“It simply isn’t an adventure worth telling if there aren’t any dragons.”

J.R.R. Tolkien

“Bala Nerano.” I went through the motions without really paying attention to the class. Most of the spells came automatically.

With everything finally taken care of . . . Who was I kidding? There were still a million and one things to plan and execute, but with the envoys having departed and the Neriad settled, it was time to focus on my pet project. My Dragon egg!

“Are you listening?”

Aleera could worry about refitting the two Silversea Ships, literally growing our navy with Lady Acacia, opening the southern hidden tunnel from the uncovered ancient underwater city with the Neriad, establishing the trade triangle with Mercurio and Kashif, building up our trade empire with Des and Sinis, and probably a hundred and one other things I had forgotten like the indentured adventurers and sailors. I rapidly fired through the rest of the spells we were being asked to master on autopilot.

“If you are not going to pay attention, you might as well go.”

Time for some personal growth, and what could be more important than attempting to hatch a dragon egg? Especially if I was going to have to depart on a god given quest sooner or later. I finally finished the last spell. The others would take much longer to eek them out, carefully guarding their diminishing mana pools. I didn’t have that problem, at least not for these lessons.

“Off you go then.”

Lady Acacia was not even fighting me on this. A mythic creature, even if one much diminished from its former lineage, was a perfect companion for a lordly mage. Sure, we had a lot of mage lessons to go, but I was allowed out of studies if it was for the express purpose of attempting to hatch a dragon. No one else was getting out of class. Especially the boys who had only just gotten into it.

“Teacher’s pet.”

The class of the Silver Court had expanded exponentially, with me being able to unlock the magic for all my male cousins. The girls had a head start, but the boys were competitively trying to catch up. It was pleasant to escape from the suddenly competitive nature of the classes. I liked to win, but some did not want to lose even though it wasn’t a competition compared to me and my progress.

“ . . . ”

The class soon fell out of even my earshot. Not that I had been listening all that hard in the first place. I retreated through my small secret tunnels to my hidden lair at the base of the extinct volcano we called our home. I would be a proper fantastical bond villain with a dragon to threateningly stroke as I contemplated supplicants or would-be heroes on my Silversea Throne.

The obsidian egg still shimmered in the mana mote lantern as I lifted the lid on the chest that had kept it safe while I had been sailing. I had thought of a couple of plans to help the egg hatch sooner rather than later, and they all made the most of the mana I had on hand.

First Source of Mana meant I could gift it my own every night before bed, and it would be recovered by morning. Secondly, there was the amulet. How much of that mana could I release to help it grow? Thirdly there was the secret seed itself no longer a seed, the third secret shard of the Lodestone on Wester Levante. What can I achieve with that?

. . .

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“It will hatch in its own time.” Bishop preached patience. He was generally just happy about the improving relationship with our family, my mother included. A different clergyman was helping to heal what the former had broken, a small measure of her faith.

Father’s sole comment on eggs had something to do with sailing, but it wasn’t constructive. Some folklore about tiny witches. It sounded like nonsense, but in this world, who knew?

“Never leave your egg-shells unbroken in a cup;

always smash them up.

For witches find them and sail to sea,

to make misery for sailors like me.”

“Focus on your lesson first. Then you can go and look.” Bargained Lady Acacia during most of my lessons. The problem was that I did not know how long I would have to wait.

“Don’t waste your time waiting. What will be will be.” Were Sir Jaques's words. “Keep training.” Arawn, Namir, and Sir Jacques, between the three of them, I was gaining a very well-rounded military training program. With the Bishop on hand to heal me anytime they pushed me too hard.

Aleera, though had noted my fixation on the Dragon Egg above other pressing concerns. “What’s wrong, Kai?” She had asked privately. “What are you worrying about? You don’t have to interact with them if you don’t want to.” She said, concerned I was morosely worrying about them.

But it wasn’t that.

I had not mentioned my meeting with the Goddess Fortuna to my family.

I did not know what to say, to be honest.

‘Hey guys, I’ve been asked to see the world by the ninth god of luck.’ It never sounded quite right in my head.

The truth was that we would all leave the island around the right time for my sister's debutante in the capital. So I would get to do an eighth-of-the-world tour with my family. I hadn’t told them yet, but I had started preparing. Working with Lady Acacia and the Elendil tree, I attempted to recreate single-man sailing boats. Trying to work out the most efficient design before I scaled it up for a small crew.

I also trialled growing some glider frames.

Magic and the Elendil tree meant I could grow them ridiculously thin and reinforce them with magic. While I could already fly, I hoped to create something that could glide in through the air to save on my mana expenditure for longer journeys. Dive into the water to hide from airborne monsters and even sail on the sea to arrive at towns in a somewhat less conspicuous manner. It was another pet project I was working on while I waited for this egg to hatch.

I continued to doodle my designs with one hand. In contrast, the other continued to offer up mana to the bottomless egg that continued to inhale everything I could offer it alongside the local mana it was drawing in.

Any day now. Any day . . .

Crack!

A fracture line ran up the outside of the shell . . .

The dragon egg trembled and shook. The air crackled with a surge of magic as the shell cracked, revealing a glimpse of the magnificent creature within. It was only an eye, but it watched the world with interest as the cracks spread with each passing moment, and the once-secluded chamber resonated with the sounds of life emerging. Finally, the dragon egg shattered entirely in a burst of brilliance, unveiling a midnight black dragon hatchling.

The dragonling's scales shimmered like precious gemstones, reflecting the light in a breathtaking display of iridescence as the obsidian scales caught the light of the mana mote lanterns. Its eyes sparkled with intelligence and curiosity, and a gentle, otherworldly aura surrounded the majestic minuscule creature. It was tiny, just like he had been when he entered this world.

I was ecstatic and extended a hand towards the hatchling. The dragonling nuzzled its tiny head against my palm as if recognising the mana it had absorbed and its producer, me.

According to Lady Acacia, the bond between man and beast was instant, already formed within the egg. It would recognise the mana of the one that had sheltered it and fed it.

The dragonling spread its delicate wings and let out a soft, musical chirp, a song celebrating its newfound existence. As if guided by an ancient instinct, it took its first wobbly steps, exploring the world with innocent curiosity. It fitted into the palm of my hand and was as light as a small bird.

I smiled as I watched them turn and attack the egg they had emerged from. As the baby dragonling devoured the mana-rich egg that had finally released them, specks of white pulsed across the dragonling's back and wings like a miniature night sky constellation.

“I name you Nyx.” I grinned from ear to ear. In contrast, the dragonling ignored me and continued to feast on its eggshell. As soon as it had finished, it focused once more on me, seeming to inhale the mana I was still sending. Pacing in my hands, it settled to sleep, only awakening whenever I stopped supplying mana to absorb.

I was still grinning from ear to ear. I carried it upstairs through my secret tunnels to show my family.

This was awesome.