Thump. Thump. Thump. Ruuuumble.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Scraaaaape. BANG!

Pyrite shifted in her bed, trying to block out the noise with her pillow.

“Stop…. stop it,” she muttered. Finally, she opened her eyes. Wait… she thought, that’s not coming from the door… it’s coming from the caves themselves. She leaped out of bed, dressed, went down the stairs, snatched a fried bat wing on the table, pulled on her boots, jacket, and sword sheath, flung open the door, and stared at the street.

The street was deserted. Nobody ran past on an errand, no babies crying, no dragons chatting or dragonets playing. It was completely silent. She ran down the alley and met Turquoise and Sapphire (the only people on the street), who were looking flustered.

Pyrite asked them if they had seen anyone.

They shook their heads, and Turquoise replied, “I can’t find anyone. Not the Kennecotts or the Crystals. Sapphire can’t find anyone, either.” Pyrite suddenly had a thought, and she tried to block it. But it seemed reasonable. I wonder if they went to the Surface Gate to see what that sound was.

Pyrite led her friends up the ramp that went to the Gate. When she reached it, there was a crowd of people. Her heart uplifted by hope, Pyrite scanned the crowd and saw Violet. She was sprinting towards her when she saw a sight that made her stop. StealthDragons! As Pyrite halted in uncertainty, she realized why they were so far out of their kingdom: they had captured something! They had been dragging a small StealthDragon away from the cave entrance. Was that what had made the thumping noise? It had to be—these dragons were huge, much bigger than Pyrite had ever seen before. Pyrite started towards the crowd to get a closer look, but before she could, scaly claws wrapped around her mouth and something hard clashed into her head before she could react. And then all was black.

************

Pyrite had an odd nightmare.

She was standing on a cliff, overlooking all of Terrarestria. Wind whipped mist everywhere, sometimes obscuring Pyrite’s vision. Voices whispered all around her.

With a chill, Pyrite realized she was on an island floating in the sky, which wasn’t possible. Peering over the edge made her heart pound.

She looked around and saw a colossal, spiny shape behind her, covered in mist. It could have filled the cavern that Pyrite lived in and barely had any room to squeeze.

The ghost-like apparition chuckled, a sound like a snake hissing. You think you could beat me, Pyrite Asteria? it mocked.

“Who are you?” Pyrite asked, backing to the edge of the cliff. She drew her sword although she knew it could do nothing against this creature. It wasn’t even the size of a toothpick compared to it. Still, it was her only weapon, and it shone slightly in the darkness.

What is that? The ghost hissed, stepping closer. It’s steps made the ground shake slightly. Pyrite thought she saw the outline of wings and a tail. Was this a dragon?

Your sword. Ah yes, I see. My spike… the shape shifted, and Pyrite could see a gap in between two of the dragon’s spikes on the tail, which held the smallest ones. You are a descendant of my worst enemy. You are just as cowardly as she was. But alas, that does not matter, does it?

Suddenly, another mountain rose out of the fog, behind the mystery dragon. Chained to it were—

“My friends!” Pyrite cried, trying to reach Jade, Turquoise, and Sapphire, but her limbs wouldn’t work. Fear, anger, and dread warred in her stomach. “What did you do to them?”

Oh, nothing, the dragon said sweetly. It seemed to relish her anguish. But you have two choices, Pyrite Asteria. Will you save yourself, or your friends?

The ground broke out from underneath Pyrite, and she fell into darkness.

************

“How many did you get?”

“Three.”

“Gender?”

“Female, from the looks of it.”

“Age?”

“Around thirteen or fourteen years of age.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely, Commander.”

“Perfect. I will send a Redfalcon to Queen Cavern, and help you take them to her.” Pyrite woke to these unusual voices.

She got up, facing the ground, sure she was still standing on the cliff. She tried to remember the full details of her dream, but they were slipping away like the mist through her fingers.

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Slowly, she opened her eyes, dreading what she would see. But it was not what she expected.

The ground was not normal ground. Nor, Pyrite was sure, was it actual ground. Instead of the normal rock and grayish black hardness that Pyrite had grown up with, the ground was green. And if Pyrite looked close enough, it was all made of green, stringy, soft sticks. When she broke one in half, it released an odd smell and some juice. Pyrite looked up and was blinded— for real. Unlike the blinding neon colors Erinite had taken on the day before, this blindness was actual light. She eventually adjusted, but it took a while.

When Pyrite could finally see, she realized that not all the land was green string, what she called the strange ground. There was mostly taller, yellow, stiff string. And the ground was wet, like a cave pool, and uncomfortably warm. This, Pyrite thought, is the Surface? This beautiful land of cascading waterfalls… But nothing like her nice, cool, secluded cave home, where walls surrounded you on every side, along with familiar animals and faces. This boiling hot, noisy, bright landscape was nothing like she had suspected. Pyrite stood and slowly turned around, taking it all in. To the East, spiky, tooth-shaped cliffs stretched towards the sky. Ocean waves rolled over the cliffs, spraying water everywhere and creating a swish-swish sound.

“One of them is awake, Commander,” rumbled a voice from right behind her. It startled her and she jumped slightly. Pyrite whipped around and stared at an unfamiliar dragon. A CaveDragon! This close to her, by Emerald’s name! She surprised herself by not feeling any terror. Sure, this was an incredibly dangerous dragon. But she did not feel afraid. Pyrite fiercely punched the CaveDragon in the snout before he could react and ran to her friends.

Turquoise had just woken up and was rubbing her head, kneeling the way Pyrite had done when she had awakened. Turquoise adjusted and walked coolly over to Pyrite, who was glaring at the CaveDragon.

“By Emerald’s name, where are we?” Turquoise said, none too quietly. Pyrite shrugged her shoulders, then turned to watch the CaveDragon. She spotted, with a start, another dragon, scolding the first dragon she had seen, who was rubbing his snout gingerly and shooting her dark looks.

Pyrite realized from the appearance of the second CaveDragon that there could be more. She stared into each direction and found there was only one more: a young male CaveDragon, fishing. He would hide in some tall grasses next to the river and wait. Soon after, a fish would surface, thinking it safe, and the CaveDragon would pounce. He was agile, and Pyrite could not see his face.

Pyrite entertained herself by wandering around. She tried hard not to think of Jade, he must be so worried. Violet would be sick with worry, but thinking of Jade or Violet made her feel sad, so Pyrite put those thoughts in the back of her mind and explored.

Pyrite found that the Skyar had all sorts of odd animals, some furry and small, while others were sleek and big, but still preferred to stay out of sight. Pyrite also figured out that whenever she wandered too far, CaveDragon number 1 would growl. Pyrite was definitely in the mood to tease him, so she ignored his warnings. Eventually he picked her up by the jacket and tried to move her, but he received a black eye and a chipped tooth. Nevertheless, he threw Pyrite next to an angry-looking Turquoise. Pyrite went over to Sapphire and played with Tanzanite while the CaveDragons talked to themselves. Sapphire wasn’t really paying attention to the CaveDragons, she was studying the landscape with narrowed eyes. Probably figuring out a way to escape and calculating how long it took us to get here, Pyrite thought hopefully. She started listening to the CaveDragons conversations, as she was the only one who could.

“They’re all CaveDragons,” Sapphire speculated. “Those blue swirls on their bodies are a sign of their water control. They shoot spikes, have venom in their tail spike, a rattle, and have razor-sharp claws. Their wings are small for maneuverability in tight tunnels. They can also breathe fire.”

“Thanks, Sapphire.”

Pyrite was glad for Sapphire’s vast amounts knowledge. She had raided every library she could find and sucked in the information like some sort of sponge. Sapphire just grinned shyly at her and made a little salute.

By listening to them speak, Pyrite figured out the CaveDragons’ names. CaveDragon number 1 was Archer, Commander was Grayclaw, and the CaveDragon that was fishing was Chasm.

They stayed in the same place all day, but when the sun went down, the CaveDragons took Pyrite and her friends into a nearby cave and guarded the entrance.

Once a day passed, the dragon/human group flew northwest. Yellowish thin sticks turned into cold tundra and high mountains. At one point, they were stopped entirely by a humungous windstorm.

The next day, a fiery, phoenix-like falcon soared through their cave opening, landing on Grayclaw’s arm with a proud expression (could birds have proud expressions?) and screeching loudly. A rolled-up piece of paper was carefully tucked inside a pouch on the bird’s neck, and Grayclaw plucked it out and read it.

Frowning slightly, she turned to the other CaveDragons and said, “PhantomDragon and GhostDragon patrol heading our direction. We should get moving, now. I don’t want to mix with the cayolavae.”

Pyrite wouldn’t usually agree with her kidnappers, but she did not want to mess with the GhostDragons—often called cayolavae, a name from some lost language that no one spoke anymore—either. They were paired with a PhantomDragon for life at birth—not as mates, but as spiritual partners. Nothing could break the magical bond, except for killing one of them. Since GhostDragons were hard to kill, it was often the PhantomDragons who die. When that happened, they would hunt the killer down and destroy them, never eating, sleeping, or drinking until the deed is done. Some of their powers remain a mystery, but it is said that they can breath and control lightning, phase through objects, and turn invisible. They were creepy, and though Pyrite had never encountered one, she would never want to in her life.

Immediately, they flew off, the blizzard pulling and pushing dragon tails and human limbs as they pierced the storm clouds. Archer carried Turquoise, Sapphire, and Pyrite in an odd way: he formed an ice ball around them and lifted them into the sky.

Up in the sky, Pyrite got a better view of all the CaveDragons. Chasm’s body was dark gray, with sky-blue designs weaving in and out between his scales like Sapphire had mentioned. His face was slightly pointed, with gleaming sharp teeth showing when he spoke or smiled (Which was not often). His underbelly was black along with his horns, wing-webbing, and rattle. His eyes were dark green.

Grayclaw was diamond blue, with dark blue designs along her figure. Her underbelly was storm cloud gray, while her spikes were black. Her claws, rattle, and horns were light gray, and her wing-webbing was dark blue. Her eyes were deep blue green.

Archer was a light gray, with emerald-green splotches and swirls on his body. His underbelly and wing-webbing were dark green, while his horns and rattle were black. His eyes were sky blue.

Gazing out of her cold prison, the land seemed to stretch forever. To the West, fog and sharp, jagged peak jutted out into the sky. To the North there was fields and snow. South, a swampy jungle was barely visible as the group flapped higher in the sky. I wonder, Pyrite thought, where we’re going next?