For a long time, he felt nothing, saw nothing, was… nothing. It was sort of comforting as his being melded with the universe. As he felt himself begin to fade, his worries were destroyed as his soul wandered the void. 

And then something happened, which was a distinctly odd experience in the void. 

Ah, there you are. 

The voice was familiar and unfamiliar all at the same time; it rang through his very being with the sort of intimacy that touched his mind and soul. He was plucked out of that place, finally seeing, feeling, becoming. 

How was life this time around? The being asked. It sounded distinctly masculine, the sound was deep and melodious, with layers upon it as if this dragon was not only speaking for his ears to hear, but for his mind.

No, no, don’t ask him that, remember last time? It can’t have been any better. A more feminine voice put in, that sound was different, but it was still powerful beyond comprehension, just in a quieter more delicate way. He was absolutely intolerable for the next century, constantly mourning over it.

Well, what do you expect me to do? Sit here and stare at him awkwardly as he recovers?

That’s what you do with literally everyone else. Give the guy a break. 

The louder voice huffed and fell silent as the dragon from the void slowly blinked, or well didn’t blink. More like he was slowly fading into existence as the seconds ticked by. It was the strangest experience he’d ever had. 

Suddenly, he was far far too aware of the two large dragons standing over him. One was the slightest bit smaller than the other, her wings and tail longer though as if to compensate. They looked like nothing he had ever seen before. They seemed both transparent and somehow more solid at the same time. Their scales gave off a slight glow in the… void? He couldn’t quite make out their surroundings, just the two dragons above him. 

Their scales were dark blue with a white underbelly, and white scales like NightWing stars scattered all around instead of just underneath their wings, these scales seemed more to be miniature galaxies with depth and space between. Their wings were sweeping and majestic, with curves that looked impractical for flight and a thin membrane that faded into smoke. They were larger than any dragon that he had ever seen, and they had no imperfections, no scars, scuffed scales, and no tiredness around their glowing eyes. 

They were perfection made manifest. He looked up at them with awe, wondering if it was even possible to look that perfect. 

He glanced down at himself, wondering what kind of dragon he was. He felt… distinctly odd. As if there was something big missing from him. The soul from the void glanced over his scales, frowning as he compared himself to the two giants. 

He looked… like a less solid version of them. Dark blue scales, white underbelly, and stars at irregular intervals. Looking at himself, he was able to notice things he hadn’t on the two large dragons, such as a distinct and very strange lack of spines along his back. It felt wrong to not feel their weight. In fact, now that he thought of it, he couldn’t really feel anything. 

The female smiled down at him gently, “I am Pantala, but you’ve probably never heard of me. Oh, and that’s Pyrrhia.”

The larger dragon gave her an unamused look, “it’s not like he’s one of your dragons. He was hatched and raised on my shores. My peaks and my land.” Pyrrhia looked away pointedly.

Pantala grinned, “oh, don’t be like that, perhaps he’ll be on my shores soon, who knows?” She leaned down the slightest bit as she examined him head to tail. “He’s still pure, as far as I can see, how long should we give him?” 

Pyrrhia glanced down at him, “well, what does he think?”

He blinked up at them, frowning as he tried to make sense of what was happening. Apparently, there were strange star dragons five times his size that lived in his imagination. He supposed that was good to know. 

Pantala and Pyrrhia glanced at each other for a long moment. “Alright, alright.” Pantala rolled her eyes extravagantly and held out a talon for him, “if you wish to know what you used to, take my talon. If you wish to make your choice with ignorance, we will respect that.”

To… know what he used to? He frowned, what was there to know? He knew… he knew things. Right? He knew how… how that one dragon had… had……? And how he’d once done… a lot of…. A lot of cool things? 

He stared at the large talon with shock and fear as he tightened his wings around himself. All he could remember were basic facts about the world. What… where… who was he? 

He took the outstretched talon, and the soul of Pantala smiled down at him with understanding. “You will begin to feel odd.” 

Pyrrhia watched with silence as the sould from the void nervously stared at the two dragons for several long moments. And then it hit him. Something familiar and strange and terrible all at the same time. Something that he hated and loved and was terrified of all wrapped up into one. 

Suddenly, Fortune remembered. He was the hunter of prey, at least, that was one part of him, he remembered before he’d been hatched as an orphaned dragonet, he remembered being so many dragons. He remembered being a RainWing, thousands of years ago, he’d been the one to first vote for the banishment of half their tribe—a consequence of too many eggs, too many talons. 

He remembered being a SkyWing and barely making it out of the egg before his fall from the egg breaker's peak, his burning talons flailing all the way down.

He remembered life as a SeaWing, learning aquatic, breaking his voice box, and never speaking again. He remembered a kind soul who became his new voice. 

Fortune remembered hundreds of lives, hundreds of names, hundreds of ideas and dreams, and misfortunes. 

And every single one of them, he’d died before the end of his story. 

He remembered growing up as a Leafwing, on Pantala’s land. He remembered a hopeful future as the queen’s advisor. He remembered being assassinated by a jealous friend. Another time he’d been stabbed to death in a back alley, having been mistaken for another dragon. 

He’d been murdered by SandWing barbs, drowning, rock fall, and betrayal. Oh, so much betrayal. He remembered being killed by parents, siblings, true love, and friends. He remembered being an animus, a mindreader, Fortune remembered living before there were even tribes or names for the powers. 

After every life, Fortune would come back here, just to be reborn again into a pointless world with death and betrayal around every corner. 

He remembered his true name, which was far less of a revelation and more like an annoying bug he kept trying to shake off. His soul was named Fortune.

Fortune felt his gaze harden, his wings lower, his mind sour. “What now, you put me back into another egg, just so I can die again?” 

Pantala sighed and glanced at Pyrrhia. “Seriously, that’s what I’ve been asking you for the last century. The guy needs a break, you can’t keep sending him back every ten years.”

The larger dragon glared at her and gave Fortune a long look, “alright, he can haunt.”

“I still don’t see why you got rid of that option for him in the first place…”

“Yeah yeah, just put him in.” 

Pantala smiled and looked back down at Fortune, who was simply laying down on the rocks with a sad expression. “One of the best parts about being dead is that between lives, you can watch those you care about finish their turn. So for as long as you want, Fortune, you can haunt.”

He huffed. 

Pantala sighed, “you can even haunt Preservation if you want!”

Fortune blinked. Preservation. That was Moon. That was also a million other dragons to him. Throughout most of his lives, she’d been there in some form. But the biggest difference was that she was the only one who was reliably nice to him. 

So, for her—For Lotus, for Clearsight, for Amber, for Song, for Moonwatcher, for preservation—Fortune stood up as the slightest bit of hope returned to his bones. “Send me.” 

---_---_---_---_---_---_---_---

From the author:

This is a short series of four short stories that take place after Wings of Evolution. I will be publishing one part every Friday at 8am Mountain Daylight time.

Don't forget to vote  :D