The Last of the Dragons-Set 1

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      The group fell silent once again, taking in what I had just told them. I could feel Doron's heavy breaths beating down on me as he hovered above me, looking out over the valley as the group looked up at him. The sun was rising higher by the second, filling the valley with light, and heating up my skin like dragon fire.

"Fly? Like on one of them?" Nina asked humbly as she stepped out from behind Gordon.

"Oh, you'll be flying alright, but not with him. He's mine, and mine only. You must choose your own dragon. Once the dragon chooses you, you must learn it from the inside out. You will fight with your dragon through the fury of enemies that will oppose you, and for some of you, you may die by your dragons side." I exclaimed to the group.

They all gave me a look that clearly indicated that they were less than thrilled about their new task, but I could tell they didn't have the courage too defy me for even a fleeting moment.

"So, do we just pick one? I want this one then." Jules said as she picked up a nearby hatch-ling that was sleeping in the grass.

The hatch-ling screeched and squirmed, causing Jules to panic and drop it back to her feet as Tegon charged forward, bearing her teeth at Jules as she fell back in an attempt to avoid the infuriated dragon.

"Relax. She's just protecting her young. Just give her a minute to calm down and she'll leave you alone." I said bluntly.

Tegon pulled the hatch-ling in beside her with her claw before turning back to Jules for a moment, then turning away and returning to her nest with her hatch-ling close behind her.

"A hatch-ling won't do us any good. They're useless to fight. To small, not nearly enough flame, and far to easily killed. You will all learn to fly with much larger dragons, independent and on their own, roaming the vast mountain ranges and wide open plains, soaring over the forests and hunting the various creatures that call them all home. If you cannot fly, you cannot fight, and stand no chance against our enemies." I said.

"Well.... When?" Lucy asked.

I looked over to Tahli, Amy and Bailey, who all gave me very slight and brief nods. 

"We leave now." I said as I turned back to the group.

Lucy's eyes widened at the command I had just uttered. They looked around at each other with sheer panic running across their faces, similar to the faces of Doron's thousands of victims in their last moments. Nina knelt down to pick up one of the weapons Tahli had dropped off to the side of the group and started preparing it to fire.

"Don't bother with that. You won't be using any weapons." I said.

They all turned and stared at me with wide eyes when I said this, as if they had just seen someone come back from the dead.

"How on earth do you expect us to defend ourselves?!" Victor said.

"And who would you be again?" I asked as I turned to face him.

"Victor. My name is Victor."

I chuckled.

"Well Victor, if you take weapons with you, and you kill a dragon, how do you think the others will react? And more importantly, how do you think I will react?" I asked sarcastically.

He grew an annoyed look on his face, and opened his mouth to speak, before I abruptly cut him off.

"And what of the rest of you? Why do none of you speak? How trust worthy can you be if you lack the bravery to speak?" I exclaimed. 

"My name is Mark, and if you request honesty from us, we simply don't want to say something that would warrant us becoming nothing but a roasted corpse at the hands of your mount." He replied.

I felt a grin slowly creep across my face, as I was amused at what he had said.

"You can't have such abnormal fears young man. If you wish to fight along side us, you can't be afraid to look death in the eyes. Now enough with the chatter, we must be off." I said as I climbed Doron's wing.

I took my place on the dragon's back, with my bow in hand.

"Let's go. Don't keep us waiting." I demanded.

One by one, they took their own spots along Doron's back, with considerable struggle, and no weapons at hand. Once they had all finally come to rest, I looked to Tahli, Amy and Bailey as they nodded their heads one by one before taking to the air with their dragons. 

"Fly."

Doron once again spread his wings and took off out of the valley with Veracon, Ragon and Magar by his side.

"Find them Doron." I said.