The 'NightWing tunnels', also referred to as "portals" in the series,
were passages created by the NightWing animus Stonemover. The NightWings
used them to travel between essential locations easily. There are
currently two known tunnels, both leading to the Rainforest Kingdom. One
is from the NightWing island, and the other from the Kingdom of Sand.

## Description

The tunnels are found near a small waterfall splashed into a tiny pond.
A stream no wider than a Dragons|dragon tail burbles at the top of a
waterfall and away from the pond at the bottom. Thick brownish reeds
choke the slimy surface of the pond. The top of the waterfall is flanked
by a pair of tall dark trees, as fat around as the
SkyWing_palace#Prisoner_towers|columns where SkyWing prisoners were
kept. Their trunks are so brown that they were nearly black, and their
branches begin far overhead, so they looked more like black pillars than
trees.

The tunnel to the Kingdom of Sand in a boulder twice the size of
Morrowseer leaning "almost too casually" against a tree, like someone
had placed it there. The hole to the tunnel is dark, with stone edges,
and just big enough or a full-grown dragon to pass through. A moss
curtain partly covers it. A faint wind whistles out of the hole, like a
storm howling on the far side of the world. The entrance on the Kingdom
of Sand side is found north of the SandWing stronghold and surrounded by
a semicircle of dull green cacti. Each cactus is half as tall as a
full-grown dragon, with tiny thorns as sharp as fangs, and were later
revealed to be the Plants#Medicinal_plants|brightsting cactus. A few
dusty white flowers bloom between the freckles. The wind covers the hole
with new sand everyday, blocking and hiding the entrance. The walls
inside the tunnels are long and made of smooth stone. There are many
sharp turns.

The second tunnel, to the NightWing island, is in a huge tree on the
other side of the stream. One cannot easily notice the hole if they have
not been looking for it, as it is well above eye level, carved into the
tree at a height where most dragons would have to look up to see it. The
other side of the tunnel opens to a cave on the black-sand beach of the
NightWing island. The entrance was guarded with several armed
NightWings. The tunnel spiraled up and around, with just enough space to
fly. The air in the tunnel was warmer and wetter closer to the
rainforest, with the chittering of insects and monkeys reverberating off
the walls.

After the events of The Dark Secret, a layer of
ash covers the floor of the tunnel leading to the NightWing island, and
the space is so dark that it is nearly impossible to see, with faint
gray light scraping the walls on either side. The shape of a huge,
petrified dragon made of hardened ash looms in the tunnel, its wings
outstretched and its talons reaching forward. It's implied to be
Morrowseer. Around the body, there is a tunnel clogged up with ash that
an average-sized dragon could barely squeeze into, and a floor of cooled
lava that is still warm.

The tunnels give those passing through an indefinably uncomfortable,
tingling feeling in their scales when they are near, described as an
"awkward wrongness" or the feeling of when one is not supposed to be
there. Winter later confirmed that this was the result of animus magic.

The original purpose of the tunnels was to help NightWings (and
potentially extra SandWing forces) make traveling quicker between
mainlands, specifically between the rainforest and the volcanic island.
The tunnel connecting the NightWing island to the Rainforest Kingdom was
intended to be a passageway for the NightWings to arrive immediately at
the rainforest, either for hunting or a potential takeover invasion. The
tunnel connecting the Rainforest Kingdom to the Kingdom of Sand was
created so that Blister's forces could arrive as backup for the
NightWings during the takeover.

## History

The tunnels were created by Stonemover approximately two years before
the dragonets of destiny hatched. After Stonemover created the tunnels,
he flew away to Jade Mountain to live the rest of his days as a hermit
without using any of his powers. He enchanted his animus magic so it
affects his scales instead of soul, resulting in about half of his body
becoming cold, unmovable stone.

Shortly after the dragonets of destiny were introduced to the RainWing
village, they discovered a strange tunnel inside a boulder, curtained
with moss and leading to a location just miles away from Burn's
stronghold.

When the NightWings captured Glory and fourteen other RainWings, they
were taken through another tunnel in a tree that leads to the NightWing
island. She eventually escaped the NightWings with the help of Clay and
Deathbringer via the rainforest-NightWing island tunnel. Later, she led
her army through this tunnel to the NightWing island. Both tunnels are
presently still intact.

## Trivia

  - The tunnels give off a weird sensation, as if one is not supposed to
    be there. This sensation grows stronger as one steps farther into
    the tunnels. It is the same feeling one gets from physical contact
    with someone wearing the Pyrite mask.