The Rise of a Queen

Storm

Shimmer mentally thanked Queen Nightmare as she battled her way through the blizzard. Many of her missions had been to the Sky Kingdom. Escaping SkyWings had probably been one of the hardest activities of her life. That training combined with flying through sandstorms and heavy rain had hardened Shimmer's flying muscles. Another good thing about being this small. I don't get tossed about by the blizzard as much. She thought tilting slightly as one of her predators was thrown out of the sky by the shrieking wind. 

"I can't see it!" One of them yelled. 

"That's because it's a NightWing, stupid. They can hide well in the dark, but not in the arctic." General Arctic snapped. "You, go back and summon the army. It has some records, an orb, and a spear! We can't let the NightWings get their talons on our magic." Shimmer flinched. The hunting party was almost right above her. Carefully she unwrapped one of the spears and angled her flight upward until she nearly ran into one of the guards. Without hesitating, she rammed the spear through his middle, and sent his statue tumbling towards the ground. Splash! I'm over water? I'm going the wrong direction! This is the ocean! Shimmer thought frantically as she speared a second guard. 

"That's the NightWing, get her!" General Arctic bellowed, diving at her with his own spear. She hit it away with her own, and bit his wrist as he flew past her. His scales felt like diamonds, and hurt her teeth. She shook her off, and she dodged his claws. Another guard flew up from below her, charging with his spear. Shimmer dove down into the storm and dark. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, Shimmer could see the raging ocean, and spiraling up from it, tall pillars of wind swept stone. She banked hard, sending one dragon crashing into a pillar, and entered a forest of the rocks. The IceWings followed her, hurling rocks and snowballs. Obviously, they didn't want to risk loosing their precious diamond spears. The pillars helped block a little bit of the wind, and being close to the water meant that ice began gathering on them, weighing them down. Whenever she could, Shimmer would take a hard turn, and use the pillars to knock off a row of icicles that had gathered on her wings. The larger IceWings were not as lucky. Unlike her, they were large, covered in ice, and unused to flying through the dark. Is the storm leaving? Shimmer wondered, slightly worried as the wind began to die down. With the absence of the wind, she was able to speed up, but so could her pursuers. 

"There she is, get her!" Shimmer dodged and nearly ran herself into a rock as an IceWing dove at her. She managed to avoid getting hit, but crashed into the sea. Shimmer growled to herself. Swimming was another one of those things she wasn't good at. Moons help me. She thought, as she flailed her wings and talons, clawing for the surface, which she could see far above her. Suddenly a light flared, bright as day, and she felt her scales prickle. Lightning! I need to get out of the water! Right as her snout broke the surface, it was shoved under again by a pounding wave. Don't think about sharks! Don't think about sharks! Shimmer told herself as she snorted out water and beat her way to the surface again. When her head broke the surface she looked around, choking out water and taking deep breaths. The storm had worsened. The waves were taller and more violent, lightning shredded the clouded sky, and the wind had picked up. No sign of IceWings, that's good. Shimmer reminded herself as a wave threw her high into the air, then sent her plunging into the dark water. Her back slammed against something hard, and she yelled, bubbles of precious air escaping. It was one of the pillars. Quickly, her jagged talons caught a hold of the stone, and she climbed for the air. When she was finally in the raging air, Shimmer dragged herself to the top of the pillar, out of reach of the waves. Being almost any other dragon would be nice right now. She thought, thinking of SkyWing wings, SeaWing gills, and even RainWing tails. You are a NightWing, and nothing will ever change that. Blackstar's voice drifted through her head, and despite her rather desperate predicament, Shimmer smiled. NightWings are smart, and I've been trained and brought up as one of them. I might not look like a NightWing, but I am one. Taking a deep breath of resolution, Shimmer stood, gripping the rough rock with her jagged, IceWing talons, and shouted defiantly into the storm. 

"I am Shimmer of the NightWings! Fear me, IceWings, I will return!" With that boost of confidence, Shimmer leapt from her perch and rose into the storm.