Chapter Text
I just got this idea out of nowhere. It just started with the question, "if the HTTYD characters were dragons in Wings of Fire, what would they be?" And the rest was history.
The Three Sisters Prophecy
Blood and tears soak in the sand,
In the fight for an empty throne.
Three in battle, two shall fall,
And one shall stand alone.
Find the eye that sees the worthy.
Fear the dragons of the night.
Fear the ones who seek to conquer.
Find the dragons of full moons bright.
Wings of mud and sea and rain,
Wings of sand, ice, night, and sky.
All seven form the wings of fire,
And the time for peace shall be nigh.
No dragon was safe in the Sky Palace, but the ones in the most danger by far were the daughters of Queen Scarlet.
Or, more precisely, daughter, singular.
Tourmaline knew that her mother was a force to be reckoned with. Scarlet had defeated her own mother plus all three of her sisters and eleven of her daughters. But Tourmaline held true to the fact that her mother couldn't be queen forever. Twenty-four years was a long time, but not that long. Queen Oasis had been queen longer than that, and everyone knew what had happened to her.
Not that she planned on throwing a scavenger at Scarlet. Not only would it be rather foolish, but the brutal queen would eat it in one gulp before proceeding to kill her daughter.
"It's always going to be like this," Tourmaline had said to her brothers a few nights ago. "Until I challenge our mother for the throne and win. I'm the only one left now - the only hope the SkyWings have of a decent queen. If I defeat her and become queen, we can get out of this war."
"The prophecy will take care of the war," her oldest brother, Vermilion, had argued. "The brightest night is in four days..."
"Right." Tourmaline rolled her eyes. "I'll just wait for a bunch of eggs that haven't even hatched yet to save us. Vermilion, I don't wait for things to happen to me. I want to make them happen."
"We don't want to watch you die," growled one of her other brothers.
"Well, don't worry, I won't do it yet," Tourmaline promised. "Another few months of training, maybe. I'm feeling really strong, though."
Then it was Vermilion's turn to roll his eyes. "You're only saying that because you got lucky in our last fight."
"I beat you fair and square," Tourmaline simpered.
She remembered that night vividly, and allowed a confident smile to stretch across her snout. She was ten now, and she felt ready to claim the throne. Enjoy your last few months as queen, Mother, because I'm coming for you.
"Princess Tourmaline?"
She snapped back to reality and whirled around. The guard in the doorway cleared his throat. "The queen has requested your presence in the throne room," he said. "Immediately."
The SkyWing princess strode out of her room, bowing her head in thanks to the guard as she went past him.
Dragons huddled by the throne room entrance, whispering; they all straightened their heads and wings as she approached. Curiosity gleamed in their eyes. They must have known that Tourmaline planned on challenging Scarlet soon. They must have been wondering whether she would be a better queen than her mother was.
I will be better. I have to be.
Tourmaline ducked her head as she entered the room, blinking in the blaze of sunlight that reflected off all the gold inlaid in the walls. It felt like walking into a funeral pyre; oppressive heat and the smell of dragon fire, radiating off the crowd of courtiers, closed in around her scales.
All of this outlandish treasure has got to go. It's almost as garish as Mother's ego.
"Ah, Tourmaline." The queen's voice lilted over all the others, and the room fell silent. "Well, now everyone is here! Everyone important, I mean. I have such a thrilling announcement. Tourmaline, come stand by your brothers. I want you especially to see this."
The crowd parted to let Tourmaline through. There was just enough space for her to fit beside Vermilion; her other three brothers were on Vermilion's other side.
Their mother glowed like a poisonous orange from the top of her throne, the throne that Tourmaline would soon have, peering down at the dragons that packed the room. The sharp sparkle of diamonds above her eyes and along her wings seized the light.
Then Tourmaline saw the hulking dragon at the queen's side: Burn, their SandWing ally, her face twisted in disgust and boredom. Everyone had been instructed to call her "Queen Burn" to her face, but Tourmaline found it hard to think of her that way. For one thing, she hadn't won the war yet, and for another, there was only one queen who could tell Tourmaline what to do and what not to do.
The queen Tourmaline had to kill to save her tribe.
"Finally," Scarlet said, rolling her eyes as though including the rest of the court in her impatience.
"Get on with it," Burn snapped.
Queen Scarlet flicked her tail and stretched her wings with deliberate languor. Tourmaline had time to wonder what sinisterly 'thrilling' announcement her mother had.
"You may all have heard of a certain...prophecy," Queen Scarlet said. "Mumbling about special dragonets who will hatch on the brightest night and stop the war. And you may all have noticed that the brightest night is tonight. Isn't that terribly exciting? Tiny little heroes crawling out of their eggs any minute now! That is...unless something simply dreadful happens, of course."
She cast a sidelong glance at Burn, smiling maliciously. "What you all don't know is that someone tried to steal a SkyWing egg last night."
A gasp ran around the room.
"I know," said Queen Scarlet. "A nasty IceWing thief named Hvitur got all the way in here and actually escaped with an egg - the largest one in the hatchery, as it happens."
The air crackled as if it might burst into flames at any moment. The largest egg in mountain high, Tourmaline recited in her head. That IceWing must be in the Talons of Peace. They're assembling the dragonets of the prophecy. But I'm not going to wait for some dragonet in a stolen egg to save us all. We need Mother off that throne as soon as possible, and it's up to me to do it.
"Oh, don't worry," her mother said. "Queen Burn chased him down, killed him, and destroyed the egg."
She did what?!
"We don't particularly like tiny heroes after all," Queen Scarlet continued. "Especially ones who might try to tell us what to do. So!" She clapped her front talons together suddenly, snapping the tension in the room like a bowstring. "Just to be perfectly safe, Queen Burn and I had a marvelous idea. We're going to make sure there are no SkyWing eggs hatching on the brightest night. Not even one. Not even close."
Tourmaline narrowed her eyes at her mother. She wouldn't!
"Bring them in!" called the queen.
Tourmaline watched as seven guards filed in, each carrying an egg. Red and orange shapes moved under the thin surface of the eggshells, and she could see cracks already spreading across three of them.
Queen Scarlet narrowed her eyes. "There should be eight," she hissed.
"We'll find it, Your Majesty," said the tallest guard. "I promise. She won't get far. And it was a runty one anyhow."
She'd better get far, thought Tourmaline. She'd better get as far away from here as possible, because Mother will never stop searching for that egg. I'll kill the queen before she finds them. I'll get us out of this war. I'm not going to wait for the prophecy to come true, no matter what anyone says. I'll make us a tribe we can truly be proud of, without Mother.
"Fine," said Queen Scarlet, putting on her annoyed-but-it's-a-celebration-so-I'll-just-kill-someone-later face. The queen plucked one of the eggs from the guard's talons and held it up for everyone to see.
And then she threw the egg to the floor, where it shattered into a thousand pieces. The dragonet that had been inside let out a gasp before Scarlet snatched it up by its tiny neck and, in one swift movement, snapped its head clean off.
A hush fell over the room.
Nobody spoke. Nobody could speak, not even Tourmaline. She never let herself get scared easily, but the sight of her mother killing an innocent little dragonet without remorse sent a wave of chills down the princess's spine.
"Bring me the rest of the eggs," Scarlet ordered.
Tourmaline glanced at the eggs, contemplating whether or not she should go down there and snatch one away from her mother's reach. She'd have my head if I did, but I can't just stand here and let her do this. No one should harm a dragon egg.
"But -" said one of the guards, her voice filled with fear.
"I am the queen," said Queen Scarlet coldly. "You will do as I say!"
The guards hesitated for a moment. Then they all stepped forward, quickly placing the eggs on the ground in front of their queen and stumbling out of her way.
One by one, Scarlet picked up each egg, smashed it, and brutally ripped the life out of the dragonets within.
Mother doesn't want the prophecy to come true, Tourmaline realized. The longer the war goes on, the more prisoners she has for those gruesome arena battles held for her sick, twisted entertainment. This is why she can't be queen any longer. I need to take that throne.
Then she saw all of the mutilated dragonets lying lifeless on the floor, and she instantly felt sick to her stomach. Scarlet was watching her only daughter with a satisfied, sinister look. A look that said: "Who would dare challenge me now? You, my dreaming daughter? Go ahead and try. I'll kill you just as easily as I killed my mother, my sisters, and all of my other daughters. I am, and always will be, the queen of the SkyWings, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."
Well played, Mother, Tourmaline thought. You've shattered the faith of everyone in this room. But I'm still not afraid of you. I'll train my whole life if I have to. If those dragonets do end up stopping this war, then that's fine by me. I hope you never find that runty egg. I hope it gets far away from you, someplace you'll never find it. Maybe then you'll finally realize that you're not as powerful as you think.
"Excellent," said Queen Scarlet, flicking her tongue between her teeth. "As you say, Queen Burn, so much for that prophecy now, right?"
Tourmaline didn't want to be in the same room as her mother for one moment longer. She burst into the air and flew right out of the throne room, ignoring the dragons calling after her as she fled.
Was it wrong for her to not believe in the prophecy? Or had she been right, after what her mother had just done?
This war will end, prophecy or no prophecy. And I'm going to do whatever it takes to make it happen.
She stayed in her room the rest of the day, only venturing out for dinner with what was left of her family. Scarlet had arranged an extravagant feast to celebrate her achievement of ruining the prophecy.
The sun had set, and the moons were starting to come out. Their silvery light caught the burning torches, giving the room an eerie glow.
Tourmaline left her plate untouched. She glared daggers at the queen from across the table, but Scarlet just kept giving her daughter that sinister, triumphant smile she'd been wearing since she'd destroyed that first egg.
The doors banged open, and a guard rushed in.
"Have you found it?" Queen Scarlet asked expectantly.
"It?" asked the guard. He needed more clarification.
"The runty egg that was missing from the assembly," said the queen.
The guard winced. "No, but -"
Queen Scarlet hissed. "How hard can it be to find one stupid, insignificant little dragonet?!"
Everyone at the table jumped in their seats.
"I was out looking," the guard promised. "Just like everyone else. But I -"
"BUT WHAT?!" bellowed Scarlet, her patience wearing thin.
"I saw a dragon trying to sneak out of the kingdom," the guard blurted hastily. "One of our own. Kestrel's sister, Auburn. She...she was carrying an egg."
Eyes flashing, Queen Scarlet settled back into her seat. "Another egg," she hissed in a tone Tourmaline couldn't quite place. "Nine eggs due to hatch tonight. Auburn, you said?" A smile curled her face. "I knew there was something going on with that dragon. Can't have eggs, she says. Let's pay her a little visit, shall we?"
Tourmaline's eyes followed her mother as she strode out of the dining hall, her head held high.
That dragon had better start flying, the princess thought. If that egg is due tonight, like Mother thinks, then she'll stop at nothing to have it destroyed, along with that runty one. If she's wasting her time trying to ruin the prophecy...maybe Vermilion was right. So many dragons in this and every other kingdom have faith in the prophecy, maybe it wouldn't hurt if I did, too.
I just hope those dragonets can get away from my mother. If she finds them...she won't be merciful.
It seemed like a remarkable coincidence when Auburn realized her egg was due to hatch on the brightest night. But it wasn't the largest, so she'd figured it would be safe.
She was wrong.
The moment she'd heard Scarlet order for all the SkyWing eggs that were due on the brightest night to be brought to her, Auburn knew there'd be trouble. She'd run out of places to hide her egg, and she wasn't going to hand it over no matter what happened.
It had been nerve-wracking, incredibly risky, and maybe just plain stupid to sneak the egg out of the Sky Kingdom, but Auburn didn't know what else to do. If she could find the Talons of Peace, then maybe her dragonet would have a chance.
She'd waited until dark, when she was sure the queen would not notice her, before venturing out into the night. She'd heard whispers among the dragons of a runty egg the guards couldn't find. But would the mother be able to keep ahead of Scarlet?
I hope she makes it, Auburn said to herself. I hope we both make it. For our dragonets' sakes.
"Going somewhere, Auburn?" hissed a voice.
The auburn-colored SkyWing froze dead in her tracks. Swiveling her head, she met the sinister eyes of Queen Scarlet.
Terrified, Auburn backed into a corner, holding her egg like a lifeline. Before she could even blink, she was surrounded by guards, their spears all pointing at her.
"You can't escape," Queen Scarlet said. "But, to make it fair, I'll offer you a deal. Destroy the egg, kill your dragonet, and I'll let you go free."
Auburn gazed down at the egg in her talons. It was different from the other SkyWing eggs. It was a much darker shade of red than normal, it even had a few splotches of black.
But it was still her egg.
Auburn had been so happy when she first laid her precious egg. She knew who the father was, and she had spent so much time thinking up the perfect name for the dragonet, providing herself with different options that would depend on the gender.
She was not going to kill her own dragonet.
Auburn lifted her eyes, which met the ones of one of the guards standing beside the queen. A guard she knew. An older, kindly SkyWing named Osprey - the only dragon she'd trusted with her whole secret, the parts she didn't tell her sister. He knew Auburn well enough to know that she'd refuse to kill her own dragonet, and he wasn't going to be the one to force her to do such a dirty trick. He gave her a miniscule nod, and mouthed one small word: "Go."
The mother-to-be shifted her eyes to stare into those of the SkyWing queen.
"Never!"
No sooner after her shout of disapproval, Auburn spread her wings and took off, barely avoiding the spears that the guards thrust at her when she moved.
Queen Scarlet scowled at the retreating mother. "Guards, after her!" she commanded. "Destroy that egg!"
Auburn didn't stop flying, even when she could no longer see the guards that had been chasing her. She had flown into the mountains, where she knew she could find a safe place for her egg.
She just hoped she could get there before Scarlet's guards found her.
Finding the place was harder than usual, since Auburn was panicking and in a hurry. But eventually, she found what she was looking for - a large rock that was the entrance to a hidden cave she had visited a few times in the past few months. Breathing a sigh of relief, Auburn settled her precious egg near the hidden entrance before reaching into the small, leather pouch she always kept tied around her neck and pulling out a piece of parchment. Dipping one of her claws into a small patch of mud nearby, she hastily scrawled a message on the paper.
Please take care of my baby.
Windracer
Skyhigh
The sound of flapping wings alerted her that the guards were catching up to her. She hid the note near her egg and quickly scanned the area around her. Her eyes landed on a medium-sized rock that was shaped like an egg. Knowing it would have to do, she scooped it up in her talons and flew off in the opposite direction of where she knew the hidden cave was.
"There she is!"
The shouts of the guards and the sounds of powerful wingbeats following her were all Auburn needed to hear to be sure her precious egg would be all right.
The three full moons shone brightly upon the mountain, a few beams even casting onto Auburn's egg. The egg wobbled a little in reaction to the light that was brushing against its shell. Then it turned a bright silver as a large crack appeared on its surface. A small snout poked its way through the eggshell, then a pair of bright green eyes. Soon, the whole head was out.
The dragonet didn't stop there. With a few grunts, he pushed his whole body out of the egg, with difficulty since his wings were quite large for a dragon his size. With one final push, he was out. Tumbling onto the hard, rocky ground, the dragonet stood on his shaky legs.
His dark red scales shone like polished rubies in the moonlight, the pitch-black spines running down from the back of his head to the tip of his tail gleaming like onyx. Small, silver teardrop-shaped scales trailed down his sides. His wings were large, like any SkyWing's, but the membrane was the same pitch black as his back spines, and the undersides had scattered silver scales, so, when he spread them, they resembled the night sky. Finally, a single silver teardrop scale laid next to the corner of each of his two, emerald green eyes.
The dragonet looked up, hoping to find the eyes of his mother. But all he saw were the three full moons, their reflections shining brightly in his eyes.
A gust of wind blew the note Auburn had left with the egg into the dragonet's line of vision. Thinking it was a toy, he started chasing after it, chirping gleefully. The moment he caught it under his front paws, the large rock sealing a hidden entrance into a cave slid open, revealing a large SandWing with a tattered wing and an injured leg. The older dragon's eyes landed on the little dark red dragon, and he limped forward.
"Why didn't the NightWings tell us they delivered their egg?" he asked himself. "This little one should be inside with the others!"
The little dragonet looked up at him, his eyes showing fear at the older dragon's sudden yells. The SandWing looked down at him before noticing that the dragonet had something under his paws.
"What have you got there?"
Unable to answer verbally, the dragonet lifted his paws, revealing the paper. The SandWing picked it up and read what was written.
"Windracer and Skyhigh?" he muttered to himself. "Must be the names they picked for you. Better to discuss this with the other guardians inside the cave."
With that, he scooped up the dragonet into his talons and made for the cave entrance, which sealed shut behind them. Within moments, the two were in a cave room with a nest laying in the middle, a trio of differently colored eggs laying in wait. The SandWing had just placed the hybrid dragonet into the nest when a grumpy-looking SkyWing barged in.
"Has the NightWing egg come yet?"
The SandWing pointed one claw at the dark red dragonet. "Apparently so."
The SkyWing's eyes flashed with anger. "Why didn't those half-brained toads tell us they dropped off the egg?! He was supposed to hatch with the others inside the cave, not outside by himself!"
The SandWing chuckled a little. "Tell that to him, Kestrel."
A cracking sound brought their attention to the pale white and sandy-yellow egg that was lying in the nest, among one that was blood red and another of deep, oceanic blue.
"Looks like the SandWing is hatching," Kestrel observed.
"But we still only have four," said the scarred SandWing.
Kestrel sneered at him. "Tell that to the egg, Dune."
All of a sudden, a third dragon, a SeaWing, flew in with a rainbow-colored egg in his claws. "I have it!"
Dune and Kestrel both turned to the dragon, their eyes landing on the egg he was holding.
"Webs," Kestrel snapped. "That's a RainWing egg, you brainless salamander!"
Webs shook his head. "It was all I could get!"
Dune pointed to the nest with his claw. "Put it with the others, quick!"
Webs didn't need to be told twice. He hastily placed the rainbow-colored egg with the other three eggs and the dark red dragonet, who was watching the white and yellow egg with interest. The SeaWing was about to question about the little dragonet when Kestrel started yelling at him.
"The prophecy calls for a SkyWing! And you bring us a lazy, stupid RainWing?!"
Webs hung his head. "Queen Scarlet destroyed all the SkyWing eggs that were due to hatch tonight. And we need five dragonets for the prophecy!"
Their argument was interrupted by Dune.
"Look!"
Both dragons turned their heads in time to see the baby SandWing break her shell and poke her little head out.
Dune gave a small smile. "She's hatched."
Soon the baby SandWing had pulled herself free of her eggshell prison, her unusually bright blue eyes landing on the hybrid dragonet that had been watching the whole time.
Webs's eyes shone for a second. "She's actually kinda cute. Besides the scorpion tail, that is."
Kestrel snorted. "She looks pale. Exactly as I expected."
The SeaWing ignored her. "We need a SandWing name for her."
Kestrel snorted. "Well, Dune's a SandWing. He should name her."
Dune nodded in acceptance to the proposal and stared intently at the SandWing dragonet. He thought hard for a moment before finally suggesting a name. "How about Arid?"
The word "arid" was an adjective, describing something too dry and barren to support life. The perfect SandWing name.
The newly-named Arid suddenly hissed, startling the hybrid dragonet. Squeaking fearfully, he jumped away from her, but ended up stepping on one of his own wings and falling over onto his back.
The three adult dragons stared at the poor little fellow as he tried and failed to flip himself over onto his stomach so he could get up. Webs tilted his head to the side. "Have you ever seen a NightWing with such large wings before?"
Dune shook his head. "No. None of the NightWings I've seen had wings like that."
A concerned Webs turned to Kestrel, who was picking up the hybrid dragonet between two of her claws. "Do you think there's something wrong with him?"
Kestrel scowled at the little dragon, whose bright green eyes widened at the sight of her. "He's just what we need," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "A little weirdo."
Well, there you have it. The prologue. And I typed it all in just a couple of hours. It's amazing what you can do when your imagination is running wild. Here are the dragon-turned characters I've shown so far (in order of appearance):
Auburn - Valka
Windracer - Hiccup
Arid - Astrid
The similarity between the names of the last one was simply a coincidence. I was looking for a good name for a female SandWing and found "Arid" on the list of names, and decided that I liked it enough.
So, yes, Windracer is a SkyWing-NightWing hybrid and has NightWing powers. Too bad the guardians don't know that.
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