"No one stopped her as she entered, no one would. The doors offered no scrutiny. Those who sought the rite, the bonding with dragons, slipped aboard unhindered. Men were of little importance to the dragons; the dragons' judgment would cull their numbers by more than two thirds by dawn. The masses, driven by desire or desperation, would surge forth only by their own volition. It was illegal to force the rite upon one, and it was illegal to forbid them. There were just as bad as men aboard these ships as there were good and noble, seeking the freedom that only becoming a dragon rider would give them. Some would find glory; others, oblivion. Dragons knew."