Prologue

Sunlight shined down on the heated sand, unwavering. A Sandwing raced around the dunes, eyes wide in fear as his claws sprayed sand into the air. One of his wings dragged on the ground beside him, the membrane being badly torn. A satchel around his neck firmly bumped against his chest as he went. Two Skywings followed him higher up in the sky, easily keeping his pace. He turned sharply, panting heavily as he sprinted. The rickety walls of what used to be the Scorpion Den loomed in front of him. He carefully pushed through the metal gates, racing into the empty, broken down city.

Smoke billowed into the sky from multiple small fires, scattered around. The two orange dragons above dipped down, landing in front of the Sandwing.

"Stand down, Prince Cactus," One, who sounded feminine, snarled threateningly. "Surround now and you will be spared."

"N-no!" Cactus shouted, flaring his wings as he staggered back. "I-I'll never b-bow to you!"

The other one huffed, narrowing his cold yellow eyes. "Unfortunate. For you, anyways."

The prince turned and raced away, with the two larger dragons on his tail. He skidded around corners, slamming into walls and knocking over old wooden stands. His claws dug painfully into the stone, but he continued on. Cactus dove into a building, scrambling into a corner. He cautiously pulled the flap of the satchel back, peering inside. The bumpy, dark yellow egg still seemed intact. He stroked it with his talons, trying to control his breathing and stay quiet.

Seconds turned to minutes as he anxiously waited. Heavy footsteps thumped around his hiding place, accompanied by an occasional crash. Cactus stayed curled around the egg, eyes shut tightly. His muscles tightened and his eyes flew open as a set of cold talons pressed into the back of his neck. "Surprise, prince."

He let out a piercing scream just before she plunged her talons into his yell was quickly drowned out as his blood choked him. She drew her claws out as his lifeless body fell over, and the egg revealed itself. She smiled cruelly, picked up the little egg in her crimson colored talons. She turned it around, studying its surface. "Hmm.."

"Redd?" She turned at the name, looking at her colleague. She flickered her tail with a frown.

"What do you want, you moron?"

He clenched his talons, twitching his wings in annoyance, but continued. "You have disposed of the prince. The egg should be destroyed now, yes?"

Redd looked back at the egg as it shifted in her grasp. She then grinned widely before digging her claws into the egg. Well, she tried. Instead of completely destroyed it, the shell crumbled around her, and a small, golden dragon blinked up at her with pale green eyes. Apparently it had been closer to hatching then she had expected.

"Ugh!" She tossed the Sandwing to the ground, where it yelped in pain and whimpered. "I'm tired of having to chase after this little worm. You can finish it, Falcon."

The orange Skywing blinked in surprise before looking at the dragonet. The tiny dragon waved its talons before successfully rolling onto its stomach. It promptly began to wiggle around, perplexed. Falcon hesitantly walked forward, picking up the dragon he had been trying to kill for the past ten sunrises. Now... That didn't sound so appealing.

"Well, while you get the job done, I'll go ahead and tell our Queen the good news!" Redd turned and bounded out of the building and into the sky. Falcon continued to stare at the little dragon in his talons. It squeaked curiously, tipping its head as it peered at him with wide eyes. He felt his heart grow heavy, and with a sigh, he gave the dragonet a gentle hug. He set the Sandwing on the ground and trotted to the body of Cactus, taking the satchel with hesitance.

He turner back to the little dragonet, scooping it up into the bag. He slid it over his neck, racing out of the building. After giving the nervous dragonet a gentle head pat, he slowly ascended into the air. Falcon turned to face away from the direction Redd had gone and made his way over the expansion of sand. He guessed he had about a sunrise before the Skywing Queen would send out a troop in search for evidence the Sandwing dragonet was killed.

Falcon looked down at the satchel, seeing the Sandwing curled in a ball, refusing to look out at the ground below. "Don't worry... I'll make sure you're safe."

Mountains loomed around the Skywing, making him feel small and helpless. From the bag, the dragonet bayed, begging to the world for food. Falcon was just barely flying, after doing so all night long. Exhaustion weighed on him, and his limbs felt like lead. He knew the Rainforest Kingdom was close... So close...

Slowly, unwillingly, he began to gradually descend. He begrudgingly let a current take hold of his wings and gently steer him to a mountainside scattered with trees. He dug his claws into the stone before collapsing on his side, heaving. Falcon's eyes fluttered shut as he laid on the cold ground, feeling the chilly wind brush past. After a few moments, he reluctantly fell asleep. His slumber only seemed to last for a few seconds before he opened his eyes again, feeling refreshed.

Falcon sat up, anxiously checking into his satchel. His wings relaxed as he saw the Sandwing curled up in a doze. He trotted along the mountainside, flexing his muscles. He spread his wings upward, giving them a few flaps. He soon began his flight again, keeping low now to avoid being spotted. Hours passed, but soon, the Rainforest loomed in the distance. He let out a long sigh of relief, pushing his aching wings to move forwards.

But he soon began to slow upon spotting a dark figure steadily flying towards him. A Nightwing. The Skywing turned and soared down to one of the caves embedded in a mountain. He scrambled behind a stalagmite, heart racing. After a few minutes, there was a whoosh of large wings accompanied by a thump.

"Come out, Falcon. It's only me." The dragon spoke. Falcon recognized her voice after several moments and stalked out into view. The black dragon before him seemed to be bigger than when he had last seen her. And now, with the sunshine pouring on her back, he could see a faint crimson tinge to her scales, making it seem that she was covered in old wounds that would never heal. The expression she wore implied the same.

"Foreseer...?" He called hesitantly, but he didn't need any reassurance.

"Yes, but I can tell you already knew that," She murmured, sweeping her tail. "Shall I...? Take our little princess?"

"How can you tell the dragonet's a girl?" He questioned, a little suspicious.

"I can view clearer timeliness. And in all of them leading to the prophecy, the dragonet Sandwing is a girl." Foreseer nodded affirmingly.

Falcon shuffled his talons. "Yeah, right... But, can I ask you something...?"

She smiled softly. "Of course."

"It's just..." He gently stroked the Sandwing princess. "... If I return to the Sky Kingdom, I'll be killed. And you're the closest I have to a friend that's not a Skywing..."

"If you are asking for refuge," She murmured, "then I would be glad to take you to the Rainforest Kingdom. I can find ways to hide you."

Falcon's wings slumped as he nervously smiled. ".. Thank you. Though I think I'm too tired to continue." He carefully slipped the satchel off, offering it to the bigger dragon. Foreseer took the bag, slipping it around her neck.

"I'll be waiting at the edge of the rainforest, waiting." She turned and flew out without another word. He walked to the entrance of the cave, laying down. A feeling settled in his stomach; somehow, he knew- he just knew- that this was all leading down the right path. He may have betrayed his kingdom, but still... it felt justified.