"These candidates aren't meshing." Volteer was looking over Amethyst and Dawn and was speaking to an old earth dragon. He had discovered them unconscious in the arena and had carried them to the infirmary as fast he could. They were both discussing the situation while waiting for Dawn to wake up. "Dawn and Frost have a short, but troubling history. And Frost's current mental state is doing nothing but destabilizing their already rivalrous relationship. If those two can't learn to live in peace with each other, they won't work as guardians."
The earth dragon sat in the corner, thinking about the best way to handle the situation. He decided, "In order for them to get over this childish rivalry of theirs, they will need to understand each other. The only problem is that Frost confides in almost no one. He refuses to open up his emotions to the group. We'll need to either convince him or find someone he will confide in." As he finished speaking, Ratha and Frost walked into the tent. Volteer turned and gave Frost a stern look.
"Frost, what happened out there in the arena?" The light blue dragon seemed a bit glum. His eyes were a little red and puffy, and the earth dragon noticed.
He put out a paw in front of Volteer. "Hold on Volteer. It looks like our young dragon is going through some emotional turmoil.
The yellow dragon pushed his paw away, "Terrador, we have to know what happened in the arena." He turned back towards Frost, still awaiting an answer.
Frost sighed. He knew that he would get scolded, but as he had said to Ratha earlier, he was no liar. He looked Volteer in the eye and nodded, "Ok." He explained the situation exactly how it unfolded. He explained how he had knocked out Amethyst and was forced to defend himself against Dawn. "When I had the chance to, I bit down on a nerve point on his neck, which incapacitated him. He won't be able to get up for about an hour or two." He hung his head in shame, "This situation happened because of me. I let my frustration get the better of me. I'm… sorry."
Terrador spoke, "Young dragon, you must learn how to control your anger. If you become a guardian, you will need to keep a level head and clear mind, especially if Dawn becomes a guardian as well. The elder dragon pondered what to do about them. "You and Dawn have a personal matter to settle. Tomorrow, you two will have a sparring match to settle your differences. Without using elemental abilities." Frost would easily win if elements were allowed so Terrador needed to level playing field. "Ok, young dragon, we ask that you please head back to your dorm, as well as you Ratha." Both dragons nodded and walked out of the tent.
Volteer turned towards Terrador, "I thought you said that they needed to understand each other?"
Terrador smiled, "You truly know someone after you've fought them at least once. Trust me, I know what I'm doing."
"Ok, but what about Dawn's training?" Volteer pointed out.
Terrador appeared annoyed, "As I have said before, I'm better at combat than the elements and you know that. You should find someone else."
Volteer snapped, "There is no one else! We are some of the last elders of this city. We are the very few that actually have the wisdom to teach them. There is no one else!" The yellow dragon was still looking for a proper elder to train Dawn. Terrador was being stubborn.
"I do not believe I am the right choice." The earth dragon ran through all the options for mentors through his head. "What about Kyron? We know he has an extensive understanding of the dragon's elemental abilities."
Volteer couldn't believe he just suggested him, "He is a mysterious dragon with unknown origin!. He cannot be trusted! He could have malicious intent!" Volteer clearly didn't trust this mysterious dragon.
"Well, if you have any better options, I'd love to hear them!" Volteer went to speak but froze. He was beaten. He didn't have any other options. He didn't want to put the lives of these young dragons into someone he barely even knows. Yet, it seems like Kyron was the only choice/
"Gah! Fine, but where is this mysterious dragon located?"
"He lives in the old dragon temple, outside the city's limits. It was recently into an academy for young dragons so it's the perfect place for Dawn."
"Hold on, I think he's coming to."
Dawn's eyes slid open, but only slightly. His vision was blurred and he could make only make out the colors of two dragons. "Dawn, are you ok?" When his vision cleared, he found Volteer looking at him.
"Yeah, I'm fine." His head was throbbing. "Ugh, what happened?" He tried to move but a pain shot up his side. It felt like getting stabbed in the neck.
"Don't try and move Dawn. Frost used a nerve bite to temporarily paralyze you from the neck down. You can still move your head, but don't try to move anything else."
Frost's name suddenly jogged his memory. He tried to look around to find Amethyst but Volteer kept his head still. "Don't worry young dragon, she is fine. She is right over there." He pointed towards a bed just next to him. "Luckily, she only had a couple of bruises and a minor concussion." Her forehead was bandaged up and she was still asleep. Seeing her unconscious filled Dawn with anger, "Where is Frost?!"
"Dawn, we understand how you feel about her. But you need to keep your emotions in check."
"But he hurt her!" Dawn snapped, "Do expect me to just let him get away with that?"
"No!" Volteer snapped back. "But, you didn't act like a guardian in that situation! A guardian would've made sure that she was okay and uninjured, not immediately engage in battle." When he said that, Dawn stopped mid-thought. He hadn't thought about it that more he thought about it, the more he realized Volteer was right. It's not that he didn't care about her, but his anger had blinded him. If he had just kept his mouth shut, she wouldn't have gotten hurt.
His anger was replaced with guilt. "You're right. I-I let her down. I talk about being a hero all the time. But when I saw her get hurt, all I thought about at that moment was hurting him back." He looked back at Volteer, "Are you sure that I am worthy to be a candidate? After what I just tried to do?"
Volteer sighed, "Dawn, every dragon has their moment of weakness. What's important is that you learn how to overcome that weakness." He patted the top of Dawn's head, "You just need focus on protecting the innocent. Your selflessness will define you as a guardian, not how many enemies you kill."
Dawn finally noticed Terrador when he started walking up to him. "Young dragon, we must discuss your training." He sat down on the bed to Dawn's left. "Volteer and I have decided to move your training to the old dragon temple. Your mentor will be a dragon named Kyron. He is a mysterious dragon. But he is very attuned with the elements. He could help find your elemental powers easily."
The black drake kind of brightened up at the thought that he could learn his elemental ability. But he only had one question, "Ok, I'm fine with that, but what about Amethyst? Will she be able to come with me?" Dawn always felt comfortable around her. He really wanted her to come with him.
Terrador chuckled, "You two really are that close, aren't you? Well, that is not my decision to make. That's her choice to make."
"Of course I'm going." Both dragons turned to see that Amethyst was actually awake. One of her eyes was open just enough to where you only see the emeralds in her eye. "I mean, why wouldn't I? Someone needs to keep Dawn out of trouble."
Terrador laughed, "Well, I guess it's decided. You two will head over to the old dragon temple after your sparring match with Frost first thing tomorrow." Dawn let out a yawn. "Well, today has been tiring for you both so I will let you two rest. Good night!"
Terrador got up and left the tent, leaving the two dragons to themselves. They were turned towards each other. Amethyst tried to get some sleep, but always found herself lost in Dawn's eyes. Dawn was also having the same problem, finding himself lost in hers. The white dragoness giggled, "Ok, we need to get some sleep, so I'm just going to turn and look the other way.
Dawn sighed in disappointment, "Ok, you're right." Once Amethyst turned to look the other way, they both finally managed to lose themselves in the endless confines of their dreams.
The Next Morning
"How long till we get there?" Three young dragons were following the guardians as they were heading back to Warfang. These three new dragons were the remaining candidates. There were two earth dragons and one lightning dragon.
The male earth dragon spoke up, "Yeah, when are we going to be there? It feels like we've been flying for hours."
The female earth dragon rebutted, "We haven't been in the air that long."
Char said, "Bolt, Quake, Gaia, we are almost there. Just a little bit farther." The lightning candidate growled in irritation. The two earth dragons were conversating when they felt the wind start to pick up. The rest of the group seemed to notice as well.
Static was flying next to Char, "I don't know why but the winds starting to pick up speed. This doesn't feel natural. Something's wrong."
Suddenly, a small tornado came out of the sky. Char and Static both yelled, "Everyone move!" Luckily all the dragons managed to get out the way before the wind could knock them out of the sky. Char spoke, "Where did that come from?"
Static turned towards the candidates, "I need you all to make your way to Warfang! We will handle this from here!" All the candidates nodded and separated from the guardians.
Once they were out sight, Char said, "Guardians, keep a lookout. Something is hunting us, We need to be careful."
Frost interjected, "There!" He pointed towards the trees. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. But they noticed two light blue orbs staring at them through the foliage. "Who are you?!"
They heard a sinister laugh from the darkness, "How disappointing, you don't even remember me. I mean, I was there when you became guardians. And now I'm going to be here when your souls leave this realm." The blue eyes came closer as the creature flew out of the trees.
It was a dragon. It had scales that were as dark as the night, maybe darker. It also had six horns along the back of its head. It's belly and wing webbing was ruby colored. There were strange markings along its head and it wore jewelry on its front paws, neck, and tail.
Char growled, "You! So a traitor has decided to grace us with her presence! What do you want?!"
The dragon spoke, "Silence! You are in the presence of Cynder, The Terror of the Skies and the Dark Master's greatest general! And I'm here to cut your lives short!"
