Heart of the storm

Chapter 8

Cold. Dark. Hard. Words Thunder would use to describe the Skywing prison. He had been in there for ten seconds and he already hated it. The SkyWing guards had, quite literally, thrown him in. Thunder guessed that most of Inferno's tribe didn't take as kindly to strangers as Inferno did. "New dragon." muttered a cold voice from somewhere in the murky darkness of the dungeon. Thunder looked around. "Who are you? And... where are you?" "My name's Wolverine. Yours?" said the new voice, ignoring the second half of the question. "Thunder." "Thunder? Strange name." "No, it's not." "Kinda is." A glowing blue dragon waved at Thunder. "The name's Undertow. Woah." As Undertow's light reflected off Thunder, everyone could see him clearly. "I take it you're not from here." the blue dragon said wryly. "Obviously." another dragon barked. That voice was harsh and loud. Thunder disliked it instantly. "Ignore them." said a voice from the cell next to him. As the dragon came nearer to him, he could see them more clearly, thanks to Undertow's light. The dragon was about the same size and looked the same age as he was. And it was a she. Her scales were a pale yellow and at the end of her tail was a sharp barb. Thunder tried to remember what Inferno had told him about the tribes of Pyrrhia. Think! Umm... SandWing! She was a SandWing. And Undertow was a SeaWing. "I'm Mirage," she said. "Hi. I'm Thunder, but I guess you already know that." He smiled, despite his situation. At least he had found ONE seemingly friendly dragon in this dungeon. Ok, Undertow seemed friendly enough. "What are you in for?" asked Mirage. "Attacking a SkyWing. Actually, he's supposed to be rescuing me right now." "Sounds complicated." "Oh, it is." Thunder said, before putting on his most serious and deep voice. "Actually, it's best you know nothing." Mirage laughed. "So, are you actually from another continent?" she asked. Thunder wondered if he should share this information with Mirage. He didn't need her like he did Inferno. Mirage was in the same position he was. Still, somehow he couldn't not answer. "Yeah. I'm a VoltWing." "Oh look. The new dragon's flirting with the Sandwing." said the mystery voice from before, which was harsh and rough. "Stick a cactus in it, Silt!" yelled Mirage before turning back to Thunder apologetically. "Sorry, that's just Silt. He's always been a pain." "I can relate," said Thunder, thinking of the scout chief, Tornado, Beam, Spark, Hurricane, Thorax... "Thunder?" said Mirage, waving a claw in front of him. "Oh, sorry. So, who else is down here?" Mirage started counting on her talons. "Silt, Undertow, Shadowdweller, Loch, Wolverine and Rime. Oh, and myself. And now you. Welcome to the club!" Thunder laughed but it was short-lived. He suddenly remembered the task at hand. "Hey, what's wrong?" Mirage asked, her voice suddenly soft. Thunder realised he had been making a pained face. "Just something I did at home, something bad. I have to go back and fix it, but I can't right now." They were silent for a moment before Mirage spoke. "I could help if you could get me out of here." Thunder looked unconvinced. "You don't even know what my problem is?" "Still, I do know that problems are best faced with someone else. Also... I really wanna get out of here." They both laughed. Thunder looked at the SandWing. I guess I would prefer to have her around... she's good company. I mean, that's not all, but... Thunder decided not to go down that train of thought. Right now, Thunder was hoping for a SkyWing to bust him out of this miserable hole. "So..." Mirage began, after a while "When's this SkyWing coming down to break u- you out?" She said it subtly (More subtle than Thunder could've managed.) but he caught that little hiccup in her sentence. She doesn't just really want to get out of here. Thunder thought She's desperate. Why? Can I trust her? "I don't really know," said Thunder, sadly. Then he had an idea. He could ask a simple question that might reassure him of Mirage's innocence. "Wait. What are you in for?" Mirage smiled weakly. "Just before the end of Queen Scarlet's reign, I was captured as a prisoner of war." "Wait, wait, wait. Queen Scarlet? War?" Mirage looked at him disbelievingly before remembering that he was from Pantala, and so she explained to Thunder an important bit of Pyrrrhian history: the war of the SandWing succession. Not all of it, she said- just the important parts. Queen Oasis' death, the alliances, a few major battles- and then the fascinating part. The dragonet prophecy. It was apparent that all the Pyrrhian dragons had strange and powerful abilities (Like Inferno's fire breathing, Undertow's glow in the dark scales and Mirage's venomous tail barb.) but Thunder would never have guessed that seeing the future was a power. Mirage then told him that, from what she had heard from the guards, that the NightWings (Those of foresight) did not have foresight after all. Liars, thought Thunder immediately. That thought occurred frequently to him. But then Shadowdweller spoke up. "I heard one of the guards talk about one NightWing that has both gifs though. Moon... something." Mirage looked thoughtful. "The name sounds familiar. She went to Pantala, didn't she?" she asked, turning to Thunder. "I wouldn't know." he said "I've been stuck in a swirling cone of wind my entire life. "As the talk went on, he got to know a few of the other dragons' stories. It turned out that Undertow wasn't fighting in the war. He was just a medic who got caught up in a battle and captured by SkyWings. Wolverine WAS in the war, but mostly because he was trying to move up in the circles (Which almost sounded similar to the sectors.) to help feed his family. And Shadowdweller was fleeing the Night Kingdom when a SkyWing troop apprehended him, for treading on their territory. After that conversation, most were silent, and Thunder decided to get some shut-eye before Inferno came. He was still hopeful. However, Mirage asked him to keep her company, and although he was tired, he didn't really want to leave her alone, so he stayed awake. Luckily for her, she wasn't a boring customer, so Thunder didn't have to try to remain conscious. It had been another hour when a guard with a giant cloak shrouding his face walked up to Thunder's cell. Instead of talking in a booming voice, he whispered to him. "Shhh. It's me, Inferno. I have the keys. Let's get out of here." "Wait. I made a ... companion here. She says she can help us." "Fine. I'll let her out, but no more. I can only fit two under this cloak. And she better be as skinny as you are." Which she was, luckily for her. Thunder stared at the flamboyant cloak. So THAT was what it was for. He thought about Undertow, but then again, he didn't know why Undertow was in and they could always come back and ask for their freedom. If I can save my tribe... "Which cell?" Inferno asked after he had unlocked Thunders. "This one," Thunder replied, pointing to the cell containing Mirage. Inferno unlocked it without hesitation. "Thanks," Mirage whispered to Inferno. "Get under the cloak, you two." said Inferno "I'm hoping this will work, but if not, I have my super-ultra backup weapon." "I'm impressed," said Thunder. "As you should be," Inferno said as he opened the door of the prison. "As you should be. "The trio walked through the halls of the SkyWing palace. Inferno had taken the appearance of a rich noble with a really, really excessive cloak. Thunder and Mirage were part of that excessive cloak. It was a bit ridiculous, and a bit pathetic, but miraculously no-one seemed to notice. Maybe SkyWing royals always have big cloaks? I have a lot to learn. It looked like Mirage was just as confused as he was, though, so that made him feel a little better. While under that cloak, Thunder also discovered a welcome fact - SandWing scales radiate heat. In truth, he found himself edging closer to her to keep warm. Thankfully, she didn't seem to mind. It felt like eternity to wait under that cloak, so when they finally made it outside the massive palace, Thunder wanted to do a loop in the air. However, Inferno warned him against it until they were out of sight. They walked across the rocks and behind a huge mountain, where Inferno finally took that cloak off and burnt off their wing clamps. "So." he said once they had stretched their wings. "Mirage, was it? I heard you two talking under my stylish shroud." Mirage grinned "Yes, that's my name. And although 'stylish' is not the word I would use, it did save us though, so thanks again." Then they got into a discussion about the war, which Thunder occasionally asked questions about. In the sunlight, he could see both his companions well. Inferno was, admittedly, very handsome. He was well built, neither fat nor skinny, and his scales were a brilliant red in the sunlight. His face was a face you could tell had fought many battles, yet laughed many times. Mirage was good looking too, but in her own way. She was as skinny as Thunder, but her face was kind and friendly, with a hint of a humorous side. Thunder wasn't completely outshined by them, though. He had large wings and bright streaks of yellow across his streamlined body. He had a determined and almost heroic face, and his lightning bolt horns were pointed in a cool way. His friends back in the Storm had pointed out all this, but he didn't think it could compare with Mirage, and definitely not Inferno. It had never been compared with Whirlwind... don't think about Whirlwind. You have to move on. Knowing this, he spoke, "Guys, we need to focus on our mission." This statement seemed to be a wake-up call for Mirage "Wait! I know where we can find help. About 3 years ago, my parents were always going off to fight in the war, so they sent me to a good MudWing friend, even though the MudWings were our enemies at the time. Anyway, while I was there, I made friends with the MudWing's daughter, who was a year older than me. Her name was Bank. We always used to pretend that..." At this, she looked a bit embarrassed, "... That we were pirates, or explorers of the lost continent. When I last saw her, she was preparing to try to map a course to... what was it called, Pantala?" Thunder nodded and Mirage continued. "I figure she's our best bet to get to Pantala." "Wait a minute." protested Inferno. "They made an easy path there pretty recently." "Do HiveWings travel that path? The HiveWings were the ones that stole the Heart." "Well, yeah, but most HiveWings are innocent." the SkyWing replied. "My enemy could have a spy there. It's not worth the risk. Besides, if we can take a more covert route to Pantala, we should." In the end, Inferno agreed, much to Mirage's delight. "Very well then," she said as she ascended into the sky, trying to play it cool, but nothing could hide the excitement on her face. "To the Mud Kingdom!" It was when the three dragons reached the Diamond Spray River that Thunder felt a cold shiver run through his body. This was followed by several more, and soon his wings began to go numb. In a panic, he dived to the ground. He knew what was happening. He was out of lightning. Inferno and Mirage, although confused, followed their companion to the ground without protesting. "What's wrong?" asked Mirage. Thunder's legs were numb now. "Need... lightning... survive." he choked out. Mirage looked up frantically, looking for a storm while Inferno looked like he was arguing with himself. Now, Thunder couldn't feel his arms or his body. Finally, Inferno seemed to decide on something. "Three moons! I guess someone else needed to know anyway." Inferno muttered something and then thrust a leaf in Thunder's mouth. "Chew," he commanded. Thunder didn't really see the point of it, but he assumed Inferno knew what he was doing (After all, he came through for him once) and chewed. Suddenly, he felt like he had been supercharged with electricity. He turned to Inferno. "Thanks. I owe you about a million." "Don't mention it," he replied and turned back to walking along. Mirage looked relieved, but confused. "How did you do that?" "Medicinal herbs," Inferno said in a semi-carefree tone. "Come on, let's keep moving." Thunder had never heard of a herb that contained lightning, and by the looks of it, neither did Mirage. She was staring at Inferno hard. Not Thunder. It seemed a bit ungrateful to do that to someone who had just saved your life. Finally, Mirage spoke. "You're an animus, aren't you, Inferno? "Thunder shuddered at the word animus. Another school lesson he had learned: the power of the animus dragons. Supposedly, they could spell objects to do their command, no matter what the request. It was how the Heart was created. Inferno gave a glum, resigned look and sighed. "I guess I am. Now can we please keep moving?" "But don't - didn't the SkyWings kill any animus dragons that hatched?" Mirage continued. "I wasn't hatched in the Sky Kingdom." replied Inferno, "Now let's go. I can tell you all about my interesting life story later."An animus! Thunder couldn't stop thinking about it. A real, live animus. And he was friends with one? But didn't that mean... "Inferno." he said slowly, "Doesn't that mean you could summon the Heart here?" Inferno stopped. "The Heart?" "The animus object that created my home. I lost it to the HiveWings." "I mean... I guess I could. It's just... Thunder, what you need to understand is that whenever an animus dragon uses some of their power, it eats away at their soul. Eventually, if you use too much, you become evil." Thunder was horrified. "No then, that's fine. We can get it ourselves the old-fashioned way." "Are you sure? It's only a small spell." Inferno said, and before Thunder could protest, he muttered a few words under his breath. Nothing happened. "It's protected," he declared "No animus magic can affect it, is what I'm thinking. Extra protection in case another animus wanted to sabotage it from a distance. I guess the Heart's maker didn't think about a situation like yours." Thunder groaned at the logic of this. Why would the Hearts creator think of some dumb dragonet running off with the Heart? Then he remembered the original goal and tried to swallow his fears of a Storm controlled by Thorax. "Oh well, then. Let's get going to the Mud Kingdom."

Haha, some interesting stuff in this one, enjoy it - 

Talons off -   Thunder