Undaunted

Her father's name was Unkindled, a ridiculous name for the bright glowing Skydancer. Her mother's was Unbridled, a perfect name for the wild ball of Spiral energy who had watched over her earliest moments. They always encouraged their children to forge their own paths and make their own journeys. They never even gave her a name, saying that she should choose her own.

"I choose Unnamed!" she giggled, as a child.

Her parents smiled and laughed. "If that's what you want, go for it!"

So she became known as Unnamed. It was not until she was an adolescent that she realized that Unnamed was not a name that most dragons were proud of. The other adolescents teased her relentlessly, calling her "Unwanted" and "Exalted One."

Her parents gently took her aside one day and explained. "Trying to 'make your own path' is only great when you learn from your experiences. When something isn't working out, you need to learn when to persevere and when to change your approach."

"Should I change my name then?" Unnamed asked.

Her father shrugged. "It's up to you."

Unnamed looked down at the ground. "I think they'll keep laughing at me even if I do change it."

"Probably," her mother agreed. "But you can either work hard to forge a new name for yourself here in the Ashfall Waste, or start on a journey to find one elsewhere."

"I'm not afraid of hard work," Unnamed responded. "I've been surrounded by hard workers my whole life. But I think it's time I moved on."

Her parents hugged her. "Forge your own path, fly your own fire," they said, as they had said to her every night since her birth.

Her wings reflected every color of the setting sun as she flew out from her parents' lair. She soared high above the plains. "I'm Unafraid," she said to herself, trying it out. "Untamed. Unexalted." That sounded awful. Then it came to her, all at once, a name that she could wear with pride in any flight she found herself in.

"Undaunted."