Chapter 5 – Alden's History
Alden woke to another beautiful and noisy morning in New York City. He sat in bed, tempted to just lay back and fall asleep again. Alden was thinking about the prospect of another tiring day of school. He thought about his new friends and how excited he was to see Trixie, Spud and Jake. JAKE! It hit him like a sack of potatoes. Jake had called him last night, late before Alden went to bed. Jake had told him that he, Alden Draco Pendragon, was a dragon. A DRAGON! He still couldn't believe it. Alden had to go with Jake after school to Jake's grandpa's shop to speak with the dragon master and train. Maybe he can tell me who my parents are he thought. I wonder what he will teach me? he wondered.
"Alden!" Abigail's voice came over the speaker startling Alden from his thoughts, "Are you ready yet?"
"I'll be down in a minute," Alden replied through the speaker.
He jumped out of bed and scrambled around trying to get dressed. Alden almost tripped several times while racing around his room. I really should be more organized and clean my room he told himself and made a mental note.
"Your breakfast is getting cold!" John yelled up to Alden from the kitchen.
"Coming!" yelled Alden back as he was heading down the stairs.
"Hurry and eat, Alden, I'm going to take you to the bus stop this morning," John said as Alden came into the kitchen.
Alden sat down and hurried to eat his waffles John had made since Abigail had been called into work early this morning for something at the hospital.
When Alden was done, John walked with him to the bus stop. The bus pulled up just as they got there.
"Have a good day, Alden," John told Alden as he got on the bus.
"Bye!" Alden yelled out the bus window.
The school day seemed to be frozen in time. Alden felt like a minute was passing for every second. He had already been told three times to pay attention in his classes today. Alden couldn't keep his mind off the fact he was a dragon. He couldn't wait for his first lesson with Jake's grandpa.
Finally, the bell rang dismissing school from session. Alden caught up with Jake on the way out the door. They were heading for the main entrance to the building when Trixie and Spud caught up with them.
"You can go skating today, Jake, can't you?" Trixie asked suspiciously.
"I'm sorry guys, but Alden and I have a project to do," Jake confessed.
"Well we'll catch up with you later then," Trixie said.
"See you later guys!" Jake yelled as he and Alden dashed away before they were late to the shop. Jake's grandpa never liked it when Jake was late.
Alden and Jake arrived at the shop panting and only one minute late.
"You're late!" Grandpa's voice came from the back of the shop.
"Sorry, G," panted Jake in reply.
"Ah, Alden Pendragon is it," asked Grandpa, "a very interesting last name you have."
"What about it?" Alden asked.
"Well the name Pendragon was the surname of King Arthur the knight."
"You mean King Arthur really lived?"
"Yes, he was somehow related to Sir Bowen who befriended Draco and began the history of dragons."
"Wow," gasped Alden, "do you think I'm related to King Arthur then?"
"We would have to look into that in the records."
"G, are we going to discuss dead guys or train today," Jake asked interrupting Alden and Grandpa.
"Yes, let us move on now," Grandpa agreed, "but Jake, you and Fu Dog, must take Alden to Magus Bizarre later to find his parentage and history."
"Whatever you say, G," agreed Jake.
On the roof, Grandpa began his training and instruction.
"Now, Alden, you must focus your mind on dragons and only dragons," started Grandpa.
"But that would take to long to do if you needed to change into dragon form quickly,"
Alden spoke his opinion out loud.
"Yes, but first you must change into dragon form to know what you need to think of or say in order to change quickly," answered Grandpa, "It will not take long with training and practice."
"Oh." Alden was shocked to find that it was so easy to change form like that.
This shouldn't be too hard he thought as he closed his eyes and started concentrating on dragons. Fire, wings, tail, strength, intelligence, immortality… he listed what he knew about dragons from stories and movies.
"Alden!" Jake shouted startling Alden from his thoughts.
"What? Did I do it? Is something wrong?" stammered Alden.
"Yes, you did it," Jake replied, "Open your eyes!"
Alden opened his eyes and looked down a little frightened of what he might see, but instead Alden couldn't believe it. I'm a dragon! I'm a dragon! I'm a dragon! he kept thinking to himself. Alden was a shimmering gold dragon and was much bigger than Jake as a dragon. He had a 45 foot wingspan, was 30 feet long from nose to tail and was 12 feet tall at the shoulder. He had two giant horns on his head surrounded by three smaller horns for a total of eight and at the end of his tail a he had a sharp blade, sharp enough to cut through a tree, which could be drawn in and out like cats can do with their claws.
"Never have I seen a young dragon master changing forms for the first time on one try," said Grandpa shocked, "Alden, you must be more powerful than I had thought."
"Really?" Alden asked stunned.
"It took me like a month before I got it down," Jake confessed to Alden.
"Jake, change to your dragon form," Grandpa interrupted, "we must begin training and test Alden to see what he needs work on."
For an hour and a half Grandpa instructed Alden on flying. He told Alden how to use drafts and how to fly in different weather conditions. Alden also learned how his tail helped him to stay balanced while flying too. I didn't think flying could be so technical! he thought as Grandpa finished today's lesson. Alden had a lot of work to do to be able to catch up with Jake's level of skill. Jake has known that he has been a dragon longer he reminded himself. I would like to be able to beat him he thought. Alden could be very competitive in sports and rose to any challenge often succeeding. He was very determined to catch up with Jake and master his dragon powers.
Fu Dog, which Alden found out, was a dog who could talk and was a 600 year old Shar Pei, and Jake took Alden to the subway to go to Magus Bizarre to find Alden's history and background so Grandpa would know more about Alden, and also the mystery of whether Alden was related to King Arthur or not needed to be answered. Grandpa needed to know this information so he could know exactly what Alden needed training for since some dragons have certain abilities that others don't have. Alden was also curious to find out about his ancestors and especially excited to finally learn who his blood parents were.
"Don't you use magic to get to Magus Bizarre?" Alden asked.
"No, you see, magical creatures are all about, but you can't see them since they are disguised," Fu Dog explained.
"The subway's last stop which isn't a stop for the people of New York City leads to Magus Bizarre," Jake told Alden.
At the last stop, Fu Dog, Jake and Alden stayed on while everybody got off. The driver of the subway turned out to be a magical creature in disguise, like Fu Dog had told him. They got off at the "last" stop and entered the magical world. Alden had only seen a fairy fly by, Fu Dog, and Jake turn into a dragon, so he was awestruck when he saw all the different creatures. I still can't believe all the magical creatures I have read about are all really real! he thought when he saw all the different species.
"Alden, it's this way!" Jake called.
Alden couldn't help staring as he walked along behind Fu Dog and Jake.
Finally they came to a massive stone building. Alden looked up and read LIBRARY OF RECORDS above the door. They all entered and walked up to the counter.
"Excuse me, but do you have any records on King Arthur?" Jake asked the librarian.
"Yes, aisle 25," answered the librarian.
They walked down to aisle 25 and found Pendragon. The book they pulled out contained all the ancestors of King Arthur. Everything was accurate, more accurate than any human book, since it was recorded by magic spells and curses placed upon the Earth from the time the Earth was first inhabited.
In the index of the book they looked up Sir Bowen and turned to the right page.
Alden was indeed fascinated by the detail of which the magic books recorded information. It turns out that Bowen had children and Draco gave an egg to him before he died also. The egg hatched years later and Drake was born. When Drake was old and tired from fighting the Huntsclan he retired and married a beautiful maiden who was a descendant of Bowen. Bowen was a relative of King Arthur, but he never knew it because the human's record keeping was flawed and not precise. This was how the Pendragon lineage was combined with Draco, the legendary dragon, and Drake was thought to be the last of the dragons by humans because he was the last true dragon, for the new generation of dragons could change their form whenever they wanted.
When Alden turned to the last page of the lineage, he was stunned to see his name in bold cursive writing. That means that not only do I carry the name of Pendragon, but am the last living descendant of King Arthur! he realized. Alden's history was so old and complicated, that this tidbit of information was nothing. His history and ancestors went back to the beginning of the time of dragons. His family was always here protecting the magical creatures of the world like he was being trained to do. The weight of the world was resting on Alden's shoulders; humans and magical creatures both depended on him. However, Alden didn't realize how big the situation was.
Also under his name were the meanings of his name and origin. Alden means "old, wise protector" in English, Draco means "dragon" in Latin and Pendragon means "from the dragons enclosed land" in Anglo-Saxon. Pendragon had been given to
King Arthur's family because they were very loyal to the dragons and fought the Huntsclan to help the dragons. The dragons in return gave them the name Pendragon for their bravery and courage in battle against the Huntsclan. The name of Pendragon was held in great honor and nobility by those who carried the name.
Alden turned back a page and finally learned his parentage and where he came from.
His father was Cedric Pendragon and his mother was Katherine. Both were from wealthy, old English families. His parents were both dragons the book read. His father was a giant brown dragon and his mother was a dazzling gold-brown dragon. I finally know who and what my parents were after 13 years he thought.
Alden then turned to the history of dragons and introduction in the front of the book. It explained how Alden was a lot bigger than Jake in dragon form. English dragons from the medieval times are the largest species of dragon since they are from the original line of dragons. The Pendragon line of dragons is especially bigger because Draco and Drake were larger dragons. The book also explained about Drake and the movement of dragons and how each adapted to their different cultures and regions. The movement of dragons also led to the shrinking size of other dragons to be able to accommodate their size in newly developed empires and cities. All dragons have shrunk in size except for the Pendragon line which hasn't down sized very much. It also explained how the Huntsclan began and why dragons were deemed the protectors of the magical world. This is really detailed and complicated he thought but really interesting. Alden had always been good in history classes. It was his best subject.
"Are you ready to go?" Jake asked suddenly.
"Yeah," Alden replied after reading the paragraph he was on.
"Now we have to go to the Dragon Council and inform them about you being a dragon," Jake explained to Alden what his grandpa had told him.
"How do we get there?" Alden asked excitedly. Just another adventure! he thought.
"We have to take a magic elevator to the other side of the world to reach the Isle of Draco," Jake explained.
They got back on the subway and went to the station where you catch the magical elevator at. Jake punched the buttons in a special order that told the magical elevator to come instead of the regular one.
"Hold on tight, Alden," Fu Dog warned as they stepped on.
"Why?" Alden asked as he went to grab the hand rail.
"Because if you don't…" Jake tried to say as the elevator took off.
The magical elevator dropped down at over 200 miles per hour, rushing for the other side of the world. When they stopped and the doors opened they were upside down on this side of the world. Alden clumsily let go and fell to the floor while Jake got down with no problem. Alden picked himself up and wiped off the dirt from his T-shirt and pants.
"…you'll end up stuck to the ceiling or thrown around," Jake finished.
"I see," Alden replied rubbing his new bruises he had obtained.
"It's OK kid, Jake did worse the first time he rode the elevator," Fu Dog said encouragingly.
"Fu Dog!"
"What? It's the truth!"
They walked up to the giant building on the island and proceeded up the stairs to the entrance. They entered and Alden followed behind Jake to the receptionist at the front desk.
"We need to speak with the Dragon Council quickly," Jake told the lady.
"They are free at the moment, you may proceed into the room to speak with them," she replied.
"Thanks," Jake said as he stepped around the desk.
Jake pushed open the office door to the Dragon Council, one of the many that existed in the hallway. In the building they were in sat the statues of the threats to the magical community. The Dark Dragon was number one and the Huntsclan was number four.
In the office sat Councilor Kulde, Councilor Chang and Councilor Andam. They were discussing something with angry voices when Jake and Alden entered. They immediately stopped their discussion and all looked up to see who had entered.
"Jake Long," Councilor Kulde addressed Jake, "what an unexpected surprise.
What are you here for?"
"This is Alden Pendragon and he is an unregistered dragon related to King Arthur, Sir Bowen and Draco," spilled Jake.
"Really and how do you know this?"
"My grandpa trained him some before we went and looked it up in the records," Jake explained, "How else could he have gotten to this island if he weren't a dragon?"
"Good point."
"Thank you for informing us, Jake Long," Councilor Chang cut in.
"Your parents are missed and were loved by dragons all over. They were heroes," Councilor Andam spoke for the first time to Alden.
"You're dismissed Jake Long and Alden Pendragon," Councilor Kulde bade them good-bye, "Jake's grandpa can continue training you in your lessons, Alden."
"Thank you, Sir," Alden replied.
"Good-bye," Jake waved to the councilors.
Their trip back home was quiet, except for the elevator ride as they rushed back to the other side of the world to New York City. Alden got a hang of the elevator this time and didn't get beaten up as badly. Both boys had things on their minds to think about. Alden didn't know why his parents were so missed and loved by the dragon population. The book hadn't given any information on how they died, but just their death dates.
It was only around 6:00 pm when they got back into New York City off the subway.
When they went to tell Grandpa the news he already knew it. Councilor Kulde had already called to inform him.
Jake and Alden said good-bye and went separate ways home to a warm dinner. What a day he thought life will never be the same after this! Alden couldn't wait to start training with Jake's grandpa and Fu Dog. He had a lot of catching up to do to reach the level of dragons his age. Alden was determined to catch up with Jake to be as good as him. He couldn't wait to be part of the fight against the Huntsclan.
Alden walked up the front steps and unlocked the door to his house.
"Did you finish your project with Jake, Alden?" Abigail asked from the kitchen.
"Yeah," Alden replied.
"Dinner is almost ready."
"Good because I am starving," Alden said as he ran up the stairs to his bedroom.
Alden put away his school stuff and cleaned up for dinner.
After dinner Alden finished some homework and got ready for bed. He was so tired that he was going to drop from exhaustion any minute. He had never done so much in one day before. Grandpa had all ready given him some exercises to build strength and flexibility, but Alden didn't have any energy to do them.
He got in bed and as he lay there waiting for sleep to claim him he was wondering what he would do tomorrow for training. I hope we do more flying he thought as long as it isn't too hard. He was really sore from today's training. I should have done some stretches before getting in bed he told himself. Being an athlete Alden knew how important it was to stretch before and after physical exercise.
As Alden fell asleep he dreamt about his parents and what could have been the reason for their deaths. Otherwise, Alden slept soundly without anymore dreams. Tomorrow his life would change as he went through his dragon training and there wasn't anyway of going back.