The School of Dragon Riders

19

I don't remember much of the things that happened afterwards, but I remember lots of cheering and a giant feast in our honour. I remember eating, and then somehow I found myself in front of the Headmaster's office along with Tanya, Jack and Snow.

“Why are we here?” Snow asked. Everyone looked as confused as I felt.

“I don't know,” Jack answered.

“We should probably go in,” I said as I approached the door. I was aware of a strange silence surrounding us. My footsteps were quiet and made almost no noise. Only our breathing could be heard.

As I was about to open the door, it opened by itself. I was startled, so I jumped back, barely holding in a yelp. We exchanged glances and stepped inside.

The Headmaster was sitting in his chair, but he wasn't alone. The strange disappearing girl was there, as well. She was sitting on a chair at the Headmaster's table, writing something.

“Close the door, will you?” she said, her gaze still on the scroll she was writing on. Snow nodded and closed the door.

“Why are you all so quiet?” The Headmaster asked cheerfully.

“I invited you here. That's why you came,” the strange girl said, a smirk appearing on her face when she saw how surprised we were. Her smirk reminded me of the one I used to wear all the time, before I came here and discovered my dark form.

“I'm positive you can smile still,” she said.

“Stop reading my mind!” I said angrily.

“Oh, I apologize- didn't know your boyfriend was so protective of you,” she said, looking at Jack. I widened my eyes, ready to pull my sword out and kill her.

“How dare you say that?” Jack asked.

“Now, now, stop!” the Headmaster said. “It's a bad habit of hers. She has a very strong Mind Element. Still, it doesn't justify your actions, Fox,” he added, firing the girl a stern look. She scowled at the mention of her name.

“You know that I disapprove of that name,” she said, the smile gone from her face.

“It is a name given to you, and it is the name you'll keep,” the Headmaster said. Fox stood up and brought more chairs from the corner of the room.

“Sit,” she said. We obeyed immediately. We were tired, and I remember feeling lost in thought since we entered the office. I felt disconnected. Then I stopped, and I felt normal again. It was like waking up, and the others seemed like they felt the same.

“What wa…” Tanya started, but she was cut off by Fox.

“A necessary precaution. Now listen to what the Headmaster has to say,” she said. I still had questions about her. Was she still a student? What was her age? I couldn't guess by looking at her.

“You could call me a student, but I'm not one. I don't have a mentor because of... an accident.” She felt uncomfortable with the theme. “You could say that I'm a few years older than you are, Medea. But time isn't a reliable thing,” she said. Again, nothing was clear. She was reading my mind again, and there was nothing I could do about it.

“Now, will you please listen to what I have to say?” the Headmaster said and we nodded.

“Okay. As you know, we have been in a War with Ogres for a long time, yes? And we fought against Fire and Ice giants, but there's a bigger threat facing bot Ogres and Humans. Fox, bring some water,” he said. Fox rolled her eyes, but a glass of water appeared in front of us. Mind Element was really strong.

“There's a human- a man that used to be fair, brave and strong. He was going to this school, and I was still a mentor at the time. His mentor. He was... he was a Datonx. You're not the only one, Medea. I used thought to have him control his form, and he did. He was a good warrior, and won us many battles against Ogres.

“But one day, his dark form overwhelmed him. He went on a killing spree, and ended up killing his friend. He couldn't live with himself for what he had done, so he fled deep into the kingdom of Ogres. I didn't hear from him for a long time, and I thought him dead, but a few days ago, Fox told me about him. She goes on scouting missions and war often. You could say that I'm her mentor now, at least for another year. She heard both humans and Ogres talking of him. He was taking dragons away from riders, often killing the riders, but sometimes keeping them alive to suffer without their dragons.

“He imprisons the dragons and makes them obey only him. I believe that grief has brought him there, since his dragon abandoned him after he killed his friend and the friend's dragon, which was his dragon's mate. He was alone, so he started stealing dragons. He's attacking both Ogres and Humans, and he needs to be stopped. That's why I'm sending you there. You leave in 2 days when the Tournament is over,” he said. I was already taking sips of water.

The news made my throat dry, and I felt my love for Areton grow stronger at the thought of him being taken away from me.

“Don't worry, you'll have me to protect you. Luckily, I'll be going with you, so your chances of survival just got greatly increased.” I couldn't tell if she was serious or not.

“No, stop reading my mind!” I said as she was about to answer my thoughts. I suddenly felt a presence that I didn't notice leave my mind.

“Whatever you say, oh Great One,” she said, waving her arms around her. Tanya snorted, but I ignored her. She was trying to provoke me. I could tell by her smirk.

“Enough, Fox. I thought that you'd be more mature, since that should come with age! I was clearly wrong. Tomorrow, there are Element fights, then dragon flight, and then you go, early in the morning- that is, a few hours before dawn. You will be informed of the time tomorrow or the day after that. Pack some warm clothes; winter is coming soon. Food will be waiting for you at the meeting place. Fox will lead you there. Now go and rest,” he said, dismissing us instantly. Fox walked to a wall, and by pressing some bricks, she opened an entrance. I suspected that the school had secret passages, but I was never able to find any. She winked at us, probably noticing our surprised faces, and she was gone when the passage closed again.

I stood up with the others, and we left without a word. We were tired, and talking was exhausting. We went straight to our rooms, with no exchange of words.

When I woke up, the first thing I did was wonder whether the meeting with the Headmaster was a dream. I wasn't myself that day, and neither were the others. I decided to go to Tanya and ask her whether it really happened.

I knocked on her door, and she opened it after a minute or so.

“Was it real?” she asked before I could open my mouth. I nodded.

“I was about to ask you the same question,” I said instead.

“I feel... strange. I think Fox did something to us before,” Tanya said, and I had to agree. She was a strange person, and one that shouldn't be under-estimated or angered. I remembered hearing someone say that strong Mind Element wielders could kill a dragon with their mind. I instantly shot my feelings towards Areton, and he sent me his love. I felt better knowing that he was there.

“The fights are after breakfast, aren't they? I'll be there, cheering for you,” I said, changing the theme. Her mood brightened.

“Yes! I can't wait. Let's go eat, I have to be there earlier,” she said, and we were on our way to the Great Hall.

Snow and Jack were eating already, and we greeted them as we talked about the man stealing dragons.

“That was told to you in private because it was supposed to be a secret. A person heard you, so I had to delete their memory. Keep quiet if you're going to discuss it in the Great Hall,” a voice too familiar said. Fox had somehow creeped up from the side, and she was sitting next to me. I expected a smirk, but she was serious.

“Sorry,” Jack said. That's when her smirk appeared.

“Don't do it again. Whisper if you must. We're the only ones that know, and it should stay that way. You should hurry, the other parts will finish their meals soon. You should be there before them to get good seats and prepare if you're fighting,” she said, looking at Tanya and Snow. She then stood up, and I closed my eyes against my will. When I opened them after less than a second, she was gone.

“Did she just close our eyes so she could disappear dramatically?” Snow asked. We laughed, and decided to take her advice and go out in the field.

Jack and I sat with our part. We were given a big flag with our part's logo- a flame. The first years would fight first, and it would go up. Snow would be fighting second. We waited for a few more minutes, and then the Headmaster came.

“Today, the Element fights begin. First off, we have Fate and Tornado. They will fight from the 1st years up to the 5th years. Then, Tornado and Earthquake, and last, Earthquake and Fate. Now, begin!” He shouted the last words as Tanya and another students rushed out of opposite parts of the so-called arena, which was the team fight field with smaller boundaries.

I knew that Tanya would win, since she was skilled with swords, and a Pureblood.

Her opponent sent a wave of water at her while he charged, but Tanya blocked it with her own wave. She then sent a fireball followed by a gust of air at her opponent. He managed to block the first attack, but the second one made him fall down. That's when Tanya decided to use her sword. She ran at him and pointed it at his throat.

I cheered along with everyone. The very first battle was ours again!