A Dragon's Rider (Edited)

Chapter 2

"Good," Vlad asks some more questions but I stop paying attention and answering when a huge castle comes into view.

"Windemere Fort," calls Hunter from the dragon next to us. All the dragons land, starting with Lance and ending with a large orange dragon and Hunter. I look around and see the other dragon's from different cities landing. There are a total of 20 dragons. 5 cities and 25 dragon riders. I quickly hide my hair in my hood so I look like a boy - I don't need to be answering all kinds of questions. Everyone gathers around a stone platform where all the riders are standing, with Hunter in the front.

Hunter clears his throat rather loudly, and, when that doesn't get their attention, I hear him ask his dragon something. His dragon is the large orange one from the ride over. He roars and breathes a short burst of flame at the sky. All the kids immediately stop talking and look to the front.

"Alright!" Hunter rubs his hands together "This year, we have a 25 dragon riders with us. 15 of each fire, earth, air, and water mages. 2 mind wielders, 5 wizards, and 12 shapeshifters. While you are here, on no account other than a direct order or attack, are you allowed to use your magic. This year, we also have an unexpected addition." I stare uneasily at the dragon rider, "In the village of Stone Heart, only 4 dragon riders were found. Then, we found the last one. Will she please come up here."

I slowly make my way up the stage, studiously ignoring the whispers that came with Hunter's revelation. When I stand next to the intimidating man, Hunter nods his head. "This is Liora. " The whispers intensify and everyone in the yard has a stunned look on their face. Hunter clears his throat and this time, everyone is silent. "Liora is a dragon rider. Everyone is to treat her with respect. If I hear that someone has been mean to her or is making her feel unwelcome, they will answer to me. She was not expecting to come here and we sure weren't expecting it either. Since she is the only girl, she will room by herself and no one is allowed to go into her room without her, or the headmaster's specific permission."

"Alright," he quickly changes the subject. "Now, there is a welcome banquet starting as soon as we're done here where you will get your room assignments and roommates. The dragon riders will be split up between rooms and you may get an older student to room with. Tomorrow morning, mages, report to your classrooms. You will find a map of the campus on your bed. Dragon riders, tomorrow is the egg picking where an egg will either chose you or you will go home." What, I think, no one said anything about going home when you're a dragon rider.

"Report to the banquet hall. Okay. Follow the rider you flew in with to the banquet hall."

I find Vlad near the front of the pack and walk behind him with Henry at my side. Vlad points out some rooms here and there. "That is the hatchery and over there is the training field. Oh! And my personal favorite, the flight course."

The other dragon rider trainees are being given similar lectures and I study them as we walk. Most are tall and strong looking with a graceful air about them. Some have soft facial expressions, while others look bored. Vlad stops in front of two massive oak doors that I assume lead to the banquet hall. His hands go out as he pushes them wide open. My ears hear hundreds of voices talking over each other as the older student crane their necks to get a good look at us. I notice that there is no real seating chart because everyone looks scattered around, sitting with people who are all different kinds of mages.

I can easily tell who the popular ones are. They are laughing among themselves and paying hardly any attention to the people around them. I make a mental note to avoid them as much as possible, they don't look friendly. During the walk over, I make sure that my hair is safely inside my hood, praying that Hunter won't embarrass me again. Sadly, I am mistaken; Hunter tells everyone to line up on yet another stage. We will touch the stone again to show everyone what magic we had. Then, a school group would claim us. That meant, he explains, that when we touched the stone, we would get chosen as the newest member of the group. I sigh. This will be a long evening.