Dragon Orb (Dragons of Daegonlot, Book One)

by Shanlynn Walker

  ~Robert Neelly Bellah

  Departure

  The chance to get off Daegonlot still had not arrived even half a year later. Drakthira still hadn’t officially ‘chosen’ a rider, but she had chosen him to train with since all the other hatchlings had riders. They had become comfortable in each other’s company and they worked well together. He had all but forgotten about the dragon orb and Rielle, especially since no harm had come to ‘Thira even after months had passed.

  Drakthira still stayed with Sasha and Bruul in their large cavern, but Dax wondered how much longer that would last. He could tell ‘Thira was beginning to grow restless and wanted to be away and free. Why she had ever decided she wanted to train with the other hatchlings was beyond him, she was much larger, stronger, quicker, and smarter than any of them, and she did not seem to have the same need to bond to a human. For some reason that made Dax fiercely proud of her and, although he would miss her, he was hoping she would one day return to the wild.

  He, too, had matured over the last half a year and no longer wiled away his time wishing to be a dragon rider. He understood his chance for that had long since passed him by, and now he was also thinking of leaving Daegonlot. For the past few months it had seemed like something was calling to him, faint and very far away, but forcefully, too. He hadn’t broached the subject to Borl or Sikir as of yet, but he knew he could not put it off much longer. Maybe I will tell them today after training, he thought to himself as he entered the training grounds and looked around for Drakthira.

  She was easy to spot as she was easily the largest hatchling on the grounds. Already almost the size of Sasha, ‘Thira had almost doubled in size since she had first hatched. As he watched she yawned hugely, showing large fangs the size of his hand, and stretched her wings out wide. Like the other hatchlings, ‘Thira had already learned how to fly, and she was the only hatchling that could hunt for herself, mostly thanks to Sasha and Bruul’s tutelage.

  Sure she hadn’t seen him yet, Daxon moved quickly down the side of the sparring arena and around the corner to come up behind ‘Thira. Moving as quickly as he was able while making barely a sound, he rushed up at her from behind and launched himself at her head, reaching out to grasp the horns curving delicately over her head. At the last moment she turned her head slightly, but enough so he missed the horns and sailed over her to land in a heap on the ground.

  Grumbling, he picked himself up and dusted the grass and dirt from his clothes. “One day I will get you,” he said to her, hearing her grating chuckle at his discomfiture. He chuckled to himself and brushed himself off.

  They walked to the large, circular arena after Dax grabbed a short training sword from the rack. The other students were filing in with their dragons as well, and soon everyone was present. The students and dragons gathered loosely and chatted with each other while they waited for the instructor. Obrin and Roila ran the school together with their dragons, teaching the new hatchlings and riders how to work together as a team in all things from combat, both ground and aerial, to menial tasks like patrols, hunting, or even excavation.

  Although Daxon knew he wasn’t really a real dragonrider, he enjoyed the classes immensely, and loved the time he got to spend with ‘Thira. The other riders in the classes knew that he and ‘Thira were not bonded, and some had complained to their parents, who in turn complained to Obrin about Dax being in the class. Obrin, however, was very stern on the subject, and heartily defended Dax being in the class. To the complaining parents he heavily implied they could teach their dragonrider themselves if they did not like the way he ran his school.

  Dax was grateful to Obrin and Roila for standing up for him and ‘Thira, but it did not go without some problems. Most of the students did not mind him being in the class, but the few that did made it well known as soon as Obrin or Roila was not around, or when they thought they could get away with it. Lyel’s son, Leon, was the main instigator and he never passed up a chance to make Dax look like a fool. His bondmate, Relik, was the largest dragon in the class other than ‘Thira.

  “Well, look who it is, the Dragonless Dragonrider,” Leon said as soon as he spotted Dax entering the arena. Daxon ignored him and kept walking. Unperturbed, Leon followed him, continuing to call out witticisms like “Lizardless Land King” and “Dragon Repellent.” Dax smiled to himself, “lizardless land king” was new and slightly amusing, and he figured Leon must have stayed up all night thinking that one up.

  Both boys fell into line when Roila strolled to the center of the arena. “Suit up!” she yelled, “Today we will be practicing evasive aerial maneuvers. You will not need any weapons. Everyone be ready in five! Obrin and I will give a demonstration, and then you will all pair up to practice.”

  Dax went and retrieved the riding harness from his and ‘Thira’s little storage closet. Most of the riders and hatchlings used the school harnesses for the arena, however, none of them would fit ‘Thira, so Daxon had asked Borl if he could have one of his old ones, which he then modified. Grabbing it, he walked over to ‘Thira and started strapping it into place quickly and efficiently.

  Why does the human child taunt you? Drakthira asked him. “Because I’m not really bonded to a dragon like the rest of them,” he answered, no shame in his voice, “and yet I’ve still got the best dragon partner around. He’s just jealous.” He grinned up at her and playfully rubbed the scales over her eye ridges. She purred loudly and bumped her head into his chest, almost knocking him down. He laughed, then vaulted into the harness saddle and they started across the arena to where Roila and Obrin were standing.

  “Ok, listen up!” Obrin yelled above the students, effectively drowning out all conversations and bringing them to an abrupt end. “It’s very unlikely you will ever encounter anything in the air that could in any way bring danger to you or your dragon. However, it’s not impossible. We won’t be spending a lot of time on this, just a few days, but everyone should know at least the basics of evasive maneuvers. Your dragons are hatchlings right now, and seldom do the wild dragons ever attack or come near a dragonrider, but it has happened. Riders have gotten too close to wild dragon nests and been chased off before, and the best way of handling it is with evasive maneuvers. We don’t ever, and I repeat, ever, want to fight our dragons against wild dragons. To that end, the best thing to do is avoid the confrontation completely, and evade the wild dragon until it stops chasing you.”

  Dax looked around at the other students. All looked a little uneasy at the thought of having a wild dragon chasing them through the air. The tame dragons of Goldspine were formidable foes, but to Dax, they seemed to have lost something in the transition from being wild. He couldn’t exactly put his finger on it, but they didn’t seem as large, or as colorful, or as ferocious as their wild counterparts. Instead they seemed duller, more nervous, and less independent. It was hard to imagine any of the Goldspine dragons ever being wild, except for ‘Thira, of course.

  There was simply no comparison between Drakthira and the other hatchlings. She still had the ferocious gleam in her eye the others lacked. She was more colorful, more alert, and just overall more alive than any of the others. She learned things quickly after being shown just once while the others usually had to be shown at least two or three times. When given an instruction she would perform flawlessly the first time, and didn’t need to look to Dax for approval. Compared to her, the other hatchlings seemed to be in a fog and looked at their riders for approval on almost everything.

  The most disconcerting thing about it was Dax seemed to be the only one who was aware of the differences. When the Goldspine hatchlings looked to their riders for approval it was normal to everyone. Only Daxon seemed to notice that ‘Thira did not do that, or maybe the others simply thought it was because they were not truly a bonded pair. If that was the only difference, Dax was glad he never bonded with a dragon. Before ‘Thira he would not have thought that way, but now that he had seen how a dragon not born of Goldspine acted, thought, and learned, he kn
ew there must be something wrong with the tame dragons.

  “Now we will practice. Everyone needs to pair up with a comparable dragon and rider at first. We will switch things up more tomorrow, but for now it’s just the basics. Dax, you and ‘Thira will be with Leon and Relik.” Dax realized he hadn’t paid any attention at all to what they had said, and if they had given a demonstration, he must have missed it. All he knew was he was partnered with Leon which made him groan inwardly.

  Don’t worry little elf-Dax, I paid attention to what you were saying and what we are supposed to be doing. As for Relik, he is only comparable to me in size. This will be easy. Dax grinned at ‘Thira’s enthusiasm, although he was a little bothered by her announcement. He hadn’t realized she was able to hear his thoughts, and he didn’t think he had been projecting anything.

  Before he had time to ponder this further, ‘Thira launched herself into the air and started making a slow circle above the arena, first in a tight circle, then in a larger circle. She didn’t seem to be concerned, so Dax relaxed and left it up to her.

  Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye Dax saw Leon and Relik streaking towards them. Slightly alarmed, but taking comfort in the fact that ‘Thira didn’t seem bothered, Dax watched them come. At the last moment, right before he thought they were going to collide in mid-air, ‘Thira banked sharply to the side allowing Relik and Leon to streak past her.

  Dax chuckled quietly to himself as he saw Leon’s face grow red with anger and embarrassment, but outwardly he gave no sign. ‘Thira started spiraling down to the arena, their test over, when a loud roaring bugle shattered the peaceful morning. Looking back over his shoulder, Dax saw a fiery red and yellow wild dragon going after Relik who was also returning to the arena. He had flown out over the surrounding forest before turning back to the arena and evidently had gotten too close to the wild dragon’s nesting place.

  Cursing under his breath, Dax watched as Relik flew for all he was worth, trying to outdistance the wild dragon. The large hatchling was losing, the mature red quickly overtaking him with sheer power and speed. The lesson forgotten, Relik and Leon were making a straight shot for the arena. Daxon touched his mind with ‘Thira’s, who accepted the intrusion long enough for him to communicate to her what he had in mind. Snorting assent, she turned and streaked toward Relik and the wild red. There were only a few meters separating the two, but it was enough for Drakthira to shoot through, distracting the wild dragon long enough to give Leon and Relik a chance to get away.

  Roaring, the red turned his eyes on ‘Thira, his anger apparent. Urging her away from the arena and the rest of the students, Dax and ‘Thira shot towards the forest, flying low over the trees. The red showed no signs of letting up and Dax knew they couldn’t keep going indefinitely. ‘Thira, although almost as large as the wild red, was still a hatchling and wouldn’t be able to keep up the pace much longer. It took years of flying for a dragon to properly build their wing muscles for long distance flights, and ‘Thira had only been flying for a few short months.

  Desperate, Dax saw the edge of Daegonlot in the distance and made his decision. Once again touching minds with ‘Thira, he showed her what he thought they should do. Snorting agreement, and too tired to argue, she renewed her efforts, zig-zagging towards the edge of the only home either of them had ever known, then dropped over, falling more than flying, leaving Daegonlot and everything they ever knew behind them.

  Chapter 7

  I don't have a fear of flying; I have a fear of crashing.