Chapter 10

After Xytherion and I had recovered, my mother rewarded Nimbra with silver for winning. She looked quite giddy at the sight, and I couldn’t blame her—it really did smell nice. I noticed some of the younger dragons and juveniles eyeing it, but the adolescents and adults didn’t seem to care. My mother almost looked relieved to be rid of it. I suppose that made sense. Silver probably looked out of place in her hoard, which was filled with gold, rare minerals, gems, and magical artifacts. Giving it away wouldn’t hurt her pride as long as there was a reason behind it, and rewarding Nimbra seemed like the perfect excuse to dispose of the least desirable items.

Once my mother had finished with Nimbra, she turned to me. “Come here and follow,” she said, and I obediently walked after her. We moved away from the other dragons until it was just the two of us, alone.

“You and your siblings did wonderfully for being so young,” she said, her voice warm with approval. “I am quite proud to have produced such an excellent clutch. And it’s about time you learned your mother’s name—Sylindra. I have high hopes for you in the clan.”

With those words, she opened her maw and flicked her tongue, revealing a glint of silver hidden beneath it. A dragon’s tongue is surprisingly flexible and strong, almost like another limb, and it’s common for dragons to keep some of their most valuable treasures hidden in their mouths.

“If you stay with the clan for your entire life, or at least as long as I live, you will be granted far greater rewards—gems, gold, magical artifacts. You will also be free to choose any mate you desire. I’ve noticed you seem interested in the Nimbra girl. I’ll reserve her for you, so when you are an adult, you can claim her as your mate. All you have to do is produce some of your own hatchlings. So, what do you say?”

I could sense what my mother was doing—bribing me with wealth and a powerful mate to ensure I stayed with the clan. It made sense. Variant dragons tend to pass on their unique traits to their offspring, and if I had children, they’d likely inherit some of my size and magical strength. It seemed like a deal too good to pass up. I would get a hoard full of treasures and a mate, both things I’d probably aim for anyway.

“Yes,” I replied. “I accept the deal.”

“Wonderful,” she said, smiling as she left me. I returned to the cave with a couple of silver pieces tucked in my mouth for protection.

Back among my siblings, I began to think about why I lost the tournament. It came down to a lack of magical variety—my fellow wyrmlings simply had more experience. I decided to focus on practicing water magic, a minor affinity for blue dragons like me. Blue dragons typically have lightning as their primary affinity, ground as secondary, and water as a minor one. The stronger your affinity for a type of magic, the easier it is to learn. Lightning felt like a core part of my being, as if I were a living lightning elemental. Ground felt familiar, like a long-time friend. Water, though, was calm and fluid, always changing but in a serene way.

Over the next few months, I practiced water magic by shaping it into boxes, spheres, triangles, and eventually more complex forms like rabbits, bears, foxes, and even dragons. As my control grew, I began casting spells like Water Darts, a tier-two spell that shoots lines of water at a target, and Water Spear, a tier-three spell where I could form a massive spear. To be able to learn and use spells so fast only I could do that. It took humans a couple of years of practice to be able to use spells even if they have it as their main affinity, even other dragons would take quite some time to learn as fast as I do. I also experimented with combining water and lightning to create storm magic, but I didn’t have enough mastery over water yet to pull it off.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

I continued to train in both ground and lightning magic as well as well as air I figured out storm magic by combing air lighting and water. Six months passed, and another tournament came around. This one was far less exciting, as Nimbra and her siblings were still in their wyrmling slumber, a stage that lasts about a month. Xytherion was my only real competition, but this time I won. Mother rewarded me with silver again, this time noticeably more—about one and a half times the usual amount. She simply smiled and walked off.

This pattern continued until we turned three years old. By then, I had grown to three meters long, nearly a full meter longer than my siblings. I had also amassed a respectable hoard from my tournament victories. Clan rules prevented us from stealing from each other’s hoards or killing fellow clan members, but we did have to report important activities like trading with outsiders or raiding ships that crossed into our territory.

One day, as I lay upside down by the ocean, sunbathing my belly—a surprisingly enjoyable activity—I was interrupted by my brother, Vaelrath, who came rushing toward me.

“Azuron! You have to come and see what one of the adults brought back!” he shouted excitedly.

Startled, I flipped myself upright. “What happened?” I asked.

“They brought back some green dragon eggs!” he exclaimed, practically bouncing with excitement.

I was mildly surprised by this news, though not overly concerned. I asked him to lead the way, and as we walked, I thought about green dragons. They’re generally favored by blue dragon clans. Blues tend to adopt dragons from other colors into the clan, and greens are the easiest to deal with. When a blue enters green territory, there’s usually an opportunity to talk things out and leave peacefully. Reds, however, are arrogant, lazy, and quick to attack, making them difficult to negotiate with but all dragon fights rarely lead to death. Even the rivalry between reds and silvers rarely ends in death, but with greens, things are almost always calm.

When we arrived, the entire clan had gathered around an adult female named Myranith, who had brought the eggs. My mother was inspecting the five green eggs, holding the largest one in her claws. She glanced at Myranith with a stern look.

“Myranith, you did well acquiring more members for the clan. But explain how you came to possess these eggs,” she demanded. Stealing eggs is a major taboo among dragons—only crystal dragons engage in such behavior.

Myranith looked nervous but explained, “I was out flying in the forest when I spotted a group of humans. Curious, I went closer and overheard them talking. They had driven off a green dragon and her mate, stolen their eggs, and hidden them. Angry that humans would dare steal dragon eggs, I swooped down, killed them, and brought the eggs here.”

Mother’s expression softened. “Well done, Myranith. You deserve a reward for bringing more members to the clan and dealing with such disrespectful humans.” She signaled for my father, Indrathor, to take the eggs to a cave, and with that, the gathering dispersed.

Humans. I hadn’t thought much about my former race since my transformation. They have some magical ability, but very few possess a secondary affinity. What they lack in magic, they make up for in numbers. Then there are the other civilized races. Dwarves, sturdy and gruff, excel at forging and have strong affinities for ground, fire, and metal magic. They live in the mountains and can live up to 250 years. Elves, with their pointed ears and natural beauty, are excellent archers and have long lifespans, often living up to 1,000 years with magic affinity to nature and air. Beastmen are humans with animal traits, living in clans and possessing affinities for beast magic. Lizardmen, with their dragon-like lineage, live in warm swamps and wield water and fire magic. Giants, large and strong, aren’t particularly fond of dragons but possess powerful elemental magic based on their type and others such as gnomes and the Fishman.

For the next six months, I continued my routine—practicing magic, sunbathing, and adding to my hoard. Finally, the green dragon hatchlings emerged.