Prologue
Late Cretaceous. 66 million years ago. North America.
Growing within its egg, a baby dinosaur stirred.
"Some things start out big. And some things start out small. Very small. But sometimes, the smallest thing can make the biggest changes of all."
Standing over the nest, was the unhatched dinosaur's mother, who gently nudged the egg. A Triceratops, armed with three deadly horns and a thick bony frill. She looked up at the top of the valley where a flock of birds flew overhead, briefly sniffing the air before using her front foot to gently nudge the center egg next to the others. However, her nest didn't go undisturbed as a curious young Edmontosaurus had a peek in the nest. The mother Triceratops quickly shooed him away with a snort
The juvenile headed towards the lake, where a herd of Alamosaurus waded, The giant herbivores towering over the other dinosaurs that called this valley their home. The young Edmontosaurus scurried among the sauropods' legs, chasing a flock of birds. Just as they flew out of his reach, he noticed a dragonfly, sitting on a flower. He approached the dragonfly, which immediately flew away towards a forest, which the young dinosaur was sure to follow.
The dragonfly landed on a tree root. As the young Edmontosaurus approached again, it took off and landed on what appeared to be a tree stump. Suddenly, some drool landed on the tree root. The young Edmontosaurus looked up and saw a set of fanged jaws opening. He bolted out of the forest as fast as his legs could carry him, letting out a panicked cry as he did so, catching the attention of the other dinosaurs.
Moments later, the huge predator smashed through the vegetation. Tyrannosaurus rex. He spotted the young Edmontosaurus and decided he wasn't worth it, so his attention turned towards the rest of the herd. Many of them made a run for it, but one stood her ground: the mother Triceratops. She let out an angry bellow and displayed her massive horns. The T. Rex lunged forward, but she swung her enormous skull, her thick frill connecting with his face, knocking out a tooth.
While the Triceratops squared off with her attacker, a monitor lizard snuck towards her nest, his forked tongue flicking in the air, he picked up an egg in his mouth, cracked open the shell, and swallowed the contents, before doing the same with several more eggs. Just as he was about to finish the last egg, a bizarre feathered dinosaur, an Anzu, snatched it in his beak and scampered into the forest.
Eventually, the T. Rex realized he couldn't get past the mother Triceratops' horns and frill and decided to retreat. With the danger over, she returned to her nest and discovered that it was completely and utterly wrecked. She had failed as a mother. Or so it seemed...