The Dragonet Prophecy (book)

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The Dragonet Prophecy is the first book in the New York Times bestselling series Wings of Fire, as well as the first book in the first arc. The main protagonist and point of view of the book is a male MudWing dragonet named Clay, who is featured on the cover flying over a school of flying fish. The book was officially released in the United States on July 1st, 2012, and is followed by The Lost Heir.

Dedication
"For Jonah, my little bigwings."

- Tui T. Sutherland

Summary
Clay and his friends have grown up under a mountain in the Sky Kingdom, secretly raised by the Talons of Peace to fulfill a mysterious prophecy. The five young dragons are destined to end the war that's been raging between the tribes of Pyrrhia — but how they'll do this, none of them knows.

But not every dragonet wants a destiny. When one of their own is threatened, Clay and his friends decide to escape. Maybe they can break free and end the war at the same time — or maybe they'll risk everything.

Quote on the back
"Leave?" Clay echoed, startled. "How? On our own?"

"Why not?" Tsunami said. "If we can find a way out - why should we have to wait another two years? I'm ready to save the world now, aren't you?"

"We can't stop the war by ourselves," he said. "We wouldn't know where to start."

Still, part of him couldn't help imagining what it would be like to go home now. Back to the marshes, to the swamps, to a whole tribe of MudWings who looked like him and thought like him … back to his parents, whoever they were …

What if they could do it?

What if they could escape, and survive, and save the world … their own way?

Prologue
Hvitur, an IceWing, attempts to steal a large SkyWing egg from Queen Scarlet's palace for the prophecy. However, he gets captured by Scarlet's ally, one of the three contenders for the SandWing throne, Burn. She realizes that he is a member of the Talons of Peace, and the egg is of the SkyWing Dragonet from the Dragonet Prophecy. She then drops the egg off a cliff, supposedly ruining the prophecy. She then kills Hvitur by shredding his wings and stabbing him through his skull with her venomous tail. She then throws his corpse off the cliff and flies away, telling her soldiers about wanting to kill something else.

Sometime later, Kestrel, a fellow member of the Talons of Peace, recovers the eggshell and brings it back to a cave underneath an unknown mountain in Claws of the Clouds Mountains. She informs Webs, another member of the Talons of Peace, of the egg's destruction and Hvitur's death. Webs tells her that Asha, the member who delivered a MudWing egg, died, caught in a battle between the two other contenders for the throne, Blaze and Blister. Kestrel gets frustrated and says they should just break all the eggs they had retrieved and run away before the rest of the Talons of Peace come for the dragonets of destiny. Webs disagrees with her and insists that they need a fifth dragonet. Kestrel tells him that the SkyWing palace hatchery would be heavily guarded by now, and it would be foolish to come running back for another egg. Webs instead goes to find a RainWing egg to replace the SkyWing egg while Kestrel gripes about it not being a SkyWing.

Part One: Under the Mountain
The main timeline begins six years later, with Clay, the MudWing Dragonet of Destiny, reflecting on the position and importance he thought he could never have. However, he does this during a training battle with the infamously grumpy Kestrel. The SkyWing taunts him and then pins him down. Before she can do any more harm to him, the SeaWing dragonet, Tsunami, bites Kestrel's tail, yanking out a scale. After the SkyWing leaves the cave, Tsunami proceeds to shove Clay into the freezing river and reflects on their desire to leave the cave to make their own life. Then Tsunami proposes and discusses the idea of leaving the mountain early with Clay. Proceeding to study with Sunny, the odd-looking SandWing dragonet, Clay meets with Starflight, the NightWing from the prophecy, and Glory, a RainWing who substitutes for the dead SkyWing, along with Tsunami, in the study cave. The group begins to play out the death of Queen Oasis at the hands of a scavenger, the split decision of Burn, Blister, and Blaze for the position of next SandWing queen, and finally, the allegiances. Kestrel interrupts this, then rudely insults them and calls Tsunami out as the ringleader. That night, they learn of the upcoming arrival of Morrowseer. Clay and Tsunami, the only two able to stay in the underground river for extended periods due to their tribes' natural abilities, overhearing this information by sneaking closer through the underwater lake. Morrowseer arrives the following day, and as he inspects them, he angrily calls out Glory for not being a SkyWing, deeming her unworthy. He suddenly attacks Tsunami, and Clay and Sunny leap into action to help her, prompting him to see them as acceptable. Both Glory and Starflight stay idle during the fight. However, Morrowseer calls out Starflight to have a private audience. The two left, and the guardians turn on Tsunami. After Starflight returns, Clay speaks to him, noting his reluctance. Clay then sees Tsunami being chained, and she tells him to spy on the guardians after they adjourn to their cave. He overhears their plot to kill Glory to appease Morrowseer. After much thought, the group frantically decides to send Clay down the freezing underground river to escape to the outside and return to free them by unlocking the cave entrance. Acting on advice from Starflight, he manages to get into a cavern full of glowworms, which he, for a moment, mistook for stars. He heard roaring

past the calm pool as he stepped out of the water, finding a stream. When Clay tries to follow the stream, he comes into contact with a white substance that starts to poison his scales. He falls unconscious but is later roused by Tsunami, who managed to get free and heard his screams, cleansing him of the substance. Tsunami remarks to him when he asks her how she escaped the chains that Sunny and Starflight melted them. Then, the duo cascade over a waterfall. Clay notices Tsunami's inability to fly from her dislocated wing due to her escape from the chains, and he saves her from falling to her death. He then has his first experience with mud, realizing its healing qualities to him, and he relocates Tsunami's wing. The pair then encounter a scavenger with treasure, who gets killed by Queen Scarlet. The queen of the SkyWings then asks them why they were together and calls Tsunami a spy. She asks them to return to her palace with her. Then, [with a nod from Clay], Tsunami impales Scarlet's tail to the ground to escape, and they flee towards the peaks. Afterward, they see the smoke signal from the other dragonets to locate the caverns they were trapped in and go to rescue them. However, the signal also attracts Scarlet, and the entire group (minus Dune, who is killed by Queen Scarlet, and Webs, who escapes) is taken hostage by the SkyWings.

Part Two: In the Sky Kingdom
The prisoners' layout has them chained to rock spires in a circle over the arena. On Clay's second day, an unusual female dragonet drops a charred piece of prey in front of him. Disgusted by the memory of Dune's snapped neck, he throws up over the edge, which to his surprise, a copper dragon prisoner laughs at. She asks him if he will eat, commenting she didn't want him to die before she had a chance to kill him. She tells him that, because they're allies, she has not fought a MudWing before, but the NightWing would be "blazing." She then informs him that her name is Peril, the Queen's champion, and points out Tsunami and Starflight. Clay is on the opposite side of Starflight, with Tsunami in between them along the circle. He then realizes that Sunny and Glory were not held in the arena. Clay tells her that if she asks Starflight for information about any history, he won't stop talking. She took the joke seriously and flew off to ask Starflight. The following day, Peril goes into the arena, and she faces off against a SandWing named Horizon. Scarlet then reveals Glory, who is chained to a tree with scales brightly changing colors in the sunlight. She is being treated gently and with care- but as a piece of art, not as a dragon. Clay is forced to watch, as just a simple touch from Peril menacingly burns Horizon. He worries about eventually having to face Peril, now knowing she had fire in her claws. In the end, Horizon throws himself onto Peril for a quick death.

That night, Peril returns. She tells him the story of having too much fire: she killed her brother, and how her mother abandoned her. Clay is terrified to learn that Starflight is next in line to fight, and he tells Peril to make it sound as if she has the idea to put Clay in his place. After much resentment, Peril agrees. In the morning, guards escort him, Tsunami, and Starflight to Scarlet's throne room, and she asks which one of them could fight against an IceWing. Clay denounces Tsunami and Starflight, so she (Ex- Queen Scarlet) puts him in the arena to fight. He is pitted against an IceWing named Fjord. The fight officially begins, and Clay attempts to convince him he does not have to fight. Fjord attacks, ignoring him.

Using SkyWing tactics learned from Kestrel, Clay surprises Fjord. However, he is soon pinned. In an attempt to get into the arena and help, Tsunami throws herself off of the edge of her rock spire, nearly strangling herself and pulling all of the other prisoners off. As everyone was distracted, a jet of unknown substance splatters on Fjord's face and neck, melting his scales and eventually killing him. Clay is declared the victor, taken away, re-chained, and once again confronted by Peril.

Peril decides to tell Clay where Sunny is if he would do something for her. Clay agrees, and Peril tells Clay that Sunny is perfectly fine. Peril tells Clay that he has to let her hide behind him during a trial because Scarlet wouldn't let her go. He agrees and then realizes that the trial is Kestrel's and that Kestrel could be Peril's mother. He fears what Kestrel will do when she realizes her daughter isn't dead. The following day, Scarlet and two dragons, Osprey and Vermilion, host Kestrel's trial. Scarlet is biased for Vermilion's side, the prosecution. He explains that Scarlet gave an order, Kestrel disobeyed, and fled the Sky Kingdom. However, Osprey tells the real story. In reality, Kestrel was a loyal soldier and was ordered to join the breeding program, yielding an egg with two dragonets inside. One, Peril, had taken all the fire from the other, Sky. As SkyWing custom, Kestrel was ordered to kill both and leave the breeding program for the remainder of her life. Kestrel had tried to escape with the two dragonets only to be caught by Scarlet at the Diamond Spray River. Scarlet explains that Kestrel had a chance to live if she killed one of her dragonets. Kestrel chose the male dragonet to kill and did it with her claws, but Queen Scarlet changed her mind. Kestrel tried to escape with Peril but was burned by touch and was forced to flee without her. Clay realizes this is the cause of Kestrel's burn scars on her palms. Peril launches herself into the arena, defending Kestrel with the Champion's Shield, a tradition that allows her to stand in for the prisoner by fighting a combatant in the arena. Scarlet figured out that Osprey's words had educated Peril of the Champion's Shield since Peril cannot hold scrolls because of her fire scales. Scarlet, angered, kills Osprey by picking him up and dropping him from the sky since he can't fly due to his broken tail. Peril attempts to save him but realizes she can't save him due to her fire scales burning him. After Osprey's death, Scarlet dismisses Peril. That night, Burn arrives to collect Sunny (for her collection of weird dragons and objects) and celebrate Scarlet's hatching day. In a futile attempt to communicate with Peril, Clay uses a wire she burned through to start playing a song: The Dragonets' Song. Soon, all the prisoners in the arena begin to sing and play. Scarlet, angered, takes him, Tsunami, and Starflight into Peril's room and makes Peril leave the room. Scarlet places rocks that burn in the entrance to assure they won't escape. Then, Starflight notices Peril and uses her to escape the room. On the way out, they notice Sunny over the main hall. However, Peril betrays them. Clay accidentally touches Peril, thus figuring out he is immune to fire. The SkyWing queen takes them back, and Starflight explains Clay's immunity.

The following day, Tsunami is taken into the arena, and Clay and Starflight are taken to Scarlet's balcony. Tsunami faces off against an insane SeaWing, Gill, and pins him down, explaining that she won without killing him. Queen Scarlet mocks her, saying that she is too scared of fighting and war, and Tsunami snaps Gill's neck in retaliation. Starflight is next to fight against Tsunami, but the two refuse to fight. Then, they are forced to face scavengers. Two of the four were killed, and they are told to face IceWings. At that moment, Morrowseer arrives with NightWing soldiers, killing the IceWings, and then saves only Starflight. Scarlet, enraged, finally places Clay against Peril. Caught off guard by Clay's immunity, she is pinned. Scarlet shouts, "Use your venom! That was thrilling, and I didn't even get to see it last time!" Then, Glory rears up, breaks free of the tree, and spits venom at Burn, who shoves Scarlet in front of her. The venom hits Scarlet's face, and then all the dragons at the arena flee in terror.

In the pandemonium, Clay, Tsunami, Glory, and Peril manage to escape into the main hall. On the way, Clay helps a scavenger climbing a cliff, which is later revealed to be Leaf. At the main hall, they get Peril to melt through the bars on Sunny's cage. An argument ensues about saving Kestrel, with Clay, Peril, and Sunny voting yes. When Kestrel is rescued, they proceed to rescue her, and Kestrel informs them of where their eggs were taken from. Then, after Kestrel flies off, Clay, Tsunami, Glory, and Sunny decide to swim towards the Mud Kingdom, where Clay expects to find his family.

Part Three: An Egg the Color of Dragon Blood
Clay, Tsunami, Glory, and Sunny use their camouflage skills to glide down the river. As they come to a waterfall, they overlook a battlefield covered with the remains of MudWings and IceWings and then disappear into the MudWing Kingdom. Clay and Glory go on, with Sunny and Tsunami staying behind. They encounter a troop of MudWings battle training, and Clay learns his mother is Cattail. Then, they find her, and she indifferently tells them that she does not care; she sold him to the Talons of Peace for two cows. Crushed, Clay leaves, and they encounter his siblings, who explain who he is and why he attacked the eggs at hatching (Apparently, he was not attacking them. It was the MudWing instinct of helping your siblings out of their shells). At peace with himself, he leaves, and then Clay, Tsunami, Glory, and Sunny are met by Starflight, who explains that Coral will be excited to meet her daughter, Tsunami, by the Kingdom of the Sea.

Epilogue
That night, Morrowseer, Blister, and Kestrel meet on a small rocky island on Bay of a Thousand Scales in the Kingdom of the Sea. There, Morrowseer tells Blister of his plan to use Starflight as an agent to convince the other dragonets that they should choose her to be the new SandWing queen. Kestrel asks what they are talking about, as she cannot hear them over the howling wind. They do not reply, and Blister then questions Kestrel's attendance. Kestrel responds that Morrowseer said the dragonets were in danger. He then implies that it was a plot to get her to come to the island and then states that she has failed him. Kestrel attempts to argue, saying that she works for the Talons of Peace and not Morrowseer. However, she is soon killed by Blister and pushed over the cliffside. After discarding Kestrel, Morrowseer informs Blister to eliminate Webs. The book ends when Blister commands Morrowseer to find the dragonets and bring them to her, saying that they will both get what they want if he does.

Trivia

 * Tui mentioned that she knew from Book 1 that the NightWings had lost their powers because she wanted the prophecy to be fake.
 * On the pre-final cover of The Dragonet Prophecy, Scarlet's Arena is shown to the right on the front. However, this was later removed for the final printing.
 * The Dragonet Prophecy is currently the only Wings of Fire book with a MudWing protagonist.