A woman stood before a hovering camera as a massive red dragon flew overhead, causing a gust of wind to sweep across a city in the lands of Nelrora on the planet of Shadowlands. Her plastic coat fluttered and her hair was pushed from behind over her face as she tried to talk to her audience, “The dragon heirs are preparing to see who will take the Dragon Crown for the next seven years.” 

The large dragon landed on the grand stage, lowering himself so that the rider could dismount from his back, “Yoweth Kultar Micha from Horde Adom has arrived with his Dragon Whisperer, Katharyn Lokhash,” the reporter watched the scene before her and tried to keep the audience abreast to what was going on.

The red dragon was surrounded in red flames as he shifted into a humanoid form of himself, part dragon and part hueman. A spectacular sight for those who weren’t blessed to be born from the line of dragons.

Micha walked to the microphone and greeted the people, “Hello, citizens of the Shadowlands. Today marks the first of Rashon in the fifty seventh year of Zetalon and within the next eighty four days I shall abdicate my throne so the next Yoweth Kultar may be crowned to rule for the upcoming seven years in our lands.”

The crowd burst out in cheers and excitement at his words, “May we have a clean competition and let us not forget that we are blessed by our original father and our original mother to carry the crown of our ancestor, Zuriel, so may we show respect to the blessing we have been given.”

Micha was surrounded in flames as he transformed back into a dragon. The Dragon Whisperer, Katharyn, climbed back on his back and he spread his wings before taking flight.

At Angelwood Academy, thirty minutes away from Shadow Mansion on The Arcane’s estate in the Shadowlands, students were huddled around screens as they watched the announcement of the new games for what was equivalent to the dragon king.

In class 10-B, Elin Blackburn stood in the back watching the students’ excitement around the dragon games, “I don’t get why they’re so obsessed with it.”

Fuella Kine put her arm around Elin’s shoulder and smiled, “Well to them it’s like seeing the crowing of a living, breathing god in person. It’s history to them that other planets don’t get. Plenty of families who worship the dragons move here for the spring just so they can see the games in person and be a part of that.”

Danielle slid off of the desk she was sitting on and walked over to her group of friends, “Plus, there’s some legend that the Yoweth Kultar can grant aura to mortals for the first twenty days after consuming the blood of the Father.”

Elin rolled her eyes, “Really?” she sighed and slipped from under Fuella’s arm so she could look at them, “They’re not gods though. They’re hard to kill, sure, but dragons can die.” Elin waved her hand towards Tiffany in annoyance at the situation, “Tiffany quite literally has their ‘Father’s’ blood running through her and she can’t give people auras.”

“Shhhh,” Fuella and Danielle put their hands over the mouth of Elin and looked around to see if anyone had heard what she said.

“Remember, Rickshaw said we’re not supposed to talk about you and Tiff being you know what’s,” said Danielle.

“Yeah, I forgot,” Elin removed their hands from her mouth and started to whisper, “They don’t care about us talking about it when I’m at the Time Academy so I get used to it sometimes.”

“When do you go back there?” asked Tiffany.

“Day after next, they have me going there Shaloshyom and Arabeyom during the spring quarter and then switching when summer quarter comes,” replied Elin.

“You’re probably going to miss out on the student version of the dragon games then,” replied Tiffany.

Elin shrugged, “Won’t bother me any.”

The girls began to pack up their bags so they could head to their next class. However, they hadn’t noticed that their classmate, Hjördis, was eavesdropping on their entire conversation from one of the desks near them. 

She raised her head from the desk as they left, her short black and silver hair swaying backwards as she looked back to see them leave. A slight jingle of metal sounded out as the silver dragon emblem moved on her choker. A smirk crossed her face before she started to pack her bag.

A lot had changed in such a short time after the arrest of the leaders of the Aeoliran Church in the second to last month of the previous year. They held the funeral for Huntress and within a month’s time Rickshaw turned in his badge and retired to become a combat and self defense teacher at the Angelwood Academy in the Shadowlands.

Elin Blackburn had begun her classes with The Professor at the Time Walker Academy while also attending classes at the Angelwood Academy part time with the noble children who were also regulated to the Shadowlands still for their own protection until everyone could be sure the Aeoliran Church was truly gone.

Leilani Sandoval continued her studies with the Internal Affairs Academy and scored high on her exams thus far, making her a highly sought after candidate for becoming an investigator. With the endorsement of both Rickshaw and High Chancellor Tao she was practically guaranteed a job.

Stacy took over the role of the High Chancellor and attempted to fix the damage that the Aeoliran Church and Reverend José Silva wrought across the Zetalon universe. An action that wasn’t a light task. People had reverted back to their faction affiliations, undoing years of work by the founding mothers of Zetalon’s government.

However, not everyone was as quiet as people made it appear. The Sentinel, Primus of the Time Walker Alliance, sat behind her desk in her office on Vigilia. In front of her stood Rahsaan Holmes, better known as Detective Dreadlock Holmes on the streets, and his assistant Dr. Bora Watson. 

“I know how this looks for us to request your assistance after we ignored your warnings about The Facilitator,” The Sentinel spoke with annoyance in her tone. The unease of the political landscape right now concerned her more than anything, especially with a new leader being crowned in the far reaches of Zetalon, on the planet of Shadowlands.

“I have no interest in meeting with Gauvain,” Detective Dreadlock spoke with an uncaring coldness in his tone towards her, “He was a megalomaniac in our universe and he’s finally locked away for crimes he committed.”

“I know,” replied the Sentinel, “But he says he won’t share this message with anyone but you.” She reached forward and placed a holo device near the edge of her desk, “At least think about it.”

Detective Dreadlock stared at her, leaving the device unacknowledged. Dr. Watson looked at them both before picking the device up, “Detective Holmes will let you know what he decides,” replied Dr. Watson.

“Thank you, Dr. Watson,” The Sentinel sat back in her chair while the two of them left her office. 

They made their way downstairs and left the building, Detective Dreadlock placed his hat on top of his head. “You know what Gauvain is capable of, Rahsaan,” Dr. Watson broke the silence between them with those words, “If he really is plotting something in the prison world then we need to at least try to put an end to it.”

Detective Dreadlock sighed, “I know, but it’s probably just another mind game he is playing with everyone.”

“And what if it’s not?” she asked.

He was silent for several moments as they walked to their hover car, “Fine, we’ll go.”

At the Shadow Mansion, Elin was packing her bag when a knock came at her door, “Come in!” she called out.

The door opened to her bedroom and Rickshaw walked in, “You almost ready to go to class?”

“Yeah,” she put one last item into her duffle bag before picking up her backpack and slinging her duffle bag over her shoulder, “You know you don’t have to keep talking me to Vigilia, I can have one of the Black Coats drive me.”

“It’s fine, at least this way I know personally you’re safe,” replied Rickshaw as she walked past him as he stood in the doorway. “Plus, gotta make sure you’re not leaving class and going back in time to take naps.”

“Hey!” Elin laughed as he rustled her hair, “That was only a few times I did that.”

“If you say so dork,” they made it outside of the mansion and Rickshaw placed his hand on her shoulder, “You ready?” 

Elin nodded and they vanished in a flash of light. Like no time had gone by they reappeared in another flash of light at the training academy for Time Walkers. 

The facility was bustling as students and masters went to their next classes, missions, and other ventures. “Hey, Elin,” said one girl as her and her group of friends walked by them.

“Hey, Cassidy,” said Elin as she waved to them.

Elin then looked at Rickshaw, “You know, I can make it to my class, right? No one else has their guardian with them.”

“No one else is a demigod that has a dark faction that tried to kill them either,” Rickshaw took a moment and sighed, “But all right, I don’t want to cramp your style so go ahead, I’ll meet you at the juice bar at the end of the day.”

Elin adjusted her duffle bag on her shoulder, “Thanks, Ken,” she began to jog to catch up to the other students.

“Ken?!” he called out after her, “What happened to you calling me Rickey?”

Elin turned around and shrugged at him, “It’s too close to Aiko’s pet name for you, creeps me out,” she waved to him and then joined her friends.

“Dustbin lid is growin up fas' on you.” The Professor walked up behind Rickshaw with his hands in his pockets.

“Shouldn’t you be in class waiting for the students, The Professor,” Rickshaw gave his old comrade a smirk.

The Professor took out a flask and took a swig from it, “Blimey,” he shook his flash before look into the opening to see if it was really empty, “'hey'll be all righ' wi'hou' me. Re'ired life 'rea'in you good?”

“I only retired from service, I’m still a teacher over in the Shadowlands,” Rickshaw and The Professor started walking towards the classroom as they continued their conversation, “It’s given me more time to spend with the girls and Aiko is giving me another chance. We’re taking it slow, which is fine, I don’t want to hurt her like I did before.”

“Coun' yourself lucky, ma'e.” The Professor pat Rickshaw on the back as they entered the large dojo training center.

In a far away realm, Detective Dreadlock and Dr. Watson had arrived in the prison world of Beyt-Kele. They were in line with other service members who came to meet with prisoners, “All weapons in the bins and proceed through the scanner,” called out one of the guards as people moved around the bins and handed them to guards.

Detective Dreadlock and Dr. Watson removed their holstered guns from their hips as well as their backup guns from their ankle holsters. They walked through the scanners with their arms up as it checked layer by layer to see if they had any weaponry hidden, any chemicals inside of them, or anything else that The Warden would not approve of entering his territory.

Members of the Aeoliran Church were not treated the same as other prisoners in Beyt-Kele. They were locked away in a special part of Zone 9, hidden away from the freedoms that everyone else received.

Detective Dreadlock and Dr. Watson, both were led by guards to the cell that held The Facilitator, Gauvain Thomas. On the outside it was a massive black cube with ten soldiers around it, but when they entered it, it looked like a normal one bedroom home with an upstairs and main floor.

They both looked around, shocked by the appearance of the place, “It’s bigger on the inside?” Dr. Watson couldn’t believe her eyes. 

“They’re spending more money on criminals like him when they could be providing homes like this to everyone,” added Detective Dreadlock.

The Facilitator came from his kitchen holding a tray with three cups of coffee on it, “I took some liberties and made everyone Irish coffee.”

“This isn’t a social call,” replied Detective Dreadlock, “We’re not friends.”

“Oh dear, Rahsaan, we can’t live without each other. We are yin and yang,” a smile crossed The Facilitator’s face, “Even the universe knew that and brought all three of us from Nyomozók to this world of Zetalon.”

“Consider it a coincidence,” Detective Dreadlock made no movements while he stared him down, “Say what you have to say, Gauvain, and let us go on our way.”

The Facilitator sat down and picked up his cup of coffee, “Your foreplay could really use some work,” he looked at them both with a knowing smile, “Maybe that’s why your girlfriend left you and you had to pick the disparaged doctor for your ‘special’ assistant.”

Dr. Watson put her hand on Detective Dreadlock’s chest to hold him back before he could try to strike the man, “He’s just trying to get under your skin.”

The Facilitator sighed and signaled for them both to take a seat, “Always the levelheaded one, Watson, always the levelheaded one. Humor me for a moment and I’ll tell you what I asked you here for.”

The both of them slowly moved to the cushioned chairs opposite of him and sat down. “Who did they get to replace me as Chief Investigator?”

“Why? So you can have your followers assassinate him?” asked Detective Dreadlock.

The Facilitator waved off the comment, “No, no, they arrested all of my supporters when they swept the lands for the Aeoliran Church. I just want to make sure they picked someone good.”

“The Monitor is now the Chief Investigator,” replied Watson. Dreadlock looked at her and she shrugged, “What? I’m helping him get to the point.”

The Facilitator picked up his coffee and sat back in his chair, “That pushover, he’s going to undo everything I worked for.” 

Detective Dreadlock leaned forward, his eyes narrowing, “Undo everything? You mean the corruption, the manipulation, the pain you inflicted on innocent people? What exactly did you work for, Gauvain? What were you trying to achieve with the Aeoliran Church?”

The Facilitator chuckled, a dark glint in his eyes, “Ah, Rahsaan, such black-and-white thinking. There is no good or evil, only power and those too weak to seek it. But do you really think I'll just reveal all my secrets so easily?”

Dr. Watson interjected, frustration evident in her voice,
“Save your philosophical ramblings for another time. We don't have time for games. Tell us what we need to know.”

Gauvain's expression turned serious as he leaned forward, his voice low and menacing, “Very well. You and your people screwed up. Our goal was ‘Ordo Ab Chao’ or order from chaos to reshape Zetalon for our master and we had achieved that for many years. You see, Detective Dreadlock, chaos is a powerful force. It shakes the foundations of society, exposes its weaknesses. And in those moments of vulnerability, that's when true power can be seized.”

Detective Dreadlock’s grip tightened on the armrests of his chair. He had faced many criminals since coming to Zetalon, but this moment brought back all the memories of the twisted ideology of The Facilitator, of the decade long games of cat and mouse between the two in their old universe, and the death of his girlfriend from plots orchestrated by who he knew as Professor Facilitator. He knew he had to stop Gauvain’s plans before more innocent lives were affected.

“And how did they screw up exactly? They arrested all of you and put the Aeoliran Church to rest.” Detective Dreadlock asked, his voice steady.

The Facilitator scooted forward on his chair and began to speak to them in a low tone, “You see order from chaos makes sense, it’s how you accomplish greatness. However, by killing The Gray Pope, oh,” he ran his fingers down the sides of his face, rubbing his mustache, “by killing her you’ve rang the alarm for a faction who believes in complete domination for the will of our master. They thrive on ‘Res Ex Servitute’ as their modus operandi.”

Chills ran down Detective Dreadlock’s spin, “Prosperity from slavery?”

The Facilitator placed his hands on the table, “Exactly.”

Detective Dreadlock exchanged a wary glance with Dr. Watson. The implications of the Facilitator’s words sent a shiver down their spines. They had thought that the dismantling of the Aeoliran Church and apprehending its members would bring an end to the chaos that had plagued Zetalon for the past years. But now, they realized that only the surface had been scratched of a much deeper conspiracy.

“What do you mean by ‘complete domination’?” Dr. Watson asked, her voice trembling slightly.

The Facilitator leaned back in his chair, a twisted smile playing on his lips. “There are forces at play far beyond your comprehension, my dear doctor,” he said cryptically. “You see, the Aeoliran Church was merely one piece of the much larger puzzle. Our master’s influence stretches far and wide, all throughout time, and their disciples are scattered across time and space like tendrils seeking justice.”

Detective Dreadlock’s fists clenched as he fought to keep his composure. “Who is this so-called master and what do they want?”

A gleam of excitement danced in the Facilitator’s eyes as he relished the fact that he knew more than his fellow countryman. “Their identity remains hidden, even to me,” he admitted. “But I can tell you this much: their ultimate goal is to plunge Zetalon into an era of darkness.”

Detective Dreadlock and Dr. Watson looked at each other with baited breath, their hearts pounding so loudly they thought their eardrums would erupt. 

The final lessons for the day were nearing an end for the Time Walker Academy. Elin had two boys on either side of her, ready to attack. She calmed herself as she breathed, sweat dripping from her brow.

The boys charged at her and she jumped into the air, clearing them and causing them to crash into each other. Her hand began to glow and a bo staff appeared in her hand.

She landed gracefully, spinning the staff expertly in her hands as she prepared for the next wave of attacks. The boys recovered quickly and came at her again, this time with renewed determination.

Elin swung her staff with precision, deflecting their blows and countering with calculated strikes. Her months of training with Rickshaw mixed with her training at the Time Walker Academy had honed her reflexes and agility to near perfection. She moved fluidly, effortlessly dodging their attacks while finding openings to deliver powerful counterattacks.

With a swift spin of her staff, Elin managed to disarm one of the boys, sending his weapon flying across the training ground. Sensing an opportunity, she swiftly incapacitated him with a well-placed strike.

The other boy lunged at her again. She sidestepped his attack and delivered a powerful strike with her staff, knocking him to the ground. As he groaned in pain, Elin turned her attention to the other boy, who was growing more aggressive.

With a swift spin, Elin struck the ground, creating a powerful shockwave that sent the two boys sprawling in opposite directions. They quickly scrambled to their feet, eyes filled with determination as they charged at her again.

With a final strike, Elin disarmed the second boy, sending his weapon clattering to the ground. Both boys paused for a moment, eyeing her warily. Sensing their hesitation, Elin took advantage of the opening and swiftly knocked them down.

She stood there for a moment, catching her breath as the other students who had gathered around erupted into applause at the scene. The light flashed around her hand again and her bo staff disappeared. The students surrounded her in excitement as they cheered her win against two of the top competitors in her year.

Rickshaw was watching from the doorway, a smile on his face like a proud father. His mobile device began to ring and he slipped away from the doorway, opening it. “Hello?”

On the holo device was Detective Dreadlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, “We need to talk, where are you?”

“I’m at the Time Walker Academy, about to take Elin home though. What’s up?” he replied.

“It’s about your grandfather, we think he may be back,” replied Detective Dreadlock.

“That’s not possible,” replied Rickshaw, “he gave his life for my aunt, there’s no way he could return.”

“We met with Gauvain, he was pretty sure the master he served was a master of darkness,” Dr. Watson interrupted Rickshaw’s delusions to bring him back to reality.

Rickshaw raised an eyebrow as he listened to her words, “My grandfather is a master of shadows not darkness.”

“The books do say he was a lover of darkness though,” replied Dr. Watson.

“And so was Iah, but that doesn’t mean he is the leader either. The story goes that Iah formed the mighty sea from the darkness and called him Yanahar and that Arcānus so loved the darkness that he brought forth the dragons from its forge and named the first Zuriel,” replied Rickshaw.

Dr. Watson was becoming anxious, worried about whether or not she could get him to agree with them. “Gauvain spoke of the fact that the Aeoliran Church was his master’s arm of chaos and that he has a tentacle of slavery that spans across time and space. The same things Arcane Shadow was known for.”

Rickshaw slammed his hand on the juice bar counter, “What exactly did he say? Do you have any evidence that my grandfather is back besides the words of a criminal?”

The two of them looked at each other on their side of the holo device before answering Rickshaw, “No,” said Detective Dreadlock, “But we were hoping you could talk with Vespera to see if the Sithrim know anything about it.”

“You’re asking me to accuse my girlfriend and her father of hiding something this big from my family,” replied Rickshaw, “If you’re wrong she’s going to hate me.”

“And if we’re right, we may save countless lives,” replied Detective Dreadlock.

Rickshaw took a moment to think to himself before relinquishing to the truth of the matter, “I’m retired, I’m not going to ask her, but I’ll set up a meeting for y’all to talk to her so you can ask her yourselves.”

“But you can command…” Dr. Watson was cut off by Detective Dreadlock before she could finish.

“That works, thank you for doing that,” replied Detective Dreadlock.

Rickshaw ended the call and rubbed his face as he let out a groan of annoyance.

“What was that about?” Elin stood behind him with her duffle bag and still in her black spandex. 

She had startled him, he turned around to look at her, putting on a fake smile, “Oh it was nothing, don’t worry about it, did you shower yet?”

“That didn’t sound like nothing,” she replied, adjusting her duffle bag, “And no, I’m just going to shower when we get back home.”

“Ok, let’s get home. I have to go see Aiko for a couple of days after I make sure you’re home safe,” he replied.

“So that wasn’t nothing, well will you be back before my next TWA classes or are you going to let me go alone?” she asked him with a smile on her face.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and bent over slightly to look her in the eyes, “I’ll be back before Shabeyom so don’t get any ideas,” Rickshaw then stood next to her with a serious look on his face, “I hope.”

“What,” Elin looked up at him but they vanished in a flash of light as they traveled through time and space, back to the Shadow Mansion.

As they arrived, Elin stepped away from Rickshaw and looked at him with concern, “What do you mean you hope? I’m not just a little kid anymore. Is something going on?”

Rickshaw knew he couldn’t keep it from her long but wanted to let her enjoy being a child for as long as he could, “Some of my old colleagues believe that my grandfather is behind the Aeoliran Church and all that happened. They want to question the Sithrim about it.”

“But he’s our relative we shouldn’t be worried about, he wouldn’t hurt us, right?” asked Elin.

Rickshaw sighed, “That’s not how the primordials operate. They can be fickle for who they care about from their bloodlines.”

“Yeah but in every story I’ve read about our ancestors from the Athenaeum they fight but they never kill each other,” replied Elin, “He fought his son Mark but didn’t kill him, fought Morningstar and Marduk but didn’t kill either of them. But that assassin the Aeoliran Church sent definitely wanted to kill me and Keoni.”

“I know, I know, E,” he put his arm around her shoulder and walked towards the house with her, “That’s why I’m not sure, but if what they were told was true then there’s another organization out there that is going to try and act on the will of their master. But don’t tell the others about this. I want to figure out what’s going on before we cause a panic”

“All right, and if you need me to get your back, I got you,” said Elin in a playful yet cocky tone. Rickshaw rolled his eyes and pushed Elin playfully. The both of them laughed as they entered the Shadow Mansion.

Two days later on Shashyom, all students were summoned for an assembly at the Angelwood Academy. It was the day for registrations for the student version of the dragon king games. They wouldn’t receive a crown, but would receive prize money for themselves, their whisperer, and their favorite charitable cause. They would also receive a special seat on the student body council too. 

Some did it for the money, some did it for the power, some the honor, and then there were some who did it to prepare for the future dragon games. In the real dragon games each family is allowed to nominate one person from their house, but in the student games multiple people from a dragon house could compete. This also helped families determine who they should support for the real games.

The four biggest hordes were the elementals that included Horde Adom of fire, Horde Kakhol of water, Horde Yaroq of earth, and Horde Laban of air.

Horde Adom, who were also the family where the current crown sat, was a house of fire, fueled by greed. They emit an aura of confidence and tend to act without thinking.

Then there was their opposite Horde Kakhol. They are a house of water and masters of illusion. They are territorial in both their possessions and their partners. 

The house of nature, Horde Yaroq, was the most aggressive of the group. They attack anyone and anything without provocation. Even though they were caretakers of nature they were known for having corrosive breath and for being masters of poison.

The last elemental house was Horde Laban, the horde of air. They were deemed the less intelligent of the big four and were known for being smaller in stature and love extreme cold. They prefer assaulting their enemies swiftly and not delaying the end result of battle.

Backstage Hjördis was with her older brother, Min, while different dragons went on stage and announced their dragon whisperers and partners for the competition. Hjördis jumped around, hyping herself up and shaking off her nerves from the thought of being in front of a crowd.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Jörd?” asked Min.

Hjördis slapped her face as a serious look crossed it, “Yeah, it’s time our family stopped hiding in the shadows and reclaim our rightful place.”

After the elemental hordes were the smaller metal hordes. Horde Ard was the house of bronze, Horde Faliz the house of Brass, Horde Kasf the house of silver, Horde Nakhosht the house of copper, and Horde Zhab the house of gold.

Horde Ard were the most inquisitive of the dragons and liked to observe and research the world around them. All dragons could turn into huemans but they specifically had the ability to turn into any living being. They were tricksters and would rather bribe or force an attack to leave rather than a head on fight.

The social butterflies of the group were from Horde Faliz who were known for being very talkative. They were experts in intel gathering and brokers of information. However, they were not fans of fighting and would instead use their breath to put someone to sleep rather than fight them.

Horde Kasf was the most cheerful of the large beasts. At the school at least, they made up a lot of the cheer and dance squad. They could also change into any living creature and hated being lonely even if it meant disregarding their own needs for another’s needs. 

The most intelligent of the group was Horde Nakhosht, who were masters of riddles and jokes. They typically utilize two types of breaths for their safety, poison and sleeping gas. 

Horde Nakhosht may be the most intelligent but Horde Zhab was seen as the most wise and graceful of the dragons. They dislike any and all injustice and foul play. They are known as the goody goods of the group and would attempt to rectify any injustices they saw.

The last five Hordes were offshoots of the main dragon hordes. Two of which were gemstones with Horde Gabish of crystals and Horde Shanhab of ivory, both coming from the white dragon horde. Then there was Horde Wrod who were pink dragons and a result of the marriages between the red and white dragons over generations. The next was Horde Tsahob, the yellow dragons, that was a result of gold dragons and white dragons marrying over the generations. The last horde was Khom who were the mutts of the group and had a mixture of red, yellow, and blue dragons within them.

“We have a special entry into the SDC this year,” said the girl on stage while reading over her cards, “It is the self proclaimed return of the black dragon lineage.”

The crowd began to murmur at the news that was shared. No one had seen a black dragon since the Father of Dragons left the Shadowlands, a time before even the Great Exile period of history.

“I now welcome to the stage from Class 10-B, Hjördis Shakhor, representing the black dragons,” the girl stepped aside so Hjördis could come to the stage.

People were confused and whispered to one another. They knew of Hjördis from the dance team but never thought they would see her standing in front of them claiming to be a black dragon descendant. 

“This isn’t a joke, get off the stage!” called out one of her classmates. 

“Transform, black dragon!” called out another classmate sarcastically.

The student announcer tried to calm the crowd, “Now, now, you know dragons are not allowed to transform indoors. Let’s give her a chance to show us what she’s got during the competition.”

The crowd began to quiet down, some were willing to give her a chance while others were already beginning to plot and wanted to teach Hjördis a lesson for making fun of their noble traditions as members of the Cult of Dragons.

The announcer stood next to Hjördis with a smile and poise, “Now, it’s time for the moment everyone is waiting for,” she built the suspense for the audience as she did for all the previous dragon’s announcements, “Who do you select as your dragon whisperer, Hjördis?”

Hjördis looked across the crowd, seeing the mixed reactions, trying to fight off the nerves that were building in her. She saw her older brother and cousins in the crowd and regained her resolve at that moment. She took the microphone from the girl and walked to the edge of the stage, “I choose Elin Blackburn as my dragon whisperer.”

“What?!” called out Elin and the rest of the royal and noble children in shock.

The entire audience turned to look at Elin who was standing there in shock, dumbfounded by the announcement.

“Come to the stage, Elin,” said the announcer. 

The audience began to part like the red sea to allow her to walk to the stage. Elin walked slowly and climbed up on the stage, “Are you excited to join the SDC this year, Elin?” asked the announcer.

“Can I turn down the offer?” Elin spoke softly, not sure what to do in the situation.

The announcer put her arm around Elin and smiled, “Of course not, it looks like Hjördis picked herself a humorous companion. Something that may help with the games.”

She then walked over to Hjördis, “Do you have any last minute words for the audience before you leave the stage, Hjördis?”

“Yeah,” she took the microphone again and spoke with confidence, “Just watch me!”