Chapter Text
Prologue (5 Years ago)
Rain pelted against the thick black mud of the mangrove swamp as another strike of lightning lit up the typhoon currently assaulting the dragons who lived below. Of all the days to be a hatching, it had to be tonight, during one of the worst storms the MudWings had seen in seasons.
Thunder boomed overhead. A jagged bolt lightning struck an ancient mangrove, splitting the trunk in half with a crackle, the shattered tree crashed into the swamp below, crushing a clutch of eggs beneath its weight.
The first of many lives lost to the storm.
However, nestled under the safety of winding roots against the riverbank, a clutch of eggs began to stir.
Weeks earlier, Marble had emerged from the clutch of eggs – when the clouds weren’t grey and the storm was nothing but a breeze upon the winds. In those weeks Marble had learned how to speak, how to fly and how to hunt. Essential skills. His siblings never showed any signs of hatching, even as Marble would spend the evenings laying down, watching them until the three moons were high above the swamp. Of course they had to pick the worst day in his short life to hatch… He cursed under his breath as he scrambled curl around the eggs to protect them from the torrential downpour, watching the other clutches of eggs being guarded by their own BigWings. He felt helpless as the storm attacked them, he was only a small dragonet. He had his own responsibilities to his sibs. Though through the loud gusts of wind and the patter of rain against the swamp, there was another noise that made his ears flick.
Crack.
He turned his gaze towards the eggs he was preciously protecting, a single wing sheltering them from the deluge.
Crack, crack, crack!
Marble nearly forgot about the storm entirely. The eggs rocked back and forth in the mud as tiny claws punched through the shells. Small snouts followed. A squeaky chirp emerged from one egg, quickly answered by another. The sound was the sweetest thing Marble had ever heard. He carefully nudged loose pieces of shell aside as the dragonets fought their way free.
One emerged first, shaking rainwater from scales the colour of swamp moss. Spring-green eyes blinked open and immediately fixed upon Marble.
"Glade," Marble said softly.
The second dragonet stumbled out moments later. Her scales were darker, rich green like river weeds swaying beneath the water's surface.
"Pondweed."
The third took considerably longer. Tiny claws flailed from inside the shell as if battling a fearsome enemy. Marble couldn't help but laugh as he carefully pulled away a stubborn fragment.
And finally, a blue-grey snout emerged. Then a pair of bright green eyes.
"Shoebill."
The three dragonets stared up at him. For several heartbeats none of them moved. Then Pondweed sneezed. The others chirped in alarm.
Marble burst out laughing. The hatchlings immediately joined in with a chorus of confused squeaks and chirps, stumbling over one another as they attempted their first steps.
Glade managed three before his legs slid out from beneath him and he face-planted directly into the mud.
Pondweed attempted to help him up and promptly fell over herself.
Shoebill seemed to discover her own tail for the first time and began chasing it in a small circle. Marble couldn't stop smiling.
The storm still raged around them. Dragons were dying out there. Trees were falling. The swamp itself seemed determined to tear apart. Yet for a few precious moments, all Marble could focus on was his siblings. His family.
Glade's swamp-green scales glistened in the rain. Shoebill's blue-grey scales reminded Marble of distant storm clouds. Pondweed's darker green hide blended almost perfectly with the tangled mangrove roots around them.
All three shared the same brilliant spring-green eyes. Eyes that stared at him with complete trust. The weight of that trust settled over Marble's shoulders. He wasn't just their brother, he was their BigWings now.
His trance was broken by another loud thunderclap, followed by what felt like the entire world shaking beneath them, the four dragonets let out scared chirrups. Marble’s heart pounded; the siblings needed shelter. Real shelter. Quickly scanning the riverbank, Marble spotted a small burrow in the riverbank made by some kind of mammal, too small for any dragon, but perfect for newly hatched dragonets. He began to headbutt the behinds of his siblings, guiding them into the burrow.
Shoebill squeaked, diving headfirst into the burrow, Pondweed stumbling clumsily behind him. Glade looked up at his older brother and nodded bravely, before scrambling inside. Marble watched them from outside, looking up and across the swamp. Trees had tumbled over and uprooted, sending eggs scattering across the mud. Some were cracked open, the unhatched dragonets inside already dead, their fragile wings being whipped back and forth by the storm. Those that lived were being guided to safety by their BigWings. They weren’t his responsibility. But the sight still left him with an overwhelming sadness. He hurried inside the burrow, just big enough for him and his sibs to squeeze into.
At last, a moment of calm among the raging storm. Pondweed and Shoebill play fought while Glade nestled up close to Marble’s snout. For a respite, Marble relaxed.
“Hey, let’s try to rest.” Marble said to his sibs.
“Whadat?” Shoebill tilted his head.
“It’s when you lay down like this and just… Breathe. Copy your brother.” Marble said softly.
His siblings followed, laying down next to Glade and Marble.
“Now, close your eyes and just… Drift off.” Marble cooed, watching the hatchlings yawn and drift off. It was hard for him not to follow suit, even with an abnormally loud thunderclap outside their sleeping arrangements.
But rest was short lived, as all of a sudden the earth shook again, more violent than the last time. At first, it was subtle, and then the roots above them groaned, Marble’s eyes snapped open.
That’s not thunder…
The earth lurched violently, mud rained down upon the siblings as the riverbank itself began to tear apart. The hatchlings jolted awake, scrambling close to their BigWings.
“Stay close.” Marble ordered, instinct overriding panic as the pulled them in tighter.
Outside the world was different. The river was gone. Where there should have been water, there was mud, the mangrove roots looking like empty ribcages twisting through the air and mud. Fish flopped helplessly making squelching sounds. Marbles tummy rumbled. But now was not the time to be thinking about a free meal.
His ears perked. There was something else. It sounded like a roar. Not from a dragon, but something else entirely. He heard it over the wind, rain and thunder. Marble’s blood went cold.
“Hold on to me. And whatever you do, don’t let go.” He commanded. Glade grabbed his horn, Pondweed and Shoebill tucked themselves in Marble’s wing grooves. He flapped his wings, wishing he’d practiced flying that little bit more. But through the wind and the rain and the added weight, he couldn’t lift off. His body gave out and he plummeted into the mud. And then suddenly, the sound grew closer.
The first wave didn’t arrive like a wall. It arrived like the world itself was ending. Water surged into the riverbank, ripping roots from the earth and swallowing everything in its path, the burrow they refuged in was destroyed in an instant.
And then Marble was floating. Wood, stones, mud, even dead MudWings floated past him, and everything became weightless.
Pondweed vanished first, her grip torn away as she let out shrill screams, Shoebill was quick to follow, his cries becoming garbled cries under the water.
“NO!” Marble screamed, turning around, searching through the debris for any signs of his sibs.
There! Green amongst the brown water. He paddled over. Pondweed was okay. He set her on a floating root as she spluttered and coughed. Glade hopped onto the piece of driftwood to comfort his sister. Marble sighed.
But Shoebill was trickier to spot. Another thunderclap. Glade recoiled, Pondweed pointed. Had she seen Shoebill? Marble looked over to where she was pointing, sure enough, the hatchling was clinging to the corpse of another dragonet.
That could have been one of us. I’m glad it wasn’t.
Marble paddled over and scooped up Shoebill in his jaw, but just as he was paddling over to the log, the current pulled. Hard.
Marble yelped, Shoebill slipped from his grip as he was yanked backwards, the eldest sibling flailed about, trying to snatch his brother up again, but the current was too strong for his underdeveloped muscles and with each paddle forwards, he was violently pulled back.
A bolt of lightning lit up the sky again and Marble heard the familiar sound again. A second wave was on its way, fast.
He stared at his siblings, Glade and Pondweed had paddled over to Shoebill, who was now scrambling onto their roots. Marble couldn’t help but smile. You clever little dragonets.
“Go!” Marble cried out to his sibs, he saw a tall tree still jutting out of the water the way the current was pulling. His siblings saw it too, “get to that tree if you can!” He demonstrated paddling with a calm expression across his face despite the situation. His siblings watched for a moment, then they understood.
Glade moved first, Pondweed and Shoebill followed, using their makeshift raft.
That was the last thing Marble saw as the roaring of the second wave grew louder, drowning out the storm itself. The flood seized him like a giant river crab and ripped him away from the swamp. He was tumbling underneath water, watching debris fly past him until--
THUNK.
Something slammed into the back of his head and everything went black.