Pre Book
Awareness of a dim light struck the creature from its sleep. It had been nice and cozy in its little egg for some time and it had grown to enjoy its enclosed surroundings but something was nagging at it. An urge to move, to get out… out where; what was outside his little home, of that he couldn't be sure but the urge was like an itch that wouldn't just go away. The thing obeyed its instincts and kicked out and pawed at the interior of the egg that held it. It swung its head up and a crack appeared in its enclosure, and light streamed through blinding his untrained eyes. The urge came stronger and stronger as it pounded away at the inner shell until a small hole was opened to the "outside" world.
As it stuck its head out, a shiver ran down the small spine for the first time, breath, the creature breathed for the first time. Air it knew air it knew cold but as much as much as these new sensation enthralled it, it still wished to be back in its egg; warm and safe. Sight the new sensation of seeing bombarded his mind. Smells and sounds it drove his undeveloped senses crazy. The colors of the place he was in came slowly into focus. His jet black eyes scoured the space he was in dark, damp, place and it had a peculiar odor, a familiar odor: two of them were greater than the rest but that was not his concern now. The hatchling turned around and ate lapped up the fluids and blood of the eggshell finding that it tasted good but not satisfying. The other smells like his own had piqued his interest and something else inside him, another primal instinct, a thirst for dominance and a hunger for meat.
The creature's lizard like body slinked off in the direction of the other smells, his still soft black/gray scales catching the small amount of light there was giving it a glossy look. Sounds from ahead alerted him to the presence of the other smell and he hid in a crevasse that was just snug enough for him. The smell passed and he saw that it was something that looked just like him except the color was red. The red one had a blue one in its mouth, prancing back to the hatchery with its kill and position of dominance. The black one lunged from hiding clamping jaw around the others neck just below the head, its tiny serrated teeth cutting through the underside of the neck with easy but it had difficulty piercing the semi hardened scales of the top side. The red was surprised and dropped its kill fear and rage in its eyes. It thrashed around with much greater strength than the black had expected and it was flung off into a near by cave rock pillar. The pillar moved and cracked some rocks behind it falling into one of the caves many abyssal pits. The black felt pain throughout his body upon contact slowly receding to his mid spine. It fell to the floor sprawled out and breathing hard looking at the red as it walked in a circle for a moment before turning towards the black on and paying the ground. The black rolled over to all fours and growled in defiance to meet the impending charge. The red one took six running steps and lunged low too the ground at the black with its claws aimed for its neck.
The black knew its defeat and felt fear for the first time its now short life; it closed its eyes tightly. Suddenly he felt discordant warmth and energy well up in him and burst forth from every part of his body, giving off a flash. As it opened its eyes everything around it was frozen in place. The red and the dust it had kicked up were hanging in mid air, the red in mid lunge. The borders of everything around him looked fuzzy and iridescent, more so from the red. As suddenly as it had come, the black felt the energy leave, ebbing like the tide, and as it did the red began moving… slowly as if through gel or water.
The black one stepped aside quickly as the red one regained full speed and went careening past him. The red grabbed desperately at the black one, clawing him leaving three deep long slashes down his back, looking back in surprise a split second before it thudded heavily into the rock pillar. The pillar shuddered with the impact and the already weak stones below it gave way making it lean precariously. As the red hatchling was recovering from being stunned it tried to free its self from the rocks but in its brash attack it has stuck its claws into the stone thoroughly embedding them. It tugged twice, each time the supporting rocks below shifted and the pillar leaned more.
The red turned back giving a look of utter hatred to the black one before giving a third tug. The stones and pillar gave way as the red pulled itself free making a desperate lunge to the side, digging its claws into the edge. The black one walked to the side to inspect his brother's predicament feeling pride in the kill of the slightly older hatchling. As it looked over the edge the red clawed at his face smacking him away and growling in defiance even clinging on to the edge. Anger welled up in the black one, his first damaged pride, and he threw away the need for the food as he walked back to the edge. The red one struck out again and this time the black one caught its wrist and pushed it backwards letting the red dangle for a second, letting it register what was about to happen, letting the chilling fear creep into the red's eyes, before dropping him into the black abyss. The black one heard a concluding thud and was satisfied as he went back to the dead blue as not to let good food go to waste.
The black one wandered the tunnels of the cave system following the two strongest scents. As he drew closer to where they got stronger he began to see a faint glow coming from a tunnel mouth and as he passed through it another tunnel glowed stronger. This continued until he found himself at a large well-worn entrance to a low-lit cavernous area. He stepped in with great caution feeling his scales tingle with the same discordant warmth that he had felt when fighting the red, but this time he felt it in steadily increasing waves.
Suddenly a massive figure loomed over him. The hatchling backed away in fright and the figure began crooning to it. Slowly ever so slowly the hatchling made its way to the figure. Half way there he recognized the sent and bolted to the figure, his mother. Another sent entered the space, this one familiar but dominating, his father. His mothers figure receded to great a larger one, his father. They massive bulking shapes towering over him but even then he was aware of how small mother was compared to father. Words were passed between them and the concept of speech and sound were opened to the hatchling. His parents spoke loudly but nothing he could understand yet.
"He is the last one of the clutch on this side?" asked his father in a voice like rolling thunder.
"Yes, all the females have left through the portal. He is last male… and apparently strongest of our clutch." replied his mother hers was soft and sweet yet full of sadness.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
A look of uncertainty and clashing desires crossed her face but that she set her jaw with a firm resolve. "He will be safer there, with them. None will ever find him there. Anyway he is of your blood he will be fine." She finished sounding unconvinced before adding a side note, "We need eyes an' ears on this side regrettably he must stay. You know that it was not my choice alone."
His father growled and the black hatchling shrank down in fear. The discordant waves were rolling off his father in torrents and his voice only added to the frighteningly awing effect.
"Damn council, it's our child not there's." His father's frustration was boiling through his voice.
"It is not our place to judge their actions, love. Their word is only for our better and survival… We must move quickly, I can hear them, they are near." His mother said finishing in a worried tone.
"Then we must move quickly." His father echoed reluctantly, snatching the hatchling from the ground where it lay.
His father was a blur a movement and marvel of strength. Thrusting his clawed hand up, tearing through rock, he opened a hole in the roof of the cave and light cascaded in, like the water of the ocean filling an empty space. Suddenly runes could be seen lining the walls of the cave in every direction coming from or leading to one point at the center of the light. He father rushed to him picked him up with the greatest of ease put him in the center. His head bent to his level and his scales gleamed in the light.
"Son, you are about to receive a gift that many of our kind would give their souls for; to live among those who hunt us, and yet, to be safe. Be strong. I love you my son, my Onus."
He began to recite an incantation of sorts. The air became heavy, feeling almost solid and to Onus' ears all he could hear was a roar of wind. The magic that was coming off his father was godly oppressing and almost suffocating. Onus began to feel tingly and saw that the runes along the walls had lit up and were pouring out a florescent clay material. It was gripping to him and filling up around him. A burning pain seemed to flare along his soft scales and his very flesh seemed to writhe with pain and yet is seemed distant, not belonging to him, and getting father. The clay consumed him as he closing his eyes and nostrils being wrapped in total darkness. He felt weightless like air… no like he was flying, then he was falling. A fear gripped him as he feel downwards, with no true corporeal form, to the twisting nether, a darkness that was even blacker then what he had just experienced; it was absolute. Than as quickly as the sensation came there was nothing, a complete mind numbing blank. Nothing.