Razsith the dragon

Razsith

He lifted his wings and pushed them down to the ground, brittle bones lifting easily, and tough, reptilian skin protecting him from the harsh elements. His horned head high as he flew. For a dragon, he was small, with skin that stood out and made it hard to hunt. He was a rare orange color with black undertones on his belly, underneath his wings and up his long neck.

Dragon hatchlings were smart and didn’t necessarily need their parents unless they were attacked by other dragons. If they didn’t hatch in time for the migration to the northern volcanos, they were abandoned to fend for themselves. Those that were abandoned either starved or attacked and fed on each other.

The fledgling was named Raz even before he was hatched. In their language it meant orange scales. He would only gain his second name and be recognized as an adult name after he made his first. Only the greatest and noblest of dragons had a third name.

Raz was the last to hatch from his egg. Sniffing the air, he found the stale scent of his parents who had already left for the migration. Thus leaving him with--he sniffed the air again--his four brothers and one sister who all had hatched earlier. Breaking from his shell exhausted him and left him physically drained. The light shone brightly in his eyes, blinding him. He tried to mewl for food or comfort, but no sound escaped his throat. It was luck that his brothers hadn’t seen him. They were too busy fighting each other to see who would be the one to eat and live on.

The tallest of the dragon chicks was blue fading quietly into a black that was darker then night. His almond shaped head had no horns, but he used it to bash at a slightly smaller brown chick, the only female in the small group. She was smart though, and she quickly evaded the blue one’s attack and jumped out the cave entrance. She only had a 50% chance that he wouldn’t pursue her. Her luck held out as she flew, because the blue one turned to a white chick and promptly killed it with one bash to its fragile head.

Raz could finally feel the strength coming back to him from getting out of the egg. He slowly stood on wobbly claws, but he dared not walk for fear that his brother would attack him next. He could hear the crunch that came from his brother’s first kill. The first thing a dragon eats is his diet for his entire life, and his brother was sure to be hungry for more baby dragon. Tomanth would now be his name. It meant “blue basher” since Tomanth used his head to bash his opponents.

Sparks leaped at Tomanth as another of his brother’s tried to get something to eat, this time he was dark gray and he blended with the cave. The gray one named Vez had a flat head rough around the edges and he would be an ideal hunter on the mountains. As the two brothers fought Raz, edged to the side.

Each dragon had its own special power like fire, brute strength, camouflage, or poison. Raz was bitten by a dark green dragon that had snuck up behind him, poison slowly flowing through his veins. It felt like acid pulsing through his body. Suddenly, it stopped, but before he could comprehend why, all his brothers were attacking him. Claws slashed and teeth met skin, as Raz fought for his life. When suddenly a spark went off in his head, or from his horns as he had shocked Tomanth with a bolt of lightning.

His brothers slowly circled him and Raz used his powers to keep them at bay. They were getting closer to him, and Raz was slowly being backed into a wall. He knew if he didn’t act fast then he would be their dinner. Raz took a huge gulp of air and readied himself to roar, the roar of a dragon meant two things: that he meant business and he was going to kill. Expelling the air from his lungs he tried to roar, all that came out was a puff of hot air. Raz was mute.

With the horrible realization that he couldn’t communicate, he readied himself to run. Dragons who can’t roar were weak and they were hunted down because they were just not right; it was taboo. See Raz’s attempt to escape, his brothers descended on him again. Desperate, he used his static bolt and shot at his brothers for any means of escape. He hit the green one, Sku, and ran through the opening. He heard his brothers’ cheer and then the crunch of bones as Raz realized that he had just made his first kill. He was now Razsith, Orange Shock.

Unfortunately Razsith wasn’t watching out and he hit the broad side of a bolder forcing his wings to be set in an uncomfortable angle. He fell to the ground and landed in a thorny bush. His scales kept the thorns from penetrating, but they didn’t soften the impact he had with the ground. Air wheezed out of his lungs as he landed, and Razsith was paralyzed with pain.

He slowly closed his eyes accepting his fate of death. A downed dragon, always died. He finally got air back in his lungs, when a shadow passed over- head. A large dragon was landing in the cave he had just fled from. Shrill roars pierced the air as the two remaining chick tried to fend off the larger dragon. Tomanth jumped from the cave leaving the gray one to fend for itself as it flew off in the distance. The shrieks continued before they were suddenly cut-off. The large dragon was a grain-ish yellow color, Baz dragged the carcass of the gray chick out and flew with his prize.

 Until he spotted the Razsith in the bushes, his orange color making it hard to hide. The yellow dragon swooped into a dive and landed in front of the bush line. “Come out, I am not yet fully fed!” Baz growled out. His voice grating like a rock against Razsith’s ear drums. “I challenge you, chick! Come out!”  

Razsith stood looking for any way out, the older dragon would defiantly kill him in a fight. Sparks leaped from his body as he nervously moved deeper into the thorny brush. Dark leaves covered him, and he moved deeper and deeper. Baz was growling loudly, his prey choosing to flee instead of fight.

Dragons were noble powerful creatures they never ran, this chick was a disgrace to all dragons. He would pay, the orange chick, Raz would pay dearly. Baz grabbed his kill and flew to the northern volcanoes. He had to tell the leaders. Razsith would soon be hunted by every dragon in the horde.