Hey guys, Stryker/Stargazer here. This is going to be my first ever official fanfiction story so uhhh yeah. Bear with my shitty story lines and occasional randomness. I would like to give the warmest "Thank you" to Pyramus for even mentioning this idea. Without him, we would still have Saphira and Eragon fanfictions that choke out the idea of what you're going to read.

I do not own the Inheritance Cycle nor most of the aforementioned characters within. Christopher Paolini does. You'll know them when you see them.

I do not own Fiori (female protagonist), Pyramus does. He has granted me permission to use her in my story.

I own the copyrights to my OC who is the main character in this, Stargazer. DM me on discord if you wish to use him. If I decline your offer, do not use him or his character modeling by giving him a different name. If I see this I will report you and come after you for theft.

That being said, without further ado, let's get right into it.

"Fiori"

Doru Araeba

251 summers before the Fall

The sun lazily rose above the horizon, illuminating the world and the massive blue and purple crystalline male dragon that sat on his haunches among the mountains encircling the remote island. This was no ordinary island, though.

This was the home of the Riders.

He watched as the Riders, their partnered dragons, friends, guests and Council Elders began their day. The male was enormous, standing proud at over 160 meters tall from the bottom of his jaw to the ground, he was the largest of his kind. Don't let his size fool you though. He was as nimble and flexible as the younglings twisting through the skies below him. He also held two of the greatest titles one could hold.

King of the Wild Dragons and Alpha of the Dragon race.

Today was no ordinary day either as he was among the bonded dragons of the Order for a purpose. That purpose being choosing five dragons to train alongside him. To become envoys for the wilds and learn to be wild. He already knew there would only be one to remain but they didn't know that. The male smirked to himself while thinking of his plan.

'To think they'll have no idea what's about to hit them.' he thought smugly to himself. 'I will place a wager with my guards stating the first two that leave won't make it a week.'

His thoughts then drifted to the other reason why he was there and his body heat flared up a bit. His other reason was to choose a potential mate and 'crown' her as his queen to rule alongside him. Stargazer has been alone for over a thousand planetary rotations and many said he would die alone. He didn't see an issue with this. Nobody takes materialistic items with them into the afterlife. Those items are simply staging trinkets to allow those closest to the deceased some closure and lessen the burden of having said items around.

Stargazer sighed, spread his wings and took off to glide to the ground below. Hundreds of dragons and two-leggeds were already crowding the streets and the wild king growled in annoyance.

Today was not going to go smoothly.

Giving a massive roar of impatience, the crowd looked up and promptly began scrambling to make room for Stargazer. Once enough room had been cleared, Stargazer landed with a crash, shaking the ground. Folding his wings in neatly along his back, he began making his way to the training grounds. He could hear roars of challenge and the clanging of metal striking metal as the Riders and their dragons dueled each other to train. As the crystal male walked, he began noticing females staring at him almost hungrily. He then stopped abruptly in front of a red dragoness that was clearly a wild and she ran face first into his chest.

She growled at him before looking up and the growl immediately died in her throat. Stargazer then chuckled in his throat, a coughing-like growl sound, and her eyes shot up to his with fear. The male lowered his head to look at her at her level and he could see her body quivering in fear and nervousness. Stargazer then gently pressed his nose against hers and hummed, the ground vibrating around the area and everyone falling silent to look at him.

Stargazer then withdrew and snorted at the dragoness. "Come. Walk with me." he said, and began walking on the path he had set previously.

Without further prompting, the dragoness began walking alongside him. Stargazer had taken into account the size difference between them and slowed his strides so they could walk side by side. A nervous feminine mental presence prodded at his mind and he invited her in.

"I-I am sorry that I b-bumped into you… Your Maj-"

Stargazer cut her off by asking "No need for apologies or formalities, O' Red One. What is your name?"

The poor female was so stunned that she had to replay the question inside her mind a few times before replying. "M-my name is Fiori. I also can't help but wonder what you're doing here."

The male hummed and remained silent, continuing his trek toward the sounds of combat. Fiori, not wanting to anger her king, went to turn and leave until a crystal wing was draped over her back. She immediately seen several other dragonesses around them shoot her glares of jealousy and snapped her head around to look up at Stargazer. He didn't seem to notice the glares or jealous looks directed at the pair, but he did notice the feeling of uncertainty and fear in her mind.

"Relax. Don't let them get to you, Fiori. I am here for two things. One, I am choosing five bonded dragons to begin training with my guards and I to become my personal envoys. The second of which is being me looking for a queen to rule alongside me."

Fiori's thoughts screeched to a halt after that. Her breathing quickened and heart rate increased. Her heart pounded in her chest and she felt as if her body was burning. Fiori's ruby red eyes flitted around to the numerous dragonesses looking at her while one thought dominated her mind and she asked it.

"Why me?"

"Fiori, you caught my eye when you didn't even realize I was there until you ran into me. You then also proceeded to gain my immediate respect by not groveling at my feet for making a simple mistake. And thirdly, you gained my appreciation for not looking at me like I'm your next meal like every dragoness around us has been doing since my arrival."

Fiori was silent as Stargazer pulled her against his flank and continued walking until the pair had reached the gates of the training area. They watched as dragon and Rider dueled against one another, trying to best each other in combat and magic. Stargazer then moved to sit directly behind Fiori and she leaned back to rest her head against his chest plating.

"So, which five would you pick and why, Fiori?"

The red dragoness looked over the field, observing the fighters going at each other with apt attention. "Hmmmmm… in all seriousness, none of these fools here are what you-"

The male then nipped her shoulder playfully and Fiori corrected herself with a smile.

"-what we are looking for. None of these jockeys fighting demonstrate what it would take to carry a message long distances, remember it exactly and arrive at their destination to deliver it word for word. They are only exercising their bodily muscles not their brains. I say we look into those who study alongside their Rider in the library. I can almost guarantee we'll find what we are looking for within those walls."

"You are already making wise decisions as a queen would, Fiori." Stargazer hummed. "I am impressed that you would think to recruit scholars instead of warriors. Well done."

The pair then stood up and began making their way to the library. As they passed the grand council building, a roar of challenge was heard. Stargazer and Fiori froze and turned around to see a large bronze male dragon moving toward them, snarling. Stargazer stepped forward and huffed while he rolled his eyes before addressing the bronze.

"So you want to have a rematch even after I beat your ass the last four times, Entraro? Have you not realized you cannot win against me yet? Or is your skull more bone than brain?"

The bronze male growled at that and took an offensive stance in front of Stargazer. The crystal male then slapped his tail against the ground, shaking the buildings around them and everyone cleared a ring around the two. Elder dragons and their Riders stepped out of the council hall to see what the commotion was about and froze at what they saw.

Fiori watched in awe as the two males began circling around the outer edge of the ring, allowing each to size the other up. Stargazer seemed to know he could win this without any effort and suddenly stopped to sit on his haunches. Entraro was not expecting this and seeing the crystal male sit down in front of him enraged the bronze male. Entraro then snarled and lunged at Stargazer… only for Stargazer to lazily grab his neck in one paw, lift him up, and slam the bronze dragon onto the stone beneath them. Entraro yelped as he hit the ground and that yelp turned into a gurgle as Stargazer began squeezing his paw, effectively crushing the bronze's throat. Entraro tried thrashing about to no avail and then a loud crack was heard and the bronze male went still.

Stargazer had crushed his spinal cord.

"Five to zero. Bastard." Stargazer said coldly to the corpse of the bronze dragon below him before turning to Fiori whose ruby eyes glinted in admiration. He walked over to her and gave her shoulder a nudge with his snout to signal that they were done here. The crowd parted for the pair along their path to the library and only birdsong and the breeze were heard.

Today was definitely not going smoothly…

Author's Note:

Wow! We already got some conflict going on and our first little appetizer of how skilled Stargazer is in physical combat. Don't worry, I hope to upload soon. This chapter is only about 1,500 words or so because I didn't want to drag this chapter out. We met the protagonists, we had an altercation, that threat is outta the way, and now next chapter they're hunting for their five recruits. What will they find in the library? Stay tuned!

... I feel like a game show host after saying that now. Yikes.

By the way, reviews are welcomed, just don't be too weird. If y'all want some Fiori POV later on let me know. I'll be happy to see what I can cook up for you.

Until next chapter, peace.