"As with all new dragons, our leader Iraliene will want to meet you in person," Kai spoke in Drakin, "Now if you would just... wait, here she comes."

He looked over the group to a light green dragon who was approaching with leisurely speed. She was a healing dragon, or life dragon, with glittering light green scales that seemed to shine with an odd brilliance. One that would make females jealous and males swoon. She was easily the biggest dragon any of the dragons had ever seen, even larger then Tetrad. Her wing beats seemed slow and calculated, like she knew exactly what her body was going to do, and she flew with a grace only brought by experience.

As she flew over the new group of dragons their gazes followed her, transfixed by the glory she represented. She had always done this. Every time a new group of dragons, especially a large group, came to Sky Mountain. It was easier to talk to them then, and they were much more likely to accept her as their leader. She smiled at them, her flashing teeth sharp and shaped to perfection.

With a graceful sweep of her wings she came down to a well-rehearsed landing, not even shaking the ground despite her bulk. Her domineering yellow eyes struck through the dragons in front of her, and was delighted when they looked away. They could see how powerful she was, how brilliant she was. They could see she was the leader, and no one would dare to challenge her authority. A brilliant start, but expected when she had been doing this same act for over four hundred years.

There was one dragon however that didn't fall for her entrance, or the fanciful well timed movements that were all the sign of confidence, strength and leadership. No. A dragoness with a strange silver shell that sparkled gloriously in the flickering light stared right back at her, matching her piecing gaze with one just as dominant. Something that was unexpected from a dragon so young. All well, she had met with dragons like this before. They were trouble at the beginning but afterwards they fell into line.

She turned her gaze to the other dragons in a deliberate pause, searching for any other dragons that were strong enough in will to challenge her rule. None. Happy she proceeded to bow. Not to low, not to high. A graceful sweep of the wings to add effect, and raise.

"Hello, my new subordinates," she spoke in the most eloquent Drakin the dragons had likely heard, "I am Elder Iraliene, leader of Sky Mountain for nigh on two hundred and seventy six years. And I welcome you with open wings," she proceeded to open her wings in the most glorious manner, "We are glad to have you here, for every dragon that arrives strengthens us, every dragon gives our species a more momentous chance of survival. So yes, welcome, welcome."

A few of the dragons in the crowd murmured an appreciative thanks.

"Am I right to assume that you have escaped from the ruthless organisation D.E.D?" Iraliene asked.

There was a nod and a murmured 'yes' from the crowd.

"I notice the collar marks around your neck," a truth, "I see you are malnourished, your scales are sick, your claws dull. Here, you will grow. Here you will become great. Here you all will have the life you have wanted, free of D.E.D. Here, you will have an opportunity for revenge."

Heads looked up at that. It was a winning point.

"Here we fight to rid the world of corporations like D.E.D and A.O.D.H. Here we fight to rid the world of the tyranny of dragon hunters and we will find a way to destroy them all, so we can live in peace once again. The only thing that I ask is you respect the dragons that are situated above you. In perhaps a few years you will travel up the hierarchy, but until then do your best to help us in Sky Mountain, and we will see you set free from the fear of humans."

She looked over the dragons for a moment, seeing if they had accepted what she had said. A few nodded their heads. Others looked excited, and still others seemed hesitant. She wouldn't blame them. This place was a strict society, one she had worked hard to build. It only worked if every dragon did their part, and she hoped this large group would do what they were told. But there was still one thing she had to clean up before she left Kai to show them where they were going to be staying.

"Now, I would like to know which dragon your group considers their leader," she said.

The dragons seemed to hesitate for a moment. It was only natural. After seeing her they would be thinking that their current leader was a little less magnificent then they first thought, but as they turned to look towards the back she realised that her first thought wasn't necessarily true. Their gazes showed reverence, nervousness and even a little bit of fear. And they all pointed towards the young silver dragoness towards the back of the crowd. The one who hadn't looked away. The dragoness walked through the crowd to the front.

She frowned as she looked at this dragon. The shell on her back wasn't armour. It was part of her. A metallic dragon. But as far as she knew there were only two in existence. One captured by A.O.D.H and the other lost. Unless...

"Silver, I thought I recognised you from somewhere," Iraliene smiled kindly at the young dragon.

Silver frowned, "How...?"

"Oh, don't you remember me darling?" the large life dragon spoke, "We met when you were but a hatchling. A few weeks out of the egg. I travelled to dragon valley to speak to your father."

The dragoness didn't know what to say, so she stayed silent. She didn't remember their meeting, but then again she was only a few weeks out of the egg. Not much was memorable.

"And now you have ended up here. After A.O.D.H attacked your valley I feared you were dead," Iraliene continued, "But as I see now you are not and no less then a leader of a rather large group of dragons. You must feel rather proud of yourself."

"I rescued them. I'm not their leader," Silver said, standing up taller and looking the older dragoness in the eye, "They are their own."

"But still, you command their respect," Iraliene smiled. "That is quite an accomplishment for someone your age. Would you not agree?"

Silver stayed silent.

"Hmm, how old are you Silver?"

"Eight in a few months," she replied.

"My my, you are young. It seems like such a long time ago that I saw you last," Iraliene sighed as if thinking back to the time.

Silver shrugged, "Doesn't mean I'm inadequate. I'm just as strong as any other dragon at this place."

"What makes you so sure about that?" Iraliene said.

"Because I know what I'm capable of."

Iraliene snorted, "We'll see about that."

Before Silver had a chance to answer the larger dragon turned away from her towards the rest of the dragon crowd, "Kai will lead you to your nests. I will be seeing you around. You will be given schedules of what is expected of you and will be expected to stick to those schedules. For those who cannot read, I suggest you learn fast."

The green dragoness nodded to Kai, before launching herself into the air once more with a wing stroke powerful enough to blow a human from their feet. She did one loop over the crowd before heading off into The Centre. Silver couldn't help but let a growl escape her throat. Maybe it was a mistake to come to this place after all.

* * *

As promised, Kai lead them straight to The Nest. It didn't take long. Their was a short walk through a tunnel, filled with more dragon carvings, before they entered into another large area. Unlike The Centre , The Nest wasn't made to perfection. A large rocky cavern stretched high into the mountain. Jagged cliffs made the walls. Caves shrouded them like spots. Dragons entered and exited the caves in swarms. The younger dragons seemed to be more or less at the bottom of the cavern and the older dragons were at the top.

"Okay, dragon's under eight please stay here. You will be taken care of by Gretta, a fire dragoness who handles younglings. She should be here any moment. The rest of you follow me," said Kai.

"What about me?" asked Silver.

"Are you under eight?"

"Yes but..."

"Then you stay here," Kai sighed, "I'm sorry. But it's the rule."

"A stupid rule," she muttered to herself in English, but she obeyed.

The rest of the dragons left, leaving a mere five behind, including Silver. Zepos gave her a mournful look, but he was approaching nine now so he was forced to leave. The few dragons that remained were an ice dragon, with freezing blue scales and sharp spines, two winds dragons who couldn't be more then three and a water dragoness who was slightly younger then her.

With a grunting sigh she sat on her haunches and waited for the fire dragon that was supposed to be taking care of them to come. It made her angry in some ways. She was no longer a hatchling, having lived by herself for over a year, and was quite capable of taking care of herself. It was insulting, but she didn't want to anger Iraliene. As much as she hated the thought, they needed the protection of Sky Mountain, and if she had to do this to get it she would. Though it would change as soon as she was powerful enough to take A.O.D.H by herself.

A fire dragoness whom Silver guessed to be around a hundred years old came down and landed before them. She was large, and not in a good sense. Silver had never seen a fat dragon before but that was the only way to describe this dragoness before her. Of course when a dragoness was gravid they got bigger, but never as big as Gretta.

"Are... you must be the new lot," the fire dragon said in english, "Come this way my darlings. I will show you where your new homes will be."

Silver suppressed a growl. She didn't like modycoddling, though she was sure this dragon had the best intentions. She was no longer a hatchling. That life was far behind. It was insulting to be treated like one. But best to set an example. The other dragons were looking at her, looking for her to lead. Even though they were separated from the rest of the pack now she was still the one in charge. With a nod of her head they followed Gretta.

The fire dragoness noticed the exchange and frowned. She knew that this dragoness was a new species to Sky Mountain, but didn't know whom she was or what she was capable off.

As they walked the ice dragon fell in beside her, "I didn't know you weren't even eight yet."

"Surprised?" Silver grinned slightly, "I'm eight in a couple of months."

"Me too," said the ice dragon with a grin, "Though your much more amazing then I am. "

"I just had the opportunity to be," replied Silver, "Where I lived, I had to be tough. And being a metal dragon helps as well."

The ice dragon chuckled, "Name's Ion. And I know you're Silver."

Silver laughed as well, "Yes, forgive me if I haven't mesmerised all of your names."

"Eh, didn't expect you to," said Ion, "I'm just surprised you managed to lead us the way you did."

"I wasn't really leading," Silver replied, "I just managed to free you guys. You don't need to be a good leader to be an excellent fighter."

"I know, but the way you handled those dragons were amazing. Many of us were actually scared of you after that, though not so much any more."

"I think I scared myself honestly," Silver sighed, "I didn't know I was capable of that."

"Yeah? Well I only wish I could. You defeated two dragons that were at least a hundred years old, and fended off four," Ion exasperated, "Man, I want you to teach me how to fight, cause that was amazing."

The dragoness flushed at the compliment, "I was trained by the greatest dragon in the world. You should see him fight. I couldn't land a hit on him."

"I doubt that. Who is this dragon?" Ion asked.

"My father, Elron, first Metallic dragon," Silver said, "He taught me all... no, most of what I can do."

"So you must be an extremely rare species then," Ion said.

"There's only two of us," Silver said, "My father and me."

Before Ion could say any more Gretta stopped them at two large caves that were embedded at ground level. The few dragons Silver saw coming in an out of them were all very young, many younger then her, which was a strange difference. She was used to most dragons being older.

"Okay, females into the left cave and males into the right," said Gretta, "You're programs should be waiting for you, though you won't have time tonight to do anything. So I will see you tomorrow morning. Bright an' early!"

The two younger wind dragons groaned before heading towards the male dragon cave. Ion went with them sending one glance at Silver before moving on. The water dragon and Silver entered the female section. It was half a relief to finally be away from all the other dragons that had become part of her life, though she wished she could have a nest outside the cave.

The female cave was a smaller cavern with about a hundred nests spread throughout the floor. Not all of them were filled but it was quite obvious which nests were taken and which were not. A sudden tiredness filled the dragoness and she quickly found an empty nest towards the back of the cavern and fell into it with a grunt. It was time she had a good sleep. She would worry about building a metal nest later.

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Hey guys! New chapter. Sorry it took so long. Been struggling to write for the past few weeks and with christmas and new year, you get the point. Anyway, vote if you enjoyed and comment what you thought? What do you think about Iraliene? Next chapter will be out soon. Merry Christmas and a happy new year! See Ya!

Pennator^^