The first eggs to hatch were in the nest situated in the mountains, next to the entrance to the underground city area.

Some of the dragons there were earth element, but most of the group was either not elementally aligned, or was wind element, and wanted to be as close to open skies as possible.

Karl landed next to the clutch for a moment, and transformed into Cat Demon form so that they could get a better look. But he stayed far enough back that the residents who had signed up to help the baby dragons were able to work freely.

"Do the staff here have a betting pool on which species will hatch first?" Karl asked as the orphanage staff moved efficiently to prepare for the hatching.

"Such things are undignified." The Matron declared.

"The pool is at two thousand gold coins, and there's a good chance she will win with her bet on a lightning dragon." Librarian Ike whispered.

Karl smiled. "It's not too late for me to upgrade their potential, which will likely change most of their species."

The Librarian laughed, his eyes sparkling with blue light. "It would just change the winner. There are at least three who have wagered that you will do exactly that, and changing a Lightning Dragon to a Divine Lightning Dragon or a Tribulation Dragon would still have a clear winner."

"You really did think of everything."

"We had two hundred bettors who needed to come up with different wagers, so they got creative. I wouldn't think too deeply about it. However, if you do wish to interfere with the hatching, I'm sure that the young ones would appreciate it when they were old enough to understand."

Karl shook his head. "No, they've already gained a lot from the enchantments that I put on the Tiny World. If I did more it might start to have side effects."

Layering slightly different effects of the same skill might not even work at all, Karl knew. He had integrated the spell into the Tiny World, giving the eggs a chance to grow to be their very best, the same that Remi's potion had done for the eggs of the Shadow Dragon Prince when he was on that errand for Bishop Misty, the Temporal Dragon.

Now, they shouldn't have any trouble reaching Immortality, and they were going to grow up much stronger than their parents.

Strong enough that the older dragons in the space were going to have their hands full trying to raise them.

One of the larger blue eggs rocked, and then with a mighty crack, a tiny dragon burst free of the shell. But it was not the lightning dragon that burst out.

Everyone had expected the egg to host one of the lesser dragon species, akin to the blue dragons, but far weaker in potential. However, what broke free was something entirely different.

It was a Storm Dragon, kin to the flood dragons, and not a true dragon at all, despite its power.

Or, that was how it was generally considered.

Like the Flood Dragons, it was serpentine in body, with four legs, but wingless. Like Remi, it could fly just fine without them, and it was perfectly at home in the waters.

However, unlike the Flood Dragon, which had a much lower power level, the Storm Dragons were known in Karl's homeward to make it to Totem Rank at full growth. So, this one should be extremely powerful when fully grown. And, it was immediately drawn to Librarian Ike.

Karl laughed as the nest echoed with the thoughts of the hatchling.

{I am blue, he is blue. No other is blue. That must be my father. What sort of deadbeat mother is not here for my hatching? Perhaps she is getting me food, and I will forgive her.}

The little dragon didn't realize that it was speaking out loud until the Red Dragon Matriarch of the Orphanage laughed.

"Little one, I am Aliah, Matron of the Tiny World Orphanage. Disciple of the Red Dragon, Goddess of War and Orphans. Your mother was killed in battle, and your father is unknown. The blue dragon you see is Ike, our Librarian.

However, I do have food for you, if you are hungry." She explained.

The little Storm Dragon frowned. {Food? I can get food. I smell it. Where is it?}

The hatchling flew up out of the nest, swimming through the air like a snake through water. Then, it spotted the pond at the base of the mountain.

{FOOD! I see it, swimming in the water.}

He was about to take off when Karl caught him.

"There is no need to hunt your first meal, you can do that next time, little one. The Golden Carp in that pond are larger than you are, and they bite back. Fortunately, we have caught some in advance and cut it into manageable

pieces."

The Storm Dragon wrapped around his wrist as Karl led him back over to Matriarch Aliah. "This is the woman in charge of making everyone behave. The blue dragon is the one in charge of helping everyone learn valuable skills. But this fine Elf is the one in charge of today's meal."

The Druid laughed as the tiny dragon gave her a loving stare.

Then, she held up a small plate with diced fish cubes, and the dragon forgot all about being wrapped around Karl as he struggled to lunge for the delicacy and got himself tangled.

"You have to move your whole body, not just your head when you're wrapped around something. There you go, you're free now. Go eat."

The hatchling gave Karl a grateful nod of his head before lunging at the plate and shutting out everything else happening around it.

"They're adorable at that age." Dana whispered.

"As long as you're not between them and the food." Aliah agreed.

There wasn't much time to chat, though. More of the eggs were beginning to

crack, and the message had already gone out confirming the species of the first hatchling. Dana wasn't certain if anyone had guessed Storm Dragon, but with a hundred different options, they might have.