WoF: Tidal of Despair | Chapter 1

"You are ready..."

High above Jade Mountain, the bright sun shone as it rose to its highest peak, two full moons following it. Only a single, tiny cloud floated through the never ending blue sky. And yet, a chilly breeze floated about, making any dragon’s lungs shiver as they breathed in the crisp air. Some predicted a storm was on its way, while others thought it was some stupid joke created by IceWings to make the fire breathers freeze.

    Even so, the tiny dewdrops crystallized upon the Jade Mountain made a pretty sight for sore eyes, as if thousands of diamonds had been cast over the mountain. It was a sight only perfect for the first day at the Academy.

    Well, unless you were one of the fire breathers complaining about the cold.

    Outside the Jade Mountain, dragons were bustling about, wings fluttering in excitement for their first step into the Academy. Blues and yellows and reds and browns and blacks dotted the sky as dragons flew into downward spirals towards the ledge yawning out from the large entrance of Jade Mountain. Some arrived with their parents, others didn’t. Most with parents almost seemed hesitant to leave them. Even so, nearly every dragon had sparkling eyes as they thought about their new future: new dragons to meet, and potentially new friends to make. Some of the dragons even tackled friends who had also been accepted into the Academy, their cries of delight filling the chilly air.

    But, like every year, there were stragglers perched as far away as they could from the crowd, unsure of what awaited them. Their eyes could only stare at the large mountain before them, lost in the fact that it was so… big. Nevertheless, soon to be filled with rowdy dragons who would most likely break something the moment they stepped into it.

    A certain pair of ocean green/blue eyes with silver teardrop scales beside them were staring at the dagons, blinking uncertainly from their spot beside none other than Queen Glory of the RainWings and NightWings. There was a slight shimmer as the owner ruffled her wings nervously, silently cursing to herself that she couldn’t hide all the way because of her insipid “power”.

    How was Glory so sure about sending her first hatched daughter to this place?

    If she didn’t have the skyfire stone resting in the pouch around her neck, Mockingjay swore her brain would have exploded with all of these dragons in one place. She shivered at the thought of the insides of her head suddenly going outside.

    “Someone’s a scaredy lizard!” Gladius raised his head from his perch atop of a tall boulder, starry wings spread regally in the sunlight. He was an exact replica of his father, Deathbringer, with the same eyes, scales, and star pattern upon his wings. He even had the same mind, which meant he held practically the same thoughts, and that led to Glory having another pain on her tail. The only thing that stuck out on him like a sore talon was the RainWing ruff behind his ears, which was currently a royal gold just as bright as the sun itself. Of course, Gladius resented the fact that he actually had a piece of him that could display his emotions whenever it wanted. He was usually tucking his head behind his wings whenever he couldn’t control his emotions, but with all of the dragons around him, everyone was too excited to notice his odd coloration for once.

    “I mean, come on, Mockingjay. Firefly and Alluring are both younger than you, and yet they’re brave enough to go talk to new dragons,” Gladius added with a shake of his head. He flicked a wing towards the two dragonets, one a shiny silver while the other was a rumbling purple with flecks of bright violet, chatting to the two sons of Tsunami, Cyclone and Gill. “For talon’s sake, I’m even younger than you.”

    “By a day,” Mockingjay growled under her breath, a flick of red surging through her invisible scales for a brief moment. “Besides, they both already know the two SeaWing princes. It doesn’t count.” She frowned when she felt the green eyes of her mother look over to her ruefully, knowing all too well what she was thinking.

    Why did she have to hatch on a full moon?

    Mockingjay turned away from Queen Glory, brushing a talon over the pouch hanging from her neck. She remembered all too well on how she had hatched under a wretched full moon, a day earlier than when she was supposed to take her first breath of air. From that day forward, Mockingjay had hated herself. She hated the silver scales at the corners of her eyes. She hated the fact that she was even alive, envious of the normal life Gladius lived. Often times, she dreamed of having a mind reading-free life. But, instead, she was forced upon with an ancient power and lived in fear. She had hidden herself away from her tribes for eight years, rumors the only thing ever signaling that she was even alive. Some even believed she had died shortly after she hatched (and many more horrible thoughts) and that the only princesses that lived were Firefly, Alluring and Sunbeam, who Mockingjay tried to stay dearly away from. (Except for Firefly. Mockingjay quite liked her little sister’s silence, compared to Alluring’s rambling mouth and Sunbeam’s blaring yellow scales.) In all reality, Gladius was the only dragon Mockingjay ever had contact with, and even she wasn’t as comfortable with him as she wanted to be.

    All in all, Mockingjay grew up alone in the forest. She refused to meet any dragon, but that didn’t stop the thoughts that came from them. Even when there was no one around, she could still hear voices in her head. Of course, being the worried parents they were, Deathbringer and Glory visited her whenever they could. When they couldn’t be there, Gladius was there. When he had been offered to go to the Academy three years ago, he refused, insisting he wouldn’t go until Mockingjay was ready.

    And now that horrible day was here.

    Mockingjay never wanted to go to the Academy, not did she ever think about going. She didn’t want anyone to find out about her wretched power, or even herself in general, which was why she prefered to be alone. But after receiving the skyfire stone from her mother and learning that there was a mind reader now teaching at Jade Mountain, you could say a small spark of hope lit up inside Mockingjay. She hoped that this mind reader called Moonwatcher could help her with her power, find a way to make it less agonizing than it already was.

    But after seeing all of these dragons, Mockingjay wanted nothing more than to stay hidden back in the rainforest and forget this day ever happened.

    Mockingjay winced when she felt a warm wing rest over her shivering form. “You know, you don’t have to go,” Glory said. “This choice is all yours to make, even though your father insists on you going.”

    Mockingjay shifted away from her mother, ignoring the sad green eyes. “I know. But it would be a lot better if I never came to this place.” She glared at her talons. “In fact, it would be better if you just left me be. Forget me trying to make so called ‘friends’. No one would want to become friends with someone like me.”

    Not after they learn what I can do.

    “Oh, would you stop that?” Gladius leaped in front of the invisible form of Mockingjay, dusty blue eyes narrowed. “If you keep thinking like that, I might as well call you a full borne NightWing. You’re the smartest dragon I know, so stop acting like you’ve been living under a rock all of your life. Plus, you know I’ve been dying to come to Jade Mountain academy forever, so you pretty much have no other choice but to stay since you’re here now.” He gave her a toothy grin.

    Ugh, that face looked too much like the one Deathbringer always gave her to make her agree to anything.

    Mockingjay scowled. Little manipulator.

    “Gladius,” Glory warned, flicking her tail towards the smirking prince. Ignoring Gladius’s huff of annoyance, she kept her attention to her procrastinating daughter. “This will be good for you, Mockingjay. It might take you a while to see that, but I’m sure you’ll love it here. Maybe not as much as the rainforest, but enough for you to stay.”

    Mockingjay scoffed.

    The RainWing queen sighed, closing her green eyes tightly. She swore her daughter was about as bull headed as Tsunami. “Listen. All I’m asking is a week. If you don’t like it by then, you can come home. Deal?”

    Short and sweet, just like always. Mockingjay turned back towards the gathered dragons, who were beginning to drift into the mountain. If she didn’t agree, she could go back home to peace, but Gladius would have to wait another year to come to the Academy, and he certainly would most likely smother her in her sleep because of it. If she did agree, she’d have to spend an entire week with crazy dragons who would most likely smother her in her sleep as well if they found out she could read their minds. She’d probably be dead before she could tell her mother she wanted to go home.

    Either way didn’t sound as pleasant as she wanted them to be.

    Mockingjay curled her tail around her talons, regretting every word that she was going to say from now on. “Okay. Fine. Whatever.”

    “YES!” Gladius flared his wings and darted into the mountain before Glory and Mockingjay could blink.

    “Well.” Glory cleared her throat and stood, posing grandly, just like the queen she was. “I think we have things settled for now. I’ll await your answer at a week’s time, Jaybird.”

    Jaybird. “Wait.” Mockingjay suddenly grasped her mother’s forearm, panic spiking at her brain. When she realized what she had done, she immediately let go with a flinch. The last time she had ever touched her mother was so long ago, when she had been shoved out of a tree by a NightWing dragonet at the age of two. For some odd reason, this moment felt like it would be the last time she ever saw Glory, and so the thought of never feeling her motherly and warm and wonderful presence again… scared her.

    In fact, it scared her as much as the thought of falling; dying. Even though Mockingjay had pushed her mother out of the picture for most of her life, she admitted that she was always wanting to reach out to her with her talons and never see the rueful look on her mother’s snout like the one that was on her now. It pained her like a stab to the heart, as if an IceWing had ripped it out of her chest and tossed it out like it was nothing.

    “Please promise me you’ll let me come home if I wish to.”

    Glory silently stepped up in front of her daughter, eyes shining sadly, and gripped her front talons to her daughter’s. “I promise.”

    Hesitantly, Mockingjay slowly let colors pour over her scales. When her whole slim frame could be seen, she looked up at her mother, bright eyes swarming with worry, fear, but most of all, sadness.

    Glory stared at the dragoness before her, her breath hitching. She looked so much like a RainWing with her curling tail and talons and slender shape. She held the RainWing scruff and venom spitting fangs proudly, but her face held so much NightWing. Her slender snout mimicked a NightWings almost perfectly, and yet it was the silver teardrop scales by her hauntingly beautiful eyes that gave it all away. Her head down was pitch black before melting into a deep yet vibrant blue all the way to her tail, her wings were a smoky grey, the tips of her horns and tail were a pure white, and two jagged lines the color of a blue sky zagged from her forehead clear down to the middle of her muzzle.

    The colors of the white-tipped Steller’s Jay Deathbringer named her after.

    “You’re as beautiful as the night you hatched...” Glory squeezed the claws in her palms reassuringly, as if she were afraid to let go, and rested her wings calmly on her spine as she looked at her daughter, gaze full of longing. “Don’t let anyone change who you are, you hear me? You are perfect, so don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. I know you’ll make us proud...”

    Mockingjay leaned into her mother’s touch. “Do you promise?”

    Glory smiled, refusing to let the tears in her eyes fall. She was in public, for talon’s sake. “I promise, my little Jaybird. Now, get going before Gladius comes barreling back for you. He has already embarrassed me enough to day.”

    Now, that sounded like the Glory Mockingjay knew.

    “Well, he is the son of Deathbringer.” Mockingjay let a smile slip onto her muzzle as Glory pulled back with her own small smile.

    “Good luck.”

    “MOCKINGJAY!”

    Said dragoness rolled her eyes. “I’m coming, Gladius!” she shouted back. But when she returned to her mother, the queen of the RainWings and NightWings was already gone.

    Mockingjay instinctively looked up to the sky, but spotted no sign of Glory.

    See you soon, I guess.

    She sighed, pulling in her wings tightly when a cold breeze whisked past her, and slowly made her way to the mountain’s entrance. She couldn’t remember the last time ever being this cold when her parents left.

    Maybe it’s what truly being alone felt like.

    Mockingjay tried to shake away the gloomy thoughts that began to invade her mind. She stopped and looked up at the large entrance where Gladius stood impatiently. It looked as though thirty full grown SkyWings could flare their wings within it and have plenty of room to spare. And when she peeked inside, it only made her feel even smaller, and made her want to high-tail it home even more. She sidled up next to her brother as he took in the sight before him in awe.

    “This place… is a lot bigger than I thought it would be.” He admitted after a moment.

    “You just now figured that out?” Mockingjay shook her head before glancing about at what her knew home would be for a week, if she survived that long.

    The entrance cave looked as is if you could take all of the RainWings and NightWings and shove them inside with still a whole nother tribe to spare. Sunlight poured inside like there was no tomorrow, illuminating the craggy walls and ceiling of the large cave. Cascades of  golden-brown stalactites hung from the towering ceiling, some of them reaching all the way to the floor in twisting columns. Soft drops of water dripped from the cave’s “teeth” as the frost from the previous night slowly melted away.

    Against the far back wall, a huge bronze gong with three flying dragons carved into it was hung, nearly invisible marks of age coursing over it surface from the hits it had received through the years. Two SeaWings were strapping a banner woven of vines across two of the largest stalactites in the center of the cave, Welcome Students spelled upon it in vibrant yellow and blue flowers that Mockingjay had seen in plentiful bundles in the rainforest. One of the SeaWings was a blue-green color, his large size suggesting that he wasn’t as young as most of the dragons in the cave. The other was only about half his size, her scales glimmering a deep blue like the ocean. Her green eyes were narrowed at the larger SeaWing as she barked orders at him in a voice that nearly drowned out all of the others, and with the two strands of pearls woven around her neck, Mockingjay wondered if she was the famous SeaWing princess, Princess Tsunami.

    Although, the description Mockingjay had gotten from her mother back in the rainforest definitely fit this dragon.

    Two tunnel openings yawned along the left wall of the cave, and two more sat on the right. Next to each opening hung a map, showing where each tunnel went.

    And if you thought the outside was horrifying with all of the dragons, the inside was much worse. The whole cave was busy with bustling dragons: families saying good-bye, friends saying hello, and a few dragons were hauling around scrolls that could last them weeks. Mockingjay even swore she saw a MudWing dragging a sack full of treasure down one of the several tunnels within the mountain.

    “Yikes, I hope Firefly and Alluring didn’t get lost already.” Gladius frowned before pushing Mockingjay forward. “Come on. We better find out where are caves are before any more dragons come in.” He eyed a nearby SandWing warily as the tan dragon stared at the brown satchel hanging across his chest.

    According to the Academy, dragons could bring whatever they wished with them to make it “feel more like home”. Gladius insisted on bringing his collection of throwing stars Deathbringer had given him to show off to his clawmates (apparently, that’s what the dragons who you shared a cave with were called) that his father was a trained assassin. Mockingjay had simply brought her skyfire stone and one throwing star, the one Glory had used on Deathbringer when he had nearly killed Blaze, one of the three SandWing sisters that had fought for the SandWing throne fifteen years ago.

    From the scrolls she had read, Mockingjay was glad Queen Thorn had taken the throne.

    “Hello!” a voice almost immediately chimed when Gladius and Mockingjay stepped into the cave, belonging to a NightWing who looked as if she couldn’t hurt a fly if she tried her hardest. “Welcome to the Great Hall of Jade Mountain!” She gave the two a bright smile. “Why, it is Prince Gladius! And you must be the mysterious Princess Mockingjay! My, my, is it a great honor to have you two here!” She gave a little bow.

    Mockingjay could only stare at the NightWing. Her scales were a midnight black, albeit a bit prettier than most of the dark scales of NightWings Mockingjay had seen in the NightWing village. She had a ring of silver scales wrapped around one of her wrists, as if she had a bracelet built right into her, and two tiny silver scales rested at the corners of her eyes.

    For a brief moment, she wondered if this was Moonwatcher, or at least another Nightwing that could possibly read minds or foretell the future.

    “Ah, Mockingjay, I can tell on your face that you think I’m Moonwatcher, but I’m actually Fatespeaker.” The Nightwing waved a talon in dismissal. “Starflight says I can’t read minds like her, but don’t believe him. I totally can.” She gave her a wink before passing them both two scrolls, Mockingjay quite unsure if she was actually telling the truth. “Here’s your welcome scrolls and maps. I’m not an actual teacher like the others, but don’t be afraid to come to me if you need help or get lost.”

    “Thank you.” Gladius tucked his two scrolls under one of his wings, then cleared his throat awkwardly. “So… about these clawmates I’ve been hearing about?”

    “Ah, yes, I was just getting to that.” Fatespeaker placed a scroll on the ground in front of them and began to roll it in between her claws, muttering to herself.

    It was then did Mockingjay feel an odd pricking at the back of her head, as if someone was trying to claw their way inside her brain. She winced with a shudder and instantly thought, mindreader. She turned away from Gladius and Fatespeaker, eyes narrowed as they scanned the crowded dragons. It was mere seconds before her gaze locked upon another.

    Standing in the shadows far off, a NightWing with one orange eye and one blue glared at her, a pair of silver scales shining by his eyes. When he noticed her staring back, his muzzle gave a twitch of curiosity. But when an IceWing walked in front of him, Mockingjay realized he was gone.

    …Who in the blazes was that?

    After a moment, Mockingjay shook her head, wondering with a frown if she was just seeing things. She looked back at Fatespeaker, who had finally found their names on the scroll.

    “Gladius, your cave is in the second tunnel on the left, third cave to the left,” the older NightWing stated as she tapped the scroll. “Mockingjay, yours is in the first tunnel to the left, fifth to the right.”

    “Thank you, again… Fatespeaker.” Mockingjay gave a curt nod before suddenly yanking Gladius away into the shadows, where no one could see them. “Did you see that NightWing?” she hissed once they were out of sight.

    Gladius looked out into the open for a moment before pulling back in. “Mockingjay, you do know that there’s five other NightWings in the mountain other than me, right?”

    Mockingjay gave an exasperated sigh. “I know that! But did you see the one with the different colored eyes? He had the silver scales like mine, and I think he was trying to read my mind!”

    “Well, if there is another mind reader student in the mountain, then you two will get along just fine.” Gladius stepped back into the open, shaking his head worryingly. “Don’t tell me you’re starting to see things, too. Mind reading is enough for me, thank you.”

    Mockingjay’s ruff flared angrily. “I’m not going insane, if that’s what you’re wondering. I know I saw a real dragon!”

    “Chill out! I believe you.” Gladius began to trot towards one of the tunnels. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to see my clawmates, and you should do the same.”

    Mockingjay glowered at her brother, wings twitching irritably as she growled to herself.