The bush rustled. Shifting my weight I held tightly to the rope in my hands. It coiled around itself as I held the coil in my right hand. The end with a loop on it was in my left hand. My hands were calloused and rough from the years I spent working with these delightful creatures. I knew better than to be out here without gloves on. The smooth fabric of the work gloves coated my hands, protecting them from the rough fibers of the rope. Smirking I felt the teasing in the mind hiding near me.
The mind of the beast was playful, adventurous but new to this world. It was unsure of a mental connection like this. Yet I felt its need to be playful, even mischievous. I envied it the freedom it would have. The sky would be its home. I sent an image to it of flying. It's mind soared the skies with my own. The bonded knight of this creature was going to have their hands full.
"Come out and I can feed you." I told it. That was another thing. I sensed its hunger. It could smell the wild game I had with me in a bag slung across my body. The rustling stopped. Fear. The little beast was afraid of the rope. It read from me what I intended to use it for, that was what made it keep away from me. It was also afraid of the other large men around me. It had moved as far away from them as it could. For reasons it was keeping to itself for now, it had stayed near me, but pulled me away from the others. I was used to them doing this. They always found it more soothing to be able to communicate with me.
As I drew closer to it I felt more of what it was feeling. This wasn't a free beast. It wasn't even one of ours that had escaped. Not like we had been told. This mind was young. Had it just hatched? I had to push that thought away as I circled the foliage before me. OK. It was afraid of the rope, so I dropped it. Stripping the gloves from my hands I let them fall on top of the rope. Keeping my hands far out in front of me I slowly waved them in the air. I had sweated and my hands were ripe with my scent, I wanted this one to know me.
The swish of it hitting the ground made the thicket tremble again. "Your safe. I'm a friend." I sent soothing images to it. They were things that put me at ease. A water fall, a tranquil lake set deep in the forest. It was a place I knew well. One I often went to think or relax at. For me water always calmed me.
The mind in the thicket relaxed at these images. Maybe it too was like me. I smiled, that would be a first. I had never connected to one who was like me. There were times I felt like something was messed up in me. Sighing I forced those confusing thoughts away.
If she, for I knew it was a female, was as young as I thought she was, these thoughts would just confuse and scare her even more. "I'm coming a step closer." I sent a mental image of the thicket she was hiding in, I showed her what I saw.
There was a little snort of fear. Once more I sent her calming waves, a thunderstorm, a rainy day. I felt her calm a bit more. She was liking these pictures. I pulled as many up as I could think of. The sound was always a bit difficult for me. I felt her flap her wings a bit at that.
"You are safe." It wasn't words that she spoke. Being too young to have learned the language just yet. Images were better for her. She showed me her egg, the warmth and safety she felt when her mother was near. The rain storms she heard while waiting to hatch.
I returned the warm glowing feeling back at her. The gentle warmth of a mound of soft blankets. A blanket fort I had built for another of her kind as we played. She cooed. A flick of movement, a tip of her young wing. Was she a white? They were a little rare around here. I wonder if she was an air kind.
There was a snap of a twig off to my right. The thing squealed in the thicket. My hand reached through the last of the branches. All the while I showed her it was me, making sure she caught my scent. She shifted away from me, the bushes quivering in fear as she laid down to hide further in them.
Then I saw a flick of blue fur near my foot. What was that? I knelt. "You are safe." I returned the soothing images she had sent me of her egg and nest. I slid toward her. My left hand swung out.
Her pure white snout poked through the thicket. One large sliver eye met my gaze. Just as my left hand touched the soft white tip of her nose. I felt a warmth radiate up my arm from my finger tips. Her silver eye brightened. A glowing light made it shine like a star. The weird puckered mark on my left wrist just below my hand, glowed the same color as her eyes. A beam of the color shot up under my skin to touch my chest. I felt my heart swell as we gazed at each other.
No way! I stared completely stunned at this amazing creature before me. "My Nuare!" I breathed out looking at her. I was frozen in place for I had never considered I would actually bond with one.
A soft chuckling wave came from her as she sent an image of us linking together. She liked the sound of my spoken voice. I smiled. Holding my arms out I sent her an image of me holding her, protecting her.
Gleefully she leapt into my arms. She was so small! I could hold her in one arm. Her sleek white body had a stripe of blue. It started as fur on top of her head then blended into scales that curved along her spine. Her body was the length of the space between my wrist and elbow. She turned putting her long head over my heart as she curled her tail around herself. I brought my other arm up to hold her tightly.
"Nothing will ever hurt you." I vowed. I felt her fear subsiding. Now only the empty feeling in her belly scared her. Chuckling I brought out the bag I carried at my waist. Keeping her close to my chest I gave her the four fish, three squirrels and two rabbits I had gathered from my traps before I had been called away to help with finding her. It was just enough to fill her up. She drained the milk skin I had then closed her eyes. A purring sound came from her as the glow subsided some from my arm. It didn't fade completely but it wasn't as bright as a beacon any longer. I could still see the glow seeping through her eyelids, but not as bright.
When I stood, I noticed I was surrounded. Several large burly men circled around the bushes I was in. Many had ropes over their shoulders. One had picked up my rope and gloves. All had thick arms with burns up and down them. All wore a weapon on their hip or back. Most had their hands on their hips.
When they saw the sleeping dragon in my arms more than one smiled. The silver glow was still visible under my skin where the body of the creature rested. A heavy hand fell to my shoulder. As another took my elbow. Together he helped me out of the thicket.
"Zyn, this is incredible!" he hissed. The dragon's ears flicked at his voice, even though he spoke softly. I couldn't hide the beaming smile on my face.
"Cheers for Zyn and his new Nuare!" the man cried still in a hushed tone. All the men cheered just as quietly.
"You deserve this, Zyn." One said.
"From pauper to knight!" another crowed.
"Oh no! He is going to have to attend classes now!" there was robust laughter at this. The dragon stirred but I sent her the calming thoughts to help her.
"She's newly hatched, she is." Shea stated. The large man with a thick broad chest strolled through the crowd of on lookers. His dark tanned skin and hair stood out against the white of his shirt. He touched the beast in my arms with his eyes only.
"I've never seen one like her. Look at that snout. It's longer, less flared than the air dragons." He pointed out.
"Her coloring is off as well. Why does she have fur?" he wondered out loud. I pulled her tighter my lips just above her head, he paused and grinned.
"It doesn't matter, my son has been claimed!" he cried out. The smile hurt my face but I have never been happier or prouder than at this moment. Shea turned to prowl through the brush moving in a twenty foot radius around us and the thicket I had extracted the dragon from.
"There's no sign of an egg here." His dark eyes held concern. "Where did she come from?" he pondered. The others began to search for her egg.
"Zyn, get her back to the Wry. Set up her nest, and think of a name for her." Shea said. I knew they were going to continue the search for the shell. If they found it they would be able to determine what species of dragon she was. I smiled. I already knew, but then, they hadn't asked me. For now I kept it to myself, because I had never met another like her.
Cradling the sleeping infant to me I made my way through the familiar landscape. I had grown up here. As an orphan I had been found left abandoned near the dragon Wry. It was the home of the young dragons. Shea was the closest thing to a parent I had. He had raised me with the young hatchlings.
Of course the dragons grew faster than me. In this regard I had many siblings. It was odd that an orphan like me could hear the thoughts of any dragon I was near, or that I had ever touched the mind of. The general reasoning for this was all the time I had spent with them at such a young vulnerable age. In a way the dragons' language had been the first I had learned.
They all knew me, they all allowed me to ride them as needed. To many I was their first human contact. Even I had heard the stories of only people with royal blood being able to communicate with every dragon. Mainly this was so they could better command their troops. Yet there hadn't really been a war in years. Not under the current king. Little skirmishes would pop up along the border realms. Nothing that resulted in the need for the legions of dragons and knights under the king's command. The king typically righted these disagreements out on his own.
As I watched the early morning fog begin to lift, I stroked the young dragon who had bonded with me. I could feel her, mind soul and body. This sort of connection I had never had before. She was mine, or in reality, I was hers. Together we were Nuare, a bonded dragon and Knight. The bond wasn't complete. Not until I named her.
How much more would I understand her once that happened? I thought as the school grounds came into view. I paused for a moment, my breath puffing out in the early morning mist. The warmth of the day hadn't hit us yet. It was just the beginning of spring, but I don't think that was the reason for this mornings chill.
I looked out at the only home I had known. Many called it Wren Academy. Only those that truly understood what the Academy was for knew Wren was an acronym. It stood for Warren Raleigh Eternal Nuare Academy. Wren also referred to the dragons we kept here.
Directly in front of me was the hatchling grounds. This was a large open field where we placed the young dragons that hadn't bonded. Twice a year we held the bonding ceremony were children marked to be dragon knights were brought in to meet the hatchlings. Many dragons still slumbered in their shells, in the hatchery, waiting for their knight. A dragon would only hatch if it knew its knight was alive in the world. A human child born with a dragon mark was special. These were the ones chosen to become knights. Technically there were only five species of dragon. They represented the five elements. Earth, air, fire, water and soul. Yet under each component were many subcategories of dragons. Like air had smoke, wind and cloud connected to it.
The Wren Academy was in a space between three mountain ranges. You could see their tallest peaks surrounding the glade the academy had carved out for the school and its grounds. The reason you could only see the tallest peaks was because a large forest surrounded the school on three sides. The fourth side was the Kingston Mountain range... on the other side of it, at least a thousand miles, was the King's palace.
The air dragons lived across the campus from the hatching grounds. Their dorms sat right in the shadow of the mountain. They were the closest to the Academic building A. The Fire dragons were in front of the main campus buildings. They took up the most land. As one approached on the road to the campus you could see the Fire dorms, a large palace like structure. Since the king had been a fire dragon knight for as long as living memory could recall. The hatchery was off to my right, it separated the fire Nuare's space from the Wry.
The Wry was a large volcanic looking mound of earth that was carved out for the young hatchlings to live. Cave like rooms filled the packed dirt structure leading up to an open top where the dragons could fly in and out of at will. That is once they learned to fly.
The Earth dragons lived in the forest. The land bound ones preferred mud dens then Wrys. The winged ones had a thoroughfare of tree houses for both knights and dragons to share. It was hard to find since they blended it in with the forest. I had lived here all my life and knew exactly where it was.
The water dragons lived off to the right of the air dragons. They were the less accepted, their knights often struggled under the leading fire dragon clan. They had the smallest space to live, their knights were housed in the worst dorms, and they had the mountain taking up over half of the land allotted to them. Deep in the mountain there was a waterfall the dragons loved. No one told the fire clan this of course.
For as long as human memory went back we served the Fire dragons. Every King had a male child born with the mark of the fire dragon. They became the crown prince to the throne. There were legends of when the water dragons had held the throne. It was suppose to be the first child born to a king that was marked for knighthood was to assume the throne. It shouldn't matter what dragon it was marked by. Yet the fire dragons had seized this power by making the king murder their children until they got a son born with the fire mark. A daughter wouldn't do, for how do you convince a mother, a queen, to kill her child.
I didn't much care for the fire knights. The dragons never seemed that bad to me. But when they became bonded, some changed. I felt horrible each time it happened. I treated each dragon as if they were my family. Dragons I understood, humans, well let's just say I would rather live in the Wry than a dorm.
The soul Nuare's were so few that they had dorms under the magical training building. At most we had five or six pairs of Soul Nuare's on campus. That was for the entire school, not each class. They had unique gifts and abilities which made having a bonded pairing of well trained Soul Nuare's in a command a bonus in any fight.
The beast in my arms flicked her tail against my hand. Right. When the new term started, I would have to move to the dorms. I would have to enroll in school so that I could learn to became a knight. That held little calling for me. But to allow her to live up to her potential I had to be strong and trained well. I had to become a knight.
"Zyn did they find..." the voice trailed away as the speaker came around the last of the hedges that surrounded the hatching grounds. She froze looking at the sleeping child in my arms. Her hand fluttered to her mouth.
"Oh, she is beautiful." Zia breathed. Zia was a dear friend. Her Nuare, Fauner was another story. He was loud arrogant and not nearly as good of a knight as she deserved.
"Is she what I think she is?" Zia's golden eyes widen. "You have a Nuare, Zyn!" She cried softly. Tears wetted her eyes. She flamed slightly to dry them, her red-orange hair flickering in the heat. It was only then that I realized just how cold I had become.
"I know what I wish to name her." I said looking down at the sleeping form. Zia grinned at me.
"Wait until the others are ready." I knew what she meant. I smiled. Lifting my head I sent out a thought to every dragon housed in the school. I showed them the beast in my arms, showed them the moment I bonded with her.
There were loud cries, whooping cheers all the sounds of great joy as each heard my news.
"Come on, I am sure they all want to meet her." Together we made our way around the hatching field's border hedges, past the fire dragon grounds, all the way up to the main compound. Here was the school buildings. These included the academic halls, as well as the administrative buildings and the Magic training building. In the very center of this was the main quad. A huge open space where meetings, games, trainings and other activities took place. It was were the magic ley lines met. They sprang out from here to each part of the school.
As I entered it many human looking beings oozed into the square. If you didn't look too closely you would think they were humans with dyed hair. There were colors no cosmetologist could ever create from a bottle. Their eyes shined with colors so vibrant, many so unusual to the human eye that they couldn't even name the color. These were the minds and hearts I loved being surrounded in. Normally I would celebrate with them, not ever really having a reason to be the center of the celebration.
These were my brothers, my sisters, my family. They came to celebrate my evolution to their ranks. I had flown with nearly all of them at some point. The ground shook as a few of the Earth dragons came rushing from their dens. Their loud cries making the very air vibrate with their cheers. Wind swirled around me as the air dragons that had been out hunting rushed in. They shifted to their humanoid form just before their feet touched the ground.
I smiled at them all. The white head in my arms lifted as the noise woke her. There was still fear in her for this strange world she found herself in. As she saw the others, as each one welcomed her to their ranks, her fear faded. She rose up as tall as she could in my arms.
Opening her mighty jaws she roared. Well it came out more of a squeak than a roar but she was practicing. There was a few chuckles, some laughter but many more roars joined hers as she continued to try. It took her a good five minutes before she finally sounded more like a dragon than a mouse. I congratulated her.
It surprised me to see that those gathered around weren't all shifters. Several knights had come with their Nuare. Shea, and the other dragon handlers stomped up out of the woods. They stayed together in a clump, at the very edge of the square. My adaptive father beaming at me.
The noise subsided. The brood of human like beings surrounded us. Each one knelt on one knee. A fist was placed over their heart, the other pressed into the ground as they bowed their heads. A soft chant reverberated through them. It felt like the ground echoed with their words. Their power swelled as they cast a spell of awakening around us.
Zia took the lead. As one of the oldest fire dragons here she made her way up to me. Her knight was a senior who was scheduled to graduate at the end of term, was head of the class. She glowed with the beauty of her fire. The white body in my arms shimmered. An astounding glow wrapped itself around her. A blue white light rose up as she answered the call from her superior. There was stunned acceptance.
Zia reached out offering her hand. "Your kind have not graced this world in the living memory of our Nuares. Thank you for coming to the call of my brother." This said, she knelt at my feet adding her own power to the chant.
"Name her now Zyn!" came the cry in my head. I would name her as the very first image she had showed me. She had introduced herself with the purest crystallized white frozen flame I had ever seen.
Lifting her as high as I could I called out both with my voice as with my mind, "My soul, my bond I join our hearts, in name. From this day forth you will be called...Tanwen." The cry of her name echoed through them all. I pulled her to me, as in my mind alone she gave me my true name. Our bond was now complete as I felt her heart beat inside me.