When Navinth announced that her eggs were hatching everyone in Ryslen was relieved. The green-gold was among three female dragons that were clutching on the sands currently and with many more dragonesses waiting to clutch they wanted the eggs to hatch as soon as possible. As the eggs began to rock the candidates filed in, over twenty of them total and of many different races and worlds. There was much chattering among the ranks but everyone became silent as the first egg cracked.
The egg cracked slowly, spider-webs of cracks spread along its pale surface before the dragons nose began to poke out. A murmur of surprise ran through not only the candidates but those in the stands as well. It was gold! The baby gold finally kicked apart her shell and stood resplendently on the sands, showing her duo toned hide. Siamese markings stood out in purple all over her lithe form, purple socks upon her feet and purple gracing her wingtips and tail. The female candidates all had eyes for this lovely gold-purple beauty but she looked at none of them. She walked straight to a blond-haired girl who had been standing slightly apart from all the other candidates and nuzzled a hand softly with her nose.
Kelei? Asked the hatchling, tone questioning and quiet. Kelei was at a loss for words, eyes wide as she regarded this beauty of a dragon that had come for her and her alone.
"Yes?" she asked, her voice laden with emotion.
Everything in your past... People have taken advantage of you... Harmed you... Hurt those who were most dear to you... With each of these statements Kelei gave a soft gasp, almost a sob. But that time is over now, Kelei! I won't let anyone ever, EVER do anything like that to you again! Kelei... Kelei's eyes had drifted away but the hatchling stood tall, wings wide and neck high. Kelei, look at me for I am now your protector I will shield you from harm! My name is Neovith!
"Neovith," cried Kelei as she wrapped her arms around the gold-purple's neck and sobbed. She repeated the name over and over again, as if assuring herself that it existed. Neovith crooned softly while Kelei let out her emotions.
And the hatching went on. The next two eggs hatched both at once, blue and green siblings. They were playful creatures, leaping and bounding around the sands before heading over to the candidates. As a pair they surveyed, looking at this candidate here and prodding at that candidate there. They glanced at the angels, gave draconic snorts of laughter at the elves, and looked in awe at the jaguar-shifter. Finally they reached a pair of humans, siblings like themselves. Kairon and Zura suddenly found themselves facing a pair of dragons, who looked up at them expectantly.
Well? Said the blue.
Well? Said the green.
Kairon laughed. "Don't be so impatient, Gwaeth!"
Zura smiled. "Ok, lets get you some food, Elybeth."
With that the two pairs headed out of the sands, a spring in all of their steps.
Three of the eggs of Navinth's clutch hatched at once, all the hatchlings showing two colors on their wet hides. One was blue and brown, a brown stripe running over a blue body with other brown marks on his blue hide. The second was a dragoness, a cream but with brown Siamese markings all over her small form. The third was... The crowd was astir once more at the sight of this dragon. The hatchling's size was small but his color was beautiful. His body shone brightly white while his wingsails glittered goldenly. He seemed content to sit back and watch, however, as his siblings made their choices.
The blue-brown moved gracefully and lithely, seeming to move across the sands like a wave across the ocean. Few there could grasp this metaphor but it was not lost on one who had spent much time on the sea lately. "Try that on board and you'd probably fall off the ship," said Lokren in an amused tone.
Really? Well I thought it was neat, said the hatchling in somewhat of an annoyed tone. Oh well, I guess that I have time to work on it. Lokren, my name is Gwyveth!
The cream-brown seemed to be having a hard time making up her choice. She turned in circles, almost tripping over her long tail and her large eyes wearing a puzzled look. Where did she go? I know that I saw her a moment ago but there are so many people here...
"Maybe you should try looking behind you, Galilikath," said an amused voice from behind the hatchling.
The hatchling spun around and crooned happily. Kaalilian! There you are! She smacked her tail in the sand happily as Kaalilian stroked her soft hide. I'm hungry, though. I don't suppose that we could go get something to eat?
Kaalilan smiled, "Of course we can." The two of them left the sands, following the pairs that had headed that way earlier.
The white-gold peered around at all of the candidates that still waited. He knew that the right one was around here somewhere, he could feel their presence, but where were they? He glanced back at the eggs but decided that his bond wasn't in any of them. No, he was somewhere out there and the white-gold really didn't feel like having to tromp around past all of the candidates just to tell which one was his. His eyes caught on a girl standing amidst a clump of other candidates holding, oddly enough, a small rose bush in a pot. There. He began to head over.
Inside the rosebush a presence dwelled, it was the presence of a god who had left his world, severing himself from it with his own death. Eios felt the hatchling's full and healthy mind reaching out for his torn and weak one and did not resist bonding. Rem, holding the pot in her hands and watching the dragon come closer and closer could only hope. Would this dragon be able to make the god whole again or would he be crippled like this for centuries? The answer came in a bright flash of light, clearing to reveal a winged form.
All who saw Eios saw him differently yet in all shapes he was wordlessly beautiful. As a humanoid he was dark skinned yet his hair was pale, white with a purple sheen. His wings were soft and wide, white dappled with brown, almost like a hawk's. He was clothed all in white though the style of clothing again differed from person to person. The angels saw him as not having one, but four marvelous wings and the nonhumanoids saw him as one of their own, yet still with the extra pair of wings.
As soon as the hatchling's mind had connected with Eios' own he felt whole again, a sensation which he greatly enjoyed feeling. With all of his powers once again his to command he let his awareness expand, quietly searching the planet for hints of any other deity. He wasn't contested and he let his awareness gently cover the planet, now knowing every mountain, valley, and leaf upon each tree. His emerald eyes turned back to the dragon that sat there silently, waiting. Words were not needed between these two. "Ethigokath," breathed Eios, his voice like a hymn that reached to the heart of all the assembled. As one, the two of them left the sands, only pausing as Eios whispered a message to Rem that was heard only by her.
A single feather was left on the sands though there were few eyes that noticed it.
The whole sands were quiet. Tears stood in some's eyes at the beauty they had just seen while others just seemed dazed. Christian had a strange expression on his face, not quite sure of what he had just seen or how to explain it. It was because of this preoccupation that the demon didn't notice the dragon as black as pitch until it was at his feet, bristling with annoyance at being ignored. Christian felt a slight tugging at his pants but he ignored it, lost in thought. Only when the tug became a scratch that tore through fabric and prickled at his skin did he look down, blinking at the dragonet that stood there. The dragon let out an annoyed shriek and suddenly the audience snapped out of their thrall and all heads turned to look at the last hatchling of this hatching.
Never had a black dragon hatched at Ryslen and few had expected one ever to. Christian found himself looking down at this black creature and not quite sure what to do, his mind still slightly adrift. So, just because you are all zoned out I have to wait here until I'm forced to eat my own tail? Came the irritated voice of the dragon in his head.
Christian snapped back into reality. "No, of course not, Tahroath," he said quickly as he patted the black dragon on the head. "Come on, let's go."
So the hatching was over, seven dragons having hatched and seven candidates who were candidates no longer. The rest could only leave the sands perhaps feeling a bit sad at not bonding or maybe a bit hopeful for what the sands could one day yield for them.