The Rogue Rider (An Inheritance Fanfiction)

Chapter 28: The Dagshelgr Invocation

The days leading up to the Dagshelgr Invocation were busy for the mountain. While Ragin and the rest of the trainees were stuck in their normal routine, the other riders that were left prepared for the celebration. Hundreds of people arrived of all different races. Mountains of food were prepared to accommodate the sudden increase of hungry mouths.

The influx made Ragin a little anxious, as he knew that Tharin was still sending people after him, and if there was a time to attempt to get to him this was it. Logan had assured him that they checked to make sure that everyone had noble intentions, but it still didn't appease that more paranoid part of the rogue rider. Despite this though, he was finding himself growing more and more relaxed as the days went by, even training was becoming less offensive as the others began to catch up to his skill. It would take them a good couple of years to get to a point of challenging him, but they were improving rapidly. Even in terms of magic they were beginning to learn a little more. Ragin was surprised to find a couple of niche spells he had never thought of before, such as one that somehow turned a flower into living gold.

His companionship with the other riders also grew, and before long he found himself thinking of them as friends, much to Akaysha's joy. The dinner nights often ended in light hearted fun and laughter. Even if he wasn't quite as open as the others, he found himself going to bed with a smile on his face most nights.

The bond between Akaysha and himself also continued to grow. Emotions flowed freely through each of them, even if there were still some secrets of his past he couldn't part with. He had a sneaking suspicion that she still knew more than she let on, but didn't voice his concern and simply enjoyed the dragon's company.

As the day of the Dagshelgr Invocation arrived he found himself looking forward to it. They still had the morning of training, but once that was done they had the afternoon off to prepare for the start of the song that night.

'Are you sure you want to do this?' asked Ragin as he strapped his sword to his waist.

'I've told you Ragin, yes,' Akaysha said, watching from her nest, 'I made up my mind on this a week ago.'

'But you're only, what? Six months old now?' he told her.

'Seven, nearly,' she responded.

'Still... seven months, it's a little young don't you think?'

'Only young for you humans. A dragon reaches maturity at about five to six months old. Most have eggs in their first year or so of life. And dragons don't mate for life either.'

Ragin rolled his eyes. This had been a frequent point of discussion for them over the past month. A week prior Akaysha had finally decided that she would allow herself to be swayed into finding a mate the night of the Invocation. Her decision was a little confusing, for both of them, and she was a little nervous about the upcoming couple of days. But in a way she felt she needed to, not in a lustful way, but in order to fully become a dragon, she felt she needed to. It was something Ragin disagreed with, but if she wanted to he wasn't going to stop her. That didn't stop him from teasing her though.

'So, you're just going to fly up there tonight, find some random male and then... fly to a secretive cave and stay there for the next couple of days.'

She snorted at him as he chuckled, leaping away as she attempted to sweep his legs with her tail, 'It's not random. I have someone in mind.'

'Oh? And who is the lucky drake?' he asked her, attempting to probe her mind for the information. She blocked him.

'I'm not going to tell you,' she said with a small growl, 'You'll find out later.'

'That is mean,' Ragin crossed his arms.