Prologue

6 months before the brightest night

Noctis

"What if they find them?" Noctis heard a nervous male voice say as he quietly crept through the Rainforest.

Dad…

"Who cares?" a female voice snapped back. "I'm not raising any useless bratty dragonets, Blackspot."

Mom…

"But - what - no-" Blackspot sputtered before being cut off.

"Especially if their as weird looking as the other one." Noctis winced, in all his three years of living alone his parents had only visited him five times and each time his mother would always call him useless and weird, but it still hurts.

"B-but Luna, what if this one isn't weird looking? What if-" Blackspot desperately begged Luna, he didn't want to have to stay away from another of is dragonets.

"Now where is that little freak?" Luna asked, ignoring Blackspot completely. Noctis slowly crept forward, his eyes locked on the egg Luna was holding. "Ah, there you are!"

Luna said, turning toward Noctis and smirked. "How's the little disappointment doing?" she asked in a sugary sweet voice. Out of the corner of his eye Noctis noticed Blackspot cringe at Luna's 'question', but remain silent.

"I'm getting a sibling?" Noctis asked, still staring at the egg. Luna seemed to notice this, as she turned around and handed Blackspot the egg. She stepped in front of Noctis with an annoyed look. She clearly didn't like how Noctis didn't even bother looking at her.

"Yep, and this is the last time we're coming to see your pathetic little face." she said in a venomous voice. Noctis's jaw dropped, his gut twisted and unbearable pain and hurt gripped his heart. He knew his mother didn't like him, but never seeing him again? The thought had never entered his mind.

"Wait - no - Luna!" Blackspot stumbled forward, he dropped the egg and face planted. Dirt smeared across his face as he looked up at Noctis with pained eyes.

"Leave the egg, we're leaving Blackspot." Luna turned around and started walking back through the rainforest, her tail lashing. Blackspot stood up and looked at Noctis with helpless eyes. He shook, or at least tried to, the mud off his head and spun around and ran after Luna. noctis sunk to the ground, his eyes staring blankly into the distance. His heart was crushed, shattered into a million pieces.

I shouldn't be this hurt… why does it hurt so much?...

His eyes slowly wandered toward the egg in front of him, he scrambled to his feet and picked up the gently. The egg thrummed as he held it close, wrapping his wings around it.

I have a sibling… or at least I will

The thought overwhelmed him, he'd always guessed that he would be the only one. That his parents would never have anymore dragonets, and he'd be alone in the rainforest until he died. His heart burst with joy, and just like that the fact that his parents never coming to see him again didn't seem so bad. He was happy.

I'm going to be a big brother!

1 ½ years later

"Umbra wait up!" Noctis shouted at his hyperactive sister. "Be careful!" he added after he realized she had no plan of slowing down. He flew after her as fast as he could, but with the way she flew it was impossible to keep up with her. The last thing he saw of her before he fell to far behind was the bronze spikes that ran from her horns to the tip of her tail.

"You gotta be faster than that, Noctis!" Umbra exclaimed when he finally caught up. She was hanging upside down with her tail curled around a branch, she loved doing this and would often fall asleep like that. It was something Noctis had never gotten, didn't it hurt? He had once tried it and fell flat on his face. His tail had not been able to support his weight, plus it felt like it was going to rip off.

"I cant use my tail like you can Umbra, you know that." he said sighing, he curled up on the thick branch next to Umbra. They sat in comfortable silence, and Noctis took this time to study Umbra's features - something he would often do. She, like him, wasn't a normal Nightwing. Her horns were red and curled up, her spikes were bronze, her wings were abnormally large, her eyes were different colors - forest green and brown, and the over side of her wings looked liked they had flames on them - light purple and dark purple.

Then again he wasn't even close to normal either, in fact he didn't even remotely look like a Nightwing. His wings were also abnormally large and looked like they had flames on them - the underside a light green and green, and the over side light blue and blue, he had long red spikes that ran along his body, dull spikes on his tail that were also red, light blue eyes, his horns looked more like a Skywing's, and he had red diamonds that ran down the side of his body.

"Don't forget the red flames, the fact that one of my arms has a blue band of scales around it, that my other arm hind legs, my snout, and the end of my tail look like they have blue flames curling on them. Oh, ya, and the odd teardrop scales by my eyes." Umbra said in a sleepy voice, causing Noctis to nearly jump out of his scales.

"I told you not to read my mind!" Noctis shouted and slapped her on the head with his tail.

"Ow! It's not my fault you don't protect your thoughts!" she huffed and swung up to him. She looked at him with an annoyed face, then suddenly burst out laughing.

"What?! What are you laughing at?!" Noctis poked her, it was his turn to be annoyed now. She grinned at him her eyes sparkling.

"RACE YOU BACK TO HOME!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. She jumped up and quickly started heading back. Noctis frowned slightly but quickly started following her. "You can't beat the tree flier master!" was the last thing he heard before everything went silent.

"Umbra?" Noctis called, trying to hear her wing beats or branches snapping. He couldn't hear anything. "Umbra?!" Noctis screamed, he felt his gut twist with fear and he felt like he was falling.

Where is she?!

He flew faster, crashing into trees and getting tangled in vines. Finally he reached where the sound had stopped. He crashed into the ground, and shook off the dirt and leaves that were clinging to his body. He scanned the area frantically, hoping to catch a glimpse of Umbra's bronze scales catching the light. Hoping it was a prank. But as he scanned the area, Noctis noticed two different imprints on the ground.

A Nightwing… a Nightwing took her...

Please… please let this be a joke…

Final word count ~ 1,113

Prologue

1 year after the brightest night

Umbra

Umbra grinned at Noctis, an idea sparking in her mind. "RACE YOU BACK HOME!" she shouted to him, jumping up and quickly starting to head back to their home. For a second Umbra could feel Noctis's confusion so she yelled, "you can't beat the tree flier master!" almost instantly after she said that, she felt something strong pull her to the ground.

"Shh, shh.." she heard something say. Whatever it was, it was giant. It held her down and covered her mouth so she couldn't scream.

"Umbra?" she could hear Noctis say, he was close. She wanted to scream for him but she was suddenly moving again. She couldn't see anything, though she could feel that something was wrong. Not the fear, no that was her first feeling, but a sense that something was wrong. That it didn't fit.

"Mjs ahd sdhs!" she tried to say, her voice muffled and distorted. She scrapped her sharp claws against whatever was holding her, and was met by hard scales. She kept trying, refusing to give up. Her claws finally caught between a few scales and she was able to rip them off.

Stupid dragonet!

The thought was so loud it rang around her head for a couple of seconds. So much anger and hate was suddenly pushed on her that she could barely tell it wasn't her own. The large dragon holding her shook her, and growled in her ear.

"Behave." she froze, her body refusing to listen to her mind as overwhelming fear consumed her. The feeling that something was wrong started to disappear as the air suddenly was painful to breath.

Noctis where are you?!

Anger, pain, and resentment piled on her mind, as at least 100 hundred other dragon's minds assaulted her. All she wanted was to get as far away from it all as fast as possible. But she couldn't. The dragon carrying her was flying now, the air burned her lungs. When they landed Umbra was dropped to the ground, her claws scraping against extremely rough ground.

"Walk." the dragon shoved her forward, and she walked without a sound. Umbra suddenly slipped on a patch of perfectly smooth ground and fell back, hitting the dragon behind her. She was able to actually see the dragon that had taken her as he snaked his head in front of her and growled in her face. His scales were pure black and the underside of his wings was scattered silver scales like stars, they were similar to hers except they felt cold. She couldn't explain it, all she knew was that she should be scared, that this dragon could and would kill her in a heartbeat.

"Walk"

His voice was full of hate, and it was the same with his mind. So much so, that she felt angry herself. She walked forward quickly, her mind telling her to get away as fast as she could. So she did, her claws scraping at all the little holes in the rock. In her rush to get away from the dragon she hadn't realized that they had entered a large room with a stream of lava cutting through half of it. She would have fallen strait in had a dragon not have grabbed her and through her back.

"What is this?" hissed the new dragon's voice. He glared at her, his eyes were a fiery orange and his scales were an extremely dark purple. Annoyance radiated from his mind and she could tell he already didn't like her. As she looked around she counted at least 5 dozen other dragons in the large room.

"Found her in the rainforest." his voice was cold, and filled with malice. "I believe I just found our missing dragonet."

The room was filled with murmurs now, some sceptical, some shocked. Umbra crouched down and tucked in her wings and tail, trying to appear as small and insignificant as possible. Everyone's eyes were now on her, watching her every move.

"Thats impossible!" someone shouted. "you're lying!" another dragon yelled. Multiple voices and thoughts now filled the room, causing an intense throbbing to emit from Umbra's skull. She covered her head and whimpered.

"Silence!" he snapped, "I can prove it." suddenly Umbra was picked up by her tail, like she was nothing more than a mere animal. The dragon shook her, "how old are you?" she started to shake from fear, she couldn't control it.

"I - I'm 1 year old!" her voice was pained and shaky, the throbbing getting worse as the dragons thoughts and emotions got even stronger. Images suddenly flashed across her mind, followed by flashes of black and white scenes.

Screaming

Dragons flying away as fast as they could, fleeing from something Umbra couldn't see. All she could tell was that the sky was completely black, darkened by ash. And just like that, she was back. All the dragons were still staring at her, but there wasn't any sound. Everyone was silent, the only thing emitting from their minds was complete shock.

"Bring Luna." it was Umbra's turn to be shocked. The name 'Luna' had been her mother's name. Noctis had told her that their parents had died in a fight with some Icewings. Was it possible that her mother had survived? Or was it just a coincidence, that another dragon just had the same name as her?

"Morrowseer - "

"Now." Morrowseer growled, his voice low. A dragon scrambled away, most likely the one that had spoken. Umbra watched the dragon run away, she looked scared and threatened, Umbra noted through her own fear. A few minutes later Umbra could hear a clanking coming from behind her, Morrowseer was still holding her by her tail so she couldn't see who it was.

"What do you want." Umbra cringed, the hate emanating from the dragon that had just walked forward was the strongest emotion Umbra had ever felt. As she actually looked at her, Umbra felt like her heart had stopped. Noctis had always described everything in as much detail as possible, but he had always described their parents in the most detail. Their mother had silvers scales with a black underbelly and blue wings, their father was deep blue with a dark purple underbelly and black spots that scattered his entire body. The dragon standing in front of Umbra was without a doubt their mother.

"I believe, Luna, that I have found one of your dragonets." his voice was smug, like he had just discovered something for a contest they were against each other in. Luna's face was blank, emotionless.

"I have no dragonets." she said and looked at Morrowseer, clearly annoyed. Umbra stared at Luna, her heart beating in her ears. Why didn't she just claim her? Is she lying to get out of here, or is this actually not their mother? Umbra knew the last one wasn't correct, no other dragon could look like that and not be their mother. Morrowseer turned to the other dragons and held Umbra up for them all to see.

"Everyone who believes that this is indeed one of Luna's dragonet, raise your wings and breath a column of fire!" Morrowseer shouted to them, his voice echoing. Every dragon in the room did exactly that, fire filled their the room and it looked as if the walls had suddenly disappeared. Umbra froze in pure terror as two dragons suddenly flew down to Luna and griped the two chains around her neck.

"What are you doing!" Umbra screamed as the two dragons started to drag Luna to the stream of lava. Luna fought back, pulling both dragons away. She quickly broke free, choking, and, just as fast, three other dragons flew down and helped the other two pull Luna to the lava.

"You can't do this!" Luna screeched, forcing all her weight against the five dragons. it didn't help and four of the five dragons grabbed her legs, tail, and arms while the one held both chains around her neck. They dragged her into the air and flew over the lava. Luna was thrashing around, she tried to speak but all that came out was a gurgling and blood. Suddenly they dropped her, her body completely submerging in the lava. She burst out and tried to claw her way back out, but one of the dragons, the one that had brought Luna, pushed her back in with a thick, long metal stick. She held Luna down until the thrashing had stopped and it was clear she was dead, then the dragon dropped the stick into the lava and flew back to where she originally was.

"NO!" Umbra screamed, clawing at Morrowseer's arm. He hissed and gripped her tail tighter, so tight that it hurt. Screaming filled her ears, her own screaming. The dragons around her still had their wings raised and their flames were blazing hot. The room was now blistering hot and the air burned Umbra's lungs so much that black spots started to cover her vision. The strongest emotion in the room was now satisfaction. Pure and utter satisfaction.

Noctis… Noctis please help me..

Umbra stopped screaming, her throat felt raw and it hurt to breath. Morrowseer dropped her and laughed.

"She's dead, stupid dragonet," he sneered in her face, "and it's all your fault." tears rolled down Umbra's cheeks, she had killed her own mother. What would Noctis think?

Noctis…

"My brother will find me," she coughed, glaring at Morrowseer even though she was terrified and trembling. "And when he does, he'll burn all your faces off." she collapsed, her legs unable to support her weight. Her vision was almost completely black and she could tell that she couldn't stay conscious much longer. Morrowseer's face appeared in her line of vision, he laughed again.

"I'm looking forward to it." and the world faded.

"How will this work?" a dark voice snapped, Umbra's eyes jolted open. Her vision was speckled with black but she could see two dark shapes. As her vision cleared she recognized one of the dragons as Morrowseer, the other one was wearing a white lab coat and gloves.

"It has gaps in its DNA, we can fill in those with DNA from other dragons or even animals!" the dragon looked excited, like he had just taken down a goat and got to eat it all himself. She nearly moved, trying to get a better look at them, but she felt a heavy weight on her neck, wings, and ankles. As Umbra looked over to her wings she could clearly see large metal bands and chains binding them to her sides.

"Mastermind!" Morrowseer snarled, "all I want to know is if you can make her obey orders!" Umbra cringed, a throbbing in her skull suddenly became a thousand times worse. Mastermind seemed slightly annoyed, or was it embarrassed? Her mind was slowing, she was suddenly extremely tired.

"Yes, yes! Over time its mind will wear down and it will realize that if it ever wants to live it has to obey orders." Mastermind said, obviously distracted. He held up a chart to Morrowseer, "we can give it the abilities from other tribes, we could give it the ability to hold its breath for an hour, or even to breath underwater!" Umbra curved her head slowly, making sure to not rattle the chains and metal bands, she was able to see most of the chart. It showed a rough, but detailed, drawing of her with neat and compact writing all around it. 7 other dragons were drawn around it, all the tribes. They had writing too, except some of the writing was circled.

"Just make sure she follows orders and is indestructible…." whatever Morrowseer said after that was lost to Umbra. Her eyelids felt heavy and she couldn't make sense of anything. Umbra stared at the two dragons, one excited one annoyed. Their minds held different intentions yet they were still on the same side. How did that work? Was one the boss, or was it just because they were part of the same tribe? Umbra couldn't stay awake anymore, her eyelids dropped and her head fell down. Everything was black.

Screaming, dragons screaming and flying away….

Umbra jolted up, ringing in her ears. The entire place shook, rocks fell from the ceiling.

Its begun….

All the chains and metal bands rattled loudly as Umbra clawed at the ground. She hooked her claws in some hole in the ground and thrashed around, trying to break the chains that held her in place. The chains were the strongest the nightwings could get and they were changed every week so Umbra couldn't wear them down and eventually break free. She had to stop for a second as she felt warm blood streaming down her neck. She growled and hooked her claws into the holes again. This time she pushed her hind legs against the wall and threw all her weight against the chains.

I have to hurry, I have to hurry….

She could barely breath now, as the thick metal band around her neck choked her. She pushed harder, refusing to give up. Umbra had hoped she wouldn't be there still when the volcano erupted. Hoped Noctis would find her before it happened. But he wasn't there and soon the entire place would be filled with lava. Suddenly the chains snapped and Umbra was sent tumbling forward. She instantly jumped up and charged the door, the last thing that was stopping her from leaving.

Just a bit longer, just a bit longer…

She crashed into the door, Mastermind and Morrowseer had clearly not expect her to be able to break the chains as the door fell down instantly. She quickly ran out of the room into Mastermind's 'experiment room'. Umbra grabbed a metal box and grabbed multiple vials and bottle containing a variety of liquids. She ripped off the scrolls she had tied around her neck, hidden in her thick fur, then stuffed them in the metal box along with the bottle and vials. She grabbed as many books and scrolls as she could from the books shelves that littered the room.

I'm almost done….

She stuffed everything in the box and picked it up with her teeth. All the metal there was lava proof, or was it fireproof? Umbra shook her head, she had to hurry up. With one last look at the room, Umbra ran out. She ran all the way to ground level and jumped over the lava that was streaming everywhere. She continued to run, glancing back every minute to check how close the wave of lava was. It was gaining on her.

Faster, I have to go faster…

Her body was screaming at her to slow down. To stop, to rest. But she went fast, she couldn't stop now. Not when she was so close. The metal weighed her down, rattled together and against her. Warm blood was still streaming down her neck and she could feel it on her ankles.

So close, I'm so close…

Umbra could see 5 dragons now, at the entrance of a cave.

The way to the rainforest…

She was so close, only a minute or two longer and she would have made it. But she didn't make it. The lava was too fast, it overtook her. She tried to fight it, the lava couldn't kill her. The stress on her mind could, though. She was swept away, searing pain bursting in her body.

NO! NOT YET! NOT NOW! NOT… not… no… Noctis…

Umbra couldn't take it. Her vision darkened but she continued to fight. She could breath the lava like it was air, she couldn't suffocate. Umbra clawed her way to the surface. All she wanted was to escape, her muscles wanted to shut down. Umbra couldn't stay up, her mind couldn't take it. She stopped fighting, unable to continue. Her vision blacked out completely.

Final Word count ~ 2,655

Prologue

2 years before the brightest night

Lutin

With a sick grin plastered on his face, Lutin quickly flew to where he could clearly see a battle happening. Checking behind him, he could see Anum, Mudsplash, Orbis, and Lapsus quickly flying after him.

"Luntin wait up!" Orbis shouted, her voice faint and almost lost in the wind to Lutin. With a sigh, Lutin beat his wings a bit slower, dropping back in front of Orbis. His tail lashing in the air, he flew straight above the battle to get a better look at what was happening.

"I can't see anything..." Anum muttered, hovering next to Lutin. A thick sheet of snow was covering the ground, and snow was still coming down fast. Flying higher up as a blast of frostbreath nearly hit his wing, so close that frost gathered on the edge of his wing, Lutin realized that they were horribly outnumbered. There were at least ten Icewings for every Mudwing.

"We have to help!" Lutin shouted at his siblings over the roars of the dragons fighting below them and the wind that was making it hard for him to stay hovering in the air. He could barely see the Icewings below him but he couldn't wait to see what a real battle felt like, to feel bones crushing under his talons and scales shredded by his claws. Looking over his siblings, he noticed Orbis and Lapsus looking sick, their eyes locked on the blue and red blood Lutin could faintly see splattered everywhere.

He knew none of his siblings loved killing as much as he did, and he also knew Orbis and Lapsus hated the thought of even harming another dragon more than anyone, so he felt guilt twisting in his gut at the thought that they had to be here. His attention snapped back to the battle as a terrified scream rang through the ravine, the dragon that had screamed was be viciously attacked by 3 Icewings, red blood already soaked the ground.

Lutin, without thinking, quickly tucked in his wings and dove straight towards the dragons. As the wind tore at him, trying to throw into the mountains that towered above him, it created a loud whistle type noise. He shifted his wings and tail ever so slightly to change how the whistle sounded. The Mudwing's ears twitched and she jumped out of the way with what little strength she had left, getting out of the way just in time.

Crrrunch…!

Lutin felt most of the dragons bones crush underneath his weight, causing the three dragons to roar in agony. He smirked, his claws sinking into the already damaged scales of the Icewings. The dragon's screams echoed through Lutin's ears and suddenly one of the three Icewings managed to escape Lutin's grip and slammed into the Mudwing full-force.

Lutin gasped, the wind knocked out of him, and stumbled back. Black dots splashed across his vision and he shook his head to clear it. Lutin glared at the icy green Icewing in front of him and lunged forward, talons outstretched. The Icewing easily avoided his attack and slammed against his back as he run next to her. Lutin fell to the ground, pain flaring in the space between his wings, and shakily stood up.

"Go back home, dragonet!" the Icewing snarled at him, her serrated claws slicing through the air as they raked across the side of Lutin's face. It was Lutin's turn to be screaming now. The pain seemed to come in waves, weakening than strengthening.

Lutin didn't listen to the Icewing. He slammed his tail into the ground and flaring his wings and using them to push him quickly forward. He spun in the air and slapped his tail into the dragon's stomach, causing her to gasp in pain. Blindly, Lutin pounced on her and clawed at her eyes, hoping to blind her. At the last second she moved her head and Lutin's claws cut 4 deep gashes across the Icewing's neck.

Both of their breathing was ragged and labored as they tried to get the upper talon in the battle. Lutin didn't know how long they had been fighting but in the end, the thing that stopped them was a sickening scream echoing through the valley. Several screams.

Lutin shot up, recognizing the screams. He looked around, panicking, and started to run forward, looking for his siblings, begging the gods that he was wrong. Begging the world that it wasn't them screaming. He was right. Sitting in a pool of their own blood, Anum, Orbis, Mudsplash, and Lapsus lay motionless on the icy ground.

"No… no, no, NO!" Lutin charged forward, knocking both Icewings and Mudwings over on his way to his siblings sides. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!" tears trickled down his snout. He felt like the ground had been ripped out from under him and that he was falling into darkness. It had to be a joke. It had to be.

But it wasn't…

Orbis's eyes were open. Barely. She looked at Lutin, feeling her gut twist at the sight of her older brother so broken. Her Bigwing.

"Lu… tin…" she croaked out, her voice hoarse and pained. Lutin's head shot up and he moved forward toward her.

"Don't die… please don't die!" he sobbed, pushing his talons against a large wound in Orbis's side. "I need you!" no one dared to move, even the Icewings. Everyone watched the dragons with either sympathy or satisfaction. Lutin continued to try and save his sibling, his movements desperate as he tried to stop the bleeding. "Please…"

"Don't… cry…" Orbis whispered, her eyes closing. Lutin whimpered and held Orbis tightly, feeling her life drain away. Her body went limp as he held her, cold to the touch. It had to be a sick joke. Just a dream.

"Please… don't let this be real.." Lutin's body shook, it was only their first battle, how could they have just died? How could they leave him? Orbis lay, dead, next to her twin Lapsus, whose eyes were wide open in shock and his throat slit. The answer felt like a stab in the face. Lutin should have protected them. It was his life job, and he had failed. It was his fault.

He had killed his siblings.

Lutin's eyes fluttered open as he heard voices and shuffling around him. Slowly, he sat up slightly, noticing that he was laying in one of the many medic tents in the Mud Kingdom. He groaned softly, trying to make sense of what had happened and how he had gotten there. A dragon nearby noticed him as he tried to stand up, and quickly rushed to his side and gently pushed him back. Lutin didn't have the strength to resist so he simply let her push him back and studied the Mudwing's features.

Her eyes were soft and kind, so much so that they almost seemed to smile. Unlike most Mudwings, she seemed to be a brighter and lighter shade of brown, and even had a bit of light green scales. All over her body, lines of black charred scales criss crossed and wound around her entire body. Lutin guessed they were burn marks from some Icewings hoping to get some useful information from some random Mudwings. It seemed to be their favorite form of torture.

"He's awake!" the Mudwing called back to a group of other dragons. Her voice had a slight rasp to it, like her vocal chords had been damaged. 'Probably from the burns', Lutin thought to himself, 'the chains were probably tight'.

Several new dragons scurried forward and started bombarding Lutin with questions such as "are you feeling alright?", "any nausea, or dizziness?" and "how much do you remember?". Lutin's head spun, he didn't know how to answer anyone, he felt numb. What were they talking about? What did they mean by 'how much…' and then it hit him, a tsunami of memories crashing down on his mind, crushing him.

"Orbis…" Lutin's eyes flickered closed as he remembered the young dragonet's words. Orbis, along with Lapsus, was, had been, the youngest dragonet. Barely 3. Guilt racked Lutin's body, clawing at his insides, driving him insane. He didn't notice all the dragons trying to stop him as he attempted to stand. Emphasis on attempted.

Right as Lutin went to place his right hind leg on the floor he immediately crumpled to the ground, crying out in pain. Lutin's head swiveled back to see what had happened only for him feel like the wind had been knocked out of him. Where his leg was meant to be was a bloody stump wrapped thickly in bandages. Blood started seeping through.

The world spun, everything seemed to start fading in and out of reality, Lutin started to hallucinate. Black and white dots splashed across his vision and the last thing Lutin saw was the burned Mudwing crouching in front of him, helping the others get him back onto the bed.

(shortly after the end of Umbra's prologue)

It'd been several years since then, Lutin had learned that during his fight with the icy green Icewing she had severely damages his leg with her serrated claws and some frostbreath. Not only that, but she had also left him deep scars along the right side of his face, his tail, stomach, and a bit along were his wing membrane met his side.

Lutin couldn't fly or run very well anymore because of this so the Mudwings had soon found that he was practically useless. They had also realized that he tended to get a bit… aggressive. Especially near Icewings. After he tried to kill a few of the medics trying to help him fly properly again (seriously, they deserved it in his opinion. Should have known better than to approach him without his consent.), they had 'banished' him from the kingdom.

Lutin now lived in the mountains, hiding in caves, bidding his time, waiting for something to happen. He didn't know how to explain it but he felt like something important was going to happen, something that could very well change his life drastically. Whether for good or bad, he didn't know.

Lutin's eyes scanned the darkened sky as he heard the ever so familiar roaring of dragons locked in a fierce battle. Ah, the arena. Such a horrible place. Lutin's 'home' was a series of tunnels and caves directly under the Sky kingdom. On a normal day he wouldn't be able to hear any of the fighting. Sadly, on the other days the fighting seemed to echo of the very mountain tops, traveling to even the farthest dragons in the Sky kingdom.

He weaved his way through the thick forest, ignoring the cries of agony and the cheers from those watching the fight, and started limping his way back to his cave. However, right as he stepped foot into the clearing outside the entrance a strange dark shadow flashed in front of him and crashed into the ground.

The thing was wiggling and twisting on the ground, looking as if something was squeezing the very life out of it, and cried out in pain. It took Lutin several seconds to see what truly had just crashed into the clearing. When he did, though, he almost thought he was dreaming.

The thing was a dragon. Or, at least, once was a dragon. It had black, midnight blue, and bronze fur with crimson claws and horns. It- no she- had a more wolfish body completed with floppy ears, paws, and flat out just a wolf body shape.

Lutin moved without thinking. He limped as fast as he could to the small dragonet wolf hybrid and picked her up. The first thing he noticed was the fact that she seemed to be both hot and cold at the same time. He couldn't quite explain it.

The next thing Lutin noticed was her ragged breathing and that she smelled like the sea and… ash? Fire? He didn't dwell on that long, however, as he noticed her foggy eyes closing as she lost consciousness.

Lutin hurried into his home and laid the furry dragonet down on his weak excuse for a bed. He didn't know much about healing but he noticed her shivering so he placed two thick blankets over her, though he guessed it might also just make her start burning with her already thick coat of fur…

Thinking of nothing else to do, Lutin just sat and watched the strange shadow. Her teeth were bared, her tail occasionally lashed back and forth in her sleep, and her breathing still seemed to come in sharp gasps. He sat rigidly next to her, examining her features. A few things he hadn't noticed when he first grabbed was the scabs around her neck and ankles, and that there were thick metal bands that had prevented her from opening her wings completely.

She had numerous cuts lining her body, like she'd just jumped through a glass window. Strangely enough, her wings and tail- the two things that allowed her to fly- were completely unharmed. She was curled into a tight ball and seemed to be wrapping her body around something. He didn't dwell on that thought long, as he noticed a particularly long cut along her side to her left hind leg.

Lutin sucked in a sharp breath. The cut looked bad. Like someone had chucked her of a mountain and she landed in a pile of rocks. But that didn't make sense- she was just a dragonet. She was innocent. Why would anyone ever hurt a dragonet? It wasn't right.

Lutin shook himself out of his daze, he had to try and stop the blood that oozed from the wound. The blood that slowly stained the blankets that covered her, that blood that was slowly, but steadily drained her life. Quickly, he rushed around the room- trying to find something that could serve as bandages.

Lutin don't know what he was supposed to do so he just flopped down on the hard ground and closed his eyes. He soon drifted into a restless sleep, his mind spinning with a million questions.

What in Darkstalker was this thing?

He knew one thing, though. The thought echoed in his head.

His life was about to make a few twists and turns.

Final word count ~ 2268

4th and last prologue….

ShadowNex

1 year before the brightest night

Clip, clip, clip. Moonlight poured through the cracks and holes of the egg. The dragonet inside pushed against the cool walls that surrounded him, the night was calling. He cooed softly as the walls crumbled and he was rewarded with the sight of a dark green dragon gazing down at him.

He reached up toward her, giggling happily when she picked him up, and fluttered his wings. Faintly, he knew another dragon was meant to be there but he didn't bother to think about that, he only payed attention to was the dragon that cuddled him to her chest. She hummed quietly and bent down to whisper in his ear.

"Your very special, ShadowNex… don't ever forget that…" she murmured into his ear and continued to hum, swaying slightly. ShadowNex's eyes slowly closed as his mother wrapped her starry wings around him and his father gazed at him lovingly, hiding in the shadows.

"He's… amazing…" the dragon whispered as he stepped out of the darkness, his light purple eyes flickering to his mates. "I was.. Well.." he choked up, unable to say it.

"I know, but he's strong. ShadowNex… he'll surpass everyone." her voice was firm, she didn't doubt it for a second. "I just hope he won't have to deal with any of them for a long time. It was the right choice, leaving the kingdom of night… right, Solis?" now her voice was uncertain as she considered what would happen to them all if they are found.

Solis was only able to stiffly nod. He walked forward and draped his wings around the dark green dragon, noticing her shiver slightly in the brisk night air. He raised his head to the sky, noting the two full moons and the one half moon. Solis could hear the soft, even breaths of the tiny dragonet curled up in his mother's wings and soon felt his mates breathing slow and her body relax next to him as she slipped into the peaceful quiet stars. He smiled.

"We did right, Silentbeat." he closed his eyes and fell asleep there, his body curled protectively around the two most important dragons in the world to him.

Final word count ~ 373

(should have made them all this short….)

This is my first time posting on this website, and it is my first time posting a fanfic in general. Constructive criticism is always welcomed and would be very much appreciated- as, to me, my writing doesn't seem very good and I'd love to improve on it. If you can't tell, this story is using my OCs in the world of WoF. It contains spoilers for the entire series so READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. The prologues are all from before the war is over and chapter one will be happening 6 months after the war.

This is getting long so I'm just going to finish- thank you for giving my story a chance, drop a review if you want to, and I'll try and update as regularly as possible.