“Not you again!”

Araadan smiled at the girl’s mocking disappointment as he took a seat at the bar. “I can leave, of course,” he said. But she merely grinned again and went to get him his usual concoction. As she did so, she talked, her voice nearly muffled by the sudden noises on the other side of the bar.

“Anything new since you went to the Dragonry?” she asked.

The Amkalian shrugged. “They haven’t sent me anywhere, if that’s what you mean. I’ve mostly doing some research and such in the library at the School since being accepted as a Caretaker.”

She slid the drink to him with ease that he matched by catching it and smiling. “Find anyone that has caught your eye?” he asked with a knowing grin. “Last time I checked you were…” Her deadly glare stopped him from talking but not smiling.

“Don’t even start with that, Araadan Banior! Just because my brother is your best friend doesn’t mean you can act like my big brother, too! I’m single and I think I’m going to stay that way for a while.” Her tone was serious and left no more for the young man to say. As she was drawn away, probably gratefully, to more customers, Araadan settled on soothing his own thoughts on another uneventful day.

Since he had come to the Dragonry’s Keep two month’s ago, he had been slowly finding it hard to wait for his chance to leave the Keep on his first hatching. This often left him scowling and a bit moody around others. Only Shaael, the other Caretaker in the Keep at the time, seemed to be happy as she was bound for a hatching in a few months. Nothing had come for him and it bothered him.

The bar’s doors opened and a small, horse-sized dragon poked his head in, blinking at the light. Glancing around, he soon found the solitary figure leaning against the bar and grinned. Nearly slithering into the room and trying to avoid table and fellow dragons alike, Dehon’s gray and copper form moved to the Amkalian Caretaker. At last he seated himself right behind the young man and coughed politely. “Araadan Banior, I presume?”

Turning, Araadan jumped to see Dehon so close to him. Dehon was a recent addition to the Keep and had chosen to bond to one of the administrators, namely, the one Araadan answered to. Having lost his previous bond to a shattering accident, it was amazing Dehon had chosen the hot-headed man in the first place. Not that Araadan didn’t mind the dragon – Dehon was much more pleasant to speak to then his bond. “Yes,” he answered automatically, knowing quite well that Dehon knew who he was.

“You’re to come with me back to the Keep – now,” Dehon added, his voice changing to his superior tone that also hinted in a smirk and wink of playfulness that was clearly not a trait of Lord Malien. “I’ll take you. It will be faster,” he added with a bit of glee.

“That important, is it?” the young man said with a sigh, his accent stronger then he sometimes liked it. “Well, if Malien wishes it at this ungodly hour.”

He paid for his drink then went outside with Dehon. The mutt, hatched at Star City Dragonry (a place Araadan had been hoping to be sent to until it suddenly announced it had closed it’s doors to the outside public), allowed him to dismount and once his staff and cloak were secure around them in the frosty night air, he leapt into the sky and flew back to the Keep. Below, the city life was dwindling with the coming of night. Fires burned on hearths and candles lit many windows. Treval City was the pinnacle of humane pride. Though it may never reach the same level of engineering as that of northern Sentra or Earth, it was quite clear for a land with magic and it’s own traditions that would kill the world if they fell apart, the city of Treval was the grandest in the world. Even Araadan thought so. His home city was primitive to the beauty and grandeur of this. They flew around the towers of the Treval Magic School where many lights were turned off as students were forced to forget about staying up late without punishment. In the darkness it was a sight and rarely had Araadan seen the school’s marble towers in daylight where they were more impressive.

The Dragonry Keep was located in the old quarry mines a mile away from the city’s outer wall. A great fortress had been built in the early years. Then plans for a greater city were developed and the old keep was left were it stood until years later Treval’s dragon population asked that the mines become a haven for there kind that wish to seek aid in humans for shelter and care, offering services to the king and land in turn. The Keep was then rebuilt and refurnished, the quarry’s many caves carved into hatching halls (though one of the five had unexpectedly flooded and remained thus). Dehon flew straight to one of the balconies on the upper towers and landed, calling out to his bond that he had brought the young man.

Lord Malien Parren was a middle-aged man with small skeptical and well kept hair. He wore a scarlet robe over his nightgown but looked as if he was not pleased to be up this early either.

Araadan executed a short bow, bringing his mage staff before him as if he was back in Amkal. Malien shook his hands. “None of that. I won’t keep you long but I was informed of this recently and only Dehon has made it quite clear of what he wants out of this,” the man said, snatching a parchment from his desk and waving it slightly before letting it drop back on the pile of other papers unceremoniously. Even in the dim candle light, Araadan noticed that his particular paper was different in the others. “It’s an announcement from some place called the Abstract Destiny, said to be connected to Star City, too. A clutch is there and Dehon, who knows more about this genetic coding then I do, says he wants to send one of our Caretakers there. As there is only two of you currently in the Keep, and Shaael is to be off in a few weeks, I guess that leaves you.”

Araadan blinked, speechless. Despite the knowledge that Malien had seemed unwilling to send the Amkalian mage to this hatching he could not suppress the joy he felt – he was actually going somewhere! “Yes, sir,” was all he could manage to get out at that moment.

Dehon, who had lain himself in the large circular pattern on the floor, grinned, flicking his tail happily. “It’s not just because you’re the only other Caretaker on staff, Araadan,” the Star City mutt said as if reading his thoughts. “It’s because I know you’re ready to get out of here and start the job we’ve been paying you for, as crummy as it may seem. You’ll get more with each dragon you bring in, of course. But you know that.”

The young man nodded, a slow smile crossing his dark face. “Yes, I did. When do I leave, sir?” he asked, trying not to sound anxious to get going.

“In the morning. Dehon or that nuisance, Kyiin, will take you, being familiar with Star City and that…uh…”

“Space ship,” Dehon supplied with a bit of a drastic sigh, grinning at his bond unfamiliarity with such words. Araadan smiled slightly, also feeling uncomfortable about a ship in space, which he knew so little about. It was hard to imagine that his world, too, could (or was) a big ball in the middle of a black – nothing. “Best get some rest,” Dehon said, flopping to his side after adjusting his folded wing to make the collapse less stressful in it. “I don’t wait for stragglers. I’ll send someone to get you.

Araadan left he Keep to his quarters in the small, village like spread that was on the towering cliffs that had once protected the castle. He could see the lights from the Dragonry on yet many were being turned off for the night. He was dwelling in a building close to the main castle that was large. Once he actually received a charge at a hatching, he would be moved to the Dragonry to take care of the young dragon. They would remain in his care through out there life though once adults they were basically on there own. Undressing and stepping into a waiting bath, Araadan couldn’t help but feel giddy as he quickly erased any signs of hard labor, not that he had done any in truth. Sleep was hard to find but he swore that he had just fallen asleep when something scratched at the door, making a rather annoying racket, like a dog whining off key.

Then it barked.

“I know you’re in there and if you don’t get you lazy human tail, not that you actually have one, out of bed this instant you’re never going to make it to your Destiny!”

Blinking, Araadan quickly grabbed his robe and wrapped it around his body before opening the heavy wooden door. A brown winged wolf plopped his haunches down on the stone floor and looked up at him impatiently. “About time,” he scoffed. “Ready?”

“Good morning to you, too, Nasian,” Araadan growled. The winged wolf and his pack had come not long after the dragon riders from Falas Weyr had and instead of asking to make this there home, plopped themselves down. In truth, they were not the first and Nasian was making a rather brave move doing an errand for Dehon with the pack that had come from the FGPC (and bonded to dragons) so close. Ays and Koite agreed to the neutral zone of the Dragonry but Nasian still found reasons to fight. “And how did you get sent on this mission?”

The wolf snorted. “None of your business, human,” he replied. “Dehon expects you soon and don’t ask when because my time reckoning is different then yours. Just hurry!” With that he pivoted and strode away, breaking into a lope when a rusty brown wolf shot a ball of fire at his heels. Sihho Firestorm giggled, falling to his back with his wings curled comically around his thrashing body.

“That was rude, Si,” Araadan remarked. The younger wolf grinned as he rolled to his side and arching his wings around him rather then folding them.

“Oh, I was rude? At least we bonded wolves, and the pups in our pack have better manners then the ingrate! Sitwi told me you were leaving today for a Destiny? What kind of destiny?”

Gesturing that the wolf enter his room, Araadan flicked his ear for a moment while the energetic wolf of Ays’s pack leapt on to his bed and began to bounce slightly as if he was a little kid. “It’s a space ship called the Abstract Destiny,” Araadan replied as he pulled out his travel bag and began to pack it with his needed things.

“Oh,” Sihho said, his ears flicking back and forth with his thoughts. “I’ve heard of space ships. I was told the people of Pern came on them. And Alskyr. By the way, Dehon wanted you in an hour in the courtyard of the Keep. Said you probably had to pack and what-not. I over hear the conversation (I think Dehon wanted another wolf), and, knowing that idiot’s rude manners, I thought I would deliver what he really wanted you to hear. You know what…”

“No, but I think I’m going to find out,” Araadan murmured, moving around the room to gather up his things. He only half listened while Sihho went on about pack gossip and rumors, mostly about the younger wolves that were coming of age soon from the pack he was from, or about his own two dragons, Sitwi and Sioda. Even when he locked his room and began to wander into the streets toward the great castle, Sihho followed, keeping up with his reputation of never shutting up.

Dehon was curled up over the rim of the huge fountain that had been finished only months ago. Where flame would have normally erupted from the mouth’s of the four dragons (the four common elemental dragons of Treval), spouts of water fell in cascades into the crystal clear pool below. Raising his head at Sihho’s voice still chattering, Dehon grinned and came up to them, an eyebrow raised at the talkative wolf. “Please to talk him to death, Sihho. He still has a job to do!”

Sihho’s muzzle snapped shut and he partially sank to the ground in submission to the dragon. “Yeah, sorry. Got carried away…”

“You always do,” Araadan grinned, ruffling the wolf’s ears like he would a dog before going up to Dehon. The mutt wore a specially fitted harness which had enough hooks for his belongings and still room for himself. After securing them, Dehon helped him mount then looked at Sihho who had sat and watched the entire preceding.

“You might want to find Jesiay,” Dehon said. “She has both her dragons looking for you. Something about a hunt…”

Sihho yipped as if he had been bitten. “Feather dust!” he cursed and shot off toward the cliffs, taking flight when he had enough speed and room. Dehon turned to grin at Araadan who was shaking his head. Youngsters…

“Ready?”

“Yes,” he said firmly.

It was not his first ride on a dragon and even the teleportation like jump to the deck of Star City was not a shock to him. Landing, Dehon wished him well. Once he had his baggage, Araadan set off to find out where and how to get to the Abstract Destiny, and his first attempt at a dragon and charge.