Chapter Text
PROLOGUE
The best way to begin our tale is perhaps with an explanation, the question then is what to explain first.
Maybe the reader would like to know about the minutia of secondary genders, and how the populace is fit into each one. An excellent beginning point, surely, but it would fail to prepare the reader fully.
No, the reader should first ask about the different types of wings and how they tie to the story I’m to tell you. Yes, that would be the right place to begin.
As you all well know, along with our letters, puberty takes us through a sort of metamorphosis, wherein we gain our precious wings. This process begins after presenting.
The young person in question will find a safe place to build a nest in, this nest will serve a different purpose from the usual one, instead of being a place of comfort and connection, it will be the first line of defense. Once finished with the nest the young person will begin constructing the shell, a process that takes several weeks and a fair amount of effort; the shell is the second and last defense.
The way both are built varies slightly depending on various things, from the person’s upbringing, to their diets, to their economical state, to even their personal preferences. However, many scientists believe that there are common threads in these decisions, as they influence what sort of wings one will have; thus, perhaps, instinct may play a bigger part on this than first thought.
Normally, there exist only three categories of wings one may acquire, the most common being the bird kind, which in itself divides into several sub-categories, next are the bug kind which only has 4 sub-categories, and finally the mammal type which only comes in two types. However, due to recent insurgence in their numbers, the wing categories now add a fourth one; a decision that’s been wildly controversial due to the nature of the people who have them.
You see they work a in a peculiar way, instead of gaining their wings, they are simply born with them, which of course is a great advantage, but does make them a little different. I’m talking, of course, about dragons, and dragon wings.
At first they were confused with the mammal wing type of ‘bat-like’, but closer comparison will show a difference in structure, mainly scales along the skeletal muscle of dragon wings. Though with the increase in the number of dragons, it’s now a lot easier to tell them apart, as dragon wings come in a much wider variety of colors; but that’s enough biology talk.
As I stated, dragons are born with their wings, this means by proxy that they are born with their letter, something the readers will surely be flabbergasted by. After all, with how volatile the presentation makes certain parties, the consequences of doing so at such young age are unimaginable.
But just as we know we are evolving into presenting later with each century, there is fundamental reason to why dragons present at birth. And that reason is the core string in our story.
Though there exist certain types of wing variations that come with a ‘single-mate’ nature, dragons take this to a new extreme. Instead of a metamorphosis to gain wings, upon presenting, their soul is divided into two, the piece of it not in their body takes physical form and appears right beside the person they will be mated to; the reader might refer to that second person, then, as the dragon’s soulmate.
Our explanation now fulfilled; we can move forwards with this tale.
ACT I, PART 1
A possible beginning, then, could be this:
A figure in a dark brown hooded cape enters the city of Arcladen, scurrying from one group of people to another, trying to slip unnoticed.
This city, known for jewelry and all other arts including precious stones, is the best place to get answers. For the figure has come into the possession of a most rare gemstone; one like no other they’d ever seen before
The figure finally slips away from the crowds and into an alley, showing clear signs of exhaustion. They take off the hood of their cape to reveal a young man, recently of age, with wild black hair, and equally dark eyes; his skin surprisingly pale despite the ratty state of his clothes, which speaks of travel on foot.
A sound of metal hitting ground startles him, when he turns, he sees a young woman with reddish-brown wings framing her body. She smiles with bronze-tinted lips, and speaks with a song-bird voice.
-Do you have the feathers? – she asks tilting her head to the right
He hesitates, looking every which way before opening the cape just enough to show a single pure black wing.
-What’s a corvid doing in Belluant? Came seeking something shiny? – she asks in almost a purr
He growls back, cape shifting almost enough for both his wings to show, but not quite. The young woman tucks her own wings in, making herself smaller; he sighs.
-I came looking for answers – he admits reluctantly
The young woman nods sagely, and takes a step closer.
-Diamonds of sapphires? – she asks seemingly unprompted
He tenses up, standing taller; this is a question he knows how to respond to.
-Neither, agates will do – he says evenly
She lets out a bark of a laugh, nodding her head as she does.
-Ok little geode, let’s not waste more time – she claims after calming down, and starts walking purposefully
He hurries to follow after.
There’s an old looking house right on the edge of town, an archway with a gently swaying lantern the only non-natural lightning. The sun is dinking down west, and stars have long since covered the sky, as the two figures we were watching make their way to this building’s door.
The young woman knocks exactly three times, and the door opens with the sound of wind-chimes. She turns to the young man with a rueful expression.
-Shall we, little geode? – she sing-songs instead of asking
He hesitates, before nodding and taking the step. The door closes behind them.
Or, maybe, it’d be better to give it this beginning:
A figure flies over a dense forest, red-tinted wings catching moonlight as they go, they make a few rounds before heading for a nearby mountain with an intricate cavern system.
These caverns make home to nothing other than a dragon. And as the figure lands, the glow of the torches inside shows them for exactly that.
A young man, with vibrantly scaled wings, glimmering in the colors of a flame; reds, oranges, and yellows that seem to dance as he breathes. He is copper-skinned, with dark-brown curly hair, and slightly lighter shaded brown eyes.
He follows one of the many winding paths deeper into the mountain, blowing out torches with his wings as he goes; this has two purposes. The first, and most obvious, is so that wandering strangers don’t see the entrance from afar; and the second is to stretch his wings after the long flight.
He does this every night without fail, making sure nothing and no one has tried taking his territory. Dragons, per their nature, fall a little closer to animals that other humas, their instincts better tuned from experience that starts at birth.
This one, in particular, happens to also be an alpha, who has already gone through the process of having his soul ripped in half, and should, by all accounts and customs, be making an effort to seek his mate out. But given that he has no family to watch over his territory, or at least none that would understand the importance of doing so, he cannot give himself that luxury; and has to rely on fate instead.
A sound of metal rustling takes him out of his rivière, and he hurries to the innermost part of the mountain, here, the caverns connect and expand into a single circular area, illuminated by a ring of torches, and covered from end to end, towering upwards in parts, in golden treasure. Many have wondered to the nature of dragon hordes, but the truth is it has more use than it does value to them.
Still, to attempt stealing from a dragon’s horde is a dead sentence, and while this one isn’t as keen on violence, he can feel his inner alpha raging acutely.
Tucking his wings into his back, he stepped in, slowly making his way through the piles of treasure , not making a sound, but every piece that comes in contact with his skin starts vibrating. A deep yelp sounds from not too far, and when the dragon makes it around one of the taller piles, he sees a broad-shouldered blond with eagle wings just a bit older than himself pinned to the ground by a bunch of necklaces and chests filled with coins.
-Did no one teach you stealing from a horde has consequences? – he asks with a hint of amusement
The eagle-guy struggles uselessly under the restrains before lightning-blue eyes settle on the dragon.
-Leo! Hey! I could use some help – he pleads
The dragon, Leo, grins widely, a set of unusually sharp canines glinting in his mouth.
-Will you keep your hands to yourself? – he asks teasingly
The eagle guy groans loudly.
-I just wanted to surprise you -´he whines
Leo laughs brightly, and the objects move themselves back to where they were before.
-Hello Jason – Leo sighs as he offers him a hand
The eagle guy, Jason, takes the offer and allows himself to be pulled up. Which is impressive when one notices Jason is twice the size of Leo.
-So, what’s the surprise about? – Leo asks
Jason ducks to where a hefty back-pack lays atop some miscellaneous golden items, quickly digging through it to pull out a brown paper bag.
-They were selling these again, thought I’d share – Jason explains brightly
Leo full on beams, wings spreading in a clear sign of happiness.
-You are the best superman! – he claims fondly
Or, for the sake of convenience, we could do both, in turns, of course!
So back to our first pair:
The building they’ve entered consists of an octagonal open space, with a single spiraling staircase in the back. A rainbow of crystals hangs from the ceiling, tinting the room with kaleidoscopic light.
From behind what looks like a counter covered in cloths, pops out a young woman with a set of translucent dragonfly-like wings. She has short dirty-blonde hair braided messily into her scalp; she’s wrestling with a wooden box filled to the brim with feathers and leaves of various colors.
-Piper, I told you not to come during dawn prep – she chastises with clear irritation
The bird-winged woman, Piper, laughs airily.
-I brought a little lost geode – she explains
The dragonfly girl loudly sets the box down on top of the counter.
-You know I hate – she starts, whirling towards them but falls quiet when she sees the young man
Eyes the color of dried earth, find ones shaded like onyxes. Her sun-kissed complexion paling noticeably.
-Nico? – she asks as though she’s seen a ghost
The young man, Nico, gives her a grim mimic of a smile.
-Hello Selah – he says wincing
The dragonfly girl, Selah, vaults over the counter, wings buzzing behind her, and grabs a hold of him.
-What happened? Is everyone ok? Why do you smell like fresh omega? – she asks in a blur
-Probably because I am one – he decides to answer
She releases him at that, taking a step back, he undoes the cape to showcase a pair of crow-like wings.
-Everyone was fine last I heard, Reyna said I’d find you here – he continues a little more evenly
She looks surprised for a moment before her expression settles into something more serious.
-What are you doing here Nico? – she demands
Nico sighs loudly, sparing a glance at Piper, who looks out of the loop but offers a shrug. Slowly, he pulls on the cord around his neck and uncovers a gemstone that looks like crystalized fire.
-This appeared to me two years ago, no matter where I put it, it keeps finding its way to me – he explains
Selah’s eyes widen, and Piper gasps loudly.
-Please tell me you didn’t try breaking it – Selah says aghast
Nico shakes his head. Piper takes a step forward.
-But you’ve tried ridding of it – she claims
Nico looks away.
-Once, during the “process”, I didn’t want to put it in my shell by mistake – he concedes
By virtue of being a beta, Piper lacks the ability to growl common in alphas and omegas; but the weight of her gaze is just as heavy, as she seethes silently.
-Piper – Selah says in a warning tone
-He almost –
-No! He did the smart thing, if he’d broken it in the daze it’d be much worse – Selah interrupts
Piper lets out a frustrated exclamation, finally moving away, to instead stare through one of the front-facing windows. Selah gestures to the gemstone still in Nico’s hands.
-That, is a dragon’s heart – she explains
Nico can’t help the way he curls into himself, cradling the stone close, wings around him in a sort of cocoon.
-Are you sure? – he asks
Selah smiles softly, her wings falling behind her back.
-There’s no mistaking it – she responds
Piper suddenly leaves her window and turns back to them.
-We have problems – she says urgently
Selah quickly pushes Nico up the staircase and into a bedroom covered in book piles and more pieces of cloth; a bed tucked into a corner, and a huge window facing towards the woods.
-An alpha dragon lives on that mountain you see in the distance– she rushes to say while digging through the mess
-You think it might be him – Nico guesses
Selah makes a non-comital sound from where she is.
-Even if he isn’t, he’s your best bet to find them – she claims distractedly
Finally, she lets out a victorious trill as she presents him with a sword, the handle golden with a skull at the tip for decoration, and the blade a black so pure it almost gets lost in the dim lighting of the room. Nico eyes it warily, which Selah must note because she pushes it into his hands.
-You’ll hopefully never use this for it’s true purpose, but if you show it to him, he’ll let you stay in his territory – she explains quickly
There’s commotion downstairs, Selah makes a pointed hand motion and the window opens wide, a rush of wind pushing Nico towards it.
-Now go! – she finishes, pushing him the last bit
Instinct kicks in, and his wings spread, taking him away from the building, and north-wards, towards the mountain. He hears something behind him but doesn’t dare turn, simply diving into the trees, and running the second his feet touch the ground.
With the last lights of dawn fading, he’s soon submerged in darkness.
Selah makes it down the stairs, arms crossed, wings spread, and her best angry expression.
-I have my hands full making sure this city doesn’t collapse into the mines and you have the audacity to ruin dawn prep – she chastises
The two guards-men, one with hawk-like wings and the other with brown owl-like ones, looks satisfactorily alarmed.
-We’re on the trail of a corvid – owl-man offers
Selah uses every omega atom in her body to snarl at him.
-After you’ve doubled my workload and saddled us all with a curse? I should think not! – she huffs
Then, she takes the box with feathers and leaves, and starts scattering them on the ground.
-Now if you’re quite done, I have very little time and half the mind to place all this misfortune on all three of you – she challenges
Piper is the first one to go, the two guards-men exchange a look but are quick to follow suit.
As she sets things up for the nightly spell, she throws one pure black feather she retrieved from her room in the middle of her slowly forming circle. Corvids, the creature more so than their human counterparts, are tightly tied to the magical; and a crow feather makes for a great curse breaker if one knows the right way to obtain it.
Selah, who’s been a witch for nine years now, happens to know the right way. And so, there’ll be no catastrophe tomorrow, much as she’d like to inconvenience the city a little; such is her duty.
Yet, once her preparations are done, and night settles fully on Arcladen, she takes a moment to wish her old acquaintance good luck. Before she starts her chanting.