Farmer John looked at the weird, torso-sized egg hiding in the bushes. It sported various bright and distinct markings, and although the illiterate farmer had barely even heard of magic before, even he could feel the slightly distorted waves of pure mana emanating from it.
The poorly-dressed man scratched his beard. "I wonder if this will sell well...?" He asked himself, his expression quickly lighting up at the mere thought of gold.
By the end of the week, John's entire family and closest friends had all mysteriously vanished, and nobody in the village dared to question it.
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"Your majesty, Duke Archon is wishing for an audience with you." A maid-servant spoke, ripping the tired, aging king out of his reminiscence.
He moved his gaze from the large map laid out on an equally large table and over to the fairly plain-looking maid, his eyes tightening. What did the gods-damned fox want from him now?
"Alright. Bring him here." He said, dismissing the woman with a wave of his hand. She bowed back to him before quickly retreating, leaving the king alone once more.
He breathed out a sigh of annoyance once he made sure nobody was around, slumping down onto the chair close by. He rubbed his temples, feeling a painful headache start to form.
Archon had once been his closest friend, and yet, as of late, the man had been making nothing but trouble for him. What did the man want from him now? His patience with the fox was seriously starting to thin out.
Someone knocked on his door. The king quickly got up and patted down his garbs, making sure no visible imperfections remained on his person. After he felt certain enough, he responded with a curt "Come in."
The door opened, and in came a man even older than the king himself. Sporting a long, thick beard, the man could easily pass himself off as the 'wise old man in the mountain' if he so wished to, although the king highly doubted the man was able to lower himself to that level. Pride was a dangerous thing, after all.
"Tobias, my old friend. It's been a while since we met face-to-face, huh?" Archon said, tone jovial, as though he was actually glad about talking directly with him. The king, Tobias, didn't bat an eye at the blatant bullshit the other man was spewing.
"It has been indeed. What brings you to my quarters, Archon?" He asked back, careful about keeping his voice polite. He was the king, yes, and his authority was absolute, but he saw no reason to burn all bridges with one of the most influential men in his admittedly already minor kingdom.
"Ah, yes, straight to the point I see." Archon had the audacity to laugh at his own words for whatever reason. "Old friend, I'm aware my actions as of late have not been the most... pleasing. However, I have come today with an... offering, if you will." The smile on the duke's face was textbook-definition of a fawning, loyal smile.
Tobias narrowed his eyes at the man, inwardly surprised about just how open the man was today. Usually, it would be good if they didn't spend hours dancing around with words before getting to the point. It piqued his interest, if nothing else.
"Oh? I'm listening." Tobias said while politely showing the man to a chair in front of his desk. Archon gave a few, fawning words of thanks before sitting down while the king did the same.
"Well, the other day, I was taking a walk through the woods, you know, as I often do, and I just so happened to find something quite amazing. It was an egg, but not just an egg." At this, Archon paused for a moment, letting his words sink in.
"Hmm... Keep going." Tobias murmured, inwardly reminding himself to send a few agents later to investigate the real facts. He didn't believe for a moment that Archon, renowned for his laziness, actually took 'casual' walks.
"It was, I believe, a dragon egg, my lord." His old friend finally dropped the bomb, and boy was it a bomb. Tobias' expression, one he was proud to say was almost always under his control, changed drastically. His jaw practically fell to the floor as his eyes widened in surprise.
Then, he narrowed them until they were practically slits. "A dragon egg, you say? Archon, you know I usually tolerate your antics, but if you truly dared to kidnap the child of a dragon, then what if it's parent comes looking for it? And how can you be sure?" He asked, voice practically seething.
Archon quickly understood that, if he did not clarify the situation, he would be at serious risk. "No, no. Nothing like that. I have kept the egg under my watch for a few weeks now, and no signs of any dragons have come to my attention since. As for how I know... Well, once you see it, you too will know." Archon smiled placatingly.
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"..." Tobias kept silent for a while, leaning back on his chair. After mulling it over for a bit, he finally spoke. "Very well. The crown will not collect any taxes on you or your family for the next twenty years, and I will conveniently forget any past crimes, be they proved or suspected."
"Of course, your majesty." Archon beamed. He clapped his hands, projecting magic into his voice as he called out. "Come in, darling. Our great ruler wishes to see our latest gift."
Tobias arched an eyebrow at the audacity of his old friend for daring to use magic so blatantly within his presence, but considering the circumstances, he was willing to ignore it. After all, if the man was speaking the truth, he would immediately return within his inner circle, and it went without saying that there would be many, many more favors he would have to 'pay back' to the man.
After all, a dragon egg was worth far more than mere money, especially one that had been supposedly abandoned. Hell, Tobias doubted the entire wealth of his kingdom would be enough to buy a dragon egg from another kingdom.
A young, busty woman with a sway to her hips entered the room, followed by four generic grunts carrying a large, decorated box between them. The woman smiled politely at the two noblemen before turning around and barking a few orders at the not-quite-noble men, who begrudgingly put the box down.
"With your leave, my lords." The woman said, bowing down once more before turning on her heel and leaving, her refined behind easily attracting both men's attention.
Still, unlike some of the more... dubious nobles, the two men present weren't quite weak-willed enough to capitulate to mere physical attraction. Tobias tore his gaze from the lady and moved it to the box now placed between him and his old friend, a fire growing in his eyes.
Without bothering to ask for permission, he ripped open the lid keeping the box closed. His enhanced strength easily bypassing the magical locks in place, revealing the hidden treasure within.
The wave of magic that flowed out of the box was enough to leave Tobias breathless, and the sight of the large egg even more so.
There was no question about it. The markings gave it away far too easily, and considering the throbbing life force he could feel within, it couldn't possibly be faked.
After all, what kind of egg had markings depicting winged lizards all over it other than a dragon's?
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Her thoughts felt hazy. She could remember... something. Voices, names, concepts, ideas... They all floated around in her mind like jellyfishes, kind of there, and yet completely useless.
A voice screamed at her to remember, to fight harder to not forget, and yet it had been drowned out by a thousand other thoughts and feelings, and eventually, it was buried underneath a tide of mundane thoughts.
She didn't know how much time it had been since... since... something. She barely even understood what 'time' was.
Regardless of her poor understanding of one of the greatest forces of nature, time itself moved on regardless, and as more and more of it passes, the more thoughts floated through her mind, gradually becoming less and less unfocused.
Eventually, she began to... feel. From nothing but floating thoughts with no direction or purpose, this 'feeling' anchored her, gave her a feeling of being.
She didn't truly understand what was happening, but she lacked the mental capacity to truly care. One day, her feeling became so strong that, automatically, she jerked out.
Her thoughts paused, focusing on that feeling. She repeated the action, feeling herself respond to it. It was a most curious thing, like a newborn child learning what waving their fists was like.
For the next unknown amount of time, she jerked around a lot, learning what feeling equated what action, and vice versa.
Then, a very large number of jerks later, she felt something hitting back. At the time, she didn't quite understand that there were things capable of hitting back, so she was confused.
Thoughts came to her, trying to bring her knowledge, but it was messy, and her brain couldn't comprehend it. In the end, however, one thought that she could understand touched her.
'Not yet. Wait.'
It wasn't a voice, nor was it a feeling. It was, perhaps, merely an ingrained instinct, and so she followed it.
She had no clue for how long she waited, nor did she really care. And yet, after a long time, when she was beginning to feel as though something was constantly squishing her, the feeling vanished, replaced by a new one.
'Must leave.'
She agreed with this feeling. She felt... tight. It was a strange sensation, and while the concept of good and bad was still incredibly vague to her confused mind, she still understood that much.
She kicked out, feeling the thing keeping her tight hit back. She kicked again and again, her struggle only continuing to intensify.
Finally, a crack resounded, and she felt just a little less tight. She rejoiced, and struggled even harder. Finally, a bit of time later, she finally broke through, and light flooded in.
Her lungs started working, inhaling deeply as air flooded in. She clumsily rolled around, her body acting on pure instinct, before finally succeding in leaving her now broken shell.
Sounds reached her, and she craned her neck to look around, Her sight still wasn't working well, but she could still see various shapes moving around her. She cooed, her previously scattered thoughts now having all been buried underneath an animalistic intelligence, one that was busy demanding sustenance.
Her body wasn't able to quite stand yet, so she wasn't able to approach her supposed parents for food. Nonetheless, somebody quietly approached her, gently bringing up her face. She opened her maw automatically, and after a moment of hesitation, something was placed within.
The taste of this strange something compelled her to close her mouth, her tongue darting around to poke at the strange thing on top of it. It tasted quite nice, so she swallowed it.
It went down without any issues, and before long, she was whining for more. The same figure as before quickly repeated the previous action, putting yet another piece of goodness in her mouth.
She swallowed it with little hesitation, demanding more yet again. It was only after 8 mouthfuls of deliciousness had been swallowed did she feel satisfied, after which she proceeded to ignore any further attempts at feeding her, instead opting for curling around herself and drifting off to sleep, purring slightly at the gentle hands cautiously rubbing her head.