So his name is Tobias Rakon thought to himself. Thinking logically, he knew he stood a great chance of beating Tobias. He had improved much in the past few months, and he was not the weak uncoordinated little human that had gotten into a fistfight what felt like ages ago. Rakon tried his best to shake off the queasy feeling that sat in his gut, and entered the ring shortly followed by Tobias. Tobias didn’t take his eyes off of Rakon. He glared at him as he walked to the opposite side of the ring, like a predator hunting his prey. If only he knew who the real predator was, Rakon chuckled to himself. He imagined turning into his dragon form and biting off Tobias’s head. It would, however, be much more satisfying to beat him at his own game. He settled into a stance comfortably. He held the staff a shoulder width apart, like he always did.
He glanced down at his feet and made sure they were planted firmly in the sand. When he looked up he saw Tobias already rushing at him. That cheat! He didn’t wait for the horn! Well if he wanted to fight, Rakon would be ready for him.
Tobias came at him with a flurry of blows, Rakon solely focused on defending at first. After he blocked three attacks all at his gut, he deflected the last attack and spun and extended his staff aiming for his opponent’s head. Tobias was quick to raise his sword over his head to block the blow, and in one motion he swung his blade down hard at Rakon’s leg.
Rakon quickly stepped back, letting the blade hiss harmlessly under his foot. If I hadn’t moved quick enough, that blow might have taken my leg off! It actually felt like Tobias was trying to kill him, and he didn’t like it. He growled at Tobias and retaliated.
He sent a powerful side hand blow aimed at Tobias’s face. Tobias blocked it, pushing it high and then stepped in and kicked at Rakon’s stomach. Luckily Rakon had stepped back in time; it was only a glancing blow, but it took him off guard.
I need more reach, he thought to himself. He slightly shifted his grip, moving his hands down the staff so that his bottom hand was only a few inches from the base of the staff. He then tested Tobias’s defenses again. Swift strikes, designed to tire him out and hopefully find an opening. As soon as he saw Tobias drop his guard even slightly, he shot forward with unreal speed. Keeping some distance that his longer weapon allowed him, he swung for Tobias’s sword arm. Tobias was ready, he had dropped the tip of his sword slightly to tempt Rakon, and he had fallen for it.
Tobias absorbed the blow with his sword, and then grabbed the end of the staff. Rakon nearly panicked, this is not going well he thought. He yanked on the staff with all his might, but Tobias had a firm grip on it and was not letting go. Tobias pulled the staff forward to get Rakon off balance, and instead of fighting it Rakon gave in. He allowed Tobias to pull him in, and getting low Rakon swept his leg out at Tobias’s feet. Tobias went down hard. He was so focused on trapping Rakon’s staff he didn’t think about Rakon coming at him without a weapon.
Tobias released his hold on the staff as he went down. Rakon was there before he could recover, foot on the blade and the tip of his staff at Tobias’s throat. “Yield,” he said calmly.
Tobias closed his eyes in defeat and brought his arm up to his head as if to wipe off some sweat. Quick as a flash, his hand was up and sand was flying through the air. Rakon shouldn't have been surprised, he realized he couldn’t expect anything honorable from this one. He was starting to get mad now.
Rakon stepped back blindly, desperately wiping sand from his eyes. He felt the earth shift in front of him, and he raised his staff over his head. He blocked the blow that would have seriously wounded him, even with a dull blade. Lowering his staff, he sent one end straight into Tobias’s gut, winding him. With that moment's respite, he wiped the rest of the sand from his eyes and got a good look at Tobias. He looked furious, and very surprised that Rakon was able to defend himself while blinded.
Rakon took advantage of the surprise and launched a barrage of attacks. In earlier fights he had tried to disarm his opponents or put them on the ground, but he was mad now. He wanted to end Tobias. After each blow he could tell Tobias was weakening. This was no trick either, he was slowing down while Rakon’s rage was driving him faster. In desperation Tobias lunged at Rakon’s midsection. Rakon was ready for this and swept the attack aside with one end of his staff, and with the other he stepped in and threw all of his weight behind a final blow to his opponent’s face.
Tobias did not get his sword up in time. The end of Rakon’s staff connected solidly with his head, sending him to the ground. He moaned softly on the ground, but did not move.
Rakon stepped over his opponent and left the ring. The cadets that had watched his fight were buzzing with excitement.
“Did you see that?” One whispered.
“He knocked him out flat!” Somebody exclaimed excitedly.
Others talked about how it was a stupid decision to knock out Lord Sterner’s son in a fight, but Rakon didn’t care. He won the fight that he lost all those months ago on Loch’s farm. He had proven that he could defend himself.
The Phoenix squad came rushing over to him, nearly knocking him flat on his back as they all grabbed him excitedly.
“‘Whoa!” Gareth exclaimed, “where did that come from?”
“You had us thinking you didn’t know how to fight,” Olrick said, shaking his head ruefully, “and here you are kicking butt left and right! Man, you really stuck it to that cheater.”
One pat of Lev’s huge hand nearly knocked him over. “You are mighty warrior,” he said seriously. “I do not care how small and weak you look.” He smiled wide, showing all his teeth.
Rakon merely smiled, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself. His thoughts went back to the fight, when Tobias threw sand in his eyes. He didn’t think he had used earth magic, but somehow he had known what Tobias was doing without seeing him. Hopefully those watching would just think it was a fluke, he remembered Loch’s advice just then.
Do not draw attention to yourself, he had admonished. Yeah, about that… not going so great. What’s her problem? He finally noticed Lyra, she seemed… off. He did not like the way she was staring at him. When she saw that he noticed her looking at him, she immediately looked away, but Rakon could tell that she was thinking about something. He was getting a little nervous before he reminded himself that there was no way people could suspect he was a dragon. And as far as being a part of Loch’s group, there was nothing here to trace him back to Loch, so he was safe on both accounts.
He walked up to the Captain, trying to calm his racing heart. This was no small feat when he had the entire Phoenix squad in tow, telling him how they always knew he was the best and how he was going to kill his last opponent with his bare hands.
It turned out that adrenaline could only take you so far. His last opponent was Lucas. Rakon knew nothing about this cadet, he could only assume that he was in trouble based off of the reactions of his fellow squadmates. Despite all of the faith they had in him, it was clear that they were nervous about Lucas’s skill.
It was a good fight, but Lucas won in the end. Rakon was glad that he was not beaten soundly, he was proud of how he presented himself. In the end, however, Lucas’s speed and skill were too much for Rakon, and he lost to the blond haired, blue eyed swordsman. Lucas was a humble winner, after the bout he walked up to Rakon and helped him to his feet.
“You fight very well, I’ve never met somebody that can wield a staff like you can. If you ever want to train in the future, let me know. I need somebody like you to push me to get better, and I have a feeling you wouldn’t mind a rematch either.” He grinned at Rakon.
“You would be right,” Rakon chuckled back. He really did want another try, and if anything else he would gain much from training with Lucas. He was happy to accept the offer.
The conversation was cut short as he was crowded once again by his squad.
“You put up one hell of a fight brother!” shouted Gareth, as he grabbed his shoulders and shook him gently. “You just pulled our squad out of last place!”
Brother? Is that how they think of me? Nobody had ever referred to him as ‘brother’ before. He thought of Emberheart who had raised him. He was basically a father to Rakon, he owed Emberheart everything. There was no doubt in Rakon’s mind that he would have not survived his younger years without Emberheart to protect him. Then there was Loch. Loch was a mentor like no other. He was grumpy at times and incredibly demanding, but Rakon had no doubt that the old man cared very much about him.
While he had cared about others before, he had never had a brother. He looked at the rest of his smiling squad and felt something strange, it was a weird warm feeling inside his chest. It made him smile a bit, and he hugged his brothers back. And sister of course, in the case of Lyra. She participated in the hugging and clapping as well, congratulating Rakon on his success.
But I’m lying to them. They didn’t know what he really was, he was a liar and they trusted him. What if I told them what I really was? The thought was pure stupidity. He had known these people for less than a day, and he already wanted to give up his biggest secret? He needed to remember what Loch had told him. Keep his head down, remember what he was there for. He needed to get closer to the castle so that he could get information on the aegisleaf and get out, that was it.
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A few days later, Rakon was having trouble focusing in his geography class. He knew geography very well, it came with being a dragon and spending most of your time flying high above everything. This class was redundant, but he was okay with that because he used this time to try to come up with a plan. Loch and Jeremiah had told him to blend in so that in the spring he would be able to attend the banquet that was hosted at the castle. He would much rather get in sooner than the banquet. The problem was he did not know much about the city or the castle in general. As a dragon, learning about humans was frowned upon.
He thought about trying to sneak in after dark. Crossing the moat would be a problem. If he had to he could wait for a cloudy night, go back to his dragon form and try to fly over undetected. That wouldn’t work because although he was a small dragon, he was still a dragon and would be seen. And even if he made it to the other side, there was still the problem of knowing where to go. He hated admitting it, but perhaps Loch was right and the plan they already had in place was the best one. What he heard next peaked his interest.
“And I hope you will all be on your best behavior a few weeks from now” their teacher said. “I’m sure you are all aware that the King is coming to visit on the day of the new year. For those who have not been paying attention at all these past few moons,” he gave a disapproving shake of his head, “the king comes at the beginning of each year to personally thank the new members of the dragon corp for their service and to wish them luck in the coming year. In the past, the occasional lucky squad has been blessed with the opportunity to join the king at his New Year’s feast. Usually it is a squad that has done exceptionally well in the challenges. It goes to show, if you do your best, you will be noticed! And by our king no less, he is such a great man to keep his eye on so many things at once, nothing is beneath his notice.” He finished approvingly.
He sounds great, but it might be that he put his trust in the wrong person, Rakon thought, thinking about the chancellor and the aegisleaf. That could be my way in though, if our squad does good enough, we could be chosen to go to the banquet. Doubts filled his mind, they only barely climbed out of last place, mostly because of his performance. If the king chose a squad to join him at the feast, it would probably be Tobias’s group, like it or not. They were currently in first place, even if it was not by much. He racked his brain for ideas, this seemed like the best way to get into the castle early, but he had no idea how to make sure their group was the one that was picked to attend the feast.
After class Rakon hurried to dinner. As a first year cadet, he had to wait for the second and third years to finish at the line before he was able to get his own food. He joined his squad in line when it was his turn, and he almost jumped when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
“Whoa, I didn’t know you were so skittish.” Lucas laughed easily, “Who would have thought such a mighty fighter was so easily scared.”
Rakon chuckled lightly, “I was just lost in my thoughts, that's all, you surprised me.” And it was true. He had been thinking non stop about how he could guarantee that his squad was the one to be chosen to enter the castle for the New Year’s feast. So far he had come up with nothing.
“How about instead of thinking so much, you join me for a little sparring after dinner? I usually practice with a few second years, but apparently they’re busy tonight.”
Rakon hesitated a moment before replying, “That would be great, I’ll see you at the pits as soon as we’re done here.”
Lucas gave a grin in response and went to join his squad once he got his food. As much as Rakon wanted to spend all night thinking of solutions to his problem, he needed to get better at fighting if he wanted to continue to help his squad. As far as he knew, the strongest squad received the honor of meeting the king. If he trained more, perhaps he would be able to help his squad improve enough. And after he humiliated Tobias in the last competition, he had been a little nervous that Tobias would retaliate with his goons. Bullies were the same no matter the species, if you made them look bad, they would make you pay.
“Slow down there!” Gareth exclaimed at Rakon, “The way you eat that makes you look like you haven’t eaten in days.”
Rakon was eating very fast, he wanted to hurry in order to maximize his training time with Lucas. He had only been here a few days, but already he was missing the nightly sparring sessions with Loch.
“I told Lucas I would spar with him after dinner, I just don’t want to keep him waiting. “
“Lucas asked you to train with him? Wow, I thought he only trained with second years, he must really think you’re good.” Niles said in slightly awed tones.
“Lucas isn’t some sort of god, dummy” snorted Olrick, “he’s just a very talented fighter.”
“He seems really nice,” added Rakon, “I’m sure you would all be welcome to come if you would like.”
The rest of the squad hesitantly looked at each other. “I don’t know about you all,” Niles said suddenly, “but I would really like some extra practice from somebody that doesn’t yell at me nonstop.”
There were chuckles all around and nods of agreement. With that there was no more talking, only eating. Rakon wasn’t sure anymore how Lucas would react to him bringing more people, he probably should have made sure first.
When they finished eating, Gareth led them to the sand pits. A knot of nervousness grew in Rakon’s gut. What if Lucas was mad at him for bringing so many people? He could have just lost his chance at training with the best fighter in their year.
“Rakon! Wow, you brought your whole squad, that’s great!” a sigh of inaudible relief escaped from Rakon’s lips as they walked up to Lucas. He was so glad to hear those words.
“Hey everybody, I was just expecting Rakon, but this is great. It’s always better to have more partners when it comes to training,” Lucas said happily.
“Rakon invited us and when we heard who he was training with, we couldn’t say no,” explained Gareth. “I’m not sure if you remember, but some of us did not place very high in the last competition. We don’t want to be a bother or anything, but some pointers would be very helpful while we are sparring.”
“I won’t pretend to know everything,” Lucas said, holding his hands up. “But if you want tips, I’m happy to share everything that I know.”
There were relieved smiles all around. Lucas was the best fighter in their year, but he mostly kept to himself. Now that they knew how easy going he was, the Phoenix squad was eager to start sparring.
Rakon enjoyed the simplicity that was found in sparring. There was no thinking involved, only moving. Lucas pointed out some helpful tips here and there, mostly where Rakon was leaving himself open to attack, or how he exploited openings in Lucas’s defenses too slowly. After a half hour of sparring, they all switched partners. Lucas explained that when multiple people are available, it is best not to get too used to one person’s style of fighting, that way you are training yourself to be ready for anything.
Rakon couldn’t help but see the wisdom in that statement, so he switched partners like everybody else. He also used this time to quickly switch his staff out for his sword. If I’m going to be a member of the dragon corps I might as well learn to fight like everybody else. He placed his staff at the edge of the ring and picked up his sword. When he turned around, he found that Lyra was the only one without a partner.
This should be interesting he thought as he held out his sword to her with a raised eyebrow.
“I didn’t think you knew how to use a sword,” she said to him, as she took up a stance in answer to his invitation.
“You would be right in that assumption, but I figured now would be as good a time as any to learn.” He tried to keep up with her strikes, and he did not perform too terribly at first. As their bout grew longer however, it was clear that he lacked any real skill with the sword.
Rakon could tell that Lyra hesitated to correct him while they were fighting. He tried not to get frustrated as he continued to take blows from her. Their sparring did not continue much longer before eventually he broke.
“You know, this would be a little more helpful for me if you could tell me what I’m doing wrong.” He said touchily.
Lyra looked taken aback. “Alright, I’ll see what I can do. Let's start again,” she said steadily.
This time, they went slower. Lyra stopped them often to point things out such as his footwork, or how he left himself open each time he attacked. His frustration died away as he took this opportunity to learn, and not just look like a fool.
“You learn very quickly,” Lyra said, clearly surprised when he was able to block each of her blows correctly.
Rakon smiled at the compliment, pleased that there might be some hope for him yet. He caught her eye for a moment, and he realized… he had seen those eyes somewhere before. How had he not seen it before?
His mind raced back several months to when he was still a dragon. He was in the woods not too far away from his cave. He was following a girl, in a dark green jacket. Somehow she knew that he was there, even though he should have been practically invisible. She must have a very intuitive control over earth to be able to sense him. She spun around with an arrow knocked to her bow, and let it fly. Rakon remembered this girl, the way she looked, the color of her eyes. The color of Lyra’s eyes.
What are the odds? he thought incredulously to himself. Out of all the people he could have met in those woods, he had to have met this girl in his squad?
He must have been staring at her when he got lost in thought, because Lyra frowned and asked, “What are you looking at?”
Ever the joker, Olrick chose that moment to speak up. “He probably just got lost in your eyes Lyra, you can’t blame him if he finds your beauty… captivating,” he said dramatically.
“What? No, of course not, that’s not it.” Rakon said, trying to clear up the confusion. Obviously these people thought he found her beautiful, he better explain somehow before things got out of hand?
“Oh so you don’t think she’s beautiful then?” Niles said with a sly grin, obviously glad to be taking a break from the beating Olrick was giving him.
Rakon was caught off guard, what had gotten into his squad? He glanced at Lyra, who merely stood there with a hand on her hip, waiting for Rakon to respond.
“No, I think she’s fine of course. I just wasn’t thinking that when I-”
“Oh you think I’m fine? Thank goodness for that then,” Lyra said suddenly. “Hey Olrick, why don’t you spar with Rakon a bit, I think it’s time I got ready for bed.” She brushed past the three of them without looking back.
Rakon looked around. The rest of the group was still sparring, they either hadn’t heard or didn’t care what just happened. “What was that all about,” he asked, more than a little confused.
“That, my friend,” Olrick said slowly, “was a member of the opposite species doing what they do best. Confusing us men.”
Niles shook his head at the two of them. “Obviously she wanted you to give her some kind of validation Rakon, even a blind man could have seen that.”
“But why would she want that?” he protested, “I’ve only been here for a few days, why would she care what I think?”
“Because you are a tall, good looking man, who has exceptional fighting skills, and almost single handedly brought our squad up from last place.” Niles explained as if he was talking to a child. “She might not like you more than anybody else, but it never hurts to get a compliment. And the fact that you didn’t give it to her probably made her feel a little stupid.”
“Ugh,” Rakon groaned, “well what do I do?”
Olrick just shrugged and mimed stabbing himself with his sword. Even Rakon laughed at that.
“If I were you,” Niles said when they had settled down, “I would pretend it never happened, and just try to be as nice as possible. Lyra is smart, she knows we need to work together as a squad. She won’t jeopardize our success over something so small.
“I really hope not,” Olrick said as he pushed Rakon back onto the sand. “But if I were you, I would be extra nice to her at breakfast tomorrow.”