Elmon

Gender: Male

Age: around 15

Hair: Black

Eyes: Black grey

Pet: none

Aspirant at: Dun Keiba - Doll base from Swiss Cheese Army

Drak: Ore male Tezriyn (wind Cephari and night Khymelyn or Fire Gwaelyn)

When Elmon was a child, he was often given to wonder at the clans called Ninjas. He'd read in a book one time, that ninja on Earth, the Icarian forebears, were seen as villains. But then again so were mobs - and the mobs here were certainly villainous.

Because he was somewhat pudgy and ill as a child, he spent a lot of time in the infirmary. But eventually the healer there sought him out. He learned quickly what herbs and tonics worked well together, and which to avoid. Elmon became an apprentice to the man, fetching herbs and delivering pastes and tonics where they were needed.

Elmon enjoyed his work, too. It gave him time to think, and time to wonder. But it was also challenging enough that when he had to concentrate on it alone, he did so with ease and vigor.

And then came Scotia. The red haired girl changed everything about what Elmon wanted from his life. She was a hunter, a scout, a dangerous runner through woods. She had a trained vulpa that guarded her fiercely - as fiercely as a puppy sized animal could anyway.

With her, though, came a visit from a man that Elmon had only seen a couple times, and then in the infirmary while he was delivering some supplies to the ninjas. Istvan, a drak rider.

When Scotia was sleeping, Elmon asked him carefully, "do you think she's going to be Judged?"

Istvan nodded. "Yes, I've already decided that she is. I can't imagine a drak living without her actually."

He walked away, tall and lean and dangerous, and Elmon almost wanted to cry. This man wanted to take his first true love-at-first-sight away from him...

***

But that was not all as it appeared. For the next day brought Scotia to the Elders, who asked testing questions of the girl which she passed well. Istvan also announced something. That she'd been Judged. And a moment later, Istvan told Elmon that he too was to stand as an Aspirant!

While Scotia was out at DesCas, then, Elmon went back to Dun Keiba with Istvan and Cephari his Wind drak.

***

It took some time to wait for the eggs upon the deep cavern sands to mature. There were four from one dam, and then a second's set of four joined them. But... Would that be enough? Because it didn't much look like there were enough eggs to suit the growing cadre of Aspirants!

After a month Istvan took the boy aside and with a broad grin beckoned him to fly away with him. Joining them were Istvan's friends Alex and Rey, upon their bigger male draks. "I've been keeping this a secret, but Cephari says that it's time. Everyone will be surprised, and I think you will too."

They landed on a distant beach. The strip of blinding white sand was quite hot to the touch, even the draks stepped with mincing movements. A shelter of jagged stones rose from one hill, and that was where they headed.

"I will want you to pick them up carefully!" Cephari demanded, her tone quite different than her cheerful tittering of the prior month.

"Pick... what up?" Elmon asked, and to his amazement the other two had emerged from the hidden dark cave with an egg in their arms! "Eggs? Istvan, your drak laid a clutch here?"

"I know, I know," he sighed, as they entered the cavern themselves. "But, can't help it. She's like that." He glanced at the other two riders with a grin, and they smiled right back and muttered to one another about something far more mature than Elmon wanted to think about.

"Not you," Cephari said to Istvan. "You get too dizzzzy," she explained. "The boy will carry one."

Istvan's narrow black and blue eyes got wide, "oooookay," he replied. "I guess I'll just sit here and mope then."

"She's right," said Rey from her drak, as she settled in and nestled the large egg to her torso. "If you both had one he'd be likely to panic and drop his. We can't have that now can we?"

"I'm not a clutz you know..." Istvan pouted.

Elmon walked into the dark cavern and found an egg by feeling around. He could sense that there was life in it. It was heavy, it moved a bit - in fact it was jiggling a little more than he expected. "They're almost going to hatch on the way," he said.

"That'sss what I want to avoid," Cephari said. She was so serious! The mother in her was strong. "Now we mussst go quickly to the plassse they will hatch."

She had Elmon and Istvan on her back all of a moment before taking off. Her four-winged gait was smooth, Elmon always liked flying with her. They portaled back to Dun Keiba, where - at nearly the top room in the Castle itself - she insisted they be deposited. Then, they went back for the others. This time, Istvan insisted that he did take one - he didn't want them making too many trips. There were seven eggs, and they'd already taken three so...

Once back, they laid the trembling eggs on the smooth wooden floor of the castle turret. There was a wide stairwell coming off the turret, which she nosed toward.

"Now out. I will come out when they are named." Cephari was so curt with them! Istvan, Alex, Rey and Elmon went down the stairs, and then found their way to a waiting area. Fairly shortly, Cephari's tittering call could be heard, sweet as could be.

She was small enough to creep down the stairs, and behind her were a series of draklings. Like ducks behind their mother, they followed her proudly. Tripping occasionally, they were getting their walking legs, and their little wings were drying. Elmon stood in awe for a moment, and then Istvan pulled him aside.

"We need to head to the deep caverns, that's where she's headed." He whispered. They went ahead, just slightly preceding the drak and her brood.

Just in time for the last of the actually-scheduled hatchlings, Istvan and Elmon arrived to the dunes. Dominica looked like she was announcing that everyone who hadn't been chosen for a mind-pair would have to wait - but then in marched Cephari.

One by one, she led the little draklings into the chamber, where many people gasped and laughed at their arrival. And the last in line? A male ore drak whose egg he was certain he carried on the way in. When every one of the draks had announced their intent - be it with a mind pairing or in two cases traveling with an offworlder with four arms (weird, but Elmon thought that draks have four wings, so who's counting?) - only that one was left.

Elmon approached the drakling, and mentally said, 'Hey, what are you waiting for? There were so many people here!'

'I was waiting for you,' the drak told him. 'I am Tezriyn.' He came to Elmon and rubbed up against the ninja's hand warmly.

Elmon announced the drak's name, and in a daze they went to the feeding area. He'd... He'd become a knight too! Like Scotia!

Tezriyn tapped his claws against the stone he perched upon, while Elmon searched around the abandoned cavern below. "Well this is it," he said.

"Thisss isss.... where I wassss ssshelled?" The drak took an interest in the locale for a moment but then looked around. "My dam isss ssstrange."

Elmon laughed loudly and then glanced around. "Well, it's probably time to head home. I wonder if Scotia will be there already?"

"We will know when we get there," Tezriyn announced. "I know you want to be with her. Why are you afraid?" The drak's words cut to the bone.

"I don't even know if she cares who I am or anything. I mean, she led quite a life before coming to the ninjas." Elmon scratched his head, "I don't know if she even knows I exist."

Tezriyn nudged his knight with his warm nose, ssshe will.