DISCLAIMER: I do not own Wings of Fire.
~ PROLOGUE ~
About 5 years ago…
The comet was blindingly bright as it crept through the sky.
Cactus had to look away to relieve her eyes of the strain. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to be sitting on the highest peak in the Claws of the Clouds Mountains right now. But she was already there, so, no point in slinking back to her home down below just yet. And by 'home' she meant 'cave that I sometimes sleep in between delivery jobs.'
Being a courier in the middle of a war was not easy. It largely consisted of dragons hissing and scoffing at the sight of her. Cactus thanked the moons she was a SandWing; any other race would have had a lot more trouble getting into the various kingdoms. Although not many dragons particularly liked SandWings at the moment, they wouldn't attack her as long as she kept to herself which prospective queen she was rooting for (which, for the record, was none of them).
She sighed.
My job isn't ALL bad though, she thought to herself, as she curled tighter around the stark white egg in her grasp. During her most recent delivery trip, she had found an abandoned egg right on the outskirts of the Ice Kingdom. Cactus couldn't leave the poor dragonet to die as soon as it hatched, so she took it with her back to her home. And now she could feel it close to hatching.
I hope the war ends soon. Her mind wandered to how miserable life for an IceWing outside of the Ice Kingdom would be during the war. She'd heard whispers that the fabled Dragonets of Destiny were gathering up all the SandWing princesses to end the war once and for all. Cactus never was a firm believer in the prophecy, but she prayed for their success.
She adjusted her position slightly to make sure the heavy winds weren't reaching the egg, though she wasn't sure the cold would even bother the unhatched IceWing. The flat mountain top didn't have much room to maneuver – and the grey stone beneath her was far from what anyone would consider luxury – but the view was breathtaking, especially lit up by the odd comet above. Looking up to the sky once more, she noticed the orb was shining even brighter than before. Some dragons were calling it 'the fourth moon,' and they weren't exaggerating. From where she was sitting, it was the exact right shape and color.
Suddenly, the frosty egg began to shake against her scales. This is it, she thought as her heart pounded with anticipation. And then the egg started to glow a faint white light.
Now Cactus had never seen any eggs hatch before, but she was fairly certain that they didn't typically glow. Or do they? she wondered, as panic began to set in. She really didn't know anything about eggs, what made her think this would be a good idea? Maybe keeping an IceWing egg warm with the heat radiating from her scales was actually counterproductive. Did they need to be in cold conditions to hatch? She didn't know, but it was too late to take it to someone more qualified.
The egg's glow began pulsing rhythmically, but whenever the egg dimmed between beats, it felt like all the moonlight around her was swallowed up as well. That's when Cactus realized the comet overhead was matching the egg's pulses. Bright, dim, bright, dim.
They both continued the rhythm, increasing in speed and brightness. The violent wind around her had picked up and Cactus gripped the egg tighter to ensure it wouldn't fly off. The egg continued its pattern unfazed, as the light flashed faster and faster and faster until finally… it stopped.
The egg was glowing brightly and with purpose in her talons, like she was holding a little comet of her own. The orb in the sky, however, seemed distinctly darker somehow… as if the egg had just stolen some of its light.
Before Cactus even had time to process the peculiar event, the egg's shell began to crack. Slowly but surely, the crack made its way down until the egg split open. Carefully pulling the shells aside, Cactus saw her treasure.
He had scales as white as the comet above them, like clear snow underneath the moonlight. Curled up into a ball and sleeping, she could hear his soft, gentle breaths as she moved her talon to stroke his little head.
She whispered, "Welcome to the world, Snowball."