Dark omen's dragon

🐉 CHAPTER 14 🐉

The dragons and their riders made two stops on their day-long journey to the capital city of Laurasia. The rest was a welcome relief to both Army and Jungkook. The boy found his backside sore from sitting so long astride his dragon, and Army welcomed the reprieve to her wings, not used to such a prolonged flight.

At each resting point the people from the nearby villages came running out to greet them, bearing food and wine for their refreshment as they gazed with wonder at the black dragon and her handsome rider. Jiseok and Jungkook graciously accepted the food while Ba'llyn led Army to a nearby body of water for a drink.

Jungkook was surprised by the friendliness of the villagers towards them. Both boys and girls of all ages enthusiastically greeted him and, because it was so unusual from how he'd been treated in Busan, he found their attention disconcerting.

They seemed overly friendly, their smiles too bright as they took turns touching him with their hands and bodies. It was more physical contact than he was used to. Ill at ease by the unwanted actions, his eyes sought out Jiseok, who in turn must have seen his anxiousness for he excused himself from his conversation with several older villagers and came to his side.

"What are they doing, touching me like they do?" Jungkook whispered aside to the older rider after Jiseok asked him what was wrong.

"They're fawning, flirting and generally showing interest in you." It was obvious by the boy's puzzled expression that those words were foreign to the boy. "You'll find that people treat dragon riders differently than how you were treated in your village. There's no real explanation, but your position as a rider elevates you in their eyes. They crave to be a part of who and what you are. You must never believe that you're better than they are, giving into their words of flattery and touches. Some may try to appeal to your vanity in order to get what they crave from you."

Jungkook nodded as he eyed with suspicion the giggling teenagers nearby who'd been giving him so much attention. "Donghan spoke to me of this. They like me because of what and not who I am."

Jiseok gave him a pleased smile. "That's right. Remember all that Donghan told you for he is indeed a wise man."

Jungkook agreed, and the both of them turned as they felt and heard the approach of the two dragons, their black and silver scales on their faces and long necks were dripping wet and gleaming in the bright afternoon sun. The riders finished their meal and gave their thanks to the village, leaving shortly after that and continued their flight to Seoul.

The sun was beginning to edge towards the western horizon when the two dragons neared the city of Seoul. Jungkook knew from Jiseok's and Donghan's descriptions that much of the city had been carved out of a mountainside, but even their descriptive words fell short of the sight before him. The city was certainly carved out of the lower, southern half of the tall mountain. The white stone walls seemed to glisten under the fading afternoon sunshine.

From his aerial advantage point on Army's back, Jungkook could see a well used path winding like a snake from the bottom edge of the city, weaving a trail back and forth as it climbed upward to the upper levels, like the trails wildebeasts and other wild animals made on the Mountains that surrounded the Milan Valley.

The inside of that stone paved path was lined with buildings, each with colorful doors and little to no space between neighboring walls. Beautiful pieces of cloth were tied to poles, staked and displayed outside many of those doorways, adding a vibrant contrast to the stark white of the stone city.

Three quarters of the way up the mountain, several layers of out-cropping ledges were visible. They too were carved out of the mountainside, and Ba'llyn told Army that the many red flags set out and fluttering in the breeze outside those walls marked the dragons' lairs.