Salem And The Sphinx War

Chapter One: The Beginning

My Name Is Salem

Salem

Normally I slept fine each night and wandered the streets of Delipso by day, but this day, something happened. That day I had been feeling like something incredible was going to happen. I didn't think anything like that would ever happen to me, but to my surprise it did. Here's my story from the very beginning, till the end...

* * * * *

The year was 445 in a country named Delmore, a country filled with evil creatures, and other dangers. Delmore was currently at war with another country called Tarkay, an evil country that sought to conquer everything around it. We simply fought to defend ourselves, always under the threat of being besieged. While Tarkay on the other hand sought violence and blood. It was constantly at war with other countries, since it wanted to seize them for its own.

I was a young warrior, a homeless boy with no place to call home, so I simply lived off of the land, mostly outside of the city of Delipso. I liked to stay outside of the city most of the time because Delipso was one of the most dangerous cities in Delmore. There was actually an old saying that told that any good person that ventured into Delipso was more than likely to end up with an unfortunate end in one of the cities alleys. This city wasn't the safest place in the country, it was more like one of the worst of them.

Years ago I had taken a trip to the great library of Delipso, there I'd read about the legendary warriors from about a thousand years ago that had been called dragon friends. They were said to have been a group of warriors that rode on the backs of angel dragons to protect the powers of light from evil. Unfortunately though, that was a long time ago now, sadly there weren't many non-evil dragons left in existence these days. Most of them had been hunted down by Tarkay, almost to the brink of extinction. It was because of Tarkay why there weren't very many of them left. That was why you were more then likely to meet an evil dragon instead these days. Although, I believe that that was in fact exactly what they had wanted in the first place. They had wanted us to lose our greatest ally so that they could finally defeat us. Anyway, there was a good reason to fear the sphinxes, and to possibly be uncertain about the dragons as well. It was hard to say if such a dragon was either good, or evil anymore. So you had to always use caution around a dragon. However, Delmore would never attack a dragon without the evidence of it being evil first. That was so that there was no possibility of a non-evil dragon being slain instead. I feared what it would be like to meet an evil dragon, I knew that it would be the death of me.

9

I took up my longbow and headed towards the woods, I’d need to hunt my meal for this evening if I wanted to eat. The Delipso woods were dark and dank, as well as also being a little bit creepy. It was easy to get lost in them if you didn’t know your way. I had always felt at home in these woods however, while most people wouldn’t ever come into them for the fear of harm. It wasn't the most sought out place to be, you really had to be brave to go into the Delipso woods. Most people didn't visit Delipso just to visit its woods, they came here most of the time to visit its great library. Other then Deltona, the great library of Delipso was the biggest one in Delmore.

Anyway, I had hunted in the Delipso woods for years now, I knew them about as well as the back of my hand. I preferred to stay in the woods myself, since I really didn’t know what I thought of the city. The city itself was always quite dirty and could even be dangerous, most of the time I had just tried to stay out of it.

On my way out of Delipso I had to first walk the city streets, it was certainly a long walk, and not the most comfortable walk either. A walk through this city could really make you nervous, since you were always looking over your shoulder. Delipso was certainly known to not really be friendly to outsiders either, and because I was homeless I was seen as an outsider. I had to admit that I feared for my safety in this city, that was one of the main reasons why I didn't like Delipso, simply, I didn't feel safe here. I always felt like someone could be watching me, planning to do me harm.

As I walked along people pushed by me, I had to carefully make my way through the city because it was always so packed. You couldn't go anywhere in this city most of the time without people pushing past you, and at this time of day it was at its busiest.

Suddenly I heard a loud wing beat coming from above, which made me look up. I could have sworn that I'd just seen a white dragon, but it had only been for a second, and then it was gone. I tried to look around in the sky again for it, but I didn't see it anywhere, I thought, 'What was that?'

I then decided that it was nothing, so I headed on. Besides, I had to make it to the woods so I could hunt. I didn't have the time to think about it. If I was going to eat tonight I had to keep going. I had to admit however, I had been startled to see a dragon in the sky, I never thought that I'd see one, and then suddenly seeing one shocked me. I wondered why it was flying over the city anyway, and why was it there. As well, I was surprised that no archers had tried to shoot it down yet, it was like they hadn't even noticed it.

10

As I made my way out of Delipso I heard people talking about random subjects. Some of them were talking about monsters. What they were talking about interested me, so I stopped to listen. I found myself wanting to hear more, I felt like I needed to hear it.

The first man said, “Yes, I was heading out of Delipso the other day when I caught a glimpse of a sphinx. You better believe that I hightailed it back to town.”

The other man asked, “What did it look like?”

The first man answered, “Well, it was big, very big, it was also dark in color. I almost hadn't noticed it because it had been hidden in the shadows. If I would have went on any further I would have been a goner.”

The second man said, “When will they get these sphinx sightings under control? It doesn't make sense that we have to be scared for our lives. We can't even leave the city without being afraid of being attacked by some wild beast. I know that I don't want my death to be like that, not in the least.”

The two men then turned to me and shouted, “Hey, stop eavesdropping on our conversation boy. Go on now, scat, be on your way.”

I figured that it was time for me to leave anyway, so I walked on. Besides, I still needed to make it to the city gates today. I had a thought about what they had been talking about, it had been interesting. Just the thought of it made me wonder if I was making the right decision to go hunting today. After what I'd just heard perhaps I should have waited instead.

Once I got to the city gates I was stopped by the guard. I then asked the guard, “Can I leave Delipso, I need to hunt for something to eat.”

He looked at me and said, “No one leaves the city. There have been sphinx sightings in the woods and it's not safe for anyone to leave Delipso.”

“Come on, I need to do some hunting.”

He said, “Seriously lad, I don't care if you starve, you're not leaving the city.”

I decided that I'd need to find some other way out of the city, obviously I wasn't going to be leaving in this direction. Delipso was a walled city, if I couldn't get out from the city gates I'd have to find some other way out.

11

I then happened to look up again and saw the dragon again, it looked to have white fur. That was the second time that I'd seen it today, I wondered why I kept seeing this dragon. I saw it a little bit longer this time, it was flying high up in the sky, it was actually really quite beautiful. I only hoped that this dragon wasn't on the hunt. I wondered if it was hunting me, or why it was there. It wasn't a good sign to see any dragon flying above a village, especially since I'd already seen it earlier today. I knew that there had to be a reason as to why it was there, I just didn't know what. I gulped, I hoped that I wouldn't find out that reason today, for sure. I certainly didn't want to be a dragon's dinner.

I implored to the city guard, “Look, there's a dragon in the sky above us.”

He said, “You're not getting me with that one so that you can sneak out, no way.”

That was hopeless, I could not get him to look away for even a moment. He just stood there like a sentinel, preventing anyone from leaving the city.

I turned around and headed back, I knew that I had to find another way out, I thought that perhaps I could scale the city wall. I then decided against that, it would be too risky, I'd simply have to find another way. Somehow I had to trick the guard into leaving his post, but by how I had no idea.

I thought, 'Salem, think, there must be a way, there's always a way.'

Of course though, they had a good reason for keeping people in so they couldn't leave Delipso. If there was a recent sphinx sighting that was a very good reason. I knew that they were only trying to protect us, getting attacked by a sphinx would mean certain death. They knew that by keeping the villagers and the travelers in the city they would be safer. Since a sphinx wouldn't come into the stronghold. Delipso might have been quite dirty and the such, but it was still one of the strongest fortified cities in Delmore.

Suddenly there was a loud commotion from further down in the city, I heard someone shout out in pain. Whatever that sound had been wasn't good. Someone might have just been attacked by a bandit. Sadly even I knew that the crime rate was high in Delipso, too high, this wasn't the safest city to live in, or to visit.

The guard shouted, “Who goes there!”

He then took off into the city to see what the commotion was and I took that time to rush out of the city gates. I didn't think that he'd actually leave his post, but to my surprise he did, giving me the time to sneak out.

I was finally able to make my way into the woods to do my hunting, so I did just that. If I was going to eat tonight I had to cover some distance, besides, I didn't want to be stuck in Delipso for the day anyway.

12

Salem Meets Medea

I had actually not gotten very far from the village when something started to bother me. I looked back, but didn't see anything, so instead I just continued on. I wondered if it was the dragon, but then I decided that most likely it wasn't. Anyway, I thought, 'What could I do if it was, whatever that feeling was it had to have been nothing.'

I then walked for awhile longer until I heard a rustle. I didn’t know what it was, but something in the air just didn’t feel right. I thought about heading back, but I knew that I needed to keep going. I was still hungry and needed to find something to hunt, if I didn’t get something I’d starve.

I thought, 'Perhaps they were right to keep people out of the woods. I probably shouldn't have come into the woods today anyway.'

I then had the sinking feeling that I wasn’t alone. I wasn’t sure what it was, but it didn’t seem good. I grabbed my bow and set an arrow to the string, a hunter could always tell if danger lurked nearby.

Suddenly a dark black creature sprang out of the shadows at me. I didn’t have the time to react as it knocked me to the ground. My bow fell about ten feet away, far enough away to where I couldn’t reach it. I thought that I was a goner, had I taken my last breath, was I going to die here.

As it reared it’s head back and revealed its fangs to me I knew then what the creature was, it was a sphinx. I closed my eyes, I knew that I was about to die, my life was going to come to an end outside of Delipso. My life flashed before my eyes, I should have stayed in Delipso like the city guard had said. Unfortunately though, I would not listen, so now I was about to perish because of it. I couldn’t fight a sphinx because I just couldn’t stand up against one by myself and hope to survive. The creature was far stronger than myself and a lot more terrifying as well.

13

Medea

I locked my wings and dove down towards the ground. There was a sphinx down below and it was after Salem. I kicked into it with my rear legs as I came in for a landing, sending it flying backwards and smashing through several trees. Afterwards I landed on my feet smoothly, Salem had by then fainted, I guess from shock and terror. The sphinx had frightened him so much that he’d fainted, and I knew why. He thought that he was about to die, however, I wasn't about to let that happen today, not in my life. I let out a snarl at the sphinx, revealing my teeth to it, I wanted it to know that I was here to defend this boy, my dragon friend.

The sphinx tried to get to Salem, but I sprang forward and knocked her away with my horns. I wasn’t about to let her get anywhere near him. She growled because I’d knocked her off of her feet, I wasn’t about to let her even try to harm him.

“You can’t have him, I’ll fight you to the death if I must, back off,” I let out a deep growl in her direction. I was prepared to fight her, I was also prepared to kill her if I must as well. I let out a deeper growl, revealing my fangs to her, I was prepared to tear her to pieces. A sphinx simply could not stand up against an angel dragon that was protecting her dragon friend. It would never win against a dragon friend's guardian.

The sphinx got up and said, “So, an angel dragon, why are you protecting the human? They are a weak species and deserve to be slaughtered.”

“For that you will pay, you should have just left him be.”

Because of what she had said she was going to pay dearly. I sprang like lightning and buried my teeth in her side. She jumped away from me and then tried to get to Salem. I leapt in front of her and rammed her with my horns, knocking her away again.

“I’m not about to let you harm my dragon friend, I’ll fight you to the death if I must, back off.”

“Fine, have your dragon friend, I can always find some animal to eat,” she said, sounding disgusted.

She then sprang into the air, flying away, I was glad that she had gone. I would have chased after the sphinx, but today I was going to let her go since I was more concerned about Salem.

He had by then awoken and had been watching me battle the sphinx when he realized that he was still alive.

“You, you saved my life,” he said in astonishment, he was clearly surprised to see me, but also glad at the same time.

He then asked, “What may I call you?”

I turned to him and gently said, “I am Medea, and you are my dragon friend, Salem.” I then asked him, “Are you hurt?”

He answered, “A couple of scratches, but other then that I’ll be alright.”

14

Salem

I didn’t know what to think, all I knew is that I had just been saved by an angel dragon. I knew that she wasn’t evil because she’d protected me from the sphinx. If she had been evil I would have been in trouble.

I had to admit however, Medea certainly was very beautiful. I hadn't seen many dragons before, only in pictures actually. She was indeed the most beautiful dragon that I had ever seen, her beauty was just something else entirely.

She was a large angel dragon, it looked like she was about fourteen feet tall to the top of her back and about twenty feet long. Her feathered wings appeared to each be as long as her body as well. Her fur appeared to be short hair, very much like a soft blanket, the fur certainly did look soft though. She also had a mane running down past her shoulders, there it stopped. I then noticed that she had more fur running down her tail, similar to that of a mane as well, but not quite. The tail looked to be about twenty feet long as well, as long as her body, it ended in a black tuft of fur at the end.

I knew that there weren’t many angel dragons left, most of the dragons left these days were the evil kind. Still though, I was nervous of the dragon that stood in front of me.

I gulped, then decided to approach her and touch her, putting my hand on her leg and rubbing her fur, it was really quite soft. She looked at me by turning her head in my direction, it looked like she smiled. She then gently nuzzled me on the side with her snout, tickling my side. She seemed to be quite friendly, I knew that she was definitely not evil.

“We need to leave this place, more will come if we don’t. So we’d best make ourselves scarce, on you go Salem,” she stated.

I thought, 'What, now she wants me to ride on her back.'

“You want me to climb onto your back, but how am I going to hold on. You have wings, and I certainly wouldn’t want to fall off. As well, I’ve never rode on anything before, not even horseback. So I know that I'll fall if I try to ride on your back.”

She said, “Well, today you're just going to have to go for a ride. Don't you have anything that will help you while riding?”

I thought about it for a second, I then remembered something that my father had given to me a long time ago when I was just a boy. I dug the item out of my pack, it was the old harness that he'd given to me when I was young.

I really couldn’t believe that she wanted me to ride on her back. Just by looking at her size it made me a little bit nervous to climb on, she's just so tall, like a giraffe!

Although, I guess that the ride would probably be fun though, she certainly was a beautiful dragon. I had never really thought about riding on a dragon before, but I'd never been given the chance either.

15

While looking at her I remembered back to when I had seen the dragon flying over the village. I believe that that dragon had in fact been Medea, but I wasn't certain though. I wasn't going to ask her yet, but I did believe that I had indeed found that dragon. As well, she had never been hunting me as I had originally thought, but protecting me instead. I probably would ask her in the future if I didn't forget about it. I was interested in eventually finding out for sure anyway. I was glad to find out that the dragon that I had seen flying over the village had never been there to hurt me, or anyone else for that matter. Since she was only there keeping watch out for me and protecting me all along. Medea certainly did have white fur, exactly like the dragon that I had seen flying over the village, I knew that it could only have been her.

I looked at the harness some more, I noticed that it looked to be big enough to fit Medea like it was made for her. I admired it, then said, “My father gave me this, but I never knew why until now. He said that it was once his harness and that it would never snap on me.”

“Great, when you ride with me I want you to be safe. Since when I fly I want to make sure that you won’t fall off, no matter what,” she said.

Medea had a beautiful feminine voice, very soft and tender.

She said, “Don’t let my voice fool you Salem, if something attacks us it will wish it hadn’t when I get done with it.”

I knew that she was right, she had a very beautiful voice, although that didn’t mean that she was weak in battle. I knew quite well that she would really be a strong companion and ally to me.

She then laid down beside me, I knew that I’d best listen, before the worse came to happen. I certainly wouldn’t want to stay and then have those creatures come back. I knew that she could defeat one, but it would be unlikely that she could defeat a pack of them without help. Also, I figured, ‘Why stay here when I didn’t want to be here anyway.’

I went to work to figure out how to strap the harness to her back. My father had never shown me how to use it. ‘So I had no idea about how to strap it to her.’

I wish that he would have at least showed me how to use the harness however. It would have made things so much easier.

16

She then asked, “Are you any good with your longbow Salem, do you know how to use it?”

“Unfortunately no, most of the time I miss, I’m still learning.”

She said, “We’re going to have to get you a sword then, but until then I can protect you quite easily. At some point however you will have to learn how to use a sword. We’ll go north to

Loom, there they have a place where you can learn how to use a sword.”

“I don’t have a sword, I also can’t afford to purchase one either.”

She said, “You’ll have to buy a sword later, but for now it’s best to know how to use one.”

Soon I finished strapping the harness to her back and then mounted her. I had to put both hands on her back and then pull myself up to climb on. First try to get on I lost my grip and fell back onto the ground with a thump. Then the second try I managed to pull myself aboard her back by pulling my leg over and then pull myself up to get on. It was really quite difficult to get on if you didn't know how.

She said, “Strap yourself in and hold on tight Salem.”

“Do we have to fly, I’m scared of heights, can’t you run at a gallop Medea?”

She giggled some, then answered, “My run would be quite rough for a rider, are you sure?”

“Yes, let’s fly later, I’d love to see how you run anyway.”

“Alright, you asked for it, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you first,” she said.

I sat nearly between her wings on her back, her wings connected with her shoulders and sprouted out from there. When she’d fly her wings would be on either side of me, it did make the view to the side somewhat difficult though. Luckily though, there was a gap between her wings and her back. That left me just enough room to sit and have my legs hang from her sides.

She then gently reassured me, “There’s no reason to be afraid if I fly Salem. I’ll make sure that you’re safe when we go up together, and I’m certainly not going to let you fall.”

“I don’t know Medea, I’m afraid of heights, but maybe later I’ll try to go up with you.”

She looked at me and said, “Trust me, you'll be fine. I will always make sure that you're safe.”

I then gently patted her back and thanked her. I knew that she was trying to calm any fears that I might have had before she took me up.

She said, “Alright, are you ready, finish strapping yourself in and we'll get on our way.”

I knew that she was right, and besides, we had already been in this place for far too long already after I had been attacked by a sphinx. We certainly needed to leave before more showed up, that was for certain.

17

I strapped my legs into the stirrups and got comfortable on her back. She then stood up, lifting me into the air. I grabbed her mane and hung on for all I was worth, she was huge. I couldn’t believe just how high up I sat. I looked down and was nervous, I gulped. The ground was a long ways down, and I’d hate to fall off. I had to admit however, her back was quite soft and it felt great to be sitting up here. I then momentarily took a look around from my perch on her back, this was the first time that I had ever sat astride a dragon's back.

She looked at me and said, “Get a feel for my back Salem and then we'll get on our way.”

“Alright Medea, I'm ready, let's ride.”

She then took a step forward and slowly went from a walk, speeding up her pace more and more to a fast run. She was right though, it was a rough ride, but exciting, I certainly could feel her speed. I really did have to hang on tight since I was tossed around in my seat on her back. If I hadn't been strapped into the harness I'd probably fall right off since I was being tossed around like a ragdoll.

She giggled, then said, “You asked for it, my run isn't nearly as smooth as a horse, it's definitely a wild ride for a rider.”

When the woods began to clear she warned, “Hang on tight back there Salem, here we go.”

She kicked off and sped up to a fast run, galloping much faster.

I was thrown around violently on her back as she galloped, there was also a great bit of wind in my hair as well. I was actually already starting to feel a little bit sick to my stomach, it would take me a while to get used to this. This ride was so wild that I clung to her for all I was worth. I felt like I could get bucked off, all of the bouncing of her back really shook me up.

I heard her say, “Are you enjoying the ride Salem?”

I answered, “Yes, this ride is incredible, how fast are you running Medea?”

“Thirty miles per hour,” she answered, “I can go much faster then that when I want to though.”

In front of us the ground dropped away into a sheer cliff and Medea was going too fast to stop.

“I have no choice, hold on tight, we’re going to fly,” she said.

She jumped off of the cliff, opening her wings to their full length as we fell. She gave several powerful flaps, sending us soaring upwards again. I looked down, nervous as the ground dropped away. At that moment I was too scared to scream, I just hung on for dear life and prayed that I wouldn’t fall. She gained some more altitude and then leveled off at about four hundred feet. It was then I realized that she flew smoothly and was comfortable.

“This is great, it’s not as bad as I thought.”

“See, I told you that you’d enjoy flying,” She stated, “There’s no better feeling in the world then flying. The feeling of being free and having the wind underneath your wings.”

18

I looked down and vertigo clutched to me, a shiver ran down my spine, I gulped. We were very high up and my fear of heights returned to me, I felt like I’d fall. I laid forward, wrapping my hands in her fur nervously, scared of the height. I closed my eyes, muttering, “I’m not flying, I’m safe on the ground, I don’t want to be here, please let me down.”

She said, “You’re not going to fall Salem. You don’t have to be afraid because I won't let you fall off, you have nothing to fear.”

Her words reassured me a little bit so I opened my eyes, determined to face my fears. I guess that she was right though, I'd need to get over this fear of heights.

Later on that night I woke up from a nap, it seemed like we had been flying for ages. I took into account that I was still safe on Medea’s back, still strapped into the harness.

She asked, “Did you have a good sleep Salem, you must have been tired?”

“Yes, I hadn’t slept in days.” Then I stated, “Medea, you’re an excellent flier, you fly so smoothly. How did you learn to fly so well?”

She answered, “I’ve been flying ever since I was born. Once an angel dragon is born it has to fly right then, if not, it would perish. Some time after I hatched my mother took me up and made me learn how to fly, for us it was a skill that should always come naturally.”

“That sounds terrible, why would they try to do that?”

“It isn’t that bad, a dragon is born with the skill, so to us it comes naturally. We have to be able to fly from birth,” She said, “Besides, it’s also a test to make sure that we’re ready.”

I looked around, I couldn’t see a thing in the blackness of the night. I then asked, “How much longer until we reach Loom Medea?”

“Still several more hours, Delmore is a huge country,” she answered.

“Can we land and set up camp? It’s cold all the way up here and I'm freezing, it's too cold.”

She looked at me and said, “Why didn’t you tell me that you were cold Salem. Alright, hold on tight, I make a slow descent as I land, spiraling downwards to make it safely to the ground.”

Although, I could already feel the temperature dropping because of flying into the night at such a high altitude. So even I believed that it was time to take a break for the day and come in for a landing. I didn't do so well in the cold, besides, it didn't feel very good to be that cold anyway.

I braced myself, she slowly angled downwards so we could land.

I must admit, it was exciting riding on the back of an angel dragon, it was nice to not have to walk as well. I certainly would not refuse to climb back on tomorrow, even if we were flying. I’d be ready to ride with her again. She was very comfortable, her fur was also as soft as silk and her back sturdy. I just didn’t like the how the higher altitudes were so cold, I needed to make a fire so that I could warm up.

Soon she landed with a rough bounce, nearly throwing me off, only the harness kept me from flying off and hitting the ground.

“Wow, that was rough, I almost felt like I was going to get tossed off.”

“Yes, landings are never really soft, usually they're quite rough,” she said.

That was definitely not very comfortable, getting tossed around as she bounced to a stop from the impact of her landing.

19

The Mysterious Book

I unstrapped myself from the harness and climbed off of her back. Then I looked at her and said, “Thanks for the ride Medea, it was exciting.”

“Anytime Salem, I’m not going to make you walk. So whenever we travel you’ll be riding,” she said gently.

I actually felt honored to be able to ride on her back, to be able to ride on a dragon as beautiful as she was. It was an honor for me to be able to ride on her sleek back, she was certainly very beautiful. I had to say, I certainly liked how she looked, she was perhaps the most beautiful angel dragon that I had ever seen. Years ago at the great library I had seen some sketches of angel dragons in a book, however, none of them looked just as beautiful as she did. Seeing one in person was far better then seeing any of them in a book. There was just no comparison to the actual beauty of an angel dragon.

I dug a small lantern out of my pack and lit it, Medea laid down beside me comfortably. I was definitely feeling a lot safer with her around, I didn't feel scared since she was with me. I was also really starting to like her, she was a very friendly dragon, I liked her company as well.

I pulled a book out of my pack, it was titled Legends of Winged Creatures. Strange as it might seem however, the book had no mention of whomever wrote it, I found that even a little odd myself. I then set the book down momentarily and began to make a fire to begin to try to warm up, Medea also wrapped her wing around me as well.

She said, “Next time, tell me if you’re cold Salem. I’m not going to fly and have you unknowingly freezing on my back. If you’re cold I want to know about it, so that I can warm you up.”

I knew that I needed some sort of coat, at least it would help to keep me warm while in flight with her. A while later I began to warm up, so I picked up the book and began to read out-loud. “The legends of winged creatures from mythology. Here's something here about something called a winged tiger.” I then began to read what the book had listed about the creature, “The winged tiger is a flying cat like monster with four legs, the front legs are half leg and half wing. Also, here is something else about it. The winged tiger is known to hunt its prey at night in dark forests.”

Medea was listening closely, she wrapped her forelegs and a wing around me protectively.

“If anything like that showed up here I’d fight it to protect you Salem,” she said.

I then continued, a little nervous, “The winged tiger walks on all fours until it goes to fly, then it opens its wings and launches itself into the air.”

20

That was all there was for the creature, I didn’t know how big one was and if I’d ever want to meet one. I then shut the book and returned it to my pack for safe keeping. I had no idea what that was all about, but it was certainly odd though. This book certainly was strange, because of what I'd read out of it I didn't know if I'd ever want to read anything out of it again. Whatever that was all about, it seemed almost a little bit creepy as well. Just the thought of something called a winged tiger made me nervous.

She said, “From the sound of it those creatures are man-eaters, and don’t show mercy. If we ever met one we’d have to fight it, no matter how beautiful it is.”

“Yes, hopefully we won’t ever meet one, especially while being on the ground.”

What I'd heard from my father is that this book had been handed down our family for generations from our grandfathers. He'd once told me when he gave me it, 'Salem, this is a magic book, treat it wisely.'

I wondered exactly what he had meant, but something told me that I shouldn't have been reading out of it yet. He had told me that when it was time to read out of it that I would know. For that was when I needed to seek out its pages for the answers that I sought. He really hadn't told me anything else about it since then until the day he disappeared. I still didn't know what had happened to him, or my mother for that reason. My parents had just up and disappeared one day when I was young and I had been left alone and by myself.

I wondered how I had made it for so many years on my own, but then I realized that Medea had been watching over me all along.

“Hey Medea, I just have to ask you this, were you watching over me all of those years after I was left alone?”

She answered, “Yes Salem, I had always been there to keep an eye on you, and you never were truly alone.”

She comforted me with her words, I certainly did feel safe with her.

A while later we finally went to sleep and she covered me with her wing to hide me from predators, but I knew that she kept a listen of everything around us. I didn't have any problem drifting off to sleep since I was with my dragon, with her here with me I knew that I was safe.

21

Salem’s Dream

I was standing in a dark forest, Medea said silently, “Be very quiet Salem.”

She seemed to be watching something carefully, something had her eye. She had her eyes fixed on it, watching its every move. I wondered what she was looking at, I could tell that she clearly saw something. Something told me that whatever she saw wasn't good, it was most definitely a threat to us. At the same time however I also knew that Medea could handle it, she wouldn't let it hurt me. I knew that she'd always be here to protect me, or at least I hoped that she would since I'd only just met her.

I looked around us, I felt like we were being watched from all sides, which made me nervous. Just as something pounced at me I woke up, I didn’t know what it had been.

* * * * * *

22

Medea woke me up silently, I woke up wondering why she’d stirred me from my sleep. She was awake and watching something carefully, she had her eyes glued to whatever it was. At the same time she was letting out a low, deep growl, she was clearly growling at something.

She then momentarily stopped growling at whatever it was and said very quietly in my ear so only I could hear, “Salem, quietly climb on and strap yourself in tight.”

I climbed onto her back silently, then strapped the harness straps around me. Afterwards I checked to make sure they were secure and clutched to her mane tightly.

“Are your harness straps tight Salem, double check them,” she said.

I did as she said and double checked them, I knew what she meant, they needed to be tight.

She then slowly climbed to her feet, I looked around, it looked like we were surrounded. All I could see were a bunch of glowing eyes, that made me nervous. She unfurled her wings halfway, like she expected something, I wondered if we were going to fly.

Suddenly one of the creatures sprang at us and she leapt into the air in that second, avoiding the creature. She said, “There are too many to fight and win, so we’re going to retreat, hang on tight Salem because we're taking to the sky.”

The creatures then sprang into the sky to try to go after us, but their wings were smaller. Medea had much bigger wings then the winged tigers, so she could fly faster, I hope.

She flapped her wings hard and we soared above the trees. She gave several more powerful flaps to speed us up, spinning some as she climbed. I had to admit though, the winged tigers were beautiful, but I knew that they were just as dangerous though.

“Medea, can you outrun them?”

“Yes, they’re quick, but they can’t outmatch me,” she answered.

As she sped up I ducked down onto her back to help shield myself from the wind. I looked back, the creatures were catching up to us. I noticed however that her horns actually did help to cut some of the wind away from me, it seemed like most of it rushed around me.

“Medea, you’re going to have to fly faster, they’re right on our tail.”

She spun around and her eyes lit up, suddenly an explosion of light flew at them. The creatures dove away in panic, flying away from us just about as fast as they could. As her eyes exploded to produce a blinding light I had to quickly close my eyes because the light was just so bright.

I knew that she had used some of her magic to chase them away, that light, it was the light of an angel. She was an angel dragon, the powers of light must have been something that she shared with angels.

She said, “That should drive them away from us, they’re quick, but they can’t match my magic.”

23

“Wow, Medea that was incredible, your magic is powerful.”

“They’re quick for their little size, but that’s why. They are lighter then I am, I depend on how fast I flap my wings and hopefully catch a tailwind. While they can flap less and still match my speed, but unlike them my magic is far more powerful,” she said.

“I wish that I could observe and study them.”

She answered my comment with, “Not likely, they’d only attack you, I won’t allow it.”

I knew that she was right though, it wasn’t a very good idea.

She said, “If you tried to watch them, even if they didn’t see you at first they would smell you and know that you were there, so no, that would not be a good idea.”

“How would we know that they would smell me?”

She answered, “They smell just about as good as I can. They could sniff you out a mile away, I know that because I always smell you. However, to me it tells me that you’re near and reassures me that I haven't lost you. To them however you would smell like prey.”

She looked down, then said, “There's the cave that I saw earlier, it will make us a much safer place to sleep. If those winged tigers were to come back they won’t find us there.”

I looked down and noticed it myself. I hadn't seen it there earlier, in fact, I had no idea that it had been there.

She angled downwards, flying into the cave, landing on the cave floor and skipping a step to keep her balance. Meanwhile I was tossed around on her back roughly because of her landing. It made me a little sick to my stomach.

I took a look around, it made me wonder if the place was safe, I asked, “Is it safe?”

“Yes, I don’t sense anything in here,” she answered.

I unstrapped myself from the harness, she then laid down. Afterwards I climbed off, it felt good to finally be able to stretch again.

“Thanks for protecting me from those creatures Medea, if we would have stayed they surely would have got us.”

“Of course, it’s up to me to make sure that you’re safe and to protect you, besides, I’ll always protect you. If anything tries to hurt you it will have to go through me first since I’ll take it down if it tries,” she stated.

I was slowly getting used to her, I liked her a lot, for a dragon she was friendly and gentle.

As well as protective over me, I knew that she would always protect me. Or at least I hoped that she would. I was also glad to not be by myself anymore either, when the sphinx had attacked me it had scared me to death. When I thought that I was a goner, I didn’t think that I’d survive that attack, I certainly wasn’t expecting her to be there to save my life.

24

The next morning Medea woke me up early. When I woke up I still felt tired. I sat up, but I wished that I could go back to sleep. However, I knew that she was right, it was time to get up.

She said, “It’s time that I hunt for our breakfast, on you go Salem, I won’t leave you here alone and unarmed.”

I climbed onto her back, strapping myself into the harness. I then checked the harness straps to make sure they were tight enough.

“Are you ready? Make sure your harness straps are tight Salem,” she said.

“I’m ready, I was just checking them to make sure they were tight.”

She stood up, then walked out of the cave into the bright sunlight of the new day. At the cave opening she opened her wings and flapped them in place several times.

“I have to warm my wings before flight, or I might get cramps while flying,” she mentioned.

I laid forward and clutched to her mane tightly. She looked at me, then sprang off of the cliff. In the fall she opened her wings and flapped them hard, we then soared towards the sky. I looked down as the ground dropped away. I looked forward past her neck to watch the scenery go by as we gained altitude. She then leveled off just above the trees, scanning the area for either deer or elk, something to hunt at least.

I looked back at her tail, she used it to steer herself by moving it around like a giant rudder. I also looked to my side at Medea’s wings, they were just beside me flapping steadily to keep us airworthy, they were connected to her shoulders. I reached forward and scratched her shoulders, she seemed to like that.

As Medea banked sharply and went into a dive I became airsick, it was a good thing that my stomach was empty. You could definitely feel her movements as everything began to shake, she then beat her wings hard to speed up our dive.

She flew at the land fast, grabbing a deer with her hind claws as she pulled out of the dive. She killed it with a claw and then shifted it to her front claws, afterwards she flew back around to find another. She then gained a little more altitude again, leveling off just above the trees. As we flew past birds flew out of the trees, startled by Medea.

All I could say is that an aerial hunt was rough from a winged creature’s back. It was definitely not something that I had ever wanted to experience before. She again scanned the area, looking for prey, I didn’t know how she could spot it from all the way up here though, she could somehow see it when I couldn’t.

I clung to her back for dear life, even know I was strapped into the harness I still felt every movement she made. All of the shaking from her wing beats, and the spinning around and diving towards the ground was enough alone to almost make you dizzy and sick to your stomach. I had never really rode on the back of a winged creature before, therefore this feeling was still quite new to me.

25

At the moment I was terrified, I would have rather been on the ground and not up here clinging to Medea for dear life.

She flew back around, looking for more deer. Soon she found one and took a dive, diving downwards to grab it. As she dove down I felt like I could fall over her shoulders. Then when she grabbed it and flew back up I felt like I was glued to my seat, no matter what I did I couldn’t move around.

Medea said, “I believe that’s enough deer, we’re going to land, so hold on tight.”

She flew around and soon found a clearing, it was just large enough for perhaps two dragons.

She dropped the deer, then flew back around and slowed in the air as she came in for a landing. She was able to slow down her flight by opening her wings further and flapping against her direction. She was able to do that to slow our descent before touching down. If we went in too fast we'd surely crash, so she definitely had to slow us down. I knew that it couldn't be easy for Medea to do that so that she could attempt to try to land safely. Only an experienced dragon could attempt to flap their wings against their direction to slow down without falling out of the sky instead. Most other dragons probably just slowed their flights by attempting to glide down, which would have actually been far more dangerous since they might crash while trying. She then brought her rear legs forward and we came in for a landing, once we touched down I was thrown around on her back as she bounced to a stop.

Once on the ground I unstrapped myself from the harness and then climbed off when she let me down. I was glad to finally be able to climb down. She had to move her wing out of the way in order for me to get on and off since her wings folded up along her sides. Any other time the wing would be in my way.

It was a relief to finally be back on solid ground again, that flight had been terrifying. I didn’t really want to go on another flight like that again anytime soon. Now I knew exactly why I needed that harness, without one you would never be able to stay aboard her back for very long.

I then began to build a fire, finally after a little trial and error I managed to get it to burn well enough. I got to thinking that the tender must have been a little bit damp because it certainly hadn't wanted to burn. Now it was time to prepare the deer since the fire was going pretty good, I had to admit, I was certainly hungry.

I then began to clean one of the deer, afterwards I washed my hands off in a stream.

She said, “Cook your food until it’s well done Salem, that way it won’t go bad as fast in your pack. Save what you don’t eat for later, that way it might be able to last a couple of days.”

“I understand, I’ll cook it until it’s well done.”

26

She said, “An angel dragon never eats a human, even an evil one. We might attack and kill it with our teeth, but we’ll never swallow since that would allow us to get a taste of human blood. If that happened the angel dragon couldn’t be trusted around their dragon friend any longer. Unfortunately they would only end up being a danger to them if that happened.”

I understood her, something like that wouldn’t be good, not at all.

She then said, “A long time ago an angel dragon killed a man with her teeth to protect her dragon friend. As well, she mistakenly swallowed part of the man by accident. Well, later she ended up trying to eat her dragon friend, killing him in the process. She immediately killed herself as well, because when the dragon friend dies so does the dragon.”

That made me nervous, but I knew that Medea would never hurt me.

She then began to eat her dear raw, to me that wouldn’t taste very good, I had to have my food cooked. Soon I finished cooking my food and began to eat it, it tasted alright, but I'd had better food before.

She said, “Today we’ll be traveling all day, maybe we’ll get to Loom tomorrow.”

After I finished eating I put the rest in my pack, I had a little bit left, but not a lot.

I wondered how I’d get a sword, since I didn’t have any shillings. I knew that somehow I would have to get a sword though, I really needed one to protect myself. Besides, Medea was right, she could protect me half of the time, but I also needed to be able to protect myself as well.

A little while later I took out my longbow and began to practice with it against a tree so that eventually I could get better at using it. Since before I hadn't been very good at using it, not even to hunt sometimes. I was trying to better my aim, never know when trouble might show up. I had to be ready for when I had to use the bow, it was crucial that I was ready to use it at any time.

She said, “Yes, practice with it whenever you can, because you need to get better at using it.”

I agreed with her, I needed to get better with my bow in case I needed it.

27

Soon Medea finished eating her fill and I checked my canteen. “Just about empty, I need some more water, and soon.”

“Before we leave you should fill it back up in the nearby stream,” she said.

I poured some water into the canteen, then began to boil it on the fire to kill any parasites. Those could make you quite sick, it wouldn’t be good to have that happen.

She said, “You prepare well Salem, you should never drink out of any water before sterilizing it first.”

A while later after the water had boiled I removed the canteen from the fire, so it could begin to cool down. The canteen was large enough to hold a decent amount of water, it would last for days if I was lucky. Luckily though, the canteen was metal, so it wouldn’t melt from hot water.

While I waited on the water to cool I looked at Medea, she was a very beautiful angel dragon. She had beautiful blue eyes with a sleek and broad body. Her snout was sleek and smoothly curved at the end. Her back was sleek and graceful as well as her legs, which were long and muscular. Her wings were also long and powerful, very muscular. Her mane was black and long, it ended just past her shoulders. I sat directly behind it on her back and between her wings. The wings spread outwards from her shoulders. There was a gap in the wings closest to her body where the wings spread out. It left just enough room for a rider to sit on her back without the wings being in the way. Medea’s claws and teeth were also razor sharp, perfect for ripping something apart quite easily. At the end of her tail there was a little black tuft of fur, similar to what a lion had.

I kept looking at her for a while longer, she was a very beautiful dragon, sleek with pure white fur. Her back was long and smooth, on her back she had a very flat valley, not much of a slope to it. I wondered what it would feel like to ride on her back bareback, I bet that it would be fun, if I could manage to hold on that is. Of course though, I also knew that trying to ride bareback would also mean that it would be much easier to fall off. I’d hate to fall off since I knew that I’d certainly get some busted bones out of it, it would be quite painful in the least.

I took a brush out of my pack and began to brush her fur to get all of the dirt and snarls out. She laid down so I could brush her back and the rest of her body. I could tell that she was enjoying it. I liked to see her happy, it cheered me up since she was my dragon. After I had finished brushing her I returned the brush to my pack, she then said, “For that Salem you’ve earned yourself a free ride, climb on when you’re ready.”

Of course though, I knew that she was playing with me because she let me ride on her back all of the time.

28

I packed up the rest of my belongings, then climbed aboard her, strapping myself into the harness.

Medea said, “Make sure your harness is tight enough Salem, I want you completely safe. Before we do much traveling today I must get you accustomed to flying. It will be rough, but you have to get over that fear ahead of time, for your own good. Simply, you will need to be prepared anyway, in case we're ever attacked while flying. If I have to do stunts to try to avoid an attack or get away from a pursuing enemy you must be ready to ride it out without being scared.”

I understood her, she would have to do aerobatic maneuvers to get away from whatever might be attacking us, even with me aboard her back.

She stood up, then afterwards she said, “Double check your harness straps Salem. Since we’re going up for a more intense flight I want us to be prepared for it. That harness is there to keep you safe, no matter how wild my flight is.”

I double checked the straps, then leaned forward and clutched to her mane tightly, I was definitely nervous.

I gulped, then said, “I’m ready, let’s fly.” I didn’t suspect that I’d enjoy this flight very much though.

“Here we go, hang on tight, and I mean hold on tight,” she said.

She sprang into the air, opening her wings and angling upwards to gain altitude. As we climbed into the sky I looked down as the ground dropped further and further away. I gulped, I wasn't certain if I was ready for this yet.

Once we got up to about seven hundred feet she locked her wings and dove straight down towards the ground. The wind was stronger than anything I could have imagined, we were moving so fast that I was scared to death. I leaned forward some more and tightened my grip in her mane, trying to concentrate on only her mane. We were plummeting towards the ground so fast that I almost wanted to close my eyes, I really couldn't stand the sight of it. In my mind I felt like we were going to crash straight into the ground, the sight of it simply scared me to death.

29

At the last second she snapped open her wings and pulled up, skimming the ground at about one hundred miles per hour. We flew around like a bolt of lightning and Medea slowed some and we began to climb again.

“You know what, that was exciting, very thrilling.”

“I knew that you’d like it, now we’re going to try something else,” she said.

Once high enough she angled downwards, then pulled up, doing several loops in a row. I looked as the ground spun around, she then did several barrel rolls to the side. I guess that she would do that to avoid being attacked by something. She then looked at me, I guess checking to make sure that I was alright. Her neck was so long that she could easily turn her head around to look at me and check to see if I was safe, even while flying.

She said, “Looks like you’re doing well, you don’t look too scared from that training, that’s a good sign.”

She slowly angled to the side and then turned around until we were heading north. I guess that we were finally getting on our way.

30

The Aeronaut

Now Medea was flying comfortably, I asked, “About how fast are we flying Medea?”

“Faster than any bird, about eighty miles per hour,” she answered.

A while later we came upon a Delmorian hot air balloon. The aeronaut looked at us in amazement, Medea slowed down some, slowing down to a steady flight.

He said, “She’s beautiful, like a flying horse. By the way, can you pull me into Loom. This wind is very unreliable.”

I recognized the aeronaut’s voice, it had to have been my uncle Sylvester. I hadn’t seen him in years.

I thought, ‘It’s no wonder why I haven’t seen my uncle in years. He’s been traveling the world in a hot air balloon.’

Medea said to me telepathically, “I’d be happy to pull him along.”

“We’ll be happy to give you a lift to Loom, Sylvester.”

He said, “I have a rope. She can use it to pull me.”

He tossed it to me and luckily I caught it, I then wrapped it around Medea’s neck in a loose loop.

She then flapped her wings, taking off slowly and pulling the balloon along as we went. While I had been talking to Sylvester she had been hovering in the air by flapping her wings slowly to keep herself aloft.

The land was beautiful, all the browns and greens of the lush forest.

I looked down and around as we flew along, the scenery was really quite spectacular. I'd never seen anything quite like this before, the view was incredible from a dragon's back.

Later that day we landed at Loom, Sylvester dropped some weights to weigh the balloon down and turned the parachute valve to let some air out of the balloon. I then grabbed one of the ropes from the balloon to help pull it down and to ground it after I'd climbed off of Medea. Sylvester did most of it by letting out the gas from the balloon however. Afterwards I unwrapped the rope from around Medea’s neck, dropping it to the ground.

Uncle Sylvester said to me, “Thanks for pulling me back in, you have my appreciation.”

Loom was a small village, not much in this village, it really was tiny.

I saw maybe as many as six to eight buildings in the village, I didn’t see many people on the streets however.

On our way in as well we had flown over a couple small farms on the outskirts of Loom. I knew that on those farms they mostly only grew crops, mainly what they needed to survive and to keep the village fed. As I looked around I also noticed that this village also didn't have any sort of stables, I had no idea where they stored their horses. I thought, 'Perhaps they keep their livestock in a barn, or something outside of the village.'

I knew that it was also possible that they didn't have any horses. It was possible that the people of Loom didn't need any, or they were so poor that they simply couldn't afford to have such an animal.

31

Sylvester told me, “I used to be a dragon friend a long time ago myself, but my dragon Medecia died protecting me. I miss her quite a lot these days. It's hard to live without your dragon, so make sure that you always protect her the best you can.” He then continued, “I’m a great swordsman, I have an extra sword, permission to travel with yourself and your dragon?”

“What about your balloon?”

“I’ll be leaving it here, since I don’t need it anymore,” he answered.

I discussed it with Medea, she said, “Sounds great, you’ll need a teacher anyway. As well, you do need a sword.”

“Yes, you can come, since you were a dragon friend as well.”

She looked at him and said, “He definitely does resemble you Salem. I can see the resemblance, so I know that he is indeed your uncle.”

He then pulled a sword out of his pack and admired it. The pack didn’t look to be big enough to hold something that large. I had no idea how he managed to fit a sword in it, that had actually confused me.

He said, “I see your curiosity, this is a magic sack my boy, it can hold anything.”

He handed the sword to me, then said, “This is now your sword Salem. It’s been handed down our family for decades. This sword used to belong to your grandfather.” He then stated “Until I finish training you we should stay here in Loom for a while. I have a shack here where we can stay, it's not much, but it's shelter in the least. Once we finish I have to go to the main castle of Delmore, you should report in as well at that point. We are the last line of defense against Tarkay, an evil country sought on spreading darkness and chaos as it spreads its evil. We fight for the forces of good and for the light.”

Later that day we arrived at his shack in Loom, it really was far off in the outskirts of the village. I had to admit, I was surprised that he didn't actually live within Loom. He lived so far out of town that he just about didn't live in Loom at all.

Medea then laid down, letting us climb down from her back. Afterwards both of us walked into the shack, it was really quite small. The place was also full of cobwebs, I could tell that it had been a while since anyone had been here. He then took a stick from the corner and began to clean up some of the cobwebs so that the shack could be used. Other then all of the cobwebs and dust the structure was in fair shape, I knew that it would serve its purpose again.

32

He then started to tell me about his dragon Medecia. He said, “Your dragon reminds me a lot of Medecia. In fact, you probably don’t know this but Medecia was Medea’s mother. I can remember when your dragon hatched.” He paused, then continued, “Medea was a small cub when she was born, small, but adorable. For the longest while after her birth we took care of her until she was old enough to take care of herself, she then left to train. Medecia was killed soon afterwards and so was your father. Before he died he made me promise however that I wouldn’t expose you to the war until you were old enough. I watched both of them perish in battle, I was broken up because I had lost my dragon, but I was more worried about getting you to safety. I wanted you to grow up away from the war for as long as possible. So I was forced to leave you with a complete stranger because with me you would have quickly been drawn into the war. I was hoping that I wouldn’t see you again this soon. Unfortunately now, to protect you I’m going to have to train you. If I don't you might not last very long. I'm going to have to do all of that before they try to draw you into the war, for your safety.”

“Who would want to draw me into the war?”

He answered, “Why, Delmore of course, to fight for the light.”

I was stunned, so all of those years I’d grown up with foster parents until they disappeared and I was left alone. All to protect me from the war, I guess that Medea had changed all of that.

Medea said through the window, “Well Sylvester, I couldn’t just wait any longer, when Salem needed my protection I was there to protect him.”

“Of course Medea, I understand you, but I just say that I wish I hadn’t seen him again this soon,” Sylvester said, sounding a little aggravated.

She said, “Anyway, I had already been watching over Salem for a couple of years now. So when he needed me I was going to be there. That was the time to reveal myself to him, when he needed me the most. I was going to be there to protect my dragon friend, no questions asked.”

He said, “I respect you for that Medea, you needed to be there to protect him, and I'm glad that you were.”

I had no idea that she had been watching over me for several years, it shocked me in the least to find out about that.

She looked at me and said, “Yes Salem, I had always been watching over you ever since I finished training. That's why I was there to protect you that day, because I had already been watching over you for so many years.”

33

Sylvester then told me, “Salem, I know that you’ve wondered before how a creature Medea’s size could possibly fly.”

“Yes, I’d think that something like her couldn’t fly because of size and weight.”

He said, “North of here in the Samas Cove is a small graveyard of angel dragons from the past. I want you to go to it and take a look at the skeleton, you might learn something.”

I walked outside and told Medea, she said, “Yes, I think that would be good for you.”

She let me on, I climbed onto her back, strapping myself into the harness. She then stood up and flapped her wings in place to warm them for flight, we then sprang into the air. It was then she turned for the north, leveling off at about two hundred feet, I looked as the ground dropped away.

A while later we landed at the Samas Cove, she said, “Most likely there’s a cave, that’s probably where the dragon bones will be found.”

I looked around, we were near a cliff that was surrounded by water on almost all sides. It was a long ways down to the water’s edge. I wondered if there was much of a beach near the water, I had no idea since I couldn't see over the cliff because of where we currently were at the moment. It was also nice and breezy all the way up here, the sea air smelled great as well. I liked the sound of the waves splashing down below as well, the sound was comforting.

“It wouldn’t be out in the open like this, I believe that the only cave around is the one just north of us in some of the rock of the cove,” she said.

I saw it, it did look to be big enough to hold an angel dragon. The cave was huge, with a gigantic opening in the front.

“That’s where we should go, how about it Medea.”

She walked over so we could check out the cave. As we were heading over there she said, “There shouldn’t be any dangers in there. Since if there had been Sylvester wouldn’t have told you about it.”

I knew that she was right, if there was anything in there Medea could handle it. If it was another angel dragon it wouldn’t cause us any harm, I hope.

It didn’t take us long to make it over to the cave, I said, “Let’s go in,” we hadn't been too far away from it anyway.

She walked inside, the cave was really quite large, it was a long ways up to the roof. As well, to the back of the cave I noticed a wall with a carved engraving on it. It looked to be Calain pointing towards the other wall with his sword, however I didn't know why it was there. All I could guess is that this was a sacred cave. On most of the walls of the cave were about the same engravings, I wondered if Sylvester carved it, or who carved it. There was also an unnatural light coming from gems that hung from the roof of the cave. It definitely looked like the kind of place where an old angel dragon would go to pass on at. The cave definitely did look like a natural tomb of the sorts, it looked to be protected with magic from the gems in the ceiling.

34

We walked deeper inside, soon the cave widened into a giant cavern. There in front of us were the bones of an angel dragon, on a stone near it was chiseled out, ‘Here Lies Medecia.’

“This is Sylvester’s dragon.”

“This must be where he put her when she died,” Medea said, “I wondered what had ever happened to my mother, now I know, sadly. Anyway, I wish that I could have known her a little bit more. Although, from what I’ve heard about her I’m almost glad that I didn’t. From what I'd heard from my father she wasn’t the best dragon to any dragon friend. She was said to not be very friendly, or kind.”

“I hate to hear that Medea, do you think that you would have been the same as you are now if you had known her.”

“Oh, knowing her wouldn’t have changed my personality Salem. I wouldn’t have followed in her ways anyway,” she said gently, while looking at me.

She laid down, I unstrapped myself from the harness and then climbed off of her back.

Sylvester walked in and said, “Yes, this is Medecia, my dragon, if you look closely at her bones you can see how they’re formed.”

He said, “Their bones are formed like this with tiny holes to make them lighter, much lighter. That’s why it’s possible for Medea to fly.”

“If their bones are formed like this, how is it possible that she’s strong enough to carry anyone on her back?”

He answered, “Even know a dragon’s bones are formed like this they are extremely strong and their wings and muscles are extremely strong as well. Their wings sprout out from their shoulders for better balance to where they don’t need a tail wing in order to stay in the air. The wings are like two extra body parts, much like the legs.”

I saw how the wings were formed, the wings connected to the shoulders, like extra arms.

“Interesting,” I said, “I don’t see how anything like this is even possible.”

I saw that where I sat on Medea’s back I sat directly above her ribs, I guessed that that was the strongest part of her back.

“Medea, does it hurt you when I ride on your back, does it cause you any pain?”

“No, to me you’re quite light, to me you don’t weigh much,” she answered, “Besides, you sit where my back is the strongest anyway.”

35

I was glad to hear that I didn’t hurt Medea by riding on her back, I wouldn’t want to be a burden to her. After all, now that I was getting to know her better I really liked her. She was a great companion to me, I wouldn’t want to see her in pain.

Sylvester stated, “Take a look at the claws, the way they’re formed they can retract in and out. Their claws retract in and out much like a cat’s claws actually, that makes it possible for them to be able to run. If they had claws that didn’t retract in they wouldn't be able to run very well, and the teeth come naturally sharp as well.”

Sylvester took a stick out of his pack and stuck it against a tooth. He then gave it a sharp tug, it cut the stick in half easily.

“That was a thick stick,” I said, surprised at how easily it cut it.

He said, “Yes, it cuts through it like butter, she can bite through flesh and bone really quite easily.”

I gulped, I had no idea that her teeth were actually that sharp, I realized that she could probably take down a tiger easily.

He then said, “Now, I want you to see how your dragon gallops without having you aboard her back.” He then asked, “Medea, care to show us how you run?”

“I’d be more than happy to, Salem should see what my gallop actually looks like from a distance anyway,” she answered.

We walked out of the cave, Sylvester led me up to a high point on a cliff in the cove. I saw Medea start at the end of the beach, then kneel down like she was about to take off into a fast run.

He said, “Watch how she moves, you’re about to find out exactly why you need that harness. I suspect that she’s already carried you at a full run.”

“Yes, yes she has,” I answered, he looked at me as if in doubt.

Medea took off into a fast run, running like the wind down the beach. As she ran her back moved with her movement, like a cheetah or a lion. As she went it literally bounced around wildly.

“Her run is awesome to look at, but it looks to be rough. She does have a lot of grace in her stride, but I'm not really certain that I want to ride it however.”

I saw the harness getting thrown around wildly, it really looked like her run would be a rough ride. She then sped up until she was really moving, at that speed the harness on her back was really getting thrown around roughly.

Sylvester said, “I suspect that she hasn’t shown you a full run yet.”

“Not likely, we were surrounded by trees.”

Sylvester said, “I think that you need to try it out, you would love it. After all she’s your dragon so you should know what it’s like to really ride like the wind.”

36

I gulped, now Sylvester wanted me to ride her while she galloped at top speed, I wasn't certain that I'd enjoy it however. Soon Medea came bounding up to us and stood directly under me after she had finished her run, standing under the ledge.

Sylvester said, “Medea, take Salem for a full run. I think that he should know what it feels like.”

“It’s a long beach where I can get up to full speed, I’d be happy to,” she said.

I was a little nervous after watching her run, she then said, “On you go Salem, and strap yourself in tight.”

I nervously climbed onto her back from the ledge and strapped myself into the harness.

Sylvester leaned down and checked the straps to make sure they were tight.

She said, “There’s about four miles of beach, I’ll get up to top speed quickly.”

“How fast can she run?”

Sylvester answered, “Oh, she can run fast, real fast, you’d best hold on tight.”

Medea walked over to the end of the beach while I sat on her back. I was quite nervous, I would have loved to get down right now and not go for a ride like this. I looked down, it was a long ways down, and really I wasn't sure if I was even ready for a fast ride.

Medea knelt down some, leaning forward and downwards, preparing to spring. As she prepared to run I felt her back begin to shudder as she gathered up her muscles. As everything began to shake I wondered if this was really safe. Would the harness straps fail and cause me to fall, I had no idea.

She warned, “Hang on tight Salem, here we go.”

I leaned forward and grabbed onto her mane, I then buried my hands in it and hung on for dear life. With a surge from her back legs she sprang and burst into a fast dash, throwing me around on her back. She then sped up a lot more, everything around us appeared to be whizzing past. I could also see perfectly well out to sea since it looked like it was just barely moving. It made it look like we were standing still. The walls of the cove beside us towered high above us as we galloped past them. Part of me wondered and hoped that they wouldn’t fall, just looking at them made me nervous.

“Don’t worry Salem, the walls of the cove won’t come tumbling down on us, you have nothing to fear,” she said, she must have sensed my fear.

She then sped up some more, I had to admit, the wind was strong, but the ride was wild. I felt every movement she made, I wondered if the harness would snap. It held me tight, but it still hung loose enough to where I bounced on her back. She sped up more, I could hardly see around us because we were going so fast, as well, I was already tired out from the ride. Some parts of the cove were so thin that we almost ran through the water. I looked down, Medea was actually running through some water, we weren't still on solid ground. She was splashing quite a lot of water, but I sat so high up on her back that I didn’t get wet.

37

Sylvester

I saw Salem riding on Medea's back, they were really moving.

I said telepathically, “Medea, speed up, I know that you have more.”

She sped up her strides by about four steps per second, speeding up much more. I could tell that Salem clung to her for dear life, I laughed some as I remembered back to when my own dragon had taken me for a ride a long time ago. It was actually surprising considering how much she disliked me. It was hard to believe that she had actually allowed me to climb onto her back in the first place. Anyway, I missed Medecia quite a lot, I wished that she’d never been taken from me. She had been killed in battle far too early, which really wasn't fair to me, or Medea, her cub.

Soon Medea slowed down and came back, she then came to a stop. Salem was full of sweat, but he was smiling. I knew that he’d enjoyed his first true ride with his dragon, it would be a memory that he’d hold onto for his entire life.

Medea said, “I just love to run, I love to feel the wind in my fur and mane.”

“Now that was thrilling, let’s go again,” Salem said.

I had to say that from my own memory, it certainly was fun to ride on the back of a dragon when they ran at full speed. It sometimes could be a little bit scary and a little bit wild, but in all it was fun and quite a ride. There was just something about clinging to your dragon's back, it was quite the ride, that was for sure.

“Back to the shack, we have a long day tomorrow.”

I climbed onto Medea’s back behind Salem, preparing for the ride back since I didn't have any harness straps.

I wrapped my hands around the harness horn on the back of the harness, then said, “Let’s go.”

She said, “I don’t feel like flying so we’ll travel by land, at a full dash, hold on tight back there, both of you.”

38

Salem

The next morning Sylvester was going to cook us breakfast. So I was going to head out with Medea when she hunted for the food. We wanted for us to hunt a deer so that he’d have something to cook.

She laid down so that I could climb onto her back, I then climbed on, strapping myself into the harness. I still wasn’t very used to flying with her yet, but I was slowly getting the hang of it though. I had found out that it wasn’t so bad, a flight with her was actually interesting. Afterwards she stood up, lifting me into the air. She then flapped her wings in place several times to warm them for flight. She then looked at me to make sure that I was strapped into the harness. When she saw that I was she turned her head back forward again and prepared to fly. She then sprang into the air, opening her wings and flapping hard so we could escape from the ground. I looked down as the ground dropped away and we rose into the sky. She gave several powerful flaps, we then rose even higher into the air. Afterwards she leveled out at about seven hundred feet, we then began our aerial hunt.

Medea looked around, flying just above the woods until she sighted a small deer a little while later. She then flew downwards and grabbed it, killing it with a claw. We then turned around and headed back to the shack. When we finally did make it back Sylvester was busy building a fire, we walked over to him. She laid down, I then unstrapped myself from the harness and climbed down, afterwards I took the harness off of her back. Medea had dropped the deer near him on the way in and then had landed soon afterwards.

He took the deer and went to prepare it, meanwhile I kept an eye on the fire.

He said, “You have to make sure that you clean your deer correctly to prepare it to be cooked.”

Soon he set the deer on the fire, turning it on a spindle that he'd made. The spindle was really quite simple and looked like he had carved it by hand out of a couple large sticks. It was made in a couple of parts, the spindle itself and two poles to hold the spindle above the fire. On one side of the contraption there was a handmade handle where he could turn the entire spindle, turning the deer slowly as well.

I looked at the contraption, luckily the wood itself never even touched the fire. He kept it low enough so that it wouldn't catch fire. He had just enough wood to burn to where the fire would stay low enough so as not to engulf the deer, or the spindle.

39

After Sylvester had finished making our breakfast he said, “I have to go into town, I won’t be back until later. While I’m gone perhaps you should have some fun with Medea. If you want, go flying, or go to the Samas Cove and race her down the beach.”

“If I were to race her she’d leave me in her dust.”

“I meant that you will ride her,” he said, “I know that you can’t run nearly as fast as she can.”

Soon he left, I wondered what my father had been like. I’d once heard that Sylvester and his brother looked a lot alike. Sylvester, my uncle, looked to be in his sixties. He had a long white beard and mustache, as well as very little hair. I had also been wondering when his dragon had died. All I could guess is that she probably died when he was young.

After I had finished eating I walked back outside. Medea was lying on the ground, she asked, “Would you like to take a trip to Samas Cove with me Salem?”

“I’d like that, I don’t have much to do today anyway. Sylvester has too much work to do to start training me.”

“On you go,” she said, then motioned for me to climb aboard her back.

I strapped the harness to her back, then pulled myself onto her back, strapping myself into the harness. She stood up, lifting me into the air, she then looked at me to make sure that I was ready.

She walked forward and then broke into a medium run for the Samas Cove. I wasn’t thrown around nearly as badly, but I still bounced around. She slowed as we came to a turn in the road, then sped back up again after it. I could see the couple of buildings that were around here clearly, there weren’t many at all. In all truth's Loom was a very small village, there were more trees than actual buildings.

Soon we left Loom, entering the Samas Cove. The cove was near the Sar Sea on the northeast end of Delmore. On the south side I could see the walls of the cove and the ancient rock shoreline that was gouged out over time by the sea. I really wondered what exactly was east of Delmore, all I could guess is that the Sar Sea probably flowed into another country of Corvalia. I also wondered exactly how big this continent was, some had said that it really was vast in size. I wondered if one day both myself and Medea would eventually explore all of Corvalia. Really, I couldn't wait to really begin my life as a dragon friend, I knew that we would have some incredible adventures together.

She walked over to the beaches edge and stopped, she then asked, “Are you ready for some speed Salem? We never did get to explore all of Samas Cove yesterday.”

“I’d really rather go flying right now, can we go flying Medea?”

“We can go flying later, I have a need to run,” she said.

“Alright, I guess that we can go for a gallop, just try not to throw me off is all Medea.”

“Hold on tight back there Salem,” she warned, “With that harness you don’t have to worry about falling off.”

I balled my hands up in her mane, but decided to sit all the way up.

40

She took off into a fast run, slowly speeding up until the land and trees were whipping past us quite fast. It was a rough, but thrilling ride, Medea sped up some more. I looked back at the dust that we were kicking up as she galloped at a fast run, it really was quite the ride. She then looked at me, and sped up some more. I looked at the shoreline as we dashed along, out to sea I could see some boats sailing. To our left side I could see the towering walls of the cove, we were galloping down the beach near the wash.

I really loved the ride on the back of my angel dragon, her back was quite soft, even at a fast run. I loved how soft her back was, but still sturdy. I could really feel her speed, I clung to her the best I could.

I loved riding with her, as well as looking around us as we dashed along. She was really quite powerful and strong. She easily carried me as if I weighed nothing at all.

“Hang on tight Salem, we’re speeding up,” she said, she then sped up some more by throwing her back higher into the air to take bigger strides. As she sped up my ride became rougher, I was thrown around harder on her back. I had to admit though, it was exciting to ride with Medea, it was also hard to not enjoy riding with her at a full gallop as well. I could certainly feel the wind in my face, I looked down to see the land below us, it looked like it was being ripped out from underneath us.

Soon Medea sprang into the air, opening her wings, we then turned around. I looked down as the ground dropped away and we rose into the air. She banked to the right, we then flew over the surf, waves splashing below. Down below I could see a small sailboat sailing in the ocean, I could see it from where I sat on her back easily. She flew calmly but quickly, she then flew down some to where she was just above the water's surface, nearly touching it.

41

Later that day we turned around and headed back to Loom, as we approached the village it was hard to believe how small it was. Medea looked at me, from the sky the scenery was breathtaking. I could see the woods that surrounded Loom, I could also see the Samas Cove not far off in the distance as well. She then slowed some in the air and we gained a little more altitude, I could see the mountains far off in the distance from my seat on Medea’s back, they were incredible. I would have never imagined that I’d actually start to enjoy flying. I looked down below us, it was actually not so bad. It wasn't bad at all to be up here on the back of a winged dragon, my winged dragon.

The next morning Medea had flown to the Valley Of Time to visit the village of the angel dragons, I knew that most likely she would be there all day. She had told me that it would be best if I went there later, right now it was best if I just stayed here for the time being.

I knew that Medea had simply gone for the day, but already I missed her, I missed her company the most. It had been a couple of days since I had met her, my dragon, and already I couldn't stand to be away from her.

Sylvester told me, “Salem, can you go to the shop in Loom and pick up a folding shield, you’ll need it for your training. Here are some shillings so that you can afford to buy it, as well, take your sword, you never know when you might need it.”

I walked out of the shack, heading to the weapons shop, it was certainly a long walk from the shack. I wished that I had Medea here with me to ride to Loom, at least that would have been easier, and quicker.

A little while later I had made it deeper into the woods after leaving Sylvester’s shack. As I walked I just couldn't shake the feeling that something was creeping up on me. I wished that Medea was here, I really didn't like being alone.

I heard something growl behind me, I drew the sword and spun around to see a sphinx. It sprang at me but I leapt out of the way, I then jumped back to my feet. It came for me, but I stabbed, stabbing it in the side. It clawed me in the leg afterwards, I reacted by slashing it with the sword. It then sprang at me, knocking me down and sending me rolling on the ground.

Suddenly someone shouted, “Zara De Flumes,” a giant fireball struck the sphinx and sent it flying backwards. It didn’t move, I guess that it was dead, or at least I hoped that it was.

An old man walked into the clearing, he said, “Are you alright son?”

He walked up and inspected my leg, he then stated, “It got you well, here, this will help.”

He held his hand up to the gash and muttered, “Healay,” the wound closed up like it had never been there.

“You shouldn’t travel through these woods alone, evil creatures lurk here, I am Marlin, the angel dragon,” he said.

I looked at him with a confused look on my face, I didn’t understand what he meant.

42

He said, “I know what you’re thinking, I don’t look like a dragon in this form.”

He touched a gem on his forehead and his shape changed, he changed from a human to an angel dragon, much like Medea. I took a step back away from him, momentarily shocked from his transformation.

He said, “I have the ability to shape shift my boy, the power comes from my magic gem.”

I was definitely stunned, never before had I witnessed such a thing.

He said, “I know that you’re a dragon friend. You shouldn’t travel through these woods without your angel dragon, but I’ll help you to make it through safely to the village.”

I walked beside him, he said, “You really don’t know how to use that sword yet, don’t you.”

“No, not exactly, I’m about to start my training,” I said, “I really don’t know how to use it yet.”

He said, “I thought so, that sphinx could have killed you, you were just lucky that I was in the area.”

He laid down and said, “Alright, hop on, we can get there a little quicker, it’s a long walk to town any other way.”

I pulled myself onto his back bareback, he then stood up. Afterwards we broke into a slow gallop, heading for Loom. I wasn’t so certain about this however, I’d never rode bareback before. Marlin sped up some, while still avoiding the trees, he said, “If you try to walk through these woods you’ll be walking forever. It’s at least a thirty minute trip to get to Loom dragonback, and that’s the quickest way, now hold on tight.”

I looked back and asked, “Is the sphinx dead?”

“Yes, but there are more in these woods, a lot more. We can’t afford to wait around and find them, so we have to move fast,” he answered.

He sped up to a faster run, the ride was definitely incredible though. A bareback ride on an angel dragon was exciting, but it wasn't something that I'd want to try again anytime soon. Of course though, I also knew that it was also quite dangerous as well. I certainly wouldn’t want to fall off, it would hurt quite a lot. Although, I was starting to get better at riding, but still, it was scary riding bareback since I felt like I could fall off. I held on tight to Marlin’s back, glad for the ride to get me to town quicker.

“My dragon Medea flew to the Valley Of Time to the city of angel dragons.”

“Yes, my sister, I would have been there as well, but today I was out scouting for sphinxes when I found you in distress,” he said. He then said, “When we get to Loom I’ll send your dragon to come and get you, don’t go back into the forest alone.”

I knew that it wouldn't be long now and we'd make it to the village. Maybe later on sometime in the future I could get Medea to let me ride bareback. However though, when that time came I'd certainly like to start out slower.

43

Soon we made it to Loom and Marlin flew off in the direction of the Valley Of Time after I’d dismounted. I almost hated to see him go, he was just the friend in need when I needed one. I hadn't expected that I'd be attacked in the woods by a sphinx, I was certainly glad to see him though.

After he was out of sight I turned around and headed into the weapon’s shop and bought the folding shield. I couldn’t figure out how it could snap open into a full shield though, I'd figure that out later.

Afterwards I sat in the square while I waited on Medea to make it here so that she could pick me up. I had no idea how long it would take her, as far as I knew it could be a while. I knew that I would certainly be ready to head back to the shack, so I couldn't wait until she made it here.

I looked around the village, this village seemed to have a very small amount of buildings in all. It seemed to consist mostly of trees and a couple narrow roads with just a handful of buildings scattered throughout. Compared to the size of other towns or villages this one was quite small. There also wasn’t much activity on the streets, it was actually very quiet and peaceful out.

Currently I was sitting in the village square next to the water well, I could look into it and see clean and pure water. I could tell that this village had a good water supply, nice and clean.

Soon Medea flew downwards and landed, I asked her, “When can I see the city of angel dragons?”

“Later, right now they’re not very used to humans yet. Since they haven’t seen anyone in years other then other angel dragons,” she answered, “I’m trying to make sure that it will be safe before I take you there.”

“I was attacked in the woods by a sphinx, I thought that I was a goner.”

“I heard, Marlin told me about it. Well, I should tell you that he’s my brother. We were both lucky that he was there,” she said.

“Yes, I know, he told me that he’s your brother. I was certainly lucky that he was there.”

She then nuzzled me on the side and said, “I should have been there with you, but I wasn’t, Salem, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright Medea, it wasn't your fault. I’m just glad that Marlin was there to spring me from the danger that I was in.”

“So am I, since I couldn't stand to lose you, not today and not ever,” she said. She then nuzzled me some more, I knew that she wasn't happy about what had happened to me. I also knew that she would have preferred to have been there to protect me herself.

I got up and pulled the harness out of my pack, then I strapped it to her back.

She said, “Would you like to check out the ruins of Lim today Salem?”

“Yes, where is it?” I asked, I was certainly interested, it seemed to me like it would be interesting to see.

She answered, “A little out of Loom, from here it’s about an hour flight.”

“Sounds great, but what about danger Medea?” I asked, I wouldn’t want us to be attacked by anything.

She answered, “I can protect you quite easily. If anything attacks us it will wish it hadn’t when I'm done with it.”

44

I climbed onto her back, afterwards I strapped myself into the harness and we sprang into the air. I looked down as the ground dropped away and we climbed higher and higher.

A while later we were flying east, heading for the ruins, I couldn’t wait until we arrived.

I’d never seen any ruins before, I wondered what they’d look like. I really couldn't wait to finally see them, this would be the first time that I'd ever seen any ruins.

Soon she turned to the southeast, she then said, “You will find the ruins in this direction, just southeast of Loom.”

She sped up her flight some more, we still had a lot of distance to cover anyway. We were currently flying over the woods at the moment, they were mostly pines and some other types of trees mixed in with them as well. I saw her look behind us and then forward again as we flew. I guess that she was searching for any enemy that might be lurking around us.

She said, “You always want to pay attention to where you are and what's around you while flying. You want to do this since you don't want to be surprised by anything, especially a sphinx. They can hide anywhere, only to surprise you in seconds.”

I looked back to see nothing but a few birds, I was relieved to not see anything myself. She looked down and then began to gain some more altitude, I guessed that we were losing altitude. She would also look around herself to locate where she was in the air, sometimes the wind might push her down. She'd then begin to gain some more altitude again to stay high enough above the trees, we didn’t need to get too low anyway.

“Very soon we should see the ruins, they’re just over the horizon, not long now,” she said.

Soon she slowed some in the air, we then flew downwards, coming in for a landing. There in front of us were the ruins. It looked to have once been a magnificent castle, but had long since been abandoned. I wondered what had happened to make it into what it was now, of course though, I would never know.

“Let’s head inside, I only hope that it’s safe.”

“No need to open the door, someone already knocked it off of its hinges for us,” she said.

The door itself was simply falling down because of rot in the wood, after so long the wood was giving away. A couple of the hinges hung in midair where the wood had long since rotted away. This castle didn't seem to have a mote, other then what once would have been a giant double door that would bar anyone from entering the Castle of Lim.

Now with most of the door gone there was more then enough room for Medea to walk inside, without even having to open it. She walked inside, I saw busted stones laying everywhere. There was also a pile of rock blocking a door. Inside the room I saw another crumbling arch that was slowly collapsing. There were also a couple of rot filled chairs, as well as a shredded rug on the floor. I also saw several busted windows and a rusted out chandelier, the chain on it looked like it might snap at any moment.

“Medea, stay out from under that chandelier, it looks like it might fall.”

She was careful to walk around it, we then headed through the archway into the next room.

The castle was so quiet now that it was almost scary, there wasn’t a sound anymore except for silence and ghosts from the past.

45

I wondered what this castle had looked like back in the old days. It was hard to believe that at one time it would have been a breathtaking sight.

We entered into an ancient hallway with a busted staircase, I leaned out some over Medea's side to get a better view. There was another arch at the far side of the hallway and a big enough space above the staircase to where Medea might be able to jump to. She walked over to the staircase, standing up on her hind legs so that she could look at whatever was above, leaving me dangling from her back and the harness. She then dropped back down onto all fours again and carried me through the archway into the next room.

We walked through, entering into a large room that was shaped like an octagon. There were a couple of windows on the left side of the room and a couple of doors on the right side. The ceiling was circular with weeds growing through almost all of the cracks, there were more cracks in it than I could count. Near us there were several busted stones scattered across the floor. I also saw a large crack spanning across it. The floor didn’t look to be very stable. Spanning from the floor were several busted columns still remaining, some still remained in one piece, even know they were covered with moss.

Medea looked down at the floor and said, “There are several cracks there, I don’t think that it’s safe to cross.”

“I think that you’re right Medea, let’s head back to the busted staircase. Perhaps you can jump it.”

“That I can, for me it’s easy enough to jump, but you’d best hold on tight Salem,” she said.

She turned around, we then headed back out of the corridor into the previous room. She stopped in front of the busted staircase and warned, “Brace yourself Salem.”

I wrapped my hands up in her mane and hung on tight. She crouched down low and then leapt straight up onto the second floor, almost ripping my breath away. She was right however, a jump like that did come as sudden to a rider, her jump hadn’t felt good either. A completely vertical jump from her back didn’t feel good. The feeling to be dropped backwards as she made her jump made my stomach nearly drop with it.

We were now in a hallway with busted stone blocks on the floor, they were about six feet tall. She took off into a fast trot and jumped over them. I bounced on her back every time she jumped over one.

End Of The Preview