“You only say that, because you are amused dear Firebrand.” Vile Fang replied. The red dragoness offered only a shrug in her own defense. The green scaled elder sighed, then turned to Blood Claw after a moment. “Is the last one going to try, or do they expect to simply sit this week out?” He asked. Blood Claw turned and gave the blue whelp and inquisitive look. With a slight droop of his wings, the whelp marched half way to the stones and stopped. He nodded to the elders, drew in a tentative breath and breathed out flames. His fire reached far further and far longer than Darin’s, allowing him to wash it over several stones. Despite that, he flames caused very little of the stones to glow, during his brief three seconds of flame.

“Tough crowd.” He muttered aloud, once done. After a sharp nod to the elders, he marched back to his place in line. He had not missed out on the fact, that no one could be bothered to comment on his performance. You should have gone before me then. Not my fault.

“Thank you Den Mother. Would you now guide them to the trial of Earth?” Vile Fang asked, in as formal a tone as he could manage. Several others looked surprised by his request, Blood Claw amongst them.

“Earth next, you say?” She asked, to verify. He sighed and nodded his green head.

“Yes, the trial of Earth shall be next today. I know that this is not the normal course of the tests, but I ask you to be understanding. Some days, we must simply work with what the Mother gives us.” He replied, causing the other elders to nod.

“You heard the elders, my dear whelps. We go now to the Trial of Earth.” She paused for a moment, seeming to think things over. “I would also remind you. That it is rare for someone to master every test. We are each differently blessed by the Mother, thus the honored elders will evaluate you across the sum of all your tests. So that you may show yourselves, to be worthy.” Blood Claw explained. The elders gave her a few curious looks, for her speech, but said nothing. Was that for them, or for my sake? Darin pondered.

“Follow.” Firebrand commanded, skipping all pretenses and leading the other elders out. After the elders, came the rest of the pack. After a short walk down the hallway, they entered the room for the Trial of Earth and Darin’s heart sank. The nature of the room was both obvious and painful. In the center was a long elliptical track carved deep into the smooth stone floor. Around the outside of the track, was a series of markers at equal length. Inside the track was a large cube of stone, the edges were rounded but it was still about three feet to a side. The way the carved stone fit so well into the track, could only mean this was a test of strength. Darin’s wings drooped for a moment, before he pulled himself back into shape. If I fail the test, I refuse to look pathetic doing it.

“All ye whelps, who seek now to prove yourself. Now you are tested on the strength you were given by the Mother. Some of you will be blessed with great magic, others will be blessed with great power of body. Before the elders-” Blood Claw began her formal speech.

“Ahem.” Firebrand interrupted with a false cough. The two shot dirty looks back and forth a moment, before Blood Claw gave way to rank.

“It would seem our esteemed elders,” she began, “are eager to get back to their mid morning naps. As not to keep them awake until they grow cranky, we will get to the point more swiftly.” Blood Claw snapped out, earning her a few laughs from the whelps an a few dirty looks from her betters. “This test is a simple trial of strength. You get in the pit, and you push the stone when told. The further you can push it, in a give time, the more you prove your strength of arm. If you’re too stupid to figure that out, you don’t deserve the Mother’s blessings. If you can’t move it far before we tell you to stop, then you are weak. Accept it and move on. Questions?” She asked, casting a scathing glance at the whelps. When they were smart enough to keep quiet she nodded and continued. “You went first last time, you may as well go first as the largest.” She instructed, gesturing to the red whelp.

“As you wish, Den Mother.” Scorch replied, before stepping down into the pit with an awkward motion. All of Red’s strengths, seemed to be centered on his physical size and strength. So it was not much of a surprise to anyone, when he pushed the stone most of the way around the track. He was only given a minute, but he had shown his might quite clear. It was his exit that surprised Darin the most. If Scorch had looked awkward getting into the pit, that was nothing compared to his exit. It took him 2 tries and several seconds to free himself from the groove. Instead of flying out, he presented himself more like a drunken herd beast, trying to climb onto a sofa. Do you have any agility at all?

“I’ll go next, Den Mother.” Greenie offered. When the Den Mother nodded, she simply jumped into the pit and got into place. She put her paws on the carved stone and looked to the Elders for permission.

“Begin, child.” Dark Flame instructed. And so she did, using her back legs for force and putting her body weight on the cube at an angle. She looked more like a worker sliding a crate across the floor, but it moved at a steady pace. She did not move it quite as far as the red whelp, but she still did well. She had used both her muscles and her mind, each to their own best leverage. “That will suffice, thank you whelp.” The elder informed her. Greenie also managed to earn some respect with her exit. She put her front claws on the upper floor, jumped with her hind legs and pushed down with her front legs, allowing a smooth exit.

“I’ll get this over with now.” Stated the Wyvern, before stepping into the hole and gliding down. His body’s design worked against him. There was a lot of flailing of his tails, but his wing-arms were not built for strength. He braced his chest against the stone and pushed with all his might. A minute later, when the elders called him to a stop he was short on breath and the stone had only moved a few notches. Scorch was grinning at him, not bothering to hide his smugness at his own strength. When the Wyvern exited, a bit of the smugness faded away. A single flap of his wing-arms, paired with a jump from his legs and the wyvern glided back into his place in line. So far, the strongest of the dragon whelps had been the least capable of climbing out of a simple hole.

“Here we go again.” The black spiked whelp grumbled as he fell, more than jumped into the pit. The elders shared a glance between one another, but said nothing. At their command, he threw his whole body at the stone. He used his head, neck and forward shoulder to push against the solid rock. All four of his legs, where clawing at the floor desperate for traction. There was even a sound of flapping wings as the stone inched forward, crossing a single marker before time ran out. If his performance was off to a bad start, it only got worse as he tried to exit the pit. He attempted to exit as Greenie had, but he lacked her size and strength. When he jumped and pushed, he came up short and smacked his chest hard into the stone. With a frantic scraping of claws, he managed to not fall back in. Scorch and a few others snickered in hushed tones, as the black whelp belly crawled his way to freedom. He didn’t even bother to nod to the elders before returning to line.

“I’ll go.” Offered the blue whelp, not wanting to be last again. His results were average at best, but he didn’t disgrace himself anywhere in the process. With the other whelps already done, all eyes shifted to the one little dragon in their midst.

“Time to impress us, little wings.” Scorch taunted. This earned him a few laughs and a few glares from those in the room.

“You don’t have to do it, if you don’t want to, little one.” Greenie suggested. She said it out of kindness, but it was clear that everyone held the same expectations.

“No. He has to do something.” Blood Claw stated, causing the whelps to turn to her. Greenie even looked ready to protest, but was silenced with a shake of the head.

“It’s true.” Firebrand stated, speaking softer than usual. “You don’t have to pass the test, but you must at least touch the stone and fail the test to move on. Were he to skip the test entirely, he would not be able to seek a name this week. Do as you must, young one. Sorry…”

“I understand.” Darin replied, nodding to the elders. “So I need to touch the stone, until the time runs out. Even, if I do not make it move?” He asked for clarity. When all three nodded at once, he walked forward toward the stone.

“Oh. This should be good.” Scorch gloated, unable to contain his enthusiasm. As he reached the pit, Darin dropped in without a sound.

“Begin.” Vile Fang commanded, before stepping up with the other elders to get a better view. As the elders leaned their heads over the pit they all burst into laughter. Surprised by this, Blood Claw moved forward to look and joined them in the their mirth.

“Oh gods, you would…wouldn’t you?” She asked Darin, though she received no reply. At her words, the other five whelps rushed up and peered into the pit. With their jaws hanging wide in disbelief, they stared at their companion.

Down in the pit Darin was not struggling with the stone. He stood upright on his back legs and was leaning his right shoulder against the stone, as if putting his weight against the rock. Most of the humor, was in the fact that he was using his right hand claws, to scrape clean the claws on his left hand. While he was observing the requirements of the test, for all intents and purposes, he spent the minute on the equivalent of cleaning his nails.

“And done.” Firebrand declared, trying to keep her humor out of her voice. “You did not manage to move the stone at all.” She told him, her tone softening the rebuke. “But you have met the requirements and completed the test. If you wish to earn a name, I strongly suggest, that you perform better in your other trials.” She told him, before laughing.

“It seems that there is a first time for everything.” Blood Claw grumbled, before tossing him a wink. “So are you getting out of there, so that we can move on. Or do you have another claw to clean?” She asked. Darin blew across his claws, as well as his beak allowed, for show. It earned him a few more laughs before he turned and looked for an exit through the crowd. Turning about, he jumped with a single down-flap of the wings and landed on the trial stone itself.

“I’ve got some redeeming to do. Shall we move on to the next trial?” He asked, doing his best not to laugh.

- - - - -

Author’s note: So tired today, my hour nap turned into a several hour sleep. Chapter is a little late, yet work still looms in the morning. Thank you all for your feed back and suggestions. They do help me to refine and improve upon my story. As well, I’d like to think that what I post will eventually count as my first draft of a book. Or books, if the future takes me in such a direction. One can hope. As ever, thank you all for your positive feedback, your support and even for calling me on my mistakes.