Glowshard's Awakening

Deep within the volcanic caves of Mount Draconem, a tiny emerald egg began to tremor and shake. Hairline cracks formed across the ancient shell etched with cryptic runes as rays of lava light filtered in. After centuries lying dormant, the hatchling within sensed it was time to break free into the world.

With a final mighty push, the egg shattered apart, and out tumbled Glowshard, a small sky-blue dragon wyrmling covered in glittering crystalline shards. He let out a squeaky sneeze, sending sparkling motes shimmering through the air. His eyes blinked open, revealing brilliant golden irises that reflected the lava flows around him. Despite his miniature size, power coursed through Glowshard's veins, gifted to him by the magical volcano that was his hatching ground. His whip-like tail twitched with excitement as he explored his new surroundings, tiny wings flapping in a frenzy. The cavern walls glowed with mystic runes left behind by ancient dragons of old.

Glowshard's instincts took over. He opened his mouth, feeling the scorching heat building within, and released his first real burst of dragonfire. Instead of a cone of flame, however, brilliant lances of pure light and energy erupted in a blinding flash. Shard-like projectiles ricocheted wildly, fracturing the rocks and causing the entire volcanic cavern to luminesce. Glowshard blinked, startled by the unexpected brilliance. Had he done that? A surge of uncertainty mingled with exhilaration coursed through him. This was only the beginning...

Affinity Workflow: A few cycles of image prompts using NightCafe AI (DALLE-3) to end up with the cute glowing dragon. I then cleaned up some AI artifacts, sharpened some edges, and extended the image vertically a bit to show off his motes of magic.

Hi-rez image link [3298px tall]