Author's Note: WHAT'S UP MUCKAAACHUNGAAAAAS!? IT'S TRAVEZ! And today I am here to present to you a story that I have been wanting to present for a very…VERY…! Long time now… This is the story of my original Dragon Oc for D&D, the dragon who started my journey that began with "Role the Dice: Asteriskos Sapphirus" and many other failed Dungeons and Dragons stories after, so today I am going to be presenting the story that was heavily inspired by NooShoak's "Crimson Scales, Heart of Gold". Today, I invite you to the Table to follow me on my greatest journey into Dungeons and Dragons yet: Vajra.
Now before I begin today's story, I will need to make a few things clear:
First, years ago, when I had first attempted to do Asteriskos Sapphirus, I had tried to include all of my friends at that time I'm the story but I eventually dropped it due to every encounter I had being far easier than I expected, and the fact that I was a greenhorn as a DM who didn't know what he was doing at the time. Now, though it is mainly with family, I have some experience under my belt, namely being able to add comedy, learning a bit about character development, and rewatching all of the Dungeons and Dragons Movies giving me a bit of Bardic Inspiration (heh) on how to best implement them.
Secondly, in accordance with the first, I had posted on a small poll on what I should do about balancing out Durgaul when it came to making him more like an actual dragon with what I had on hand, and you guys all chose "make him a Dragonborn and homebrew the rest" and so I'm going to take your advice on that, so thank you, all of you! Now while I do actually have a Homebrew Dragon Race that I could use (and I finally finished it's prototype), I will admit here that it is broken! There are two main reasons for it and I didn't realize how broken it was until I decided to Playtest it, and both of then are tied to how I am still trying to figure out how to fix them on D&D Beyond.
Reason #1: Due to the fact that I've been trying to figure out how to implement a Natural Armor Class via the "Dragon Scales" feature I created, and, due to a suggestion from somebody, can't remember if it was at work or on Discord. They suggested that, instead of an Unarmored Armor Class, I should, instead, give an Unarmored AC Bonus equal to the Dragon's Constitution Modifier. This works for every class in D&D and gives a really nice and relatively fair AC for every class and subclass, except for 4: Barbarians, Monks, and Dragonblood Sorcerers, and Spellcasters/Warlocks with the Mage Armor Spell/Armor of Shadows Eldritch Invocations. When this UAC Bonus is added to these fair and balanced Unarmored Defenses, it becomes broken as Baator! So yeah that is the first reason why I won't be using the Dragon Homebrew
Reason #2: For a long time, one thing has been, and still is, a real pain in my tail, and that is I have been trying to give each individual Dragon Species additional movement speeds that, if done correctly while using a Monk on D&D Beyond, will be amplified by the Monk's Unarmored Movement Feature. NOTHING I'VE TRIED THUS FAR HAS WORKED! As such, out of frustration, I've given the Homebrew every individual movement option from all of the Dragons, and that is completely busted. Until I figure out how to do this without tearing what's left of my receeding hair out, this is the second reason why I'm not using my Homebrew
So yeah my Dragon Homebrew is completely busted in two major ways and, until I find a way to fix it on D&D Beyond, it's off limits.
Thirdly, and I know many of you will agree with me, I was seriously excited for the prospect of the Way of the Ascendant Dragon for the Monk when it's Unearthed Arcana was released, and I was so hoping that everything would be great cuz, finally, I could create a Dragon Slayer from Fairy Tail, at least within the rules of D&D, but, what I was left with left me thoroughly disappointed… After I had listened to how the Dungeon Dudes reviewed it, they made a lot of good points: The Draconic Strike is useless after Level 6, as Ki-Empowered Strikes take over at that point. Breath of the Dragon is extremely weak in comparison to the Dragonborn in Fizban's once they hit 5th Level and beyond, hell and that is not even mentioning the Dragon's Breath Spell and the Breath Weapon from the Drakewarden Ranger. Wings Unfurled is practically useless as it only lasts a single turn, especially if your race already has a flying speed, and you have a limited number of uses that are even more limited than that of the Step of the Wind feature it is tied to, with the insult to injury being that it comes back on a long rest instead of a short rest. Aspect of the Wyrm's aura range is far too short for the level you get it, and it affects too few targets at a time. Finally, the Ascendant Aspect's Augment Breath, while it does make up for the lack of Damage and Range of the original Breath of the Dragon, it's costing extra Ki on top of everything else, which is a huge detriment if you're already low on Ki! To add Insult to injury on this, the Ascendant Aspect's Explosive Fury is a real cop-out as if the targets make their saving throw, they don't take any damage at all, which is total bullshit, they should at least be able to take half damage!
So how would I fix this? I would have it that when Ki Empowered Strikes Comes online, Draconic Strikes are actually an extra bit of elemental damage that is added on top of each Unarmed Attack you make, and only your Unarmed Attacks. For Breath of the Dragon, while it's damage does scale with your martial arts die, I would have it increase to 3 Rolls at 6th Level and 4 Rolls at 11th Level. For Wings Unfurled, I would have it remain active for a minute at least, for a race without wings, while for a winged race, they increase their movement speed by 10ft. For Aspect of the Wyrm, I would increase the Aura's Range, whilst transferring Augment Breath and Explosive Fury to Aspect of the Wyrm. Additionally, have it that Augment Breath not only increases the range, but also can increase the damage output by one Martial Arts Die per Ki Point Spent, and have it that Explosive Fury's Damage on a Successful Saving Throw is only Half-Damage, as per the usual when it comes to damage saving throws. Finally, with Ascendant Aspect, I would have it go a little something like this:
"Through your trials and tribulations, your Aspect has Ascended from the coil of Humanoids into that of True Dragons. You gain the Following Benefits:
-Draconification: Once Per Day, you can transform into an Adult Dragon as if you were under the effects of the Shapechange spell without the need for Material Spell Components. You must, however, abide by the spell's terms and conditions.
-Draconic Lifeforce: Your Lifespan has been increased to match that of a Dragon. For every 10 years that pass, your body ages only 1 year.
-Elemental Absorption: Whenever you are subjected to the Elemental Damage of your Draconic Strikes and Breath of the Dragon features (the elements for each must be matching), you take no damage, and, instead, regain hit points equal to the damage dealt."
Yeah this is how I would've made Ascendant Dragon Monk work, but, unfortunately, I'm not in the mood, at the moment, to rework the entirety of the Ascendant Dragon Monk, buuut I can make a few modifications to make the current abilities of the Ascendant Dragon Monk work for this story.
Fourthly, I've honestly had the pleasure of roleplaying with a few friends online and I think I've come to know the characters they like to play a lot, namely my Girlfriend, Wolfflight of ShadowClan, Priscilla the Ancient One, BlackDomus500, and SailorSunPhoenix, and I've come to know just how awesome their character concepts are, so I'm going to be implementing characters based on them into this story. However, they won't show up for the first few chapters!
Now here we come to how I'm going to build Klauthiym for this story, and it's actually going to have a few simple tweaks to them…
Firstly, I'm going to have Klauthiym be a Chromatic (Red) Dragonborn, as you guys suggested I use Dragonborn as a base on how to build him. I'm going to modify it so that he has a Red Wyrmling's Climbing Speed of 30ft and Flying Speed of 60ft, then just add a tail and wings, and remodel him into a red dragon and Voila, we got the skeleton down. Next, we'll make him a 3rd Level Monk and choose Way of the Ascendant Dragon, then, with a minor tweak, we'll add the additional Draconic Strike Damage on top of the Unarmed Attack, and have it that we can add an additional Martial Arts Die by expending Ki-Points in a 1:1 Ratio (1 Martial Arts Die per One Ki Point, to a maximum of 5), and that's perfect! As for Background, I think a Hermit would work best for this case, and finally, to add a bit of extra oomph, give him the Tough, Mobile, Dragonhide (for the claws), and Dragon Fear Feats right off the bat and we've got Klauthiym!
In any case, I think that is all out of me for now, so let's get into the Prologue of this story. (Also so sorry for the extremely long first chapter, but I had a lot that I wanted to cover so that I could start the story proper in the next chapter) Please be sure to Follow, Favorite, Review, and Share this story with anyone and everyone you know who likes Dungeons and Dragons. Catch ya on the Flipside! NAT 20!
Prologue: Crimson Thunder
Tight… Confined… Can't breathe… Must escape… Have to… That is what I first thought when my mind first awoke, and, with an exhale, I erupted into a world that was brighter than the confines I left behind. I could feel something underneath my paws, what feels hard and my paws gently pad at it, my eyes looking around to feel the heat around me… My eyes watch as there is an opening high above, with some sort of blackness covering it, but the smell of fresh air flowing through the top. That is when I would turn my head, and then I would see a group of four others looking towards me, snarling, but above us would be two large dragons, glaring down at me. "Feh… A Runt…" One of them would say, looking down at me. "He won't last a year…"
"Give him time, Ciymmarux… You claimed you were the runt of your clutch before you defeated your uppity siblings." The Female says, looking at her mightier, larger mate.
"True… But I give it a year before he is driven out…" Ciymmarux says, turning his head away. The other creatures, whom I realized were my siblings, began creeping up on me… In which I would feel it coming and would dodge out of the way, barely missing her fangs. In response, I ram my head into her side, sending her off to the side, a snarl leaves my lips as I glare at them, in which, looking at the others, I see them creeping closer. "Afterall… The Strong prey upon the Weak…" Over the next year, as he would describe, I would be hounded by my siblings, but, as they had continued to swarm and hound me, I began to grow smarter… Wiser… I would learn to hone my senses to track them, and, more often than not… I would often explore areas in the lair to avoid having to deal with them… Eventually, something happens… I woke up in a hiding spot I had taken up a while ago, and as I stretched, I would hear something as I stretched coming from the other side of the spot and I would begin creeping closer… That is when my foot would cause me to trip over something, and I would fall face first into a pile of coins, getting buried under it.
I knew whatever was going on, it was bad, and I could feel movement outside of where I was buried underneath my little pile… Hoping they wouldn't notice me… I held my body completely still… That is when I heard nothing outside of my pile, I had seemingly evaded being spotted so… Carefully… I poked my head out of the pile of gold and noticed my siblings talking to each other. I could barely make out what they were saying but the scraps I could pick up were this…
"Klauthiym…"
"Weakling…"
"Annoying…"
"Kill him…"
That was all the motivation I needed as I had looked up to see the opening and I knew my siblings would attempt to catch me before I could make a move… However… I had to move now or I would likely be killed… In my head, as I began calculating my odds, I realized my father was right… I was weak… I could barely fight my siblings, as they were physically superior to me in every way… My armor, though as tough as there's, was not as foolproof as theirs… While I was as physically capable as the rest of them, I lacked their stamina in a fight, and while I was more dextrous and capable of dodging their attacks, I couldn't take as many hits as they could in a fight… Not only that, I was much smaller than the rest of them… Most of them were about the size of what could be considered humans, or, as my eldest brother would be, the size of what my father described as a Goliath… Whilst I, the smallest of the brood, was no bigger than a wolf… But to add insult to injury, my scales weren't immune to fire like theirs were, only resistant to it… I quietly grit my teeth as I looked at them, and I decided that I would make the first move… Getting as close as I could before making a break past them.
I had calculated that it would be about 120ft from the vent, and I would need every second I could get a head start… However… As I got about 30ft from my position, whilst two of my siblings didn't notice, my oldest sibling saw me with our sister, and they informed the others.
"HEY WHERE ARE YOU GOING, RUNT!?" He would shout in anger and, knowing my cover was blown, I began to run. The quartet would chase after me as I opened my wings as wide as I could… I knew my siblings and I could hardly fly, but I was counting on that… If I could only make it to the magma chamber, I could ride the updraft to escape… The four of them would begin to chase after me as fast as our little legs would carry us and, who should come back from a hunt but our parents, who would see my siblings chasing me… I saw my mother attempt to make a move towards me, only for my father to stop her and shake his head. It wouldn't be long before I made it to the edge of perch, looking to the lava below, and then to my siblings, who had slowed down to try and creep their way towards me. "You've got nowhere to run, runt… It's either the fire or our fangs you face…"
"True…" I would say, looking over the edge, "But…" I smirk, and I would inhale deeply… "It's never too late to learn how to fly!" I would then blasts my siblings with my fire, knowing it wouldn't hurt them, but the sudden heat would force them to close their eyes and I leaped off the edge. Like mother had taught us, I corrected my form for the fall, straightening out my body into the dive, and letting the momentum carry me down… As the heat began to draw close, I opened my wings and twisted my body as beat my wings hard. My siblings would see me rising up rapidly, flapping my wings hard as I would rapidly fly circles in an upward spiral towards the opening at the top, smiling at them as I blasted smoke in their direction, using one talon to pull down an eyelid as I continued to ascend.
My mother would look on with a proud look in her eyes, whilst my father, ever stoic, would snort and give me a curt nod, a look of pride only evident in his eyes as I was the first of his children to actually learn to fly. Smirking, I would look back at my siblings, "HAHAHA! You'll never catch me now! Catch ya on the flipside, suckers!" I shouted as I exited the mountain's peak and… I was then assaulted by a massive chill as I entered the cloudy sky above… Knowing it was the chill of the mountain air, I knew that I had to get as far away as I possibly could… And there was now only one way for me to go… And That was down the slopes of the mountain… Turning my body to follow the wind, I let my aching wings soothe in the cool mountain air as I flew slowly down towards the valley below.
The Winds would carry me for a good distance, but… I wouldn't know how long I would be flying for when my stomach started gurgling… I had not eaten at all today, for I had been hiding from my siblings at all the meals for the past week, and I could barely find the remains of the corpses to get barely any scraps before the hoard's mimic ate the rest. I did miss him… Poor Grappy, he was a really kind soul, letting me get some scraps to at least fill my belly before he would take what was left… I missed him already… I also missed our Hoard Scarabs… Our siblings didn't care for them, but I absolutely adored them. 'No… I won't regret running away from my parent's home… They would force me out eventually, better I left on my own terms and whilst giving my siblings an insult before that happened…' I would then slowly find myself descending downwards finding what would appear to be a clearing… I was still in my father's territory, but… I knew I could do with a bit of a rest, and possibly a hunt as well…
Slowly I would descend towards the ground, using my wings to stop my descent before finally touching ground… Unfortunately, as soon as I did, I would find myself being hoisted into what I think was a trap. I was quickly pulled off the ground and I found myself restrained tightly as I began to try and struggle free… But it was no use, my wings were bound tightly and whatever was containing me was so small that I couldn't move right. However, as I hung there… I noticed something, a strange smell… A Smelly Smell… A Smelly Smell that smelled… Smelly… That is when I noticed a group come out of the forest and they appeared to be what my father had described as… "Elves?" I would say allowed in Draconic.
"Well well well… Look at what we have here…!" One of the elves says, smirking at me, one that gave me a bad feeling about this. "We set out a trap to capture human poachers, and instead we get a Red DRagon Wyrmling, instead!" One of the Elves says, smiling at me. "Looks like we've got something even bigger to celebrate when we return home!"
"If you're going to kill me then just do it…" I would say indignantly, "I'd rather be dead than someone's trophy or slave!"
"Oh you don't get to decide, dragon!" The Elf says, smiling as he snaps his finger and suddenly, as soon as the net is cut, I couldn't move an inch, all I could do was growl angrily at the elf whilst glaring at him. The Elves would then work together to load me onto a cart with a cage and they would drag me along hidden forest path.
"This is just not my day…" I would say outloud, "Me and my bad luck…"
"Quiet!" One of the elves would shout at me, hitting my cage with a wooden stick. "Don't make us put a muzzle on you!"
"But you're making more noise than I am…" I would mumble… Unfortunately, the elf would slip his stick past the bars and hit me over the head. "Ow! I guess I deserved that…"
"Sh!" The leading elf would say again, and I would find myself unable to make any noise, and I realized he had cast a spell on me, at least then I don't have to worry about that other spell he used on me lasting so long. However, as I was there, listening to the Sound of Silence, I began to focus on the path in front of us, and my mind would scan around to see what changes were happening in the forest. There wasn't much to be found truly interesting, aside from the occasional flowers that I would look at as we passed by. However, that is when something on the wind catches my attention… Or at least it did for a moment… Cuz I could swear I caught the scent of another dragon… But… It couldn't be, this was my father's territory, and that smell wasn't familiar at all…
Still… A Few hours would pass before lights began to come into view as I would see a massive wall made of wood come into view, and the guards would come and speak to the leading elf and would motion towards me… That Sinking feeling in my empty stomach was now getting worse… 'What have I gotten myself into…?' I thought as the lead elf smiled wickedly at me as the cart was pulled into what would appear to be a large village with houses built into the trees, with elves everywhere just looking at me, pointing at me, with several armed guards walking alongside the carriage as they hold their weapons aloft, and glance at me, as if daring me to make a sudden move… Deciding to play with them, I raise the tip of my tail and, almost immediately, they aim their weapons at me. Slowly raising my tail to my teeth, I actually begin to gnaw on it and scratch at it with my talons, as if trying to scratch an itch I can't reach.
This causes them to lower their weapons, slowly. I then begin to raise myself off the ground suddenly, and up go the weapons again, and I just shake my body, and begin stretching as if I were a cat… Before laying back down… This causes the Guards to glare at me annoyed… That is when… In my final bid… I start channeling my breath weapon, immediately causing them to raise the weapons once more, only for me to blow smoke rings out of my mouth, and one of them realizes I am messing with him and begins mouthing something I can't hear, thanks to the Silence Spell, but it seems the realize I'm only fooling around, annoying them on purpose. I simply smirk and just await my fate as I am brought forward towards what appears to be a fairly old elf with a beard that falls down to the center of his chest, along with several others, and the people all gather around the cage. It seems the main elf that had captured me starts spinning some sort of tale that I can't hear, probably about how he captured me and, it seems the old elf just whacks him on the head with a stick and then contradicts everything he says by pointing out every member of his party, and then points to me, before snapping his fingers, causing a loud popping sound as a cacophony of sound suddenly rush in on me, and I realize I can now hear again, and the man is speaking in a fluent Draconic. "So, Dragon… Who are you and what are you doing here?"
"My name is Klauthiym, as for what I am doing here, well…" I say, looking at him, and then to everyone, "I ran away from home… My siblings were trying to kill me and I took the only chance I had to escape." The Elder looks at me and then starts examining me. "Is there something wrong?"
"No, actually, I had half-expected you to start hurling insults and threats at me, as most red dragons would… I never expected you to be so… Friendly." The Old Elf says, "My name is Galtherin Silverlance, Archdruid of Darkwood Village! I welcome you, Klauthiym!"
"I thank you for your kindness, though…" I would say, but then my stomach growls again. "I haven't had anything to eat all day…"
"Oh I see… Then I know just what to get you to fix you right up!" He then looks at one of the elves and whispers something in a language I can't understand, but I look at him, trying to study his stance and… It seems he isn't being hostile towards me, so I think I should take him at his word, for now at least. I continued to rest in my cage as the other elves actually start to go about their business and soon a hunter brings what appears to be a large deer towards me and, it is then I noticed this elf was approaching ever so cautiously, and once they opened the cage, I backed away to give them some breathing room… The Elf had given me a look and I had managed to show I wasn't a threat, and, somehow, they believed I wasn't being threatening… They brought the deer to me, and, as they set it down I watched them cautiously… It seems they were expecting me to just jump onto the raw deer and consume it like some sort of animal, but I think they had little knowledge or understanding of how we Red Dragons actually eat our meat… I then carefully grabbed the deer by it's head and brought it closer to me and opened my mouth, inhaling, in which the Elf backed off quickly and placed a hand on his sword, causing the other elves with weapons nearby to ready their weapons, only for the Galtherin to motion for them to lower their weapons.
I hadn't noticed them raising their weapons as I concentrated the fire in my belly and vomited out the elemental energy onto the corpse, burning away the fur and roasting the flesh of the deer with precise control over my fire. Those elves who are watching me are stunned at how I would cook a meal such as this, but Galtherin seems to know what I was doing from the moment I had dragged the Deer back enough that I wouldn't harm the one who brought me the meat. Once I was satisfied that it was thoroughly cooked, my hunger took over and I started savagely attacking the corpse, eating it violently and ravenously, scaring a few of the elves, but those who were watching me could actually see that I was crying… I had honestly never eaten so good in my life… Almost every time food was available, I had to scavenge for scraps that my siblings left behind, and I could barely even find any due to how gluttonous they were… I could finally have a meal all to myself…
Once I had finished the corpse, I was purring with satisfaction, for the first time, I was actually full, and I was happy, shedding nearly unnoticeable tears of joy at this. However, I decided to lay down and rest, just letting my food digest as I relaxed in my cage. Galtherin spoke with a few of his men in their own tongue, but I was too blissful to notice… I would fall asleep, knowing that if I had just eaten my last meal, at least my executioners had been kind enough to provide me with my first and last meal of my life.
I don't know how long I was asleep but… In my dreams, I would hear the sound of birds chirping, seven birds chirping as a kindly old man and a strange draconic creature with five hands walked towards me. "Is this the one, my lord?" The Five Handed Creature asks.
"Yes, this is him… It seems the Great Revelation has had some long reaching effects as you had expected, but I never imagined it would reach this far out into the Multiverse…" The Elderly Man would say, kneeling down and petting my head… "Still, for a wyrmling like this to be pushed from his home after a life of being bullied… I think we can count ourselves lucky that this one is still so small for his size, and that the elves were willing to grant him some measure of comfort."
"What are we going to do with him?"
"He is destined for greatness, I know it, but we need to get him somewhere he can be properly trained… He has great potential in him, and I would like to see that potential reached." The old man says, "Do you know of any place that would be able to train him?" The five handed creature rubs his chin with one hand, whilst scratching his head with another while the the remaining three are doing something I couldn't even describe. However that is when the only free hand, the one at the end of his long tail, snaps as his eyes widen a bit. "You have something?"
"Indeed I do…" He then creates an image of the forest from the sky and walks over to a point in the forest and reveals what appears to be a mountain on the edge of the forest, on the edge of my father's territory, days away. "This might do nicely… The Dragon here has created a variant of your Way of the Ascendant Dragon, one that will take full advantage of his natural strengths and cover his weaknesses… However… He must make the journey to this mountain alone…"
"Agreed… He will face many challenges along the way, and for how fast he can fly, it will be a miracle if he makes it there within a few days without setting the forest on fire." The old man says, chuckling. "But I believe he can do it…!" He patted my head once more, "Go now, Klauthiym, once you have recovered, go out into the world and choose your destiny…" I would then wake up and find myself lying on what could only be described as a large bed made of gold, coins, and, I actually found it quite comfortable. I would raise my head and look around, seeing that I had been brought to what appears to be a large room with plenty of treasure that is ripe for the taking, however… I had a feeling this wasn't my own hoard and was just piled under me for me to sleep on.
"My lord…" I heard somebody speak in Draconic, "Why do we need to have this… monster… sleep on our village's wealth? Wouldn't the cage have been just fine?"
"It would have, but you don't know dragons like I do… While Dragons do hoard and sleep on treasure, Red Dragons, despite being more greedy than any other, it's actually a necessity for them. You see their body temperatures are so high they tend to melt or ignite anything they lay on without intending to, and such a soft metal or stone that is highly resistant to heat, such as gold, copper, and silver, tend to prove extremely comfortable for them." I could hear Galtherin say, a mirthful sound in his voice.
"Still, that dragon could easily turn against us and take the village's wealth for his own!" The other elf says, "And why are we even talking in Draconic anyway?"
"Because we need to ensure we don't give Klauthiym any reason to try and attack us… Kur, the Platinum Dragon, gave me a vision last night, so I know this dragon has a great destiny ahead of him." Galtherin says, "So we must not give him any reason not to trust us, unlike how you and your men did last night, provoking and beating him over the head." The door then opens as I raise my head. "Good morning, Klauthiym, how did you sleep?"
"The first time I've been able to sleep well since I hatched, sir, and thank you." I said, giving a faint smile as I looked at the elf who had captured me last night with a tense look, "And who might this be?"
"This is Nuada Silverlance, my son, you met him last night after he captured you, correct?"
"Yes, now I remember…" I said with a bit of feigned hostility. Nuada, wanting to reach for his dagger, quickly seemed to notice the smirk on my face as he saw right through me. "A very good trap if I do say so myself, I hadn't even noticed it whilst I was going in for a landing!" Nuada just gives me a bit of a glare and turns his head away, with a "hmph". "In any case, I thank you for your hospitality, so I was wondering if there was anything I could do to repay you."
"Well I think there are a few things that come to mind, mainly for my own curiosity, but also to help the villager's minds to be put at ease, if you'd be willing to help me in that matter!"
"I would, but I need to know what is in it for me, because, while I do enjoy the hospitality I'm being given, don't get me wrong, I can't simply give when I get no take in return." I would say, being blunt with what I'm thinking.
"Sharp as ever! Well don't worry about not receiving anything in return! We're prepared to help feed and house you until you've fully recovered to a healthier state and can fend for yourself. However, aside from that, if you perform a few oddjobs here and there, we wouldn't mind paying you for your aid to help you start your own hoard!" I would put my paw under my chin and begin thinking about that and I would nod.
"Sounds enticing!"
"And I would be willing to help you find a place that is unclaimed by any dragon that would allow you to set yourself up somewhere in the world." The Elder says.
"Sold." I would say, without a moment's hesitation after that. That is when he would then produce a length of rope and make a loop around my neck, much to my confusion, and he would lead me outside, where, what would appear to be, a hunting party of some kind was gathered, and they were looking at me warily. "What is going on?"
"This will be your first task, Klauthiym… We are currently dealing with an infestation of Blights in the surrounding forest, and we would like for you to help us in dealing with them. Your firepower will provide some much needed assistance if you would be able to lend a helping hand." Galtherin says, "These hunters have experience hunting Blights, and will be monitoring you as you work together! They even know how to speak some Draconic just in case you need orders, but they can understand whatever you say to them."
"I understand." I turn to my temporary companions, "A pleasure to meet you, I hope we can work well together!" I say, bowing my head respectfully as the three elves look at me with mixed reactions. It isn't long until they begin leading the way into the Forest, where, this time, I get to admire everything that happens around me as my eyes take in all the sights as we begin to travel along. The thick forest underbrush is actually quite tricky for my paws to navigate, as I'm still used to the hard stone surfaces of a mountain… Even so I manage to hold my footing and keep up with the elves, making sure I don't lose sight or scent of them. However, when our leader raises his fist, stopping us in our tracks and everyone gets down, I lower my body slightly to see what they are looking at… I can barely see anything but forest ahead of me as I look out. "What is it…" I whisper, "I don't see a thing…"
"Sh!" One of the hunters says, and then another, with them pointing out carefully, I look again… And thanks to this I managed to spot it… A Creature that I can only see are a moving pile of twigs in the shape of a humanoid and my eyes widen, and from the depths of my soul I could sense a faint aura of evil coming from it.
"Twig Blights, 3 of them…" The Lead Hunter says, "Tariel…" He then speaks in Elvish, which I assume is part of a plan, "Lethalim…" He speaks to another pointing to a location nearby. "You…" He says to me in broken draconic, "Distraction…" He points to the creatures, which I identify now as Twig Blights, "Draw attention… Keep Busy… Retreat when whistle…"
"Understood…" I then crouch low to the ground and begin moving… I don't get more than ten feet from my position before I step on a twig, and the hunters freeze, as the Twig Blights begin looking around frantically, manically, almost trying to find the source of the noise. 'Now or never…!' I think, knowing that they will likely find me if I'm too close, and so I charge in, roaring as I draw their attention, the Twig Blights turning to me and take their stance… Thanks to the fact they hadn't seen me at first, I had managed to get well within range of one of them… Thanks to this I take a sharp intake of air and swallow it, and, with a sharp flexing of my stomach, I blast out a burst of flames towards the three blights, having managed to line two of them up whilst the third was slightly out of my blast's affected range. The Blight that was closest to me had seen the light in my mouth and thus had managed to brace for the oncoming attack, managing to hold itself steady for the attack as I had blasted it full on, the one right behind it was not so lucky, as it wasn't able to see what was going on… The second Twig Blight screamed in agony as it started flailing itself around, trying to put out the fire, only for, a few spans of a second later for the creature to burn to ashes.
Once I had managed to get the drop on them, the Twig Blight who was off to the side rushed towards me with fury in it's non-existing eyes, and it would rush towards me, raising it's sharpened wooden claws to rake across my hide, only for the claws to not bite deep enough, the wood gliding off my hide harmlessly. Once that creature was done, I, instead, focused entirely on the creature I had near death's door, and, quickly, I knew I had to finish it before it could recover from my attack and, on instinct, I jumped at it, and raised a forepaw, clenching my digits into what could be considered a fist, and slamming it into the burned wood of the creature, who shattered upon impact. Once that had finished, the remaining Twig Blight would swing it's talons again, it's sharpened wood not finding purchase once more, in which I would swing my tail… The moment the attack struck, the wooden creature would scream in agony as it exploded into several splinters and it's pieces would crash onto the forest floor, and I would smirk proudly at my first battle being accomplished.
That is when I would be met with clapping as the Lead Hunter would walk out of the underbrush and the other two would show themselves without their weapons drawn, and then I realized I had been set up. "Well done! Well done!" The Lead Hunter says, "You good, better than thought!"
"Was that a test?"
"Yes!" Tariel says, "Test for further in."
"Handled well! Good Job!" Lethalin says, smirking.
"Well… Thanks…" I would say, not knowing how I should feel about being made to fight three Twig Blights on my own, but I felt a bit more confident in myself. I then recalled how my siblings would gang up on me as they would, and I realized now just how powerful they really were in a straight-up fight, and how I was constantly being overpowered. This small victory gave me a rush of pride and felt like my first step into a much greater journey… That is when the Lead Elf Hunter would hold out his palm to me, and smile at me.
"Farel!" He says, pointing to himself with his free hand, and then I smile as i put one forepaw into his hand, and he would grip mine and move it up and down, causing me to smile as I was then given a good breakfast to recover my strength before we continued on. As we traveled, Tariel would attempt to teach me how to speak Elvish with the broken words in Draconic she knew, which… Thanks to my tongue having a hard time pronouncing anything short of passable due to us traveling. So Tariel decided to wait until we got back to the village to begin teaching me properly. However, a few hours in, I caught the scent of something, and I let out a growl. "What it?"
Getting low, the others followed suit and watched as I poked my head over the edge of the foliage in front of us, and, much to everyone's confusion, they would see a deer corpse nearby, but, then… Farel would see there are large spikes protruding out of it, and he would signal for everyone to stay put as he crept closer to investigate… I couldn't even hear his footsteps as he drew close to the carcass… That is when he looks up and jumps back as a collection of large needles fly at him and he draws his bow. Shambling into the clearing is a human sized creature, covered in great thorns around itself and, from cracks in the wood, a fine yellow powder leaks from what appear to be wounds. "THORN BLIGHT!"
"Kill Quick, or we surrounded!" Tariel say, and thus combat begins once more… However, that is when needles launch out at all of us from between the trees, and we all realize that we are indeed surrounded… And a spray of them, horrifyingly, manages to pierce my hide, revealing two more Needle Blights had joined in the fray.
"I got this one, you take these two!" I call out, aiming my fury towards my assailant. The Needle Blight, having expected to take me out with it's surprise attack, wasn't ready for me to turn on it and charge, slamming my head into it's unprotected core. The creature creates a shrieking sound as it slides backwards, glaring at me as it prepares it's next attack, trying to rip at me with it's needle-like talons… Fortunately, they found no purchase into my hide like his needles had, but they had managed to get caught in the gap between my scales, something I decided to take full advantage on in this instance. Raising my head and breathing in, I aimed my blast towards the wooden creature right into it's face, blasting it with the full fury of my fire… The creature, however, managed to brace itself at the last second, resisting my fire. Taking advantage of the smoke caused by it's burning, it's free claws would find purchase in my hide and… It would slash me right across the face, a roar of anguish escaping my maw as I looked at the creature. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!" I shouted at the creature and I would lower my head to ram it one last time. I was barely able to put any momentum into the ram, but it had just enough force in it to cause the Blight to shatter upon impact… However… I was gravely wounded… And I collapsed to the ground, too weak to even move… I looked out towards my allies as I began to lose consciousness, my whole world turning black…
I would wake up, groaning as I feel my wounds ache and sting, looking to see a fire having been set up and Tariel was looking at me. "Awake!" She would say in Draconic, and the others would rush over to me and, much to my shock, I would see Galtherin rush over as well!
"Klauthiym! Bless you, you're awake!" He says, smiling at me. "You had me worried there for a second, little one!"
"What happened?" I asked, "The Blights?"
"Defeated!" Galtherin says, "Thanks to your help we managed to not only clear out the infestation, but managed to do so before more Blights could be called to the area."
"An exciting first day away from home…" I would say, completely spent. "So mission accomplished?"
"Most certainly, though I think you should take a few days to rest and recover before you do anything exciting."
"I think I'll take you up on that offer…" I would say, and with that Galtherin casts a spell that transports us back to the village, where they lay me down back on the pile of treasure, and I just go to sleep. For the next few days, more likely a week, I would rest and recover from the injuries I had sustained fighting those blights, sleeping the whole time, only waking up from time to time to be let outside so I could relieve myself and so that I could eat. Honestly my wounds were healing nicely, but I felt so tired after that… I was surprised just how I managed to survive the onslaught of my siblings without any ill effect when those monsters would have easily killed me. I know my siblings would just laugh at me for getting my tail handed to me by a bunch of plants that they would've easily torn apart or scorched. However, on the last day of my rest, I would come outside to take a look around the village, Galtherin allowing me to actually explore the village on my own as long as I remained in the sightlines of the guards, which I agreed to.
The Village was actually very beautiful, for there were gardens and green houses everywhere, there were buildings crafted into the trees itself, and much more than that, there were signs of divine protection over this place that I couldn't even begin to fathom. I would also see what appear to be shops that are filled with all sorts of shiny things, which I found extremely interesting. My inner draconic greed would've gotten the better of me had I been a lesser willed dragon. However, the shopkeepers, after having hearing about how I had helped in dealing with the Blight Infestation, decided that it would be safe enough to allow me to browse around if I didn't take anything. Thankfully, I found plenty of shinies that were interesting, and piqued my inner greed, but, knowing better, I only looked but didn't touch.
However, after this, a few weeks would begin to pass as I would await my next assignment from Galtherin, and, fortunately, it would actually come pretty soon, though it's not one I would expect. "You want me to talk with a Draconologist?" I would ask Galtherin as he would give me my next assignment.
"Yes, I do, in fact, he's actually one of my brightest students of the past and would be more than willing to lend you a hand if you let him talk with you and examine your health." Galtherin says, "You are a bit on the small side for a Wyrmling afterall."
"Please don't remind me…" I would say, not liking the idea of being labeled as "small" for my race.
"Apologies, but if there is anything that could be gleaned on how your health is being affected, and how we can help you grow to your full size, and discover why you are so weak in comparison to other wyrmlings, we may be able to help you!" Galtherin says, hitting another nerve, but I decided to drop it as he mentioned finding out why I'm so weak.
"Alright… I'll bite…" I would say, relenting, my own interest into finding out why I am so weak would certainly help my pride at least a little, and would give me some answers. Thankfully, I wouldn't have to wait long in order to meet this Draconologist, a half-elf by the name of Ernest Drake, who would enter the village where I would be waiting with him alongside Galtherin.
"Ernest! It has been a long time, my student!"
"Master, it has indeed been a long time, at least for halfbreeds like me, about 20 years at least!" The man says, hugging his old teacher, he would then notice me. "Oh is this the dragon you are talking about?"
"Yes, indeed he is! Do you think you could tell me what is wrong with him?"
"Hmmm… I will need to make some measurements first…" Ernest says, crouching to my level, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Klauthiym! I hope I can be of some assistance."
"I hope so too…" I would say, in which Ernest would bring out a length of rope and would begin measuring out my body, which i would hold extremely still for, being a bit nervous about, Ernest being very careful about how he would go about measuring me. He would then check over a book and then his eyes widen a bit… "What is wrong?"
"I think I know why you're so small and weak in comparison to your siblings… It's not just that you were born a runt, far from it… Tell me, has anyone told you about the cataclysm known as the Great Revelation?"
"I know only a little bit from what people are willing to tell me… It has something to do with a great event that took place a few years ago, and that it somehow afflicted all of Dragonkind with "Free Will and Chaos"... Whatever that means." I would say, remembering what little I could understand.
"Well… From what we can understand is that, for centuries, Metallic and Chromatic Dragons were compelled at birth to do good and evil respectfully, and were inextricably bound to the deities of Bahamut and Tiamat, respectfully as well. However, during a great battle a few years ago, something happened as a powerful spell erupted from our world and unleashed magic into the Multiverse, causing dragons to have a monumental revelation when their spiritual and mental shackles were destroyed…" Ernest Drake would explain, "Now while most dragons were unaffected by this, there were some who had a change of heart and would change sides in the war between Metallic and Chromatic Dragons, while still others would go into hiding. Meanwhile, any eggs that hadn't hatched were drastically affected as well, some more than others. There have been reported cases of some Wyrmlings being smaller and weaker than their other counterparts, on top of being conflicted in the notions of committing to the sides of good or evil."
"And I happen to be one of them…" I would say, realizing what is happening.
"Yes, and these dragon wyrmlings, more often than not, end up dying as a result of being born smaller and weaker than their siblings… We call these dragons Dead Ends, as few of them live long enough to ever do anything great… Whats more, they grow at a phenomenally slower rate than the rest of their kind, at least at first." Drake would explain, "You see, whilst Dead Ends are incapable of growing at the same rate as Dragons of similar age, if they manage to survive their initial year, they end up becoming stronger much faster than their normal counterparts… They quickly learn and adapt to the world around them their bodies trapped between the stages of Wyrmling and Young Dragon, but their bodies age faster as they grow stronger and more experienced, eventually, if they survive long enough, reaching the full strength of their Youthful Stage whilst obtaining the appearance of an adult dragon despite their size. Whats more, these Dead Ends have all the same abilities as a Dragonborn, but where they have a significant advantage over their normal counterparts is that if they commit to a path of training, they can master their abilities to the point they have a significant advantage over other dragons their age, maybe even beyond that, as their combat experience and power may allow them to obtain skills and abilities that most dragons would be incapable of having."
My eyes would wide at his long winded explanation as Drake would take a breath to try and steady himself, and while I didn't get everything, I learned why I'm so weak. I'm a Dead End Dragon, but in exchange for being so weak, I would grow and mature much faster than any dragon normally would, allowing me to reach the same level of power an Adult could feasibly reach before I reached the Adult Stage… This was mind blowing, but it certainly answered a lot of questions and… If I were honest with myself, it helped me realize what I was capable of, and it only made me smile. After this, I would spend more time discussing things with Professor Ernest Drake, and I would actually become intrigued by everything he would tell me…
Slowly the years would pass, and by the time I reached the age of 17, my body would begin to show signs of uniqueness. The First, and Most Drastic, of these changes would be that my entire skeletal structure would actually change in response to my rapid growth. Overnight, my wings and my forelegs would rapidly fuse together as I slept, increasing the size of my wings, but also the length of my neck, body, and tail to match them. This would coincide with another change that would happen thanks to Galtherin and Professor Drake, who would, after explaining that Dragons, though having their preferences, can eat just about anything, which would give me a more balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, along with meat. Thanks to this, my body increased dramatically in size over the following 16 years, allowing me to reach a size that is somewhere between that of a maximum size Wyrmling and a mid-size Young Dragon.
This, along with the change to my wings and forelegs, would change my entire anatomy to fit a style of fighting that was far more agile than the average dragon, both in the air and on the ground. My measurements, afterwards, would come out to having my height at the shoulders being 6ft tall, with a 4ft long neck and head, a matching body, and a 16ft long tail, totalling to a body length of 24ft. As for my wingspan, that was the biggest part of me that changed, which reached above the maximum wingspan for a Young Dragon, reaching a length of 48ft across, and that was including the added 12ft from both of my forelimbs fusing into each of the wings. Safe to say, I was a very big dragon for my age, granted nowhere near as large as Ciymrith, my eldest brother, but I could easily outmatch the size of my other siblings now. Aside from this, there were other changes that took place along my body.
For one, my coloration had actually changed from a dull, ruddy red to that of a vibrant, rich, and bright crimson coloration, with the only difference being that of my eyes, which were a piercing navy blue in coloration. Along with this, I would end up sporting multiple rows of spikes along my back, with four large ones appearing at the end of my tail, and with several horns atop my head, my two prominent horns growing atop my head, which protrude out above my eyes, and a secondary pair of horns that protrude out from under my eyes. My scales would also change, becoming serrated and sharpened to those who would attempt to run their hand against them against the flow of my scales. My chest would also glow with my elemental energy at times, sometimes even releasing a thick smoke when I want it to. Finally, there is one feature about myself that I take the most pride in over all else, a pair of elongated, razor sharp fangs that extend to my chin.
However, during these past few years, Darkwood Village would have some excitement go on about it during the years that would pass. During my 10th Year, I would actually run into something of a legendary figure in the world. It would be on this day that I would be out hunting and much to my surprise, I would actually happen across, what would appear to be, an adventurer who was taking a nap beneath the trees and, while I didn't think anything of this person, I would see that they looked rather strange, almost like an elf mixed with a dragon, which had intrigued me… However… That is when I would feel something in the forest, and my eyes would immediately turn to see an old enemy of mine, a Blight… The Creature that had nearly killed me so long ago… It was time for a bit of payback as I had gotten stronger since then, and I wanted to test my might now. The Blight would glare at me and look at me, "Feh, a Legendary Hero and a Dragon Wyrmling… A small one at that…"
"Laugh at me all you like…" I would say, "I have a bone to pick with your ilk!"
"I don't remember attacking you…" The Vine Blight would say.
"Oh I have a bone to pick with all Blights… Especially now that I've had time to study up on your kind… Prepare to die, monster!" I would shout, and I would roar angrily and battle would begin. My reaction to the declaration would be rather swift as, during my years here, I had figured how to strike at an enemy twice with my attacks, something I had wished i figured out during my battle with the Thorn Blights, but better late than never. Striking first, I lashed out with my talons at the Blight, first striking with the sole of my foot and then raking downwards with my claws, the Blight snarl as it backs away as it glares at me.
"You really think that Hero will let you live? Based on his garments, it appears he has slain many dragons in his time!" The Blight would say.
"Say all you want, Gulthias!" I would snarl, "I will let him decide that!" The Vine Blight would look surprised that I would speak of his true name, but it would glare at me and smirk as I retreated just out of range of it's Tendrils, however, it seemed to prepare itself for my next attack. Knowing this creature was plotting something, I breathed in deeply whilst diving forward, channeling the air into my Elemental Organ and unleashed it out in a burst of fire. The Blight, despite expecting it, was too slow to react and would burn quite well, in which I followed up with my next attack with a claw strike, but that is what the creature was waiting for. The Vines lashed out at me and took hold of me, and I snarled in pain as they proceeded to crush me, however, because the vines were on fire, I managed to rip them apart with a burst of strength with my wing talons and flew back out of range… I knew I was probably in over my head, but not as badly as I had thought, as I could tell the blight was on it's last legs. One good strike form my talons or wings would finish it. My confidence high, i dove once more and swung my wing, starting with the talon and then ending with the blunt force of my wing… The Blight screamed as it was ripped apart, and the flames that lingered on it's body took care of the rest as I landed, and I snorted loudly.
That is when I would smile as I felt a surge in my chest, my inner fire growing slightly stronger with an increase in my power… But my moment of joy was short lived as I had begun to hear clapping, and I turned around to see the person on the ground clapping as he stood up, using what appears to be a pair of wings to clap for me as he stood up. "Bravo, bravo, well done, young one!" The draconic human says, standing up, revealing themselves to have a bronze coloration with tinges of green flowing through his scales, and he continues to clap with his hands. "That was an amazing display of skill and raw power!"
"Oh uh… Thank you!" I would say with a smile, "Sorry if I disturbed your rest, that Blight was attempting to sneak up on you."
"I know, I sensed it whilst I as sleeping, but you had shown up just in time to kill it! I'm truly amazed that somebody as young as you could manage something like that so easily!" The Draconic Elf says, "Oh forgive me, allow me to introduce myself, I am Tharask Carcossa, a member of the Tharask Clan of the Dragonborn, and a Cleric of Bahamut! Who might you be?"
"I am Klauthiym! It is a pleasure to meet you Tharask Carcossa…!" I would say to the Dragonborn, "What brings you into the Darkwood, you know that the Mountain nearby is occupied by an Ancient Red Dragon, right?"
"That I do know, my party and I were actually on our way to Darkwood Village after hearing rumors of a Red Dragon Wyrmling having made his home there without terrorizing the town!" The Dragonborn says, "However, it seems I napped so long they went off without me… If you could, do you think you could guide me there?"
"I would be glad to, but I doubt you could keep up with me though…" I would say, "But I can fly you there if you would climb upon my back!"
"Oh I would like that!" The Dragonborn says, "Though I have to ask, why haven't you left Darkwood Village yet? Aren't you a bit old to be hanging around in your parent's territory?"
"To be honest, I'm planning on leaving eventually, but right now, my father and mother are hibernating, since they haven't been active for the past few years, so I'm using this time to get stronger so that, when I do leave, it will coincide from around the time they wake up." I would explain, "However, I'm taking my time to grow stronger as well before I set off on my journey. Hunting in these woods has done wonders for my abilities to be honest."
"Very wise of you to exploit such a timeframe, however precarious it is, but I suggest you leave relatively soon, as a Red Dragon, while they can hibernate for decades at a time, only stay out cold for about a single decade at the least…" Carcossa would say as I let him mount my back and I took off."
"Noted!" I would say, making sure I keep that in the back of my mind. Flying back to the village, I would land in the center, where the dragonborn's party would be gathered, and there, they would gawk at me landing deftly whilst the villagers aren't terrified. Once the Dragonborn dismounts, he would explain everything to his companions, and they would look at me with awe. I would smile as I look at them, and I would be introduced to them: The Evolyne Magia, a Tiefling who was a Bard of the College of Swords, and Nevermore, a Kenku Monk who practiced the Way of the Astral Self. During the duration of their stay, I would actually be given some pointers by Nevermore, who, along with his Astral Self, Dark Shadow (who surprisingly had his own personality), would teach me some techniques that I could use to defeat my foes, and, from Carcossa, I would learn how to channel my breath weapon as a roar, rather than a blast of energy, if I wanted to scare the living daylights out of my enemies. According to him, it's a helpful tactic when you manage to get the drop on an enemy rather than outright in battle, but it can be used during a fight to deal with them.
Once they left, i would continue training, using what they had taught me to
On the dawn of my 17th birthday, as the mortals call it, I decided to begin paying back the debt I owe to this village with a smile on my face, especially to the Galtherin for being so kind and taking me in, I will be providing for the feast tonight… Flying over the tops of the trees, I rise into the air as I carefully make my way through the canopy… Thanks to the 16 years I have spent here, I have come to learn how to fly through the densely packed areas of the forest by copying the movements of hawks and owls, smiling as my eyes quickly pick out a target from down below: A Giant Elk, perfect for a feast for the elves…
Unfortunately, for me at least, the Elk had sensed my coming, curse my luck. Fortunately, I had been the first to react and I managed to bring out my talons fast the first strike was swift and deadly, as I felt my ki burst out of my claws as they struck home with a kick, slashing at the deer as I passed over head, landing the heel of my foot into the Buck's side the creature bugling as I flew past him and landed right next to him. The first strike was a simple greeting, now I would challenge the beast to a duel of honor… A Dirty Tactic, but this creature was noticeably stronger than I was, I had to level the playing field before I could officially challenge the creature. The Huge Elk knew this instinctively and lowered it's antlers, scraping the ground angrily as it glared at me and would go in for a ram. Fortunately for me, I wasn't far enough away that it could initiate a charge, and I had managed to land at just the right distance that it's ram would reach me without the added momentum. Fortunately, it was still spring, so the antlers still had velvet on them, meaning it couldn't take full advantage of it's weapons, which cut much of the power out of it's attack, so while it did bite deep, and hurt like a mother-fucker, it hurt worse than it actually was.
When I made my next move, I had swung my head to push the Elk off me, but that is when I heard a maniacal laughter behind me… I knew this laughter… The God of Chaos had seen fit to curse me with a Epic Failure, and thus, when I swung my head… I had managed to push the deer off me, but I felt a pop in my neck that caused immediate pain, I had pulled a muscle in my neck, and the pain was unbearable! However, I regathered my focus and then breathed deeply as I aimed my breath weapon at the Elk, the creature, unable to react in time, attempted to back away, only for a familiar laugh to strike out at the Elk as well, and I knew the Elk would suffer the Wrath of Chaos as my flames erupted from my mouth, burning it more than they reasonably should and… As it fell backwards, it let out a second bugle of agony, having broken it's leg while reeling. The creature screams in agony… This was not the fight I wanted so… I decided to show mercy to the creature… And… With a Heavy heart, I raised my wing talon and stabbed the creature through the head with it, ending it's misery in a single stroke. Even with this show of mercy, I would feel a familiar surge in my inner fire, one that I didn't believe I deserved thanks to the interference from the God of Chaos… However… I wouldn't be one to look a gift horse in the mouth right now…
It was a short fight, but I prefer my prey to fight back and fight for their lives rather than flee in terror… To me it is a more glorious way to go, and my prey earn my respect by standing and fighting for their lives, something I had learned to do back in the nest. Sure I ran away, but whenever it was just me and one of my siblings against me, I would fight them, even if I would get my tail handed to me, I would still stand up for myself. However, this creature had broken a bone during the fight, and prolonging it would've caused it undo agony and would've been a cruel way to end it… So I did the only thing I could and showed it mercy, ending it's misery before it could suffer a second more. With this, I would take the elk into my talons, and would fly back to Darkwood Village, hooting as I drew closer and, when everyone turned to see me fly over with the elk, they would rush over to me, this one was particularly big too. "Here you go everyone, my contribution to tonight's feast…!" Everyone looks at me and the children cheer, happy that they are going to be getting elk meat and I smile as I would turn my body and fly towards the home of Galtherin, smiling as I feel like I've done a good deed for the day.
"Galtherin, I'm back!" I would say as I entered, and the elf would smile as he turned to me, having written something in his book.
"Ah Klauthiym, that didn't take long!"
"Yeah, there was a boar nearby, and, while it is a small contribution, I think it is the beginning of my showing appreciation to the village for taking me in and caring for me for the past 4 years." I say to my father figure with a smile.
"I am glad you think that, Klauthiym…!" He says, but then puts his quill back into it's ink bottle. "Though, I am sad to say this, but… You're growing too old to be staying here…"
"Huh?" I ask, looking at him.
"The Hunters have been noticing your father and mother in the area recently… They are searching for something, and I think they might have heard about you still being in their territory, and are looking for you…" He would turn to me with a sad look in his eyes. "I am afraid that the time is drawing near for you to leave… Not just for your safety, but for ours…"
"No need to explain it to me, Galtherin…" I say that last word in perfect elvish, "I understand what must be done…" I then walk up to him and nuzzle my head against his chest. "I will leave tomorrow… I won't risk the people of this village facing my biological father's wrath because I'm here… I will leave in the morning after saying my goodbyes… But I promise… I will return one day, and I will save you all from his tyranny… One way or another…" Galtherin sheds tears as he holds his adopted son's head, holding him close. That night, there is a feast that is just perfect. There is plenty of food, children who come to play with me, singing, dancing, and just beautiful music… I would remember this night for years to come. It would be the first, and last, time I would truly call Darkwood Village my home…
Dawn would come, and as I began to get myself ready for the journey, I would see the village coming out to greet me, many of them having come to see me as family, with Galtherin walking over with tears in his eyes. "I can't believe my adopted son is finally going out into the world… Klauthiym… Thank you for making my life full and happy, if only for a short while…"
"I am honored to have called this place my home, even for such a short time." I would say, fighting back my tears, and many children would come and hug me, crying, my own tears threatening to flow when they did so… However… There was one person whom I didn't realize would come to me, and he would hold something in his hand, a backpack of some kind. "Nuada…"
"Had this custom made for you, so you can carry everything you need inside it… I also had some spare rations and a water skin added to it…" Nuada says… Over the past 4 years, we had developed a bit of a rivalry with each other trying to win Galtherin's approval, and it was indeed extremely fun… However… This would be the first time I would see him fighting back tears as he strapped the pack to my body, using my chest's scales to help secure it… I would look at Nuada and give him a nod of approval, liking the pack. "You better be back with plenty of stories to tell, cuz I'm going to be adventuring out myself soon… So don't you dare slack off, Thunderpoot!"
"You as well, Silverdance…" We would smile and after more heartfelt goodbyes, I would spread my wings as wide as I could, and would take to the air, and follow my sense of direction, and the dream from years ago… I would know the direction I would take… To the Northern Edge of my Father's Territory… I would need to travel fast to avoid being detected by my parents or my siblings if they were now starting to soar out on their own, if they haven't left already. "Yeah, what could possibly go wrong?" Oh how I wish I hadn't said that out loud…
The Wind flows beneath my wings… It has been a few days since I had left Darkwood Village and, while I was following the path northwards… My wings feel the wind flowing through them as I look at the forest below passing me by… My eyes wander as I continue to look over the ground below, wondering where my journey will lead me… However… As my eyes scan the apparently endless forest that stretch out in front of them, I begin to contemplate over the information I know about the area I grew up in. The World I am native to is known as Kur… The Continent I live on is known as Anora… And the region I live in Anora is known as the Darkwood, a great and expansive Temperate Rainforest with mountains that dot the landscape, though they are spread apart… However… The Specific area I lived in was known as the Blood Mountain Region, so aptly named for the mountain I had called home during my first year of life, the domain of my parents.
What is more, the region surrounding the mountain has plenty of Green Dragons that call the area home, and many of these green dragons are not of the friendly kind. However, as I begin to contemplate this, my eyes peer downwards as I notice what appears to be a road leading out of the forest to the North. Deciding to take a chance on it, I begin to follow it on a whim, wondering where it could lead. I know that if any sane humanoid from south or north of Darkwood had seen me and knew nothing of me, they would more than likely attempt to kill me. However, it is also probably a good idea that the information didn't spread so far until recently, as I had been doing my best to keep a low profile and not provoke my parents into trying to hunt me down and kill me.
However, as I continued to fly northward, I would notice something in the distance, it would appear to be a mountain, one that I could feel was on the very edge of the Northern Border of my father's Territory, and I would hope that something good would come out of this… It was still a few hours away, and sunset was fast approaching, so I had to get there soon, whilst the sun was still in the sky so I wouldn't catch whoever lived there off guard. Unfortunately for me, as i approached, the sun was just barely leaving the Horizon, but, much to my surprise, there was somebody sitting outside, their eyes closed and hands in some sort of folding as they seemed to be sitting there, their eyes closed. I would land as quietly as I could… Using my wings to slow my descent as I would carefully land with my talons touching ground first, and with the grace of an eagle landing on a branch, I would touch down with nary a sound, despite my weight.
"You are late…" The Man would say, speaking to me, "I had expected you an hour ago…" He stands up, revealing his bright pink hair, light tan skin, and the horns upon his head with scales across his body. "What took you so long to arrive, student?"
"You were expecting me?" I asked, looking at him… Only for a flurry of blows to strike out at me and send me flying backwards into a tree, causing it to fall from the force. I was left stunned at the force behind the attacks, and while I had suffered little damage, i truly felt the force behind the blows.
"You will call me Master, maggot…" The Monk says, standing there as he displays his wings, glaring at me. "For I will be your teacher until you have gotten the basics of the Way of the Ascendant Dragon down to pat… I will not tolerate any disrespect, even from a youngster such as yourself!" He then slams his tail down, creating a whipping sound upon impact. Terrified of that sound, I quickly recovered and stood at a attention as best as I could. "You learn quickly… Good…" He then stepped towards me methodically and with a devilish grin. "You will learn how things are run around here, for this is no ordinary monastery that I run here, we are warriors, trained to hunt and kill dragons who step out of line in the world… We don't follow the same Way of the Ascendant Dragon as the rest of the world does, ours is a discipline that focuses on driving home the full power of our abilities until we can match dragons on equal footing… As a dragon yourself, these techniques I will teach you will be an invaluable tool to you… So I will expect no tomfoolery with your abilities, do you understand?"
"Yes, Master!" I say, scared out of my mind.
"Good…" He then turns around, "For being late, you will be sleeping outside tonight… Be grateful I don't force you to do anything more serious…"
"Thank you, Master!" I say, absolutely terrified. With this… I would begin what could only be described as some sort of Boot Camp… I would be forced to go through forms of training that would push my pain tolerance, patience, and my mental fortitude to it's absolute limits for 4 grueling months of training… I would be forced to clean whatever I could with such precision that it would be near impossible for somebody of my size… I would be forced to lift things off the ground with just the power of my wings… Modified exercises that would push my body to it's limits and further… And even a few other things that I would rather not talk about.
However, by the end of it, I would actually be taught how to fluently read, write, and speak Infernal, the Language of the Nine Hells, and I would learn how to transform my ki into elemental energy that I could wreathe my attacks in, however, that is when my teacher, Master Natsu Dragneel, would explain something about how his school differs from the other Schools of the Way of the Ascendant Dragon. I would actually manage to speak to him during a nice evening in which I had been given the day off from training to speak with him. I would actually find him sitting in what would appear to be a monument to what appears to be a great red dragon whom had a baby in it's talons, fighting off what appears to be some sort of dragon, where he was sipping some tea whilst placing what appear to be an incense offering at the base of the statue.
"Master Dragneel, do you have a moment?" I would ask, approaching him.
"You are seeking me out, now that is quite a switch…" Master Dragneel would say, putting his cup down. "How may I be of help, my student?"
"There is actually something that has been puzzling me, Master… What is so different about this school that it looks like your training sessions are just a way to prove a point?" I would ask, looking at him, in which the Tiefling would smile.
"Well, if you knew anything about the Way of the Ascendant Dragon from any other school except ours… You would know that their ways are actually flawed… For instance, once you grow strong enough as a Monk, especially in the way of the Ascendant Dragon, your Ki naturally suffuses your attacks, making your strikes magical and their elemental applications useless after the fact… It's actually a small window of time, relative to the amount you've been training, that it remains relevant. My school actually focuses on taking those elemental applications and making them stronger, to the point that, after you reach that threshold, your ki and draconic Ki actually merge, not only applying the energy to your attacks normally, but also adding in the elemental damage right on top of that…"
"Oh!" I say, feeling like my mind is exploding from this knowledge.
"There is also the fact that I actually teach my students to not truly stick to one element, but to have a practiced hand at all of them, but keep one as the one as your opener to test the waters with an opponent. I pretty much do the same thing with our breath weapons, in which you infuse your Ki with those elemental breathes to increase the damage they unleash…" Natsu would explain. "Do you understand now?"
"I believe I do, Master!" I say, smiling, smiling at my teacher.
"Good, now off you go, rest up, because we will be getting back into your lessons soon."
"Yes, Master!" I would say, smiling as I would bow my head towards the statue before returning to the temple to recover my strength. After that interaction with my Master, I would actually grow to respect his outlook on my training, and, in turn, I would take my training far more seriously… And after 4 months of grueling training, I would stand at the doorstep of the Monastery where Master Natsu would look at me.
"Well, this is it…" He would say to me, "I've taught you everything I can for the time being… The rest is up to you from there, Maggot…"
"Yes, sir!" I would say, smiling at him.
"Now go give those guys what-for, and knock some dragons out of the sky for me, Klauthiym!" He would then take something out of his bag, and much to my surprise, would reveal it is a bottle of metallic ink of some kind, and he would take out a grouping of needles.
"Master, what are these for?" I would ask.
"These are to mark your body with my school's markings, which will show the world you belong to my school…" Master Natsu would explain, in which the Dragon would nod and lie down as the Master of the Monastery would then carefully use the tools to engrave into my scales a golden, jagged cut down his left eye, and a X-shaped mark on his left cheek… Once this was done, I would look at my reflection in the pools and I would look proudly at them as I would nod at my master, before taking into the skies, roaring loudly and proudly, willingly using a burst of my fire as a salute to my school before flying away…
What happens after that… Is a story for another day…