February 1st, 4991.

It was plain to see that my time in the Sandwing Palace was coming to an end. Whether I pressed my luck with Burn one too many times, got assassinated by one of the other claimants, or fell to the crossfire of angry mobs or Seawings, I knew that my home was quickly turning into a deathtrap. I had to leave, and I had to leave soon.

As much as I wanted to take everything with me, I knew I had to travel light. I needed food and water for a week, my Crossbow to protect myself, and as many of my notes and journals and designs that I could carry with me in a couple bags and satchels. A lot of my tools, my prototypes and works-in-progress, they had to be left behind or destroyed.

That, more than anything that night, felt like the greatest punch in the gut. Weeks, months, years of work either destroyed utterly or brought back to square one. Everything that couldn't be burned in the forge was broken and smashed beneath my feet. My life's work, reduced to pawfuls of paper and a single weapon. But I knew I couldn't let Blister or anyone else get their hands on my work. Better that my creations be lost to the dustbin of history than let that bitch use them to enhance her false glory and rule with an iron fist.

After I packed my bags, loaded my crossbow, turned off my forge and went to the door, I looked around my quarters one last time. It wasn't big, or luxurious, or clean, or even cozy at times. But it was my home for over a decade, and I'd come to love it and call it my own. I hated having to leave it all behind, but I wasn't to let myself get torn apart by an angry mob, or tried and executed by Blister and Coral. My work, my life trumped any sense of vestigial loyalty I had for Burn.

I closed that door, and closed a chapter of my life with it.

It would've been poetic, in a way, if I had seen Burn one last time. Some legends of that time insisted that we saw each other in the Courtyard, as the mobs descended upon the Palace. They say that there was one last moment, just as the angry dragons surrounded her, when we looked at each other. Some versions had her look enraged, others betrayed and sorrowful. Only in her final moments would she realize all she could've had, and all she was losing. It would make for a great moment of drama in a play or some other performance, but nothing like that ever came to pass.

Instead, I went over to the Prince's Quarters. I waited until the guards settled down to a game of cards, and snuck in through one of the side doors. Once inside, I was surprised to find all three brothers were also packing up their things, though with a lot less stuff and a lot more money.

"You guys leaving, too?" I asked. They all turned to see me, each of them looking exhausted and drained.

"Blister's heading out." Smolder said, closing a bag of gold coins. "She's going to meet up with the Northern Army. We're going with her."

"You're throwing in your lot with her?" I asked, my tone a little bitter, almost accusing.

"Hell no!" Scald declared. "We still hate her! She chased off my girls!"

"Blister's offered to protect us in her camp." Singe explained. "The Palace isn't safe anymore. At this point, we're just hoping to find someplace safe to wait out this storm."

"What, and just live at her mercy for the rest of your lives?"

"Only until the Seawings leave." Smolder replied. "Once they're gone... I'm going to challenge Blister for the Throne."

I blinked. "R-... Really?" I asked.

"I mean, maybe." He hedged. " I don't know. Blister's our best chance of surviving Nightshade and the mob, but with Coral's demand for reparations, letting her take over would devastate the Kingdom. Our sister's a sneaky, clever bitch, but mother didn't raise me to be a fool, and I am the best fighter of the three of us, so..." He shrugged.

I stared at him, surprised but in awe. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. A Prince making a challenge for the Throne? It sounded impossible, crazy even, and yet my heart leaped at the thought. Out of all the Royals, Smolder was by far the best option now: Neither vain nor manipulative nor cruel. If only I could stay and help him...

"Where are you going, Xero?" Singe asked, gesturing to my things. "You gonna join Nightshade?"

"Hell no!" I barked. "That dick had me mugged! He embarrassed me in front of everyone! There's no way I'd ever side with that spooky son of a bitch!"

"Okay, okay. Fine." Smolder hushed. "So what're you going to do, then?"

"I'm going to the Rainforest Kingdom," I explained, "Or failing that, the Mud Kingdom. I'm going to try my luck with Moorhen or whoever rules the Rainwings, and see if they'll let me stay there. I'm gonna get myself a little hut, where I can continue my work without having to deal with any political bullshit. Somewhere far enough away that Blister or Nightshade will never find me."

"Going full hermit, eh?" Scald chuckled. "Can't say I blame you. I think I've had enough politics to last me a lifetime."

"We're gonna miss you, Xero." Singe said, smiling sadly. "It's been... fun, having you as a friend."

"Good luck, Xero." Smolder said, offering his forepaw. "If only things were different."

"Good luck, Smolder." I replied, shaking it. "Hopefully, next time I see you, I'll be calling you 'Your Highness'."

"And I'll be the first one welcoming you back. Take care."

It was the last time I would ever see them. I walked out that door, and took flight, leaving the Palace with the sun at my back. As I left, I could see more and more dragons coming in from all directions, heading over to the Palace. The fires of a revolution had started, and I intended to put as much distance between it and me as possible before I got burned.

I flew, and flew, and flew, not stopping until I reached the coast. I made camp that first night, making a light supper of flat bread and a camel I caught, and fell asleep to the sound of waves crashing against the shore. In the morning, as the sun peaked over the horizon, I thought of continuing my travels west, over the horizon. Was there anything out there, on the other side of that vast blue expanse? Could I reach some new, distant land before my wings gave out, and I had to land in the water? The prospect was tempting - after all, I had nothing left to lose.

But no, I had a plan to stick to. Caution and paranoia overcame curiosity and adventure that night, and in the morning I continued my journey south along the coast, to The Claw of Phyrria. The location of the so-called "Lost City of Night".

It was said that the Night City used to be the ancestral home of the Nightwings, many thousands of years ago. It was the heart of their mighty empire, rivalled only by the equally majestic Ice Palace of the Icewings. Alas, the city was abandoned following an ancient cataclysm, often attributed to a foul, ancient animus called "The Darkstalker": An evil Spirit feared by Nightwings and Icewings alike for his power and cruelty. I believed it to be utter nonsense, of course; a poetic metaphor for some kind of catastrophe, like a plague or volcanic eruption. But the legends and rumors surrounding the place meant that it remained avoided and empty, and thus safe for me to make camp for the night.

There's something oddly creepy and foreboding, flying and walking through empty streets and buildings that once held hundreds and hundreds of dragons. Statues laid broken and scattered in the dunes, wind howling through empty hallways. It'd be easy to believe the place was haunted, the spirits of long-lost Nightwings waiting to feast upon the flesh of unsuspecting tomb raiders and adventurers.

I wasn't there for treasure. Only to spend the night, on the way to hopefully smaller, simpler things. As amazing, wonderous and beautiful as this place was, I had no intention of staying in a necropolis. Maybe in the future, when I was certain that no one was going to come after me, I could come back and study these ancient works and find out what really happened. How did a Tribe that can read minds and see the future not see the disaster that forced them to flee? And where did they even go, anyway? If I ever had the chance to meet a Nightwing on friendly terms, I'd have to ask them.

The next day, I flew at first light, heading east for the Jade Mountains, and the Rainforest further beyond. As the sand dunes transitioned to grassy hills and stony peaks, I found myself humming a tune, and a smile creep across my face. As terrible as things seemed two days ago, life could only go up from here...

My first experience with the Rainforest was... less than pleasant.

As a Sandwing, I like warm weather. Heat does the body good. The problem with the Rainforest wasn't that it's hot, but that it's a wet heat. The air is humid and thick with moisture like a sauna. Even flying above the trees, I found myself gasping and out of breath. Worse, the Rainwing Village wasn't exactly easy to find, and after struggling for hours in the air, I had to land, rest my wings and continue on the ground.

As hard as it was trying to fly above the jungle, walking through it was much worse. Vines, branches, roots even the occasional snake seemed to be reaching out to trip me or bash me in the face. I struggled to find a path, and then to stay on it. I started to feel a little claustrophobic as the plant life seemed to close in around me, and I could only see a few dragon-lengths ahead of me. I struggled to keep my cool, pushing my way through the foliage faster and faster, until finally I entered a clearing.

At first blush, it seemed like any other empty spot in the jungle, ringed with a pawful of mango trees and illuminated with a rare break in the cloud cover. But as I walked further into this opening, I couldn't help but feel as though someone was watching me. I drew my crossbow, scanning the trees for any sign of movement, any hint that my instincts were correct. I was tired. I was hungry. I had been fleeing for my life and was jumpy as all hell.

So of course, that was the perfect time for a dragon to just suddenly appear right next to me.

"Hey! What are you- eep!" A little pink dragon greeted me in a loud, cheery voice. I yelped in surprise, firing my crossbow instinctively in their general direction. It flew over their head, impacting a nearby tree with a THWACK! As the dragon scampered back, more dragons suddenly appeared - in the trees, in the bushes, descending and landing in the clearing.

Shitshitshitshitshitshit- I thought, entering full panic mode as I quickly struggled to reload. There was a lot of them, easily three dozen and counting, emerging from the foliage like ghosts. I was in no shape to flee, too exhausted from my travels to fight them all off. But as I glanced up, none of the Rainwings were coming closer. Instead, the colorful menagerie of smaller dragons were all talking to each other.

"That's got to be the fastest I've ever seen someone collect mangoes!"

"Yeah, it's a record!"

"Does that make him king?"

I looked at where my arrow landed. It had stuck itself onto the trunk of a mango tree, with three little fruits impaled and leaking juices. Somehow, my blind, wild firing had become the luckiest trick shot (and probably the first trick shot) of all time, and these primitive, simple-minded dragons were awestruck, and- Wait, what did that last one say?

"I guess it does." A taller, older dragoness said, appearing a few steps from me. "What's your name, stranger?"

"Um... Xerophilous." I replied, cautiously lowering my 'bow.

"I am Grandeur." The graceful, lavender-scaled dragoness explained. "I am... I'm one of the leaders of the Rainwings. We were having a contest to determine our new Queen, by seeing who could collect the most mangoes the fastest. Your device caught three at once, faster than a dragon can blink. With speed like that, there's no way I or anyone else can beat you. So, I concede the competition to you."

She turned back to the assembled dragons. "Unless any of you think you can step up and beat him?" She challenged, looking around expectantly. "Fruit Bat? Exquisite? Dazzling? Splendor? Magnificent? Anyone?" The crowd suddenly went silent, some even shaking their heads adamantly. This evidently was not the reaction she was looking for, as her scowl deepened.

"Very well." She turned back to me, and gave me a modest bow. "Welcome, King Xerophilous." One by one, the Rainwings bowed in turn, turning green and orange purple. I stared out at the assembled dragons before me, at Grandeur, at the arrow with three mangoes and at my crossbow. What had I gotten myself into?

This was a triumph.

I'm making a note here: "HUGE SUCCESS".

It's hard to overstate my satisfaction.

I am Xerophilous.

I did what I must, Because I could.

For the good of all of us (Except the ones who are dead).

But there's no sense crying over every mistake.

You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.

And the Science gets done,

And I made a neat gun.

For the dragons who are still alive.

I'm not even angry.

I'm being so sincere right now.

Even though they broke my heart, and killed her.

And tore her to pieces.

And threw every piece into a fire.

As she Burned it hurt because I was so happy for them!

Now these points of data make a beautiful line.

And we're out of beta, We're releasing on time.

So I'm glad she got Burned.

Think of all the things we learned

For the dragons who are still alive.

I'll Go ahead and leave you.

I think I prefer to stay away.

Maybe you'll find someone else to help you.

Maybe "Queen Blister".

THAT WAS A JOKE. HAHA. FAT CHANCE.

Anyway, these rations are great.

It's so delicious and moist.

Look at me still talking when there's Science to do.

When I look back there, it makes me glad I'm not you.

I've experiments to run.

There is research to be done.

On the dragons who are still alive.

And believe me I am still alive.

I'm doing Science and I'm still alive.

I feel FANTASTIC and I'm still alive.

While you're dying I'll be still alive.

And when you're dead I will be still alive.

STILL ALIVE

Still alive.

- "Still Alive", written in the Lost City of Night, Xerophilous

End of Part 1

A/N: That moment when you plan on retiring in the jungle, but you roll so well they make you their King.

As Temeraire explained to me:
Fleeing the Palace: 77 + 30 (RP. Really, great work!) = 107
Your knowledge of the Palace and surrounding desert, combined with a relatively light load, allows you to quickly escape unnoticed amidst the chaos. With nobody minding the coasts, you are able to fly along the broken claw of Pyrrhia without incident, over the Jade Mountain, and into the kingdom of the RainWings. Things would have ended there, had the trip not made you tense. Upon landing in an apparently empty clearing, you were surprised from the sudden arrival of dozens of RainWings, as if from nowhere. Fearing for your life that you were, your itchy trigger claw let loose a bolt… which managed a clean shot through three pieces of fruit in under a second, breaking all previous fruit-to-time collection ratios. Fruit which just happened to be part of an ongoing game to determine the next monarch.
Congratulations on your promotion, King Xerophilous.
[The Rainforest Kingdom and (what exists of) its army are yours to command.]

Is it a stretch for a foreign dragon to just waltz in, do something cool during a Challenge, and immediately become the new King? Probably.

Is it entirely in character for the Rainwings who, being lazy and easily impressed, passed on a job no one really wanted to some rando who just wandered in? Yes.

Does this mark a change in narration and tone, switching from an overview perspective to more character-focused interactions? Definitely.

Are things going to get crazier from here? Absolutely.