Chapter 10

Now it's time for a certain "wings of fire" to start bringing light to Pyrrhia.

Windracer raised the ruby he was holding to his snout. Maybe what he was about to do was the most insanely dangerous stunt he could ever pull, but all the other dragons in Pyrrhia had gone too long without knowing the truth.

"This message is for anyone and everyone in Pyrrhia who can hear me," he began. "My name is Windracer. I am the son of Auburn of the SkyWings and Killer of the NightWings."

He could hear his voice emitting from several different places, like he was speaking to every individual dragon in the Sky Kingdom, face-to-face, all at once. The ruby was doing its job, he was speaking to every dragon on the continent.

Windracer continued. "I'm a dragonet of destiny. For those of you who know the prophecy, there is something important you need to know. But there's something else you all need to know. I hold in my talons the diary of Queen Diamond, the IceWing Queen from two thousand years ago. The NightWings and IceWings haven't always been enemies."

Windracer opened the scroll he was holding and found the entry that spoke of Arctic and Foeslayer. "Allow me to read to you what really happened. 'My son has left our kingdom. I fix him up with the perfect mate, and this is the thanks I get? He's gone and eloped with a NightWing. My subjects can never know what has happened, I will never hear the end of it! Arctic was our only chance of passing down the animus genes, and he's betrayed us!'"

He skipped ahead to another entry. "'I finally captured the NightWing that stole my son. I was too late to prevent them from having dragonets, one of which has killed Arctic. No matter, the truth will die with this NightWing. Every IceWing, today and tomorrow, will hate these stalkers of the night as much as I do. The NightWings are thieves, and they will forever remain our enemy. They have stolen our last animus.'"

The hybrid paused for a moment to let the truth sink in for any and all IceWings and NightWings who had heard. He spotted Storm amongst his friends, her eyes wide with surprise and rage, though she didn't seem to be mad at Windracer. He then lowered the scroll into the sand of the arena. "Just like how Queen Diamond lied to the IceWings to create a war, someone else has been lying to all of Pyrrhia in order to win a war. And that someone is Morrowseer."

He paused once again, the sound of loud gasps from the SkyWings flowing into the wind. After the noise died down, Windracer spoke again. "The NightWings haven't had telepathy or precognition for several generations. Except for me. We get our powers by hatching in the light of the full moons. That's how I got mine. I was underneath the three full moons of the brightest night when I hatched. I am also an animus. That's how I'm sending you all this message. But you don't need to be afraid, I'm not like the dragons who have gone mad from using their power. I don't fully understand it myself, but I know that there's more to animus magic than what we think. The thing is, I haven't used any of my powers until most recently because I was too afraid of who I was. Afraid of what I'd become. But I'm not anymore. The prophecy you all know, the one Morrowseer delivered, it's all a fake. But there is one I've given that I can assure you is real."

He paused a third time to take a breath before he spoke his prophecy loud and clear.

"An ongoing fight for an empty throne
A nightmare hidden within a hive
Unite all talons on two continents,
Or none of the tribes will survive

A danger lurks beneath the ground
A secret lies within a book
The strength within can save the lives
Of those brave enough to look

Beware the dragon that travels through dreams,
Beware the one who is not what he seems,
The dragon whose fate is stronger and higher
Will have the power of wings of fire

It's time to race the wind..."

Unlike when he spoke the prophecy the first time, when it was all jumbled and odd, his voice was confident and full of pride. No longer would he be hiding his powers. Sure, Morrowseer and other NightWings in on the plot behind the fake prophecy would come for him, but he was no longer the insecure dragonet that had been hidden under a mountain his whole life. The dragons of Pyrrhia needed a hero, so that's what he was going to try to be.

"If you feel you have nothing else to believe in, believe in that prophecy. Believe in us. Believe in me. We can't do this alone, which is why I'm asking for your help. Only when we unite all talons in this world can we succeed in saving each other. I'm not asking as a dragonet of destiny, but as a friend. Help us end this war. Help us end all wars. It's a brave, new world out there, and it belongs to everyone."

Satisfied with his speech, Windracer whispered to the ruby, "Stop." And just like that, silence fell over the Sky Kingdom, and all the rest of Pyrrhia. Sighing, Windracer dropped the ruby, now devoid of all animus magic, into the sand beneath his talons. He sat there for what felt like forever, wondering what the outcome of his message would be. He snapped out of his reverie when he felt talons patting his shoulder. He looked up to find Arid smiling at him.

"That was a very brave thing you did, Windracer."

That got his heart fluttering with a very pleasant warmth he didn't want to leave.

"Send a message to all the other queens," Tourmaline declared to the guards, who were returning with their talons full of gold and jewels. "Except the NightWings and SandWing sisters. We all need to unite our forces. This war has gone on for far too long, and if that hybrid's prophecy..."

"Windracer," said hybrid interjected. "My name is Windracer."

Tourmaline gave him a curt nod in thanks. "If Windracer's prophecy is true, then these dragonets will need all the help they can get." She smiled at the dragonets. "We can start by allowing them to spend the night here, as our guests."

No one really expected Queen Tourmaline to have a party for the dragonets, but that's what she did. A dinner and dance party right in the palace ballroom.

Everywhere he turned, Windracer encountered a SkyWing decorated in either guard armor or jewelry. The guards he accidentally bumped into didn't scowl or snap at him. Instead, they smiled and patted him on the back.

Except for one, who stomped on Windracer's tail.

The hybrid turned to find Inferno, with his face still bandaged, giving him a glare that reminded Windracer of Kestrel. The young guard pointed at his face. "You know, this is all your fault."

"How is it my fault?" Windracer asked, his voice heavy with annoyance. He wasn't the one who caught Ocotillo's attention during his fight with Inferno, and he certainly wasn't the one who scarred his cousin's face.

Inferno couldn't find an answer to that question, but he didn't drop his accusational act. "Don't try and change the subject! Ever since you've been brought here to the Sky Kingdom, nothing but bad luck has happened! I'd still have my devilishly handsome face if it wasn't for you!" He advanced on Windracer, who stepped back with every step forward his cousin took. "I don't care if we're related through our moms, I should kill you right now! I'm still the Queen's Champion!"

"Scarlet is dead," Windracer said. His voice was surprisingly calm. "Tourmaline is the queen of the SkyWings now, and she doesn't like the arena. You're not going to be a champion anymore, Inferno." He bumped against the wall of the ballroom, trapped.

"I don't care!" Inferno snapped. "You and me! Fight! Here! Now!" He gave his cousin a sly smile. "Unless you're too afraid to fight me."

Windracer was afraid for a minute, but he took a breath and swallowed that fear. "No. I'm not afraid of you, Inferno." Now it was his turn to advance, and Inferno's turn to step back. "You only fight other dragons because it makes you look strong and tough. But the only thing strong about you is your pride and arrogance." The hybrid ignored the stares directed at them as their argument became more public. This was between him and his cousin, no one else. "You can keep pretending to be the kind of dragon everyone dreams of being, but if you're not going to do or say anything good to me and my friends, then you should leave. Now."

"Well," Inferno started, his voice wavering nervously. His back was against the wall opposite of the one Windracer had been pinned against. The young SkyWing guard forced himself to sound tough. "What if I don't want to...?"

Windracer cut him off. "I said now!" Then he roared, long and loud. If dragons had fur, Inferno's would have blown back from the force of his cousin's roar. Windracer ignored the throbbing dryness of his throat, he had never roared like this before. But he continued on until he was certain his cousin got the message. When he stopped, Inferno's eyes were wide in amazement and fear. The young guard ducked under Windracer's wings and bailed out of the room, his tail tucked ever so subtly between his back legs.

Feeling a set of eyes on him from behind, Windracer turned to find Kestrel staring. Instead of her usual scowl, however, her eyes were wide with pure, undeniable amazement. She shook it away, however, when she caught the hybrid looking at her.

Windracer knew Kestrel would never admit she'd been impressed.

Queen Tourmaline was there in an instant. "Is everyone alright?" She looked to Kestrel, who stalked away, indifferent.

"I am now," Windracer replied, bowing slightly. "I could use a drink, though."

Nodding, Tourmaline gestured for one of the guards to bring her a goblet, which she then handed to Windracer. The young hybrid eyed the contents of the goblet, his nose crinkled in suspicion.

"It's only water," the new SkyWing queen assured him. "I'd offer you wine, but I doubt you've ever had that before."

Windracer shook his head before lifting the goblet to his mouth and downing all the water in it. The roar had really dried out his throat. "Now I'm hungry. Is there anything to eat?"

Tourmaline gestured to a buffet table with her wing. Several different types of food, mostly meat, decorated the flat surface. Windracer spotted Bog, hungry as ever, stuffing several talonfuls of meat and whatnot into his mouth, even going so far as to snatch things out of the talons of some nearby SkyWings. The hybrid chuckled at the sight. He padded toward the buffet, weaving his way through the dragons that were mingling. When he finally reached the table, he found a medium-sized pig with bits and pieces of its meat gone, courtesy of other hungry dragons who liked the taste. Windracer cut off a piece with his claws, sniffing it cautiously. Overwhelmed by the delicious smell, he couldn't help devouring the slab of meat. "Not bad."

"That's what I thought, too."

Windracer jumped at the sudden voice, but relaxed somewhat when he realized it was Arid. Ocotillo and Storm were with her. The hybrid cowered a little as the IceWing approached him.

"I owe you an apology," Storm said, her voice calm and collected. "I was wrong about you, NightWi...I mean Windracer." She gave him a genuine smile. "I'm glad my daughter has a friend like you."

Momentarily speechless, Windracer barely managed to utter, "Thanks," before Storm and Ocotillo left to share a dance. It had been a while since they could show affection for one another, after all.

Now Windracer was alone with Arid. That was either really good, or he was about to make a fool of himself. Looking her over, he noticed that most of the scales on her legs and back were now white instead of a pale yellow. He hadn't expected her to start looking more like an IceWing so soon after finally being exposed to ice for the first time in her life.

She looked much more beautiful now...

Shaking himself back to his senses, Windracer finally choked out, "Nice party, huh?"

"It is," Arid said. "Though I never would have thought a SkyWing queen would be holding it. Especially not with us as the guests of honor." She looked over Windracer's shoulder at the RainWing twins. The color-changing duo were trying to figure out how to shoot venom out of their fangs, with minimal success (fortunately).

Windracer spotted Lagoon over Arid's shoulder. The SeaWing dragonet gestured to Arid with her talons, but her eyes remained locked with Windracer's. The hybrid knew that Lagoon was the only one, besides himself, who knew about his crush on Arid. Bog was always more concerned with food, Marmoset and Mango were always hiding and pulling pranks, and of course Arid didn't know.

Lagoon kept gesturing with her claws, first to Windracer, then to Arid, and finally to the dragons dancing in the middle of the ballroom. Windracer didn't have to read her mind, the message was clear.

Ask her to dance!

Gulping nervously, Windracer locked eyes with Arid. "So...what's it like to use frostbreath?"

"Hey!" Lagoon half-whispered, half-yelled at the NightWing-SkyWing hybrid. "What are you doing?!"

Surprisingly, Arid didn't seem to hear her. "I'm not sure," she said. "The only thing I know for sure is that I felt really cold. Can't imagine how Scarlet must have felt."

Windracer shuddered. "I certainly wouldn't want to find out."

"Me neither," Arid said, chuckling. After a moment of awkward silence, she shrugged her wings. "Well, I'm going to go find my parents. There's still a few questions I want to ask. I'll see you later, Wind."

That last word made him freeze. "That's...that's what Sleet called me. Before she...you know..."

Arid's smile faded. "Wind?" When he nodded in confirmation, se sighed sadly. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know..."

"It's okay," Windracer said quickly. "You can call me that, if you want to."

Arid's smile returned, she patted his shoulder with her talons before heading to the dance floor by herself. Windracer immediately met the face of Lagoon, who was glaring at him in disappointment and frustration.

"What?" he asked. "What did you expect me to say? 'Hey, hot stuff, I was wondering if you'd like to dance, but I'm so crazy in love with you that I can't even talk to you without going completely bonkers!' Pretty ridiculous, right?"

Lagoon opened her mouth to say something, then stopped, her eyes focusing on something behind Windracer. The NightWing-SkyWing hybrid followed her gaze, his heart skipping a beat and his stomach doing a backflip when he saw what she was looking at.

Arid was standing right behind him. And the look on her face told him that she had heard everything he had just said.

Windracer lowered his head in embarrassment. "Oops."

Elsewhere, on an island that was mostly volcanoes, Morrowseer was raging with anger.

"That Killer went and made an egg with a SkyWing?! And their half-breed dragonet has powers!"

Of course, Windracer's message had also been sent to the NightWings. Their home was still technically a part of Pyrrhia, so Windracer's spell to spread his voice to all the dragons of Pyrrhia had worked on them, too.

"Where's Killer?!" Morrowseer demanded.

"We don't know," a female NightWing answered. "He hasn't returned from that assignment we gave him."

Morrowseer grumbled, "He'll be on the run, now that he knows." He turned to the female and one other NightWing with a bent tail. "Eclipse, Preyhunter!"

Both NightWings stood at attention.

"Find the half-breed and his father," Morrowseer said with a snarl. "Bring them both to me!"

The only thing I can really say right now is "Happy Halloween."

Auburn - Valka
Windracer - Hiccup
Arid - Astrid
Lagoon - Heather
Bog - Fishlegs
Marmoset and Mango - Tuffnut and Ruffnut
Killer - Stoick
Inferno - Snotlout
Scorch - Spitelout
Frost - Dagur