"Behold!" Pyrothane's ancient voice thundered across the amphitheater. "The new generation rises! Awaken your bloodlines beneath the sacred Ragnarok Flame Tree!"
The first awakening I witnessed belonged to Thornscale of the Ironforge family.
Before my eyes, his body expanded stretching from three feet to nearly five. His scales deepened into a crimson so dark it seemed to drink the firelight itself. When he opened his jaws, he no longer spat harmless sparks. This time, true flame roared forth hot, bright, alive.
A glowing mark flared briefly on his forehead: a single star, pulsing with ancestral energy.
"One-star awakening!" his father roared proudly. "Thornscale has achieved the standard whirling transformation!"
All around, celebrations erupted. One after another, wyrmlings awakened beneath the radiant branches. Most achieved one star, while a few soared to two proof of above-average potential.
Each success brought cheers, pride, and whispers of rivalry. Families measured their worth not only by strength, but by how brightly their children's flames burned beneath the sacred light.
Then came the awakening that silenced even the elders.
Pallet stood at the center of her family's circle, her small frame trembling with violent energy. Her body lengthened, her crimson scales glowing with veins of molten gold that pulsed like living lava.
And then came the spark of rarity.
Between her fangs, flames flickerednot a simple breath, but fire fangs themselves. Tiny tongues of flame wrapped around each tooth, hissing and snapping with lethal beauty.
Gasps rippled through the grove.
"Fire Fangs…" someone whispered in awe.
"Three stars!" Chief Magmaroar thundered, his deep voice shaking the Sacred Grove. "Pallet of the Lavaforge family has awakened with three stars and manifested Fire Fangs!"
The crowd erupted in thunderous applause.
Three-star awakenings were rare enough to be celebrated for generations, but Fire Fangs made it extraordinary a rare ability seen only in a handful of bloodlines each century.
Yet amidst the cheers, Magmaroar's face remained cold. His massive jaws did not curl into a smile. His gaze, hard as obsidian, held neither pride nor warmth.
For him, such glory would have been sweeter had it belonged to his son.
Pallet stood tall despite his silence. She raised her head proudly, ignoring the envy around her. Her Fire Fangs blazed to life again, etching molten trails into volcanic stone as she tested their precision.
Flames danced along her grin brilliant and fierce.
Then, her eyes found mine.
"Magnificent!" I shouted before I could stop myself, my voice cracking. "You're incredible, Pallet!"
She smiled bright and proud but behind it, I saw something else. Concern.
Concern for me.
The ceremony continued.
Blazecrest of the Emberforge family awakened with two stars, her flames so intense they melted the stone where she stood.
Scaleheart of the Ashclaw bloodline barely managed one star, yet astonished everyone by shaping his fire into delicate sculptures midair—precision over power.
Crimsonfang of the Forgefire clan earned two stars with sheer brutality, smashing boulders with his claws as molten cracks spread beneath his feet.
One by one, the younglings awakened.
One star.
Two stars.
Pallet's shining three-star brilliance.
Every wyrmling… except me.
"This year has brought many strong awakenings," Pyrothane rumbled, satisfaction heavy in his tone. "Not bad, not bad. Perhaps our tribe shall rise stronger than before."
He smiled down at the younglings , last his eye contact with mine, no expression expected from thousands year old tyransourours rex had seen countless of whirling fail.
"The awakened shall now receive their ancestral sigils!" one elder declared.
I stood in silence as my peers approached the Ragnarok Flame Tree. Sacred fire traced stars upon their foreheads, marking their awakening, their pride, their legacy.
Mine was only emptiness.
"Look at them," someone whispered from a nearby clan. "Every single one awakened except that purple runt."
"Is he really the heir of Scorchclaw's bloodline , Maybe begin of decline ?" came another cold voice. "Wasted one precious Sacred Flame Fruits,and again for after another "
The words sliced deeper than claws.
I looked down at last the glowing fruits clutched in my trembling claws treasures my mother had bled for, scars she might never heal from.
Desperation swelled within me, raw and uncontrollable. My heart pounded like a war drum.
Without thinking, I shoved the fruits into my mouth, chewing between canninne teeths.
Please… awaken.
Please… this time.
And then flames erupted.grabing everyone attention.
The crowd gasped. Roars of awe filled the grove.
But the fire was not mine.
Two blazing figures rose beside memy brothers.
Blazefang roared, unleashing a torrent of crimson fire that coiled through the air like a living serpent.
Infernotail followed, his body swelling with power, his tail slamming the earth like a hammer of flame.
" Two son of scorchclaw awaken directly evolve at brim of two star whirling power , look their flame blaze exceptional as Clone of scorchclaw whirlinghood.
They stood radiant. Awakened. Glorious in public eyes.
And I… remained still.
Silent.
Unchanged.
A shadow among stars.