▪️I Z A R A▪️

"I missed you too, Theo!"

The steppe lion excitedly rubbed his head against my calf, and while smiling down at him, I found myself still in awe at how much he had grown in just a few short months. No longer could Theo fit in my arms, but that never stopped me from lifting him up anyway.

Just as I was going to bend down and attempt to do such, Dura's voice stopped me.

"You'll strain yourself doing that."

Not wanting to get another lecture this early morning, I opted to give Theo a cuddle instead. He immediately began to purr when my hands buried into his thick and dense undercoat, enjoying the feel of his yellowish-white fur.

After putting Theo back in his enclosure, I watched him leap up into one of the trees where he began to clean himself. Turning my attention back to Dura, I found her watching me, and with a tilt of her head, she silently motioned me to follow her.

We left the kraal, the sounds of the animals fading behind us.

"Today's your day off, yet I find you among the animals," Dura commented with a smile.

Adjusting the small rucksack on my back, I replied, "You know me, no matter what, I have to see Theo every day and since I was already here, I decided to help out and feed the other animals."

"I thank you for that. Are you heading back to the Amphitere enclosures now?"

"Yes, Ghunar said the more time I spend with my Amphitere, the stronger our bond would be."

It had been six months since the incident in the Black Forest.

After waking up from the sleeping sickness, once I had been allowed out of my room, I had been adamant about working on getting control of my new magic, spending every day for the last few months training.

When I had found out that I may have the opportunity to ride an Amphitere, to say that I was excited was an understatement. Ghunar was another wind magic user and from what I had heard from Baldur and Khagra, he was one of the best Amphitere riders among the Orcs.

Every morning, before I went to see about my duties, I would visit the Amphitere nursery as watching the baby Amphiteres always put a smile on my face. It was there that I would meet Ghunar who would then escort me to the area with the large domed enclosures where they kept some of the older Amphiteres.

The first time I entered the huge space I could not help but stare with my mouth open.

I had never seen so many Amphiteres in one space before and my fingers itched to reach out and touch the nearest one.

It was here, every morning, before the sun rose that Ghunar would teach me about Amphiteres and what would be expected of me as a rider. There had been much to learn, but I had been eager and it took many weeks before I could even touch an Amphitere.

Meeting Baldur's Amphitere had been a humbling experience.

Ormr was such a majestic and beautiful creature that I almost wept when my hand gently glided over his sapphire blue feathers. After fantasising about seeing an Amphitere up close, it was a dream come true to actually be able to touch one like this.

I had already met Ghunar earlier this morning, making sure that everything would be ready for what I needed to do later. But I had taken a break to come and visit Theo and bring him a snack before heading back to continue with my Amphitere training.

My time spent with Ghunar, coupled with my duties with Dura and Crothu as well as my magic training at night, I found myself exhausted on most days. Nonetheless, I would not have traded it for anything in the world.

I was extremely happy.

Of course, I wished that I had more time to explore my growing emotions for both Baldur and Khagra. However, since no one really never knew if or when Alaric would attack, I wanted to get strong as fast as possible so that I could offer my assistance in an uncertain war.

The sound of Dura's voice pulled me from my thoughts.

"How's training with that mule of an Amphitere going? I'll be honest, Izara, when I heard that Draug had chosen you to be his rider, I was surprised. Then again, I really should not have been seeing as you seem to have a knack for charming irritable males," she chuckled at the end.

"What do you mean?" I asked, pouting at her playful taunt.

Lifting her face towards the sunlight, Dura replied, her tone more serious, "Well, you know, usually an Amphitere will chose their rider while they're young, allowing both it and the young Orc they choose to grow together. In some rare cases, like with King Baldur and his Amphitere, Ormr, the rider bonds with his Amphitere a few days after the egg hatches."

"Well, their bond is easy to understand," I said.

I figured in that in Baldur and Ormr's case, their bond being especially strong was due to Baldur taking care of the cracked egg and raising Ormr himself, refusing to give up on the young Amphitere when others would have.

Dura nodded and continued, "Yes indeed, but there is also another rare instance where an Amphitere never bonds with a rider. Draug was one of those, stubborn as a mule and as bad-tempered as a wild boar! I swear, at one point I thought the previous King would have had him put down, but when I heard Draug had bonded himself to you, well, I guess he was waiting for you it would seem."

Exhaling audibly, I murmured, "Lucky me."

Throwing her head back, the elderly Orc let out a laugh that echoed around the trees around us as we continued to walk through the forest leading back to the castle.

"I heard that you'll be getting to fly him outside today, are you scared?" Dura probed.

"Of course, I am! Draug is beautiful but scary. The stories I heard about him were enough to hinder me from ever wanting to pass near his cage. After all, they didn't call him 'Draug the Dreadful' for nothing..."

Chuckling, she said, "Ah yes! It was Khagra that gave him that name."

"Yes," I grumbled. "And that same Khagra was the one who insisted I went by the cage and see what happens. Something about animals being drawn to me, though I think he had meant it as a joke. Who would have thought that the moody Amphitere would take a liking to me."

"It was destiny, you were meant to ride Draug."

I shuddered to think about what would have happened to him if I had never accidentally obtained wind magic. He would have remained alone forever, refusing to mingle with the other Amphiteres nor allowing any Orc to ride him.

So sad, I thought.

Draug, though volatile, was absolutely stunning.

The large dark blue serpent was coated in iridescent feathers that had more of a purple-ish sheen whenever the light touched his body, especially the plumage along his neck, where there seemed to be an extra row of feathers. The luminous colours changed whenever Draug moved his head at different angles.

Anu's beard, I had instantly fallen in love with him.

When I first saw Draug, the deep blue shadowy colour of his feathers had immediately drawn me in. The way his yellow eyes had widened when he looked across to me was something that I would never forget. It was the sort of yellow that seemed to glow and I felt a warmth come over me and before I knew what I was doing, my hands were holding on to the thick metal bars of his cage.

To everyone's surprise, the Amphitere did not charge at me, instead, when it walked towards the bars, Draug had bowed his head to me and made a rumbling sound low in his throat. This was a sign of an Amphitere showing respect to a rider, affirming the wind magic within them. It was also an indication that the individual had permission to ride them.

Where the bonding process was concerned, this took place when the Amphitere postured itself in a specific way. Basically, presenting itself to the rider that they chose to be theirs and the act in itself was beautiful to witness.

Draug had stood in an upright posture and raised his neck, displaying his magnificent plumage patterns before flaring his wings out, presenting its impressive wingspan before folding them back against his side. The Amphitere saved the most important display for last and that involved a posture that was more of a horizontal pose where it would spread and fan out its tail, exposing the colourful feathers at the end to the rider, before moving the end of the tail closer so that the person could hold it.

To touch an Amphitere's tail was a sacred privileged.

No one knew why Draug chose to bond with me, but as I stood there in awe, there was no way that I could refuse his reaction to me.

In response, I had been instructed to use my magic, allowing some wind to flutter through the Amphitere's feathers. This gentle caress would indicate to Draug that I had acknowledged his choice in me and that I had accepted.

Draug had then reared its head back and bellowed his contentment.

Of course, this amplified my reputation further. Not only were people unsure of my ability to take their souls, but Draug's fearsome reputation fuelled my own through his choice of bonding with me.

Though if I were being honest, I was not so concerned with what others thought of me anymore.

My first priority was to help Baldur keep the Isle of Wrobel safe and in order to do that, I needed to become as strong as I could be, and being able to ride an Amphitere would amplify my usefulness on the battlefield.

As scared as I was to be Draug's rider, I knew all too well what isolation could do to someone and having experienced the bonds of friendship since arriving at the Orcs' castle, I was determined to show Draug the love I had been privileged to encounter.

In fact, over the last few weeks, I had already seen a change in him.

No longer would he fight with other Amphiteres and snap at anyone who came near his cage, or throw faeces at them. The latter many Orcs were happy about.

Sure, Draug may still not have been easily approachable, but he certainly was not as aggressive as he had been in the past. In time, I figured that he would be able to move into an enclosure with other Amphiteres.

Though I thought the Orcs continued to keep their distance simply because of Draug's explosive reputation.

Seeing the frown on my face, Dura tried reassuring me, "Don't worry, Izara, everything will be fine. Flying an Amphitere takes time and practice and I have no doubt you and Draug will make a fine team."

Giving her a nod, I smiled as we parted ways.

When I made my way towards the area where the Amphiteres were kept, I was surprised to see both Baldur and Khagra standing on either side of Ghunar near the entrance of the domed enclosure that held Draug.

My voice did not hide my confusion when I greeted them.

"What? You didn't think we'd not be present to see you fly an Amphitere in the sky for the first time? Oh, you wound us, Izara," Khagra said, holding a hand to his chest.

"Stop playing and go help Ghunar set things up," Baldur instructed with a laugh before pulling me off to the side. "Don't be scared, everything will be fine."

Smiling nervously, I replied, "Is my fear that obvious?"

"It's not, but I remember my first time getting on an Amphitere, it's not something that can be taught as nobody really knows how to ride an Amphitere until they actually ride one."

At this, I raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that supposed to help ease my fears?"

"Look, Izara, I know that flying up in the air can be daunting and that's coming from someone who was born with magic. You've only had your powers for a few months and while you have grown very strong, certain things can only be garnered through experience."

"Not to mention its Draug, he'll probably throw me off the minute we get high up in the air..."

Shaking his head, Baldur grinned, "You and I both know that's not true. As ill-tempered as he is, Amphiteres would never hurt their bonded rider. And you already know that there are Amphiteres who allow their rider to bring a guest along."

"Yes, but that's rare, plus you and Khagra are so close that you're almost the same person, so it's no surprise that Ormr allows him to ride along with you. I don't have a bond with Draug the way you and Ormr have."

"Not yet..." Baldur countered. "Sure, flying Draug out in the open will take some practice as he's never been properly ridden before. Not to mention he's never spent much time out of his enclosure. But look at this this way, it allows the both of you to learn together. Plus, I'll be riding nearby in case anything should happen."

Just knowing that Baldur would be in the air calmed me somewhat.

Deep down, I knew that Draug would never hurt me, I had spent enough time with the Amphitere to be sure of that. However, being high up in the sky was a scary thought, especially if I did not hold on tight enough, one wrong move and I could find myself hurtling towards the ground below.

The unexpected feel of Baldur's hand cupping my cheek pulled my attention back to him and I felt myself melting into him. His strong calloused palm against my skin had such a soothing effect on me that I could not help the soft sigh that escaped me as he spoke.

"You'll do great, just think, not only are you the first individual to get to properly ride Draug, but you'll be the first human to ride an Amphitere..."

"Being the first isn't always a good thing," I joked.

Baldur let out a deep chuckle, "I suppose, but in this instance, I think that it's a very good thing."

The clanging of Draug's cage opening echoed around us.

I had already put on my flying clothes from earlier this morning, it was similar to the garb that I wore for magic training. The only difference was that I wore a long-sleeved top instead and along with the fitted pants, the material was supposedly better suited against wind resistance.

It was amazing to see how calm Draug was when Ghunar led him out of the cage.

"Not so dreadful now, are you boy?" I murmured, my hand reaching out to caress his face as he leaned down to greet me with a soft rumble.

Perhaps the Amphitere knew that we would be flying in the sky today.

We had only ever flown within the confines of the dome, and though large enough for a few Amphiteres to fly around easily, nothing could compare to the open vastness of the sky. This unfortunately was something that had been inaccessible to Draug due to him not having a rider.

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Khagra bringing Ormr to Baldur, who quickly mounted him.

"Will you not be accompanying us?" I asked, seeing Khagra walking towards me instead of getting on the back of Ormr.

"No, I want Baldur to be able to focus solely on you," he replied. Brushing the back of his knuckles against my cheek, he added, "Now go up there and enjoy yourself, I'll be watching from below."

I smiled before carefully mounting Draug.

Once out in the clearing, my Amphitere stretched his wings out while shaking his head, his feathers gleaming in the sun. Remembering everything I had been taught during my flying lessons, I kept my posture aligned with Draug's spine while my hands tightened on the reigns.

When he pushed off the ground and into the air, I shrieked in surprise.

This was much different than when we flew within the dome for there was no caged ceiling holding back how high Draug could go. Now, the possibilities were endless for him and he seemed thrilled to explore the new world around him.

Draug let out a bellowing roar that sounded so happy that I momentarily forgot my panic about being so high up.

The castle quickly began to shrink from view.

Even though Draug had never been in the air, he was clearly a natural. After a few minutes, I was surprised by how easily my body fell into sync with his, moving effortlessly with him as we flew through the air with Ormr and Baldur at our sides.

The way Baldur stared at me, his eyes full of pure admiration, had me looking away shyly.

I could not believe that I was riding an Amphitere.

Draug had an incredibly powerful structure, with the ability to manipulate his tail in ways that most Amphiteres could not. I supposed this was as a result of not being able to fly out in the open, he learned to do other things with his body.

Ghunar had suggested that perhaps Draug may have been able to use his tail like a whip, having the ability to constrict his enemies. Something that I knew would come in handy if Alaric and his men ever attacked.

As I glided through the air, I pushed the thoughts of war out of my mind and allowed myself to enjoy the freedom of being among the clouds.

Life was indeed good.

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A/N: Draug the Dreadful ❤