Sky Riders: The Rising Sun
A Rider's Magic

The archives were bright in the light of early afternoon.Oriens lay curled up in the middle of one of the round rooms, the sunlightreflecting off of scales, leaving golden fairylights on the walls. Eliana satwith her back to one of the bookshelves, a volume on her crossed legs. Shethumbed through the ancient-looking volume, scanning the slanted writing of theauthor. She paused as one passage caught her attention:

"The magicof the Sky Riders is unsurpassed by any other creature I have yet to meet. Eventhose who displayed no magical abilities before bonding with a dragon havegreater power than the strongest elves and sorcerers. And those who possessedmagic before – elves, sorcerers, and sorceresses – are the most formidableopponents once they become a Rider. I pity the one who attempts to battle adragon and its Rider."

She snapped the book closed loudly, making an irritatednoise in her throat. The dragon lifted his head to look at her.

"I don't understand, Oriens!" she complained in his mind. "EverythingI read says that my magic is supposed to be so strong, but Mara will not evenlet me attempt it! I've done nothing but study theory for the pastmonth! How am I supposed to learn anything like this?"

Her dragon studied her with his emerald eyes, a look of calmamusement on his face. He had grown substantially in the past month, and hisshoulder now reached the center of her chest. Though he could still fit throughthe window to her room, he slept on the floor, rather than on her bed with her.He'd begun hunting in the woods around Iterum, tracking down rabbits and other,larger prey.

Their silent conversations had become second nature as hequickly learned to converse with her in both words and unspoken emotions. Manytimes, Eliana found herself forgetting to speak to those around her, she was soaccustomed to sharing her thoughts with Oriens.

He spoke to her mind now in a calm, deep voice. "I'msure Mara is doing what she thinks is best."

"That's just the problem!" she complainedsilently, throwing her hands out in exasperation. "She can only do whatshe believes to be best. Nobody actually knows how to train aRider."

Oriens shook his now-large head and made a throaty, coughingsound, which she recognized as his laugh. "It's not as if you have manyoptions for instructors, Eliana. Mara is the best we can hope for."

"Caelum would have been better..."

He grinned at her toothily. "I believe your opinionmay be a bit biased. And besides, Caelum is not an option either."

"I know... I just..." In her exasperation, she began speakingaloud. "I just want to try, Oriens! I cannot learn magic from abook any better than you could learn to breathe fire by reading about it! I wantto try. I need to try! And if Mara doesn't let me soon... Well, thenI'll just do it on my own!" she snapped stubbornly.

Oriens did not answer her, but turned his head to look atthe open doorway behind her. Eliana turned and found Mara standing there, her armscrossed over her chest. She had an amused smile on her face. When she saw theRider had noticed her, the archivist stepped forward and entered the room.

Eliana stood, unsure of what Mara might say, steelingherself to defend her own brash words. To Eliana's surprise, the elf hugged hertightly. The Rider looked at Oriens questioningly, and he shrugged his scalyshoulders.

Mara pulled back, laughing as she looked at Eliana'sconfused face. "It's about time!"

"What?"

"The most important thing about magic," sheexplained, "is that you have to want it. There are no spells toguide elven magic, and so you must know what you truly want in order toguide the earth's magic to fulfill your will. I have been waiting for weeks tosee a strong enough desire in you!"

Eliana blinked in confusion. "So... I can beginpracticing magic now? You'll actually show me how?"

Mara gave a firm nod, still smiling. "Yes. Now, we cantruly begin. Come with me."

The archivist turned and headed out of the archives. Elianalooked at the dragon in the center of the room, her eyebrows raised insurprise. He smirked, obviously amused that she had missed this simple secretto getting her way. Without a word, they followed Mara out of the library andinto the city.

She led them along the paths that wound through Iterum andthey proceeded towardsthe outskirts of the city. The eyes of the few elves they passed widened attheir approach. They bowed low and murmured some kind of greeting, which Elianacould never understand, as they spoke it so quietly and with such reverence.

It stillmade her uncomfortable, this unexpected adoration. It had started after Orienshad hatched, and continued every time they passed through the city together.She had hoped that they would have grown used to seeing her and the dragon inIterum, but apparently, whatever possessed them to bow to her was not somethingthat lessened with time.

Elianabreathed a sigh of relief as they exited the city and entered a part of theforest that she had yet to explore. Oriens continued to plod along behind them.Though he was much more comfortable in the sky than squeezing between thetrees, he chose to stay by his Rider's side as much as possible.

She drew up beside the archivist and asked, "What is itthat they always say?"

"Who?" Mara asked.

"The other elves. Every time Oriens and I pass them,they bow and say something I never quite catch."

"Ah, yes. They are saying, 'Veholum.'"

"Veholum?" Eliana repeated. "What does thatmean?"

"It means 'Sky Riders.' It is an old greeting that theelves use to address a dragon and its Rider. It is a term of great respect, andit refers to both members of the bonded pair—one greeting for them both,because they are one."

Eliana sensed Oriens' pleasure at this new word, though hedidn't remark on it.

The trees before them opened up onto a field quite suddenly,and they stepped out into the opening. "I thought we would come here topractice," Mara said. "I fear you may draw an audience on the publicpractice ranges. Everyone would be quite curious to see your magic." Shesunk to the grass with a fluid grace that Eliana envied.

The Rider sighed as she sat as well. "I imagine theywould all be quite disappointed if they were to watch," she remarked.

Mara smirked. "We shall see. Now, let's begin."

Oriens settled down in the grass behind where Eliana sat.Eagerness radiated between the two of them. Eliana's excitement to learnradiated to her dragon, and his excitement for her returned to her mind, theiremotions building on each other until they were both practically wriggling witheagerness.

Mara closed her eyes and instructed Eliana to do the same."Can you feel that?" the archivist asked.

Eliana's brow furrowed. "Feel what? The wind?"

"No," she replied in a near-whisper. "Youmust sense deeper than that, Eliana. Cast aside your basic senses. Feel onlywith your mind. Can you feel the magic around you? Everything on this earth hasan energy. Search for it."

Deeper lines grew in her forehead as she concentratedharder, her mind searching for some unseen energy. She could sense thepresences of Oriens and Mara, but nothing else. All she could feel was the windon her skin and the sun on her cheek.

"You're thinking too hard," Oriens said inher mind. "Relax. Clear your mind like Caelum taught you through meditation.Just let it come to you."

"And what makes you such an expert?" sheasked him silently.

His chuckle was warm and deep in her mind. "I am adragon." She knew that, to him, that was enough to an explanation tomake him an expert in anything.

"Alright then, Master of All Things," shereplied with a smirk. "We'll do it your way."

She forced her mind to relax, allowing it to open as shedrew a deep breath. The presences of Oriens and Mara in her mind seemed to fadeand blur into the background of the world around them. Slowly, a new sensationrose to the back of her mind. It was like a humming, only it came fromeverything around her, and it was silent.

She could feel an energy radiating from every blade of grassunder her, from the earth itself. The trees glowed with energy in her mind.Bolts of energy darted through the treetops and along the forest floor—animals,scurrying on their way. But it wasn't just their presence that she felt; it wastheir very life force. Behind her hummed the greatest energy of all, burningbrightly in her mind.

"I can feel it," she whispered to Mara, a smallsmile on her face. In her mind, Oriens felt smug.

"Good," the archivist replied. "Tell me,where do you feel the strongest magic from?"

"Behind me," she answered readily, feeling theradiant life force at her back.

There was no reply. After a short pause, Eliana opened hereyes. Mara was looking at her with a thoughtful expression. She looked over hershoulder at Oriens, then back at Mara.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"Elves feel the greatest energy from the earthitself," Oriens answered, projecting his voice to both their minds. "ButEliana feels it coming from me."

Mara nodded slowly. "That's correct."

"Is that bad?" Eliana asked.

She shrugged and shook her head. "I suppose not. Iprobably should have suspected it. All of the records say that Riders drawtheir magic from their dragons, but I never thought that it meant you'd feelhis magic stronger than the earth's." She smiled again, in her usualcheerful way. "However, I will need you to try to focus on the earth'smagic. That is the magic I can teach you how to use. Your dragon's magicis something you must somehow master on your own."

"But not alone," Oriens interjected.

Eliana smiled and reached up to stroke his muzzle once.

Mara went on. "Now, there are essentially four types ofmagic. They are the four elements that make up the magic of the earth—wind,water, earth, and fire. All elven magic is a form or combination of those fourelements. We'll begin with wind magic. Wind is the most easily manipulatedelement, and it is mostly easily bent to your magic's will."

She held out her right hand, palm towards the sky. A smallcyclone of wind appeared, swirling above her hand. Eliana watched as thecyclone grew, then appeared to twist in on itself, spiraling until it formed aperfect ball of swirling wind above Mara's palm. The archivist gestured deftly,and the ball rose in the air, spinning around her twice before stopping infront of her, hovering between her two palms.

Mara looked up at Eliana with a mischievous smile."Catch!"

With a flick of her wrists, the elf sent the ball of winddarting through the air, straight at Eliana. The Rider watched the ballapproaching and held up her hands as if she were going to physically try tocatch it. She felt Oriens' magic at her back. It seemed to thrum, and then shefelt it wash over her shoulders like a warm wave, pushing through her handstowards the ball of wind.

The ball came to a halt just in front of Eliana's palms,spinning and hovering in front of her. She blinked in surprise and dropped herhands. The ball burst apart, striking her face with a strong breeze. She lookedat Mara and found the elf staring at her with surprise.

The archivist laughed suddenly, looking pleased. "Ihave never seen anyone catch it at the first attempt before," sheremarked.

Eliana glanced over her shoulder at Oriens. "I... don'tthink I did it alone," she confessed. "Oriens helped me. Didn'tyou?"

The dragon shrugged and shook his head, looking as confusedas her. "I don't know," he said to both their minds. "Ifelt you draw magic from me, but I don't believe I did anything else."

She looked back at Mara and said, "Whatever it was, itwas honestly an accident. It was just... instinct, I guess. I didn't doanything on purpose."

Mara smiled wider. "Wonderful! When it comes to elvenmagic, your instincts are your best guide. They will allow you to control themagic quickly and bend it to your will without words or even specificthoughts." She sighed and shook her head in wonder. "I don't know ifit is because you are a Rider, but you seem to be naturally gifted with elvenmagic. I never thought I would live to see a Rider's magic, much less be theone to do the instructing."

Eliana forced an uncomfortable smile and asked, "Well,what's next then?"

"Now, now," the archivist replied, holding up onefinger in a warning gesture. "You mustn't be too hasty. You shouldapproach even wind, the gentlest of the elements, with the greatest caution. Ifyou lose control of yourself or let your emotions guide you, even wind can bedestructive."

She held her right hand out to her side, palm facing thetrees. A sudden burst of wind seemed to erupt from her, blasting the forestlike a tornado. The trees shook, and a few were torn up at their roots so thatthey fell against the neighboring trees.

Eliana blinked in surprise as Mara lowered her hand andlooked at her. "Do you see what magic is capable of, Eliana? And yourmagic, combined with Oriens', could be even more destructive. You mustalways be cautious. Do you understand?"

Eliana nodded, and Mara returned the gesture.

"Good, now I want you to try to form your own windsphere," Mara said. "Hold out your hand, as I did." Elianaobeyed. "Good. Now, feel the breeze around you. You should be able to feelits energy, though it may be faint."

She opened her mind until she sensed the magic around heragain, then focused on the feeling of the wind on her face. It gave off a veryfaint glow as it moved through the air.

"Once you feel it, will it to come to your hand. Youmust want it to happen, or it will not."

With every ounce of her focus, Eliana wished for the wind tocome to her. The breeze seemed to quicken momentarily around her, then she sawa small cyclone form in the palm of her hand.

"Excellent," Mara said. "Now, make it grow,just a little."

Eliana focused on the swirling wind and willed it to grow.It expanded above her palm, and she felt a thrill of excitement. Suddenly, itdoubled in size, becoming a twister in her hand.

"Calm yourself, Eliana," Mara instructed."You mustn't get excited. Calm your mind and bring the wind back undercontrol."

She tried to relax her mind, willing the cyclone to shrink.It did not respond, and panic briefly darted through her. The twister grewagain, now two feet high above palm. Eliana felt her energy being sapped away,and her hand fell to her side. The cyclone burst apart with a gust of wind sostrong that it made her tumble backwards into Oriens' side.

She sat up, feeling dazed and weak. "She told you tobe careful," Oriens remarked, nudging her with his rough nose.

"Oh, shut up," she grumbled in her mind,pushing his muzzle away. She ran a hand through her hair, dragging it back outof her face, and looked at Mara. The elf seemed to have been knocked over bythe gust of wind as well. She was sitting up now, dusting off her dress andstraightening her disheveled hair.

"I'm sorry, Mara," Eliana said to her. "Ijust... I started to panic when the cyclone didn't shrink. Then it grew againand I started to feel... weak. I couldn't hold it under my controlanymore." She was agitated by her own failure, and embarrassed by herweakness.

The archivist gave her a small smile. "You just learnedtwo very important lessons, Eliana. The first is that you must never panicwhile trying to use magic. You must always—always—be in control of youremotions. Many elves have killed themselves or others by letting their emotionsrun away with them while using magic.

"Second, unlike human sorcery, which uses words tocontrol the magic of an object, elven magic uses your own energy to manipulatethe energy around you. While this makes our magic more versatile, it alsodrains you. You must learn to recognize which tasks you can perform. If youattempt too much, it is possible to use all of your energy, and this will killyou."

"So how does an elf keep himself from passing out whenbattling with magic?" Eliana asked curiously.

Mara smiled again. "Lie down, and I will showyou."

Eliana didn't argue, but lay back on the grass gratefully,her body feeling weary.

"Sense the magic in the earth. Open your mind toit."

The Rider did so, feeling the thrumming of the grass anddirt under her back until it hummed in her mind, blocking out nearly everythingelse.

"Now, will it into you, just as you will the air intoyour lungs when you breathe. Allow it to enter your body and make you strongagain."

Eliana frowned briefly at the idea, but then drew a deepbreath, trying to will the energy beneath her into her body. After a fewbreaths, she finally began to feel the life force beneath her seeping slowlyinto her muscles. Then, suddenly, it rushed into her, filling her with atingling energy. She bolted upright with a sharp breath.

Mara laughed. "It can be quite shocking the firsttime."

Eliana laughed uncomfortably as well. "That's puttingit lightly."

"Do you feel well enough to continue?"

She took stock of her tingling, energized limbs, thennodded.

"Excellent. I would like to introduce you to all of theelements today, so that we can begin learning to manipulate them all next time.I won't have you attempt controlling any more of them today, as the other threeelements can be even more difficult than wind, but I would like you to at leastget an idea of how each element is controlled."

Eliana returned to a cross-legged position and the lessoncontinued. Mara next demonstrated how to pull water from the air and created a watersphere. Water was the second easiest element of magic to control, and it couldbe drawn from anything—air, the earth, plants, and even animals.

Earth magic was a bit more complicated, Mara explained, asit was made of so many different aspects. It included everything from the soilitself to the plants and the animals that lived off of it. Mara demonstrated severaldifferent ways earth magic could be manipulated. She made the earth tremblebeneath them like an isolated earthquake. She created a sphere of spinning soilin the air before her. She caused a tree to bend and sway as if dancing withoutany wind. A brown rabbit hopped across the meadow and leapt into her lap.

"The trick," she explained, still stroking therabbit's brown ears, "is that you must respect every living thing that youattempt to use your magic on. You cannot truly force a living plant oranimal to do your will. You must ask it."

Eliana frowned and tilted her head incredulously. "Andwhat if it says no?"

Mara laughed. "No creature distrusts an elf when sheasks with a kind mind." She released the rabbit, and it bounded swiftlyinto the nearby trees. Oriens watched it hungrily until it disappeared. Marafolded her hands back in her lap and went on, "The final element is fire.It is by far the most powerful—and therefore the most dangerous—of all magicelements. It takes a great amount of control to keep it under your will."

Mara faced her palms towards one another. A small lightappeared between her hands, growing until it was a glowing ball of flame. Itslight danced across the lines of concentration on her face.

"If you lose control of your emotions for even amoment," she said quietly, "the effects can be disastrous. More thanone elf has destroyed his home trying to use fire magic when angry or upset.Many have died in accidents caused by their own mistakes or the mistakes ofthose around them."

She pressed her palms together and the fire spheredisappeared, leaving a trail of smoke in the air. "That is enough fortoday," she said, standing. "Meet me here tomorrow, early, and wewill begin practicing your wind magic."

Eliana nodded and stood as well. Behind her, Oriens heavedhimself onto his feet and shook his head. He carefully spread his wings,stretching them with a groan.

"That took much longer than I expected," hecomplained in her mind.

She reached out and patted his scaly shoulder. "Thankyou for staying. Your presence helps. Truly, it does."

He turned his head so that his green eyes were inches awayfrom her amethyst ones, smiling his dragon smile at her. "I will alwaysbe here when you need me," he said affectionately.

She hugged his head close to her chest and kissed his scalyforehead. She felt a grumble of hunger in her stomach, but knew that thesensation was not her own. "Go hunt," she told him. "I'llsee you at home."

He gave a brief nod and sighed. "Home..." Thenhe raised his great wings again and rose into the air with a rush of wind thatbent the grass beneath him and caused Eliana's hair to fly about her face.

She watched him as he rose above the treetops, then silentlycalled to him, "Be careful!"

He laughed in her mind. "I am always careful."

She laughed as well and watched him soar off over theforest, his eyes searching the forest below for his next meal. Mara stoodbeside her, watching the dragon with wonder.

"No matter how often I watch him fly," shewhispered, "it never ceases to be the most beautiful thing I have everseen."

Eliana watched the evening sunlight glint off of Oriens'golden scales, shining through his wings. "Yeah," she said with asmile. "Me too."