New Flames

Prologue

Avalanche's face was dripping with rain, as three moons shone in the night sky.

As a dragonet, she had loved flying in storms purely for fun. Now, she knew that they were more than just that. They were her cover.

Her mission had been successful. She just had to sneak into the SkyWing palace, knock out a guard and steal their armor, then sneak into the hatchery to make sure that a SkyWing egg had been stolen by the future guardians of the dragonets of destiny.

However, it hadn't quite gone as planned.

The SkyWing egg had been stolen, but the guardian had been intercepted by Princess Burn, which had killed them and destroyed the only chance the Talons of Peace had had at getting a SkyWing egg.

But even worse still. All the other eggs had been destroyed too. Or rather, as some guards had mentioned, burned. Avalanche didn't quite understand how, but her heart had been filled with dread. She didn't have the strength to look more into that.

After all, she was a mother now. Her dragonet, Flame, was waiting for her to get home.

She was glad she had left the army, despite all the complications and hurt that had followed. Her egg had hatched only a few days ago, before the brightest night, and as much as she had wished for Flame to be the SkyWing for the prophecy, she didn't want to be any closer to Queen Scarlet than she had to. Plus, she didn't want her son to be growing up far away from her, and with Kestrel of all dragons. Her own monster had already caused too much damage, and who knows how much she could have messed up her own dragonet.

Flame... she'd always liked that name. It wasn't quite as in-your-face as some other SkyWing names but was more important sounding than the usual colors or birds. Not quite as powerful as her own, though. Avalanche - moons, she really loved her name.

As she glided lower toward the ground, she could see the rocky crests of the Claws of the Clouds Mountains, and with a bit of searching, she found the grassy plateau where the Talons were camped.

A few carefully concealed tents were up, and as she neared, she could smell the scent of roasted meat. However, much more distinct was the sound of an unfamiliar voice, as well as one she know way too well.

"Ah, there you are, Avalanche!" Nautilus exclaimed, noticing her landing close to him. She had known him for some years now, and despite him being a reserved leader, his worried tone quickly told her something was wrong.

She huffed. "I'm fine, I don't see why you'd need to sound so worried - I know that palace a little too well. Even though-," she trailed off as she turned to face him, realizing his worry hadn't been directed to her well-being.

A NightWing, with pitch-black scales and weird, dark gold eyes, towered both Talons of Peace, looking less-than-pleased... and quietly furious. Avalanche had only ever seen Morrowseer once before, when he first announced his glorious prophecy, meant to end the War of SandWing Succession once and for all, to the Talons, but she just had one certainty about the brooding NightWing: his presence meant trouble. 

"SkyWing. You have just returned from the palace, have you not?" He inquired, his expression unchanging as he demanded and waited for her report.

"Yes-" Avalanche replied, regaining her composure. "It is how we feared. Hvitur was killed, and the egg was destroyed by Princess Burn. All the palace is on the highest alert. But worse still... Scarlet ordered that all the other eggs that were supposed to hatch today be destroyed. We... don't have a chance to retrieve another one before the end of the night. It's all up to the guardians now." She reported, trying multiple times to hold his glare.