The Fiery Crown Cycle: A Dragon's Rebirth

Chapter 4

The panel glowed with Draconic script, a language he now knew as intimately as his native tongue.

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Name: Aiden

Rank: ☆

Growth Potential: ★★★★★★★★★★

Attributes:

Size Rating:4Scale Rating:6Stage: Wyrmling Mana:1000 / 1000Bloodline: Red Dragon (??)

Skills:

Fire Breath (Dormant)Water BreathingDark VisionSky FlightUnknown Skill (Dormant)Hardened ScalesSpells:

Fire Arrow------------------------------

The question marks around his bloodline were unsettling. What’s there to question? I’m a red dragon. The unknown skill, he guessed, was tied to the fiery sigil—the source of his transformation. "Dormant" was also new. Is it a low-tier classification, like F-rank in the games of my past life? Or does it mean it can be evolved into something greater?

Speculating was pointless. He'd find out soon enough.

A soft scraping sound pulled him from his thoughts. Azure and Bianca were awake.

After a moment of disorientation, they both did the exact same thing he had: they lowered their heads and took a bite of the cave floor. And, just like him, they recoiled in disgust.

Aiden rose and padded toward them.

Hearing his approach, Bianca and Azure tensed. He paid their caution no mind, stopping a few yards away.

“I am Aiden,” he stated simply.

“Azure,” the blue wyrmling replied immediately.

Bianca hesitated, resentment from her earlier beating still lingering. Both Aiden and Azure turned to look at the silent white dragon. Azure shot her a sharp, warning glance.

“Bianca,” she finally mumbled, not wanting to be cast out.

Aiden’s jaws parted in a slow, reptilian smile. He was pleased; the blue one was clever, and Bianca, while stubborn, knew when to bend. They would make adequate teammates.

“I trust you both understand our situation,” Aiden began, his tone all business. “We are stolen eggs. We have no mother.”

They nodded solemnly. They understood all too well.

“Our immediate problem is hunger,” Aiden continued. “I am going to hunt. Are you with me?”

“I’ll go with you,” Azure said without hesitation.

“Me too,” Bianca added. Neither wanted to starve.

Their answers were what Aiden had expected. “Good,” he said. “But first, let’s see what new abilities we gained from our slumber. Mine is Fire Arrow.”

As he spoke, a glowing orange ring of arcane runes materialized before him. At its center, a bolt of pure flame coalesced.

With a mental command, the Fire Arrow shot forth, streaking toward a stalactite. It missed, slamming into the cavern roof and blasting a fist-sized crater in the rock.

He had aimed poorly, but the power was undeniable. He turned his gaze expectantly to the other two.

Under his stare, Azure shifted. “I… I can’t really show my ability,” she stammered, clearly embarrassed. “It’s Accelerated Flight.”

A low-tier movement skill, Aiden thought with a flicker of disappointment. His gaze shifted to Bianca.

Feeling his eyes on her, Bianca’s mind flashed back to being pinned and helpless. “Mine is Enhanced Constitution!” she blurted out.

Now that’s more like it. Enhanced Constitution was a solid defensive talent. The potential for a tank was obvious.

A plan was already forming in Aiden’s mind. Bianca would take point, shining in the glorious role of meat shield. He, naturally, would be the mage, dealing damage from the safety of the back line. As for Azure… well, she could be a lookout.

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Bianca and Azure waited silently for his judgment. Though he had never declared himself leader, they had already fallen into line. Azure was the most anxious; her contribution seemed pitifully small, and she feared he might decide she was dead weight.

“Alright. I've seen what you can do,” Aiden said. “Let’s go. It’s time we filled our stomachs.”

“Yes!” Azure nodded eagerly. In that moment, Aiden’s silhouette seemed to loom larger, a figure of strength.

“Okay,” Bianca agreed.

“Then let’s move out.”

Giving them a final glance, Aiden turned and took the lead, following the faint breeze he could feel on his scales. Bianca and Azure fell into step behind him.

As they walked, Aiden studied the tunnel. It was short, and the ground was strangely level, lacking the rugged surface of a natural cave. Carved out by force, he mused. Violently.

After several minutes, a bright opening appeared ahead. The exit.

He quickened his pace, reaching the mouth of the cave and stopping at its edge. The sight that greeted him, however, made his thoughts grind to a halt.

Sand. An endless ocean of sand churned under a merciless sun. A shimmering, golden sea of death stretched to the horizon.

There’s no prey in a place like this, Aiden thought, his heart sinking.

A moment later, Azure and Bianca stepped up beside him, their own hope instantly extinguished by the desolate vista.

They stood at the mouth of a cave halfway up a mountain that clawed two thousand yards into the sky. Three tiny dragons, staring out at a world of sand, utterly dumbfounded.

Grrrrowl.

Three simultaneous, mournful rumbles from their stomachs broke the spell. The gnawing emptiness sharpened Aiden’s focus.

Even a desert had life. It had to. His gaze was drawn downward, into the vast, shadowy chasm of a rift valley that split the earth below. Its depths were shielded from the sun. Instinct told him that was where life would gather.

He peered over the edge. The drop was immense, but the vertigo from his human life was gone. His dragon blood had cured him of that mundane fear.

“Aiden… what do we do now?” Bianca’s voice was low, laced with despair.

He turned to look at her, seeing the raw anxiety in her white, slitted pupils(irises). “We fly down,” he said, his voice firm. “There will be life in that canyon. I’m sure of it.”

“Aiden’s right,” Azure added, having reached the same conclusion. “The canyon offers shade. Something must live down there.”

“Alright,” Bianca relented, her hope rekindled by their confidence. “I’ll trust you.”

Aiden gave her a nod and turned back to the chasm. “I’ll go first. You two follow.”

“Okay,” Bianca said.

“Right behind you,” Azure affirmed.

Flight was a dragon’s birthright. Aiden stood tall and unfurled his wings, a four-yard span of thick, leathery membrane. He twisted his head to admire them. They were shaped like a bat’s but covered in the same deep crimson scales as his body, catching the sunlight with a faint, metallic sheen.

Nice. My wings are magnificent.

After a moment of shameless self-admiration, he pushed off with his powerful hind legs and leaped from the precipice.

His body caught the air, gliding effortlessly. He gave a powerful flap of his wings and surged upward. He dipped his head and descended. After a few experimental movements, he had mastered the instinct.

Seeing him airborne, Bianca and Azure launched themselves from the cave. They too took to the air with innate grace, mastering the fundamentals in moments.

A rush of wind sounded at Aiden’s side. He turned to see Azure flying beside him. She had already caught up. He glanced back; Bianca was still some distance behind. He eased his pace, and seeing him slow, Azure matched his speed, a silent acknowledgment of his leadership.

So that’s her Accelerated Flight, Aiden mused. Faster than I thought. For scouting—or running away—she’d leave us in the dust.

With the two of them waiting, Bianca quickly closed the distance, and the three wyrmlings flew abreast.

“We’ll descend and fly low along the valley,” Aiden commanded. “Keep your eyes peeled. Call out if you see anything.”

“Got it,” Bianca replied.

“Understood,” said Azure.

Aiden took the lead, diving toward the canyon floor. The other two followed in perfect formation.

Soon, they were soaring just above the canyon’s shadowed floor. The temperature was cooler here. The ground was dry, cracked earth, but there was still no sign of vegetation.

They flew on. And on.

After half an hour of fruitless searching, their spirits began to flag. Just as despair set in again, Azure’s head snapped to the right. Her gaze fixed on the canyon slope.

A hole. A small, dark opening in the rock face. The listlessness in her blue eyes vanished, replaced by a sharp, hunter’s focus.

“Aiden!” she called out.

“What is it? Did you find something?” Aiden asked, his own eyes starting to blur from hunger.

“There’s a cave. Over there.”

Her words were a jolt of adrenaline. Morale surged. They hovered as Azure angled her head toward the slope. Following her gaze, they saw it: a small, dark opening that stood out starkly against the brown rock.

Hope surged through Aiden. Staring at the hole with an intensity that bordered on madness, he shot toward it.

Bianca and Azure were right behind him, driven by the same ravenous hunger.

They landed at the mouth of the burrow. It was about three yards in diameter, with a few withered, straw-like plants scattered around the entrance. Aiden pushed his snout toward the opening and sniffed.

The scent of animal—fresh, musky, and vital—flooded his senses. His pupils dilated.

Something was alive in there. And living things were made of meat.

Drool dripped from the corner of his jaw. Aiden lunged at the opening and began digging frantically with his foreclaws, sending dirt flying. Seeing his direct approach, Bianca immediately joined in, her own claws tearing at the earth.

“You know,” a calm voice cut through their frenzied digging, “we could smoke it out.”

The suggestion came from Azure.

Aiden froze, claws buried in the dirt. It was a good idea. A much more efficient idea. Hunger had addled his wits. He lifted his head and scanned the slope. It was littered with dry, dead vegetation, perfect tinder.

He looked at Azure. “Alright,” he conceded. “We’ll do it your way.”

Azure dipped her head, relieved. She was glad Aiden could listen to reason. If he had been a typical red dragon, intent on solving every problem with brute force, she would have had to join in the stupid digging.

Seeing that Bianca was still completely absorbed in her task, Aiden nudged the white dragon with his side to get her attention.