An Extraordinary Bond by Lorian Lilsiel (hardest books to read TXT) 📕

quickly.” After he had applied the salve to Kara’s arms and legs, he moved on to Brenden. “How in the name of the gods did you manage to get your face messed up so badly?” Trevin was more than a little condescending as he spread the salve on the cuts on Brenden’s forehead.

“I had to protect Barge…”

“Barge is a dragon. He can take care of himself, and he should have taken care of you. Make sure you reprimand him for that later. Dragons need to learn to protect their masters with their lives. A dragon that won’t die for you won’t do any good.”

Brenden looked at his feet. “But…”

“Look up, I’m not finished.” Trevin put more cream on a nasty sized cut on Brenden’s cheek. He sighed, “This one will probably scar, but it’s the best we can do.” Brenden didn’t have any noticeable cuts on his arms and legs, so Trevin closed the jar and put the salve back in the bag where he got it. He turned to Kara, “It would be best if you took this opportunity to change into something more suitable for riding. You can change in the trees, I assure you that none of us will go back there until you return.”

Kara nodden. She was starting to get sore from riding in a dress, not that changing would help much at this point, but hopefully it would prevent it from getting worse. She took her bag back into the trees. When she was out of sight of the camp, she took a pair of riding pants out of her bag and put them on. 

Opal came up next to her, “Is it common in this time for women to own pants?”

“No. My uncle gave them to me, he said that anyone who knows how to ride should have at least one outfit they can ride in.”

“Interesting. Before I… Died, women were never supposed to wear pants, regardless of the situation. I wonder what else has changed…”  It was hard to see, but Kara could tell that Opal was spacing out and staring into the trees. 

Kara suddenly felt very sad. She ran her hand from the top of Opal’s head down her neck, and knelt down to hug her. “You’ll get it eventually. You’re back, that’s what matters. You can make up for the years you lost.” Opal gave a nod, but didn’t say anything. “We should head back.” Kara walked back the way she came to the camp. 

“Ah, you’re back. Took you long enough. We should head out as soon as possible if we want to reach Colinwood by nightfall.” Trevin mounted his horse, and Erwin did the same. Brenden sort of scrambled to do it quickly, but ended up almost falling off. Kara sighed, reluctant to get back on the road, but she got on the horse all the same. 

“I’ll stay with you this time.” Kara was surprised to hear Opal from behind her. 

“You don’t need to if you feel uncomfortable.”

“I’d feel uncomfortable leaving you alone after what happened.”

Kara felt the sudden sadness again. “Alright, I just don’t want to hold you back.”

Trevin took the lead and road out in front of everyone. Erwin made a point to fall into sync with Brenden. “Don’t let him get to you. Trevin has a difficult past that shapes his philosophies, but that doesn’t mean that he’s right. In fact, most people will say what you did was the best thing you could have done. There is no trust stronger than that formed through love. You trust your dragon, and I’m sure he trusts you.”

Barge nuzzled Brenden’s neck in response. “Thank you Erwin.”

~~~

The rest of the road to Colinwood was uneventful, and they arrived at the massive building just before the sun set. It was five stories tall, made of the smooth white stone used in dragon temples and altars to the light gods, and surrounded in front by a wall of the same material and half the height. The entrance was a huge oak door emblazoned with the lily of the Rising Dragons. 

Trevin brought his horse up to it and knocked three times in rapid succession. A metal slot in the door opened. “Who goes there?” An eye appeared through the gap.

“Trevin Akers, here with Erwin Cathey with new riders from Tealer.”

The metal slot closed again, and Trevin backed up his horse as the door swung open on well oiled hinges. It opened into the courtyard in front of the actual building, a large area combining cobbled pathways and lush grass. Stables were to one side, what looked like a smithy was to the other, the entrance to the actual building was straight ahead. 

A hunched over man with graying hair and an unpleasant expression came over to talk with Trevin, “You know where to take them, same as last year. Maybe try being a little more on time though, eh? Everyone else is already here.”

“Apologies, we ran into a bit of a delay. Thank you for the assistance.”

“Pfft, I never will understand why you’re so formal all the time. All I did was open the door. Honestly, I’ve known you since you were 16, you’d think that you’d be a little more familiar by now.” He looked past Trevin, eyes widening when he saw Opal. “She goes to a different room.” He pointed to Kara. “The other three are here already. Second meeting room.”

Trevin nodded, but didn’t say anything. Erwin picked up for him. “Come on then. Get off your horses and Cretcher will take them to the stable for you.” Everyone got off their horses.

“So now I’m a stable boy, eh?” The hunched over man named Cretcher shook his head and sighed, but lead the horses to the stables anyway. 

Trevin started walking to the building’s entrance without a word, and the other three followed. The entrance to the building was much smaller than the entrance to the courtyard, but is was still twice Kara’s height. Trevin pulled a key off a ring on his belt and used it to unlock the door. It swung open without a sound and the four went through before Trevin locked it behind him. 

Kara’s breath was taken away almost instantly. Much like the inside of the dragon temple, Colinwood’s walls were so highly polished they practically glowed. Bright tapestries adorned the main hall and ornate vases rested in niches along the walls, interrupted periodically by doors. 

Kara heard a breathless, “Wow…” from Brenden as he looked around as well. 

“No time for gawking, we need to meet with the others. Looks like you aren’t the only one Miss Woodensly.” Trevin started walking to a side hall, Kara and Brenden rushing to keep up.

Erwin gently grabbed Brenden’s shoulder. “Not you lad. Miss Kara has… Interesting circumstances. You’ll be coming with me to meet up with the rest of this year’s class.”

“Oh, um, right.” Brenden gave Kara a nervous look. Barge rubbed against his neck and purred. Brenden calmed down a little, and followed after Erwin down the main hall.

Kara tried her best to keep up with Trevin, but they took so many turns she was sure she would lose him. Eventually they came to a slightly fancier set of doors, and Trevin brought her to the one marked “2” before turning to her, “Through this door will be Ms. Greenwitch, director of the Rising Dragons. She will give you, as well as three others like you, instructions and direction about what you are going to be doing here. Keep quiet, be respectful. Do you understand?” 

Kara looked to Opal, who simply nodded. “I understand.” Trevin opened the door.

Chapter #2: Quinn

Quinn Seabury couldn’t have been more excited. It was the 22nd of Tarch. The day of the Jinbruary-Tarch summoning ceremony. Where kids who turned 16 in the later half of Jinbruary and the beginning half of Tarch would go to their town’s temple and see if they were worthy to summon a dragon.

Quinn’s 16th birthday was the 27 of Jinbruary, which meant that she would be attending Mealky’s summoning ceremony that month. It had been Quinn’s dream to summon a dragon ever since she was a child, and she was determined to do it.

She didn’t care if she only got a green, a dragon was a dragon, and dragons were the best. Quinn was unbearably optimistic for someone her age with her living conditions. Her mother had died two years ago, her father had resorted to alcohol, and she had to pretend to be a boy to work on fishing boats to make money.

Despite all this, she had remained true to her “glass half full” philosophy. She had found friends among the boys she worked with at the docks, and it wasn’t like her dad became violent. She was sad about her mother, but she moved on after being reminded that missing her wouldn’t bring her back. Quinn was undoubtedly a ball of sunshine, but she knew that she wouldn’t have been able to make it if it wasn’t for her dream.

When she was younger, Quinn would go to the library and read stories about the first dragon rider and his green dragon, and had always wanted to be just like him. If it wasn’t for the way out of her situation that Colinwood provided, then she likely wouldn’t be as happy with her life as she was.

She had inhaled her breakfast that morning, and had made it to the temple before her father had even woken up. She went inside, found her number, 156, and got in line. It took two hours of intense boredom, but eventually they got to her number.

The girl in front of her came out without a dragon, “Oh well. Looks like it’s your turn, good luck!”

A young woman in white with a tablet called out the numbers, “Number 156, your turn.”

Quinn jumped up from where she had been sitting against the wall and rushed over, “I’m here!”

“Quinn Seabury?”

“Yes ma’am!”

The woman frowned slightly and her tablet and looked Quinn up and down thoroughly, “There must be a mistake. This says that Miss Seabury is a Miss Seabury.”

“I am a miss ma’am.”

The woman looked at Quinn with a raised eyebrow. Ankle length brown pants, a loose linen shirt, short cut hair, and boots suited to walking around the waterlogged decks of fishing boats. Quinn didn’t have much of a female air to her, not that she ever saw that as a problem. It was an asset when she was trying to get work, “May I ask where your parents are?”

“My dad’s at home sleeping.”

The lady turned and sighed, “Follow me.”

Quinn followed the woman through the door and into Mealky’s summoning chamber. The huge stained glass windows depicting the story of the first dragon rider and his dragon filled the room with a multitude of blues and greens, making the room feel like it was underwater. In the center of the chamber was a pale yellow green orb of crystal resting on a shrine.

“The summoning process is fairly simple. Just walk to the shrine, pray to your patron, and place your hand on the crystal. If you are to get a dragon, it should happen a few seconds or so of placing your hand on the crystal. Do you understand?”

“Yep!”

“Go ahead.”
    Quinn had to restrain herself