Wings of Fire: The Copper Prophecy (The Copper Prophecy Book 1)

== WINGS OF FIRE: The Copper Prophecy ==
Three thousand years after the War of SandWing Succession, where the dragons of Pyrrhia and Pantala live in supposed peace, shadows rise from the legends of the dragonets of destiny. Thirty centuries after the heroes succeeded in stopping the war, darkness rises again.
Cascade is excited to enter Jade Mountain Academy. Even three thousand years later, thirty centuries after it was founded by the legendary dragonets of destiny, the school is still standing. The mountain has been rebuild and the academy expanded further into the large peaks, which still stand as the tallest in Pyrrhia. Cascade has heard all about the other nine dragonets in his winglet, both Pyrrhian and Pantalan, and, despite having ice, sea and mountain dragon blood, is looking forward to sharing with all of them... except for one.
Ever since the NightWings got their powers back after moving into the rainforest thirty centuries before, they've been at peace with the other tribes. But danger lurks in every corner, and when Cascade meets his NightWing clawmate, he is afraid that Jade Mountain Academy might not be as safe as it seems after all. 
THIS SERIES WAS WRITTEN BY SILVERDONNA (FORMERLY APATURATHESILKWING). FANART AND FANFICS BASED OFF OF IT ARE ALLOWED (WITH CREDIT TO ME), THOUGH IF YOU FIND ANYONE STEALING THIS AU IDEA OR ANY OF MY OC'S, PLEASE TELL ME OR REPORT THEM TO A MOD. (IF CONTACTING A MOD, STATE WHO THE ORIGINAL CREATOR IS, AKA APATURATHESILKWING) 
=== The Copper Prophecy ===
* Talons of sky, ice and sea,
* talons of sight and mind reading.
* Midnight wings and ice in the night,
* through fire and earth lay layers of fright.
* To find the shadows, stalk the dreams,
* of the NightWing who hears the mind.
* And find the desert, search the streams
* of sand, for the future is nigh.
* Darkness rises when the moons show,
* granting powers of night.
* The ice and sky and sea that flows,
* will assist the ending of the plight.
----
== Prologue ==
The IceWing-SeaWing hybrid clutched the red-speckled egg closer, trying to still his heavy breathing as the mountain dragon below called his name.
"Tern?" Passerine called anxiously. "Tern? What have you done with the egg?"
The wind howled through the trees. Tern hoped that the leaves would be enough to shield him, because otherwise he might as well have been a moon globe on the tree of light.
He'd been lucky to save their egg - yes, I saved it, he told himself. Otherwise, Queen Thrush or Queen Reflection would have smashed it as soon as they found out that it existed. Fair queens wouldn't destroy innocent eggs with innocent dragonets inside, even if it was a disgrace to the IceWing and SeaWing royal heritage.
Tern saw Passerine pause in her search. "Tern," she said, her voice cracking, "please. I won't let them destroy it. Mother will listen. Surely yours will too."
He almost considered jumping down and wrapping his wings around her, but knew how cunning SkyWings were. No, it wasn't worth the risk.
"Please, my love," Passerine cried, spreading her dark red wings. Tern squeezed his dark sea-black eyes shut as one of them knocked against the tree he was hiding in. "Trust me. I can help you raise it. I promise."
No, Tern thought. You won't.
Was this the right thing? Should he be doing this, keeping a dragonet away from its mother? Was this illegal? Then again, Tern was probably outcasted from two kingdoms now, so why should he follow the law? Besides, having a tribrid dragonet was probably also illegal.
The queens mainly wanted him and his egg because he'd disobeyed the animus breeding program. He should have been chosen to marry and have dragonets with a specific noble IceWing or SeaWing, but instead he'd made a tribrid. Animus or not, they'd kill his dragonet even if it was still in the egg, because he'd broken the law twice: once by disobeying the thousand-year-old animus law, second by running away from two kingdoms. Or three. Maybe he'd also be outlawed from the Sky Kingdom.
Or all of them.
He heard his wife take a few deep breaths, then place a talon on his tree. He caught his breath.
"I know you're up there," Passerine said. "Please come down."
Tern forced the words out. "No."
Passerine paused. Then she said, "I'll help you raise the egg. We can do it together, in hiding. Away from the rest of the world. Mother doesn't have to know, Queen Reflection doesn't have to know - your mother doesn't have to know."
"Why should I trust you?" Tern hissed and raked his claws against the bark, sending splinters showering down to the ground with tiny patters. He hoped at least one hit Passerine.
"Because I'm your wife!" she pleaded. "We have a dragonet! Please, Tern. I love you. Queen Eel is cruel, so if she finds out about our egg, we're all doomed."
"So? I can hide by myself."
"If you don't come down here, I'll have to confess that you're in the rainforest, Tern."
Tern gripped his cargo tighter. "Fine, Passerine. But this doesn't mean I trust you."
"Of course," the SkyWing said. "You don't have to. I'd just like to raise our dragonet with you. Is that so much to ask?"
The hybrid made a combination of growling and sighing sounds, then spread his wings and leaped down. He made sure the egg was secure, then looked up at Passerine.
He had forgotten the beauty in those bright amber eyes.
"Come on," he said as the egg started to move. "It's time."
----
== Part One: Ocean, Peaks and Ice ==
----
=== Chapter One ===
Three years later...
Cascade could tell that Mother and Father would rather pull him back into the rainforest and keep him there forever.
But he wanted to explore the world - to be free, to do things...
Even though Queen Iridescent had allowed them to live in the rainforest with the NightWings and RainWings a year after he hatched, Passerine and Tern still felt that they had to keep him under their wings and never out of their sight, ever.
Especially because of his secret.
Cascade was a year old when his father said that every SeaWing did a test when their dragonets were old enough, in case they were an animus dragon. Drift never really believed in the myths of dragons who could enchant whatever they wanted, and besides, Cascade had only a third of SeaWing royal blood, but his SeaWing-IceWing father still insisted that he did it, so he did.
He was instructed to take a mango and command it to slowly float, touch the leaf canopy above, and then return to his talons. So Cascade said, "Mango, float up slowly, touch the leaves above me, and then come back to my claws."
It had happened in a flash, but before he knew it, the mango was rising up in the air, slowly, slowly, higher and higher, until it touched one of the leaves on a branch overhead. Then it began to descend back into his talons, and it was from then that Cascade realised: he was an animus.
Cascade still remembered that time, clear as day. Now, he was stood at the entrance to Jade Mountain Academy, where Passerine and Tern were trying to keep him back. But Cascade couldn't help but think, Why enroll me in this school if you just want to keep me in the rainforest forever?
But he didn't say that. He couldn't. He knew that his parents were just overprotective, so it made sense that they'd want to keep their animus dragonet at home for an eternity. And now they'd finally answered Cascade's many requests to be enlisted in the academy.
"Have a great time there, son," Tern said, anxiety flashing in his eyes. "I know you'll do good. But if you ever get lonely, or bored, or want to go home-"
"I know, I know, Dad," Cascade said, laughing. But Father wasn't smiling. He really did look nervous, like it was his first day of school and not his son's.
"I'll be careful," he promised, wrapping his wings around his father and then mother in turn. "Bye, Mum. Bye, Dad!" he called as he raced away before they could object to his sudden leaving.
"HELLO, NEW DRAGON!" a voice bellowed from the main entrance. Cascade was greeted by a small SkyWing, about ten years old, who had pretty short horns, small wings, and bright orange eyes with gleaming orange-red scales. "My name is Crimson! Who might you be? Ooh, what tribe are you?"
"My name is Cascade," Cascade replied, flicking his patterned wings back. "I'm a tribrid of a SkyWing, a SeaWing, and an IceWing."
"Wow! A tribrid? We've never had one of those before!" Crimson exclaimed. "Well, this is fun. Let's see..." They lifted a stone tablet to their snout, checked it, then said, "All right, Cascade, your sleeping cave is third tunnel to the right, then take another right and make your way over to cave six. You're the SkyWing in your winglet, by the way. Just if you were curious."
Cascade nodded in gratitude. "Thanks, Crimson," he called, waving to the SkyWing with a wing before following their directions.
Soon, he emerged into the biggest cave he'd ever seen. He brushed past the vines hanging over the entrance and marvelled at the size. There was a set of stairs to the far left of the cavern that led up to a small rock shelf, which rested above a ledge with a blanket of leaves draped over a shallow stone hollow, with another leaf blanket next to it, covering something that looked like a tablet.
To the further right of the room, three large scroll racks were there, along with a cabinet below that, when opened, was empty, whereas the actual shelves were full to the brim with scrolls.
I don't like scrolls THAT much, he thought with a mental snort. Maybe my clawmate does, though.
Cascade made his way to the stairs, which he then climbed up. He settled on the rock shelf, having to duck a little as some of the longer spikes on his neck scraped against the ceiling, before realising that there was a white rug that was probably made out of polar bear fur tucked inside another large hollow of stone. He noticed a large stone tablet and picked it up, sitting back on his haunches to read it. The words inscribed on the tablet with a chalky white paste that Cascade couldn't figure out was made of said:
WELCOME TO THE JADE MOUNTAIN ACADEMY.
FEEL FREE TO EXPLORE THE ENTIRE SCHOOL TODAY - AND EVERY DAY! EVERYTHING IS FOR YOU. FOOD IS AVAILABLE IN THE PREY CENTRE, WHICH IS RUN BY ALOE. TALK TO HER IF YOU'D LIKE TO SIGN UP FOR A HUNTING PARTY! PLEASE COME TO SEE ANY OF THE TEACHERS OR HELPERS ANYTIME WITH QUESTIONS OR REQUESTS OR WORRIES OR ANYTHING.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT TOMORROW WILL BE POSTED TONIGHT. SMALL GROUP-DISCUSSION CLASSES WILL BEGIN IN THE MORNING.
HAVE A WONDERFUL FIRST DAY, AND EVERY DAY!
Cascade tilted the tablet in his talons, then flipped it over to see if there was anything written in the back. Nope, nothing that he could see.
Deep in his inspection of the stone slab, he didn't hear the click of claws on the floor. Not until he looked at the vines covering the entrance, only to see a black dragon curled up on the leaves in the hollow with the other leaf blanket draped over his shoulders. He seemed to be reading the other tablet.
For a moment, Cascade was unsure whether he should speak to the NightWing or not, but all he could think was, Great, I'm stuck with a NightWing.
"I can hear you, you know," the night dragon suddenly said, and Cascade's thoughts shifted to: He can read minds? Yay.
"Yeah, I can read minds," the other student replied. "Also, see the future. Very special, I am."
I mean, at least it makes it easier to talk like this, Cascade thought, partly to the NightWing, but also partly just to himself, miserably. He flopped his talons over the side of the ledge and rested his chin on them, covering himself with his deep blue wings.
"Yeah, I guess," the NightWing said. "Anyways, my name is Nightwatcher."
"Huh, that's funny," Cascade commented. "A NightWing named Nightwatcher! Wow!"
Nightwatcher snorted. "And what's your oh-so-unlikely name, then?"
"Aren't you, like, a mind reader? Shouldn't you know that?" Cascade asked.
"Well, yeah, but I can't just go digging into your thoughts or whatever like that."
Cascade said, "Well, yeah, but my name is Cascade."
"Was that supposed to be me?" Nightwatcher craned his neck up to look mortally offended at Drift.
"Maybe."
Nightwatcher suddenly narrowed his eyes. "What in the three moons? What tribe are you?"
"Oh, that question? Yeah, I get asked that a lot. Well, my mother's a banished SkyWing princess, and my fathers a banished SeaWing-IceWing hybrid whose mother is the SeaWing queen. We all live in the rainforest."
"Oh," Nightwatcher said. "What a joyful family to be apart of."
"Yes," Cascade said. "We're very happy. Mum and Dad totally were like, 'oh, yeah, you can go off to school whatever, do what you want, it's not like we'll try and persuade you to come back as soon as you arrive'."
Nightwatcher laughed. "They're pretty decent compared to mine," he replied. "As soon as Truthseeker and Moonscales heard about Jade Mountain Academy being open again, they kicked me out before I could say 'Jade Mountain'."
"Three moons, I wish! Mine would have kept me locked up in our rainforest hut forever, if I'd let them."
The NightWing shrugged. "Oh, well, let's say my mother and father aren't so... fond of me, like yours are. You're pretty lucky, that yours love you enough to want to keep you with them."
Cascade thought about that for a moment, looking up at the ceiling. "Well, yeah, I guess that's true."
Suddenly Nightwatcher tilted his head. "I think it's time for the group-discussion class thingy," he said right before an enormous chime the loudest Cascade had ever heard before sounded from the main hall.
"I think you're right," he said, climbing down the stairs and standing next to the NightWing, who was only just a little shorter, though his expression said that he was very indignant about that. "Let's go, then."
----
=== Chapter Two ===
It turned out that a small group-discussion class was where the ten dragons in every winglet would gather together and talk about themselves. Cascade and Nightwatcher stepped inside together to see at least eight other dragons sat at tall wooden desks with books and scrolls to the side of them. At the front was a very big lime green RainWing who Cascade later discovered was called Lychee.
"Ah, good, you're all here," the RainWing said enthusiastically. Cascade still remembered stories of the RainWings being useless, lazy vegetarians. They were pretty much the same now - the vegetarian part, at least - but they were certainly more ferocious and active than some of the ancient scrolls said they were.
"Now, we can get onto introductions," the teacher said as they sat down. "My name is Lychee and I will be your history teacher for your time at Jade Mountain Academy. Apatura, would you like to start?"
A navy blue SilkWing with underscales the colour of the sky and, from what Cascade could see of them, wingbuds with spots as vibrantly purple as sapphires lifted his head from where he was sat next to a golden-orange Hivewing, twitched his antennae sleepily, and said, "My name is Apatura. I'm a SilkWing, as you can tell, and because I'm only four haven't gone through my Metamorphosis either yet, obviously. I don't really care what you think of me, but just know what my favourite colour is purple."
"Very good," Lychee said. "Very good. Damselfly?"
The HiveWing next to Apatura was a vibrant orange-yellow colour, like a mango but a little more orange. She had a few black dapples nearer the tip of her tail and on the pale grey membranes of her wings, and had eyes the colour of acid green, sort of like when the sun touches an emerald and makes it gleam.
"My name is Damselfly," the HiveWing said. "I used to live in Maggot Hive. I'm one of Lady Maggot's great grandchildren, though I don't mind if you treat me like royalty or not. My favourite colour is vermilion, and I'm four years old." She sat down on the leaves again with a thump.
"All right," Lychee commented, nodding his head slowly. His gaze flicked to the LeafWing, which was what made Cascade realise that all the Pantalan dragons were going first. "Chokeberry, care to speak?"
"My name is Chokeberry," the LeafWing said. She had leaf-green scales with a few overlapping brown ones the colour of brown tree bark. Her eyes were a lime green and the leaf-shaped membranes of her wings were the same lime colour, whereas her underscales were a green slightly darker than the rest of her. She had a curved snout and her horns were mostly a muddy brown colour but half of them were the same colour as her wings and eyes. "I have the strongest leafspeak in my tribe, because my mother's and father's abilities were even stronger than Sundew the Great's. I don't really mind being spoken to, but I do have some pouches of bullet ants, just in case. Oh, also, I'm five. My favourite colour is green." She gestured to the pouch around her chest and neck, and Cascade didn't think he'd like to pick a fight with her anytime soon.
"Nice," Lychee said, and there was a brief layer of anxiety in his voice. "Well, that's interesting. Anyways, Tupelo?" He turned to a golden-brown MudWing with cheerful muddy brown eyes. She had a long tail that lay on the ground, and pale underscales so weirdly pale that they were almost white. Her wing membranes were a slightly more golden colour than her actual scales, and her snout was a little wider than the usual MudWing's. She had a lot of muscles in her arms and had a pretty bulky shape, as well as sharp spikes running from her neck to tail tip. She also appeared a little plumper than the average dragon, which suggested that she either ate a lot or was lazy, or both. Then she caught Cascade looking at her and gave him a friendly wave with her wing, which Cascade returned.
"My name's Tupelo!" the MudWing said cheerfully. "My favourite colour is yellow and I'm only two, so I'm the youngest in my troop of MudWings. You might see us in the school from time to time because there's about four of us. There's Tadpole, our bigwings. She's only six. Moose is the second oldest, standing at three, whereas Toad is the same age as me, but he hatched a few hours before I did."
"Very interesting!" Lychee said, fluttering his wings. "What about you, Shard?"
The IceWing was an odd deep blue colour, close to the shade of Tern, but a few tones lighter. She had piercing dark blue eyes, so dark that they were almost black, and the spikes on her neck and thin tail seemed even sharper than the average IceWing's. Her left wing looked like it was made of silk so much that it didn't take Cascade long to realise that is was made of silk, and was a prosthetic wing for her. Her right, non-artificial wing membrane was a deep, dark blue like her eyes, except it looked more like the bottom of the arctic sea than the midnight sky, and she also had a few freckles the same colour as it along her spine, but they mostly dotted her tail. Also, when Cascade inspected her further, he realised that she had a limping front right talon that was so mangled it seemed more dark blue than her actual scale colour. So, that must be fun to try and balance with a fake silk wing and a mauled talon.
"My name is Shard," the scarred IceWing hissed, exhaling a wisp of deadly ice breath.
"Anything else?" Lychee prompted.
Shard narrowed her eyes at him. "My favourite colour is red," she said, which surprised Cascade until she added, "Crimson, specifically, because it's the colour of your blood."
Lychee chuckled a little and took a step back, then suddenly turned to Nightwatcher. "Nightwatcher?"
"Ah- oh me?" the NightWing stammered, then stepped forward. Only now did Cascade realise that he had a collection of dark black stripes along his shoulders and wings and snout that were only visible because the rest of the night dragon's scales were laced with a deep purple colour, and his eyes were an odd fiery orange.
"My name is Nightwatcher," he began. "My favourite colour is blue, and I can read minds. Yes, I can also see the future," he added, turning to the SeaWing dragonet, "and yes, I can tell what you're thinking. And also I'm three."
"That's it?" Lychee said, then flared his wings. "Well, then. Azure?"
The SeaWing lashed his powerful. His scales were an unnatural shadow blue, so dark that they were almost the colour of Shard's healthy wing membrane. "My name is Azure," he said, blinking aquamarine eyes. "My mother is Dolphin, Queen Porpoise's top general, so you'd better show me some respect!" He flashed his indigo phosphorescent scales. "Aaaand... my favourite colour is black! Or green."
Lychee nodded slowly. "Okay... Jackal?" As he said this, the SandWing stood up.
He had pale, pale sandy yellow scales which were almost white. His black tongue kept flicking, anxiously, in and out of his mouth. His teeth were sharp when he grinned, and he kept lashing his developing pale yellow tail.
"My name is Jackal," he pronounced, a new layer of pride added to his expression. "Um... there's not really much to say about me, except that Queen Cleopatra is my aunt. Also, my favourite colour is gold."
"All right, all right! Very interesting indeed, yes." Lychee blinked at Cascade, who reluctantly stood up.
As soon as he did, he heard whispers all around him: "What tribe is he?", and "Is he meant to be our SkyWing?", and "Why does he look so weird?".
"My name is Cascade," he said nervously. "My mother is a SkyWing, daughter of Queen Thrush, while my father is an IceWing-SeaWing hybrid whose mother is SeaWing royalty. Er, my favourite colour is... light red? Queen Iridescent let us live in the rainforest, so... Also, I'm three years old."
"All right then, settle down, class, settle down. Last but not least: Brightwings!"
Brightwings? Cascade thought. Isn't that a NightWing name? Oh - I get it. Our RainWing must be half NightWing.
A RainWing with a slightly wider build than usual, an uncurled tail with a thick tip and dark black scales stepped up and spread her wings to reveal an array of rainbow-coloured scales, scattered like stars. Then suddenly, the scales shifted from red to yellow to blue to green, and Cascade realised that she probably couldn't change her main scale colour, only the ones on her wings.
"My name is Brightwings," the hybrid said. "My mother is a RainWing, whereas my father is a NightWing. I don't really have a favourite colour - I guess you could say, uhm, all of them? Anyways, there isn't really much else to say about me." She returned to her seat next to Shard, who was probably the worst dragon to be sat next too. That was when he realised that all the dragons here were probably partnered with their clawmates.
Let's see, he thought. There was Chokeberry, Apatura and Damselfly sat next to each other, Brightwings and Shard, Cascade and Nightwatcher, and Jackal, Azure and Tupelo.
"Class is dismissed," Lychee called just before the gong sounded again. Cascade watched the RainWing sort through a stack of stone tablets, then pick out one where Cascade could just barely see the word SCHEDULE written on it in the same dry, chalky white mixture that had also been used to write on the welcoming slabs. "Schedules will be placed in your caves tomorrow. This is an exploration day today," he heard Lychee call after them as Cascade lifted himself to his talons, made sure Nightwatcher was following him, and exited the classroom.
----
=== Chapter Three ===
Once they were in the main hall, Cascade couldn't help but stretch his wings and talons.
"Ooh, I can't imagine sitting that still ever."
Nightwatcher gave him an odd look. "Really? It wasn't that long for me. Also, we kind of did stand up when we were introducing ourselves."
"Oh," Cascade said. "Well, that's besides the point. Anyway, all my limbs are stiff. So there." He stretched some more, then glanced around the hall. "Do you know where the prey centre is?"
The NightWing lifted his wings in a shrug, though Cascade suspected that he did know.
"All right, all right, yes, I do know," Nightwatcher said with a small laugh, perhaps reading his thoughts. "Follow me."
He set off down one of the left tunnels and after a few minutes of walking they emerged into...
Chaos.
"Oh, three moons!" Nightwatcher yelped, covering his ears. Cascade's own brain hurt, listening to all these dragons, but he couldn't and didn't want to imagine what it would be like to listen to the clamoring of loud thoughts and voices.
"The teachers told all the mind readers that it'd be loud," Nightwatcher forced out. "There's me, Preystalker and Watchful. But... we didn't think that it'd be this loud!"
"Is there anything you can do to make it stop?"
"I mean, not as far as I know!"
Suddenly a tall, elegant SandWing came walking over to them. She was tall, tall, much taller than Cascade, and her barb was the colour of desert sand. Her scales were a light dusky-brown-sandy colour, like if someone had gotten frozen mud and mixed it with sand. Her dark black eyes flicked over them, which made Cascade realise that she had a scattering of darker brown scales on her wood-brown horns, like freckles.
"Hello, you two!" the friendly desert dragon said, fluttering her wings joyfully. "What are your names? I'm Aloe. Oh, is that NightWing OK?" She inspected Nightwatcher closely before seeming to realise the silver scales by his eyes. "Oh! You must be a mind reader. Are you all right?"
"My name is Cascade," Cascade said. "He's Nightwatcher - we're in Copper Winglet."
"I'm fine," Nightwatcher added. "I can just go to a quieter corner, like..." His eyes flicked around the bustling cave until they landed on a small corner with a stout desk and a few bowls of meat, fruit, fish and water on it. "There."
"Ah, well, all right," Aloe said. "Have fun!"
She hopped away, over to where two SeaWings were fighting over a fish - Cascade almost snorted when he realised one of them was Azure.
Trust Azure to get into a scuffle over a catfish.
Nightwatcher smiled at this and Cascade followed him over to the desk of bowls. There he sat down and picked a mango, and Nightwatcher did the same.
"Why did you-" Cascade began, confused as to why the NightWing chose fruit over meat, then realised that he was probably used to it, given he'd grown up in a fruit-ridden rainforest. "Oh, sorry, never mind."
"Ha!" Nightwatcher barked, making several dragonets around them jump. "It's fine. Some of the NightWings prefer to catch their prey, but most of us chose fruit."
"Ooh," Cascade said. "Because it's easier to catch or...?"
Nightwatcher shrugged his wings. "Mostly that."
Cascade said, "Yeah, my parents taught me how to hunt, but I'd rather have fruit than animals. The rainforest is full of it anyway."
"I agree," Nightwatcher replied. He shook out his white-speckled wings and opened his mouth as if to say something when a commotion rose from behind them.
They jumped, turned around, and Cascade saw a shape plummeting down outside.
He and Nightwatcher leapt up and raced to the windows open to the air, where all the other dragonets were clustering at. Luckily they got a view of the scene from right at the front, but then Cascade almost wished he hadn't.
Because laid on the ground was a navy blue SilkWing with purple blue wingbuds and long dark violet antennae.
Cascade inhaled sharply with shock as he realised who the crippled figure below was.
It was Apatura.
----
=== Chapter Four ===
"All right, all right, everyone stay back!" Aloe yelled, flaring her wings. Dragonets scattered. Whispers that barely counted as mumbles echoed through the cave. A space was cleared around the window, but Cascade couldn't move. He willed himself to. Move.
He couldn't. Staring at the crippled shape of the SilkWing, he could not even twitch.
No, he thought, panic rushing through his veins, his wings, his heart.
Oh, why did I ever make friends? He managed to blink. Not again. No. Never again.
It was only a year after Cascade had hatched, and he was enjoying life in the rainforest - stuffing himself with fruit, making lots and lots of friends.
His best friends were a vibrant purple RainWing and a deep green NightWing. They were called Starfruit and Bravery. Starfruit was the comedian of the three - they both laughed at every joke she made. Bravery was more quiet and calm, and he liked to watch things from afar. Cascade was the curious one, and also the one to mostly get into trouble.
One day, Cascade got too curious and went out into the rainforest. He went deeper, deeper, deeper, until... well, he found a hole in a tree.
A hole that looked like it led to the void.
Evermore curious, Cascade flapped his little wings and climbed inside the hole and... it was a tunnel. A tunnel that sloped down, down, down. Eventually, he saw light, and stepped outside.
It was a nightmare.
The island was scorched back - there were obvious ruins of a fortress and, strangest of all, a rumbling mountain. A looming, rumbling mountain. Cascade felt the ground shake beneath his talons - or was that just him?
"CASCADE!"
Cascade turned around as the rumbling grew louder, louder, louder still. More ferocious. Starfruit and Bravery burst out of the tunnel.
"Woah..." Bravery murmured. "What is this- AAGH!" he yelped, almost knocked off his talons.
"I read about this before!" Starfruit said in excitement. "It's the volcano island - you know, where the NightWings used to live three thousand years ago, which was when it was last recorded to erupt. That was when they moved to the rainforest."
"That's- this is dangerous, then!" Bravery yelped, just as something glowing came from the volcano.
Something glowing.
Cascade felt himself pulled and shoved into the tunnel just before...
BOOM!
It erupted.
He stumbled along the tunnel, blinded by fear, scrambled up the slope, and caught himself by spreading his wings as he fell out. Something hot scorched his claw and he spun around mid-air to see fire blazing from the mouth of the tunnel.
Then the flames were gone, and so were his friends.
"NO!" present-day Cascade suddenly yelled, and leaped out of the window. He flung his wings out and glided down to the SilkWing, who still had a faint pulse when he checked his neck. Cascade heard Nightwatcher soar down to him and rest a wing on his back, and right then and there, Cascade knew that Nightwatcher realised what he was going to do.
The NightWing knew his secret - he was sure of that.
He thought, holding one of Apatura's talons, I enchant this dragon to be healed of all injuries he has, and to wake up completely fine and unharmed.
They waited for a moment, as the SilkWing's back talon slowly untwisted.
Then he lifted his head, and looked around, and then up, and Cascade followed his gaze.
Everyone was staring at him. Everyone knew that he'd cast a spell. Everyone in Jade Mountain Academy knew that they had an animus in their midst.
----
=== Chapter Five ===
"Cascade?" Nightwatcher hissed. "Is there something that should, uh, you know, have been MENTIONED EARLIER?"
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Cascade whispered back, trying to huddle into Nightwatcher's wings. The NightWing pulled away and when Cascade looked up again, crestfallen, he thought he saw a flash of guilt on his face, but it was so brief that he must have been hallucinating it.
"But... surely... how did you hide it so well? I couldn't find any mention of it in your mind."
Cascade flicked his gaze back to Apatura, who was looking up at the two in bewilderment. "Well, I was taught by Mother and Father how to hide it so well, since we needed to prepare to live in the rainforest, because of the, uh, NightWings, and how common mind readers were becoming."
Nightwatcher clutched his head as it shook, and Cascade could feel the confusion radiating off him. "I'm sorry, OK?" he said honestly. "I just didn't want to spend the next six years or so of my life in a school where I'll have a limit to my magic."
"You do, anyway, though, right?"
Cascade turned around, and never in a bajillion years had he expected that he'd be so glad to see the ferocious IceWing.
"Shard!" he cried and stumbled toward her. She took a hesitant step back, her real wing twitching. "Shard, I need your help-" Wait, how can I trust her?
She must have read the expression on his face, because she said, "You can trust me. I might seem scary, but I'm not cruel."
"The animus schools aren't so bad," Nightwatcher pointed out. "Besides, it's not like you'd have to stay there for the rest of your life."
"Well, I might," Cascade snapped. "I've hid it for, what, three years?"
"Three years isn't as long as General Moose," Nightwatcher pointed out. "He did it for twelve. And he was also half IceWing, like your dad."
"All right, smart-tail." Cascade cuffed him on the wing. "That's not the point. Don't you see there's a bigger problem here?" He gestured up to the window, where even more dragons had gathered. Two terrifyingly enormous MudWings had their wings spread, like they were about to take off.
"Well, let's go!" Shard snapped, flaring her wing.
"Wait," a voice croaked. Cascade looked down at Apature.
"Let me come with you," the SilkWing pleaded. "I don't want to be in this school anymore. I never did. They did hardly anything to help me."
"Of course," Cascade said gently, helping him up. "You can come, too."
A few dragons were fluttering away, toward Agate Mountain, toward The Academy of Pyrrhia for Learning Animus Dragons. Cascade had always thought that the name was too long, and he still did now. But he knew what that meant - the dragons were messengers, flying to the Pyrrhian Animus Council's main headquarters.
"Care to fit three more dragons?" a voice said behind them. A bored voice with a sassy tone. Cascade turned.
Tupelo shuffled closer to Damselfly. The MudWing blinked up at Cascade kindly, and Cascade returned it. Brightwings was there, too, her wing speckles an anxious-looking blue which matched her expression.
"Yes, we can," he replied to the HiveWing, "though anymore dragons will attract too much attention. Now, the PAC will be here any moment now, so come on!" They all lifted into the sky - Cascade, Nightwatcher, Damselfly, Tupelo and Brightwings.
Wait. Shard can't really fly? I mean, I guess that makes sense, because it's not a part of her body, but what's it for? Show? And Apatura, how will he fly?
At the same time as he thought that Damselfly took Shard in her talons with a lot of complaints from the IceWing like, "Hey! What are you doing?" and "Wait, we're flying? Hello? Unusable wing over here?"
"I'm literally carrying you," Damselfly pointed out.
"That's beside the point. I don't want to be carried by a HiveWing."
"Deal with it." Shard grumbled some more, then fell silent after a few moments.
Without thinking about it, Cascade scooped up a bewildered Apatura and turned back round.
Just as they started to fly off, a yell sounded from behind them.
"Wait!"
Cascade turned and saw Aloe with her wings spread, blocking the students' view. Lychee was there, too, but looked small compared to the giant desert dragon. But Cascade knew that wasn't important, because he already saw on their faces whose side they were on.
"Good luck," the SandWing teacher said with a faint, sad smile. Lychee waved his wings at them, and Cascade returned it, and they soared away.
They soared away to the rainforest, where Passerine and Tern lived. The only place Cascade could ever call home - for now.
----
== Part Two: Through the Rainforest ==
----
=== Chapter Six ===
It wasn't that Cascade got tired easily, but the main reason he found himself wanting to rest was because the others did, too, except for Damselfly, who was surprisingly strong, given she was carrying a whole IceWing who was not only bigger than her but was also the biggest in their winglet. For her age, Shard was incredibly tall next to even Aloe (from Cascade's mental calculations), even though she wasn't the same size as the SandWing just yet.
Eventually, due to their complaints, and because it was practically midnight by now, Cascade had to soar down and land at the foot of a line of rainforest trees. A convenient boulder was there and, after much digging, they made a decent-sized hole under the large rock. Shard offered to keep the first watch, though Brightwings interjected that she was too sparkly and - as much as Cascade could tell the hybrid was reluctant to admit it - weak. If anyone attacked, it would be difficult for Shard to fight back.
Shard accepted hesitantly and instead Brightwings watched. She kept her wings scales a dark black colour so it was almost impossible to see her as they all crept into the dirt cave.
Cascade looked at the moons as he curled in the hole. Nightwatcher was sleeping right up next to him, one star-speckled wing flung over the tribrid. As he stared at two of the three almost-full glowing eyes in the sky, he thought of Pyrrhia and Pantala, and the thought that this boulder and this hole and this rainforest was big, when there was two whole continents to take into consideration, as well as an entire planet of dragons.
The thought kept him up for a little longer. Was there a third continent?
If so, could he find it?
It was a few minutes later, but soon, Cascade was fast asleep.
----The next morning shone bright and clear; any sign of the bright moons last night was gone. When he lifted his head, Cascade saw that there were no stars in the sky, which was a clear pale blue with only the occasional cloud passing by. He rose to his talons, stretched a little, and stepped outside.
"Hey," a gruff voice said behind him, making him whirl around before realising that it was just Nightwatcher. He hadn't realised the NightWing had moved from where they'd slept together last night.
"Hey," Cascade said in reply, flaring his wings as he lifted himself up onto the boulder beside him. "Did you replace Brightwings?"
"Yeah," Nightwatcher replied, flicking his tail. "She watched for half the night, but she was so tired and I couldn't sleep. So I took her place."
"Ohh," Cascade said, brushing his wing. He looked behind him and saw the sun, shining bright and white overhead.
A thought struck him as he vaguely remembered how full-looking the moons had been last night. "Hey," he said. "Do you know when the next brightest night will be?"
Nightwatcher looked up for a moment, deep in thought, then said, "I think two days, or maybe a week. Soon, that's all I'm saying."
"Two days!" Cascade echoed in shock. "Can you remember any eggs that were due to hatch on the night?"
"Hmm," Nightwatcher said. "I think so - there was one... but it rolled away a month ago and no one's seen it since."
"Oh," Cascade said. "That must be sad. For the mother, I mean."
"For the whole tribe, too," Nightwatcher agreed.
They sat and watched the clouds for a few minutes, wing over wing, in absolute silence, the only sound being the birds twittering in the treetops, until Cascade realised how close he was to the NightWing and started to pull back. Then a talon touched his arm lightly and he turned back to Nightwatcher before noticing that he had dozed off.
Ha, he thought, shaking himself out just as a navy blue wingless dragonet emerged from the hole - Apatura.
"Hey, Apatura!" he called softly.
The SilkWing turned to look up at him, then waved with a talon. "Hey, Cascade," he said in his calm, quiet voice. There was a noticeable note of fear in it now, either because he thought he might fall and break himself again or expected Cascade to randomly cast a spell on him, or both.
Eventually all of the others emerged from the cave and Cascade woke Nightwatcher up. Then they were off, Shard in Damselfly's arms, while Tupelo stayed close to Brightwings. They flew further and further into the rainforest until they landed and Nightwatcher told them to be quiet, as this was the NightWing part of the forest.
They stepped cautiously through the undergrowth. Cascade, Nightwatcher, Brightwings and, to his surprise, Apatura (who he later found out was fine with all the loudness and trees and bright colours and heat because he literally lived in a forest with LeafWings) were used to the humidity, but Damselfly and Shard, the two who lived in breezy places with just a few trees, were clearly uncomfortable.
Then they emerged into a small clearing with large shafts of sunlight pouring through and sat there for a few minutes, in the heat. Shard stayed under the trees, where there was at least some shade.
Then, Cascade heard a snap in the undergrowth beyond and hissed to them all, "Be quiet!" Each of them froze and, slowly, slowly, inconspicuously, Shard backed away further into the trees.
A few more snapping and rustling sounds came, then everything fell silent.
Cascade breathed out a loud sigh of relief, turned around, and came face-to-face with a very surprised-looking NightWing.
----
=== Chapter Seven ===
"AAH!" Cascade roared and leaped back, flashing the scales on his snout in a very quick, hurried way.
"Wait!" the NightWing yelped as Shard surged forward. Cascade heard a rumbling sound deep in her throat, like a snowstorm were slowly building its way up inside of the IceWing.
"Stop! It's me! I'm on your side!" the newcomer cried, and for the first time Cascade noticed the silver scales by his eyes.
Another mind reader?
"Preystalker?" he heard Nightwatcher say cautiously, creeping up behind him. Cascade remembered that he'd mentioned that name earlier. What had the context been? Something about mind readers and noise?
Rrgh.
"Nightwatcher! Three moons, I finally found you." Preystalker staggered forward and leaned against him. Cascade felt an odd, painful pang, something like betrayal but also something related to love.
Jealousy?
"Why were you looking for us, Brother?" Nightwatcher asked, then Cascade felt very stupid that he hadn't noticed before how much Preystalker and Nightwatcher looked alike. "This is my twin, Preystalker, by the way," Nightwatcher explained to the others. "We were in the same egg."
"I couldn't stop thinking about you after all the- you know, the drama, and stuff." Preystalker thumped his long tail on the ground and stepped away from Nightwatcher, then glanced at Cascade and asked him, "Is it true? You're really an animus?"
"Yeah," Cascade replied. But I'm not too proud of it. "I've only cast two spells so far. Well, including the one where I first found out I had magic. But my first actual one was when I healed... him." His gaze flicked to Apatura, who was laid next to Damselfly, wide-eyed.
"Of course," Preystalker replied, ruffling his wings. "Uhm... what are you doing in the rainforest, exactly?"
"Looking for my mother and father," Cascade explained.
"Oh," Preystalker said. "And they are..?"
"Passerine and Tern. Surely you've heard of them."
"Ohh." Something new sparked in the NightWing's eyes. "You're in the family who Queen Iridescent let stay in the forest - I see."
"Yep," Cascade said. "That's me."
"This is all a nice little talk," Shard suddenly interjected, "but shouldn't we get going now?"
"Oh, yes, yes, right, OK," Cascade said. "Follow me!" he added abruptly and trotted off in the direction of what he thought was where his hut was.
But the keyword there was thought.
Then, a yelp and a muffled thud sounded from behind him. Cascade spun around.
Nightwatcher had fallen onto the soft muddy ground, his talons pressed to his temples. Preystalker tried to support his twin as Cascade darted over immediately and helped him with his wings. But it wasn't enough, and the two of them leaped back when Nightwatcher began to speak in a voice nothing like his own:
"Talons of sky, ice and sea,
talons of sight and mind reading.
Midnight wings and ice in the night,
through fire and earth lay layers of fright.
To find the shadows, stalk the dreams,
of the NightWing who hears the mind.
And find the desert, search the streams
of sand, for the future is nigh.
Darkness rises when the moons show,
granting powers of night.
The ice and sky and sea that flows,
will assist the ending of the plight.
----
=== Chapter Eight ===
"What," said Shard, "was that."
"A prophecy," Preystalker said while Cascade gathered Nightwatcher to his feet.
"Yes, but what could it mean?" Shard snapped, lashing her tail.
"I don't know," Preystalker replied, looking, concerned, at Nightwatcher. "He's never had a prophecy before. Well, neither have I."
"Talons of fire, ice and sea," Damselfly mused. "Could that mean you, Cascade? Because you're a tribrid?" She pointed to Cascade.
"Yeah, it could be," he said. "But what about 'talons of sight and mind reading'? That must mean one of you." He turned to Preystalker and Nightwatcher.
"Probably," Preystalker replied, flaring his wings.
"Midnight wings and ice in the night..." Shard was muttering.
"Well, obviously it's you," Damselfly pointed out, gesturing to her, who was a literal ICEWing, and also, her prosthetic wing was dyed a dark blue colour, like her real one.
"Hmmm," Shard said. "I'd like to be a part of a prophecy."
"I think- I think 'through fire and earth lay layers of fright' means me," Tupelo suddenly said.
"Well, yes, because you're a very anxious MudWing," Shard said, "but how does that relate to fire?"
Tupelo shrugged her wings. "I don't know. All I know is that some dragons in my tribe, those who hatch from a blood-red egg, that is, are immune to fire in some way. But I know I'm not."
"Hmmm," Shard said. "Maybe fire can mean LeafWings? Because, you know, three thousand years ago, the Tree Wars thingy? And one of the HiveWing- er, past HiveWing acts of war was burning down the trees?"
"Maybe," Cascade said. "But it seems to be about our winglet, and Chokeberry isn't here."
"Oh, yeah, true."
"To find the shadows, stalk the dreams of the NightWing who hears the mind?" Brightwings suddenly said. "Maybe that means we have to find a dreamvisitor and stalk one of your dreams." She glanced at the twins.
"I hope it's not me," Preystalker said. "As far as I know, I don't have shadowy dreams."
"Where could we get a dreamvisitor anyway?" Shard said. "The teachers at Jade Mountain have one, and the Pyrrhian Animus Council has another, while the Pantalan one has the other. How are we meant to get them? We might as well just turn ourselves in."
"True," Brightwings said. "True. Hmmm."
"Find the desert, search the streams of sand," Tupelo was muttering when Cascade turned to her. She said, "Well, maybe we can go to the desert? And, like, find a stream? But, wait, there are no streams in the desert, only oases. Hmm-"
"Wait," Damselfly suddenly interjected. "Cascade, why don't you just cast a spell to make them stop following us?"
"Well," Cascade replied, "I don't want to cast such a big spell, and also, I'd rather do the prophecy than go back to that boring old school."
"Old?" Damselfly laughed. "More like ancient."
The two laughed for a little, then Nightwatcher finally said, "It's getting late, look." He glanced up at the trees, where there was barely any sunlight left, and in the patches of sky they could see, it was a dark rosy-purple colour.
So they all slept in the shade of the trees, covered by overhanging ferns, and as soon as Cascade settled next to Nightwatcher, he instantly fell asleep.
Category:Fanfictions (Semi-Canon)
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Fanfictions