Chapter 14: The Training Begins
As the grown-ups left, Mr. Threehorn was still in shock. Not only had he been out-threatened, but he was also made a fool of in front of his own daughter. That was one thing that will embarrass anybody.
Meanwhile, back at the cave, Vylon began talking with his future pupils once more. "I just want you to know when you will see me. In the mornings, you will come here. I will transform you into elves, and the day's training can begin. While I am training you, Argana will take care of the hatchlings. If you want, you can visit them before the day's training begins and after it ends.Do you have any questions on this?"
"Yeah. What will we be learning?" Ducky asked.
"That is simple. Or maybe not. You'll find out tomorrow." Vylon replied. "Now, I think that there is enough time for me to sing myself a house in the trees before you head off home. Would you like to witness how an elf makes a home? It is quite interesting."
The response from the group was "yes," completely in unison, except for Spike, who just nodded.With that, Vylon went over to a group of trees. He examined the branches, the roots, and the area around the bases of the trees. Vylon began to sing in an ethereal language. The song rose and fell, and it seemed to make the gang feel alive. The trees seemed to respond to the music. Out of nowhere, branches grew out of the trees. They seemed to grow towards the other trees. They fused together, forming a connecting pathway between the trees. More and more branches behaved as such, and the trees soon formed a little house between them. The hut seemed to be multiple floors to accommodate for its small radius.
"Would you like to come in?" Vylon asked the gang. They replied with another group "yes." With that, Vylon opened the door, and entered the elf's house. The marveled that it seemed to be larger on the inside, but it probably was just a trick of the eyes. On the wall was a set of shelves made up mostly of cubbyholes. They ascended to the next level, which was harder than they expected because the steps were extremely steep for them, but Vylon was able to climb them with ease.
On the second level, there was a huge opening in the wall, and aa little depression on the ground. There was also a writing desk right by the opening. There was a door right by the stairs, and the kids asked what was there. Vylon responded, "My area for washing my clothes. I can't sew that well, I don't have the materials needed, and I only brought a limited supply. I might not know how to make clothes, but I can wash them."
They ascended the stairs once more, and when they reached the top of the structure, they saw an amazing view of the Great Valley. Again, there was a depression in the floor. A wooden bed frame rested by the depression, as well as a sliding wooden door. They asked again, and Vylon told them that was where he stored his clothes.
"I'm surprised. I thought that you would have asked about the opening in the walls, or the depressions in the floor. But you seem to pay more attention to detail, and that will help you in your training. By the way, the depression is where Argana can sleep, and the openings are where I can exit and where Argana can fly in and out."
"How do you get out? Can you fly like Petrie?" Petrie asked.
"Not at all. It would take too much effort for me to fly, and besides, Argana can fly for me. I can just jump down onto the branches and swing or climb down them, depending on my mood. We elves are good at climbing trees." Vylon replied.
"Me thinks we should get home soon. Good night everybody! Me see you tomorrow!" Petrie said, then flew out of the opening back to his nest. With that in mind, the rest of the gang decided to climb down the stairs, but Vylon decided to make things a little easier on them. He just clapped his hands, and the stairs suddenly became a slide down to the ground floor. "Don't worry," he said, "You won't fall off the ramp. You'll get down faster if you take this, anyways. Unless you want to fall out of the opening, that is. I put a little protection on the slide so that you won't slide off. Well, off you go. I'll slide with you, if that makes you any happier." Vylon then proceeded towards the ramp, jumped onto it, and slid down with his arms spread out. The gang followed suit, but instead of standing on the slide, they sat down and pushed themselves down it.
The ride was short, but it was fun for them. The wind rushing past their face made them feel like they were flying. They now knew what Petrie felt when he flew, and why he liked it so much. When they reached the bottom, Vylon was already waiting for them. He said, "That might have felt like flying but it wasn't. You'll truyl experience the joy of flying when you ride with your dragon." The gand then headed back to their nests, anxiously awaiting the next day's training.
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When the gang awoke, they decided to have a quick breakfast, then they departed towards Vylon's cave. Vylon was not at the cave, though. He was standing at the base of his new home. He looked completely serious, devoid of his usually fun attitude.
"Welcome to your training. This will be tough, and I won't train those who give up. So if you are the kind of person that gives up easily, leave now." He said, and waited for any of them to leave. When none of them left, he looked pleased. His usual fun attitude returned. "Good, you want to be trained and you are willing to be pushed past your limits. I'll release your elven forms so that the training can commence in earnest." Vylon then reached into the gang's minds, and released the elven form.
"Now that you are elves, I should begin by explaining to you what I will be teaching you. I plan to make you physically, and mentally prepared for the tasks of a Dragon Rider. I think that we should go through how the days will pass by, first. I shall start you off with the Rimgar, or the Dance of Snake and Crane. It is a method of exercise that was designed to prepare Riders for combat, but is now done to keep fit and healthy by elves. I will perform the Rimgar with you, seeing as you don't know how to do it."
Vylon then began bending down towards his feet. The gang followed his examples one by one until they reached a point where they couldn't perform the poses anymore. By that time, they were feeling hot and sweaty, but also more prepared. Vylon then said, "I think that we have reached a good stopping point. We'll continue with the Rimgar tomorrow.
"The next thing on my agenda is the art of swordfighting. All Dragon Riders were good swordsmen, but it was rare for excellent swordsmen to join our ranks. The method that most teachers used while teaching swordsmanship was first sparring with their students to evaluate their skill, then teaching the student how to perform certain techniques."
He then pulled out five staffs from a box on the side of his hut, and while handing one to each of his pupils said, "I don't need to do this, however. I know that you have never even picked up a sword in your life. Therefore, we can skip the initial sparring match and go straight into the technique teaching." When they all had a stick, he went and grabbed a sword of magnificent craftmanship. The sheath was silver like Argana's scales, and when he unsheathed it, the blade was the same exact color. "This is my sword, Argana. Each Rider is presented a sword to match his or her dragon's color at the completion of the training. I named my twin blades Argana and Argaya, for they are sisters in fighting."
After he finished, he showed the gang how to hold a sword correctly. Once he knew that they had a good grip, he began showing them the basic postures. These were fairly simple, and all five students were able to master these poses quickly. "I don't want to spar with you today, only because you are a little tired from the Rimgar. Tomorrow, we will practice these postures through battle.
"I think that we should break for lunch, don't you?" Vylon asked his students.
"Sure. I'm hungry. How about you, Ducky?" Spike said.
"I'm hungry, too." Ducky replied.
"Same here." Littlefoot said. Cera and Petrie just nodded.
"Excellent! Just letting you know, I won't release the elven form for lunch, with few exceptions. The only way you can eat normally would be for you to release the elven form yourselves, but that won't happen for a while." Vylon said. "Why don't you come in and eat? I've added some furniture on the ground level for eating."
He and his students entered the tree hut. Vylon went towards the cubbyholes, and pulled out some bowls with vegetable soup. He placed them in front of his students. "Try it. It's good." Vylon said. Cera was the first to try the soup, and she found it quite delicious. One by one, with Spike being the last, they tried their soups, and ate it until the bowl was empty. Surprisingly, they knew how to use the utensils that Vylon gave them, even though they have never used them before.
"I think we have a little bit of time for discussion before we go into other subjects that I have planned for today. Any questions?" Vylon asked.
"Yes. Where are our hatchlings? You said that Argana was taking care of them, but what do dragons usually eat?" Littlefoot asked.
"Dragons are actually more like sharpteeth. They eat meat. However, I recently discovered a way dragons could live of plants. Also, they are probably playing somewhere. You might have not heard, but last night, I sent out a giant telepathic wave saying that Argana and the hatchlings are not harmful, and should be treated as guests. Your parents also got a special message. I won't say what that message was, but the trees here are actually the kind that dragons can live off of.
"I think that we've spent enough time chatting. Back to training. The next thing I will teach is logic, or the art of rational thinking. There is only one way to teach this is through debate. I will ask you a question. I will give you as much time as you want, but I would like an answer and reason to your answer. The first question I will ask you is this; Why do you fear sharpteeth? I don't want a response now. When you think you have an answer, tell me.
"After logic, I planned the subject of history. This is vast, and I think that it would be best taught in the cave. I have an area set up for you there." Vylon led them to the cave. As he approached the cave door, he realized that he still needed a key. "Oh! That reminds me. You need keys into the cave. If you ever want a scroll to read, I have a variety of scrolls and books in there." He pulled out a pouch, and emptied the pouch. Inside there were five miniature stars attached to a circle of rope. "Just put these on, and walk through the wall where you see the outline. This is how I get in and out of the cave when I close it." He put his, which was in his hand, around his neck, and then walked towards the wall. Instead of pressing against the wall, he went straight through. The gang followed suit.
Inside, they saw Vylon leading them into a chamber. The chamber he was in was the same chamber that they awoke in the day before. The beds were still there. Vylon clapped his hands when Littlefoot, the last to enter, was in the room. The front half of the five beds rose on a pillar of stone, forming a desk to sit at. Cera was the first to sit down. Littlefoot, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike followed suit.
"Just letting you know, this is a vast subject. Don't expect to grasp it at first glance. Ask if you need clarification." Vylon said. He then began explaining the origins of magic. He told about the Grey Folk, who created the ancient language and gave it its magical abilities. Vylon also made comments about the events. On the subject of the origins of the ancient language, he said, "When we get to magic, you will understand this better. That is, if you can perform magic." He continued, explaining how the dwarves found their homes in the mountains. When he reached the explanation of Farthen Dur and Isidar Mithrim, the Star Sapphire, he pulled out a slate slab covered with ink. "I always keep these in here. These slabs are used for making fairths, which are images created in a magical fashion. They are great for showing what something looks like, but it is from the maker's view. This is how the Star Sapphire looks like." He said a spell in his ethereal voice, and the ink on the slab began to change instantly. When the fairth was complete, Vylon showed the fairth to the gang. On the slab was a giant red circle, but it seemed to refract and bend the light like a gemstone. The stone was expertly crafted, and it reminded the gang of a very beautiful flower. "This is the dwarves' treasure. It is priceless, but that is not why it is precious to them. It is the ultimate example of their craftmanship.
"I think that we have reached a good stopping point for today. I think that you are able to go home now, but you can see the hatchlings first if you want." Vylon said, and escorted them outside. Argana and the hatchlings were already outside. The students quickly asked Vylon about their dragons, to which Vylon replied, "You should talk to them. Send them emotions through your thoughts. Let them experience what you have experienced. It helps them grow mentally." The gang tried this, sending emotions and pictures to their hatchlings. They responded with obvious delight, squeaking happily.
Vylon released the elven form, reverting the gang back into dinosaurs. They bade Argana and Vylon farewell, then went back towards their ususal meeting places to relax and talk.
"I'm surprised that they aren't asking questions. I was expecting curiosity from them, but they seem to understand what I am telling them. It might be a by-product of the transformation, but I have to think." Vylon told Argana.
"Be grateful they aren't being too curious. These hatchlings would be hopless if I weren't around to protect them." Argana replied.
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A/N: People, please review. I want to wait until I have at least 10 reviews before the next chapter is posted.