Above the Keep, Volume 9

Above the Keep - By Lorelai Silvermoon Volume 9

As the now-trained and ever-training dragon forces find their place as a whole with Cole and company driving the forefront and forging their path ahead, Finn has begun shifting subtlety and carefully from the forefront to return to the ambiguity of the shadows. He still participates when needed and will always help as he can but it seems more apparent that with the forces well in the capable hands of Champion Cole in Elysia, that Finn and Fair'rinth fade of their own from this command. Nothing at all seems to be wrong and as Finn is caught looking over the forces with a satisfactory look on occasion, Hel'byssia is once again his focus ....

As Thaylis and the Silverstrikes arrive on the upper walls of the Keep for their first morning amongst the assembled air corps, Cole stands comfortably with his hands clasped in his lower back, his customary cowl pushed away and his hair whipping in the breeze. He makes a bevy of formal introductions, putting the names to the many faces around for the Pelarite ... slowly moving from dragon to dragon, and rider to rider. The only exceptions, as explained, stand the brass dragons Bronwen, Pyrena, Firroth, and Atalya with their riders, who are currently on reconnaissance.

Surveying the remaining majority of the flights number, Cole lays out what he wishes to see trained in earnest that morning, and ends the briefing as the duos take to the sky. Held back from the rest for now toward the more immediate purpose, the pairings of: Cole/Lymonious, Thaylis/the twins, MJ/Tryphena, Princess Naia/Herbastion, and Thorfinn/Fairri remain upon the walls to begin the training of Thaylis.

A familiar sight to others has been dragged once more to the top of the Keep, a large leather saddle and harness with many straps and two seats.

"The Princess explains much better the history should your interest pique, Thaylis, but in short summation ... centuries ago when the avariel city of Tootsan thrived, they stood allied with many of the goodly dragons in the mountains around them. That tradition of cooperation in the air and battle is what we here, have been picking back up, in a way ... though in this time, many of the avariel -are- the dragons, and they partner with those seen here today. There is something to be said there of that, but I will leave it to others to enterprise ...

"Much of riding is a familiarity, gaining a feeling and anticipation of what each other is doing ... yes, a much simpler form is to ride by merely 'holding on.' But true riding is a tandem undertaking, each giving and taking direction ... a balance held in respect and trust between the two.

"In battle, you may think a rider would hold little measure in a clashing of metal and stone dragons ... but I am assured this is quite wrong. Aside spar and practice here, I have not seen such clashes myself ... nor has Negaria as a whole seen any large clash of dragons in numbers since Tootsan stood, to my knowing. The rider serves as another pair of eyes in the air, to prevent against possible ambush and identify targets ... though that is not the main advantage.

"To the dragons, as they wrestle and clash with their stone counterparts amongst the air, we give a great advantage with our weapons from their backs. Swords may do great damage against the more vulnerable membranes of a dragons wings, sending them spiraling from the air and into disadvantage. Thorfinn can attest to the power of a hammer swung into a dragon, to stun or break internal bondings ... though it is warned to be well practiced in the attempt, lest the force of your own blow bounce you from your mount. I myself have taken to the spear for use at least initially, the point driven between the plates near a dragons heart at a charged speed being as effective as you might expect..."

Taking a deep breath and unfurling an arm from his back, Cole gestures to the double saddle, "This, dubbed by our own Naia, is the 'princess double bus saddle', and it is what shall be employed to begin your training. It is quite durable, and impossible for you to be thrown from, while obviously allowing a second rider to guide you in first steps."

MJ leans comfortably on the foreleg of Tryphena who, even though is at ease in dragon form, still manages to exude a military bearing. As Cole concludes, MJ pipes up, "Thaylis, it's like when you are training with an animal and you learn how they think and how to see what is going to happen before what happens happens. When you are up in the air, it is hard to hear, but you begin to do in each others bodies what you want the other one to do. It is a little like dancing where you have to know when you are going to switch who is leading and who is following. That is how close you can be."