The Palace of Stone

= The Palace of Stone =
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== MORE CHAPTERS WEEKLY!!! ==
=== A Wings of Fire Mystery/Romance/Horror Fanfiction ===
=== Clouded Day’s Fanfiction By Genre Contest ===
=== (Cannon Map 50 or so years after book 15) ===
TW: mild swearing, betrayal, violence, murder, scary content in general, mind control.
=== Created by: ===
Cytosin3-Alo3s
Phoenixsob
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= Prologue =
   The sky lit with lightning as the rain poured from the sky. A dragon could be seen flying across through the open air. Derecho beat his wings against the heavy wind, when the lightning struck in the distance, he saw a stone palace that looked like nothing but a shadow against the thundering sky in the distance. He landed on the front steps and pulled open the heavy bronze and copper trimmed doors to what seemed like the palace’s grand hall. Derecho noticed that the wall sconces were pre-lit and there wasn’t a single sign of dust or grime anywhere.
   “Hello?” Derecho called out. No answer. He found it strange that the doors were unlocked as well. Almost as if someone were waiting for him.
  Derecho walked silently through the echoing halls of the palace. Turning a corner, he came across a beautifully decorated ballroom with crystal inlaid wall sconces and carved wall inserts filled with paintings of supposed dragons of importance. Derecho knew that the room was designed for someone of the high class to throw parties and celebrations in at the first glance. His only question however, was who the owner of such an extravagant property would be. He knew it couldn’t be the queen, she lived farther south west than here. Besides, the queen already had a full queendom at her whim. As Derecho turned to leave the room, a heavy object hit him in the back of his head with a sickening crack. As his eyesight faded to a dark haze, he saw the silhouette of another as they dragged his limp body away from the ballroom.
= Part 1: Invitation to Disaster =
 Three Years After Derecho’s Disappearance…
= Chapter 1: Laverna. =
  As Laverna started pacing herself to go faster and faster, the Skywing guards flew closer than she had liked. As she barreled around to shoot her venom, the guards retreated. She flew over the queendom’s northernmost mountains toward the sea queendom’s northern borders to get as far away as she needed to go to get away from Ruby’s guards. Laverna grew tired quickly after outpacing the guards, but she breathed a sigh of relief as she saw her destination.
  The Windfall Palace was a grand property that only certain dragons could be invited to. Laverna was nothing more than a common thief, so she stole an invitation from Ruby’s messenger to be able to get in. As she landed near the front gate, she noticed that the tall, cast iron picket fencing was overgrown with Blue Moon Rose vines. She knew the species of flower because she was aiming to be a botanist when she was younger, so she memorized the name of almost every plant species that was native to Pyyrhia. 
  A guard opened the vine covered gate and allowed her in after showing him the invitation. The front lawn was much nicer than the outer rim of the palace. The grass was cleanly cut in straight stripes that swapped between a rich emerald green and a pale jade shade. The path to the main entrance was a sleek, polished granite stone with a marble fountain that spouted out a glittering water. Laverna knocked on the door and a well groomed Sandwing answered the door.
  “Good evening madam, shall you be addressed upon entering the ballroom?” He asked with a monotone voice.
  “No thank you, sir.” Laverna said while readjusting an obsidian necklace she stole from a market. As her talons tapped against the cold polished floor, the butler led them down a long hallway. She could hear classical music being played in a room on her right. She wanted to peek inside, only to realize that it was the party she was going to.
  “You are missing your mask, ma’am. Shall I retrieve one for you?” The Sandwing butler suddenly asked as he stared at her with his tired eyes.
  “Oh, yes, of course.” Laverna replied. She had forgotten that it was a masquerade party. 
  Once the butler had returned from retrieving Laverna’s mask, she had walked into the ballroom and started studying the layout for her big heist. The mask was black to match her necklace, with massive gold tinted gemstones surrounding her eyes and the trim of the mask itself. As Laverna walked around the ballroom, a kind looking Nightwing made her way towards her.
  “Good evening, I am Cada.” The Nightwing has suddenly said.
  “I am Laverna.” She had warily replied, trying not to allow Cada to figure out her plan.
  Cada, seeming to want to skip the formalities, had bid herself adew and walked away to get something to drink at the snack bar. As Laverna tried to puzzle out why Cada had wanted to speak to her of all dragons,she decided that she wasn’t going to waste anymore of her time thinking about the Nightwing. So she walked around to mingle with the other guests and gain more information.
= Chapter 2: Cada. =
  Cada had finished speaking with a strangely silent Rainwing who went by the name of Laverna, so she walked her way to the snack bar and grabbed a juice with an orange-ish aftertaste. She hadn’t liked the drink much so she gave it to a butler who was walking around disposing of the guests’ cups. Cada glanced around and noticed that Laverna was speaking to a pair of Icewings that wore bright navy blue capes with sapphire studded implants across their icy scales. Although they looked interesting, Cada preferred to ignore fancy looking dragons. That was the reason that she tried to converse with Laverna, she had that minimalistic look that always seemed to catch her attention. It was just something about rich dragons that Cada had always hated. When Cada was younger, she was always looked down upon by those who were higher class then her. She had never criticized them for their dreams, so why would they want to hurt her feelings like that? Cada had never understood the higher ups, so she kept to herself and made a living off of detective work until it became her actual occupation.
  “Are you alright madam?” A Skywing butler suddenly asked from behind her.
  “Oh, I’m quite alright. Thank you though.” Cada had said while turning to face them, unaware that she was staring off into space like she usually did when she was thinking.
  “Of course ma’am.” The butler nodded before slinking away to help refill the juice bowl.
  Cada was starting to feel annoyed from the loud music, so she walked out of the ballroom and into the back gardens to get a breath of fresh air. The iron cast fencing was overgrown with brambles and rose bushes galore. The back of the Windfall Palace was a ginormous garden that stretched out as far as Cada could see. A small hedge maze was placed at the center of the garden with a beautifully preserved gazebo located at the middle of the maze. A tinted glass greenhouse lay in a corner of the garden. A purple-ish Seawing was walking out of the greenhouse with a couple of plant pots, but otherwise the garden was empty of dragons. Cada sat by a rose bush and sniffed the flowers, happy that the breeze was light and that it was quiet outside. After a few minutes of calming down, she stood up and walked back towards the back entrance. As she opened the door, Cada bumped into someone.
  “Ah, my apologies!” Cada had exclaimed, bowing her head. She was embarrassed by her blind action towards the stranger.
  “That’s quite alright, miss.” A male voice had said. Cada looked up to see who she had bumped into, only to come face to face with a larger Skywing. He was a strange kind of burnt red, but what surprised Cada was the fact that this dragon was a hybrid. She had noticed his Sandwing stinger, forked tongue, and hair sail when she looked up at him, but he had the Skywing demeanor and color palette.
  “I should be the one apologizing for not looking where I was going.” He had continued while sympathetically looking her way. His palm leaf shaped earrings swayed as he spoke to her. What caught Cada’s attention was that his golden-green eyes matched his jewelry and under-scales almost perfectly.
  “There’s no need to apologize, sir.” She had said. He placed a talon over his chest and bowed down to Cada in an almost royal manner. His teeth gleamed as he spoke suddenly.
  “Oh, forgive me. Allow me to introduce myself.” He paused for the dramatic flair, “My name is Derecho.”
= Chapter 3: Jellyfish. =
   As Jellyfish finished sorting through the library’s archives, they looked around to see that there wasn’t anything else to finish up. To keep themself from being bored, they chose a book that sounded interesting to them from off the shelf and flew up to the third floor of the library towards the reading nooks. Jellyfish jumped at the sound of the heavy library doors clank against their frame. As she looked down over the railing, they saw two figures walking in and sitting at a table. Jellyfish paid the pair no mind as they began to read their book again.
  “Jellyfish!” A voice called from down below. Jellyfish’s head snapped up from the loud noise.
  “Coming!” Jellyfish called back as they put their book down and flew down to the lower level. They looked in surprise to see a Nightwing standing with Derecho.
  “Master Derecho!” Jellyfish exclaimed with surprise. She bowed her head in respect before asking.
  “What brings you here to my library?”
Derecho nodded his head in the Nightwing’s direction before looking back at Jellyfish.
  “I’d like you to meet Cada, she will be one of our guests for the time being.” His eyes squinted and he stared at Jellyfish till she understood what he meant. She nodded her head and looked at Cada.
  “Follow me, Ms. Cada.” Jellyfish led her out of the library and down a warm, candle lit hallway with stained glass windows. Four doors were on the left side of the hallway with one large door at the end. Jellyfish stopped at the second door on the left side and opened it. The room was filled to the brim with extravagant looking furniture. The four poster bed had neatly drawn back curtains that showed the large pillows and quilted blankets strewn about on the mattress. There was an opening in the wall across the room with billowing silver curtains surrounding a balcony that was overlooking the back gardens. Jellyfish glanced at Cada as she walked into the room and turned around.
  “This is where you will be staying at, Ms. Cada.” She had said to the amazed Nightwing. As Cada looked at the intricately carved pine wardrobe with all sorts of colorful silks stored inside, she noticed that the room looked like it was made for a Nightwing. Cada looked up to see that the ceiling was painted black with little white stars dotted across it. A small silver chandelier with a dangling moon pendant was treated as the room’s centerpiece.
  “Jellyfish, was it?” Cada asked, looking directly at the Seawing librarian.
  “Yes, that is my name Ms. Cada.” Jellyfish nodded.
  “That’s a beautiful name. Thank you for bringing me here.” Cada smiled at Jellyfish. Her eyes widened before quickly turning her head to face the tiled stone floor.
  “It’s nothing special, I’m just doing my job, Ms. Cada.” Jellyfish turned to leave before saying.
  “If you need anything, don’t be afraid to ask. I’m almost always in the library if you ever need to find me.” She closed the door behind her and started her walk back towards the library.
  “I assume that Cada is in her room?” A voice called from behind her.
  “Yes, master Derecho. Ms. Cada is in her room and I’ve informed her to ask if she needs anything.” Jellyfish turned to face Derecho.
  “I’ve put a guard at her door, if you see her outside her room though, I need you to direct her back for the night.” Derecho sternly told Jellyfish. She had never truly known what happened to her old master, but a year and a half ago, master Derecho took full responsibility of the palace. Instead of trying to understand his reasons for keeping Cada locked away in her room, Jellyfish just bowed her head and continued her walk back to the library.
= Chapter 4: Derecho. =
  Everything was all going according to plan. All Derecho needed were two more dragons, and then the game could begin. He knew that the Nightwing named Cada was going to be a valuable asset to said game, but until then, she was to remain locked in her room. As Derecho climbed the stairs to the fifth floor and stepped into the hallway, he knew something was amiss. Derecho stalked towards his office and smelt the air around the door. Somebody had been here earlier. Derecho was the only dragon allowed on the fifth floor because it was his domain, so he knew that whoever snuck up here would pay deathly consequences. He opened the large double doors and began his search for any sign of who it could have been. The floor was clear of evidence, but the once closed balcony door was now wide open with the wind blowing papers across his desk. Derecho walked around his desk to stand on the balcony. His talons strongly gripped the stone railings as he looked down at the sea below. A storm was coming, he just needed to know when.
= Chapter 5: Verglas. =
   His talons clinked against the stone tiles as he paced around his room. He didn’t trust that Derecho dragon, but he couldn’t help but accept his offer. Now that I’m a guest here, I should be given special treatment. But no. Here I am, locked in a fancy room until further notice.  Verglas rolled his eyes and continued to pace around the quiet room. His room was filled with a large bed against the wall and a maple wood wardrobe. He hasn’t bothered to see what was inside of it yet. There was a fireplace against the other wall, but it wasn’t lit. The doors to his balcony were locked shut and the candles on the chandelier were faintly glowing as Verglas pulled a blanket off of the bed and curled himself on the floor instead of on the mattress. Shortly after he fell asleep, he awoke with a heavy jolt. There were talon steps outside his door. He quietly stood up and snuck towards the door, slightly peeking  through the keyhole. He saw the Seawing that brought him here with another dragon. As they passed, he noticed that the other dragon was a female Nightwing. She glanced at his door and he jumped back to avoid being seen. He looked back again and they were gone, the only thing that must have been them was the sound of an opening door a bit farther down the hallway.
  “Tch, I’m done waiting around.” Verglas spat. He walked towards the balcony doors and pulled them open. He flew up to the highest floor and landed on the only balcony up there. He saw that it was an office. Verglas managed to open the locked doors that led inside and he started snooping around for anything interesting. His ears perked at the faint sound of talons on stairs. He flew out the door back to his room before he could find anything, only to realize something.
 “Dang it! I left the door open.” He didn’t want to risk getting caught, so he just went back into his room and locked his balcony doors. After an hour or two it started raining,so he opened the door to his balcony again and stood in the rain because it helped him think. A movement to his right caught his attention. He looked and saw the same Nightwing girl he saw earlier staring right at him from her side of the balcony.
  “Who are you?” He inquired. “I am Verglas, hybrid of the Mudwings and Icewings.” He didn’t know what it was, but this dragon, with her dark scales and emerald eyes, made him tense up and needed to speak formally. Since the balcony was a wraparound, the dragon walked right over and spoke.
  “I’m Cada, of the Nightwings.” She introduced herself with the same formalities in her voice. He had blushed a bit at her soft smile but hid it quickly before Cada noticed it.
  “You look cold, why don’t you come in.” She had said to Verglas after noticing that he was wet, even though it was really himself sweating buckets.
  “Oh, no thank you, Cada.” It took all his willpower to decline her.
  “That wasn’t a question, Verglas.” She stubbornly said as if they’ve been friends all their lives. Cada had grabbed his talon and led him to her room where the fireplace was lit and there were piled books around her wardrobe. She sat by the hearth and covered herself with a nearby blanket. Verglas kinda just stood there looking unsure if he should sit with Cada or go back to his own room.
  “Aren’t you going to come sit with me?” Cada asked, obviously confused. This cleared up his own confusion, so he did what any normal dragon would do. He walked over and covered himself with another nearby blanket before laying down a few feet from Cada. She looked at him intently before moving closer to him. Verglas thought that he was going to have a literal heart attack, so he just froze instead of acknowledging Cada sitting beside him. He turned his head to face her as she went to face him and so she smiled at him. He didn’t want her to feel bad, so he ended up smiling with her, at her.
= Chapter 6: Vestal. =
  Vestal walked throughout the palace’s hallways trying to memorize the layout in case he got lost. He never had the greatest eyesight, so he always tried to memorize everything so that way he wouldn’t hit any walls. As Vestal continued to roam the halls, he accidentally bumped into a table, causing a vase to fall and shatter. Vestal didn’t like getting into trouble, so he scooped up the shards of glass and dumped them into a nearby trash bin. Before he continued his wandering, he made sure there weren’t any more shards of glass for anyone to step on. His silver wings fluttered in the wind as he made his way through the garden. Despite having poor vision, his strong sense of smell made up for it in big ways. Vestal walked into the cool autumn evening, and although the rain was pouring, the heavy scent of roses still hit him like a bullet. Since he wasn’t looking for any of the roses that surrounded the property, he continued to smell the wet air until he found what he was looking for.
  “Ah, there you are.” Vestal smiled as he walked over to a patch of Milkweeds underneath an oak tree. He sat down and covered the flowers with his wings to protect them from the rain. The soft pink flowers swayed in the heavy breeze and a few petals came loose. They fluttered about in the air until they were out of his sight. Vestal thought they were beautiful even before he understood that some species were poisonous to most scavengers. His antennae twitched for a moment before he looked up.
  “Yes?” Vestal had asked the stranger.
  “What are you doing out here in the rain?” The voice asked. Vestal looked at them for a moment before realizing that he hadn’t even asked for their name.
  “Who are you first?” He asked. He wouldn’t give up any information to a stranger who approached him.
  “The name’s Laverna.” She said to Vestal. He didn’t want to answer her even though she answered his question, so he answered her against his own will.
  “I’m out here to protect the flowers against the rain,” he paused for a moment before continuing his sentence. “and my name is Vestal.” Laverna looked pleased to hear his answer and so she sat by him and stared at the rain. He usually didn’t like spending time with other dragons, but this dragon was kind to him, so he thought he could make an exception for Laverna.
= Chapter 7: Laverna. =
  Laverna never thought that she would make a supposed friend on this mission, but Vestal seemed different from the other dragons here. She only hoped that if he ever found out about what she was trying to do, he wouldn’t call for any of Ruby’s guards. Sitting with Vestal seemed to calm her nerves after the whole stressful situation against those guards earlier. As Laverna stared at the rain, a thought came to her. What was she after anyways? All she knew was that there was a certain object that would cost thousands of coins if she sold it, but she didn’t even know what that object was. She watched as Vestal's wings fluttered every few minutes. Almost as if he wanted to fly away. Laverna wanted to know, so she asked.
  “Why do you twitch your wings like that?” She turned to face Vestal.
  “Oh, I’ve always wanted to experience flying since before my metamorphosis, but something happened when I was in the cocoon.” He didn’t say what happened so Laverna, being the smart Alec she was known for, had to ask.
  “What happened?” She inquired. Even if he didn’t want to tell her what happened, she was going to get him to spill the information.
  “My cocoon was dropped and ever since I emerged, my eyesight had been the worst. I can’t fly even if I want to. I’d just hit a tree or something.” He chuckled at that last part as if it was actually a funny joke.
  “Oh, I’m sorry about that, Vestal.” Laverna hadn’t expected that response, so she felt sympathy towards the half blind dragon. She intertwined her tail with his to make him feel better if he already wasn’t fine.
 “It’s fine, I couldn’t do anything about it even if I wanted to.” He whispered softly. Laverna had never thought that she could feel this amount of sadness for a single dragon, nonetheless a Silkwing!
  “Why don’t we go outside?” She asked. If Laverna could do anything for this dragon, it would be to make sure he wouldn’t get sick from the cold.
  “But what about the flowers?” He glanced at the Milkweeds below his wings. Laverna looked at him and nodded her head. Well, it’s fine. At least she wouldn’t be lonely if she waited out here with him.
  After an hour or so, the rain had stopped and Laverna realized that she had dozed off after a while. She turned her head to see that Vestal was still wide awake, protecting his flowers.
  “Do you want to go inside now? The party should almost be over.” 
  “Yes, we should leave the flowers in their peace.” Vestal nodded at her. Laverna didn’t understand why he spoke so regally towards her. Perhaps she made him nervous? He stood up and began to walk towards the back entrance. Laverna stood up and started following Vestal to the palace. Vestal walked further into the palace until he found the ballroom, and sure enough, there were only a few dragons left inside.
  “Looks like you were correct.” He turned to face Laverna, who was trailing shortly behind him.
  “Yeah, I guess I was,” She looked inside at the few groups that were starting to leave.
  “I never got to ask, where is your mask?” Laverna asked.
  “Mask? I don’t understand.” Vestal looked at her with a confused expression.
  “This was a masquerade party, didn’t you know?” She asked. Laverna didn’t know how he was here without knowing what this party was about.
  “No, I didn’t. I was just brought here during metamorphosis and have been here since.” Vestal looked bewildered at the thought of a party going on without his knowledge. He looked down at his talons trying to piece together what was happening.
”How have I been so blind to my surroundings these past few years..?” Vestal looked betrayed at himself and his unknown captor. But then a look of realization and regret fell upon his face.
”Laverna,” he paused to face her, “I think I might know who’s responsible for my capture.” Her face went still as she looked up in surprise.
= Chapter 8: Cada. =
Cada paced her room and looked out her balcony door at the sunlight that was starting to drain from the sky. What had she done to make Verglas feel that way? As she closed the balcony doors and snuffed out the fire in the hearth, she grabbed her blankets and wrapped herself around in them so as to feel some sort of comfort. She sighed as she knew that blankets wouldn’t solve her problems.
“What am I doing doing that’s making everything seem wrong?” Cada whispered to herself. Romance had never been her strongest suit, but at least she tried. When it came to loving another, Cada had always done something that would make the other dragon hate her guts. She glanced up at the star sprayed ceiling and held her talons together the way she’d been taught as a dragonet.
“If anybody is listening to this, please, PLEASE, give me a sign on how I can amend my wrongdoings.” Cada has never really tried to pray since she was a dragonet because she never thought that the gods were real, but now she needed them more than ever. She glanced up once more at the star speckled ceiling before curling up in the blankets and nodding off into a deep slumber. She dreamed of how she asked Verglas a question, but as soon as she asked, he left and she hadn’t seen him since that afternoon. Cada didn’t remember what the question was, but it did something to Verglas that she hadn’t expected him to react so strongly to. Although she was a detective, this was a mystery that she couldn’t solve. Cada woke to a knock on her door and the thump of a small object. She slipped out of the bed and opened it to reveal a medium sized box with a large emerald green bow on the corner with a note tucked underneath the knot. There wasn’t anyone else around, so she read the note. It read:
“Greetings Lady Cada, I hope you have enjoyed your humble abode for the time being. Inside this box is a gift from me to you. I would appreciate it greatly if you are to wear it during the scheduled lunch this afternoon so you can meet the other guests. It’s not much, but I hope you know that it’s the thought that counts. Yours Truly, Derecho.”
Cada opened the box and inside of it was the most beautiful mask that she had ever seen. The base of the face covering was a shiner opal white with jade stones embedded around the eyes and trim. A long pearl rope was strung across one side to the other to create a sort of crown adornment. The sides were finished off with pastel green, silk bows that hid the ears like a pair of butterfly wings. Cada sat the mask on her bed and shut the door to get ready. Once she opened her wardrobe, she was bombarded with a colorful splash of multicolored silks and fabrics. Cada saw at least seven different kinds of greens that would match with the mask, she just couldn’t decide which one it would be. She chose a nice light Nile Green scarf when she realized that she wouldn’t get anywhere if she just stood there. After adjusting the scarf to her personal comfort, she put a rope of pearls that matched the ones on her mask around her neck and stood in front of the mirror on the wardrobe door.
“I’d never thought I’d be treated like royalty by anybody.” She wore the mask to see what she looked like, and was astonished by how regal she looked. It was like a pale green moonbeam shone against her midnight scales. The best part was the fact that the mask and scarf matched her eyes. The pearls were a nice accent color that helped jumble up the blacks and greens. Cada turned to leave but saw a purple-ish gas seeping from underneath the doorframe. She tried to cover her snout with her scarf before it reached her, but it was too thin. Cada fell to the ground unconscious as the beaded rope snapped and the pearls went flying across the room.
= Chapter 9: Jellyfish. =
Jellyfish was minding her own business while finishing her book, until she heard a heavy thump hit the floor of the main level. She looked over the railing but didn’t see anything, so she flew down to see what the commotion was. All Jellyfish found was a book on scientific theory lying beside an empty shelf space.  She looked around but found nothing else of interest. Before heading back upstairs, she heard a voice.
“Sorry about that!” They called from the second floor.
“Who the hell are you?” Jellyfish called back, she hadn’t seen him on her way down. A Hivewing hybrid came floating down from his perch on the banister and stood in front of Jellyfish.
“I’m not going to repeat myself, who are you?” She inquired. Jellyfish was starting to get tired of others interrupting her reading time, so she needed the dragon’s name to properly yell at him.
“Usually I would just tell someone, but-“ he paused, a flicker of mischief flashed through his eyes, “why don’t you try and earn it instead?” He smirked. A look of absolute disgust crossed Jellyfish’s face as she walked over with a scowl and jabbed at him with her talons.
“Do you know who I am?” Jellyfish snapped in his face.
“No, should I?” He knew that it was perfect to answer a question with a question, but Jellyfish wouldn’t take his bull any further.
“If you're from around here, then yes. If not-“ she paused to try and annoy him, “I’m going to need you to get out of my library.” Her smirk of aggression seemed to tip him off a bit. Normally all the girls would fall head over heels for him, but this dragon was a different case entirely. He respected that.
“Alright you win, the name’s Voodoo.” He smiled towards her. Her expression in return was nothing less than a forced grin back at him. Voodoo rolled his eyes and picked up the fallen book.
“Here’s the book.” He had said whilst handing it over to Jellyfish. “Now tell me your name.” Voodoo had said with an emphasis on the ‘your’.
“My name is Jellyfish, and I think it’s about time you’ve left.” She said while taking the book and walking over to an empty shelf.
“Why should I?” He asked. Voodoo loved to mess with others and just be nosy in general.
“Because the party is over and it has been for the past hour.” She turned to glare at him. “Also because I said so.” Jellyfish continued. Voodoo seemed a bit hurt at this, but proceeded to exit the library doors.
“I’ll be back!” He promised.
“No you won’t!” Jellyfish yelled at him. She knew that he would come back even though she told him not to, but decided that it was fine if he would shut up every now and then.
= Chapter 10: Derecho. =
Derecho stalked across the silent hallway that led to his room. He had recently finished filling up the ranks with what he called his ‘players’, and now he had to find a good time to begin the game. His spy had already introduced himself to Jellyfish, but he isn’t sure if she knows of his role in this or not.
“Master Derecho, I presume it’s almost time?” A voice said from behind one of the pillars against the wall. Derecho stopped in his tracks and turned to face the voice.
“Voodoo, what have I said about coming up to my rooms?” He hissed through his clamped teeth. Voodoo stepped out of the shadows in all of his half Hivewing glory. But as soon as he saw his boss’s face, he froze. Derecho’s gaze pierced through him like a pair of daggers, and an intent to kill flickered across his face.
“You know what boss, I think I’ll give the report when you're not feeling quite as sadistic.” Voodoo mumbled almost silently. He backed off and bowed before practically running down the hall towards the stairwell.
“Typical.” Derecho spat. He gathered himself and finished walking to his bedroom, slamming the double doors shut as he entered. The tapestries hung on the wall were tattered with age, and the books stacked neatly on the oak shelves had cracked leather bindings that looked decades old. The silken curtains fluttered against the breeze as the afternoon sun was reaching its peak.
“It’s almost time for that meeting..” He muttered under his breath. There was a faint feeling he got whenever something important was about to happen, but Derecho had never really known why or how it happened. To be honest, he didn’t care if he knew the real reason or not. He was happy the way his life already was, and his plans have been going perfectly well so far. What else is there to want? He glanced outside the balcony doors and proceeded to fasten a bright turquoise cape that matched his eyes in an elegant way. To finish off his look, Derecho adorned himself with golden jewelry and walked out the doors down the long hallways of the palace.
= Part 2: Teatime with Death. =
 In the gardens…
= Chapter 11: Verglas. =
Why were we all out here again? Verglas forgot why, but he had sat down at the long table where his name was printed on a piece of paper. He assumed that it was assigned seating or something, he didn’t understand why. He didn’t understand a lot of things. He was given a few gifts to wear at this so-posed “tea party”, so he had sapphire earrings dangling beside his throat and a swamp green colored cape around his neck.
“Greetings, you are Verglas, yes?” Somebody said from the head of the table. Verglas looked up and saw none other than Derecho, the prick who told him to be here.
“Yes, that is my name.” Verglas replied through clenched teeth. “Thank you for these gifts.” He tried to smile at Derecho, but something inside him wouldn’t allow it
“I’m glad you like them, I’d thought hard about what to get everyone.” He nodded at the small party of dragons walking towards the table. He saw the Seawing leading them to their seats, she was decked out in accessories just like the guests. She was wearing a rose gold coral shaped crown and teal jewels were embedded into her wrist cuffs. There was also a Rainwing with a leaf shaped necklace and dangling pineapple earrings. The last dragon trailing far behind the other two was a silvery looking Silkwing. He wore minimal jewelry unlike the others and had a placid look on his face. The only thing he wore was a bronze flower crown that looked like it had thorns lining the trim.
“Hello, my dear guests.” Derecho smiled at the trio that was sitting down in their assigned seats. Jellyfish sat beside Derecho, it was required because she worked for him. The Silkwing and Rainwing sat beside each other and started silently chatting in their corner of the table.
“Thank you for inviting us, sir.” The Rainwing suddenly said.
“Of course Laverna, I appreciate you coming.” He smiled at her. “Okay, the tea will be arriving in a few moments. Until then, please, enjoy conversing with the other guests.” Derecho commented before opening a book he brought and diving into the pages. Verglas looked around and saw everyone except Cada, she seemed like the type of dragon to be on time for everything, yet she wasn’t anywhere in the garden from what he could see. He knew that Derecho wanted him to talk to other guests, but he wanted to apologize to Cada for running off like he did the other night.
“Are you alright?” The Seawing asked Verglas from her seat by Derecho. She looked genuinely concerned about him.
“I’m fine, just thinking.”
“About what?” The Seawing was starting to get on Verglas’ nerves.
“I’m just thinking.” He snapped.
“I was just curious. My name is Jellyfish by the way.” She tried to lighten his mood, but failed miserably.
“Verglas.” He only said his name, but then went back to looking for Cada. A Hivewing walked out and whispered something in Derecho’s ear. Jellyfish looked surprised to see him, so Verglas wondered how they knew each other. The Hivewing winked at Jellyfish and strolled away back towards the palace. Verglas was stunned to see that Jellyfish looked annoyed at him. What had he done to make her hate him like that? Verglas wasn’t that interested so he dropped the topic when he saw the tea being brought out to the table.
= Chapter 12: Vestal =
Vestal was very uncomfortable around the other dragons seated at the table. He didn’t know these dragons, except for Laverna of course. He most definitely didn’t trust the tea though. It had this sweet scent that tea normally doesn’t have. Unless it was poisoned.
“Thank you for the tea, but I’m afraid not feeling parched at the moment.” Vestal was going to make sure that he lived a long life. So not drinking the tea was a safe option.
“Of course, Vestal. Take your time.” Derecho had a smug look on his face that unsettled Vestal even more, even if it was harder for him to see Derecho. A butler brought out what looked to be rolled up bacon around bread rolls and a thick brown dip in a ceramic bowl. Laverna leaned over and pointed out that it was made from Cocoa beans, which she grew up around in the rainforest.
“In the rainforest, we call it “chocolate”.”
“Chocolate? I’ve never heard of it.” Vestal looked genuinely confused. “On Pantala we had honey drops.” Another butler came out carrying a tray of syrup dipped fruit cutlets. They passed out a fair amount of food to each plate on the table before leaving the group to eat in peace.
“Enjoy your meal.” Derecho smiled from his end of the table. Vestal looked around to see an empty table placement. He wondered who it belonged to but eventually thought nothing of it as he took a bite of a bacon wrapped bread dipped in the chocolate sauce.
“This is very good,” Vestal looked up to see the Mudwing and Icewing hybrid speak. “What's in it?” Derecho looked up at them with a suddenly serious demeanor.
“I’m afraid I don’t know, you’ll have to ask my chefs, Verglas.” So his name was Verglas. Vestal was listening in on their entire conversation to learn about Verglas, but nothing important was said until Verglas asked something unexpected.
“I’m sorry Derecho, but do you happen to know why Cada hasn’t arrived yet?” He was sipping his tea with a glint of suspicion in his eyes. Whatever the case was, Verglas didn’t trust Derecho. Vestal thought that he was right to aim his suspicions at Derecho, but why so bluntly? If anything, he should have collected information first. Unless he already did. Without Derecho’s knowledge of him searching around, it would have made perfect sense for Verglas to aim his distrust at Derecho.
“I’m afraid she had been,” Derecho cut himself off to think of a word. “Taken care of.” The look of horror in Verglas’ eyes told Vestal everything. Whoever this Cada dragon was… she was dead.
= Chapter 13: Laverna. =
Laverna practically spat her tea out in surprise. What had happened to the dragon first met when she arrived? Laverna hoped that Cada was alright. She found it suspicious that Derecho hadn’t eaten any of his food or drank his tea. That’s when it hit her. The tea must have been poisoned! To try and clear Derecho of any secrets he might be keeping, she cleared her throat and began to speak.
“May I ask your chefs what is in this tea?” Laverna had placed her cup back in her talons so as to not have any suspicions towards her from Derecho. He looked straight at her, and she tried her best to remain calm. 
“I’m sorry, but my chefs will not answer any questions at the moment.” Derecho grinned with delight as Verglas suddenly jolted and hit the table with a heavy ‘THUD!’. Laverna ran over and held her claws against the nape of his neck to check for a pulse. He was alive, just knocked out. A few seconds later, the same thing happened to the Seawing beside Derecho. Laverna remembered that she told them her name, but now wasn’t the time to think about that. Even from where she was standing, Laverna could see that the Seawing was indeed breathing.
“What’s happening?” Vestal was panicking in a shrill voice that said only fear was present. He was stumbling backwards in a drunken manner. Laverna saw him drink some of the tea, but it was only a little. Unlike the two unconscious dragons that lay at the foot of the table, Vestal would need more to fall asleep. From behind Vestal, was a Hivewing. He was slowly stalking upon the poor Silkwing before pouncing on top of him and injecting his stinger into his back. Vestal slumped onto the grass out cold. Laverna was the only one left to get rid of at this point, so she ran as fast and as hard as her legs would get her, but it wasn’t enough. She was on the back porch and as soon as she was a few feet from the door, it slammed shut on its own, causing Laverna to run into it. The impact was so strong that she passed out as she hit it. The last thing she remembered was a strong stench of the tea as a pitcher of it came crashing down from a table she hit.
= Chapter 14: Jellyfish. =
Jellyfish awoke in a dank room that stank of rotten flesh. The ceiling was dripping with something that definitely was not water. It was too soupy for that. On the other side of the stone lined room lay the Rainwing from earlier. Jellyfish remembered Vestal calling her Laverna, so she suspected that was her name. She decided to take in her surroundings before jumping to any conclusions about where she was. Jellyfish paced the perimeter of the square room and there was only one window on the top of the left wall. It was barred but wide enough to fit her head through. She flew up and leaned into the other room across the window. It was very dark in there, possibly darker than the room she was originally in. As Jellyfish’s eyes adjusted to the dim light, she noticed two other dragons laying in the opposing corners.
“Hello?” One of the dragons’ heads raised at the sound of Jellyfish’s voice and it jumped into a defensive stance. She could hear something rattling as it moved, and from where she was, Jellyfish could tell that the dragon baring its fangs at her was an Icewing. The noise must have been its spines scraping against each other. “Hello?” Jellyfish called again.
The Icewing looked taken aback after realizing that Jellyfish wasn’t an enemy. It still warily glared at her before coming a few steps closer. “Who are you?” Her voice sounded so broken and raspy that Jellyfish could have mistaken it for another dragon’s claws being sharpened on a chalkboard.
Despite being terrified of the dragon before her, Jellyfish spoke with confidence. “I am Jellyfish of the Queendom of the Sea. I work for Master Derecho of the Windfall Palace, and shall continue to serve him until the end of my days.” The Icewing’s eyes filled with a sudden sense of hatred towards Jellyfish, but she decided to go on nonetheless. “Now that I have introduced myself, it is only polite that you do the same.”
The Icewing hissed through her teeth before backing away a step. “Why should I tell a puppet of that monster anything?” The Icewing was yelling now. “Why should I tell you anything about me? For all I know, you're feeding him information about us!” Jellyfish was wide eyed at this whole situation. The Icewing turned before running back at Jellyfish and trying to breath her frost breath. Jellyfish flinched and shut her eyes, waiting for the freezing breath to hit her, but it never did. She looked back to see the Icewing wheezing on the ground clutching her throat in a pained movement. That's when Jellyfish saw it. A small trickle of blood was dripping down from under the Icewing’s chin but the trickle quickly grew into a large gush. A silver snakelike creature slithered out of the hole in her jaw and wrapped itself around the Icewing’s neck. A sickening snap was heard before the thing scooted its way into a crack in the wall.
Jellyfish shrieked in horror as the Icewing that was alive just a moment ago, was murdered in an instant by an unidentifiable creature. Right before she passed out due to nausea, she saw the corpse twitch as the rest of the blood poured out and onto the brick floor but then fell still. The sound of the monster slithering away could no longer be heard in the walls as the world blacked out into a dark haze around Jellyfish.
= Chapter 15: Derecho. =
Derecho was walking down the long spiral stairs into the cellar. He didn’t know where he was going, but his body was leading him somewhere. As Derecho passed a shelf of barreled wineries, he saw a cast iron door that had at least five different locks on the handle. His talon moved on its own and pulled the bottom of a wine barrel off and reached inside of the blood red liquid. Derecho flinched as his claws felt a ring of keys hidden inside, so he pulled them out to be examined. The ring was a thin hoop of gold covered in crusted rust. The keys varied in color, shape, and weight. There was a large gold key, two medium silver ones, a small copper key, and an even smaller obsidian key. He got curious and walked over to the locks. Derecho inserted each key into their specified locks and opened the door. The room across was lined with stone but had large shelves along the walls and a desk beside the door. Derecho noticed the spiraling stairs leading even further underground but decided to investigate the rest of the room first.
“I wonder if this is a study?” He ran his talons over the desk and brushed off the dust on his claw. The books overflowing from the shelves were caked in dust and grime. That was really all there was to it, other than the jars of who knows what laying around. As Derecho began to walk down the steep steps that led even deeper into the palace, he wondered how he never knew of this room. His talons gave off an eerie scraping sound as they tapped their way down the stairs.
“Hello?” Derecho wasn’t expecting an answer, but he felt that it was common sense to let anything know he was there. If there was anything there in the first place, that is. Derecho walked onto the stone tiles of the dimly lit room and noticed that the torches in the wall sconces were lit. “I feel something like this has happened before..” His voice was low enough to be a whisper, but it bounced across the cavernous walls in an echoing vibration. His tail brushed across metal bars in what sounded like a xylophone and he flinched when he felt something brush against his leg.
Derecho whipped around to see a small Hivewing jump away from him on the other side of the bars. Her golden scales shone bright against the light of the wall torches. The little dragonet took a step towards Derecho again, then another.
“Who are you?” Derecho voiced his confusion towards why a small little Hivewing would be in this musty dungeon.
“M-my name is Wasp.” She muttered. Derecho sighed and looked down at her from the other side of the bars.
“Why are you here, little one?” 
Wasp looked up at him as he began to shuffle around the dimly lit room. “I don’t know why I’m here. I just woke up here out of the blue.” She had a saddening look in her eyes until Derecho unlocked the cell door and stepped towards the exit.
“Are you coming?” He was looking back at Wasp who happily hopped out of the prison and walked beside Derecho back into the upper levels of the palace.
“Umm, I never quite got your name?” Wasp tilted her head and sped up her pace to keep up with the older dragon.
“My name is Derecho, and you work for me now.”
= Chapter 16: Verglas. =
“Ah, my head..” Verglas spat as he gently caressed the sore spot on his forehead. As he tried to stand up, he realized that it would be much harder than he thought it would be, considering the fact that his back was being held down by iron chains.
“Hello sleepyhead. Didja get enough beauty rest?” A snarky voice snapped from behind Verglas. Before he could respond, they began to speak again. “It took you long enough anyways, I was starting to get annoyed that those putrid chefs gave you an overdose and that you were dead.”
“Who are you? And what do you mean, overdose?” Verglas was finally able to get a glimpse of who was behind him. He saw a dark colored Hivewing with the colored scales showing to be a fiery ombre that ranged from a golden-yellow to a bloody-red. His eyes had a strikingly mischievous glint to them, but that only added to how beautiful he looked as a whole.
“The name’s Voodoo, and what I meant by overdose was that you were poisoned earlier.” Voodoo shrugged his shoulders like it was an obvious answer. He then proceeded to walk over to a bucket and throw a mackerel at Verglas. “Eat up, you're going to need some energy if you're going to survive here.” Suddenly feeling a heavy urge to eat whatever he could get his talons on, Verglas immediately snatched it off of the stone floor and devoured it. He hungrily looked back at the bucket, a slight growl in the back of his throat, as he awaited his next morsel.
“Oh? You want more?” Voodoo smirked as he watched the hungry Verglas gulp at the thought of food. “Well, since I’m nice enough-“ He cut himself off and pushed the bucket through the bars to let it tip over, revealing a moderately sized pile of freshly caught fish. Verglas suddenly went rogue. He was thrashing to escape his chain prison and his claws skid across the floor in an earaping screech. A crack was heard and then the chains holding down Verglas snapped. His breathing had a quickening pace as he dove for the bucket and tore through the scales and flesh of the piled fish. Voodoo watched in astonishment as Verglas finished his sloppy meal and licked the blood off his lips in satisfaction.
“Thanks for the food.” Verglas nodded his head towards Voodoo and he nodded his head back. Voodoo planned to train Verglas to hone his hidden strength against Derecho, but he didn’t know how to. His other warrior was found dead a couple of hours ago. It seemed that something tore into her jaw and Voodoo knew that the palace was going to try to stop him from achieving his goals.
“Verglas, was it?” Voodoo remembered Derecho telling him the names of the ‘contestants’, but he still wanted to be sure that he got the dragons correct.
Verglas stared at him for a long moment before answering, “Yes, but what is so important about knowing my name?” He stalked closer towards the bars, seeming to have lost his aggression from earlier, he tilted his head for an answer.
“It’s so I can identify you by a personal title.” Voodoo took a step towards the bars as well, so as to try and intimidate his prisoner. Long story short, it didn't work. Verglas just stared at him with a bored expression. “Do you mind if i give you a nickname instead of having to say your real name constantly?” Voodoo was going to try to break Verglas. Whether it's a slow process or not, It’s always been easier to handle prisoners this way.
“I don’t care if you do or not!” Verglas suddenly snapped. “I don’t care as long as it’s not something stupid like pumpkin or anything in that category.” He paced the cell whilst waiting for his new nickname.
“Oh, I know. How about Slush?” Voodoo seemed proud of his poor choice.
Verglas looked at him like he was the stupidest dragon on the continent, “Why Slush? Couldn’t you think of a better word that describes me?”
Voodoo thought for a moment, “Well, it does match your Mudwing and Icewing origins, plus you have a pretty slushy personality.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Verglas was going to rip out Voodoo’s tongue if he continued to express his idiocy.
“Exactly, you want to kill me and keep me alive at the same time because I’m the only other dragon that can keep you company and feed you. So your emotions are all slushy and swirly.” Voodoo gave him a look that asked for his approval for him to go on, and Verglas rolled his eyes in defeat. “I also noticed how crushed you looked after you realized that Cada was dead. I guess the rumors that you grew feelings for her were true.” Verglas’ gaze snapped up and gave Voodoo the nastiest glare he could muster. He then ran towards the bars and shot out a burst of frost breath, grazing Voodoo’s cheek bone. Voodoo then thrashed on the floor in pain, but soon got up and kicked Verglas in the muzzle before bolting out of the room.
Verglas smiled as he clutched his bleeding nose. Maybe one day he will exact his revenge upon this entire palace. Not today, but someday.
= Chapter 17: Vestal. =
Vestal flinched as he heard the screaming of someone else. He’d been up for quite awhile, and so he heard the conversation between two other dragons. Apparently they were Verglas and Voodoo? As Vestal was remembering their names, the one who supposedly was Voodoo, stumbled by in a fit of pain. He was limping from having to walk with only three of his legs, the fourth of which was holding the injured side of his face. Vestal watched as Voodoo hurriedly made his way up the stairs in his injured manner.
Vestal knew that he would be back with a vengeance towards Verglas, so he had to break out and save him as soon as possible. He looked for the door to his cell and found it located near the corner of the room. Vestal used his silk to make a lock pick, but his silk was stranger than the other Silkwing silks, so it worked like a charm. Vestal had the strange ability to make rock-solid silk that took a lot of strength to break or snap. After a few minutes of fiddling with the lock, it popped open and fell to the floor with a slight click and thud.
“Psst, hey.” Vestal turned to see Jellyfish poking her head through the bars of another dungeon cell. “Vestal, do you think you can break me out too?”
“Oh, fine.” He picked the lock to Jellyfish’s cell only to realize that Laverna was there too. Only, she was still fast asleep on the floor. Vestal glanced at her and looked back at Jellyfish. “Is it still in her system?” He sighed as Jellyfish nodded her head.
“Should we drag her?” Jellyfish looked genuinely concerned if they were going to have to leave behind a dragon.
“Let’s wait till we get Vestal out. He’s stronger than both of us and can carry her instead.” She nodded her head in agreement and proceeded to walk into the room where he was being kept. After a few minutes of argument, Jellyfish returned with a reluctant Verglas.
“Let's just get this over with.” Vestal watched in awe as Verglas picked up Laverna like she was nothing but a feather and placed her on his back.
“Isn’t she heavy?” Jellyfish asked.
“It’s like holding a handful of pebbles.” Verglas was soon grumbling something that Vestal couldn't make out as they were walking up the winding stairwell. Once the group made their way up the stairs, they were surprised to find a long corridor with iron doors lining the walls.
“Should we split up?” Vestal suggested that it would be easier this way, but Jellyfish made her point by saying they could get lost and that it would be safer to stick together. After some more grumbling complaints and the opening of random doors, they were finally out of the dungeon.
= Chapter 18: Laverna. =
The salty scent of ocean air and sand under her talons woke Laverna from her sleep. The last thing she remembered was ramming into a door before being knocked out.
“You're finally awake.” Laverna turned to see Verglas sitting near her trying to crack open a coconut. “Want some?” He managed to open it slightly and the water inside started to leak over the dry sand.
“Yes, please.” She reached over and took half of the coconut before drinking the water inside. It trickled down her chin and over her claws in a sticky puddle. 
A swish of sand splashed over Laverna’s tail that made her jump, but she breathed a sigh of relief to see that it was just Vestal. “It’s good to see that you’re awake. I was beginning to think you were dead.” 
Despite the concerning comment, seeing Vestal brought a smile to Laverna’s face. “How long have I been asleep, and where is Jellyfish?” Vestal looked around before shrugging his shoulders.
“She went swimming about ten minutes ago.” Verglas chimed in. He was still munching on the other coconut half, but it wasn’t going very well. Parts of the shell were scattered around his talons and parts of his claws were looking dull from scratching at the outside of the coconut.
“Oh, well in that case, we should set up a spot for the night. After all, it is getting darker.”
“I agree, let’s go, Verglas.” Vestal nodded his head in agreement as he and Verglas went into the woods behind them to gather some materials. Laverna found some vines and weaved a couple of hammocks through the trees. Once the two others returned with some logs and sticks, Verglas started a fire. He may be part Icewing but he mostly took after his Mudwing side and breathed the flames to life.
“Should I be worried that Jellyfish Isn’t back yet?” Vestal was fidgeting with a blade of grass he found near the fire.
“I’m sure she’s fine.. right?” Laverna looked to Verglas for some help, but he was nowhere to be seen. She looked around but once she looked back at Vestal she could see that he was terrified. “What’s wrong?”
He made what sounded like a squeak in the back of his throat before whispering:
“Don’t move.” Laverna was confused until she followed his eyes to see what he was staring at. That’s when she saw it, a shadowy figure lurking in the trees, staring right back at them.
Laverna slowly backed away from the woods with Vestal by her side. They barely made it a few feet from the fire before Vestal’s face went blank. Laverna was confused until he turned toward her and looked and looked her dead in the eye. 
His eyes were a milky white, but not like his usual pale eyes, no. These eyes were cold and hard like ice, and both his tail and wings were twitching with every step closer he took towards Laverna.
“Vestal?” Her quivering voice echoed through the silent night. Vestal let out a violent hiss as he flared his wings and slit his eyes. He was not himself anymore, and Laverna knew it too. Vestal stalked closer and closer before falling back suddenly. What Laverna saw next completely surprised her.
= Chapter 19: Jellyfish. =
Jellyfish was watching from the water as Laverna backed away from Vestal. She saw that his eyes were almost like two quartz crystals that have been left frozen over time, and he proceeded to stalk closer towards Laverna, glaring with those same marbled eyes.
Before he could lunge at her, Jellyfish pounced out of the water and pinned him to the ground. As he thrashed around, kicking sand all over the place, the shadow that was watching them disappeared. With the disappearance of the mysterious stranger, Vestal’s eyes changed back to their original marbled color and he froze as if he’d just woken up from a nightmare.
“Hey, are you still alive?” Jellyfish was confused, but spoke with a sour voice nonetheless.
He looked up in fear. “Could you hear it too?” 
“Hear what?”
“Her..” Vestal pointed towards the shadows where the unidentified dragon had stood. “She spoke to me.” He held his talons to his head and Laverna realized what they were dealing with.
“Vestal.. was that an Animus?”
= Chapter 20: Derecho. =
Warm sunlight flooded through Derecho’s office windows. After the heavy rain blocking the sun the days before, his mind found the brightness irritating.
“Voodoo.” He called towards the closed doors.
The door opened slightly and the Hivewing hybrid poked his head through the door in response. Derecho waved his claws and requested tea for his studies. Voodoo just nodded his head, he knew not to speak this early in the morning for fear that he would enrage his master.
As Voodoo silently tapped his way through the hallway whilst carrying a tray of tea, Derecho opened the doors to the study and walked past him.
“Cancel my tea, I have much more pressing matters to deal with at the moment.”
He stormed through the halls and froze when he passed a mirror. Derecho took a step back to see that his reflection was wild and unruly. He truly hadn’t slept in days for he was busy in the search for his dungeon escapees.
“What is wrong with me?” Never before has he acted like this over strangers, but these were no ordinary dragons. He had chosen them for a purpose and even took great care for them, but they ignored his hospitality and ran away.
In a fit of rage, he shattered the mirror and let the shards scrape against his body. The warmth of the blood against his scales made him feel alive again.
“I suppose I have work to return to.” and Derecho breathed a sigh and took off back down the hall.
= -TRIVIA- =
# Laverna in Roman mythology means the goddess of thieves and tricksters.
# The plant used in chapters 12 and 13 is the Cinchona plant. It is known for its anesthetic properties and occasional red leaves.
# Jellyfish was actually the only character made by Phoenixsob.
# Jellyfish was so post to be another Pantalan dragon, but this idea was quickly scrapped in the planning of this project.
# Derecho wasn’t going to be the first character to be introduced in the book. It was going to be a much older Skywing named Sunburn.
# Derecho is just a fancy word for heavy wind.
# This book was based on the older version of the mystery game ‘Clue’.
# Voodoo’s other half is still unknown, but is speculated to be a Nightwing and Hivewing crossbreed.
# We still don’t know Laverna’s color theme. We think that it’s going to be based on the green and purple colors of her favorite flowers.
# Laverna’s favorite flower is the ‘Aster’.
# Cada was going to originally fall for Derecho until we decided that it was best that she fell for Verglas instead.
# Cada means moon in a certain language, but i have yet to remember which one. (Pray for me)
# At least half of these characters have been originally made by Cytosin3-Alo3s before this was even a thought. A list will be provided near the gallery.
# The “snakelike creature” that murdered the Icewing in chapter 14 was based off of the ‘Albino Monocled Cobra’.
# In chapter 14, the Icewing was actually a female named Saxifrage. (A high density plant.)
# Ngl this song helps me focus when writing: Cupid’s Chokehold / Breakfast in America.
# Wasp is the first character to be recommended for the book. She belongs to Starscatter.
# Although it seems that Verglas was perfectly sane in past chapters, chapter 16 shows that the palace is slowly causing him to lose his mind.
# In chapter 16, Voodoo refers to Saxifrage as his past warrior. Did you notice this?
# In chapter 17, the corridor of doors is based off of the backrooms level “The Hub”.
# In chapter 18, Vestal’s strange behavior is NOT the Breath of Evil because this is still on the original storyline where the breath was defeated.
#
#
= +Gallery+ =
File:PalaceOfStoneCOVER2.jpeg|Cover 1
File:PalaceOfStoneCOVER1.jpeg|Cover 2
File:Palace of Stone CADA.png|Cada
File:IMG 0077.jpeg|Derecho
File:Cytosin3-Alo3s,ComicStrip1.jpeg|Meet Laverna: Comic
= The List of Aloe’s Original Characters: =
 Every character here is an original, but this list shows the ones from before the book was created.
* Verglas
* Voodoo
* Laverna was being planned before but used during it so maybe..??
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Genre (Horror)
Category:Genre (Romance)
Category:Genre (Mystery)
Category:Hybrids
Category:Collaborations
Category:Content (Clouded Day)