Chapter Text
On the eve of Luke's birth, a dragon egg was placed in his cradle.
His mother was no dragon rider, but his father was a legend because he had two.
Unfortunately, the egg never hatched and Prince Luke Castellan, heir to the Arcadian throne, would have to wait to come of age before he could claim a dragon.
This was their ancient custom.
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Every kingdom had their own traditions.
The Athenian dragons nested in a vast labyrinth, while the Spartan dragons only yielded to those who bested them in a fight. Their methods were varied but one thing remained true for all kingdoms: it was the Royal Family who were solely blessed with the ability to tame them.
The Kingdom of Arcadia was no different in this regard. However, their Golden dragons have a reputation for being extremely violent and territorial, and Ladon was one of the oldest and fiercest of all the winged dragons. He was the largest of his kind and had guarded their Nest for well over a hundred years, immovable as the mountain itself.
Therefore, the only way to get a dragon egg…was to steal it.
When Hermes’ own cradle-egg didn't hatch, he waited to come of age before successfully stealing his own two dragons. And when his son was born, he stole yet another egg for the boy's bedside.
Luke had every intention of following in his footsteps. Hell, he wanted to do better , but he knew in his heart that Ladon wouldn't let the same mistake happen twice.
And he was right.
Those lofty dreams were swiftly dashed as a claw was slashed into his face, narrowly missing his eye, and Luke never approached the cave again…until now.