• In Brightburn Hall, Dawnbreak [The 5th Hour]
Cora was humming in the bathroom when Rafel accorded his reply to the request of his faction to represent them in the third round of the Spring Games. It was a thing of beauty and pride to fly a dragonback for his Arc. And double the innate joy for him because since he'd ascended to the realms of Eldoria from [Hel planet], he had not ridden a dragon. This was about to change today.
"Yes. I accept their request, Peitho. Let the herald know, it is an honor."
His system transferred back with her host's order, and as Rafel decidedly made use of Percival's own bathroom, he told Peitho to humor him with the names of those he'd be defeating in the avian tournament. He used the word 'defeating' in no uncertain way.
Peitho came back shortly with a list of four participants with their Arcs, which she displayed for his eyes as a long floating hologram in front of his face. Rafel glimpsed the screen as she read them out.
[Participants of the Dragonrider tournament:]
[GRIFFIN ARC: Trisha Turnbull.]
[Status: Second Year, Skyling Fae.]
[Beast: Bellerophon.]
[PEGASUS ARC: Bolta Olympian.]
[Status: Fourth Year, Lightning Child.]
[Beast: Coronis.]
[RAVEN ARC: Salome Smallbone.]
[Status: Fourth Year, Serpent Changeling.]
[Beast: Shredder.]
[PHOENIX ARC: Israfel Blüdthïrste.]
[Status: First Year, Red Titan.]
[Beast: Zarathustra.]
The list ended. And Rafel finally blinked. According to the stats, he was the only First Year competitor. Perhaps to defeat had been a gross misuse of an adjective for his opponents. Plus all their beasts sounded like they stomped on whole villages for fun. Or ate the sacrifice of babies.
'I mean, Bellerophon?'
The name of [Raven Black] Arc's dragonrider in particular gave him the chills: Shredder. It couldn't get more self-explanatory than that. Rafel was eager to meet his dragon, this Zarathustra in question. The only closeup he had gotten with the beasts was back in the Underworld when Lilith threw in her black dragon in the arena to make it spicy.
Even the most valorous of Hel's gladiators feared the river of blue fire the creature made. His Auntie's familiar had terrified him in truth.
It wasn't like Hèla's crimson spuck: Myreen of Thrasos, whom he had met briefly on virgin island. No. Lilith's black dragon looked like it liked to stick its tail in nests of baby seals. Now that he thought on it, who knew if the Dowager fucked her dragon?
They did have 7ft penises.
That was one aspect of Hel he definitely did miss. He didn't fuck the [dragon girls], [bat girls], [wasp girls] or whatever, but he certainly loved to watch them go. His mind was calm as he pulled himself up from the gigantic clawfoot tub in Percival's bathroom. Say what you want about wildlings but they really did know how to spoil themselves.
And now imagine what vanity the heart of a Van Imperia possessed. They had been Kings upon the continent for thousands of years.
"Are you going to say something, red one?" Zara mumbled.
Rafel scratched his head. "Eh. You can talk? You're ascended. A Divine level. Who's your master?
O-or mistress?"
Zara gave him a small smile. The silver trumpets blew up in the Colosseum, and Zarathustra walked past Rafel, starting for the sector from which they would take flight and leaving him to follow. Rafel had to spike his steps to meet hers. The blessed-chested dragonkeeper followed behind them. Zara began talking on the way.
"Yes, I am all those things you mentioned, red one. But to answer your question, I have no Sire to speak off. You're probably wondering why an evolved dragon is unbonded. It's really a matter of the heart, just like the way I chose you for this tournament. I could have picked anyone here, red one. But something in your nature calls to me, and it's not because you're a demon."
Rafel raised his head to meet her slitted gold eyes. He chuckled. "I feel the same way. And it's not because you're a sexy red dragon either."
Zara gave a low laugh.
"You are quite handsome too, red one."
Behind them, the dragonkeeper narrowed her eyes at the weird conversation.
Rafel said, "why do you keep calling me that, red one?"
"You're red haired, are you not?"
Rafel shared a smile with the ruby dragon. The dragonkeeper cleared her throat behind. "We're here." Anything to curb the awkward path this conversation was taking. "Meet the other riders." She gestured to the other students in their own flying leathers. Three competitors wearing the colors of their Arcs. And beside them were dragons of the same order.
All the dragonkeeper left the four riders to the few seconds remaining before they were announced.
Rafel quickly worked the room.
He spotted Bolta almost immediately, with her blue lightning dragon: Coronis. Coronis too was female. And the largest of the bunch. With Trisha Turnbull, Griffin Arc's dragonrider was the sleek gold menace, Bellerophon. He looked on the others like they were beneath him, and Rafel was amazed at how the beast and its rider could share so much in common.
The only black dragon in sight belonged to Salome Smallbone, the rider for [Raven Arc]. Obviously.
Shredder was male. And its own spikes rancoured up its back like a fleshy mohawk. The scales were dark as plutonic glass cooled after a mountain's lava eruption. Shredder was just about half the size of Coronis. But Rafel knew he was the deadliest. It was impossibly sickly thin for a dragon.
But it wasn't sick.
Shredder looked out with purple rings for eyes. It stared sinisterly at Bellerophon. Again, the dragon and its rider, Salome seemed to share the same glare for Trisha and hers. Instantly, Rafel was eager to get to the skies and see them battle it out. No amount of time among mortals had quenched his primordial thirst for blood.
[Dragon Riding], the third round tournament only ended when only one beast remained in the skies.
Outside, Rafel heard the announcer ramp up the crowd:
"OI! ARE WE READY, CORYNTHIA?!"
"YAHHH!!!" The Colosseum broke in a thousand voices.
"I said, CORYNTHIA. . .ARE WE READY?!"
Once again, clapping and cheering shook the walls of the arena. Inside the caverns, Trisha cemented with bright eyes. "Fuck yeah we're ready."
The announcer made a raise of hands. The bugle sounded. "Then let's welcome together our dragonriders!"