Wings of Fire, The Next Generation
Part 1. Welcome to Jade Mountain
Chapter 1: New Beginnings
Bushfire stood on the edge of Jade Mountain, eyeing the oncoming dragons. He had never seen so many dragons in one place before! Jade Mountain had come so far in the few years it had been running. Plus, it was run by the original Dragonets of Destiny! The amount of people that had shown interest in joining this school was incredible. He was even surprised his queen allowed him to go to this school, considering he ran away to Possibility when he was young. He saw so many dragons! From every tribe! Icewings, Nightwings, Seawings, the lot!
But then, he saw the most beautiful dragon he had ever seen. She was a golden yellow all over at first glance, but when Bushfire looked closer, he saw many layers of bright orange, dappled all throughout her wings and tail. She outshone every Skywing and Rainwing he had ever seen, be it at the Sky Kingdom or Possibility. Bushfire knew that she wasn't a hybrid, but she… she was…
BONG… BONG… BONG…
Bushfire woke up slowly. The bell outside his quaint Possibility hut sounded loudly. Bleary eyed, he wearily tried to stand up and shake out the cramps in his wings. What kind of person would wake up the WHOLE of Possibility at this time? Bushfire thought. Walking out of his hut, Bushfire could not believe what he had seen. What was usually a small market square dotted with numerous stalls under leafy tarps and string woven canopies surrounded by dragons from all tribes, had been swarmed with red and dark orange soldiers, with one dragon surrounded the most. Bushfire's worst nightmares came to life, the Skywing army was here, and by the looks of things, they were looking for him.
How?! How did they come to here? Of all places! We just want to seek out untroubled lives, not start some war against the Skywings! What do they want from us? Bushfire panicked. Even though he left when he was only 1 year old, the Skywings had found him, after 4 years. Then the unthinkable happened, the Icewing merchant pointed toward his hut!
No, Prism! Don't point them out to me! Bushfire tried to signal to Prism, but it didn't work. He saw the Skywings turn his way and start marching toward him. Already Bushfire suspected he was in trouble. Normally he would have escape routes, but none of them would work where he was in relation to the Skywings. At last, he could resist no longer, and the Skywings approached him.
"Hello little one." Queen Ruby said to Bushfire. "You are Bushfire, the one that ran away after his parents died, no?"
Bushfire didn't how to respond or act in front of the queen, so he simply responded with a meek, quiet, and lonely, "Yes."
"I'm really sorry about what happened to them. They were great soldiers, Aviator and Crimson." The queen spoke softly, as if she was worried about the young dragonet bursting into tears in front of her. "I'm here with a preposition."
Oh, good. The reason everyone in the Sky Kingdom was looking for me. Bushfire thought sadly.
"We have caught wind of your incredible social skills and incredibly complex thinking. We thought it was time to put you into an… environment, which would suit you. You should start packing, young one, because you and I are heading off to Jade Mountain." The queen said, in a tone that Bushfire couldn't interpret, he either thought was blunt or was excited.
"Uh, your majesty?" Bushfire had a question, a risky one, one that would either see him continue to Jade Mountain that day or see him tied up and tossed off a cliff somewhere.
"Yes, Bushfire?" the queen replied.
"Um, this may sound weird, but, I-I don't have any stuff to pack. So, what do I do?" Bushfire asked, pressing on with his question.
"What do you mean you don't have anything to pack?" the queen asked politely.
"The only thing I've ever needed to buy was food, and that's it. I don't have any photos or anything really, just me and my small hut." Stammered Bushfire. He wasn't lying when he said this. All he had was himself and the small hut he built when he was 3. He didn't know whether talking back to the queen was allowed or a death sentence in disguise.
"Well, if you don't have anything to pack, I guess we'll head off then." Queen Ruby said in a weird tone again. Bushfire couldn't ever think to try and interpret her messages, everything she said seemed to have some hidden meaning contrasting everything she said.
They flew in a small group to Jade Mountain. I wonder why they are surrounding me. Bushfire pondered on the way there. Unbeknownst to Bushfire, the group were flying in a group to keep him and Queen Ruby safe, not not letting Bushfire to escape.
When they arrived, Bushfire's breath was taken away from him when he saw the landing. Dragons from all tribes were everywhere! Rainwings, Icewings and fellow Skywings. Queen Ruby saw the excited face that Bushfire was wearing and couldn't help but smile herself. "I'll leave you too it." Was all she said to Bushfire, then she and her guards flew away north, back to the Sky Kingdom.
Bushfire touched down on the rocky cliff. He couldn't believe his eyes, there were so many dragons here! Watching everything unfold in front of him, he wasn't aware that walking up beside him was Qibli. "Hey, you're Bushfire, right?" Bushfire wasn't aware that Qibli was talking to him until he nudged him.
"Yeah, that's me. What do you need." he replied.
"Could you help Pebble here, please? He needs help getting to his class." Qibli asked politely, as Bushfire thought he would.
"Sure thing." Bushfire would gladly accept any offerings to help out others. His isolation and darker past meant that he wanted to get friends as fast as he could.
"Thank you for helping me." Said Pebble quietly. A Seawing, Bushfire thought. He has the sea wings webbing back and talons as well as underbelly, but why does he have so many glowing scales missing? And why does he have stars under his wings? This led Bushfire to only one conclusion. He isn't just a Seawing, he's a hybrid, and he seems to be a Seawing/Nightwing hybrid. Bushfire couldn't believe it. His first day and he had already met a hybrid!
"It's okay, you need the help." Bushfire consoled. He had only just realised that Pebble was blind. Not that it matters. Bushfire thought. He's a dragon, like me and the rest of us, and he needs help.
"Here, show me your timetable and we'll head off that way." Bushfire said aloud. Pebble rustled around his belongings and pulled out a small piece of scroll that had numerous classes on it. Bushfire found where he was going, and saw that Pebble and himself were going to the same place. "Come on, let's go." He said, taking hold of one of Pebble's talons, and guiding him to class. Bushfire was already liking Jade Mountain, however he had not yet conceived how big of a part in his life that this school was going to play.
