1. I:1: Traditions of the Dragon (1/2)

act 1: childhood

chapter 1:

traditions of the dragon

party: ryu, sarah

"ryu!"

the blue-haired boy

groaned and rolled over in his bed.

"ryu! you know what

today is! get up!"

ryu opened one sleepy

eye, only to be greeted with the stern face of his mother. she

tapped her foot twice. "i'm waiting. and you too, young lady!"

there was a rustling

from the bed behind ryu, and his sister's voice feebly replied, "we

know, mother. can't we get a little more sleep?"

"no!" chesa

shouted, obviously getting perturbed with her children. "you are

due at the elders' in twenty minutes! you need to be ready to go!

don't you remember your duty today, sarah!"

ryu sat up in bed

slowly and turned to watch his sister bolt upright. "you're

right!" she said, throwing off the covers and running outside to

wash.

ryu turned to smile at

his mother. "good morning," he said.

the twelve-year-old's

smile melted the woman's heart, and she smiled down at him. "now

you need to wash after your sister. until she's done washing, i

want you to collect your things, such as the dirk your father gave

you for your twelfth birthday. and now that you are twelve and it is

the first of the month, you can begin your first journey."

ryu gasped, he had

forgotten! "yes, mom! right away!" he received a kiss on his

cheek from his mother before he rushed off to collect his things.

his mother smiled after him, then returned to the main section of the

house to continue preparing her children their

eakfast.

after all of the tasks

were finished, sarah and ryu collected their

eakfast that they

would eat on the way to the elders' from their mother and received

kisses before being sent on their way. at first, they walked in

silence, enjoying the first meal of the day, but once sarah's meal

was complete, she began to talk to ryu.

"i'm so proud of

you, you know," she said, and ryu looked at her mildly confused.

"not many people take to the dirk as quickly as you did. father

was so proud. it's too bad he had to head out to some of the other

shrines during the time of one of our rituals, though."

ryu nodded in

agreement. he wanted his father to be there with him when he began

to take on forms, but it seemed that it was not to be. but he would

be back in a year, and then everything would be as normal, with

father and mother both training sarah and ryu in all of the

traditions that they had to know as members of the dragon clan.

sarah was training in the spear as well as her forms, while ryu had

chosen the more traditional sword.

sarah continued along

the same vein while they approached the elders' tower. there were

only two or three elders in the tower at any given time, while the

other elders were out serving at the various temples across the

world. the town of ness was simply where all of the young members of

the dragon clan lived, and where they learned to control the powers

that they had as a part of their heritage. once control was

officially established, members of the clan could leave if they so

wished. go out into the world, visit the big cities like wyndia and

faiah. but if and when they returned to have children, they always

returned to the hidden village to raise them so that the clan would

continue as it had in the past thousand years.

once inside the elders'

tower, the two youths did not have to announce their presence. elder

hammet was waiting for them. "ah, ryu and sarah. i have been

expecting you two." ryu smiled. he had always liked elder hammet.

both he and sarah took more comfortable positions on the furniture

when the elder waved them over to them. "i imagine you both are

excited?"

he got enthusiastic

nods as a response.

"sarah, you are now

fifteen. you have demonstrated a mastery of the powers so far

unlocked within you, and now it is time to begin the tasks to truly

test your acceptance of your next set of powers. your first task

will be to assist your younger

other in his first endeavor. the

endeavor that you completed when you were twelve, as he is now."

sarah nodded in

acceptance.

the elder turned to

ryu. "ryu, you are an ascent, of the dragon clan. that is the way

of our people. at the age of twelve, you are given your first

endeavor. success grants you the first of your powers. the next

three years are spent honing these powers and getting them under

control. you will be trained by your parents and elders, and will be

ready for your next task at the age of fifteen.

"once that happens,

you will be given several tasks, culminating in a week-long journey

that will take you outside the places that you have known all of your

life. you will have help and support, but the decisions on this

journey are yours alone. along the journey you will discover more

about the world, and more about your powers. once you return here,

you will spend three more years, learning many new things about

yourself and your powers.

"at the age of

eighteen, you will be sent on a much longer journey. this journey is

your final test. by finding and retrieving something that the elders

set for you, and returning here to ness, you will have earned your

adulthood. once that happens, you will be allowed to leave ness and

make your fortune in the outside world for a while, as most do.

"but today, you are

twelve. the first step is now. with your sister as your support,

your task is to travel to the cliffs that lie to the north of town.

your test and task will commence there. you have the whole day to

complete the journey and the task. good luck, young one." the

elder bowed to both of them. "sarah, return here tomorrow morning

to receive your next task." then the elder turned and walked up

the stairs to the upper areas of the tower.

after a moment or two

of silence, sarah turned to her younger

other. "well, it's

time. are you ready, ryu?"

ryu nodded, though he

swallowed loudly. "as ready as i'll ever be," he amended.

sarah smiled. "i

will be your support, so when we come upon the nasty buggers that

live in and near the cliffs, i will be there to help you out. but i

will not help you navigate the cliffs. i must follow you, as my

support simply followed me. this is your first exploration, as all

of us have to be adept at it when we set out on our last journey."

ryu nodded. "okay.

i'm glad you're my support, sarah."

sarah smiled again and

ruffled her little

other's blue hair, earning a "hey!" "as

am i. shall we get going?"

with ryu's nod, the

two youths left the elders' tower and headed to the northern gate

of ness. ryu wore the blue tunic that signified that he was now

attempting his first task, while sarah wore the violet tunic that