The School of Dragon Riders [Dragon Riders #1]

Chapter 1 (edited)

"Good morning, Father. I haven't had the chance to ask you about your day yesterday evening. So, tell me now," I said. I hoped that he didn't find out about my little joke. I tried sounding casual, but I realized I was being too formal.

"It was fine, if we pretend that some parents didn't come to me complaining that you hid their children's toys." I let out a hoarse and forced laugh.

"I hid them close to their houses. They have probably found them by now, unless they are complete idiots," I said as I ate my breakfast, which was nothing special, just some eggs. My father sighed.

"You really need to stop doing that. I don't understand what you find so amusing and satisfying about hiding other kids' toys. Right now, though, you need to hurry, because the choosing begins at dawn. Dress nicely. I have to go the workshop now, but I'll see you after the ceremony," he said as he left the house. I finished my breakfast and went back into my small room. I chose black leather pants with a formal green and black shirt. I liked the forest very much, so I wore green a lot. The forest represented freedom and it was beautiful. I also wore black, simply because I just like black.

After getting ready, I slid out of the house, closing and locking the door behind me. My sister was there waiting for me. Yes, I have a sister, and her name is Tanya. She is the good one, helping children find the toys that I hide. She is also stronger than I am, and she gives me quite a beating if I go too far with my jokes. Nevertheless, she loves me and takes care of me. She is only a few months older than I am, but acts as if she is the one in charge. Kids love her, and I don't despise her, just find her a bit annoying. We don't look alike at all. I have straight black hair and dark eyes, and I'm a bit small, but fast and agile. My nose is just a little too big. Tanya is big and strong with clear blue eyes and curly blonde hair, and she is really pretty. We are very different in personality as well, with her being the good one and me being the bad one. I really didn't mind my status, for the younger kids respected me, while Tanya was just loved.

"Good morning. You overslept again, but we won't be late if we hurry. I have a good feeling about this," Tanya said. She is an optimist and thus had a good feeling about everything. I was the realist in the family. Let's face it, I am the smarter one.

"I can take care of myself, you know. We won't be late. I'm sad to say that Jordan might be a little late, since he can't go out without shoes," I said as we started to go towards the village centre. At my words, Tanya stopped, so I had to stop as well. I narrowed my eyes, looking at her. She looked a bit angry.

"What did you do now, Medea?" She asked, grabbing me by the collar of my shirt. We never got along well.

"Calm down! He left them near the lake, so I put them on a tree yesterday. I'm sure he'll find them," I said. Tanya growled and threw me to the ground. I felt a sudden pain in my back, but it disappeared quickly, as always. Throwing me around was Tanya's hobby. I paid her back by using my mind, of course, since I couldn't use force against her. Maybe I'll trip her when she is called to touch the stone, I decided. Not exactly the most intelligent payback, but it would do. I got up, shooting her a glare.

We continued, and I was silent the whole way. I tried to think of a good thing to do when her name is called, but I couldn't think of anything at the moment.

When we approached the village centre, I noticed that many of the children were already assembled. I dragged Tanya away from the others, not wanting their little revenge plans to ruin this day. Some of them were shooting me a mean look, which I didn't like. At the centre of the assembled kids stood two men. Between them was a lot of space that I assumed was made so their dragons would have a place to land when they called them. I felt excited at a chance to see dragons that weren't just in a dream. There weren't many kids my age in the village, around 25 at the most, so there was enough space for everyone to see everything and be able to breathe. After about five minutes, one of the men stepped forward, clearing his throat for attention.

"Hello, children of Stone Tooth! You all know the reason you are here. In my hand, I'm holding the magic stone. As you know, it shines blue if the person touching it has magic. That one is even rarer. And-" he was interrupted by a boy running towards the centre. It was, of course, Jordan. He looked as if he had gotten ready in a hurry. No idea why. He was gasping for breath as he approached the two men.

"She," he said, pointing at me while trying to catch his breath, "hid my shoes." His voice was filled with anger, and the next thing I knew, he was launching himself at me. I dodged his attempt to land on me and he fell to the ground. Almost everyone was laughing, except for him and Tanya. Tanya grabbed me by my shirt collar. Another one of her hobbies.

"Medea, apologize," my sister demanded.

"No, he was the one to attack me."

"I'm warning you..."

"I'm not afraid of you."

The man lifted Jordan off the ground and put him next to a few boys far away from me, and breaking our argument.

"Well, let's continue, hopefully with no more interruptions," he said, looking at me. I shrugged. I didn't remember hiding anyone else's shoes, so there should be no more interruptions caused by my mischief. "As I said, you will come and touch the stone. I will call you by your name. When all is over, the chosen will remain here and the others will go home," he said. He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and called the first name.

"Marcy Argall," he called. She was the only one with the last name starting with A. After her were Tanya and I. Marcy stepped forward, shaking a bit. I liked tricking her a lot, because she is quiet as a mouse and does nothing about it. She touched the stone, but nothing happened.

"Thank you, Marcy. Now, Medea Beroast." My time, finally. I stepped forward, trying to look confident while I was feeling like a mouse. I approached the stone and touched it. For a second, nothing happened, but then the stone began to shine blue. Everyone gasped. Not me, though. I was too shocked to make a sound.

"Medea here has an Element. Go back to the line, Medea, and let go of that stone," he said, as I realized that I was still standing with my hand touching the stone. I walked back to Tanya who hugged me. I could tell that she was extremely happy for me. She was the most unselfish person in the world. For that reason, I decided not to trip her as she was called. Again, nothing happened for a second, but her stone shined blue. Tanya came back and hugged me again.

The rest of the ceremony was a blur. There were only five of us at the end. Luckily, none of them was my enemy. When everyone except us left, the men smiled widely.

"Welcome! You are now officially the Chosen Ones! Tomorrow, at dawn, we will wait for you here. Then we will fly directly to the school. There is no need to bring anything with you. You will choose your clothes at the school. You will have a large selection from which to choose. When you get there, you will get your dragon. You will walk down a hallway full of eggs, one by one. If an egg starts moving a bit, it means that the dragon inside has chosen you to be his or her Rider. You'll be told more about that when we arrive.

"On your second day at the School, you will betested to see which Element you have. After that, you will be given a mentor totrain you. Again, more about that will be revealed to you once we get to theschool. Go home now, say your goodbyes, and be happy!"egieacb߆,