A/N: And there's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Dungeons and Dragons, I only own my original characters.

Chapter 1: Hatchling

My wings were spread wide, carrying me across the skies towards the infinite horizon. Far below, I could see the creatures of the land going about their lives. The sun shone down brightly, feeling pleasant against my crimson scales. I flew on, but soon the skies darkened with storm clouds. I flew on, attempting to push past the storm, but the rain fell hard and fast, and I flew like something was weighing me down. I landed, but even under cover I felt no better. I felt like I was trapped within a space that was too tight. I needed to be free! I looked around, and the trees of the forest seemed so much larger! It was almost like I was a…

I became aware that I was confined within a tight space as I snapped out of the dream. I could barely move, and knew I needed to be free. I shifted what little I could, and struck against something hard. I felt it give slightly, so I struck again, and again. Soon, the shell cracked, and I tumbled free, getting my first view of the world outside. I was in a large cavern, and nearby were three other red-scaled wyrmlings like me… but slightly larger. Further back, two much larger forms looked down at us. The larger of these two was staring right at me… and didn't look pleased.

"Look, my dear Chelzrag," said mother, "We have four beautiful hatchlings!"

"I don't know how well this one will do, Gimmanelth," said Chelzrag, looking down his snout in disgust, "Just look at him… he's just a runt".

"Come now, he's only just hatched," said Gimmenelth, "you can't expect all your hatchlings to start out the strongest".

"Hmph, we'll see," said Chelzrag, "But I am certain that before one year passes, his clutchmates will have driven him out… as is only right. Only the strongest should survive… weaklings get put in their proper place".

Those words quickly came to define my life as I strove to prove I was strong enough… but it would be for naught. My clutchmates always had the edge in anything physical, being larger and stronger than me. My only advantage was my fiery breath seemed a bit more powerful than theirs. In the end it didn't matter. They seemed to have taken my father's word to heart, and loved ganging up on me when Mother wasn't looking… she seemed like the only one willing to give me a chance. However, she could only do so much, especially with father encouraging my sibling's actions towards me. Whenever Father brought back food for the family, I always found myself pushed away as my siblings gorged themselves on all they wanted.

All this came to a head about a year after my hatching, as my siblings were once again showing what they really thought of me. They had surrounded in a corner of the lair, and were hurling insults and had their fangs bared, ready to take their attack upon me to the next step.

"Why are you even still here?" said my brother, "shouldn't a kobold like you be down in the lower caverns?"

"Kobold? Now that's a laugh!" said one of my sisters, "All I see is a weak little lizard!"

"You've had your chance weakling… We should have dealt with you the moment you hatched!" said my other sister.

I flinched back as all three of them leapt at me. I dodged one attack, and the second, but the third stuck true. Sharp claws tore into my snout, just barely missing my eye. I felt the fire building in my chest. I released it, knowing it wouldn't do much, but it did provide enough of a distraction for me to start running. I knew where the way out was… I'd made sure I knew the way for when this day came. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, soon hearing my siblings in pursuit. I ducked and dived between stalagmites, feeling the strain of the constant run beginning to burn in my muscles. Soon enough, I saw it: the exit. I pushed myself even harder, knowing that my freedom was within reach. However, just before I could reach the exit, I roared and felt a sharp pain as one of my siblings talked me and savagely bit down my leg.

We tumbled across the cavern floor, and in the heat of the moment I managed to bring my claws to bear against them. My claws struck true, tearing into my brother's chest. I managed to kick my way loose, and took to the air, pumping my little wings as hard as I could as I covered the remaining distance outside.

I emerged from the gloom into the light of the afternoon sun. I started dropping altitude, knowing that I couldn't keep flying for long. I glided down, I found a clearing in the forest, and touched down… only to wince at the sharp stab of pain as my injured leg gave out. I pulled myself up and limped away from the clearing, sparing brief glance back at the mountains which until a few minutes ago I'd called home. I felt tears welling up in my eyes. There was no going back now. I was truly alone. I only hoped a weakling like me could survive out here in the wider world.

'N-no I can't think like that,' I thought, 'I have to keep moving… otherwise father might just decide to finish me off himself'.

With a sigh, I set off into the forest, wondering what my future might hold.

A/N: And there we go! Next time, this young dragon has his first encounters with Humanoids... for better and worse. See you then!