GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

She thought to herself, "It seems Second is going to fail too."

That thought cheered her up. Then she met Third. She, too, was failing to get the hang of flying. The sight pleased First very much.

It cheered her up enough to encourage herself, "I mustn't slack. I must get it right on this turn."

It was fourth brother's turn by the time she was brought back to the cave.

Fourth said to her with arrogance. "Watch me."

She watched him. She wanted to see him fail. But she was disappointed. She saw him drop, but he didn't scramble to reorient himself like them. He stopped falling after a few seconds. Then he flew away down the mountain.

He roared in victory as he soared. "I am the greatest."

First couldn't believe her eyes. She asked in disbelief, "How did he get it on the first try?"

She thought flying would be easy to do until she actually tried it. She knows that everything looks easy to do until one tries to do it. But she didn't expect it to be so difficult, despite having memories of it. But Fourth seemed to have gotten the hang of flying in a few seconds.

Mother answered her question. "Don't mind him. He had already mastered the dragon's roar and flying a year ago. He has been working on the third spell, the dragon's majesty, in secret. That's why flying is not difficult for him."

That stunned First. She expected to hear that fourth had the advantage of flight because he had the smallest body. Never in her wildest dream would she expect that he was already working on dragon's majesty.

She still couldn't believe what she heard. It was hard for her because she didn't expect him to have left them all in the dust and yet pretend to be weak. It made her angry and ashamed.

She said with determination. "I am ready, Mother."

"Good. You have to continue to strive for the best. Don't underestimate anyone. I suspect that your second brother is the most talented of you all. He is hiding himself even more deeply than Fourth."

"What?!!!" First said as her eyes widened.

She couldn't understand how the second brother, whom she saw fail, could be better than the Fourth brother.

But Mother didn't enlighten her about her confusion. Mother lifted her into the air and brought her far away from the cliff.

Mother said to her, "Do not be dismayed. "Remain proud in your strength and defy all opposition. Spread your wings and fly."

Then Mother dropped her for another try at flying. It is what the dragonlings will do for today and several more days to come until they learn how to fly.

The first training session for dragons is hunting. They are to hunt until they awaken the roar of defiance. The dragon roar is the first spell that they have to accomplish. The second one is flight. The third one is dragon's majesty. The fourth one is dragon's breath. The fifth one is dragon's tongue and the last one is dragon's domain.

Each spell rises in difficulty and requirements. The third spell, dragon's majesty requires dragonlings to gain preliminary control of their dragon heart. They will then be able to pressure other creatures into submission with their aura. The first of them to accomplish it was the fourth.

The Second brother was the first to learn how to fly, after the fourth. It wasn't the first sister or third sister who achieved it. Second didn't learn how to fly until the next day. First and Third were much later than that. One can imagine just how far ahead Fourth was.

They didn't have to imagine it. Fourth showed them the distance between them when he mastered the dragon's majesty well ahead of the others.

Second was also the next one after Fourth to achieve dragon's majesty. His performance was enough to surprise First and that would have been all if Mother hadn't told them that fourth is not the most talented one.

Fourth took the lead when he became the first to fly. He gained freedom from Mother in that he could leave the cave without her permission. He had to return to the cave for the night, but he was allowed to roam around the mountain range and hunt to his limit. This gave him a few days worth of time to get ahead of the others in terms of nutrition.

His freedom increased when he gained dragon's majesty. He didn't need to return to the cave as long as he remained within range of Mother's divine sense. That restriction was to be removed after he became able to produce dragon breath.

First and Third were still struggling with dragon's majesty when they were given a rude enlightenment about Fourth's talent.

They were practicing diligently when their attention was drawn to Fourth who was flying about over the mountain in triumph and breathing dragon fire.

He roared in excitement. "I did it. I did it."

His shouts certainly drew their attention, if the sudden thunderclaps didn't. They saw blue lightning bolts shoot out of his mouth. His lightning dragon breaths are what's causing the thunderclaps.

First said in understanding. "So his talent is lightning. He must have gotten it through an ancestral bestowal. That's why he hatched so late."

Lightning is not an element that they should have because their mother is a water dragon and their father is a fire dragon. The only elements they should have innately are fire and water.

The other way to acquire other elements is through the gift of an ancestor in their lineage. But to do that, hatchlings will go through a trial while they are still in the egg. Most trials are short, but some are long and can cause delays in hatchling. That seems to be the case with fourth brother.

First also took part in the trial since it is open to every dragon in the egg. It didn't go well for her.