The cold winter wind rushed past Talwen as she soared through the sky. She dodged and weaved around mountain peaks, giving her little one a chance to catch up. Their flight from the cave in the south had only been a couple days long, but her baby was already able to fly for half an hour at a time before exhaustion.

She picked out a sunbathed peak and landed, stretching out her wings. The bright red baby dragon worked her way up to her mother’s perch and awkwardly landed next to Talwen. After stumbling for a moment, she scooted close to her mother for warmth.

“Good job little one,” Talwen doted as she extended a protective wing over her child. “Soon, you’ll be able to fly for days at a time, but for now we must build up your strength.” She looked out over the valley before them and pointed a talon into the distance.

“Just past those mountains is our home,” Talwen explained. “Once we get there, you’ll get to meet our family and start learning all of the ways of our clan.” The young dragon stared up at her mother, eager to speak but not quite ready to form the words.

“Don’t worry. You carry your father’s name, Rantenza, and your mother’s love. I’m sure you will fit right in,” she continued. “In time, they will test you, but for now, just worry about flying a little further each time we take off. Are you ready to continue?”

The young crimson dragon stood and stretched, then looked up to her mother.

“Then let’s make the last stretch of our journey home. It will be a little further than you have flown so far in one try, but I will be here if you can’t push through,” Talwen said as she stood and readied herself for another flight. With another glance back at Rantenza, Talwen launched herself into the sky and drifted lazily with an updraft.

Beneath her, the lovely little red dragon wobbled through the air. She’s managed to stay more steady while looking for the flow of the wind. My daughter will be a strong dragon, I am sure of it.

The remainder of their trip through the tall mountains was uneventful. Fully into the heart of the Spine, the land was truly wild. Tall trees filled the valleys, giving way to steep slopes and perpetually snow-capped peaks. Occasionally, Talwen spied an Adler soaring in the vicinity. The large, light brown birds were more interested in the ratkel that rummaged around through the trees, and left the pair of dragons to their trip through the mountain range.

Eventually, the familiar shape of her clan’s home rose up to meet them. Three mountain peaks climbed close together, the spires of an ancient volcano. The inner sides of the three main mountains were dotted with small cave openings and secluded plateaus and were used to house the clan. Inside, the mountains were interconnected through a system of tunnels, some natural, others dug specifically to create a sense of community and protection. Few dragons spent the majority of their time here, but during festivals and times of upheaval, the great Vulkan mountains provided a place of refuge and enough space to house the entirety of the clan.

In the center of the three primary peaks, sat a shallow valley. The bowl-shaped area was too high up to allow for forest growth, and instead maintained a lake year round as the snow melted throughout the year and flowed down. Active lava pools in the heart of the mountains maintained enough heat to keep the lake from freezing over and provided the source of some of the clan’s greatest magics.

Young dragons spent several years here learning the ways of the clan. Traditional physical skills like flying and fighting were taught in equal proportion to the more nuanced magic studies in the bowels of the mountain. The time spent studying and mastering heat and fire manipulation as an adolescent birthed the name of their clan, the Geschmolzen Reds.

Talwen dove down to one of her favorite perches, just outside the cave her parents preferred when they stayed within the clan’s fortress. Exhausted, Rantenza dropped from the sky and slid across the ground in front of her mother.

“Careful little one,” Talwen called out, worry laced in her voice. “Don’t try to take too much on at once. I am here for you, let me help.” The older dragon lifted the baby from the ground and blew off the dirt from her landing.

As the pair sat and looked around, Talwen noticed something off. The air here is still and silent. No one has noticed our arrival. I don’t like this.

“On my back, little one,” said Talwen, and the little dragon scurried onto her mother’s back, just above her shoulders. “Let’s see who else is home.”

Talwen strode through the entrance of her family’s cave and moved to the back. The main chamber was wide enough for two fully grown dragons to lounge around and opened into several hallways leading to smaller chambers. The main passageway connected with other caves in the area and eventually led into the main chamber of the ancient volcano.

As the pair paced through the passageways, the eerie silence weighed heavily on Talwen’s mind. At first, there was no sign of any other dragons but as they rounded a corner into the main chamber, Talwen was met with an awful stench. Rough gouges had been cut into the walls. Scorch marks and deformed rock littered the ground. In the back corner, in a pool of his own blood, lay an old, dying dragon. Talwen rushed over to the Honored Elder.

“What happened here?” she demanded. “Where is the enemy?”

“Enemy?” the Elder coughed out through his blood. “There is no enemy. Do you not feel it?”

“Feel what?” Talwen responded hesitantly.

“The mana is alive! We spent decades trying to strengthen ourselves... All that time... wasted. We surpassed it in moments!” the dying dragon barked out. “The Elders… we felt it first… the other clans must have felt it too. The Gods have abandoned us, child. In their absence… our strength, the mana… it runs unchecked.”

“So where have all the others gone?” Talwen asked, but in her heart, she already knew the answer. They felt their strength and power grow exponentially… just as I did after the battle with the wolves….

The old dragon coughed and wheezed before responding.

“They fought… other clans, rivals, eventually each other,” he said, each word a struggle. He stretched out a claw and pointed it at Talwen. “Even now, my body aches to kill you… and take your strength. To survive, rebuild… and dominate. But I see the young one that clings to you… If we are to survive as a species… we must not forsake the young…”

The old dragon stared intently at Talwen. As he forced out the last of his words, the light began to leave his eyes. He exhaled a final time, and his body finally stilled.

Talwen stared down at the decrepit form of the ancient dragon. The mana is alive and running unchecked. The Gods have abandoned us, and in their absence, left a power vacuum the strong will attempt to fill.

She turned from the Elder and continued her descent into the mountain. In the lowest levels, the stench became nearly unbearable. As she entered the final chamber, the sacred heart of the volcano, the source of their strength and connection to the mana of the world, she found dozens of decaying bodies scattered around the pools of lava. She clenched her jaw.

I will return them all to Chenrel and cleanse this place. I will teach my daughter our ways myself. This world is dying, and I refuse to allow her to die along with it. I will reforge it anew, for her sake.