A Shadow Of Hope

Chapter 29

Ezra woke up a little later than usual the next day. He supposed it was to do with all the studying he'd been doing, it must've exhausted him immensely.
Taking a shower then getting changed, Ezra attached his lightsaber to his belt then went down the hall. Entering the common room, he noticed immediately that everyone in the Ghost crew was there. Including Hurricane, Kyber and Whiplash. Ezra froze in the doorway when everyone looked round at him.

"Okay, I feel like something weird is going on here" he commented.

"Ezra, come here" Fawn said motioning to the couch.

Ezra sat beside her where Fawn slid a piece of parchment towards him. He picked it up and felt his jaw drop.

"One hundred percent?" He managed to choke out when he found his voice.

"I double checked it three times and you didn't make a single mistake" Fawn told him.

The young Jedi looked at her.

"So, if we go to Kabera, and I get my dragon, you'll teach me how to be a dragon rider?"

"As long as you find your dragon, yes."

It was like someone had just set off a bomb. Ezra gave a whoop and jumped off the couch. Doing a back hand spring of joy, he grinned at Fawn.

"So when do we go to Kabera?" He asked.

Fawn and Hera looked at one another with smiles.

"Well, I suppose we can go today if that works with Sato" Hera said.

"Yes!" Ezra whooped.

"Jeez, calm down kid. You know there's only a fifty percent chance this'll actually succeed right?" Kanan asked.

"Fawn told me that my connection was strong so there's no way I won't be able to not get a dragon" Ezra replied.

"I'm just gonna do some last minute studying before we go" he said before shooting like a rocket down the corridor.

"He's gonna suffer a severe disappointment if he doesn't get this" Hurricane said.

"Well all we can do is pray he won't have to go through that. He was a reading maniac" Hera said.

"We know" Whiplash chuffed.

The Ghost landed in one of Kabera's docking ports later that day. Ezra had almost been jumping off the walls with joy and nearly everyone wanted to knock him out for a while. But they had to remember that he'd been studying for this for a while. All the researching​ he'd been doing had almost forced Ezra on the brink of madness. Ezra was out of the ship before the ramp had even fully opened. Lux was already waiting for them.

"You ready for this Ezra?" He asked with a smile.

"More then you know" Ezra grinned.

The others got to the end of the ramp and Lux greeted them.

"We'd best get to the arena" Fawn said and Lux nodded.

The group followed the man to a massive building about the size of the library. Stands were set up for races and games on Kabera and equipment were locked away in storage cupboards on the sides.
Multiple species of dragons were walking round the plaza. There must've been at least one hundred of them. Ezra whistled as they walked through the gates.

"Alright Ezra, I want you to go and stand in the golden circle in the middle of the arena. Let the dragon's come to you, then remember everything the books taught you" Fawn said. 

"How will I know if I've found my dragon?" Ezra asked.

"As you know, you must press your palm onto the bridge on the dragon's snout" Fawn answered.

"If you connect with it successfully, a pure white light will shine from your touch and a spiral will be engraved into your hand."

Fawn pulled up her glove to show a circling mark on her palm.

"What's the mark for?"

"To show you're a dragon rider and your part of this alliance."

"Will my dragon have it?"

"Definitely. Hurricane does."

Just to prove it, the dragon showed the boy the same spiral mark on his shoulder. Except his was larger and stood out.
So the searching began.
Ezra tried to bond with all of the dragons, but none of them felt right. He didn't feel a connection or bond at all.  Ezra felt misreable as he walked from the grounds. The dragon's, no longer needed, flew from the plaza. A little disappointed they didn't get to have a rider that day.

"I don't understand" Ezra told them.

"Why won't this work? I've done everything."

"I can think of multiple reasons why this isn't working" Fawn replied.

Hurricane lightly nudged her with his nose.

"What?"

"Remember that discussion we had a while back?" Hurricane asked, glancing at Whiplash.

"You can not be serious."

"Try it."

Fawn gave him a look before sighing, and turning to Ezra.

"Ezra, I want you to go back into the middle of the arena, and Whiplash, go with him."

Ezra and Whiplash's eyes widened.

"But, I thought you said he was too young..." Ezra began.

"I did. But that dosen't mean he can't try. I want to test it" Fawn replied.

The two friends glanced at one another before walking towards the arena.

"What if this does work?" Kanan asked.

"Then I'm gonna have some serious scoldings from Raxia" Fawn answered.

Ezra and Whiplash were now standing in the golden circle. Facing each other with a nervous excitement in their guts. With a exhale, Ezra reached out a hand to the dragon. Whiplash purred as the boy's gloved fingers came closer. The Ghost crew watched with anticipation as the boy's fingers came within reach.
Ezra hand was inches away from Whiplash's face. With a sigh, the dragon gurgled as he closed his eyes and pressed into Ezra's palm. A blinding flash of light shone from their touch, it glowed brightly around the arena. Forcing the others to shield their eyes.

Ezra and Whiplash couldn't be seen in the pure light.

What will happen next?!
Stay tuned!

Star-Wars-Dragons out 🐲