Jade Mountain's Next Generation

Chapter 1 - Jade Mountain

Darkshine woke up trembling. A glance out her window revealed it to be almost morning. Her sister Light was still sleeping soundly in the other hammock. She let out a soft snore and Darkshine groaned.

When she closed her eyes (because she was exhausted, her sleep had been awful) she immediately opened them again, alert and awake. What had her dream been? Her teacher had said that it was essential she remembered them, especially the bad ones, since she was able to see the future.

Finally she remembered her dream: she had been rushing through a hallway, calling unfamiliar names, with a sense of utmost urgency. Urgency for what? She wasn't sure.

When the sun began to shine through the window a few minutes later, Light rose from her hammock. "Nervous?" She asked, grinning. "First day at Jade Mountain today."

"Not at all." Replied Darkshine, with a confidence she didn't feel. People often remarked that the sisters were similar. They couldn't have been more wrong. Light was always socializing, spoke confidently, and made other laugh. Darkshine sometimes imitated her when meeting people because she didn't know how else to interact with them, but she was usually awkward and quiet. Often, she would rant about something she found interesting, and was met with blank or uninterested looks.

"Good. I'm not nervous either. But I am bored." Light said. She settled her wings and Darkshine could tell she was about to fly over to their mother's room and wake her up, but before she could, Queen Glory walked into their room.

"Oh, good, you're already up. Tsunami wanted me to come early so she could discuss some changes." She took Darkshine's talon and Light's wing and dragged them both after her out the door.

Queen Glory had changed a lot since she was younger. For one thing, she was more tolerant. She was rarely sassy or sarcastic (which may seem like a drastic change, but it was a necessary one.) Her scales were nearly always dark blue, and her emotions rarely affected her appearance. She was still a strong and good queen, but she was definitely not the same person she had been years ago.

The family met Deathbringer outside, and they all flew off in the direction of Jade Mountain. Glory lead the way, and Deathbringer was in the back, making sure his children could keep up.

When they arrived, Light tumbled to the ground, laughing. She folded her wings carefully back as Darkshine landed quietly behind her. They followed Glory in, but she gestured to Fatespeaker sitting at a desk near the entrance. Then she disappeared into the crowd of hustling dragons.

"Hi! New students? Ooooo, you guys are Glory's kids right?" Darkshine nodded nervously. She had only met Fatespeaker once, when she was a lot younger.

"Okay. So, Lightshine, right?" Light nodded (her full name was Lightshine, but she hated having such a similar name to her sister) and said, "I go by Light."

Fatespeaker consulted a scroll. "Alright, so Light, you're in the cave three doors on my left. And, um, Darkshine? Right? You're in the next cave over, four doors down my left."

"Thanks." Darkshine said awkwardly. Light waved.

"Okay, bye, Darkshine!" She called excitedly as they arrived at the third room. Darkshine waved absently and kept walking.

Standing in front of the fourth room, Darkshine felt incredibly nervous. What if... she took a deep breath and walked into the cave, trying not to worry about anything.