Garon looked down at the endless white expanse below, feeling a twinge of trepidation at the prospect of leaving the nest from a height of five hundred meters.
Unlike his dragon siblings, who mainly acted on instinct and were already eagerly testing their wings, Garon, with his higher intelligence, hesitated due to the doubts and fears cluttering his mind. He had a residual fear of heights from his past life, often feeling an irrational urge to jump when high up. Although that sensation was absent now, the hesitation remained.
"Five hundred meters high, if I don't fly well, it's a long way down," Garon thought, picturing himself splattered on the ground.
However, as a dragon, flying was his destiny. Avoidance wouldn't solve anything.
Taking deep breaths of the icy air to calm his pounding heart, Garon looked at his wings, nearly as long as his body, and with a thought, unfolded them like extensions of his arms, rapidly flapping to gain lift.
As he moved his wings, the magical energies around him seemed to dance like sprites, wrapping around his body and creating a buoyant force that lifted him off the ground by more than three feet.
He was floating.
Dragon flight relied on a passive spell-like ability, akin to a permanently applied high-level flight spell. Despite their impressive size, dragon wings alone couldn't possibly support the massive weight of a dragon's body.
Meanwhile, as Garon was still adjusting to flight, his dragon siblings had already leaped from the nest, soaring freely under the clear blue sky. Even in their first flight, they displayed remarkable agility as if they were born knowing how to fly.
"Garon, why aren't you coming?" Hill, skillfully twirling in the air, called out to Garon in Draconic, her voice clear and melodious like the ringing of silver bells.
The younger dragon brothers also turned to Garon, teasing him in Draconic, "Garon, are you scared?"
Garon glanced at the siblings he hadn't bothered to learn the names of, Dragon Brother One and Dragon Brother Two, and huffed, "Is that how you speak to your elder brother?"
He raised his head, looking out over the vast snowy landscape and towards the pale golden horizon. Suddenly, with a powerful flap of his wings, he left the nest, embracing the biting wind and the scattered snowflakes that pelted his body.
Looking down, he was over five hundred meters above the ground, the distinct snow grains below appearing like sand covering the landscape.
The anticipated fear and discomfort never arrived.
Instead, Garon felt his spirits lift, his vision broadened, and a bold sense of freedom surged within him. He wanted to soar in the boundless icy world, relishing the chill of the wind and snow against his scales.
But first, there was something he needed to handle.
"Hmph, let me teach you what it means to respect a dragon!"
Garon narrowed his eyes at the two dragon brothers a few meters away. Perhaps influenced by the innate malevolence of the white dragon, his temperament had become less friendly. Just as the younger dragons couldn't resist provoking him, he felt a retaliatory urge to show them their place.
Embracing the subtle shift in his personality from his human days, Garon found it intriguing rather than resisting the change. He decided to assert his dominance clearly.
Dragon Brother One and Dragon Brother Two exchanged glances, both reading the challenge in each other's eyes. A second later, they simultaneously beat their wings and swooped towards Garon from either side.
Dragons respect strength above all, especially evil dragons, who have a very faint sense of kinship.
Even as young dragons, they establish their standing through combat.
Though Garon was the eldest and significantly larger, that alone wouldn't earn him their respect unless his strength could convincingly suppress theirs.
Size does not determine everything.
Dragon Brother One, the size of an adult wolf, was faster, closing the ten-meter gap swiftly. His claws reached out aggressively towards Garon's face.
Garon simply lowered his head, his body, as large as a Northeast tiger, barreling forward like a heavy tank.
Under his imposing aura, Dragon Brother One visibly panicked.
Thump!
Dragon Brother One was sent flying, caught by Garon's claw around the neck, and slammed into the snowy ground, creating a dragon-shaped imprint.
Then came a barrage of hits.
Dragon Brother One resisted, stiffening his neck and roaring at Garon.
"Aoow?"
As soon as he made a sound, Garon's claw clamped over his face, rubbing it back and forth against the snowy ground, the helpless whimpers filling the air.
Size might not be everything, but it was enough for Garon to give a thorough thrashing to the younger dragons.
Cough, it wasn't something to be proud of, but Garon found himself enjoying the release of his
more violent instincts.
Dragon Brother Two, who had initially charged at Garon along with Dragon Brother One, immediately backed off after seeing how quickly Garon dealt with the first brother, staying a cautious distance away and watching the one-sided fight.
The cunning Hill sidled up to Dragon Brother Two and whispered in a seductive Draconic tone, "Why don't you help Charles? Otherwise, after Garon finishes with Charles, you'll be next."
Charles was the name of Dragon Brother One.
"If you help Charles now, together you might stand a chance against Garon."
Hill's intelligence seemed slightly higher than that of an average white dragon whelp, unlike the foolish brothers who challenged Garon despite his intimidating size.
Dragon Brother Two hesitated, then with a hardened expression, dived towards Garon.
Smack!
With a sweep of his wing and without looking back, Garon knocked Dragon Brother Two into the snow.
Then, grabbing their foolish heads, he made them intimately acquainted with the icy ground beneath the snow.
From a hundred meters up, Hill watched the scene unfold, her melodious dragon's laugh echoing through the air.
"Poor Tom, tricked by the great Hill into getting beaten."
Tom was the name of Dragon Brother Two.
Minutes later, Charles and Tom were thoroughly subdued by Garon, bruised and swollen, belly-up in submission, signaling their acceptance of Garon as the true leader.
The elder brother released the foolish young dragons, looking up at Hill and said coolly, "Great Hill, I heard everything you said just now."
Hill's smug expression froze, then she looked warily at Garon, "Garon, what are you planning to do?"
Garon pinched his claw, his tone mild, "Come down here, let me hit you twice, and I'll let it go."
"Or you can start running, and then get caught and beaten just like them."