Eternal Fire

Chapter 29

Ember looked through the slit in the rocks, seeing the rocks opposite, some with larger slits than others. "Hello-" A sharp pain ran over her wings before she could finish, cutting her off. She turned to look at the bindings and poked it with her tail. She looked back through the slit and saw the dragons blinking, moving their eyelids, baring teeth and other things on their faces. She glanced around, watching the other dragons, it looked as if they were having a silent conversation. She watched, and not being able to understand, Ember walked to the back of the small alcove and curled up into a ball, closing her eyes and waiting for sleep to take her.

She remained curled up until she heard multiple dragons, only having drifted off a few times, and none probably for very long. She opened her eyes and stood up, still against the dark grey cool cave wall, looking through the slut and seeing blue scales with green scales just visible at the sides. The barrier crumbled and was absorbed into the floor, walls and ceiling of the cave, revealing the male water dragon, his scales faintly shining from a small fire in a hollow in the wall, an earth dragon standing beside him.

"Follow us, you try to escape, it will hurt, and you'll probably end up back here." The water dragon said, allowing Ember to leave the alcove, she stepped forwards, watching the dragons with every slow step towards the exit. The earth dragon turned down the cave and started walking, the water dragon stood just to the left of Ember, having no choice, she turned right and followed the earth dragon through the caves.

They turned again and again, walking down caves, before Ember ended up outside, blinking in the bright sunlight for a small moment before her eyes adjusted. The earth dragon started walking again, her bright green scales shining in the bright light as Ember heard the flapping of dragon wings, she sniffed, and smelt something other than stone, dragons, plants, fresh air, all she took in before following the earth dragon, the water dragon just having poked her tail. The earth dragon walked along the valley, walking past no caves until they entered the next one, this time it was light enough, even in the dying light, it glowed, the earth dragon turned down it, before turning off the large tunnel about twenty steps in, then took the smaller of the two at the next split. They walked down the cave until it grew, creating a small cavern. Other dragons milled around, there was one dragon that stood with their wings bound, for every two that stood next to the, their wings freed.

"This is where we have a look at your skills and the general body health. Don't worry, all dragons go through this when they are first collected, then it's every thirteen days. Gives us and you something to do. Do you want me to explain more about this place?"

Ember opened her mouth but remembered the pain from the last time she talked, so she nodded her head instead.

"Sorry about that, I'll let you speak, just don't jabber." The dragon poked her bindings, or did something of the like, she had tried poking it herself to no avail. 

"Thank you." Ember said, she said it quietly, but the sound still spread over the dim chamber, where a dragon had left a few moments before, going into a small cave, barely big enough for a dragon, the two Guardians who must have been accompanying the dragon waiting on either side of the cave entrance. 

"Alright, so here, we see how a dragon's, in your case, fire, works and the limitations and what happens if you try to push further then what the limitations allow. We do some other things too, what happens to you depends on what happens in that cave."

"What are these 'other things'? It looks like we have plenty of time."

"We train, improve the amount of power a Guardian has, we are one of the largest bases on Ballasmara, if not the largest, and..." the dragon shuffled, "that's about it." The dragon watched Ember as she tilted her head.