Chapter 3

            The part of the cavern beyond the divider contained no buildings – instead, the walls were honeycombed with nooks carved into the rock.  Each of these, the Seer said, was a dragon's roost.  There were walkways and ladders here that gave access to these roosts – those were for the humans who rode the dragons into battle.  There were also a number of tall, wide passages leading off the great chamber, and it was to one of these that the Seer led him.  Jack would have liked to stay and watch the dragons  - each about the size of an elephant - gliding back and forth, visiting each other, but that was not possible now.

            The passage led to a great arch in which a pair of huge bronze doors were set.  There were rings on the doors, meant for pulling them open, but they were designed for hands much bigger than those of a human.  A pair of green dragons flanked the doors.  When they saw the Seer, they bowed their heads, and as one reached for the rings on the doors and pulled them open.

            Beyond was a vast chamber with a vaulted ceiling.  The walls were covered in carvings of intricate detail, and a series of great chandeliers brought them to life with flickering light and shadows.  There was a path of red tiles leading from the door to the other end of the chamber, where a great dais sat.  And on that dais was a great coppery dragon with a large golden crown on its head.  This majestic creature had a pair of great wings, now folded, that were draped like a cloak over a coat of scales like brightly polished plates.  The monarch of the dragons was more awe-inspiring and more regal than any human of similar station could ever be.  There were other dragons around the chamber as well, and a number of humans.  All of them had their eyes on Jack and the Seer.  The Seer began to walk forward in slow, majestic steps; Jack followed, trying not to stare at any one thing for too long.

            When they were close to the dais, the Seer took a deep bow.  "My lord," she said, "I present to you Samurai Jack."

            Jack stepped forward and bowed low.  "It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty."

            The King lifted his head in acknowledgement.  "The honor is mine, to meet the great warrior who will free us from Aku."  His voice was a deep bass rumble, and it sounded exactly as Jack had imagined it would.

            Jack straightened up again.  "Thank you, Your Majesty."

            "As the Seer has told you," the King began, "We will soon be fighting the greatest battle in our living memory, against an army of metal dragons.  We have heard of your great deeds, warrior, and ask you to help us in our fight."

            "It is my sworn duty to fight Aku – you have my word that I shall help you defeat his dragons, and bring peace to your kingdom."

            The Dragon King nodded approvingly.  "You have my most sincere gratitude.  But if you are to help us, then you will need to learn how to ride one of our dragons for the upcoming battle.  The Seer will begin your training as soon as possible – I fear that time is short."

            "Then I shall learn quickly, Your Majesty."

            The King's tail twitched.  "I certainly hope that you will.  For all our sakes."

~***~

The first thing they did was to take him back to the part of the cave where the dragons roosted, called the Aerie.  Secondly, they gave him the equipment he would need - a close-cut hooded robe with an attached veil to protect his face from the wind, a pair of crystal goggles, fingerless gloves and a special belt so that he could secure himself to the dragon's saddle with a harness.

The third thing they did was to give him a trainer. Kez was a short, freckled redhead about the same age as Jack, of a serious disposition and few words.
"Kez will help you get started," the Seer told him. "Once he decides that you are ready, I will find a dragon for you to ride. Until then, you will be riding with him on Maktuu."

Jack looked up at the honeycomb of roosts above. A grey dragon launched itself from one of the nooks and, with a gliding curve, flew out of the great mouth of the cave and into the sky. Jack felt a little uneasy about this - he had flown a number of times in the past, with the aid of various devices, but never on the back of a living creature - at least, not at such an altitude as this.

"C'mon," Kez insisted, interrupting his train of thought. "Maktuu is up there." He pointed to one of the holes in the wall far above them, then went to the nearest ladder and started to climb. Jack followed him.

Up the ladder, along a walkway, up another ladder, then another walkway, third nook on the right. As they entered the cave, its occupant - a fair-sized bronze dragon - lifted his head and looked at them.

"G'morning Maktuu," Kez greeted him. The dragon stood up, shook himself and spread his wings a little.

"Good morning, Kez," he rumbled. Then he turned to regard Jack with a yellow eye the size of a dinner plate. He blinked. "It's you again. Feeling better, I see?"

Jack bowed a greeting. "Yes, thank you."

"I suppose Kez has told you my name already; I know yours, you've been the talk of the roosts for days." Maktuu drew back his head. "It's nice to meet you. Properly, I mean." The dragon was quite verbose, much more so than the human who rode him.

"It is an honor to meet you as well," Jack said. Kez was getting a large saddle down from some pegs on the wall. He went to Maktuu, who lifted his wings obligingly, and started strapping it on.

"So, I'm to help give you flying lessons?" Maktuu guessed. His smile managed to be friendly even though it was composed of sharp teeth. "Wonderful! I can't wait!"

"Let me get the saddle on first," Kez reminded him. Maktuu lifted his left front leg so that Kez could get the strap on. Jack watched him carefully, so that he could remember how it was done. Kez buckled, adjusted and checked straps for the next two minutes or so before patting Maktuu on the back. The dragon sat down obligingly.

"You're going to be in the back part of the saddle," Kez told Jack. Jack nodded and approached the indicated seat. He got himself settled and put his feet in the attached slippers, the equivalent of stirrups. Kez helped him to strap in, then took his own seat on the forward part of the saddle.

There was something missing in this whole arrangement, though. "Excuse me, but how do you direct your dragon without..."

Maktuu wheeled his head around to face Jack. "I'm not his dragon. Kez rides me, but he doesn't own me. There's a difference."

"My apologies," Jack said quickly, "I am still learning your ways. I meant no offense."

The dragon did something that seemed the equivalent of raising an eyebrow. "Apology accepted, then." Maktuu turned to face forward once more.

"I just think which way I want him to go," Kez said, "And he goes."

Jack blinked. "I do not understand."

Kez frowned thoughtfully for a moment. "The Seers match up dragons and riders. They find individuals who have a sort of rapport with each other, and pair them up. So when the Seer finds you a dragon, she will find you one that can share thoughts with you. That's how it works."
Jack did not really like the idea of sharing his mind with anyone or anything, but if that was how it worked..."I see," he said.

"Good," Kez nodded. "Now, let's get ready to go." He put on his veil and lowered his goggles over his eyes, then took hold of the saddle horn before him. Jack did the same.

As soon as he finished, Maktuu took a flying leap out of his perch, making a loud cry as he did so. The dragon fell a dozen feet as he snapped open his wings, then banked a turn with a few flaps and made a beeline for the exit. The whole experience of takeoff was a bit disorienting, but not at all distressing.

And then they were out of the cave, and in the air high above the mountains…

Riding a dragon did not have much in common with flying in a space suit. There was nothing between him and the air, but to Jack's point of view this was a positive thing. The sky above was clear, the nearby mountain peaks shone like jewels, and the misted ground below held the promise of hidden beauty. Kez pointed out the peak of Mount Fatoum, which brooded over the surrounding range in a decidedly menacing way.

"You're doing all right," Kez shouted to him. "Ready for something more exciting?" Jack could not see his face because of the goggles and the veil, but he knew Kez was smiling. He nodded.

"All right," Kez said. "Hold on to your hat."

"But I am not wearing a..." Maktuu's sudden dive cut Jack off in mid-sentence. The dragon folded his wings and shot downward, then snapped them open and leapt into the sky again. Luckily Jack had an uncommonly strong constitution and nerves of steel, or this would have been extremely unpleasant to say the least.
Maktuu banked sharply, then took another dive and swoop. Jack found that he was enjoying the ride, in spite of (perhaps because of) all the twists and turns and near-misses the dragon's flight was taking him on.

He was disappointed when the dragon headed for the cave again. Maktuu landed gently in his roost and settled down. Kez started unbuckling himself from the saddle, so Jack did too. They slid off Maktuu's back, and the dragon stood up again. Jack removed the hood, veil and goggles.

"That was pretty good," Kez remarked as he started taking Maktuu's saddle off.

"Yes," the dragon agreed, "Most rookies lose their lunch on their first flight."

Jack was unable to fully comprehend this statement, but he had a good idea of what it meant. "I found it very enjoyable. Thank you."

"Too bad you can't stay," Kez said as he hung up the saddle again. "You're a natural - at least as a passenger. As for a pilot - we'll see about that."

They took their leave of Maktuu and climbed back down the ladders to the ground. Jack was not surprised to see the Seer waiting for him.

"My lady," Kez addressed her with a bow. Jack bowed as well. The Seer nodded at them. "My lady, I think Jack's ready to go solo. He held up pretty well just now."

The Seer nodded. "Thank you, Kez. Come with me, Jack - I think I have found the perfect dragon for you."