Published July 12, 2020
Snow swirled around Zoltar, the wind tossing it against his midnight black scales as he flew over the tundra. From the sky he could see the woods fade into the night as he flew over the open plain. He must have only walked a mile or so to reach the clearing. It wouldn’t take long to get back to Felistia by air.
He looked at the golden scale in his claws, its surface shimmering faintly in the dim light. He still couldn’t figure out what dragon it might have come from. He’d been through each of the tribes he could think of; Moon Talons, Ghost Talons, Wisp Talons, Ice Talons, Wind Talons and Shadow Talons. He was sure that was all of them.
He was still puzzling over this when he swooped in to land a few wing beats from the tree Felistia and Shriken were resting under. Shriken was curled up in a ball next to his sister, his sides rising and falling in the steady rhythm of sleep.
Felistia must have heard him land since she jumped to her feet, scanning her surroundings, but her eyes didn’t focus on him. It took Zoltar a moment to realize she couldn’t see him in the faint light coming through the clouds. His scales must be too dark to see against the backdrop.
“Hey Felistia,” Zoltar called out, flapping his wings so that she’d recognize him.
He saw Felistia lock eyes on him for a moment before her stance relaxed. She bonded up to him, her face hopeful. Her eyes scanning the sky as if expecting Shiraku and Emerald to drop out of it at any moment.
Her eyes fell when she realized that he was alone. “Didn’t find them?” She brushed against him, her wings gently stroking his sides.
Zoltar shook his head, “No.”
He looked over her shoulder. Shriken was still asleep under the tree. This was probably a good time to talk to her. He took a deep breath, “I think you best sit down.”
Felistia looked at him with concern as she curled up next to him, her tail twinned with his, “What did you find?”
“I followed the trail into the woods. About halfway another set of tracks overlapped with theirs. I think they were followed. I continued until I reached a clearing. I presume that’s when Shiraku and Emerald noticed they were being watched. I don’t know caused it, but there was a scuffle and the tracks ended there.”
He felt Felistia shiver next to him, her scales rattling, “Were there…”
“No,” Zoltar cut her off before she could finish her thought, “Whatever happened, they got out of there alive, but I don’t think they escaped. They would be here if they had. I think they were taken hostage.”
Felistia buried her face in one of her wings, her voice muffled, “How could this happen? They were in safe territory.”
Zoltar wrapped a wing around her. He knew how she felt. It was awful to feel helpless like this especially when he was the one that put them in this predicament.
Felistia fell silent for moment as if gathering herself. She took a deep breath, tucking her wings in close to her sides, “Did you find anything? Any clues?”
Zoltar opened his paw to reveal the diamond shaped scale.
Felistia inhaled sharply, “A Lightning Talon scale? How? There are hardly any left. What is one doing out here so close to the Ice Talon Kingdom?” She took the golden scale from Zoltar’s claws, turning it from side to side in disbelief.
“A Lighting Talon.” Zoltar struggled to bring to mind anything he’d learned about that dragon species. The only time he could remember hearing of them was when he’d studied a scroll on Wind Talons. The Lightning Talon was supposed to be a more powerful version of the tribe. An ancient race of royal dragons able to control storms, with the powers to summon forth bolts of lightning to rain down on their enemies.
But they’d gone extinct since the beginning of the war between the Ice Talons and Wind Talons or at least the writer of the scroll had thought so. Did this scale mean there were still Lightning Talons alive today? It must. No other dragon in Megalonia had gold scales.
But what was a Lightning Talon doing out here and more importantly, what did they want with Emerald and Shiraku?
“Do you think they’ll be alright?” he asked turning to Felistia.
Her snout was wrinkled in thought as she studied the scale, “The Wind Talons have always be a rather peaceful tribe, vouching for defense rather than offense. I sure they saw them after a patrol and decided to take them in for questioning. They should be fine until we’re able to get to them.”
“But how are we going to rescue them? We can’t just waltz into Wind Talon territory asking for their latest prisoners.”
“Maybe we can,” she said slowly, her eyes lighting up with mischievous glee, “We have the Lightning Diamond. We could use it to our advantage.”
Zoltar was puzzled for moment as he tried to follow her train of thought. He reached behind his neck to take the diamond for its hiding place.
“My sister started this war with the Wind Talons three years ago. The only reason she’s been on the winning side is because she had that diamond,” Felistia took the jewel, rolling it around in her paws, “but now we have it.”
She snorted, a sly smile spreading across her face, “The Wind Talons would give anything to have their source of powder back. If they have our friends, I’m sure they’d happily trade them for this.” Felistia bobbed the jewel in her talons.
“On top of that, perhaps I could make an alliance with them. The Wind Talons have been trying to end this war for years. I’m sure they’d want to make peace with my tribe knowing that I’d be the new queen. With the Lightning Talons powder restored they could take on Shiler and her army with ease. She’d have no chance.”
Her eyes flashed to where her brother was lying. A slow coil of freezing vapor twisted from her snout, wreathing her horns in a light blue mist, “Shriken has allies on the Ice Talon side. He could rally the Wings of Freedom again now that we have a plan. More Ice Talons would join than ever before. We could end the war in a matter of weeks if everything went to plan.”
Zoltar’s heart was hammering away inside his chest, but unlike so many other times, it wasn’t in panic, it was in excitement. Imagine stopping the longest war in the history of Megalonia. Bringing peace to two tribes. It was more than he could hope for. On top of that, he was going to rescue Emerald and Shiraku.
He allowed a small grin to creep across his snout. The Sea Talon would have to like him if this worked.
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140,089 Literary Works • 672,997 Reviews
I LIKE WHERE THIS IS GOING but I'm worried that the novel is almost over.
So first off, I totally see that list of dragons that I had mentioned last chapter! I see it! In fact, I think most of this chapter's intro covers last chapter pretty easily. I'd have loved this list and the thoughts around it end up in last chapter, or maybe last chapter just needs more substance. This chapter really just picks up the pace much better, progresses the plot, and was far more entertaining to read.
Felistia is awesome, man. 1) She knew right away what dragon had gold scales, and considering that it's a lightning talon, I am GLAD she knew. She's an ice talon, so it makes perfect sense that she'd know the wind talons better than Zoltar! 2) your typos for her dialogue made me laugh:
"THEY LOVE THEIR LIME KOOL-AID!"
BeCAUSE THEY HAVE THEIR KOOL-AID!!
Anyhoot. XD There might want to be a small blurb about how Felistia and Shriken helped out a little? I feel like all they did was sit there while Zoltar ran around, but I'm sure that's not the case. Felistia at least would have helped, and therefore, she'd have explained her own search to Zoltar and how she was unable to find anything.
I love it when Zoltar and Felistia cuddle like this. they are so cute and i love them so much
My curiosity about the significance of the lightning diamond still stands since it seems more significant than the ice diamond still. But I do wonder if that is because the lightning diamond is related to the lightning talons specifically and, therefore, houses the power of the LIGHTNING talons, not the wind talons. Which would lead me to wonder if the lightning talons, being praised as much as they were here, are really that much stronger than most dragon tribes including the ice talons -- like maybe Zeus level from Greek mythology. Control over the skies is kind of a big deal, especially for flying dragons!
I really feel like this chapter is leading up to a big moment still, so seeing that there's only one chapter left makes me worried that we're about to end this novel already after several slow-moving chapters. We're finally progressing the plot in a direction that could really throw a lot of action and detective work at us -- it's just so exciting! Like, I feel like I've only read half the book! By the end of this, they should definitely meet the lightning dragon or a wind talon that works for/with a lightning dragon, just to tease us more for the next upcoming novel. We've only just been introduced this idea, so we definitely want to keep that going before we end the story already. I also feel like by the end of this book, we'd have met some of the ice talon rebels or something. Basically explore the nature of this conflict right now and how it'll affect not only Emerald and SHiraku but also Zoltar's mission. Remember that even though this is book two of a series, the book itself should still have its own story to tell -- a story within a story, if you will.
Regardless! I can tell that I'm about to hit the next book and that it will most likely dive into this wind talon arc. I keep reminding myself that this ice/wind talon conflict is only one step in Zoltar's entire mission, and it just makes it that much more exciting of a story for me. There's so many moving parts, and the world is just so vast, and I simply love this kind of exploration and world-building. It's sooo easy to get engrossed in the story when it feels so real!
I'll read more tomorrow.
Thank you for another review.
I'm thinking that if I do publish this series that these "books" should be segments in one novel.
I like that idea! It does feel very much like one large novel with distinct acts or parts, so that might actually work out really well! I think it depends on how the plot progresses and if the book's overall plot makes sense as a standalone or merged with the next part.
Hello, felistia, decided I'd drop a review right about now. Since the beginning, this novel is very interesting, and to now have the answer to end the war? Of course I'm going to more invested. Without further ado, like always, I'll start with the grammar.
I'm not sure if this is actually grammar problems(probably isn't), it's really just missing words. Which means that I didn't detect any grammar problems, good job!
If the tracks ended there, would that mean that they were taken by air? Or would they have a little skirmish on the ground, then Shiraku and Emerald could have flown off with patrols on their tails? Hmm... and what about that golden scale? Why only one? That does make you wonder if it was a Lightning Talon
So Lightning Talons are like a level 2 of Wind Talons complete with gold scales and powerful abilities. But they were pronounced extinct when the Ice and Wind Talons began fighting. That means they fought with the Wind Talons and against the Ice Talons. Maybe they went hiding so that the two opposing tribes could work out their problem. I do not believe they could have gotten killed so easily. Who knows? Maybe they got ambushed or something.
That's what I mean. The Lighting Talons are OP with their powers, so they couldn't have been wiped out. Now we know that the Ice Talons stand no chance against the Lightning Talons.
And I think that's going to wrap it up. Now new conspiracies with the Lightning Talons, and a new possible solution with ending the war. Nice job putting it all together.
Overall, I'd read this anytime. The characters are likable, the plot is well thought out, and I don't really notice many grammar mistakes.
With caution,
WaterSpout
Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening/Night(whichever one it is in your part of the world),
Aaand I'm back for me of this and this time I am going to be teaching you how to make pancakes...uhhh.....just kidding...I am here to leave another review on this wonderful story.
First Impression: Well....dang...I thought that was a Wind Talon scale. But it was kinda a Wind Talon-ish direction so I'm still happy with partial credit. And well...things happened indeed. Looks like we're going to stop a war. Or are we?
Anyway let's get to it,
Well can't blame him for forgetting a species long thought extinct.
Come on Zoltar. You can't blame yourself. They could have said no.
Oh. My. God. I need to see this in action.
Well...I'm assuming this means there aren't any other thought extinct dragon species.
Felistia transforming into the queen mode right there. Also lovely plan.
Now that's an interesting priority isn't it Zoltar?
Aaand that's it for this one. Not much to point out at all.
Overall: Didn't see anything wrong to be honest. If there were any grammar related issue they were small enough that you don't notice them. Plot wise this is flowing along really well. That second arc is now coming to an end quite clearly and I smell the setup to the third arc of the story. Now things are happening indeed. Can't wait for the rest to come out.
Theory town: "Okay gang. We had a minor failure although I daresay we got about as close as we could have gotten. Now I need you to keep on this theory because I am not certain we have the full picture. We absolutely need that full picture. And you guys in the back...keep working on that volcano."
As always remember to take what you think was helpful and forget the rest.
Stay Safe
Harry
Thank you for the review. It's the best way to start a morning.
Your Welcome!!
I know right. I always upload my stories right before I sleep.