The Masked Dragon Part One

## Wings of Fire The Masked Dragon PART 1

* by RhynoBullraq, Jul 2, 2017, 6:35:26 PM
* Literature / Fan Fiction / Fantasy

*Written by: RhynoBullraq*

*Edited by: A.T. Peluso*

*Based on the World and Characters created by Tui T. Sutherland*

**Prologue: Crimson**

        Crimson knew she was at the climactic end of the story. She had read this particular scroll well over a hundred times already and yet it still managed to send excitement through her claws. A kind of excitement that made her feel like she could jump into the scroll and join the SkyWing heroes within. She began to stand, spreading her wings in anticipation for the moment that her beloved heroes would fly off into the sunset, but a voice interrupted her before she could reach the end.

    "Oh good, Crimson, you're still awake." Her Father’s voice chimed from the doorway to her room. He had a deep voice, but it was always a friendly and warm tone.  He also never seemed to notice when he was interrupting the best parts of her favorite scrolls, either. "Come on Crimson, put your scrolls away, The Peacewing’s leader, Adenium, is coming to discuss something important, and I want you to meet him."

    Crimson groaned loudly and stomped a claw down, "Daaaaaaaad! You ruined the best part!" She whined, slumping her shoulders.

    Wildfire chuckled, "Stopped you from flying away with the SkyWing heroes again, did I?"

    "Yes...." The little SkyWing turned to her father pouting and lashing her tail, "You always bother me at the worst time."

    "Oh," Her Father raised an amused brow, "I bother you do I? Well what if I told you Adenium is a real life hero who has helped make many dragon’s lives better, including ours?"

    Crimson huffed and lowered her head, "Yeah, yeah…I know..."

    The large SkyWing patted her head gently, "The messenger told me Adenium is traveling here with his son. So maybe you could tell him how amazing and awesome your SkyWing heroes are while I discuss things with Adenium.  Sound like fun?" He smiled warmly nudging her with his nose.

    She giggled, pushing her Father's snout away, "Ok Ok, yes that sounds like fun." Crimson sat down and began the task of rolling the scroll closed when an idea came to her, "Can I bring some scrolls?" She squeaked, trying not to sound too excited.

    "Only if you promise not to lose any of them." Wildfire bargained with a grin.

    Crimson nodded and began stuffing her favorite scrolls into a small leather satchel, "I promise!"

    As the little SkyWing left her home, flying off into the cool night sky with her Father, she felt excitement building in her chest. Her scrolls had made her very popular amongst her friends and had always served as the perfect ice breaker when meeting new dragonets. She knew for sure her scrolls would still work, despite the fact that she’d never shared them with a SandWing before. *‘SandWings like scrolls too…right?’* She shook the questioning thought away with a laugh, *‘Of course they do!’*

    Crimson's excitement made the flight to the Peacwing's meeting place feel like a couple of wing beats. When she landed down next to her Father, a couple of voices could already be heard speaking inside the cave. Wildfire cleared his throat and composed himself, "It seems they're here..." He stepped inside, "Adenium, I do hope I didn't keep you waiting long."

    Crimson followed after her father into the large cave, eyes gazing about as she did. The cave was warmly lit in an orange hue by the large fireplace to the right of her. The walls were adorned with long, dark pale blue drapes with The symbol of peace painted across them neatly. Leading out of the room were several dark hallways that were impossible to see down. She could only guess that they led deeper into the mountain. Crimson frowned toward the pitch black halls feeling her chest tighten a bit, *‘Why aren’t those halls lit…don’t they know dark hallways are scary?’*

    The little SkyWing quickly caught up with her Father and noticed the leader of the Peacewings and his son, she presumed. Adenium was a little larger then her father. He wore a heavy looking black cloak, but underneath his scales glittered like sand when it was in the mountains shade. His fin was russet, seemingly bent oddly to the side, and next to that was a fresh cut down his left brow. In his left nostril he had a crudely crafted nose ring and atop his head were short gold horn covers strapped on. She also noticed two rings on the main claw of his left wing. His son was smaller than she was and he seemed to be trying very hard to shrink behind his Fathers leg. His scales were lighter than his father’s, more like the desert sand that glittered happily in the sun, and his fin stood proudly up. The little SandWing wore a black cloak similar to his Father’s, but it certainly didn’t quite fit him the same on his smaller frame.  Both SandWing’s looked like they had gone through something bad recently, but she wasn’t quite sure what. *‘Maybe they got attacked…but who would attack a Peacewing?’*

    Adenium let out a heavy sigh, "No not at all... thank you for coming Wildfire." The large SandWing seemed to just notice her then. "Oh hello," He feigned a smile, "You must be Crimson, your Father has told me so much about you." Crimson nodded to him with a polite smile as Adenium nudged his son, "Jackelot, why don't you and Crimson play, or get to know each other, while I speak to Wildfire...hmm?" He spoke calmly, almost in a whisper.

    Jackelot looked over at her for a moment before then looking back up at his Father, not budging. Crimson could tell he was scared. She had befriended many dragonets younger than herself who had been the same way when they first met, so she knew what she had to do. *'He just has to see how nice and friendly I am and then he'll open right up. Ooh and He'll probably love my scrolls!'*

    Crimson confidently stepped forward and chirped, "Hello, I'm Crimson! But you can call me Crim."

    The small SandWing hid behind his wings and squeaked out something inaudible. Adenium sighed, sliding his son closer to her with his tail. Jackelot looked around helplessly, trying desperately not to make eye contact with her.

*'Hmmm, this might be harder than I thought...normally they open up after that…’*She quickly moved in front of him so he would have no choice but to look at her, "Hey, It's okay! If you don't want to talk, we can read my scrolls!" Jackelot's face seemed to become flushed when he finally locked eyes with her. The little SandWing paused for a moment staring into her eyes before then simply nodding*. 'Success! These scrolls always work!'*“Follow me!” Crimson quickly bounded closer to the fireplace and rolled out one of her scrolls, "Let's start with my favorite one!" She patted the ground next to herself, inviting Jackelot over. The little SandWing walked over timidly and sat down, wrapping his tail around his claws. That’s when Crimson noticed the tip of his tail looked odd. As nonchalantly as she could, the little SkyWing leaned closer and realized it seemed to be covered in a bunch of dirty rags that all tied together. "Woah, what happened to your tail?"

    Jackelot quickly hid it under his cloak and lowered his head shyly, "The scary dragon killed my Momma…and then he came after me… he bite off my barb..."

    "Woah what!?" She exclaimed, "Someone bit off the end of your tail!? That's crazy!" Crimson couldn’t hide the curiosity in her voice.

    He nodded, "It hurt a lot... My daddy found me and scared the dragon away before he could kill me... that’s why we're here though...daddy said he had to bring me somewhere I would be safe while he finds the scary dragon..."

    Crimson nudged him feeling a little bad that she didn't even mention the SandWing's mother, "Hey... my Mother was killed too."Jackelot looked up at her with tears in his eyes. She wrapped one of her large wings around him. "If your dad is leaving you with us, than you are gonna be more than safe, trust me."

"Really?" He sniffled, resting his head against her chest.

    Crimson felt something inside herself that she had never felt before, *'I won't let anything happen to you Jackelot, I'll protect you like the SkyWing heroes protect the land in my scrolls.'* "Yeah…I've got you."
The Young SkyWing looked over to her Father and noticed Adenium looking over at them with something odd in his eyes, *'Is that...disappointment? Toward his son or the circumstance...'* Crimson held Jackelot closer. "Hey Jackelot, let's read my scroll, I know you're gonna love it."

                                                                                      ~~~~~~~~

**Chapter 1: Jackelot**

**1 Year Later**

        Jackelot tumbled across the hard rock ground, knowing he only had a few seconds to get his footing before Crimson would undoubtedly pin him down for the third time that day. He knew this wouldn't be an issue for any normal SandWing, they could just use their barbed tail to swiftly pierce any dragon dumb enough to jump on the back of a SandWing. But Jackelot didn't have that luxury and whenever he would complain about it, Crimson would laugh at him and say in her deepest, most manliest voice she could muster, "Adapt or die! This world isn't gonna do you any favors!" He knew she was quoting her favorite story, but he sometimes wondered how much she meant it actually. Jackelot could feel Crimson's claws barely miss his haunches as she tumbled across the sand after him, "Eeeeeepppp!" She squealed loudly losing her footing.

    He slammed his talons down and twisted around noticing her fumble, *‘Now’s my chance!’* "I got you now!" Jackelot quickly rushed toward her as she flopped onto her back, "Raaaaahhhh!" He hurled himself on top of her, pinning her wings down with his front talons firmly. He had done it, he finally pinned her! "Ha! So this is how victory feels, I see why you enjoy it so much." He jested condescendingly with a toothy grin.

    Crimson winced and lashed her tail, "Ow my wing!"

    Jackelot quickly stepped off her wings, concern filling his mind, "I’m sorry, Crim are you ok!? Did I hurt you!?" Suddenly she smiled smugly and before Jackelot could react she swiftly knocked him off his feet with her tail. In a blink, she was now the one on top of him. "What the!?"

    The SkyWing laughed heartily, "Don't celebrate until you know you've won!" She spread her wings out proudly looking down at him.

    "Cheater..." He growled, swishing his tail in annoyance.

    "Oh don't be a baby Jack." She patted his head. "You know there's no such thing as cheating when it comes to survival. Besides, I know you like losing to me." She grinned, narrowing her eyes at him.

    "Wha..."The SandWing’s face turned as bright a red as the SkyWing's scales. He was speechless. *'What does she mean by that!?'*

    Crimson laughed again, rolling off of him and onto her back, "Hahaha you should see your face right now. You're so adorable!"

    Jackelot snorted and turned away from her, "You are so weird Crim..." None the less, he could feel his heart beating faster now. "I still beat you first." He sulked in a quiet voice.

    The SkyWing sighed heavily, "Ok sure..." Crimson got up dusting herself off, "Um...Jack...can I ask you something?"

    The SandWing stood up as well and shook himself off, "Technically, you can ask anyone anything, you just gotta be brave enough to ask." He quipped.

    "Ha ha...very funny." She swatted him with her tail in annoyance but then paused for a moment, "Do you... do you like me?" Crimson turned her gaze to the sky.

    Jackelot looked over at Crimson, at first with large eyes, but he quickly composed himself.  He gazed at her evenly, trying to read her body language before answering, "Crim...I." He knew the answer was yes, he had liked her for a long time now. He never viewed her like he viewed other dragons; he always wanted to be around her. She was always fun to be around and she seemed to really understand his emotions, but was she asking him because she felt the same way or… was she asking because it bothered her? "Do you like me?"

    Crimson remained quiet for a few heartbeats, "I asked you first..." Her body seemed rigid and her voice flat. Jackelot had never seen her like this before.

*‘I have to tell her the truth…’* The young SandWing opened his mouth but before he could confess he heard Wildfire's voice calling out. "Jackelot come here, your Father is here to see you!"

*'What!? My Father…is back!?'* He felt a strange twinge in his stomach, "I’ll be right over!" Jackelot turned back to Crimson, "Crim I..."

    Before he could continue Crimson abruptly cut him off, "Hey, you should go to your dad...I mean...you haven't seen him in a year..." She hastily stepped back readying her wings, "I'm supposed to return a scroll I borrowed from a friend anyway.”

    "Huh…Crim, wait!?" The young SandWing barked, walking toward her as she lifted off. All he wanted was for her to stay a moment longer, but she didn’t stop. She darted off faster than he had ever seen before and disappeared into the sky. *'Did I upset her?'* Jackelot slashed across the dusty ground in anger and confusion. *'What did I do…Why didn’t she wait!?'* The SandWing turned around with a snort and headed back home.

    Jackelot liked walking the dusty path home, the dirt between his claws reminded him of the desert he was born in. Whenever he talked about how much he loved sand, Crimson always laughed at him and called him cute, which always annoyed him but also made him blush in embarrassment. *'Why did you fly away like that, Crim?'*He sighed heavily. Not knowing what she was feeling killed him inside. Whenever he thought he knew Crimson fully, she would do something odd that always made him feel like he didn't know her at all. *'Does she ever feel like that about me?'* He wondered quietly to himself as he continued to walk.

    Before he knew it, he was at the door to the place he called home for the past year. Wildfire and Crimson’s home was quite large and offered more than enough room for the three of them. Jackelot already had hundreds of fond memories here from painting the doors and walls with Crimson, to staying up all night reading, and even listening to stories from Wildfire about being within the SkyWing Queen’s Palace. He loved it here and he couldn’t wait to tell his Father all about it, he just wished he could’ve finished talking to Crimson beforehand so he wouldn’t seem distracted at all. The young Dragonet took a deep breath, *'Nothing but good feelings now...I can worry about Crim after I spend time with my father.'*A new, uncomforting thought began to creep up on the SandWing, *'Wait.*..*what if he's here to take me back to the desert...How could I leave Crim behind...I like Crim... I don’t want to leave her.'* He forced the thought away and stepped through the door. When he entered the room, he saw his Father standing there looking exactly how he remembered. He seemed to be admiring a few of the paintings, a small smile on his face.  Jackelot waited for a moment, taking in the sight of his father. He knew he had missed him, but he didn’t realize how much he had missed him. "Father!" He practically squeaked, finally stepping closer.

    His Father’s face lit up at the sight of him, "My Son!" Adenium quickly rushed over and wrapped his wings around him, "My my look how much you've grown! Oh Jackelot, How have you been?"

    Jackelot snuggled into his Father's warm chest, happy but worried. "Hehe, yeah...I've been great. Wildfire and Crim are the best.” The small SandWing looked up at him. “How've you been did you...did you do everything you set out for?"

    His Father chuckled looking down at him fondly, "Oh yes, you bet I did! That horrible dragon won't be hurting us again...and I've managed to fix a couple of holes in the Peacewing's ranks for now. But that brings me to...a new issue...I need a dragon who I can trust to work with me… A very special dragon whom I could trust to never betray me." Adenium's soft smile twisted ever so slightly, just enough to notice. His dark eyes twinkled in a way that made Jackelot a little uneasy, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint why. "Will you be my most trusted member of The Peacewings?"

    Jackelot opened his mouth to say yes, but froze. He wanted to say yes. He wanted to make his father happy, but if he said yes, than he’d have to leave Crimson, and considering that for just a moment filled his heart with a sinking feeling unlike any he’d ever felt. His Father looked at him knowingly, almost as if he’d read his mind, "Oh don't worry Jackelot...The Peacewings new base is here in the Sky Kingdom! So you would be spending most of your time here. Hehehe...I had a feeling you would become quite attached to it and The Peacewings needed a new base...and I knew the Sky Kingdom would be perfect.” He patted his Son’s shoulder, “So you have nothing to worry about my boy."

    "Really!?" The little SandWing wasn't sure how his father had anticipated his feelings; perhaps it was just father’s intuition, but he was excited to hear that he wouldn't have to leave the Sky Kingdom indefinitely. "So, would I be kinda like Wildfire?" Jackelot chirped enthusiastically.

    Adenium nodded, "Oh yes, but you wouldn't have to be located anywhere for long periods of time like he is in the SkyWing palace. You’d just have to do quick ins and outs anywhere I need you to… You'll essentially be no one… but everywhere…a mere body in a crowd... Hehehehe..." His Father seemed to love the idea a lot. Despite the fact Jackelot wasn’t exactly sure what he really meant, his Father’s excitement excited him too. If he could make his Father proud by being *‘no one, but everywhere’* then he was more than happy to do it.

    "Ok Father, I'll be your most trusted dragon!” Jackelot smiled widely.

    The large SandWing clapped his talons together gleefully, "I knew I could count on you, my Son." Adenium began for the door, guiding his Son along with his tail. "There are a couple things we must take care of before you can begin...to get you ready!"

    Jackelot matched his Father's pace, "Alright lead the way, Father." Both SandWing's left through the door and began towards a nearby cave. As they walked Jackelot couldn't help but notice the confident stride his father had and he tried his hardest to copy it. The little SandWing felt a little silly holding his head so high, but it made his father look as regal as a king. Besides, he supposed it would only take some time to get used to it. He could imagine Crimson laughing at him and telling him that he looked like he was pretending to be the SandWing princess, Blaze. Jackelot narrowed his eyes and snorted at the thought. *'Why does she always tease me?'*

    Adenium suddenly spoke up, grabbing his attention, "Now...Jackelot. Change…change can be scary...but at times...necessary. Do you understand?"

    "Umm…I think I do..." The young SandWing began to feel uneasy once again as his head naturally began to lower. "What are we..."

    Before he could finish, his Father snapped, "DON'T!" Jackelot stepped back, lowering himself fully to the ground. Adenium cleared his throat, composed himself, and spoke softly. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry...What I was saying was...if you want to make your Father happy...please…please don't ask any questions and just…just follow my lead. I need you to do this for me...or I don't know what I'll do.”

    Jackelot lifted himself off the ground feeling his limbs shaking a little, "I'm sorry Father...I'll follow you." He still felt scared, but he wanted to make his Father happy. *'I'm sure my Father is dealing with a lot..I’m sure he didn’t mean to snap like that...he's just stressed out. Who wouldn’t be in his position…?’*That made sense to him, so he ignored his fear and followed his father into the cave ahead.

    The cave was very dark and an unsettling chill filled the entire space, which only made Jackelot feel even more uncomfortable than he already did. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see a large wooden table against the sidewall and on the other side of the cave there was a clear little pond. Jackelot then noticed that along all the walls were unlit torches; he couldn’t help but wish that his father would light a few to make the cave less frightening, but it didn’t seem like his Father minded and he wasn’t about to bring it up.  Jackelot looked around the room, wondering why he was brought here. What could his father have planned to do in here, and how did it involve him? *‘Maybe he’s gonna read me some super secret scroll?’* As his Father began to remove his cloak and fold it up, Jackelot made his way toward the table. As he got closer he could see many strange metal tools that looked scary and caused his blood to freeze. *'I can't imagine these are used for anything good...'* Jackelot looked to his Father who was now seemingly mixing something in a small stone bowl, quietly humming to himself. "What's that?"

    His Father sighed and stopped mixing. "Jackelot...I said no questions...questions destroy loyalty...and you want to be loyal don't you?" His voice sounded displeased.

    "Oh sorry...I forgot..." The young SandWing lowered his head and sat down, wrapping his tail around his talons. *‘Three moons…I never would’ve guessed that not asking questions would be so difficult…’*

    Adenium chuckled to himself a sat down next to his son, "Well I'm glad you're sorry, but an apology is worthless if you don't actually mean it...so let's try again...." He held out the stone bowl to him. Jackelot could now see there was a putrid smelling green pulpy liquid in it. "Drink it."

    Jackelot felt a dozen questions forming in his head but he stopped himself from letting any of them out. He had already upset his father twice and he didn't want to do it again. *‘If all he needs me to do is drink this grossness and then he’ll be proud of me and trust me…then I’ll do it.’* So the young SandWing simply nodded and took the bowl into his talons. *'He's my father...I can't imagine he'd tell me to drink this if it was gonna hurt me...and I really want to show him that he can trust me.'* Jackelot closed his eyes and drank from the bowl. As the pulpy substance drained down his throat the young SandWing felt his body try to reject it with a few violent lurches, but Jackelot forced it down for his father. For a moment Jackelot felt relieved that it was over. *‘That was as disgusting as I thought it would be…but now he’ll trust me…*’ Suddenly Jackelot felt the strength in his limbs beginning to leave. The young SandWing dropped the stone bowl and clutched onto the table desperately. He looked frantically to his Father for help but realized everything just looked like blurs now.  "Fa...ther...what... was..." Before he could finish he crumbled to the ground and everything went black.

                                                                                         ~~~

    When Jackelot awoke he felt nothing but a burning pain coursing from head to tail. The young SandWing couldn't imagine what had happened to himself. The torches in the cave were now lit so at least he could finally see clearly, but it didn’t seem like his Father was anywhere around. As Jackelot began to pull himself off the ground the pain immediately worsened. Sparks of pain shot everywhere, as if he was pulling himself out of a bed of burning cacti, but he ignored the pain as best as he could and wobbled to his feet. "Father..." He croaked hearing nothing but the crackling of the burning torches. Now that he could see, Jackelot noticed the tools on the wooden table across the room were covered in what looked like blood. Jackelot felt fear building in his chest, *‘Whose blood is that?’* As Jackelot took a step forward he winced, "Aahhh!" When he looked down at the hard stone floor below his talons, he noticed small puddles and splashes of blood all over the rocky ground. *'What!? Is that mine!?'*

    Jackelot sat down and began to look over and feel his body. The young SandWing tried desperately to convince himself that he was fine and it wasn't his blood, but that was quickly dismissed by the sharp pain he felt when sliding his claw down his neck. “Ach!” He pulled away quickly, before then slowly, and more gingerly, rubbing over the spot again in disbelief. Panic began to set in as it felt as though some of his plated scales had been removed. "Aaahhhh...." The wound began to throb with fiery pain. *‘Father what did you do to me!?'*Jackelot staggered over to the small pond on the other side of the cave to see his reflection, fear building in the pit of his stomach the whole time.

    When Jackelot looked at his reflection he saw a dragon that didn't look like himself, let alone a SandWing. His horns were gone and his once proud fin had been crudely hacked off from his head all the way down his tail. Some of the plates on his neck had been pulled out and the plates that adorned his wings had been pulled off as well making it hard to move them properly. Jackelot felt tears streaming down his face as he stared in disbelief at the reflection. He didn't want to believe his eyes. Surely this was a nightmare, a nightmare caused by how uncomfortable he was when he drank that sludge. "Wake up!" He demanded, sobbing into his talons. "Wake up...please!" *'This can't be real...this can't be real...'*

     "Don't worry too much my Son..." His Father said gently, entering the cave, "I'm going to take you to the Scorpion Den after your wings stop stinging and I'm going to get you the best replacement parts." He chuckled to himself while sauntering over to his side, "SandWing parts, SkyWing parts, any parts you need or want my child." Adenium wrapped a wing gingerly around his son and sat down, "You'll be the best all purpose spy...and I know you'll make me so incredibly proud."

    Jackelot couldn't look at his father, he wasn't even sure what he was supposed to feel. He felt so betrayed… yet his father sounded so pleased. *'Is this...normal?'* He thought about how Wildfire treated Crimson, he had never seen him hurt her in any way. But she also wasn't the daughter of the head of The Peacewings. Maybe this was how things were supposed to be, and he just had to get used to it. *'I want him to be proud of me...'*

                                                                                   ~~~~~~~~

Next part: https://fjh-wings-of-fire-fanclub.fandom.com/wiki/The\_Masked\_Dragon\_Part\_Two