Cormyr_ a novel - Ed Greenwood [1]
The first morsel took the edge off Thauglor's hunger, and he approached the second in a more leisurely manner, taking the time to savor the buffalo's steaming entrails and stomach, rolling the juicy organs around in his mouth with an appreciative tongue before swallowing. He cracked the skull of his prey with the heavy grinding fangs along one side of his jaw, then plucked out the soft contents within with a deft stab of a delicate tongue tip.
The gentle, wet sound of Thauglor's feeding was drowned out by a small nearby screech-more of a draconian cough-and Thauglor raised his head from his midday meal, eyes suddenly narrow and dangerous.
At the edge of the clearing, another black dragon was settling out of the sky-a youngling, a runt no more than ten winters old, his scales still soft and shining as if he were newly emerged from the egg. The lightness of his belly plates marked him as one of Casarial's brood, and he showed all the impetuousness of Thauglor's youngest granddaughter. The newcomer eased forward, seeking to snare one of the remaining corpses from his elder.
Thauglor's eyes narrowed to slits, and he let out a low, throaty growl. There would be no sharing this day, at least not until the great black had had his fill. And definitely not with some youngling who showed so little respect as to try to sneak away a few scraps from Thauglor's buffet.
Thauglor rose on his haunches and spread his wings to their full extent, touching the tips together above his head and eclipsing the youth in his shadow. The young dragon froze in place beneath Thauglor's stare, and the older dragon wondered for a moment if the youngster would be foolish enough to press the issue.
The youngling's eyes told the tale. Pools of fear glimmered at their heart as the youth suddenly realized his peril. Slowly the youngling edged back.
Probably when the runt landed he had been thinking about how easy it would be to steal a scrap from the doddering elder, a creature so old that his scale edges were turning a pale violet. Only now would the youth realize that this was no aged and toothless wyrm. Only now might the youth think of stories told of the great and venerable progenitor of the local black dragons.
"Do you have a name, youngling?" said Thauglor, posing the question in the most archaic and exact tones of Auld Wyrmish. The scent that wafted from Thauglor's scales underscored that this was no polite request, but an imperious demand.
"K-Kreston," said the youth, stammering slightly, handling the ancient tongue with all the discomfort of a schoolboy in grammar class. "Spawn of Casarial out of Miranatol, grandchild of Hesior, blood of the mighty Thauglorimorgorus, the Black Doom. Sir."
"Your mother Casarial was often impetuous," said Thauglor. "Ask her how she gained the scar over her left eye." After a moment, he added levelly, "You should put that question to her carefully and politely."
The young dragon nodded, and Thauglor rumbled, "Wait at the edge of the clearing. You may have the remains. Better next time that you watch the hunt and learn to catch such meals yourself."
Another gulp and nod, and Kreston retreated to the forest's edge. His eyes still held their fear and never left the elder dragon. Though Thauglor never gave his own name-the youth was wise enough not to demand it-the purple-scaled elder was sure the young dragon had recognized his forefather.
Thauglor cut the choicest meats from the forest buffalo's corpse, wielding his dewclaw with the slicing skill of a master butcher, and took them into his mouth with a tongue that curled in indolent ease.
Not bothering to glance at the younger blackscales, Thauglor gnashed his old, yellowing fangs once, yawned, and turned to his other kills.