To say I got rushed out of there would be an understatement. We barely had time to say goodbye to our family and friends before they rushed the five of us onto the boat. The ambassadors seemed frazzled and almost awestruck by the splitting of the wall. No one has seen or heard of that happening before and really didn't know what it meant. Hence, the urgency to get me back to the Academy, eager to see what was in store... whether it be good or bad.
The trip seemed long, but I'm sure that was due to the fact that the excitement and nerves were eating away at me. For years I dreamed of this moment, and now knowing that I harbor the ability to train a dragon left me squirming in my seat.
Nearing the Calayan Academy felt like an unimaginable moment, the place was a castle. Stone walls that were as high and as far as the eye could see, covered in green vines and the odd flower blooming here and there. We pulled up to the dock and were led up the cobblestone path to one of the main doors.
As we walked I could see older classes out on the lawn practicing their powers, being taught new tricks and ways to control them. I recognized one kid, Scott, who just left our village last year, but the rest I didn't know as they all traveled from different villages.
Reaching the main entry the elder man and the petite woman each grabbed a handle and used most of their strength to pry open the massive wooden doors. The outside of the Academy didn't do it justice as we walked into the wide halls, carpeted in a deep red. The ceilings were high and the walls were covered in pictures of graduating classes, awards, and some of the most legendary students to ever walk these halls.
"Alright, for now, we will be taking you to your assigned rooms," the elder man pulled me out of my daze, motioning down a hallway to where I presumed our section of rooms were. "You'll be rooming with someone outside of your main ability to encourage mingling among the various classes," he explained. So I won't be roomed with another dragon rider.
"Dinner is at 6 o'clock, you'll hear the bell for it and you are required to attend," the man in the blue robe then added in, "by the time dinner is done your class schedules will be in your rooms."
From there we were each handed a small gold key with a room number attached to it. Reading the number 1004 I made my way down the dimmed hallway, scanning the doors until I found my own. Keegan walked beside me, looking for room 1035, which means we weren't too far.
"This is nuts, I'm freaking out on the inside," she half-whispered to me.
"The inside?" I questioned. "I can see you're freaking out. You need to relax, we'll get used to it here in no time," I reassured her.
"I don't know how you're not freaking out, I mean after literally splitting the stone wall in half and not knowing anything about it," she said. We turned a corner and I spotted my room, the second door on the left.
"Everything will be alright, " I stated, "I'll see you at dinner." She was probably right about me and how I should be freaking out, but instead once I got here, I almost felt calm like I was supposed to be here and I was home.
Sliding my key into the lock and entering my new room I was immediately met with a petite girl who had curly brown hair and ice blue eyes staring holes into me like she was awaiting my arrival.
"Hey, I'm Sloan!" She spoke up, standing up from the seat on her bed and walking over to shake my hand. She had taken the bed on the far right, which left me the one on the left. The room was pretty big, which I wasn't too surprised by due to the velocity of the castle we now live in.
"Dilyn," I smiled and shook her hand. I was a little overwhelmed by her, but she seemed nice, better than having someone who wanted to pretend the other person didn't exist.
"So what's your ability? I was told we weren't to be roomed with students in our own category," she sat back down on her bed, throwing her very curly hair up in a bun.
I placed my rucksack down on my bed, deciding I'll unpack later and just sit and get to know my roommate. "Umm, I don't really know... well I do, I'm a dragon rider, but the stone wall kind of split down the middle when I took my turn," I explained and she furrowed her eyebrows. That was true though, I know I'm a dragon rider, but I don't know if I could possess another ability. To me, it all happened so fast, but it seemed as if the other gems in the wall almost flashed on and off, malfunctioning in a sense and I don't know what that could possibly mean.
"Oh my gosh, that's crazy!" she threw her hand over her mouth. "My mom used to tell me all the stories of the legendary dragon riders, but I've never heard of that happening before. I wonder what it could mean?"
"I don't know, but I'm sure the council is discussing it as we speak," I shrugged, all I could do was wait... and overthink. "Anyway enough about me, what ability did you get?" I asked.
She smiled, "I received the element of water, I was so happy to get out of my village," she stated. "My brother is here as well, he's a couple of years older and now one of the trainers. I really missed him, so I'm excited to get to see him again," she explained, or more so rambled on. I was just about to ask for his name when the dinner bell went off, not a second late.
We both made our way to the dining hall, or well, I followed Sloan as I had no idea where everything was located yet.
"Alright, for dinner you're supposed to sit with your abilities," Sloan said as we walked into the massive dining hall. There had to be a couple of hundred students here and tables of food as far as the eye could see. This place was incredible.
"What about the people who have multiple abilities, how do they know where to sit?" I asked.
"Those who have multiple still have a main power, one that is stronger than the rest," she responded before she sat down at her table. "You're up there, on the far left," she pointed to one of the smaller tables that sat mostly boys.
I swallowed hard and made my way over, it was a little more intimidating having an ability that boys usually possess. It was a table of maybe thirty or forty kids and only five of them were girls, me being included in that five. I spotted Gage, the other dragon rider from our village, and he was already deep in conversation with a couple of guys. I took a seat beside a boy with awfully shaggy hair.
"And you must be Dilyn," a boy caught my attention. I furrowed my eyebrows at him, wondering how he already knew who I was. "Word travels fast here, we heard you're the one to split that stone."
"Uhh yeah, that was me," I stated. Talking about it made me kind of nervous if I was to be honest because I still didn't really know why that happened, I have nothing to explain about it.
"Watching you pick your dragon is going to be interesting," he smirked.
"Pick my dragon?" Just then my question was cut off by one of the ambassadors silencing the room for a speech by the head of the Academy.
"Welcome everyone! I hope all newcomers are settling in well," he greeted, "Now that we officially have all our new students here, tomorrow will be a day of no classes," he stated and that got a chorus of cheers among the crowd. "For those of you who don't know, tomorrow is the day that the new dragon riders pick their dragons. All will be in attendance at noon sharp!" He was stern on that factor and butterflies erupted in my stomach. Not the good butterflies either, the I'm going to puke butterflies. Getting a dragon was nerve-racking enough, but the entire Academy watching you pick one just about made me want to crawl in a hole and never come out. "With that covered, please enjoy your dinner," he sat back down and everyone dug in.
I no longer had an appetite.