Mark of the Ranger

XLV. Saddle Up With Ebony

Isabel was led down out another door and down a short hallway to another pedestal. Oscar, who had been leading her, put his hand on the pedestal. With a flash of white, the two appeared in yet another room. However, this room was different. It was different in one way: It was completely blank if not for the sleek riding dragon in the center of it.

The dragon was a sharp white. It had no spikes on it, as it wasn't a fighting dragon. It was a riding dragon, so it was built to be aerodynamic. Its horns were straight and flat, and it body was thin and light. A gold trim ran along the side of its body. Its eyes were a straight cloudy blue. It was not wearing any armor, as it was not meant to run straight into combat. The dragon was lying down when Oscar and Isabel had come in, but it lifted its head as soon as it had noticed them. "This is your dragon, Ebony," Oscar introduced. Ebony lifted the rest of its body and trodded lightly over to Isabel. This is the new Grand Wizardess, a soothing voice rang. It was almost as if the dragon was stating a fact, not asking a question.

"Yes, that is correct," Oscar answered, then left the dragon and its new rider to be left alone. As soon as Oscar was gone, Ebony perked up. Do you want to go on a ride? She asked. Ebony was definitely a she. "Yes!" Isabel answered, as if that was the most obvious answer ever. She hopped on her new dragon, the sleek scales almost massaging her thighs. Ebony simply looked at a wall, which was blank, and it opened, seemingly dissolving. Hold on! Ebony rang, and leaped out the opening in the wall.

There was nothing that would ever compare in Isabel's life to riding Ebony. The riding dragon sped across the sky, passing over the Five Lands. As Isabel looked around, which was dangerous to do while riding a dragon as fast as Ebony, she realized that the place where the grand council meetings were held was suspended in the sky. Isabel quickly lost interest in what would have been an interesting subject were she not riding a dragon, and turned her attention to the latter.

The wind whistled through Isabel's ears. Her fedora had fallen off, but she could just use one of the other two that she had. Her cloak flapped like a madman in the wind. Isabel lowered herself so she was protected by her dragon's head crest, but even then, the wind powered throughout her. The view of flying from such a height was amazing. The countryside around sped past like a blur--or rather, Ebony sped past the countryside like a blur. Ebony's white scales gleamed in the sunlight. Isabel was able to get a glimpse of the Deadlands, which were now completely overcome by fire. The fire had stopped, and now the lonely stand had been turned into desolate rock.

Through the small cracks in the black stone, lava oozed out, but for some reason, it wouldn't go past the borders. Volcanoes burst through the ground, barely waiting a second before spewing fire. Again, the fire wouldn't go past the borders. It's almost as if Infernas doesn't want to hurt the other Lands, Isabel thought.

Yes, that's true, Ebony's voice rang in her head. Isabel was startled. You can hear my thoughts? She asked. Ebony stopped at the tip of the new Deadlands, hovering gently in the air. Of course I can, she answered. You're my rider, silly. Isabel hadn't thought about that. Were the rider and the dragon connected in mind until one of them died? That begged another question. Why did you accept me immediately? Weren't you much more bonded to the previous Grand Wizardess? She asked. Ebony snorted out loud, sparks flowing from her nostrils.

Young lady, I have known many Grand Wizardesses. I accept that neither of us can live forever, but I still try to make friends with every one of them. It's the same case with Ivory, the Grand Warlock's dragon, Isabel's new dragon explained, with a touch of sadness when she mentioned the others. Tell me about the previous ones, Isabel asked, then nudged her dragon to keep flying.

The dragon and her rider zipped across the rims of the Five Lands as the dragon spoke to her rider about her previous riders. There was Laura, the latest one, who was a Wizardess. She was very talented, and Ebony felt as if she was the most powerful yet. Well, Ebony had added, I haven't seen what you can do yet. Isabel felt a need to prove her worth to her new dragon after hearing such a thing. There had been a string of Grand Witches before that, and they were excellent chemists.

They reached the air-council-building as Ebony was recalling the first Grand Wizardess she had ever been ridden by. I was so small, I can barely remember what she looked like, or the amazing things she did. They were amazing, that's for sure, Ebony added, making sure that was important. Isabel dismounted her loyal dragon, and asked if she needed anything to eat. Her dragon responded that she would be fine, she would be fed in a little bit of time. Isabel waved to her dragon, then pressed her hand to the pedestal.

Isabel found the council room, then walked through the door. Lion noticed her first. "Oh, you're back," he said calmly, and everyone else looked at her. "Where were you?"

"I was riding my dragon, Ebony," she answered matter-of-factly. Everyone seemed rather impressed at that answer. Oscar--no, the Headmaster--burst in out of nowhere. "You may leave now," he told them. Everyone nodded to him and saluted him, then they circled another pedestal, this one leading to the Outlands. "Why didn't we just use this one at the beginning?" Ko asked.

"Because it's one-way."

"Ah."

Isabel pressed her hand on the pedestal and hoped that the Rangers were all holding on to her. Only a magician--or a councillor--could use the pedestal. With a flash of white, the journey was finally over.