The Dragonrider Apprentice Chapter Three: The Forest Garden

When Namaj woke up the sun was beginning to rise. The golden rays danced through the branches of the oak and pine trees.  She yawned, and stretched.

"How are you holding up?" she asked Rafael, not fully awake yet.

"Good, the scent it getting a little cold though."

"Hey, did you know his favorite color is yellow?! That is SO close to orange!" Biannca chirped. She'd been hoping that Biannca was still asleep.

"Yep, I know my dragon's favorite color," Namaj droned.

"That makes sense. Hey, what if we played-"

"The quiet game?" Namaj interrupted.

"Is it your favorite?"

"Yes," Namaj agreed.

"Okay!" Biannca piped.

What a relief.

Namaj looked ahead into the forest. The bright green leaves reflected the sunlight,shining. Morning air filled her lungs, relaxing her. Soon, they would find those goblins.

"Hey!!! You big, blundering beast!!! Got off my tomatoes!!!" someone shouted, in a shrill mans voice. Namaj looked over to see a green-haired elf emerge from the trees.

"What?" Rafael asked, looking at his talons. Red mush was splattered all over them, "Um, sorry." Rafael shuffled to the side.

"My Petunias!!!" the elf cried.

"Sorry..." Rafael said again as he backed up from the flower patch.

"Stop!!! My watermelons!!!!!" the elf screamed, even louder then before. Rafael stopped moving.

"Where are there NOT plants!?" Namaj asked, a little annoyed.

"Just make your dumb beast fly!! I don't plant things in the SKY. Where that creature BELONGS." the elf shouted.

Rafael. Was. not. Dumb.

"He is HURT you insensitive elf!!!" Namaj yelled.

"Could you all stop yelling?!" Biannca asked impatiently.

"I agree." Rafael added. Namaj took a deep breath.

"Fine... where do you not have things planted?" She asked the elf through clenched teeth.

"Well, just retrace your steps. Everything in the places you've been is already dead."

"Alright." Rafael said sheepishly. He looked down and slowly picked his way back through the garden.

After many missteps the elf asked,"Are you sure he can't fly?"

"We were shot down less then a day ago. I not even going to risk trying."

"Ah, so that is why you are here. Is there anyone else with you? Perhaps someone older?" the elf asked.

"No, just us." Namaj stated, in an 'I am done talking' tone. The elf, sadly, didn't catch on.

"So, there are no adults with you?"

"I'm nineteen." Namaj said.

"So, barely one. And your half elf, correct?" he asked.

"Yah, so what?" she responded.

"That makes you sixteen in elven, then."

"He's right about that." Rafael added. Namaj rolled her eyes.

"Alright, you're out of my garden." the elf announced. Rafael relaxed and shook his wings.

"Now! To the goblins!!!" Biannca cheered.

"The, what?!" the elf asked.

"Nothing, let's go Rafael." Namaj demanded.

"Um, where? His garden is everywhere." Rafael asked.

"I can show you," the elf offered, "If you say please." Namaj cringed, who did he think he was?

"Please guide us!!" Biannca chirped. The elf sighed.

"This way." He gestured. Rafael tuned and followed the elf. Namaj thought that the plants he led them through looked just like his garden's plants.

"My name is Finnor. May I ask what yours are?" the elf asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I'm Biannca!!" Biannca piped.

"I am Rafael, and the loud half -elf is Namaj."

"Hey!" Namaj yelled.

"What did I tell you?" Rafael grinned. Biannca laughed. Namaj crossed her arms. This wasn't funny.

As the laughing slowly stopped, they continued on. Namaj glanced at Finnor. Her was wearing a worn tan tunic and pants with, muddied knees. His pants had a lot of pockets. His boots looked like tough leather, and they were coated in mud. He also had leather gloves in the same state as his boots.

His hair was, well, totally an amateur cut. It looked very choppy and stuck up in some places. It was the bright green of leaves in summer.

Namaj glared up at the ever-thickening canopy for the rest of the way.

"And here, is the end of my garden," Finnor announced. Namaj looked forward. They were in a grassy clearing, most of it taken up by a wildflower covered, wooden house.

"Do you live here?" Biannca asked.

"Yah." Finnor sighed.

"It's very beautiful." Biannca complimented. Namaj didn't agree.

"Thank you. And, sorry for being short with you." Finnor said. Namaj felt like groaning. This was all taking way to long.

"It's fine. But we need to be leaving." Namaj rushed.

"We have GOBLINS to kill!! And REVENGE to take!!" Biannca cheered. Finnor frowned.

"Umm, is she playing around?" he asked, concerned. Namaj rolled her eyes.

"I said we need to leave. Come on, Rafael."

"Namaj, I kinda lost the trail." Rafael confessed.

"What!?!"

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The Dragonrider Apprentice Chapter One : The Apprentice

"Namaj, your mission will be to escort Worldrider, Biannca, across the Blue Mountains." General Oaken's assistant ordered.

"Yes, Sir." Namaj saluted.

"You leave at dawn. The Worldrider will be waiting in the hanger. That is all." the assistant dismissed. Namaj turned and left the room. She descended down the stone stairs to a lower level of the academy.

Namaj was a half elf, dragon riding apprentice. She had short black hair and wore her apprentice uniform. It consisted of a black, long sleeved turtle neck, shoulder guards, gray pants and tall boots. Namaj also wore iron, fingerless gloves. She preferred to fight with her fists. Especially because she found it difficult to ride a dragon while carrying a weapon on her back or belt.

Namaj arrived in the Hanger. It was a stone room about the size of a ballroom. Saddles hung on the right wall, and giant dishes of fish on the left. The last wall was open to the air, for flying out. Large curtains of woven grass could be hung across it during storms.

Namaj walked over to her crimson dragon and put a hand on his side. Their hearts began to beat in sync.

Namaj had bonded with him when she was five. She'd put a lot of thought into his name.

It was Firebreath. Lately, though, she called him Rafael.

Rafael looked down at her with his shining orange eyes, identical to her own.

"We're leaving at dawn to escort a Worldrider." at the last word Rafael rolled his eyes.

"What? They can't be that bad. I mean, so their thousands of years old, but that means they shouldn't be too talkative. They have probably talked about everything there is talk about, twice."

"OR, they will tell us how to do everything and I'll have to fly super slowly and smoothly so they don't fall off," Rafael complained.

"Well, we don't really have a choice in the matter. Unless you want to leave the academy and we can fend for ourselves in the mountains," Namaj sarcastically suggested.

"Eww. No." Rafael gagged.

"Glad we agree." Namaj removed her hand from his scales. "I'm going to rest up. I'll be here at dawn."

"Alright." Rafael departed and walked over to one of the food bowls. Namaj exited the hanger and went down more stone corridors and into the Apprentice Barracks. Many apprentices with night classes were sleeping. Others were whittling, sharping weapons or sewing.

Namaj sat on her bed and kicked off her boots. Then she reached underneath her bed and pulled out her dark oak mandolin. She sat, back against the wall, and began quietly to pick a tune. All her stress melted away when she played music.

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Namaj stuffed her bag with supplies for the journey and slung it over her shoulder. The barracks were at their bussiest point. The night class apprentices were returning and apprentices with early classes were leaving.

Namaj made her way down the slightly crowded halls to the hanger. Before she even got there Namaj could smell the early morning air. It was practically the smell of sunshine.

When she arrived at the sunlit hanger many dragons were scattered about the room. Namaj scanned the room for a person who was so old that hey were skin and bones. No one seemed to fit the description, so she strolled over to Rafael.

"Morning Namaj," he greeted. He was curled on the floor and still half asleep.

"Morning Rafael. Now can you try to be awake for when the Worldrider shows up?"

"You're not the one who had to fly here from your cave. Dawn is already early, but I got up when it was dark to fly here."

"And Dragons only need four hours of sleep, so I think you're fine." Namaj rolled her eyes, "Now, let's saddle up."

Rafael grumbled a bit, but got up and flew to the saddle wall. He took down a black apprentices saddle and glided back. Swinging his head, head he tossed it onto his back.

Namaj leapt onto his knee, then his back. She grabbed the leather straps and began to buckle them.

When she was done Rafael shuddered.

"Horrible, right?" Namaj and Rafael didn't like saddles. Flying bareback gave them more freedom. "It's okay, we'll take breaks."

"We can't take them too often," Rafael winced.

Riding bareback wasn't encouraged because neck scales were rough and sharp, not to mention it was dangerous. Without a saddle there was nothing to strap you down. If you lost your grip bareback you'd have to hope that your dragon can catch you without snapping your bones.

Rafael was, thankfully, good at that. And they had trained to ride bareback for years. Namaj could ride upside down, do barrel rolls and loops, all bareback, among other maneuvers.

Namaj half climbed, half jumped, down Rafael then jogged to the saddle wall. She grabbed some gray saddle bags and brought them over to Rafael. Both of the two saddle bags were about the size of a bed, but were extremely light. Rafael knelt down and she tossed them over his side. Then she tightened them down.

Namaj placed her bag with her belonging and her ration bag in one of them. The other would hold the Worldrider's belongings.

Now they were ready. Namaj leaned against Rafael's leg, and waited.

Ten minutes passed. Next an hour.

Namaj was in a pretty foul mood by the time a little, blonde haired girl tapped her. The little girl asked,

"Excuse me?"

"Yah? What do you need, kid?" What was a child even doing in the hanger?

"Have you seen the Worldrider escort?"

"You're looking at them," Namaj answered.

"Okay, well you're late," the little girl scolded. "Here is my bag." She shoved a heavy backpack into Namaj's arms.

"Wait, WHAT!? Kid, I'm not taking you anywhere. I'm not in the mood for pranks. Where are your parents!?"

The little girl turned around and gave Namaj, the most serious, look she'd seen on a child.

"I AM the World rider, now let's get going." she ordered.

"No, no, Worldriders are like, old."

"You're lucky I'm too old to be insulted by that," the little girl threatened "And I am a World rider. I simply like looking this way. Don't you listen to legends?" Namaj began to object, but the little girl pulled out a scroll from her pocket. She handed it to Namaj and she saw that it had General Oaken's stamp on it. It read "Worldrider Escort" on it.

Namaj cracked open the seal and unrolled it. This was, surely, saying that this little girl was a Worldrider.

Namaj stomped to the saddle bag with her things and stuffed the scroll into it. Then went around and placed the Worldrider's bag in the other.

"I'm Namaj," she said when she returned to the other side.

"My name is Biannca, now and always,"Biannca grinned and held out a hand. Namaj shook it hesitantly. Now that she knew that this was the Worldrider she regreted many, or all, of the things she'd said. She suspected that Biannca would kill her in her sleep, or right where she stood. Namaj didn't think the worldrider would care about being discrete.

There was no attempted murder though, as Namaj helped her onto Rafael. The saddle was large enough that Biannca could sit behind her and hold onto her waist, which was what she insisted upon. Namaj was going to ride in front of the saddle before, but she didn't want to anger a Worldrider.

At least, more then she probably already had.

"Ready?" Rafael asked.

"Yep!" Biannca chirped.

"Let's go." Namaj held onto the front of the saddle.

Rafael spread his leathery red wings and leapt off the ground. He flapped once and they were out of the hanger.

Rafael rose in altitude until the forest of trees was like a green rug.

Namaj held her windstone and used it to connect to sky magic. She grabbed the magic stream and created a breathable bubble around them. Windstone's were a direct connection to a type of magic. It helped you to do spells that you weren't born with a connection to. Namaj and Rafael were connected to fire magic.

Namaj looked back to check on Biannca. She was grinning widely, the wind blowing her hair around. It was so confusing that this was a wise, multi-millennia life spannning, ultra powerful being. She looked and acted just like a kid.

Namaj turned back around and gazed at the wide expanse of the Blue Mountains. A formidable wilderness that they would be crossing.

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