"It wasn't often that Sol Regem left his post at the border of Xadia, and even more rare that he wandered into the magic-less lands of humans. But one is ought to get bored of standing sentinel at a barren post and the archdragon had an overwhelming need to stretch his wings. He does not expect to find a child..."
While taking a rare flight, the blinded former Dragon King finds a child. To his shock, he finds that this child, named Callum, has inherent magic. Unwilling to let the humans destroy this child's gift, Sol Regem decides to (literally and metaphorically) take the child under his wing. He's an archdragon, feared by all creatures but the mightiest dragons. Parenting can't be that hard for him... right?
Written by CrislyGoodness
, this is a The Dragon Prince AU fic where Callum is taken in by Sol Regem shortly after his mother's death. The fic has been dormant since June 2020.
Tropes that were adopted by a dragon include:
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Sol Regem is much nicer here than in canon, with him being more willing to talk to/tolerate a human.
Even the author points out how out of character this would be for canon Sol Regem. - Adaptational Relationship Overhaul: In canon, Callum and Rayla met when they were both teenagers (and Rayla was part of a team trying to murder the king and Prince Ezran). Here, Callum meets Rayla when he's six and she's seven, meeting her after Sol Regem makes an emergency flight to the Storm Spire, where Rayla lives with her parents instead of with her uncles.
- Adaptational Upbringing Change: In canon, Callum was raised by his mother and stepfather, and then exclusively by his stepfather, until he was fourteen. Here, after Queen Sarai's death, he is taken in by Sol Regem.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: There are some things about human biology/Callum that leave Sol Regem thoroughly confused.
- Canon Divergence: This fic shows Sol Regem being OOC for a majority of the work, gives Callum a natural connection to magic (rather than connecting to the Sky Arcanum at fourteen like in canon), and has Callum take his first trip into Xadia eight years ahead of schedule. Also, Rayla is shown living with her parents at the Sky Spire, rather than with Ethari and Runaan like in canon.
- Catch a Falling Star: Sol Regem manages to pull this off while completely blind.
- Didn't See That Coming: Sol Regem adopting a child (let alone a human) is this to pretty much everyone.
- Everyone Has Standards:Sol Regem held no love for humans but even he would not stop so low as to kill a child with no provocation.
- Forced Bath: A justified example. After spending weeks living in Xadia with Sol Regem, six-year-old Callum is filthy and wouldn't mind a bath. But, since his caretaker is a dragon, Regem's method of bathing him is to hold him down and lick him until the worst of the dirt is gone.
- Interspecies Adoption: Though he has trouble admitting it at first, Sol Regem (a dragon) basically adopted/kidnapped six-year-old Callum (a human with the potential for magic).
- The Kindnapper: Sol Regem basically kidnaps Callum after learning he's capable of magic, rationalizing that it's for the best: the humans would simply destroy Callum's gifts. The archdragon is the only one who can ensure Callum's properly trained.
- Mama Bear:
- Amaya is just as protective of her nephews here as she is in canon, even being willing to journey to Lux Auria to speak with the Sunfire Elves if it means there's a chance of finding Callum.
- Zubeia is noted by elves and dragons alike as a Friend to All Children, as she quickly takes a liking to young Callum.
- Papa Wolf:
- After Callum goes missing, King Harrow does everything he can to make sure that his son is found and brought home.
- From the moment he finds Callum, Sol Regem is this to him, doing all he can to make sure the kid is kept safe. Because he's one of the most dangerous creatures in Xadia, this is easy. It's everything else about parenting that trips him up.
- We Have Become Complacent: When Zubeia chews Sol Regem out for kidnapping a human child, he explains Callum's ability for magic, something unheard of among humans. He states that they believe they know everything there is to know about magic, and that this belief is dangerous if it means that anomalies like Callum go untrained/unstudied. Zubeia still isn't happy that he stole a child, but more-or-less accepts his reasoning.
