Dawn's Light

Chapter 45

Celia gazed out to the collection of people before her from her position on the stone stage. The faces I the crowd ranged from overjoyed and excited to skeptical and unsure of the four beings brought onto the stage. Though overall the atmosphere was positive, a sense of nervousness and dread still hung over the female dragon rider's head and mind. Guilt tugged at her heart, but she refused to listen to it.

Xan unnoticeably fidgeted from his place to Celia's right and tried to stay focused on the Guild Master. However, most of his nervousness remained hidden beneath his brave facade.

Guild Master Orthos took center stage and addressed the crowd. "Last night brought us the return of Verbena the Green And Celia. While they were lost in the wilderness, they found and brought back a new rider pair, Irin the Blue and his chosen, Xan." The guild master beckoned to someone waiting offstage as he spoke, and a man with five bars on the sleeve of his red cloak stepped onto the stage with a folded blue cloak in his arms.

The man offered the blue cloak to Xan. The outsider blinked for a few moments, then gingerly picked the royal blue cloak up and unfolded it. Thought it the cloak contained no stripes on the sleeve, it was still a symbol of his acceptance into the guild, much as Celia's had been. After a pause to examine the cloak, Xan eagerly slipped his arms through the sleeves and put the clothing item on.

"Please make Xan and Irin feel welcome." As the guild master motioned to Xan and Irin, the Meal Hall erupted into loud celebratory exclamations from humans and dragons alike.

Even the dragons trumpeted in welcome, and a chorus of mental draconic voices reached Celia and Xan's mind. Though she could not hear any words from any singular dragon amongst the background of other voices, they still conveyed a sense of welcoming and camaraderie.

'I never thought I would be accepted into and aaven again,' Irin awed and wags his tail a bit as he released a happy purr. 'It feels wonderful to be accepted again. And by dragons bonded to a human like me!'

Verbena stepped closer to the blue dragon the stage and gently intertwined the tip of her green tail with Irin's tail. She released a quiet purr of her own, 'I always accepted you.'

Irin blinked and glanced to Verbena, then gently wrapped the tip of his tail around Verbena's tail tip in return of the gesture.

Orthos raised a hand to silence the crowd, and the cheers eventually subsided. "A new rider among our ranks is not the only good news," the guild master pulled out a satchel from where it had been hidden beneath his white cloak. He reached inside the bag and retrieved a bundle of black cloth.

Many people watched him with wide, curious eyes as Orthos held the thick black cloth in front of him in a single hand. He carefully held the cloth in one of his large hands while he unwrapped the fabric. He dropped the final section that blocked everyone's view and revealed three crystal spheres.

"They have also returned with two rays of light." He held up the two dull spheres. Though initially, the two smooth objects remained dark, after a few moments, a golden glow appeared in the center and bathed the room in a golden light. "So now, we have three of the rays of light. If the records made by Levi, the First Rider, are correct, only a single ray of light remains."

Once the guild master finished speaking, the room immediately erupted into joyous cheers even louder than the previous outburst of celebratory yells. Even dragons who previously remained silent roared and trilled loudly. Some of the humans in the room stood and clapped their hands. Even those who remained seated stemmed their feet, while other people raised their fingers to their lips and whistled. 

Though initially caught up in the revelry, Celia quickly became a bit distracted. While the rest of the room cheered at the reveal, she looked out to the crowd as glimmers caught her eyes. The pieces of sunlight illuminated the room in a warm golden hue and shimmered against the bits of metal silverware and harness clasps.