Sorry for the infrequent updates but I really am busy, plus this chapter needed some time to get right. I hope you enjoy it.

It had been a week since Celeste had joined Amora. The young gryphon had quickly began to grow on the phoenix's nerves, who put up with Celeste's childish behaviour, Trianna thought, due to her fluxing personality. She was still the same phoenix, the usual things annoyed her and she still found joy in her favourite past times but she had increasingly become more tolerant of immaturity, she even at one point joined a game of chase that Trianna was playing with her hatchling, who she had named Torrikin.

Trianna herself had also changed drastically, more so in her physical appearance than her personality. She had inevitably lost all her hair, which had provided the small group with endless enjoyment, with the exception of Trianna, of course. The jokes and taunts stopped, however, when her head grew to suit her baldness, she had the long snout of a dragon within a day and horns, spines and fangs soon followed.

Whilst this was occurring, her skin grew a coat of scales, which shredded her clothes quicker than she had expected. Luckily, her body had gone through enough changes to make clothes unnecessary by the time she had ran out. Aside from the fact that she stood upright like a human, she had the body of a dragon, a small stub emerging from the bottom of her spine, marking the beginning of her tail, and two lumps on her shoulders, her wings forming their necessary joints.

She had also shrunk with her transformation, reaching the same size as Celeste within three days and the size of Torrikin within five. On the sixth day her back legs suddenly shifted in their sockets and locked into place, giving her the same hind legs as the dragons. Her forelegs took longer than the hind legs, forcing her to move in an awkward manner until they too finally locked in place and she was able to move like a dragon, her tail, which had reached full length, providing her the stability to walk.

Thorn had told her that Murtagh's transformation into an egg had been completed within a few hours. They did not know why Trianna's was taking so long, they speculated that Murtagh's exhaustion of his strength whilst trying to keep Nasuada and Angela alive had something to do with it, but without knowing the true nature of the transformations they could only guess.

It was on the outskirts of the southern tip of the Spine when Trianna finally approached Celeste. Where is it you came from exactly? She asked mentally, now unable to verbally communicate. Celeste looked at the green dragoness, who was now the same size as Torrikin, and loomed over her.

Now wouldn't you like to know, 'little one'. Celeste replied, with a note of aggression. Trianna didn't flinch, however, and Celeste let slip a light giggle. Well it seems I won't be able to persuade you to leave by threatening you will I. As you are so eager to know where I came from I'll tell you. Celeste got comfortable whilst Trianna did the same. She was still unused to her dragon body and found it hard to sit in a spot for too long. She thought she should get the practice in now, however; soon she would be cramped into an egg.

The empire that once existed here stopped at the Hadarac desert. That king that ruled that empire couldn't move his armies into the desert and secure it due to it's vastness, as such, he missed out on much history. As you may or may not know, the Hadarac was the wild dragon's ancestral home, it was where all dragons returned to mate and to eventually die, in a cluster of mountains called Du Fells Nángoröth.

The Blasted Mountains? Trianna repeated. Celeste nodded.

Yes, a fitting name considering what went on there, I've been told dragon mating results in the dragons belching fire when they become lost in their actions. Celeste paused for a moment as she thought about this whilst Trianna grew slightly embarrassed. But in any case, the wild dragons were very territorial, a large area being taken by one mated pair. As a collective, however, the dragons' territory encompassed the whole of Alagaesia, from the southern most tip of Surda to the northern reaches of Du Weldenvarden. The west was bordered by the sea and the east stopped short of the settlement called Hedarth, nice little group of buildings, I passed it on my way here, strange, short people live there.

The dwarfs. Trianna confirmed. Celeste simply shrugged her large shoulders and snapped up a rat that had drawn too close, its bones cracking in her powerful beak. So you came from beyond Alagaesia to the east?

That would be correct. Celeste replied, finishing her snack, swallowing what remained, bulging her throat and sating her hunger for the time being. Well, it's where I came from, my ancestors were, in fact, from here. Celeste noticed Trianna's confused growl and laughed. Yes, I thought that you might have found that hard to understand, not many have recorded history from that time, there weren't many to record it.

But why is it you have only begun to reappear, why have our recent historians not accounted for you? Trianna asked, flexing her wings and curling her tail around to her side.

Ah a very good question, one with a very good answer. I mentioned that the dragon's collective territory encompassed all of Alagaesia, I wasn't exaggerating. The dragon's protected their lands fiercely, there wasn't enough resources for the various magical creatures that lived here so they drove their competition away. Celeste paused allowing the information to sink in.

Not many were a match for the dragons, their elders were the size of small mountains and they were vast in numbers. It was a simple matter for them to remove the more harmless species, Unicorns, Fauns, Satyrs, etc. They didn't eradicate them, just…persuaded them to find a new place to live. The more powerful species, however, took a little more effort to shift. I'm sorry to say that the Gryphons were the first to fall, we neither had the will nor the need to fight for a prolonged period of time so we simply left and found a new land to claim, which we did. Celeste paused once again. Trianna realised that Celeste was proud of her race, it hurt her to speak about how her race had simply given up.

The next species that folded were the Rocs, Celeste continued. Large powerful birds, not unlike Amora actually, except they lacked her abilities over fire or magic. They usually had eaten whatever meat they could find, their size allowed them to carry even the most heaviest of prey to the skies and drop it, an effective killing method. Unfortunately, this was it's primary killing method, their claws and beaks were not meant for fighting and the dragons could fly, therefore they only actually killed three dragons before they were forced to leave. I heard that they headed south, across the oceans. I don't know exactly where they settled as only a few of my kind journeyed there. I heard that the human race originated from the south, perhaps your ancestors came across them.

Those were the two species that chose to leave, fighting first but realising the futility of it. After they had left there were only three species left in Alagaesia, the dragons, the wyverns, and the phoenixes. Now, the wyverns enjoyed fighting, they found no better pleasure, I find that odd but who am I to judge. They were not that much different to the dragons actually, they were reptilian, had leathery wings, powerful jaws and claws. The only main differences were that wyverns had two legs, not four, they were thinner in build, not unlike snakes, and they did not possess dragon fire. This of course makes the dragons seem all the superior, but the wyverns were a lot more agile. They could weave around a dragon and maul its throat in a matter of seconds, sometimes before the dragon could even unleash its own attack.

However, the dragons were far more in numbers and the wyverns could not kill enough of them. They were outnumbered and the dragons were able to successfully push them east, out of Alagaesia. The wyverns constantly fought to re-enter but the dragons were always able to keep them out until eventually the wyverns gave up and moved on. Only a few continued to attempt re-entry, every now and again.

The phoenixes were the last to stand there ground, they…

We went about it a different way. Amora interrupted as she landed nearby and perched on a rock.

Ah, Amora. Celeste said as she looked at the phoenix. I see you have decided to join in my lesson. Well who better to teach her about your species' side of the conflict than a member of your species like yourself.

Oh please, offer your knowledge when you deem it necessary, my knowledge of the conflicts can be lacking. Amora then turned to Trianna and continued to educate her. We were the last species to oppose the dragons. We were an almost perfect match against them, our only weaknesses were that our bodies were frail compared to theirs. Feathers didn't provide the same defences for us as scales did for them.

You did have the benefits of regeneration though. Celeste added. If they tore your wings from you and left you to die you would simply incinerate your self in a safe place and become reborn.

Yes, it was painful, but we could emerge from a fight without any permanent injuries, we could even survive death, if the dragons were careless enough to leave our ashes undisturbed. Even with these advantages on both sides, the two species were at a stalemate.

Celeste scrapped her front talons in the dirt. It's funny to think that if we had all banded together we would have quelled the dragons, forcing them to accept us.

Unfortunately we didn't, did we Celeste. No, the stalemate, which could have been swayed in our favour if there was still another species to help us, continued and we decided to use a different tactic.

It was actually quite ingenious. Celeste said as she thought about it. Finding a mate among another species had been done before, but only as a symbol of undying love, never as a method of war.

It was a tragic tactic. Amora agreed. But we decided to find mates among the dragons, hoping to mate enough of them so that they would no longer wish to evict us from our land. Of course, some of us did find love and were happy, others, however, used the dragons as a means to procure offspring and a select few did it for the sole purpose of winning the conflict. Unfortunately, most of the dragons had found mates and, although we could tempt them to separate, the former mate would often exact its revenge, killing the phoenix and reclaiming its mate. It reached a point where it became too dangerous to continue to find mates so we conceded, in the hopes of avoiding more bloodshed. We left to the east, following the wyverns and the gryphons.

You all ventured into our land and we welcomed you. Celeste continued. The wyverns were also nearby but we kept our distance, they liked to fight too often. That was the start of our problems. With the arrival of the phoenixes the land could not sustain all three of us. Our numbers dropped and soon there were only a few hundred of each of our species left.

Trianna's small green head was swimming with information, but there was still one thing she didn't understand. But why have we not heard of you all before now?

Amora rustled her feathers and moved to a cooler rock before answering. Upon the fall of the riders Galbatorix began the extermination of the wild dragons, unknowingly wiping out that aspect of history and removing the dragons presence that kept us from returning to Alagaesia. I was searching for a mate when I noticed that the lands around the east of Alagaesia had erupted in prey. I became curious and discovered that the dragons had gone missing, that was when I re-entered the land of my ancestors.

And I followed her. Celeste explained. We had grown up together, my brother found his mate in Amora's sister, and Amora and I grew quite close because of it. Being hens, we talked often together about finding mates and when she did not return from her usual search for one I began searching for her.

No wild dragons survived to divulge that information, rider's dragons were not told the secrets of the wild dragons, they considered our purpose inferior to theirs. Thorn announced as he came back from his hunt, he had taken Torrikin with him and when the young hatchling landed he moved to Trianna and sat next to her, not out of affection but out of confusion and comfort. He had no idea what was going on, the rider he had chosen had transformed into an almost exact copy of him, albeit a different gender. It confused him but he still sat with her and followed her, being with her soothed him as she was now his own kind and the same age, a great comfort to the young hatchling.

I'll have to keep an eye on that. Celeste said as she watched Torrikin rub up against Trianna. He won't be thinking anything of it now but if he continues to do it three months from now he could develop feelings for you.

I like him. Trianna admitted as she rubbed back against him. I won't let go of him without a fight.

I welcome the challenge, as long as we can remain friends, no point in letting a male come between us. Celeste continued, to which Trianna nodded. An alluring scent then entered Trianna's nostrils and she turned towards its direction. She finally noticed the deer that Thorn had obtained and she made her way towards the two carcasses, Torrikin hot on her tail and Celeste on his.

Thorn watched the three smaller creatures as they began to rip into the deer, their instincts causing them to bicker over the softest parts of the meat. He rumbled to himself before dragging the other deer over to Amora. She looked at it and then cooed softly before brushing her beak across his snout. I appreciate the gesture Thorn but I don't like to eat deer, I much prefer a few rabbits. My size means I have to eat a few but they are much easier for me to swallow.

Thorn stopped nosing the deer towards here and looked at her, a low growl escaping him. I am sorry, my mate, I'll go and search for some for you. He got up and motioned to leave before Amora stopped him.

Do not be silly, my love, I will find them, please enjoy your meal and I will be back shortly. Thorn hesitated for a moment before finally settling back down, watching Amora taking off, and then took a portion of the deer into his mouth.

Trianna knew that Amora had left, but that acknowledgement had been pushed to the back of her mind as she filled her belly with meat. She had never felt before the feelings she was feeling now, something encouraged her to eat the meat despite it being raw, a not so appetizing prospect to her human side. She knew that Torrikin who was eating beside her, occasionally bumping into her, was feeling the same feelings she was and Celeste may too, but Trianna couldn't be sure of Celeste's instincts, her being a gryphon meant she probably had different priorities.

She paused every now and then to swallow, noting Amora's return and the blood that covered her scales but always returned her head to the carcass. Soon the three had stripped the majority of the meat from the bones and Trianna finally regained her ability to ignore the carcass. She looked herself over, the blood covered almost all of her scales and her barbed tongue occasionally darted out to lick her snout. She looked at Torrikin, who was also doing the same with his tongue before he moved over to Thorn and started to butt his leg.

Thorn had already finished his meal and looked down at Torrikin as he feebly butted his head against Thorn's powerful leg. Thorn knew what he wanted and began to lick Torrikin's scales clean. Trianna watched with interest as her hatchling was cleaned. You'll be next. Celeste said. Trianna turned to look at her to see that she was licking her bloodstained fur and grooming her feathers. I will admit you have your advantages when it comes to cleaning yourself, it will take me sometime to get my fur clean and then I'll have to cope with the inevitable hairballs.

Trianna looked back to Thorn and Torrikin before looking back to Celeste. I'll clean myself. She stated as she began to lick her scales. She soon found, however, that her neck wasn't long enough and she couldn't reach several places.

Just accept your grooming, if my mother was here I'd let her groom me, while I'm this size anyway, if I hadn't shrunk to travel with you I wouldn't let her. Celeste continued, as she carefully clipped a matted tuft of fur away with her sharp beak. Before Trianna could offer her rebuttal she suddenly felt dizzy. Are you alright? Celeste asked as she watched Trianna sway on her legs. As if in response, the young, green dragoness fell on her side with a thud.

Thorn noticed her fall and moved to her now that Torrikin was clean. Torrikin had also noticed and gingerly approached Trianna. He whined and squeaked as he nudged her with his snout but she made no response. Thorn removed Torrikin and examined Trianna. She was slowly curling her legs against her body and her wings began to tightly encompass her back. Is she alright? Celeste asked with a note of worry.

Yes she will be fine, this is just the next step of her transformation, she will be in an egg soon. Thorn replied as he moved Torrikin again, who continued his attempts to rouse Trianna.

Well now you know about the other magical species. I would appreciate some feed back on the history I included, I tried to make it make as much sense as possible. If there's any inconsistances then please don't hesitate to draw my attention to it. Please Review.