja's backs, and they froze. Slowly, they turned to the source to find a slim and large wyvern head poking into the light of Kai's torch. It's silvery scales glittered in the light, and it's piercing blue eyes studied the intruders with an intimidating stare.
"Hey, Silver?" Kai inquired nervously. "Would that be your wind dragon?"
"Yeah. That would be my wind dragon." Silver cringed. Both she and Kai stepped backwards a little; making no sudden movements. "Run?"
The sky dragon huffed, which blew out Kai's torch. This left the three figures; two Ninja and one dragon, to be consumed in darkness. The dragon roared to the ceiling, it's blue eyes still visible in inky blackness.
"Run." Kai confirmed.
Screams tore out of the throats of the two Ninja as they sprinted down the corridor. The sky dragon chased them til the Ninja reached the light of the cliffs. In their fear, neither Kai or Silver managed to stop in time enough before they toppled off a ledge. If the sky dragon could have knit her eyebrows together in befuddlement. She had to be assuming that these intruders were complete idiots. That was until another fierce roar ripped through the air, stopping the sky dragon before she could turn back to her home. The fire dragon, which Kai had dubbed with the name Flame, was carrying both a disheveled and raggedly breathing Kai and Silver on his back. Both Ninja took a moment to catch their breath as Flame and the sky dragon verbally sparred with growls and snarling howls.
Eventually, they landed back at the cliffs with the sky dragon being more submissive than she had been a few moments ago. Silver let herself off of Flame's back and approached the wind dragon with a newly refined caution. Kai watched not far behind in hopes to pull Silver back in case the wind dragon made another attempt to attack. However, Silver's soft cooing seemed to tame the beast, which finally allowing Silver onto her back.
"Yes." Silver seemed excited at the pair of dragons took off into the sky. They soared around each other, dancing in the blue, blue atmosphere until Silver was comfortable on the sky dragon's back. Even if it was bare back. Kai smiled as Silver cheered when the sky dragon looped into the air in a daring maneuver.
Upon reaching the dragon keep built into Mountain of Impossible height - which was also home to the Monastery of Spinjitzu, Silver landed in the fifth and vacant keep. She hopped off as Kai joined her after landing his own dragon. Silver smiled gratefully and with assistance from Kai and little struggle on the sky dragon's part, they saddled the gorgeous wyvern with custom made riding gear. Eventually the sky dragon laid down peacefully, allowing Silver to stroke her snout. Curiosity filled Kai, and finally he asked.
"So what are you gonna name her?" He asked.
"I was thinking: Gale." Silver answered as she tended to the sky dragon's needs.
"Gale?" Kai gave his partner a look that almost screamed 'are you serious?' With the shake of a head, Kai raised his hands in confusion. "That doesn't even sound elemental. Why that name?"
Silver scoffed and glared at Kai.
"I'll have you know, Kai, that Gale does sound very elemental." Silver retorted. "It means a strong wind; and in meteorology it's term for describing a wind force between seven and ten on the Beaufort scale-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Kai moved his hands in a yapping gesture to show Silver he was annoyed. "I get it. Strong wind. Whatever."
"You are correct, Silver"
The duo turned to Sensei Wu, who had entered the dragon keep. The rest of the team (Jay, Cole, and Zane) followed closely behind; in awe of Silver's new companion. "Gale does in fact suit the sky dragon. It is a very beautiful name. I congratulate you on making a new friend. However, I cannot ignore the fact that you went behind my back to do so. Especially after I said 'no.' Of course I'm beginning to wonder if no and yes both mean yes to you, Silver."
Gale roared a bit, and by the pattern of said sky dragon's huffs, Silver figured Gale was laughing at her.
"Shut up, you mangy reptile!" Silver snapped.
"And since you dragged Kai into this mess," Wu ignored Silver and Gale's verbal altercation. "you can both share in the punishment."
"What?" Kai exclaimed, jaw dropping.
"Training only. For two weeks. No free time." Wu sentenced. "Maybe then you'll learn your lesson about disobeying my orders."
Sensei Wu left the dragon keep, leaving Kai and Silver alone with their teammates.
"Wow." Cole clapped his hands sardonically. "Fantastic job, guys. Really."
Silver shrugged. Kai was dumbfounded with her lack of seriousness with this punishment.
"Eh. I've had worse." Silver placed one hand on her hip. "It was SO worth it."