Chapter 2

I see a few are enjoying the story, that is good! Least I know I'm not doing too bad, haha.

But seriously Thank you. This chapter was a bit difficult, just how do you train someone to be a dragon? Please, again, leave your criticism in the reviews, will help ease my worries over this.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Inheritance Cycle

Squinting and blinking my light sensitive eyes to get accustomed to the rising sun, I looked at my surroundings. It seemed like Late spring had arrived in Vroengard though I could feel the barest coolness of fall approaching. The sickly grass that grew rampant still retained their green, and the grove of twisted apple trees which still bore fruit had their strange leaves. As I stood in front of the Rock of Kuthian in a clearing of wild roses, raspberries, and water hemlock gazing down the cobblestone pathway and at the gigantic ruins. I realized that the words in the last book really failed to paint the grandeur of Doru Araeba. The valley was unnaturally silent save for the wind and those strange birds that chattered like squirrels, the trees had an aggressive presence and made you feel as if constantly being watched. The mist that settled in the valley looked like death. Sitting down with my tail curled loosely around my feet I sat my bag down and took a deep breath. I immediately started to wheeze and cough as my lungs started to burn and my scales started to itch, that is until the runes marking them flared and started to give a faint glow. After a few moments my breathing eased and I gave a relieved sigh and a glance down at myself.

Fiori was frantic.

"Fledgeling! Are you alright?! The air is poisonous! Do not breathe it too deeply! Oh, you must flee to the mountains and distance yourself from the center of origin!"

I smiled at her concern as I reached up and rubbed the rune on my chest. "Teach, Teach! I'm ok. I-I think one of these things is some kind of ward. Just what happened to me? I thought dragons couldn't do magic except wild accidental magic."

I heard Her sigh in relief, and after recomposing herself and giving a thoughtful hum. "Indeed, this must be the ancient one's doing. It was his spell and magic that started the process and his sacrifice that finished the summons. All we did was give the knowledge of what your dragon body should be, although that too ended up completely different than our expectations. Not a bad outcome mind you."

Nodding my head as I processed what she said, I decided I really needed to see what I looked like and what I'm capable of. For now since I'm protected, I should focus on food and so grabbing the bag with my mouth again I stood up and walked away from the pillar and towards the city ruins. One problem I could see was that even though I left the vault, I still knew what lay within.

So Privately I mentally reached out to Umaroth. "Ebrithil?"

I could sense the startled shock from me reaching out to him. "Youngling? Why are you speaking with me instead of your master? How can you know I'm here?"

Inwardly I grimaced. "The enchantment didn't work on me ebrithil, I still remember everything in the chamber. My theory is because I knew about it all before arriving here."

"This is most concerning, you could put everything at risk." He rumbled thoughtfully.

I came to what once was the central plaza. Stone rubble littered the area and Ivy covered the buildings and the fountain in the center. Maneuvering around the broken pieces I came to sit at it, staring at my reflection in the water.

"Would Swearing an oath in the ancient language not to reveal what is in there keep it safe?"

"It would," Umaroth agreed. "Are you willing to bind yourself?"

"I am, tell me what to say." He then instructed me what to say and after repeating each word to his satisfaction, swore the oath. I then said my farewell, hoping the oath would hold and returned my attention to the rest of the world and my reflection. My eyes had a faint glow to them and even if it was my face, I still had the urge to run. Giving a snort, I lifted my head and looked around at the ruins as a thought crossed my mind.

"Teach?" I reached out tentatively, feeling the sadness and loss coming from her as my eyes passed over a particular building.

It took her some time to respond which made my thought right. "Yes youngling? Are you ready to start learning? I can sense your hunger."

"Not yet.. I was wondering, I know you were never bonded, but why are you able to use this language? I thought wilds just projected emotions and images?"

I heard her sigh. That one mental sound projecting how old she was. "I was the caretaker of the younglings here. I hunted, cleaned, taught, and protected the hatchlings whether they were bonded or not. It was essential, then, that I had to learn the languages to teach them and because it made it easier for everyone to talk to me. And before you ask, yes.. I perished here by the traitorous dragon of Glaerun as I was leaving the hunting grounds to feed the hatchings. Caught off-guard, I was helpless as he dived and tore out my throat." Fury and hate emanated from her. "A moment later, I woke up in my Heart of Hearts."

I was about to apologize when I heard a hiss from behind me. Leaping to my paws I spun around and saw a giant snail coming out of the forest.

"Snalglí!" Fiori exclaimed, her emotions shifting to delight. "Seems your prey found you youngling, they are perfect for your first kill and delicious."

I hesitated with a grimace although it looked like a snarl, it didn't help that I had drool oozing from my maw. I knew these were a dragon's favorite. In the books Glaedr mentioned nothing could compete and Saphira agreed with my mentor but the part of me that was human felt disgusted. Alas, they are the only edible thing on here so despite my disgust, I crouched then leapt at it going for a headbutt to knock it on its side. To my surprise and that of my mentor, I shattered the shell instead when my horns struck it. The snalglí, toppled over in a hissing shriek which I cut off instantly by biting down on it's head. It was like a switch was flipped, I could feel my wings spread, my body crouched over it with it still in my jaws, and I could hear a growl in my throat. My body acted on itself, letting go of the snail's head and began to dig in.

It. Was. Delicious!

With a satisfied sigh, I returned to the fountain and my teacher, leaving the broken shells of three snalglí behind. The second and third were hiding after I took out the first but couldn't envade my sense of smell. I didn't care, I laid sprawled out on my belly, the sun had finally crested the crown of the crater and heated the cobblestone much to my delight.

"You weren't kidding! They tasted good, but I better not overeat or I'd get sick during training."

" That'd be wise, I'd give you an hour before we start. I must say you did well on your first time." I heard her Chuckle at my antics. I told her my instincts assisted me with the kills and getting past my revulsion over the sight of them and she approved, saying all proper dragons have them and they'd keep me alive in the future to come.

"What amazed me was how you managed to shatter their shells with a simple headbutt. Your horns seem to be for that purpose and I shudder what they would do to flesh and I am sure only enchanted armor could withstand being shattered. And your Tusk-fangs, teeth that long must be stronger than your average tooth else they might break off if whatever they're embedded in tried to escape. You truly are a marvel, young one." She commented after an easy silence, and I had to agree. I DID shudder when I thought of the result of me bull charging into an army and I silently prayed they would die instantly from the force.

"Now youngling, the most important thing you must learn is flight. Since the dangerous air that is prevalent on this island doesn't seem to hinder you, we can take our time."

I had unfurled my wings and was examining them as I idly gave them a flap when a thought crossed my mind making me swallow nervously and voice it. "Y-you're uh, not gonna make me climb a mountain and have me leap off to waken my instincts…are you?"

I could feel her stunned shock which lasted for a few moments before she roared in laughter.

"B-by the stars no, youngling! That is reckless! No, no, first we will get those wings of yours used to the motions here on the ground, now on your feet!"

I laughed at the ridiculous thought and lept to my paws, standing straight at attention as a dragon could and cheekily responded with a "Ma'am yes ma'am!" I don't think she understood my little joke but I know she sensed the playfulness because she resumed her instructions with amusement tinting her mental speech.

"Now, I want you to raise your wings up high, Good! Then 'reach' forward with your wing talon as you push down and back then finish by bringing them back up to how you began, Yes! Just so, that youngling, will be the forward motions. Stopping yourself is the inverse. Now I want you to go through the motions for forward and stopping two hundred times or until you can do them without thought."

I followed her instructions to the letter, beaming at the praise. On the outside I was calm, but in the inside? I was excited! I was learning to fly! There were times when I laid in my hammock back in the old life where I watched birds flit about with envy. The freedom to just leave it all behind was something I had craved, and now I had it, so with my 'homework' she received no complaints. I could feel her consciousness following my moventents, commenting when one of my wings fell out of sync but never once did her approval stop being present. The number didn't seem like much but by the time I reached the last of my 'braking' movement, the muscles where my wings joined the rest of my body burned and had left me panting.

Pulling my lolling tongue back into my maw, I shuffled towards the fountain, My legs acting stiff from standing for hours seeing as the sun is high in the sky by now. As I plunged my head into the cold water to drink, Fiori rumbled in my head.

"You are quick to master yourself, but now your wings need a rest and the rest of your body is in need of strengthening. Your body is at the age of three seasons and still susceptible to changes so once rested lets work on those legs. A light run around the boundary of the city for a few passes should do."

That time I groaned. In my past life I wouldn't have minded, after all I walked everywhere for years even in the uneven terrain of the mountains. But this was a new body, new muscles and I truly didn't relish going through it again. It was necessary though, so after laying on my belly with my head propped on the fountain's rim for what felt like only a moment, I dragged myself back to my paws. We were delayed when we realized I needed a better way of carrying my bag than my mouth. Otherwise, Fiori's Eldunarí and the electronics would be drowning in dragon drool, I wasn't about to leave her alone here defenseless while I did my exercise. Finding some strong vines was easy, using them to tie the bag to my chest was another story. A dragon's claws just weren't as flexible and adding to it my talons were longer and sharper than normal made it harder. Eventually I managed to learn that the claws on the 'hands' of my wings acted as fingers and it was easy to make a loose loop using an arbor knot even with my limited motor function. Tying the bag to a shortened end, I slipped my head through the loop with assistance from my wings and set off at a steady pace with a resigned sigh.