Steel & Stone

Vyn

I wasn't expecting to receive a red letter, addressed to me, from the dragon training school in Lezia. It was a regular day, I was peacefully tending to the small garden I had made out of spare wood, a bag of dirt and two sunflower seeds. I had just finished planting the small seeds and wiping my dirt stained hands on my large gardener apron when my mother came up to me and handed me a letter.

"What's that?" I asked, standing up and stretching since I had been in an awkward position for quite some time as I was adding dirt to the garden.

"A special letter from a very special place~" She answered, it was a good sign that she was smiling about it.

I gave her a puzzled look and took the letter, staring at the gold seal on it. It was a shield with dragon wings on either side of it. In tiny writing, I could make out the motto although it was in a language I couldn't read. The letter was a bright scarlet red and it looked wrong in my hands due to how pristine it truly looked.

"Are..you sure this is for me..?" I asked my mother slowly, finding it rather hard to pry my eyes off of the gleaming seal as if it were a beacon of light to a new world.

"Of course! Why would I lie about such a thing? Someone dressed in black and red came by this morning to deliver it as well." She retorted, her voice layered with annoyance. She had her hands on her hips. I smiled and carefully unpeeled the seal off of the letter, careful not to rip anything in fear of being punished for it. I opened the letter and inside was a bright white piece of paper that was folded neatly three times so it fit inside the letter. I gingerly took the piece of paper and unfolded it. The first thing I saw was a name, "Everglow Academy" in bold red letters.

"Wait..Everglow academy??" I exclaimed, rereading the name, making sure I was reading it correctly. "Isn't that the dragon training school?"

"Yep! And you got in!"

I frowned, confused,

"Got in? I never even applied!"

My mother blinked a few times, trying to wrap her mind around what I had just told her

"Pardon?" She said slowly

"I never applied to the school, mother."

"Then..how did you get accepted?"

I shrugged,

"What if I don't want to go?"

"You have to."

"No, I can just throw out the letter, they can't force me into anything!"

My mother didn't respond although I saw a shift in her eyes, something told me I was obligated to go.

"Son..you remember how your grandfather attended the academy, yes?" She started slowly, I nodded, not sure where she was going with it,

"All persons who have or have had a family member attend the school, must do so as well."

I was dumbfounded, "That's just stupid! What if I don't want to be a dragon trainer?" I exclaimed, finding this all ridiculous, seeing all of this as a big joke.

"As much as I don't want you to go, the rules are set in stone by the Academy." Her eyes flicked to the letter and continued,

"Keep reading."

I sighed and resumed my reading,

Dear Vyn Laek, due to a past relative of yours attending Everglow Academy, you are obligated by the Institute of Schooling in your area to attend as well. While this may seem very unfair, do not fret as pupils from other countries such as the Betamia Empire, the Kingdom of Kagudia and Feinsia will be with you on your day of Reckoning.