The 'Wizard's Rage' Project

Chapter 4

The rush was amazing. Sarlin fell for several long seconds after his leap from the mouth of the cave before he finally caught wind and took off. The sudden drop put Shertai's stomach in his chest and his heart in his throat. The reins offered little comfort so he leaned forward and wrapped his arms as far around Sarlin's neck as he could. With every fierce upbeat of the dragon's wings the lap belt would pull hard against his waist holding him tight in the saddle.

Shertai was exhilarated as they flew high in the air with the ease of a bird. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears and everything seemed to have a distant feel, as if he were in a dream. After a few seconds he sat up in the saddle and relaxed. The beat of Sarlin's wings became more rhythmic and Shertai began to loosen up. His world started coming back into focus. The air whipped at his clothes and through his hair giving him a feeling of freedom he never dreamed existed. As the blue sky began to give way to puffy white clouds, he started laughing out loud. His senses reeled as the wonders around him began to unfold.

He looked to the south and could see the white sails of the ships in port at Caldair and the wall that protected the city. He couldn't make out any specific buildings but the wall was easy to see. A large ring built of white stone completely engulfing the city with room for decades of growth. The only buildings not within the city wall were the docks and warehouses at the waters edge. He thought to himself of how beautiful it all was when you looked at it with the eyes of an eagle.

He looked back to see the cave but instead saw a tall gray stone wall that started almost directly behind them and went as far to the north as the eye could see. "We came out of the cliffs of Carin?" he laughed. "Silly me. I thought we were going to come out of the cave at sea level."

After a long silence Sarlin said, "Hold the reins loosely and let your body flow with the rhythm of my wings. Let's do some cloud busting."

Shertai steadied his grip and said, "I'm ready. Let's get those mean old clouds."

Sarlin laughed. He banked hard to the left and started climbing. Within a few seconds they were over a small white ball of cotton floating slowly along in the afternoon sky. Sarlin circled once and then dove.

Shertai's eyes grew wide as the lap belt tugged hard at his waist. The air rushed past faster and faster as the small cloud rushed towards them. Sarlin spread his wings wide just before entering the cloud. After less than a second of solid white they exploded from the bottom of the cloud dragging streaks of white behind them as the cloud matter cupped in Sarlin's wings escaped.

Sarlin climbed for a minute then came about and hit the cloud again. Again dragging part of it with him as he came out the bottom. After three more runs the cloud dissipated.

Shertai was starting to get a feel for the ride. He said, "That was amazing!"

The great dragon folded up his wings, "This is fun too," he said. Suddenly they were falling.

Once again Shertai felt the saddle belt pull tightly against his waist, he was certain he would have blisters on both of his hips. The world seemed to be spinning as the blue waters of the sea filled his view. He leaned forward to avoid the rush of wind, which was almost overwhelming. His back stung as his light shirt whipped in the torrent of air. His heart raced as the white caps of the waves below grew closer and closer.

Sarlin spread his wings and began to spiral downward. The twisting effect was hard on Shertai at first but he held tight to the turn like a master horseman taking a hard left on a fast horse. With his mind unimpeded by the distractions of common thought, his hands instinctively worked the reins. He worked the spin left and then pulled up just shy of the water.

Sarlin said, "Very good."

Shertai caught his breath, leaned forward in the saddle and patted the dragon on the neck. "Good beastie," he said. "For a moment I thought we were going to be shark fodder."