Sauy Talia's Story

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The forests of the Nymph had always been beautiful, massive, and sprawling... From the vines of the Mother Tree, all forms of life and vegetation grew and flourished. Once spores so small that one-million of them could have fit into your hand, and you wouldn't have known it, are now towering and gargantuan flora. Even the creatures of the forests had become massive, and prospers. Rabbits, wild birds, and small prey became larger than whole men... And the larger predatory had become larger, and perhaps more dangerous, than dragons themselves. Goliaths, Wurms, Boas, Monoths, all of these creatures had also flourished in the warmth and moisture of the forest, and had grown to massive -earth shaking- sizes. For centurys the Nymph have lived in perfect harmony with these "mindless creatures", through communicating and understanding them, but not all of them have no drive for peace. These creatures became unruly, destructive, and beyond the point of reasoning... It were these creatures that posed the most danger to the Nymph.

It has been known that for thousands of years the Centaur have protected, and watched over the forests of the world from all threats. But the Nymph have protected themselves for longer than the Centaur race has existed. For longer than anyone can remember, the Guardians of the Trees had been a peaceful order of Nymph who sacrifice their lives to protect their home.

The most powerful of the Nymph Speakers, those gifted with the ability to speak and push their own emotion on animals, have been recruited to serve as the peacekeepers known as the Guardians. The Guardians, as a whole, use their powers in life-magic to protect, and in some cases avenge, the flora and animals of the forests. The Guardians are the heralded as the most powerful Speakers in the known realm. But sometimes, there are creatures that are too far gone from the Guardian's powers to be healed...

It was something Sauy was born for, to serve the forest as a Guardian. Only her service to the Nymph was different from most. She was tasked with the mission of finding, and destroying those creatures who couldn't be reached by the Speakers. For almost 13 years she had protected the forest from the creatures of the jungles, and she had become a master at the art of monster hunting. Her village, titled Spring, was her home for as long as she had lived. As far as she was concerned, it was the only place in the world to her. It was a place of wonder, filled with amazing plants and animals for her to understand and learn about. It was what she loved; to learn about the world around her, and come to understand all of it.

Monster hunting was yet another thing that helped her in her understanding of the animals. The tracks of animals, their scents and property's, these were all things she learned to identify and categorization in her mind to help her find her prey... She was the highest predator in the whole order. Nothing could escape her reach, and if it had it wouldn't be long before it would be found and crushed. It was something Sauy held sacred... The ability to end life in a single moment. A power, she thought, no one should ever wield. But she knew it was necessary to protecting her people...

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The forest was bright, and filled with life and sound. It was something she loved, all of the noises and sounds of life around her. Their calls, their cries, their laughs, their speech. As she moved silently through the underbrush of the forest, she absorbed the sounds around her and categorized them inside of her mind. A sparrow's call, a wurm's movement under the earth, 3 other bird calls... There! She thought to herself as she found the sound she was looking for... The rattle of a King Boa's tail. The Boa had killed 2 Nymph's in her village, and was too far gone to try to save. It was time for the Boa's death, time for it to fall into its final sleep.

Slowly Sauy raised herself from a low crouch into a standing statue, still as stone. She looked around, tilting her ears around to the left and the right to find the rattle again. Before she had only heard it for a moment before it slipped away form her. Looking above, then below, to the left and to the right. Where are you... King? She thought to herself as she took one more long look to try to find the Boa. Then, to her surprise, she heard the rattle again... This time from dead in front of her.

From inside of a large hollowed out trunk from a tree, Sauy could see the 2 piercing green eyes of the King Boa, both aimed at her. The snake had found her, right in its trap. There was no where to go: She couldn't outrun it couldn't try to climb from it, both would just end in her death... To the left of her was a massive tree, blocking her path that way, and to the right hung vines of the thick jungle, too thick for her to escape through... She was faced with no choice but to end the boa's life.

Slowly, the King slithered its body forward from the massive trunk. The Boa, like most of its race, must have been 30 feet in length, with a foot in diameter. Its bite force was strong, stronger than most average crocodiles -with a bite force of 2 tons-. But it wasnt the bite she was worried about. The King Boa was known for its crushing power, the ability to suffocate its victims and crush the life from them, agonizingly. Gripping her sword tight with both hands, Sauy slowly moved backwards, as to not provoke the snake's anger.

"That"s a nice Boa..." She uttered under her breath, still moving backwards as the snake slithered out of the trunk more and more, at least 10 feet of it know out of its home. "Come to momma..."

But suddenly, with her last statement, the snake had made its movement. Coiling back like a massive spring, the snake shot its body outwards. As it flew at her its mouth unhinged, stretching to nearly 3 feet wide. With a deep gasp, Sauy moved swiftly to the left, pushing her body into the tree as the massive spring launched forward, its body a stream of green and yellow spotted death.

Suddenly a massive concussive CRACK rang through the forest. The snake had smashed, at full speed, into the trunk of a tree behind Sauy a few yards. It took a few long moments for the snake to fully collide into the tree, meaning all of its body had smacked into it. Now looking like a series of yellow spots on a green pile of shit, Sauy pushed herself back off of the tree. Gripping her sword, Thorn, with both hands she brought it up to be at a 90 agreed angle with her shoulders so it was perfectly straight edge up and down. Playing defensive, Sauy waited for the snake to strike again... She was ready this time.

After a moment, the Boa had regained itself, and lined its massive body up for yet another strike. Moving herself back a few feet, Sauy swiftly charged forward with her sword in the same position... right as the Boa launched for another strike. In that moment, the world around Sauy faded away and the only thing that was real was the snake. As the snake launched itself forward, its head tilted to a right angle to Sauy's sword... Making the 2 line up perfectly.

Letting lose a battle cry, Sauy launched her full body weight in a dead sprint. Suddenly, the snake and the sword collided. In a rain of blood Sauy's sword pushed through the snakes jaw, down into its throat, severing the snakes jaw and the rest of his skull perfectly apart. But her sword hadn't stopped there. Because of the force of the snake's launch, and the added force of Sauy's sprint towards the snake, the blade kept pushing -or rather the snake's body kept pushing into the sword- through the snake's body... Cutting it perfectly down the middle. The blade's perfect edge and the force of the snake's attack had combined to create a horrific combination.

With a sickening SLLIISSHHHH the blade kept its coarse through the snakes body before it finally lost its momentum, and stopped. About 7 feed from the snake's tail the sword had locked itself in the snake's corpus. It had made a massive Y over Sauy's body, with one stem of the Y being the snake's head, and about 23 feet of snake, and the other side being its jaw. The bottom steam had been what was where the sword stopped, and didn't cut all the way through.

Panting deeply, Sauy shivered as her body was covered in the warm blood of the snake. Disgusted with the scene around her, Sauy knelt down... and prayed. She clasped her hands together, praying to the gods they would bless the snake's soul, and forgive her for slaying it, though it was the snake's fault for running into the sword.

Slowly standing to her feet, Sauy walked away from the bloody, disgusting, mess of the snake's corpus. The forest was now silent, the sound of the snake's first attack had scared away the rest of the wildlife. Now, Sauy felt alone and helpless. The only friendly sound around her was a stream, or small river. Walking towards the sound, Sauy's bones and muscles heart from the snake's collision into her blade. While her blade had been sharpened into a razor's edge, it didn't exactly cut through the snake smoothly.

Panting in pain, Sauy soon found her way to a small river that flowed perfect blue water. Slowly, she dipped herself into the water and allowed herself to relax, letting the horrific memory wash over her... never to be seen again... This was her idea of peace, to be surrounded by life with only the sound of a stream to distract her. Laying her head against the bank, she soon fell asleep...

There was excitement abound as the Master of the Dragon's Crown took the first group of Potentials with him up the stairs ahead and to the walls of this small castle on the peak. Despite the altitude, there was no thinness of air or lacking of oxygen. Everyone was thinking clearly, or so many of them thought. There were two in this first group who's arrogance was astounding to such an extent that both Kyero and Josephine could not believe the words coming from their mouths and the "logic" they were using to justify their being Chosen.

The first was a human from Kyero's home city of Irsthäl named Orchaerma, and his exact words as he approached the Master of the Dragon's Crown were "I'm surprised you didn't come to seek me for yourself, for a title with such majesty of "Dragon Rider" suits me perfectly. It is shameful that you did not come to me sooner. Had you done so, I'd have saved you this embarrassment." Kyero shook his head when he heard those words and Josephine's expression disappeared and she became completely emotionless. Kyero placed his right arm around her waist to stop her from going anywhere, as he knew that she had half a mind to take him down to prove that he was nothing so special. One thing which the legends always depicted within Dragon Riders was their humility and their grace. Despite the fact that Kings would bow to them and their wishes if need be, they never flaunted or abused their power and authority.

"This fool knows nothing." She commented quietly to Kyero, who silently nodded in agreement.

The second of abounding arrogance was an elf from, of all places, the city of Aquos. His name was Mythrandir His words were very similar, but more along the lines of his bloodline being the key to his being a Chosen. Because his family line were all warriors and important politicians, he believed it his birthright to take the mantle of Dragon Rider which was absolutely absurd. The Dragon chooses the Rider based not by his/her blood, but by his/her heart. The Dragon can sense, even as a developing embryo inside its egg, key traits within the hearts of their Chosen no matter where in the world they are. It is for those they choose for whom they wait, and nobody else. The thought that this fool's blood gave him the right to ride a Dragon was akin to Kyero saying that his family owning the ancient blade Ragnell gave him right to rule as a king.

It was downright embarrassing to listen to.

The first group of potentials was taken up the central flight of stairs leading towards the north until they reached the second tier of the castle walls. They accompanied the Master of the Dragon's Crown on their ascent to the third and final tier, where they walked along the edges of the Castle walls to await the descent of the Dragons themselves. Should even a single Dragon land, that meant that there was in fact a Chosen among the group. For several seconds, there was nothing, but then a Dragon landed. It was a Black Dragon, and a young one at that. Standing only about seven feet at the shoulder when full grown adults stand twenty, but never the less was healthy and eager to come face to face with its Chosen. The group walked across the Dragons path, led by the Master of the Dragon's Crown, one by one until at last, the Dragon lifted its head when a young woman stood before it.

The woman was Jumentai of reptilian descent, obviously taking the form of either a snake or a crocodilian with her scaly skin on her shoulders and her reptilian eyes. She looked at the Dragon cautiously as it looked straight up towards the heavens above and let out a shrill roar which split the air, quite literally, leading a pathway of energy from the Dragon to the heavens above. It was a glowing, white-blue energy which shone with much brilliance as the Dragon's body too began to glow along with the Jumentai's as its roar increased in volume. Both Kyero and Josephine had to hold their ears, but the Jumentai seemed immune to the sound for whatever reason. Indeed she heard nothing from the shrill sounds coming from her Dragon as all in her ears was muffled thanks to the energy surrounding her. The energy grew in intensity yet further, creating small undulating waves of energy extending outwards from both of their bodies and out into the world. The skies gathered and churned around the two of them for several moments longer before the line of energy vanished, the air returning to normal and the Dragon's cries coming to an end.

The young woman looked at the Dragon, and the Dragon looked to her. The Dragon opened its mouth and a red glow emanated from within. It pulsed in rhythm with the Dragon's heart, and began to seep from the Dragon's mouth to surround the young Jumentai. Her own aura appeared, visible to all around her thanks to the mystic and ancient energies of the Dragon, and was enveloped by a warm red light. Her own heart glowed within her chest with such brilliance that you could see its pulsating outline through her skin, bones and muscle. The Dragon's heart followed suit, glowing a ruby red within its chest and pulsing in harmony with her own until they were perfectly in sync with each other. Once the rhythm of their hearts was as one, the Dragon closed its mouth and allowed the energy between them to settle.

The Master of the Dragon's Crown approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"And so it is over my child. You are now a Dragon Rider. Congratulations my dear." He said happily as she smiled back at him and looked to her new Dragon companion.

Mythrandir and Orchaerma came forward to the Master of the Dragon's Crown, both irritated and quite obviously enraged that no Dragons descended for them.

"What trickery is this?!" Orchaerma demanded, shaking his fist in the Master's face.

"This is obviously some kind of mistake. How can a filthy commoner of a Jumentai become a Dragon Rider when I, an elf of noble blood and birth cannot?!" Mythrandir demanded.

The Master of the Dragon's Crown looked at them both sadly and raised his hands.

"I am sorry, my young ones. But this is how it is to be. The Dragons choose the Riders, and you two have not been Chosen. You held the potential within your hearts, but none of the Dragons responded to them. I am sorry." He said calmly.

Orchaerma came forward and grabbed the Master's robes and shoved him back a step as he tried to press him into a nearby wall, but was stopped by the almost instantaneous intervention of a Dragon Seeker. Orchaerma's grip was broken in an instant, and he himself was flung against the wall in place of the Master with such force that it created several cracks in the ancient stone walls. The young human fell to the ground unconscious, and Mythrandir foolishly took up his sword against the Seeker, who simply blocked the sword swing with his arm which shattered the blade as he backhanded the elf off his feet and sent him flying over five yards to the ground. The Master placed his hand on the Seeker's arm and pulled him back.

"That is enough my child, they have learned their lesson. You may rest now." He said calmly to the Seeker.

The Dragon Seeker slowly walked away, vanishing in the darkness of the hallways beyond as the Master led the other Potentials back to the courtyard.

"My children, fate has shown us that you were not Chosen by Dragons, but that does not mean that you do not hold a level of importance in these dark days. Hold your heads high that you were of the Potentials, and prepare yourselves for the coming of the darkness. You will need to be at your best to survive what is to come." He said.

The Potentials which were not Chosen looked to each other and back to the Master with a slight level of concern, to which he simply responded with a smile.

"Have faith, my children. You will be guided by the hand of fate to your destinies as well in time. Be strong, and please rest and enjoy the city of Dor'aago before you return home to the world below. You will find food and drink awaiting you, as well as fine arts and other forms of entertainment to suit your needs. It is the least we can do to repay you for your patience and understanding in these confusing and troubling times."

The Potentials smiled and bowed to the Master as they rejoined the Doves which brought them and flew away. With their departure, the Master looked to the Potentials who were still waiting for their turns and nodded to them.

"Now, who will next step forward to discover their destiny?" He asked.

Kyero and Josephine both looked to each other and nodded, stepping forward together side by side as they waited for a small handful of others to do the same. There were six in their group who took the leap of faith, and they were then guided by the Master to the third tier of the castle to await the Dragons decision. As they began approaching, several dozen Dragons began to gather in the skies and take up perches on the mountain as they eagerly waited for their respective Chosen to approach the castle walls. As the group finished their ascent and walked the path to where the Dragons could land, three took off from the mountain and circled overhead. It took about one minute, but at last the three Dragons who left the mountain descended along the castle walls ahead as the group were led one by one across their paths.

Kyero was the first on the line, and fittingly, a Dragon on the very end of the Dragon's line up was watching him very intently. The stare of the Dragon could only be described by Kyero and "piercing," as the stare alone was enough to cut through Kyero's doubts and instantly force him to recognize that the Dragon was waiting for him and nobody else. Josephine too felt the disturbing gaze of another Dragon just to the left of Kyero's who was watching her with great interest, and the final member of the group to be watched by a Dragon was a young human-elf mix who was last in line. His name was Baartos, and he hailed from Uuthrain, a city on the tip of the southern peninsula below the city of Aquos. As Kyero, Josephine and Baartos approached their Dragons, the others kept walking as they could see the Dragons paid no attention to them. Kyero stopped in front of his Dragon first, as their was a pecking order to this ritual which only the Dragons seemed to understand at present.

Kyero waited silently as his Dragon leaned in and brought his massive nose to within mere inches of Kyero's face. The Dragons scales were a deep, crimson red coloration which shone gorgeously in the fading sunlight of the evening. The Dragons eyes glowed with a similar ruby red coloration with enormous wings and a long, regal tail to match. The Dragon itself was about twenty two feet at the shoulder and its body was well in excess of one hundred feet long from nose to tail. It was the largest Dragon on the mountain despite its youth, and Kyero knew that it would only grow larger with time which was a frightening thought as it was already more than big enough in Kyero's opinion.

The Dragon lifted its head and looked to the Dragon in front of Josephine, who did the same to her as Kyero's did to him. Her Dragon was absolutely beautiful in more ways than one, and stood about sixteen feet at the shoulder which was slightly smaller than Kyero's Dragon but still was one of the larger specimens circling or perching on the mountain. Elegant platinum scales covered its rear legs and the top of its tail, while golden overlapping scales protected its underbelly and throat. Within its white feathered wings were long, bladed scales which were similar to sword blades, no doubt used for aerial combat and were tipped in what appeared to be a viscous fluid which was undoubtedly poisoned if modern reptiles were anything to go by. Two long bony horns extended out to either side of its head, with a single golden blade-like horn in the center. Glowing golden eyes and a short mouth tapered into a long, thick and muscular neck with brownish fur on the shoulders and at the tip of its tail. The Dragons body, save for the protective layers of scales, was a beautiful ocean blue coloration which matched up well with Josephine's amethyst eyes as they stared at one another.

Her Dragon raised its head and looked to the final Dragon standing next to it. The Dragon in front of the elf-human boy was a Dragon with four wings overlapping much in the same way a butterflies wings to. It was a Faerie Dragon, and it looked over its Rider with interest for a moment before looking back over to Kyero's Dragon.

Kyero's Dragon looked back down at Kyero, and snarled. Kyero didn't move a muscle, standing calm and fearless in the face of his Dragon. The beast leaned forward rather suddenly and roared directly at Kyero, opening its mouth right in front of him and blasting him with a wave of power from its mouth. Kyero shut his eyes, but otherwise continued to stand still as it finished its display. The Master himself was looking slightly worried, which had Josephine concerned, but they both relaxed when the Dragon finally began the ritual.

Rearing its head back towards the skies, the Dragon bellowed a mighty and thunderous roar which completely dwarfed the sounds made by the black Dragon from the first group. The mountain itself quaked and the stone walls creaked and groaned as the castle shook and trembled at the power and ferocity of the Dragon's cry. The same white-blue energy split the skies above the Dragon leading to the heavens as it prepared itself for the next phase of the ritual. Kyero's stance widened to assist him in remaining on his feet as the quaking beneath him intensified. The same waves of energy which had come forth from the previous Dragon's ritual began to undulate outward from the great Dragon's body as it continued it cries to the heavens above. The power released caused several of the stones on the castle's outer walls to begin to crack around the edges before it all suddenly went quiet, just like before.

The Dragon looked down at Kyero and leaned its head in, opening its moth to reveal a red energy growing within its throat. Kyero's heart began to glow, as did that of his Dragon as they began to synchronize the rhythm between them until it they beat as one. The red energy surrounded Kyero, warming him and calming him as the Dragon too seemed to relax itself until the energy faded and they both stared at each other. The Master came forward cautiously and placed his hand on Kyero's shoulder, to which the Dragon's eyes slid to the corners to look at him in warning. The Master gave the Dragon a reassuring bow of his head and it returned its gaze to Kyero.

"Congratulations my child, you are now a Dragon Rider. Take your place beside your sister and await the end of the ritual, if you please." He asked with a smile.

Kyero felt a new power flowing within his body and he couldn't help but smile in response to it. He looked at the Master and nodded his head, walking to the side where the first Jumentai was and standing beside her as they waited for their fellow Riders to become realized.

Josephine's Dragon was next, and in following with those which came before it reared its head to the skies and let out an ear splitting roar as the skies gave way to the same pillar of energy leading into the vastness of the skies above. Josephine was enveloped within its energy and waited for the Dragon to finish its mighty cry to the heavens before it stopped. The Dragon knelt down and opened its mouth before her, allowing her to see into its throat where the red, pulsating energy sat as their hearts glowed and began to synchronize their rhythm. Second by second it grew closer and closer to achieving its goal until at last, it was over. Josephine and her Dragon finished their connection and she too took her place beside Kyero and the Jumentai as they waited for the third member of their group to finish his bonding.

When it was over, the three of them stood quietly as the Master walked back down to the courtyard to gather the next group of potentials.

Kyero, in the meantime, was approached by a Dragon Seeker and asked to come with him to one of the side halls to speak. Kyero complied, walking with the Seeker to the darkness of the halls beyond the courtyard before the Seeker turned to him and spoke.

"You face a most unprecedented predicament, Kyero Di Nelma." He said ominously.

Kyero's left eyebrow rose slightly in his confusion as he waited for the Seeker to finish.

"Your Dragon was able to sense within you and the blade you carry at your back a power which even we, the Dragon Seekers, did not recognize until your Dragon brought it to our attention. It is why the Dragon attempted to intimidate you in the beginning of the ritual. It wanted to see if you would flee its wrath or face it with the dignity and fearlessness of a Dragon Rider, as well as to try and recognize where your power came from."

Kyero held his hand out.

"Wait a minute. Why would either myself of the blade I carry hold a power which the Dragon would react to like this? I know Ragnell is an ancient and blessed blade, but why does it affect the Dragon so? No weapon, even those blessed by the Gods, can harm a Dragon if it's wielded by the hand of a mortal."

The Seeker nodded.

"That is true, but you are no ordinary mortal Kyero Di Nelma." He said in a low voice.

Kyero looked at him in confusion, but restrained the questions which now plagued his mind in order to hear out the Seeker.

"Your blade, Ragnell, is connected to the Gods. It is a blade which cannot be wielded by the hands of anyone not destined to do so, and yet you wield it one handed as if it weighed nothing. Why is that?" He asked.

Because it has been in my family for dozens of generations-"

"And yet you are the only one who has been able to actually wield it in how many of them?" The Seeker interrupted.

Kyero looked away to think for a moment. His father could lift the blade so long as it was in its sheath, but the moment even a fraction of an inch was removed it would become so heavy that his father could no longer move it, and would instead have to replace the sheath as it did not share the magic which the blade itself possessed. Once back in its sheath, it was moveable. Kyero had never asked his father who was the last to wield it, and as such he looked at the Seeker and shook his head.

"You are the first in over sixty generations to wield that blade. The last in your family to do so was an ancient hero who fought alongside the Dragon Seekers in the battle of the Dragon's Crown. Your ancestor's name was Saa'lfnir, a hybrid of mortal and immortal blood. She was the last of your bloodline to wield the blessed blade Ragnell, and the first to take it into battle against Dragons who turned on their own kind. Swayed by an ancient and evil power, the Dragons of old sought to scorch this world and purge it of all mortal beings who walked on two legs in any form. This ancient evil is slowly regaining strength and is being reborn, and thus the Gods have seen fit to revitalize the power of your bloodline within you."

The Seeker stepped forward and gave Kyero a bow of his head.

"You are your ancestor, Saa'lfnir, reborn. You, Kyero Di Nelma, are of both mortal and immortal blood which was bestowed upon you at birth by the Gods. Your blade can cleave a Dragon's scales as easily as a Bladed Dragon's claws, and it can withstand the might of even immortal magic and weaponry." He said as he raised his head.

Kyero was nearly brought to his knees by the news, and staggered a step or two in response.

"Beware, Kyero Di Nelma, that your connection to the Gods may indeed bless you with great power against the coming darkness... But it comes with a steep price."

Kyero looked at the Seeker, his eyes wide with confusion and horror at what could possibly make this situation any more complicated.

"Though your blade will protect you in battle, you and your Dragon both are vulnerable to magic... Even that wielded by mortals. Dragons are invulnerable to all mortal weaponry and magic, as are their Riders, but not the two of you. In response to the power you bear, the Gods had to make a sacrifice within both of you in order to preserve balance within your heart and to help you remain pure. Your Dragon will feel the sting of mortal magic if it is not careful, and should it be struck by immortal magic it will be all the worse. If you yourself are directly struck by magic from an immortal source, you will not likely survive it. This is the price you pay for wielding the blade Ragnell, and this is the price your Dragon accepted when it allowed you to become its Rider."

Kyero had to sit down for a moment, as he took all of the information in. His face lost a bit of its color and he looked like he was about the throw up, but he managed to keep himself from doing so by using a breathing exercise to calm his heartbeat. Elsewhere, Kyero's Dragon was responding to his apprehension by tensing its body and looking around rather expectantly as if it expected battle of some kind. As Kyero's heart came under control, so too did the Dragon as it settled down in response to Kyero's relaxation. Josephine's Dragon looked to Kyero's Dragon and uttered a silent low frequency growl which only other Dragons would be able to feel or hear, to which Kyero's Dragon responded with a similar sound.

In much the same way that Kyero and Josephine were as one, so too were their Dragons.

Kyero stood up with the Seeker's help and sighed to himself as he looked at the Seeker to ask a single question.

"What do I do about this?" He asked.

The Seeker shook his head.

"It is not for me to decide that, Kyero. The choice is yours and yours alone. You now known of what fate awaits you should you encounter magic and allow it to strike you, so you must now find a way to protect yourself from it. Your blade, Ragnell, cannot be felled by anything either mortal or immortal as it is directly blessed by the Gods. However, its blessing is only useful to you if you train yourself to battle against magic. If you swing your blade at a magical strike without any knowledge or intent, you will fail. Such a blunder can and may cost you your life should it come in the face of an immortal source, and that would be a loss this world cannot afford in the times to come."

Kyero nodded his head and looked back towards the courtyard.

"I guess I'd better find myself an instructor then." He said quietly.

The Seeker nodded to him and disappeared into the darkness of the halls. Kyero watched the Seeker do so, and then turned and walked back to the courtyard to retake his place beside Josephine. She looked to him in concern, as she could sense that his heart was unsettled. Their Dragons too were comforting each other through low frequency conversation as Josephine took Kyero's hand in her own and gave it a light squeeze.

"My love, what troubles you?" She whispered to him.

He looked to her and shook his head with a smile.

"Nothing that a little specialized training won't fix in time. Now, we must be silent. There are others yet to realize their destiny this day." He responded.

Josephine knew that Kyero was telling the truth, in a fashion, but she could also sense the slight lie within his tone. Never the less, she nodded to him and looked back towards the others.

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"Now, my children. It is time for you to truly begin to understand your Dragons. If you will kindly turn around and face the edge of the castle wall, we will begin." He announced.

Seraphina smiled as she saw the Master of Dragon’s Crown, giving his warm welcoming speech. She watched the Master with great respect and honor as he explained to the group that they needed to get to know their dragons. However they’d all need rest and gather up their strength before actually training with the dragons. Sera was thrilled by the thought of getting to train with her Griffin Dragon and already felt so connected to him. He was as she had been, a misfit that didn’t look quite like the others.
"Now we begin the ceremony. You will feel your Dragon's own memories flowing through your mind. Do not attempt to resist, as doing so will cause immense pain as the memories of your past collide with those of your Dragon. Allow their minds to meld with yours, and see the world through their eyes. You are about to witness over one hundred years of history each, so be still your hearts and release all tension..."

Then something interested Sera’s attention greatly from the quite lengthy and very educated speaking Master.  She was intrigued entirely by it and was eager to try to receive the memories of her bonded dragon.

When the Master saw everyone relax, he began the ceremony. "Now, my children of the skies!" He called out to the Dragons overhead. "It is time! Release your memories, your fears, your sadness, happiness, anger and restraint! Your Chosen are waiting!" He called.

Seraphina was suddenly realizing the importance of this moment when she saw the dragons gathering their strength as well as the sky turning an eerie purple, like thunder clouds decending over the landscape of with such beauty yet emitting a dangerous aura upon the beings that thrive in the area. She stared at the sky with awe and amazement.  Seraphina looked to her dragon and saw that he was glowing with a bright yellowish white light around its whole body. Then all the dragons started building up their own energetic glow within and around themselves and were flapping their wings. The Griffin lifted its head to the skies with closed eyes and then…the realease.

He opened his eyes and looked back at Seraphina with a mighty roar, the griffin dragon sent all the light towards Seraphina and she was hit with a blast of memories. She let out a cry as a blinding pain hit her head then release.

Seraphina was sent into another world and looked around. She was inside something and didn’t know what it was at first. She saw a crack open and bright light coming through that crack. Then it came to her, she was inside the egg of her dragon, she was him, feeling what it was like to hatch out of his egg. Seraphina witnessed her new born dragon and noticed that he was feathery and pale looking. He seemed worried at first then saw the Master of the Dragon Crown and slowly wobbled his way toward the wise master. Her dragon was welcomed into the world lovingly and a lived as any other dragon had. But a few days after his hatching she was shown that he when he had attempted to try flying for the first time, he was able to get about three feet off the ground. The first dragon of his time to have learned how to fly at such a young age, the youngest to learn in fact. Seraphina felt proud that her dragon was so successful and talented to have achieved such a great honor and reputation. Her dragon then brought her through his memories of his training days as a youth with other dragons. Looking different she could feel the loneliness and sorrow of her dragon. It made Seraphina tear up when she witnessed the other dragons excluding him from their games and training. Sera saw that being picked on made her dragon very sensitive and push away his feelings and emotions, almost like developing an ability to turn them all off. Next, her dragon challenged the strongest and biggest dragon in the group to a race, which being an arrogant dragon his opponent accepted. The griffin sped off at rates that the bigger dragon could not keep up and ended up losing by about a quarter of the length of the race. Seraphina saw why her dragon showed her that when he soon claimed his spot as the fastest dragon of the era, and it seemed that even the strongest, bravest, biggest, and most powerful of dragons could not defeat him in races.

Suddenly Seraphina was brought back to the real world when her dragon shook it’s head and swallowed up the energy and memories he had just shown her. As the area around Seraphina became normal again and all the dragons and the choosen ones had finished with the presenting of their memories to each other, the Master came forth again.

"Well done my children. You have all now experienced a fraction of the memories which your Dragons hold. Some are sad, others happy. Some are bitter, some are sweet. But know that all of your Dragons are creatures of extreme intelligence and capable of all the emotions you are. Many have thought that Dragons, being reptilian in appearance, were nothing more than giant lizards which were incapable of feelings or intellect. That is not the case, as many of you now understand."

He waved his hand over the crowd and produced a beautiful and magical light that rained down upon everyone who was present to witness his speech.

"I have blessed you with a small amount of my own knowledge of your individual Dragons, but you will have to learn their names on your own. Learning a Dragon's name takes time, patience, and trust. Though you have been accepted as their Riders this day, they will not reveal their name to you right away. You'll have to earn it."

"Come, my Dragon Riders. I've much to bring you up to speed on, as you say down in the world below. Ho ho ho." He chuckled.  As they all rejoined those Potentials who chose to stay, the Master took his place at the base of the stairs to address all of them about what the coming times would mean. "As most of you may well remember, legends speak of a dark and wicked power which was thwarted in eons passed by the combined power of both the Dragon Riders and Dragon Seekers. In recent years, the Dragon Seekers which remain from those ancient times, such as Ärun Fvoldęvár, have informed me that the same power which once tore this world asunder is reawakening. The presence of the ones known as the Wicked Gods have begun to be felt the world over, and it is the most troubling of imbalances in the world's energy. You may have felt it when you walked into a certain area in the world below and felt the hairs on your neck stand up, or that feeling of being watched when you knew nobody was there, or perhaps that sensation where you just can't feel at ease and you don't know why. All of those are symptoms of being affected by the malicious energies which have begun to reawaken."

He stopped for a moment, allowing everyone to take in all the information he was telling them about before continuing.

"In ancient times there existed a dark Dragon and a dark Dragon Rider whose powers rivaled those of the Gods themselves. The Rider was known as Dre' Kaldur, and the Dragon's name remains unknown. However, even multiple Dragon Seekers, as powerful as they are, were no match for this dark duo of destruction. They laid waste to entire cities in less than one minute's time, and even the power of Angels combined with their spirits were unable to stand against him. Some of you might know how Dre' Kaldur was known as the "original" necromancer, and those stories are true. He held such power that he could raise anything, even Dragons, from the dead. He did so on multiple occasions, in fact. Killing off Dragons and their Riders while reviving the Dragons to do his bidding was a common practice for him."

Seraphina hadn’t heard anything about this so called Dark Rider and was feeling a bit worried about the information that the Master was giving everyone. If such a great dragon rider was so dangerous then he must’ve had to have started somewhere…Do my peers around me have the potential to become like Dre’Kaldur? Sera thought to herself. She tucked her tail between her legs again and lowered her ears slightly.

"In these dark times, many of us more ancient ones have felt the power of Dre' Kaldur begin to take shape again. Whether this is his being reincarnated, brought back from the dead by foul magic, or some other form of darkness remains unknown. What is known is that your Dragons were born to combat this threat, and many of you now hold powers, weapons and special talents from ages of preparation and planning by the Gods themselves which will assist you in weathering the coming storm. One such example is Kyero's blade Ragnell. Forged in the Higher Plane by the Gods themselves, that weapon cannot be bent, broken, or dulled, and no magic either mortal or divine can weaken it. Another example is the evolution of the Jumentai, which was a race that did not exist during Dre' Kaldur's time. The Jumentai hold a natural immunity to the foul magic which Dre' Kaldur uses to brainwash his foes in much the same way as a Dragon can do so. Over the passage of time the Gods have been planning for his return, and you are the end result of eons of preparation."

He walked down from the stairs.

"I know it seems an impossible task to succeed where so many Dragon Riders and Dragon Seekers failed, but rest assured that you are being watched over by the Gods. And no matter what," He said, gesturing to their Dragons flying the skies above, "You will never be alone in this struggle." He finished.

Before anyone knew, Seraphina’s animal instincts felt a disturbance somewhere. She looked around frantically and felt her fur puff out and stand on end in an effort to make herself look more intimidating. Sera suddenly witnessed the Dragon Seekers appeared all at once throughout the castle walls and hallways. One of them grabbed the Master of the Dragon's crown and disappeared back into the darkness of the halls as the other Seekers drew their blades and took up defensive positions around the castle.

Suddenly Sera smelled something foul and she wanted to run after the Master but something told her to stay away. She coughed and started to choke under the thickness of the air and the darkness that seemed to be creeping up upon the whole crowd of people and dragons. She looked to her dragon and exchanged a glance knowing that the griffin knew something bad and evil was approaching them rapidly.

A Seeker appeared and told the riders to run and don’t look back. Seraphina dashed and squeezed her way through the crowd and to her dragon. She hugged its leg and looked up at him. He looked down at her lowered his beak to her body. She hugged the beak and kissed it multiple times. She called out to the dragon, “be careful. I’ll be fine, just do what you can, magic can’t hurt us.” She smile reassuringly knowing that a type of magical evilness was coming towards everyone. She knew that now that she and her dragon were bonded that even though he might’ve been weak to dark magic that he had a bit more of a resistance now that a Jumentai, immune to the dark arts of magic, was part of him now. She smiled knowing that in a way she was able to help her dragon and only hoped that neither of them were to get hurt.

Seraphina ran to the other side of the court yard and looked at the dragons ascending into the air for battle. She blew a kiss to her own dragon and then gasped screaming in fright as she saw the worst beings ever created. Mages, winged demons, giant ravens, and small black creatures that seemed even more dangerous because of their evasiveness and agility. But what made Sera scared to the core was the undead bone dragons that lead the ambush. She stood frozen in fear and felt her dragon’s fear as well. It was not as intense as her own fear, but she felt the dragon’s anger and protectiveness as well.

Seraphina heard the seekers shout to the riders to flee but seeing that her dragon had flown away to fight already she knew that they had their own levels of skill, her on the ground and his in the sky. Seraphina saw many of the dragons riders on their own dragons turn back to the castle and land letting their dragons fly to the fray. Seraphina hadn’t realized but it seemed that all at once the dark army was upon the riders and the fighting broke out. Sera found herself with her back against the wall, her tail tucked between her legs and her body shivering. She saw a winged demon come towards her and she sunk slowly to the ground and looked up frightened. She looked at the creatures and not knowing what to do.