Pieces of shell fell away, and then the dragon’s sharp egg tooth split the leathery sack binding him inside, tearing through it like a boxcutter. Fluid spilled out, and then all in a rush, the hatchling slithered out onto the sands like a sculpture of living mercury. Smiling, Baldr crouched down in front of the panting, flapping dragon, watching as he struggled to orientate himself. The Developer Console told Baldr that this was a pure quicksilver Tier 7 male with maximum stats, just like he’d thought. No... known.
The dragon trilled as he beat his sticky wings and pushed himself up to sit, nostrils working, eyes still sealed with mucous. To the left, Violetta cried out with a stifled sound as her Tier 6 blue female toppled to the ground in exhaustion. Lucien was frantically assisting his much weaker Tier 4 female out of her egg. The little white panted and chirped, blundering into Lucien and knocking him to the dirt.
“Hey there, little guy.” Baldr reached out as the hatchling pawed at his eyes, and helped him unseal the lids with a fingernail. The dragon staggered forward, lurching in against him in a shivering heap of wings and scales, and finally opened his eyes. They were the brilliant white of a lightning strike, churning with the magic that contained in his blood. Baldr’s breath caught as their gazes locked, and in an instant, the psychic connection was forged.
The little dragon’s jaw hung open with shock. Then he backpedaled, whining, and tripped over the tip of one drooping wing. Baldr halted his retreat with a thought, and hatchling’s will buckled underneath his own. The geas that bound him to serve the Knights of Saint Grigori was still in effect. The magic was bound to the Queen dragon Lirenian’s line, and as long as a queen lived, the geas was in effect. Baldr knew of the existence of the geas as well as everything else about this place - the details of the magic, the location of the Dragon Gate, the way the magic transferred to each Knight-Commander. He knew it, because he’d designed it.
For a moment, Baldr was confused by his own thought. Then his temples throbbed, and the moment of confusion passed. Frowning, he rubbed his brow, and squeezed the skin around the pearl embedded there. Yeah, hell yeah, he’d designed it. Of course he had. He remembered doing it.
“Your name’s Bareon,” Baldr told his dragon.
“Bareon?” The wyrmling echoed. “But my blood says-”
“Bareon.” Baldr rose to his feet, keeping his gaze fixed with that of the newly-hatched dragon’s.
“Bareon,” he echoed numbly. “And you... you’re... an...”
Bareon didn’t finished, too terrified to speak the word he read in Baldr’s mind.
“Yep.” Baldr nodded. “You call me sir, boy. Only words I ever want to hear out of your scaly mouth are ‘yes, sir’ and respectfully worded questions. Understood?”
Bareon swayed in place. His hatchling instincts were telling him to press against his bonded’s body and beg for food, like a baby bird. His common sense was telling him to hang back. “Yes sir.”
“Right. Let’s go see about getting you grown.”
Bareon cocked his head. “Food? Sir?”
Baldr smiled thinly. “Yeah. Kind of.”
Ghosts of the Past will be out in July! This title will NOT BE FOR SALE. It’s free, but only way to get it is join my mailing list, Patreon, or read it for free (with no patronage or signup required) on Royal Road Legends.
List of James’ Books
Hound of Eden Series
Dark, gritty urban fantasy with a cosmic horror twist, join Russian mafia hitmage Alexi Sokolsky as he confronts the mad demons of the abyss, finds redemption, and saves the world. Hound of Eden is an LGBTI series.
Hound of Eden Omnibus (Books 1 – 3)
0 - Burn Artist (Prequel)
1 - Blood Hound
2 - Stained Glass
3 - Zero Sum
4 - Cold Cell (Early 2019)
5 - Scavenger Eyes (2019)
6 - Morning Star (2020)
Archemi Online
A LitRPG saga about a young dragonrider’s ascension to greatness inside the virtual world of Archemi.
1 - Dragon Seed
2 - Trial by Fire
3 – Kingdom Come (November 2018)
4 - Wings of War (Early 2019)
5 - Blaze of Glory (Mid 2019)
Other Titles
Fix Your Damn Book!: A Self-Editing Guide for Authors
The Expanding Universe #1 (Paperback)
The Expanding Universe #2 (Paperback)
Copyright
Archemi Online and all associated intellectual property is Copyright © 2018 James Osiris Baldwin
Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner.
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author or publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
For permission requests, please contact James Osiris Baldwin: [email protected]
A huge thanks to Stacy Schonhardt and her excellent copyediting!
Layout and design by James Osiris Baldwin.
Trial by Fire: A LitRPG Dragonrider Adventure (Archemi Online Chronicles Book 2) Page 43
