The world has always been a place where everyone could live in peace, and it was a good place for everyone.

However, things like that did not last forever, and it all came to change in the day that Malefor assumed the power.

In the past, the dragons lived in peace with all the other races, but Malefor, the purple dragon, did not agreed with this. In his condition as a purple dragon, the most rare and powerful of all kinds of dragons, he believed so powerfully in the superiority of the dragons over all the other creatures that he believed that it was their right to rule over all of the other creatures.

So, using from his charisma, and his amazing powers, Malefor assumed the power and crowned himself the king of all dragons. Soon, he started to change the peace that had once reigned over the land, and he moved armies of dragons against all the other creatures, aiming to spread the power of dragons to all the lands and to have all creatures under their power. Anyone who dared to defy him paid the price with death.

Whole regions were devastated, races were taken prisoner and some of them enslaved, and no one was safe from the army of Malefor. The dragons, who once were a symbol of peace and honor, became something that was to be feared and taken as a symbol of tragedy, and that was how their fame spread across the lands, as Malefor moved on with his campaign of domination.

Many had fallen and became trapped under his domain, but some of them resisted. There were some who were powerful or clever enough to find ways to avoid having their lands falling in the claws of the dragon army. Alliances were forget in order to protect the people, and some people who once were known for being pacific had to quickly learn to fight, become warriors and form their own armies.

Among them, were the apes.

For a long time, the apes had their own business, and never got too involved nor worried with the dragons, but the advances of the armies of dragons forced the apes to abandon their tribal rituals, and come together as people and get ready to the fight. At first, they were with little to no chances, they were slaughtered in numbers of hundreds, and their hope was diminishing every day more and more, until the hope appeared for them in the form of a leader.

A leader named Gaul.

"Don't give up now!" A big, blue-furred ape screamed at the apes who ran by his side. "We must protect or lands! Show the armies of Malefor that we will not go down easily!"

Gaul was a big ape, much bigger than a regular ape, and he was wearing a purple-colored armor, and a big helmet with big horns. In each of his hands, he was carrying scimitars, which were his preferred weapons, and they were both covered in some blood, from the dragons that Gaul was already forced to battle.

All around, apes were branding their own weapons, and all of them were fighting flying creatures, which also had armors of their own, most of them silvery colored with the timbre of a dragon's head with three horns. Some of them were breathing elements as they looked at the apes. One was breathing fire, while other was breathing frozen air, while other was breathing an arc of electricity into them.

Dragons were known for their elements. Each dragon had one, and it changed according to the kind of dragon, representing the color of their scales. There were dragons of fire, ice, electricity, wind, water, earth, and many more elements. That was what made the dragons be so efficient in battle and also what made them be so dangerous. Still, that did not discouraged Gaul. Not when the future of his whole people was landing on the shoulders of the big ape.

He simply continued to roar orders and encouragement to his army, as he leapt himself in direction to the battle, ready to take on a last stand for his people and for all in which he believed.

The battle raged for a few hours and, surprisingly, the apes were actually showing themselves to be able to win. The dragons were killed in a good number, and the apes showed considerably less loses, and soon, the après were being able to do something that they had made a lot in the past months, and something that, a few years ago, would be considered impossible: they were forcing the dragons to retreat.

Soon, the groups of dragons were retreat, as the leaders telling their solders to move aside once they saw that the martial skills of the apes had grew very much in the last months, due to the guidance of their leader. They had grew to a point that it was no longer that easy to confront them, and that group of assault was forced to retreat in order to save their lives and to avoid more loses. They all were flying away, aiming to return to their troops to recover.

"Yeah, you winged lizards!" One of the apes screamed at the fleeting dragons, who were soon disappearing at the distance. "Go back to the purple lizard with your tails between your legs!"

This was only one of the many cried that the apes gave to the fleeting dragons, and soon, they were cheering for yet another one of the victory that they had over the flying lizards, showing off that their abilities of elements didn't gave them the right to take them, and that the apes would never give up their lands and their freedom or surrender to their cruel ruling.

"To Gaul! Our king and leader!" One ape cried out as the others all cheered with him, and they continued to cheer, some of them very drunk, both with their victory and with the alcoholic beverages that they were taking, now that the battle was over and the dragons had fled back to their own lands.

Gaul was looking at the distance, smiling to himself, as he was able to forget the throbbing face of his head.

However, he winced slightly as the pain sting in again. He took a hand to his face, and rested it into the piece of cloth that now covered the place that once had been his left eye, and now was an empty socket, due to the attack of a dragon during the fight. The big king of apes had lost one of his sights, but it was only another one of the many scars that he was sure that he was going to have in order to defend his land and his people.

He sighed as he looked at his armor, discharged after the battle was over; exposing his furry chest, which now was covered in some bandages. His scimitars were left aside too, both of them still covered in blood from the dragons he had killed. Gaul winced as he looked at the bloody blades, and he sighed to himself as he remembered himself just how brutal battles could be for everyone.

However, his attention soon was broke as he heard a loud scream filling the air.

He immediately jerked his head at the direction that the scream had come from. He could not tell very much about voices, but that one surely did not sounded like the one of an ape.

This suspicious was soon confirmed as a young ape quickly came from a place, and he screamed to everyone. "Kallag found a group of astray dragons!" He said as if to get the attention of someone. "He is killing them!"

Gaul's eyes widened, "Oh, no…" He spoke to himself as he immediately got back on his feet, forgetting of all of them pain in his body as he was now running to the direction from where the kid had come from. He was not sure of where exactly was it, but it was not hard to find out, he just had to follow another scream, which now he recognized as the voice of a dragon.

He rushed, not caring to the people who were coming right on his trail, other apes, like him, as he just wanted to arrive in there before it was too late.

He could now hear more clearly the voices.

"Do you like that, you winged iguana?"

"Stop, please stop!"

"Don't let them escape!"

"NOOOO!"

Gaul was panting as he was running as fast as his tired and wounded body could carry him, and he was able to arrive into a place where he met a horrid scene.

A group formed by nine apes was killing a few dragons. They were only four of them, being that two of them were already dead, and they had serious wounds in their corpses, which looked like they had been mutilated. There were only two alive, and this was quickly reduced to one as one of them was killed having his throat sliced, as he was trying to say something that, to Gaul, sounded as if an "I surrender!"

His eyes were widen in horror, as he looked at the last dragon alive, a dragon who was limping, dragging himself at the ground as another ape was walking to him, with a wicked grin in his face, and have a bloodied spear in his hands.

"No! Please, I surrender! I surrender!" He said, practically begging for his life, the ape only smirked wider at him, before thrusting the lance forward, and spearing the dragon right in the heart, making him let out a loud and wheezing gasp.

"No!" Gaul screamed, "Stop it now!" He demanded, and all the apes stopped, and looked at their leader as he rushed to the last living dragon. The ape with the lance, who had crimson colored fur and amber-colored eyes, simply removed his lance of the wound, making it gush blood, as he simply looked at Gaul.

The big ape simply ignored him, and kneeled in front of the dragon, which open wound leaked blood. He wheezed as he looked at Gaul, and he even tried to say something, but it came out choked and unintelligible, and them, he simply went limp, his face turning to the side as all the light left his eyes.

Gaul just stood there, kneeling at the dragon, who had been killed with such cruelty like that, and he could only look at him as the feeling of shock was replaced by a feeling of grief for that poor soul. However, it was soon replaced by another feeling. One that was directed to the one who was, the most likely, the responsible for that cruelty.

He looked over his shoulder at the apes, who looked at him scared, save for the crimson one with the lance, who simply looked casually at him. "My king." He said, with a salute, as if he had not just killed four dragons. That, in turn, only made Gaul even more furious.

"Kallag." Gaul snarled at him, showing off his teeth, "You are the responsible for this?"

"We found them hiding." Kallag, the crimson ape said, "They were soldiers and our enemies, and so, we had to treat them as enemies. We just did what we should do." He said, as if he was saying something very reasonable. Gaul, however, was not taking that crap.

"They attacked you?"

"They were going to, no doubt." Kallag said to Gaul, who looked back at him with almost a murder shine in his eyes. "We just finished them off before they had the chance."

"This one was surrendering!" Gaul demanded, now not making any effort to hide his irritation.

"Really?" Kallag said, using a cloth to clean up the blood from the blade of his spear. "Well, I couldn't quite hear him well. You know that all that dragons say sound like snarls to my ears."

This was Gaul's turn to give his own snarl, as he got back to his feet and advanced against the crimson ape. All the other apes yelped and stepped back when they saw their leader and king walking with that furious look in his face, save for Kallag, who stood where he was, looking only slightly impressed, as the king stopped when he was very near him, looking down at him right in the face.

Gaul snorted at him, and he simply looked back at him, he was not smiling anymore, but his look still told that he was feeling confident. He looked at him, and he asked, "What happened to your face?" He was obviously talking about the cloth that now covered the place of the missing eye. Still, Gaul couldn't care less about it, as he simply looked at him and he said, his voice snarling with anger.

"I ordered to all the dragons who surrendered to be taken prisoners, not killed." Gaul said, and he seemed ready to pounce at Kallag and strangle him. "I made it perfectly clear, and don't you say that you forgot."

Kallag looked up at him, and he spoke confidently. "We don't know if they really plan to surrender or not. They might simply pretend to surrender and attack us as soon as we give them our backs." He said it matter-of-factly, as if it was an obvious thing. "We simply take ahead and kill them before they have the chance. Besides…" He looked at the tip of his spear, swinging it across the air slightly. "I mean, it is not like they would offer us any mercy if we surrendered."

Gaul snarled at him, and the apes took another step back, but Kallag remained firm, and he looked up. "You know, I find it strange that you are so keen on showing mercy to these blasted lizards." He spoke, and his tune was one of almost disgust. "It is almost like you forgot all that they already did. They killed many of ours! So, what is wrong with us doing a little payback by killing a few of these beasts? And also, I think you should be happy for seeing some of these things get killed after what just happened to you. It was one of them who took off your eye, right?"

He was asking it as if it was a perfectly natural thing, and the way he asked that to Gaul was almost a mockery. The bulky blue ape had to clench his fists so hard that his claws were actually digging into his palms, in order to hold himself back not to break the crimson apes jaw with a well-placed punch. "The war is horrible." Gaul said, his voice slightly shaken with anger, but he remained as composed as it was possible, as more apes were arriving and seeing the scene, seeing the dead dragons and quickly understanding what was going on.

"We all lost things and we all are carried by the brutality." He spoke "We all lost something in the war, and we all get wounded, and is truth, that some enemies may not show mercy to us, no matter the circumstances, but this is no reason for we to throw away or honor and decency!"

Kallag looked at him, and Gaul seemed really mad as he looked at the crimson and smaller ape. "This is one more time that you disobey my orders, and I'm already sick of it! From now on, the next time a dragon offers surrender you will accept it and take the dragon as prisoner of war. If I hear that you disobeyed my orders one more time, I'll order you to be arrested!"

Gaul said that in a tune that gave absolutely no mistake that he was talking very seriously about it, and that he was not kidding. All the apes who were looking were his witnesses, and Kallag simply looked back at him, with the same ferocity as Gaul himself, and he spoke, "For someone who was supposed to be our leader and help us defeat the winged lizards, you seem to care too much about them."

Gaul knew that it would be no use discussing with Kallag, and if he tried, he could very well end up strangling him I front of everyone. He knew that he had been clear enough for Kallag and that all the ones around were going to confirm it, so the crimson ape would no longer have an excuse, so, Gaul simply turned around to leave, and as he was walking away, he heard Kallag's voice.

"Don't worry, Gaul!" He said, "You won't listen of me killing dragons again unless it is in the battlefield."

Gaul knew that he was supposed to feel better, but for some reason he didn't. Maybe it was because he knew that, coming from Kallag, this probably meant that he was not going to let the word of what he did get to Gaul's ears. It was very likely, once the crimson ape had a serious thing against dragons, and that he would jump at any chance of killing one. Gaul noticed it in the first days that he joined their forces.

Many enjoyed having him around for he was one of the best warriors that many of them had ever seen, including Gaul. He knew that, despite the disadvantage of the size, Kallag was one of the few apes who could actually keep up on a fight with him and actually have a real chance of winning. Still, Gaul asked himself if it was worth it, for Kallag was one of the most violent beings that Gaul ever met in his life, and he was very inclined to kill dragons with little to no provocation. Gaul did what he could to correct this kind of behavior in all the apes who worked under his command, and he was sure that some of his army at least agreed with Kallag's point.

Many had lost a lot when the dragons started to attack. The apes surely were no exception to this, and they had lost a lot during this few years of war that the dragons had wagged under the orders of their new purple king.

The dragons had once been a very proud and noble race, and now they were fighting in name of domination and mercilessly, and that was a hard blow to everyone, who now saw the dragons as threats and as dangerous creatures who could attack you in the moment you less expected. Gaul knew that many thought like that about them now, and he could see that not only in Kallag, but also in many other apes of his own army, not to mention many fugitives and survivors of other races that had been attacked and conquered by the dragons. They saw them as monsters that should, most likely, be slain before they could hurt anyone else.

Gaul, however, was among the ones who thought differently.

He had always grown up with stories of dragons, and he even had met some of them in the past, before this whole madness had began. He knew dragons to be majestic creatures, that they were the defenders of the lands, and that they were great beings of power and wisdom that made the world a better place for everyone to live.

Sure, many heard these stories when they were younger, and that was why they considered the actions of the dragons such a terrible betrayal. Gaul, however, saw way past it. Gaul knew that, despite their good nature, the dragons were living beings, like all the others. Therefore, like all the other beings in this world, there were individuals who held darkness inside their own hearts, like Malefor.

The purple dragon was a cruel tyrant, who had come to power by making use of plots and of his own powers. Malefor was the one who assumed the control and corrupted the dragons to act as his hand, covering the world until he had all of it held in the tip of his claws, so he could do whatever he wanted.

Many saw Malefor as the symbol of what dragons had become, and they thought that all the dragons were like that, as wicked and cruel as their ruler, but Gaul knew well that a ruler did not reflected its entire people. He knew for he had heard many stories of a few dragons who he met who had escaped from the lands in order to avoid being captured. Malefor was cruel not only with other creatures, but with other dragons as well.

He had imprisoned and executed many dragons who had dared to oppose openly to his way of ruling, and he was no stranger to incarcerating innocents who dared to defy the laws that he had set up. People around the lands saw Malefor as a symbol of the dragons' wishes, but Gaul saw past it, and he saw Malefor as what he truly was: a tyrant who hungered for power, and was willing to go against all the most sacred laws of his race and of his ancestors to do so. An ambitious being who cared only for power and for nothing else, and who would not hesitate a single second in giving away the lives of anyone who was under his rule, dragon or not, to see his selfish wishes attended.

Truth was, in Gaul's eyes, the dragons themselves seemed to suffer as much as any other creature for having Malefor as their king.

Malefor was controlling their laws, and he practically owned their lives by using the fear as a weapon of control. He was now forcing the dragons to adhere to his new ways, and this way, he was poisoning the minds of the younger dragons, so they would share of his philosophies and of his cruel ways, and take them as truth, so Malefor would not need to use of fear to control them in the future.

Malefor was a disgrace to the dragons of the past, and Gaul knew it pretty well, he was acting like a monster to everyone at the same time that he forced the dragons themselves to sell his image as a great hero and a savior, who was helping the dragons to grow and to become more powerful. Gaul despised it. He despised everything about Malefor and the way he did things, and he felt sorry for the dragons who were make to comply with his commands and orders.

Still, it seemed that most people didn't thought the same way he did, for they were only caring about the way the dragons were attacking them, after being defenders of peace for so long, and the pain of the betrayal was too great, because of the many things that were lost in the clashes: lives, families, lands, belongings, freedom. Malefor, who now used his own race as a toll of conquer, was taking all of that and, as a result, everyone now was seeing the dragons as monsters.

Gaul sighed to himself, at the same time that he frowned deeply, as he wished that there were anything that he could do to change people's opinions about it, and he tried, but he had failed, for they all were too focused on their own suffering, and that was not little.

Gaul walked out of the place where the last clash had occurred, and he walked now in direction to the woods, entering into it and, as he went deeper and deeper into the silent woods, no one followed him.

Good. Gaul wanted to be alone with is thoughts.

The night had already put itself in place, as the sun had set not too long ago, and the first stars of the night had just appeared. Gaul looked up, being able to see them from where he stood with his only eye.

He grumbled as he rubbed his face. He would take a while to get used to having only one sight.

Well, it was probably one more of many scars that he was still going to get if this war lasted any longer, anyway, and by what he knew about the new king of the dragons, it was actually pretty likely that the war was going to last quite a while.

Opening again his right eye, now the only one he had, Gaul looked at the starts above. Well, at least he could still enjoy the beauty of these little things, even if one single eye. He sighed to himself as he simply relaxed and enjoyed that beautiful view.

As he looked, Gaul could see a few shooting stars passing by the sky, and his mind went back to the times in which he was just a little chimp, alongside his grandfather, that told to him about the stars in the sky.

He told to young Gaul that the stars looked back at their world from up there, and they only moved for certain special individuals. Usually for people who were important, or who were destined to make great changes into the world, good or bad. Sometimes they fell from the sky for some creatures, whoever, it was far more common for them to fall for the dragons, since the dragons were the most powerful and noble beings of that world. He said that, each time a dragon was born or died, one star fell from the skies, signaling either the loss of a valuable life, or the arrival of a new valuable treasure for the world.

Gaul sighed to himself, as he missed the old times. Gaul even asked himself if some star had fallen in the night that Malefor broke free from his egg. If the star was signaling the things he would do and the changes that the purple dragon was going to bring forth for the world. If it predicted the horrible things that he would do to the world and to his own kind, and all the destruction and the pain he would create in his quest for power.

The dragons were once a symbol of good and purity, now, more and more people were taking them as nothing but bad owes. That profoundly hurt Gaul, once he was not going to allow himself to forget all the beautiful and amazing things that he always heard about dragons. No. The dragons were not monsters. They were noble creatures who were put in this world to protect it from the evil and to ensure the future of all the things that lived, walked, flew, swan and crawled in it, and no evil dictator, insane and thirsty for power, would ever change that. At least, not to Gaul.

Even though Gaul was, like many more, forced to take on the arms to protect what he loved. Even if he was forced to take the lead of the apes, and teach them all how to fight and even to kill the dragons in order to protect what they held dear. Even if he was himself wounded by dragons who would most likely kill him in name of their new cruel king. Gaul knew that, in his mind, he would always see the dragons as that symbol of hope and the promise of a brighter future.

As Gaul let these thoughts wander in his mind, it seemed as if the world around him was disappearing, until he loud sound, like the snapping of a twig, brought him back to reality.

Immediately, the big ape put himself in attention, looking at the sides, as his hands instinctively traveled to his waist, where his swords usually were resting, it was a reflex that he developed in these times of war. However, he only realized that he had left his two swords back at the campsite when he found nothing but the leather of his belt and the fur of his own body in there.

Gaul would have cursed himself for forgetting his weapons, if it was not for another sound of a twig snapping calling his attention back. This time, Gaul was sure that it was closer. Gaul forgot completely about the swords, after all, it would not be the first time that he had to face an enemy only with his arms and claws.

"Who is there?" Gaul called out to the woods, to the direction from which the noises had come, "Show yourself!" He demanded, there was a long silence following this, and then there were more sounds.

Rustling of leaves.

Twigs snapping.

Whatever it was, it was big and it was moving, as if it was circling all around him.

"Stop playing this game!" Gaul demanded loudly, looking at the place in which his sharp senses and instincts could tell him that his stalker was. "Come out and face me now or I'll go to you!"

That was an ultimatum, and Gaul made sure to leave it perfectly clear to whoever it was and who seemed to be playing games with him. There was another silence, before the stalker started to move again, but no more moving around, instead, it seemed to be going in direction to Gaul.

The ape bared his teeth, and stood in attention as the figure was coming to his direction. The proclaimed king of the apes was in fighting stance, ready to defend himself in the case it was an enemy, and soon, the figure came out of the vegetation, and it completely surprised Gaul, making him drop his instance.

It was a dragon. However, who looked at this dragon could easily tell that it was not there to fight anyone in name of anyone.

This dragon was a female, and she was with white scales and a golden colored underbelly, with golden horns and wing-membrane and her tail ended into a scepter-like tailblade. She surely was a beautiful figure, but her appearance was not of the better. She had wounds, scratches and bruises in great part of her body. Her scales were dirty with mud, dust, and dried blood that had leaked from her wounds. She seemed to be limping into her left hind leg, and she had one basket into her forepaw, covered by a grey-colored blanket. She looked back at Gaul with blue eyes, which were full of pain and fear.

"Please… don't hurt me…" She managed to breathe out, seeming that every word consumed great part of her strength. She looked as if she was ready to faint from all the pain and the tiredness, and this, of course, made Gaul forget all of the worries about the war and about anything else, as he immediately started to go in her direction, to offer her help.

She got scared, and tried to back away, but the pain in her leg made her wince, and she was about to fell to the ground, before Gaul used his strong arms to support her, and to help her lay gently into the ground.

"Who did that to you?" Gaul asked, "What happened?" He said, as he checked on her wounds. She looked back at him, with her eyes still full of fear and pain, but still, she looked back at him with intelligence, evaluating, and she was going to see that he was genuinely worried with her.

"T-they attacked us." She said, managing to say a few words. "T-they were going to destroy it… I-I had to run, I could not let them…" A heavy coughing access cut off her speech, and she started to cough up blood, which stained the green grass under her mouth.

Gaul felt a terrible sense of dread running in his body as he could see her wounds more closely, and he realized that they were worse than they seemed from a distance. It was amazed that she was still able to move at all, yet carry a basket with her.

"Don't talk now." Gaul said to her, as gently as he could, "You need to save energy."

However, Gaul knew that it would made little difference now if she talked or not, Her body was severely damaged, and if she did not received the green healing crystals soon, she would most likely not live very long. Gaul remembered that his henchmen got some of these among the spoils that they got from the defeated dragons. A few of them surely would save her.

"You need health crystals; I'm going to get some." Gaul said, and he assured her, "I'll be right back, I promise." However, as he was about to leave, he felt her claw wrapping around his wrist, and he looked back at her, as her eyes, filled with pain, were pleading to him.

"Stay…" She managed to breathe to him "Please, stay… I don't want to die alone."

Gaul looked back at her, and soon, he found himself in a dilemma. She knew that she was going to die, and Gaul knew that too, by the severity of these wounds she had. She wanted him to stay, but if he stayed, he would be able to do absolutely nothing but to make her company and to comfort her as her final time arrived. If he did left, he could get the crystals that could save her life, but, he could take too long, and her wounds were too severe. She could very well pass away as he was away to get that what would save her. Worse than that, she would die completely abandoned and alone. Like no one in the world, good or bad, dragon or not, deserved to die.

Gaul looked at her for a while, pondering his options and his decision, and after she said a last, "Please… don't leave me alone." Gaul finally made his mind, and he decided what he would do.

He kneeled by her side, and he used his hands to cup her head, and to help her lay more comfortably. He was going to stay with her until the end. He was going to make her company during her final moments.

"It will be okay." Gaul said to her, as gently as he could. "It is all going to be okay."

She looked up at him, and she said, "My child."

This left Gaul slightly confused, when he remembered the basket that she had been bringing with her. He looked at it, as it was still in the ground. Using one hand, he picked up the basket and brought to closer to him, while his other hand still held the head of the poor, dying dragoness.

Once it was close, Gaul removed the blanket covering it, and he felt glad that he had kneeled, because otherwise his legs would probably have gave up on him and he would have fallen to the ground.

In the basket, was a dragon egg, as Gaul was already expecting. However, what made Gaul shocked was the color of the egg in question. Dragon eggs had each had a specific color, as specific as the colors that each dragon had, depending on their elements. The color of the egg symbolized the color of the dragon that would be born at it, and its element, inherited from the egg's parents.

What made Gaul surprised about this egg was the fact that it was not white like the mother, or any other regular color that Gaul could expect. Gaul even wondered for a moment if it was an optical illusion cast by the light of the blue and red moons of the sky. However, as he could take a very good look into the egg, there was absolutely no way of mistaking it. It was not effect of light, nor some kind of disguise, and not even Gaul's mind playing a prank on him.

The egg was purple!

And if the egg was purple, there was only one logical conclusion that Gaul could come to…

"They wanted to destroy my egg." The voice of the dragoness brought Gaul back to reality, and he looked at her. "My only child… I… could not allow it… I took my egg and escaped… before they could…" She could not finish, as she had another coughing access, bringing more blood to leak from her mouth.

Gaul didn't know what to say or what to do about it. He only looked at her, and back at the purple egg, wondering just who wanted to destroy the purple egg and why. Well, the most logical would be that people would not want another purple dragon around, since only one of them had already caused too much trouble, and so, the people from other species did not wanted to risk having another purple dragon around to make things worse than they already were.

However, Gaul was far from discarding the idea that Malefor would have ordered the destruction of the new purple egg. Purple dragons were rare, and taken at very high regard due to their ability to wield all of the elemental powers. That was the main reason why Malefor was so powerful and why no other dragon dared to defy his ruling as king. Another purple dragon would have the potential to match Malefor in power, and to dethrone him. Gaul would not be very surprised if he found out that the purple king had ordered his guards to find and destroy the egg as soon as he heard about it, to avoid having another purple dragon to threaten his position.

Gaul would actually expect that for the tyrant. Still, he was very worried as he looked at the egg, and back at the dragoness, who seemed about to die as she coughed more blood into the ground.

Gaul could not help but be amazed by her strength and her bravery. She had to run away from whoever was able to do it from her while protecting her egg, and went to the middle of the area in which the war was raging, risking to be found by another group of dangerous being that could not hesitate into killing her and destroying the egg. She forced herself to keep moving even though her wounds would made many other dragons with twice her size drop to the ground, unable even to move. Gaul wondered if that was the power of the motherly instinct, which was universal among all the living creatures.

"I had to be sure my child was safe." She spoke, being able to mutter strength to look up at Gaul, and to continue to speak. "I couldn't let them do it… It is just a baby… It does not deserve to die only because…" She once again had another coughing access, bringing forth more blood. Gaul had to hold her head slightly up to help her breathe better, and he gently comforted her.

"Relax, it is okay now." He said to her, as gently as it was possible. "You are safe now. You two are safe."

She looked up at him, and deep inside his eyes. For a moment, Gaul had the feeling that she was looking more than just his eyes, he felt like she was looking inside of them, and deep into his soul. After a while, she smiled at him, and she said, "You are a very good man."

Under normal circumstances, despite the war or anything else, Gaul would have become flustered with this kind of compliment coming from a dragon, however, now he was into a situation that would not allow that, once he was with his focus in the poor dragoness, and the very little time that she had of life. Not to mention the fate of her poor egg, which was going to lose the mother before it even had a chance to live.

"I have a last wish… for you." She said top Gaul. She knew that she was going to die, and she had already faced and accepted this, Gaul could see in her eyes, and he felt truly sorry that he was not able to do absolutely anything to help her, but to listen and maybe to try to realize her dying wish.

"What is it?" He asked, she looked up at him, and she said, with her weak voice.

"Please, take care of my egg."

Gaul looked at her, taken back by this request, once he had not expected it to come from that dragoness. Not now that the war was ranging over. He only looked back at her, and at the purple egg, and then, he felt something landing in his own hand. He looked back at the dragoness, who was looking at him, with a claw in his hand gently, her eyes were pleading to him.

"Please… I know of the war, I know what dragons did to apes and to everyone else, but I don't care… My child can't survive out there. They will kill it if they find it, so I can't trust anyone else…. Anyone else would have killed me and destroyed my egg for its color, but you…" She raised her paw, and gently touched his face, as she gave a smile to him. "You helped me, and you offered to help during my last moments… You showed kindness to me even with all that has happened… You did not tried to destroy my egg once you saw its color… Despite all the war that rages over, you are not tainted by anger, hate, or by spite… you… truly are a good man…"

She looked deep into his eyes, and she said, "I want… a man like you… to take care of my child… to care for it and to make sure that it is safe and sound… I'm sure that my child will be okay with someone like you caring for it… so, as my last wish… I ask to you… to take care of my child…"

Gaul was speechless as he looked at her. His mind was a fuss as he wondered all the possibilities that could come from this. Gaul knew that many of his followers had bad opinions about dragons, and even more about the purple ones, some of them even questioned his decisions because he showed compassion to a few dragons. What would they say if Gaul returned with a purple dragon egg, and said to them that now it was his personal responsibility? Nothing good, and that was for sure. Gaul was actually already imagining what Kallag was going to say and actually do about this whole situation. It was potentially a disaster, and Gaul could only imagine what kind of proportions that disaster could take.

His mind was take away from the subject as he felt the grip of the dragoness tightening around his paw, as he looked back at the dragoness, who was looking up at him with pleading eyes. "Please… my child needs someone to care for it and look after it… please… this is my last and only wish… please… take care of my kid…"

This was a desperate wish, and Gaul knew that. She knew that she was not going to live, and she had no one else who she could trust. He was her only option, and Gaul knew that pretty well. Still, she was talking it as if she could ask it to anyone else, and she decided to ask to him, and only to him, as if she trusted in him more than in anyone else in the whole world.

This was what made Gaul have doubts about his own doubts. He looked at her, and at the purple egg, ands back at her. He took a few moments to find his voice again. He finally was able to look her in the eyes, and he said, "I-I… yes… I will take care of your child. I promise."

At hearing that, she smiled at him, and she said, "Thank you." She sounded and looked happy, relieved, as if a great burden had been taken off her shoulders. Immediately, she wheezed one last time, and finally, she closed her eyes, as all the movement stopped, including her breathing.

It was so sudden that Gaul got scared. He looked at her, as if he was searching for any sign of life, but he found none. Her breathing had stopped; her heart was no longer beating, as Gaul couldn't find any pulse in her. He took almost one minute to realize that she had indeed died, and for him to accept that she was gone.

It was like she had lived only enough to make sure that her child would be safe, and then, she could finally rest and let her soul travel o the place where she would be going, which according to the belief of the dragons, was the far realms, with the spirits of the ancestors. Gaul took a few moments to recover his mind as he looked at her, and he finally was able to make sense of all that had happened.

He looked over to the basket in which rested the purple egg. An egg that, right then and there, had become his responsibility. Gaul never imagined that something of the like once he woke up in the same morning. He could only stare at the purple egg, and back at the dragoness, who now wasn't breathing as he rested her head in his hands. Gaul knew that this was not something that he had planned, however he knew that now it was very much his reality.

Resting her head in the ground, Gaul made a silent prayer at her, and he hoped that, whatever greater forces were up there, or anywhere else, would welcome her and make her finally have some peace. Gaul wished to give her a proper burial, and to that, he had to go talk to his armies. Of course, that would bring him the problem of explaining the egg.

Gaul looked at it one more time, and he approached the basket and the egg. Gaul picked it up, and he looked at it as the light of the two moons illuminated the egg. He wondered just how much that egg would actually affect his life, and he actually wondered if he was actually going to be able to keep the promise that he made to the dying dragoness. He knew that, in the current situation, living among the apes would not be the safest kind of life for that little dragon.

But, on second thoughts, in the current situation, there would actually be little kinds of life that would be safe for the poor little thing once it hatched, and Gaul was very much certain of that.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a sound that sounded like something cracking. Gaul was a little startled, and he looked around, when he heard the sound again, this time a bit louder. Gaul took a few moments to realize that the sound was coming from his own hands.

Actually, form the little purple thing that was on his hands.

The egg was hatching.

Gaul looked at the egg, as cracks formed into the shell as it was breaking, and the small hatchling in there was now fighting to escape its confinement.

Gaul could do nothing more than to watch as the egg broke more and more, the cracks expanding and getting together as the egg was losing its ability to stay whole. Soon, one piece of the shell broke, and fell to the ground, being push out by something. It looked like a blunt horn, golden and very small.

Gaul looked at it as the hatchling to which the horn belonged continued to push against the shell, aiming to break it and to see the outside. Soon, effectively, more cracks appeared, as the egg was breaking apart to free the small resident into the world and the fresh air. It took a few minutes before the egg finally had broken enough so it was possible to get a good glimpse of the small creature inside of it.

Gaul could look at its little face. It was purple in color, and decorated with golden horns, and Gaul could see that the underbelly was golden too. The small hatchling squeaked as it continued to fight against the shell, freeing more of itself, and soon there was an opening in the side of the egg, which allowed Gaul to take a better look at the purple hatchling.

It was small and very fragile-looking, as it was to be expect from a newly hatched baby, and it was all purple with golden underbelly and tiny white claws in its little paws. Gaul even was able to catch a glimpse of between the hatchling's legs, which confirmed to him that the small creature was a male.

The small hatchling moved as the shell was no longer a problem, but still resting its body into what was left of the shell of the egg, as it breathed the fresh air of the outside from the first time. It sneezed softly as some dust came into its nose, and it moved its paws, as if trying to learn how to reach its nose.

In this process, the young dragon baby started to open his eyes, revealing to have amethyst colored eyes. It blinked a few times, the world in a blur, as its eyes were greet with the light for the first time in his life, and the hatchling noticed something that was right in front of him. It was big, and it was taking up most of the space in his vision.

The small creature blinked several times to clear its vision enough to take a good look at the creature in front of him. Many would be scared when suddenly having a big, mean-looking ape, especially if this ape had a bloodstained eye patch covering a missing eye, while the other was wide in surprise.

The small hatchling, however, had just been welcome into life, and he was far too young and to naïve to grasp some concepts; like fear, danger, and threaten. So, that big creature was nothing scary or anything of the like, being the first thing he saw in his life. Actually, as the purple dragon sighted the creature, its instincts immediately started to work, as he immediately recognized the first living being it saw as its parent.

Gaul could only look, as the young draggy looked at him, and soon, he was opening a goofy smile, and letting out a very happy squeaky sound as it looked at him, with a shine in these amethyst-colored eyes.

In the moment Gaul saw this, he found it just the cutest thing he had ever seen in his whole life. Suddenly, all the worries of the war, of the rest of his clan, of the whole situation, they all seemed to vanish in the moment Gaul saw that adorable smile. Then, for the first time in the last days, Gaul was actually able to smile. A true smile, free from all the worries and all the other things that could happen.

Gaul could only look at that cute dragon that almost seemed to be giggling at him. However, at some point, his mind had to go back to the hatchling's mother, dead right by his side, and to all the worries that plagued him, from the war to his own troops. He looked at the young dragon, who was far too young and too innocent to understand all these problems, even if Gaul tried to explain to him. For a brief moment, Gaul felt envy of the young dragon, who had simply nothing to worry about, while Gaul himself now was in a position in which he would take all of the worries in his place.

Looking over, Gaul looked at the dead dragoness, and gave her a silent prayer and the guaranty that he would keep his promise. Then, he moved back at the basket, and put the hatchling back in there, along with all of the shell that the young dragon wasn't able to break. The small draggy continued to chirp and squeak at him, as Gaul covered him with the blanket, and was taking the basket in his arms, looking back one last time, and sighing as he walked back in direction to his camp.

As he walked past the forest, and back in direction to his camp, the young draggy looked up at him and chirped as he was in the basket. Maybe it was to call up Gaul's attention, and it worked, for Gaul looked at the basket and to the little dragon from time to time, to be sure that the little thing was okay, and this made the young dragon smile back at him and chirp more.

Gaul liked that, however, as he saw himself getting closer and closer to his camp, he knew that he couldn't simply walk in there with a dragon in plain sight, at least, not until he had the chance to explain the whole story to everyone. Until then, he needed to, at least, keep the young dragon hidden.

He stopped, and looked at the young dragon, and he said, "Look, I need to keep you hidden now." He looked at the young dragon, who looked back at him. "I need you to be as still and silent as possible until we arrive in my hut, okay?" Gaul was sure that the young dragon was too young to understand him, but he felt a bit more secure as he talked to the young dragon as if he could make it clear and the young dragon would cooperate.

So, Gaul covered the basket with the blanket, and made sure that it was well protected, before he started to walk back to his camp. As he walked, he was quickly greeted by other apes, most of them were worried that he had been gone for so long into the forest, but the proclaimed ape king assured them that he was okay, but he put them in pair of the dragoness that he had met and who died, but he omitted the egg and the young dragon, of course.

"Gather a group and go to retrieve the body; she deserves to have a proper burial." Gaul said, and the young ape saluted him.

"Yes sir… by the way, what there is in the basket?" he asked, looking up at Gaul, who looked at him and at the basket, which hid a very important little thing, and he said, "I… gathered a few fruits along the way. Before I met the dragoness, I mean…" He said defensively, hoping that they apes would buy it.

"Oh, right." The ape said, and he and the other ones started to leave, when a chirping sound came from the basket, what made them stop and Gaul's blood run cold.

"What is that?" Asked the young ape, and Gaul had to think quickly to come with an excuse.

"Oh! That, huh… It was me! I sometimes make these strange sounds when I'm really sleepy. I guess I should go to my hut to rest for a while, please tell the others that I don't want to be disturbed for the rest of the night." And with that, Gaul left quickly for his hut, hoping that the lie he gave was convincing enough so they would not want answers.

Gaul rushed in direction to his hut, and he thanked to any and all gods up above when he was finally able to reach it. Gaul closed the curtains of the entrance, and he made sure that no one was nearby to hear or to peek into the hut, before he finally took the basket to the corner, and placed it over the bed.

Gaul removed the blankets to reveal the young purple hatchling, which had been flip on his back by the rush that Gaul had caused at going to his hut in hurry. The young dragon was trying now to figure out how to flip back to his feet, while he looked at the big ape with the big and purple eyes.

"That was very close, little one." Gaul said, helping the purple draggy back to his feet, and the young purple creature chirped and squeaked in answer, giving one more cuteness onslaught that Gaul could not help but completely fall in love with.

The ape was only glad that he was able to be back at his hut, where he could take some time to think of some better way to explain the whole situation to his troops. He was able to actually smile and relax a little at the young purple dragon. The purple thing continued to make some funny things, as if to calling the ape to play with him, until the young thing started to look tired, and started to yawn.

"You look tired, little one." Gaul said, picking him up, "I think you better rest now, you have been through a lot."

As if on cue, the purple draggy started to get snuggle with the arm of the big ape, and after a few moments, the small dragon was breathing slowly, into a sound and easy sleep, as the small wings and tail twitched into the rhythm of a dream. Gaul looked down at him and the smile in his face widened a little more.

Gaul knew that now he was the responsible for that little purple thing, and that it was probably going to bring him a lot of problem, but still, he found himself simply unable to think anything bad of the situation then and there, with the little mass of purple scales snuggled up to him, small, cute and so very fragile. People always said that dragons were charismatic, and that it was impossible not to love them, and right at that moment, Gaul was feeling very much inclined to believe in that.

Still, the blue ape was far from relaxing, for he had to keep a watch and to keep his senses very much alert and attentive to everything around him. He knew that he would have lots of trouble if someone came in and found him with a purple dragon hatchling snuggled up on his arm. He would need something much better than feeling tired to be able to explain that to anyone who caught him in there in the act.

Gaul continued alert as he looked at the entrance, and he let the young purple dragon rest in his arm, as Gaul kept is watch, just like a dutiful father protecting his youth. Gaul was a man hardened by the few years of war, and he had already passed by much worse than a single night of not sleeping. He was able to keep his watch for days in a row if needed, and he planned to, if that meant keeping that young dragon safe.

Gaul barely noticed the hours passing; to him they were like minutes, as he kept all of his senses sharp at the same time that he kept his mind focused in other subjects. He was aware of nothing and everything at the same time. It was a very good trick that he learned long ago from his uncle, whom was a very skilled hunter famous for hunting prey by wounding, following and waiting.

Gaul only was call back to reality as the small purple dragon started to move, and started to make noise. A LOT of noise.

Gaul looked at the small thing, as it was letting out clearly needy squeaks and chirps, and this made Gaul look down at him.

"Hey, what is wrong, little one?" Gaul said, as if he really expected the hatchling to understand him. But the small thing only continued to chirp and squeak loudly, and Gaul was now starting to become worried that the excessive sound could attract the attention of people in the outside.

"Shh. Hush, little one, you are gonna get caught, we both are shhh." Gaul said, worried that the sound was going to put them both in trouble. The baby continued to chirp and squeak, and at a certain moment, Gaul winced as the small hatchling started to bite in his arm with his baby teeth, and he was biting a little hard.

It took a few moments to Gaul to be able to connect the dots and to be able to figure out what was bothering the poor little thing. "Oh, I see, you are hungry, aren't you?"

The small dragon chirped loudly, and continued to bite at Gaul's arm, as if he was trying to get any form of sustenance, that his instincts told that would do good to his aching tummy. The poor little thing was suffering from hunger for the first time in his short life, he did not liked the feeling, and he wanted it to go away.

Gaul looked at him, and around, and now, he cursed himself for not having brought any food and for not having it at hand in his hut. Gaul knew that he couldn't leave the poor baby all alone to search for food, but also, he could not simply take him outside to take him for the food, once the baby would make a lot of noise because of his hunger, and even if Gaul hid him with the blanket into the basket, the noise would most likely inform everyone of his presence. In addition, the idea of forcing the newly hatched baby to starve simply because it was convenient was something that Gaul would not even consider as an option.

After a lot of thinking, and a look into the poor, pleading eyes of that hungry hatchling, Gaul finally made his mind, and he decided that the poor thing needed food, but taking it with him would be too dangerous. So, the best course of action would be to leave the small thing in there, in his hut, where he would be safe.

"Okay, little one, I have to go now to look for some food for you." Gaul said raising the small hatchling with his hands and looking him in the eye, as the small dragon looked back at him curiously. "I'll be out for just a little time and I'll be back with something for your tummy, and while this, I need you to stay here, hidden and quiet, until I come back. Don't make any sound and try not to get into trouble, okay?"

Gaul didn't even waited for an answer, he simply put the small hatchling in his bed, which was at the same level as the ground, used the blankets to prepare a makeshift nest, and he put the hatchling inside of it.

As his hands left the hatchling, it started to chirp and to squeak, wanting the touch back. However, Gaul knew that he could not have the hatchling with him as he searched for food; it was too dangerous. "I'll be back soon, I promise." He said, as he turned around to leave, and walked away, and the small hatchling continued to chirp loudly, wanting to have him back.

These sounds broke Gaul's heart, but he knew that he had to think rationally as he took his next decisions. Besides, he was sure that he would take only a few minutes to find food and come back. It would be quick and it would be safe, and Gaul only had to take care and say that he wanted a bite before bed if anyone asked, and everything was going to be all right.

He just needed to be careful and nothing could go wrong.

The small dragon continued to chirp, as his big parent moved away from him, leaving him alone. The poor hatchling was suffering enough with the ache on his tummy, but now, he had the problem of not having his parent by his side to watch him. He was now completely alone, and he did not like this feeling.

I am here! Come get me! I don't wanna be alone!

The small dragon chirped loudly and many times, to try to get his parent to come back and to care for him. However, the parent was taking too long, and was not coming and answering to his calls, and this only made the small hatchling feel bad for being alone.

The hatchling called for a while, until it decided that it was not going to work. So the hatchling decided that it didn't wanted to wait for the parent to come back. It wanted to be where the parent was.

So, if the parent was not coming to him, he would go to the parent!

Slowly but surely, the hatchling started to move his legs, and it was new to him discovering how to use them and how to properly walk. His instincts helped him, of course, but still, the best he could do was give clumsy steps as he tried to keep his balance, at the same time that it tried to walk, as if to find out the parent and discover where it went.

The first thing the little male hatchling did was to climb into the nest that the parent made for it, and to get to the other side, which it did by clumsily climbing up it and dropping into the outside.

Once this task was done, the next thing he did was get back on his feet, and then, it started to go into clumsy steps around the small space that his parent had brought him. Once he looked at the place in which the parent had disappeared into, the small creature walked in direction to it, with its clumsy baby steps.

After a few moments, the hatchling finally arrived and went past the curtains that blocked the sight from the hut from the outside. It was officially its first adventure into the world, as the small creature looked around, and saw the earth, and he saw something glowing, and he saw the sky above, with the two moons casting their glows into the sky.

It was all beautiful, and it would capture the attention of the young creature. However, he had little time to worry about these beautiful things. He needed to find his parent, and he needed to find it quick. He didn't wanted to be without his parent. He could barely form rational thoughts just yet, but still, he knew by instinct that he couldn't be left alone for too long, otherwise it would not be good.

He continued to stumble as he walked in, without a clear destination as he simply walked around, searching for traits of its parent. All the new feelings and sensations got by his baby senses bombarding his mind as he searched for any specific clues that would lead to his parent, so they could be together again.

The feelings were new and they were intense, like the smell that was coming, and the sound of voices of beings that the small hatchling was way too young to recognize or understand, and so, he simply continued to walk. All these new feelings were making it hard for the young mind to focus, once they were too many new stimuli at the same time, and that was making his young and tender mind confused as these feelings overwhelmed him. He shook his head as he walked, and continued to stumble as he walked his baby steps, but he was surely making progress, for he was already a bit far from the place where he started, even if he had no idea if he was actually closer to finding his parent.

Of course, since he was into this near haze from the overload of feelings it wasn't surprising that he would not see very well where he was walking. He bumped into something.

The hatchling yelped as he backed away and landed in his butt, rubbing his snout. The hatchling suddenly felt a very strange feeling, as if he was not safe. He looked at what he had hit, and he saw that it was some kind of leg furred and crimson colored.

The baby had a feeling of danger as he looked up, and saw that the leg belonged to a creature that was very similar to his parent, however, this one was definitely not his parent. This one was smaller, and also, it looked different, and it was staring down at the young dragon with a look of pure hatred in its amber colored eyes.

The small hatchling didn't even had time to run as the creature lowered a clawed hand in his direction…

Gaul had just picked up the last part of what he would need to feed the young dragon. Just some pieces of roasted sheep, not very much, since the young dragon could not eat that much. Still, Gaul had picked up a generous portion, for he wanted to be ready in case the young dragon would wake up again hungry, as he knew that babies could eat a lot.

Luckily for Gaul, no one asked him why he would take this food to his hut, as many of them didn't wanted to argue with their leader, and so, Gaul was already ready to go back to his hut and to the young dragon who he had left alone in there.

He was already on his way, when he noticed what seemed to be a commotion of apes ahead of him, all of them gathered in there, and they all seemed to be agitated.

Gaul looked at them, wondering what was the whole fuss about, when another ape, a young one, came running in his direction.

"My king…" He said, panting as if he had run a lot. He seemed as if he was trying to recover his breath to say something to Gaul.

"Hey, hey! Easy now, young man. Deep breath." Gaul said, and the young ape obeyed, taking deep breaths to recover, but still, he seemed in a hurry to tell Gaul what was going on.

"My king…" He spoke, having recovered a little. "It is Kallag!" He spoke, and immediately Gaul felt worried, and soon, it turned into a freezing horror as the next words were said. "He found a baby purple dragon, and he is going to kill it!"

No! Was the thought that rang into Gaul's mind as he dropped the sheep he had been carrying and immediately rushed to the place where the apes were gathering, barely minding the young ape who he had just been talking.

He soon arrived there, and he saw many apes gathered in there as a crowd. Due to his bigger size, Gaul had a very advantageous spot to see over their heads, to exactly what they all were looking at. What he saw was making his blood run cold.

Kallag was standing in the middle of all the apes, inside a circle, and in one hand, he had a dagger, while in the other, a familiar shape that was squirming and crying out loudly, as if calling for help.

"My friends! This is the symbol of our suffering!" Kallag said to the crowd as he held the young purple dragon high, who chirped loudly and whined, squirming as it seemed to be scared out of his mind. While the young dragon was too young to understand concepts of death, it knew very well by instinct when something was a threat to his small existence. He didn't liked that thing, it made him feel bad, and the way it held him was hurting.

"Now, what should I do with it?" Kallag asked, as he looked at the young dragon in his clutches, and a smirk formed in his lips. "What about I cut out one member at a time?"

The crowd roared at him, as if they were actually agreeing with what he was saying! Gaul, on the other hand, was completely horrified. He started to open his way among the apes, aiming to reach Kallag before it was too late.

"Yeah, it will be good!" Kallag said, now his eyes into the small hatchling, who was wailing in fear. "One member at a time! Now, which member should I cut out fir-"

But Kallag never had a chance to finish his speech, for in that moment, a blue fist collided with his face, sending him back in direction to the crowd, at the same time that another hand snatched the young purple dragon of his clutches.

Kallag barely knew what had happened as Gaul simply stood there, panting and with a look of pure despise at Kallag, while the young dragon was now held securely in his arm, trembling in fear like a leaf.

Kallag soon recovered, and looked at Gaul, soon, he was getting up, and snarling. "Gaul, what is the meaning of this!?"

"You will not hurt this dragon!" Gaul snarled back at him, "I won't allow!"

"You are protecting a purple dragon now!?" Kallag said, his voice sounding with anger and betrayal "What is wrong with you?"

"What is wrong with me!? WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!?" Gaul roared, making every single ape around flinch, including Kallag. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?"

Gaul looked at Kallag, and he looked at all the apes around, and he said, "From today on, this purple dragon is under my protection! If any of you try to hurt him in any way, you will have to answer to me! Am I clear enough!?"

He looked around, and all the apes looked at him, none of them saying a word. Gaul shot a glare at Kallag, who looked at him with a look of almost hate, however, the crimson colored ape said nothing, and Gaul took it as a good sigh. He walked away, the apes around opening space, since no one dared to stand on his way when he was as mad as he was looking then.

Gaul walked back at his hut, and closed the curtains, and he looked back at the young dragon, who was trembling and whimpering in his arms. That was surely not a good way of starting your first day into the world, and Gaul knew it very well. He felt now terribly guilty for letting it happen to that poor young dragon.

"Shhh, it's okay." He said, as gently as it was possible, as he hugged the purple dragon gently against his chest. "It's over now, they won't hurt you. I won't ever let anyone hurt you, I promise." Gaul said as he continued to hug the poor young dragon, who was still trebling for a good while before he finally had calmed down enough…

In the morning, Gaul had just companied the burial of the dragoness who had trusted her egg to him. He paid his last respects to her as he stood in front of her grave, the young purple hatchling still clutched in his arms.

As soon as it was finished, Gaul once again returned to his hut, and now, as he carried the young purple dragon with him, he was receiving all kinds of looks from the other apes, most of them from fear and doubt for that young purple creature. And sure, a look of pure scowl coming from Kallag, who still had his face swollen and blackened from the punch. Gaul knew instinctively that the crimson ape was still going to make a lot of noise because of that, and he knew that, from that day on, he should not leave the purple dragon out of his sight for too long.

Soon he was back into his hut, with another ape companying him. Gaul finally was able to rest as the young purple dragon was eating some sheep, ripping out small pieces with his very small teeth. Luckily, Kallag had not harmed the young one, what the ape king was extremely thankful for.

Gaul would never have forgiven himself if he had allowed any harm to befall that poor little soul.

"So, the mother trusted the young dragon to you in her last moments?" The ape asked Gaul, who looked back at him, and simply nodded. The ape looked at the purple dragon, who seemed like had just ate enough, and was now resting into Gaul's lap. "So… what will you do now?"

Gaul looked at him, and back at the young purple dragon, who was looked back at him with these innocent amethyst eyes, and that goofy smile. Once again, Gaul felt his heart melting, but of course, that would not affect his decision, for he had already made his mind a long time ago.

"I'll keep my promise." Gaul said, looking back at the ape. "I'll take care of this kid, and I'll raise him as I would raise my own son."

The ape looked back at him, and simply nodded, not saying anything, even though Gaul was almost sure that the ape was thinking on a few things that he might wanted to say. Gaul was sure that many of the apes who followed him where going to have a lot to say about that matter.

"If it is your decision, my king." The ape said in respect, his head bowed. "So… the purple dragon has a name?"

Gaul looked at him curiously, and back at the young purple dragon in his lap. Sure, with all that had happened, the subject of what name that young creature should have had totally slipped from Gaul's mind. Still, now that the storm had seemingly dissipated (for now, at least), the subject was brought back.

Yes, the purple dragon needed a name, and that was for sure. However, Gaul was soon finding himself with no options for a fitting name for that young dragon.

Should he pick up a name from his tribe? Or should he give him a proper dragon name? Dragons usually named their young ones in a way that was somehow related to their element. What should Gaul pick up for a name for that young dragon?

Many options passed by his head, however, none of them seemed to fit properly that young dragon, or what he had been through.

What he had been through…

That poor young soul had faced many dangers even before he actually hatched. He had almost been killed, had lost a mother, and had faced his very first near death experience. That hatchling had been through a lot, and yet he survived and was there.

He was alive, and he was breathing, and as he looked up at Gaul, he looked happy. As if nothing in the world could possibly hurt him or make him any harm. That young dragon had passed through many things and survived them all, and he was there, smiling brightly, as if to tell Gaul that, despite all the horrible things that were happening, there was always a chance that things would work out in the end.

As if to tell him that, despite all the horrible things that could happen, because of the war, or because of anything else, things could get better, and he could still smile and see a beautiful day in the following morning. Gaul liked this kind of feeling, and that was exactly the feeling that the young purple dragon gave him.

A feeling of hope.

That was when Gaul decided for a name. This name belonged to the ancient language. One created by the first living creatures, and was the first language ever spoke in the world, said to have been the dragons. This name was a word that had the very exact meaning of "hope". It was a fitting name for that young purple dragon, both because of his species, as it perfectly put into words all that the purple dragon represented in Gaul's eyes.

"Spyro…" Gaul said, gently petting the head of the purple dragon, who chirped in happiness.

"His name is Spyro."