Chasing The Sun

Chapter 1

Eight years later...

The walls of the cave system seemed boringly familiar as Seeker wandered them, not even glancing up at his surroundings to check whether he was going the right way.

 He turned right, the torch on the wall making his scales prickle uncomfortably with heat. Nothing new crossed his mind, just the usual thought of trying to find his hiding spot to get away from his parents. Seeker looked up, finding one of his older hiding spots, a small cluster of stalagmites; perfect for hiding behind if you were small. As he passed it, he remembered his parents' words when they found a one-year-old Moonseeker, sobbing in the middle of his cluster.

"Stop trying to escape the laws of fate!" 

"The moons have punished us for our wrongdoings, so we must take refuge underground for ten years and train you for the time you will rule over Pyrrhia and let the moon empower everyone."

Of course, only his parents were allowed to leave the caverns at night, plainly for hunting and bringing back scrolls, ink and other necessary items. He constantly had new scrolls piled up on the floor in his sleeping quarters, information on the outside world, and even scrolls written by his parents on why the sun was bad.

A deadly ball of flame, he remembered reading in one of those scrolls. powerful enough to kill a dragon. 

Seeker stopped, reaching his newest hiding spot, which he'd kept hidden for at least four years now. He wedged a torch out of the wall nearest to him, cringing away from the flame, and stepped through a cluster of rocks, through a short, dark tunnel and into a large cavern with a shallow, lightly flowing river, lit by glowworms. 

Seeker smiled, putting the torch into a small niche in the rock. He walked down to the water's edge and waded in, looking a this talons wavering through the shallow water. Seeker then walked back out, letting his talons dry by the fire.

 Then, he walked over to a small wooden bookshelf (which he'd stolen from his sleeping cave, telling his parents that he'd accidentally burnt it, although he never used his fire), where his favourite scrolls usually were. He grabbed his favourite one off the shelf and a matchbox, then lit all the surrounding torches. Seeker sat down, unrolling the scroll. It was a guide to the tribes of Pyrrhia. He'd always wanted to meet the tribes and study them for hours on end. Even if Astral and Neptune kept muttering hateful things about IceWings, Seeker found them to be his favourite tribe because they almost had the same colours as him, and their sharp claws amazed him. 

Seeker hummed quietly as he read through all the tribes' descriptions, queens, abilities and allies. He then returned his scroll neatly to the shelf, then reached for another. His talon twitched and his happiness faded as he read the title, and he sat back so carefully, unrolling the crinkled parchment.

I'm afraid this may be the last time I'll write, or even see you. You should find this in your weekly pile of scrolls, and you may find that I am gone. It seems that mother and father have had enough of me. I'm not like you, Seeker, and they think that the moons simply didn't want me. I'm sorry, but the journey out of this mountain now rests in your talons. Please remember me when you see the beauty of Pyrrhia, and don't forget to include me in your amazing sagas you tell other dragons. I wish you the best in life.
Yours sincerely,
Mercury.

I'm sorry, Mercury, it's been a long year without you, Seeker thought sorrowfully as he rolled up the scroll and tucked it neatly on the shelf. His talons brushed the small bracelet he wore in remembrance of his sister and he sighed, looking longingly down at it. His mind flashed back to the bloodstained talons of his parents and the absence of Mercury. He was seven then, and she was six. He'd immediately realised what had happened, and so he took the note in his talons and stored it away, forever missing his sister. 

Suddenly a figure surfaced the river. Seeker's eyes widened as the stranger turned to face him. The light illuminated a blue snout and slender body.

SeaWing, Seeker immediately thought, but the body shape seemed slightly too slender to be a SeaWing, and there were no luminous markings every SeaWing had.

"What are you?" He said, horrified. "You're like a SeaWing, but you're not like a SeaWing." 

The dragon chuckled, wading out of the river and stepping into the light to dry off. He looked around Seeker'd age, if not older. "My name is Albacore, call me Alby," he said. "and I'm half SeaWing, half SkyWing. Good guess, though. And by the moons, are you an albino NightWing?" 

Seeker couldn't find the words to speak, but when he did, he stuttered madly. "U-uh, I am an albino NightWing." he paused, looking down, then looked up again, managing to gain a little bit of confidence. "My name's Moonseeker, Seeker for short. What are you doing here?" 

"Looking for a way out," Albacore replied flatly, sitting down and looking around the cave. He then tilted his head, and added, "What are you doing here, in a dark cavern? Shouldn't you be in your sacred kingdom with the other NightWings, telling prophecies and doing war-y stuff?" 

Seeker curled his tail around his talons, his ears perking at a way out. "Well," he started. "One, I've been living in this cave system for eight years; my whole life. My parents are into some voodoo moon apocalypse stuff. It's really weird, and I think it's all a bunch of breadcrumbs. Two, I've never met anyone from another tribe, not even any other NightWings beside my family."

Albacore smiled. "Breadcrumbs?" he questioned. "I like your expression, NightWing. Tell me more." 

"You know," Seeker mused. "Small and insignificant, like breadcrumbs, or pebbles, or-- I'm getting off-topic." Seeker shook himself. "Can you get me a way out? Please, you have no idea how much it would mean to me. I've never even seen a tree." 

Albacore burst into a short fit of laughter,  then covered his mouth. "I'm sorry," he said. "You've never seen a tree. You really need more sun." He calmed down, but a small spark of humour still remained in his eyes. "I'll get you out, sure thing, but can we stick together? I'm a big exploration fan, and I kind-of don't have anyone to do that with." The hybrid flicked his tail, then added, "I'm an animus, too, but I'm rather terrified of spell-casting." He spread his talons, shrugging. "I'll still do it for you, buddy, so you can see a tree." Albacore smiled, nudging Seeker's wing with his. 

Seeker smiled at his small joke, but their fun was cut short when Astral's voice screeched from across the cave system. "YOU'RE LATE," her voice echoed throughout the mountain. "HURRY UP BEFORE I THROW YOU TO THE MOONS FOR THEM TO DEAL WITH!" 

Seeker turned to Albacore. "Meet Astral, my mother," Seeker said, grimacing. "Stay here, and keep your snout shut, while I go take classes. I'll bring back some interesting scrolls and food, alright?" And with that, Seeker turned and ran out of the cave with the torch he'd originally brought in with him, hoping not to be yelled at by his parents