FORGOTTEN KING: Reminiscence

Please read this first if you are new to the series!!
== EVERYTHING IS OWNED BY ARCADIAN SOLITUDE. THEFT WILL NOT BE PERMITTED. ==
= CHAPTER 1 =
Wind blew through the empty cavern, scattering dried pine needles through the entrance. A small squirrel ran up a tree. Cicadas began to buzz as the sun rose higher in the sky, and birds sang quietly.
An ancient dragon stirred as voices came towards him.
Time to get up.
He lifted his dried neck slowly off the stone floor and rested his head on the rock next to him, as he had every day for nearly 13 years. Glancing purple eyes at the entrance hopefully, he waited quietly for the dragons to come around the bend. Only two of them. It’s the first time anyone has come to this mountain cave in a while. Usually the only one here was him.
But he still held on to faint hope that someone would come.
Even though she shouldn’t.
Two burly SkyWing soldiers entered the cave, laughing heartily over something. They wore some plated armor, but carried no weapons. Instead, the smaller pale orange female held a small scroll and a piece of charcoal. She looked around and made a few marks on the parchment as the deep red male poked around the cavern and made comments on the type of rock and estimates of how long it would take to carve.
Neither noticed the pale violet eyes watching them. At least, not yet. The old dragon thought they would leave without seeing him, so he shut his eyes again. No need to scare them. He could still hear them poking around in the cave.
One of them kicked a stone, and it clattered over into the shaded niche where the SandWing lay still. He didn’t move when the pebble hit his side. The male gasped then whistled, calling over his companion. They chattered around the ancient dragon for a moment, lifting up his tail and prodding his wings. He still pretended to take no notice. It’s better if they think he’s dead.
The female said something about reporting this so they can move the corpse, and the male agreed. They could move him now, but maybe a researcher would want to study it. Eventually, they took off and flew away. The mummified dragon watched them go. They didn’t recognise me, he thought quietly as he slowly shifted his body. Maybe the scroll didn’t spread as far as I thought it would. Maybe I can… no, I can’t. I’m still nearly 400 years old.
He sighed and sat up, watching the sun rise slowly over the horizon. Another day of solitude. It’s better this way. Peaceful. Time to think about what he did. To come to terms with it. To accept how history will remember him.
A forgotten king.
That is how it will be.
King Lichen is dead.
But Lich is not.
Not yet.
= CHAPTER 2 =
The sun had set and risen once again, and with it, Lich. He halfheartedly spread his wings out and stood slowly. Dry joints squeaked in protest, but he slowly began to walk around the cave. Keeping his wings spread for balance, he paced quietly around, getting used to standing again. It had been almost 7 years since he had last stood on his own four talons.
Once he felt he could walk confidently, he padded out of the cavern, brittle claws tapping against the stone. The forest was beautiful at this time of year. Sun shone through the branches of the fir trees, and small songbirds hopped along throughout. Mosses and a blanket of leaves and needles covered the floor of the woods, making it easier on the old dragon’s talons. There was a small pond nearby, and he was headed in that direction.
A small waterfall trickled down a boulder into the crystal clear water. Slowly lowering his body next to the pool, Lich sighed. This was a nice change of scenery. The cavern view was nice, but the bright water and sounds of the falls were pleasant and soothing to the old man. He dipped his claws into the pond and swirled them around a little bit. It was peaceful. His mind was clear for once. As he watched the fish in the water, he looked at his reflection.
It was exactly what he expected. His skin had finally begun to rot away and fall off on one side of his face, exposing a little bit of bone underneath. As he turned his head, he found that part of his neck was almost completely gone. The vertebrates were visible, and the break that killed him was now in plain sight. Lich sighed. He spread his wings slowly and found that the same thing happened to the membranes. They were so tattered that the thin bones stuck out between the large holes. Flight was clearly no longer possible.
Frankly, he was surprised at how fast his body had deteriorated in this environment. Spending 50 years in the desert barely affected his appearance, but with the reintroduction of moisture and humidity, he guessed that the rotting had begun again. It didn’t really matter to him. That’s just what he looks like now. It may make it harder for him to find help for his plan, but oh well.
After a few more hours at the lake, he picked himself up again and went back to his cave. He should do this again tomorrow. He needs to keep moving or he’ll rot away faster. Settling down back into his spot, he looked back out over the Sky Kingdom, and the glittering desert on the distant horizon. 
I wonder how Dahlia is doing, after all this time. 
…
Did she stay friends with Heron? 
…
Maybe she took over her father’s business. 
…
I wonder if she has dragonets. 
…
Does she even remember me? 
…
Probably. 
…
Probably not. 
…
Maybe she’s looking for me. 
…
I doubt it.
…
The sun was setting again. Lich lifted his head off the rock ledge and on to his bony talons. Another day had passed. It’s almost been another year now, since some of the non-evergreen trees had begun to turn. Just like when he arrived. This place was so different from the Sand Kingdom. It was beautiful. The sheer variety of colours was amazing. He wondered what the other kingdoms looked like. All too familiar with sand and ice, he thought about the stories of the giant trees of the rainforest. The damp swamps of the Mud Kingdom. Rolling seas. The ruins of the lost Night Kingdom. The rest of the Claws of the Clouds mountain range. All the places he never got to see in life.
Maybe he could see them in death?
= CHAPTER 3 =
A small lizard skittered over Lich’s snout, startling him awake. He sat for a moment and collected his thoughts. Glancing out, he found the sun was already high in the sky. Looks like he had slept a bit too late today. He grunted gently as he slowly lifted himself off the ground again. Was he lighter than before? It certainly felt like it. Pausing, he turned to look at his body, curious.
His stomach was gone.
His eyes widened with surprise. What happened? Slowly pressing a talon to his midsection, he found that his underbelly between his ribcage and hip bones was missing. Along with all the organs inside. Disturbing. Lich sat slowly and dipped his neck down, craning his head to look at the tattered edges of his remaining skin a bit closer. It looked like it had been torn away by some kind of animal. What on Pyrrhia would want any part of him? 
Sure enough, most of his internal organs were just missing entirely. His lungs, heart, stomach and intestines were gone, along with everything else. How odd. There was just nothing there. He didn’t feel anything, since he was dead, but it was very peculiar. It just didn’t make sense. He was practically camel jerky! What kind of creature would want those kinds of things? Lich shuddered. Absolutely terrifying.
Looking around the cave, there weren’t many signs of what happened. A dark trail of… something… led away from his sleeping spot and into a much smaller hole in the ground. He staggered over to it, unbalanced, and peered into it with one eye. Nothing. Confused and thoroughly baffled, he turned around and walked back over to his spot. Oh, there was something!
It slipped through his dry claws a couple of times, but he eventually got a good grip on it. It looked like some sort of tiny dagger, far too small for a dragon to use well. Maybe a newly hatched dragonet could use it as a sword, but what baby dragon wants a 400 year old mummy’s organs? He turned it over in his talons, curious. How perfectly bizarre.
Well, that was interesting.
Lich snorted. Then he just started laughing at the absurdity of the whole situation. It took him quite a while to recollect himself. That was the first time he had smiled or even laughed in a very long time. It felt good. It also confirmed that he didn’t need any of that stuff anymore. He wondered why for a little while longer. Then he shrugged his ragged wings, and walked slowly off to the pond.
…
There were a few koi fish in the tiny lake. Along with what looked like a couple of catfish. Lich lifted his head out of the water and shook it. He liked fish. Back when he was king, he had a few ponds installed in his chambers just like this one. Most days, when he wasn’t needed, he would just sit and watch his fish swim around. One of them even liked to be pet, which was perfectly odd. Meerkat would come and sit next to him sometimes.
Lich smiled as he remembered his son. It wasn’t all bad back then, now that he thought about it. Sure, it wasn’t the greatest, but there were more good times than bad, even after Meerkat had passed away, and he burned the village, then Atacama got mad at him, then Caracal died, then-
Hmm.
Maybe there weren’t that many good times after Meerkat.
He sighed. At least he still had a few decent memories he could look back on. Why couldn't he see that while he was in the ice? Maybe because I didn’t realise how bad I actually was. At least not until I met Dahlia. It’s peculiar how much he really changed because of her. He was actually able to see and accept what he had done. That he couldn’t have another family. It was wrong of him to try and take that away from Nickel. He had one, and he lost it. It was unfortunate, but what isn’t?
He owed a lot to her. He wished he could tell her that.
= CHAPTER 4 =
Weeks passed. Lich visited the pond every day. The fish no longer got scared when he got close to them. He wondered when the SkyWing soldiers were going to come back. It had been a while, maybe they forgot? No matter. It was almost time for him to start his plan.
He sat in the cave and sketched a map of Pyrrhia from memory into the dust. According to what he knew, there was a small MudWing settlement to the southeast, and a larger SkyWing town to the northwest of where he was, Eagle Peak Mountain. Now he just had to decide where to go first. The MudWings might be more willing to help, but they also may not have the scrolls he needs. They aren’t exactly known for having large libraries. The SkyWings might just attack him on sight, but they also might listen. It didn’t really matter to him, but the MudWings were farther away. It would also be hard for him to walk in the swamp. Big city it is. If it’s still there, of course. 
I’ll start tomorrow. It’s already sunset.
He settled into his regular nook carefully, and drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep.
…
“My word.”
“I know, right?”
“You said that you and Oriole found this while scouting for new home locations?” Gale said, prodding the mummified dragon with their claw. Cardinal nodded, adjusting his armor a few steps away. “Yeah, we were out here figuring out what kind of stone is here, and we found this guy,” he said, coming up alongside the researcher. “Pretty sure he’s a SandWing, because of the barb, but his scale color is a bit odd. I don’t think it’s from the whole super old thing either.”
“It’s very strange,” Gale muttered, as they walked around the corpse. “From what we know of this area, mummification isn’t possible! There’s too much moisture in the air. He should have just rotted.” 
They shook their head and lifted his wing very gently to look at his underside. “Oh, look here! The shape of the pelvic bone indicates that it’s actually a female!”
Lich shouted violently, shaking with uncontrollable laughter. The two SkyWings screamed and bolted out of the cave. Gale fell on their face and scrambled behind a rock. Cardinal took to the air and accidentally hit a tree, falling to the ground with a clatter of armor. Lich sat up slowly, still chuckling quietly. 
“Oh dear moons. I can assure you two that I am in fact NOT a female,” he said, finally able to control himself. Stretching, he sat up fully and looked over where Gale was hiding. Their pale gold-orange tail tip was still poking out from behind the boulder. 
“...I can still see you, friend.”
And… it’s gone. He laughed softly again.
“You can come out. I’m not going to hurt you, okay? Long past that phase in my… eh.. afterlife.” Lich said gently, in as calming a voice he could muster. He heard talons nervously scratch stone behind the outcrop as the young researcher turned around slowly. Gale poked their freckled snout out cautiously, and Lich glanced away so eye contact wouldn’t scare them off. “You- you’re- but-” they stammered in a soft, wobbly voice. 
“Dead? I know.”
“Wh- how are you- how are you alive?”
“The sheer amount of times I’ve been asked that exact question… Astounding.”
Slowly, they came out from behind the rock to get a better look at Lich. He tried his best to not look threatening. Blinking slowly with what remained of his eyelids, he craned his bony neck to look at Cardinal. He was staggering to his feet and shaking pine needles out of his scales. Lich blinked again and turned back towards Gale. They flinched slightly. He tried smiling, but realised that would probably scare them off.
“So, um…”
“GALE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?” Cardinal yelled. He bolted into the cave and slammed into Lich’s side, knocking him over and pinning him to the floor. “Go! Fly! I’ll deal with him!” Lich tried to push him off, but he wasn’t strong enough. The SkyWing’s huge wings were beating around him, making him dizzy. He grunted and tried weakly shoving him off again. His claws slipped and clattered against Cardinal’s metal chestplate as Gale desperately yelled at their friend. Well, isn’t this just splendid. 
Cardinal inhaled deeply and prepared to breathe fire, hissing.
Fire.
Something flashed in the SandWing’s eyes and he screamed, throwing the SkyWing across the cavern with sudden unexpected strength. He scrambled to his feet and pressed his body against the wall, arching his tail barb and curling his dulled claws. Spreading his wings to try and make himself look bigger, he began hissing as Cardinal recovered. As he tried to step towards Lich again, Gale beat him with their wings and shoved him back.
“What are you DOING?!” they howled as he stared at them in shock. “He’s DANGEROUS!! I’m PROTECTING you!” Cardinal said in confusion, arching his wings and neck. “Does he LOOK dangerous to you?!” Gale yelled back as they flung a talon in Lich’s general direction. He was shaking, and carefully watching Cardinal’s snout. “You scared him!”
“I scared HIM? He’s a ZOMBIE!”
“SO?”
“He’s gonna EAT US!”
“NO HE WON’T!”
“BUT-”
“CAN YOU TWO PLEASE STOP YELLING!” Lich barked, dropping back down onto his front talons, still keeping his wings spread. He lashed his tail and tried to keep his claws from shaking. Fire. It still scared him, even after he accepted what he did. He ducked his head and tried collecting his thoughts. Relax. Just relax. It’s okay. You’re fine. He sighed. After a moment, he lifted his head to look at the two SkyWings again.
Cardinal was sitting next to Gale, who was glaring at him. His head was tilted down, and his combative posture was gone. Lich relaxed and sat down as well. Gale looked up at him with a concerned expression. “Can we just talk now? Like civilised dragons?” they said, shooting a scowl at Cardinal, who looked away. Lich nodded quietly.
“So, who are you?”
= CHAPTER 5 =
“...So I came here. And I’ve been here ever since,” Lich finished, looking down at his claws. “That’s my story. All of it. Nothing held back.”
Gale scratched down the final notes on the scroll they had brought with them. Cardinal had fallen asleep around the part where Lich started living with Dahlia and Nickel, and had been quietly snoring. “Alright,” Gale said quietly. “I’ll write a scroll all about it. An accurate one, this time.” They prodded Cardinal in the back of the head and he jerked awake with a snort. “Before we go, do you mind if we- I- come back over the next few weeks? Not every day, just maybe once or twice.”
“Of course. I haven’t had company for 14 years, so it’s fine by me,” Lich said, standing as the others got up. He stretched and walked back over to his sleeping nook. The mosses he had gathered had gotten scattered in the fight, so he began rearranging them. Cardinal picked up a few and brought them over.
“Hey, uh… sorry for attacking you earlier.” he said awkwardly. Lich shrugged. “It’s alright. I do look kind of terrifying, so I’m not surprised you reacted like I was a threat.” he muttered tiredly. Lich settled down on the mosses and lowered his head onto his claws as usual, and Cardinal went back to Gale’s side. They brushed snouts with each other and he put a wing around them. They’re in a relationship? I certainly wouldn’t have guessed. The way they act around each other is bizarre-
“Do you want me to look for Dahlia for you?” Gale said gently.
Lich froze, clenching his claws.
No.
Say no.
She doesn’t need you in her life anymore.
Keep her safe.
Say no.
Say.
No.
“Yes,” he whispered.
“What?”
“Yes. Please. I want to see her at least one more time. If you can,” He gripped his head in his talons. I thought I let her go. I did this to keep her safe. You don’t need her! She’s better off without you! LET HER GO! “I don’t think she’ll want to see me.”
“I’m sure she will, you were her friend,” Gale said, putting a talon on Lich’s shoulder. “I’ll do my best to find her, but she might not believe me. I can’t guarantee she’ll come.” He rested shaky claws on theirs, and nodded. They turned and walked to the front of the cave with Cardinal, spreading their wings.
“Wait! Wait…”
Lich reached up and ripped an intact scale off of his neck. “Give her this if she doesn’t think you’re telling the truth. She’ll know my scale color.” He hobbled over to them and reached out, handing it to Gale. He held their talon in his for a moment, then let go. They nodded at each other, and the two SkyWings took off. He watched them fly away until he couldn’t see them anymore.
You IDIOT.
She doesn’t need you anymore!
She never did!
Why are you trying to pull her back into this mess?!
…
Because I’m still hopeful.
I hope that we can fix things.
I hope that she can forgive me for what I’ve done.
That we can finally be friends again.
…
She may hate me.
And that’s fine.
…
I just want to see her one last time.
…
Before I end this once and for all.
= CHAPTER 6 =
Lupine stuck his nose under the water and blew angry bubbles. It wasn’t fair. He always heard about her mother’s adventures with her friends from when she was a dragonet. Always going on about those stories and such, and how she was still looking for one of them, and how she’s making progress. It was so BORING. She never let HIM go on adventures, unless Uncle Heron visited. A fish swam by him and he snapped at it. The sun was going down, and the water was finally cooling off.
Most days he came out to the little pool near the house to swim after dinner. But today, he came out a bit before because he got mad. One of his so-called school friends stole a necklace that his dad had given him, and refused to give it back. Papa was off at the school dealing with that right now, and Mama was busy cooking dinner and couldn’t draw with him like she usually did. So, he went out swimming.
Lupine floated on his back and looked up at the clouds. Two dragons flew slowly past, and one was pointing to a map. He blinked and they were gone. Whatever. Just more strangers.
“Lupine!” Dahlia called from the doorway of their small home. “Come on inside, dinner is ready. I made your favorite!” She whisked back inside as Lupine slowly heaved himself out of the water and grumbled. “Coming,” he groaned. He shook himself and scattered water everywhere. Probably stuffed date cakes and wolf meat stew again. It was his favorite, but Mama cooked it so often he was kind of getting tired of it.
He settled down at the table and started eating slowly. The door opened after a few moments, and Sparrow came in. He bumped snouts with Dahlia and walked over to his son, setting a small cloth package on the stone slab and sliding it over to him. “Guess what Papa got back,” he said slyly. The dragonet gasped and opened it quickly. It was his necklace! He made a happy noise and fumbled to put it on, small claws struggling with the tiny metal clasp. Dahlia stepped around and gently clipped it together. He looked down at his chest proudly. Good! It was back! Lupine loved this thing sooooo much. It was a little dragonfly holding a piece of amber, and it glittered in even the dimmest lighting.
“So did Gilding get punished at all?” Dahlia said to Sparrow as their dragonet fiddled with his locket. He was busy stuffing a cake into his mouth, and jumped slightly when she spoke. “Ah- yeha- he got groumbded for a momnt,” he said, muffled by the sheer amount of food in his face. He swallowed and cleared his throat. “His mom was NOT happy about that at all.”
“Good! I’m so mad at him!” Lupine squawked, looking up at his parents again. “That little claw-licker can go suck a lime!” Sparrow busted out laughing as Dahlia scolded him. “Watch your language, young dragon!” She looked up at Sparrow who was still snickering. “Did you teach him this foul language?” The SkyWing barked another laugh and she swatted at him. Dodging, he ran around the other side of the table as she chased him. Eventually she started laughing too. Dahlia leaned into his side and hugged him with her wing.
“I love you, you sour excuse for an orange,” she said, sticking her snout under his.
“No, I love you, you glorified eagle!” He said back, looking directly at her.
“That’s GROSS you guys!” Lupine groaned.
The trio started laughing, and Sparrow pulled him into the hug.
“How about… I love this family?” Dahlia whispered gently. Sparrow made a noise of agreement, and Lupine snuggled in closer between them. 
“Now come on, let’s eat. The stew is getting cold.”
…
Cardinal looked down at the roughly drawn map, then squinted around him. “I mean, this is where Gale said to look, sis,” he said, walking along behind his sister. “If we can’t find it, we should probably head back. It’s getting really dark out.”
Oriole rolled her eyes and stomped another bush down out of the way. “We’re close,” she huffed. “I can smell a fire and food nearby. But do remind me, who are we looking for again? And why?” Her brother sighed and spread his wings. “Oh come on. I’ve told you like 3 times,” he muttered, coming up beside her. “And you’ve met the weird corpse man. We’re looking for an old friend of his so he can finally get closure.”
“And this friend is here, right?”
“Well, she should be. I’ve checked the map a bunch. This is where Gale said that the ex-fiance of Dahlia’s dad said that she was at, so, yeah?” Cardinal said, pulling out the map one more time. Sure enough, there was a little circle and a note written in the swirliest talonwriting he had ever seen next to it. “Yeah, it’s around here somewhere.”
Oriole turned around another tree and made an aha noise. “There it is! I think,” she said, poking Cardinal with her tail and nodding at the house in the distance. He curled the map up and started strutting forward to the door. Clearing his throat, he raised a talon to knock. Then he twisted around and grabbed Oriole, shoving her in front of him. She flattened her eyebrows and glared at him.
“Are you serious?” she said, exasperated. He looked away and tilted his snout in the air. “You know how much of a coward I am! It took me months to ask Gale out!” Cardinal said, spreading his wings and shrugging. His sister rolled her eyes and rapped on the door three times. Cardinal stepped behind Oriole and quietly passed her the scale that Lich gave them. “Remember to show that to her when we start talking.”
“You mean when I start talking?”
“Oh shut up, you smug lizard.”
The door opened and a male SkyWing stepped into the frame. “How can I help you two?” he said, pale reddish-brown scales shimmering slightly in the torchlight. Oriole assumed her guard stance and bowed slightly. “Is there a Dahlia living at this residence?” she said in a commanding voice. He nodded and ducked back inside. 
“Dahlia, you have some soldiers here to talk to you. Have you done anything illegal lately, love?” he called across the house. “NO, Sparrow, I have not. I’m coming!” she said. Sparrow laughed gently and turned back to the siblings. A few moments later, he stepped back and Dahlia walked out. She bowed to the guards, and they did the same.
“What brings you here this evening?” she said politely, smiling gently. Oriole froze up, and Cardinal smacked her with his tail. She jumped and cleared her throat, resuming her posture. “We have a message from an old friend of yours, if you care to listen, ma’am,” she said, clutching the scale with both talons. Dahlia said nothing, but something seemed to spark in her eyes. “Oh?” she said, shifting around slightly and furrowing her brow. “If it’s from Heron, it must be serious. He usually just shows up and loudly announces he’s here.”
“It’s not from Heron, ma’am. It’s from Lich.”
= CHAPTER 7 =
Lich tapped his claws gently on the stone and sighed. 
…
She’s not coming. 
…
Why would she?
…
She’s got her own life now. 
…
It’s better off without me in it.
…
He watched the fish swim in lazy circles. He plucked a beetle up from the ground beside him and flicked it into the pool. A catfish snatched it up. Lich stood slowly and walked back to the cave.
…
The sun rose again, but this time covered with pale blue-grey rain clouds. A drizzle began outside, filling the cave with the sounds of a gentle rainfall. The ancient SandWing stirred. He lifted his head, saw the storm, and set it back down. No need for him to move anyways.
…
The downpour only got worse. A bolt of lightning struck a tree nearby and Lich jumped awake, claws scrambling on the rough stone. The cave was almost pure black, only illuminated in flashes by the thunder outside. He crawled farther back in the cave to avoid the thrashing winds and pelting droplets. Weather like this was common in the Sky Kingdom. He had even seen a few tornadoes in his time here.
It was strangely calming, though.
…
He brushed a pine tree with his wing gently, and was rewarded with a shower of cold droplets. Lich shook his head vigorously to dry himself a little bit. It was still dark and overcast, and extremely wet, but it had stopped raining after about 3 days. His talons sunk into the mud and he had to pull to lift them out. But he was going to the lake, and not even the weather could stop him.
The fish were alright at least, even though the pond was flooded. The spot he usually sat was covered by a shallow puddle of water, so he walked around to the small flat rock on the other side of the pool. It was muddy, and the water was full of silt. It didn’t matter. The weather was pleasant, and it was quiet. There was a slight breeze, the birds were chirping quietly, and it was cool.
Lich let out a soft sigh and shut his eyes, taking in the sounds around him. It was alright. If this was to be his existence for the rest of eternity, it wasn’t that bad. The ground was soft. The wind was blowing. He could move. This… this is what he had been missing. Time to himself. Time to relax. A place he could go to be alone with his thoughts. Where he could calm himself and really think about who he was.
A king.
A father.
A killer.
A lover.
The terror of the Sand Kingdom.
The myth of the Ice Kingdom.
The mystery of the Sky Kingdom.
A final tie to the ancient world of Pyrrhia.
Lich.
Himself.
And that was alright.
…
It was still overcast, but it was brighter outside today. He opened his eyes and found that he had fallen asleep at the pond. A small newt clung to his claws. It looked up at him with large eyes. He peered at it curiously.
“What are you doing here, little friend?” he said softly, lifting his talon. It stuck its tongue out and licked its left eye. Lich moved claws slowly down to the ground, and he poked it with his other talon. “Go on, get out of here.” It skittered off into the undergrowth. He watched it go with a faint smile, then settled himself again on the rock.
…
Lich glanced up to the sky as a faint shadow passed overhead. Looks like another set of showers was rolling in. Just about time to get back to the cave. Who knows how bad this one is going to be? He slowly stood to his feet, gripping the slightly damp stone so he didn’t slip off. A branch snapped somewhere off in the woods and a crow cawed. Probably some animal.
He shook his body one last time, hearing his bones clatter together dryly. A fish jumped out of the water and splashed back down. It was nice here, but he couldn’t help but wonder if there were other ponds nearby. He was getting too used to this view.
…
It began to rain again. Luckily he was back in his cave, and on his moss pile. He curled up and closed his eyes. It was quiet, and the light drizzle was calming. And there was no reason why he couldn’t take a nap.
Maybe I should start my plan.
…
She would have come by now.
…
It’s been almost two months.
…
I’ll wait a little longer.
…
Something tells me that she’s going to come.
…
He rolled onto his feet and pushed himself off the ground gingerly. Might as well go to the pool again. It looked like the weather had cleared fully. The sun shone through the branches, and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. Perfect.
The loud trills and calls of frogs filled the air on his way to the pond. Must be their spawning season. Now that he thought about it, it was that time of year where animals start breeding. It just means the hunt is going to be easier in a few months. It was also the time of year when partners start getting very sappy with each other. At least, that’s how it was in the Sand Kingdom. Lots of festivals were held this time of year. Lich never went to many, but the ones he did go to were entertaining. He had a habit of drinking a bit too much cactus juice and becoming a bit rowdy, but it’s in the past.
I can’t even remember what cactus juice tastes like anymore he thought as he settled down on the near dry shoreline. I guess it’s been that long. The mud underneath him was still soft, and he started drawing in it with his claws. Long strokes formed a dragon’s wing, while shorter ones filled in the curves of the body. Fins were drawn onto the back, and a long, thrashing tail was drawn. As he stared down at it, he realised he had drawn a SeaWing. Not very well of course. But why a SeaWing? He had only seen them a few times in his life, and only again when he met Heron. How odd. He looked at it for a moment, then smudged it out with his talon. Lich didn’t like the odd feeling it gave him.
Approaching wingbeats made him look up at the sky as someone swooped past overhead. They apparently didn’t see him, as they just kept on going. Were they going to the mountain? Why would they go there? Who were they? He stood on his wobbly claws and went back as fast as he could. If it was the guards, maybe they brought news. But wouldn’t there be two of them? Ah, perhaps it was Gale, coming to show him the scroll they wrote. But it didn’t seem… right.
Lich realised, deep down, he knew exactly who it was.
It was Dahlia.
…
The pink and yellow SkyWing poked around in the empty cavern. It was so sad and hollow. And empty. He clearly wasn’t here. He probably left after seeing her fly over. She sighed, and reached a talon up to her neck. The scars were still there, although much less noticeable. You could only tell they were there if you felt them. But they were. A worrying reminder of his sudden rage.
Did I make the right choice coming here? Is it even safe?
Dahlia made a little sound of annoyance and stomped her talon back onto the ground. He wanted to see me. So I came to see him. End of story. She looked out over the trees, wondering if he had just gone flying or something. Cardinal and Oriole said Eagle Peak Mountain right? In the lowest East facing cave? This was it! Where WAS he? Fine. If he didn't come back by the time the sun had set past the peaks of Jade Mountain, she was leaving. If he’s even here. Who invites someone over then-
“DAHLIA!”
She turned around, startled.
“DAHLIA I’M HERE!”
Lich stumbled up the rocky hill and into the cavern, slipping and slamming his body against the stone floor with a loud cracking sound. He got up immediately and gingerly spread his wings for balance, body shaking slightly. He was barely recognizable. Whatever Dahlia had expected him to look like, it certainly wasn’t this shambling corpse in front of her. “I’m here,” he said, ducking his head. Silence filled the cavern as she stared at him, and he looked at her. Neither of them spoke for what seemed like days. He looked awful. He was almost completely rotted, barely resembling what he looked like before. He looked down at the floor dejectedly.
“Oh, Lich…” she said, voice cracking. She put a talon to her mouth and sat down slowly, overwhelmed. Is this what he did to himself after he left? Because of her? He sat down gently and wrapped his bony tail around his front talons. It looked like he didn’t even care about his body anymore. That he was just just letting himself fall apart. The only thing that looked the same were his startlingly bright purple eyes that looked up into hers. He made a faint laughing sound.
“Guess I’ve changed, hm?”
= CHAPTER 8 =
A tense silence filled the cavern. Lich scraped his claws against the floor, waiting for Dahlia to respond. He didn’t know what to say. It had been so long since he had seen her, and they had both changed so much. He glanced up at her.
Dahlia was crying.
“No, Dahlia, don’t cry. Please,” he said, hobbling over to her and taking one of her talons in his. His were smaller than hers now, being nothing more than bone.
“How can I not? You disappeared for 14 years, Lich,” she whispered, voice shaking. “And when I do find you again, you’ve done this to yourself.” Dahlia shook her head and curved her neck away, wiping the tears from her snout with her other talon. “I feel like this is all my fault.”
“It’s not. None of this is. It’s all me. I should never have interfered with you and your father, I should have never even come back to the Kingdom of Sand,” Lich said, spreading one torn wing over her shoulder gingerly. “I lost my chance. After what I’ve done, to you, to that whole village, to my own family… I don’t deserve anyone’s forgiveness.”
“I just wanted to see you again to tell you that you don’t owe me anything.”
“Lich, no-”
“I don’t deserve to be in your life. No one alive today should even know my name,” he said quietly, shaking his head. “But this is my curse. To care. To love. Even if it hurts me.”
“Lich-”
“I’m sorry. For everything. Just forget about me. I don’t deserve to be remembered.”
He slowly pulled his talons in, looking away from the SkyWing and shutting his eyes. 
There. It’s done. I apologised.
So why do I still feel awful?
Huge, warm wings wrapped around his frail body and drew him into a hug. He didn’t resist. Lich made a faint choking sound and curled his neck around hers.
“It’s not you. It never was,” Dahlia whispered. “I know your story now. All of it. I know what you went through, I know what you did.” She pulled him in a little closer, carefully.
“You don’t know what I’ve done,” he said, tensing. “I’ve caused so much pain, so much suffering-”
“Lichen.”
He froze.
“Your name is Lichen. Not King Lichen, not Lich. You were hatched to a noble family, in the night, under 2 crescents and a new moon. You grew fast, almost the size of a 3 year old dragonet when you were barely 1. Your scales had a strange green pattern to them. The other nobles mocked you.”
“When you were 17, you were chosen to marry Princess Atacama, and you became the SandWing king. You earned a reputation in the arena as being violent and bloodthirsty, even though you weren’t.”
“3 years later, you had your first dragonet, a female you named Caracal. She grew up to be strong, just like you. Six years later, you had another dragonet, the young prince Meerkat. You loved him even more than Caracal.”
“Don’t.”
“Three days before his first hatching day, he was killed. You thought it was by a SkyWing assassin. Full of mournful rage, you summoned a wing of soldiers, and flew to the village of Sunstone. As an example, you burned the village to the ground and killed everyone inside, including the eggs and dragonets.”
Lich pushed away from her, clutching his head in his claws and slowly coming to rest on the floor. 
This was too much.
“Stop it. Please.”
Dahlia had a sombre look on her face. She looked down at him sadly.
“I’m sorry. You need to hear this.”
He curled his wings around himself and braced himself for what was to come.
“You returned home. Atacama was furious with you when she found out what you had done. She told you that the death of your son was an accident involving a pack of wild dogs and a dragonflame cactus. It had nothing to do with SkyWings.”
“You were devastated. What you thought had been justified vengeance for the death of a royal family member had been a genocide. Atacama sent you away, disgusted by what she saw before her. You spent months in your quarters, alone, trying to cope with what you had done. Caracal idolised you, and thought her mother was being cruel. So she challenged her to a royal duel.”
“She was only 7 when she died.”
“You had truly lost everything.”
“The nightmares of the burning village and dying villagers plagued you every night. Atacama refused to even speak to you. The entire SkyWing kingdom was furious, and threatening war. You were one of the most hated dragons in your kingdom.”
“They thought I was a monster,” Lich said quietly, lifting his head slightly. “I didn’t know. I was angry. But none of them believed me.” Dahlia sat down next to him, and he leaned into her gently.
“You and Atacama fought nearly every day. She threatened to have you executed once, and a fear started to grow inside of you. You didn’t want to die. You grew very quiet in the months following, trying to avoid drawing any more unwanted attention to yourself. You couldn’t leave the palace. Everyone in the nearby kingdoms wanted you dead.”
“So you looked for a solution. And one day, it flew into your throne room.”
“A NightWing animus by the name of Europa was fleeing her queen, alongside her family. She sought shelter in the Sand Kingdom, and was granted it. One night, you snuck into where her family was sleeping, and stole the egg of her daughter. Europa awoke and followed you to the highest tower of the palace.”
“You threatened to drop it unless she granted you immortality. Desperately, she agreed, and cast the spell. You gave her back the egg, and out of fear, she and her family were gone the next day. It didn’t matter. You were safe. No one could hurt you.”
“Or so I thought,” Lich spat, glaring at his bony talons. “She purposely cast the spell wrong just to spite me.”
“You were going to kill her grandchild.”
“I wasn’t going to drop it! I was lying!”
“Did she know that?”
Lich fell silent, and Dahlia continued.
“Months later, the IceWing queen, Permafrost, invited you and Atacama to the southernmost outpost to talk of an alliance. It was going well, until a sudden avalanche on the mountain began and came straight for the tower. You were too slow to get clear, and were buried, breaking your neck. You died that day.”
“Atacama didn’t send anyone to look for you. She didn’t mourn your death. Everyone seemed to forget you even existed.”
“But even after death, your mind lived on. 324 years later, you broke free of your icy prison with the help of two young IceWings. The eldest wrote a scroll about you. You flew back to your home, and helped to build a village called Scarab’s Refuge. You spent 50 years there, alone.”
“Then one day, a fierce little SkyWing dragonet stole your water pouch and ran off,” Dahlia said, smiling and nudging Lich with her wing. “You remember, don’t you?”
“Oh yes, I remember,” he said, sitting up. “I remember you running off, spilling all of it, then getting harassed by a gaggle of dragonets.” He laughed quietly. “You didn’t even stick up for yourself. I had to stop them.”
“You almost killed poor Ironwood.”
“I did not.”
“Anyways. she owed you a debt for spilling your water, and you decided that she could help you tend to your crops. She agreed. Eventually, you two became friends, despite your differences. You didn’t know, but you were one of her only friends.”
Dahlia looked down at her claws, smiling sadly as Lich looked at her in surprise. “I… what?” he said, tilting his head at her. “You always talked about how much fun you had with your little group at school!” She sighed, shaking her head.
“I lied, Lich. I didn’t have any friends. I was the weird pink SkyWing. I got picked on for not having a mom,” Dahlia said, looking back at him. “I could never tell my dad, since he was always busy working to support me. He had enough to worry about.”
“But then I met you, and you were alone too, with a strange scale color, just like me! You… you reminded me of myself. I knew how lonely I felt, and I knew you probably felt the same way.” 
Lich was silent. He hadn’t known any of this. 
“I just wanted to keep you company, and you seemed to like me, so I kept coming back. Then we became friends.”
“Didn’t I scare you?”
“A little. Okay, a lot at first. But you just… you seemed so sad all the time.”
“Well, I was, honestly.”
“I could tell,” Dahlia said, laughing quietly. Lich looked down at the stone floor again and sighed.
“I was so desperate for company, I can see that now. You reminded me of Meerkat.” 
“You became a daughter to me, Dahlia.”
“I know.”
“...continue with the story, please,” he whispered weakly. She nodded.
“One day, a terrible fire broke out, and your home burned down. Having nowhere to go, the little dragonet invited you to stay at her house. You accepted. She tried to introduce you to her father the best she could, but you two seemed to hate each other immediately, and she was worried. Nothing seemed to happen, however.”
“The next few months were happy. You and the dragonet became even closer. You showed her how to cook, to fight, to draw. Everything she had been missing from her busy father. She learned of your fear of fire, and you learned of her fear of the dark. You protected her from her bullies.”
“Then one day, she made a new friend. A SeaWing. He knew the truth about you, and it scared you. You tried to keep her away from him so she wouldn’t learn about what you did. You begged him not to tell her. He gave you an ultimatum. You tell her yourself, or in three months' time, he would tell her everything.”
“You became stressed, and worried. Two months of the three passed. One day, the tension that had been growing reached a breaking point. She pushed you too far, and you lashed out at her. You became deadly serious, and stormed up to your room. You picked up a scroll, gave it to her, then left with no explanation.”
Dahlia seemed choked up as she finished the last sentence. Lich looked at her, and saw a tear roll down her cheek before she brushed it away.
“She was scared, and confused. Her best friend had just disappeared. She waited for days for him to come back. She wanted to hug him and cry and tell him she was sorry, that it was her fault for asking him too many questions. She loved him like a father, and it broke her heart to see him go.”
The SkyWing was shaking now, tears flowing freely down her snout, falling and hitting the ground as she sobbed quietly. The old SandWing beside her sat upright and put his frail claws on her shoulders.
“Dahlia, how do you think I felt?” he said, the words catching in his dry throat. “It felt like losing my dragonets all over again. You have no idea how badly I wanted to come back.”
“Then why didn’t you?!” she shouted, turning towards him with a heartbreaking expression. “Why didn’t you come back?”
“Because I wanted to keep you safe!” Lich yelled, his voice echoing through the caverns. Dahlia fell silent and stared at him. “I wanted to keep you safe…”
“If I had come back, I would have ended up hurting you again. We would have fought over my past.”
“... I was scared you would hate me.”
“You have so much more to live for than just some old murderer you met as a dragonet. I’m sure you have children of your own now. I don’t want to ruin your life again. I don’t want to make you feel the way you did when I left.”
“I felt that way every day, Lich. I sat wondering for years about what I did wrong. But you know what I did? I kept living my life, like you would have wanted me to. I found love. I found friendship. I have a dragonet now, and I almost named him after you.”
“I looked for any sign of you for 14 years to find you again. I earned a little bit of a reputation as the local nutcase. I never gave up. When those two soldiers knocked on my door and told me you were still here, even wanting to see me, I was overwhelmed. It took me nearly two weeks to work up the nerve to see you again.”
“They told me about your past. I read the scroll. I know that it broke your heart. But I still had one question.”
“Why?”
= CHAPTER 9 =
“Why what?” Lich said, hunching his shoulders slightly. “I’ve already told you. I wanted to see you again to tell you I’m sorry for everything.” He glanced outside at the sunset. The clouds were turning a bright orange and pink, lighting up the sky.
“No,” said Dahlia, shaking her snout gently. “Why now, of all times? Why did you finally decide to reach out?” Her wings lowered slowly to her sides as she walked over to the cave entrance and sat. “You could have looked for me at any time.”
“Because now I finally know what I’m going to do with myself. With this curse.”
“And what’s that?”
“I’m going to end it,” Lich said with a deadly certainty. “To be blunt, I’m going to kill myself. Or at least, find someone to do it for me.” He settled his old bones next to Dahlia, watching as the sun slipped down over the peaks. It briefly illuminated the pair of them with an orange glow. “Figured you ought to know.”
He expected her to agree, to say something along the lines of “Yes, that sounds good, you’ve been around for a very long time.” But she was silent. So was he. Lich didn’t want to look at her. He knew exactly what he would see when he did. Betrayal. Sadness. Anger, even.
He sighed after a moment, and slowly turned his head towards her.
Dahlia’s face was a blank, emotionless mask, with only a furrowed brow and slitted eyes. She twisted her snout away from him and tensed her wings. Lich knew that she was upset, that she was angry. If he said anything now, she would just explode at him. He curled away from her. They sat like that for what felt like hours. The sky grew dark and the stars came out.
…
“So you aren’t even going to try?”
Lich opened his eyes and twisted around to look at her. “Try what?” Lich said quietly. “To live a normal life again? Start over?”
“I tried that, Dahlia. My past will just find me again. It always does.”
Silence filled the cavern yet again. He sighed gently. “Please don’t give me some speech about how I have so much to live for. I know you will,” he muttered, standing up gingerly and pacing slowly over to his moss pile. “I leave in three days. You’re welcome to visit me again in that time. Don’t try to find me when I go.”
She nodded, curling her tail around her claws gently. “I understand. You’ve lived lifetimes, and you don’t need another.” Dahlia said. She shut her eyes and sighed quietly. A moment passed, and she spoke again. “I’m totally coming back so you can write down that recipe for those cactus fruit cakes you always made!”
Despite himself, Lich let out a small laugh. A little smile creased Dahlia’s snout. 
She hopped up and shook out her huge wings with vigor. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Lich.”
He grinned, the dry skin around his mouth folding like paper.
“See you tomorrow.”
…
Stonecrop was always excited when the caravans came to the palace. They always brought fun little toys and the most wild things from the other kingdoms. Most importantly, they brought him new scrolls to read.
The dragonet bounced across the courtyard, eager to see what they had in the sand sleds today. The guards nodded at the young prince and pushed the large front gates open. He chirped his thanks and kept running out over the dunes until he flopped down on top of one, barbed tail wagging happily. Mesquite came over the crest of the next dune over, and waved at the small SandWing.
He ran over and helped the much larger dragon pull the sled into the palace, along with the other members of the caravan. It was heavy today, or at least heavier than usual. That just means they had more stuff for him to look at! Stonecrop grinned and clutched his pouch of gold tight to his chest as the traders carefully set up their little stands. He was always the first customer at their little bazaar, even if it meant waking up before the sun had even begun to rise.
Dusty finished putting up her tent first, and the one-eyed SandWing smiled at the little prince as he skittered over, stretching his short body to look at the wares behind her. “So what do you have today?” He said, beaming. The old dragon chuckled and shook her head. “You know I’m not going to let you buy any of my blades until you’re older, boy!” She said, sliding a small dagger away from Stonecrop and his grubby little talons. “Do I need to remind you again of how I lost my eye?”
“Yeah yeah, you were playing with a dagger as a dragonet and accidentally stabbed yourself,” he sighed, putting on a fake pout. “But can I pleaaaase buy one?? I’ll be really careful!” He practically bounced from talon to talon in excitement. Dusty laughed loudly and sighed, shutting her eye. “Alright, you can buy this wooden sword I got from a MudWing trader,” she said as she plucked a short, dragonet sized oak dagger from behind the counter. “Two coppers for it. But I STILL want you to be careful!”
She slid the sword over to Stonecrop and took the flat metal disks he held out to her eagerly. He laughed happily as he swung it around, accidentally hitting a post of the tent, purple eyes glittering. Dusty smiled as he ran off to Mesquite’s scroll tent.
The burly brown SandWing was just finishing placing a stack of parchment on a shelf when he heard a small clack noise behind him. He turned around to find the prince waiting patiently (or impatiently) for him. A small grin spread across Mesquite’s face as he adjusted his glasses. “Let me guess, the newest scrolls for the young dragon?” he said in a deep gentle voice. Stonecrop nodded, tapping his talons in glee.
“Let’s see here… I got an old copy of Goodnight, Moons from a NightWing, of all dragons?” Mesquite said over his shoulder as he sorted through the different saddlebags strewn around.
“I have that one already!”
“Well, alright then. We’ve got some cookscrolls, Pearlfishing for Dummies, Fifty Scales of… nevermind. Hmm…” Mesquite seemed to remember something and made a small aha sound as he strode to the corner of the tent and picked up a small, slightly ornate scroll case. “Something you might enjoy!”
He placed it in Stonecrop’s talons and watched as he carefully lifted it out and read the title. “The Forgotten King of the Sand Kingdom?” he said, tilting his head and unrolling it a little. The older SandWing nodded. “I got it in the Sky Kingdom. I read it and I’m not quite sure if it’s fiction or not. It seems… rather real, and I think I’ve heard stories about-”
“DON’T SPOIL IT!!” Stonecrop barked, pointing his wooden sword at Mesquite, who jumped a little. He dropped his little coin pouch on the counter and pulled out three gold pieces. “I’ll take it and the Goodnight, Moons scroll, please!”
Mesquite nodded, then paused. “Don’t you already have that one?” he said. 
“I do, but I spilled fig juice all over it and now it’s all stained.”
The merchant laughed, and shook his head. He handed the young prince the other scroll, and watched him run back inside eagerly, green speckled scales shimmering slightly as the sun rose over the palace walls.
= CHAPTER 10 =
Lich grinned as he saw the shape of Dahlia winging her way over to his cave. As she got nearer, she waved at him, beaming. He waited for her to land, but saw two more dragons flying alongside her as his eyes adjusted to the light of the rising sun. A dragonet and another SkyWing? He blinked and walked slowly outside of the arch.
The small dragonet jumped, squeaking slightly and ducking behind Dahlia as they walked up to where Lich was sitting patiently. The other SkyWing also flinched as he saw the ancient dragon. Dahlia, of course, was beaming as she paced up and gave Lich a hug with her wings.
“So, I hope you don’t mind that I brought my family to meet you,” she said, rubbing a talon against her neck as she stepped back. Lich turned to look at the other two dragons in his cavern, trying to look as friendly as he could. The rusty brown male sighed and stepped forward, holding out a talon warily. The two dragons shook claws.
“Hello… uh, sir,” he said, taking his talon back and rubbing it against his chest. “My name is Sparrow, I’m Dahlia’s husband.” Lich nodded, smiling slightly. “I’m Lich. Or Lichen, whichever you prefer. You’ve probably heard about me.”
“Ah, well, I’ve read that scroll that the guards brought, at least,” Sparrow said, turning to look at his wife. “And Dahlia reassured me that you’re to be trusted. I hope.” He twisted his neck around to peer behind Dahlia, at the little dragonet behind her. Sparrow twitched his head in Lich’s direction, and the small Skywing shook his head and stepped back a bit more behind his mother.
Dahlia laughed gently and put a wing on Lupine’s shoulder, guiding him to her side. “Come on, dear. He won’t hurt you,” she whispered gently. Lupine paused for a moment, blinking up at her, then cautiously walked over to the massive, bony SandWing in front of him. Lich ducked his head, which made the dragonet flinch slightly.
“Hello there,” Lich said softly. Lupine jumped again, but seemed to steel himself a moment later. “Hi. I’m Lupine!” the dragonet chirped confidently, holding out a small talon of his own. Lich took it gently in his and shook it. “So, um… you’re my mom’s old friend she always told me stories about?”
The old SandWing shot a look at Dahlia, who ducked her head and grinned sheepishly. “I suppose I am, although now I look a bit… unfortunate,” said Lich as he eased himself into a resting position on the floor. “It’s been a while since I’ve gone on an adventure, but I’m going to go on another soon.” Lupine sat down in front of him, wagging his tail slightly. “OOH, what are you gonna do?” he chirped, looking up at Lich with a new enthusiasm.
Lich laughed softly, and sighed. “Well, I’m going to find someone to fix me,” the old man said, tilting his head. “That is, take this spell off so I can rest. I’ve been alive for a very long time, as you can see.”
“It’s going to take me a while, because I can’t fly anymore. But moons, I have nothing better to do with my time.”
Lupine gasped and sat up, eyes glittering. “THAT SOUNDS SO COOL!!” he yelped, practically bouncing on his claws. “Can I come?!”
The old man’s eyes widened, startled. Before he could say anything, Dahlia stepped forward and set a wing on her son’s back. “I’m sure Lich would prefer to take this journey alone, little bird,” she said as she stood her son up and dusted off one of his shoulders. “And besides, we’ll go on our own adventure soon! I promise.”
She glanced up at Lich. He nodded gently at her and gave her a small look of thanks. Bringing a dragonet with him was the last thing he wanted to do, especially if it was Dahlia’s child. Honestly, small dragons sort of frightened him. They’re so full of energy and don’t understand danger. It was alarming.
“Now come on, Dad is going to take you back home, alright?” Dahlia said, pushing Lupine gently in Sparrow’s direction. “There are some wolves running around in the woods and he’s going to catch a few. You can help him!” Lupine gasped and nodded eagerly, running over to his father who nudged him with his wing. The two flew back over the small forest, and Dahlia and Lich both watched them go until they were out of view.
Lich let out a massive sigh and flopped onto the ground, bony wings clattering on the stone floor. “Well, that was a whirlwind of chaos,” he said as he turned his head towards Dahlia. “Barely even a few minutes and they’re gone!”
She walked over to his side and sat down next to him. “Sorry, Lich. I should have known that Lupine would have made you uncomfortable, and I don’t think Sparrow felt quite safe either.” She sighed, lowering her wings. “I had to bring them because Sparrow kept calling me crazy, and I’m pretty sure he thought I was cheating on him? For some reason?”
The old man barked a horribly loud laugh. It took him nearly two minutes to control himself. Dahlia was snickering slightly too. “I certainly hope he didn’t think that! That’s horrible,” he said, sighing gently. Dahlia smiled and shook her head. “Lupine also wouldn’t leave me alone about it because he overheard me talking about it with Sparrow, so he ended up coming along too.”
“You’re lucky you reached out now instead of in a year or two, or else there would have been two dragonets bothering you.”
Lich flicked his ears and lifted his head. “You’re having another dragonet?” he said, eyes widening slightly. Dahlia smiled softly and nodded, pressing a talon gently to her underbelly. “You’re the first dragon I’ve told,” she whispered, grinning at him. “Sparrow doesn’t even know yet.”
The mummified SandWing wobbled upright and paced over next to Dahlia, spreading one of his cracked wings over her back. “I figured I’d tell you now, since you’re leaving tomorrow,” she said, leaning into his dry side. Lich blinked, then started slightly. It had already been three days? He stayed silent for a little while.
“Wait, what?” he said, turning to look at her. “You drop a bombshell like that and just expect me to leave?!” Dahlia widened her eyes and stared at him. “Well, yes? I guess?” she said, startled. “Your whole… thing seems pretty urgent, and I assumed you would stick to your plan.”
Lich snorted and put on a stoic expression. “Well too bad, you aren’t rid of me just yet,” he said sarcastically. Lifting a bony claw, he poked Dahlia in the side gently. “I’m going to stick around until this new, annoying little dragon hatches. What’s another year for an old immortal fossil like me, anyways?”
The cave was silent for a moment as the two dragons looked at each other. Dahlia’s eyes were huge, still startled by this revelation. “So you’re going to keep living? Just because of this?” she whispered. Lich shook his head. “I’m not alive anymore Dahlia, you know this.”
“But yes, I’m going to stay around for a while longer.”
…
The small SandWing rolled up his scroll and put it back onto the shelf, thinking. So, this old guy was a king, right? Stonecrop scratched his chin with one claw and flew over to another rack in the library. He pulled out the royal lineage scroll, and flew down to the low table in the center of the room. Spreading it out, he set small chunks of sandstone on each corner to keep it flat.
The branches with him and his parents were added by the palace scribes very recently, inks and pigments still bright on the parchment. He tapped his little portrait thoughtfully, then glanced around to see if any of his grandparents or great grandparents had green scales like he did. On his mother’s side, of course. Aunt Twister had told Stonecrop of a few recorded instances of other royal SandWings having these weird green scales. It didn’t happen often, however.
Eager little magenta eyes scanned the old scroll, his talons gently rolling it back to the old king’s time. If he was right, then he should be there, and he could trace the bloodline all the way from him back down to Stonecrop.
Faded purple eyes stared out at him from the ancient yellow parchment. He squinted his eyes and looked closer at the small portrait in front of him. 
King Lichen.
It’s him!
Stonecrop’s eyes jumped from the picture up to the scroll he just put back to the shelf. He ran over and grabbed it, rolling quickly to the chapter he knew had a picture of the king. Sprinting back over to the lineage scroll, he dropped it down with a clattering noise. IT WAS THE SAME PICTURE. It was the old king!
The prince made a small squeaking noise and hopped from talon to talon. He was so smart. After a moment of beaming to himself, he shook his head and told himself to focus. You still need to trace the bloodline and make sure that he’s actually related to you, and it’s not just a fluke.
Looking below the portrait of the king, he found three pictures of his dragonets.
Three?
Weren’t there only two in the other scroll?
He grabbed the history scroll and rolled back to the beginning where it talked about the king’s family. Scanning the paragraph, he found that he was right. He only had two dragonets, but they both died before having any eggs of their own. So who was this third picture? A secret dragonet he had with another dragon? No, because then it wouldn’t have been put into the family tree since they wouldn’t be royal…
Stonecrop shook out his wings and rubbed his forehead. It might help if he actually looked at the mystery dragon again. He pulled the scroll in front of him and squinted at the portrait. It was a female dragon with the same faded purple eyes as her father. He traced his claw back to her mother, and found that it was Queen Atacama, the old king’s wife. So it was their child, right?
He glanced down at the new dragon’s name and raised his eyebrows.
Queen Heliodor.
So a queen!
That means that she’s most likely connected to my mom, and then to me!
And since her dad was King Lichen and not King Brand, the new king that Atacama married after Lichen died, she carried that trait that did the weird green scale thing every so often in the family! I need to trace the bloodline to make sure. 
Stonecrop set a claw on the portrait of Heliodor, and moved his claw slowly from queen to queen. He noticed that about every four or five generations, the pale green scale trait popped up again. As he got closer to the present, he got more and more excited. It hadn't been cut off yet! His claw stopped on his great great grandmother, Queen Drought. She was the last dragon in the family to have the same coloring as Stonecrop.
He blinked and moved his claw to his great grandmother, his grandmother, and then his own mother, Queen Adobe. He grinned from ear to ear when he looked and saw his dragonet portrait, which would be updated when he was fully grown. So he WAS related to the old king! Stonecrop squealed happily, picked up the history scroll, and ran out of the library to the throne room. He had to show Mother!
A thought occurred to the 4 year old dragonet as he bounded down the hall.
Didn’t the scroll say he was still alive somewhere?
= CHAPTER 11 =
Lichen paced quietly back to the royal chambers, the sun reflecting off the coppery tiles on the hallway floor. Atacama was busy with negotiations with the RainWing queen, and he decided to go take a short nap. Nothing better to do.
He opened the door and found Meerkat sitting next to the koi pond he had installed. The prince turned his head towards the entryway, and his face lit up when he saw his father. Lichen smiled sweetly as his son ran over and jumped up, hugging him with his tiny wings. The king lowered his huge head and curled around the dragonet.
“Hello, Meerkat,” Lichen said gently. “What are you doing in my room? Again, I might add, for the fourth time today?” Meerkat giggled and bounced over to the side of the pond. He pointed one of his pale golden claws at a small white fish in the water. “There’s a new fish I’ve never seen before, Father!” the tiny dragonet chirped, tail barb wagging slightly.
The king walked over to his side, looking over his son’s head at the fish. It was a pale pearl color, and its scales reflected the light and shimmered in all the colors of the rainbow. Meerkat was right, Lichen had never seen that one before. Of course, he had been busy helping Caracal and Atacama with some royal business, but an entire new fish? Hmm.
“I’m going to name it Cheese,” Meerkat said confidently. Lichen snorted, and tried to stifle a laugh. “I was thinking Opal, but Cheese works as well,” he chuckled, patting his not even a year old son on the back gently. They sat in content silence for a while and watched Cheese and the other fish swim around. Meerkat picked up the small container of fish food after a little bit and sprinkled some into the pool, smiling as they all swam to the surface to eat.
Lichen smiled softly as he looked at his son. Even though he never wanted this relationship or status, he had to admit his dragonets were the only thing keeping him sane. The door opened quietly, and Caracal stuck her head in through the crack. 
“Hello, dear,” Lichen said, standing slowly and turning towards her. She sighed and flopped onto the pile of blankets in the corner of the room. “Hey, Dad,” the princess said, her voice muffled by a camel skin.
“SISSY!” Meerkat yelled, running over and jumping on his older sister. She sat up and tackled him, making sure to curl her tail barb away from him. The two of them laughed and rolled around on the floor. “Hey now, be gentle!” Lichen said, laughing softly as well. Eventually, his two dragonets rolled onto their backs, panting. He shook his head and climbed onto his bed, pulling a light blanket over his wings.
Meerkat hopped up and curled up next to Lichen. Moments later, he was asleep. Lichen smiled softly and glanced up at Caracal, who had recovered from the tussle with her brother. “Want to sit with us?” he said, lifting his wing and the blanket.
Caracal rolled her eyes and scoffed, but ended up settling next to her father and brother on the soft down bed after a moment. Once both of his dragonets had fallen asleep, Lichen set his head on the pillow and shut his eyes, content. The planning for Meerkat’s first hatching day celebration could wait until later.
…
Lich held the egg in his thin talons gently, being careful not to drop it. He smiled down at it. Dahlia watched him as he slowly lowered the egg back into her claws and settled back onto his moss pile. “It looks very healthy, Dahlia,” he said as she put it in the leather sling around her neck. “I’m sure you and Sparrow are very proud.”
“Oh, we are, trust me. The reddish-gold eggs are known for their resilience and hard shells,” she said, buttoning the pouch shut and resting a talon on it. “It might need some help hatching because of it, but we’ll be there.” Lich tilted his head and wrinkled his snout slightly. “I forget that other tribes have hard-shelled eggs. SandWing eggs are leathery, like a snake.”
He sighed, and Dahlia glanced up at him. “I miss my dragonets,” the old man whispered, picking at the ground with a claw. It still saddened him when he thought of them. Caracal, always quick to anger, but really the sweetest dragon. And Meerkat. 
That hurt most of all.
“What were their names?” Dahlia said, folding her talons together.
“Meerkat was the youngest, Caracal the oldest. I only had two.”
Lich set his head on the stone floor and shut his eyes. He missed when they would sit with him. He missed the games they would play together, when Meerkat would run up to him and show him what he’d drawn, Caracal rearranging her jewelry every few minutes during parties…
He felt Dahlia put a wing on his shoulder and lean into him. “They’re gone now,” he said, twisting his snout around to look at her. “You know what happened to them.” A solemn silence filled the cavern. Lich looked outside and watched the clouds drift past.
“Did you ever think about adopting one?” Dahlia said, watching the clouds as well. He didn’t answer. “I’ll take that as a no.”
They sat a bit longer, the sun rising higher in the sky. Dahlia’s stomach growled and she started slightly. Lich sat up and nudged her with one of his wings. “Go catch something to eat,” he said, shaking his body. “I can watch your egg for you, if you want.” She smiled, and slowly lifted the sling off of her neck and handed it to him. Once he was settled, she took off and flew down into the forest to hunt.
Lich stroked the pouch lightly with one talon, mind drifting slowly through his own memories of the past. He blinked and sighed quietly. The past was in the past, hundreds of years ago. His family was gone. That was something he’d have to accept. Maybe his brother had some dragonets, and he has great nephews and nieces somewhere out there. As for his bloodline?
It ended a long time ago.
…
Queen Adobe rubbed her exhausted eyes and walked away from the low sandstone table. The trade offer with the SeaWings had gone sour, and the SkyWings were threatening war again, for some reason. She sighed and paced slowly down the hall to the royal chambers, where Brass was probably already sleeping.
The guards saluted her as she passed, and she could barely muster the energy to nod back at them. Adobe went inside the room and crawled into bed next to her husband. He was indeed fast asleep. She envied him, being able to relax all day while she did all the queen stuff. Eyes already half closed, she lifted the large woolen blanket spread across her side of the bed and curled into it.
Her head hit the pillow and she fell asleep instantly.
…
The sun hit her eyes and woke her up moments later. Or at least, it felt like moments. Groaning, she rolled over and pulled the blanket over her head.
“My love, you can’t just stay in bed all day,” Brass said, shining his scales with a small, coarse rag and walking over to Adobe’s side of the bed. He set the cloth down and bumped his snout with hers.
“Watch me,” she muttered. After a few moments, however, she sat up and clambered out of bed. Brass brushed his wings with hers and she walked very slowly to the mirror next to the old koi pond. Of course she forgot to take her jewelry and silks off before going to sleep. They were a tangled mess and she growled angrily. Adobe quietly lifted the nest of silk and gems off her neck, and set them aside.
Fine. No jewelry today besides the Eye.
She untangled the Eye of Onyx out from the folds of the clump and put it back on around her neck, centering it on her collarbone. It’s important that she wears it. First of all, it symbolizes the royal status she holds. And second, it keeps dragons in line. They knew what happened to her mother in the royal challenge. The whole kingdom did. Even Brass watched it warily.
The throne was cold, as it usually was. Adobe settled on it, shivering slightly. Brass sat next to her on his slightly smaller throne. And then they waited. Messengers came and went, delivering news of happenings around the kingdom. Merchants coming in to talk of setting up a permanent bazaar to the southeast of the palace, which was approved.
When the sun was high in the sky, Prince Stonecrop ran into the throne room, almost bumping into the MudWing delegate that was there speaking of alliances. Brass flinched and hopped off his throne, ushering his son out of the chamber and apologising. Adobe sighed, rubbed her eyes, then continued business as usual. She’d worry about her son later.
…
Stonecrop was saying something about “ancestors” and “wanting to go out to look for something”. Adobe was too exhausted to listen, honestly.
“Look, honey, Mama is tired,” she said, exasperated. “Why don’t we talk tomorrow?”
“But I neeeeed to go find him, Mother! I just need a wing of guards-”
“Fine! Just- go. Take some soldiers and just leave me alone.” Adobe pushed Stonecrop out of the door and shut it behind him. She leaned against the door for a moment and sighed softly. I wish I could spend more time with him, but I’m just too busy, she thought, shutting her eyes sadly.
“I’m sorry, Stonecrop. I really am,” she whispered.
After standing at the door for a few minutes, she decided to go talk to him and actually listen to what he was saying. It was the least she could do. She walked over to his bedroom and knocked on the door. “Stonecrop?” Adobe said, resting a talon on the door handle. “It’s Mama, may I come in?”
He didn’t answer.
“I’m sorry about earlier, love. I had a busy day, that's all.”
Silence.
She opened the door and looked inside. He was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes opened wide. “Sagebrush?” The queen called out to the guard posted nearby. He poked his head around the end of the hallway. “Yes, your majesty?”
“Have you seen the prince?”
Sagebrush nodded, his armor clattering together slightly. “He said something about going to the guard barracks, but he was moving and talking so fast I could barely understand a word he was saying.” He lifted his spear and gestured in the general direction of the guardhouse.
Oh no.
= CHAPTER 12 =
Robin jumped on Lich’s shoulder, squeaking happily. The old man twisted his neck around and grinned at the small reddish-grey dragonet. “And what exactly do you think you’re doing?” Lich said, lifting the tiny SkyWing off his back with one talon. Robin squirmed for a bit, then put a little paw on the SandWing’s nose and chirped.
He set him down, and the little dragonet wobbled over to his mother, who picked him up gently and held him in her arms. The hatchling fell asleep quickly, and Dahlia smiled down at him.
“I forgot how small they start out,” she said. She brushed a claw over the top of Robin’s head and tiny horns. Lich watched the both of them, a slight grin on his old snout. “You think that they’d be bigger, because of the egg, but then they hatch.”
“Oh my moons, Caracal was ridiculously tiny when she hatched, you have no idea. Even smaller than him,” Lich said, shaking his head a bit. He sat up and twitched his wings. Robin rolled a bit in his sleep, curling his tiny body inward. “Did you end up having to help him out of the egg?”
“Actually, no. He practically smashed the thing into powder,” Dahlia laughed. Lich nodded and stood, stretching a bit. “He looks like quite the fighter, I have to admit,” he said as he walked over to her side. “You didn’t see it, but he bit my claw earlier.”
“He’s a gummy little creature.”
“Oh he sure is, he did the same thing to his father at least twice!”
The old man nudged his friend gently with one of his wings. “Hey, how about we go down to that little pond? Let him play with the fish?” Dahlia smiled and nodded her head, standing up gingerly and settling her dragonet into place on her shoulder. The three of them went out of the cave and started down the mountainside.
…
“There!”
Stonecrop pointed to the small mountain in front of him and the soldier alongside him. She peered around him and squinted. “Are you sure, my lord?” Barrel said, flicking her tail. “Yep, that’s what that Sparrow guy said!” the prince chirped. “The short jagged mountain with the big pine tree on the north side.”
He giggled in glee. This was it! After almost a year of looking and his mom freaking out when she caught him and the other guards, he found the mountain! Now, according to all the research he’s done, his ancestor should (hopefully) still be here.
Hopefully.
Barrel sighed. “You remember what your mother said, don’t you, sire?” She said, flying up next to the prince. “This is the last mountain you’re allowed to check before I have to bring you back. You’ve already been gone for nearly 9 months.”
Stonecrop groaned. Barrel was always like this. “Do you not understand how momentous this is?” he said, not trying to hide the bitterness in his voice. “We are THIS close to finding out so much about SandWing history! You can at least TRY to act a little excited.”
“Yay.”
He sighed, shaking his head. It didn’t matter. They were, quite literally, right there. Stonecrop squealed quietly, barely able to contain himself. He took a deep breath. You gotta be calm, buddy. I know this is big, but you NEED to calm down. There was a big chance that he might not find anything at all and this whole trip would be a waste of time, which made him incredibly sad when he thought about it.
But there was also the off chance that he did find something, and he also had to prepare himself for that possibility. He had an idea of what to expect, but in reality, it could be something totally different.
Another set of distant wingbeats to his left startled him slightly, and he looked over. A SkyWing was flying north, out of the forest below. It didn’t look like she saw the two SandWings. Stonecrop tilted his head, curious, but he had other things to worry about.
He smacked Barrel with one of his wings, making her flinch and scowl at him as he took off and made a beeline for the eastern cave. He knew he had the most ridiculous grin on his face, but he couldn’t take it off now!
…
The sun was high in the sky as Lich slowly paced back up the mountain. Dahlia had left for home a bit earlier, and he was done looking at the fish. He brushed some water droplets off his snout. Robin had splashed him a little while they were down at the pond. At one point he even smacked the old man with a carp!
He chuckled softly and shook his head. Dragonets. Quite the wild bunch.
As he clambered up the slightly steep cliffs, he heard voices coming from the small cavern he called home. Voices? Someone was in there? It couldn’t be Dahlia, he could still see her in the distance, flying home. So who was it? The SkyWing researcher? They still visited from time to time.
But there were clearly two dragons in the cave. Lich squinted and tilted his head as he got nearer. One of them sounded very irritated, and young, while the other was slightly authoritative and annoyed.
“...here! I’m not leaving yet!” the higher pitched one cried. Lich heard an audible groan from the older voice. “Fine, I’M going to go into the forest to hunt. You can stay here and wait for grandpa, or whatever you want to find so bad.”
Grandpa?
Who in the world is in my cave?
A dragon flew past overhead and Lich flattened himself against the mossy stone instinctively. They didn’t seem to spot him, however. He saw sandy yellow scales catch the midday sun. Yellow? Lich stood up quickly and whirled around, staring into the distance at the mystery dragon.
A SandWing!
What in the world was a SandWing doing in the mountains?!
The old man whipped his head around back towards the cave entrance, which was just above him. There was another one in there! He started up the trail he had worn, but stopped. Something told him that this was important.
This was not a normal, accidental visit.
This was purposeful.
This was for him.
…
Stonecrop heard claws scrape against the rock behind him, and he sighed, turning around grumpily. “You just left, Barrel. Don’t tell me we have to go right-”
He froze.
The creature in front of him was not Barrel.
A disheveled, thin draconic figure stood in the archway, tattered wings spread slightly. Dark rotted green scales caught the light, glimmering. Bony claws gripped the floor, and piercing purple eyes glared at him from pitch black eye sockets. This dragon was clearly dead, but somehow it still moved, body puppeted like some demented, damned figurine from the underworld. It radiated a menace and anger, a hatred for the living, and a thirst for revenge.
It spoke, breaking the thick silence.
“Who are you?”
…
Lich squinted into the dark, his eyes not adjusting properly, as they usually did. He could make out the shape of a medium-sized yellowish green SandWing dragonet standing rigidly in the center of the little hole he called home. What the heck? A dragonet?
The old man shook out his body, dry tail barb hitting the ground with a faint rattling sound. This was weird. Why was he just standing there? Did I scare him or something? He sat back and sighed, tilting his head at the little SandWing in front of him. No response. Lich blinked, arching his eyebrows slightly.
…
It sat, blocking the entrance. A barbed tail curled around its talons, and its eyes glittered malevolently. Stonecrop was frozen in place.
He found him.
But he was terrifying.
“I asked you a question.”
Stonecrop flinched, drawing his wings in closely. Oh man what do I do- he’s kinda scary- do I just- ack. He’d better tell him who he was. Didn’t know what he’d do if he didn’t.
Deep breaths. This is your ancestor, after all.
“My name is Prince Stonecrop of the SandWings. It’s an honor to meet you, sir,” he said, spreading his wings and bowing low to the floor. The ancient dragon lifted its head slightly in acknowledgement.
Why is this actually sort of terrifying?
Eventually, the gaunt figure responded.
“A prince?” he said, arching his neck. “So Atacama remarried, did she?”
Okay.
It is him.
How to go about this…
“She did, but her heir was not the new king’s daughter.”
…
What?
Lich’s eyes widened. She didn’t have a dragonet with her other husband? Then who-
No.
There is no possible way in the world that-
There was. He remembered now.
After the royal duel when she killed Caracal. She sent the doctors away when I came in, and we started to fight. I blamed her for not caring about our dragonets and she got terribly upset. It broke her heart to kill our daughter, but she had to to protect herself. She was about to say something else, but I cut her off, yelling about how I couldn’t believe her, and I stormed out of the room.
What was she going to say?
It clicked suddenly. The way she had been acting. He knew something was off. She had that look in her eyes several days before Meerkat’s hatching day. Before everything fell apart.
The same look she had before.
Atacama had been with egg.
“You’re my ancestor.”
Lich staggered and made a pained choking noise, putting a talon to his mouth in shock.
He had another dragonet.
Something dripped down the side of his snout and he slammed his eyes shut. I lost my dragonets 500 years ago, and now I find out about another I never knew. Is this some sort of cruel joke? A punishment?
This can’t be real.
…
“You’re wrong.”
“What?”
The undead dragon laughed in a bitter, heartbreaking way. When he opened his eyes, they were crazed and saddened, shaking, with a hint of yellow shining deep within.
“I never had another dragonet. My bloodline is over. Ended. Hundreds of years ago,” he muttered grimly. “Whoever you think I am, you’re wrong.” He hunched his shoulders and wrapped his wings around himself, ducking his head away from Stonecrop. “You have to be wrong.”
“You’re King Lichen, aren’t you?”
Silence.
The old king made another pained sound and held his head in his talons.
“Don’t call me that. Please don’t call me that,”
It was all too much. Suddenly his entire life had been twisted around, altered. Everything he had known up until now was wrong. He wasn’t the only one left, he had descendants, he had family. All he could do was sit. He couldn’t muster up a response, couldn’t collect himself. This feeling…
It was horrible.
Slowly, his body lowered to the ground, covered with his tattered, shuddering wings. Lich curled into a ball, horns gripped firmly in his claws. Everything that he had done came flooding back with a furious intensity, whipping his emotions into a furious tornado of guilt. He hissed in agony.
Suddenly his mind went blank. Lich drew his head up slowly. Hollow eyes stared at nothing, and thin talons pressed against the stone. Stonecrop was still there, watching him with a frightened look. Silent moments passed, Lich showing no signs of being at all animated. He was as still as a statue.
After a little bit of turning over everything in his mind, Lich let out a sigh, shutting his eyes. He was overreacting. Sure, it was a revelation, but it didn’t change much of anything in reality. He had a family after all, even if he didn’t know them.
Isn’t that what he wanted?
…
“What was her name?” Lich said hoarsely, glancing up at his descendant. “My daughter I never knew?” Stonecrop twitched his tail around his claws and lifted his snout.
“Heliodor.”
My favorite gemstone.
I only told Atacama that.
Lich frowned at the floor again, another wave of guilt washing over him. She named his last daughter after something he liked. Something he cared about.
She had loved him, and he didn’t believe her.
Was she actually going to try and asassinate me? Or was I just too blinded by anger to see that it was just some stupid palace rumor?
I cursed myself based on a lie.
“So you’re my descendant…” He drew himself up, looking Stonecrop up and down. He was about 5 years old, and medium sized for a dragonet. His scales were a pale burnished gold color, with splotches of a light green on his back and wings, and a dark green crest. The SandWing’s eyes were a shade of fuscia, similar to his ancestor’s. There were definitely traits that were passed down.
“I am,” Stonecrop said. He walked cautiously over to Lich, and held out a talon for him to shake. The old man reached out hesitantly, but his claws dropped down, and he looked away.
“I’m sorry… I’m… it’s not you. I thought I was the only one.”
The dragonet looked at him with a mixture of sympathy and pity. He walked even closer and carefully wrapped both of his wings around his many-great-grandfather’s shoulders.
Lich made a small whimpering sound and curled his long, thin neck around his descendant.
He wasn’t alone anymore.
= CHAPTER 13 =
The two sat for a long while, Lich still shaking. Stonecrop knew that he had to wait to ask him all the questions he had. The old man could barely handle the fact he was even there, let alone his family was still alive.
Wait, where’s Barrel?
Stonecrop leaned away from his grandfather, peering out the front of the cave. Lich pulled back and hunched in the corner, watching him with curious, sad eyes. “I’ll be right back. I need to find where my guard went,” he said, walking over to the cave entrance. “Can we talk more when we get back?”
“Of course. Anything,” Lich said, waving a talon in the air. “I know you must have lots of questions, and I have plenty for you as well.” His eyes seemed to go blank as he stared at nothing again, wings still shuddering slightly like dry leaves. Stonecrop patted one of his shoulders and he smiled weakly at the dragonet. “It’s all a bit much, isn’t it?”
The little prince nodded gently. He gave his grandfather a quick hug with one of his wings, then took off to fly down to the forest below. The feeling of being watched prickled down his spine as Lich’s eyes followed him. I feel kinda bad for him. I thought he knew?
At least he’s happy to see me. Stonecrop grinned a bit. At least, he seemed happy? His reaction was a bit confusing, to say the least. It didn’t matter, he proved Barrel wrong.
Speaking of Barrel, he heard a sneeze below him and he dived down through the tree canopy, landing directly next to his bodyguard. She jumped spectacularly and yelped. “SURPRISE!!” He shouted. Barrel scowled at him and smacked him lightly with one of her wings.
“I’ve told you before, don’t frighten me like that!” she said, flicking her tail away from him. Stonecrop giggled.
“I found him, by the way,” he said, picking a wet leaf off his shoulder. “My ancestor. He was here, and you didn’t believe me!” Barrel raised her eyebrows and glanced at the mountain behind them. “Wait, he’s actually real?” The guard said, confused. “I thought it was just some story you read.”
Stonecrop looked at her with a blank expression. “You really thought that I, the dragonet who has read nearly every scroll in the Sand Kingdom, wouldn’t do my research before going on a year long trip to find this guy??”
“I’ve read every single scroll I’ve found about it, including one that was written BY HIM from 500 years ago! I read one that an IceWing wrote almost 67 years ago! I've asked dragons who have met the guy!”
“YOU WERE THERE FOR HALF OF THAT!”
Barrel blinked at him slowly.
Stonecrop grimaced at her.
“So… he’s in the mountain right now?” She said, tilting her head. He nodded. “He’s still trying to process me even EXISTING, so don’t be rude, okay?” Stonecrop said, poking her. “That’s a royal order.”
She sighed, and bobbed her head. The two SandWings took off and flew back up the mountainside. Stonecrop remembered something and twisted around in midair to talk to Barrel again.
“Oh, he also is a bit scary looking, so, uh… don’t freak out??” He said, beating his wings. “Just, um, be nice?” Barrel sighed again. “I got it the first time, your highness. Big ancient undead zombie who happens to be related to you.”
The prince whacked her with one of his wings and darted up to the cave, giggling. She barked something at him which he didn’t hear and flew after him.
…
Lich looked up as Stonecrop landed in the entrance. A small grin crossed his dry snout and he stood up gingerly on his thin legs. He had somehow managed to calm himself down, and found he was actually quite happy knowing that he had a dragonet that Atacama cared for like a daughter.
Another set of wingbeats approached, and the two looked up at the guard approaching. She wore no armor and carried no weapons, but her pale sandy orange scales were riddled with small scars, including a large one on her neck which looked like a spear wound. She was large, as well. Her face was set in a scowl as she landed heavily next to the prince.
Wordlessly, she lifted a wing over his head and dropped it on him. Stonecrop protested and flung it off as she laughed in a slightly spiteful way. Lich tilted his head at her and made a small sound to get her attention.
The guard looked up and froze, eyes going wide. The old man blinked at her, then looked over at his descendant. “Who’s this?” he said gently. He waited for a response from either of them, but Stonecrop spoke up first.
“This is Barrel, the soldier my mom assigned to accompany me while I looked for you,” he said, pushing her wing away from him. “She’s a pain in the tail, but she’s the best at her job.” Stonecrop prodded her in the side and she jumped, seeming to snap back into the present. Lich smiled at her kindly.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Barrel. My name is Lich.” He bowed his head slightly and spread his wings. She did much the same, but slower, with a bit of nervous energy. As she did that, Stonecrop sidled up to his grandfather and sort of just stared at him. Lich glanced down at him.
“Can I look at your wing?” he said, pointing at Lich’s shoulder. “Of course, just be careful with it. I’m old, after all.” He spread the thin wing for his grandson to poke and prod with a bit too much enthusiasm for a dragonet of his age.
Barrel walked cautiously closer to the ancient dragon and sat down. She watched the prince warily, and glanced at Lich’s thin snout, which wrinkled when he caught her looking at him. 
“So… you’re dead, huh?”
The old man snorted and began to laugh gently. “Well, that’s quite the delicate way to put it. But yes, technically, I am deceased.” He twisted his head around to look at Stonecrop, who was looking at his ribcage. The prince stuck his talon between two of them and immediately drew them out. Lich laughed again.
“Do you feel any pain or anything?” Stonecrop said, looking up at the old man. Lich shook his head. “I haven’t felt any pain since I… well, died, but I can still tell the temperature and things like that. It just doesn’t affect me.”
“How did you die, if I might ask?” Barrel said, scratching her neck. Lich pointed to his own. “Got caught in an avalance during a visit to the Ice Kingdom.”
He remembered throwing Atacama into the air off of the roof and trying to take off himself, but the avalanche was too fast. It had slammed into him, spinning him sideways, and his head smashed into the edge of the outpost. Honestly, he was surprised the impact didn’t rip his head off instead.
The worst thing about it?
He remembered the pain.
Lich shuddered slightly, putting a frail talon on the bones in his neck. It was a terrible memory. “It’s… not the best way to go out.”
“The snow buried my body, and turned into ice in a couple of years. I woke up at least a few hours afterwards, but it could have been longer. It was so compact that I couldn't move.”
“Either Atacama saw me hit the outpost and assumed the worst, or they were just looking in the wrong place, but I wasn’t found until 324 or so years later.”
It was the former. He knew that. She screamed his name as the snow engulfed him. He saw her trying to claw her way to him, against the guards holding her back.
That was his last living memory before everything faded.
Stonecrop rested a wing on Lich’s shoulder. “Well, that was a long time ago,” he said, nudging him. “You look good for your age!”
Lich barked out a laugh. He wasn’t wrong. “Not quite sure if there are any other dragons my age whatsoever, mummified or not,” he said, sighing. “I’m quite the relic.”
“I’m impressed you remember all this,” Barrel said, raising her eyebrows. “I forget what I eat for breakfast most days. And you, you’ve been around for like… 400 something years?”
“I was known for my memory, back in the day. I could remember anything even if I only saw it once,” Lich said. “Everyone in my old school hated me because I got perfect marks on all of my tests.”
He glanced outside and saw that the sun was beginning to set. It was already sundown? Hmm. Barrel and Stonecrop seemed to notice too. The guard stood up and nodded towards the prince. “Time to go, your highness.”
Stonecrop frowned. “I- ugh. Do we have to?” He kicked a stone across the cavern. “It feels like we just got here, and I still have a bunch of questions!”
Barrel sighed. “I know you do, kid. But I need to get back home, I’ve been gone for a while and Buckhorn is probably worried about me. You met her, you know how she is,” she said, walking over to the prince and putting a talon on his shoulder. “Tell you what. I’ll take a message back to your mother and tell her you’re alright, and you can hang out with Gramps here for a bit longer.”
A huge grin slowly spread across the dragonet’s face. “You mean it?! I can stay?” He jumped up from Lich’s side and gave Barrel a big hug, practically bouncing up and down. 
Lich raised a claw to protest, but changed his mind. This wasn’t just some dragonet, this was his blood relative. Which also worried him, because he was royalty, and if anything happened to him it would be Lich’s fault. I should probably tell them that I’m going to go on this trip soon.
“I… ah. I’m going to go somewhere soon, in a few days at least, so I might not be cut out for dragonet sitting?” He said, sitting upright. Oh dear, and Dahlia might come back. “And a friend of mine may visit? So…”
The look on Stonecrop’s face. Ouch. Lich hesitated for a moment, then sighed. 
“Nevermind. You can stay.”
Stonecrop grinned again, and Lich did the same. Barrel waved the two of them goodbye, and they watched her fly west to the Kingdom of Sand. 
Now I’ve got a dragonet to watch. Hmm. 
He looked down at Stonecrop, who wrapped his wings around himself and shivered. Now that he thought about it, it was quite cold here for a SandWing. Not like he could offer his scales for warmth.
“Want to help me gather some firewood?” he said, gently nudging his grandson with his elbow. “I’ll answer some of your questions if you answer some of mine.” The dragonet nodded eagerly and bounced outside of the cave, grandfather following slowly behind.
…
Dahlia adjusted the bag on her back as she landed in the mouth of the cavern. It was full of old capes and clothes that neither her, her father, or Sparrow wore, and she wanted to see if it would work as a disguise for Lich as he went on his travels. Lifting the sack over her head, she walked inside.
The faint smell of smoke wafted around the cave, and she tilted her head. Did he light a fire? But he hated fire, right? Hmm. She came around the bend and saw the remains of a campfire next to Lich, who was still asleep.
My own fault for coming a bit early. I wonder why he made that fire?
Dahlia walked over and poked him with her tail. He snorted and moved his head drowsily.
“Who is it?” he muttered, opening his eyes a bit. He glanced at Dahlia and sighed. “Oh, hey. You’ll never believe the day I had yesterday.”
“You clown, I was there with you!” she said, prodding him again. She set the bag of capes down on the floor. Lich sat up and grinned mischeviously. “No, this happened after you left,” he said, lifting his wing.
There was a dragonet asleep next to him.
And he looked just like him. Aside from the dead part.
Dahlia was silent. Who is this? Did Lich suddenly clone himself? She looked up at him and found him snickering quietly. Nope. This was something else. She squinted at him and he sighed, smirking. Lich stood up and shook the dragonet awake gently with his wing. He rolled over and blinked his eyes open. 
“Good morning, Stonecrop,” Lich said, ducking his head. “My friend is here, I’d like you to meet her.” The small SandWing looked over and saw Dahlia, and bounced up to greet her.
“Hello! I’m Prince Stonecrop of the SandWings. What’s your name?” he chirped, bowing slightly. Dahlia bowed as well. “I’m Dahlia,” she said, smiling at him. “I’m an old friend of Lich’s.”
“Well, I’m his descendant, and he’s my ancestor,” Stonecrop said smugly, bumping into Lich’s side and making him stagger slightly. He looked up at Dahlia and grinned. 
“Surprise.”
She looked at him, then down at the dragonet, then back up at him.
“What?”
= CHAPTER 14 =
Lich laughed gently and sighed. “Atacama and I had another egg I never knew about. One thing led to another, and now I have a many-greats grandson,” he said, setting a talon on Stonecrop’s shoulder. They grinned at each other as Dahlia tried to wrap her head around it all.
“So this is your… great… great… something grandkid?” she said, gesturing a wing at the dragonet. Both of them nodded. “He tracked me down. I’ve left quite the paper trail over the years, apparently.”
Dahlia blinked at the two SandWings. The idea that this was even happening was wild to her. Let alone the fact Lich was acting happy. There was always a sort of lingering sadness about him, but now it seemed to be gone, at least for a little while. She smiled at them.
“So what is this bag for, hmm?” said Lich, prodding it with one of his claws. “Oh, it’s for trying to disguise you? I guess?” Dahlia said, walking over and flipping it open, pulling out some cloth arm sheathes and cloaks. “We’re going to have to do a lot of adjustments, so I brought a needle and some thread too.”
“Wait, disguise?” Stonecrop said, stepping forward. “What do you need a disguise for?”
Lich blinked, then started slightly. “Ah, I didn’t tell you, did I?” he said. “I’m going to find an animus to dispel this curse.” The old man lifted a front talon and shook it, making a rattling noise with his bones to emphasize his point. “I suppose you’ll have to come with me, since I’m apparently dragonet-sitting you now.”
Stonecrop flicked his tail, thinking. The ancient SandWing leaned over and picked up one of the arm wraps and curled it around his front leg. It hung loosely, and when he lowered his claws it slipped off. He made a hmm sound, and Dahlia sat in front of him, needle at the ready.
“I told you we’d have to adjust it,” she said as she lifted the rough fabric back around his arm. “We’re gonna be here for a while.”
“I’ve got plenty of time.”
…
Stonecrop crouched, eyeing up the deer in front of him. It was a buck, with rather large antlers. He could easily take it, as long as he avoided the prongs. Carefully, he crept closer, then leapt onto its back, claws outstretched.
It screeched and thrashed around, but his grip was too strong. Moments later, it hung heavily in his talons. He dragged it back up the cliff and into the cave. Dahlia smiled at him as he set it down next to her.
“I brought some food!” Stonecrop chirped, sitting beside Lich, who was currently trying to tie a leather sheath around his neck. It was a good disguise. You could only tell he was dead if you REALLY looked at him. The dragonet tore a hunk of meat off his catch and began eating. Dahlia stretched and yawned, rubbing her eyes with one talon, and took a leg herself. She breathed a burst of fire on it to singe the meat, then took a bite.
Lich watched the two eat, leaning against a boulder and fiddling with one of the tassels on his cape. He smiled gently. Both of the dragons he cared about were here, spending time together. A shadow passed by outside the cave, and he glanced out the entrance. Clouds were gathering on the horizon, but they didn’t look like a storm, maybe just a light rain.
The old man watched them drift past, content.
…
Dahlia lifted the mirror, and Lich turned his head. They had decided to wrap the bony side of his face with bandages to hide it. He moved one of the folds down a little, then nodded.
“I think we’re done!” she said, setting the mirror on the ground and pacing around Lich. She adjusted his cape a bit here and there, making sure that the rotted bits of his body were covered as best they could be. “It’s not the greatest, but it will work.”
Stonecrop stretched and sat up. “It’s done?” he said as he walked over. He looked his grandfather up and down. It looked a bit odd, like the dragon underneath was made of wire. It hung flat and loose, sagging in all the wrong places. The prince wrinkled his nose. “Shouldn’t there be some sort of padding around the neck and stuff? I mean, it makes him look really skinny,” he said, glancing over at Dahlia. She scratched her chin and nodded.
“You’re right, actually,” the SkyWing said, lifting another cloth out of the bag. Lich sighed and bowed his neck, and she stuffed it in between a gap in the cape.
There was a faint popping sound and Lich’s neck went limp, his chin hitting the floor with a hollow clunk. He made a small surprised sound as Dahlia jumped back and yelped, flapping her wings slightly. The cave was silent for a moment, then all three of them started giggling a bit.
“I think you may have split the break again,” Lich said, casually grabbing his head and popping his neck back into place. “This has happened before when you weren’t here.” He shook his body out with a rattle and laughed gently, shaking his head. “It’s alright, no harm done. It just happens sometimes.”
Dahlia let out a relieved sigh and set a talon on her chest. “Scared the scales off me, but I’m glad you’re okay,” she said. Stonecrop looked at his grandfather’s disguise again. It looked a bit better, not as striking at first glance. He hopped up and adjusted the leather collar and Lich smiled at him.
“You’d be surprised how comfortable this whole getup actually is,” he said as he twisted to look at his body, now swaddled in soft wool and light silks. He ran a claw down his side, where his hollow stomach would be. “It fits very well, Dahlia. Thank you.”
Lich looked up at her and frowned slightly, furrowing his brow. She looked back at him with a sombre expression. Neither of them spoke, and Stonecrop didn’t want to break the silence. The old man let out a sigh, which caught in his throat as he clenched his eyes shut. Dahlia walked forward and wrapped her wings around him tightly.
“This is goodbye, Lich,” she whispered softly.
“I know.”
“I hope you find what you’re looking for. I wish I could come-”
“No. Look after your dragonets. Please,” Lich said, pulling back and holding her talons in his. “Do that for me? Don’t let Lupine or Robin get hurt. Don’t let them lose you as a mother.”
“Spend as much time with them as you can. You never know how much you have left with them.” He clenched his eyes shut again and sighed. He curled his tail around Dahlia’s carefully. She bumped her snout against his, then reached into the bag one more time.
She lifted a small, star-shaped sapphire out of the pouch and cradled it in her talons gently. “I hope you don’t mind that I got you a little parting gift,” she whispered, passing it into Lich’s claws. Stonecrop’s eyes widened and he darted forward.
“That’s a dreamvisitor!” The prince gasped, quietly pulling his grandfather’s talon closer. “Where did you get this?!”
Dahlia laughed softly and smiled. “My friend Zephyr happens to be in a relationship with Queen Garnet,” she said, grinning. “I told her what was going on, then she talked to the queen, and let me have it. They have another one in the treasury anyways, as a gift from the SeaWings a few years ago.”
“What’s a dreamvisitor?” Lich said, tilting his head in confusion. Stonecrop turned to him with the most offended look on his face.
“You haven’t heard of the Darkstalker and that whole mess?!” he squawked. Lich shook his head. “Remember, I’ve been out of the loop for almost 400 years now.”
Stonecrop was speechless. Dahlia giggled.
“I’m sure he’ll fill you in on everything once you get going,” she said, nudging Lich in the side with her shoulder. “Just be careful with it, it’s animus enchanted, and dragons have killed for that magic before.”
Dahlia gave him another big hug. “I’m really going to miss you, Lich,” she said softly. “But that thing will let you talk to me again, if I’m dreaming. Just hold it up to your head and think of me.”
“I will.”
The two friends sat quietly for a moment, then Dahlia slung her bag over her wing and slowly paced to the cavern entrance. She waved sadly, then took off and started flying home. Lich watched her gliding off over the trees for a long while. Stonecrop leaned into his side, and he put a wing around his descendant.
The first drops of rain began to fall.
= CHAPTER 15 =
The two relatives sat next to each other for a long while. Neither of them spoke as the rain started falling. Eventually, Lich grunted and stood up, rearranging his cape again. Stonecrop looked over at him as he rose to his feet as well.
“Well, let’s get going, kid,” the old man said, carefully placing the dreamvisitor in a pocket under his wing. He blinked at the light rain outside. “It’s not that bad out there. We can make it to that little SkyWing city by next morning.”
He sighed gently, resting a claw on the pouch with the sapphire. Stonecrop set a wing on his back and nudged him with his nose.
“You’ll see her again!” He chirped. “I’ll teach you all about the dreamvisitors and the Darkstalker and all that. I’ve read all about it!” Lich chuckled softly and shook his head. “I’m sure you have.”
“I can teach you about old SandWing politics and festivals, if you’d like. I’ll bet a few scales the tribe doesn’t celebrate some of them anymore.”
Stonecrop’s eyes lit up and Lich chuckled gently.
“Let’s go.”
…
The storm let up after a few hours. The two SandWings talked for a long while until they finally decided to settle down and make a camp for the night. Stonecrop came back with a large bundle of sticks under his wing, and Lich shook some water out of his disguise and settled on a patch of moss.
“Set the kindling on the ground and build the logs in a sort of tent shape,” he said, gesturing a talon towards his descendant. “It will light easier. They are dry sticks, correct?”
“Dryest I could find. Not like the rain was that heavy,” the prince said as he carefully rested some dry leaves on the flat stone he had dragged over. He hissed gently and spat sparks into the center of the firepit. The leaves caught the sparks almost instantly, and a few moments later, there was a warm, roaring fire.
Stonecrop settled down next to it, spreading his wings to get a little bit more warmth. Lich avoided looking into the flames. It had been a long time since he last had a nightmare of the village, but it still haunted him daily.
He caught himself in the middle of a sigh as he remembered something. Reaching down into the pouch at his side, he lifted out the dreamvisitor and cradled it gently in his talons. The light from the campfire danced on the facets as he looked it over. He cleared his throat to get Stonecrop’s attention.
“Could you show me how this works?” Lich said. Stonecrop nodded and walked over to the ancient dragon.
“I gotta tell you about where this thing came from first,” he chirped as he sat in front of his grandfather. “Some old NightWing animus from a few centuries ago made these for his friends, so they could always be together no matter how far apart they were.”
“But you know what happens to animus dragons, so his friends got really worried and somehow got rid of him. The dreamvisitors kind of got scattered around Pyrhhia after that, dragons used them, and here we are.”
“Alright, but how do I use them?”
“Oh, just hold it up to your head, think of someone you know, and if they’re asleep and dreaming, you’ll go into their dream and you can talk to them!”
Lich blinked down at the tiny sapphire in his claws. It was a strange enchantment, but he liked the idea. Stonecrop yawned and settled down against his ancestor, who gently set a wing over him as he fell asleep.
Dahlia must be sleeping by now, the sun had set a few hours ago. Lich sighed gently and lifted the gem to his skull and thought of his old friend. He sat quietly for a few moments, waiting for something to happen. Faint humming came from behind him, and he opened his eyes slowly.
Oh wow.
He was in a large, open space outdoors, which looked to be a garden of sorts. His claws sunk into the soft dirt below him. There were tall pine trees all around him, waving gently in the breeze and letting beams of sunlight into the clearing. He turned around slowly, taking in the new scenery. Is this a dream? Did it work?
“Lich?”
The dragon a few paces away from him sat back on her haunches and brushed dirt off of her pale pink claws as he turned towards her. His face lit up when he saw who it was.
“Dahlia!” Said the old man, carefully walking around the plants in the soil. He grinned lopsidedly and she smiled at him. They hugged each other, both smiling from ear to ear.
“You look… different,” Dahlia said as she leaned back and set her trowel down. Lich glanced down at his claws, and found that they weren’t bony anymore. In fact, they looked like they did when he was younger. When he was alive. He grunted in surprise and twisted around to look at the rest of his body.
“I’m- alive again?” he said, confused. Dahlia’s eyes widened. No, this wasn’t right. This is just a dream, after all. “No, I’m not. I suppose this is just what I look like here.”
He brushed his crest back and laughed gently, amused by the startled look on Dahlia’s face. “At least the dreamvisitor works, right?” She blinked at him a few times, then flinched slightly.
“Right! Right. I forgot that I gave that to you, actually,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, just… you look way different than what I thought you did when you were alive.”
“What, did you think I was always some crusty old man?” Lich said, pretending to be offended. Dahlia giggled and covered her snout. “No! Not at all.”
“It’s just… you look so young.”
He sighed, twisting his claws together. It’s true. He wasn’t very old at all whenever the avalanche happened. 
“Bah. Forget about it. Let’s just talk!” He waved his talons in the air like he was trying to wave away smoke. “Stonecrop has done nothing but talk about historical events, and I need something to distract me from the fact that I’M technically a historical event!”
Dahlia laughed, and Lich started laughing too.
“Alright then, let’s talk.”
…
Stonecrop blinked his eyes open and rolled onto his belly. Surprisingly, he had slept pretty well. He smiled and hopped up onto his talons, reaching into his little satchelbag and pulling out a hunk of venison he had saved. Pulling a chunk off and nibbling it, he glanced over at his grandfather.
He was still curled up with a talon to his head, a faint smile on his dry snout. Was he still using the dreamvisitor? The prince glanced up above the tops of the trees and found the rosy colors of sunrise painted across the sky.
“Lich, wake up,” he said. He walked over to the lump of the old man and nudged his wing. He grunted and muttered something. Stonecrop kept shaking him until his eyes opened groggily.
“Whaaaat,” Lich grumbled, turning to look at his descendant with tired eyes.
“We should get going, shouldn’t we?”
He turned his head to look at the light pink clouds, and sighed loudly. “I guess we should. We can make it by sundown today,” he said, slowly wobbling to his feet. He gently placed the sapphire into the leather pouch again, stretched his legs, and began walking slowly.
Stonecrop immediately began chatting about something, but Lich wasn’t paying much attention. How are the SkyWings going to react to me?
Will they even help? Will anyone know who I am?
Should I even go to another SkyWing village?
I don’t-
A wing wrapped around his shoulder and he flinched, looking down. His grandson was watching him with a sympathetic expression on his yellow snout. He bumped his side and the old man grunted softly.
“It’s gonna be okay,” Stonecrop said, smiling at him.
Huh.
Somehow, hearing those four little words was all Lich needed.
…
Cardinal leaned against the side of the watchtower, scratching his side. Guard duty was boring. There’s no wars or anything happening, right? So why did he have to sit here for HOURS, in the sun or rain? He yawned and flicked his tail around. At least the pay was good.
A bell rang in the distance, and he grinned. Lunchtime.
Just before he was about to launch off to the barracks, he heard faint voices coming from the south. Surprised, he picked up his spear and looked over the parapet. Two dragons were approaching the city. The larger one, presumably an adult, was swathed in long brown capes that obscured them, and if Cardinal squinted, he could spot the signature tail barb of a SandWing. The other was a much smaller SandWing, which had pale yellow scales splotched with a greyish green pattern. He looked to be about five years of age.
“Halt!” Cardinal cried when they got nearer. The dragonet jumped and the older one squinted up at the tower. “State your business in Pinnacle, or turn back now!” He stamped his spear for dramatic effect.
“What?”
“I said- oh, nevermind. Give me a moment.”
The deep red SkyWing floated down from the roof and landed lightly in front of the sand dragons. They both looked at each other, then back at him.
“State your business in this city, or go back,” he said, assuming his guard stance. He didn’t much like the look of the older SandWing. His eyes were sunken in, half of his face was wrapped in a bandage, and he just looked… unnatural.
“Cardinal?”
Cardinal jumped.
“How do you know my name?” He hissed, gripping his spear a bit tighter in his claws. The elderly SandWing blinked at him and raised his eyebrows.
“It’s me, Lich,” he said, lowering his hood. “Remember? The old zombie dragon? Gale took you with them to come see me?”
Cardinal stared at him blankly for a moment. Lich sighed.
“Oh… oh wait, yeah, I remember you!” He said, lowering his weapon. “You scared the scales off of us!” The old man nodded and lifted his hood back over his horns. “What are you doing here? And who’s this?”
“I’m looking for information about any living animus dragons. And this is my many, MANY greats grandson, Prince Stonecrop.” Lich set a thin talon on the dragonet’s shoulder, who waved at Cardinal. The SkyWing blinked at both of them, then shrugged.
“Alright, I guess you can come in, just don’t cause any trouble,” he said, folding his wings. “In fact, I could show you around after my lunch break! It’s a big city and I must admit, I even get lost sometimes.”
“You can?” Stonecrop said, tilting his head at the guard. He nodded.
“After I eat, of course.”
The two SandWings nodded in agreement, then walked under the gate to the city of Pinnacle.
= CHAPTER 16 =
Pinnacle was one of the largest cities in the SkyWing kingdom, only outdone by the lands around the royal palace. There were 10 districts around the center of the city, each used for different purposes. One was an arena, where dragons could compete in battles and competitions with a gold reward. Another was a temple, used in funerals and the like.
But the biggest of them all were the residential and market districts, which made up a very large part of the town. Most shops were indoors and a few were even set on higher levels on the walls, where a dragon would have to fly to reach them. The market wrapped around the western base of a large mountain. Above that, higher on the slope, were many of the homes and houses of the residents.
A farmers market was being held in the center courtyard of the bazaar today. Strange fruits and vegetables piled in baskets surrounded the trio of dragons as they made their way to the guard barracks. Lich glanced around at the lively crowd of SkyWings, all bustling to different stands to trade and buy.
Cardinal nodded at several of them, who waved back at the soldier. He pushed open the door to the barracks and strode inside. Stonecrop and Lich followed closely behind him.
Several of the other guards looked over at them with curious looks on their faces. The biggest and oldest one set her meat skewer down and arched her neck to get a better look. Cardinal folded his wings back and bowed to her slightly.
“General Caldera, I’ve brought some guests with me,” he said, gesturing at the two SandWings behind him. She wrinkled her scarred snout at them.
“SandWings? What are you doin’ here?”
Lich bowed his head out of respect, and Stonecrop did much the same. “I’ve come looking to gather information about any living animus dragons. I need a spell cast for me,” he said. He gestured to the prince. “My great grandson is accompanying me, and I was going to request that a guard join us.”
“Why?” The burly red-orange SkyWing shifted on her cushions slightly.
“Well, he’s the SandWing prince, and I don’t want anything bad to happen to him. I’m afraid I’m too old to be of any help in combat if an assailant did attack.”
Caldera regarded them with her good eye for a moment. She glanced around at the other soldiers, and her gaze landed on Cardinal, who was struggling to tear a piece of jerky. “Oi, Cardinal. Keep an eye on these two and make sure nothin’ happens to the lil prince here, aight?”  She said, leaning back and picking up her skewer again.
He jumped and turned around, looking startled. “Me?”
“Yeah, you. I’ll double your pay for this shift.”
“I- yes, ma’am.”
“There’s a good lad. Now you two,” Caldera said, turning back towards Stonecrop and Lich. “Your best bet for findin’ stuff about them animus dragons ought to be in the Grand Library, or the academy. It’s the next district over. Ya sure ain’t gonna find any in this kingdom.”
“I guess I’ll show you,” said Cardinal, shrugging and picking up a few bread rolls and a hunk of roasted meat. “Follow me!” He briskly paced out of the barracks and set off to the left. Lich stumbled as he turned around.
“I really didn’t think they’d assign us a bodyguard,” he whispered to Stonecrop as they followed the soldier down the cobbled road. “SkyWings and SandWings weren’t exactly on good terms in my time.”
He snorted. “Guess that’s mostly my fault, eh?”
Stonecrop giggled, and Lich smiled at him.
“Are you excited for the library?”
The prince nodded vigorously, grinning. “I bet they have scrolls I’ve never read!” Lich laughed gently and shook his head. “I don’t think I’ve ever met a dragonet who loves scrolls as much as you do.” Cardinal stopped ahead of them in the entrance to another large courtyard. Lich stepped around him and looked into the plaza.
Music filled the air as dragons spun around, dancing to the rhythm of the drums and other instruments. Wings and tails whirled, orange and red glittering in the sunlight. Some of the dancing dragons swung large purple ribbons on sticks in mesmerizing patterns.
“Oh moons, I forgot that the Equinox festival was today,” Cardinal groaned, rubbing his forehead with his talons. He sighed and turned towards his companions. “We’re gonna have to fly around this- wait, hey!” He grabbed at Stonecrop as the dragonet darted into the dance circle. Lich jumped, startled.
Surprisingly, Stonecrop began following the dance of the other dragons in the circle, beaming. He curled his tail so he didn’t accidentally scratch anyone as he spun and twirled in pace with the song. The SkyWing next to him laughed gleefully and took his talons as the next section began, spinning the prince around.
Cardinal groaned again, but Lich watched, intrigued. This is what dragons call dancing? Pfft. He chuckled, and began tapping his claw in rhythm to the music, waiting for a moment to join in. Stonecrop was coming back around to their side, and Lich grinned.
Suddenly, the old man jumped into the circle and began following the movements of the other dragons. His grandson’s face lit up as he slid in next to him.
“Bet you didn’t know I could dance, huh?” Lich said, beaming. Stonecrop grinned even more. His capes spun as he began a traditional SandWing dance. Even after all this time, he still knew the steps. Filled with an irrational glee, he didn’t even notice that the SkyWings around him cleared a space for him and began cheering him on and clapping.
All of his focus narrowed in on the movements on his talons, wings and tail, the beat of the drums quickening in pace. He flung his wings out on the next measure, the shiny leather cape draped over them catching the sun. The song was getting louder and faster, and he easily kept up with it, despite the complicated talon steps of this particular dance.
Stonecrop watched with a huge grin on his face as he walked back to Cardinal’s side, breathing heavily. Cardinal’s eyes were wide and his mouth was slightly agape in shock. “Did you know he could move like that??” He said to the prince, astounded. He laughed and shook his head.
Lich knew the song was ending. Lowering his wings and head to the ground, he spun around, beating his wings slightly. The SkyWings around him went quiet, waiting and whispering to each other. He grinned smugly, waiting for the finish. On the last note, he flung his wings in the air and crossed his talons with a flourish, beaming. 
The dragons around him erupted in shouts of glee. He laughed almost breathlessly, even though he wasn’t out of breath. They clearly hadn’t seen a dance like that before. Someone threw a handful of flower petals as the SkyWings crowded around him, chattering in amazement. Lich beamed and smiled at all of them, laughing gently.
Eventually, the crowd went back to their dances, some even trying to mimic his dance and falling as their talons tripped over each other, much to the amusement of their companions. The old man sighed happily and walked over to where Cardinal and Stonecrop were standing. Stonecrop ran over and smacked him with his wings multiple times.
“THAT WAS SO COOL!” He shouted, running in a circle around his grandfather. “You have got to teach me how to do that! I’ve never seen anyone move like that!”
“You’ve never seen the traditional SandWing full moon dance?” Lich said, pausing as he smoothed down his ruffled capes. Stonecrop shook his head. This means the tribe has lost more than I thought. He frowned slightly. “Hmm. Well, I’ll teach you later then. You must be hungry after all that.”
He looked over at Cardinal. “Can we go back to the market for a moment? I want to make sure he eats,” he said, putting a thin wing around his descendant’s shoulder. The prince reached down to his satchel and pulled out a small purse of gold coins. “I have some money! I can buy my own food.”
The guard nodded. “Yeah, of course! I wanted to grab a quick snack myself,” he said, turning around and walking back towards the shops. “And besides, we’d better wait for them to clear out. Festivities usually end around sundown when everyone is too exhausted to carry on, and the library is open at all hours.”
“Well, I’ll go find somewhere in that dining sort of area we passed, and I’m going to sit. I feel like all of my bones are going to fall apart,” Lich said, chuckling. “Go ahead and take Stonecrop with you. I bet you know the good stands.”
“Heh, that I do know,” Cardinal said with a smug look on his face. He nudged Stonecrop and they set off towards the fragrant food stores, chatting about what they wanted to buy and where to go. Lich sighed, and slowly paced over to the shaded sitting area nearby.
He chose a seat next to a nice patch of flowers. He grunted in relief as he settled down on the pale green cushion below him, relaxing his joints. Letting out a long, contented sigh, he gently rested his head on the table in front of him. For a while, he simply watched dragons walk past, enjoying their day.
Nothing I did left that much of a lasting impression, did it?
SkyWings seem to be on friendlier terms with SandWings now.
A burly, scarred SandWing walked past with his wing around a reddish-pink SkyWing, the pair laughing, as if to emphisize his point. Lich scoffed slightly, amused.
Hmm.
Maybe I can relax a little, finally.
He shut his eyes and sighed again, relieved. He didn’t ruin everything. The old man smiled slightly and curled his tail around his back talons. He stayed like that for a long while.
Then he felt the sharp point of a dagger dig into the base of his throat.
“Don’t move.”
…
Magpie was having a horrible day.
First off, his girlfriend had just broken up with him.
Second, he found out that she had been cheating on him.
And third, he couldn’t find anyone good to steal from.
He crept along the wall of the market district, looking at all the different dragons passing by. That one was too big. That one had way too many pieces of spiked jewelry. That one… no. He muttered and started sharpening his little dagger. Someone would drop their guard eventually. They always did.
Scratching his neck, he glanced over at the entrance to the academy courtyard, where loud cheering had begun. Magpie blinked, then turned back to his dagger. There was a festival going on, so what? He’d have to wait until later to try and get anything from those dragons. Too much of a crowd.
He heard a song end, and the cheering began again, scattered with clapping. He turned back towards them as a large guard walked through the archway, followed closely by a pair of SandWings. One of them was about 5 or 6, not worth his time. But the other one was old and frail, swathed in leather and fabric capes. Magpie stood up to get a better look at the elderly one.
Now that?
That was someone he could rob.
…
“Empty your pockets, or I'll cut you.”
Lich slowly turned his head and saw that the dragon threatening him was a SkyWing. He was short and pale red, with a nose ring, of all things. The old man blinked and kept looking out at the crowd, completely unbothered.
“Hey old man, did you hear what I said? Empty your pockets,” the SkyWing growled, pressing the blade a little harder against Lich’s throat. He didn’t react. The thief hissed. “Are you deaf?”
“No, sorry, I just don’t care,” Lich said, a smug look on his face. “I’ve got better things to do than to get robbed by an ignorant fool.”
More pressure on the dagger. He laughed spitefully.
“You’re too much of a coward to kill anyone. I can tell,” he whispered, letting a bit of venom slip into his words. The SkyWing faltered slightly. Lich turned his head towards the thief, baring his fangs and narrowing his eyes.
“Two options. Turn and run, or I end you. Right here, right now.”
The thief snarled and thrust the dagger into the old man’s neck.
Lich let out a vicious, bellowing roar and slammed his shoulder into Magpie’s chest, throwing him backwards. He smashed into a table and staggered to his feet, a look of confusion and fear settling onto his face.
“But- but you should be dead! I cut your throat!” he screeched, backing away as Lich assumed a figting stance. Several SkyWings gathered around and watched, whispering amongst themselves.
“Do you hear him, fellow dragons?” Lich shouted out to the crowd. “This foul creature would kill an elderly dragon, just for a paultry pouch of gold!” He reached up and ripped the dagger out of his neck. It clattered as he threw it to the ground.
Magpie tried to bolt into the sky, but several of the dragons in the crowd lept into the air and forced him to the ground. He howled and shrieked as a guard clamped  chains around his wings and neck, then eventually slipped a sort of muzzle around his snout, silencing him. One of the pale orange guards ran over to Lich.
“Are you alright, sir? He said that he stabbed you,” she said, carefully reaching out a talon. The old man nodded.
“I’m fine. It didn’t actually cut me, it just went through my capes,” he said calmly, pointing to the torn hole in the fabric. She nodded, looked him up and down one more time, then went back to help escort Magpie to the prisons. Lich watched them go smugly. As the crowd eventually broke up and went their separate ways, he quietly fixed the knocked over table and settled back down at his own.
Well, that was amusing.
Two familiar faces walked out of the crowd and made their way over to the table. Stonecrop sat next to him and Cardinal sat across from them, setting their food on the table.
“What did we miss?”
= CHAPTER 17 =
The Great Library was just that. Great.
Stonecrop almost fainted when Cardinal opened the door. There were scrolls everywhere. On the tables, on every wall, just all over the place. He squealed quietly and ran over to one of the scroll racks, flipping through and looking at all of them. This was it. This was his home, and he’s never going to leave.
Unfortunately, they had to. Lich had spoken to Gale, who happened to be on shift when they visited, and they said that there may be an animus in the Kingdom of the Sea. They gave them a map and marked down an outpost they could go to and request a meeting.
“You’re always welcome to come back and visit, your highness,” the pale orangey-gold dragon said kindly, smiling at Stonecrop and adjusting their glasses. “Here, I’ll give you your own membership card!”
“Thank you! I’ll make sure to visit sometime!” He smiled at them and turned to leave. Lich wanted to look closer at the market district before they left. Cardinal waved goodbye and snuggled up next to his partner. It was a shame, but there’s always the future to look forward to.
“You should enroll in the academy here whenever you get older,” Lich said, holding the door open. “Even in my time, this was rumored to be one of the best schools on the continent.” Stonecrop put the papyrus card in his satchel and looked over at his grandfather. “Really?” He nodded as they walked through the significantly less crowded firelit streets. “I think they accept students from other tribes, but I’m not sure.”
They reached the shopping section of the market district, and a sign caught Lich’s eye. It caught the torchlight at interesting angles, and looking closer, he found it to be edged with moonstone and inlaid with small glass stars.
“Stonecrop, wait.”
The prince paused and turned around, glancing at the sign.
“Fortune Telling and Prophecies?” he said, walking over to his ancestor. “You really think that a SkyWing can see the future?”
“I don’t think that it’s a SkyWing,” Lich said, walking closer to the door. “It might be a NightWing.” Stonecrop’s eyes widened. “Really? But I thought all of the NightWings disappeared hundreds of years ago.”
“Me too.”
Lich pushed the door open gently, and was greeted by several chimes and jingles as it brushed the ornaments overhead. Several swatches of fabric hung from the ceilings and walls, dark blue and purple giving the space a calming atmosphere. Small glass jars with a small candle in them gave off a warm glow. Somehow, he felt more relaxed than he usually did.
Rustling came from another room in the back of the building, and through one of the silks he could make out the shape of a small dragon moving around. He cleared his throat and they froze. They didn’t move for the next few moments, and Lich grew slightly concerned.
Eventually, the mystery dragon stood slowly and paced over to the main room. They moved the silk curtain aside and Lich finally got a good look at them. They were a NightWing, like he had thought. Silver scales behind their eyes caught the light and shimmered slightly. When they passed one of the candle jars, he realised that between their dark purple-blue scales, some of them were instead a pale pearl color.
“Hello,” he said quietly, not wanting to disturb the aura of the room. They didn’t respond, and instead just stared at him with wide green eyes. Lich and Stonecrop exchanged a look.
The small NightWing made a slightly choked noise, and when he looked back up at them, he realised that there was a tear running down their cheek. They darted over and carefully took one of his talons in their own, turning it over and cradling it in their own shaky claws.
“You poor soul,” they cried weakly, staring up at him with a pitying look on their snout. “No one should deserve this, what happened to you.”
Lich looked down at them, concerned. Are they alright?
“I’m- oh dear, I’m sorry,” they said, letting go of his claws and wiping a tear off their cheek. “I’m a mindreader, you see, and you…”
His eyes opened wide, startled. A mindreader? Oh dear. No wonder they were overwhelmed. He quietly tried to make his mind go blank, to put a shield around his thoughts. They smiled weakly.
“It’s so odd, being able to know everything about a dragon when they don’t even know you,” said the prophet, sighing gently, eyes still wet with tears. “My name is Domino, and I want to help you two. Please.”
“I… what?” Lich was thoroughly baffled. He’d never met a mind reading NightWing before, and it was a bit startling to see how easily they could see into his mind. He didn’t want anyone in there. It was already hard enough for him. “You want to-”
“Yes, please, let me join you. I can see your suffering, your pain, and I don’t want that for anyone,” Domino said, shaking. “You deserve rest. Peace.” They turned towards Stonecrop and he flinched. “Don’t you see? He’s masking it for you. He’s-”
They let out a sob again and pressed a talon to their snout. Lich stepped forward and put a wing on their shoulder, gently.
“What you don’t see is how I’ve come to terms with my past,” he said as they turned their head towards him. “I know it’s overwhelming, believe me. I’ve lived with this for hundreds of years. It doesn’t get any easier. I’m sorry you had to see it. I should be the only one to bear this burden.”
“You shouldn’t come with us, it’s not your responsibility.”
“The undead lord, the ancient king,”
Lich jerked back.
“His memories an eternal torment,
Will never have a moment's rest,
And he will never rest a moment.”
Domino’s eyes were glazed over, and sparkled strangely in the dim candlelight. Their voice was deep and ominous, and seemed to come from everywhere at once.
“The sea offers a shining hope
That he will never find,
Unless the dragons of sand and night
Follow him close behind.”
Silence filled the room. Domino laughed weakly.
“As you can see, I knew you were coming. I just didn’t know it would be today,” they said. “Meeting you was… admittedly a little more overwhelming than I thought. But I really do want to help!”
They took Lich’s talons again and gripped them firmly. “I believe that I’m the dragon of night in that prophecy, and if I don’t come with you, you can’t get what you are looking for.”
The old man stared at them blankly, the words of the sudden prophecy still spinning in his mind. This… this is not what he was expecting to find here. He thought that it would simply be a generic tarot card or palm reading, but instead he found an actual prophet.
He scoffed.
“Well, what do you think, Stonecrop?” Lich said, turning towards his descendant. “Another dragon in the party?”
The prince looked at him and thought for a moment. “I think we have to. I mean, if their prophecy is right, if they don’t come, you’ll never find the animus,” he said, furrowing his brow. Domino watched the both of them with their startling green eyes.
“Good point,” said Lich, sighing. “Alright, you can come, but don’t try anything. I’ve already been stabbed once today.”
The NightWing nodded, smiling.
…
They spent the night at Domino’s house, and set out the next morning. It was a long way to the Kingdom of the Sea, and even longer without flying. They had barely made it any distance when sunset arrived, and Lich sighed.
Stonecrop had brought a blank scroll and a charcoal pencil from the market before they left Pinnacle, and was sitting next to the fire and drawing. Domino was working on making a bowl of sliced meats and fruit for the two of them to split. Lich watched the two of them talking and smiled. At least the NightWing was as interested in history as his grandson was.
He rested his head on his claws and curled one of his torn wings around himself, shutting his eyes. The dreamvisitor’s pouch hung heavily on his side, but he decided against using it for tonight. He would speak with Dahlia tomorrow evening.
Sleep came rather quickly, and he welcomed it.
…
Lichen groaned and eased himself onto the healer’s cot, gingerly lifting his injured leg off the ground. The sparring match had not gone as planned, and there was a large gash on his thigh that stung like nothing he had ever experienced before.
The king sighed as the medicine dragons buzzed around him, calling for brightsting cactus and fabric to wrap around the wound. Dizzy, he set his head on a ledge nearby and grunted. They would fix it eventually, but it still hurt.
A wing brushed his own, and he opened his eyes, expecting Atacama or perhaps Caracal. Instead, Cholla stood there, blocking the harsh sun from the skylights. He wrinkled his tanned snout at the king. Lichen smiled weakly, then grimaced again as one of the healers began dressing the wound. Cholla went around him and set his chin on the same ledge.
“So, sparring didn’t go very well?” He said, bumping snouts with the king. Lichen sighed again and shook his head.
“I’m afraid that Gila’s tail barb snagged my leg pretty good. I don’t think they injected any actual venom, but it certainly left quite the cut,” he muttered, glancing back at his leg. The healer finished tying the knot, bowed, and left the room, closing the door behind her. Only Lichen and Cholla were in the room now.
Cholla hopped up on the other side of the cot and leaned against the king, smiling. “We should do this more often, I’ve barely been able to see you!” the guard said, carefully twining his tail around Lichen’s.
“You know I’ve been busy,” he said, sidling a little closer to Cholla’s warm scales. “The new egg is due to hatch any day now, and Atacama wants me to name this one.”
“Hmm.”
The two SandWings sat together for a long time, simply enjoying each other’s company.
…
Lich remembered that day.
He sighed, watching his younger self with his lover, envious of the both of them. He still missed Cholla, even though he shouldn’t. He never should have even been in a relationship with him in the first place, not when he was with Atacama. Yet another regret of his life.
“Who’s that?”
The old man jumped, startled. He whipped around to look behind him.
Dahlia was dreamvisiting him.
= CHAPTER 18 =
“What are you doing here?!” Lich barked, panicking. He flung his wings out and made his mind go blank, erasing the dream environment. Dahlia blinked at him in surprise and looked around at the sudden change in surroundings. The two were now standing in a distorted version of the mountain cave.
“I borrowed the second dreamvisitor from the royal treasury to check in on you,” she said, tilting her head in confusion. “I didn’t mean to scare you!”
“Well, you can go ahead and leave,” he hissed, pinning his ears and crest back. “I don’t want you here, Dahlia. My dreams-”
Lich clawed at the ground. Anything could happen, and she would be here to see it. He growled deep in his throat and pressed his talons against his eyes. “I’m sorry. I’ve already had to deal with a mind reading NightWing invading my head, and now you’re here.”
She walked over and tented one of her wings around him. He let out a long sigh and looked at her. “It’s okay, Lich,” she said, bumping him with her shoulder. “I understand, now isn’t a good time. I can come back later, maybe?”
“Don’t come back at all, please. I’ll dreamvisit you,” he muttered, furrowing his brow. “I never wanted anyone to see Cholla and I, even now, but I guess it’s too late.” He let out an exasperated laugh and flopped onto his side, sighing gently.
Dahlia rolled onto her back and smiled at him. “Want to tell me about him?”
“Not particularly!”
She giggled and he sighed yet again, rolling his eyes. 
“Alright, fine.”
Lich stood up gingerly and shook out his wings. It’s time someone knew.
As Dahlia got back up, he thought back to when the two of them first met, the environment shifting to a sunlit courtyard, filled with the sounds of wooden weapons clattering and dragons sparring.
…
A young, green tinted SandWing strode into the sparring court, looking around with a disgruntled look. Cholla glanced over at the newcomer and recognised him as one of the potential royal suitors. Curious. But it was none of his business.
He turned back towards Bright and continued their conversation, preparing for a practice session. The oak staff was heavy and well weighted, while Bright picked up a wooden spear. She made a mocking joke and he laughed as they moved to an open area.
As they fought, Cholla caught glimpses of the suitor as he paced over to the advanced weapons rack and hefted an ornate halberd into his claws. He watched as the rather large dragon spun it around with the ease of a seasoned warrior. Bright turned and observed the sand dragon as well, a look of amazement settling onto her face.
Unfortunately, the halberd slipped out of his claws and clattered to the ground, and he hissed angrily, kicking sand over the weapon. After a moment of seething, he lifted it again and set it on the rack again, turning to storm out of the courtyard.
“Hey!”
Lichen stopped and turned towards the voice. “Are you talking to me?” he said, squinting at the tanned brown soldier who had called out to him. The guard walked over and nodded at him.
“I saw what you did with that halberd back there,” he said. Lichen froze.
“I’m sorry, if I broke it or damaged something I can-”
“No, no! I just wanted to say that I was impressed!” the guard said, laughing. “I was watching you and I was actually kind of surprised.”
“Oh,” Lichen said, raising his eyebrows. “I mean, I didn’t do a very good job at the end…”
The other SandWing scoffed. “It just takes a lot of practice. I can barely balance one of those without dropping it,” he said, shrugging. He held out a dusty talon. “My name is Cholla, what’s yours?”
“Lichen,” the suitor said, shaking claws.
“Want to practice with me and the others? You looked pretty experienced.”
He grinned.
“Of course!”
…
“Awwww.”
Lich pinned his ears back and glared at Dahlia. “Don’t mock me, I didn’t know what I was doing back then,” he said, hitting her gently with one of his wings as she giggled. He watched as his younger self and Cholla practiced with the wooden weapons.
“After that, even though I was forced to marry Atacama, I came back nearly every day to practice,” he said. “Eventually, I started to develop feelings for Cholla.”
“I thought you were in love with Atacama?” Dahlia said, tilting her head at her friend. He winced.
“I was. With both of them, at the same time,” he said, curling his wings around himself and tensing up. “I truly loved Atacama, and realizing I liked Cholla more than her made me feel absolutely awful. Especially when we had our dragonets.”
“Then there was the village.”
“He died that day.”
Dahlia gasped softly and put a talon to her mouth. Lich stared at his talons, trying not to think about it. Flashes of fire and screaming flickered through the dreamscape. He dug his claws into the ground below him.
“He was the only casualty.”
…
“No no no, you stay with me!” the king shouted, cradling Cholla in his wings and pressing a talon to the horrible wound on his side to try and stop the bleeding. The other guards continued to torch the village and slaughter the SkyWings inside. The dragon who had slashed Cholla lay dead behind Lichen, her body horribly twisted and mutilated. Cholla grunted, breathing heavily and grimacing.
“I’m not going to make it,” he whispered quietly.
“Don’t you dare say that, we can-”
His body went slack in the king’s arms.
Lichen sat in silence for a moment, in shock. He- he can’t- no-
“NO!”
The king let out a bellowing, grief-filled roar that resonated with unfathomable rage. He grabbed his spear and charged into the burning village, snarling, cutting down any SkyWings in his path.
He wouldn’t rest until they were all dead.
They killed Meerkat.
They killed Cholla.
This was their fault.
This was their fault.
It was all their fault.
…
When Lich opened his eyes, he found that Dahlia had wrapped her wings around him, the horrors around them muffled by her warm yellow embrace. He let out a soft cry and leaned against her shoulder. It was all too much.
“I’m a monster.”
“No, you aren’t,” she said, wrapping her wings tighter around him. Her voice was shaky, as if she was crying too. “You were grieving. You were in pain.”
“I-”
“Shh.”
They sat together for a long time, Lich quietly crying while Dahlia comforted him. The nightmare around them seemed to slowly fade away, and eventually they were back in the altered version of the mountain cave. It was darker now, as if the sun had set. Lich collected himself as best he could. He felt a little bit calmer. 
After hundreds of years, he had finally told someone of his hidden grief.
His shoulders felt a little bit lighter now.
“Thank you.”
…
Domino was curled besides Lich, quietly observing the chaos of his mind. They knew it was bad, but they had no idea it was like this. Frowning, they moved closer and set a wing on the old man’s back in pity. The dawn was coming, and he would wake up soon, and then maybe Domino would try to comfort him.
I wish you knew how much I want to help you.
= CHAPTER 19 =
The weather in the rainforest was exactly what Lich thought it would be.
Miserable.
He peeled off the last damp cape and sighed grumpily. If the animus in the Kingdom of the Sea didn’t kill him, the humidity here would. His disguise was effectivley ruined, and he was pretty sure there was mold growing on some of the leather cuffs. It was a shame, Dahlia had worked hard on the adjustments, but it just wasn’t working anymore. The only salvageable thing was the bag with the dreamvisitor, which was good. He settled it lightly around his neck and made sure it was secure.
“So, is the climate not treating you well?” Domino said, taking a bite of a rather large mango they had found. Lich laughed and shook his head. “No, I’m afraid not. I’m surprised what’s left of me hasn’t fallen apart yet at this rate.”
“I kind of like it here!” Stonecrop clambered out of the small pond they had found and shook himself vigorously. Domino spread a wing to shield Lich from most of the water, and was rewarded with a dripping wet snout. “It’s warm, kind of like home, but it’s not as DRY.” He picked up one of the other mangoes that Domino had collected and poked it, curious.
“Never had one before?” they said, tilting their head at him. He shrugged. “I mean, I’ve had dried mango jerky, but never a fresh one,” he said, slicing it in half with his claws. “They just don’t keep well.”
“I never got to try a fresh one either,” Lich said as he watched his grandson take a small bite. Stonecrop wrinkled his snout and passed it to Domino. They giggled and took it. “I’m not sure if I would have liked it. I never enjoyed the fruits we did have. Aside from a few of the cacti fruits, I suppose.” Stonecrop washed his talons in the pool and thought for a moment. He blinked, and seemed to remember something.
“Today is my hatching day!” He chirped, grinning. “I completely forgot about it!” His grandfather tilted his head, surprised. “It is?” He nodded eagerly. “I’m six now!” Domino smiled and clapped their talons together. Lich raised his eyebrows. They’ve been out here that long? Hmm.
“I can’t remember how old I am anymore,” he said, laughing gently. “Something around 400 years, maybe?”
“422. Give or take.”
The old man looked over at Domino, startled. They shrugged their shoulders and grinned. “It’s a guess, I’ve looked in your mind.” He blinked at them and scoffed. It made sense, but he honestly thought it had been longer.
“Moons, you’re OLD,” Stonecrop giggled, wrinkling his snout. Lich scowled at him and he snickered. “I am AWARE, thank you,” he said, narrowing his eyes at his descendant. He glanced up through the canopy far overhead. The sun was reaching its midpoint.
“We should get moving. I don’t want to get caught in a rainstorm here,” he said, standing up slowly. “Catch some monkeys or something, we aren’t stopping until we get to the shore. I can practically smell the ocean.” The other two nodded and got up as well.
…
Sand by the ocean was far different from the sand in the desert. It was less coarse, and ran through Stonecrop's claws much easier. The pale white color was also much different than the burnished orange of home.
The thing that surprised him the most was the smell of the sea. It reminded him of the salt the chefs used to cure meats and season meals. But it wasn’t quite the same. The mist carried the scent in the wind and made his scales slightly damp.
He heard a rattling sound and a dusty thump behind him. When he turned around, he found his grandfather in a heap below the rock that he had perched on earlier.
“So, I may have lost my balance,” Lich said, muffled slightly. He shook himself off with a clatter and stood up. Stonecrop giggled. Domino was flying out over the Bay of a Thousand Scales, and if he squinted, he could just barely make out their black-and-white shape on the horizon. “I hope they find that outpost soon.”
“I think it might take a little while, at least,” Stonecrop said, turning to walk towards the tree line. “We can get started on building a shelter, maybe? We might be here for a few days. SeaWings are pretty elusive from what I’ve heard.” Lich nodded and walked alongside him.
The shelter they built was mostly made of large fallen logs and driftwood, with taro leaves making the roof and tied together with long vines. It wasn’t the most stable thing, but it was big enough for them to huddle inside comfortably, with room to spare. It would also keep them out of the rain, if a storm were to roll in.
Lich set the last few patches of moss inside, tossing them with his claws to make them softer. He walked outside and helped set up the fire pit. Stonecrop had dug a small hole in the sand and filled it with sticks and dry leaves. Once the fire was started, he waded into the ocean and caught some fish, skewered them and cooked them over the open flame.
The old man found that fire no longer scared him. At least, he didn’t feel an overwhelming sense of fear and grief when he looked at it. Thanks to Domino, he had finally been able to talk about it to someone who understood, and it had eased his phobia. It still brought back the memories, but he had learned how to force them out and clear his mind.
Speaking of Domino, they landed lightly beside Stonecrop and shook out their wings. “Well, I didn’t find anything,” they said as they took one of the fish from Stonecrop. “I’ll keep looking farther out tomorrow.”
“Better you than me,” the prince said, biting a fin off of his catfish. “SeaWings and SandWings aren’t on the best terms right now, I don’t think. Something about a trade route not working anymore.”
“Let me guess, the South Pass Route?” Lich said, sitting down next to the others. Stonecrop nodded. “The RainWings got sort of upset and a few started to even steal resources, so the SandWings demanded more and more, then more got stolen… Not a good deal.” 
The group sat in silence for a while, the two living dragons eating their meal. The old man rolled onto his side and watched the waves. Off on the horizon, he could faintly see a pod of dolphins jumping out of the water. The largest moon, Imperial, was rising above the waves, a thin crescent barely casting any light.
He reached up to the pouch around his neck and lifted the dreamvisitor into his claws, standing up and shaking a little sand out of his ribcage. “I’m going to dreamvisit Dahlia,” he said as the other two looked up at him. Domino nodded, and Stonecrop yawned. “I’m going to head in there myself in a few minutes. I’m kind of tired,” he said, stretching his wings. “Let me know if anything happens.”
…
The dreamscape felt… off.
It was dark, and a bit gloomy, and Dahlia was nowhere to be found. Lich wandered around the empty garden, confused. She was usually just out here, turning soil or planting new seeds. This wasn’t right.
He glanced over and found what he assumed was her house. There was torchlight coming from inside, but he couldn’t see anyone moving around. He walked over and knocked on the door.
It swung open under his talons. Slightly concerned, he moved inside and paced around. She wasn’t in the kitchen or main room. Maybe she’s in her bedroom? Lich made his way to the long hall and opened the door to the master bedroom.
“Dahlia?”
“Hey, Lich.”
She was curled on her sleeping blankets, looking heartbroken. He went to her side with a concerned look on his face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, really,” she said, turning her head towards him. “I think reality finally just set in.” Dahlia leaned against the old man and sighed. “You’re really doing this, aren’t you?”
He sighed softly and looked at his talons. “I am,” he whispered. “I’ve been here for so long, and I just… I just want to rest.”
“I wish that I could stay with you, but-”
“No, I understand,” she said as she smiled weakly at him. “I know your story. Domino has dreamvisited me too and told me more, and I get it. I wouldn’t want to live a life without Sparrow or my dragonets, so why should you have to live without your family?”
“I’ve got quite a dilemma on my claws,” Lich said, laughing gently. “I may have lost my real family, but I’ve found a new one with you, and Stonecrop and Domino…”
“But at the same time, I don’t…”
He groaned and cradled his head in his talons. “I don’t know what to do anymore, Dahlia. Do I stay, or do I finally end this?”
“I miss them. If there’s even a slight chance that I can see them again…”
“Then take that chance.”
Lich looked up at her, brows furrowed. “But you and the others-”
“Will be fine,” Dahlia said, spreading a wing over his back. “We have each other. It might hurt to lose you, sure, but we’ll know that you’re in a better place. We can dreamvisit, make sure everyone is alright, visit each other.”
“It’s not the end of the world if you go.”
Lich didn’t speak for a long while, and the two friends sat in silence together. He felt a dragon curl up next to him in the waking world. Stonecrop must have gone to sleep.
“I’m going to miss you, Dahlia. You have no idea,” he said, voice catching in his throat. She nudged his shoulder and made a choked sound.
“Me too.”
…
Lich couldn’t bring himself to dreamvisit Dahlia again for a few days. The guilt he had felt that night overwhelmed him, and it took a lot of conversation with Domino to make him feel better at all, but it did strengthen his resolve.
He was going to go through with it, once they found the animus.
He just hoped they would listen.
= CHAPTER 20 =
Aquamarine wrinkled her snout at her reflection. Mother always made her wear entirely too many necklaces to royal functions, and they weighed her down in the water. 
Or at least, they used to. Since she put the weightlessness spell on them, they always seemed to be drifting in the tide, even out of the water. She walked onto the balcony of her room in the Deep Palace and beat her blue-green wings to rise to the surface. She could see the shape of Queen Driftwood floating above her, tail flicking impatiently.
Took you long enough, her scales flickered as Aqua swam up beside her, arching her eyebrows. Aqua shook her head in exasperation. To the Summer Palace?
Driftwood nodded and ducked into the powerful current, shooting off ahead with Aqua close on her tail.
A few moments later, they ducked into the tunnel to the palace and surfaced on the other side. It was early morning, so the light from the shaded ceiling was faint, and her night vision had to fill in the gaps. She flew with her mother up to the council pavilion, taking her place in the Magic pool.
The council began, and she stopped paying attention. Not like she was particularly needed around here. Her mother had a weird phobia of animus magic, no doubt because of grandmother’s horror stories about Albatross. Aqua would catch the queen casting fearful glances in her direction sometimes. She fiddled with one of the emeralds embedded in the floor. Time to sit here for a few hours. Again.
Across from her, in the Justice pool, Heron gave her a look and she shrugged at him. What’s that about? She flickered her scales at him, and he rolled his eyes. This is so boring, he flashed softly, pouting. She shrugged again and sat back. He sighed and did the same.
HOURS later, Aqua was finally able to leave, along with the other council members. She could smell fresh sushi a few levels down in the kitchens, and her stomach growled hungrily.
The princess hopped off the ledge and glided down. Heron was close behind her, his sky blue and yellow scales catching the scattered sunlight in interesting ways. Sure enough, there was calamari and sashimi waiting. She smiled at the chef and put a few pieces on her clamshell plate. The two council members curled up on the beach, chatting about what they’ve been up to lately.
“So, apparently Dahlia got her claws on a dreamvisitor a few months ago,” Heron said, popping a slice of tuna in his mouth. “She visited me and was blabbering about Lich again.”
“Wasn’t he that weird SandWing or something?”
He nodded and swallowed. “Never liked that guy. Then he hurt Dahlia and vanished, so that wasn’t cool either.” Aquamarine shook her head.
“Sounds like a weird deal. Oh, did I tell you about the spell I cast a few days ago?” She said, pulling a ring off of her horn. It was heavy and made of white gold, with small gems of her namesake embedded in it in a scale pattern. “I’m sort of proud of this one.”
“It’s a bit like those old NightWing powers the scrolls talk about, except it lets me know what the best choice is when I’m about to cast a spell,” the princess said, turning it in her claws. She passed it to Heron and he looked it over. “What exactly does it tell you?” He said, tilting his head.
“Oh, mostly like hey, maybe change the wording? Or I don’t think that’s a good plan,” Aqua said, laughing as she slipped the ring back onto her horn. “Ironically, it ended up sounding like you.”
“Well good! At least that thing has some sense,” he said smugly. She smacked him with one of her wings and he cackled. Polishing off her plate of sushi, she passed it to Heron for him to take back when he was done, waved, and dove into the water to go swim.
The water was warm, and the sun was shining through the waves. Aqua rolled to float on her back and watched the clouds for a bit. She hadn’t been able to get out often lately. Her mother was always worried about some enemy dragon snatching her out of the water, even though she was 17 and also an animus. She could handle herself just fine, so there.
She heard wingbeats off in the distance and opened her eyes. There was a small dragon flying towards the shore behind her, black-and-white scales flickering in the sunlight. The princess squinted and realised that it was a NightWing. Startled, she ducked under the surface and watched the dragon fly past. They must not have seen her.
Aquamarine cautiously poked her head out again, glancing around. Where did they go?
“Right behind you.”
She twisted around in surprise and found the NightWing balancing lightly on a large floating log, smiling at her. Aqua yelped and floundered back, accidentally splashing the dragon. They flinched and nearly lost their balance, but managed to recover before falling in the water. After a moment, they looked back up at the SeaWing princess.
“My name is Domino, and I need your help,” they said, spreading their wings to stablize themselves a little. “Please come with me.”
Aquamarine wrinkled her nose. She didn’t even know this dragon. 
Domino let out an exasperated sigh. 
“Every time,” they whispered under their breath. “I promise I’m not going to kidnap you, I’m not going to hold you for ransom, and your mother isn’t going to freak out if you just come with me for maybe an hour or so. Please?”
“And yes, I am a mindreader, and you’re also a part of a prophecy.”
The princess blinked up at them, startled into silence. Domino sat, waiting for a response as she turned it over in her mind. This was a NightWing, for crying out loud. They don’t just show up and talk to anyone. Aqua had never even seen a NightWing before now. And a prophecy? Hmm.
“...Alright, I’ll come.”
Domino smiled and lifted into the air, turning around and flying towards the mainland. Aqua rose out of the water and followed them. 
This was possibly the oddest thing that had ever happened to her.
…
Stonecrop shook Lich awake, startling him out of a dream and disorienting the old man. He snorted and sat bolt upright, accidentally smacking his grandson in the face with one of his wings. The prince didn’t seem to notice. He grabbed one of Lich’s wings and started eagerly pulling him towards the entrance of the shelter.
“Wait a moon-blasted minute, Stonecrop!” Lich barked, stumbling. “You’re going to tear my wing off!” He shuffled to his feet and scowled at the dragonet. “What is going on anyways?!”
“Domino found her! The animus!” Stonecrop said, bouncing on his claws. Lich froze, eyes going wide.
He shot out of the shelter’s entrance and fell on the sand. Scrambling to his feet, he looked over and saw Domino and a SeaWing walking towards him. Stonecrop ran out and stopped next to his grandfather. Why wasn’t he moving?
The SeaWing paused for a moment when she saw Lich. Domino said something to her and gently put a wing on her back. She nodded hesitantly and kept walking until she was in front of the old man. His wings were shaking, his face blank, eyes glittering slightly.
Aquamarine didn’t like the look of him. He was wretched, worse than what she imagined when Domino told her about him. A sense of pity washed over her, and she felt her brow furrow. Is this what they needed her help for? To restore him or something?
“Not quite,” Domino whispered calmly.
She looked over at the NightWing, who had a somber expression on their snout. The other SandWing had a similar look. Aqua looked up at the ancient dragon again, his wings hunched and looking absolutely miserable, a desperate gleam in his hollow eyes.
It clicked for her suddenly.
“I need you to kill me.”
…
The animus had refused.
After all this time they had spent looking, she said no.
Stonecrop looked over and frowned slightly. Lich still hadn’t moved from where he had collapsed on the sand, wings curled around him and clutching his head in his talons.
“I’m sorry, I really am,” Aquamarine said, wringing her talons. “I just- I don’t know how much it would affect my soul.”
“Then enchant something to protect it!” Domino shouted. This was the first time Stonecrop had ever seen them upset. “Do something, anything! He has been suffering for almost 400 years, the least you could do is help!”
“And I want to! I really do! But I can’t just go casting spells all over the place for anyone who asks! Have you ever heard of Albatross?!”
The two dragons kept arguing, and Stonecrop heard Lich whimper slightly, curling his tail closer to him. He walked over and leaned against the old man.
“Make them stop. Please,” he whispered, so quiet that it was barely audible. Stonecrop shook his head and spread a wing over his ancestor, trying to comfort him.
“I’m sorry, Lich. I’m so sorry,” the prince said softly. “I can’t.”
Lich let out a pained groan and leaned against his descendant. After a few more moments, he let out a sigh and slowly rose to his feet. Stonecrop watched him walk over to the fighting dragons and quietly pushed Domino to the side with one of his wings. Both they and Aquamarine fell silent as Lich regarded the SeaWing princess with sad, stern eyes.
“I know what I ask of you is a heavy decision. One I have struggled with myself, for many years,” he said, voice calm and even. “I was known as King Lichen of the SandWings, a title that is no longer mine, and has not been for four hundred and twenty-three years. I have lost my family. I have lost my friends.”
“I have lost my life.”
“I come to you now, in a time of desperate need, to seek your aid and your aid alone.”
Lich folded his wings and bowed deeply, his forehead brushing against the sand.
“My fate is in your talons,” he whispered. “I resign myself to your will.”
A silence fell over the shore, only broken by the gentle sounds of the ocean surf. Aquamarine stared at the SandWing in front of her, her mind in turmoil. Domino and Stonecrop stood silently behind Lich on either side. The young prince gave Aqua a pleading look and bowed to her as well. The NightWing narrrowed their eyes at the princess and did the same as the two SandWings.
She looked down at her talons and sighed softly.
There was really only one thing she could do.
Quietly, she paced over to the shore and picked up a small, dry sanddollar. She walked back to the others and held it out to Lich, palm facing the stars as they spread across the sky. He looked at it, then up at her, a brief spark of hope flickering in his eyes. Aquamarine took a deep breath. This is the right thing to do, her horn ring whispered to her quietly.
“At the moment this sanddollar is broken, the undead life of Lichen of the SandWings will finally come to a complete and final end, and all former enchantments and curses will be broken. No other spell may reverse this once it is complete. He will finally have rest,” she spoke, her voice unwavering and sure. 
Lich stared at her with a heartbreaking expression of relief and gratitude as he gently cradled the fragile seashell in his claws. Stonecrop let out a sob and wrapped his wings around his grandfather, who held him close in his own. A tear rolled down Domino’s cheek as they did much the same.
After a few moments of holding the young dragons close to him, he cast one last look at Aquamarine. His expression spoke more than a thousand words in that one, single glance.
Then he lifted the sanddollar,
And broke it in two.
= EPILOGUE =
Stonecrop smoothed down his crest and sighed, adjusting his necklace and setting the dreamvisitor in the small box on his nightstand. Dahlia was doing well, but Domino must still be awake, since he couldn’t reach them. He picked up the medium sized jade urn beside him and held it in his claws for a moment. 
It was time.
The prince pushed his bedroom door open and set off for the other side of the palace, the two full moons outside shining through the open windows. He took a deep breath of the cool night air. It was quiet. No one else was up at this hour, and a few of the guards had even nodded off at their posts. Stonecrop grinned as he walked past them and into the central courtyard.
It was large and open, with a mosaic artwork in the center, always kept clean despite the sand that constantly blew over it. Mother had it installed when Stonecrop had hatched, in celebration. There was a small oasis that was nestled in the corner of the court. He made his way over and looked into the clear water at his reflection, cradling the vase in his talons.
Stonecrop looked surprisingly different now than he did a year ago. His face was more stern and serious, his eyes no longer as bright and innocent. Not that it mattered to him, particularly. The sanddollar piece around his neck caught the moonlight and shone brightly in the water for a moment. He paused.
He looked from it to the urn and sighed softly, resting a talon on the jar. Now wasn’t the time to sit and think, he had a job to do. He hefted it up again and kept moving to the large dome on the eastern side of the palace. The doors were heavy as he pushed them open, the dusty scent of the interior washing over him.
This was the first time he had ever been here. He had never had a reason to. But now, he did. It was very dark, and he lifted an unlit torch out of the sconce on the wall and lit it, holding it out in front of him. Stonecrop glanced around, looking for something specific. His eyes drifted towards a column on the far side, inlaid with small nooks for other urns to rest, and he paced over and squinted at the names in the stone.
Gila.
Brushfire.
Atacama.
The urn was made of obsidian, inlaid with small pieces of yellow gems and flickered dimly in the light of the torch, centuries of dust coating it. Stonecrop looked to the left of the tall vase and found another beside it, labled Heliodor. He smiled sadly and curled his tail around the base of the torch to hold it as he quietly lifted the jade urn.
It nestled perfectly into the empty space beside the others. The prince sat back and stared at the three urns, finally together at last.
Heliodor.
Atacama.
And Lichen.
He was finally home.
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Completed)
Category:Fanfictions (Semi-Canon)