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Dragonriders: Chapter One

Ailmer Inman was flying again. He shot through the cold night sky underneath the stars, circled by a pair of colored streaks. Green and blue spun around him, carrying him along his well-trodden journey in the sky. The stars guided them, but the familiar constellations were bent and twisted, just far enough from where they ought to be in order to be recognizable. Though familiar, they were barely out of place, enough that any look up into the starry night sky brewed an alien sense of discomfort in Ailmer's chest.

Cold, dry air whooshed past him. It was cold up so high, far away from the welcoming mountain ground, and it was a chill that he had not felt in years. It was the sort that was paired with memories of beauty and peace, with stargazing and the sort of innocent, meandering conversations whose specifics were forgotten the next hour but formed the base of wonderful relationships.

However, tonight, the chill brought with it a painful isolation. It was no agony, but it was a pang of loss, of loneliness, of old wounds, that Ailmer had never before felt during this flight. It took him far too long to realize until his attention was brought back to the swirling pair of green and blue streaks circling him in the night sky. He narrowed his eyes, following the flitting flight of the blue streak around him. Suddenly, he realized the difference. He had always been carried by the blue.

When he reached out his hand to touch the streak, the pale light danced around his fingers. The color swirled and danced as smoke, ever close to his grasp. He groped and grasped at the streak as he tried to feel it, to touch the warmth that he knew was there, to draw it back to himself. His motions failed every time. It was simply outside of his power.

The streaks of light drew him faster now. The ground blurred underneath him as he was whisked over mountains and between peaks, diving into a particular valley. He did not have time to look over the bowl before they were speeding up towards one of the peaks, nearly brushing the tops of the trees below them. The tree cut off, leaving them rushing over rocky, barren earth on the steep mountainside before they suddenly turned down to the ground.

Ailmer was unable to yell before the sky was suddenly cut off as they dove into a winding cave. Compared to the sky outside, it was tight and claustrophobic. The walls seemed to close in around them and at points there was barely enough space for them to move through. The streaks did not slow down in the least, however. Tension knotted in Ailmer's gut as they sped through the winding tunnels at a breakneck pace.

Twisting caves disappeared behind them as the air grew steadily moister. The walls of the cave darkened in color, the rock stained by condensation. Small rivulets widened into small, subterranean ponds and streams when the cave widened out. Small creatures scampered over the walls of the caverns and through the water, their small forms lit only by the light shed by the two streaks circling the human.

Plants began to creep over the walls; small vines and strange stems reached up from the edges of the water and up over the mossy walls. The deeper they went, the stranger the plants became; some began to shed their own light in the tunnel with bulbous growths that emitted gentle light, forming basking points in the small pools for small creatures to gather, only to chase the brighter light of the passers-by for as long as their wet prisons would allow.

Suddenly, the mouth of the cave widened into a foyer. Ailmer stopped just inside, hovering in place just before the dark entrance to a much larger cave; the way was blocked by a single carved stone, set up on a pedestal in the center of the small cave. Several large runes emblazoned the surface of the simple stone tablet. Ailmer could not read them, but he knew exactly what they said; it was a name that had been driven deep into his mind.

Drav Nikon.

Ailmer narrowed his eyes, peering into the dark opening that led into the tremendous cavern. He took a slow breath, drawing in the moisture and the ancient air that filled the cave before he was pulled forward again.

He burst into the tremendous cavern. A sheer, mile long drop cut the opening of the smaller cave and when Ailmer's gaze turned up, he expected to see stars in the high, domelike ceiling. A thin smog filled the cavern, leaving most of the tremendous cavern cloaked in a haze similar to smoke that had been brought on by fires long past. Weak light illuminated the cavern, generated by some unseen source deeper in the cave that was hidden by the haze. Bioluminescent plants grew wild over the pockmarked spires that reached from the floor to the ceiling of the cave, shedding their light into the hazy air. Their weak light tried to push back at the dull, hazy gold that permeated the cavern from somewhere deep inside the oppressive cloud.

Ailmer closed his eyes, taking a long, slow breath through his nose. He gathered courage from the stale, cloying air and gave a short nod, both to himself and the streaks carrying him.

His stomach dropped as he dove forward. He caught up with it somewhere in his throat as he streaked through the air, dipping low enough to feel the mists floating over the deep underground lake. Muted, multihued light glowed from underneath the layer of low-hanging clouds. He dipped deeper every so often, close enough to see the shadows of movement deep underneath the surface of the inky water. Smaller fish were marked out with thin, luminescent lines along their sides, surfaced and splashed along behind him.

Ailmer spiraled up out of the fog, stirring the mist and the smoke in his path while he shot towards the base of one of the massive spires that held the stone sky aloft. Pockmarks over the rock quickly turned into dark caves. On instinct, he chose one in his mind and he shot forward, only speeding up as he found himself zipping up through the hollow center of the pillar.

Shelves flashed by faster than Ailmer could keep track of. Levels and levels held seamless shelves, stacked with scrolls and books. Dust obscured the runes on the shelves and the papers, disturbed only by the air coming from the fleet human. A pale light, cast by glowing crystals that were held in ornate fixtures, highlighted the dust dancing in Ailmer's passing. Ailmer was far ahead, however, his vision focused ahead.

He reached nearly the top of the tower before suddenly turning to the side, zipping out over a large walkway that spanned three of the spires, leading to a large central platform. Vines coiled around the wide walkway, bearing tremendous funnel leaves and dimly glowing fruit. The greenery diversified and thickened the closer Ailmer flew to the platform in the center of the causeways. Exotic plants grew out of control along the large planters lining the stone platform, stretching above him into a flowering tunnel full of alien blooms that had no counterpart in the world above.

Ailmer's urgent flight slowed as he reached the platform that housed the huge hanging garden. Red flowers, streaked with luminescent green lines hung from large trees that twisted up over the stone floor. vines wrapped up the trunks of the larger plants and strange ferns and mushrooms grew from every damp crack they could attempt a foothold in. Exotic flowers and strange, unrecognizable plants of every shape and form fought over every drop of water they could squeeze from the sky, but they all seemed to lead Ailmer further towards the center of the platform.

The overgrowth suddenly broke apart as Ailmer found himself over the center of the garden. Ornate tiles collected water from the damp air, condensing moisture to run in rivulets down towards a single small planter in the center. Inky dirt, black as pitch, filled the planter in the exact center of the platform. It was no wider than Ailmer was tall, but it drank every drop of water that the structure could provide.

A single plant raised out of the middle of the dirt. The highest bough of the twisted tree reached nearly eight feet above the soil and a handful of sparse leaves decorated the vine like wood where they could push out between cracks in the fibrous bark. Limbs like vines wrapped around each other for support, reaching out in front of the sacred plant to hold its single fruit.

An impossible gemstone dangled from the twisted vines. The large green orb pulsed with its own light, causing dew to glisten over its smooth surface. A few small, unprotected vines wrapped around the gem as if it were caged, supporting the heavy objects weight against the natural boughs of the small tree. The breath caught in Ailmer's throat as he floated in front of the gem. His fingers reached out slowly to heft the fruit in his palm, feeling its energy seep into his body. The tree creaked as he took some of the fruit's weight to himself.

A sudden, earth quaking roar sounded from beside him. Ailmer turned his head to peer through the split in the garden. A tremendous shadow lurched through the mist in the distance. Its huge form was visible between two of the pillars. Though obscured by the smog, the scale of the massive shadow was obvious as it grazed stone from the ceiling of the dome.

The ground beneath Ailmer began to rumble as he looked on in horror. A pair of beady red eyes gazed back, their glare cutting through the cavern's thick haze. The stone beneath him cracked with earsplitting thunder.

Ailmer fell.

***

Ailmer woke with a start. The world slowly came into focus around him as his dream melted away, leaving him blinking at the darkness between the tall trees. The embers of the patrol's large campfire smoldered, providing some light to their camp. The first light of the morning was starting to touch the tops of the trees in the forest. Ailmer took a long, slow breath, leaning forward to start to center himself while he looked around the camp.

Beroan was splayed out beside him, his belly turned towards the fire. The green dragon was still snoozing, his body stretched out as far as he could to try to absorb every bit of radiant heat from the flames. Beroan was only half on his bedroll, the rest of the bedding crumpled and pushed off to the side from underneath him from his squirms. Ailmer couldn't help but smirk as he looked over the dragon. No wonder he'd found himself a bit cold, considering that the drake's hinds had blocked some of the heat of the fire. "Greedy lizard…" He said with a chuckle.

The though of sleeping closer to the dragon crossed his mind, but it brought with it old feelings that caused Ailmer's face to darken. His brow furrowed as his thoughts tried to drift back to his dream. Ailmer did his best to look around for anything to distract his mind.

He shook his head again, looking over the military patrol. The few warriors there were still sleeping, their weapons close at hand beside their bedrolls. His eyes fell on each of them in turn, carefully noting their closer possesions. Kerian, with his face unscarred by any real battle, had curled himself tightly around a small pendant around his neck. His sword lay in front of him, half trapped under his pack. Remfry's beard wavered in the wind each time he snored, his large hammer tucked up close against him, the head peeking from underneath his rough blanket. Joceus slept stiffly on his back, his hands folded over the worn book of Ahilia he clutched to his chest.

The sergeant, Karles Pawlin, was gone from his bedroll. He had his back to the rest of the camp and his hilted sword tapped the stump he was sitting on rhythmically as he slowly surveyed the lightening forest. His scarred face wore a slight frown, but his head turned as he heard Ailmer's start. "Something wrong, Scout?" He asked quietly.

Ailmer shook his head, standing up to stretch for a moment before he made his way over to the Sergeant so they didn't have to talk over the rest of the camp. "Ailmer, please. I'm not part of your army any longer."

Pawlin chuckled a bit, nodding. "After what you did, you are still the figurehead of Galast's army. That statue in front of the dragonrider's academy still stands."

Ailmer frowned, shaking his head. "It is not the man I am."

Pawlin shrugged, his gaze turning back to the forest. "It is the man people know."

Ailmer sighed heavily, looking out into the darkness between the trees. He wore a frown as he found a seat on a rock beside the sergeant. "No, nothing's wrong. Mind just thought it was time to wake up, I suppose."

Pawlin nodded slowly, narrowing his eyes as he listened to the forest. A rustle or two reached them from the undergrowth, but as a few birds had begun to chirp and stir in the trees to greet the morning, taking some of the nervous edge off of the watch. "You're finer company than the private, at least." Pawlin rumbled.

Ailmer chuckled. "Why's that?"

"Because you get tired of the stories about you. Driven kid, at least, but I get tired of telling the same tales." Pawlin said.

Ailmer nodded, chuckling slightly. "Poor kid. I'm sure I'm not the hero he wanted me to be."

"That ain't the way the townsfolk told it. Seemed dead convinced some hero had saved the town."

Ailmer sighed heavily. "I did no more than what the militia did."

Pawlin chuckled. "And I am sure they were throwing fire and taking on brutes singlehandedly, too."

"You know how prone to exaggeration drunken townsfolk are when they have a chance to tell a good story." Ailmer said, hesitantly.

"I also know how much your feats sound like exaggeration." Pawlin shot back.

Ailmer sighed again, shaking his head. Pawlin laid off for a few minutes, returning to his slow scanning of the forest in front of them. Ailmer watched as well, his trained eyes scanning for any sort of changes in the forest, keeping watch more out of habit than anything else. He felt remarkably comfortable keeping watch with the blue and gold uniform of the Galastian army beside him. His own uniform was folded on the very bottom of his pack, but he felt himself already drifting into old habits.

"So, how'd you find the dragon?" Pawlin asked.

Ailmer shot the sergeant a suspicious glare before he turned back to the forest. "He's a refugee from Astal. I found him in the forest, getting attacked by some spiders."

"And you saved his life, didn't you?" Pawlin rumbled.

Ailmer nodded. "Yes. He's stuck around since."

Pawlin chuckled, shaking his head. "Always the hero. Old habits are hard to break, aren't they?"

Ailmer sighed heavily, nodding as his eyes turned back to the shadows of the forest, watching them twist and move with the boughs of the trees in the gentle morning wind. The warm light of the morning was beginning its assault on the forest's shadows. Ailmer's eyes turned up slowly to the brightening sky over the treetops. "Some habits shouldn't be broken, I suppose."

Pawlin nodded silently.

They kept watch in silence until the rest of the camp began to stir behind them. Joceus was the first to rise, sitting up to open his worn book of Ahilia to begin his morning study. The others woke in turn, blearily glancing around the camp before they began their morning duties. Remfy was the most active, throwing more wood on the embers to start a larger campfire, hanging a pot over the flames to start cooking.

Beroan finally squirmed over the ground as the flames grew, the heat contributing more to his waking than the noises from the camp. He stretched in a very catlike manner before he stood, looking around the camp to spot Ailmer, though he didn't miss Kerian's eyes. The private was staring at the dragon with wide, curious eyes, obviously still in disbelief of his newfound traveling partners. At least as long as his attention was on Beroan, Ailmer was free from the private's slack-jawed stare.

Beroan seemed entirely unbothered by the attention. He barely noticed as he stood and stretched luxuriously with a deep, rumbling purr like stones tumbling down a hill. The soft noise was strange enough to cause everyone to look up at the dragon; excepting Ailmer, who knew the sound perfectly. After another shake or two down his body, the overgrown lizard padded over to sit himself down right next to Ailmer. He wasn't subtle about his desires, of course, turning his head to flop it right across Ailmer's lap, his chin stretched out for scritches.

Ailmer let a slight smile turn up the corners of his mouth as he reached down to slowly scratch along the thicker scales that lined the dragon's chin. "Well, hello to you too."

"G'morn." Beroan mumbled, his eyes lidding halfway as soon as those fingers started working over his jaw.

Ailmer shook his head, settling back as he stroked slowly over the dragon's muzzle. He took his time watching the light spreading through the branches of the trees in the forest as the sun came up. He could feel the looks from the others in the camp burning into him. He knew dragonriders were always held as a peculiar pairing by those that had never been chosen. The reason was simple: the bond between a dragon and a rider was magical in nature and completely unfathomable to those that had not experienced it.

Ailmer had tried his damnedest as those looks bored into his back, but he had never been able to keep them from getting under his skin. Ailmer closed his eyes and sighed, leaning forward onto one of his elbows as his eyes drifted from the brightening skies back down to the shadowy depths of the forest in front of them. Beroan seemed entirely unbothered by the others, letting out a soft huff as those fingers drifted away from the scales on his chin.

"Grub's on. Y'all better get to it before I do, else there ain't gonna be much left!" Remfry called from the fire, nearly chewing on his thick northern accent.

At least that got Beroan's attention. The dragon suddenly pulled his head from Ailmer's lap, his tail wagging quickly behind him as he barreled towards the fire. Ailmer shook his head slowly as he barely suppressed a chuckle when he heard the rest of the patrol yelp behind him. Pawlin leaned back in his seat, before rocking to his feet. "Sikthil drag you down, Corporal! If you eat the whole damn pot again, I'll ban you from boots." He called back.

Ailmer waved his hand as he noticed Pawlin looking back at him. "I'll hold watch." He said.

Ailmer ignored the noises of the camp behind him, simply staring out into the forest. He lost himself in the slowly swaying boughs of the tree, retreating into his thoughts. Every so often a high point of the conversation would jar him from his somber thoughts, but he quickly returned to his fugue.

He nearly jumped as Pawlin returned, entering the corner of his vision with a steaming bowl of stew. Ailmer blinked a few times before his hands moved up to take it from the sergeant. A word of thanks was on his lips before a sudden shimmer of movement between the trees caught his attention.

A blue dragon slipped between several of the pines just past the treeline. A flash of recognition shot across Ailmer's face. "What do you see, Sco-" Pawlin began, but by the time the words were out of his mouth, Ailmer was already sprinting into the trees.

Barks from behind him disappeared as trees flashed by the first scout. Ailmer sprinted through the trees with a determination he had not felt in years; he pushed himself off of trunks and roots, dashing between trees as he pursued the blue dragon. The drake was slightly faster than Ailmer. Though he seemed to float through the trees with a grace more akin to dancing than sprinting, Ailmer found himself gaining ever so slowly on the dragon. "N-no! Come back! I just, I just need-" He managed through heavy pants.

The dragon didn't respond to his begging, dashing through the forest. Ailmer was gaining on him, however, bit by bit. He heard something rushing through the forest behind him, but he was far too focused on chasing down the dragon in front of him to notice Beroan in hot pursuit.

It didn't matter, however. He was so close, he could hear the blue dragon straining and rushing. He was close enough to nearly touch him, his body straining to keep up his sprint. "Marlin!" He managed.

The blue dragon suddenly stopped and spun around. Those beautiful emerald eyes locked with Ailmer's own as the human leaped out, his arms spread out to tackle the dragon.

His fingers groped at empty air as the dragon disappeared into thin air in front of him. He barely managed a startled, frustrated yell as he fell in his haphazard dive, landing with a splash in a small pond. He managed to struggle as his lungs took in a mouthful of water, but another large splash and a heavy body atop him just caused him to flail more.

His thrashing was in vain as Beroan tugged him, coughing and sputtering, back onto the bank of the pond. It took Ailmer a few moments of heavy coughing before he could even attempt to start recovering his breath. Beroan sat there with a worried expression, waiting for Him to recover. "Claws, Ailmer, what did you see?" He asked, his voice rumbling like stones tumbling down a hill.

Ailmer slowly managed to return to a pant, his brow furrowed as he turned to look at the green dragon. "There was a dragon, I was right behind it the whole time?" He asked, confused.

Beroan shook his head. "No, you just took off like a scared hatchling and dove face first into the pool there."

Ailmer looked down, biting his lip. He just nodded slowly a few times as he realized what had happened. Beroan leaned down to nose at his chin, bringing the human's head up. "Marlin?" Beroan asked as gently as he could.

Ailmer closed his eyes--better than displaying the tears welling up in them--before he nodded slowly.

Beroan rumbled softly, pressing his cheek against the humans for a few moments. Ailmer found himself gently pressing back against those small warm scales, suddenly immensely thankful for the leathery hide against his face.m

The noise of heavy boots tromping through the undergrowth interrupted them, however. Ailmer slowly pulled back, composing himself as best he could before the patrol burst out of the forest. Pawlin was the first one out of the trees, his sword drawn and his sides heaving with his pants. "What was it?"

The rest of the patrol rushed out of the forest to surround Ailmer and the dragon, their eyes searching through the trees for any danger. Ailmer sighed and shook his head. "I thought I saw something, but it was nothing. Tripped and fell in the pond." He stated.

The patrol relaxed visibly, though they still kept their weapons drawn and their eyes on the forest. Pawlin shook his head, looking back to the scout. "You took off faster than a bolt. What in Ahilia's tits did you see?" He cursed.

The swear actually jostled Joceus, who whispered a short prayer to save his soul from his crass comrades. Ailmer opened his mouth to answer, but he couldn't find the words. Beroan waited a few seconds before speaking up himself. "Another dragon. I smelled him too, but I think he's long gone. I think we scared him more than enough to drive him off." He lied.

Pawlin narrowed his eyes but nodded slowly. He took another look over the forest before he motioned to the rest of the patrol. "We need to get moving and you need to get dried off. Get moving." He ordered to the rest of the squad.

Ailmer took a moment to stand, looking to Beroan. The green dragon looked back, their eyes meeting for a few moments. Ailmer nodded slightly, a small smile showing his thanks for the dragon's cover story. Beroan stood slowly, nosing at the sitting human as the patrol started to move off back to camp. "We should walk with them, shouldn't we?" Beroan asked.

Ailmer nodded slowly, drawing himself up from the ground to slowly follow the patrol back to camp.

***

Ailmer grumbled to himself as he gnawed on a tough strip of jerky. His stomach was cursing him for letting the chance of a hot meal slip between his fingers. He wasn't used to traveling rations, nor was he still used to going without food. That was a fact that was driven in by the ache in his legs and hips that jolted each time the horse below him stepped. It had been years since he was in his prime, spending days on dragonback and hiding motionlessly for hours. The pain in his lower back told him that he had never been used to horses, either; the wider stance required to cling to the saddles had never agreed with him as much as the tighter one that held him to the back of the smaller dragons.

He leaned forward in the saddle, trying his best to stretch his back and lift his hips for a hint of relief, glancing to the side to watch Beroan trod along beside the horses. He was a little over half the size of the horse, maybe a bit more. Dragons tended to be longer, especially with their longer necks and tails, and their wingspan certainly gave them the impression of larger size. However, it surprised most people how small they were with their wings folded down. Honestly, he'd been wondering how they could fly, especially with the weight of a rider and gear, but Ailmer and the other mages at the academy had narrowed it down to some mixture of latent magic and dragon's powerful musculature.

Beroan was far less bothered by the travel. He hummed softly as he padded along, his wide eyes taking in every detail of the forest around him. His tail wagged slowly as he took in the view; Ailmer had already had to call him back from chasing rabbits and birds in the forest several times. It didn't seem like anything could dampen the dragon's mood. "I'm pretty excited." Beroan said.

Ailmer slowly lowered his tender butt back onto the saddle. "Mhm, more or less excited than you were half an hour ago?"

Beroan huffed insolently. "More, of course! I don't think I've ever seen a town much bigger than Mossly. Well, I mean, I kinda saw Astal's capital, but I didn't get close enough for a good look."

Ailmer nodded. "Because most of it was on fire, right?"

Beroan nodded. "Yeah. I barely managed to see it from a distance on the road. I hope that Damsk isn't on fire."

"If Damsk is on fire, we'll have a whole lot of new and exciting problems to deal with." Ailmer replied.

Beroan nodded quickly before his eyes caught a bird taking flight in front of them. Ailmer didn't have the time to forbid the dragon before he was already shooting up from the ground, barely leaving a dust cloud in his wake. Ailmer shook his head as he watched the dragon climb into the air and turn off to disappear above the treetops, chuckling to himself. "How do you keep up with them?" Kerian asked.

Ailmer smirked as the private seized his chance to pull his horse into the place that Beroan had been walking. "I'm sure your officer would love to know that, too."

Kerian looked confused; Pawlin snorted with a laugh. Ailmer just smirked and shrugged. "Well, in Beroan's case, I can't very well do anything about it. He's a dragon, they're pretty well equipped to handle things themselves."

Kerian nodded quickly. "Well, wouldn't that get you into trouble on missions and stuff?" He asked.

Ailmer nodded. "Drakes do have a penchant for dragging trouble back with them. But we were well-equipped to handle it. I worry about what kind of trouble he's going to get into in Damsk, though."

Kerian nodded quickly. "Not if he gets into trouble?"

Ailmer chuckled. "He's a drake, maybe thirty summers old. That one, especially, loves to stick his snout where it doesn't belong."

Ailmer was glad that Beroan wasn't there--the dragon would have taken that double entendre and ran with it. The more Ailmer thought about it, though, the more the weight of his armor and the golden astrolabe pushed down on him. He supposed he had the same penchant. Kerian nodded as sagely as he could while the mage paused. "Are you excited for the Harvest festival?" Kerian asked as his youthful patience waned.

Ailmer blinked. "Honestly, I haven't gone out of my way to celebrate it in a long time. Gods above, it's going to be so busy."

"But it will be a lot of fun!" Kerian said.

Ailmer just dreaded his upcoming headache that he knew the celebration would cause. They rode on in an awkward silence for a while longer before Kerian spoke up again. "So…Are there any tricks to getting chosen?"

The rest of the patrol broke into laughter. Even Pawlin chortled, before Remfry called forward, "Ach, give the kid a break. He just knows what he wants."

Ailmer put on a bit of a smile. "Are you a mage?"

Kerian nodded quickly. "Yeah! I have been practicing a lot, I can even light a candle. Fire magic kinda clicked with me the most, like you."

"Is that what the legends say about me now? I'm a wind mage. I guess that isn't quite as impressive as throwing fireballs."

"But the people in the town claimed that you used fire on that brute?" Kerian asked.

"I did, however, wind magic is my natural talent. You should know that mages can branch out around the compass."

"Yeah, I knew that. Fire is the next step around the compass from wind, right?"

"Other than that, just show up to the binding ceremony. Magic is a wily beast and there doesn't seem to be any other way that we can choose."

Kerian looked crestfallen. "So, it's just fate, then?"

"As far as we have been able to tell. If you have some magical threads of your own, have you considered trying to become a battlemage?"

Kerian answered excitedly. "Yeah, I have. I'll have the coin for tuition after my first contract with the army is up."

Ailmer nodded, drifting back into silence as the horses moved along the path, their discussion fading into the jingles of armor and straps. Kerian managed to hold his tongue for a good few minutes, continually glancing up at the legendary figure beside him. "So…What was it like? Flying dragonback?"

Ailmer took in a long, slow breath as his eyes drifted up into the clear skies. He spotted Beroan wheeling around in the air above and in front of them, far enough away to appear as a large black silhouette. Ailmer looked back down to the ground, concealing pain in his eyes. "There's a sort of freedom to it. Not only can you see further than the tops of mountains, but you go faster than…Well, anything else. It's cold up there, though."

Kieran's eyes turned skyward, a look of childlike wonder on his face. Ailmer's eyes turned down to the dirt of the road in front of them, memories flashing behind his eyes. A wind blew through the forest, a gentle breeze that brought him back to gales and gusts that had threatened to blow him off of his drake. He shook his head slowly, dispelling the past before he looked back up with his lips pressed together tightly enough to turn them white. At least, he thought, he had gotten out of the habit of grinding his teeth.

Kerian said something, but his words fell on Ailmer's distracted ears. The private squirmed in his saddle, not sure if he should repeat himself, but one glance at the warrior's clenched jaws made him hold his tongue. Ailmer marched in silence as the private awkwardly kept pace beside him.

Eventually, Kerian started to drift back into his place in the line. The line worked their way along the road, winding through the forest. Eventually, they came out from the trees out onto the plains at the foothills. The eastern mountains loomed behind them, stretching up into the sky as the afternoon sun did its best to ward off the cool autumn breeze that bit into the back of Ailmer's neck.

Ailmer only looked back once to take in the view of the mountains, the pines thick enough and far enough to look blueish rather than green. Large spots of colorful leaves were visible in patches on the slopes, signaling the turn of seasons behind them. Low clouds, drifting over the cleft in the mountains that formed one of the passes to Astal, hung like plumes of smoke in the sky.

Pawlin paused for a moment as they came out of the trees, shading his eyes with a hand as he watched the sun in order to estimate how long they had until nightfall. Ailmer peered into the distance, and from their position in the foothills, he could pick out a small town some ways out on the plain. "We should be able to make Culcheth today if we keep our march up." He said.

The rest of the squad nodded and continued to push on. Ailmer's horse followed along in line while the mage twisted back around to watch the mountains. He fancied that he could see his mill in Mossly, tucked back into those trees, but he was simply too far away to make out any part of the town.

As he watched, he saw Beroan shoot out of the trees. The dragon shot straight up with a few pumps of his wings, corkscrewing in the air before swinging around in a wide loop, leveling out low over the path. He swung slightly from side to side as he sped a few feet off the ground, quickly catching up with the rest of the group to land suddenly beside Ailmer.

The complex maneuvers and the fun the drake was having in the air made Ailmer's stomach knot with longing. The dragon was barely panting from his flight, his tail wagging quickly as he trotted up beside Ailmer. "Catch anything good?" Ailmer asked.

Beroan shook his head. "No, the pigeons are too slow. It's barely any fun, really."

Ailmer chuckled and shook his head, looking out towards the town.

***

Culcheth passed with little ceremony, mainly because Ailmer made certain to forbid the dragon from drinking any more than a few bowls of cider. The dragon drew eyes as they entered the town, but the uniforms and weapons kept most of the townsfolk at bay. It took a little talking before Beroan was allowed in the tavern, but it seemed that most of the people gathered warmed up to him as he started drinking and talking. The rooms were simple but comfortable. Ailmer and Beroan happily shared a room, but both of them were far too tired from the journey to do much more than collapse against each other in bed.

The patrol set off early in the morning. Ailmer's body protested, his lower half a mass of aches that twinged as he mounted the horse. Beroan only complained about his own aches a few times. Neither of them were used to this sort of travel, it seemed. Ailmer kept his complaints to himself, however. The shaft of Mizkithar pressed against his back, reminding him of what he was: a legendary warrior in the eyes of the world.

But with his legs aching and his magic anemic, he felt more like an old man than the scout he used to be.

The morning went by slowly. Only the horse's hooves digging into the dirt road interrupted the awkward silence between the patrol members. Ailmer was surprised to see that even Remfry kept to himself. Apparently, there had been some sort of altercation in the bar after Ailmer had left, and all of them knew better than to challenge Pawlin's narrowed eyes. The sergeant was wearing a tight-lipped frown as he stared down the road in front of them.

Ailmer had always assumed that Beroan would have exploded if he ended up being entirely quiet for any length of time. The mage was even more incredulous that Kieran had managed to hold his excitement the whole time. Ailmer was ready to call it a divine act, considering that Beroan had taken to walking beside the private's horse. Ailmer made a mental note to get the Sergeant to teach him whatever magic he was using.

The tone of the walk shifted slowly after they stopped for lunch. A short, hushed talk between Pawlin and Remfry lessened the tension immensely, and Beroan had finally gotten bored enough with the walking to start whispering to each other. Eventually, they were brave enough to have a full conversation.

It didn't take long for Beroan to find himself completely enthralled by descriptions of the city. Eventually, he moved forward to sidle up beside Ailmer's horse. "So there are dragons in the city? With how Mossly treated me, I didn't think people liked dragons."

Ailmer shook his head. "There are few that live in the city, though many more come out for the binding ceremony. They're mostly from the clans that live in the western mountains, though."

Beroan nodded slowly. "The people don't mind?"

Ailmer shrugged. "They know enough. With the binding ceremony relatively central to the harvest festival, most people end up knowing enough about dragons to accept them as part of society. Considering that most drakes that stay in the town are part of the mage's college, whether bound to a rider or not, people tend not to mess with them."

Beroan nodded. "So, what is this whole binding thing?" He asked.

"I thought you knew the story of Melchitite's Journey. That follows those two bound dragons."

"Well, every hatchling knows about the bond between the souls of two dragons."

Ailmer nodded. "Well, I am not sure if it is quite the same, but sometimes there is a magical bond between two souls. Usually, a bond tends to be between a dragon and a human, but there are a few bound human pairs as well."

Ailmer glanced over to see Kieran moving up on his other side, staying close enough to listen intently. "Well, why the ceremony then?" Beroan asked.

"Well, humans tend not to be very magically adept creatures. Many have some amount of latent control, but simple things like lighting candles or creating a gentle breeze are as much as many people can do. As far as the mages have been able to study, it seems that there needs to be a high concentration of magic for these bindings to happen. So, with a single binding celebration with a bunch of dragons in the center of the city's celebrations, it tends to be powerful enough to start these bindings." Ailmer explained.

Beroan nodded. "Wow…Well, will we get to see it?"

Ailmer nodded. "Most likely. Once I'm found out, I doubt the mages will let me stay away from such an important event." He sighed.

Kieran blinked, his brow furrowing as he looked up at Ailmer. "Found out?"

"Ailmer, the First Scout of the Galast army, died a decade ago. All the poisoned wounds from his battles caught up with him. The mage's college put him to rest in a bonfire outside of town. The dragonriders led the procession, didn't they?" Ailmer said, "So, Kerian, when did you find out that the legendary funeral was faked?"

"I told him just before we left. It took him a few hours to process, but the private didn't seem to mind the lie when he realized it meant that he would be able to meet you." Pawlin said.

Kieran nodded, biting his lip. "Yeah. I was actually at your funeral."

"That's a hell of a sentence, isn't it?" Ailmer said.

"Will we be able to look around the city?" Beroan asked, excitedly.

"I'm sure there will be some time for that, but I want you to stay close to me. Damsk is a huge place and I don't want you getting lost."

Beroan huffed. "I can take care of myself!"

"The last time you wandered around, I had an angry mob on my doorstep. I don't expect that to happen again, I just don't want to pull your tail out of the fire again."

Beroan huffed again, pouting as he plodded along beside the mage.

"Hail, ahead!" Pawlin called, interrupting their discussion.

Ailmer turned his eyes up to look down the road. Ahead of them was a scraggly-looking traveler, trying to right a turned cart. His horse stood near a tree on the side of the road, his reigns tied to the tree as the traveler rocked the small cart. He stepped back, wiping his forehead on his sleeve as he replied. "Hail!" the traveler called.

"It sounds like he's from Astal." Beroan rumbled.

Ailmer nodded, looking over the traveler. His clothing was threadbare and ripped in several places. His belongings were scattered over the road in spilled baskets and scattered sacks. The traveler moved back to his cart, pushing from the side to try to rock it back upright. "Do we have the time to help, Pawlin?" Ailmer asked.

"How do we know that cart ain't stolen?" Pawlin asked, his voice low.

"I want to know what's going on across the border. The cart looks like the sort that comes from Astal, they tend to do the triangular ones like that. Better for one horse to pull." Ailmer replied.

It was obvious that Pawlin didn't quite believe him, but he knew he couldn't order Ailmer around. He shook his head as Ailmer sped up to lead the way, following along behind him. "What happened, traveler?" Ailmer asked.

The Astalian stepped back from his cart, looking up at the patrol. The uniforms obviously made him nervous, but after a few glances between the members of the patrol, he said, "Bigger cart came by, pushed me off trail. My cart hit ditch there, bounced and tipped."

Ailmer nodded, tossing his reins to Kieran before he hopped off his horse. He gestured to Beroan to come help him. "Bad luck, I guess. Here, let me help. So, are you a trader?"

The traveler looked relieved with the offer to help before he shook his head. "No. I make swords and iron things. But I left two weeks ago, heard a few days later that town was destroyed." He said, looking down for a moment, pain in his eyes. "So I go to Galast, see if I can find work in Damsk."

Ailmer nodded, waiting until they were situated around the wagon. "One, two…three!" He said, starting to rock the cart. It took a few tries, but soon they forced the cart to rock back upright. The traveler smiled, before moving to start picking up the scattered items from the spilled baskets. "Your town was destroyed?" He asked.

The traveler nodded sadly, taking a moment to reply--obviously searching for the words. "Yes. Big monster things, made of rock and colorful um…" He said, pointing to his ring finger as he searched for the words.

"Gems?" Ailmer offered.

He nodded quickly. "Yes, gems. Littler ones, about size of dog with many legs. I only saw a couple, managed to bash with hammer." He said, pointing to the side of the cart.

Gouges were apparent in the wood. Haphazard slashes decorated the wooden side panels, some deep enough to crack the panels. A large branch had been nailed to the inside of the cart to keep the broken boards together. "The one that told me town destroyed, he said some as big as three men, covered in spikes. He said he watch them tear people in half with arms like spears."

Ailmer's jaw tightened as he nodded. "Which town are you from?"

"Kinallen."

"Astal's capital?" Ailmer asked, surprised.

"Capital?" The traveler asked.

"Biggest city in Astal, where the king lives?"

"Yes, yes. Kinallen."

"Makith's flames." Ailmer swore, "Kinallen is destroyed?"

The traveler nodded. "Not all the way. Said there was still some of the army there, King and family still live. Most of capital destroyed, fighting."

Ailmer nodded, taking a moment to help the traveler gather the rest of his belongings. It didn't take long for the traveler to gather his goods, starting to load them back onto the cart. "We need to continue on. Ahilia's light guide you, traveler." Ailmer said.

The traveler nodded. "Thank, thank. Raktelic have ale for you." He returned with his own blessing.

Joceus stifled a dismissive snort to the outsider's foreign blessing. It was quiet enough that Ailmer barely caught it, and the distracted traveler missed it completely. Ailmer mounted his horse again, his expression dark as the patrol made their way around the traveler's cart and continued towards Damsk.

Pawlin looked almost as troubled as Ailmer. The rest of the patrol had taken the news much better, but both Ailmer and Pawlin's experiences with the Ikthil during the previous war made the news all the more troubling. Eventually, Ailmer spoke up. "Kinallen is fallen, then. I doubt the whole city is destroyed, but if the capital is under siege…"

"It is worrying. Astal has a large army, but they are often beset on all sides. I suppose it must be very bad if we were sent to fetch you."

"I fear that there will be another gem war. Especially if the Ikthil are powerful enough to challenge Astal. I know they have already razed Halix and we were barely able to fight them off in Mossly." Ailmer said.

Pawlin nodded slowly, a somber expression on his face as he thought over the implications of the war. Beroan, uninterested in the older pair's serious discussion, retreated back to Kieran who began to excitedly grill him about his trip through Astal. Ailmer listened carefully, and though the dragon went through quite a bit of journey, Ailmer carefully noted several spots that Beroan carefully skipped over.

Eventually, the patrol fell back into silence. Beroan padded along beside the horses for a while before he launched into the sky again, chasing sparrows above the patrol and seeing what he could see above them. The horizon in front of them was still blank, but it would only be another few days before they reached Damsk.

The patrol came to a stop as the sun started to burn low in front of them. Thickets decorated the hills that broke up the foothills and the tallest of those looked out over the plains. They broke off the main road and worked their way back into the foothills, coming to a stop to pitch camp near a small stream.

All of the others retreated into their things rather than talking. Joceus read through his worn book of Ahilia and Kieran began to scratch at the back of a wide piece of aspen bark with charcoal. Pawlin settled down for watch, and Remfry spent his time whittling and smoking.

Ailmer, by comparison, spent his time feeling sorry for himself and watching Beroan fly. Eventually, the dragon tired of his antics and landed, settling down beside the mage to acquire scritches. Ailmer rested for a while, his fingers rubbing and scratching the dragon's head before he stood up. "I'm going to meditate." He rumbled.

"Meditate?" Remfry asked.

"It's a mage thing." Kieran answered with a sage nod.

Remfry shrugged and returned to his pipe. Ailmer was most of the way out of the camp, strolling his way out into the foothills. Beroan caught up with him quickly, padding along with him; Ailmer had a feeling that he wasn't going to get too much calming and meditation done with the dragon, but even that would be much better than the dour mood the camp was in.

He walked for a half mile or so in mostly silence before Beroan talked. "Are you alright, Ail?"

Ailmer paused, closing his eyes as he took a long breath. He continued on before he answered. "No, not really. I am entirely unprepared for…This. I am not the fighter I used to be and I can hardly expect to handle even a few Ikthil. But the rumors keep coming up that imply that there is about to be another gem war."

"Well, Astal handled the first one alright, didn't they?"

"Barely. Most engagements were slaughters, on both sides. The Ikthil didn't seem to care and there were always more. It took us years before we were able to start driving them back and it took a great many heroes to get us there."

"So what happened?" Beroan asked.

"You know damn well." Ailmer shot back.

The sudden reply surprised both of them. Ailmer found himself almost growling before he shook his head. "I'm sorry, Beroan. I…You know what happened. I am not the person I used to be, either in my mind or my strength."

Beroan nodded slowly. "But you are still who you are. There must be another way, then, right?"

"Another way?" Ailmer asked.

"Well, what about that astrolabe we found? The dragons might have answers."

"You think the Ikthil and Drav Nikon are related?"

Beroan shrugged. "Maybe. Dragons have been claw and tooth with the Ikthil for our entire history. Every clan has their legends and stories about the drakes that fought off the Ikthil; you never thought about why humans use the dragon word for them?"

Ailmer nodded. "There is some wisdom in there, isn't there? I suppose it would make sense. The way my dreams have gone for so long, I guess my threads are tugging me towards Drav anyway. My magic must have a reason, then."

"Well, there's nothing to do for it, then. You said that someone could translate the astrolabe in Damsk. Then I guess we see what the military called you back for, then all we can do is see where the artifact takes us."

Ailmer nodded slowly. He couldn't help a small smile from turning up his lips. He always underestimated this one. They walked a bit longer before they found their way toward the water. A small brook bubbled from some rocks on a hillside, a small stream snaking down into a pond at the base of the hill. Ailmer looked around for a moment, but the trees growing along the hillside offered plenty of privacy from the rising moon.

Satisfied, Ailmer worked his way up towards the stream. He found an old, fallen tree, soft with moss, to sit down on. Beroan followed along to sit down beside him, watching curiously as Ailmer brought his pack forward.

Ailmer reached into his pack to reverently draw out the artifact that they had been discussing. The lumpy bundle of sackcloth looked like it was nothing special until Ailmer's fingers began to peel back the burlap to let shimmering gold peek out into the night.

Both of them held their breath as Ailmer revealed the astrolabe. The tool was a work of art and craftsmanship that…simply didn't exist in the world. The three-armed tool was made of solid gold with fine runes wrapped around the arms of the astrolabe. A complex measuring arm in the center linked with all three arms made up of a pair of coiled dragons that moved smoothly in the center between them, hidden hinges and joints inside of the sculpture making the dragons smoothly twist when the tool was adjusted. The astrolabe was little larger than Ailmer's hand but the detail and construction were impossible. Ailmer couldn't imagine a mortal craftsman creating something like this. It had to be the work of gods or ancient, powerful magic.

Beroan's eyes were locked to the tool as well. Ailmer held the object in both palms, letting it rest as they examined it. Suddenly, Beroan's brow furrowed slightly. "Do you feel it?" He asked.

"Feel it?" Ailmer asked.

"Yes. There's…It…hrm." He began, struggling for the words, "It is tugging on my magic."

Ailmer blinked, slowly raising the tool to get a closer look. He could feel it too; a thrum, a gentle pull, a strange tingle in the back of his mind. It was certainly not the most magical item he had ever felt, but he could certainly feel the pull on his threads. The mage nodded, reaching inside the tool to slowly turn the lever, paying careful attention to the feeling in his mind. "Yes, I feel it too. I suppose we ought to have expected that." He said.

Beroan chuckled to himself and nodded. "It would be the first thing a hatchling would notice, I would think."

Ailmer nodded, starting to mess with the tool. He watched the lever slide to mark out runes and script on each of the arms. Beroan took a few turns as well, carefully turning and working the measuring arm. Eventually, they both ended up on their backs in front of the log, the brook bubbling softly as they handed the artifact back and forth, peering through it at the stars.

Ailmer handed it back over to the dragon, his head lingering on its side in the soft grass. He smiled as he watched the dragon hold it up, peering carefully along the arm at the various stars above them. Memories came back to the mage; some of the best he had, as he watched the dragon stretch and relax beside him. Beroan played with the artifact a little more, his attention elsewhere as Ailmer watched the dragon.

Eventually, Beroan shifted, taking the artifact into both forepaws to hand back to Ailmer. Ailmer took the artifact, slowly sitting back up. "I might be finished trying to understand this thing tonight." He said.

Beroan nodded, his eyes watching the bright stars above them through the gaps in the trees. "Yes. I think I might get an eye-ache if I stare at it any longer. Would you like to watch the stars for a while with me?" He asked.

Ailmer smiled. He nodded and turned to carefully wrap the astrolabe and replace it inside of his pack before returning to lay down beside the dragon. "Of course."

Beroan rumbled softly, rolling onto his side to face Ailmer more, though his muzzle still pointed up towards the sky. They sat for a while before Beroan reached up, pointing up with his middle digit at a strip of three bright points, now central in the sky. "My clan called those Ilith's clutch, after an old legend."

Ailmer chuckled and nodded. "Hm, we call that one Halin's belt, after another old legend."

Beroan giggled to himself. "I think you told me that one. Was that before or after Halin started lifting every tail?"

Ailmer smirked. "Now don't let Joceus hear you talking like that. Ahilia worshippers, especially, tend to get pretty touchy about Halin's infidelity."

Beroan licked his lips, nodding as he slowly turned his head to look away from the stars back to the human beside him. He shifted a bit on the ground, partially to get a bit more comfortable and partially to bring Ailmer's attention down from the stars as well. He waited until Ailmer's eyes made contact with his bright blue eyes before he spoke up. "Speaking of lifting tails…"

Ailmer snorted and broke down into giggles. Beroan smirked, leaning forward to bump the mirthful human's nose with his own snout before he was suddenly surprised by Ailmer turning his head up to meet his lips.

Before he knew it, Beroan was on his back and Ailmer was on top of him, his lips pressed tightly to the dragons. Beroan's earfins tinted red as Ailmer kissed him. He parted his lips slowly while Ailmer's hand stroked and worked over his chest, the dragon holding back a gasp as they began to trade tongues.

Ailmer couldn't keep red off his cheeks as he felt Beroan's long, nimble tongue press against his own. They shared their warmth, slick muscles running over their teeth while they enjoyed the closeness. Ailmer's hands warmly rubbed over Beroan's front while they kissed, his hips arching up as Beroan's forepaws reached up to grip them. They shared their breath, the dragon's heated breath pouring out against Ailmer's face. The mage's own breath poured across Beroan's cheek as he turned his head, locking their jaws together.

Ailmer hadn't realized how much he had missed this. Even as his various aches and pains from travel threatened to distract him as they had the night before. His heart was pounding with anticipation and he could feel the dragon's own twin hearts thudding in the strong chest below him.

After several more minutes, Ailmer finally drew back. Beroan was left panting, his tongue lolled out for a few moments as he was graced with a view of Ailmer's face and a backdrop of stars. He slowly drew his tongue back in before he leaned up to nuzzle the mage warmly. Ailmer warmly stroked along the dragon's neck, letting out a warm rumble as the dragon kneaded his pawtoes along his sore hips. He couldn't help but let out an even more appreciative groan as they pressed further in, openly groping and kneading against his sore butt. "Mn, Ailmer…" Beroan purred.

"Mnh…Beroan." He replied.

Beroan rumbled softly, grinding his hips up slowly as his digits kneaded into the human's backside. He let out a soft pant and a happy rumble, his earfins still tinted slightly red. "I've missed this…" He said.

Ailmer chuckled softly, leaning down to gently nibble on Beroan's neck. "It's been one whole night."

Beroan chuckled, letting out a playful gasp as Ailmer nibbled over the softer scales on the dragon's neck. "I was worried, though…" Beroan admitted.

Ailmer glanced up, but not before laying a long, slow lick all the way from the dragon's collarbone to chin, teasing a shiver out of the dragon below him. "Mn, worried about what?" Ailmer asked.

"Well, with all the other people around, that you wouldn't have the chance to trod my tail."

Ailmer broke out laughing, resting on top of the dragon. Beroan's digits kneaded warmly into the human's rump, trying to paw at the male's pants. "Makith, save me from this horny lizard." Ailmer said.

"Shards, let this mage get over himself and lift my tail already." Beroan replied.

Ailmer shook his head, a grin plastered over his face as he rubbed down at the dragon's torso. Beroan huffed and reached up, trying to hook his digits into the human's belt, interrupted only by a roll of his hips to press his swelling malevent between Ailmer's thighs. Ailmer could easily feel the heat pressing against him and he relented, grinding right back down against the drake. Beroan let out a happy rumble as the human replied, leaving Ailmer to reach down and start untying his belt.

Beroan gave a happy growl as he watched the human work his clothing. He wiggled eagerly underneath the male, his forepaws moving back out of the way as the human sat up and began to take his clothing off. Beroan rumbled warmly, his fingers kneading into the male's rump as he intently watched those pants loosen.

Ailmer was mean, though. He wasn't going to give the dragon what he wanted instantly, especially as the drake squirmed and whimpered so cutely underneath him. His belt came off, slipping slowly down his hips to lay across the lizard's thighs behind him, and his hands hooked the front of his waistband. Beroan gave an appreciative growl as he watched the front of those pants stretch out, the noise evolving into a confused whine as Ailmer's hand slipped back out to stroke up his front, drawing his shirt up.

Beroan huffed softly and leaned up to press his snout right against Ailmer's belly, snuffling and nuzzles up to his chest. Ailmer licked his lips, drawing his shirt up and off to warmly hug Beroan's head in against his chest, leaning down to plant a kiss on the top of his muzzle. Beroan replied with a subtle blush in his earfins and a few warm licks over Ailmer's chest before the mage let go.

Beroan didn't waste his chance, his muzzle sliding right down the mage's front to try to nuzzle against his waistband. When his blunt muzzle failed to push that waistband out enough that he could stuff his muzzle in, he went for the next best thing. His muzzle worked warmly against the human's now obvious bulge, leaving him slurping and nuzzling against the male's clothed crotch. Ailmer huffed, reaching down to wrap his fingers around the dragon's backswept horns as he began to grind and work himself against the overeager dragon's muzzle.

Ailmer wasn't sure what he expected, of course, perhaps he had just forgotten what would happen. It only took a few moments before he felt the drake's cock peeking out of his vent, the thick, warm shaft pressing up behind him in order to warmly push against his backside. Ailmer rumbled and pressed his hips back, careful to keep that dragon muzzle pressed against his confined cock, against that slowly firming dick. It only took a few more moments of teasing before the dragon's throbbing spire pressed needily against his rump, the head of the dragon's large cock pressing warmly against the naked small of Ailmer's back. Beroan huffed hotly against Ailmer's crotch, his arrowhead cocktip already starting to leak sticky pre against the human's smooth flesh. "Alright, Beroan…Ready?" Ailmer asked, one hand reaching down to grab his loosened waistband.

"Shards, Ail, please!" Beroan panted.

Ailmer finally relented, tugging the front of his pants down. His cock, already stiff and needy, easily leaped free of the fabric's confines. Beroan huffed eagerly as the human's shaft came to a rest on top of his muzzle. He could feel the warmth from that throbbing, stiff cock against his sensitive snout as the human's ample cock throbbed centrally in his vision.

Beroan let out a hot off of pleasure as he nuzzled up, pressing his lips and tongue in against the base of the human's shaft. He watched that cock move, savoring the way it pressed against his muzzle as his warm tongue worked the base of Ailmer's shaft. Clear pre already dripped down from the human's exotic cocktip, forming glistening strands and droplets on Beroan's green scales.

Ailmer couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the dragon play with his cock. He sat back, making sure to rub his still-clothed rump against the other male's throbbing erection. He let out a soft pant as the dragon switched his attentions, letting Ailmer's erection flop down over the bridge of his muzzle as his warm lips moved to kiss over Ailmer's warm nuts.

Beroan let out a huff of pleasure as his lips played over Ailmer's orbs, taking his time to lap and nuzzle into them. Ailmer's shaft drooled precum steadily onto the dragon's muzzle, suddenly gasping as the dragon slipped his lips around one of his balls. The dragon's forepaws reached up to rub Ailmer's thighs, goading him to spread his legs a little more as he worshiped those orbs. His muzzle sucked and worked over them, his lips gently pulling and his tongue slathering the human's balls in attention. Ailmer groaned softly as the dragon worked over his balls, licking his lips as he admired the view of the dragon's muzzle framing his cock. "Mnf, you like those, don't you?" Ailmer asked.

Beroan rumbled with a slight nod, too entranced by those stones to dedicate his muzzle to vain talking. His tongue worked warmly over the human's balls, feeling them roll in the sac against that slick oral flesh, as the male's slightly curved cock bounced in front of his eyes. Ailmer stroked the dragon's warm belly scales with one hand, his other reaching back to warmly grope along the dragon's beefy dick.

Beroan let out a hot pant over the human's crotch as those fingers squeezed along his hot shaft. His cock flexed, pressing itself against the human's back while Ailmer's hand coaxed more of the dragon's precum out of his pointed cocktip. He could already feel the messy dragon's warm fluids dripping down the small of his back, making the dragon's cockhead slip against his smooth skin.

His fingers began to pump slowly along the dragon's shaft. Beroan panted, still sucking on Ailmer's balls, as his cock ground against the human's back. His shaft throbbed stiffly, flexing to press itself harder against the male's slickening back. Ailmer rumbled softly, panting as his fingers ran slowly up and down the dragon's cock as he slowly drew his hips back, pulling his balls from the dragon's attentions.

Beroan let them go without much goading, letting Ailmer's saliva-slick orbs glisten in the air. His muzzle moved up as he wasn't done orally exploring the human yet, his tongue laying a long, slow lick all the way up the underside of Ailmer's thick cock. Ailmer let out a gasp, biting his lower lip gently as he couldn't help but watch the dragon smoothly wrap his lips around his tip. Beroan would have grinned if his muzzle wasn't occupied while he made sure to catch Ailmer's eye. He waited until Ailmer's eyes locked with his before he pushed forward, sliding the mage's cock all the way into his muzzle.

Ailmer shivered as he watched the dragon's muzzle slide down. His cock throbbed as it slid across the dragon's hot, wet tongue and pressed against the back of Beroan's maw. With a wink that made Ailmer shiver, the dragon pushed the last of that shaft into his muzzle, smoothly deepthroating the human's shaft.

Ailmer moaned out, the sound choked back just a bit as he had forgotten exactly how hot dragons were. Slick, wet heat surrounded his cock as he shuddered, flexing his cock in arousal as Beroan gulped slowly along his shaft. "Kith's fire…" Ailmer managed to swear.

Beroan purred warmly against that shaft as his tongue wound slowly around it. His throat worked along the human's head as he savored the feel of that exotic shaft in his muzzle. He was unable to keep a few lewd slurps and suckling noises from escaping his muzzle, but neither of them seemed to mind. Ailmer leaned back, pushing his hips forward as he enjoyed the dragon's muzzle. His fingers kept stroking along Beroan's flexing shaft, groping and working the cock as precum slickened his grip.

Beroan was happy to suck the human's cock for as long as Ailmer wanted. His muzzle worked warmly along the male's shaft as he bobbed every so often, always returning to gulp over the male's tip. Saliva dripped down Ailmer's thighs in short order, his hips warmed each time the dragon underneath him huffed. As much as he was enjoying the blowjob, Ailmer had other plans for the drake. "Mmn, alright, Beroan." He said.

Beroan rumbled softly, taking his time. He slowly started to draw back, his prehensile tongue squeezing the entire length of the human's shaft as he drew his muzzle back. He left his tongue wrapped around that cock for as long as possible, keeping most of his tongue coiled around Ailmer's shaft as he drew back. He squeezed a few more times as that shaft slid all the way out of his muzzle, letting each coil of his talented tongue squeeze Ailmer's cockhead before they slid off.

Ailmer was almost whimpering by the time Beroan had left his shaft, glistening with saliva, entirely in the air. He squirmed on the dragon's belly, slowly releasing his grip on the other male's cock as he forced himself to relax. "Gods, Beroan, you're good at that…" He managed as he tried to recover his breath.

"Well, you still need to let me practice more." Beroan replied.

Ailmer giggled, slowly shifting on top of the drake to start to stand up above him. "Insatiable, completely insatiable." Ailmer muttered.

Beroan just grinned insolently, relaxing on the ground as he watched Ailmer shift positions. Ailmer glanced back behind him, slowly reaching to hold Beroan's cock against the dragon's belly so that he could scoot back above it, shifting until he could kneel down over the base of the dragon's tail.

Ailmer took a few long moments to grope the dragon's cock with both hands, slowly stroking and working up and down the large shaft. His fingers took special care to fondle and play with the dragon's swollen base, working over the pseudo-knot there before he moved back up the dragon's taper, both hands taking their time as they fondled and worked over the dragon's drooling cockspade.

Beroan huffed hotly, squirming just a bit in pleasure as the human stroked along his cock. His toes gripped the ground and his forepaws dropped to the sides to grab on the ground as well, a few electric shivers of pleasure running down him as the human's fingers focused on his messy cocktip.

Ailmer took his time working that tip until his hands were soaked in the dragon's precum. He licked his lips as he ground himself forward a bit, working his needy cock against the dragon's tailbase before his well-lubricated hands moved. One pointer finger ran slowly down the underside of the dragon's shaft, tracing a glistening line down over his malevent and slowly towards the dragon's tailvent. Beroan let out a hot shudder of pleasure as he felt the human's finger run slowly around the sensitive lips of his vent, letting a gasp escape his lips. "A-Ail, please…" He said.

Ailmer grinned back, wearing the same insolent expression that so often decorated the dragon's muzzle. His finger spent some more time tracing around the dragon's entrance, every so often dipping inside to provide only the gentlest pressure on the male's tight entrance. Beroan was quickly reduced to a panting, shivering mess as he tried to press his hips up. Ailmer rode those motions, that tailbase pushing his kneeling up just a bit as he refused to let that finger sink in any further. "A-ancients, Ail, please!"

Ailmer licked his lips as he gave another slow, gentle stroke from the top of the dragon's malevent to the very bottom. Beroan whimpered and closed his eyes, his toes splaying out against the ground in anticipation as the human paused. Ailmer waited, holding perfectly still until Beroan cracked one eye to see why the human had stopped.

At that moment, Ailmer sunk his finger into Beroan's hot tunnel. He didn't stop as the dragon gasped loudly in pleasure, sinking his pointer finger in until his knuckles bumped the dragon's vent. Beroan shuddered underneath him, thick strands of pre drooling onto his belly scales, while his tunnel clenched and worked over the intruding digit.

Ailmer grinned, his other hand resting on the inside of the drake's thigh to brace him as he began to pump that finger inside of the dragon's hot depths. Beroan shivered and squirmed, trying to buck a bit against Ailmer's finger. Ailmer worked the male's tight hole for a few more moments before slowly drawing it out. He left the dragon panting for several heartbeats, just long enough to leave him curious about what was going to happen next, before he plunged two fingers into that vent.

Beroan whimpered and arched his waist up. Ailmer grinned as he held the dragon's hips down, his fingers working much faster inside of that vent. He pumped his arm quickly, sinking his slickened fingers again and again into the dragon's sensitive tunnel, his own cock throbbing against the base of the dragon's tail. Ailmer drove his fingers down until he was confident that the drake's vent was well lubed with the dragon's own pre. Finally, he started to slow down until he simply had his fingers all the way inside the dragon, slowly curling them up to fondle along the softer, warmer spot that marked out the dragon's prostate.

Beroan gasped as those fingers fondled along that softer, warmer spot. Precum drooled from his tip, forced out by the fondling there, as his entire body tensed up in pleasure. He panted through clenched teeth as his tunnel squeezed and worked as hard as it could around those fingers. Ailmer slow his strokes inside, gently working and pressing before he let his fingers rest, enjoying the feel of the dragon's vent clenching and working around them. "Ready, Beroan?" He asked.

Beroan nodded quickly. "Shards, please, Ail. Give me your cock already!"

Ailmer chuckled, licking his lips as his hand stroked up to the dragon's shaft, sweeping a handful of hot precum from the dragon's leaky dick. He left his fingers inside that vent as he did, giving one last wiggle to make the dragon squirm underneath him before he slowly drew them out. Beroan was left panting, his vent clenching at air as he raised his muzzle to watch the human intently.

Ailmer licked his lips, shifting to show off as he reached down to spread the dragon's precum over his own stiff shaft. He took a few moments to tease Beroan more, stroking slowly up and down his glistening cock with a little moan or two before he kneeled back down, one hand on the dragon's thigh, the other pressing the top of his cock down as he lined it up with the drake's vent. Beroan whined in anticipation, watching intently as that warm cockhead press softly against his vent as Ailmer began to press his hips forward.

They both gasped in unison as Ailmer's tip slipped into the dragon's hot vent. Ailmer shivered, pausing in place as he enjoyed the feeling of the dragon's vent clenching around his tip. The dragon seemed even hotter down here, as well, the male's heat straddling the edge of being uncomfortable.

Ailmer took a few moments to adjust to the dragon's heat, giving the drake the same amount of time to start adjusting to the penetration. After a few more heartbeats, he slowly slid his hands up the dragon's thighs to rest them beside the male's throbbing erections. His thumbs gently rubbed the edges of the drake's swollen malevent as he looked up at the dragon, posing to start thrusting. "Please, Ail…" Beroan whispered.

Ailmer couldn't bring himself to tease the dragon any longer. He took a breath and slowly started to sink into the male underneath him, releasing some of his breath as a sharp gasp as his cock smoothly slid into the dragon's heated tunnel. His eyes drifted shut as he sunk in, only drifting open again as his balls came to a rest against Beroan's tail.

Beroan's eyes lazily drifted open as the human bottomed out in him. His cock throbbed eagerly as Ailmer's tip rested just past his hot prostate, drooling pre in sticky droplets onto his belly, left connected to his tip with glistening strands of that warm fluid. They rested like this for a few moments, looking deep into each other's eyes, before Ailmer began to pull back.

He carefully worked his way back until the very tip of his cock gave a light tug on the dragon's vent. Ailmer took the time to pause there one more time before he started up a rather fast rhythm, sinking himself all the way in before pulling right back out.

Beroan gasped as the human started to hump into him. His hot tunnel clenched on each pull and each push sent shots of pleasure up his spine. He made sure to lift his hips and work his rump back against the human when each thrust bottomed out, begging for every little bit of that cock as he could take.

Ailmer was more than happy to give it to him. Their lovemaking turned faster and heavier, both of them panting between gasps as Ailmer sped up, the next few minutes turning into a blur of needy thrusting. The dragon was incredibly hot around his shaft and Ailmer knew he wouldn't be able to hold back for long. He sped up, each clench and thrust adding to the incredibly pleasurable sensations he felt of the dragon below him; the feeling of his thighs pressing against Beroan's scaly, warm ones, the way that each thrust brought the drake's tail up to press between his legs, how the dragon's cock pulsed and throbbed each time his tip slid over the feral male's prostate, and the little whimpers and gasps that graced his ears from the dragon. "Beroan, I'm going to-" Ailmer began.

He was cut off by a roar as he thrust all the way in one more time. The dragon's tunnel clenched spastically around his cock as he suddenly hit his peak. Beroan's cock throbbed visibly in front of Ailmer before it suddenly began to shoot the drake's pent-up load over his belly. Thick shots of white cum splashed over his front, reaching all the way up past his collarbone and onto his long neck as he jerked in climax, his tunnel clenching powerfully around Ailmer's thick cock.

Ailmer couldn't hold back, not as he watched the dragon's thick cock throb and spurt in front of him and his tight tunnel milk him for everything he was worth. A choked gasp came from his tensed body as he ground his hips forward, working his crotch against the stuffed dragon's vent as he shot his load deep into the dragon. Ailmer squirmed and gasped, that tunnel clenching and working his cock as he pumped his load deep into Beroan.

Beroan shivered and squirmed slightly, reaching up with his forepaws to grab Ailmer's hips. He pulled him in as much as he could, arching his spine as he took every little bit of cum he could milk from the human. Ailmer's own hands grabbed the dragon's sides, his fingers digging in as he kept the dragon held close.

Eventually, the last few shots of their orgasms splashed into and over Beroan. The dragon slowly began to relax as his cock twitched and began to soften, his front dripping with seed and his rump still stuffed with the human's shaft. Ailmer shivered each time that Beroan's tunnel clenched around his sensitive cock, leaving him gasping and panting as his shaft throbbed in the dragon's rump.

Eventually, Beroan's grip softened around Ailmer's hips and the dragon slowly laid back. Ailmer reached down, gently stroking the insides of the dragon's thighs before he began to draw himself slowly back, shivering as his tip slipped from the dragon's tailvent. His cum dribbled out of that used vent, making Ailmer blush a bit as he sat back on the dragon's thick lower tail.

Beroan chuckled softly as they took a moment to recover their breath. Eventually, Ailmer stood with a smile and began to clean himself up. Beroan leaned forward to start to groom himself with his tongue, his shaft flaccid in the mess on his belly.

After a few minutes, they were presentably clean. Ailmer was mostly dressed to ward off the cooling fall wind now that they were not exercising, and Beroan had returned to a lazy flop with his shaft disappeared inside of his vent. Ailmer stepped back over to sit down beside the dragon. "Ail?" Beroan asked.

"Yes, Beroan?"

"We don't have to go back right away, do we?"

"I think we can spare a while longer before they start getting worried." Ailmer said.

Beroan nodded slowly, his gaze moving up again. "Can we watch the stars for a while, then?"

Ailmer smiled, looking over the dragon before he moved to lay down slowly beside him. Beroan rumbled softly, slowly reaching out to rest an arm behind Ailmer's shoulders, his tail moving to rest over the human's legs to try to cuddle him up. Ailmer's heart skipped a beat or two. He found himself enjoying the closeness far more than Beroan knew. "As long as you want." He said.

***

"Just reach inside, find your threads. Feel the stream of magic there, pushing under you. Focus, now, and dip into the stream and draw out the power there. Be careful when you first touch, anticipate the current." Ailmer said.

Kieran nodded slowly, his eyes shut tight. He sat cross-legged on the ground in front of Ailmer, nodding quickly as he focused on drawing his power. A small tallow candle rested on the ground between them, the wick burnt from earlier practice. "Do you feel it?" Ailmer asked.

Ailmer could feel the private gathering magic in front of him before he responded. "I, I have it, yeah. More than before. I think I might even be able to…" Kieran trailed off.

Ailmer narrowed his eyes as he watched the private bite off more than he could chew. He would have stopped him, but he could tell that he wasn't gathering enough magic to be dangerous. Kieran raised his palm above his lap, slowly opening his eyes. Ailmer suddenly saw what he was planning, and damned if he hadn't made the same mistake before. He opened his mouth to warn the private off but he was too slow.

A bright flame flickered to life in the private's palm. Kieran's face lit up with pride for a split second before he suddenly realized something he had forgotten in his state of intense focus.

The fireball was hot.

Kieran yelped and waved his hand as the flame stuck to his palm. He struggled up from the ground, grabbing his wrist before he suddenly slammed his palm into the ground, aiming to choke the fire out in the dirt. Some of the flames shed off the fireball onto the grass in the clearing as his hand moved, leaving his scalded palm down on the dirt, small flames flickering around it.

Ailmer couldn't help but chuckle to himself, focusing for a moment before summoning a short breeze to blow the free flames out. Kieran was left whimpering, drawing his palm up to brush the dust off his red palm. A few small blisters were already forming where the fire had touched. "Next time, focus on the air above the hand. Just because you summoned the flame doesn't mean you're immune to the heat."

"But…" Kieran started before he trailed off.

Ailmer chuckled, shaking his head as he pulled out a pouch from his pack, gesturing for the private to hold his head out. He made a point to glare at Beroan, who waved his paw before he suppressed his loud fit of giggles. Ailmer drew out some bandages and ointment, getting to work tending to the wound. "I have made that mistake before, too. It is one of the most important lessons to learn about your power, Kieran. You must remember that you are not immune from the effects of your power, nor is anyone else."

"You could have warned me." Kieran huffed.

"By the time I had seen the mistake you were about to make, there was not enough time for me to speak. If I were to make a biting counterpoint, you could have through your action through." Ailmer said.

Kieran grumbled to himself as Ailmer tied off the bandage. The mage chuckled to himself, patting the back of the private's hand. "That was quite a lot of fire for an inexperienced mage, however. Shall we try again with the candle, this time?"

Kieran sighed and nodded, wincing as he flexed his fingers to test the bandage. "Ow…"

"Now don't melt the whole thing at once." Ailmer said.

Kieran frowned insolently, returning to sit cross-legged on the ground again. He took a few breaths to center himself before focusing on the candle. Ailmer could feel him picking at his threads, but he was obviously taking much more care this time. Kieran focused down against the candle before the wick smoldered, a few tendrils of smoke heralding the moment that it flickered alight.

Kieran let out a slow breath as the candle burned in front of him. Ailmer smirked, reaching down to lift the candle. "Just like that. Now, stay there." He said.

He waved the candle out before setting it almost twice as far away from the seated student as it had been. "Again."

Kieran nodded, and Ailmer could feel him gathering power. He focused harder on the candle, but it was obvious he was having trouble. He gathered more and more power, but though the distance didn't seem much further, Kieran had to gather much more energy. Kieran grimaced, sweat breaking out on his face as he poured energy into the wick.

Suddenly, the candle burst into flame; not only the wick caught alight, but the whole candle erupted in a small fireball. Kieran yelped, but Ailmer controlled the blaze with a quick focus of his own power, driving the air above it down to snuff the flame out.

Even that small wind was enough to cause a shock of exhaustion to race through Ailmer's body. He winced, but quickly composed himself as he tried to keep himself from breathing heavily. Kieran was too distracted to read the scout's body, his own sides moving as he panted. He reached up to wipe his forehead on his sleeve, standing up on weakened legs. "That was much more difficult than the first time, wasn't it?" Ailmer asked.

"It didn't seem like you moved it very far away, but that was much harder. I guess I didn't have too much control, either. I swear I was focusing on the wick, but…" Kieran said.

"But now you know while flames throw fireballs rather than summon fire far off. Controlling your magic is much more difficult."

"It takes more out of you, too." Kieran said.

Ailmer nodded. "Either way, with your hand the way it is, we ought to get back to the rest of the patrol."

Kerian reached down to pick up his sword belt, before yelping and switching hands. Chagrined, he carefully looped his belt back on and adjusted his sword. "You won't be able to draw that if you keep it on that side." He warned.

Kieran looked confused before glancing back to his scalded right hand. "I can't fight very well with my left."

"Can you fight with your right?" Ailmer asked.

Kieran frowned and took some time to shift his sword around to rest on his right, practicing his draw a few times with his left hand. Ailmer looked over at the ruined candle. The tallow was halfway melted and the wick was burned through in several spots. Ailmer gathered what he could of the wax; he'd melt it and spend some time tonight dipping another candle over the fire.

Kieran watched him carefully gather the remains of the candle. "I have another, sir, if you want it."

Ailmer shook his head. "No, thank you. Old habits, I suppose. With limited pack space on long missions, you learn the value of everything you bring."

Kieran nodded, tightening his belt. Ailmer stood, tucking the candle scraps away before he led the way back towards the camp. A short hike brought them to the busy campsite as the troops were breaking down and loading up their gear onto their horses. "You said that would only take half an hour, Ailmer. I want to hit Damsk well before it gets dark. Private, get your gear packed, now. We'll still have to fight through the streets."

"Fight through the streets?" Beroan asked, his tail wagging slowly as he sat himself down next to Ailmer's horse as the mage started to load it up.

"Yes, dragon. Halin's harvest starts tomorrow so the city will be full of pilgrims. Everyone will be out preparing for the festival, besides. Private, what happened to your hand?" Pawlin snapped.

Kieran blushed and glanced nervously from side to side. "Well, sir, I made a fireball and-"

"He forgot that the fireball would be hot." Ailmer cut in.

Remfry and Joceus broke suddenly into laughter. Kieran huffed and busied himself securing his camping gear to his saddlebags. Even Pawlin wore a smirk. "Chaplain, help our brilliant mage tie down his gear."

Joceus managed to calm down his laughing to giggles before he reached Kieran's horse to help. In short order, the patrol headed back out onto the trail. It took a while before they were all situated into the rhythms of travel, though Beroan seemed to have an extra spring in his step. "Excited, Beroan?" Ailmer asked.

The dragon nodded quickly. "We get to see Damsk today, yeah?"

"Yes, we should be coming up on it soon. It should only be an hour or two before you can see Ketin castle on the hill. Ahilia's lighthouse would be a similar landmark if we were coming from the western plains."

"Ahilia's lighthouse? There wouldn't be many ships, I thought Damsk was in the middle of the plains?"

"No, Ahilia's lighthouse is a tremendous church. It's called that for a variety of reasons, but I've always been told it's because the place has massive stained glass walls to let the light in." Ailmer explained.

"It is meant to serve as a reminder that Ahilia's virtues are our pillar of strength and that the church serves as a beacon for all mortal souls to come and be illuminated by her light." Joceus explained from behind them, "I wouldn't expect a dragon to be interested in human religions, though. Don't you have your own gods?"

"We have our ancestors. There are a few ancient dragons that watch over us through our magic, but…Well, they are quite different than your gods." Beroan explained.

"I think he's just smitten with human culture, Chaplain. You have to admit that it's entertaining to listen to the tales of the gods." Ailmer said.

"Best listen to them, too. Halin can strike you down, scales or skin." Joceus warned.

Ailmer shrugged, Beroan didn't seem entirely convinced. Joceus flipped the page in his book, holding the leather cover against the horse's back as he read over the neat script. They continued their march as Beroan slowly became more and more excited. He was almost squirming on every step before he suddenly looked up, peering over the short grasses on the plain. "Oh, there, on the horizon. I think I see it!" He yelped.

Ailmer shaded his eyes, squinting as he looked over the horizon. A few more steps pointed out a splotch of gray on the horizon on a slowly growing hill. "I think you may be right. We should be about five miles off."

Beroan nodded quickly, before he suddenly ducked down, preparing to take off. Ailmer caught him before his wings unfolded fully. "Don't go too far, Beroan. Damsk is a very big place, and I want you close to me until you're used to it."

Beroan huffed before he nodded. He launched himself up into the sky and Ailmer watched him circle a few times before he was satisfied that the dragon wasn't going to rush off without them. The patrol continued, slightly faster now that they could see their goal, and it didn't take them long before the city began to loom in front of them.

Ketin castle towered over the walls that held the city from spilling over onto the plains. Every once in a while, when the road raised enough on one of the small rises on the plains, the gap in the walls that let the waters of the Olith river pass through the city was visible. The castle kept watch while perched on the highest eastern hill looking out over its own set of high walls over the city below. The city's fortifications were too high to see over, but Ailmer knew that the rest of the town was a mess of tightly packed buildings and streets, and it was obvious that the city was busy. As they approached, they began to pass wagons and travelers on the widening roads, most chattering excitedly as they headed towards the city.

Beroan rejoined them suddenly, causing a family on a traveling cart to shriek when the dragon swooped down from behind, landing suddenly next to Ailmer. The travelers recovered when they saw the blue and silver of the Galast army uniforms, and one of the children in the cart began to whisper excitedly about dragonriders. Ailmer chuckled to himself; if only they knew.

"There's just so much! There are so many buildings and so many streets and I didn't get close enough but there have to be so many people there, at least three times as many as Mossly! I even saw some other dragons flying to the west, and that lighthouse, too. You can see one of the big glass walls from here, well, not from here but once you're up in the sky you can see it!" Beroan exclaimed, breathlessly.

Ailmer grinned, looking out towards the walls as the patrol came up onto the large roads that circled the city. Pawlin turned, leading them north towards one of the largest gates on the walls. "Well, Beroan, we'll have time to explore later. However, we need to get to the Academy first. Stay close to us, Beroan." Ailmer said.

Beroan nodded, though his eyes were wide as he stared at the other travelers and the walls that rose high beside them. Ailmer even spotted a few of the other dragons circling across the river--probably from the western clans, here for the binding ceremonies. Ailmer sighed softly. "Can you feel it, Beroan?"

"Of course. This place is tugging hard at my threads." The dragon answered, acutely aware of the feeling, even as distracted as he was.

Ailmer nodded, turning his head to look over the walls at the imposing castle. The golden astrolabe pressed heavily against his back and fate weighed heavily on his shoulders as they approached Damsk.

"Nothing to do now by face it, Scout." Pawlin said.

Ailmer nodded slowly, pulling his hood up over his face. The blade of Mizkithar was hidden in a leather sheath, but that statue was still up in the middle of the Academy's courtyard; his face had aged since he was that man, but he supposed he was still recognizable enough. "Makith's flames illuminate. I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

With that, the patrol worked their way towards the tremendous city gate, blending in with the thickening crowd.