Chapter Text
Chapter 1
The sun had yet to rise when the dragon arrived at his current perch that overlooked the forest below. A lone yellow meranti that loomed tall above the trees in the woods, his claws sunk deep into the wood of a branch that stuck out the tree. The branch let out a creak at the dragon's weight but did not give way.
He was a still a young dragon, a yearling in fact, he had yet to reach the full weight his species will gain when they eventually hit adulthood. So, he will not cause the branch to break, unlike his seniors. Whose sheer weight will not only break the tree branch, but they will knock down the whole tree with just by the beat of their strong wings as they try to land.
The young dragon leered down at the castle standing ominously in the early dawn light, the fading air was quiet as the birds had ceased their birdsong when they sensed a predator entering their woods. As the sun started to peak behind the trees, its light hit the castle, the windows shone brightly when the sunlight hit it. The sunlight spread over the castle still, as it chases the darkness away to reveal a skull perched on the castle's walls. Then two. Then five. A dozen dragon skulls.
Rival dragons that had tried to claim the castle for their own, only to be felled by the current resident. Now their heads were nailed to the walls of the castle, left to rot. They were not only trophies of the victor but a warning, and also a challenge.
One that the young dragon was happy to accept.
The current occupant of the castle has yet to stir from their rest, if he was quiet and careful, he should be able to kill his rival while they were still asleep.
Opening his wings, the yearling dragon let himself pushed himself off the branch and flew toward the castle. For the past month, he had been scouting the castle's outer interior, searching for ways to sneak inside, patrolling the walls for weak points to blast through the architecture.
The castle was an impressive sight to behold, it was both beautiful and intimidating, built from limestone that the humans have used to build the building. With five spires poking out of the stone to touch the sky. The young dragon was careful to drift below the windows of the fifth tower, he knew from his days spying on the castle is that where the current dragon liked to sleep. Most likely on a pile of treasures from previous conquests.
The young dragon was almost salivating at the thought of making his rival's treasure his own and adding his own to his pile. If things go as planned, he will not only have both a castle and the treasure but a potential mate to lay beside and raise young with.
He was pulled from his thoughts at the sound of booming thunder and then blinding hot pain from his back. The young dragon let out a roar of pain as he fell from the sky and onto one of the roofs of the castles. The shingles shattered as he landed heavily. Burning pain was shooting up and down his spine. It was so intense that he could barely move his body, his muscles wouldn't obey him as he tried to move.
He let out a shout when a giant talon shoved onto his wound, making the pain more indescribable. With much effort, the young dragon moved his head to get a look at his attacker, his movements caused more pain down his spine as he felt the shocks in his bones.
There, standing above him, was the current castle's resident, the dragon he had been spying on for the last 30 days. They were large, with dark blue-gray scales that shone in the morning light, ivory colored spikes protruded from their skull and spine, with two larger horns on top of their skull. From the enemy's jaws, sparks flicker out between their teeth. Crackling ominously from the recent attack. Stormy gray eyes bore down at the yearling with such a menace but there was a prideful gleam in their eyes that made the young dragon shutter with unease.
And the older dragon took notice of his young rival's fear.
“You think me a fool, youngster?” The senior dragon sneered; their voice boomed like a clap of thunder. The dragon dug their claws into the burning wound, making the yearling wince in pain, he scrunched his face in pain and gritted his teeth. Fighting back a yelp, he will not give the older dragon the pleasure.
“You may think yourself as slick, but I saw you spying on my dwellings.” The young dragon's heart froze at the revelations, suddenly another talon grabbed his skull and he felt himself being thrown from the roof. He saw the sky for a moment before he saw the limestone of the walls that surrounded the castle. His body hit it, cracking the bricks on impact then falling onto the ground.
He ignored the pain from his body as he looked up at his adversary, the older dragon glowered down at him, their lips curled up into an arrogant smirk. “I will give you this, youngster, it did take me while to notice that I was being stalked.” The dragon crawled down the building's side toward him. “I only noticed you when I spied you circling the castle when I was away on a hunt.” Their right foot reached the grass, then another, until all four feet settled into the grass.
The sun casts long shadows over them from the castles, the small dragon stumbled back, arching his back and lowering his head. He bared his fangs at his enemy, he ignored the pain in his body. Instead, he focuses all his energy on the opposing dragon.
Damn it, he thought he was being careful. He thought he was keeping an eye out on his rival's comings and goings. Measured how long the dragon was away on patrol or a hunt. But he was very wrong. He must have gotten too comfortable. A mistake he won't make again. If he could escape, fully alive.
The sound of thunder drew the youngster out of his thoughts, and toward his predecessor, the sparks between his teeth grew more intense. They were going to attack again! He was ready this time. As the older dragon move their head back to strike, is when the yearling struck. Forcing his muscles to move, he whipped his body around and whacked his tail across the rival dragon's head.
The older dragon's head moved to left as lighting shot from their mouth and hitting the castles wall. Blasting the walls, rubble collapse and a wall of dust surrounded the two dragons. The elder dragon stood upon their hind leg, opening his wings, flapping them to clear away the dust. When the dust vanished away into the breeze, is when the old dragon saw the damage of his home. There was now a hole in his home, leading into the hallway, he could see the skeletal remains of the previous residence before they were killed by the invading dragon's lightning.
He also saw that the youngster that they were previously fighting was gone, they looked around to see the trespasser is gone. The older dragon shot up into the air, flapping their wings until he gained the full sight of their territory.
He scanned for any signs of the invader, only to see the youngster fleeing the castle, he made a good distance. He was a little more than a speck on the horizon. Normally, the Storm dragon will follow his rivals and lie in wait for them to rest. Then he will kill them.
But his lungs were beginning to tighten causing them to cough harshly, he flew onto a nearby roof and landed. Coughing so hard, his body shook, the coughing was getting worse now. his body felt weaker, day by day. He clambered inside his home and collapsed onto the stone floor. Lifting his left wing, he turned his head to look at his side.
A bump lay there, hidden under their wings.... it got bigger it seems. He let out a huff of frustration, they did not understand this bump. The only thing he knew that it was making him weaker by the day.