{~Forgotten Secrets~}

Prologue

Shimmering past the clouds, thousands and thousands of stars twinkled into view, the storm had passed, but still some clouds cried their fresh tears.
From the clouds broke free the three moons all three just crescents at the moment, but in the next few days, they would be full.
The Brightest Night.
Queen Vengeance gazed across her new kingdom. Queen. She never knew the title would come to her. Proclaimed by the oldest of every new tribe, Skywings, Seawings, Rainwings, Mudwings, Icewings, Sandwings. And the Nightwings. 
Her subjects.
The young queen shook her wings, her night-like wings, thinking still of how strange this was. Never had the dragons of Pyrrhia been united. But the force of the scavengers had been overwhelming. It would have been foolish not to.
The Scorching. That's what everyone was calling it. Because the dragons had scorched a mark in the world, claiming it as their own. Now scavengers cowered before a dragons feet.
Vengeance laughed to herself. Sometimes they even offered gold in exchange for not getting eaten, or at least, one did to her. One day she had been hunting and found one, walking along wearing furs of some kind. It had thrown her jewels from its pack and cowered beneath a bush. She took the treasure and left, leaving the little sucker alive, despite its species almost wiping out dragon-kind.
"You shouldn't be out here alone, your majesty."
The voice made her jump, and she held a talon to chest. She turned to see Scrollspeaker, her newly appointed scientist, doctor, and council adviser, and very good friend, standing in the door of her balcony, on the west wing of her new gorgeous palace, which was still being built. Another dragon stood with him, a tall, lean dark blue scaled Nightwing with piercing yellow eyes.
"Oh! Scrollspeaker, hello, and....companion..." she trailed off, cursing not knowing the name of this dragon, she saw him around often, but could never remember his name. Next order of Queen, learn everyone's name, she declared to herself.
"You don't have to make it a priority, your majesty." Spoke the new dragon. His voice was smooth, and as chilling as his eyes.
So he was one of those Nightwings. Only now did she see the scale by his eyes.
"But my name is Shadowjumper, since you were so curious," he bowed with a sweep of his dark starry wings, showing his shoulder, which had a long, deep scar running across it, as well as a black fabric satchel.
Scrollspeaker shuffled his feet. "Shadowjumper is my sisters mate, and the father of the egg that will hatch on the Brightest Night." Vengeance blinked. A thrice-moon dragon? That would be something to look out for.
"Ah, well, you have my congratulations, Shadowjumper." Other than that, she had no idea what to say. She was a queen, she had to do some things so precisely.  But she didn't know how to do them, no one had been a queen before or could teach her, her grandmother was doing all she could, being the leader of one of the biggest Nightwing clans before the Scorching. She was drifting off again, she shook her wings again and turned back to Scrollspeaker. "Can you tell me why your here, Scrollspeaker?"
Her friend shuffled his wings. "Ah, yes, well, I came to see if you would accept Shadowjumper here as your new prophet, seeing as you don't have the power yourself, I thought it would be a good idea for to have one." He fiddled with a ring on one of his talons. "He is twice-moon born, with both mind reading and prophetic abilities, and..." he gulped. Shadowjumper stepped forward before he could say anymore.
"I come from a bloodline of power, your majesty." His voice was chilling. The way he said "Your majesty," it sounded almost as if he were mocking her.
"I know you have power, Scrollspeaker just said you did." Vengeance tapped a talon against the railing of her balcony, beautifully sculpted to resemble flames. Great moons, focus. She told herself when Shadowjumper spoke again.
He narrowed his eyes, those chilling, yellow eyes. "I mean, that I can enchant, Queen Vengeance."
Vengeance stopped her talons and looked back at him, her eyes wide.
"You-"
"Animus."
They stood, staring at each other for few silent moments, the only sound was that of the passing storm clouds, a rumble of thunder from miles away, and Scrollspeaker's nervous talons tapping the stone beneath them.
Vengeance broke the silence. "How can I believe you?" Her voice was strong, but her talons were shaking. "Animus blood is so rare, you could be lying." Her mind was racing in spite of the fact that she didn't want Shadowjumper to read her thoughts, the thoughts wouldn't stop.
He smiled, his teeth shining in the bright moonlight. "Well your majesty, there is a cost to this magic you know, one which is very, permanent, as I'm sure you've heard?" Vengeance nodded. She remembered the stories her grandmother told her of ancient times. Animus dragons who used they're magic to much went mad, slaughtering their families. Each little spell taking more of their soul.
Vengeance rubbed her shoulders. "I still want proof. Enchant something, like..." She looked for something, her eyes landing on an obsidian mirror, hanging on the wall just inside of the chamber wall. She went in, grabbed it off the wall, and handed it to Shadowjumper, the smooth, black ingenious glass shining beneath the starlight.
"This. Enchant this to make it so I watch and hear dragons who are far away." She thought this as a harmless spell, one that could do little harm.
Shadowjumper gazed at the mirror, tapping its side with a talon, thinking. Scrollspeaker fidgety by his side until he finally spoke.
Shadowjumper cleared his throat. "Enchant this mirror so that whomever holds it in their talons, when breathing a dragon's name across its surface with smoke, it will show the user the dragon who's name was spoken and those around them, hearing the words they speak."
As he chanted, Vengeance watched the mirror closely. Did she see the surface shimmer? Was there any sign the magic took effect?
When he was done, both Scrollspeaker and Vengeance inspected the mirror. "Does it work?" The queen demanded.
Shadowjumper smiled, his eyes seemed to grow brighter. He brought the mirror close to his face and breathed dark smoke across it. "Starlight..." he murmured.
The smoke swirled into shapes, with two in the centre. One bigger, the other much smaller, different colours. The bigger shape had turned a dark purple, a black object in its centre. The spot moved as if it were dancing, holding the small black object. Vengeance suddenly heard singing;
"Chase away the shadows, chase away the dark, shining like the starry sky, brought to thee gentle, like the song of the lark..."
Scrollspeaker smiled, Shadowjumper sighed. Vengeance was amazed. She was in the presence of a true animus! Her thoughts whirled. She could do so many things, with this dragon! She pushed the thoughts away, turning her attention back to the mirror, which had been cleared after Shadowjumper waved a talon over it.
"Convinced?" He asked, almost smugly, handing her the mirror. She took it, still in awe. "I am." She dipped her head. "You are welcome in my court, Shadowjumper."
Suddenly, she shivered, as if the wind had turned back and brought the storm back. She pushed it aside.
"In that case," Shadowjumper reached into his satchel, pulling out a silver bracelet, made of thin wires intertwining with each other, making intricate designs out of silver strands. He handed it to Vengeance. "Consider this, as well as the mirror, as a token of my gratitude." He smiled. A knowing smile, as if they were playing a game of chess and he had just placed her in check. Vengeance shivered, but smiled. "What does this do? Is it-"
"Enchanted? Yes. It will alert the wearer of any incoming danger, to either the wearer or anyone close to them."
Vengeance slipped it on her wrist, admiring it. "Thank you, Shadowjumper." She dipped her head again.
Scrollspeaker cleared his throat. "Well, it's getting late. It will be daybreak soon, and I believe Starlight will be expecting us." He turned to the taller Nightwing, gesturing to the door.
Shadowjumper turned back to the Queen, smiling. "Well, good day to you, your majesty," he spoke with a bow, once more with a flourish of his wings. "I look forward to seeing you in court." He turned back to Scrollspeaker and they left, shutting the chamber door behind them.
After they left, Vengeance looked first to the mirror, then to her bracelet, then to the brightening sky.
That shiver, when she agreed to letting Shadowjumper into her court, what did that mean? And that smile. He knew something.
He was a twice-moon dragon, he had both mind-reading and prophecy. AND he was an animus. The young queen shivered again, thinking of the future, and if she had just made a grave mistake.