“Well? Going to scream for Mommy now?” Demeaned the red, his foul breath washing over Darin. The others were laughing at the taunts. It seemed to be a universal truth in games, no matter where you play, you can always find assholes. Darin released both his breath and his anger in a glorious cone of orange flames. From the roar of pain, he knew his tormentor hadn’t pulled back in time. Knowing he wouldn’t get another shot, he held the flames for as long as he could. The other dragons were all shouting at once, but he couldn’t make it out over the roar of the flames. His chest ached, but he didn’t care. In the corner of his vision he saw something beautiful, the combat report.
Attack, Critical Hit: You deal 8 damage, status inflicted Blind, status inflicted Smell Loss.
Attack, Critical Hit: You deal 8 damage, status inflicted Burning, status inflicted Taste Loss.
Burning: You deal 4 damage.
Attack, Critical Hit: You deal 8 damage, status inflicted Hearing Loss.
Burning: You deal 4 damage.
Dragon whelp has dealt you 7 damage.
Attack, Critical Hit: 8 damage.
Burning: 4 damage.
Insufficient Mana to continue.
Burning: 4 damage.
It felt great to strike back at someone who deserved it, but the claws digging into him did dampen the mood. “-can’t see! It hurts, it hurts. Arrgh, I’m gonna kill that little sh-” Red’s screams hadn’t ended, but Darin couldn’t hear a thing. The battle log in the corner expanded as the world faded to black.
Dragon whelp has dealt you 7 damage, it is Fatal...
...
You have died.
You are now 00.00% of the way to your next level.
Burning: 4 damage, target is no longer on fire.
Darin waited in a world of gray mist for his chance to respawn. He hadn’t picked anything up, so he doubted they could loot anything from him. “Interesting. Burn damage applies every second. A pity that it doesn’t last long. Now, how do I get out of here?” He asked.
System Notification: Dying sucks, try not to do it often.
In most circumstances you will loose 25% of the XP required to reach the next level. If you lack XP you will be rolled back a level. You can not be rolled back below level 1.
If you have enough XP to level up but have not opted to do so, your losses will be based on the highest level your XP could currently reach.
If you are being respawn griefed, please notify a GM so we can return the favor.
After acknowledging the message, three massive tombstones appeared out of the mist. The first was ornate and the ankh carded into it gave off a warming glow. It listed the occupant as “Respawn” and showed only dashes for the important dates. Beside respawn was “Lounge”, who had stylized engravings of bottles and cups. It seemed that lounge had lived from negative infinity to positive infinity. “That’s one way to say it’s always open.” Darin muttered. The last tombstone was cracked and dirt. With foul looking plants growing on it, it seemed the designers didn’t hold “Log Out” in high regard. Ah well, there is one in every family. Making the obvious choice he reached for respawn. The moment his claw touch stone, he was blinded by a wave of soothing light. As the gentle warmth of the light faded, Darin found himself in carved stone room.
“So he is a dragon after all. You win. I owe you a deer next time I hunt.” Darin turned around only to find the dragons from the other room had come here too. He cringed seeing an angry red dragon amongst them, one who’s face was charred black. He had no idea what to say, so the two just stared at one another. The awkward silence lingered in the air, as the others waited to see if they would fight again.
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“So how did you do it?” The gray Wyvern finally asked. Curiosity had won out in the serpent tailed dragon kin. A few of the others gave him disgusted looks, as if he’d ruined their favorite show.
“Do what?” Darin asked. Didn’t all dragons get a breath attack?
“You used Flames at level 1.” The Wyvern explained. “Well not only did you light them up, but you kept right on cooking Red over there”
“Watch it!” The large dragon growled at him. Only to be distracted by the green dragoness laughing. He turned his stare on her, but she didn’t seem to care.
“Now, now boy…size matters.” Greenie said, before starting to giggle. It wasn’t very dragon like, but it did lighten the mood. She had progressed to open laughing before the blue one figured it out.
“Oh, I get it. It’s the flame size, it affects the cost. The bigger the fire, the more mana you need to fuel it”
“And out brave and fearless bully,” the wyvern said, pausing to look at Red. The other dragon glared back, but no one seemed to care. “He stuck his face right in front of that itty-bitty flame thrower”
“Shut up.” Red demanded. This time everyone got a good laugh at his expense. The fact that most of his face was still charred black did nothing to help him.
“But how are you even level 1?” Greenie asked, looking right at Darin. He opted to remain silent, in hopes of saving face.
“Didn’t he just die?” Someone asked. Murmurs of agreement echoed around. But Greenie shook her massive head.
“He was level 1 before the fight.” She announced, causing everyone pause. “Did you die, or did you just refuse your egg?” She gave him an appraising look, only to cause him to shrink back a bit.
“What do you mean refuse my egg?” Darin asked. The room fell silent as everyone stared at him. Red’s jaw hung open in surprise, it was anything but a pretty sight right now. The others exchanged concerned looks as the spikey black dragon rushed off. The uncomfortable silence continued, until massive golden dragon poked her head into the room. She was old he realized, old…but she had a kind of presence.
“Oh my, oh my. What ever is going on here?” She asked, looking first at the red dragon’s wounds. A moment later her gaze shifted to Darin, her eyes went wide first and then she let out a rumbling sigh. “A missed hatching, a fight in the Hatchery and tiny beaked dragon,” she grumbled. “I’ll be lucky if the elders don’t take a chunk out of my tail for this. At this rate, I’ll be lucky if they leave me with a chunk at all”
“Uh?” Was all Darin could manage to ask. The others were laughing amongst themselves, but she didn’t seem to appreciate that.
“Could you heal me now?” Red asked, looking up at the golden dragon. Being true to form, he hadn’t even bothered to be polite.
“Whelp, you want me to heal you?” She asked him. He nodded, then cringed at the pain he’d just caused. “You attacked a Hatchling, inside the Hatchery. And now you want me to heal you?” She asked again, this time the red dragon didn’t dare to nod. “I could bite you in half for your troubles, and let the gods heal you. No? Then get out of my sight!”
Red wasted no time in leaving. Once he was gone, her she glanced at the others and raised the ridge above her eye. When the other whelps were slow to take the hint, she made a shooing motion with her claws. With a few mumbled complaints, the other dragons left the room. Now only the grand golden dragon and and the tiny hatchling remained. They eyed each other for a few moments before she let out a deep and rumbling sigh. “You and I,” she stated, with a resigned look upon her face. “I believe we need to have a talk”
- - - - - -
Author’s note: About 1300 new words today, but I am trying to focus more on quality than quantity(Edit: Reversed them I was so tired). That stated, I know I need to revise the first few chapters a little. Nothing major like plot changes, but I would like to make them smoother and more enjoyable for the reader. With that said, feel free to point out any painfully glaring mistakes. Also, feel free to comment about the things you enjoyed and those you don’t. I won’t flip the plot 180 degrees, but I am willing to smooth out my own rough edges.
Thanks for reading!