Dragonia: Rise of Magic

Chapter 3

3

Lilianya stepped onto the training field. She hid behind the others, at the back of the crowd, and watched as the men and women practiced magic. It was open season. Anyone who showed any promise or any desire to learn magic was invited to the training.

She didn’t have any talent. Lilianya just got by. She’d been with the resistance for years, trying to prove herself, but something had upstaged her every step of the way. In Ceydar, she’d found people interested in the resistance and pointed them in the right direction. She’d brought countless people over to the resistance, including Paedyn and Devarius, which would help turn the tide of the struggle against the empire. But they overshadowed her. She’d discovered the drakes and wyvern scales on Adeth Peak Isle to help aid them in their struggle, but when she returned, Devarius had returned with the dragon stone. What were mere wyvern scales when compared to the power of the dragon stone?

All she wanted to do was prove herself. She wanted to be worthy of the resistance. Her mother and father had fought for the resistance. They fought against the tyranny of the empire, and they had died for their cause. She was a little girl at the time. And everything she’d tried to do to help them had failed. She always got in the way. Whatever she did wasn’t good enough. Lilianya wanted to make them proud. She wanted to do as much as they had. Her head dipped at their memory. She would never live up to them.

“All of you are here today because you want to learn magic. You want to help fight against the empire. You want to make a difference.” Zaviana walked back and forth in a straight line as she assessed everyone.

It was quite the turnout. Over a hundred people made up the crowd. Zaviana met each of their eyes.

“Not all of you will make it. Not all of you will have what it takes. We will train just as hard as the warriors. Our training will be more mental than physical, but we will have physical exercises as well. We need to be in shape. If someone needs us on the battlefield, we’ll need to be able to get over to them without being winded.”

Zaviana stopped right in front of Lilianya and grinned. “We’re going to study each element and practice with them. We have lots of wyvern scales. I’ll provide one of each color to you.”

“What colors are there?” a young girl asked.

Lilianya glanced at the girl. She remembered her. Her name was Faelyn. She’d helped save the resistance from being discovered by the empire with Kaia. Faelyn had a golden dragon named Sparkles.

“Gold for lightning. Blue for ice. Green for poison. Red for fire. Purple for wind. Silver for metal.”

“Metal?” Lilianya asked. “How does that work?”

“We’re still unsure how to use all the elements properly. We’re still learning, as will you. The ones we understand the best are lightning, ice, fire, and wind. We’re still trying to understand poison and metal.”

“That’s all the colors?” the girl, Faelyn, asked.

“All that we’ve found.”

Lilianya stroked the black wyvern scale in her pocket. She’d only found a few of them in the cave, and she’d kept one with her. None of them knew what element black was. They’d never even seen a black wyvern. Or at least, not more than a glance.

One day, while watching all the wyverns fly in the sky, Lilianya swore she saw a black wyvern. But it disappeared as soon as she saw it. A mirage? She no longer knew.

In a cavern full of wyvern scales, with hundreds of each color, there’d only been a few black scales. She had kept one of each color. Lilianya didn’t know what to make of it.

Still, it resonated with Lilianya. She wanted to know more. Lilianya almost considered taking the scale out, but she restrained herself. No one knew she had it. And it was hers. She didn’t want anyone to take it away. If it truly was unique, they would want to study it. Especially Zaviana. She was the one with all the power. The power of the dragon stone itself was inside of her. Besides, Zaviana might already have the four other black scales. Lilianya didn’t know what they’d done with all the scales, but clearly they hadn’t mentioned the few black scales Lilianya had found to anyone else.

Jealousy crept through Lilianya. She pushed it aside. Lilianya could not afford jealousy. She needed to earn the trust of Zaviana. More than anything, she wanted to learn the secret of magic. She wanted to become useful to the resistance.

Zaviana tucked her hands behind her back. “I don’t expect all of you to last the month. What we’re going to be doing will be exhausting. A crash course in magic. None of us are masters. While I may know more about wielding magic than anyone else on this island, I still am no expert. Magic is new to this world. We’re going to be learning together.

“However, we cannot afford the time to learn it properly—if there is a proper way to learn magic. Training is going to be intense. You will cry. You will be so exhausted you won’t be able to make it to your bed at night. But for those of you who overcome, you will be an asset to the resistance.”

Lilianya beamed at that. An asset. All she ever wanted was to matter. To make a difference.

Now she could.

“For those of you who fail, perhaps after this long war is over, you can try again. If we survive. If we win.” Zaviana paused, looking over the recruits. “If I’m still alive at the end, I would love to open an academy.”

“When do we start?” Faelyn asked.

“Magic meditation is tomorrow. For now, we begin physical training. We need to be in shape if we’re to help the resistance. Is everyone ready?”

“Ready for what?” Lilianya whispered.

Zaviana didn’t respond. She turned around and began jogging. No one else moved. Zaviana turned around and motioned for them to follow her.

Physical training. Lilianya groaned.

How could Lilianya get so unlucky? She wasn’t exactly out of shape, but she also didn’t exactly exercise. She wasn’t wearing the clothes for it either.

Grunts and moans escaped the rest of the crowd as they trudged after Zaviana. Lilianya was the last to move. A part of her hoped Zaviana was joking. If they were to use magic, why should they need to complete a marathon? It wasn’t like they would be on the front lines. Magic was a long-range attack method, was it not?

Yet, she couldn’t be left behind. She would not let another obstacle stop her from accomplishing her desires. No matter what it took.

Over half an hour of jogging was only the start of it. Zaviana had them do everything from aerobics to strength building. By the time they were done, dusk had fallen. Exhaustion didn’t begin to describe how Lilianya felt. She was sore in places she hadn’t known’ existed.

“Well done, everyone,” Zaviana said. “Remember that strength training will become routine for us. Magic is about more than mental strength. Physical strength is going to play a factor as well.”

“How”—Lilianya took a deep breath—“routine?”

Zaviana smiled, her perfectly white teeth sparkling in the moonlight to complement her dark complexion. “Twice a week. Do not fret, though. Tomorrow, there will be a break from physical training. Tomorrow, we will explore meditation. Get a good night’s sleep and be ready for the morning.”

“Sleep,” Lilianya muttered. “Not going to be a problem.”

Lilianya turned away from everyone, only one thing on her mind. She wondered how fast her head could hit the pillow. Lilianya realized she had her work cut out for her.

Walking alone in the dark was peaceful for her. Lilianya was used to always being alone. The night air chilled her to her bones. It was still winter, but not for long. Spring was right around the corner, and Lilianya couldn’t wait for the warmer weather.

She opened the door to her small room. The island was too small for everyone to have their own cottage. They had built large buildings with multiple rooms, so at least everyone could have a bit of privacy.

Or so she thought.

When she opened her door, someone was sitting at her wooden table. Her mouth dropped open as her eyes focused on him.

“Paedyn?”

“I know… you missed me.”

“You’re out of the infirmary already?”

“Kaia had a minor flight accident, and they needed the room. I was happy to let her have it. I felt I needed to stretch my legs and try to get back to being a civilized person once again.”

“You… civilized?” Lilianya laughed.

“I am the most civilized Paedyn I know.” He winked.

“That still doesn’t answer why you’re here. You have your own cabin, don’t you?”

A few members of the resistance had their own cabins. The heroes of the resistance. Devarius. Paedyn. Zaviana. Not Lilianya.

She had one temporarily while the cottage apartment was being constructed. But it was short-lived, as were all of her achievements. She clenched her teeth.

“Someone reassigned it while I was out. Apparently, a little girl and her dragon, Sparkles, claimed it after some heroic adventure that I missed out on. She moved in there with her family.”

“Oh.” Lilianya shook herself from her thoughts.

“They offered to leave, but how could I do that to that family? They need it more than I do.”

“Where are you planning on staying?”

“Here with you, of course.”

“Excuse me?” Lilianya asked.

“Well, I’m still recovering. Don’t you think someone should watch me to make sure I’m safe? I can’t think of anyone better than you.”

“Why me?”

“You’re the one who spent the entire time with me in the infirmary while I was healing.”

“I told you… I wasn’t there the entire time.”

“You did tell me.” Paedyn’s half grin caused butterflies in her stomach. “But you lied.”

“Excuse me?”

Paedyn tilted his head to the side. “I may have asked around about you. Rumor has it you haven’t left my side. I figured I could put your mind at ease and just stay here for you to monitor me.”

Lilianya rolled her eyes. “If you think that you’re going to get in my—”

“Couch?” Paedyn beamed. “I’m sure it’s more comfortable than it looks.”

“I—all right. But don’t try anything funny.”

“Funny? Wait—since when is that a rule? All I do is funny.”

“Ha ha. Real funny.”

“See. I rest my case.” Paedyn rubbed his hands together and plopped on the couch.

Lilianya rolled her eyes. “How are you feeling today, anyway?”

“Still a little freaked about what I did to the infirmary room. They barely got it cleaned up in time for Kaia before I left.”

“You know, I started magic school today with Zaviana. Perhaps you could join me in the morning. Learn how to use your new powers.”

Paedyn considered it for a moment, rubbing his chin before shaking his head. “No. I’d rather not. Not yet. Besides, I can’t do all magic. Fire and ice.” Paedyn chuckled. “Opposites. Heh. Well, they say opposites attract. I guess that’s why you’re so attracted to me.”

Lilianya sat across from him. A playful smile without showing teeth graced her lips as she looked down her nose at him. “Oh, is that a fact?”

“Most certainly.”

“In your dreams.”

“Every night.” Paedyn leaned back on the couch. His smile vanished as he laced his hands behind his head and looked at her. A look that went deep into her soul. He looked into her eyes and nowhere else.

“Well, I’m exhausted. I think I’m going to lie down.” Lilianya prepared to stand, a shiver running down her spine.

“Wait.” Paedyn’s eyes remained locked on hers. “You haven’t told me about your day yet.”

“My day?”

“It was your first day at magic training, was it not?”

“It was.”

“I want to hear all about it.” He moved his hands to his knees and leaned forward.

“Truly?” she asked.

“Truly.”