Secretkeeper had her doubts when she saw the egg, silver and glittery under the moonlight.
Maybe it was just an odd large stone, or maybe it was a rainwing egg that had rolled its way out of its nest. By all accounts she's never actually seen a rainwing egg before, but they had to be bright, right? She had scrounged around the area where she remembered leaving her egg in, no dark, sad gray egg to be found. All paths lead to this shiny silver thing being hers unless a predator snatched the real egg up or some dumb rainwing mistook hers for its own.
And her own instincts have been rather sure that it was hers, or it had just decided that any remotely egg shaped thing was something worth looking after. She had thoughts of this being a mistake, sure she wanted her child to stay away from all the brainwashing back at the island and stay even farther away from the constant looming threat of the volcano. But even so at least Secretkeeper would have the insurance of other nightwings, how at the very least the hatchling in some way would be safe from the outside world. There were at least no predators, or any tribes lingering around at the island.
And the child would have other nightwings there to look after them, they could have friends there. They wouldn’t be lonely.
Secretkeeper pondered and pondered as she held the ‘egg’ in her talons, staring down at it as she was weighing her options. Whether or not she should just keep it here or fly back to the volcano with it, tell everyone the truth and admit to all the lies she had told them. Admit that all the times she went to scavenge around the rainforest she’s actually been checking up on her egg.
But today was the day it would hatch. It wouldn’t be safe to fly around with an egg about to burst open at any second. But it also wouldn’t be safe to leave a little hatchling to be out on their own in a dangerous forest with beasts and other tribe dragons. Especially those little scavengers wrangling about. But they also would be fed all the time with all the little animals and fruit just lying around. They wouldn’t have to constantly worry about a volcano exploding at any second, they wouldn’t have to breathe in smoke for their entire lives. And if they hid well enough they wouldn’t have to worry about any animals snatching them.
The rainforest was far colder and likely more dangerous than the volcano but at least there were ways to work around the danger, there was lava everywhere at the island, and the threat of eruption was constant.
Secretkeeper’s thoughts had been interrupted as she felt the egg move in her talons, cracks forming as slowly but surely the shell split apart. She stared at it, wide eyed and filled with wonder. She’s been to hatchings before, but this one. This was hers.
As it continued to shake and break apart, chirps came out from it. Quiet, small little noises. As the shell continued to crack all around, the little hatchling inside fighting their way out. Secretkeeper continued to stare as the egg hatched in her talons, the cracks continuing to form around the side of the egg.
Until eventually, a little hatchling made its- her way out.
Secretkeeper has seen hatchlings before. They were always the color of rock or smoke, sometimes even lava. Various shades of gray with some red here and there. But out of all those hatchlings, out of all the dragonets of the tribe. She can't think of one that’s had even a single star on them.
Her little hatchling, dark scaled and round, tiny little wings that would flap in earnest as she squeaked up at Secretkeeper. Even with how dark her scales were they had swirls of color in them, most noticeably hues of greens and blues, not unlike a galaxy. Actually, as Secretkeeper glances up at the sky and back down at her hatchling, they looked quite alike. It was as if a piece of the night sky had fallen down.
And the stars, she harbored so many of them. Little specks of silver all across her body. With as much as she’s seen and known, stars were only present on nightwings who’ve ventured outside of the volcano frequently like the ones tasked with surveying the rainforest. But even then, none of them ever had this many. The stars they had were always sparse, few to the point where they would be easy to count in quick succession.
But her little one had so many, a freshly hatched dragonet with so many stars, it was almost mesmerizing to look at. A little galaxy in her talons.
There were a lot of times where he wished he could just wipe his memory and forget everything that has ever happened to him. But then he actually started to forget. What a dreadful day that was, when he just couldn’t remember anymore.
So now here he was, desperately trying to keep track of everything, to jot down even the smallest thing into these ever expanding journals and books, just whatever paper he could get his hands on. All of it in one chaotic mass of loose paper with the odd binded journal here and there.
“If you say so.” She was hesitant in speaking but nevertheless started setting the table.
Board on the table. Each piece being placed with the resounding tap. Viola sat idly on his chair, staring down at the table as pieces came down one by one. The board populating with each piece.
“You want to go first this time?”
Viola slowly nodded before he reached over and picked up a pawn-
His vision filled with countless outcomes. Each move he could do, the outcome of those actions. Every losing move he could do and every winning move he could do. Images stacked upon each other and faded in with one another. All of completely overwhelming his senses, causing him to drop the pawn in his hands, bouncing off the table and onto the wooden floor.
The sound of it falling snapped him out of his trance, the images instantly disappearing from his vision. Glancing down he went to pick it up and placed it down onto the board one spot forward from where it originally was.
“Alright that’s enough for one day.”
“No it’s fine- it’s your move.”
“Viola.”
Asmodeus sighed, head slumping down as she stared at the board, borderline analyzing the piece Viola had moved. “They’re getting worse aren’t they.”
“...Yeah.”
“Let’s just stop it here, okay? No need to risk triggering that again.”
“Okay, sorry.”
Asmodeus rolled her eyes at that. “You’re going to go blind at this rate.”
My name is High Valien Jonathan Marek Alagona, and today is the eighth day of Twinmoon. Once I was a prince; now I bear the eyes of sun and moon to read the falling hourglass. The writing in the journal always began the same way- first his title, then the date, then the mantra. The ritual helped him keep track of days passing, especially since he hardly slept these days. The ritual had to continue to keep him holding onto whatever part of what was actually him remained.
My name is Valien Jonathan Marek Alagona, and my kingdom is falling into ruins at the hands of a prophecy generations in the making. The Capitol had been slowly replacing all of his parents’ advisors with their own men. They shared bodies, but how could they be the same person when they had gone from compassionate and opinionated to mechanical and dead- eyed? The prophecy ends with me, and the hour-glass shatters at my hand. His great- grandfather had sworn that there would be one last Valien after him. One last person who could bring about peace.
My name is Jonathan Marek Alagona, and my citizens despise me. It did not help that he was almost constantly tailed by his bodyguard, one of the Capitol’s genetically engineered weapon-men. The Capitol didn’t care about the citizens despite their hold on the royal family, and everyone knew it. I wish there was some way to show them that I would help them if I could. He had tried numerous times before, only to be spurned, but he really could not blame the liberation movement for not trusting him.
My name is Jonathan Alagona, and I am imprisoned. Sure, he had freedom to go where he pleased, providing he was followed by his Capitol shadow. He could go out of the palace, but only if he wanted to be met with stones and ice- cold glares everywhere he turned. I am a prisoner of my mind and of my birth. I never asked for this. It did not help that he was faced with constant reminders that the Capitol would get rid of him at whatever point he stopped being useful to them.
My name is Jonathan, and I have no idea who that is anymore. Between the insomnia that his ‘gift’ brought and avoiding food and water for fear of the Capitol drugging him, it was no small wonder that he could even write full sentences anymore. I think that I lost myself somewhere along the way. Where did I go? He had changed so much in the years since the prophecy’s spirit had taken its roots in his mind; the time before that felt like little more than a good dream slowly being forgotten.
My name is Jon, and I am alone. I am so alone and so very scared.
Out of the darkness came only silence. Merely the sound of my voice and the incessant bobbing of the blue flame over my outstretched hand. Perhaps, had I been anyone else, I might know what he was trying to say.
“Brother. It is one-three-four-oh. I cannot hear you.”
Choked laughter answered me this time, rather than the mental screams that only I failed to hear. It led me down a twisted path that I knew all too well to the center of the cell Zero called ‘home’. Extinguishing my flame, I approached the chained blond and touched his shoulder.
Previous experience with Zero’s power did nothing to lessen the unpleasant sensation. I shuddered. Despite Zero’s inability to read my memories, the common ground between us had to be in my mind. (I had learned long ago that I was not suited for mind-to-mind travel, and besides ran the risk of being trapped in Zero’s unstable mind.)
It has been so long since you came to visit Zero.
His mental voice was hoarse, but still managed to give me chills.
It was beginning to think it had been forgotten.
That was a lie, but Zero was one of the few people who I did not dare talk back to.
