The fluttering of wings and thunderous roars filled the sky. Streaks of black and gold flickered as blood and flame sprayed high and low. Two behemoths vying for supremacy. One trying to defend, the other trying to kill. Territorial battles were nothing special in the world of dragons, but this one was an exception. 

For one of the dragons was burdened.

Burdened with her clutch of eggs she had just laid a few hours earlier. After giving birth, she had ventured out to seek food for herself. But a watching topaz dragon had ambushed her, wanting the cliff roost for herself. It was a prime location for raising newborns, hidden away from enemies and with plenty of food nearby. A river flowed through the canyon, giving life to creatures that lived around.

On any normal day, the onyx dragon would have bested the topaz dragon with ease as she was much bigger and stronger. But giving birth had weakened her, having expended vast amounts of energy. Both dragons had been dueling for the past hour, neither side willing to admit defeat.

If the onyx fell now, she knew her unwarmed brood would most definitely not survive. In fact, her chances of survival without food were slim, increasingly so with her injuries.  

The onyx dragon disengaged from the entanglement of flesh and claw by whipping the topaz across her flank with her barbed tail. A roar of protest exuded from the golden beast as blood dripped from the open wound. Without giving time for respite, the oynx dragon summoned forth jet black flames from her belly and aimed at the topaz. It was too much for the smaller dragon to handle and in a scream of pain, flew away from the flames, leaving behind a pungent stench of burnt flesh.

The onyx dragon hovered heavily in the air, panting from exhaustion and her wounds, but not allowing herself to relax until the topaz had left her sights. Only then did she wearily fly herself back to the roost and lay down with her eggs.

Food would have to wait, she needed time to heal her injuries. The topaz dragon had inflicted deep wounds across her wings during the fight. Her smokey eyelids dropped heavier and heavier with each passing second.

A jolt of fear ran through her as she cuddled her clutch of four. It only took her one glance to know.

She couldn’t hatch them all. She wouldn’t be able to provide enough heat and energy to all of them. The expenditure of her flames and lack of food had taken too massive a toll on her. 

She made a choice, and picked out the smallest of them all. The onyx mother projected a single line of thought and a pulse of magical energy. It was all she could spare. A safety spell that rode on the hopes that somehow, the egg would survive. 

Alone.

I’m sorry little one. Forgive this weak mother of yours for abandoning you.

And then she pushed it off the cliff, watching it tumble down the craggy sides and into the rushing river.

The egg bobbed to the surface once, twice. 

Then it was gone, carried away by the violent waters.

And a single mournful cry could be heard, echoing through the valley without an answer back.

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...little one…

The single strand of thought poked through. Formed coherency and giving shape. 

I.

I am.

Life came to life. I formed. Guided by the pulse of energy, it became. Became what? An idea was there, but it did not fully understand. Awareness trickled in, little by little, filling the void. Understanding developed. 

I am creature.

Yes. But what kind? I did not know. Something told me I knew. I knew? A twitch. Movement. An urge filled me. Prodding and impatient. I had to get out. But where? How? The feeling died down, then it resurged. Something was extending from my body. Body. I had more than one thing extending. Arms, legs, tail, wings. They pressed against something. Something pressed back. A trace of energy was here. I grabbed onto it with my things. My thinking was growing. It became easier the longer I held on. I began to understand more.

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I am.

I am dragon.

It’s warm. I felt the pulses of my brothers and sisters next to me. Their heartbeats were fast and faint, but familiar. They responded to my squeaky calls, mewling inside their eggs. We were close, but also apart. Mother was back! I heard her voice and felt a delicious rush of energy. It tickled me, a crawling sensation coursed through my limbs. She sounded different. Felt different. But I was happy because Mother was back! I squirmed in delight, trying to get closer to the direction of her warmth.

Then nothing. Nothing but the sensation being turned over and over until it finally stopped. The warmth had faded. I couldn’t see. All I knew was Mother and my siblings.

Where was Mother?

I cried out to my siblings, a solitary voice in the darkness. Voice. But no one responded. 

Where did you all go?

I cried once more. Somehow, I knew I shouldn’t because it would attract griffons. What were griffons? Nevermind. I was scared. Scared. Yes, this feeling was for enemies. I knew this. But I cried out until I could no more. My voice stopped working. Nothing but rasps and wheezes came out. My body trembled and shivered from the effort.

Could it be? 

Had I been?

…

My body could not keep itself awake any longer. I needed to rest. I curled up deep inside the darkness and fell into deep sleep, holding onto any remaining energy of Mother I could sense inside. Something else was seeping into the dark. It was chilly. I knew this feeling. Whenever Mother left, it came.

Cold.

This was cold.

It was so cold.

I was so cold.

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My eyes opened once more, but I still saw nothing. There was barely any magical energy inside the darkness. I used most of it in my sleep. It was still so cold. My mind wasn’t working, I couldn’t function. Then I saw a glimmer. A golden glimmer. Followed by a bright light. It appeared briefly in the darkness. It seemed so far away. 

A familiar feeling enveloped me. 

Heat. Warmth. 

But it was not Mother. 

Or was it? 

My strength returned to me as the heat did its job. It seemed to be growing stronger, increasing in power. I was rejuvenated and revigored. I must see Mother! I reached into the darkness and felt something. The same something I felt earlier. It was slippery and hard. Using my limbs, I pushed against the hard thing. It didn’t budge. Something in my mind told me to bash it with my head. I followed my instinct.

Once. Twice. Something was happening. My head was stronger than my limbs. I kept pushing against the darkness until I felt it give way. The light poured in, causing my pupils to momentarily dilate. I retreated back into the darkness, shying away from the sudden burst of light. I flicked out a tiny forked tongue and tasted the air, allowing life to fill my lungs. It had a strange taste, but seemed familiar. My slitted eyes were getting adjusted to the flickering light that kept fading in and out. In my ears I heard loud snapping noises getting louder and closer. 

I mustered the courage to peer outside. I fit my ribbed snout through the opening and my head followed, allowing me to gaze at my surroundings for the first time.

Then I saw it. I knew at once what I was looking at.

Fire.

All around me.

I was surrounded by a pasture of fire. The sky was dark, but there was also light. The crackling of burning wood and smoke assaulted me. But I didn’t feel scared. In fact, I felt very safe. There was something comforting about the fire and heat around me. It felt very natural to me.

Wait. Where was Mother?

I looked around, trying to detect Mother’s presence.

But Mother was not here. There was no one here. My only companions were a mixture of gold and red flames, dancing carelessly and freely across the vegetation.

I let out a happy chirr because the warmth was comforting and relaxing. But a strange feeling of emptiness welled up inside me. My mind told me it was loneliness. Strange. I did not like this feeling. 

But I was wrong. I was not alone. Something was outside. More than one. Many. They cried out. I saw glimpses of something running. Here and there in the trees, behind the bushes, through the tall grass. Shrieks, chirps, howls. They were going further and further away from me. I knew these sounds but they were not like mine. I couldn’t understand what they were saying. I was too tired to check. My mind and body needed to rest some more. I would use the heat and recover. Yes, that was a good idea.

I drifted back to sleep, basking in the warmth of the familiar, but unfamiliar fire.

And the world burned around me. Bit by bit.

But I was alive.