The Dragon's Covenant

Kite’s speckled dragon snorted and scratched at the ground. He patted the beast's head and traced a finger along a deep scar on its forehead. His own scar began to sting, and he pulled on his reins instinctively. He noticed the other dragon riders eyeing him and nodded in response. They ignored his gesture and continued their conversation.

Kite cleared his throat. “Where do your dragons come from, Night-Baron?”

Coral burst into laughter. “Yeah, Night-Baron. Tell us!”

“It's Night-Heron!” He said. “Petulant child riding a dragon ten times her size, and another one who doesn’t even know his head from his tail. Now I've seen it all.” 

“You’re one to talk, Night-Heron,” Tristan said. “I’m surprised they put me on the same roster with the likes of you.”

“And you, Tristan! Who taught you such foul ways of speaking?”

Kite looked confused. “What? But you just…” 

“My father gave me this silver swallowtail as a birthday present!” Coral interrupted. “He bred this one exclusively for the occasion.” 

“And you, Tristan?” Kite asked. “Where does yours come from?”

Tristan scoffed. “You won't find a dragon like this anywhere else.”

“How can you be so sure?” Coral asked. “It’s a dragon like any other. My father— ”

“Unlike you the rest of you,” Tristan interrupted. “I wasn’t born into royalty. I worked my way up to be the best dragon rider of the modern era because she chose me. That’s something you can’t get for any price.”

“What a bald-faced lie! Dragons have never been proven to choose their owners. It’s impossible.” Night-Heron replied.

“That’s because people like you could never earn the trust of a dragon,” Kite said. “They’re intelligent beings. Smarter than any of us.” 

“Draconids include Wyverns, Wyrms, and Drakes, and of course Dragons,” Night-Heron said. “We know this because we’ve researched and studied them. Throughout our land's history, a dragon has never been known to be intelligent. It's a wild animal, and wild animals cannot be trusted so you’re either a fool or a fraud.”

Tristan crossed his arms. “Draconids choose their riders, not the other way around.”

“Is that true?” Coral asked.

“Of course, a child would believe these lies. That’s the bell to start. Let’s see if that dragon of yours is truly what you say it is.”

He couldn’t get the last word before Night-Heron led his dragon through the forest canopy. Coral looked at Tristan and shrugged her shoulders. 

“I heard he was rejected once.” She said. 

“No matter. I’ll prove just how superior Angelus is.” Tristan replied.

Kite pulled on his reins. “I’m getting the gold idol. You two will have to fight over the bronze.”

Tristan laughed as his dragon rose into the air. He and Coral raced behind Night-Heron to the starting position. Kite scrambled towards his wyvern and grabbed its reins before taking to the skies. It flew fast and he barely managed to hang on, so it slowed its pace. When the race started his dragon was the last to take flight and flew lazily up the first mountain peak.

"Atlas, hurry up!" He shouted.

Kite was anxious to speed ahead and spurred his dragon onward, but a threatening glare had him apologizing. By this point, he was far behind the competition and felt butterflies in his stomach.

“I won't spur you again, but work with me Atlas. Please. When we win this I'll be a dragon knight and give you a place to roost. It'll be great, trust me!”

Atlas blinked slowly and snorted a puff of black smoke at Kite. It didn't seem intent on listening but soon began flying faster towards the first peak. Kite felt hopeful and held onto Atlas tightly as they approached it.

~~~

The dragon riders flew to the highest mountain and began ascending its peak. The sun was highest in the sky, and each rider knew there were only a few hours left before the race was over. So far the first two mountains had both bronze and silver idols. Now close to the top, Tristan flew ahead and the others lagged behind him. They were in a column with Kite dead last.

“Are you competing or spectating?” Coral yelled to Kite. 

“Of course I’m competing!” He yelled back. 

"Then you oughta hurry your dragon up! It's not even trying to win at this point."

“You won't make it.” Night-Heron mocked. “You're not a very good dragon rider. You couldn’t even get bronze with those skills!”

“You couldn’t either!” Kite retorted. 

“That's only because Tristan's dragon is incredible!" Coral said. "At this rate, we might lose out on gold.” Coral said.

"I'm somehow getting the feeling you're not too concerned." Night-Heron said.

"This is just for fun! I don't really need the prize or villa, but it would be nice to finally have my own."

“But do we know the gold idol is up here?” Kite asked.

Night-Heron shot a glance at Coral and they burst into laughter.

“What’s so funny?” He asked. “There are four mountains and we're flying up the third one...”

“The fourth peak is the least likely to have the gold idol.” Coral said.

“And just how do you know that?” Kite asked.

“The frozen peak sits atop the smallest mountain,” Night-Heron said. “and since the gold idol is known to move quickly over large distances it’s more likely to be on the largest peak.”

"But more importantly, it's always on the highest peak." Coral giggled.

"Hey, why is Tristan coming back this way?" Kite asked.

"The gold idol!" Coral yelled.

They broke through the clouds and banked towards the right. Coral spotted the idol and spurred her dragon, dashing at a small golden glitter. Her dragon moved horizontally, and the gold idol leaped upwards and directly into its claws. She exclaimed in victory and began a quick descent with Tristan hot on her tail.

"Keraunos!" Night-Heron shouted.

His dragon shot out an arc of plasma and paralyzed both Coral and her dragon. She began seizing and fell out of her saddle. Kite pulled on his reins to avoid a collision with her dragon, which dropped the idol as it recovered from the shock. 

“Atlas, save her!” Kite yelled.

Atlas growled and held its wings closed, barrelling downwards and opening its leathery wings just before colliding. It caught Coral’s iron harness in its jaw and slowed their velocity. Coral's dragon approached them, and Atlas tossed the harness over with a flick of its jaw. It caught her and glided downwards, making its descent off the mountainside. Kite was furious. Sensing his emotion, Atlas raced upwards towards Night-Heron. It roared furiously.

Night-Heron laughed as he held his hand up in triumph. “The gold idol is mine!”

“Forget the idol. You nearly killed Coral!” Kite yelled.

"She knew the risks! This is not afternoon swim lessons, this is a competition to become a dragon knight!"

Tristan's dragon shot a bolt of fire at Night-Heron, who dodged it effortlessly. Kite and Tristan began chasing him around the peak and down through the clouds.

“The gold idol is mine!” Tristan yelled.

Tristan pulled on his reins hard and his dragon released a searing ball of fire. Night-Heron avoided it and the snow-capped mountain erupted with chunks of earth and debris. Atlas flew straight into it, dodging giant boulders with finesse. Tristan’s dragon flew in a wide arc and tried to approach Night-Heron's flank, but he anticipated it.

“I wonder whose dragon is faster, Tristan?” Night-Heron shouted. “Your Angelus or my Keraunos?” 

“At this range, it doesn’t matter!” He yelled.

“Keraunos,” He said to his dragon. “it’s time for that.” 

Keraunos did an aerial somersault and shot out a bolt of lightning while upside-down. Tristan's dragon deflected it with a sharp swipe of her metallic tail, but the force of the attack knocked her off balance. Night-Heron seized the opportunity and Keraunos fired off another bolt and hit Angelus from behind. He laughed triumphantly as Tristan crashed into a mass of ice and rock against the mountainside.

“Looks like you were a fool and a fraud.” He said.

Kite saw everything happen in seconds and felt a strange sensation sweep over Atlas' body. He instinctively knew Atlas was beginning to get excited.

“I won't let you get away! Atlas, now!" He said.

His dragon roared in excitement and Kite felt the tingling sensation envelope his body too. Atlas tucked in his wings descended onto Night-Heron like a meteor, and their dragons locked claws together and stared each other down. The two dragons descended to the Earth at break-neck speeds, but Kite knew he had the advantage. He had something his opponent lacked.

"I trust you, Atlas. Bring us home with a victory." He whispered.

Night-Heron, distrustful of his dragon gave an impossible command. The impossibility was not because his dragon lacked ability, but independence. It tried to unlatch, but the movement caused turbulence. The ground was approaching faster and he began to panic. He commanded his dragon to release its feet but Atlas held tighter, almost determined to end all four of their lives at once. Night-Heron jumped off and opened his parachute, abandoning his dragon. A gold glimmer caught Kite's eyes and he shouted at Atlas to release the dragon and catch it. At the last moment, Atlas released his claws and did a spiral twist to turn around in the air. It caught an updraft which helped Atlas catch the gold idol in his claws.

“Atlas! I can't believe it! We've won the competition!"

His dragon growled softly and began a smooth descent to the final point, but not before enjoying a scenic victory lap.

"I'm a dragon knight now... And you're a dragon of the stars! I never thought I'd make it this far, but I knew to trust you. Thank you, Atlas. For everything."