Kinkajou's Fate
In Times of Blood, In Times of War.
Remember the Ones you Loved.
They Live in your Hearts, They Live in your Souls.
Fight With them, Fight For them.
The Way you Fight for Peace.
The forest was beautiful with the prettiest of sceneries. Miles of greenery along with flowers and colorful animals stretched on until the mountains. The grass covered every inch of the area until there was no sign of dirt. Clouds were off in the distance - dark clouds that would soon bring rain once they fly over the Rainforest Kingdom.
Hidden in the nature, Kinkajou the RainWing trotted happily in a circle, humming to herself, waiting for her friend Turtle to come by her side and take a walk with her. He had said he would catch up with her, that he needed to do something real quick. It had been a few minutes since he had said that, and the joyful smile on Kinkajou's face was starting to fade.
She let out a frustrated sigh. "Where is that silly SeaWing? Turtle! Where the heck are you? I'm ready to go on a walk that we supposedly agreed to go on . . . together . . . because you wanted to . . . because we're friends . . . remember?"
Kinkajou stared into the leaves and trees, trying to spot her friend. She squinted her eyes, but she could not see him.
"If you don't come in the next ten seconds, I'll leave." No reply, then she started counting. "Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . . seven, six, five, four . . . three two one!" Still nothing. "Aw, come on. Turtle, where are you?"
For a moment she thought about going to check up on him, to see what he was doing. But she thought against it, thinking about doing something else rather than waiting.
Maybe, Kinkajou thought to herself, I'll hide in the trees, and he'll come calling my name. She giggled. I'll jump out and surprise him, hee hee.
Kinkajou looked around with a sly grin. As quiet as she could, she leaped, took flight, and dove into the trees. She used the leaves to her advantage, and watched, waiting for Turtle to come walking out of the bushes. She camouflaged herself, but her wing flaps rustled the leaves. She thought that could spoil her hiding place, so she edged backwards, hitting her back against a branch. She yelped, then quickly covered her mouth. She looked around, then down to meet eyes with many others. The eyes were birds which were startled by the dragon's presence. They took flight, blinding Kinkajou, causing her to scream from the unexpected surprise.
In a panic, the RainWing lashed her claws but did not hit any of the birds. Instead, she hit a beehive, and almost instantly, the bees went frantic, attacking Kinkajou relentlessly. She screamed and tried to flap away, but the insects blinded her, causing her to ram into tree after tree. Her clumsiness had got her into this mess, she thought - if only she was more aware of her surroundings.
Leaves fell and birds took flight, chirping in a panic from the massive creature coming their way. Kinkajou lashed her claws and flapped her wings, trying to shake the bees off of her, but they continued to sting her body. At one point she did manage to get far enough away from their territory. When she looked up however, her face collided with a large tree branch. Kinkajou was thrusted backwards, causing her to flip multiple times in the air as she fell down into a large ditch. The last thing she saw before blacking out . . . was the rock she hit head on . . . .
The cold air had forced Kinkajou awake. She sat up, breathing heavily. She put her hand to her chest, feeling her heartbeat pound out of her ribcage. She stood up, examining her surroundings. It had been a few hours since she was knocked out, because the sky was completely dark. Kinkajou was confused. How long had she been here for? How long was she asleep?
She called out: "Hello? Turtle?"
He was the first dragon that came to her mind, considering he was the last person she saw before this happened. Kinkajou looked down at where she had landed, and saw dry blood on the large rock she had hit. That was when she felt something trickle down her face. When Kinkajou put her hand to her head, she noticed she was bleeding.
The young RainWing yelped at this realization, but she was not in pain, only a soreness in the side of her head. She decided to start walking, and try to find Turtle, or any dragon in the Rainforest Kingdom. It was not far from where she was, and that was another thing which confused her. Someone had to have seen her, someone had to have noticed her here, or heard her screaming - she thought this was an embarrassing situation because she was only trying to surprise her friend for making her wait so long. Even still, Turtle had to have come looking for her, he had to have wondered where she went. Standing there and contemplating would not help her in any way, so Kinkajou started walking.
The forest felt darker than it should be. Maybe this reasoning is because there was no moon . . . but why was there no moon? Kinkajou did not see any clouds. In fact, there was no sign of clouds in sight, not even stars. This was very strange. Was this happening because of her wound? Was it making her see things? If that was the case, she had to get to a healer. She knew this path, she knew almost every inch of the Rainforest Kingdom after she escaped from the NightWing Kingdom, and knew exactly where to go.
The cold air helped soothe her nerves, and tried to listen to the sounds of crickets chirping in the dead of night. But she couldn't . . . because there were no crickets chirping. Come to think of it, she had not seen any bugs, mosquitoes, nor fireflies in the air or on the ground. Maybe they were gone because it was nearing the cold season; yes that had to be the answer. That was another thing as well: It was only the middle of Fall, and even still, the air felt like Winter temperature. . . . Winter . . . .
"Is . . . anyone there?" Kinkajou called.
As she half expected, no response came. But there had to be someone out looking for their missing citizen. Glory wouldn't allow it . . . but she wasn't around anymore . . . . All of this was confusing, and hurt her head just trying to contemplate it all. Even thinking forced more blood to trickle down her face. Kinkajou wiped it off the best she could, but then stopped when she heard something off in the distance.
"Hello?" The young RainWing called out. "Is anyone there?" She listened a little more, then started walking towards the sound. "Can you help me? Are you from the Rainforest Kingdom?"
She did not receive a response, instead she heard humming. It was a tune which sounded humble, sad, but peaceful at the same time. Kinkajou carefully made her way through the bushes, and gasped when she saw who was singing. There, standing at the edge of a river, admiring herself in the reflection of the water, and the red jewel encrusted golden bracelets . . . was Queen Blaze.
No . . . this couldn't be possible. Kinkajou had heard Queen Blaze was murdered by Blister on the night of three full moons - two years ago. Kinkajou rubbed her eyes, thinking she was seeing things, that the wound on her head was messing with her sight. . . . But no . . . Blaze stood, alive and well.
All of a sudden, the queen turned, and met eyes with the RainWing. The SandWing looked startled and surprised - Kinkajou could not find any words to say.
The queen was silent for a moment, then said: " . . . Oh . . . I-I'm sorry . . . I thought I was the only dragon that was supposed to be here."
Kinkajou's eyes went wide with every word she heard. " . . . W-W- . . . WHAT!?"
"Goodness! Not so loud."
"How are you alive?"
"How am I . . . what?"
"You, were dead! I heard you were killed, by Blister! How are you here!? Is this some kind of Animus Magic? If so, I couldn't even believe it could do that! This is impossible! You were dead - at least, that's what I heard, and I know that to be very very true, yes that's right - but now you're here, and I'm not even sure if this is real, or if this is just a dream, or maybe I'm seeing things because I hit my head really hard on that rock back there." Kinkajou took a few breaths, tired of talking so fast.
Blaze only stared with a blank face. " . . . Um . . . little RainWing, I have no idea what you're talking about. I mean, I love that you have heard of me - I am very beautiful, aren't I - but, I have never seen you before in my life. Do I know you from somewhere? Maybe from my dragonethood, probably . . . ?"
"Listen, this is literally the first time I have ever seen you, and met you, and you're not even supposed to be here!"
"Not supposed to be here?" Blaze looked confused. " . . . That's not what Fate said."
" . . . Fate?"
"Yes, Fate. Don't you know him?"
"Fate . . . you mean, Fatespeaker?"
"Who?"
Kinkajou let out a frustrated sigh. "Fatespeaker. NightWing? Purple eyes? . . . Secretly worked for Blister?"
"Oh . . . I didn't know my sister had a spy. But, it's nice to know someone still remembers me."
"Remembers you!? Almost everyone in Pyrrhia knows you're dead."
"Oh yeah . . . right . . . . Well, I'm glad you know me, or at least heard about me, but really, you're not supposed to be here."
"Yes, I am well aware of that. I'm not even sure if I'm just seeing things because I hit my head, or if this is a dream, but either way, you're not supposed to be alive, the Rainforest Kingdom should be near here, and there should be little tiny bugs flying around, so I can know, this is reality."
" . . . Reality? Oh, I remember reality. I don't need to sound rude, little RainWing, but I don't like it when people mention I'm dead - it makes me feel bad . . . . But, again, you're not supposed to be here. Fate told me I should stay here to learn something. I'm not sure what, but, do you think my bracelets are too shiny, or not shiny enough?"
"This is ridiculous. Have you ever seen some houses anywhere at all around here? If you have, that is the Rainforest Kingdom, which is a sign that I'm not crazy, and that I'm not seeing things. And, whoever this Fate guy is, the only fate I know of, is the Prophecy."
"Oh yes! The Prophecy! Tell me, is that still going on?"
"Yes, and there's a bunch of stuff happening that I missed and should have seen with my friends, but I didn't because some big dumb NightWing knocked me out, and I was asleep for days - that's what Turtle told me."
"A NightWing hit you? Well, maybe that's how you . . . how you . . . ."
"How I what?"
"Nevermind - I don't like to talk about death . . . . If you want to talk to Fate, he should be around here somewhere. He usually wanders around the place, checking up on me and the others."
"Others?"
" . . . You haven't seen any other spirits? Maybe it happened to you earlier . . . ."
"What are you talking about? Actually, you know what? Nevermind! You're not supposed to be here, because you're dead, and I need to get back to the Rainforest Kingdom to get my head fixed, because I don't know if I'm seeing things, or this is actually real, and you're still alive somehow and someway, maybe it was that Darkstalker person, I don't know, I'm not sure, but either way, I need to get going, to get back home. Goodbye, see you later, possibly or probably never, but have a good, fictional day!" Kinkajou turned to leave, but spun back around, and asked: "What is your name?"
" . . . Uh . . . I am Queen Blaze."
"No you're not, you're a figment of my imagination." With that, the young RainWing turned to leave, and left for good.
"Oh, well . . . goodbye." Blaze awkwardly waved farewell, then returned to admiring herself in the reflection of the river.
Kinkajou speed walked through the bushes and shrubs, not believing what she had just witnessed, and told herself that what she did see was not real, only nonsense happening because of her head wound. As she walked farther into the forest however, the scenery seemed to get darker, to the point where Kinkajou had to squint her eyes to see what was in front of her. She jumped when she hit her foot against something, but realized it was only a rock. She giggled at her clumsiness, then continued on . . . and also continued to run into something every two seconds.
It seemed at every step she took, Kinkajou always walked into something, causing her to jump, yelp, or growl in frustration. She had run into so many things constantly, that she lashed at the next tree she stepped into, and hurt her claw in the process. She shook her hand, trying to make the pain go away, but that was when she heard rustling in the bushes.
Kinkajou's hopes perked up, and she called out: "Hello? Is anyone there? I need to get back to the Rainforest Kingdom. Are you a RainWing? Hello?"
A moment later she didn't see anyone - she only heard someone stepping on leaves. A silhouette formed in her vision. Kinkajou was about to call out again, but stopped herself. The figure walking straight towards her was huge, almost as big as the trees themselves. Fear ran up the RainWing's spine as she stepped back, shivering in horror at the figure towering over her. It came closer until it was standing right in front of her. Kinkajou knelt down, covered her head with her hands and wings, and screamed.
She awaited the worst, but nothing happened. Kinkajou opened one eye, then the other, and looked up at the figure standing above her. It was in fact another dragon, a NightWing to be exact. At first, she thought it was Darkstalker, but when she came to a realization, Kinkajou yet again couldn't believe her eyes. The dragon towering above her . . . was Morrowseer.
The NightWing stared down at her, then scoffed. " . . . I wasn't able to defeat you and your friends, but here you are, wandering through the shadows as well? What did you do to end up here?"
" . . . M-M-Morrowseer," Kinkajou whimpered, " . . . I-I thought w-we . . . ."
"Killed me? You thought I was dead when your RainWing friend decided to follow you, and take down my legacy. I remember your IceWing friend fought well, along with that traitor who calls himself an assassin, and your 'queen' who was not fit to be a Dragonet of Destiny."
"We watched you die. How are you here?"
" . . . Death. That was my passage to this place. . . . How did you come across this land? Had anyone seen you perish? . . . Or did you die alone?"
Kinkajou's fear was replaced with confusion. " . . . Died alone? What are you talking about?"
"You do not know the truth of this place? Did you think there was something wrong? As if everything had stopped at once, then nothing, and ended up here? . . . That's the feeling of death. That's the feeling you have, when you know you can't feel anything, and yet the only thing you can feel . . . is yourself, slipping away from life . . . into a new reality that exists and does not. That, young RainWing . . . is called . . . Fate."
"Fate. You say that as if it is a person."
"You seem to have not met him yet."
"Why do you say Fate is a person? He, or, whatever you're referring to, is not real, because I don't believe you, because you're supposed to be dead."
"I, am."
"Then why are you here, huh?"
"Because this is where all dragons go when they die . . . that is what Fate told me. I used to think Fate is something people say, something that resembles hope somehow, that it decides how someone will die. . . . I was half right. Fate is a sign of a dragon's life, a book written about their entire history, what they will do, how they will react to the thing they do, what their purpose is . . . and, yes, how they will die."
"That's nonsense. I watched you die, you were killed by Deathbringer, thrown into the lava."
"You think that was entertaining, wasn't it. Well, you are young . . . but you will learn what it means to die - that is, if you accept that you are dead. You were not given time to appreciate life; you saw it as a toy, and you played with it. You underestimated its importance, and you took that as an advantage. You cheated it, you doubted it, you wronged it, and I only needed to study your behavior just to come to that conclusion. You learn a lot as you grow older . . . sadly, you did not. I almost feel sorry for you. If you did take time to appreciate life, you would have savored its moments, used its time to become your own dragon, to have your own destiny. . . . Instead you did not . . . and it seems you ended up here. . . . It is somewhat amusing . . . if you think about it."
"Amusing!? I think it was more amusing to watch you die. You forced the Dragonets to do whatever you wanted them to do, you treated them like trash, and you nearly killed me and my friends the day you died."
"There you go, appreciating death as if you control it, as if it is a miracle. Mark my words, young RainWing, you will soon find yourself in that same situation everyone here has been in, and they will be the ones laughing in your face. Fate has come to you . . . he just needs to find you."
"There you go, talking about Fate as if it is a person."
"I do not have any more time for this, RainWing, there is something I need to find and I do not wish to fall before the Lord of Flies."
Morrowseer walked off, stomping past Kinkajou, who shouted back: "Yeah, go on, wander around like a big dumb idiot. What are you even looking for anyway?"
The NightWing stopped. He lowered his head - sadness seemed to lift off his body, and poison the air. " . . . Something my mother gave to me . . . ." He walked off, disappearing into the shadows.
Kinkajou could not believe anything she had just heard. Something his mother gave him? Was he actually expressing his feelings? For a NightWing like Morrowseer, that was definitely strange. Kinkajou was really confused at this point, walking off, trying to find her way to the Rainforest Kingdom. All the while, she told herself that if she came across any more dragons she knew, or heard of, and should be dead, she would ignore them, thinking she was seeing things because of her head wound.
After a long while of walking, she finally did come across a part of the forest that was familiar to her. The ground was softer, and there were rocks on either side. This was a path, and Kinkajou remembered she helped a few other RainWings place them here, to help other dragons find their way . . . to the Rainforest Kingdom! Joy overcame Kinkajou, and she skipped down the path. Soon enough, she found herself in the Rainforest Kingdom. The place was much darker than usual, mainly because there were no lanterns lit, but it was very late, and Kinkajou decided to surprise Turtle in the morning to show she had returned.
As she was searching for a place to sleep, a sudden noise to that of something falling and smashing on the ground caught her attention, followed by a grunt. It came from the hut where the throne room was. Kinkajou examined the darkened structure, and saw something move inside. It was a dragon - maybe it was Deathbringer getting out of bed to find a snack or something. But then Kinkajou noticed another figure behind the other, and thought that it was an intruder.
Upon seeing this, she instantly reacted, wondering why someone would dare go into Glory's home after she . . . passed. Kinkajou charged, planning to tackle the intruder for breaking into her friend's home. She burst through the door, surprising the intruder, and through the darkness . . . Kinkajou almost lost her footing. Tears formed in her eyes.
. . . There was Glory. She looked surprised to see her friend, wondering why and how she was here. Kinkajou thought this was just another image formed because of her injury . . . but she could not find anything to convince herself that this was fake.
" . . . K-Kinkajou," she heard Glory say. " . . . W-What are you doing here?"
" . . . Y-You're dead," Kinkajou managed to say through tear filled eyes.
" . . . I know . . . I'm sorry."
"HOW ARE YOU HERE? What is going on?"
"Kinkajou, listen, I can try to explain the best I can."
"Explain!? You were dead. I saw your grave. . . . I don't understand."
"I know, I know, but listen, please."
"Who are you? What are you doing here? What have you done to my friend?"
"Kinkajou!" Now tears were forming in Glory's eyes. "It took me a while to understand what is going on as well, but . . . wait . . . why are you here? Did you- . . . oh, no . . . ."
"What? 'Oh no?' What do you mean 'oh no?' Who are you? Where am I?"
Just then, something came up behind Kinkajou. She turned around, fell to the floor, and screamed as soon as a dark figure formed in front of her.
"Aah . . . could you please not scream? My head already hurts from all these noises."
Kinkajou removed her arm from her face. " . . . What!?"
It was Magnificent, the dragon who Glory challenged for the throne. But this was impossible. She died during the competition.
"Oh, right," Magnificent said, "I remember you . . . but do you remember throwing that apple at my face, and smashed when it hit me, and that is why I banished you from the kingdom?"
" . . . How . . . how is this happening?" Kinkajou spun around, facing Glory. "You're dead," she faced Magnificent, "and you're dead, but both of you are here . . . what is going on?" She fell to the floor, clutching her head, breathing heavily, stress plaguing her mind.
Glory gazed down at the young RainWing, then gently placed a hand on her shoulder, saying: " . . . Kinkajou, listen . . . I'm so sorry we're meeting like this, but . . . this place, isn't a part of our world. I mean, it looks like it, I know, but . . . it's not."
The young RainWing looked up at her, face covered in tears, sadness, and anger. "W-What are you even talking about?"
"Kinkajou, what I'm saying is - and you don't have to believe me - we're . . . dead. I mean, we are, but . . . this is the place where everyone goes when they . . . die. Me and Magnificent, we're here because a dragon named Fate told us to come here to find something. We're both here for our own purposes, and, our purpose is to find something that is supposed to help us realize something, so we can get to a better place than this - at least, that is what he told me. I haven't found it yet, but . . . I have hopes I will go to that better place."
" . . . Better place?" Kinkajou stood up. "What kind of place does this compare to anywhere else? I've been wandering around, trying to get back home, only to find dragons that are supposed to be dead. Blaze, Morrowseer . . . now you."
"You saw Queen Blaze and that NightWing Morrowseer?" Magnificent asked. "Interesting. I wonder why they would be in this kind of area?"
"You are. Why are you two here? How are you here? Can't someone answer that question reasonably?"
"Kinkajou," said Glory, "I've already told you. This is the place where everyone goes when they die. That dragon, Fate, told me and Magnificent that if we find the thing we are supposed to be looking for, then we will be able to go to a better place."
"The sound of that makes all of this worthwhile," said Magnificent, "and, honestly, I'd rather be anywhere than here right now."
"Remember, Magnificent, if Fate told us we are supposed to be here for a purpose, then it has to have something to do when we were alive."
"When you were . . . alive?" Kinkajou asked, her face still red from crying.
"That's what I told you, Kinkajou. We're here because we are dead . . . and that means . . . ." Glory trailed off, staring at the RainWing before her with sorrow and fear.
" . . . Wait. What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Kinkajou . . . did, something happen to you? Did you . . . black out, maybe? Then you . . . ended up here?"
"Uh . . . I was, hiding in the trees, but I ran into a beehive. I tried to get away from them, but I . . . ran into a tree, and, fell down into a ditch, and . . . hit my head really hard."
The once RainWing Queen stared at her, then noticed the blood on her head. She put her hand to her mouth, and took a step back, tears beginning to fall.
"What?" Kinkajou asked. "What's wrong?"
"Oh, dear, young RainWing," Magnificent said, "I know I have not been the best of queens, or kind to you, and the other residents, but . . . I am very sorry."
"What do you mean by that? What is she talking about, Glory?"
Glory removed her hand from her mouth, stared at it, then at her friend, and said: " . . . Kinkajou . . . if you are here . . . then . . . y-you are . . . dead."
The young RainWing gazed at her, then at Magnificent, thinking about what she had just heard . . . then started to laugh sarcastically. She was dead? This is the place where everyone goes when they die? That was complete nonsense! She stopped laughing, then looked at the dragons standing before her, and saw their expressions had not changed.
"Oh come on," she said. "This isn't real. The only thing that I can come up with that sounds logical, is that this is a dream."
" . . . This isn't a dream, Kinkajou," said Glory, sorrowfully, " . . . we are dead."
"I don't believe you."
"Please, young RainWing," said Magnificent, "do not insult us - Fate does not like that."
"Yeah, and that's another thing," Kinkajou snapped. "This Fate, whoever he is, can not, under any circumstances, possibly be real. 'Fate' is only a thing dragons come up with so they can sound important. But I know what is going on here: This place is not real, it only feels real because I think it is. I will wake up soon enough, to find that none of this is real, then tell everyone about it, and think it is completely crazy, and chop it up to say: 'It was just a dream Kinkajou, you don't need to know about dead stuff and all that.'"
"I do not like being told I am dead," said Magnificent, "neither does Fate."
"Yeah, Fate, who in all of Pyrrhia is Fate? Is he some kind of dragon? Is he the one keeping you here? Who is this guy?"
"He is the person who watches over us," answered Glory, "and tells us what we need to do to get to the better place; instead of being in this darkness."
"Whoever he is, I will never believe I am dead, because none of that talk, and none of all of this can be real." Kinkajou stomped towards the door, but not before saying: "Goodbye figments. Whatever you are, I hope we never meet again."
" . . . Okay," said Glory. "But, before you go . . . please take notice of how important a life is . . . and I hope you cherished it."
"Oh yeah, I certainly did."
With that, Kinkajou walked out of the hut, leaving Magnificent to skulk in memories of her past . . . and Glory, who stared at the throne, remembering all the moments she had with her friends . . . .
Kinkajou stomped through the grass, past the darkened huts, through the pitch of midnight, and out of the Rainforest Kingdom, tears streaming down her face as she did. This couldn't be happening, this couldn't be real. How was this happening? What explanation was there that could explain all of these occurrences? Blaze alive and well? Morrowseer still walking on even after he was burned and melted alive in lava? Magnificent back from the dead? And Glory . . . risen from the grave to tell her that both of them were dead? That didn't make any sense whatsoever, and even if it was real . . . well, Kinkajou didn't know what to say if it did turn out to be real. She didn't even think there was a life after death . . . only nothing.
She rubbed her eyes, and the temperature suddenly dropped dramatically . . . then she saw something in the trees. They looked to be figures, white, luminescent figures, then more came. Kinkajou looked around and watched as dragons from every breed flew right past her, not even looking at her as they glided inches above the ground. Kinkajou stopped and stared. She couldn't believe her eyes. What were these things? What were they doing here? Where did they come from? She watched them all stroll past, then as suddenly as they appeared, they disappeared into the shadows in front of her, laughing joyously as they did so.
After witnessing this, Kinkajou thought she should be more than afraid of those things. Somehow she wasn't, and instead thought it was the most sad, and beautiful thing she had ever seen, and began to cry.
"Aah . . . there you are! It's Kinkajou, I presume?"
Kinkajou stood in silence for a moment, reciting the words she had just heard in her ears. She slowly turned around, and let out a small gasp. There stood a dragon - he was a foot taller than her; his scales were dark blue; wore a gray cloak along with a hood; in his right hand held a staff with what appeared to be a glowing white jewel at the top.
"I've been looking for you for a while now, Kinkajou," the dragon said. "You shouldn't have to run away from me, I'm not going to do anything to you. . . . I wish you hadn't encountered those other dragons. . . . It makes people feel scared . . . and untrustworthy of others. Especially towards me, because I am supposed to be the dragon who is trying to help you."
" . . . H-Help me?" Kinkajou asked nervously. She stared at the dragon, thinking she might consider him to be a threat, but found no reason to see him as one.
"Yes. It is alright to be afraid - I have dealt with that before - but, everyone soon understands once I explain everything to them."
"What are you talking about?"
"What I am saying is: Kinkajou, I know everything about you, and I know all of this is very hard to believe, but, you must try to trust me. It is the only way out of here. That is, if you want to leave this place. Some dragons do, but . . . it always serves them so much better if they reach that better place. It's full of light, joy, and peace."
"Better place? Better than this? . . . W-Who are you?"
"Kinkajou the RainWing . . . my name is Fate."
The young RainWing's eyes went wide. " . . . Y-You . . . you are the dragon everyone here keeps talking about. Th-They say you tell them to do things. To go find something to help them get to the . . . better place - whatever it is. They say you try to help them, and they told me you can help me as well . . . and find out what exactly is going on."
"That is correct, Kinkajou, I do tell dragons to go somewhere so they can help themselves realize a purpose." Fate looked out at the forest and sighed. " . . . I just wish this place wasn't so gloomy. It always makes me and others feel . . . alone."
"What kind of purpose are dragons supposed to find?"
"The purpose for a life. In this case, your's. I look forward to helping you get to the better place like all those dragons have achieved."
"Wait . . . those dragons I just saw. They were . . . going somewhere?"
"Yes. They have found their purpose, and are on their way to that better place as we speak. They are probably traveling across the world, to give them a chance to see what their life was like when they were alive, and to also see what the world looks like when they leave."
"Leave?"
"To the better place, of course. . . . It makes me terribly saddened that a lot of dragons take so long to find their purpose. Some never do . . . and they go somewhere else."
"Somewhere . . . else?"
"You don't want to know what that place is. Let's just say . . . there is nothing there."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing but fire, that is. That is besides the point. You, Kinkajou, must begin to find your purpose in life, show it to me, and if I approve of it, then you may pass into the better place."
"What is this 'better place?'"
"Your soul must be perfectly cleaned to know that name. But, I personally prefer to call it: The Land of Tranquility."
"What is in that place?"
"Only the greatest kind of peace one could ever want, or ask for. Except, you don't believe in that, do you, Kinkajou?"
"What?"
"You're too young to understand it, and I am afraid it will take you longer to find your purpose."
"What are you talking about? What do you mean I don't believe in any of . . . whatever that is?"
"Throughout the entire time you have been here, you have rejected all the spirit's existence, and refuse to think that you are a part of this place as well."
"A part of this place?"
"Your friend, Glory, told you this is where everyone goes to when they die. That is what you refuse to believe in. You reject the fact that you are dead."
Kinkajou stared at him for a moment, then made a sarcastic grin. "Yeah, Fate, you're right. I don't believe in any of this. In fact, I don't believe in anything you say, because none of this is real, and everything you say is either a lie, or just something to mess with me. What are you anyway? Some kind of SeaWing NightWing hybrid?"
"I am neither breed of dragon from your species because I am not from that world."
"Oh yeah? Well where do you come from then? The sky?"
"You could say that I come from the Land of Tranquility, sent here to watch over these souls, make sure their souls are clean enough, then send them on their way to the Land of Tranquility. They not only must find the purpose of their lives, but they also must find a redemption to help them forgive others, and themselves. . . . You don't think that is real, do you?"
"That's right! I do not, because-"
"Because this is a dream you are having after hitting your head on that rock. That is right, that is what you believe . . . but you must believe the truth in order for you to accept life."
"Accept life!? The only life I accepted was my own, because it is the only thing that is real, and it is the only greatest important thing I own. That's what you think, isn't it?"
"Yes, but you never took the time to appreciate it, because you never acknowledged it, and you never thanked how beautiful, and precious it was. You always say your soul is more important than anything you could ever have, but you never give meaning to your own phrase."
"I just say that to make other dragons feel good."
"And that is a good thing, yet you never listen to your own advice."
"Advice? The only 'advice' that I have been given was to not die when I was very young."
"You were never disciplined either. You always made your own rules, did whatever you wanted, and believed whatever you wanted to believe. Now I will give you something to believe . . . and it is a truth you refused to think was real ever since you got here. But first I must give you warning: Take care in what you have. . . . For what you are about to see will make you think twice about your actions."
Fate raised his staff high above his head. The jewel started to glow, and he pounded it against the ground. Kinkajou's eyesight was blinded by a bright, white light. When she opened them again . . . she couldn't have felt more dread. They were at the same ditch Kinkajou was when she fell and hit her head on that rock . . . and she was still there. What Kinkajou was looking at was her body, down in the ditch, motionless and bleeding from the head. This was real . . . all of this was real, she now realized. Blaze, Morrowseer, Magnificent, and Glory, they were real . . . they were dead . . . and so was she.
"I went to this same place when I heard someone enter this realm," said Fate. "I knew this would happen, and it happened abruptly . . . but sadly . . . it had to come sooner or later."
Kinkajou stared into the ditch, tears piling up in her eyes. She was dead, gone from the real Pyrrhia, and now . . . she had become somewhat of a spirit.
Then she remembered what Fate had said a second ago: " . . . What do you mean it was coming sooner or later?"
Fate looked at her, sorrow and guilt on his face as he spoke: " . . . When Darkstalker rose, I knew that world wasn't fit for a dragon like you. You were made to be careless, joyful, a light in that depression, a sign of hope, a signal to let everyone know there is still happiness in the world. But, when you had woken up from your long sleep, your friend, Turtle, encountered something."
"Encountered what?"
"Remember you asked me about another world besides this one, and I told you that world only has fire? . . . The ruler of that world is beginning to rise once again, and it plans to take over all of Pyrrhia by forcing your friend, and all of the other remaining Animus dragons to enchant the three moons to crash down, killing everyone and everything . . . and bring its own light to create its own world."
"Its own world? What are you talking about? What kind of thing is that?"
"A Master of Fire, the Commander of Wickedness, the Harvester of Sin, and sin has happened so many times in the real world, the creature now has the power to take that world."
"Then why can't you send me back there? You watch over all the souls that live here, can't you help them get back to Pyrrhia?"
"I can't."
"Why not?"
The dragon hesitated, looking at his staff, then out at the darkness, then back at Kinkajou. " . . . Do you know why I am called Fate?"
"No? Why?"
" . . . Because I command it to happen to everyone on the continents."
Kinkajou stared at him for a moment . . . then understood what he was saying. " . . . No . . . you, let me . . . ."
"I made sure the Dragonets of Destiny were hatched, I predicted the Second Coming of Darkstalker, and I made sure Moonwatcher met all of the dragons needed to fight against the one who wishes to change the world in his own way. The dragons are hatched, and I decide what kind of person they would become. I do not control their actions, but I can see their future, and I do my best to make it so. But, sometimes, no matter what I do, a dragon cannot be changed, can never be moved, and can never turn to the side of good. They fall, they lie, and they become horrible souls. Which is why I try to bring good into the world, by having dragons meet other dragons. They become friends and allies, and they do their best to fight that evil. They make their own choices, and I have to choose the best path for their lives to go, in order to keep that world alive for as long as possible."
"As long as possible?"
"If it dies, then there will be nothing left to fight for. The entire universe will be put in darkness, and everything will die. It is my duty to keep that from ever happening. I can see the future, but it is my task to make it bright, or else it will be engulfed with death and destruction. It is also possible for me to decide the outcome of the inhabitants of the future, but I must use very much of my power to do so. Right now, the future is dark, and if things do not change, then it will stay that way forever. As I have said, I do not control their actions. I only do something for their lives to go in one direction, then everyone decides what they will become. They make their own choices, their own decisions, and if something goes wrong, I must do my best to change that outcome."
"But what about my life? You decide how they should live and what is best for everyone, and you said it yourself that I would be a sign of hope in the world when everything goes dark. Why did you let me die?"
"I had no other choice. The Ruler of Wickedness interferes with my workings, and when it does, it is critical for me to decide what outcome should occur for someone to stop that creature, and banish it from the world. Your friend, Turtle, told you to go, and to wait for him, because he heard something. He heard his own name, and that was when he met the Harvester of Sin. If you encountered that creature, you would have been sent to a place worse than here, the opposite of the Land of Tranquility, and your existence would not matter. I couldn't find any other way to change that outcome." Fate hesitated, looking at the ground. " . . . I did what had to be done."
" . . . So that's it? I was going to meet a dragon that conjures up wickedness, and be tortured for the rest of my life?"
"You wouldn't have a life if you encountered that thing."
"I could have saved my friend. You said we all make our own decisions, our own choices. I could have made a difference. I could have stopped that monster, whatever it is that makes things so bad, I could have killed that thing, and saved everyone."
"No, you do not know how powerful that creature is - nothing would have changed. It would kill you, and there would be absolutely nothing you could do to prevent it."
"What about my friends? What about my family? I never knew my father, I never knew my mother, I never knew who brought my egg to the Rainforest Kingdom. The only people I ever knew, and ever cared about, were my friends. I have nothing, and without them . . . what kind of purpose do I have? . . . Why was I hatched?" Kinkajou's eyes began to tear up. She turned, and started to walk off.
"I made it so your parents would have an egg," Fate said, walking after her, "a dragonet they never knew, but it was their decision to leave you behind in the care of the queen. A queen who only cared about herself, a queen who was selfish, narcissistic, and could care less about anything, but you would be safe."
Kinkajou spun around. "From what?"
"Remember, during the War of SandWing Succession, NightWings were kidnapping RainWings from their own home. Five of them were after your parents, ready to bring them back to their kingdom to run whatever tests the NightWings wanted to use on them. That was around the time when your mother had your egg. The only thing she could do to protect you . . . was leave you at the doorstep of the queen's throne. It wasn't my doing. They gave up their life to let you live, and they died for you. That is why you should cherish your life, because you do not know how many people in the world care about you, and that is the strongest thing in the world that can save everyone."
"Strongest thing?"
Kinkajou stared at him, then at the ground . . . then at herself. She remembered the day she was hatched, the dragon that forced herself to take care of her, who let the NightWings kidnap her without any care when she was three years old. She had never known anyone from her family, nor did she ever have someone to care for her, to take her in as their own. A child without parents, a dragonet seen as nothing, a RainWing everyone could care less about. But her friends . . . they made everything better.
Her friends were her family, they were the ones who took care of her, and the first dragon she ever met who was willing to help her . . . Glory. She made an impact on her life, helped her see hope in the world . . . and Kinkajou helped share that peace with her friends. Could that be her purpose, she wondered? Was that the reason why she was hatched? Was that the mark she had to leave on the earth as a Dragonet of Destiny?
The young RainWing turned to the dragon standing before her, and asked: " . . . How many bad things are happening in the world right now?"
"Far too many," Fate replied sadly. "I fear that wickedness would continue to reign, which is why I made sure the Prophecy would happen, or else everyone would be damned."
Kinkajou thought about this for a moment . . . then came to a conclusion: "Well . . . I guess that is one thing that makes the world worth fighting for. The Prophecy, either its fake or not, it teaches us something most of us don't see. It brings out the goodness in us. Some dragons say we are weak, that we are not like we used to be, but that's not what others want their friends or family to see them as. We want to see ourselves as the dragons we want to be, as the dragon we want to grow up to become. Some of us do our best to make that happen, and others try so hard it tears themselves apart. Like you said, it is their own actions which make them who they are, and it is up to you to make sure they follow that path.
"Whatever path we take, whether it brings good or bad outcomes, we all should try our best to make our own mark on the world. In death . . . and in life. We have to do our own duty, to bring light, to bring hope . . . to bring peace between all tribes, even all species in the world. We can thrive together, we can live together, we can fight together. It is our responsibility to make it so . . . as a Dragonet of Destiny!"
Fate could not make a smile any bigger, and warmer. "Young Kinkajou . . . you have truly touched my heart with your words. You see a future other dragons can look forward to. A life full of peace, light, and hope for all. I think, if everyone can realize what you have said to me . . . then there will finally be true peace between all species."
Kinkajou smiled. "D-Do you really think so?"
"Of course. You have found what you needed to show me, and you have recognized your purpose." Fate lifted his staff, pressing it against her head. "Kinkajou the RainWing, I, Fate, bringer of a dragon's life and death . . . give you permission to pass on to the Land of Tranquility."
Kinkajou looked up at him in the eyes, and he smiled back. She could have never felt so happy in her life. Tears of joy fell down her face . . . but then she remembered her friends. They will be wondering where she was, and when they do find her . . . .
"Fate?" She asked. "What about my friends? What will they do when they find me?"
" . . . They will be sad," Fate replied, " . . . but past their grieving . . . they will too recognize the hope you have left for them. It is something no one would ever forget."
Kinkajou suddenly felt something inside her. Her body started to glow, and heard some kind of music behind her. It was a gentle tune that was not happy, yet brought her a strong emotion of peace. She looked behind her . . . and saw the light ahead. She looked back at Fate and smiled.
"Goodbye, Kinkajou," said Fate. "May your soul travel happily to the Land of Tranquility."
Kinkajou waved goodbye, and floated into the light. She closed her eyes and smiled, saying: " . . . I will, Fate . . . I will . . . ."
