Ordain: The Secret

(This story is written and owned by Shardclaw)
Refs:
https://wingsoffirefanon.fandom.com/wiki/Strider
This will be a series! The next book is Ordain: The Curse
Next:
https://wingsoffirefanon.fandom.com/wiki/Ordain:_The_Curse
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This story takes place 3000 years before the events of canon present.
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Prologue
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The wind roared over a barren plain, tossing the few stalks of grass into a crazed frenzy. The sky was dark, almost completely covered with dark foreboding clouds. High above three large silver moons peeked through a hole in the clouds, like three silver eyes glaring at the dragon below. A dragon that was the color of the moons above swooped down to the ground below. Her talons outstretched gracefully as they landed, any sound her heavy descent, would have been drowned out by the howling wind. The dragon laid down and looked up at the moons reflecting in her blue eyes, sparkling in the moonlight. As the dragon watched the moons, another dragon the color of the mud, landed heavily in front of her. The new dragon‘s startlingly blue eyes glared at the silver one with unbridled hatred.
"Swift." The brown dragon bellowed "What do you want from me now?" Swift looked down from the moons, hatred from the brown dragon reflected in her own. "Don't act like you don't know." She hissed "Everyone knows what you did Aconite." A flash of disbelief crossed Aconite's face before it was replaced by an angry scowl once again. "You don't know what you're talking about." He growled "And you're the one to talk. Everyone knows you killed Aedes." Aconite walked closer, his broad, brown snout plastered with anger "And you accuse me of murder?" The rain started to fall down, dripping across the backs of the dragons, hard. Swift glared back and laughed, her amber neck spikes rattling.
"Who said anything about murder?" She growled, "I just wanted to talk." Swift sat up, revealing her amber underscales. "But, that is suspicious." She grinned, her eyes were almost emotionless. Aconite glared at her "Why should I care what you think?" He roared "I haven't cared what you think since you murdered our brother!" Swift's grin slide of her face, absolute hatred filling her face "I didn't kill Aedes!" She roared "I didn't! Why would I kill my own brother?" She stood up, her chest heaving with shaky breaths. She then took a deeper breath and regained her calmer posture.
"And, anyway, I called you here to talk about what you did to Father." Swift grinned again "You killed him, didn't you?” Aconite stomped closer, his overall aura bristling with anger "I didn't kill him. But I did get rid of him. It's not like Mother will care. She's been trying to get rid of him since we hatched!" He hissed "And next, I'll get rid of you. It's not like a queen needs an obvious hybrid daughter." The rain pounded down harder, and thunder rolled in the distance. Swift hissed, her eyes narrowing "Was Aedes the same?" Swift hissed louder "Did you kill him too and pin it on me?"
Aconite grinned, his crocodile-like teeth flashing like white lightning. "I didn't kill him." His smile widened "Want to join him?" He darted forward and grabbed Swift's talon, his claws digging deep into her wrist. Swift shrieked in pain and opened her wings, trying desperately to take off into the air. Aconite laughed loudly and was almost drowned out by the roll of thunder above. He pulled Swift down and glared into her eyes. "No more making me look bad, little sister," Swift screamed and tried to wrestle out of his grip. "No more being Mother's favorite." He laughed gleefully.
"Goodbye." He hissed. Swift screamed for help, but she had picked this meeting spot in a place where no dragon was anywhere near her. No one would save her. Aconite whispered something under his breath, quiet enough for her not to hear. She felt her arm become heavy and cold. Her eyes screamed to blink, but they were stuck open. Aconite let go of her talon, but Swift couldn't move. Aconite smiled "Goodbye, little sister." and then Swift could only see darkness, and nothing else.
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Chapter 1
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20 years later......
Strider
Deep in the Kingdom of Mud, was the small, snug, and happy village Aedes. The village had been founded over twenty years ago, around the same time Queen Ibis's son Aedes had disappeared. And deep in that village, the young Mudwing dragonet Strider slept in the bunkhut he shared with his siblings. His deep, chocolate-brown scales shimmered in the sunlight that filtered through the hole near the ceiling of their hut. Strider rolled over and grunted as a foot was pushed into his face. He growled and swatted the owner of the foot, earning a satisfactory yelp from the dragon. He then curled back down into a ball, enjoying the morning sunlight. Then, a large weight landed on his back.
"You get what you give!" Chirped a familiar voice from his back. Strider growled and rolled over, his sibling still clinging to his back. "Oof!" The small amber Mudwing grunted as he landed and immediately jumped up. He narrowed his eyes at Strider for a moment, then ran and jumped on a larger green-brown Mudwing. "Eeeeeeegreeeeeet!" The tiny Mudwing yelled, "Strideeeer's being meeeeeeean agaaaaain!" Egret sighed and sat up, her yellow eyes filled with annoyance "Did you kick him again Perch?" Perch shuffled his feet, his brown eyes were defiant. "No…” Strider rolled his eyes and flicked Perch with his tail. Egret rubbed her temples, then flicked a slightly smaller tawny Mudwing beside her. "Might as well get ready for the day. Never know when General Arum will call for battle." The tawny Mudwing slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes
"Is it time to wake up already?" She moaned. Egret glared at her, which silenced her moaning. "Yes, Tawny. And we're leaving right now." Strider nodded and grabbed a small pouch of seeds, his prized possession. "You think we have to fight again today?" Strider asked, dreading another serrated claw raking his scales. Egret shrugged and rubbed Perch's head " Never know Strider. " Perch shrunk down, seeming smaller "But what if we do?" Egret smiled softly at Perch but had a worried expression.
"We'll be fine." She spoke softly "Like always." Strider looked at Egret for a moment, noticing a look of nearly hidden fear, and turned back to his seed pouch "Egret's right. We'll be fine." He chipped, trying to reassure himself "We haven't died yet, right?" Egret nodded behind her happy mask "Right." Tawny finally fully woke up, her brown wings tucked against her broad sides as she stretched "So are we going or not?" Tawny asked loudly.
Egret glared her again before climbing up the bunkhuts walk towards the ceiling exit. "Yes, Tawny. Yes." She slithered out the hole and was immediately swallowed up by bright sunlight. Tawny followed, her tail draping from outside for a moment before she jumped to the outside ground. Perch eagerly jumped up the wall into the sunlight, his small wings ready to fly. Strider took a deep breath, looking around at the comfy, warm, and tempting mud before he jumped.
He shook the idea of staying here off his mind, then jumped out of the hole at the last second. The bright sunlight stabbed his eyes as he climbed out. Outside of the hut miles of marsh surrounded him, stuffed with bunkhuts. He jumped down into the ground next to his siblings on the somewhat damp ground. Egret watched him land and turned back towards the path in front of their bunkhut, which led to Aedes square "Let's go." She barked at her sibs "Perch, Tawny, Strider, in front of me."
Strider did as he was told, his pouch of seeds thumping against his chest as he moved. Perch lifted his snout and pushed ahead. Tawny trudged forward, visibly angry. Egret watched them all with a cautious expression. It made Strider remember a time when she was more carefree. A time when they still had Ragweed. He shook his brother of his mind quickly, he couldn't be distracted.
"Strider! Keep moving!" Called Egret from behind him. He realized that he was lagging a little, and sped up a bit. He scolded himself inwardly, Keep focused! Shouted his mind You've had two years to get over this! Move on! He was so caught up in lecturing himself, he didn't notice the burly dark green Mudwing in front of him till his snout collided in his side. He fell back at the Mudwings rock-solid side and rubbed his snout gingerly.
"Hey!" The dragon bellowed "What are you doing soldier?" Strider froze at the dragon's voice. Of course. He thought, Out of every dragon you could've run into, it had to be him. Strider scrambled up and stood straight up in a statue-like soldier stance "My mistake Sir. Please forgive me." The dragon inspected him like a chipped gemstone, his eyes were furious. "Sure." He growled, "Where is your bigwings, runt?" As the dragon spoke, he heard Egret appear behind him "Right here, General Arum." Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke his name. General Arum was ba rother to the queen, making him powerful enough to kill soldiers if he pleased. Arum narrowed his yellow-tainted eyes at her.
"Do you have any discipline soldier? he just rammed into me!" Arum hissed loudly. Egret lowered her head shamefully "I will discipline him for this sir. I promise." Arum blew out a puff of smoke, straight into Egret's face "You better. If you don't, I'll have your head." He growled, then turned back towards the path "All units are commanded to come to Aedes Square. If you don't show up, you're dead." He spread out his huge wings and took into the air with a single thrust of his massive wings. Egret turned to Strider, fury radiating of every single scale on her body.
"Do you want to die?" She hissed "I will not lose another one of you! Especially if it's because you weren't paying attention!" Her sides heaved with deep breaths as she tried to calm down. Strider looked down at his feet, ashamed "I'm sorry Egret." He mumbled softly "It won't happen again." Egret stood still for a moment glaring at him. She then lowered her head, obviously irritated.
"Okay, Strider." Then she pushed him ahead again towards Perch and Tawny "Go, we have to be at the square." Strider nodded and ran ahead to his other sibs. Perch bounded up, a teasing grin on his face "Are you in trouble?" He chirped loudly "Are you?" Strider glared down at him "No." He whispered, "I am not." Then, Egret called from behind him.
"Yes, you are!" Egret called. Perch laughed gleefully and ran back to walk next to Tawny. He was chanting, "Strider's in trouble!" over and over. Strider snorted and shook his head. He sped up to walk behind them quickly as Egret got closer. He was so caught up in watching Perch bounce in a way that seemed close to impossible, he didn't realize they had reached the square until his siblings were joining the rows of soldiers. He ran over to sit next to Perch, much to his dislike. The square was more like a glorified mud pit with a wooden stand in the center than an actual square.
"Soldiers of Aedes!" He heard Arum's voice call. Strider stretched his neck to see over the soldiers in front of him. He saw Arum sitting on a wooden podium in the center of the square, glaring at the rows of soldiers. "The queen has sent great news to all of her subjects!" He bellowed. Strider had no idea what he was talking about, as these meetings were usually to assign battle formations and not news. Arum drew up his neck triumphantly.
"Our queen, Queen Ibis, and the Icewings queen, Queen Aisu, have reached peace." He announced, "We are at peace." Strider felt happiness rise inside him. He had hoped this day would come since the day he started fighting! No more serrated claws on my scales! He thought joyfully, No more death! Arum coughed for attention, casting the exited whispers below into silence.
"The queen has requested that I chose some units to accompany me and her for the peace meeting." His eyes scanned the crowd "These have been predecided based on war performance." He pulled out a scroll and began to read it. "Unit 381." He called, and a group of burly green-ish Mudwings jumped up and walked towards him happily. "Unit 412. Unit 542." He called more groups and Strider watched as they all strode up to Arum. He was beginning to lose hope for being called when Arum called the last unit.
"And, finally, Unit 830." Strider jumped up, gleeful. Excitement filled his veins as he walked up with his siblings. I get to see the palace! His mind cried I get to meet the queen! Arum narrowed his eyes at Strider for a moment, then returned to his list. Strider was restraining himself from breaking formation, from jumping into the air and celebrating. He stood still and barely listened as Arum called two more groups. "Okay soldiers, let's go!" Arum spread his wings and took into the air, followed by about twenty Mudwings. Egret took into the air as well, followed by Perch and Tawny, then Strider.
Strider soared through the air, aiming towards the distant figure of the Mudwing Palace. His spirits felt as high as his wings. Strider smiled and trembled with anticipation. Palace, here I come!
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Chapter 2
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Mistral
"Roll right! Roll left! Claw swipe! Frostbreath!" Mistral shot out a blast of frostbreath at the dragon-shaped dummy, coating it a sharp crystalline sheen. She sat down, panting. Her mother stood nearby, glaring at her. "What was that?" She barked "If you ever want to be anyone, you need to kill the enemy. Not be friends with it!" Mistral lowered head softly "I'm sorry Mother." She whispered. Her mother leaned back against the icy wall of their palace room, and let out a deep breath. "Strong dragons don't apologize. They get the job done." She growled. Mistral nodded silently.
Her life had always been like this, with her mother training her non-stop for hours on end. Instead of giving Mistral a doll for her second birthday like every one of her friend's mothers her mother had given her a dagger. Instead of giving her daughter love or supplying food her mother made her hunt in a snowstorm at the age of three with no more than a "You come back with a seal or you won't come back." Her mother had used her to stay in the palace, as no more than a tool.
Mistral shook the empty childhood off her mind and swiped a serrated claw at the dummy, spilling fluff from its throat all over the floor. Her mother smiled slightly but her eyes were still empty "Better." Mistral nodded and was watching the dummies 'blood' uneasily. Mistral looked at her mother with a special look, their code for asking to be excused. Her mother nodded slightly at her.
Mistral quickly walked out of the room, avoiding the fluff coating the floor. She closed the door softly behind her and let out a sigh of relief. She hated being near her mother, even if it was one of the rare moments when she was remotely nice to Mistral. She watched the glowing palace walls for a moment, watching as the trapped snowflakes swirled in the walls. Suddenly she felt talons grab onto her shoulders tightly. Mistral jumped and turned around in a fighting stance.
"Woah! Mistral, what are you doing?" A pretty pale blue Icewing stood behind her, her eyes playful. Mistral felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of the Icewing "C-Celeste!" She stuttered "I didn't- I mean-" Celeste laughed playfully, and sat down "What are you apologizing for?" She asked, "You don't need to apologize." Mistral shut her mouth quickly. Celeste made her feel warm inside, and also seemed to boil her brain at the same time. Mistral nodded at her "Okay." Celeste grinned at Mistral happily.
"Is your mom done torturing you?" She asked, "If she is, let's go to the courtyard!" Mistral nodded slightly and followed Celeste as she ran through the chilly halls out towards the courtyard. As they ran, Celeste clipped a regal dusty silver Icewing with the tip of her tail. The dragon growled loudly, "Celeste!" Celeste stopped suddenly, her single-circled rank necklace falling back against her chest. Mistral stopped as well without crossing the elder's line of vision.
The dragon's face was creased with annoyance, her pale silver scales covered with ancient scars. "What do you think you're doing?" She snarled "We're about to leave!" Celeste turned around slowly, an innocent veil covering her usually playful face. "We are?" She said breezily. "Aren't we leaving tomorrow?" Mistral watched silently in the background, hoping Celeste wouldn't get in trouble. The older dragon growled.
"No. We're leaving now." The dragon turned around and stomped towards the courtyard, with Celeste trudging behind. Mistral followed at a longer distance, careful not to be heard. The older dragon led them into a wide-open courtyard, filled with silver and blue dragons. A beautiful tree made of blue ice stood in the center of the courtyard. The tree's branches were filled with glowing orbs. At the base, other soldiers stood in a rigid line spanning the courtyard. Mistral sped up and joined the line, next to a pale blue Icewing with purple wings. The Icewing glanced at her for a second before scowling irritability.
"Mistral." He whispered "You're late. Again." Mistral scoffed quietly "Am I Whirlwind? I think I'm right on time." Whirlwind glared at her out of the corner of his eye, and then returned to staring forward in the soldier formation. Mistral held her soldier formation as well even though it seemed to tear her muscles to shreds. A silence fell over the courtyard as an elegant dusty silver Icewing with a gold circlet on her head entered. The dragon was huge, her massive silver wings tucked tightly to her sides. Behind her, a smaller silver dragon trailed with a matching smaller gold circlet. The larger dragon walked to the center of the courtyard and the smaller dragon stood next to her. A noble coughed and stepped forward, bowing.
"Welcome, Queen Aisu and Princess Snowstorm. Everyone is prepped and ready to leave." The noble spoke in a low drawn-out voice, like frost slowing creeping in your ears and snapping them off. Aisu nodded briskly and spread her wings, taking off into the air. "Then we leave. We can't leave the Mudwings waiting." Other dragons took off as well in the queen's wake. The air beat with silver and blue wings as they all took off out of the courtyard towards the southern border. Mistral took off as well and followed at the respectable distance from the queen a soldier must.
The bitter north wind nipped at her face as she soared through the air, it's crystal sharp bite like Icewing claws trying to shred her scales. She could spot Celeste from where she was flying. While Mistral was near the back in the soldier's wing, Celeste was flying near the queen. Celeste was the daughter of one of the queen's most trusted advisors. That meant that she was treated like royalty. It also meant that Celeste and Mistral would probably never be together.
Mistral shook her thoughts off again and resumed her rigid flight posture. She knew it would take a few days to reach the Kingdom of Mud, if not a week. She couldn't slack when the Icewing queen was so near.
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After two days of flight, the Icewings had reached the southern border. Their allies, the Sandwings, had been waiting there. Mistral spotted their camp a few hours before they landed. She could spot smoke rising above the cold sand from miles away. As the squadron landed and Queen Aisu went to talk with the Sandwing general, Mistral snuck as close as she could. Her mother may not have been the best, but her best advice always worked. That advice was, 'If you can't predict the future like a Nightwing, at least know what someone's planning.'
Mistral wanted to find out if they really were going to create peace or if her queen wanted to kill some Mudwings. Aisu was in a pale sun-bleached tent with flowing sides. Mistral stood as close as she could, listening to the quiet muttering inside. A gravely deep voice growled inside.
"Are you sure we can trust the dragons that have been killing our people for years? The ones that stole one of your sons?" The voice had a slithery texture to it, like octopus arms squeezing you. She heard a more controlled voice speak next, "I'm done wasting good Icewing and Sandwing lives. This needs to end." The voice rasped.
"This war is pointless." Mistral recognized the voice of her queen and felt relieved. At that moment, a soft cough sounded behind her. Mistral whipped around and saw a pale gray-gold Sandwing with yellow underscales. The Sandwing was marked almost everywhere with rough brown spots that looked like burn scars. The Sandwing was eyeing her with a curious gaze.
"What are you doing Mistral?" The Sandwing asked softly. Mistral blinked in recognition. She had fought with this Sandwing a few weeks ago! "Sandstorm!" Mistral blurted "It's so nice to see you!" Sandstorm grinned slightly "It's nice to see you too! But what are you doing?" Mistral shifted her feet slightly, unsure of what to tell her. "I was... guarding the tent. Basic royal soldier stuff. Protecting the queen." She sputtered out. Sandstorm blinked a few times and then nodded.
"Okay then! Have fun!" Sandstorm chirped. The Sandwing bounced off back to the other Sandwings, her eyes cheerful. Mistral let out a sigh of relief. That could have been bad. She thought. Aisu and the owner of the octopus voice exited the tent, the octopus voice being the Sandwing general Sonoran. Sonoran ran over to his squadron of Sandwings and rapidly spoke to them. Aisu walked over to her Icewings, her eyes tired. Mistral ran over to join the gathering group of Icewings.
"We leave tomorrow." The queen announced "Rest, and be ready to fly." Aisu went back over to the tent, her daughter trailing behind. Mistral yawned, finally feeling how tired her wings were. She dragged herself over to lay next to the other soldiers, under a lone dead tree. She curled up into a tight ball and watched the sunset over the distant sea. She then closed her eyes softly and slept.
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Chapter 3
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Moa
Sunlight filtered through green dappled leaves, casting a golden-green glow on the sleeping figure of a dull orange Skywing. Moa rolled onto her side and yawned. She lifted her head slowly, her good eye watching as birds hopped to and from branches overhead. Moa stood up and bounced over to a small body of water hidden by the trees. She looked down into the somewhat warped reflection. Moa's bright yellow eye peered into the reflection of her other hollow socket, where another eye used to rest.
Moa grinned and pointed at her reflection, "Well, how are you today?" She asked herself. She gave her reflection a happy grin and replied, "Good, good." She sighed and rubbed her temples. Her face furrowed into a sad frown as she watched her reflection ripple on the water. She then shrugged smiling again.
"Moving on!" She shouted. She bounded away from the water, towards another ripple of water through the trees. A large river spread out before her. It's sides were choked with houses and shops, all of them bristling with dragons. She skipped towards the village with a peppy smile.
"How are you!" She chirped at a blood red dragon, who merely scowled back as if she were rotten meat. She ignored this and skipped further into town. She took a deep breath, relishing the scent of food and treasure she could never afford. She skipped over to a stall with an irritable looking Mudwing sitting behind it. The stall brimmed with colorful fabrics, and the Mudwing had equally bright topaz scales. She sighed as she saw Moa approaching.
"Moa. What do want today?" She asked, her talons running trough a rack of colored silk. Moa leaned on the shops counter and grinned. "Well, nice to see you too Caimen!" Caimen glared at Moa for a split second before turning to a customer again. 
"Are you trying to weasel money out of me again?" She asked, annoyed. Moa placed a hand on her chest with a mock-shocked gasp. "Why would I ever do that?" She asked. Caimen turned to her with an irritated frown and pushed Moa off her counter. "Look, Moa, you need to get a job. Just because I feel bad for you doesn't mean I'm supporting you." Moa frowned and dusted the dirt off her shoulder before asking, "Where can I get a job then? No one wants a one-eyed worker." The Mudwing dragoness let out a deep sigh, before leaning over the counter towards Moa.
"Look, I have a cousin who can get you a job in the Mud Kingdom. Queen Ibis has been gettin paranoid about her defense. A Skywing guard is just what she needs!" She then sat up and picked up a roll of cloth. "Now, I'll talk to him if you go away." Moa nodded quickly, then bounded off to pester a Rainwing merchant next door. 
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(More coming soon)
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Fanart/Gallery:
Want your character to make an appearance in Ordain? Ask below!
Art is also welcome!
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Notes to self:
Include a cameo for,
SandstormTheSandWingTwentyNineScene (Sandstorm, Included)
CitrusoftheRainwings (Whirlwind, Included)
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Genre (Adventure)
Category:Fanfictions (Canon)
Category:Genre (Mystery)