A/N So sorry this took so long to get out. Life has been getting a hold of me and it's been stressful. Anyway sorry about how long this chapter is. I sort of got carried away and felt like he deserved some time in his perspective. You will most likely see more of his chapters going on throughout the story. As always, enjoy!

Chapter 25

Pyrite

It has been a long time since he did this. He was walking away from a home he'd had for thousands of years. The tunnel spun up and around in a spiral as they went up to the Crystalwing Kingdom.

He followed the others up the tunnel and thought of being outside again. Feeling the wind in his wings and the grass on his talons. A warm feeling came from inside as he thought about it.

As they reached the top part of the tunnel Pyrite could see part of the kingdom. "It's been years since I've come this far. Everything is so different."

"A lot has changed since then." Nephilim stated.

He followed her through the tunnels. Every now and then he could see a Crystalwing poke their head out and watch them with curious eyes. He didn't mind much. He too was giving curious glances at every dragon and room. It was all so… new. The last time he was up in the Crystal Kingdom there had only been a throne room, a mess hall, and the sleeping quarters, which were so small dragons had to sleep huddled together.

"So where are we going?" he asked as he looked at a pair of Crystalwings holding a pot and a broom.

"The palace guest room. That's where we're staying." Nephilim told him.

"I'm assuming that's where your friends are." he hummed.

"Yes." she nodded.

He followed them through corridors and turned down a long hall with several doors. He watched as Nephilim held the door handle and twisted it, opening the door. From where he was outside the door he could hear voices of relief. He came in after Moon and Qibli and looked around the room.

Many dragons were in it, sitting in smaller groups. He noticed another Nightwing and a few other tribes he'd seen on his trip to Pyrrhia. He also noticed a few other dragons he'd never seen before. Three of them had four wings, two looking like the butterflies he'd seen in the spring and the other had beetle wings. The other dragon he'd never seen before was different shades of green and her wings were curved like the giant rowan tree leaves.

They all stared at him with a strange look. "Who's this?" one of them asked.

He did a light bow of courtesy. "My name is Pyrite."

"He has agreed to help us with the Silverwings." Moon stepped in front of him.

One of the Rainwings, an older one, was staring at him with untrusting eyes. He gave a slight smile. Rainwings. One of his favorite tribes on Pyrrhia. They were always a colorful tribe on the outside but a warry one on the inside.

"It has come to my attention that the Silverwings are causing more havoc than I… had known." he looked at Nephilim.

"He's helping us. I trust him. It's wize if you do as well." She replied back to them.

"Pyrite, these are my friends," Moon stated. "Turtle, Kinkajou and Peril. Over there is Clay, Tsunami, Glory, Starflight and Sunny. And those four are Sundew, Cricket, Blue and Luna. Oh and of course this is Wren and Sky." She motioned to a small human and dragon. The human was leaning against the dragon with a bored expression.

A Nightwing next to Glory stood up. "And what about me?"

"That's Deathbringer." Moon rolled her eyes.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all." he nodded to them.

Some of the others greeted him, while others, Glory and Sundew, stayed away.

Pyrite sat down and got comfortable when Glory had walked over to him. She held her posture well like most Rainwings. But something about it stuck out. Also the fact that Deathbringer followed her like a lost wolf pup. Nightwings never usually fell for another tribe.

He hummed lightly to himself as he sat there watching the dragons interact. They mostly conversed with each other about food and their homes. Pyrite pulled around his satchel and dug his claws around inside. He pulled out a small book. Opening it he could see the map he had of Pyrrhia. He ran his claw from the Night Kingdom up to the Sky Kingdom.

He turned a page to the Grairokora map. He looked at it with searching eyes. He turned to another page. A crushed scroll fell out of the empty pages and lay in front of him. He picked it up and eyed it. It was old. The edges were torn from time and smelled like mold. He opened the crushed scroll to see the Pyrrhian Tribes listed here and there.

He read through them, switching back and forth between the Pyrrhian map and scroll. Everything was the same as when he got it. Although he knew the queens were different. Queen Diamond could no longer be alive after thousands of years. Neither could Queen Vigilance. He took out a charcoal pencil and scratched out the Queens.

He looked at the Nightwing part and read it. He knew how to tell if a Nightwing had mind reading, but not future seeing. Mind reading Nightwings had a silver scale that resembled a teardrop at the edge of their eye. Future seeing Nightwings looked the same as a Nightwing without the powers. He looked at Moon. She had a teardrop scale behind her eyes. She was a Mind reader for sure.

His gaze dropped onto the other Nightwings. Deathbringer had no tear drop scale near his eyes. He did not have the Mind reading power. He could maybe be a future seer but it was relatively impossible to tell without them telling you. Starflight, the other Nightwing, had a white bandage over his eyes, obscuring any evidence of the silver teardrop scale. It was impossible to tell without it removed.

Everything else on the scroll seemed the same. The Mudwing over in a corner talking about food looked much like the one in the scroll. As did one of the Sandwings, the Icewing, the Rainwings, the Seawings and the Skywings. Not much had changed over the last few thousand years. It was strange.

Looking back down at the scroll and book he flipped to an empty page. He started drawing. His charcoal swooped down and up as he drew the snout of a dragon. He could only remember what she looked like. That was so long ago it didn't feel real to him anymore. Soon a face materialized out of the book. A beautiful dragon stared back at him through the page, a smile on her face.

He shut the book with a sigh, and placed it back in his satchel. He pulled out some of the crystals that had been in there for many years. He could vaguely remember what they did. The purple one could freeze anything with ice. The clear one was a water source for anywhere in the world. The deep blue one could allow him to breathe underwater. The Light green one could grow any plant he wished.

He touched a pitch black crystal that glittered in the light. It felt strange. Like his soul was refusing it. He picked it up. He got a sickening feeling. He remembered what this one could do. It turns you into a monster.

Why did I bring this one along? He thought to himself. He carefully put the crystals back into the satchel and looked around.

It looked as if the dragons were getting ready to sleep, with which he had no quarrel with. He laid his head down on his front talons and let out a yawn. His eyes grew tired and closed shut as he went into a deep sleep.

He was sitting at the edge of a cliff. The sun had just risen and the air was filled with birdsong. He breathed in the salty air as he watched waves crash against the rock below him. His tail was entwined with something. Or someone. There she was. Sitting beside him with a face of sorrow. Her eyes showed deep sadness that could only be healed by him.

He wrapped a wing around her and pulled her closer to him. She melted into his talons and her sadness disappeared. Her scales shifted from green to pink then back to the normal grey color she was. She was here, in this moment, with him. Not the past, but wherever he was, she was with him.

"Let the past go, Pyrite." she whispered in his ear.

"I don't know if I can." he held black tears.

"You must. They do not know of you then." she said and the surrounding area went dark. The ground knit itself together to show him the cave he was sleeping in. He could see the other dragons sleeping in small piles. "Let them know of you now."

"They could figure it out," he replied. "What do I do if that happens?"

"That is not for me to answer." she pulled out from under his wing. She began to walk away.

"Wait! What if I told them? Would that change anything?" he asked her.

"That would be the one thing you couldn't take back for the rest of your life. No matter how long you live. If you do, I cannot give you the outcome." she started walking away again.

"Do you have to go?" he whispered, small tears starting to fall.

She turned around and walked back to him. She held one of his talons and touched his cheek. "I will always be with you. Through all the shades of darkness or light, I'll be here." She gave him a quick kiss and walked away. "I'll always be your Star."

"Star. Wait. No. Star come back!" he called. He was flipped into darkness faster than he knew it. Star was nowhere to be seen anymore. She was gone again.

Pyrites eyes blurred open as he woke up slowly. He put a talon on his head, over the head ache he had. He grumbled to himself and got up slowly, letting out a yawn. His eyes caught the silhouettes of the other dragons in the dark room. Stepping quietly he made his way out of the room and into the hallway.

He closed the door and turned around. He came face to face with a dragon. She was every shade of red, orange and yellow, almost like a blazing fire. Behind her was a Nightwing, looking a little skeptical.

Glory said nothing as Pyrite stood there, a blank expression on his face. He could tell she was irritated, but he didn't know why. He had only been up here by these dragons for a matter of hours. He's known them for even less. Glory seemed to just hate him already. It was strange. When he met the Rainwings they weren't very trusting but they were more trusting than Glory.

"Can I help you?" He finally broke the silence.

She swished her tail. "I don't trust you."

"You've barely known me for a few hours. It's understandable." he slipped past her. She followed him, Deathbringer in tow.

"Where are you going?" She hissed slightly.

"Outside." he followed the path.

"We can't go out." her voice turned to sincere concern. "The Crystalwings have this place on lockdown because of the Silverwings."

"I will be fine. I'm tougher than I look." he grumbled.

"Besides, do you even know your way out of here?" Glory questioned.

Pyrite stopped and stomped a talon. She was right. He didn't know the way out anymore. "I'll find my way out eventually."

"You'll get lost before you find anything." Deathbringer said. "I remember the way out. I'll show you if you let us accompany you."

Glory shot a fierce glare at Deathbringer that could have knocked down a tree. Pyrite sighed internally, not wanting them to follow him. "Fine."

Beathbringer whispered something to Glory Pyrite couldn't hear. "Follow me."

Pyrite did. The Nightwing led the way, Pyrite a few feet behind and Glory at his side. She kept glancing back at Pyrite like he was suddenly going to disappear. But in a bad way.

Deathbringer was cautious. He would look around every corner before moving on and stop whenever he heard a noise. IIt was relatively quiet in the tunnels. Most dragons were asleep in their quarters. They soon came to a fork. One way went deeper into the tunnel system while the other went up somewhere else.

Deathbringer turned to the right going up. The crystal lights here were smaller and white, unlike the pink and green ones in the room he was sleeping in. The air was also fresher and a bit cooler than down in the tunnels.

Pyrite followed Deathbringer into a room with metal weapons and chains on the walls. He watched as Deathbringer fidgeted with a latch and pushed a large trap door up. A gust of wind found its way towards Pyrite and he closed his eyes. He forgot what it felt like.

Pyrite stepped out the door and stood there for a few moments taking it in. It was dark. The three moons were high above him mixed in with the stars. It was a sight he missed. He walked forward in the grass. The grass. It was soft. The trees whispered to him in the breeze. Why did he choose to stay down there for so long?

He breathed deeply and sat down, enjoying the wind. He closed his eyes, wishing Star was there with him. He heard talon steps behind him so he opened his eyes. Glory was walking up next to him. She sat with her tail wrapped around her hind legs.

"It is incredible here." she said, gazing at their surroundings.

"Yes. I have forgotten how wonderful it is here." he smiled.

"Nothing here is like Pyrrhia." Glory sighed. "I don't know anything about the rules here."

"It's not that different from Pyrrhia actually." he smiled at the memories. "Like all of your tribes we have Queens as well. Although I think the Icewings have the most strict rules of anyone, every tribe has their rules."

"How do you know of the Icewing rules?" Glory questioned.

"I traveled to Pyrrhia a long time ago. Someone I met there told me everything I needed to know." Pyrite nodded.

"So you know what has happened in the last few years?" Glory asked.

"No. It has been many years since I traveled there. Why? What has happened?" He looked at Glory.

She looked at him with skeptical eyes. "The Sandwing throne was thrown into dismay when a scavenger killed Queen Oasis and her three daughters fought over the throne bringing all the other tribes, but Rainwings and Nightwings, into it. Clay, Sunny, Starflight, and Tsunami were a part of a so-called prophecy to end it. I grew up with them. Our guardians couldn't get another Skywing egg to fulfill the prophecy. Turns out the Nightwings used that as an excuse to steal the Rainforest from the Rainwings."

"What?" he said, caught off guard.

"The Nightwings made up the prophecy to steal the Rainforest." Deathbringer said. "That is until Glory stopped them from doing it. Now she rules over two tribes."

Pyrite gave a confused look. "Your Queen of the Rainwings?"

"Yes." She gave a look at Deathbringer. "I didn't want anyone to know. Especially on a different continent."

Deathbringer put his talons up. "It's true. She gave shelter to the Nightwings, even after they experimented on the Rainwings, so long they took Glory as their Queen."

"This is… Interesting." Pyrite got out. "Please continue."

"Well we set up a meeting with the three princesses to choose one as Queen. They ended up killing each other only leaving one alive. We didn't choose her though. Blaze would have ended up breaking her entire kingdom. We chose Sunny's mother. Soon after, the others started a school. Jade Mountain Academy. That's where Moon and the others went to school. That's when things went south. Clay's sister had caused an explosion that killed two students."

"Oh no." he gasped slightly.

"A Nightwing and a Skywing." She breathed heavily. "A Rainwing got injured too. A few weeks after." she gripped the ground as her talons shook. "A dragon came. He was evil. Like nothing before. He tried to become king of the Nightwings. We stopped him."

"That's a lot." Pyrite looked up at the moons.

"That's not even all of it." Glory laughed a little. "A few months after this had happened Luna, Blue's sister, washed up on a beach on our continent. That's when we found out about Pantala. We had to go over and help stop an evil plant from taking over the dragons there."

"An evil plant?" curiosity crossed his mind.

"Very evil. It could take over a dragon's mind and body and do whatever it wanted. It technically was controlled by a dead scavenger and a dead dragon." Glory sighed. "Then Moon had a vision of this place and we came here."

"I see. A lot has changed since I've last been." he said.

Pyrite got quiet again as he watched the sky. It was peaceful. More peaceful than he could remember. It was hard to believe that a war was going on at the moment. He knew wars though. They could be waged silently, as though nothing was happening.

He finally got up after a few minutes. "Let's head back."

Glory got up and walked over to the trap door. Dethbringer was holding it open for them to crawl through the other side. They came through to the armory room, and set themselves in the direction of their sleeping quarters.