The Odd Dragon Out: Reckoning of the Cinder-Born

Taking flight wasn't too odd of an experience for Ginger, and the same was true for any dragonling who had mature dragons for parents. Where perhaps there was a difference, was that Ginger hadn't flown under controlled circumstances most of the time, courtesy of Ancor, terrible, winged monsters, Ancor, and of course, again, Ancor.

The current brand of flight the plump dragonling was experiencing, was unique.

As he felt himself get lifted off the ground after the light blast of unseen Kardia, Ginger's body almost whirled uncontrollably in the air because he had no sense of balance.

When Professor Lyall's winged figure exploded into the distance, however, he felt something tug softly as his sternum, and he was forcibly drawn after the thickly instructor.

To all the First Years' delight, the experience wasn't uncomfortable at all.

In fact, rather than riding on the backs of their Denatured parents, this was much more fun.

It didn't take a genius to recognize that this was a specialized Pieyro developed for something like this.

The course the large group followed was straight and unwavering, and the wind felt much less violent on the students' bodies for some reason. It rustled their Light Gear and hair, but their faces were completely immune to gusty harassment.

Many giggled and cackled while others performed stupid poses and yelled cringey phrases that were hardly audible to their friends.

Professor Lyall could be seen at the very front of the formation while Professor Aarons was way above everyone else at the very belly of the throng, looking down at the students carefully.

Draggard-Phoenix was built on an artificially placed piece of land within a great lake called the Moolber, which was surrounded by civilization on three sides and high mountains on the last.

The group was headed towards the line of said high mountains which looked like inverted, navy blue fangs from the distance.

It was there that today's exercise would be held.

Ginger took in a deep breath, allowing himself a chance to enjoy the ride which wouldn't last too long. The rushing waters below him were clear and fleeting, yet the dark shadows reflected on them persisted.

"This is amazing!" he cried and spread out his hands.

"I beg to differ!" Reiss bellowed from his side.

He didn't look too happy about this, but the reason didn't have anything to do with a fear of heights, since Reiss didn't look to be afraid of the concerningly vast gap between him and the lake.

His concern... was the large hammer in his hand which was sagging below him, slowly slipping from his grip!

"Help me!"

Ginger reached in immediately at Reiss' call. He lifted the hammer, offering to carry it for his friend, but the dwarfish dragonling vehemently refused. His only wish was for Ginger to help him keep it on his shoulder.

"Good grief! She should have given us a warning!" Reiss yelled after the head to his weapon had its weight secured on him again. Thankfully, because of how Professor Lyall's Pieyro worked, he wouldn't lose altitude from the weight. On the other hand, he would suffer the burden all the more.

Ginger chuckled, a little amused.

He looked around them to see the other students showing the same amount of enthusiasm as him. But then, he turned to the right.

Far off, he could see Caron flying amid other students with a slightly sullen face. Of course, she had no company. She merely looked ahead with her four-section Qin Steel staff gripped tightly in her hands.

Ginger felt immensely guilty.

The current view depicted exactly how it must have been for Caron.

While he had Reiss, Caron had no one despite being surrounded by hundreds of students her age.

Ginger wished he could have flown to her side, but his trajectory – and that of all the other students – was fixed.

Reiss saw the direction in which he was looking and sighed lightly.

"Let's go to her immediately after we land!" he shouted.

Ginger nodded.

Soon, the enormous rows of mountains replaced the clear waters of the lake. The view of the massive, bald natural structures from up close was intimidating, to say the least.

There was whipping cold to the giants and their peaks, which made them seem sentient. Those with vibrant imaginations thought that the mountains were telling them to dip lower in order to avoid their frosty demesnes as a sign of respect

Whether that was true or not didn't seem to matter to Professor Lyall.

She carefully had everyone weave through the first few clusters of blue, conical behemoths, which, while slightly challenging for her given how many lives were in her hands, turned out to be immensely thrilling for the students.

Well, except Reiss.

Soon, a rare patch of dark, even ground grew larger and larger in the students' view as they dropped and landed one after another.

The peaks cast several, wide shadows around this spot.

Barely anything grew, save for a few resilient weeds and leaf-less bushes that seemed to hope for the shift of an angle in the large first sun in the sky so that they could live another day.

Mana Essence was especially thick here, and all the students were immensely pleased to feel it, some even causing it to churn with their fingers.

It was evident that Professor Hennigar and his course were gems in the eyes of the First Years now.

When all the First Years had landed, the last to do so giving noisy reviews of the flight while others studied the surroundings, Professor Lyall addressed everyone.

"Follow me. Keep a brisk pace."

She then led the large group through a winding path within the dark blue mountains.

The students marched, the sound of their shoes causing several echoes.

"Come on," Reiss said to Ginger, and the two pushed through the crowd to look for Caron.

It was a rough endeavor. The First Years were tightly packed together because the path was narrow and also because some were made nervous by some of the more... horrifically artistic characteristics of the mountain faces draped in dark shadow for the best effect; this made more than a few huddle together, despite the fact that Professor Aarons was herding everyone from the back, looking after them.

A shower of grunts, insults, and unfriendly nudges rained on Reiss and Ginger on their way, but the two were too focused on their goal to retort or respond.

They were rewarded soon enough when the figure of a redhead popped into view.

Reiss had to cling to Ginger's arm to prevent himself from being swept up by the aggressive crowd.

"Oh, hey," Caron said, looking at the two who went on to station themselves on either of her sides.

"'Oh, hey'? That's it?" Reiss said, his brow shooting up.

"You look terrible. What happened? Did Fillys hit you?" Ginger asked concernedly.

Caron's pallid face turned from Reiss to Ginger and vice versa.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired," she replied hollowly, a light smile appearing on her face.

Neither Ginger nor Reiss was convinced. Obviously.

They both hesitated a little and then Ginger spoke, pulling Caron away from the many bulging eyes and keen ears. Reiss followed.

"Look. We know something's wrong. You can tell us. Maybe we can hel—"

"I said I'm fine," Caron cut Ginger off, her face turning dreadfully placid.

Reiss and Ginger looked at each other.

Caron's response didn't give them much to work with. They couldn't really force her to speak up.

But then again, now that Ginger thought about it, their relationship with Caron didn't quite extend beyond the bounds of the proposal she made.

They only interacted with her when it came to things related to learning about Kardia and Mana Essence. Nothing else.

Without Caron having to say it, Ginger understood that perhaps she didn't think he and Reiss were her 'friends', in the truest sense of the word.

The burden of concern and guilt weighed heavier on Ginger.

What was he to do with this?

As the group continued on, neither of the three spoke. Ginger and Reiss would have loved to, but they were infected by Caron's overbearing sombreness.

Thankfully, the monotonous march didn't stagnate for too long, view-wise.

Soon, the large group came to a halt.

The narrow path sloped down into a rocky cave a stone's throw away.

Thankfully, there were rough steps carved into the rough rock as it descended, leading into the darkness that followed from the awaiting, second narrow path.

Professor Lyall led everyone into it.

The thumping of feet made unsettling echoes that thrummed through distant spaces within the enclosure when the students entered the cave.

The darkness would have contributed to their fear, but Professor Lyall suddenly became encased in a pure, golden glow from her face, her Professorial coat, and thickly legs.

She lit up the space between the rocky floor and the ancient, cracked ceiling magnificently.

That light not only made it clear where the students stepped, but it was warm and comforting, making the short journey that followed much lighter.

Less than fifty meters later, the straight path widened into a gargantuan cavern where all the students could fit in freely.

The dark blue, rugged walls illuminated by Professor Lyall's light bore a thick, stale scent, and where they ended a far distance away, a large, perfectly carved, arched gap could be seen.

Ginger, Caron, and Reiss, like other clusters of students, took the chance to spread out, giving themselves room.

The plump dragonling looked up and around with barely veiled enthusiasm.

Despite how ominous this place looked, he had been poisoned finely by Ancor to enjoy travel and adventure. The current spot they had been brought to allowed him to indulge the curious part of him that hadn't gotten a chance to shine so far.

Ginger looked at the far ceiling – roughly twenty-five meters away – and he saw a large stone sculpture there, hanging upside down, depicting the Five Ancient Elders. Each likeness of the five had a large tablet below it, with a string of incomprehensible text that-

Ginger immediately looked away, his heart thumping, sweat beginning to form at his brow.

Reiss nudged him.

"You never learn, do you?" he said in a reproachful, hushed voice.

"I didn't read them!" Ginger hurried to defend himself while panting.

On the first day of official learning, he had encountered a miniature sculpture of the Ancient dragons in the Fifth Floor lobby and had been about to read them when Reiss saved him.

The same sort of sculpture, albeit a bit different, was in this cavern, with the same text he had tried to read on the tablets back then.

That text, as Ginger came to know with Reiss' help and Professor Lyall's mention on the subject, contained the True Names of the five Ancient Dragons.

Even after the five were long gone, their True Names were so powerful that they could protect spaces where they were utilized.

Of course, only older dragons could ever dream of handling such things.

The Exalted Names of powerful dragons, also known as True Names, couldn't be said lightly or be read without dying instantly. While Ginger hadn't known back then, Reiss had explained that every dragonling was taught and trained from a tender age to never make the mistake of messing with a True Name or any dragon with one for that matter.

Draggard-Phoenix Institute ensured that all its students were bred by knowledgeable dragons before induction for this reason, among others.

Ginger had lamented that Ira hadn't thought it necessary to tell him this. Or had he perhaps thought that Ancor had told him?

Well...

Professor Lyall clicked her fingers and the First Years sensed the Mana Essence within the cavern converge at several points before igniting into large balls of intense light that brightened the large space.

The instructor's luminance died down as she turned to the First Years and addressed them with strict eyes behind her glasses.

"Let's have some order, shall we?" she called. "It's best that we begin as promptly as possible."

Right after the students quieted down to listen to her, a loud roar shook the cavern lightly, its origin the space behind the arched gap in the distance.

The raspy, rough noise rattled the First Years, and they all, without exception, felt the odd, constricting pressure of malevolent Cinder-Born finely.