The Highstar Trilogy

"Adrion! Kid wake up!"

Adrion Highstar was sleeping in his dorm room when he woke to find a large, reptilian snout almost three inches form his face telling him to get up…again. The snout belonged to Rhogar, Adrion's dragon companion.

Dragons were powerful magical creatures in the world of Pandreia that were symbols of order and light. They also commanded the different elements: fire, air, earth, and water. Because of their magical properties, it was required that all trainees at the Moonbeam Academy have one as a guide and companion to further develop and improve their skills as wizards, and Adrion was given the fire dragon, Rhogar.

Right out of the gate, Rhogar was a loyal companion to Adrion and the two quickly became good friends; however, there were times when Adrion became annoyed with Rhogar's actions. This was one of those times.

"Rhogar," Adrion said woozily as he slowly got out of his bed, "Do you always have to do that…?"

Rhogar snorted, "At least you seem to be getting used to it. The first time I woke you up, you jolted so hard that you almost knocked out one of my fangs. Besides, I can't have you being late for class now, can I?"

Adrion groaned; he knew the dragon had a point. Adrion may be 17 years old, one of the youngest students at the Academy, but he had attended long enough to know that being late to a class meant the possibility of missing out on how to cast certain spells, and a miscast spell was never a good thing.

So, with Rhogar occasionally nudging him along, Adrion washed up his face in the nearby bucket, spiked up his jet black hair, and then donned his personalized wizard outfit: a gray shirt, black pants with brown, knee-length boots, and a black waist-length coat that had a standing collar, all of which contrasted his light complexion and light blue eyes. Finally, grabbing his iron staff, Adrion nodded to Rhogar, saying: "I'm ready. Now let's head down to breakfast cause I'm starving!"

"I could not agree more. Hop on, kid! We're taking the fast way down!" Rhogar said, lowering his wing to allow Adrion to climb on his back. Then approaching the open window of Adrion's room, Rhogar jumped out and then soared into the morning sky above Moonbeam Academy.

"Hang on tight, Adrion." Rhogar said, feeling that Adrion had almost slipped and was frantically readjusting his grip, "Can't have you falling off before breakfast."

Adrion clung to one of Rhogar's dorsal spines: "Then maybe you should have said something BEFORE you jumped out the window like some kind of maniac!!"

He was used to the dragon waking him up in the morning, but jumping out of the window, though it was on a dragon's back, was an entirely different ordeal; one Adrion needed a bit more confidence to fully handle.

The two were not alone in the sky, as other students were riding their own dragons down to the mess hall as well. Looking around, Adrion could recognize the different kinds as each had their own unique physical traits depending on the element they harnessed. There were air dragons with their lean, elegant bodies and feathered wings (they were the only dragon type to have this type of wing).

Fire dragons were easily recognized by their scales, which were all different shades of red and glowed a faint orange from the heat stored in their bodies.

Water dragons were different hues of blue and had glistening scales, webbed feet and dorsal fins, and angular heads, suitable for cutting through the water. Their counterparts, the ice dragons of the Northern Tundra, were glistening white and had horns and spikes that seemed as if they were made of ice.

Most impressive to watch, in Adrion's opinion, were the tough earth dragons. There were the muscular Stone Drakes, which, unlike their green-hued counterparts from the Great Forests, were the only dragons without wings, yet they could cling to any rocky surface with ease. Adrion could see them doing just that, climbing down the stone walls of the Academy, and, much to his amusement, that their riders were struggling to hold on more so than he was.

The Moonbeam Academy itself was built like a massive fortress. One on side was a massive wall that was dotted with rows upon rows of windows: the students' dorms. The other half was a series of wide towers, which were the different classrooms. A large front wall with an entrance gate connected the two halves. Most intriguing, however, were the four coliseum-like structures that were at each corner of the Academy. These were actually the training grounds for the students; each one was dedicated to one of the four elements.

The courtyard where the mess hall was located was in the open space between the two halves. It was here that Rhogar landed. When he did, Adrion dismounted and went into the mess hall, while Rhogar went into the nearby dragon stables, where he and the other dragons would be treated to their own meal by nymph servants.