The Dragon Warrior

Chapter One: Life's Beginning

Chapter One (Edited)

                The light of the full moon just barely managed to touch the insides of a cave. Its walls were dark and shadowed, and all around they rippled with scratches and marks telling of the time long before that it had been clawed open by massive paws. At the very end of the cave was a shadow, almost invisible in the pale gloom. The only way it could be seen was by the occasional twitch of a tail and a piercing red gaze.

                The scarlet eyes were focused on a small cavern just next to the figure. Inside, it was dark, but one could see a nest of feathers, scales, and fur, gathered from moons of hunting and fighting. Settled in the nest were six stone-looking objects, all of different colors. Some were a light blue hue, nearly white, others golden or green. The largest of all was red, appearing to be blood in the dark cavern.

                The crimson egg tilted a bit, making the bloody gaze of its mother brighten slightly. It was still for a moment longer, but soon it tilted again in the opposite direction. It suddenly shook and jerked violently, knocking into the nearest eggs in the process. The movement seemed to awaken the others, for soon the other eggs were doing the same.

                A tiny piece of shell opened like a flap on the egg, exposing one snow-white talon to the cool air outside. It retreated back into the shell for a moment, until it was forced upward against and bits of shell flew everywhere. The animal inside busted the rest of the egg bit by bit, until it could uncurl from its uncomfortable position.

                A long scarlet tail covered in rough scales slapped the ground, sending bits of fur and feathers everywhere. The creature slowly rolled to its feet and cautiously pulled itself to a sitting position as its siblings began to burst free from their casings. Large, leathery wings slowly unfurled from its body as it lifted its head. Its amber eyes wandered around the room, its thick, bony muzzle turning slowly. Two horns stuck out from the dragon’s head, curling forward slightly. An almost invisible line of tiny white spikes followed the length of its body, beginning between his eyes and ending at the tip of his tail.

                All around him the other hatchling dragons emerged, each having slightly different characteristics. An Earth dragon had tough green and brown scales; the Water had small, thick wings with webbed toes and a tail fin; the Air dragon was small and had four large wings; the Fire and Order dragons were almost identical, though the Order was more golden and very lean; and the red dragon was Chaos, with thick, strong muscles all along his body. Moonblood would be his name.

                The dragon looked up at the black dragon outside and knew she was their mother.  The hatchlings were only about five feet long from nose to tail-tip, while she was easily ten times the size of a deer.  Moonblood cautiously stepped out of cave and looked at her. Each of her claws was just as long as his head and neck and seemingly sharp enough to cut through anything. Her bloody eyes seemed to peer into his soul, sizing him up for something. She seemed fairly young, only a year or so old.

                She turned away from him and stuck her nose in the passage he had come from before. She made a series of growling noises in a language as old as the Earth itself.

                Moonblood sat on the stone in front of his mother and the other hatchlings flooded out of the cave to join him. Somehow they knew to sit still for something, knowing what it was without having to ask. Seeing each one there the mother began a story. Though she spoke in the strange language, they clearly understood every word:

                “Many centuries ago the dragons lived in a world of war, always fighting to the death over the simplest of matters. Twelve dragons came forward, each of a different element. Females fought females and males fought males until only two remained; the new king and queen of our race. For a time, the dragons lived in peace, but the king and queen struggled to control everything. So, they asked twelve more dragons to step up and rule over their own elements.

“They would settle disputes between their elements, and the more powerful king and queen would settle the differences between the elemental ones. The elemental kings and queens grew greedy, killing their leaders and fighting amongst themselves for power once again. Eventually the dragons decided on a tournament. Once in every decade, kings and queens would have a fight to the death to decide who would be the ruler of our race.

“The previous king and queen would have to fight to defend their title, or lose it to one of the other dragons. Without reluctance the dragons would accept their new king and queen and hold the same contest to find the new elemental rulers. And thus, the Tournament of Blood-Right was born, and we have lived in peace for many moons since.”

The black dragon’s gaze roamed around her hatchlings as she said, “Until you reach the age of six moons you can live with me and I will care for you. But after that you must leave to find your own territories. And perhaps, if you are worthy, the Dragon King will choose you to fight to be the ruler of your element.”

Moonblood looked out at the mouth of the cave, wondering if he would ever be chosen.