Dawn Patrol

Shifting sands and rolling dunes as far as the eye could see. Crumbling remains of mountains peeked out from the baked earth. The sky was a bright blue, the sun a burning disk of golden flame. An occasional ivory white bone protruded out from the sand, a remnant of something long dead. They were the lucky ones. A dry breeze tossed up grains of sand, playfully carrying them about on currents of hot air. There would be a dust storm in the near future. Maybe a few hours, certainly before nightfall. Monaco thrust his spear into the depths of the dune upon which he stood. The extra stability it would provide was very necessary. Even a slight breeze could transform into a gale-force wind in a matter of seconds, blowing an unsuspecting traveler miles away from their original position before they could even react. Or into a rock, snapping their spine or cracking their skull. Lifting the goggles covering his eyes onto his forehead Monaco looked out over the barren landscape before him. Shielding his eyes against the intense sunlight, he could just barely make out the outline of a city or town nestled up against one of the buried mountains. The city's name was an apt one. Rust it was called as the walls of the city were constructed of rusted steel and crumbling stone. Rust was the largest settlement in this area, built under the exposed peak of Jade Mountain. As it lay in the shadow of the mountain, Rust would be slightly cooler than the rest of the desert. It was Monaco's destination. Lowering his goggles to once again cover his eyes, and removing his spear from the dune Monaco secured it to the pack he wore on his back. He was close enough to Rust that he could risk flying. Monaco spread his warm gold and oak colored wings and launched himself into the sky. Monaco was going to Rust on business. Though he was a hybrid, Monaco's main species was that of a SandWing. In the perpetually hot climate SandWings, being the only tribe equipped to survive in the deserts did many things to aid the inhabitants of settlements such as Rust. Mainly transportation of mail, dragons and resources between the different major settlements safely. Monaco specialized in the primary job, but could easily do all three. Since the Second Brightest Night and the end of the War of SandWing Succession the continent of Pyrrhia and the world at large had become a vast scorched wasteland. The reason was that the star that the dragon planet orbited had collided with another star. It had actually happened millions of years ago but the planet had only felt the effects and the doubled output of heat and light on the Second Brightest Night where four celestial bodies illuminated the skies. The continent quickly burned as the increased heat from the twin star. Vegetation was set on fire, snow and ice melted, mountains collapsed, the oceans shrunk. The world became a vast desert. Thousands died in the first few weeks. Eventually what was left of the dragon tribes worked to rebuild their lives and their world. This was years before Monaco was hatched. There were very few dragons left alive who remembered what plants looked like or what the world was like before the Second Brightest Night. Life was brutal in the infinite desert. The days were unbearably hot, the nights even hotter even for SandWings. Many of the tribes had a hard time adjusting. The SeaWings were almost as unaffected as the SandWings. The oceans still existed, just half as large and as deep as they had been. Most SeaWings never left the water It was too hot. The IceWings suffered immensely. Their entire kingdom melted and the majority of them all live in what was once the northern most ocean at the edge of it's new reduced location as far north as they could possibly get. It was still extremely hot for them. The other tribes did what they could to mitigate their exposer to the heat. The NightWings dug underground finding minor relief. Most others gathered around the crumbled mountains to hide in their shade and the few exposed caves. Once you lost sight of those mountains you would encounter little life and unless you were prepared would soon die in the Endless Desert. 
Monaco landed before the large reinforced gates of Rust in close to 10 minutes. Shielded under the overhang of the mountain the wind, which had begun to pick up was dispersed slightly. The dust storm had approached faster than Monaco had guessed. He could see the dark brown and red wall of dust and sand, miles high just before the horizon. "Won't be long now." Monaco wasn't worried though, he would be inside the walled city before anything got bad. Nocking upon the steel gates produced a low booming sound like thunder. Monaco didn't have to wait long before an eye level window cut into the gate slid open with a metallic screech. A pear of yellow eyes set into a weathered dark red face glared out at the hybrid, narrowing as they looked him over. "Business or travel?" A gruff voice asked, male and presumably the owner of the yellow eyes. 
"Business." Monaco said, smiling happily. There were very few things to be happy about in this day and age, but Monaco was always very good at finding something. Such as the fact that he had a job to do when there were many who didn't.
"Stand back." The yellow eyed dragon said closing the window abruptly. Monaco did as instructed and stepped back a few feet. A deep groaning sound and the screeching wail of rusting old machinery emitted from the gate as it was slowly winched upwards just enough for Monaco to duck under, before it was dropped back down onto the sand with a muffled thump and a flurry of sand. The first thing Monaco noticed when he entered Rust was how large it was. From a distance it was impossible to gage a city's true size and the walls surrounding Rust weren't exactly the larges Monaco had ever seen before. He'd never been to Rust before, so this would be a bit of an adventure. A burly dark red SkyWing wearing a steel chestplate and helmet marched over to Monaco. Monaco suspected that he was the door guard. "Is this your first time in Rust?" He asked, a disapproving look upon his face. Monaco nodded. "What service are you providing?"
"What's with the questions?" 
"Standard procedure. SandWings new to Rust have a tendency to get lost. There a specific parts of the city for you to go to depending on what service you are providing." 
"I already know where I'm supposed to go. There's no need for me to tell you anything." Monaco said. He didn't like the guard's questioning or the looks he was getting from him. The guard's frown deepened. 
"That may be, but I still have to record what service you're providing for the record." Monaco shook his head. This guard was wasting his time. He had a meeting to get too and it would be unprofessional to be late. 
"I have places to be. There's no reason for me to waste time telling you anything, now if you'll excuse me I have to get going." The guard hissed something Monaco couldn't hear as he strode past the SkyWing guard heading for the city center. A few minutes later Monaco found himself standing outside a two story ramshackle building. It was a small pub, real hole in the wall kind of place wedged in-between two larger building. Were it not for the wooden sign reading BOAR'S HEAD IN & PUB in blocky capitals Monaco would have overlooked it. What is a boar? Monaco though as he pulled the door open and ducked inside. In the time it had taken to reach the pub from the entrance gate, the wind had picked up quite a bit. The storm was extremely close. Monaco hoped the Boar's Head had decent food and accommodations as he would probably be there for a while. Even for a SandWing, or a hybrid like himself the dust storms in the Endless Desert weren't something to be caught outside in. Standing in the doorway Monaco's horns brushed the celling as he surveyed the room, looking for the dragon he was to meet. Monaco didn't like being inside much. Many of the permanent buildings in cities were built small so as to take up as little space as possible and leave room for more buildings to be built. It was annoying because Monaco was rather tall his horns often were scraping up against the ceilings. Monaco cut a rather striking figure. Very tall and very thin with a distinct color pallet of warm gold and dark oak, colors that were slightly more MudWing than SandWing. Monaco also often wore a sand colored hooded poncho and cloak. He also wore goggles either over his eyes or on his forehead to protect his eyes from sand and debris. Everyone he encountered remembered him for one reason or another. Monaco wandered over to the bar at the left side of the room. Almost every table and chair was occupied, and the pub was full of shadows. The dragon Monaco was here to meet could be anywhere. Starting at the bar was the most logical idea. He might as well get himself a room and something to eat while he asked around. 
Category:Content (Isis The Masked Dragon)
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Fanon)
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Work in Progress
Category:Males
Category:SandWings
Category:MudWings
Category:Hybrids
Category:Genre (Adventure)