A World Upside Down - WoF Jade Winglet AU

Below Zero - Turtle

SeaWings were never built to be able to fly as high and as long as Turtle did. He was already restless from the journey to the rainforest. They stayed for only a few hours before Darkstalker took any desiring NightWings to the ancient Night Kingdom, and Turtle did not want to risk unsheathing his enchanted rock, for he could easily lose the distant black shapes if he glanced away for even a second.

Darkstalker was heading towards a part of Pyrrhia Turtle thought few dragons went to - the southwestern peninsula, where no kingdom in particular ruled over. He had never read any scrolls pertaining directly to that region; partly because little was known and partly because nearly every scroll he read was made from his mother.

The sun was setting. Warm colors danced across the ocean to his left, the ocean that he so desperately wanted to dive in and relish. He noticed the NightWings in the distance start to swoop down on a large, open beach. Soon, it was covered with the dark shapes of over one hundred dragons, similar to a colony of insects.

Most likely to rest for the night. Doesn't sound like a bad idea.

Turtle swooped into the ocean and enjoyed every bit of it, letting the water ease his scales and catching some large fish. He found a decently sized cave he could sleep in for the night.

The cave had the volume of about a full grown dragon and a half, enough for Turtle to lay comfortable. He gathered some kelp and other plants and made a crude mat.

The SeaWing suddenly realized that he had to update Qibli on his findings. Turtle reached into his satchel and brought out the stone tablet. Using a dead piece of coral nearby, he etched an update into the hard stone:

Darkstalker and NightWings heading towards probably old Night Kingdom. Southwestern peninsula.

Turtle was sure Qibli and the others would manage to get the information they needed. With the SandWing's brain, they could probably have half the prophecy figured out by tomorrow.

That is, if nothing else got in the way.

Turtle could barely keep his eyes from shutting, and soon he let himself sink into the darkness of sleep.

*                                        *                                 *

The azure of the ocean, the tickling of kelp, and the endless supply of meals could keep Turtle in the water forever. It would've, too, had there not been more at stake than frolicking in his endless expanse of home.

The SeaWing groggily sat up, cleaning himself with whatever he could find. A few medium sized fish made for a mediocre breakfast. Finally, Turtle surfaced and scanned around, his head like a periscope.

It was early morning, the warm colors like magma on the sky. The sun was a little more than halfway across the horizon. In front of it was the bustling activity of the NightWing camp, with a few stretching their wings out, black dots against the great expanse of sky.

Turtle tried flying and swimming himself, attempting to entertain himself for about an hour before the large silhouette of Darkstalker rallied the dragons, taking off in a giant cloud which blocked any possible sunlight about to land.

Trying to catch up, Turtle threw on a burst of speed, gaining altitude and making sure the NightWings would be in sight for miles around.  He took out the stone tablet and swiftly jotted down NightWings otw to destination. Hold for update.

They couldn't have been that far from where they were going now, at most half an hour's flight. Turtle tried to keep his thoughts focused and determined, unconsciously worrying about what exactly might happen.

Eventually, land appeared in front of them. Mountain ranges, to be precise. As Turtle flew over them, he felt a tingling sensation, lasting no more than a second. Clueless to what it could have been, he had no choice but to push on.

In the distance, Turtle was able to see large structures. Many large structures. A whole city of them.

The fleet of dragons in front of him starting swooping down to what appeared to be a run-down palace, larger than any other building in the area. A lot of the area looked to be made of dark obsidian, marble, and many other stones NightWing royalty would use.

Darkstalker landed on a balcony overlooking a courtyard, beckoning for a few dragons to join him. The rest settled in various places in the open space below.

Turtle fumbled around for the tablet, writing At Lost City. Standby for update.

He crept onto a rooftop behind the mass of dragons, peeking only his head over intending to listen to Darkstalker apparently making a speech.

The animus went on about welcoming everybody and restoring the kingdom to its former glory.

Turtle decided to write down on the tablet everything Darkstalker spoke about. Luckily, he spoke slowly and methodically, choosing his words wisely. If Qibli managed to not see his scribe friend's writing, hopefully it was unimportant information.

And most of the speech was disregarded by the SeaWing, absentmindedly jotting down words. When Darkstalker dismissed the crowd, Turtle paid close attention to the dragons on the balcony, somewhat eavesdropping on them.

"You can get into the Ice Kingdom, correct?" the booming voice of Darkstalker asked.

"Yes. My IceWing form will get past the Great Ice Cliff. I'll depart in an hour."

My IceWing form.

And that voice.

Chameleon was working with Darkstalker. And he was going to use Cirrus to spy on the IceWings for him.