Naming and Unexpected Visit

The skies were a grim gray from stormy clouds. Rain poured down from the Heavens, drenching everything.

Despite that, no one was bothered. It was the second last day of the week-long holiday and the residents of Esharra were just as jovial as before. They celebrated day and night, danced and sang, drinking till unconscious.

Within an old bar was Apil, doing that last part. Of course, it was out of fun rather than depression. Just about everyone loved drinking, but doing so excessively was not very appropriate. That is, unless it was a time of celebration.

"Apil! I see you're enjoying yourself by splurging on expensive alcohol."

Entering the bar was Dardanos, the City Lord. He and Apil were close friends despite the age gap and often drank together.

"Indeed, but I won't share with you! The good stuff is all for me." Apil's cheeks were tinged with red and his eyelids drooped slightly.

"Tch. Stingy!" Dardanos clicked his tongue in disappointment before pulling up a chair beside Apil and ordering alcohol for himself.

"I wonder if the number of this generation's ground-born will affect their Gene Rank."

"I don't know, but"—Apil burped—"the records from Esharra and other cities designated to spawning grounds say that it doesn't."

"Of course I know that much, I'm the City Lord. However, a grand total of fifty-two spawned! That's ridiculous! Have that many dragons ever spawned in known history?!"

In truth, it wasn't just Dardanos that was curious about it. Everyone was! For eons, the average spawn count was 15. Although it wasn't known what the highest spawn count was, it wasn't likely to surpass 40. Yet, Tukulti Forest spawned 52!

Though it seemed important, and an investigation of the forest was likely to be carried out, the matter was baffling only because it was extremely rare. In reality, it didn't matter much. It wasn't as though a large number of dragons spawning meant anything specific.

"Doesn't matter. Yeah, I'm curious as well, but it's probably just a chance occurrence."

Apil took a sip of his drink before continuing.

"Besides, that's not what you're here for." He turned to look Dardanos dead in the eye, letting him know that no trick could get past him.

In response, Dardanos sneered.

"You've always been smart enough to know what I'm thinking. I'll admit that!"

The other people in the bar noticed the change in atmosphere around Apil and Dardanos. They didn't know what the two were talking about, but decided it wasn't worth getting caught up in a fight between two people vastly stronger than themselves to find out.

Just before everyone began moving to leave…

"There are too many of them! I didn't plan for this! Please, help me!"

"It's part of your job! Get over it!"

The two began having a different kind of fight.

Because ground-born dragons lacked parents, it became a tradition for the City Lord to publicly name them on the last day of the week-long holiday. Of course, Dardanos had prepared three dozen unique and nice-sounding unisex names for the occasion…but there were 52 ground-born, sixteen more babies than names.

"Come on, Apil! You've got to have at least one name in mind! Did any ground-born draw your attention? Think of a name for them! I just need a few…"

Obviously, it wasn't as big of a deal as Dardanos made it out to be, but he had a good reason for his actions. Dardanos worried for Apil, who seemed to lack interest in women after his past lover succumbed to illness without leaving a child behind. He thought that if Apil personally named at least one of the ground-born, that he could then set up a scenario where Apil grew closer to the child and raised it as his own. Dardanos didn't want Apil to feel lonely forever.

Thankfully, Apil cooperated.

"Well, there was one that stuck out to me. The last baby to spawn, name him…Nazariy."

Dardanos inwardly celebrated, seeing as his plan began without any trouble. "Nazariy" followed the criteria for naming ground-born, and Dardanos would have no trouble finding the dragon that Apil specified, because the GRC already organized them according to the order in which they spawned.

...

Five years passed.

It was a warm and sunny day without any clouds in sight. Crouching within a bush was a cute child with green hair. He wore a white vest and helmet while holding a white shield in his hand. Within his eyes was the will of a hunter as he stalked his prey. A few dozen meters in front of him stood a two-meter-long flag with a picture of a purple flower on it. What made the child hesitate to run out and grab it was the fact that it was being closely guarded.

The flag stood within a black circle painted on the grass where Flower Team members could not cross. Outside of the circle were two other children, though their vests, helmets, and shields were purple, indicating they were on Flower Team. They also wore belts, from which hung three bolas: throwing weapons consisting of two balls held together by a rope, used to entangle targets.

The green-haired child patiently waited, searching for a chance to grab it. He sat there, hidden within leaves, for several minutes.

Suddenly, one of the Flower Team members yawned, bored from having to guard the flag for so long.

There it was!

The green-haired child shot out from the bush and into the clearing, startling the two Flower Team members. They scrambled to get their bolas in hand to use on the Snow Team member, but were too late.

The air whistled as a bola made its way to the Flower Team member that yawned and wrapped around him. Plop. He was immobilized.

DING

The Snow Team member had thrown two Bolas, but the second one was blocked by a shield. Though, it didn't matter, because the Snow Team member already entered the black circle that surrounded the flag.

"Dang it!"

"Untie me!"

The two Flower Team members were both frustrated at their apparent loss and waited for the green-haired kid to grab their team flag and make a run for it.

Except, that didn't happen.

As soon as the Flower Team member still standing let down his guard, the green-haired kid left the black circle and charged him!

The Flower Team member obviously didn't expect that. As his eyes went wide and his arm moved to bring his shield in front of him, the green-haired kid crashed into the shield. He dared to body slam his opponent!

The two entered a wrestling match as they tried to pin the other down for three seconds. After some struggling, it became apparent that the green-haired kid won. The Flower Team member, with his face in the dirt, sighed and resigned himself to sitting still for twenty seconds.

Laughing, the Snow Team member then re-entered the circle and grabbed the Flower Team's flag.

"SNOW TEAM HAS CAPTURED FLOWER TEAM'S FLAG! SNOW TEAM MEMBERS MAY NOT USE BOLAS OR WRESTLE WHILE ON FLOWER TEAM TERRITORY UNTIL IT IS RETURNED TO ITS CIRCLE!"

The overseer's voice boomed as they announced the game's development to the players. As soon as it did, the green-haired kid and all other Snow Team members dropped their bolas on the ground.

When a team captured the other team's flag, they were forced to forego most forms of offense when on enemy territory so as to make it more difficult for them to successfully transport the flag to their own. Knowing that, the green-haired kid made sure to take out both flag guards before he could no longer incapacitate them.

One flag guard was tied up while the other had been pinned down for three seconds while wrestling, and thus could not move for twenty seconds. The two could only watch as the Snow Team member ran off with their team's flag.

There were only two flag guards because those were the rules. All the other members of a team were to either attempt to capture enemy team members and place them in specified areas called "jails", or go for the flag. Each jailed enemy team member granted 5 points, while the flag granted 30. Even if a jailed player was freed, the points stayed the same. The game lasted until one of the teams had 100 points.

Flower Team's flag in hand, the green-haired kid jumped into the vegetation. Though, it wasn't for the purpose of hiding. The flags emanated auras that everyone could feel, effectively making it impossible for someone to sneak all the way back to their team's flag with the enemy flag. Instead, the trees and bushes acted as obstacles for when pursuers caught up to him.

Thankfully, the Flower Team members were quite the distance from him, allowing him to run for a quarter of a kilometer before they reached him.

"Ha ha, you're doomed now!"

The green-haired kid found himself surrounded by five Flower Team members. Three blocked his way forward while two blocked his retreat. In response, the green-haired kid lifted his shield and charged the three in front of him. The Flower Team members expected as much. He couldn't use bolas or wrestle, but tackling was still permitted.

However, with just two meters of distance between them, the green-haired kid came to a stop, and threw the flag as if it were a javelin over the Flower Team members' heads! This move surprised the kids in purple as their eyes were attracted to the flag sailing overhead. In the split second they were distracted, the green-haired kid dashed to the side.

His first role was complete. Of course, throwing the flag would have done no good if the Flower Team members retrieved it. That would have rendered all his efforts pointless. That's why…a Snow Team member was waiting where the flag landed the entire time!

The Flower Team members were shocked as they watched their flag fall into a bush, only for a Snow Team member to shoot out from the bush with the flag in hand! They immediately made chase for it and ignored the green-haired boy.

"Ha ha ha, who's doomed now?"

After passing the flag to his teammate, the green-haired boy took a different route. His team needed him for one more thing.

After a while of running, he entered another clearing, however, this one was different. It was the center of their "battlefield"! The battlefield was shaped like an hourglass with the team flags being planted at either ends of it. The line that separated the two territories was a thin passage-way in the middle. Fences marked the edges of the territory.

Now in the middle of the battlefield, the green-haired kid waited for the flag-bearer. A moment later, a figure shot out of the greenery and into the clearing. There he was! Now in the clearing, he could easily be swarmed by Flower Team members.

At that moment, a dozen Snow Team members appeared from all directions and surrounded the flag-bearer! They had been waiting in the trees nearby for him to approach before they made their moves.

DING DING DING

The Snow Team members moved closely together in formation with their shields raised, blocking tens of bolas.

"Gah! Tackle them and pin them down before they reach their territory!"

The Snow Team members, which included the green-haired kid, also planned for that. When Flower Team members got close, a Snow Team member would exit the formation to tackle them, then do their best to extricate themselves from wrestling. Most of them eventually failed and were locked in place for twenty seconds, but a few of them were good at it. Those few included the green-haired kid from before, who masterfully rammed into one Flower Team member after the other without getting caught by a hold.

"Nooooooo!"

The Flower Team members failed in preventing their flag from being taken into Snow Team territory.

The Snow Team members dispersed the formation and gathered the bolas they had strategically placed on their side of the field. Despite the Snow Team now being able to fight back, the Flower Team members did not hesitate to charge into enemy territory to take back their flag.

However, their efforts were in vain, because the green-haired kid was a master of the bola! He constantly protected the flag-bearer, wrestling and tying up enemies that got too close. He was unstoppable!

It wasn't long before the Flower Team's flag was carried the few kilometers left until the capture point. With another 30 points, the Snow Team won the game. Having lost, the Flower Team members could do nothing but release sighs and congratulate the Snow Team for their great strategizing.

"It was all thanks to Nazariy!" One Snow Team member yelled out.

"Yeah, it was his strategy, and he was the most active player!" Another agreed.

The Snow Team members gathered around the green-haired kid, Nazariy, and hoisted him into the air, giving him glory for his achievements.

"I couldn't have done it without all of you, though!" He said, being modest.

Suddenly, in the midst of their celebrations, a shadow fell atop the entire capture-the-flag battlefield. Before any of the children could react, violent winds encompassed them. All fifty-two children scattered towards the trees. They were trained to do so if enemies ever appeared.

VVVWOOOOOOOM

The darkness lifted, and a voice gently rang throughout the battlefield.

"Don't be frightened, children. Come, have a chat with this auntie!"

A mysterious force suddenly dragged all fifty-two children out of the trees and into the clearing. They were all terrified, yet composed. They tried to make another escape, but another unknown force kept the children in place, unable to take even a single step.

In the air above them hovered an old woman who wore dark blue robes and had long, flowing hair that caught the wind and waved around. She wore a bright smile and looked quite gleeful.

"I watched you children from afar, and, I have to say, all of you on Snow Team did extraordinarily well!"

She gently descended downwards onto the ground and dispelled the force that kept the children still. Although free, no child moved. They had the sense to know that the woman in front of them had the power to do whatever she wished, and no amount of struggling could change that.

"You see, I'm also a ground-born"—she began walking through the crowd of children and patting their heads—" or rather, sky-born. There are many places on our beautiful planet where dragons spawn, and I was born from a place called Wayra Mountain. The GRC member that retrieved me said I looked like a celestial feather as I floated down from the sky."

When she arrived at Nazariy, she looked at him for a few seconds before patting his head for a little longer than she did everyone else.

"Enough about me. You children are the ground-born from Tukulti Forest! There was quite the excitement when the news got around that fifty-two of you spawned. An investigation team was immediately assembled. Sadly, I wasn't available to join it. Otherwise, I could have seen you cuties when you were but little babies!"

By this point, the children had relaxed. The old lady talking to them didn't seem like she meant any harm. In fact, the children quite enjoyed when she ruffled their hair.

"It's been a while, Arsenius! I see that you've met this generation of Tukulti's ground-born."

Another figure descended from the sky. Except this time, the children recognized the newcomer.

"Good to see you, Dardanos! These little kiddies are super cute!"

From that moment on, the children could not hear any of their conversation. They could see Dardanos' and Arsenius' lips moving and their expressions changing, but none of their words reached them. It wasn't the case that the children were all suddenly deaf, because they could hear the wind just fine.

A few minutes later, the two finished their conversation, and the children were able to hear them again.

"Listen up kiddos!"—Arsenius faced them—"Life is short, but contains endless wonders! Follow your dreams! Pursue your passions! Don't be afraid of the unknown; face it head-on!"

Arsenius did her best to give the children inspirational words. However, she kept it short because she wasn't very good at it.

Dardanos clapped his hands a few times to draw the children's attention.

"Now, you all should thank Miss Arsenius for her time!"

The children could tell by now that Arsenius was a very powerful cultivator and only spent time with them because she liked kids. Otherwise, she might not have even spared them a glance.

"Thank you Miss Arsenius!" All fifty-two children said at once.

They expected her to leave, but instead, she glared fumingly at Dardanos.

"Dardanos! I don't want to be called 'Miss'! I want to hear 'Auntie' Arsenius!"

With that, she turned towards the children, giving an expectant look. They immediately understood.

"Thank you Auntie Arsenius!"

Immersed in the gazes of fifty-two children calling her "Auntie", Arsenius giggled a bit before floating up into the sky.

"One last thing, kiddies! This is what you have to look forward to once you reach Kan!"

Arsenius was high in the sky, and by the time she finished her words…

A huge figure appeared again, but this time, it wasn't the figure of dragons they were familiar with. Instead, it was that of a humongous purple-scaled beast with wings that covered the sky.

Arsenius' last words echoed, "This is a Draconic Form!"