The Dragons of Undari

Chapter Three - Dragon Mother

The days went by and Mera watched the egg with curiosity. It sat still in the basket, and hadn't sparkled anymore since the Hatching Event two weeks earlier. The warmth that was hanging on to fall by a thread had finally lost its grip, and it had started to get colder with every passing hour. She wondered about the egg, and how it would survive in the cold. Surely it would need heat, as all eggs do to survive, but since dragons were hot-blooded, she wasn't entirely sure what temperature the egg needed to be at.
         Remembering the booklet, she knelt in front of the basket and picked it up.  She thumbed through the pages, skimming the seemingly sparse amount of words. 
There aren't very many directions in here she thought to herself.  Aha!  She stopped on a page that had a picture of an egg over a large flame.  When caring for your egg over winter, remember that, while other reptiles or egg-laying mammals like birds use not only the heat of spring and summer, dragons use their body heat to keep themselves warm in their thick shells throughout the fall and winter seasons.  However, in very low temperatures, a parent dragon may need to add additional heat via a continuous flame.  Temperature requirements range for each type of dragon, to see what your dragon egg requires, observe for signs of significant cold or significant heat.  Mera flipped the page, hoping for a temperature chart or more information on specific temperature ranges, but the information only went on to explain about hatching and feeding.  I have to get it to survive until the hatching time, though, she thought to herself.
She sighed and set the book on her bed, then looked at the egg. It's shell was a lovely shade of dandelion yellow, with slight hues of orange. Reaching out, she laid a gentle hand on the thick shell, gasping and pulling her hand away when it was still warm to the touch.  She wasn't sure what the temperature was, or what it needed to be at, but warmth was good.  She sighed and looked out the window, and watched what seemed to be the last few leaves fall off the trees.  They were about halfway into December, and while the days were chilly, the nights were freezing, and she worried about how she would keep the egg warm while also keeping it hidden from her parents.
The day after the Hatching Event, her parents had asked where she was. Mera didn't have the heart to tell them that she went to the Hatching Event, so she told them that she and a few friends were talking and they lost track of time. They seemed to accept her answer, breathing a sigh of relief, and then they went about their day doing their chores around the farm, not that there were that many left now that it was winter.  While it was nice to have less to do around the house, it also made it difficult for Mera to keep the egg a secret.  It sat in a basket right beside her bed, which, wasn't exactly the most hidden spot, however it was out of the way and only she went into her room.  But, now that the days were getting shorter and colder, she feared about how or when she was going to be able to keep the egg at the appropriate warmth so that it could hatch.. whenever.. it was supposed to hatch.  She wasn't entirely sure of this either.  The booklet, while it had some good information, was scarce in the amount of knowledge and the amount of information it had to offer.  What information it did have to offer, there wasn't a refined knowledge on it, and therefore most things were left open-ended.  For example, it would tell her what usually happens, however, that varies greatly depending on the type of dragon egg, so it was left for the reader to figure out on their own.  According to the booklet, hatchlings usually emerge from their eggs in mid-spring to early-summer, but some take years, it depends on the type of dragon egg. 
Mera gulped as she looked down at the egg, I sure hope you don't take a whole year to hatch, egg.  I don't even know what kind of dragon you are.

--

Every day, Mera checked over the egg; feeling for the warmth, checking for cracks, watching for movement or glowing or sparkling.  Every day, the egg was the same as it had been: warm, smooth, and still.  December was now coming to and end, and it had begun to snow within the last three weeks.  She couldn't tell for sure, but it felt as though the egg was getting less warm every morning.  With every passing day, panic creeped in, as she sat in front of the basket, trying to figure out how to keep it warm without her parents noticing it.  She knew that, sooner or later, they would find out, as a hatchling would magically appear in their house, but, at that point, they wouldn't be able to force her to get rid of it.  It would be crazy of them now to force her to rid herself of the egg, but she couldn't put it past them.
Then, one morning, when Mera went to check on the egg, that she was startled by the temperature of the egg. This time, the egg was cool to the touch. She felt it again, in another area, and it was still cold. Worrying that she was too late, she picked the egg up, which was much heavier than it was once before, and stumbled to her door. She opened it slowly, and peeked out, hoping her parents were out preparing seeds for spring. Thankfully, they were not in the house, and the fire, which looked to be just recently stoked, was roaring in the old fireplace that sat against the wall only a few feet away from the table.
She slipped out of the door, her arms now trembling under the weight of the egg, and made her way to the fireplace. Now that she stood in front of the flames, she wasn't sure how to get the egg far enough into the fire so that it wasn't easily visible, and so that it could get enough heat on all sides. She thought for a moment, then laid the egg down on its side and used the poker to gently roll it back into the roaring flames. When it hit the back of the fireplace's mouth, she pulled the poker out, and stood back. Looking at the fire, she could barely see the outline of the egg, which, was good, however, when the fire is put out, the egg would surely be visible, it's yellow and orange shell would clash with the grey and black tones of the ash and soot that remained.  Quickly, she took the shovel off of the old rack of fireplace tools and tried her best to cover the egg in the ash that was already sitting at the bottom.  The fire was hot, and her skin started to hurt, but this was more important to her.  Covering her face with her hand, she used her other hand to scrape up the ash, and throw it on the egg.  Only when the heat became unbearable on her skin that she put the shovel away and stepped back to inspect her work.
         The egg was almost invisible to her now, and she was trying to look for it.  She sighed and wiped the ash that was on her hands from the poker and shovel onto her pants.  She wasn't sure if the temperature was right, but this was all she had, so it would have to do.  As she sat at the table and looked into the fire, her mother walked in the door, the snow blowing in behind her.  She sighed and walked over to the table, then sat down in the chair across from Mera, warming herself in front of the fire.
        "Hello Mera, dear.  Warming up too?  It sure is cold out there," she held her hands out to the fire.
        "I bet.  Can't you and Father harvest seeds inside instead?"
Junsi smiled, "I would love to harvest them inside. It is hard to hand-pick the seeds out of the old and dried dragon-nip blossoms that we stored earlier in the fall with freezing fingers, but they're very sensitive to temperature. Bringing them inside would activate them too early. We need them to stay dormant through the winter so that when it starts to get warm they will grow properly".
Mera nodded slowly, never looking away from the fire, "Do you guys need any help?"
"No, dear, we should be fine, take some time to relax. Compared to all the chores in the spring, summer, and fall months, the ones your father and I have currently are easy. Thank you though".
"You're welcome, Mother," she looked up at Junsi as she stood and walked back to the door.
With a smile, Junsi opened the door, and stepped outside in the snow, closing the door behind her. Mera sighed, thankfully, her mother didn't seem to notice that there was a large dragon egg in the fireplace incubating, which meant she hid it effectively. She stood and walked into her room, grabbed the booklet, and sat on her bed.  Now that she had the temperature part down, she figured that she should probably look into the part that she was most worried about: the hatching.
       She flipped through some pages until she got to a picture of a hatchling's head poking out of the top of an egg.  The hatching experience is different for all dragons, she read, but, generally, it is all the same.  When hatchlings reach the required temperature to complete their incubation period, they will then start to move about the inside of the egg, poking and scratching, until they can find a weak point in the thick calcium shell.  When they find it, they will then begin to dig their way out, finally breaking through the outer shell, which, in most cases, is much thinner than the inner shell.  How long this process will take depends on the type of dragon, lasting only for a few moments to a few weeks.  Mera grumbled to herself, hoping that the egg would not take weeks to hatch.  When the hatchling emerges from the egg, it will be invincible to all possible threats, such as fire, ice, and water.  The duration of this invincibility depends on the type of dragon, but a bonded companion of the hatchling will be able to tell by observation.  After the hatchling arrives, the bonded human can then communicate with it, and therefore start their journey in life together as destined companions.
       Mera looked up from the book, communicate with it?  How does one communicate with a dragon, let alone a hatchling?  She knew that they could, obviously, hear a human speak to them.  But, to her, communication was conversation-like.  She thought about the Hatching Event, and how the King's dragon, Alrimir spoke directly to her, and wondered if she would somehow gain that ability with the hatchling within the egg. She wondered if, like her friend Zeff, if she and Iridi would too be able to talk to their dragons through their thoughts. She flipped the page within the booklet, and came across a short page dedicated to communicating with your hatchling, but she decided she should focus on getting it to hatch, first. She set the book back into the basket, and laid down.
I am way in over my head, she thought, when I went to the Hatching Event, all I wanted to do was watch.  Now I'm technically a dragon's mother, she paused, then closed her eyes.  Am I supposed to be this hatchling's mother or friend?  Nobody ever defined what "bonded companion" meant.  She sighed and opened her eyes, then sat up and decided that she would go and see if she could find Zeff and Iridi in the center.  Zeff had already gone through being chosen, so she was positive that he could give her some pointers with her egg, and Iridi has an egg herself, and Mera wanted to compare the progress and hopefully share some information.
        She walked into the main area, making sure to shut her door behind her, and to check on the egg.  It was still the same as before, only she couldn't check to make sure it was getting warm.  You're on your own now, she thought as she threw a couple more logs into the fire, and stoking it back into a roar, you got this, egg.  Walking to the door and throwing her shawl over her, she exited the house and stepped into the cold.
The snow blew against her face as she walked along the pathway. It stung at first, then she couldn't feel it at all. She was glad that she had a pair of winter clothes, however they were a few years old, and they were slowly getting smaller on her. The long pants that used to go down to her ankles, now only went down to her mid-shins. What used to be a sweater that was long enough to cover her hands, now only reached right before her wrists. Both articles of clothing left her feet, that were in her worn down shoes, and her hands, were freezing.
Shivering the whole way to the center, she found Zeff and his dragon, Riao, browsing the usual markets.  She ran up to him and hugged him, "Zeff!  It feels like it's been awhile!  Hi!"
       Stumbling backwards, Zeff chuckled, "Hey Mera, nice to see you.  What're you doing out here?  You're going to catch a cold in those clothes!  Here," he took off his black trench coat and put it around her, "that should keep you a little warmer, you can borrow it until the end of winter, even the end of spring if you want.  I have another back at home".
       Mera smiled and pulled the coat around her, "Thank you, Zeff, that's super kind of you," she looked up at Riao, "Hey boy!  Nice to see you as well, you've grown so big!"
      Riao, who was once no bigger than a typical medium-sized dog, was now almost as tall as Zeff, who was somewhere around 5'10".  His red scales glistened in the harsh winter sun, and his bright orange eyes clashing with the white of the snow around him. He was very long, with four small legs, two tiny wings in the middle of his back, a short snout, and two long whiskers on either side of his nose.  Mera stepped back to look at him as a whole, and realized he looked almost completely different.
Mera laughed as she reached a hand up to Riao's muzzle, as she stood at 5'5". While she pet him, she looked back to Zeff, who had a smile on his face, "So Zeff," she started, "I noticed Riao looks almost completely different from when I last saw him. What kind of dragon is he?"
"He's known as a Yekshir dragon. Apparently, in distant parts of the world, these dragons hold great power," he paused and looked at Riao, who was kicking his tiny back foot, as Mera scratched his chin, "but I'm not entirely sure if Riao here is one of them," he chuckled and pat Riao on the shoulder.
"Interesting," Mera said, returning her hand to the pockets on Zeff's trench coat, "I wonder what type of dragons Iridi and I will get. How does that work, anyways?"
"How does what work?"
"The different types of dragons".
"Oh," Zeff said as he leaned against Riao, "Nobody is entirely sure. I think that the dragons of royalty are greater than the King and Queen make them out to be. It's impossible for any other dragon to produce an entirely different type of egg".
         "What do you mean?"
         Zeff looked at her, "You ask a lot of questions, Mera.  I mean, if two, for example, Yekshir dragons bred, you would get a Yekshir hatchling.  And if a Yekshir bred with something different, you wouldn't get a hybrid, you would get one of the two parent types".
         "That makes sense, Zeff".
         "Of course," Zeff chuckled, "so that takes me back to my point: I think that the royal dragons are a type of dragon that can produce all types of dragons somehow.  They have produced thousands of dragons in their lifetime, and not all of them have been the same type.  Almost every dragon you see here is from the royal dragons, minus a few that have been captured, bred, or sold through the dark market.  It's crazy to think that two dragons have produced almost every type of dragon.  It makes you wonder what type they are".
         "That is actually pretty neat.  I wonder what type of dragon Iridi and I have," she looked around the center, "Have you seen Iridi?  I was wanting to talk to her also, I'm curious on how her egg is doing".
          Zeff shook his head, "No I haven't seen her since the Hatching Event, but I'm sure if we ask around we could find where she lives and stop by for a visit".
         Mera nodded, and they started to ask the merchants about Iridi, but none of them knew where they could find her.  Mera was about to call it quits, as she was freezing and wanted to get back home to check on her egg, when suddenly Riao's head perked up. 
       Zeff became still and closed his eyes, then opened them and looked at her, "Riao said he can hear the hatchling a little ways away, and that he will take us to it".
Mera nodded, and they followed Riao out of the center and down a snow-covered pathway. An hour had passed when they arrived, as they stood in front of a humble little stone and wood cabin.  Light poured out of the windows, and smoke funneled out of the stone chimney.  Riao grunted and stepped back, allowing Zeff and Mera to step forward towards the front door. 
       When they approached, Zeff lifted a fist to the door, but as his knuckles came down to knock, Mera grabbed his wrist, "Zeff what if she isn't actually allowed to have this egg, like me?  What do we say if her parents answer?"
        Zeff looked down at his wrist, being held by Mera's tiny hand, then he smiled, "We just tell them we wanted to surprise her and that we haven't seen her in awhile".
        She nodded and let his wrist go, and he proceeded to knock lightly on the door.  A moment passed before they could hear the door unlock, and a familiar face appeared.
         "Hey, guys," Iridi said, as she looked back and forth between the two, "what's up?"
         "Iridi!  Hi!  It's so good to see you again," Mera started, "We were wondering how you and your egg were doing, it's been awhile since we last spoke".
         "Oh!  Please come in, it's cold out there.  Please don't mention the egg until we are in my room, my parents don't know that I was chosen yet," Iridi stepped aside and opened the door, letting Mera and Zeff in.  When Riao stepped forward, she closed the door slightly, "I'm sorry, Riao, my parents don't allow dragons inside.  We have a storage shed behind the house you can stay in for the time being".
         Zeff nodded at Riao, and walked in the house with Mera trailing behind him.  Iridi closed the door after making sure Riao went in the right direction, and then watched as the two looked around.  The entrance to the little home was beautiful, with stone flooring and polished wooden walls, and a stairway going to the second story.  On either side of the stair's landing, there was a door.  The left door looked like it lead to a den area, and the right door lead into what looked like a kitchen.  A bright candle-lit chandelier hung above them, and smaller candles put into wall mounts lit up the rest of the room. Animal heads hung majestically and boldly throughout the house, and there was a large pelt on the floor in every room they could see.
Iridi noticed their awe, "My dad is a hunter, and my mom, conveniently, is a taxidermist. They do it for a living, and that is how we can afford and make all this cool stuff".
Mera knelt down and ran her fingers through the pelt that was on the floor below them, "Wow, this is beautiful.  They all are beautiful.  Your dad is an amazing hunter and your mom does wonderful taxidermy".
        Iridi smiled and nodded, "Thank you, I'll have to let them know you appreciate their work, for now, let's head to my room".
        The group headed up the stairs, Iridi leading, Mera second, and Zeff behind her.  When they reached the top of the stairs, Mera was impressed to see how big it was, and how many doors there were to other rooms.  From the outside, this house looked only a little bigger than hers, but it was amazing on the inside.  She and Zeff followed Iridi to the last door at the very end of the hallway.  Iridi opened it and let them go in, then closed the door behind them.
       Iridi's egg was sat precariously above a few large candles, the booklet opened and laying on her bed.  Mera's heart raced a little, seeing how dangerously placed it was.  She looked around the room, which, in comparison, was much bigger than hers.  Iridi had a king-sized bed, a writer's desk, and a beautiful mirror that was attached to a drawer used for makeup and hair.  She had never seen one before, let alone this close.  A little stool sat in front of it, which also matched the chair that sat in front of the desk.  The bed, mirror, and the desk themselves also matched.  She also noticed a wardrobe on the opposite side of the room, which didn't match anything else.
        She must have been looking at it oddly, as Iridi placed a hand on her shoulder, "It is a family heirloom that is passed down to daughters when they turn eighteen.  My mom gave it to me two years ago.  It doesn't match anything at all," she giggled.
Mera smiled and turned back to the egg, which was sitting propped up on what looked like a glass cup of some sort, with four large candles surrounding the base. She wasn't sure how the glass could hold the weight of the egg, as the egg was the size of her head and had a dragon hatching inside. She also wasn't sure why Iridi was using this method of warming the egg, as she had a perfectly good working fireplace downstairs in the den area.
      The egg's shell was a beautiful shade of dark blue.  It almost looked black to her.  When the light of the candle flickered, a brilliant blue hue reflected off of the shell.  Wow, it is beautiful, Mera thought as she gently touched the side of the egg, I wonder what kind of hatchling resides inside.
       "It was a little cool a few days ago, and I wasn't really sure what to do, so I quickly threw this together to keep it warm," Iridi was saying to Zeff, "You have Riao, what did you do to keep him warm?"
       Zeff shrugged, "I come from a family who wanted me to be chosen, so when I was, they spent almost all of their gold getting me an incubator.  All you had to do was light the flame and it would gauge the temperature and care for the egg from there until it hatched".
       "Wow.  I need one of those," Iridi said as she put a hand to her chin in thought.
       "Honestly I think I missed out on one of the bonding aspects of being a dragon's companion.  While you guys are checking and worrying about your eggs, I put it in the incubator, lit the fire, and went on about my winter until I noticed a hatchling in there instead of an egg," Zeff said as he looked over at Iridi's egg, "I don't really have all that much knowledge on the incubation stage due to using an incubator".
        "Mera?" Iridi said, "What are you going to keep your egg warm?"
        "Oh," she turned back to her friends, "I put mine in my fire place and covered it in the hot ash.  It's helpful for the extra heat and to keep it hidden if the fire goes out".
        "That is quite smart, actually, maybe I will do the same instead of what I have now".
    "You'll have to let me know if it works better than your current method," Mera said, then turned to Zeff, "we should also probably get going".
    Zeff nodded, "You're right. Riao is nagging me to come out of the shed".
    They laughed and said their goodbyes, then agreed to meet up once a week at the center to talk about any egg updates. Mera was glad she wasn't the only one that was clueless about being a dragon mother. She was also surprised that Zeff, the one who had already been through the hatching stages of a dragon, also didn't know anything about it. When they came out of the house, they waved at each other as Riao came bounding out from around the back yard, slobber flying everywhere as he ran to Zeff and licked his face. Zeff rolled his eyes, but a grin appeared on his face as he gave Riao a pat on the head. Iridi said goodbye once more, and then quietly closed the door. Then, Zeff and Mera parted ways, and both headed back to their homes.