Author's Notes: Chapter 3 now, and we have a little a bit of background on our hybrid's past. After writing a little about him, I was surprised to find that fans of the series had a tendency to hate Claw, instead considering some of the more minor characters as the scene stealers. Anyway, here we see some more Dragonlance characters, I do apologize in advance for any errors I've made in regards to their personalities and behavior.

"Awaken, dragonling"

Claw slowly opened his eyes, and waited for his vision to focus. He was lying on a small wooden bed covered with a blanket. His wings ached slightly from lying face up on his back for so long, and he was slightly amused to find that he was still clad in his armor. It couldn't be opened by anyone besides the user without first destroying it, so he supposed they had just left it on when they noticed its healing properties.

The bed was in a barely furnished room with white stone walls. A basic wooden chair and table adorned the right hand side of the bed, and a small pitcher and bowl sat on the table. Sunlight streamed in through a small, barred window above the bed, and Claw assumed from the faint sounds of seagulls and crashing waves beyond it that he was in the coastal city he crashed near.

With his vision now almost clear, Claw focused his eyes on the two people standing at the foot of the bed. They looked to be an elderly couple, and both were dressed in the regal robes of office. Although their faces reflected elderly age, they appeared to be thoughtful and contemplative, and without a hint of senility.

Their human disguises were almost perfect, but Claw's reptilian senses told him that they were dragons. Gold dragons, to be precise.

"We have been wondering when you would awaken, dragonling," said the woman with a smile. "I am Regia, and this is Arumnus. I can tell from your expression that you can sense our true forms. We are the high elders of the dragon council here on the Isles."

"I am honored by your presence," said Claw, genuinely. "Why have I attracted the attention of such influential beings?"

Regia was obviously pleased by the response. "It is good to see that not all minions of Takhisis are without chivalry and manners. How... interesting."

"Takhisis?" Claw asked, puzzled. "I serve no-one by that name."

"Oh, please!" said Arumnus with a smile. "A ball of flame drops from the skies, narrowly avoiding killing us all. It crashes on the outskirts of the city, and what comes forth from the shell? The descendant of a chromatic dragon! And a red, no less." He eyed Claw shrewdly. "Bluffing your way out of this will not work, dragonling. You are in the grand palace of Aurialastican, the City of Gold, and we have posted guards at every door. There are also hundreds of dragons in the city who would have no qualms with destroying you if you try to escape."

"What do you want from me?"

"Simple," said Regia. "We want information. Why were you sent here? What are your objectives?"

"I'm not supposed to be here. I crashed."

"So you were spying on us."

"No!" Claw shook his head. "It's not like that at all. I'm..." He paused. Did he really want to tell these people who he was, and where he was from? Their society would most likely consider him mad, but if the story was ever validated...

"I'm..." he thought about what to say. "...a traveler."

Regia looked at the hybrid thoughtfully. "You're telling the truth about that, but I sense that you're holding a lot back from us. Answer us this... are you a minion of the Dark Queen?"

"No, I have never heard of this Takhisis before."

"You're telling the truth," said Arumnus with a sigh. "I don't know what your story is, dragonling..."

"Claw."

"Very well," he said with a hidden smile. "I don't know your story, Claw, but I know now that you are not here to harm us. At least, not in the usual interpretation of the word."

"What I want to know," said Regia. "Is how you don't know of Takhisis. Every man, woman and child of every race on Krynn have suffered at her hands, or have at least heard of her."

"That is a long story," sighed Claw.

"Then we shall hear of it later," beamed Arumnus. "Right now, you should rest and recover from your injuries. That extraordinary armor you wear appears to be assisting you in that regard. Once you are fully recovered, we will hear your tale."

"Thank you, milord." The hybrid settled back into the bed, and was soon asleep again.

The two left the room, closing the door behind them.

"What do you think?" asked Arumnus once they were in the hall.

"I don't trust him," replied Regia. "He may not be our enemy, but he is certainly not an ally. We will keep a close watch." She turned to one of the two guards at the door. "Do not allow him to leave the room for now. We will return later."

The dragons footsteps echoed down the hall as they left to attend to other business.

Claw, age eighteen, stood atop one of Discordia's lofty communications towers, and tightened the red ceremonial robe he wore over his ordinary clothes against the chill air. Over fifteen hundred feet tall, these largely automated towers were very thin, excluding the large round platforms at the top; and were used to direct all internal and external comm signals sent and received by the ship and its many inhabitants. No-one ever wanted to be up there unless maintenance was required, and Claw didn't want to be there either.

Lying behind the hybrid and taking up most of the surface was a huge red dragon. It was more than seventy feet long and thus had to curl up on the platform, which groaned alarmingly under the excessive weight.

"It was a grand celebration, was it not?" asked the dragon in a deep voice.

"Indeed, father," said Claw with a sigh. "Though I don't think I'm worth such grandeur. Malachi didn't have to write me a hymn."

"The day Discordia's future ruler comes of age is warrant of a massive and grand ceremony, Claw," the dragon smiled. "And do not try and tell me you disapprove of your present."

The half-dragon remembered the enchanted armor with longing. "I look forward to wearing it, father. It's a magnificent suit of plate mail."

"That is true, Claw. Of course, it still must be modified to suit your form, but we should have it ready for you in a day or so. It was last worn by your predecessor, you know."

Claw wheeled around in astonishment. "Talon?" he gasped.

"Yes. Talon wore it with pride as he marched at the head of his army and led his soldiers across the wastelands towards Xitharon and conquest of the elves. Legends even say that it was the sight of him, resplendent in that plate mail, that caused the first wave of indecision and fear to surge through the elfin leaders and to foster panic in the hearts of their footmen."

"I'm not worthy of such a gift, father."

"Yes you are!" The dragon shifted his massive weight, causing the tower to creak again. He gestured to the colony stretching off seemingly into infinity, the lofty buildings, the twisting walkways, the millions of ships. "One day, all here will crawl on their hands and knees, begging your approval. Our order will see to that. And once you claim your rightful heritage, you will lead this vessel to magnificence and glory."

"I fear that I'll be unable to accomplish what you want of me."

"You will accomplish. You have excelled in almost all of your lessons. There is not a single being on this vessel more worthy of such rulership. However, there is but one lesson that you still have problems with."

Claw sighed. "Father, you know that I try my best. I push myself to the limit, and yet I still cannot accomplish in that area. Maybe I simply cannot fly."

"But you can! You are one of the few creatures blessed with wings, and you CAN use them."

"But I've tried! They simply haven't grown to the correct length yet."

"I do not believe that is the case," the dragon insisted. "You are simply not mentally geared for it. You have not been in a situation where it was necessary to fly, and thus your natural instincts have not taken over yet." He paused. "That is why I brought you here."

"What?" Claw took a step away from the great leviathan, but couldn't go far, as his father took up half of the platform.

"It is time for you to learn how to fly, and you will learn the same way as all other creatures in the animal world. Brace yourself, Claw. It is time to prove yourself." With that, he suddenly moved his huge tail in one quick sweep, knocking the hybrid off the platform.

The wind shrieked past and spun him around hopelessly as Claw plummeted towards the steel ground far below. As he shot down past the top of the building, their glass windows flew sickeningly by in a mad show of light and air. He screamed as he began to fall between speeding craft and mazelike girders between the buildings. Then he saw them.

Headlights. Headlights that were going almost straight up, approaching him at a fantastic speed.

Everything that occurred next seemed to happen at once. As he fell towards those rapidly growing lights, a strange calmness overtook him. Suddenly he knew what he had to do to fly. He spread his wings, and his descent was slowed.

But it was too late. Lights shot up to meet him, the glare blocking out all else and turning his world a blazing, painful white...

...which flew past him. Claw, confused, was unprepared as another set of glaring lights went by in the same direction as the first. It took some time for his blurry vision to identify these as the corridor lights of a hospital, where he was being frantically wheeled down on in a stretcher towards the operating rooms. Unrefined shapes ran beside him, and exchanged worried voices. Another shape caught up with him, and he could make out what was being said.

"Good lord, what happened?"

"This one fell off a comm tower. An ascending cargo ship broke his fall. Almost every bone in his body is shattered, and he's bleeding internally."

"By the powers!"

"Yes. He's lucky he's a hybrid, a full human would have died on impact."

Claw tried to say something, anything... but pain clouded his vision and wrapped around him like a second skin, and dug it's roots deep inside him. It was everywhere, it covered him, it was inside him, and he wanted more than anything for it to go away, to just leave him alone. All he could do was twitch, and even that made the pain wash over him in new and more powerful ways.

"Did you see that? He's still conscious! Why haven't you put him under?"

"We tried! His draconic immune system is rejecting every painkiller we have! They're not doing anything at all for him!"

"Nurse, get me two vials of DX-20 right now!"

"But that's lethal to humanoid creatures! It's too potent, that's why it's only ever used on full dragons. They're the only ones who can handle it!"

"We have to try, dammit! We'll dilute it to compensate for his human half. Don't know if that will work, but we have to take a shot at it. I've never seen injuries this horrendous before!"

"What percentage do we dilute it by?"

"I don't know, it's never been tried before. We also don't know how much of him is human, so there's no way of telling..."

The words receded from his grasp as the pain reached a crescendo. It was all over him, it WAS him. His entire life had become nothing but agony. Agony that totally immersed him, filled every part of his body, and drowned out his sanity.

But then, a strange voice filled his ears. A woman's voice, it was calm, serene, and beautiful. It was humming, he realized. Humming a tune he had never heard before. As he listened, the voice began to sing.

"The warm sun sets as the day grows late

Descending on another's fate

Their soul departs in a flash of light

Forever faded from our sight"

The words filled the hybrid with peace. The song washed away his pain, and the dream began to waver like the surface of a disturbed pond. He closes his eyes, tears streaming down his face as the song entered its second verse.

"But do not grieve, do not mourn

As with their departure, another is born

And while we take that tear streaked lane

The circle of life begins again"

Claw opened his eyes, and found himself back in the crude, wooden bed on Krynn. He looked towards the source of the voice, and what he saw took his breath away.

Sitting at the table was the most achingly beautiful human woman he had ever seen. Wearing a flowing white dress with a black corsette, she had shining hair that looked like threads spun from molten silver. The hair was in thin dreadlocks, and almost reached down to her waist, the sunlight reflecting off it in a dazzling display. Her lovely face was soft and caring, her eyes the deepest blue. As she sang the final verse of the song in her melodious voice, Claw knew that his human half, along with his draconic one, was now deeply in love with this dragon that had saved his life.

"For though mountains crumble, and forests fall

And great cities collapse, foundations and all

Forever is the tide, and when night is gone

The sun will rise, and start a new dawn."

He stared admiringly at her as the song ended. "That was beautiful," he breathed.

At the sound of his voice, Celia turned around in astonishment. "I wasn't aware I had an audience," she said, blushing.

"You are a wonderful singer."

"Thank you." She lowered her eyes. "My mother taught me that song, right before she died. I guess that was how she tried to prepare me for the times to come."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Celia looked up and appeared to be about to say something, but then shook her head sadly and changed the subject. "So how are you doing?"

"I'm still in one piece," Claw smiled. "Always a good thing after a crash landing."

She smiled back. "Well, you seem to be recovering very quickly. We were worried when we couldn't remove your armor, but it seems to heal your wounds, so I suppose it's all right."

"Yeah, this armor has saved my life many times," said Claw. "Although it's abilities are limited. It can't heal mortal wounds or regenerate limbs. Still, it's very useful for one who lacks the full potential of draconic healing."

"Where did you get it?"

"My father," Claw shuddered as the memory threatened to return. "He gave it to me on my eighteenth birthday."

"He must love you very much, to part with such an artifact."

"Actually, he isn't really the kind of person you would call loving. He... wanted something in return. Something I couldn't possibly provide."

Celia looked at him questioningly. "Was your father a dragon?"

"Yes. A red. And probably one of the most powerful dragons on Disc... my world."

"And your mother? What was she like?"

"She was a human," sighed Claw. "Or at least that's what I'm told. She died while I was very young. I don't even remember her."

"I'm sorry, you probably don't want to talk about it."

"That's ok. I like talking to you. It's very..." the rest of the sentence was cut off in a gasp.

"What's wrong?" Celia asked, puzzled and a little frightened.

"Not now," gasped Claw. "Oh god, not now!" His vision went out of focus, and he began to tremble violently. He reached out to Celia. "You have to help me!"

"What can I do? What's happening to you?"

"I need some medication. It's probably back at my ship, in a small yellow box." He managed to keep his mind focused long enough to picture it in his mind and send it to her telepathically. "I need it, and soon!"

"Allright," Celia stammered. "I'll go and get it. Will you be okay on your own for a while..."

"Just go!"

As she hurried out of the room, Claw's vision grew worse. The walls and roof became indistinct, swaying from side to side. The light from the window seemed to intensify, reaching a blinding magnitude, and then...

...he was back in the hospital, staring up at an all-too-bright ceiling light. His body was covered in a wire frame that were setting his bones, yet it didn't impede the trembling. A doctor in a labcoat, an elf judging by his features, was standing at the end of his bed, looking at a clipboard with a sad expression on his face. Claw turned his shaking head towards the door as a second doctor, a kali, entered to confer with the first.

"How is the patient?"

"Just as we feared," he held the clipboard for the kali to see. "Look at these stats."

"Damn! I knew this would happen."

"Don't beat yourself up over it. There was nothing we could do. If we diluted it any more, it would have been totally ineffective."

"I know, I know. The knowledge doesn't help, though."

The doors at the end of the room slammed open as a heavily built man stormed in. He wore robes that at first appeared to be black, but were actually a very dark red upon closer examination. The man walked up to the doctors. "How is he?" he asked.

The doctors exchanged wary glances. "Who are you?" asked the elf

"I am his father, and I demand to know his condition." He stared at Claw with narrowed eyes. "Why is he shaking like that?"

"His immune system was throwing off all normal painkillers," said the kali. "so we were forced to use a diluted batch of DX-20."

"That does not answer my question."

"I'm getting to that. We had to keep it concentrated enough to render him unconscious long enough for us to operate. Unfortunately, these are the aftereffects."

"His system, although too powerful to accept normal medication, was still too weak for the concentration we administered," said the elf. "I'm afraid his body has become totally dependent on the drug. He will most likely spend the rest of his life as an addict."

Claw's father looked at his son with undisguised revulsion on his face. "This cannot happen," he muttered.

"There is another thing we must discuss," said the kali. "This was a very horrendous yet rare accident. We would like to know what exactly he was doing up on that comm tower in the first place. And what made him fall."

"It was... a training accident. Nothing more."

"Right," said the elf warily. "Well, there are numerous forms we would like you to fill out. If you would just come this way..."

"One moment." He strode over to the side of the bed, and looked down at the hybrid.

"I did it, father," said Claw in a trembling voice. "I began to fly."

"Indeed," he replied. "And we can now continue your training, right after you have healed your wounds. In the meantime, I suggest you not neglect your studies. Although it will be difficult to read in your current condition."

Claw's father turned towards the doctors. "What will you do about the current situation?"

"A nurse will be here shortly with a vial. In the meantime, we need you to fill out those forms..."

"Of course."

Claw watched them leave, his eyes trying to focus on their departing forms. For a few moments he was alone. Time passed slowly, almost painfully, and he began to worry that he would never see anyone again, even though but a few minutes had actually passed. He hated hospitals. Hated them with a passion. The cold, sterile walls, the glaring lights, the maddening noises of respirators and various other life support machines, it all combined to make one of the most bleak and lonely places in the world.

As he reflected bitterly on the subject, the doors opened again, and a woman entered bearing a hypodermic. She had gleaming silver hair worn in dreadlocks, and deep blue eyes.

The dream faded away again as Celia walked up to the bed with one of the hypos she had found. She looked at him questioningly as what to do with it.

"The neck," he said weakly. "Inject it into the side of my neck."

She hesitantly pressed the hypo into his neck, heard the faint hiss of the DX-20 being injected into his system, and let out a small sigh of relief as Claw's trembling slowly stopped.

The hybrid felt a sudden weariness sweep over him, as the drug always did to him after he took it. He settled back into the bed and began to doze off, but not before focusing his gaze on Celia, gratitude and love plainly evident in his eyes.

Celia stared long at the hybrid's sleeping form, both happiness and sadness conflicting her heart. She knew that she was falling for this creature, and that he was falling for her. She wanted to nurture this affection, to help it grow within the both of them, but was also terribly worried. A union between a dragon and a mortal rarely ever happened among dragon society, and it had never happened with a traveler who literally fell from the sky.

The dragon looked at Claw and wondered what the future would hold for them. It seemed so frightening, so dark... and yet strangely exciting. Her heart was torn in two, unable to decide what she should do.

"Follow your heart and your soul, and you will never be led astray." Celia was startled by the remembered words of her mother. She hadn't thought about them for a long time, she had never really understood those words when she first heard them. Now, though, she finally understood their true meaning.

Her mind filled with worry and indecision, Celia sat by Claw and waited for him to wake.