The next few weeks were relatively quiet for Storm.
He spent them preparing his people for what was forecasted to be one of the hardest, most brutal winters the continent had ever seen.
By the time the first snow fell, everything that could be done to prepare was finished.
Winter always heralded something of an temporary end to hostilities as opposing factions were often too busy waiting out the cold.
The frost and snow made travel for armies difficult and dangerous, and most factions couldn't afford to waste valuable winter rations on armies marching around the continent.
And so winter usually forced an unwritten ceasefire on the continent.
Neither the Order, nor Storm's forces made moves during that time.
Chrome was a small, orphaned metallic silver dragon. He never knew his birth parents and suspected that either they were dead, or that he had been abandoned.
He hatched alone in an abandoned cave.
His life would have been short and miserable if fortune hadn't smiled on him.
A expedition of dwarves were attracted to his cries and decided to take the hatchling back to their settlement after they determined that the parents weren't returning.
A kindly Dwarven matron decided to take the hatchling in despite the protests of the rest of her family. His childhood wasn't an easy one but he got by and life was relatively stable for him.
The matron did what she could, but there were several important things concerning dragons that she couldn't educate him on.
He was taught how to speak Dwarven fluently, as well as the common tongue, but he knew next to nothing about his own people's tongue.
This continued until he was 5 years old, at which point the matron passed away in her sleep one evening. First thing her remaining family did was kick out the 'little freeloader'
He'd heard stories about Sanctuary from the dwarves in the settlement. A utopia built by dragons for all non humans.
He packed what few belongings he had and made the long journey by air.
Unfortunately the city was as difficult to live in as any other settlements, His small body and lack of proper draconic upbringing made life difficult.
He survived by feeding off of scraps the others turned their noses up to, or from the occasional pity from the other denizens of the city.
But as winter hit and supplies began to dry up, those sources soon dwindled.
Leaving Chrome in the rather desperate situation he was currently in.
He was currently watching the rather large warehouse that he had heard contained the city's emergency stores.
He glided through a window and quickly hid behind a stack of crates as he heard several adult voices near the door.
Chrome watched as a female Griffin with owl like features, a Dwarven man, and a blue dragon walked through the door.
Although Chrome didn't recognize the dwarf and the Griffin, the dragon needed no introduction.
He had heard many stories about Calamity, he was described as a wise, but stern ruler who was compassionate to his allies, but merciless to his enemies.
As Chrome had come here with the intention to steal, this made him an enemy, and Chrome had no intention of testing the validity of the tales.
"Not going to lie, Storm. We're in a bad way.
The supplies are dropping a lot faster than we anticipated. We're going to have to figure out something, or it won't last until spring." Explained the dwarf.
Chrome ignored the rest of the conversation and began to use his nose to try and pinpoint where they kept the food.
It didn't take him long to sniff out a crate of salted meat. He used his claws to quietly pry it open, and was just about to dig in, when an unknown voice came from behind him.
"Hello?!"
Chrome froze and carefully turned around to see a gold scaled child dragon roughly the same age as him standing behind him.
"I don't think you should be messing with that?
My father gave me clear instructions not to touch anything!?" Stated the gold dragon.
Chrome was frantically trying to figure out a way out of his predicament. He was confident he could beat the child if he had to.
But doing so would alert all the adults in the room to his presence and he wasn't confident enough in his own abilities to escape them all.
Especially Calamity.
He was so busy trying to figure out a way out of his predicament , that he didn't see the shadow creeping up on him until someone grabbed him from behind.
He kicked frantically as something lifted him up by the scruff of his neck.
He heard a gnoll call out to the others in the warehouse. He twisted around quickly and clawed the gnoll. Causing him to drop him back on the ground.
He took off running the moment his feet reached the ground. Ignoring the yelp and cries of alarm. He ran for the open window as fast as he could.
Just before he could jump to freedom, something lifted him into the air.
He flapped and kicked in a desperate attempt to break the magic holding him, but he couldn't move in any direction no matter how hard he tried.
He twisted through the air until he was facing the Griffin and Calamity. His heart skipped a beat as he saw that Calamity was approaching him.
"Is this how I'm going to die!?" Thought Chrome in terror.
He didn't dare to move as Calamity got closer and began to inspect the would be thief.
Calamity's eyes lingered on his thin, malnourished frame and Chrome was convinced he was inspecting him to see if he would make a worthy snack.
"What is your name, child!!?" Asked Calamity.
"Chrome... sir... I'm sorry!! Please don't eat me!!!" Begged the little dragon.
Calamity grinned in amusement.
"I realize that times are hard. But I'm not quite that desperate yet!" Said Calamity.
Chrome wasn't sure if he should be relieved or insulted at him turning his nose up.
"Where are your parents, little one? Have they fallen on such hard times that they can't even feed you?" Asked Calamity.
Chrome looked down embarrassed.
"I... I don't have parents..."
All the adults had a look of sadness as he told them his life story.