Of Sand and Snow

Epilogue

(The song for this chapter is Darkside by Neoni)

"There she goes, off to meet our arrival from the other continent. Just as it had been prophesized," A voice whispered, watching from the canopy.

Rain fell around him, droplets hitting his wings. Darkstalker shook off the water, focusing his gaze on the lone dark spot that got farther away in the sky. His little friend off to start a new adventure, and here he was getting soaked in the rain.

It was a shame, losing the mindreading and futuresight, but it was a necessity. From now on he'd just have to be Peacemaker. Innocent, little, charming Peacemaker.

They were foolish to think that a mere strawberry could defeat him. Even if they tried, he would have seen their ploy coming a mile away. No, instead in that fateful moment, he decided to take some time to reflect. His "army" had just collapsed due to Moon's actions. The plague had ceased. Everything around him had already collapsed before it could even begin. His grand empire would have been a farce. The world saw him as a villain, and if he had simply enchanted everyone to love and adore him, he would be no better than the tyrant he was portrayed as. If he didn't enchant them, they would grovel at his feet and either stay loyal due to fear or plot his downfall. Every single day of his life would have been with eyes in the back of his head. Even if the attempts were unable to succeed, it would be a hellish existence and no life for the king he wished to be. The outcome was the same, no matter what the circumstances were. He would be the tyrant, the evil wizard king, and above all else it would be boring.

No. He decided that this was not the way his story would end. So, when he cast a spell that paused time, he thought of a way to "lose." A loss that would satisfy the world and give those pesky little dragons the victory they wanted. That is when his eyes wandered and just so happened to find that strawberry bush. How wonderful! Something small and sweet like a strawberry. That is how he would do it.

He then gave Kinkajou an enchanted piece of parchment, enchanted her to believe that it was a part of his spellscroll, and in that enchantment lied his plan. Once all the pieces were in place, all he had to do was do what he did best: dramatize.

He dropped the pause in time, making sure to wipe the spell from their minds so they'd never realize he cast it. Then... strawberry. He gladly chomped it down, feeling his magic take effect. Shrinking down, losing his powers, and his magnum opus in the process. Now, when Moon looked at him, all she saw was an innocent young dragonet. Anyone who could read his thoughts would believe so to, as he included a nice little camouflage spell with the bundle. He could have retained his abilities if he really wanted to, but he had to ensure that the "old" Darkstalker would never come back out. Moons above, if he had a midlife crisis and tried to become wizard king again... even the thought made him cringe. Reality, instead, would be just as he intended.

Darkstalker had died, and Peacemaker was born.

He was interested to see how Moon will tackle the new challenges she will face. Especially since they were in the timeline when the ice wing and sand wing got together. They weren't the worst timelines, but they also weren't in the easiest ones. Then again, that wasn't for him to worry about. He just had to worry about being a dragonet.

Growing up again was proving to be a fun but challenging endeavor. Hiding his intellect was perhaps the hardest task. He was hoping to quickly transition to the "gifted" stage of dragonethood. Then he could lower the mask a tad more. From then on, he could actually begin to act like himself again. This time, however, he would be different.

No more master plans, no more plots and schemes, no more Darkstalker. His time had past and the young generations had just begun. In time he hoped to become Moons friend once again. She had such a beautiful mind, and he missed the days where they would speak for hours on end. Her and her friends were all interesting little minds. Especially the sand wing's. Darkstalker couldn't wait to see what he would do with the rest of his life. Even if it was spent with the ice wing of all dragons. Secretly, he had hoped this was the timeline where Qibli was mated to Moon. They did have adorable children in the vision he saw.

He shook his head. Enough about timelines. The time for that is gone, quite literally. Living for the past and future meant little to him now. Darkstalker was going to focus on living in the present, and simply live his life like any other.

The thought was too painful to bear, but perhaps he would fall in love again. He had never once peered into a timeline where he was not with his beloved Clearsight. The hole in his heart still panged with that sadness. In time, he would hopefully heal. A time where he could find what he had selfishly taken for granted and destroyed. He would become the dragon that Clearsight wanted him to be. A dragon that she could be proud of, and happy to call her mate.

A large droplet of rain hit his eye, causing him to blink a few times and rub it with his claw. It would probably be best to heed his own advice. Live in the now, and not the future. Pieces were going to fall where they would, and a new challenge awaited the dragons of Pantala. All in due time.

All in due time...