I have been ready for months! This will be fun!
Aeron laughed. Alright then, let’s head out.
Anaya made her way outside and blinked in the sunlight.
“We haven’t missed it!” Master Canneth said excitedly, as he and Lord Baronel walked through the gate and into the yard. They stood near the others.
Aeron was surprised. He knew Master Canneth was supposed to be there for this test, but he didn’t know Lord Baronel would be there as well. “Lord Baronel, Master Canneth,” he said, nodding to each in turn.
“Didn’t want to miss your first flight,” Lord Baronel said. “I have to say, I am more than a little jealous.”
“Whenever you two are ready,” Master Doronal said, smiling.
“Goggles!” Willem said, “and face mask!”
Aeron slid the goggles down over his eyes and snapped the leather flap closed over the lower portion of his face, giving a thumbs up, after. “Ready!” he said, voice muffled through the breathing vents on the sides of the leather face mask.
Let’s have some fun! Aeron said, exultant.
Anaya let out a happy rumble as she crouched down. Aeron felt her adjust her stance slightly as she took a deep breath. Suddenly, tensed muscles were unleashed, and she leapt up to the sky.
Aeron was thrust down and backward. He quickly grabbed the handholds on the front of the saddle to keep from sliding too far back. Each beat of Anaya’s wings drove his body down and backward on the saddle and lifted them higher into the air. He made a mental note to have Willem add a short back to the saddle. The riding straps would keep him from slipping completely off, but he’d like to have something to reduce the strain on them. All thoughts about riding gear ended, however, when he glanced out and around.
He was flying! They were flying! Wind was whistling past as they flew, and the view was incredibly beautiful. Snow covered the landscape as far as he could see, softening the lines and shapes of everything.
It is fun, is it not? Anaya turned her head and looked at Aeron.
By all the gods, it’s more than fun, it’s amazing!
Anaya rumbled happily, though he could feel it through his legs and rump more than hear it. She faced forward again and altered their course, gliding around the Caer near the walls, occasionally beating her wings to maintain altitude.
Aeron looked down at the Caer and suffered a moment of panic, gripping the saddle’s handholds tighter. They were very, very high. Maintaining his white-knuckle grip, he carefully leaned to the side and slid himself a bit in the saddle. The sturdy safety straps kept him from sliding too far. He moved this way and that, testing the straps further. They seemed to work, which gave him more confidence. He eased his grip somewhat and breathed deeply, relishing the sensations. He was flying! The amazing fact occurred to him again, and he looked down once more.
Below in the Caer, white mounds of snow covered everything. Evidently, the crews clearing the snow had yet to start, and only the streets were somewhat free of the wintry precipitation where people, horses, and carts had made slushy paths through the drifts. Aeron watched the little doll-like forms down below, going about their business, most not even noticing the boy and dragon in the sky. As they passed the guard towers, he saw the guards in them, looking like toy soldiers. A few even raised their arms and waved once they saw that Anaya had a rider. Aeron waved back enthusiastically. He was pretty sure that he had never been happier in all his life.
Once they completed a couple of circuits of the Caer, Aeron asked, Can we go see the sinkhole?
Of course.
As they passed over the fair grounds, empty now and blanketed in white, Aeron saw two deer walking about, looking, perhaps, for something to eat. The deer didn’t notice Aeron and Anaya until they were practically on top of them. They lifted their tails in alarm and bolted for the trees. Farther along the way, Aeron saw snowshoe rabbits and a fox, mostly white in their winter coats.
Soon enough, they were at the sinkhole. Anaya slowly circled it as they examined it from above.
It doesn’t look like much from up here, especially with all the snow everywhere. Your mother was lucky to see it.
So it would seem.
How are you feeling? Are you tired?
Not really. This is fun.
Even so, I don’t want to overwork your wing muscles. We should head back. We can fly some more tomorrow.
As you wish.
When they flew over the southern wall of the Caer, Aeron was again struck be the enormity of what he was doing, and a fresh wave of excitement washed over him. I can’t wait to fly again tomorrow. You are the best dragon in the world! He leaned forward and hugged her neck as best he could.
Anaya rumbled happily and said, You should hold on, we are landing.
Aeron sat up and grabbed the handholds. Anaya angled downward in an arc and then used her wings to slow down. Her wing beats kicked snow up and around, momentarily blinding Aeron. Her body angled sharply upward as she first touched down with her hind legs, making him glad for the handholds. Moments later she was able to place her forepaws on the ground and stand normally. Other than that, the landing was quite gentle, Aeron thought.
Good landing, he told Anaya
Thank you. I have had some practice, though not with a real person on my back.
Sharrah ran up to them and asked, “Where did you two go? We were worried.”
“We visited the sinkhole and then came straight back,” Aeron said as he undid the riding straps. “I didn’t want to tire her too much.”
“Ah, well, good thinking,” Master Canneth said. “You can extend the time and range of your flights slowly as you go, to build her endurance.”
I am not sure why everyone is so worried about tiring me out, Anaya said, slightly annoyed. My mother flew a very long way in one night when she found the sinkhole. Dragons have a great deal of endurance. There was a hint of pride in Anaya’s voice.
Everyone is taking things carefully because we don’t know much about dragons. Have patience, love. We can take things slow and still have fun. I can’t wait until tomorrow to fly with you again!
I will try to have patience. Tomorrow will be fun!
“How was it, lad?” Lord Baronel was standing just to the side, eyes bright with excitement.
Aeron hopped down from the saddle, unsnapped one side of the face mask and said, “It was fantastic! Amazing! Everything looked like a toy model, the guards in the towers like toy soldiers. And I could see for miles around!”
Willem cleared his throat and nudged Aeron as he inclined his head to Lord Baronel.
Aeron glanced at Willem, then at Lord Baronel and blushed. “Uh, it was great, my lord,” he said belatedly.
“Not to worry, lad,” Lord Baronel began, laughing, “I would forget anyone’s title as well if I had just ridden a dragon.” He smiled at Aeron and looked over at Anaya. “She is truly a magnificent creature.”
“Yes, she is,” Aeron fervently agreed, patting her on the neck lovingly.
Lord Baronel drew his brows together. “See for miles, eh? How fast do you suppose she flies?”
“I am not sure, my lord,” Aeron replied. “We never thought to measure that.”
“We can check on that for you, Lord Baronel,” Master Canneth said and looked at Sharrah. “We’ll let you know what we find.”
“It probably won’t amount to anything, but I had a thought.” Lord Baronel stared at Anaya for but a moment and then nodded, turning back to Aeron. “Congratulations on such a successful first flight, young man. You do the Caer proud. But you must take care while flying with her as it is a long way to the ground.” He smiled at Aeron. “Good morning to you all,” he said, nodding to them as he took his leave.
“How does she feel?” Sharrah asked. “Sore? Winded at all?”
Do you feel sore or tired?
I feel fine. Anaya blinked at him, her eyes golden in the winter sunlight.
“She says she feels fine. And from the link, I can
see that she is not tired at all.”
“Excellent,” Master Canneth said. “She’s a strong girl.” He smiled at Anaya and she rumbled happily.
“How about the saddle?” Willem asked. “Was it comfortable the whole ride?” He looked at Anaya. “For both of you?”
Was the saddle comfortable the whole time? Any pressure points that were painful on this version?
Everything was good. The saddle is very comfortable.
“She says the saddle is perfect.”
Willem smiled happily.
“And it was comfortable for me as well. My only suggestion is to add some kind of rump-stop on it.”
“A what?” Willem was looking at him in confusion.
“When we take off, Anaya’s launch angle makes it so the rider is forced backward. I almost slid off the saddle a couple of times, on the landing too. The curve of the saddle helped, but a little something extra on the saddle to help stay on would be excellent, like a cantle.”
“Ah, yes,” Sharrah said. “I didn’t even notice Anaya’s saddle didn’t have one.”
“Oh, of course. I wasn’t sure what would be needed on her saddle, so I started very simple,” Willem said. “Her saddle is definitely not the same as a horse saddle, even to the fact that it sits so far forward to avoid her wings. But I can add a cantle for the next one. Anything else? Did the stirrups feel sturdy enough?”
“They were perfect. You might want to add a smaller secondary saddle and cantle in back for a passenger though, in case we need it at some point.”
Willem and Sharrah’s eyes lit up and they turned to the masters.
“Now hang on,” Master Doronal said. “We won’t be rushing Anaya. We’ve just now got one rider on her, and I don’t think we should put more than one on her for a while yet.”
“Oh, I wasn’t suggesting we would any time soon, but I think she can handle a second rider—”
I can carry you and your friends all at once.
Aeron turned to Anaya and laughed. “She says she can carry me, Willem and Sharrah at the same time!”
“No,” Master Canneth said, shaking his head. “Not yet, at any rate. We can slowly add low weights with you riding, like we did to get her accustomed to your weight, and see how much more she can handle. But you will take it slow. I will not have her strained.”
“She’s much bigger than when we started her with weights,” Aeron said. Master Doronal made to say something but Aeron spoke over him. “But we will take it slow. I don’t want to hurt her either, you know.”
“Just understand that if she is strained,” Master Canneth said looking steadily at Aeron, “you won’t be able to ride her either until she recovers. If she recovers.”
Aeron nodded soberly. “I know, sir.”
“Alright then,” Master Canneth said, smiling. “Great first flight. Keep me updated on everything,” he said to Sharrah. “And good morning to you all.” He waved and headed for the north gate of the yard, on his way back to the Animal Craft Hall.
Everyone raised their hands in farewell.
“I am in full agreement with Master Canneth,” Master Doronal said. “We must proceed slowly to be safe. We do not know enough about dragons yet. We can’t risk injuring Anaya.”
“I’ll make sure of that,” Sharrah said, eyeing Aeron sternly.
Aeron rolled his eyes.
“Don’t roll your eyes,” Willem said. “We all have Anaya’s well-being at heart. And yours.”
Aeron sighed. “I know, it’s just, it seems too much like babying.”
“Well,” Sharrah said, “technically, Anaya is still a baby. She’s less than three months old!”
“When you put it that way . . .” Aeron looked at Anaya. “I guess because she can talk and is so smart, I forget how young she actually is.”
I almost have my full growth. I can carry all three of you.
I’m sure you can. But we have to take it slow to be safe and to keep everyone happy.
Anaya snorted, somewhat irritated.
“She seems to be a little annoyed too,” Sharrah said, smiling.
“She is,” Aeron replied, a half-smile on his face. “But we will pace ourselves.”
“How about the riding gear?” Master Doronal asked. “Was it comfortable? Any adjustments you think should be made?”
“The gear was great,” Aeron replied. “Especially the face mask. I’m sure my cheeks would be frozen without it.” He thought a bit. “Maybe make the riding straps so they can be adjusted? Like the shoulder straps on my satchel.”
“Hmm,” Willem said. “Yes. And you will want some kind of locking mechanism so the adjustments aren’t lost mid-flight.” He nodded, deep in thought.
“If we want to figure out how fast she flies,” Sharrah said, looking at Anaya, “we’re going to need a fairly accurate chronometer, one with a second hand.”
“How fortunate, then, that I just happen to have one.” Master Doronal lifted a small chronometer out of his pocket.
Everyone was quite taken with the small device, Willem especially.
“That’s like the one we saw at the trade fair, Aeron. You remember?” Willem couldn’t take his eyes off the little timepiece.
“I do.” Aeron also had his eyes glued to the chronometer.
“I will do the timekeeping, if it’s all the same to you,” Master Doronal said to Sharrah.
Sharrah giggled as she watched the boys and their overly keen interest in the device and said, “That would probably be best.”
“In order to calculate her flight speed, we will need to record how much time it takes her to cover a known distance.” Master Doronal frowned in thought. “A larger distance will be better than a small one, I would think. It will allow for a more accurate reflection of how she might fly over great distances.”
Aeron looked at the magic master. Was he saying that the reason Lord Baronel wanted to know her speed had to do with her flying somewhere?
“We could time her as she flew from one side of the Caer to the other,” Willem said. “Do we know the length of the Caer?”
“An excellent suggestion,” Master Doronal said. “Aeron, one of the maps you have is of the Caer. I believe it has the dimensions notated on it.”
“I think you’re right,” Aeron said and headed inside the dragon stable.
After a minute of rummaging around the cubbyholes on his desk, he found the map Master Doronal was thinking of. Aeron had been very happy when they had brought his old desk and everything that had been on it as part of the furnishings for his new place. He loved the maps. He loved maps in general, truth be told. To him, maps made a place more real, showed it all at once and its relation to other locations. He smiled and quickly made his way back outside.
“Perfect,” Master Doronal said, unrolling the map. “Yes, see here? The dimensions of the walls are noted. All we need do now is time how long it takes Anaya to cover the distance.” He smiled and rolled the map up. “We will, however, need some way to signal me when Anaya gets to the corner of the wall, so that I may record the start time. A way that will be visible from the other corner.”
“I could be at the first corner,” Willem said, “and when she passes me I could jump up and down waving my arms.”
“That should work,” Master Doronal said. “I will have Sharrah with me at the other corner watching for the start and the end of the flight. She can call out to me and I will keep my eyes on the chronometer so I can see the time.” He nodded, happy with the plan.
“The south wall is closest,” Aeron said grinning. He snapped his face mask closed and jogged to Anaya. “I’ll meet you all outside South Gate,” he shouted, the face mask muffling his words. He mounted up, secured the safety straps, and he and Anaya were off, her wing beats kicking up a dusting of snow.
“He’s going to be on her as much as he can, you know,” Willem said as he watched them fly off.
“I honestly can’t blame him,” Master Doronal said, a small smile on his face.
When they passed through South Gate, Aeron was there waiting with Anaya, a large smile on his face. Above them on the towers, the guards were watching Anaya.
“We don’t want to tire her unduly,” Master Doronal said. “So please stay here until we are ready for the tests. I want to do two tests. One will be her alone and the other will be with you riding her. I want to do two runs of each. We can then take the average of the two runs for each test.”
“That sounds good,” Aeron said, nodding. “First test will be her alone, I take it?”
“Yes. Once she has made her two runs, she can come back here to pick you up.” Master Doronal looked at Anaya. “Make sure she stops for rest if she needs it.”
“I will.”
“Willem, if you would head off for the southwest corner, Sharrah and I will head to the southeast. When you are ready, jump and wave your arms. We will do the same.” He looked at Aeron. “That will be your signal to begin, when we are ready.”
“Yes, sir,” Aeron said, smiling.
While he waited for the others to get to their corners, Aeron checked with Anaya. Do you understand what they are wanting us to do?
I think so. I will fly along this wall alone two times. Then you and I will fly two times.
Exactly. He reached up and patted her neck.
It took them some time to reach their spots, but finally, everyone was ready.
Alright, love. It is time. Fly quickly, but don’t strain yourself, we’re not in any hurry. Fly around and pass over Willem. Then head over to Master Doronal and Sharrah.
Okay!
Anaya crouched and then launched herself into the air. She rose majestically into the winter sky, graceful wings beating against the clear blue backdrop.
You are the most beautiful creature on the planet! Aeron sent. He felt Anaya’s happy reaction through the link.
As she passed over Willem, Aeron saw him jump up and down and wave his arms. Anaya flew on, only occasionally beating her wings as she glided along the wall. Soon enough, she passed over Master Doronal and Sharrah. She flew a little farther before turning and heading back.
You aren’t tired are you? he asked her.
I am not. Flying is fun! She did a slow roll in the air.
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