The Broken Scale (The Dragon Riders of Arvain)

by Clausen, Nicholas

  Hayden looked at her and turned to make sure there was no one behind him, but when he turned around again to get another look at her she was gone.

  Hayden looked back forward, and for the remainder of the walk kept his eyes on the Metallic Pyramid. Although he could see it from the doorstep of Fendrel’s house, for it was a constant over shadowing building in a city of smaller houses, it seemed to be growing towards the sky. Hayden took a deep breath and began to head to the guard who was yelling for all eighteen year olds who would like to try to follow him.

  “Good luck,” Fendrel said behind him.

  As Hayden turned to respond he realized that Fendrel was no longer behind him and in fact no were to be seen.

  “What is it with people disappearing today?” Hayden asked himself.

  As he neared the guard who was speaking he noticed another guard who was pulling up everyone’s right sleeve and inspecting their arm. He did the same thing to Hayden, but before Hayden could ask what he was looking for the guard moved on to the next person behind him. Hayden felt like cattle as they herded all the eighteen year olds into the base of the Metallic Pyramid.

  Right before they walked underneath the colossal building Hayden looked up and saw just how high it was, and just for a second his stomach did a quick flip and he missed a step. Before he could even put out his hands to try to catch himself a hand caught him and helped him up. He looked to thank the owner of the hand and it was the girl he had seen on the bridge. He was trying to speak, but words were having a hard time making it from his brain to his mouth. She leaned in and put her lips almost against Hayden’s ear and whispered.

  “Be careful, next time I will let you fall.” With that she smiled at him to show she was joking with him and turned to walk with the group as they continued to head deeper into the pyramid. Hayden tried to keep up with her, but people kept getting in the way and slowing him down. She turned and, seeing his attempt to catch up to her, let out a soft laugh and continued on her way.

  Hayden had kept looking into her dark brown eyes for so long that he had forgotten to even look at the rest of her, but he was able to look at her black hair as it bounced off around a corner. As he went around the corner he found that everyone was standing in a crescent moon around the largest dragon he had ever seen.

  It was a silver that stood almost twenty feet tall from shoulder to floor, and its body was covered in rippling muscle. Its rider stood in front of it wearing armor that seemed to be made out of smaller silver scales. The rider was wearing a helmet that shadowed his face from everyone. As soon as the last person was standing around the rider and his dragon the rider spoke.

  “Welcome, everyone, to this year’s trials. Only four of you will make it through to be given the honor and privilege to stand within our ranks and get the greatest treasure in Arvain, a dragon egg.” With the mention of the egg his silver dragon let out a puff of smoke from his nostrils. “Most of you will not be found worthy and some may even die, or worse, but that is a chance you must be willing to make. Risk life and limb for a chance at an egg. If you are not willing to make that sacrifice then please leave now.” Some did as he had suggested and left. “You that remain have passed the first and only easy test, choosing this for yourselves not because someone has made you come here; now ready yourselves for your trials start now.”

  Chapter 5

  The rider led the way down a dark twisting hallway, barely large enough that his dragon could follow with lowering its head. As they walked through the continually descending walkway a man in copper armor walked out of a doorway carved into the side of the hallway and got alongside the rider who was leading them.

  “We started out with one hundred and forty three applicants, twelve left during the first trial, sir.” The copper rider did not try to whisper; he wanted the remaining people to hear their conversation.

  “We seem to start out with less and less potential riders and it seems every year we have more and more leave during the first trial.” He turned to his right, while still walking, so he could see his dragon. “You can go ahead and eat, Siron, just make sure you meet us in time for the end of the second trial.” The dragon nodded its giant head like it understood every word the rider had said; it then further proved Hayden’s thought by turning and leaving the group immediately. They continued on for a few more minutes and finally came to a halt in front of the largest doors Hayden had ever seen.

  The doors themselves stood close to forty feet tall, but they sank into the floor so there where steps leading down to the base of the door. The rider stood to the left of the door on an elevated platform so he could see over the crowd and everyone could see him. He waited till everyone was in the chamber before he spoke.

  “What lies before you is the door to the second trial. This is where we will test the very fabric of your being and see if, deep down, you have the stuff that makes a rider. Here is where most of you will fail and where we will thin out the herd. Your task is a simple one; make it through the labyrinth and climb atop our home to see as we see. Take a few seconds to prepare yourselves, and when the doors open you may begin.”

  Hayden did not understand exactly what was being asked of him, but he knew what a labyrinth was and he knew it wasn’t going to be fun. He made his way clear of the group and sat with his back against the wall, trying to control his breathing and his heart rate. His nerves were beginning to give him problems even despite him trying his best to remain calm. He could feel his heart beginning to speed up and his stomach was feeling tight and in knots. He tried looking around at the chamber he was in to take his mind off of what he was about to do.

  They had actually gone so deep that the walls where made of stone instead of metal; Hayden was shocked that he had not noticed the transition earlier. Their where fire pits setting in large metal bowls scattered around the room. Hayden watched as the rider moved from fire to fire and threw a stick out from behind his back into each fire. As soon as the stick hit the ever hungry flames the smoke began to get thicker. At first Hayden could see the walls and watched the shadows that the fires were casting, but it wasn’t long until Hayden could barely see the giant door. He began to stare at the door because it was the only thing he could still see. He could still make out the giant metal rivets that were sticking out of the door. He noticed that at the top of the door and all along the sides it seemed like the door was bleeding as some kind of black liquid began to poor over the hinges and completely covered the door.

  Hayden could barely make out the rider as he stood next to the fire pit closest to the large door; he could tell it was the rider just because his armor made him shine even in the smoke filled chamber. He watched as the rider stuck a torch into the fire, and once it was alight he moved to the door so everyone could see him.

  The rider said nothing; instead he just took his time looking from one cluster of people to the next. He then held up his torch as high over his head as he could.

  “Begin!” He shouted with a voice that echoed throughout the chamber, and before his voice stopped ringing in Hayden’s ears he spun around and tossed his glowing torch at the door, which was now completely black from the liquid that was covering it. It erupted in flames the moment the torch touched it; sending a flash of light so bright Hayden had to cover his eyes and look away. Hayden jumped to his feet and took a few steps back because the heat was so intense; Hayden thought he might just catch fire from being to close.

  Hayden kept his eyes shielded away from the worst of the inferno, but he dared a look at the door and realized that although it was on fire it had opened in the center and there was a gap almost five feet wide, wide enough for him to go through. Hayden was arguing with himself for only a second when he noticed the same girl that he had kept running into ran right through the fire doors and into the darkness that lay behind without a look back.

  Hayden ran forward, and fear grew in his heart because the closer he came to the fire the more he felt like a roasted pig on the fire. Right before
he thought he could take no more he noticed the temperature drop, and although he was now in the dark he was still seeing white spots. He was the second one to make it through the fire and he slowed down his headlong run to try and take in his surroundings. Hayden realized he had no idea where he was, and going back was not an option.

  Hayden waited for his eyes to adjust and saw that he was looking down a long hallway with ten openings on either side. The smoke was already pouring into the hallway and clogging up Hayden’s lungs and eyes. He started moving forward at a slow jog when he noticed that others were starting to make it through the doors; the sight of them caused Hayden to start running and he turned down the third right on the hallway.

  As he continued running he started turning down more and more open hallways until finally he stopped and realized that he could no longer hear the others, or anything for that matter. He looked up and saw that the walls that were around him did not go all the way up to the ceiling but stopped at almost fifteen feet high. After that there seemed to be nothing but darkness and Hayden could not see the ceiling. He began hearing strange noises and the smoke started billowing over the walls around him. He started running again, this time as fast as he could.

  He did not care which way he was going he just wanted out. He kept the pace up until he was starting to breathe heavily and his legs felt like they were on fire. He turned down another hallway and saw that he had gone down a dead end; he had gone down a few the past couple of times he had made turns. He sat down in the corner with his back to the walls and tried to catch his breath. He was alone and in the dark, surrounded by smoke and strange noises; he could feel that fear had a hold on his heart and he made no move to change that. He was tired and ready to get out of there.

  If I would have just stayed back at Erskine I would have never have had to do this. I could have been normal and never had to go to such crazy places, Hayden thought to himself. He tried to see the ceiling, and was staring deeply into the darkness when a jet of fire raced across his field of vision. He was able to barely catch a glimpse of the dragon that created the fire; it was a smaller copper that had probably just hit its first year.

  Seeing the dragon reminded Hayden of why he was here. He heard many people scream when they saw the fire and the dragon, but Hayden was no longer afraid. He remembered that this was a trial and that the dragon was not an enemy. He began to calm down as he thought about all this; he then began to think of a way out. He decided that running around with no sense of direction clearly wasn’t working at all. He looked around and noticed that about twenty feet away, where two walls met, the walls were rougher and he might be able to climb them and get an idea of where he was going.

  He walked over to the wall and began to climb. It was a little harder then what he had expected, but since it looked like no one had ever tried to climb at this spot before the stone was not worn smooth, so Hayden could still get a good footing. He climbed the walls and found a ledge that was big enough for him to sit on. He looked around from his vantage point and could see most of the giant room he was in. He could see where the torches were set up and that helped illuminate the smoke filled chamber.

  Hayden realized that most of the chamber was full of the maze he had been lost in. He walked on the ledge and jumped over gaps as he made his way through the labyrinth. He made it to the center of the chamber, or as close to the center as he could guess and he could see the flaming doors behind him. He looked for a way out and it did not take him long to see the giant spiral stair case on the opposite wall. He could hear screams coming from the direction of the stairs, but he had to keep going.

  As he made his way towards the stairs, still staying on top of the maze’s walls, he began to see people huddled in corners in the maze, sitting with their legs to their chest and their eyes closed tight, rocking back and forth, begging whatever and who ever to make it stop. The first few Hayden happened upon he tried to help but none of them even seemed to notice his existence. After that he stopped trying to help; he just did his best to ignore their screams and continue on.

  When he got closer to the stairs he could make out a lone person climbing up the steps in sets of two. He did not try to move faster because that was the first person he saw that was still trying to move forward and hadn’t just given up. He heard some people start yelling, but it wasn’t the same scared screaming he had heard from the people earlier; it was a frustrated yell.

  He took a slight detour away from the stairs, against his better judgment, and tried to find the source of the yelling. It took him only a few minutes to find them because they were now arguing loudly about which way they thought they should go.

  “You are as thick headed as a dwarf, we just went that way and it led to a dead end. We need to back track and find the last fork where there where two torches. You remember where I am talking about?” Came one of the voices as Hayden neared the shouting people.

  “I am not dumb.” The other person responded in a deep thundering voice.

  When Hayden came over the last wall he saw that there were five people standing around one crouched down person who had appeared to draw a crude incorrect map with his finger in the dirt. He saw that they all where males and they were all covered in sweat. He watched them a little longer, and without thinking he whistled to get their attention.

  “Oy, what are you doing up there? We have to go through the labyrinth not over it,” the one who was crouched down shouted angrily.

  “And who said that? I don’t remember any one telling me that; I do, however, remember them telling us to make it out of here, which is what I plan to do. I know the way out of here and if any of you wish to join me now would be the best time to do so.” Hayden spoke with a calm voice; he was no longer scared or worried but he did not want them to get angry with him or feel like they could push him around. He had been bullied around by his so called ‘friends’ for long enough, and he was not going to take it from complete strangers.

  The one who had spoke sat there for a moment and right when he began to open his mouth to speak the guy, which Hayden assumed he had made fun of just moments before by how angry he looked, walked to where Hayden was standing and had Hayden help him climb up the wall. Hayden noticed that he was taller and had a much bigger build than him. With his help they brought every one up on the wall. The last one to climb was the person who had spoken to Hayden originally; he only took their help after he had failed to climb on his own.

  Once everyone was on the wall Hayden began leading them towards where the stairs where. No one spoke while they walked and Hayden liked it that way; he was to into the argument he was having with himself to have had talked to any of them even if he wanted to.

  You could have just very well helped one of the people who are going to get an egg over you. If you would have left them there then there would be a whole lot less people trying for the eggs and you would almost for sure have gotten one, Hayden thought to himself. Yes, but it would not have been right. What kind of rider would I be if I had the ability to help people and never did for my own gain? I will always do my best to help people even if it could come back to hurt me in the end, was his reply to his first thought.

  That thought seemed to stop the argument right in its tracks. He did not have much time to dwell upon the subject much longer for they had reached the spiral stair case. While they were at the base of the stairs, Hayden looked up through the center of the spiral to see if he could see how high they had to climb. His stomach gave a slight twitch as he realized he couldn’t see the top.

  Some of the others began to groan and complain at the daunting task that lay before them, but Hayden and the bigger guy went to climbing the steps without a single word. After they had made it what they could only guess was a hundred feet, Hayden realized that the group was all falling behind except for the person who had started climbing with him.

  “What’s your name?” The bigger guy asked.

  After hearing his voice, Hayden was sure it was the same
guy that had been made fun of earlier. “Hayden, what’s yours?” As they climbed higher and higher up the stairwell there began to be more lit torches on the walls. The torches allowed Hayden to see further ahead and get a better look at his new traveling partner.

  “Shane,” was his answer; he was breathing heavily from fatigue. Hayden was sweating on his brow, but he could already see dark crescent moon shapes appearing under Shane’s arms and around his neck.

  “Well, Shane, you’re from the city, right?” Shane just nodded his head and continued his deep breathing as they carried on with their strenuous climb. “What made you decide to try to become a rider?” Hayden asked. He was trying to take his mind off of his burning legs while also getting to know Shane.

  “Well, my family is all bakers. I was beginning to cost too much to feed they said, on account of my size.” Hayden tried to look like he hadn’t noticed how big Shane was. “So my dad told me that when I turned eighteen I was ether going to become a rider or join the ground military. Either way he said he didn’t want me to eat him out of money. I figured that I would give this a try first; seeing how I can always join the military, but I can only try for an egg once. I am just hoping that if I get it that they feed the riders as much as they do the dragons.”

  Hayden laughed at Shane’s joke, which in turn made Shane smile and try to get a few laughs in between his heavy breathing. Hayden took in just how big Shane was, he was only a few inches taller than Hayden but he was covered in thick muscles.

  They continued climbing for almost thirty minutes until Shane finally asked Hayden if they could rest for just a few minutes. Hayden was more than happy to rest for his legs were also hurting him. He thought that Shane would have asked for a break much sooner than he did and that impressed Hayden; Shane gave it all that he had and nothing less.