Dragon Riders of Astern

Mariel & Lumis

One month ago...

Mariel was once just a simple blacksmith's daughter who was in charge of testing her father's weapons that he made. Mariel's mother was the Village's healer and taught Mariel all that she knew of herbs. Mariel spent much of her life learning swordplay, and other fighting technics and gathering herbs in the forest to assist her mother. It was in the forest that Lumis found her and made her his rider, bonding their souls, minds, and hearts together for life. Mariel's mother was overjoyed that a dragon had chosen her daughter out of every other girl in the village when Mariel came home with the young dragon. Mariel's father, on the other hand, was not. He was horrified that his daughter would now be called to join one of the many kings' armies. Mariel only had a few weeks to gather all she needed to go to the nearest king's castle to enlist, waiting for Lumis to become fully grown, as dragons mature very quickly, so she could ride him to the castle. During those weeks Mariel spent her time training with more exuberance with her golden companion never far behind her.

present day...

Mariel was nervous, for the first time in her life she was nervous. She paced across her room biting her nail subconsciously. Her boots wearing a groove in the wooden flooring. Her long brown hair was tied up in a very messy bun. Her golden eyes darting around the room restlessly. She heard Lumis chuckling in the back of her mind. He was obviously amused by her antics. In hearing her dragons teasing laughter Mariel froze in her tracks and turned to glare at the nearest thing, which at the time happened to be a servant from the castle who had just walked in the room to fetch her from the inn she was staying at.

"M-Miss...? The king sent me to fetch you now..." the servant stuttered nervously, bowing slightly to Mariel.

Mariel instantly softened her expression, sheepishly smiling at the servant who had walked into her angry gaze. "Okay then, lead the way" she softly replied hoping to ease the servant's nerves. As she followed the Servant out of the Inn she sent a quick note to Lumis showing him where to meet her. As she exited the inn with the servant she heard the loud telltale flapping of Lumis' wings as he landed near the Inn to meet his Rider. When Mariel saw her Dragon her face lit up instantly quickly making her forget her previous nervousness. Picking up her pace she went over to her handsome golden scaled dragon and hugged him around his neck, happy to see him after their long time apart in waiting. After her hug, she quickly pet his snout and moved over to his side preparing to slide into the saddle she and her father made to keep her in position during flights. Lumis, sensing his rider's intentions, laid down on the ground making it easier for her to mount. The servant had climbed into the saddle of his borrowed horse to ride back to the castle.

The ride to the castle was quick and quietly, out of politeness for the servant Mariel and Lumis did not fly to the castle they merely walked alongside the castle's horse easily keeping pace with it. The horse appeared to be used to the intimidating presence of dragons as it was unfazed by the large dragon near it. When they approached the castle Mariel found herself in awe of the architecture and beauty of it. The castle had large doors specifically designed so that dragons could enter with their riders when going to meet with whatever king has at the castle recruiting. As Mariel and Lumis entered the castle they were filled with nervousness on which army they would be enlisting in as kings only visit this castle to enlist dragon riders into their army if they need them. They were hoping that King Rolthgar was the one recruiting as he was known for being a kind leader in his army. Approaching the throne room quickly Mariel slid herself off Lumis and walked beside him, her hand on his scaled flank for reassurance. Taking a deep breath and nodding to Lumis she placed her hand on the stone door filling it with the Magica of her element, watching as the golden light spread into the holding gems on the door pushing the large and heavy doors open. As the Magica's light faded and the throne room was revealed to Mariel's eye she saw just how different her life would all because she of the king who sat casually on the throne with his piercing gaze on her.

(Author's Note: first few chapters will be short and I apologize for that but the call to leave cliffhangers was strong. The first few chapters will be introductory chapters to the characters. After the first few chapters, I will try to make the rest longer. For now please enjoy my story as I tell the tale of some unlikely heroes.)