In the wake of the story of the kobolds past and the loss of their once purpose, the hatchlings took little time to return to their usual chaotic selves. As is the way of children, especially of kobold hatchlings and often kobolds in general. Time passed and the end of their third year approached. The hatchlings would soon take their first steps into life in Clan Emberscale. They would soon become Younglings and be taken as apprentices amongst the many trades and tasks of the clan. Most importantly to many, they would soon unveil their status and begin their life within the system.

Korse remained quite pleased, at least with this particular clutch, not a single loss to the Culling over the last twelve months. While the third year is generally the safest, it is not uncommon to lose one or two to the adventurous spirits of the young. Many a promising kobold has been lost at the cusp of their fourth year. For thirty-two to remain of the initial sixty-three is an astounding year. But it was most definitely an anomaly as the other hatcheries were reporting more typical numbers, nearly two in three young lost to the Culling.

Even the most recent clutch in this very hatchery had lost half their number in just their first year. The minders and even Elder Korse's Skills doing nothing to halt a sickness tearing through and the young having to be quarantined. Locked in with their minders and the entrance sealed aside from providing food, supplies, and fresh runes as needed. Even the minders themselves were not immune to the illness, though not struck nearly as hard a blow by it. The twenty-eight remaining of originally fifty-seven in the clutch were now moved to their brood chamber early. Elder Ylst herself being called on to cleanse the nursery in fire before the newly laid eggs began arriving.

While most shied away from the event, a certain inquisitive soon to be youngling was enraptured by the expression of magic. Having seen little more than the activation of runes to move the air or conjure water. The prospect of seeing of true magic wielded by perhaps the most accomplished practitioner in the entire clan was something she could not bear to miss.

While she was cautioned to keep her distance, none moved to impede her view. They knew that if denied she would simply try to find another means of watching. Perhaps one involving more risk. And who could deny such a sight? Even the adults had few chances to observe Ylst exercising her magical prowess and were excited to watch.

Ylst arrived in her stark white robe that shimmered in the dim light. Accompanying her was a familiar novice mage in green robes. One who'd been residing in these chambers until less than a year prior. They took a few moments to inspect the site of their work before they were to begin, when all was in order she looked to the Novice Mage with her, "Are you ready to begin, Kore?" Receiving a nod in response and a look of concentration on the young mans face as he prepared his spell.

Returning her attention to the chamber and preparing her own spell, her voice rings out with a sense of weight absent in normal speech. "[Incinerate]!" Echoing out as the spectacle begins. Kore standing at the reaches of the rooms entrance invoking his magics next, a rare affinity for spells of wind and air. "[Gust]!" Channeling the ash, smoke, and heat through the ventilation shafts and away from the surroundings. His struggling to hold back the heat of the flames clear in his strain. While Ylst calmly stood amongst her own magic seemingly unbothered by the heat of it.

Flames lick out from Ylst's forward thrust palms to coat the floors and walls, rising to the ceilings. The surfaces blacken as soot coats stone. She slowly fans the flames over the room in a methodic path. The soot marking her work as completed. Kore panting as the heat and effort slowly wear him down. Near to collapsing as Ylst finishes her work, he just barely manages to hold his [Gust] steady until the last. As his spell fails and he falls to his knees, remnants of ash and smoke drifting into the halls.

"You've done well Kore!" Korse clapping him upon the shoulder with a beaming grin, "Just a year into your class and you're keeping up with Ylst, at least a little, you should be proud of yourself." Clearly please with the young kobold, one he raised from an egg himself, his choice of that particular clutch.

"Yes, he is handling himself well. He has a long way to go but we should be able to get him to his second Ascension before his ninth year ends. If he works incredibly hard, he may even reach his first Evolution within a decade of that." A kobold reaching the first Evolution before their twentieth year would be a significant accomplishment. The words said in encouragement, not expectation or pressure.

Ylst, also a proud smile upon her face, praises the young man, knowing that equal parts praise and guidance where due will help raise a mage upon the right path. "He may even catch up to me some day, though no time soon." She grins, bragging a little. "I'm only thirty-two, and on the cusp of the fourth tier. Hopefully soon. maybe in three or four years if I'm lucky. Or if I hog all the decent work for myself, but I can't do that now can I?" she says with a broad mischievous grin, implying she may do just that.

Ylst herself was considered a prodigy. The youngest of all the elders, as despite the name the position is one of merit, not age. The highest-level member of the clan appropriate for the job is given the title when the previous departs. Usually due to succumbing to age, but the occasional retirement, or removal for egregious cause happened as well.

Returning to the business at hand, "That's the place cleansed; I'd give it a few hours to cool then toss a bunch of cave slimes in and block the door again. Lazy buggers won't do the ceiling if they can wander elsewhere for an easier meal. It should only take them a few days to gobble up all that soot." Ylst knuckles her scutes and gives out a groan, "I'm gonna need a good meal and some rest after nearly bottoming my mana." Gesturing to the green clad mage, "I'm surprised Kore hasn't passed out yet. You hit bottom, even after I warned you, didn't you?" She accuses, though clearly in jest going by the smile on her face.

Kore gives a slight nod, even that threatening his balance, though he was already on his knees. Bottoming out your Mana was never a pleasant experience.

Turning back to the other Elder, "Korse, can you put him up in one of the minders dens for now? He'll be fine in a couple hours but otherwise we're carrying him back to his residence." Ylst, shaking her head, though a slight chuckle in her voice, knowing how Kore was feeling all too well.

"Of course, it'll give me a chance to catch up with him," he eyes Kore's state, "After he rests that is."

After the excitement of the display of magic, the days seemed to drag on. Knowing that just weeks remained until the clutch joined the ranks of the younglings and would both unveil their status and receive their names. It was an exciting milestone for all young kobolds. As the days passed, the first of the hatchlings reached the end of his third year, the oldest and largest of them receiving the name Losq. A fight nearly broke out between Elder Blonc wanting him for the defenders and Elder Tuli wanting him in the mines. Both looking only at his bulk and strong back.

Ultimately when no decision could be reached the youngling was asked his opinion and neither were particularly pleased with his response. It seems young Losq's desires leaned more towards the brewery, much to Elder Aldr's delight. Someone big and strong was always handy to move the kegs. Unfortunately, not even he was truly seeing the young man's thoughtful nature and careful hand, though eventually he'd show them he's more than his size.

The days came and went and more and more of the clutch reach the end of their third year. Plk and Itr and Beys and Qot and Ujr and Wlde and many more were named and began their days traveling between their new apprenticeships and the brood chamber. Their status' for the most part as expected in the high single digits to low double. Until just a single hatchling remained. Weeks separated her from her siblings and that time was marked with frustration and anxious waiting.

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One morning the cave sat empty save for the single hatchling wandering the hall, looking for someone to speak with or even just a tail to grasp and run away while the startled minder turns. Spotting her favorite target, the still quite little kobold, at only 70cm, crept up behind Korse, only herself to be surprised when he turned and scooped her into a hug instead.

"I've been waiting for you little one." He said with a grin, "I expected your little tug on my tail much sooner to tell the truth. I know being the last must weigh on you, but that is simply the way of life. We cannot bid the sun rise and set faster to suit our whims. Even if we never see either here beneath the mountain." Korse gives her a broad smile, "You'd either love or despise the sun. Most of us spend our lives within the earth so we never take to it too well, but you've always been a bit different. For all it pains the eyes at first, the warm radiance of it does feel quite pleasant on the scales." A hint of nostalgia there, his few memories of above pleasant ones.

"Now, why don't I tell you a story and let you in on a secret that everyone knows but hasn't put word to yet, at least not where your curious little ears could hear." Korse plants her down on his bench next to him and pats her head, rubbing that pleasing place right above the ear membranes. He opens his book, something the young kobold has rarely gotten to interact with as they are quite uncommon, not keeping well in the caves. "This here is my personal journal; I traded with the humans above for it many years ago when I started my role as Elder and took charge of all the hatcheries." Looking to the hatchling, he would not get to call her that for much longer, his smile both proud and sad. As ending one chapter in life was somehow both at the same time.

"Do you know why I still work at one of the hatcheries even though I am in charge of them all?" He asks her.

"Nope... uhm... maybe? Experience? Lots of the thing's adults do is cause experience." muses the still too smart for her age little one.

"Exactly right! Well done. Well, another perk of my class is somewhat special. Each year I may choose a single one of the hatchlings as long as I have taken a significant part in their raising. I grant them a special Title and it gives them a little boost, a few ability points and helps your growth a little." The hatchling following along, thanks to the basics of the system that the matrons had imparted. "In return I gain a little bit of experience as they grow and succeed in life. It however has risks, if they fail to grow themselves, or die before their time, then I get penalized." Korse gives a slightly dour look at that thought, remembering the pair of times he's lost his chosen youths over the years. "It mostly only applies to the years between now and their class being unveiled, with the biggest boost for me based on how good a class you get."

The young kobold tilts her head, "Why tell me?"

"First a quick story, then we'll answer just that." Korse shakes his head, he should have anticipated that response. "I Ascended to the 4th tier and became a Master Broodkeeper 9 years ago. The same year I became an elder. My predecessor was just waiting for me to Ascend before he retired." His pride in the achievement plain to see, "I chose my first [Pick of the Litter], this is apparently a term the surface dwellers use to mean the best out of a group of young creatures, and named them after myself." Chuckling at himself for this, "It was a bit of hubris to do so, I suppose."

"This youngling was Kora. You're very much like Kora you know, could never keep her where she was supposed to be either. She has since gone on to be one of Elder Bolst's best trappers and was the one who made the last lock on your door. That last lock that trapped a minder in the chamber for a few hours." He chuckled at the memory. "I very much hope she gets to teach you." Smiling brightly at the thought of the two working together. "Next came Korb, strong and fast, he quickly learned the spear after he apprenticed with Elder Blonc. Unfortunately, he passed just before he came of age when goblins raided an outer guard post... damned smelly gobbos." Anger and bitterness evident in his voice and snarling face as he nearly spits the last.

Pausing for a few minutes to clear his mind before continuing with the next. "Then came Korc." Barely repressing a laugh, "Don't mention him in front of Chief Ortik. He's still around but an unfortunate incident with the humans led to a bit of a misunderstanding." For being unfortunate, going by Korse's expression it was apparently also highly amusing. "They told the chief to 'put a cork in it', apparently another of their odd sayings, and it was taken to mean something particularly obscene..." Shaking his head again as a few chuckles escape. "He had placed a particularly nasty hex upon the offending human before things were settled. It nearly came to open conflict..." Korse can't help but laugh as he tells the particular story, "Korc remains a valuable member of the clan and a delightful young man. He's working on one of the outer moss farms, but the chieftain's mood always sours considerably whenever he sees or hears of him." The pair finally break into the supressed laughs they'd been holding.

Once he's composed himself he continues on, "Then came Kord. He loved to fish in the deep lakes and spent all his time there, he'd even go for a swim if no one was watching him." Swimming was generally discouraged. While named for their depth beneath the ground, the deep lakes were in fact, quite deep. "He left the clan after the last great gathering. Like some of the young often do. He bonded with a pretty young Galetalon and I hear they're doing quite well in one of the lesser clans, but news is hard to come by." Wistful notes making it clear that he missed the young man. "Next you've met Kore just a few weeks past. He is a promising young mage, one of the best since Ylst herself in fact." His pride plain to see.

"The sixth is an unfortunate story and left me quite affected when you yourself hatched. It took me a full year to recover the levels I lost." His pride turning somber as he continued, "Korf loved to dig. Just days after his naming and his starting work with Elder Tuli, he decided to expand his alcove within the brood chamber..." Tears threatening the corners of his eyes as he spoke. "His efforts weakened the support for not just his den, but those adjacent to it. Late in the night while his siblings slept, three promising young kobolds lost in a single poor choice... He'd be gaining his class today if he were still here..." A tear escaping to streak down his scales, the loss still paining him three years later.

His story paused as they sat, him in his grief and her with a hand upon his own in an attempt to offer comfort. They weren't supposed to get attached to the hatchlings, things happened and the Culling was cruel. But Korse could never really help it. Kobolds never knew which hatchling was whose, as all the eggs were raised in the same hatcheries, but he always considered his [Pick of the Litter]s his children.

"The next two are still here, in their brood chambers, you've probably met them on your little wanders about the place," Sighing as he remembers the futility of his attempts to contain her. It wasn't until Kora herself got involved that they managed to produce a locking mechanism that could keep her in and by then it was pointless as it was too complicated for most of the minders to operate the thing. "Korg, not the best name for a young lady I will admit... But I had started a tradition, and it didn't feel right to stop. She's apprenticing with the Matrons. A lovely voice for the choir and quite the memory for the lessons and stories." His thoughts turning away from loss and to the future bringing back some of his cheer.

"There is some contention over the last remaining of my children, Korh. He's just a year older than you. Some say his name should be pronounced kor-he while others that it should be like Kore's name. I'm getting a bit of pressure to change it upon his coming of age. The top suggestion is presently Khao." Giving the suggestion a shake of his head, "Many of the others don't know much about the surface, but I'm aware of a farm animal of a similar sounding name… I'm afraid if he becomes a trader as he wishes that the surface dwellers will 'Moo', the sound that particular beast makes, at him" a grimace on his muzzle and somewhat embarrassed look in his eyes as he attempts to make the sound.

"And now that takes us to today, can you guess what I'm going to say next based on what I've just said?" His grin returns and broadens as he watches the boulders fall in place in his little charge's mind as she mulls over the question he's just asked.

"Hmmm... You always pick a hatchling helping their growth and your own. And name them after yourself with the next letter in the alphabet at the end. But all of this year's clutch has been named and there aren't any 'Kor's yet... " Her eyes widen as the pieces finally snap into place.

"You're choosing me? Wait, my name is going to be Kori? I'm Kori! I'M KORI!!!!"

Jumping down the hatchling, Kori, began to dance about, nearly roaring her name and laughing. The wide smile on her muzzle and glee in her eyes infectious as Korse can't help but laugh and join in with her little celebration.

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