First off, I really want to thank anyone who has, is, and will be (I see you there future-people) reading this. Even though I posted the prologue this morning (6/24/16), there's already like twenty-something views. And that's incredible to me! Just to know that somewhere out there twenty or some people bothered to click on my entry. It's amazing. And soon after I posted the first real chapter I was able to go back and see that people actually read that one too, so I knew they not only clicked on the story but they read it and wanted to read more, too! I swear, I'm smiling like a Coldwing in a snowball fight.
Honestly, if just one person wanted to read Wings of Fate, I would write and post the entirety of it all for them.
Disclaimer: I do not own Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland. It's called Fan-fiction. All credit goes where due.
NOTE: In a few places the wording will be similar if not the same as the Sutherland books. This is done because a re-word would make it sound silly and the setting, plot, universe, and characters are distinctly different enough to not constitute an infraction of the "no posting original work with thoughts thrown into the flow of the work" rule.
Cyclone swept the bones of dinner into the river with his tail, watching the stripped white shapes bounce away in the current and flow under a dark arch of rock. The day had been just about as exciting as that - minus the whole escape-talk part.
Fires flickered around the edges of the great central cave. Echoing space yawned overhead, dripping with stalactites, like huge teeth. The cave dome was big enough for six full-grown dragons to fit across with their wings extended. The underground river flowed along one wall, muttering and gurgling as if it were plotting its own escape.
Cyclone glanced at the two small sleeping caves that opened onto the hall – currently empty – and wondered where the other Dragonets had gone while he was cleaning up.
"AHA!" Yelled a voice behind him. He whirled around and bared his teeth, ready to fight, but he closed his mouth when he saw that it was just Flare.
"Nebula says we should go study for an hour before bed." She said, flicking him with her barbed tail. "The others are in the Scrolls cave already. Come on." He followed her across the Central Cave, which was used for meetings and multipurpose lessons. But mostly it was just a place you had to walk through in order to get to the next cave.
Twisting stone tunnels led off in eleven directions: the Combat cave, Strategy cave, Swimming cave, Flying cave, Survival cave, Navigation cave, Nutrition cave (also where they have dinner), Scrolls cave, the Guardian's sleeping cave, the Dragonet's sleeping cave, and one to a small cave leading to the outside world. The last was blocked with a boulder too big for any of the Dragonets to move.
Tsunami was strutting around the Scrolls cave barking orders. Flare and Cyclone sat down by the entrance, folding their wings back. A breath of air drifted down from the hole in the roof, far overhead – the only window to the outside in any of the caves. Anion and Winter said that, because the sky is often golden or yellow, they must be in the Sky Kingdom; the sky in the different kingdoms was colored differently depending on the kingdom. At night, without the distant hint of sunlight, the room felt colder and hollower. Cyclone stretched up onto his hind legs and sniffed at the darkness that had fallen on the other side of the hole. The faint scent of lavender drifted down through the sky-hole. He sat back down on his haunches.
"All this history is so confusing." Flare murmured to Cyclone, swishing her tail back and forth. "Why don't the four sides just sit down and talk out an end to the war?"
"Because they all want the whole Heat Kingdom." Ray answered for him from the other side of Flare. "If they talked it out, there would be a compromise."
"Stop that." Tsunami said bossily, stamping her feet at them. "No whispering! Pay attention. I'm assigning parts."
"She's doing it again." Umbra groaned. Her black Darkwing scales transformed her into a dragon's shadow in the dark areas between the torches.
"This is not proper studying." Anion pointed out. His purple scales contrasted with the dull brown of the cave wall behind him. He swept a few scrolls between his talons and began to neatly sort them into stacked triangles. "Perhaps I should read to everyone instead."
"Oh dear." Candor said, dismayed.
"No." Ray said sternly. "Not even after we save the world." His reflective, white tail flicked, sending a glint of torchlight into Cyclone's eye. He blinked a few times at the spots in his vision.
"Three moons, anything but that." Flora said from the ledge above him. "Maybe later, when we're trying to fall asleep." Her long, delicate snout, glowing its default emerald green in the torchlight, rested on her front claws. Ripples of iridescent blue shimmered across her scales, and tonight her tail was a swirl of vibrant purples.
If it weren't for Flora, none of them would know how many colors there were in the world. When they were little, Nebula had used Paradise and Flora in order to teach all of the Dragonets colors and shapes. He wondered what it must be like in the jungle, where there was a whole tribe of colorful dragons – even if they're all normally green.
"Shush." Tsunami scolded. "Now, obviously I'd be the best queen, but let's make Flare the queen, since she is a real Heatwing." She bustled over and pushed Flare into the center of the cave.
Tsunami tapped her talons on the cave floor, studying her friends. "Clay, you want to play the scavenger?"
Candor stifled his laughter.
"That's hardly fair." Anion pointed out. "He's bigger than Flare. A real scavenger would be smaller than her, according to this scroll over here." Cyclone rolled his eyes and tried not to listen. "It says that scavengers have no scales, no wings, and no tail, and they walk on two legs, which sounds very unstable to me. I bet they fall over all the time. They like treasure nearly as much as dragons do. The scrolls say scavengers attack lone dragons and steal –"
"OH MY GOSH, WE KNOW!" Flora snapped. "We were all here for the fascinating lectures about them. Don't make me come down there and bite you, Anion."
"I'll beat her to it." Cyclone growled.
The Voidwing attempted to make himself look smaller.
Ray coughed. "It's not like his partner will do anything about it."
Winter barked out a laugh. "Try."
"Oh?" Cyclone smirked. He barreled over and tackled Winter the ground, pinning her and grinning mock-evilly.
"Stop that!" Tsunami snapped. She stamped over, gills flaring, and grabbed one of his horns, pulling it so that he was facing her. "If you really want to fight someone, it should be me. But later. When we're not studying."
Winter kicked him off, sending his smirking face into the cave floor. He sneezed the dust out of his nose, sending a small puff of yellow cloud - the Skywing equivalent of smoke - into the air.
Cyclone enjoyed combat; all of the different strategies and the thrill of evasion and quick thinking. He often did instigate fights so he could have fun with others who like it. Tsunami was no exception. "Yes, Your Royal Wetness." He said, getting up and bowing. And besides, he would do anything to distract her from this stupid acting thing.
Tsunami slapped him in the face with a talon, growling. Cyclone readied his wings and—
"I'd like to meet a real scavenger." Clay said out of nowhere, turning all heads in the room. "I'd rip off its head, and eat it! I bet it would taste better than the mouthfuls of feathers Kestrel keeps bringing us."
"Poor, hungry Clay." Flare teased.
"But what if they're smart? Like some animals?" Umbra said, looking Clay in the eye.
"But we don't know that." Cyclone pointed out.
"Huh." Candor mused, ignoring him. "They do have dragonlike qualities. Like their love for treasure and their eyes - even though those can't become slits."
Tsunami rolled her eyes.
Anion and Winter exchanged yet another "let's talk about this later" look while Flora and Ray stared at Umbra like she had suddenly sprouted leaves on her scales.
"What?" Umbra exclaimed indignantly, bristling. "It's possible."
"When we're free, we'll go find a scavenger nest and eat all of them." Tsunami promised, effectively ending the strange discussion. "Now, Clay, you're the scavenger. Here, this can be your sword." She swung her long tail in an arc and smashed a stalagmite loose. Shards of rock flew across the cave, and the other Dragonets ducked. "Cyclone, you're King Geyser."
"But I don't-"
"Too bad." She huffed and pushed him toward Flare.
Clay hefted the sharp rock spear in his claws and grinned wickedly at Flare and Cyclone.
"Don't actually hurt me." She said nervously.
"Of course he won't." Tsunami said. "We're just acting it out. And the rest of us will be the princesses. I'll be Burn, Flora can be Blaze, and Winter can be Blister. Umbra won't do it, so... Anion, you will have to be Tephra. All right, go ahead." She ordered before Anion could protest.
"Um." Flare said. She eyed Clay warily. "Right. Here I go, la la la, Queen Iguana of the Heatwings. I'm so very important and, uh – royal – and stuff."
Ray broke down laughing. He laid down with his head buried under his white wings.
Tsunami sighed. Flora and Winter hid their smiles. Cyclone just stared at the ground; he wanted to keep silent for this whole weird drama.
"I've been queen for ages and ages." Flare went on. She strutted across the cave floor, her barbed tail held up. "No one dares to challenge me for my throne! I am the strongest Heatwing queen who ever lived!"
"Don't forget the treasure." Tsunami hissed, pointing at a pile of loose rocks.
"Oh, right." Flare said. "It's probably because of all my treasure! I have so much treasure because I'm such an important queen!" She swept the rocks toward her with her tail and gathered them between her talons.
"Oh, three moons." Umbra put a talon over her eyes.
"Like you could do better." Flora snorted.
"Did someone say treasure?" Clay bellowed, leaping out from behind a large rock formation. Flare yelped with fright.
"No!" Tsunami called. "You're not scared! You're Queen Iguana, the big, bad queen of the fire dragons."
"R-right." Flare said. "Rargh! What is this tiny scavenger doing in the Kingdom of Heat? I am not afraid of tiny scavengers! I shall go out there and eat him in one bite!"
Flora started giggling so hard she had to lie down and cover her face with her now-yellow wings. Umbra giggled a lot, too. Ray just flipped over onto his back, convulsing with a huge smile on his face. Even Tsunami was making faces like she was trying not to laugh.
Clay swung his stalagmite in a circle. "Da mihi the-theh-thes… Chitter chatter!" He shouted, giving up on pronouncing the words. "And other annoying scavenger words! I'm here to steal treasure away from a magnificent dragon!"
"Not from me, you won't." Flare said, bristling. She stamped forward, spread her wings, and raised her barbed tail threateningly. Cyclone hoped she wouldn't sting Clay on reflex. He rolled his eyes at himself. Like Flare would do that.
Cyclone sighed and assumed a battle stance, growling menacingly at Clay and lashing his tail. "No one will kill my mate." He growled, and immediately regretted it. This time Tsunami burst out laughing, along with everyone else who wasn't acting. Even Winter giggled a bit. Cyclone glared at all of them, hiding his embarrassment with anger.
"Yaaaaaaaah!" Clay finally shouted, lunging forward with his rock spear. Flare darted out of the way, and the three circled each other, feinting and jabbing.
But in the end Queen Iguana and King Geyser had to lose – that was how the story went. Clay drove Flare back against the wall of the cave and thrust the fake claw between her neck and her wing, pretending it went right through her heart.
"Aaaaaaargh!" Flare howled. "Impossible! A queen defeated by a lowly scavenger! The kingdom will fall apart!" She gathered her pile of stones closer to her. "Oh, my treasure . . . my lovely treasure . . ." She collapsed to the ground and let her wings flop lifelessly on either side of her. She was clutching the stones protectively even when "dead".
"No!" Cyclone shouted, and lunged toward Clay, who promptly jabbed the spear into his 'heart'. "My mate . . . my kingdom . . . I've failed them . . ." Then Cyclone flopped down next to Flare, pretending to be dead.
More giggles and laughs at the word 'mate'. Cyclone's head shot up and a bolt of electricity struck the ground in front of Ray. "Shut up!" He shouted, eyes narrowed.
"Ha ha ha!" Clay said triumphantly. "And mirabile mirabile! The treasure is mine!" He scooped up all the rocks and paraded away, lashing his tail proudly.
"Our turn." Tsunami said, jumping off the ledge. She hurried over to Flare, clasped her talons together, and let out a cry of anguish. "Oh, no! Our mother is dead, and the treasure is gone. But worst of all, none of us killed her – so who should be queen now?"
"I was about to challenge her." Winter cried. She flapped her wings dramatically. "I would have fought her to the death for the throne. I should be queen!"
"No, I should be queen!" Tsunami insisted. "I am the eldest and biggest and would have challenged her first!" Winter made a 'pfft' noise because the Coldwing was actually the older one.
Flora snorted in dismay. "I should be queen, as I am the youngest, I would have the longest reign." She reasoned. "Also, I am by far the fastest and the prettiest." She flapped her wings and flared her ruff for effect.
Anion frowned, obviously distressed at playing a female. "I—uh … I should be queen!" He tried. "Because I'm obviously the best choice; Burn, you're a homicidal maniac, Blister, you're a power-hungry tyrant, and Blaze, you're overly narcissistic." Tsunami gave him a "less Anion, more Tephra" look. "Oh, fine." Anion half-whispered. He suddenly flared his wings. "I am the best choice." He gave the others an evil smirk. "I'm so stealthy and quiet that I could slit all three of your throats tonight anyway."
"I should kill you all right now." Winter snarled.
"You and what army?" Tsunami teased her.
Winter's eyes widened as she stretched her neck up and bared her teeth, grinning evilly. "That's a great idea . . ." she said maliciously, her eyes narrowing again. Cyclone didn't like that look. "I'll go get an army. An army of Seawings and Darkwings – and then you'll be sorry."
"You're not the only one who can make alliances." Tsunami said. "I'll get the Skywings on my side. And the Rockwings! Then we'll see who wins this war!"
Flora snarled. "I will ally myself with the Coldwings and the Lightwings!"
"You go do that." Anion said awkwardly. "But I have a lot of dragons on my side. Why not just build a fortress and wait until I can kill you all with little effort?"
"You do?" Flare asked, opening her eyes. "Who says?"
"Stop talking." Tsunami said, poking her with one talon. "You're dead."
"There are lots of recent scrolls about it." Anion explained pompously. "Tephra is very popular with her own tribe. Blaze is second."
"So why can't she be queen?" Flare asked. "If that's who they want?"
Umbra gave her a sympathetic look.
"Because Burn is bigger and scarier and could defeat any one of her sisters if they actually fought claw to claw. " Cyclone chimed in. "Blaze may be fast, but she's so weak that one good hit from Burn would knock her out or even kill her. And Blister is smarter than Blaze and Burn put together. She knew she couldn't kill Burn in a regular duel. It was her idea to involve all the other tribes and turn their Heatwing throne battle into a world war. She's probably waiting for the other two to kill each other, like Tephra."
"Which one do we want to be queen?" Candor asked. "We do get to pick, right? When we fulfill the Prophecy?"
"None of them." Winter said gloomily. "Blaze is very vain and about as smart as a concussed sheep, Tephra seems smart and sensible, but we probably can't trust her at all, since she's head of that criminal gang in her creepy volcano hideout, Blister is likely plotting to become queen of all the tribes somehow, and if Burn wins, she'll probably keep the war going just for fun. They're all pretty nasty."
"Hey!" Flare protested over him. "Tephra isn't nasty. I want her to be queen."
Ray rolled his eyes. "We don't really know that; you're only saying that because she's probably your mother."
The Dragonets went silent for a few moments. They'd all learned about the differences between royal and common dragons from Nebula that day, and that the other Guardians had been trying to keep their royalty from them. Nebula had told them that they all came from the royal pair of each tribe, but no one exactly knew which Heatwing rival was Flare's mother. They had assumed it was most likely Tephra or maybe Blaze, because the other two options weren't all that nice to think about. Anion didn't know who his parents were, either - nobody did; the identities of Voidwing royalty was a secret and so was their current home.
He didn't know if it was good or bad that they all had royal blood. Cyclone himself wasn't particularly happy about being descended from the maniacal Queen Vulture - possibly the most hostile dragon to The Prophecy aside from Burn.
"I guess we'll see what the Talons of Peace decide." Anion tried with a shrug.
"Talons of Peace don't get to decide." Tsunami suddenly barked, her tail lashing. "They only think they're in charge of us."
"We can still hear them out." Anion argued. "They want what's best for us and Drako."
"Easy for you to say." Flora snapped. The ruff around her neck flared orange and red. "You weren't stolen from your home, like the rest of us. The Voidwings were pretty eager to hand over your egg, weren't they?" Anion flinched as if she'd poisoned him.
A quiet hiss erupted from Winter. She sidestepped closer to Anion and brushed her wing against his.
"Boring!" Clay shouted from his pile of rocks. "Stop fighting with each other! Come fight me for this treasure instead!"
"No one knows what the scavenger did with the fire dragon treasure." Anion said in his "top of the class" voice, turning away from Flora. "Among other things, they stole the Lazulite Gem, the gold Heatwing Scepter, and the Eye of Onyx, which had been in the Heatwing treasury for hundreds of years."
"WHAT is going on in here?" Kestrel's booming voice made all seven Dragonets jump to attention. Flare slipped as she scrambled to her feet. Clay helped her up when she did.
The enormous Skywing slithered into the cave and glared down at them. "This doesn't look like studying." She hissed.
"We're s-s-s-sorry." Flare stammered.
"No, we're not." Tsunami shot the Heatwing a glare. "We were studying. We were acting out the death of the queen that started the whole war."
"You mean play-acting." Kestrel growled. "You are too old for games."
"When were we ever young enough for games . . .?" Cyclone muttered.
"It wasn't a game." Tsunami said. "It was a different way of learning the history. What's wrong with that?"
"And now you're talking back." Kestrel said. She looked smug, as she always did when any of the Dragonets – especially Tsunami – got in trouble. "That means no sleeping in the river tonight." Tsunami scowled. Kestrel tapped the pile of scrolls by the entrance with one claw. "The rest of you, learn from the Seawing's mistakes and study the correct way."
Ray rolled his eyes again.
"That's not fair." Clay spoke up as Kestrel turned to go. "We were all doing the same thing. We should all be punished." Flora shook her head at him, but Flare nodded.
"I agree." Cyclone added, his sense of honor getting the best of him. He hoped that because he was a Skywing, too, Kestrel would change her mind.
Kestrel stared down at Cyclone. "I know who the start of the problem was. Cut off the source and the problem goes away." She glared at Tsunami. "Now go to bed." She turned and swept out of the cave, knocking over Anion's neat stacks of scrolls with her tail as she went.
Cyclone nudged his partner's sapphire shoulder with his snout. "Sorry. We tried."
"I know, thanks." Tsunami said, brushing her wings against his. "I can't stand this much longer. We have to get out of here, and soon."
"Really soon." Cyclone added with a grimace.
"We needed to be out of here yesterday." Candor added for emphasis.
"Agreed." Umbra stated, flicking her tail across the ground and kicking up dust.
Ray sneezed at the dust. "I say we go now. I'm sick of being underground all the time. I want light. Real light." Cyclone gave him a look of agreement. He was a Skywing – underground. Out of all of them, Cyclone and Ray hated the caves the most.
"I'm not sure we're ready." Anion said, wrinkling his snout at the scrolls he'd hidden earlier. "There's so much we haven't learned yet . . ." Winter looked at him sympathetically.
"That's what the teachers want us to think!" Tsunami's blue scales shifted as she shook herself from head to tail. "But we'll never know until we get out of these horrible caves and see the world for ourselves."
"What about the Prophecy?" Clay asked. "Shouldn't we wait?"
"I don't see why." Flare said. "I'm with Tsunami. Destiny is destiny, right? So whatever we do must be the right thing. We don't need a bunch of ancient dragons telling us how to save the world. They're not in the Prophecy."
"When do we go?" Flora asked, peering over Tsunami's shoulder, checking for listening dragons.
"As soon as we have a plan, we go." Tsunami said, looking them each in the eye. "Let's see them force our destiny on us when they can't find us anymore."
I was originally going to have a super-cringey chapter that was basically just exposition, but why not try to work it in piece-by-piece where it could fit in future chapters like a normal writer? *Le commence problems*
By the way, updates will be frequent until I run out of pre-written chapters. (I have fifty or so, most of which between 21-31 KB of space.) I'm going to bed now, so the next one will be within 12-14 hours (from 12:00 AZ-time) so I'm not groggy when I edit.
Once again, thank you so much for reading!