Inferno Legacy: Loyalty of the Dragon (Book Two)

Chapter 22

Sitting in front of him, alone and at the table from the day before, was Thoughtful with parchment, quill, and ink. He seemed not to notice the newcomer as he wrote on the parchment with intense concentration, but after a moment he gestured to the seat in front of him for Cody to sit down, to which Cody obliged.

After some minutes passed, Cody asked, "What are you writing?"

Thoughtful smiled up at him and seemed to finish whatever he was writing and pulled several other pieces of parchment from under the table before setting them on top of the first. There was a pleased gleam in his eye as he pushed the pile over to Cody and the rider gazed upon the paper with the smallest of script written below drawings of dragons, each and every piece. But they weren't just any dragons.

"Is that-?"

"A complete description of what has happened since the dragons went extinct, as much as could be gathered from my sources."

Then Cody recognized the dragon on the first page to be a very young version of Argos, standing at the entrance to the Cave of Hordes, where all of the dragon eggs were kept. Prominently in the first nest were three eggs, one black, one white, and one glittering as if made of gold, obviously the eggs of the three other dragons. On the following page was a beaten and bloodied black dragon with a white one towering over him. The page after that had the black and gold dragon flying side-by-side over the mountains, and the last had a picture of a massive unknown-colored dragon with the white, staring down the mountains at the glimmering lake.

"I'm afraid I didn't have enough paper to write down your adventure, nor would I like to write it, yet. There will be much more to tell after you've finished your training, that's for sure," Thoughtful said, taking the pieces of parchment back and stowing them inside a book for safekeeping.

Cody was amazed by the amount of detail that was put into them, though he couldn't read the strange writing on the pages. "What did you even have for sources?"

Thoughtful shrugged and answered, "Mournful was a big help, but Inferno and Destiny pitched in where they could too. There is much that isn't known about Argos and Heyrone, but for now this should work."

"How is Mournful?" Cody asked, realizing he hadn't seen her in over half a week.

Thoughtful replied, "She is not as accepted as some of us hoped, but she is making the most of it and is keeping busy with many different tasks. We haven't heard much of her in the past few days either."

Cody decided that as soon as was possible he would find a way to see her, but for the time being, "What do you need me to do?"

Thoughtful looked at him suddenly, as if he wasn't expecting the question. "The plan is that we do whatever we want until the others join us. Then I will give you some instruction into our social hierarchy and essential everyday mannerisms that you may not have noticed. After that, we will have a test of what skills you posses so far. But me and the other mentors have decided that training with the traditional method won't be quite as convenient for riders. If you are as advanced in your training as we hope already, we can advance you to the second rank and you can begin basic training in the other areas."

Cody couldn't hold back the smile that pried at his lips as he thought of the possibility of all the things he would learn, which reminded him of something. "Thoughtful, why can't any of the dragons breathe fire? I've never even seen Argos do it, but I read a book with Inferno that said that a dragon should be able to breathe fire after being only a month old."

Thoughtful returned his smile before answering, "All dragons have the ability to breathe fire with a special gland at the back of their throat that releases a sort of gas that turns the air in front of them into fire. That is why you will see some dragons shoot smoke, but only by using magic can they actually ignite the smoke and provide the step that sets the air itself ablaze. It is the easiest of all magics, easier even than your born skill."