The Broken Scale (The Dragon Riders of Arvain)

by Clausen, Nicholas

  Cass stretched and smiled with her eyes still half closed. She seemed to glide to the door and walked straight outside, forgetting to close the door behind her. Hayden shook Fendrel up and told him they were leaving while Shane ran outside to make sure Cass didn’t wander off.

  The three riders made their way back to the pyramid, it had been a long day and the walk seemed to take forever. By the time that they finally made it back Cass was awake enough to go to her room by herself. Hayden had hoped that they might get to be alone before she turned in for the night but he had no such luck.

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  The ground shook underneath their feet, the air around them thick with sweat and the smell a thousand different kinds of food. Hayden and his friends were on their feet, screaming at the top of their lungs as their favorite rider shot pass them, completing another lap around the arena.

  Today’s events were the most exciting, short of the dragon’s events; it was the horse riding events. The events consisted of everything from horse races, jousting and obstacles to archery while on horseback and fighting from the saddle. The first events of the day were the races, and everyone was into them, even the people who had started off not interested. The excitement was like fire going from one dried piles of grass to another.

  The horses came sprinting near the stands, their riders crouched over them smacking the horses, urging them to go faster. Hayden listened to the thunderous sound of their hooves smacking the ground and kicking up dirt as they propelled them forward.

  The races ended and they brought out the jousters. They wore armor that was made of solid plates that had been stamped together. They weren’t beautiful to look at and the person wearing them had very limited movement. They were meant to protect the wearer from being run through with the tree trunk of a lance that their opponent was carrying.

  “So you like the horse races?” Cass asked Hayden. She had watched as his face lit up when the horses had been near and how he had stood on the tips of his toes to see them when they were on the other side of the arena.

  “Of course I do, that was amazing.” He turned to face his friends. “Have you guys ever seen something like this?” he asked.

  “Actually we have, they have horse races every year right before winter comes,” Shane answered.

  Hayden lowered his eyes, reminded again that he was an outsider from a small village. Cass saw the look and tried to cheer him up.

  “Well what did they do before winter in your village?” she asked. Fendrel tried to reach out and get her attention before she could ask but he was to slow. Fendrel had spent a lot of time in small villages like Erskine. He had been in that particular town for almost an entire summer one year.

  “If we were lucky, and had had a good harvest, the whole town would get together and help store the food and try to help insulate some of the less fortunate people’s houses. That way the poorer people didn’t freeze to death.”

  Cass had no way to recover from Hayden’s response; luckily the next event started and their conversation got drowned out by the cheers around them. Cass looked around trying to see if anyone could help her, but Fendrel just shook his head and Shane turned away from them.

  The jousters clashed and sent splinters into the air; the crowd went crazy as one man was toppled off his horse.

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  Hayden sat on the back of Draek as they flew just over the clouds. The sun had set, and at this height the stars looked like he might have to duck down to avoid them. They had been flying just to fly, alone with no one to bother them.

  Hayden looked out at Draek’s wings and watched as he would glide for a while then flap them and glide some more. He could the see the stars reflected off Draek’s wings, so it looked like there was nothing but sky above and below them.

  Hayden hadn’t gone to Fendrel’s with the others, he had excused himself during the jousting and had met up with Draek and had been flying ever since. No other dragons were near them, most had gone to sleep and the ones that were patrolling around were flying much lower than Draek.

  Do you think it will always be like this? Draek asked.

  Like what?

  No worries, no fear, just peace and quiet.

  Hayden thought about it and could not think of an answer. He was afraid, even high above his worries he was afraid of what was going on around him. And peace; it seemed that were ever he turned he saw more and more proof of the crusade that Elizabeth was planning.

  A war that would engulf everything was just about to happen, and it seemed that there was nothing Hayden could do to stop it. Draek felt his worries and doubts in his mind and, not able to think of anything to would make it better, folded in his wings and plummeted down.

  Hayden yelled at the sudden change from smooth flying to free falling. Draek roared his delight and opened up his wings to soar back into the air. He went to pull the steep dive into a backwards flip but pain shot through his shoulders.

  Hayden stopped screaming out of fear and started screaming out of enjoyment. He knew that Draek would never let anything happen to him and he knew the saddle wouldn’t let him fall off. Hayden felt Draek shudder underneath him as he pulled out of the dive. Draek tried to hide his pain but Hayden knew immediately what was wrong.

  We need to be careful with your shoulder, our events together start tomorrow. Hayden knew that he didn’t have to remind Draek to be careful or about their events coming up. Draek knew very well what was going on but Hayden couldn’t help but worry.

  They continued to fly around into the night, neither of them needing sleep. They let their minds meld together and Draek felt Hayden’s thoughts move from one thing to another. Like a small fish in the water darting around and never spending more than a second at each point.

  Draek’s thoughts were slower to change course; once he was on something he stayed there till he saw it through to the end. At one point during the night they watched a dragon and his rider that were supposed to be patrolling land in a clearing in the woods were no one would see them.

  Hayden had written it off as something that wasn’t important, but Draek was so curious he circled down and got closer to the clearing. He asked the dragon what was going on, and when he got his answer he quickly flew off. When Hayden asked what had happened Draek was slightly reluctant to answer.

  Her rider was visiting a friend and needed some time to be alone. Hayden laughed at Draek’s answer.

  They continued flying around the city, occasionally venturing off for a while and then turning back around.

  We should head back soon, Draek told his young rider.

  Why do you say that?

  Look at the stars. Hayden did as Draek suggested and noticed that the stars were starting to get dimmer in the sky.

  Why are they doing that? Hayden asked.

  The sun is coming up. Hayden looked to the direction that the sun would rise from and he saw that the sky in that direction was turning a lighter color than the rest of the sky. Draek bent in his right wing and made a turn that pointed them back to the Celestial City.

  Do you think we have time to sleep before we have to get ready? Hayden asked. Draek looked back at him over his shoulder.

  I really don’t think so. Hayden looked around the city as they got closer and saw that Draek was right. It was before dawn and already the city was buzzing with activity, and today the dragon riders competed.

  Chapter 22

  Hayden was wearing is full rider armor as he sat on Draek’s back. The scales on his armor matched perfectly with Draek’s, considering they had been his scales at one point. They had given the first year riders a better saddle than the old worn out ones they had been using.

  Although there were still rumors of what Hayden and Draek had done during the burning of the Orchard of Souls, this was the first official time that all the citizens were going to get a chance to see the five new riders in action. Their dragons had always been seen at a distance up until no
w, and although everyone knew that the dragons could fly, it was about to be confirmed that they could carry their riders as well.

  Cass and Shane were sitting on either side of Hayden right before the opening ceremonies were about to start, just like they were when they flew, as Sebastian and Giles both showed up.

  Hayden hadn’t seen either of them since the Festival of Games had started, and he was pleased with that. Their dragons stood as far away from Hayden and his friends as the judges would allow, because they wanted all the first years together. Draek, Shaylin, and even Rilora were relaxed, ruffling their wings and letting their tails and heads sway from side to side.

  Kurok and Sullivan stood like statues with no movement whatsoever, not even their eyes. It seemed unnatural for a dragon to be that still and lifeless. Draek heard the thoughts in Hayden’s head and answered them before they ever formed.

  They are afraid, Draek said sadly.

  Afraid of what, us? Hayden asked.

  Afraid of their riders. They have been doing some discipline training on their own with their dragons. They fear them and obey their every command.. Draek growled and it shook Hayden as he sat on his back.

  Hayden understood his anger, since part of being a dragon and rider was being free. There would be no riders without dragons. They were supposed to work together as partners, not subjecting the other to their own will.

  “Can’t you control that beast of yours?” Sebastian said. Giles nodded in approval as they both sat with their back straight and their noses pointed up. “Look at Kurok and Sullivan. This is how true dragons are supposed to act.” Sebastian sat up a little straighter in his saddle and Sullivan got even more rigid.

  He is so proud of himself, it makes me sick. Hayden was really starting to hate them.

  The worst part of it is his mount is proud of what he is doing also. He sees nothing wrong with being used like that.

  Mount? Hayden asked He had not heard Draek use that term.

  That’s not a dragon, he is more of a horse than a dragon right now. I can prove it to you. Watch. Before Hayden could get ready, Draek moved in and pushed his shoulder into Sullivan.

  Sullivan was a good size dragon for his age, right around average. Draek however, was big. Bigger than any of the other dragons that had hatched together. His shoulders stood three to four feet taller than Sullivan and that size difference was apparent in every aspect between them, so when Sullivan got pushed by the bigger dragon, he had no choice but to fall over on his side, slamming Sebastian to the ground. Hayden was ready for the fallen dragon to jump up and fight Draek. Being ready meant he was undoing his saddle and looking for a safe place to jump off.

  Draek just stood over the smaller dragon for a few seconds, and then he backed off so that the silver could stand up. Hayden heard Sebastian grumble and try to complain, but he was crushed by his dragon and was struggling to move. Sullivan looked up from the ground, but made no motion to attack. Sebastian had to order the dragon to get up before he would move.

  That’s not a dragon, that’s a mount. Draek shook his head at the dragon and blew smoke out of his nose. Hayden now understood what he was talking about, it was depressing to see a creature like a dragon being reduced to what Sullivan had become.

  Sebastian was able to get up and back into the saddle, but before he could set his sights on Hayden and Draek, another much larger silver flew down and landed in between them.

  “Enough you two, we are about to begin and if I see either one of you fighting, I will personally make sure you both spend your first flight ceremony cleaning up dragon dung.” He yelled at both of them and flew off just as quickly as he had landed.

  Hayden heard about how the dragons relieved themselves over various fields and it was criminals and slaves’ jobs to gather it all and make sure it was dispersed evenly around the field. It was a job Hayden did not want to find out about himself.

  A horn blew in the distance, and the dragons readied themselves for the ceremony. There were hundreds of dragons that were going to be involved and most were already in the air, but there were still a great number on the ground.

  Hayden had been told that this was the largest gathering of metallic riders that was not during a military campaign. Hayden was amazed to see all the different sizes that flew over his head and he was even more stunned to see the differences in the dragons.

  Most of the dragons he had seen all had the same basic shapes and sizes to them, but now that hundreds of dragons had flocked to Celestial City, he was able to see that there were subtle differences in all the dragons.

  Some had larger or smaller wings than others that had the same body size. Some had dull colors and looked more rustic while others shimmered like freshly polished metal. Some had long straight horns and others had spiral or twisted horns. They all still had the same basic shapes, all the silvers still looked like a normal silver dragon, but now Hayden could see the difference between them.

  They had all been flying around randomly, or so Hayden thought, but as the horn blew he saw copper dragons in groups of ten started to fly in a “V” pattern behind a silver dragon. All the groups started flying in a straight line, one right after the other.

  Shane got Hayden’s attention and pointed back at Sebastian. Hayden turned to face the way Shane pointed and was happy to see Sebastian scrambling to get his cape straightened and all the grass and dirt off his armor. He was not making any progress and Hayden could see his face turning red. Hayden smiled at his distress and with fondness for his own true dragon.

  Normally it was Hayden that led the flight pattern for their group, since Draek was the biggest and had the most endurance, but they wanted to show off Cass and Shaylin and both Sebastian and Giles refused to fly behind Hayden and Draek.

  Cass and Shaylin moved in front of them and jumped into the air with Draek following first and Sebastian trying to catch up to them. Shane and Rilora were in no hurry as they joined the climb into the air. Sebastian and Giles came last, allowing everyone else to race ahead of them.

  They all stayed behind Shaylin and Cass, trying to stay close behind but not taking the lead from her. The lines of dragons passed over them as they continued on their upward climb. Hayden felt them slightly free fall as Draek pulled his wings in and pushed them out in front of him, then as he snapped them open and thrust back, Hayden was thrown back with the sudden burst of energy.

  Shaylin started to ease out of the incline as they neared the end of the line of dragons. Once she straightened out the others fell in line behind her, Draek and Hayden to her right with Shane and Rilora behind them and Sebastian and Sullivan to her left with Giles and Kuroc behind them.

  Draek happily flew behind Shaylin, and Hayden could tell why because she was graceful, and it seemed that she wasn’t flying but the wind was holding her aloft and moving her through the sky.

  Cass was wearing her ceremonial armor, which was different than that of the other four riders. Their armor would be the same that they wore in battle, if they were ever in one. Cass had too much flesh showing in order for her armor to protect her properly against enemies during a battle and every time Draek caught Hayden’s mind wondering over her he kept telling him that he was studying the imperfections of her armor and nothing more.

  Hayden didn’t have time to get too comfortable because once they got settled in line with the other dragons, Hayden saw that near the front of the line the other dragons had started to dive. He watched and followed them as the dove to the earth and pulled up just high enough to clear the ground below them, and with the added speed they shot through the center of the second arena that was built just for the dragon events.

  This arena was no more than two giant sets of stands built on either side of a large clearing, large enough for ten dragons to fly without touching any surroundings. The lines of dragons flew through the center, causing numerous hats and capes to get sucked into the various whirlwinds they were creating.

  Hayden watched as the dragons in front
of him continued to dive. It looked like they were heading for a waterfall. The line grew thinner and thinner as it came closer to being their turn to dive. Hayden double checked his restraints (which he knew were tight) and held on to his saddle a little tighter.

  Draek’s turn to dive came up and Hayden leaned forward as Draek lurched and changed his direction from flying straight to flying straight down. It took every ounce of willpower for Hayden not to raise his hands and yell with joy: this was still his favorite part of flying.

  Hayden loved the feeling of leaving his stomach behind him, the air roaring past him so fast it becomes hard to catch his breath.

  They leveled out and soared through the middle of the two stands, barely hearing the cheers and cries of the people in the crowd. They flew back into the sky as soon as they cleared the end of the stands, and once they were high enough, they flew back the way they had come.

  Elizabeth was most likely telling the people how proud she was of her dragon riders and telling them all about what she had in store for them. They landed in their clearing and quickly jumped off their saddles and ran to meet each other.

  “That was amazing, you did great Cass.” Hayden was the first to congratulate her, but Shane was quick to be the second. Sebastian and Giles walked off towards the arena without saying anything to them.

  “I was so nervous, I have never flown lead before. I was worried that something was going to go wrong.” She stroked Shaylin’s head affectionately. Hayden leant against Draek’s leg and looked up at his dragon. Draek held his head as high as he could and looked around from dragon to dragon.

  “Can you believe how many dragons are here? I knew there were a lot of us, but I didn’t know there were this many.” Hayden followed Draek’s gaze from dragon to dragon.

  “There are still more out there too, some still on missions and others at the five towers,” Shane said.