Slyther lunged towards Avrae with no warning, sand kicking up in his wake. His claws were outstretched and his fangs were bared into a menacing snarl, the desire to spill Avrae's blood gleaming in his pitch black eyes. Avrae's training kicked in as she instinctively rolled to the side, her opponent's claws smashing into the ground where she just was. The thump she heard from the impact was more than enough to make her thankful she had rolled out of the way in time.

Just as Avrae got to her feet, she lashed out with a paw, Slyther's blood spilling across the sand with her well-placed slash. Slyther roared, his head whipping around. Ice erupted from his maw and barreled towards Avrae.

Avrae, once again, rolled away. As she came up, her claws raked across Slyther's wing. He roared, clearly not at all pleased.

Evade. Strike. Evade.

This was the pattern she used. Every time she struck, she always evaded Slyther's attacks that surely followed. Her claws sliced through Slyther's scales with ease as more and more of her opponent's blood spilled onto the sand.

"No way. She's winning against one of the best warriors in the colony without a single scratch!" One nestling chittered to his neighbor.

"Where did she learn to fight like that?" Another nestling whispered.

"No idea. But the Cletin would be fools not to accept her after this!"

"The battle's not over yet."

Slyther lunged for Avrae's tail, but he was a second too slow. Avrae had already whirled around and slashed her claws across Slyther's cheek. She quickly followed that attack with a blast of shadowfire that was so hot that it would have melted the scales off of any non-primal dragon.

Slyther stumbled backwards, disbelief written on his face. Gashes of various sizes plastered his silver and pale blue hide while burns marred his chest and wing. A bruise was beginning to form on his jaw that was large enough to make Avrae internally cringe.

"I've been going too easy on you shadow dragon," Slyther hissed as his tail lashed. Avrae raised an eye crest as she felt the ball of raw primal power in her soul strain against the cage she had built around it, eager to be unleashed. Avrae suppressed her magic, though Grywell's warning annoyingly rang in her mind once again.

"You may have to reveal yourself sooner than you'd like."

No. She can defeat Slyther without the use of her magic. She may be a primal dragon, but her powers terrified even herself. There had never been a primal shadow dragon in all of history with powers like her own.

"Or maybe you're just dreaming," Avrae retorted. Slyther snarled as ice formed on the sand, freezing it over. To her horror and shock, Avrae's claws froze to the ground as the air seemed to only grow colder. Snow formed on her back and wings as Avrae shivered.

Cold realization struck her through the heart. Slyther hadn't used any hint of his primal powers throughout this entire fight. I'm screwed.

Slyther stalked around Avrae like a predator stalking prey. He wasn't bothered by the cold at all as his face twisted into a savage grin. "Yield."

Avrae's eyes narrowed. Any ordinary dragon would have yielded in that moment. After all, Avrae could hardly move as ice crawled up her legs and her toes went numb. She knew full well frostbite would set in soon, if it wasn't setting in already.

But Avrae was anything but ordinary.

She reached towards the ball of power in her soul, hesitantly opening the cage and taking just a pinch of the magic. Just enough to warm her up. She welcomed the heat, letting it slowly melt the ice. Though she made sure not to melt it too fast, as otherwise Slyther would notice and would know Avrae's secret.

"I will not yield. Not while I can still move," Avrae declared, tipping her head back slightly in challenge. Confused whispers were exchanged throughout the crowd. Out of the corner of her eye, Avrae saw Flare give a knowing smile.

Slyther snarled, raising his claws in preparation to strike Avrae. At that same instant, Avrae let the heat inside her erupt, shattering the ice and sending it flying in every direction. Luckily for Avrae, the ice concealed the fact that for a few very short seconds, she had turned into a giant ball of reddish black shadowfire held roughly in the shape of a dragon.

Hopefully no one noticed.

Slyther was forced to shield his eyes from the ice shards, opening up a unique opportunity. Avrae pounced, her claws sinking deep into soft underbelly flesh. This time, Slyther screamed.

His eyes widened in shock and horror as his blood stained Avrae's claws. Without any hesitation, Avrae's jaws wrapped tightly around Slyther's throat and sunk in until she could just feel her opponent's pulse against her fangs. The colony went deadly silent, too shocked to even speak.

Blood bathed her tongue as Slyther's pulse quickened. He went rigid, knowing that if Avrae sunk her fangs in even an inch farther then he'd be dead within minutes. From the corner of Avrae's eye, she saw her queen tense and narrow her eyes.

After a brief minute that felt like a lifetime, Slyther slowly parted his jaws as he rasped, "I... yield."

Avrae let go of Slyther before climbing off the larger and much older dragon, exhausted. Avrae's bloodied fangs flashed in the sunlight as she smiled, pride swelling up from within as her chest puffed out. Dragons in the stands just stared, too shocked to speak. To move.

For Avrae had challenged one of the best warriors in the colony and won without a single scratch.

Slyther examined Avrae, his eyes narrowed. He prowled around her, his tail dragging in the sand behind him and leaving skid marks in his wake. Avrae could sense the unease and surprise that bordered the minds of every dragon in the stands. But Slyther was different. From Slyther, Avrae sensed awe and, oddly, hate.

Before Avrae could question it farther, footsteps sounded from behind her. "Impressive," Nitsu commented as she approached. Avrae turned to the older wind dragon, lowering her eyes in a sign of respect. "You passed the first Trial. But don't let your guard down young Avrae."

Avrae nodded, keeping silent. She crossed over to the stands, opening her wings and hopping up next to Flare. Flare smiled before exclaiming, "good job! You just need to focus on the next Trial. Pass it and the next one, and boom! You're in the Cletin!"

Once again, Avrae nodded. There was something Flare wasn't saying. She could tell from the slightly clouded look in her friend's eyes and the way her pointer claw tapped softly against the stone underfoot. Avrae could just about see a wall of fog around her mind, so dense that there was no seeing through it. Avrae didn't dare try to breach it. Doing so would more than definitely reveal the true extent of her powers to Flare and she was not ready to tell the fire dragon princess just yet.

Flare tilted her head. "What's wrong? You passed your first Trial, aren't you more excited?" Flare asked.

This time, Avrae met Flare's gaze. She forced a smile to slide onto her face as she took a deep breath. "Nothing. Nothing is wrong my friend."

Flare hummed softy in thought before turning her attention back to the arena sands. The third fight was already underway with the earth nestling getting beat left and right. Rather pitiful really. The poor drake could hardly stay on his feet for longer than a few seconds. Flare's sister definitely was not going easy on anyone. Reminded Avrae of her first time sparring against Grywell.

Off in the stands, she saw Slyther make a disgusted face as he chewed a bundle of herbs that a healer had given him. Avrae subconsciously touched her tongue to her fangs as she thought about her venom. She better be more careful the next time she sparred. There might not always be healers nearby to drip the antidote to her venom into the other dragon's wounds.

"Cletious Per Nitsu would like to see you," a pure black shadow dragoness with splotches of amber said from Avrae's right. She turned, pointing at herself in question.

"Me?" Avrae asked, unsure.

The dragoness gave a single, firm nod.

Avrae and Flare exchanged looks of disbelief and confusion before looking back at the messenger. "What does Cletious Per Nitsu want with me?" Avrae asked. The messenger shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm just the messenger. She wants to see you right away," the dragoness answered simply. She turned, spreading her feathered wings in preparation to take off. Avrae stood up, grabbing the messenger's tail.

"Wait!" Avrae cried.

The messenger turned, eyes narrowed as smoke drifted out of her nostrils. "Whatever it is, take it up with Her Cletious. I have other messages to deliver and don't have time to spell out every word in the message to some whiny little nestling that thinks she can just up and join the Cletin after cheating her way to victory," the messenger hissed.

Avrae blinked. Cheating? She didn't cheat! Did Nitsu think she cheated? Avrae hoped not. Her reputation with inventing strange gadgets could be used against her if Nitsu thought she was cheating. Avrae had been told the previous day that if she were to try out for the Cletin then she wouldn't be allowed to use her gadgets in the first Trial.

"What do you mean by 'cheating'?" Avrae asked cautiously.

The messenger's fangs bared as she fully turned towards Avrae, wings partially folding in. "Don't act so oblivious. You may have others fooled but not me. No one could have gotten out of Slyther's ice that fast unless they were a primal dragon or had outside help from a primal fire dragon," the messenger hissed. She gave Flare a pointed glare.

Flare scoffed, angling her head in a more queenly fashion as she looked down upon the messenger. The messenger was older than Avrae by a few years and was wearing a silver chain necklace with a strange blue pendant hanging off of it. Avrae concluded the necklace was a family heirloom or a gift from a close friend. Which meant this dragon most likely valued family and friends above all else. Or she just really liked the necklace.

"I suggest you mind your tongue in front of the princess," Avrae hissed. The messenger just stared coldly at Avrae before turning with a snort.

"I will be sure to remember this occasion," the messenger hissed, flying away to get on with her day. Avrae and Flare watched the messenger leave.

"You better get going. It'd be bad luck to keep a Cletious Per waiting," Flare told Avrae. Avrae nodded, spreading her wings. "Between us, I hope there are no hard feelings."

Confused, Avrae glanced at her friend. But Flare only gestured to the sky with her snout as if she hadn't said anything. Strange. She must be hearing things.

With a mighty flap of her wings, Avrae took to the sky. She circled twice above the arena before her keen eyes spotted Nitsu in the shadows perched high up in the stands where the wind blew strongest. Few dragons were up here, as few wanted to fight the winds this high up in the stands.

Avrae angled her wings to adjust to the wind currents before swooping in. She landed in front of Nitsu rather clumsily, nearly sliding off the stands. She managed to catch herself just in the nic time to avoid an embarrassing fall, though her claws won't be thanking her anytime soon.

"Sorry about that... and the wait Cletious Per Nitsu," Avrae apologized out of respect. She bowed, spreading her wings wide. Nitsu dipped her head in acknowledgement.

"Rise," Nitsu commanded. Avrae obeyed.

"You wanted to see me?" Avrae questioned, folding her wings in. Nitsu nodded.

"Indeed. I want to see you in my cave during mid day break," Nitsu answered. Avrae blinked.

"Is that all?" The shadow dragoness asked tentatively. Nitsu nodded again.

"That is all young one."

Avrae turned, spreading her wings as she glided away. Annoyance gnawed at her soul. Why did Nitsu summon her only to tell her that she'd like to see her later? It made no sense!

Avrae growled, letting the wind take her wherever it pleased. She let it soothe her as she admired the landscape around her. She just roamed, the sky being her only limit. She didn't feel like going back to the arena to witness more fights, nor did she wish to go anywhere where she may potentially face that messenger again.

So, she just roamed.

Hours passed, and before Avrae knew it, it was noon. Her wings, being accustomed to long flights such as this, weren't even sore. With a heavy sigh, she turned back around and headed straight to Nitsu's cave. Hopefully the Cletious Per wasn't already there.

Most dragons nested in the sides of cliffs while smaller dragon species, like wind dragons, nested in large trees. But instead, Nitsu had chosen to make her nest under the roots of a massive willow tree in a cave she had dug out herself. It stumped Avrae as to why. The ground was dangerous for a dragon, as sometimes wild cats and wolves would attack even a full grown dragon if the opportunity presented itself.

Primal dragon or not, there have been occasions where dragons have died to wild cat and wolf attacks. They were less of a threat to primal dragons, but still a threat regardless. Even in the shelter of the valley the colony called home and with all the dragons who went hunting chasing away any large carnivores that got too close, a bear or a wild cat would occasionally slip through.

So why Nitsu slept on the ground was beyond Avrae. If anyone were to ask Avrae for her opinion on the matter, they'd get an answer of "only a fool would nest on the ground where they may be attacked with ease." It was with this mindset that Avrae used caution as she glided down into the forest below.

She could see Nitsu's cave just up ahead, but she didn't trust that it was safe. Not yet. Like any dragon with any common sense, she flew around her destination once, trying to bait any wild cats hiding out in the lower branches of nearby trees into pouncing on her. With the thick upper branches of the trees around her intertwining to form a dense canopy, she wouldn't be able to just fly to safety. With how close the trees were together, she couldn't use her shadow fire if she got into trouble either. No, that'd risk setting the entire forest on fire and endangering the lives of any unsuspecting dragons curled up in their nests on top of the canopy.

Satisfied that no cats had pounced on her, she landed on the ground so quietly that she hardly stirred a leaf. She sniffed the air, lips peeling back as she circled Nitsu's tree. Her eyes scanned the ground for any tracks or dung as she waited for a large animal to strike.

But none attacked.

The only scents in the air were dragon-scent and rabbit-scent. There was no dung to be found and the largest predator tracks there were was some hour old fox tracks a few meters south of the willow tree. Nothing to be concerned about.

Pleased, Avrae sat in front of the tree and waited. Her tail curled neatly over her talons as she folded her wings in. Her red eyes stared off into the distance as the quills on the back of her head pressed flat against her neck.

She waited some more. And more. And more.

How long would she have to wait?! Was Nitsu late? Or was Avrae just being impatient as usual? She couldn't see the sun's position through the trees, but judging from the direction of the sun rays flittering through the canopy, Avrae had only sat here for three minutes.

Avrae's claws twitched as she fidgeted. She wanted to do something! But instead she was stuck here instead of creating a new gadget or experimenting with her chemical vials!

"Pst. Shadow dragon," a voice whispered from behind her.

Avrae's eyes widened as she whirled around to come face to face with... nothing but empty air. She looked around, scenting the air again. Had she missed something?

No. She must be hearing things. There was no fresh scent anywhere that belonged to anything that could speak Draike other than her own scent.

Avrae turned, shaking herself almost like a dog. She sat back down again with a snort. That voice had been nothing more than a figment of her imagination.

"Pst. Shadow dragon. You're Avrae right?" The voice spoke again. This time, Avrae stood up with a snarl.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Avrae demanded, whirling around again. Her quills stood on end as she lashed her tail, claws flexing.

Her eyes darted from shadow to shadow, searching for the source of the voice. She smelled nothing out of the ordinary. No dragon scent aside from her own that was fresh. No figures in the shadows that she could see.

"Up here," the voice said again. Avrae looked up to see a rather snake-like creature with golden scales and a pair of wings on her back. The creature had purplish whitish horns and spiked eye crests while having eyes as blue as the sky. It, or rather she, was hardly any larger than Avrae's paw.

"What are you?" Avrae asked, baffled. This creature was like no dragon she had ever seen. Much smaller than even a dragon egg too.

The creature frowned, slithering along the branch she was on closer to Avrae. "I am a dragon. Like you," the creature answered simply.

Now it was Avrae's turn to frown.

"You're like no dragon I've ever seen," she commented. The strange creature shook her head.

"Doesn't matter. All you pure dragons are the same," the creature sighed. Avrae raised an eye ridge.

Pure dragons? What were pure dragons? Were there other kinds of dragons that didn't live in the colony that she didn't know about?

"You knew my name. How?" Avrae asked, deciding to ignore the creature's comment. The creature just gave Avrae a strange look.

"From that awful arena of course! I was watching you're fight you know. Was impressive. But of course you had the upper hand all along with your primal status being a secret and all," the creature remarked. Avrae stiffened as alarm shot through her.

This creature... had she been spying on her?! How did she know one of her most closely guarded secrets when the entire colony and even her best friend were clueless? Had this creature told anyone else? Did the whole colony secretly know and were just acting oblivious to make Avrae look like a fool?

"How do you know my secret? How long have you known? And most importantly, how come no one spotted you?!" Avrae blurted. The creature grinned.

"Ah ha! I knew it! You, my friend, just admitted your secret to me and confirmed my suspicions," the creature informed. Avrae snapped her mouth shut. She had been outsmarted by a creature that she could literally eat in a single bite if she wanted to.

Curse her big mouth. She 'ought to be more careful than that.

"No one saw me because no one knew what to look for. Name's Petal by the way," the creature chirped. Avrae hummed in thought, the gears in her brain turning. If what Petal was saying was true... if she truly was a dragon... then that meant that Avrae knew absolutely nothing on what Petal could do. Petal could easily turn invisible or shoot fire just like her own for all she knew.

For the first time in her life, Avrae didn't have a plan. Didn't know what to do. She had no idea what species of dragon Petal even was.

"Judging from your silence, you're stumped as to how to respond to this situation. Well don't fret. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to help," Petal calmly said. Avrae tilted her head at the golden snake-dragon.

"Help with what?" Avrae slowly asked. Her tail slowly moved back and forth as she watched Petal carefully, never letting her eyes leave the strange dragon. For all she knew, this was a trap. Maybe Petal intended to harm her or use her for something. She didn't know. But she had to find out before it was too late.

"Help you uncover the truth of course," Petal stated as if it were obvious. Avrae blinked.

"The truth?" She echoed. "Truth of what?"

Petal slithered closer to Avrae, going close enough that Avrae could grab her if she reared back onto her hind legs but no closer. "The murder of the pure dragon king and how your queen really became blind in one eye," Petal whispered. Avrae scoffed, arching her neck in dismay.

"Everyone knows it was Zerkon who killed the king and half blinded the queen," Avrae hissed. Petal looked at Avrae skeptically, eyes narrowed.

"Is that really the lie that you've been fed? Open your eyes. No dragon can be in two places at once. Ask a shadow dragon named Skull where he found Zerkon that day. I can promise you that it was nowhere near where your king was murdered," Petal hissed back. Avrae dug her claws into the dirt.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Avrae asked. Petal went silent, thinking for a moment.

"You're meeting Nitsu right? Ask her about a wind dragon named Whiplash. If her immediate reaction is to pounce on you, then I speak truth. If not, I speak lie," Petal said. Petal suddenly looked up, as if having heard something. "I must go. Find me later."

Avrae looked up, if only for a moment, at the sound of wingbeats. "Where? How will I find you?" Avrae asked. When there was no answer, she looked back at the tree branch.

But Petal was gone.