Wings of Fire: The Shifting Sands

Prologue: Bullfrog

516 Years Before the SandWing War of Succession...

Thunder rolled and lightning struck as Bullfrog flew towards Jade Mountain, its twin peaks reaching like dragon fangs into the stormy sky. The MudWing's muscular legs were tucked next to his tail, and his front talons clutched a silver NightWing egg. This was his reward for three years in the prison of the NightWings, and he wasn't letting it get away, even if...

A roar echoed behind him.

Oh no, he thought, and an involuntary tremor of fear shook from his snout to the tip of his tail. He tucked a wing in close, and rolled down towards the rocky hills that surrounded Jade Mountain. A blast of fire rocketed over his head, and he heard a NightWing hiss in frustration. So, they had come. And it was night, with three moons hovering overhead. Now that he thought about it, the stars weren't seeming quite right, and were definitely wrong when they folded away and turned into NightWings diving towards him. 

Curse their star-wings! he thought fiercely. Roaring, the largest dragon drew up a breath and blasted fire into Bullfrog's face. The MudWing cried out in pain, but still lashed out at a smaller NightWing that was trying to get a grip on the egg. A third NightWing slashed at Bullfrog's wings, and the MudWing plummeted towards a rocky outcropping. 

The egg was still gripped in his claws, although talon marks suggested he had been holding it too hard. He relaxed his claws, and spread his wings, trying to slow the fall. The wind wasn't with them, and the large dragon plummeted with the silver egg down, down, down towards the stone. He felt the heat of another plume of flame tickle his tail, and spinning around, saw a wiry NightWing with talons outstretched reaching towards him. 

They can't have it! he thought ferociously. He summoned up his own fire and scorched the black dragon in the face. Howling, the NightWing spread his wings and clawed at his charred face. Bullfrog grunted with the weak heat that scalded his throat slightly. After this, he would definitely change his lifestyle to something a bit less... dramatic.

"Die, MudWing!" roared a NightWing, one with a white tint and a cold feel to him. Who's she? Bullfrog wondered. No NightWings have the feel of an IceWing to them... unless... Oh no. Fall faster! he shouted mentally. A frosty blast hit the tip of his tail, and the pain he felt was like blades of ice being stuck into scale-less skin. Roaring in agony, Bullfrog thought, a hybrid dragon; a NightWing-IceWing. Fear trickled along his spine. Another frost breath hit his wing, and he forced his eyes shut, tears flowing off his eyes. The ice patterns spread across his wings, freezing his wingtip and tail into thick, solid ice. 

Bellowing, Bullfrog blasted another shot of flame into the strange NightWing-IceWing's face. Screeching, the hybrid dove towards the ground, folding her wings and limbs to go faster. Bullfrog sunk his jaws into another NightWing's tail and let the muscular dragon pull him up. The dragon howled in pain, just as the hybrid doubled back, grabbed Bullfrog's wings in her talons, opened her jaws and prepared to blast frostbreath onto Bullfrog's face. The MudWing slammed his eyes closed a second before the frost hit his face, and felt the ice sink into his scales. He tried to open his eyes, but failed. The ice had covered it over.

Releasing fire everywhere, Bullfrog hear the screams of two NightWings, and the sizzling of dragon flesh. The heat loosened the ice trapping his eyes shut, and filled with hope, he reared his head around, blasting fire indiscriminately. The frost around his eyes melted, and he blinked to see the biggest NightWing's talons on his back, heaving him up into the air. The hybrid was still screaming, clutching her talons to her face with a sizzling noise. 

Bullfrog winced, and he had a flashback to five  years ago; he was slashing at a training dummy in the courtyard of the MudWing palace, his teacher Crocodile snapping instructions at his legion. He remembered how thrilled he was that he was going to be a real soldier in the army. Now, years later, he felt ashamed that he had ever been excited about hurting other dragons. Slowly, he pried himself back to his precarious situation.