Caisterpoint:Island of Dragons

Prolouge

I fumbled down the dirt path, quickly putting my hair in two braids. 'What if I can't do it?' I thought. I turned the bend and crashed into something. "OOF!" My body hit the ground, hard. "Eck," I muttered, rubbing my bum.

"My bad, I am truly sorry! I am a little jumbled up today. I am being appointed a mentor!"

I looked up to see a boy, his hand was outstetched. I grabbed it and he pulled me up.

"By way, what's your name?" He asked.

"Sylvia" I said abruptly.

"Wow, what a fantastic name!" he smiled. "I'm Axel, and I am training to become the best viking blacksmith in Iceland!"

I smirked. He seemed like a nice guy, sure, but I had to get going. "I'm sorry, but I have to get to the dock now or they will leave without me. Very important." I said curtly.

He cocked his head. As if he didnt understand the word 'now', he asked, "Oh really? What for?"

I sighed, "Like you're training to become a blacksmith, I am training to become a huntress, and if I dont leave now I will not reach my dream of becoming the best viking huntress in Iceland!" I brushed past him and jogged to the dock, where a group of people were already boarding.

"Sylvia! Where have you been young lady!" My mother charged toward me and grabbed my arm.

"H-hey!" I howled. She dragged me off to the side and examined me.

"Oh my goodness Sylvia what did you do?" She sighed and brushed the dirt off my clothing. She proceded to poke at me, fixing my braids and wiping the dirt off my face.

"Mom!" I pushed her off of me.

My mother rolled her eyes. "Sweetie you have to look your best! I won't have my baby girl looking messy when she meets her mentors!" She rubbed my cheek with her thumb. "Make me proud ok?" She smiled.

"Sylvi, Sylvi!" A young girl squeezed her way past my mom, her two buns bouncing on the top of her head and tugged on my skirt. "Sylvi are you going now?"

I chuckled and knelt down to her size. My sister was 5 and I was 16. She always happened to look up to me, for what I am not sure. She never seemed interested in becoming a huntress like me. I hugged her and patted her head. "Yes Eira, I'm afraid I have to go now."

Eira frowned and tugged my skirt again. "What if you get hurt?"

I smiled and kissed her cheek. "Don't worry about me sis." I leaned in to whisper something to her, "I'll bring you back something." I winked, then stood up and brushed down my skirt. "Love you guys!" I started towards the boat, where the other kids and mentors were. Before stepping on, I turned to my family and waved.

"Byyeee!!" Eira waved and blew a kiss. My mother waved while smiling.

I stepped onto the boat and took a seat. As everyone got settled, I took the chance to examine the other kids. We were all sitting here to become hunters and huntresses for our village, Aradeen. Most of the kids here were male, which was typical. The girls usually trained to become harvesters and bakers. The boys usually trained to become hunters or blacksmiths. 'That's what that kid was going to study for,' I thought. 'What was his name? Axel?' I sighed and rubbed my eyes. 'Maybe I was too rude to him... He seemed like a sweet guy, he was only trying to make up for bumping into me.'

One of the older mentors cleared his throat, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Now that we are all settled, please pick up one of the oars." He pointed the the long wooden sticks attactched to the rowlocks.

I picked up mine, running my hand across the smooth wood. 'This is it...'

"Alright youngsters," The man chuckled. "My name is Colden and I will be supervising this trip with these other very fine mentors," he motioned to the three other mentors. "Tait, Einar, and Vedir." Tait was a bigger man with a long beard and a smile on his face. Einar was a medium sized man with long hair and his arms folded across his chest. Vedir was the only female mentor on the boat. She had a tight blond ponytail and stormy blue eyes. "Let's get rowing shall we?"