Wings of Fire: The Forgotten Legend

Chapter 11

In more ways than you could possibly know. The words were spinning inside his head, confusing him to no end. What was confusing about it was that it came from no one present, like whispering words on the wind. The words without a voice. He looked at the unfamiliar place he was in. I need to get answers. But where would he get the answers? The idea suddenly sprung from his mind. I have to go back. I might get the answers, and then some; the truth of what really happened.

Most of the Nightwing population was there, gathered in the Great Diamond. It was the place of the most important decrees, and other announcements, most often delivered by the queen herself. Everyone was landing, crowding each other with loud, curious, excited words, wondering what the queen was going to say. The queen had not appeared to the public since the prince had gone missing. On the balcony overlooking the Diamond, the general came out. He extended out a paw. The crowd's enthusiasm died down.

"Please, be quiet. The queen will begin shortly." The general stepped back, and as he did so, the queen emerged onto the balcony, dressed in dark opals.

"Fellow Nightwings, as I have announced a week ago, the prince is missing still. This has deeply saddened all of us, and I should know. But time only goes forward, and so must we. You all know that the heir to the throne is my daughter, Vigilance. I now officially declare before you all, that the successor to the throne is Princess Vigilance." She paused. "And that will be all." With one last glance toward the darkening sun, she turned around to the palace and disappeared inside once more. As the murmurings rose again, so did the Nightwings as they went back to where they had come from.

Vigilance looked at her mom as she walked toward the back of the room and smiled at the thought of being the next queen. Oblate kept walking down the corridor at a slow pace. Vigilance bounded up beside her. "I will be the best queen the Nightwings ever had!" she shouted. Oh, I just can't wait! I will be just like you, don't worry, mother!" Oblate turned her head and said: "It makes me very happy to hear that you want to take this responsibility. I hope you find a good mate to go along with that cherry attitude and manage a happy life. Daughter, my life is one that is filled with regrets. I am getting old, and may not see your generation grow up. You must realize this. And..."

"This is the most exciting day in my life!" Vigilance suddenly shouted. Oblate sighed and shook her head. Youth does not understand what the future truly is and what it holds; they never will. Is this generation already that oblivious to what's going on around them? Oblate thought. Beside her, Vigilance kept rambling on how glorious of a queen she was going to be. The queen stopped to where her room was and shut the door on her oblivious daughter outside. She walked into her room to stare up into the grey sky. What would have you done? What would you have expected of me? Have I failed both you and the dragonets, and perhaps even the entire kingdom? Your prophecy is coming true, she realized with a pang of sorrow. You were right, as always. I miss you.

Being stealthy had its advantages. Being stealthy and black made the dragon almost invisible against a dark sky. That was probably why the other tribes were scared of the Nightwings. And it was also the plausible reason why other tribes had animus dragons and the Nightwings did not. But not today, or more specifically, the past ten years. Yet no one but Shadowhawk knew that. Not even his own mother, the queen. He flew into his room with silent grace. No one missed me, right?

She looked at the two glasses of rare red wine. Looking at them, she thought I am thirsty. Taking it, she drank one of the glasses. At that moment, Shadowhawk entered the room. She turned to face him. "Shadowhawk..." she whispered and fell to the stone floor. Shadowhawk's eyes went wide and rushed to her side. "Mother, are you alright?" She lifted her head up a little and looked at him again.

"I need to tell you something right now." He looked up, confused. "What? We need to get you some help right now," and tried to pick her up. "No, I need to tell you now. You have been wondering about actually happened to your father."

"How did you know?"

She winced in pain and proceeded to tell the tale.

"I loved Windshadow. Everyone did. He was the greatest Nightwing of the generation and established peace between most of the tribes. During this time, we became mates. We kept this a secret for a year until you and your sister were hatched." She managed a smile.

"It was the most beautiful moment in my life. Vigilance was the first. But when you came out of your shell, a strange phenomenon occurred. Earlier, there had been only one moon present in the sky. Then suddenly there were all three. The other two had apparently been blotted out by the grey clouds. A rare comet also appeared. Then Windshadow looked at me and gave me a prophecy. 'Vigilance will succeed the throne. But disaster will befall the Nightwings, and the greed of a monarch will be the end. And our son will be called Shadowhawk, though not for the rest of his life.' There was something profoundly sad in his eyes. But he told me not to worry now, and focus on the present."

"Despite this prophecy, he knew what his responsibilities of a parent were. For two years we raised you both, and we were both very happy. Memories." She whispered, and clutched her belly in agony, but still resumed.

"I remember Vigilance, who had found a mirror and wouldn't stop looking at her reflection. You were a bit odd. You always sat looking at the wall or the sky, constantly wondering what life was about."

"But after those two years came to an end, the Icewings were in disarray. They just had a new queen crowned, a young dragoness named Diamond. Some of the Icewing elders, though, declared her ineligible, since she was so young [around five years] and was unfit for the ruling. The Ice kingdom was on the brink of civil war, and this caught the attention of the other tribes. Windshadow was highly respected throughout all of Phyrria, and he had to take care of this problem before it exploded. Before he left, he gazed at me with those passionate eyes, and said, 'I love you. I might not come back. Please take care of our dragonets.' And before I could say anything, he left without another word, followed by one guard." Oblate choked.

"After two weeks, waiting for some news of what happened, the guard that had accompanied Windshadow came back, looking very tired. I feared the worst and asked him where Windshadow was. The guard told us that when they got there, He asked the guard to stay outside of the ice dome. There were some raised voices and a quick flash of light inside the dome. The guard ran inside, and found Queen Diamond panting heavily, a little wounded; ten dead Icewings on the floor; but no sign of Windshadow. The guard asked the queen what happened, and Diamond said that Penguin, the Icewing animus, got into a very heated argument with Windshadow. Then, Penguin said something, and they both disappeared in a quick flash of light."

"I have not had any peace since that day. I grieved for Windshadow; I grieved for myself; I grieved for our young dragonets, and what to say to them. So for your safety, I hid the truth. Then again, there is no truth in lying. His death was kept hidden."

"But when we came to the Ice Kingdom, eight years later, I heard his voice. I think everyone did."

"In more ways than you could possibly know", Shadowhawk recited. "Do you think he is still alive?" he asked. Oblate turned her head.

"There is a connection that only mates have, and I do believe that he is alive because after hearing that ominous sentence, my heart cried out. The loss was terrible all those years, and I wanted to find him again. But for some reason, I couldn't do anything. It felt like he was gone so long that he didn't exist. Reality set in, and I thought I was just hearing voices. It couldn't be real."

"After that though, it has been torturing me." Her face was wet with tears. "Go, and find your father. He can explain in areas where I could not. If he is alive, and look in the Ice Kingdom, tell him that I loved him with all of my soul and being, even when he left." Shadowhawk started to cry as well.

"I can save you with..." he began.

"No! I already know that you have animus magic. To save me now it would be unnatural. Do not use power for greater power." And the soul of Queen Oblate of the NIghtwings left the world.

"No!" Shadowhawk whispered, collapsing on the floor beside her. I know you loved me. But I didn't return it. All I can do is what you asked. For the both of us." Slowly rising, he shut her eyes. "May you rest in peace."

Spreading his wings, he looked at the moon and back to his mother. Then a noise came from the entry: a gasp from Vigilance as she saw her mother dead on the floor. She lifted her head to look at Shadowhawk, looking with disbelief at him. Shadowhawk opened his mouth to say something but closed it. Whatever happened next would decide the fate of Phyrria. Everything had an effect, he knew. And this decision would be fatal. He turned and flew off into the dark sky. The resolve was set. And so was history.