Blanket disclaimer in case we forget to put it on some of our chapters: Unless one of us writes original fiction and decides, for whatever reason, to make fanfiction of it, we don't own the works we're making fanfiction of. One would think that this is obvious, but the disclaimer stands.

We are just some siblings writing fanfiction, who noticed that the most famous Wings of Fire fics are not serious in any way. We will probably mention this in an AN somewhere, but here are some assumptions for our story, In the Light of the Moons. Everything under assumptions is subject to change if and when we deem it needed.

0.) We are the authors of this fanfic. Ultimately, we make the rules of the universe. We try to keep it self-consistent, and if you point out something we missed we will gladly acknowledge it and fix the problem. But we are the authors. If we want Tsunami to become a Sith Pikachu wielding the Ring of Power, it will happen. It will devolve ItLotM into a crackfic, but it will happen if we will it. Suggestions MAY be considered, but there is a basic plan up to DoD. The further we go, the more the Butterfly of Doom affects events. Dune's fate? Important. Peril's epiphany? Important. Starflight and Sunny having powers? Very important. We do not act without reason, even if that reason, as with the various pop culture references scattered throughout the fic, is that we think it's funny.

1.) Sunny has powers, but weaker than Starflight's. Think a weak version of Jedi combat precognition and short(ish)-range telepathy. Range is, however, relative, and she does have a fairly consistent grasp on the next few seconds. So while Sunny might have a range of from the depths of the SkyWing palace to the top of the pillars of the SkyWing arena, Starflight can sense from the top of those pillars to above cloud level. On a day where altostratus clouds were present. Even accounting for the mountain's height, Starflight can sense at least 5 km away, while Sunny's range is probably closer to 3. These values are subject to our interpretation, and are MINIMUM values for their ranges. Both are self-taught in all their powers, as the guardians never had scrolls on the usage of NightWing powers.

2.) Sunny has animus magic. Hermes reminded me (Apollo) that the wording of Darkstalker's spell WAS explicitly stated.

3.) Starflight is untrained, and basically functioning on instinct as far as the Sight is concerned. He and Sunny got their telepathy under control, aided by the comparative lack of minds to shut out.

4.) The dragonets have, over the years, worked out a system for communicating silently. For instance, Clay would discreetly get Sunny's attention, and broadcast a thought and a request to relay that thought to Tsunami. Which leads to point 5...

5.) As shown by Darkstalker in Moon Rising, telepaths can broadcast. We are assuming that they can also transmit to non-telepaths.

6.) No, Starflight and Sunny didn't go mad from their powers. Sunny did not use animus magic barring one instance, and tends towards clearly seeing the immediate future. Starflight's powers are nowhere near as developed as Clearsight's, and are simply (mostly) uncontrolled visions. As for telepathy, they grew up with 3 dragons who could usually control their thoughts, and 3 dragonets who started with incredibly simple minds. Nothing like the mountain full of adolescent dragons Moonwatcher suffered through. The worst Starflight and Sunny experienced from telepathy in the cave were mild headaches from Kestrel and a difficulty tuning out Clay's loud dreams.

Our understanding of mind-reading, or more properly telepathy, in Wings of Fire, as used in our fic(s), is as such:

1.) Telepaths can broadcast. This is supported by a passage in Moon Rising, and Artemis says that she remembers a part where Darkstalker broadcasts to Sunny. She may be wrong.

2.) Telepaths can read thoughts. This is obvious. However, depending on the shielding of the target, they may not be able to enter without revealing their mental presence. A skilled or creative telepath can and will circumvent this by whispering into the mind of the target, prompting them to think of what the telepath wants to see. Or simply talking to them.

3.) A sufficiently skilled telepath can "eavesdrop" on a mental conversation/conference by reading the mind of one of the participants.

4.) Telepathy is not limitless. It can get tiring, as can the Sight. For instance, there is no way that the dragonets could communicate in a conference such as those in In the Light of the Moons for more than a few minutes if it was just Starflight with powers. Sunny's presence allows him to divide his attention and share the burden/fatigue.

5.) Madness obfuscates telepathy. For example, when Moon tried to read Peril, she could not. Even Darkstalker had trouble. On the other hand, Animus magic can do pretty much anything short of bringing back the dead. In addition, it is difficult to piece together a broken mind, if not downright impossible, with telepathy alone.

6.) Full mind-reading takes focus. To delve fully into the mind of another leaves the telepath's physical body vulnerable, and is quite noticeable. No matter how skilled and subtle the telepath, going completely unresponsive in the middle of a conversation is a major red flag that there is something wrong.

7.) Near the edge of a telepath's range, they will experience issues. Projecting at first, as that is more energy-intensive, imposing your will on reality, if you will, and will get both less clear and more tiring. Then reading minds becomes less clear, with energy exchanged for clarity at the telepath's discretion if they have the luxury of choice.

8.) Practice builds power and skill. There is no reason why a sufficiently dedicated telepath hatched under a single moon could not equal Darkstalker in the field given sufficient experience. Same goes for the Sight. After all, Clearsight hatched under one full moon and she was the greatest Seer ever to live.

As we understand it, Animus magic works as follows:

Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. It is not some nebulous effect on the soul that drives dragons mad, but rather, a sense of being above morality due to their power. In short, a god complex. For example, Darkstalker's soul-reader would be somewhat misnamed. In theory, if Queen Thorn had Animus magic, she would likely not go mad. She does have a reputation for incorruptibility. Sunny is unlikely to go mad owing to her relatively benevolent nature and having friends to ground her to reality. She is basically Darkstalker as he could have been, twisted mirrors of each other.

Fun piece of trivia: Blaze's draco-chess game against Glacier in chapter 14 is an example of the Philidor defence. Draco-chess is just like regular chess, but the king's called a queen and vice versa, with various tribes making up the rest of the pieces. RainWings are pawns, and so on. Blaze blunders with a SkyWing (bishop) to a6 early in the game, but accidentally tricks Glacier into sacrificing a NightWing (knight) for no gain over the course of her scene.

Status updates go here, if we decide:

Semester's starting, but I want to get the chapter out by the 22nd, so I'll see what I can do. As always, no promises. -Apollo

We may borrow terminology from Harry Potter regarding divination, and from Keeper of the Lost Cities for telepathy.

We hope you enjoy the stories we put up here!

-Apollo, Hermes, and Artemis