The Dragon Riders

of Arvain.

Book 1

The Broken Scale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Nicholas KR Clausen

 

 

 

                            Chapter 1

 

The sun was just beginning to rise in the small town of Erskine as a young man stood packing everything he owned. He stopped only momentarily to view the sun from his window as he would miss these quiet mornings when the world still slept. He shrugged off the thought and turned back to his work. When he had finished packing, he turned to observe what had been his home for all his life thus far, for one last time.

It was a small room with a straw mattress lying on the floor against the back wall. It had one window that had become worn with age and the constant use of the young man going in and out during the night. There was just one small cabinet, and it was missing its doors. He smiled at the simplicity that had been his life, and he did not mind the fact that in eighteen years he had only been able to accumulate enough material possessions to fill a small pack.

 

He had been raised an orphan, never knowing what happened to his parents or where any of his family lived, if they were still alive. All he knew was that they named him Hayden.

 

That thought of being alone had bothered him most of his life, but now it was just a simple fact, but he was going to change all that. He was convinced that he was going to become a dragon rider.

 

He wanted to climb the ranks of legends and heroes, to help rule and uphold the laws of Arvain. Hayden was about to try his luck at a dragon egg as he leaves everything behind to head north to the Celestial City, were the metallic dragon eggs are kept.

              The land of Arvain was divided up into six states: the northern mountain range, known as Bergelmir, home to the dwarf clans and the red dragons. The western coast line is a thick overgrown forest called Eytherka where elves and green dragons live together. Past Eytherka is the Burden Sea, where humans have formed a vast pirate nation known as the Sea Serpents with the help of their blue dragons. The southern part of the country is a frozen wasteland where there is virtually no life except for a handful of nomadic human tribes and their white dragons. To the east is a long stretch of land covered in high hills and steep valleys that casts long dark shadows over a naturally grey landscape, and it is there that the Bone Thieves first appeared with their black dragons; although nobody knows how they got there or what is beyond the Shadow Desert. In the center of the land, where the states all meet, is a flourishing town known as Celestial City.

              Celestial City was founded by humans that fled through Eytherka and made it to the plains on the other side. They continued east until they found a river that they named Savior, because dehydration had set in and they were on the brink of death. The surrounding land stretched for miles, made up of smooth plains and dense patches of forest. The first settlers began to build a town, and as more and more people started to migrate towards them, they soon had a large city.

They soon discovered the metallic mines full of gold, silver and copper as the city began to grow. As they mined out these precious minerals, they discovered metallic dragon eggs hidden deep within the mines. Their metallic dragons were bigger and stronger than the dragons of the other races; thus putting the humans on a seat of power over the land. 

              It has been many years since Hayden learned about the history of Arvain and the dragons. Everyone knows about the metallic dragons because they are the heroes that fly around the land, protecting the people from the other races rising up with their dragons. No one knew much about the other races or their dragons, though people told rumors about the dwarves stealing children in the night with their red demon dragons, and tales of people going into the elves’ forest never to return. Hayden wanted to protect everyone from the nightmares that were plaguing the lands.

              When Hayden was a small child, he had seen a large copper dragon land in a field just outside of Erskine. The dragon had labored across the sky, and once its feet touched the ground, it collapsed, leaving its wings draped open on the grass. Hayden had run to the dragon to get a better look when he realized the rider was hunched over in his saddle and struggling to breath.

He noticed that the rider’s armor was the same color as the dragon’s scales. It even looked to be made up of small scales. Hayden gently maneuvered around the dragon’s back legs to get closer to the rider, when he heard the town’s guards come running onto the field. He reached out and touched the dragon’s side just as someone pulled him away, and he would never forget the warmth in that dragon’s scales.

The guard who grabbed Hayden tried to pull him back to the town, but Hayden kept trying to steal another look at the beautiful creature as it lay there trying to catch its breath. The guards began to pull the rider off his saddle when they saw three long arrows sticking out of his chest. The rider spoke to the nearest guard momentarily, and then he slipped into an eternal sleep. At the same time, the dragon took one last breath and passed with its rider. All the shine and beauty in the dragon’s scales left, to give way to a deep grey color.

              Later on that night, a group of dragons came to pick up their fallen comrade. The dragon had turned to stone and became a giant statue to remind all who saw it that a dragon died here. They spoke with the guards, specifically to the one who had heard the rider’s last words. After which they gathered the town’s folk together to explain what happened.

Hayden was too young at the time to understand all that was said, but he was later told that the rider had been patrolling in Eytherka and was attacked by the elves for no reason, and when he tried to reason with them, they shot at him and three of the arrows found their mark. The scene of the dying dragon had haunted his dreams for many years to come, and in the darkness he saw the dwarves hunting and killing innocent people, and the elves raiding peaceful villages. These dreams helped drive him to want a dragon of his own, so he could right the past wrongs.

              As Hayden got ready to leave, he passed by a bowl of water and went to wash his hands. Before he submerged his hands in what he could only guess to be near freezing water, he stopped to look at his reflection. Hayden had a long thin face with dirty blonde, almost brown hair. He had a bit of a large nose that fit his face well and deep brown eyes. Hayden was taller than most of the men in the town, almost six feet four inches, but he was very skinny, despite how much he ate. He was strong, but was not built or toned like some of the guards in town.

He smiled at the thoughts of his past, realizing he had a nice life here, but he wanted more. He dunked his hands in the freezing water, and left his room, making his way down the hall to the front door. Once he made it to the door, a wave of doubt came upon him. His mind yelled questions at him. Am I doing the right thing? Can I make it in the city? Or should I just stay here and do what’s safe and try harder to fit in somewhere?

              By the time he asked himself the last question, Hayden was already walking down the main road that led out of Erskine. Hayden already decided in his heart what he was going to do, even if his mind did not quite agree with it.

              “This is what I want to do, no matter what.” Hayden spoke in a low whisper. He was not trying to convince anyone of his intentions, he was just trying to calm himself down. He kept his eyes on the ground as he walked. He could feel the rough ground and rocks under his old worn out shoes. No one said anything to him as he passed. Everyone was going about their daily lives, working through the same repetitive motions they had done every day before this one. He felt like he was walking against a river’s current.

              Three days, Hayden thought, three days and I will be there, ready to take a dragon egg and start my training. He continued his pace until he reached a point where the farmers’ fields ended, marking the end of Erskine and the beginning of Star Light Plains. Hayden paused as he realized this was as far away from Erskine as he had ever gone.

              With a deep breath, Hayden pushed forward, still not looking back as he pulled on the worn leather straps of his pack. He mentally checked off everything he had taken with him: a blanket, flint, two full water skins, a throwing knife he got as payment for a summer’s work in the fields, and three fist size pieces of hard bread wrapped in cloth napkins.

              Hayden had seen many travelers passing through Erskine from this way and he had even asked a few of them where Celestial City was located. They all told him the same thing: get on the main road and follow it north, never turn off of it and you will always get to the city. Celestial City is the capital of Arvain, it is the largest human city, and because of its precious minerals, it has prospered well beyond the other cities. It was also where the metallic dragons have their stronghold and where they keep the dragon eggs.

              As he topped a particularly tall hill, he turned to gaze at his home town. Although he never had a real family, he still liked to think that they had all became like one. It had saddened him when he made up his mind to leave, and realized that he had no one to enjoy the news with. The majority of the townsfolk that he told just kept on with their work and grumbled at him when he told them of his intentions.

              Hayden turned and continued on the road towards Celestial City and from that point on he did not turn back. The road that he walked upon had once been just a trail carved into the fields by the constant coming and going of people. Soon it became the fastest way to get in and out of town as more people started using it, and with the people came carts and cattle. It wasn’t long until the little path had grown into a wide dirt road. There were a few travelers that he could spot further along the road. Hayden noticed that some had carts full of goods while others just had the clothes on their backs.

              As he walked, he spent his time enjoying his surroundings. The grassy fields moved and swayed like a river as the wind swept through them. In the sea of grass, he saw a few islands of trees fixed sporadically across the plains. He found himself, more than a few times, looking at the sky to see if he could catch a glimpse of a dragon.

              “How do you plan to get where you’re going if you keep looking up instead of where your feet are taking you, boy?”

              Hayden stopped suddenly, sending a little cloud of dirt up over his shoes. In front of him stood an older man, now with a large toothy grin on his face. The man was slightly hunched over and his clothing had become worn out from use. He did not carry anything with him except for a large walking stick.

              “Well, boy, can you not speak. “Do you understand me?!” The old man yelled the end of his statement with elongated his words

              “Yes I can speak, and yes I understand you,” Hayden replied

              “That’s good, boy. Now, it seems to me that we are going the same way, so why don’t we give each other a little company?” Before Hayden could even respond, the old man started walking and was waving for Hayden to follow.

              “My name is Hayden, not boy, and how do you know where I’m going?”

              “Simple, you were going north and this road cuts straight to Celestial City, no detours of any kind branch off to somewhere else, it’s just straight to the city.” The old man smiled at his own cleverness and continued walking. Hayden had to jog to catch up to him.

              “Well I’m heading that way, and I guess it couldn’t hurt to have someone to talk to along the way.” Hayden was reluctant to travel with the old man, but since they were going to be walking the same way for three days, he supposed he may as well enjoy the company.

              “Well, boy, since I know where you’re going, that leaves only one question: why are you going to the city in the first place?”

              “I am going to become a dragon rider. I will uphold the laws and protect the people of Arvain.” As Hayden said it he stood a little straighter and poked out his chest with pride. This was his dream, and it was about time everyone knew it.

              “Ah, a rider, eh? Well, we could definitely use one of those around here. Not like there are already enough of them to keep us safe. Which color will you be trying for: copper, silver or gold?”

              Hayden remained silent for a few moments as he pondered the question. Copper dragons and their riders are the working class, they deliver messages and do most of the fighting. They are the most common of the metallic dragons. The silver dragons are bigger but less common. With their riders, they lead the coppers during flight and are are the overseers of the territories. The final breed of metallic dragons are the gold dragons. They are smaller than the silver, but they are wiser than any of the other breeds. They are also the rarest of the metallic dragons and it is always a gold that sits on the high throne and rules over Arvain.

              “I don’t know what my life will hold, but I know I’m not meant to rule. I would like to have a silver dragon.” Hayden had never put much thought into which color he would like to have,  he just wanted to be a rider, but if his choice mattered, then a silver would be what he picked.

              “A man who does not want to rule, but would rather serve. That is very rare trait. You might actually make a rider worth having, boy.” The old man stared at nothing in particular, deep in thought as he spoke. “A real rider worth having.”

              “What are you talking about? The riders are brave and noble men and women who put their lives on the line to keep us safe.” Hayden would not stand for some old man to slander the riders.

              “Boy, you are in for a rude awakening if you ever get an egg. You don’t know half of what you think you know, and the half that you do know is wrong.” The old man began to raise his voice as he spoke, as if he were speaking to a child. Hayden watched the old man’s face start to turn red, and a little dot of white foam appear at the corner of the old man’s mouth. “Just wait until you get to the city, you will see that what you’ve heard about the riders is little more than just fairy tales, nothing more. You will see when you get there, it’s better for you to see the truth than just hear it.”

              Hayden, having no response, continued walking in silence for the remainder of the day. It passed by in a blur for both of them and it wasn’t until they broke off the main road to set up camp that the old man finally spoke.

              “I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you earlier, the words are true but the way in which I spoke was wrong.” The old man said while trying to set up the wood for the fire.

              “It’s ok… I just realized I still don’t know your name.” How could I not have realized I didn’t know his name after a whole day of traveling together? Hayden thought.

              “Ah, you don’t, do you. Well, boy, you get to have the pleasure of saying you have met Fendrel.” He made a mock bow as he spoke from his hunched position over the now smoldering pile of wood. He then put his attention back to nursing the growing flames as they began to lick their way up the wood.

              “Well, Fendrel, it is a pleasure to meet you. So what takes you to the city?” Hayden sat on the ground and let the warmth of the fire begin to wash over him. He looked around and watched the elongated shadows that the dancing flames cast about him with slight amusement.

              “Well I have family in the city that I have not seen for many years and it would be nice to spend a little time with them.” Fendrel, having gotten the fire to a comfortable size, took off his overcoat and rolled it up to use as a pillow. He stared up into the dark sky and gazed at the sparkling stars that smiled down upon them. “What about you, boy, what does your family think about you leaving home and going off to become a dragon rider?”

              “I have no family. I grew up going from house to house living with the people who could support me until they wanted me to leave. The last few years, I rented a room at the inn in Erskine and worked it off cleaning and taking care of the stables where the travelers left their animals.” Hayden did not like talking too much about his family, or lack thereof, but if he was going to tell someone his history, he wanted to get it all out at once so he would not have to elaborate too much.

              After Hayden spoke, Fendrel sat up and faced him. He thought long and hard before speaking to the young man. “I know how you feel, my brother and I tried to join the riders when we were both eighteen. He thought he could handle anything, and as it turned out he couldn’t. He was killed not to long after his first year as a rider.”

              “I’m sorry to hear that.” His brother was a rider Hayden thought to himself.

              “It’s ok, it happened a long time ago.” Fendrel eased down and went back to staring up at the stars.

              “So your brother was a rider, huh? Did you not want to be one?” Hayden leaned back also. He spoke in a joking manner, trying to lighten the mood.

              “Ha, boy, I wanted to be a rider ten times more than you want to. It was all me and my brother dreamed about for years, all we ever talked about. When other kids were outside playing games we were running obstacle courses and practicing fighting, getting ready for when we turned eighteen and got our chance to become riders.” Fendrel placed his arms behind his head and just smiled. He turned to look at Hayden and was surprised to see him staring back at him.

              “Well, what happened? Why did you not pick an egg?” How could someone want a dragon so bad and not pick one? Hayden thought.

              “How do you think someone gets a dragon? Do you think that they just waltz up to the Metal Pyramid and just say ‘hey I want an egg’ and they just hand them out?” Fendrel chuckled to himself.

              “What’s the Metal Pyramid?” Hayden felt embarrassed by his lack of knowledge about the dragons. If I can learn a lot from Fendrel, then it might give me an advantage over anyone else who wants an egg. Hayden smiled at the thought. He wanted an egg, and it seemed Fendrel could help him achieve that goal.

              “’What’s the Metal Pyramid?’ You really don’t know? Well what do you know about dragons and riders besides the legends? What do you know about them that are facts? Do you know how they pick the riders or how you get which color ?” Fendrel got back up and sat crossed legged in front of Hayden as he spoke.

              “Well, no.” Hayden averted his eyes from Fendrel.

              “So you want to become a rider but you don’t know how or at what cost.” Fendrel looked into the flames as the wood started to crackle.

              “Do you know all of that?”

              “Every young child in Celestial City is taught about the riders.”

              So much for having an advantage. They both sat in silence and watched the flames dance in the wind. How could there be so much to the riders that no one back home would even talk about it. Hayden was deep in thought when Fendrel spoke again.

              “Don’t beat yourself up about it, boy. All you can do is learn what you need to and move on with it.” Fendrel’s eyes never left the fire as he spoke.

              “Will you tell me about the riders?” When Hayden finished the question, Fendrel finally raised his piercing eyes and looked at Hayden.

              “I will tell you about them, but not until tomorrow. We have two more days of walking ahead of us, and it will give us something to do while we walk.” With that said, Fendrel lay back down on his makeshift bed; although this time he did not stare at the stars, instead his eyes were closed tightly.

              Hayden thanked him politely and laid back down himself. As he was about to close his eyes, a streak of fire shot across the sky. As it lit up the darkness, Hayden could just make out the shining shape of the dragon that caused the disruption. Hayden sat up instantly, and without taking his eyes off where the dragon had been, he shouted at Fendrel.

              “Did you see that?!”

              “Tomorrow, boy, tomorrow,” Fendrel said as he rolled over and went to sleep.

              Hayden leaned back and with a smile and closed his eyes, waiting for the sleep that he knew would be difficult to find.

             

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2

 

             Thud.

              “Ow!” Hayden rolled over onto his side, clutching his lower ribs. He blinked a few times to get the last bit of sleep out of his eyes. He quickly looked around to try to get his bearings and figure out the cause of his pain as Fendrel began walking away from him, shaking his head as he went.

              “You say you want to be a rider, boy, but you can’t even get up at a good hour, not to mention you whine like a baby when you get a soft kick to the ribs.” Fendrel made it back to his pack and began double checking everything while he spoke to Hayden.

              “You kicked me in the ribs?” Hayden questioned loudly.

              “Softly. I said softly,” Fendrel replied.

              Hayden got up slowly, trying not to cause any further pain. He stayed there for a few moments catching his breath and inspecting his side gently with his fingers. Just sore, nothing broken, he thought

              “Well are we going to sit here all day or are we going to cover some ground? We have two days to go, let’s not turn that into ten days.” Fendrel was finishing tightening everything down and hauled his pack onto his back. He turned to face Hayden and gave him a wave of his hand to say “let’s go.”

              Hayden already had all his gear packed up, as he had used his pack as a pillow the night before. He picked it up and trotted along after the old man. He was still angry about the kick he just received, but before he could voice his anger Fendrel spoke.

              “Before you keep whining about the gentle kick back there, I think it would be best to put it behind us and not waste any further time on it. We have much to discuss between now and the city, and I want to try to fit it all in.” He looked over his shoulder and eyed Hayden, waiting for a response. When one did not come, he turned his head back around and continued walking before he cleared out his throat.

              “Good, now before we get into how they pick the riders, you need to know why they pick them. When the metallic dragon eggs were first found, the world was starting to spin into chaos. The dwarves and elves were always at war with each other because the dwarves needed wood and the elves did not want to trade with them , so they dwarves took it.” Fendrel began talking as they trekked across the road. They had to take breaks to catch their breath once in a while, but they tried to keep moving as much as possible.

“Everyone began to fight with each other soon after that, some of the races even fought amongst themselves. Once they each got their dragon eggs, everything calmed down for a while and a false peace fell on the land. While all the dragons were young, everyone focused on them, but once they got big it was only a matter of time before they started fighting again.”

              “It had been one year after the eggs hatched that the dragons were able to carry people long distances, and that’s when it happened. The first two to meet were the pirates and the elves. One day, while the pirates were doing one of their raids, the elves ambushed them and brought one of their green dragons to surprise and overwhelm them. As the dragon broke through the woods and leapt towards the sky it let out a long roar, issuing a challenge to the pirates below. To the elves’ surprise, the pirates did not run in fear as they had expected them to. Instead, one of the pirates blew a loud horn and two giant blue dragons shot out of the water like arrows, and went racing to meet the green dragon.”

              “The green and its rider were startled and they tried to slow down the blues’ assault. Just when the green opened its wings all the way up, the two blues hit it. The green was bigger, but not by much, and the two blues were moving faster. The blues knocked the green into the trees and one of its wings broke when they hit the ground. The green roared with pain and anger, but it was cut off short when one of the blues bit into its throat. It wasn’t long and the green was turning into stone. It was the first dragon to ever die. They went to hunt its rider, but they found the elf already dead even though he had not been hurt. The other elves ran, and soon the fighting broke out more than ever. Whole villages were burnt for no reason, and miles of forests were destroyed. Ships were sunk and thousands died. The stone remains of dragons were everywhere. The lucky ones lived a few years but very few stayed alive long.”

              “Even the human barbarians in the southern ice land began to desire more than what they had, and they thought the bone thieves would be the easiest to defeat. No one came back from that raid, but some say you can still find some bone thieves wearing the fur armor that the barbarians wore. The battles raged on for years, consuming everything in their path. No one helped each other, and there were times when one of each of the five colors of dragons met and they all fought until there was one winner.” Fendrel ushered Hayden to stop so he could get a drink of water. Walking almost nonstop was hard work for an old man, and talking for most of that walk just winded him faster.

              “Some humans escaped a sinking ship and were able to sneak through Eytherka while the elves were fighting red dragons from the North. They made their way inland and followed the River Savior until it forked to the north and east. It is there they created Celestial City. It was a few more years before they started to mine into the ground. It was originally for shelter against the constant threat of the dragons, but while they were digging, they started to discover underground caverns filled with gold, silver, and copper. The city began to flourish as they started digging deeper and deeper, their greed leading them on.” Hayden was struggling not to ask questions after every sentence. He’d heard the history of Arvain before, but never in such detail about the dragons.

“They found the caverns that housed the metallic eggs while digging late one night. They were tired and thought they had just found large deposits of the minerals they so desperately wanted. As they were counting their find, one of the men touched a copper egg and it hatched for him. There were two others with him that were counting, so each one touched a different color egg, one silver and one gold. They then counted the remaining eggs, determining that they had found two hundred copper eggs, twenty silver eggs and only two golden eggs, and that is what we base our money system off of: ten copper pieces equal a silver and ten silver pieces equal a gold.”

              “When word came out that they had found the eggs, the town’s people lined up to get theirs, and it wasn’t long until they were almost gone. They kept one gold and just a few of the silvers and coppers hidden away from the people.

“They tried to keep them hidden in the caves until they were big enough to fly, but there were so many of them it was impossible. Soon, the other groups noticed the metallic dragons as they flew over, but did not give them thought because they were small and of no concern, especially when they had fully grown dragons to fight. That was their fatal mistake. The metallic dragons grew much faster and bigger than the other dragons, so it didn’t take long for them to reach a size big enough to defend themselves. It was said that some of the bigger metallic dragons could carry a rider as early as eight months after it hatched.” Hayden remembered hearing about how dragons were not strong enough to carry human riders until they were a year old.

              “One day, two red dragons ambushed a white dragon not far from the city - by this time the iron walls were beginning to go up, and before the reds could ground the white, a silver and three coppers swarmed in and killed the two reds. The white did not know they were trying to help, so it attacked them. The silver did the only thing it could, and killed the white. The first copper, silver and gold riders met that night to decide what needed to be done with the other races of dragons. They decided the only choice they had was to build and army out of the metallic dragons and attack each of the dragon races one at a time.”

              “They started with the whites. It took them a few months to get ready for the attack and during that time they killed every dragon that got near the city. They flew out together as one giant unit- the whites never stood a chance. The fight did not last long, as only five whites made it to the air and died in the battle. By the time any more could even attempt to get off the ground, they knew that defeat was imminent. Close to a hundred fifty dragons the same size as theirs came thundering at them in groups of ten. The barbarians (now called the “Frost Fangs” by the metallic riders) were forced to serve them. The leaders of the metallics, the first three that found the eggs, took some of the white riders and their army to the elves. The elves already had dragons in the air to scout for the next attacks from the pirates, when the massive metallic army flew over the horizon. All the green dragons came together in a giant clearing and they realized victory was not an option, so they surrendered without bloodshed.” Fendrel spoke without emotion while Hayden did his best to imagine the battles he was describing.

              “The pirates were next, and they met them on the beach during a raid and they thought their surprise attack from the water would save them. The surprise attack from the air with the army of metallics, whites, and green dragons prevailed, and the pirates soon fell in line. The reds would have been more difficult to find, but they had all their dragons and riders heading to meet the metallic army to avenge the death of their two riders. They had the best chance, but alone it was hopeless. They were fighting seven to one, but they fought relentlessly, leaving only four of them remaining when the fighting subsided. The remaining reds were so brutally injured in the fight that the metallic riders did not want them to join their campaign.”             

“The blacks were last. With the metallic army now having conquered everyone else, the bone thieves followed the elves’ lead and surrendered without a fight. The metallic riders went back to Celestial City victorious and with their army invincible, they created the Metallic Pyramid and set up the Thrones of the Three. One of each of the metallic riders sits upon the Thrones of the Three: one copper, one silver, and one gold. That way no one person rules without any one to keep them in check. They first three to rule locked up the remainder of the metallic eggs so that not just anyone could get one. They started holding trials (a series of hard physical and mental tests to challenge a person in every way possible) once every year to limit the number of people getting dragons and to make sure that no one who was not worthy to become a rider gets an egg.”

              “Every year, when the last year’s four new dragons and their riders are ready to have their first flight, the elder dragons donate all their eggs to the already existing horde of eggs. During that same week they have the trials to see who that year’s new riders are going to be. They only allow humans who are not bound to the white or blue dragons to go through the trials. They tried to get all the other races of dragon eggs, but they could never find them.” Fendrel seemed to be reading Hayden’s mind, because he was just asking himself what happened to the other race’s eggs.

“They allow the other groups to have their own dragons, but they must register. The ruling three then divided the land amongst the races: the elves got to keep their forest, the pirates get control of the sea, the dwarves still have their mountains, the bone thief’s have the desert, and the Frost Fangs have their icy home. They put a giant tower in each territory to help keep order in Arvain.” Fendrel spoke quickly, without giving Hayden the chance to ask questions. He never even looked back to see if Hayden was even listening; although he knew he was. Fendrel stopped recanting the history of the riders when they stopped for a quick rest and a meal. They were making great time while he spoke, so they could afford to take another break.

              Hayden just sat on the ground and played with a blade of grass idly in his hand as he dwelled upon what he had learned during their walk. How could I not know all this? I didn’t even know about the towers in the territories.

              “What do you mean about them only allowing humans who weren’t bound to the white or blue dragons to compete for the metallic dragons?”

              “Everyone is bound to one color of dragon or another, so if you were born at sea with the pirates, you would have to try for a blue egg. If you were born in the frozen wasteland, then you would have to go for a white egg. Dwarves are the only ones who go after the red eggs and the elves after the green, whereas bone thieves are the only riders of the black dragon. No one has ever gotten an egg that wasn’t of their color. One of the jobs of the watch guards in the towers is to mark the people in their territories. Everyone born to the five earth dragons (red, white, black, blue, and green) gets marked so that even if you wore a disguise and tried to get a different egg, someone would be able to tell. Since you weren’t marked, they know you are neither a pirate nor a barbarian. Don’t even ask how they mark them, you aren’t ready for that yet” Fendrel watched Hayden as he spoke and could already sense the question that was forming on his mind before he asked it. Fendrel did not want to speak about marking with one so young.

“Who guards the towers?” Hayden asked, continuing to play with the blade of grass as he spoke. “Are there riders that live outside of Celestial City?” He finally looked up at Fendrel as he finished his question.

              “Ha, well of course there are riders that live outside the city. What did you think you would be doing as a rider, huh? Flying out to save the day and being back home in your warm bed before nightfall when the scary things come out at night? When a rider and his dragon reach their first year after the dragon hatches, they are considered fully fledged riders. That means they get the rights of the riders, but they also get the responsibility of the riders.” Fendrel groaned as he slowly got up, using a nearby branch for support. Hayden watched him dust himself off and look around as he put his hands on his hips.

              “What do riders do besides keep the peace?” Hayden got up as he spoke and dusted himself off also. He led the way back to the road and waited for Fendrel to catch up.

              “You make it sound like that’s an easy job, boy. For the first five years after you become a full rider, you have to spend at least one year at each of the five towers. If you can somehow survive all that, then your dragon will be big enough to fly for days without stopping and it will also be fast enough to get to any tower within two days hard flying. You will then have the pleasure of patrolling and carrying goods from tower to tower. There is always lots of hard work to be done protecting Arvain.” Fendrel had been climbing through the thick underbrush around the trees that they had been sitting under for some shade from the relentless sun. Hayden reached out a hand to Fendrel, but the old man pushed his hand away. “I am ok, boy, but thank you.”

              “So once you’re done doing all that, then what? What happens after you play messenger boy?” I need to learn as much about being a rider as I can before we get to the city. I don’t want to get into something that I am not ready for, Hayden thought to himself as they started back out on the road. The trip so far had gone smoothly. They had run into a few travelers thus far, but everyone kept to themselves and no one even acknowledged them as they went on their way.

              “Well that all depends on the rider, boy. Some decide to just fly around and help wherever they can, calling everywhere and nowhere home. Others continue to serve and go through the ranks until they lead the army of dragons. Some even have aspirations to sit on one of the three thrones. Some just leave everything behind and fly around. Usually the older ones choose to do that: spend the last few months they have together flying around. Once, while traveling by land to a port city where Eytherka ends and the Star Light Plains begin, we found a plateau that stood almost two hundred feet tall. When we got closer to it, we could see a giant stone dragon, a silver by the size of it, sitting on the edge with a stone rider sitting in the saddle. They both had moss growing in patches on them and the rain and sun had caused to stone to turn different shades of grey. They appeared to be watching the sun rise when they died.” They hadn’t been walking long while Fendrel spoke, but he stopped and faced Hayden. Looking at him, he began to speak again. “You have the power to do whatever you want, don’t let anyone tell you that you have to go one way or another. Whether you become a rider or not, never let someone else tell you how to live.”

              Hayden stopped walking to face Fendrel as he spoke. Fendrel put his finger to Hayden’s chest as he spoke. Hayden nodded his head, and that was enough of an answer for Fendrel to turn around and keep walking without another glance at him. Hayden could not help but think that something had happened in Fendrel’s life to cause him to have such strong feelings about the subject, but Hayden thought it best to not bring it up now. Hayden decided to change the subject to something else.

              “You said that they only pick the four new riders once a year. Why only once a year, and why only four?”  Hayden wasn’t sure if Fendrel was going to answer him as they walked on. They walked in silence for a few seconds and Fendrel shook all over like he was trying to get water off of himself, then he answered like there had been no break in the conversation.

              “Well they picked four riders to always have new recruits in their ranks, but they use riders to train riders, and if you have too many new recruits, then you would have too many of the older riders grounded as. Also, if you had too many riders you would eventually run out of room in the city and they would have to expand the city more and more. With so many new riders, you would also have fights too frequently as their dragons started to grow and become anxious to prove themselves in battle.” Fendrel’s answer made sense to Hayden.

              He could still remember growing up in Erskine and watching all the young boys doing everything they could to stand out. They were always challenging one another to something or wrestling when they disagreed. Hayden had never thought that the dragons would have such human like qualities.

              Fendrel’s voice brought him back to the conversation. “They do it once a year at the same time so that whoever wanted to try and become a rider would have a fair chance at it. Everyone knows when it is going to be, so everyone has a chance to get to the city to try.” They both had to step off the road as a cart full of goods pulled by a rather beat up looking old donkey passed them.

              “When is the next time that they will choose the four riders?” asked Hayden as they got back on the road and continued on their way while both keeping an eye on the road for any unpleasant gifts left behind by the donkey.

              “Well if I am not mistaken, it should be within a few days after we get there, maybe even within a week or so. It will give you plenty of time to prepare and not make yourself look like a complete fool.” Fendrel laughed as he spoke, amused by his own cleverness.

              “So what happens in the trials? You said you went through them to become a rider, so you must know what is going to happen, right?” Hayden was trying to keep up with Fendrel, but he had to do a dance across the road. It seemed only his side of the road was covered in the donkey’s droppings, a fact that made Fendrel laugh even harder as he watched Hayden jump from each safe ground to the next.

              “I can’t tell you what awaits you in the trials, boy. They test each man differently. The trials are going to test you in ways you did not think could happen, things you think you are strong at its going to show you how weak you really are. I spent my whole life up to that point preparing for the trials and it still caught me off guard. It still beat my very best. The trials required of me things I was not willing to do. You need to ask yourself if you ready to give up everything, and I mean everything, in order to become a rider.” Fendrel continued to walk as he spoke, but he was looking to his side at Hayden and not at the road in front of him. Hayden tried to maintain eye contact, but he had to keep looking down at his feet.

              “I have nothing to lose Fendrel, no family to go home to. In fact, I have no home to go back to. Everything I own I am caring on back right now. I have nothing to worry about leaving behind. I will do anything to get this. I’m tired of being a nobody who works hard for someone who has promised pay, but by the end of the day all I get is kick to my backside and sore muscles to show for my hard work. I am tired of being treated like I’m nothing and I know that all around Arvain there must be others like me. Others who need help and can’t find it, others who will die alone with nothing to call their own if someone does not help them.”

“I will be their help. I will save those who are thought lost. When I leave this world, I want it left a better place.” Hayden had never said that before, but it sounded like it had been rehearsed and although he was answering Fendrel, this was more for himself. This gave him a goal to work for, a dream to strive for. This gave him fuel to do whatever must be done to get a dragon egg.

              “Good, you will need that when the time comes,” Fendrel responded quietly, and it was apparent to Hayden that he was lost in some distant memory. Hayden let the gap of silence grow between them for what seemed like too long. He finally spoke up and asked Fendrel the question that had been eating at him the whole time.

              “What was it?”

              “What was what, boy? If you have a question, ask it properly. I don’t have the patience for riddles.”

              “What was it that they asked you to do in the trials?” Fendrel stopped abruptly as soon as Hayden finished his question. I have gone too far, I shouldn’t have asked that question, Hayden thought. Fendrel stood staring down the road as he spoke.

              “If you do get to become a rider, they will teach you that the only loyalty you should have is to your fellow riders. They will show you that they are your only family, that only they matter. They must know that you are willing to do this or they will not let you have an egg and become one of them. They must know that you will follow orders no matter what. When the trials were almost at an end, my brother and I had both made it to the last trial before they would test us to see which egg we got. We were so happy to see each other there and we could not help but smile at each other.” A smile crept across the old man’s face, but it quickly vanished as he continued on telling his story.

“The judges over the trials saw our bond and knew that we were brothers, so when everyone else had gone to prepare for the last trial, they called us to stand before them. Just the two of us together as brothers should be. We stood with our chests poked out and pride in our hearts. Ha, I was so arrogant back then that I actually thought they were going to go ahead and give us our eggs right then and there, with no further trials. As I waited to hear what they had to say, I was already playing it over in my mind about the honor we were going to gain and the fear everyone would have for my brother and I. We were going to be an unstoppable force together.” Fendrel shook his head sadly at the memory.

“They looked down at us from their lofty seats and spoke like a proud parent to their children. The judge in the center said, ‘You two have done well. Better than any we have seen in many years. The riders would be very fortunate to have you both. There is, however, one last test for the both of you. It is not difficult compared to all that you have already accomplished.’ The judge who spoke raised his right arm and four riders clad in their copper armor came in sets of two through a doorway off to the judge’s right with a stretcher in between each pair.”

              “Sitting on each stretcher was a silver dragon egg. They brought them both in and set one on either side of the judge. After they set the eggs down, the riders left, leaving us with the judges again. Hayden, when I first saw the eggs, saw them up close, my whole world changed and I couldn’t think about anything other than that egg. My egg. I couldn’t tell you anything about the egg in front of my brother, but I could tell you everything about the one they placed in front of me. It was beautiful, it had the same shape as a chicken egg but almost five feet tall, and it looked like it was made out of one giant sheet of silver. It was completely smooth and spotless except for one small diamond spot that was darker than the rest of the egg. At the time I thought it was strange because the judge made a double take when he saw it. I later learned that it was the only metallic egg that had a mark on it. I could not stop staring at the egg, but I was finally drawn back to what was going on around when the judge began to talk again.” Hayden walked closer to Fendrel to hear him better. The old man was all but whispering as he continued speaking.

”’Boys, these are your eggs. Well, they will be if you pass this last test. The riders are a family, they answer to no one but each other and there is no favoritism as there must be complete obedience at all times. You have to obey every order that is given to you no matter what. Your last test is an obedience test, to see if you can do what you are told to do.’” Fendrel lowered his head as he continued his story. Hayden could do nothing but listen, he felt like he was there watching all this happen in front of him.

              “’You must be willing to kill on command. Kill without thinking. Can you do that, boys?’ The judge had an evil grin to his face when he asked us, though we both nodded at him. We had seen the eggs. We were so close, we would not let them slip out of our fingers. ‘Good, good, that’s what we like to hear. I want you to prove it to me boys. Prove to me that you have what it takes to be a rider, to do the hard things no matter what.’ The judge leaned forward in his chair and I can still see him lick his lips before he spoke. ‘Face each other.’” Hayden was not putting together what Fendrel was saying but the old man did not notice.

              “I turned and faced my brother and saw the confusion on his face as I am sure he saw it on mine too. Then the judge said one final word. ‘Go.’ We continued to stand there just looking at each other. Then I realized what he was asking us to do. Just a few seconds later I saw the look on my brothers face change as he realized it too. We both turned and looked at these eggs, our eggs, sitting next to the judge. I made my decision and shook my head no. I was not about to kill my own brother, not for all my dreams, not for anything in this world.”

“Right when I was about to open my mouth to speak, I turned to tell my brother that I was not going to do this, that I wanted no part in it. As I turned I was just able to see the look on my own brother’s face as he swung at my head with a rock he had picked up. I didn’t even have time to think about what was happening before he hit me. Everything flashed white and then there was intense pain, I barely managed to open my eyes and realized I was on the ground; although I didn’t remember falling.”

“I must have blacked out because my brother was standing in front of his egg with his hands outstretched and I watched as he hatched his silver dragon with my blood still on his hands. I saw him look at his dragon and smile. I saw his dragon and there on his head, were my brother’s hand had been, was my blood.”

“I looked to the other side of the judge and watched as they took my egg away. I tried to yell, but the pain was too much. Everything started to go fuzzy again, but I was able to see my brother turn his head back and look at me. I saw sorrow in his eyes as I blacked out, and when I woke up I was back out my parents’ house near the walls of Celestial City, and my parents told me my brother was a rider and he was living with his dragon in the metal pyramid with the other riders. They told me how one of the judges brought me home and told them that I failed my last test and hit my head as I tried to run away. I hadn’t been awake long and my parents were already telling me how proud they were of my brother and how disappointed they were in me. They told me I should try to be more like my brother, the rider.”

              “That’s why I did not get my egg. I have thought about that egg, the one with the little diamond on it, every day since then. It is the last thing I think about every night and the first thing I see when I wake up every morning. The hardest thing I have ever had to do was watch them take that egg away, but I would do it all over again. As difficult as it is for me to think about how I lost my egg, I would hate to feel the guilt my brother must have.” Fendrel turned to Hayden and he saw the tears that had broken through the dirt on the old man’s face. Hayden stood there and watched him as tears continued to roll freely down Fendrel’s face. “You better make sure you are willing to do everything to get an egg before you even try. Whatever you do, whether you decide to try or not, do not act as my brother did. Do not sell yourself to get an egg.”

              “I won’t. I promise you I won’t.” Hayden put his hand on Fendrel’s shoulders as they continued on towards Celestial City.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 3

 

 

             They continued through the day without talking much. They shared pleasantries with one another as they walked. During most of the silence, the story of how Fendrel lost his dragon egg ran rampant in Hayden’s mind. How could the riders ask him to kill his own brother? What would they have to gain from it? If they had wanted to know how loyal they were there must have been other ways to figure it out. I wonder how many others have had to do something horrible to get an egg. I wonder if they will ask me to do something like that.

              “Fendrel, how could they do that?” Hayden hadn’t thought about the question until he had already asked it.

              “How can who do what?” Replied Fendrel. They continued to walk, but they were both worn out form the walking they had already done. Fendrel looked up at the sun and slowed his pace. Hayden looked up and noticed that it was close to sunset. Fendrel turned to Hayden and gave him an ”I’m tired of walking” look and started to walk off the road to a flat clearing that would serve as their camp for the night.

              “How could the judges do that and get away with it? Why didn’t the riders stop them?” Fendrel took off his pack and laid it on the grass. He let out a long sigh, whether from taking off the pack, or from Hayden’s question, Hayden could not tell.

              “Why didn’t the riders stop them? Boy, are you really that dumb? The judges were riders themselves. Do you really think that the riders would let someone who was not of their own ranks choose who joined them? You want to know how they can get away with it? Because they are riders. They have dragons, and lots of them. Not to mention they have hundreds of dragon eggs kept under constant lock and key. They choose what rules everyone obeys; although they don’t have to obey anything.”

              “The three that sit on the thrones did not get voted in by the people, but by the other riders. No one really has a voice in Arvain but the riders. You are either one of them or you are nothing in their eyes. They make the trials, they judge the trials and they pick who gets the eggs, but they do not pick which color they get, that is still up to the person trying for the egg.” Fendrel had sat down next to his pack and was watching Hayden clear up an area where they were going to build a fire.

              “That just doesn’t seem right. Has it always been this way?” Said Hayden, having finished clearing away a fire pit, walked just within talking range to look for firewood.

              “No, not always. There used to be standards to the riders. They used to follow rules set by the three.” Fendrel took the wood that Hayden had gathered and began to set it up like a small hut, the kindling on the bottom and the tender and larger sticks on the outside. It looked like a rounded arrow head sticking up out of the ground.

              “Well what happened to those days?” Hayden tried to clear of as many rocks and sticks off the ground that was going to be his bed that night.

              “Well the three that sat on the thrones back then were old and wise. Now dragon riders don’t live forever, but they can live up to three hundred years, at least that’s how old the oldest rider was when he died, and they can still be killed just like anyone else. They are not immortal no matter what they claim. We all must meet the maker sooner or later. Anyway, the gold rider has always been over the other two, no one really knows why, but that’s just how it is in every historical account: the gold is always leading everyone. The gold rider back then was morally strong, wise, merciful, and just. He treated everyone equal, whether you had a silver or a copper, or even if you did not have a dragon at all. He was an amazing person. His name was Isaac the Golden.”

              “There were a lot of riders back then who felt like they were above everyone else. They began to voice their opinions with the other riders and they grew a following. The three kept them at bay and with Isaac the Golden’s wisdom they were able to disperse the mob before anyone got hurt. Soon after that, Isaac began meeting with riders of each of the earth dragons. The other riders found out about it and questioned him. He said he was trying to unite all of Arvain, to allow everyone to try for any egg and to put all the dragons, even the five earth dragons, under one banner. He wanted everyone equal and he thought all races are equal. The other two on the thrones talked Isaac into leaving for a while with his dragon to clear his head, as they thought he was not thinking straight.”

              “The riders who had caused the problems earlier did not want to take the chance that he might come back and make them equal to everyone. So the night that Isaac left, all the riders joined together and killed the other two while they sat on their thrones. Isaac had just taken off and was circling overhead when it happened, so he was able to escape into the wilderness. Since then, there have been a new three that rule over Arvain: Bryce the Copper, Caine the Silver, and Elizabeth the Gold.” After every few sentences, Fendrel would blow into the embers he lit, trying to get the fire started. After he finished talking, the fire was going well enough that he didn’t need to to tend to it constantly.

              “I had no idea. How long ago did this happen?” Hayden was chewing on one of his hard pieces of bread, trying not to break a tooth as he listened to Fendrel talk.

              “Well, almost forty years ago. It happened the same year I tried for an egg.” Fendrel did not even pretend to count how many years had passed since they came to power. He remembered that year too well and he knew exactly how long ago it had been.

              Hayden shook his head as he heard how long ago it had happened. Could no one stop them, could no one try to help?  Hayden was no stranger to evil deeds going unpunished. It wasn’t but a few years prior he had watched as a family was torn out of their home because they did not pay taxes on a house and land that they owned. Everyone thought it was unfair, but no one was willing to stop the tax collectors. He could still hear the girl’s cries in the wind as the guards did their terrible acts.

              “Why has no one tried to stop them, why has no one done anything?”

              “What would you do if an angry army of dragons wanted something from you? You would give it to them alive or they would kill you and then take it. People have tried to stop them and they wind up dying with traitor written atop their grave. When riders try to oppose them you just don’t see them flying around the city anymore.” Hayden sat up straight at the answer he was given and he wore a shocked expression on his face. Fendrel sighed as he saw Hayden’s disbelief.

              “Close your mouth, boy, and wipe that stupid look off your face or it might stay there permanently.” Hayden closed his mouth and tried to look normal. “Well, I would say that’s better, but you’re still ugly, now you just don’t look dumb and ugly. This is the real world, boy. If someone wants to hurt you, they aren’t going to stop just because you asked nicely. This is the world you are going to jump into and that noble heart of yours is going to get you killed. You need to make up your mind whether or not you are going to bend with the world and become one of them, or stand strong against the waves and become something entirely different.”

              “What would I become?” Hayden was trying to stay within the fire’s ring of light so he could see Fendrel’s face. Hayden looked around and realized it had gotten dark a lot faster than he thought it should. It scared him a little to think how lost he had gotten in his own thoughts, and while listening to Fendrel speak, he lost time and didn’t realize what was going on in the world around him. I need to stay more focused on what’s going on or this could get me into trouble one day. Hayden shrugged off the thought and looked back up at Fendrel, realizing he had been staring at him.

              “Boy, if you are going to ask me questions, at least do me the kindness of listening to me when I answer you.” Hayden nodded his head in a silent apology. “Thank you. Now, you would become one of two things: one, you would probably be dead, two, if you survived, then you could possibly change the world to whatever you wanted. All through history you will find men and women who went against the world and did things how they saw fit. Not all of them were good righteous people, but they still affected Arvain in one way or another. Some doing enormous amounts of good, and others causing great amounts of chaos and evil. You never know just how everything will be affected by your actions today. You might have done something yesterday that, without even realizing it, could cause the whole world to blow up tomorrow.” Fendrel lay down just as he did the night before, using his pack as his pillow and wrapping up in his travel cloak.

              “You don’t really think that would happen do you, you know, the whole world blowing up on account of something I did yesterday?” Hayden started to lie down also, trying to get comfortable, but feeling every little rock and stick that he had missed when he tried to clean off a space earlier.

              “Well crazier things could happen,” Fendrel responded with a note of seriousness to his voice.

              “Like what?” Hayden sat up on one arm, thinking he was about to hear something wild and farfetched.

              “You could actually get a dragon egg.” Fendrel was able to sound serious while he spoke but as soon as he finished he rolled over on his side and began laughing loudly at Hayden’s expense.

              “That’s not funny,” Hayden replied quietly as he turned and tried to fluff his pack the best he could. He laid back down, but this time with his back to Fendrel, hoping it would help drown out the laughter. It did no such thing, and for the next few minutes all Hayden could do was listen to Fendrel cackle like a child and repeat the same line over and over again. This would in turn cause another laughing fit to erupt from the old man.

              “He he, you could actually get a dragon, good one, he he,” Fendrel spoke to himself.

              “Shut up, it wasn’t that funny,” Hayden replied angrily and tried in vain to go to sleep.

                                                                      ------------------

              The following morning was spent mostly in silence. Hayden was so lost in his thoughts that he cleared the camp without realizing it. He continued to work, and when he was finished he just picked up his pack and started walking without any kind of acknowledgment to Fendrel’s existence. Fendrel sat back and watched Hayden, only moving to follow him when he started to walk off.

              “You aren’t still mad about the joke last night, are you, boy?” Fendrel asked causally, but Hayden could hear he tried to cover a laugh as he spoke. Fendrel tried coughing after he spoke so he would not start laughing out loud.

              “No, it’s not that, it’s just that the whole world seems a lot darker than I thought it was.” Hayden let Fendrel walk up beside him and put his arm on his shoulder.

              “I know what you mean. It is always dirtier and darker than what we had imagined it to be. Don’t let it get you down, though. You can always help shed some light on it. Plus, don’t forget we will be at Celestial City today, so that should cheer you up a bit.” Fendrel seemed to have cheered himself up, he walked with a little hop in his step and a smile on his face.

              Well there is that. It will be nice to not have to walk nonstop for a while. I wonder how long I will have to wait until I can try to get an egg. I can’t wait for the trials, I know I will fly right through them thought Hayden. Hayden, without thinking about it, started smiling also. As they continued on the road, they started running into more and more people. Most were traders with large carts full of goods. Luckily the road had widened so that they did not have to run off the road every time a cart came by. Many of the people were pleasant towards them, asking basic questions about how their trip was going.

              At midday, Fendrel told Hayden that they were only a few hours away and that they would be in the city by dark. Hayden did not have to wait long to know that Fendrel had been telling the truth. As they came through a bend around a thick group of trees, Hayden saw a sight that made him stop mid-step and almost caused him to fall. He looked up with awe and beheld a scene that he would never forget: dragons flying in a giant V shape. They had not made it even a hundred feet in the air and Hayden could still hear their wings beating as they gained height. 

Hayden quickly counted the dragons and their riders and tried to get a good look at each one. There was a silver in the front of the “V” formation and there were two copper dragons flying behind him on both sides. As they began to get some distance from Hayden and Fendrel, the silver dragon turned and let out a roar that Hayden felt as much as he heard.

              Hayden knew that Fendrel was speaking to him, but he dared not turn his head away from the dragons, lest he miss a single thing. After a few seconds he noticed that the dull noise that must have been Fendrel’s voice ceased and Hayden was able to watch in silence. One of the first things he noticed was that the silver dragons were almost twice the size of the coppers. The coppers had wings that were proportionate to their body size, but the silver’s wings were like giant sails, much bigger than he thought they would need.

The silver would push up with one massive beat of its wings and then soar smoothly for a second and then push up again. The entire time, it remained in a constant fluid movement that made it look like it was completely at ease. The coppers on the other hand, were flying like baby birds fresh out of the nest. Their wing beats were random and their wings weren’t always flapping at the same time, so they were thrown off balance and would then have to struggle to get right side up again.

              “They are amazing,” Hayden said to himself as much as to Fendrel.

              “They really are.”

              “I had no idea the silvers were so much bigger than the copper dragons. Those four were even smaller than the one I saw back in Erskine.” Hayden was still watching them as they began to just become small blots against the blue sky.

              “Well they are still first years. They probably just had their first flight and have just started their flight training. I guess there were no silvers hatched last year, either.” Fendrel had already started walking and turned to see Hayden still squinting at the sky with his hands blocking the sun. “Well come on, we are almost there, and trust me, there are many more dragons where we are going.”

              “You said they were only a year old? Doesn’t that mean that they are about to start the trials?” Hayden jogged to catch back up to Fendrel. When he got to him, Fendrel had his tongue slightly sticking out and was counting on his fingers silently in his head. A look of slight amusement crept onto his face. “What is it? Did they already have the trials? Are the eggs for this year already gone?” Fendrel quickly answered Hayden before Hayden could work himself into a fit.

              “No, no nothing like that. The eggs are still there waiting on you and the trials haven’t started yet.” Hayden realized he had been holding his breath and he released it when he heard the trials hadn’t started yet. He then turned and continued to walk down the road. “They start at first light tomorrow,” Fendrel told Hayden.

Hayden stopped in his tracks and turned to face the old man. Fendrel just shrugged his shoulders at Hayden. What am I going to do? The trials start tomorrow and I am not even in the city yet.

              “Don’t worry, boy, if you aren’t ready tomorrow, then you would not have been ready in a week.”

              “That’s not true, I could have learned something in a week that would help me get an egg,” Hayden responded.

              “Well yes, you could have done that, but you don’t have a week, so let’s stop talking about who was wrong and let’s get you ready for this thing!” Fendrel took a few large paces up to Hayden and smacked him on the back a little harder than Hayden was expecting. Hayden stumbled forward a little and caught himself before he fell. “Sorry.”

              They continued walking with Hayden mumbling under his breath. Hayden wanted to start running and make sure he got to the city as soon as possible, but Fendrel kept telling him to slow down whenever he started going too fast. “We are almost there, calm down. We will see the River Savior soon and will be able to see Celestial City within an hour or two.” Fendrel had to repeat this statement three times because it wasn’t long after he said it that Hayden would speed down the road.

              “How do I know that? How do I know you haven’t forgotten how far it is, huh? How do I know that we aren’t five days away or if we are even heading in the right direction?” As Hayden spoke, he turned around and walked backwards so he could face Fendrel and continue to walk to what he hoped was Celestial City.

              “Turn around, boy, or you are going to fall into the river.”

              “There is no river.” Hayden turned around and saw that up ahead, the road turned a hard left and there was a drop off at the turn, because he could not see what was directly after the road. They covered the remaining distance to the turn in silence. When they reached it, Hayden was right that there was a drop off, and some forty feet below them was a river. The river was almost a hundred feet across, but it moved silently and there were no rocks jutting out so there weren’t any rapids or white foam. “So you can remember where the river is but not when this year’s trials are?”

              “I am old, some things I remember, and some things I can’t.” Fendrel just shrugged his shoulders and they began walking down the road as it followed the river. “Now when we get to the city, we are going to kind of stand out a little. It would also help us to blend in if you don’t gawk like you have never been there before.”

              “But I haven’t been to the city before,” Hayden responded.

              “I know that, but let’s not tell everyone that. Now, some big things that are going to be different about Celestial City and your home town are number one, the size. How many people lived in Erskine if you had to guess?” Hayden had calmed down a great deal since they found the river and he could tell Fendrel wanted to get him talking and keep him relaxed.

              “Um, I don’t know, maybe two or three hundred adults. Why?”

              “There are almost a thousand men who guard the walls to the city.”

              “A thousand?!?” Hayden’s voice got a little squeaky and high pitched when he shouted out his question.

              “That’s just who guard the walls mind you, that does not include the main ground army, and then the regular people that live there. The river we are following will fork at the city, one part will head into the forests of Eytherka and eventually into the sea, whereas the other part goes into the Bergelmir Mountains and flows into the dwarves’ underground irrigation system. It’s at this fork that they built the city. The walls completely surround the fork, which is no small task as you will see, and there are three walls that make up the city’s defenses. The walls make a giant triangle around the river, with the north corner lying in between the two forks and the western and eastern corners on either side of the main body of water we are following now. Everything in Celestial City is made of metal, everything. The walls were first made of stone to only about twenty feet high, but when they discovered all the rich minerals in the land and the city began to flourish, they decided it was time to upgrade their style of living. The walls are now close to fifty feet high and they look to be made of one giant sheet of metal, but don’t let that fool you, there are trap panels built along all three walls that will open up to reveal one of their many war machines.”

Hayden listened, and tried to imagine what the city would look like, but with no success. He could not fathom what a city made out of metal with thousands of people would look like. The road began to rise at a steep incline and Hayden was starting to feel a burning sensation in his legs.

“They even made the houses out of metal so that they would not burn if they got attacked or if someone just had an accident while cooking or something of the sort.” Fendrel was walking with one hand pressed on his leg and it was very apparent that this hill was taking a lot out of him.

“I just can’t imagine what a metal city would look like.” Hayden topped the hill first and reached back to help Fendrel walk the last few feet.

“Don’t imagine, just look at it.” Fendrel pointed and Hayden turned and was, for the second time, dumb struck by the sight.

Celestial City’s walls shined as the sun hit them, and the city was enormous, much bigger then he thought it could have been. Outside the city were miles and miles of fields used for farming and he could even make out giant herds of cattle, some with thousands of head of cattle, making up huge spots in what looked like a giant green and brown quilt. Hayden’s attention was drawn back to the city and he just stared at it.

They had come up on the rear wall just as Fendrel had said they would. Hayden could see down the entire wall and into the city. The rear wall did look like one giant sheet of metal, and he could see where the walls turned in and met, making a giant arrowhead shape. Each wall had a cover over it so the men on it would be protected from the weather and any projectiles that were hurled at them. There were three giant towers, each one almost twice the size of the walls, one at each of the three corners were two of the walls met.

On top of the towers sat what appeared to be giant statues. On the tower furthest away from them sat a golden dragon, on the one facing the east was a silver dragon, and the tower on the west had a copper. None of the dragons had saddles of any kind and they weren’t moving; those were the only reason Hayden thought they were statues because they looked so real that at any second they would spread their wings and take to the sky.

From their vantage point it looked like giant birds were circling above the city. There were dozens of dragons in the air with their riders. Some were flying in V shapes while most of them were just in an unorganized mess, but by some miracle no one even got close to hitting each other.

He noticed that the river separated the city into three different areas; the largest part of the city was on the far right side and it was made up of metal houses, all organized and in neat rows. Hayden was amazed to see that some of the houses seemed to be on top of other houses. The top section that was in between the two forks was just a bunch of buildings that Hayden couldn’t really make out from so far away. The last side on the left was the one that amazed Hayden the most. It had a lot of smoke coming out of some of the buildings and it housed a few buildings that were thirty and forty feet tall, but the thing that caught Hayden’s eye was an enormous metal pyramid.

“What is that?” Hayden asked.

“The Metallic Pyramid? I mentioned that to you already. That is where the dragons and their riders stay when they are in the city. There is a side for each color of the metallic dragons to use. We are facing the corner between the coppers and silvers, they face the way their corresponding statues are. That whole side is the military side, those buildings you see the smoke coming out of are blacksmiths and those big ones, the ones that look like giant squares, those are barracks that they use to house the army and the guards.” Fendrel was pointing at the buildings as he spoke and Hayden was trying to see everything.

“The area to the far right looks like houses, right?”

“Yes, that’s where everyone else lives who’s not a rider or part of the army.” Fendrel nodded at Hayden’s correct guess.

              “What’s the top section for?”

              “That is where all the shops, store houses, taverns and all the stuff that goes along with trades are. They keep it all together to make it easier on the people. As you can see there are four main gates; one on each of the two other walls and there are two on this one, one on each side of the river. The roads leading out of the military side lead to large open encampment where the foot solders do most of their training, the roads going out of the top section just thin out and go to various towns and villages. The southern road, the one we are on now, thins out also but it goes all the way to the frozen mountains. It’s the same way they say our ancestors came when they founded this place.” Fendrel started walking down the road and had to tell Hayden to follow. He could have spent a few days just staring at the city from on top of the hill.

              “This is amazing; this place looks so … so… amazing,” Hayden said as they began descending the hill.

              “Good choice of words, boy.” Fendrel continued to tell him about the peoples dress and what kind of food they liked to eat. As they got closer to the city they had to cross a bridge to get over to the side where the gate that led to the houses was.

Hayden watched as a copper dragon came out of the sky and landed on the wall directly over the gate. They were still a mile away from the city but there were already more people on the road then Hayden had ever seen in his whole life. Everyone took notice of Hayden and Fendrel because they were dressed so different.

              They wore earthen tone clothes that were meant to be worked in, both of their outfits were dirty and had holes starting to show through. While the people in the city wore much more elaborate colors, and every one wore capes and hats with large feathers in them. Hayden looked at the people with interest, but he could quickly tell that the people were looking down at him with disgust. Some even pulled their children away and turned their nose up to them. Hayden wanted to say something to Fendrel about it, or even say something to the people who were looking down at him, but Fendrel shook his head and pulled him along. As they passed under the gate Hayden looked into the eyes of the copper dragon and smiled.

              “Boy, I would like to introduce you to the riders of Arvain.”

 

 

Chapter 4

 

 

             Fendrel pulled Hayden through the river of people that were making their way up and down the busy streets in what Hayden had just learned was called The Housing District. The people still looked down on him and Fendrel, and few people moved out of their way as they tried to walk, but Fendrel did not slow down and just pushed his way through the crowd. Hayden kept trying to ask questions about the things he was seeing, but he never got more than a few words out before his voice was drowned out by someone else talking louder than him.

              Hayden had lost all sense of direction only a few moments after entering The Housing District. His head was still swimming with everything he was trying to take in. I have seen another dragon up close. A copper dragon actually looked at me. This is where I belong. Hayden realized that he was having a hard time thinking with everything going on so he decided to stop asking questions and just try to follow Fendrel.

              Fendrel kept weaving in and out between people and turning down one street just to go a few feet and turn down another road. Hayden noticed that when they had first come into district, the metal houses were two and three stories, but as they made it deeper into the district Hayden noticed that the houses were beginning to look less extravagant. The nicer houses had elaborate carvings and decorations on the outside of the houses. Some even had different kinds of metals used to add color to the constant shinny grey. The houses that Fendrel was leading him through had no such designs, no ornate decorations, just plain grey walls. These houses were just as tall as the other ones, but where one family would have all three stories in the richer part of the district, here they crammed multiple families into the homes.

              Fendrel made an abrupt stop in front of an ordinary house compared to the corresponding metal homes, except it seemed to Hayden that it looked un-kept and a good bit dirtier than all the other houses. Fendrel did not knock on the door but pulled out a metal key that had a lot more elaborate bends and points then Hayden had ever seen. Fendrel unlocked the door, which when he turned the key sounded like a large rock falling, and gave the door a slight push with his hand.

The door however did not move and Fendrel had to slam his shoulder into it twice to get it to open. The door gave out a loud creak when it finally opened for them and a large puff of orange smoke came loose from the one large hinge that ran the whole length of the great metal door. 

              Fendrel stood straddling the threshold with one foot in the strange old metal house and one foot out in the equally strange metal street; he gave a short bow and made a sweeping gesture with his hands and ushered Hayden in. Hayden took a few short timid steps and tried to see what was in the house, but all he could see was where the light from the outside hit the floor.

Fendrel closed the door behind them and set the lock back in place. As soon as the door closed Hayden was engulfed in darkness and he stopped all movements and just tried to listen.

              Hayden heard Fendrel’s footsteps falling on the floor and more creaking and grunting, which made him believe that Fendrel was trying to open something. Soon Hayden was blinded by light shinning directly on his face. He turned his head and closed his eyes tightly, and when he opened them again he saw Fendrel standing next a couple of old metal shutters he had just opened.

              “Boy, I would like to welcome you to my house.”

              Hayden looked around the room he was standing in and saw that it was a common area. Everything was covered in dust so thick that when he looked back to where he had walked in his footprints looked like they had been made in snow. The walls had begun to rust near the top where water had leaked in and no one had been around to fix it; he could also see a few spots on the walls where torches were hung and the soot was still caked on the wall.

              “Nice, it’s very spacious.” Hayden tried not to say anything negative about Fendrel’s house. Fendrel wore a smile on his face as he walked over to one of the softer looking chairs and almost fell back into the chair, sending out a cloud of dust so thick that Hayden lost sight of him. He could hear him cough as the dust finally began to settle.

              “Ok, it could use some cleaning, but hey what do you expect when no one has been in here for almost twenty years. Come on; help me clean all this up so we can at least have one comfortable night before you fly off on a new adventure.” Fendrel sat up and tried to dust himself off, but quit after a few seconds because the dust was just too thick.

              Hayden nodded and sat his pack down, and the two men got to work. Fendrel opened up every window and every door to help ventilate while they cleaned. Hayden walked around and noticed that Fendrel’s house consisted of two equal sized sleeping chambers with one wash room between them, a kitchen with a large open space with a table for them to eat their meals and the living area where they had first walked in.

The house was not messy it was just dusty; once they wiped everything off, which still took a few hours, the house was looking like it was lived in again. 

              Fendrel had already lit the torches and the one large fire place in the common area before it got dark. He then left to go out and buy supplies, and left Hayden alone with his thoughts for the first time since they had met three days prior. Although Hayden had only known Fendrel for a short amount of time he had already grown close to the man and enjoyed his company. It was the closest thing Hayden had ever had to a friend or even a father figure.

              Hayden walked around Fendrel’s house and nosed around his cupboards and drawers. He was still amazed that everything was made of metal; he had never seen anything like it before. Everything was cool to the touch, and since they had cleaned off all dust the house gave off a slight shine, and when Fendrel had lit the fire it reflected off of every surface and lit up the house.

              Hayden noticed that there were a few notches in one of the corners that sat between the common room and the kitchen. At first glance Hayden thought that they were random cuts in the metal that had been done on accident, but as he examined it closer he realized that there were things carved into the metal next to each mark. There were only two diff letters by each scratch; F, M. Beside each letter was a number that grew with the height of the scratches.

              “This is where Fendrel and his brother’s height were measured every year. Fendrel was always a little shorter it looks like.”

              “No, my brother always stood just a little on his toes.” Fendrel walked into the kitchen with some food and new clothes in his hands. Even though they had oiled all the hinges in the house, Hayden was still a little startled that he could not hear the massive front door open when Fendrel had entered.

              “What was your brother’s name?” Hayden helped take the food out of Fendrel’s hands.

              “Morgane, his name was Morgane.” Fendrel stopped where he stood for a second when he spoke. When he was finished he continued to help Hayden lay everything out. He then handed Hayden one of the bundles of new clothes and instructed him to go change. After Hayden had changed and entered back into the kitchen he noticed the fire in the kitchen had been lit and a pot already hung above it.

              “I was wondering, since this might be my last night with you, if you could answer a question I have wanted to ask for the past three days.” Hayden stood beside Fendrel and helped him cut up various vegetables and meats that he had purchased.

              “I guess we won’t be having a silent dinner then, go ahead and ask.” Fendrel made an over exaggerated sigh of exasperation, before he answered, but when Hayden looked at him he was wearing a devilish grin on his face.

              “Well I was wondering how you knew so much about dragons and their history. I know you said I was untaught in my town but it seems to me like you might have had extra learning or something. Does everyone know as much about dragons and the riders as you?” Hayden did not take a breath while he spoke so all the words ran together.

Fendrel looked at Hayden, and Hayden could tell that the older man had understood the questions just fine and did not need him repeat himself.

              “Everyone knows about the riders and there are even some that have figured out a good deal on their own or, as you put it, some have had learning about them. I had learning, but it was not from a school or any kind of instructor. I learned everything I know about the riders of Arvain from the riders themselves.” They continued to work on the stew Fendrel had started while they talked. Soon they were both sitting around on the padded chairs, enjoying the smell of their dinner that was now surrounding them.

              “It wasn’t long after Morgane had become a rider, as I said before my parents were just so proud of him, and my parents wanted me to help him somehow. Since I had lost my chance to become a rider myself, they thought it was only fair that I work for the riders.

“I found myself living in the Metallic Pyramid with my brother, but where he lived in the riders chambers with his dragon I lived in a servants quarters. I did random menial jobs at first; making sure the riders and their dragons were comfortable, lots of cleaning and carrying anything and everything from one place to another.

              “When I first arrived there I avoided my brother at all costs, but that could not last long, we were brothers. He introduced me to his dragon, which was a male who was already large for his age that he named Argentum. We tried to be like we were before but it was never the same.” Fendrel never stopped working as he spoke.

“Soon his rider friends made fun of him being around me so we stopped seeing each other. I got over being mad about my lot in life and I decided that if I was going to have to spend my life here then I was going to make something out of it. I started asking lots of questions about the dragons and I found myself working under some of the dragon handlers who took care of the dragons when their riders were too lazy to. I was always interested in working with the eggs, but they would only let riders work with them so that someone like me could not get in there and hatch an egg.

              “I did get a chance to ask questions about my egg and they said it was the only one they had ever seen that had a mark on the egg. I made friends with one of the caretakers of the silver eggs and when I left twenty years ago she told me the egg was still there.” Fendrel got up and made them both a bowl of the dinner. They ate in silence as Hayden mulled over what all he had just heard. It must have been hard to be that close to his egg but never being able to have it.

              “Why did you leave the Metallic Pyramid?” Hayden had started to clean up and let Fendrel relax and continue talking.

              “I left only a year after I had gotten there. My brother had become a full fledged rider and was about to start his first year at the tower in Eytherka when he died. I left right after that and stayed here in Celestial City and worked as a trapper most of the time.

“I was still in constant contact with the same caretaker for the whole time I was here, which was about ten years. She was killed one night in the Metallic Pyramid, it was an accident, she was trying to master some new weapon with another rider and the other rider messed up and it cost my friend her life. Once I learned of her death I left the city and hadn’t been back since. Until now that is; I found out some years ago that my mother and father had died. After what happened to my brother they weren’t the same any more. After my friend died I had nothing left in the city to stay for.”

              Hayden followed Fendrel into the common area and they left the windows open and watched as the people went through the city. Hayden was surprised to see so many people out, and most of them were shouting things Hayden was not familiar with. Some were even placing bets with other people who were shouting out odds. Hayden hated to change the subject, but he was so curious with the people’s activities he had to ask.

              “What is everyone doing out there?”

              “They are getting ready for tomorrow; they are placing bets on who they think will win and showing support for their favorite attendee in tomorrow’s trials. The city really comes to life this time every year.” Fendrel leaned back and Hayden noticed he was wearing a slight smile as he watched the people go about and celebrate.

              “How often do people come from other towns and do the trials?” Hayden asked.

              “Not very often. While you lived back in Erskine, how many people left to pit themselves against others in an attempt to become riders?”

              “None that I can think of; when’s the last time an outsider has actually gotten an egg?”

              “Well I hate to repeat you, but none that I can think of. There have been a few that have come really close, but none ever make it all the way through.”

              “So the odds aren’t looking that good for me, huh?”

              “Boy, the odds were looking great for me and look what happened. Not only did I not get my egg but it cost me my brother, my family, and a friend. Never count on, odds, boy something can quickly change all that.” Fendrel got out of his chair and stretched; Hayden winced at the sounds of Fendrel’s bones cracking.

              “After all that you probably think I am crazy for trying, don’t you?” Hayden asked, but he felt like he already knew the answer.

              “I would think you were crazy if you didn’t try, boy. Even after all I went through, all the pain and loss I endured, I would do it all over again just to see my egg, just to see it.” Fendrel balled his fists and placed them on his hips. “Just to see it one more time.” He then shook his head and turned to walk into what was going to be his bedroom for the night.

              “What was her name?” Hayden asked as he made his way towards his own room.

              Fendrel stopped just in the doorway of his room and rested upon the door frame. He was silent for a few minutes and then lowered his head before he spoke. “That, boy, is a story for another time.” With that Fendrel went into his room. Before he closed the door he turned and faced Hayden. “You need rest; I will get you up before first light. Tonight will be the last night you spend as a man trying to become a rider. By this time tomorrow you will either be with your very own dragon in the Metallic Pyramid, or with me again figuring out what trade you want to do for the rest of your life.”

              Hayden gave Fendrel a nod and a nervous laugh, but when he closed his door he put his back against the door and let the truth of what Fendrel had said sink in. This is my last night before the trials. No one from outside the city has ever passed and gotten an egg, but I will be the first. I have to pass it no matter what. I have no idea what I would even want to do if I do not get an egg.

Hayden stood there and thought for a few minutes before finally going and lying down on what was going to be his bed for the night. He realized Fendrel must have gotten new bedding because the blankets and pillows were both new and did not smell like dust.

              He turned over and lay on his back with his hands behind his head. He stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before turning back over on his side.

              “I miss the stars already,” he said to himself.

He listened to the muffled sound of the people on the street and waited for sleep to come; it was some time before that happened. He closed his eyes for what seemed like only moments and heard Fendrel knocking on the metal door.

              “Alright, boy, it’s time to get up; people are already making their way towards the Metallic Pyramid.” Fendrel seemed wide awake by the way he was talking, but Hayden was having a hard time focusing his eyes and his head was feeling fuzzy. He sat up and decided that was not a good idea and he lay back down.

              “Boy, the trials are starting if you want an egg, get up NOW!” With the last word Fendrel must have kicked the door for how loud the knock sounded. With mention of the trials and the dragon egg that was to be his, Hayden woke up and became completely alert. He walked out of his room after he got dressed and with only a glance at Fendrel the two made their way out the door and headed off with the crowds to the Metallic Pyramid.

             

                                                                      ------------------------------

             

              Nether of them spoke as they walked, they listened to everyone else talk about who they wanted to get an egg and some of the younger people talk about how they couldn’t wait till they were eighteen and they could try for an egg. Hayden could pick out of the crowd the people who were trying for an egg this year because they were not cheering and goofing off with the others. Most did not talk or show any kind of acknowledgement to the surrounding people. They were each lost in their own world and preparing in their own ways for what lay before them.

              Hayden noticed that there was one person in particular that was making an awful lot of racket about how he was going to be getting an egg. Hayden heard bits and pieces about how his father was a rider of a silver dragon and it was only right for him to ride a silver or a gold. He heard him talk about if he got a copper he would kill it even if it meant death for him because he would not be caught alive on a copper. Hayden hurried through the crowd because he could not take listening to the boy talk about dragons like they were just a piece of clothing to be worn till they were of no more use to the owner.

              As Hayden and Fendrel crossed over the bridge that led them to the military district, Hayden noticed a girl sitting on the railing of the bridge. He only saw her for a second but he could tell two things immediately after he laid eyes on her; one she was beautiful, and was causing many men to look at her as they passed, some whose wives elbowed them once they noticed, and two she was staring right at him.

Hayden looked at her and turned to make sure there was no one behind him, but when he turned around again to get another look at her she was gone.

              Hayden looked back forward, and for the remainder of the walk kept his eyes on the Metallic Pyramid. Although he could see it from the doorstep of Fendrel’s house, for it was a constant over shadowing building in a city of smaller houses, it seemed to be growing towards the sky. Hayden took a deep breath and began to head to the guard who was yelling for all eighteen year olds who would like to try to follow him.

              “Good luck,” Fendrel said behind him.

              As Hayden turned to respond he realized that Fendrel was no longer behind him and in fact no were to be seen.

              “What is it with people disappearing today?” Hayden asked himself.

              As he neared the guard who was speaking he noticed another guard who was pulling up everyone’s right sleeve and inspecting their arm. He did the same thing to Hayden, but before Hayden could ask what he was looking for the guard moved on to the next person behind him. Hayden felt like cattle as they herded all the eighteen year olds into the base of the Metallic Pyramid.

Right before they walked underneath the colossal building Hayden looked up and saw just how high it was, and just for a second his stomach did a quick flip and he missed a step. Before he could even put out his hands to try to catch himself a hand caught him and helped him up. He looked to thank the owner of the hand and it was the girl he had seen on the bridge. He was trying to speak, but words were having a hard time making it from his brain to his mouth. She leaned in and put her lips almost against Hayden’s ear and whispered.

              “Be careful, next time I will let you fall.” With that she smiled at him to show she was joking with him and turned to walk with the group as they continued to head deeper into the pyramid. Hayden tried to keep up with her, but people kept getting in the way and slowing him down. She turned and, seeing his attempt to catch up to her, let out a soft laugh and continued on her way.

              Hayden had kept looking into her dark brown eyes for so long that he had forgotten to even look at the rest of her, but he was able to look at her black hair as it bounced off around a corner. As he went around the corner he found that everyone was standing in a crescent moon around the largest dragon he had ever seen.

It was a silver that stood almost twenty feet tall from shoulder to floor, and its body was covered in rippling muscle. Its rider stood in front of it wearing armor that seemed to be made out of smaller silver scales. The rider was wearing a helmet that shadowed his face from everyone. As soon as the last person was standing around the rider and his dragon the rider spoke.

              “Welcome, everyone, to this year’s trials. Only four of you will make it through to be given the honor and privilege to stand within our ranks and get the greatest treasure in Arvain, a dragon egg.” With the mention of the egg his silver dragon let out a puff of smoke from his nostrils. “Most of you will not be found worthy and some may even die, or worse, but that is a chance you must be willing to make. Risk life and limb for a chance at an egg. If you are not willing to make that sacrifice then please leave now.” Some did as he had suggested and left. “You that remain have passed the first and only easy test, choosing this for yourselves not because someone has made you come here; now ready yourselves for your trials start now.”

             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 5

 

 

 

The rider led the way down a dark twisting hallway, barely large enough that his dragon could follow with lowering its head. As they walked through the continually descending walkway a man in copper armor walked out of a doorway carved into the side of the hallway and got alongside the rider who was leading them.

              “We started out with one hundred and forty three applicants, twelve left during the first trial, sir.” The copper rider did not try to whisper; he wanted the remaining people to hear their conversation.

              “We seem to start out with less and less potential riders and it seems every year we have more and more leave during the first trial.” He turned to his right, while still walking, so he could see his dragon. “You can go ahead and eat, Siron, just make sure you meet us in time for the end of the second trial.” The dragon nodded its giant head like it understood every word the rider had said; it then further proved Hayden’s thought by turning and leaving the group immediately. They continued on for a few more minutes and finally came to a halt in front of the largest doors Hayden had ever seen.

              The doors themselves stood close to forty feet tall, but they sank into the floor so there where steps leading down to the base of the door. The rider stood to the left of the door on an elevated platform so he could see over the crowd and everyone could see him. He waited till everyone was in the chamber before he spoke.

              “What lies before you is the door to the second trial. This is where we will test the very fabric of your being and see if, deep down, you have the stuff that makes a rider. Here is where most of you will fail and where we will thin out the herd. Your task is a simple one; make it through the labyrinth and climb atop our home to see as we see. Take a few seconds to prepare yourselves, and when the doors open you may begin.”

              Hayden did not understand exactly what was being asked of him, but he knew what a labyrinth was and he knew it wasn’t going to be fun. He made his way clear of the group and sat with his back against the wall, trying to control his breathing and his heart rate. His nerves were beginning to give him problems even despite him trying his best to remain calm. He could feel his heart beginning to speed up and his stomach was feeling tight and in knots. He tried looking around at the chamber he was in to take his mind off of what he was about to do. 

              They had actually gone so deep that the walls where made of stone instead of metal; Hayden was shocked that he had not noticed the transition earlier. Their where fire pits setting in large metal bowls scattered around the room. Hayden watched as the rider moved from fire to fire and threw a stick out from behind his back into each fire. As soon as the stick hit the ever hungry flames the smoke began to get thicker. At first Hayden could see the walls and watched the shadows that the fires were casting, but it wasn’t long until Hayden could barely see the giant door. He began to stare at the door because it was the only thing he could still see. He could still make out the giant metal rivets that were sticking out of the door. He noticed that at the top of the door and all along the sides it seemed like the door was bleeding as some kind of black liquid began to poor over the hinges and completely covered the door. 

              Hayden could barely make out the rider as he stood next to the fire pit closest to the large door; he could tell it was the rider just because his armor made him shine even in the smoke filled chamber. He watched as the rider stuck a torch into the fire, and once it was alight he moved to the door so everyone could see him.

The rider said nothing; instead he just took his time looking from one cluster of people to the next. He then held up his torch as high over his head as he could.

              “Begin!” He shouted with a voice that echoed throughout the chamber, and before his voice stopped ringing in Hayden’s ears he spun around and tossed his glowing torch at the door, which was now completely black from the liquid that was covering it. It erupted in flames the moment the torch touched it; sending a flash of light so bright Hayden had to cover his eyes and look away. Hayden jumped to his feet and took a few steps back because the heat was so intense; Hayden thought he might just catch fire from being to close.

              Hayden kept his eyes shielded away from the worst of the inferno, but he dared a look at the door and realized that although it was on fire it had opened in the center and there was a gap almost five feet wide, wide enough for him to go through. Hayden was arguing with himself for only a second when he noticed the same girl that he had kept running into ran right through the fire doors and into the darkness that lay behind without a look back.

Hayden ran forward, and fear grew in his heart because the closer he came to the fire the more he felt like a roasted pig on the fire. Right before he thought he could take no more he noticed the temperature drop, and although he was now in the dark he was still seeing white spots. He was the second one to make it through the fire and he slowed down his headlong run to try and take in his surroundings. Hayden realized he had no idea where he was, and going back was not an option.

              Hayden waited for his eyes to adjust and saw that he was looking down a long hallway with ten openings on either side. The smoke was already pouring into the hallway and clogging up Hayden’s lungs and eyes. He started moving forward at a slow jog when he noticed that others were starting to make it through the doors; the sight of them caused Hayden to start running and he turned down the third right on the hallway.

              As he continued running he started turning down more and more open hallways until finally he stopped and realized that he could no longer hear the others, or anything for that matter. He looked up and saw that the walls that were around him did not go all the way up to the ceiling but stopped at almost fifteen feet high. After that there seemed to be nothing but darkness and Hayden could not see the ceiling. He began hearing strange noises and the smoke started billowing over the walls around him. He started running again, this time as fast as he could.

He did not care which way he was going he just wanted out. He kept the pace up until he was starting to breathe heavily and his legs felt like they were on fire. He turned down another hallway and saw that he had gone down a dead end; he had gone down a few the past couple of times he had made turns. He sat down in the corner with his back to the walls and tried to catch his breath. He was alone and in the dark, surrounded by smoke and strange noises; he could feel that fear had a hold on his heart and he made no move to change that. He was tired and ready to get out of there.

              If I would have just stayed back at Erskine I would have never have had to do this. I could have been normal and never had to go to such crazy places, Hayden thought to himself. He tried to see the ceiling, and was staring deeply into the darkness when a jet of fire raced across his field of vision. He was able to barely catch a glimpse of the dragon that created the fire; it was a smaller copper that had probably just hit its first year.

              Seeing the dragon reminded Hayden of why he was here. He heard many people scream when they saw the fire and the dragon, but Hayden was no longer afraid. He remembered that this was a trial and that the dragon was not an enemy. He began to calm down as he thought about all this; he then began to think of a way out. He decided that running around with no sense of direction clearly wasn’t working at all. He looked around and noticed that about twenty feet away, where two walls met, the walls were rougher and he might be able to climb them and get an idea of where he was going.

              He walked over to the wall and began to climb. It was a little harder then what he had expected, but since it looked like no one had ever tried to climb at this spot before the stone was not worn smooth, so Hayden could still get a good footing. He climbed the walls and found a ledge that was big enough for him to sit on. He looked around from his vantage point and could see most of the giant room he was in. He could see where the torches were set up and that helped illuminate the smoke filled chamber.

              Hayden realized that most of the chamber was full of the maze he had been lost in. He walked on the ledge and jumped over gaps as he made his way through the labyrinth. He made it to the center of the chamber, or as close to the center as he could guess and he could see the flaming doors behind him. He looked for a way out and it did not take him long to see the giant spiral stair case on the opposite wall. He could hear screams coming from the direction of the stairs, but he had to keep going.

              As he made his way towards the stairs, still staying on top of the maze’s walls, he began to see people huddled in corners in the maze, sitting with their legs to their chest and their eyes closed tight, rocking back and forth, begging whatever and who ever to make it stop. The first few Hayden happened upon he tried to help but none of them even seemed to notice his existence. After that he stopped trying to help; he just did his best to ignore their screams and continue on.

              When he got closer to the stairs he could make out a lone person climbing up the steps in sets of two. He did not try to move faster because that was the first person he saw that was still trying to move forward and hadn’t just given up. He heard some people start yelling, but it wasn’t the same scared screaming he had heard from the people earlier; it was a frustrated yell.

He took a slight detour away from the stairs, against his better judgment, and tried to find the source of the yelling. It took him only a few minutes to find them because they were now arguing loudly about which way they thought they should go.

              “You are as thick headed as a dwarf, we just went that way and it led to a dead end. We need to back track and find the last fork where there where two torches. You remember where I am talking about?” Came one of the voices as Hayden neared the shouting people.

              “I am not dumb.” The other person responded in a deep thundering voice.

              When Hayden came over the last wall he saw that there were five people standing around one crouched down person who had appeared to draw a crude incorrect map with his finger in the dirt. He saw that they all where males and they were all covered in sweat. He watched them a little longer, and without thinking he whistled to get their attention.

              “Oy, what are you doing up there? We have to go through the labyrinth not over it,” the one who was crouched down shouted angrily.

              “And who said that? I don’t remember any one telling me that; I do, however, remember them telling us to make it out of here, which is what I plan to do. I know the way out of here and if any of you wish to join me now would be the best time to do so.” Hayden spoke with a calm voice; he was no longer scared or worried but he did not want them to get angry with him or feel like they could push him around. He had been bullied around by his so called ‘friends’ for long enough, and he was not going to take it from complete strangers.

              The one who had spoke sat there for a moment and right when he began to open his mouth to speak the guy, which Hayden assumed he had made fun of just moments before by how angry he looked, walked to where Hayden was standing and had Hayden help him climb up the wall. Hayden noticed that he was taller and had a much bigger build than him. With his help they brought every one up on the wall. The last one to climb was the person who had spoken to Hayden originally; he only took their help after he had failed to climb on his own.

              Once everyone was on the wall Hayden began leading them towards where the stairs where. No one spoke while they walked and Hayden liked it that way; he was to into the argument he was having with himself to have had talked to any of them even if he wanted to.

You could have just very well helped one of the people who are going to get an egg over you. If you would have left them there then there would be a whole lot less people trying for the eggs and you would almost for sure have gotten one, Hayden thought to himself. Yes, but it would not have been right. What kind of rider would I be if I had the ability to help people and never did for my own gain? I will always do my best to help people even if it could come back to hurt me in the end, was his reply to his first thought.

              That thought seemed to stop the argument right in its tracks. He did not have much time to dwell upon the subject much longer for they had reached the spiral stair case. While they were at the base of the stairs, Hayden looked up through the center of the spiral to see if he could see how high they had to climb. His stomach gave a slight twitch as he realized he couldn’t see the top.

Some of the others began to groan and complain at the daunting task that lay before them, but Hayden and the bigger guy went to climbing the steps without a single word. After they had made it what they could only guess was a hundred feet, Hayden realized that the group was all falling behind except for the person who had started climbing with him.

              “What’s your name?” The bigger guy asked.

              After hearing his voice, Hayden was sure it was the same guy that had been made fun of earlier. “Hayden, what’s yours?” As they climbed higher and higher up the stairwell there began to be more lit torches on the walls. The torches allowed Hayden to see further ahead and get a better look at his new traveling partner.

              “Shane,” was his answer; he was breathing heavily from fatigue. Hayden was sweating on his brow, but he could already see dark crescent moon shapes appearing under Shane’s arms and around his neck.

              “Well, Shane, you’re from the city, right?” Shane just nodded his head and continued his deep breathing as they carried on with their strenuous climb. “What made you decide to try to become a rider?” Hayden asked. He was trying to take his mind off of his burning legs while also getting to know Shane.

              “Well, my family is all bakers. I was beginning to cost too much to feed they said, on account of my size.” Hayden tried to look like he hadn’t noticed how big Shane was. “So my dad told me that when I turned eighteen I was ether going to become a rider or join the ground military. Either way he said he didn’t want me to eat him out of money. I figured that I would give this a try first; seeing how I can always join the military, but I can only try for an egg once. I am just hoping that if I get it that they feed the riders as much as they do the dragons.”

              Hayden laughed at Shane’s joke, which in turn made Shane smile and try to get a few laughs in between his heavy breathing. Hayden took in just how big Shane was, he was only a few inches taller than Hayden but he was covered in thick muscles.

They continued climbing for almost thirty minutes until Shane finally asked Hayden if they could rest for just a few minutes. Hayden was more than happy to rest for his legs were also hurting him. He thought that Shane would have asked for a break much sooner than he did and that impressed Hayden; Shane gave it all that he had and nothing less.

              They did not speak as they sat there, but instead tried to focus on their own breathing and Hayden was trying to listen to the others that had fallen behind. He could only make out a few words here and there, but for the most part he heard the one loud one complaining and the others telling him to shut up. Hayden was content to rest for a little longer and wait for the others to catch up, but Shane jumped up and was ready to go.

              “What’s the hurry? We can just wait for the others and climb up with them,” Hayden protested as Shane helped him to his feet.

              “The others I don’t mind so much, but it’s Sebastian I don’t want to wait for,” Shane said.

              “Sebastian, which one is he?” Hayden asked as he took his place in the front and began forcing his already sore muscles to continue the climb. Sitting had caused them to get stiff which added to the pain he was already feeling.

              “The one who yelled at you; his father is a rider and he thinks he will get a dragon’s egg just because of it. He thinks that he is already better than everyone else.” Hayden did not have to look at Shane to know that he was mad. He could hear the anger lain underneath the words that he spoke.

              “I heard him while I was heading to the trials, he was bragging to anyone that would listen to him. Don’t worry though, at the rate that we are going and how much he is complaining back there, I don’t think he will getting an egg any time soon.” They both shared a short laugh as they climbed; Hayden was really starting to like Shane.

              “So, Hayden, why haven’t I seen you around the city before; do you live outside the walls?” Shane was using the left hand wall to help support him as they climbed.

              “You could say that; I am from Erskine, it’s a small village about three days walk from here.”

              “You’re an outsider; no one from outside the city ever tries for an egg let alone gets one. It’s amazing that you have made it this far.” Shane did not try to hide his shock when he found out that Hayden was not from within the walls of Celestial City; it didn’t bother Hayden that he was amazed about where his home was, but Hayden hoped he would not get looked at badly just because he was from somewhere else.

              “So I have heard. Is it a problem that I am not from here?” Hayden was already getting ready for some form of ridicule.

              “No of course not; I am just impressed. Never before has someone not born with in these walls ever gotten an egg, most never make it past this trial, but here you are in front of everyone.” Hayden relaxed and was slightly amused by Shane’s answer. If I get a dragon it could change everyone’s views on outsiders, Hayden thought.

              “Well I am not the first one up here, I saw someone else running up the stairs before I found you guys.”

              “Oh well, what do you think the last part of the challenge is, the whole thing about going to the top of their home and seeing as they see?”

              “I don’t know, but look up through the center, I can see a ceiling.” Shane ran to the railing and looked up through the center shaft that ran the entire length of the stairs. He looked up and let out a sigh of relief.

              When they reached the last few steps they noticed that they could no longer hear the others bellow them. As they made it to the landing at the top, before them stood a door, this one normal size. Hayden went to push the door open and Shane put his hand on his shoulder to stop him.

              “Before we open the door, there has been something on my mind that has bothered me and I have to say it.” He kept his head down as he spoke. Hayden was worried that something bad was about to be said.

              “What is it?” Hayden asked.

              “When you found us and said that he never told us to go through the labyrinth, just to make it out. Well he did tell us we had to go through it.” Shane turned his lowered head to the side and scrunched his shoulders like he was expecting to get hit. The site of the bigger man cowering before him was very strange to Hayden.

              “Ha ha ha, I know he did, but it was the only way to get you guys to follow me. Look, we made it out didn’t we, and now we are at the end so just forget about it, ok?”

              “Alright,” was Shane’s only reply; he loosened up and did not look like he was scared of Hayden anymore, which made Hayden feel a lot better.

              “Now let’s go through the door and be done with this trial. I am ready to start the next one.” Hayden spoke as he made his way back to the door and pushed it open. Immediately they were both blinded by light as the door opened. Hayden also noticed a rush of air flow over them, reminding him what fresh air smelled like.

              They both stood there looking into an empty cavern; it was almost twenty feet tall from floor to ceiling with rounded off walls. Where one of the walls should have been was a giant gaping hole that opened up to the sky. The walls and floors had deep scratches, much larger than those a human could ever make, carved all around in an unorganized mess. The two men just stood there trying to find some clue as to what they were supposed to be doing next.

              “Did we go the wrong way?” asked Shane, as they both made their way into the hollow room, still shocked by not finding what they thought was going to be the end of their second trial. 

              “How could we have, there was no other way to go the entire time we were climbing the stairs. The other person must have come this was because we did not see them come back down. We need to look around for some kind of hint as to what we are supposed to do next.” Hayden was starting to doubt himself even as he spoke to reassure Shane. What if we did go the wrong way, what if there was exit down there in the labyrinth and I led every one the wrong way. They will fail me for sure; I will never get an egg.

              Hayden was ready to give up, to admit that this was it and that he was done, when he noticed Shane slowly inching his way towards the edge of the room. He stayed near the wall to steady himself as he slowly moved closer to the edge.

              “Careful, Shane, what are you doing?” Hayden asked.

              “I want to see how high we are,” Shane said; he kept one hand on the wall, one on the floor, and one foot far behind him as he leaned over the edge. Hayden could hear him swallow and he watched as the color drain from his face. Shane made to head back when he stopped all of a sudden and leaned a little further out and looked to the right over the edge.

              “Hayden, why are there foot holes in the side of the pyramid?” Shane asked while his head was still hanging in the air.

              “Why would there be foot holes in the side of the pyramid? You must be seeing things out there.” Hayden walked calmly over to where Shane was. As he neared him Shane leaned back into the room and, while still looking completely terrified, he pointed outside where he had seen the foot holes.

              Hayden leaned out side, much more comfortable then Shane had been, and looked down first and realized they had to be almost two thirds the way up the pyramid. He held on to the wall a little tighter as he looked down the slope of the pyramid and the ground a few hundred feet below him. Hayden swallowed loudly, without meaning too, and looked at the side where Shane had pointed and there were, in fact, foot holes scaling the rest of the pyramid all the way to the top. The foot holes were about two feet across, six inches high, six inches deep, and there was one every foot. They were only a foot away from where Hayden stood.

              “Well I think we just figured out what we are supposed to do next, Shane,” Hayden said as he was already reaching for the first of the foot holes.

              “Now might not be the best time to tell you this, but I am afraid of heights,” Shane said, his face still deathly white, and Hayden noticed that his hands were starting to shake.

              “How, exactly, are you going to be a dragon rider, who spend most of their time in the air, when you are scared of heights?” Hayden was already on the outside of the pyramid, looking at an angle, up to the top of the pyramid.

              “Well maybe the dragon would like to stay on the ground and walk,” Shane tried to argue.

              “Come on, this is supposed to test us and see how we handle our fears. Let’s show them that our fears can’t get the best of us.” Hayden was slowly climbing up, testing the footing as he went, and he had gone high enough so that Shane could lean out and start climbing also.

He stopped and looked down and watched as an arm came out, hugging to the side of the pyramid, and felt its way to the first of the cuts in the side of the wall. Once he found it he grabbed it so tightly that Hayden could see Shane’s knuckles whitening. Shane slowly made his way out onto the side of the pyramid, he came out one limb at a time and he was very reluctant to let his last foot off the ground but he made it none the less.

              They took their time with each step, they would slowly raise one arm to grab the next foot hold, and once that one hand had a good grasp they would move their next arm. Once both hands were secure they would move their feet up one foot at a time.

As they ascended the wind began to howl and rip at their clothing, Hayden felt like someone was trying to pull him off the pyramid by his clothes. He looked up and could see the sky full of sparkling dragons, hovering over the pyramid with their steady wing beats, which was causing the strong wind, and he could hear the occasional roar as they made their way closer to the top.

              As they climbed Hayden dared a quick glance at the city that was spread out before him. He gazed down across the shining buildings that surrounded him, each one reflecting the warm glow of the sun. Hayden almost forgot his fears as the wind blew the last of the smoke and sweat off his body.