Chapter Text
The beach. Cold waves rushed over Fathoms claws, sand stuck to his scales, and the sun glared down on him, slightly blinding him from behind scattered clouds.
Fathom was a simple nobody of a prince; easily forgettable, able to blend in, not very special, perfectly normal and ordinary. And it was the day of the animus test, conducted by Prince Albatross and Queen Lagoon. All of the dragonets lined up beside him had turned two within the last two months, the apparent perfect age for a test of a lifetime.
But surely not for Fathom. It would probably be someone like his sister, Princess Pearl.
"Psst! Hey! Fathom!" a voice to his left whispered. "I dare you to grab that seagul and eat it before Albatross and the queen get here!" Her tail waved anxiously side to side behind them.
Fathom glanced sideways at her deep purple-blue scales before shushing her and returning his gaze to the water, clouds barely visible above the horizon.
Indigo snickered quietly. "Come on! I know you want to!"
"Quit it!" Fathom whispered back. "We are supposed to be silent! Stop talking!"
The purple dragonet scoffed dramatically, holding her head high. "Who should be quiet! I have not said a word!"
Not a single moment passed before she began poking him with her tail, glancing at him with a mischievous grin.
"Stop!" Fathom hissed, snapping his head towards Indigo, who turned her's to Pearl's.
"Three moons, your brother is so loud, Pearl!" Indigo sighed, playfully dangling her head to one side while flaring out one of her wings.
Pearl huffed. "The both of you need to be quieter! I'm being the model dragonet, you should follow my lead." She closed her eyes and turned her head away.
Just then, the waves were interrupted by two figures rising from them, stepping onto the shore in front of the dozen-or-so dragonets.
The taller one, Albatross, quietly hissed to the queen at his side. "Your Majesty, this is a wate of both our times. I am less than thrilled about a hypothetical apprentice, and even so they would've shown signs by now of any power they had."
Queen Lagoon hissed back. "We are done talking about this. Enough whining."
"Yes, Your Majesty..."
To the right, as Albatross began speaking, the seagull squawked and flew away into the nearby trees.
"Dragonlings, the test today will show us if you were born with this legendary power as i was. This power, rare but very, very powerful, allows the dragon with it to enchant objects to their own will, the only extent being the ability to revive a dragon back from the dead, an impossible feat."
Albatross paced in front of the dragonets, staring down each of them as he passed, striking fear into them, or maybe that was just Fathom being... Fathom.
"As of right now, I am the only animus this tribe has ever known, and I am certain it will stay that way by the end of this test."
With a flick of his tail, at least a dozen coconuts fell from the trees above, landing perfectly in front of each dragonet, including Fathom.
"I want you all to pick up your coconut, and command it to strike me. Should you have any power in your talons, it will do so."
Fathom, hovered his talons for a second over the coconut. These next few moments could change his entire life... it could decide what does and doesn't happen... what if he picked it up and made it hit Queen Laggon, or what if it exploded??
Finally, he reached for it. It didn't immediately spontaneously combust, so that was one worry out of the way.
He brought the coconut close to his face, and among the chatter of nearby dragonets, whispered, "coconut, uh...please go... hit my grandfather in the chest... please?"
When it didn't move, a wave of relief rushed over him like the waves deep below the surface of the water, pressure sending him flying sideways while the sun glowed through the top of the water.
"Fathom, that was the most pathetic command I've ever seen!" Indigo said to him. "You need to boss it around, show it who's in charge!"
Indigo gestured to his coconut, hers plopped somewhere off to her side, sand piling around it.
He nodded, help the coconut higher up to the sun, and spoke clearer. "Coconut, I command you to fly over and strike my granfather in his chest!"
Before he could blink, before the next bird could chirp, before the next wave could begin to crash, the coconut was gone, and a yelp echoed through the air, followed by a deafening thud.
Albatross, stumbled back into the water, and Fathom's mind was overrun with the fear the he KILLED HIS GRANDFATHER.
Quickly though, Albatross arose, coconut in claws, breathing heavily.
"Which one was that?" He said, raising his chin to pear down at the dragonets below.
Pearl jumped around Fathom, as did Indigo, but both for different reasons, Pearl out of curiosity and confusion, and Indigo out of excitement. "Fathom did it! It was Fathom! My brother is an animus!" Pearl yelled, pointing to Fathom from above, and Albatross stared at him, surprised, before gesturing the two other dragonets away.
Indigo was practically buzzing. "Great three moons, Fathom, why did you never tell me!?"
Fathom tilted his head. "How could I have told you? I had no idea myself!"
Albatross walked up to Fathom and leaned down to his level. "Prince Fathom, you are going to do wonders for this kingdom."
Fathom was an animus. His claws held so much power, he was capable of so much...
And this was only the beginning.