Rise of the Darkness

Majestic Backdrops

Jacob

"Breathe in and focus on your flame. Breathe out with a flame. Breathe in and focus on not having flame. Breathe out without flame. Do this often during your free time and soon your 'flamethrower' tendencies will be no more," said my new Master, Shiekgane daughter of Duken. Already we have gone over my abilities, or lack thereof, and at one point I breathed flames directly at her. Unlike Oculeera, Master had a shield.

"Yes, Master."

"I am proficient in English, but I cannot teach everything I know in this language. You have half a year's worth of knowledge of Draconian, so there will be days where I will speak solely in our language. Never have I had to deal with a dragon without fluency in Draconian."

Whoa, it has been half a year. Late March is when my counselor transformed, and it is now early October. "Dn mlajoren, Sandek," I attempt to say, with the future tense being very new to me.

"You will, because you must if you wish to continue studying here. Prophecy or not, you require the kind of training not given here. If I see fit, I will have you and Oculeera sent to another clan for your basic training."

She mumbled something else that I could not understand, and certainly was not English. Then, she spoke up. "Mind you, I cannot expect you to know everything yet. When I was your age I did not know enough to come to this clan for further studies. I do understand. But I do not have to like it. Anyway, it is time for your next session. I do believe Elder Fredalu should arrive soon to pick you up. Leave me to prepare for my proper student."

There is a hallway outside this room that goes all the way to one of the numerous balconies on this leafy building, so that is where I go. It seems like every balcony or outcropping in this city is fit for a large dragon, regardless of if the building itself can accommodate such a dragon. No guardrails stop you from walking off the edge, which I guess does not matter for creatures with wings. I remain away from the edge.

This side of the building faces the lake, with few other skyscrapers in between. The Elder who showed us around last night mentioned how the human shepherds of this land cross the lake in winter when it freezes over and of how a few remote human settlements sit around here. Due to the complex spell work around Hasinji, they experience the land as if the clan does not exist. Only creatures of magic, and anything attached to them, can enter the shield and see the land for what it really is. No shield clan founded after the Curse has such a powerful enchantment. So, one of the countless lost spells I will be tasked to unearth at some point in my life.

As a Floridian, I have rarely seen mountainous terrain, and this fact always runs through my mind when I see a mountain. But now is the first time since I was a young kid that I can see this kind of geography from a stand still. We were moving in Nikola's car or on Dunen's back. But here, I can stand from up high and just look at the scenery. Stand here in the warm, cozy yak fur clothes they provided and admire what is to be my new surroundings.

Well, I guess also as a Floridian I can complain about the chill here too. Only October and the nights cool down farther than I have ever felt outside of a freezer. Oculeera mentioned the same this morning, how we sweated in ninety-degree temperatures and high humidity only a few weeks ago, and the climate here is a complete turn in the other direction. This will become even more of a snow-covered land soon, and a part of me cannot wait. Though I remember my grandparents mentioning how in their younger years up north, they got tired of snow by the end of winter.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" said a voice from behind, making me jump a little.

"Huh?" I turn to see a dragon in human form, an old man with a sunburned and wind beaten face wrapped in thicker clothes than me.