A/N: I completely blame Wrongful for inspiring this story. Important announcement concerning people that visited Fanwings of the World at the bottom of the chapter.
Memories Won't Fade Away
Anemone with the aid of Qibli devised a spell to pacify herself. A spell that nulled her selfishness and sense of superiority. A bracelet made of pink pearls was the only thing keeping her from being her old self once more.
Fearless rushed past Anemone with such blinding speed that it knocked her bracelet off unknowingly to her. Anemone just felt slightly aggravated but didn't hate the NightWing who sped past her right as class ended.
Anemone attended classes as usual ever since that incident. As the residual animus magic faded she began displaying increasingly self-centered behavior as the bracelet wasn't there to keep her in check. "Pike!" she shouted. "Make yourself useful and fetch me a goat. The line at the prey center is way too long."
Pike was her covert guard in the school that displayed complete loyalty towards her. Instead of noting her erratic behavior, the submissive SeaWing said, "Yes, your majesty."
Anemone was pleased by Pike's obedience. She proceeded to fly within the open air during the break between classes. She flew around doing several aerial laps before landing. Pike held one of the smallest goats in existence. "You're incompetent. This isn't enough to feed me. Fetch me more food." She ate the goat Pike had picked.
She flew into the air once more waiting for classes to begin. Pike greeted her with fish in his talons. "Fish?" she yelled. "Why would you bring me fish?"
"They were your favorite," Pike said.
"I ate a goat today. I'm sick of seafood. I'm going to report this to Queen Coral," Anemone threatened.
"But - but," Pike stuttered.
It was then the gong reverberated throughout the mountain. She devoured the fish regardless. "Fine, count yourself lucky."
Anemone endured the rest of her classes with increasing irritation. How can her classmates be so dense? How can the teachers ask those questions of her? It wasn't right at all. The academy was rigged to tax her patience. Whatever, she returned to her cavern waiting for the next day.
As more days passed, without the bracelet's enhancements keeping her emotions in check, resentment towards the NightWings built up within her. It was their fault that she nearly went evil. They couldn't be trusted to follow their own devices.
How could she enchant an entire tribe without their knowledge or anyone assigning the blame to her? She pondered this dilemma. A plan born from the depths of madness formed in her mind. She would enchant prey, whoever ate the animal would compel the tribe to be subservient. It was foolproof!
One day after school, she was about to perform her enchantment standing on the cliff. She had managed to lose everyone and be completely alone. She recited the spell in her mind a multitude of times. She started invoking the carefully planned words for her magic to take effect. "I enchant the NightWings to follow whoever consumes this–"
"Anemone, where is your bracelet?" She saw Qibli landing beside her.
She checked where the bracelet normally was. It was missing. She looked at her own actions through another lens and felt regret. "How much did you overhear?"
"I think I stopped you before you were able to do something. I think it'll be okay," Qibli said. "Let's get you a new one."
The two dragons pretended that nothing had happened as they left the scene. Vague uses of animus powers, unfortunately, don't fade away from the world so easily.
A black fox scanned the clearing as thunderous wings roared overhead. It was a struggle to survive in this world where great winged beasts preyed on them all. The offending scent of the sea grew stronger, but the fox was hungry since he had been on the run from terrors of the sky.
He had memorized the scents of the beasts that snatched animals away to parts unknown never to be seen again. He found each day a blessing ever since the day his parents were snatched away in front of his very eyes.
It was safer to be alone. Great herds attracted the terrible beasts like nothing else. He lived each day trying to survive hunting what prey he could. Despite the terrible presence of a blue-winged beast on the cliff up above, he was too hungry to care.
He decided to focus on the positives. The alluring scent of rabbit filled his nostrils. It was prey that he could eat. He focused on the scent while ignoring the presence of doom up above. He ran chasing after the rabbit. A bolt of lightning struck down from the sky scorching the rabbit's fur making it stop dead in its tracks.
Prey had been scared away by the bolt of lightning. The fox reluctantly took a bite of the charred meat. There was no other choice. The foul taste filled the fox's mouth but sated his hunger. The fox finished the meal savoring each bite not knowing where the next would come from. It had been a few days since his last.
The winged beasts from above departed after shrieking towards each other scaring everything away for miles. That's how it always was. There wouldn't be any hope of catching prey for the rest of the day. The fox journeyed towards a nearby cave hoping that it would provide shelter until the next day. It was never safe to sleep under the stars.
A vacant cave was the best he could find. It was always difficult trying to keep up with the prey as the beasts from the sky scared them away. He curled into a ball and slept.
A childish roar woke him from his slumber. "I found you!" the beast exclaimed.
The fox rubbed his red eyes awake finding a terrifying beast blocking the opening of the cave preventing him from leaving. He was thankful that the beast couldn't actually come in. It was way too big. The fox backed further into the cave afraid, wishing for the nightmare to end. The fox closed his eyes while shaking in fear.
He didn't know how long it had been, but the cave was still blocked by pitch black scales. He couldn't leave at all. He was at their mercy. All he could do was wait.
The next time he opened his eyes, the ground was moving below him. He thought he was going to fall and die. He was in the grasp of a great winged beast. He couldn't scream afraid that the beast might hear him. He was going to vanish just like his parents did as they were carried off to parts unknown.
The great beast set him down in a cave and started leaving. His heart beat faster with each step he heard the beast take as it faded away. He was going to try to run away. Terrifying scents filled the air as he tried to make his escape. Terrifying winged beasts were all around him.
He ran only to find himself snatched up by talons. "Oh, please help us," the beast said. He was carried back to the cave he tried to leave. "I got you some food." The cave was filled with more food than he could ever imagine. All freshly slain and placed on the floor.
The fox's voice quivered when he spoke, "Please leave me alone." He started crying as the situation felt hopeless.
"My name's Peacemaker," the great beast responded.
"What do you want with me?" The fox barely managed to stutter out a coherent sentence.
"You can tell the future, silly," he said.
"Yes, of course," the fox replied even though he couldn't he felt like he had to lie.
"You must be hungry, you should eat," Peacemaker said.
The fox ate under his captor's orders deeply afraid for his own well-being. He shivered with each bite as he tried to control his fear.
"We will take great care of you," his captor said.
He watched his captor's wings change from gold to pink. "What are you?" the fox asked.
"Dragons, silly," Peacemaker said. The scales shifted to yellow as Peacemaker laughed.
A much larger dragon stepped into view. "What are you doing with him?"
"I found him," Peacemaker happily replied.
"He's terrified of you, leave now," the large dragon said. The fox was shaken at the large dragon's anger. He backed into a corner and curled into a shivering ball. "Sorry about that, that was my son, can I have your name?"
A name – What is a name? He knew that it referred to someone but what was his. "I don't have one."
"We trust you as a leader. Will you lead us? My name is Hope," the dragon said.
"Why me?" the fox quivered. "I just want to live my life in peace. Away from everyone."
"We want you to lead us," Hope said as if it was completely normal. "Think how much easier your life would be. You wouldn't need to hunt or be afraid of us anymore."
"I'm scared but okay," the fox agreed. He didn't have much of a choice because these dragons did take part in his parent's demise.
"First you need a name," Hope said. "How about, Overseer, we want you to prevent us from repeating our mistakes."
Overseer was introduced to dragon culture as every NightWing looked at him as if he was the very essence of divinity itself. They came to him for advice regarding difficult decisions. Although he lacked powers of any sort, they believed he could tell the future. It didn't take a genius to figure out extremely obvious outcomes for the questions they asked. As his advice was successful because he honestly tried, they believed he indeed had the power to see the future.
He started walking upright as time passed. It just felt more and more natural than on all fours. The dragons that worshipped him gave him a gift. He received clothing which they took from somewhere. He had complained that it was cold at times, and this was their response. It was elegantly crafted, a blood red shirt with an eclipse in the middle as well as white fox head. It both kept him warm as well as lent to the credibility that he was special. They gave him a pair of white pants etched with black stars. It reminded him of the scales of his fellow NightWings. He wasn't a dragon but was treated as an equal.
He gave advice towards any NightWing that asked, even if they didn't want to hear. It took courage because they could easily destroy him if they wanted. He didn't know why they chose to heed his words or obsess over him at all. They felt it was normal.
He came to treasure a blue book. Inside the blue book were recorded tales of dragon kind as well as their follies. It served as his guide whenever he was unsure of something. He might not know the way, but the past held many examples of what not to do.
A year had passed since he lived among the dragons. They were going to do something official for him. It took courage because their kingdom was far away. He sat on the back of Hope as she soared into the sky. "Are you sure I have to be here?" his voice quivered.
"Calm down, Overseer, it's your special day. We're going to our ancient homeland."
He gripped Hope's scales tighter as their aerial journey continued. He was so scared that he would fall. He hadn't been airborne ever since the first time the dragons took him.
Hope landed and gently set Overseer down. He immediately hurled onto the floor as the terrifying ride was over. He panted, gasping for breath wishing that hadn't occurred. "We can walk the rest of the way."
The dragons were far larger than him. He was extremely thankful for feeling the stone against his feet once more. He walked as far as he could towards the ancient crumbling ruins. There were more NightWings here than he had ever seen. All of them were gossiping, flying about. He still had no clue what was going to happen.
A dragon handed him a scythe that was still dripping with blood. He didn't know why but took it. They lead him to a vast room. Peacemaker and Hope were beside him.
Hope told him to stand on the top of her head as she loomed over many NightWings. Hope spoke, "In honor of your many successes throughout the year, we recognize your ability to foresee the future. We give you the title of NightWing Prophet. You have the uncanny ability to prevent us from repeating our past mistakes."
Anemone had sought to bind the NightWings to a leader in the past since the enhancement that kept her personality in check broke. A fox was uplifted by dragon-kind to lead. The NightWings followed him willingly as they were compelled by animus magic.
The fox was uncertain at first but grew accustomed his position. He lived amongst the terrors of the world. His purpose was giving guidance towards his loyal NightWings. The NightWings heeded his advice to not make the same mistake twice. The other dragon tribes watched the spectacle not knowing who was to blame.
Memories won't fade away,
Only Qibli knew what happened that day,
The dragons wanted someone to blame,
As one fox rose to fame.
A/N: A lot had happened since I posted my Starleaf story. The truth can be found here: su8qnTx This is a Discord invite code. This contains the unredacted opinions that people have towards the Starleaf Incident and the implosion of FanWings of the world. I have my own views towards said events. I would be more than happy to write a public author's note or statement somewhere for public record if there's interest. I'm also open to relaying my perspective of said events through PMs if anyone cares.
If you were on Fanwings of the World and not Discord, you're likely missing out on the truth, come if you can handle it. Discord makes forums obsolete even still I have set up my own forum: An Alternate Augury (come if anyone wants to waste time there or complain about me specifically.) The forum link can be found on my profile.
I will also eagerly provide technical support if someone can't figure out the magic that is Discord. Discord is completely free and doesn't cost money. I hope you join us as forums fade into the past.