Outside the Ashlands

Cinder covered her eyes and hissed in pain as Ash brought her out of one of the many secret exits to the Dragonlands. The light was so... bright. The other races must be blind, because how else could they be able to live up here on the surface?

"Push past the pain little one." Ash said when he noticed her vain attempts at not blinding herself. "Your eyes will adjust with time."

"I feel like Captain Garble just breathed fire in my eyes!" Cinder shouted meekly.

Ash didn't respond with anything more than a growl, prompting Cinder to shut up.

Cinder grunted as she found her vision slowly, and painfully coming back. It was nothing compared to the beatings she received from other dragons however, so she persevered.

The two were quiet for what felt like hours as they flew over the dead, flat light gray plains which made up the Ashlands. Cinder found herself getting quite bored as she watched the dead lands. There was the occasional boulder here and there alongside the incredibly rare giant skeleton, but other than that, it was empty. So very empty.

"I'm bored..." She said pathetically.

"And how is that my problem?" The larger form of Ash said as he stared ahead, zoned in on his job of ferrying her across the ocean only.

"Can you tell me a story or something?" She asked pleadingly, attempting to give the larger dragon puppy dog eyes. The larger soldier looked down at her his eyes narrowed before he relented with a grunt.

"The Dragonlord was right. You'd fit right in with those sickly sweet abominations." Ash said as the two continued flying. He was quiet for a few minutes until Cinder spoke yet again.

"So... about that story?" She requested, earning a growl from the Dragon above her.

"If your safety wasn't a mission requirement, I would drop you." He hissed before he cracked his neck and slowed down.

"Fine. I will tell you a story. You are of the age when you are supposed to be told this moment in our history anyway." Ash enunciated. "Tell me. Are there any worthy races upon this planet barring the dragons?"

"No. Not one. The Dragons are the only worthy race." Cinder said, dipping into her years of teaching and, for lack of a better term, brainwashing.

"Wrong." Ash said. "There is but one race on this planet that can say it has equal position with us dragons, if only because of one individual. The Changelings."

Cinder cocked her head to the side. She had never heard of these creatures before. The name gave her the smallest semblance of an idea however. They were lings who changed, obviously.

"There was a single creature amongst there number who we can consider worthy. His name is Thorax. He is colloquially known by us, and most races, as the Changeling God. For good reason." Ash said. "It is said that He, Ember and the General formed a great companionship. He and Ember were particularly close, but he was not perfect. In truth no one is."

"He was soft. Too soft for his own good. In his final moments, he offered a Queen of disgusting reputation redemption, only for that Queen to stab him in the heart with a spear."

Cinder stared at Ash as he told the story. She had never heard of this before, and she could tell why. This was glorifying a member of a non-dragon race, meaning it was a given that it would put doubts in the heads of the truly young and naive. Doubts if the Dragons truly were the greatest and most worthy race.

"His death is what sparked Dragonlord Ember and General Spike to track down the Queen and snap her neck in cold blood, before taking their wrath out upon the lesser races of the world who allowed their favored friend to die, for they watched and did nothing as Thorax and the Queen clashed. That is how the war which isolated us started little one. Remember this and hold the lesson to your heart. The other races care not for our allegiances and alliances. If helping us is too much of a bother, they will abandon us to die. Do not trust their honeyed words while you are in their land. Do you understand this?" Ash finished as he suddenly stopped flying and held Cinder before him in the air, staring her dead in the eyes.

"Yes sir..." Cinder finished.

"Good." Ash said, before he continued flying. Everything became quiet again. Quiet and boring. So very boring. That is until they arrived closer to the edge of the Ashlands. Cinder couldn't help but gasp at what she saw. A massive field of blue, as far as the eye could possibly see.

There was even a second sun in the middle of it, and as the two started flying over it, there was even a second her and Ash just below them.

"What is that stuff?" Cinder asked as they lowered themselves to the blue field, until they were mere inches above it.

"It is water. Have you never seen water before? How are you alive in that case?" Ash asked gruffly.

"Of course I have seen water before." Cinder said with a frown. "But isn't water that stuff that is in puddles and cups? why is there so much of it?"

Cinder reached her claws down and cupped some of the water in her hands before sipping it as they flew. She immediately spat it out and whimpered. "And why is it so salty?!?"

Ash rolled his eyes and didn't bother explaining. For several hours the two flew until finally, they arrived at a sandy beach. Ash simply dropped Cinder onto the beach and turned around. "If you tap the center of the gem on your collar, it will reveal a map to where you need to go. I will stay in this land and find a cave to shelter me. If you should ever require rescue, snap this gem in half."

He tossed a small stick-like orange gem over his shoulder which Cinder caught after a couple fumbles. "Good luck little one." Ash said, before he spread his wings and took off into the air.

Cinder stared at him for a couple minutes before she gulped loudly. She brought a shaky claw up to her neck and pressed the gem. A red holographic map shot out and shined in front of her. A small line slowly snaked its way across the map from a beach far in the south until it arrived at a small village in the center.

Cinder straightened her back stoically, before she began her slow march following the path. "I can do this." She repeated to herself several times.