Dragonia: Rise of the Wyverns (Dragonia Empire Book 1)

by Craig A. Price Jr.

  “What have you seen?” Aquila asked.

  “Smoke ... mostly, but I’ve seen a few slips of flame ... nothing major, mind you, but little puffs of fire.” He glanced up. “Watch the red wyvern there.”

  She sat on the ground, gestured for him to follow, and together they glanced up to the sky. A red wyvern flew around a blue, and both nipped at each other as they maneuvered. Their speed was incredible, but even more impressive was their swift aerial cuts. When the red dove forward, the blue twisted, changing directions immediately from flying forward into a side spin and flying backward. The red wyvern, upset at chomping its jaw into air, spun around in midair, and two long puffs of smoke exhaled from its nostrils, including a small orange dot of what could have been fire.

  “Is it only that wyvern?”

  Devarius turned to her. “No ... I’ve noticed all the red wyverns do this.”

  Aquila pressed her lips together. “What about the blues?”

  “I’ve seen a blueish mist exit their nostrils.”

  “Really? I wonder what that means.”

  “I believe the different wyverns can access different elements. I think the blue wyvern may have the ice element.”

  “What makes you believe that?” Aquila asked.

  Devarius reached into his sash and removed a leather-bound journal. He opened to a page, and he showed her a diagram of possible fighting techniques and elemental wyvern theories.

  “I’ve taken detailed notes,” Devarius said.

  Aquila’s eyebrows rose. “I can see that. I’m impressed. I didn’t know you were an alchemist.”

  He smiled. “I’m not, but I’m trying to learn what I can to help the Resistance.”

  “So what about the blue makes you believe they have the ability to create ice?”

  “It’s easier to show you.”

  He whistled into the air. All the wyverns in the sky spun to face him. One by one, all of them flew to the ground and perched in a line.

  “Come with me.” He smiled.

  He stood and offered his hand to her. She accepted and got to her feet. They walked side by side to the wyverns. He reached over and took her hand. She shivered when their hands met. An electric shock tingled through Devarius’s body as he touched her.

  Devarius nodded at her. He moved her hand up to linger an inch from the red wyvern’s nose.

  “Ow,” she cried as she pulled her hand away.

  “What did you feel?” he asked.

  “Its breath is hot.”

  He nodded. “Put your hand in front of the blue wyvern.”

  Aquila raised her hand toward the blue wyvern’s nose, carefully this time, edging closer slowly. Chill bumps traveled up her arm.

  “Oh my,” she whispered. “Its breath is freezing.”

  “Interesting, isn’t it?” Devarius asked.

  “Quite.” She bit her bottom lip. “I wonder what abilities the other wyverns may have.”

  Devarius’s eyes gleamed. “I know. I plan to do some experiments tomorrow to see what I can learn.”

  “Exciting,” Aquila whispered. “Would you mind if I joined you?”

  “Not at all,” Devarius said.

  Aquila glanced up as the orange sun made its final descent below the horizon. “Will you watch the stars with me tonight? They are beautiful this time of year.”

  “I would love to,” Devarius whispered, taking her hand in his.

  Chapter 35

  Devarius craned his neck as he studied the inside of the wyvern’s throat. It was hard for him to see clearly, but he was curious about the anatomy of the wyverns. Both suns were in the sky that morning, the orange one barely larger than a moon now, but the inside of the wyvern’s throat was still dark. He wished he could use a torch, but if what he suspected was true, using a torch inside of a possible fire wyvern’s mouth would be suicide.

  “Devarius!” Aquila whispered through clenched teeth.

  Devarius moved his head out of the wyvern’s outstretched jaw and smiled at Aquila as she ran toward him. “Good morning.”

  “What in the name of the Creator are you doing?”

  “Researching.”

  “Are you mad?”

  “Possibly?” he said.

  Devarius shrugged and stuck his head back into the wyvern’s mouth.

  “Devarius! Get your head out of that creature’s mouth.”

  He turned his head around. “I assure you, Aquila, I’m safe.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Ayla told me.”

  She glanced to the small wyvern, who nodded enthusiastically. Aquila clenched her eyes shut, her hands shaking as she watched Devarius turn back to inspect the inside of the wyvern’s throat.

  “What are you looking for?”

  “It’s interesting. This creature has a uvula like we do, but there’s a small hole at the bottom of it. At the tip of the hole, I see a dab of fluid ... like it’s about to fall down onto its tongue.”

  “Why is that important?” Aquila asked through clenched teeth.

  Devarius turned around and grabbed a small wooden bowl. “Ayla, can you ask the wyvern if it’ll let me touch and ... possibly squeeze its uvula gently?”

  “You want to what?” Aquila demanded.

  “Ayla?”

  Ayla cocked her head to the side, then looked from the wyvern to Devarius. Her mouth opened and a vibration came out, but no sound. After a moment, Ayla glanced back to Devarius, paused, then nodded.

  “Excellent,” Devarius said.

  “Devarius, so help me, if you stick your head back in that wyvern’s mouth and squeeze its uvula, I’ll ... I’ll ...”

  “Don’t stress so much,” he said. “I’ll be fine.”

  He winked at her before reaching his hand inside the wyvern’s mouth and squeezing its uvula gently. A thick translucent orange liquid dripped. Devarius wrinkled his nose as he watched small droplets of the liquid fall into the wooden bowl. He squeezed a little harder. The wyvern grunted, and its jaw shivered. Devarius watched as the drips turned into a small stream. He let go of the uvula and carefully exited the mouth of the wyvern.

  Aquila stared at him wide-eyed. She exhaled a long breath like she’d been holding it since he began.

  Devarius grinned at her as he showed her the small bowl of translucent orange liquid.

  “You can close your mouth now,” Devarius said.

  Ayla translated for him, and the wyvern shut its mouth. It looked down at Devarius and sniffed the bowl in his hand. Ayla bounced over and sniffed the liquid as well. Her head fell to the side, as if questioning what it was.

  “I don’t know, but I hope to find out,” Devarius whispered to Ayla.

  He sat on the ground and grabbed a few glass vials from his sash to study the liquid inside them. Aquila sat next to him.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure.” He used a small metal scalpel to scrape a line of the liquid onto the ground.

  “What are you doing?” Aquila asked.

  Devarius didn’t turn away from the ground as he withdrew his flint and steel from his bag. With one swipe, sparks flew onto the ground. When the sparks hit the liquid, it burst into flame immediately. Unlike a natural fire, these flames rose over ten feet high. Devarius leapt back, diving over Aquila and pinning her to the ground. He placed his body over her, shielding her from the fire.

  While holding her down, he turned around to stare at the flames. After a few seconds, they died down, but were still at least three feet tall. He got to his feet and helped Aquila up.

  A perfect line where he’d poured the liquid burned furiously. The two of them stared in awe. Even the wyvern watched the flames curiously, its head to the side. Ayla nuzzled against him.

  “What just happened?” Aquila asked.

  “I think I discovered how a red wyvern breathes fire.”

  “The liquid?”

  “Oil. I felt it with my fingers. It’s oily. Whatever it is, it’s extremely flamm
able.”

  “How does it catch the oil on fire? Can it create a spark?”

  “I don’t think so,” Devarius said. “Remember how hot its breath is?”

  “Yes.”

  “If it’s hot enough, it’ll instantly ignite the oil.”

  “That’s incredible.”

  “I wonder if the other wyverns have similar oil. I wonder if it’s different.”

  Aquila touched Devarius’s shoulder. “Don’t you put your head in any more wyverns, Devarius. I mean it.”

  He smiled at her. “I won’t ... today.”

  “That’s not funny.”

  Devarius forehead creased.

  “Are you trying to raise your eyebrows?” she asked.

  The crinkles on his forehead changed. “Yeah ... why?”

  She smiled at him. “Because you no longer have eyebrows.”

  His eyes widened as he reached up and touched the soft, hairless skin above his eyes.

  Chapter 36

  Devarius shook the small glass jar of liquid fire. He didn’t know what else to call it, but liquid fire sounded like a good name. In his hand was the most flammable oil known to man. It took a while to convince the wyvern to let him siphon off an entire jar of it, but not nearly as long as it took to convince Aquila. She had seemed horrified by the idea. Devarius knew the liquid would prove to be useful ... he just wasn’t sure how yet. He knew to keep it away from the fire ... and the red wyverns.

  Paedyn strode over to Devarius. He pointed to the small jar.

  “Is that the jar that goes boom?”

  Devarius laughed. “That’s one way to put it. Yes, this is the liquid fire from the red wyvern’s mouth. I’ve been studying it ... and it’s been dangerous.”

  “Let me get this straight. The red wyverns can create fire, but they don’t know how?”

  “I wouldn’t say that. They just don’t know how to do it on command. It’s a defense mechanism. Think of those lizards we played with as children. Remember when you grabbed their tail how it’d fall off.”

  “Yeah,” Paedyn said.

  “Well, this is the same thing. Those lizards couldn’t command their tail to snap off at any time, but when we’d grab it, an instinct took over and the tail snapped off.”

  “So the only way to teach these wyverns to use their abilities is to threaten them? That doesn’t sound safe.”

  Devarius smiled. “Yeah ... it’s not the safest idea. I’m trying to think of ways to explain to the wyverns how to use their abilities without threatening them, but the lack of communication makes it hard.”

  “Your wyvern ... Ayla ... understands you, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And she can communicate with them, right?” Paedyn asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Have her explain things to them.”

  Devarius raised his eyebrows. “Do you really think I haven’t tried?”

  Paedyn shrugged.

  “Being scared isn’t exactly an easy emotion for one that large to feel on the spot.”

  “Yeah ... well, then we’re screwed.”

  Devarius shook his head.

  “Look, if we’re to beat the dragonriders, this is something we need to figure out. The alternative is throwing a bunch of glass jars at the dragons and have the wyverns breathe on them,” Paedyn said.

  Devarius raised an eyebrow.

  “Oh, no, don’t you look at me like that. I’m not your experiment.”

  “It’ll be a small jar.” Devarius looked down. “Smaller than this ... I want to save as much of this as we can.”

  “What is their hot breath blowing on a glass jar supposed to accomplish? You can’t really believe that a little bit of fire will provoke the wyvern to start spewing it, do you?”

  It was Devarius’s turn to shrug. “What could it hurt?”

  Paedyn’s head dipped forward. “Me ... it could hurt me.”

  “Quit being such a baby. Just imagine the wyvern as a flying boat.”

  “I was reluctant to ride the wyverns the first time because I wasn’t a fool. Then look what happened ... everyone got hurt, including me. Now you want to intentionally make me go up into the sky and get hurt?”

  Devarius shook his head. “Look, Paedyn. Everyone else went in the sky for hours to practice aerial combat. I’m asking you to go up there for five minutes to throw a small glass jar for the wyvern to blow on. Quit being such a baby.”

  Paedyn grumbled all the way to the wyvern. Devarius explained the plan to Ayla, who communicated to the large red wyvern. Paedyn climbed atop the creature and glared down at Devarius, who handed him a small vial of liquid fire. The two men looked at each other for a long moment before the wyvern leapt into the air and soared into the sky.

  Devarius took a step back until he bumped into someone behind him. He turned around to see Aquila scowling. Devarius smiled at her before leaning his head back to watch the sky. The wyvern crept high, then slowed to float horizontally. Paedyn appeared nervous as he threw the vial into the air. The wyvern waited several long seconds before exhaling a stream of breath. The heat shattered the vial, and a large flame masked the entire sky.

  Devarius’s jaw dropped as he watched. He’d used a small vial, only a few milliliters of liquid, but the flame stretched for over a mile. Bright red flame, beautiful, and thin as it expanded forward, then backtracked toward the wyvern’s mouth. Paedyn clutched onto the wyvern’s neck as Aquila clutched onto Devarius’s arm. The whole scene lasted less than two minutes, but it seemed to stretch on for a lifetime.

  Aquila and Devarius sat on the ground as they awaited Paedyn’s return. The wyvern landed ten feet in front of them and Paedyn climbed off, a large grin splitting his face, his arms outstretched to the sky.

  “Did you see that? She makes one heck of a boat, don’t you think?” He laughed. “She’s a flying fire-boat.”

  Devarius raised his eyebrows and his mouth hung open. “Did you actually enjoy yourself up there?”

  “Yeah,” Paedyn said, his eyebrows raised and mouth parted. “Who doesn’t like fire?”

  The wyvern turned away from them, head tilted toward the sky, its mouth constantly opening and closing. Devarius could see the heat of the exhalations departing the creature. He smiled.

  “The wyvern is trying to recreate the fire,” Devarius said.

  “Give him a target,” Aquila said.

  “What?” Devarius asked.

  “When you’re practicing archery, you can’t focus if you just shoot into the sky. You want a target. I remember before I had real targets, my older brother threw apples into the sky and I loosed arrows at them.”

  “Do you have any apples?” Paedyn asked.

  Devarius squinched his nose as he looked at the ground. He smiled when he found a pile of rocks. Turning to Ayla, he whispered to the wyvern, “Tell him to aim his fire at these rocks.”

  The little wyvern titled her head, but nodded.

  Devarius clutched a rock tightly as the wyvern turned around to glance at the rocks in his hand. The wyvern nodded before turning the other way. Devarius focused and threw the rock as hard as he could.

  The wyvern opened its mouth, and Devarius could see heat exiting the creature, but no flames came. Devarius inhaled a breath, not wanting to get frustrated over it. He threw another rock. Like the first, it flew harmlessly into the air and back down to the ground. This time, however, a small puff of smoke exited the wyvern’s nostrils.

  “You’re doing good.” Devarius beamed. “Focus a little harder. Try to think of this rock as a threat, a threat to your family.”

  Devarius watched as Ayla translated. He clutched the third rock and threw it higher than the rest. The wyvern had to tilt its head further up to see it; it paused for a long second before exhaling. A large flame exited the creature’s mouth in a thin stream toward the rock. When the fire met the rock, it disintegrated.

  Paedyn backed away a few steps. Aquila’s mouth dropped open. Devarius grinned.

&nbs
p; “Again,” he whispered.

  He threw another rock into the sky, and just like the previous, a large flame followed it, obliterating the rock into nothingness. Devarius threw the last five rocks in his hand, and each one was pulverized by flame.

  Paedyn turned to him. “That was flametastic.”

  Devarius laughed. “Now it’s time to find out what the other wyverns can do.”

  “That sounds fun and all ... but this wyvern still needs practice. We can’t just abandon him. We should help train him,” Paedyn said.

  Devarius raised an eyebrow. “And who do we have that’s qualified to train a wyvern?”

  Paedyn’s forehead creased. “I think I can manage.”

  “You’re a pyromaniac.”

  “Hey ... you’re the one who enticed me with a flying boat that can shoot flames.”

  “I thought you were scared of flying.”

  Paedyn shrugged. “Eh ... it’ll be worth it if I can catch things on fire. I can learn to love it.”

  Chapter 37

  A blue wyvern lay on the ground in front of Devarius. Aquila stood next to him, a hand on his shoulder. He welcomed her touch, but he was ready to get started. He took a step forward.

  “Are you sure about this?” Aquila asked.

  “What? Paedyn doesn’t get to have all the fun. Why aren’t you worried about him?”

  “I am worried that he’s going to catch himself on fire playing with that wyvern. But he’s not the one I’m most concerned about.” She touched his face.

  “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” He smiled.

  Devarius took a deep breath and walked forward. He sat in front of the wyvern and stroked its nose with his hand. The scales were cold to the touch, completely different from the red wyvern’s hot scales.

  “It’s all right, girl. I just want to take a look at your oil gland.”

  The wyvern opened her mouth wide. Devarius held his breath as he reached into the wyvern’s mouth and touched its uvula. It burned him when he touched it. He recoiled. It wasn’t hot, but cold, so cold that it burned. Devarius frowned as he reached for a leather glove and jar.