Dragon Tamer

Chapter 3

I kissed his bearded cheek then stepped away from them all, suddenly feeling the weight of this trip on my shoulders. "I'll see you guys tomorrow afternoon."

Being terrible at goodbyes, I quickly turned for Marco and climbed into his saddle. I brushed my fingers over his red scales, finding comfort in the familiar rough texture. He purred for a moment then turned his head to look at me for permission to take off.

I did a quick check to make sure I had everything, then gripped the handles and gave him the all clear. The dragon stepped back then thrust his wings once, twice, thrice, and then we were higher than most of the mountains in the valley. The tallest ones were too high for me to cross without passing out, so we followed the length of the valley for a short while until a shorter mountain came into view. I thought we were going to have to go all the way north to Thorn's Forest to find a low mountain, but just when its gnarly vines were coming into view, Marco banked right for the mountain he was looking for. We flew through a cloud to leave the valley--then the cloud cleared.

My jaw dropped.

I'd always considered the valley a beautiful place, colourful and lively in the summer, haunting and mysterious in the winter, but I'd always found it cold and unwelcoming. Understandably so with the dangerous wildlife and a few uninhabitable mountains. The plains were absolutely stunning. A cloudless sky smiled over the green and yellow plateau. I could see the ocean and the marvelous blue it was from Marco's back. It was so warm and I felt like the continent was welcoming me with lush, comely arms.

I held my arms out to my sides and let out a howl of excitement. This was it! My first time leaving the Randala Territory! My first time seeing the world everyone spoke highly of. Wow, oh, wow it was a beautiful, liberating place.

"I'm going to have to fly out here more often, Marco. You think Elesor will like it?"

His head bobbed more purposefully than it did to the rhythm of his wingbeats, a low rumble starting in his chest and moving up his throat to escape his lips. I took that as a "yes." Any dragon would love to fly over the plains; they could spread their wings as wide as they want without fear of them being clipped by nearby mountains.

He glanced back at me for a second before lowering our altitude so we were only a hundred feet off the ground. His shadow followed a herd of centaurs as they galloped over the stretch of green, heading for the Walan River further ahead; they joined the unicorns and hippogriffs already drinking together. Several of their heads snapped up to the sky at the sight of our shadow; some ran, but after seeing we weren't going in for prey, they found their way back to their herd and grazed beside the river.

Once we ran out of animals to follow, Marco lifted us to his original altitude. I rubbed his neck in thanks. It was amazing to see so much wildlife gathered together and not killing each other--it was every beast for itself in the valley--and it was even more amazing that dragons could see this part of the world whenever they wanted. I'd always envy them for their wings, but I would forever be thankful I was as close to having wings as any human in this world.

We flew for a few hours before villages came into view. Just as everyone said, they were barricaded in by tall, offensive walls. The people inside--from what I could see, anyway--appeared to be happy and unbothered by such a looming object. I, for one, was glad we had dragons to protect us so I wasn't caged in like that.

The further east we flew, the larger and closer together the towns grew. They were all connected via a wide, study-looking road. A trade route for merchants to expand their sales to other cities. As the day progressed, the road got busier, until there were so many people on it at once it got congested and someone had to flag people to pass or wait their turn. It was insane!