Because Finding Peace is the story of Peacemaker, naturally Finding Peace strictly follows Peacemaker's perspective.

But as I started writing Finding Peace, I realized that there were stories I wanted to tell that take place outside of Peacemaker's perspective, taking a chance to show what is happening around the world outside of The Jade Mountain Academy at this time. That is why I wanted to start this spin-off, of sorts, to tell the stories that are occurring in the world while Peacemaker goes through his own and the also share the stories of dragons close to him before they met.

Naturally: These Winglet chapters all have spoilers in them for the Wings of Fire books and Finding Peace. This chapter, in particular, takes place after Chapter 3 and during Chapter 4.

Finding Peace: Winglets

The Letter

Part of Moon wished she had a vision of right now, a small one, not another cataclysmic, mystery, prophecy that foretold the doom of the world and required five dragonets to travel halfway across a continent to stop it.

As in she wished she could take a peek into the future and come back to the present, nothing else…

All so she could see how Peacemaker was doing.

Instead, all she could hear were dragons outside of her apartment in the town of Prosperity, rather than distant voices of a vision. And the only thing she had that could tell her how Peacemaker faired at the Jade Mountain Academy was a scroll addressed to her, delivered by the said Academy's overtalkative SkyWing messenger, Ikaros.

She easily recognized Peacemaker's talon writing, the way he curved the letters in her name was unmistakable, and after all, she had been the one who helped him write when he was younger. The talonship was not perfect, but not bad.

Even though she was excited to read what her little friend had written her, she was still nervous as she stared down at the scroll that lay on her kitchen table in her apartment.

Was Peacemaker having a good time? Was he making friends? Was he still nervous? Was he failing?

Was he…rememb…

Moon shook that thought from her head.

No, of course not. Stop overreacting, Moon. She scolded herself mentally.

The stalling, she realized, was not helping her. She was not going to get a perilous vision of the future, those had largely stopped after the War of Pantala and Pyrrhia. Now the visions were of little importance, and something she could ignore.

No vision, most likely meant Peacemaker was alright…

But she wanted to read his wording of what he was doing, and whether or not she should be concerned.

Raising her talon to the red wax seal, she proceeded to slice it off and let the scroll unravel so she could read it's inner contents. Holding the scroll up to her green eyes could read it, Moon started at the very first sentence.

Moon,

Just wanted to write to you and say hi…Well…hi!

Okay so that is not *everything* I wanted to write. But it's a start, right?

It's the third day of classes, and so far the Academy has been a great experience. Maybe it's too soon to tell, but my Winglet is filled with an interesting bunch (I'm in the Quartz Winglet, with Prince Cliff, by the way.)

I hope your trips have been safe and that diplomacy has been good, I know that there are times you wish that you could stop being a diplomat but we both know you are really good at representing us to the other Queens.

I hope that Ikaros can deliver this letter during your stop to the Sand Kingdom. If not, maybe Qibli will give it to you?

How is Qibli, by the way? You haven't mentioned him in your last few letters. Is Queen Thorn keeping him busy? I know the Talons of Power are still around, but they should be harmless by now, right?

Anyways, unless you see this letter in one of your visions before it gets to you, I hope you get this as soon as possible.

I really look forward to your visit, Moon.

Well…I guess I should be going now, almost time for bed.

Hope all is well.

Love,

-Peacemaker.

A sigh of relief escaped Moon as she slowly pressed her forehead to the paper after reading Peacemaker's farewell, smiling gratefully at what she had just read. Reading it, she could imagine the NightWing/RainWing hybrid's calm and happy tone speaking to her. While he may not have been as confident as his teachers had hoped, the happiness he radiated made spending time with him a joy. As if all of the worries of the world had suddenly just dissolved.

It was different from the days before Peacemaker's birth.

Back when he was Darkstalker.

Confident, passionate and charismatic. All three of those qualities defined Darkstalker, for better or for worse. Even though Moon constantly reminded herself of all the evil the Animus had done, and just how far gone in his pursuit of power and domination over the known dragon world...

Moon still could not help but think of those first days she and Darkstalker had 'met.' When Darkstalker had reached out with his mind to speak to her.

All of the things he had taught her about her powers in so short a time were lessons she still held dear to herself to this day. Learning to not only block out the thoughts of others but viewing her powers of mind reading and foresight as a gift, not a curse.

Six years later, Moon still felt a tugging in her mind telling her that the Darkstalker who had unleashed a plague that nearly annihilated the IceWing tribe, enchanted her friends to like him and almost started another war was not the Darkstalker she had first met…

But then, she would remember that, no matter how much she denied it, Darkstalker had always been himself from the moment they had met. But now Darkstalker was given a second chance, in the form of Peacemaker, who was living a life of true happiness, free of the negative qualities of his past life.

Yes, Moon wished things were different, that Darkstalker had changed on his own. But seeing and speaking to Peacemaker, she realized that Kinkajou had made the right call by tricking Darkstalker into eating a strawberry infused with his own power to revert him into a dragonet, but with no powers, NightWing or Animus.

It was not a perfect ending, but it was still a happy one nonetheless.

And Peacemaker was thriving, his future was bright.

That is what mattered.

'Moon? Can I come in?"

The thought dragged Moon back to the present as it preceded a knock.

She did not need to call out to who it was at her apartment's door, because she already recognized the tone of the thought to know who was visiting her.

Walking up to the door, she opened it and was met with the sight of the mother of said dragon she was thinking about.

"Hope," Moon greeted with a smile, stepping out of the way so the older NightWing could come into her, rather humble, apartment. "It's good to see you."

"To you as well," Hope answered, smiling as she walked towards the kitchen table, noticing the scroll. "From Peacemaker?"

"Yeah," Moon answered, walking to the table while handing the scroll to Peacemaker's mother. "He's been doing well, it seems."

Hope took a seat at the table, reading through the scroll's contents with a careful eye, as if her son's words may have been hiding some other meaning. Moon didn't blame her, even though Hope was proud that Peacemaker had scored among the highest in his exit exams, she was nervous when he received his acceptance scroll to the Jade Mountain Academy.

After all, Peacemaker had lived his entire life in the Rainforest and he would be leaving his immediate circle of friends and family. But regardless, she had encouraged her son to take this opportunity.

And that risk was paying off.

After reading the last few lines of the letter, Hope smiled.

"Thank you," She said, placing the scroll back on the table. "It is good to know he is doing well."

"Are you still concerned for him?" Moon asked, trying to get a sense of Hope's thoughts, which were not easy. After all, Hope, as Foeslayer, raised Darkstalker, a mind reader, and knew how to keep her thoughts clouded from mind readers. It was like flying through a thick fog. The only time Moon heard Hope's thoughts were when the latter allowed it.

But based on the smile that Hope showed, that served as her answer to Moon's question, so she decided to leave it be.

"Will Qibli be visiting?" Hope asked, suddenly.

"No," Moon answered, albeit a little to abruptly, she realized. But she continued. "Queen Thorn has him on an assignment."

"Talons of Power?" Hope asked with a raised brow.

"No," She replied. "Bandits…there is one particular group that has been causing trouble on the Kingdom of Sand's northern border. Qibli is investigating them."

"Must be serious," Hope pondered out loud. "The Queen sending one of her most loyal and skilled operatives on such an assignment."

"He volunteered," Moon said, remembering the last time she had seen him off on his assignment…how eager he was to go after this particular band.

Hope rose a brow, her curiosity was as easy to read like a scroll.

And, frankly, Moon admitted that Qibli volunteering to leave Thorn's side for this assignment was out of his character. The only time he was willing to leave her side was for Moon or the rest of his friends in the original Jade Winglet.

Whatever these bandits had done to set Qibli off, they did something to him personally for them to warrant his attention.

"Why do you think he volunteered?" Hope asked, concern in her voice.

Moon shook her head.

"I wish I knew…"

"Nothing in his thoughts?"

Moon looked at the floor of her apartment.

"Moonwatcher," Hope said, using her full name to show she was serious. "What are you not telling me?"

"It's nothing, Hope," Moon replied, trying to change the subject of the conversation. Hope opened her mouth to say something but closed it as Moon looked up at her, showing no sign in continuing this conversation.

Silence filled the gap between the two of them, it was only when something caught Hope's eye that she moved. Moon saw the older dragon raise her talons towards Peacemaker's scroll, and…pull out another page of Peacemaker's letter that had stuck to the first page.

Hope raised the piece of parchment, reading whatever was on it, she raised a brow.

"Have you heard from your IceWing friend?" Hope asked, suddenly, causing Moon to raise a brow at her question. "The one who traveled with you, Qibli and Kinkajou six years ago."

"Winter?" Moon asked, ignoring the coolness that the name created as she spoke it. "Last time I spoke with him was five years ago when he showed Qibli, Kinkajou, Turtle, Peril and I around the Scavenger preserve he and his team were constructing at Sanctuary." She answered, remembering the last time she had seen Winter.

She remembered how he walked around the preserve when it was still in the middle of construction, explaining to her, Qibli and the others how it would look when it was completed while checking in with members of his team of like-minded dragons from different tribes who all shared their fascination of Scavengers.

There was even a HiveWing among the group if she remembered correctly.

She never spoke to Peacemaker about Winter. This was because Winter had been the one who had freed Hope in the first place, back when she was called Foeslayer, from her prison in the Ice Kingdom.

Like the rest of the world, Winter did not know the truth about Peacemaker. If he saw Hope he would recognize her as Foeslayer, the mother of Darkstalker. This meant that there was the possibility he would start asking questions about Peacemaker…and slowly deduce who he was and, possibly, put Peacemaker in danger.

But how did Peacemaker learn of Winter, by name?

Noticing her expression, Hope passed Moon the second page to read. Moon silently read the postscript.

P.S

Moon, I have a clawmate in my Winglet, a MudWing named Alligator. He was reading a book written by one of his heroes, an IceWing named Winter. He says that Winter was a part of the original Jade Winglet.

Do you still keep in touch with him? If you do, perhaps you could write and mention Alligator to him and see if he's willing to write Alligator? That way they can bounce ideas about scavengers off each other. Who knows? Maybe they could become friends.

By the way, I know you mentioned Winter, not by name, to mom and I multiple times in the past, and mom seems to know him.

I know why Peril never came to the Rainforest, but why haven't I met Winter or your MudWing clawmate?

It was bound to happen, Moon realized, that Peacemaker would most likely encounter clawmates who had a fascination of Scavengers…and Winter was popular among a growing community of dragons who wanted to learn more about the little creatures.

Moon glanced up at Hope, who seemed to be smiling.

"My son is friends with a MudWing who is a fan of an IceWing scavenger researcher," She mused. "Clearly an interesting mix in his Winglet, it seems."

At this, Moon nodded. First the SkyWing Prince, Cliff, and then a MudWing with a fascination in science, that was clearly outside of the MudWing stereotype.

"I think you should write to him," Hope suggested, causing Moon to look up at her with confusion

"I'm sorry?"

"To Winter," Hope clarified, at this Moon frowned.

"It's been years since I've written to him, even longer since we spoke face to face," Moon explained. The last time she had seen Winter, there was hardly any interaction between them during the original Jade Winglet's reunion in Sanctuary.

Qibli and Winter interacted a lot during the visit, acting like they were still in the academy. But she saw that, despite seemingly bickering, there was almost playfulness in their words, even if Winter denied it when Kinkajou pointed it out.

But between both her and Winter, there were no words. Coupled with the fact he still wore the Skyfire she had given him, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. But, if Moon were honest, even if she could, or would, peer into Winter's mind at the time she was not sure if she was brave enough to hear his thoughts.

Hope sighed, standing up from the table.

"I won't tell you what to do, Moon." Hope began as she walked to the door. "But I do think you should contact Peacemaker, at least. After all, one of his clawmates seems to want to meet his hero, so I would advise thinking of a response."

Moon acknowledged this, though with a sigh…this was something she knew she would have to do, eventually, but was hoping it wouldn't occur during a busy time of year…let alone, trying.

"Don't worry, I will respond…just need to think on what I need to say," She said.

Hope nodded, giving Moon a reassuring smile.

"That's all I ask," Hope replied…sighing as she approached the door.

"Will you be going back to the Rainforest?" Moon asked as she approached her fellow diplomat, who shook her head.

"No, I'm heading straight to Pantala."

Pantala? Moon knew that Glory had assigned her the task of being the Rainforest's representative to the LeafWings of the Poison Jungle on Pantala, but if Moon wasn't mistaken: Hope still had a few days before she needed to travel to Pantala after her trips to the different tribes of Pyrrhia.

"Something wrong?" Moon asked.

Hope paused but shook her head briefly.

"I'm not sure," She answered, her tail briefly swayed back and forth in thought. "I…learned something interesting the last time I went to Pantala a year ago."

"'Interesting' how?" Moon said, curious.

Hope glanced at Moon and said. "There is a cult currently growing among the three tribes of Pantala."

A cult? Moon wondered.

Ever since Luna's brother, Blue, and his allies had exposed Wasp's tyranny and lies to the entire HiveWing and SilkWing tribes, religion has been a sore subject for just about any dragon on Pantala. Clearsight was still respected as a great dragon, but she was no longer viewed as a goddess, a powerful seer, yes, but no goddess.

Why would there be a cult on the rise in Pantala even after everything that happened six years ago?

"Who is the central figure of this cult?" Moon asked.

Hope paused…and for a brief second, the barrier she kept up fell and Moon sensed something from Hope's emotions: hesitation…uncertainty.

"The cult," Hope began. "Goes by the name of 'Cultus Venandi et Tenebrae.'"

"What?" Moon asked as Hope spoke the last four words in Old Pantalan, the language of Pantala before Clearsight taught the dragons Pyrrhian Common, the language all Pyrrhian tribes used.

The older NightWing glanced at Moon and finally said. "Translated into our language, it literally means: 'Cult of the Hunter of Darkness."

Hunter of…Darkness?

It only took a moment for Moon to catch on to what, or whom, this cult was centered around.

"Darkstalker?" Moon breathed. Hope gave a nod, though her expression was one of curiosity rather than alarm. "How do they even know about Darkstalker in Old Pantalan?"

"I have a few theories," Hope answered as she faced the door. "But nothing concrete, that is why I'm leaving early: so I can deliver my message from Her Highness to the LeafWing Queen, then look into how my wayward son influenced LeafWing culture even with him knowing about it."

Those 'theories' Hope had been flooding Moon's mind already, intentionally on the former's part. The NightWing's main theory centered on Clearsight herself, speaking with some dragons from Panatala about her family, friends, and home she had left behind.

What would have stopped her from talking about Darkstalker himself? Who, at the time, was dormant in a mountain with no way of awakening and coming to Pantala.

This made sense to Moon. If the HiveWings saw their ancestor as a goddess, what was stopping the LeafWings during, and after, the Tree Wars from forming a cult that was dedicated to a dragon who could control the world at his beck and call?

Even though Darkstalker was gone, it seemed that his actions had repercussions not just on Pyrrhia, but also Pantala, even if his influence was minor in the form of a cult.

Hope suddenly blocked off her thoughts from Moon, causing her to snap back to the present as she opened the door.

"I should be back before the end of Peacemaker's first term at the academy," Hope explained. She smiled at Moon. "If you see Peacemaker before I do, tell him I will write him."

"I will," Moon answered, smiling. "Safe travels, Hope."

With one final nod, Hope left Moon's apartment…and with that, Moon was alone again in her apartment, only the noise of the dragons on the Prosperity streets could be heard through the walls.

After a while of standing by the door, thinking about all that she had discussed with Hope, Moon finally moved towards her bedroom, a small sized room that had a table in one corner covered in scrolls, books, parchment and writing materials, a shelf that was cluttered with reading materials and her bed.

Moving to her desk, Moon grabbed a piece of parchment and lay it in front of her.

For the next few moments, she was thinking about what to write.

She already knew who she would be writing to, but what to say was the real question.

You know he's happy, Moon thought to herself. But is Winter willing to take time out of his schedule to read a scroll from me? After all this time?

The Twice Moon born NightWing groaned, rubbing her talons over her eyes as she tried to think of what to write to Winter.

If Qibli weren't on assignment, she would happily let him write to Winter. The two contacted each other almost constantly, checking in on each other and trading barbs with one another via letters, which only made Moon chuckle when Qibli would read Winter's letters out loud in his interpretation of the IceWing's voice.

But Qibli was not here. Not for the last three months…and he wouldn't be back until his assignment was finished.

Right now, Moon realized, was not a time for her to hesitate. Peacemaker had made a request from her to contact Winter on behalf of his clawmate, and she would do so.

Taking a deep breath, Moon proceeded to dip her index claw into the ink well and started to write.

Winter,

I know it's been a long time since we last saw each other, let alone spoke, and I am sorry for not reaching out since my visit to Sanctuary. I know you've been busy with your Scavenger preserve and your visits with your family at the Ice Kingdom.

I promise I won't keep you, but I wanted to ask you something:

There is a student in the Jade Mountain Academy's Quartz Winglet named Peacemaker, he's a friend of mine. Recently he told me that one of his Clawmates, a MudWing named Alligator, has a fascination of Scavengers, and he looks up to you very highly.

If you are able, could you reach out to Alligator? Perhaps, once he's graduated from the Academy, he could join your team at Sanctuary and bring more ideas to it?

I hope all is well,

Sincerely,

Moonwatcher.

XXX

P.S.

I hope you and Lynx are well.