The Mud Kingdom was similar to how Griffin remembered it — a warm humidity that stuck to your feathers, with a long expanse of swamp and marshes in every direction. To avoid being seen, Trustbreaker and Griffin followed the suggested path Fracture had given them almost perfectly, and had Crosswinds left the exact day he'd wanted them to. In the time Griffin had stayed with the NightWing, he'd become a lot more comfortable with the idea of the NightWing being able to read his mind. Trustbreaker seemed to have gotten much better at ignoring Griffin's thoughts, and he was never judgemental. Ironically enough, Griffin had started to trust him.
Sapphire poked his head from between the talons of the NightWing's foreclaws, and looked out, seeing the swamps slowly drifting beneath them. As the wind whipped around his fur, he pulled his head back into protective cover of Trustbreaker's claws, hiding from the gusts. The two continued to fly, Griffin's sore wings still beating.
Eventually, Griffin saw his destination beneath him, the familiar clearing where Adobe's village once stood. A mound of unearthed stone stood in the center, where the MudWing animus's tower had stood before it been disenchanted. The houses and mudhuts of the village had been rebuilt, and it seemed even more populous than when Griffin had left. Many MudWings looked up curiously at the approaching visitors, and some of those that recognized Griffin gave either expressions of excitement, or threw glares. A large number of MudWing dragonets, apparently from multiple sib groups, were playing at the edge of the village, chasing each other through the tall marsh grasses or hiding there. Griffin smiled. It looked like he and Torrent had done at least some good.
Trustbreaker and Griffin touched down on an open road, their talons sinking into the soft ground. The NightWing let out Sapphire from his claws, and the cat shook out his fur and pawed at the dirt, glad to be back on land again. The MudWings started to crowd around, whispering to each other as they gave side-glances to the visitors.
Suddenly, the crowd opened up as dragons pushed each other to the side, trying to get out of the way. Two dragons walked down the opened road, and Griffin gave a small gulp of anxiety. Glen trotted down the path, forming a small snarl as she saw Griffin, though it was quickly hidden. Dwarving her was a humongous MudWing with scales the color of autumn, and a permanent frown plastered on his snout. He walked with his head raised high, and his wings tucked in almost gracefully. A golden breastplate was positioned beneath his neck, with gems embellished around it. A crown was engraved on it, clearly visible.
The MudWing gave Griffin a look of confusion, and turned to Glen. "What is the meaning of this . . . thing?" he hissed. "And a NightWing? If you expect the crown to be placated by feathered dragons, I'll remind you that you're speaking with Queen Moorhen, not the Princess Burn."
"Apologies, your highness," Glen replied, saying 'highness' with a hint of scorn and sarcasm. "I'm afraid our meeting will have to be suspended. Can someone please lead Prince Granite to the quarters we've planned for him?"
Prince Granite gave her a glare of ferocity, not happy that he was being delayed, but made no sign of refusal. An unfortunate MudWing led him off from the crowd.
Glen walked a few steps closer towards Griffin, carefully examining Trustbreaker and Sapphire. All the eyes of the MudWing crowd were on them. Suddenly, she whipped around. "Get out, or I'll have you hung by your tails!" she roared at the other MudWings. In a flash, the crowd had dispersed, with each dragon scrambling away, leaving Glen alone with Trustbreaker and Griffin.
Trustbreaker stepped forward with a nod of his head. "I am Trustbreaker," he introduced himself, receiving a small snort from Glen in amusement as his name. "I am a member of a movement working towards the end of War on Pyrrhia, called the Talons of Peace."
"Never heard of it," Glen remarked with an eyeroll.
"You will soon," Trustbringer assured her. He reached into a leather satchel, and pulled out a rolled up scroll, then passed it into Glen's claws. "Can you read?" he asked.
Glen nodded, and accepted the scroll. She quickly rolled it open, and scanned the writing. "A prophecy?" she asked skeptically.
Trustbreaker nodded. "From the Night Kingdom itself. I promise that you shall be hearing more of it soon, but for now, you have been selected as one of the first to receive it."
Glen frowned a little. "What are you doing with him?" she asked with a hiss, pointing a claw to Griffin. "Let me guess, you foretold it? Or you're just here by 'coincidence?'"
"There are no coincidences," Trustbreaker cryptically answered, "but while we traveled together, we had separate goals in coming here. I can promise you that I am not acting with him, whatever your views of Griffin might be."
"And I'm supposed to trust you on this?" she chuckled. The NightWing gritted his teeth and resisted talking back to her. "Fine then, but what am I supposed to do with this?"
"Spread it," Trustbreaker pleaded, "let every dragon in the Mud Kingdom know of the five dragonets and the end of the war."
"They won't be happy that we've got another decade of war coming," Glen muttered, "and I've got enough problems with Queen Moorhen as is, I doubt she'll be happy that our 'rebellious village' is spreading pacifist propaganda too. But I'll hang your prophecy on a wall or something. Do you need anything else?" She started to look a little impatient to Griffin.
Trustbreaker nodded. "I am looking for a dragon named Asha to recruit to the cause of peace."
"Asha?" Glen asked in surprise. "I think she decided to come here a few weeks ago, without her sibs, funny enough. She's in the cracked mudhut on the edge of the village."
Trustbreaker nodded. "Thank you," he replied, "your generosity will not be forgotten by the Talons."
"It's not a problem," Glen answered, her voice a little softer than before. "Most of the dragons here want the war to be over just as much as you do. If you're looking for recruits, I know Loam and Beaver would also be interested. Ask around, you'll find them."
Trustbreaker thanked Glen again, and wandered off towards the edge of the village, going to find Asha. Glen turned to Griffin with a glare. "And why are you here?" she hissed through gritted teeth.
"I wanted to see Schist," Griffin mumbled guiltily. What had Schist told Glen to make her so angry with him?
Glen snorted. "You shouldn't have come back here," she spat.
"Please, just take me to him," Griffin pleaded. "I need to make this right."
Glen scratched her talons in the dirt. "I would normally tell you to get out of my sight or I'd pick out all your feathers one-by-one, but Schist refuses to tell me what happened. Explain, and maybe I'll think about it."
Griffin sighed, and closed his eyes. "Alright," he stated, "if you're wondering about Schist's scars, he got those from a SkyWing with firescales. He did it to save Torrent."
"From how Schist came back, it didn't seem like Torrent deserved saving," Glen snapped.
Griffin locked eyes with her. "He's the one who killed Adobe for you," he squawked. "You wouldn't have any of this without Torrent." He almost added a comment about how ungrateful Glen was, but just managed to hold his tongue.
"He hurt Schist," Glen responded, feeling her anger was completely justified. "So, why did Schist come back calling you monsters?"
"Torrent killed an animus dragonet on the advice of an IceWing," Griffin clearly stated.
Glen frowned, and thought about this for a moment. If she came to a conclusion, she didn't tell Griffin. "The SeaWing isn't with you. Where is he right now?"
"I went separate ways from Torrent for similar reasons as Schist." It wasn't entirely true — he was planning on going back to Torrent, and had really left because of Crystal, but it seemed a good enough explanation.
Glen tapped her talons on the dirt for a moment, locking her eyes with Griffin. Her gaze soften up a little. "Fine," she conceded, "I'll take you to him." She turned around, and started heading towards the center of the city. Griffin quickly followed.
It was only a quick walk before they reached a small house, similar to the others, on the side of the path. It was the last one on the row before the path reached the ruins of Adobe's tower. Griffin looked at the hunks of stone, lying almost haphazardly on the ground. Somewhere beneath that pile was where he'd met Schist, saving him from Adobe's prisons.
Glen opened the door to the house, and ushered Griffin inside. Schist was resting on his underbelly, his burned side turned away from the door. He looked up and saw Griffin, creating a expression of confusion, relief, and sorrow on his snout, as if the MudWing was unsure what to think.
"I thought I told you to stay away," Schist quietly muttered.
"Oh?" Glen asked, giving Griffin a glare. "I can make him leave," she notified her brother.
"Wait!" Griffin protested as Glen stopped towards him threateningly. "Please, I'm really really sorry for not trying to stop Torrent and Crystal! Just let me talk!"
Schist thought for a moment. "Alright," he grumbled unhappily. "Glen, can you give us a little privacy?"
Glen nodded, and stepped around Griffin, shutting the door behind her, leaving the two alone.
"Why are you here?" Schist asked as soon as Glen closed the door. He stood up to face Griffin, his scales clashing and pushing against each other as he did so.
Griffin wasn't quite sure himself. Because Fracture told him so? That didn't sound right. "Because I'm your friend," he answered.
Schist shook his head. "You're a coward," he replied.
Even though Schist hadn't put menace behind his words, they still stung.
"You could have stopped Torrent," the MudWing continued. "I saw you spar with Crystal back in the Sky Kingdom; you and I could have easily taken her on if we worked together. We could have saved an innocent dragonet's life, and you just stood there."
"I know," Griffin accepted. "I should have done something, but I didn't, and I'm sorry for that, really. Can you forgive me?"
Schist looked downwards at his claws and huffed. "I don't know," he replied. "Maybe I can. Eventually."
Griffin took a step closer to Schist, but the MudWing moved back, shaking his head.
"I don't hate you," Schist continued, "or even Crystal or Torrent. But I need time. If you came here to be with me, I'm sorry. I don't want you to stay."
Griffin's feathers drooped in dejection. "Okay," he whispered. He wanted desperately to ask when Schist would be ready, or when Griffin would ever see him again, be he stayed silent. Torrent and Crystal had let Griffin go, and it was time for him to do the same with Schist. "I can do that."
Schist turned around, and lied back down on the floor, folding his wings inwards. Griffin opened his beak, wondering if he should say a goodbye or not, but Schist made no motion to start one. "Bye," Griffin awkwardly uttered, and received no response. He looked away in shame. He shouldn't have said that.
Griffin shuffled to the door of the house, and opened it. Glen was patiently waiting outside. He gave a glance back towards Schist before leaving, and noticed that Schist had done the same. Their eyes uncomfortably locked for a moment before Schist broke away the stare. Griffin turned away, and left the house. Glen shut the door behind him.
Griffin looked down the road. Trustbreaker was at the end, talking to a few other MudWings. He walked over towards the NightWing, who looked towards him with an solemn expression. As Griffin came closer, Trustbreaker's expression dropped, feeling Griffin's pain. "I'm sorry."
"It's fine," Griffin wallowed. It wasn't really fine, but it's not like he had expected anything else to happen. What was he thinking, that Schist would suddenly be all glad to see him? Sapphire rubbed against Griffin's leg. "Are we ready to go?"
Trustbreaker nodded, and glanced around at the other MudWings. Griffin recognized Loam and Beaver among them. "We head to the Claws of the Clouds Mountains," the NightWing announced, Sapphire crawling back into his claws. "We will be residing there for a period of time."
"For peace!" a MudWing standing next to Trustbreaker shouted. The group took off, with Griffin spreading his wings to follow.
Before he took off, Griffin reached into his satchel, and pulled out the wax figure of Schist that Fracture had given him. His handling of it had started to warp it a little, and part of the soft wax had melted slightly. Griffin thought about just tossing it onto the ground behind him. Maybe Glen would find it, and take it back to Schist. Still, he returned it to his satchel, unable to muster the strength within him to throw it away.