《The Pale Dragon》


 Chapter 1 - The Pale Egg (Proofread)

    Chapter 1 - The Pale Egg


    I feel so warm within my shell. Nothing can harm me, nothing can touch me, and nothing can judge me.


    Yet, I feel the presence of power outside of my sanctuary. A presence that screams age and authority, yet beautiful affection. This presence curls around me and holds me, soothing my every thought and worry.


    I know this presence to be my mother. Logic does not play a part in this but rather instinct. My body knows it even if my mind does not.


    My mind wanders through the safety of my hard shell and interestingly enough allows me to scour my surroundings, like an eye accompanying my wishes.


    The area around me is surrounded by gems that glow a faint red; heat radiating through them to ensure our eggs stay warm.


    Eggs. Yes, it seems I have two siblings. One the colour of extravagant violet, the other of radiant gold. They sit beside me on our bed of heat.


    I have trouble seeing my own egg, unable to determine what colour I belong to. Unfortunate, but not entirely important.


    I look forward, past our bed, and fixate my gaze upon our Mother.


    Our mother is a beautiful creature of jet black, with the eyes of pure dark red. She towers in comparison to us, with hard scales, leathery muscled hide, folded wings and a long tail to match her dark appearance.


    I focus on her for a seemingly endless amount of time, and after a while she gets up and leaves through the giant polished gates of our room; leaving my siblings and I alone.


    With nothing to fixate on I sleep, content to dream, grow and wait for her next arrival.


    ===============================================================================


    I awake again after our mother returns, her presence once again gently snaring me with its overwhelming force.


    She merely approached our eggs and lies down, examining us.


    While she does so I inspect myself.


    It must have been some time since I slept. I notice for the first time I have a body.


    It is scaleless, small and frail. I examine myself a bit further.


    My hide is a beautiful, silver white. With developing claws on both my fore and back legs. A growing stub, one which is sure to be develop into a tail like my mother''s, sits upon my rear as well.


    After my examination I return my gaze outwards to see our mother''s seemingly knowing gaze upon my egg, to which I now assume to be silvery white.


    Is she aware of my gaze? Do my siblings share my ability? I wonder¡­


    While I ponder this I grow weary and tired. I attempt to fight this sudden fatigue but I eventually succumb to its call. I fall into yet another deep slumber.


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    ===============================================================================


    I awake again to more than our mother''s presence. My mind¡¯s eye immediately extends towards, much to my shock, a crowd. Hundreds of then litter the hall. They all mirror Mother¡¯s appearance but, at the same time, do not.


    They all appear large but not nearly the size of our mother. All strong and muscled, but not as much as her. Their colours vary between a mixtures of shades, from greens, reds, and blues tp yellows, browns and dull greys. Yet, I see no colours matching either my mother or my siblings. Even the yellow dragons do not show a shade even close to matching my golden sibling''s egg.


    Before I can even begin to wonder why a crowd has gathered, they begin to do something strange.


    With their deep booming voices they begin to chant. Their rich voices seep into me, filling me with vigour, urging me to break my shell. I lose track of time, overwhelmed by the power they sing.


    When I regain my senses I return to my mind¡¯s eye to see my siblings out of their shells, with scales and hides that match the colour of their eggs.


    However, my attention upon them is fleeting as something far bigger looms over me affectionately.


    My Mother.


    Whispers and chatter loom through the hall. Obviously wondering why I am the only one yet to hatch.


    But soon it all stops, silenced by my Mother¡¯s rumbling voice, and then soothing singing. It gently coaxes me from my fright. Nudging me to an objective I must complete.


    The feeling of vigour returns to me, just as strong, but less overwhelming.


    Returning to myself I lunge at my egg, letting my hard scales atop my head slam against it.


    The song continues.


    I hit it again.


    The song encourages.


    I hit it again, rejoicing at the resounding crack.


    The song rejoices.


    I hit it again, breaking free from my cage.


    My mother, along with the entirety of the crowd, including my siblings, roar in triumph.


    A new dragon is born.


    The Pale Dragon.


    After the last of the roars die down I feel extraordinarily weary. My legs, once invigorated by the song of my mother grow weary and tired.


    I vaguely register Mother saying something to me, but my ears refuse to hear her.


    My legs hear my plea to move, but stagger and fall.


    My voice attempts to call out but refuses to sound.


    Everything grows red and blurry.


    Enemies.


    Blood.


    Fire.


    Death.


    I manage to let out a weak growl before my eyes grow heavy, and everything goes dark.

 Chapter 2 - A Strange Power (Proofread)

    Chapter 2 - A Strange Power


    A small creature sits upon the branch of an extraordinarily unique and beautiful tree.


    While very much alive in the throes of summer, this tree remains leafless, as though it exists without a concept of season and time. This tree is like no other in this forest. Its oak is a beautiful shade of white, blinding to the eye when the sun sets its rays upon it.


    This creature sitting upon it is as old as the tree, an eternal companion to its ancient design.


    This tree is creation. This tree is destruction.


    This tree is order. This tree is chaos.


    This tree is life. This tree is death.


    But what is this creature?


    ==================================================================================


    I awake with a start, trying to make sense of this strange dream¡­


    Before I can ponder its meaning any further I realise something; I am encased in darkness¡­a living, breathing darkness.


    I quickly realise Mother has wrapped me under her wing and; from the sound of her booming, steady breathing; is sleeping.


    I stagger around in the dark and eventually come upon her soft hide, pressing my claws in. Gently scrapping them upon it as to not break her hide, but enough to be noticeable.


    After a few moments, her loud, steady breathing ceases and her wing rises, revealing her large blood red eyes fixed upon me.


    I stand on my weak legs and slowly approach her, reaching her snout. After getting a closer look at her, I examine her scales more thoroughly.


    Although completely black and devoid of colour, they miraculously shine, reflecting the light to brighten her otherwise ominous appearance.


    I lift my paw and gently touch them, revelling in the smooth hard touch.


    After a few moments I hear her speak.


    ¡°%& *@# *%$# *&@*@?¡±


    She looked at me quizzically, as if expecting an answer.


    I tilt my head in confusion upon hearing the strange words, unsure of what she said. This only elicits a small sigh and further mutterings that I cannot understand.


    After a moments study she rises, dwarfing me in the process. She would have to be at least twelve times my size, muscle and power surrounding her enormous frame.


    While staring in awe I let a thought echo throughout my mind, I wonder if I will grow so large?


    As I¡¯m left wondering about my future, Mother walks towards an enormous door, and without even a slight touch, it swings ajar in her presence. She looks back at me, jerking her head for me to follow.


    I attempt to rise, but fail, letting out a weak cry of pain as my joints and muscles scream at the effort. Regardless of the pain, I still continue to try, failing numerous times as my mother patiently waits for me to merely rise.


    After almost half an hour I finally manage to rise to my feet, staggering as my joints creak and muscles burn.


    Are all dragon hatchlings so weak? I wonder.


    I slowly approach Mother as I will my legs to work, panting at the effort. As I do so, she lowers her massive frame to the floor and unfolds one of her wings, inviting me to ride on her back.


    I eventually reach her, but then struggle to climb the incline of her wing. Once I do manage to make it onto her back, I collapse, having finally reached my goal.


    I let my tired body repair itself from the exertion, and drift off into sleep.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ==================================================================================


    I wake to two voices. One the musical, deep sound of my mother, containing deep growls as part of our language that I have yet come to understand. The other is strange and new, containing none of the feral, powerful notes that Mother used when she spoke to me in our chambers. This new voice has an edge of music, magic, and tranquillity to it. Soothing my still aching body with her every word.


    I open my tired eyes and find that I am no longer on the rough back of my mother, but on a soft, large and white bed.


    I look around to find both Mother and the source of this new, mystical voice.


    As soon as my eyes lock on, I feel a strange magic surge in my body. I take in her features, she is a small creature, standing straight on two thin limbs. She has hair flowing to her lower back and strange fabric concealing her entire body, save for the other two limbs that sway by her side. From that of her hide that is visible, it appears to be smooth and strange, much unlike my own and Mothers. She also has two strange, pointy bits of flesh sticking out the side of her head that appear to have the same smoothness as her uncovered extremities.


    After analysing this strange new creature, I concentrate on the magic swirling inside my core. Sampling and studying it for a moment, I find it untouched, yet disconnected. Still very much a part of me, but somehow separated by a strange, white wall.


    I inch towards this wall in my mind and gently touch it, willing it to disappear. As soon as I do, it disappears within the blink of an eye. Before I can even register this fact, a giant wave of magic hits me, bursting out from my core.


    It wraps around me and moulds around my body, enveloping me in light whiter than even my own hide. I feel it tugging at my body, shifting and changing it, but not painfully so.


    As fast as the wall disappeared the white light finishes its work, leaving me confused at what exactly it did. I move to sit up and look around, only to find that both the mystical creature and Mother staring at me wide eyed.


    I tilt my head, Why are they staring so?  I wonder.


    Then, suddenly, I find the answer. As I tilt my head, white silky hair grazes  over my shoulders. Hair that belongs to me.


    I raise my hands to inspect myself, only to find them that same strange, smooth hide the mystical creature holds.


    I have changed forms.


    =============================================================================


    Author Note:


    So first off: I AM SO VERY, VERY SORRY FOR THE EXTREMELY LATE CHAPTER.


    I had a few things going on recently so I haven''t been very motivated to write anything. But now that I''m back in a good mood and all that jazz, I will definitely start this up again.


    If you are still around after all this time, then thank you so much for putting up with my horribleness.


    I''ve also decided I will have relatively small sized chapters when I release them. I''m sorry if you don''t like this, but being new to the whole writing thing, it just seems to be how I write at the moment. I might increase the chapter size as the series progresses and things get rolling, but, for now, it''ll be 900ish word chapters.


    So if you hate me because of all this I''m really sorry, but it seems to just be how I am, and after all this if you still read my chapter feel free to make any criticism and give any pointers you might have.


    PS. I AM STILL SO VERY, VERY, VERY SORRY FOR THE EXTREMELY LATE CHAPTER.

 Chapter 3 - Kinship of Dragons

    Kinship of Dragons


    My new, strange body was remarkable and endlessly different.


    Soft, smooth skin replaced hard, rough hide; retaining no pure white hue, only pale skin like the mystical creature who was still staring in awe of my change.


    I lifted my strange, new hand to stroke this strange new hair flowing down past my shoulders. It retaining the same colour as my old hide, yet touchably soft and silky.


    Releasing my light grip upon my hair I held my new paw out in front me, gazing at the strange pointlessly non-lethal nails that accompanied them.


    The strange mystical woman took a small step towards me, causing my attention to shift towards her.


    ¡°She¡­changed¡­¡±


    I was almost left as astonished as her, as well as immensely confused at how I understood her; perhaps this was my new bodies doing?


    My Mother was the next to speak, recovering from her shock, ¡°Indeed she has¡­She is so small.¡±


    The mystical woman replied, ¡°Of course she is. She is barely a day old, it is a wonder she is even as big as she is!¡±


    At her words I noticed just how small I was; so small in fact that I barely reached the woman¡¯s knees.


    The mystical woman continued, ¡°Her power warrants further study, I have never seen such a thing. The question is how we are going to explain this to the rest of your brood. She is hardly draconic in this form is she?¡±


    I tried to think how to respond but was unable. Tilting my head in thought, I sifted through my newfound knowledge, seeking as to how one makes the sounds required of speech as they do.


    I quickly gave up, as the knowledge was nowhere to be found. Perhaps whatever caused this new transformation was incomplete, still weaving new knowledge into my mind.


    While pondering on my new found power I felt its stormy, white glow within my heart. Pulsing to be let loose at the slightest tug.


    Although I didn''t understand why they were so concerned with my new found appearance, I could tell it presented some kind of problem. I needed to somehow return my original form.


    I tapped into the power once again, letting it flow out of my core.


    Mother responded to the creature as I did so, ¡°Well-¡±


    She was cut off midsentence, noticing that my body was being cloaked in a strange, white light.


    It smothered my body as it bent my bones and weaved my flesh. It surprisingly didn''t hurt, feeling more like a strange pressure and itch as I let it mold my shape.


    My small body began its transformation, shifting my bones and flesh to shift me to my four legs. I grew larger and more muscular as I did so, an obvious requirement due to my larger dragon form. My tail then began jutting out from my back, growing thick, long and strong.


    My basic form being transformed, my power then focused on the minute details.


    I felt my talons grow out from my toes, growing sharp, long and deadly. Next came my hide, weaving from the tip of my tail throughout my body, flowing down my back to my head then moving to my sides and rolling down my legs, reaching all the way to my talons.


    After all this had transpired my white magic shattered, becoming hard, large scales distributed all over my body, weaving and merging perfectly over my hide.


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    This large transformation happened in all but an instant, moving so fast that even I had a hard time tracking it.


    This time my Mother was the first to overcome her shock, ¡°I wonder if I¡¯ll ever get used to that,¡± she sighed and bent down, folding her wing out to me, ¡°Come, hatchling. We have places to be.¡±


    =============================================================================


    Perching on Mother¡¯s back I got a luxurious view of the environment surrounding me. We passed through various giant halls and rooms, dwarfing the size of even Mother, who was several times my size.


    We looked strange together, complete opposites, a small white dragon, and a large black dragon. Yet none looked at us strangely, merely sparing a respectful nod or graceful bow as we passed various dragons of green, blue and red.


    I notice that none share the colours of my siblings, Mother or myself. Strange indeed. One day I will have to ask Mother about it, once I learn to speak at least.


    After various turns, rooms, dragons, nods and bows pass us by we arrive outside.


    The bright colour of the sun blinds me upon our exit, turning my vision completely white. After a few blinks the world comes into focus, and I am caught in awe.


    Giant mountains of various sizes greet us from all around, rolling further than my eyes can see, mist protecting their brothers and sisters yet out of sight. The sun shines down upon all their glory, yet moves upon something even more beautiful.


    Far down below us resides a large valleys, rolling hills, enormous forests and large rivers and lakes stretching through the various mountains bases.


    Various dragons, both small and large flutter about, some so close they appear as large and fearsome as any, yet some so far they appear as but flies.


    I hear roars of triumph in the distance, hidden from my eyes. Various dragon¡¯s both visible and not reply with their own throaty bellow, my Mother joining the chorus with her own earth shattering roar.


    I feel an inexplicable joy at the sight of my kin as far as the eye can see. So many words describing it: belonging, kinship, beauty, home.


    I decide to let my own voice carry into the choir, roaring with all my might, it comes out at but a fraction of a true dragon¡¯s voice, yet I pour my heart into it. Letting all the words I cannot speak flow through me.


    I let a toothy, feral smile rise from my features, content with my new home.


    I look to my Mother¡¯s snaked head while doing so, seeing my mirth being mirrored in her own grin.


    However my smile soon fades as mischief glows in her eyes as she states, ¡°Time to fly.¡±


    Then she threw me off the mountain.


    =============================================================================


    Author Note:


    So here¡¯s another chapter. Again it¡¯s only about 1k words long, but I felt it was a good little ending to it¡­poor little hatchling.


    As always, thoughts, comments, criticism and suggestions are always welcome.


    Next chapter is coming soon. :)

 Chapter 4 - Freedom

    Freedom


    I find myself falling down a mountain at incredible speed, growing faster and faster with each passing moment.


    I recall that devilish grin that came from Mother before, not psychotic, but playful. Therefore it stands to reason she is not trying to kill me¡­probably. If so then she actually expects me to be able to fly.


    I cycle through the various, strange knowledge that came to me after my transformation, sifting through countless words and meanings; finding which were present, and which I needed to recall.


    Shock. Check.


    Fear. Most certainly.


    Speed. That is certainly increasing.


    Death. An imminent possibility.


    Wings. I have those.


    Flying. Definitely requires my wings.


    Sifting through all the fear that left my body stiff, I pulled out my wings. Relying on instinct more than thought, I broke out of my dive slowly, letting the air current flow under my wings and pull my body into a much safer horizontal state.


    I tested out my wings, flapping heavy, strong strokes. I gained a fair amount of height, rising to around the same level I was previously, then dived.


    Now pushing past my previous fear all I felt was the wind batter against my scale and hide. Being in complete control of myself, as if I had been flying for years, I felt an inexplicable mix of emotions.


    I was content, excited, happy and more importantly free. I felt the freedom in the knowledge I could traverse anywhere I wished, whether dancing amongst the clouds, or lurking on the ground far below.


    And was the ground ever so intriguing; now unobstructed by the mountain I got a firm view of exactly what lurked below. I was able to spot various prey sifting between the plains, hills and trees, scurrying about their own unique lives.


    The forest caught my eye more than any other, as if calling me, beckoning me to grow closer.


    A strange flash appeared alongside this feeling, replacing my sight with a strange white radiance. My sight bends and molds until a strange vision comes forth.


    ==================================================================================


    The strange boy still sits upon the white tree, swaying his legs as they dangle off the side of a high branch.


    Sunlight streaks out over the horizon as the boy gazes at the sunrise, bathing the small boy¡¯s frame in radiance, warming his body and reflecting over his pure white hair.


    He pats the white tree¡¯s branch and states, ¡°It must be pretty boring being stuck here with nothing to do¡­but nothing beats that sunrise.¡±


    The tree visible sways, groaning as the old wood creaks in¡­amusement.


    The boy smiles at the response; as if understanding the tree as such that it may as well be speaking the same language.


    ¡°One day I¡¯m sure you will be able to be free; gliding amongst the clouds and ascending so high, that even the sun will be jealous of your radiance.¡± The boy lets out a lonely smile, as if wishing such freedom upon himself.


    The boy slaps his palms against the tree and stands upon the thick trunk, cutting off his own thoughts and replacing the lonely smile with a wide grin.


    ¡°You¡¯ll find a way, old friend. And when you do, I¡¯ll be right there alongside you, grazing the clouds and taunting the sun.¡±


    ==================================================================================


    As if no time at all had past I recover from my vision, still gazing at the large forest below.


    What do these visions mean? I ponder.


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    After a few lazy moments gliding through the air I hear my Mother¡¯s roar, calling me back to her. I turn around and gracefully land on the smooth stone. Mother kneels down once again, and unfurls her large leathery wing, voicelessly instructing me to once again take my place on her back.


    I don¡¯t argue and comply with her wishes and take my place on her broad back.


    We once again venture back inside the cave, I notice that in comparison to the sun¡¯s warmth and light, the cave looks much too bleak. There is no way I will confine myself to its depths forever; I wonder if Dragons are able to find their own roost when they grow older. Yet another thing I will have to ask Mother.


    After once again taking various turns and receiving various nods and bows we arrive at our destination, standing before intricately carved stone doors, it holding various runes, symbols and most of all: dragons.


    As Mother approaches the door it swings ajar; noticing there is no one behind it, I conclude it must be infused with some strange magic.


    I don¡¯t get long to ponder my wonder as I notice the sole occupants of the room. A large red dragon, the mystical creature I encountered before and something¡­different.


    Upon encountering another strange creature a wave of white power once again welled up inside my core.


    I studied this creature while trying to contain my power. It was slightly shorter than the mystical creature, yet lacking in its characteristic otherworldly beauty; instead displaying a menacing undertone of pure aggression.


    This fearsome new creature had some slight differences between its mystical variant, holding strange soft fur ears, opposed to long, fleshy ones. Alongside a strange hairy tail, these ears held the same colour as the black, shaggy hair resting atop the creatures head.


    After the examination, I was unable to contain my magic yet again, letting the white light shift over my form while still nestled upon my Mother¡¯s back.


    As the white light swam over me my scales glowed in response, fueling the change.


    My bones shifted, bending and fusing to the new form''s shape. However unlike my previous transformation they did not shift to become softer and weaker, only smaller. As my bones set in, I noticed soft ears formed atop my head; my tail also remained, yet grew thinner and lighter. My skin changed next, growing smooth, stretching throughout my whole body right down to the tip of my tail. I felt my hair grow out, the tingling of the sudden change slipping all the way up my new ears, and then along my strange new tail.


    Once again, my entire transformation happened in an instant and the white light receded as it settled upon my stark white hair and fur.


    I noticed everyone in the room but the mystical creature and Mother gawk at my transformation, almost as if neither were shocked at the occurrence.


    Ignoring their stares I inspected my new body. I was once again the same size as my previous form, still reaching about knee height of the mystical creature. I had a long white head of hair reaching down to my shoulders with a strange new white, furry tail accompanying it.


    I reach above my head and stroke my new ears, enjoying the soft touch of the fur surrounding it.


    Mother was the first to speak in the dead quiet room, ¡°So I guess I have some explaining to do.¡±


    ==================================================================================


    Author Note:


    Here''s another chapter!


    Make sure to share any criticism, comments or questions you might have in the comments. And I''ll answer any questions I can...as long as they don''t spoil anything of course. ;)

 Chapter 5 - Heiress of Wing, Scale and Tooth

    Chapter 5 ¨C Heiress of Wing, Scale and Tooth


    As Mother quickly explained my strange power I slid off her back and studied my new form further. My strength seemed to significantly drop from my dragon form, yet I felt much lighter, free from the cumbersome bulk of muscle, scale and hide.


    I flicked my tail around and held onto it, caressing the sleek, smooth fur as I roughly sat down beside my Mother¡¯s massive left foreleg, leaning against it. As I grew further absorbed in my task I tuned out from the conversation and noticed my senses soar to unforeseen heights.


    My gaze grew sharper, allowing for me to trace each individual hair adorning my tail and further analyse the soft, smooth hair. My nose felt sharper as well, as I smelt the different scents of the various beings in the room.


    Mother smelt like pure power, yet safe and warm; the fearsome creature smelt like the wild spice of the forest; the mystical creature like age-old magic; and the red dragon like smouldering fire.


    As I nestled further into Mother, I noticed the dragon¡¯s scent grow closer. I pulled my attention away from my tail and gazed upon his approaching bulk; my senses snapping back to their original sensitivity. The dragon was large to be sure but was nothing compared to Mother, who was both taller and bulkier than this being.


    The dragon¡¯s voice rumbled as it spoke, ¡°It is strange this power of hers. Unprecedented to be sure.¡±


    ¡°Indeed it is. She is truly my daughter," she replied gazing down at my now alert pose.


    I titled my head up to my Mother, showing her a large grin that grew from her praise.


    As Mother held my gaze the mystical woman gracefully strolled towards me and bent down, coming face to face with my toothy grin, ¡°I do wonder something, old-one,¡± her gaze briefly flicking to my Mother because returning to me, ¡°does your daughter understand us?¡±


    The red dragon laughed at her question, booming his amusement through his deep voice, ¡°Surely you jest! She is but a pup, barely two days old.¡±


    The creature scowled at the dragon, showing a strange amount of defiance for one so small by comparison, ¡°No I do not jest. This ¡®pup¡¯ has an uncanny brightness to her eyes.¡± Her gaze returned to me, relaxing her eyes, and showing a soft gentle gaze as she asked, ¡°Well princess, do you understand us?¡±


    Princess? Before I could ask the red dragon boomed yet again, snorting smoke out his large snout, ¡°Enough of your foolery. We have other matters to discuss.¡±


    As the dragon turned around, I leaned in towards the creature, whispering into her ear, ¡°Watch,¡± the word sounded juvenile and hard to understand due to me never speaking before.


    Before the creature could shout her astonishment, I turned and skipped a few steps towards the dragon, eyeing his swaying tail viciously. One should really learn not to interrupt people.


    I shifted quickly back to my dragon form and lunged towards the tail, opening my maw wide and baring my teeth I viciously bit into between the large scales, enjoying the satisfying feeling of flesh tearing and the taste of blood, I quickly let go and sprinted a the short distance back towards the now grinning creature. Inwardly laughing at the large growling behind me. I wrapped myself around the creature, snarling back at the now enraged dragon.


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    After a few moments of a contest of ferocity between a white-scaled dragon pup, and a fully matured red-scaled dragon, the booming laughter of Mother echoed through the room, ¡°I think that answers that question.¡± She boomed, seemingly unfazed about the new development.


    The red dragon now obviously remembering that my mother was in the room immediately stifled his snarl. I looked towards the creature I was wrapped around and tried to speak, only accomplishing a few strained growls and snarls.


    Strange, I wonder why I am unable to speak in this form? I thought.


    I quickly shifted back to my furry form, sat on the creature¡¯s lap and asked in my still juvenile voice, ¡°Princess?¡±


    Yet is was my Mother who answered, ¡°Yes, my daughter. You are the daughter of the great Black Dragon Queen, heiress of dragons, leader of all who hold wings, scale and tooth. You are the White Dragon Princess.¡±


    I titled my head at her explanation then shifted my head straight up; looking at the creature that I nestled myself on and then over to the fearsome furry creature still standing silently in the room.


    We are Dragons, but what are these creatures called? I pondered.


    I stood up from the creature and pointed at Mother, ¡°Dragon,¡± then pointed at the mystical creature and waited expectantly.


    After a moments ponder the creature answered, ¡°I am an Elf.¡±


    I nodded at her words and then pointed to the fearsome creature.


    I waited almost a full half minute before he answered, speaking in a gruff, disinterested tone he stated, ¡°Beast-man.¡±


    I nodded and then pointed towards myself, ¡°Beast-man!¡± then I shifted to my Elf form, ¡°Elf!¡± Then to my dragon form, and being unable to speak, let out a meaty yet, comparably to my Mothers, weak roar.


    Mother showed a toothy grin at my reactions, ¡°Yes, my child. We are well aware of your ability to transform. Try to contain yourself.¡±


    I snorted at her remark and shifted back to my Beast-man form, quickly trotted back over to the Elf¡¯s lap, and once more nestled myself in place. I felt her smooth hand slowly pat my head, enjoying the sensation I nestled into her chest and drifted off to sleep.


    ==============================================================================================


    Author Note:


    Explanation to the horrible late chapter:


    I won''t make any bullshit excuses to why I was late. I have just been lazy and didn''t really felt like writing, couple that with playing too many games and finding new ones to enjoy I just didn''t do what I promised. Sorry that I am a lazy sod.


    So with that said. Here is a new chapter.


    (Working on the next one right now. Considering my chapters are short it might be done tonight or tomorrow, we''ll see I guess.)

 Chapter 6 - Damn Slavedriver

    Chapter 6 ¨C Damn Slavedriver


    I awoke to a familiar sight, or lack thereof, as I was wrapped underneath my Mother¡¯s wings. I stretched out my hand o pure darkness as I lightly tapped my Mother¡¯s wing, and emerged as it lifted for my exit.


    I noticed I still retained my Beast-man form as light washed over me.


    Good to know I still retain my form. I noted.


    I recalled all that has happened to me in the brief time I had been alive. Firstly I of course emerged from my egg, fainted shortly thereafter, awoke to find I had a strange power, retained two new forms other than my true Dragon form, and discovered I was the Heiress of the entire Dragon race. Not a bad start considering my age.


    As I continued pondering my short life I remembered something important, something I should have never forgotten. I had two siblings, one of pure gold and the other of regal violet.


    I turned to my now yawning Mother and asked with my still groggy and undeveloped voice; struggling with the word I asked, ¡°Sib¡­li¡­ngs?¡±


    My Mother lazily shifted her eyes in my direction, and answered, ¡°They are with your sire.¡±


    I titled my head, puzzled, ¡°Why¡­.not¡­here?¡± I asked, the grogginess slowly fading from my still weak voice.


    Mother sighed briefly but answered my question nonetheless, ¡°They are training.¡±


    I continued to pry, feeling a strange pull to know as much about my siblings as I could, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because it is their duty. Come daughter, I can explain while we move. Change into your Dragon form.¡±


    I complied, quickly allowing the light to sweep over me, and shifted to my draconic form. After it settled I quickly trotted over to my Mother¡¯s lowered wing and nestled on her back yet again.


    After a few minutes of navigating the dauntingly complex halls, my Mother continued her explanation, ¡°As is your duty to lead and protect our people, it is your brothers¡¯ duty to protect you.¡±


    Brothers, huh? I smiled, happy to know more, even if only a little.


    I wanted to ask a question but was unable to in my current form. I prepared to morph yet my Mother seemingly guessed it before I needed to, ¡°If you are wondering where my guards are, we do not bother with such measures while in our own walls. There is magic here, both seen and unseen, that would make even the most hardened of assassins, become aught but dust if they merely thought of harming me.¡±


    As we continued through the halls we once again passed dragons of various shades and sizes, each either nodding or bowing as we passed.


    Mother ignored them and continued her explanation, ¡°Your brothers train even as we speak, both far and near with your sire, whom you will meet when the time is right. However do not assume we are but fragile beings who need only to be protected,¡± Mother growled low, showing a mix between a snarl and a smile as she continued, ¡°We are dragons! Our hide is strong leather, our scales are unbreakable armour, our claws and teeth sharp as the strongest of steel. We are no mere prey.¡±


    My Mother¡¯s snarl quickly dissipated as we reached the same platform we had previously. I looked around as the same beauty as before yet focused only on my Mother, who smiled wickedly at me, mischief shining in her blood-red eyes.


    I sighed, knowing no matter how I fought whatever she was planning would surely come to fruition. Noticing I was resigned to my fate Mother¡¯s eyes only shined brighter with mischief.


    She once again through me off the side of the mountain, yet I was prepared. I quickly pulled out of the nose dive and levelled off. Flapping my large, leathery wings to keep my altitude.


    After a few moments I heard the sound of wings beats from behind me. Strong, large, and if I was correct most defiantly pure black wings. I tentatively snaked my head around, landing my eyes upon a giant, black, red-eyed dragon right on my tail, a large feral smile planted on its face.


    With a large laugh, she yelled, ¡°You¡¯d best start flying faster, pup! You never know what might get singed off!¡± As she finished large embers of yellow and blue started glowing from her belly, looking at past experience with Mother I guessed only one thing: trouble.


    I quickly dove, picking up large amounts of speed.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to have to do better than that!¡± Mother roared as she dived, falling much quicker than I did. As she grew closer fire bellowed from between her maw, roaring forth, closing quickly...directly towards me.


    As I felt the enormous heat gaining distance upon me I quickly levelled out, using the strong amount of force I obtained from my extended fall to quickly shoot out of range of the terrifying heat. Dodging by a mere hair I managed to escape. Mother and her fire quickly dropping past me.


    Noticing the difference in our altitude, Mother quickly extinguished her flame and pulled out of her dive, using the force to rise on even level with me.


    We circled each other for a long while, each gaining and dropping altitude to confuse the other.


    I thought on why she is doing this. Clearly it was some kind of test, and even if by some small chance my Mother was crazier than I thought she was, and was aiming to kill me, she could have easily done so by now. This was clearly some sort of test, she murmured something about Dragons before, and how we were not mere prey. I laughed at the thought of how prey like I was right now, and decided on my course of action.


    I quickly gained altitude, using various drafts to rise as quickly as I could, Mother followed suit, eventually rising just above me. Exactly what I wanted. I abruptly broke out into a dive, and Mother easily took my bait, either intentionally or she was so excited over the prospect of burning me.


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    We repeated our earlier act of flaming cat and diving mouse, as she dove right after me. However as I levelled off my dive I waited until she passed me yet again, and quickly dove yet again.


    Folding in my wings as she levelled out I picked up a vast amount of speed, as I closed in on her I raked out my talons and roared as loud as I could muster.


    She abruptly looked up at me and¡­smiled. I forcefully collided with her back, trying to work my talons in between her enormous jet-black scales. But found no mark through the perfect jewels.


    She laughed at my attempt but made no attempt to dislodge me, ¡°Very good, cub. However in the future, go for the neck.¡±


    ==================================================================================


    I lay panting atop my Mother¡¯s back as she lazily flew around the mountain range, seemingly not even breaking a sweat from our earlier sparring, if we could even break a sweat that is.


    After my initial half-victory, we continued the exercise a many a time more, each time my Mother grew harder and harder to beat, executing complex manoeuvers, either forcing me to retreat or spinning me out of control.


    I barely even registered the presence of another dragon flying beside us, rumblings some sort of jovial conversation towards Mother, no doubt at my expense.


    As we grew closer to a large river Mother set down at a clearing right beside it, lowering her wing after her descent. I slowly tumbled down, then tracked the seemingly endless journey to the water, regardless of it being a mere few steps beside me.


    I greedily gulped down the water as Mother warned, ¡°Slowly. Drowning yourself as you drink will do you little good.¡±


    I obeyed her as slowly drank a few more mouthfuls and plopped down next to a nearby tree.


    Mother lazily strolled over to the river, not even a little winded, and slurped a few mouthfuls down herself.


    Damn slavedriver.


    After a few precious minutes respite she lowered her wing again, ¡°Come, we have more to do.¡±


    I glared at her in response, letting my eyes speak the million words I couldn¡¯t.


    This elicited a deep chuckle from Mother, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no more flight drills. Let us see exactly what this gift of yours is shall we?¡±


    My previous fatigue seemed to wash away at this new development and I quickly bolted up on Mother¡¯s back; earning another chuckle.


    We flew rather lazily towards our destination, excitement still bubbling in me, I grew impatient. Wanting to reach our destination faster. I was sure I could fly faster than this, I even would have launched off Mother¡¯s back if I knew where to go.


    Slowly passing through more halls, nodding and bowing dragons, and stopping by to scoff down large amounts of meat. We arrived at our destination: the Elf¡¯s room.


    I smiled and quickly morphed into my Beast-man form, waiting for the doors to permit me access I bolted through the small crack as it opened.


    The Elf was sitting on her bed, reading a large, thick book. She was so engrossed in its contents she did not even notice the large stone doors opening, let alone me. I stealthily snuck up next to her, slowly closing in on her as if she were prey.


    After a few padded steps I launched at my objective, ensuring victory.


    I let a strong leap shoot through my legs, large but accurate I landed precisely on target¡­right onto her lap. In doing so I quick, but large yelp burst forth from her lips, and she dropped the thick book onto the ground with a thud.


    I sat there, facing her with a large grin, and darting tail, ¡°Got you!¡± I exclaimed in my delicate voice, chuckling as I did so.


    Her previous shock dissipated as she grasped the situation, making way for a small grin, ¡°Dear, be careful who you sneak up on in the future,¡± her grin turned slightly vicious, and her hands gripped my cheeks hard, ¡°You hear me?¡±


    I nodded swiftly, and the clamping hands released me and the previous viciousness turned soft again, warm and safe.


    Mother, then passed by the doors, which were now fully extended to grant her access, ¡°My daughter seems to be quite the mischief maker¡­I wonder where she gets that from?¡± she asked, showing a toothy grin.


    The Elf, sighed, ¡°I wonder indeed.¡± Her gaze turned upward to Mother as she continued patting my head, ¡°You come to test out this strange power of hers then?¡± The Elf asked.


    Mother¡¯s grin faded, ¡°Yes.¡± A one word answer.


    The Elf then turned to me, still rubbing my sore, red cheeks, ¡°This is going to feel a little strange, okay? Promise me not to squirm too much.¡±


    I didn¡¯t like the sound of that, yet I nodded my head slowly.


    Her hand gently touched my forehead, and a blinding gold light emerged from beneath her palm.


    As the light emerged I felt a strange, uncomfortable probe snake through my mind, sifting through from the front straight through to the back. It continued its journey down past my neck, spilling in two and working its way up and down my arms, causing them to tingle as they did so. It then worked its way down my sides and through my stomach, snaking its way down to my legs, prickling and flowing the same way as it did my arms. Then the probe shifted up to my chest and stopped.


    I felt nothing for a few brief moments before it felt as if it exploded through all my pores at once. Shooting through in all directions as it touched the centre of my chest, I screamed the immense pain, only to be drowned out by an earth shattering roar.


    Then all faded to black.


    ==================================================================================


    Author Note:


    And there we have it. I met one of my promises today.


    Enjoy another chapter.

 Chapter 7 - Power

    Chapter 7 ¨C Power


    So dark, so cold, so lonely. A weak, fragile and sore whisper echoing through my mind.


    My surroundings are pure black and void of colour, most unlike my mother¡¯s beautiful shimmering scales.


    I try to look around to examine the void, yet find I am unable. I try to understand my predicament, and find that this feeling of weightlessness is most similar to the time spent within my egg, a time where I was able to see without seeing, where I used my mind rather than my eyes.


    Understanding my fault, I start to search my surroundings with my mind¡¯s eye. As begin my task of sifting through the dark, I quickly locate a seemingly invisible white light, illuminating the pure black.


    I touch the pale light tentatively and recognise it immediately, the power within my core.


    I search through the light, familiarising myself with the pulsating power and find a strange inconsistency; throughout the bulk of power, various strands of strange, green light weave throughout it, trying to spring loose from its bulk as it squirms.


    I reach out my mind and gently grip the green strands, then gently tug them with enough force to free them, but not enough to snap their seemingly brittle form.


    Almost immediately as I do, I feel a familiar sweet fragrance wash over my incorporeal form; the scent of pure, gentle magic; the scent of the Elf.


    Memories followed the scent as I remembered how I got here, the Elf was testing my power, trying to break the riddle of it. Perhaps my power somehow reacted to her probing, and for some reason attempted to steal her own. A question for another time however, as I have magic to free.


    While gently tugging on the strand, my power obeyed, sensing my will and releasing the trapped Elf¡¯s power.


    As the strands quickly snaked off into the darkness, quickly fading into the void, my power started flaring. I tried to reach out to calm it but as soon as I did, light exploded around me.


    It took me a few moments to get my bearings but I quickly recalled the Elf¡¯s room, and more importantly my protective mother towering over me, obviously shielding my once unconscious self.


    After a few seconds more, sound returned to my array of senses and began to pick up the large room practically shaking from the low growls of Mother.


    Lightly chuckling my amusement as her actions, I rose to my feet and lightly tapped on her hide, a broad smile on my face as I did so.


    She quickly snaked her head around, bringing a large, ruby eye level with me. With a voice filled with worry she asked, ¡°Are you well again, daughter?¡±


    I gave an exaggerated nod and lightly skipped around her, setting my gaze on the pale faced Elf, who was resting on the other side.


    I suppose I would be scared if a giant black dragon was growling at me, as well. I thought.


    Concerned that Mother would blame the Elf, I turned my gaze back to Mother and stated, ¡°Not her fault.¡± My voice soft, but serious.


    After almost a full minute¡¯s thought Mother lightly nodded, ¡°Very well.¡± Seemingly trusting my judgement on the matter, she didn¡¯t argue.


    Even though that crisis was contained, the Elf was still outrageously pale, her eyes swimming with guilt. Thinking of only one way to cheer her up I ran over towards her and sat squarely on her lap, as if nothing had ever happened.


    Bringing my hand up towards her head and started lightly patting her it, I repeated, ¡°Not your fault.¡±


    The Elf¡¯s eyes still swam with guilt but she began patting my head anyway.


    I gave a bright smile once again and let the sweet moment pass us by.


    After the Elf seemed to calm down a little, she explained her findings to my mother, ¡°I still don¡¯t fully understand her powers,¡± she said while still stroking my head, ¡°however from what I understand she is somehow able to steal magic power.¡±


    Mother seemed taken aback, ¡°How?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t the faintest clue. Perhaps it is a form of Aberrant magic, that she alone possesses.¡± The Elf paused, ¡°It would not be the first time such a child was born, yet I have yet to meet one so strong, nor unique.¡± She let out a small smile, ¡°Then again, I wouldn¡¯t have expected anything less from your daughter.¡±


    ==================================================================================


    Working our way through the halls once again, I noticed various dragons neither nodding nor bowing at our pass; instead they were darting out of Mother¡¯s way, averting their gaze and cowering at our passing.


    Curious¡­perhaps they are so frightened due to Mother¡¯s roar when I passed out? Or perhaps it¡¯s the look of pure fury within her fiery, red eyes?


    Either way we quickly reached our room in record time, on account of the lack of dragons essentially prostrating themselves in our path.


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    As I sat down on the large mat that was our bed, Mother spoke, ¡°Listen well, daughter. For I will not repeat this twice.¡±


    Noticing the seriousness of her tone, I nodded quickly and gave her my full attention.


    ¡°It is custom for dragons to seek our education through our dams and sires, learning through our accumulated experience and wisdom as we do so. As such we have become an isolated race, with connections to all but a few outside of dragonkin.¡±


    I sat completely still, absorbed with the newfound knowledge she was presenting me.


    Her eyes alit with both amusement and rage with her proceeding words, ¡°We are so isolated that most believe us to be


    legends, myths and beasts; beings without a shred of intelligence that smote and destroyed everything in our path.¡±


    Well, looking at Mother, it wouldn¡¯t be hard to understand why. I smirked at the thought.


    ¡°However this must change. We have remained in isolation within these mountains for too long, both our hatchlings and elders becoming ignorant of the world beyond.¡±


    Curiosity built up brighter within me, excited at where she was going with this.


    ¡°As such we send some of our Broods to break this trend of ignorance. Don¡¯t you agree?¡±


    I gave a nod, still remaining silent. Of course we must expand into the outside world. To be thought as nothing but beasts, myths and legends is, while amusing, an insult to dragon kind.


    Mother gave out a sad, but sure smile as she continued, ¡°Good.¡± After a breath pause she continued, ¡°Because you will be one of them.¡±


    ==================================================================================


    I found myself wandering the winding halls of my home in my Beast-man form, quickly scurrying along the cold, hard stone.


    I noticed the abundance of odd looks I got from various dragons, and the obvious lack of bowing in my presence. It seems Mother, and the rest of those aware of my gifts, have kept quiet about my morphing ability.


    While exploring the winding halls I ponder the mandate of my mother, recalling her wishes. After explaining to me the necessity of our return from seclusion, she explained to me just how we would return.


    ¡°It is necessary for us to return in earnest, but not to brazenly clutter about beyond our borders, scaring the other races of the land. As such you and your brothers will be attending an academy of sorts, intended to nurture all beings of the land.¡±


    An academy.


    From what Mother told me it was open to all races, ages and stations; be it royalty, commoner, or any other form.


    She then went on to explain Dragons, Elves and Beast-men were not the only race in existence, detailing the features of a races I have yet to meet. The numerous Humans, the varying Fae, the powerful Demons and the rare Angels.


    Not only were there these races, but various forms of life too numerous to explain in but one conversation.


    I let my mind sift back to Mother¡¯s explanation of the Academy, ¡°It lies at the centre of the land, surrounded by a large thriving city. The rulers of the Academy reside over naught but the Academy itself, and the city is left to its own governance.¡±


    It is said the Rulers are composed of various races, and open only to a select group of people. They hold tremendous power, and together have the power to rival even the strongest of empires.


    However, even they can¡¯t hold a candle to us Dragons; who, while few, have the potential to wipe each race of the face of the land.


    After these pondering thoughts I remembered a key question that I asked, ¡°Mother, I have heard many names, but what do we call this land?¡±


    She responded, a prideful smile plastered on her face, ¡°It was named after the strongest beings in the land of course.¡±


    I whisper her response as I turn a corner, mirroring my memories.


    ¡°Draconia.¡±


    ==================================================================================


    Author Note


    So, we are finally getting properly into the story. Yay!


    I made this chapter a little bigger due to the fact that I actually found a nice stopping point. I also plan to make chapter at least this long now, perhaps a bit bigger depending on my mood. So look forward to that.


    On top of that I recently got someone to proofread some of my previous chapters.


    Considering so many people dislike it when people edit previous chapters, I thought I would ask if everyone is fine with that? It will change NONE of the story, merely fix various grammar errors, while also clearing up some explanations and sentence structures.


    And yeah, let me know what you think. Give me any feedback on grammar, story, characters, etc.

 Chapter 8 - Lumina

    Chapter 8 ¨C Lumina


    I found myself within the room of the Elf, merely enjoying the time spent lounging on her bed in my Beast-man form.


    Looking at her now, it seemed she had mostly gotten over her mishap, and was happy to have my company.


    We talked of many things as the days passed us by.


    Elves, as she explained, were long-lived beings. The oldest of which believed to be several millennia old.


    She also explained they tended to live in the forests, thriving together with the Beast-men, who also lived within the chaotic realm of the wild.


    Our conversations were rarely over a minute long, and almost always instigated by my own curious questions.


    While I usually sat on her large bed, she was almost always leaning over her desk, scratching symbols, in which I came to learn was the runes of the universal language of Draconia, along a large scrap of parchment.


    While basking in her green magic, as she once again was scribbling down various runes, I asked, ¡°I have heard many a names these past few days. Elves, Humans, Beast-men, Dragons, Draconia.¡± Her gaze shifted from her work as I continued, ¡°But what of yours? What of mine? What of Mother¡¯s?¡±


    The Elf gave a small smile at my query,


    ¡°Well it is not my place to divulge neither yours, nor your mother¡¯s name. However I am known as Silvia.¡±


    Silvia, I whispered in my mind, it fits quite well.


    ¡°What do you mean they aren¡¯t yours to tell? Are names so important?¡± I asked.


    ¡°To some. If you are so curious about names, perhaps you should go ask your mother.¡±


    Acting upon Silvia¡¯s advice, I quickly rose to my feet and shifted from my Beast-man form to my dragon one, and exited the Elf¡¯s room.


    Scampering through the halls, I quickly came upon a large dragon. Her large, blue mass loomed over me, yet I did not coo. As the future queen of our race, I must learn to fear none¡­or at least appear as such.


    In contrast to her threatening demeanour she gently stated, ¡°If you are looking for the queen, she is out flying amongst the clouds, princess.¡±


    After a brief nod of gratitude, I darted back through the corridors and quickly made my way to the cliff face, dodging bows, nods and mutterings of ¡®Princess,¡± as I did so.


    Upon reaching the cliff face my eyes scanned the sky, using my keen eyesight I gazed upon the high clouds, searching for any sign of the pure, black hide of my mother.


    After a few moments, I noticed the unique bulk that was my mother emerge in the distance, her black, rough form in direct contrast to the white, soft texture of the clouds she sifted between.


    I let a developing roar echo through the sky to get her attention, and quickly took flight.


    As I approached, I noticed her ruby-eyes were fixed upon me, mirth reflecting in the gaze.


    She slowed down considerably to allow me to catch up, leisurely gliding through the air as I made my way towards her.


    As I drew closer I slowed my speed, gently sliding in line with her hulking form, joining her as we calmly sifted through the sky.


    Opposed to our previous time spent in the air, this was relaxingly peaceful. I was is in no rush to interrupt our time together, content to lazily spend my time beside her.


    We flew above, beneath, and between the clouds; soared over, beside and amidst the mountains; we grazed the valley below, dipping our claws in the large rivers, enjoying the feeling of gliding through its murky depths.


    We eventually came to a stop beside the beautiful lake at the centre of our natural mountainous city, enjoying the rays of the sun¡¯s warm bathe our scales in light.


    I laughed at the sight of Mother¡¯s scales almost completely absorbing the light, while mine reflected it, their white light becoming so radiant they almost blinded me.


    Wanting to ask my questions, but unwilling to change from my true form, I merely stayed quiet; enjoying the time spent with my mother in silence.


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    After seemingly hours of remaining by her side, she spoke, ¡°My daughter, do you wish to learn how to speak while within the form of a dragon?¡±


    I was taken aback, Sometimes I swear she can read my mind. I thought.


    I gave a quick nod at her question. Intent to know why it is so difficult to speak in this form over my other two.


    ¡°As you have no doubt noticed, magic plays an important role in the lives of all creatures,¡± she explained. ¡°It weaves and works its way into all forms of life, working to supplement our lives in all manners of ways.¡±


    What does this have to do with speaking? I ponder.


    ¡°Dragons are no different. In fact, it incorporates so strongly within our race, our very instincts merge with the essence of magic.¡±


    Our instincts?


    ¡°As large as we are, do you not think it strange that we can soar through the air? Does it not seem impossible that we can fly for not seconds or minutes, but hours?¡±


    Is it? I never really thought about it.


    ¡°Magic is entwined into our very being. It is within every scale, every tooth, every wing, and every claw of our race. Without it, dragons would be but dust in the wind.¡±


    My previous drowsy expression turned to one of excitement. Magic is a truly wondrous thing.


    ¡°Magic is strong with our race that everything we do has the power of magic. We think with magic, we live with magic, we breathe with magic!¡±


    As if to prove her point she lets a small sigh escape from her mouth, hot breathe caresses the plain dirt as she does so.


    My eyes widen as they witness a miracle, the once brown dirt starts springing to light. Herbs pop from beneath the soil, creating a beautiful patch of green in an otherwise large patch of brown dirt.


    ¡°Due to this, we must also speak with magic. Our words forming from our core rather than our tongues.¡± She flicks her gaze intently toward me, ¡°Try, my daughter. Form them within your core, then expel them past your throat, as if you were breathing magic.¡±


    I do as instructed and touch the white mass of my magic. I draw on my knowledge of language within my mind as I form the questions I came to ask.


    Moulding my magic into the words I need, I let out a hearty breath, letting the words flow with the air as I exhale, ¡°Mother, what is your name?¡± The words flow correctly, yet are accompanied by a small growl as they sound.


    ¡°Good,¡± she praises me before answering my question. ¡°My name? An odd question indeed. You should know daughter, we dragons choose our own names when we are ready. Many dragons can go on for an age before they are ready to do so.¡±


    So does that mean I must choose my name? I wonder.


    ¡°My name is Umbra, dear child. However, to you I shall always be Mother.¡± Her red eyes go cold, obviously deadly serious, conveying that her order is not to be denied.


    ¡°Can I choose my name now?¡± I ask, a bitty growl still accompanying my speech.


    Mother smiled, ¡°Of course you can. However ensure you pick carefully. For once you choose your name, your magic will never separate from it. You shall be forever branded with your choice.¡±


    After my mother¡¯s warning I stood staring at the lake. Watching the light flicker off my scales I smiled, enjoying the strange patterns that reflected onto the lake¡¯s surface.


    I turn to my silent mother and smile, ¡°Lumina. My name will be Lumina.¡±


    ==================================================================================


    Author Note


    So this is my second time trying to post this chapter.


    My laptop found itself in the position of almost being smashed into a thousand little pieces, when it randomly decided to shutdown after I pasted the chapter from word, and formatted it properly.


    Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter and, like always, be sure to post any mistakes you find in my chapter in the comment section. :)

 Chapter 9 - My Wolf

    Chapter 9 ¨C My Wolf


    ¡°My name is Lumina.¡± I told the Elf, once again finding myself in her large room while in my Beast-man form.


    Scribbling down those strange runes atop the parchment, she briefly looked up, ¡°A wonderful name,¡±


    While previously I had become rather annoyed at her dismissive attitude, I quickly came to realise this was just her way. Her life was one spent absorbed by her strange, mysterious work, working her feathered pen feverishly across the rough parchment as she wrote.


    Lightly scampering toward her desk, I stood on my toes and peeked over the smooth, wooden surface.


    Silvia paused, her brow slightly raised as she asked, ¡°Yes, Princess?¡±


    I longed to learn exactly how to write these runes, and expressed my wish the fair Elf.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± she pondered, ¡°I could teach you, but I am a harsh tutor. I will not allow you much rest, nor will I tolerate repeated mistakes while you remain my student.¡±


    Her eyes took on a harsh air, an air even I believe could make my mother think twice.


    However, I am not my mother.


    I nodded immediately at her words, which only elicited a small scowl from her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t deal in nods, Princess. Either it is a yes, or it is a no.¡± She scolded, ¡°Use your words.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± I corrected, enjoying watching the scowl turn into a gentle smile is doing so.


    ¡°Good.¡± She paused for a moment, resting her head on her hands before continuing, ¡°I expect you here every night, starting now, I am too busy during the day to divert my attention from my work.¡±


    ¡°Every night?¡± I confirmed, ensuring no complaint entered my tone.


    ¡°Yes, every night.¡± She flicked her wrist in the direction of the exit, ¡°Now shoo. I have work to do.¡± I obeyed her orders and left her room, surrendering myself to the maze like halls of the den.


    Excited over the coming lessons, I found myself skipping down the halls. My mind going blank as I contently enjoyed the sensation of getting lost in the den¡¯s winding depths.


    I abruptly turn a corner and abruptly fall straight onto my butt. I rub my forehead gently, easing the blunt pain pulsing through my head as I look up.


    What stands before me is a familiar sight.


    The black-haired Beast-man stands before me, displaying the same aggression as the day I first met him as he looks down upon me. His plain, brown eyes seem to radiate a strange pressure, attempting to oppress whatever they happen to gaze at.


    While still exerting this strange oppression he reaches his hand out to me, silently urging me to take the offered support. I oblige and take his large hand, alarmed at the size difference of my own.


    I bring myself to my feet, watching the Beast-man¡¯s muscles lightly coil as he hoists me up.


    We both stand there, profiling each other¡¯s body, and assessing the other¡¯s strength.


    We quickly finish our assessment and then bring our stares to the each other¡¯s eyes.


    I feel my body tense as I do so, each individual muscle coiling in preparation to fight for my life.


    This response wasn¡¯t that of logic or reason. It was that of pure, unfiltered instinct.


    I felt a strange presence alongside my core, a power that is strong and wild.


    While still on high alert, I gazed my mind¡¯s eye upon this presence and found¡­a wolf.


    Its fur was a pure, soft, and sleek white, with ruby eyes of pure bloodlust.


    I examined the wolf and found a strange feeling, and feeling as though you were looking in the mirror, and found a wolf staring back at you.


    Examining the power of the wolf, I found a strange discovery. Her power, was a near identical match to my own.


    Coming to the only conclusion I could, I let my instincts take over. I let her take over.


    She is my wolf, and I her dragon.


    She is a part of me, and yet, she is me.


    I ripped myself away from my core and felt her stalking behind my eyes, pulsing her wild power towards the frightening Beast-man that was before me.


    I noticed my hair start to stand on end and my canines grow larger.


    I felt my eyes grow more feral as she backed me up, and, upon looking in my reflection in the Beast-man¡¯s eyes, saw my eyes glow the blood-red colour of my wolf.


    Abruptly, the hostile presence the Beast-man was emitting cut to a halt. As if it was never there to begin with.


    The once stoic expression he displayed was quickly overtaken by one of pure joy, and surprisingly¡­he smiled.


    I felt my wolf immediately stop supplying me with power, both of us utterly shocked at the strange change of demeanour.


    ¡°So you do have a wolf.¡± Was all the Beast-man said before walking off, quickly disappearing within the maze of our halls.


    A wolf? I thought.


    Using my mind¡¯s eye I seeped my gaze alongside my core, scanning the void for signs of the wolf. Yet, I found only traces of its magic and of course my core.


    Where did she go?


    I closely examined my pulsating power and found my answer.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Tightly concealed in my light, was my wolf. She lay inside the walls of my power, sleeping soundly within the sole warmth of the endless surrounding void.


    It was as if her wild power was contained inside, suppressed by the pure draconic force that lay within me.


    Interesting¡­


    ==================================================================================


    ¡°Wrong.¡± Silvia said, followed by the sharp snap of her cane meeting wood.


    I was within her room yet again, learning the language of the strange runes.


    ¡°This language,¡± she explained before our gruelling lessons truly began, ¡°is the commonly accepted script used throughout Draconia.¡±


    I was brought back to reality with another snap, ¡°Wrong.¡±


    ¡°It comprises of various runes, each comprising of a sound that every being is capable of producing.¡±


    Another snap, ¡°Wrong.¡± She stretched over me to correct my error, ¡°You use this rune here. Producing an ¡®ah¡¯ sound.¡±


    ¡°In using these sounds, we create various words, sentences and structures. First however, we must teach you your runes.¡±


    A soft snap this time, ¡°Wrong. That is a common mistake however. You stroke the quill like so¡­¡± She deftly demonstrated.


    I quickly grasped the sounds and which runes accompanied them.


    Which, to my joy, greatly impressed Silvia. Not long after demonstrating my ability we had moved on to sentences, which Silvia spoke aloud then asked me to convert into the proper runes.


    ¡°Ok, that is enough for now. It is rather late.¡± Silvia said.


    I translated her words, sure I made no errors as I did so. However, I heard a snap.


    ¡°Did you not hear me, princess?¡± She glanced at my translation before continuing, ¡°Well, in a way I suppose you did. No errors at least.¡±


    Reading the words on the parchment, I blushed, ¡°Sorry,¡± I said.


    Silvia laughed in response, ¡°It is fine, little one.¡± Ruffling my hair she added, ¡°You made great progress today, Princess. You should be proud.¡±


    I gave a bright smile at her praise, leaning into her hand as I did so.


    ¡°Off with you now. It¡¯s late.¡±


    I ran over to the door but turned before exiting, ¡°See you tomorrow, Silvia.¡± I said.


    I noted her warm smile once again, then skipped out the door.


    I started weaving back through the dimly lit halls, making my way back to my room that I noticed a strange call echo in my mind.


    Using my mind¡¯s eye I retreated within myself, trying to drive out the invading force, yet my resistance was quickly proving futile.


    I felt the pressure curl into a ball as it ripped down my spine, down my limbs and eventually, towards my core.


    I quickly followed suit, racing towards my core as I followed the terrifying power.


    As I found my target, I was met with a strange sinister aura bashing against the light that was my power.


    Terrified, I tried to grab the black fog, attempting to wretch it away from my beloved core. However, I was met with failure, my incorporeal fingers sliding through the mist.


    With each hit I felt my real body convulse in pain, it feeling as though my nerves were set on fire.


    I cried out in pure, unrivalled pain as I felt cracks form within my core, the steady pulse of power slowing with each passing second, and each passing blow.


    Smash


    The assault continued.


    Smash


    More cracks formed on my core.


    Smash


    My power was on the brink of breaking, as I prepared for the final assault.


    ¡­


    But nothing came.


    I returned my gaze to my core to find my wolf standing in front of my power, wrapping protectively around the fragile cracks.


    Her sleek, white form standing alone against the mist, she growled at it, pushing her wild power out in waves. Little by little the mist dissipated, fading away, and retreating into the void.


    With a huff my wolf sighed, relieved at the passing of the mysterious threat.


    I gave a weak smile, my pained body now relieved over the safety of my power¡­and my life.


    A dragon is magic according to Mother. Without it, I am sure we would cease to be.


    As I felt my adrenaline fade quickly, and  my body succumb to the pain, I saw the one thing that could truly relieve my worries approach ¨C Mother.


    ==================================================================================


    Author Note:


    Another chapter! Yayyyy.


    I planned out this scene at the end pretty much right after the creation of the concept of the MC and her powers. I was tearing my hair out over how to write the scene as imagined in my head, and in the end, got this result.


    Hope it isn''t too bad, took me quite a few tries before I was able to write it properly.


    Anyway, like always, give me any feedback you like. Good or bad. :)

 Chapter 10 - It is Here

    Chapter 10 ¨C It is here


    The pale tree stands strong, illuminated by the pale moonlight of the night.


    Down below, where its children dwell, are the flames of battle, strife and war.


    The boy who was once the sole companion of the tree was still dangling off one of the tree¡¯s branches. Swinging his legs lazily off its edge.


    ¡°It is here you know?¡± The boy whispered quietly.


    The tree shook slightly, acknowledging the boy.


    He abruptly stood up and walked over to the tree¡¯s trunk as he continued, ¡°One day you will have to awaken.¡±


    The screams of the dying could be heard in the distance, being consumed by fire, darkness, and death.


    The boy gave a few light knocks upon the tree¡¯s bark, ¡°You may be strong, but you are of no use like this.¡± He turned his head to the sound of death and sight of fire, ¡°It will continue this slaughter, and together we must stop it.¡± A wry smile formed on the boy¡¯s face, ¡°But not now, and very much later.¡±


    The tree lazily swayed, dismayed over the truth of the boy¡¯s words. The children it had come to create, love, and cherish were dead or dying upon its roots, or fighting out within the forest. Yet they stood no chance, not against the foe that were amongst those trees.


    ¡°Do not worry friend, we will find each other again.¡± The boy¡¯s smile faded as he looked upon the coming death, ¡°However, I think I might see what it is we are fighting first.¡±


    And with that, the boy jumped off the branch, and sprinted into the forest.


    ==================================================================================


    Umbra¡¯s POV


    Currently attempting to doze off in my quarters, I came to a rather annoying conclusion, ¡°I can¡¯t sleep.¡±


    Ever since giving birth to my daughter I had become rather attached and frightened.  Her innocent nature was a constant worry for both myself and Silvia, who was currently teaching my brilliant daughter the intricacies of written speech.


    Silvia had told me her quick comprehension of our language was almost as startling as her instant grasp of our speech, but hardly surprising due to her various impossible feats she had demonstrated since her hatching.


    Discounting her strange shapeshifting power, her intelligence was nothing to gawk at, and I had a feeling I had merely seen a ripple in her otherwise sea of potential.


    To be honest, I was rather excited of what she would do once introduced to the other unsuspecting races of Draconia, not to mention how they would react to her.


    Hatchlings, regardless of race nor gender, were full of bias, ignorance, and idiocy. Which I¡¯m sure would be in abundance due to the rumours of us being no more than animals.


    My pondering of such thoughts was quickly broken by my approaching daughter. Her power was immense, and any being with enough experience could sense it as it drew near.


    Her power was a pulsing heat in the otherwise lone glow of our own, and as such, was impossible to ignore.


    I felt the urge to run to her, eager to bask in the joy of her presence. This was a new and motherly urge, and while present with my sons, could not hope to rival that of my daughter.


    Regardless, I suppressed this urge, willing my body to stay and patiently await her.


    After a few minutes of waiting my patience was broken, not by my own will, but something different and far more shocking.


    It was as if her power called out to me, willing across the Void of Magic to come to her aid.


    And I soon found out why ¨C she was being attacked.


    I broke out into a thundering roar, and rushed through the halls to approach her. The ground shaking and cracking under the force of my strides.


    I felt a vile black magic seep into her. An unrestrained and toxic power that radiated with the emptiness of the Magic Void.


    While black, my own power had none such venom. It was the natural shadow needed by the light, a pure shadow that belonged to the flow of life and death.


    This magic however was merely¡­nothing. It had no tangible master but to itself. It belonged to nothing but its own sinister agenda, and felt as if it craved nothing but an end.


    This magic was not death, which sought only to preserve the sanctity of life, this magic was the destruction of life, a mere force that sought out nothing but an end.


    And now, this end was seeking my blood, my kin, my daughter ¨C MY LUMINA!


    It battered against her defences, trying to break the core of magic that was not just a part of the Dragonkin, but it was the Dragonkin. Attempting to break it was a testament to murder.


    I rounded the halls, sliding past and shattering the surrounding walls as I rushed to her, but I did not care.


    Dragons started to seep out of their quarters while I was rushing, no doubt both hearing my racket and sensing the ominous presence that invaded their home, without a word they followed me.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    After five minutes of navigating these accursed hallways I heard a scream of pain, and that is when I noticed ¨C her core was beginning to shatter.


    I let my power explode out of my core, snaking it through the void to connect to hers, and provide more power to defend herself.


    They flew throughout the endless dark and came upon her lone light, yet before they could connect, something unbelievable happened.


    Seeping out of her core came a wolf, something I was certain only a true Beastkin could acquire.


    Impossible, I denied.


    There was no way this could happen. An Avatar of a Beastkin was something acquired at birth, it was forever entwined into their soul, not a thing of magic, and not a thing her power could hope to emulate.


    Before I could wonder further, the wolf growled, and in its wake, wild magic burst forth, banishing the sinister aura.


    I quickly turned an upcoming corner and saw Lumina, within her Beastkin form, collapsed at the end of the hallway.


    As I neared she weakly lifted her frail hand, ¡°Mother¡­¡± Her voice was barely a whisper, and accompanied by laboured breaths.


    Coming to a stop near her I nudged her small hand, with my enormous snout, ¡°You are safe now.¡± I assured her.


    Then she passed out, and shockingly she changed, once more taking on her true form.


    I heard the audible gasps of the dragons behind me, which was a fairly amusing sound coming from the strongest and oldest race in the known world.


    Ignoring their shock, I motioned a red elder dragon to my daughter, before turning my back to her.


    Quickly taking note, he scooped her up gently and placed her upon my broad back.


    ¡°Follow.¡± I commanded the dragon, then immediately departed for my quarters.


    Passing the large doors I strode to the side of my bed and abruptly snaked my head back to my quiet companion, and silently expressed my wish yet again.


    Nodding, he tentatively approached me, gently took my daughter and placed her on our bed.


    After doing so he gave a slight bow, then made a quick exit, giving my daughter and I our much needed peace.


    Like always I draped my wing over her sleeping form, encasing it in a warm, loving darkness.


    How many times has she fainted now? Three times? Four times? I thought.


    Ignoring my pointless pondering, I let my power flow from my core, then began my task.


    I allowed my power to stretch out through the Magic Void and felt it latch on to the foreign force that was my daughter.


    The contrast of our powers was as amusing as the contrast of our scales. My power, while not as horribly bleak as the void, was indeed dark. Yet my daughter¡¯s was like the sole light in the void. A beacon for a lost soul, if there were even such a thing in this endless void.


    I let my power lightly touch her own and began to assess the damage.


    It was as bad as I thought. Her wolf may have protected her from the worst, but her power was still very much unstable.


    My power shuddered at the torrent of power leaking from her core¡¯s cracks, cracks that were dangerously close to expanding should they not be repaired.


    And so, I began repairing.


    My pulsing power seeped in through the cracks and began weaving throughout hers. Her power retained its dim light for a few moments, still very much quiet, and still very much broken. Then, suddenly, it sprang to life.


    Her power once again began to pulse, once again began to shine, and more importantly ¨C began to heal.


    Her power visibly started to beat as it grasped my strength and repaired itself, each beat taking my power as it did so.


    My body grew weaker as she gave my offered power, yet I embraced the coming weakness. As beings of magic, we grew weaker as our core faded, a weakness we held at the price of our strength.


    Regardless, I would recover in time; and, due to my efforts, so would Lumina.


    Her power soon finished its work, and gently released my power, allowing it to retreat back to its master.


    Embracing the fatigue, I closed my eyes and began to drift off to sleep.


    But then, suddenly, I heard an earth shattering roar. I felt the bellow within my bones and within my core, even Lumina could be heard growling lightly in her sleep.


    This roar, this call, could only mean one thing ¨C war.


    ==================================================================================


    Author Note


    I''ve decided to change up the synopsis of my story a bit, considering how I believe it is horrible lacking. So just thoughts I''d let you all know.


    As well as this, I plan on letting the story get more serious in the next chapter as well. Hope you are looking forward to it, as I am definitely looking forward to writing it.


    As always, give any criticism/comments you like, grammatical or otherwise.


    Thanks for reading. :)

 Chapter 11 - The Consequence of War

    Chapter 11 ¨C The Consequence of War


    ¡°You¡¯re awake, right?¡± An obnoxious but strangely familiar voice asked, a voice that was accompanied with an annoying tapping to my scaled forehead.


    As I ignored the annoying tapping, and resisted the urge to remove whatever finger was responsible, I lifted my heavy eyelids.


    What greeted me was not like anything I was expecting, what stood before me was not Mother nor Silvia, but was the boy from my strange dreams.


    Getting a closer look at the strange boy, of which I was unable to do in my dreams, I noted off his various features.


    He stood at about the same height as my Beastman and Elven form, but had neither the animal nor pointed ears of each respective race. Instead his ears were similar to an Elf, but instead of being pointed, had a smooth, rounded edge. He was assumedly, as described to me by Mother ¨C human. His face was unremarkable, boyish and young, befitting his visage of a small human boy. Yet, one of his most important features betrayed this notion ¨C that of his eyes.


    His sclera was a normal white, but had strange, bright red veins bludging through them which stopped just shy of his pure red eyes; but even this was not his most striking feature.


    His hair, which stopped just short of his eyes and ran down to the back of his neck, held not one but two distinct colours ¨C violet and gold ¨C both of which were split evenly, violet on his left, gold on his right. A truly strange occurrence, but then again, so was meeting the boy in my dreams.


    With my profiling of the boy completed, I asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The boy¡¯s face quickly blossomed into a wide grin as he responded, ¡°Names are boring, and in my experience, often fleeting.¡±


    An odd answer befitting an odd boy. I thought before he continued.


    ¡°Regardless, I wonder what you should call me¡­¡± The boy paused briefly as he pondered, then suddenly proclaimed his name in a loud, yet excited voice, ¡°Janus!¡±


    ¡°Where are we then, Janus?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­hard to say.¡± Another vague answer, ¡°What do you see?¡±


    Following his question, I swept my gaze over the scenery and listed off its various features, ¡°A forest, an annoyingly vague boy, and a stream. Nothing special.¡±


    Ignoring my jab, Janus raised an eyebrow, seemingly amused by my answer, ¡°Is that so?¡±


    More vague musings


    After a brief pause, I asked the most important question, ¡°What are you?¡±


    Janus¡¯ bright smile grew radiant, ¡°Now that is a better question.¡± I patiently waited for him to continue, but Janus remained silent.


    ¡°Well?¡±


    His head titled slightly to the side as he responded, ¡°Well what?¡±


    I scowled, ¡°I¡¯m asking, what are you?¡±


    The boy then sneered, ¡°I¡¯m telling you, that is a good question.¡± He mimicked.


    This boy is really getting on my nerves¡­perhaps I should eat him.


    The boy still had that mocking smile plastered across his face, ¡°Well aren¡¯t you the grumpy one.¡±


    My scales felt as though they were trembling along with my rage, ¡°I have a very strong urge to bite you.¡± But instead of fear, the boy just kept up that mocking smile.


    However, before I could make true to my words everything just started to feel¡­wrong.


    The boy¡¯s smile quickly faded, as he obviously sensed whatever I did too. ¡°Hmm, seems like our time is up.¡±


    ¡°Time?¡± I asked, ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    He ignored my question and just eyed me with pity, and instead of answering my question, remained quiet.


    I recognised the strong sense of wrongness before. It was dark, slick and cold. It felt exactly like the force that battered against my core, it felt exactly like the magic that tried to kill me, it felt exactly like¡­the void.


    The boy then spoke yet again, ¡°Know this, Lumina.¡±


    Wait how did he know my name?


    I tried to ask, but the scenery shockingly changed, distracting my already scrambling thoughts. Now, instead of lush forests everything like looked dead. Trees became blackened and brittle, flowing water dried up, and a thick black fog was closing in around me.


    The boy, seemingly unfazed, continued, ¡°Know that your life is about to change. You feel alone, afraid, and broken.¡± His voice then became strained, yet soft, ¡°However, know that you will not truly be alone, and you will find a place among strangers.¡± He then began to fade as the darkness closed in, ¡°Be strong.¡±


    Then, once again, everything became black.


    ==================================================================================


    My eyes rapidly shot open, and thankfully I was back within my familiar room.


    I wished to ponder on what Janus said but I had more pressing matters ¨C Mother.


    Unlike every other time I had awakened, Mother was nowhere to be seen. She had never left me along while I slumbered, and this bothered me immensely.


    Where was Mother?


    Why isn¡¯t she here?


    Had she abandoned me?


    Is she hurt?


    These thoughts whirled through my mind. I felt anxious, afraid, and alone.


    Was this what Janus meant?! Has Mother left me?!


    My mind now grew panicked, and my body involuntarily started to shake. My breathing grew hitched, my core released a flurry of glowing power, and even my wolf joined me in my worry.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    As my mind raced and my wolf howled, something broke me from my trance. A rumbling, loud and ear-splitting roar rumbled through the room.


    It roused my wolf into a frenzy, and I understood why ¨C that roar was the sound of battle.


    Breaking through my panic I noticed the door starting to swing ajar, and to my horror, something came through.


    This something was not a dragon.


    This something was not an Elf.


    This something was not a Beastman.


    This something was horror.


    The Horror started edging towards me, a writhing black mass that resembled nothing of comparison, was edging towards me.


    It kept coming, darker than a shadow and as hollow as the void.


    Looking at the Horror, I felt a sense of true fear, a sense of true hopelessness. I was a dragon, a race so strong they named the world after them, yet I trembled.


    I tried to move, to roar, and even to whimper. But I could do nothing as the mass stopped directly in front of me.


    Then, as it was about to snuff out my short life, it was engulfed in flames. My eyes still glued to the mass, I watched as it howled and screeched as it was consumed by the fire, and felt a wave of relief wash over me as it was quickly reduced to ashes.


    I turned my head to the entrance, and found exactly what I expected to see ¨C Mother.


    Yet...something was wrong. She looked pained, hurt, and sluggish as she walked towards me. Then, after a few moments I noticed ¨C she was injured.


    Blood flowed from between her black scales, and her visible hide held large gashes throughout the tissue. Her usual bright, red eyes were dark and she looked as if she was barely remaining conscious.


    I bolted towards her, worry freeing me from fear, ¡°Mother!¡±


    As I rushed towards her, she staggered and collapsed against one of our walls.


    Quickly taking account of her injuries I noticed it looked far worse than I feared. I let both my wolf and dragon instincts take over, and began licking the sounds clean.


    Although I tried, I helplessly watched as the blood gushed down her sides, staining her hide and scales further.


    ¡°Mother!¡± I pleaded, ¡°What do I do?!¡± I didn¡¯t know if dragons could cry, but I felt as though I was about to.


    Mother weakly opened her eyes and displayed a cocky, albeit weak, smile. ¡°Who do you think I am? I¡¯ll be fine in a fe-¡± She was interrupted by several harsh, bloody coughs.


    I gave up on cleaning her wounds, they were too severe and too numerous. I instead approached her snout and nuzzled my own against it, ¡°What do I do¡­?¡±


    Mother¡¯s cocky smile faded, ¡°Lumina¡­listen.¡±


    ¡°What do I do¡­?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. But you must survive,¡± her voice grew gruff, a hard task for a race of naturally grumbling dragons.


    ¡°No! Just tell me what to do!¡±


    Mother struggled to her feet and lifted a small smile, ¡°Stand beside the wall.¡±


    Without thinking I obeyed her, following her instructions to the letter and replaced her position against the wall.


    Without a word I felt her magic, and large stone encased me, ¡°Mother, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Lumina.¡± Her usual deep commanding voice was soft, gentle.


    The walls coiled tighter around me, ¡°Mother! Stop!¡±


    Her dark, warm magic sifted over me.


    I felt her magic tug me towards the safety of sleep, ¡°Mother¡­wait¡­¡± I drowsily protested.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my daughter. But this is the only way.¡±


    I felt her magic still weaving through the stone, morphing and shaping the thick material. The stone fully encased me now, blocking me from the view of my mother, but then suddenly began to morph.


    Starting from the centre, the stone turned to a strange, transparent crystal, spiralling outwards slowly, replacing the dull stone.


    Soon enough, it expanded enough that Mother became visible again, ¡°Mother¡­please¡­¡± Her magic was still washing over me, pushing my body towards a deep sleep.


    Eventually, the rock was completely crystallised, and the new crystal was being placed within the wall, I was being placed within the wall.


    But that was not what concerned me at the moment, but rather, the dozens of Horrors pushing past the doors and converging on Mother. ¡°Mother¡­behind¡­you¡­¡± I tried to warn her, but I doubt any sound escaped from this crystalline shell.


    Her entire magic power, which was diverted from the task of creating the shell, now converged on me. The drowsiness now being pushed upon me could not even compare to that of before.


    I slowly started to drift off to what I believe would be a long sleep, and the last thing I saw was the horrors ripping apart my mother.


    Once again, I succumbed to darkness.


    ==================================================================================


    Author Note


    Well, here we are another chapter.


    It seems most of you guessed this sort of outcome, and some of you said I hadn''t added a tragedy tag, so it might not happen...


    Well, sorry...it happened.


    I honestly forgot to re-add a tragedy tag to the story after my tags got wiped. So I''ll go add that right now.


    Sorry if some of you have read so far hoping for a non-tragedy story, but you know, I kind of wanted to kick an adorable dragon a little, slaughter her mother, and encase her in a crystal wall. Is that too much to ask?

 Chapter 12 - Dragon Glass

    Chapter 12 ¨C Dragon Glass


    Lilianna POV


    ¡°Lilianna!¡±


    My shoulders tense, only one voice could be both sweet and annoying at the same time, ¡°Venia,¡± I sigh. You¡¯d think I could evade her notice in the bustling streets of the Capital. But you¡¯d be wrong.


    She runs over to me with graceful strides, as beautiful as the forest, and perhaps just as deadly.


    Like most, she towers over my short height, a full head taller than I. Accompanying sapphire eyes, her hair is a normal golden blonde, which I dream of having over my own strange, ever changing colours.


    Even now, I felt my now green eyes flicker with blue specks, a sign that soon enough they would change. Not to mention my blood red hair has strands of white, signalling that soon enough I would have some form of odd pale hair.


    Regardless of colour, these features were always strange, sometimes emitting a faint glow, other times taking on irregular shades of colour. Even now, my blue specked, green eyes had a faint glow, signalling to all that I was anything but normal.


    Even despite this ¨C or perhaps because of them ¨C Venia was perhaps my closest friend, even if a slightly annoying one. A normal, gracious beauty, beside an exotic, crazed one. At least that was the rumour that always followed in our wake.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe we made it into the Academy.¡± Venia mumbled.


    ¡°Is it really that shocking?¡± I replied, ¡°Most humans know little, if any, true magic.¡± Which was true, we weren¡¯t like Elves or Demons. Magic may play a part in our lives, but very few knew how to wield it from scratch.


    ¡°I guess. But it is still surprising nonetheless,¡± her tone was brittle and tame. A rare reprieve from her otherwise bubbly, obnoxious demeanour. ¡°Dragon Glass Academy.¡± Her face scrunched up a little, a sure sign she was trying to puzzle over something, ¡°Why Dragon Glass?¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡± She was truly an idiot.


    ¡°What?!¡± She screeched, then examined my face before continuing, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like I¡¯m stupid, and answer the question.¡± She pouted, which of course caused me to burst into laughter.


    It took me a full five minutes of laughing before I would answer, which earned me a large scowl from Venia.


    Deciding it would be easier to show her, I simply stated, ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡±


    Most would expect her to whine, but she knew I wouldn¡¯t budge on an issue that was troubling to explain, ¡°Fine.¡± She sighed, ¡°You packed and ready?¡±


    A rhetorical question of course, as she knew how lazy I was. So in response I just smiled.


    She sighed again, ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll come help you.¡±


    Venia started walking ahead, obviously expecting me to follow. Which I did willingly, if she was going to help, it is just less work for me.


    After a good hour of walking, we arrived at my place. Following her lead, I descended down a small staircase beside a large burly blacksmith, who was still slaving away since the wee hours of the morning.


    I gave him a small nod, to which he returned without even a pause in his work. I never spoke to him, but we both knew each other, and both acknowledged each other with mutual respect; and that is how we liked it.


    I even went to watch him sometimes, merely content to marvel at both the power and accuracy of his strikes. Mesmerised by the sparks that signalled his strong hammer meeting hot metal. We had a weird relationship, and despite both this and the odd nodding, we still never spoke.


    Venia, knew the man as well, and sometimes spoke to him, but she never questioned our refusal to speak. Yet another odd characteristic of my seemingly ¡®normal¡¯ friend.


    We passed various tools, weapons, and smelted metal as we made our way to my home. Like one could guess from this mess, I lived within the storage of the blacksmith, first as a squatter, now as a tolerated resident.


    The Blacksmith first took over his forge a few years ago, and subsequently stumbled upon me and my abode, yet as always he said nothing and gave a nod, before closing the door on me.


    As Venia now opened said door and strolled in, I followed her. Without a word she opened the makeshift closet that held the various rough cloth, and leather outfits that I wore.


    She grabbed them all and threw them onto the bed before stating, ¡°Choose maybe two or three outfits you want to bring. We won¡¯t be wearing much besides our school clothes when we get there.¡±


    Without hesitation I did as told and assembled two outfits of cloth and leather as instructed. And then started helping Venia choose what I should bring.


    After, about fifteen minutes ¨C thanks to Venia¡¯s help ¨C we were finished packing everything I needed into a medium sized leather pack.


    Suddenly a large booming bell could be heard from above, signalling the start of the afternoon.


    I turned to Venia, ¡°Well then, ready to go?¡±


    She gave me a wide grin, ¡°Let¡¯s go and grab my things.¡± A short pause, ¡°Then onto Dragon Glass Academy.¡±


    ==================================================================================


    So now we stood in front of the Academy, and I could only say one thing, ¡°Wow.¡±


    While the Academy was huge, but what shocked me almost senseless was something much more interesting.


    The grounds just inside the gate was littered with hundreds of people, but these people were not just humans. In fact, we made up a minority of the group, barely a handful among the mob.


    I could see Demons, Elves, Giants and Beastmen all mixed throughout a section, obviously more comfortable in the presence of each other. But what I couldn¡¯t place was the various other species filtered through the crowd.


    They had a strange feel to them, magical to be sure, but not wild like the Beastmen. You would generally think they were more than one species from a glance, being as varied as they are. But no, their magic was too similar.


    I gave up analysing them when a lithe man stepped from the enormous door of the main building. He wore nothing that would signal authority, but he held it all the same.


    As such, everyone turned their gaze to meet him as he spoke, ¡°All of you follow me.¡± That was all he said, and seemingly all he needed to say. Every one of us followed without question.


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    Passing the large doors we were met with equally large, spacious hallways, so large in fact even the Giants seemed dwarfed in comparison.


    And speaking of dwarves, I wonder why there are none among us. Odd, considering dwarves were more capable of magic than humans, regardless of their similarities. I had even met a few in the Capital.


    I didn¡¯t have long to ponder this, however. As what awaited me was the namesake of the Academy.


    I heard Venia gasp beside me, but like everyone else she could not tear her eyes from the sight before us.


    An enormous chunk of clear glass stood upon a podium, even larger than the giants. But what lay within it was the cause of such focus ¨C A white dragon.


    This dragon was enormous, yet not as large as in the tales. I would guess that when standing up, it was as tall as the Giants, who stood at four or five times my height.


    Maybe it is a child? But why is it encased in glass? I thought.


    Upon further examination the glass was anything but that. It shimmered in the light, distorting it into a strange rainbow as it passed through it. I would equate it more with a pure, undefinable gem. But I suppose calling it glass was easier to explain.


    To my shock every Elf, Beastmen, Giant, and even the strange race, fell to a knee in the presence of the gem, or rather, the dragon.


    I had heard stories of the Mystic Races, particularly their reverence of dragons, to which were believed to be a myth for thousands of years. Obviously both were more than just stories.


    Before I could muse further, the same lithe man, appeared on the stage. Getting a better look at him, he was pretty young, barely 20. Looks can be deceiving however, especially in relation to magic.


    He gestured to the gem with one arm, which elicited low growls from some of the more predatory Beastmen, ¡°Welcome to Dragon Glass Academy.¡±


    He was definitely deceiving, as his voice was ripe with magic. Something that very few people could notice, judging from the reactions of some of the Elves and Beastmen at least.


    ¡°I am Myrddin.¡± Another short line, which quieted the growls for some reason.


    More magic within his words. The fact that he basically was breathing magic unnerved me, and more importantly angered me. I felt my hair start to grow more strands of white, and my eyes start to change completely blue.


    The fact that he was so clearly powerful, and judging from a slight smile after he spoke, meant he was doing this on purpose. Perhaps doing so to see which of us could sense the power rolling off his tongue.


    Earning me a few glances my hair turned completely white, and my blue eyes started to glow much brighter than my previous green coloured ones.


    My hair often changed colour much faster when I was exposed to power, and always caused my own to ripple from my Magic Core.


    However something unnerved me much more than this ¡®Myrddin¡¯, and that was the fact that my hair began to change colour again. Strands of jet black started flowing down each and every strand, and red flecks began swirling within the blue of my eyes.


    Then it hit me, an enormous force of magic exploded into the room. Charging the room as if it were electricity. And that was a power everyone felt.


    Eyes were no longer on the man on the podium. No, everyone eyes now flew to one sight: a large, white dragon, who was now very much awake.


    Cracks began to form on the Gem, snaking apart all throughout, as the dragon¡¯s magic was whipping throughout the room. Magic that was now wrapping around all our cores, suppressing our own power.


    It felt wild, untrained, and almost unintentional. Almost as if one part of the power was panicking and the other was trying to minimize the damage.


    Surely enough the gem was now filled with cracks as the dragon¡¯s eyes darted around, pure panic reflected in pale, blue eyes.


    Then suddenly the gem shattered, exploding out in every direction, but strangely enough dissolving in mid-air before it could reach any of us.


    Just like dispelled magic, I noted.


    Then came a roar, pure power, and fury meshed into the act. The dragon¡¯s eyes continued darting around, taking in its surroundings. It scanned the new students, stopping briefly on the Elves and Beastmen, studying the Giants and then suddenly, stopping on one human ¨C me.


    The dragon¡¯s eyes briefly widened, before returning to its panicked, state.


    Abruptly, a large pack of wolves burst into the room. With a very strange Beastman girl riding atop of one.


    Barely a child, she was tiny, and I believed if she were standing, she would barely reach my waist. She had long, white hair that reached just below her shoulders, each strand as stark as the dragon¡¯s scales. She wore simple fur clothing, made from various white haired animals.


    Although she appeared as if she were barely six years old, all Beastmen abruptly fell to one knee in her presence.


    Ignoring their reverence she quickly turned to all of us and gave one sharp command, ¡°Leave.¡±


    Amber eyes that shone slightly signalled that she was far from a mere girl, and everyone obeyed her without question, even Myrddin. We all left, just as abruptly as she came. All wishing to get as far away from that dragon as possible.


    As soon as all of us escaped, various snarls could be heard from within, both wolf and dragon alike.


    ¡°So, what the hell was all that?!¡± Venia asked.


    ¡°I have no idea,¡± I paused for a moment, ¡°but things are about to get very interesting.¡±


    ==================================================================================


    Author Note


    Sorry for the late chapter.


    But here it is.


    Let me know if I have made any mistakes, and all that jazz. Or comment on how you all worship me, because let''s face it. I am a spooky, scary skeleton, who wouldn''t worship me.


    Boom. Explosion. Done.

 Chapter 13 - The Protection of a Wolf

    Chapter 13 ¨C The Protection of a Wolf


    Lumina¡¯s POV


    It is a strange thing to be both awake and asleep at the same time, contradictory even. But I had little want or need to ponder this development.


    Instead, I was trying to search my memories. Upon inspection, they felt¡­fragmented. I remembered small details: I was a dragon, my power was unique and strange, I was the Dragoness Heir. However, I couldn¡¯t remember where I was, why I was in this odd state, and who the current Dragon Queen was.


    I tried to recall these illusive memories, but they slipped from my grasp. I knew they were there, I knew that my memories were incomplete, I knew I had to recall them. But they never came.


    Despite my state of both slumber and wakefulness, I was still able to sense small fragments of my surroundings.


    First came the feeling of terror, relief, and evil. Then as soon as it came, it left. The years swept by after that, I lost track after a while. For all I know it could have been one year, or one millennia.


    Second came the feeling of excitement, joy, and innocence. It was a strange contrast to the previous sense I felt. Thankfully, it did not leave immediately. In fact, more senses flooded me, and I was certain that I was never alone.


    One sense came more often than others. If I had to describe it, it was the feeling of joy and innocence. Identical to that of before. I often bathed in the radiance that this sense emitted, basking in a glow that managed to rival the sun.


    But this radiance didn¡¯t last.


    After a short while, the sense stopped flooding me, and I was once again alone.


    I had felt lonely before meeting this joyful sun, but upon its prolonged absence¡­I started to feel empty. This sinking feeling consumed me, and once again I lost track of time. But I was sure that this time, centuries passed me by.


    New senses constantly bathed me, shooting through in waves of hundreds. Some were wild, others tame; some were a strong flame, others a weak spark. Yet, they were nothing compared to the joy that had long since left me.


    Within these centuries I came upon a sense that was eerily strong. It was similar to the wild powers that I had long since ran into. But it was much more refined, and much, much stronger. While it didn¡¯t fill the void in my heart, it at least ignited a small flame of interest.


    Once again, I found myself counting the times in which this power visited. It was always accompanied by various flames of wild, untamed power, but they were dwarfed in comparison. They sometimes changed, and sometimes didn¡¯t, but they were always wild.


    I anchored my sense of time to this being, using its visits as a marker to stop me going insane.


    In the time between the visits, I studied my predicament. From my incomplete memories, I was able to piece together that whatever condition I was in was not natural. Dragons were beings that ascended into the sky, and ruled the air above and land below. We were not meant to be caged within our own minds.


    Whenever the power visited, it would always snake its way towards me, coercing me to acknowledge its presence. I didn¡¯t fully understand why, or how it had done so. None had done so before, or at least not successfully.


    Still studying both my memories and condition, I was interrupted by the annual visits of weak power.


    I was able to sense various traits: arrogance, excitement, power, weakness. All flooded into my receptive mind. But then, one sense caught my attention.


    It was ever changing, but always unique. Memories clicked into place for me, reminding me of my core, and the ability for me to find other cores as well.


    I did exactly that, and peering into this strange, changing power. It had a strange assortment of colour. Various shades of reds, greens and blues were entwined around the core of their magic. Which, upon glancing at my own white shaded power, was a striking comparison.


    I examined my power much more closely now, curious as to why I had not been able to gaze upon it earlier. It was a shining light amidst the void that surrounded it. Its various strands, swirled slowly but thickly, meshing together with each other as they did so.


    It was then that I noticed something odd ¨C my power¡­was not alone.


    Uncased within the power, lay a pure white wolf. I should have questioned as to why it lay within, but instead, I was enamoured by its steady breathing.


    More memories clicked into place, why I watched the wolf. Pieces of my past came to me, and assured me of the wolf¡¯s presence, my wolf¡¯s presence.


    After recalling my memories, I reached out with my mind, steadily closing in on my wolf.  Within moments, I felt my mind brushing against my core, touching the strange glowing mass. In doing so, my wolf suddenly awakened.


    Her eyes were clouded with panic and terror, and I couldn¡¯t understand why. I tried to calm it by lightly brushing her fur, but it achieved nothing.


    Panic still clouding its gaze, it began pacing, eyeing my core¡¯s inner walls. After a few moments, she burst through my core, and took hold of my mind.


    She then forced my eyes open, and I realised I was encased in some sort of clear gem. I noticed my power leaking out as my wolf battered against the walls of my prison, leaving small cracks scattered throughout it.


    Leaving my wolf to her work, I scanned the room, I didn¡¯t like what I saw. Hundreds of people of all manner of races lay before me. Sweeping my gaze across the room I examined their power. Luckily they all seemed relatively weak, so I had little cause for concern.


    But then, my gaze widened as it rested on one lone human. Her hair was jet black with eyes that glowed a faint ruby red. It seemed so¡­familiar.


    But I had little time to ponder further as my wolf completed her work. The gem exploded, no longer able to handle the building pressure.


    Then I felt it ¨C a large wave of familiar magic dispelled in the wake of the shattered gem.


    Fragments of my memories crashed together, fusing and moulding to become whole. Then I understood, then I knew, then I remembered.


    Mother¡­ I sobbed.


    My mind broke, my magic exploded from my core, brushing against various nearby cores as it did so.


    I couldn¡¯t think, I couldn¡¯t speak, I couldn¡¯t even function. So I let my wolf seize control.


    Sorrow engulfed my mind, How did this happen? I thought.


    Vaguely aware of my surroundings, I noticed my wolf roar in sorrow.


    Weren¡¯t we the strongest? Weren¡¯t we indestructible?


    I vaguely registered various strong sources of power burst into the room, and various weak ones leaving.


    She left me¡­she died¡­why didn¡¯t she let me die with her?


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    ¡°¡ªat me.¡±


    How dare she leave me alone!


    ¡°¡ªlook at me.¡±


    How dare she die on me!


    ¡°Lumina, look at me!¡±


    Both my wolf and I agreed, as we snarled in response to the voice.


    I then took in my surroundings. Various fully grown wolves were scattered within the hall, prowling around me as they snarled.


    ¡°Enough!¡± A small girl snapped, and the wolves quieted.


    The girl was tiny, but beautiful. A fragile beauty of white hair, wolf ears, and amber eyes. If I wasn¡¯t careful I might crush her with one of my paws. Which I might do, if she dared order me to do something again.


    Her order was strange, and I realised that despite my anger at her, I did exactly what she demanded. Strange, it didn¡¯t feel much like magic. In fact, I did it mostly on instinct.


    The girl stared at me. No fear or uncertainty within her amber eyes, only authority. I found myself wanting to obey her every whim. My sorrow was a distant memory as I studied this strange girl, curiosity somewhat clouding my grief.


    She used my name, I thought.


    Ordering my wolf to back off, but not retreat, I took hold of my mind once again, ¡°How do you know my name?¡± I asked, growling and snarling due to my dragon form.


    ¡°Because it is my duty.¡± Vague. She reminds me of that strange boy from my dreams, Janus.


    Shrugging off her evasive answer, I decided to shift. Logically I should have remained a dragon, but this girl just felt safe. Like I would come to no harm, regardless of my form.


    I let my magic surround me and quickly shifted to my Beastman form. It was an odd feeling to go from towering over the girl, to becoming her exact same height. But regardless, I let my wolf once again take over, trusting her to protect me if things should tur for the worst.


    The girl¡¯s gaze softened as I did so, as if she knew I let my wolf take over.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so nervous around me, child.¡± She stated, confirming my suspicions.


    I found myself once again wanting to believe her, but I pushed aside those feelings, too wary to let them guide me.


    She reached out a hand, trying to grasp my shoulder. But my wolf jumped us back ¨C covering metres in seconds ¨C and let out a ferocious snarl in response.


    ¡°Calm.¡± She stated, and I felt my muscles relax slightly, ¡°You will come to no harm from me.¡±


    Neither my wolf nor I still trusting her, we tensed our muscles again, snarling as we did so.


    Knitting her brow, the girl said again, ¡°Calm.¡± Her voice soothing me once again.


    I didn¡¯t like that, I didn¡¯t trust her. Every word she said demanded obedience. It dripped with promises of protection. But nothing can protect me, not from those things. I immediately regretted shifting to my Beastman form, but now I couldn¡¯t change back.


    My wolf was in total agreement, and took total control of my body, preventing me from shifting back to our strongest form. She backed us up slightly and rested on the balls of our feet. I felt our teeth grow larger and sharper as we did so. Then my wolf glared at the girl, and released a menacing growl, warning her to back off.


    The girl however didn¡¯t do so, and instead ordered, ¡°Enough.¡± Her amber eyes were swimming with a mixture of worry, dominance, and pity.


    My wolf then began darting our eyes around the room, looking for any and all exits, but found none not already covered by numerous wolves.


    The girl took a step forward, earning a louder, and more vicious growl. My wolf stepped up to meet her, not daring to back down. The girl said nothing, merely meeting my panicked glare with that same mixture of emotions.


    She took another step, to which my wolf greeted with a snap and another step of our own.


    The girl then gave a loud sigh, closing her eyes for a brief moment before snapping back to me. All pity was absent from her gaze now, and only unrelenting dominance rested in the amber of her eyes. Her teeth lengthened, her eyes turned feral, and she started growling in response to my disobedience. Clearly she let her own wolf out to play.


    The girl grew as her wolf came out, changing from a small girl, to a fully grown woman. It was a strange sight, watching her limbs, torso and face change before my eyes. It looked rather painful, but the girl, now a woman, showed nothing of it if it did.


    My wolf was still growling however, even if weaker and more frightened than before.


    The woman¡¯s wolf then titled her head, obviously confused at our behaviour. Perhaps now that she was out, she expected me to immediately back down. Not missing a beat, the woman began taking long strides to my position, no longer small and tentative in her steps.


    My wolf was slightly shocked at the complete difference of her attitude, but didn¡¯t take long to recover. She lunged at the woman, who in turn widened her eyes in response, obviously not expecting us to react so violently. To her credit, however, she recovered in record time. Meeting my wolf¡¯s flurry of tooth and claw.


    My wolf burst our hand out fast, aiming to rip the woman¡¯s throat out with claws that replaced nail. However the girl caught us in mid-strike and with a sharp movement, had us with our back facing her. My wolf looked back the woman, glaring daggers into her amber eyes.


    ¡°Enough. I don¡¯t wish to harm you, child.¡± She said, eyes softening slightly before returning to their feral state.


    Obviously, we didn¡¯t comply. Instead opting to shift our weight and give a sharp kick to the woman¡¯s knee. However, instead of the expected buckle that should have followed, nothing happened.


    It did not escape her notice though, and with a sharp push had us pinned to the ground. Before we could react, her fangs then closed around our neck, lightly pressing against our throat. We went completely slack then, not daring to contest the obvious message.


    ¡°Good.¡± She stated after pulling away from our throat. She then gestured to one of the black wolves, and it stalked up to us. ¡°Get on, we have much to talk about.¡±


    Still not trusting her completely, but not daring to argue, my wolf complied with her order.


    As we climbed onto the wolf, I thought back to my fear upon finding the woman¡¯s fangs upon my neck.


    I was afraid. Perhaps I wasn¡¯t so sure about following my mother to the grave just yet. But if that is the case, what should I do? What would Mother had wanted me to do?


    As I passed the huge doors of the room, riding the black wolf, I pondered, What do I have to live for?


    ==================================================================================


    Author Note


    Day late from what I promised, but I had an unexpected RL thing.


    However, here it is.


    There may be a few mistakes, so if you find any, be sure to tell me.

 Chapter 14 - Alphas

    Chapter 14 ¨C Alphas


    As the pack of wolves ¨C with me riding on top one of them ¨C passed the enormous doors, we emerged into an even larger corridor. It was a comfort to find myself in such a large space, a space that reminded me so much of the winding maze of home.


    It struck me now how much I missed those solid stone walls. While they were cold, confusing and pointlessly complex, they were mine. Just as much as they were Mothers.


    Remembering her jet-black scales and warm red eyes, my vision clouded, in response I began raising my hand and brought it to my eyes, feeling the moist tears that flowed down my cheeks. Then my memories flashed hot, and I once again saw Mother being ripped to shreds. I recalled the relief wash over her face when I was buried within the stone walls of our den, but I felt nothing but agony.


    I felt the familiar sense of the white-haired woman¡¯s eyes resting upon me, I sensed the pity even though I refused to meet her gaze. I resented it, I hated it¡­yet I couldn¡¯t help but crave it.


    I focused my attention on the path ahead instead, opting to ignore such pity.


    We emerged from the large corridor, coming to a fittingly expansive courtyard as we did so. Within the courtyard were the various races that were occupying the large room when I emerged from my crystal prison.


    Humans, Beastmen and Elves were the only ones I immediately recognised. I recalled my lessons with Silvia, remembering her descriptions of the races as she taught me their names.


    According to her, the terrifyingly large human-like race were Giants. Who towered high enough to rival my height. Various sinister fully black eyes signalled the race of Demons, who, according to Silvia, were more human than their eyes led you to believe.


    But as I examined the others, they were so numerous that I couldn¡¯t place them. Some were shockingly small, with fluttering wings stemming from their back to keep them afloat in the air. Some were human in height and appearance, but held a strange magical feeling to them. Almost as if magic radiated off their skin. Regardless of appearance, they all had the same feel to them, a similar magic that fused them together as one.


    Fae, I thought. Silvia told me they were a unique race. Forever changing to the whims of the world, never remaining in one form too long, yet always remaining to retain that strange magical quality that marked them as Fae.


    Encountering each new race, I felt the tug of magic wanting to surround their core. Just as I had when I came into contact with Silvia and that strange Beastman. However, I managed to restrain myself, mainly due to my wolf still simmering in the background of my mind, who was still cautioning me to reel in the strange instinct.


    Many of the Beastmen gave me curious glances, and I felt their wild magic tentatively examine me. Disliking their probing tendrils of magic, I sent a short burst of power to meet them in response. Then suddenly they, shortly accompanied by Giants, Elves, and Demons, knelt in my presence. While the humans instead, merely shuddered in my presence ¨C perhaps sensing my magic as I responded to the Beastmen.


    While all this happened we were barrelling past, the pack of wolves seemingly content to ignore the large crowd and their subsequent behaviour of reverence and confusion.


    We turned off to the left of what appeared to be the entrance, and passed various confused races, some Beastmen bowing as the woman passed by. These Beastmen also looked at me quizzically, but didn¡¯t intrude upon my power, and thus let me be as we passed them by.


    After a good twenty minutes we came upon the site of small plain, and at its end ¨C a forest.


    With a small huff from the woman, the pack of wolves broke up into various groups, leaving me, the woman, our mounts, and another wolf on our own. The groups then disappeared into the tree line, the thick forest shrouding them from my sight, and soon enough we were doing the same.


    All three wolves accompanying us seemed to have little trouble in the thick forest, seemingly unfazed by the dark conditions, uneven ground, and thick shrubbery. Our speed only decreased minimally, and as such, we kept good pace. After a few more minutes we seemingly arrived at our destination, a small wooden hut.


    The wolves slowed down to a trot as we drew close, come to a stop at the rough door. The woman quickly jumped off the wolf, and stood there waiting for me to do the same.


    Feeling my wolf simmer, I shot her a short scowl as I complied.


    Grinning the woman said, ¡°Come, child.¡± With nothing to add she strolled into the hut, obviously expecting me to follow.


    Using my wolf to bolster my courage I instead turned to leave, thinking I would take my chances in the forest, but as I turned to venture into the forest, the black wolf that was my mount stood in my way. He gestured to the hut, and gave a short huff.


    I doubt I¡¯ll be able to get far with a wolf on my tail, I thought.


    Sighing, I followed the woman inside, obviously having no other choice but to obey.


    As I passed the door, I found the woman had returned to being a small girl. Choosing to longue on a comfy looking couch, as she watched me enter, ¡°Sit down.¡±


    Again, I found her order somewhat disconcerting.  It had my wolf, both angry, and challenging. There was just something in the way it demanded obedience that rubbed me the wrong way. Her eyes were somewhat gentle, and despite her authoritative voice, she held no such demand in her amber eyes.  Nonetheless, it was uncomfortable.


    Complying with my wolf¡¯s urge to obey her order, I asked, ¡°What are you?¡±


    She sighed, ¡°A Beastman.¡±


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    ¡°I¡¯ve met a Beastman before,¡± I supplied. ¡°You feel¡­different.¡± She was something more, her mere presence was rousing my wolf in a way that I didn¡¯t like.


    Her eyes widened, ¡°Oh wow¡­¡± She actually looked shocked.


    Grinding my teeth at her condescending tone, I asked, ¡°What?¡± To my credit I sounded rather calm, considering my wolf was getting more and more agitated at her every word.


    ¡°You don¡¯t even know what an Alpha is do you?¡±


    Alpha? I thought. She was right, I had no idea. Whatever knowledge I actually possess about this world is rather¡­incomplete.


    ¡°How to best explain this¡­¡± She looked genuinely distressed. Which pleased both me and wolf. Titling her head slightly, she continued, ¡°I guess it can be best described as a leader. Some wolves are meant to lead, and others to follow.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t explain why both my wolf and I want to rip your throat out.¡± I stated.


    If that fazed her, she didn¡¯t show it, ¡°Well that¡¯s because you are an Alpha as well.¡±


    Huh?


    ¡°To put it simply: Alphas desire to test themselves against other Alphas. I¡¯m guessing your wolf is quite the Alpha to be able to refuse my orders.¡± She lidded her gaze slightly, ¡°It¡¯s a little annoying, actually.¡± She sighed again, ¡°Well anyway, I¡¯m guessing your wolf didn¡¯t like the fact that I tried to give you an order. Alphas get like that sometimes.¡±


    Something dawned on me, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you the least bit shocked that I have a wolf? Or can change my form for that matter?¡±


    The girl looked rather bored, ¡°It¡¯s been a well-known myth that the ¡®Dragon within the Glass¡¯ was able to Shapeshift. At least among the races of Mer.¡± She seemed rather impish, ¡°To be honest I never put much stock in myths, but when I felt your wolf back in the auditorium¡­¡± She shrugged, then plopped back down on the couch.


    ¡°Myth?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a long a boring one. It has been around longer than any of us can remember.¡±


    So that means I won¡¯t know who started it.


    ¡°Anyway, can I ask you a question, Lumina?¡±


    Something that isn¡¯t an order¡­refreshing. ¡°Sure.¡±


    Her aloof expression turned serious, ¡°What happened to the other Dragons?¡±


    I tensed, flashes of my mother being torn apart passed through my mind. The terror of that black mass of nothing stalking towards me. The thought of Mother¡¯s blood leaking from her beautiful hide.


    When I said nothing, the girl looked sombre, and almost panicked, ¡°Never mind, forget I asked.¡± Her tone held no displeasure, obviously realising that whatever happened was nothing good.


    I tried to change the subject, trying to will my mind away from those dark memories, ¡°I didn¡¯t ask your name.¡±


    ¡°Ainu.¡± She answered. Obviously happy to change the topic.


    ¡°Ainu, I have something to ask.¡± And I did, ¡°How long have I been in that gem?¡±


    Her voice gentle, she answered my question, ¡°I can¡¯t tell you exactly how long,¡± a pause, ¡°but it was first recorded that you were first found some one thousand years ago.¡±


    I grimaced, Over one thousand years? I couldn¡¯t even stomach the thought. The girl didn¡¯t say she was sorry, but her pity was evident on her face. Thinned lips, soft unflinching eyes, and a sombre expression.


    Pity was a dangerous weapons, I learned, and I fear this woman doesn¡¯t even know how well she wields it. It cuts deep to know you are weak, and I felt it.


    To be worthy of pity was a humiliating blow. I¡¯m a dragon ¨C regardless of my age ¨C  and I have my pride. To have this girl, who wasn¡¯t even a quarter of the size of my dragon form, look down upon me¡­I felt nothing but self-loathing.


    In our silence I reflected. As I searched my mind, I recalled my snivelling fear when I faced those monstrosities. I knew I was powerless, knew I could do nothing to save myself.


    I felt no anger towards those beings, despite the fact that they tore apart my mother, and that was what sickens me the most. Whatever anger I have, is buried under the feeling of being so useless.


    Whatever strength I have now is useless, I lost to this girl like I was nothing. I felt my wolf snarl as I came to the only conclusion I could ¨C I had to change that.


    No longer would I allow myself to feel powerless, no longer would I allow myself to lose against the tide of nothing that were those monstrosities. No longer.


    Are you doing this for your mother? I heard my self-doubt.


    I am doing this for myself. I answered.


    Are you doing this for revenge?


    I am doing this for survival.


    ==================================================================================


    Author Note


    So I wanted to ask before I did this. But I am thinking of doing a time skip. Although I love thinking of little Lumina as a cute little baby Dragoness, I find that I''m wanting to propel her into her teenage years. (15-16)


    Thought I would ask for your opinions on that, as I have known a few people dislike the idea of them.


    Right now, I''m planning the story with that in mind, but I should be able to change that fairly comfortably if the idea isn''t well received.


    Thanks for reading, make sure to tell me if I have made any mistakes or comment on how my bone alters are coming along. I do enjoy a good worshipping.

 NOT A CHAPTER

    So, as many of you have guessed, yes I am done with this fiction, and any other.


    Obviously I didn''t last very long, nor did I get into much of the ''meat'' in the story.


    Recently, I have been having a bit of a problem with both my computer and real life. And as such, am discontinuing this.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    With everything else going on, I am not having fun writing this. And to be honest if I am not having fun, I don''t particularly want to write.


    Maybe I''ll pick this up again, but it is unlikely. I''m sincerely sorry if you were enjoying my writing, but I just don''t want to continue.