Spirit of War (Bk 2 of Mudwings of JMA)

Prolouge

Storyteller watched as excited dragonets fought to find a spot on the platform she was sitting at. Rainwings dotted the trees and Nightwings perched in branches, leaning so far forward to hear that they looked in danger of falling off. Even adult Nightwings gathered around to hear. Most of them had grown up on her stories. She had been storyteller for as long as anyone could remember. Everyone but her. She still remembered her mentor, the day she was taken on as his apprentice, and the day everyone besides her mentor had to stop calling her by her name but as Storyteller instead. Now she told stories to all the dragonets willing to listen. But today she was looking for three specific faces. Faces that never came to her stories, but she had a feeling all would today. She spotted one, a dragonet about to be sent to Jade Mountain Academy. His face was neutral but attentive. Dreamspeaker, she thought, checking him off the list. There was the another. A pretty Nightwing with silver scales at the corner of her eyes, like tears Sat calmly on a branch. Moonwatcher, she checked off another. Now where was the last, most important, dragon? There, hidden away in the shadows of a corner, a beautiful Nightwing Rainwing hybrid. The queens daughter. Inkscale, she checked of the last dragon. The dragons finally settled down and waited attentively for her to start. "Now, the story I'm about to tell you is old, older than the tribes, old as the first dragons themselves." She allowed excited whispering for a moment before continuing. "Now, it starts a time before dragons even existed. When there were only plants and wild creatures. One night, all three moon's were full. But something special happened that night. A comet, one that passes once only every several hundred years came. No one knows for sure what is was, but something special happened because of that comet. Dragons were created from the very elements of the world itself. Dragons of the water and the seas, dragons of heat, fire, and magma, dragons of air, sky, wind, and storm, and dragons of earth, life, and plants. The dragons of the water were the cool colors of blues, greens, an purples with strong lithe bodies, thick powerful tails, and web's on there spines, toes, and legs. They had an ability to breathe underwater and swim fast as they could fly. They could withstand cold temperatures, high pressures, and could see in the darkest of shadows. The dragons of fire where powerful with sharp claws and fierce tempers. They could withstand the highest temperatures and not only had eternal fire in their bellies but magma to. They could heat their bodies to scorching temperature. They were warm colors of fire, greys of smoke, and Brown's of rocks. The dragons of wind were small, nimble, and light with long elegant bodies. They could fly faster than any of the others. They came in colors of clouds, the sky, sunsets and sunrises, and even ,occasionally, of the night. The dragons of the earth were bulky and strong with claws and scales as hard as diamonds. They came in earth tones and had a special connection with the earth and plants, allowing them to grow and shape them as they please. The dragons soon realized they needed leaders, and so they each choose a queen. The dragons of water choose a dragon named Aqua, and so they became the Aquawings. The dragons of fire choose a dragon named Blaze, and so they became the Blaze wings. The dragons of earth chose a dragon named Terra, and so became the Terrawings. The dragons of the wind chose a dragon named Breeze, and so they were the Breezewings." The dragons were silent, lost imaging powerful, fantastic dragons from long ago. "The Aquawings took home in the depths of the sea, the Blazewings the depths of an active volcano, the Terrawings a lush forest, and the Breezewings had an animus enchant a hidden kingdom in the sky of clouds and wind. Many stories are told of these dragons, of the ancient tribes. But their rein came to and end when a sickness swept through them. It is believed to be a spell cast by a resentful animus. Only those of the royal bloodline were infected. The royal line slowly began to die off until there were only the four queens of that time left. The queens met in desperation to save the dragon species, knowing that without hope and leaders, their kingdoms would fall. Then a dragon stepped forward. No one knew who he was, or what. He had scales made of obsidian with swirls of glowing blue. Where his heart was supposed to be glowed with the same blue. He spoke a prophecy, that four hybrid siblings would come and take the thrones, restoring the tribes to their former glory. The queens spread word of the prophecy throughout their kingdoms, but also decided that until these hybrids came for the thrones that the would send their tribes into hiding. But the queens didn't want the dragons to disappear with their tribes, so they decided to create new dragon tribes. Using the gems that signifyed their kingdoms, and that were embued with the essence of their element, they combine their own elements to make 7 less powerful tribes. The Blazewings and the Terrawings formed the Sandwings, the Breezewings and the Aquawings formed the Icewings, the Terrawings and the Aquawings formed the Mudwings, the Blazewings and the Breezewings formed the Skywings, The Aquawings and the Terrawings formed the Rainwings, the Aquawings formed the Seawings, and ,finally, the Queens created a final tribe, a tribe of peacekeepers. All of the four tribes helped create them. The strange prophet even donated some of his own essence. They created the Nightwings. By then the Queens were on their last legs, their elemental essences drained, so they left all the tribes alone, without knowledge of them. All but one. They told one dragon this story, that dragon became the first Storyteller. They said " Pass this story from generation to generation until we can return." Legend has it that the tribes still wait for their new queens."