Dragon Games

“Hey, Zao, let’s go!”

Zao opened one eye to see his friend, Areo, standing above him. He jumped up and flapped his wings to work out the kinks. “I’m ready when you are!”

“Alright then! Follow me!” Areo took off like an arrow from a bow, straight into the air, her wings glimmering in the early-morning sunlight. Zao followed, full of anticipation because they were finally old enough to compete in the dragon games, a festival held every year for young dragons. After the competition, contenders left the clan for three years on a legendary quest, with successful completion granting them Drake status. The games were designed to train young dragons for their quest.

“Come on, hurry up!” called Areo. Zao cleared his head, realizing that Areo was far ahead of him. She did a quick turning maneuver, allowing Zao to catch up. The enormous stone coliseum accommodated over 300 dragons, and their clan had 200 Drakes—mature dragons who had passed their quests—as well as 100 dragons who had yet to become Drakes. Zao sighed as he scanned the field where everyone else had already arrived, awaiting the first event. He had expected they would compete with the younger dragons, as he and Areo were the smallest and youngest dragons by at least a full year. Shaking his head, Zao determined it didn’t matter as he was ready to compete and win. He glanced at Areo to discover her expression mirrored his thoughts. They flew down to join the other dragons in the circle as an elder Dragon with silver scales and a massive wingspan addressed them. “For your first challenge, the first dragon to reach the top of the pillar of flames will win the event.” He reared up on his great hind legs, took a deep breath, opened his jaws, and let loose a giant column of flame. Zao and Aero took flight, straight into the air.