When the stones of old awaken, the fires of death must burn.
When the lives of many have been taken, the ground of Pyrrhia will be turned.
From the deepest black, to the eternal flames.
Join the tablet forgotten, and the fumes untamed.
With the frozen claws, let darkness be tamed.
And an ancient evil, shall death be thy name.
The land that is all but lost, will be the refuge of the dark.
Across the bridge of light and frost, must the waters of life be sparked.
When darkness lights the frozen earth, and lost souls wander the forsaken land.
Three will come to devour the sun, and the queens will make their final stand.
A deadly message will be told, forgotten from the days of old.
Chilled to death with freezing cold, and they will be crowned with the cursed gold.
The night will last a thousand years, 'till the rays of light can glow once more.
Unless the chosens can unite the tribes, to lead them in a peaceful war.
A cold wind shook the SandWing palace in the frigid desert night. It blew over the dunes, picking up sand and burying small pebbles and rocks beneath, hidden treasures never to be seen again. As the wind continued on its course, it sailed over the ancient walls surrounding the stronghold, scattering small pieces of rock and bone. It climbed up the sparsely decorated walls of the palace, reaching its claws through the windows of the great room on the top floor, licking the scales of the sleeping SandWing within.
Queen Thorn woke up with a start, her tail twitching reflexively and stabbing into the base of the mattress, pulling out a bundle of goose feathers as it ripped through the fabric. Thorn winced as she placed her paws beneath her, hoisting the rest of her body up. She eyed the end of her mattress in irritation. Her barbed tail had ripped a new hole in it, adding to the count of other tears. How had Queen Oasis slept in this bed? Chances were that she just bought a new mattress every cycle of the smallest moon. Thorn had briefly thought about it, but these mattresses were so expensive, and the money could go to much better use, like renovating the public well in the stronghold, or contributing to the program for orphaned dragons she'd set up after becoming queen.
Thorn quickly looked around the room, the wind rustling through the window. What had woken her up? "Is someone there?" she called, wondering if someone had knocked on her door. She received no answer, and there was no sign of movement in her sparsely decorated room. Much of the art and treasure that had once adorned it was taken by Burn for the war effort, and Thorn saw little reason to replace it. Still tired, Thorn thought for a moment about going to bed, but an odd sensation seemed to tug at her. A light pressure had formed at the back of her skull, beneath her sail.
Thorn glanced over to the simple wooden dresser next to her bed. Along with two scrolls, three pieces of jewelry rested on it. One was the small moonstone pendant that Stonemover had given her. How many years ago had that been? Sunny was nine, so Thorn wanted to say . . . ten? She'd visited Stonemover only once since, a few years ago. Sunny had told Thorn he was still at Jade Mountain, stone creeping up his scales. When she had first seen him, she'd thought he was dead, the life and emotion was so drained from his body. She'd gotten angry at him, but he could barely respond. What had she ever seen in that dragon? Still, she wore the pendant. Maybe as a token of what they had once had together. Or maybe, it was now a token of what they had created. Just the thought of Sunny warmed Thorn's heart, causing heat to pour from her scales.
The second piece of jewelry was a golden legband, two SandWings wrapping around it. Thorn had worked hard to earn this from the previous leader of the Outclaws. Thorn wondered if Jackal was still alive. It had been ten years since she'd passed the golden band on to Thorn with no contact, but if anyone could survive ten years remaining unseen, it would be Jackal. Thorn wondered what Jackal would think of Thorn, now Queen Thorn. Thorn chuckled. For all she knew, Jackal could be in the palace right now, keeping an eye on her successor to make sure she didn't get too power-hungry.
The third piece of jewelry sat in the middle of the table, the black stone of the Eye of Onyx radiating power and authority. By now, every dragonet in the Sand Kingdom knew what this was. It ensured to the rest of the kingdom that Queen Thorn's reign was legitimate after the enchanted stone had chosen Thorn over Blister in a . . . spectacular fashion. Sometimes, Thorn wondered what would happen if she became too ambitious or selfish, and started hurting the kingdom. Would the Eye fry her to a crisp when she put it on in the morning? She didn't want to find out, but wearing it on both gave her authority legitimacy and made sure to herself that she was still doing the right thing.
She recalled what had happened two years ago, during the Talons of Power incident. Thorn's fake copy of the Eye of Onyx had been stolen by a SandWing named Vulture — Qibli's grandfather — and Onyx, Smolder's daughter. Vulture's followers, a group called the 'Talons of Power,' attempted to assassinate Thorn, but the assassin, Vulture's daughter, was caught and Thorn's life had been narrowly saved. Both Cobra and Vulture were killed in the incident, and Thorn couldn't say she was too sorry. Unfortunately, Onyx challenged Thorn to the throne, and neither Thorn nor her father had been unable to convince her to back down. Smolder had left the Sand Kingdom with his scavenger after Onyx's death, and since then had been staying with Prince Vermillion in Queen Scarlet's court. Thorn had always wondered if poor Onyx had been named after the Eye of Onyx. Had her mother always intended for her to be queen, and known about the stone? Or could it have just been a strange coincidence?
A flash of light on the surface of the Eye of Onyx caught Thorn's eyes. She reached her claws out to the stone, and carefully picked it up. A tingling feeling spread throughout her claws, and small arcs of blue electricity jumped from the smooth black surface, lightly stinging Thorn's scales where they touched. The pressure at the back of Thorn's skull increased, causing the queen to wince in pain. Was something going to happen? Had the stone suddenly decided to kill her? What had she done wrong?
Thorn waited a moment, her wings tense and her tail ready to strike, but the Eye of Onyx seemed to decide that it wouldn't kill her. Thorn let out a sigh of relief, and placed the golden chain of the Eye around her neck, causing it to drop to her side. She frowned as it gently buzzed. It felt like it was trying to tell her something. Thorn stood up, and crawled out of her bed onto the sandstone floor beneath her. She wasn't sure quite how, but she knew the direction she needed to go. The Eye was leading her somewhere.
Thorn quietly opened the room from her chambers, checking for other dragons down the dark hallway. She knew it would've been safer to have guards by her room, but there were few dragons she trusted to guard her while sleeping, and she liked having privacy. There were guards posted elsewhere in the palace in case of intruders, but none directly outside. Thorn turned to the right. That was where the Eye of Onyx wanted her to go.
The SandWing queen continued through the halls of her palace, down a curved staircase. She passed a young SandWing guard with a bored glaze over his snout. He immediately snapped to attention as Queen Thorn passed, and she gave him a nod of acknowledgement before continuing on. At this point, she could tell where the Eye of Onyx was taking her. To the four great treasure rooms of the palace. She wondered why it was bringing her there. That was where Queen Oasis had kept the Eye when she was queen, presumably too afraid of being judged unworthy to have worn it. It was also where she had died, killed by scavengers, no less, and starting the War of SandWing Succession, one of the most brutal wars that Pyrrhia had ever seen.
Queen Thorn stepped in front of the door to the treasure room that the Eye of Onyx was pulling her towards. She realized that she hadn't brought the keys to it. She would have to go back and get them. As she turned away, she felt the pressure by her horns building, as if the Eye of Onyx didn't want her to go. She looked back to the doors, unsure what she was supposed to do. She put her claws around the handle, and pushed the door. It easily opened, already unlocked. Thorn's heart started to pulse. Had she forgotten to lock the treasury? Or had someone else gotten inside? There wasn't that much gold inside, since most of the taxes were used for social programs that Thorn had set up, and most of the ancient SandWing treasure had been stolen by the scavengers or Blister. The rooms were practically empty. Why would someone be in here?
Heat radiated from Thorn's scales, now caused by fear, as she stepped into the dimly lit room. She raised her tail, ready to strike at any attackers. There were no lit torches inside the room, so the only light was from the hallways outside, and it took a moment for Thorn's vision to adjust to the darkness. Partway into the room, Thorn saw the motionless silhouette of a SandWing, a small tiara resting on her horns.
"Blaze?" Thorn called out, relieved that it was just the ditzy Ex-Princess. Of course it was Blaze who was in the treasury. The only thing that narcissistic dragon loved more than glittery treasure was her own snout. Thorn sniffed the air. The normal cloud of perfume that surrounded Blaze seemed to be missing. Had she ran out, and thought that there was more perfume in the treasury? "What are you doing here?" Why had the Eye of Onyx brought her here for this?
Blaze remained unresponsive. Thorn took a step closer, a frown growing on her snout. "Blaze?" she called out. Still no answer. Thorn opened her jaws, and let out a short burst of flame, lighting up the room for a quick moment before it was again doused in darkness. In that short moment, Thorn's claws tensed up and her breathing grew heavy. All the golden color had been drained from Blaze, and the SandWing had been frozen in an eternal scream, each of her scales the color of grey rock.
A burst of air came hit Thorn as the door to the treasury slammed shut. Thorn twisted around, feeling movement from behind her. She took a step back and let out a burst of flame, warning any intruders and allowing her to her enemy. An icy-blue IceWing stood at the doorway, hidden within the shadows. A twisted obsidian dagger was strapped to her side, with the light-blue scale of a dragon and a pitch-black pearl laid within it. "Who are you?" Thorn growled, swinging her barbed tail back and forth. "What happened to Blaze?"
"She's dead. I killed her," the IceWing laughed. "My master has called upon those whose blood the Eye has touched to meet their destinies. Give me the Eye of Onyx."
Thorn hissed. What was that supposed to mean? "Fine. If you want it, you can take it," she hissed. She pulled the Eye of Onyx from her neck and threw it at the IceWing, then averted her eyes, expecting to hear a crackle of electricity as the IceWing's flesh was seared from her bones.
The IceWing raised a paw up, and caught the Eye of Onyx firmly within it. A blue glow started to radiate from the stone, as bolts of lighting formed between the stone and the IceWing's talons. The smell of ozone flooded Thorn's snout, and she took a step back as the light shone brighter. For a moment, Thorn regretted giving the IceWing the Eye, and condemning her to such a horrible fate. But as the streaks of electricity subsided, a faint glow from the Eye of Onyx lighting up the sparse treasury, Thorn looked back to see the IceWing completely unharmed.
"Thank you for your gift," the IceWing smirked, her forked tongue flicking around her razor-sharp teeth.
Thorn's eyes opened wide in confusion. How had she lived? Was she an animus? Had she done something to the Eye? Seeing Thorn's confusion, the IceWing explained. "The true master of the Eyes is my own. He would never let his servants be harmed by them."
This was too much for Thorn, and she lunged forward, hoping to spear the IceWing through the neck with her barb before she had a chance to respond. But the IceWing was quicker, and twisted the paw holding the Eye of Onyx. Suddenly, the hard sandstone floor beneath Thorn's feet collapsed into wet sand, catching Thorn's paws within it and causing her to trip into it. She tried to pull her claws out of it and find a foothold, but the sand engulfed her legs, causing her to sink further.
"Magic," Thorn hissed quietly. "If you think you're more worth of the SandWing throne than I am, challenge me in battle." She wasn't quite sure what the rules on this were, but if this dragon was an animus or something similar, Thorn didn't think she had any choice.
The IceWing snorted indignantly. "I don't want your pitiful kingdom," she laughed. "It's far too late for that." She turned her gaze back to the Eye of Onyx as Thorn continued to struggle, the SandWing queen finally finding a piece of solid ground she could use to pull herself out of the quicksand.
The IceWing held the Eye of Onyx directly in front of her, staring into it. She took a razor-sharp claw and dragged it clockwise around the surface of the stone. "Wakey wakey, Jerboa," she sneered. "I hope you had a nice long rest."
Suddenly, a shimmering vertical line appeared on the surface of the Eye of Onyx, the middle of it expanding into the glowing blue pupil of a dragon. The visible fringes of an iris appeared beside the slit, and the pupil darted around the spherical gem, as of trying to make sense of where she was. The IceWing flicked her tongue out, and raised her paw, the eye starting to glow again. In a burst of light, a golden wave of heat and pressure expanded out from the Eye of Onyx. It passed over Thorn as she dragged the lower half of her body from the quicksand, an eldritch warmth passing through her scales. The pulse of pressure spread out from beyond Thorn, quickly reaching beyond the walls of the treasury and beyond into the rest of Pyrrhia. The IceWing took the Eye of Onyx, the narrow pupil on its surface still darting back and forth, and placed the golden chain around her neck.
Thorn finally finished raising herself from the quicksand, her paws now on solid ground. She waved her barb back and forth, unsure whether to attack or not. The IceWing made that decision for her, drawing out her long, snake-like, dagger, the faint glow from the Eye of Onyx glinting off the blue scale and black pearl inlaid in the dagger. The Eye of Onyx looked up towards Thorn, as if it were hoping Thorn could do something.
"Whoever you are," Thorn growled, "no one messes with the Sand Kingdom and gets away with it."
The Eye of Onyx quietly blinked as the IceWing tsked. "There's far more at stake here than you or your mate realize, Thorn."
Thorn's scales bristled in anger. "My mate?" she seethed. "I have no king." She took a deep breath, calming herself. Maybe the IceWing was trying to rile her up?
"Really?" the IceWing smirked. She took a step towards Thorn, the ground that was once quicksand having suddenly hardened back into sandstone. "Then who is that soppy NightWing in Jade Mountain?"'
Thorn bared her teeth. How did this IceWing know about Stonemover? At least until Sunny had returned, only Six-Claws and Armadillo, Thorn's most trusted advisors, knew about Sunny's father. "If you've laid a single claw on him . . ."
"Relax," the IceWing snorted. She stepped forward again, causing Thorn to move backwards. "It's been seven years for the two of you, so if you haven't found out by now, I doubt you ever truly cared about him."
A rumble of rage sounded in Thorn's throat as she took another step back, one of her hind legs brushing against the frozen Blaze. Now that Thorn thought about it, whatever curse that had been put on Blaze looked awfully similar to the rock that crept along Stonemover's scales. But Sunny had told Thorn that Stonemover had done it to himself in order to keep his magic from taking over his soul. Had he lied?
"So you're the one who did that to him?" Thorn calmly questioned. "The stone on his scales?"
"I tried," the IceWing answered. "Unfortunately, I never finished the job." She swiped her dagger back and forth threateningly. "But you have no one to save you."
As the IceWing took another step towards Thorn, expecting her to move back again, the SandWing queen lunged forwards, her barbed tail sailing through the air. The surprised IceWing was unable to sidestep the attack in time, as the barb, originally aimed for her throat, punctured into the edge of her breastplates. The IceWing yelled out in pain as the venom entered her bloodstream, but turned her obsidian dagger upwards as she moved to the side. As Thorn's tail moved back towards Thorn's side, the dagger's edge nicked her scales, scratching her. As the IceWing fell to the ground, clutching her chest in pain, she cackled.
Immediately, grey stone spread out from the wound on Thorn's tail, as she reared her head back in surprise. She opened her jaws and prepared to release a jet of flame, attempting to sear off the stone shell that now covered most of her tail, but it was too late. The grey stone wrapped her body as the first flames scorched her stone scales, and crawled up her neck, reaching into her open mouth and turning her insides solid, dousing Thorn's flames. After it was all done, Thorn stood tail raised, her jaws open in a final act of defiance.
Crystal struggled on the ground, wincing in pain at the venom. Maybe she should have kept the Diamond Healer after all. She glanced down at the Eye of Onyx around her chest, Jerboa's pupil looking back and forth at the the dying Crystal and the already dead Thorn.
"So I can do that?" Crystal said out loud, like she was talking to herself. "Good. Trying to collect Brightsting right now would be a pain."
Crystal smiled as she brought her left paw to the Eye, moving it to the puncture wound on her side. The ethereal light shone brighter for a second, and the venom inside Crystal's blood started to dissipate harmlessly, the pain in Crystal's chest faded. The IceWing stood up, tucking her dagger back to her side, then paid Thorn a quick glance of pity. It was ironic that the magic that had killed her was the same which was slowly killing her mate. Crystal wondered if Calamity had done that intentionally, or if it was just a silly coincidence. He seemed to like that sort of thing, though she could never understand why.
Crystal left the palace as swiftly as she entered. There was far more work to be done, and the future of Pyrrhia depended on it.
AN: I think I'm going to upload Part 1 a bit sooner than I'd originally planned to, probably over the next week. Just going to put both fics in the title until I decide on a series name. The Fallen Prince was what I'd been thinking of, but it seems a bit edgy and makes this sound Torrent-centric even if the "Fallen Prince" isn't him, especially with Torrent losing his PoV status in Stone Cold.