Nira leaned against the wall of a makeshift wooden building. Her heartbeat was extremely fast, so much so that her heart felt as if it was going to jump out of her chest.
She peeked out of the slightly cracked door, and into the arena. The Flip Course was already set up, and it looked even more terrifying than she had imagined.
Her outfit was a light blue, the colour of Eclipse's fire. It was skintight, and very uncomfortable. Eclipse poked Nira's arm with the tip of her snout, sensing her rider's tension.
She stroked Eclipse's horns, her breaths uneven and panicked. She hugged her dragon's neck in a feeble attempt to calm herself down.

"Freaked out, yeah?" A voice asked.

Nira looked up, revealing a woman who appeared to be a bit younger than thirty. Her hair was a vibrant ginger, long and tied back into a tight ponytail. Nira had hers in a messy braid.

"Yeah." Nira responded sheepishly.

"I've never seen someone as young as you enter before. Where are you from?" The mystery lady asked.

"I'm from here, actually. Calem."

The ginger woman laughed quietly. She was already sure that Nira would lose, just because she was from Calem. She didn't really blame her, considering that it'd been a century since someone from there had actually won.

"So, uh, what dragon do you ride?" Nira asked.

Nira don't see a dragon with her. Most of the people in the tent had their dragons beside them.

"Ah, Harp is probably outside." She answered, whistling in a way that she presumed that was calling her dragon.

A bulky, pearly coloured dragon leapt through the tent's entry. It resembled Eclipse, but much more muscular and large. Nira recognized it immediately as a Pearly Schwer, a different breed of Schwer. Much more common that the Silver Schwer, but still a magnificent creature.

"I guess we both ride Schwers!" Nira remarked cheerfully.

"I guess so! Harp and I aren't so great with flips, though. What about you?"

"Eclipse and I are pretty good with flips." Nira explained.

She felt like a child, surrounded by so many older people. The woman was about to speak, but a voice boomed through the tent and presumably the arena outside.

"All riders and dragons, please exit your tents!"

Nira picked up Eclipse's reins, leading her dragon outside. She made sure to be behind as many people as she could, so she wouldn't mess up and stand in the wrong spot.
The riders stood along the side of the curved arena, in front of their dragons. The graceful creatures sat stiffly, gazing around at the people in the stands.
Nira looked through the stands, straining her gaze for Skandar. She found him sitting as close to the front as he could, Wisp on his shoulder. Small dragons were allowed in the raised seats, but larger ones would probably break them.
She stared forward, trying to avoid the hundreds of eyes in the stadium. On the opposite side of the oval shaped, dusty arena, there was a box with a slightly overweight man inside. He held a large, hornlike apparatus to amplify his voice.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this year's Test! My name is Kelvin Akermoss, and I'm here with the judges Cassie Aberdine and Had Obet. We have a lot of interesting competitors this year, and nobody knows how it'll turn out. Today is the first day, and we have a wonderful Flip Course set up! Basically, I'll call a rider's name, and they and their dragon will go to that pleasant little line at the start of the course. And when I give the mark, they mount their dragon and fly the course! Cassie and Had will time the rider, and knock off points for any mistakes. They'll also add points for good things, and the rider with the most points by the end of the day will win the Flip Course, and will be given the first official point! And as most of you know, the rider with the most amount of points by the end of the Test will be the winner!" Kelvin explained, voice booming into the horn.

Eclipse's wings shifted uneasily, and she lowered her head slightly to receive consolation from her rider. Nira scratched her behind the ears, and the dragon lifted her silver head back up again.
Kelvin's voice filled the air again.

"Our first rider is Sheia Amore, riding Harp! Please take your spot at the start of the course!" He called.

The ginger woman stepped forward, leading her Pearly Schwer. She stood calmly behind a yellow line painted in the dirt, waiting for Kelvin to tell her to start.

"Start!" He shouted.

Sheia flies into action, leaping onto Harp's back. The pearl coloured dragon spreads his wings, and leaps into the air. He wasn't as fast as most Schwers, but he was still faster than a lot of dragons.
Sheia and Harp didn't make many mistakes, but their time wasn't very good. It took them a pretty long amount of time.
She left the arena and went back into the tent. Several other riders went, and Nira payed close attention to each one of them, learning by their mistakes and taking mental notes. Until a familiar name was called.

"Alright, the next rider will be Nira Everling, riding Eclipse! Please take your spot at the start of the course!"