Dark Waves

= DARK WAVES =
By SharkieTheCapricorn AKA Sharkie 
Shark has always known she was different. Ever since she was a dragonet, she's had powerful animus magic that allows her to bring her wildest dreams to life. But when a powerful enemy emerges to claim her gift, Shark must set out on a perilous journey to save the dragon world. Along the way, she'll encounter surprising twists and turns, dangerous enemies, and unexpected allies. With her powers and her friends by her side, Shark will have to push the limits of her strength and courage to overcome all who stand against her.
=== PROLOGUE ===
TWENTY YEARS AGO
Emerald paced around her classroom, preparing for the next class period. She was a geography teacher, and she taught the SeaWing children about the shape and land of this dragon world they all lived in. She had four geography classes to teach a day, which was stressful enough, even with her two hours of prep time. However, when Siren, the school's history teacher, had pleaded for fewer classes to teach and more prep time herself to the SeaWing Queen's very own advisor, Emerald ended up being tasked with taking over one of Siren's history classes.
Which, is great, Emerald thought with a sarcastic grin as she opened a scroll on some old animus myth from hundreds of years ago. History was never my strong suit.
Now that she had an extra class, she had less prep time to prepare for these classes. She was getting by, of course, but it wasn't nearly as fun to teach as it used to be.
To make matters worse, all of those little SeaWing kids were being extra rude lately. Throwing their quill pens around the room at each other, smuggling jellyfish in with their school bags... what naughty children! And to think that Emerald tried to at one point give them less work and make classes more fun and interesting for them...
Emerald had a plan, though. Maybe it wouldn't work, but it was worth a shot. She'd spent all night looking for a good scroll for her history class, which was about to start in a couple of minutes now. It was some old tale, about a dragonet with some stone... it also had something to do with an animus dragon. Emerald was worried; she hadn't actually read the scroll yet, but she'd heard from a fellow teacher that it was pretty good.
Into the classroom poked a cyan head of a dragonet. "Tuna?" Emerald asked. "Where are the rest of your classmates?"
"Fooling around in the hallway." Tuna walked into the classroom, his empty history scroll for written assignments in his talons along with his quill pen. He sat at his spot and flinched as the sounds of laughing dragonets filled the hallway outside.
"You squid-brain!" giggled a dark blue dragonet as she ran into the classroom. She almost ran straight into Emerald, her head facing the green dragonet directly behind her.
"Shellfish, enough." Emerald sighed just before she and her student collided.
Shellfish skidded to a stop, the dragonet, Seaweed, ramming into her back before he could see what was happening. "You're the squid-brain! Who stops in the middle of the-"
Seaweed looked up at Emerald. "Sorry, Mrs. Emerald..."
He wasn't sincere. He just didn't want to be in trouble. I'll give this silly dragonet the benefit of the doubt. "You're fine, Seaweed. But please, take your seat and get ready for class." Seaweed found his spot, Shellfish on his tail.
After a few minutes, the rest of the class filed into the room and found their spots. At last, the class was ready to begin. Emerald made her way to the front of the classroom and turned her scroll to face the class, holding it in the air and rotating it for the class to see. "Today, dragonets, we will be reading an old tale from hundreds of years ago, written by a SeaWing traveler who visited just about anywhere you can think of in Pyrrhia."
The class quieted down their chitchat upon hearing this. Seldom did the dragonets get to have a full-on story time during class; it was usually a short, one-page story and a five-page long assignment. Of course, Emerald didn't make her class as grueling as the other teachers would, but this was still a treat for the young dragonets.
Emerald took a breath and began reading from the scroll. "Long, long ago, there was once a young dragon named Frog. He was only seven years old, but he was very wise. One day on a stroll, Frog found a tear-shaped stone on the ground. It was teal and shiny, and its radiating glow drew him in. He knew he couldn't leave it, so he grabbed it and took it home with him. He used thread to turn the stone into a necklace so he could have it would him at all times. 
"He'd heard rumors of some hidden animus dragon among the SkyWings. As you might know, SkyWings kill all and any animus dragons as soon as they're born, in fear of a possibly evil dragon. So, to hear that one made it through the SkyWing officials was quite a shock to Frog, and especially to the SkyWings themselves. When suspicious magical items kept showing up around the Sky Kingdom unexplained, the SkyWings suspected one was in their kingdom. And so, the SkyWings put up posters and sent messengers to tell of their worries, begging for a brave dragon to come and inspect and hopefully find and stop the supposed animus dragon.
"Frog was never seen as a great dragon. He hardly had any friends, and his Queen didn't find him that worthy, either. This was a chance for Frog to prove himself; to show that he was greater than he looked. One day, when the Queen gathered all the SeaWings to announce this situation, Frog stretched out his wings in the middle of the crowd and stood taller. 'I will go to the Sky Kingdom, my Queen!' He called out for his whole tribe to hear. 'I will go and I will put an end to this animus dragon!'
"And so, Frog found himself being escorted into the Sky Kingdom by multiple red SkyWings. Usually, SkyWings were known for being fearsome, but these SkyWings looked nervous like they were fearful that an animus dragon could slip straight past their eyes.
"After a few weeks of being in the Sky Kingdom, Frog understood why they were scared. Mysterious messages were etched on the walls, saying things such as 'You will all pay for what has been done.' There were also enchanted objects as innocent as sticks lying around that injured, and in severe cases, killed dragons who picked them up.
"One day, Frog wandered into a cave deep in the Claws of the Clouds Mountains. After hours of searching in darkness, he came upon a live-able room with multiple pieces of furniture. He investigated further into the room. It looked like a dragon had been living here for quite a while. As he was about to leave and report his findings, a dark amber pair of eyes met his gaze. Suddenly, a dragon stepped into the room from the only entrance, which was also the only exit.
"This is my home. You'll regret coming here." The dragon growled. As she came into the light, Frog could see that she was a SkyWing; this must be the hidden animus! He thought.
"He hardly had time to celebrate. The SkyWing leaped at him, a stone in her hand. She pinned Frog by his throat and began to whisper a spell onto the stone. 'I enchant this stone to slowly beat this dragon to death-'
"But before the SkyWing animus could finish her demand, Frog's tear-shaped stone started to glow very violently. With a whoosh sound, the SkyWing suddenly started to bleed some kind of green, gray, and blue mist. She howled in pain and tried to enchant her stone to stop whatever was happening, but it was far too late. The SkyWing animus fell to the ground. She was not dead, but very weak, and she was now drained of her animus powers.
"Frog gasped. He stood up and looked at his stone. The mist emitted from the animus dragon sucked itself into the stone. It was now completely teal and was glowing brighter than the moons on the Brightest Night. He felt a surge of power run through him. 'I wonder if...' he mumbled to himself. He looked up from the stone and grabbed the normal stone that the SkyWing animus had dropped. 'I enchant you to fly to the ceiling and fall back down.'
"The stone floated out of Frog's hand and up to the ceiling. It went up until it touched the cave's roof, and when it did, it floated gently back down into Frog's hands.
"Frog giggled in glee. 'I'm an animus!' he exclaimed. After dancing in circles for a moment, he came to a dark realization. If the dragon he was hunting was wanted for being an animus, Frog would be wanted now, too. Everyone in the world would want him dead, now that he had animus powers.
"Frog sighed. He glanced around. No dragon, besides the ex-animus in front of him, would ever know that he was an animus unless he told or showed them; but he wouldn't be dumb. He'd be wise, and he wouldn't rub his powers in any dragon's face as the SkyWing animus had done with the Sky Kingdom. However, if this SkyWing gave away his secret, he'd be done for. The SkyWing looked up at him. 'Do what you please with me. I know what must be done, now.' she murmured.
"'I have a deal for you,' Frog thought of an idea. 'I will let you live so long as you don't tell anybody that I am an animus dragon.'
"The SkyWing accepted the deal. She even told Frog why she had wanted to insert terror into the Sky Kingdom; apparently, her little brother was killed for being an animus, but she was never caught. She still wanted to avenge her brother's unjust death, so she terrorized the SkyWings. Frog never ended up using his animus powers; he remembered tales of a royal animus SeaWing killing half of the royal family due to going insane after using animus powers. He wasn't going to make that same mistake, so he didn't even set himself up for failure. 
"To protect the ex-animus SkyWing, Frog told the Sky Kingdom that he'd found a trouble-making NightWing in a small hut on the outskirts of the Sky Kingdom, who admitted to pretending to be an animus by leaving poisonous tree branches for unknowing dragons to find and had carved all those messages with his own talons. Frog claimed that as soon as the NightWing confessed, he promised never to terrorize the SkyWings again. Frog said that the supposed NightWing took away his own powers as proof of his promise, and disappeared. The SkyWings believed this story and granted one hundred years of peace and allyship to the SeaWings. The SeaWing Queen gave Frog and his family royal treatment as a treat specifically for Frog. 
"As for the ex-animus SkyWing, she lived a peaceful life hiding in her cave, no dragons looking for her as none except for Frog knew she existed.
"And that, my class, is the end."
The class of dragonets was silent for a moment. "That was a really cool story," Seaweed mumbled.
Tuna nodded. "Frog sounds so brave, going into that cave alone and having so much self-control that he can promise not to use his animus powers; I mean, having those powers would be so amazing! But Frog was responsible, and chose not to use them to stay safe."
The dragonets rambled on and on to each other, talking about the story and their feedback. Emerald smiled and sat down, curling her tail around her front talons. My plan worked, she thought. They're all discussing history and all I had to do was read a story.
Something about the story called to her; somehow, she supposed that something about it would be very, very important.
Nah, she told herself. It's just a story.
=== CHAPTER 1 ===
Present
Shark yawned as she sat on her bed, allowing her jaws to stretch wide as though she was a ferocious lion.
She was actually more fearsome than a lion. She was a dragon, after all! Not only a dragon, but a SeaWing!
Okay, maybe that wasn't so impressive, either. Shark preferred not to think so, but she did acknowledge that SeaWings weren't the best for battle. They didn't breathe fire like NightWings, SkyWings, SandWings, and MudWings could. They didn't have crazy venom spit like RainWings did. They couldn't turn invisible in the dark like NightWings did, or blend into their environment like RainWings were able to. They didn't have super cool frost-breath like the IceWings. Heck, the SeaWings weren't good at anything besides swimming and glowing in the dark!
However, there were a few pluses. SeaWings could not only swim really fast but also breathe underwater. No, not hold their breath for a measly hour like a MudWing could; they could literally live underwater and never have to come back up for air! Also, with their glow-in-the-dark pads, they could speak a special language that no other tribe could understand. SeaWings could also see in the dark.
All those things were cool, really cool, to Shark; but those things weren't the least of it. Maybe for the rest of Shark's tribe, they were, but most definitely not for her.
SeaWings had some of the most ascending bloodlines of animus dragons, meaning that nowadays, their tribe had the biggest likelihood for animus dragons to be born within the royal family.
And an animus dragon was exactly what Shark was.
That meant she could enchant any object to do whatever she imagined! But, it came at a price. Or so, she heard.
Apparently, if an animus dragon uses her powers too much, she'll become evil and insane, or even lose her soul bit by bit. But when she was little, Shark had used her power countless times for petty reasons. One day, when she was in bed and feeling lazy but hungry, she ordered a pebble on the floor to prepare her a dish of food and bring it to her. She did that multiple times. One day, her brother called her a rude name. She demanded a piece of seaweed to tie itself to his tail and refused to come off until the end of the day. That was a good laugh, and Shark's brother never suspected a thing.
In fact, no one knew Shark was an animus besides herself. A lot of dragons used to, but she enchanted a stone to make all of those dragons forget that she was an animus. Permanently. She didn't want them to stop her from using this amazing gift she was blessed with because they thought she'd lose control like a certain royal dragon named Albatross from thousands and thousands of years ago had done.
Shark didn't worry about her soul, however. She had safe-guarded her soul already; a while ago, she'd enchanted a grain of sand to keep her soul safe from any and all animus magic whether she carried it or not. She'd let it go; if the spell was successful, which, it never, ever wasn't, she wouldn't need it.
And, as she knew it would, it had worked. After all these years of existing and being an animus, she still felt like herself, definitely not evil at all.
But her soul becoming evil wasn't her only problem. There was a dragon called Darkstalker who'd protected his soul just like Shark had done that day, but he still turned evil; not because of his animus magic, but by having all that power. Having that kind of control corrupted Darkstalker's mind, and gave him ideas that were despicable, all to get what he wanted.
There was a very easy solution to this one. All Shark had to do was promise herself that her gift was not for being evil or taking over the world, to make it better or not. She didn't want that anyway, so why should it matter?
Just to be one hundred percent safe, she enchanted another grain of sand. She ordered it to stop her mind from even thinking of using her animus magic for evil, whether she carried it or not. And she let it go.
So if any dragon found out about her animus magic and she somehow couldn't erase that dragon's mind, which, wouldn't be evil anyway I suppose, because, hey, I'm thinking about it! she would have ways to defend herself and her animus powers.
Shark got up from her bed. Being SeaWing royalty, she got special privileges, like a personal suite on the same floor as the rest of the SeaWing royal family.
Despite her special treatment, Shark still felt like an outsider in her family. She often got strange looks; not because of her magic; nobody knew about that, so they couldn't possibly judge her for it.
No, it was the navy color of her scales, the sparkling stars in the webs of her wings, the black tongue she had, the spiky horns along her spine... her own family and her own Kingdom staring at her as though she wasn't one of them.
Shark wasn't actually a SeaWing; or, rather, she was only half SeaWing. She was also half NightWing.
It was her mother's fault, technically, but Shark wasn't upset. It wasn't her mother's fault that the love of her life was all the way across the continent; a dragon doesn't choose where her heart falls.
Her father was a runaway NightWing, punished for some kind of crime. Shark was never actually told what he did, but she knew better than to ask by the way her mother's eyes gleamed with shame and worry. Shark wondered if she should use her animus magic to find out, maybe turn invisible and search through the NightWings' important documents and- wait. That could count as an evil thought. But then, how come I can think it, if it's an evil thought? It must be an okay thing to do, then. 
Then Shark remembered the promise she made herself, that she wouldn't allow herself to lose her soul through foul ideas. No, I won't do that. She decided.
Anyway, he wasn't in the picture, not anymore. Shark had hardly gotten to meet him. When he was banished from his home in the Rainforest Kingdom, he traveled the continent in search of a new home. He stopped for a rest on an island here in the Kingdom of the Sea when he met Shark's mother. Love at first sight, crazy love magic happened, blah, blah, blah, and here we are. I exist now.
When Queen Dolphin found out that her daughter, Shark's mother, had chosen a NightWing mate and had muddled the bloodline with some sort of hybrid such as Shark was, she immediately had some of her guards chase away her father only a month after she was born. I can still just about remember his pale purple eyes, even now, five years later.
But Queen Dolphin wasn't heartless; she decided to let Shark live, in the hope that she'd have gotten special NightWing powers from being born under a full moon. Even if it was only one of the moons full, a NightWing dragonet would be blessed with the power of either foresight or mind-reading.
However, Shark didn't get either power. Instead, she inherited a much greater ability. Heck, I could grant myself both of those special NightWing powers if I wanted to! I think I'm pretty special, if I do say so myself.
One time, she had granted herself the ability to read minds. She wanted to know what her closest friends and family truly thought about her since she'd never heard them insult or mumble about her like many other dragons had. Were their kind actions simply a cover-up to hide their dark, rude thoughts?
Shark found out a lot that day. One, she found out that she was a terrible dragon for doubting those closest to her. Two, she found out why NightWings needed so many headache medicines and mind-reading classes. As soon as she got what she wanted, which, actually made her feel really guilty, she got rid of those mind-reading powers.
Shark was never interested in giving herself foresight. She didn't like the thought of it; being able to see the future and not being able to change anything at all. Shark always thought of destiny being whatever she did. Every step she took, every word she said, everything. There was no way she could go wrong because her destiny was what she chose. With foresight, she would know everything that would happen in her life; she wouldn't have the choice to change her path and life wouldn't be worth it, because nothing would surprise her. 
She felt bad for any NightWing who had foresight. 
Oh, and mind-reading NightWings, too, Shark recalled. I now understand what it's like to hear five hundred dragons thinking all at once. 
Shark made her way to the door of her dorm-like room. She walked out into the expansive Deep Palace and thought of the IceWings. A long time ago, when their royal bloodlines birthed many animus dragons, they had each one save their power and use it only once; for a gift that would benefit the whole Kingdom. 
Now that there were more animus dragons reappearing in the IceWings, it was rumored that that tradition would be started once more. 
Glad I'm not an IceWing, Shark thought. She didn't like the thought of her own Queen forcing her to use her magic one way or another. Then again, she could simply hide her power, just like she was doing now. 
I still don't want to be an IceWing, Shark hated the thought of living in the frigid cold, with no water besides the freezing cold ocean water. 
No dragons were outside of their rooms at the moment; perfect, Shark thought, moving along toward the Deep Palace's exit. 
As soon as she made it out and was in the open ocean, she stopped to take in her scenery. Every time she made this journey she did so, but it was like a brand new jaw-dropping experience every time; the ocean was a beautiful place. Octopuses and squid whooshed about with their tentacles, dolphins bobbed up and down, and sharks glided peacefully among the currents, all in one big, glorious picture that was constantly moving. 
After about two minutes of gazing about, Shark finally moved on. She raced through the water toward the Diamond Spray Delta, which was located at the very edge of the Sky and Mud Kingdoms. There was a perfect, little, and remote island on the northernmost point of the delta, which is where Shark's destination was. 
It was the same place she'd been visiting every single half month since she was three years old. 
She knew the journey by heart. Heck, she could give a random traveler the exact directions, detail to detail, to this place. Turn right at a 45-degree angle when you come across the rock shaped like a dolphin or shark fin. 
When Shark arrived, she waited patiently. She always left as early as she could, as she liked being the first dragon to arrive at things, even small things like classes at school. If she left any later, she wouldn't have stood a chance; the friend she was meeting, Jackal, was among the fastest dragons in Pyrrhia; the SkyWings. He could easily win a race with a peregrine falcon if you dared him to, Shark thought, remembering her friend ripping through the sky like a SeaWing through the water. 
While she waited, she stared into a sparkly water puddle on the ground. Grass sprouted out in some spots, reaching for any grasp of air they could reach. The puddle was so clear that Shark could see her glow pads and her scales in near-perfect color. When she heard a slight whoosh of unsettled wind in the distance, she knew he was almost here. Jackal's head peered around the bark of a beech tree. He noticed Shark and smiled. "Hey!" he greeted her, walking over and sitting down next to her, staring into the puddle as well. "How are you, Shark?" 
Shark shrugged. "Life's gone uphill and downhill all at once in all my years of living." she stared at Jackal's pale yellow eyes through his reflection in the water. They were so warm and inviting; she was glad to have someone so relatable and overall nice-looking as a friend. 
"'In all my years of living,'" mimicked Jackal in a friendly-joking voice. "It's not like you're a century old, Shar!" he grinned, his eyes scrunching a little as he did so. "Anyway, let's address the problem I spotted here. As for uphill; I'm guessing that's being an animus. So, what's the downhill part of your life?" 
"I don't know. I just feel like there's only been good events in my life so far; I mean, besides Queen Dolphin banishing my father and the occasional rude comment about my being a hybrid; and those are small things, so-" 
"Small things? Your dad being banished not only from his new home but from seeing his significant other and his only dragonet?" Jackal didn't sound accusing, but rather, confused. 
Shark felt red-hot shame shoot down her spine, leaving what felt like burn marks from the inside on her heart. "That's not what I mean- I mean, I wish he was here and all, but I'm not really missing anything... I only got to be with my father for one month of my life, and I can hardly remember that time. I only remember what he looked like, and how he acted; I have no idea if he would've turned out to be a good father to me or not. You can't miss what you didn't have." 
Jackal shrugged, then nodded. "I see." 
"Now you sound like a century-old dragon." Shark grinned, flicking Jackal's back with her tail. 
Shark remembered the first time she and Jackal met. 
Jackal's mother was extremely over-protective of him, especially after his egg incident. Somehow, his egg had ended up in the Kingdom of Sand; how? Don't ask me, nobody, and I mean nobody knows why he was there, and he was found by some SandWing soldiers. They gave Jackal a SandWing name and raised him in the Scorpion Den until he was about half a year old. 
When his mother, known as General Topaz of the SkyWings, heard word of the random SkyWing dragonet sheltering in the Scorpion Den, she figured it was her precious lost egg. She and her son were reunited, but now Jackal was kept on a tight leash. Shark understood; if she lost someone special to her and somehow found them again, she'd be overprotective, too, most likely. 
General Topaz kept Jackal's name as it was. She quite liked it despite it being a SandWing name. Plus, she didn't want to confuse her already-boggled son by changing his name, so she didn't. 
So, when General Topaz and her fellow guards were escorting Queen Hornbill of the SkyWings to the Kingdom of the Sea for a peace meeting with Shark's grandmother, Queen Dolphin, Topaz decided to bring Jackal with her, as his father was on a business trip of his own. Jackal's father, whose name was Cloud, served as Queen Hornbill's fastest messenger, so he was always busy carrying scrolls with notes on them nearly everywhere across the continent. 
Shark was with Queen Dolphin that day. She wanted Shark, her granddaughter, to get first-hand experience with Queenly business. After all, Shark was a possible heir to the throne. 
Jackal and Shark were both very bored; the discussion between Queen Hornbill and Queen Dolphin was like a monotone presentation from some boring school teacher. 
Shark had looked at Jackal, and then at the Queens. She had thought of an idea. She pointed between the two Queens and rolled a finger around the side of her head. Cuckoo. 
She made sure to be stealthy about it but also made sure that Jackal was looking. He was a striking young SkyWing and looked like a kind dragon from what Shark had been able to tell; maybe they could've been friends. 
And they did become friends. 
As soon as Shark had made that silly hand signal, Jackal snorted, trying to contain a giggle. He looked around. The guards were too busy feasting on SeaWing delicates from the snack tables that had been set up to pay attention to anything. He pointed toward the door with a shrug, seemingly asking if Shark wanted to leave and do quite literally anything else. 
Shark had smiled, then nodded. The two ran toward the door and went on a mini adventure around the New Summer Palace before returning. The guards and Queens were still so consumed in whatever it was that they were chatting about that they hadn't even realized the two dragonets were missing. 
Now, Jackal was laughing at Shark's comment. "You started off being the century-old dragon," he smiled. "I think you're the true one." 
Shark laughed and pretended to stomp down hard on Jackal's tail, stopping at the last moment. Jackal gasped, then giggled. "You got me. I thought you were going to-" 
Shark lifted her foot again and pretended once more to slam down hard, stopping just in time. Jackal flinched, his eyes widening. His face changed as soon as he realized that Shark had fooled him again. "You little trickster!" Jackal tackled her and pretended to scratch her throat with his mighty SkyWing talons.
Shark pummeled Jackal's stomach gently with her hind legs, boosting him off of her. He fell on his rear, hitting the ground with a thump. His crimson red scales shone in the moonlight as Shark awaited his next move. 
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