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Speaker 1: Hello, friends from across the nation and around the world.

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I'm Martin, and you are listening to Dad's Bedtime Stories,

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of the podcast that takes listener ideas and turns them

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into bedtime stories. Tonight, we're finally headed back into the

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Dragon Knights universe, a place we haven't been in a

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while because, I guess mostly because there's just a bunch

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of stories I wanted to do, and I was waiting

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on somebody to give me a really good Nature Dragon

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General suggestion, and I finally got it, so let's check

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it out.

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Speaker 2: Him Martin, It's Roan from rised Bridge, Ontario, Canada, and

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I have nice inner stories for the Dragon Knights series.

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For the Nature Dragon General's backstory, I think it's good.

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If like, there was a girl named Vine. She got

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lost in the forest when she was really little, and

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she found a cave and a ventured inside where she

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found a small dragon. The dragon name was Bloom. The

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Bloom could make anything grow anytime or anywhere. Bloom protected, fed,

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and cared for Vine until her family found her. The

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connection was strong, that was no doubt. Years later, the

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Dragon King attacked Vine's village, capturing Bloom. Vine pretended she

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was not a Dragon Master Dragon Knight to be part

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of the dragonon King's army with Bloom by her side.

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But thanks, I love your podcast.

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Speaker 1: By great suggestion from Rowan, who is also one of

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my Patreon's sponsors, and it fits really well with another

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Nature Dragon general suggestion I got from Millie who did

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the Water Dragon general suggestion, so I think I can

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fit this all together. Other than I did have to

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talk to Rowan about changing the name of the main

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character because Vine is already the name of the Nature

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Dragon of the series, and she agreed that Violet would

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be fine, so that's what we're gonna go with today.

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I'd also like to give a big shout out to

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Ibrahim who wrote in to see if I was gonna

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continue this series at all, so that gave me a

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bit of a kick in the pants to start. Anyways,

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I spent a good amount of time putting all of

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those ideas together into what I think makes sense for

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the series, and I hope you guys like it, because

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now it's that time again, after a possible word from

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a possible sponsor, close your eyes, get as comfy as

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you can in that bed, and well imagine yourself doing

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what the dragon Jim General in the story does. Before

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Violet was ever called the Nature Dragon General, and before

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she stood beside the Dragon King with a silent nature

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dragon under her command, and before anyone believed she'd betrayed

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everything she once loved, she was just a little girl

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lost in the woods. The forest where Violet grew up

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was no ordinary forest. It was old, older than most villages,

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older than most roads, older than anyone's great grandmother's great grandmother,

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which is generally considered quite old by anyone listening. Violet

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loved it. Her parents, however, loved it a little less.

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When Violet wandered off too far into the woods stayed

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near the bath. Her mother would say, don't follow strange noises,

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her father would add, and Violet always, you know, meant

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to listen. She really did. But one afternoon, when she

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was still very young, she heard a sound between the trees.

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It wasn't a voice exactly, It wasn't really music, but

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it was something kind of between the two, almost like

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the roots were humming beneath the ground. She stopped picking

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berries and looked deeper into the woods. The sound was

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calling to her.

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Speaker 3: Now.

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Speaker 1: In her defense, most children would probably have ignored a

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mysterious forest sound, but Violet was not most children, and

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this sound had something special. It really felt like it

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was talking to her, so she followed it. At first,

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she only went a little bit off the path, but

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then she went a little more and a little more,

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and before long she'd completely left the path and well

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lost all track of where she was going. But she

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continued to follow the sound until her legs ached. The

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rain soon began to fall, and Violet ran for shelter,

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pushing through wet ferns and thick vines until she failed

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a rocky hill almost completely hidden by roots, and there,

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tucked behind hanging moss was a cave. She hesitated for

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a moment before stepping inside, but luckily the cave was dry,

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at least near the entrance. As she continued to move

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deeper into the cave, she noticed that the walls weren't

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rough like a normal cave. They were smooth, carved with

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patterns of leaves, branches, and roots. This isn't just a cave,

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she whispered, Somebody made this place. A soft green glow

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answered from deep inside, and for some strange, inexplicable reason,

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Violet continued towards it. The tunnel opened into a round chamber,

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and sitting in the center of it was an egg,

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a really big egg. It was green and gold, with

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little vine like lines growing on its shell. Violet stared

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at it. She knew what it was before anyone told her.

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Everyone knew stories of dragon egg, even if most people

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never expected to see one. Dragons were real in her world.

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After all. Dragon knights were real too, but they belonged

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to the strongholds, legends, and important people, not people like Violet. Nonetheless,

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Violet stepped closer, and the egg pulsed with light. Something

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inside her chest pulled back too. She reached out and

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touched the shell. At that instant, the egg cracked. Green

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light filled the chamber. The shell split apart, and from

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inside a little, tiny dragonling with bright green scales climbed out.

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It blinked in Violet, and Violet blinked back. You know,

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very small, the dragon said. Violet gasped. You can you

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can talk? Of course, I can talk, the dragon replied,

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I am a dragon talking as one of the easier

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things to do. Violet stared for another second. I'm lost,

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she said. The dragon ling tilted her head.

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Speaker 3: I know.

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Speaker 1: You know, yes, I could feel you coming. You followed

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the roots. I followed a sound, she said. That was

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the roots, the dragon said, or the earth, or or me.

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It's hard to tell. Everything's connected. Violet didn't understand that yet,

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but the words settled in her chest like something very important.

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The dragon ling stepped closer. My name is Bloom, she said,

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and you are my dragon night. Violet looked behind herself,

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just in case there was like another person standing there

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or something, but there.

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Speaker 3: Was no one.

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Speaker 4: Me.

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Speaker 1: Yes, Bloom said you. Then a light burst between them.

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It was a warm light. It felt like sunlight shining

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through leaves. It felt good as it hit her, and

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suddenly she felt something else. She felt the dragon's heart

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beat beside her own. She felt the roots of the cave,

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the moss on the stone. For one impossible moment, she

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felt everything living around her as if well as if

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it were all par of the same, well the same her.

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Then the light faded. Violet looked down at her arms

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and legs and saw that she was covered in armor. Armor.

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She recognized armor she'd seen pictures of before and story

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books Nature dragon knight armor, and at her side was

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a natured dragon Knight's sword. I'm really a dragon knight now,

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she asked, Yep, you sure are, and I'm hungry. Violet

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looked around the cave, Well what do you eat? Bloom

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sniffed the air and crawled around. Then she opened her

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mouth and took a bite out of a thick green vine. Plants,

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Bloom said, life, sunlight, stored in leaves, water stored in fruit, roots, vines, flowers, seeds,

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It's all really good to me. Over the next few days,

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Violet and Bloom stayed near the cave. Bloom eight and

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Violet learned a bit about her powers. She learned how

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to call and dismiss her dragon knight armor, how to

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use her sword and shield, and she learned a little

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bit about her connection to the earth itself from Bloom.

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Of course. At the same time, Violet's parents searched desperately

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for her. The whole village searched, but the forest was

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deep and the rain had washed away her tracks. Bloom

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took care of her. She grew berries from empty soil.

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She curled vines into a soft bed. She made giant

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leaves bend together into a roof, and when Violet was

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sad at night time, Bloom curled around her like a

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warm blanket. You'll see them again soon, Bloom promised. How

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do you know, Violet asked, the forest brought you to me.

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I will not keep you from them forever. Soon I

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will be big enough to fly. They will be easy

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to find after that. And Bloom was right. She grew

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quickly as dragons did. Every day she ate leaves, roots,

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and flowers, and every day she became stronger and larger.

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Soon she was large enough for Violet to ride through

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the forest, though not quite large enough to fly yet.

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Together they started to wander further from the cave, and

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Bloom tught Violet about her nature magic. How to listen

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to the plants, how to listen to the animals, how

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to listen to the forest itself, and how to control it,

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how to ask it to do what you wanted it

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to do. By the time Bloom was large enough to fly,

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Violet was one with the forest. She was no longer

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afraid of it. She felt like she belonged to it

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and in it. One morning, Bloom lowered herself beside the cave.

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I think it's time, she said, so Violet climbed onto

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her back, holding on tight as Bloom ran through the

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trees and leapt into the air, spreading her wings and

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pulling the two of them higher and higher until they

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were well above the green canopy. Violets saw the forest

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from above for the first time. It stretched forever in

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every direction, rolling like an ancient ocean of leaves. Blooms

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circled once and then well. She followed a poll that

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only she seemed to understand. Less than a half hour later,

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they landed in a clearing near Violet's village. Violet's mother

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saw her first. She dropped the basket she was carrying,

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and she screamed Violet's name as she ran to ward.

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There were tears, of course, and there were hugs, and

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there were questions, and there was also a lot of

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staring at Bloom. Words spread quickly. A child had returned

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from the deep forest riding a nature dragon. A message,

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of course, was sent to the Nature dragon knights. They

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would want to know about this. Three days later they came.

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They came from the jungle region, where these strongest nature

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dragons and their riders trained among the enormous trees and

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ancient sacred groves. Their armor gleamed green, their dragons moved

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like living forests, and they examined bloom, they examined Violet,

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and they bowed a true bond. Their leader said, the

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dragon has chosen. Violet's parents didn't want to lose her again,

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but the Nature Dragons explained that Violet needed training not

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because she was being taken from her family, but because

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the bond she carried was powerful and sacred. She was

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bound for better and more important things, And so Violet

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went to the Jungle Region. She grew up there among

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the Nature dragon Knights and the Nature Dragons. The Jungle

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region was even wilder than the forest of her childhood.

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Trees rose up higher than she'd ever seen, rivers curved

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through glowing flowers, and in the center of it was

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the Nature Dragon's Stronghold, an entire village that was sort

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of wound together out of tree branches, roots, and vines.

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Food grew everywhere, and it was incredibly peaceful, at least

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most of the time. Violet trained, learned how to make

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plants grow from the ground. She learned how to command

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vines in battle, how to form her shield using her

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dragon Knight armor, how to grow fruit instantly, and even

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how to heal things. Trees, people animals. It was an

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advanced technique, but one that many seasoned dragon knights learned.

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If they could command plant cells, they could also command

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animal cells to heal. Once they saw the connection between

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all living things anyways, her trainers soon learned that Violet

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saw that connection. She saw it almost better than anyone else.

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Violet became powerful. In fact, she became magnificent. She became

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one of the strongest natured dragon knights the world had

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ever seen. Together with Bloom, they could grow forests and minutes.

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They could command plants to move like waves. They could

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speak to animals across the jungle and call for their help.

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But on top of that, Violet had another gift, one

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that made even the oldest dragon knights whisper, one that

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came only once in every generation. She could speak to

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the Earth itself, not the earth the way earth dragons

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felt it as like stone and stuff. Violet could feel

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the life inside it. She heard the threads that connected it,

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the connections between every growing thing, every creature, every breath.

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When she stood barefoot and sacred soil and closed her eyes,

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she could feel the whole jungle breathing, and then the

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whole world. Sometimes it guided her. Sometimes it warned her,

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and sometimes it showed her things she did not want

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to see. When the first word came of the dragon Thief,

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many knights dismissed him as a dangerous wizard and nothing more.

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And then darker news came, news that some elemental dragons

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had fallen to this dragon thief. Violet went alone to

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the most sacred place in the Jungle region, a circle

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of ancient trees so old that even dragons lowered their

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voices among them. She knelt in the center and pressed

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both hands into the ground. Show me, she whispered, and

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the earth answered. Violets saw fire, She saw dragons with

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empty eyes. She saw water turned to ice and ice

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shattered by flame. She saw nature burning. She saw riders

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running away as their own dragons turned against them. And

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then she saw something else too. She saw hope. She

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saw eggs, hidden eggs, a future generation of eggs, children

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finding dragons in caves and mountains and swamps and storms,

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just as she had, true dragon knights rising when the

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world had almost forgotten them. Violet opened her eyes with

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tears on her face. She had been shown the path

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to balance, and she hated it because the path didn't

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show victory. Now it showed survival, preparation, waiting betrayal. But

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it was the only path, so Violet began to follow it. First,

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she called a secret meeting of the dragon Knights Sect Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Nature,

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and the remaining elemental dragon Knights. They all sent leaders.

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She stood before them in the Jungle Temple and told

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them only part of the truth. The world is changing,

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she said. The dragon Thief is doing something we do

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not understand. If we fall, the future must not fall

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with us. Each sect must hide one egg, one egg

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of each kind, protected by distance, in secrecy, waiting for

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a rider not yet born or not yet ready. Some argued,

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some believed it was cowardice. Some believed that the dragon

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Knites could never possibly fall. Violet didn't tell them what

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the Earth had shown her. She didn't tell them that

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their battle was destined to fail. She only said that

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hope is not cowardice. The seas must be planted just

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in case, And in the end they listened. They hid

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their eggs one by one. The future was planted in secret.

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Then the war came for the dragon Knights. By then,

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the Fire dragons had fallen, the Water Stronghold had gone

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and even some of the earth dragons that were found

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in the mines with the fire dragons had been turned

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by the Dragon Thief's army. Violet knew the attack was

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coming before the scouts did. She felt it in the roots.

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The Nature dragon Knights prepared to fight well. Violet prepared

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to disappear. She removed her armor with a simple thought,

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and she dressed in the clothes of a servant. She

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even rubbed a little bit of dirt on her face

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to sell the whole thing. Blooms stared at her. No,

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Bloom said yes, Violet insisted, you know they will take me.

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We both know they'll take you. We know they have to.

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You're right, Bloom said, and you will have to let

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them for a while. Violet responded a long while. The

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battle began at dawn. Fire dragons burned the edge of

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the jungle. Flames raced up ancient trunks. Water dragons froze

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defenders in place, trapping wings in armor and ice, and

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Earth dragons ripped trenches through root systems, shadow living walls,

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and sending stones firing at Nature dragon knights. The Nature

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Dragons and their knights fought with everything they had. The

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Jungle itself rose to defend them. Vines grabbed riders, trees

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bent to block fire, roots pulled dragons from the sky,

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but the dragon Thief's control spell moved like poison. One

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by one, nature dragon stiffened and turned. Then Bloom was taken.

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Violet felt the bond vanish not break exactly, but well,

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it was blocked, buried beneath something, something else. Bloom's eyes

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went empty, and Violet nearly screamed, but instead she lowered

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her head and kept carrying water buckets like a terrified servant.

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When the fortress fell, the dragon Thief offered the survivors

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a choice swear loyalty or be taken prisoner. Many refused.

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Violet stepped forward and bowed, I will serve.

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Speaker 3: She said.

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Speaker 1: The dragon Thief barely looked at her at first, but

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Violet joined the army as one of the many survivors.

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She was quiet, obedient, but very very powerful. When her

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first training match came, a soldier twice her size laughed

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when she stepped into the ring. He stopped laughing when

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Violet put him on the ground in about three seconds.

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The next one lasted five, and the next almost ten.

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Violet had trained as a dragon Knight, and even without

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Bloom's power flowing through her, she knew how to move,

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how to balance, how to strategize, and how to fight.

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The Dragon King noticed, bring her forward, he said, after

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the first tournament. Violet bowed low. You fought well, he said,

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for a servant. Thank you, your majesty. Violet replied, So

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you served the dragon knights, Violet led, bitterness enter her face.

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Not too much, just enough. I served under them, she said,

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like many did. His eyes sharpened, and you loved them,

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Violet laughed softly, No, your majesty, they loved themselves enough

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for everyone. Always speaking of balance, always acting as if

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growing trees made them wiser than those who grew food

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or carried water. They're holier than now. Speeches became rather tiring,

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if I'm honest, The dragon King smiled, So you were

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glad that I came a Violet bowed deeper. I'm glad

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someone finally reminded them that power doesn't belong only to

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those born with their precious connections to dragons. That was

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the lie that saved her, or well, maybe doomed her,

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depending on now you look at it. The Dragon King

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believed it. I believe you'll make a very good servant.

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You may choose a dragon. Violet walked among the captured dragons.

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She pretended to study them carefully. She paused beside Bloom

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only after looking at several others. Violet laid a hand

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against her scales and felt the buried bond tremble beneath

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the spell. This one, Violet said. The Dragon King nodded,

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Then you shall command it. The false connection was placed

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in Violet's mind. It felt horrible wrong, but through it,

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Bloom lifted her head. Violets swallowed her pain and climbed

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onto the dragon's back. From that day forward, Violet rose quickly.

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She could no longer call on Bloom's power through a

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true bond, but she knew nature dragons better than anyone

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in the Dragon King's army. She knew how to use vines, rudes, spores, flowers,

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and forests as weapons. She helped defeat the remaining Earth

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stronghold after the Water Dragon General's plan weakened them. She

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helped take the Air Dragon's stronghold, growing forests of vines

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into the sky itself and forcing wind dragons into predictable paths.

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She became the Natured Dragon General and everyone believed she'd

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betrayed the old ways. Sometimes, alone at night, Violet would

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sit beside Bloom and place one hand against the earth.

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She couldn't hear it like she did before, but she

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could still feel whispers. She knew that somewhere out there

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there were children who were not yet ready, eggs that

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were not yet hatched, and knights that had not yet gathered.

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So she waited. She waded through years of serving a

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king she hated. She waited while people feared her name.

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She waited beside a dragon who could not speak back.

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Because someday the true dragon Knights would rise again, and

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when they did, they would need someone inside the Dragon

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King's army. They would need someone who knew what she knew,

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someone who remembered the old ways. So she waited, and

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eventually she got word that her waiting was not in vain,

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that a new group of children had hatched a new

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group of eggs. They'd taken over the Fire Dragon Stronghold,

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the Water Dragon Stronghold, and next they were coming for her.

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She went to bed, knowing that it was time, knowing

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that she would wait no longer.

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Speaker 3: Good Night, everyone, Nevernon m.

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Speaker 4: N new Yor n n no mom thing, more mo

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M one, one mo

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Speaker 2: M