Lord Scratches looked up and then flew to Jack’s shoulder. Jack picked up his notebook. It was covered with drool. Jack sighed as he wiped it on his pant leg.
When they got back to the room, Colin was there.
“How’d classes go today?”
Jack thought about it—aside from getting scolded for Lord Scratches’s behavior, it hadn’t been a bad day. “Not bad, but I have to head back to the library. That book on minidras wasn’t helpful.”
“Really? That is strange. Maybe there is another book on minidras. We should go now and find out.”
“Dragon Keeper Clifton suggested that I broaden my search. She hinted that Lord Scratches might be a dragon.”
“Are you serious?”
“As an orc breathing down your neck.”
“Awesome. We have to go right now.”
“Why?”
“You know how many people have dragons as familiars? Like nobody. This would be the coolest thing ever. Come on. We have to find out.”
Jack didn’t feel the same level of excitement that Colin did. Lord Scratches was cool, annoying at times, but still pretty cool, but what difference did it make if he was a minidras or just a tiny dragon?
Jack put Lord Scratches on the bed and then grabbed the book on minidras. He might as well return it now; it was of no use to him. He looked over at Lord Scratches. “Stay here. I have to go to the library.”
Lord Scratches squawked once and then curled up and went to sleep.
As they left the room to head to the library, they ran into Stannerios.
“Hey, guys. What you doing?”
“Going to the library. It turns out Lord might be a dragon.”
“Seriously? Can I come?”
“Of course,” Colin said. “At least you are showing a proper level of enthusiasm for this, Jack barely even cares.”
“What’s the big deal, he’s either a minidras or a tiny dragon. It’s no big deal.”
Stannerios looked at Jack like he had two heads. “Dude. Where are you from? Don’t you know anything? We’re talking about having a dragon for a familiar.”
When they got to the library, Colin found Librarian Carr.
“Hello, boys, what can I do for you this evening?”
“I need to return this book on minidras. I couldn’t find any minidras that fit Lord Scratches. Do you have any more?”
“Also, we need a book on small dragons. Dragon Keeper Clifton suggested Lord Scratches might not be a minidras,” Colin said excitedly.
Librarian Carr rubbed her chin as she thought about it. “That is intriguing. Normally, I would say that is highly unlikely that a first-year student would’ve bonded with a dragon, even a tiny one. However, Dragon Keeper Clifton certainly is as knowledgeable about dragons and minidras as anyone. If she suggested that your familiar may be something other than a minidras, it is a possibility that we cannot dismiss. Why don’t you boys find a table and I’ll go grab some books.”
The boys sat at a table and waited.
“How’s your classes going, Stann?” Jack asked.
Stannerios shrugged. “Not bad.”
“Any more issues with Valgreth?”
Stannerios shook his head. “I avoid her as much as possible. She’s in my Combat class, but thankfully I didn’t get paired with her.”
“How’d you manage that? You would think that you two being the only orcs would make it a logical choice.”
“I may have downplayed my abilities a little,” Stannerios admitted.
“Smart,” Colin said.
“Hey, Jack.”
Jack turned and smiled. “Hey, Lana. Do you know Colin and Stannerios? I didn’t officially introduce you last time.”
“Colin is in my Ethics class. Nice to meet you, Stannerios. What are you guys doing hanging out in the library?”
“Jack’s familiar might be a dragon,” Colin said. “We’re waiting on books to find out.”
“Oh. That is cool.” Lana grabbed a chair and sat down. “You think it has special magical abilities?”
“Maybe,” Colin said.
“What are you two talking about?” Jack asked.
Lana looked at Jack. “You really don’t know much about dragons, do you?”
Jack shook his head. “I only know what I’ve learned in class so far.”
“Dragons are magical beasts, but not all dragons have significant magical abilities. There’s always exceptions but the general rule of thumb is that the bigger the dragon, the less magic it has.”
Jack thought about how small Lord Scratches was. “Oh.”
“Yes, you could have an extremely powerful magical familiar,” Lana said.
“Or he could just be an annoying normal old minidras,” Stannerios said.
“Even if he’s just a minidras, he certainly isn’t normal,” Colin said. “Lord Scratches is smart. Far smarter than any other minidras I’ve seen.”
Librarian Carr returned with a stack of books. “These are all the relevant books you should need. You might not find your familiar in here, but that would be highly unusual.” She placed them on the table. “The two red-covered books are original copies and can’t leave the library. But you can sign out the other two.”
“Thanks, Miss Carr,” Colin said. “We’re all excited to see what Lord Scratches really is, so we’ll figure it out now.” Colin handed everyone at the table a book. “Let the search begin.”
An hour later, Stannerios yawned. “I think I’ve looked at every type of minidras there is.”
“You’re only halfway through your book,” Colin said.
“It doesn’t feel like it,” Stannerios said.
“Keep plugging away. We’ll find it soon enough,” Colin said. “Every page that we read and don’t find the answer increases the odds that we will sooner.”
“Unless he isn’t in any of these books,” Stannerios said.
Colin frowned at him. “Are you suggesting the library of Darkthorn Academy is lacking in dragon knowledge?”
Stannerios shrugged. “I’m suggesting they might be lacking Lord Scratches knowledge.”
“Did you know that perna dragons can void travel?” Lana said as she read a passage from one of the books.
“What the heck is void travel?” Stannerios said.
“It is like another dimension,” Colin said. “The connecting tissues of the universe.”
“What in the seven hells are you talking about?” Stannerios said.
Colin took out a coin and showed it to Stannerios. “Imagine that the top side is our world. The bottom side is the opposite, right. Well, some professors and mages theorize that everything has an opposite. All our air and land have an opposite. They call it the void. By traveling through the void, you could travel all the way from one end of the world to the other. Perna dragons, and some other creatures, do disappear and pop up other places. The professors also think that is how portal magic works. By traversing the void.”
“Oh, the dragons use portal magic. Why didn’t you just say so?”
Colin frowned. “It isn’t that simple.”
“Guys, I think I found it,” Lana said excitedly. She placed the book she was reading on the table and pointed to the picture. “Tell me that doesn’t look like Lord Scratches.”
Jack looked at the picture. It was of a dragon that had very similar marking to Lord Scratches. “I don’t know, it could be.”
“Definitely similar,” Colin said. “But so is every minidras on the campus.”
“Yes, but read the description,” Lana said.
Colin read out loud, “Sellkirk dragons are the size of an average minidras, and look almost identical to their genetic cousins. However, sellkirk dragons have a distinctive ridge pattern behind their ears. This area is very sensitive. Also, unlike minidras, sellkirk dragons have an almost-catlike sound when they are happy.”
Stannerios slapped his large hand on the table. “Dude, you have a dragon familiar.”
Jack looked a
gain at the picture and the ridge pattern they were talking about. It was the same as Lord Scratches’s, and there was no denying that Lord Scratches purred like a cat. “Huh, I have a dragon familiar.”
“You are so lucky,” Lana said.
Colin kept reading. “Sellkirk dragons are originally from the far eastern terrains of Behrain and are among the least understood of all the subhuman-sized dragons. The amount of magical power reports among sellkirk dragons has been reported as minor ranging to extreme. There are several confirmed reports of human-dragon bonds being established. The mage Horis Catlebom had a significant increase in magical energy and longevity after his bond. He lived to an age of three hundred and seven and was considered one of the most powerful mages in the history of Behrain. He perished during the Great War while trying to levitate an entire army over an enemy castle’s walls. His demise marked the end of the Behrain regime. The only other confirmed case of a sellkirk dragon bond was Rotrum D Pdonal, a lower mage with no significant abilities, who served as royal jester for Lord Mancurta.”
“Wow. That is so cool,” Lana said. “Could you imagine? Jack could become the most powerful mage ever.”
“Or a clown,” Stannerios said.
Jack laughed. “That is royal jester to you, peasant.”
“You shouldn’t laugh, this is serious stuff,” Colin said.
“What is serious stuff?” Librarian Carr said as she came to the table. “I heard a loud thumping sound from the other end of the library. Did one of you fall?”
Stannerios raise his hand sheepishly. “Sorry, Miss Carr. I got excited and hit the table.”
“I see. Can I assume you’ve found a possible match for Lord Scratches?”
“Yes, we have,” Colin said. He handed the book to her.
Reading to herself, Librarian Carr didn’t say much until she’d read everything in the section regarding sellkirk dragons. She turned to Jack. “Lord Scratches purrs?”
“Like a cat. Loves it when you rub those ridges behind his ears,” Jack said.
“Very interesting. You’ll have to report this to Dragon Keeper Clifton.”
“I have a report due on Lord Scratches for next class. I’ll do a write-up tonight.”
“Normally, I would agree that you should do the report as asked. However, given the uniqueness of the situation, I hesitate to rely on any first-year student’s note-taking abilities.” Librarian Carr took a blank scroll out of her robe pocket and opened it. She did a short incantation and the text from the book was copied onto the scroll, even the picture was an exact match for the book’s picture. “Go fetch your familiar and take this scroll to Dragon Keeper Clifton. The rest of you should keep this news to yourself. The idea that a lowly first-year scholarship student has a dragon familiar would not sit well with some of your fellow students. I will be doing some more research into sellkirk dragons, but the Behrain Empire is now part of the Ancient Lands, and we don’t have many records from that territory. Few people dare go that far into the Ancient Lands, and even fewer are from Darkthorn Academy. I’ll reach out to some of my colleagues at different institutions, and see what else has been recorded about the creatures, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up. So much of the knowledge of the civilizations that go back beyond the Great War has been lost.”
Jack stood up and everyone else at the table followed his lead. “Thank you for your help, Miss Carr.”
“My pleasure.”
…
After getting Lord Scratches, Jack headed to the dragon castle. Colin had insisted on joining him.
“I still can’t believe Lord is a dragon. This is so cool,” Colin said.
Jack wasn’t as enthusiastic about the revelation. He could still hear Librarian Carr’s warning about other students not liking him having a dragon for a familiar. He’d already tangled with Isaac Dixon, someone had pushed him into the dragon pits… the last thing he needed was more enemies.
Colin sensed Jack wasn’t as enthusiastic as him. “Don’t worry. We’ll keep your secret. I trust Stannerios, and Lana seems trustworthy as well. As far as the rest of the kids know you are just the kid who has a minidras for a familiar.”
“Thanks, Colin. I trust you guys. That isn’t what worries me. I just keep thinking about whoever pushed me into the dragon pit. I have enemies here, and having a dragon familiar will eventually get out, what happens then?”
“Well, we don’t even know why they pushed you in the first place, so there is no point making assumptions as to their motive, not without more details anyways.”
“I suppose.”
“Look, you can either mope about worrying about all the bad things that could happen or you can just focus in on the things you can control and enjoy your time here. Either way, you won’t be able to control everything that happens.”
Jack nodded. Colin was right and knew what he was talking about. He’d gone through personal tragedy with his family and now was looked down on by his former friends. Yet, he still was positive and a good friend.
They arrived at the castle doors and were greeted by a guard.
“A little late to be travelling around the grounds, lads. What ye be wanting?”
“I’m here to see Dragon Keeper Clifton. Librarian Carr sent me.”
The guard looked Jack over, and noted Lord Scratches on his shoulder. “Ah, you’re the boy who fell in the pit. I’ll go let Dragon Keeper Clifton know you’re here.” He turned to Colin. “And what’s your business?”
“I’m moral support.”
The guard grunted. “You can support your arse over on those benches while you wait.”
As the guard left them, Colin grinned. “Friendly fellow.”
They waited in silence, as Jack didn’t feel like talking—he was too tangled in his own thoughts, and Colin seemed to understand that. He didn’t push for conversation.
The guard returned. “You can come with me,” he said to Jack. He turned to Colin. “And you can keep supporting that bench.”
“I’ll be here when you get back,” Colin said. “I can work on my Ancient Orc while I wait.”
The guard led Jack into the castle and to an office. He opened the door and indicated for Jack to enter.
Jack walked into the office. It was large and covered with dragon… stuff. There were drawings of dragons, dragon scales and a bunch of books that Jack was confident were about dragons.
“Mister Vance. You know you could’ve just handed your assignment in during class tomorrow.”
“Sorry, Dragon Keeper Clifton. I was doing the research you asked for and Librarian Carr suggested I come to you right away.” Jack handed over the magical scroll Librarian Carr had made.
Dragon Keeper Clifton read the scroll. She then got up from her desk and walked to Jack. She took a long look at Lord Scratches and then raised her hand up and rubbed him behind the neck. Lord Scratches started to purr. “Yes, it does seem that your familiar is a dragon. That does explain a few things. I wondered how a minidras got a mother dragon to stop from attacking you.”
“What does it mean for me?” Jack asked.
“You sound worried.”
“I don’t know, it sounds dangerous having a dragon as a familiar. And Librarian Carr suggested that I might end up being a target because of it.”
“Seeing as how you were pushed into the pit, I would suggest you don’t need any help with making yourself a target,” Dragon Keeper Clifton said.
“That is true,” Jack said.
“Well, one thing you already know is that your familiar is protective of you. Whatever danger you face from jealous students is far outweighed by the benefits of having a dragon familiar. This is a rare situation, but a very fortunate one for you. Dragons are very smart, and I suspect Lord Scratches is far smarter than you think. If you end up bonding with him, you’ll learn just how smart. But even if you don’t fully bond, you’ll have a protector at your side.”
“He seems more interested in sleeping and causing mischief.”
/> “Perhaps, but when the time comes, he’ll show his worth. In the meantime, you’ll keep doing what you’ve already been doing. Spend time with Lord S…”
“Lord Scratches.”
“Right, you’ll spend time with Lord Scratches. The only thing I would change is that you need to assume that he’s your equal. Don’t talk to him like you would a minor familiar like a minidras. Lord Scratches will be more like a partner than a pet if you bond.”
Jack looked at Lord Scratches. He already thought the dragon understood a lot of what he said so there wouldn’t be much difference.
“Also, I’m changing your schedule. You won’t be doing Intro to Dragons anymore. I’m putting you in Advanced Dragon Studies. That class will be far more valuable to you as you learn how to bond with your dragon.” Dragon Keeper Clifton handed him a book. “You’ve missed the first few days of class, so I suggest you do some reading tonight.”
When Jack went back outside, he found Colin talking with the guard.
“No, the emphasis over the ‘o’ is what you missed. That changes the meaning of the word to the past tense.”
The guard smacked himself upside the head. “How did I miss that?”
“It’s easy enough, especially with old scrolls. They get faded and hard to read. You have to be extra careful. Ancient Orc is such an intricate language.”
“Thanks, Colin.”
The guard went back to his post as Jack joined Colin.
Jack gave Colin a funny look. “What was that about?”
“Oh, that was nothing. It turns out Roger is a bit of linguist himself. He dabbles in the ancient languages and makes a bit of coin on the side transcribing documents from the Ancient Lands. Sometimes the library gets backed up and the questers need things in a hurry.”
“That makes good money?”
“It can. Roger does it more as a hobby, but there are plenty of people who make excellent money transcribing Ancient Land scrolls and books. There are dozens of people all throughout the cities along the edges of the Ancient Lands who do it. The academies tend to have the best people but they aren’t always willing to work with scavengers or questers that aren’t associated with their school. Darkthorn Academy, as a rule, only translates for Darkthorn questers. But they don’t mind students making a little cash on the side as long as we give Darkthorn questers equal access to our services.”
Menacing Misfits: An Epic Fantasy Adventure (Darkthorn Academy Book 1) Page 16
