Legend of the AnimusWings

By: TheEggy (previously Circe the AnimusWing)

## Chapter One

Crimson had an eerie feeling, and it was *not* because she was staying in Queen Everest's palace. *Something bad is going to happen today,* she thought. *Something* very *bad.* Then, she heard a knock at the door, and Queen Everest entered the room.

"Crimson, I would like you to reconsider my offer," said the Queen. "I could really use an Animus to help me rule the SkyWings," Crimson shuddered at the word Animus. That one word sent a massive chill down her spine. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't care. That wasn't important now. She knew it would be dangerous to deny the Queen's offer, but she also didn't want to work for Queen Everest, who was starting to look impatient.

"I'm sorry, my queen, but I simply cannot accept," Crimson replied simply. Queen Everest's nostrils flared. "You *will* accept. I order it!" the Queen growled. "Your magic will be so, very useful to me. I- that- oh, fine. You will stay in my castle, though," When she left, Crimson was extremely confused. Why had the Queen wanted Crimson to work for her so badly? Why had she changed her mind so quickly? And why did she want Crimson to stay in the castle? *Something is very, very, wrong,* she thought.

Later, Crimson went downstairs to eat dinner with the royal family and some important SkyWings. She was hoping that she might be able to get answers to some of the questions in her head. She could hear everyone chatting and laughing, but she also heard another noise. The sound of the "click-click" of talons on the floor, and faint hissing that was growing louder and louder. She turned around just in time to see a flame-colored dragon barreling into her. Crimson struggled, but her opponent had her pinned.

"Who are you?" the dragon hissed. "I-I'm-" "Silence! Save it for the Queen," he interrupted. "Inferno! What is going on?" the Queen demanded. Inferno shoved Crimson into the dining room, and the Queen sighed. "Inferno, that is my Animus, Crimson. Crimson, that is Inferno, and this is Fury, Garnet, and Flare," she said as she gestured toward the table where her guests were sitting. Crimson walked to the table and sat in an empty seat next to Princess Storm. Her mouth started watering as the delicious smell of food wafted up her snout. She looked at Queen Everest, who eventually nodded, to show everyone that they could eat. The food was delicious, in fact, it was so good, Crimson completely forgot about the strange feeling she had that morning, and didn't notice any of the glares Inferno shot at her.

"Well, that was wonderful!" exclaimed Queen Everest. "I had just the grandest time tonight, but it's time that we all should go to bed. I hope we can do this again! Goodbye!" she said. All of her guests said goodbye, and then walked out of the room. Then, Queen Everest addressed Crimson, and they both went to their rooms. As soon as Crimson lay down, she remembered all her troubling thought and worries. But, she soon drifted off to sleep and had dreams of endless worries, for sleep for her was not a place of peace.

Crimson dreamed of a gorgeous female dragon, whose scales were every color of the rainbow, and who seemed to radiate magic. She was running, her eyes filled with worry. Then, Crimson saw what she was running from. A thick fog seemed to be reaching out to her, trying to swallow her in it's denseness. It was gaining on her fast, until finally, the fog swallowed her. But before the fog did, she screamed: "Inferno! You traitor!".

Them, Crimson woke with a jolt, the memory of her dream still clear in her mind. *That dream must've been important. It must've meant something. I wonder who Inferno really is?* she thought, wondering what her dream symbolized, and what terrible thing was about to happen.

For the next day she tried and tried to figure out what her dream meant, but eventually she gave up and read scrolls in her room. Her favorite one was: The Animus Medallion, which was about a SkyWing dragonet named Cloud found a magical medallion that turned him into an Animus. She loved how it described how wonderful his life was, once he became an Animus. Her life was anything but easy, and Animus magic only made it harder. She was so deep in her thoughts, that she didn't notice Queen Everest enter the room, with an urgent look on her face.

"Crimson, I need you to go talk to Queen Sahara," said Queen Everest "Me? Talk to the Queen of the SandWings? Why?" she asked. "Just go!" the Queen demanded. Puzzled, Crimson flew all the way to the SandWing fortress for an unknown reason.

## Chapter Two

As Crimson flew toward the Kingdom of Sand, she went through all the possible reasons why Queen Everest had wanted her to do this in her head. Suddenly, she looked up, and saw a SandWing in armor flying toward her, with an annoyed look on her face. As she got closer, Crimson realized that she must have come for her.

"Ahem. You must be our SkyWing guest, the Animus, right? I am General Agave," Agave greeted her. "Nice to meet you, General. My name is Crimson," she replied. Agave showed her the rest of the way to the SandWing fortress, and told her about how urgent this was. Crimson ignored her, and kept on wondering why she was even going to see the SandWing queen in the first place. And why *her*, of all dragons? *Because I'm an Animus,* Crimson thought bitterly. *That's all they care about me. My power.* Crimson and Agave flew for much longer, until finally, they reached the SandWing fortress.

"Alright. We're here. This is it, the SandWing fortress," said Agave. They flew inside, and Crimson gazed at all the gorgeous tapestries on the wall of deserts, and sunsets. The castle was nice, but Crimson still liked the SkyWing palace more. Then Agave pushed open two huge doors, and when Crimson walked inside, she saw Queen Sahara sitting on her throne.

"Presenting to you, Queen Sahara and Princess Dawn of the SandWings!" announced a handsome SandWing on the side of the room. "Oh," said Queen Sahara. "You must be the Animus that Queen Everest was telling me about. It's a pleasure to meet you," "Same to you, Your Majesty. My name is Crimson, and, if I may ask, how has Queen Everest told you about me?" she said. "We write to each other," the Queen answered sternly. "Anyways, as you probably know, I do not have *any* Animuses, which is why I needed you" she continued "Fennec, bring in the strange dragon," she ordered the dragon on the side of the room. Fennec immediately rushed out the big doors to find that "strange dragon". Crimson waited for what seemed like forever with the Queen's eyes on her. Finally, Fennec came back.

Crimson gasped, loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear. Standing beside Fennec was the prettiest, but strangest dragon Crimson had ever seen or read about. This dragon made RainWings look like MudWings. She was also very strange, because she radiated pure magic, and not just any magic, but Animus magic. She was so gorgeous, that Crimson realized she was holding her breath. The dragon just smiled and winked at her.

"What is that!?" Crimson gasped, once again. "*That*," said Fennec, "Is an AnimusWing, which is the eighth Pyrrhian tribe," He said firmly. "But, that can't be! There are only seven tribes on Pyrrhia, and there always have been that many! No more, no less," she burst out. Finally, the so-called AnimusWing spoke. "My tribe was just recently been made, by pure Animus magic. That's why we call ourselves AnimusWings! My name is Sorcery," she said. For a long time Sorcery explained about her tribe, and how her queen was Queen Fantasy. After that, Queen Sahara said that she wanted Crimson to come here so she could talk to the AnimusWings, because she was an Animus.

"Um, let's go, Crimson. We can talk, but just wait right here for a second, okay?" Sorcery stuttered. She went into a different room, and Crimson could only wonder what she was doing, so she walked to the room that Sorcery had went into, and pressed her ear against the door. She could tell that there were other dragons in the room, but all she could make out of the talking was: "Yes, my queen.", and "well, maybe that's not the best plan.". Then, Crimson heard someone walk towards the door, and she dashed back to the spot where Sorcery had told her to wait. She peeked around the corner, and saw Sorcery coming out the door, with a very queenly posture, then, Crimson watched as she walked back towards her. *What is she hiding?* Crimson thought.

"Sorry about that! I was just asking my queen if you could come talk to her," said Sorcery. Crimson followed her back to the place where she had gone into before, and inside was more AnimusWings, and one wearing a gorgeous silver tiara with moonstones in it. *That's Queen Fantasy.* thought Crimson. *She must be so powerful. If she decided that the other seven tribes were a threat to her's, she could easily obliderate us. Although, she looks nice. I think she might want to help us instead. Oh, think of all the power we'd have! That would be so amazing.*

Suddenly, a voice inturrupted her thoughts. "Oh! You must the Animus!" said the Queen. Crimson noticed the Queen looked way younger than Sorcery, but the two seemed really close, almost like family, and Queen Fantasy kept looking at Sorcery with worried eyes. *Can they be- no. No way. Why would the AnimusWings tell a little lie like that? What good would that do? No. They only want to help. That's it.* Crimson talked with the AnimusWings more, and just like she thought, Queen Fantasy told her that the AnimusWings only wanted to help the other tribes. After that, she talked to Queen Sahara, then chatted casually with Agave and Fennec, who turned out to be really nice, especially Fennec.

Crimson walked back to her room, and then plopped down on a cushion and sighed. *I wonder if I can stay just one more day*, Crimson thought. *I want to figure out if the AnimusWings are lying to me, and see Fennec more. I wonder if I'll be able to see him after I go back to the SkyWing palace. It's an awful long way away.* Then, a picture of Inferno popped into her thoughts, and all her previous worries started coming back to her, so much that she started to get a headache. She walked over to the wall, and picked a scroll of the shelf. It was Secrets in the Sand, which was a story about a SandWing who dug in the sand, and found underground passegways that extended all around SandWing territory. Crimson unrolled it and started to read until it was very late. She eventually fell asleep and had dreams filled with angry AnimusWings, and SandWings stuck in tunnels.

## Chapter Three

"Crimson. Crimson, wake up" said a voice. Crimson slowly sat up and looked around. Light was streaming through her window, and there was Fennec. "What is it, Fennec?" she said groggily. "I have something to show you. Follow me!" he replied. Crimson followed him, even though she wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep. Fennec flew swiftly up to the top of the highest tower, and stood on the balcony. Crimson followed after, stopping next to him. Then, Fennec pointed to the sun, and when Crimson looked in that direction, she saw the prettiest thing she had ever seen in her intire life, way prettier than the most beutiful AnimusWing. The sunrise. It was so gorgeous, that Crimson was speechless for quite a while, and I can't even put it into words. She stared and stared at the sun, as it melted away all her worries, and fears, and all the bitter thoughts she had ever had. Everything inside her was warm now.

"FENNEC! It's- it's gorgeous, well more than gorgeous!" she announced. "I know. That's why I brought you here, before you leave," Crimson detected a hint of sadness in his tone when he said it. "It would be a shame if you went all the way to the Sand Kingdom without seeing our famous sunrise," Fennec continued. "Thank you *so* much. I will never forget this, Fennec," she replied. "Well, have a safe trip- and, come back sometime," "Don't worry Fennec, I will," Crimson waved to Fennec as she flew away, and Fennec waved back. *Then I guess I am really leaving today. I'll go tell Queen Sahara and Queen Fantasy,* Crimson thought. As she flew back to the throne room, she felt weighed down. *That was so nice of Fennec. I can't believe he did that, I mean, I know it was just waking me up to see a sunrise but, WOW. Did I even say thank you? Probably not,* Crimson thought.

"Oh, Crimson, today can you convince the AnimusWings to ally with me, and find out everything you can about them? I want a full report about it by the end of the day. You will leave tomorrow," Queen Sahara asked. "Yes, Your Majesty. But, can't you- nevermind," she replied. Crimson then walked to the room where the AnimusWings, preparing herself for a day of boredem. As her talons click-clacked on the stone floor, she heard another dragon approaching. He looked like any other SandWing, yet there was something about him that was so very familiar.

"Oh, hello. You must be the visiting Animus. My name is Heatwave. It's a pleasure to meet you," said Heatwave. He said this in a polite tone, yet Crimson saw a glint of anger and annoyance in his eye. "Um... Nice to meet you to. Now, I really have to go," Crimson stammered. She didn't *have* to go, but there was something about being near him that made her scales prickle. *I know I've seen him before, but where? Oh! Inferno! He looks like Inferno! But, that doesn't mean anything. It's probably just a coincidence,* Crimson thought. She hurried past Heatwave, and kept walking until she got to the room with all the AnimusWings. As soon as she stepped in, she noticed that something was wrong. Queen Fantasy wasn't wearing her crown, or any of her jewelry, and she didn't look queenly like the last time Crimson had seen her.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but I've come to talk to you about allying with the SandWings," said Crimson. Queen Fantasy immediatly straighted herself, and said: "No. Not at all. I- we would love to talk to you," she mumbled. "Is something wrong? I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have barged in," said Crimson. The Queen looked like really sick. "I need to go," she muttered, and then stumbled away. Sorcery followed close behind her. For the rest of the day, Crimson talked to the other AnimusWings about their abilities and history. Then she went and reported back to Queen Sahara, who was not pleased. After that, she sat down to read a scroll about SandWing treasure, but her mind quickly strayed away. *I should probably check on Queen Fantasy. Yes. I'll do that,* she thought. As she walked down the hallway, she stopped outside a door that seemed to have to dragons in it, talking.

"Mother. I- I think some one put a spell on me. It all happened so soon. But who..." said the Queen. "You pea-brain. There's only one Animus, beside's us," responded Sorcery. "You really think it's Crimson? Well, I trust you, Mother. I hope you're not right, though," said Queen Fantasy, in a scratchy voice. Sorcery sighed. "Sleep, my daughter," she whispered. Crimson felt dizzy. So much information had hit her all at once. Why hadn't Sorcery told anyone that Queen Fantasy was her daughter? Crimson considered the thought of telling Queen Sahara, but she decided not to. She also didn't get why the Queen had thought that some one had put a spell on her. Couldn't she just simply be sick? Crimson looked outside the window, and saw the sun setting.

*I should really get going. Queen Everest is probably angry that I'm not back yet,* thought Crimson. So, she said a final goodbye to the Queen and her daughter, and took off to go back to the Sky Kingdom. Being a SkyWing, she figured she could make it back before the Queen went to sleep. Crimson beat her wings hard, and soared through the dry, hot air, not saying a word. Then, she got this awful, eerie feeling again, and she stopped, stunned, and then turned around and dived back towards the SandWing fortress. When she got there, she searched all over the place for something, anything that could've given her that feeling.

"AAAHH!" screamed a voice. Crimson ran to where the noise was coming from, until she found a dead end, with Princess Aloe and Princess Gazelle, Queen Sahara's youngest daughters. She gasped in horror, as she noticed that Princess Gazelle was dead. Some venom had gotten all over her, that had melted her scales, and killed her. Princess Aloe's eyes were wide with terror, and Crimson noticed that the same vemon had gotten her on her ankle, and a little gotten sprinkled on her snout. She had flopped over with her eyes closed, but Crimson could tell that she had just passed out. More of the same vemon had gotten all over the floor, and some tapestries, completely destroying them. Crimson dashed down the corridors, zooming into the throne room.

"Crimson, why are still here? Oh dear, you look like you saw a ghost. Tell me what happened," said Queen Sahara calmly. "Your majesty, some one attacked your youngest daughters! Princess Gazelle is dead, and Princess Aloe is wounded! You must come at once!" Crimson gasped. She looked up and noticed that the Queen had a horror-struck look on her face. She immediatly leaped off her throne, and quickly followed Crimson, tears streaming down her face. When they got to the murder scene, Aloe had already woken up.

"Mother! Mother! Help! A RainWing... He attacked me and Gazelle, and now..." Aloe broke down into tears. Queen Sahara cradled her, and told Crimson to bring Princess Dawn. When, Crimson finally found her, she wished she was quicker. A RainWing was standing meanacingly over Princess Dawn and two other dragons, no doubt the same RainWing who had attacked the other princesses. When Crimson entered the room, he turned his head and hissed at her: "Stay out of this or die!". Crimson decided to do neither of those. She lunged at the RainWing, but he threw something at her that sent her flying to the ground. Then, Crimson had an amazing idea. *Enchant Agave and Fennec the SandWings to appear here right now,* she thought, just as Fennec and Agave appeared. "Crimson what is going on?" asked Fennec. Agave immeadiatly leaped on top of the RainWing, and they wrestled each other. Then, the RainWing just seemed to give up. He suddenly disappeared, and Crimson guessed that he had used his camoflauge. Avage was flung to the side of the room, and she swung her head around, glaring.

"I'll get you. I'll get you all! The Queen will not be happy!" shouted the RainWing. "Are- are we safe now?" asked Princess Dawn. She was on the ground, shielding two other SandWings from harm, but she had gotten up, and had a worried look on her face. "I think so," said Crimson, but she knew it wasn't true.

## Chapter Four

Crimson felt frozen, and she had a massive headache. If only she could just teleport to the SkyWing palace, and of course, she could, but Crimson didn't want to. She wanted to unravel the big mystery, to help and warn all the Pyrrhian queens, but she was just one dragon. Animus magic or not, there was almost nothing she could do. Animus magic just wasn't that powerful, but then again, Crimson wasn't sure of that. She never really used her magic, because didn't want to risk something terribly awful happening. No dragon knew if Animus magic was good, bad, extremely powerful, or only able to do a few spells. Crimson just didn't want to take that chance that it really was bad.

"So, Princess Dawn, who are those two?" Crimson asked to destract herself. "Oh! This is my cousin Scorch," she said as she pointed at the male SandWing. "And my best friend, Delta!" Delta had gotten up, and grabbed a spear that was mounted on the wall. Then, she flicked her tail, and Scorch took one too, and they both stood beside the Princess. It was clear that all three of them were together a lot, but Crimson couldn't help but help but notice the way that Scorch looked at Princess Dawn, and wonder if they really were cousins.

"Oh, Princess Dawn, I have bad news. The same RainWing that attacked you killed Princess Gazelle, and wounded Princess Aloe. I'm so sorry. I-" reported Crimson. "WHAT!? Little Gazelle is... dead?! No! And poor, poor Aloe! She must've been horrified!" wailed Princess Dawn. She quickly followed Crimson to where the RainWing attacked, still crying. As soon as she got there, Queen Sahara embraced her eldest daughter, and whispered something into her ear. The Princess nodded, and smiled at her mother.

"Crimson, thank you. You have saved two of my daughters, and I will repay you, but it is time you went back to the Sky Kingdom," said Queen Sahara. Crimson nodded, and walked back to the fortress' entrance. The Kingdom of Sand was nice, but Crimson was relieved at the thought of being back home. Then, when Crimson stepped outside, she realized that it was getting quite late. She had no hope of arriving before Queen Everest went to bed, and the gates of the palace closed, and that might've already happened. Crimson inwardly sighed, and trudged back inside, to tell Queen Sahara that she would be staying another night. When she reached the SandWing queen, Crimson opened her mouth, but before she could speak, the Queen just nodded, like she understood. Crimson walked to the room she had stayed in, layed down, and was immediatly drowned in worries.

*I need to figure out what's happening, for I can't help but feel like all of what's been happening is tied to together, somehow. First, a new tribe appears. Then, I see a really strange SandWing. Next, a RainWing tries to kill all the SandWing princesses, and now, something bad is probably happening at the Sky Kingdom. I can't stay here any longer,* thought Crimson worriedly. Her thoughts were swarming all around her, and Crimson started getting really dizzy. Her sight was blurry, and she couldn't stand up, and then, everything went dark.

"I can't believe the SkyWing did that!" said a voice. "I know! She seemed so nice..." said another. "Wha?" said Crimson, as she awoke to find a circle of AnimusWings glaring at her. Then, she remembered what Sorcery had said: "There's only one Animus, besides us,". Had she told the rest of the tribe what she believed had happened? If so, she was in trouble. Crimson *had* to get back to the Sky Kingdom, before something bad happened. She *had* to tell her queen about everything.

"Tell us, Animus. Did you really put a spell on the queen to make her sick?" asked one AnimusWing accusingly. "What?! No! Why would I? That doesn't make any sense! What good would that get me?!" exclaimed Crimson. The AnimusWing made a face at another. All of them seemed to think for a second, then one said, "I think she's telling the truth. Queen Fantasy might just have gotten sick. I mean, what do you think?" "No. There's no other explanation. It had to be her. I don't care if she seems nice or not, it had to be her!" said another, who looked strangely similar to Inferno. Then, they started whispering to each other. Finally, one turned around and spoke to her: "We voted, and decided that it had to be you, so you will stay in our dungeons." Then, before she could protest, Crimson felt a sharp pain in her head, and then everything was black.

When Crimson opened her eyes, she was in a dimly lit cave, with a boulder blocking the exit. She knew she had no hope of escaping, except with her Animus magic.