IMPORTANT INFORMATION BELOW!!!!

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The tunnel was tight, narrow, and cold. The stone was rough and course, scratching against the lizard's scales as it pulled itself forward, bit by bit. Darkness covered the creature, forcing it to rely on the intermittent tongue flicks to help find its way, tasting the damp muskiness of the air, and the earthly tones of the rock surrounding it. There was a soft yellow and white glow at the end of the tunnel, and the lizard could feel the heat trickling down into the crevice as it moved upward toward it.

As the lizard reached the end of its small journey it stopped, hesitating a moment. Another tongue flick. There was something out there. A smooth scent that glided over its senses like water. It wasn't incredibly noticeable, but it was certainly recognisable. Taking slow and measured steps it moved forward just that slight amount, poking its head out for a wary look.

Almost immediately a speared tail tip came careening toward its head. Too fast to escape to safety. So, the lizard took the only course available. As the tail struck it, it exploded into a white ethereal mist. There was a squawk of surprise from the one responsible for the attack. The mist grew, before glowing slightly as it once again solidified into a physical form. A white dragon, a young adult drake, with flittering wings and a spear tipped tail to match his assailant.

"Hey! You nearly killed me!" he growled toward the other dragon in Drakin.

The accused was a dragoness with the same pearl white scales and speared tail tip. She was around the same age, but her stomach was fairly rounded, a sign for the late stages of gravidity. They were within a cave, with the dragoness laying in her nest and her tail dangling over the side where she had quite nearly killed the other dragon. She was on top of a ledge, the small crevice underneath. There were several holes in the roof of the cave where light beamed through, giving ample light to the two reptiles. She looked at the male flustered and deeply embarrassed.

"Oh my! Vitto! I didn't know it was you! I'm so sorry," she exclaimed.

Vitto relaxed, giving her a teasing smile, "Aah, it's alright. It's been a while, Kayhara. You've let yourself go a bit it seems."

Her embarrassment quickly disappeared into a snarl, "I'm not fat! I'm gravid you idiot."

He snickered, "Just teasing! So, they finally talked you into doing it. Who's the father?"

She sighed, before muttering, "Bujo..."

"Bujo?" Vitto repeated, "Seriously?"

"Hey! He's not so bad!" she replied defensively, "And with you and Dialn gone I really didn't have much else to choose from."

He shrugged his wings, knowing he would have likely refused either way, "I guess."

Kayhara shook herself, "I'm guessing you're back for your first report?"

"Yep," Vitto nodded his head, "The fire kingdom is an... interesting place."

"You were sent to spy on that new queen right? What's her name?"

"Athaer."

"Aaah... that's right. Athaer. Is it true she defeated an equilibrium without using her own?"

"Well..." Vitto hesitated, "I can't tell you much. I need to report to the council first."

"Of course, forever one for the rules," Kayhara grumbled, "Come on Vitto! I'm so bored! I've been stuck in this nest for a month! And I haven't been able to change forms at all in nearly three months. Being gravid sucks."

When she saw that Vitto was not moved by her outburst, she sighed again, "Could you at least show me the form you took to get into the fire kingdom?"

The drake shrugged, "Fine. I'll give you that."

His physical form once again faded back into the ethereal mist, which curled around itself. The light beams illuminated it, reminding Kayhara of the sunlight piercing a cloud. The mist became solid once again, but instead of the white dragon form, standing in front of her was a completely different dragon. This one was a fire drake, bigger then Vitto, but still rather young and with several scars along his chest and snout.

"Ooh, I like it," Kayhara looked over Vitto's new form with approval, "Rather handsome. The scars are nice. Was it a difficult take over?"

Vitto shook his head as he looked down at the form he had been stuck in for the past several months, "Got him along the edge of the fire territory. Possessed him in his sleep. He didn't even know what happened."

"Pah, you took the easy road," she grunted, "I would have attacked him while he was awake. Let him struggle. Then take him over, and once he submitted, I would let him go."

"And that is the reason I was chosen for this mission, and not you," Vitto smirked, "We're spirit dragons Kayhara. Our entire goal is literally secrecy in everything."

She couldn't answer that and grumbled unintelligibly. Vitto watched her for a moment, before returning back to his normal body. After the months spent as a fire dragon, he missed his shining white scales and spear tipped tail. The number of times he had had to kill prey with his claws and teeth left him unsettled. It was much cleaner and easier with the sharp blade.

"Well, I'll catch up with you later," he said, going to turn around and walk out the entrance of the cave, "I gotta talk to the council."

"Wait, Vitto!"

He stopped, looking back at her.

"Surely they could wait a couple of hours," she drawled, "Stay with me. I know you haven't... been with anyone yet. I definitely would have chosen you over Bujo."

He snorted incredulously, "Really?"

"Come on Vitto. I'm so bored! Please!"

The drake shook his head, moving toward the exit of the cave, "I think I'm going to pass. Thanks for the offer though!"

"Vitto!" she roared after him as he quickly stepped out of her small cave and into the passageway outside.

The drake hurried away from the dragoness's cave, ignoring her shouted protests. She had always been a bit of a handful, too headstrong to be useful for any sort of mission. It was likely the reason she had been chosen first out of all of Vitto's classmates to have eggs. Maybe looking after hatchlings would mellow her a bit.

More sunbeams illuminated the passageway ahead. The limestone walls caught the light readily, brightening the passage with dazzling light that made it difficult to believe they were underground. He passed several dragons ono his way, most other spirit dragons. However, it wasn't unusual to catch the blue of a water dragon's scales, or the green of an acid dragon, or the black of a shadow dragon. It was the benefit of being a spirit dragon, one could take any look they liked.

It felt strange to be back in the spirit dragon's conclave. The place where he had grown up. After spending so much time surrounded by a sea of fiery red and the occasional electric yellow, seeing all these different colours felt slightly disorientating. He had only been gone a couple of months as well, so he wondered why it felt so strange.

He sighed, shaking his head, and thinking back to Kayhara. It was strange to think that within the next week or so she would be having hatchlings. He never liked how spirit dragons chose to reproduce. It was only ever out of obligation to their nation. Everyone had to give at least one clutch of eggs in their lifetime, and as soon as one reached maturity at eight years old they could be chosen to be the next egg giver. Other than that they were free to do as they wished with one another. It was rather easy to abort a clutch of eggs by simply shifting to another form.

Still, Vitto didn't find himself wanting to fool around with the dragonesses around him. The thought had always made him slightly uneasy, and while he had the same urges as any mortal creature, he found he wanted more than just satisfaction. He wanted a mental connection. To be fulfilled in both mind and body. He didn't even know that was an option until he found out that dragons of the other nations chose mates and were exclusive to one another. He wanted that, but he had yet to find another spirit dragon that did.

He growled the thoughts out of his head. All his life it had been drilled into his head that he couldn't have connections. That was the life of a spirit dragon. Observe the world, control the power, and, if needed, act. That was their purpose. To truly do so one could not form connections. Thinking of doing so was treason.

His thoughts quickly turned a smiling, twirling, and dancing fire dragoness. Her smile genuine and her joy infectious. Her presence was like that of a warm sun after a long rainy day. But Vitto stopped himself, forced his mind away from her. He couldn't think like that. They weren't even of the same race.

Focusing his mind, he walked out of the passageway and into the middle of the conclave. A large cavern filled with beams of light stretched out before him. The smooth walls curved around in a near-perfect half circle, with soft sand covering the floor. Hundreds of spirit dragons occupied the cave, having taken on the many different forms of the different species of dragons. He even spotted a few non-dragon forms, such as a couple of humans, several birds, and a large serpent curled up within a pool of water toward the outer edge. Vitto watched as the serpent dissipated into mist, reforming back into a spirit dragon, much to the awe of the several surrounding hatchlings.

As Vitto moved through the cavern many other dragons called his name in greeting. He smiled and waved his wing back. Many were his old classmates or friends that had returned from their own missions, as well as several older dragons who stayed behind to look after and feed the conclave. Most of their species were out in the world, spying, exploring, and manipulating. The hidden species. Sure, most dragons knew of them, but they never suspected the true extent of a spirit dragon's abilities. Those that did become curious and did begin to figure out a bit too much often... disappeared. Vitto was glad that he hadn't been chosen for that specific job.

His strength was infiltration and subterfuge. At least that was what he had succeeded in, in his classes. Often this meant taking the form of another one of the dragon species and trying to pass as one of them while gaining information about the nation. Because spirit dragons were unable to breathe another dragon's element even while taking their form, this could often be difficult.

The spirit drake made his way to the entrance of another large cavern. This one was guarded by three spirit dragons, all elders, and several heads higher than him. As he approached he lowered his eyes at their gaze, feeling their judgement as they looked over him. The only other time he had entered this area of the conclave was when he had been given his assignment. It wasn't any less nerve-wracking now.

"Name," one of the dragons said, gruffly.

"Vitto, reporting back from the fire nation," he replied.

There was a short pause as one of the guards turned and yelled into the cave his name and reasoning for his visit. It took a couple of moments for the response to come back.

"You may enter," the gruff spirit dragon said.

They stepped to the side, allowing Vitto access as he walked inside. This part of the conclave was the only place that wasn't lit up in natural light. The ground slanted downward so it went deeper underground. Flames danced along the walls, giving enough of the light so that Vitto could see where to put his feet. There wasn't any sand either, the stone feeling rough against his paws. Part of him considered taking on his fire form again, the scales of that dragon much harder and tougher, but immediately discounted the idea. Appearing in front of the elders as anything other than a spirit dragon was considered largely disrespectful.

The cave opened up into another larger cavern, which was also illuminated by firelight. In the middle of the cavern sat three massive spirit dragons, each hundreds of years old. Vitto doubted he was a third of their size. From each radiated an aura of power that chilled the drake to the very core. It was as if his soul had shrunk inside him, retreating from their presence. The oldest of them was the dragoness Eledior. To the right, the drake Halden, and the left, the dragoness Phari. Each had access to a spirit's equilibrium, and each commanded a portion of the conclave. Behind them was another dark cave, with no fire to light it. It echoed dark and ominous, promising nothing but terror. Many dragons wondered what was in that cave. The only ones that dared enter were the three elder dragons.

Vitto bowed his head to them out of reverence, waiting for them to speak first.

"Vitto, you have returned to us," Eledior spoke, her voice echoed as though many were speaking at once, "I trust your mission has been fruitful thus far?"

"Yes elder," he replied, still with his head bowed, "I have learnt much these past months. The rumours of the new fire queen seem to be true. Though I have not physically seen the power myself."

"Have you talked to her?" Halden asked.

"Several times," the younger dragon replied, "She seems to have a soft spot for fire starved dragons. There were six of us when we left. I managed to secure a position of claw against claw training. I impressed her with my skill of it."

"Good. And she wasn't suspicious when you left?"

"No. I just told her I had family on the outskirts of her territory that I would like to visit occasionally. She was completely understanding."

"Do you know why she has this soft spot for the element starved?" Phari snorted, "It seems rather weak-hearted to me."

"All she said when I asked her was that 'you lot aren't as powerless as you seem'," Vitto replied, shuffling his wings, "I don't know what she means by that. No one knew who she was before she became queen. She doesn't have any family or anything like that. She kinda just... came out of nowhere and challenged Theleon. And won."

"Well at the very least she seems rather stupid," Eledior spoke smugly, "She shouldn't be any harder to manipulate, despite how powerful she is."

Vitto hesitated, "Stupid... isn't a word I would use to describe her. She is confident."

"Confident?"

"Yes... maybe... I don't know. The way she walks, she acts... it's like she knows she is in control. As if she knows that no one can face her. The fire dragons certainly won't. They look at her with a fear and awe I have not seen... ever," the young dragon continued.

He knew that wasn't saying much. This was his first assignment after all, and he hadn't seen much of the world. But he knew a lot. He had studied every dragon species. He knew their habits, their culture, their environment. He knew each of their leaders dating back thousands of years. Non had had the same effect that Athaer had on her subjects.

"And when I'm around her... the power that she wields... it's unlike anything I have experienced before," he finished, knowing that would certainly get their attention, considering that he was in their presence at that moment.

Halden and Phari snorted at his claim, disbelievingly. But Eledior studied Vitto with scrutiny. Yes, it was Vitto's first assignment. He was an untried, untested operative. But he also had shown a lot of promise. As she looked down at him, and him back at her, she knew that he wasn't exaggerating his claims. He was genuinely worried about this dragon.

"Is there anything else you can tell us about her?" the elder dragoness asked.

Vitto shrugged, "Not really. Again, we have talked a number of times. She knows me by name, but we're certainly not close. The only noticeable thing is that she doesn't have a mate, or an advisor, or really anyone that will help her. She doesn't seem to really want one either."

"Interesting," Eledior rumbled, "How old are you Vitto?"

"Aah... ten," he replied, slightly confused at the question.

"Hmm... and she is...?"

"Fifty... I think."

"Okay... what about your fire dragon? How old is he?"

"Aaah..." he hesitated again, "Maybe twelve... thirteen."

Eledior snorted, "Far too young then. Very well. I want you to continue your observation Vitto. But I also want you to work on getting to know her better. Become a mentee, become like a son to her. Make her care about you. Make her trust you, and report back to me with your findings. I want everything you can dig up on this dragoness."

"Yes elder," Vitto said, bowing his head slightly.

"And should she prove unruly, unresponsive, and dangerous... I want you to kill her."

At this, the spirit drake froze, "You want me... to kill her?"

"Yes, if you find that she won't be ruled. Is that a problem?"

"I... Uhm..."

"What do we do, Vitto," Eledior rumbled.

"What?"

"What... do... we... do?"

"I don't...?"

"We OBSERVE..."

Vitto's eyes widened in understanding, and he responded appropriately, "The world."

"We CONTROL..." Eledior continued.

"The power."

"And if needed we...?"

"Act," Vitto finished confidently.

"And can you do that, Vitto? If needed, can you act?"

"Yes, elder. Yes, I can."

"Good," the dragoness smiled, "You are dismissed."

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Hey guys! Next story for you. I hope you enjoyed this one. I certainly enjoyed writing it, and I look forward to doing more with this character. Comment what you thought, and how you think this might pan out. Now, I am at a bit of a crossroads on what to do next for this story, so I'm going to have you as the readers vote. Below is three different stories, and the one you pick will be the next one I put up.

Exile: Zyal the Earth drake

The Last Shadow: Shade the shadow drake

The Dragonslayer: A human known only as 'The Dragonslayer'

All three will be done eventually, but which would you like next. Tell me your preference.