Prequel: The Report

After the dragon flew away, the settlers were convinced that they had been so nervous they had missed. They convinced themselves that somehow that creature, that dragon had flown away uninjured, not because of her skill or strength; but because all of them had made an error. They were so convinced of their species superiority that it never occurred to them, that she had come to welcome the new species to the planet and assess their ability to interact with the power the planet held.

Mitana reported to the council that the humans she encountered were frightened, unable to communicate, primitive, and strange. They had attacked her and she had been forced to shield herself and flee. She saw no reason to attempt further interaction with the lower species. As the territory dragon of the nearest territory to where the humans were, she planned to ignore them. She was young with only three clan members and having the council make a request for her to observe something was both thrilling and terrifying. At the same time, she did not want them to monopolize her attention when she had her own territory to look after.

“You did not give them the rules?”

“They are incapable of understanding.”

Silence filled the connection. “Given time, we will see if your observations prove true. Every cycle, you will report and tell us what they are doing.”

Mitana was not pleased, but a cycle seemed a long time, so she agreed.