Orbis

Chapter 1

It was dusk when the grey dragoness made its way into one of the many caves of the inactive volcano that was Draak Mountain. The many chambers left behind by the lava flows had been the ideal breeding ground for the grey dragons since the end of the polarian age. The gravid dragoness had started hollowing the simple nest the day before, instinctively knowing that it was time for her to lay her eggs. The process was slow but eventually, she had laid all three eggs, the normal number for a healthy dragoness of her age. Karta's eyes glistened when she saw the single golden egg amongst the bronze eggs. A male dragon was cause for celebration. Male dragons were rare. Only one in every ten eggs laid by the whole clan were male. Karta knew of dragons of ripe age that had never laid a male egg. Karta curled her giant tail around her un-hatched brood, exhausted. She rested for a few minutes before getting up and making her way out of the cave. The heat generated by the bowels of the earth would ensure that her brood of dragons would hatch in twenty-four weeks. Brana her mate, was waiting for her at the mouth of the cave. Brana was a very large grey dragon, his head-to-tail measurement exceeding 20 meters. The thought of giving him a worthy heir excited Karta. 'It went well I hope?' He asked in his usual formal and controlled tone.

'Yes, it did.' Karta said as she mirrored her mate.

'That is excellent. Our clan needs a strong brood.' Brana replied maintaining the propriety of his station, for Brana was one of the leaders on the Elder's Council and the youngest dragon to achieve this honor in the grey clan; since the days of the dragons.

'One of the eggs is a male.' Karta said trying her best to hide her excitement.

'I have a son?' Brana asked his voice giving way to uncharacteristic emotion. Karta enjoyed Brana's attempt to regain his composure as they made their way to the lake. There were as many clans as there were types of dragons on Orbis. The grey clan had the largest number of dragons at just under a hundred strong. The island of Canus had been their only home for over a century after they had been banished from Menhelm and the grey dragons had yet to forgive mankind for the betrayal. The lake was deserted, and the water reflected the main full moon in its entire splendor, while the smaller moon was obscured by its brightness. Brana kept watch as Karta drank, for the danger of being captured by 'hunters' was very real. It is well known that dragons can breathe fire, but few know that their flame is extinguished when they drink water. Their flames can then only be re-ignited once they consumed fire nettles, a shrub which fortunately grew close to most of the watering holes around the breeding ground. Unfortunately, the dragon hunters knew of this weakness for they had hunted dragons for as long as the elders could remember and had exploited this weakness numerous times, killing or capturing many dragonesses after they had visited the pools. The 'hunters' or Vilorians were a race of blue-skinned human-like amphibians that lived deep within the oceans and were known to pillage all those that lived on the coastline surrounding their home. Their King Lothar loved all things related to warfare and destruction and had an enormous passion for dragons and dragon products, whom the Vilorians erroneously believed to be harbingers of destruction. Brana had lost a former mate to the hunters and had come to know them as a dangerous enemy that threatened the clan's survival. Brana waited patiently for Karta to finish and did not drink until he had seen her consume a large amount of the fire nettles growing close to the riverbed. Instinctively knowing that her flame had been re-ignited, he felt slightly more at ease as he gulped down the sweet-tasting water. He had not drunk any water since early that afternoon. A strange ripple in the water gave Brana all the warning he needed to jump into flight. His enormous wings barely drove his body upward to safety from the spring trap. 'It's a trap!' Brana roared in anger feeling helpless without his flame.

'Maybe if I had no flame!' Karta cried out before she roared and breathed a wall of red-hot flame. The water was steaming as she joined Brana in flight. The hunters' spears flew aimlessly through the air before landing amongst a bed of reeds while the dragons were safely outside the range of their weapons. Brana and Karta scrutinized the hunters as they hovered above them in relative safety. This hunting party consisted of about twenty hunters, most were tall and lean and now enraged at their loss. Some stood on the riverbed punching their fists into the air as they tried to provoke Brana and Karta. 'That was close.' hissed Karta, her voice strained by added exertion after laying her eggs.