Armageddon

Chapter 29: Dawn of a New World

Selena's heart raced as she and her group shot up and surrounded the quivering pedestals. With Silver's, Cyres', and the general's assistance, she picked up a corner of the velvet pillow, and the three laid it down on the ground as the four dragon eggs forcefully wobbled in place.

They're hatching.

Thor hummed in delight. How exciting! They were highly impatient.

Cracks spiderwebbed across their shells, and altogether without warning, the pieces flung apart, and all four slimy dragon hatchlings took their first, gentle steps out into the new world.

The fire whelpling was slightly larger than the others; its underbelly like hardened lava, a smoldering fire blazing beneath the crust and the tip of its tail while its eyes burned like the tiny embers blasting from its nostrils after a sneeze. The two horns on its head were shaped like Thor's, a red orb of energy suspended above its triangular-shaped head—each new hatchling had a matching sphere corresponding with their element: the water had blue, the earth had green, and the air had yellow. Its ruby scales looked like gem-encrusted jewelry, surrounding an emblazoned golden imperial topaz upon its chest, sparkling like the sun while unfurling its flaming wings.

Contrarily, the water hatchling pushed away from the pieces of its shell while walking towards the group, sniffing the air as it unfolded its wings like a lady's fan; its ice-blue eyes were like massive jewels plucked from a pendant. The dragonet was slippery and smooth, its turquoise hide and parchment-textured wing membranes gleaming with the colors like the ocean's surface. Its mermaid-like tail trailed behind as it walked in a zigzag motion; jagged spikes covered its chest, and spiked fins lined in dazzling deep royal blue sapphires trailed down its spine and tail.

The dragon of earth looked to be made of stone, and as small as it was, the baby must weigh as much as a giant boulder. Its calm, amber eyes darted between its siblings as it flickered its thick tail strong enough to bend metal—the tip resembled Kain's morning star, and it appeared just as deadly. Glowing underneath its crusty hide were perfectly cut deep green emeralds jutting as spikes along its chest. Moss, plants, flowers, and other vegetation grew in between its rock scales and the membrane of its wings, and when they extended, bits of dust and rock crumbled from expanding its muscles.

Last but not least, the strikingly white air dragon slithered its neck like a snake as it unfurled its feathered wings—inside tips decorated with rich, intense yellow diamonds—stretching at least three times its lean body length. Its five ivory claws on each foot clicked against the stone floor with every step it took. Two long tendrils appended to each side of its snout flowed and graced the floor, the small ruff along its jawline flaring and trembling slightly. Lightning pulsated around its pupiled-slits and shimmering emerald eyes and mouth, sparking like flames as it writhed around its smooth and glossy hide, bouncing between its electrical conductor spikes.

Selena looked over to Silver, and the two smiled, but they needed to start finding others who wouldn't mind the possibility of becoming a handler. She wasn't sure how this would work or how the whelplings would choose their riders; it was different for her and Thor, as they were already linked in more ways than one.

Before she could propose the plan to gather everyone back in the courtyard, the fire dragonet made its way to Rahim without a second thought. As he was unsure what to do, Rahim looked to his friends and backed away while holding his hands up, but the whelpling chirped at him and ran. Yet, he stopped when Selena asked him to; as the hatchling finally reached him, it bobbed its head up and down and rubbed up against his leg like a cat. "Good dragon," he said, though it sounded like a question.

Selena couldn't stop herself from grinning, and Silver clapped his hands together as he stepped forward to examine the hatchling's behavior. "It looks like we'll have to start training you to be a dragon rider immediately."