Wings of Fire: Frost and Fire

The Cave

Taiga's point of view

The harsh sun of the Sand Kingdom is beating down on my scales. The sand beneath my feet shifts uncomfortably. There's no water in sight. The land is barren and empty. This place is a wasteland, and the polar opposite of the Ice Kingdom.

Magmatic constantly complains about the temperature. She says she's going to burst into flames any minute now, like she isn't already burning. The sweat sizzles off her scales, evaporating into the atmosphere. Primrose seems unbothered. She's an accomplished explorer, so I'm certain she's explored hotter places.

Magmatic suddenly whipped around, looking at me like I was crazy. "Three moons, how are you NOT dying right now?"

I giggled. "I'm not going to melt, I promise. It actually feels quite nice out here."

She stamped her feet, looking outraged. "The heat isn't even the least bit uncomfortable?" She squinted her eyes. "I can hardly look at you with all the light reflecting from your scales!"

"I can hardly look at you with how bright it is," I said, trying to shield my eyes from the desert sun looming above us in the sky.

After a few hours of walking, the sun was beginning to set. The temperature was plummeting fast, and Magmatic was much quieter. Perhaps the lower temperatures were finally comfortable for her.

We came across a hollow in a dune. The entrance was a little small, so we'd have to squeeze through. Once inside, it looked much bigger than from the outside. We decided that this would be a good place to camp for the night.

"There's a tunnel back here!" Primrose was searching around the cave, looking for any hidden details. The tunnel looked like a tight squeeze. Trying to get through would be a pain, but I was more curious than cautious. One by one, we squeezed through the tunnel.

A strange symbol lay on the ground. It looked like four dragons. An IceWing, a SkyWing, a RainWing, and...something else. It looked like a hybrid, possibly. Spikes like an IceWing, but large wings like a SkyWing.

As we wandered through the cave, more strange symbols appeared on the walls. Some kind of diamond-shaped object, an orb with a fire and an ice symbol next to them, what looked like flames falling from the sky...

Primrose was writing down every symbol she saw, like she was trying to fit it together like a puzzle. Another symbol was scribbled on the wall, looking similar to the diamond-shaped artifact. It had a number next to it: four. Did we need four of these artifacts to do something?

Suddenly, the tunnel took a sharp right turn. The wall in front of us had a message. The writing looked panicked, as it was scribbled onto the wall quickly, and it was hard to read. After awhile, we were able to make it out:

"In lands forgotten, deep and far,
Four artifacts will guide the star,
A dragon fire, a dragon ice,
Led by an explorer, so wise,
The cataclysm looms, a threat so dire,
But with the artifacts and orb, they'll sire,
The fate of all the world's in their hands,
Their quest, a test, of heart and mind,
They must unite the sacred band,
For only then, can peace be found,
And light will shine, through land and sky,
As they face the darkest ground,
The prophecy foretold, the quest's begun,
And the outcome rests on fate's design."

It quickly became clear that this was another prophecy, about us. Who had written this? How did they know that we would be going on this quest? What are the artifacts supposed to do? What is this orb they speak of? This prophecy left us with more questions than answers.

"Artifacts...orb...explorer..." Primrose seemed to be in a trance, looking over her notes and drawings and copying down this prophecy. She was drawing lines, almost like she was connecting everything.

"So...we need to find four of those diamond-shaped things?" Magmatic pointed to the drawing of the artifact on the wall.

"It seems so," I answered. "If the prophecy is right, it may be our only shot at stopping this."

We wandered deeper into the cave. We eventually found ourselves in a large, open room with drawings everywhere. On the roof, there were symbols of fire and snow. Maybe it symbolized fire and snow falling from the sky?

On one wall, lots of dragons were drawn, with three dragons fighting against them. There were strange structures and a large building. To the left of it, four drawings: a ruined temple, a dark dungeon, a large camp of dragons, and a bunch of islands. To the right, a large fireball in the sky, falling upon a dragon. To the right of it, large pillars, seemingly radiating magical energy.

Primrose was trying her best to put together the story this room seemed to be telling. Who was the fourth dragon? Where were these artifacts? Where were these locations? So many questions, so little answers.

On the floor, two illustrations of pedestals: one with four diamond slots, and another with one circular slot. It seemed like rays of light were radiating from them both, like they were important.

Primrose kept saying something about the moon. It seemed to keep appearing in these drawings. I mentioned that it may be the dreamvisitor, as she had a crescent moon on her face.

With the help of Primrose, we were able to figure out the story: Three dragons travel the lands in search of four artifacts, presumably in these mysterious locations. With them in their possession, they place them into a pedestal, and a large swarm of dragons attack, which they must fight back. Frost and fire begin raining from the sky, and a large fireball falls on a strange dragon.

An orb remains where the dragon once stood, and it is taken to a temple underwater. Upon placing it on the pedestal, magical pillars radiate energy that will stop the calamity. Afterwards, another prophecy is written:

"In ruins old, where shadows dwell,
The first artifact in a temple's cell,
Through traps and tricks, in dungeon deep,
The second awaits, for those who weep,
In camp of cultists, where madness reigns,
The third artifact, in darkness chained,
In sky islands, where dragons soar,
The fourth awaits, behind a secret door.
But beware, for a dragon's guise,
May hide a truth, in deceptive lies,
The orb, it carries, a power vast,
Can stop the cataclysm from coming fast.
The quest is long, the path unclear,
But those who seek, with courage sincere,
May find the artifacts, and orb divine,
And stop the cataclysm, before it shines."

This prophecy seemed to confirm Primrose's theory, that the orb can stop the cataclysm, and the artifacts are important as well. But who is the dragon who carries the orb? Could it be the dreamvisitor, or another dragon we have yet to meet?

"This is groundbreaking!" Magmatic was smiling, like she was finally piecing everything together. Thanks to our little discovery, we finally had an idea of what we set out to do, and what we need to do.

"Nobody back at home would believe this," Primrose said, studying everything carefully. "Years ago, I began having visions of this place, of the cataclysm, of you two, and everybody thought I was crazy. It just shows them how much they know."

Another section of the wall had an artifact drawn on it, and a message below: The artifacts will reveal the ancient secrets. When the powers of fire and ice combine, all will be clear. That was...cryptic, but helpful. After all, we needed all the information we could get.

After we all got tired, we left the room, wandering back to the crack we had came from. We'd be sure to explore more tomorrow, to gain an even better understanding. None of us could sleep for awhile, our minds racing with all the new information. Now, our goals were clear, and we knew how to accomplish them. Now, all we needed was a place to start...