The Dragon Knight Order (11 page)

Big Day

The day of the examinations we met up early in the mess hall and went over final battle plans before heading to the training ground. The examinations are held there because multiple fights or tests can be done simultaneously and the entire area is under the watchful eyes of the examiners from a tower growing in the middle. I say grown because it was a tree grown with magic making it possible to mold the way it formed. Most of the Academy was infused with magic, when it was being built. That’s why things like the fountain of the Sky Dome and the stone forest exist within it.

“All students are expected to arrive on time for their examination.  Arriving late or failure to arrive will result in a loss for said student,” said the voice. A special kind of magic was used by the staff to inform students of important news and events.

I wanted to arrive early to see who I was supposed to battle for the first two matches. The second and third year’s examinations were also here today and I wanted to get a chance to see Axcel in action. The only time I had seen him use his skills as a Battlemage had been when he tried to stop my darkness Vorm and all he had done was extend his energy towards me.

When we arrived at the training ground the first thing I noticed, or my magic alerted me to, was the presence of four dragons. Each sat watching the examination grounds from a cardinal point and for the most part students steered clear from them or stared at them from the distance. Adria walked off to meet Max and Daniel before the matches began and to figure out with whom and at what time our matches were set to begin. I on the other hand, was more interested in knowing why there were four dragons present in the examination.

I decided on approaching the dragon sitting on the western end of the training grounds. As I walked toward it, I could see Ilean walking to the northern dragon and Evey in the distance approaching the southern one. I assumed those were the dragons that had taught them each before they came to the Central Academy.

As soon as I was close enough to see the dragon in detail, I could see the small electrical charges it was giving off around its body to the ground below it and a small wind emanating from it. A storm dragon, capable of generating enough water to put out lava; lightning that can set an entire forest ablaze; and winds so powerful, it can shred ice into dust. This is the most powerful dragon attribute outside the three Royal Dragons and maybe the most feared.

“Hello, mighty dragon,” I said in a clear voice so I could be heard and bowing down before it. It turned its head towards me revealing a large scar across the left side of his face.

“Yes?” it responded in a cool watery voice.

“Hello,” I repeated once more unsure of how to reply. “I am Alex Kerm, one of the new Knights and the reason I stand before you is because of my puzzlement to see one as great as yourself along with three other dragons here during the Academy’s examinations. Might I be so bold as to ask why you are here Mighty One?”

“I am not your master Dragon Knight, nor am I a lord that demands bowing, Alexander Kerm, the first Knight to possess two royal attributes at such a young age. Lord Shadow puts much faith in you, so does The Timeless one and much of my species. I on the other hand, shall judge you after seeing you fight here. Judging by how you approached me, I guess you have spoken to the less than courteous Lord Lux?”

“Yes I have,” I said standing before the dragon.

“Well not all of my species are like him and neither are we all like Lord Shadow and Lord Vicis. As for why I am here the answer is simple, but before that shall we make a little wager?  I propose should you win this tournament that I become your companion when it comes time for you to travel the land. However should you lose, I will make it my personal mission to make sure you never achieve the rank of Dragon Paladin as Lord Shadow hopes you will someday.”

I was taken aback by the sudden bet the dragon had suggested, but it works in my favor in both cases. If I can’t win this tournament, I would make a miserable Paladin and if I win, this storm dragon would follow me where ever I go. How could I refuse such an offer?  “I will accept your challenge. But before I do, may I know your name Mighty One?” I asked smiling.

“Humph, courageous, well-mannered and a sense of humor? We need more Knights like you in the Order. Very well, I am Zetzu, Lord of the Eastern Winds and Lord of Storms,” he replied with the same watery voice of a few minutes ago.

I gasp.

“Excuse my ignorance Lord Zetzu, had I know I was speaking to one of such station I would have greeted you in the appropriate manner and with due respect,” I said kneeling before him for a second time.

“Stand Knight, if I had wanted such flattery I would have introduced myself first. Besides I like humans to behave as they normally do. I find it most amusing and drop the lord or I shall have to roast you alive,” he said chuckling. “As for why I am here, you should know the answer to that after the conversation you had with Lord Shadow.”

I understood without thinking about it. The four cardinal Lords had been sent as guards. The assassins would strike during the examinations and attempt to take out multiple targets all at once. So the Council sent the four most powerful dragons after themselves to protect us.

“Thank you, Zetzu,” I said.

The voice called the entire student body to head to the base of the tower.

“Go and remember I will be watching,” said the dragon lowering its head and looking at me with one of his massive eyes.

I nodded heading into the crowd.

“Students! Welcome to this year’s first examination. I trust you have all prepared accordingly and are ready to put forth the best of your abilities. As you have all noticed by now, The Cardinal Lords have been asked to join us as spectators and also to keep our students from damaging the Academy. For this purpose once all matches have begun, the entire battle area will be sealed off by a protection spell and will only be pulled down after all matches for the round have concluded or in the event of a serious injury. The winner of today's phase will be chosen after one team reaches nine victories. You will then come back tomorrow and start phase two of the tournament,” announced Chairman Zeak. “This is a test of endurance as much as it is a test of your abilities to manage yourselves well. If you do this, you shall be victorious.”

He then commenced naming students and which section of the training ground was going to become their arena. Adria and I got sent close to the tower where everyone could see us. Our first match was against a warrior and a mage. I had heard rumors about how grand their innate talent was and they were both top of their class but all I could think about was the fact I was tired from testing out light magic and a restless night never helps. Plus, I had just bet my future as a Dragon Knight with a dragon lord. My worries were if I could prove to be enough of a Knight to achieve the dragon’s approval and if I was rested enough to defeat all of my opponents today.

I was the first one to arrive at the section we had been assigned to. Not long after that Adria arrived. I thought it as good as any moment to tell her about my problem.

“That's great. I will just have to beat them both on my own then,” she said in a matter of fact voice.

“I can fight, just not at my full strength and I have a feeling we are going to need it later on.”

“I believe you are right, as Eric and Lester are most likely our last opponents.”

“Just what I need to make my day terrific, two idiot Nobles with an ego problem and a habit of picking fights with me.”

“Try not to focus on them, focus on the problem at hand. These two might not be naturals but they do have a knack for their branches,” she said pointing at the two boys heading towards us. One was dark skinned, tall, with a muscular build while the other was short and skinny.

They stood there without talking or introducing themselves. So we did exactly the same thing and waited until the bell rang meaning the examinations had begun. Adria pulled at my arm showing me two fingers. I nodded in response, this meant we are going with plan B, consisting of me holding our opponents in place through their shadows and Adria invoking five Vorms that would corner them forcing them to surrender for an easy victory. We won, just like we had planned it, the tower examiners must have been as shocked as the pair was. It took us only five minutes to get them to surrender; we won all of our matches like that. By the time had reached the ninth match, the examiners informed us that we had won by default as the last group had to withdraw because of exhaustion. We were told to head back to our dorm and that after tomorrow’s winner had been selected, they would hold a ceremony where the winners would be announced. It wasn’t as exciting as it was supposed to be.

“You fought well today,” I said patting Adria's shoulder.

“Thanks, but we didn't even get to fight,” she snorted.

“Don't worry! I am sure you will get your chance tomorrow, and we already won this one. Surely we can win tomorrow.”

“We didn’t see Eric or Lester today. I wonder what happened to them?”

“I am fine with not having to see them, but I find that strange too.”

Once we reached the Sky Dome, we found Ilean and Evey lying lazily next to the fountain.

“That can't be a good sign,” I said to myself, walking over to them with Adria following closely.

“Did you lose?” asked Adria kneeling next to Ilean.

No answer.

“Hello... Anyone home,” I asked poking Evey with a finger.

No answer.

“They won't be awake until tomorrow,” said Axcel walking over with an apple in his hand. “Those two fought so hard they ended up destroying three arenas and forced the southern Cardinal Lord to stand up and reinforce the barrier as their attack had severely weakened it. Lucky for those two it missed the intended targets completely. If not they could have killed or seriously injured their opponents. I tell you had that barrier not been there, a good chunk of the academy would be missing right now.”

“And what spell did they use exactly?” I asked.

“It was pretty simple now that I think about it. Evey formed a wind Vorm and Ilean created an electrical sphere that Evey's Vorm ate. This caused the sphere to destabilize within the Vorm because of the different magical elements and user. That allowed the Vorm to exhale lightning but its real strength must have come from both elements being reinforced by deals. I think that when done correctly it’s called a dragon blast and only Dragon Knights and dragons can do it because of the massive amount of energy it consumes.”

“And who was the match against that two Knights would need to employ such force to win?” I asked curiously. “They could easily pass the entry test to the Guardians if they managed to force Evey and Ilean into a corner.”

“Who said they won? They lost. Their match was against Eric and Lester. Fueled by their desire to beat you, they have trained excessively enough that they have enough power to defeat two Dragon Dealers, the lowest possible rank, but a Knight nonetheless.”

“That would explain why we didn't fight them,” said Adria. “They had to be very tired after the match against Evey and Ilean.

“True, but tell me Alex how do you stop five Vorms and five elemental storms from beating you down? Not only is it extremely hard to control all of them at once, any person that can achieve such level of control and power will be on par with a Dragon Knight in terms of strength and power. The hatred that they have for you Alex has driven them to strengthen their abilities to such an extent. Should you have to fight them tomorrow you will be hard pressed to win, but I think you will be able to win regardless of how much they have improved,” said Axcel taking a bite from his apple.

With that said, we had dinner in silence. It was easy to tell that we were all thinking of the best way of beating one another in the off chance we had matches against one another. Tomorrow was going to be a very long day indeed.

After dinner I headed down to the Dragon Hold feeling the urge to see the stars. I lay down on the grass, and gazed up at the night sky. It shined with thousands of stars, some shined brighter than others, some were blue, some red, other white and yellow. Looking at the endless sky, I felt a sense of calmness brush through me, like all the worries in the world had left me. I closed my eyes and started thinking of all that had happened in the last few months. I was accepted into the Academy and then selected to join the Dragon Knights. At the time, it seemed too unreal to believe and as the months went by I started to get used to it; the training, the endless stream of rules, behaviors and ethics of the Dragon Knight, my parents being Nobles and by extension making me a Noble. That was such a depressing thought I pushed it out of my head. Then there is the kill list with my name on the top, do the Irkanians consider me to be such a threat? If what Master Shadow said is true, then it may be so, but I am still a long way from becoming a Dragon Paladin. Then my thoughts turned towards the examination and how smooth everything had gone today. There was also the fact Eric and Lester where becoming alarmingly stronger and very fast, how that was possible was beyond me but they were getting there. A lot of things had changed in such a short amount of time.