All The Skills

Arthur finished his conversation with Griff and went outside just in time to see Steve become a dragon rider.

The young man stood before a very... well, there was no other way to say it: the Purple dragon was goofy looking. He had an overall stretched out look with an extremely out of proportion long neck and tail and yellow eyes that stuck out too far from his head. His body length was a little longer than Brixaby’s, but with deep Purple bluish scales. On top of that, his legs were short with elbows and knees stuck out to the side.

He certainly wasn't the prettiest dragon, but he had decided that Steve was the rider for him, and they linked cards.

Arthur went over to Brixaby who was watching with a satisfied look.

"You seem happy," Arthur said. "You think it's a good choice?"

"I don't know about the human," Brixaby said, "but Bolt has an extremely useful card. He can instantly transport from one place to another."

Arthur's eyebrows rose. "He’s a portal user?"

"No, he says it has to do with lightning, though lightning is not a traditional Purple trait." Brixaby narrowed his eyes in thought. "He is not exceptionally intelligent, so he cannot explain it properly. Perhaps the human will be able to.”

Arthur's mind was already whirling with ideas. "How far can he go?"

"Within visual range, and Bolt seems to say the area he ends up isn’t always accurate. Perhaps combining with the human's card will enhance his."

Arthur nodded. It was a shame he could not adjust a card within a dragon's primary core to smooth out problems like that. It was hard enough for a human to pull a card from their heart deck, but a dragon was a magical creature. Removing its core card would almost certainly lead to the death of that dragon.

But if he could fix it… This was the exact type of situation he’d meant when he told Griff he could adjust cards for people in his wing… though, he knew Griff did not fully understand. Or trust him.

Steve turned to Arthur, his face alight with excitement. "Can we go out and ride?"

"Yes! Bolt ride! Bolt go very fast!" Bolt said, bobbing his oversized head. His neck was almost twig-thin.

"I want you to go out and get fitted for dragon saddles, first." Then he turned to the other successful dragon pair. Candy Floss was still celebrating her choice and was doing loop-de-loops in air while Thackeray watched on with amusement.

Catching the merchant's eye, Arthur gestured him over and included him in the conversation. "Thackeray, you're going to have to wait for Candy Floss to grow bigger before you two ride out together."

"No need!" Candy Floss chirped. "I can carry him. It’s what I do best!”

The dragon was only half the size she should be in order to safely carry a rider—much less a full-grown man on her back—but then Arthur remembered her card. She was able to lift heavy things at will.

For a second, he was tempted. Thackeray, while not overweight, was a well-built man, especially for an ex-merchant. Him riding her around would make for a hilarious sight.

"You don't have enough space on your back and neck for him to sit, even if weight wasn't an issue," Arthur said. "His legs will get in the way of your wings."

"No! I will carry him!" Candy Floss was undaunted. "Thackeray!"

They must have worked this out before because, grinning, Thackeray held out his arms. The little dragon buzzed over and nestled down into them. Then she turned and started beating her wings frantically… and Thackeray rose into the air as if he were as light as a feather.

They didn't even seem to be holding tightly onto one another. Candy Floss just needed physical contact to lift whatever she wanted. It was...

"Ridiculous," Griff grunted, having followed Arthur out to observe. "I know we don't typically fight scourglings, but how in the world do those two expect to survive an eruption?"

That deflated their enthusiasm. Candy Floss carefully set Thackeray back down.

"There must be a way," Arthur said. "Candy Floss, can you carry other objects when you carry your rider?"

"No," she admitted, "just one thing or a person at a time."

Brixaby spoke up. "You carried that trough we were using as a stew pot with fresh water in it yesterday. That was technically two things."

"The water was in the trough, so it counted as one thing," Candy Floss said.

Arthur pointed to the trough. Now that they were using a proper—very large—community stew pot, it had been cleaned and set to the side. "And what if Thackeray gets in a trough, and you carry that?"

"I'm willing to try." Thackeray’s eyes glinted with the challenge.

Griff, meanwhile, crossed his arms and said nothing.

Candy Floss easily agreed, and Thackeray sat inside. The trough was very, very large, and there was enough room for six men to sit inside it. Nevertheless, Candy Floss buzzed over and picked it up easily. That wasn't much of a surprise. Thackeray had to weigh less than all that water.

"Oh yes," Griff said, "that will certainly not present a big, juicy target for scourglings during an eruption."

He had a point.

Candy Floss lowered him down again.

"It is a shame that feeding you a card will not enhance your growth," Brixaby mused.

"Why would I eat a card?" Candy Floss asked.

"Why would you not? They are delicious."

People were giving him an odd look, so Arthur hastened to explain, "It's an aspect of his card. But,” he added, returning back to the subject, “Griff’s right. Candy can’t carry her rider like that during an eruption. But for now, as practice? I don’t see why not.”

And there are definitely possibilities for gathering supplies, Arthur silently added.

Arthur glanced back at Steve and Bolt. "Griff, I want you to show Steve where he can get a saddle and the equipment for his dragon. And I want extra harnesses for Candy Floss. Unless and until Thackery gets a flying card, she needs to be attached to that trough when she’s carrying it."

"On top of everything else you've told me to do?" Griff grumbled, but it was a half-hearted complaint. Arthur knew that he would obey.

His new riders were taken care of, but now he had to deal with the unfun part of the day. Arthur turned to Larry and Amanda, who stood off to the side, looking distinctly downcast. After all, they had been rejected by a couple of dozen dragons.

As far as Arthur was concerned, it had been good luck that he had been able to match two dragons with riders—and he suspected part of it was Candy Floss and Bolt wanted riders very much and had been more flexible than normal.

"You two," Arthur said. "This isn't over with. We still have hatchling dragons to visit. Come with me."

They perked up.

“I will come as well,” Brixaby said, unexpectedly.

Arthur shrugged. He supposed Brixaby wanted to assess the hatchlings before they joined his wing, though that didn’t explain the devious look on his face.

Then again, Brixaby nearly always had a devious expression. The illusion card hasn’t managed to cover that up.

He began to lead them down the hive levels through the stairways. Even though they were going down instead of upward, it was quite the trek.

Larry gave Arthur a stink eye. "You couldn't just transport us using your dragon?"

Arthur shook his head. "Dragons are living beings, not transport cards.”

“And I have my own reasons for wanting to see the inside of the hive," Brixaby said, giving Larry a superior look.

Ah, he was searching for his card, then.

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Thankfully, Brixaby wasn't large enough to be bothered by the stairwells, and no guards at the checkpoints wanted to mess with a Rare.

From the sour expression that periodically crossed Brixaby's face, he was having no more luck searching for the card within the hive than out of it.

As Arthur was still new to the place, and didn't know every aspect of the hive, he did have to ask around for the dragonet nursery.

It was affixed to the hatching grounds, and was one of the sublevels located below the ground. Apparently, the hive sat on geothermically active ground and there were heat vents all throughout the mountainside. The heat that came up from below worked so well that the less broody of the female dragons sometimes abandoned their nest and just allowed the heat to incubate the eggs naturally.

Arthur found that as a bit odd and worrying. Most female dragons were very territorial about their eggs. The fact that some were abandoning their nests was strange.

Were they more concerned about filling their quotas for their rider's blood price? Or had they been sucked of life energy themselves and did not care?

Larry and Amanda did not speak much on the way down. Every time Arthur glanced at them, he caught a glower on Larry's face. The man seemed to suspect he was just wasting his time with his bad luck. Amanda just looked like she was trying not to hope too much.

Arthur wasn't sure what to say to either of them. He didn’t want to offer them false hope or make promises he could not keep.

At the entrance to the hatching grounds, he stopped and pulled them aside. "Keep your mind open. You should understand this may take a few visits until you can make a link. Remember, as long as you have a Purple, you have a place in my wing."

They each nodded, and Arthur led them in.

The hatching grounds stood before the dragon nursery, which acted as an extra level of security: There was nothing more fearsome than a female dragon on top of eggs.

Though, as the entered, Arthur spotted one or two mounds of eggs that seemed to have nobody guarding them.

The hatching grounds was a wide area with a tall stone ceiling with a lot of space between niches filled with sand. This was good because as they walked down the main path that ran the spine of the room, the female dragons hissed and fanned their wings in warning. One Red even sneezed sparks at them.

Brixaby bared his teeth back at her. "Why would I want your eggs?" he said dismissively. "I did not father them."

"And you never will, half-pint," she growled.

Brixaby swelled up in indignation. "I know a pink who has twice the wings of you!"

Scoffing, she turned back to nudge her eggs.

Brixaby didn’t comment further, but that interaction got Arthur wondering. Joy was too young to clutch… at least, he was pretty sure. But that would not be the case forever. What kind of eggs would he expect out of a Legendary and Rare union? What kinds of cards would they make?

And would Cressida be pleased, or would she want his head on a platter?

He made a note to ask Horatio about dragon husbandry at some point. But there was no need to open that can of worms right now.

More female dragons hissed at them, and those with riders nearby didn’t look happy either. If Arthur weren’t showing up to their senses as a Rare, he suspected he would have had questions thrown their way.

Quickly, Arthur hustled his group through the hatching grounds. He knew they were getting close once they reached a large double-door at the end. On the other side was a short stairwell that curved down to the next level below.

The sounds of chattering little dragon voices bounced off the walls. It reminded him a little of a nursery school full of children, only with a lot more growling, and the occasional crackle of elemental-type card powers being shot off.

"Finally," Brixaby said.

Arthur glanced at him in askance and Brixaby shrugged. "You cannot talk with eggs or reason with them. Or their mothers," he added in a grumble.

Grinning, Arthur nudged his dragon with his elbow. “Maybe they don’t like shifty looking males near their babies.”

“Bah.”

But they had reached the next door, and Brixaby said no more.

Once inside, they were greeted at the next door by an officious-looking man. Arthur introduced himself and the man immediately straightened. A glint entered his eyes that Arthur wasn't sure he liked.

"Of course, come in, come in and I'll show you what we have," he said with all the air of a salesman.

"Unfortunately, wing captain sir, we don't have any in the exceptional group at this moment, but we do have some promising clutches hatching within this next month. You never know."

"Exceptional group?"

Beyond there were several different pens with hatchling dragons glumping and wrestling with one. Others played with toys in the same way a kitten or a puppy would—by tearing them apart.

They seemed to be separated into groups. The Uncommon group was fairly easy to spot as they were in the fenced-off area closest to the entrance. They larger, and tended to hoard the best toys for themselves. However, Arthur did spot a Brown Common which was wrestling with a Red Uncommon and seemed to be getting the better of him.

"The rank of the dragon is truly known once the egg is hatched," the man said. "We do have our guesses, but we've been caught by surprise one too many times. Uncommons do not stand out like Rares, of course," he added with a glance to Brixaby.

“Once they're hatched they're sorted into three groups: exceptional, average, and deficient. Exceptionals are any shimmer of all ranks, Uncommons with cards which are particularly useful to the hive in combat," he explained.

"The rest of the Uncommons are generally sorted into average groups. We can never have enough Uncommons," he said with a laugh. "We also include particularly useful Common cards, whether that be utility or combat."

He glanced at Brixaby and addressed him directly, as not many humans were apt to do. "If you don't mind me saying, sir, all Common Purples tend to be sorted into the deficient rank. They very rarely have cards that are worth any use. But you will see that we do have several yellows and greens in there as well. We just don't specifically pick on the Purples. They are cute little fellows," he finished as if that made up for anything.

"Do you have any newly hatched Uncommon Purples?" Arthur asked. “Out of curiosity.

"No, but we do have other Uncommons. You see that Red over there? He will be a big, stolid fellow when he grows up."

"Unfortunately, I don't have any Uncommon recruits," Arthur admitted.

The man gave him a sly look. "Well, if you come by any… If you don’t mind me saying, some wing captains like to be the first to know when a new Uncommon with any promise hatches. Of course, even if we do have a good hint about the rank of an egg, the color is always a toss-up. But we are good at guessing. And there are some people who have cards which sense... more promise in some than others. If you'd like to be the first to know, I can make that happen."

He wanted a bribe.

And suddenly, Arthur could see how this, too, could easily spiral into corruption. A wing captain needed to pay the blood price, which meant that he needed dragon riding pairs with strong powers underneath him. But expensive bribes increased the overhead costs, which put even more pressure on them to preform well in eruptions. And if they had a bad eruption or two…

"I'll think about it," he said, carefully keeping his emotions off his face. "I'm still determining the capabilities of my wing and fleshing it out." He nodded to Amanda and Larry. "Show me the Common Purples."

"Oh. You’re actually interested in…?" the man shut his mouth at Arthur's stern look and cleared his throat. "Right this way, sir."

They were led past the pens in the front and a larger, sectioned off area for the dragon that were considered average. It was large space and there were several playful dragons, all too young to fly. They raced back and forth in some kind of chase game. At least, none of them seemed like they were neglected.

At the back stood a final pen. To, Arthur's distaste, it was smaller than the others, located in the shadows and had visibly rattier toys. One stuffed leather balls that had been shredded to sad strips on the outside. However, the hatchlings looked well-fed.

The four Purples—all very young with large heads and short tails--were already starting to buzz their wings and lift off the ground a few inches. The smallest of the four was roughly the size of Arthur’s boot.

And while Brixaby had not looked particularly babyish when he hatched, Arthur smiled, remembering how tiny he had been.

"I was never that small," Brixaby said, as if reading his mind.

"No," Arthur said, "you were smaller."

"Preposterous," he muttered.

The tiny dragons seemed to pick up on what was happening immediately. With high-pitched chirps, they bounced over to sniff at the group. One floated, which seemed to be its card power.

The man in charge of the nursery opened the gate to the pen and grandly gestured them forward.

The gate door, Arthur noticed, was secured by very simple lock. These dragons were mostly kept inside to make sure that they stayed out from underfoot, and they didn't seem to have the intelligence or ambition to let themselves free.

There was a Green hatchling, four Purples, and a Yellow so orangey bright that Arthur suspected it might actually be a washed-out orange. The Yellow-Orange took one look at them and immediately peeled off, uninterested, to start wrestling with a headless toy doll with straw poking out of the neck.

One of the Purples turned to buzz in another direction, in a vague sort of way that made Arthur wonder if it knew what riders were at all. A second Purple—the one that floated-- turned away as well, squeaked upon seeing the yellow-orange, and went over to play as well.

But two of the Purples and the Green looked hopefully up at Amanda and Larry.

They did not need to be told to display their cards.

Seeing them, the Purples immediately sagged and shook their heads, going away.

However, the Green had bright eyes only for Amanda and immediately displayed her own card.

"I like seeds too," she said shyly.

Spring Awakens!

Nature

Common

The wielder of this card will be able to cast a charm which causes all flower-typed seeds to sprout. The resulting plants will gain one foot in height per hour until the caster recalls the charm. When cast on seeds which are not flowers, the resulting plant will be a blooming hybrid. This card uses and unlocks mana.

Amanda looked wide-eyed at the dragon, and then to Arthur. Arthur didn't think twice, he gestured for her to continue. It wasn’t exactly the most useful card, but the shy little Green obviously wanted her. Who was he to say no?

They matched cards, and a new nature-based one was born into the world with a blinding flash of light.

Amanda bent down and scooped up her new best friend, hugging her tightly. The green squeaked and a bouquet of flowers grew Amanda’s arms under her. Apparently, their newly created linked card could grow plants on demand without the use of seeds.

"Well," Arthur said to Brixaby, "I suppose we're going to have to fit in a Green."

Overhearing, Amanda turned to him, almost instantly contrite. "I’m sorry, sir! I know that you offered for me to join your wing, but she's not a Purple—”

“It's no matter," he said, "I've kept this close to the vest, but we'll be having a Silver and a Red join us. Actually," he said with a grin, "you'll meet them soon. I'm sure you and--"

He paused for the tiny dragon to fill in her name.

The little Green was only a Common, but there was nothing wrong with her mind.

"I'm called Rosie.”

“And Rosie," he continued, "will likely be training with them soon. Though Purples will make up the spine of our wing.”

Besides, people bought flower arrangements all the time. He was certain they could make some shards in market places. Being a dragon pair, they would often have the opportunity to travel to different sections of the kingdom and discover new verities.

Amanda thanked him again. She only paused to snuggle her green. “I can’t wait to introduce you to my kids.”

“Do they like flowers?”

Arthur heard the sound of the gate closing behind him. He turned just in time to see Larry stalk off. Disappointment was in every line of his body.

Amanda sighed. "It's not his fault. He's always had bad luck."

"The only bad luck he's had is to watch everybody else become a dragon rider.” Arthur said. "I didn't expect everybody to link up with a dragon today."

"Excuse me, and congratulations," he said hastily, and quickly walked out of the pen to find Larry.

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