The banquet

" what reason does a lion have to hunt the gazelle?" Darius asked of the princess who seemed to ponder her answer very carefully before she answered not wishing to answer rashly and upset one of her father's allies.

" the Nobel lion hunts to provide for his young. so tell me what does this nation provide for your people?" Lana was proud of how she had answered. this was her first time speaking with a foreign dignitary much less a King.

" Entertainment my dear" he purred as he savored the thought of battle.

Lana frowned but as she was about to ask another question the Heralds by the great halls entrance blew their trumpets, in three short bursts to get everyone's attention.

A hush fell over the two long rows of dragon nobility seated in the great Hall. everyone had turned their attention to the door where tomorrow's contestants where walking into the great Hall. First came the common dragons bare chested they waved and winked at a few ladies they where hoping to impress. next came a few soliders from her kingdom who had entered the competition as a sign of good will. she was interested to see how they would stack up against the dragon's. the average dragon was much taller and generally more muscular then the average human so it would be quite the challenge for her father's. men. next came the lessor nobility these dragons had more brightly colored scales however a few had the more common dark green coloration. Then came the higher nobles, there wasn't many of these dragons just five in total. They where the most beautiful of all the dragon's she had seen save for King Darius himself. the first of these dragons was a ruby red everything about him was red save for his black leather pants. The second a beautiful emerald green, their eyes matched their scales but they had short blond hair. the third was a beautiful dark blue, like the ocean. this was also the only female out of the bunch. her hair was was a shiny white creating a beautiful contrast in color. after her was a Bluish purple fellow. his color reminded Lana of a Tanzanite gem. his hair was a chestnut brown which only seemed to accent his odd coloring. Lastly was a lighter blue dragon his scales where not as dark as the women's but he was no less attractive, he had navy black hair. in the light it had a ripple of blue through it.

Lana was gazing at each one of the brightly colored dragons as they took their spots infront of the high dais each dragon kneeled before the high table and their king. Darius smiled and rose to his feet he extended a hand to Lana. " Now it is time for me to inspect and bless the contestants. would you like to join me Princess?" he asked Lana's face split into a wide grin. she took Darius' hand and got to her feet. Darius tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow.

Lana was lead down the dais steps, they walked infront of the waiting warriors. Lana smiled at each one as they passed.when they came to the last warrior Darius frowned he looked to the ruby red dragon " where is The Gilded one?" he asked Lana was confused did he not know his warrior's name?

The ruby red dragon bowed his head lower

" Alamar has left on a purification mission for mother" he said his tone was respectful but he had a rather large smirk on his face. Lana wondered why he seemed so happy about this. Darius growled at hearing this

" NOW! of all times?" he roared, his question was directed to no one in particular. Lana winced as he suddenly raised his voice he frowned and glanced down at Lana having felt her flinch. he patted her hand " What a shame it seemed this will be less of a contest after all" he said sounding disappointed.

Darius looked back to the waiting warriors. he cleared his throat. "Welcome my children ! I am happy to see that many of you are not only excited for the festival but willing to participate. I bid you to remeber, regardless of your current station in life, this is your chance to raise up! To make a name and a Hoard for yourself." Darius paused as cheers erupted from the Green scale dragons in the back rows. after a moment he raised his hand and the cheering died down " My elemental dragons, my pride and joys. Do not allow yourself to be blinded by your current statues your clutch position within mother will do you no service here. do not allow yourself to become prideful. This is a compition of strength and cunning. you stand to gain the crown but you stand to lose the most! fail to win your match and you may find yourself no better off then a commoner" the Gem colored dragons in the front row lifted their heads and in unison gave a fearsome roar. this once again made Lana jump and she gave a soft startled cry which made Darius laugh. the Nobels in the great Hall clapped and stomped their feet. after a moment Darius held up a hand to quite them down " Good luck my children! may Mother protect you all!" with this last farewell Darius turned and lead her back up the dais steps to their seats.