The cold logic of the Dragon was overwhelmed by the flame of his emotions. His body grew and changed into a majestic creature 50 meters (166′) tall covered in black scales while the palace rearranged itself to give the Guardian the space he needed.
His hands cupped around the small infant, hiding him from the rest of Mogar and holding him against his heart. Leegaain roared in joy and hope but also in fear that something could take it away from him.
His fear turned into rage as his thunderous voice screamed at the whole Mogar, challenging it. The black scales covering his body lit up with the seven colors of the elements and started resonating with everyone who shared his blood.
It started as a small quake in the Desert and quickly spread to the rest of the planet.
“Fuck! There goes all my hard work to repair my lab.” Aylen, the First Lich said while watching the blue and green of Mogar light up with thousands of different colors.
She was still in her son’s secret lab on the moon, waiting for her house to be repaired after the fury of the Father of All Dragons had destroyed it.
“The only silver lining is that whoever pissed Leegaain off, this time I’m at a safe distance.” She stared at the planet in annoyance, until something unexpected happened. “Come here, Inxi. You’re in for the first Dragon Dance of your life.”
“My what now?” The Lich King turned his gaze to Mogar just in time to see it set ablaze in a storm of multi-colored Origin Flames.
Even Dragons who had never met Leegaain or who had fallen into a long slumber to prolong their lives until more interesting times had suddenly awoken, roaring in fury.
Those who had turned into Liches found themselves back into flesh and blood, craving food, sleep, and affection. Those who had lost their mind to madness found their way back and emerged from their resting places.
For all Dragonkind it was a glorious day that they spent in the open, soaring the skies and singing songs of freedom. For the rest of Mogar, it was the day when wars stopped and people remained hidden in the deepest hole they could find, waiting for the terror to end.
***
Blood Desert, Salaark’s beach house, the morning after.
Lith and Tista had been caught in the Dragon frenzy like everyone else, including lesser Dragons and even Valeron the Second.
Yet while there was little that a small child could do, Lith had let himself go, sharing the sky and the fire with his siblings.
Even after the sun had set, the entire Garlen continent was still as bright as day due to the multi-colored fires that engulfed Phoenixes, Dragons, and everything in between.
Salaark would have celebrated with the members of her nest anyway, but in a much less flashy and localized fashion. Yet she couldn’t pass on the opportunity to take part in a rare event like a Dragon Dance, no matter how tacky she considered it.
Only once Leegaain was exhausted from the resonance with the members of his blood and Salaark managed to get him to let her hold the baby again did Lith manage to snap out of it and return home.
He felt better and worse at the same time, having experienced the next best thing to fatherhood and the fear it brought. While everyone was having breakfast, Lith was still mulling over the revelation.
His mind was now clear about what to do next, yet he waited for Kamila to look for him, giving her all the time and space that she needed.
‘She may be no Dragon, but I bet that yesterday’s events gave her a lot to think about as well.’ He thought with a sigh. ‘I’m a bit disappointed that Mom, Rena, Aran, and Leria haven’t been affected one bit.
‘It would have been nice if the Dragon Dance had awakened their Dragon blood. It would have also lifted a huge weight off my chest. If Mom turns into a Dragon, I don’t care what color her core is, I pity the idiot who dares stand in her path.’
Truth be told, Elina and the rest of the family were disappointed as well, especially the children.
“Bummer! I wanted to fly with my own wings.” Leria pouted.
Not even her chocolate milk and chocolate-dipped cookies could sweeten how sour she felt.
“Tell me about it!” Aran grumbled even harder. “You at least have the excuse that you are a girl and a quarter Dragon blood at best. Your heard Grandma Salaark. Boys always take from their mothers and I’m a half-blood yet nothing.”
“What do you mean?” Leria glared at him with fury.
“Girls take from their fathers so there’s nothing wrong with you being a dud.” He replied with the seriousness of an angry and overly competitive almost seven years old boy.
“Did you just call me a dud?”
“More like a Dragon dud.” Aran nodded. “I mean, my father is a Phoenix and my mother is a Dragon…”
“Debatable.” Onyx said, but since her usually valued opinion didn’t fit the current bragging narrative, Aran ignored her.
“…Whereas your Mom is just my sister and your father is soft.” The young boy poked at Senton’s belly to prove his point.
“My Dad is cooler than any Phoenix!” Leria yelled in outrage.
“Hey, I do exercise and Rena put me on a diet, but I still have a life and a full-time job!” Senton whined and the magical beasts echoed his pain, making him sound more like a sad puppy than a cool man.
“Who have you just called, ‘just my sister’, young man?” Rena glared at Aran with an expression that was half angry older sister and half angry mother.
Neither of them bode well.
“Mom, Rena is being mean to me!” With no way to counter her offensive, Aran preferred a dishonorable retreat to an honorable defeat and ran behind Elina’s legs.
“For the gods’ sake, where’s Lith?” Elina groaned.
The childish rivalry about who between Aran and Leria would awaken their bloodline sooner and the quarrel about who’s going to be stronger had become so common that the family had dubbed it the “blood war.”
Ever since Kamila had shown her baby’s shapeshifting abilities, the conflict had become even worse and Lith was the only one who managed to make the kids stop.
He didn’t say or do anything different from Elina, it was just his words having a different weight due to being the cool uncle/brother.
“I have no idea.” Raaz said while ignoring the children’s attempts to drag him to their respective sides. “I haven’t seen him all morning. I’m a bit worried though. He has never missed family breakfast.”
“He’s at the tower.” Solus hid behind Raaz, trying to avoid the inevitable. “
“See? Aunt Solus is soft as well but she’s as cool as Uncle Lith.” Leria squeezed Solus’ stomach, just as she had feared.
“That doesn’t count!” Aran rebuked. “Aunt Solus is half a tower, that’s why she weighs so much! She’s a cool hybrid like us whereas your Dad is just fat. Tell her, Auntie.”
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