Queen Scarlet’s tail swished angrily as she stood the edge of her podium in her arena, her eyes narrowing at the crowd. The sun beat down from above, and the lava pits bubbled below around the edge of the arena for effect, but none of that bothered her. What was really getting under her scales was the waiting.

In the middle of the arena stood her daughter, you. You were shuffling your claws in the dirt. Your fiery scales glowed as the heat built up around you, and you could feel Scarlet watching. It made you feel even more restless.

“Hurry up!” Queen Scarlet snapped, her voice sharp. “You’ve got the power of a firescale, and you’re standing there like any other dragonet? Show them what you can do!”

You, young dragonet frowned, frustrated. You knew you had power, but your mother was pushing like this only made it harder. It wasn’t as simple as just turning it on.

You took a deep breath and closed your eyes. Deep inside, you could feel the fire—hotter than the lava in the pits. You dug your sharp claws into the ground, and suddenly, the air around you started to heat up, little sparks of flame jumping off your glowing scales.

“There it is,” Queen Scarlet said, her voice still sharp but with a bit of pride. “Now, show them who you really are.”