A white dragon ducked, rolling into a ball as he dodged the beam of fire that was shot at him. His scales itching with the need for a distraction, he turned his blue eyes to the two SandWings who orbited him. Using his whip-like tail, the ice dragon flicked it in Meerkat's direction. The pale gold dragon launched herself above the sandy floor, nearly missing it.

Bat tackled him, pinning his wings to the ground. Elk growled, then sliced his talons across the dragon's chest. He pushed him off with his back legs, then hurried to get to his feet. Bat took a breath of air and breathed fire at the dragonet. Elk did the same, but instead of fire, a bluish-white beam of ice shot out of his mouth.

The two elements clashed with each other, causing smoke to rise. Meerkat attacked the IceWing, but Elk was quicker. He bit her neck gently and threw her off. The SandWing landed at the far end of the cave, her wings folded next to her sides. Smiling, Elk looked at Bat. The older dragon had a smirk on his face.

"Very good," he praised. Bat stomped over to Meerkat and helped her up with one of his wings. The young IceWing felt warmth spread throughout his body.

"Thanks," he said. Meerkat and Bat returned to him, their faces grim with hardly any emotion.

"A NightWing is coming to inspect you," Meerkat informed him, "she'll be here in an hour."

A NightWing? Elk thought. I thought that tribe was just a myth. He had been told NightWings were the rarest of all the dragon tribes. "Who is it?"

"Shadowbringer. She's a NightWing who tasked me and Bat to..."

To steal my egg, Elk finished her speech in his head.

The female SandWing shook her head. "Never mind. We will continue your training tomorrow and you will have a quiz on MudWings. You are excused, Elk." The white dragon let out a cheer and took off into the sky, kicking up sand.

Elk soar above the Kingdom of Sand, some SandWings waving at him from below. The IceWing waved back. Okay, I got a test about MudWings tomorrow... and a NightWing is coming to inspect me? He shook his spiked head, gathering his thoughts.

It wasn't long before he touched down in front of the market and walked in. Dragons filed in and out of the market, some of them bumping into Elk on purpose. The young IceWing growled but didn't attack, no matter how much he wanted to. Walking around for a bit, he saw the stalls were mostly selling scrolls of the SeaWings. Tilting his head, Elk reached over and gently unscrolled a piece of paper, holding it with his talon.

The two SeaWing princesses, Stingray and Dolphin, start a war when their mother falls deathly ill. Elk kept reading. It's prophecied that an IceWing will end the war, but most tribes have their speculations that it will not.

Doesn't anyone trust the prophecy? It was given by a NightWing for moon's sake! The IceWing rolled the scroll up and put it back with the others. Nearing another stall, the ice dragon smelled something divine and looked down. Fruit of all versions was laid out on the table.

Reaching into a satchel that hung around his neck, Elk took out some bits and placed them on the table. The shopkeeper scooped the bits in his claw and shoved some fruit toward the ice dragon with his wing. Elk dipped his head, then took the fruit and went on his way.

...

A black dragon with silver scales under her wings stalked around the white IceWing. Elk swallowed. Shadowbringer lifted Elk's wing and narrowed her dark blue eyes.

She's inspecting me, the white dragon thought, she's not even trying to hide her displeasure.

The NightWing approached Bat and Meerkat, and held out her talon. Elk wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing, but once he saw Meerkat's relieved expression, the dragonet sighed.

"He'll do," the female NightWing nodded. Bat and Meerkat glanced at each other, then at Elk. Do they not think he deserves that praise?

Shadowbringer began to stomp out of the cave. "However, he needs more training and a bigger build."

Elk blew cold air out of his nostrils. Was she calling him weak?

Shadowbringer turned her head to the side. "I will be back in 30 days and if Elk is not ready for battle..." The IceWing noticed the trail off.

Does that mean she'll kill me!?