From the moment that Fia departed from Viliant and Diwa, a thrill raced through her heart. I'm going to enter that tournament, all by myself! Although she had no idea where to go in the city, she followed the flow of traffic. More dragons flew and humans walked down the street in the direction that she was running. In the distance, she could see a flock of dragons swooping to land while others ruffled their wings in the air. Eventually, she squeezed her way through some humans' legs which jumped away from her out of surprise.

Fia saw two elevated platforms on either side of a pool. Above the water, two dragons twisted and spiraled through the air as they unleashed their elemental breaths. The faster, white dragon blitzed his opponent with a cloud of frost. He steadily forced the other dragon closer to the water. The cold energy gathered overhead and solidified into a sizable icicle. The sharpened hunk of ice dropped down and struck the middle of the other dragon's back. Crash! The icicle shattered upon impact with the dragon and scattered small, crystalline shards to float atop the water. Splash! The dragon soon followed them and sunk under the surface.

The spray of water elicited cheers from the crowd of humans and dragons alike. The ice dragon roared and soared in a victory lap around the pool. He fluttered back to his pedestal and bent his neck to look down. The loser popped his head out of the water. Droplets beaded down his scales which he shook off after clambering out of the pool.

So this is the tournament, Fia observed. Already, she understood that the objective was not to harm the opposing side but simply knock them into the water. This looks fun! Her head swiveled back and forth, looking for where she could get involved.

A cluster of dragons and humans gathered around one of the guards with a yellow sash. The dragonette headed over to join them with a sparkle in her eyes. "Is this where we can join the tournament?"

"That's right," a nearby adult replied. The purple dragon tilted his chin down to see the source of the high-pitched voice. "Where's your parents?" he asked when he saw the dragonette alone.

A dragonette smaller than Fia poked her head from around her father's wing. Her pearly eyes blinked out of intrigue as she watched the dragonette around her age by her lonesome.

"Um, not here right now." Fia did not know what to say, so she stated the obvious.

"You should tell the attendant that you were separated from them. I can help you."

"Thanks," Fia said, "but I actually need help entering the tournament."

"You shouldn't try to do that without your parents."

Fia ignored him and tried talking to the next adult dragon in line. "Excuse me, miss. Can you help me enter the tournament?"

"Oh dear," the dragoness said. "Your parents must be so worried! You should run back home."

That's what I'm trying to do! Fia resisted her urge to wail. She stiffened her lower jaw and waited until she could talk directly to the guard stationed at the tournament's desk. During this time, her wandering eyes recognized one of the green dragons in the low airspace around the arena.

Viliant! She frantically reached out her mind to him. I can see Diwa! She's gonna find me. Already, Fia was running to ensure that would not happen. To those around her, it looked like the runaway dragonette had taken the adult's advice and scampered home.

Where are you? Viliant asked.

Hiding. Fia scampered behind some barrels and stayed nestled away. Her blue eyes only peeked out to watch Diwa.

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***

After Viliant had successfully caused a distraction and drew Diwa from the vicinity, Fia trotted back to the line. The registrations were almost closed, so she panted as she stepped up to the guard's feet. "I'm here to join the tournament!"

The dragon searched at his own eye level, looking for a fellow adult to talk to. When he looked down to Fia, he asked, "Where's your parents?"

Fia opened and closed her mouth. She needed a way to do this on her own. The first thing that popped to mind was how Sage Rokirith's name seemed to carry some notoriety in the city. "I'm Sage Rokirith's student!" she announced, even if she had not been able to accept his offer in actuality. "He told me to come here on my own and win the tournament."

"So… that spineless dragon's not even willing to come here himself," the guard grumbled. He adjusted the golden sash around his chest and straightened his neck, towering above Fia. "Very well. I'll permit you to enter the youth league with Sage Rokirith as your sponsor."

"Ah! Thank you!" Fia giddily fetched the coin from her small satchel and handed it to the guard. I can't believe that worked. She carefully watched as he made change from the gilded blossom into plated petals. The dragon did so too fast for her to keep up, so Fia quietly clinked through the coins in her own claws before putting them back into her purse.

The dragonette joined a circle where other children and their parents waited for the youth tournament to start. Even some humans had decided to enter the same competition against the dragons. I suppose it is a magic competition, Fia thought. When she glanced back over to the next fight in progress—a flying dragon who dodged a projectile from a stationary human—she could not help but feel the lack of wings put them at a disadvantage. I'll make them wish they never bothered to enter! Fia thought with an excited growl in her throat.

"I see they let you enter the tournament after all," the dragon from before said. His purple scales hid the tiny dragonette from view. "My daughter would like to introduce herself."

"Oh, sure!" While Fia was not looking to make any new friends right now, she was not opposed to someone keeping her company.

The gray dragonette extended her head from around her father's legs. Her white irises almost matched the sclera if not for a hint of pink, purple, and blue mottled like an opal. "Hi," she peeped.

"Hello. I'm Fia. What's your name?"

"My name's Orimol. You can call me Ori."

"Nice to meet you!" Fia flung out her wings in a welcoming gesture in hopes that the dragonette would stop acting so shy.

"Go on," her father prodded.

Ori lurched away from his side with a jump and crept more slowly next to Fia. The two dragonettes stood by each other as they watched the ending of the last round. "What's your element?" Ori asked.

"Fire!" Fia said with her proud chest puffed with hot air. Whereas she came from an island full of fire dragons, she basked in the way that everyone lauded her element as special.

"You have a weird element too!" Ori gasped.

"What's yours?" Fia did not let the idle chatter pull her attention away from the fight. Unlike the other, clueless dragonette, Fia had learned to closely observe fights as Viliant had taught her in the coliseum.

After a pause, the gray dragonette's voice came out but a squeak. "Mold."

"Huh?" That got Fia's attention.

Ori was too shy to explain. Her big eyes stared down at her neat claws.

"Good job, Ori," her father praised. "Remember: rare elements are powerful." The purple dragon acknowledged Fia and said, "I've only heard stories about fire dragons. They're even more scarce than blackfire."

"Are you really strong?" Ori asked. "You said you're gonna win the tournament!"

"That's right!" Fia's tail twitched with a blush. The pink dragonette did not know how she would compare to other mages her age, but she would give it her all.

At the conclusion of the previous fight, the dragon guard suspended himself mid-flight between the two pillars. "Next, we will begin the first round of the youth league! Bets are suspended, but we encourage you to cheer on the premier, upcoming talent of the empire!"

The dragons and humans caused an uproar of approval. A hint of a smile curled into Fia's tail. The goodwill of this crowd felt a lot different than the raucous jeers in Syene.

"We will begin with Orimol the rot dragon against Talan the ice and metal human!" The dragon swooped out of the way so that he could collect the contestants and bring them to the podium.

"Good luck, Ori!" Fia cheered on her new friend. With a clink of their horns, she easily forged a telepathic link with her. You can do it.

"Thanks." Ori muttered softly enough that if not for the appreciation in her mind, Fia might have missed the word. The gray dragonette accepted a ride from the tournament's facilitator up to her pedestal.

Secretly, Fia was worried for the timid dragonette. She wondered if this was how Viliant felt each time he watched her fight.