The Twelfth Egg

According to Dragon belief, the Broodmother originally laid twelve eggs, eleven of which hatched into male dragons. She then created mates for her sons out of three of the four basic elements: earth, fire, and wind. But what of the Twelfth Egg?

Both human and dragon scholars alike have long sought the answer the question. Here are the different theories put forward:

There is No Egg

It is commonly held by most humans and many dragons that the Broodmother is solely a mythological figure. In this version of events, there was no Broodmother, there were no eleven, and no twelfth, unhatched egg. All of this was made up later as part of the dragons' religious belief system. The twelfth egg is a parable, meant to remind expectant dragon mothers that not all eggs hatch, and if they lay an egg that does not grow, to not be saddened and to remember not even all of the Broodmother's eggs hatched.

The Water Dragon

Another version holds that the twelfth egg gave birth to a race of long-lost water dragons. It is often observed that dragons correspond to elemental types, except for Water. In the oral histories of several flights, there are references to the twelfth egg hatching, and the Broodmother creating a mate for her twelfth son out of water. This happened many years after her other sons had left to form their own flights. One story holds that the offspring and first generation of water dragons had no kin to take as mates, so they remained with the Broodmother for all time. Another holds that they died off eons ago, and still another maintains that they live on as spirits.

Tammabaku

In The Last Light, Scarlet Jusenkyou and her companions discover a cult of dragon worship, whose objects claim to be descended from the twelfth egg.