Phoenix' Legacy

There weren't always dragons in the valley. In fact, there was a time not so long ago when they were thought to be extinct after the Great War that separated the worlds. When Phoenix ruled they brought the dragon's back and reunited the realms. That history is something all probable riders have to learn before we're ever allowed near one of the great beauties. I imagine its something that fairy youths learn about in general, but we werewolves are only recently started to learn about the different magics that flow through everything and everybody. The fairies had always worked closely with the dragons during that catastrophic war.

Thinking about a time when dragons were thought to be no more than historic myth makes me sad, so I shake the thoughts off. I don't need the distractions today because I can't afford any mistakes today. Turning from the barrack's window I check over my training armor one last time. I've spent too long training to ruin my shot at being a part of the Royal Dragon Guard to risk it all on sentimentalities this close to the finish line. Today is hatching day and it will make or break those of us that have made it this far.

Besides, there's no point staring out a window at the Valley of Dragons when my fellow graduates and I are supposed to be getting in place to go down there in person within the hour. Dragons are considered to be the most majestic and fierce creatures around. To be successfully paired with one and become part of the most elite force in all the realms is the highest honor anybody could hope for. When Mighty Phoenix reinstated the guard and opened the training to anybody of any species, legend has it, there was quite an uproar, particularly from the elders of the fairy kind.

Allegedly the elders tried to argue that riders were supposed to be born and bred, a species of their own and beings from other races couldn't uphold the same quality of a fighting force. I personally wish I could have been an observer to that conversation because everything we know about the Mighty Phoenix shows they wouldn't have stood for that. They broke barriers everywhere they turned and it doesn't take being part of the fairy realm to know that. They were the first noted gender fluid ruler in any of the common species let alone two of them at once. Additionally, they were a tri-bred. Fairy power is usually passed down through females and werewolves pass the leadership through sons. Needless to say the elders were not successful in dissuading the idea.

Today is the day we will hopefully be paired with a dragon egg. It will depend if the dragon mothers deem us worthy when we meet them face to face in the center of the valley. Nobody outside of graduated dragon guard members and the reigning fairy monarch know exactly what the test entails. It was one of the most well protected secrets. Those who failed at this stage were either not seen again or had their memories magically blocked. Rumor has it a few of the failures were eaten by the dragon mothers, but considering the general secrecy nothing could be confirmed. The last of my classmates took their place for our final right of passage and right on cue the queen appeared in front of us.

Queen Raina was giving what I'm sure was a highly motivational speech about her successor's dedication to recreating the Dragon Guard, but judging by the general air of nervous energy I wasn't the only one missing most of it. Once she was done speaking she waved her hand and suddenly we were standing in the center of Dragon Valley. There were two nests full of eggs, one to either side. Each one was respectively guarded by a large female dragon, most likely the mothers. There was a collective gasp as the air went out from all of us. It was the first time we were seeing a dragon up close. One by one we stepped forward facing the mothers. Some were allowed to pass to the nesting areas and some were not. When it was my turn I tried to calm myself and not worry too much.

I'm not sure what exactly happened, but the next thing I know I was walking into one of the nests. Some part of my brain registered that there were several eggs around me that moments before had been just as vibrant in color as anything I had seen since being in the fairy realm. Now, however, all but one seemed gray and dull. As soon as I touched the egg that was standing out, it started to move from inside the shell. The movement continued until there were cracks as long as my legs running in every direction. The next thing I knew there was a small dragon head staring at me directly in the eye. That was saying something because I was on the taller end, even for a werewolf.

Once the successful graduates were each paired with a dragon and the remaining hatchlings were released to grow up wild in the valley, we proceeded to the opposite end of the valley from the training facility. There we would spend the next couple of years completing the imprinting process and fulfill the formative training practices. From there us riders would move into the official quarters of the guard and the dragons would be allowed free reign in the valley. Each rider would develop a call for their bonded dragon and if we were activated it would be used as a call to arms. It would be a few years before we were officially part of the Dragon Guard, but successfully passing today was a massive step forward for us and Phoenix's legacy.