Darkness. It had always been dark. For as long as I could remember. Like a warm and safe embrace. I was content with the darkness. It kept me safe. But now it felt oppressive. I needed to get out. I needed to escape.
That was a strange thought. Why would I possible need to escape from the only thing that I had ever known?
It did not matter. All I knew is that I need to get out now.
So, I pushed, and I felt resistance. I pushed even harder with a body I somehow knew was there. I moved muscles that I didn’t know I had.
But whatever held me was too strong. So, I tried to use claws I only just realised I had and felt something give.
It was slow at first. I had to struggle hard to get out. But the more I pushed and tore with my claws the less resistance there was and suddenly, I heard a crack.
That was strange. I’d never really heard anything before. Only the silence that the darkness held.
I couldn’t give up now. There was light. I thin stream but light, nonetheless. So, I pushed harder. And then the resistance was gone. I was free. I crawled out of the thing that held me and was amazed.
I was in was stone room, I somehow knew I was underground, but I did not know how I knew. I knew there was a sky and a sun, but I had never seen them, never heard of them. I also knew I was a dragon. But I did not know what a dragon was.
As I looked around. I noticed two other eggs, but somehow knew both would still take a few months before hatching.
I also noticed small flames flickering alone the stone walls. Looking past them, I saw an open archway against one of the walls and I being on two legs walking in.
It smelt like a dragon but did not look like a dragon. I thought it might be a female but could not be sure. Long purple hair flowed down its back, and it had purple dragon eyes with slits. It had soft skin with a light colour, almost white, but not quite.
The eyes disturbed me the most, they had a look of cruel excitement and anticipation.
And then it spoke, “Well, hello there little hatchling. Aren’t you just beautiful? The crowd is going to love seeing those pretty white scales painted in red,” and then it laughed.
I slowly backed away, scared out of my mind. Something told me that a dragon shouldn’t be scared. That we should be fierce and proud and certainly never submit. We were powerful. I was powerful. But her words, the ones in a language I instinctively understood, scared me, made me feel small and insignificant. The words didn’t really make sense but the malicious joy in her tone, for I now understood that she was female, frightened me beyond anything I had ever experienced.
And I had experienced precious little up until this point.
So, I backed away, but she stalked towards me, tutting.
“Oh no, no, no, we can’t have that at all. Come, let’s take you too you new room,” and she was upon me, picking me up by the vulnerable spot at the back of my head and I could do nothing but go limp.
Just like my mother would have carried me I realised. Mother. What a strange thought. I knew what a mother was, but I also knew I never had one. How can that be possible?
She carried me out of the stone room with the flickering flames along the walls and the two other eggs, their mothers also nowhere in sight and we entered a corridor. This corridor was massive, easily 100m high and 50m wide, it also seemed endless. I myself was only about 30cm long at the time but knew I would grow quickly as all dragons do.
She walked swiftly down the empty corridor and every now and then, about every 100m or so, we would pass gigantic stone door that was sealed tightly shut. There was one on each side of the corridor. Behind these doors I could smell dragons and it frightened me. What could lock these powerful and majestic beings behind stone doors.
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Each door had a number.
Finally, we stopped in front of a stone door. We had just passed a door with the number 200. The one in front of us did not have a number but was no less imposing.
“This will be you home for now. Don’t get too comfortable. The death match will be soon and then you will receive a number. You will then have a chance to prove yourself and move up in ranks. Number 200 is the weakest; you are below even that. Number 1 is the strongest. You name will be your number. You do not deserve a real name for you are not a real dragon. You are weak.”
With that she opened the massive stone doors and threw me in.
I fell painfully on my side and my delicate wing ached. I heard the stone door slam shut and then there was darkness. With my keen dragon senses, I could see in the dark, but it still felt oppressive. I had just escaped the dark after all.
Warily I got up and my legs wobbled, I hadn’t used them much yet. The room or cave I was in was made entirely out of stone. It was about 50m high and 50m wide. Like a perfect cube, or prison, I realised. Cage, I decided, I shall call it a cage.
The cage, as I had now deemed it, seemed far too large for my small self. It made me feel scared and alone. Insignificant. Abandoned. Forgotten.
A sound bubbled up in my small chest before working its way up my still delicate, long neck. Before I could stop it, the sound left my mouth.
It was a soft wiling keen that grew louder and louder, and I realised I was crying. As much as a dragon could cry. Going on for what felt like hours the involuntary sound stopped when I felt as though all my energy was spent. Dragging my small body as far away from the large imposing doors as could, I curled up in the corner and slept.
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Upon, waking up I instinctively knew a whole day had passed. Near the door was some meat. And suddenly a fierce hunger assaulted me. Before I knew it, I had covered the 50m between the back of the cage and made it to the door. Soon I had started devouring the meat. I did not know where came from or what it was, but it was delicious. Not that I had ever eaten anything before.
Instant fatigue assaulted me, and it was all I could do to drag myself to the back of the cave before I promptly passed out again.
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When I woke again, I realised three things at once. First, I had slept two days this time. Second, I had grown bigger and was about 45cm long now and 30 cm tall, and finally, the door to my cage of stone was open, the same female from before was standing there with a wide smile on her face that scared me.
All she said however was, “Come.”
When I refused to move, her smile disappeared, and she stalked towards me. I tried backing away but there was nowhere to go. Before I realised it, she was in front of me. This time, instead of picking me up again, she kicked me so hard that I skidded about 10m across the floor.
My whole body ached, and my wing in particular was screaming at me in protest. I think she might have broken one of the delicate bones.
This time her voice was full of disdain, “Follow me now or I will do much worse. I will not carry you around like some spoiled hatchling. You are not a proper dragon. You are nothing. Now come.”
And I went. I followed after her fast steppes as best I could. My whole body aching and protesting at the movement, but I was too scared to ignore her threatening words.
When we reached the stone doors I hesitated slightly, but when she looked back at me with a threatening glance I quickly stepped across the threshold and into the large corridor.
We didn’t walk far and soon we stopped in front of another massive stone door with the number 200 on it. As she opened the door, I could smell that a dragon had recently been here but could see no sign of him or her.
The female looked at me expectantly and for a brief moment I was confused before I realised that she expected me to enter. Hesitantly, I stepped into the new cage; it looked the same as the last one. The only noticeable difference was the large impression to the left of the large door that held water.
It was only at that moment that I realised I was unbelievably thirsty and crossed the distance to the ponds as fast as I could. I drank deep and long and when I was finally finished, I realised the female was standing near the door watching me.
She produced a piece of meat from who knows where and before placing it within my reach said, “Your first fight will be in a month when you have grown slightly larger. I look forward to it.”
Dropping the meat, she spun around, and the stone door slammed shut behind her.
I was confused. What did she mean fight? Who am I to fight? It mattered little however as there was nothing I could do about it. I was still too weak. I had to grow strong so that I could escape this place.
I wanted to feel the wind. I wasn’t sure what that was, but I knew I could fly upon it. I wasn’t entirely sure what flying was, but I somehow equated it to joy and freedom and power.
The meat the female left smelled lovely, and I quickly pulled it to the back of the cave. I expected it to be heavier since it was about my size, but it was surprisingly light or perhaps I was just strong.
I quickly ate before promptly falling asleep again.