Little Dragon Life

After the day of the challenge, spring gradually drew near.

The Goddess of the Four Seasons scattered burgeoning life across the land, and Ochre Valley shed its usual gray and gloomy appearance.

The streams reflecting amber light grew clearer still, Ironleaf Wood sprouted new buds one after another, and pale yellow little golden finch flowers suddenly bloomed from cracks in the rocks all the way to the horizon.

The wind shook the woods with a clattering rustle. The stream wound around Ironwood Forest, and clusters of tender green leaves fell into the water, drifting with shoals of shrimp, crabs, and fish toward Bay Lake in the valley.

Bay Lake had not formed naturally. It was a vast depression created when ancient mineral veins had been hollowed out and collapsed. Underground rivers had poured into it year after year through fractured rock strata, eventually submerging the abandoned mine tunnels, hematite faults, and blackened slag, forming this cold lake nestled deep within Ochre Valley.

Because it had once been a mineral vein, the Dragon Hatchlings considered it a treasure trove.

Little dragons often swam and dived here, exploring and searching for treasure. Other Dragon Hatchlings hunted fish and shrimp along the shore, tracking Mushroom People and Little Stone Spirits.

By afternoon, quite a few Dragon Hatchlings had gathered beside Bay Lake.

From above, one could see Tungsten Dragons and Nickel Dragons beside a cluster of rocks, chattering around a Chrome Dragon.

Names like "Leijieduolei," "Ferrum," and "Hidorivi" drifted intermittently from the dragon crowd, occasionally accompanied by an astonished roar or claws slamming into the ground.

Whenever the little dragons gathered together lately, no matter how they played and argued, the subject always eventually turned to that duel outside the abandoned mine.

Ochre Valley nurtured a great many Dragon Hatchlings, and fights between them were never rare. If one Dragon Hatchling merely defeated another, everyone might talk about it for a few moments and leave it at that.

But that battle had been anything but ordinary. It had been a duel between an Iron Dragon and a Chrome Dragon, yet the loser had actually been the Iron Dragon.

And that Iron Dragon had not been Leijieduolei, the shame of the dragon flock, but Hidorivi Jinheng, the second-ranked Iron Dragon among them.

Every Dragon Hatchling in the valley knew Hidorivi's name. He was a powerful dragon who had earned the dragon flock's respect through true strength, not through the surname "Jinheng."

Thus, even Hidorivi's public admission of defeat after the battle was seen as proof of an Iron Dragon's proud candor, becoming a topic the Dragon Hatchlings repeated endlessly.

At this moment, the Chrome Dragon on Bay Lake's western shore was practically beaming, his tail nearly flinging itself into the sky as he vividly reenacted the scene for the spectators. A few little ones beside him added embellishments, all speaking as though they had personally witnessed it and describing everything in greater detail than anyone else.

They spoke with such enthusiasm that they soon began acting it out.

A Tungsten Dragon imitated Hidorivi, roaring, "Wedge Form!" The Chrome Dragon dodged and weaved, backing away before suddenly spinning around and pinning the Tungsten Dragon to the ground with one claw.

The Tungsten Dragon hung his head and dejectedly admitted defeat, while the Chrome Dragon bared his fangs and claws, head held high in triumph.

The clamor drifted faintly across to the other side of the lake.

Inside a sheltered cave on Bay Lake's eastern shore, several Lesser Dragons sat upright with their backs straight. There were Mountain Dragons, Thorn Dragons, and Glow Dragons among them, all staring wide-eyed as they haltingly identified the Ancient Dragon Script carved into the stone surface.

In the mortal world, titles such as "Giant Dragon Knight" and "Dragon Summoner" were often passed down. Those titles were not entirely fabricated, but the dragons tamed by mortals were mostly Wyverns, draconic magical beasts.

At the highest, their bloodline only reached the level of Lesser Dragons.

Lesser Dragons were called Lesser Dragons because although they possessed the bodies and forms of Giant Dragons, they lacked the blessing and support of the Bloodline Dragon God. Their god might have fallen millions of years ago, or perhaps had never existed at all.

Therefore, Lesser Dragons had no ability to bestow inheritance upon their descendants. A newly born Lesser Dragon had to learn even the most basic language and writing from scratch.

Such dragons, even if they possessed strength, could not understand the nobility of dragon bloodlines, much less empathize with the glorious history of dragonkind.

They were numerous and came in countless varieties. Born ignorant, they often mingled with the Short-lived Species that True Dragons regarded as slaves and servants. Some were even tamed, becoming battle beasts and mounts for the Short-lived Species.

This was something True Dragons could absolutely not tolerate. To distinguish themselves from dragons like these, all Giant Dragons without Dragon Legacy were collectively called Lesser Dragons in the dragon world.

Even Bahamut, god of good dragons, recognized this definition.

"We should not dwell on the definition of True Dragons and Lesser Dragons. Instead, we should act with all our strength to educate Lesser Dragons, help them become independent, and reclaim their dignity."

This was what the god of good dragons had once said regarding Lesser Dragons.

Within the Ashmark Lineage, Lesser Dragons actually lived fairly well. Though they were often bullied, the treatment given to them by the upper ranks of the lineage was no different from that given to Heavy-Metal Dragon hatchlings.

Because these creatures were born ignorant, the Nurturer continued teaching them, doing her best to patiently explain language, writing, and understanding of the world.

However, Valyria was not a professional teacher after all. As a True Dragon, she could not empathize with being "born ignorant," so whenever she taught knowledge or writing, she only explained it once.

If the Lesser Dragons understood and remembered, that was naturally best. If they did not understand or failed to remember, they did not dare ask again afterward.

Fortunately, some among them were exceptionally gifted and could barely manage to help each other.

At this moment, the Lesser Dragons' instructor leaned against the cave entrance, resting her chin on her foreclaws with her eyes half-closed. As she waited for her companions to ask questions, she listened to the commotion on Bay Lake's western shore, looking thoughtful.

This Lesser Dragon was brightly colored, covered from head to toe in deep crimson scale-feathers. She had four claws and four wings, the outer feathers standing stiffly upright, their tips scorched dark.

Looking at her against the wind, it seemed as though the entire dragon was glowing with fire.

Afterglow. That was the name the Nurturer had given her.

Her companions all thought Afterglow was a strange one. She was the smartest, remembered everything at a glance, and was the only Dragon Hatchling who knew how to fly. She was even more outstanding than the Heavy-Metal Dragons, yet she never showed off about it.

She was the best judge at the Racing Competition. No foul could escape her eyes, yet she never argued with those who disputed her rulings. She simply finished speaking and left on her own, coming and going without a sound.

When Afterglow stood there, her scale-feathers hung low and her eyes were slightly lowered. She looked quiet, as though she were easy to get along with.

But whenever a dragon began approaching, her feathers would silently rise, like a bird of prey instinctively tensing its entire body. Her eyes would discreetly lift to inspect them, and she would gently grind her teeth.

Only after confirming that it was safe would the Feather Dragon slowly relax, her feathers falling back into place one by one as she became quiet again.

Afterglow almost never argued or fought with other Dragon Hatchlings, and she seemed like a rather cautious dragon.

Yet whenever she encountered something that interested her, she would suddenly become bold, casting aside all her usual caution and voicing startling opinions that left her companions astonished, unable to understand what was going on with the Feather Dragon.

Then, after speaking, she would regret it herself, swiftly turning her head away and refusing to explain further no matter what. The feathers all over her body would burn an even deeper red.

In short, she was very strange.

Feather Dragons possessed sharp senses. Their vision was astonishing, and their hearing was equally superb. Even while leaning inside the cave, Afterglow could hear the clamor on Bay Lake's western shore and could even distinguish exactly who was speaking from those sounds.

She found the surrounded Chrome Dragon, Mochi Sorax, quite interesting. He was there pulling Tungsten Dragons and Nickel Dragons along as he vividly described the event, looking proud and pleased with himself, yet somehow not irritating.

Most importantly, he could imitate mushroom calls. He really was such a living treasure.

She had learned that Mochi could imitate mushroom calls half a year ago. At the time, Afterglow had been practicing flying techniques in the clouds. With a casual glance downward, she saw two Chrome Dragons wandering around the valley before finally stopping in front of a rock wall.

Recognizing one of them, Afterglow lowered her altitude a little and watched curiously. What she saw was two Chrome Dragons sneaking about and lying beside the rock wall as they began imitating mushroom calls. "Booji, booji, booji..."

The sight had nearly made the Feather Dragon laugh herself out of the clouds.

Later, she saw Ferrum bring ore back to his nest. Though she did not know what it was for, anything that could make a Chrome Dragon imitate mushroom calls had to be rather important.

So the next day, after thinking it over, she took a piece of ore from her nest and gave it to that Chrome Dragon.

Feather Dragons did not particularly favor ore, and she had no special reason for doing so. Ferrum simply looked familiar, and she wanted to find an opportunity to get acquainted.

Whenever Ferrum participated in the Racing Competition, he always took first place without suspense, so he was constantly suspected of cheating. As the judge chosen by the little dragons, Afterglow had to pay special attention to him.

Only then did she discover that Ferrum's techniques and way of thinking were truly excellent, completely different from how the other Dragon Hatchlings raced.

A little special, and quite nice to watch.

That was Afterglow's first impression of Ferrum.

Later, as the Nurturer's teaching and guidance continued, the Dragon Hatchlings' sense of crisis and competitiveness gradually increased. Many dragons began voluntarily cutting back on playtime. Afterglow no longer served as judge for the Racing Competition, and Ferrum seemed to gradually stop going as well.

Yet she could still often see Ferrum. Whenever she practiced hunting patrols in the clouds and grew tired, she only had to look down to find that Chrome Dragon hanging from a cliff.

Then she would find a little more strength in her body and secretly compete with him, wanting to see who could hold on longer.

The Lesser Dragons had been studying characters in the cave for a while, but the noise from the lakeshore unsettled every little dragon. They shifted their bodies involuntarily, unable to concentrate.

After a long while, a Thorn Dragon could no longer endure it. He raised his head and asked, "Afterglow, could you tell us the story of Ferrum defeating Hidorivi one more time?"

The Feather Dragon thought for a moment, then smiled. "All right."

The protagonist of this story was named Ferrum Solax. He was a Chrome Dragon.

Chrome Dragons were very formidable dragons. Their claws and fangs were sharp, their bodies nimble, and most dragons could not defeat them.

But there was an even more formidable kind of dragon in the valley, called Iron Dragons.

Iron Dragons were fierce and strong, their bodies as hard as steel. They were so powerful they could push over mountains. Whenever a Chrome Dragon fought an Iron Dragon, the Iron Dragon would knock him to the ground.

Among them was an Iron Dragon named Hidorivi, who was extremely powerful. He defeated Ferrum many, many times. Whenever Ferrum lost, he felt both upset and unwilling to accept it.

In order to defeat Hidorivi, Ferrum made many plans for himself. Every day, he went to the steepest and highest cliff, hanging himself from it with one claw to train his strength. He also went to the lake and flapped his wings until they were sore and painful, until he could not even splash the water. He trained very diligently.

His most unusual training was that every night before sleeping, Ferrum stuffed hard rocks into his mouth and used those difficult-to-bite rocks to sharpen his teeth, not stopping until his mouth bled and the pain became unbearable.

His brother did not understand his behavior and asked Ferrum why he did this.

Ferrum answered, "Rocks are hard and sharp, just like an Iron Dragon's scales, claws, and fangs. I use them as a warning, reminding myself not to be lazy and not to give up. As long as I work hard enough, I will defeat Hidorivi sooner or later."

And so, Ferrum used rocks to remind himself while training himself to become stronger and stronger, his claws and fangs sharper and sharper, his body more and more nimble.

Many, many days later, he once again stood before the Dragon Hatchlings and challenged the strongest Iron Dragon among the Heavy-Metal Dragons.

After a bitter battle, Ferrum finally defeated the proud Hidorivi and realized his dream.

No one knew who had made up this story, but it had spread through the valley regardless. Compared with the battle details that the Heavy-Metal Dragons relished, the Lesser Dragons cared more about the story's beginning and ending.

There was a small metaphor behind the story. To an Iron Dragon, a Chrome Dragon was like a Lesser Dragon compared to a True Dragon. Yet even a lower-ranked Chrome Dragon could, after long and arduous effort, challenge the Iron Throne that had been noble from birth.

The Heavy-Metal Dragons scoffed at this story. In their eyes, True Dragons had a strict hierarchy, and the rank of one's bloodline was fixed. The idea that someone could gradually surpass a Higher Species through later effort sounded not only boring, but unrealistic.

They preferred to believe that Ferrum had been exceptionally talented from birth, a rare Variant Species among Chrome Dragons, and that was why he could defeat an Iron Dragon.

As for the Lesser Dragons, they were naturally not naive enough to believe it all. But Ferrum existed right beside them. Eaglebeak Cliff, Bay Lake, and Ironwood Forest all bore traces of him.

They had personally seen his training. Some had even gone up to imitate him, and Lesser Dragons still imitated him to this day.

No matter how much embellishment was added when his deeds were turned into a story, it still carried more credibility and inspiration than those ancient myths and legends.

Afterglow watched the little dragons settle down one by one, sitting upright as they resumed reciting Ancient Dragon Script and building the foundation for learning dragon-language magic.

She blinked, feeling that this story the Nurturer had taught her...

Was simply wonderful.