I peeked out through the curtain of vines that covered the secret room where my parents had hidden me, and saw that the hunters had left, taking with them my father, Ignum's, horns and some scales, no doubt back for more later. I stood by my father's body, slumped against the wall, once a mighty archdragon with the power to make lightning strike down from the sky, now a lifeless, cold husk. Our cavern, that used to be full of greenery and life, was now scarred with blood and fire from the deadly fight that lead to Ignum's defeat, death and desecration. The stream that ran through was stained red with the lifeblood of fallen hunters. I stumbled over to my mother, sleeping as her body attempted to expel the poison from the lead hunter's combined spell and dual swords, thrust into her stomach and inserting the deadly poison into her bloodstream. She would have maybe 3 months left to live, even with her draconic magic doing everything it could to fight back. 

I slid down against the wall and reflected how quickly everything had changed. Just a few days ago i had been having lessons with Father on basic lightning and fire breathing, and how to utilize and aim it. I had just mastered conjuration around my paws, and so I had moved onto the next stage. While he died, father had passed down his “will” to me, coming with it all his knowledge and some of his power, notably his renowned ability to create a cage of lightning with a radius of 1 mile! Now it was mine, but I couldn’t do it. I don’t have enough power to execute it. The only way I can is by processing the ambient stardust in the atmosphere, leading to an enlarged Starpool and more control over spells.  

But, for now I just had to get to Sol Regem, the city of the Flamae elves, descendants of our clan of dragons. They were, after the Aestus, the best at healing in the world. If I did that, I could get healing for my mother, then she could help me. All I needed to do was get to Sol Regem, then the rest would be okay. I only had three months, but it was achievable, as long as the healer didn’t slow me down on the way back. 1 and a half months there, one and a half back. Simple, I just had to get going. I mustered a roar of fire for courage, and it shot up into the air, majestically flaming bright red, like my scales… then it just died. Without any more power to sustain it, it extinguished because I lost focus. I would have to work on that. Well, no more delays. I took a deep breath and got up. Standing proud, I walked out into the bright sunlight, unsure of what I would find.