Hatch 4
(Genetic Mutations + Isemoth's last two)

    The wind whipped fiercely against the ocean, blowing the refreshing crisp, salty air over the ebony sands of the famous Sanrix Azon. It was a clam day, nothing compared to the chaotic intensity of the dark frenzy hatching, and nothing like the last normal hatching Azon had ever had. The sands where relatively quiet, only the breeze billowing through the large green-yellow palms, and the crunch crunch of feet walking across the black ground lava rock making any noise. Well not feet really, more like paws. Sargon bent down to pick up a handful of the shimmering black stone, and a half smile twisted paled lips beneath a shag of black hair, warming those cold unearthly yellow eyes. It had been a long time since these sands had seen a clutch, seen any kind of action. Two years without a stir and now something shook visibly just off to his left, and the candidates made their way slowly out of the narrow columns and into the half opened dome. A blessed two years, Sargon thought and crunched the rocks in his fist. Time was needed for the Sanrix to properly become a fully fledged Sanrix. Everything was finished now, and nothing under still under construction, though it should be noted that the webmaster of Azon's page badly needed to update. 

    Sargon smirked and stood to his full height, eyes scanning the columns he found the assassin easily enough, well at least one of them. The other hid somewhere deeper in the shadows. To Sargon's eye he was visible, the flick of a tail or twitch of a muscle was all a fellow shadow-master needed to see him, but to others, he was the snake in the grass. Ruathe did not like being here, and Sargon didn't relatively appreciate blood thirsty draconic wandering around unhindered. But it mattered not, all who sought to link to dragon kind where given their proper chance. 

    The other killer, a spirit long dead, reincarnated in the form of a young boy to bring down Rayllom's elusive god of Turmoil watched Sargon with respect. That was it; no hate, no fear, no anything but a slight tinge of respect in his deeply purple-red eyes. Yami should have been more afraid, for Sargon had killed who Yami had failed too. But to a servant of Faveen (Rayllom's god of the light) only seeking freedom, trivial things did not matter much. 

    The third appeared shortly after, all four arms and one pair of wings intact. He gazed around with sad eyes, and slumped a bit when he moved. Eralli had been here for a good long time, and knew this place like the back of one of his hands. He had waited for his bond since Isemoth's hatching, arriving only a few days afterwards. Now it would finally be time for him to meet his destiny.

    Oh what a lovely day it was. Perfect sunshine, and not a hint of anything that could go wrong. Sargon's eye twitched and it hurt his jaws to keep that smile frozen in place. Which of course meant, something would go wrong. He cracked his knuckles and looked over to Akinta, her golden eyes, a mirror of his hid something of secrecy as she slipped four more rounded steel colored orbs into the sand. Gently she brushed the black ebony sprinkles back over them, but not to far, just like a mother dragoness would. 

    Another twitch of Sargon's eye as he stared at these. She had already brought two, and now two more, meaning if they hatched they would be bondless. Just what he needed, more nutter Riderless to add to the chaos of the left over hydragons, dragons, and wyverns running around this place. 

    Akinta grinned at him, proud of her and her fellow engineers work. Those four steel colored eggs, all slightly different from each other were the work of almost pure genetic engineering. Egg cells had been removed from a few of the resident female dragons here, and artificially inseminated with genetically altered dragon-sperm. Some of the female eggs were even altered beyond recognition of the female dragon. This new technology, well, really it was old but recently rediscovered opened up thousands of new possibilities for the Sanrix. Sargon forced a grin at his daughter, knowing his eyes contrasted it. The success rate was still low, and some things had gone horribly wrong with the first batches, but Akinta was sure this time things would work. It was a new hope that wiggled in those metallic orbs, incubated in a laboratory and only brought out to the sands because of tradition. In fact, the sands were tradition here at Azon, but hope for new and better things was ready to break out of it's shell.  

    "Dad." Akinta said, as Sargon stepped forward to stand next to her, his paws crunch-crunching on the sand. "They made it here perfectly, without anything going wrong." Her smile with those two fanged teeth was fixed on her pretty face, excitement all but bubbling out of her lips. "The only thing is, that one." She pointed to the darker, purpley steel colored orb. "The scientists said there was some sort of disturbance while it was incubating, and it's power was cut off for a short time."

    "We don't have another zombie on our hands do we?" Sargon asked, his mind returning to Xion from the dark frenzy, the eternally damned brown wyvern who to this day still bleeds constantly from wounds never meant to heal. 

    Akinta shook her head and opened her mouth to say more but was interrupted as a pair of boots and a pair of paws made their crunching way over to stand behind her. Baeris Kshau, Master Healer of the Healing Den smiled secretively up at Sargon, those wise eyes fully of a mischievous twinkle. Sargon's grin was all but boyish, it had been ages since she had graced Azon with her presence. And her companion, a anthro dragon with strange rectangle stripes on her arms, and mid-cut brownish hair grinned as well, though her smile was more uneasy than the master healer's. 

    "Long time Sanrixian." Baeris said, and the nodded to the draconic woman next to her. "This is Dracothrope, she runs Star City, i found her wondering around the interior of the Sanrix saying she wanted a look at some legendary Azonese and brought her out here." She chuckled at Dracothrope's rather outraged look but continued anyway. "Quite a few new bonding agencies have popped up in your absence. I knew to take her back here, there's only one reason any type of dragoning folk are so busy this time of year." She winked and then sauntered away, over to take a seat in the now completed marble black and white chairs off to the left. 

    Sargon extended a hand to the draconic woman, and when she gave him hers he kissed it gently and muttered "How do you do." If anything, her scowl grew larger. "Baeris said you wanted to see the legendary Azon, and now you have met the legendary Sargon of Azon." He winked a yellow eye. Akinta snorted. 

    Dracothrope cleared her throat and pulled her hand away. "Well that i have". She said with a short forced laugh, and walked away quickly, taking a seat next to Baeris and twitching what appeared to be metal wing frames, like a robots. Interesting. If more and more bonding agencies pooped up across the galaxy that produced odd specimen like her, than he wanted to visit them all in depth. After all, Sargon was quit an oddball himself. 

    He contended himself with walking mildly over and taking a seat to Baeris other side and cross an black wolven leg over his knee. Akinta joined him shortly and as soon as she was seated the small cracking sound, like someone stepping on an eggshell rang through the bowl of the dark sands, intensified by the dome's shape which was built to work much like an opera back in the days before electronics. 

    It was one of the genetically engineered eggs, a steel color tinged with brown, vaguely reminiscent of copper. Three small cracks and a shake was all it took for the dragon to break free, and to crawl out onto the sands and spread newly freed wings. He shimmered of copper and caramel and cream as he flexed powerful limbs. With those movements grew the hope of the crowd that seemed to appear from nowhere, surely drawn by the amplified noises of the hatchling's egg breaking. The dragon opened his mouth and growled, a song of joy to the gather sanrix folk, of triumph for anew day. His underside sparkled in creamy white brown, while the top of him and along the backs of his wings was molted a darker copper-coffee color. His wings sails and membranes to the soon-to-be spiked frills on his tail, both sides of his neck and along his back where vibrant caramel orange. Eyes of the same color searched throughout the candidates until he picked his chosen, shrouded in the shadows of the broken columns.

    RAUTHE! his voice rang in the head of his chosen candidate, and the serpentine assassin looked onto the sands. We shall be a deadly team, my fangs were all but designed to rip and shred, and soon i will have horns to match. It was true, the dragon's teeth where like razors, two rather large canines hung over his gums, and two large horn buds indicated larger horns. 

    The slick gray beast stepped form the shadows, glossy white mane shimmering in the light of the day. A low gasp echoed throughout the crowd, he was beautiful, as beautiful as a rattlesnake about to strike. "Fine then Veronax, we shall be the unseen dangers of the night, and no one shall command us!" The last was a death sentence the draconian hissed, for anyone daring to challenge that was a fool.

    The next broke reluctantly, almost as if it waited for the large silver gray beast and his new bond to slink off the sands and into the feeding rooms set up behind the single row of chairs. It was another genetically engineered egg, from the same "mother" as Veronax. The thing that crawled from the near black steel remains of it's egg could have been the first dragon's twin. This dragoness, Sargon noted from it's slightly more agile yet still rather muscular features was charcoal black-gray on the top, molted like it's near-brother. Her underside was pale yellow, and her wings shone a fierce golden, like her pair of eyes. She made her way towards the candidates, and then backtracked to the marble chairs where the three dragon-leaders -and Akinta- where seated. She had the same horn buds and even the same saber-tooth-tiger teeth, but her colors were brilliant and unique. Perhaps the near-mirror like similarities were a resultant of the engineering, Sargon reminded himself to ask Akinta later.

    The charcoal planted her rump down in front of the seats and looked between the four seated, her eyes almost the creepy yellow shade of Sargon's. finally they settled on Baeris, leaning comfortably in the marble chair, head resting on one hand propped up on an arm. I believe that you would be best to help me find my bond Master Healer, if you will accept me that is. She tilted her head downwards, as close to a bow as Sargon had seen from a hatchling as possible. 

    Baeris's smile was warm, lighting up her deeply tanned face. "And I, Tuscun, believe i could find something to do with you. Baeris's candy apple green Dulaith growled from somewhere overhead on one of the landing platforms, perhaps a reminder to her rider not to get too attached to some little wyrm of a hatchling. 

    Sargon could not hide his smile, two dragons off without a hitch. Which meant something was going to go wrong, soon. 

    The next egg was a third bio-engineered, from a different mother. Rumor said perhaps it had been one of the night green Ryslenesque that ran around Azon, but no one could tell for sure as the shell shattered with a blast, pieces flying ten feet from where the egg had initially been and landing with a clank and a clatter near Sarg's feet. Tiny bolts of electricity danced off the shell, and the cloud of smoke that surrounded the hatchling reminded the Sanrixian of Earth's magic shows. The hatchling stepped out from the mist, all but floating royally over to stand in front of the three remaining candidates. 

    He was a purple color that seemed to change when he moved, from pink-violet and into a  deep-blue violet and then sometimes just ordinary purple. His wingsails shimmered in a faint rainbow, and seemed to shift colors when he moved like his smooth hide. The end of his tail was a greenish color, and a large blue stone glowed as he swung it back and forth, eyeing the candidates down from underneath one eye of the same color. The other was covered in a dark purple mane which he flicked every once and a while. The remarkable thing about him, however, where the silver-blue markings that covered his entire body, from head to toe. Like strange Celtic markings, or perhaps the rims on the edges of armor, they spiraled about his body. On the ankles of his rear legs, two small wings shapes the silver made, encrusted with two of the same jewels like on his tail. One in fact, hung above his head, suspended by two thin silver horn-like appendages. 

    Overall, he was beautiful, and the gasp from Akinta was one of pride. He sauntered forward a bit more, little bolts of static jumping around the ground where his feet made impacts and stared straight ahead into deep purple-red eyes of the second assassin. So we meet again. but do not look upon my imprisonment in this form as a burden. Koili made the same sacrifice for Kaiba and now he fights twice as hard, and with physical form. No Yami, this is my gift to you partner, for this link we shall make shall break you free of Faveen. He nodded a head, one eye glimmering bright clear blue, a draconic smile planted on his face.

    It took Sargon a minute to comprehend, but Yami knew instantly. "Fean'asi, I am sorry." He mumbled falling onto his knees and reaching a hand out to the hatchling's face. "You gave up your eternal existence for me and my freedom. It should have not been done." Sargon knew now. The Gods of Rayllom played a game with monster cards, all of which had the spirits of monster trapped in them. Kaiba, god of Turmoil's favorite card had reincarnated itself into the form of  Dragon, his white silver-metal blue eyed Koili during the dark Frenzy. Such had happened again; the reincarnation of Yami's dark spell-caster into this young hatchling. "How can i ever repay you?" Yami mumbled as he stood, and the rest of the conversation was lost as he and the magician-dragon swept off the sands, little static bolts still jumping from the dragon's feet and tail.

    Somewhere off in the distance thunder boomed and a bolt of lightning spilt the earth, and Sargon knew that Faveen was displeased. The Rayllomian god of weather did not make bolts of lighting like that, or that randomly. The skies were a clear blue, not a cloud in sight, and weather was certainly not right for lighting. Faveen was  not please about loosing one of his favored servants. Sargon sighed and rolled his eyes, a matter of the light he refused to intervene in. That and Turmoil refused to see sense. Such were war gods.

    It was then that Tiyanni waltzed through the columned entrance behind them and took a seat to Akinta's right. The fluttering of wings announced her gold, more white in her hide now than before, and when Sargon's eyes met Tiyanni's clear green-blue ones, he opened his mouth to mention something about the new gray hairs that covered a good deal of her head. He snapped it shut when a smile twisted her lips, almost as if she read his mind. Compare to the legendary status of Ryslen, Azon was a noobie.  

    The next egg broke, and revealed a black purple and pink marked dragonet, with two fluffy antennae on her head. She snarled as she viewed the candidates, whip-lashing her tail that was topped with a purple-pink fin. Throughout her hide where random speckles of dust that glittered vivid pink like her eyes and pair of wings on her back. When she unfurled them, the inside of her wings were marked with skeletal hands, like that one would see on a butterfly to lure predators or prey. She made her way over to the candidates and reviewed them with a sniff before turning towards the horned anthro-dragoness that sat to the left of Baeris. Dracothrope, since none of these candidates are WORTHY of my time, i am going with you to find my proper home. With a snort she nodded fiercely.

    Dracothrope grinned weakly and scratched the back of her head with one hand. "Whatever you say Vehemoth." She muttered and went to get a bowl of food. Later she would return to watch the rest of the hatching while feeding the youngling like Baeris had. Tuscan now curled up at the Master Healer's feet like a loyal guard dog. 

    Sargon took a deep breath as the last two of Isemoth's eggs shook. These eggs had been incubated for a long time, and they had waited even longer for their candidates. If anything went wrong, it would go wrong now. Ty patted him on the arm, comfortingly. Though Ryslen was out of Ty's hands and into Jeyn's now, Tiyanni would always be "master of Ryslen" to Sargon. The speckled eggs cracked open and two dragons crawled out. They were like mirrors of each other, with reserves colors. The female, who was slightly smaller was like teal, while the darker larger male was a deep aqua. Both were plagued by the lightning marked wings their mother had doomed them with, and as they stepped towards the last remaining candidate, Eralli frowned. His brother, Eraren had left the Sanrix because of the lack of activity, and no one knew where he was. Now his dragon had to suffer for it.

    Eralli. I am Zentyren, and i have waited long to bond you. He dipped an aqua crested head and unfurled his wings in a sort of formal bow. 

    Eralli smiled his wicked smile and folded one pair of arms. "But i have waited longer Zen." He winked. "Come on man, let's go get some food." As Zen went to join him, he cast one glance at his sister, who's eyes searched and searched the rows of columns for her intended bond. Sargon felt a lump form in his throat, this was worse than being Riderless. Knowing that because you were late your rider left was like getting your chest cut open. Eralli looked too, his eyes full of the same sorrow as Zen's but in the end he walked on, over to the feeding tables after his bond.

    Sargon rose to his feet and walked over to the small teal dragoness. He squatted in front of her and offered a hand. "Let's get you some food Addrakin, we will find someone better for you to be with." Her eyes met his, pleading and large like jewels and he felt more weight added to that lump. "There are plenty of dragons here who would like nothing more to than to mother a wyrm." Raidiaon for one, but he was not going to let such an innocent dragonet anywhere near the self-proclaimed hyqueen. 

    Alright. She said unsurely and Sargon waved to Akinta to take her. And that was how he was left in the middle of the sands when the last two steel orbs exploded. Sarg wasn't sure but he believed both had been stripped, one slightly blue and the other a jungle green. He looked back and forth and found the two culprits deep within the shadows of the columns. They let out high pitched squeals as they moved, two biped shapes on the prowl. Though for what, Sargon was clueless. They held their feathered/membranes wings upright as they ran, and a row of feathers ran down their backs and on their head. Two large claws adorned the insides of their feet and they were striped from head to tip of long tail. One was an electric blue with dark blue stripes, and eyes like fire. The other was pinky-green with jungle green stripes and blue eyes like the sky.   

    A screeching noise drew Sargon's eyes from them over to the Tuscan and the now returned Vehemoth, who both had suddenly bolted upright and were looking all around the black sands for a source of the demon high pitched screeches the two bipeds let out. And without warning, they jumped over the heads of the onlookers and came to stand in front of Tiyanni, snapping fangs and flexing long claws. Raptrix and Roavarix. The jungle striped pink-green growled mentally, now circling the old weyr head. 

    That would be to say, I and Raptrix, and my sister is Roavarix. The blue male finished his dark blue tongue lashing between fanged teeth. The two older nest mates of the raptors snarled under their breath, lips drawn back and wings up defensively. These two were probably the resultant of an extreme genetic mutation, most likely from an evil or undead parent. 

    Right. You Tiyanni, are to take us back to Ryslen where we will live and prosper and whatnot. The female said, pausing her circles in front of the older woman, cold blue eyes meeting their green-blue equivalent. 

    Yes. An we do not want to bond, it can be said perhaps, that we have linked to each other. Raptrix said, nodding his large arrow shaped head. 

    "And i am simply just to let you two goons wander around and eat unsupervised?" Tiyanni said, her face 100% clam and controlled. They both nodded, tails flicking back and forth. "Alright. More madness to attain to." She mumbled, shooting a look at Sargon that was a mix of amusement and annoyance. Sargon shrugged broad shoulders, his feet starting to feel the burn of the ebony sand through thick footpads.  

    He escorted the four women back over to the feeding rooms where kitchen aids were laying out clean white bowls filled with more fresh meat for the young dragons. Most of them helped themselves to two or three, but the two raptor-bipeds helped themselves to four apiece. Sargon smiled from where he was seated, the next time his sands would be filled for sure. No more of this waiting around. If he had to, his riders would fly to catch the females that sought out Azon. It was time to take complete control of his Sanrix. 

   Lightning boomed again, Faveen's anger let loose on the world of Rayllom and he was reminded that he had little control of everything. In fact, it seemed to be less and less each day. The Gods controlled the future, but he was a God, and the savior of his people. He glanced down at the curled ball of aqua that was curled up in his lap and he knew in his heart that it was the right thing. For the dragons, for his Father, he would make sure that Sanrix Azon would live for ever. 

***

Dragons!

Ruathe and coffee-brown and cream caramel-winged Veronax
Charcoal gray and cream yellow winged Tuscan has gone to the Healing Den
Yami and Violet silver-marked dark magician Fean'asi
Black pink and purple "acid trip" Vehemoth has gone to StarCity
Eralli and dark aqua speckled Zentyren 
light aqua speckled Addrakin is staying at Sanrix Azon
Electric blue and dark blue striped feathered Raptrix and pink-green jungle green striped Roavarix are pillaging Ryslen.