CHAPTER 1 - THE BEGINNING
A small egg laid around the edges of the Wandering Contagion, the sound of soft lapping waved in the distance. The air was humid and hung heavy around the sickly green dragon egg that had been left alone long ago. Inside the protective shell, a blue Guardian hatchling laid inside, restless. Her dark wings tried to stretch but were held back by the slightly transparent walls that kept her safe from the disease that inhabited the Scarred Wastelands of the world the dragons inhibited.
Letting out a silent screech, red eyes snapped open in frustration at her lack of room. Strong legs and arms kicked out, the hatchling lashing out in anger. A crack was made in the shell, letting out the first sound the young dragon would hear. Her red eyes moved to the source of the sound, and her claws moved quick, turning the crack into a gash. The egg fell apart from the weak point in its structure, leaving the Guardian gasping her first breath of air, wet and cold from the fluid that kept her safe.
Surua grasped the dead tree, looking out over the Wasteland she called home. In the distance a small flock of Java Sparrows pecked at the dry ground, trying to find anything to eat. Surua eyed them hungrily, her belly rumbling lowly. She glared at her thin body as if that would make it stay quiet. She turned her attention back to the flock of birds, contemplating ways of approaching the prey. It would be difficult with her size, but she'd try anyway.
Quitely the Guardian crept down from her perch, her body moving as quietly as possible. She kept low to the ground, her movements slow and calculated as to not scare off the delicious birds. She coiled her muscles like a cat, getting ready to pounce. Her body cut through the air, and she landed
on the birds. the squished slightly beneath her weight. Surua let out a satisfied rumble, sitting up and licking the prey off herself.
The blue female laid on a large rock, lazily licking the blood from her paws. Her last meal was rather large, and she was satisfied. Her first year of life had been rough, oh so very rough. When she had hatched, no one was there to take care of her. She had survived off of beetles and the half-dead plants she found around the plagued lands, undernourished and starving. She struggled to make it from day to day, but somehow she made it through her first few months of life.
Surua shuddered at the horrid memories, chasing them away with the taste of blood from her paws. A cracking twig barely caught her attention. Surua's massive head swung to see a tasty pocket mouse scrambling around for a scrap of meat, nose twitching as it sniffed rapidly. The great blue dragon grinned to herself, ready to pounce again.
