Finally, there I was, face to face with a dragon. It was like a dream, something I never imagined would happen so quickly. However, despite all the fascination I felt for that animal, I couldn't forget that it was a wild being. It was likely that it wouldn't be so friendly, and I shouldn't expect any kind of affection in return. In fact, I should be concerned that if it noticed me, that could indeed be my last day in Élaris. Even so, for me, just seeing it was enough.
I didn't want to disturb it or disrupt its peace and, therefore, remained observing the majestic creature from a distance as it stretched, as if waking from a long sleep. I stayed there for a few minutes, just admiring and trying to decide what to do next. Besides marveling at its beauty, that was a unique opportunity to observe its behavior and learn more about its habits and customs.
Initially, as mentioned, the dragon stretched after getting up. Then, it lowered its head and calmly seemed to sniff something, licking whatever it was as if cleaning it. Then, to my surprise, it lay down again and returned to its original position.
- "W-What? It went back to sleep? But... It just woke up!" I murmured, perplexed.
That left me very intrigued, as the information I had accessed in the books I read said that dragons, on the very few occasions they were sighted and their behaviors could be studied, albeit very abstractly, were extremely energetic beings that didn't usually go through hibernation periods or anything similar. The most they did was during winter times when they became extremely lethargic. Although many people had never seen or heard of a large group of dragons together, likely due to the fact that these animals were considered rare over a millennium ago, it was a fact that they lived in small colonies, with at least three individuals. These individuals protected each other, helped each other, and, beyond that, took care of hatchlings that had just emerged from their eggs, even if those hatchlings weren't theirs. They had a strong sense of honor and commitment to their groups but weren't aggressive toward other groups, managing to communicate in some way and, on a rare occasion, described only once, working together for a greater good. They were, therefore, really incredible, intelligent, and playful animals with their own kind. However, that particular dragon seemed different from the descriptions I had seen. After all, what was it doing? Could it be guarding something there? Or even worse, was it injured? Those questions left me extremely uneasy because if it were injured, I certainly wouldn't leave it to fend for itself but would help it in any way I could.
- "Could it be protecting something? Or is it injured? Sick?" I thought in a low voice.
Restlessness took over me. The idea that such a magnificent being could be in danger tormented me. I couldn't just leave without trying to figure out what was going on.
- "...Damn, it might really be injured or even sick… I'll get closer slowly to try to get a better understanding. It'll be quick, and it won't notice… I'll get out of there faster than I arrived..." I said, encouraging myself to continue.
I started walking slowly, taking the utmost care not to make any noise. After a few minutes, I got close enough to see it more clearly, even in the dim light. It was... magnificent. My emotions were running high, and I could barely contain the tremor in my body.
- "Its scales are beautiful... They look like Zyren..." I thought, while I was only a few meters away, admiring the metallic shine of its scales, which resembled the famous magical ore used to generate heat.
The silence around was profound, so absolute that I could hear my heart beating uncontrollably and the blood rushing through my veins. I was so close that I could hear the sound of its breathing as it slept. At a certain point, I was just a few meters away from touching it. The desire to caress it was so strong that my hand seemed to want to guide itself towards it, but I didn't let it.
As I examined every detail of its body, something caught my attention. The dragon was lying around something. I narrowed my eyes, trying to understand what it was, and when I realized what it was, my eyes widened in shock. My entire body trembled, and a sudden shortness of breath took over me.
They were eggs.
- "This can't be... They are... eggs?" I thought, incredulous.
The soft glow of the crystals partially illuminated those round and lustrous shapes, and the scene before me was surreal. Dragons and their reproductive habits were practically a mystery. No book in the great royal archives described anything about their eggs or the raising of young. I was probably the first person in history to witness something like that.
- "One, two... Four? This is incredible!" I thought, ecstatic.
- "Never read anything about what their eggs looked like... and I'm the first to see this, THE FIRST... hahaha THAT'S IT!" I thought, quietly celebrating.
For the first time, I felt truly privileged to be there.
At that moment, I almost had a heart attack from so much excitement, but I couldn't forget that I was still next to the greatest predator in existence, not only in that place but in the whole world. If it woke up, my joy could turn into pure despair. The situation was even more delicate because it was a female dragon, a mother protecting her eggs. In this state, she would probably be extremely vigilant and ready to attack anything that represented a threat.
With that in mind, I decided to slowly back away, taking care not to make any noise. After walking for a few minutes, I finally reached the cave entrance. My legs were wobbly, and when I saw the stars and the moon illuminating the sky, I simply collapsed to the ground. Within seconds, I passed out, probably due to the enormous adrenaline rush I had experienced. Thinking about it now, it's possible that I fainted from pure exhaustion.
There, I slept deeply, but not until dawn. I woke up shortly after to a deafening sound: a roar that made my soul almost leave my body.
...ROOOAR!...
- "…Aaaarrrghhh… W-WHAT… WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" I screamed, trying to get my bearings while searching for the source of that sound, still half groggy.
I rubbed my eyes, trying to pull myself together, and looked around. There was nothing nearby, but unlike before, when the darkness was broken only by the glow of the stars and moons, now I saw something impressive. The animals and trees near the river stood at a certain distance from where I was, as if an invisible barrier prevented them from advancing. They all stared intently in my direction.
- "Damn… There's nothing here… what was tha- … Uaarghh… But what is this? They… are looking at me? No... They are looking at something next to me..." I babbled, still confused, while searching for what had caught their attention.
That's when I saw the large entrance to the cave, and suddenly, everything made sense. The roars I had been hearing since the first night in that forest were hers, the mother dragon. It was she who made the creatures I saw at the riverbank at night return to where they had come from, and on that particular night, I had simply been unlucky enough to sleep near the entrance from where the roar emerged, amplifying the deafening sound.
As I processed this information, I started hearing something else coming from deep within the cave. It was a low, continuous sound, like a purr interspersed with high notes, laden with melancholy. It sounded like crying. A pang gripped my heart. I couldn't explain exactly why, but that sound brought back memories of happy moments with my family — moments I would never live again.
I shook my head, trying to dispel the sad thoughts, and wondered what could be causing that behavior. Why was she crying? Since I had arrived in the forest, I heard those sounds every night. Something had probably been wrong for some time. I began to ponder possibilities, crossing what I knew about dragons with what I had seen in the cave.
Hours passed as I tried to find an answer, but nothing seemed to fit. It was only when I mentally revisited what I had observed in the cave that something occurred to me:
- "...Damn… What could it be? Nothing seems wrong… Wait. Dragons live in small groups. They always live in pairs, at least... So, why is there only one here? I mean, if there's a female, there should be a male. They have partners for life! Where is the father?"
My mind raced. If she was a female taking care of the eggs, the male should be present, protecting her and providing food, as she wouldn't leave the eggs even if the world was ending. But she seemed thinner and weaker than a healthy dragon should be, at least as a healthy dragon was described in the books I read, which indicated that she might not be eating properly. Were the roars location calls? Perhaps she was trying to find her missing partner, who wasn't responding for a reason I couldn't know.
As the dawn's light began to appear on the horizon, I got up. I hadn't been able to sleep, as I was worried about all that, and even more so about the mother dragon, but I needed to wash my face and pull myself together. I walked down to the nearby lake, still intrigued by everything. Upon arrival, I noticed that the animals and trees that had remained still during the night were slowly returning to the forest.
That behavior was strange. It was as if those creatures felt the mother dragon's pain and wanted to help, but something was stopping them.
I washed my face in the lake and then began gathering some branches to light a fire. As the flames began to grow, I thought about fishing something. I hadn't eaten meat in a long time, and it could help me regain strength for whatever came next.