Chapter 19: The Missing Three
Professor Maras led the new students away from the classroom and they stepped out into academy field that leads to the dragon stable.
The Dragon Stables were not like the normal barns. They were a big half-circle structure that was made from rock, and it was open to the sky. Inside the rock wall, a dozen huge caves was still open, each big enough to contain a huge army machine.
Out in the yard, the tied giant iron rings that were cemented into the floor, was were the dragons were standing.
They were huge scaled creatures that made the students look tiny when standing close.
Their heads were moving only a little, like things made of solid rock. When they moved, they let out a groan, it was like the ground was shifting.
The sun was shining on their scales, some looked shiny, some were rough, and others like metal.
Reynold’s eyes scanned everywhere as they shifted between the rows. He was looking for the three familiar dragons from his dreams, the black one, the dark-red one, and the brown one.
He didn’t see any of them.
Professor Maras turned and addressed the students.
"Cadets. These dragons are the ones ready to bond this year. Remember this, they are not pets and they are not horses. They are extremely powerful and smart beings." He pointed toward the closest dragon, that the scales looked like a stone. "Treat them with total respect. Don’t do anything to annoy them if you don’t want to get burn."
Professor Maras stopped in front of the first group of dragons. They were different colors, but all looked the same.
"These," the Professor announced, adjusting his tie, "are the Marrow-Born Dragons. Look at their scales. Whether they are red, green, or deep blue, their scales look like stone or ceramic. They are incredibly big. See the plates at their joints that grind slightly when they move. They are the tanks of the Dragon world."
He paused. One of the red Marrow-Born shifted, making a sound.
"Marrow-Born do not breathe fire," Professor Maras continued, pointing at a large, rounded nose. "They breathe out a high-speed jet of pressurized air mixed with superheated mineral dust. This blast hits with the force of an earthquake, instantly smashing rock and bone with pure force and friction."
A few students shifted back in fear.
"Understood?"
Several students nodded quickly, their eyes already shifting to the next breed..
Some of them thinks that Marrow-Born are dangerous.
"Good."
As they walked toward the second group, Reynold could hear the murmurs of the students behind him.
"A Red Marrow-Born... imagine how strong that is. Nothing could touch you."
"I would take the Green one, less showy, more solid power."
Reynold was not even listening to them. He was still searching for those three dragons. He sighed to himself.
Suddenly, the girl right in front of him, stopped dead. Her name is Grace.
"Don’t look at me like that" Grace stammered, pointing a shaky finger at a Green Marrow-Born that the eyes were fixed on the group. "It’s looking at me. Tell it to stop looking at me like that."
"It’s not going to hurt you. It’s chained up and just curious," Reynold said, trying to move around her.
"Not when it’s staring right at me! Tell it to stop!" she hissed, pressing herself against the crowd.
Reynold let out a soft sound of frustration.
"We’re holding up the line, just walk." Without waiting, he put a hand firmly on her shoulder and pulled her forward. Grace let out a little cry but stumbled back into the walking line.
Professor Maras stopped again. This time, the dragons were slim, almost fragile compared to the big Marrow-Born. Their blue and black scales are thin.
"Meet the Rift-Wing Dragons. They are masters of energy, space, and how things move through the air. Notice the scales are thin. A Black Rift-Wing looks less like a creature and more like a gap in the air. Their shapes often look fuzzy against the sky. Their wings are very big and often look see-through."
He paused for the students to take in all he said. "They breathe Ice-Fire."
The class buzzed with low voices hearing it.
"The blast looks like super-cold air or ice crystals, freezing everything instantly. But what actually happens is they remove heat energy so fast that the sudden cold is catastrophic and causes things to explode at the molecular level. The target is flash-frozen and then instantly shattered or turned into vapor from the internal stress."
Maras turned to his students.. "Any questions?"
A tall boy with neat brown hair raised his hand. "Professor, if they can control space, could a Rift-Wing... transport itself? Like a Teleport?"
Professor Maras nodded slowly. "An excellent question, Cadet. In theory, yes. Rift-Wings can make small warps in space to dodge attacks or suddenly appear behind someone. However, it takes a massive amount of internal energy. They use it only as a last resort, usually in a fight, not just for fun. It’s for life-or-death situations. Does that answer it?"
The boy nodded, clearly impressed.
Reynold kept looking around... still no sign of the dragons from his dream. He sighed. Professor Maras said these are the dragons ready to bond. Maybe the dragons in my dreams aren’t even at the Academy.
They moved on to the third breed.
"These are the Chant-Scale Dragons," the Professor explained. "Physically light, almost airy. Their scales are covered in patterns that look like geometric shapes. A Brown Chant-Scale might have patterns that look like clay tablets. They are the communicators and the illusion-makers of the dragon world."
No questions this time. The class seemed more interested in the first two.
As they walked toward the final set, the murmurs continued behind Reynold.
Professor Maras stopped again. The air here was clearly hotter.
"And finally, the Cinder-Plate Dragons. Notice the thick, uneven plates. They look like cooling volcanic rock. They are incredibly tough and hold heat, making the air around them shimmer. A Red Cinder-Plate would look like black stone with veins of glowing lava. A Blue Cinder-Plate would look like heat-shocked iron."
He raised his voice. "These are the only breed that uses the traditional fire breath, the Magma Spit. They breathe a stream of molten, sticky flame that sticks to targets, raising the temperature until whatever it touches melts. It is the purest form of destructive heat."
After explaining, Professor asked for questions but there was non so he turn and began leading the line of students back toward the exit.
"Now, remember," he was saying as they walked, "the Bonding process will be slow. We start with short visits, getting used to each other, watching.."
Boom!
In the middle of the line, a skinny boy decided to show off. As they passed a huge, sleeping Red Cinder-Plate, the boy, trying to impress a girl nearby, made a silly kissing face at the dragon and throwing a small stone at it.
The red Cinder-Plate, which was actually calm opened one eye. It didn’t even have to get up. There was a low, rattling sound in the throat.
WHOOSH!
A short, thick blast of gooey, molten fire shot from the jaws.
The boy screamed but not because the fire touch him, but because the fire missed him by small length and slammed into the side of the girl he was trying to impress. The molten stream stuck to her uniform.
"Aieeeee!" the girl scream, clawing at her sleeve. The uniform instantly began to smoke and melt into her skin.
Panic exploded among the students as they scrambled backward.
"STOP!" Professor Maras roared, his voice slicing through the screams. He shoved his way through the now scared students toward the screaming girl. His face was pale.
He stood between the injured girl and the Cinder-Plate, his arms spread wide.
"Cadet," he yelled at the girl, "Drop and roll! Now!"
The girl stumbled.
Reynold rushed forward, grabbed the front of her smoking jacket, and slammed her to the gravel, forcing her to immediately roll, smothering the last bits of the sticky fire.
The Cinder-Plate rumbled again. It looked ready to blast again.
Professor Maras look at the dragon in the eye, his voice calm but echoed in the yard.
"Auraak, rith! Zir shex vrak. Kex." pronounced roughly as: OW-rahk, RITH! ZEER sheks VRAHK. KEKS.)
The dragon look back the professor maras for a long moment.
Then, slowly, blinked his eyes before calming down.
The courtyard became completely silent, except for the injured girl who was still whimpering and the heartbeat and breathing of the students.
Professor Maras turn around, his face lace with anger.
"See what happens when you treat a force of nature like a cheap toy?" he snapped, looking at the boy. "Your little showing off and a girl is now badly injured. This is not a zoo, this is your first lesson. You may be future Dragon Riders, but you are nothing but fuel to them." He pointed at the boy. "You. Detention." He then turn to Reynold "Help me take the girl to the infirmary."