Chapter 1

The powerful sea wind tugged Skylark's wings back as she shivered and glanced at the cold waves crashing around her talons, and stepped back onto the safety of the sandy shore before resuming her wait. The waves slowly pooled in front of her before retreating into the ocean. But the calming loop did nothing for her nerves and anxiety about what was supposed to have happened by now.

Where's Stratus? she thought. The older Airclaw had said that he'd be there by midday. It was twilight, and she could see golden light flowing into the cove and the calls of seabirds flying overhead. Stratus had promised and as far as Skylark knew, Stratus never broke a promise.

Skylark ignited a pile of seaweed with her fire in frustration; however, second-guessing her decision to burn the plant, she quickly threw the bundle into the water. She breathed out slowly, this time angling her head away from plant-life. The only reason Skylark had wanted to see Stratus this far away from her cave was for information about the War of the Eclipseclaws. As a younger Airclaw, she wasn't allowed into any clan secrets, especially about the war.

Her tail lashed nervously as she waited for Stratus to arrive, but he still hadn't turned up, and Skylark was beginning to become impatient, which was unusual for her, for she was usually a very patient dragon. Her mother was sometimes late to get back from her task, so Skylark was used to waiting,

She didn't mind when her mother took longer than usual finding things to eat, but Skylark feared it was because of the amount of Airclaws living in their kingdom, Imperios. Maybe there was a lack of prey in their kingdom, and Skylark decided she should try and do something about that.

The Airclaws were the biggest clan on Abeon, depending on how you looked at it (the Eclipseclaws were the most populous if you counted both clans), so it would make sense that there was not enough prey. Skylark's mother had very strong and unusually big wings. She was a very fast flyer, she had been classified as a scout and messenger, so Skylark pondered on her growing theory; that the reason her mother was taking so long to find prey was that she was having to fly into other kingdoms.

This worried Skylark. Flying across different kingdoms was very risky business, especially for a pale dragon such as Skylark's mother. The Sunclaws could shoot her down, for instance, because she looked like their enemy, the Moonclaws. It was a bad sign when Sunclaws shot you down because most of them didn't want to be friends. Skylark exhaled; she would have to discuss this with her mother later when she got home.

It occurred to Skylark that her mother might wonder where she was, considering she had probably returned by now. Her mother wouldn't usually worry about where Skylark was this late, but it was unusual for her to miss dinner.

Skylark liked to spend hours in the library, flicking gently through pages, shining a light on the history of the Airclaws, the gore of the Battle of Zeduin, the details of the oracle that had foretold the Legend of the Elements, the oracle foreseen by the first Eclipseclaw.

Skylark, along with nearly every dragon in Abeon, had grown up hearing tales of the 6 dragons who would one day save Abeon from the dreaded Eclipse, which was to happen on the brink of destruction and peace.

The six dragons were dubbed Windrider, Firespreader, Waterchurner, Earthshaker, Eclipsemaker and Shadowcaster. Each one came from a different clan. The Firespreader was a Fireclaw, the Waterchurner a Waterclaw, the Earthshaker an Earthclaw and the Windrider an Airclaw; Skylark was supposed to be that Airclaw.

The Eclipsemaker and Shadowcaster could only be found on an island called the Island of the Outcasts. The Eclipsemaker was an Eclipseclaw, one of the rarest dragons on Abeon. An Eclipseclaw was the child of a Sunclaw and Moonclaw. But Shadowcaster was an even rarer dragon, a Shadowclaw, the child of two Eclipseclaws.

It would be near impossible to find a Shadowclaw since legend told that it was forbidden for any Eclipseclaws to have children. The first and last known sighting of a Shadowclaw was on a night about 20 years ago. An Airclaw had been moving guard post when he was attacked by a creature who perfectly blended with the night. It was as if the creature didn't have wings, but it was definitely some sort of dragon.

The Airclaw had never heard of a dragon that was anything like this, as it was a different time, but the Airclaw managed to make friends with this dragon. He had charcoal-grey scales, with only slightly definable underscales. His talons and horns were tinted with gold at the ends. When it came time for the dragon to leave, he said goodbye to the Airclaw and called himself a "Shadowclaw".

With that, the Shadowclaw closed his eyes, and something gathered around his torso, forming limbs, then talons, then a membrane, which was grey with gold at the edges. The previously-wingless dragon lifted off, beating his "wings" into the chilly night sky. Shadowclaws hadn't been seen since.

The tale of how the clans started also came to mind. She remembered the tale of the very first dragons, the early Shadowclaws, who every clan on Abeon was descended from, one way or another.

Once, six Shadowclaws lived in Zeduin and watched over Abeon. These were the first dragons. Suddenly, an aggressive argument tore through two of the dragons, and the other four of the Shadowclaws scattered to different parts of Abeon and divided it into their own four kingdoms.

One went east, established a kingdom, and became the first Waterclaw. One found a volcano, and reasoned the land around it should be their kingdom, becoming the first Fireclaw. The third dragon travelled to the outskirts of Zeduin and found a dense jungle, which they decided would be their kingdom. They became the first Earthclaw. Finally, the fourth dragon travelled north and found mountains and dense forest. They became the first Airclaw.

The four dragons started their clans; the Earthclaws, Airclaws, Waterclaws and Fireclaws, but the two Shadowclaws who stayed behind in Zeduin couldn't decide who would be the leader of their eventual own clan. So they came to an agreement, which didn't last long at all.

The two Shadowclaws divided Zeduin in two and started their independent clans; the Sunclaws and the Moonclaws. The clan leaders had come to an agreement stating that they would have their respective half of the kingdom, and that should've been the end of it. But of course, a war eventually sprung up between the two clans. The Sunclaws and Moonclaws became enemies.

But once, a Moonclaw rescued a Sunclaw from certain death. They had a child and, not wanting to place her in danger, hid her away from the war.

The child was not the colour of either of the clans. She wasn't the warm, golden-orange of her mother or the silvery feather-grey of her father. She was a dark, night-sky colour. She had hints of gold around the tips of her horns and talons, and patterns of silver dancing down her scales, but they were the only hints at her mother and father.

Soon enough, the Sunclaws and Moonclaws discovered the two traitors lurking in their midst. Both clans, although enemies, were appalled that two from their clans, who were supposed to be sworn enemies, had had a child. So, after a few months of planning, two assassins from each clan attacked the Sunclaw and Moonclaw in their den, on the outskirts of Zeduin.

The parents of the Eclipseclaw agreed to a deal suggested to them by an assassin, who felt pity for the hideaways; their only chance to save their daughter. They gave their child to the assassins to look after, in exchange for the lives of both traitorous dragons.

So the parents sacrificed themselves for their daughter, while a Moonclaw assassin took her to an island, only discovered two years ago, off the coast of Abeon. After that, the war between the clans died down, and although still enemies by tradition and blood, the Sunclaws and Moonclaws were happy to let diversity bloom.

Soon enough, the first Eclipsclaw was not the only one on the island, which became known as the Island of the Outcasts. While the two clans prospered, so did the population of Elipseclaws on the island.

Skylark looked into the clear water, which looked like it was made of thousands of tiny, aquamarine crystals. She thought about what she was doing, and how risky this was. Skylark banished her gut-wrenching feelings and brought herself together.

It was night by the time Skylark decided to leave the tiny cove. Outside, she could see the moon rising above the horizon, uncovering itself from its blanket of day. The entire sky was a dark, soothing blue-purple colour. Crisp night air hugged her, soothing her; she felt a strong desire to fly for eternity. All Airclaws felt this sort of pull towards the sky. It was where they belonged.

Stars twinkled at her, inviting her to soar through their domain. She pictured the cool night sky filling her with joy, as she soared through the atmosphere, with stars reflecting like city lights off her - Skylark sighed heavily, accidentally setting a stick on fire and quickly dabbed it with her tail to put it out. I'll talk with Stratus back at the cave, she decided. Skylark crouched and lifted off, her huge wings creating gusts of wind which sent cyclones of sand dancing across the shore of the small cove.

As Skylark reached the trees, she used her knowledge of the forest layout to maneuver between the towering oaks around her; she swerved left, then right, and then soared upwards before continuing her course to the home cave, mounted near the top of a high mountain.

The dazzling light from the moon enveloped her, reflecting off her grey and white scales and making them shimmer in the moonlight as she flew. Suddenly, Skylark's heart gave a jump; she panicked. Her wings flapped harder in the air as she glided around to cease the noise of them. She cocked her head, listening, and tried to block out the noise of crickets and leaves rustling. Her fins had sensed a big figure moving, and she knew better than to dismiss it.

Like all Airclaws, Skylark had fins on the back of her forelegs that were meant to determine changes in air currents, but could also sense moving objects and soundwaves because they were so sensitive. If a dragon carelessly bumped into one of your legs, depending on the force, your fins could be aching for days.

Skylark winced as she remembered the day back when she could not yet fly; she had only hatched a few months previous. She had been jostled down to the council, for some sort of ritual. Now she knew that the "ritual" was called "The Dragonet Ceremony", which Skylark thought was a bit dramatic of a name. It was just a way to determine how useful a dragonet was to the tribe, how fast they could fly, and things like that.

But something weird had happened at hers. When she had entered (very wobbly as she could not yet walk perfectly) the whole room had gone very silent, but because it was as quiet as the eye of a storm in the room, everyone had heard the Head Dragon of Practice murmur oh god from his spot on the second-left of the Council Table and had turned their heads his way with disapproving expressions on their snout.

The council leader had stalked down cautiously and met her eyes. They were the dark blue like a darkening sky. He examined her wings and opened her mouth and peered at her tongue and teeth. Then, he poked and prodded her light grey fins and Skylark had winced and moaned from the pain.

But finally, he peered at Skylark's pattern of dark-grey and white scales. That probably wasn't normal, because everyone else in the room had suddenly crowded around Skylark, her mother and the tribe leader. The Council Cave had filled with shouting and dragons growling in warning and pain. She remembered her mother, Atmosphere, pulling Skylark away and covering her with huge pearly-white wings, all while trying to hold back the crowd of dragons peering at her child.

The council Leader stepped back and stood on his hind legs, flaring his wings for attention and balance. "This young dragonet is special," He turned his head and stared at Atmosphere, with an amazed expression on his face, "She has the same white and grey markings as described in The Prophecy of the Elements," announced the council leader, "It's the Windrider."

This had been met with an uproar although Skylark herself did not understand why. Dragons scrambled to get a look at Skylark, and her scales with dark-grey patterned here and there across them. Her mother shot a burst of orange flame through the crowd before she carried Skylark back to the safety of their cave.

Skylark shook her head and smiled at the memories of the dragons shoving their way out of the Council Hall to fly after Skylark and her mother. It was a hilarious sight to behold. All those esteemed council members, getting trampled under-talon by fellow curiously-desperate dragons.

Struck back to reality by a rumble of thunder followed by a crack of lighting and howling gales, Skylark sensed the big figure moving north-west, in the direction of the Council Cave. She flew as fast as she could to catch up to the rapidly moving creature.

A minute later, her fins sensed that she was over the creature, then next to it. And before she knew it, right in front of it, tangled in its limbs - and she didn't need to rely on her fins to tell her that.

Yells broke out. Skylark growled as she started bleeding from scratches on her snout and legs. Logic fell aside and soon the two dragons were fighting tooth and claw as they attempted to follow their instinct of self-preservation and struggled to escape the drastic entanglement of body parts.

The Airclaw roared with pain and anger. It was a dreadful sound, like a choir of angels all choking. Skylark realised with a start that she wasn't using her wings to help her fight, or even to fly. Neither was the other dragon. She tried to beat her wings but the other Airclaw must have thought she was trying to attack, so she bit the wings, drawing blood and tearing one membrane on her left wing.

One thought crossed Skylark's mind, fly, and the two dragons plummeted towards the rocky earth below.