…In the midst of battle, who can one trust? Who is friend, who is foe? Only those who are bonded to you in a permanent way can be called friends…

AN: This chapter is more than another chapter in the Sky Dragons series. It is my personal favorite and the main inspiration for the entire story. It isn't likely that anyone has noticed, but Matthias is a character based off of my personal dreams and feelings. I decided to do one chapter from his point of view…

Chapter 6: Life

After leaving the dining room of his airship, Matthias reached the main room, the room in which the dragons spent their nights. Hoth was sitting before the door, looking out into the night. He turned his head as Matthias entered and studied his friend's face. It was lined and troubled.

Matthias went to the corner where his locker contained his flying gear. He pulled the usual equipment out as well as the sword. After donning these, he reached in again and pulled a set of armored plates from the shelf. It had strange, flanged plates, the size of Matthias's hand, that were bright silver. They connected to cover the upper half of his arms and the outside of his legs. There was no protective covering for his torso or head. Other plates, much larger, were already fitted to Hoth's legs, tail, and chest. The armor had been designed by Matthias himself and fitted them both perfectly.

Matthias looked up and nodded at Hoth. Then they both jumped out of the door into open space. The wind seemed to slip by them as they fell, streamlined, toward the awaiting ground a mile below. The plates of armor hummed as the smooth sides met the wind in a joyous song. This was what Matthias lived for. It is what he dreamed about. The freedom of becoming one with the wind and embracing its speed and power.

Hoth's wings snapped open and he caught Matthias on the leather war saddle on his back. Matthias settled into it and tied the fighting straps around his legs and waist. Then the scabbard was tied into its holster on the left side.

The Dragon swooped up and toward the lights of the attacking flotilla. Matthias could make out Carn and Tron, and Evander and Carth and their dragons. None of them had fallen this far, having not had enough faith to try. Hoth flew up and settled into formation beside Tron.

"They have four ships, two large slow ones, and two faster airships. I don't think they've spotted our ship yet, so they'll target the Wind Rider." Carn cried over the wind and wing flaps. Matthias nodded and took aim for one of the attackers which appeared to be the flagship.

On hand signals, the four divided up the targets. Carn and Matthias would focus on the biggest, while Evander and Carth would take one each. Matthias watched as Evander pulled his dragon around and they plummeted to the smallest ship. The dragon streamlined and tore into the gas bag. There was a hissing, and dragon exploded out the other side. The bag folded and the entire vessel began to fall, slowly at first, then faster. It broke the cloud cover and was lost from sight.

Matthias pushed on Hoth's sides and the dragon rolled over in the sky. The two fell as one toward the flagship and landed on the top. They wouldn't rip through because of the mass of metal onside the gas bag.

Matthias nodded to Hoth as he unbuckled himself and made his way to the nearest observation dome. As he got close, he could see a face starring at him from behind the glass. The figure inside began to climb down the ladder as Matthias took a jump that was propelled by the wind and kicked the dome open as he landed. The man inside looked up just as Matthias's boot came down in his face. He fell off the ladder and landed on the catwalk ten feet below.

Once on the catwalk himself, Matthias heard the ladder squeak as Carn slid down. They both stood listening for any noise. There was none, so they made their way to the stern. At intervals, they could see a sailor or one of the catwalks below them and became still. They made it to the farthest ladder and climbed down.

Carn went first. He turned to look for any people to find the barrel of a pistol being aimed at his head. He froze and let his sword drop to the metal of the catwalk.

"Who are you and what the devil are you doing on this ship?" the gunman asked. He had a brown tunic on with grease stains on the cloth. A yellow symbol was sewn into the shoulder, imitating the shoulder cords of military officers. It was the symbol used by pirates to mock the professional uniforms of the fighting forces.

Out of nowhere, a streak of air ripped down and knocked the pistol clean out of the hand, cutting the barrel clean in half in the process. The pirate looked up and Carn drove his elbow into the man's stomach. The man fell over and lay on the floor.

"Good one," Carn said as Matthias slid down the ladder, "Now, lets get to the engines and shut them down."

The crossed the man and slid down one more level. A trapdoor beneath them led to the engines that propelled the ship. Once destroyed, the pair would climb the ladders to the roof, cutting into the bags of gas on the way. That would cripple the ship and send it to the ground.

They slipped into the engine car and destroyed all they could. Panting, they climbed to the first catwalk. Matthias opened the trap door to find three sword points and two guns aimed at his head.

He reached out and pulled of the men forward so that he fell in the path of the others. The man fell and knocked another over in the process. Matthias clambered out and slashed his sword at another man. The man blocked with his weapon, but then had it twisted out of his hand. The sword fell and punched a hole in the bottom skin of the craft, ten feet below. A second later, he followed, having been pushed by Carn.

Matthias cut another man on the leg and pushed him over the side as well. A gun fired and Matthias felt pain in his right arm. Knowing that he and Carn could not match their attackers, signaled mentally to his dragon. He and Carn stopped fighting and the other men stopped as well.

Matthias grinned as he watched the faces of the men as he and Carn vaulted over the railings and out the hole in the ship. They showed of astonishment and disbelief.

The air stung his face as Matthias entered the open sky. He tried to stabilize his fall, but forgot about his arm. He plummeted into the clouds below and heard Carn yell.

Hoth burst from the underside of the clouds a split second after Matthias did himself. Hoth caught him across his neck and they flew back to the airship to care for his injury. Matthias smiled as he felt himself safe. He blacked out.