On Destiny's Wings: A Journey of Embers (UNDERGOING REVISIONS)

Chapter 3: Learning Experiences

Sundrop clung tightly to her mother's leg and leaned her head against it. She could feel her tail dangling in the empty air. It was dancing to and fro from the force of the wind whipping past. She glanced up and saw her mother's huge wings flapping effortlessly, propelling herself through the sky.

With a glance downward, Sundrop observed the land sailing past at incomprehensible speeds. The only thing she could make out was the blurring of white snow on the mountain peaks, and the faint green outline of the pine trees.

She looked ahead and gasped. More mountains, thousands of them, stretched on to infinity. They seemed to never end. Their tallest spires reached past the swirling clouds and towered over the earth, casting dark shadows that engulfed the flatlands below.

The dragonling took a moment to breathe, embracing the way the cool morning air tugged at her ears and whistled through her wings. The heat from the rising sun trickled between her crimson scales. She turned her muzzle to the sky and nearly toppled out of her mother's grasp. She wouldn't want to fall from such a frightening height.

So this is what it's like to fly, she thought excitedly.

Sundrop peered over at her brother. She had to squint away from the sting of the wind careening at her face.

Flametooth was grabbing clumsily at their mother's talons, desperately trying to balance himself. He finally flopped over and gripped on to her leg. His brownish scales were glittering like dull diamonds. His fiery orange eyes were alight with fear and anticipation. His muzzle was wrinkled from the force of the air hitting his snout.

"Hey Flametooth," Sundrop shouted, her voice barely audible over the whistling and wailing of wind, "we'll be doing this one day! It's amazing!"

The male dragonling shot a look at his sister. It was instantly drained away when one of his ears, which had snagged against the wind, smacked him in the eye. Sundrop laughed loudly, wagging her suspended tail. She could feel the pink frills at its tip pulse.

The dragoness's wings sailed gently across the fresh morning breeze. Sundrop imagined spreading her own wings and jumping out of her mother's clutches. What would it feel like to be suspended, effortless, battling at the winds' mercy?

Suddenly, through the tawny haze, a massive shape came into view. Sundrop gasped and craned her neck to get a better view.

Silhouetted against a glimmering white sun stood an immeasurably gargantuan palace carved into a mountainous slab of shiny, flat marble. It rose into the clouds thousands of meters high. The very top was shrouded in misty fog. Laces of what looked like red gemstones wrapped around the pillars hundreds of times around. The sides had been caressed elegantly by moons of rain and snow, granting the entire structure a twisted, star-kissed appearance.

At the highest levels of the palace, vast balconies stuck out into the open air, hugged by intricate railings melded with pearls. At its base, stony caves yawned into circular rooms laden with red carpets and flaming torches. Sundrop spotted dozens of FireClaws gathered down there, conversing and sharing news. Their red scales glinted in the sunlight.

The middle of the marble castle was dotted with small openings where dragons could enter and exit during their free time. A few ruddy heads were poking out and observing the family's approach. Sundrop ducked her head and blushed beneath her frills. Were they expecting new visitors?

Their mother veered steeply and careened around a shimmering red corner where a pair of pillars opened up into a beautiful valley millions of miles across. Ivory mountains shrouded the plain on all sides, much like a thundering cage that kept dangers at bay. Hundreds of tail lengths below, wide rivers wound and bent around the land like blue snakes.