Young Writers Society

Kiera sat, her legs crossed and her back feeling the comfort of the sturdy bark of an elderwood tree, a leather bound book in her hands. Un der the gracious shade of te elderwood's immense canopy, the newly-adorned dragon rider was absorbed in learning as much as she could about the differen t kinds of magics taught at the Council. As she scanned the weathered page, her free hand absentmindedly twisted the small ring on her finger.

She heard a small clear of the throat, and she peered up from her book to see a scholar of the Council. The purple accents on the brown robers indicated a junior scholar, someone almost as new to the palce as Kiera. She set the book aside on the grass and gave a curteous nod to the scholar, who removed his hood. "Master Idora."

Kiera immediately tensed up, and jerked her head around, looking for witnesses. In mild confusion, the scholar glanced around. After a few moments, Kiera remembered where she was and relaxed a bit. "I would prefer that name not to be spread around so readily. It's just Kiera."

"The scholar bowed his head in compliance. "Of course, my apologies. I'm here by request of the Council of Masters. They are summoning you."

"How is that-- That's not possible."

The scholar frowned in confusion. "I'm sorry?"

"I'm a new dragon rider. The Masters assured me I would have time to acclimate and train before they called on me. "

The scholar bowed slightly. "Apologies, Master... Kiera. I was only sent to deliver this message, nothing else."

Kiera let out a soft sigh and nodded. At that, the scholar returned his hood and promptly left. Kiera shook her head and glanced at her book, aiming to grab it, but her hand was stopped short by something both cold and warm. The grass around the book was squashed down, and Kiera just now realized it. She smacked the invisible object.

"Tyndros, you really are annoying sometimes."

A deep rumbling shook the ground and her, causing the massive tree to tremble, pollen falling from its leaves. The pollen fell around a massive body, partially showing Keria's much larger Imbued companion, Tyndros. His invisibility wore off as he let out a large yawn and set his head wearily down on Kiera's lap. "Your incessant anxiety roused me from my slumber."

Kiera shoved Tyndro's now revealed tail off her book and ignored his remarks as best as possible. However, Tyndros could easily feel her irriation, and he let out a deep laugh that vibrated the ground around them, causing the Elder Tree to shake and the leaves to shudder. An ocean of pollen drifted down to cover them both this time. Kiera tugged at a fold of Tyndros' massive wing and sheltered herself from the oncoming allergy storm. Tyndros let out of a soft growl that ended in a massive sneeze.

"That serves you right." Kiera jested as he shook his head free of the pollen, resembling a pet many times smaller than he. He laid back down on her lap and looked her in the eye, his pupils twinkling like a thousand dying stars. 'Why are you so worried, young one?'

'You heard the messenger, Tyndros.'

'Ahh, yess, the timid one did emit words when scared, but I did not care enough to listen to them.'

'We have been summoned, Tyndros.'

She couldn't quite explain how she knew, but she felt him tense up. Still, his deep and suave voice rumbled in her mind unbothered. 'That is... interesting.' He rustled and repositioned his head so she could see both of his eyes. 'So you are insecure about a simple summons? I thought the human I chose was better than simple worries.'

'Aren't you the dragon that has avoided the Council for hundreds of years?'

The dragon growled at that which reverberated in Kiera's body. It was a friendly growl, but Kiera couldn't help but admire and appreciate the prowess of the being resting in her lap. 'I hope I don't regret my decision to change that.' He let out a deep sigh. 'I hope this decision for the both of us will not end in disaster.'

"That's not ominous at all, Tyndros."

~ ~ ~

Kiera fiddled with the hem of her shirt as she paced the entrace to the Council of Masters' chamber. She sighed. Suddenly, Tyndros' mind entered her own as if he was right there next to her. 'I don't know much about this so-called 'Council of Masters' but I assume they would appreciate it less if you arrive late.'

'They didn't specify a time, Tyndros.'

'Oh, that's not very Master-like.' Still, the present is better than the future, young one.' With that, he vacated her mind.

Kiera sighed. "Damn you, old fool." She whispered. After a moment, she finally opened the door. It only took the briefest of effort, and both grand iron doors swung open soundlessly, and pale blue light flooded the hallway and drenched Kiera's face. She held a breath and stepped through the threshold.

Several other people were loitering around; Kiera assumed they were the other dragon riders. Some, she hasd seen around before, others she hadn't ever seen on the grounds. She gulped and stood close to the center. She looked around at the other riders. 'Tyndros, something major is happening.'

Tyndros mentally sighed. 'When is it not?'

In front of the riders, a semi circle podium rose above them, pillars of blue flame lit the council from behind, revealing only their faceless sillhouettes peering ominously at the audience far below them. In total, there were nine of them filling the thirteen seats.

Kiera shifted her weight on her heels nervously. There was nowhere to sit, and part of Kiera thought this was done on purpose, or out of malice. There was quiet muttering reverberating around the room, but Kiera couldn't make out where they were coming from. She felt so isolated from these people. Maybe this was a mistake.

'Now is a perfect time to learn about your oponents, and you might even be able to learn something beneficial to befriending them.'

'They are not my enemies, Tyndros. Now shush.'

'How do you know?' However, Tyndros did quiet and retract his presence, just a little bit. Maybe he did have a point, she found herself bitterly thinking, so she focused her attention away from herself and more into th room and the people around her. One thing that immediately caught her attention was a group of three riders talking in hushed and urgent voices. She couldn't tell if they were angr5y or worried about their discussion topic, but it was clear they knew each other. In fact, only Kiera and a couple of other people were loitering about alone.

She couldn't scrounge much more information from her surroundings because the hall fell eerily silent as a sillhouette raised their hand. The sheer power this person demanded left Kiera in awe. The blue flames spread to the ceiling, filling the room with enough light to see everything clearly enough. The nine Masters, the council members, were all clothes in the same color with their own unique accents that denoted their area of expertise as well as their house of leadership. The one in the middle ccleared his throat and lowered his hood. Aside from his white eyebrows, his heavily etched face had no hair on it. He breathed heavily, perhaps preparing his voice to speak aloud. "Dragon riders, you are the world's first and last defence against the mythological and mythical. Those things that exist in legend only do so because of the actions the imbued warriors of your past, present, and in the future." He stopped and caught his breath. The other members of the Council glanced at each other. He continued, slower this time. "I have called all riders here to address something... stirring in the North." The Master on the far righer lowered her hood, revealing jet black hair that flowed down to her shoulders like a waterfall. She closed her eyes and extended her hands outward.

The balls of fuzzy, warm light flowed from opposite corners of the room and met in the middle, flooding the room in brilliant fury. The light settled into rolling clouds as the fog illuminated a mirage. Clouds sped past as the mirage zoomed in. The cloud coverage cplit to reveal massive landmasses in between giant pools of water. Kiera gasped in amazement and walked around the mountains that raised almost to her knees. "This is amazing."

'Now you see the lan as it's supposed to be seen.'

"This is Runeheim?" She found herself asking aloud.

'Yes, little one. But it is... wrong.'

At that moment, Kiera noticed the black fog in the corner of the map. It coiled and writhed around the land and sea. The middle Master raised his hand and the land sprouted beautiful colors, with a beacon in the middle. "This represents the inherent magic within the land. The strongest source lies under our walls--"

'Stolen from the dragons.' Tyndros writhed within her mind.

"--It is a subtle draw to all those magically attuned, hostile or not."

The woman Master joined in. "That black mass in magical in nature, almost rivaling the magic within these walls, but we don't know what it is, and all of our previous attempts to figure out have been futile. It... attracts, just like this place. But, once within its grasp, it turns things sour."

'So the task has fallen to us.' Tyndros retorted bitterly. 'Dragons die doing their dirty work while they sit comfy behind their walls.'

Talent:
Agility- Autumn can jump higher than most creatures and moves with a natural grace and stealth. His sense of balance is heightened and it's much harder to sweep him off his feet.

Weapon:
Longbow of Souls- He doesn't know this because he only just received the bow, but it is enchanted to steal the life force of anything it kills and transfer it to its wielder.

Armor:
Fine Wrist Grieves- His only piece of armor, given to him by Bellam. They're iron with gold inlays, fairly sturdy but mostly decorative.

Ability:

Stoneskin- Bellam can harden her hide into a mear-impenetrable armor for a limited time. Other dragons would have a better chance of breaking through her defenses while in this state than human weapons (Swords have been shattered trying), and she's unable to use any of her other abilities while using Stoneskin. With the added protection comes limited movement, as her hide is much stiffer.


Treasure:

Fine Wrist Greaves- A gift to her rider, picked off a highwayman who had been unintelligent/unlucky enough to try and loot their caravan in the night.

Talent:
Retractable Claws- Edana can extend and harden her nails so they act as claws. they are wickedly sharp and can do a fair amount of damage in a pinch.



Weapon:
Strange Dagger- A long blade clearly not from this region. It is curved and serrated, with a shining Lapis handle made to look like a dragon.

Armor:
Spiked Shoulder Guard- a black leather shoulder guard with long iron spikes. She wears this on her left shoulder, the side she shoots her crossbow with.

Ability:
Breath of Revalation- If you start at a person's last known location, Javor can use this power to track their movements. He breathes a soft blue mist that takes the ghostly form of the person in question if he knows them, or simply footprints if he doesn't. The power is more effective if there isn't a strong wind, otherwise, the breeze will interfere or completely blow the image away.

Treasure:
Babs- A little, well-loved bear that served as a teething toy when Javor was a baby. He claims to keep it as a "lucky charm" but the bear is mysteriously always close at hand during thunderstorms.