Whispers of the Bloody

**This is Book One of the The Shattered Series.**

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Book ONE: Whispers of the Bloody

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“You must do *anything* and *everything* to achieve your destiny. If not, you will be killed, like the rest of your foolish family.”

> -Queen Talon of the Shatteredwings
>
>

## Prologue

Talon felt relaxed from her long nap.

She flexed her claws, not worrying that the blood from Ulak’s murder still shone. *He deserved to die,* she told herself. *He didn’t follow his destiny, and because of him, my mother is dead.*

*I am queen now.*

*I will show other my power unlike my mother.*

*She is unlike me. She was weak and foolish at times. She let other dragons rebel and dragons like Ulak stray from their destiny.*

*This will not happen with me. I will show these puny dragons who I am.*

She smiled at her devious plan; it was going to work perfectly, even if the dragons didn’t like it.

Talon was interrupted by the door slowly creaking open.

“Your Magesty,” it was Heron. His black and white scales did not match the appearances of other Skywings, their scales being a firey-orange color, but Talon still loved him. His amber eyes gleamed with pride. “Your people await.”

Talon purred. “You know, you don’t have to call me Your Magesty,” she said humbly, raising her tail and curling it with his.

“Oh, but I must,” Heron insisted playfully. Talon smiled elatedly, resting slightly under Heron’s wing.

He changed the subject, his voice serious now. “Are you ready for the people to follow their destiny?”

“Yes. I am ready, no matter what,” Talon said it firmly and without hesitation. She was glad someone believed in her.

Heron looked down at Talon’s claws, blood still covering the reddish ground of the castle.

“You must get you claws cleaned,” he whispered. “You don’t want your people to be afraid of you.”

“Of course,” Talon smiled on the outside, almost laughing. “I almost forgot.”

On the inside, though, she didn’t care whether the blood was still on her paws. Ulak deserved to die, and all that mattered was that *she* was queen now. Even if the dragons were afraid, her plan would unfold.

After she was done cleaning her claws, Heron briefly brushed her snout against Talon’s.

“Good Luck,” Heron murmured. “I love you.”

“Thank you.” Talon sighed happily. “I love you too.”

Talon looked at Heron mischievously, as if she knew a secret. “I have to tell you something.”

Heron returned Talon’s gaze. “Anything,” he said, standing up. Talon stood up too.

Talon smiled elatedly again. “Quag told me I’m expecting dragonets. *Our dragonets*.”

Heron blinked in amazement. “I’m going to be a father,” he murmured.

He then shouted louder, brushing his snout against hers. “I’m going to be a father!”

“Sorry for the sudden surprise, but I thought it was best to tell you now.” Talon said, still bursting with happiness.

Heron closed his eyes in satisfaction. “You don’t need to apologize. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.”

Talon blinked happily and smiled. *We’re going to be a family.*

She suddenly jumped to alert, as if she just snapped out of a daze.

“Heron!! The dragons!! The are waiting!!” She yelped.

Heron open his eyes wide in realization. “Oh my! You’re right!” He said. “Go! Go! I’ll be right behind you!”

Talon nodded, overjoyed that her reign was finally going to begin. She ran out of her ‘room’, stretching her wings and soaring into the blue and cloudless sky. The Royal Pavilion wasn’t faraway, and Talon would be there soon.

When Talon arrived, several guards escorted her to the Pavilion. The Pavilion was this gigantic balcony with no railings. It was so big that it contained a small forest in the center.

When Talon arrived, all the dragons cheered loudly. Talon smiled with relief.

*Finally. I will show them who I am.*

Talon spoke, raising her wings as she did. “Fellow dragons and dragonets—”

But Talon was interrupted. Interrupted by a loud screech. She looked up to the sky and........

A dragon was falling from the sky. And, coincidentally, the dragon landed on the pavilion.

Blood was smeared on the floor as Talon approached the dragon. She turned the dead body over.

Heron. *It was Heron*.

And that is what started Talon’s never-ending rage.

And also what started the ShatteredWar.

## Chapter 1

The heat of my scales woke me up.

As usual.

I’m Flare, a MudWing dragonet with too much fire (like Peril, if you know who she is). I detest it.....but sometimes I *enjoy* it. Well, I’m *sort of* a MudWing, because I have SkyWingish scales (they probably have to do with my firescales) and I don’t.......don’t really enjoy mud.

Also, I’m going to school in the middle of a war. Fun, huh?

I heave myself out of the dip in the cave. I feel the sizzle of my claws slightly burning the stone. I duck my head and fold my wings as I squeezed through the small entrance from my cave to the Dining Room. As I come out, my mother, Scorchwind, was there; she was roasting a cow for breakfast.

“Hello dear,” She said in between breathing fire, “How was your sleep?”

“Good,” I mumble.

When she was done, Scorchwind hurried over to the built-in shelves and grabbed some black rocks. She placed them in from of me, being careful not to get too close to my scales.

“You had two yesterday, right?” My mom asks with concern.

“Yup,” I say. I swallow the black rocks with ease. I feel a slight cooling under my scales.

Once I’m done, I hear a dragon fumbling out of one of the tunnels. It was Maroon, my older brother.

“Hey mom. Hey Flare.” He half-flies half-walks towards us. He smiles towards me and nods towards mom.

Mom gives Maroon a cow, and he devours it hungrily. She then—cautiously—slides a raw cow towards me.

“I thought you would like to burn it,” She says casually.

“Yeah, I would,” I agree. I slowly touch it with my talons, and instantly it starts sizzling and turning a brownish-black. Smoke emits from the burned places.

To be honest, my scales have (and still) fascinated me.

“Hey Flare, are you excited for Star-Claw Academy?” Maroon asks, waving his tail with excitement.

“Yeah.....I suppose,” I replied. Honestly, I don’t know how school’s going to go. I don’t think other dragons will be fond of me.

Maroon smiles. “You’ll be fine. Do you know what dragonets you’re with?”

“No.”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Maroon says thoughtfully. I finish eating my cow.

Mom shuffles towards us. “Are you guys ready?”

Maroon and I nod.

“Alright,” She sighs. “Let me show you the tunnel.”

~

A few minutes later, we find ourselves at a network of tunnels.

“The biggest one is always the one that leads to the school,” Mom says. “Follow it until you arrive.”

I didn’t get why we couldn’t fly to school. “Mom, why can’t we fly to school?”

Mom accidentally rests her tail on mine and immediately flinches. “The war is too dangerous,” she says simply.

I nod, taking a deep breath. “Bye mom.”

“Bye sweetie.” She smiles and then rests her snout on Maroon, and I feel a pang of jealousy. *If I do that to anyone I’d burn them,* I think sadly.

Mom turns and heads back towards our cave.

Maroon looks at me with a soft gaze. “You’ll be great,” He whispers.

“I hope,” I mutter, looking down at my claws. My scales have already turned the rock black.

“Well then, let’s go!” He exclaims, and it echoes throughout the cave. I can’t help but feel *a tiny* bit excited. This is the first time I’m going to meet new dragons.

I dash after Maroon and prepare myself.

## Chapter 2

Once the tunnel ends, we arrive at this colossal underground place. I walk up the steps, trying not to hear the *sizzle pop crack* of my scales burning the ground. When I enter inside, its a moderately-sized room with a long desk at the side. Several dragons were reciving scrolls.

“I’ve got to go over there,” Maroon flicks his tail over to another long table. “I’ll see you after school.”

My stomach tightens at the thought of being by myself in a new place with my.....you know...firescales.

“Bye,” I whisper. Maroon waves his wings and walks toward the other table. I shift my claws uncomfortably, waiting for my turn.

“OW!” Some dragon suddenly screams. The scream gets the attention of all the dragons. I see Maroon closing his eyes in anxiety. I turn around slowly.

*Please don’t be my scales, please don’t be my scales, please don’t be my scales!*

But yup, it’s my scales.

What appears to be an RainWing is looking at me with wild eyes, and bright violets and reds emerged on her scales. “W-what the h-heck is wrong with your scales?” The dragon asks, horrified.

I always pictured it like this, me having to explain to every dragon about my scales.

Reality is no different.

“I have firescales,” I explain loudly. “I was born with too much fire.”

The dragon seems to relax, and others continue with their conversation, glancing at me nervously.

“Sorry,” She says. “I just—”

“No, it’s fine,” I reassure her. “I’ve expected this.”

A dragon—an IceWing—at the desk interrupts us. “Name please?” He says, referring to me.

“I—um—Flare,” I stammer. “Um—MudWing dragon.”

The IceWing sifts through some scrolls on the wall, and then he brings one out.

“Well, Flare, you are in the Star Winglet,” He says. “Here are your classes,” he reaches for another scroll and folds it in the other scroll, “I’m Coldclaw, by the way. I’m sort of the assistant around here.” He grinned and handed me the scroll.

*Oh shoot.*

You could guess by know that because I have firescales.....well.....I literally burn everything I touch.

Including scrolls.

I awkwardly juggle the scroll and whenever I tried to catch it the scroll would burn. Suddenly, the RainWing I had been talking to catches the scroll in her jaws.

“Thanks,” I whisper gratefully.

“No problem,” Her voice is muffled by the scroll.

She drops it on the desk and I wait until she gets her scales. Coldclaw then calls me over.

“Flare—”.

“Yeah?” I turn towards him.

“I see you have *fire*scales,” Coldclaw says.

“Yes,” I say cautiously. “What about them?”

“I’m going to have to talk to a teacher about you. We need to see what we can do.”

“What *can* you do?” I say, raising my eyebrows.

“We’ll I think we can devise a plan for you to get around and complete your safely.” He explains.

I nod and leave the desk. I glance upwards and see that there are tens of floors raising upwards towards the dark top of the cavern.

“C’mon!” The RainWing dragon shouts. She was on the second floor. “Let’s go find our cave!”

“Are you in the Star Winglet?” I ask.

“Of course!”

“Okay.” I nervously stretch out my wings, hoping I didn’t touch anyone with them. Did I ever tell you I have never flown before?

I glance up at the railing, eyeing my target, and I jump.

It wasn’t much, but it was the *best* feeling. I quickly reach the balcony.

“I’m Bryce, by the way,” The RainWing says.

“Nice name,” I say, grinning. “You know my name.”

“Yes, yes I do. Now, come on!” Bryce pads down a winding tunnel; I follow her.

## Chapter 3

 /We end up in a small cave. Which leads to another small cave.

*My cave. Probably so I don’t burn anyone.*

Bryce sniffs around while I check out my cave.

It was okay, a round room with a small cleft in a rock where I would sleep.

“What are we going to do now?” I ask.

“We could go exploring,” Bryce suggests.

“Where are we going to go?”

“Well—” She fumbles through her scrolls, “—there’s the Art Cave, the Prey Center—”

“The Prey Center,” I say almost immediately. I want to show Bryce what I can do.

“Sure. After, let’s go to the Art Cave.” As Bryce says this, she has an exciting glint in her eye.

I suddenly hear a *sizzle pop crack* below me, and I look down at my claws.

They have already burnt the rock and smoke was emitting off it.

“Oops,” I fluster, quickly walking out of the cave.

“To the prey cave!” Bryce shouts behind me, and I laugh.

We found our way to the Prey Cave. To my surprise, only a few dragons were there. Several Chickens ran about, squawking and screeching.

“Watch,” I say to Bryce proudly. I immediately pounce on a speedy chicken, and the chicken stops in my claws. It screeches as I burn it with my talons.

A few seconds later it was burnt to a crisp. A good crisp, one that tastes just right when you eat it.

“Want it?” I ask coolly, turning to Bryce. Bryce looks amazed as she takes the crispy chicken.

“Woah,” She murmurs. “I wish I could do that.” I smile.

“I wish I could do that too,” A voice says. I turn around sharply, a little flustered.

“It’s a great hunting technique,” A lithe and shiny SandWing was sitting on the edge of a huge boulder. Her eyes shone with amazement as well. “I’m Savvy. The teacher of Hunting. And I have to say, that is a great power you have. Especially for hunting. I look forward to seeing you in my class.”

“T-thanks,” I stammer, unaccustomed to the praise.

Savvy jumps down, and I see a huge scar forged down her wing. I gasp as I realize her Wing was torn in half.

“Don’t worry,” She rumbles, “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

I nod, flabbergasted. “I-I am looking forward to being in your class.”

Savvy nods. “Thank you.”

I turn to Bryce. “Do you want to go to the Art Cave?”

“Yes.” Bryce lights up. She must like art.

“I’ll see you both later,” Savvy says, returning to her perch.

“Bye,” Bryce and I say as we dash to the Art Cave.

~

I realize why there was no one in the Prey Center.

They are all *here*.

SeaWings, NightWings, MudWings, RainWings, SandWings, and IceWings were crowded into the large room, all focused on drawing.

My heart sinks as I realize that I can’t draw.

Because of my claws.

As we cross the sea of dragons, I literally turn myself into a ball so I don’t hurt anyone with my scales. Still, I see some dragons recoil from the heat. I stifle a sigh.

As we get to a large table, I sit down by a NightWing, who looks forlorn.

“Are you...okay?” I ask him.

He immediately snaps to attention, as if some dragon hit him.

But then—

He bumps his wing on *mine*.

I brace for instant screaming........but nothing happens. I open my eyes, and he’s standing there, blinking in surprise.

“Is everything okay?” He asks.

I turn to Bryce, and she looks the same way as me.

“I—um—it’s just—” I stammer.

“Oh,” He suddenly smiles a tiny bit. “I’m kinda fireproof. My dad knows you would be here, so he gave me a potion.”

“Wow,” I breathe. “Wait. How does your dad know—”

“My dad, Deathfighter, is a seer,” He says, a little embarrassed. “He saw you. He knows you have firescales.”

“Cool!” exclaims Bryce, in awe. “Are you a seer?”

He looks down, forlorn again. “I’m supposed to be one,” He mutters sadly.

“So....What happened?” Bryce asks, and I feel like I should tread on her tail for bombarding the NightWing’s personal space.

“......nothing. I just......can’t......do it.” He wraps his tail around his claws and looks away.

I decide to step up. “It’s okay. You’ll learn,” I say softly. “What winglet are you in?”

“Star Winglet. Why?” He asks, seeming to feel a little bit better.

“So are we!!” Bryce shouts elatedly. But what makes me laugh is when she accidentally steps on my tail and yelps, recoiling in fright. “What’s your name?” I ask.

“I’m Dreamhunter,” He smiles. “You?”

“I’m Flare,” I whisper. I glanced around at the bustling dragons, trying to avoid eye contact. I realize, with a bit of embarassment, that Dreamhunter’s eyes are really pretty—an unusual, sparkling pale yellow.

“I’m Bryce!” The RainWing shouts excitedly. “Dreamhunter—what a cool name!!”