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Chapter 8: Visitors

A shadow swept across the floor. He was moving at a speed that even the fastest horse at full gallop could not have achieved by far. Nothing could match the speed of a flying dragon. Even the highly acclaimed Ostland would not have achieved this speed.
The dragon left the edge of the forest behind and hovered over the meadow that covered the top of the hill. At a distance, towers stood out against the clear blue sky - one large and five small. The dragon had the academy before him and was now going deeper.
The pentagonal wall was overflown. Colonades emerged inside, leading from the central tower to four of the five corner towers.
The dragon skilfully flew over one of the colonnades and then lowered itself to the ground, straightening its body and vigorously rowing its wings. The air sang under these wingbeats, and that was also the reason why this type of dragon was called the song dragon. They were the rarest species of dragons on Halkeginia. Hardly anyone could behave that they had seen a song dragon with his own eyes.
But it was different here at the academy. As soon as the dust vortex caused by the dragon's landing had subsided, young people came running from many sides. They showed no trace of fear of the dragon, but waved and called as they rushed over. The dragon had had a rider, and they knew him. Some had seen him before, others had at least heard of this strange couple.
The rider was a young woman with blue hair. She patted her dragon companion tenderly on the neck and then descended from the dragon's back. The dragon carefully lifted its left foreleg so that the rider could step down from her back and then reach the ground.
Immediately the young people came and surrounded the dragon. Shouts resounded: "Tabitha! No, Queen Charlotte! Are you visiting us again? "
Tabitha waved to the others, but turned back to her familiar. "Sylphid, we landed in the middle of the way to the tower. Could you please move aside a little so that it doesn't get blocked? "
"Kyuu!" Replied Sylphid and took a few steps to the side. The curious boys and girls gave her the way. So the rumors about the strange couple were true - the dragoness understood human language.

Tabitha laughed and raised the gnarled staff she had been holding. "It's nice to be here again. Is everything okay here? "
"No," she was replied. "Have you heard it yet? We have visitors here, people from Saito's world. "
"Yes," said Tabitha curtly. After a pause,she relaxed to the words: "That's why I came."
"Then you sure want ..."
Instead of answering, Tabitha just nodded. She wasn't a friend of many words. "Where?" She added.
"We have put most of them in the Void Tower," she was answered.
Tabitha nodded and strode out. Of course she knew the location - after all, she had attended school here for many years.

But Tabitha had hardly taken the first steps when she met people in strange clothes - clothes like the ones she had already seen. Saito had worn such clothes ...
And then two people emerged from the colonnades whose faces she recognized. There was a joyous shock on her face - especially when she saw one of them ... She almost dropped her staff. She also recognized her dragon companion at once. "Kyuu!" Her call echoed across the courtyard.
Tabitha leaned her staff in the crook of her arm and spread her arms. "My Ivaldi!"
Saito laughed. "Still Ivaldi?" He said. "You know I'm embarrassed. I'm anything but a legendary hero."
The two embraced - a process that was observed by Louise with a sour face. But she was not forgotten. Tabitha pulled her into her embrace. "Friends ..." she said in a wavering voice - in view of her other equanimity, a sign of how much this moment moved her.
"It's good to see you again, Tabitha," Saito said. "Or would you prefer Queen Charlotte?"
"At the moment only Tabitha. 'Queen Charlotte' keeps the throne warm for me. "
"So Josette," Saito grinned. "How are you? And of course Sylphid... "
"A lot of work," Tabitha replied. "We share it."