Chapter Two
I could practically taste it. Victory was on my tongue. It felt good. I had just completed the test, marking that I had officially become a Drakön Rider. My clan hoisted me up on their shoulders; I had made them proud, finally, after 1years of having felt like an outsider because I was afraid of water in a clan that harnessed it.
During the test, I had proven that I could use my powers. I also earned my drakön egg. It cracked shortly after I got it, and then I saw her. She was the most adorable drakön I’d seen, with eyes that you could swim in, scales that sparkled like the ocean, and a tail that ended in what looked like a dewdrop, but bigger. Everything about her screamed water. Her scales sparkled so vividly that I named her Saphire.
It would be another month before she was fully grown, before I could ride her, but I wasn’t in a hurry. Unfortunately, my mom was, so over the next few weeks, I trained vigorously, as did Saphire. I was exhausted (because of all the training), nervous (for the Drakön Games), and excited (because this was the first time I’d had an interaction with my mother in 12 years), whereas Saphire was just exhausted. Finally, the day came, when Drakön Riders got sorted into groups. I was nervous, wanting to explore not protect, desperately hoping to be a Drakön Scout; they get to explore the world (looking for potential threats, but still). But, when I saw my competition, I wanted to quit. They were full-grown men and women, while I was still a teen.
“Mount your draköns!” The Commentator says, “Let the Games begin!” Then Saphire completely takes over. Her scales are freezing and wet, I almost slip off, and the whole time I am screaming. Definitely not Drakön Rider material, but I don’t care, I’m just trying to stay alive. We take deep dives, and my guts fly up, we take steep inclines and my heart drops. Saphire bares her teeth, which were red from breakfast of raspberry jam [which made it look like blood], scaring even the oldest draköns. She wants to see the world as much as I do, probably more. Even after we land, I am still screaming from shock. My mother rolls her eyes, embarrassed, and Saphire follows suit. The rest of the Drakön Riders cover their ears, wondering how I of all people won. We get clean up, and wait for the other people, which takes about 15 minutes. Then we all wait for the Commentator to announce our jobs based on our performance.
Saphire is so nervous she starts flying, taking me with her, but this time she whips her tail over my mouth, so I don’t start screaming again. We go in an oval, a dragon’s version of pacing. Then, we hear the microphone feedback, and the Commentator starts talking.
“Saphire and Alêx of the Krakonaqua clan” The Commentator calls, “You have been announced as the winners of the 25th Annual Drakön Games! Please make your way to be anointed. People of Plederia, please welcome your new Drakön Representatives!”.
We are shocked, as is our clan, to be a Dr (Drakön Representative, or more commonly known as doctor) is a gigantic deal, we basically get paid to travel the world, learn magic, and become heroes. It’s the ideal job, but I only wanted to be a dragon scout. I look around me and everyone is celebrating, cheering for us, wishing to be us. Suddenly all my hesitation fades away, and all I am left with is joy and anticipation.
The taste of victory is just as sweet as before. Watch out, world, here we come!
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