During one of the more bloodiest battles, a wounded creature staggered into the territory of the fiercest beings brought into the world. Blood streamed from every opened gash and pierced flesh across its body, many clung to the weapons logged within its hide. The creature’s slow stride faltered into a slow limp until it collapsed near a pile of burning rubble and desecrated bodies of many other fallen beings, humans mostly. This creature, an 800-year dragon, one of the few oldest still in this world rested as its healing magic slowly closed its wounds; however, it abruptly stirred at the sound of a small cry. The dragon's snout inhaled the blood and smoke that filled the air, picking up an unknown scent; its thick serpent neck twisted around a nearby smoldering building. There is a small bassinet, barely singed by the fire, a small babe wailed and choked on the smoke.

“How pitiful,” the dragon growled at the small thing, “your kind, believe to be the most powerful in the lands, yet here amid this devastation you blubber and cry.” The dragon slowly reaches one of its massive talons to the bassinet, hovering it near inches from the baby's body, “shall I end your suffering for you, small one?” The dragon slowly lowered its claw to the pink flesh of the infant, only to stop and watch the child's expression change.

The baby stopped its tears and reached for the dragon's claw that hovered above it, cooing and babbling nonsense. Its tiny fingers wrapped around the talon’s tip and screeched in delight.

“What a strange creature you are,” the dragon sighed. The beast rested a little longer with the chirping creature, then raised its head at the sound of metal clucking across the ground, “seems my time of rest has ended.”

The dragon pulled away from the crib and rose to its powerful limbs, now bleeding much less. As it began to turn to depart, the child began to whimper. The beast looked back lowering its face to the wooden structure holding the small thing, as it reached for its scaley snout.

“Do you wish to come with me,” it asked the tiny thing, and it responded with a giggle and a babbling sound. “Very well little one.”

The dragon opened its tattered wings and took the cradle gently into its clawed hands, and began to flap into the air.

The dragon soared over the newly arrived soldiers, evading the weapons and spells thrown to its hide. Rising higher above the smoke and ash into the skies above, and towards the territory of its kind. The flight took only minutes longer than it would have if the dragon was uninjured, but still, the creature flew through the barrier and towards a range of dead mountains. It flew to an alcove within the mountains that lead to a labyrinth of tunnels and passages, which brought death to any intruders who managed to pass the barrier; following a path that only a few know, the dragon emerged into a world of clear sky, green fields, clean waters, and thriving dragon hoards.

The beast flew to a plateau overlooking a calm area of sea that was surrounded by storms and jagged rocks, placing the bassinet inside a large cave within the ground of the plateau before crawling inside. It wasn't long before many more dragons began to gather on the plateau outside the cave, each with a different set of scales, claws, and wings; a variety of species gathered around this one area.

“Great Bast, what ills you? You flew so quickly none were able to speak with you,” one of the dragons outside called down into the hole.

“Were you injured that gravely?” Another raspier voice questioned.

“Nay my friends, I just need rest,” Bast said, hoping the scent of their newest treasure does not reach the loiterers outside its cave.

The dragons murmured amongst themselves, Bast knew what they were whispering about: “how could Great Bast, the strongest of the 800-year, slayer of 13 human platoons, crawl away into a cave? How the mighty have fallen…”

Bast let out a sigh, “Friends, please, let me rest and I shall recount the tale of my battle with the humans that claim to be killers of our kind.”

The group chirped in joyful agreement; oh, how they love to recount their many battles against the humans and boast about the treasures they collect from their victories, and honor those humans who were lucky enough to defeat or harm them, through their many forms of dishonorable manners and trickery.

“Digi said they saw something in your claws,” a hatchling voice, “what treasure did you pillage?”

“Yes, show us!” other hatchlings cheered in at the dismay of the others. 

Bast stuck their head just out of the cave’s opening to order the hatchings to disperse, but one managed to slip in. Bast quickly turned and growled at the youngling to leave.

“A babe! Bast brought a human babe into their company!” the hatchling screeched as it ran from Bast’s gnashing fangs and to the open plateau.

The dragons all lowered their heads as Bast emerged from their dwelling. Truly Bast was intimidating, the largest of many 800 years, with scales as black as the moonless night and glistened just as bright as starlight despite the crimson blood that stained or still ran across their armor, their intimidating eyes of smoldering embers from a field freshly set ablaze.

Showing their large blood-stained fangs, Bast roared to the others, “None shall harm this babe! It is my prize of battle! I shall do with it as I please!”

None dare argued with the oldest of their kind, it was the lowest form of insults imaginable. But Bast’s outburst caused the wounds on their throat and face to reopen, causing crimson blood to splatter out onto the dust. The dragon stifled a hiss of pain, refusing to show a glimmer of weakness, but in doing so they flicked their tail that remained in the cave jostling the bassinet and waking the infant. It screamed and wailed in fear of the sudden movement that had awoken it. Bast recoiled their head into the cave, and hovered over the babe, some hatchlings followed behind curious about the thing Bast brought back.

“Hush, small one,” Bast muttered, laying their head next to the babe, “hush…”

The baby slowly quieted its screams and babbling reached upwards.

“Bast, why this thing?” one of the hatchlings asked, a snowy blue dragon with sapphire eyes, “why a human babe?”

Bast sighed, “I don't know little one…” they hovered their talon over the baby as it wrapped its hands around the tip, “perhaps I saw something that I believed lost in this world. Something this war devoured long ago…”

Another hatchling of a green moss hue chirped, “what? Lost what?”

“Hope…” was all Bast said as they and the baby fell asleep, the hatchlings curling up against the two and following suit.