Hello all. I'm here again with another chapter of Talons of death. Though the following and viewer base for this story isn't huge compared to a lot of successful stories, I'm glad that I'm able to deliver on a story that you all seem to like. This chapter marks where I start to throw about 90% of the original plot out of the window. Still trying to iron out how I want to take it, but this is the start of the major changes. As always, hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of fire.

"Normal speech"

"Thoughts"


Wither looked at Clay for a long moment. "... Well, I personally wouldn't know any dragon with half a mind who would ever want to eat carrion, but... It is a possibility. How did you know?" Clay blushed lightly. "Um... I didn't read many scrolls when we were young, but I did read one about animals. Prey and such. And the bite mark was too deep to be any of those." Wither smiled. "Smart. It's a good thing to recognize these things. I have been isolated, so I'm not familiar with bite marks anymore... If it is a dragon, you should go warn your friends about it. The possibility of a dragon being the cause of this sloth's wound... or..." Wither frowned. "... Kidnapping Orchid... An unknown dragon would make sense as to why she disappeared if she was taken..." Clay started to look concerned. "... Then that could be what happened to the other dragons who were kidnapped? Mangrove said there was almost a dozen others that disappeared." Wither nodded. "Possibly... I would help, but I'm going to be exhausted as long as this poison is slowing me down..."

Clay nodded, looking down at his talons. "... Wither... Am I... A good big wings?" Wither blinked for a moment, racking his brain for a bit, before remembering the term for the protector of a Mudwing sibling group. "... I cannot say for sure. Not because you've not been doing a good job, but because I haven't been with you five for very long. But If there's one thing I can say." He placed a talon on Clay's chest, just over Clay's left side. "You have your heart in the right place. You're a protector, a guardian of the other four, and that comes with a lot of stress, worrying about what might harm them. But I think you have been doing a good job thus far." Clay smiled, before frowning as he looked back down to his talons. "... The guardians always called me a monster, because I... attacked the eggs of the others when I first hatched. They tried to train me to bring out that inner monster... Then I met my actual siblings in the mud kingdom. But... I still worry, that I might be a failure to the prophecy." Wither shook his head. "Prophecy or not, you have a noble heart. You're strong, protective, and loyal to your friends. That is all anyone could ask of you. In my opinion, your guardians were fools to deny you a proper childhood, forcing the prophecy upon you from hatching. Don't trust in the words of other dragons. Many will look to discourage you, but the only person who can give you value is yourself. Never let anyone else decide your worth. Glory is proof of that."

Clay smiled, wiping at his eyes to stop a few happy tears from falling. "I... never thought of it that way." Wither smiled to the young Mudwing, giving him a small tap of the forehead. "Just because your skull is as thick as a boulder doesn't mean you shouldn't think for yourself. You're smarter than you think, so use that to determine things out for yourself." Clay nodded. "... Thanks. I think I needed to hear that... I've been kind of useless ever since the Seawing palace..." Wither shrugged lightly. "We all have strengths, and we all have weaknesses. That is the way of the world. Sometimes... there's nothing we can do to change what is happening." Clay looked up as Wither gained a somber expression, before Clay nodded. "... Thanks Wither. You're a kind dragon, just like Sunny said." Wither couldn't stop his small blush, shaking it off a little. "Sorry, It's... I'm not used to other dragons praising me." Clay smiled. "I don't see why they wouldn't. After all... You've helped us this far, even though you never needed to." Wither couldn't stop his smile. "... That means a lot, Clay... You have a good heart, and a determined spirit. Never forget that." Wither placed a talon on Clay's shoulder. "I know it's not my specialty, but If you ever just need an ear to talk to, I'm here."

Clay smiled, before looking below. "I better go see what the others have figured out." Wither nodded. "Don't let me stop you. I'll be fine." Clay nodded, before jumping off the platform, flying down towards the clearing the other dragonets were at. Wither gazed down at them, small specks in his vision, before his eyes snapped to a brush that swayed a little bit away from them. He blinked, flicking his forked tongue out. It wasn't windy up here at the treetops... perhaps it was just an animal. He settled again, clenching his talon to try and squeeze out any more of the poison from what was left of his blister, wincing at how much it stung. "... I have a bad feeling about all of this. Missing dragons, Nightwings siding with Blister... I can't shake the feeling that something bigger is going on... Be safe, you five. I'll join you as soon as I can."


Clay landed heavily on the ground as Glory and Tsunami were looking up into the surrounding trees, pointing out potential hiding spots. He came up to Sunny and Starflight to not disturb the other two. "Find anything yet?" Sunny shook her head. "Tsunami and Glory want to hide and wait to see if whatever attacked the sloth comes back." Clay frowned, before sighing. "Let me guess, they're bickering non-stop, right?" Sunny rolled her eyes as Tsunami argued that the spots pointed out were too fat away for a good look. "How did you know?" Clay smiled, letting his tail flop over Sunny's. "I had a guess. Wither's doing alright. He used something to help clean up the sloth. Killed all the grubs but left it unharmed. The healers are tending to it now." Sunny smiled brightly. "That's great!" Clay nodded, before settling down, watching Tsunami and Glory bicker.

He sighed lightly, a shiver running down his spine as he gazed up toward the waterfall of the clearing, frowning lightly. "... Something about that waterfall gives me the creeps. Like there's something extremely wrong with it." Sunny nodded. "You too? It's been weirding me out since we got here." Clay frowned, before shaking off another shiver. "Maybe it's just how creepy this place is." Clay looked again, only to be met by the sight of a large blue and green tree frog in mid-jump, headed right towards him. He yelped, smacking the frog away, causing the small creature to splat right onto Tsunami's snout. Tsunami stared at the frog for a single moment, then promptly shrieked as she slapped it off. "GROSS!" Glory turned just in time to befall the same fate, giving a panicked roar as she swiped the creature off her snout. "EwEwEw! Get it off! Get it off!" Sunny couldn't help but giggle at the sight as they wiped their snouts vigorously. The frog bounced on the ground, croaked, then righted itself and hopped into the stream.

Clay chuckled softly, before getting up to a sitting position. "... Guys, there is something I think you all should know." The other four turned to him, Sunny tilting her head in confusion. "What would that be?" Clay looked to Sunny, then to Glory. "The bite mark on that sloth... I talked with Wither, and he agreed with what I thought... That bite mark was too large for most animals... It was a dragon who left it like that." All of them stared at Clay, Sunny frowning. "W-Why would anyone do that to such a cute thing?" Clay frowned, fiddling with some leaves that had stuck to his talons. "No idea, but... Wither said it would make a lot of sense and how it ties into everything else. A mystery dragon would explain why all those dragons disappeared." Glory frowned. "... It's not another Rainwing. They wouldn't do this."

Sunny sits up, gaining a determined expression. "Then we need to find this dragon and tell them to stop." Glory shook her head. "No... We need to find the missing dragons and get them back... I think my plan still stands, stake out the place to see what happens." Sunny frowned, before Clay nodded. "I think we should side on caution on this one, Sunny. this dragon might kidnap one of us if we're not careful." Sunny huffed, frowning deeper. "... Isn't there... something I can do?" Clay gave her a reassuring smile. "Hey, you're doing more than enough just keeping us company... But... well, I guess we do need someone to keep an eye on Wither until we can find the cure." Sunny huffed. "I want to help with this though..." Clay thought for a moment, before nodding. "I know what you mean. Wither talked to me about the same problem. I felt utterly useless at the Seawing palace... but I did the best I could. That's what's important." Sunny blinked, before smiling. "I'm glad he helped you realize that you bone head." Clay chuckled lightly, settling down as he kept glancing at the top of the waterfall, shivering again as a chill ran down his spine. "Yeah. Definitely creepy."


Wither entertained himself by watching a couple of Rainwings try to sneak up on him in. He chuckled at their annoyed expressions every time he caught them. He idly watched them try to get closer under the leaves of the surrounding trees. He glanced back down to the dragonets, seeing them interact so far down below. "... I'll see about helping tomorrow, once I've rested enough." He smirked, not even turning around as he called out. "My right side, third tree to the left of the parrot." a Rainwing appeared right where he had described. The Rainwing gave an annoyed yet playful grunt as his scaled reverted into shades of yellow and light green. "How do you keep doing that?" Wither chuckled. "Lots of practice... and knowing to look for small distortions in the air. Your tribe's camouflage is impressive, but not perfect." He picked out a mango from the left-over fruit the dragonets had brought, chewing it quietly, before his eye caught something. It was small, but his time watching Rainwings made him far more aware of small movements than a normal dragon. His eyes locked to a spot, about seventy or eighty feet away from the dragonets below, where something dark dipped through some bushes, moving away from the dragonets.

He got up to his feet, gazing down to try and track it, but he was too far away. "... I'm afraid I'll have to cut our game short... I never got your name." The Rainwing smiled. "Pineapple." Wither almost winced at the memory of the stinging, sticky juice that had been poured on his talon when he was caught in thought. "Well, perhaps we can do this again another time, Pineapple. Something else has garnered my attention." Pineapple nodded. "Sure! I totally wanna see if I can sneak up on you next time." Pineapple looked to the other Rainwing who had been playing with them, a bright pink female dragon. "Come on Heliconia. We can try again later." Wither chuckled, nodding to them both, before hopping off the platform, starting to glide down to where he had seen the movement. He landed a bit of a ways off, as to not disturb the dragonets. Wither slowly made his way to where he believed he saw the movement, scanning the bushes and ground to traces, before coming upon a bush that was a little off. It had been partially pushed off to the side, distorting it. It was roughly the size of Sunny, so it was no small feat to do such a thing. At least, for an animal.

He sniffed the air, but the stench of the rainforest was too much to be able to track anything, all the smells blending together. Then he saw it. A small set of dragon talon prints in the ground. He looked them over, squinting for a more detailed view. "No webbing, so not a Seawing. Lightly imprinted, so not a Mudwing. Rainwing is unlikely. A Skywing would be highly noticeable, and there's no grooves from a Icewing's longer serrated claws... Hmm..." He looked them over one last time, putting his own talon over it the print. "... Small... Smaller than the dragonets... Which, means... Whatever dragon left this was younger than any of the others." He looked up, taking a sigh. "... I think that's enough here. Safe to say, the dragon that left this wasn't the one who kidnapped the Rainwings or attacked the sloth." He turned, starting to fly back up to the rainwing village. "Though, that also begs the question... Why is there a young dragonet all alone all the way out here?"

He missed the small breath being let out. Eyes watched him from not too far away, hiding in the shadows of the trees. A shiver rand down their spine as they watched the large stone dragon they had never seen before finding their talon prints. They had held their breath, nearly panicking as the dragon looked over their prints, judging them, then flying off. They slowly crawled backwards, moving slowly. After about half an hour of crawling, they bolted to their small hovel. Lunging into the hovel, they curled up, trying to stop hyperventilating. "Close... Too close... Mom, please come quick... I'm scared."


It was in the afternoon that Clay, Starflight and Sunny arrived back at the healer's hut. Wither was idly rolling an avocado heart on the floor of the healer's hut, before flicking it off of the edge, sending it falling down below. He turned, giving a smile to the three dragonets. "Where's Tsunami and Glory?" Starflight looked to him. "They're staying behind to stake out the place, see if what attacked the sloth comes back." Wither nodded. "I see. Well, hope they're both careful. We don't need two missing dragonets on top of everything else today." Clay nods, yawning as the sun started its lazy descent on the horizon. "Whelp, I'm beat for the night. I'm gonna see about somewhere to sleep." Starflight looked to Wither hopefully, the older dragon chuckling. "I haven't forgotten my promise, Starflight. We need the stars to be out first for your first lesson." Starflight nodded as the sun lowered further, Clay looking to Sunny. "You done too, Sunny? You've been pretty worried for a while now." Sunny shook her head. "I think I should be fine for now. Besides... I'm too Anxious to sleep right now." Clay nodded, before settling in a part of the hut that was out of the way, curling up on himself.

Wither smiled to Sunny and Starflight, noticing the looks Starflight was sending to Sunny. He recognized them instantly. "So, Starflight has an attraction to Sunny. Certainly not a bad thing, but... With how they've been raised, will she return that affection? Or is this a disaster waiting to happen?" He shuffled a bit as the last rays of sunlight shone on them, disappearing behind the horizon. Most of the village was asleep now, Wither looking up to the night sky as it started to fill with stars. "That moment when the sun fades and the stars shine never gets old." He settled, reaching into his pack to pull out a small scroll. "This is an old keepsake of mine, so be careful when using or moving it." He rolled it out in front of him, showing that the illustration on the scroll was made out of something metallic, shining in the light of the moons. "This is probably one of the last star charts the Nightwings ever made." Starflight's eyes grew wide as he looked at the scroll, dots connected with lines showing the images of dragons. "Woah..."

Sunny peered over Starflight's shoulder. "It's so pretty. Whoever drew that must be skilled." Wither nodded. "Yes... She was." He set the scroll down, pointing at one of the images, two dragons parting away from an embrace. "This one is called scorch and marsh. It tells of an ancient rumor, that Sandwings and Mudwings came from the same parent tribe, but two princesses were born, each of them different from the rest of the tribe. When it came time to crown a new queen, they decided, due to their deep bond as sisters, that they would instead take the dragons who supported them and start their own tribes in peace." He pointed skyward, gesturing. "Can you see it, up there to the right of Imperial, the largest moon." Starflight looked up, trying to spot it out, before beaming as he saw it. "I see it! So... that group of stars holds a story?" Wither nodded. "Astrologers believe all stars hold stories. I am no different, especially with my tribe's legend."

Sunny blinked. "What legend?" Wither smiled softly. "... This is a constellation not on any other map." He pointed to the opposite horizon, where a cluster of stars shown in the sky. "Can you see it?" Starflight looked, trying to piece was it was Wither was gesturing at, before it clicked. A kingdom. An entire kingdom with dragons in it, spanning the sky. He gasped lightly. "H-how can the stars form like that?" Wither chuckled. "That particular constellation has existed long before you or even me. But the legend is that... Each tribe has a different take on how life after death works. Skywings burn their dead on high peaks so they can be reincarnated as skywings. Seawings bury their dead amongst coral to let their souls swim the ocean currents for all eternity..." He gazed up at the sky. "... My tribe believed that, when a dragon dies a noble death, giving their life out of sacrifice or to protect the innocent, or even changing the world for the better, fate sees their act of heroism and nobility, and rewards that dragon by taking their soul, and turning it into another star in that constellation."

He sighed, staring at the gathering of stars. "My tribe saw it as the highest honor, to be placed amongst those stars. To be immortalized in the great story written in the sky... But... I don't think I'll ever earn a place there. I've done... many things that I regret. I don't think any act of nobility will change fate's mind." Sunny frowned, about to ask something when Starflight intervened. "It's highly improbable. Turning a body into a star is just scientifically impossible." Wither blinked, before chuckling. "Well, pretty sure bringing back the dead is scientifically impossible too, and I did that just last week." Starflight blushed as Wither smiled. "Keep this in mind, Starflight, science is... simply a method for us to try and understand the way this world of our works. There are many things that science just has no explanation for. It is good to approach things with a scientific mindset, but keep in mind that it shouldn't be the only way you look at things. There is plenty that even I can't make heads or tails out of... like, for example, other dragons. Science has no shot in trying to explain how they work." Sunny giggled. "He's got you there, Starflight." Starflight blushed a bit deeper, before Wither gave a happy sigh.

"This was by far my favorite one when I was younger." He gestured upwards, before pointing out one of the illustrations on the map, which showed... Starflight's eyes widened. "... That's a scavenger... gifting something to a dragon?" Wither nodded. "Yes. Scavengers are far more intelligent than you might think. I'd say close to dragon level, but due to the vastness of our kingdoms, they are rarely ever able to show how clever they really are. That squeaking you might hear from them, it isn't squeaking to them. They're speaking their own language to each other. It just sounds like squeaks to us. To be honest, I'm fairly certain our language sounds like a lot of growling to them, which is why we terrify them so easily. A simple hello to us might sound to them like 'I will roast your flesh off your bones'." Starflight nodded. "It's amazing to think scavengers would be that smart... Why is it your favorite?" Wither sighed, looking at the picture fondly, gently caressing it with a talon. "... Because it was also the favorite of a dragon that I held very dear to my heart." Sunny perked up. "Oh? Where are they?" Wither stopped, a sad expression forming on his face. "... She died... a very long time ago..." Sunny winced. "... Sorry."

Wither shook his head. "I will always treasure her memory, and that's the important part. But... It's nice to pass down one of her legacies to the next generation." Starflight blinked. "She was an astrologer?" Wither nodded. "One of the the last ones, before dragons relied more on prophecy. Dragon nowadays are always looking to the future and forget about the past. The past is just as important as the future. You learn from the past, especially from making mistakes. As an old saying goes, the difference between a master and an apprentice, is that the master has failed more times than the apprentice has even tried. And... Well, I can say this with confidence to you both." He looked at them with a somber expression, illuminated in the moonlight. "I have made more mistakes than any other dragon or dragonet alive. And... There isn't a single one of those mistakes I don't regret. Some... far more than others."

Sunny frowned, before coming up to His side, letting the heat of her scales warm him. "I think you're a good dragon. You've already done so much for us, and... It's touching that you trust us enough to teach us the legacy of your loved one... what was she like?" Wither smiled, before looking at the sky, a couple tears falling from his eyes. "Celeste... She was beautiful. Funny. Kind... I can't remember a single day that she didn't smile. She... helped me through a very hard time in my life." Sunny frowned. "... How did she..." Wither took a deep breath. "... She was murdered." Sunny gasped. "Oh no... Why would anyone do that?" Wither was silent for a few minutes, until Starflight spoke up. "... Did you catch who did it?" Wither looked to him, a regretful and somber expression on his face. "... Her murderer suffers every day for what he did. I'll leave it at that." Starflight and Sunny both frowned. Wither then shook his head a bit, rolling up the scroll. "I think that will be enough for tonight. We can go over a few more tomorrow night if you wish, but you'll eventually have to be able to recognize the constellations on your own. And possibly find one that hasn't been discovered yet." Starflight smiled, before taking a spot next to clay, curling up as he closed his eyes to sleep.

Sunny looked to wither, smiling. "Celeste sounds like she was a great dragon... and I'm sure you would have been great together." She turned in on top of clay, curling up on herself as Wither stared at them for a few minutes, before looking to the stars again. "... We were, Sunny... We were perfect... too perfect...

Then it all came crumbling down."


Glory and Tsunami hid themselves in the trees near the waterfall, Tsunami in a closer one to get a good look at what was happening. Glory had to grip the branch she was perched on to calm her nerves. All the sounds of the night life of the rainforest made her jump, but worst was when their presence startled a screaming monkey, causing it to do its namesake and scream at them. It was nearly haunting how that echoed in the vast forest. Glory steeled her nerve when she heard something. Stomp. Slither. Another stomp, and another slither. She held her breath, looking to where Tsunami was, before a roar of frustration came from near the river. It spooked her so much she nearly lost her grip.

She stayed as still as possible, waiting until the sound of the movement ceased, all going quiet. She held her breath for a long minute, before whispering. "Tsunami. Did you see anything?" Tsunami slowly crept down her tree, shaking her head. "Not a good enough view to see exactly what it was. It was almost completely black, so it really blended in. The most I saw was that it was big... like, as big as Webs." Glory frowned, crawling down to join her. "So, Clay was right. it had to be a dragon... A Nightwing? Why would they be here in the rainforest?" Tsunami shrugged. "No idea, but I lost track of it at the top of the waterfall." Glory nodded, looking up and shivering at just looking at the outline made her scales crawl. She slowly climbed up towards the top of the waterfall, before freezing as she came around to the side of the boulder that sat on one side. "...Tsunami... we're going to need the others..." Tsunami frowned as she climbed up to join her. "What, can't handle it on yourse-." She stopped as she saw what Glory had seen. She was overcome by the feeling of icy needles under her scales as she looked at the hole in the world, set in the side of the boulder. She gazed into the black void of space and couldn't shake off the feeling of utter wrongness of the tear in the world.

"...I-I think I'm with you on this one."


Wither was disturbed from his sleep as Glory and Tsunami landed on the platform. He gave a long yawn, looking towards them. "... Whatever you found, let's save it for the morning. You both look like you just ran into Blister or Burn." Tsunami nodded, but Glory shook her head. "No, this is an emergency. We might know where the rainwings were taken." Wither sighed, looking to Glory. "And you're exhausted. You can barely keep your eyes open, let alone rescue a dragon. Rest. The worst thing you can do is make your effort in vain by rushing in without a plan and weakened." Glory wanted to protest, but she felt how tired she was, her legs already starting to fail her. She reluctantly nodded. "Fine... But first thing in the morning, we head out." She curled up against clay, almost immediately falling asleep.

Tsunami shook her head. "Classic Glory. Always trying to push herself." Wither rolled his eyes. "Well, your constant banter with her doesn't exactly help." Tsunami smiled. "... It's how we communicate. She's always been stubborn, so arguing is the only real way to let her know I care... Don't tell her I said that." Wither gained a mischievous smirk. "Hmm... I won't tell Glory." Tsunami looked confused, curling up onto the pile, before hearing Wither's last words. "Sunny on the other hand would love to hear it." Tsunami snapped up. "Don't you dare! Sunny can't keep a secret for the life of her!" Wither chuckled. "I'm sure she'd love to hear that bit too." Tsunami looked at him in shock. "Y-You traitor!" Wither shrugged. "I pledged no such allegiance. Get some sleep, Princess. I can already feel that tomorrow will be a long day." Tsunami grumbled, curling up again, falling asleep rather quickly. Wither sighed, settling down with a small chuckle, before blinking. '... I can't even remember the last time I've had this much fun with others... huh..." He gazed at their sleeping pile, examining each of them, before closing his eyes. "Maybe... Maybe I won't regret this. Maybe... I am doing the right thing."


Wither stared at the impossible hole in the boulder. Glory saw fit to just show everyone what she and Tsunami had seen the night before. He inched closer, examining it while fighting off the shiver threatening to run down his spine. "... I'll admit... I don't have a single clue what this is." Clay shivered. "It's totally creepy." Sunny nodded, almost at the point of trembling. Wither looked around it, going to the other side of the boulder, before coming to the front. "Well, one thing is certain. It's of animus origin. Which is even more confusing." Starflight nodded. "Yeah... should we... check inside it?" Glory sighed. "... I'll go. It's my responsibility that I volunteered for." Clay shook his head. "If you go, I go." Tsunami huffed. "Same for me. let's face it, that hole is dark, and you have no way to see all by yourself." Glory looked like she wanted to protest when Wither spoke up. "How about all five of you go? Your stronger together than alone. I can stay and keep watch."

Sunny frowned. "... Are you sure?" Wither nodded. "I promised to help you on your journey, but there are times where I won't be there. This is something you have to trust each other in." The dragonets looked between themselves, before nodding, Glory sighing in defeat. "... Fine. We all go, and Wither stays behind." Wither nodded. "You five keep each other safe. If I need to go on a rescue mission, I'm demanding a week of you all getting food for me." Sunny giggled. "We'll just take a peek and be back soon!" They all headed into the hole, Tsunami and Clay taking the front as they disappeared into the darkness.

Wither sighed as he watched them disappear one after another into the strange hole, curling up and doing his trick of looking like a boulder, looking inconspicuous next to the strange hole. He closed his eyes, trying to rest what he could to slow down the poison in his system. Now that the blister was drained and had time to heal over, it wasn't anywhere near as painful, but he could still feel the poison in his system, eating away at his strength. He sighed, trying to get comfortable as he waited for the dragonets to come back. He idly wondered what the reason for the hole could be, before he heard a shuffle, just on the other side of the waterfall, next to the tree. He cracked open an eye, having to stop his eyes from widening in surprise.

On the other side of the water, was an adult, female Nightwing. She leaned up from her landing spot on the ground, looking around nervously, before slinking through the bushes towards... where he had seen those talon prints. He thought for a moment. If he left to follow, the dragonets would be confused when they got back, but he was also curious... His eyes widened. "The lone dragonet... it must be hers then... but how is she and her child all the way out here? Why?... Forgive me, dragonets, but this feels too important." He got up, slowly and silently following the adult Nightwing, not realizing how much would change from this simple action.


There you all have it. The investigation continues, a bit of playful banter, and those who have read the original series might have an idea of what's about to happen. To those that do, I hope I'm able to portray the personality of the characters well enough, And for Snowflake guest, I don't remember much of Heliconia's personality from the book, so I think I might just portray her as I would think she would be, and she will show up later. Next chapter should be an interesting one, and I hope you all enjoy what I have in store. For now, thank you for reading, leave a review if you'd like, and I'll see you guys' next week.