by Lucia Ashta
“When Shula, here, and I began our training many hundreds of years ago, we were two of more than five hundred who began with us. Some dropped out because they couldn’t take it, others persevered, only to find death at one of the many sharp, flaming ends of a dragon. Of the more than five hundred, we’re all that remains of that Dragon Force. From before us, there is none. None. Not a single one. Let that sink in for a bit.”
Dean looked around at everyone, his green eyes sharp and free of intimidation. He wasn’t exaggerating. He offered only the truth; it was frightening enough.
“The path of the dragon trainee is only for those who’ve come to peace with their own mortality. You must be prepared to die to truly live. Few of you will advance to become dragon tamers. You’ll either fail, become too injured to continue, or die.”
New trainees visibly swallowed, more tense even than they’d been when the chieftain spoke. But no energy passed from them to Dean, I checked.
“Fewer still will make it to the rank of dragon charmer for the same reasons. While dragons are magnificent, powerful beasts imbued with their own form of faithum—”
He continued on as if he hadn’t just uttered the forbidden word. Faithum was prohibited even to dragon charmers, and attributing faithum to the sacred beasts had to be some form of heresy of the chieftain’s teachings. But Dean didn’t look like he gave a hoot. He was talking life and death, not semantics. I understood now why he alone appeared unfazed by the chieftain’s theatrics. He was beyond theatrics, and he had the scars to prove it. The most prominent one on display moved along the length of his neck with every word he spoke.
“While dragons are all this that I say—” He swept his eyes across the crowd with a hint of defiance that I admired. I understood what went unspoken clearly. Dragons are possessed of faithum no matter what the chieftain or any of his seers say. “They’re also the most dangerous of animals that inhabit this planet. They’re animals both of the land and the sky, of fire and air. There is no greater threat you’ll find anywhere.”
He ran a hand through thick hair and across stubble that dotted his face, and sighed, sounding tired, not of the day, but of the odds stacked against the Ooba people. “Don’t do this because your friend, neighbor, or blood has done this. Don’t do it because the chieftain said you’re a part of the Dragon Force without verifying your aptitude for this job. You alone will suffer the consequences of this vocation. Make dang sure it’s your decision, and yours alone, because even though we’re a team, and we’ll do everything possible to support you as you move forward, at the start and end of it, you come into this world alone, and you leave it the same way. There’s nothing that highlights this more than facing down dragons with their blazing eyes and hell fire.”
He brought his hands to his waist, where corded muscle was evident even beneath his clothing. Dragon training took everything a man—or woman—had to give. And even then it took more. Dean’s gaze made one more sweep of the men and women, boys and girls, scattered across the clearing, then turned to Shula. “Do you have anything to add?”
If Dean looked fierce, like he’d stared down death over and again and survived to tell us of it, Shula looked more so. Her bare arms were nearly as muscular as his, and her eyes continually shifted around her, as if always looking for the next threat. “Not really,” she said. “If anything, you’ve downplayed the dangers they’ll face in the dragons’ mountains.” Then she addressed the Dragon Force. “Because don’t think for a minute those are our mountains. They’re the dragons’, and we live here only because they allow it. How one of us will manage to ride one of the beasts, I have no idea.”
“Nor do I,” Dean said, “but it looks like we’ll have to try.”
“We can always try,” she said, and just then she sounded as tired of the overwhelming odds as Dean.
He trained his focus back on the wide eyes that hinged on every one of his words. To them, Dean and Shula were legends. Their reputations were well deserved. All of the charmers, and even the tamers there, had earned their reputations a thousand times over. There were no shortcuts in climbing rank in the Dragon Force. You earned your title the hard way, until a dragon stripped you of it, along with your life.
“I’ll give you a few minutes to think of what we’ve said. I recommend you use this time not to talk, but to really ponder the risks and dangers, and whether this is something you were truly born to do. Because if you weren’t, you should go home, you really should. There’s no shame in it. In fact, it’d be the smart thing to do. There’ve been days when I wished I’d gone home when I was given the chance, just as I’m giving it to you.”
“Me too,” Shula said.
“So feel the gravity of our words and make sure the decision you come to here today is the right one for you and your families. It doesn’t matter that the chieftain said you’re already part of the Dragon Force just for showing up to an introductory meeting. You can walk away, no harm done. Take the opportunity if it’s yours to take. Don’t waste it. You’ll be living with the decision you make here today for the rest of your lives, however long or short they may be, and so will your families. Choose wisely.”
Then Dean’s features resolved themselves into a mask of resignation, and it became clear he wasn’t going to say more.
Gradually, the proposed dragon trainees reacted. Some walked to the edges of the clearing, others took a seat right where they stood, and others still approached the sacred waters of the pools, slipping a hand into them with reverence, perhaps hoping the water would clarify the correct course of action. Among them all, not one of them took Dean and Shula’s warning lightly. The excitement the chieftain brewed had subdued. Each man and woman held their lives in their hands.
Rane was one of those who approached the pools. But I was already certain what his decision would be. I imagined he was, too. He’d wanted to join the Dragon Force since he played make believe with me, when Father and Shean had still been around, sharing tales with us of the better sides of being a member of the Dragon Force. Rane and I’d pretended, and snuck around to watch Father and Shean more times than we should have risked. The need to be with the dragons pulsed through Rane’s veins.
I recognized it, because it also pulsed through mine.
Traya was different. I didn’t know what she might decide. Mother wouldn’t be happy about her attendance. Mother had already lost too much. It would be hard for her to be without the one daughter who was reasonable and level headed. I certainly wasn’t either of those things. I couldn’t take Traya’s place.
Traya stood with her back against a tree, her eyes closed, as still as if she were sleeping. My sister was kind and pleasant, always willing to help another, to do what needed to be done. I supposed for her it might come down to what was the greater calling: to help Mother or to help her people. I doubted she’d make the decision thinking of herself. I’d never seen Traya put herself first.
Her beauty was more evident than usual now that her face had settled into serenity. She had the long dark hair Mother had, the dark coloring of the majority of our people. Her features were pleasant, smooth and plump in all the right places. And I wasn’t the only one looking at her.
Brune, another of the new trainees, watched my sister instead of taking the time to come to his own decision. I thought I understood why. His decision would be predicated on Traya’s choice. From the way his eyes softened when they swept across her curves, she was as important to him as any sacred purpose—even if she hadn’t realized it yet.
When Dean called everyone back to attention, some looked as if they needed more time, others as if they’d never needed it. Either way, the time for a decision had come. And not a single one of them there chose to walk away, not even Dram, who knew firsthand how easy it was to become a dragon’s prey.
Once everyone settled back on the ground in front of him, Dean’s demeanor changed. He was no longer the stern dragon charmer intent on warning others away from danger. He was one of a team, a tea
m with a single aim: to survive long enough to fulfill our people’s purpose.
Dean asked, “You all are certain then? You’re ready to become new members of the Dragon Force, to protect not only the dragons, but our people, in this most sacred of purposes?”
Scattered voices punctuated the nods. “We are.”
“Very well, then repeat after me. I am willing, able, and ready.”
The chorus arrived immediately. “I am willing, able, and ready.”
“To become a member of the Dragon Force.”
“To become a member of the Dragon Force.”
“I will dedicate myself tirelessly, and I will give my best effort.”
The chorus of new dragon trainees repeated every word.
“I will take care of my own life, and also that of every other member of the force. I will protect the dragons and the people of Ooba. I will dedicate my life to this purpose.”
When Dean asked the final question that would make all those present members of the Dragon Force, no matter what the chieftain said, I whispered my own reply, safe amid the volume of the others.
“Do you accept all the duties and responsibilities of a member of the Dragon Force?”
“I do.”
“Do you accept the sacred purpose of the Ooba people as your own?”
“I do,” I said, as loudly as I dared.
“Then I welcome you all to the Dragon Force. May the blessings of the oasis be with you and preserve your life.”
Dean spoke to every single person there but me, the person who needed to feel his words more than anyone. I alone remained purposeless, my commitment to me alone.
7
Dean didn’t afford any more time to warnings that no longer mattered. Neither did Shula, who seemed never to relax. There were around a hundred trainees and about the same number spread across the tamers, and the most exclusive of the Dragon Force, the charmers. Far less than the five hundred the Dragon Force had numbered when Dean and Shula joined.
Within these smaller numbers, there had to be at least one who could ride a dragon, something that had never been done before. In all the history of our people, since the Ooba left the royal city and moved to the opposite side of the planet, there had never been a tribesperson who could ride the beasts. Never. Not once. And now, if the chieftain and his seer were to be believed, the survival of our people depended on this singular unlikely achievement.
Dean divided the Dragon Force, and no one questioned his orders, not even Yoon. Although the Dragon Force had no official leaders, it was clear that it possessed them in an unofficial capacity. Dean sent most of the tamers and charmers out to what he called ‘dragon territory.’ They were to continue improving their skills. This was of utmost importance since we all assumed that the dragon rider must be one of them who already knew enough about dragons to attempt the lunacy of riding one.
Once the other tamers and charmers had gotten up to leave, Dean said, “Shula and Yoon, I want you to stay behind with me. Between us, we’ll take on the responsibility of training the newest generation of the Dragon Force.”
Shula nodded, she’d been expecting this. Yoon said, “All right, that’s fine with me,” and cast just one longing glance at the retreating forms of his teammates.
Dean turned back to the still-bright and eager faces. “Divide up into three groups. We’ll have our first lesson here. It’s not often we’re given permission to visit the sacred pools. I, for one, am inclined to make the most of it, especially since I figure we’ll need all the blessings and faithum we can get.”
There he was again with the faithum. Did he know something I didn’t? I hoped so, and I noted Dean as a man to watch.
“Well don’t just stand there, do as I say. So long as you’re a member of this team, there will never be time to waste.”
The trainees, including Rane and Traya, scrambled into movement. They looked like an ant colony, its soldiers moving in different directions for a united purpose, though they took far longer than ants did to organize themselves. But the trainees managed it, and just in time too, Dean looked as if he was about to berate them when they settled into groups at opposite ends of the clearing.
“Good,” Dean said, though he sounded like it was a dubious honor, and he took a seat in front of the closest group.
I hesitated for only a moment, then took my opportunity before I talked myself out of it. Rane was in Dean’s group, as were Dram and the rest of his friends. Traya was in Shula’s, and though I was eager to hear what the reserved woman had to say, I was more interested in Dean.
I applied my lifetime of training in going unnoticed and moved to the farthest edge of the pools, where the water couldn’t splash me and reveal my presence, and where no one could bump into me. I was at the edge of hearing range. It wasn’t great, but it was enough. I had a lifetime of experience in lowering my expectations, too.
Dean began right away. “I’m not going to bother with introductions or names. I’ll get to know you over time. When you’re in my presence, you’re a dragon trainee, and that’s all that matters. My responsibility is to teach you how to be as careful as you can be so that you have the greatest chance of surviving. We’ll meet for these lessons until I’m satisfied that I’ve prepared you as best I can for actually facing the beasts. Only then will we begin working with the dragons.”
I could make out a suppressed groan on Rane’s face, and he wasn’t the only one.
“Don’t even start with the impatience thing,” Dean said. “There’s no sense in hurrying me, because I won’t decide you’re ready until you are. The fastest way to the dragons is to apply yourselves in our lessons. I consider each one of you my personal responsibility, and that’s one thing I won’t fail in. Am I understood?”
I almost added my yes to everyone else’s. I caught myself just in time.
“Good, then let’s begin. I assume many of you have known you’d enter the Dragon Force most of your lives, and you’ll therefore have tried to learn all you could about the beasts from other sources. It’s what I did, and as hard as it might be to imagine, I was once in the exact same spot as you. Regardless, not all of you will be familiar with the basics, so that’s where I’ll begin. I’ll also assume that none of you were as foolish as I was as a boy and that you haven’t tried to see the dragons on your own.”
Dean was staring straight at Dram, Rane, and their two friends. It was obvious he knew what they’d done, even though the boys had agreed not to tell anyone.
“Dragons aren’t like us, they’re completely different from humans. Of course, we would never hurt one of the creatures—and you won’t, under any circumstances, not even if it means the death of one of our own. But at rare times, they die of old age and injury. On one occasion, we managed to study the body of a male. All our information is based on this one source, and while it isn’t enough, it’s all we have. Never assume our knowledge is infallible, that might be your last mistake. Understand that dragons are ferocious and unpredictable. What they do one day might not be what they do the next. However, they do follow general patterns, and these can be invaluable in deciding how we interact with them.
“Dragons are immeasurably fast in the skies. They can reach heights we can’t even see. They make their homes in the high mountains, but their domain isn’t restricted to where we’re able to observe them. They range much higher into the skies, and far beyond the village, we just don’t know how far they go or why. They’re fast on land also, but they’re not nearly as agile as they are in the skies. Their bodies are designed for speed in the air, and so if you ever find yourself pursued by a dragon—and as part of the Dragon Force I guarantee that you will—you’re far better off bringing the chase down to the ground. Caves are your best friends. The dragons are too big to hide themselves where we can. Make the most it.
“But beware—always—of their fire. I’ve seen mature dragons stream it as far as a hundred feet. The older the dragon, the farther it can breathe its fire. But there
comes a maximum point to this. Once the dragons mature, in a few centuries, they’ll begin their decline.”
“A few centuries?” a boy I barely knew named Corey asked.
“Yes, a few centuries,” Dean said. “If you thought you’d find an advantage somewhere, you were wrong. We’re at a severe disadvantage when dealing with the dragons. Our lifespan might be, give or take, a thousand years. Well, from what we can tell, so is a dragon’s. They’re bigger, faster, and stronger, and nearly impossible to kill, not that we’re allowed nor would want to harm them. They breathe fire and have talons that are as long as some of your forearms. Impenetrable scales protect their hide. They have only two weak points that we know of, their eyes and the center line of their underbellies, neither of which we’re allowed to harm, but it’s good to know anyway. The beasts are as intelligent as some of us, and on good days, they’re the most frightening thing you’ll ever see.”
“And on bad days?” Corey asked, his voice betraying that Dean had him mesmerized.
“On bad days, they’ll be the last thing you ever see. And that doesn’t even take into account what they’re like during mating season. Or worse, a female around her young. If I had my way, I’d warn you away from dragons—permanently. The smartest thing the Ooba people could do is leave the area to the dragons and never come back. The royal city, even with the threat of the Andarons, can’t possibly be worse than the dragons. Since we won’t do that, then heed this warning: If you ever spot a mother with her young, run the other way. And I don’t mean you run like you’re out to build strength and endurance, run like every step might be your last, as if your very life depends on it. Because it does. If a mother with her young spots you, it will take every single blessing of the oasis to get out of her path of rage alive.”
“Do female dragons have young often?” Rane asked. We’d read the answer in books, but even from the short time we’d shared with Dean, it was clear he was the more accurate source of information.
