Book 1

## Prologue

It all started one damp night, thick with mist, and hot and sticky. The two full moons shimmered in the sky. Gaps of moonlight shone through the canopy. A wide clearing was filled with it, and in the middle of the space...a small nest complete with one large egg. The dragonets inside were excited. They both knew that this was the day they were going to hatch. To be expelled into beauty and color and big, *big,* big! And their parents knew it too. They stood in the humid mist, sweating with anticipation , and staring boredly at the egg.

“When will it hatch? I want to meet my sibling (For they didn’t know quite how many dragonets were in that egg.)!” Firefly, their older sister, stood with her parents too, frowning down at the egg. “Soon, I’m guessing. Why don’t we just hide it? And sleep?” Of course, Firefly was using her persuasive skills, and even her parents had trouble withstanding them. They followed her suggestion perfectly, pulling branches and ferns over the thick shell. Then, they went a good ten kilometers away, into a wide swathe of moonlight.

Meanwhile, the two dragonets (seeing as they were very shy), had waited until there was absolutely no sound coming from the outside, and then began to scrape away at the shell, tails dragging in the goop that had settled on the floor. The walls of the egg were a milky white, and peaceful, but the twins longed for actual light, bright and warm, to warm their frail bodies. Finally, one determined dragonet’s claws pierced the outer bark, and the left side of the egg shredded. One of the sisters, exhausted, dragged her sleek form to the back of the outcropping of shells above them. The other settled in the middle, and that was where her parents found her.

“A sister!” squealed Firefly, who had just woken from her nightly sleep. She leapt forward and began to play with the visible twin.

“So noisy!”

“And colorful!”

“Rainboom!” shouted all the dragons, even the baby.

Glory sighed. “If only Rainkeeper, their older brother, were here,” their father ended the sentence with “ but he’s on one of those 'missions’ with Pear.”

Then, the sky began to darken rapidly, from purple to shades of red and black.

“An eclipse? But the next one was scheduled to happen in *weeks*! Strange. And at night too?!” said Deathbringer, a dedicated NightWing, and also the father of the children.

“Sissy…” warbled the newly named Rainboom.

“Is she...talking about *me*? Aww…” Firefly smiled down at her sister crouching between her talons. The sky turned a dark shade of red, and one particular dragonet leapt out of her hiding place in alarm.

“Eclipse!” shouted all of the older dragons at the same time. The other dragonet, Rainboom, trampled her twin, playfully growling as the sleepy dragonet yelped in surprise. “We had twins!” the parents shouted, happily into the dark, misty air. Firefly just stood there, amused, watching the twins play in the partial light of the eclipse.

## Chapter One

Eclipse stared at rushing waves. Today, the ocean was alive, much like yesterday. She tipped her snout and caught the scent of the ocean. The wind whipped around her, sending her starry wings askew. One of them flung out, and caught her twin sister Rainboom right in the face. “Oww…” the dragon muttered, throwing the wing back to its owner. Standing at the edge of the rainforest, Eclipse was amazed by the awesome sight of the cliff below her. She didn’t even mind Rainboom’s attitude, at least, not at the moment. A SeaWing’s head popped out of the water, catching her view. She laughed. “Midnight!” Midnight had become a close friend of hers, and was a NightWing/SeaWing hybrid. She flew up to join them on the cliff, shivering in the chilly wind, as water droplets rolled off her dark navy scales.

“I can almost see the lost Continent from here!” she joked. The lost Continent wasn’t really *lost,* of course. Known as Pantala, it was a highly rated vacation location, as well as the home of her friend Beetle. He raced between the trees to join them, huffing and panting as he went.

“Something big...killed NightWing…” he spluttered. It was only then that Eclipse noticed a dark stain spreading across his skull. A blood trail fell behind him. Rainboom charged off to get medical help, leaving the remaining three dragons astounded. But Eclipse was curious. Something was sticking out of his head, almost like a third horn, except, unlike the rest of him, it was a glistening white. Curved, like a giant claw, or perhaps, a fang. *What is that?* Just then Rainboom returned, with three pale blue dragons. The healers gasped when they saw the state he was in, and started discussing tactics frantically. The best they could come up with was to rip the object from his head. Eclipse protested in outrage, but the decision was made. Squelch! Blood gushed, and Eclipse felt the thrum of magic in her talons. The wound closed with a faint purple shimmer. Grinning, Beetle admired the new scar in a nearby puddle, with fake dignity. It was the perfect addition to his gaudy self. Eclipse spotted the claw lying nearby. It was jagged at the base, with serrated edges, as if it had broken off some giant dragon. The droplets of blood hadn’t worn off since she had done the spell, so she cleaned them off by talon. She frowned when she noticed the sheen was false. The whole thing was made from stone. Was it a spear of some sort? What was this strange object that lay before her? She remembered what Beetle had said. *Killed NightWing?*

“Can you tell me more?” Eclipse questioned him. Instead of speaking, all he did was point one quivering claw outward, into the dark jungle ahead. Today, the rainforest slightly reminded her of the Poison Jungle, perhaps the least desirable spot in Pantala. She shivered. *Why am I scared of my home?*

She bustled into the trees, Rainboom by her side as always, peering into the mist. But nothing moved. Except the rain. The drizzling, plopping water drenched them both in a great rushing downpour. Rainboom bounded through the trees, trying to keep herself in a good mood. A frog bounded out of the mist and Rainboom pounced. The frog wiggled for a moment under her talons, and then she let it go. The frog leapt away from the dragons, in one hopping motion, coming to rest approximately four feet away.

       Suddenly, Rainboom pricked her ears, and slinked stealthily into the bushes left of Eclipse. *What was that? Maybe it’s over here,* Eclipse went right, spreading out and searching for the noise, sniffing at the damp ground. The only scent was dirt, dirt, dirt and nope. More dirt.

      “Eek!” Eclipse heard a loud squeal, a scream. Pmpfh! There was something on top of her, scales digging into hers, breathing heavily of fright.

“Rainboom, will you get off?” There was a hesitant pause, and her twin slithered away. When Eclipse looked up, she saw that her sister was a strange shade of pale purple with green blotches of fear running along her torso. Her mouth was askew, and there was a little bit of drool trickling down her chin. She was panting heavily.

      Eclipse tried to joke. “What happened to you?” But her twin stood before her. Rainboom’s eyes pleaded with her to do the right thing. With a trembling claw, Rainboom pointed outward. Toward the trees. And the dark.

      Eclipse soared up along with her twin, ducking and weaving throughout the forest’s thickly tangled vines and thick branches as was necessary. Eclipse felt the weight on top of her. She started to call out “Rainboom...” but stopped.

      A parrot was sitting on her shoulder, squawking in dismay. She stopped and hovered, as so not to upset the bird. Words tumbled through her head. *Zayna… I am…* What was that about? Normal birds didn’t...think. They didn’t express anything other than emotion. Smiling lightly, she changed her scales to the same vibrant green as the feathers on the bird. Startlingly, the parrot drew back its long beak, And pecked, the beak tearing into the scales of Eclipse’s wing.

      Eclipse tumbled and spun through the mossy trunks and hung, suspended in a thicket of vines. And vanished in a swirl of rainbow light, right before Rainboom’s eyes.

## Chapter Two

*Where is Eclipse? She was just here a moment ago.* There was a rustle in the bushes. Rainboom’s face got pale. *What was that?* The rustling in the bushes got louder and stronger. Rainboom’s whole body went pale now, especially along her wings and tail. She hoped that it wasn’t whatever killed that NightWing, or took away her sister! The rustle in the brush got crazy! She turned slightly camouflaged as a defense method. Then, out of the bush leapt a large cow. *Whew. Just a cow.* The cow mooed. *Wait… a COW? What was a stinky smelly COW doing in the forest for???*

Then, the bush started to shake so hard, it could go to the insane asylum! Leaves were twirling down, coating the earth in a thick carpet. Then, as Rainboom flickered invisible, she watched an unfamiliar dragon leap out of the bushes and pounce on the cow, killing it with shock. Then he tore off the limbs, and ate the head in one bite.

He was a greenish black color, with blue brimming his spine. His wings were a little bit undersized, but his ears were oversized, compared to all the tribes she knew. AND BARELY ANY HORNS!!! Then, he tilted his head, and made a very high pitched sound, that was hard to hear, even though he was standing only two meters in front of her. It was only when he shifted his head toward her when she noticed the gem on his snout and more swarming down his spine. Then, what startled her was when he apologized.

“Sorry. Cow leg? I don’t like them.”

“Uhh,” was all she could manage. *How can he see me?* *I’m camouflaged, aren’t I?* Rainboom didn’t know what to say, so the other dragon apologized again.

“Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself properly. Hi. I’m Variscite Amber Rhodochrosite, but you can just call me Jokester. And where *are* you?” He scanned the undergrowth as he made the sound again, and then his eyes focused on her hiding place. Shyly, she flickered back to her usual navy color, with bizzare markings under her eyes and dotting her neck. She had been hatched with them and quite liked how they looked. Now, whenever she shifted her scales to another color, the markings just appeared naturally. She believed they added a flair to her character, as well as her curving horns.

 He laughed happily as he stuck two cow legs under his thick scales so that they stuck out of his head like sideways antennae.

Rainboom started to giggle, then stifled it as she corrected herself. “Well, my full name is Rainboom Borealis Moonflower, but please, just call me by my first name.”

“And which name is that? Frog? Or Fishears? Or maybe Sparkles? ‘Cause you look like a gem,” He laughed and Rainboom smiled and started praising the disembodied cow,

“O, How great is the glory of the royal and magnificent snake face! We shall all bow down and worship his gag-ness and stinky smelly arm holes!!!” They both started to laugh so hard that they could barely speak, but then Variscite managed,

“O, great and putrid one, we shall give you gifts of perfume and great bathtubs because you really need one!” They started laughing even harder and both of them could barely breathe and Rainboom tried to add something, but all she could stammer was,

“Oooo, godliiii nesse, yooo st-st-stinn...”and then she started to take some quick, short breaths that didn't calm her down, if that was even what she was trying to do. Then, the thought struck her, *wait, why isn’t Eclipse laughing too?* She paused, thinking. *Oh yeah, she went missing.* As soon as she remembered where her sister was (or where her sister *might* be), all of the giggles went silent, and her face went straight, then tightened with worry. She sat and stared down at the wriggling hysterical Variscite, who had started to cry.

Then, he caught a glimpse of her contemplating face, and tried to calm himself  down. As soon as he had gathered up enough wit again, he wiped a tear from his eye, and asked , “Are you okay? What happened?”she didn’t want to talk to him, so she picked up a thick brown stick from the damp earth and told it sternly, *I enchant this stick to share my thoughts with anyone who is embracing it in their talons-*

“What are-”

“Shhhhh”-*when I only **want** to share my thoughts with them.* Then, Rainboom opened her eyes and looked at Variscite. “What were you doing back there?” He asked like he was poking for clues. “Could you just hold this, please?” Rainboom asked, pressing the branch into his talons before he could say no.

“But why? It’s just a-”

“*Hold. It.”* So he grabbed it and, holding it tightly, he gave her a ‘this is stupid’ face. Then, Rainboom started to think. She thought about her sister, she thought about Beetle and how he said that there was a killed NightWing, how she was scared for her sister, and how the stone claw was ripped from Beetle’s head. When she was willing to share no more thoughts or worries, she gently took the twig from Variscite’s rough talons, tucked it into a pouch hanging from around her neck, then looked up at his face, and… stifled a snicker.

His face was a little paler than it’s previous color, and he was gaping at the air, looking out into somewhere that probably didn’t exist. In other words, he was spaced out. She waved her talons in front of his face, tugged on his large ears gently. She gave a short slap to his dimpled cheeks. It was only after she pulled out the tiniest scale she could find, he came to with a little yelp of pain.

 Variscite looked at her, blinked, then shook his head.

“So, dream-face, what were you thinking about?” bossed Rainboom.

“You have a *TWIN*?!” stated Variscite, surprised.

“Um, yeah. Sorry I didn’t mention it before.” Rainboom apologized.

“No, no, no, you don’t have to say sorry. I have some tribal secrets too.”

*Tribal secrets? What tribal secrets?* Rainboom was curious. “Speaking of Tribes, what Tribe are you from anyway?”

“Well, I’m from a Tribe that lives underground, called the MineWings, and...” He trailed off, bringing his claws to his blunt snout, to stop himself from revealing more information.

“Wait. You live underground?! That explains everything ” Rainboom paused. “Almost” she whispered, then continued, “I mean, it was big when we found the ‘lost’ continent of Pantala, but, once everyone finds out that there’s been a whole other tribe living under our talons this whole time and that we didn’t know about it until now,” she took a small break to breath,

“Every dragon is gonna go *CRAZY!!!”* Rainboom started to breath heavily from her excitement.

“Umm, no.”corrected Variscite.

“That is not going to happen. We already have a big idea of how we will introduce ourselves to this world.”

“And how is that?” Rainboom asked.

“Well, we have a dragon made of stone to say hello to the world.” Variscite said, puffing up his chest. Then he blinked, and deflated. “Oops...maybe I shouldn't have said that…” Rainboom looked at him with her head cocked to the right.

“Wait. How big is this dragon? What is it made of? And who’s making it?”

Variscite sighed.

“*So many QUESTIONS…*” he complained, then he told Rainboom, “Well, first of all, let's just say that we have some dragons helping us from other tribes? To make it?” Variscite finished with a strained smile. Then when Rainboom looked at him, like she wanted more to the story, he gave in and continued,

“Well, we’ve been offering jobs to NightWings and all of them have accepted!” Rainboom gave him another look that told him that she didn’t believe him.

“Okay! Okay, fine.” Variscite finally burst out, clearly annoyed.

“We’ve been taking them in through magicly advanced holes or portals to where we live.” he looked at her, serious.

“Happy now?” asked Variscite. A gear clicked into place in Rainboom’s head as she realised where her sister went. Then she looked at Variscite and said angrily, “Take me to my sister.”

Variscite looked at her, puzzled. Suddenly, he knew what Rainboom was talking about.  “Sorry, but we already have all of the dragons that we need.” he apologised to her for the third time that day.

“But, I could switch you out with the worst servant that we have. What do you say? Do you accept the offer?” and without hesitation, Rainboom answered, “Yes!”

“Done.” and with a snap of Variscite’s talons, there appeared a swirling, glowing mass of a vortex that swept up a wind around them. Rainboom looked at the portal. She wondered if this was the path she should take. Then she gathered up her courage, and flew a couple feet in the air. Then, she took a deep breath and turned around, looking at Variscite.

“Umm,” Rainboom thought about what to say, then swept down, and gave him a hug. Variscite was a little bit surprised, but then wrapped his arms around her middle, and let her bury her head in his shoulder.

“Thank you.” Rainboom looked at him thoughtfully, then pulled away into the air, and flew into the portal.

## Chapter Three

   What Eclipse saw was...nothing. Alone in the dark, she felt so small, with all the space around her. Lines of prophecy zoomed through her head, drifting and out of order. Her talons thumped onto hard rock, and she dug her claws into the crevices in the stone, determined to hang on, to avoid getting sucked into the towering whirlwind above her head. Then, she heard a noise. Hissing. She backed up startled. Her talons came down on a dragon tail and snarling, he slashed at her, with foot long claws “Owww”she whined, turning away from him. And her eyes met the most beautiful Queen she had ever seen, with lots of jewels adorning her, and shimmering, sparkly scales. Then, a dragon came forth from the crowd, grinning at her. “Mother!” She glanced carelessly at the Queen, rolling her eyes. The Queen frowned, and she and the dragon began shouting back and forth, like they were having a very serious ping-pong match. Finally, the pale purple dragon turned to her, slightly reminding her of how her twin had looked that morning. Just this morning seemed like it had happened weeks ago.

    “Hi. I'm Gems,” she said, dropping her tone to make Eclipse feel more comfortable. “Welcome to the MineWing kingdom.” “You will not…” The Queen started to say, but the dragons had already turned their backs to her. They slipped supposedly silently away, but from Eclipse’s point of view, every talonstep rang out in the huge cavern. They exited into sort of an antechamber, where the only lighting came from pale yellow stones lining the floors. The walls pulsed with beautiful jewels. As she watched, a worker used one of his forelegs to cut at them. They burst into shards, and the worker rushed to collect them, and the dust, in a sort of sack. *So that's what those claws were for!* She watched with growing interest, until Gems led her away. They came to another room, this one lined with outcroppings of rock. Atop each, stood a large pile of hay, with a dragonet asleep in each. Eclipse stifled a sneeze. “Oh, sorry.” She said apologetically. “I’m allergic.” Gems tilted her head. “Do you expect to sleep on stone?”she questioned. “All we have is hay.” She brushed the hay off one, and gestured for Eclipse to wait. Vibrations rippled outward from her scales, and another MineWing appeared in the entryway. But...no. Eclipse spotted silver scales at the corners of her eyes, very similar to her own.

    “Moon?”  The dragon gave a sad smile, nodding. Gems’ bossy voice rang out, however, stopping all means of conversation between the two.

    “Go collect a fine assortment of rainforest leaves and grasses,”she demanded, shooing Moon off toward the throne room. “And don’t come back until your results are satisfactory.” Moon bounded away, trembling. Until then, Eclipse and Gems made themselves comfortable on their ledges. Eclipse’s eyes still stung, but at least she would have an acceptable bedding. It wasn’t quite the same as her hammock back home, but she couldn’t wait. Finally, there was a scuffle in the halls as Moon returned. But wait. It wasn't Moon at all. This dragon standing in front of her… was her twin. Rainboom was in the Minewing kingdom.

## Chapter Four

Why was Rainboom here? Eclipse thought, clenching, and unclenching her talons as Rainboom came forth and tipped her talonful of moss onto the rock. The only reason why she could pass herself off as a NightWing was because of her camouflage scales. Eclipse wondered if Gems even noticed Rainboom’s horns. A NightWing’s horns were straight, but  Rainboom’s horns were oddly curved. But Eclipse didn’t care if this looked strange. She gripped Rainboom’s talon with one of her own, just as she was turning away. “Meet me here, tonight.” Eclipse whispered into the dragon’s ear. Then, she let her twin go. The dragon bustled off, heading toward the servants quarters (At least, she thought Rainboom was heading in that direction), and Eclipse fell asleep. Her dreams were muddled in the sort of way that made sense to *no one*. Then, her dream latched onto one dragon’s mind in particular. She saw a dark lump, a towering statue, looming over the forest. Not the future… the mind whispered. Please, not the future. Both dragons sat up at the same time. Eclipse stifled a scream. Rainboom was sitting right next to her!

“Get off!”she complained, hopping off the bed. Rainboom followed her example, crouching underneath the rock.

“Why are *you* here?” She wondered aloud, frowning in Rainboom’s direction.

“There was an exchange... Moon, or me. I was *not* responsible for hosting.” Her eyes twinkled mischievously, letting Eclipse know otherwise.

“But it's not safe here!” Eclipse cried, flinging her talons onto Rainboom’s shoulders. “Do you know what the MineWings could do to us?” Rainboom shrugged off her talons, saying, “But it was the only way to keep you safe!” There was hurt in her eyes as she said this, and then she turned away and strode out of the room. “By the way,”she called. “The sleeping conditions in the servants quarters are terrible!”

By morning, Eclipse had concluded one decision; they must not stay here. But what if this place was the answer to all their problems? What was to be done?

“Can you call Moon?” She questioned Gems. Eclipse’s echolocation wasn’t as advanced, and she wasn’t willing to waste such a small amount of magic on this, so she had to rely on Gems. Tilting her head, Gems sent out a particularly strong burst, and Rainboom scuttled into the hall, with a sopping wet mop and a bucket of water that was dripping and splashing all over the polished stone floor.

“Why did you have to interrupt me *now*?” She whined, swinging the bucket around. As Gems watched, more liquid spilled into the puddle that was already starting to form beneath Rainboom’s claws. “I was busy cleaning out the throne room for Her Majesty!” *Wow, Rainboom is quite the actor.* Eclipse thought with a smirk.

“It is forbidden to talk back to royalty here. I don’t know about *your* customs, assuming that you *have* them, but get on with it. Come back later!”Gems looked down her snout at the cowering Rainboom, shaking off her wet talons.

“But we do…” Rainboom started to say, then broke off as Gems sent her a vicious glare. As her twin hurried off, Eclipse felt a twinge of guilt. *Here I am*… She thought. *Enjoying the good life, while Rainboom is slaving away, cleaning and doing work for a tribe she doesn't even care about.* Eclipse finally managed to get rid of the thought when Gems announced that she should try her hand at mining.

“It's all we do here.” She said when Eclipse questioned her about it. Then, Gems led Eclipse down a dark corridor with absolutely no lighting whatsoever. As she ran her claws down the sharp twists and turns down the wall, she noticed deep gouges carved into the texture of that wall. *As though something had been there before...perhaps a mineral?* She and Gems finally stopped at one of the only jewels remaining in the tunnel, and Gems stood at one across from her. They both held the thin leather sacks she had seen the day before. A cloud of dust billowed out of her’s when she gave it an experimental shake.

“So you position yourself like this…” Gems held out her right foreleg, and Eclipse did the same, frowning at the fact that Gems’s claws were much longer than her’s. She hoped this wouldn't make a difference to her outcome. Gems struck out the same way that the MineWing worker, all those hours ago, had. And she swooped to catch those shards. But, before Eclipse went, she had been worrying. She wondered; would Gems abandon her if she didn’t do well?

“I enchant my claws to be able to mine any mineral!”

“Don’t waste your magic!” pleaded Gems. A swirl of light swarmed out of Eclipse, and she felt her claws grow heavy. When she looked down, she saw a faint purple shimmer coated her claws. She struck out with just as much force as a full grown MineWing. The jewel broke with an ear-splitting crash, and dust filled the hall. When she was able to see again, Eclipse noticed that the shards had changed color. The original stone had been a dull orange color, but now it was a brilliant, vibrant, deep blue.

“This is it...all this time…” Gems muttered to herself as she scooped up the pieces, into a separate sack. Eclipse could see the glow through the bag, it was that strong. A dark green male was sent to deliver the sack, but to where Eclipse didn’t know. She wondered what it was needed for. Money, perhaps? *But I know Dragon currency, and this isn’t it…* Eclipse and Gems walked out of the tunnel, heading to the cold, clean river to wash off their dusty, dry scales. All of the sudden, Eclipse wondered; *what part of Pyrrhia are we in? Or perhaps Pantala?*

“What part of the Dragon World are *we* in?” she wondered aloud. But all Gems had to do was point. Eclipse hadn’t realized it, but they had passed a large map of the known continents. And… islands. The largest island, directly in between the two continents, was circled in white. But then, as she looked over Pyrrhia, she noticed the Rainforest was circled in a thick, menacing red that had a disturbing resemblance to blood. *That doesn't mean anything...does it?* She turned to ask Gems, but realized. Gems was nowhere in sight.

## Chapter Five

The MineWing tunnels were still a mystery to Rainboom. She spent fourteen hours per day cleaning and dusting and arranging until she felt so sore, and covered with bruises, that she fell asleep as soon as she was finished. She probably would have slept on bare rock too, but as number one servant, she was given hay. Not as good quality as the MineWing’s however. Her’s was scratchy, and not as nice as the softer kind reserved for the younger members of the tribe, but she still enjoyed having it. During the colder nights, she loaned it to the youngest NightWings, who were used to warmth, having hatched in either the rainforest, or the volcano. But tonight she was restless. She kept thinking about Variscite, and how he had actually lived here during his dragonet years. He seemed opposed to the surly MineWing guards that stood outside the large doors of the servant’s quarters(which, if you asked *her*, was more like a prison than an actual home). She wondered what he was doing right now. Probably sleeping, she realized. And so, she did that too,

When the sun had risen (she had no way to tell) she stood up, aching and totally *not* ready to do chores. But then she noticed something odd. All the dragons that she bunked with were gone. *Oh no! I slept in!* She grabbed her bucket and a rag, startled that any minute the guards would walk in, and she would be discovered. She hustled out into the hall, and leapt back, startled. The guards stepped forward out of their positions in the twisting shadows of the hallway.

    “You are required to meet in the throne room with Her Majesty and your twin. Now please.” *How did they find out we were twins?* The four guards ushered her forward into the large cavern that held the huge dragon, Queen Crystal. Eclipse was already there when they met up. The guards took deep bows that showed their loyalty instantly.        She heard a deep *thunk* and a sharp pain shot through the upper scales of her back. *What the…* The guards were standing behind her. *Did they do this to me?* She felt really very woozy now, and fell over, landing in her twin’s lap. Eclipse told her to stay still. Then, with a swift movement, she yanked the dart out of her twin’s back, and tossed it across the room at Gems’ feet. Rainboom blinked awake again.

“We need more.” Crystal said, opening up her purple talons and revealing the talonfull of shards that Eclipse had mined the day before.

“You will enchant *all* of it.” she said to both twins, pointing to several low tables, each brimming with the orange jewels. Eclipse and Rainboom seated themselves on cushions that MineWings had brought in. Rainboom spotted Variscite near the end of the cluster that had come to see the two animi at work.

“Hi, Jokester!” she muttered. He grinned, and puffed out his chest as he had done two days ago. And suddenly she understood

“I refuse!” Rainboom said. Her voice rang out loud and clear in the cavern. Several MineWings folded up their large ears. “This is for the dragon, isn’t it? You want us to do the work for you, just so you can invade our home!” Variscite looked concerned. “*What are you talking about?”* He mouthed.

“Never!” spat Crystal. “We are just claiming what is ours. Guards, seize that dragonet! She has no idea what she is doing!” Eclipse weakly protested, but the guards shoved her aside. They held Rainboom under her wings, and, screaming and kicking, they dragged her out of the throne room. The cavern had gone silent.

“Begin!” called the Queen. Eclipse sighed, and started whispering the first spell of many. Her voice had gone by the time she was done, and the cavern filled with the eerie light. She slumped over, exhausted.

“It is done!” called the Queen. “He shall RIZE!

And just like that, the pieces flew off the tables and began clumping together in large groups. Eclipse watched in horror as they formed a giant dragon made of a dark black stone (obsidian perhaps?),  that rose over their heads in a towering heap. She recognized the piece from Beetle’s head, one of the smaller upper fangs curving down from it’s great maw. And the dragon spoke.

## Chapter Six

“Gems!” Eclipse called, turning around and around, looking with rising panic. Her tail slipped into the freezing water and she hopped backward in fright. She shivered as the cold immersed her. *Where is she? Did she abandon me already? Why can’t I find her with my telepathy?* Eclipse scuttled back to their bedroom. *Nope, not here. Maybe...the Throne Room?* She walked along the corridor with yellow jewels. And came out into a room that already had two dragons in it. Queen Crystal. And...Gems. She had lowered her head the moment Eclipse had strode in.

“I told her about the jewels.” Gems’s voice was quiet, and, for a moment, Eclipse wasn’t sure who she was talking to. But then, she realized that Gems was addressing her, her heart sank.

“Why?” Eclipse went up to Gems and nudged her. She didn’t budge.

“She needs to know. This isn’t about you, or me. My tribe needs help. You can save them.” Gems said.

“And, if you aren’t *willing*, there are always other options.” sneered the Queen triumphantly. “Guards! Bring in this insignificant useless lizard’s twin. I want all this done by sunset. It will be our salvation. Or... the cause of this dragon’s destruction.” Eclipse gasped as Rainboom got dragged into the room, sleeping, while the two guards dragged her across the floor. *How is she SLEEPING right now?! Oh my goodness, she* is *CRAZY!*

Then, as Rainboom slumped forward and muttered something that sounded like:

“*I don' wanna be a fermers daghtr mmla,”* Eclipse saw the black stain spreading from the center of her back between her wings. *A nutrelizer dart! How clever! And cruel. I gotta help her! But how?* Eclipse started to try and devise a plan, but before she could act on it, Queen Crystal caught her attention with a little,

“*ahem,*” and continued to speak as she gestured for the guards to put Rainboom down. As soon as they did, Eclipse rushed over to the collapsed body and laid Rainboom’s head on her lap gently, as not to injure her sleeping sister, and tried to heal her with her animus magic, but couldn’t.

“I see that you’ve noticed the animus-touched dart mark in your horrid sister’s back.”

“Animus touched? By who? And why can’t I heal her?” Eclipse asked the queen angrily, with tears streaming down her cheeks. The Queen snapped her talons with a smug look on her face, and almost immediately, a struggling Peacemaker came into the room, being held by two guards who weren’t flinching. The queen walked up to the dragon and with fake affection said,

“Oh, my great, great, great, great grandfather.

“He’s just kind enough to help me in my plan. I’m actually surprised that he’s still alive and healthy.” she slashed him with her huge claw. Blood dripped off her talons.

“Well, not any more.” As Peacemaker’s body fell limp, she walked back to her throne, smirking.

“How could you?!” screamed Eclipse, now enraged. “He was my parent’s friend, you know!!! And my...I don’t know how many greats grandfather!” Queen Crystal rolled her eyes.

“Like I said earlier, not any more. And we all know that I don’t like to repeat myself.” She said calmly, while gesturing to everybody in the room, who all nodded their heads.

Then, not being able to contain her anger, Eclipse leaped toward the queen, talons extended. But, before she landed, Gems flew in front of her mother, protecting her. Eclipse landed on the princess, but her claws didn’t make a scratch on her body. Then, Eclipse realized that Gems was different. Her scales were cold, and she was moving unnaturally. She was hovering stilly in midair, with nothing moving but her wings. Eclipse slid off of Gems’ body, then asked the queen,

“What have you done to her?”

“That, is none of your business.” the queen added snappily. “Call Stibnite. It is time to begin.”

## Chapter Seven

“All MineWings have been slaving away for generations! Hiding underground, mining minerals to trade with one another, for the meager food they had left in their possession. But did you know, my dear friends, that we happen to be descended from one of the greatest tribes to walk the Upper World? Yes my friends, we are NightWing/RainWings that have evolved! We are smarter, stronger, than the ones who came before us. And my friends, do you think we should take the Upper World?”

“YEAH!!!” came a great cheer from the audience.

“We shall crush our enemies in battle! We have the strongest army of all, composed of our magical NightWings! And the three animi!”

“She’s no servant of yours” hissed the Queen.

“Anyway, speaking of which, bring them in.” He broke off to twist his head around to look for them, scowling as she emerged from the passageway.

“Ah, there she is. I give you all...Eclipse and Rainboom!” This announcement was sided by a smattering of applause.

“And why should we fight your war?” Eclipse declared?

“Because we will crush you…” he muttered.

“And if we do agree… What should we call you? We’ll have to know each other’s names if we expect to work with you.”

He chuckled and said;

“Oh I am the great and powerful Stibnite!” He winked. “But *you* can call me Rocky!”

“Oh, well Rocky, I’m sorry, but we don’t agree, which is why we should *get out of here NOW!*” Rainboom (who was now feeling better,) took the hint, and together, they soared, talon in talon, toward the portal in the ceiling they knew, would take them home.

## Chapter Eight

         “Run!” called Rainboom as the two burst out into the forest. Rocky was on their tail, ripping up great tangles of vines that ensnared him in the densely packed jungle. They hid as they watched the great beast fumble around, uprooting trees, and getting his claws wrapped up in vines, sort of like spaghetti.

“I know I shouldn’t be enjoying this, but it's so funny to watch him blunder around, the great oaf.” Eclipse said, with a whole volley of giggles threatening to burst out and give away their hiding place. But it was already found. Variscite burst out of the bushes right next to them.

“I thought *we* were the camouflaged ones around here!” Eclipse complained. “Can dragons stop popping out of the bushes for once? Especially Variscite?” added Rainboom.

“There’s no time to talk now!” bursted Variscite.

“We have to get out of here!” then, he flew up above the trees and shouted to the blundering dragon,

“Oy! You big turtle! Come and get me!” Then, he waggled his large ears, sticking out his tongue, and flew back down to them. Stibnite became extremely angry, and he roared, tore off the vines, and started to tumble toward them in a rocky heap.

“You knew that he can’t fly, right?” asked Variscite, anxious.

“Yeah, and… oh! Flying is faster than running,” concluded Rainboom,

“So we can out-fly him!” finished Eclipse. They grinned crazily at each other. Then, Variscite burst through and yelled,

“Do you two know that we are being chased by a rock monster that is trying to kill us and, who is also only about thirty talonsteps for him away from us?!” Variscite was now in a furious rage as the twins snapped out of their trance and flew up to the sky as fast as they have ever flown, away from Stibnite, out of the Rainforest and toward help. Then, Beetle burst out of the clouds, scaring everybody.

“Beetle!” called the sisters as they soared up to the orange dragon. They both hugged him, and when Rainboom pulled away, she told him excitedly,

“You’ll never guess where we were!”

“You’ve been gone for three months! Where were you?!” asked Beetle, worried. Then, when Variscite couldn’t keep himself from asking a question any longer, he asked,

“Wait, you have a boyfriend? I thought *I* was your boyfriend!” Rainboom and Beetle looked shocked. Beetle a little offended.

“Me? Have a *boyfriend?* Never!” that made Variscite look a little less hopeful.

“What about a boyfriend? Oh. Duh, you guys like each other!” said Eclipse, as she soared ahead, and called down to them,

“Come on you guys! Rocky is blundering closer!” They all flew up to join her, and started to flap away.

“We have to warn all of the tribes in Pyrrhia!”

“Let’s warn the MudWings first.” Rainboom told Eclipse and the others, flying ahead of the group.

“Yeah! They're the closest tribe to the forest! And if we don’t…” Eclipse paused in fear. “They'll  get slain. The whole tribe…”

## Chapter Nine

         Eclipse and her friends (and, in one case, her sister), were racing against time. They had been flying for *hours*, yet the MudWing Queen’s palace never seemed to get any closer. Rainboom, who had sped ahead, was frowning.

“We should have been there already. I don’t like how this looks. Stibnite must be influencing the border, or something…” And just like that, Variscite smacked into a hard, transparent wall.

         MineWings had never been very good at flying anyway, but even with his overly large wings for his tribe, Variscite was still having problems. He tumbled out of the sky, and shrieking, Rainboom swerved to catch him.

         “Just as I thought,” said Beetle. He and Eclipse remained hovering in the sky, peering scornfully down at the two, who were now gaining height rapidly. “Trust that dirty little weasel to lock us in…” He broke off to growl at the thrashing Stibnite.

         “It's more than one thing to call him little, seeing as he’s more than ten times our size. But, all the same, I agree with you. This Rocky boy deserves what is coming the most.” By this time, the two lovers (as Eclipse thought of them), had caught up, and were hovering beside them.

         “It's not worth trying to break it, as Crystal’s and Stibnite’s magic combined are far more powerful than our’s.”

        “But, we should attempt it…” Rainboom started to say, then broke off. Already, large cracks were beginning to spiral out of the surface.

         “What the...Did I accidentally do a spell?” Eclipse said, but then realized it. *Rocky said the **three** animi. Who would be the third?* But this question was answered before Eclipse had time to blink. A cloud swept away, and Gems was revealed, muttering. Just then, a large *crash* sounded from behind Eclipse, and she turned around. There was now a dragon shaped hole in the dome.

          “Who did that?” asked Variscite, nervous. *Wait… the dome must have been Stibnite’s work, but then the dragon shaped hole in it must be someone else… but who?* Eclipse wondered, curious.

         “Gems!” shouted Rainboom, noticing the purple dragon after everyone else. Beetle looked at her.

         “Rainboom, are you okay? Because I’m pretty sure that crystals don’t grow in the sky…”

         “No, that’s Gems.” She said, pointing at the MineWing princess.

         “Good luck!” Gems cried, flinging one wing outward, toward her hole. “Now go, go! Stibnite is out of control! Save Pyrrhia for me!”

         “Well, we know *that* already.” muttered Variscite, as he sped toward the hole. As they neared, Eclipse slowed down instinctively, but the hole fit her body perfectly. As she came through, she stopped and hovered  at the other end. Rainboom and Variscite came through too, and last of all, Beetle. Even with his larger size, he still managed to fit. Actually, she realized that the hole was enlarging itself, until a full grown dragon could have come through, not just four dragonets.

         “Go, go!” Gems’s voice was muffled through the thick glass, but they needed no further warning. They flew on ahead, toward a MudWing city. As she looked over her shoulder at the faint purple silhouette, Eclipse had to remind herself. *I am doing this for my home. I **am not** disobeying this tribe I hardly know anything about. This is **my** choice.*  Still, she flew on, although her wings were growing sore. Grabbing a section of rock that she had found in the MineWing Kingdom, she rolled it across her shoulders, Turtle style.

         “Oh yay! We’re here!” She cried, as they landed in the central square.

         “You know,” said Variscite. “I’ve never really *felt* mud” he said, peering down at the dirty ground. They were perched up on a stone dais, and already, MudWings were beginning to gather on the dusty streets.

         “Ahem!” said Eclipse. The crowd began to assemble below them, chatting and talking. “Uh, you MudWings! A dragon is coming! Here, now! He’s aiming to destroy your entire tribe! Your homes! Your sibs!” She aimed this one at a MudWing troop, huddling nearby. They bore marks of war, as did much of the crowd. “And I know,” she said. “That many of you think that a dragon couldn’t *do* any of this! But, Stibnite is no ordinary dragon. Made from stone, he is ten times taller than *any* of us.” At these words, a MudWing dragonet shivered, perhaps imagining a towering dragon hovering above his home. “Um, yes! He will kill you! So help me, MudWings! The forest is under threat! Or, I guess, you might just be able to flee. *Although, SOME DRAGONS* might be helpful. Rally for war in say… ten minutes! Thank you! You are dismissed!”

## Chapter Ten

         The MudWings were clamoring, and moving around, and it was all too much for the twins to bear. They struggled and clenched their teeth, as wave after wave of thought slammed into them. Back in, and back out, like the real ocean. Strangely, most of the thoughts were jokes, as the MudWings began to prepare. Maybe they were trying to entertain themselves? *But I don’t wanna be a farmer's daughter!* rang out in Rainboom’s skull as she herself remembered that old saying/song thing running through her head as it had while she had been in that cavern. Just plain strange! With that she was able to focus, and send her calm thoughts to her sister, Eclipse, who was still covering her head with her wings.

         “Wow! You can read minds? What am I thinking *right now*?” *And I think that’s cool, that she can read minds and all. It makes me love her even more!* He sent, sticking his tongue out. and Rainboom giggled

         “Am I a total *goof*?” He said, grinning.

         “Um, yes! Actually, you remind me of my dad, when he first met my mom… Jokester.” As that old nickname rang out in the air, Rainboom forced herself to look away. Little pink bubbles were rising all around her underfed cheekbones.

         “Ooooo!” Eclipse sad with a rising tone, grinning mischievously. “You two like each other! And you’re gonna get *married*!” Eclipse said, which caused several MudWings to glance up at them. “And have *lots, and lots* of little dragonets together! My, my, they grow up so fast!” The pink darkened into a ugly shade of red, as Rainboom tried to keep her cool.

         “I’m technically *your* older sister…”

         “My odder sister!”

         “Thank you!” Shrugging, she turned toward Variscite, and muttered into his large ear. “Why do *I* put up with...THIS GLOATING YOUNGER SISTER BUSINESS? THIS IS CRAZY!!!”

         But then, a huge crash sounded from the forest as the RainWing village, suspended from the trees, became Stibnite’s new toy. The beautiful suntime platforms and hammocks shredded and splintered like paper. What looked like a huge cloud of birds spilled out of the tree tops, each a pale green. *The RainWings…* *Oh no!* Rocky swatted at them, the way you or I would swat at a fly. Several dragons tumbled out of the air, and then, she saw her father and her mother burst out of the swarm. She imagined a thin line of venom shooting out of Glory’s mouth, and was not surprised when Stibnite roared in humor.

          “HA HA! TRY AGAIN! STONE IS NOT A LIVING MATERIAL! I AM INVULNERABLE!!!”

She winced. Even across a whole kingdom, Stibnite’s ferocity wasn’t something you ever got used to (Unless you were Stibnite, apparently).

         “Oh, three moons!” she cried. “We gotta go save them!”

## Chapter Eleven

         Eclipse led the others who had volunteered to fight with her, while others went to get other tribes in the continent, and finally, the few dragons who were beginning to pour out of the cleared town to safer places with the oldest, sickest, or youngest leading the group. They flew toward the stone dragon, with nothing but their courage to use.

       “Y’know, there were some scavengers in the MineWing caverns that held these, like, tiny pointy hammers, and they would try to mine the rock that we had already claimed,” said Variscite, thinking.

         “Now is not the time to talk about those silly scavengers, rock-wing.” Beetle told Variscite rudely, with a scowl.

         “Wait a second…” Rainboom paused, thinking. *If scavengers have tools that work like MineWing claws, maybe we can enchant them to mine at Stibnite, and soon, he’ll be reduced to little crumbles of rock!* Rainboom ushered Eclipse over, and whispers in her ear the plan. And in eerie unusion, they both say, “ I enchant…” there was already tons of magic swirling out of their talons,

 “**All of the scavenger mining tools in the three continents of the dragon world to go and chase out all the dark evil in the heart of the stone dragon Stibnite, to mine him to his core, and to never have him return to his original form, EVER AGAIN!!!**” Their voices echoed off of each other, booming loudly. When it ceased, both of their eyes were a swirly opal white, and they were flying, back to back, in a swirling ball of their own magic, that got thicker and more opaque as they added more swirling strands of magic to it. The ball was glowing brightly, literally impossible to go unnoticed. That, unfortunately, was when Stibnite noticed, his beady eyes (actually quite big,) turning toward the mass of swirling magic.

       “What is THAT?!?” His voice rose with anger as he forgot about the swarming RainWings and moves toward the group staring at the ball hovering in the air. He ran-stumbled toward the swirling mass, infuriated. “ARE THEY TRYING TO RID OF ME?!” Inside the almost-opaque ball, Rainboom turned her head, peering at the rumbling dragon with her milky eyes. As she saw him, she forgot about the spell, and remembered the other reasons they were there. The ball started to dissipate and the twin’s eyes both turned back to normal, and then rolled back into their heads as they fell unconscious. The magic swirled in intricate designs as it spiraled off to do its purpose. The twins fell through the air, plummeting to the ground as the wind swirled around them. Variscite dove to catch Rainboom, and in a hard struggle, he flaps his wings, the navy dragon in his arms, her head lolling to the side. Beetle yelped. Eclipse was still plummeting towards the ground, unconscious. “Catch her!!!” He shouted at the flat brown snouts, panicked. Many MudWings dove to catch her, but only one successfully caught the dragon. Eclipse woke from the impact to a brown-blue face smiling at her. Eclipse, startled, leaps out of the dragon’s talons, flying clumsily out of her reach.

         “Oww…” She said, rubbing the forming bruise. Her head plating had protected her from impact, but it wasn’t thick enough to prevent the lump that ached and glinted pinkish bronze in the light.

         “Where are we?” She was now purple from curiosity, but with the remaining white streaks of pain on her wings and tail.

         “Hi, I’m Erosion.” said the simple MudWing hovering before her. But no… Not a MudWing. She had blue streaks covering her body, with webbed talons and thin gills on the sides of her thick neck. “You were in the Mud Kingdom, remember? You gave a big lllooonng speech about kingdoms, and this dragon...Stibnite, was it?” Noticing Eclipse’s questioning glance, she went on to explain that she was just visiting, and that she was a SeaWing/MudWing hybrid, and therefore, could technically do whatever she wanted, because her parent’s fate, after they had her egg, had not yet been determined.

       “I don’t even *know* them! My own family I mean!”

        “Well,” said Eclipse. “We have to go save mine.” *Before we lose anyone else…* She had now regained her ability to fly, and that's exactly what they did, wings whisking through the cotton-ball clouds, soft and poofy. *After this is over… I should enchant myself. To play in the clouds...With Rainboom, the way we did when we were younger. Well, when **she** was younger.* Eclipse gritted her jaws and hung back, to brush wingtips with her sister. Scowling, Eclipse noted that all Rainboom ever did now was talk with her *boyfriend,* that Variscite. Rainboom hadn’t even been talking to *her* in like, five minutes. *She didn’t even see if I was okay…* She thought, gingerly rubbing the patch of scales that ached the most. *Oh carefree, pampered Rainboom. Well, no.*

    “ I can hear you! Don’t forget that I can read minds! I was knocked out when you fell!” shouted Rainboom. Eclipse ignored her. There was one problem. And it was getting closer, with each step, knocking over trees and stepping on vegetation, leaving huge talonmarks left in the dirt.

*What if it doesn’t work?* She thought guilty about, in much later times, Stibnite forming, piece by piece. *Oh poor, beloved Peacemaker.* She wondered if he was even still alive. Then, she spotted a little brownish-purplish-gray speck shooting towards them from behind. “Does anybody know who or what that thing is?” Eclipse asked the nervous dragons around her. Everybody turned, looking at the mass of strange colors that was quickly growing bigger as it got closer. Some of the MudWings started to panic, while others took their war stance, and while still others stayed where they were, staring, transfixed on the blob. Soon, Eclipse could make out little brown sticks with arrowish heads sticking out of them inside the purple blob. Variscite squinted. “I think those are what I thought they were.” he said. “Scavenger mining tools.” said all of the three dragons in unison. They zoomed over their heads and flew towards the confused Stibnite, staring at it. Then, the mining tools grew to be dragon-sized, and started to chop at his everywhere. “NOOOOOO! WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME!?” he screamed over and over again as he shrunk to dragonet size for a giant rock dragon.

    “Welp,” said Rainboom, “I guess that’s the end of him!”   She started to fly closer towards Stibnite with Variscite, because he was still a good twenty talonsteps (For him!) away. **Hey Rainboom**. She sent. **You know we still have to check back in the MineWing’s kingdom…** Rainboom paused in her conversation with Variscite, and Eclipse thought she had gotten the message. But Rainboom didn’t acknowledge it, as she usually would. *That's...weird. Can’t she hear me? Or is she just ignoring me, because of that stupid Variscite?* And Rainboom turned, wheeled around in the air. Her eyes were a pitch black, and glittered faintly, like lumps of coal.

## Chapter Twelve

         “You will come to me!” Rainboom hissed. “By twilight all this shall be done. There will be *no* more animi in *all* of Pyrrhia! And *that’s* when we Draconi will strike! And take back a continent, that should have been ours. We’ve collected all of our jewels, so why not take yours? Even if I don’t survive, my tribe can still do what is right!” His/Her voice was tight with pain as he/she said this. Stibnite had possessed Rainboom, and she couldn’t think freely and it seemed the whole thing was Eclipse’s fault.

         “Wait, wait, wait. What’s a ‘Draconi’? Why can’t you invade Pantala instead?” Erosion asked, coming up next to them when she noticed they had slowed down. All the MudWings had flown ahead, but they remained, hovering in the sky, above a clump of scraggly trees that had strangely shaped shadows

          “And you still might destroy us.” Eclipse broke in “That makes you lots of enemies on this continent.” *Where we’re supposed to be at peace. Our continent has had a lot of mishaps, **but** I thought we got past all this???* Stiboom glared and snarled at Eclipse. *Oh, yeah. Now that he possesses Rainboom’s body, he can read minds. But I can too...* She tried hopelessly to get through that thick wall of thorns that hid Stibnite’s secrets. *Rainboom, you are still in there! Please, come out and be my sister again. You just have to believe!*

         “A; Pantala has the most *terrible* gems, B; For your information, wait no. It’s time to act! Quickly, follow me to the forest. And if you don’t,” Stiboom flicked a claw in Eclipse’s direction. “Your parents will die…”

         “You mean, *our* parents. Rainboom, you are not...This thing, arrrgh! Why are we flying toward you? Is it because you’re mad about the pickaxes? I’m sorry about that, but you are trying to destroy our home, *and* you threatened to kill our

parents!”

         “I see myself!” Stiboom suddenly cried out. The huge statue had what looked like wisps of smoke surrounding his body and as they got closer he bellowed in outrage. *The pickaxes!*  They were swarming around every available space and the dragon was shrinking, slowly, bit by bit. The cracks on his ears, wings, and tail were widening, and huge expanses of rocks were tumbling down like meteorites.  They were now flying between his legs, and climbing up to brush his underbelly, as his shrinking claws swiped at them, now about as big as them. And then, Variscite dove a particularly low dive, and a huge boulder fell. Right. On. Top. Rainboom screamed, tears working their way down her cheeks. Eclipse mourned for her sister and the love she had just found, only to have it taken away.

         “NO! VARISCITE!!! This can’t be the end, it can’t *be.*” The twins embraced each other, sobbing at the foot of the boulder that took Variscite’s life. Meanwhile, the rest of the MudWing army helped to knock off more stones, until, finally, he was reduced to a dragon sized statue. The now puny Stibnite was dragged to the foot of the twins, who caught each other’s eye. They know Stibnite’s fate.

## Epilogue

         “What!? The end of the great Stibnite!? Never!! You lie!!” The MineWing Queen scowled down at a subject who has just come to her chamber, bringing news from the Rainforest.

         “Yes, my Queen. Reduced by the scavenger mining tools, known as pickaxes. He now stands, a frozen statue in the RainWing village.” The speaker was a greenish black color, with blue brimming his spine. His wings were a little bit undersized, but his ears were oversized. He had a gem on his snout and more swarming down his spine.

         “Now that our portal is closed, thanks to Eclipse and Rainboom… But they live in Pyrrhia… Or else… Send them to the LavaWings!”