Dragon Approved Complete Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 13): A Middang3ard Series

by Ramy Vance

  At the end of the class, Fier packed her bag, turned to the cadets, and said, “All right, there you go. Learning everything you can about every kind of dragon isn’t going to help any of you. Research your individual dragon and go from there. Read your textbook. Next class is…I don’t know, I’ll email you or something.”

  Fier rushed out of the class faster than any of the students.

  Jollies flew over to Alex, giggling. “Guess dragonriders aren’t much for theory, huh?” she asked.

  The two walked out of the room and went over to where Manny was waiting. “Guess not,” Alex agreed. “Thank God, because that was the most boring class I’ve ever sat through in my entire life.”

  Around dinnertime, the cadets started to pour out of their rooms. Alex went to the mess hall with Jollies, but after she grabbed her meal, she told the pixies she had planned to video chat with her parents around that time and left the mess hall as fast as possible. She hadn’t made any plans to talk with her parents; avoiding a repeat of her last meal was her real plan. A meal alone sounded refreshing.

  Once Alex was back in her room, she changed into her pajamas, crawled into bed, and pulled up her HUD as she ate. She searched through the different textbooks uploaded onto her HUD until she found Fier’s textbook, A History of Dragon Species.

  Alex opened the book and lost herself as she slowly worked her way through her meal. By the time she finished, it was only 8pm. Whatever, Alex thought. I deserve an early night.

  Chapter Five

  The next morning, Jollies and Manny led Alex down various hallways to the training yard, where the Nest opened to a field that stretched as far as she could see. Well, see through Manny’s eyes, at least.

  There were more cadets than Alex had seen before. It seemed as if the whole field was filled with people of various ages. The oldest one Alex saw was a dwarf who might be in his sixties.

  Fier and Tribble were separating cadets by groups, which Alex noted ran from their year in the academy up to fourth. Jollies explained that some cadets were able to skip grades. They graduated to the next year based on performance, not age.

  Once the two instructors had the cadets sectioned off, Tribble took all the cadets who were second years and up and headed toward a forest that loomed ominously in the distance. The rest of the cadets would be training with Fier, and she had them line up.

  Fier paced up and down the two rows of students. There were at least twenty first-year cadets, and the teacher did not look impressed with any of them. “All right, all of you have been bound to a dragon,” she started. “And all of you have experience on top of a dragon in some regard.”

  Fier stopped to look at Alex for a moment. “Even if some of you have only practiced in VR, you’ll catch on eventually. Do you have any questions?”

  A young, black-haired elvish male raised his hand. “Er, ma’am? What exactly are we going to be doing?”

  “The first thing you’re going to do is pay attention! You got that?”

  He slunk back and hung his head. Fier smiled. “All right, so the first thing you’re going to do is call your dragon down to you. After that, you’re going to have thirty minutes of free airtime. That’s exactly what it sounds like, but I want you back here in thirty minutes. Then it’s the obstacle course. You got it?”

  “Yes, ma’am!” the cadets shouted.

  Fier raised her dragon-anchor arm. “Raise your arm, and that’ll activate your dragon anchor,” she commanded. “Then you concentrate and call to your dragon. How well they hear you is determined by your binding, which is determined by the relationship between the two of you. Understood?”

  “Yes, ma’am!”

  Fier’s dragon anchor lit up and flashed a vibrant red light. In the distant sky, a bright twinkling was visible. Within seconds, a red dragon came screeching from the sky and landed directly in front of the teacher. The force of the dragon’s impact shook the earth, causing some of the cadets to fall.

  Fier leaped into the air and landed atop her dragon. She held her hand over the dragon’s neck, and her anchor glowed. “No fighting whatsoever!” she shouted. “I don’t want you to even look at each other in the air. Respect each other’s space and get used to riding.”

  Fier’s dragon spread its wings and took to the air without giving any of the cadets a second look.

  The cadets glanced at each other, unsure of who was going to be the first to call their dragon. Finally, a dwarf walked away and raised his dragon anchor to the sky. He stood there for some time before he realized that his dragon wasn’t coming. He slunk back to the crowd.

  Brath laughed obnoxiously before he walked away from the rest of the cadets. He raised his dragon anchor, which glowed bright red. There was a vicious roar from above as the clouds parted.

  Furi, the red fire dragon, came plummeting down with his wings curled around his body. He only spread them at the last minute, creating a gust of wind that knocked over a few cadets as he unleashed a plume of fire from his mouth. Furi reached down and opened his hand for Brath to climb into, and the two took off.

  Alex leaned over to speak to Manny, who was floating next to her. “Hey, do you think we could get away from the rest of them? I don’t really want to do this with everyone watching, and I have to take you up there with me and everything.” She thought about leaving him behind and using Chine’s eyes or her own, but decided against it. She wasn’t quite ready.

  You’ll have to do it sooner or later, she admonished herself.

  Later.

  Manny nodded, his eyes drooping. “Yeah, I know I gotta go with you,” he grumbled as they walked off.

  “Hey, I’m sorry. I know this must be getting old and—”

  “Oh, it’s not you, kid. I don’t mind helping you. It’s just that I’m not one for flying, if you haven’t noticed. No legs and arms, you know. Hard to keep from getting sick. But don’t worry. I’m here to help you.”

  Once Alex was happy with the amount of distance she’d put between her and the other cadets, she raised her dragon anchor. All right, Chine, she thought, directing her intent to the dragon. I hope you can hear me.

  Alex’s dragon anchor glowed a deep, violent black. There was a loud shriek from the sky, and a bright black light flashed. Alex watched as Chine came flying toward her. He was nothing more than a black streak and was moving faster than she’d ever imagined a dragon could.

  Chine hit the ground and skidded across it. His claws dragged and tore up the grass as he tossed his head back and shrieked loudly, calling the attention of every cadet who hadn’t managed to summon their dragon yet. Gods, finally. Chine sighed. I thought you would stay down here all day!

  Alex couldn’t help but smile. This was the first time Chine seemed happy to see her. It’s good to see you too, she replied.

  Chine leaned to the side, spreading his right wing out so Manny could float up it. He pulled his wing back quickly. You, on the other hand, are going to have to get up here yourself.

  How am I going to do that? Alex asked.

  Just jump!

  Alex took a deep breath. Chine was easily six feet taller than her, but maybe the dragon knew something she didn’t. It was about time to start trusting him. She crouched and then exploded upward, and landed on Chine’s back. She instinctively reached down to catch herself, her dragon anchor locking her feet and hands to the dragon.

  Chine laughed heartily. That’s what I like to see. Now let’s get into the air.

  Uh, how do I do that?

  You know exactly how to do that.

  Alex nodded, trying to invoke all the muscle memory from when she was in VR. In this place, she was strong enough to pull off such a feat.

  She pulled her dragon anchor back, which caused Chine to rear up on his hand legs. Alex spread her feet apart from each other and pushed forward. Chine spread his wings and flapped them to take off.

  He soared into the air as Alex pushed the dragon to go faster. The wind whipped Alex’s face, making its way thr
ough her HUD and blindfold and bringing tears to her eyes.

  Guess these eyes are working just the way they should, she mused as she focused on seeing through Manny’s eyes only. The Beholder’s eyes didn’t tear up like hers. Another benefit of being a magical creature, huh? she thought.

  Alex felt like she was going to slip right off Chine. Her heart was racing as she struggled against the wind.

  It was so different from being in VR. The speed, the wind, and the chill were all unexpected. She wasn’t sure if she enjoyed it, but this was what she was here for.

  She pulled her dragon anchor to the right, and Chine followed her lead by barreling with closed wings before free-falling.

  If Alex could deal with a free fall, she’d be able to deal with anything. Behind her, Manny was attached to her like a baby in a backpack, screaming over the wind.

  Chine laughed again, the hearty noise ringing in Alex’s head. Don’t you think this is a little advanced for you, Dustling? he asked.

  Alex concentrated on listening to the wind and the way it rang in her ears. She knew how to do this. She knew she knew how to do this. Aren’t we supposed to trust each other?

  Well said, Alex. Well said.

  The ground was fast approaching. Alex could see the specks she knew to be her classmates. She didn’t want to get too close. She wasn’t trying to scare them.

  Or worse, embarrass herself.

  Alex pulled back on the dragon anchor and Chine spread his wings and came to a complete stop, jerking Alex forward and almost knocking her off-balance.

  Her dragon floated in midair, a safe distance from her fellow cadets. Well done, Dustling. Well done, the dragon boomed in her mind.

  She raised the dragon anchor and Chine took off, soaring into the sky but slower than before. She was starting to get a handle on how the slightest movement from her dragon anchor hand guided Chine’s speed and direction.

  She could slow down, speed up, and turn with the most minuscule of movements.

  The two lazily floated through the sky and Alex watched the sun filter through the white clouds. For the first time since Alex had arrived at the Wasp’s Nest, she felt like she belonged.

  She lost track of how long she was up there. Chine was singing softly under his breath, but Alex didn’t hear his tune in her mind. She felt it coming from him, his whole body vibrating with his low hum.

  Her HUD dinged loudly, and she opened a message from Fier. It was time to come down for the second part of the day: the obstacle course.

  She guided Chine back down to the ground and he landed beside Timber, Gill’s earth dragon. Gill briefly acknowledged Alex and then turned his attention back to Fier, who had just landed.

  Fier pointed at an obstacle course that had been magically set up in the sky. It was difficult to tell what each section was because it was so far away, and Manny’s eyes were apparently not made for long distances.

  Jollies found her way to Alex and stared at the course as well. Fier’s voice rang out over the cadets talking or murmuring. “All right, these are timed runs. Think of this as a race. You’ll go through it alone, but we’re scoring you against each other. First up, Gill.”

  Alex watched as Gill’s dragon Timber took off into the sky. It was difficult to see what he was doing with Manny’s eyes. She thought about asking Chine to look through his, but it was all becoming too much. Alex had gone from having no eyes to having three sets—her own, Manny’s, and Chine’s—and she still didn’t feel comfortable with any of them.

  Chine’s voice broke through Alex’s anxiety. Ah, one of these. I’ve seen the other dragons do them before. They seem…somewhat pointless.

  Alex giggled in her head. Why do you think that?

  I doubt any obstacles we find on the battlefield will be so simply laid out.

  One by one, the other cadets were called to the air and finished the course. After nearly twenty minutes, Alex was the last one. Fier called her name, and Alex raised her dragon anchor.

  Chine shot toward the first large circle as fast as he could. Once he passed through the hoop, a dozen more appeared to their right. Some of them were on fire, others moving. “Looks easy enough,” she said, racing toward them.

  As Alex flew, her vision blurred. Manny must be getting motion-sick again, she thought.

  Alex passed through the next hoop and went for the third one. As she got closer, the circle turned and a blaster popped out from its side. She swerved to the right to avoid the blast. “What the hell was that?” she shouted.

  Chine rolled to the other side, doubled back, and dove through the hoop, which caused four more to appear below them, each covered in blasters. Don’t all obstacle courses have a threat of death? he asked.

  Alex went for the closest hoop, reached instinctively toward Chine’s left wing, and fired his shoulder cannon. Likewise, Chine shot a jet of ether fire, scorching the blasters. Alex pushed forward to gain speed, but Manny’s vision blurred again.

  The world descended into darkness for a second as Manny leaned over the dragon’s side and threw up.

  He righted himself, and Alex’s vision snapped back into place. She saw she’d overshot the hoops, so she pulled hard to the right, and Chine swerved with her while firing another plume of ether fire to knock out a plasma blast coming their way. Thank God Chine knows what he’s doing, she thought.

  Alex managed to move through each of the hoops and slowed drastically so Manny wouldn’t get sick enough to black out again. After Alex passed through the last hoop, she looked around to locate more. Once she was satisfied they were done, they headed back to the rest of the cadets.

  A holographic bulletin board was floating in front of Fier. The times of the other cadets were posted. Alex pushed her way to the front to see where she was listed.

  Alex Bound. Her name was all the way at the bottom—the slowest time of any of the cadets. There’s no way I’m going to be able to live this down, Alex thought as she slunk away from the other cadets, avoiding their eyes. See you later, Chine, Alex thought as she waved at the dragon.

  Chine bowed politely, his eyes dancing. You shouldn’t think anything of it, Dustling, Chine told her. None of the other cadets are working under your conditions.

  Thanks.

  Chine took off when Fier dismissed the cadets for the day. Alex intentionally tried to avoid Jollies as she made her way back to her room, where she laid on her bed and pulled her pillow over her head. At least the day was over.

  Chapter Six

  Alex woke with a headache. It wasn’t anything new, but that wasn’t what was keeping Alex from getting out of bed. She kept replaying the race from the day before. She could see Brath’s sneering face peering at her from underneath his beard.

  Losing to Brath would have been bad enough, and that in itself was humiliating. Coming in last was too much to deal with, though. Alex had never lost anything to that extent before. She wanted to be a good dragonrider so badly.

  She rolled over in bed and pulled her covers over her eyes. I thought that Myrddin said VR was supposed to be like pre-training, Alex thought. Doesn’t feel like I’m remotely ready for any of this.

  She tried to remember lessons she’d learned from Middang3ard VR, anything that would transfer over to help her with the issues she was currently experiencing. She couldn’t think of anything.

  Middang3ard VR hadn’t been a particularly encouraging place in-game. The game world was somewhat pessimistic. Most of the hope and joy players found was from relationships built with other players, something Alex significantly lacked in real life.

  Jollies seemed like the only person who was still interested in helping Alex or making her feel at home. Manny had just about checked out, relegating himself to a pair of floating eyes, probably watching inter-realm television in his head or something like that.

  Alex thought maybe she should put forth more of an effort to talk to Manny and see if he had any insight on the situation. He was an eldritch creature and might have some kind
of wisdom to drop on her.

  That was when Alex remembered she hadn’t talked to her parents about any of this. She’d completely forgotten they were only a phone call away. All she had to do was send them a message.

  Alex pulled down her HUD and scrolled through its options until she found the messaging option. She picked the video message option. A mirrored screen of herself showed on her HUD. Alex tried to fix her hair and did her best to smile. “Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad,” Alex started.

  She deleted the video and started again, forcing a more organic smile. “Hey, guys, just wanted to say hi. Haven’t talked to you in a bit, and I miss you.”

  Alex’s brave front fell apart quickly. She realized she’d never really had friends before. Her parents were pretty much all she’d had until she’d started playing Middang3ard, and even then, it was just Jim. It wasn’t all the teasing that was getting to Alex. It was loneliness.

  Tears welled up in Alex’s eyes, and she didn’t bother trying to fight them. She just wiped them off as she talked. “Yeah, it’s pretty lonely here,” Alex cried. “My roommate is pretty cool, but she has all her friends and stuff and, I don’t know; some people are real jerks just because I’m blind and human. I don’t know which one is worse for them. So, I guess I don’t know. What would you guys do? I’m kinda at a loss here. All right. Looking forward to hearing from you guys. I love you a lot.”

  Alex disconnected the HUD and pulled her sheets back over her head. Being lonely was harder when you were around other people. She hadn’t realized she’d missed out on that part of life from being homeschooled. It was hard to miss people if you didn’t see them often.

  The door to the dorm room opened and closed quickly. Alex decided she wasn’t going to pull the covers down. Maybe Jollies would leave her alone if she thought Alex was asleep. The pixie probably had other things to do than try to cheer Alex up anyway.

  Alex was wrong. Her blanket was ripped away from her. She curled into the fetal position and shivered from the sudden cold.