Chapter 1
There was a change. A drop in the pressure of the air. This air was different than the air she breathed before. This air was clear, sharp and damp. It heralded life into her heavy limbs. But it also signaled the arrival of a heavy storm. A pounding in her ears started as rain began to fall. There was a great CRACK, as lightening hit the ground in front of her.
"Light, that was close," she thought to herself. The pounding in her ears increased in tempo as the rain fell, and she felt as though she were encased in stone. The pounding continued obvious to her, sounding like a roaring waterfall now. She tried to take shelter in a small crevice, but her legs felt like they wouldn't respond. She gathered her wits and ordered her legs to move. Lightening struck again only this time it was inches from singing her fringe. She shot down the slope of the hill she'd been standing on when the storm arrived. "I must get away from this storm!" she shouted into the howling wind.
Thunder struck and all went black as she opened her eyes. She was beyond confused as the storm disappeared. "Or ,she thought, maybe there was no storm at all." But then, she noticed that the pounding in her ears was actually her own heartbeat racing around in her chest. She then opened her eyes and took another breath of air, its zest the same she had felt on the hill before the imaginary storm hit. There was a faint rustling sound coming from outside her dark vision. It sounded like rocks falling from a wall to the floor, each making a different note as they played their way to the floor. The lightning and thunder was coming from a small crack in her prison. She had the urge to jerk her head upwards, and she did, which produced the thunder noise and made the light in the crack grow larger. The noise was getting louder now that her heartbeat stabilized. There were now small squawks of fury coming from outside. The zest air she loved to breathe all of a sudden changed. As her nostrils took in the new air, with its pleasing nepenthe, she felt in the back of her mind, a presence. It was one that was familiar to her, as she had felt it many times when a voice sang or told stories to her. The voice had taught her all that she now knew. The familiar voice said in the back of her mind "Natasatch, wake up or Cusiihoth will have your breakegg meal. This will be your first challenge to overcome."
And thus Natasatch learned her name. The voice gave her an unnatural determination for some reason. She felt her, what was the word…"Egg Horn"…her mind supplied, hit against the enclosure with renewed vigor. Three more taps and it cracked all around the base, held together by only a thin membrane and she could wriggle out through the hole she created. She hears a Snap and the squawking she heard earlier was instantly silenced. Natasatch stood in the dim light that hurt her eyes, listening to the water play off the stones in a trickle at the far side of the cavern. She felt that same familiar presence in the back of her mind sending warm feelings of love toward her. Just as she felt the thoughts, a low humming filled the air. She turned and found the source coiled up on the cave wall. Then a voice cut through the air. "Natasatch, my dear, you are the most beautiful thing my eyes have yet beheld." Natasatch turned in a circle, looking for the source of the words, " hello," she said.
There was a chuckle, "I'm glad you can hear me dearest, you are a healthy quick-witted hatchling. Know now that this is the voice of your mother, I am the source of the stories you remember."
Natasatch turned back to the source of the voice, now identified as her mother. She could not be taken in from a single glance, but had to taken in impressions. Her long luscious tail, her great folded wings, and her great spade-shaped head. Natasatch did remember and she stated to pruum to her mother, sending back the warm feelings of love that she got from her mother. As Natasatch and her mother were talking, she noticed that the sound of falling and scraping rocks and started up again. Mother quieted and looked in the direction of the noise. It came from a small sapphire blue hatchling. She automatically crouched and covered her vitals with her Griff. The hatchling held the dismembered limb of a small bronze in its mouth. It stopped in front of her and dropped the limb, and started to sniff. Natasatch felt the need to sniff him back, and opened her mouth to taste his scent. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she began to take in more details on her brother. He had thicker shoulders than her, along with thicker legs and tail. Its neck was long, but not as long as hers or the dead bronze, she noted dully, but other than that it was identical to her in every way except color and a small crest behind its eyes. Then Natasatch got a small impression from her brother, no more than one word.
"Cusiihoth."
With that he took up his meal and went to sit by mother who lifted her wing and settled it over him as he slept on her belly. She sent back her own name, and got a vague impression of pleasure at their first meeting. As Natasatch stared after her brother, ascent hit her nostrils.
"What is that," she asked mother.
"That is the smell of your appetite, you need to eat Natasatch." With that she reached down with her spade shaped head and picked up the corpse of the dead hatchling and set next to her. Natasatch settled down and ripped a hunk of meat from the corpse.
"Why didn't you stop Cusiihoth from killing his brother?"
"My daughter, all that extra time in the egg has certainly made you quick-witted, I have never seen a hatchling as well spoken as you before, even Cusiihoth can barley vocalize. To answer your question, all male hatchling in a newborn clutch try to kill each other out of instinct. It is their first test outside of the egg to see who will become champion of the clutch."
"but, why is that?" Natasatch asked.
"It is just in the nature of dragons I suppose," mother said.
Natasatch felt a belch coming up. The air took up a fetid smell of digesting meat. She stifled a yawn, she was very tired after having to break out of her egg and wanted to sleep. But she couldn't, not when mother was giving all this fascinating information.
"Natasatch, we can continue this conversation later, when you are well rested," mother said.
"That was weird," she thought to herself," its almost as if she can hear my thoughts."
"Not just your thoughts, but I can speak to you over great distances and give experience from my ancestors to you, though as you get better you will find the past life experience already with you."
As soon as she heard mothers voice in her head, Natasatch jumped.
"How is it done?"
"Not now, little one. I will tell you when you wake up."
Natasatch yawned and curled up at mothers belly next to Cusiihoth, and promptly fell asleep to mother singing.
"Listen my hatchling, for now you shall hear, of only seven slayers a dragon must fear…
