SUMMARY: Morroch is on his own now and heading toward Ered Mithrin with Voronflame, the fire dragon, to meet the Dragon Clan. Alagos is following in the shadows and Morroch can't help but wonder if he has made the right decision in seeing his kin. He knows only time will tell him if he's made a mistake.

Meanwhile, in a small human village trouble is stirring and both children and dragonlings are going missing. Neither species knows what is going on, where their children are or who is taking them, and tempers and accusations are starting to flare between the two races...

DO NOT READ THIS WITHOUT READING Muinthel, Maethor, Mellon AND KEEPING UP (at least until chapter six) WITH Herves a Iell FIRST!

Disclaimer: I own nothing you might recognize as Tolkien's.

Warnings: This story is AU! If you do not like this, don't read. This story will contain dragons and places that Tolkien did not mention in his books - they are the creations of my imagination. There is romance, but no hint of slash or heavy material. Mild violence may occur. Mild cursing may occur. This story is being written parallel with Herves a Iell.

A/N ~ Thanks for keeping up with my series, Dragons of Arda!

Bold is mind-speech. Yes, it is still here! Oh, and Italic is dragon-speech. Normal type is Westron.

Dragon

Migove = Welcome

Clawnii = Grown male dragon

Fangna = Grown female dragoness

Kinwa = Young dragon that is not a dragonling, but not an adult either

Suilannad ~ Greeting

Morroch watched as Arienel faded into the distance, atop another dragon. The shape-shifter let out a roar of courage and hope, but also of sorrow. Arienel had been his first friend, the first two-leg he'd interacted with, the first person he'd cared for. It was almost surreal to think of what his life had been like without her - when he'd only been an intelligent horse, avoiding humans and wondering just why it was that he didn't fit in with the other equine.

The black dragon felt a pull, an almost physical ache to fly after the elleth, a feeling he'd not truly felt since Rohan, since that day when her family had left for Helm's Deep. Morroch rumbled low in his throat and sighed, pushing the feeling down as he spread his wings and leaped into the air. His wings beat hard, gaining altitude and then carrying him up on an updraft from the warm earth. His sharp eyes looked toward the north. Voronflame would be waiting for him at the northern end of the forest, near the Forest River. It would take the black dragon a good part of the day to get there. His flights were strong, but he wasn't experienced in flying long distance. It was something that would hinder fast progress to the Clan, but Morroch was fine with that. It also gave Alagos time to catch up with them before they arrived.

Gold eyes turned back to the west. He wished Arienel were with him now. His back felt empty without her.

The red dragon came into view late in the afternoon and Morroch once again had to marvel at how huge the creature was. It was comparing him - a hobbit - to a Balrog. The black dragon landed easily and Voronflame stood, giving a greeting warble that seemed to crackle like gentle flames. "You came."

Morroch raised an eye-ridge, his tail making small circles in both confusion and nerves. "I said I would. Did you doubt my word?" It would insult him greatly if the fire dragon had. Morroch was sarcastic, but he did not lie unless it would save someone's life. Perhaps this wasn't a good thing... His heart still pulled him back toward Arienel, her presence in his mind flickering in an out of focus, like a fading candle of light. He wanted nothing more then to fly off and follow her at this moment.

And it turned out that this very emotion was what had worried Voronflame. "I did not doubt your will, Dagoryn. I only know your loyalty the Eldanarë and I know you would not leave her."

The shape-shifter relaxed slightly and nodded, looking back toward the west. "You are partially right, but also mistaken. Arienel bids me to see my kin and so that is what I will do. We will see each other soon, but she has her path and I have mine. They are not the same this time."

The red dragon gave the smaller a look as he stretched his wings. "Are you sure they will ever be the same again, Dagoryn? She is a two-leg." He sprang into the air before Morroch could answer and the black dragon glared after the red and leaped after him, both dragons making swift progress over the rest of Eryn Lasgalen. The black dragon stayed quiet as they flew, his thoughts drawing him inward. He'd never thought that Arienel and his paths might part for longer then a few weeks or months, but what if Voronflame was right? What if they parted for years? Was that even possible with the bond between them?

The thought of leaving his rider for so long was almost enough to make him feel sick. Morroch didn't think it would be physically possible to be parted from the elleth for so long, by choice or not. The shape-shifter shook the thought from his head. He'd always believed that Eru, their Creator, would not have brought them together, given them a bond they could not shake off if he intended to separate them like that. Morroch had a simple, but solid faith that the Creator had a plan to prosper his children - all of them - and not to harm them. It was a belief he was not going to give up on.

The dragon had firmly made up his mind when Voronflame threw him completely - figuratively - and Morroch heard his voice...in his head. "Are you done sulking?"

Gold eyes blinked in pure astonishment and yet some panic as the shape-shifter faltered in his wing-beat and fell several hundred feet before gaining his balance again, correcting his flight. Voronflame followed him, suddenly worried. What had he done? Surely Dagoryn hadn't been that surprised by the simply, if unpleasant, question? He watched the smaller dragon right himself, still in a daze and spoke once more. "Dagoryn?"

"Stop!" It was said with the greatest force and animosity the shape-shifter could muster and it was the fire dragon's turn to look surprised. He spoke aloud, reasonable. "Stop what?"

Morroch bared his teeth, looking away from the other flying dragon. "Do not...talk in my head."

"Does it hurt you?" Had Morroch never developed that part of his dragon heritage properly? Voronflame knew he could speak with the two-leg, but when it came to powerful dragon voices, was it painful for the dragon that hadn't been raised among them?

Morroch sighed, something that could not be heard over the whistling wind, but his posture, the jerkiness of his flight, the way his tail lashed behind him, spoke of agitation. "No. It does not." The fire dragon's red eyes narrowed and he looked at the setting sun to their left. Without a word, Voronflame headed for the woods below, already in the foothills of the mountains. Morroch followed, silent and the two landed. The larger dragon folded his wings and then turned his head to the younger dragon. "What is the problem then?"

Claws dug into the earth and gold eyes looked toward the west, toward the sunset. "I...Arienel is the only one who speaks to me that way. It surprised me." Voronflame resisted the urge to growl. It always came back to the two-leg. Hopefully some time among his own kind would help Dagoryn find out who he was, what he was and the priorities in his life. Better yet, maybe he would find a mate that would keep him with the Clan and away from the Eldanarë...

"Dragons can talk to each other that way, too, Dagoryn. There is nothing wrong with it." He was frustrated to see the black dragon shake his head. "There may not be, but it is something that I have grown to think of as personal. I do not want you speaking with me this way unless it is essential or there is danger." Gold eyes met red and the fire dragon growled low, but nodded and moved over the snow to rocks uncovered by the white stuff. The large dragon laid down, absorbing the last of the warmth from the stone and Morroch tilted his head. "Do you not like being out here?"

"I am a Fire Dragon. My kin need heat. During the day we are fine, but come night we must absorb warmth before it gets too dark to do so. This rock's heat will be stored in my body and used for the next few hours."

Morroch nodded and came to lay in front of the larger creature, hoping that some conversation would help him miss Arienel less. Right now she would be curled up beside him and he would have had a reason to shift into a wolf... "What kind of places do the other dragons need? Surely the Clan's location must be a place all can survive."

"The Great Cavern is unlike any place we have ever found. It stretches underground for the length of the mountains in the north and is deep within the earth, big enough for the Fire Dragons and all under us."

"Under you?"

"Smaller. Fire Dragons are the largest type of dragon." Morroch nodded his understanding and Voronflame went on. "The Great Cavern is under the mountain Gundabad and stretches for a great length into what men call Ered Mithrin. The mountains there are both volcanic and cold, with great lakes hidden within their valleys, places few men and elves know of."

Morroch's interest was peaked and he situated himself more comfortably on the rocks he lay on. "Mount Gundabad...that was a mountain at the northern extremity of the Misty Mountains, a stronghold of dwarves and later, orcs. According to the Dwarves, Durin the Deathless, oldest of the Fathers of the Dwarves, awoke at Mount Gundabad some time after the awakening of the elves. Mount Gundabad remains a sacred place to the dwarves. Are you saying that our kind has now taken over that Mountain?" His history of Gundabad had come from both Gimli and Erestor. Morroch paid attention to what people said more thoroughly then they thought he did.

"Not exactly. See, in the middle of the Second Age, orcs invaded Gundabad. The mountain was not cleansed of the foul creatures until very late in the Second Age, possibly around or after the fall of Sauron and the loss of the One Ring. The exact time is unknown, even to us. In the early part of this Age, the Orcs of Angmar yet again claimed it as their capital, which is one of the reasons for the dwarves' special hatred of the evil creatures. After the fall of Angmar, Gundabad remained an orc stronghold, even after it was sacked during the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. The army of goblins that fought in the Battle of the Five Armies was said to have mustered at the mountain."

"Yes, but are the orcs still there?"

Voronflame gave him an amused look. "Do you think our kind would live alongside orcs?"

Morroch met his gaze squarely. "We did at one time. We lived under Morgoth's rule, with orcs, goblins and the Balrogs. We destroyed Gondolin and we terrorized the peoples of Arda." The fire dragon regarded him for a moment, not having expected to get so deep into history that night. The facts were not something Voronflame shrank from this time, though, and he nodded his great head. "You are right, but our generation is not like the first. What men say is true, the Withered Heath is and was the breeding ground for dragons, but after the fall of Ancalagon our kind were no longer under Morgoth's rule and there were none great among us left, unless one includes Smaug."

"I do not understand. How can we be decedents of Morgoth's dragons and yet we have no allegiance to Sauron?"

"After Ancalagon's death, there were none to care for the eggs, none but the female dragons who were few and later slain. The dragonlings were left to hatch on their own, uninfluenced by our evil ancestors or their master. Most of us died, but the few of us that grew knew only the tales we heard from the outside world. Those stories let us know that we were not accepted, but feared and so we remained hidden. As time went on, we changed, bred, evolved. Eru blessed us and now, while we are not as strong, cunning or as great as our ancestors were, we are wiser and more diverse, with our own talents and paths."

The fire dragon laid his head on his claws. "Mount Gundabad still belongs to the dwarves if they would claim it. The orcs have long been burned out by our kind and it would be safe to do so. We will live under the mountain, though, further then the dwarves could ever delve whether they come back or not. The whole of Ered Mithrin is our home, as it has always been."

Morroch awoke with a strange feeling of loss and loneliness. It took him a moment to realize why, but when Arienel did not ask him what was wrong, the dragon knew what it was. He yawned and stretched, standing and for a moment, looked down at his side, where the elleth should have been. He didn't know that he'd made a low keening sound in the back of his throat until Voronflame looked up, suddenly awake and worried.

"Dagoryn?"

The black dragon looked away and stood up fully, starting to move, to get the blood flowing in his legs and wings. He stretched the black, leathery folds and sighed. "I am fine, Voronflame. When can we expect to get to the Clan?"

The red dragon stood slowly, needing to warm more then Morroch, his body lethargic. He didn't believe that the shape-shifter was telling the truth, but wasn't going to press. "Tomorrow. We will get deeper into the heart of the mountains today, but we will not get to Mount Gundabad until tomorrow afternoon." Morroch nodded and the two soon took to the air. The shape-shifter found himself looking around as they went through the mist and clouds. He knew Alagos would be joining them as soon as he could, but even the white shape-shifter could not travel the three days to Rivendell, three days back to Mirkwood and then three days to Gundabad - nine days in all - in a shorter amount of time. He wasn't likely to see his brother until after he'd met the Clan.

It made Morroch nervous. He'd been hoping to at least know that Alagos was nearby...

They had hunted the night before and both Morroch and Voronflame were slow getting up the next morning. The two dragons started off late and they didn't fly fast, but the red dragon said they'd get to Gundabad that day anyway, just later into the evening. The mountain came into view quite suddenly and Morroch felt a spasm of excitement and dread go through him. Voronflame gave a small roar, spiraling happily downwards as they came closer to the peak. The black dragon followed and blinked in amazement at the large hole in the side of the mountain, big enough to fit even Voronflame. It was in a concealed spot within the valley of Gundabad and another mountain, the mist and snow hiding the entrance. It was unlikely anyone would discover it unless they flew like the two dragons were now.

Voronflame landed in the snow, flakes falling on his red hide. He turned to look at Morroch as the shape-shifter stared down the dark tunnel. A smile came to the fire dragon's face and he stepped forward, into the maw of the mountain. "We're here." Morroch nodded and after a moments hesitation, followed. There was no turning back now.

The two walked through and down the tunnel silently, nothing but the drips of water and multiple rocks to avoid and climb over around them. The air was cold and the shape-shifter had to wonder if it would ever get warmer. He was soon sniffing the air almost involuntarily. The fire dragon caught him doing it - their eyesight exceptional in the dark - and chuckled. "You are smelling scent markers of other dragons."

"How close are we?"

"Another ten minutes at most."

Voronflame didn't lie and in seven minutes, Morroch began to feel the first wave of heat. It was soothing and soon the shape-shifter blinked, seeing faint light up ahead. Red rocks soon became visible and the light intensified, glowing red. The two came to a great ledge, the only place the tunnel led and Morroch looked cautiously over the edge as sounds reached his ears. Voronflame glanced over at his companion, enjoying the look of curiosity and awe on the black dragon's face. At least a hundred multicolored dragons of all shapes and sizes milled below in the great underground cavern. They were deep under the mountain, deeper then any dwarf might go, the only place safe for dragons anymore and the warmth they felt was caused by the lava pools to the right of the cavern. The shape-shifter's eyes went wider as he caught sight of them, his kin. The fire dragon chuckled, a deep sound that reverberated off the warm, reddish stone wall of the Great Cavern. "Welcome to the Dragon Clan."

Morroch didn't speak, unable to as he absorbed the presence of so many of his kind. He'd never seen more then two dragons together - Leaf and Alagos - and this was so much more then he could have imagined. Their presence was slowly being noticed and gold eyes blinked as many came to meet his with curiosity. The dragons recognized Voronflame by sight and scent. They could not identify him, though. The shape-shifter studied the group, noting that there were no dragonlings among the swarm of dragons. His eyes scanned the cavern, finding the tunnel openings around the great cave - and great it was to fit so many of the dragons. There were eleven tunnels in all and if had to guess, Morroch would have said nine were for each type of dragon. What the other two were for, he did not know.

Voronflame looked over at him. "Come down when you feel ready." The fire dragon jumped off the ledge and glided his way to the ground where he was greeted by the dragons there. Morroch watched as they rubbed faces, scales and warbled to each other, happy and reacquainting each other with smell and touch. Now he understood why Voronflame had said to come down when he was ready. The black dragon watched for a long moment and finally gathered his courage, jumping off the ledge and gliding down at Voronflame had done. His feet hit the warm stone and silence came to the Great Cavern, and for a moment, stared at by every dragon there, he wanted to shrink and hide. The feeling passed in a flood of sudden resolve and the shape-shifter looked around with an air of calm he only partially felt.

A slender and small dragon, silver in the body with dark green wings was the first to approach and the other dragons looked surprised by the fact. Gold eyes met dark green, shy and yet friendly dark green, and Morroch tilted his head as his own nose came forward. He recognized this dragon...

"Migove." Morroch blinked and the silver-green dragon looked embarrassed. "You do n..not know the f..finer points of our language. I..I am sorry..."

"Maethin?"

The shape-shifter watched as the silver-green dragon froze, dark green eyes wide. He did not answer as Voronflame came forward and spoke low to Morroch in the Westron tongue. "You would do well not to mention your two-leg at this time, Dagoryn." Morroch frowned, but nodded slightly. When he looked over, the shy silver-green dragon was gone, disappeared into the bodies of the larger dragons. Voronflame beckoned him to follow with his tail and Morroch did so, feeling noses sniff him and curious eyes follow his movements. The large red dragon led him past a great underground lake to his right and then toward a large tunnel opening straight across from the Entrance Tunnel, on the other side of the Great Cavern. They passed four small lava pools before entering the cave opening. The shape-shifter looked back at the way he'd come, but then followed the fire dragon toward the soft red glow ahead.

The red rock tunnel opened up into another large chamber soon and Morroch blinked, noticing there was another lava pool on the right inside this chamber, too, warming it and giving off light. The black dragon's attention was soon drawn to the ledges of jaunting stone that stood out along the walls at different levels, for upon these shelves of rock, lay/sat seven dragons, all of different shapes and colors. Voronflame moved away from him and flew up to one of these ledges, leaving Morroch on the ground, looking up into the faces of what he could only assume where the Ancients.

The fire dragon spoke after a moment, his voice deep and echoing in the chamber, speaking in the Westron tongue. "Migove, Dagoryn. I will take the responsibility of introducing the Ancients to you." Morroch nodded and paid attention as Voronflame looked at a brown dragon with four horns on his head and a short tail. "This is Rosclaw, a Clawnii and the current Earth Ancient. The red dragon next to his ledge is Seregon, a Kinwa and the current Battle Ancient." The young, red dragon's eyes were fierce and Morroch noticed that the battle dragon had many spikes and a club-like tail. The two dragons were among the largest in the cavern next to Voronflame. Both Ancients nodded their heads, but the attitude behind the gestures were worlds apart. Rosclaw's movements were slow and noble, wise, but Seregon's were quick and almost bored. He looked like he would rather be digging his claws into something then be here.

"The green and white dragoness on the right wall is Emeraldsong, a Fangna and the current Treasure Ancient." The dragoness trilled lightly and looked Morroch over, deciding to postpone her judgment until she knew more about the shape-shifter, a rare thing for her, though, Morroch knew it not. The dragoness was large - only a little smaller then Rosclaw, the earth dragon, and he was about two and half times the size of a mountain troll - but long with two horns on her head, two rows of ridges on her back and what looked to be a great wingspan. She spoke in a musical voice in the language of the dragons.

"Migove, Dagoryn."

The shape-shifter bowed his head slightly, but focused on Voronflame as the dragon continued. "The light blue dragoness next to Emeraldsong is Celestream. She is a Fangna and the current Water Ancient. The gray dragoness on the ledge next to her on the left is Mirwind, a Kinwa and the current Sky Ancient." Morroch smiled at the two females as they smiled at him, feeling more welcome then he had before. He studied the two dragoness, noting that Celestream and Mirwind's body shapes were very similar. Neither had any horns or spikes and their bodies were sleek and thin. The sky dragoness had no ridge along her back, though, and the water dragoness sported a small, soft one. Celestream's feet were webbed between the claws and her scales looked almost seamless for swimming. Mirwind's wings looked to be around the same length as Emeraldsong's despite her smaller size and her scales appeared light and almost see-through.

The shape-shifter had a feeling they were going to get along just fine. He turned his attention to a thin, sleek, green and gray male dragon with no horns or spikes, but feathery scales, watching with a look of infinite wisdom that Morroch found vaguely familiar in a strange way. "This is Wiseheart. He is a Clawnii and the current Knowledge Ancient." Gold eyes held a light green and Wiseheart seemed to smile just slightly. Morroch felt he'd somehow passed a test and surprisingly...the feeling pleased him. Voronflame directed his gaze to the last and smallest dragon. Wiseheart was about Morroch's size, but this dragon was blue and smaller then both of them. He looked in no way timid or ashamed of the fact, though.

"This is the Messenger Ancient, Quickscale, a Clawnii." The small dragon's eyes held a bright light that the shape-shifter found he liked. Quickscale seemed unable to sit still for long, constantly changing positions like it was hard for him to stay in one place. The messenger dragon shared many common features with the other dragons, having feathery, light scales like Wiseheart and a large wingspan like Emeraldsong and Mirwind. He was thin and sleek with two small horns on his head, looking like a strong wind might knock him over.

Morroch looked all of them over again and committed their names to memory. His voice was - he hoped - steady as he replied in a tongue that felt strange and yet right to him. "Migove. I am Dagoryn, Kinwa and Shape-shifter Dragon." A silence rang in the cavern, but it was not out of surprise, just a feeling that the moment deserved some type of remembrance. Wiseheart was the first to speak, his voice quiet, level, but easily heard in the echoing rock chamber.

"It has been long since we have seen one of your kind in these caverns. You are welcomed with great curiosity, Dagoryn." The Knowledge Ancient frowned as a snort was heard and Seregon sat up, looking his ignorant and arrogant young age. "I do not see what is so special about him. He is another dragon among many." The young battle dragon was glared into silence and he stayed that way with a dark look. Morroch sighed, the sound magnified and the Ancients turned to him again.

"I do not want to cause strife between you. Seregon is right. I am just another dragon and that is how I would be treated." Mirwind raised an eye-ridge and her warble was more a chuckle. "My fellow Kinwa, you are the last dragon of your kind and what is more, your upbringing is most unusual. You are anything but normal I would say."

Gold eyes looked amused, but also challenging, defiant and Voronflame opened his mouth to speak, but Morroch beat him to it. "What of my brother, Alagos? Is he not counted among the shape-shifters?"

The silence and emotions in the room could have cut through mithril and Morroch sat back on his haunches calmly, his gaze hard. Emeraldsong turned to Voronflame, her yellow eye vicious. "What have you told him?" The fire dragon bared his teeth, but didn't respond and the shape-shifter's voice cut through the hostility. "Voronflame told me the truth about what happened to my kin, nothing more. Alagos has told me what I needed to know." One of the things his brother had mentioned was to not give in to the Ancients if they were being unreasonable. He had said to beware of those who would seem like friends right away and to look instead for the dragons that were more reserved in their judgments. Alagos had paused after that, though, and amended one thing. He'd said that the knowledge dragons were ones Morroch could trust. The black shape-shifter now watched the Ancients, testing the waters.

Wiseheart in turn watched the young black dragon with quiet amusement. For one so young and so unused to their ways, he was surprisingly adept at making them reveal themselves. The knowledge dragon looked over at his kin with curiosity. Just how would they react to such a touche topic?

"Brassen is bitter and a trouble-maker, Dagoryn. He cannot be trusted." It was said firmly by Celestream and Morroch's tail twitched and circled in thought. Finally he gave a nod of acknowledgment, but not of assent. The water dragoness did not appear to recognize the difference and the matter was dropped, none of the dragons mentioning it again as Emeraldsong stepped in and spoke.

"Dagoryn, Voronflame tells us you have already broken one of our laws." Seregon growled, fangs bared. "Our greatest one." he added. Morroch tilted his head, confused. "I do not understand. What law have I broken?" And why had Voronflame told them he'd done this in the first place? Why hadn't Voronflame told HIM he'd done something wrong?

"The two-leg. You have bonded with the Eldanarë." It was hissed, almost like a curse or something vile and the shape-shifter stood, his own teeth bared and gold eyes narrowed in anger. His tail lashed behind him. "Yes, I have. How is that against your law?" Emeraldsong seemed to regard him as she would a child, her voice almost sweet, but condescending. "An Oath was sworn between Dragon and Maia, Dragon and two-legs long ago that we would no longer pursue the Rishten, the bond between their species and ours. It was sealed by our ancestors with blood and from that point on, we have no longer felt the bond-pull." Her yellow eyes narrowed into slits. "Until now. You have broken the Oath and with the one creature we would have destroyed."

Morroch's growl was savage, his gold eyes blazing with fury and it seemed to surprise some of the dragons there. Voronflame tensed, ready to jump between the rest of the Ancients and the shape-shifter if Morroch lost control. He'd seen the smaller dragon angry. He'd also seen that it was Arienel that managed to calm him and the elleth was not here...

"You will not touch her!" He was beyond angry, a surge of protective fire bubbling in his middle, filling his lungs. Heart-fire, Alagos had called it. Fire and anger that would protect loved ones. Morroch would not hesitate to release it if any of these dragons made a choice to harm his rider. None of them moved and it was Wiseheart that spoke and the others let him do so, showing some wisdom. "You might relax, Dagoryn. We wanted to kill the Eldanarë, but we could not find her and now that she is bonded, there is no point in killing her. The damage is done and it cannot be undone this time."

Morroch eyed all of them, but Wiseheart's voice in his head - while uncomfortable - made the shape-shifter blink, sudden amusement filling his eyes. "It would seem that your brother has been busy making sure our way of life changes for the better." The shape-shifter relaxed slightly, casting the Knowledge Ancient a grateful look. Apparently not every Ancient thought he'd done something horrible by breaking this law.

"Unfortunately, Wiseheart is right. The Oath is broken and now our kind will be subject to the Rishten once more." Morroch gave Emeraldsong a hard, but searching look, seeing the seemingly cold heart that lurked beneath her pretty scales. "What is the harm in this? My rider has seen a world in which many humans and elves bond with our kind. We are no longer in hiding and we are accepted. What is wrong with this vision?"

"It is not the way things have been for a very long time." Quickscale spoke firmly, but his eyes said differently. They held a gleam of excitement that spoke to Morroch. The shape-shifter searched the eyes of the other Ancients and saw allies in Wiseheart, Mirwind and despite their quietness and the unsureness about them, he suspected Celestream and Rosclaw might come to change their minds as well. Voronflame, Emeraldsong and Seregon were adamantly against this new idea and they showed it clearly. The shape-shifter felt like he'd entered a battle, a fight he had not anticipated, one he did not feel he should be dealing with.

Morroch sighed and Voronflame jumped off his ledge. "I think we should let Dagoryn sleep. It has been a long day and this discussion can wait for another time." The other Ancients seemed to come to themselves, remembering that their guest was just that, a guest. They dismissed the shape-shifter with nods. Morroch was more then happy to leave.

The Great Cavern was empty when he and Voronflame emerged from the Ancient Chamber. Morroch sniffed the air out of instinct, getting faint traces of individual-type scents that led to different tunnels. He couldn't tell what scent belonged to which kind of dragon yet, though. The fire dragon sighed beside him and started toward a tunnel over by the Entrance Tunnel, but to the right of it. "Come, Dagoryn. I will show you the Fire Cavern, where you will be sleeping."

The shape-shifter followed, but his expression was dark and his voice was low when he spoke. "I have not been here a day and already they are displeased with me." He looked over at the fire dragon as they neared the cave tunnel that smelled strongly of smoke and flame, much like Voronflame himself. "They are not truly angry at you...at least not as much as they might seem. We are simply stressed and worried about this change, about the many changes coming to our kind. Give them time, Dagoryn."

Morroch nodded, but in his heart, he still felt angry about what had happened. He had not known what to expect coming here, but to be accused of breaking a sacred law and having Arienel threatened, no matter how vaguely, was not it. The black dragon shook his head and followed Voronflame into the warm tunnel. They followed the walls for what seemed like only a short time before it opened up into a cavern that glowed with heat and light from the large lava pool at its center. Large dragons - all around Voronflame's shape or slightly smaller - lounged about, some with their tails in the magma and others on ledges around the rock walls. Their colors ranged from dark to light reds, dark to light yellows, orange to pale orange and black - sometimes being a mixture of two or more of these colors. All the fire dragons looked up as their Ancient entered, the stranger trailing behind him.

Morroch once again was studied carefully, but this time, the dragons seemed more curious then judgmental. The shape-shifter stepped further into the giant cave and a dragoness, scarlet in color, came up to touch noses with him, smiling. "Migove. I am Scarlet-tongue."

"I am Dagoryn."

"It is a good name. Come, I will tell you the names of the others."

The shape-shifter soon learned that four fire dragons - Voronflame, Firespirit, Flametooth and Firescale - and four fire dragoness - Flamemoon, Emberwing, Sunwing and Scarlet-tongue - lived at this time. Their dragonlings were few. The ones he was aware of being in the cavern were these; Red and Ember being the only female firelings and Blaze, being the only male. The dragonlings seemed wary and sad, and the shape-shifter suspected that something had happened to their siblings. Voronflame quietly told him that Spark, Sun and Smoke had been taken three weeks ago. Morroch met each of them briefly and then settled down for the night near the Lava Chambers, a tunnel that led off to where the lava pools were in abundance. The Lava Chamber had been one of the reasons that fire dragons had chosen this cave as their own.

As the shape-shifter curled in a bed of dry leaves, taken from the outside and brought in, listening to the sound of great breathing and the crackling of fire, he couldn't help but miss Arienel. He fell asleep wishing she were here and that he didn't feel so alone.

Review! It is the first chapter! YIPPIE!