First Flight! Reader's Challenge to the Writer.

Brooke Smith

1. Naive, upbeat, young bird-person
2. Mt. Doom!
3. Coming-of-age task: find and complete a quest/adventure
4. Magic bottle of never-ending ale

(Brooke, this one is just cruel)

Harpy by CrystalCurtisArt on DeviantArt

Merador had been hatched almost one hundred years after the explosion of Orodruin.  The land had been returned to the slaves after the volcano had exploded into a fiery cascade of ash, lava, and burning embers.  Merador had been taught the ancient histories.  He knew that the land had been desolate before the explosion.  But even so, he would sometimes come across a strand of small trees that all lay in a blackened tale of the force the mountain had sustained, their corpses all pointing away from the mountain.

The Black Dragon

Black Dragon by sandara on DeviantArt

I have come across research that black dragons are evil, mean and extremely cunning.  This has not been my experience.   They are cunning, make no bones about that.  They will lash out at anything that moves if they are hungry.  This unfortunately has led to the death of clutch mates if the mother is not present at the hatching.

It can't be easy being a creature that breathes acid.  It wears at their face scales, creating a pocked mark face and often it can look as if their face scales are peeling back.  In addition, the elements they need to eat to create their breath weapon are often found in swamps and murky places.  I doubt you would be in a good mood if you had to live in such a dismal and forlorn place.