So here's a very cool story idea I came up with, and I'm really looking forward to writing it. This is not connected to any of my other stories, just as a side note.

It was completely silent in the tunnels, and everyone was asleep, dreaming of days that would never come, sunshine and skies and grass and flowers, all wishful thinking.

Everyone but the princess.

Asphalt walked slowly, so as not to awake anyone, strolling through the royal tunnels. The walls were lined with glittering sapphires to mark what would have been the palace, had the StoneWings not been banished to the underground realm for ten thousand years. She loved her home: the vast maze of tunnels that spanned the entire continent, the intricacy of every dragon's living quarters - it was like living under a ceiling of earth. They had everything they could ever need: plenty of plants and insects could be found throughout the kingdom, as well as the occasional animal, and their houses were merely large burrows dug into the ground, with plenty of space. No one felt any restriction; the kingdom was just perfect.

And yet, every time Asphalt looked up to the rich brown of the earth that lay above her, she wanted to see instead the vast expanse of sky that had been described so beautifully in the numerous scrolls she had read. She wanted to breathe the air that wasn't trapped under layers of dirt and stone, to be able to spread her wings and fly - not the low flying done in the tunnels, but she longed to soar high in the sky, wings unfurled completely. She wanted to feel free.

But if she dared set foot above ground, surely the LightWings would find her and kill her instantly. Besides, the entire tribe had been cursed to live underground, and no one could counter animus magic.

Except, perhaps, an animus dragon herself.

She had been warned by so many never to think about life above the earth, but it was beyond her now. It was the sole wish she had - even if for a moment, she had to see what had been forbidden to her for centuries.

However, her desire was not the only thing propelling her towards her decision. She had heard from whispers around the palace grounds and from several of the royal advisors that the ten thousand years were soon to be over. And then, surely the entire tribe would rise out of the ground and wage war against the LightWings. There would be death, bloodshed...

How much better than the LightWings would they be?

And besides, she had to find her aunt. Princess Selene was definitely out there - perhaps captured by the opposing tribe, maybe even dead - but she was there to wreak havoc on the LightWing tribe, and Asphalt was the only one who had the power to stop her. She had swore vengeance against every dragon that lived above them, and she would stop at nothing to annihilate them.

Maybe she could convince Queen Radiance - or whoever the queen was now, she had no clue whatsoever - to call a truce with them, warn them of the pent up rage her tribe harbored deep inside of them. Maybe she could bring an end to the warring between both tribes. Maybe she could bring peace to the continent, where they could both coexist in a tranquil environment. She had to try.

And if she was to do all that, she had to go.

"I wish to leave the tunnels," she whispered as the magic inside her thrummed quietly. "I wish to set foot above the ground. I wish to walk along the earth, under the sun and sky. I wish to be free."

Three seconds, three dragon heartbeats - and suddenly, the earth just above her head cracked, and dirt fell to the ground. Light shone on her face for the first time in her entire life, and although it wasn't too bright, she felt like she was being blinded.

Flying up through the hole, she gasped. She was standing, standing on the ground and not under it. What used to be a ceiling of rock was now the wonderfully blue tapestry of sky, dotted here and there with white patches. Clouds, she remembered, as they were called in the scrolls. In the distance, she saw all the things she'd only seen on paper before - mountains, trees, bushes - birds, even! The hum of nature surrounded her, and even her wildest imaginations could not have lived up to what she was witnessing right now. Asphalt had finally come up for air, standing on the land of the LightWings, where everything lived and thrived and the glorious sky was right above her.

And although she'd spent her entire life living under layers of dirt, she suddenly knew that she loved this continent with her entire heart and soul, and that she'd do anything to preserve it. She'd warn the LightWing queen, she'd call for a truce; she'd find Selene and make her understand that revenge was not going to solve anything. She'd go to desperate measures to just make sure that this land was one of peace, the land that she loved and was privileged to be standing on right now, her homeland.

Asphalt stood tall and faced the sky once more, her mouth opening to form the single word she'd longed to be able to say for what seemed like an eternity, the word that held all things beautiful and intricate, where everything was picturesque and perfect.

"Preia."