The dragon’s weakest rider

8

Eryx stood in the doorway of his assigned room, his heart sinking as he stared at the crumpled space he was to call home.

It was a narrow space between two stone walls; a single pile of damp straw was to be his bed, the air smelled of cattle poop. There was no lamp in the room as well.

Eryx sighed as he slumped on his bed of straw. He was still grateful to have the luxury to have a place to lay his head; he didn’t have a trunk for his belongings because he had no belongings.

The black veins on his arm were swirling back and forth. He had left his dragon in the pit; at least it seemed to be in a better position than he was.

He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the crawling hunger in his stomach and the words that seemed to be etched into his mind.

‘GROW!’

He turned to the other side, his brows pinched. How was he supposed to grow in a place that was set on burying him?

…

The next morning, the candidates stood on the training grounds with their dragons. The beasts looked magnificent as their scales shone underneath the morning sun, their breaths a puff of hot steam. Most of the dragons gave way as Eryx and his dragon approached.

“Even our dragons are revolted by the sight,” a boy scoffed with disdain as he glared at Eryx.

Eryx ignored the disgusted looks of the nobles as he walked over to the edge, his dragon behind him. Black eyes bags were visible on his face; he didn’t sleep well last night.

“I thought they were dead. Why did the elders allow them to still stay alive?” another girl whispered quite loudly to her friend beside her.

Before anyone could speak, an instructor walked down the line, staring at the candidates with a bored, cold expression. When he reached Eryx and his skeletal dragon, he frowned, but he didn’t stop, walking back to stand in the middle of the ring.

“The first duels of the season begin today,” his eyes sweeping across the group. “But understand this—a rider and a dragon are one. If the dragon is weak, the rider is a failure.”

His gaze stopped on Eryx as his eyes grew colder.

“Dragons in Aetherion are predators. They fend for themselves, and they do not rely on us for that. If your lizard is too weak to hunt, then it is not supposed to exist. We do not need or breed failures here. Perhaps that’s why it looks like a dying bird; it’s waiting for a master who knows how to provide for it, even though I have never seen such a scenario.”

A ripple of laughter went through the noble heirs.

“Maybe it’s waiting for someone to finish it off and put it out of its misery, instructor,” a noble commented, patting the thick, muscular neck of his Fire-Drake.

Eryx’s jaw tightened as he looked down at his dragon, whose skin seemed translucent under the sunlight. It stared back at him with its void black eyes.

And at that moment, Eryx realized with a look of horror that his dragon was starving.

“It’s now time for the first duels of the session!” the instructor announced. “Varyn, we will start with you first. Pick an opponent.”

Silence followed as the others exchanged glances, with smirks forming on their lips. The truth was obvious—no one wanted to take him on because they felt he was a waste of time.

Then, a boy exhaled loudly from the back, a bored expression on his face.

“I will take him.”

His name was Cael Brynn. Eryx had heard it being called during the roll call. He was in the mid-tier, and his dragon was a Stoneback. They were neither fast nor elegant, but they were known to be strong and a powerful opponent for someone in the lower tier.

Cael raised a mocking brow at Eryx and his dragon, his gaze moving back to the instructor.

“It won’t take long.”

His statement earned laughter from the crowd, but Eryx didn’t care. He moved to the center of the field where Cael stood waiting with his dragon.

The rules of the duel were simple. The first rider to be subdued would be declared the loser. No one was to be killed.

Eryx looked across the field at Cael’s Stoneback dragon. Its height was thrice the size of his own dragon, with strong shoulders like boulders. Hot steam came from its nostrils as their eyes met, and Eryx quickly lowered his gaze.

His dragon didn’t look intimidating at all. In reality, it looked like a snack.

‘You’re starving, and I’m asking you to fight, but do not die on me,’ he said, down the bond to his dragon.

Even though the instructor had strictly ordered no killing of opponents, the murderous look in Cael’s eyes screamed otherwise, and he was sure no one would care if he or his dragon died because that was what they wanted—study or not.

The instructor raised his hand and dropped it.

“Begin.”

Cael didn’t rush to tackle Eryx immediately; he simply turned towards his dragon and directed it forward with the raise of his chin.

The beast moved like a landslide. Slow at first, then gaining momentum as it moved, the ground shook with each step.

Eryx held his position.

‘Don’t move yet.’

He didn’t know if that thought was his or something else along the bond, but either way, his legs remained rooted to the ground.

The Stoneback lowered its head and charged towards Eryx’s dragon. Using its horn, it flung the dragon in the air. Eryx’s dragon flew in the air and landed on the floor with a thud as it slid.

Eryx felt the pain in his chest like a fist gripping his ribs as he groaned softly, holding his chest. Cael gave him no time to recover, as with one kick, Eryx landed face down on the ground, pieces of rock piercing his skin.