Even though they were at the same distance north, the southern Ice Kingdom felt much colder than the northern Sky Kingdom to Griffin, although some of it could have just been the stark, dreary scenery. Unlike the hills on the edges of the Claws of the Clouds, the hills here were barren and cold, and as the two went further north, they quickly became covered in snow. It was in one of these hills where Trustbreaker and Griffin landed, in a wide crevasse stretching across the landscape like a grinning maw. Griffin's feathers stiffened up as soon as they started down into it. Something felt off here.
As Griffin touched down, his talons sunk a little ways into the snow. He flapped frantically for a moment, afraid that he'd be swallowed down by it. Fortunately, the snow wasn't deep, less than a foot. Griffin sighed in relief, looking back towards Trustbreaker. The NightWing started to walk along the crevasse, with Griffin following, his smaller weight making it easier to walk on the surface. Sapphire darted back and forth, running between Griffin and Trustbreaker's legs. It wasn't long before they saw their destination. Cradled between the two slopes of the surrounding hills stood a building made of ice-coated stone. The walls glinted in the sunlight, forcing Griffin to look away as they approached it.
The building seemed to be of a rectangular shape, with two great doors, large enough for any dragon, standing in front to guard the entrance. Above the doors, four names were carved, though the script was so old that Griffin was able to make out only a couple of letters. The doors themselves were exquisite, and unlike the crystalized stone exterior of the building, these were made of a shimmering silver metal, and took up most of the front wall. A scene of dragons was carved into the metal, though Griffin was unable to make it out from his distance. Seven pedestals, no taller than the building itself, were arranged in a semi-circle around the doorways, and at the top of each, a statue of a dragon stood. One for each kingdom, Griffin noted. A name was engraved at the top of each pedestal. From the prideful manner each dragon carried herself and the extensive jewelry on many, it was clear that these were royalty, if not queens themselves.
Griffin's eyes quickly turned to two living dragons, both IceWings, in front of the semi-circle. One paced back and forth, weaving in and out of the circle of pillars. She had light-blue scales, and was around the average size of an IceWing. It didn't take long for Griffin to notice her eerie resemblance to Crystal.
The second IceWing, Griffin had already been acquainted with. Fracture rested lazily against the central pillar, the one with an IceWing on top, with a nonchalance more befitting of a RainWing than an IceWing. One of his wings wrapped part-way around the pedestal, and his tail curled in the same direction, the spikes on the end folded casually inwards. The faintest hint of a green tint resided in his scales, and a small leather band wrapped around his head and behind his horns. A thicker piece of brown leather was attached to the front of the band, covering the IceWing's left eye. As Griffin approached, Fracture gave him a happy wave with a paw.
Griffin, Trustbreaker, and Sapphire continued forward, coming within range of the building. The other IceWing noticed them, and ceased her pacing, stepping over towards Fracture to greet them. "Trustbreaker," she stated with a smile.
He nodded in reply. "Clarity." Sapphire trotted over to Clarity, examining the tip of her tail with a paw.
Griffin smiled faintly as he stepped towards Fracture. The IceWing carefully straightened himself up, unraveling from the pillar.
"It's been a while," Griffin grinned.
Fracture thought for a moment, unsure of the answer to the question. He tapped a few claws on the snow, as if counting out the time. "I believe you're right," he finally responded. "It has been a while since I last saw you!"
Griffin was unfazed. The IceWing never had been able to keep track of time well, at least when Griffin had met him in the Mud Kingdom. "What is this place?" Griffin asked, gesturing around at the ornate surroundings. From the script, it seemed ancient, but the stone was uncracked, and it looked like it was in perfect condition.
"Oh, this?" Fracture asked. "It's a mausoleum. Important dragons are buried in them after they die. This one is the Mausoleum of Queen Frost and a Few Other Dragons Who Weren't Well Known Enough to Be Put in the Title." He waved a claw at the names above the door. "She had it built for her not long after the Scorching."
"The Scorching?" Griffin asked in surprise. That was, what, five thousand years ago? "And it's still here?" He was amazed, he didn't even know buildings from the Scorching still existed. As far as he knew, the only thing that remained were a lot of strange and conflicting legends.
Fracture nodded. "Mhmm. Just like the IceWing palace, the place was enchanted by an animus to constantly rebuild itself, which is why this place is in such beautiful condition. Apparently, there used to be a city built around here, but now, all that's left is snow and ice."
Griffin looked around at the surroundings. Other than the mausoleum itself, the only other thing in the small valley was a flat surface of snow. No trace of any ancient city. He turned back to the entrance of the mausoleum. It being enchanted would explain why it had felt off when he'd arrived.
"Well!" Fracture suddenly announced. "It looks like our last arrival is finally here!"
Griffin looked up. Not too far off in the distance, a familiar crimson-red SkyWing was flying towards in their direction. He quietly groaned. He wasn't particularly excited to see Avalanche again, though he wasn't too surprised.
Avalanche landed hard in the snow, making a dent with her paws as her enormous wings caused a thin layer to blow away. She had a sour expression on her snout as she saw Griffin alongside Fracture. As she stormed towards the IceWing, Griffin took a step back, allowing her through.
"I did what you asked. Morrowseer provided the prophecy, as you were expecting," Avalanche grumbled. She held out a scroll to Fracture, who quickly pulled it out from between her claws, and let it roll open. The old paper unfurled before him, and Griffin caught a glimpse of a few words waving in the wind. When the land is soaked in blood and tears.
Fracture scanned the scroll for a moment. "Wonderful, wonderful!" Fracture chuckled. "Utter nonsense, but a literary masterpiece! If Nautilus had lived to see it, he wouldn't have suspected a thing!"
"Ah, yes, Nautilus," Avalanche sarcastically quipped, "too bad he's dead."
"I told you," Fracture calmly replied, "I didn't know that the SkyWings would attack."
"That's not what you said!" Avalanche hissed, smoke billowing from the edges of her mouth. "You said, and I quote, there had been a possibility of Queen Scarlet discovering the town. And now, he and all the dragons he recruited to our cause are dead."
"It was a small possibility," Fracture explained.
"Oh, eagle-guts!" Avalanche roared. "You should have told us, if you knew there was a possibility at all. He could have prepared, and maybe not all of them would be dead right now. Now, who else here has a 'small possibility' of dying? Could the NightWings have chosen to kill me? If you knew there was a 'small possibility,' would you have told me?"
Fracture didn't answer the question for a moment. "He knew the risks," he stated, "you know them, too."
Avalanche snorted. "Ah, yes. The risks of having your stupid fortune-telling turn out to be wrong. Now then, since you can't seem to predict if a dragon falls up or down, why should I trust your word over an actual NightWing prophecy?"
"Because sometimes, my results are correct, even when they're wrong," Fracture replied. "I found Trustbreaker."
"A stray NightWing is easier to find than a wooden spoon in Queen Scarlet's silverware," Avalanche snapped. "If the prophecy is false, as you claim, then why do we have to follow these stupid instructions anyways? 'The largest egg in mountain high.' Convincing the princesses to make me Queen of the SandWings sounds easier than that."
"If we follow the directions, it should become true," Fracture told her. "And as for the difficulty, I've done this before. I have a pretty good idea of where they'll be, and what you have to do to obtain them."
"Oh, so now it's a true prophecy," Avalanche grumbled. "Thanks for nothing."
Fracture ignored her comment, and turned back to Griffin with an exhausted smile, as if he was trying to say 'this is what I have to deal with'. "Welcome to the second gathering of the Talons of Peace," he said to Griffin. "You've already met Trustbreaker, and Avalanche, of course —"
"— and Nautilus is dead, so unless you want to talk to his rotting corpse, you don't need to meet him," Avalanche butted in.
"— and the IceWing to my right is Clarity, my mate," Fracture ended. Clarity waved a paw, as if to say hello to Griffin.
"Crystal's sister," Griffin inferred. Clarity's smile turned into a disturbed frown at the mention of her relative.
"Yes," Fracture answered. "We, us four —"
"— originally five," Avalanche interrupted.
Fracture sighed. "Originally five, are the founding members of the Talons of Peace, an organization Nautilus created with the objective of ending the war, and hopefully, to help bring a lasting peace to Pyrrhia for as long as possible."
"Just you four?" Griffin asked, skeptically. Ending a world war seemed like a big goal for only four dragons.
Fracture shook his head. "We've recruited other members from all over the continent, and Avalanche here has just made us an ally with the NightWings. If Morrowseer's plan continues as is, then hopefully we will have plenty more dragons joining our ranks soon."
"We would have had even more if Nautilus and all the dragons he recruited hadn't died," Avalanche quipped.
"I know," Fracture muttered. He looked over at Trustbreaker. "Did you recruit the SandWing?"
Trustbreaker nodded solemnly. "I did," he answered. "I also had my cats spread recruitment and anti-war posters around the Scorpion Den while I was there. Hopefully, they should be effective."
"They will be," Clarity spoke up, assuring the NightWing. "The SandWings are tired of their kingdom being split between three queens. The war has gone on far too long. They'll be willing to join us."
As the dragons continued to talk, Griffin looked over at the four names written over the two doors to the mausoleum. Now that Fracture had mentioned the name of Queen Frost, it wasn't difficult for Griffin to tell that one of the engraved names was hers, Frost. He scanned the name beneath. It shared a few of the symbols of the script, and he was able to make out that the first half of the name probably contained the word 'Star.' A two-part name. A NightWing. Now that he'd taken a closer look, a lot of the symbols here looked like they could've evolved into the modern script. He moved on to the name directly to the right of Frost's. It took a moment of comparing, but it looked like Falcon, a SkyWing name. He had expected the mausoleum to contain the bones of Queen Frost, and maybe her mate and sons, but these were dragons from other tribes entirely.
"Though four dragons went into the caves, only one returned," Fracture suddenly stated, startling Griffin. "She was never able to get past the guilt of being the only survivor, or so the legends claim."
A brisk wind brushed past Griffin, rustling his feathers. "She?" he asked.
Fracture nodded. "Queen Frost. Or, Princess Frost, as she was known as the time. Did you figure out the names?"
Griffin shook his head. "Not yet. One of them is Falcon, and another begins with 'Star,' but that's all I got."
Fracture grinned. "Very good!" he praised Griffin. Griffin shifted uncomfortably. It felt like he was a dragonet being praised for mastering a fighting technique. "You were close. Frost, Falcon, Starweaver, and Mica were their names."
"Why were they all buried together?" Griffin asked. "They sound like they were from different tribes."
"Well, for one, it was just after the Scorching when the mausoleum was created," the IceWing explained. "The dragons had just defeated the scavengers, and the kingdoms had only just been set up. The first war between the kingdoms didn't take place until after Queen Frost's death. But I don't think that was all of it. Queen Frost fought alongside these dragons, and was just as willing to sacrifice her life as the rest. They developed loyalty, camaraderie. No inter-kingdom war could have changed that."
"Was she the first IceWing queen?" Griffin asked. He'd read a bit about the Scorching. Apparently, one of the things which helped the dragons win the war was the setting up of the queen system, to unite all the loose clans and villages of dragons under seven banners.
Fracture shook his head. "No, but close. She was the second. The first queens are up there." He waved a claw towards the seven pedestals, one for each queen. "Frost wasn't even born until after the Scorching."
"Wait," Griffin replied, confused, "you said that the four dragons fought alongside each other, but that this was after the Scorching and before the first wars. Who did they fight?"
The scales around Fracture's snout wrinkled together in a frown. "Well," he answered, his voice almost a whisper, "it's been told that there are a series of tunnels beneath the hills in these parts, and that they penetrate the surface beneath this very building. The legends claim that the mausoleum was built not only to serve as a grave for the four, but also to seal something beneath." His words were drawn-out and carefully crafted, as if he was taking his time to say exactly what he needed to.
Griffin shivered, and drew his eyes downwards. Maybe that was what he had sensed when he'd first arrived. Not just the magic embedded in the stone and ice of the mausoleum, but whatever awaited beneath.
"So, why did you bring me here?" Griffin asked. "Do you want me to go into the mausoleum? Is there . . . something in there?"
Fracture shrugged his wings up and down. "Maybe, but it's all just rumor and legend," Fracture chuckled, and Griffin noticed the faintest lick of discomfort in his voice. "Still, it's enough to keep away any IceWings or SandWings who know what's good for them."
"So, it's alright if I just go in?" Griffin pressed. "It's completely safe?" He took a step towards the mausoleum doors. Curiously, they appeared to be fused together by a thin layer of ice over them, eternally shut.
Fracture mirrored his movement, and stepped between two of the pedestals, blocking Griffin's path. "It's best to leave legends alone," the IceWing warned. Griffin saw a hint of fear in his expression, something he'd never seen in Fracture before. "They may have a wisp of truth in them."
"But," Fracture continued coldly, "I can tell you this. You will stand outside these doors three more times. Once to kill, once to grieve, and once to live."
A shiver swept through Griffin. "Is that a prophecy?" he asked, his voice almost shaking. Once to kill, and once to grieve . . . who was he going to kill? Who would die?
Fracture didn't answer, and locked his one eye with Griffin.
"Can you see the future?" Griffin demanded. If this was a real prophecy, he wanted to know for certain.
"I cannot see the future, but I can see the past," Fracture smiled, "and to many, that makes me a prophet."
Griffin ruffled his feathers, frustrated with the cryptic reply. Knowing the past couldn't explain a prophecy. "Fine," he hissed in irritation, "so then, what did you bring me here for? Not just to give me prophecies-but-not-prophecies, I hope?"
"Can't I just want to see an old friend?" the IceWing asked. Griffin didn't buy it. Fracture sighed, and turned to a small leather satchel on the snow next to him. He pulled out a pale-yellow object from it, and cupped it in a paw, handing it to Griffin. Griffin accepted it from him, placing it in his own talons. It was a wax sculpture of a MudWing, with each scale carved intricately into the material. It didn't take long before Griffin recognized it as Schist, before he had received his injuries.
"Always keep it safe and close to you," Fracture asked Griffin. "I want you to visit him. He's with his sister, in the city where you found him."
Griffin cupped the sculpture. It had a strange feel on his talons, and reminded him of oddly waxy feeling of the underwater SeaWing scrolls. "He said he never wanted to see me again."
"He's had time," Fracture explained. "Maybe he'll have changed his mind."
Griffin nodded, and held the sculpture close. Noticing the the base of Schist's paws had started to deform from his grasp of it, he gently placed it in his own pouch for safekeeping.
Fracture looked away from Griffin, and turned to Trustbreaker, who was conversing with Avalanche and Clarity, Sapphire resting at the base of his paws.
"Trustbreaker," Fracture called. The NightWing stopped the conversation, and looked over to the green-tinted IceWing. "I need you to go with Griffin to find Schist. There's a MudWing there you need to recruit. Her name is Asha."