A/N:
After some rather busy weeks, I am now off for the summer and will hopefully have more time again for reading and writing 😊!
And this means time for a new book 😉.
The Dragon Games was the most popular story idea from my Ninjago Pilots book.
But it is not a new idea, the story was my first major project on this site: the book was about halfway done - 19 chapters with over 42,000 words, plus 2 one-shots - when I discontinued and deleted it (for several reasons that I might reveal at a later stage). But I had always intended to re-write and finish it.
Updates will (for now) come once a week, because I have a few other stories in progress that I would like to complete first over the summer.
Chapter 1: Birthday Surprises
The mailman sighed in relief as the colourful lights of Ed & Edna's Scrap N Junk finally appeared in the distance.
Seriously, who would run a junkyard in the middle of the desert? He thought, lifting his head to wipe the sweat off his forehead. But, of course, this was just a rhetorical question, for he very well knew the answer himself.
The Walkers were a very friendly, albeit a bit eccentric, family. Whenever he made a delivery to their remote place, the friendly couple and their only son would always invite him to their family home – an old, rusty, but cosy trailer – for some refreshments, delicious homemade treats, and a 'little' chat (which with them could take up to a couple of hours).
Luckily, their mail would usually only consist of light letters or colourful postcards from their extended family living overseas.
But not today.
A large wooden crate labelled 'FRAGILE. HANDLE WITH CARE.' was sitting on the trailer attached to his bike. And while the box was not very heavy at all, it still made his journey through the Sea of Sands even more of a challenge than it already was at other times.
When the purple-clad man reached the brightly illuminated entrance to the scrapyard, the door to the trailer flew open and a young boy with messy auburn hair shot out like a blue flash of light.
"The mail is here! Finally!" Young Jay Walker shouted. "Whoohoo!"
The agitated child was immediately followed by his mother Edna, who exited the family's home still clutching onto a hairbrush with one hand. "Careful, honey. You don't want to trip over any junk lying around!" She called to her son.
Ignoring the woman's instructions, the boy sped across the yard and came to a stop right next to the mailman's bike.
"What took you so long?" He asked, his bright bright blue eyes glistening with excitement. "I've been waiting for you all morning. It's my birthday you know? I am twelve. Twelve. Years. Old. Today. Twelve. That's one more than eleven, you know?" He looked at his hand. "And... two more than my fingers. Yesterday, I was only eleven, but today I am already twelve. My mum says I am a biiiig boy now. How old are you?" Without waiting for an answer, he then pointed at the crate on the trailer. "Is that for me? I bet it's my special surprise Birthday Present. It's from my grandma Aileen. She sent it aaaall the way from Scotland. Do you know Scotland? Can we open it now?"
The female co-owner of Ed & Edna's Scrap N Junk had also reached the gate now. "Manners, Jay. Is this the way we welcome our guests?" She tried (but failed) to sound strict, while smiling fondly at her son. "The dear man has just cycled all the way from Ninjago City just to bring you your present, I think we should give him a little break. Why don't you get your father to help with the crate?"
The boy turned on the spot and ran back to the trailer. "Daaad. My present has arrived and we neeeed your help. Nooow." His voice could be heard all over the junkyard – and probably all over the desert as well.
Edna then eyed the mailman who was almost falling off his bike from exhaustion. "Please forgive my son's behaviour. It is his birthday today, so he is a bit excited. And tired because he hasn't slept all night. Plus, he might have had too much Birthday cake..." She said apologetically. "Why don't you come inside while my husband takes care of the box? And can I offer you some homemade lemonade and chocolate cake?" She asked. "As you can see, it gives a lot of energy..."
Thanks to some rest and Edna's homemade refreshments, the mailman had soon recovered enough to leave on his bike. He had been relieved to hear that Jay's father Ed would be attending a scrap metal convention in Ninjago City in the following week and was going to bring the bike trailer back to the delivery office in his jalopy on that occasion.
After saying and waving goodbye to the mailman, the Walker family returned to their trailer, more specifically to the wooden crate that was now sitting on the dining table in the main room. Despite the Birthday Boy's constant pleas, the present was still unopened. But this was finally to change now.
Ed expertly cut the straps around the box using a Stanley Knife. He then removed the screws with his cordless drill before he slowly slid the lid aside, just so that Jay could peek inside.
When he saw that the box was filled with what looked like a mix of hay and dried flowers, the boy looked rather disappointed.
"That is my special Birthday present? If this is supposed to be a joke, it is not funny." He complained, his fists clenched and tears pooling in his big blue eyes.
But Edna comforted her son. "Oh, honey, don't worry. This is just the padding, so your real present was kept safe and warm during its long journey."
Ed had already taken off the lid and dived deep into the crate; he could be heard rummaging from inside.
"Ed, be careful." Edna called. "Remember your back."
When he reappeared, the man grinned widely as he presented a large egg he was holding in his hands to his wife and son. The sapphire blue shape was about the size of a football and bright white crackles were criss-crossing its surface.
Jay gasped. "What... what is that?"
"This, my boy, is a dragon egg – your very own dragon egg." His father stated proudly. "It has been tradition for several centuries that every Walker boy and girl gets a dragon for their twelve's birthday."
Edna nodded. "The same goes for my family." She agreed. "Sweetie, today you have reached the legal age to own and ride your very own dragon."
Upon hearing his parents' surprising revelation, the boy was completely speechless, for the very first time on this special day.
—-
In the evening, the three members of the Walker family were sitting together on their slightly worn out sofa, happily chatting with each other and occasionally taking a glance at the egg, just to make sure it was still safely in its place next to the oven. Jay and his father had used the stuffing material from the transport box to make a soft, warm nest for it.
"When are we starting to build the stable for my dragon?" Jay asked, finally understanding the rationale behind the other Birthday gift from his parents – a new tool set and a huge pile of wooden planks. "Will it hatch soon?"
"It will probably take a few more weeks. We are going to call your grandma later and tell her the egg has safely arrived, then we can ask her about its 'age'." His father replied. "But we will start with the design and planning of the dragon's home tomorrow. Lightning Dragons don't like to be in a confined space, so the stable should have plenty of room and an opening roof."
Edna smiled. "Hatching your very own dragon is very exciting. And I have never seen a Lightning Dragon myself. They are supposed to be beautiful."
Jay grinned. "And he will be super fast."
When Jay had spoken to his grandmother to thank her for his birthday present, she had explained that the egg belonged to the rare species of Lightning Dragons, famous for their speed and agility. She has thought this dragon would make a very suitable companion for her only grandson, who himself could be described as as fast as lightning.
His father added: "Unfortunately, we are too far away from the city, otherwise you could take professional riding lessons and even join a dragon rider team. But your mother and I, we will teach you all we know about dragons and dragon riding."
"I sure hope you know a lot!" Jay exclaimed. "Were you good riders?"
Instead of replying, his father stood up and took an old photo album from the shelf. He placed the book on the table in front of them and opened it.
Jay pouted. He wanted to hear about dragons and not watch his parents gush over their wedding photos – or worse, his baby pictures. He had seen all of them what felt like a million times already.
But when the first page had a picture of his mother at her high-school graduation instead of their wedding, he realised that this was a different album. One that he had never seen before. Suddenly more interested in its content, Jay pulled the album closer to him and started flipping through the pages, until he finally found photos with dragons on them.
"S-son, before you were born, your mother and I were both contestant in the famous Britannia Dragon Games, back in our home country." Ed explained. "And it was there that we met each other."
Edna smiled lovingly at her husband. "Oh, I will never forget the first time I saw Edward Walker, handsome captain of the Highlanders Dragon Polo team." The picture she pointed at showed a group, presumable a team, of young man, all wearing navy polo shirts with a dark blue and green tartan collar. One man was sitting on a majestic earth brown dragon and proudly raising a large golden cup, while the other team members were cheering in the background.
In response, Ed turned to the next page with a photo of a pretty young woman on a pure white dragon.
"And this is the amazing Eithne Ní Chinnéide [the Irish form of Edna Kennedy] on her Snow Dragon Flake. They were the fastest and without a doubt the most beautiful team in the whole tournament. Everyone only called her the Lightning Bolt from the Emerald Isle. I guess that's where you got it from, huh?"
"Darling, Jay's got the best of both of us." Edna stated firmly.
"You are right, hun. As always. I'd better take a note of this." As Ed passionately kissed his wife in front of their son, the twelve-year old turned his head away in disgust. "Ugh, that's so gross." He complained.
"So, are there Dragon Games here in Ninjago as well?" Jay asked when they had finally finished. "And do you think I can compete too when I'm older?"
"The most important rule of having your own dragon is to give your dragon a good home and to always take good care of them. For as long as the dragon stays with us, he or she will be a part of our family." Ed told his son. "But if you follow this rule and if both of you train very hard, then maybe you will." Ed answered with a knowing smile.
"Oh, my little baby is going to look so adorable in his tournament outfit." Edna squealed. "And maybe you will be as lucky as your father and I were and meet your special someone there..."
Jay grimaced. Why did his parents always have to be so embarrassing? There was no way something like that was ever going to happen to him!
But the boy carefully listened to all the fascinating stories his parents would tell him about the Dragon Games that night – and on pretty much every evening after that. That way, he learned about the different competitions and great atmosphere at the tournament, as well as about the great dragon rider community in general.
But it was at this very moment that Jay realised that he wanted to experience all of this - well, the twelve-year old was not too keen on the bit about possibly meeting a girlfriend or future wife there - himself. And he was going to do everything to eventually reach this goal.
Yes, Jay Walker would be a great dragon keeper and he was going to work hard to become a master dragon rider so that one day, he and his Lightning Dragon would be able to compete in the Ninjago Dragon Games.
But most of all, Jay just couldn't wait to finally have a best friend.
Growing up on a junkyard in the middle of a desert could sometimes be a bit lonely for a young boy.
But now, Jay was never going to feel alone ever again.