“This is a saddle from a silver rider, his dragon has just outgrown it and they made him a new one. As you can see the saddle has many purposes other than just comfort. The saddle can hold everything you will need during your travels, your weapons, and if your dragon gets big enough they will give you a saddle that has multiple seats on it.”

              Estraken continued to show them the multiple straps that would hold the saddle down to the dragon. He explained what some of the pouches were for and told them where the different weapons would go. Hayden and Shane studied the saddle until their dragons made it back to their rooms and Esrtaken told them to go take care of them.

              Once Hayden had made it back he led Draek to the cleaning stalls and cleaned his scales like he had done the night before. He took a bucket of the oil back to their room, and once there he oiled Draek’s soft skin around his eyes and mouth. Draek told him about his day and listened to Hayden until he fell asleep with his head resting in Hayden’s lap. Hayden quickly joined his friend in sleep.

                                                                      _____________________

              Days and weeks went by and everything fell into a routine for the riders. Hayden noticed Draek’s growth, slow at first, but when it was just three weeks since Draek had hatched his shoulders stood taller than Hayden was.

             

              Hayden had become used to seeing multitudes of dragons from day to day, and he was able to appreciate Draek’s training because of the ribbons of muscles that were starting to show. Hayden himself noticed that he was seeing definition in his body that hadn’t been there before. The training was starting to be fun, and neither of them was as worn out afterwards as they had been.

             

              Their other training tasks were coming along greatly; Draek was still leading in the combat training. Hayden’s own combat training was going well; they had moved on from hand to hand and were now practicing with wooden staffs, and twice a week they did nothing but archery practice. When they weren’t in their lessons they stayed in their rooms most of the time and Shane and his Rilora would come see them.

 

              Neither of them had seen or heard anything from Cassidy or her dragon Shaylin. Whenever Hayden had asked Draek to see what they were doing Draek always told him that Shaylin was busy and that they would come to them when they could.

             

                                                                      ______________

             

              Draek was resting against the corner wall in their room while Hayden was rubbing more oil on his wing joints. His wings were now big enough to allow him to glide long distances, but he didn’t have the muscle to lift himself up yet. The trainers were always commenting on how strong Draek was and how he was going to fly before he was supposed to.

 

Shane was bringing Rilora over, like he did most nights after they ate, and while the dragons rested they were going to practice their staff fighting. When Rilora started to walk in through the large opening, Draek lifted his head up abruptly.

             

              Hey, Draek, it’s just Shane and Rilora, you knew they were coming over, why did they startle you? Hayden asked Draek. When Draek had moved suddenly it had caused Hayden to spill some of the oil on the floor.

 

              Draek shook his head from side to side slowly and lowered his eyelids slightly. Hayden looked at where Shane and Rilora were coming in and Rilora had stopped walking and was doing the same thing. Hayden had never seen either dragons act like this and a pang of fear struck his heart.

 

              Draek, what’s the matter? Hayden shouted with his mind.

             

              They are coming. Draek responded calmly to Hayden’s question.

             

              Who is coming? Hayden asked.

 

              Cassidy and Shaylin, they are coming to see us. They have something to tell us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 13

 

 

             “Hayden, Cassidy is coming?” Shane asked when he made it into the room. Rilora went and lay down next to Draek. Hayden knew that Draek was big for a young silver, he was the biggest out of the other dragons that had hatched with him, but Rilora was almost the same size as Kurok and Sullivan. Draek had rested his head back down after he had told Hayden his message.

              “That’s what Draek just said, we haven’t seen her since our first lesson, wonder why she is finally coming to see us.” Hayden had been upset since they had last seen each other because he had made a lot of effort to find her or speak to her by dragon, but it seemed she had forgotten about them, and about him.

              Before Shane could reply, Hayden heard the unmistakable sound of a dragon walking into the room. He turned his head to face the opening that lead to the outside. Draek lifted his head and turned it towards the same direction, but Rilora stayed perfectly still, no longer caring about what was going on around her.

              Hayden had braced himself for what was walking towards him, but he was still shock when he faced the golden dragon that stood before him. Shaylin was smaller than both Draek and Rilora and she had a much less aggressive look about her. She seemed to glow, even in the dull lit room. She was the only dragon that Hayden thought really looked feminine.

              Hayden noticed that Cass wasn’t walking next to her dragon, but she was riding on its back like it was a horse. She was still wearing her grays like she had worn when he had first met her dragon. She was tanned, and Hayden could tell that she had been doing some sort of physical training also by the looks of her body. She had her dark hair pulled back in a pony tail. When Shaylin got close to them she slid off her dragon’s back with grace. She patted her dragon’s side and then Shaylin went and lay with the other dragons.

              Draek placed his head near Shaylin, and the three dragons made a giant metal ball of scales as they all tried to get comfortable. No one said anything for a few seconds, the only noise Hayden heard besides the dragons breathing was the sound of his heart beat that he was sure the others could hear.

              Hayden watched as she slowly walked up to them, he could feel himself blushing as she neared. He felt the heat that was being generated from the three large dragons and he was sure he could blame his red face on them.

              “So why are you here?” Hayden asked, a little meaner than he intended to.

              “I am sorry that I haven’t contacted you guys earlier, but Elizabeth has been training me and keeping me as busy as you guys are. I had to come speak with you two about something that happened a few weeks ago.” The more she talked the more she seemed to loosen up to Shane and Hayden again. “Can we go speak outside; it’s getting rather hot in here.”

              “Of course, I was about to ask that,” Shane responded. He walked out the room with her, forcing Hayden to walk slightly behind them.

              “So are you talking about the night when all the other dragons left?” Hayden asked once they were outside. He felt the cool evening breeze brush up against him; bringing the smell of burning wood from one of the blacksmiths. The cool air caused him to feel a slight chill when it first struck his body. The sun was just setting in front of the Metallic Pyramid, so they would get to watch the sky darken and turn its many shades of red and orange as they talked.

              “Yes, how did you know?” she asked, eyeing the hole in the side of the pyramid that led to her sleeping dragon. “Did Shaylin tell Draek?”

              “No, I just guessed because it was the only thing that has happened out of place since we became dragon riders. Other than that night everything has been the same every day,” Hayden told her, and she nodded her head in agreement.

              “Well than what do you know about that night?”

              “There was a large tribe of dwarfs that had united and decided to march to Celestial City. Our dragon riders flew to protect us and the dwarfs attacked them. That’s what our trainer told us what happened, but we heard from Benet that things went differently than that.”

              They told Cassidy everything that Benet had told them so many nights ago. She had not been expecting them to know so much, but she didn’t tell them anything that they had not heard.

              “You guys know what happened then, but do you know what The Ruling Three are discussing right now?” she asked them, but both knew nothing about what she was talking about. “They believe that the other races and the other riders are starting to cause too much trouble. They are considering copying what our ancestors did and attack each race, rebinding them to our will. They are calling it a crusade to stop all the violence between us. They have already talked about getting what laws we have that protect the races revoked.

              “They will become less than cattle to be traded and killed for the pleasure of their masters. It will not be a crusade, but a purge against anyone in Arvain besides those that live within the walls of Celestial City.”

              Cass had barley taken a breath as she spoke, getting all her words out in a short amount of time. At first Hayden could not believe that such a thing was being considered, but once he thought about it he began to see the goal they were trying to reach.

              “They are trying to unite all of Arvain under one banner and The Ruling Three,” Hayden said, to himself as much as to the others.

              “No, they are not trying to unite Arvain; they are trying to conquer it,” Cass corrected him.

              “Is that so bad? The other races are barbarians, ruthless pirates, mad elves, crazed dwarfs and bone thieves. They are wild evil creatures who need to be controlled, what would be the harm in ruling all of Arvain. It would stop wars that are sure to one day happen and bring peace to the land,” Hayden asked. Cass looked almost shocked and Shane seemed to be thinking about what he said, trying to figure out how he felt about it.

              “You have been told to many fairy tales Hayden, they don’t do those horrible things at night that they tell you about when you are a child.”

              “When I was a child a copper rider landed in our town, he had been hit by three arrows and they told us he was on a peaceful mission and the elves attacked him. I watched him die and it wasn’t a fairy tale.” Hayden felt his anger rising up and he tried his best to keep it under control.

              “You say it will bring peace to Arvain? Peace for who, Hayden? Not the dwarfs or elves are anyone else except for those who are ruling. This will be a war that will kill thousands, and destroy millions of lives, are you willing to be a part of this?” Cassidy and Hayden were getting upset and it was causing their dragons to stir.

              “If it turns to war we will all be a part of it, one way or another.” A voice said coming from behind them. They turned to find Sebastian had exited his room and had walked over to them. The sun was almost completely set when he had walked out, but Hayden could still see the red in Cassidy’s face. “Wars are not only fought by those who choose to, but by everyone, whether they want to or not.”

              “No one asked you to join our conversation Sebastian; you can go back to your room,” Hayden told him plainly.

              “I wish I could, but I keep hearing you argue out here, so I figured I would step in and end it. Cass you are right, they are discussing going on a crusade, but they have been talking about it for years and it would take much more than one little battle with a few dwarfs to finally make it happen.

              “Now you are both right that there needs to be peace brought to our troubled lands, but Hayden, she is right about the crusade being a bad idea. It would not be a land of free people but a land of slaves.” Sebastian calmly walked over to them as he continued to speak.

              When he had first appeared Shane and Cassidy had both seemed to feel the same way about his presence that Hayden had felt, but as he spoke Hayden could see that they liked what he was saying. Shane still hadn’t spoken and seemed to have made up his mind that Cassidy was right after all.

              “That’s what I have been trying to tell you, Hayden, we need a way to bring peace without war. You would really rather we redo what our ancestors did than trying to find a way to live in harmony with them?” she asked him, nodding to Sebastian and Shane for encouragement.

              “It’s not that I want war, but that they have taken so many lives, how can that go unpunished?” he asked desperately, he threw his hands up in the air as he asked.

              “Have the dragon riders not taken enough lives? In the last battle with the dwarfs we had a few minor injuries, but how many of them died, a couple hundred perhaps?” Cassidy asked. Hayden began to feel like he was being backed into a corner.

              “Look, there is no point to argue about this, the war won’t happen,” Sebastian reassured them. “Hayden doesn’t want peace the way we want it, then fine, let him be that way.” Hayden tried to speak to defend himself but Sebastian cut him off. “Let’s go back to our rooms and call it a night, although I find that now that I am awake I could go for a little something to eat. I am sure that the dining hall is still open. Cassidy, would you care to join me?” Cass looked at Hayden before she told him yes.

              Hayden could feel Draek’s discomfort as Rilora and Shaylin both got up abruptly and made their way out of the room. Shane took Rilora back into his room while Shaylin went to hers alone. Cass went with Sebastian into his room to head to the dining hall, leaving Hayden standing alone outside.

              I know you are upset, but come inside, Draek begged him.

              No, they have made a fool out of me. Hayden was upset, questioning what he thought was right about a possible war. It will happen, Draek, Sebastian says it won’t, but I know a war will come to Arvain. Hayden heard his dragon come out of the room and curl around where Hayden was. Hayden sat down and leaned against him, starring up at the stars like he used to so many nights ago.

              I just don’t know what to do, Draek. Hayden was confused and overwhelmed by everything that had happened.

              Maybe you could go talk to Fendrel; you haven’t spoken to him in a long time. He might be able to help you with what’s going on, Draek suggested.

              Hayden stood up and ushered his dragon back into their room where they could sleep comfortably. You are right, that might help. I will go after lessons tomorrow, after I clean you first of course. Draek rumbled in agreement and fell back asleep. Hayden made his way to his bed and tossed and turned all night; having a restless night thinking about what had happened earlier and about the possibility of a future war. Then his mind wandered back to Cass, and remained there throughout the rest of his night.

              He woke up the next day and went through his normal routines even though his mind was somewhere else, still thinking about the night before. For the first time he had been the one late and had to wear the weighted harness, he also wasn’t giving it his all like he normally did, so he was finishing last or close to it in every workout. Draek tried to comfort him, but it was causing him to do bad also, so Hayden told him not to worry about it.

              When they got to Tynan’s barracks, Hayden was sore and worn out like he had been when he first started all his training. Tynan did not let him go easy and forced him to spar with the wooden practice swords they had been using. So by the end of the lesson Hayden was sore and covered in bruises. During lunch Hayden ate slowly because his lips had been busted open by Giles in one of the sparing rounds.

              Shane sat and ate with him but did not speak while they ate, he didn’t even lift his head up from his bowl of soup. When they had finished eating they walked in silence to Estraken’s library and they were forced to listen to Sebastian, who was walking in front of them, talk loudly about how much fun him and Cass had had the night before and that they were having dinner again today. When they finally got to the library, Shane pulled Hayden aside just before they went in.

              “Look, I am sorry for not speaking up last night, and I am sorry for how everything is going right now.” He still did not look Hayden in the eyes.

              “Why didn’t you though, you could have defended me so that I wouldn’t have looked so bad and stupid,” Hayden asked in a hush voice so those in the library would not have overheard.

              “I would not have defended you, Hayden. You are my best friend and this is why I am telling you this, but you are wrong about what you said last night. War is not the answer to our problem.” Shane walked into the library, leaving Hayden standing in the corridor alone, more confused about how he felt then last night. He followed shortly after and did his lesson. He did not listen to anything that Erskine taught that lesson; he just remained in the back and nodded his head with the rest of them.

              The lesson ended much sooner than Hayden thought it should have. Hayden walked alone back to his room and waited for Draek to arrive. For the first time in a long time he beat his silver dragon back to the room. Hayden had put cleaning gear in his room weeks ago when Draek was no longer able to walk through the halls.

              Hayden only did one detailed cleaning a week for Draek because now that he was so massive it took most of his one rest day to do it. They had only been given a rest day two weeks ago; their trainer had told them that their bodies and mind needed it.

              Draek walked into their room not long after Hayden had gone off to get the sand and oil. Hayden quickly went to work cleaning off his silver dragon as soon as Draek had lain down. Although he was in a hurry Hayden took his time and made sure he did a good job. Hayden did not want Draek to be uncomfortable while he was gone.

              Are you sure you are alright by yourself, I can stay if you want me to? Hayden asked Draek. Draek was all but asleep, so his answer came more as images than words. Hayden saw a large brown bear that Draek had killed and feasted upon earlier, then he got the distinct feeling that Draek wanted to rest and be left alone.

              Hayden took the hint that was given to him and walked out of the large opening on the far side of their room. Hayden wandered around the Metallic Pyramid for a while, looking at the different blacksmiths and what they had all created, trying to clear his mind and organize his thoughts before he went to Fendrel.              

              People who recognized him called for him to come over and view their products.

              “Come, silver rider, have you ever seen a blade so fine?”

              “Dragon rider, come see the best armor made in all of Arvain,” they yelled at him.

              Hayden nodded and smiled at them, some he even went and saw what they offered. They all tried to sell him something or another, but Hayden had no money, dragon riders had no need of money during their training time. One old woman kept trying to make him take her dead father’s lucky blade; it had been broken a few inches short and was very dull and jagged.

              He decided to go up through the Traders’ District instead of going straight to Fendrel’s house. The shops there where the only thing in Celestial City that Hayden had seen that weren’t organized or all the same.

              Hayden first noticed the smell as he crossed over into the Traders District; all different kinds of perfumes and foods and smells coming from the materials they were using. Hayden wanted to sniff around and follow some of the better smelling scents, but he accidently walked behind a sweaty, hairy, obese man and quickly decided to stop sniffing the air. He then took in his surroundings and looked at the buildings around him. 

              Some buildings were small, one story and open to the public, while others where large two and three stories shops that had decorative designs carved around them. The shops had everything from clothing, jewelry, armor and weapon, to pots and other cooking utensils. Some were selling wood and metal furniture while others had artifacts they claimed came from the other races. Elves hair, dwarf hammers and items of that nature. Hayden went by one shop selling fine jewelry and paused to take a look at the items that the craftsman had out on display.

              “Anything I can help you look for, my young lord?” the old man asked. Right away Hayden liked the man. He could tell that he was a generally happy guy by the way he continued to smile at everything and everyone.

              “No, sir, I thank you though. I am just passing through to a friend’s house. I came from the Metallic Pyramid and they don’t let us out too often, so I thought that I might take advantage of this chance to see what the entire city has to offer.” He told the man, trying to match his smile as he spoke.

              When Hayden mentioned that he was from the Metallic Pyramid he noticed a sudden change in the man’s look; his smile faltered and he lowered his head slowly.

              “I am guessing than that you are running an errand for some rider? So what do they want now, it doesn’t matter because they are going to take in anyway.” He was obviously upset. A young lady, close to Hayden’s age, came around when she had heard the man’s voice change to an angry tone.

              “What is it, father?” the young lady asked.

              “Another rider has come to take as he pleases because he does not have to pay for such things. This one didn’t even have the decency to come them self, they sent some boy to pick up our hard work.” Hayden got horrible looks from both father and daughter.

                 “I am sorry if I have done something wrong, but I am new to the Metallic Pyramid, and as I said before they don’t let us much. I am not doing anything for a rider now; I am here on my own for no reason. What have the riders been doing to you?”

              “It’s not just us they do it to; it’s all traders and vendors here. They take whatever they want, no matter what it is, and pay for nothing. They say because they are riders they have the right to take as they please. How do you not know this, they are your masters after all?” the daughter asked. The father looked at Hayden for a few moments when understanding finally crossed his face.

              “Daughter hush, go back inside now.” He grabbed the girl and tried his best to push her along without taking his eyes off of Hayden. He all but put himself in between Hayden and his daughter.

              “But, father,” was all his daughter could get out before his stern look silenced her.

              “My apologies for the way my daughter and I have spoken, rider,” he said as he bowed his head. Once the girl heard what her father had said she faced Hayden with a look of disbelief that turned quickly to shock when she realized what she had said about the riders in front of a rider.

              “Please do not punish my daughter, she is my only child, and I do not know what I would do if I lost her. Please take anything you want for no charge.” He held his hands out over his jewelry.

              “But then wouldn’t I be just like the other riders you were telling me about, taking whatever they wanted and paying nothing in return?” Hayden asked the shop owner.

              The man did not answer Hayden, instead he just lowered his head and Hayden watched the man’s shoulders sagged.

              “Do not worry, friend, you have not offended me. You have spoken the truth and the truth sometimes stings.” As Hayden heard the words come out of his mouth he heard his entire conversation from the night before replay in his mind. He was shocked by what he had said and he swiftly realized that he had been wrong in so many ways. “If ever I need trinkets from you, I will come and pay for them.” The man looked taken aback, but his smile soon returned to his face.

              “I have never heard a rider talk like that or act in any kind of kindness towards one who was not within the ranks of dragon riders. May I ask your name?”

              “I am Hayden The Silver, and my dragon’s name is Draek.”

              “And a silver rider none the less. Hayden The Silver, I believe I have heard about you. Weren’t you the fifth rider this year, the one from outside the city?” the man inquired. His daughter’s previous attitude had drastically changed, she was still standing behind her father’s back but she was now leaning back against a table and trying to smile slyly at him. 

              “I am,” Hayden responded. They talked for a few more minutes and then Hayden told them that he had to leave. They insisted that he return to their shop. The man’s daughter lingered and waved as Hayden walked away.

              Hayden looked in at a few more shops before he made his way down to the Housing District. He walked through the mazes of houses and looked for anything familiar; finally a man asked him what he was looking for.

              “How do you know I am looking for something?” Hayden asked.

              “Well you look confused and lost so I figured that you could use some help,” the man told him. Hayden looked at him and saw that he was a middle aged man, probably mid thirties, and he was playing with a child in the street.

              “How would you know that?” Hayden asked as he moved closer.

              “Well you have passed by here five times now, so that’s a good sign that someone is lost. If you want to keep your business to yourself that’s fine, but please let me help you so my son here will stop laughing as you pass by.” Hayden looked at the young boy who’s cheeks where filled with air as he tried to hold in his laugh. Hayden started laughing, which made the two strangers join in vigorously.

              “Ok, I am hopelessly lost; it has been a while since I have been out this way and I am looking for a man named Fendrel.” Hayden was going to describe Fendrel to them, but the man waved his hand in the air before Hayden could start describing him.

              “There is no need; we know who he is and where his house is. You have actually made it fairly close; all you need to do is continue down this street, turn left down the third street you pass, walk until you see the city wall and then make the last right before the wall. Once on that road you will see his house, it is the fourth one down from where you will be in case you have forgotten what it looks like.” Hayden thanked the man and his son and went on his way.

              He stood in front of the metal building before he knocked on the giant cold door. The house had been cleaned up slightly, so it had a more lived in look than when Hayden had first seen it. Hayden knocked on the door and listened to Fendrel complain as he made his way to the door.

              “Who is it at this hour and what do you want?” The upset voice shouted from behind the door. Hayden remained quiet and knocked again. “What what what? What do you……? Hayden?” Fendrel answered the door, pulling it open swiftly, but quickly changing his demeanor when he saw that it was Hayden on the other side.

              “Hello, Fendrel, I hope I am not interrupting anything?” Hayden asked, he had not thought that Fendrel might be busy and he did not like the idea of walking all the way over here just to be turned away at the door step.

              “Of course not, boy, please come in.” Fendrel ushered him inside the house. Hayden could tell that someone was living there but the home still seemed vacant. The house had a few new pieces of furniture, not brand new but newer looking than the ones that had been there before, and there was neither dust nor any spider webs anywhere.

              The house no longer had a closed up and dirty smell to it, but it smelled just like the outside. Fendrel must not spend money on the incense and perfumes that some of the rooms in the Metallic Pyramid had, Hayden considered.

              “I am glad to see you, Fendrel, I am sorry it has taken me so long to come and see you, they keep us very busy with all our training and classes.” He tried to continue, but Fendrel waved his excuses off.

              “I know, boy, I know what they require of you, I am surprised to see you this early in your training though. I had expected to see you closer to the end of your training. So let me get a look at you; let me see what the riders have turned you into.” Fendrel walked around him and looked at the palm of his hands; he then stared into his eyes until Hayden started to feel uncomfortable.

              “They have started to make a rider out of you it seems. You are walking like them, starting to look like them. At least it seems you are not afraid of hard work though.” They went into the sitting room that Hayden and Fendrel had spoken in the last time Hayden was here. They did not speak long before Fendrel cut straight to the heart of the visit.

              “Although I am greatly enjoying your visit, I believe that it is safe to say you did not come all this way just to say hello?” Fendrel didn’t wait for a response before continuing. “Since I believe I am right on that subject, my question for you becomes a simple one; why are you here?” Although he had asked the question, it appeared to Hayden that by his body language he had no interest in what he had to say.

              “Well I had a question for you.” Hayden told him about what had happened the other night. He told him that he was having a hard time figuring out what he was feeling.

              “So you have come here to ask me how you feel about this. Don’t you think that the person you should be asking is yourself?” Fendrel asked Hayden before he had a chance to explain to the older man about what had happened with the shop owner. “It sounds to me like you have already made up your mind. You can’t ask anyone how you should feel, boy. Then you won’t truly feel it, you will be just following what someone else wants you to feel,” Fendrel told him as he left the room and returned with two drinks.

              “I want there to be peace, but I don’t see away around war. I don’t want there to be war, but I feel like it almost has to happen,” Hayden said as he took the drink from his cup.

              “That is something that I would have to agree with you about, boy, there is a war coming that will carve out the face of Arvain. Are you so sure that you are on the right side though?” Fendrel asked. Hayden thought about what Fendrel had asked while he slowly sipped on the fruit drink in his cup.

              “What are the sides; the metallic dragon riders against everyone else?”

              “That’s probably closer to being right than you realize. When the war finally breaks out the metallic dragon riders will band together as one giant army like they always do, while everyone has choices to make.

              “It could happen like the first dragon war where the metallic riders will go from place to place conquering everyone and forcing them to join their side. Then when those that remain free from them realize that they have to join together it would be too late,” Fendrel told him.

              “What if they tried to make a truce with the other races, tried to find some way to make everyone happy?” Hayden asked.

              “You know that that can’t happen right now. There have been too many wrongs done and with evil people who will only be happy when everything on Arvain is enslaved to their control, happiness cannot come easy.” Fendrel spoke as one who knew firsthand about what was going on. Hayden knew some of his past and that what happiness Fendrel had found had not come cheap. “Whatever happens will be bad for everyone in Arvain; that is one thing that we can be sure off.”

              Fendrel changed the subject from the war that he was sure was coming and started talking about Draek. “So how large has he grown by now? His shoulders should be taller than you by now,” Fendrel asked.

              “He is taller than me, when I ride him around the training grounds he has to kneel down so that I can climb up. I am surprised that he isn’t flying though, they have been working out their wings for months.”

              “Boy, you have so much to learn. Draek has probably been flying ever since he first doubled his size. They just don’t like the dragon riders knowing that because they don’t want you doing anything foolish, like actually trying to fly. Until you have been properly trained that is.”  Fendrel laughed as Hayden tried to deal with the realization that once again something had been hidden from him.

              “Don’t feel bad though, boy, no one else knows about it. It is a secret that riders keep from everyone and they only tell the first years once they start training them how to fly. I am not supposed to know about it and neither are you, so don’t tell anyone, and do not try to fly Draek,” Fendrel told him.

              “I don’t understand why Draek hasn’t told me about this. I feel like I am only reading half a book and being told that there is no more and yet I can see the other half closed in their hands.” Hayden was having mixed emotions of anger and betrayal. He could feel Draek starting to awaken, so he focused on controlling his emotions and keeping them in his own head, not letting them run over into Draek’s.

              “And that is how you will feel for a long time still to come, boy. The riders are made up of levels of secrets, and once you make it to the next level and you think you know everything, there is another level on top of that one with all new secrets.” Hayden had a feeling that that was the case, but hearing it out loud seems to have had made it fact to him.

              “So Draek and the others can all fly, right?” Hayden asked.

              “That is right, you catch on fast, boy, I had forgotten how easily you figure everything out after someone explains it to you.” All the time that Hayden had spent with Fendrel he could tell when the old man was just trying to pick fun at him.

              “You said that they don’t want us trying to fly before we have trained, was there an accident or something?” Hayden asked.

              “All together there has probably been close to twenty accidents. Young riders trying to prove themselves by trying to fly a dragon that wasn’t strong enough and they plummet to the ground below them. A few just fell right off their dragons because the saddles weren’t on correct or they weren’t using a saddle at all. The last ones before they made up the story about dragons not being able to fly until eight months were all four new riders one year. They tried to fly through a storm that was more violent than it seemed.

              “They never found those young riders but one of the older dragons was trying to get them to land when they hit the worst part of the storm, that’s the only reason that we know what happened.” They continued to talk about what Fendrel had been doing since Hayden had gotten Draek, which wasn’t a whole lot of anything as far as Hayden was concerned. As the evening began to turn into night Hayden began making his way out of the house when he thought of one last question.

              “Fendrel, if they tried to keep all these secrets kept within the riders then how did you find out about them, and are there any more you know?” Fendrel leaned against the metal door and slowly started to close it behind Hayden.

              “That’s a different conversation for a different time,” Fendrel said as the door clocked into place. Hayden could not help but to smile, he had known that the old man’s answer was going to be something like that.

              “May there be no fear found in your heart,” Hayden told Fendrel, who was standing on the other side of the door. It was something that those trained by Tynan said to each other instead of good bye. Hayden was told that it was something of respect to tell it to someone else, and Fendrel was the only other person he had told it to besides those training with them.

              He wasn’t sure if Fendrel had even heard him, but he did not wait around for a response. The streets were dark as he made his way back to the ever looming pyramid. He walked quickly as the air began to have a slight chill that made him shiver. He made it back to his room and sat down with his back to Draek.

              The large silver dragon’s warmth, quickly getting the cold that had crept into Hayden’s bones out, was enough to make Hayden comfortable and fall right asleep. Draek rumbled, and the shaking woke Hayden up, he had only been asleep for a few hours.

              Are you mad that I did not tell you I could fly? Draek’s voice was low and almost ashamed, like a child that had done wrong.

              Of course not, Draek, they made you keep a secret, but at least now we can talk about it together.

              We can, but not now; they have cancelled all of tomorrow’s work outs and lessons. They have something else for us to do then, and we get to be together for it. Draek’s voice had quickly changed to a more excited tone. We have to leave early though because it is a long walk and if we are late they will still make you wear the heavy thing. Draek told Hayden as he starched and yawned. Hayden had to watch out when he did this so he didn’t get knocked down by a wing or tail.

              We could get there faster is we flew there together instead of walking, Hayden told Draek, and he saw the excitement and rebellion in the large silver eyes.

              Yes we could!! Draek soon fell asleep, but it was not that easy for Hayden, knowing that soon he would be flying a dragon. But sleep did come and it seemed as soon as he fell asleep Draek was waking him up. Hayden got up and ready as fast as he could; today he awoke with plenty of energy.

              Let’s go, hurry up!! Draek said as Hayden climbed on his back, feeling intense heat coming from the smooth scales underneath him.

              Hayden smiled as they made their way out of the room. He tried to move with Draek and not be such a burden.

              You usually aren’t this warm; you’re almost too hot to touch, why is that? Hayden asked. He could feel the heat quickly through his pants and it began making him uncomfortable. The air was still cool because the sun had just started to rise but, Hayden was already sweating as they left the pyramid.

              When I get excited or my heart just beats faster it causes my blood to heat up a lot more than normal. That’s what the older dragons told when I made my first kill. I had bathed in a stream nearby right after I ate to cool off and steam went everywhere when I hit the water.

              Hayden laughed as Draek shared the memory with him, he could feel Draek’s pride in what he had done. Draek stood in the clearing right outside the city walls and stretched his wings out. Once they were fully extended he crouched down and prepared to leap into the sky.

              Neither reminded the other that they weren’t supposed to do this or how much trouble they would get into if they got caught. The only thing Hayden did was shout as they shot into the sky, and Draek snapped his giant silver wings up and down to gain height. Draek joined in with a roar as he flew with his rider for the first time. They never noticed that Giles and Kurok were both exiting the city and watching them fly into the sky.

 

 

 

Chapter 14

 

 

              Hayden had dreamt about soaring through the skies on the back of his very own dragon; the feeling of riding the winds and leaving the ground far behind, the feeling of freedom. Hayden first realized that what he had imagined his first flight to be like was nothing like it really was, and the second thing was that he could scream like a small child.

              Draek took to the sky quickly, but not as gracefully as the older dragons. With every wing beat Draek lunged forward towards the sky, but then quickly fell from back down a few feet as he pushed his wings back in front of him. Hayden was rocked back and forth violently as Draek tried to get over the tree line.  Hayden was terrified and held on to the back of Draek’s neck as they flew.

              Open your eyes and look around you, we can only fly for a short time and I would like you not to be so scared, Draek told Hayden. Hayden tried to take his advice and open his eyes, but when he saw the trees that were soaring by underneath him he suddenly lost the contents of his stomach over Draek’s side.

              He had a hard time knowing which way was up and down. He was terrified of the ground below him, falling seemed like a real possibility as he swayed back and forth. He was holding on so tightly that he could feel his legs going numb. He decided to look up at the sky instead of the ground. His fear of falling towards the ground was replaced by a strange fear of falling into the sky and never coming to rest anywhere.

              Hayden begged Draek to land so he could get off before he lost his grip and fell off Draek’s back. Draek slowly landed without complaint, but Hayden could feel the disappointment of his fun ending short. As soon as Draek’s back paws hit the ground and the large dragon pumped his wings fiercely to stop the descent, Hayden collapsed onto the ground, knocking the wind out of him.

              Hayden gasped for breath and made sounds close to that of a frog that had been stepped on. Draek stood by nervously, circling him like a cat would over a kitten. Hayden was finally able to regain his breath, but as he stood he realized he was still dizzy and disoriented from the flying. He had to rest against Draek until the ground and sky went back to their normal places.

              How much further till we get to where we are going? Hayden asked.

              Draek jumped back into the air, but this time going almost straight up into the air, climbing higher than he had when Hayden was on his back. Seeing this, Hayden quickly fell down to the ground and lost what little food he had left in his stomach.

              We have a while to walk still, you should feel better by the time we get there. It looks like we will be the first one there though the others a far behind us. Draek told him as he plummeted back to where Hayden stood. Draek’s landing caused a strong breeze to stir up around Hayden. Hayden leaned against him and started walking slowly in the direction that Draek led him.

              I hope we get to fly together soon though; we didn’t get to try any of my upside down flying or any of my dives that I do when I get so high above the clouds that you can’t see the ground below, Draek told Hayden as they made their way down the path.

              Draek put images in Hayden’s mind of him doing those things in the air, but seeing it did not help Hayden’s stomach to feel better. They walked in silence for a while before Hayden could finally walk without having to lean against Draek. When he was feeling better Draek tried to talk to him more about flying, but Hayden changed the subject every time.

              I can’t wait till we can fly again.

              Hayden thought about the experience he just went through before he answered. What do you think this meeting is about, I hope there isn’t more training that they are going to pile on top of us? We already have so little time to ourselves as it is without them giving us more to do, Hayden responded.

              Draek remained silent to Hayden for a few seconds, and Hayden was sure the silver dragon was upset at his sudden change in subject. They walked in silence and Draek turned his head so that one large silver eye was on Hayden and the other was on the path in front of them.

              With a large sigh Draek turned back to face the path. I guess you are right, we don’t have enough time as it is. Hayden was sure that he had made Draek upset, but just the thought of leaving the ground again terrified him; he was trying to figure a way to overcome his fear but so far he had nothing.

              They continued to walk for a while still and the trees around them grew thicker and thicker. If they had still been flying there would have been no place to land by this point. Hayden was about to tell Draek that, but quickly thought better of it. They pressed on through the woods and Hayden began to hear what sounded like running water.

              We are here, and we are the first ones to make it. Draek told Hayden as they came to a clearing. The trees seamed to make a natural bowl around them, and through the center ran a wide stream that had so many rocks jutting out if it would have been impossible to swim through. The clearing was not empty though; most of it was filled with one of the largest dragons Hayden had seen yet.

              The dragon was laying down, coiled around itself, with its large head resting next to their trainer. It was the same silver dragon that Draek had ridden during his first hunt. Draek slowly made his way to the dragon and laid down next to it.

              This is one of my teachers, her name is Shynari. She says she is glad to meet you and that she is excited to see what we will become when we are her age. Draek relayed most of their conversation to him, but he was sure that they were talking about other things because after Draek had finished speaking. Shynari raised her head and looked form Hayden to Draek and back again.

              Hayden saw his trainer standing shin deep in the stream and he walked over to stand with him. Hayden had learned early on that it was not a good idea to talk to him before he was addressed so he stood beside him and waited in silence.

              The wait continued to drag on as Hayden watched the world around him move and make all kinds of noises. He waited until the others came through the same path with their own dragons, just as he and Draek had done. Giles was the next to arrive and Sebastian was close behind him. The three riders waited near their trainer in silence.

              Shane was last, but with him was Cassidy and both of their dragons. Hayden was shocked to see her because this was the first time since their eggs had hatched that all five of them had been summoned together; most of the time they left Cassidy to be trained by others since she had a golden dragon.

              All their dragons went and rested together, except Giles and Sebastian’s, theirs left a gap between them and the others. Cass smiled shyly at Hayden, but before he could respond their trainer began speaking.

              “Good, glad to see no one died on the walk here. Now let’s get down to business because I have a lot to get you all to still do today, and I wouldn’t want you lot to not get everything done.” He turned and smiled at them.

              “Now the reason that I had you all meet me out here was just because I wanted to. But I also have to discuss something with you lot. As you know, Celestial City has been in a state of panic ever since the battle over Bergelmir. Everywhere you turn you hear whispers of war and people saying that we can no longer protect the people and keep the peace in Arvain.

              “We want to put an end to these thoughts and regain the people’s faith in us by bringing back an old tradition that hasn’t been done in years. We are bringing back the Festival of Games.” Their trainer smiled at them and Hayden had a feeling he was about to be made fun of again for not knowing something that only those born within the walls of Celestial City would have known. But he was surprised to see that the other four riders where wearing the same confused look that he was.

              “Obviously you lot don’t know about the Festival of Games, but then I would have been shocked if you had. The Festival of Games was something that the original riders established shortly after they conquered Arvain. They were dealing with a lot of people causing riots and forgetting the true strength of their military because they had to spread so thin to keep an eye on all of Arvain.

              “Plus it didn’t help that most of their military was getting lazy and bored and they began over using their power and doing whatever they wanted to. So the first rulers decided to host the Festival of Games once a year to serve a dual purpose; it gave the military something to keep them busy and keep them in their best shape and it also reminded all of Arvain just how powerful their military force was when they all gathered for the Festival of Games.”

              “So what happens during these games? Do we get to compete?” Hayden had never heard of any of this before and had so many questions that he had to ask.

              “You know, if you would let me finish talking I would have answered your questions. Now the games have many parts to it; hand to hand combat, sword fighting, archery, jousting, and that’s just the ground troops. There are many kinds of aerial races, battles and other challenges that will test the riders in every way. The winner of each set will get a reward and the satisfaction of being the best in that particular set.

              “Since you are all first years you won’t participate in most of the challenges, but you can in some of the easier ones. Elizabeth The Gold wants as many riders and ground troops involved as there can be to show the size of our military, she also wants the five of you to show how well trained even the youngest of our riders and soldiers are.” He walked out of the stream and made his way to his dragon. Once at his side, right past the left wing joint, he climbed up the saddle and grabbed a sack that had been resting there.

              He threw it down to Shane and climbed back down, dusting his knees off and complaining about stiff bones and growing older. He had the five young riders sit around him in a semicircle and he opened the pack and pulled out five rolls of paper.

              “These are all the different events that will be held during the Festival of Games. You may read through it and see if there are any you think you would like to try. I do not recommend you attempt any of them, but I will not stop you if you want to try. At the bottom there are a few events that are separate from the list; those are the ones for our first year riders and first year ground troops. These are the ones that you will be participating in, and that I will train you to win. I should not have to say it but I will, common everyday ground troops should not beat riders, no matter what. You lot train twice as much and harder than them, you also learn more than just how to fire a bow in a general direction or one or two fancy sword moves. Now read over this and then we will talk about your events.” Their trainer passed one roll of paper to each of them and then went back the saddle again.

              He came back this time with a few juicy looking fruits that reflected to light of the sun and a stool to sit on. Hayden already knew that the fruit wasn’t for them, so he did not even hope that he would get a bite to help ease his now empty stomach. Their trainer took a bite out of the first fruit, a red apple, and Hayden could hear the crunch all the way in his bones.

              He could not help but to look up and watch as the juice from the apple poured down the trainer’s chin and into the grass. Hayden could smell the apple now, and his stomach began to grumble; it did not help that his trainer kept groaning about how delicious the apple was. His trainer finally heard Hayden’s stomach and decided to act upon it.

              “So, Hayden, you want a bite of my apple, I know you must be hungry?” He asked, holding the apple in front of him like a gift. Hayden shook his head vigorously and tried to stay focused on the events that he was going to have to compete in. His trainer shrugged his shoulders and took another crunchy bite out of the apple.

              Hayden read through the long list of events that would be taking place, most were self explanatory but some were just tittles. One in particular stood out to him.

              “What is the Crucible?” He asked.

              “The Crucible is the last event, the sort of grand finale to the Festival of Games. It takes a little something from most of the other events and mixes them all into one big one, plus the best part is at the end when all the people who make it to the last part gets to fight in one big battle. Last person standing who completed it wins. But like I said earlier, you lot won’t have to do those ones.” He pulled out a copy of the events and read off the ones that would have to do.

              “First off is weapon use; you get to choose which weapons you use against your opponents in a series of short fights. Next will be target practice, with bows, spears and throwing knives. Then there will be unarmed combat and tactical flying. And lastly will be a play battle where all the first years will be divided into two “armies” and you will face each other in battle.” The events did not sound too bad until Hayden heard the tactical flying one, he dreaded getting back on Draek’s back and leaving the safe, sturdy ground beneath his feet.

              “When is the Festival of Games going to be? You said one of the events is going to be tactical flying, but our dragons are not old enough to fly yet.” Shane asked the question that most were probably thinking, but Hayden had forgotten that he wasn’t supposed to know that the dragons could already fly. Hayden could not see Giles behind him, but the other young rider was staring intently at him, trying to find away to use his knowledge of Hayden already flying to his advantage.

              “That’s another reason for us coming out here, away from prying eyes and ears. First off the games will be held in a little over five months time, right before the first freeze should hit. That way, once the games are over we can focus back on your normal training for four more months.

“Now about that dragon business: all dragons can fly shortly after they hatch, they can only do short distances, but within a month they are able to fly longer and smoother. At their current age they could fly you around the city a few times without any problems.” Everyone started to protest, everyone except Hayden, about not knowing this, but their trainer waved his hands to calm make them be quite.

“Now it’s not till the eight month marker till they have it mastered and can carry you easily. At that point the majority of their training is done and they are more than big enough to carry you.” Their trainer had to speak up over the five young riders.

              “The reason that we do not tell you earlier is because we have had so many accidents in the past with young riders falling off their dragons and dying. So, many years ago they started keeping it a secret that dragons could fly earlier than eight months and blamed it on bad breeding. That’s the way it has been for years and we are going to keep it that way. So you lot better not go telling everyone about this or I promise you that you will wish you got to be a lowly messenger boy.” All joking had stopped and their trainer stared, with a look that left no one doubting his seriousness, at each of them to make sure they got the point.

              “The reason I am telling you this is because the Festival will be held right around the time that your dragons will turn eight months. So we will train you to fly in secret so when the Festival comes they will see what they think are fresh riders getting into the saddle for the first time and blowing them away with your natural skill. But by then you will already have been trained and actually by then be near the end of your training.”

              Their trainer let it sink in and waited patiently for the siege of question he knew was about to come out of each of their mouths. He was not disappointed, nor did he have to wait long, because soon four of the riders started asking questions.

One right after the other and they were not waiting for someone else to finish before they started speaking, so there was no way for him to decipher what they were asking. But he was barley listening because he was wondering why Hayden, the one person who asked more questions than any other person he had ever trained, was remaining silent and calm. He then noticed that Giles, though he had asked a question to start with was now staring at Hayden with a look that made him worry.

              “What, no questions this time, Hayden?” he asked the young rider.

              “What? Oh um, what if we uhh, don’t like to fly? What happens then?” he asked.

              “If you don’t like to fly, ha ha ha ha, if you don’t like to fly. That’s funny, you do realize that you are a dragon rider right? Your entire purpose, the whole reason why you are here and why I am wasting my time training you, is so that you can ride that giant sleeping dragon over there.” He pointed at Draek, who was deep asleep at this point. “Plus that won’t be a problem, you will enjoy it, you just haven’t tried it yet.”  Before he could continue talking he was interrupted by Giles who was still sitting off to the back.

              “He has done more than try it, he flew almost all the way here.” The words hit Hayden hard, each one taking his breath away and drawing the color out of his face. It was like hammering a nail into his coffin, each stroke drove the nail a little farther down and as the hammer struck it vibrated throughout the whole piece of wood.

              There trainer was about to yell at Giles for lying, but the look on Hayden’s face, a look of sheer fright and guilt, told him that Giles was telling the truth.

              “How did you know that they could fly? Why did you try flying here of all places? How long have you known?” It was his turn to ramble out the questions, each one starting directly after the last one so they all almost ran together as one. He was able to say them all in one breath, but it resulted in him sounding like a fish as he gasped for air when he finished.

              The trainer began to feel bad for Hayden because his two friends looked hurt that he had not shared the information, and Giles and Sebastian both looked pleased with the turn of events. But it did not matter and he pushed his feelings out of his head, this was a big problem because it was a secret that was closely kept between the riders. So someone had to have told him, because the dragons tell the new hatchlings the importance of keeping it a secret.

              “I just found out, and once I had asked Draek about it he confirmed it; this was the first chance we got to try to fly together so we decided to try it.” He quickly turned around to face Giles. “And how did you know that I knew?” he inquired of the young man.

              “I was behind you when you flew off to come here. I watched you stay low to the trees and head off to where we were meeting.” Giles smiled wickedly as he told of how he got his information. Not caring that a fellow rider was now in trouble.

              Hayden made to get up, but their trainer grabbed him by the shoulders and held him in place. “You lot go head back to the city and wait for me there. Hayden, you stay here, and remember you lot, no flying.” He held Hayden down, even though Hayden wasn’t going to try anything, as the others led their dragons back the way they had come.

              When they were alone, except for their two dragons, he let Hayden go and watched as the young rider jumped up and first stalked around and showed off his anger. Then, realizing what had happened and that he was probably in trouble, he stopped and just looked at his trainer.

              “I can’t be in trouble, it was just flying. And I would have been doing that soon anyways, and besides I hated it, so there is no harm done right?” Hayden asked.

              “Hayden, you are right it is not that bad, but I do need to know who told you. You are not in trouble because you did what any rider would have done. But since it was another rider that told you about it, another rider who had been sworn to keep it a secret, they have to be dealt with. So I will ask you one more time, who told you about the dragons?” Hayden thought about what had been asked of him and tried to find a way out of answering the question.

              “So Fendrel told you?” he asked. Hayden looked shocked and before he could ask how he knew a voice spoke in his head.

              I told him for you. I could tell that you were having a hard time answering so I did it for you; I told his dragon that it was Fendrel who told us. Draek spoke with honesty and Hayden could tell that he had not meant harm; this was the only thing keeping him level headed as he waited to hear what was going to happen next.

              “Fendrel, and who may that be, the name does ring a bell of familiarity, but I can’t place it. What is the name of the dragon he rides?”

              “He rides no dragon, sir. He was given a chance, but he was not willing to sacrifice everything to become a rider,” Hayden told him.

              “Fendrel, Fendrel, the brother of Morgane The Silver right? Hmm, you can head back to the city as well, I will be there shortly.” Hayden never got a chance to respond, mainly because his trainer was not talking to him but to his own dragon.

              “Nothing will happen to him though right?” Hayden asked as he made his way to where Draek was laying down.

              “Nothing will happen to him, you have my word,” he told Hayden.

              Hayden turned and walked away, but before he could make it out of the clearing his trainer yelled one last thing at him.

              “Lirand, my name is Lirand. You showed great potential today, you will make a great rider and you have earned the right to know my name.” Hayden nodded to Lirand and, with Draek walking beside him, walked back the way they came.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 15

 

 

Hayden walked along the path that not so long ago he had flown above. Draek no longer walked directly beside him but now ran from side to side, in a zigzag sprint, chasing imaginary animals and pouncing on them. Hayden’s mind was blank, empty of thought and emotion as he tried to replay what had just happened, but he failed to make sense of it.

              It was a much longer walk than Hayden had thought it would be before they finally saw the giant metal point that looked to be a spearhead pointed towards the sun. He had been expecting to walk into the gates and find the others so mad at him for holding secrets that they would not even talk to him. It seemed however that they were so mad that they had to talk to him.

              “You knew and you didn’t tell me? How long have you known?” Shane asked. He did not wait for Hayden to make it to the gates, but instead he and Cass had both waited for him. As soon as they saw him making his way down the path Shane had walked towards him and started yelling when as he thought Hayden would be able to hear him.

              “Shane, not so loud, we are supposed to keep the secret not blurt it out for everyone to here; plus maybe Hayden has a good reason for keeping us in the dark like he did. So, Hayden, what is your good reason?” Cass started off sounding reasonable, and at first Hayden thought that she might be on his side, but the more she spoke the quicker he realized just how wrong his first thoughts had been.

              “Look, I can explain. I just found out late yesterday night, and Draek and I wanted to fly together so bad that we did not wait to tell anyone this morning. I am sorry that I did not tell you guys, but I did not have a chance.” Draek stood close to him now. He sensed that something was wrong but he could not figure what was the cause of it. All he knew was that Hayden was very distressed and he wanted to be near him just in case whatever was causing the stress meant to hurt him.

              The others stood silently as he spoke, taking in every word. When he finished his short apology they did not answer or show any kind of emotion on their faces. Their dragons had moved beside them just as Draek had done for Hayden. It was Shane who finally spoke.

              “I guess I would have done the same thing if I would have found out.” He looked at Cass and shrugged his shoulders.

              “Ya, I would have to. Hayden, let’s just forget about this. We all now know that the dragons can fly. Soon we will start training to fly anyways, so it really doesn’t matter.” They all smiled awkwardly at each other until Draek and the other two dragons jumped into the air and flew off back towards the river; the three of them flying in a V pattern with Draek in the lead.

              Where are you guys going? Hayden asked, knowing the others were probably asking the same thing right then.

              We go to hunt. We are hungry and decided that the three of you can handle yourselves once you stop yelling for no reason, Draek told Hayden like it was a common fact, and he should not have had to ask. Hayden watched as they leveled out and glided over the river, no longer having to pump their large wings. Hayden smiled as he watched Draek, his silver scales shinning in the sun light, lower his front paw in the water and cause a small splash. It looked so peaceful and yet it terrified Hayden like nothing had before.

              “So, are we ok?” Hayden turned and asked his two friends. He knew that they had been distant the last few days, but he wanted to fix that. Although Draek was great company, it got lonely without another person to talk to.

              They both nodded to him and smiles slowly crept onto their faces. Hayden still felt that he had something else to tell them before they could begin to mend the bridges between them.

              “Guys, I am sorry what happened the other night, I let my anger get before what’s right. I am sorry for what I said and how I treated you guys.” Hayden was having a hard time looking them in the eyes as he spoke. He kept looking at his feet because he was scared that when he looked up he would find judgment lingering in their eyes.

              He had more to say, but when he finally lifted his eyes to their faces the smiles that had slowly crept there where now wide and demanding. In their eyes he saw forgiveness instead of judgment and he knew that their friendship would outlast this quarrel.

 

                                                                      ____________________

 

After a few minutes of each one saying their unnecessary apologies, because they had already been forgiven by the other, they made their way back into the city to the fountain that they always met at.

Waiting for them was Sebastian and Giles; both of their dragons where behind them, cramped and uncomfortable in the clearing that was not intended for dragon use. Both of the large dragons were fidgety and they kept snaking their heads around, darting it from one place to another.

Hayden knew that that was a look of hunger, but for some reason Sebastian and Giles were not allowing their dragons to go hunt like the others had done. They were both deep in thought together when the three arrived. Hayden and Shane both kept their distance, which they did every time they saw them, and choose not to speak to them, which the Giles and Sebastian replied in kind.

It was Cass that broke the silence that the others were more than happy to continue.

“Hello again, you two, any idea how much longer we will have to be waiting?” She directed her question to both of them. Giles turned to face her but he remained silence, and showed no emotion at all. It was as if he was looking at a plane rock.

“Hello, Cassidy. No, we don’t know how long we will have to wait. We figured this would be as good of a spot as any to wait so here we are, right, Giles?” Sebastian waited on Giles to answer him, and when he did not Sebastian elbowed him lightly in the ribs.

              “Oh uh, yes we did,” Giles said quickly. Satisfied, Sebastian turned back around, with a smile that he had probably had practiced with many other girls before, and went to continue his conversation with Cass.

              If he would not have turned around so quickly after Giles had spoke than he might have seen the look that Giles gave him, a look that said we will talk about you elbowing me later. Hayden saw it for just a second because just as fast as the look was there, it was gone.

              Sebastian continued to talk to Cass while Hayden and Shane went and sat against the fountain, the same place they had sat in between their first to lessons. Shane leaned over to whisper to Hayden.

              “I don’t like them very much, they don’t treat their dragons right and I always feel like they are up to something. But Cass is always trying to play nice with them, she feels the same way about them, but she is sure that she can win them over with friendliness.” Hayden just shook his head at hearing that news.

              His feelings were on the same path as Shane’s were, but his were much further down that path, especially for Sebastian. He was still confused about how he felt about Cass, but he knew without any doubt that he did not like seeing her with Sebastian.

              They sat quietly by listening to the two of them talk about random nothingness. Sebastian was only talking about him and his dragon, how great the dragon was because of his own training, and Cass sounded interested and continued to be friendly.

              Lirand finally came through the gates, and as he made his way towards the group Tynan came out of one of the blacksmith’s building that lined the road to the fountain where they all sat.

              Neither of the men acknowledged each other as they walked together, they just kept an even pace, and both looked at the group at all times. Hayden began to think that they had had to practice this because they both stopped at the exact same time and remained silent until all five riders were silent and watching them.

              “Sebastian, Giles, why are your two dragons clogging up the streets and not off hunting?” Tynan asked. “Can’t you see that they are hungry?”

              “Yes, I know that Sullivan is hungry, but I am teaching him restraint and obedience,” Sebastian said. Giles’s dragon was already starting to move to a better place, where he could take off to hunt. Sebastian heard the movement and turned to make sure it was not his own dragon. Sebastian and Giles both glared at each other until Lirand broke the tension between them.

              “Sebastian, dragons are not dogs to be beat and controlled by their riders. You are a dragon’s rider, not a dragon’s master. Don’t make your dragon suffer again just because you want it to obey you. Now Sullivan, go and hunt with the others, get your fill.” Sebastian showed no remorse or guilt for what he had been told, but all he showed was fiery anger for Lirand for telling his dragon what to do.

              In his head, unknown to the others, he was already planning a way to punish both Lirand for commanding his dragon and Sullivan himself who left the moment Lirand spoke to him.

              “Now the reason that both Tynan and myself are here is because your training is going to be changed dramatically over the next few months in preparation to the Festival of Games. Some of the changes were going to happen at this point anyways, just because you have all reached the three month point,” Lirand told them.

              “One thing that will change is that starting next week we are going back to every day training, but your normal off day will be a light day. That day will be the only one you don’t do physical training and it will also be the only day you meet with Estraken,” Tynan spoke this time.

              Hayden did not like where this was heading, he was going to have no more days to himself and now he was also loosing most of the classes with Estraken, which he actually begun to enjoy.

              “To replace Estraken’s classes every day we have split the time between two things, every two days a week you will study under different Craft Masters. Sometimes you will be working with a blacksmith, a leather worker, farmers, and many others. This will give some basic skills in different fields that you may need while being a rider, and once you finish your five year cycle if you so choose you can continue learning some of these trades and become masters yourselves.”  Hayden did not mind the sound of that.

              Being an orphan he had done many odd and end jobs for the different crafts back home, but he was always taking out the trash or cleaning, not actually doing the craft.

              “Now the days in between your craft days we will start training you on how to ride horses, to get you used to being in a saddle and how to hang on. Eventually we will move you up to riding an experienced dragon until finally you will ride your own.” As Tynan continued to speak about what all their riding lessons would entail, Hayden zoned out and relived parts of his horrific flight with Draek, allowing his terrified imagination to change a few details.

              He was imagining such things as the woods that they had been flying over had been on fire and the flames where trying to lick them like a dog that had found a stake on the road and was trying to make sure that it was real. Draek, who might not have been flying too smoothly, but had not been doing a bad job of flying, was now flying upside down most of the time as he spun around trying to throw Hayden off.

              Hayden shook off the horrific nightmare he saw in his head and realized that Tynan and Lirand where both still addressing the group. Hayden had not heard a word that either of them had said after Tynan mentioned riding lessons. He tried to focus and get back into the conversation.

              “Both Tynan’s and my own training will continue on as it has been, but we will now be introducing new things that will help during the Festival as well as later on as a rider. This will continue on until further notice, but I can go ahead and already tell you that the closer we get the Festival of Games the more your physical training will take up more of your time.” Hayden had not been really sore after training in a while, but he sure that that was all about to change.

 

                                                                        ________________

 

              Hayden was right to think that. Over the next three weeks they were all subjected to a rigorous set of physical activities that left them all laying on the ground gasping for air even though they were all in good shape from the three months of previous training.

              It was like they were just staring their first days of being a dragon rider all over again. Hayden’s body had topped out before they started the new training. He was no longer having a challenge and the changes in his body had slowed down to a point that he was just maintaining his physical fitness.

              That’s how it was before they introduced them to the new work out; it was much harder and faster paced. It lasted the same amount of time, but with no breaks, and they were all soon sore again and Hayden realized that although he was in great shape he could still get stronger.

              He thought that losing all but one day with Estraken that he would not have much to look forward to after the exercises in the morning, but he started to enjoy the time spent with the different crafts. He liked making things with his hands and being able to watch as he made useable things out of junk, or grew things out of the ground.

              They started their weeks off with Estraken’s lessons, which were now starting to get into the different races and regions that make up Arvain. Then they had a riding lesson the next day, and after that they spent their first craft day with the blacksmith. It then went back to riding lessons, then to a farming craft, back to riding, and the last day before they started back with Estraken they worked with the first year ground troops and learnt how to mobilize during battle; Tynan called it battle tactics.

              This is how their schedule was going to be for one month, then they would switch crafts and train for another month, then the switch would happen again every month until they were one month away from the Festival of Games. At that point they would quit all crafts and lessons and focus all their time on training and getting ready for the Festival.

              They decided to split them up into groups during their training; Shane and Hayden got to be together, which was a huge relief to both of them, and Sebastian and Giles got work together. Cass was once again swept off to have personal training from different masters because she had the gold dragon.

              In his blacksmith training Hayden learnt how to heat and use metal, and how to shape it once it was hot. He had made a dagger over the course of the three weeks and his last few lessons where on how to maintain a weapon, repair it and keep it sharp. He had enjoyed it a lot and was sad to be at the end of his blacksmith training.

              The farm craft was something he had done many times before. When it was harvest time back in Erskine the farmers would recruit any young strong hands to help work the fields. The planting and nourishing part of it he had never been allowed to do but he quickly found a great sense of satisfaction when his first plant started to grow.

              The Master Farmer had also taken them out into the surrounding areas and had shown them what they could eat and what would make them sick, or possibly kill them if they ate it. Hayden was told that if it looks colorful and beautiful in the woods than more often than not it was dangerous.

              The last week with the Craft Masters went by in a blur, and before Hayden knew it the blacksmith he had been training with gave him a basic set of sharpening tools to keep and sent him on his way after his last lesson. The farmer did the same, but instead of giving him something to have he took him to the largest orchard Hayden had ever seen. The trees bore different fruit, some Hayden knew and others he had never dreamed of.

              The trees stood in perfectly straight rows, there must have been over a hundred in each row, and Hayden could not even guess how many rows there was. Near the end, where they now stood, the trees where smaller than the ones further back.

              The farmer told Hayden and Shane that these were each planted by a rider at one time or another and they called it the Orchard of Souls. Here Shane and Hayden both dug into the ground and planted their own seeds, which would one day grow into mighty trees. The farmer said that he would take care of it, but only Hayden could remove the fruit of his own tree. No one else could touch it.

              Hayden noticed that some trees were bare of fruit; the riders must have recently come and gotten the fruit, while others had branches laden down so heavy with fruit that they almost touched the ground.

              The farmer told them that it was an old tradition, showing that the riders would not only protect the people but also help provide for them, each rider taking his own fruit and giving it to the people, but sadly it seemed very few riders practiced it any more. Hayden decided that he would have to return here one day and see his tree fully grown.

              The riding lessons that they were taking turned out to be much better than Hayden thought they would be. His fear of riding Draek did not transfer over to riding a horse, and once he was in the saddle for the first time he enjoyed it so much he did not want to get off. The first month had taught them how to hold on with their legs and how to anticipate the movements of the mount beneath them by feeling their muscles flex.

              By the end of the first month they were no longer learning about riding, because there was only so much you could learn about dragon riding from riding horses, and they began to spend hours in the saddle to condition their bodies.

              Draek’s training changed less than theirs did, since the dragons were no longer growing as fast, Draek still being the largest of first year dragons, and even Cass’s Shaylin, the smallest, was now large enough that the saddles the dragons wore had to have rings to climb with.

              Draek was large enough now that he could almost eat a whole dear in one bite. Hayden was told that the dragons would continue to grow for the rest of their lives, but that after the first year they grew much slower. Hayden and Draek now spent some of the riding lessons together; Hayden watching how Draek flew and Draek watching how Hayden rode.

              After one of their riding lessons, in which Draek showed how much control he now had and just how smooth and effortless his short distance flying had become, Hayden had taken Draek to a cleaning stall.

              Draek was too large for Hayden to do a thorough-d outlast this quarrel. ship orgivness instead of jugment r faces the smiles that had slowly crept there where n cleaning, Draek’s shoulder now standing too tall for Hayden to climb without Draek lying down. Hayden was using one of the wired brushes to clean a particularly itchy spot behind Draek’s front leg when Draek broke the monotone sound of the brush going back and forth.

              They said that the other dragons will be ready to start flying with their riders by the end of next month. Draek was stating a fact that Hayden had already heard from Shane and Cass, but he let Draek tell him any ways. They also said that you and I will be flying sooner than that; they say it has been a long time since a dragon has grown to my size so quickly.

              That was something that Hayden had not heard and his pause in his scrubbing was noticed by Draek. Hayden knew that eventually he would have to fly again, but he was still living a fairytale world that he might be able to put it off indefinitely.

              Are you ok, you don’t seem to be excited about flying anymore, not since the first time we flew? Draek asked, concerned as much as curious.

              Hayden decided now was not the time to talk about this, mainly because he needed more time to think of an answer. He hurried up and finished cleaning Draek, leaving more than a few spots untouched.

              I am going for a walk; I want to see if my tree has grown any in the Orchard of Souls, he told Draek quickly as he headed out through the dragon’s exit, not even taking the time to walk with Draek.

              He ran to where the horse stable was and saddled the horse that had been assigned to him to ride during the lessons. He rode the horse to the orchard, like he had planned to. The orchard was a nice ride out from the city, it took him several minutes to reach it, and it took him out of sight from the ever looming metal city.

              The Orchard of Souls was easy to find, it’s hard to hide what is probably the largest orchard in the world. As he came within view of the orchard he realized that there was no one near, no farmers or guards. But then he asked himself what would be the point in guarding it, no one needed to steal from here, plus it was getting late and the sun would be setting soon so all of the farmers had gone home for the night.

              He rode into the orchard and jumped off the horse, bending his knees as he landed, and walked to where his tree had been planted. The ground was moist from where someone had recently watered it and Hayden could not help but smell a distinct hint of fertilizer around where his tree would grow.

              They were taking great care of his tree, as he knew that they would be. Hayden walked down the rows of trees, enjoying the time to look at just how big some had gotten. He heard Draek in his mind asking if he was ok.

              He did not respond with words, but instead sent him comforting feelings, and when Draek asked if he could fly out there to see him Hayden did not tell him no. Draek would still be a few minutes out before he arrived so Hayden decided to climb one of the taller trees. They had told him that he was not allowed to pick the fruit but no one ever said he wasn’t allowed to climb the tree.

              Hayden did not struggle while climbing, being used to climbing and being in the best shape of his life he found the task easy. Once on top of the tree he looked around and surveyed the Orchard of Souls. It seemed to go on forever, the thought of there being so many dragon riders both comforted him and frightened him.

              He was about to climb down when he noticed that some of the trees were shaking, almost a hundred rows down, and there was no wind blowing to make the trees do that.

              Hayden decided to go see what was causing it so he jumped back on his horse and charged down the path that cut through the rows. While riding he had told Draek what he had seen and what he was doing, Draek told him to wait till he got there but Hayden continued riding down the path.

              He knew it was not wind because he was still a few rows down and he was still able to hear a dragon moving around and crashing about between the trees. Hayden almost laughed to himself; it must be a rider coming to pick his fruit to give to the people, he told himself.

              He decided to slow the horse down and walk the last little bit to where the dragon must be; he wanted to see who it was that still practiced the tradition. When he got closer to source of the noise, the trees so laden down with fruit that he could not see through them, Draek’s voice was clear in his mind.

              WAIT! Draek yelled in Hayden’s mind, but Hayden didn’t want Draek to spoil him seeing who it was. He made it to the last row and tried to walk silently between two trees, but as he walked he tripped on a branch and crashed onto the floor in the middle of the path.

              Hayden was even more startled when the dragon he had been spying on roared at him angrily. It startled Hayden so much that he jumped to his feet and turned to face the dragon. Instead of a metallic dragon and its rider glaring at him there was in its place a small red dragon, and Hayden could just make out a short humanoid in one of the trees with a sack filled with fruit.

              Hayden and the dwarf both stood completely still, as if the where hunting dear and had just been spotted. Hayden first noticed that the red dragon was smaller than Draek and was probably a month or so younger than Draek by the size of the horns protruding out of its body. Hayden had never seen any dragon’s other than the three kinds that populated Celestial City so he was more interested than terrified.

              He also noticed that both the Dwarf and the Dragon where almost unhealthy skinny; he could see the dragon’s ribs on its sides. Hayden slowly raised a hand up and went to speak, but the dwarf jumped off the tree branch and landed on the dragon’s back, right in the saddle. Hayden watched in a still stunned silence as the dwarf tied the bag of stolen fruit to the back of the saddle, where three identical bags already hung.

              “Hey, you can’t take those!” Hayden yelled at the dragon and rider as they prepared to fly off. The red dragon bent down low and sprung up into the air, clearing the tree tops and spreading out its wings.

              Hayden watched and had a sudden urge to flee, which he quickly turned around and did, because the red dragon opened up its jaws and blew fire down upon the Orchard of Souls. Hayden was already running but he could still feel the heat that came from the dragon.

              When he no longer felt the heat growing he turned and dared to look at the damage. The red dragon was slowly flying off; Hayden was right about it being younger than Draek, but the trees all around him where on fire, the ones closest to where the dragon had started where already gone.

              Hayden realized that the dragon had not blown regular fire as he saw the metallic dragons breathing, but it was more of a liquid. Hayden remembered Estraken calling it molten rock, or lava, instead of the normal flames. Hayden watched as the red dragon struggled to gain altitude in what was quickly becoming the cool night air.

              Hayden could smell the burning leaves, trees, and even the fruit as the wind began to pick up, spreading the scent and the fire further out. Hayden realized as the wind blew and the trees seemed to catch on fire much easier. Hayden was almost pushed face down by a giant gust of wind from behind him as Draek landed.

              What happened? Draek asked but his head quickly rose up and pointed to where the red dragon could still be seen trying to make an escape. Hayden looked around and saw that his horse had gotten its reins caught around a branch and was trying desperately to get away from the fire.

              Hayden focused on the memories of what had happened so that Draek could see them; it was much faster than trying to explain it with words.

              I have told some of the other dragons about what has happened here. They are getting help for the orchard but they want us to track down the ones who have done this. They are too far out and will not make it in time, Draek told Hayden.

              Hayden understood the need, but he still did not wish to fly, especially over a dark forest that was now quickly filling up with fire. Hayden got the horse unstuck and was calming it down when Draek turned swiftly to face him.

              We must go now Hayden! Are you not a dragon rider, am I not a dragon? Leave that hairy, smelly beast and let us do what we have been trained to do. Draek was no longer the kind hearted dragon that Hayden had known, this was a serious side, but Hayden still had excuses up his sleeve.

              “I cannot just leave the horse here; it could die a slow painful death in the flames,” Hayden tried to protest verbally but Draek cut his off quickly.

              There are many more insignificant beasts to replace this useless one, now I will not tell you again; get on my back and let’s be off. Hayden still looked thoughtfully at the horse, trying to find some way out of facing his fear.

              Draek, seeing Hayden’s look and hearing his thoughts, let out an exasperated sigh and, quick as a snake, bit down on the back of the horse’s neck, killing it instantly. Hayden jumped back with surprise and let out an unmanly yelp.

              Now are you a dragon rider or not? Draek asked as he knelt down before Hayden, allowing him access to his leg so he could climb onto his back. Hayden walked slowly over to the dragon and made the climb up until he was sitting as comfortably as he could on Draek’s back.

              Draek was starting to grow the spikes that would line his neck and back, but there was still the smooth spot right in the base of the neck and the top of the shoulders where Hayden could sit without fear of impaling himself.

              “I am a dragon rider,” Hayden said in both mind and out loud.

              Draek rumbled underneath him with satisfaction as he bent low and prepared to spring off into the sky.

              Good, then let us be off, as rider and dragon, in search for our prey, Draek said. This was the only warning Hayden got before Draek jumped into the ever darkening night sky. Draek, roaring his challenge to the red dragon and any others who dare face him, while Hayden was content with just yelling in a high pitched squeal at the top of his lungs.

              The two rose above the flaming trees and chased after the red dragon and the dwarf thief.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 16

 

 

             Draek took the sky, leaving behind the flaming orchard. Hayden’s mind began to freeze up as he watched the ground get further and further away. His body did not though, as Draek pushed his wings up and down and started to ride the winds up, Hayden kept his body low to Draek and turned with him just as if he was riding a horse.              

              Hayden tried his hardest not to, but he found himself starting to enjoy flying with Draek. Draek really had become a much better flier over the past four weeks. His wing strokes were smoother and he no longer fell and rose with the wind, but rather rode it from one current to another.

              Draek was also flying much faster than Hayden had ever seen before, gaining quickly on the fleeting red dragon. Draek gained more height so that, even though they were far behind the red dragon, they were also above them.

              Hayden was about to ask why Draek was doing that when he got a few images of a copper dragon telling them that a dragon who was above another dragon held all the power and could force the other dragon to land.

              Draek was gaining on the red dragon quickly, using less effort with his massive silver wings. Hayden was no longer looking at the ground and worrying about falling off; all of his focus was placed on the rider in front of them. Draek was flying smoothly, Hayden barley felt any movements that the dragon made, while the red dragon was struggling to maintain its slower speed.

              The red dragon’s sides heaved in an out as it tried to regain its breath, and Hayden and Draek where now close enough now that Hayden was able to make out some details about the rider and his dragon.

              The saddle of the dragon was made out of worn out leather that was patched together. The bags that where full of the stolen fruit had identical patches that covered the holes that had been worn out from use.

              It was hard to make out any details of the dwarf, Hayden still hadn’t gotten a good look at him but he knew he was a dwarf because of the short stature and size of his body. He also knew that it was male because of the long withered beard that came to rest on his short, thick chest.

              Draek continued to close the distance between them and the red dragon. Hayden saw that both the rider and the dragon kept looking back at them to see how close they were. He watched as the red dragon quit trying to go faster and started to glide down the ground. They had flown much further than Hayden realized as he took in his surroundings as they began to make their decent.

              They had left Celestial City far behind and they were now near the foothills of what Hayden assumed where the Bergelmir Mountains. Hayden had never seen anything like it before, mountains bigger than whole cities looming up to the sky. Even though he was able to see the mountains Hayden knew that they were a long way off in the distance still.

              Draek followed the red dragon until they both landed in a small valley big enough for both dragons. Once both dragons were on the ground everyone just looked at each other. Hayden did not wish to fight, but he knew if it came to it that Draek would win.

              Draek was much larger than his red opponent, and Hayden could tell by the way the red dragon was already breathing that it was not in as good as shape as Draek was.

              Well, are you talking to the red dragon? Hayden asked Draek when no moved for a few seconds.

              I am, his name is Trohen, and his rider is Bureg the Swift. They are from one of the dwarf clans from the north. As Draek told Hayden everything, Hayden noticed that both the Dwarf rider and his red dragon seemed to visibly relax.

              They have told me what is happening and I told them that we will not harm them as long as they are peaceful; they fear us and do not wish to fight us. Draek did not flaunt the fact that he intimidated them, but he seemed to say it more out of pity.

              “What happens now, silver rider?” The dwarf asked from his saddle.

              Hayden was surprised to hear the dwarf speak his own tongue, but he quickly remembered Estraken telling him that after the riders united all of Arvain and put up the five towers, that all the races learned Arvainian, the language they were speaking now. The races did still learn their native tongue, but they had to be able to communicate with the metallic riders.

              The dwarf had a heavy accent and a deep voice so that words he spoke still sounded different. Hayden was not sure what he was going to do now that he was here, but he had to give himself a few seconds to think.

              “First let’s get off our dragons, they have flown hard and fast for us, they deserve a break. After you finish unsaddling your dragon then we will talk.” The dwarf showed no emotion on his face, which remained still like stone. But Hayden saw a glint of fear and admiration pass through his eyes.

              The dwarf nodded once and dismounted, and then he started undoing all the straps to his dragon’s saddle. Hayden lowered himself down as well, Draek being so large now that he had to crouch down and lower his body as much as possible. Hayden had not had time to saddle Draek, so he inspected the inside of his trousers, which were now ruined from the flight.

              Bureg the Swift is not happy about taking off the saddle. It will make his dragon more comfortable, but it will also be harder for him to flee quickly if he wanted to, Draek told Hayden as they both waited on the dwarf to finish.

              Good, I want to get to the bottom of what’s going on without having to worry about chasing him half way around Arvain to do it, Hayden said mentally.

              “Alright, silver rider, I have done what you requested even though it goes against my better judgment. What happens now? I am not going back to the metal prison you call a city,” Bureg told Hayden.

              Hayden did not answer right away; instead he took in the pair of possible foes in front of him. These two were not the things of nightmares that he had been led to believe as a child. They would be a formidable opponent in a battle, but not the monster that ate the souls of innocent children.

              Now that they were closer together Hayden could see that the dwarf and dragon were both more worn out and starving than he had originally thought. Hayden knew what the signs of poor and hungry were; he had been both most of his short life. The clothes that might have once fit snugly around the Bureg now hung of him loosely.

              The dwarf stood just bellow Hayden’s chest and his arms were covered in thick red hair. His beard was long and braided with small trinkets laced in the hair. His nose was large and thick and his eyes deeply set in his head.

              Hayden’s eyes drifted from the dwarf to the red dragon that crouched behind him. Everyone’s eyes always went quickly from the rider to the dragon that they rode. The red dragon had a few similarities to Draek but not many; the red dragon had a much shorter neck, his head almost coming straight from his shoulders. Where Draek’s head was more horse-like, thin and long, Trohen’s head was thicker and short, almost rounding in the front.

              Draek was lengthier all around then Trohen but the red dragon was much thicker, lined with ribbons of thick bulging muscles that made him look more like a dog than a cat. Draek was just starting to get his horns in and the spikes down his back were starting to grow slowly, were Trohen had white stone-like bumps appearing around his body.

              The biggest differences were the colors and textures of the dragons. Draek was cleaned regularly so his scales were clean and shiny, and they grew like armor, each one in perfect lines, his wings like giant silver sails captured by warm southern winds blown across the sea.

              Trohen had a rough look about him; his scales not clean nor growing in straight. His color was not solid red but a light tan on his stomach and going through the many shades of red till it turned a deep maroon across his back. His body was lined with scars that swelled up and were discolored. Trohen’s wings were thick and looked like they were made out of gravel. Hayden observed what he could before speaking.

              “Well what do we do about you stealing from the Orchard of Souls?” Hayden asked Bureg.

              “I wasn’t stealing; no one ever picks the fruit from them trees. I have watched them let the fruit ripen and then start to rot on the branch, but no one ever comes and takes them. Nobody is starving in that metal place, but there are Pieces of Stone starving out here.” Bureg didn’t tell Hayden anything that he hadn’t already guessed himself; he knew that the orchard was never harvested and that the fruit just went to waste.

              “Pieces of Stone?” Hayden repeated to Bureg.

              “What you call dwarfs, we have always called ourselves Pieces of Stone; but then you lot decided to take over everything and call us something different.” Bureg was upset, but he stayed civil. Hayden didn’t have a weapon and Bureg had a large battle axe sitting on top of his saddle. But if a fight did break out Draek would have them both pinned before they could do anything more than shout their battle cry.

              “I will say again, silver rider; what happens now?” Bureg was tense and he kept flexing and then relaxing his fists. Hayden knew he was expecting a fight from him.

              Hayden was about to answer when he heard shouting coming from a small cave off to the side valley. Hayden was not surprised when five more dwarfs, each one in rags and starving, came running out with perfect looking battle axes. They were running straight at Hayden and Draek, but before Hayden could respond Draek jumped up onto his hind legs and spread his wings as far out as they would go.

              Showing off his full size and all the rippling muscles on his body even Hayden was impressed. The dwarfs stopped their foolish charge and just looked up at the largest dragon they had ever seen up close.

              “Stop!! Stay back!” Bureg yelled. The dwarfs looked even more confused and scared as he told them to stop. Draek dropped back down to all fours and retracted his wings. For the first time Bureg looked terrified as he faced Hayden.