Wings of Fire: Revenant

Chapter One

Peacemaker jolted awake violently, rising out of the bed with such force that he nearly planted his horns in the ceiling.

He'd been having ... a dream? A nightmare? The sense of dread still broiling in his chest would make him inclined to call it that, but something about it had felt too tangible ... too real. Yet as he tried to recall the details, he found them slipping away from him, as though he were trying to catch mist with his talons. Finally, he realized that he couldn't really remember anything that had happened in the dream, only feelings and darkness.

Peacemaker sighed and settled back down onto his bed. His dreams had always been like this, and trying to remember them was an exercise in futility. It seemed like the harder he tried, the more he seemed to forget.

Knowing that trying to go back to sleep would be a wasted effort, he instead crawled out of bed, leisurely stretching the heaviness out of each limb. As he raised his wings, the pattern of rainbow scales beneath caught the pale morning light pouring in through his window.

The sun must have only just risen, and outside the trees were obscured by a thick veil of morning mist. In the distance, Peacemaker could hear the raucous calls of parrots and monkeys rising for the day. The chill air brought with it the scent of the damp forest floor and the flowering vines which crawled up the supports of the house and cascaded in colorful waterfalls down the trunks of the nearby trees.

Peacemaker took the small watering can that he kept by his bed and trickled a small amount of water onto the plants lining his window sill. He checked each individually, then, seeing that all was well, gave his standard greeting. "Morning, babies. Hope you slept better than I did."

Hope never failed to roll her eyes at this, but he'd always had better luck growing plants with the aid of a little conversation.

Thinking of his mother made him turn his attention to where she usually slept, but she was already gone for the day, no doubt off to convene with Queen Glory. Hope worked as a royal liaison, aiding communications between the RainWings and the NightWings. Her duties encompassed not only to the rainforest, but also the old Night Kingdom on the Talon Peninsula, where a small populous of NightWings currently resided. She was often up before dawn and not back until well after dark.

Peacemaker sighed. It was going to be a very boring couple of hours if he just sat here waiting for the sun to crawl its way up into the sky. So instead he decided he might as well get an early start on the day.

Exiting the house, he found the village still mostly quiet, with only a few sleepy-eyed dragons stirring. The NightWing village was located in a clearing alongside a fat, lazy river, and was bordered by several towering baobab trees, which kept it cool and shady, even when the sun was high in the sky. Scattered across the clearing were rows of houses, small but well-constructed, and elevated a few feet off the ground by stilts in order to keep out the occasional flood.

Though the rainforest's main center of commerce was located closer to the RainWing village, there were also a handful of shops here for those either unable or unwilling to make the journey. An apothecary, infirmary, and even a small library stood out against the backdrop of quaint, unassuming houses. It was the only home Peacemaker had ever known.

Giving the village a final parting glance, he launched himself into the air and started down a familiar flight path through the rainforest. On the way he snatched up a banana and a mango from some nearby trees, nearly frightening the feathers off a flock of macaws in the process. He polished the fruit off in a few bites, savoring the sweetness of the dueling flavors on his tongue.

The air beneath his wings was still cool, and the sun had not yet had the chance to burn away the moisture clinging to the trees. The brush of his wing tips sent dewdrops flying from the overhanging branches, the tiny droplets catching the sun's rays briefly in a brilliant display of light and color. More animals were beginning to rouse, the calls of insects, birds, and beasts swirling together like a choir of voices all speaking a different language.