Most would believe a world of dragons would be a dark, cruel land- Nothing but fire and ash as far as one could see. 

However, this tale of dragons takes place in a beautiful and diverse land. 

The land of Pyrrhia.  

Years after the Dragonets ended the war, Darkstalker’s defeat, and the reign of The Hive Queen had come to an end, this home of the dragons would face yet another foe, and a new band of heroes to put it to an end.

This is the story of

 The Painted Wings

Book One;

In a rainforest, far from the NightWing isle, the sun had just emerged from the horizon as two dragonets chattered below, one a deep purple, and the other bearing ever-changing colors.

“Hey, Dreeaam~?” One called, poking at the sleeping dragonet playfully.

“Jorahhh...” The other whined sleepily, placing her talons over her face. She didn’t seem too pleased, being woken up early by her colorful alarm clock.

“Fiiiinally, you’re awake. I was getting soooooooo bored...” He whined dramatically, only to quickly gain a grin on his snout. “Do you know what day it is today?!”

“No....” Dream replied.

“Me neither! Let’s go find out!” Jorah chirped, grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her out of bed, only to be blocked by a large blue dragon.

“Hold it, you two.” She ordered, halting them with two webbed talons. “You haven’t even eaten. Gloam took way too long gathering your favorite fruits for you to run right past.” 

“N’aww...” Jorah sighed, though happily obliged, and sat down by a small pile of fruits and berries on a couple of large leaves, still dragging his friend. 

“So, what are you two planning to do today?" The cyan SeaWing asked, sitting down beside them, eating a piranha she had caught in the river.

"I'm not sure, Ms. Loch..." Dream yawned, looking at Jorah expectantly.

"That's what I wanted to find out! I have a feeling something exciting is gonna happen today!" He chirped, his snout turning gold and pink.

"Well, then you should finish your kiwi," Loch said with a firm, yet kind voice. Already done with her fish, the SeaWing got up, saying goodbye to her son, and flew off, likely to do more community work, as she had destroyed half the village in a fit of panic after she got swept away by a storm. But that's another story.

The two ate their food, Jorah did so rather quickly, (hopefully he wouldn't get sick from that.) 

Suddenly, Dream got an idea. Crouching down, the NightWing suddenly tackled him, yelling; “Tag, you’re it!” And running off.

“Oh, it’s on!” Jorah shouted after her. Dreamseer dashed through the trees with the RainWing right behind her.

Dreamseer awoke suddenly, breathing heavily as she looked around, thank goodness, she's still in the rainforest; Jorah's moms were curled up together as they slept soundly nearby, and Jorah himself looking at her with concern.

"You okay, Dream?" Jorah asked in a hushed voice, tilting his head slightly.

"I'm fine, just a nightmare."

"What was it this time?" He asked her, he always loved to hear what her dreams were, she had a knack for explaining them well, sometimes her dreams predicted things, not entirely life-changing things, more like the first fruit you pick up tomorrow will be bad, kind of thing. 

"...I don't remember." She hesitated as Jorah's eyebrows furrowed, clear to realize something was wrong. Dream gasped, holding her head as she grits her teeth, an image of a frightening dragon, scales writhed, eyes cold, and their face shadowed with darkness. 

"Dream?!" Jorah called, holding her by her shoulders as his mothers woke up at the racket, Dreamseer opened her eyes, her face pale and her claws shaking. 

"Dreamseer, are you okay?!" Gloam asked, checking to see if she was okay as Loch stared thoughtfully at the sky. Gloam was a striking pallet of different greens.

"I saw someone." Her voice trembled, she looked at Jorah, her eyes hollow inside.

"Who?" He asked, "Who did you see?"

"I'm not sure!" She ????, 

Dreamseer fell to the ground, "Dream! What's going on?!" Jorah yelled, rushing to her side. Her eyes were pure white like the moons were trapped in her face, her breathing was intense like she was caught in a cloud of smoke. "Dream! What's wrong!?" He said before she started lifting off of the ground, flying in place with large, steady wing beats, the moonlight caught her wings, prisming from their stars to create a rainbow of colors as her friend watched in awe and horror.

"When Pyrrhia needs dragons, not like another,"

"When Pyrrhia needs wings of a different color."

"That no image shall be the same,"

"That they will force the evil from whence it came."

"From the earth to the seas, the sand to the trees, ice to the sky, to the kingdom high."

"The RainWing with the quest; to seek the very best." The light that prismed through her wings turned purple.

"The SkyWing with her love ablaze will see what your fate portrays." It turned yellow.

"The SeaWing threatens to blow off course but in the end, he finds true north." Now it turned blue.

"The SandWing bows to no one's will, and flies above to get the kill." Now orange.

"The IceWing thrives in snow and sleet, but his warmth and spirit make the band complete." Indigo.

"The MudWing longs to lead the team," Red.

"The NightWing sees you in her dreams." Green.

"Dreamseer, what is this?!!!" Jorah shouted but his calls were ignored, the hovering dragon had a soulless face and no reaction.

"Someone shall come to show the painting of the dark, the only one who can make a mark." They turned back to "normal" 

"A dragon from the black of night,"

"A dragon who will aid the fight." She paused, then looked at the night sky, stars reflecting in her eyes, and her tone darkened.

"Their shadow moves the mountains,"

"Their embers roil the sea,"

"Their silence fuels our nightmares,"

"Destroyed by destiny....." She looked back to Jorah, a hint of emotion shining through.

"The state of this world is up to you," She smiled,

"The fate of Pyrrhia is for you to choose......." Dreamseer fell to the ground, the glowing of the moons ceased, gaining its dreary filter once more.

"Dream! Are you okay?!" Jorah yelped, rushing to her side and hoisting her up. She looked mortified by what had just come out of her mouth.

"That's it, that's about them!"

"Who?!?!" Jorah yelled, making Dreamseer flinch, "I-I'm sorry, Dream, I don't know what came over me." He said after

"We have to get rid of them! They're planning on taking rule on all of Pyrrhia!" Dreamseer said, these nightmares have been haunting her for quite some time, she couldn't sit back and let it happen without putting up a fight! 

"I know," Jorah said with a glint of determination in his eyes, his gaze shifting to the Queen's quarters.

Chapter Three: The Begining of the Journey...

"Queen Glory, two dragonets have requested to see you." The Queen's guard said, Glory giving him a stern look.

"I told you, nobody will see me when I'm working unless it is an emergency." She scolded, not turning around from her papers.

"Well, see, that's the thing, this is an emergency..." He said before Jorah and Dream pushed past him and Jorah started to quickly explain what was happening.

"MyQueen, I'msosorryforinterrupting,butyousee,myfriendDreamseerhasbeenhavingbaddreamsand-" She cut him off,

"So you're telling me; you came to see me while working on very important things because your friend is having nightmares...?" She sighed, pressing a talon to her forehead.

"No, that's not it." Her guard spoke up, raising his claws. "You see, This is Dreamseer, ma'am, she was hatched under a double moon, at least, that's what she told me." He said, some of his scales turning an acid green, but he pushed them down. Glory's eyes turned cold with understanding, looking to the two dragonets and nodded.

"Dismissed." She said to her guard before she closed the veil from behind him to keep anyone else from entering, turning the setting a leafy green with violet. "So what are these nightmares about...?" She asked, walking over to her table and flipping over her papers and getting some ink, taking notes.

"The dark one..." Dream answered, "We don't know their name, what they look like, or even what their species is!"

"I see." Glory muttered, "And you're sure these are not ordinary dreams?" She asked. 

"Positive."

"...Say, aren't you the son of Gloam and Loch?" Glory asked the smaller RainWing.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Jorah questioned, tilting his head.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Jorah? You know I can't come with you, I still have to do work here." Loch asked, both talons on his shoulders, he nodded with a determined smile. She sighed, "Well, go make a legacy." She said softly, "Fulfill Dream's prophecy." Dream watched before Jorah's mother came over to her. "And, Dreamseer, I believe in you." Gloam had faith in them as she was turning a light shade of indigo with teal swirls.

After the two colorful dragonets finished their goodbyes, they flew off.

"So, Dream, where should we go first to find one of our members?" Jorah asked. She thought for a moment, trying to remember the map of Pyrrhia. 

"North, towards the Mud Kingdom, that's the closest." 

..................

Chapter ???; A Dragon of the Red Marsh

The dragonets landed at the borders of the Mud Kingdom, Dream felt the soil squelch between her talons, and she gave an uncertain look to Jorah, she didn't like how it stuck to her claws, it didn't feel like the mud in the rainforest, instead of the soft damp, leaf-covered dirt held up by the roots, this was goopy and drippy. But she had to suck it up and proceed in her quest, you know, the one to save, like, everybody? 

"Jorah, can you look like a MudWing?" She asked him, but he gave a slight frown, "Oh! Oh, I'm sorry, Jorah, I didn't-" She scrambled to say, remembering that the patterns on his wings didn't change color and stayed their normal lavender, like always. She remembered that this was the reason he was abandoned, which, once told to the queen, was highly frowned upon. But luckily, he was taken in by Loch and Gloam, who Dream was particularly fond of, as they had also taken her under their wings, which her mother seemed absolutely thrilled to hear...

"-Dream, it's fine, calm down." He insisted, clearly bothered by something as his snout was turning green, but it quickly faded away. "Let's not waste time." Jorah started to trek forwards but looked back at her as she hesitated, and flicked the tip of his tail at her. She took a deep breath and stepped into the Mud Kingdom.

Calm... Ground yourself, Dream.

She thought about the harsh words she would've gotten from her mother. 'What are you, a sloth!?' She would have snapped at her. 

Think about what Jorah would do. He would be thinking of what his own mothers would be saying; 'You can do it, Jorah!' But I don't feel ready to do this, what if the MudWing doesn't want to leave? What if they attack you? No, I have my best friend to help me out, he will be able to persuade them...Right..?

She just followed Jorah, watching his bright colors flash against the dull browns of the marsh. They hadn't run into anybody so far, Dream wondered where they could be, until- 

"Hey!" Someone called, she looked around and almost had to do a double-take as she nearly looked over the large dragon to her left, Jorah seemed equally startled but found them quite easily. "What are you two doing in this kingdom?!" 

"U-u-um..." Dream took a deep breath as Jorah looked at her with a reassuring face... "W-we've come to ask about something."

"Then do so quickly." The large dragon spoke in an exasperated tone.

"Well, do you have any odd-looking dragons around here?" She asked

"Not that I know of, but there is someone in the Red Marsh." They said, "Why are you asking...?"

"It's for... a classified mission from Queen Glory." The NightWing answered, which was true, but she didn't want to tell them that she was a prophet and this MudWing she was talking about, played a part in it.

"So, she just sent two RainWing dragonets? How classified can it be?" They scoffed.

"Hey!" Jorah whined, "My friend happens to be a NightWing who can see the future!" Jorah... that was meant to be a secret!

"You're lying. The NightWings lost their powers long ago if they even had them in the first place. And look at your colors! You are not a NightWing!"

"I am too! I'll prove it!!" She blew a plume of fire in front of her and the MudWing stepped back slightly before growling.

"Fine. I'll take you in, just don't do anything."

And there it was, the Mud Kingdom, it was eerily still, until a dragonet about two years younger than Jorah and Dream went bounding over to a mud hut, but the MudWing walked right past the poorly, but sturdily made houses. She took them to a village of slightly better homes and kept walking until she got to the middle-class part of the kingdom where a couple of dragons were strolling around and talking, and a particularly beautiful MudWing sitting under a tree, while a very deep brown dragon talked to an almost tan dragonet who smiled up at them before looking their way in surprise then waved at the large dragon who had led them there. "Hi Pine!" The dragonet chirped. 

"No. Stop talking to me." She growled as he ran up to them.

"Who are these two?" He beamed, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Go away, Loosestrife," Pine commanded, "I don't want a weed-like you around." But she fell upon deaf ears.

"What are you doing here? You're a RainWing, and you're a NightWing. Oh! Do you happen to know the NightWing who was here yesterday?" He asked.

"No, we're here to find a colorful MudWing, have you seen one?" 

Other NightWings have been here? What are they doing in the Mud Kingdom? Dream thought to herself.

"Oh! I know exactly who you're looking for! She's my sister!" Loosestrife went over to the pretty dragon when Dream noticed she was holding a book, a reading MudWing, this dragon surely was special. As the dragonet explained why they were here, her face brightened with curiosity, which Dream guessed ran in the family. He seemed to have easily convinced her, when she stood up, Dream could see she had a gold underbelly, orange horns, and red wings with a pattern that resembled her own. 

She really was one of them.

"Hello, I'm Mallow, I heard you were looking for someone like me." 

Book Two:

Mallow was sitting under her favorite dark oak tree, reading one of the most fascinating books she's seen. Though, admittedly, that's what she thought about a lot of books. It was about wildlife in the north, written by the IceWings themselves, how cool! (haha, get it?) She was reading a page about seals when her brother, Loosestrife pranced towards her, seeming quite excited; as his wings were fluttering happily like whenever he was thrilled about something. 

"Mallow, guess what!" He chirped, "Two dragons are here to see you!" Loosestrife bounced, grinning giddily.

"Two dragons? What's so exciting about that?" Mallow asked as her brother's eyes lit up.

"I'm so glad you asked! They're from the rainforest!! There's a RainWing and, wait for it... A NightWing. And they're right behind me!" Mallow looked over his shoulder curiously, and he was right, there were two dragons, but she didn't see any black scales as she'd expected... Wait, they didn't look the same, well, it's very rare that anything is completely identical, but this was different. One of them looked exactly like a RainWing, and the other... she tried to imagine her with grey-toned colors... three moons, she was a NightWing, but very colorful and pretty, and even more eye-burning than her jungle-roaming friend next to her. 

"No way... is she a hybrid? But I don't see any features of any other dragons than NightWing. And why is she here in the first place? Why is she looking for me at all?" Then she saw her wings, "She has the same pattern as me...Is that why she's here? Wait, the RainWing has them too, but, he could be faking it... but again, why would he fake it? I've got to find out what they want." 

"I'm in." She said to Loosestrife, nodding before the sibs made their way over to the new dragons and introduced herself.

"Hello, I'm Mallow. I heard you were looking for someone like me." She said as she subtlety got a better look at their markings.

"We were!!" The RainWing squealed joyfully before the odd NightWing took a deep breath and introduced them.

"Hello Mallow, this is Jorah," She gestures to the squealing dragon beside her, "And I'm Dreamseer, but, um, you can call me Dream." She looked embarrassed, trying to stay professional, Mallow guessed.

"So, what are you doing here in the Mud Kingdom?" She asked them, shooing a boxelder beetle at her feet.

"I was about to say." Dream said, now a darker tone in her voice. "It's all a part of a prophecy..."

"Prophecy? I thought the Dragonets of Destiny said the NightWings lost their powers years ago, if they even had them in the first place." She responded, intrigued, but unsure.

"Umm...well, y-you see, um, that is true, but, uh-" Dream stuttered out.
"She hatched on a double full-mooned night, so she has powers!!" Jorah interrupted, Mallow could tell that he knew she was uncomfortable, therefore he got in the way.

"I did read a really old book one time that said something of the sort, but tell me, what is the prophecy?" She asked.

"Wow...so, let me get this straight; my sister is the MudWing that you need to bring on this adventure to save the continent?" Loosestrife asked, sounding unsure.

"Yes, I believe so." The NightWing replied, starting to inspect Mallow's wings closely before looking around to see some other dragons watching them suspiciously. "Can we um, talk about this somewhere else...?" 

"Of course, I have just the place." Mallow trusted them enough, the RainWing seemed kind, and the NightWing seemed nervous for obvious reasons; she did have a prophecy about this big, scary dragon who wanted to like, rule Pyrrhia. "Follow me." She passed them and went into the forest, Jorah followed as well as Loosestrife but Dream hesitated before rushing over once she realized they were going somewhere. After a few minutes, she stopped in front of a large twisted tree with like, ten different kinds of vines, moss, and lichen around it, giving it a creepy vibe. Mallow looked behind her at the rainforest dragons before disappearing behind a cluster of ferns.