Orbis

Chapter 3

It was late afternoon, and Karta made her way to the watering hole with her three young dragons - Romulus, Valla, and Volante - in tow. The young dragons were bursting with excitement to join their peers after a long day of foraging with their mother. As they followed behind her, Karta enjoyed their innocent banter and couldn't help but feel proud of her little dragons. They had grown so much in the three months since hatching, each with their own unique personalities and strengths. Valla's boundless energy often led to mischief, Volante resembled her father in stoicism but was affectionate and protective of her siblings, particularly Romulus, who had grown resilient in the face of ill-treatment from his father and other adults in the clan. Volante and Valla were smaller than Romulus whose head-to-tail length was above average at over half a meter, and it was amazing to see how quickly they were developing.

A group of young dragons were playing a game called "fire dance," where they chased each other in a circular motion while attempting to ignite the tip of their opponent's tail with a burst of fire. The game was a rite of passage for young dragons, as it honed their skills in controlling and deflecting flames, which would be crucial during mating season. Romulus hesitated to join in, still haunted by memories of getting singed in the past. However, the other young dragons had adapted their play on the insistence of his sisters to include Romulus, allowing him to join in the fun. Karta couldn't help but think of Brana's cruel prediction about Romulus's mating prospects, but watching him play and thrive in his own way filled her with pride.

During the game, Baygharyr, a young male dragon from another group, joined in and drew the attention of the watching adults. Baygharyr was a bully and slightly older than Romulus, although they were similar in size. Baygharyr purposely ignored the rules Valla and Volante had imposed for Romulus' benefit and quickly singled him out as a target, enjoying Romulus' desperate attempt to escape as he put him to chase with his flame. Karta immediately realized the danger and called out to Baygharyr to stop but realising that she was too far away to intervene, he pinned Romulus against a rock ledge and decided to unleash his full flame on Romulus. There was a distinct whooshing sound as Romulus instinctively tried to defend himself with his ice-breath for the first time, killing Baygharyr's flame and inadvertently starting to freeze him.

"Romulus, no!" Brana's voice boomed as he yanked Baygharyr out of the path of Romulus' breath. He breathed a flame quickly to thaw Baygharyr, time was of the essence, the grey dragons were cold-blooded, they did not respond well to intense cold. If the little dragon remained frozen for too long, he would die or be permanently maimed. As Karta comforted Romulus, Brana looked over at his son, feeling angry. Romulus had brought shame upon himself and was now endangering the other young dragons in the clan. Romulus stared past his mother at his father and realized that he had committed an unforgivable act in his father's eyes. In his heart, Romulus knew he had to leave the clan immediately or face his father's wrath.

As Brana's eyes met those of Romulus he realised that Eldrin's prophecy now held even less weight for him than before. How could this monster, who was now a threat to the clan, possibly save them? Brana knew he had to do the responsible thing and do what was necessary to protect the clan from the monster that he had unleashed. He made the grim decision that he would have to kill his own son to ensure the safety of the rest of the clan.

That evening as Brana sat perched high above the nesting ground on a rock ledge, watching the camp with eyes sharper than an eagle's - he was weary. He had spent much of the afternoon and late into the night pondering his current situation with the "creature," as he liked to refer to Romulus. He had devised many strategies to remove the creature from the picture without losing Karta, but had no faith in any of them. He knew Karta loved the little dragon-wolf more than anything and would never forgive him if he had any part in Romulus's disappearance.