I awoke slowly to complete silence. I lay there on my side, facing the remains of a thick black egg shell scattered around me. My mind was fuzzy and slow to process as I was waking up. My brain held the confusion of why there were only egg shells around me, where had the actual egg gone?

     I shot up as my mind came to an abrupt realization. The Dragon had hatched. I didn't see anything within the immediate vicinity. The forest around me was silent; all life had hidden itself within the crater. The birds and bugs were no longer singing their melodies like days before.

     I slowly felt the hairs rise on the back of my neck. Doubt started clawing its way into my mind. What if this was the wrong dragon egg? What if I was not meant to be a rider at all? I took three steps towards the pond when I heard a crunch behind me, my body locking in place in fear. My mind told me to run and hide, but my muscles refused to respond.

     There was a blinding flash in my eyes, my brain strained as another perspective forced its way into my consciousness. It took hold and forced its view into my eyes.

     As I opened my eyes, I could see myself from afar from a third person perspective. My view was moving and being controlled by someone else.

     Realization again pushed itself to the front of my consciousness. My view WAS from someone else. My senses came alive and I could smell the anxiety and fear as in crept into me. I watched from the distant perspective as my body attempted to run away, blindly running and tripping over branches.

     My third person view moved in for the attacked as I helplessly watched. It sprinted at my dumb body for a few steps before launching and tackling me into the grass. We collided there in the clearing, wrapping together in the force of the tackle. The instant we made a physical connection the final step in the melding finished.

     We lay there in the grass clearing, as information flowed through our minds. My vision returned to my body and everything became clear in an instant. We were bonded on every level. The flashes were our minds seeing both perspectives at once. Either one of us thought something and the other would do it. We could both simultaneously control our own body and the other's, it was not a question of free will as we were connected. We sat up and both waved our left arm in the air then set it down. It was unclear which one of us did it, but it was instant and in perfect unison. We could move individually at our own will or at the will of the other. Both sets of emotions ran through each of us at the same time, feeling what each other was feeling as powerfully as if it were our own. We complemented each other perfectly. Where one of us felt fear and hesitation, the other felt curiosity and determination. We were no longer definable without the other one.

     While we were figuring everything out we decided to speak aloud and take it easy with the one mind thing.

"Hello Draiocht (DREE-oct)" I said, knowing his name without having to ask thanks to our melding.

"Hello Adam" he said, bowing slightly after he stood up on all fours, getting up from our previous struggle.

     He stood there in front of me in all his glory. He was incredibly similar in coloring to his shell. I took a step closer to get a better look at him. He was now slightly larger than the size of a cow. His scales were matte black in color, and had the texture of wind swept sand. The scales moved in groups across his body as he shifted his weight from one side to the other, rippling like living water.

     Some of the scales lifted up slightly as he stretched to show a florescent purple skin color underneath that was almost invisible from the outside.

     I continued to circle him and take in his glory. My heart was filling with joy and excitement. Appreciating the power he had and immediately drawing strength from him.

     His tail had sharp quills that folder together to form a point, but could be expanded to form a spike of quills. Each quill was razor sharp like a dagger and moved like stiff fingers. Down his back ran a spine of sharp spikes that were only bare in the spot that I would sit when riding him. They were there to help protect me from any physical attacks from above.

     He followed me with his head until I came around front to face him once again. His eyes were a gray color subdued so that you would not see him watching you in the dark. I met his eyes and we both shared the bond we had already formed with one another on instinct, it was destiny, we were brothers. Born separately of a different species, but now permanently inseparable.

     We were about to begin a long hard trail of training to get us ready for the battle we would inevitably be fighting against the queen and her tyranny. We spent a moment silently staring into one another's eyes. A cool breeze blew across my skin as we silently agreed to fight this until the end. We would end the Queen for good.

     We walked over to the makeshift camp I had made and sat down. As weird as it sounded, we didn't need to make small talk or tell each other about our lives before now. With the bond we shared all the knowledge we both contained instantly.

     We started to go through the things that needed to be accomplished before we could leave the crater. We were going to get started right here and now. When we leave the crater we need to be ready to fight whatever is thrown at us.

     Firstly, there were a handful of free dragons and riders still around in towns every now and then, but we would absolutely draw attention with how unique Draioct looked. There wouldn't be any sneaking.

     We began accessing some of each other's memories as we idly planned. I stumbled across the knowledge of him being in the egg. Apparently, he and I have been matched to come together for almost a thousand years. His Shrine being as hidden as it was has been forgotten. Unfortunately because he had to wait so long the other riders that were to follow me have been held up as well. This helped contribute to the Queens rise of power. Some of the powerful dragons that would help regulate her control had been essentially waiting in line. He also explained that this site was a popular breeding ground for regular dragons. Only one dragon can hatch at a time at each site. So there were considerably less regular dragons thanks to a clog in the system.

     I looked at him shocked. I felt for an instant as if it was my fault. The feeling was quickly changed to understanding thanks to Draioct's mind helping me understand. The good news is that dragons will begin spawning again here soon. The two of us shared a feeling that this place was somehow more special than other spawning sites, but we had no proof as to why.

     I glanced around the site casually as we formulated our plan. For some reason my eyes were constantly being draw to the deep pool of water. There as definitely something special here.

     We mulled ideas around for a few more hours before deciding to begin training in the morning. We laid down in our makeshift camp and curled up together, and drifted off to sleep sharing the warmth and enjoying the stars.

I hope that you are enjoying the story so far. Please don't forget to vote or comment. 

Happy Reading.

-Kyle