My siblings, mother, and I all moved to the entrance of the den, where I was immediately taken by the view. Mom certainly had good taste, carving our home into the side of a dormant volcano. I enjoyed the sight of lush greenery, abundant flowers, the neighboring misty peaks, lakes, forests, rivers, and plains. Having grown up in the concrete jungle of New York City, I'd often wondered if I would have been better off growing up around nature.

"Well, I guess now I am." I thought.

Using my extraordinary long-distance vision, I could even spot see an abandoned makeshift camp in the woods below, reminding me that I could finally meet some regular people. I couldn't wait to encounter the non-mythical inhabitants of the land, feeling long overdue for a little mundanity. The grandiose nature of my new family was fun but stressful. That or the common draconic trait of eventually isolating from the rest of our kind was hitting me early.

I still found it strange to think that people would willingly choose to come live on a continent ruled by creatures way higher up on the food chain. Mom had taught me that residents here were allowed to stay so long as they agreed to cultivate the land, pay annual tribute, and caused no trouble amongst themselves large enough to reach a dragon's attention. This meant they couldn't aspire for more than a simple life under our rule, but perhaps that is what drew them here in the first place.

My thoughts were interrupted by the smell of smoke and sulfur. All four of us looked up to saw him flying in our direction. Mornathalohóndavirnë, The Great Destroyer, Bane of Nations, World Scar, and my new dad. He let out a massive roar, causing the trees to sway and the waters to ripple. The raw anger expressed made my scales stand on end. The powerful flaps of his wings became disturbingly loud as he neared.

"He must be hundreds of feet long! How is someone so colossal capable of flight?!" I thought in wonderment.

I glanced at my siblings, finding them equally awed by our father.

"Is he even going to fit in here?" I asked mom quietly.

"Observe." She replied, her eyes shamelessly admiring dad's form.

Through some kind of polymorphic magic, Mornathalohóndavirnë shrank down to just "humongous" as he landed. The force generated would've sent my siblings and I flying if not for mom shielding us with one of her wings. Our father turned his head back to the sky and gave another deafening roar, which echoed across the mountain range.

"Any sign of their movements?" Mom asked him.

"No. They're cowards," he growled. "Now, show me our wyrmlings."

"Oh? A command? Is this how you speak to your mate, today of all days?" She replied frostily. He was still a large head taller than her, but she stared unflinchingly into his eyes.

After a tense moment, a snort of smoke escaped his massive nostrils. He blinked, "No. I am... still rageful from the day I failed to protect you and our brood. Their hatching has me reliving the memory."

That must've been the closest a dragon gets to apologizing because mom's gaze softened in response.

"I know," She said, rubbing her long neck against his and humming soothingly. After an intimate minute, she pulled back and added, "But that mustn't become an excuse to mistreat those you cherish."

He let out a deep grumble and another snort of smoke in reply.

"Is it just me, or does dad seem kinda whipped? I'm getting 'I'm cuddly on the inside' vibes from him." I thought.

That notion went out the window as father brought his massive face down to inspect us. Despite knowing he could snuff us out with a single thought, I felt no fear. Instead, there was a sense of familial connection and great esteem that I instinctively held for him.

He closed his eyes and gave me a few sniffs before growling, "It's greatly diminished, but the curse clings to him still."

"That's not possible!" Mom exclaimed, her eyes widening. "We made sure to dispel it, and there was hardly any of it left to dispel when we did!"

"You think I'd ever mistake their smell?" He rhetorically replied. Even when calm, his voice thundered. "But you're right, this should not be." He took another sniff than open opened his large magma eyes and addressed me, "Ah, it is you who clings to it. You believe the curse to be a part of you. My son, you must discard your weakness, or you will never know yourself."

"I'm still cursed? And I'm the one attached to it? But I've been feeling pretty good since I got here. Is it because of my past, or something else?" I could only speculate on what he meant, but I knew I'd have plenty of time to find answers.

"Children, carve your father's words into your hearts." Mom instructed us. "He's reached an age where he sometimes hears Angnora's whispers. His insights will help you find your path, or keep you from straying off of it."

Dad turned to my brother, who looked super happy to be seen by his powerhouse father. After another round of sniff-and-stare, dad said to him, "You are pure, but purity sometimes becomes self-destructive. If it does, only mercy will save you."

Turning away from the confused face of his youngest son, dad now faced his daughter. She held her head high as he gave her the same routine. "Your kind heart requires a discerning eye. What is unearned will go unappreciated, and power unearned often becomes poison."

"Thank you, father." She replied, putting on a face of deep contemplation. Though I could tell she was just as confused as we were.

After being given time to ponder dad's advice, mom excitedly spoke, "The Naming begins. Introduce yourselves!" and looked at me.

"Oh boy, The Naming." I inwardly groaned.

It was a ceremony in which we'd release our aura for the first time, which in turn allowed us to pull our name from deep within our souls. Then we'd shout it to the world, making a declaration of our first intent. This served as wyrmling's starting sense of direction for finding their path.

I thought the whole thing sounded silly when I learned of it, but my body now disagreed. My heart was again thumping out of my control, and something began to build up inside of me. I tried to contain it, tired of all the changes I had to endure.

"They can go first." I barely forced out.

"That wouldn't be very traditional." Mom said with disapproval in her voice.

"It matters not." Answered dad, and so they both turned to my brother.

He pranced in place excitedly for a moment before calming down. He then spaced out for a few minutes, and a crimson aura began to cover him. His eyes regained lucidity and his aura expanded to three times his length, touching all of us. As it enveloped me I felt an urge to start a fight with anything and everything and give it all I had. He breathed blood-colored Dragonfire in a circle around himself, then turned his neck upward and breathed another wide cone of flames into the air, shouting,

"I am Melehtarturunadagor! I will become undefeatable! Countless opponents will fall before me!"

Looking pleased with himself, he sat back down in his circle of flames and retracted his aura.

"Are all our names going to be that long? And how can something sound so absurd and fitting at the same time?! Mom and dad would likely fry my ass if I shortened their names, but I'm definitely nicknaming my brother Mel-Mel, Melonhead, or anything else I can think of to offset that crazy mouthful." I inwardly decided.

I continued to struggle against the magical process that was pushing its way out from inside of me when our sister stepped up.

She closed her eyes and began to sing beautifully. Her voice took on an ethereal quality and carried through the wind like an elven aria. As she sang, a faint purple aura began to spread out, reaching about the same radius as our brother's just as her song finished. Its touch brought my mind to a sharp clarity, even helping me repress whatever was trying to get out. Her eyes shot open and she blasted a stream of violet lightning, straight into the sky. She held it there as long as she could, then declared,

"I am Ivreníennazgara! Wherever I go, countless will follow! Mine shall be a reign of glory!"

"Yeah, I'm definitely calling her 'Ivy." Also, damn! Purple lightning! I have to admit, that's cool. I totally forgot that some of us can breathe more than fire. Heck, mom said that some of our kind gain more than one type of breath. Oh shit, it's my turn. Hopefully, I can manage to be less melodramatic." I thought.

With Ivy's aura fading, the pressure within me boiled over. I walked to the front. My eyes felt heavy, so I closed them.

I heard a voice that was both mine and not mine.

"What have I become? A magical beast at the beck and call of forces beyond understanding? Why is this happening to me? Why do I always feel like my life is out of my control? It's already been a year away from home..."

I remembered my past, the feeling of petting my dog, the strong hands of my father, my mother's comforting embrace, my girlfriend's eyes staring into mine, laughing with friends over everything and anything. All this was taken from me. It felt so damned frustrating and unjust.

"Time flows about thirty times faster back home. My parents have probably passed away. How much did they suffer in grief? Did they ever make peace with my death? Was my love able to open her heart again or did losing me traumatize her?" The countless questions stabbed into my chest. "I'd have to distort time and space to fix any of this, and I haven't even conjured my first spell yet. I hate this. I hate this."

I was then swept by the feeling of my new mother's overwhelming love, the joy, and excitement of finally getting siblings, the pride toward my heritage, and a desire to honor it. All the new opportunities available in this magical place stirred up a fervent desire in me for more.

Must these two sides of me conflict? No. I don't want to choose. I never want to feel at the mercy of unknown powers ever again. I want to have it all. I want all of it. I am never again going to be some pathetic thing that just lets life lead me by the nose! For I am... I am...

"I am Amartho'Manadhmedion! I am forever free! All that dare attempt to constrain me shall instead be broken beneath me!"

My aura sucked all the color out of the world, bursting outward. I couldn't tell how far it went, but it caused both my siblings to step back warily. Even dad looked surprised as my aura had extinguished my brother's circle of dragonfire and caused the stones around us to tremble.

After realizing I lost control, I intuitively retracted my aura. I found myself panting with exhaustion.

"Where the heck did all that come from? So much for not being dramatic, sheesh. I like my name though. Love it really. I hope I looked cool. What should I say now-" My thoughts are cut short by my siblings' shouts of,

"That was amazing!"

"That's not fair!"

"Can I make everything shake like he did?!"

"Why wasn't my aura as big?!"

"Am I going to become that strong?!"

"This is an absolute travesty!"

"Everything was like, BWOAAAOOOH!"

"Mother, please don't let him get a big head because of this!"

And so forth until dad said, "Enough." Which immediately put an end to their yapping, with opposite expressions of excitement and pouting on their faces. "Go inside and sleep."

"You've made us both very proud, wyrmlings." Mom said. "Your declarations are worthy of our bloodlines. Now, your father and I have much to discuss in private."

With a "hmph," Ivy stomped inside. Mel-Mel gave me one of his toothy grins, then followed behind her. I let out a sigh before doing the same.

As I went through our egg chamber, I stopped in front of the remnants of my first foe.

"Hmm. One dragon's trash could become a lucky kobold's treasure." I thought.

I clumsily scooped up one of my eggshells only to break it as soon as I clenched my claws around it. After a few more failed attempts, I instead used my dextrous tongue to pick up a decent-sized piece gently into my mouth, then set it down against the cave wall.

"I'm going to have to practice holding fragile items later," I noted. Then I fire-blasted the remaining eggshells with immense satisfaction and proceeded onward.

There were many twisting paths, but I just followed my nose toward whatever smelled "best," ending up in a cavern with some crystal growths and a pool of lava flowing in the back.

"This seems like a nice room, I'll take it. I can find my siblings tomorrow." I decided while munching on one of the tasty crystals, a bedtime snack. I warily lowered my tail toward the lava, only to find it pleasantly warm. I tried a quick dip of its tip, and a spasm of pleasure passed through my body in response to feeling something like putting one's foot into a hot tub on a cool night.

I dipped my lower half in and released an involuntary moan. After some happy wiggling, I wedged a few of my spines into a nearby crack to make sure I didn't sink into the lava. Then I promptly fell asleep.

A week passed and I was getting more familiar with my body. I practiced my fire breath whenever I had enough energy in my reserves, and pushed around some of the heavier objects from the metal-food pile as weight training. After that, I'd sprint until fully exhausted, which took hours thanks to my inhuman stamina.

I was probably the only dragon that exercised on Angnora, but that just furthered my motivation to test the potential of my new physiology. I'd have been a disappointment to my fellow earthling if I didn't at least try to 'max out my stats' after transmigrating to a fantasy world.

Mel-Mel had been trying to spar with me multiple times a day and it was starting to get annoying. He wasn't the type to take no for an answer, got way too into every fight, and was frankly a better fighter than me, so I'd taken to just letting him win. I'd quickly lose, he'd gloat with a stupid face, then run off to find more trouble elsewhere. Call it lame, but it saved time in getting him to leave me alone so I could train in my own way. He'd usually go off to bother Ivy, which I admit I sometimes joined in on.

She was better than us at using the environment to her advantage. Even with both of us are chasing her at the same time, she would use her smaller frame to weave between stalagmites, get us to run into each other, hop over a gap then tail-smack us into it when we try to do the same, etc.

I did have a trick up my sleeve, however. I could get her to fight us head-on by calling out her nickname. She hated it! It was good for an occasional laugh, but her lightning really stung me sore. Mel-Mel seemed even less resistant as he would yelp in pain whenever hit. For the record, he didn't seem to mind his nicknames at all.

And then there was flying. Due to our slightly disproportional baby bods, we had to flap constantly to maintain any air time. I was looking forward to valiantly soaring through the skies, but until then I felt more like a cave bat than a creature of legend. Luckily, there was a big chamber deep within the den that had a huge lava pool, creating a constant hot air current that made flying a lot easier to practice. Somehow, I turned out to be the best flier of the three of us. I knew mom would be proud.

On the topic of our parents, dad had been asleep in his chamber the whole time, and mom had been out doing whatever she did with her own time. Or at least she had been, as her voice suddenly said to us,

"Children, it is time for your first hunt. Come outside."

I reckoned she was using some form of wind magic to have her voice reach us without shouting. I grimaced at the word, "hunt," and reluctantly shuffled my feet toward the entrance.

When we had all arrived, mom addressed us again. "I hope you've all fattened up nicely, as your coddling ends now. It's time for you three to hunt and travel on your own. Due to your great heritage, each of you is about twice as big as most wyrmlings your age, and are physically ready to fend for yourselves."

"Finally!" Shouted Mel-Mel.

"I'm ready." Ivy confidently stated.

I said nothing.

"Do not return for at least a quarter-year. You'll know it's time when the first leaves change into their autumn coats. Should you encounter other wyrmlings by chance, you may wound them, but not maim or kill them. They will be under the same restriction. Dragon's Head is sacred ground and you will respect it." She paused to punctuate that last point before continuing. "Sentient mortals are not to be harmed unless they disrespect, threaten, or otherwise antagonize you first. They are here under our protection and serve our purposes. To attack them unprovoked is to meddle in the designs of your elders. That is all. Now go, learn and make me even prouder my children!"

She raised her wings, and they began to shimmer as a powerful updraft was summoned along our mountainside. Mel-Mel leaped and glided off the volcano to the left and Ivy went to the right. I stood in place.

"Do not falter, my little flame." Mom said firmly.

"It's not that, I was just thinking, by any chance do you have a spare dimensional bag of holding or something similar? It'd make something I want to do a lot more convenient. I want to use part of my journey to reward Rem for the help she gave me in the egg." I replied.

"Helping our kind is its own reward for kobolds, Amartho'Manadhmedion." Mom said in her teaching voice.

"Just 'Amartho,' please, and yeah, I figured. But still, this is what I want to do. All my kobold mentors gave me a good chunk of their time, and I want to be a dragon that returns the favors he is given, even if they're given freely." I insisted.

She gave one of her melodious hmm's before replying, "Very well, Amartho. Wait here." She headed inside the den for a while, returning with a huge silver ring on one of her claws. With a quick flick of her wrist, it flew off and landed in front of me. "A dimensional ring, more convenient for our bodies than carrying bags. It'll resize when you try to wear it, and I already put your eggshell inside. I noticed it was carefully placed against the wall and figured out your intent. I'm sure she'll be ecstatic to receive it. The ring's command words are, 'horde', 'fetch', and 'empty,'"

"Thanks a ton, mom! You're the best. I'll return this to you when I get back." I said chipperly, enjoying the sight of it magically shrinking to fit my talon.

"Bah! 'Tis merely a bauble from my collection. Keep it. Now, it's time for your journey outward, little flame." She once again spread her wings and summoned another magical updraft.

I always loved heights on Earth, but I had to admit that I was nervous to enter the wild alone.

"Which way is the biggest mortal settlement?" I asked.

She pointed her head in a direction. I ran toward it, jumped, and spread my wings as far as they could go.

"Woohoo!" I shouted as mom's wind took me far higher than the top of our volcano before thrusting me forward. "This is fucking awesome! I'm a dragon! Fuck yeah!" I added when I believed myself to be out of earshot.

I kept flapping my wings to slow my descent so I could take in all my surroundings. My transparent third inner-eyelid had already instinctively shut itself to protect my eyes from the wind at the moment I first leaped.

That flight was by far one of the best experiences of my two lives. As I flew, it hit me that I couldn't see any big human settlement in the direction my mother pointed and guessed that it was likely very far away. I judged that by the rate of my descent I wouldn't make it all the way there and would have to figure something out when I land.

"You know what? Problems for later. I'm going to enjoy this for as long as I can."

Much later, I reached the end of the jetstream mom made and my descent began to speed up. I couldn't say I minded the increased velocity, as really I would have enjoyed going even faster.

"Maybe I can use magic later on to improve my flight speed. That plus the fact that it should increase as I age means I ought to be in for a lot of fun when I fully mature. Mmmmm, magic! Another reason to look forward to meeting the kobolds. There's got to be ways to mix magical theory with science from Earth, so learning to cast as soon as possible should be a goal."

After another couple of minutes, I neared some hills that looked convenient to land on. I dove toward them, then quickly respread my wings and flapped to adjust my trajectory. The grassy ground ended up being more slippery than I expected, having only practiced in a cave setting, and so I slid down the hill on my ass while getting absolutely covered in mud.

I looked around to make sure nobody saw my ungraceful landing, breathing a sigh of relief seeing that I was alone.

"Looks like I need to add 'have a bath' to my to-do list alongside 'find food and shelter.'" I said to myself, shaking as much of the dirt off as I could.

I flicked my tongue in the air and caught the scent of running water, likely to be one of the rivers I saw while flying. I also faintly smelled a peculiar smoke, which I imagined meant mortal settlements. I wouldn't confuse it for natural fire, let alone dragonfire, as it somehow smelled distinctly... stinkier.

With a vague lead on which direction I should go, I traveled onward.