After walking past cackling dragons, Aethra, Cuan, and Nostradamus walked out of the cavern, and down the corridor leading to the lowest cave system. The main reason why dragons avoided these parts of the caves was that the dragons who lived there were . . . very different. Not much was known about them, but rumors have gone around saying that, the dragons down there were deformed, mutated by the shadows darker than what most were used to. Insanity lived there, and stories were written that the dragons became another creature entirely. This plague reaches all the caves when a dragon is hatched, and the parent is forced to abandon the child to the lowest cavern.

To distract themselves from uneasiness, Aethra asked: "So, Nostradamus, when you read minds, can you see everything they remember and knew throughout their whole lives?"

"Hm? Well . . . I can only see what the dragon is thinking about. If I wanted to, I could see what they have done in the past . . . even their dreams. That would take up a lot of energy though, and personally I would not want to interfere with that. As a mind reader, you will never know what you could see in someone's head . . . and I have seen secrets . . . terrible secrets that I have tried to warn others about but would not listen, until it is too late . . . ."

A moment of silence, then Cuan asked: "Is it possible that you can . . . talk to people while reading their minds? Or make them do something?"

"No, I can not speak to them just through their minds. But what do you mean by, 'make them do something?'"

"I mean . . . control their actions using your own thoughts."

"No, of course not. That would be a terrible gift to have."

"How often can you see the future?" Aethra asked.

"How often? Well, I can use my power to see whatever future may take place if I do something."

"Can the visions get dangerous at times?"

"Not very. I have only seen images of events that may take place, but they are not cataclysmic. Sometimes, I see the visions while I am dreaming, but they also happen at random as well."

"Where do you think these visions come from?"

" . . . I'm not sure . . . maybe it is only my power."

"If you see a future that will end badly for you, can you change that outcome?" Cuan asked.

"Yes - it has helped me in the past."

"Since that is true, did you do something that made us come to you?"

Nostradamus thought for a moment. " . . . No. It was bound to happen either way."

"One more thing: I don't mean to sound rude when I say this, but . . . why do your eyes look like that?"

" . . . I would imagine something happened to my egg that made my eyes appear this way."

"Do you think that, however your egg was harmed, or if it ever was . . . would you suppose that is why you have these powers?"

" . . . My apologies . . . I do not wish to talk anymore . . . ."

They walked for a little while longer, and before they knew it, there was light ahead. Dim, but bright enough to see a few yards away. The three walked towards it. As they drew closer, they heard voices. It wasn't long before they entered the lowest cavern, and once in the light, all voices ceased, and all eyes were fixated on the three new dragons. Aethra, Cuan, and Nostradamus had no words or breath to gasp.

The dragons were what appeared to be mixtures of many different breeds. Hybrids, is the word they looked for as the three walked through the crowd, who stared at the ones who came from the higher surface. There were hybrids of SilkWings and SeaWings, SkyWings and SandWings, MudWings and LeafWings, and much more. Aethra now realized why these dragons were down here, why they were forced into the darkest of shadows, the deepest of the caves . . . it was because they were different. Because the dragonet that hatched was a mix of two different dragon breeds.

Who forced these dragons to live here? Did the dragons many years ago chase them down here because they were seen as monsters? No, that couldn't be the reason . . . could it?

Aethra walked up to Nostradamus and asked in a whisper: "Do you know where we're supposed to be going?"

"Just a little further," Nostradamus replied. "The dragon we're looking for is a few paces up ahead."

They continued to walk, staring at the hybrids around them, and they too stared as well, eventually looking away to return to their routine. A few more minutes of silence and walking, soon hearing the sound of rushing water somewhere off in the distance. They had to push past a crowd, and once getting through . . . they saw the cloaked dragon Nostradamus had described.

The dragon was sitting on a rock. In front of him was a young dragonet, whose neck was snapped, but she was still alive.

The dragon gently placed a claw on her shoulder, the crowd watching intently as the dragon spoke: " . . . I enchant your bones to mend, to never be broken, nor harmed ever again, that you will live on without feeling pain from the inside, and that your neck will heal, never be broken once more . . . ."

A few seconds passed, then the dragon put his claw down. . . . The young dragon sat up, her eyes filled with an expression as if she had just seen the most beautiful thing ever imagined. Her neck was upright, and seemed to not have been broken beforehand.

The crowd gasped and covered their mouths, some teared and cried in joy at the sight - it was a miracle. The young dragon ran back to her parents, and they thanked the dragon on the rock, who gave a slow nod yet not looking at them.

A few minutes passed, and the crowd had left. All except Aethra, Cuan, and Nostradamus, who could not take their eyes off of the dragon sitting in front of them.

Suddenly, he spoke: " . . . You are not from here . . . are you? You come from the higher caves . . . don't you?"

" . . . Y-Yes," Aethra said, and realized the dragon did not have the same tone of voice the cloaked dragon had.

" . . . That is what I figured."

"How did you-" Cuan said, but was interrupted.

"I knew you were different once I sensed you standing behind me . . . and once you came in."

"You . . . sensed us?" Nostradamus asked.

"Yes."

"But . . . how is that possible?"

"I enchanted my ears to hear the talonsteps of other dragons who are a stranger to me. It is good, because I can sense when someone may bring danger. . . . You do not bring a danger, do you?"

"N-No, we don't," Aethra said.

"Then . . . why are you here?"

Aethra was hesitant, then took a step forward. " . . . We need your help. These caves, they are not meant for us. We do not deserve to live here . . . we deserve to live in a place that is much better than this."

"What makes you think you dragons from the higher caves can come here, ask for my help, while you were the ones who exiled all of us here?"

"Because I was told about a place beyond the caves, beyond the darkness, beyond this . . . underground world."

" . . . You think there is another world above these lands?"

"Yes, I do."

"What makes you think that?"

" . . . I just know there has to be a world filled with light somewhere, and I have to find that world."

"What if you are wrong?"

" . . . I do not know. But I do know this: We are dragons. We are strong, we are deadly, we are the strongest creatures to ever live. We are not bugs, not insects that live and thrive in the dirt. Our colony deserves better, all of the dragon breeds deserve better than this. If we have all of these abilities, and can have the freedom to do whatever we want . . . why don't we have our own world for the better?"

There was a long moment of hesitation from the dragon. He stood up, turned towards the three, and pulled his hood from his head. He was a RainWing NightWing hybrid, with magenta ruffs; black under scales, wings, spine, and horns; purple scales; dark claws; and had magenta around his eyes.

" . . . My name is Plato," said the hybrid.

"Aethra. My name is Aethra."

"Nice to meet you, my name is Nostradamus."

"My name is, uh, Cuan."

Plato gave a kind smile, and a small nod. "Pleasure to meet you all. Welcome to the lowest caverns."

"Can we not call it that?" Aethra asked. "It sounds a little . . . demeaning."

"Very well then. Come, I'll take you to my home so we can talk."

The three dragons followed Plato, all the while the hybrids they passed by gave the three new dragons odd stares, sometimes a glare.

At one point, Nostradamus asked: "Plato, I hear you possess a great power. What is it exactly? When you helped that young dragon, you said you enchanted her neck to heal, didn't you?"

"Yes. You see, I must say, 'I enchant' for the power to take place. I could say I enchant anything to do whatever I want . . . literally. I could enchant a boulder to makeshift itself into a statue; I could make a cup float to my hand; I could make myself float without the use of my wings; . . . I could even cause a rockslide if I wanted to."

"Does anyone else here have that power?" Cuan asked.

"No . . . only me."

"Where did you get it from?" Aethra asked.

" . . . I must not say."

"Oh, please, you must tell us."

"That answer is a secret I should keep for a long while. Let's just say: . . . I had help from someone that holds a very strong desire to aid people, to help rid of their problems."

Rid of their problems? Aethra thought to herself, remembering the cloaked dragon stated the same thing to her " . . . Alright. Could you at least tell us what it is called?"

"I call it: . . . Animus Magic."

"Animus?" Cuan said. "What does that mean?"

"It means soul. I have had it for quite a while now, and even still, I have not reached its full potential."

"Is there a limit to that potential?" Nostradamus asked.

"Everything has a limit, Nostradamus."

"I see."

Soon enough, they reached the home. The entrance was decorated with trinkets, blankets, and other strange items.

"Well," Plato said, "here we are."

"Wow," Aethra said, gazing in amusement, "this is beautiful."

"Thank you." Plato moved the blanket blocking the entrance out of the way, letting the three in. But before they entered, he tilted his head. "Aethra? Might I ask, what happened to your lip?"

"I'm sorry?" Aethra put her hand to her mouth, and felt that her lips were dry - very dry.

"Woah!" Cuan said. "What did you do?"

"I'm not sure," Aethra replied. "It's probably nothing anyway."

They walked inside, and stood in bewilderment at the decoration of the home. Golden tinsel lined the walls; a large red carpet lied on the floor; bookshelves were stacked in order, filled with books; red, blue, orange, and yellow lanterns were hung up as well, sending off a majestic luminescence.

"You can rest here for a while," Plato said, "but I would like to know what our real plan is when we awaken."

"What do you mean by that?" Aethra asked.

"I mean, how do you propose we travel to a potential surface? How will we make it there? How far is it from here? . . . What do you think we will find up there, if it exists?"

Aethra consulted this for a moment, then replied: " . . . I'm not sure. Let me sleep on it and I'll tell you when we are rested."

"Very well then. Make yourself at home."

The dragons had fallen asleep a little while later, and no sound was heard. Aethra lied awake, staring up at the rocky ceiling, trying to think of an answer to give Plato the next morning, but could not come up with even one response to give him. As she thought about this, her eyes became droopy, and turned on her side to fall into slumber.

Just then, something forced her to wake up. When she opened her eyes, tiredness had completely abandoned her. A voice came. It was almost inaudible, but Aethra was just able to hear it. She stood up, and stared at the doorway. Hesitantly, she walked, and stepped out of the cave to see. . . . The cloaked dragon was standing right outside of Plato's home.

It stared her dead in the eyes, and Aethra asked: "What are you doing here?"

"Seeing the advancement on thy journey."

"I found the NightWing and the magic dragon, now what?"

" . . . Find the surface."

"And where is that?"

" . . . Ask the NightWing."

"Nostradamus? What does he know about the surface?"

"More than thou thinketh."

"What do you mean?"
"Ask thee."

"Ask him what?"

"Of the surface."

"What kind of information will I get out of that?"

" . . . Thou shalt learneth soon."

A moment of hesitation, then Aethra asked: "Hey. Before you leave, there's something I should ask you."

" . . . And that is . . . ?"

"My lips, my leg. I'm getting hurt for no reason. I know you did something to me . . . what did you do?"

"I hast not harm thou."

"Stop lying to me. You did something to me, didn't you? You gave me those bruises, even after we made that deal, and cracked my lip as well the night I and my friend met Nostradamus. You're doing something to me, I know you are . . . what is it that you want from me?"

A hint of anger crossed the cloaked dragon's face, and replied: " . . . Let us say . . . thou shall receiveth a great gift from me . . . I receiveth something from thou . . . ."

"What does that mean?"

" . . . Thou shalt understandeth."

A few moments after the conversation, the dragons had awakened. Plato let the three have some of his food, and they ate while talking.

"So," Plato said, "I understand you can read minds?"

"Yes," Nostradamus said.

"And see the future?"

"I can."

"That's . . . incredible."

"Not nearly as impressive as what you can do."

"Have you ever told anyone about your power?"

" . . . No one ever believed me . . . until Aethra and Cuan came along."

"Very peculiar. Did you foresee me?"

"I have."

"What was I doing?"

"Exactly what was happening when we first met you. You were sitting on that rock, and we found you."

"What futures do you see ahead now?"

" . . . I would rather discuss that later."

"Oh, very well then."

After they had eaten, Nostradamus stood up, saying that he wanted to clear his mind, and walked out of the cave. Aethra stared after him, then finishing her food she too exited the home. She found Nostradamus standing a few feet away from the entrance, looking out into the darkness.

She walked up to him, then Nostradamus suddenly said: " . . . What does this all accomplish?"

"I'm sorry?" Aethra asked in an irritated tone.

Nostradamus turned towards her. "You and I both know we can't keep the secret any longer."

"What secret?"

" . . . I think you should know without me telling you."

"That you know something about the surface?"

"That is not what I was referring to."

"Then what are you talking about?" Nostradamus did not answer, so Aethra continued: "Fine then. You know something else? You're just a mind reader, and that is your only use for this journey. I wouldn't care if you died or not, all you do is foresee something that couldn't even happen."

Nostradamus stared at her, then looked at the ground, and sighed. " . . . I have been to the surface before."

" . . . What?"

"The night I hatched, I came into the world under three full moons."

" . . . Three what?"

"Three moons. That is how I am able to read minds and see the future. My parents knew about a tunnel leading to the surface. It belonged to them, they kept it hidden because it was so beautiful."

"So it is true. But, your parents never told anyone else about it? We could have been living beyond the caves."

"They did not want anyone to know about it because they were attacked by something."

"Attacked?"

" . . . They came out of nowhere. I crawled outside of the caves . . . I touched the ground of the outside world. . . . They saw me. My parents grabbed me. We tried to fly, back into the caves . . . but they shot my parents, shot them out of the sky with their weapons. . . . My mother told me to run, and I did after I watched them kill her and my father. . . . That was the last time I saw my parents. . . . A SilkWing found me, brought me to his home, took care of me until I got older. I was fourteen when I discovered my power, and my parent figure kicked me out of his home only because he was afraid. I became the town fool of the cavern, and no one would believe my visions until it was already too late."

Aethra stared at him, rage building up in her face. " . . . Nostradamus . . . I don't care about your life. I don't care about your parents, and I don't care, about what you think is going to happen in the 'future.' The only thing I care about is finding the surface. You know where it is, so stop wasting my time, and show me."

Nostradamus stared down at her, then noticed Cuan and Plato standing outside of the home, curious as to what was going on.

The NightWing closed his eyes, took a breath to calm himself, then said: " . . . Fine then . . . I will show you the truth of the surface."

"The only truth I need to know is that it exists," Aethra growled.

Soon they had left the lowest part of the caves, and the three followed Nostradamus through every cave system to the entrance to the surface.

" . . . I never wanted this power, you know?" Nostradamus said.

"Shut up," Aethra said.

"It's a curse. Seeing the future, reading other's minds - it's maddening. It toys with my sanity, and I can't stop it no matter what I do. I always hear people think, I always hear the sins that go on in their minds; I see what will happen next, either good or bad, they always come. I've seen visions of dragons hurting others, and I try to tell people, warn them about what is going to happen . . . but they never listen. Because they think I'm crazy, because they think I am a fool . . . because I am different."

"I said shut up."

"What consequences will we face if we do get to the surface? What cost would it have in my future? In all of our futures?"

"Can't you see your own future?"

" . . . I see glimpses, but I force myself not to look at them. I do not want to know what happens to me."

"Then you are a coward."

"Do you think I like having these visions? Everyday I am worried about what is going to happen, what I am going to see, and what will occur the next time I wake up. I did not want to see the vision of you, I never wanted to meet you, but it was bound to happen, as every other vision is."

"Well, here we are now, and there's no turning back from this. Your vision happened, and it came true, so deal with it."

"Aethra, that is enough," Cuan said. "Leave him alone."

Aethra spun around, pointing a hard claw at him. "Shut your mouth."

Cuan then noticed her arm. "What are those things on your talons?"

"Warts, what else are they supposed to be?"

"How did you get them?"

"Why do you care?"

"Aethra," Plato said, stepping in between them, "don't make a scene. I'm willing to help you using my power, but that doesn't mean I couldn't do something to you."

" . . . Are you threatening me?"

"No, I'm telling you to stop this nonsense."

Both dragons stared hard at one another.

" . . . You've changed, Aethra," Cuan said, "you changed a lot."

"That doesn't matter. . . . Let's just get this over with."

A moment of hesitation, all eyes focused on Aethra, then they continued walking. They walked past the laughing dragons in the cavern Nostradamus lived in, then eventually walking through the one Aethra and Cuan live in.

Sooner than later, they arrived at a boulder as large as them, unnoticeable by others, and hidden in between two narrow walls of stone.

"A dead end!?" Aethra growled. "You lead us to nothing?"

"No, I did not," Nostradamus said. "My parents put this here before anyone could see it. I put it here when I started running from the outsiders. Plato? Could I use your assistance?"
"Of course," Plato said, and everyone took a step back. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and focused. " . . . I enchant this boulder to move out of our way, so we can see the exit to these caves . . . ."

A moment of hesitation, then the boulder began to shake, and dust fell from the ceiling. The boulder suddenly moved out of the way, revealing a large hole behind it - a tunnel.

Without any pause, Aethra walked into the tunnel, soon followed by the others.

"Aethra," Nostradamus said, but he was ignored. "Aethra!"

Aethra spun around. "What?"

Nostradamus gave her a stern look, then said: "I just want to let you know, when we head up there . . . we will see a world very different from ours."

Aethra stared at him, then spun back around and continued on. They ascended, the ground angling upward. A few moments pass . . . and they saw light ahead. As soon as she laid eyes on it, Aethra broke into a sprint, then finally . . . there was the end. She skidded to a stop, and stood staring at the light. The other three came up behind her.

Aethra covered her eyes with her arm. " . . . Where is that light coming from?"

"The sun," Nostradamus replied.

"What?"

"My parents told me, it is called, the sun."

Aethra was dumbfounded. She stepped out of the tunnel . . . and her mouth dropped open, staring wide eyed at the scenery before her. They stood on a ledge. A few miles down was some kind of green wavy substance; above her was what looked to be a light blue dome; there were white stuff above her as well; tons of flowers were down below, all different colors; tall things covered in green were in the distance; a large space of water was to her right.

" . . . Nostradamus," Aethra asked, not taking her eyes off what she was staring at. "What, is this place?"

" . . . The outside world," Nostradamus replied.

All the anger Aethra had inside of her had instantly washed away. Everything she was looking at was so . . . beautiful. A calm breeze welcomed her to this wonderful place, and it seemed to make the moment even better.

"What is all that stuff down there?" Aethra asked.

Nostradamus examined the ground. "All of this below us is grass; those green things in the distance are trees; the water over there is called the ocean; ahead of you are mountains; and the things in the sky are clouds."

"What an amazing place," Plato said.

"How have we not known about this before?" Cuan added. "I've never seen something so alluring in my life."

Aethra took a few more steps forward, taking in the grace of what was before her. She turned, and saw that the caves were in a mountain, and they were standing on it. The elevation stretched up to the sky, blanketed by the clouds. She looked down . . . and saw something else in the distance. New animals, she thought. There was some kind of structure there as well where the animals were at. . . . Aethra came to a realization. The creatures she was looking at were not animals. In fact, they did not resemble animals at all.

These creatures seemed to have . . . fur, on their heads; wearing cloth, on their bodies; they waved to their fellow companions, embraced them, enjoying life; they all looked so . . . small. . . . Are these what Nostradamus was talking about? Were these the things that killed his parents? . . . How? How could these creatures this small possibly kill something much bigger than them?

Anger began to rise in her blood once again. Aethra turned and asked: "Nostradamus? . . . Are these the creatures that killed your parents?"

" . . . Yes . . . they were," Nostradamus answered.

" . . . What are they?"

"I call them . . . Scavengers."

" . . . Scavengers?" Aethra stared at him, then at the creatures and their settlement, a hard glare plastered on her face.

When they grew weary, the four had gone back to Aethra's home, who sat at her desk, lost in thought. She did not realize the writing the cloaked dragon left on the table had disappeared; the other three dragons sat and talked amongst one another. Aethra could not believe what she had seen. That whole world to explore, places to discover, new things she had never seen in her life lied right in front of her - why did they come back into the caves? . . . How did those Scavengers take over the land? Why were they there? Why did they live there? . . . How could they live in that beautiful home of light, while the dragons lived in darkness?

Aethra stood up, and walked out of her home to stand outside, staring at the ground.

"Aethra?" Nostradamus walked up to her. "I sensed you wanted to speak with me. Is something the matter?"

" . . . When you said your parents were killed by creatures," Aethra said, " . . . I didn't think you meant something like those . . . things."

"They are stronger than we may consider them to be."

"What can they do to us?"

"They have artillery, I've seen them myself."

"We do too. We could burn down their weapons before they even know what is happening."

"Do not underestimate Scavengers, Aethra. They have a higher intelligence than we take granted for. They could even be as smart as us."

"As smart as us!? Nostradamus, we can feed them to the children. To us, they're just a snack. What did they do to deserve that world? How did they gain possession over all that land? Why do they live in something so beautiful as that, but we live in misery? They don't deserve that, they don't deserve to live above us. We are stronger than them, we can fight them, we can kill all of them."

"I never said anything about killing the Scavengers."

"Nostradamus . . . that world, is beautiful. I have never seen something more majestic in my life. It makes me wonder why we didn't live there before, and what made us live here in the first place. Those 'Scavengers' don't deserve something as amazing as that, we do. I want to live in that world . . . I want to explore the entirety of that world . . . I want to bathe in the light. Think of what would happen if we ruled that world."

"Rule? You want to be the sovereign of that place?"

"Yes. I'm tired of living in darkness . . . I'm tired of living in misery . . . I'm tired of living in this mountain. . . . That world belongs to us, it always has . . . and I want to live in it, now."

"But will all that struggle be worth it? Will that suffering be remembered by future generations? Will our lives be better if we lived in that world?"

"It will . . . I will make sure of it."

That night, the four dragons discussed the whole situation, and no matter what the others said, Aethra declared that world will be theirs. They had all the sleep they could get, because as soon as they woke up, they would take the world for their own good. When most dragons in the caves were asleep, Aethra stayed awake, and once again was met with the feeling that compelled her to go out of her home, but she expected this. She got up, and walked out, once again finding the cloaked dragon standing there, its glowing red eyes glaring into her's.

"Well, I did it," Aethra said.

"Thou hast not fully achieveth thy goal."

"I will. As soon as everyone wakes up, I will gather every dragon in these caves, and we will take that world for ourselves. Our deed is done, you can leave."

"The deal hast not finished."

"Then why are you here?"

"To examine progress."

"No, I won't take that for an answer. You have been giving me these scars on my body ever since we made that deal, haven't you? Everytime I go to sleep, you come here to leave your mark, don't you? Not this time, dragon."

"It is part of the deal."

"Part of the deal? I never agreed to any of . . . this." Aethra held up her claws and pointed to her lips.

" . . . No . . . thou hast not agreed to that."

"Then why do you give me these scars?"

" . . . We agreed that I help thee take the world thou rightfully deserve instead of its inhabitants. The only thing those creatures deserve is to burn."

" . . . Yes, they do. But, how did you know about that world? How did you know about Plato and Nostradamus?"

"I knoweth many creatures."

"But how do you know them? How did you know I needed them specifically to take that world?"

" . . . I hast known many, many creatures and beings for many, long years."

"That still doesn't answer my question."

The cloaked dragon stared at her, a sudden feeling of anger and irritation rising on its face. " . . . Doth not forget the outcomes of our deal." It turned to walk away.

"Don't you dare think of turning your back on me." The dragon stopped, and Aethra continued: "Tell me your name."

" . . . I hast been called a thousand names. Titles that are cursed, rumored, and spoken from ear to ear throughout the lands."

"I won't take that as an answer. I want to know your real name, how you know about the outside world, and how you know about Nostradamus and Plato . . . where did you come from?"

The cloaked dragon slowly turned around, stared her down, the flames in its mouth raging. "My place of origin is underground . . . far, far, underground. Lower than the lowest caverns. Darker than the deepest pit. From the shadows of all shadows, I am the reckoning of the world." As it spoke, Aethra felt as if she were in a trance, compelled to stand in place until the dragon finished its speech. "Species hast feared me, banished me, forsaketh me, because I try to help. Thy pray for my death, thy pray to keep me out of existence. I always return, stronger, greater, more fearful than the last. I am the one thy beg to not see. I am the one who thy always avoid. . . . I am . . . your greatest temptation."

Aethra did not know what happened next. All she remembered was she opened her eyes, and was back in her home, lying on the ground - after the cloaked dragon's speech, all went black. She sat up, fear plastered on her face as she looked around the room - the other three were already awake.

"Aethra," Cuan said, "are you alright?"

She stared at him. " . . . Yeah. Just . . . a bad dream, nothing more." Then she noticed the bloody scars on her wings.

It did not take them long to gather every dragon in the cavern for the announcement. All whispered, asking what was going on, wondering why they were called here.

Before Aethra could speak, Nostradamus whispered in her ear: "Tell me something: Will this meet your expectations? Will all of this bring what you want? Is everything worth dying for at this point? Would you want to succeed in this plan? . . . Will you be happy with what you have done when all of this is over?"

"Every question that you have asked me, I will answer yes," Aethra said. "I've always wanted this, and now I have it. . . . This is for the greater good."

"The greater good of what?" Plato asked. "Our children? Our society? Our way of living? Would everyone here want this? Or do you want this?"

"Not you too." Aethra grimaced. "I wanted help from you two, and you will help me do this. I've come this far to make this possible . . . and I will not stop now. You cannot stop me either."

" . . . I only hope you know what you're doing here will benefit the way we will live for the rest of the coming years . . . ."

Aethra scoffed at him, then turned to the crowd. She took a deep breath, and began her speech: "All of you dragons here have dealt with one thing throughout your lives: Thrive in the darkness. I have seen you, observed your ways of life, and I can relate to all of it. We wake up in shadows. We squint our eyes to see our families, our friends, our children. You call this home, but you can not admit to yourselves that you do not love any of this - I know you never have. I know how all of you feel. . . . We see nothing but darkness . . . we feel nothing but empty . . . we taste nothing but the dust, and the cold air of the caves. Admit now that you do not appreciate your way of life, and want yourselves, and your children to age in a place where we can fly freely . . . where there is light.

" . . . I know of a place that can grant all of you the life you have always wanted. A place where we can spread our wings and fly across the entirety of the lands. Yes, you heard me correctly. These caves are not the world itself. Beyond the shadows . . . there is a world with light. A place that holds all the freedom you rightfully deserve. No more misery, no more sorrow. This world I have seen for myself, and it holds all the greatest gifts every one of you could ask for."

"Why should we trust you?" One dragon asked. "What makes you think there is a world above this? And what makes you think we can trust a dragon from the lowest caverns?"

" . . . Because I have seen it. I have seen light. I have seen hope for our future. Right now, it doesn't matter if you are a hybrid or not, we all want to see the light. Except . . . this place is inhabited by those that are smaller than us. While we live in darkness, they fatten themselves with their 'great' ways of life, and thrive with no worries of what lies below them. I am tired of living in shadows, I am tired of living in misery, I am tired of living in sorrow, and I am tired of living as if I am caged. The ones who live above us do not deserve that world so beautiful, and they never have.

"Do not worry, my friends. These creatures are weak, and they will fall at the slash of our claws, and burn upon our flames. Please, join me now, and together we will find the world that holds light, and for many years to come, we will thrive, we will fly, with no worries, with our own laws . . . and our own freedom."

The four dragons stood in silence, waiting for a response, an answer, an agreement. But nothing happened. No dragon stepped up, no dragon cheered, they only stared up at them like dragonets.

Then . . . one dragon roared at the top of his lungs. All heads turned their attention to a SandWing, looking right at Aethra. He roared again, and she realized, this scream was not that of hatred . . . but of consensus. Agreeing with what this SkyWing was saying, agreeing that their way of life right now was horrible, and wanted a better one. Another dragon roared, then another. Soon everyone was screaming up at Aethra, accepting her as their leader.

As Aethra held out her arms in pride; Nostradamus and Plato exchanged glances. They had thought this would not work, that no one would agree to what she was promising, that they would not believe her, because of how Aethra acted towards this, and how she was going to play this out. Her sanity was spiraling downwards into instability, and they both knew it.

"Aethra," Cuan said, and she turned towards him. " . . . What do you think you're doing?"

"What am I doing!?" Aethra said. "What I always wanted to do. To make things better. Can't you see that?"

"No, I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because this isn't like you."

"This has always been like me, Cuan. You only never saw the truth inside of me."

"You're not the only friend I had. You're not the Aethra I have known throughout our whole lives. Or did you only act that way? Did you only pretend to be my friend to gain my trust?"

"No, of course not."

"Then who are you? Who are you really? Who are you, Aethra?"

" . . . I am the leader of this Scorching."

" . . . Then you are not my friend. I'm sorry, Aethra, but I will not come with you."

"What? You want to stay here, in misery, in darkness for the rest of your life?"

"Yes . . . and it is better than seeing you beat yourself up to make this possible. It is better to live in darkness than to watch you cause another species to go extinct. If you live to grow old, and have taken the entirety of that world for your own greater good . . . remember the dragon, the SeaWing that you used to know as the only friend you ever had." Cuan turned his back. " . . . Or used to have."

Aethra watched him walk off. He didn't know what he was saying, she thought. He was only trying to convince her from deciding against this, to make her walk away from her dreams. This is happening, now.

She turned to the crowd. "Let the Scorching of the lower species begin."