Days turned into weeks, and soon, the eagle was no longer alone in its service to me. I had begun to attract a small flock of these majestic creatures. Each time an eagle came near, I would reach out, extending my mind to theirs, feeling the thrill of power as they submitted to my will. Soon, they would hunt for me in unison, returning with animals—some fierce, others strange and magical—that fueled my rapid growth.
With the meat they brought me, I grew quickly, far faster than any human child would have. Within mere weeks, I was already a meter tall, my muscles strengthening, my instincts sharpening. I was learning to move, to run, to manipulate my magic with increasing precision. I was no longer the helpless infant left in the wilderness. I was a dragonlord, and I was becoming a force to be reckoned with.
Yet, as I grew, a new feeling took root within me—a call, an unexplainable instinct urging me to seek out others of my kind. The thought gnawed at me, pushing me to search for other dragonlords. I instructed my eagle companions to watch the skies and the land, to search for anyone whose aura felt like mine, anyone who might share the dragon blood that flowed through my veins.
A Challenging Encounter
Weeks passed, and my awareness stretched farther than ever. I could feel the life around me in a vast radius of nearly 10 kilometers, sensing even the faintest heartbeat. But though I had searched tirelessly, I found no other dragonlords. The wilderness around me was silent, empty of any kin.
Then, one day, as I was hunting a sleek black leopard through the forest, I felt a ripple of danger. It was the barest hint of movement, a flicker in my peripheral vision. Before I could turn, something lunged toward me, fast and deadly. Acting on instinct, I rolled to the side, barely evading the attack.
When I looked up, I saw the deep crater left by the strike—a mark of the sheer strength behind it. My gaze snapped to my attacker, and my pulse quickened. Another dragonlord stood before me, older and taller, their eyes sharp and filled with calculation. I could sense their strength, feel the weight of their power pressing against my own.
I had found one of my kind—or rather, they had found me. But this was not a friendly encounter. In the wilderness, dragonlords were rivals. If one of us fell, the victor would gain their strength, their power. It was an unspoken law of our bloodline.
Without hesitation, I gathered energy in my right hand, feeling raw magic pool in my palm, crackling with force. I raised my hand and unleashed a blast of energy toward my opponent. But to my shock, the attack dissipated mere centimeters from their body, absorbed by a shield of invisible power. My opponent's smirk widened. They had faced other dragonlords before; they knew what it took to survive.