Yeah, I know, this first chapter might be something of a mess...wrote it over a span of literally two or three years because of writer's block...I'll likely come back to fix it up later. Also, I'll admit that there's 4000 words of exposition in the first half of the chapter.
PART 1: THE DRAGON KHAN
BEGIN ARC: THE RISING SUN IN THE ETERNAL SKY
CHAPTER 1: HERE THERE BE DRAGONS (AND HUMANS)
On a world not so different from our own, there exists a large, dragon-shaped continent around the size of North America, a continent that is known by the name of Pyrrhia. On this continent called Pyrrhia, there are two intelligent, sentient races; Humans, and Dragons. Once upon a time, humans and dragons dominated Pyrrhia together. Despite being of different races from one another, humans and dragons were able to communicate with each other without difficulty, and there was mutual amicability amongst the two different races. Together, humans and dragons dominated the land, the sea, the sky...all of Pyrrhia, together.
Now, the above may make it sound as if Pyrrhia was some sort of idyllic paradise, to which the obvious answer was: no, it wasn't. But, generally speaking, Pyrrhia was much less prone to war than other continents with human populations. Additionally, wars were usually humans fighting other humans, or dragons fighting other dragons, and almost never humans vs dragons (granted, there were a few exceptions, but still). Of the five continents on the world that were populated with human life, Pyrrhia was the first to truly grow and flourish as a "cradle of civilization", with many of the technologies that later showed up on other continents showing up here first.
There were seven different tribes of dragons on Pyrrhia:
In the "wings", the North-Central part of the dragon-shaped continent that consisted of the northern half of the Iapetos mountains and the surrounding steppes, plains, and grasslands, lived the SkyWings (human name "Sky Dragons"), who were primarily red or orange in color, and who were, in a sense, representatives of the classical image of the flying, fire-breathing dragons who often guarded loot hoards, with their ability in flight and fire breath unmatched by any other tribe, and sometimes, certain individuals were born with fire so powerful that they burned everything they touched.
Down south, in the flats, meadows, marshes, swamps, and wetlands of the eastern and southeastern parts of the continent, on Pyrrhia's "back", lived the MudWings (human name "Mud Dragons"), who were primarily shades of brown, and were the largest in physical size of all dragons (which helped make up for weak fire breath), were occasionally born in such a way that they were immune to fire upon immersing themselves in mud, often spend much of their day bathing in mud (hence their name) and could hold their breath underwater for long periods of time, making them almost as amphibious as their East-Northeastern Neighbors.
Those neighbors, who lived on a loosely spiraling archipelago of islands that formed Pyrrhia's "tail", were the SeaWings (human name "Sea Dragons"), who were primarily blue or green in color, and were the most water-bound tribe of all the dragons, able to breathe underwater like fish, and swim in a way that could rival even swordfish in speed and grace, but also went mad if away from water for too long, and also had no sort of breath with which to attack at range, so they resorted to using weapons like swords and spears, as well as their powerful tails.
To the south of MudWing territory, there was a dense, humid, tropical rainforest on the south-central portion of Pyrrhia, known as the "Belly", and also known as the land of the RainWings (human name "Rainforest Dragons"). In spite of naturally being very brightly colored in various bright colors across the spectrum, sometimes all of them at once, RainWings were excellent stealth fighters who were known for their ability to blend in with their surroundings by changing their colors or turning invisible, and were able to make up for their lack of fire breath with their ability to spit a poisonous, acidic substance from their upper fangs. Though, due to the way their bodies worked, they had to spend portions of the day basking in the sunlight to maintain these powers and abilities, and so often gained an unfair reputation for laziness.
To the west, in an area stretching from the southern half of the Iapetos mountains (the "base of the wings") to the coastal plains and Tarantine peninsula in the "foreclaws" of Southwestern Pyrrhia, lived the NightWings (human name "Night Dragons", who were primarily shades of black, dark blue/purple, or dark green, and were a very unique tribe that, while also having fire breath, had traits centered around night and low light. Namely, they were nocturnal (slept in the day, were awake at night), and could blend into darkness.
To the North, in the deserts of the "chest" of West-Central Pyrrhia, lived the SandWings (human name "Sand Dragons"). A hardy tribe that were usually either shades of yellow and golden or colored like the sand, they were immune to the blazing heat and could thrive on little food and water compared to the other tribes, and had a deadly combination of fire breath and a tail that had a venom-laced stinger, which led to them often being nicknamed "Manticore Dragons" by their human contemporaries.
And finally, to the Northwest, in the cold boreal forests of the "neck" and the frozen tundra of the "head", lived the IceWings (human name "Ice Dragons"). A tough tribe, usually primarily white with a light-grayish, light-bluish, or light-reddish tint, the IceWings were immune to the freezing cold, subsisting on hunting, and having a unique Ice breath that could literally freeze another dragon inside-out if blasted into the opposing dragon's mouth.
And as for the humans of Pyrrhia, there were several different peoples of them, each one having their territories overlapping with either one or sometimes two dragon tribes. All were fearsome in war, but also each had rich cultures, and most were friendly outside of war (save for a few of the more arrogant peoples).
In the territory of the SkyWings, there lived two (well, technically four) different peoples: the Parlataeans, and the Galatians, both notably being fairly close to their dragon counterparts compared to other peoples.
The Parlataeans were a trio of Pastoral Nomadic Peoples (specifically, the Qalmyqs, self-designation "Khalimaguud", the Qipchaqs, self-designation "Qipchaqtar", and the Saka, self-designation...well, "Saka") who lived in the lightly-forested steppes surrounding the Northern Iapetos mountains, mainly hunting wild animals and herding livestock, and who worshipped a pantheon of gods headed by Gök Tengri, their god of the Eternal Blue Sky. They were feared across Pyrrhia because of their mastery of Horsemanship and Mounted Warfare. Using their sheer maneuverability compared to other armies to their advantage, harassing their foes with horse archers armed with compact-but-powerful recurve bows, then charging them in their weak points with long lances, and then hacking away at them at close range with axes, curved sabers, and heavy, destructive straight swords of a type known as "Qanda" swords, the Parlataeans could destroy any army that dared challenge them on flat ground.
The Galatians (self-designation "Galataigh"), who had a more sedentary lifestyle and lived in the mountains, were, self-described, a "praed, bonnie brae lot" who worshipped a pantheon of gods headed by Dagda, a deity associated with fertility, agriculture, manliness and strength. Often referred to as "Highlanders", they were known for a sort of ferocity in battle rarely matched by anyone save for their southern neighbors, but could also use a surprising amount of discipline and ingenuity in battle that could catch their foes off guard. Though it wasn't like they were without formidable cavalry themselves (when one's neighbors were the Parlataeans, good cavalry to rival them was a necessity) their armies were mainly infantry, who often wielded pikes that could ruin enemy cavalry, as well as axes, spears, clubs, short swords, and oval-shaped shields, and, occasionally, a unique sort of greatsword that could split a man in half.
In the territories of the MudWings and the SeaWings lived a trio of peoples collectively known as the Atticans. Making up three of the "Five Civilized Peoples" on Pyrrhia, the Atticans shared a common culture, a common language, and a common pantheon, though each had different variant cultures, different dialects, and different patron gods with regards to that culture, language, and pantheon.
The Westermost people, the Seleukians (self-designation "Seleukioi" or "Seleukianoi", who lived in a land that corresponded with the Northwestern half of the MudWing Kingdom, were the most "balanced" people of the Atticans (also well known for one of their kings in the past, Pyrrhos, being the one to give Pyrrhia its name). Their Patron God was Apollo, the Attican God of the Sun, and they were notable overland traders who engaged with a large number of the other peoples in trade and commerce, with which they exchanged various goods like pottery, wine, jewellery, grains, olives, cheese, honey, meat, and tools and weapons. Far less rigidly militaristic than their Southeastern Neighbors, the Sagartians, the Seleukians were nonetheless a force to be reckoned with militarily, having a large, diverse standing army that was great in power, and they were more mobile and effective on the battlefield than the armies of the other Attican peoples.
See, the average army of any Attican people had, at the centerpiece, a rectangular, densely packed formation of spear-wielding infantry called a "Phalanx". The other Attican peoples had Phalanges in which soldiers wielding 2-3 yard-long spears called "Dorata" (singular "Dory"), and large shields called "Aspides" (singular "aspis") or "Hoplonoi" (singular "hoplon"), and were heavily armored and nigh-unbreakable from the front, but slow-moving and vulnerable to getting out-maneuvered by armies that were more mobile (which was a problem, as these sorts of Phalanges were weak in the sides and rear). The Seleukians, by comparison, had Phalanges that had smaller, flatter shields, as well as much longer (5-7 yards) spears/pikes called "Sarissae" (singular "sarissa"), which could out-poke the average "Dorata" wielding phalanx rather handily. Because the gear for Seleukian Pike Phalanges was lighter, it meant that they could move forward somewhat faster than the "Hoplite" Phalanges, but it also made turning and maneuvering side-to-side even more difficult, and also made them more vulnerable to their sides and back due to having less armor on them.
The Seleukians understood this, and so covered up those weaknesses by having several types of troops accompany the Phalanges, from Hypaspists (which were equipped by Hoplites, but were much faster and more flexible), to Peltasts (javelin throwers which had "Pelta" shields) and archers, and even some very formidable cavalry that could potentially rival that of the Parlataeans. On the note of Cavalry, there were three main types: Prodromoi (literally meaning "fore-runners", singular "Prodromos"; light cavalry that consisted of either Mounted Javelin Throwers or Horse Archers), Cataphracts (or Kataphraktoi, meaning "those enclosed in armor" in Attican, singular "Kataphraktos"; extremely heavy-and-heavily-armored shock cavalry adopted from their northern neighbors that, while not as fast as other types of cavalry, still packed a nasty sting and were hard to kill thanks to their armor), and Hetairoi (meaning "Companions" in Attican, singular "Hetairos"; elite shock cavalry usually consisting of the upper echelons of the nobility and military, and the personal, well, companions of the Seleukian King/Queen in battle), and together, they were a rare instance of a Pyrrhian Cavalry Force that could give the Parlataean cavalry a run for their money (the Parlataeans usually still edged them out, but it still meant quite a bit that such a rivalry in cavalry power could happen).
In the other, Southeastern half of the MudWing Kingdom, were the aforementioned Sagartians (self-designation "Sagartioi" or "Sagartianoi"), a people whose patron god was Ares, the Attican War God, and who were famous for their militaristic culture and simple, ascetic way of life...and their "unique" soup commonly known as "black broth". In Sagartia, one could indeed make a living other than being in the military, as the Sagartians weren't foolish and were aware that one needed an economy to support a good-quality standing army. However, all of these other professions...while one wouldn't be shamed for having professions other than that in the military, doing so would mean that they wouldn't get the same respect or gravitas that they would if they WERE in the military. The Sagartian Army was rigid, focusing mainly on the strength and brute force of the Hoplite Phalanx, with the occasional Peltast, Slinger, or Archer support. In their wars with their neighbors, who often fielded either cavalry or much faster light infantry, this meant that the Sagartian Phalanx ran the risk of being out-maneuvered and flanked, so the Sagartians made a tradition of engaging their enemies on ground where their foes didn't have many places to go, so they'd be forced to engage the Phalanx head-on.
North of Sagartia, Northeast of Seleukia, and East-Southeast of the Parlataeans, in the eponymously-named Archipelago of islands that was in the territory of the SeaWing Kingdom, were the sea-borne Aetolians (self designation "Aetoloi" or "Aetolianoi"), who worshipped Athena, the Attican goddess of Wisdom, and who had a rather mixed reputation with other Pyrrhian peoples. On the one hand, they had, rather indisputably, the greatest naval and nautical power of any people in Pyrrhia, being noted seaborne merchants and traders in peacetime, and having command of the seas in wartime. On the other hand, they were also noted for having a unique sort of government called "democracy", a system in which the country was ruled not by a king, but instead, ostensibly, by the people (though, in reality, it was the rich and famous who controlled the country), and were known rather infamously their arrogance towards the other peoples of Eastern Pyrrhia, as well as a unique pervasion of legal and cultural sexism (of the misogynistic sort) in their lands that was absent in nearly every other Pyrrhian culture and country. In Aetolia, women weren't formally educated for anything other than house work, and were married off young, often to men who were much older than them. Once married, they had only two duties; to bear children, and do the aforementioned house work. They were barred from participation in political matters and couldn't represent themselves in law, and were forbidden from earning money or conducting economic transactions over a certain amount. Indeed, such views and practices came across as odd and alien to nearly every other polity on the continent, as only one other people on the other side of the continent had similar views on women. Most Human cultures and polities in Pyrrhia were just as egalitarian as their Dragon counterparts, with men and women having more or less equal status in various fields, from craftsmanship, to economics, to the scholarly/scientific world, to politics (well, at the very top, it tended to lean more towards men, but still), and, provided that the women in question were large and strong enough, even war. Needless to say, despite the Aetolians' inflated sense of superiority, they, more often than not, were the butt of jokes by other peoples, with plenty of cracks being made at their apparent "fear" of women.
To the south of Sagartia and Seleukia, in the territory of the RainWings, were the light-skinned (well, naturally, at least; they were usually tanned thanks to living in a hot rainforest), red-haired Gergovians (self-designation "Gergoviaid"). Distantly related to the Galatians (and having a native language that was very loosely similar), but worshipping a different Pantheon of gods headed by Toutatis, their god of war and protection, the Gergovians gained a reputation for contrasting their seemingly sleepy dragon counterparts by being a ferocious, warlike people with a martial tradition that could give their northern neighbors a run for their drachmas. They were basically a confederation of several smaller tribes that was lead by a common, overarching, hereditary King, in a sort of feudalist society that, while having divisions between nobles and commoners, had enough elements of meritocracy that a commoner with enough skill or merit could rise themselves into the noble class on that skill and merit. Well known and infamous internally and externally were the Druids, a secretive, enigmatic priest class that also fulfilled the role of scholars and diplomats between the tribes, and so wielded a great deal of power and were held in importance and high regard amongst the Gergovians. The people also had a reputation for being excellent craftsman and metalworkers, having some of the best arms and armor available in Pyrrhia, and often exporting things like swords, spearheads, chainmail armor, and jewellery to their northern neighbors. Their way of war was simple and mainly reliant on Infantry, with the typical Gergovian way of battle being, first, hurling javelins, slinging stones, and loosing arrows at their foes to weaken them, and then charging them with a densely-packed, powerful infantry charge that only the heaviest of cavalry could exceed in terms of power and ferocity, furiously hacking their foes to death with a frenzy that would stun even the most hot-headed of dragons. That being said, the Gergovians DID use Cavalry, and used it well, with those cavalrymen being well known for tactics like the Cantabrian Circle (a single-file rotating circle that would allow the horse warriors to shower the enemy with a continuous storm of javelins and/or arrows, with this being named after the Cantabri, one of the tribes of the Gergovians).
The territory of the NightWings, which was to the west of the lands of the Gergovians, hosted two peoples: the Dardanians (self-designation "Dardanë"), who lived in the southern half of the Iapetos mountains, and the Tarantines, who lived on the eponymously named Peninsula and surrounding coastal lands. The Dardanians, who worshipped a pantheon headed by the god Zalmoxis, were yet another proud, fearsome people eager in the ways of war, similar to the Gergovians and the Galatians (though, the Dardanians had a different, unrelated language). The Dardanians were known for a rather...unique way of war, mixing Galatian, Gergovian, and Attican influences (hoplites, peltasts, pikes, light and heavy infantry, light and heavy cavalry) with some original flavor involving nasty, inward-curved blades like the Sica (an inward-curved knife), the Rhomphaia (an inward-curved sword), and the Falx (a scythe-like short polearm with an inward-curving blade). These blades were accurately described as being "Hades upon armor" by Attican writers, poets, and historians, being able to go through even the heaviest of armor rather rapidly, giving the Dardanians the ability to take on their heavily-armored Western Neighbors.
Those western neighbors, the aforementioned Tarantines (self designation "Tarentini"), were often regarded as among the snootiest and most arrogant people in all of Pyrrhia. Worshipping a pantheon which was more or less a rip-off of the Attican one, the Tarantines out-did the Aetolians when it came to a supremacist sense of superiority, believing themselves to be the most magnificent and civilized people in the land, and regarding all other peoples that weren't Attican or Panjian as being "barbarians in need of civilization". In a departure from nearly every other people in Pyrrhia, the wealthier Tarantines frequently kept slaves (acquired from slavering city states on a nearby continent to the west), forcing them to do things like housework, sanitary work, construction work, and sometimes even making them fight other slaves to the death for the amusement of the Tarantine citizenry and nobility...all with no pay and while treating them horrendously. This, along with a similar sort of misogyny that the Arachosians had, added to the contempt that most other Pyrrhian peoples tended to feel for the Tarantines, who didn't share the other peoples' moral and cultural compunctions against keeping slaves. Now, to their credit (one could suppose), when it came to battle, the Tarantines did have a rather good martial tradition, having soldiers in groups and formations called "legions", which usually consisted of anywhere from 4000 to 6000 soldiers, and each of which were divided into "cohorts" of 400-600. These troops were well-armored, well-trained, and well-disciplined, with an ability to go toe-to-toe with the best troops from other peoples, forcing those other peoples to exploit their slow speed and low maneuverability to defeat them.
To the north of the Tarantines, to the Northwest of the Gergovians, to the west of the Galatians and Seleukians, and to the southwest of the Parlataeans, in the territory of the SandWings, were three peoples: the Panjians (who lived in the lush, fertile river valley of the massive Panj River), the Baeticans (who lived on the fertile western shores of the "Chest") and the Qatabanians (who lived along the various Wadis in the vast deserts in between the west coast and that river valley). The Panjians (, a people unique for being monotheistic and worshipping only one god, Ahura Mazda (a deity of fire, light, purity, and moral rectitude), were regarded as one of the "Six Civilized Peoples", being compared to the Attican peoples and the Tarantines when it came to "civilization". Now, thankfully, unlike the Tarantines and Aetolians (and more like the Sagartians and Seleukians), the Panjians were, for the most part, just fine with other peoples who didn't share their ways (good thing too, as they were a rather unique people culturally), so they liked to push their influence diplomatically rather than militarily (though they had a cultural compunction against lying, that didn't stop them from partaking in subterfuge, intrigue, and intelligence like the other peoples did). As such, their times of going to war were (usually) rare, but when war did come, they usually relied on a combined-arms style of army that consisted of Melee Infantry, Missile Infantry (Primarily Archers), and Cavalry (Melee, Shock, and Missile). The Melee Infantry would protect the Missile Infantry from a frontal attack, allowing the latter to rain arrows on the enemy, while the Cavalry would harass the enemy endlessly, forcing the enemy to make a choice between spacing out their troops to deal with the arrow rain (which would leave them vulnerable to the cavalry) and bunching them up to deal with the cavalry (which would leave them vulnerable to the hailing arrows), a dilemma that often broke the enemy utterly and lead to a Panjistani victory.
The Qatabanians (self-designation "al-Qatbaniiyn"), a nomadic desert people who worshipped the god Athar, were known by their southern and northern neighbors for their hardiness and ferocity, two qualities that were necessary if one were to survive in the desert. These qualities made them great warriors and soldiers (their style of warfare consisted of fast-hitting cavalry and powerful, high-morale infantry, as well as skilled archers and artful dodgers for scouts) which often led to them serving as auxiliary troops for the Panjians and Tarantines. In the past, though, a dynasty from among them, the Aghlabids, had in fact ruled the Panjians along with their own people, making for a realm known as the Aghlabid Shahdom. This Shahdom, which allied itself with the Tarantines and Baeticans, quickly became one of the most powerful and feared realms in Pyrrhia, and was notable for making a habit of enslaving the children of other peoples and turning them into slave-soldiers, known as "Ghulams" or "Mamluks". Though they ultimately fell to a Parlataean-Seleukian invasion, which drove them out of Panjistan and back to the deserts, they unfortunately passed on the idea of slave-soldiers to city states on that same nearby continent to the west while they were in power.
And the Baeticans (self-designation "Baetikani") were a coastal people who worshipped a pantheon headed by Baal Hammon and Tanit, their gods of fertility and vegetation. They were most prominently defined by their affinity for trade and commerce, and so their culture was something of a unique hybrid of Qatabanian, Tarantine, and Aetolian influences, best embodied by their language, which, at its roots, was related to that of the Qatabanians, but had a great deal of Tarantine and Attican loan-words. A close second in that regard was their way of warfare. Hoplites, legions, and fast cavalry all played a vital role in their military force, with the most notable military unit in the Baetican army was the "Banda Sagra", or "Sacred Band", an elite unit of well-armed and well-trained noble hoplites that, if given the chance, could be nigh-unbreakable in battle. Though yet another indicator of this cultural hybridism was that, unfortunately, much like the Tarantines, they were slavers as well.
And finally, to the northwest of the Panjians and the Qatabanians, in the frigid territory of the IceWings, were two more peoples; the Gothians (self-designation "Gutthiuda") and the Polabians (self-designation "Połabowie"). Known for being hardy northern folk, these two peoples had a reputation as fearsome warriors and terrifying raiders from both land and sea (though the latter sorts of raids were more infamous, as they came to be known as "vikings" by other peoples for these raids). Due to their close proximity with each other, the Gotthians and Polabians had relatively similar cultures, customs, ways of life, and ways of war, so their main differences were their languages, their pantheons (the Gotthians worshipped one headed by their god Odin, while the Polabians worshipped one headed by THEIR god Perun), and names and naming customs. Not unlike the Qatabanians, they were also hired as auxiliaries by other peoples, as despite the remoteness and distance of their homeland compared to other peoples, they traveled far, and were often capable warriors (not to mention canny traders).
With all of the pantheons that these people worshipped and such, each people felt that the gods had blessed them and their respective companion dragon tribe. One people that had this belief particularly strongly were the Qalmyqs, one of the Parlataean Peoples. They felt that Tengri, their Sky God, had blessed their companion dragon tribe, the SkyWings, with the best flight and fire breath of any dragon tribe, and also blessed them themselves with being the ruling people of the feared Parlataeans. While this would appear to be a standard tribal belief at first, at least in this case, it wasn't without reason that they had such beliefs.
If one knew of Animus Magic, they'd know that it brought with it great power and also great risk. It was a type of magic that mainly certain Pyrrhian Dragons could use that was centered around enchanting things, which means both inanimate objects and living beings (including other dragons and themselves). The types of things they could do with these enchantments was basically limitless (aside from not being able to raise the dead), but the use of Animus Magic came with the cost of putting strain on one's mental state (overuse of Animus Magic was a reliable way to drive a dragon insane, and such was very, very bad for those around such a dragon).
If one wondered how the above related to why the Qalmyqs thought themselves blessed, it was because Pyrrhian Dragons weren't the only beings who could could use animus magic, but Pyrrhian Humans as well. While it would seem surprising to a first-time listener, and it was exceedingly rare, Human Animi (the plural for 'animus') did exist, and unlike dragons, their animus magic wasn't limited to enchantments (indeed, Human Animi could cast spells and the like without the need for enchanting objects or living beings to do so, though they could indeed also do so), and while it was been debated as to whether or not human animi could raise the dead, they were otherwise much more varied and more powerful in what they could do and how intensely they could do it compared to dragon animi, often leading to them having more power than even dragons. Here, the main drawback to their power was that it put physical strain on the user; indeed, one could very well die from sheer physical strain if they overused Animus Magic as a human...though if they were an advanced user, then the ceiling for such a thing to happen was much higher.
Again, however, Human Animi were very rare, and in this time that I am speaking of, it was limited to the clan known as the Alchono clan ("red wolf", derived from the clan's propensity for bright red hair among its members), the ruling clan of the Barlas Tribe, which was in turn the ruling tribe of the Qalmyq people. On average, every thousand or so years (though with variations from as little as 500-year intervals to all the way up to 1500-year intervals), a Human Animus, referred to as a "Luuzada" ("Dragon Son"), was born from this clan, and due to their immense power, they often ended up ruling more than just the Parlataeans. Indeed, a few Human Animi had ended up ruling the entire continent in one way or another. Now, thankfully, one thing that the Human Animi of this clan had in common was a noble personality and a sense of duty, which made them sensible and respectable rulers that were the type so desired from royal and noble families anywhere, as well as those and so despite being from a different kind, dragons deeply revered Human Animi, being quick to throw their support behind them due to seeing them as being destined to lead both Humans and Dragons (due to Human Animi being humans with "dragon's powers"). Such was the reason behind the Qalmyqs's sense of pride, and such was their justification that few could argue with.
Regardless, we begin our story after there had previously been four Human Animi in the past (the first being a woman named Hoelun, and the next three respectively being men named Jangar, Tekuder, and Tomur), and when the life of the fifth, current Human Animus hadn't even reached a decade.
1541 B.S.
Altamir Alchono Taiji was a red-haired, violet-eyed youth who had many things that most 9-year-old boys didn't have. His uncle, Khingila, was the Khan of not just the Qalmyq Tribes, but also those of the Parlataeans as a whole, and loved him dearly as a nephew, so he didn't have to worry about getting enough food to eat or water to drink. He had his very own sword, a Qanda which had magical properties and was made of a special sort of metal that made it lighter and sharper and sturdier than any other type of steel, and while a tad bit unwieldly because it was big, especially for him, he could indeed wield it. He had been gifted DRAGON eggs, and not fake ones, but real ones, set to hatch any day now. And he even had all of these magical powers thanks to being a Luuzada, a one-of-a-kind Human Animus, and could do things like summoning his sword to his hand out of nowhere (though he'd get exhausted if he overused his Animus Magic), not to mention having a great deal more strength than what was normal for his age and size.
One would (understandably) think that Altamir, as a result of all of this 'privilege', would be sheltered and out-of-touch at best and very bratty and spoiled at the worst. In reality, though, Altamir wasn't like that at all, and if one were to say to him that other boys his age would be jealous of what he had, then he would be likely to say that they would do well to value what THEY themselves had...
*KRNCHSPLAT* *CRUNCHSMASH*
...especially given that he'd just had to kill his older brother.
'But...why would he kill his own brother?' would perhaps be the response of those who didn't know the context. In that case, an explanation is in order, and it's rather unfortunate (and also why Altamir wasn't spoiled like such 'privilege' that he had would suggest).
See, Altamir's older (by only two years) brother, Ariq, may have only been 11 years old, but he was already known by those around him to be...horribly unstable despite his age. He had always been jealous of his younger brother and hated him immensely; Altamir didn't know why, as it had been the case ever since he was born, but he assumed that it had to be at least partially because of the positive attention that Altamir got and that he didn't get any of. To that, he'd heard that it was because Ariq was regarded as having something horribly wrong with him, with him being arrogant, self-centered, and ill-tempered, lacking concern for anyone but himself, and treating those around him like dirt if they didn't grovel on their feet to him (and even then, he still treated them like dirt). This contrast caused all of the positive attention to center on the kind and bright Altamir instead, which caused Ariq to lash out against for the sake of attention, but then this would cause most others around him to shun him, which lead to him lashing out again, sometimes against Altamir and Arjan (a five-year-old boy who was the youngest of the three brothers), and sometimes against others whom he hated (which numbered many) and so on.
Recently, Ariq had escalated his behavior to attempts at killing Altamir. While they were thankfully all unsuccessful for a variety of reasons, the usually even-tempered Altamir had decided that this was the final straw, and that his older brother was too dangerous to keep alive (a decision that he knew would be big for someone his age). So, this time, when Ariq, in what was soon to be his final attempt to kill his little brother, charged him with a stolen sword, threatening to go after Arjan next, Altamir, using the powers he'd been born with, as well as the training with how to use a blade from his uncle, summoned his own sword to his hand and deflected Ariq's attempted strike, and took advantage of the latter's shock and his own greater-than-normal strength to quickly spin around and split Ariq in half at the heart (well, technically, five pieces, due to the way Ariq's arms were positioned when Altamir made the strike), and then half-circled around his brother again before swinging again, this time downward, and caving in Ariq's head and splitting him once down the middle.
Now, Altamir stood over his brother's fallen remains, panting a little as the heat of the moment slowly wore off. It then hit him that he had just killed his older brother. He didn't really feel any sadness himself, any love for his older brother having disappeared for a while now, but he knew that his father, Jyrgalis, the only person who had any love for Ariq, wouldn't take this well at all.
"It was either him or me and Arjan...but dad's naet going tae like this."
He then unsummoned his sword, any blood that was on it suddenly falling to the ground, and looked to his left, in the cage/enclosure/pen/whatever that he had put the dragon eggs in for the time, and thankfully, they all were undamaged, though the violence with which Altamir had killed his older brother had left them all with a coating of blood. After checking this, he then sped off to find his uncle Khingila, who would understand what had happened much better than his father would.
Khingila Alchono Khan was currently meeting with some of his advisors for day-to-day matters on the running and administrating of the Khanate that he ruled. Whoever would have thought to say "It must be great to be the Khan!" had clearly never been a khan or known one; running the damn thing was most certainly no mere stroll through the grasses. Administration of the various tribes and settling disputes between them, ensuring that herders had places to move their herds of livestock so that they could maintain those herds, managing diplomacy both internal and external, keeping the Khanate's western tribes from being subjugated by the Panjians under their current monarch, the clearly mad Wērōd VIII, also known as "Wērōd the Wired"...it was already just about the hardest job anyone on the steppes had. And even harder for him, as he was also a 35-year-old husband and a father to four sons and three daughters, and a father-like uncle to two of his nephews, which effectively raised the number of children to nine. How he managed it, he knew not. He only knew that he had to, for the sake of his family and tribe, and that of the other tribes who bowed to him.
Suddenly, a pair of well-armored, spear wielding guards came in the tent from the entrance. "Yer grace, yer nephew, Altamir Luuzada, wants ye." One of them spoke.
"Daes he?" Khingila asked in response. "It's nae secret that I love that lad, but I do hope it's something important, as I'm currently in a meeting. Though it is unlike him tae bother me unless it is something important..."
"He's covered in blood, yer grace." The other replied.
That got Khingila's attention, and, cutting the meeting short with an apology to his advisors, he hastily made his way to the doorway, and found Altamir standing there, indeed covered in blood (a fair bit of blood, at that) and looking rather nervous.
"What happened, lad?" Khingila asked. "What's with the blood? Is it yers?"
"Nae...nae...it's naet mine...it's Ariq's..." Altamir answered, clearly stammering a bit. "He tried tae attack me with a sword. I think he stole it tae do that. When he was attacking me, he said he was going tae kill Arjan next. So I killed him tae stop him from doing that."
"Oh, glory..." At this Khingila sighed. "I bloody kenned this was going tae happen some day. That white-haired cuckoo inherited his paternal grandfather's madness...well, where is he, Altamir? Where's his body?"
"It's near where I have my dragon eggs..." Altamir replied as he went off, presumably towards that location.
A few of his guards and one of his youngest retainers, Jumaduq (a 16-year-old second son of the head of the Qipchaq Qadandei Tribe), going with him, Khingila followed his nephew, already aware that his brother-in-law wouldn't take this well. And sure enough, Altamir came to a place where a body...or rather what was left of it, was lying in pieces. A few bystanders were gathered around the remains already, wondering what had happened.
"Tengri have mercy..." One of them muttered in shock at the gory sight. Then, the bystanders noticed their Khan and his nephew coming and stepped back.
"How may times did ye strike him, lad?" Khingila asked.
"Twice."
"I'd have thought six or seven times if I had naet remembered yer strength for yer size." Khingila remarked at this. "Did ye enjoy doing sae?"
The boy blinked at hearing this. "...did I what?"
"Putting an end tae him?"
"Nae." Altamir replied, shaking his head. "He was still my brother. I just wanted tae keep Arjan safe. If I didn't have tae kill him, I would naet have."
"Good." Khingila patted Altamir on the shoulder. "Killing's a dirty act, lad. It is something that must be done out of necessity, nae for enjoyment. Ye're naet like yer grandfather on ye dad's side, and that's good."
It was then that one of the civilian bystanders worked up the courage to ask his sovereign a question. "Yer grace...what happened?"
"A loose arrow met his end, that's what happened." Khingila replied. "His father will naet take this well." The now-in-his-mid-thirties Khan did care about his brother-in-law, but he was also aware that the other man, thanks to abuse he suffered from his father-by-blood, was...troubled, and had refused to acknowledge or accept that his eldest son was not only about as mentally steady as an eggshell on a stick, but was also outright dangerous to both himself and those around him.
"What shall we do with the remains, yer grace?" Jumaduq asked.
"Send for someone tae gather the pieces up. Mad as he was, he was still just a lad, and my nephew, sae he still deserves a proper funeral. As close tae one as possible, at the least."
"Aye, yer grace. And his father?"
Khingila became more pointed. "Make sure he daes naet do anything drastic."
"Of course, yer grace."
After that, Khingila looked around...and saw a worrying sight. It was those dragon eggs that Altamir had been keeping. They were...covered in blood. Human blood.
"Altamir..." Khingila asked, "are thaese eggs undamaged?"
"They...they are." Altamir answered. "I...checked."
"Alright, good..." Khingila was relieved...but... "...but even then..."
"Then what, uncle?" Altamir seemed concerned by his uncle's being worried.
"...a sight like this is a sign of ill fortune." Khingila sighed. "Mundzuk said as such." Mundzuk was the local shaman who lived among the Barlas tribe. He was most certainly a man of his faith and profession, but was usually well known for not being so quick to bring forth predictions and visions of either great fortune or doom and gloom.
"Mundzuk?" Clearly, young as he was, Altamir knew full well that if Mundzuk, of all people, had this to say about something, it was probably something to pay attention to.
"Aye, Mundzuk. Though, what he said to me is naet tae be discussed while there's sae many around." Then he began walking back to his tent, motioning for Altamir to follow. "Come with me, lad. Let's go over it somewhere more private."
The walk to that tent was awkward and quiet, given the occasion. Khingila didn't mind...some quiet would be a necessity given that there was soon to be a funeral that he'd now need to plan.
Once they got there, and were inside with the two guards posted there keeping anyone else out, Khingila begin again. "Sae...when Mundzuk told me of what such a sight meant...he told it through a prophecy, of sorts. He did also say afterwards that he kenned naet when it would come true, only that it would eventually happen long after ye and I had both died. It was rather grim."
"What was it?" It was obvious that Altamir wanted to know, 'grim' or not.
"If ye want tae ken...very well, it goes like this." So, Khingila decided to tell it to his nephew just as Mundzuk had told it to him.
"Blood on dragon's eggs of all seven tribes, shall bring about the end of many lives.
Without the unifying force of the Great Khan's Might, Pyrrhia will fragment and descend into night.
The night is dark and full of terrors. Evil rises, winter comes.
Man and dragon shall be rent apart. By one of the night with nae heart.
Nae longer for dragons shall men feel. And dragons shall regard men as a meal.
Humanity's hopes shall dwindle under the reddened skies, and the ground shall run red with the blood of lives.
Only when the Unscoured awakens shall the sun rise again. On a continent asunder with a great war's din.
When he finds the dragonets of destiny, whom he must save, even if he must fight like a knave...
...it is he and his new companions, and all of their might, that can humble the feuding tribes, and end Pyrrhia's plight.
With the radiance of the wings of fire alight, he can put the injustice on the continent right.
To stand against the cold and evils that come with the night, men and dragons must once again unite.
The night is dark and full of terrors, so it shall be the task of the Unscoured and his companions to bring forth the light."
Uncle and nephew were silent for a long minute or so after the former had finished recounting what Mundzuk had said.
"A lot tae take in, lad?" Khingila asked, to which Altamir nodded after a bit. "I understand. It was quite a lot for me tae take in as well."
It was a rather easily agreed statement that Ariq's funeral was...awkward, given that his remains were already in...several pieces. Despite the fact that Ariq was a nephew of the Khan, only a few attended (Altamir's parents were among them, as was Khingila, but Altamir wasn't) due to his having already gained a great deal of unpopularity as a prince for his young age thanks to his madness...and it was conducted rather hastily. Khingila opted for a sky burial afterwards, as while a funeral pyre was another option, that was a more "dignified" method for when the bodies were in one piece...and Ariq's wasn't, so the sky burial (for when the body was cut up into pieces and left on a high place to let vultures clean up the remains) was the most practical.
As for Altamir...it was complicated. On the one hand, he did feel rather guilty over the entire situation. Not because he really felt bad for Ariq (yes, Ariq was still young too, but Ariq had also treated him badly as long as he could remember, and had just tried to kill him and had threatened Arjan's life as well), but more for all the trouble that his parents and uncle had to sort out and through because of what had happened. His father in particular was horribly heartbroken (he'd loved Ariq despite the latter's madness), and while his mother had seemingly been resigned that something like this was going to happen eventually, she was still looking as though someone had lanced her through the heart. "I wish this did naet have to happen. But..." On the other hand, however...
...he felt...relieved. If someone were to call him a 'horrible child' for such, they could do so, but Altamir...felt free. Free from having to worry about what his older brother was going to try to do next. Free from having to constantly look over his shoulder to watch for any plotting by someone who was supposed to be family. But most of all...free from Ariq's...madness, as he'd heard some of his uncle's retainers in the Khisigten (his uncle's special Guard Unit) call the late prince's actions and behavior.
A few days later, Altamir and Arjan were by the dragon eggs again. Altamir was thinking, while Arjan was focused on the eggs.
"Do ye think they'll hatch soon?" Arjan asked his big brother.
"They might." Altamir answered, still a little down from the events of a few days earlier. "We cannae make them hatch until they hatch."
"How big will they be? Will they be as big as Karmin when they grow up?" Karmin was a young Sky Dragon who, in fact, was the queen of her tribe, and who occasionally visited Khingila for diplomacy-related matters, and Arjan had been awed by her huge size compared to humans. Altamir had heard that the average adult dragon was large enough compared to the average adult human that the latter was usually only as big as the former's head, so even though Karmin was apparently currently only of average size for an adult Sky Dragon, she was obviously still huge by human standards.
"They could be." Altamir was glad that Arjan didn't seem too torn up about what had happened with Ariq. He had previously asked Altamir about what had happened to their biggest brother, but Altamir had told him to wait until he was older...and he seemed fine with that. "We'll just have tae wait until they do grow up."
"Okay..."
At that, the conversation between big brother and little brother drifted to other topics.
"Sae, haew's learning how tae ride a horse going, Arjan?"
"Uncle says I'm doing good. But I almost fell yesterday."
"Jumaduq said that it was because the horse did naet like ye."
"Why?"
"Because horses are like that sometimes. Jumaduq said sae, anyways. Though...they seem tae be like that with me all the time. I dinnae ken why."
"Is that why ye never ride a horse?"
"Aye. I can still hunt and fight, but I cannae ride-"
*CRACK!*
"-huh?"
*CRACKLESNAP*
"Is that what I..."
"Aldy, are they hatching?"
"...it is!"
There was only one thing that could be making that sound. And sure enough, though the dried blood over it made it a little hard to tell at first (didn't help that it seemed to be naturally blood-red already) one of the eggs (which Altamir was sure was the Mud Dragon Egg) was hatching. And soon, a brown-and-orange head the roughly size of his uncle Khingila's fist punctured through the walls of the eggshell with brown eyes looking at him, at the same time showing a sandy-tan underside and black horns. The little dragonet looked at Altamir with all the confusion and curiosity one would expect of someone just born, before breaking all the way out of the egg and stumbling over to him, revealing brown wing frames and tan wing membranes.
Altamir didn't know how or why, but he was somehow able to tell that this one was a male. The newly hatched dragonet, while undeniably tiny compared to a full-grown dragon, still seemed a little on the big side for a dragonet who had, well, just hatched. From the nose to the base of his tail, the average newly-hatched dragon, regardless of tribe, according to his uncle, was usually only about eighteen inches long. This one, though, was a full five inches longer than that, and going by that metric, not counting his tail, he was almost half as long as Altamir was tall. Admittedly, nearly half of that length was neck and tail, and Altamir was rather short for his age (he was four to five inches shorter than most boys his age of nine years old were, being only 48 inches tall, whereas most boys his age were closer to three cubits, and it was to the point where he was only five inches taller than his five-year-old little brother Arjan), but still, this one was a big hatchling dragonet. And as Altamir carefully took the dragonet into his arms (he was a little heavy, but nothing Altamir couldn't handle), he began to think that this one was a "Bigwings" (the large oldest sibling among a clutch of Mud Dragon eggs). Still hard for someone like Altamir to not love, especially since this one was gentle and placid, and was just fine with Altamir holding him, as if taking to him easily.
*CRACK! CRACKLESNAP*
Then the next egg began to hatch. It was the blue one, the Sea Dragon one. Altamir suddenly found himself having to hold the little Mud Dragonet back to prevent him from leaping at the egg.
"Oi, nae, nae, that one's hatching, dinnae worry!" Altamir allayed whatever worries the little Mud Dragon had about his (adoptive) sibling hatching, and the dragonet settled back down...as if listening to him. Altamir didn't know what to make of this, but decided to roll with it. "Can ye let Arjan hold you while I help ye brothers and sisters?"
The Mud Dragonet didn't fight him as he handed the little one over to Arjan, who eagerly held the little winged infant close. It was then that the Sea Dragon egg hatched, and by 'hatched', it was more like she practically exploded out of the egg, rather (much like Altamir was able to tell the Mud Dragon was male, he was able to tell that this one was female). She was more or less blue all over (except for her eyes, which were green, her black horns and claws on her talons, and the star-and-swirls patterns on her wings, which were a shade of white comparable to marble), but to what shade depended on which area of her little body...of which the length was mostly neck and tail, as was apparently normal for a Sea Dragon, but also of which the size was remarkably close to the Mud Dragon (she was big for a Sea Dragon, that was for sure). The spines going along her, well, spine were a light blue, as were the membranes of her wings, and the markings along her body and those wings were an even lighter blue. The overside of her neck and area of her back around those spines were a more dark blue, while the rest of her body was a sky blue. She seemed to be about 20 inches long, smaller than the Mud Dragon, but still a little bigger than normal for a hatchling. She seemed to look at Altamir suspiciously, as if trying to act tough...until Altamir stroked her chin with his finger, causing her to lean into it until he was able to pick her up too. She fussed a bit, but settled for holding on to Altamir.
Arjan was already preoccupied with the little Mud Dragon, so he'd have to juggle the rest. Next was the Rainforest Dragon, which broke out of her eggshell rather quickly (this one was female). True to being one of her kind, she was...VERY brightly colored. The most prominent color on her was green (be it the lighter green she had on her underside, or the more moderately-shaded green she had along most of the rest of her body), but she had orange-red wing membranes and frills (not to mention many of the scales on her talons were reddish also), as well as a dark blue top-of-the-head with lighter blue around the eyes, and that shade of lighter blue as well as yellow showing up on spots and markings around her body. She was certainly timid-looking, and shied away from Altamir's hand until he showed her that he was gentle, and Altamir was able to gently pick her up and place her in his lap...with the Sea Dragon. The two dragonets seem to eye each other suspiciously, but ended up not fighting each other, clearly opting to share Altamir's lap.
Then, the Night Dragon hatched, and, obviously, aside from his green eyes and brilliantly beautiful night-sky-like patterns of white spots on the underside of his wings, and a line of more white spots down the middle of his sides from his neck to his tail, he was nearly all black and gray (though of varying shades of deepness, with his wing membranes, top-of-head, and part of back along his spine and the top of his tail being basically all black, his underside being a light-ish gray, and the rest being a shade of dark gray...not to mention that there were hints of purple and dark green in the black), and much like the Rainforest Dragon, he looked to be of average length for a hatchling. He seemed to investigate Altamir a little bit, before nestling up against his knee.
And then after that, there was the Sand Dragon Egg. Well...apparently that was what she was supposed to be, because the egg was golden with black spots, rather than, well, sandy-colored, and that, and her appearance upon her hatching, made it clear that she was only half Sand Dragon. Most Sand Dragons were big enough to give Mud Dragons a run for their money, not to mentioned that they were, well, sandy-colored with black highlights...plus that they had a barbed tail. This one had none of those features, though she did feel like she was radiating just a LITTLE bit of heat. For one thing, she was small. As in, she was literally only thirteen inches long. For another thing, rather than the black sclerae and sand-colored scales, she had white sclerae with green eyes (not unlike the Night Dragon...honestly, it was rather obvious that that was the other half of the hybrid that she was) and brightly-colored scales in shades of yellow and gold that looked like rippling sunshine...and there were white star-shaped markings on her wings. And for one more thing, she didn't have a stinger on her tail, and it instead curled up like the tails of the other dragons. Oh well, Altamir didn't like the idea of having to deal with a stinger anyways, as he heard how a Panjian Succession Crisis had started because the childless king at the time had accidentally brushed up against the tip of some poor Sand Dragon's stingered tail, killing him within minutes. No wonder why Sand Dragons were sometimes nicknamed "Manticore Dragons". Besides, this little one, upon seeing that Altamir posed no harm, eagerly bounded over to him and practically jumped in his arms, so it was pretty hard to not love her.
Next was the Sky Dragon Egg. Upon her hatching, the first thing Altamir would particularly notice was her uniquely-colored eyes. They were an odd sort of sky-blue...and a sort of shade that could best be described as 'so blue that one could drown in them'. This was an eye coloring that his uncle had never told him about in Sky Dragons before. Her scales and wing membranes were the more standard 'fire/flame' color in terms of coloration, with red on the top of her head, down her spine to the tip of her tail, and on the fronts of her legs and wing frames, yellow on her underside and those wing membranes (though he could have sworn that he saw markings that looked like volcanic veins on them), and varying shades of orange elsewhere. She seemed to try and sidestep the other dragons at first, but upon meeting Altamir's gentle touch, she lightened up and laid down at Altamir's side.
And finally, there was the Ice Dragon Egg...or rather, the egg that had a dragon that was likely going to be an Ice/Night hybrid, given that it had black and white and gray and light blue spots and stripes and such on it. The dragon that hatched out definitely leaned mostly towards his "Night" side than his "Ice" side when it came to scale coloring, as while he had a grey-to-white-and-grey-again streak directly under the base of his wings, as well as a lighter-gray underside and a bluish tint overall color-wise, he otherwise looked relatively similar to the full-blooded Night Dragon, including the night-sky-like patterns on the membranes of his wings. This one seemed relatively eager to join the other little dragons in huddling in and around Altamir's lap. He definitely did not feel cold to the touch like an Ice Dragon, so that was one more area in which he took after his "Night" side.
So there Altamir was with not one, but seven baby dragons which would undoubtedly grow huge when they got older. He wondered how he was going to find someone to know about this.
However, that problem was solved when Jumaduq came walking by and noticed them. "Ah...sae the dragon eggs have hatched. Ye look like ye have yer hands full, yer grace. Ye want me tae help ye get them tae ye uncle sae that we can name them?"
"Uh...aye?" Altamir was starting to have a little bit of trouble corralling all seven baby dragons.
"Alright then, I'll go find a cart or the like sae that we can do that."
Soon, Altamir and Arjan were with some of their his family members, who gathered around the little dragons. Among them were his mother (his uncle Khingila's little sister, who was named Sorkhagtani), his uncle Khingila (of course), then Ozlem and Temulun, both of Khingila's wives (and Altamir's two aunts by connection, and yes, this was a not-uncommon practice among Parlataean nobility and royalty), and then all of Altamir's cousins from his uncle, seven in total. For the boys, from oldest to younger, there was Jingim (19), Toqtamish (17), Taichar (14), and Konchak (10). For the girls, there was Borte (16), Orqina (13), and Sibel (11). All seven of them were older than Altamir, but he didn't mind, as they all regarded him very well, and he returned that gladly. He could tell that some of them were apparently trying to be all extra-careful to him and Arjan thanks to the recent incident with Ariq, and he himself had said that they didn't have to worry that much, as he never liked Ariq and was glad to not have to worry about him anymore (if anything, Altamir was the happiest he'd been in a while now that Ariq was done and dealt with). But, regardless...
"I see that they've taken tae ye well, Altamir." Khingila noted in approval. "They trust ye, which is good, because they will dwarf ye when they're grown." At this, Altamir, who was rubbing the head of the Mud Dragon at the moment, nodded.
"I'm surprised why he'd get to have this responsibility sae young, father." Taichar mused. "He's only nine."
"He's old enough." Khingila replied. "And if there is something he daes naet ken, then he can learn along the way."
"Why will ye naet let one of us have one of them, father?" Orqina, who was holding the Rain Dragon, complained a little. "There's sae many of them!"
"They're his responsibility, dear." Temulun replied. "He's the Luuzada, the human animus. Besides, dragons are naet pets. They're just like us, save for being much bigger and with scales and wings."
"Does that mean we cannae help Altamir take care of them?" Konchak asked.
"Of course nae." Ozlem answered. "I'm sure he would nae mind, right, Altamir?"
"Nae, I dinnae mind." Altamir replied. "I think I'll need it, actually."
"Hmm...this one's a hybrid." Jingim, who was holding the Night/Ice Dragon, had noticed its coloring. "And sae is the one ye're holding, Sibel."
"...really?" Sibel, who was holding the Sand/Night Dragon, seemed a bit surprised by this. "How did ye ken?"
Jingim was about to reply, but Altamir, young as he was, beat him to it. "She's colored differently and daes naet have a stinger. Her eyes also look different."
"Ye ken ye dragons, Altamir." Toqtamish, who was holding the Mud Dragon, seemed a bit impressed. "But how'd ye ken she's a lass?"
"I just do." Altamir shrugged. "This one, the Sky Dragon, the Sea Dragon, and the Rain Dragon are all lasses. The other three are lads."
"Sae, what are we going tae name them?" Arjan pointed out something a bit obvious. "We should give them names, right?"
"We certainly should, if we're tae tell them apart." Khingila agreed. "Have ye been thinking of names, Altamir?"
"I have, uncle." So, first, he went over to the Mud Dragon. "This one's going tae be 'Togay'." Then to the Rain Dragon. "This one's 'Gulay'." Then to the full-blooded Night Dragon. "This one's 'Chagatai'." Then to Sand/Night Dragon. "This one's Gunesha." Then to the Sky Dragon. "This one's Peksen." Then to the Night/Ice Dragon. "This one's Shiban." And then, finally, to the Sea Dragon. "And this one's Sorkhagtani."
"...after me?" Altamir's mother laughed.
"After ye, mother." Altamir stood with it. "I want ye tae be happy with something somehow." He was aware that his mother was still reeling from Ariq's death, so he hoped it had lightened her up a bit...which it had.
"Well, now that the naming is done," Khingila decided to ask his nephew, "...do ye ken what this means, Altamir? Raising these dragons?"
"What does it mean?"
"It means ye're their father now."
Altamir's eyebrows flew upwards. "W-What?! But I'm only-"
"Nine?" Khingila's voice was tinged with a bit of amusement, his children laughing as he said this. "Aye, ye may be. But while nine is a bairn's age for a human...for a dragon, nine is nearly an adult, and an age were some of them start having their dragonets. Regardless, they are, again, yer responsibility, and while ye may certainly receive help, ye're the one they'll trust the most, sae ye need tae be able tae show them that such trust is well-earned. Can ye do that?"
"I...I can do that."
"Good. Then thaese dragons are in good hands. Perhaps ye can be just as great as Tomur was. He was the previous Luuzada, and he united the entire continent and led it in harmony for the final 32 years of his reign because he was able tae get dragons at his side, and ones he raised at that."
"Perhaps." Jingim added at the end of that. Altamir couldn't help but agree with that. He liked the idea of the continent in peaceful harmony...but how was he going to unite those warring tribes and countries? Yes, being the Luuzada, he had a great deal of power despite being so young, but that alone didn't ensure that countries would bow to one, let alone welcome one with open arms to be their king-of-kings.
He'd have to think of a strategy if he was going to do that. But first, he had some dragonets to take care of.
Yeah, I know, this was a LONG chapter, and it's a complete rewrite that's taken the place of the first chapter's previous version (and it itself might need some rewriting). Thanks to writer's block and getting distracted by other things, it took me nearly 3 years to get this one up. Even then, I'll probably have to go and fix it up a little here and there later on.
In case anyone's wondering, the currently-dragonets are basically identical to certain canon characters that will show up MUCH later on. Namely, Togay, Sorkhagtani, Gulay, Chagatai, and Gunesha are respectively such to Clay, Tsunami, Glory, Starflight, and Sunny, Peksen is such to Peril, and Shiban is such to a certain Night/Ice hybrid. One could infer that this is because these seven dragons are very distant ancestors to those particular characters here in this story, and also because I'm kinda-sorta setting them up to be foils to our favorite Dragonets Of Destiny, but also predecessors, of sorts.
Anyways, uh...see you next chapter. I hope I can get it up at least semi-soon. Maybe it'll be less clunky than this one.