The Isle of Riders
In the old days, when magic ruled the world and such, dragons were very popular back then. Either they were treasure greedy and savaged beasts, or they were the tam beasts of certain people which could be used to turn a battle to one's favor. Now though, it seems most of them have vanished from our peaceful world. We continue to watch over the remaining dragon's we have left and hope that they will grow in generations to come. The Isle of Riders is where those who are to become the next Dragon Riders live and train for possibly years before a dragon hatches. I am one such person, one of six chosen since birth. I've been living here for about four years, and my eighteen birthday is approaching. The others are excited, for they know what this means. We get to label ourselves as true riders. We get to use the one thing that is almost forbidden to be used on any human.
Dragon's Blood.
"Eric! It is time!" The Red Rider called out to me while I was busy looking into the history of riders. I furrowed my brows and sighed, closing my book as I walk out of my room and close the door behind me. There stood the Red Rider, with the Purple and Blue Riders at his sides. I was to be the Green Rider, the other two were to be the Orange and Yellow Riders. It was a sad thing, really. No one would really ever know me as 'Eric the Green Rider' in history books, but as 'The Green Rider of the 12th Generation' or something like that.
"I'm here. Let's do this." I replied to Red.
"Splendid. You will pass the test, and then, Dragon's Blood for everyone!" The other two cheered at this, so happy and proud to finally be doing this. I didn't like it, becoming half dragon to be able to ride a dragon was insane. Yet no one questioned the Laws of Riders, it was the only known way to make a human bond to his dragon. Dragon Riders had been known to go insane from this method, since the 6th Generation it had become tradition almost. Yet who among those Riders had lived long enough to warn future generations of the impending dangers that came with this? Some Riders had become corrupt because of it, others went mad and almost revealed the secret location of the isle.
"Sure. Let's go." I couldn't say no, it was my destiny. It was who I was meant to become. When we walked out of my home - The Green Rider's destined home, we could view the great castle that held so many riders in the past. The Isle was mostly covered in green, perhaps that is why the past Green Riders had grown so close to it. Or maybe it was because the rider's dragon's ancestors thrived here. Whichever the case, it was beautiful. No place on our world looked quite as wonderful any more, with the modernization of our world coming into control. As we walked towards the castle for my greatest trial, we could feel the wonderful breeze sweep over us. It felt as if angels were blowing air upon us, making us feel calm and cool, well rested and full of courage. I was not full of confidence though, I was full of doubt, I was full of fear at what we were about to become.
For the past four years, we Riders of the 12th Generation had grown to acknowledge one another as brothers, not by blood, but by our great bonds to one another. Our friendships had made us a family in a way, but now that would end. My brothers were about to become corrupted, and I was left to share the same fate. The thought continued to haunt me, I had nightmares for the past two weeks about this. My brothers transforming into some half Dragon-half Human form in the midst of battle and slaying any enemy before them. The dragons they would have would only help this, fighting alongside the rider with undying loyalty and with no knowledge of it's rider becoming corrupted. Always at the end I saw darkness come over me as I too began to change, just before I completely lost myself, I would wake up.
After several minutes of walking we entered, and as we entered into the bottom floor of the castle, the Orange and Yellow riders soon joined us. The Red Rider was the tallest among us, while also being the eldest at 19. I was the youngest and stood on par in height with the Orange and Blue riders. The others varied in size, the Purple Rider stood almost as tall as the Red, and the Yellow stood as the shortest. Once inside, the other five riders spread out and stood by a statue of the 1st Generation's riders respectively. I looked up to find the three elders standing before me, a few feet high in the air they had ascended up stairs in order to look down at our every move. They oversaw our trials, they determined who were Riders. They would also bring about my inevitable fate.
"Welcome, Green Rider." The tallest of the elders spoke, he asserted himself as the leader among the three. The most wise, the most in power and the man of destiny. "Tomorrow will be the day you turn 18. So today, we will see if the Riders are ready, or if they shall wait yet another year." I knew what he meant. We could of gotten the Dragon's Blood sooner, but our Blue rider had failed his test, leaving us another year to learn from his mistake. He had passed yesterday, so now it was my turn since I had met the age requirements now. "This last test will test you in everything you know about Dragons, while also mentally seeing if you know what it takes to be a Rider." It made me want to sleep a little, I do admit, but that would basically mean I couldn't care less whether I died or not today. "Open the gate!"
Underneath where the three Elders stood was the gate that held the dragon to test me. Once the gate opened, the beast inside was ready to come out. I have to also admit, I felt scared when I saw the beast slowly walk out, years after it's master had died and the corruption it's master had left behind had turned it from a once wise and peaceful creature, into a savage and greedy creature. It just goes to show you the Dragon's Blood theory didn't just harm the rider. The Green Dragon of the 11th Generation growled at me, it's eyes searching for any treasure on me. When it found nothing, it began to circle me, it's hungry eyes and drooling mouth made me doubt I could do this. "Rider, you will have to choose eventually." Spoke the leader Elder again.
The Green Dragon made the choice for me. It ran at me and breathed out the wispy green fire it held inside. I was lucky enough to jump to the side and just narrowly miss them as they burned a statue to ashes in just seconds. I rose up as the Green Dragon looked at me again and roared out, trying to gain an advantage over me by damaging me temporarily. I kept my focus just enough though to see it charge it's head at me, I rolled out of the way as it collided it's head with the statue and let out a cry in pain, the statue crumbling to pieces shortly after being hit. We made eye contact for a moment and I knew what had to be done. I raced towards the statue closet to me, as the other riders watched from above. I hid behind the statue as the Green Dragon collided into it again, but not as hard as it cried out briefly before taking a step back. I took this chance to push my feet against the statue and push it slowly forward, the dragon's great strength had weakened it enough for me to do this. When the dragon noticed, it was too late, as the statue came crumbling down on top of it, pinning it to the ground with it's head exposed.
"Good, Green Rider. Now, choose the fate of this dragon." I looked at the elder, holding back a glare. I knew all too well it didn't matter if you killed the dragon or not, you passed either way. If they wanted to blackmail you later on though, it could very easily happen either way. Like 'oh you didn't kill this dragon, blah blah' or 'oh, you killed this poor innocent dragon, blah blah blah' or such things like that. I walked over to the beaten dragon, looking into it's savage eyes as it struggled weakly to rise up and take me down where I stood. I knelt down beside the head as I put my hand gently on the dragon's forehead, watching it stop all motion briefly while I did this. Everyone was watching in awe, what had I just done? I stood up slowly as the dragon let out a low growl in sorrow, suddenly realizing what it had been doing.
"Hey, Red! Purple! Can you come help me?" I asked them as they rushed down the stairs on the left side of the room.
"Sure thing, Green!" The Red Rider spoke as they helped me push the rubble off of the dragon, I was only lucky Dragons were strong enough to survive boulders being dropped on them. Depending on how big they were, of course. The Red and Purple Riders were the best two I could trust out of the others, I could imagine them now. Blue was probably thinking I was soft, Orange probably didn't care and Yellow would probably try to ask if he could kill the dragon later. The Green Dragon rose once all was said and done, it then walked back into the darkness as the gate closed behind it. The other Riders came down at this, I looked up at the Elders. They looked all too pleased with the results.
"Well done, Rider. You have passed the test, and proven you all are ready to take the Dragon's Blood. Jerald, if you would be so kind..." The shortest Elder descended down to us and set down a box near us. Opening it, we all saw six syringes inside. We all looked up to the Elders as Jerald joined them. "Go on Riders, you have earned it." I knew all too well this was just the last thing they needed to hold servitude over our heads. The Blue Rider was the first to rush over to a syringe and stab it into his arm without hesitation.
"Feels good..." The Blue Rider commented. He threw the empty syringe into the ground afterword and let it shatter, seeming to enjoy this. The Yellow Rider followed next, taking a syringe and stabbing it in as well as he watched the blood enter his body. We could all tell he was enjoying it far more than the Blue Rider had. Once he was finished, he crushed the syringe in his hand and cast the pieces aside.
"Come, brothers." He said to us. "It feels right." The next was the Orange Rider, who was more hesitant than the Blue or Yellow Riders were. But slowly, he inserted the syringe into him and let the Dragon's Blood enter his body. He quickly took it out once it was empty and threw it away, seeming to pant as he walked over to the other two.
"I feel... Ill." He stated to us. The next up was Purple, who cleaned up the messes of the other syringes first before taking his own syringe. He took a deep breath before inserting it into his body. He did not watch the blood enter his body, taking it out once the blood was in and putting the syringe with the other messes. He then made his way over to the others.
"I... I think I'm getting a fever." He said. The next up was Red, who confidently took the syringe and placed it into his body, quickly letting the blood enter his body as he soon took the syringe out and put it among the others.
"It feels... Good, I guess." He shrugged and walked over to the others. Then it was my turn, as I walked over to the only syringe left and took it, feeling my hand shake as I struggled to breath. I hesitantly put it above my arm, feeling like the entire world was closing in on me as I slowly brought it down.
"Oh you idiot, let me!" I felt myself getting pushed as the Blue Rider took the syringe out of my hands and stabbed it into my arm. I screamed out as only a portion of the blood entered my body before I pushed him away. He stumbled back as his back hit the wall, the syringe shattering as the blood fell over his arm.
"Restrain the Blue Rider!" The leader Elder spoke, the Yellow and Red Riders pinning the Blue Rider to the wall as he struggled.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
"You are a fool, Blue Rider! Not only have you tried to do it for him, but you broke the syringe and have broken many traditions in just one action!"
"It is not my fault! He shouldn't of reacted the way he did!"
"It was self defense! You will be punished for this, I assure you! Everyone, dismissed!" None of us spoke to each other for the rest of the day. Blue gave me a glare before heading out. For the rest of the day, I felt ill. My back felt off as I kept myself restrained for the day. That night, I had a dream of sorts. I was flying... The air was rushing into me, it was fast. I was fast. I felt free, no longer was the Isle of Riders near me. No other Riders were near me. I felt... Like I was in heaven. That all changed when I woke up and gasped for air, sweating as I sat up. I prepared myself for the day, knowing what was ahead. I was still Eric to myself, to the others though, I was Green.
"Today is the day we see how you are developing." Jerald spoke to us, pacing back and forth as we stood all in a line. "The Dragon's Blood should have settled in over the night, and you should be able to have some power showing. It will take a while, but in time, you will learn to harness those powers and be the Riders we need you to be. Show us what each of you can do!"
"Alright, step back ladies!" Blue Rider called out to us. "Let me show you how it's done!" He was the first to go, or rather volunteer. I still didn't feel well, something inside of me was changing. We watched as Blue's arms buffed up a bit as he grabbed a boulder and tried to lift it up. He struggled for a few minutes, trying to not look pathetic or weak as he did. After a bit, he was able to just slightly lift it before putting it down and came back panting. Jerald shook his head as he watched Blue walk back to us.
"Next." Jerald called out for the next Rider to show us something. Yellow Rider went up next, shrugging his shoulders before going to show us what he had. He inhaled before breathing out, but only air came out. He huffed and he puffed three more times until he was too tired to huff and puff. He walked back over to us while Jerald sighed out in what seemed like pity.
"I'll -- I'll get it..." Yellow Rider mumbled to us. Orange stepped up to the challenge, punching the boulder that Blue tried to lift, but didn't even get a crack on it. He screamed out and ran around while holding his fist, Jerald put his hand over his face. Purple came up after this, closing his eyes as when he opened them, his eyes shifted. Jerald rose his brows at this.
"What... What do you see, Purple Rider?" He asked.
"I see... Fish. Jumping out of the waters and going back. A bird is coming near them... He just caught a fish. Wait... Colors are coming in. It's... My head is starting to hurt."
"Alright Purple Rider, that's enough."
"I... Don't know how."
"Focus, Rider. Focus!" The Purple Rider did just this, exiting out of his Dragon Vision as he nearly stumbled to the ground. Red helped him over as he had him sit down in his spot before walking over to Jerald. He concentrated as his form slowly changed. It was brief and very sudden, but his body became red briefly before returning to normal.
"Impressive, Red Rider! You are getting the hang of it."
"Almost..." He stated before walking back to us. I walked forward as I felt nervous.
"Green Rider? You don't have to do this today, you know."
"I know... But... I feel like I should do something at this point."
"Hm... If you wish. Try it out." I concentrated inside at this, on the blood now changing me. I struggled as I screamed out as something began tearing out of my back. Jerald jumped back briefly as my green wings spread out across my back as I collapsed to my hands and knees. Red rose a brow at this, I had just perfected a better transformation than he did.
"Good work, good work! You may retract them now." I felt only pain for a few, his words were hit and miss after that. I remember it being a few minutes, before I finally was able to pull the wings back in as I collapsed, shaking. "Take him to the medic at once!" The rest of the day was mostly hit and miss. That night, I remember going home. I don't remember why. I woke up from another dream though, I was flying again. I wanted to fly... So bad. When I got up and walked out, I saw... Something. I furrowed my brows and walked out to the kitchen to find some sort of creature devouring my food. It stopped when it realized I was there and looked over at me slowly.
"Green Rider..." It spoke in it's deep and demonic voice. It slowly turned around as it's wings spread out of it's back.
"What... Do I know you?" I asked the thing.
"Come now... You must remember Blue." My eyes widened as I felt myself shaking.
"Blue Rider...?" I asked.
"That's right. I'm in a sort of developing stage, but once I get more Dragon's Blood in me... I'll be ready."
"Ready for what?!"
"To transform. To ascend. Soon. Now... Perhaps I should get out of --" But before he could go on, Red and Purple tackled him down.
"Green, stay back! You don't want to look at him too closely!" Blue screamed out as he struggled around to move. The other Riders shortly came in after this. After some time, we were back in the castle, watching the restrained half-dragon/half-human Blue Rider try to break free.
"This is terrible!" Jerald said to us. "How did he more?!"
"I don't know! There was more?!?" Red asked him.
"Of course! We have them somewhere secret, but no one was suppose to know where they were but us!"
"What do we do?!" Orange asked.
"Is he stuck?!" Yellow asked.
"I am afraid he has too much... The transformation will soon be impossible to reserve."
"What do we do?!" Red asked.
"We have two options... Keep him as he is, or..." Jerald looked at Red, who's eyes widened with shock.
"No! I can't do that to him!"
"Then he shall remain as he is?"
"Well...."
"It is up to you, Red Rider." Jerald spoke to him. Red looked around at us as he gritted his teeth. He hadn't killed his dragon, nor had he killed before. He looked to Blue as he slowly took a hold of something, it looked like a stake. We all looked away as he prepared himself, Jerald stepping back as Red came closer.
"I am sorry, Blue Rider..." With that, he brought the stake down. Blue Rider's shadow struggled and screamed before the stake was twisted and the Blue Rider fell motionless. I had been watching the shadows, and when I looked back, Red had pulled the stake out and dropped it. "... By the Gods, why?" Afterword, me, Red and Purple had gone to see the leader Elder, who sat in the Elder's house. He drank something as he set down the cup before looking at us.
"So... He broke traditions, the rules... By the Gods, I am pleased you made the right choice."
"The right choice...?" Purple asked.
"Yes. Death was the only good thing for him."
"How was it...?" Red asked.
"Would you rather you have waited another year for the training, hmm?"
"Well... No, sir, but --"
"Then you did the right thing. Now, we will need to discuss the matter of the Blue Dragon egg..."
"Um... What, sir?"
"We will need to dispose of it at once."
"Sir! That is --"
"It is the right thing to do. Another Blue Rider will come in a few years, do not worry. Red, I am counting on you to destroy that egg."
".... Sir.... I...."
"Can I count on you to do this?"
".... Yes.... Sir." Red bowed his head at this.
"Good. Dismissed." It was morning before all of us met inside what was now the empty Blue Rider's home. Red seemed to have his face in his hands. Orange was leaning on a wall for support as his illness continued to get worse. Yellow stood in silence. Purple was the only one to take chances among the silence that had engulfed the five of us.
"Come on guys. We need not worry. The Gods will take good care of the Blue Rider now --"
"Phillip."
"... Excuse me?"
"He wasn't the Blue Rider when he died. He was Phillip." The Red Rider continued to comment.
"... Okay... Well... You did what had to be done, Red."
"What if the Elders are wrong though?"
"The Elders have never been wrong though."
"But they are still human! Just like us!"
"Are we human any more?! We are Dragon Blood!"
"Guys... I'm not feeling too good." Orange spoke out.
"Oh man... Alright Orange, we'll take you to the medic today."
"Thank you, Purple..."
"We'll talk later Red."
"No... We won't." Red got up and walked out, shutting the door behind him as he did. After taking Orange to the medic and doing training for the day, we all departed. That was when Red came running back to us. "Something's wrong!"
"What's happened?!" Purple asked.
"Come... We must hurry!" When we followed him to the medic, we found Orange struggling to hold on to his life.
"How did this happen?!" I asked.
"I... I don't know. I came to check on him and found him in this condition!"
"We must do something!" Yellow said to them.
"I don't think we can!"
"We must! For Orange!" For the rest of the day, we were there for Orange. But he was not Orange any more... No. He was Jeffrey. And that night, that's who he was when he passed away. The four of us bowed our heads briefly. Jerald came in and saw what had happened. Red was angry, but Jerald got away. Shortly after, Red was called in to see the leader Elder again. He walked off angry, while we buried our second brother that night. It wasn't until morning when Red finally told us how it went.
"It was horrible! He said it was natural this happened some times! Our powers are still developing in us, and he goes and says it's natural we might die?! Oh, I was angry... But I held it in. Even as he commanded me to destroy the Orange Rider's egg... I was not proud to do it. But I do feel like we should stop the Elders!"
"The Elders are right though, brother." Purple told him. "Why would they lie?!"
"I know they are... They are using us, brother! Do you not see it?! Blue's transformation - they did it to him while he was asleep!"
"How do you know this, Red?!?"
"And Orange! They poisoned him while he was resting!"
"Where is the evidence, Red!?"
"I know this! I know it from just looking at them! I had to kill one of them!"
"No one forced you to, Red! We had a choice! You made one for us!"
"I am meant to lead this team! What choice DID I have?! Yellow, Green?! Are you with me?!" He looked at us with a dark look in his eyes.
"I... Think Purple has a point." I said to him.
"So you are with him, huh? Yellow?"
"I am with you, brother. Tell me what to do and I will follow it without question."
"Good... Let us get away from these two." With that, the two went off. Purple patted me on the shoulder, but he frowned while doing it. He wasn't sure if he was making the right choice, but we had chosen our side. That day, it was just us two training. The sudden deaths of Blue and Orange still filled our heads, but we pressed them back. It was days before we saw Red and Yellow passing by just two weeks later. They were up to something. We were so close to harnessing our powers, too.
"I think the only thing you can do is fly, Green." Purple told me.
"That's... A good thing, right?" I asked him.
"Should be... Hopefully it will. I just hope --" That was when Red came bursting in to Purple's home. "Red, what is the meaning of this?!"
"Yellow... They took him down!"
"What? Calm down, Red! Tell us what has happened!"
"He killed an Elder! The fool! I told him not to do it, but he did it anyway! They put him down, made me bury the body just now! I had to destroy a third egg..."
"Brother... Tell me you two weren't planning on killing the Elders!"
"... It may have come to mind." He confirmed.
"WHAT?!"
"Listen to me --"
"No! You are obviously doing something to them, you did something! Who was it?! Who did he kill?!"
"The little short one, of course! Jerald is fine, and the leader is still breathing down my neck!"
"You fool! You will be banished! You will be an outcast for this!"
"Let it be so, then! I have had enough of the Elder's and the lies they spew at me!" He walked out before Purple could answer, slamming the door shut as Purple fell into a seat. He looked a little pale.
"... Brother? Are you okay?"
"I..." He started. "... Green. Whatever happens... If something does happen, run."
"What?"
"Take the egg you have and run. I don't know what Red is doing, but..." He paused at this. "... If something does happen, please... Get off this island. For the world's sake." He looked at me. "Please..."
"... I promise." I told him. He seemed relieved at this, but I felt wrong for agreeing to it. It was another week of training before we finally told Jerald what Red had told us. Red had been missing for a while now.
"What? Red is behind all this then... It all makes sense now."
"Elder?" Purple asked. "What do you mean?"
"He must of broken in where the Dragon's Blood was... No doubt he might of taken more by now. He must of tested some on Blue, to see how much he should take a time. He might of tried this on Orange too, it is only a guess boys, but... We did not kill Yellow. He was going mad when we found him, eating the poor Elder... We fended him off as long as we could before he suddenly stopped and died. His body wasn't able to handle it... I must warn the leader at once. Boys, you must leave the island and take the eggs with you."
"But --"
"Do not question me now. I am sorry boys... This is the only path left for us." He rushed off before we could stop him.
"What do we do now, Purple?" I asked him.
"... Go home and pack. Hurry now."
"But --"
"Do not question me. Please..." He, too, ran off. I felt sad going home and packing up my things, but... What choice did I have? I left enough room for us to carry the eggs inside. When it came to night, all was silent on the island. When I looked to the castle, I felt my heart sink for some reason. But that didn't matter, I had to get to the eggs. Reaching the cave, I looked in to only see the Purple and Green eggs left. I rushed to the Green once first and put it away. I waited for Purple, but the hours started to pass by. I studied the eggs, watched them even... After a few hours of waiting, I sniffed the air as something came to my nose. Smoke...? But then... My worse fears came to life. But then, Purple showed up.
"Green..." He mumbled, rushing over as he picked up his egg. "Leave this with me, please... You must go, now."
"What? But... Why?"
"The Elders are dead. Jerald was killed two hours ago, and the leader of the Elders just died not long ago... I barely escaped, but he is after us."
"Who?"
"Who else?" I got up and we ran towards one of the edges of the Isle. I could see fire spreading everywhere... How did this go by me? Had I fallen asleep somehow when this started? The castle, our homes... Everything was burning to the ground! I spread out my wings as I looked at Purple.
"Where are we going?"
"... We are going to the Island of the Dragons..."
"Why?"
"This place will soon be Red's Domain... We must not hesitate. We must go where we can properly train our Dragons." A large explosion of fire came in the middle of the Isle at this, and a great roar echoed out. I briefly could see Red walking towards us, he had mastered his half dragon/half human form.
"Hurry, now!" Purple shouted, as I flew into the air first, holding my stuff close to my chest. This was the most flying I had gotten yet, so I was a little unprepared when I first went into the air. Purple swiftly followed, just barely avoiding a blast of fire. I looked down briefly to see Red glaring at us, his eyes only could show betrayal. I could confirm it in my heart, at that moment, that everything said about Red had been true. He had betrayed us, he had killed the Elders and he had taken over the Isle of Riders. We flew for some time before I started feeling my wings get heavier.
"Purple... I don't think we can go on like this."
"Do not call me Purple from here on. From here on, I am P. And you?"
"Don't you have a name?"
"They told me my father never gave me one before he passed."
"Well... My name's Eric."
"Eric, huh? You still remember?"
"I never forgot who I was."
"... I see. You are lucky, Eric." After he said this, we saw a dragon fly up next to us. We hesitated for a moment or two, before I could tell who it was.
"Green Dragon?" I asked in disbelief. We heard it's voice in our heads.
Are you the Green Rider who showed me mercy? It asked. I nodded in response.
I thank you, Rider. You saved me from madness. Now, I will repay you... I offer to show you the way to the Island of the Dragons. Climb on. We did not hesitate, we got on. We were relieved, we could return to being humans briefly for the night.
"Green Dragon, tell us... Do you know why Red has done this?" P asked.
I do, unfortunately. I could tell something was going wrong, but I could do nothing to warn the Elders of this news. By the time I had gotten out, the one called Jerald had been slain. I noticed you two were leaving the Isle of Riders, and so I followed. I wish I could of done something sooner. But I will tell you everything I know... I will help you. Consider this my redemption before I pass on. Sleep for the night... You both will need it. We did as it asked, and that was the beginning of how it started. Things had suddenly changed. Our world was about to change. I didn't know what was going to happen with Red or his dragon, but I had a feeling we would need to face him again in the future. Whatever happens... I want to remember. My name is Eric. I am the Green Rider.
And so... Our Journey started.
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