Chapter 1

"Get out!" The baker creamed at me as he chased me out of his shop. While the assistants put out several fires all over the shop.

Another failed achievement that I was no good at and never would be. My parents had decided that I would not go into the Aumont Family business and that I had to try all the different achievements throughout our village. It was mostly due to the fact that I had gotten myself in just another accident that I could never figure out how they happened and I never did it on purpose, but that didn't include all the mischief that Eindride and I had gotten into together. Rushing into town center away from the baker, I almost tripped over a bigger rock that had been pushed from the edge of the dirt path at town center.

It brought me back to the day that Eindride and I met at the day of our matching ceremony. Every child rich or poor in Loftus village got a dragon at the yearly matching ceremony, but our matching ceremony was unlike any other as memory served.

**

"Mother, I'm scared of all the big momma and pappa dragons. Why do I have to go out there alone?" I said to my mother while she brushed out my hair to a presentable amount.

"Birger, honey you know Pappa and I can't go out with you because we already have dragons. It's your turn to get one too and you need to show your best foot forward for the Aumont family." I looked up at my mother with an unfortunely determined face to not mess this up and make Pappa look bad.

Mother and I walked to the beginning point of the ceremony, talking about what was expected of me in hushed tones, something that I completely blocked out, I had heard this lecture more times that I can count over the years even now into adulthood. The path that mother and I walked was mostly dirt and a few worn out pebbles. My anxiousness of the coming events had me, kicking one of the worn down while little pebbles and twisting my fingers in knots.

I kicked the pebble off to the edge of the path again as we neared the village center. My village funneled to a center point, which as I have gotten older have realized is a common theme. In, Loftus village center was a beautiful statue of the first human, and dragon match; Colby, our first village leader and Eerika, the most graceful and breathtakingly beautiful dragon ever seen. The bonding ceremony would end in a delicious banquet held at the foot of this statue with food from all the great families on display for tasting, right now though there was a tent set up to pick up our ceremonial robes that the village elders held onto for all our important community ceremonies.

As I stood in line to greet the elders and get my ceremonial robes. I could see Sassa and her parents stopped up ahead already in her robes and waiting for the rest of us. The robes were a simple piece of cotton, but each families were colored and embellished matching the family crests. Sassa's robes were colored in the flames of her family, the Turgot's, they were breeders and creature trainers; just like my family, but they specialized in the Phoenix creature. Her families crest held that of a full-grown phoenix in flight and was colored in reds and golds.

I stepped forward the last of us kids and greeting the elders and get my families robes. I had never had the chance before this to represent my family and I was nervous more about screwing up than anything. Pulling me out of my head the elders helped me put on our family's robes they were the color of drudging brown with embellishments of burnt orange and rustic gold stitching entwined with our family crest of a majestic Roch with wings spread wide. My shoulders could hardly hold the weight of the cotton but I know I would hear it from Pappa if I did not hold my head as high as I could.

Mother and I met up with the other families and walked the rocky path up to the edge of our village, which finished in a cliff. Over the years they had added a ceremonial building for the final parts of the bond exchange, which hung back from the actual edge waited the village elders and our parents.

While standing out on the cliff waiting for the events to begin, the sights couldn't help but soothe any anxious feelings I had left. Even as a scared child the sight of the edge was always relaxing, the floating tree islands, with the leaves so full and green, that held the dragon family nests. Hanging in the air ebbing and flowing through the islands was a mist that always seemed to smell slightly of sulfur and charred ash.

The dragons sent up the babies that were of age to be matched. That year there were 5 of us kids. As the parents stood back at the building and us kids stood at the rocky cliff edge, the dragon babies towering over us even at their young age stomping and snoring to show their strength, were already uniquely colored and armor plated.

The tallest of them all went first, clearly the alpha of the group, his eyes were the color of the reddest lava, walked right up to the first child and had the happiest of grins on his face, looking right at Sessa, who had the richest red hair of the entire village, they were the perfect match. Sessa and Arvid walked down the hill to the building to wait for the rest of us to match.

As the rest of the dragons came up to those of us that remained, they would sniff and huff at each of us kids and you would know if they did not approve and move on to the next. They're were six dragons that had come forward for matching so one dragon would be going home without a match this year, except as ceremony dictate would have it the remaining dragon would become the next Keeper of Dragon. He or she would spend his life upholding the treaty and bond between humans, creatures and dragons.

When I was the last of the children to be picked, both of the remaining dragons walked up to me so not one or the other would like about being a true match. It was always up to the dragons who they would pick and as it turned out the remaining two dragons were twin sisters.

As they walked up I bowed to them which was customary when speaking to some one elses dragons but never your own. I could hear faintly the sounds of shock from the elders back at the ceremony buildings. I had known right away as these bewitching, fully white and black dragons, walked up to me that neither one was my mate. Now, respectively known as Heviter and Svarter the dragons bowed back realizing at the same time that they would become the first twins to be the Keeper of Dragon and what greatness they have come to accomplish.

My mother back at the ceremony building on the brink of fainting and my father at the point of chopping off the elder's heads, were calmed by the sight that unfolded in front of us.

I turned back around to look off the edge of the cliff, into the great beyond, would've been just my luck to not be picked and be matless. When out of the sky comes the current Keeper of Dragon, Eira, who would be Heviter and Svarters' teacher until her passing and they would care the torch, she only ever watched the proceedings from her perch on her island.

Eira came down and bowed to me after which came the words of the legend in her unmistakable voice to all of the village that was at this year's ceremony.

"When the first-born son of the first-born family becomes of age, his greatest match will be of unmistakable consequence and will lead to his greatest achievement."

Leaning down and looking me in the eye says "I have kept my eye on you Birger, you of the Aumont family, are the first born son of the first born family, and in the meaning of peace between humans, creatures and dragons, I believe your match is of this creature we rescued out of the sky only just days ago."

Eira moved slightly to the side to reveal a much smaller creature, that most of us had only heard about in stories, with the wings of a Roch or a griffin and the body only comparable to a village horse. She pushed the creature forward towards me, we looked each other up and down. The Hippogriff hung his magnificent black wings to the side and stomped his hooves, as he leaned in to nuzzle my now tousled black hair, that matched the feathers on his wings perfectly almost down to the shimmer in the sun light.

As we continued circling each other, my mother finally did faint and my father was so dead pan along with the elders that no one spoke. The creature finally spoke to me with the most enchanting sound any one had ever heard.

"What is your name creature? My people call me Eindride, he who rides alone." Huffing and shaking his snout as he finished speaking.

Stuttering at his mystic voice I said.

"Birger, he who helps."

"Well, Birger I am assuming we are meant to bond if legend and Eira's enlightened ways are correct, do you agree to this?"

I stood up straighter as he spoke with the hope of looking not only more noble but more appealing as a match leaned in and whispered "It's not supposed be my choice, so do you agree to this?."

Eindride turned and dipped a very shortened but formal bow to Eira and thanked her in a whisper and started clomping down towards the elders, about half way he turns and looks at me with the infamous look I have learned to enjoy over the years as his smirk when he is being onrey and says,

"You coming Birg or are you going to jump that cliff instead?"