This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

The larger red dragon stood up straight, its posture exuding curiosity and slight arrogance.

After all, although these humans that suddenly appeared were stronger than him, this was still his territory—or rather his father's.

Its voice, though tinged with the gravelly timbre characteristic of dragons, still carried a childlike innocence.

"Humans?" the larger dragon asked, tilting its head slightly. Its crimson scales glinted brilliantly as it looked at Kain and Serena.

"Yes," Kain replied. "We're part of the group that came to resc—ahem—assist the Elorians."

The larger dragon's eyes lit up, interest clearly sparked. "Assist the Elorians? Hmm... they've been quite useful to us. Will you be joining them?"

"Uhh… no. We plan to trade them for better servants for you all." Kain quickly clarified, lest this horrifying idea that they wanted to join the Elorians as slaves spread to the rest of the dragon colony.

The smaller red dragon, meanwhile, bared its teeth slightly and stepped back to stand behind its larger counterpart. Its hostility was palpable, and its golden eyes seemed to burn holes into Kain specifically.

Kain couldn't suppress the slight frown forming on his face. 'Why is it so focused on me? Is it the draw from the affinity? But shouldn't creatures matching a beast-tamer's affinity have a naturally more positive impression of them? Did I do something to offend it?'

Kain addressed the larger dragon again, subtly ignoring the smaller one's aggression. "Might we know your name?"

The larger dragon puffed up slightly, proud to introduce itself. "I am Galadriel Admonai Von Vulcunthimmorhar, son of the Red Dragon King, Vulcun."

Kain had learned during his stay with the dragons that true dragon names are very long (and hard to pronounce) and often denoted their lineage. For example, their guide Errol's full name is Erroldhein Admonai Haurkrecagakk.

"Ahhhh… Prince Galadriel. We've heard so much about you…"

'Not at all.'

Galadriel beamed under the praise and puffed out its chest, its tail swinging in happiness behind it.

"Of course, I am the young genius who will even surpass my father one day!" He gestured to himself with a flourish before turning to the smaller dragon. "This is Vauleth. He's... my younger brother. Unofficially though."

Vauleth's glare intensified, but he remained silent, his tail lashing behind him as if he were ready to strike at any moment.

"Vauleth doesn't speak much," Galadriel continued, glancing at the smaller dragon with a mix of fondness and exasperation. "But he's clever. Perhaps too clever for his own good sometimes."

Kain's curiosity deepened. "It's impressive that you're able to speak so fluently at such a young age. Most spiritual creatures can't speak until they're much stronger."

All of Kain's contracts were stronger than Galadriel, but only Aegis could occasionally form a short sentence out loud.

Most spiritual creatures needed to be at least blue-grade, or even indigo-grade to speak human languages aloud.

However, Kain noticed that all of the young dragon's they'd come across—including the recent hatchlings that were only white or red-grade—could still speak to some extent.

Galadriel raised its head proudly. "That's because we are true dragons. The moment we hatch, our bloodline inheritance gives us knowledge, language, and a name from our ancestors—but only for us true dragons. Not those defective products from marking-less egg."

Serena's gaze sharpened with interest. "Bloodline inheritance? Does that mean every true dragon is born with knowledge of its lineage and culture?"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

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"Precisely," Galadriel said with a satisfied nod. "Follow Me." it said before scampering off without stopping to see if they'd follow. With one last glare at Kain, Vauleth followed, and after a quick glance at one another, so did Kain and Serena.

Eventually, they stopped underneath a tree that had a green egg hidden in the underbrush. The egg's shell was composed of what looked like emerald-toned dragon scales.

"This is a defective egg. Usually, our eggs are marked with the sigils of a true dragon. These markings carry the memories of our ancestors, so when we hatch, we already know who we are. And we are born with combat capabilities far exceeding the creatures at the same level."

Kain frowned thoughtfully. "And if an egg doesn't have markings?"

Galadriel's expression darkened slightly, and its voice lost some of its playfulness. "An egg without markings is defective. No inheritance, no name, no future as a true dragon. They're cast out to fend for themselves and not acknowledged as members of the same race. Their intelligence is far inferior, no different from a wild animal. Most of the sub-dragon species that exist like drakes or wyverns are actually descendants from these defective dragons. Of course, though, their strength is not as strong as a true dragon's due to the lack of inheritance but they still possess the valuable bloodline of true dragons, so most will be hunted down and not survive until adulthood…" it trailed off, its gaze briefly flicking toward Vauleth.

"But sometimes eggs that could hatch a true dragon are discarded by mistake. Sometimes an originally unmarked egg will have markings appear shortly before hatching. Although dragons born from such eggs are usually a little smaller and weaker physically, they are still true dragons. Vauleth is one such case. Thankfully, he made his way back to the mountain range, with the knowledge from his bloodline inheritance. Unfortunately, we couldn't trace his lineage based on his true name or his parents, so I've taken him under my wing. Us true dragons have got to stick together." Galadriel said while giving Vauleth a hard pat on the back with his front paw.

Vauleth shot Kain another glare, his golden eyes had been watching Kain's expression throughout the whole conversation. And as Kain and Galadriel continued to converse, the hostility in his eyes only grew stronger, along with what looked like…fear?

"Fascinating," Kain murmured, his voice soft enough that only Serena caught it.

She glanced at him, her expression unreadable but clearly aware of the strange tension between him and the smaller dragon.

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