A History of NightWing Culture: Chapter 11

Part Two: Early Dragonethood (0-3) [0-~14 Human years]

Moonscald’s backstory if oft shrouded in mystery, but one thing can be sure: they were thrice-Moon born. This is a topic of contention, considering the Great Monster Darkstalker was one himself. However, this account of their hatching was provided by their mother:

“He was so little, then. We didn’t help him out of the egg-see, it’s an old mate’s tale that lettin’ them come out themselves makes sure they’re strong an’ healthy. We would have helped-but he was a fighter! And when that egg burst open, it was so easy to see that it was not for us he was fighting, but for the moons! Little thing looked up at the moons for what seemed like forever, before he finally seemed to notice us-and immediately clapped his little talons over his ears. “ 

The dragon, like most with natural moonborn powers, developed their mind-reading and future sight very early on. Though scientific theories suggest that they may be able to even see this in the egg, it is unknown if that is true. This early exposure to the light of the moon remains a subject of contention over their blindness-perhaps their failing vision was caused by this early exposure to the unyielding light of all three moons.
Quickly, by order of the queen, Moonscald was tested for animus powers, and by the luck of the moons, they did not bear that resemblance to the Darkstalker.
From the notes of a court scribe:

“Today, a small dragonet was brought in and asked to tell a stone to fly in the presence of mind readers. When it didn’t move, everyone was happy. I think it may be important.”
-Eclipse, Court Scribe

This also disproved the theory that a third moon causes animus magic.
Another thing that was addressed was the pure circumstance of the dragonet’s birth. Maybe parents plan their egg to be born in one or two full moons, at least, and this was especially true for the upcoming full moon-however, it happened a night early, and while a swathe of dragonets were born the next day, Moonscald was one of three NightWings born the correct day-and only two of those were even born at night. The other, a dragon named Brightmind, was reportedly not exposed to the moonlight, as their parents (Rainforest NightWings) feared another Darkstalker. Reportedly, Brightmind became a baker, a reminder of lost power among the weaker sect of NightWings.

The queen quickly became fond of the dragonet, especially when other royals and nobles were visiting. Despite the swathes of other mind readers and future seers in her palace, apparently she found that thwarting her enemies with a dragonet was the funniest (and most embarrassing to her enemies). Moonscald and his family were given rooms to themselves in the palace grounds, as a sign of her favor. It can be noted that, at this time, Moonscald’s powers had not fully blossomed, and while they were talented, they weren’t exceptional among adults.
This is again odd-as we have no record of Darkstalker’s powers growing over time. One rumor was that the dragonet was simply pretending, detailed in this short paper:

“-this favored dragonet by her Majesty seems to have power, yes, but seems to be undergoing growth of power-which does not occur. While these skills can be trained and honed, the basic talent of the dragon tends not to increase. It is possible to assume that this dragonet is simply deceiving us all, like Darkstalker…”
-Ponder, NightWing.

To this day it is unknown. Being brought up around so many well-defended dragons as well as other tribes could have had negative effects on the dragon’s abilities. However, on the contrary, their powers progressed like this until their death, so it’s also possible this was just them.


Around the age of two or three, the Blessed began to have intense migraines and bleeding from the facial orifices. This was most likely caused by not being trained in their mindreading or future sight well, though nothing can be confirmed. Bedridden for a time, their parents decided to remove them from court life and take them to live a quieter life until their child’s quality of life could be ensured. This way, they would not be constantly bombarded by the mids and futures of the many dragons near the palace.
A nurse brought in to care for their headaches, a male RainWing known as ‘Cockatiel’, was kept and sent to the island as well as a nurse at their insistence. Although odd, to bring in a RainWing of all dragons, he seemed to be the only one able to somewhat curb their migraines.
A rare piece of writing by Moonscald themself states:

“Tiel‘s mind is..pretty. He’s pretty. His mind is soft, like sheep, and everyone else's is...mean and pointy. She [their mother] says it’s like the eye of a storm. I don’t know if that’s what storms are like, but Tiel says that, in the Rainforest, it can rain frogs. I want to go there. Are all RainWings are all as nice and pretty as he is? I wish he could be here more. I wish I didn’t have to stay in bed all the time, but everyone’s mind hurts so much. I keep accidentally probing too deep, they say, but I can’t even tell. I keep finding secrets that I don’t want to know. At least Her Majesty wants to know..”
-Moonscald

Cockatiel was, at the time, about Moonscald’s age, and it is very much confirmed that they shared a close relationship that extended into their adolescence.