The following day, Cody and Inferno rested uncomfortably in Heyrone’s study. Well Cody was uncomfortable; Inferno seemed half asleep with his little bundle of furs surrounding him in endless warmth. Mournful had agreed to stay in their home, the cave, until the two returned later that day, though she seemed disappointed.

Heyrone turned around from the book he had been studying to look at the younger rider with interest, saying, “So you said you have a question for me?”

Cody nodded, “Yes. You said that Argos can heal any injuries you receive-”

“It takes a while, and there’s no way for Inferno to learn to do the same,” Heyrone interrupted, obviously trying to guess where the conversation was headed.

“That’s not it,” Cody said before the dwarven rider could continue. “Argos can heal, Micah can grow and shrink himself whenever he wants, and Destiny, Aval’s dragon, can even turn into a human. Why can’t Inferno do something cool like that?”

Heyrone’s eyes glinted in humor for a moment before he looked up at the roof of the cave, as if expecting the answers to just fall onto his head. He studied Inferno for a few moments as he seemed to be trying to figure something out. Then he turned back to Cody, his gaze a bit more serious and slightly confusing.

“That’s a tricky subject,” he said simply, at first. He began to pace as he explained further, “Each dragon has a special ability that they were born to do. It is a magic spell that any skilled sorcerer can do, but for dragons it takes no energy and they are always much better at it. No person could ever become as skilled at the spell to equal a dragon’s power. For instance, I can heal myself and others, but it takes a lot of energy and far too much time. However, sometimes the riders are the ones with the abilities, as if someone is picking which one should receive the power. Unfortunately, a rider having the power is pretty rare.”

Cody was still confused, “But, Inferno doesn’t have any skill and neither do I.”

“Don’t worry. For some dragons and riders it can take some time to discover their special ability. Usually they find out within a few days of being hatched, but later on there are two ways it can be discovered. Usually, it takes being threatened with death for them to suddenly make it happen, but we can speed the process a bit. By increasing your compatibility we can sort of force it to come on. Instead of the lesson I had planned, we could go through a few exercises to strengthen your relationship. What do you say?”

“Sure!” Cody all but yelled in his excitement.

Heyrone smiled and led the way out, “Saying, then follow me and Argos outside, we can go to the edge of the forest and practice.”

Cody was out of the chair he half expected to be used as some sort of torture, in less than a second and raced after the elder rider. Inferno grunted and reluctantly followed, his tail dragging sleepily behind him. They soon made their way to the cliff edge, Argos clinging to the side as easily as if he were part of the mountain himself. High up by the base of his neck, Cody could just barely see Heyrone sitting in the saddle, waiting for the younger dragon and rider.

As soon as the elders, Bluescales, saw the two at the entrance, Argos ripped his massive talons away from the stone and dove to the ground, his immense wings soon lifting him up higher and bringing him steadily forward. Cody swung onto Inferno’s back and the dragon took off as soon as his rider touched the seat.

Cody and Inferno followed the blue dragon towards the lake. Argos’s massive tail kept twitching, nearly knocking the smaller dragon out of the sky several times, yet he always managed to dive around it. Soon the forest disappeared beneath them, and as soon as it did both dragons landed gently on the grassy plain-like surface.

The human settlement was only a dot on the other side of the lake barely visible. On the other side was the ring of mountains surrounding the elven town, but Argos and Heyrone were interested in neither. Heyrone slid down his dragon’s side and walked over to Inferno. In his hand was a ridiculously long pole, at least half as long as Inferno was from nose to tail-tip, if not longer. It was a tan color and pointed at one end.

Heyrone tossed it up to him and explained, “The first exercise we’ll do is with these lances. Argos will stand right where he is, and you have to decide where to attack as a team. You both attack me, or you both attack Argos, and do not hold back.”

Before Cody could protest, the dwarf clambered up his dragon’s leg and settled comfortably in the saddle, watching the other two with interest. Argos kept his head angled towards the lake, watching the sunrise in its blue depths. His huge wings folded neatly to his sides to expose his back even better than before to aerial attack.

“Come on, let’s discover our power,” Inferno said determinedly before he leaped into the sky, spreading his wings wide and rising to twice Argos’s height in the matter of a minute.

Cody looked at the exposed rider standing out from Argos’s shoulder blades. “Okay Inferno, dive down so I can get a good shot.”

Instantly the dragon responded, sending them speeding down towards the seemingly defenseless man quickly. As they got closer, Cody readied the lance awkwardly and aimed it at Heyrone’s back, twitching it lower and lower as they got closer. When they were only a few dozen feet away, Argos’s tail flicked up towards the two and Inferno slipped around it easily. The lance glanced harmlessly off of the dragon’s thick hide and Cody nearly lost his grip on it. Inferno pulled quickly up and hovered over Argos for a minute.

Heyrone poked into their thoughts, “You were fast, but you were too focused on your target. Be aware of your surroundings and talk to each other constantly.”

As soon as the dwarf retreated from their minds, Cody and Inferno came up with another idea. They dove towards Heyrone again, but Cody kept an eye out as Inferno got closer. The same distance away as before, Argos whipped his tail around, but Cody alerted Inferno and he responded quickly. The smaller dragon dug his sharp claws under the blue scales, drawing out the tiniest bits of blood, but it was enough. Cody reached to strike Heyrone, but slipped out of the saddle and landed on Argos’s back, letting out an odd thunk sound.

“Use your sword!” Heyrone said before he stood on his dragon’s back.

Cody felt numb with surprise. He was on another dragon for the first time in his life, and it felt strange. He could truly feel Argos underneath the scales, an entirely different creature from inferno in so many ways. Before he could dwell on it any further, he realized Heyrone was advancing towards him. Cody leaped to his feet and instantly unsheathed his sword, beyond pleased that he had decided to bring it with that day.

Heyrone had his own weapon of choice, a katar it was called, in each hand. It was like a wide dagger with a square-shaped handle that formed an H. When pressure was put on a certain part of the handle, the blade would split into three to intimidate and possibly further injure the opponent. Cody had never actually seen Heyrone use the weapons before, but he had heard enough about them to know that they were highly dangerous.

Heyrone aimed a slice at Cody’s stomach, but the younger rider dodged and aimed a blow at Heyrone’s shoulder in return. One katar slid up in the nick of time to stop the blade while the other shot towards Cody’s arm and made a successful blow. Instantly Cody knew that Heyrone wasn’t playing his hardest, or else the weapon would have surely cut through his armor and made a small cut on his arm. All the same, he knew it would probably bruise.

The continued the fight for a few minutes before Heyrone suggested that Cody and Inferno dive again, only this time Cody would jump off while Inferno went straight in and attacked the older dragon. When Argos fought back, Cody easily lost his balance as the surface he stood on swayed and he almost fell off on several occasions. Nevertheless, he and his dragon fought hard for several hours until late in the morning, when Heyrone finally gasped out that they were finished.

“You were better than I expected,” the dwarf commented after he regained his breath a bit. “I think you’re ready for your first assignment.”

“Assignment?” Cody asked curiously as he sheathed his sword, slightly bitter that he had failed to land a single blow on the old man.

Heyrone nodded, “Yes, assignment. The true reason the riders exist is to keep order in Semiones, that is the whole reason they were created, though by who, when, or how is beyond my knowledge. Back when I was training to be a Dragon Warrior, those of us in training would often visit Semiones in pairs of two or a group of three, along with any wolf riders we had. Each one would go out at least once a month and check on the workings of a town or city somewhere in Semiones before coming back and resuming our training.”

“How long would you stay there? What did the Dragon Warriors do?” Cody asked, his mind only filling with more questions.

“The trainees would usually stay as little as a day or as long as two weeks, depending on the size of the city and their relationship with it. For instant, a visit to a town with family would usually keep you behind longer. The Dragon Warriors had an even bigger job that you are far from ready to learn…but they would visit Semiones a few times every year. Now about your assignment…”

While Heyrone paused to think, Cody took the time to ask, “For my assignment, where am I going? Who will I be with? How long should I stay? How do I even get back to Semiones?”

“Hold on, I’m trying to think!” Heyrone said with a bit of humor in his voice. “To start off, I’m going to send you to your home town, and you will go with Ashheart, Micah, Destiny, and their riders, if all are fit enough, and maybe you should stay for about a week. After that I will probably send you, Autumn, and Micah to Morgran with the rest of your friends that you haven’t seen in a while. I’m sure they might like to go home.”

Cody could easily agree. “I’m sure they would love it. When do Omen, Autumn, Aval and I leave?”

Heyrone let out a small laugh before answering, “I know you’re excited to go back and surprise everyone with the news that you are all riders, I can see that mischievous gleam in your eye. You can prepare today, I expect you to leave in tomorrow afternoon at the latest. Normally I would send you with someone like Fril or Icksazro to keep track of you, but I’m sure you can handle this simple trip.”

“I’m sure we can! Thank you Bluescales!” Cody just about shouted in excitement.

“You go off and start getting ready, I’ll have someone send a message to your friends.”

“Yes sir!” Cody yelped quickly before he raced past the dwarf and basically tackled Inferno in his excitement.

The black dragon was standing further along Argos’s neck and Cody would have stopped to laugh, but he was too excited to be going home to even fully notice. Without a word he climbed onto Inferno’s scaly back and the two began flying up to their den, Inferno a bit more hesitant. He was silent, despite his rider’s mental cheering.

Finally, “Cody, what about Mournful?”

Cody’s eyes widened in surprise. He had completely forgotten about the gryphon in his excitement. Mournful would either have to stay behind, all by herself again, or he would have to find a way to bring her along with them.

“Perhaps we could discuss it with her?” Cody suggested.

“Perhaps,” was the only thing Inferno said in reply.

The dragon continued to fly, his excitement showing just as clear through every movement as before. Cody knew he didn’t care for Mournful at all. He wasn’t entirely ready to trust her to go with them yet, but he didn’t want to leave her either. His heart sank when Inferno’s talons clacked on the stone floor of their den and Mournful was immediately by their side.

“I didn’t expect you back so soon, is it already over?”

Cody slid from Inferno’s back and sighed, “Sort of. Heyrone said that we were to go to Semiones for a while.”

“When do you leave?” Mournful asked, appearing only curious, to Cody’s relief.

“Tomorrow. Will you be alright here alone, or would you prefer to come with us?” Cody asked. He could have sworn he heard Inferno growl at the offer, but when he looked the dragon’s face was expressionless.

The gryphon looked at him for a moment, then answered unsurely, “My kind doesn’t visit the Realm of the Mortals….”

“We could be gone as long as a week,” Cody explained after he realized that she meant Semiones.

Mournful glared at him for a moment before nodding, “Fine, I’m coming. But we won’t be alone, how will I stay hidden?”

“Do you know anything about elves?” Cody asked.

“Yes, I can act enough like one, if that’s what you’re suggesting.”

Cody nodded, “Good. Autumn and Aval probably don’t know each and every elf. We can cover up your ears and hair and say that it is to hide you from the humans.”

“Brilliant!” She agreed cheerfully. “So what do we need to do to prepare?”

Cody rubbed his chin in thought for a moment before responding, “I suppose we will need to talk to someone about how we actually get to Semiones-”

“I know how,” Mournful interrupted.

Inferno glared at her. “How do you know? You said your kind doesn’t visit Semiones.”

“They don’t, but centuries ago we were the dear friends of the riders, long before Heyrone was even born. It’s simple enough, but your first trip might be difficult,” Mournful explained.

“I wonder why the riders are no longer ‘dear friends’ of her race,” Cody said skeptically, not taking his eyes off of Mournful.

“All the more reason to kick her tail back to the outside of the map. Her race is probably the reason that that part of the map is gone.”

            Cody choked back laughter and quickly replied, “I already told you, we are stronger than her and if we are on alert she can’t hurt us.”

            Inferno grumbled in reluctant agreement.

            Cody turned back to Mournful and said, “Like I was saying, to prepare for the journey we also need a hat for you that I’m sure we can get at the human town when I go to get the others to join us. Then we need food, water, our weapons…what else?”

            “Relax, you won’t need much,” Mournful said with a chuckle. “To make a long story short, we won’t be doing much traveling at all. I’ll tell you all about it before we leave.”

            Cody nodded. Turning to Inferno he said aloud, “I need you to catch something for us to eat anyways, just in case. Omen and Ashheart know about Mournful, so can you get close enough to the town to tell them to get her a hat that can cover her ears and her hair?”

            Inferno nodded and said alone to his rider, “Are you sure you’ll be safe alone with her?”

            “I have my sword. Besides, it will only be ten minutes before Ashheart and Omen make it to the base of the mountain. We can spend that time trying to get to the bottom to meet them. And you’ll be back before you know it,” Cody encouraged.

            Inferno looked like he was about to argue further, but finally reluctantly puffed out, “Fine, but be careful.”

            Before Cody could say anything else, Inferno had already taken off. Cody looked at Mournful for a moment and grabbed her hand before walking to the edge of the cliff and looking down. Instantly he dropped her hand again and the possibility of them getting down safely vanished in a puff of smoke. A mountain goat would struggle to get down safely, let alone a human that had spent his entire life outside the very view of mountains.

            “I guess we’re staying here.”

            “Of course we are,” Mournful said with a sardonic smile. “The only way for us to leave is if we flew out. I could carry you, but it’s probably best if we stay here and wait for Inferno.”

            Cody sighed, “I guess so.”

            Luckily, Inferno returned a very short while later clutching a normal-sized doe, an ashy-grey wolf, and the wolf rider. The dragon set all three on the floor before he rested his weight against his forepaws. Omen looked at his ribs for a moment before looking up. His eyes widened in surprise for some reason when he saw Mournful.

            “I didn’t think you’d still be here. Here you go,” he said as he pulled a large cap from his pocket and handed it to the gryphon. He then pulled a long, billowy cloak out of his shirt and handed it to here as well. “Inferno said that you might need some better protection, and I’m afraid that’s all I could find.

            Mournful nodded politely and tucked her white and black hair into the cap before pulling it well below her ears. Then she wrapped the cloak around herself, only to discover that it had sleeves. She slid her arms through and fastened the cloak around her neck.

            Omen was silent for a moment before he said, “Aval and Autumn said they want to leave as soon as possible, before evening if possible. It was agreed that we’d meet with Argos and Heyrone before we leave

            “We’re already ready I think,” Cody said, looking at the others to see if they would confirm his thoughts.

            Mournful and Ashheart were ready to leave that instant, but Inferno wasn’t even paying attention. His practiced claws were separating his kill’s flesh from bone as he had done several times before. He quickly made a neat stack of fresh meat on the dusty cave floor, much to Omen’s disgust, but before anyone could protest he had completely cleaned the deer. He looked up at them all and his eyes displayed his surprise at seeing them all watching him.

            Cody let out a gentle laugh at seeing how careful and precise the dragon’s talons were. Not seeing a much better choice, he grabbed the deer skin from Inferno’s jaws and began wrapping the meat in it, earning a whimper from Inferno.

            “What’s wrong with you?” Cody chuckled aloud when he had it all wrapped up.

            Inferno whimpered again, “I was going to make a pile of furs like Heyrone has in his study. It’s so warm and soft…”

            “We’ll have time for that later, right now we have to meet Autumn and Aval at Heyrone’s cave and you’re our only way there.”

            “Fine,” the dragon grumbled and turned towards the cave entrance.

            Cody nodded and asked Omen, “Did Aval and Autumn leave yet?”

            “Apparently they did,” the wolf rider replied, pointing out the entrance of the cave. A large white dragon with three passengers flew swiftly in the direction of Heyrone and Argos’s den.

            “Mournful, stay here and we’ll come back for you before we leave,” Cody explained as he climbed into the saddle on Inferno’s back and Omen reluctantly followed.

            When the gryphon nodded and stepped back, Inferno grabbed the grey wolf in his front paws and dove over the side of the cliff. Halfway down to the bottom he slowly spread his wings and they were gradually lifted higher as they flew forward, the wind blowing fiercely in their faces. Within a few minutes of speedy flying, the four landed gently on the rocky floor that was the entrance to Bluescales’s cave. Argos sat there, watching Inferno as he settled next to Micah.

            Cody looked over at Micah and saw that on his bare back sat Autumn, Aval, and a ten year-old looking girl that he assumed was Destiny. Her human form was growing fast, but evidently she still couldn’t fly. He turned his gaze back up to the monstrous dragon in front of them and noticed Heyrone’s tiny form standing by one of his forelegs next to a bag more than twice his size. It was at least eight feet tall and appeared to be about five feet across, the contents unknown.

            Heyrone nodded to them politely and said, “Please dismount and come forward, all of you. And if you would, please turn back into a dragon, Destiny.”

            They all did as they were asked and slid or jumped from the backs of the two dragons, Ashheart eagerly slipping from Inferno’s claws. They all walked up until they were about five feet from the dwarf, curiosity plain on all of their faces. The little girl was surrounded by thick fog-like smoke and by the time it faded she was a beautiful golden dragoness, her scales glowing in the sunlight.

            Heyrone pulled a knife from a small sheath on his belt and walked up to Inferno as he talked, “You really didn’t give me much time; I would have thought it would take you until nightfall to prepare. But no matter, I’m at least glad you had the sense to come to me before you left anyways. Do you know how to get back to Semiones?”

            “Yes,” Cody answered a bit quickly, but the dwarf barely noticed as he studied Inferno’s saddle.

            Aval spoke up, “I didn’t really care if I was ready or not, I was just extremely excited when you said that we would be going back. I can’t wait to see mum again.”

            “Uh-huh,” was all Autumn said.

            Suddenly, Heyrone slashed his knife right through the leather holding Inferno’s saddle, and the black lump flopped to the floor. The dwarf picked it up with one hand and threw it beside Argos’s massive paw, most unceremoniously.

            “What are you doing!?” Cody yelped in surprise as he watched his hard work disappear from sight behind the dragon’s paw.

            Heyrone sighed sadly, “Sorry Cody, Blackscales if you prefer. That was starting look a bit to0 dangerous to me, it might snap sometime while you’re flying, and we wouldn’t want you to fall to your death, now would we?”

            “Having no saddle sounds a bit more dangerous to me,” Omen pointed out helpfully.

            “Well, having a new saddle is better than either option, I would think.”

            Before anyone could figure out his meaning, the dwarven rider waddled back to the large bag and pulled something out. Cody’s eyes felt like they would pop out of his skull when he saw it. It was a dark silver saddle with only the room for one passenger, but perfect nonetheless in Cody’s mind. The edge was studded with real, beautiful diamonds. They were small, but plenty. The saddle had a handle like the old one, but no reigns or foot straps. Instead, there were large ridges were he could place his feet, with little straps that he could slip his feet into and out of with ease.

            Cody dumbly helped the elder rider hoist it above Inferno’s shoulders and strap it on. It fit the contours of his neck and body with absolute perfection, the end result showing a dazzlingly beautiful saddle with long veins of silver tracing along Inferno’s scaly shoulders and chest like rivers of moonlight across the night sky. The gems lining in it were glimmering stars in its body. Every aspect of it, including its fit on Inferno, was flawless.

            Then Heyrone walked back to the bag and pulled out a similarly made saddle, its body appearing to be made of pure gold. It was the dullest of yellow compared to Destiny’s glittering scales, but it was still as magnificent as Inferno’s new saddle. Instead of diamonds, it was accented by alluring and skillfully-shaped pieces of golden amber. Heyrone and Autumn fit it onto Micah’s back, where it almost seemed to glow brighter than ever before. The white dragon beamed, showing rows of teeth almost as brilliantly white as his scales.

            Then, looking at little Destiny, Heyrone said, “I believe, you’re a bit too small for your saddle, but perhaps you can carry it with you? You will probably be just large enough for it by the time you come back from your trip.”

            The little dragon brightened and nodded, shifting back into a human as he turned back towards the half-empty bag. Then he pulled out a brilliant blood-red saddle, the gems embedded inside were bloody rubies this time. Destiny’s human eyes lit up in excitement when she saw her saddle, and her pleasure was very evident. Cody almost started laughing when he realized that she looked like any child would if they were offered a small fortune in treats.

            “T-thank you,” she stammered in awe as she grabbed it from him and hefted it over to her rider, where both of them could look at with the same expression. As a dragon, the saddle would be about the same size as her body.

            Heyrone smiled and reached into the bag again, saying, “And for the riders I don’t have much, but I do have helmets. The dwarves made the saddles, and the elves were going to try to make full sets of armor for you humans. This is what they’ve finished so far.”

            Cody thought back to the comfortable black helmet that he had left in his cave, but he wasn’t expecting half of the magnificence as Heyrone had. Like with the saddles, he took out Cody’s first. It was as black as Inferno’s dark scales, with six-inch long silver horns curling from just above where the ears would be. The inside was silver, and there were a few veins of silver that ran along the edges and through it, some curling elegantly around the horns. Cody pulled it over his head and was instantly even more amazed. It fit like a glove, or better. It felt cool enough that a hot day wouldn’t bother him, while it would protect him somewhat from the frigid air. There was also a transparent layer of glass-like material to protect his eyes, but it was thinner and yet appeared twice as strong, if not stronger.

            Then Heyrone took a similar one out for Aval, but the horns were more elegantly curved and it was gold. The horns, inside of the helmet, and trim were all blood-red like Destiny’s saddle. Last of all was Autumn’s helmet, which was white, of course. It had gold horns, trim, and the inside was gold. However, it was incredibly different from Cody and Aval’s. The horns were a row of sleek spikes, exactly like those on Destiny’s back. There were also some golden spikes protruding from the helmet above the brow.

            “Females are significantly different from males in the dragon world, and the elves make a point of that in a rider’s armor,” Heyrone commented, seeing their stares. “In these helmets, the elves decided that instead of making horns that curl backward like on a female, they would make a spinal-spike pattern and add horned eyebrows.”

            Autumn’s blond hair, getting whiter by the day to match her dragon’s scales, flattened nicely underneath the pressure of the helmet. The helmets looked slightly out of place without armor, but they were still completely amazing. Seeing that the bag was empty and held nothing for Omen or Ashheart, Cody climbed into the new saddle tentatively. He almost jumped in surprise when he found that it was a completely perfect fit for his body, whether he sat up straight or pulled himself close to Inferno.

            “Is that it?” Omen asked disappointedly.

            Heyrone nodded sadly, “I’m afraid so. Within a few years, there may be as many as a thousand wolf riders, and we just don’t have the time and resources to invest that much in them. But be glad, for now, you are the only wolf rider in existence.” Omen brightened instantly at the words and Heyrone turned to the dragon riders before saying, “Alright, you are free to leave and I expect you back anytime within the week.

            Everyone, including the dragons nodded, and they all departed without another word.