The next morning I woke up early, my mind running, and keeping me from being able to sleep. So many things that I needed to remember, to learn, to explore, to help with kept running through my mind. I finally decided to get ready and go for a walk after laying in bed for about an hour. I got my clothes on, then my armor and weapons, and went out to try to get my mind to stop racing. The sun had not yet even risen so it was a bit cool, but my armor and clothes kept me warm. I walked the streets of the old town thinking about what still had to be done. About the lives that now depended on me being enough to help save them. Then I thought about how far I had come from first stumbling around in a dark dungeon just trying to survive. I stopped, clenched my fists, and steeled my resolve.

"I will help them. I will be enough. I can make a difference."

"That is all anyone could ever ask of you, young rider."

I looked up and around and saw Al'Doran laying on top of a building.

"But, what if we are not ready?"

"You are never truly ready. If you waited for every situation until you truly felt you were ready for any outcome, you would never take action. I see that now as well. You are ready enough, and that is all that matters."

"I don't feel ready, though."

"And that is the feeling that keeps us from taking action when we should. I too was thinking of all the things that you could still learn originally. To keep you here until you learned all those things would likely mean that the whole world would burn while you stayed hidden away. That is not what we need to do. Your purpose is to stop suffering and be a shield for the people of this world. You can do that now. You will learn the rest in time, and I will help teach you."

"Thank you Al'Doran, for all you have already taught us, and everything you have done for us as well. We definitely would not be ready for this new step without your aid."

"It was nothing but my duty, Callan. You are a Dragonrider, I am merely making sure the next generation of riders can continue to make a difference. One day you will do the same for the next generation. I see now that the beings that watch over this world will always make sure there is a balance. That is how you are here. Just when things seemed most bleak, they intervened to bring you here and right the imbalance."

"That feels like a lot of pressure."

"It's a tremendous amount of pressure, but you are the coal being hardened into a diamond. Many would not have been able to make the transition. Most would crumble under the pressure and give in to selfish desires. But I have seen your heart and character. You are worthy of the title Dragonrider. You will make a difference."

"Your faith in me is humbling, Al'Doran. I hope I can do it justice."

"For now, let us just prepare to go. It is early, but there is no sense in delaying any longer. Gather your companions and we shall prepare to go. You no longer are permitted to ride with me. Today you ride your soul bound."

As he said this a light appeared in front of me. On the ground, there was a saddle made of leather and bound with metal fittings. It was a work of art with etchings and sigils carved into its surface.

"Every rider was given a saddle on the day they were deemed worthy of the title Dragonrider and now I pass this tradition onto you. I declare you Callan, Estel, Dragonrider."

"What does Estel mean?"

"It is your title now. It means Hope."

I got a notification at this proclamation.

Title Added:

Estel - Hope

You have been given a title by an ancient dragon. This is an honor bestowed on few who have ever walked this world. Wear your title with pride. Would you like to equip this title now? You can only have one title equipped at a time.

Yes No

I selected yes on the prompt to equip the title.

Congratulations!

You have now equipped a title. Estel - Hope. This title marks you as the hope for the future of a dying class. + 5 to all attributes gained!

I bowed low to Al'Doran.

"Thank you for this great honor. I will be sure I work to live up to it."

Al'Doran nodded once in acknowledgment.

"Now, gather the others. We leave as soon as you are ready."

Name: Callan Ryder

Race: Human

Class: Dragon Rider

Title: Estel - Hope

Level: 30

HP: 420/420*(+20 Necklace)

MP: 490/490 *(+20 Ring)

SP: 400/400

Total XP: 2,147,000

XP to Next Level: 343,000

Attributes:

Unused Attribute Points: 0

Strength: 40 *(+12 Title, Items & Skills)

Constitution: 40 *(+7 Title & Skills)

Dexterity: 45 *(+7 Title & Skills)

Endurance: 40 *(+7 Title & Skills)

Intelligence: 47 *(+12 Title, Items & Skills)

Wisdom: 45 *(+7 Title & Skills)

Charisma: 22 *(+7 Title & Skills)

Luck: 17 *(+7 Title & Skills)

Unused Skill Points: 2

Non-Combat Skills:

Combat Skills:

Inspect: Beginner 8

Unarmed Combat: Beginner 9

Dragon Spirit: 1/5

Spears: Beginner 3

Dragon Scales: 1/4

Short Blades: Beginner 5

Dragon Armor: 1/5

Swords: Initiate 28

Stealth: Beginner 2

Dragon Slash: 1/5

Dragon Breath: Novice 16

Dragon Shield: Novice 11

Thrown Weapons: Beginner 7

I walked back to the dormitories and roused the others. They got up and got their gear ready and Aeolith joined me out in the courtyard while they were preparing. I showed her the saddle and she looked at it with excitement. With a bit of trial and error, I was able to get it attached to her snugly so that by the time the rest of my companions were coming out of the dormitories she was fully ready for our first flight together.

Rutherford, Vokin, and Tristan all climbed onto Al'Doran while I climbed into the new saddle on Aeolith. It fit like a glove. It felt like I had been missing this seat my entire life. Aeolith stretched her wings wide, reared up on her hind legs, and let loose a roar that reverberated through my very soul. I felt the words coming unbidden as I unsheathed my sword, held it overhead, and as Aeolith rested on all four legs again I shouted.

"Today is the day that we take back what was lost! We are the shield that will protect this world and the light that will banish the darkness. Today we take the first steps toward peace. Let us not forget where we have come from, nor our purpose, but rise to the calling and banish the darkness that has plagued this land for too long! Bring forth the light, to banish the night!"

The others raised their weapons as well.

"FOR THE LIGHT!"

With that proclamation, both Al'Doran and Aeolith spread their wings and took flight. The sensation of riding with Aeolith was different from Al'Doran. Where Al'Doran was a gargantuan creature that flew with strength and power, Aeolith was a creature of pure grace. She was faster, she was more agile, and without this new saddle, I wasn't sure I would have been able to stay on her back. But I held on as she flew circles around Al'Doran, darting this way and that with acrobatic ease, excited to finally be flying with me. We had both been waiting for this day and we finally felt complete. This was the final piece missing from the puzzle that helped dispel my final doubts about what we were doing. We flew ahead, then back to where Al'Doran was, corkscrewing through the air, performing loops that would make any roller coaster enthusiast jealous.

We flew out over the ocean until we came to the mainland. Then we continued on until we came to the normal clearing where we landed outside Jewelston. Al'Doran and Aeolith landed and we all climbed down.

"Now we have to get word to Commander Harlow and see what has happened. Can you both stay here until we can figure that out?"

"We will be fine here, Callan. Go to the city and come back with word of what must be done."

With that Rutherford, Vokin, Tristan, and I set off to the city. After the typical two-hour walk we reached the gates, only to find them closed up tight. A man leaned over the ramparts and yelled down.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"Who goes there?"

"It's Callan. I have with me my adventuring party Rutherford, Tristan, and Vokin."

"Callan?! Hold on just a moment."

There was a rustling behind the gate and then one of the doors opened and Commander Harlow stepped out.

"Callan! You are here!"

"Commander. What's with the fortifications?"

"The mayor felt it best to lock up the town and be sure we knew who was coming and going for now. We sent messengers to the neighboring towns with the news of the Shadow Beasts taking over with directions to continue to spread the word to their neighbors as well. The news we are hearing back is that this revelation is causing even more unrest in the cities. My guess is the Shadow Beasts don't like it that we know what they are doing."

He looked around for a moment.

"Where is your dragon?"

My eyes went wide and I stepped in close so only he could hear.

"Why are you bringing that up now? We said it was a secret!"

"I know, but the mayor wouldn't believe me until I told them everything. It was the only way to get them to go along with the plan."

"You do realize that if the mayor tells anyone they could tell others who could spread the word to the other towns and then the Shadow Beasts would know right?!"

"I'm sorry Callan. It was the only way to get the mayor to help. They refused to do anything without a full explanation."

"Dammit, all! Well, we were trying to keep it a secret so that we could surprise the Shadow Beasts in the cities we were going to help to give us an edge. I guess there isn't any real reason to keep it a secret now. Let me go talk with them. Rutherford, Vokin you stay here, help with rallying troops and preparing them for what we know. Tristan, come with me."

With that Tristan and I set off back to where we left Al'Doran and Aeolith. We walked the two-hour walk in silence as I contemplated what my options were going to be now that the word had likely leaked. I had to assume it had gotten to the other cities so that I didn't fall for any traps that might be laid for me.

When we reached the clearing Aeolith came running up to me and nuzzled my face. She was really getting big. I think that even the new title made her bigger. From the tip of her nose to the tip of her tail she had to be about as long as a semi-truck. And she was about as tall as a large SUV at her shoulder with her head towering over that. She was magnificent. But I needed to focus on why we came back.

"That was a quick trip," Al'Doran said.

"Unfortunately Commander Harlow told the mayor. I have to assume they told someone as well and that means it likely got to the other cities. If I don't assume this, then I would be stupid and might fall into a trap. I'm angry, but it was bound to happen eventually."

"You are thinking several steps ahead. That is wise. What do you think we should do?"

"Honestly? I think that you should fly over the city, both you and Aeolith while I walk in and make as big of a display of it as we can to try to set the Shadow Beasts on edge. They might know about me, but I don't think they know about you. Harlow didn't mention you when I was in the city. If we make a really big display we might be able to set them off enough to cause them to make some mistakes."

Al'Doran thought for a long moment.

"I approve of this plan. Let us make a true display of power. Then you can go to the cities to rid them of Shadow Beasts, and I can work with the Mayor on setting up the city here for defense against the Shadow Beasts. That will give you a base of operations to prepare for strikes against the enemy."

"That sounds perfect! Let's get back to the city. It takes us about two hours to walk back there. Can you time it so you fly over after we enter the city?"

He nodded once and we parted ways again. I was really getting tired of making this walk, but if I just rode in over the city on a dragon they might not react well. So, once again after six hours of walking, I was back at the city gates. Harlow let me in and I felt my connection with Al'Doran and Aeolith appear in my mind as they got closer. I told them to wait for my signal.

"Commander, we have agreed to bring the dragons here, but you and the mayor need to work with Al'Doran to make this city defensible against Shadow Beasts. I will base all my operations out of here and we will need a place for both dragons to stay."

"We can make that happen. The mayor is eager to help however they can if the dragons will be here."

With that, I gave the signal and from across the horizon, we could see two dark silhouetted shapes appearing and then growing larger fast. Within half a minute the dragons were flying around the outer rim of the city. They flew in opposing circles so they crossed paths at two points outside the walls and then flew to opposite sides of the city and both let loose a gout of flame into the air. they then flew to the town square where many were gathering to watch and began to descend. Citizens began to panic and run from the square. Guards yelled and tried to help get people out of the way faster. I just smiled, knowing they could tell who was under them and would not land until it was clear.

Once the last of the people were out of the square, both Al'Doran and Aeolith landed with a thud that shook the ground.

"Laying it on a bit thick there, eh?" I said with a smile I tried to hide.

"We wanted to make a good show of it. Let our strength be known," Al'Doran said back into the mental communication.

"We are strong, we should not hide that from anyone." Aeolith helpfully chimed in as well.

I rolled my eyes, but mostly in sarcasm. Harlow came over and kneeled in front of the dragons.

"Mighty ones, we are here to help in whatever capacity we can. Please let us know what to do."

Al'Doran projected his mental speech to everyone within earshot.

"Rise Commander of the guard. Your willingness to be useful is appreciated. The first thing we will need is a shelter for myself and Aeolith. While that is being constructed we can meet with the mayor to discuss our plans going forward. Callan, though, is the Dragonrider and therefore he is in charge now."

I was a little taken aback by this but tried not to let it show.

"Right, let's get the place for the dragons built and meet with the mayor. I still haven't met that guy yet.

"Gal," a voice said through the crowd.

People moved out of the way and a woman walked out of the crowd. She had blonde hair tied up in a bun on top of her head and wore leather armor. She was a little broader than most women, as though she had been a warrior before becoming mayor.

"My apologies. I have not met this woman. I am Callan."

"Sandra. Now, why did you think it was appropriate to land dragons in the town square?"

"The secret was apparently out, with our element of surprise gone, the next best strategy is a show of power."

"Interesting. You just assume that I told people of your secret?"

"I must since it wasn't supposed to be told to you. With that type of secret-keeping, it would be better to expect the worst than to continue to believe naively in the idea that everything will go exactly according to my plan. That is how people die, and I'm not in the business of letting people die needlessly."

"You mean like all those people who we had to bury from the warehouse?"

That was a low blow.

"I'd really love to have you tell me what could have been done differently in that situation?"

"How about not going to the warehouse to confront him?"

"Next time I suppose I should just let the Shadow Beasts gain enough power to take over your city and just run off to the next dungeon while I pretend I'm not this world's best hope of living in peace. I'm sure someone else could have killed a Shadow Beast and saved the day. I didn't exactly see you going there to set things right."

Sandra was quiet at this.

"I still don't like what happened there."

"Me either. But we were attacked and managed to kill off the Shadow Beast without killing everyone there. That stopped the whole spread of that plan to take over the city. And now we are back to help the other cities. This time hopefully with less loss of life, now that the dragons are known. Unfortunately, life doesn't always give us the option of saving every single person that crosses our path. We make the best decisions with the information we have to save as many lives as we can in the long run."

She nodded.

"Very well. I am glad to have your help. Some of the other cities are even worse off than we were. We need to do what we can. We don't know how to stop the Shadow Beasts."

"Fortunately, I do. And I promise to help. I don't want needless bloodshed either, but I cannot promise you that there will be none. These beasts are ruthless, pure evil, and only have the desire to dominate. There will be fighting to bring peace."

"I am not so naive as to believe there will be no fighting, but I do not have to like it either."

I nodded this time.

"Then let's get going. We need to start planning where we need to go first and how we can best help the people in the surrounding towns."

The mayor motioned for me to follow and Harlow shouted for the men to start setting up a place at the far side of town for the Dragons to stay. Rutherford and Vokin rejoined Tristan and me and we followed the mayor up the street toward the town hall building. We walked up through the market place and I was pleased to note that my mental connection with Al'Doran and Aeolith seemed to stretch for what appeared to be most of the city. So I should be able to speak with them from anywhere. As we walked past the stalls and stores people would come out to stare. Some waved, like Patsy when we passed the Dragon's Nest, and Emmit when we passed the magic shop Madam Julie's Magical Mysteries. Others held their children closer or saluted. A few bowed their head or kneeled as we passed.

"Word has spread of what you did here. I tried not to let word of the dragons spread, but now that they have made themselves known, people are going to put two and two together," Sandra said as we walked.

"I thank you for trying to not let the word spread too far, I don't blame anyone, nor are we upset. We only want to help as best we can, and the best way we can help is to stay alive as long as possible. The display there was to try to set the Shadow Beasts on edge for now. Hope they make mistakes or reveal their plans earlier than they hoped."

"That makes complete sense. I apologize for being harsh, I just take my job very seriously as protector of the people of Jewelston."

"I admire that and appreciate you doing so. Just know that I have the same goal as you in this. I want as many people alive as possible."

We arrived at the Town Hall and went up the steps of the large building and into the front door. I was surprised to see it raised, but then realized it was on a hill higher up than most of the other buildings. As we entered there was a receptionist sitting at a desk at the back of a modest waiting room. Off to the left side of the room were counters with other people sitting behind them with a line of people waiting to be helped. Some form of government paperwork was being handled by those behind the desks.

"As you can see we are always busy with work that needs to be done here. Permits assigned, taxes filed or offset, and many other government issues handled. My office is back here," Sandra said gesturing to a door at the back right side of the room.

We went through the door and down a short hallway with several other doors on either side of the hallway, presumably leading to other offices, until we got to the end of the hall where a door with a plaque with the word Mayor written on it was hung. We entered the door into a spacious office space with enough room to accommodate all of us and then some. There was a long table that looked like an ancient equivalent of a conference room table off to the side where Sandra bid us to all sit.

"Now, thank you for coming to help us. What exactly are your plans here?"

"We mean to use Jewelston as a sort of base of operations for our plan of attacks. Al'Doran is going to stay here, for now, to help with the process of setting up proper defenses for Shadow Beast attacks. He is a fountain of knowledge and will be extremely helpful. While he is helping with that, Aeolith and I will be taking point on finding the Shadow Beasts and rooting them out. So we need to know what city is likely having the most trouble so we can start there."

"I'm not so sure I like you just marching in and taking over like this."

"We don't mean to take over at all, mayor. Al'Doran has a...special way of helping that shouldn't cause too much trouble. And all I'm asking for is to use this place as somewhere I can come back to and leave from. Everything else you normally do should go on as usual. And in return, you will be fortified against future Shadow Beast attacks."

"Very well. That does seem like a very fair trade-off. I agree to the terms. You may stay here and we will build accommodations for the Dragons. In return, you will help with the Shadow Beast incursions and leave us to continue running the city as we see fit."

We shook on the agreement and she seemed to relax.

"Was it that big of a relief, mayor?"

"I must admit that I didn't know what your intentions would be. By all rights, you could have come in here, commandeered the entire city, and made yourself the ruler and everyone would have gone along with it. I was really hoping you would not be one of those types."

"No, Callan is nothing like that, he is really a kind soul and the type of person you would want to follow. He always is looking out for others and putting their needs first, kinda like this one person I knew back in school..."

"Rutherford, don't get carried away."

He looked sheepish for a moment.

"I promise I'm not that kind of person. I don't want to rule anything. I just want to help."

"That really is a relief. I feel a lot better about this arrangement now. But for the matter at hand, I think the city we need to help first is Admonton. It's a small village to the southeast of here. I have heard that their mayor was already deposed. They don't have the type of guard we have here being a smaller village. If you can go help there first, it would be really helpful."

"Alright, that will be the first place we go then. Can you give me any details about the place? Population size? Adventurers there? Types of defenses? And can we get horses to get there? I know I have Aeolith, but she can't carry my whole party and I want them with me when we go in."

"Yes, of course. I will have horses for you all. Will Aeolith go with you if you take the horses?"

"Yes. We will want her with us just in case."

"OK. And Al'Doran will stay here then to help with the defenses?"

"Correct. He wants to make sure that you all know how to set things up so that Aeolith and I can make this a permanent base and you will be protected from Shadow Beasts with his help. Eventually, your fortifications will be second to none when it comes to defending from Shadow Beasts. What exactly that means, I'm not sure, but I trust Al'Doran implicitly."

"That all sounds great. Please let me know if I can help you in any way. We will work with Al'Doran to be sure that we have what you need to fight off this blight."

"I will be taking up residence in the Dragon's Nest if you or your people need anything. I have a relationship with its proprietor and would very much like to use it for my lodgings. Feel free to send anyone who you need to contact me there if you wish to find me while I'm in the town."

"Ah, Patsy's place. I see why you would want to stay there. Very good. I will let my men know in case they need to reach you."

We stood up and shook hands again. This time Sandra seemed much more at ease and much more willing to help than she had when we first met in town. I guess she really needed that reassurance that I wasn't there to just force her out and take over. I had no dreams of ruling anything. I just want to get out there and do what needs to be done. The sooner we start fighting Shadow Beasts, the sooner we can feel more prepared. The anticipation of the battles was killing me not knowing what was coming. We left the Town Hall and walked back toward where they were setting up for the dragons to stay, Sandra went with us to make sure that the progress was going forward properly as well.

When we arrived we saw that much of the building for the dragons was already up.

"I didn't know your guys would be so fast," I mentioned to Sandra.

She stood there in amazement for a moment.

"They shouldn't have been able to put up so much so fast," She said, still in shock.

"I told you Al'Doran had a special way of helping.

I walked past her and over to where the dragons were laying resting on piles of hay.

"We have our first target. Who's ready to go kick some Shadow Beast ass?!"