Chapter 3
The sun was high, the birds were chirping, and the façade of Wei’s castle glistened from the sunlight, its metallic sheen mesmerizing yet imposing at the same time. The castle must have been at least twice the size of the Temple of Sedon – which could seat up to 500 people.
“All of this for two people.”
The doors were big enough for a full grown dragon to walk through, and the two towers he saw hundreds of meters away were decorated with gold plated armor. The entire building was decorated with bits of gold and silver, the window frames a fluorescent purple. The windows seemed to be more for light, however, as he was unable to look through their opacity. The sun may be closer, but the chill from the wind was quite noticeable. Darko looked forward to the warmth the doors would open to, the revitalizing tea, the filling food, and of course, the enlightening conversation. But of course, before any of that could happen, the doors would first have to open.
He knocked. The vibrations seeming to echo endlessly through the temple, returning back to the door and stopping at the same place they began.
The door opened.
Xiu Wei knew Darko, and Darko knew Xiu Wei, there was no need for introduction, but when Wei shifted his gaze to Fercius, he seemed astonished. He slowly walked around Fercius, scanning him with his eyes, while Fercius sat there patiently, keeping his peripheral vision on this mysterious Wei at all times. Fercy seemed to flinch when Wei ran his bony fingers along the spine of Fercy’s wing.
He let out a growl and retracted his wings a little more, shifting his position to be a little more defensive towards Wei’s general direction, arching his neck so they were eye to eye. Darko laughed.
“Don’t worry Fercy. Xiu Wei is a world-renown dragon lancer and trainer.”
“Yes, and this is a fine battle dragon.”
Fercy growled, submitting a little and looking back towards the door. Darko noticed his expression change as Fercy’s red eyes met someone else’s in the temple, and he immediately got out of his sitting position and stood up on all four’s, growling the way a dragon would growl to another dragon. Darko followed his gaze across the temple and fell into the light blue-eyed gaze of a Vulcan dragon. He now understood exactly what Xiu Wei must have felt towards his Arctic dragon. The Vulcan dragon was dark gray, with streaks of red running along its legs and back. The webs of its wings were a bright red, with the spine of the wing black. Its ears were much longer than Fercy’s, extending almost beyond the horns, which were arched backwards like Fercy’s. The plating on the Vulcan dragon’s chest was a light gray. Darko stepped forward to investigate this dragon. Darko heard Fercius step forward as well, but the moment he did, the other dragon growled back and turned tail, disappearing into the darkness of a corridor.
That was a fine battle dragon too.
“Who – “
“That’s Rin’Tsu. A Vulcan dragon, I found her a few years ago, nearly frozen to death up here in the mountains.”
“How did a Vulcan dragon get up in the Apalenes?”
“I’m not too sure, but I believe the Apalene Mountains used to have some active volcanoes, her instincts must have led her here.”
“Instincts can deceive.”
“Perhaps, or maybe she is fair warning of a dormant volcano about to erupt?”
Darko thought about that for a moment.
“But then why would you – “
“Why not?”
“I don’t find burning to death particularly appealing.”
Wei laughed, the guffaw echoing throughout the temple.
“Rin’Tsu!” Wei exclaimed.
A gust of wind pushed them back as Rin’Tsu flew by.
Where the hell did she come from!
“Stealthy.” Darko said, rattled by the sudden appearance.
Rin’Tsu landed gracefully next to Xiu Wei, glancing over at Fercy before looking down at her owner.
“And very aware; if there is any threat of an active volcano, Rin’Tsu will most definitely alert me.”
“Of course, the same way her instincts most definitely saved her life the first time.” Darko replied slyly.
Xiu Wei shot a glare at him, “What brings you here, Darko?”
“I like your tea.” Darko replied.
There was a pause, but Darko kept a straight face.
“You want to test your dragon.” Xiu Wei said, sighing.
Darko nodded, “I think he has what it takes to join the third aerial.”
“If he has any ranged advantages, they’ll be lost.”
“He has none, flame-bursts elude him.”
Rin’Tsu snorted.
Fercius roared at her.
Xiu Wei laughed, “Rin’Tsu finds that comical.”
Another pause, with only the breathing of the dragons interrupting the ambience.
“Very well, drink some tea, prepare your dragon. I will pull him through the rigors of the third aerial in one hour.”
So they drank their tea, had their rice, and even shared some stories, but then the true reason for being here began. Darko was alone with Fercius now, as Xiu Wei had retired to his chambers to review his training procedures.
“If this works, and Xiu Wei finds you worthy of the third aerial, then father will most definitely be pleased with my decision to enlist you. I wish I could tell you more, but I have never witnessed any of his training seminars, I have no idea what it will entail, but I am thinking it will probably force the best out of all of your attributes,” Darko ran his hand from Fercius’ horns down to his nose, “I know you can do this, your power is limitless, all you have to do is believe you have it, and use it.” Darko laughed and continued, taking a step back, “When you tore into that wall, people told me that no dragon had ever broken that deep into a reinforced wall before, that the wall seemed to have melted as you impacted it. I want you to melt these exams the same way, cut through them the way you cut through that scarecrow.”
“Darko,” Xiu Wei called, “are you ready?”
“Yes, we are.”
“Good.” Wei drew his katana. “Show me how ready you really are.”
Darko drew his sword as well, slightly confused. He now knew why Wei had told him to wait for him at the great hall.
“I don’t understand, aren’t you going to test my dragon?”
Fercius lunged several meters away from them as a burst of fire erupted where he had just been. Rin’Tsu rammed into him with all her might, knocking him twice as far as his lunge.
“Both the dragon and the lancer must be prepared for battle.”
This definitely isn’t going to be a mounted exercise.
Darko ran towards his dragon and grabbed the shield strapped to his horns, unbuckling the saddle and reigns, letting it drop down to the floor.
“Good luck Fercy.” Darko said. “Then let us duel!”
Fercius slowly got up as Rin’Tsu eyed him carefully, and they lunged for each other, jaws wide open.
Darko lunged for Wei, bringing his sword back for a powerful horizontal slash. Xiu Wei easily deflected the attack with a tenth of the effort, his katana having been arched in just the perfect way for just the perfect deflection. Wei then countered with a stab, which Darko sidestepped clear of, bringing one leg past the other and slashing as he came around to re-orient himself. Wei simply jumped back to dodge, and then immediately slid forward and dropkicked Darko, knocking him to the ground.
Fercius tried to bite into Rin’Tsu’s neck, but the sharp spike’s lining every Vulcan dragon’s neck deterred him from the idea. The attempted maneuver had left him vulnerable, however, and Rin’Tsu whipped him with her jagged tail, slicing it across his face and knocking him into a splatter of his own blood. Before Fercius could even collapse, he sprung himself towards her, ramming into her with all his might and biting down at one of her long ears. She yelped from the pain and seemed to give in, very careful as to not injure her ears any further, she had brought her tail back all the way, winding up for a powerful strike. Fercius seemed to have noticed, however, for he had let go of her ear and pumped himself into the air. This was now an airborne battle.
Darko blocked the attempted slashes at him while he was grounded, and got up with a powerful double kick, knocking the katana clear of Xiu Wei’s hand. Darko lost his balance as he got up – however – giving Wei just the time needed to grab his katana again and attack with a series of mixed vertical and horizontal strikes. The clangs from metal on metal echoed through the castle as their swords danced, becoming a simple extension of their arms. Darko saw the dragons duking it out in the air, the castle’s high ceiling giving them quite a bit of space.
The roars they exchanged were more noticeable than the gusts from their wings, and Darko saw the dragon’s lunge at each other again.
“Watch your fight, not another’s!” Xiu Wei panted as he slashed at Darko, grazing his face. The sudden pain made him cry out and fall back, dropping his shield, he tested his face with his left hand as he held his sword in front of him with his right, he may have been on the ground, but he definitely wasn’t an inviting target, ready to strike anyone who went near.
“Do you give up!?” Wei asked, lowering his sword.
Darko looked back at the dragons, which were now in the corner of the hall, using the pillars to propel themselves at each other as they exchanged blows, their roars becoming higher pitched as the gruesome battle continued.
“I came here because I wanted a test.” Darko said, getting up and placing his left hand on the sword’s handle as well. The sword of Sedon might be light, but it had the power of Sedon within its blade, and he would need all of it for this test. As Xiu Wei lunged at him, he remembered how the two-handed katana was a single bladed weapon, so he crouched, and as Xiu Wei jabbed, he brought his sword over his, forcing the tip of the katana into the marble floor they were standing on. He then wound his sword back and chopped the katana in half like an axe would a piece of timber.
“And you have passed that test.”
“But have they?”