Thread: To Train A Dragon Rider (Distain2003 & darkangel76)

It is a time of trouble and strife. War riddles the lands and dragons rule the skies as the countries of Azur and Pheir battle over dominating the western half of the world. What started as a small feud over trading rights, eventually escalated into a war unlike any other. A war involving most of the western half of the world. A war where one country swore to conquer the other and one day gain dominance over all of the lands of the world. The war consumed the lands for decades. Warfare adapting as time passed on. Eventually, dragons began to rule the skies once more. So the countries of Azur and Pheir had no choice but to learn how to tame the beasts, use them to their advantages. And so the war took a turn to the skies. Fire, ash, flight. The new ways of warfare. Those lands, which had more dragons under their control, had the upper hand. And thus the dragon riders were born. A new breed of warrior. Dragon riders were fearless. Ruthless men at the front lines of battle. In the beginning, men flocked to the call of the dragon. But over time, that faded. As more and more men died during battle or during training, the fear eventually set in and drastic measures to ensure that enough warriors were ready for fighting were set into play. This led to the birth of the lottery. Every five years, all eligible men, and even women given how difficult times had become, were placed in a drawing where if called, had to answer and train to become a dragon rider. The country of Azur was ruled by a great and powerful king. A king with no direct heir to his throne since his only offspring was a daughter. He was saddened at never having had a son, but as the war continued to grow in its intensity and bloodshed, and consume everything in sight, he became glad of this. For it was far easier to shield a daughter from the ways of war than it would have been a son. There was no sign of the war ever letting up and by now, it had been going on for at least a century, if not longer. Disheartened at the state of things, but wanting his country to come out the victor, he kept his daughter away from the fighting, away from the lottery, away from anything and everything that would place her in danger. Since his daughter was the last of his bloodline, he had no choice but to one day have her rule Azur. He needed to ensure her survival amongst the chaos, amongst the blood flowing over the lands. He wanted to keep his daughter pure of heart, untainted by the cruelties of the world, the harshness of the land. So, he kept her in the dark about much of what was truly going on, lying to the people that she was also included in the lottery when she finally came of age. Something shed been unaware of at the time. Now, a new lottery would soon be held. A new dragon rider would be called and forced to answer. Soon, their training would begin Princess Liana of Azur walked quietly down the dimly lit corridor of the castle. The torches flickered as she walked by them, one by one. Their flames wavering from the slight breeze of her body and gown floating down the stone hallway. Night was approaching and soon shed be ready to retire for the evening. But the sky looked particularly beautiful as it darkened from deep reds to shades of midnight, so she couldnt resist walking to her favorite spot within the castle to watch the sky change and the stars and moon rise as darkness fell over the land. Liana reached her balcony and drew the curtains behind herself as she stepped out onto its terrace to watch the sky and look out over the lands. She flicked her long dark hair behind her shoulders and smiled. The stars were just beginning to appear and looked like diamonds sparkling in the inky black. In the distance, she could see the shadow of a couple dragons flying about. She knew those were the dragon riders and she wondered if they were merely training or readying to engage in yet another battle. Shed been sheltered from most of the ongoings of the war, but she was far from stupid. She let her father think she was in the dark on everything, but really she was not. She knew more than he knew, more than hed ever realize. Smiling to herself, Liana continued to watch the dragons fly in the distance. They were terrifying beasts, to be sure. And she felt horrible for all the men and women who had no choice but to learn how to tame and ride one. To face the front lines of battle. She cast her eyes downward over the lands. They were blackened from the dragons flames. Twisted ash and rubble. Shed heard stories of how Azur had once been, long ago before the conflicts with Pheir ever arose. She wondered if the land would ever be restored to how it once was, if the conflict would ever end. As Liana gazed outside on her balcony, she could hear footsteps in the corridor behind her. She moved closer to the drawn curtain when she heard the echoes stop. The lottery is to be held first thing tomorrow morning, came a male voice. Liana couldnt tell whose it was, since it was slightly muffled. Yes, indeed, came another voice, this one also male. Liana recognized it to belong to one of her fathers advisors. Everything has been prepared for the drawing. There was a slight pause. And as per the kings request the princesss name has been left out. Liana felt her skin redden when she heard them talk about how she wasnt in the lottery drawing like everyone else. It was against the laws of Azur. Her own father purposefully breaking those laws and being supported by those of the royal court. She wondered how many people actually knew hed left her name out of the lottery. She found out well after the last lottery, her first eligible lottery, that shed been left out and the thought of it upset her greatly. She found it wrong that she wasnt placed at the same level of risk as everyone else of Azur. Sure, she had no desire to become a dragon rider or to fight in battles. She knew nothing of warfare or fighting and the dragons, though beautiful, terrified her. But she didnt like that she was getting special treatment because she was the kings daughter. It made her blood boil. Earlier that evening, Liana made sure her name was placed in the lottery for drawing. She didnt expect it to be drawn. The odds that it would not be were greatly in her favor. But if it did, shed answer the call just like everyone else. She wouldnt put up a fight and shed do the best she could. Of course, she knew her father would be livid if this happened. But shed deal with that if it happened. When Liana heard the men leave, she drew open the curtains of her balcony and headed to her room to retire for the evening. Morning would come quickly and her fate now rested in the lottery.