4 Chapter 4

Rykirus jerked back, breath coming in ragged gasps, his mind whirled as he tried to take in all of the information given to him. Suddenly, the ground dropped from under his feet and he fell, letting out a startled, undignified, squawk. For a single gut wrenching second, Rykirus feared the ground would never come and he would be left forever in the dark void. Then his talons touched the ground, and he swayed, before collapsing. He shakily got to his feet, but collapsed again, limbs splayed out awkwardly.

Rykirus was confused, his legs were longer than they were supposed to be, his body was bulkier, and his wings now felt big and powerful, nothing like the limp noodles with cloth strung between them that was ever so present before he went under. The wings that were held close to his body because of fear of them snapping by a slight breeze, was now held slightly out, the wind whispering as it danced across his scales.

"Congratulations son, you are now a drake," a voice said, startling him out of his thoughts. He looked up at the owner of the voice and his jaw dropped.

"Father? Did you shrink?" he asked, bewilderment clouding his voice. His face scrunched up as he examined the not-as-large-but-still-large dragon in front of him.

The blue dragon blinked before exploding into laughter, his voice echoing off the walls. "Oh that's rich," he howled, amusement and mirth in his eyes, "No, I didn't shrink, you just grew."

He turned serious, wings sagging as he layed down, head resting on his claws to watch his son, yellow eyes piercing through his very being. "Listen son, when I am gone you need to find the NightBlade, but not right away. First, you must grow strong and powerful. It pains me to tell you to spend the next years of your life in solitude and constant danger, but you must experience this. Every drake has and it's your turn. Some of the NightBlade will shelter, protect, and spoil you because of who you are. They mean you no harm but if you go immediately, you will only stay as strong as you are now, not very. Others will dislike you, the NightBlade respect strength, go when you're strong and earn their respect. Because you'll find it's hard to fight with someone sabotaging you at every turn. The NightBlade will have your back and will be fiercely loyal once you earn their trust and respect. Understood?"

"Yeah, I understand. By the way, talking about strength, how did the hunters put you at death's door? You're feared across the realms, the best fighter and leader ever known," Rykirus said, head tipped slightly to the right.

He let out a deep sigh as he watched the young drake. "I have lived for centuries and I would've left this world soon, not this soon though," he said with a grim chuckle. "Time has been cruel, my usual bounty of energy has taken a dive, and my strength is not how it used to be. My mana capacity (AN: mana for magic like all those other books) has greatly diminished and I have grown weak and complacent." He gave a slight smirk, "I was arrogant, I believed the humans would have to be suicidal to attack me and my family, I guess that also contributed to my downfall. In the end the fault lies with me and I apologize for leaving you alone in this world," his head bowed and he shifted into a more comfortable position.

Rykirus gave a short nod. "Then, I have one more question. Back then, you said I grew. Why did I just suddenly grow?" he asked.

"Oh, that, there is a ritual that all male parents partake in with their oldest child. The father gives his firstborn the memories of him and all his ancestors and the whelp becomes a drake at the end of the ritual, and at that time they are officially part of the NightBlade clan. All the other young grow at the same speed as usual. The firstborn gets power, knowledge, and the responsibility to protect all their siblings. Of course, for you, there is no responsibility for your siblings. You have an even greater task." The dragon rose to his feet, "With my death looming, the responsibility to protect the NightBlade falls to you. You are not just Rykirus anymore. You are Rykirus of the NightBlade and heir to the throne. After my death, no matter your age, you will inherit it, you will be King Rykirus of NightBlade."