Heyyyyy! I'm back! Now I read through the comments and I see not many enjoyed chapter two and that's okay! I'm not offended or upset. I asked for feedback and I thank you all for being honest. This chapter is gonna pound my skull into the floor for sure, so let me roll the credits…

-inhales-

Thank you to DesDragon22 (dark green dragoness), 44Hydras (orange boi), Mester Satellite (second in command), Ornex (green guard boi), Orca (black dragoon with red eyes), Szengen (funni ash grey boi) and Dracosity (shy boi) for allowing me to use your sonas/ocs in my story. It'll make my life a lot easier for character building and making it so I don't have to come up with some stupid ass fake names. I suck at names…

I do not own the world of Alagaësia, so let's get back into it! Cheers to chapter 4!

As Stargazer and Fiori reached the top of the stairs and stood in front of their students, the younglings and their Riders stopped what they were doing and stared up at the enormous male dragon. Stargazer slowly walked up to the shy white male, who was visibly shaking in fear by now, and lowered his head. The crystal dragon closed his eyes and brushed his snout against the youngling, emitting a pleased hum and transferring some energy into him. He also imparted feelings of companionship and security into the white's mind, letting him know he was safe. After he was done, with the white male looking very much relaxed and at ease now, Stargazer raised his head once more and addressed the Riders.

"I hope you were saying your goodbyes, Riders," he stated in a not unpleasant way.

The Riders looked among each other, confused. The male elf with the dark green female then stepped forward, bowed, and asked the unspoken question: "What do you mean goodbye, Great One?"

Fiori then spoke, "In order for your partners to truly feel wild, young one, we must separate you and your dragons from one another." At their downcast looks, Fiori shot Stargazer a glare, but he just raised an eye ridge and nodded. She continued, "Do not fret. We would not leave you alone, two-leggeds. We understand your bond and have volunteers from our ranks who will be your companions through your bonded ones' training." As sighs of relief were heard, Fiori felt smugness radiating from her mate-to-be and immediately tried to squash those feelings in his mind by privately sending him a message. "You are so in for it." Unfortunately for her, that smugness turned into full-blown hysteria as Stargazer's legs gave out and he collapsed, roaring with laughter. After a few minutes, he managed to pull himself together, and he addressed their students. Still chuckling all the while.

"Now, on to proper introductions. I am Stargazer, and you will address me as Ebrithil whenever using my name. It means master in the Ancient Language and is a sign of respect. As you are all students, I doubt there will be any issues in this as you're already used to calling your teachers on this island by that title." The crystal king paused, getting himself back on track before continuing, "There is also a catch. This sign of respect also extends to my mate, Fiori-" he nudged Fiori- "and your main instructors. Those two will be Mester-" the red male inclined his head slightly "-and Ornex." The green male nodded his head ever so slightly as well before straightening once more as the young dragons introduced themselves.

"I am Des," the dark green female stepped forward and bowed her head.

"I am Hydra," the orange bowed his head but remained seated on his haunches.

"I am Velikashaar," the white male said while stepping forward. Stargazer hummed and winked at him, causing the young one to look away.

"I am Szengen! Although everyone just calls me Szen," the ash-gray male proclaimed, leaping forward and causing everyone to chuckle. Even Ornex's statue-like facade was disrupted and he cracked a small smirk.

The black male remained silent, looking the crystal dragon over with a guarded expression, and the couple could feel his distaste and mistrust rolling from his mind. "I will bow to no one. Not even to one like you who claims to hold reign over our kind," the male stated resolutely, his lip curling up into a snarl.

Stargazer merely raised an eye ridge and the moment one of his talons tapped the ground, there was a thunderous roar. A green form blurred across the group's vision and there was a strangled yowl followed by a thud as Ornex slammed into the stubborn male, sending him sprawling. The green dragon then pinned the younger male to the ground, one of his paws around his throat, growling in his chest and a snarl plastered on his face. The other young dragons and their Riders looked on with wide eyes as Ornex forcefully pressed the male's head against the ground, completely immobilizing him. The black's Rider merely sighed and walked over. Kneeling by the head of his companion, the human spoke.

"You will respect them, Orca. I don't care what excuses you have, these individuals are here seeking our help and we accepted their terms. Your arrogance is your downfall, Orca. I will not be there to get you out of any problems you get yourself into." The boy then looked up at Stargazer, who had walked over to stand behind him. The crystal king lowered his head to look the young Rider in the eyes with one of his own glowing orbs. As the human looked into that eye, which was bathing him in a soft, dark blue light, he raised his hand and gently laid it on the cheek of the male. Stargazer hummed and broadcasted his speech to them all when he next spoke.

"Fear not, human. I understand how to handle an arrogant hatchling without resorting to violence," he chuckled, causing everyone to crack a smile. "After all, I'm sure some of your masters here on Vroengard had their moments as well when they were younger." Stargazer pulled away, looked down at the pinned male and snorted. "I am disappointed in you, young Orca, but not from refusing to accept me as who and what I am." The king's voice then took on a hard edge, causing Mester to shoot him a look of worry while Ornex's grip on the youngling's throat tightened. "You disgraced our race as a whole when you disrespected me. That carries a significant penalty and if you were any other wild under my wing I would have ordered you into solitary confinement in our darkest cave systems. They are a maze of tunnels and have no light. There is no food, and the water there will dehydrate you and slowly kill you from within. If the rats do not get to your corpse, then the aquatic monstrosities will." A lightning bolt struck nearby somewhere and thunder cracked across the island, echoing in the mountains. Stargazer's voice darkened further. "I will give you one chance to prove yourself worthy of my teachings…" his razor sharp teeth were mere inches from the shaking youngling's neck as he uttered the final line, finishing his threat. "Do not disappoint me."

With a snort from the crystal dragon, Ornex released Orca without a word and returned to his previous post. Fiori glanced at her mate-to-be from the corner of her eye as he spoke with the Riders, discussing the details and swearing them all into secrecy. The only beings capable of allowing them to speak of what all transpired and what exactly they entailed were Ornex, Stargazer, Mester and Fiori. The Riders were permitted to speak with the wild dragons that they would be paired with when they arrived of the situation and how they felt, but nobody outside of the selected were to know the specifics. Not even the Rider Council.

This was dragon business. They had no rights or say in the matters involving the King of the dragon race. He only answered to one individual: Fiori. And even then his vote held more power over hers as he had more experience than her. What baffled Fiori was how gentle and caring he was toward her. When she stood her ground on something, he seemed to back down and listen to her intently, taking her voice to heart and letting her lead. With a start, the dragoness realized:

He was indirectly teaching her how to make decisions as a leader. Something she had never done before and she had voiced those concerns to him when they were first discussing it. He was letting her make her own decisions, taking them into consideration, and he even listened! How he was doing this so second-naturedly floored her. She was so caught up in her thoughts that Fiori never noticed the female youngling walk up and sit beside her until she nudged the red dragoness with a wing, causing her to flinch a bit.

"H-hello, Fio- I mean Ebrithil," Des stuttered, afraid of messing up and making a bad first impression.

Fiori regained her composure and draped a wing over Des, covering her completely except for her neck and head, which stuck out. Lowering her head and arching it so she was looking Des in the eyes, she spoke in a soothing voice, "Just call me Fiori or Fiori-elda when speaking with me outside your training times young one." She smiled as the red dragoness felt a happy pulse of acceptance and eagerness from the younger female.

When the queen-to-be met his eyes, Stargazer winked at Fiori, seeing her and the dark green female already hitting it off just fine, and turned his attention back to the task at hand. He looked to the skies, noting the storm brewing to the south east, the alignment of the stars that were now twinkling in the night sky, and finally turning to the group that was awaiting his verdict. His mind made up, the crystal dragon spoke, "I know these were bittersweet goodbyes, but you will see your bonded companions again in several summers, young ones. We must leave now before the storm makes its way northward and cuts off our window of opportunity for a week. I know for a fact that none of you can fly through storms like I can and I will not chance it. Let's go."

With that, he let loose a massive roar and surged into the air, the moonlight glinting off his wings and scales. The Riders saw this and their eyes went wide, suddenly realizing why he had chosen his name. Nudging their partners one last time, the young dragons took to the air, following the crystal male and his red dragoness. Mester and Ornex took up position at the rear of their group, ensuring none of the young dragons hit the ground if any passed out.

As they soared away from Vroengard, the young dragons realized that their world was enormous and that they were nothing but pawns in a universal game of chess.

The flight to the North had begun.

Unknown to them, an ancient evil had awoken.

Somewhere in a forgotten corner of the wilderness, a pair of glowing red eyes snapped open and a roar of pain and rage echoed across the lands, frightening wildlife for miles around. A disfigured form thrashed in his chains and howled as bolts of lightning lashed at his body, leaving fresh burn marks across his scales. The form howled and roared.

"I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE, CRYSTAL KING! YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM ME FORE- AAGH~!"

The form's speech was cut off from a bolt of purple lightning slashing at his throat and he screamed in pain.

Aaaand cut! What'd ya think? We met the students, had some daddy issues, and now an unknown evil that somehow knows our King? Hmmmm. Strange. He even seems to be an old enemy… maybe a past rival? Psychopathic cannibal?

As always, leave your thoughts and guesses as to who this new entity might be!

I honestly didn't know if I would finish this by the 25th, aka Christmas, but I powered through it today and- wait. It's Saturday at 2am? Wow I have a skewed sense of time. Fuck me sideways and clonk me in the head with a brick.

Until next time, happy holidays!

Stargazer out.