"I'm going to go in there and kill him!" Glow exclaimed. Corona and Kite were frantically scrambling to stop her, Corona holding her back mostly, barely concealing their position from their targets. Glow was struggling, whacking them with her tail and beating them with her giant wings. Her talons scraped them a few times by accident and kicked them just a few more than that.

       "Are you CRAZY, Glow?!" Corona exclaimed in fear. "You're a great fighter, but not THAT great! The second you barge in there, Morrowseer is going to read your mind and know exactly what your next attack is going to be and crush you instantly. He's huge, AND a NightWing! You can't win!" Glow finally stopped struggling in Corona's talons and collapsed from exhaustion. Panting, she got back up and faced her friend. "We need to be smart about this. We can't give away our position, otherwise Glory's not going to be the only dead one–we will be, too." Glow took a step back and took a few deep breaths. I hate to admit it, but she's right–again. We need to be careful and make sure that Glory doesn't get killed. Or any of them for that matter.

       Glow simply went limp, and Corona seemed to get the message, and released her.

       Glow and Corona shifted back to their original spot where the dragonets were in view. Starflight came back, wearing the most dreadful and anxious expression she had seen on any dragon, and turned towards another room. Glow turned to find another hole to spy into.

       Morrowseer went off in the same direction as they had seen the guardians run off to, and something dropped in the pit of her stomach. "Corona, try and find somewhere where you can spy on them, me and Kite will stay here." She nodded and slunk off to examine the mountainside. Glow ignored the silence from Kite and focused on the task at hand.

       She saw Clay hurry towards Starflight's worried form. "What happened? What did he say to you?" He asked.

       "I'm not supposed to talk about it." He said. He sat in the middle of the room, poking his snout through several scrolls on the floor.

       "It's over here." Clay said, nudging a fat scroll over to Starlight from underneath his sleeping cave, Glow assumed. Starflight took the scroll and carried it under his wing to his ledge. He curled up with his tail over his nose and started reading. Aw, he knows where his favourite scroll is. Clay looked at him in disbelief.

       "Wow, so it was that bad?" Clay asked disbelievingly. Oh Clay, if you only knew.

       "I have a lot to learn." Starflight replied sullenly.

       "But you already know everything! You have to be the smartest dragon in all of Pyrrhia. Couldn't he tell that by reading your mind?" Clay pushed.

       Starflight didn't answer him. Poor Starflight.

       "I thought he liked you. Surely he said something about what a great and noble dragon you must be because you're a NightWing." Clay figured.

       Starflight let out a long and tired breath before answering. "Yeah. That's exactly what he told me, actually."

       "Oh. Well, that's good, isn't it? Did he say when you'll get your powers?" Clay asked. So he doesn't have NightWing powers either. That's a bit of a relief.

       Starflight was mostly silent, depression making the atmosphere too heavy for anyone's liking. "Well, at least you're not a RainWing. Did Morrowseer say anything about Glory?" Clay tried to ask him.

       Starflight looked at him with a frown. "Not much. He said 'Don't worry about the RainWing. I'll take care of it.'" Another cold chill ran down Glow's scales at the repetition of those fear inducing words.

       "What does that mean? What's he going to do?" Clay wondered worriedly.

       "How should I know?" Starlight poked his nose back into his scroll. "Maybe she'll get to go home. She's probably the luckiest of all of us." Surprisingly optimistic. She thought of the witty and sarcastic RainWing's fate bitterly. But most likely wrong.

       Glow heard Corona's wing beats returning and instantly felt a wave of disappointment. If she's back so quick, this can't be good news. "Sorry, Glow. I couldn't find anywhere to spy on them. They must be meeting in a chamber inside the mountain without any way inside other than the corridors." Glow's wave of distress only worsened. "There's nothing we can do here anymore. Let's just head ba–" She was cut off by the sound of loud splashing, like someone was struggling.

       They moved to the other hole which opened into the main hall. They saw the green SeaWing dragging Tsunami's hissing and snarling self out of the water and the other two waiting by the riverside with an iron chain. Morrowseer was holding Sunny back with his tail, Sunny visibly struggling with her small size to get free. Dread was gripping Glow by the gut as she watched what was taking place. The SkyWing and SandWing threw the chain around Tsunami's neck and one leg. The three of them were dragging Tsunami literally kicking and snarling to a column. The SandWing wrapped the chain around the column twice, binding the cobalt SeaWing to it. The SkyWing blasted the chains with fire, welding them together.

       "Maybe some time away from the river will teach you to be grateful for what you have." The SkyWing growled. Glow curled her lip into a scowl. Disgraceful. Clay charged, dismay ringing in his distressed cries as he hurled at the chains trapping Tsunami.

       "Let her go!" He cried, grabbing the chain before reeling back and hissing with pain at the searing heat.

       "You're going to regret this." Tsunami growled. She snarled and struggled, pulling at the chains trapping her, only tightening them in other places. She stopped struggling with a furious hiss. "When we're free–when my family hears about this–when the rest of the world finds out what you did to the dragonets of destiny–"

       "All your big dreams of a big wonderful family." The SkyWing mocked. "They don't care about you. When it's time to fulfill the prophecy, you'll be alive, and that's what matters, and the Talons of Peace will have you, and that's all that matters."

       "Why are you doing this? Tsunami's the good one! She's wonderful! If anyone can save the world, it's her." Sunny cried. She cares so much. She loves them all so very much. Glow's heart beat aflutter only for a moment before Morrowseer's chilling voice started to hiss.

       "Actually, tiny SandWing, the dragonet you should believe in is Starflight over here. NightWings are natural leaders. You do what he says and you'll be alright." Something about the way he said that made Glow's skin crawl. I don't even know Starflight that well, and I can see that he's definitely not a leader. She started to feel suspicious about the NightWing's true intentions and turned to Corona, who was peering in with an indignant expression.

       "Corona, what exactly did you hear when you were spying on Starflight and Morrowseer?" She asked her companion. Corona shifted uncomfortably and turned away.

       "He basically just kind of glorified Starflight way out of proportion, setting up a lot of expectations that poor dragonet just really can't handle." Corona said. Her snout twisted with disgust. "He also glorified the NightWings like they're these immortal dragons that can't be defeated ever and they're going to rule all of Pyrrhia in the end.

       "Did he actually say that?" Glow asked, fearfully.

       "No, he didn't actually say they were going to take over Pyrrhia, I was just exaggerating." Glow let out a sigh of relief at that news. "Although, the way he was talking wasn't like he was overselling them or blowing them out of proportion, even though he probably was. It was more like..." Corona paused. She turned to Glow with suspicion glittering in her black eyes. "Like he's planning something, or setting something up to go a certain way. Not like he's predicting anything, like he's messing with something he shouldn't be."

       "That can't be good." Glow replied.

       "It isn't." Corona agreed. Their conversation was cut off by the sound of off-key singing. They peered back in and observed that Morrowseer had gone, making them feel a lot better.

       "Oh, the dragonets are coming! They're coming to save the day! They're coming to fight, for they know what's right, the dragonets, hooray!" Tsunami was singing.

       "Your fault." The SandWing snarled at Webs. "I told you not to teach them that horrible bar song." The pair, despite their best efforts and the current situation, couldn't help but snicker.

       "OH, THE DRAGONETS ARE COMING!" Tsunami bellowed even louder. The spies were finding it nearly impossible to contain their amusement.

       "We have more chains! We could throw one around your snout if you would like me to force you to be quiet." The SkyWing yelled in her ear. Tsunami merely glared at her and opened her mouth to sing again. "Or we could chain up one of your friends. Perhaps Clay would like to spend the night hanging from a stalactite, so you could have company out here." She threatened.

       Tsunami snapped her jaws shut and lay down with her head turned away from the other dragons. Surprisingly, she kept quiet. "Much better." That was low! The SkyWing said. She stomped off towards the tunnel they came from, the green SeaWing following her close behind. Sunny grabbed the SandWing's tail before he could leave.

       "Please don't leave her like this; I know you're not mean." She said, the anguish in her voice breaking Glow's heart.

       The SandWing merely shook her off. "We're doing what we have to." He said, and then went after the others.

       Clay began furiously tugging on Tsunami's chains as soon as they were gone, but no success in breaking them. "Clay, stop. You know what you have to do. Go, quickly!" Tsunami whispered in desperation. Without a second thought, Clay dove in the river towards the wall. The guardians' cave! That's where it is!

       Glow took a step to go down and free Tsunami. Corona stopped her with a talon.

       "Stop. One wrong move and everything could go wrong." Glow took a step back and shook her head in frustration.

       "Ugh, I hate that you're right. I wish that I could do something!" She muttered in dismay. Corona nodded at her sympathetically.

       "I know. It's not a great feeling to be helpless. I know from experience what it's like to not be able to do anything while other dragons suffer." Glow threw a wing around her SandWing companion. "But there's nothing we can do." Glow sighed and got up. "Let's just head back. Kite, it's time to–" But when they looked around, he was nowhere to be seen.

       Panic was rising in Glow quickly. Oh no, how long was he gone? I knew he was suspiciously quiet! "Where did he go? Did he fly back on his own?" She asked hopefully.

       "I don't know, I thought he was with you." Corona said worried. They looked around until they saw two small shapes flying towards them. The night had fallen during their spying mission, so it was difficult to recognize them. It wasn't until they had landed that they recognized them at all. Kite was joined by Evenstar in his hooded cloak.

       "What's he doing here? Evenstar, you shouldn't be here." Glow exclaimed.

       "I've come to help. Kite said you might need it, so I figured I might as well." He answered calmly. Corona was defiant.

       "No, it's too dangerous for you to be here. If you get caught, who knows what will happen to you." She argued.

       "Well, you need someone to sneak in there, so as a NightWing, I can sneak through the shadows and do that for you." He reasoned, only logic reflecting in his large vibrant eyes. "You can only get so much information from up here, after all. You can't deny that." He reasoned again. Corona groaned, knowing her argument was defeated. Glow simply looked at him dead in the eyes. She trusts him more than all of them for good reason, and they do too.

       She bowed her head to him and extended a talon. "Alright, give me your cloak." She ordered, Corona looking at her in disbelief. Evenstar obeyed and handed his cloak to her for safe keeping,

       "Glow, what are you doing? He could be putting himself in real danger!" She asked.

       "He's our only chance at knowing what to do." She responded. Corona let out a sigh, knowing that Glow was right. "Please be careful, Evenstar, and come back as soon as your mission is over. And I mean right away." She said to him. He nodded knowingly, and shifted to the opening.

       He slunk into the hole and slithered seamlessly into the darkness. The three above were watching intently, trying to figure out where he was. Sometimes the torch lights would reflect off him, almost giving him away. He stayed out of the sight of the other dragonets, miraculously. Once he slipped into the guardian's cave, Glow felt more at ease. He can handle himself from here. She turned to Corona and placed a talon on her friend's shoulder.

       "Corona, I want you to stay here with Kite. I'm going to head back and talk to Frigga." She told her. Corona rushed, grabbing her talon quickly.

       "Wait, you're leaving us? You can't. Not–not yet at least." She said, turning her head away embarrassed. Glow placed her other talons over Corona's and looked her in the eye.

       "Don't worry. Just come back when you're done and tell us what the plan is. You're smart, and tough. You can handle the situation." She said stately. Corona hesitantly let go, and Glow handed her Evenstar's cloak. She then took off towards her home, being careful not to take the same route Morrowseer took to get here.

       She slid into her cave, relieved to be home at last and away from an imposing NightWing, threats of RainWing murder, and a great war-ending destiny on the shoulders of only a few dragonets. She saw Frigga working on a glass sculpture–a technique she discovered years ago. It was her particular favourite craft other than charting. She looks so happy. A lot happier than yesterday. She padded inside and stood tall as she saluted the IceWing. "I'm home, master." She called enthusiastically. The IceWing cooled the glass sculpture and turned to the young SkyWing.

       "Hello, my apprentice. How was the mission? Where are the others?" She asked, stroking Glow's head affectionately. Glow smiled and pressed into her chest, as if she were her mother, knowing no one else was around.

       "They're fine. Corona's taking care of them." She whispered, nuzzling under Frigga's chin. Her mentor simply wrapped her wings around her. The IceWing's cold touch never bothered Glow. It was rather comforting to her, it was calm and chilling. Corona's natural heat was comforting too, but in a different way.

       "Why haven't they returned with you? Has something happened?" Her teacher asked anxiously. Glow simply looked into her ice blue eyes.

       "No, but I wanted to ask you something." She said. Frigga let go and led her to her own sleeping quarters. They both plopped down onto Frigga's polar bear fur bed of her own design, and curled up together.

       "So, what is it do you want to ask me, young SkyWing?" Frigga asked curiously.

       "Well..." Glow paused. "We saw a huge and really pompous NightWing named Morrowseer evaluate the dragonets." At the name, she could feel her master's scales prickle. "Needless to say, he was less than pleased." She paused again, looking at her master hopefully. "I was wondering, if you knew him. He was really big and he seemed really old. He wrote the Dragonet Prophecy, so that would make sense. So, do you know him?"

        Frigga let out a laugh and her eyes became glazed with nostalgia. "No. I didn't know him personally, but I knew of him. My father, Commander Freeze, attempted to form a peace treaty with him with Queen Glacier's permission. NightWings and IceWings have hated each other for thousands of years, so despite the odds being against him, he tried anyways. He was a very determined and hopeful dragon, believing in the best of others." Glow smiled, the warm fondness in Frigga's eyes shimmering with memories.

       "He was very good at rousing soldiers to fight against the odds and has won many battles and risen in ranks quickly because of his success. Queen Glacier thought that his level of respect and reputation would persuade the NightWings to form a peace treaty with them. Others thought he was trying to convince them to take their side in the war, though this was not the case.

       "However, when he along with some of his most trusted soldiers tried to convince them to agree to the treaty, Morrowseer cut him down and only a few of his soldiers remained..." Glow nuzzled into her shoulder and curled up under her wing. "Mother was so distraught. We all were, but her and our older siblings were the most devastated. North and Snowstorm were closer to him than I or Hvitur– especially Hvitur– but that didn't stop him from leaving to join the Talons of Peace. It was just...too much for him, I suppose.

       "Our older siblings tried to hunt Morrowseer down. Mother and I tried to talk them out of it, but they refused. Unfortunately, they were captured and killed by Queen Scarlet and her army. From then on, it was just mother and I until I met some soldiers in the army that I was rather fond of. I had a family of my own, and everyone else was gone. Even my grandfather, who struck down the NightWing queen many decades ago, was gone.

       "It would only make sense that mother would die, too. Fate was most unkind." She paused, taking a deep breath. "A dragon in our own army betrayed us and cut her down right in front of me." She hesitated, her eyes clouding. "H-he, did something u-unspeakable to h-her corpse...I killed him on sight once I w-witnessed it, but the damage was done. After that...I couldn't take being in the war anymore. I took my things, left my only family behind, and made for the mountains in the SkyWing Kingdom where I lived until..." She paused to look at Glow, who was listening intently, sympathy swimming in her warm amber eyes. "Until now. I've been here ever since." Frigga smiled down at her student and Glow looked at her master with a newfound respect. She's been through so much more than I thought, and yet...she still stands tall and proud. She still takes care of us and raises us as her own. She curled even tighter against the IceWing and sighed.

       "Well, you have a family here, now. And we're not going anywhere. We're taking care of you, too, Frigga." She said trying to give her sympathy. Her teacher simply nodded and rested her chin by Glow's.

       "Yes, you're all my family, too." She whispered. She poked Glow's snout tenderly, giggling. "I remember when you were only a very small hatchling that you loved to chase my tail. You called it the 'spike-pike' and wouldn't let go of it whenever you caught it."

       Glow giggled at her memories of being taken care of by Frigga, Whitecap, and Willow. "Yeah, and Willow would always smother me and tumble over me trying to 'protect' me from things like bugs."

       "And Whitecap would always tell you stories and show you his glowing patterns, teaching you Aquatic even though you were a SkyWing." Frigga recounted.

       "Hey, I can understand a SeaWing underwater, now. Too bad I can't breathe underwater!" Glow joked.

       They both laughed and laughed, lost in the nostalgia of the past. The hours went by, telling stories, bringing up memories, acting like they did when Glow was little. When they were both beginning to tire, Glow tapped on Frigga's wing gently. "Master?" Glow said drowsily.

       "Yes, Glow?" She answered.

       "C-can you sing me your lullaby? Like you used to?" She asked. Frigga looked at her affectionately and smiled, stroking her head gently.

       "Of course, my dragonet." She began clearing her throat, cold air poofing out of her throat as she did so. She then opened her mouth, and a beautiful smooth and radiant voice began to wrap itself around Glow's tired mind and lull her to sleep.

       "The frozen tundra soft and chilled by the gentle snows of winter. In this land, sleeps a dragonet full of hope. In this world, a dragonet will come to enter. In this world, full of warfare, I will keep you safe.

       "Worry not, for I will keep you under my wing for all of time. The talons of hatred will not taint you. Your pure heart will not stray towards the darkness, for I will keep you safe. For I will keep you safe.

       "You needn't feel alone. You needn't feel hollow. You needn't feel hopeless, for I am here with you. You needn't feel as cold or unforgiving as the arctic. You needn't bend to the will of nature; you are leading your own future.

       "Keep me close to you, I won't abandon you. Even when all seems lost, and you lose yourself. Don't worry, for I am here, I will always be here.

       Frigga's throat began to crack with emotion just as Glow was losing consciousness and falling into slumber. "I love you, forever and always, and I always have."