The Only Dragonrider – Chapter 2

Welcome, Fantasy Nerds! This is Chapter 2 of a collaborative fantasy story that we will be taking turns writing. If you haven’t read the first chapter, you can find it here. We hope you enjoy our story!

Chapter Two – WTF

Within seconds we are so high up the men below, including my master, looked like nothing but specks of dirt. The air was bone-chilling, so much so I could barely breathe, stinging my skin and making my tears stream down my face. But I didn’t care, I was flying on a dragon, MY dragon. Soaring through the air was the most free I had ever felt. I took in the scenery around me, endless stretches of green, a river I couldn’t see the ending point of, and approaching quickly a large grassy opening. With another loud boom an intense rush of air hit me as we suddenly landed in the empty field of tall grass surrounded by evergreens. 

You can climb off now, said my dragon

 I didn’t realize how tight I had been gripping his scales. 

“Oh right, sorry,” I spoke as I gently slid to solid ground.

 I looked up into my dragon’s moonlight eyes.

“You saved me,” I said gratefully to him.

 I believe you saved me, I heard his voice again in my head, and now we must save the others.

“What?!” I exclaimed, “but… how will we save them? They have many more men than the ones who were down there.”

  I will train you, and together we can help the others to freedom.

 “Okay, where do we begin?” I grinned up at my dragon, filled with more excitement than I had ever been. 

My dragon let out a deep noise that sounded similar to a chuckle. This is why I chose you. 

…

Relax and clear your mind 

I listened to my dragon with my eyes fixed on the boulder in front of me, focusing like before, imagining the boulder lifting off of the ground. The deep blue fog emerged from my marking, I inhaled and focused the energy forward, enveloping the boulder and lifted it off of the ground.

 “YES!”

I exclaimed, but in my excitement I lost control of my magic and the boulder hit the ground with a loud crash. 

You must continue to focus and maintain control, don’t let your emotions get the best of you.

 “Sorry,” I mumbled, but when I glanced at my dragon he had a proud look on his face. 

You’re doing exceptional.

Two weeks had passed since we fled, I was curled up against my dragon for the night, his deep breathing moving me up and down. I was warmed by the fire we built together, I dug a hole, surrounded it with rocks and stacked the twigs in a teepee type shape, then my dragon let forth his blinding light and the twigs caught fire. But not a normal fire, it raged white with magic, and somehow felt warmer than any other fire I had been around. 

I imagined my masters face all shriveled up and red with anger thinking of me becoming a dragon rider while he had failed, and chuckled to myself. What a fool he was. 

“What is your name?” I asked as I moved my head to face my dragon, just now realizing I had yet to ask. 

Arathyn. He blinked at me with those moonlight eyes. Where is your family? he inquired.

“I don’t have any family… not anymore. When I was just a small child my father sent me with my master.”

 Why would a father do that to his child? 

“I’m not sure, I’ve heard my master mutter about how my father thought he was sending me off to train and learn the ways of the dragon rider, I think he was deceived by my master, but I will never know.” 

The next morning I awoke to freshly roasted rabbit waiting for me, while Arathyn was tearing the flesh from a giant elk with his inconceivably large teeth. 

“Thank you,” I told my dragon.

 You must keep your strength up if we are to rescue my brethren, he responded.

 I finally felt like I was getting the hang of my magic, but my master and his men knew we were out here and most likely sent men after us or are bolstering up their defenses. We needed to act quickly, at least that’s what Arathyn told me. I could easily focus my magic and do small things, like hover my fresh roasted rabbit to my hands, without much effort.

 After we were through with our meal I prepared for more training. 

The last thing we shall practice is defensive moves, you seem to have control over attacking and moving objects, I heard Arathyn’s voice say just as I was hurling a ball of deep blue magic at a nearby tree, shattering it’s trunk. 

Arathyn’s moonlight eyes fixed on me.

Attacking isn’t the most important thing, you must protect yourself. Plant your feet at your sides, and focus on your magic seeping from your hands down your arms, make it layer and thicken itself as if it were armor.

 I did as Arathyn instructed me, and within seconds I had what looked like gauntlets of dark blue energy, the magic shifting and moving but maintaining its shape around my arms. 

Well done, now can you do that around your entire body?

 “Uhm..” I stammered. That is more magic than I had tried to control thus far, but I focused and let my magic flow through my entire body, encasing me in it’s cloudy deep blue. I looked as if my entire body was in smoking armor. I looked up at my dragon triumphantly and determined.  

You are ready.

***

Thanks so much for reading!
-WTF