The hunter calmly stalked his prey. Sidling through the forest of rocky spires, he ducked from groove to groove to keep his target unaware of his approach. When he reached his final piece of cover, he dashed forward, pumping furiously with his legs and small wings, and locked his jaw around his mother’s tail. He gnawed on it for a moment or two to show it just who was boss and then released it.

Standing triumphantly on his unmoving foe he yelled out,”Got ya momma!”

Arina turned her head back to view him. She chuckled and with a small mischievous grin replied,”Oh? Are you sure that I haven’t actually gotten you?”

Her tail, formerly docile and unmoving, quickly rose into the air lifting Israkur along with it as she growled playfully and gently swung him from side-to-side. Israkur gripped on tightly and shrieked his delight. He loved playing with Mother. Father was away hunting most of the time and the only other pastime he found worthy of his time was to hunt down the small rodents that scurried around the cave.

Other than that, over the past two weeks since his hatching, he had gone to check in on his siblings. It frustrated him greatly that the other eight eggs hadn’t hatched yet. When he asked his mother, she’d simply smiled and told him to be patient. “After all,” she continued,” You’re pretty early yourself.”

“But momma! Why can’t they be early too?” Israkur asked, uncomprehending.

“Because, my little champion, everything has its time and place in the world. You came early so that you could protect your siblings. They’ll come a little later than you, and I know it feels like an eternity waiting for them, but what are the three greatest virtues of a dragon?”

“Patience, wisdom, and strength.” replied an exasperated Israkur, rolling his eyes. His mother always lectured him with these words, so he had practically memorized what comes next.

“Exactly! Now, Wisdom and strength will come in time, but patience, patience” continued his mother ignoring the exasperation in his voice.

“Yeah, Yeah I know momma: ‘Patience has to be cultivated’. Bye! I gotta go hunt some rats now!” interrupted Israkur. Wriggling out of his mother’s grasp he dashed away to find more interesting events than his mother’s teachings.

Sighing softly, Arina shook her head and smiled good-humoredly. Dragons had a perfect memory and she too remembered fleeing her own mother’s teachings. She knew, however, that eventually either boredom or sleepiness would drive him back eventually and settled down to work on a spell that had been eluding her for the past few years.

For his part, Israkur went to his favorite place in the cave: a small ledge that formed an air vent, overlooking the mountainside below. He’d discovered the place on his second trip away from the hatching chamber. Stumbling on it entirely by accident when chasing a wayward rodent, he had be frozen in place by the size and beauty of the upper world. In his egg, he had been everything. His tail, his legs, his wings, his head: those had been the entirety of his world. When he hatched, he had suddenly gone into a world far larger. Moss, rodents, eggs, parents: all of those crowded for his attention. Yet, the world had kept the same order. Walls surrounded him on all sides and he was its uncontested master, except for his parents, but of course in his mind they didn’t really count.

Gazing out upon the open world, all his preconceptions had been shattered. He had known there was something beyond the cave, both his parents and his racial memories told him that. Nevertheless, he had not expect ‘something’ to be so large, so strange. Above him, an open black sky stretched out endlessly in all directions, filled with sparkling points of light. The only limits there were strange fluffy mosses, that he later learned were called clouds, floating past serenely. Below him, an endless sea of moss stretched outward from his vantage point on an immense horn of Earth, rising so high that the very of lowest clouds would scrape against its peak leaving behind some of their white moss. He could see that he was about halfway up this massive horn of rock. Two his left and right, many other horns stretched out to the horizon, like the row of spikes rising from his back. And then, dead ahead of him, he saw a truly magnificent sight.

The sky before him began to change color. Shifting slowly from a pitch black to red, it awed him as it passed through more colors than he had seen in his entire life. Little did he know, It could not compare to what was to come. Slowly but surely, a massive ball of fire rose from the ground. Blinding in brightness and glory, it froze him in place as its warmth touched his scales. He watched, hypnotized as it climbed higher and higher into the sky, brightening the black to a vibrant blue and hiding the stars away. Every day since then he had come up to this place to watch the glorious sun rise.

Today was no exception to that rule, but as he settled down, he noticed a difference in the landscape. Where once an untainted carpet of grass covered the land, a strange group of structures had popped up. Hominids Israkur recognized as humans idled around tending fires and brandishing strange spikes of shiny metal. They seemed to be preparing for something important, as the amount of activity in the camp gradually grew. Excited by his find, he dashed back down the maze of tunnels leading to the main cave.

Arriving in a huff, he saw that Father had returned bearing two deer. Softly nuzzling each other, his parents were having a tender moment after a near day of separation. Israkur, being a child of course, didn’t care.

“Momma! Poppa! I saw Humans outside! They had fires, and metal spikes, and weird nests that rose from the ground too!” Saying everything in one breath, he let out his excitement at making a new discovery.

“What? I told you not to go outside without us! Are you okay? Did they see you?” Arina broke her embrace with Arthran and rushed over to check him, frantically interrogating him to reassure herself the he was alright.

“Yes momma, I’m fine. I didn’t go outside though. I promised you and Dad that I wouldn’t!” replied the indignant Israkur as his mother looked him over nonetheless.

“Then how did you see the humans outside?” His father asked, walking over to also check on him.

Israkur, slightly abashed mumbled out,” I found a place….”

“A place where…?” his father prodded him.

“A place... where the cave opens up into a small opening. But I didn’t go outside! I promise I really didn’t!” Israkur pleaded with his parents to believe him.

“Ahh, that old air vent above the back entrance?” his father remembered. Looking down at Israkur sternly, he continued,” Israkur, it’s okay for you to stay there, but you should have told us when you found it, alright?”

Finding little sympathy in either of his parents’ worried gazes, Israkur mumbled out an apology, and then once more bursting with energy blurted out,” Can I go with you to talk with them? I’ve never met a real human before! Are they tasty? Do they smell funny? Pleeaassee can I go!”

“Absolutely not!” his parents responded in unison.

“B- but why not?” The saddened Israkur asked. In his young mind his parents were being terrible and restricting.

Reality however, was far different. Adult Dragons were massive engines of magic and destruction. Capable of flying over battlefields and letting loose massive swathes of energy and physical might, they could level armies of lesser beings. Of course, all this power came with drawbacks. Dragons rarely bred, having a clutch of only around four eggs once every twenty years or so, making his parents clutch of 10 a rarity indeed. As such, hatchlings were prized: and of course targeted. A hatchling’s scales were not fully hardened causing many threats an adult would simply ignore to suddenly become fatal. This targeting by other races was so extreme that, even with the obsessive protection adult dragons bestowed upon their young, about 1 in three would die before reaching maturity.

Considering all this in their minds, his mother replied,” Because it’s not safe! We don’t know what the humans want and if it comes to a fight, you might get hurt! How about this: if you stay here, nice and well-behaved, I’ll tell you a story about the first dragons. Hmm. What do you think? Sound like a fair deal?”

“Okay…” Israkur reluctantly accepted. Perching himself on his favorite stalagmite in the main cave, he pretended to settle down to wait for his parents’ return.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Arina and Arthran checked on their wards one final time before exiting their cave. Unlike most dragons who relied on instinct to perform magic, the two of them were one of the few who had actually learned the runic system of magic.Their spells, while much slower than their brethren’s, were far more precise and powerful. Using their ability, they had lain down wards that prevented any non-draconic intelligent being from crossing, while also alerting them of the attempt. Unfortunately for them, this had not applied to the completely bestial family of cave lurkers that had invaded their egg room.

Having strengthened the already obsessive defence of runes after the hatching of Israkur, they felt fairly secure in leaving their eggs and son behind. They calmly walked out of the cave side by side. In addition to simply checking the area around them for traps visually, they also extended their awareness outward using their mana to check for any magical or hidden enemies. Finding none, They continued onward, stopping when they reached two lines of assembled humans.

The humans stood silently, unperturbed by the two dragons they assumed to be lesser drakes. They held long metal pikes in the air and bored shields of inscribed with the standard of a phoenix. A short whiskered human stepped forward from behind their lines. Chanting weakly, he raised himself up on a stone pillar equal in height to Arthran. Now looking down upon the two of them, he declared in a shrill, nasal voice, “Lesser Dragons! By the treaty between your Roccean hold and the Empire of the Phoenix, you are not allowed to enter this far into our lands! Flee now, or be slain by the might of the dragonslayers!” Raising their spears in time, the humans slammed them down as he concluded his speech. The human looked smugly and expectantly at the two.

Dragons individually were one of the mightiest beings in existence, not that they admit to being anything but the very strongest, but there were empires of other beings that put together, could rival the power of the mighty dragon holds. The Roccean hold was one of the smallest holds in the known world. It consisted of mainly lesser dragons: dragons who had not undergone their first evolution, and was frankly seen as a laughingstock by most populations of dragons. To call a dragon a member of such a hold, was one of the most insulting claims a being could make: not that the humans would care to learn that of course.

The two dragons snarled slightly at the insult. Angrily bringing down the mage's stone tower with his own magic, Arthran looked down upon the now cowering human mage. “ Your first mistake,” he began” was to bring so few men with you. Your second mistake was to assume we were from the Roccean hold. Your third, and final mistake according to the ancient treaty between your empire and the Saralion hold, was to insult us by calling us lesser dragons. Now, let us show your “Might of the Phoenix Empire” just how strong a dragon is…”

As greater dragons, Arthran and Arina had evolved once, aligning themselves with an element. In their new form, they were avatars of that element taking draconic shape. However, when they wished to, they could easily return to their old form to mate, communicate to lesser beings, and raise hatchlings. This old form is what led to humans to conclude the pair were lesser dragons, and also what was now disappearing as they prepared themselves for battle.

Arthran grew slightly shorter and far stouter. His scales steadily grew into larger and thicker plates as his claws slumped inward to become blunt bashing tools. His tail spikes extended outward, creating a massive spiked maul, and his body turned into bronze-colored metallic stone. As a bronze dragon, he had followed his affinity and chosen to become a stone dragon, the stoutest and physically strongest of all the normal elements.

Arina shift went in a drastically different direction from his. Moving back behind him, she lost her front legs as her wings shifted forward and grew far more massive. Her body elongated, becoming almost serpent-like, and her scales actually shrank, forming a small but still complete shimmering plate of thinner armor. Unlike her mate, Arina was a silver dragon, and had thus chosen to attune herself to the element of wind, the fastest and most versatile of the elements.

To their credit, even though they knew they had no chance against a pair of greater dragons, the humans knelt down and prepared to face them. The two dragons however, made no concession to this bravery. Communicating their intentions at the speed of thought, The pair planned out their battle for every eventuality. Arthran stepped forward and stamped a foot. Spreading outward from this impact, a massive carpet of runes shattered the ground, turning the battlefield into an cracked, quaking mess. The humans were thrown down, and a few of them were even swallowed by the gaping canyons that opened up beneath them. Arina, having already taken off to avoid her mate’s attack, drew in a deep breath of air. Infusing it with her power, she grew a massive ball of silver energy between her jaws. Enclosing it in runes, she releases her favorite combat spell: wind shredder. The ball of power flashes downward, and upon making contact with the ground, blasts outward releasing mana, and rune infused gale-force winds. The runes and mana moved slightly faster than the winds themselves, washing over the humans and negating the effects of shields and artifacts. Then came the winds. Ripping into armor, the winds shredded the humans as thoroughly as if they had passed through a grinder, leaving not even bite-sized chunks behind.

After they assured themselves that the humans were defeated, Arina and Arthran turned to reenter the cave, only to be interrupted by a sudden mental warning. “MOMMA! WATCH OUT BEHIND YOU!” Trusting her son implicitly, Arina pumped her wings to the side, dashing a full dragon-length in one beat. Her move was not a moment too soon as a serrated spear of blue fire impaled itself in the ground where her head would have been if she had not dodged. The two dragons roared in indignant fury, and turned to view one of the few existences that rival their own: a phoenix.

Dragons and phoenixes had a long history of conflict. Reaching back all the way to their primordial ancestors, the two species had fought over who would control the skies, and the fire of the world. Phoenixes, as beings of pure energy given shape, could not rival a dragon of equal age in physical strength. In terms of magic however, Phoenixes were naturals, actually creating the portion of the runic language that addressed fire. Normally, a battle between a phoenix and a dragon would be a long drawn out affair as the phoenix can not penetrate the dragon’s resistance to all elements and the dragon can not physically strike down the phoenix. A battle between a greater dragon and a greater phoenix on the other hand, was always decided by the first blow.

Unlike their lesser kin greater phoenixes burned hot enough to harm the dragons themselves. However, to achieve this power, they had to sacrifice a large part of their intangibility and become far more vulnerable to a dragon’s strikes. In this case, the phoenix before them blanched, knowing that it had just lost its life. Flapping its wings frantically to flee, it found no purchase in the air as a vacuum surrounded it. With the phoenix trapped in a void of air formed by Arina, Arthran roared furiously, abandoning his runic magic in his anger, and used his instinctual magic. Fueled by his anger, the Earth exploded launching dragon-sized chunks of rock in all directions. The phoenix, unable to move, was helpless as it was obliterated completely by the shards crashing into it.

Arthran panted in exhaustion from using so much mana. He had never come so close to losing his mate before and, in his fury, he had ripped a crater into the mountain and consumed the vast majority of his power. Arina descended back into her lesser form. Rushing over to him, the two of them embraced, almost weeping with joy. Their thoughts to each other held only love and relief as they recovered from their battle. Their tender moment, like those of all parents, was interrupted by their son dashing out to them.

“Momma! Poppa! Are you okay!?” bawled Israkur as he reached them. In his mind, his parents were invincible: titans of power and love. Nearly losing one of them had terrified him utterly.

Smiling softly, Arina wrapped him up in her wing. She looked down at him and reassured him,” Don’t worry my little Dragon Lord, we’re both just fine. Now, what are you doing outside? Dragons have to keep their promises you know.” she continued, trying to shift the conversation.

“I just…. I’m sorry momma, I had to be sure you and dad were okay..” Israkur sniffled.

Arthran leaned and lifted Israkur’s chin up with his snout. Smiling gently, he spoke,” Israkur. Don’t worry about your mom and I. We’re both dragons you know! The biggest of the big, the strongest of the strong, and the bravest of the brave!” Striking a ridiculous pose, he brought a smile and giggling laughter to Israkur’s face.

“Now,” he continued once he saw that his son’s spirits had lifted,” I think your mother promised you a story, didn’t she?”

Israkur jumped away from his mother, childish excitement fully replacing the anxiety he had still felt from just a few moments ago.

“I seem to remember that the story was supposed to be a reward for staying inside and being a good boy while the two of us were out…” Arina replied musingly as she scratched her chin with a claw.

“I don’t remember that!” both Israkur and Arthran replied in unison, grinning conspiratorially at one another.

Arina sighed dramatically and replied,” Oh well! My memory must be growing bad if the two of you say so… I guess I do owe you a Story then!” She smiled as her son cheered and dashed back inside to the story spot. Both of his parents gladly followed him in.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

If the ledge by the air vent was Israkur’s favorite place in the cave, the storytelling spot was his second favorite. He had christened it thus in his first week when he found it strange that so many objects had names yet this very important place didn’t. Here his mother told him the stories of dragonkind’s past and helped him grow in touch with his own inner memories.

The place itself was relatively elegant. A large alcove of the side of the main cave, it was more than enough to fit in 5 adult dragons. There were 10 ledges, 1 large ledge in the very deepest point of the alcove for Arina and nine smaller ones for Israkur and his siblings, whenever they decided to actually show up.

Israkur excitedly took his seat, in the very center of the semicircle formed by the hatchling ledges and looked expectantly at his mother.

Seeing his expectant look, Arina jumped straight into the story…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Once upon a time, for if it had not happened , we would not tell of it, there was only one dragon: the great god king Terramond. Blessed by all of the elements, he ruled over the other Gods through his might and justice. All was peaceful in the world as the Gods worked together to keep it safe from Ruin, the great evil that wishes to return all to dust. One day however, Chaos, the mischievous trickster, showed the human god how to make creations in his image. The human god, and a few others with him, trusting chaos, immediately created their peoples. However, chaos while true to his word, had also made it so his spell would make the new beings chaotic and entertaining for his pleasure: so were the humans, halflings, and beasts created. With their tinge of chaos, they are very short-lived and irrational, yet very powerful if they work together. A dragon facing one hundred thousand humans one at a time will surely be the victor, but when facing those humans together? Even dragons shall fall.

The other gods, except for the King himself, saw chaos’s deception and went to Order to beg for her version of the same spell. Gladly complying to bring about balance, she helped them create their races: The elves, dwarves, and the various elementals of the world. These beings valued structure, and spent long if not eternal lifetimes working to enhance their people. Gradually, the world dissolved into a battlefield as Ruin, intrigued by the destruction the mortals were bringing about without his intervention, brought the new force of death into the world to balance Life.

As the Mortals and Gods fought in the world below, Terramond the godking labored to bring about his own creation. Giving it form from the Earth, Life from the water, Breath from the air, and magic from fire, he created it in his image out of all of the elements. His power given flesh, he went to secure blessings from Chaos, Order, Creation, and finally even Ruin. Chaos gave it the gift of ingenuity: dragons would forever be quick thinkers, and even quicker acters. Order gave the dragons Patience, giving them the ability to work thoroughly and keep the balance in the world. Ruin, interested in the dragon, strengthened its body: Sharpening the dragon’s claws, hardening their scales, and giving them their ability to breathe out power, he gave dragons their heart of the present, a massive beating jem in the center of their chest that pumped blood and mana throughout their body. Creation on the other hand, blessed dragons with their heart of the future: a second gem, to the right of the first, that stored mana within them, much like dungeon cores and elementals. With this, as the dragons grew, so would their capacity and might in wielding mana: truly a gift fit for an immortal.

Finally seeing his creation standing before him, Terramond bestowed his final gift upon it: the heart of the past. A third gem in their chest, this time to the left of the present, it held the memories of all the dragons before them, all the way back to the very first. As a dragon grew older, it gained access to more and more of its heart, becoming wiser and wiser with the wisdom of its ancestors. And with that final gift, he allowed Life to breathe upon it, and sent his first creations out into the world. And that young dragon, is how the first dragons came into the world.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Questions buzzing furiously in his mind, Arthran thought to his mother, only to be interrupted by sharp cracking sounds. Looking confusedly at his mother, he asked,” Momma? What’s that noise?”

“Hmm, that?” Arina replied mysteriously as she stood and began to walk out of the storytelling spot. Looking back at Israkur over her shoulder, she smiled gleefully and continued,” Why I’m pretty sure that’s your siblings arriving!”

Israkur gasped and, nearly tripping over himself dashed over to the egg room to meet his new family members.