In this preview scene, Bradlin (or Brad to those that know him), is bringing food to one dragon he particularly likes, and happens to watch some fellow dragoons check this dragon's eggs to see if they are fertile.
After carefully descending the frail-looking stairwell down into the dragon stables, Brad set his torch into a nearby stand, making numerous dragon scales glint in the dim firelight. Some were red, others blue, and still others green, but at this moment, Brad was looking for one particular dragon--a red one whose scales were a darker red than most of her kind. The dragonmaster had said that such dragons were rare, and those with less than noble intentions would go to any lengths to find one. Rarer still were those born with a lighter scale color--those kinds of dragons were reserved for only the greatest dragoons.He decided to call a single name into the mass of snoozing dragons. "Glory?"
"I'm over here, little one." a gentle female voice replied back in the direction of the nesting room that was tucked away in the left wall. Brad gathered up the meat and started down the left side of the room, being careful to step over any heads, claws or tails that were possibly buried in the hay. After feeling the left wall for a moment, he felt the door leading into the nesting room and stepped inside.
"What brings an apprentice like you down here?" a guard snapped, as if afraid that someone was coming inside to disturb the mother dragons, their eggs, or their hatchlings.
"The dragonmaster bid me to feed Glory--um, Glorian." Brad stammered. The guard nodded and guided Brad over towards a room being tended to by two other dragoons, who appeared to be inspecting the eggs that lay by the stomach of a beautiful dark red dragon. One would hold the egg so it would be in line with the harp the other dragoon was reaching for, and the other, a Lightsinger named Arahan, would play the Light spell Aura of Life. The lullaby-like melody would send a beam of light onto the egg, allowing whoever was with Arahan to determine if the egg held a hatchling or not. Infertile eggs were gathered up and thrown out, but fertile eggs would be returned to the mother's side, where they would be examined again in three days.
After a few minutes, Brad heard the gentle rustle of the last egg being placed back by Glorian's side. For some reason, she had never laid any infertile eggs, making some dragoons speculate that all red dragons were like this. Brad knew this wasn't true, as some of the normal red dragons had laid infertile aggs before. Maybe dark red dragons are exceptionally warm, unlike normal fire dragons. he thought as Arahan and his partner departed, leving him the only human in the room.
He remembered his meat and offered it to the snoozing dragon. "Glory...I brought you some food."
The deep red dragon sleepily stirred until it saw the huge slab of beef being offered to it. "Thank you, little one...I was feeling hungry a little while ago." With that, she bit into the meat with a almost sickening crunch. Unlike the other dragons, Glorian--or as Brad had affectionately nicknamed her, Glory--seemed to retain her elegance and majesty even when eating, as there wasn't much of a mess left of the food for the apprentice in charge to clean up when she ate.
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