Master me? Master you? Mastery? If I could make that clear, the black dragon would disappear into that clarity!

Norza becomes quite ill if I dont let her glide over the sea. I wish I could fly with her Juji said as she gazed over at her dragon.

Akemanga the red has impressed me with the way he controls his flames. Hes not the same crazy spitfire that he used to be. Asher replied to her. Asher was a familiar tall monk who took care of a wingless red dragon. He was an abrasive, tall man who pushed himself and his dragon to their limits.

I was watching in awe as Thraga flew around with the other dragons. In stature, he was no larger than the other dragons, but if the light hit him right, his scales would glow. His black scales were magnificent. Their onyx hue contrasted the bright blue sky that made up his backdrop. Flying around the other dragons, his hide served to highlight their colors rather than overshadow them. He glided with grace; while other wingless dragons would stop and coil in the air, Thraga would glide outstretched and cut through the air with precision.

Acot? Asher called out to me.

What? Excuse me? I replied

Did you hear the question? He asked me.

No. I wasnt paying attention. I answered sternly.

He let out a sigh, put his hands on his hips and asked me So Thraga obeys you already, huh? Is Thraga a naturally obedient dragon?

Thraga? Obedient? I took a second to ponder everything that went down in that week in the cavern in Oorba Bay. Well I then recalled the next week afterward. I tried to finish my sentence, but giggling broke my concentration. Thats the last word Id use to describe him.

In the sky, I heard Thraga roar, he spiraled up and began to fly between me and the sun. Corkscrewing through the air, he approached the mountain top but then flew back into the sky to skim in front of a winged, blue dragon, stopping it in its path.

I only got a little peek of Acot and Thraga, Juji began to say But I could already tell that those two were really tightly knit. Their form might have been sloppy, but they are certainly a force to be reckoned with.

Oh, then I suppose it speaks to Acot just how powerful he is, molding that dragon into shape. Isnt that right, Acot? Asher concluded, asking me for my input.

How old is Thraga? One of the other dragon tamers asked me on top of Ashers question.

Out of a haze, I looked over at her. She was sitting directly across from me. There were six of us in a large, seated gazebo that overlooked a cliff. Beyond the land, all of our dragons flew together in the sky. In the center of the gazebo was an ornate hookah that we were passing clockwise around us.

Hes part of Thillbys youngest group of dragons, so about as old as Neerza.

Norza Juji replied.

Norza, right! I clarified, Thraga and I have had a pretty rocky relationship to say the least. You all know the circumstances with Ned, right?

People nodded solemnly.

When Thillby approached me about the situation, he told me I dont know what Im about to do with this dragon. Its much too rare to be put down! It is a quandary. But we had gotten to know each other a bit before the funeral and we had a heart to heart during the entire ordeal. What it came down to was Thillby coming up to me. He asks me Acot, can I entrust you with this dragon? which, in and of itself, is a sweeping question. Since I told him yes, though, Ive felt an obligation to win the trust of this troubled dragon who lost his original owner to madness.

Asher, who was sitting next to me, handed me the hookah and the others all looked at me. As I began to take a drag, he put his hand on my shoulder and the rest of the tamers began clapping for me. With my half-hearted attempt at conversation and a full blown lie in my head, I felt annoyed by their company. I wanted to be training with Thraga. Thats when we heard something large land on the ceiling of the gazebo. Slithering down from on top was Thraga. As one of the tamers went out to touch his scales, the dragon snarled at her. Taken back in shock, she screamed. I reached out for Thraga.

Its okay, buddy, its going to be okay. I said to him, feigning melancholy.

I want this summit to burn Thraga said, licking his snout with his forked tongue.

All I need is your trust, Thraga. Can I please have it? I began stroking his mane.

After breathing heavily, Thraga pronounced, I. hate. you. As he flew out of the gazebo, his tail whipped me and flying off, he shot up towards the sun and exhaled dragonfire towards it.

I clenched the hookah between my hands. I looked up to see the other tamers still looking at me. I passed the hookah on. I adjusted my cloak as it had been rustled by Thragas visit. It was coarsely knit and was made of colorful patterns of all the dragon colors. It was quite comfy in the chilly air of the summit.

You will master Thraga, Acot. The tamer that reached out for the dragon said to me. Both your spirits are strong. She squeaked out. She used her sleeve to wipe away a tear as she began to get red in the face.

Yes, Thraga is a force of nature. But hes not the only dragon. I dont want to bring you all down too much. Asher, what were you saying about Akemanga before? I passed the conversation off to him.

Well, funny you should mention that. I was just remarking on his physical strength. Youre a couple months late to the party, as you know, Acot. Asher began waving his hands. Akemanga and I have been training physically and emotionally together. Hes become a strong fighter in his own right. Our training together has made him one of the strongest dragons around in a fight.

Maybe I was having a bad day. Maybe this multi-hour conversation had frustrated me. Maybe lying put me in a sour mood. Maybe I didnt like Ashers face. Maybe I knew Thraga would love the opportunity. Whatever it was, I felt an urge bubble up inside of me.

Do you think hes stronger than Thraga? I asked.

A guy who had been silent since we got the gazebo piped up and, in a low tone, starting saying Oooooooooooo, adding an emphasis on what I had just said.

Well, yeah, Thragas a black dragon, but with all the extra effort youve had to put in to fail to master him, I cant imagine him being physically stronger. Besides that, red dragons arent necessarily weaker than black, just usually less cunning. Since yours is so troubled, I hardly feel like the black dragon advantage means anything. Beyond that, weve spent weeks working on how to fight whereas youve been working on creating a new bond after Neds No, Im sure Akemanga can beat Thraga in a fight.

Asher! Dont- Juji started to reach over for Asher.

Ahem! I interrupted, standing up. Want to put it to the test? I said, bringing my brow down.

Juji grabbed on to his arm as he used his other to stroke his bare chin. Thragas seen enough carnage in such a short time Juji tried to reason with him. Hes going to go down a bad path and youre encouraging him!

How do you feel about that, Acot?

I think its a pretty good way for us to form a bond. I walked over to the edge of the gazebo and shouted BLOOOOD! at the top of my lungs.

After a second of silence, I heard a roar and I saw Thraga careen over towards the side of the mountain. I heard a crash as he hit the side of it and began to slither up to meet me at eye level. The wind rushed through his beautiful silver mane. I looked back down at Asher who was still seated. He got up and, without saying a word, reached out for my hand. Looking at him straight in the eye, I shook his hand.

The sun was straight overhead above the dirt floor arena. All the dragon tamers from the gazebo, including Juji, were in attendance. A few others had joined us along the way. They noticed our group while we were finding Axon to judge the duel. He put both of the tamers off to the edges of the dirt floor and signaled to the dragons that it was time to fight.

As per Thragas goading, the red and black wingless dragons were coiled up in the dead center of the arena. Their claws met each other as they let out a roar. They disengaged and they began flying towards each other. As Thraga went for the first strike, Akemanga corkscrewed, dodging deftly out of the way. Thraga hit the ground, did a pinpoint turn and launched back into the air. Akemanga breathed fire at the black dragon who jumped up higher to avoid it. Akemanga took the chance to shoot up towards him and slash him with his claw. Thraga met this attack with his own claws and jumped backward to the spot where they had started.

I clenched my fist and, synchronistically, Thraga let out a big breath. Akemanga charged at Thraga and Thraga began oscillating left and right in the air. As Akemanga went to chomp down on Thraga, the black dragon jumped off towards his opponents haunch. He flew up a bit and anticipated more dragonfire. I caught a glimpse of rage in Thragas eyes and saw him charge down at the red dragon. Akemanga spit fire out at Thraga. In a full rush, Thraga ignored the fire and clenched the neck of the red dragon, Akemanga. With a shriek, Akemanga was taken to the ground.

Rolling around on the ground, Thraga kept his vicegrip on the back of the dragons neck and he wrapped his tail around red dragon, just above the hind legs. This exposed Akemangas belly. The dirt that they had kicked up and rubbed into themselves extinguished the flames that burnt the edges of Thragas mane. The dragonfire did little else to the black dragon. Thraga put his head toward the sky and, looking down, began spitting dragonfire onto the belly of Akemanga. At this point, the dragon began roaring in pain and, soon after the battle had started, Asher yelled We yield! to Axon.

Axons chest began to radiate with cyan-blue mana. He rolled his shoulders back and spat out chilled water at Thragas back. Thraga flinched and recoiled. He looked over at Axon. I shouted out to my dragon. You won! Thraga slithered over to me and I rubbed his forehead to mine.