AN:

Thanks QueenGlorytheFirst for the ideas! They're much better than the ones I had planned, and I never would have thought of Aztec JungleWings (RainWings)! The original plan for this particular world only had the MudWings being different, with every other tribe staying the same as they are in the books. This was because the MudWings had the least development in the main series, so I thought it would be interesting to give them their own distinct culture entirely different from the novels. It was only recently that I decided to make the other tribes in this world different from the books for consistency, and I hadn't even come up with many ideas for them. Sadly, the team won't be spending much more time in this world, and for now only the EarthWings will have been introduced. BUT I do plan on coming back here sometime in the future, and this and some of the other worlds featured in this story could lead into their own spin off stories focusing on those worlds. Hopefully my detailed description of the Earth Palace is enough for now!

And yes, there will be more worlds. Lots more. Stay tuned! ;)


Chapter 8: The Empress of Earth


The Earth Kingdom

Late Afternoon

It took nearly four hours to fly from Fallside Village to the Imperial City, which was located much further south. Ricky had never flown such a long distance before, and merely thirty minutes in he already felt like he was about to pass out. If it weren't for the rough pull of the rope around his neck he probably would have. Hidden and Xavier seemed to be doing slightly better than him, though not by much.

"So is this Empress the nice kind that will hear us out or the nasty kind that will lock us away in her dungeon?" Xavier asked. He was met with a sharp tug on the rope around his neck as the guard leading him let out a savage snarl, glaring back at him. He whimpered, and none of the three uttered a single word for the rest of the flight.

Eventually they cleared the mountains and emerged above a massive hilly plain. Rice patties covered the landscape, their flooded fields glistening in the afternoon sun. Ricky thought he could see the tiny brown specks of EarthWings harvesting the fields and flying their bounty to various cottages dotted about the terrain.

The Imperial City loomed on the horizon. It draped across a massive hill, sheer stone walls encircling its perimeter. Within the walls was a sea of buildings, all painted vibrant colors of red and gold, and divided by winding cobbled roads. As the group flew overhead, Ricky could see dozens of EarthWings flying about and shuffling through the streets. At one point they flew past a district full of small shops selling the local cuisine. Ricky inhaled the scents of the food through his nostrils, marveling at the variety of smells he didn't even recognize.

Maybe if we're let go, I can come down here and learn some of these recipes, he thought, That might make up for getting us all arrested.

The palace was situated atop a wide stone foundation that rose out of the center of the city. A steep flight of stairs led up the sloped side of the structure, leading to a wide pathway that ran straight towards the palace's entrance.

The palace itself was a sight to behold. Its main profile looked like three wide rectangular boxes stacked atop each other, growing smaller as they rose. The top was crowned with a pointy shingled roof similar to those on the River temple back at Fallside Village. The exterior walls of the lower level were painted the same vibrant red as many of the buildings in the surrounding city, while the upper levels were covered in a contrasting white plaster, and dotted by regular tiny windows.

The remaining surface of the foundation that wasn't taken up by the palace and pathway was covered in a lush garden. Plants from seemingly all over the world were gathered together, and a small stream ran around the palace, bisected by ornately carved wooden bridges. Ricky looked in awe at the scenery as the group landed on the pathway leading to the palace entrance. He noticed a small tube of bamboo being filled from a nearby fountain. Eventually it grew so full that it tipped over along the axle that it was attached to, making a distinct clunk as it bopped against the rocks below.

With a tug of their ropes, the three prisoners were led further on into the palace. The entrance to the structure was lined with thin red pillars. Ricky looked up as they passed between, noticing more of those paper lanterns strung far above their heads. He thought he could make out various symbols written on them, but he didn't quite recognize any of them.

After being led through a luxurious entrance hall, decorated primarily by a detailed marble sculpture of the presumed Empress, the group was led into the throne room. And there, on the far side of the chamber past rows of red columns and armored guards, was Empress Moorhen herself.

The Empress cocked her head and frowned as the prisoners were brought down the long red carpet before her. She was much larger than almost any dragon Ricky had ever seen. In a way she reminded him of some bodybuilders he'd seen on TV one time while flipping through channels. Though her size was coupled with an aura of elegance too, far more elegant than any of those brutes. She sat with her tail wrapped around her talons on a large purple cushion, a dazzling headpiece covered in diamonds and sapphires draped around her horns.

"These are the ones from that golden rocket I presume?" she asked one of the guards.

The guard nodded, casting a sideways glance at the three. "They just turned themselves in, though I ain't complainin'. Sure made our jobs easier."

The Empress nodded, and from her expression Ricky guessed she was considering this unorthodox outcome. Maybe this crazy plan will work after all, he thought.

"Good. Now do untie them and take your leave, I would like to have a word with our...guests. Oh, and bring me those bags around their legs too."

Ricky looked down at the bag holding his PDA, and he saw Hidden and Xavier doing the same. Both guards ganged up around him, and Ricky quickly slipped his bag off of his leg and handed it over. Xavier did the same, wincing as the polyester satchel was ripped from his talons.

Hidden didn't take his off, though. For a second Ricky worried that he would fight back, but instead he simply stood there glaring as the guards gruffly unlatched the bag's strap and carried their possessions over to the Empress. The guards finished by untying the ropes around their necks and snouts, and sauntered off back down the red carpet.

Moorhen opened up Hidden's bag and pulled out his PDA, her eyes growing wide as she struggled to comprehend just what exactly it was. Hidden took a step forward, causing a few of the guards in the chamber to move closer to the three dragons. Moorhen waved them off, eyeing the small metallic tablet in her talons.

"DustWing," she began. It took Ricky a second to realize she was referring to Hidden. "What exactly is this curious device?" She turned it between her claws, causing Hidden to grow ever more restless.

"It's my PDA, and it's got a lot of important information inside so you should probably stop messing with it. Please…?"

"So it's like a scroll then?" the Empress asked. Hidden took a moment to process this before responding.

"Uh...yeah? But no...it's way more than just a piece of paper. Now can you please stop fumbling around with it?"

Moorhen pressed the power button on the side of the device, causing its screen to flare to life. She hopped back a bit, nearly dropping it and causing Hidden to clench his teeth. She quickly righted herself and began staring at the screen in awe.

"Three moons!" she said, holding the tiny screen close to her face. She pressed the power button once again, causing the screen to flick off, and stuffed it back into Hidden's bag, beckoning to an EarthWing servant standing by a side door.

"Take these to Stoat." she said, tenderly handing him the three bags, "See what he makes of them." The three watched as the EarthWing carried their PDAs away out a side door, and Hidden sighed.

The Empress turned her attention to Hidden, Ricky, and Xavier, having regained her authoritative demeanor. "Now then, which one of you wants to tell me why you have come here and caused such damage to my kingdom?"

Hidden shrugged. "You mean the hole where our ship crashed? It should grow over eventually. It's not like anything important got damaged."

Moorhen frowned, displeased by Hidden's remark. "You know DustWing, that hole could be considered an attack on the Earth Kingdom, and had you three not turned yourselves in so kindly I might feel inclined to deliver a fitting punishment."

"My name is Hid-" Hidden began, but Ricky quickly cut him off before he could further anger the EarthWing Empress.

"W-We didn't mean anything by it!" he said, "It's not even really our ship. And it's my fault that it started up and crashed here anyway, so if you want to punish someone, punish me."

"Ricky…" Hidden started, but Ricky shook his head. It was his fault they were here and it was his idea to turn themselves in, so if anyone was going to take the fall for it it would be him.

Empress Moorhen sat atop her cushion, scratching her chin. "Not your ship you say? Then whose is it?"

Hidden scratched the back of his head. "Uhh...well it did belong to the Jade Science Institute, which you might not know about anyway come to think of it. That's why we crashed though, we had no idea how to fly the thing. Moons, for all we know there could be some kind of deadly security system in there that could vaporize you the moment you set talon in the wrong room!"

Hidden's comment certainly sent shivers down Ricky's spine, even if he didn't completely believe it to be true.

The Empress thought for a moment. "So you're thieves?" she asked.

"Well we didn't mean to steal it, it was an accident."

Ricky winced.

"Thieves or not, I can't just let three dragons who mysteriously appeared in a golden rocket from the sky rome freely around my kingdom, now can I?" Moorhen said, motioning to one of the guards. "I've already sent a messenger to the other kingdoms, their leaders should be arriving within the next week to discuss the matter. Maybe then we can decide what to do about you."

Three guards stepped up behind the group. In a flash ropes were tied back around their necks and snouts, and they were being dragged towards a door on the right side of the chamber.

Moorhen smiled. "I must thank you for turning yourselves in, though I cannot overlook your reckless abandon so easily. I hope you find your stay in the dungeons tolerable."

And with that the doors to the throne room slammed shut behind them, and the trio were dragged away into the depths of the palace.


"I told you we'd be locked up! I told you! But no, instead we had to walk right into the talons of a powerful ruler who will probably have us executed in a week!"

Xavier had been pacing around their small stone prison cell for the past hour. Torchlight from the outer hallway flickered in through the metal bars that made up one of the cell's walls, casting an orange glow off of Xavier's lime green scales. One of his talons was sore from stubbing it on a circular metal grate inlaid in the floor.

"Hey Xavier, maybe if you keep walking in circles like that you'll wear down the floor enough for us to get out of here." Hidden remarked. He and Ricky were both lying on stone slabs situated on opposite sides of the room.

"This is serious! I'm not ready to die!"

Hidden got up and walked over to the distressed RainWing, putting a talon on his shoulder. "We're not going to die, not yet at least. The Empress just said she was inviting over some other leaders to have a little talk. And even then they won't be arriving for another week."

Xavier's breathing had begun to calm down, and the lime green in his scales began to dissipate. Ricky could relate to his anxiety, it was just like how he stress packed before big trips.

Xavier shook off Hidden's talon and looked out the bars of their cell. "We have to get out of here though. And don't say we should wait and negotiate, 'cause that clearly didn't work last time!"

"Oh no, we're totally escaping." Hidden said, "They've got my PDA and I'm not giving them a week to break it."

Ricky listened to the two discuss escape plans for a moment while he took another look around their cell. There were no windows, unless you counted the wall of pig iron bars that stood between them and the dungeon's halls. The only furnishings in the cell were the two stone slabs, and the grate in the center of the floor. But that was fastened tight from the bottom, and all three of them had already attempted to move it to no avail.

Just then, the three heard talon steps echoing down the hallway. Hidden and Xavier moved away from the bars as an EarthWing guard tossed two pig carcasses into the cell. They landed with a splat on the grimy stone floor, causing Hidden and Xavier to back up in horror. Ricky turned away, trying not to gag from the stench.

"Eat up." the guard said, and was about to walk away when Hidden called out to him.

"Uh, don't you have any real food here? I mean, you don't just eat a raw carcass."

The guard looked at them like they were crazy. "You either eat the pigs, or eat nothing." he growled, and he stomped off down the hall.

"I think I'm gonna be sick…" Xavier said, clutching his stomach as he tried to avert his eyes from the gruesome sight.

None of the three dragons so much as touched the "food" that had been brought to them. Ricky could hear his stomach growling, which only made him feel worse.

Why did I have to turn us in… he thought, clutching his empty stomach.

Another hour passed, when suddenly they heard another set of talonsteps coming near. These ones, though, didn't come from the hall outside of the cell, but instead reverberated out of the metal grate in the floor. The three gathered around the grate and looked down, taking care to avoid the dead pigs. At first all they could see was darkness, but soon the faint glow of torchlight began emanating from the floor.

"Hey dudes, you up there?" a familiar voice called.

"Reggie?!" Ricky shouted. Hidden and Xavier both quickly shushed him, and turned back down toward the grate.

"Yeah! And that scary EarthWing too!"

"My name is Lin. I thought I already told you that."

Soon enough the green eyed face of Lin popped up just beneath the grate. She had shimmied herself up directly beneath it, barely squeezing through the vertical shaft. She pulled out some kind of metal tool that vaguely resembled a wrench and began slowly unfastening the grate. Within ten minutes, the grate was off.

"Well, are you coming?" Lin impatiently asked as she shimmied back down the shaft. Xavier didn't waste a second in joining her.

"Get me outta this carcass filled nightmare!" he happily exclaimed.

Hidden followed close behind. "Time for a jailbreak!"

Ricky took one last look around the cell, saw the pig carcasses rotting nearby, and slid down the shaft without a second thought.