Hello again all. Back here with my next update. This certainly took longer than I originally though, but I suppose it's because I've now gone completely off the original script. It suddenly hits you how hard it is to figure out where you want to go with the story once you stop following the original. But, I hope that what I've made so far can keep up with what I've written before. It's weird that a majority of my chapters end up as set up for what I have planned as the big confrontation between The Dragonets and Morrowseer, but I'll get there eventually, I promise. I am not giving up on this fanfic, and I will keep writing chapters, no matter how long it takes me to actually put them out. But for now, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

I do not own Wings of fire.

"Normal speech"

"Thoughts"

"?"

Sunny Flew as hard as she could to catch up to Clay and the others, but her body was considerably smaller than the others. She panted as she pushed herself to catch up, but Clay was already flying twice as hard as she was. She was beating her wings as hard as she could, but she just couldn't keep up. Even yelling a "Oh come on!" As Starflight passed her.

They all flew after the dark figure of Morrowseer in the distance, heading towards What they knew to be Jade mountain. She tried to remember what Starflight had read to her about the mountain. It was the biggest mountain in Pyrrhia and had an absolute maze of tunnels inside it's rocky interior. It hit her then that she remembered Kestrel's last words to her. "When you finally figure out that you have no idea what you're doing, seek out the dragon within Jade mountain."

Sunny frowned, a small tear coming to her eye as she remembered her late guardian. Kestrel wasn't the nicest, but she still raised them all, and was their combat teacher. They most likely wouldn't have survived this long without her.

She then remembered that now was not the time to linger. One of her friends was in danger, and she would help save her.

Wither sat in an endless void of darkness in his dreams, groaning softly as he pushed himself up. "... What is this place? I remember the island... evacuating and... Morrowseer!" He growled out the name in anger and frustration. Every chance he gave that dragon to change was thrown away. If Morrowseer hurt Moonwatcher, he would kill the false prophet himself.

A raspy laugh rang out around him, echoing from all directions. "You're finally starting to adapt to the correct way of thinking. It's about time. These worthless worms aren't worth the trouble of caring or giving redemption."

Wither stood still, freezing in place as he darted his eyes. "... You again... who are you!? How are you in my dreams!?"

The cackle came again, before two eyes opened in the darkness, staring at him. Two blood red eyes that glowed lightly in the darkness, with an effect of being sucked into the reptilian pupils that were staring at Wither with a look of amusement. If Wither had to describe it, the eyes were like a sea of blood flowing into an endless void. "Oh, Wither. You still haven't figured it out... Well, I'll tell you who I am when you actually earn it. But... I suppose you've earned a hint." A dark smile of glittering sharp dragon teeth split open the darkness below the eyes. "I know everything about you. Your past. Your origin. Everything to the littlest detail."

The smile grew wider as the figure chuckled at Wither's look of defiance. "Ah, such a fierce protection you show for those little worms... too bad you know as well as I do, that they will die long before you ever get the chance to. After all,... Consuming the lifeforce of the entire Deathwing tribe made you the definition of immortal."

Wither's blood ran cold, flashes running through his head as he remembered the first day when everything went wrong. Himself, a three year old dragonet, at the center of the ruins of the Deathwing tribe village. "... That... Was an accident..."

A bark of laughter erupted as the shadowed face laughed cruelly. "Oh yes. I know. You didn't mean to kill every single dragon you ever knew, including your own parents... But the fact remains is that you did it. You are just as much their murderer, even if you didn't mean to. Their blood is forever on your talons... oh, wait. They didn't shed any blood, did they? They just... Withered away?" The grin came back, wider than ever before as he chuckled. "Such an appropriate name for the dragon who wiped out an entire tribe, erasing their very existence from history."

Wither snarled, before shouting. "What do you want from me!?"

The grin in the darkness fell, before speaking as the eyes narrowed. "You will find out soon enough, I think. I've been waiting so long to be able to speak to you... And only recently has my voice been getting through... But what I want... I want to end all of your pain." He then looked up, seeing the darkness start to fade into white. "Ah. Seems you're waking up... Don't worry. We will speak again... Very soon."

The thing in the shadows grinned again, before fading away as Wither shot up from his position on the forest floor, immediately regretting it as his muscles protested against the movement. Glory jolted from her spot next to him as he suddenly shot up, before hearing him groan as he fell straight back down. "Wither. Are you alright?"

The stone scaled dragon shook his head, before growling as he tried to force himself up. "Moonwatcher is in danger. They all are... Morrowseer has nothing left to lose... He'll kill them if I don't get up."

Glory put a claw on his shoulder, making his legs fail. "You need to rest... You did come back from having half your skin seared off less than an hour ago."

He panted as his tired body conceded defeat to her logic, giving her a mock glare. "... Is it bad to say I preferred it when you weren't a queen yet instead of now?"

Glory gave him a mock glare. "And I preferred it when you were missing, so there."

He gave a weak grin, before frowning. "I'm... sorry, Glory. I just... I..." He grimaced as he whispered, just barely loud enough that she could hear it. "... I can't be helpless like this... Not again..."

Glory frowned, before sitting next to him, giving him a look of curiosity. "What do you mean by that?"

Wither paused, before slowly pushing himself up to sit while not having to exert himself, his expression full of regret and sorrow. "... I think It's time I tell you... I told you before that the Deathwings were destroyed in a terrible tragedy."

He looked into her eyes, tears streaming down his face, his voice barely above a whisper "What I didn't tell you and your friends... Was that it was my fault. The entire Deathwing Tribe... I killed them all."

Moonwatcher could honestly say that she had never been more terrified in her life than this moment here and now. Her wings were pinned to her back, preventing her from being able to fly, and Morrowseer's claws threatened to stab into her if she moved even the slightest bit. She could hear his thoughts, and they just served to make her even more terrified. "Worthless dragonets, worthless Worms and Worthless Dragons! Can't they all see that it's all a lie!? I'm the only one that can lead them to the glory we deserve! I'm the one who deserves such power! Bah! If I can't use them, then I'll get rid of them! I'll have them watch as I gouge out the Mudwing's eyes first, then perhaps tear off the Seawing's tail! I'll skin them alive and make them suffer for humiliating me!"

Moonwatcher kept quiet as they flew closer towards the mountain, trembling in fear. "What do I do? If I do anything... He'll kill me... I don't want to die." She tried to think of a way out, helplessly watching the biggest mountain she had ever seen come closer and closer. She had heard about Jade mountain from her mother. The largest mountain in the world and made up of dozens of tunnels that lead into a huge maze, not unlike how the Nightwing palace was. She shivered, realizing that If Morrowseer did get her inside, He would win, and she would be at his mercy. She had to do something.

The mountain grew closer, an opening into a dark tunnel steadily getting bigger. She knew she had to act now. But what could she do? For all her powers, she couldn't do anything... unless... She remembered the sensation of How Wither had blocked off his mind from her. If others can interact with her mind reading... Maybe she could reverse it. Force her own thoughts into another dragon's head. It was worth a try. She closed her eyes, focusing on Morrowseer's mind, shuddering at how dark and malicious it felt, before forcing her mind to scream as loudly as she could.

Morrowseer roared in pain as a sharp, mind numbing headache shot through his skull, disorienting him as he approached the cave, before hearing a loud crack ring out, and falling to his side as he landed in pain, losing his grip on Moonwatcher. Moonwatcher yelped as she was thrown onto the ground from the momentum, sliding as she used her talons to try and protect herself. She scrabbled to right herself up, before realizing what had happened. Her scream within his mind had caused Morrowseer to not realize that he hadn't slowed down, and now... The Nightwing prophet was getting back to his feet, his eyes landing on his left wing, which was mangled and broken in several places as it had smashed into the side of the cave's entrance at full speed.

Morrowseer shook, not in pain, but in fury. Moonwatcher could feel the waves of anger and hatred radiating off of him as his glare slowly moved from his broken wing to Moonwatcher. She trembled in fear, before turning around and running as fast as she could into the tunnels. Morrowseer roared after her as he charged, trying to ignore the pain in his wing. "Get back here you worthless worm!" His talon caught her tail, dragging her back as his claws pierced into her scales, causing her to cry out in pain. She tried to claw at the ground, but the rock was too smooth for any purchase. She trembled, knowing she was about to be killed.

His talons scraped against hers, going towards her neck, before a bronze figure slammed into Morrowseer's side. Morrowseer roared in anger as he lost his grip, Clay using his momentum to shove the nightwing prophet into the side of the mountain. Clay shouted at Moonwatcher. "Run!" Clay slammed his talons into Morrowseer again, Who roared in pain as his broken wing was put between himself and the mountain.

Moonwatcher froze, not sure what to do. She wanted to run, but how could she abandon Clay? But then another figure landed, helping Clay push Morrowseer against the rocks. Tsunami's scales glittered in the sun as she growled. "Not so fun when you're the one taking the hits, huh Morrowseer? This is payback for everything you put us through!"

Morrowseer roared, before more bodies came slamming into him, making him nearly pass out from the pain of his broken wing being crushed beneath his own weight. "Get off me you little-!" A talon clawed him across the face, Ochre glaring at him with his one good eye as he roared in pain again. His anger boiled as He saw Starflight land next to Moonwatcher, before roaring as he threw his good wing forward to send the dragonets off of himself. He panted, growling as rage burned in his eyes. "I am DONE letting you pathetic, worthless, unwanted worms get away with this!"

He rose to his full height, towering over the dragonets as he leveled a furious glare at all of them. Clay stood his ground, even though it was obvious that he was nervous. Tsunami looked like she wanted to tear another scale off of him. Ochre growled in anger, wanting to get another pound of flesh out of the dragon who took his eye.

Sunny was flying in, seeing the standoff between Morrowseer and her friends, a worried look coming to her face when she saw the blood coming from Moonwatcher's tail and shoulders where Morrowseer had grabbed her, but then her eyes locked on something that made her gasp. The sudden slamming of Morrowseer into the rocks had a delayed effect, as loose rocks from far above started to fall. It started as pebbles, but Sunny was the only one who could see the landslide headed straight for her friend. "Get in the cave!" She dived from her spot in the sky towards them.

Tsunami was quick to respond, turning to dash into the Cave, Shoving into Starflight and Moonwatcher to get them further in. Clay scrambled to back away from the angry Nightwing, while Ochre stood his ground, until he was yanked back by his tail, and by Sunny shoving into him. They moved just in time for boulders to start slamming into the ground between them and Morrowseer, the rocks quickly forming a large barrier that blocked them from the outside, but also kept Morrowseer away from them.

Outside, They could hear Morrowseer roaring in anger. "I will find you, you worthless dragonets. And when I do, you will all die! I will kill all of you! There is no escape! I know this mountain better than any of you do! I will catch you eventually, and I will make you watch as I kill each of your pathetic friends!"

Moonwatcher was shivering in the dark, whimpering softly, not out of pain, but out of fear, as her mindreading made it very clear that he meant every word he shouted out. Sunny panted from the strain of the flight, before realizing how scared Moonwatcher was, before moving up to her with an encouraging smile. "don't worry... We're the dragonets of destiny. We'll find a way to get out of this... Though, this isn't any worse than when my friends and I were in Scarlet's custody."

Moonwatcher blinked, tilting her head. "Scarlet?... As in Queen Scarlet of the Skywings?"

Sunny nodded. "Yeah. She was really mean." She shivered lightly as she remembered being separated from her friends for several days, stuck on display in a cage over Scarlet's dining hall, as if she was some sort of trophy the egomaniacal skywing queen had earned.

Ochre hmphed. "We could have taken him! But you all had to back up. Gah! I shouldn't have said I'd come."

Sunny looked around, wincing at the pitch black of the cave as the rocks fully blocked out the sun. "... Hey, Tsunami. Could you give us a little light?"

Tsunami glared at Ochre, before nodding as she made her scales glow, giving them a rough look of the cave around them. It was more of a tunnel than a cave and seemed to slope downward into the heart of the mountain. Sunny looked to the others. "Well... We can't go back the way we came, so... I guess this is our only way forward." She walked up to Moonwatcher, placing a talon on the Nightwing's own talon, which was shaking. "Are you alright?"

Moonwatcher whimpered. "... He'll really do it... He wants to kill us... all of us... I... I'm scared..."

Sunny gave her a reassuring smile. "He can try... But we're here for you. You're our friend... We won't leave you behind."

Moonwatcher stared at her, before Starflight smiled. "She's right, you know. We don't abandon the ones we care about. We're all in this together, through thick and thin."

Tsunami chuckled, before giving Moonwatcher a playful bump on the shoulder. "Besides, Old Barrowsneer has a broken wing. That will keep him grounded. All we have to do is find a way out, then fly away. He'll never be able to catch us then."

Moonwatcher felt Sunny wrap her talons around her, hugging her tightly. "You don't need to be scared. We'll get through this. We always do."

Moon whimpered, not out of fear, but the fact that she was trying hard to not cry from how touched she felt, that these dragonets, that she had only met a few days ago, were willing to go to such lengths for her. "... Th-thank you... all of you... I... I don't know what to say..."

Starflight gave a small smile. "You're one of us, Moon. We stick together, no matter what."

Ochre didn't say anything, but his eye roll was plenty obvious, before they all set off, into the depths of jade mountain.

Wither and Glory sat next to a small pond, the old Deathwing silent as Glory stared at him, not accusingly, but warily. "... So, are you going to start explaining what you meant?"

Wither sighed, before placing a talon in the pond, a bit of his power coursing through the water as it swirled, multiple colors forming in the water, before an image appeared on the surface. It was a village. It was fairly large but consisted mostly of wooden huts and simple stone buildings. and the paths between them were littered with Dragons who had scales that were of different shades of stone, each having a different color pulsing in-between their scales. Some yellow, some orange, some blue. Even a few purple. And the eyes of each dragon reflected the color in their scales, each set of eyes like a clear night sky of colored stars.

Wither stared at the image for a long moment before speaking. "Five thousand years ago, before the scorching, The Deathwing tribe was the first recognized tribe among dragons. In this era, humans ruled the majority of the land, and the difference between each dragon was vastly different." He swirled a talon to showcase what he meant, the image changing to that of different dragons. The first was a sunset orange color, with wings that were burning with a constant flame. The second dragon was nearly translucent, their scales like that of clear ice, and the last had four wings like a butterfly, and rainbow colored scales. "These are just some examples of the types of dragons that existed before the established tribes of today's era. They did eventually establish their own tribes, but only after the fall of the human kingdom."

He shifted the image again, to show Glory the huge kingdom of the humans, Like an enormous village that spread as far as the eye can see. Houses and shelters, Plots of land that had been altered with plants that Glory had never seen before growing in them, and in the center of the densest part of the kingdom, a large stone structure that reached into the sky, almost as tall as a mountain. "Humans... Scavengers, made all this?"

Wither nodded. "It was not a short endeavor. It took generations of humans to build the kingdom into this size. We dragons designated that, as Humans were a more recent sentient species, we would not interfere with their advancements. It worked for a time... Until the humans got greedy. They, much like dragons, Coveted treasure, wealth, authority and dominion. They sought to expand their territories... and claim lands that other Humans had already claimed. Similar to this war between tribes." He let the image shift again to show the humans, small little pink skinned beings wearing metal on the outside of their bodies and carrying sharp sticks, facing each other, before starting to fight. Stabbing and slashing at each other while trying to gain ground.

Glory grimaced at the bloody scene, no clear winner coming out of the fierce battle. "So much death... how could they live with themselves, knowing they just killed another of their kind?"

Wither had to hold back the grimace he felt coming from that statement, before sighing. "Greed can blind the best of beings to their own actions... But then the humans got the dragons involved... By stealing Dragon eggs." He shifted the image again, this time showing a small version of Wither in a cave. He looked much younger, nearly three years old as a dragonet. Next to him was another, A white scaled dragon with spines that reminded her of the Icewings, but It had a more definitive white color to it.

They were both hiding as Wither peaked out, seeing something that made Glory feel disgusted. Five dragon eggs being carried off by humans, laughing in their squeaky voices. Then one of the humans dropped one of the eggs, the egg splattering to the ground as it broke open. Glory realized with a sick feeling in her stomach, the eggs that the humans were carrying out had just barely been laid, maybe just a day before. "That's... I..."

Wither nodded. "It's disgusting, isn't it? To think that a being would treat the life of another sentient being so thoughtlessly. It disgusted me too... But It was too late for us to do anything. They had dozens of them outside the cave... While it was just the two of us. We went straight to the Deathwing counsel, our oldest members, to inform them of the vile act so they could do something about it... But that day never came... Because the day after this happened was The awakening ritual... Every month, each dragonet who reaches the age of three after their hatching goes to the middle of the village to Prove themselves as worthy of the name of Deathwing, by showing off their Respira. I had yet to even awaken mine, so... I was understandably nervous..."

He grimaced. "But I could never have predicted what would happen that day..."

Glory gazed as the image changed back to the village, before she started actually hearing the dragons in the image start talking, The young Wither looking up to an older Deathwing who had green between her scales. "Mom... I'm nervous... W-what if I mess up?"

His mother smiled, patting his head. "You'll do perfectly fine, Wither. Don't fret. As I said before, I'll never leave you."

The young Wither gave her a small smile, before an ancient sounding voice called out his name, and his mother gave him a small nudge. "It's your time, my little gem. Good luck."

Wither slowly climbed up to sit in front of five Deathwings, each looking ancient in their years, the middle one coughing. "Young Wither. It is time you gain the power, that all of us Deathwings gain upon our third hatching day, the Respira." The elder coughed lightly, before clearing his throat. "There are two meanings to the word we chose to call our tribe's breath. The breath of life, and the breath of death. A tool for us to use to keep the balance of this world, in the face of the avarice of humans. To slay those who are a threat to life, and to bring back those whose lives were unfairly taken away. Now is the time young Wither. Call upon your respira for all to see."

Wither's eyes nervously gazed along the crowd. Every Deathwing in the village had come to watch, including some dragons who had visited to talk about the recent developments on the humans. He shivered, unable to keep his nervousness down, closing his eyes as he concentrated, trying to pull his respira out, before opening his jaws. Only a small puff of black mist came out, dissipating almost instantly.

A scathing laugh came from the crowd, a Deathwing around Wither's age but with indigo pulsing between his scales pointing in a mocking way. "It's so small! He always was the runt!" Other dragonets laughed with him, causing Wither to tremble. He scrunched his eyes to call more of his respira, but all that came out was a small fume. The laughing causing his embarrassment to build as he tried, pushing himself to try and call more of his breath, until the first dragonet cackled. "Wither? More like Whimper! Just as much a failure at this as he is with everything else!"

Wither's embarrassment gave way to anger, something his mother had told him to never let control him. He furiously pulled at his respira, before it happened. The wither outside the pool grimaced, as the image of his younger self showed His deadly breath shooting out into the sky, before spreading out at around 40 feet high. The black smoke -like breath spreading, faster and faster, until it acted as a cloud above the entire village, chaotic bolts of red shooting through it as Dragons started to scream. Young Wither's eyes connected with his mother's, who had a look of horror and worry on her face.

Then the cloud of his respira dropped, and the image turned to darkness.

Glory stared, shaking as she got the implication of what happened, before the image started to brighten up again. The Dragonet vision of Wither slowly getting to his talons, shaking his head. "W-what happened? Mom? Elders?" He raised his head to look around, only to freeze when he saw it. He was still in the center of the village, where he was when he passed out, the little patch of grass that was under him still alive. But everything else was gone. all the structures looked as if they had been left to rot for centuries, the foliage was blackened and turned partially to dust. And all around him, were piles of dust. He looked around, trying to find someone. Anyone.

He then saw a glint in one of the piles, walking over, and picking up with a shaking hand, his mother's favorite instrument, that she always carried with her. the same Instrument that Wither kept in his bag. "... No... No... No, please, nonono..." The young Wither trembled as tears fell down his snout, his voice cracking as he realized with dread what he had done. He killed them. All of them. He fell down on the ground, cradling the instrument as he sobbed. "You promised you'd never leave me... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... Please, come back... Please..." He sniffled, giving one last whimper in front of what was left of his mother's body, breaking into quiet sobs "I don't want to be alone..."

The image faded as Wither withdrew his talon from the water. Glory stared at the water for a long moment, tears silently falling down her snout. Wither wasn't doing much better, his emotions of replaying the memory refusing to leave him be as he also silently cried. "... This... Is why I was so isolated when you and your friends met me... I've already suffered losing everything I cared about... I just... I can't feel that way again, Glory... It kills me inside every time I know that I got someone I cared about killed... that it was my fault..."

He looked down. "... There have been times, Glory... That I just want it all to end. I... stole, the lifespans of every dragon in the village... and whenever I'm hurt in most ways, besides poison... I'm healed by that power... I can't die, Glory. Even if I wanted to... I have to live with this guilt for... tens, if not hundreds of millennia, before I am ever even close to it ending. It was my fault... And I always cause pain for those who get close to me... it's all I really am... A monster."

Glory looked up at him, before placing her talons on his, making him blink at her. "Wither. That was not your fault. You didn't want that to happen. You never meant for it to happen. You can't blame yourself for that happening... I don't blame you. And... You never should have had to go through that. You mourn them, even five thousand years later. You feel sorrow for the loss of their lives... But you also brought back Tsunami's baby sister. You protected us. You're helping us save hundreds of dragons from a war that doesn't need to be fought... You're not a monster to me, Wither. None of us will ever think of you that way... If anything..." She blushed lightly, looking away.

Wither tilted his head out of confusion, but her next words made him freeze. "... If any of us had a dad... I'm pretty sure the others would agree that we'd want him to be you."

Wither stared at her for a long moment. Countless years of his life, he had blamed himself for what happened. Anyone he had ever told this story to had turned him away as a monster. Celeste was the only one who didn't. He then froze again as Glory did her best to hug him. Even though he did have his bracelet on, he was still considerably larger than her. She pressed her head into his chest. "Wither... We care about you. All of us. You're... part of our family, so please... Don't leave us."

Wither didn't know why his tears started flowing down his face. Either from the relief that she didn't hate him... or the fact that her words echoed what he had said to his mother so many millennia ago. Or maybe that the pain and guilt he had felt, that made years of isolation feel like centuries suddenly got lighter. He gritted his teeth, his willpower being the only thing that kept him from breaking down into sobs. "... Thank you, Glory... I... I really needed to hear that." He Swallowed to hold back his sobs but didn't fight Glory's hug.

They held their position for a few moments, before Glory took a step back, smiling up to him. "You aren't alone, Wither. While I don't think there's a dragon in Pyrrhia that can understand what you went through... You're part of our little misfit family now."

Wither barked a small laugh. "An apt description... How are the Nightwings settling in?"

Glory groaned. "They've been little more than trouble. Most of them are still recovering from losing their homes, but some are just outright trying to start trouble. Old habits of pride and unwilling to 'lower myself to eating a measly fruit'. It's honestly a little infuriating, and I'm half tempted to tell them that if they don't like it, they're free to leave."

Wither rolled his eyes. "It will take time before it settles in. No one ever said that being Queen was easy."

"Indeed." Grandeur stepped out, her eyes narrowed and locked onto Wither as she growled. "You have a lot of explaining to do, you stone skinned toad.

Wither felt a shiver run down his spine as he gave a nervous smile. "Ah, Grandeur... It's been... ah, Snake spit."

Grandeur continued glaring at him while Glory looked between them, slightly confused. "... Am I missing something?"

Grandeur growled as she snarled. "You got a lot of nerve coming back here after what you did to me."

Wither gave a weary sigh. "I know you're... still angry, Grandeur... I never meant to hurt you."

Glory groaned. "Ok, What the moons is going on right now?"

Grandeur growled in anger. "What? You never meant to break my heart in rejecting me!?"

Glory gave a look at Wither, who gave a sigh. "... I didn't mean to reject you coldly, Grandeur. It was just... It would never work. I know you held... romantic feelings for me, but... I simply can't return them."

Glory stared at him, her eyes slowly went from Grandeur to Wither, before blanching. "You!? With him!?"

Wither groaned, grimacing as he muttered to himself. "This is going to be a long talk, isn't it?

Not much else I can say about this. I've been keeping a majority of my lore in my head, so I did need to re-read my previous chapters to remember everything I had going for everyone in this story, So I apologize for how long this took to get out. I hope you all enjoyed it, and please leave any constructive criticism that would help. Always looking to improve. I will attempt to get the next chapter done before the end of November. See you all next time.