Chronicles From the End of an Age

Slaying Serpents - 40Yrs BTA

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This story contains some graphic imagery. If you're uncomfortable with gory scenes, progress with caution.
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"Dad... do you have to go?" the concerned voice of a hatchling spoke shakily.

Banther sighed, lowering his head so he could look directly into his son's eyes, "Zoble, you know I do. Don't worry, my son, I'll make it back to you. I'll make sure those serpents never scare you ever again."

"Okay," Zoble spoke, though there was still worry in his yellow eyes.

His father gently nudged him with his snout, before lifting his head to look at the rest of his family. His mate, a water dragoness with perfect ocean blue scales illuminated by several blue crystals within their cave, smiled sadly at him. He smiled back, trying to show his confidence at his task, but as much as he tried to reassure them, they all knew the danger of what he was going to face. His two daughters were next to their mother, each barely reaching her midsection while sitting down.

"I love you Banth," she said softly, "Make sure to come back to us."

He nodded, "I will."

He gave them all one last smile, before turning around, and without hesitation jumping into the pool of water occupying the back of the cave. He flicked his eel-like tail, beating his wings as he pushed himself forward through the water. He breathed through his nostrils, the water trickling into his body, before being sourced back through his mouth as he breathed it out again. It always took a moment to get used to the cold running through his body as he switched from breathing air to water.

He descended down the dark passageway descending out of his home, and then out into the open, where he pulled himself to a stop, floating effortlessly as he looked over the coral reef in which his family lived. They were situated out over the edge of a massive drop, where the ocean descended into dreary nothingness. The cliff face curving downward was accompanied by a mass of corals of orange, green, yellow, pink, and purple. Fish swam in their thousands, accompanied by glowing beams of light from the sun high above the surface of the sea.

Amongst the fish swum dragons, their blue scales blending in with the ocean around them. They swam easily amongst the corals and schools of ocean life, going about their day to day tasks with a general wariness. The fish, for the most part, ignored them, though made sure to give them a wide berth when they were near. They had no fear of being hunted, but they were still wary of creatures bigger than most sharks. It would be a simple matter for a dragon to simply open their mouth and snap one up, not that they would. Coral fish were small and unappetizing a lot of the time and the ones that dragons did eat had long since fled from that specific coral reef.

Banther let out another sigh, several bubbles escaping his mouth as the last of his air was pushed out by the water. He propelled himself forward with a flap of his wings, flying through the water as he pulled on the ocean around him, creating his own personal current, gliding down toward a small gathering of dragons toward the end of the reef. He was given several growls of greeting as he floated over their heads, the growls echoing through the water in strange waves and patterns that to any other dragon would be difficult to interpret. The drake made his way to the front of the group, meeting with a dragoness, who gave him a quick nod in greeting.

"This all?" he asked her, relying on the simple growls and grunts of the dragon language to get across his message, as it was hard to speak with more sophisticated terms while underwater.

"All round up," she replied, seeming a little dissatisfied.

"Main city... not equilibrium?"

The dragoness shook her head.