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In the lands where colorful Dragons roam 
In the lands where all color is being drained from the lands
In the lands which are coated in black and red
A Dragon will find his rider
A Dragon coated in gold which has never been seen before
A Dragon who will bring the color back when the darkness is taking over  

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Year 3130 of the Troll

It was strong. Aleron could no longer ignore the pull in his body. He shuddered with excitement as his nerves and muscles all seemed to respond to something nobody really understood. Aleron yawned as the sun just peeked over the horizon, exposing his razor-sharp teeth in different rows behind one another. 

It was today.

It most certainly was today. His wings seemed to spread themselves, his body turned to the direction he was supposed to go. The pull was guiding him and it could only mean one thing. The one thing Aleron had longed for his entire life. 

He, Aleron, would find his human soulmate today. 

He, a mere wyvern, would have a true shot of realizing his dreams. His dreams of fighting alongside the Golden Dragon. To become the first wyvern that would fight alongside the dragons. The first wyvern to show the world could be more than just mere messengers.

His body trembled as the only thing he could think about was the choosing. His rider was out there, in the city, probably just as excited as he was! He would meet him and they would have a glorious future together! Aeron spread his large wings and let the beautiful morning rays of the sun warm his scales. It was his usual morning routine. A routine that could take up a lot of time if done properly. Warming up, waking up, grooming and preparing for the day to come was essential in the morning but now all of that did not seem important. He needed to go. The feeling in his body was drawing him away, pulling him to fly, pushing him to leave.

If wyverns could smile, Aleron would have a huge grin plastered on his face from the moment the pull took a hold of his body. There was no time fo his morning ritual. He had to go. He glanced back at his den, his home for the past twenty years. This would be the last time he would see it. 

It felt good.

Aleron pushed himself off the ground with his two strong back legs, spread his wings and took flight. He knew where to go. He had seen the ceremony twice before just out of curiosity. His destination was the human settlement they called a City. 

A shadow passed overhead as Aleron had been flying for a while now and he looked up to see a wild red dragon heading the same way as him. He picked up speed just to stay ahead and not attract any unwanted attention. It was not far now and on the horizon, Aleron could see the city's walls emerging between the green hills. Not long before he spotted the grassy open area where a colorful array of dragons were already napping or just laying around. Against the city wall was a wooden stage where the young boys and girls would be situated with their parents while the dragons and sometimes wyverns, would be lined up in front of them.

Aleron landed some distance away from the other dragons and watched as the red dragon also descended and eyed him with contempt. The red one was the biggest of all the dragons currently on the field and Aleron could feel the arrogance leaking from between his scales making all the dragons and Aleron aware of his superiority. Other dragons eyed the muddy brown wyvern shortly. Some snorted and averted their gazes while others, mostly the younger ones, kept staring a while longer. They probably had not seen many of their distant relatives before.

After making sure none of the dragons would bother him, Aleron laid his head down on the grass and closed his eyes, seemingly taking a nap while he allowed his daydreams of fighting as equal alongside the Golden Dragon move through his mind. It would happen. He would find a way, together with his rider. He was more than destined to be just a messenger. He knew it, felt it in his bones.

"Line up wannabee dragon!"

A man who was bigger than most humans kicked his hind leg to wake him up. Aleron lazily opened an eye and stared at the two-legged creature he normally would avoid before gazing over to the other dragons who already had lined up. He was the last one. Aleron snarled at the annoying human and slowly got up and made his way over. He was in height twice the size of a human, but compared to the dragons, he was still small as they towered over him even at least half his own size. He could hear them talk about him as he joined the line but he chose to ignore the dragon voices in his head and instead, focused on the stage where twelve young humans stood with one parent each.

His rider was among them. He could feel it. It was hard to tell which one it was now that they all stood together. Some looked a bit scared as others seemed to radiate confidence. Of the twelve there were only two female humans and the rest were all young males. One by one, they would walk up and touch the dragons until they found the one they would bond to. When that happened, rider and dragon would be able to enter each other's head, communicate and the human would voice out loud if he accepted or rejected the dragon. As far as Aleron knew, rejections were rare.

A seemingly important human stepped up on the stage and turned his back to the dragons and to the young humans and spectators. This ritual wasn't new to Aleron as he had, more than once, watched the ritual from high above. First, there would be the speech. It was boring, tedious and way too long for Aleron's tastes. Then there was some more strange human stuff going on which often included a lot of crying, hugging and other silly sentiments. When a young wyvern would leave its nest, it would be kicked out by its mother and she would attack it until it was far enough from the nest. Quite brutal but it worked. With humans, there were tears, more tears, and more tears.

Aleron shook his large head after the tedious speech and the goodbyes. He was awakened from his daydreaming by the calling out of the first name. A young boy, aged somewhere around fifteen or sixteen, stepped forward. He had blonde hair and the first scruff of something that might become a beard was visible on his chin. He looked back at his guardian and then towards the dragons who all stared intently at the young boy. Aleron was last in line and watched carefully as the boy made his way off stage and approached the majestic creatures. The first touch was hesitant. The boy was scared as the first black dragon lowered his head and closed the distance between the outstretched hand of the boy and himself. He gently nudged his nose against the palm and for a few seconds, they remained like that until the boy removed his hand and stepped backward.

Nothing.

The boy moved on to the second, green-colored dragon. He was a bit more confident this time around as he actually kept his eyes open as his hand touched the nose. A few seconds passed in silence again before the boy broke the connection, looked back at the stage and spoke up.

"The dragon's name is Midori and I accept him as my dragon."

The boy broke a smile so big that he started glowing from ear to ear before turning around and hugging the dragon. The humans applauded and cheered loudly as the newly formed pair stepped out of the line to the side to watch the rest.

The same happened with the next four young humans. They all found their dragons. The big red dragon had not found his rider yet and Aleron found himself standing right beside him now. The next name was called and Aleron's ears spiked up at the sound of it.

"Joseph Knight, please step forward and approach the dragons." The man organizing the event smiled at the young man.

Joseph didn't show any emotion. It was obvious he got that trait from his father, who looked like the boy and also showed no sign of any emotion. The boy seemed strong and was clearly from a good house. He was well fed and well trained. A true fighter like his last name suggested. A boy with a great future ahead of him for sure. A boy fit for the plans Aleron had in his mind.

The brown human eyes scanned all of the dragons and single wyvern before stopping at the red dragon. Joseph smiled and took a deep breath while he combed through his brown hair with his fingers. He approached the first dragon filled with confidence and did not seemed scared at all. When his hand touched the scaled, nothing happened and he quickly moved over to the next dragon. This continued on till the boy reached the red dragon. Hope filled the boy's eyes and Aleron watched them both intently as the red dragon also seemed a little excited with the prospect of this young lad being his potential rider.

They touched.

Scales versus hand.

Both dragon and human had their eyes closed and their touch lingered on for longer than it had with the other dragons. Finally, they broke away from each other and the boy's arm drooped next to his body like a sack of potatoes. The look in his eyes was one of pure defeat as the red dragon stepped back and refused to look at him any longer.

Not a match.

Joseph glanced over at Aleron, the only draconic creature left in the line and then glanced back at his father. Aleron could swear he saw the tears in the boy's eyes as he turned back to face the Wyvern. It was his last chance and Aleron knew the boy was meant for him. All the young humans would find their mate today. It filled Aleron with pride to have such a young and strong human fated as his rider, but the behavior of the lad was strange. He did not seem to share the same feelings as he seemed anxious and kept staring back at the stage. Aleron kept his eyes on the boy though and if he could smile, he was showing all of his teeth right now. It seemed forever before the boy stepped forward and stretched out his hand. Aleron lowered his head like the dragons before him had done and gently nudged the palm of the hand with his nose.

Flashes, thoughts, dreams, and hopes filled his mind. Hopes of fighting a great battle and winning. Defeating the enemy, protecting the lands. Hope of making his father proud and flying high in the sky on top of a dragon. Dreams of sharing battle tales with the rider of the Golden Dragon, embracing a woman and raising children. Fears of not being good enough, getting beaten and being a disgrace to his parents.

Fear of being matched with a mere wyvern instead of a truly magnificent dragon...

Aleron could feel everything the boy was feeling. Joseph was his rider and they would show the world what they were capable of! He was a wyvern and no dragon could match him and he would prove it to Joseph. Aleron focused his thoughts and spoke to the boy for the first time through their connection.

My name is Aleron. Like you, I wish to fight beside the Golden Dragon. Like you, I wish to become more than a messenger. With you, I believe we can make this happen. Fate brought us together for a reason.

Joseph didn't answer. Instead, he pulled his hand back so abruptly it actually startled Aleron. The boy turned around and Aleron followed his gaze to the father who actually showed emotion this time. His face was filled with anguish. Aleron didn't have to guess the reason why. His son, a proud, strong lad with a bright future was matched with a wyvern. A disgrace amongst the higher human ranks. Aleron felt himself getting angry but bottled it up as he saw the boy being torn apart mentally.

Joseph had felt the bond and knew it's importance, yet he also felt his loyalty to his father. It was clear with the way he looked back at him. Finally, the boy took a last glance at the brown wyvern before him, turned around all the way and spoke up.

"The wyverns name is Aleron. I, Joseph Knight, reject him as my wyvern."