Thorn is a drama queen. There, I said it.

Just short of two weeks into their journey, they overflew the outlet where the river they had followed for days emptied into a lake that had to be miles wide, from the look of it.

Corrin had begun dozing away his time in the saddle several days ago, attempting anything to relieve the endless boredom of the flight hours, and he might have missed the sight completely, if not for the sequence of events that occurred as they crossed over the shore.

Upon reaching the edge of the lake, and having confirmed that she could not see the other side, Kiera had tilted her wings forwards to descend. Corrin roused enough at this to look at the lake, check the position of the sun, and agree that they probably could not cross the lake before nightfall. One of the first rules of flight that Firnen had taught the two of them was that they should not take chances. Crossing an unknown body of water with sunset approaching offered the possibility that Kiera would have nowhere to land, and then they would really be in trouble.

Corrin didn't realize anything was wrong until Kiera leveled off with a jolt, and he looked up to see that Thorn had not joined them in descending.

Kiera beat her way back up to Thorn's altitude. Corrin could feel her confusion mingling with the nervousness of the unknown factor they faced in the form of the lake. He reached out with his mind towards Murtagh once they were within range..

I don't know either, Murtagh told the two of them. Thorn, there is a lake.

I know, the red dragon answered quietly. I think we should keep going.

Corrin was close enough now to see Murtagh scowl. Why? The red Rider demanded.

Because we are close, very close, Thorn rumbled, and then added when Murtagh seemed ready to argue, Trust me. Murtagh ran an impatient hand through his hair and looked over at the other Shur'tugal.

I am not too tired yet, Kiera allowed. I think I can manage it, as long as I can sleep for a while afterwards.

Corrin bit his lip and looked up at Murtagh. "She says she can do it," he called over. Thorn picked up the pace of his wing beats, and Kiera summoned her strength and matched his speed.

The lake below them darkened from blue to black as the sun sank below the horizon. Corrin anxiously tracked the slow decay of the light, though he tried to keep his nerves from leaking into Kiera's awareness. As the sky grew darker and darker around the two dragons, that anxiety increased tenfold. He thanked the gods that there was at least a half-moon to lend some light, but he had difficulty seeing anything below: the moon was at the wrong angle to reflect more than a few sparks off of the water. So the two dragons and their Riders flew in silence and darkness, only able to make out each other's location in the darkness.

Corrin could not have guessed to the nearest hour how long they had flown when Kiera spoke up again. I can see the edge of the lake, she told him, her thoughts strangely tense. There is a red light there.

Oh, he said, his own mind slow from hours of lassitude. What? He looked up, suddenly registering her words. The red light was there, glinting slightly off the water some distance ahead and down. He also noticed a large space in the sky directly ahead where the stars were obscured by something. He strained his eyes, trying to identify it, and guessed that Murtagh was doing the same by the older Rider's posture.

All four Shur'tugal saw the wash of blue fire as it flickered into existence, and all of them were still staring when the mental shout reached them. Thorn! cried a female voice, flung far ahead of its owner to reach them.

Saphira! Thorn roared in return, and loosed a rippling band of red flames before them.

Kiera and Corrin shared one moment of pure relief, just between the two of them. Not even glee or star-struck terror, only the knowledge that their journey was ended for now. Then it dawned in a wash of energy that they were there, in the land of Riders and dragons at last. Thorn was ahead, throwing all his strength into his flight. Kiera roared and followed him, and Corrin threw back his head and howled their delight to the stars.

They were still miles away from the other dragons, and it took a good ten minutes for the two parties to meet. Corrin realized quickly that the dark mass blocking the stars was really the beginning of a mountain range, due east from the lake. The moon was casting enough light by now that he could look over Kiera's shoulder and watch the fields of wild grass go flying by below her wings. He felt giddy with happiness, both his and Kiera's, and by the time he could make out the other dragons his cheeks hurt from smiling.

He counted them up in his mind. In the lead was a lithe silver, glittering in the moonlight like a polished blade. Behind them was a blue the size of Thorn who could only be Saphira, and a broad-shouldered grey like smoke. All three were winging their way towards Thorn and Kiera as fast as their wings could carry them.

Four, corrected Kiera. She had to direct his vision up, and even then he could only see the slightest glint of light off scales. This fourth dragon was a shadow in the night, most visible where his wings blotted out the stars.

When they reached each other all six dragons began to circle about each other in a great ring, with Thorn and Kiera on the inner side of the circle. The dragons roared a welcome, and Corrin felt a multitude of minds touch the borders of his own, radiating welcome and laughter and joy at their arrival. On Saphira's back, her Rider lifted his sword high in salute, and Corrin saw Murtagh lift Za'roc to return it. Kiera roared into the night and five voices answered her

The mental voices receded after a minute, and the dragons wheeled as one, with Saphira leading the way back to the mountains. As they passed between two foothills, Corrin and Kiera saw their destination: a monstrously large courtyard, that seemed to be carved of white marble in the moonlight, on a relatively flat spur of the mountain that loomed behind it.

The court was big enough that each dragon had room to spare when landing: even Thorn and Saphira looked small by comparison. As the dragons touched down, slim figures emerged from the roofed colonnade around the courtyard, darting among wings and tails with the speed and grace that Corrin had learned to associate with elves. Corrin loosened the straps on his saddle and slid down Kiera's side to the ground. His boots landed solidly on the stone of the Riders Court.

I'm thinking of taking the prologue with Arya down, as it turns out it doesn't add much to the story. Any opinions in the comments would be welcome.