Aqua

After tumbling down that hill and getting separated from her Coatl friend, Mabel began to wander around on her own a bit. It wasn't long before she accidentally crossed over the border between the Sea of a Thousand Currents and the Windswept Plateau, and got caught up in a wild, violent whirlwind. Fortunately, Mabel got out of it unscathed, but the whirlwind had blown her all the way into another flight far from her home in the Water domain!

The little Spiral had no idea where she was. She thought at first that, maybe, she had ended up in the Shadow flight, but then she remembered that Shadow dragons lived in a forest; this place certainly wasn't a forest. The ground was bare and dusty, save for some gray, dead grass, there were no trees, and a thick black fog unlike anything she had seen before permeated the entire area. All around Mabel were the decrepit, crumbling remains of marble towers, pillars, and temples, in which no dragon could live. Lost and scared, she started to cry out for help.

Mabel's voice did attract some attention, but it unfortunately wasn't a dragon, nor was it anything else that would be willing to help her. A massive, shadowy beast emerged from the fog just behind her, bearing dozens of maws filled with dagger-like teeth, and rashes of ghastly-white eyes spotted across its form. It loomed menacingly over the frightened Spiral with slavering jaws stretched wide just above her head, but just as she looked up at it and it prepared to lunge, a bright red bolt flew out from the thick fog around them and destroyed it.

The young Spiral watched, stunned and in shock, as the shadowy fragments that had once been the beast settled to the ground. Soon after, a large, aqua-blue Coatl padded out from the fog to stand in front of her. Their face was hidden behind a mask shaped like a crow's face, but Mabel could still see two hardened, ruby-red eyes peering out through the mask's goggles. The feathery dragon also held a violet, wooden staff in their left talon; the tip of the staff was red-hot and glowing a faint crimson, which explained where that bolt had come from a moment before.

Mabel smiled graciously at the Coatl. "T-thank you so much for saving me!" She stuttered, still shaken up from the encounter. The Coatl simply scoffed in return, and removed their mask to glare at her with a pale white, ghostly-looking face. Pale white feathers... Mabel suddenly remembered something that Lafayette had told her about Coatl with bleached-white feathers, how they were likely sick or dying, and felt a pang of guilt for the dragon standing before her.

The Coatl sniffed at the air, and after a moment her eyes seemed to soften a bit. Glancing down at Mabel again, she said in a tired and wispy voice, "You aren't from around here, are you? Your eyes are those of a Lightning dragon, and your scales smell of saltwater. Do you have any idea of what this place is?"

"...no, I don't." Mabel replied shyly, "I got blown here by a big whirlwind, after I left my Water home. All I know is this place is scary and I don't want to be here anymore."

The Coatl nodded slightly, giving the little Spiral a sympathetic look. "Well," she began, "this is a place called the Hewn City. It's a subregion of the Sunbeam Ruins; not that you'd be able to tell, it's darker and more dreary than even the Tangled Wood. It's been infested by remnants of the Shade, and is teeming with shadow beasts and malevolent fog as a result. It isn't a place for a tiny hatchling such as yourself, so how about we get you out of here?"

Mabel nodded. "Yes, that would be really nice!" She exclaimed eagerly, causing the Coatl to jump and hush her with a claw. "Sorry," the Spiral added in a much smaller voice, stifling a giggle as her saviour ruffled her feathers indignantly. It made her look like a big blue puffball.

...

Mabel spent the next few days staying with Aqua, the Coatl from before, with her clan who lived in a temple on the very outskirts of the Hewn City. It was full of kind dragons who were happy to let Mabel into their home, especially after her confrontation with the Shade fragment. Aqua was intent on examining her Spiral friend to make sure she hadn't sustained any Shade corruption while she was out there, and fortunately, she was okay. After a nice meal with the clan's dragons and a much-needed sleep, Mabel was ready to go again.

One of Maki's first ventures out into Sornieth brought her to the Sunbeam Ruins. She had been trying to aim for the Mirrorlight Promenade, where many of the Light clans tended to settle... but her tired wings gave out from her long venture before she could make it, and she had to make an unexpected landing on the outskirts of the Hewn City instead.

The Hewn City was an unsettling place, overcome by an all-encompassing murk. Even Maki, an immense Guardian, had her reservations about coming here. It felt as though she was being watched, and from the corners of her eyes she could've sworn she was seeing unintelligible, unfathomable bodies of eldritch creatures watching her from the shadows. Was she being stalked? Maki had to get out of here.

The faster she ran, the faster the creatures seemed to pursue her. They were being less discreet about it now, the movement of tendrils and amorphous bodies in the murk was much more obvious than it was before. Maki tumbled into some dilapidated marble ruins in her panic, and quickly discovered she was cornered in this structure by the shady creatures. She pressed her body against the marble, the cold surface seeping into her scales with a chill. The creatures drew closer...

...until a sudden red bolt of light shot out from behind them, piercing the body of one of the creatures and destroying it! Its remains broke apart and dissipated completely, and the rest of the shade monsters fled the scene after seeing the fate of one of their brethren. Maki was briefly blinded by the bright red attack, but as her eyes re-adjusted to the darkness of her surroundings, she realized she could make out a Coatl dragon emerging from the darkness.

Maki tensed again. She might not be out of the woodworks just yet. "Who are you?" She spoke boldly, hiding the quiver in her voice.

The Coatl stepped closer, emerging from the murk completely. Their face was hidden behind a mask resembling a crow's beak, but their hardened, ruby-red eyes were still visible as they peered through the mask's goggles. The feathery dragon held a weathered staff crafted from violet wood in their talons; the tip of the staff was still red-hot and glowing faintly, explaining where that bolt had come from a moment before. Realizing this, Maki began to settle down -- this dragon wasn't a threat, they had just saved her life!

The Coatl spoke then, standing strong against the shadowy fog. Their voice was stifled by their mask, but it was a clearly feminine one all the same. "I'm a plague doctor living in the area," she stated simply, "my clan and I are working to control the Shade fragments permeating the area. What in the world are you doing here?"

"My name i-is Maki," the Guardian spoke, finding herself somewhat intimidated by the Coatl's stern voice and imposing figure, "I'm a travelling dragon. I have dedicated myself to uniting each of the dragon Flights of Sornieth, and I came here t-to spread my cause?"

The Coatl paused. "Seriously?" They spoke indignantly. "With all of the sparring for lair expansion that dragons do, and the constant struggle for Dominance? The Flights are just not meant to cooperate like you say. Your cause is surely to fail."

"T-that isn't true!" Maki bellowed back. The Coatl's feathers ruffled in agitation and she shushed the Guardian harshly. Maki had somewhat forgotten about their perilous surroundings in her outburst... whoops. She lowered her voice. "There is so much more to dragons than just war and unrest. We have song and dance, and love and family, and culture! How could you be so shallow?"

The strange Coatl nodded slightly at this response, mulling something over. Then she suddenly reached up to her crow-like mask, slipping her claws behind it to unbuckle the straps. Maki tensed defensively; just what was she going to do? Try to bite? Launch an attack?

The mask came off, clattering to the ground with a dull thud that hung in the cold, stifling air. The Coatl's true face bore down at Maki, and her gut twisted in horror.

The pallor of her feathers was what shocked Maki most, knowing that pale feathers were clear signs of a dead or dying Coatl. Feathers once a vibrant blue and green like the rest of the Coatl's body, but now almost completely leached of colour, lined her face. Her features were horrific, too, resembling that of a corpse -- sallowed cheeks and sunken eyes, a crooked snout marred by scars. The Coatl spoke, her voice clearly raspy and creaky now that it was no longer muted by her mask; "I am dying, Guardian. The stress of my job, the guilt of my Plague lineage is inevitably going to take my life. How can you say that you hope to bring peace to every Flight when dragons like me can't even be united with the ideals of their own?

"I commend you. Your cause is a very noble one, Guardian -- don't let my nay-saying make you think otherwise. Just don't say nobody told you so when your efforts never pan out, and don't be disappointed. War and dominance is the nature of dragonkind, no amount of kind words will change that."

Maki had so much she wanted to say to this dragon. She knew the Coatl was wrong, deep in her heart; dragons had culture, and love and family, and so many things other than war to define them. This wasn't the first time she had been told her dream was an unachievable one, either.

But in the heat of the moment, she couldn't come up with a rebuttal, and simply held her tongue.

Maki turned her back to the Coatl sullenly as they went their separate ways. She watched out the corner of her eye as the other dragon slipped her plague doctor mask back onto her face, with a bit of a sad sigh, before taking to the sky. Maki took flight as well. The Hewn City, as well as the conversation with that Coatl, were both beginning to weigh on her spirits. Maybe she wouldn't stop in one of the Light clans after all.

Though she hated to admit it, the smallest seeds of doubt had been planted in Maki's mind as she pondered the meaning of her Plague lineage, and how it conflicted with her ideals of helping dragonkind.