Moonlight shone through the sandstone window, creating a square of light on a table on the far side of the room. Outside, dragons went by, chatting about various things. Happy things. Celebrations, meals they would share, relief that the war was finally over, and that things could finally go back to being normal.

Finally back to normal. Moonwatcher thought wistfully. She wished she had a fraction of their blissful ignorance. Nothing was ever going to be normal again. Nothing.

She had left Jade Mountain in a hurry to go north. To go around the Great Wall that separated the Ice Kingdom from the rest of Pyrrhia. She really didn't know why at the time. She had heard what was going to happen to Winter from another Icewing student. She knew Winter wouldn't be able to bring himself to kill Hailstorm, and she was unsure if Hailstorm would hesitate with his honor on the line. All that work to get that Icewing back, and this is what it got them.

So Moon left school, telling only Qibli, Kinkajou, and Turtle. She flew through the deserts of the Sand Kingdom now ruled by Blaze, she flew with the caravans of traders making their way to the border with the Icewings, Blaze's allies. Many times she asked herself what she was doing, but she soon realized what drove her to make this journey.

Love. She realized it was love.

At the beginning of her journey, Darkstalker told her to stop. He told her to come back and to not die in the Kingdom of Ice. He was worried for her, and she was thankful, but knew she had to get Winter back. She was the only one who could. Darkstalker seemed reluctant to let her go, wishing her luck and pondering what it was that drove two dragons from enemy tribes to fall in love with each other throughout history.

Moon thought about that as she made the treacherous journey across small rocky islands and sandy outcroppings, avoiding the Great Wall of Ice that would kill Nightwings. It was a similar story with Prince Arctic and Foeslayer, was it not? The forbidden love that began it all. Was Moon simply dooming Pyrrhia to another century of war?

But she shook off those thoughts. She couldn't give up and abandon Winter. If war was what came next, she would only have to keep pressing forward. She couldn't give up. She had to have persistence.

She found Winter in a small village near the east coast of the kingdom. She saw him while hiding among the thick pine trees, trying to disguise her black scales as they stood out among the white snow. She saw Winter land there, probably resting for a moment as he was tired from flying so far. He was ecstatic to see Moon, though confused how she got there, and in his joy confessed he believed he had feelings for her.

When they finally escaped together, Moon's happiness quickly vanished. They had done something that had severely changed the future. As they flew away from the Icewing soldiers they knew would be chasing them, Moon began having intense migraines, flashes of a new future.

She wasn't sure what they were. Visions of Jade Mountain getting destroyed weren't new, but this was different. She saw students dead all around her. She saw monsters descending from the sky. She could see a large dragon, almost as big as the mountain. She could see entire cities, reduced to rubble, their citizens gone. She saw her mother screaming. Winter was in none of them.

Now the two were in Possibility, hiding. Winter had gone out to try and buy provisions for their journey ahead, while Moon stayed back in the tavern room they had rented. Here, she paced back and forth, her anxiety creeping over her. The visions had become more and more frequent. It seemed that by rescuing Winter, she had set Pyrrhia… no, the whole world, down a path of destruction. She had bitten the forbidden fruit, and now, everything was doomed.

She had yet to tell Winter about what she was seeing. He already had enough on his plate. Hoping Hailstorm didn't get imprisoned for what happened, or worse, executed. He was now a fugitive from his own tribe. He had committed the ultimate sin for an Icewing, setting Foeslayer free, something he had confessed to Moon he was unsure was the correct thing to do. The one thing was sure of though, was that they would stick together.

Moon found herself wishing she had Darkstalker to console her. As terrifying as he initially was, he had become somewhat of a friend to Moon. He could see what she saw. He might be able to make something of the horrible images she was seeing.

I can't tell Winter. Not yet. I don't even know… if he survives this. I can't tell him until I know he is safe. Moon thought.

She thought about her other friends back at the Academy. Qibli was probably so worried about the two of them. The Dragonets of Destiny were probably freaking out trying to find her. She thought about her mother, probably sitting alone in the forest.

Don't worry. I will come back to you all.

Moon's mind suddenly shattered into a million images. Visions all going by at breakneck pace. Strange dragons, scavengers, powerful beings beyond Moon's grasp. Places far beyond the shores of Pyrrhia, and from different times and worlds entirely. She collapsed to the ground. This feeling… It was like when she was in the cavern after stopping Icicle.

She could see countless sights and voices, all going by like a long string being unspooled. And when it ended, it began again, looping around and around like a wheel on a cart. Sometimes the string hooked in a different direction, sometimes crossing back over itself. Sometimes it seemed like visions from different times and voices from different places all meshed together, like there was nothing separating these things from each other. Like they were all intertwined.

Moon opened her mouth to cry out in anguish, and instead she began to speak.

"FIRE CONSUMES THE CITY OF HOPE,

DREAMS OF PEACE ARE GONE.

THE AMNESIAC HOLDS THE SCARRED ONE'S WISH,

THE SISTER PLAYS AS A PAWN.

A DANGER LURKS BEYOND THE SHORES,

PAST THE KINGDOM OF SAND.

A CURSED PAST COVERED IN BLOOD,

ON A FORGOTTEN LAND.

A WAR BETWEEN DRAGONS AND MEN,

A HISTORY THAT SHALL NEVER FADE.

THE POWER OF GODDESSES LOCKED INSIDE,

EARRING, NECKLACE, BLADE.

THIS PROPHECY, THE LAST,

AS THE OLD WORLD DIES.

AS THE FATE OF US ALL DRAWS CLOSER,

A NEW WORLD WILL RISE.

BEWARE THE ONES WHO COME FROM THE RIFT,

BEWARE THE SON OF SHELL.

BEWARE THE POWER OF THE ANGELS,

BEWARE THE THRONE OF HELL.

DRAGON, HUMAN, DEMON,

LOCKED IN A CYCLE OF PAIN.

HEED THIS WARNING AND BREAK THE LOOP,

OR ALL WILL HAVE DIED IN VAIN."

When it was over, Moon found her mind entirely clear. No visions. No chattering minds. Just herself.

But what she had seen…

She ran over to the table with the one square of light. She pulled out a piece of scroll from Winter's bag and began to write, using her talon dipped in ink.

She had seen the future. She had seen the new path. She had to tell them. There was only one way. She had to tell them that there was only one hope to save everyone.

Hope itself.

No weapons, no magic, no prophesized hero.

Moon could hardly see through the tears clouding up her eyes. Her soul itself ached. The moons themselves were sobbing, for they knew what lay ahead for their children.

The fourth line of the prophecy had been written in jagged letters when Moon heard a knock on the door, the secret knock pattern she and Winter had agreed on. She folded up the paper and put it back in his bag.

She approached the door.

She was going to tell him everything. About Darkstalker, about her visions, about their forbidden love, about the future that lay ahead of them.

Everything.

Alternate is back.

You really thought I would leave it unfinished huh?

This is a bit of a teaser for what lies ahead. I have revamped a bit of the story. Alternate Book 2 Revelation is no longer in development hell.

Prepare yourselves.

;)