novelraw Chapter 13: Leaving the Nest, Tail Ring
Chapter 13: Leaving the Nest, Tail Ring
Sky Pit Territory, Iron Dragon Lair.
At the very top of the steps forged from melted swords, spears, and halberds, the Iron Dragon Mother, as usual, sprawled on her throne. Her massive dragon wings lazily drooped, covering many of the steps.
With the arrival of the three young dragons,
the Iron Dragon Mother lifted her eyelids, spreading her wings to cast a thick shadow, and straightened her posture.
“Mother, the radiance on your scales surpasses a thousand morning stars.”
Garoth was the first to speak a greeting, immediately flattering her.
The Iron Dragon Mother was slightly startled, then showed a pleased expression. Her dragon face gained a hint of joy.
Though her iron dragon scales were dark, with only a slight silver shimmer that hardly counted as radiance, hearing such beautiful praise was hard not to make her feel good.
As for the Red Dragon Sister and Iron Dragon Brother,
these two dragons were uneducated and dryly called out, “Mother.” “Garoth.”
The Iron Dragon Mother focused her gaze on Garoth, barely looking at the other two young dragons.
“You are already seven years old, and your growth speed has exceeded my expectations.”
After a pause, the Iron Dragon Mother spoke plainly and calmly, “Allowing you to live in the territory was already an exception. Now, a year has passed, and you should face the dust and storms on your own.”
Her tone was as sharp and resolute as clashing metal.
Unwavering, leaving no room for negotiation.
“Mother, I can offer more precious metal ores.”
Garoth said.
The Iron Dragon Mother did not respond with words, only shook her head calmly.
Seeing her reaction, Garoth understood that the Iron Dragon Mother’s decision to expel him was firm, and previous bargains no longer worked.
In fact,
since the Sky Pit Territory belonged to the Iron Dragon Mother, the precious metal ores that Garoth ordered the two young dragons to mine were, by dragon territorial custom, wealth that belonged to her in her eyes.
Garoth used his offspring to mine her wealth, then offered it back to her in exchange for shelter and food.
It was somewhat like getting something for nothing.
The Iron Dragon Mother was cold and rigid, but unlike the two hatchlings who were easily fooled, she was willing to let Garoth stay mainly because she admired this offspring and felt some old affection.
During this past year,
Garoth’s rapid growth gradually caused the Iron Dragon Mother to feel a slight threat, so she resolutely decided to expel him.
Because of the nature of evil dragons, they rarely care about family affection.
There were also cases where offspring, after growing strong, coveted the dragon mother’s territory and tried to seize it, engaging in fierce battles with the dragon mother.
Unless the dragon was bound by a slave contract,
the Iron Dragon Mother did not want any dragon, including her own offspring who were growing stronger, to remain in her territory.
Formally expelling Garoth and kicking out the other two young dragons at the same time, out of sight, out of mind, and no longer having to care for the hatchlings herself.
The Iron Dragon Mother felt a wave of relief.
“I understand.”
Garoth sensed the Iron Dragon Mother’s firm resolve.
His own training and growth over the past year, along with his wilderness exploration, gave him some confidence to survive on his own.
The young dragon lowered his head and said to the huge iron dragon above, “Mother, thank you for your shelter during this time. I will always remember this carefree period living under your dragon wings.”
Regardless of his true feelings,
the Iron Dragon Mother had sheltered him for seven years and adequately provided blood food and guidance.
Although expelled, Garoth held no grudge.
At the same time, hearing the young dragon’s sincere words, the Iron Dragon Mother was slightly stunned.
Perhaps, let Garoth stay one more year? The thought just surfaced, but the moment the Iron Dragon Mother noticed Garoth’s outrageously strong physique, she immediately crushed the idea.
“Hehe, bastard Garoth, you can’t bully us anymore.”
The Red Dragon Sister and Iron Dragon Brother were joyfully excited.
Heh, don’t be happy too soon.
Garoth thought to himself.
Sure enough, noticing the two young dragons hopping with joy, the Iron Dragon Mother’s expression turned stern and coldly said, “Samantha, Gordon, six lunar cycles are enough for you to shed your soft scales.”
Huh?
That sounded familiar, like she had heard it somewhere before.
The two young dragons blinked, a little stunned and still not reacting.
The Iron Dragon Mother was too lazy to change her lines and directly recited the expulsion words coldly.
However,
unlike Garoth,
they were not worried about the Iron Dragon Mother’s expulsion. Instead, each of them burned with ambition in their eyes and appeared especially excited.
The two dragons knew nothing about the dangers and hardships of surviving alone. With dragon arrogance and pride, they naively believed that once they left the dragon mother’s territory, the vast sea would allow them to leap freely, the sky would let them fly high, vast lands awaited their arrival, and countless inferior creatures awaited submission.
Seeing the looks in the two young dragons’ eyes, Garoth could roughly guess their thoughts.
They were still too young, lacking the heavy blows of real life.
“I will leave your territory before dawn.”
Garoth turned to leave.
“Wait.”
The Iron Dragon Mother suddenly called him back.
“Is there something else?”
Garoth asked with some surprise.
Could the Iron Dragon Mother have changed her mind? If possible, Garoth was willing to stay under her protection until the end of time, until he evolved stronger than her.
“My dear Garoth.”
The Iron Dragon Mother made up her mind and said, “I see extraordinary potential and indomitable willpower in you. I have never admired a young dragon like this before.”
She waved her claw.
Buzz!
A dark golden iron ring, its surface engraved with tiny intricate runes, slowly flew over and landed in front of Garoth.
“This tail ring once followed me. Now I give it to you as a parting gift. The runes inscribed on it are not mere decoration. You can explore and study it yourself; I believe it will bring you some surprises.”
The Iron Dragon Mother said slowly.
Garoth’s surprise grew even stronger.
A parting gift? Considering how stingy and miserly evil dragons were with their treasures, wouldn’t it have been easier just to snatch the poor young dragon’s precious collection?
The Iron Dragon Mother’s gaze was calm and profound, as always. The heavy steel-like faceplate also blocked her facial expressions, showing no signs of fluctuation.
But since she was willing to give a gift, she surely had her own intentions.
“Thank you.”
Garoth extended his tail and put on the dark golden tail ring.
In dragon aesthetic culture, decorations did exist, and tail rings were one of them.
Besides common items like necklaces and bracelets, there were also cloaks, horn rings, or engraving preferred patterns on dragon horns or scales, and inlaying gems and such.
The dark golden tail ring had a solid texture, but it was not flashy, appearing low-key and steady.
Garoth swung his tail and felt it looked quite nice.
“Mother, what about us?”
The Red Dragon Sister and Iron Dragon Brother looked at the Iron Dragon Mother with eager eyes.
Garoth spoke nicely and had infinite potential worthy of the mother’s special regard, but as for you two idiots, forget it.
The Iron Dragon Mother didn’t bother to respond to the two young dragons. With a wave of her dragon wings, a strong wind formed, blowing them toward the lair’s exit.