Atarah Broodmother

I watch over the 3 dozen eggs pulsing with growth under me soaking in the elemental energies and warmth from the brooding process as is natural. Sleepily I pay attention to the experimental hybrids interspersed amongst my own future younglings, some of the eggs already having been discarded as abominations as I read the energies of their development. These 16 transplanted eggs pulse with balanced potential, making me eager to find out what they will be.

I feel the two humanoids acting as my ‘care-givers’ land on the morning-sun facing side of the mountain close to the mouth of the troll sized cave. With them are more mana crystals and a large magical fish worthy of even me. I watch them enter the cave and follow their progress as they transverse the tunnel, sneakily passing through the troll controlled inner caves though there is no need for sneaking with my scent already on them.

They cleverly transverse the maze of shifting earth that continuously changes. They are let through by my failed non-sapient young that slither those large caves in unrivalled elemental instincts and content oneness with themselves and Gaia.

It takes the humanoids nearly 2 hours even with them having made this journey numerous times since coming here months ago with the candidates many Ancients and beings of power have agreed to. The two humanoids eventually transverse the chilling water flowing through this mountain and acting as a natural barrier cloaking my presence and walk into my domain proper. I watch them walk lazily towards me through the straight tunnel that becomes bigger and bigger the further in they come.

They don’t bat an eye at the numerous calcified eggs that I have discarded through the years when I have felt them lose balance, they don’t bat an eye as they see some of the human luxuries found in some of the side chambers I have collect or been gifted through my years of travel but their eyes flicker with worry as they see the already impressive pile of eggs I have already placed aside to die in this recent laying as they have lost or been unable to achieve a proper balance of energies. They school their expressions though and come into my main chamber where I lie on my remaining eggs interspersed with the hybrid eggs I am experimenting with.

The humanoids bow to me and present their offering of food and piles of mana crystals bursting with energies. I watch them empty their spacial items with mini vortexes of spacial disturbances they likely don’t even feel, I watch them time after time greedily soaking in the unique elementally balanced energies permeating the chamber that cannot be found naturally occurring on Gaia. Once everything is offered I assess it with my presence and find the meats fresh, the fish still flipping, the crystals filled to the brim and not the inferior variety known as stones.

‘’You may stay,’’ I deign to address them mentally and I feel the eagerness as they bow and leave the chamber I'm brooding in to go sit on smooth ground before the flowing river and greedily circulate the pure elemental energies coming from me and filling the chambers as I feed my eggs the nutrients they need to grow strong and wholesome. While they do that I float everything towards me by grasping the air and start chomping down as it comes to my mouth. Crystals, deer, fish I crush everything eagerly, savouring the energy coming from the fair absorbing the dense mana in the crystals mixing divinely with the blood and substance of the meats. Delicious.

Soon I have devoured everything and though it is not as satisfactory as hunting myself or as wholesome as devouring natural energies I enjoy the food and of course the novelty of eating physical things as I have not left my chamber in something close to 900 years now. How this Conclave even knew I was here I don’t know but from my many children still roaming the world I know that many a dragon and Ancient has taken this project of trying to mix these candidates amongst our own.

Many outcry the unnaturalness of the entire thing or the risks of giving away their power and secrets to beings with divided loyalties but those are stupid arguments. Many unique beings have been born through my millennia of life from the breeding of powerful beings of differing ancestry, this is hardly any different and though it is largely induced had it not been natural in some way it would not have been possible at all. Besides, I had no problem not knowing who to choose amongst the presented candidates presented to me. If the energies don’t balance then I discard the egg, it is that simple. Once hatched I expect no loyalty or fealty of any kind as I myself will give none in turn, but if I do receive fealty all the better.

I lift my head that way lying comfortably on my paws as I feel something interesting happen. I am bewildered as I send my presence deep into the shell regardless of the taboo to confirm what my elemental senses are telling me. Yes, one of my earlier discarded eggs has managed to balance itself and the yolk has kept the creature alive and wholesome all this time, interesting indeed. I grab the egg gently with a grasp of air bringing it to me I tuck it carefully under myself with the rest of eggs. I breath a sigh of regret having touched the hatchling personally and formed a slight empathetic connection with the developing youngling.

All dragons know that to form an empathetic link with a young in it’s infancy is to forever cripple it from reaching full potential as the dozens of animal young roaming the upper chambers ‘guarding’ me are a testament to that fact. I huff while deligently sniffing and channelling elemental energies to the eggs as I do every hundred years or so, maybe since it started as a human it won’t end up led by nothing but Instinct though.

I ponder upon the connection formed and wonder about the curiosity of a youngling able to balance itself before being even born, reborn in this case. Ragnar, it said its name was Ragnar I believe.