Proboscis Book 1: Clouds Parting- A Wings of Fire Fanfiction

~ Chapter 11 ~

"Have you ever heard 'The Legend of Proboscis'?" Quartz queried as he flew with Stratus, the wind feeling glossy on his wings, almost like the fabulous silk they had at the Crystal Fair every year.

"I... don't think I have," Stratus responded. I've definitely heard that name somewhere, though... She thought, her mind growing suspicious. It is a cool name...

"Well, it's the story of how the first-ever dragons got to Proboscis," Quartz replied, "Would you like me to recite it to you while we fly?"

"Wait," Stratus said, "you know how to recite an entire legend by memory?!"

"Before you get the wrong idea, it's not like I want to be able to recite it... The CrystalWings who taught me forced me to learn it. It goes like this. The legend begins with two dragons. They are both BoneWings."

"What are BoneWings? I think I recognize the name, but I don't know where I would have heard it. Not anywhere in the CloudWing Kingdom though, that's for sure."

"BoneWings are the first tribe ever to land on this continent," Quartz responded. "No one knows how they got there, but all we know is that they appeared someday. We have found some remains of BoneWings near a few of the kingdoms. They looked a little like dragons, but with half of their body ripped off, leaving just an exposed skeleton on one half. Hence the name 'BoneWings'. There were two special BoneWings, with the power to manipulate any living being to their will. Sort of like animus dragons, but without the ability to control inanimate objects. Anyways, their names were Skull and Spine. They flew across the sparkling sea to find a new home, because they were banished from their kingdo—"

"Why were they banished?" Stratus interrupted.

"Well, most dragons say that they committed murder or some horrible crime. The crime was so horrible that there was no other way to punish them. The tribe came to a conclusion and decided to banish Spine and Skull." 

He continued, and Stratus began to wonder if he was forced to learn this or not. "This is only a hypothesis, but it could be wrong. There are other reasons like they just wanted to leave but committing a horrible crime is the one most everyone agrees on. Spine and Skull were flying for years around Proboscis." Quartz said, trying to remember.

"It took them so long to settle down..." Stratus murmured, wondering where Quartz was headed with this story.

"Back then the BoneWings were the only tribe. They flew back to their kingdom a few times but the BoneWings just kicked them out. Eventually, they gave up and decided to come to a shriveled, barren land, empty and dry like a wasteland." Quartz replied.

"Why a dry wasteland?" Stratus asked. "Aren't there like forests and lush places?"

"The rest of the BoneWings had occupied all of the lush territory," Quartz explained, growing impatient with her questions.

"Shouldn't there be a lot of lush territory?" Stratus asked. Now she was really confused.

"Back then, dragons found out that there weren't a lot of places like that. Most of Proboscis was a wasteland. Luckily, Spine was an animus. Spine used her animus power to turn the wasteland into a thriving area once more. But they were still lonely. Spine eventually tried to make dragons with her animus magic. That was what created the first known tribe as the VenomWings. That's why VenomWings look similar to BoneWings, since they don't have wings and are bony." Quartz hoped Stratus didn't have any more questions.

"Ohhhhh!" Stratus said. "That explains a lot."

"Even though they had what they wanted, Spine turned evil because she used too much animus magic creating the dragons, making a lush home, and some other things she used her power for," Quartz said.

"What things?" Stratus asked.

"They're not important," Quartz snapped, leaving Stratus taken aback at his sudden mood shift. "Spine and Skull got into a huge fight over- well, those details aren't very clear- and Spine attempted to murder Skull, who fought back but could not defeat her."

Quartz paused dramatically, his eyes growing dark as he remembered the next part of the legend. "Spine cornered Skull while he was retreating and used the last shred of her magic- and sanity- to trap her brother in a crystal. She hid in the darkness, waiting in vain for her sanity to resurface so she could use magic again."

"That's..." Stratus trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"That's not all," Quartz said. "Legend says that Spine created the Heart Tunnels and has been hiding there ever since."

"What are the Heart Tunnels?"

"The Heart Tunnels are near my kingdom. It's currently under the CrystalWing kingdom but it is constantly shifting and moving around. Our tribe has researched it, but it remains a mysterious place. Nobody's ever been down in the Heart Tunnels. My tribe has forbidden it, and anyone who goes there is ever treated the same in the tribe again. The Heart Tunnels will probably open up when Spine gains her powers again. No one knows the exact location of them, but all we know is that they're near the CrystalWing kingdom."

"Okay," Stratus said. "What does that have to do with any of this?"

"Well," he said, a flash of anger and impatience sparking in his eyes, "I just thought it might be useful eventually. If Spine is hiding somewhere in Proboscis, we might run into her sometime. It might be useful to know things about her."

"Oh," Stratus said, still not understanding why the information was of any use on their mission. She did listen to the legend, though. She was scared, her heart beating fast as her mind lingered on what Quartz had said about Spine. How will we survive if we run into her? She made an entire area lush again and created, single-handedly, an entire tribe. They didn't have any special powers, and if they did run into her, something bad could happen. "How does that information help us? I mean, it's good to know stuff about her, but she has animus powers and we don't. What are we going to do if we run into her? We don't have any sort of animus magic. I bet we're not as good fighters as Skull. He has had more time with her and knows what animus magic is capable of. We've only seen it in action a few times."

"Stop worrying about it," Quartz reassured. "We're going to be fine." Stratus wasn't so sure.

"But what if we run into her unprepared? It could mean life or death for us! Don't ignore this, Quartz!" Stratus yelled, hyperventilating and unaware of the sudden increase in volume. "You've seen what animus magic is capable of. You've seen what Ash did to those VoidWings. They just said one single thing and all of the VoidWings retreated! Spine could do something a million times worse to us! She can just say a few words and kill us, or... or anything!"

"I think you underestimate our power!" Quartz retorted, his voice rising with her's until they were both shouting. "We're way more powerful than you think!"

"Oh, there you go again! You always think you have the most power out of the two of us, and treat me like a dragonet because of it! I have no natural powers! You think I'm weak because I can't do anything! No one cares if you have special powers! No one cares if you can breathe fire! I don't care if you shatter into a million pieces!" Stratus screamed, her wings faltering in the open sky as tears fell to the ocean below.

Quartz shot back, "Well, if you think you're such a burden, maybe we should split up! Maybe we should stop being friends!" There it is, thought Stratus, her body frozen in shock, wings still beating in the sky. The invisible rift between us. Tearing us apart from within.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it! If you're insisting that I'm the problem here, then you definitely aren't a good friend!" Stratus screamed, whirling around in the air, shooting away from Quartz, back towards the BlazeWing kingdom.

"Wait!" Quartz yelled. "Don't go back there! We're still wanted over there! Actually no, feel free to get captured, then maybe you'll realise how much you need me to protect you!"

"I don't care anymore!" Stratus yelled back. "You wanted to split up and now we have. Are you happy? I don't care about this mission anymore! You're on your own now, I don't need you to save the world, no matter how much you want me to!" Then Stratus dove down through the clouds, disappearing and leaving Quartz truly alone for the first time since the beginning of their journey.