Part One – Chapter 1
"Long, long ago, an ancient land by the name of Hyrule was shrouded with darkness," began the history teacher, who was currently standing in front of his class of extremely bored-looking boy students. One of said students yawned rather loudly before slamming his head down on his wooden desk. The teacher cleared his throat and pretended he didn't hear that. "An evil sorcerer was the cause of this great despair, forcing the citizens to vanish into their own shadows and join the dark side. It seemed that nothing could stop him while their princess was kidnapped, until four unknown heroes appeared. They combined their strengths and slayed the evil sorcerer, banishing him into the light, only to find that there was an even stronger force behind the sorcerer's resurrection. Ganon, the King of Darkness, revealed himself at last, forcing the heroes to push themselves to their limits. But alas, they succeeded once again. The darkness was removed from Hyrule, and its people celebrated the heroes' victory. However, this victory was short-lived.
"Ganon may have been defeated, but the sorcerer's magic lingered in the earth and air, gradually growing over time. The rising energy drew many unpleasant creatures to the land, and Hyrule could not locate the heroes that had slain the sorcerer and Ganon. The kingdom and its people fell once more at war. Above the many vile creatures that seemed to pour in from nowhere, only one species was intelligent enough to realize the current situation, and so they sided with the Hylians and other friendly races to put an end to the monstrosities. This species was called: Dragons. The Dragons beheld many strange and wonderful powers that helped eliminate any and all threats, and soon peace once again returned. The remaining survivors found the place where the sorcerer's magic was strongest, and, just like the four heroes of legend, combined the Dragons' power and the magic to create what we know as the Seven Dragon Realms. The Dragons and their corresponding companions were dived amongst themselves so as to keep the peace and prevent conflict. Thus, the Realms' elements were born: Fire, Water, Earth, Snow, Desert, Light, and Shadow. Hylians were spread throughout each of the Realms, but other races stuck to their preferred elemental Realm, such as the Zoras in the Water Realm and the Gorons in the Fire and Desert Realms.
"Each Realm has a chosen leader known as a Dragon Whisperer, one who is able to understand all dragons and not just their own. As each of you should know, once you choose your Soul Dragon, you will be able to understand their every roar, growl, and hiss. This is formed by a special bond that binds your souls together once you make contact for the first time. However, this will not happen if the Dragon is aggressive, which leads me to something else I hope you already know. No one, I repeat: NO ONE is to enter the Giants' Sanctuary! The Dragons there are highly untamable, and so entrance is strictly prohibited for your own safety. Each Realm has a Giants' Sanctuary for a reason."
"And what reason is that?" asked the youngest student. The teacher sighed, knowing that this boy was particularly naïve.
"It's also CALLED the Giants' Sanctuary for a reason. Would anyone care to explain why to him?"
The smartest boy in the class raised his hand. "The Dragons in the Giants' Sanctuary are much, much larger than your average Dragon, and are therefore highly dangerous. The Sanctuaries were created to prevent power-hungry Dragons from starting another war against their own kind."
"Yes, well done, Pokot. Now, as I was saying…" The teacher paused to glance at the boy who yawned. "Link, would you PLEASE pay attention!"
The blonde boy's head shot up as soon as the teacher raised his voice.
"Paying attention!" Link said quickly.
"This Historia lesson WILL be part of your final exam, an exam you certainly won't want to fail. If you do, you won't be able to participate in this year's Choosing Ceremony, which will result in no Dragon. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Do ALL of you understand?" The whole class replied with a chorus of 'Yes, sir'. "Good." A small, dark olive-green Guardian Shoulder Dragon sitting on the teacher's desk flapped its wings and screeched, signaling that class was over. The teacher didn't even have time to dismiss the class before they all vanished from their seats.
Link soon found himself in his special spot on a large, outstretched branch. He certainly didn't mind having to live in a dormitory if it meant living in the Great Tree itself, the very heart of the Earth Realm. It was so tall that sometimes even clouds touched the very top leaves. The inside of the tree had long ago been hollowed out to form staircases, take-off ledges, and rooms.
As the blue-eyed teenager dangled his legs over the edge, he couldn't help but think of what his Soul Dragon would be like. He also couldn't wait for two reasons: one, he could finally train to become a knight, and two, he desperately wanted to experience flying. Gazing at the view was one thing, but riding a Dragon in said view was another. With the end of the year drawing close, Link found it hard to resist jumping around like a six year-old. However, Zelda always told him that he had to pass the final exam before he could even think about riding a Dragon. He knew that as his best friend she was just looking out for him and wanted him to focus on getting a good grade. The better the marks, the better the Dragon.
Despite Link's excitement, he still couldn't keep away the sinking feeling that he might not end up with a good Dragon, or any at all for that matter. There was always at least one person whose Dragon did not accept them, and that really worried Link. The Ceremony made things easier by matching Dragons to their future companion's personality, while back in the day, people had to actually look for their Dragons rather than simply choose, and that often resulted in many casualties. Either that or people would just end up adopting a Guardian Shoulder Dragon instead. Those little nippers were the only Dragons that women were allowed have, which Link thought was stupid. He thought everyone should be allowed to ride their very own Dragon. Normal Dragons weren't even all that big – just a little taller than the average Hylian. The biggest that Guardians got were as tall as your own head, although from head to tail tip, they were almost as long as your entire body.
The depressing thoughts of not having a Dragon forced Link to focus his mind on something else. That something happened to be Zelda. He was head-over-heels in love with her, but he would never have the guts to tell her for fear of rejection. They already had the most amazing best friend relationship – the two were inseparable. Link really didn't want to ruin that, and even if Zelda was okay with it, it would still be agonizingly awkward. Not only that, but her father was the captain of the Earth Realm Guard. To the Shadow Realm he'd try and confront HIM about his feelings towards his daughter! Link shook his head of the thought of that terrifying man and instead remembered the apple he'd brought to snack on. He sank his teeth into the soft flesh of the fruit and ripped a huge chuck out of it, not caring about the juice running down his chin. He was far too interested in the aerial race that was currently taking place in the sky in front of him. About eight Dragons and their Hylian riders were flying through hoops that other Dragons kindly held in place. The pair in the lead was showing off by doing flips and tricks as they passed each hoop.
Link's mind soon fell into a daydream where he was the one doing the showing off and winning those races. He sat triumphantly upon his majestic Dragon, not even having to hold on as it performed a mid-air corkscrew. He smirked to the other riders and continued speeding along, feeling the rush of wind blow in his face and the adrenaline catapulting through his veins. His Dragon's wings beat in time to his own rapid heart pace with each passing hoop. The contestants behind him held looks of fury as he flew through the final one, spiraling upwards in victory. He opened his mouth to speak, and-
"HEADS UP!"
Link knew exactly who that voiced belonged to. It snapped him out of his daydream just in time to duck out of the way of a humongous red Wyvern. Its rider turned back to smirk at Link before zooming off somewhere in the Earth Realm. Link seriously wanted to chop that guy's head off, but thankfully his rage was calmed down by Zelda's perfect timing.
"Figured I'd find you here!" she chirped, plonking herself down beside Link. She casually pushed aside her golden locks of hair from her left shoulder so her Guardian could sit with them. The small Dragon truly was remarkable with its glorious white scales, soft, blue-tinted feather wings, and lava-coloured eyes. Link took a small moment to gently stroke the underside of its neck with the back of his finger. He kind of felt himself wishing that he had a Guardian, too. "Rayan's such a jerk, isn't he?" Zelda said after a while.
"You saw that?" Link replied. Zelda nodded before answering.
"Clearly your head was too far up in the clouds to notice me standing by the opening back there."
Link's eyes widened and he struggled to fight back a blush. How did he not notice the girl of his dreams standing just a few feet away? "I-I was…uh…watching the race…"
Zelda giggled. "Yeah, I noticed. Listen, I know you're excited about the Ceremony, but please, just-"
"I know, I know. Study hard for once. You don't have to keep telling me."
"Then stop giving me reasons to!" Zelda's Dragon let out a short, high-pitched roar in agreement.
Link guiltily scratched the back of his head. He hated having to make Zelda raise her voice at him. "Sorry, Zel. I can't help it. I've been dreaming of this moment ever since I could speak, and now, with it so close…I just…" He couldn't find words to finish his sentence. Instead, Zelda let out a soft sigh and the two of them continued to gaze at the sky.
Link lay awake in bed that night, unable to feel tired or keep his mind off of what Zelda told him earlier. He also couldn't shake the thought that that cocky Fire Realm rider was back. The only reason Rayan had that high and mighty attitude was because of that Dragon of his. The two-legged Wyverns were incredibly common in the Fire Realm, but they were also the biggest and most lethal. Word that one had been tamed spread like wildfire, and Rayan had quickly become famous. Link wasn't jealous or anything; there was no way he'd want one of those brutes for a companion. He just hated the fact that Rayan picked on him EVERY time he visited to collect supplies that only the Earth Realm could produce. Being over two years younger than that narcissistic nineteen year-old certainly didn't help either.
Link shifted onto his left side to give his back some relief. It always took him a while before he got comfortable enough to sleep. His final exam would take place in just a few more weeks, and then the Choosing Ceremony would take place just one month later – the last month of the year. His excitement was taken over by anxiousness as he realized just how fast it had approached. He really didn't feel ready for the exam. He had the whole year to study and he did nothing. He did nothing but daydream and gaze at all the wild Dragons, trying to figure out which one could possibly be his. He figured that he could just cram some study sessions in to give him a better chance at passing, but his nervousness put him off. Maybe he could ask Zelda to study with him? That would give him the motivation he needed, and as an added bonus he would get to spend some quality time with her. Although… There WAS the possibility of him being distracted by her, unless of course she frightened him into studying, something she often did. Yeah, maybe that would work.
A single drop of sweat poured down Link's forehead as he stared at the paper in front of him, waiting for the headmaster to signal the start of the exam. He had only gotten one session of study time in and Link honestly felt like he would faint. He was bound to fail. There were already a number of things on the first page that he knew he couldn't answer. The history teacher's Shoulder Dragon screeched, and all around him Link's classmates were already almost halfway done with the first few questions.
I can't do this… There's no way… Link thought as his pencil hovered above the first question. Since when did we have a lesson about how to maneuver air currents?! He guessed his answer and just continued to the next, hoping he was at least somewhat correct. This pattern continued on for almost every single page, and he seemed to skip most questions, telling himself he would just go back to them later. Thankfully a couple of them held answers to previous questions, so he was happy about that. The last page was labeling the Dragon anatomy, something he was super glad to see. It looked like all that gazing helped him achieve something, right?
Link only had one label left to go. It seemed that there was always that one question that left his mind blank. He racked his brain for the word he was trying to find. He just couldn't think of the name. What if this one little thing made the difference between him passing and failing?! He just couldn't give up, and hey, he at least had to try. The answer was on the tip of his tongue and he was determined to spit it out. He was worried that he wouldn't have enough time to finish, and this encouraged him to think faster. At last he thought of the correct answer and jotted it down. With a swift flick of his hand, he flipped the pages and had a go at the questions he missed. He cast a nervous glance around the room and saw that only a few more students had yet to finish. Most were casually leaning back in their chairs feeling confident, or just laying their heads in their arms out of boredom. Link gritted his teeth and glared back down at the page. It was either guess or skip, and he would rather guess than just look like he knew nothing. He scribbled his last few answers down just as the Dragon screeched again. It flew around the room and hastily collected everyone's test papers, soon returning them to the headmaster's desk ready to be checked and scored. Now all Link had to do was wait.
A certain golden-haired girl darted into Link's room, startling him and almost causing him to fall off his bed. She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him forward so there was no escape from her stern gaze.
"How did it go? Did you answer them all? Do you think you passed? How did it go?" she almost screamed at him, not paying attention to what she was saying.
"Whoa, calm down, Zel! I did fine, alright?" He threw her a nervous smile, silently begging to give him a little space. To his relief, she moved away a bit and tightly hugged her torso…before immediately latching onto his and squeezing the air out of him.
"Okay, okay, I just really hope you DID do well. I don't want you to fail and end up without a Dragon. Because then you can't take me out!"
Link blushed redder than Rayan's Wyvern at Zelda's statement.
"Uh…t-take you out…?"
She glanced up at him with a straight yet confused look. "You know, flying? You're not the only one who wants to be up there in the sky."
"O-oh, yeah, r-right…" Link paused for a moment, processing Zelda's full meaning of the sentence. "Wait, you want me to get a Dragon just so you can go flying?!"
The two of them laughed, Link's cheeks finally beginning to fade to their original colour.
"Of course not, silly. Although it IS just one of the reasons I want you to get one." She turned her head and glanced at him innocently from the corner of her eye, her cute smile never faltering.
"Hey!" He playfully and lightly punched her shoulder before continuing to laugh with her. They fell silent when they heard a knock at Link's door. Pokot poked his head round the corner after receiving the all-clear that he could come in.
"Zelda, your dad wants to see you," he stated bluntly. Zelda sighed and got off Link's bed.
"Okay then, better see what he wants. See you later, Link!"
"Bye," Link replied, watching her glorious figure disappear from his room along with Pokot. His door closed and his face ceased to a look of depression. "Bye…"