With a single talon Myrina gently nudged the scrying crystal into position. “There,” she said to her assistant. “Make sure all the other crystals around the nest are aligned with this one. Get them in place as soon as possible. These eggs are on the verge of hatching.” The younger scholar nodded and hustled over to the rest of her team, intent on carrying out the new directions.

The Coatl sat back on her haunches with a sigh. She pulled out the message that upended her day. Her orders were scrawled across the parchment in a rushed, sloppy script.





“S..s...scholar?” came a tentative voice from behind her.

Myrina stood and turned to see the clutch’s parents, Bocco, a Spiral dragon and the Bogsneak Attora, behind her. Bocco had all but tied himself into a knot earlier that day when her team descended upon their nest without warning. He’d since settled for coiling his length around his mate’s long neck. His head rested on hers, eyes wide with worry.

“Are our hatchlings okay, Myrina?” Attora hissed. Her expression was calm but her tongue flicked in and out of her mouth rapidly.

“Yes,” Myrina replied. “Nothing in my orders suggests the Oculus believes the health or safety of the hatchlings is at risk. We’re simply here to monitor, record, and document the magic flowing towards nesting grounds across Sornieth. You just happened to be the closest, both in location and incubation.”

Before she could turn back towards the nest to double-check her team’s work, Bocco gasped. The Spiral uncoiled himself from his mate and shot off towards their clutch. “A crack! There’s a crack!” he cried. “They’re hatching!”





The hatching itself was uneventful. Routine, even. “This is what Smark rushed us out for?” Myrina muttered to her assistant, disappointed.

Their readings were clear: Despite the unusual surges of magic they detected heading towards the nests, there were no new manifestations of power, magic, strength; just a nest of five healthy hatchlings.

The researchers watched the new parents cooing and fretting over their young. Myrina sighed, rolling up her notes and slipped them into her case. She cast one last glance at the new family. Only one had opened their eyes so far, their pale pink pupils several shades lighter than their parents’ bright magenta. Then another hatchling’s eyes started to open...





The scroll case slipped unnoticed from her talons as she reached over to yank her assistant closer. The Coatl all but shoved her snout in her assistant’s ear, “Set the crystals back up, quietly, do not disturb the hatchlings, do not surprise them, just get me those readings!”

Myrina slowly inched her way towards the hatchlings. Making eye contact with Bocco, she held a talon up against her mouth. The closest hatchling noticed her and flop-waddled his way over to the edge of the nest. Myrina gently scratched under his chin as she studied him and his primal, runed eyes. She looked over at her assistant and made the slightest headshake she could manage. Despite the drastic visual change, still no new powers, no new level of magic, just what looks like a new expression... Myrina had to suppress a gasp as not to scare the little one enjoying his chin scritches. These eyes, these types of eyes had to be a new expression of their Arcane element! She couldn’t wait to get back to the Oculus and compare notes with her fellows. The world continued to show radical changes after the recent, cataclysmic events!

Only time would tell if other hatchlings around Sornieth would be affected...