Sands of Magic

== Yeeeeep ==
I made another fanfic. . . This one’s probably going to turn out terrible but WHO EVEN CARES!?
Also, I’m doing this in a bit of a weird way, so there’ll be small time skips between chapters sometimes (A month at MOST, nothing like a year or anything), and the POV will sometimes alter from the main character.
==Prologue==
Scorpion had never thought she’d get a younger sister.
In fact, Scorpion had never considered the possibility of ever having a younger sister.
Yet as she watched the tiny little pale tan snout poke out of a golden-coloured egg as she stood tensely beside her parents, she couldn’t help feel a twinge of excitement and protectiveness of the newborn dragonet.
“Wow. . .” Scorpion whispered, stunned.
“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness. . .” Scorpion’s mother, Sahara, murmured excitedly.
Scorpion was too focused in on the dragonet to notice, the little SandWing was wriggling her head free as smaller cracks splintered across the top of the eggshell where her scales hit the golden surface.
Finally, the dragonet’s head suddenly lurched forward, cracks sped across the egg like wildfire, quick as lightning, the egg burst into shards.
Scorpion jumped back, then steeled herself and dug her claws into the sand, curiously, she peered closer, examining her little sister, the tiny dragonet had a dusty brown frill, dark brown eyes, and a pale yellow underbelly.
But nothing could distract Scorpion from her wings; they were a normal light orange, for the most part, but on the tops of the membranes were swirling patterns of a paler, dusty, Sandy colour, swirling around the dragonet’s wings like a sandstorm. She looked beautiful.
“By all the moons. . .” Scorpion’s father whispered, he gently took the tiny dragoness in his talons, holding her close.
The dragonet tilted her head in response, “eeoff?” She asked in a high-pitched voice.
Sahara looked too stunned to do anything, slowly, she shook her head and turned to the dragonet, her eyes shining with adoration.
“I. . . I can’t believe this. . . I have another daughter. . .” Sahara said, tears formed in her eyes, she collapsed onto Scorpion’s father, hugging him tightly, “Dingo. . . This is our dragonet. . .” She smiled, looking as if she’d just found all the treasure in the world.
Dingo smiled back, blinking and holding back tears, “Sandstorm.” He said, “We’ll name her Sandstorm.”
Sahara nodded speechlessly, smiling.
Scorpion smiled slightly, watching her parents, watching the tiny dragonet that was her sister, Don’t ever worry, little Sandstorm. Scorpion thought, I’ll always protect you.
I promise.
==Chapter 1: Discovery==
Sandstorm was sitting under a half-dead palm tree, facing one of the walls of the Scorpion den as she stared at a piece of parchment. Parchment full of homework.
Sandstorm hated homework.
Honework was among the many activities Sandstorm hated, right alongside combat.
Which made writing homework about combat even worse.
Her father had decided that she ‘Didn’t know enough about fighting for a dragon in the Scorpion Den,‘ or something like that, ‘What if you were suddenly attacked in the streets! You’d surely have to know how to fight back!’ He’d said.
Sandstorm did. Not. Buy. It. She could just STAB THEM WITH HER TAIL!
So Dingo had decided to assign her to fill out a paper about battle techniques, apparently, if she had too many wrong answers, Storm would have to suffer through a WEEK of battle training.
Storm didn’t really like this plan.
“AUGH! YOU STUPID PIECE OF PARCHMENT!” She yelled, “JUST FILL YOUR OWN ANSWERS OUT ALREADY!”
And then it did.
Letters appeared quickly across the parchment, spelled out in neat black ink as they wrote themselves out, there was no quill or anything, the words just. . . Appeared.
“Three moons. . .” Sandstorm muttered, staring, this was not possible, It just wasn’t!
But Sandstorm couldn’t deny the sight in front of her as she stared at the parchment, Am I dreaming? She thought, she rubbed her eyes, but the answers were still there when she opened them.
There’s no way it’s possible. . . I couldn’t be. . . Storm thought disbelievingly.
I can’t believe this. . .
I’m an animus.
== Chapter 2: Confession ==
Sandstorm was hardly listening as her father spoke to her about battle techniques and admired her work on the paper he’d assigned her, she was too busy thinking about what had happened around an hour earlier.
She could hardly believe this, she was an animus! Of all things, and animus! her mind was bursting with questions about it, How many spells can I cast safely? Were there other animi in my family? What else can I do besides fill out homework? And what happens if I tell my parents?
She was quite relieved when her father dismissed her, saying she was too distracted for this right now.
Sandstorm knew exactly who to tell as she hurried out, heading for the smaller camel fur tent that she and her sister shared, Sandstorm wasn’t sure about telling her parents, they always had a weird grudge against dragons with unusual powers, she assumed they’d make an exception for her, still, better safe than sorry.
Her older sister, Scorpion, had always seemed much more accepting. Unlike Sandstorm’s parents, her voice never seemed to get darker when she talked about animi, firescales, and all the others, and she just didn’t seem very. . . Discriminatory, per say.
She walked into the tent and found Scorpion eating, ironically, a scorpion, she looked up as Sandstorm walked in, and smiled, “Oh, hey,” Scorpion said, “Finally back from dad torturing you?” She joked.
”Scorpion,“ She said in a low, serious voice, ”I have to tell you something.”
Scorpion arched her brow, “Alright, come over.” She said in a confused tone.
Sandstorm did, she walked over to Scorpion, raised her head so her snout was practically in Scorpion’s ear, and whispered, “I’m an animus.”
Scorpion’s eyebrows suddenly flew upward, she stared at Sandstorm in a weird way that Sandstorm couldn’t quite figure out, but it looked like a combination of disbelief, horror, awe, and something strange Sandstorm had never seen on her sister’s face.
”You- what- really?!“ Scorpion said, “Well. . prove it.”
Storm nodded, she glanced around, then grabbed the tattered old blanket she and her sister shared, “Blanket,” She said in a commanding whisper, “I enchant you to float into the air, fold yourself neatly, and return to my talons.”
The blanket paused, then slowly floated upward, it began to flatten itself out, all the wrinkles clearing, and folded itself into a neat square, and then hovered back into Sandstorm’s claws.
Scorpion gaped at her, then said finally,
”Tell no one.”
== Chapter 3: The Truth Hurts ==
Scorpion paced, lashing her venomous tail rapidly.
Behind her, an older male SandWing was waiting, watching her patiently.
”I can’t do this, Heatstroke!” She yelled at the dragon, “She’s my sister, for moons’ sake!”
”You’d be saving lives,” Heatstroke said patiently, “You’d be a hero! It’s an animus!”
”She, not it.” Scorpion spat, “I’ve been working with you for years, but this? This crosses the line. She’s not even four yet! You can’t expect me to do this to a dragonet, no less my own sister!”
“It’s necessary for the fate of the world. Sometimes these things have to be done.” Heatstroke replied patronizingly, he gazed briefly out the window, then regarded her with his head tilted slightly, “You say the animus is a dragonet, yes?”
”Yes,” Scorpion hissed, ”You think that somehow makes it better? Oh, yes, sure, great logic, an innocent little dragonet who doesn’t even kno-“ she was cut off abruptly.
“Stop, stop,” Heatstroke said, “What I mean is, it- she is still young. And that means she’s ignorant, and before you know it, she’ll be using her powers all over the place, and haven’t I taught you enough about what happens to animi who overuse their powers?”
“Sandstorm’s not like that! She’ll be careful! I’ll help her!” Scorpion insisted, she lowered her head, burying her face in her talons.
”Please,” She begged, “Please don’t make me do this- I can’t- please, don’t make me. . .”
Heatstroke sighed, and what might have been guilt or sympathy slipped onto his face for a few moments, “You have to do this.” He said quietly, “It’s for all of Pyrrhia. Isn’t there someone else you love?”
Scorpion paused, looking up as tears still glistened on the corners of her eyes. she thought of her parents, her boyfriend, Rattle, her friends. . . She nodded at Heatstroke.
Heatstroke nodded back, and said, “Wouldn’t it be worth it, you don’t want to lose any of them to some monst- to your sister, do you?“ He asked, Scorpion hesitated for a moment, and Heatstroke kept going, “It doesn’t matter what she does and doesn’t do, She will fall into the dark side eventually. She will give in to her true nature.”
Scorpion let out a sob, she couldn’t admit it, she hated to admit it. . . But Heatstroke was right, Sandstorm, Scorpion’s own sister. . . Could be the downfall of everyone.
”A- alright. . .” She said, shaking with misery.
”I’ll. . I’ll do it.”
== Chapter 4: Burn ==
Sandstorm was sitting in her shop, yelling out at the dragons who passed her, “Uh- DOES ANYONE NEED A BRIGHTSTING CACTUS!? OR SOMETHING?!” She yelled, making the dragons around her glare at her, she still wasn’t used to this, she’d recently started working a small trading stand to help her family out, but she wasn’t really great at. . . Marketing. And it was extremely annoying and disappointing when nobody came to buy from her.
She slumped her shoulders with a quiet sigh, then looked up as she saw a taller dragon that looked quite similar to her walk over near her.
”Scorpion!” She cried, “HELP ME OUT HERE!”
But Scorpion didn’t respond, didn’t even raise her head and meet Sandstorm’s eyes. she just. . . kept walking toward Sandstorm, Storm tried to see her face, although it was hard with her head lowered like that. . . Scorpion looked miserable.
“Scorp?” She asked, worried, “Are you okay?”
No answer. Scorpion just kept walking towards her.
Suddenly, once she was close enough, without making any sound at all, Scorpion swung her tail barb toward Sandstorm, tears streaming down her face.
Sandstorm yelped and shot out of the way, her wings flapping wildly, “SCORPION! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” She yelped, scrambling backward.
Scorpion still didn’t respond, she raised her claw and slashed at Sandstorm’s wing, Sandstorm hissed in pain, one claw instinctively reaching to clutch the torn membrane.
”Why are you doing this!?” Sandstorm yelled, although it came out as more of a weak hiss, out of the corner of her eye, Sandstorm saw several bewildered dragons gathering around the walls to watch.
Sandstorm thought she might have heard a faint, fragile whisper from her sister, although she could have been imagining it with how quiet it was: “Because I have to.”
And then Scorpion was back on her, she opened her jaws and let out a raging plume of fire, it crackled against Sandstorm’s snout, and she screamed, wildly flailing her claws around, she grabbed a pile of sand and shoved it onto her snout, but the horrible, burning feeling lingered.
She couldn’t believe this, her mind was spinning, she felt horrible, pain flaring through her both physically and mentally.
Scorpion flung her tail out, aiming for Sandstorm’s neck, Storm bolted, looking terrified, her claws seemed to subconsciously lead her back to her family’s tent as Scorpion ran after her.
She didn’t even think about using her magic in her panic, she stopped, taking a short breath.
She shouldn’t have.
Scorpion was older and faster than her, her mouth opened, and a long, enormous jet of fire lunged out like a snake, toward Sandstorm and her home.
Sandstorm yelped, throwing her wings outward and pressing herself close to the sand as the fire crackled menacingly practically an inch above her.
Sandstorm felt like she was about to melt into the sand and never get up, like she was being dried to a crisp and suffocated in miserable heat, she felt the tips of her frill light up with dangerous flame, she felt like her world was just about to. . . Fade.
and then it was over, Sandstorm rolled over, panting as her vision blurred, she looked up weakly, and her eyes widened.
The last thing Sandstorm saw before she passed out was her home in flames as she heard the shrieks of her own parents.
== Chapter 5: Run away ==
”NO!” Sandstorm shrieked, ignoring the pain in her body as she was given a burst of panicked determination, and without even thinking, she bolted into the burning tent.
Her eyes widened, unable to take it all in at once. Burning. Everything was burning, bright white and orange flames smothered her vision, dazzling her eyes and threatening to blind her.
But even in all the frightening, fiery chaos, Sandstorm was still able to make out the distinct shapes of two dragons.
”MOM! DAD!” She screamed, rushing to the end of the tent where they stood, coughing and screaming.
She reached her talons forward, trying to grab them, but the flames seemed to hiss at her, smouldering and flaring around her parents as she reached for them.
”Sandstorm!?” Dingo screeched in a rasp, before he let out another scream, and Sandstorm noticed the fire assault his scales.
“Dad! Dad- I- I’ll help you!” Sandstorm coughed between sobs as smoke filled her snout.
She tried to yank them forward again, but they were larger and heavier than her, but she kept going, sheer determination and heartbreak clear in her eyes.
”Sandstorm!” Cried Sahara, “LEAVE! Just run away!” Sandstorm was startled by Sahara’s scream, she yelped and jumped back, then shrieked as fire brushed her wing.
“But-“ Sandstorm coughed again, her eyes tearing up from the smoke and her own misery, “But- I can’t lea-ve you here!”
”JUST RUN AWAY!” Sahara screamed again.
Sandstorm scrambled back, eyes wide as she stared at Dingo and Sahara, and rushed out of the flaming tent, she flapped wildly, then flew off into the horizon.
And with that, Sandstorm abandoned her screaming parents, abandoned her home.
Abandoned her life.
==Chapter 6: Life is Hard==
It had been weeks since the fire that tore Sandstorm’s life apart.
Weeks, and she was still flying.
Sandstorm had once thought she knew what pain was like, growing up in a place like the scorpion den, in a world full of criminals, droughts, and constant struggle, she once thought she had mastered how to get through the tough times.
She had been wrong, so, so wrong.
Faint hallucinations, memories, flashbacks, all jumbled around in her head, she tried to shake them off and keep flying, but each sweet memory that drifted into her mind felt tainted and awful and empty, her wings seemed to drag behind her in the air, and it was clear the blazing heat of the desert was already having an effect on her.
She still couldn’t believe this, her own sister had tried to kill her. . . Her own sister had burnt their parents to ashes.
Sandstorm caught herself, she didn’t know that they hadn’t made it out. . . But there was something at the back of her mind that told her not to get her hopes up.
She shook herself and powered forward, wings aching as quickly-drying tears formed in her eyes.
It felt like days when finally, finally, Sandstorm saw a glimmer in the distance, tall grasses and cacti, and frail palm trees swaying in the dry, dusty air.
She immediately shot toward it, her thirst and desperation giving her a sudden surge of determination, her wings felt sore and tired, her mouth was dry and panting, but she pushed forward, feeling almost insane with her agony
Soon (although it felt like all eternity), Storm reached the oasis, immediately, without even thinking, she plunged her snout into the water, taking wide, uncareful gulps as the water splashed as slathered itself against her sand-beaten scales.
Sandstorm would look like a mess to anyone who saw her, her frill was frayed and blown back by harsh desert winds, she seemed to have gotten threateningly thin, the faint shape of her own ribs sticking out of her chest, claws chipped and dull and scales beaten and bleached in the sun, dark burn scars against her whole body, water splashing against dry scales.
But Sandstorm didn’t care, relief flooded through every bone in her body, the water felt like a lifesaver, she hadn’t drank or eaten in days, but she didn’t care anymore, she could barely think as she was overwhelmed with cool, wonderful water sliding down her throat.
It hurt to think about all that had happened, in her immense relief, her head had seemed to clear more, her thoughts seemed less jumbled, more straight.
Which made things both better and worse at the same time.
It seemed like hours when she finally reached her head up, out of breath as she swallowed the last of the sweet, sweet water.
And then she went a little too relaxed, and she thought she caught a glimpse of a four-legged silhouette coming out of a faded brown tent as she fell down, down into the oasis pool.]
Category:Wings of Fire
Category:Fanfictions (Unfinished)
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Semi-Canon)
Category:Semi-cannon
Category:Literature
Category:SandstormTheSandWingTwentyNineScene’s Stuff