Vrarog flapped his wings faster and more frequently than ever before. Warm wind blew across his sinews, through the creases and membranes of his wings. His tail was straight as an arrow, and he crossed miles in minutes, flying in the dark of night, with nothing but a pale crescent moon above his back and a million stars.

He was running away from something more frightening than killers, but even at a distance, his mind was not at peace. There was a part of his mind that had never been there before, that did not belong, and yet, it was as clear as day. That frightened him. He fled from it, yearning for normality. He searched his memories and those of his ancestors, but there was nothing about a dragon and a rider canceling or severing a bond.

All he found were tales of betrayal and pain, originating from humans. These memories burned with fear and agony, as if he were reliving them. His only hope was to fly as far as possible and forget that human.

Meanwhile, he sensed the human’s emotions. They were always there, now he could sense worry. He was not verbalizing any thought, but Vrarog felt it. The feeling of danger and an instinct, a disgustingly real instinct that told him to go and protect that man.

But Razam’s voice was still there, reassuring him. The man was present in his mind, going through his own struggles. He somehow understood Vrarog’s pain. They shared their pains with each other.

Overwhelmed, Vrarog wished to break away from all that turmoil

Vrarog’s flight continued for hours, until the sun emerged on the horizon again, and Vrarog reached the summit of where he’d left the egg.

From there, with his dragon’s eyes, he could see the egg at the peak of the hill. He had torn the ivory box with his claw, and the egg was posed right at the center of the peak, an orb of white with green stripes, its colors merging seamlessly.

Vrarog scooped it up gently with his claw, holding it close to his chest. Now, he was ready to return to his people.

He needed wisdom, he needed to find a precedent, and tell his kin what had happened all this time.

Vrarog flew tirelessly, like an arrow loosed by the gods to traverse the heavens from night until dawn, reaching the world's highest mountains. These snow-capped peaks, untouched by mankind, shone with a celestial hue. The air grew sharper, more taxing. His destination was the Homeworld, a peak towering over all, a snow-covered black pyramid.

As he neared, his memories and ancestral recollections sharpened, vividly accessible. He recalled ancestors hunting in these lands, their interactions with humans ranging from avoidance to rare tributes. He remembered the great kings who once flew on the back of dragons, ordaining their laws from above. He remembered groups of dragons, with armored riders on their back, flying across the heavens, laughing and sharing the depths of their hearts.

Approaching the peak, Vrarog saw a shape like furnished gold gliding through the air. It was Marna, with her powerful wings and slender body, her tail like a whip, straight and precise, she flew across the mountain, gently gliding upward and posing herself above the peak.

“Vrarog,” she said, shouting in joy, her voice echoing through the distance and across the plains. “Vrarog is here!”

The mountains then released dozens of dragons, of the different species. A handful belonged to his species, Vragner, blue and muscular, sturdy and powerful in flight. Fewer belonged to the Fireborn clan, those who lived deep into the mountain. Their body was red, their neck and inner sinews were dark gray or black, making it blend with the innards of the fiery mountains. Their muscles were powerful and strong, but they didn’t fare well in flying quickly. Sungliders were of Marna’s clan, yellow like gold, slender and majestic.

“Vrarog!” Marna said. “We feared for your death! By the Light of the World, how did you escape? Tell us everything!”

“Oh,” Vrarog said, flying upward. “Please summon the Mother. There’s much I have to tell the Circle!”

“Please, please wake the Mother, I need to speak to her. I have…”

Marna narrowed her gleaming cyan eyes.

“Vrarog, you are alive! I always knew it, and the offspring of my sister lives still!”

“Marna, Marna, please summon the Mother. I need to speak to her.”

“What is wrong, Vrarog? Speak to me! Are there more monsters like that in the mountain?”

“I’ve done something wrong,” he hissed, holding the egg close to his scaled chest. “I did something terrible and I don’t know what to do. It may be a crime for our kin, that I did in haste.”

Grukner, one of the Fireborns shouted at him from below, with a voice as deep as a gorge, and louder than a catapult. “Are we men to commit crimes or break oaths? If someone breaks an oath, well, he is no dragon.”

“Grukner, if only you knew...”

“Well, speak.”

“I bonded with a human.”

There was silence in the mountain.

“Why would you do such a thing?” asked one of the Sungliders, perched near the peak.

“To live,” he said.

Grukner grunted. “Humans? Why would you? You have doomed us now.”

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“How could you do that?” Marna asked. “How is that possible nowadays?”

“We can do it,” said the male Sunglider. “It has been done before, all it takes is two willing hearts.”

“It didn’t work when I tried it as a dragonet,” Marna said.

“And why would you even try that?” Grukner asked.

“Well,” Marna said. “Our ancestors did it, I figured why wouldn’t I. But I guess I didn’t will it enough, or maybe it was the human who didn’t really will it.”

“You’ve tried?” Vrarog asked.

“That is the most foolish thing I’ve ever hear,” Grunker grunted, his nostrils sparkling red as he did.

“Well,” Marna said. “I was young. It was like three hundred years ago. Even my sister Varna tried. Who hasn’t tried it?”

Grukner’s mouth exploded in flame, part of it escaped through his fangs.

“You even trying to do that is foolish,” Grukner shouted. “We have become a weak kin, we are doomed, you have doomed yourself, Vrarog. Look at you, I haven’t seen a dragon so distressed even in my ancestral memories. No wonder, us dragons can’t have it both ways, like humans do.”

“I did it to survive, and that my child survives, so that our kin continues. That Varna’s sacrifice is worthwhile. I accept that I did it, and I made no mistake. I must now live with it, or die. That must be the council’s decision.”

Something moved slowly from inside the cave. One of the caves switched, a gray figure moved from inside, leaning a giant dragon’s head, so massive that it seemed like a mountain itself. The Mother had been awakened.

“She’s awake,” Marna said, flapping her golden wings and leaping into the air. Vrarog nodded and hopped off the cliff, spreading his wings and descending toward the lowest part of the mountain.

The Mother emerged from a deep gorge, and Vrarog landed directly in front of her, over a snowcapped peak. Marna landed next to him. Both bowed their heads and necks toward her.

“I have been awakened again, my children. Why have you done this, child?” said the mother, her voice like an avalanche descending from the mountain. “Who are you, and what do you wish to know?”

“I am Vrarog, of the sixteenth generation,” he said. “I must confess what I have done, mother… I am taking care of my child, as their mother was hunted and killed. Then...”

Vrarog took a deep breath, freezing air turning into heat as it passed through his nostrils.

“I bonded a human.”

“Ah,” Mother said. “Now that is interesting. Why did you do that? After so many centuries, after the Betrayal.”

“I did it to save a life, Mother. I did it to protect my child.”

The Mother dragon remained still, air passing through her nostrils and returning as warm as the air inside a volcano.

“Mother, what can I do, I have to remain here. I have to stay and raise my child, but this man is inside my mind. I don’t know what to do to get him out. Has anyone blocked the bond, as any one broken it without killing?”

“Ah, child. Do you search your memories for answers? You must have. What do you know of bonded dragons and riders?”

“Well, it doesn’t apply to us now,” Vrarog said. “They willingly bonded their humans. They had oaths to fulfill and duties to perform. I did it out of an urgent situation.”

“Did you not do it willingly?”

“I did it out of necessity, I didn’t plan on following through.”

“What did you feel when you bonded that man?”

“Mother, I trust you, I don’t understand what you want me to say. I say I did it out of necessity.”

“You asked for help, did you not? It is not just looking into the eyes of a human and hooking him. It is something else, you know full well what you did, whether you deny it or not.”

Vrarog pressed his fangs, breathing hard, breathing boiling air.

“I did it for my child.”

“Are you not a dragon? How do you bond a human? Tell me the oath you say in your mind.”

“But mother, it was a moment of extreme danger.”

“And yet, a bond is a promise the dragon makes. What are the words of the ancient bond, which you felt the moment you looked at that man?”

Vrarog turned his face reluctantly.

“I will defend you with my life. We walk one path, we are a fortress to each other, we are one.”

“Did you not say that, child? Do not we pride ourselves, as dragons, of always keeping our word, and being true? Why are you acting like the human and considering breaking a promise?”

“But my human understands.”

“If he accepted the bond, it means his heart was ready to accept you, to give his life for you.”

Vrarog looked around, purring. Marna glanced at her wid wide eyes, her neck craned, wings relaxed. She seemed curious and interested. She didn't shame Vrarog.

“He didn’t think about it much," said Vrarog. "As far as I know. But it was against his own interests, against whet he said to me, it was against his…” Vrarog thought about it. He hadn't really bonded Razam against his will. It meant that Razam, that man, despite his reticency, maybe despite his best interest, maybe even subconsciously, accepted being bonded. His heart was…

“But he didn’t say that he accepted me.”

“Once I knew of a man, a hero,” she said. “He was much like a dragon. A man who was true in every regard. He was, well, a human, with his shortcomings, but every time he saw someone in need, even if he was in danger, he was willing to give everything for them. He might denied it, fight against it, but his heart always yielded. I knew him. I knew his face. He bonded my mother.”

“Arius the Dragonfriend,” Vrarog said.

“Yes,” Mother hissed. “I know the hearts of men are fickle. They failed us generations ago. But when a man has a will to help in spite of his own life, he cannot deny a bond.”

“But he hadn’t even known me, in all the memories…”

“It means he was willing to help you even then.”

“Then what should I do? Mother, I am willing to die if it means protecting my kin from danger.”

“My child, we have avoided bonding, we have told you not to bond for this very reason. But we are dragons, we won’t void our oaths because it is not convenient. Our kin would be cursed, our memory would be cursed before the Light if we break a bond. You, as a dragon, must do the right thing and serve your bond with heart and soul. Follow the duty of your soul, no matter where it leads you.”