Prologue (part 2): The mate and the brooding

Neytiri is her name. Like all intelligent creatures, dragons identify themselves with names. However, they don't use it often. Apart from her mother, no one called her like that: she never had enough interpersonal relationships for that to happen.

As she is perched on a large ledge on the side of a mountain we can admire her in all her magnificence. Her wings are enormous and her four legs are so large that the trunk of an oak would seem small in comparison. Her head has an elongated, toothy snout, studded with two huge horns and at least four smaller ones. Her neck is long and massive, and so is her tail, which ends in a razor-sharp point. Her size is impressive: she is more than 100 meters long, perhaps even 120. Her scales are red, but they also have a slight blue tint that shimmers in the sun with an almost evanescent pattern.

Neytiri rules over a large valley. That place has everything: a plain, forests, a river and even a lake. Huge mountains enclose all this, making that territory a real natural fortress. There are lush trees and animals of all kinds. Even with this abundance, her territory is hundreds of square kilometers wide and she doesn't allow anyone to enter: the preys are just enough to support her enormous size. If another dragon were to appear, she wouldn't have enough food. Therefore she has always jealously defended her territory, and the few unfortunates who have ventured there, whether they are other dragons or newcomers, have all fled or ended up in her stomach.

However, today she intends to make an exception. Her instinct hits her like a kick and warns her that the fateful moment has come: after a hundred years, she is ready to mate again. Neytiri is 412 years old, as evidenced by her extraordinary size, and in all that time she has only mated three times. It's time for the fourth. To do so, however, she must attract a male. So she stands up in all her magnificence, so as to be clearly visible even if she is on the highest cliff in the valley, and she starts calling a companion in a loud voice. She opens her jaws wide and emits a very high-pitched cry, so powerful that if any life form with ears were near her, they would explode instantly.

Her call echoes far beyond her territory; it is so loud that it can be heard even for several tens of kilometers out of it. Neytiri also flaps her wings violently to spread her scent into the air; her pheromones spread thanks to the wind, traveling in all directions. In past times a male would have come immediately to that call, but now dragons are too few. Neytiri keeps calling for a whole week, but no one shows up. Neytiri is worried: if no one comes, she will be forced to leave her territory to look for a male, and venturing into unknown lands is the last thing she wants. To leave her territory would mean not only exposing herself to the dangers from the outside world, but also risk having her place usurped by another dragon or by the newcomers when she will return. It's an unpleasant prospect, but if her call still won't work, she'll have no other choice.

But finally, on the tenth day someone replies: a loud cry echoes in the valley, so loud that it is impossible that it could have been produced by anything smaller than a full-grown dragon. Neytiri takes off and heads towards where the sound is coming from. It is a clearing in the middle of the forest at the bottom of the valley; there a big male dragon is waiting for her. He has red scales and big wings. The difference between the two sexes can be seen thanks to the horns, which in the male are much longer, massive and numerous. The male is smaller than her; at a rough guess he doesn't exceed 80 meters. His body is more serpentine and lighter, and his wings are more delicate. Clearly, he's younger than Neytiri. He has a carcass in his mouth; Neytiri watches it, and she is glad to see that it is a griffin: there are none in her territory, so the other dragon hasn't stolen her prey.

But that is not a prey, it is a gift. The male puts the griffin on the ground and walks away a few meters. Neytiri approaches and starts stripping the carcass. Feathers and blood rain down on the ground while huge chunks of flesh fall into the abyss that is her mouth. The male looks at her patiently, keeping a safe distance. He knows well that if he would came with empty handed, the female could see him as food. So it's best to wait until she's full before making any moves.

After a while Neytiri finishes her meal and turns her attention back to him. Now he has to impress her. The male spreads his wings and displays his body. He is young, but countless wounds cut his scales, a sign that he has survived numerous battles. That's enough for Neytiri. If the young male has been able to fight his way out so many times, then his is a good semen to draw upon to produce new offspring. Their cubs will almost certainly be strong and fit to survive even in that difficult and unforgiving world in which they will be born. She lifts her head and nods in approval. The male emits a dull growl as a sign of contentment.

The name of the male is Kalos, but she doesn't ask him. She doesn't care: they'll stay together for a too little time for her to remember, so she might as well not even ask. The male seems to think the same way. The two of them just take off together and head to the lake. After his long journey Kalos urgently needs to eat and drink and Neytiri knows it. When they arrive at the lake, both swallow several liters of water, and after that they go hunting. They take some indriks, animals very similar to large deer, and Neytiri allows Kalos to feed on them even though they are technically her property.

Late in the evening they mate. Neytiri ducks and exposes her cloaca, raises her tail and spreads her wings. Kalos grabs her from behind with strength to keep her still, so as not to risk missing the hole while introducing his semen. That night, the cries of the two dragons echo throughout the land. Mating lasts many, many hours.

The two of them stay together for another three days. Neytiri allows Kalos to hunt within her territory, even if only a little. At every opportunity they mate. They know they have to be careful: mating is the most vulnerable moment and there is a chance that another dragon has heard Neytiri's call, or worse, that some newcomers have heard it. So they try to do it as fast as possible, but even with these assumptions, mating lasts for the majority of the day.

After the third day, Neytiri feels something new in her belly. She is pregnant.

Now she no longer needs Kalos. With a roar, she orders him to leave and with her tail she cuts down two trees as a sign of threat. Kalos doesn't have to think twice about it: he has no intention of facing her. He fly away as soon as Neytiri shows her hostility.

Now Neytiri has to find a place to nest. In previous years she had dug a cave along the side of the valley, difficult for any wingless creature to reach and large enough even for her. She collects a lot of wood, rock and straw and builds a nest with it. After two weeks she lays her eggs. They are seventeen. She places them in the center of the nest and covers them with straw. The nest has a rather singular shape: the eggs are placed on a stone slab covered with straw, which in turn rests on two large rocks that act as a pedestal, and under it there is a pile of wood. The reason for this shape is soon shown: with a breath, Neytiri sets fire to the wood below. The heat from the flames will warm the eggs allowing the young inside them to grow healthy and strong. This way the mother won't have to worry about them getting cold even while she's hunting.

Now, all she has to do is wait. She spends almost all of her days near the nest, and she leaves it only to feed and to collect more wood. However, those brief moments are enough for someone to enter in the lair.

In fact Kalos in reality didn't leave: he just hid, but he stayed around. In the previous days he studied Neytiri's behavior, and today he is ready to make his move. As soon as she leaves the cave, Kalos enters it and with his breath slightly extinguishes the fire that warms the nest. Then he leaves the crime scene and flees.

As in many reptiles, the more the eggs are heated, the higher are the chances that the unborn child will be a male; if they are cooled, females will come out instead. Kalos has no intention to risk that his offspring become his competitors one day, so he lowers the temperature to ensure that the majority of the litter will be female. While this strategy may seem successful in times of abundance, it is another factor that has led to the decrease in the number of dragons in the world. But Kalos doesn't know that, and even if he did he probably wouldn't care. The dragons' isolation has led them to be an extremely selfish species.

In the following days he frequently returns to the nest. Every occasion is good to lessen the flames. However, he must be very careful: if Neytiri finds out, she will probably kill him. So he meticulously erases the tracks and takes action only when he is sure that the mother is far away.

However, that's not the only reason it's there. In fact, he wants to make sure that his offspring come into the world. Kalos knows there is a risk that someone else has heard Neytiri's call. If he showed up now, the new male would first destroy the nest to make the mother interested in mating again. Dragons don't take 'no' for an answer: if someone gets there first, then they destroy what they have left and take what they want.

Kalos cannot allow this, so it remains on the border of the territory and patrols it constantly. And after another week his fear comes true.

A shadow appears from the west. He's another dragon, but he's bigger than Kalos. His size is perhaps even greater than the one of Neytiri. At first glance he reaches at least 150 meters in length. He is an older, stronger and more experienced male, with gray scales with a slight shade of red. He has a broken horn and several scratches, a sign that he is a great fighter. And there's only one reason he could have decided to come here.

Kalos doesn't hesitate: he takes off and places himself in front of him. The old male stops his flight and remains fluttering in mid-air: his gaze denotes contempt and fury. "Do you want to quarrel, child?" he growls menacingly.

"Go away! I got there first!" Kalos responds by displaying his teeth and claws, and he puffs out his chest to appear larger. He's younger and smaller than his opponent, but that doesn't mean he's an easy prey. The old male knows this well, in fact he seems reluctant to attack first. They both know that a fight would be harmful to both of them. Regardless of who will win, they both risk to be severely damaged.

Therefore the old male resorts to intimidation: he in turn inflates his chest and his horns and the tips of his back are colored red. "You may have arrived earlier, but that female is mine! You can't beat me, so move now!" he roars, chewing each word like he's biting iron.

But Kalos isn't impressed: he inflates his chest even more and colors his horns red too. "Never!"

The old male doesn't appreciate his answer and his eyes narrow in fury. The two dragons start circling each other like two sharks ready to tear each other apart. Neither of them wants the fight, but if one of them won't back down it will be inevitable.

However, the tension in the air is cut short by a roar. The two males look towards the valley and see a large dragon approaching. It's Neytiri, and she's furious.

Kalos retreats immediately. The old male is big enough to fight her and maybe even win, but that's not what he wants: he wants to mate with her. But he knows that at the moment Neytiri sees him only as a rival in her territory and not as a potential partner. If he wants to mate with her, he must first eliminate the offspring of Kalos. So he avoids the fight and retreats too.

Neytiri is too furious and careful that day for the two dragons to be able to enter her territory again; therefore both of them decide to desist. But Kalos knows that the fight is only postponed: the old male will try another day.