Josh dreams of dragons.
He thinks it's just a welcome escape from everyday life. Until one morning, he wakes up with scales, wings, and a tail.
Josh faces a harsh new reality: he has become something that shouldn't exist outside the pages of his fan...
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"My brothers and sisters," Uldor boomed once we had all gathered and he had our full attention. He stood in front of the great hall, his extraordinary size lessened by the mammoth timber doors of the hall behind him.
"We come together now in somber times," the dragon leader said. "Enemies are moving now to destroy our way of life, the enemies we know too well. The council has decided to oppose them in whatever way we can, in whatever little time we have.
"Those who are joining the fight will meet at sundown to fly south. If you are one of them, you will have been told by now. All of us travelers should be advised to eat, build our strength, and harden our resolve for a difficult path ahead."
He looked to his right where Brilyk stood, dark coffee-brown scales gleaming in all his muscled glory, head high and chest thrust out proudly. "These are the moments we hoped we would never have to face. Our solitude and secrecy have allowed us to prosper for generations. And yet the exiled, the outsiders, have conspired to pose this grave threat to the delicate balance of our world." The white dragon's voice was low now, his words were ice.
"We will not let them succeed." A moment of thin silence.
Then his forelegs shifted, and his head rose higher; he adopted a more sanguine pose before continuing. "There is one piece of good news I can give you, however. It is the return of Ayreth from his regrettable alliance with the Khovn Vrost. In fact, it was his intelligence that has allowed us to respond to their imminent threat in this way. I beg you all to harbor no bitterness for the mistakes of the past when his latest actions are worthy of our praise."
Rofar and Nyraz thumped their tails on the ground in response to this, and I was heartened to see quite a few other dragons do the same, a low drumbeat rising up throughout the clearing. Even if I did not see unanimous approval, a quick survey of the assembled athkan revealed traces of ambivalence at worst.
The white dragon nodded in approval at the show of support. "I will close on this hopeful note. Go now and make final preparations. I will see many of you back here at sundown, ready to serve as the claws and teeth of order and justice. Those who remain behind can be assured we will return victorious." Something in Uldor's spirit or in his rumbling voice gave this statement much more a feeling of truth than pure bravado. "That is all."
We returned to Rofar's house after the meeting. Tenaya had left us to go with her own family. "Wait," I said to my master, "we're all going, right? We're not just leaving Ferenor here? I don't take it lightly that it will be dangerous to come with us, but I don't want him to be alone either."
Ferenor materialized next to me, interjecting before Rofar could answer. "I go where Ayreth goes," he said flatly.
I stared at Rofar, who simply sighed and gave the young drake a look of resignation. "I would not advise you to join us, but I can't restrain you if you won't be persuaded not to come."
