"The Conquest Gate is the most ominous threat to the future of the universe and must be completely eradicated along with its owners!"
- Words of an archangel who attacked the Celestial Plane
The Northern Glaciers of the Azderos plane.
Surviving under intense snowstorms and extreme cold was one of the greatest challenges one could face. Of course, not every creature fought under equal conditions. For some, life was much easier than for others. Especially for the white dragons scattered across the snowy lands.
While white dragons were among the weakest dragon species in the universe, they were still dragons. They grew stronger with age, and their increasing power combined with their cruelty allowed them to reign as hunters rather than prey in the icy wilderness. However, like all creatures, they had a weakness too. Their low intelligence and weak parental instincts.
Ülgen, a white dragon hatchling inside the egg, was blending the racial knowledge of his kind with what he learned at the academy. He was not unhappy with the body he fell into, for even being one of the weakest, being a dragon was a great fortune. He could have been a member of a much weaker race, such as goblins.
It was also a great privilege for him to have taken over his body before hatching. According to records left by ancient Fatihs, some unlucky individuals had taken over bodies weakened or on the verge of death after being born. Starting a step behind their other kin had made their conquest path quite challenging.
Fortunately, he had a mother to protect him during this weakest period. After killing his sibling who tried to steal his nutrients by staying in the same egg, he would have no trouble. Both were in the formation stage inside the egg, but Ülgen possessed superior consciousness. He allowed his mind to completely envelop the inside of the egg and began to thin out the nutrient lines going to his sibling. He could tear them apart in one go if he wanted, but it would deal a heavy blow to his mental energy and hinder his development. Taking it slow was more efficient.
The process would take hours, and a certain amount of nutrients would inevitably be lost. But by cutting off the competition at its root, he could take control of the entire body in the egg and thus start ahead of his other white dragon kin in the race.
The passage of time seemed to accelerate with his focused endeavor. He didn't know how much time had passed, but it didn't matter. While his body was forming, his sibling's formation had slowed and begun to regress. If he proceeded as he wished, it wouldn't take long for him to slowly move his body and start consuming his sibling.
"Well, little sibling, you should blame your luck for being the first obstacle on my path to dominion over the Azderos plane." The calmness in his words was a privilege bestowed upon him by his education. As a Fatih, his creation was not aimless, and he was quite confident in his path.
After a long period, the nutrient lines to his sibling had been completely severed, and its body had lost its vitality. Meanwhile, a large part of Ülgen's body had completed its formation. The hatchling slowly extended its mouth and began to consume its sibling's body.
If an outside observer were to have a chance to observe a white dragon, they would look at Ülgen with astonishment. Despite his body not being fully formed, he was much larger and stronger than an average hatchling. Moreover, the consumption of nutrients from the egg to his body was far more efficient than that of a normal white dragon hatchling.
Ülgen wasn't just focusing on the formation of his body as time flowed. He was also simulating and preparing a hatchling mask for possible scenarios after hatching to remain undiscovered. He had to be careful not to let his mother notice any abnormalities. He also didn't neglect to learn the hereditary knowledge of white dragons entirely.
Dragons had the ability to pass on their hereditary knowledge to their eggs. The hatchlings absorbed and strengthened this knowledge as they grew. For a young Fatih like Ülgen, who had a far superior mental capacity than a white dragon hatchling, the process didn't need to be so arduous. He had already assimilated all the information, so he was filtering out any information not taught to him at the academy but could be useful.
When he reached the end of all these preparations, he felt it; his body was complete! There was no more nourishment left in the egg to strengthen him. He had swept away the energy with incredible efficiency, enough to prepare two white dragon hatchlings for the hatching process.
He grinned and broke the egg with his claws, poking his head out. Instead of stunning him, the cold air that hit him further invigorated him. With excited sounds, he shattered the eggshell and stood on his claws, letting out a childish roar.
"Hmm..." A rumble echoed in his ears, causing a slight buzzing.
Pretending to be startled, he turned his head. A colossal white dragon, sixteen meters tall, was looking at him with cold eyes. Sensing the pressure of the aura, Ülgen bowed his head as if in submission.
"You're twice the size I was as a hatchling. What's your name?" The giant white dragon, despite being his mother, greeted him as if he were a stranger. The question about his name was to learn a part of his true name.
Dragons had real names, which connected them better to the universe they were in and contributed to their powers, but it was also their greatest weakness. Because someone who knew their full real name could make them do whatever they wanted. Of course, Ülgen, not being a dragon, shouldn't have a real name, but thanks to his body, he had one. His real name was quite long, but it also contained Ülgen. This was a testament to the Fatihs' ability to merge with the bodies they possessed compared to other races living a parasitic life.
Despite being prepared for the underdeveloped parental instincts of white dragons, the young Fatih couldn't help but be surprised. Nevertheless, he managed his facial expression skillfully and responded with a submissive attitude. "I am Ülgen, Mother."
The mother dragon, surveying the large body of the hatchling, nodded approvingly. Such a large hatchling would be a great opportunity to boast to other dragons if given the chance to speak. "Good, eat the eggshells and take your place. Your other siblings will hatch from their eggs soon. I don't want to repeat my name over and over again."
Ülgen, upon receiving the command, quickly glanced at the three nearby eggs before consuming the shells. This was the final step for a hatched dragon hatchling. The nutrients in the eggshells strengthened his physical defenses, making him a formidable creature even at this stage, especially for someone as small as Ülgen, standing at one and a half meters tall.
Consuming the shells didn't take him more than a minute. Then, taking a few clumsy steps, he moved to a corner. He decided to take advantage of this time to examine both himself and his surroundings.
The large ice cave where his mother lived had little wind inside. Despite the low wind, he estimated they were at least a hundred meters high from the small airflow. In the deeper parts of the cave, he could see a small hill. Unfortunately, this hill, supposedly made up of treasures, wasn't as rich as one might expect. Comparing it with his hereditary knowledge, he realized he was in a nest below average. His mother also didn't seem to have reached a hundred years of age yet. So, she wasn't a mature dragon. This was likely the reason for both the lack of wealth and the substandard quality of their nest.
"Well, most likely the product of an accident while satisfying her sexual desires," he remarked sympathetically, looking at the other eggs.
With the time corrected now that he had hatched, he knew it had been only two hours since the other three eggs started cracking simultaneously. His siblings began to shake and emerge from their eggs one by one. There were five of them in total. The other two eggs were also twins like his.
As the mother dragon grabbed the unconscious dragonet by the nape of its neck and flapped her wings, throwing it out of the cave into the wild, the four hatchlings watched in astonishment. Ülgen knew very well that his unconscious sibling would be randomly thrown somewhere in the wild.
"My name is Tolp. How come you're so big?" the single hatchling, with slight stutters and a childish tone, asked a question that puzzled his undeveloped mind. The other three hatchlings looked at Ülgen more intensely after this question; they wanted to know!
"Your names are Tolp, Folet, Lindy, and Pelet. You already told our mother," Ülgen rolled his eyes; since the authority figure wasn't here, he decided to show these youngsters who the future boss was. Even his stuttering was gone when he spoke. "I am Ülgen, the firstborn. It doesn't concern you how I am so big. If you don't want to obey me, you can challenge me."
His words created dissatisfaction among the four hatchlings. They began to show their teeth and growl softly as they approached Ülgen. Ülgen grinned; he would teach these four little dragon hatchlings a lesson.
...
Hours later, the mother white dragon entered the cave along with imposing gusts of wind. As she entered, she looked in astonishment at the upright postures of her first hatchling and the other four. Ülgen, the named hatchling, began to speak as she busied herself with shaking off her surprise.
"Mother, as your offspring, we are expecting to learn your name," the contrast between Ülgen's seriousness on his face and his childish tone made for a comical sight. It was also quite interesting to see the other four hatchlings looking at him in silence and slight fear.
Nevertheless, there was nothing laughable or intriguing about it for the mother white dragon. She was only glad that her children weren't troublemakers or chatterboxes. She spoke with a cold expression, "My name is Albiria. I will bring you food once a week. If the food I bring isn't enough, you can go hunt for yourselves. Also, never disturb me while I'm sleeping unless it's a matter of life or death. And never, ever touch my treasure hoard. If you do, I'll notice, and it will be your end."
Threatening death to hatchlings who hadn't even been out of the egg for a day could only be seen in races like white dragons, oblivious to family love. The four hatchlings cowered in fear, but Ülgen just bowed his head. He already knew the characteristics of white dragons and had already begun to chart a course with his four siblings. He had no intention of trusting his mother, who hadn't even become an adult yet.
Upon seeing the obedient attitudes and fears of her offspring, Albiria rumbled happily and threw a winter wolf carcass in front of them. Then, without caring whether they ate or not, she lay down on top of her treasure hoard and began to sleep. Normally, she could sleep for months, but because of her offspring, she would be deprived of long sleeps for a few years. Naturally, she wanted to spend the time she could allocate to sleep.
Ülgen and the quartet silently looked at the wolf carcass oozing blood from its snowy-white fur for a while. Then Ülgen walked towards the carcass and began to split it in half with his claws. He threw the other half in front of his siblings and started to eat his share with pleasure. His siblings were probably annoyed at the portion he allocated for them, but they had accepted that he was the authority figure among the siblings after their mother. "Well, at this early stage, my biggest priority is my own development. They'll be grateful to me once we grow big enough to go out and hunt."
Feeling that his body was efficiently digesting the energy, the young Fatih smiled calmly before starting to sleep without paying attention to his siblings. He wouldn't be a normal and weak white dragon. All of the Northern Tundras would see that over time!