Pain lanced all the way through her throat and she sat up with a jolt. She was lying in a clearing, in an unknown forest. Thunder Strike looked around, then her gaze settled on a small river flowing through a shallow ditch. Delta island was a wild continent, with trees spreading out in every direction, and small streams flowing in about every place you could find them. She staggered over to the stream, feeling unsteady on her feet. She reached the river and looked at her reflection. What she saw staring back at her sent her reeling backwards. She didn't look like her at all. Fire poured from her neck and her eyes were a glowing cyan. She peered into the reflection again. What happened to me? She looked into the sky, checking the time of day. The sun was just above the horizon, the clouds a shade of early dawn pink. What happened? She suddenly noticed a path of broken and bent trees, as if something large had crashed through them. There were scorch marks all along them too. Did I do that? A voice echoed in her head.
You will be mine...
She couldn't remember experiencing anything after she had fallen unconscious when she blasted that beam of lightning that split the sky in two, other than that same voice that had whispered those same words into her ear. Then the memories came rushing back in a landslide.
Watching my sister die, the war, the death, the pain, the anger.
Fury pulsed underneath her scales, and she felt her fire growing hotter. How do I get out of this form? She closed her eyes and thought of the soothing sound of rain. Her scales seemed to cool, and she finally opened her eyes. Thunder Strike didn't need to check the river's reflection again to know that she had returned to normal. Slowly, she pattered around the clearing, looking for signs of her empire. I must get back, I must see if they're okay! My parents MUST be okay, they are the leaders of this entire kingdom! Tia began walking faster through the trees, desperate to find her friends and family. Other than Vor. Vor is dead. She scrunched her eyes shut, blocking out the gruesome memory.
Will I ever be able to see them again?
She pushed on until the flowing river became a wide mass of water, eventually forming into a lake in a large clearing. The pathway she had torn through the branches was still visible, even from so far away. This is the Gathering Lake! Thunder Strike realized with a jolt. She was very close to her kingdom. If I fly across the Spine Pathway I should end up right in the middle of my kingdom! Then I can see my brother and parents again! But not her sister. Never her sister ever again. The grief still raw and sharp, she closed her eyes again. Maybe she's watching me right now. She gazed up into the ever brightening sky as the sun crossed a patch of clouds and emerged out the other side.
Ike's wings carried her across the forest. In the distance, she could see the three spine islands that rested in between the head and the body of the continent. Even though she was so close, she still couldn't see the spiraling towers from this distance. Maybe they're not as tall as I thought they were? She thought hopefully, but doubted it with every wingbeat that took her closer to her home. The spires reach as high as the clouds, and I'm still below them. There's no way I can't see anything! A slow memory came back to her. Fire everywhere, trees and dragons alike, all burning. Kingdom burning, sister lying dead over some brambles. Thunder Strike faltered in the air. While she was still blinking, she crashed into a broken stone wall and tumbled to the ground. Ike rubbed her head and stood up. Then someone shrieked. Oh wait, that was her.
In front of her lay a body, bloodied and burned. The dragon's scales were barely recognizable underneath all the injuries. Ike backed away slowly, the memories flooding back in, again and again. I'll find that hydra and kill them. She closed her eyes and thought back to the moment when she had watched in horror as the hydra pierced a spear through her sister's heart. Before she knew it, she was running away from her ruined village, the trees and foliage rushing by her in a blur, tears streaming down her snout as she escaped the terrible sight of her kingdom in shambles.
One year later...
Land, at last! Tia gave one final heave and dove towards the sand, letting her claws sink into the wet mass of land. She flopped down and splayed her aching wings out until the sand completely swallowed both up. In the past year, she had wandered around aimlessly, not knowing where else to go. Her final decision was to travel to Sunlit Island with a new nickname. The only purpose 'Ike' ever served after the war was to remind her of her dead sister. So, she decided to never use it again. She hadn't found her parents' or brother's body in the months she'd searched. She hoped they weren't dead, but she couldn't be sure. I haven't talked to another dragon in one whole year. But what's the point? Making friends just means they'll be torn apart from you once Spirit's had enough fun. She got up, blinking sand out of her eyes. She needed to find food.
"I'm sick of eating fish." She grumbled through a mouthful, hardly able to swallow. She wanted a fat juicy chicken, or a cow, even a lizard, just anything but seafood. It had taken her weeks to fly across the ocean, and all she could afford to catch were fish, sharks, octopi and eels. Well, I can live a better life here, can't I? Finishing the last of her lunch, she climbed up the beach and flew into the thick undergrowth surrounding it.
The flight was long, it felt nearly as long as it did crossing the ocean, even though Thunder Strike knew that wasn't possible. But finally, she emerged into open air and took in a deep breath that wasn't coated over with the smell of rotting leaves and fruit. It's a jungle. She realized. She'd never seen one back home. Home. The word sent a shiver down her spine. I don't have a home. The reality of the situation finally sunk in. This place is foreign to me... I don't know anything about this place! She beat her wings harder, trying to escape her thoughts. Just fly on... just fly on. I'll figure out something later. In the distance, she could see a mountain that reached all the way up into the clouds. She looked up and squinted her eyes to get a better look at the mountain, which meant she didn't pay much attention to what, or who she was flying into.
Scales collided with hers and she and the mystery dragon tumbled together to the ground, eventually coming to a stop at a tree. Tia managed to roll over, her vision blurry and starry. The other dragon scowled at her, though she could barely make out their face when her head was still spinning from the impact with the tree. "WATCH IT!!!" The other dragon snarled. Thunder Strike managed to separate down from up and backed away from him until her hind quarters brushed against the tree she hit. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" She stammered. Her vision started clearing, and she took a closer look at her opposer. He had an empty feeling to him, as if there was no soul left in him. He looked tired too. "When was the last time you slept?" She asked, worried. He looked away. "Since when do Stormwings care?" He hissed. He turned away from her, nearly thwacking her in the snout with his long tail, and flew away, off to the other side of the continent.
Is that Silver Wing that dragon was off to? Tia didn't have much else to do, so she followed him to see where he was headed. Oh great Spirit, don't tell me he's going back to his Empire across the ocean... Since she was only eleven years old, flying across the ocean twice would be quite a big deal for her, but she followed anyway. Maybe I could make a home there. Someplace where I could just forget about the past.
