A Ballad of Dragons and Magic

~{Titus}~

Titus felt something crawling down the side of his face, curling under his jaw and dripping onto his collarbone. He didn't need to look to know that it was a bead of sweat, as it was joining a few others that had escaped his normally cool skin. But it was no surprise to the platinum-blond haired male, since this was not only the most important day of his life but it was blistering hot, and he had already been standing outside the building for at least three hours. Though they were supposed to remain in a calm silence, many of his classmates were chatting amongst themselves about what their dragons may look like, what degree their bond might have, but Titus maintained his silence, not bothering to socialize with the general population of his class. After all, he was an Infigar. He had to have standards.

There were no clouds to block out the blazing sun and no breeze to give any reprieve from the heat. Even something as simple as shade was hard to obtain for the young mages, since the wide open stone courtyard had not a tree in sight. They had to walk for hours to get there in the first place, staining their finery with sweat, and now they were being forced to wait even longer. Luckily, the Dean of Students took pity on them and cast a charm to mitigate any sunburns they may develop, as well as provide a slight cooling affect that had many students, Titus included, sigh in relief.

"They're late." Dean Octavius remarked, his patience wearing thinner by the minute as he looked up and down the line of his students, the best mages on the continent, many of them pale in the face. A few had even fainted already from the pressure, having to be brought back to consciousness with some cool water and reassuring words from friends.

"Since when have you known dragons to be that timely?" The Deputy Headmistress asked, making the Dean of Students sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Since Dierdre became the Head of the Bonding Ceremony. I would have hoped that at some point some of my timeliness might have rubbed off on her." He exhaled deeply, before he felt a sudden shadow cover the burning sun and the beating of leathery wings reached his ears. It seemed that the dragons had arrived.

They were truly a majestic sight, descending with their leathery wings from the sky down to earth in their ceremonial robes. Truly, no matter how many Ceremonies Dean Octavius witnessed it he never grew tired of them. Upon arrival, once all the little dragons had felt their feet touch the ground and has sufficiently impressed every single mage in attendance, Octavius strode forward to greet his bonded dragon with a smile, to which she replied with a roll of her eyes.

"I know, I know. Late again. But can you blame them for getting a little flighty in their excitement?" She smirked at her own pun, making Dean Octavius sigh as he cast his eyes over the candidates.

"Excitement or nervousness, I cannot tell which. Anyhow, since you finally arrived we must begin the selection." He lightly chastised his dragon companion as she hurriedly organized the young dragons into a line to face the large stage taking up almost a quarter of the courtyard, with an imposing yet elegant silver and crystal podium hosting the headmaster of the Reve School of Magic, Grand Mage Jorah Falquen. Jorah's age was not reflected in his manner nor his abilities, given that he still had some pepper in his short salt and pepper hair despite having reached the ripe old age of ninety four just two months ago. The only indication of his ancient roots was in his speech, which he began after clearing his throat a few times and flashing a smile towards the incoming students.

"Students! At this wonderous point in your lives, your destynies shall be changed forever! For 'tis at this ceremonie that you will be able to find your bonded, your partner in life and death. Together you will face a great manie trials, but 'tis because you are together that ye will triumph and become stronger for it. With that, let the ceremonie commence!" With a flourish, he raised his hands to the sky and cast them down gently, like a feather slowly drifting to the ground, and both mages and dragons alike felt the magic gently descending on them like freshly fallen snow, opening their mana circuits to one another and allowing the bonding to occur.

As per tradition, Titus and the other mages turned to face the dragons, hands at their sides until they were chosen. One by one, each of the dragons were able to go forward and select their mage partner, attempting to form a bond with them. It was meant to be a happy day, so why was it that all Titus could think about was the heat? That he was continuing to sweat more than his other classmates? That the dragons were continuing to pass him over? Well, it made sense, since he would never bond with an inferior dragon. He was the sole male heir to the Infigar bloodline, after all. His dragon bond needed to be just as strong as he was if they were going to carve their place in the world. And as the heir, he needed to be the picture of strength, so he kept his gaze forward, face controlled and unfazed as he kept waiting for his turn. But after a while, he couldn't help but stare as his classmates from the Academy continued getting picked, making note of each of the pairs as they walked away from the group and received their congratulations.

He was so focused on his classmates, that is, that he missed the soft jangling of copious amounts of jewelry on the purple-skinned dragon that was making his way towards Titus, and almost missed the eager call. "You! I want you!"

Titus turned his head to focus on the other male, his eyes widening slightly as he looked up and down the dragon's form. Even for a dragon, he was tall, with light periwinkle skin and darker purple markings flowing down his face like tears made of purple flames. His almost iridescent black hair was pulled back into a low braid with gold and jewels woven throughout, that accentuated the finery of his purple and blue robes. But what caught Titus' eyes the quickest was the dragon's eyes. the pupil, iris, and sclera was completely encompassed in a galaxy of gorgeous violet, matching the color of the large horns spiraling from the sides of his head. The dragon looked like he had stepped out of another dimension, though all dragons sort of had that air about them in their own respect.

Despite his elegant appearance, Titus couldn't help but snort inwardly at the eager manner in which the dragon approached him, almost childlike in his excitement. He would be excited too, if his damn hands would stop shaking. Forcing his hands into stillness, he tilted up his chin with a smirk and extended on of them. "Congratulations, you've just selected the next Mage Lord of the kingdom. I'm Titus Infigar, sole heir to the Infigar family."

His statement earned him more than a few groans from his fellow students, most of them rolling their eyes as they began explaining about the arrogant kid that managed to take first place throughout all seven years at Magnus Academy, despite his incredibly foul attitude and lack of friends.

Dean Octavius sighed in disappointment at Titus' brazen declaration, but behind him the Headmaster actually chuckled a little bit, much to his surprise. As the Headmaster looked at the pair about to begin their attempt at a bond, his laughter suddenly fell silent and his aura became much more serious. "That pair..."

"Headmaster?"

"It is nothing to worry about, Octavius. However," the Headmaster paused, watching the two young men carefully, "I would advise you to keep an eye on them..."