Heart of the storm

Chapter 9

The Diamond Spray Delta looked like it was recovering, according to Mirage.The war had damaged the Mud Kingdom, but now the MudWings were thriving. It was a very good thing, but it meant Bank would be harder to find, what with all the MudWings about. Mirage walked up to a MudWing. "Excuse me, do you know where a dragon called Bank lives?" The MudWing paused for a moment, as if trying to recall one dragon among a whole Sector, then pointed behind him. "About a hundred metres from here. Can't miss it." "Thanks!" Mirage turned to the others. "What are we waiting for?" The three of them flew off in the direction of Mirage's old friend. Thunder got a few strange looks, but since most of them knew about Pantala, they didn't ask, which Thunder appreciated. He didn't love the idea of more questions at this point in time. Finally, they had reached Bank's homestead. "Soooo" began Inferno, glancing up, "Which one of them is Bank?" Five dragons were playing in the sky. There were two very young ones and three older ones. They seemed to be throwing a ball at each other. "Bet you can't catch this!" shouted one of the young ones excitedly. An older one with dark brown scales pretended not to catch it. Mirage's expression indicated that this was her friend. "Bank!" cried Mirage joyfully. The brown dragon turned her face downwards to see three different dragons. Her face took on a look of happy surprise. "I don't believe it." she whispered "Mirage?" "No, it's not a Mirage. It's me, Bank!" joked the SandWing. The two flew to each other and embraced in a tight hug. "Awwwww," said Inferno. Thunder just smiled. The MudWing and the SandWing were chattering excitedly. "I thought you were captured!" laughed Bank. "Well, I kinda was though. These two got me out." She pointed to Thunder and Inferno. "It was just me," whispered Inferno. "You wouldn't have rescued her if it wasn't for me," replied Thunder, also in a whisper. "New dragons!" bubbled one of the young MudWings, flapping over to them. "Don't bother them, Cypress." said a MudWing they had seen up in the sky. "My name's Heron and I'm the Bigwings of this troop." He looked up. "It looks like you've reunited my sister with a friend. Thank you." Bigwings? Thunder pondered this new Pyrrhian word while Inferno talked to Heron. "It was nothing. You know, we're actually on this quest, and to accomplish it, we need to get to the other continent. We were hoping your sister could help us out?" Heron nodded. "I'll try to get her attention. Meanwhile, you go down into our burrow."The burrow didn't feel like it was underground. There were air holes, it was roomy and well-lit, and plants were growing underneath as well. There was also a peculiar little table that had several small fruits on it. "What's that for?" he asked Gallinule, another one of Bank's siblings. "Oh, that. Cypress is using that to 'invite' a scavenger over, so he can play with it. A bit of a far-fetched idea, but we usually oblige with what the younglings want." Scavenger. I've gotta remember to ask Inferno about all these strange words later.When Mirage and Bank finally came inside the burrow, the MudWing's face was serious. Thunder assumed Mirage had told Bank about his predicament. "So, you need the quickest yet stealthiest route to Pantala. Based on the info I've gathered, if you follow this trail of islands, you should be able to get there without bumping into any HiveWings. If you get this right." "If I get WHAT right exactly?" asked Thunder. "On the path I've chartered, you need to go to this specific destination. The Tavern of the Seas. Many dragons go there since the inter-continental joining or whatever, so if you go in disguise, you should be able to make it through without incident." "What's the disguise?" Thunder questioned. He didn't think he was prepared to dress up as a HiveWing. Bank shrugged "I'm not a costume-maker, just a navigator. Here's your scroll."Thunder opened the parchment with a grateful nod. He saw the route marked out clearly, but also saw an arrow pointing to an unknown island marked: '???'. "Hey. What are the question marks for?" Bank sighed. "Oh, that. The most infuriating thing to exist. Well, as you already know, I studied your home. You see, after finding all I could about the lost - Pantala, I mean, I started noticing some off accounts in the scrolls.""Out of about twenty recordings, four stated that the Pantala was small and uninhabited, with strange ruins of buildings all over the place. They were wrong, of course, but it got me thinking. What if there was an island out there, a large one, that could have held some ancient civilization? Another tribe? Nothing could prove this though, and I couldn't find more information about it, so I was forced to give up."Mirage nudged her friend. "Hey. Focus on the task at hand." "Oh, right. Well! I'd best get some supplies for the journey." "You're coming?" asked Thunder. "Can I?" she replied, about to leave the small burrow. She said it like she was going to go no matter what, and Thunder had no problem with more backup. "Sure. The more the merrier." Bank left, and Mirage flew after her. "Hey. I've been thinking about what you said about animus magic. I don't know anything about it, but would it be possible to slow down or decrease the effects of the magic?" Inferno's eyes glowed with excitement. "I think you're onto something. How would I word it?"Thunder spent the rest of the afternoon Inferno with the spell. Bank and Mirage gathered resources. It wasn't an easy task, but Thunder had never been bad with words, and although he wasn't going to be writing scrolls any time soon, he usually did well with his homework, and he figured this wouldn't be that different. Eventually, after Inferno had finally cast the spell, they went off in search of their other two friends. They found them at the market, talking to a smaller MudWing. "How's Sora?" asked Bank. "Still won't come out." sighed the other dragon. "Clay said he would come soon, and the others have been occasionally checking on her, but you know how it is." Bank noticed Thunder and Inferno. "Oh! Hi. This is just a friend of ours. Thunder and Inferno, Umber. Umber, Thunder and Inferno." "Hi." said the MudWing. "Hi." replied the two of them. Whatever they were talking about, it didn't sound like anything Thunder would (or should) know about, so he didn't ask. "Umber here has pooled together some resources for us for the journey." The smaller MudWing shrugged. "It's not exactly much. Just a bit of food, and a few blankets." "Thank you. We'll need all the help we can get." Thunder said gratefully. Umber turned back to a burrow. "Well, I better be getting back. See you around." "See you," replied Bank.The sun was setting when they got back to Bank's home. "Unfortunately, I don't have space for all of you. I'll offer up my room, but I don't think all of you can fit." "It's cool, I can sleep outside," replied Thunder. He didn't exactly want to take his ally's bed. "As will I," said Inferno, and so did Mirage. That was lucky for Thunder. Mirage radiated heat, and Inferno's scales were warm to the touch, not as much as Mirage but still some, so it wouldn't be a cold night at least. "Well, now I feel bad." declared Bank. "Don't," said Mirage, "It's not your fault." Then Mirage got a slightly mischievous look on her face. "If you really want, you can stay out with us!" Bank sighed. "Yeah, I don't see why not."Despite his situation, Thunder was enjoying the sleepover. This was the first time he had friends around him at night - the queen had strict rules about sector sharing. Bank had finished sharing funny stories, and they had blown their torches."Truth or dare," whispered Inferno next to him. "What?" replied Thunder. Must be a Pyrrhian thing. "It's simple. You choose Truth or Dare. I'll give you one, and you have to either answer the question or do the dare, depending on what you chose. The two others looked at Inferno with the same confused look Thunder had on. "Seriously? You guys too? Ah well, Thunder and I will start."Inferno turned back to him. "Okay, Thunder. Truth or Dare." "Uh... Truth." Thunder didn't want to think about the dares Inferno could come up with. "Well," Inferno looked mischievous. "Do you have a crush?" Thunder blushed and Bank and Mirage laughed. How to answer? He hoped no one had seen him blush in the dark, or that would be embarrassing. Admit nothing. Act casually about it. Don't think about M- nothing. I thought about nothing! I am a completely cool VoltWing. "Nope." Nice. Better than what happened with Thorax, at least. "If you say so." shrugged Inferno, grinning, "Your turn."Thunder asked Mirage "Truth or Dare?" "Dare," she replied, eyes glinting with excitement. Thunder looked around, in search of a good dare inspiration. Then he saw it. "Catch that frog," he said, pointing to a bullfrog sitting on a lilypad in a nearby swamp. Mirage looked alarmed. "I switch to Truth." Thunder smiled, and then said, "What Inferno asked." Mirage put on a straight face, before replying. "Absolutely not." Bank raised an eyebrow, and Mirage looked defeated. "Arrgh, Bank! All right, yes, I do."Really? Wow... "But that's confidential information, and you better not tell anyone else," Mirage said quickly. "Your turn." Inferno indicated to Bank. "Ok. I choose Dare." declared Bank. "Lizard tongues," muttered Mirage, before setting the Dare. "Get our snacks from the burrow." "Easy," replied Bank, before flying off in the direction of her home.The rest of the night was snacking, attempting to make Inferno crack under pressure (and failing) and sharing funny stories. Finally, Bank spoke. "Ok, we've got a big day ahead of us, so let's get some sleep." "Yeah, OK." agreed Thunder. "Good night everyone."Thunder awoke to a voice telling him to get up. "Leave me alone, Hurricane," he mumbled. "It's not Hurricane, whoever that is. It's me. Come on, let's get going. It's a long way to the ancient Night Kingdom, and an even longer way to Pantala, so we better get a move on." Thunder didn't appreciate being woken up, but he saw the logic in this. Which reminded him... If it's such a long way to Pantala, how did he get here? It must have been magic. Thunder pondered this. Then, he came up with an answer. Wait! I remember Professor Cumulus saying something about the ancient VoltWings who could travel from one storm to another, as if by magic. He said they died out though. Hmmm. He looked around at the swamp that surrounded him and smiled as Bank attempted to wake up Inferno. I guess he was wrong, then. Lucky me."We're going to have to travel via Jade Mountain," said Bank, "So get ready to potentially meet the saviours of Pyrrhia." "What?" asked Thunder. Saviours of Pyrrhia was a pretty bold title, as far as Thunder was concerned. Maybe they could help him? "The dragonets of destiny, as well as those who defeated Darkstalker." "Darkstalker?" asked Thunder. What kind of mother names their child Darkstalker? Bank sighed. "We'll explain later." "Darkstalker was the most powerful dragon in history." said Inferno to Thunder "He was a mind reader, a seer and an animus. He tried to kill all the IceWings." Wow. He did not sound like a guy you would want to meet at night. Why did he try to kill the IceWings though? Pyrrhia and its inhabitants were confusing.He had bigger things to worry about though. Thorax had the Heart, and it was only a matter of time before he used it...

Maybe a bit short today... but the next few chapters are great! Getting to the end of the already written parts, so updates may slow a bit... unless we can write faster!!! For those wondering, we are aiming for 300 pages, like a traditional WOF story! 

Talons off- Thunder