Dragon Rider (DragonMage Saga)

by Platt, S. P.

  Over the next few weeks a shimmering circle would appear and as many creatures as possible would try and get through. As the shimmering circle come back each time there were more and more of the creatures gathering around this area to try and get through. The shimmering circle would only open for a short time so what creatures were closest would all pile on through.

  Then one day the shimmering circle appeared in a different place and there was a great rush to get there. Thousands of creatures were now flying around close to where the shimmering circle appeared. But because it only opened for a very short time, only a couple of hundred could get through, so the creatures that missed out just flew around waiting for the next time.

  While they waited more and more creatures joined, just flying around waiting. There were now close on two to three thousand creatures just waiting for the next time it opened. The next time it opened it had moved again and then there was another mad dash to where it was.

  Trying to get to the circle bigger creatures would push or kill any in their way. The smaller ones though were very fast at getting out of the way of the big ones and so they were nearly always the ones that got through before it closed. You would still get some of the big ones through.

  Then there came the day things were different and the shimmering circle was twice the size and then the creatures just swarmed through in their hundreds and hundreds. The creatures could not believe it and they packed in tight just to get through before it closed again.

  Never had so many creatures been able to get through in one go, it was close to two thousand creatures that went through that day. When they got into the other place they saw large creatures with some small ones on their backs. The smell of food was so over powering that they attacked those creatures.

  The creatures tried to get away but they were too weak for opening a portal of that size just about crippled them. They were just too weak to get away like they usually do when they open a portal. This time the size was so big and they underestimated how much strength in magic it would take to keep it open.

  They knew there were a lot of creatures waiting on the other side and so this time they brought more wizards with them. They thought with more wizards they could get a bigger portal and so get more creatures through and then close it and get away. But they had underestimated the magic it would take.

  They had made it as big as they could and kept it open just to long, so that when they could hold it open no longer, they found it had taken too much of their magic. They could have got away with their dragons flying faster than the creatures but with them being weaker they lost control of the dragons.

  The dragons did not move and just let the creatures over power them, they did not mind dying as it released them from the terrible bond the Renegades held over them. They would rather die than keep that bond. With the Renegades weak they could not command their dragons to take them away and so the dragons waited for their death and freedom.

  That day twenty Renegades died with their dragons but only the dragons relished that. The sun was only just coming up as the creatures could smell the blood just up over the mountain. The creatures turned and headed up to go over the mountain and feed on the strong smell of blood coming from there.

  The afternoon before the Renegades open the big portal the creatures that had come through from the last one headed down to the blood they could smell down below. As they flew down they were hit by balls of fire and a lot of the creatures had never seen these before and so just kept going.

  *

  In the mean time the wizards just kept firing at the creatures till there were hardly any left. Angel and the rest came out from the mouth of the cave just as the sun was setting. They were a very tired lot of wizards and students that trudged into the school and the meal hall to eat and try and build their strength up.

  Angel and his friends found a table and sat down till they were brought food. This they quickly got stuck into for even though they were tired they were very hungry. Angel knew they needed this and when they went to their room they will have to use their dragons’ magic to revive them a little.

  ‘We must see what sort of damage the Renegade had done to the old spell and soon. When we have eaten we will go to our room and gather magic from our dragons and get our energy back so we might be able to check the spell.’ Angel's eyes were having trouble focusing on his friends as he spoke to them.

  ‘We’ll need to be quick as it is getting dark, so I think we need to go now. I think if we went down to our secret room now and our dragons were their waiting for us we could be there very soon.’ Medwin was having the same trouble as Angel and could hardly keep his eyes open.

  ‘Let’s go now so we can be back before we are missed even though I don’t think any one will miss us as I think everyone who can will be in bed.’ Angel was up and trying to get his energy level up enough to move.

  They left the meal hall and went down to their secret room not being seen as they went. Reaching their room they went through the secret hall out the other deck where they crossed the deck and through to their dragons. The dragons were ready and as they lifted Angel asked if they could draw on their magic.

  Aura looked around back at Angel and could see he was just about had it. ‘Quickly now draw on our magic and get yourselves strong again.’

  Angel and his friends draw from their dragons till they felt full of energy. ‘We will be ok for a short time but will have to get a good nights sleep before we do any more magic again.’

  They arrived at the deck where the Renegade has done the damage and they need to see what he has done today. They got down from their dragons and walked over to the spot where the Renegade works his magic on the old spell. Angel used his magic and looked at the old spell and where there was a hole forming.

  The hole was a bit bigger than the last time and he went up to it and with his finger he traced the hole. Where the hole was it lit up with a slight glow which was pulsing with the spell. Angel moved back just a little and asked the others for their help.

  ‘I will need all your help with this as the hole is a lot bigger and I need to get the healing back into it. Just do what we normally do and I will draw your magic to me, now here goes.’ Angel looked into himself and then draws the magic up from himself slowly from the others till he was drawing magic from them all.

  Angel traced his fingers around the hole and reinforced the old spell magic, working it to heal itself. This was the best way that Angel had found to do this without the old spell drawing him into it. This way was slower but safer to heal it.

  Angel finished as it became dark but they could still see for the old spell was still glowing. They all looked at the old spell and could see it was looking brighter around the edge of the hole. It was working and the spell was healing itself.

  They climbed back on their dragons who took them back to the deck just next to where they come out. They gave their dragons a hug and quickly left to get back to their room. They had to run across the deck in the dark as they did not want to be seen. Getting down to their secret passage, they were able to use magic to light up their way back to their secret room.

  Getting back up to their room with no one seeing them, they went straight to bed and to sleep as they felt good but still needed the sleep to get their own magic back up to par. It did not take them long to get to sleep for the day had been very taxing.

  *

  What they did not know or see was Gavrie standing down the hall watching them get back to their room. He had come up to see if they were ok but not finding them there looked all over the place but could not find them anywhere so he waited. Now they were back but where had they been and they looked full of energy and he had seen how hard they had worked today.

  Walking back to his room and the rest he so wanted, these attacks were starting to take a toll on all the senior wizards. If they did not get a break soon a lot of the older wizards would succumb to the attacks. It was lucky we have not lost any yet but it’s on
ly a matter of time and it will happen.

  He reached his room and the anticipation of sleeping was over whelming. As he entered his room he sat at his desk for a time thinking of what the four had been up to. He is going to need to ask them soon what they are doing and where they are going. He is not going to take the excuse of going to their secret room.

  Now time for sleep for we don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring and I need to be fit with my mind alive. We are only going to be able to keep this up for a couple more days and if the attacks don’t stop, then we are in deep trouble. Even having the Dragon Riders here it would still be hard pressed to beat them.

  *

  It was early the following morning that Aura got the call saying the Renegade was coming. They thought it was very early and if he was coming then the creatures would also be coming. Aura and the others decided to fly up high and see if they could see where he was.

  They flew out low over the sea and then climbed high climbing up with the coming glow of dawn behind them so they are not seen. They climbed very high and then moved slowly over and around the mountain.

  They could see the Renegade wizard who has been trying to work his spell against the old spell. He flew away and around the mountain flying past the dragons cave and moving to the tower he always uses. Then they saw there were twenty more Renegade Wizards flying to an area at the base of the mountain.

  As they watched they could feel strong magic in play and they have felt that pattern before when Angel had been in class and opened a small portal. These Renegades were opening a portal and they could feel how strong the magic was with twenty Renegades working on it.

  They could feel from up here the magic was very strong and the portal that was being opened was going to be big. They were going to let as many creatures in as they can and they had better worn Angel and the others. Aura called to Angel in his sleep.

  ‘Angel you must wake up now, you are in grave danger, wake up now?’ Aura had an edge of panic in her calling as she tried to wake him up.

  Angel could feel Aura in his mind and for a minute thought he was dreaming but suddenly he was awake. ‘Aura is that you calling, what’s wrong you sound as if you are in fear for your life?’

  ‘No it is you we fear for the Renegade has returned but this time there are twenty more Renegades with him and they are opening a very large portal. How big would the portal be with twenty wizards working the spell? If you come into my mind you will be able to fell the power of the spell?’ Aura was starting to sound very scared as she looked at the portal that was being opened down below.

  ‘I am here Aura it’s alright, now let me see what it is you are looking at. I see the portal is forming and I can feel the power that is being used and you are right they are going to open a very large portal. If it is like the others and the creatures are congregating on the other side of it then we are in trouble.’ Angel was now starting to feel a bit nervous with that many Renegades working down there.

  ‘I’ll wake the others, now make sure that you don’t get seen and I will be back.’ Angel was quickly up and across to Medwin’s bed as he finished talking to Aura.

  Medwin woke and tried to think where he was till Angel was in his face. ‘Come on we have got big trouble coming our way and very soon.’

  Angel dragged Medwin with him as he ran down the hall to the girl’s room banging on the door and barging in. The girls heard the commotion and woke. The girls saw Angel and Medwin standing in the door calling them.

  ‘Come on we have big trouble and not much time to get everyone up. The Renegades are opening a very large portal and that means there won’t be hundreds but thousands of creatures coming over that mountain soon.’ Angel was moving out of the room as he finished telling the girls.

  They all sat on the cushions by the window trying to think quickly what they were going to do. ‘We must worn everyone of what is coming but will they believe us and how do we do that?’ Shylyn was sounding frantic as she spoke.

  ‘If we do they will want to know how we found out they are coming and we don’t want them to know about our dragons.’ Maive was starting to sound the same as Shylyn she was so worried about revealing who told them.

  ‘I will go to Gavrie and talk to him but I will not reveal who told us or how we know they are coming. But we must hurry now, so come on lets go wake up Gavrie.’ Angel was up and walking out the door.

  Getting to Gavrie’s door, Angel hammered on it calling out to Gavrie. The door opened and they could see Gavrie was not very happy at being woken up. Angel pushed past and into the room with the others following him. Gavrie turned and could see the near panic in their eyes.

  ‘What’s wrong now at this time of the morning, it had better be good?’ Gavrie looked at them knowing that what ever brought them here was scaring them.

  Angel looked at the others and stepped forward. ‘The creatures are about to attack and this time there are going to be thousands of them not hundreds but thousands. They will be here very soon and if we are not ready for them they will have us. Please Headmaster you must believe us?’

  ‘How do you know they are coming I need to know how you know they are coming?’ He looked at them and the panic was becoming very noticeable in the way they fidgeted while they waited.

  ‘We can’t tell you, but you must believe us they are coming and if we don’t find away to stop them they are going to over come us.’ Angel was having a lot of trouble trying to hold it together as he spoke.

  Gavrie looked at them and he could see that where ever they got their information from they believe it so very much, he is going to have to act and soon. We move now I think. He was up and dressing as he told them to raise the alarm. They ran from the room and down the hall using magic to ring the emergency bell.

  The bell rang loud and long as all along the halls doors opened and they headed down to the Meal hall to find out what was going on. Angel got down there before everyone else and waited for Gavrie to come. They would not say anything for now it was up to Gavrie.

  The hall soon began to fill with wizards and students and soon there was not much room. Gavrie came in with the other head wizards following behind him, pushing through the throng of wizards and students alike. Angel looked around and could see there would have been about five to six hundred wizards in the hall.

  You never got the hall this full before as a lot of wizards were usually away but with the attacks coming thick and fast they were slowly returning and at the moment there were a lot here. The word had been sent out that the school was under attack along with the Hatchery and the Dragon Riders School.

  They had been asked if they weren’t needed else where they were to come back and help at the school. The Dragon Riders had their own problems and there were a lot of their riders of world at the moment. So they had been returning in one’s and two’s over the last weeks.

  Normally there are between one to two hundred wizards at the school with there being up to about two hundred students. These ranging from first year students to the fifth year, that being the last year before becoming a full wizard. The number of students in their years differs for some years there are more and some there are less.

  At the moment they have more in the senior classes with the first year only having thirty students. This was a quite year and it allowed the wizard teachers to give them a bit more help and this allowed Gavrie to work with Angel and his friends who were two years earlier than is normal.

  They were going to need all the help they can get and with the extra wizards here it was a help. They were going to be surly pressed to beat of this attack and Angel and his friends were worried. Their dragons felt it in them as well and tried to calm them down and relax them.

  Aura came into his head and he could feel the calm she was radiating to him. He looked at his friends and could see by the look on their faces their dragons were with them as well. The feeling descended over him and his friends and they began to relax and think like they have been doin
g in other tight situations. It was the sheer number of creatures that were going to be coming that had upset them.

  ‘Angel you must do your excurses and clear the magic paths for they are blocking with all the magic that you have been using. They need to be cleared so you can use the magic to its full use.’ Aura had looked at his paths for he would normally not be this fearful.

  Angel looked within himself and could see Aura was right he did need to clear them and soon. He looked within and followed the magic paths right down to the very core of his being. To the smallest little path until there was no way forward and he had come to the very tip of the paths.

  His breathing relaxed and he began to think again and he felt good, the worries there but he could handle them now and think them back through. He looked at his friends and they looked back at him, smiles on their faces. They looked visibly relaxed and ready as he now did.

  They waited for Gavrie and the head teachers to reach the end of the hall where their tables normally were. Their tables were on a slightly raised platform and this way when they were here eating they could look over the other tables and keep an eye on the students.

  Reaching their tables Gavrie rapped on the table for quite as there was a lot of talking going on in the hall. With nearly six hundred in the hall the noise was very loud and it took a few loud raps on the table before it quieted down. He looked around at all in the hall before he spoke. He wanted the quite to linger for a little yet for he needed them to understand what was about to be said.

  ‘We have a grave situation coming for at this very moment a portal is being opened with a lot of Renegade wizards. Now you all know what that means, on average ten Renegade Wizards opening a portal will only be able to hold it for a short time allowing the creatures to come through.’ He stopped and looked around needing them to understand what was about to happen.