"What the hell, Candidate! Do you want to get me in to trouble?"
Senior Cadet Elian who is a fourth-year has a the look of someone who'd seen too many hopeful candidates fail. He kept his voice low, a murmur that felt like a shout. His hands, resting on the table, gripped the edges.
Reynold still kept his two hands flat on the table, leaning forward until his face was inches from Elian's. His eyes were filled with a desperation.
"Please, Senior Cadet, you have to let me take it. This is my only chance. By next year, I'll be over the age limit." Reynold pleaded. "The cadet at the First Trial, he won't clear me, for… for a reason he wouldn't say. If I can pass this trial, and the others, he'll have no choice but to come beg me to come take the test."
Elian just stared at Reynold. He saw the desperation, and also the fierce and determined look in his eye.
He sighed. "Fine," Elian muttered, grabbing an unmarked slate from the stack. "But you get me in trouble, and I'll personally make sure you don't even get a stable-sweeper job at Wyrmwood or in any city." Elian paused. "Don't you get me into trouble."
Reynold's face turn into a pure smile. He gave a nod. "I won't, Senior Cadet. Thank you." He quickly pumped Elian's hand once, a brief shake.
Elian snatched the slate back and pointed towards a serene, dark body of water about fifty paces away. "Take this. Go see Cadet Lyra by the pond. You are next." He then raised his voice and called across the grounds, "Lyra! Starweaver is next!"
Reynold was already walking towards the water when a voice sounded through the air from the crowd of the onlookers.
"That's against the Academy rules! He hasn't cleared the first trial!"
Elian didn't even bother to turn his head to know who the voice belong to. Kael Vynsar. Instead Elian had to bury his face in a stack of registration forms.
Reynold reached the edge of the pond. Cadet Lyra, a calm-faced lady with a severe braid, nodded to him.
"Candidate Starweaver," she said. "This is the Second Test. It is called 'The Quiet of the Shadow Pool.' You have to reach a state of a very deep calm and focus in your mind. Your thoughts are the water here. If even a small wave of worry, a random idea, or losing focus happens, the water near you will begin to shake."
She gave him a thin, unlit stick of incense.
"Sit down," she instructed. "Keep your part of the water perfectly still until that incense stick burns all the way down. The test is supposed to take a maximum of ten minutes, but only the calmness counts.
Remember, the dragon connection is in your thoughts, like mind-to-mind. If you can not focus completely, you can't safely handle a dragon's strong mind. You need 50 points to pass."
Reynold nodded. He sat calmly, placing the stick into the small, waiting holder in front of him. He closed his eyes..
But the water began to shake immediately as his mind was filled with anxiety.
What if he didn't make it?
Focus. Filter the noise and the thoughts.
His mind immediately travelled into a familiar environment.
He wasn't at Wyrmwood Academy anymore. He was in the familiar backyard of his house in Terraverde City..
His father was standing before him, the same Dragon-Rider uniform that was returned to Reynold was hanging loosely on his body.
"How strong your bond is with the dragon depends on how clean your mind is, Reynold," his father's deep voice sounded in his head. "If your mind is a mess, you can't safely join with a dragon's thoughts. If you try, it will kill you both."
"But I don't want to be a rider, Father," the young Reynold voiced out in the memory. "I don't want to go."
"Concentrate," his father said. "I didn't want to be a dragon rider either. But look at me now—I am one. You, my son, have a mind that is either a storm or a clear, sunny sky. Always choose the sky."
Reynold's mind suddenly returned to the present. His side of the pond was very still. The shake in the water had stopped.
The water was totally flat. Not even one drop moved. The incense stick had only burned a little bit it was just a tiny puff of grey smoke but it showed a perfect picture of the clouds right on the surface.
A loud shout cut through the academy air.
"What the hell?!" Senior Cadet Elian, who had abandoned his forms to watch gaped.
Cadet Lyra, standing by the pond, had her own mouth open, eyes locked on the magic scoreboard suspended above the water.
The digital readout flashed, a stark, impossible number burning in the sunlight: 98.
98 points. The highest recorded score in the history of Wyrmwood Academy for the Stillness of the Shadow Pond was 68.
And the time? The clock froze next to the score: 3:07.
The entire crowd, who had followed Reynold to see what he do next, exploded.
"Ninety-eight under five minutes?!"
"Is that even the same boy? I saw him fail four years back!"
"Impossible!"
"How did he do that?!"
Kael Vynsar, having pushed his way through the stunned crowd, rubbed his palm across his eyes, thinking he was seeing double. But his furious look deepened as he realized the score was real.
"Impossible! This… this is a mistake! The sensor must have been manipulated!"
Lyra helped Reynold to his feet, her gaze was a mixt of surprise and utter awe.
Elian rushed forward, snatched Reynold's slate, and scribbled furiously on it. He stood up straight, his voice sounding across the training grounds.
"Reynold Starweaver! Score: 98 points! Time: 3 minutes and 7 seconds! PASSED!"
Reynold beamed as he walked back. Elian, his previous worry look was gone. He clapped Reynold hard on the shoulder as he handed back the plate. "I'm proud I took a chance on you, Candidate. Now go crush the rest of them!"
"Thank you, Senior Cadet," Reynold said, already turning towards the next trial ground.
The moment he left the Second Trial grounds, the stunned crowds erupted like a bag of popped corn.
"Follow him! What was that trick?!"
"He's a true rider! 98 point?!"
"The senior cadet in charge of the First Trial is going to lose his mind when he sees this!"
The murmuring followed Reynold like a trailing tide to the Third Trial ground.
At the next ground, the female cadet in charge saw the '98' on Reynold's slate and her face turned into an impressive look. She didn't hesitate, immediately ushered him into the training arena.
A young male cadet met him there and quickly explained everything to him. "Candidate, this is the Third Trial. It is called ' The Broken Formation; Adaptability and Tactical Wit.
It tests your quick thinking and how well you can change plans. We'll teach you a simple fighting Formation, Follow the steps.
Halfway through, the picture will mess up the formation , you'll see sudden fake dangers, shaky floors, and surprise attacks from harmless practice dummies.
You must change your moves right away, keep your form correct, and finish the whole set of moves. You need 50 points to pass."
Reynold nodded once, closing his eyes to absorb the instructions.
He started the basic sequence. His mind, once again, was back in Terraverde City, back in the small training yard.
"Fighting in the air with a dragon is crazy busy, Reynold," his father's voice reminded him. "A rider has to change their moves and orders right away just to stay alive. Don't just learn the set steps. You have to learn how to forget them even faster."
The projection shattered. A sudden, violent gust of wind slammed the arena. The ground lurched sideways. A dummy, a non-harmful blur of force, darted from the side.
Reynold didn't fear or move back. He absorbed the chaos, adapting the taught sequence into a smooth, flowing counter. His movements were quick and utterly logical as he crashed the dummy.
The scoreboard above the arena lit up. The female and male cadets both gasped.
93.
The crowd's gasp was more loud. The highest score ever recorded for the Broken Formation was 65.
"He got ninety-three?"
"Is he an imposter? That's impossible!"
"It has to be magic! That's better than perfect!"
Everyone around was speechless, their eyes glued to the display.
The female senior cadet swallowed hard, grabbing the slate. Her voice, usually calm, was high with shock as she announced the results.
"Reynold Starweaver! Score: 93 points! Time: 6 minutes! PASSED!"
She handed back the plate, her hands trembling. Reynold gave her a slight bow and headed immediately for the Fourth Trial grounds.
The entire academy population was now a murmuring wave crashing behind him.
Kael Vynsar, his face was full with disbelief and horror, he stumbled as he tried to follow the crowd too.
Meanwhile, at the First Trial ground, Senior Cadet Theron Vynsar who is Kael's nephew was checking the results he had recorded.
Theron had only graduated last year, yet he was immediately posted here, permanently to be in charge of the yearly First Selection Test, instead of being assigned to a post.
He had failed to bond with a dragon for four consecutive years. Dragons chose their riders, and none had chosen him.
His family, the powerful owners of the Sidera Cartography Guild, a massive enterprise that mapped and sold the celestial charts of the Dragon Peaks, ensured his spot at the Academy.
Just like his nephew, Kael, Theron enjoyed his petty power, especially over those from the lower provinces and cities
He was still going through the results when he looked up and saw Cadet Elian running towards him.
"Theron! Theron, you didn't clear Candidate Starweaver, did you? Reynold Starweaver?" Elian was breathing hard.
Theron scoffed. "The little dirt-farmer? Of course not. Sent him away this morning. Wouldn't waste my time."
Elian punch Theron on the face.
"You bastard. Just pray this your dirty game and arrogant don't get to the sergeants or any professor. Because Starweaver is currently on his way to the Fourth Trial. And he has two scores that are about to break the Academy records forever."