"Honor to Erostland. Protection to the People. Fire to the Enemy." -Dragon Academy Creed
***
19 years later
"Treyvin Reed. Call sign, Hotshot." The man with the ridiculous handlebar mustache threw a scroll on the wooden desk in front of Hotshot.
"Hotshot? That some sort of a joke?" Hotshot knew very well it was another jab at him from the esteemed Captain Lyons. He had been calling him Hotshot through the entire entry exam. In every course and every test, Lyons would tease him with this little nickname. When he fell into the mud on the course? "Way to go, Hotshot!" When he dropped the guy in the trust fall? "Nice catch, Hotshot!" He could think of a dozen times Lyons relied on his favorite insult.
"I may have had a hand in picking your call sign. It was approved by the other exam instructors, so don't give me all the credit." Lyons's grin was as ridiculous as his mustache.
"If I have a call sign. That means…" Hotshot's eyes widened. "I'm in!" He nearly flew out of his chair. This was the moment he had been waiting for.
"Now settle down." Lyons opened the scroll on the desk. "Treyvin Reed, call sign Hotshot. Hereby qualified with probation to join Dragon Academy and serve Erostland as a Dragon Pilot when the Academy deems necessary. In the name of King Aut Sythin Lord of the Kingdoms of Erostland, servant of the Eastern Alliance and its people, welcome to Dragon Academy."
"So I'm in?" Hotshot's couldn't hold back his smile.
"You are in." Lyons rolled up the scroll and handed it over. "The Mage Guard will escort you to the Academy tomorrow after the festivities. Your mother has already been informed and is on her way."
"This is incredible! I could hug you!"
"Please don't, the uniform is resistant to magic bolts but still stains easily." Lyons gave a sly smile. "I'll see you at the Academy, Pilot.
The rest of the day was a blur. Hotshot had prepared his whole life to join the Academy. He squired under four different knights for military training. He studied what he could from the scrolls in the court mage's library. He even got his mom take him to watch the dragon flights when they were nearby.
His stomach sank. "Mom." Hotshot wasn't sure that she would be as thrilled about him joining Dragon Academy as he was. She never discouraged him. She always gave him what he needed to go after his dream. However, he could see the look in her eyes whenever they would talk about it.
Hotshot couldn't care less about the festival. Nothing there could compare to the joy he was going to feel when he flew for the first time. He was packing his things, waiting for the Mage Guard to come get him. He almost didn't hear the knock on the door.
"Come on in, I'm ready." But when he turned around it wasn't the Mage Guard or his mother. It was the worst person it could be right now. The last person he ever wanted to see again. "Dancer?"
The woman with short purple hair with a single streak of gray in it walked into the room. She was wearing a similar regal military uniform that Lyons usually wore. Her face was stern.
"Treyvin. I spoke to your mother."
"It's Hotshot now. I've been accepted into the Academy." Hotshot corrected her.
"I've known you since you were a baby. I think I can call you by your name."
"I've called you by your call sign my whole life."
"I never asked you to." Dancer made her usually face of disappointment that Hotshot had seen more times than he could count.
"What do you want, Dancer?" Hotshot went back to packing.
"Your mother isn't coming. I am going to take you to the festival. After that you can come with me to Dragon Academy."
"I'm not a child. I'll go with the Mage Guard like the others."
Hotshot grabbed his things and stormed out. He left Dancer behind him.
Dragon Academy was only accessible by air. There were many platforms in the mountains for airships to pick up and drop off passengers. The towers of the academy were meant to mimic the mountain range of Veruun. The tallest mountains in the world. Magic and dragon fire kept it from being too cold. It was the perfect habitat for raising dragons and training Dragon Pilots. This was all the basics Hotshot learned while studying for the entry exams.
When he finally saw the towers spiraling to the sky, he felt his long wait come to an end. Now he would become the world's greatest Dragon Pilot.
It seemed like he shared his dream with others. One by one they entered onto an empty platform. No buildings save for a small refueling shack. Hotshot looked around at the people he was with. Young men and women all a similar age to him. Each were wearing a brand new uniform. With red stripes on the shoulder and a patch with the Dragon Academy Crest.
"Why didn't I get a new uniform?"
"You must not have been at the festival. Each of the new students were given the academy's uniform." A young woman with short white hair answered. She approached Hotshot and held out her hand. "Saber."
"Hotshot" He quickly shook her hand and asked, "Where is everyone?"
"From what I can tell each of the new students has arrived. There are twelve of us who passed."
"How do you know?"
"Cause I was at the festival where they told us twelve students passed the exam." Saber gave him a look. Hotshot couldn't tell if she was messing with him or if this is just how she talked.
For the next few minutes the students waited. They were alone on the platform. Dragon Academy was ahead of them on another platform. The gap was too wide for any sort of attempt at reaching it. All they could do was be patient. Which Hotshot was terrible at.
"What's taking them so long!" His head was starting to bleed from banging against the stone floor.
"What to you hope to accomplish by that?" Saber stood a few feet from Hotshot. "Giving yourself a concussion won't bring the instructors here faster."
"How do you know the instructors are coming here?" Asked one of the other students. This one with long red hair.
"They wouldn't leave us here for no purpose." Saber pointed at the gap between them and Dragon Academy. "We are here to learn how to fly after all."
Almost as if it was timed, a horrifying roar echoed through the canyon below. Each of the students turned in every direction, trying to find the source of the sound. Another roar came, this one was closer.
"It's coming from over there!" Shouted one of the students. They ran to the edge of the platform and a large blue dragons flew upwards directly in from of them. The rush of air knocked more than a few of them over.
The dragon gave one final roar, that caused Hotshot to cover his ears, before it landed with a boom onto the platform. The creature was unlike anything he had seen before.
A small area on the side of the Dragon's scales began to shine. Then a tall man in an instructor's uniform stepped out of the area as if he was walking through a doorway.
"Welcome to Dragon Academy!" The man had long blonde hair and a big toothy smile.
"Are you here to take us to the academy?" Asked the the student from before.
"Nope, you are gonna fly there yourselves, but first you have to choose."
"Choose what?" Asked yet another student.
"Your dragon!" The instructor pointed towards the sky and a string of roars erupted from behind him as multiple dragons flew from the mountains and around the platform. It was if the sky was dancing.