Dragon Riders: Darkness

Chapter 2: Rylan

I finally finished the chapter and I went back and edited/changed some things in the previous chapters. Important changes if you read those chapters before 8/2/20. Kyan's name changed to Rylan, Demon Kings name is now Kyus.

The four of them walked into the mess hall where they were starting to serve dinner. It was a little before the normal eating time so there weren't many people there. The mess hall was a big open room with many wooden tables and chairs. At the side of the hall was the stand where they were preparing meals.

Today they had venison from the couple of deers they brought back from patrol, some bread, and vegetable soup from a garden they had hidden away on the surface.

At the smell of the the juices sizzling on the meat Rylan's mouth started to water and he felt an overwhelming pang of hunger in his stomach. Rylan has come to recognize this sign of strong feelings that weren't exactly his own.

Hungry again are you, thought Rylan, You literally just ate when we were out on patrol.

The overwhelming hunger Rylan was feeling wasn't his own it was Pyre's. The intense bond between the Dragon and the Rider made it so their emotions, feelings and thoughts, become each others. They were separate yet the same soul. Dragon's may not talk to Riders in words but they wouldn't need to because a Rider knows what their Dragon is thinking without explicit thoughts.

The Ex-Riders had always told him that even though Dragons don't think in words there intelligence surpassed ours. They have a higher form of thinking and their Rider just knows everything by their emotions in the bond. A Dragon's thoughts are a Riders thoughts.

Rylan could feel the hunger clawing against his stomach . He wanted to run over to the table and start shoving as much venison as possible into his mouth.

Ok really there Pyre you need to tone it down, thought Rylan, You literally never stop eating.

Rylan felt Pyre's annoyance flash through him. Pyre's thoughts seemed to say, I am a growing dragon, I need my food. His dragon's eyes met his own, eyes that looked like fire itself as the red, orange, and yellow flickered like a growing flame. His knowing eyes held what looked like annoyance, amusement, and even a challenge to stop him.

Ok fine go eat some more, Rylan thought, it's not like anyone would care, they all love you.

To all of the Ex-Riders, Pyre was like a gift from the First Dragons to them. He represented all the hope of the Dragons returning. When he was first hatched Dragon Haven had a celebration for days.

Pyre went over to the serving stand yanked a big piece of meat off and started downing it with his sharp teeth. The feeling of hunger Rylan was feeling subsided, but now as could taste the meat through their bond his mouth started to water.

When Rylan had first bonded with Pyre it had been hard discerning his own emotions from Pyre's. Especially because once you become a Rider all of your emotions and senses were intensified. When he became a Rider him and Pyre's emotions were so entangled that for awhile it felt like he couldn't tell the difference between their own thoughts. They felt the same. After awhile and some practice and guidance from the Ex-Riders he was able to start being able to discern his thoughts from Pyre's.

Their thoughts were the same in many ways. They were essentially just your other half of your soul but there are certain tellings to see who's individually they actually were. Pyre's thoughts had a different flare than Rylan's and those thoughts had a feeling of heat and ember around them. They were thoughts of a living flame.