As the months pass and the questions continue unabated, they near the end of their first year, the nursery is needed for the next clutch of eggs. It's time to move the hatchlings to one of the brood chambers, a larger set of caves with a central chamber and many smaller openings leading to alcoves about a cubic meter each dotted around its walls, some needing to be climbed to while others are crawled into, these will be their homes for the next 5 years, the clutch has dwindled at a relatively slow pace, slower than most years generally see, with 41 surviving to the full year mark, though this causes its own issue as there is a slight delay so that a new alcove can be carved into the brood chamber by the miners, there are seldom more than 40 hatchlings surviving to their move.
The clutch has mostly decided that they do not like the little runt, which after a minder accidentally said the word it has taken off among the hatchlings, she interrupts their fun and doesn't wrestle like the others, the only time she'll even growl at them is if she has food and they all know not to try to take it... Somehow she has managed not to send any of her siblings that have tried to the culling, but many of them bare scars for their attempts.
Surprisingly the odd one out without their own cubby the first few days isn't the little one, it is the largest of her siblings, the one she fought the first day with the clutch, he has found himself at the bottom of the pecking order after that defeat and subsequent defeats from his attempts at retribution towards his sister or from his siblings that saw his repeated losses as openings to do the same, he certainly remains the largest of the bunch but has become much more defensive in nature, keeping to himself and letting the others get away with things no hatchling of his size usually would.
Though he does not actually go without, as the littlest member of the clutch allowed, or rather nearly forced, him to share her own for the few days needed. At some point over the course of the year it would appear that they had settled their differences and in a turn of roles the larger sibling is now protected by the smallest of the bunch. Though none managed to catch them during the time in the hatchery, this was also how she was getting out of the pen, by being lifted by her brother to reach the latch and open the gate.
Now within the Brood chamber they are free to move about the entire space, with a door blocking exit into the hallways and minders spaces. Much to the little one’s dismay they no longer have a minder in their room at all hours however, so she is already plotting a means of opening the door.
The entire clutch is talking now, though mostly clipped words and requests for food, with their education officially beginning upon moving to the new chambers this should improve over the months. A certain undersized hatchling however has made leaps and bounds in her speech, to the dismay of all those around her, as a more robust vocabulary means more words she can use to ask questions. Knowing the Matrons would soon take over her education and as the easiest targets for her many questions led the minders and Elder Korse to a sigh of relief.
Though as it would turn out, more knowledge just leads to bigger questions, and they weren't out of the woods yet.
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A new Kobold enters the brood chambers some days after they are settled in, it is infrequent that outsiders be brought into the chambers, so the hatchlings are all quite excited by the prospect.
"Greetings Hatchlings, I am Matron Rels, serving under the Elder Matron Kles at the Chapel of the Scale, some of you may have heard of that before while others haven't, don't worry, it's not important for now. What is important is that I will be your instructor going forward, helping you learn your letters, numbers, and the great history of Clan Emberscale and the Kobold race." a somewhat diminutive woman wearing unfamiliar garb, a simple red and black robe cinched at the waist with red dyed rope, greets the clutch.
"Now, I know some of you," looking directly at the inquisitive eyes of a particular pupil she has been warned of, "have heard some of what I will be teaching you before, but everyone needs a chance to learn and grow their minds as they have been growing their bodies." Also looking at the noticeably smaller little hatchling.
"Today I will begin with the letters, who can recite all of them?" There are a few responses, notably not the smallest of them, all beginning at once, some starting at A while others at B or a very errant Q. The Matron holds up her hand, "quiet now, quiet now, if you would like to answer one of my questions, please raise your hand and I will choose one of you to proceed, I'll try to give everyone a turn." A few little clawed hands go up and the lesson begins in earnest.
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The following few months continues as much the same, a few hours of lessons with the matron, mealtimes, and recreational activities, ranging from chasing, wrestling, climbing, or hunting, sometimes bugs, sometimes each other, though one little Kobold frequently spends her time alone, attempting to figure out how the latch on the door works, though unknown to her this particular latch has been adjusted especially for her.
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As a new day begins a pair of Matrons arrive, this has never happened before and the second though dressed identically, is significantly older, the black of her scales greying at the edges, the red somewhat paler and without the shine.
"Now pupils, I have a special guest for your lesson for you today, this is Elder Matron Kles.
"Greetings hatchlings, it is time for a special lesson today, for me to tell you about the history of the Kobolds, and like all stories, it's best to start at the beginning" as Matron Kles begins her tale and the hatchlings gather round, even the typically disinterested little girl is paying rapt attention to this new piece of knowledge she has never heard before.
"Ages and ages past, before there were Kobolds there were the Great Dragons, and greatest of them all, even above the great Emberscale, was the Matriarch, Anazul the Iridescent." she pauses to create suspense and ensure she's hooked their attention before continuing, "The Matriarch was the mother of all dragons upon our world of Icara, having taken her brood and fled here along with the many others to seek refuge from the unending war between the realms above and below. To this world, to Icara, that was to be sealed away from it all and sheltered from the conflict. For a time, she was content upon her land, the continent that bears her name, Anazul's Clutch, but she saw what the surface dwellers built, the riches they amassed, and grew envious. Envious because the dragon’s great claws could not fashion the intricacies of man, their works could tower above all but lacked the detail and depth of those she felt were her lesser.
To abate this envy the dragons brought man and elf, dwarf, and gnome, from their homes upon the other continents, like here where we reside upon Vor, and bade them to delve and build in their names. They created wonders for the Great Dragons, keeps and castles, gardens and monuments, but it was not enough. The lesser races held not the tenacity of the dragons, nor their flight or strength, the works took so long the artisans that designed the project oft did not survive to see it completed." Kles shakes her head making her disappointment in the place of the dragons clear. Even Rels, having heard this tale dozens of times, is taken in by the telling.
"And so, the Matriarch called forth their most loyal of subjects among the lesser races and bade them to change, that she would impart upon them a barest fraction of her essence that they might become alike to the Great Dragons in some small way. Many of those accepted, and they became the first of the draconic races, not Kobolds, but Drakkiri, our cousins. But they did not become just Drakkiri, those first, they were of the Matriarch, as only she had the power to create something new, the other dragons could breed, but they would only perpetuate the lines, not create anew. These new people were the Iridescent Drakkiri, both blessed and cursed by the Matriarch, as their lesser bodies could not withstand the weight of her essence."
Pausing to allow the hatchlings to absorb, both Kles and Rels look around to see some of the faces before them distracted, some paying attention, but none with the same rapt look of sheer curiosity of their smallest pupil. "These Drakkiri were magnificent and flawed. They had wings of shining scale that reflected the light in a shifting rainbow of colours but were doomed to live even shorter lives than the lesser races from which they came. The Matriarch was not deterred, for she had the same problem with her own progeny, the weight of her iridescence was too much for even her them, and so she had split her essence amongst the twelve Great Dragons, she called upon those children to share their essence with the Drakkiri, to dilute her influence upon them and bring them the strength she desired of them. And it worked.
The twelve clans of Drakkiri were born, they would each serve their own great dragon and their line and together all would serve the matriarch as the dragons did. And all of the Drakkiri still bore the slightest touch of the Matriarchs might, allowing them to grow and become more, or so the legends say." With a look across the hatchlings, "Now I suppose some of you are wondering how this pertains to the Kobolds, as I never did mention our beginnings there, we came after, while the Drakkiri flourished and created for the Great Dragons, they could not fulfil all of the Matriarchs wants, they were creatures of the sky, born to build and create above the earth, but they could not delve the deep places to retrieve the materials they needed, their bodies large and frames slight to aid in flight, and so did the Matriarch seek to create again, this time prepared and knowing her children would be needed to guide the final process."
"Thus came the Kobolds, small, cunning, creatures of the earth, able to delve the dark places and furnish our cousins with that which the Great Dragons desired. And so again, there would be 12 new tribes of us, to serve our Draconic patron, and in turn serve the Matriarch's will. Over the centuries many of the Dragons expanded their reach and built homes upon the other continents or sent their Kobold clans to retrieve materials for their works, such as here, beneath the Lone Mountain where the Great Emberscale bade us seek untapped resources unavailable upon the shores of Anazul's Clutch.
Which is how we may stand here today, as all who stood upon Anazul's Clutch were lost on the dreadful Night of the Blood Skies, 5 centuries past. But you'll have to await that tale another time when you are a bit older, if you listen well in your lessons and behave, I'll return to tell you of it." Matron Kles gave a slight wink to the hatchlings and a nod to Rels to begin the rest of the lessons as she departs, back to the Chapel, though with some difficulty upon reaching the chambers door.
"Arh, what did they do to this door? I can't get the latch open."
"Allow me Elder, it's a bit tricky" as Rels rushed to her aid.