Dragon Riders

Chapter 2: Warmth

Serafina POV:

A gust of musty air billowed from the room. He called the first dragon by name, "Magnolia!" The last syllable echoed from the opening. A dragon, smaller than me, stepped forward cautiously. She shifted uncomfortably, not making eye contact with anyone. Her gaze remained fixated upon the ground. "Look at me," the Dragon Keeper ordered loudly, yet sweetly. The dragon raised her head and looked him in his eyes. He nodded reassuringly at her and broke their eye contact. Judging by the tremor of the ground, she was shaking quite a bit. My sharp eyes followed several sweat beads rolling down her neck.

The tremors stopped as he placed his hand on the back of her neck. The sweat beads stopped appearing from underneath her scaly armor and the last few dripped onto the ground. He guided her into the tunnel and the invisible door shut behind them. We were without supervision. After a few minutes of quietly sitting, a Dragon broke the silence and began chatting with his neighbor, soon everyone followed his lead. I turned to my left to find a Dragon, almost twice my size, sitting alone. I approached him. I cocked my head and asked,

"How do you do?" The Dragon turned sharply, and I could tell I had interrupted a deep thought.

"Well," he replied cooly. "And you?"

"Very well," I responded, once again admiring my voice like bells ringing. "Thank you."

He quickly asked, "what are you called?"

"I am called Serafina," I replied softly.

"Enchanted," he grinned. "I am called Orion."

"Charmed " I smiled back. The thick air once again entered my throat. I coughed, "quite dusty, isn't it?"

"Quite," Orion answered my rhetorical question. The Dragon Keeper emerged from the chamber. He called out another name,

"Malina!" Another dragon stepped forward, this one with much more confidence. No comforting was needed and she followed the Dragon Keeper into the mysterious room. The conversation picked up again once the Keeper sealed the door.

"So, what do you hope to be?" I asked Orion awkwardly.

"I'm hoping for an element," he answered. "But anything's good with me! And you? What do you want to be?"

"I don't know," I confessed after a long pause. "I've honestly not thought about it yet..." My sentence trailed off as the Dragon Keeper emerged again. This pattern of him calling a name, him entering the chamber, conversation ensuing, and him coming out again alone continued until, after six dragons had been called, he called,

"Orion!" Orion stood and began walking. He turned and looked back at me.

"Farewell, Serafina," he bowed his head respectively. "I do ever so hope we can meet again!" If Dragons could blush, I would have. I was too shy to speak, so I waved my paw in parting. He chuckled at my awkwardness and followed the Dragon Keeper into the chamber. The door sealed behind them.

What a gentlemen, I sighed. I will dream of our meeting again. After the last two dragons went, the Dragon Keeper emerged and called,

"Serafina!" I stood up and glanced at the elderly human. His hands were small and worn. I did not realize, until he placed a hand on my shoulder, that I had been trembling fiercely. He kept his hand on my shoulder and led me into the darkness. Once the door sealed behind us, he snapped his fingers and candles lit all around the room. I examined my surroundings.

In the dimly lit room, I could see thirteen tables spread periodically around the edge of the circular chamber. On each table there was an item. They went as followed: a crown, a tiara, a candle, a scroll, a cross, a star bracelet, a blanket, a necklace with a lightening bolt charm, a violet, a stone, a glass of water, a fan that was waving by itself, and one had nothing at all. "Go," he said quietly. "Touch the objects." I hesitated,

"How will I know which one is the right one?"

"You'll know," he whispered. I went to the first table on my right. I laid my paw on top of the crown, then slapped myself mentally.

You can't be a King Dragon, I reprimanded myself silently. You're a girl! I then laid my hand on the tiara. Nothing. Okay, I'm not a queen. Next, I touched the wax of the candle. Nothing. I'm not a Fire Dragon. The scroll? Nothing. Not a Council Dragon. The cross? Nothing. Not a Creator. The bracelet? Still nothing! Not a Space Dragon. The lightning necklace? You guessed it! Nothing. Not a Storm Dragon. I moved over to the next item, a violet. The purple petals bristled gently in the breeze of the fan. I laid my hand atop its soft bud.

Warmth.

My feet unwillingly left the floor. I was being lifted by a force I could not identify. Light surrounded me. The chamber was no longer there. Only light. My scales flipped. They flipped! No longer was I dull cream colored. My new lavender scales glistened in the ball of light surrounding me. I felt myself lowering, and my feet felt the cold, hard, stone floor once again. The light extinguished, and I was transformed. My two ivory horns had quadrupled, and my scaly wings grew feathery and light. Stripes of magenta and white lined them along with my stunning lavender. From the end of my tail sprouted a tuft of lavender feathers, resembling the texture of my wings. Small ivory spikes jutted out of my tail. I brushed my wings against the side of my body; the soft, smooth surface comforted me. The Dragon Keeper smiled and announced,

"Congratulations, Serafina! You are a Nature Dragon!" He didn't need to explain to me what my talents were, I already knew. I exited the Calmeria, a chamber for type selection, which I had realized it was. Juniper grinned widely at me.

"Wow," she gasped. "Lavender suits you perfectly. OH! YOUR WINGS! They're perfect! But wait! Gushing compliments can wait! We need to get you to your growing cave!"

Ah yes, I thought, a Wiop. I remembered that once a Dragon had their type, maturation would occur rapidly. A Wiop was a cave assigned to Dragons so that they may grow without the disturbances of the outside world. We followed a trail through the thick woods and found a meadow, lined with large caves. We entered the third cave to the left and she gave me a branch of berries.

"Eat these," she commanded. I obeyed and plopped one into my mouth. Immediately the bitterness irked me. I almost spat it out, but I did as I was told. I quickly downed the remainder on the branch and shuddered at the awful taste. The world began to sway slightly. I could not focus on anything and colors washed around the room. I laid down my head and drifted off into a deep slumber.