Heart of the storm

Chapter 7

Where am I? That was the first thought that came to Thunder as he looked around and saw a forest around him. He jumped up. He wasn't in a forest! Well, he wasn't supposed to be in a forest. He was supposed to be lying on stony ground, dead. What on Pantala . . . He took another bewildered look at his surroundings. As far as the eye could see, closely packed trees created a dense canopy that allowed only small streaks of light to shine through. He had never seen anything like it before. Why were there so many trees? There weren't that many trees on his continent, were there? Had he been blown to some other region of Pantala? Thunder shook his head. He had bigger questions than that.

How had he suddenly appeared here? Could something have happened to him while he was falling? Thunder remembered the electricity that had buzzed through his body a few seconds earlier. The intense lurching feeling, like being sucked into a tornado. Had he been caught in a storm? What HAD happened?

The point was that he was in unfamiliar forestry but quite a nice place when he should be on the mountain's ugly base, with yellow blood in a puddle around him. How... surprisingly fortunate.It was then that he realized he was boiling hot. Thunder frantically looked around for some sort of pond he could find, and relief overtook him as he spied one further in the forest. He dived into it, steam floating off his wings as he shook the water all through his wings. It was the best he'd felt in ages. After removing himself from the sweet relief of the pool, Thunder shook the water off himself and surveyed his surroundings once again. One thing was clear: he had never been anywhere like this before. It was a beautiful place, but a horrifying thought. He flew up, trying to find a landmark that could help him find his way back to the HiveWings. He needed to recover the Heart before it was too late. Maybe it already was too late. Still, he slowly turned around in the air, looking for some sort of recognizable cliff face. Instead, he found a ginormous palace situated in the mountains. What? A palace? In the mountains? How- I mean what- what's- Okay, world. Excuse me while my brain dies for a second here. Thunder was way too confused for comfort. After all his months of scouting, he had never even seen a hut, let alone a colossal castle. He didn't think the HiveWings or SilkWings had castles. The school had certainly never taught them that. Still, he was the slightest bit curious. An undiscovered castle! The inhabitants of it could maybe even help him defeat the HiveWings! What self-respecting tribe would build a castle like that? Still, they must have their reasons. At least it doesn't look like a hive. Maybe that's a bad thing, but I really don't feel like running into more HiveWings right now. But if they aren't HiveWings... Filled with renewed hope, Thunder started making his way to the castle, wings beating against the cold wind. Rolling green hills and picturesque mountains with snowy peaks passed him by as he flew. Wow, this is amazing. It doesn't look much like the Pantala I know, though. That storm must have carried him quite some distance. That worried him slightly. He had almost reached the castle when a voice rang out from above. "Halt, strange dragon!" Thunder looked up. The voice belonged to a crimson-coloured dragon, who was much bigger than Thunder. He had enormous wings and horns protruding from his head, and his expression was way too serious to be real. Despite this dragon's unfamiliar oddness, Thunder couldn't help answering back. "Who are you calling strange?" "Uh... you?" The red dragon responded with a much less confident tone than he had used previously. Which was weird, because this dragon looked like he could easily beat Thunder in battle. No, that's the nerves talking. I could surely outfly him, at least. "What do you mean, me?" Thunder snapped. "I've never seen you or your tribe in my entire life!"The other dragon looked sceptical. "What do YOU mean? Have you been living under a rock? I'm a SkyWing." SkyWing? The dragon must have been lying, or deluded. This red dragonet was most likely a weird mutant or something. SkyWings were non-existent! And Thunder didn't appreciate the challenge."Liar," spat Thunder."Me? Then who the three moons are you, little hybrid? Besides, this is our territory, so beat it," the so-called SkyWing retaliated, staring down at Thunder, his red eyes seeming to burn through Thunders skull. "Not happening." They glared at each other in silence. Then the bright red dragon flew off his perch and dived at Thunder. In turn, Thunder banked left, just narrowly missing the talons of the attacker. He shot a bolt of lightning at him, which the hybrid dodged. What could he be? A VoltWing and a HiveWing, right? That theory flew out the window as the other dragon blasted a jet of fire at Thunder. He juked the flame and started flying back to the forest. Okay, so a Flamesilk and VoltWing hybrid? THIS IS SO WEIRD! The 'SkyWing' flew after Thunder in hot pursuit. Soon, Thunder was flying back the way he came. This dragon was insanely fast, and he showed no sign of tire either. Thunder, on the other hand, was quickly running out of steam. Of course. The one thing I thought I could do, I failed. Typical. Still, there had to be a way. And mid-flight, Thunder thought of one. He had bigger wings than Thunder, so he thought he could lose him in the trees. Simple but effective. Thunder beat his wings ever faster, straining every muscle in his body in an attempt to find refuge. Finally, he reached the trees. As he predicted, the red dragon couldn't find a path through the forest! Ha. Thunder smiled as he flew through the trees, satisfied. That red dragon can sit on a cactus if HE thinks he's gonna be the one to capture me for the second time today- Thunder's train of thought was cut short as he suddenly felt exhausted. Great moons, how long have I been flying? He collapsed to the soft bracken of the forest, eyes drooping, but they opened wide right away as he saw the red hybrid appear out of the trees. Thunder tried to move, but his limbs didn't seem to respond as he stayed still. This tiredness was unnatural! The other dragon approached him and was sporting a triumphant look as he said "Well! That wasn't too bad, I needed the exercise." As soon as he said this, though, he narrowed his eyes and lost his grin. "So..." he began, "Who are you?" Thunder growled, but what could he do? He was at this infuriating dragon's mercy. Embarrassing. My first actual battle and I blew it in an instant. At least he could TRY to be a little less smug... "Let me try again." began the red dragon, "What's your name? Mine's Inferno." Thunder raised his eyebrows. Most of the heroes' enemies in the scrolls didn't begin their interrogations by introducing themselves. He did read this one about an assassin who made a whole conversation with his quarry though. This hybrid could be an assassin. Maybe all assassins were like this? "My name's Thunder." "Hmmm. That's a weird name." Thunder was about to respond that Inferno was a weird name when he remembered his current dilemma. "What tribe are you from? Are you from that lost continent, the one that was recently discovered? What is it called? Pintala? Pentala? No, that's not right," he finished in a mutter. Thunder would've laughed if he hadn't been pinned down by a weird hostile and potentially delusional dragon. "It's called Pantala, and I'm a VoltWing from there. How about you? Which tribe are you from and where am I?" Inferno the "SkyWing" grinned. "Moons, you have some nerve. Here I am, capturing you and you're asking ME questions?" Thunder stared at the annoying red dragon. This was hopeless. He needed to get back home! What he didn't need was to be pinned down by a big red lump of a dragon with an insufferable grin! Then he remembered his original objective. Find the castle dragons and convince them to help out. Inferno was probably one of the castle dragons. And if he was, maybe he could...Maybe he could help Thunder, if he worded this correctly. "Look, Inferno," he began, "My entire tribe is in danger because of me, and I don't know how I got here but listen to me. I need to get back to Pantala. And since I don't know where I even am, I could use some help." Inferno looked thoughtful. Time seemed to stand still as Inferno thought. Either he says yes, and I have help, or he says no and we're all doomed. So glad my fate rests with this airhead. Eventually, though, he opened his mouth. "Well, OK then. But on one condition, take me to the lost continent with you." Thunder was about to reply that it would be too dangerous (and taking Inferno would be much too annoying to handle) but he didn't really have a leg to stand on, as he was currently the one captured by Inferno. Thunder tried to get up when he remembered his faulty limbs. "Inferno, your mystical powers seem to have stopped me from leaving the ground." The other dragon looked embarrassed. "Oh, sorry. Here, eat this." Inferno handed Thunder a berry that he ate. Immediately, he felt invigorated. "Thanks." They lifted their wings and soared up into the sky."My tribe remains to be the SkyWings, by the way," Inferno said as they flew southwards. "And those mountains below us are the Claws of the Clouds. Thunder, welcome to Pyrrhia!"Inferno declared that the fastest way to Pantala was via the IceWing's kingdom, but it would be best to go through the old Night Kingdom which had been abandoned several centuries ago. "They live in the rainforest now." Thunder was shocked to hear that this new continent had not one, not two, but seven different tribes, all independent of each other. Inferno explained all the different tribes and all the different areas of Pyrrhia when Thunder asked.Just when the two odd companions were about to pass what Inferno called the Sky Palace, an orange dragon appeared. He looked similar to Inferno when it came to basic anatomy, but that was where the similarities ended. This dragon was a different colour, older, and had a grumpier resting face. "Inferno! What is that strange dragon with you? A RainWing?," the new dragon asked, which was strange, because Thunder looked nothing like Inferno's RainWing description.Inferno shook his head, glancing back at Thunder. "A dragon from the lost continent. He kind of came here and he, uh..." Inferno seemed to be at a loss for words, which Thunder was mildly annoyed at first but then found reasonable. After all, how could Inferno explain a strange new dragon that just... appeared on this continent? Even Thunder didn't quite believe it."He attacked Inferno. I saw it all." said a deep red coloured dragon behind them. He spoke in a slithery voice, and Thunder disliked him instantly. He looked a similar age to himself, with a bit more meat on him. Inferno mouthed something to him like: go suck on a lemon, swift. What?Oh. The dragon's name was Swift. Stupid Thunder. "In that case... I'm afraid I'll have to put him in the dungeon until Queen Ruby comes back from her diplomatic mission," stated the older orange one with a sigh. "No, wait-" Inferno started but Thunder shushed him. His keen eyes had already detected five other SkyWings hiding in various spots - behind rocks and in the trees. He knew Inferno and himself were no match for all of them. But how would he communicate that with Inferno? Thankfully though, after a few seconds of silence, the SkyWing saw that Thunder was tensed up. He knew something was about to happen. But it was either surrender himself or fight and maybe get himself and Inferno killed. "I'll go with them," he whispered to Inferno, "But you have to get me out. Got it?" Inferno nodded. Thunder flew to the red dragon and allowed the cold steel band to clamp over his wings. As he was pushed through the great halls of the SkyWing palace, with his wings utterly trapped and his body surrounded by guards, Thunder began to think that this may have been a terrible idea.