The Dragon Knight Order

Acknowledgements

No one is ever given the choice. You simply are born to be a Dragon Knight. Some dream of becoming a Knight all their lives; to join the legends of old. Others have darker motives, like revenge and greed. However, no one can imagine the hardship that accompanies being a Dragon Knight. This is not to say that there aren’t good points of being one. However, it is human nature to remember pain, because it is often pain that defines us. My name is Alexander Kerm and this is my story. If you are reading this, your life is about to change forever. With a warm hug, I welcome you to simply the most exciting lifestyle ever known to mankind.

I have always gone by Alex. It seems logical to use the name that everyone has called me since I was a young child. I have brown eyes and I have been told I am tall for my age. My childhood was pretty normal, or as normal as could be considering I was an orphan.  Before you start to feel sorry for me, you should be aware the orphanage where I was raised was not a bad place. I can sincerely say mine was not a tragic childhood. I was fortunate to always be surrounded by people who cared about me or were in the same position as I was. I never met my parents, which made it easier, because how can you want something you never had? The orphanage taught us that we were all special in our own way. At the time I thought it was something that adults say to make sure that we did not feel abandoned by our parents, family or even the world. But after hearing it for years, you grow to think of it as just mere words. However on rare occasions those words turn out to be the truth.

In the continent of Varna, by decree of the first Emperor Richard the Protector, if you possess any degree of magical affinity on your sixteenth birthday, you are selected to enroll in one of five academies spread throughout the Empire. The northern academy, Halla, is known for its great frostmages. The southern academy, Dextra, is famous for its powerful magma and firemages. The western academy, Lost Woods, is the creator of the very best alchemist, and magic healers. The eastern academy, Elurhy, is unparalleled in the art of teaching the best battlemages. Finally, there is the Central Academy, home of the mighty and unrivalled Dragon Knights. All academies, except for the Central Academy, are managed and run by the Empire. The Central Academy is located a few miles out of the capital and is controlled by the Dragon Council. This is where I have been sent.

"Now, now, kids line up. We will be starting the process of selecting which branch of the Central Academy you will be attending shortly.  Please follow the orders of your supervising professor. My name is Gerald. If you should be lucky enough to end up in one of my classes you will refer to me as Professor Gerald.  For those of you who don’t end up having classes with me, you will refer to me as Professor Gerald as well. To my right, I have Professor Lirean and to the left, Professor Tim. As we wait, I will tell you about the construction of this academy. It was started shortly after the end of the war with the Irkanians. At the time, some of the best and brightest mages and Knights of all time lived. They saw it fit to construct this grand academy to teach future generations. Sadly the magic that was used to build it has been lost. And over here you will see…"

As the professor, or should I say Professor Gerald talked, I found myself marveling at the greatness of the Academy. It was painted white with ceilings high enough to easily fit a full-grown dragon or two. It also had immense gardens, training grounds and recreational areas. For some odd reason the whole place had wood integrated within the construction which gave the impression a forest was growing in the whole structure.  But the most fascinating part of the Academy was the Dragon Hold. A massive dome erected near the Academy’s grounds, complete with a forest inside holding every known plant. It is the home of any and all dragons that came to the Academy. Whatever the reason, for rest, special classes or simply to have company, they spent their time here. The very highest part of the dome is the Sky Dome, which contained the dorms of the Dragon Knights in training.

Snapping back to reality I could hear the professor giving orders. “Now students from group A will go with me, Group B with Tim and Group C with Lirean. You will all sit at your designated seats at the Ceremony Hall and wait for the selection to take place. After this, you will be given your formal uniform, list of rules, classes, and dorms corresponding to which branch you were placed in. As you know, even if you get picked into a branch of your choice, you still have to pass the general admission test of that particular branch. It might be a fight, display of magic, or the ability to communicate with spirits. It is mandatory.  For those of you who missed orientation, the branches determine the discipline you will be practicing for the next three years in the Academy.”

“What about the Dragon Masters? What sort of test do they have to do?” asked someone at the back with a very heavy southern accent.

"Well, young fellow," said Professor Tim, "Considering that there have been no ‘Dragon Masters’ as you call them in over twenty five years, I do not believe you should worry yourself with that. If you were planning to try your hand at it, let me assure you, you will fail.”

“Enough of that Tim. Don’t go crushing the dreams of our new students, you are all welcome to try and join the ranks of the legendary Knights but what he says is true, not a single soul has managed to enter that branch in the last twenty five years, much less pass the entry test.  I am afraid that the days of the Central Academy having the most powerful mages have passed,” said Professor Lirean with a touch of sadness in her voice that made me wonder if there was something behind those words besides broken pride.

As we walked into the Ceremony hall and took our seats, most of us could not help but stare at the massive obsidian dragon statue that slept lazily at the base of the branch selectors table at the end of the hall. It must have been at least twenty meters long and was in a curled up sleeping position.  The more I looked at it, the more alive it seemed. The level of detail was so breathtaking. It was as if every scale, talon and spike was ready to spit a fireball or stab an enemy to death. It was the beauty of destruction, the world’s most feared creature and yet this was only a statue.

"Kind of scary if you look at it for too long isn’t it?" asked Adria.  Adria was my first childhood friend.

"To me it looks alive," I replied, unable to find any other words.

"I think it would be awesome to sit on it," commented Rod, a tall boy from the orphanage.

"I don’t think you are allowed to do that. Besides sitting on those spikes must hurt," said Max, another orphanage friend.

“It can’t be that bad, can it?”

“Sure Rod. Just like when it wasn’t a bad idea to try and slide between the main gates of the orphanage and you ended up having to be pulled out by all three of us when you got stuck,” smirked Adria. “You and your brilliant ideas.”

We all giggle at the memory of pulling Rod through those gates and running from the inspector for being out after curfew.                                                                   

"Shhhhhh,” said Professor Lirean. “The Ceremony is starting.”

An old looking man got up from his seat at the examiner’s table.

 “As your ceremony master, I, Chairmen Zeak of the Central Academy's ruling body, would like to start this year with a warm welcome to the freshmen. From today on, you will be living here until you complete the branch training you have been selected for at our academy. It will be a hard and arduous journey, but also one filled with memories of joy and happiness. This place shall be the place where you become adults, citizens, scribes, and soldiers among other things. This year you will be constantly tested and pressed in ways you never thought possible. But in the end, I have the utmost confidence that you will all succeed at your chosen paths and you will press on to become what I hope will be the future of the Empire. With that being said, I commence this year's entrance examinations!”

“The chairman always gives very interesting speeches doesn’t he?” whispered Professor Lirean.

“He has a unique way of inspiring people,” agreed Professor Tim.

I looked at Adria and she looked at me, the urge to laugh at the professor’s comments was almost unbearable.

After that, the test started. All the kids in group A and B got into the branches they wanted. From group A, a large group of nasty looking kids joined the battlemages and from group B most were picked for healers or scribes. Although most got into the branches they wanted, some returned to their seats looking disappointed. It was as if they were expecting something else, maybe being selected for the Dragon Knights but alas none were. The tests where simple: a show of magic if your specific branch was magically oriented, a physical test if you were selected into one with more physical work or a combination of both in the case of battlemages and commanders.

When it came time for group C, we started lining up but I got pulled to the back for talking to Adria. As I saw my friends get tested and pass their tests, I couldn’t help but get nervous and a bit agitated. I couldn’t stop thinking what I would do if all of my friends joined the branches they wanted and I failed? Would I be singled out as the one who failed? What would I do with my life? I worked so hard at the orphanage to get here with the hopes of becoming a battlemage. I guess I never believed my dream would become a reality.    

When Adria was called up, she turned her head back at me, winked and mouthed, "It's going to be okay." I felt the weight of the world lift from my shoulders allowing me to calmly wait for my turn to come. Since I was the last one to be tested, all eyes were on me. I could feel their gaze following me in a curious way. It was as if they were trying to guess which branch I had selected and if I would be talented enough to pass the test.

As I was about to pass by the obsidian statue, I felt an aura emanating from it. It was as if it were truly alive and aware of me.  It was at that time I noticed the hot air being projected from its nostrils and the gentle rise of its chest. That’s when it hit me and I stopped dead in my tracks. The statue was 'breathing' which could only mean one thing. This was not a statue; it was a real life dragon! Not a second after I realized this, a deep chuckle filled the hall. The dragon opened its deep red eyes, lifted its head and as it did so, the shadows and air in the hall thickened. Its chuckling was drawing the attention of more and more students until the entire hall was aware of it, with more and more of them realizing where it was originating from. The dragon's tail began to twitch from side to side until it lifted itself from the ground and stretched its massive body.

"Very interesting," said the voice of the obsidian dragon in a rich deep tone that could have been decades old or maybe centuries. “Very interesting indeed, you are the first in the last twenty five years to sense my presence. I make it a point not to be sensed by regular humans while I sleep in this hall. That makes you either highly perceptive to your surroundings or quite possibly a Dragon Knight.”
Everyone in the entire hall gasped in unison as the dragon suggested I could be a Dragon Knight.

“Ah… but after twenty five long years could it be true that the curse of the Dragon Knights has been broken? Could they have really returned?” questioned the dragon. “Or might you be an oddity of this world, for I have seen many and I believe I have many more to encounter. Tell me boy, are you one of these oddities?”

“I... I don’t think so…” I managed.

“You don’t think you are an oddity? Well wouldn’t it be a problem for a Knight to think of himself as an oddity? Tell me your name young one and where you are from.”

“I am Alexander Kerm, an orphan from Oriss,” I replied and then added, “Lord,” remembering my manners.

“An orphan you say? An extremely interesting development indeed,” said the obsidian dragon while its red eyes stared at me. A moment of silence passed as the dragon thought for a moment. “Well Alexander Kerm, I am pleased to announce that after twenty five years of silence, you have risen above all those present here today, might it be by fate or pure luck. You have passed the entrance exam to join the Order of the Dragon Knights.”

The hall became noisy with whispering and chatters between the first years. The professors gave each other nervous glances as if unsure of what to do next. Meanwhile, I stared at the large dragon standing in front of me.

It said in a voice so low only I could hear it. “You seem confused. Well that’s understandable after twenty-five years of silence, but you are a Dragon Knight for only one could have sensed my presence. I will inform you of what exactly a Dragon Knight is after the ceremony ends. I promise to answer all the questions that are within my power to answer,” said the dragon in a cheerful tone. Before he lay back down he said, “You are truly a miracle Alexander, thank you for bringing hope back into my life.”

Just before I could say anything, the chairman stood up and held out his hands to quiet down the hall and casted a projection spell throughout the whole Academy. “I am relieved to hear that the long absence of the Dragon Knights from the halls of the Central Academy has ended and rejoice in the knowledge that our proud Academy will once again be home of the mighty Dragon Knights. I ask now that everyone present within the Academy grounds and lands beyond, welcome our new Knight as a fellow student, as a brother, and more importantly as a friend.”  In an even louder and deeper voice that made the whole academy shake, the dragon lifted his head one final time to proclaim, "All present bow down before Alexander Kerm, the first Dragon Knight in twenty-five years." As if by magic everyone present bowed, including professors and senior students. There was a long silence until the Chairmen called for a celebration in honor of the new students and the Dragon Knight. I was asked to sit in the honorary table of Dragon Knights, but being the only person in my branch of the academy I had to sit all by myself. None of my friends from the orphanage even came by. It was the first time in a long time I found myself truly alone.