Chapter Five: One Step at a Time

Joseph sat on the couch for a while, thinking, trying to sort his thoughts as they boiled like stew in a pot.

The Mystics had seen him in visions, knew he was important, that fate was somehow converging about him, but what did it all mean?

He had been promised a personal escort to an impact site, by a Royal Flight nonetheless, and all but been guaranteed a dragon egg of his own.

Joseph had always wanted to awaken, had always wanted to become a dragonrider, and work to protect his kingdom and country, and gain fame and renown. But not like this.

First, he had awakened Death. Then, he had been spirited away from the recruitment station by the Queen’s own intelligence officers. And then they told him he was somehow central to some unknown and unknowable twisting of destiny.

He had been handed everything he had ever dreamed about, and yet it felt cheapened.

He tried to work through his feelings. Was he being churlish? Most people would dream of even awakening Death. Most awakened would kill to have a Royal Flight as escort to an assured impact site. No, he didn’t care about either. He was ecstatic to have awakened, and beyond relieved to have the uncertainty around potentially missing out on an egg removed.

Was he overwhelmed, then? It was a lot to take in. He had lived a humble life, and had his dreams, certainly, but he had never really envisaged what it would be like to actually live them. Mostly, he had just daydreamed about soaring on a dragon, about smiting the wrack with dragonsbreath from on high, and ensuring the safety of the kingdom’s borders from all her enemies.

Had his mother and father felt like this, when they’d awakened? They had been on the same excursion together. They both would have shared the uncertainty around missing their chance at an egg, felt insecurities about whether they were actually deserving of one in the first place. That much would have been different for them, at least.

They wouldn’t have been thrust into the centre of some intelligence agency mystery, though. White had said the Mystics could not see past the tangle his fate was causing. His and three others’.

He teased out his conclusions. His parents would have operated under uncertainty, just as he was. His was a different kind, but uncertainty, all the same.

That felt like it was closer to the truth. He just was overwhelmed.

Joseph felt his mind settle a bit. He was still a little anxious, but it was no longer so intense. The answer to being overwhelmed was to take things one step at a time. To take on what you could handle, and then look to the next thing. He could do that.

There were four of them causing this tangle. At least he was not in this alone. Just as the thought arrived, a door at the far end of the room swung open, and a girl walked in.

“Oh! Hi!” she said, her voice bright, but unsure. “Um, are you..?”

“Neck deep in this mess too?” Joseph answered, standing. “Sure am.”

The girl hurried across the room and stopped in front of him, making an abortive curtsy, smoothing her dress with sharp, frenetic motions, and then settling on extending a hand to him.

“I’m Lauren,” she offered. “And I’m glad I’m not doing this alone.”

“Joseph,” he said, shaking her hand. “Likewise.”

Lauren looked to be his age, perhaps slightly younger. She had a round face with big eyes and a button nose. Her long blonde hair was tied in a neat plait. Her blouse and trousers were similarly well-kept, not a hair out of place, or wrinkle to be seen.

Her eyebrows were pinched together, her nose wrinkling every so often. Her hands roamed almost unconsciously, tweaking her outfit, smoothing this, adjusting that. It made Joseph feel tired just looking at her.

“Why don’t you have a seat?” he said, smiling. She looked like she needed to relax.

“Oh! Sure. Yes, sure.” She sat opposite him, and seemed immediately lost in thought. He was just about to open his mouth when her eyes swivelled to fix on him.

“Was it Officer White who fetched you?” Joseph nodded. “She got me too.”

Lauren tapped her fingers against her chin a few times. “Did you come far?” She continued overtop of him. “No, you can’t have. You made it here too quickly. But you’re not from the capital, are you?” She looked him up and down, clearly assessing his wardrobe.

Joseph frowned, unsure as to whether to be offended. Lauren noticed the expression. “Oh! I’m sorry! I’m very nervous, is all. It’s not like I’m some noble either,” she said, gesturing to her clothes. Her clothes were plain, but well-made, it was true, but they were so immaculate she could have been trying to pass a royal inspection.

“I never meant to awaken,” she continued. “I’m a tailor’s daughter, you see. We live right here, in Skyseat. When I awakened, I tried to hide it. I thought if I didn’t tell anyone, I wouldn’t have to go into the wilds, and I could just keep living my life. And then Officer White showed up two days ago, and I’ve been here ever since.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Joseph stared at her, trying to process what she’d said. She awakened, and she didn’t tell anyone? She tried to hide it?

Joseph could understand being afraid about going into the wilds. The other nations always contested impact sites, to say nothing of the menace that were the wrack. But each excursion was protected by dragonflights, or Landed -sometimes both!

It was a risk, but the potential reward of a dragon egg? You would be instantly catapulted to a better life. Dragonriders wanted for nothing. Their families were looked after. They had wealth, fame, prestige. Even if you “only” ended up being Landed, you would still live a very comfortable life. Trying to hide your awakening? He couldn’t fathom it!

“You don’t want to be a dragonrider..?” he asked, once he’d wrapped his mind around it.

“Oh! Heavens no!” she said. “Those great big lizards seem awfully messy. Why, I was down on Mill Street one day, and I saw one sneeze!” She shuddered. “No, thank you! Not for me.” She paused. “Although, Mico didn’t seem so bad. The flight here was nicer than I thought. The wind tipped my hair all out of sorts, though.”

Joseph tried once more to wrap his head around not wanting to be a dragonrider. He couldn’t do it. Who was this bizarre human? Was she truly that fastidious?

“Well, I guess you don’t have much choice now,” he said weakly.

“No, I don’t.” Her brows pinched together again. “You know, they want to fly us all the way out to an impact site? It’s a week’s journey away! Into the wilds!”

“I know!” Joseph said excitedly. “We’ll even be going with a Royal Flight!”

Lauren’s eyes went wide at his excitement. “Aren’t you worried about, you know…” She leaned in a little. “...The wrack?”

Joseph thought about it. He’d daydreamed about battling the wrack almost every day, but he was not stupid. The thought of actually fighting them scared him shitless. But he would do it, for a dragon egg.

“Yeah,” he answered, truthfully. “Yes, I am. But I want a dragon egg. I’ve wanted nothing more than to become a dragonrider since I was a boy. This is my chance.”

Lauren eyed him suspiciously, obviously trying to decide whether he was mentally sound. “But there’s barbarians out there too. There’s reavers and zealots and all sorts!”

“And I’m scared of them too, but I’m still going. Remember what it was like, flying with Mico? Don’t you want that all to yourself?”

For a moment, a wistful expression stole across Lauren’s face, but she quickly banished it. “I’ll go, but I’m coming straight back here, and that’s where I’m staying. With any luck, I’ll get a Water egg. Officer White said I’d be a Mystic too, if I got Water, and Mystics don’t leave the kingdom.”

“You awakened Soul, then?” he said, surprised. Even though White had said each of the four of them had awakened a sacred element, he had trouble reconciling this flighty, timid girl with such a powerful element.

Soulsworn were rare, just like all the sacred elements, though not as rare as Death. She was correct, though. If the egg she got was Water, her fused element would be Mystic. Joseph hoped it would not be the case.

All eggs taken from a single shard, that was, a piece of the same meteorite, shared a resonance. The dragons bonded to an extent, like siblings, and worked much better together as teams. It was how dragonflights were formed. Every rider who picked an egg from the same shard was formed into a flight.

It led to some eclectic formations. Shards could vary drastically in the amount of eggs they held. Accordingly, dragonflights could be very large, or very small. Dragon eggs could only be one of the four base elements, but there was no guarantee of an even distribution of them in a shard, though. Some dragonflights were weighted heavily towards one or two elements.

If Joseph was to be in the same flight as Lauren, he hoped for all he was worth she didn’t pick a Water egg. He wasn’t sure whether having a Mystic on his flight would trump the need for more riders in the field, but he wasn’t willing to take the chance. He would die if he got the chance at a dragon, only to be relegated to a glorified guard, stuck forever in the capital.

There was no way to tell which element an egg was before bonding with it. It was simply luck of the draw which you got.

Soul… he thought to himself, trying to remember all his pairings. It was tough, for the sacred elements. Some of the information was not publicly available, or if it was, it was not widely distributed. Some of the sacred fusings were common knowledge, like Mystics, but the only reason he had found out any of the other sacred Fusings was due to his parent’s journal. He knew none of the pairings for Death, for example.

When an awakened bonded with an egg, their mana pool would fuse with that of the nascent dragon’s. They would each retain their own element, but a third, fused element, a combination created by the element of rider and dragon, would be born. From there, both dragon and rider could utilise either their own element, or their fused element.

Dragons could only be one of the four base elements. Humans could awaken those too, but could also awaken one of the four sacred elements. That meant thirty-two possible fused element combinations. Try as he might, Joseph could not recall with certainty the other Soul pairings.

Heavens, I hope she doesn’t get Water… he thought. He realised had drifted off as Lauren was nattering away.

“...glad it was Soul, at least, and not Heart. Teal said Soul can shield, at least. I’d rather be able to shield myself, thank you very much.”

Joseph blinked. “Teal..?”

Lauren sighed. “You weren’t listening, were you? I hope you don’t make a habit of it. Teal is the Officer who’s been assigned to train us before we leave. She should be here soon, actually. Oh! Speak of the devil.”

The door opened, and a woman in her mid-thirties entered. She was lean and athletic, with a serious expression that seemed to be a prerequisite for joining the Royal Intelligence Service.

“Afternoon, Lauren. You must be Joseph.” Joseph stood as she strode over, offering her his hand.

“That’s me,” he said.

“I’m Officer Teal. I’m to train you before you leave.” She eyed his lance and sword where they rested beside his pack.

“Well, we’ve got a lot to do, and no time to get it done. You can leave all that here.” She gestured to his kit.” Follow me,” she said, and strode briskly back out the door. Lauren jumped, and scurried after her.

Joseph set off after them, hurrying to catch up.

Finally, he thought. I can see what Death is worth.