{"sf1_id":1326245,"sf2_id":"214D37J1","title":"The Order of Dragon Riders Ch. 2","author":"sangheilinerd","words":1559,"posted_at":"2018-04-23T04:05:59.000Z","tags":["Dragon","Gay","Gay Relationships","Human"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1326245-the-order-of-dragon-riders-ch-2","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/214D37J1","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/ef/96/ef969843-ae2a-4362-9840-5b91e82165fc","description":"A little Day in the life. A villain emerges? we shall have to wait and see.  \n\\*\\*\\*  \nSorry that it takes me so long to update series. My muse is super fickle. Sometimes he wants me to write nightly, other times it's like he's gone on vacation for several months. It sucks, because I know that you guys want to read the next chapter as quickly as possible.","content":"To say that the next few days were hectic was putting it mildly. Aurelion’s room became mine. His bed mine. His bathing room mine. It was an adjustment to be sure. The dragon’s lusts weren’t anything to shirk at. It was almost three times a night. Every night.\n\nThen there were the lessons. As full-blown junior members of the order, we were expected to take lessons in swordsmanship, lettering, reading—for those who were illiterate, history, sciences, and magic. Swordsmanship was taught by a crusty old mage going by the name of Phineas. His dragon, apparently, had perished in the last skirmish with the neighboring kingdom. A well-placed arrow and the dragon fell. You could tell that Phineas missed her, when he talked about it.\n\nOur first day he had us take two wooden practice swords. “They allow me to judge the level of your natural talent,” he’d said dryly, “Your sparring partner is your dragon.”\n\nAurelion got a deadly smile, filled with teeth. I shivered. He leaned and whispered, “Whoever loses bottoms, tonight.” I smiled meekly at that.\n\nAs Phineas looked around, he saw Aurie’s smile. “Aurie, you’re awfully confident, need I remind you that you and Archie are on relatively equal footing. You have yet to start your martial training.”\n\n“But I’m a dragon. Don’t I have the natural advantage: height, speed, maneuverability?”\n\n“Want to test that Dragon?”\n\nHe lowered his muzzle in embarrassment, “Erm..”\n\n“Come forward, Aurie. Take your stance.”\n\nThe crotchety old man took a loose stance. Obviously comfortable with a sword whether made of metal or wood. Aurie looked tentative at best. All of a sudden out of nowhere, Phineas launched a series of deft strikes. His movements practiced and well placed. Aurie moved to defend himself, and even though this was his first time picking up a sword he seemed to be doing fine. But then, with little warning and a giant thwack the dragon was on his ass quicker than I could blink. Phineas seemed disappointed. Raising his voice, he turned to the class, “Let it be known, Species plays little role in swordplay. As Aurelion has just demonstrated wonderfully, overconfidence can get you killed. No species is naturally better or worse when it comes to swordsmanship, so dragons, get that idea out of your head.”\n\nAurelion crawled back to me, thouroughly chastised and very embarrassed. Phineas continued, “When it comes to fights with an opponent of a different species, elf, human, anthro, dwarf, every species has its weaknesses, every species has its strengths. With a dragon, their greatest strength is their wings. They can be used as an extra pair of weapons in combat. However, these extra limbs also limit their maneuverability in tight quarters and they generally think of themselves impervious. Which makes them careless with their movements. We generally try to cure our dragons of this erroneous belief. However, it’s hard to be completely rid of it. Anyways, any constructive criticism for our young Aurelion.”\n\nI looked over and I saw Randolf with a slight smirk upon his lips. And mischief in his eyes, “Aye, teacher. I have aught to give Aurie.”\n\n“Oh, And what may that be, Randolf?”\n\n“The dragon’s stance wasn’t deep enough. He was practically standing like one would normally. It’s better to give yourself a more solid base, isn’t it?” Randolf replied evenly. Though his eyes held the malice his voice did not.\n\n“Would you like to demonstrate, my good wolf?”\n\n“Aye.” Randolf stood from where he was sitting and walked up. Taking a deeper stance than Aurie had, he brandished his wooden practice sword at our teacher. Who promptly disarmed him and sent him to the floor much the same way he had Aurie.\n\n“There is much truth, Randolf, to what you said, but it is short sighted to say that is the only thing that Aurelion did wrong. His biggest mistake, and one I’ve seen all of you make—” he swung his sword in a wide arc to encompass the entire room, “—is he was trying to show off for his Rider. _This_ more than anything else, my dear students, is why I have you spar your partners. You’re less likely to try and show off if you’re fighting the one to whom you’d try and show off.”\n\n“So, everyone, take a stance. One foot facing in line with your body and facing your enemy. Your other foot perpendicular to it, and its leg bent slightly. Your weight will naturally shift to your back foot. Hold your sword in the forward hand. Your other should be held loosely out of the way.” Phineas demonstrated for us. “Your blade should be roughly parallel to the ground. Like so. This stance works well for strong jabs and light-footed dodging. It also keeps the area of exposed flesh to the enemy as small as possible.”\n\nWe all took this fighting stance. If felt awkward at first, but then I noticed I wasn’t the only one in the room having trouble with the stance. Nor did I feel like I quite liked the blade. A simple duel-edged bastard sword with little in the way of balance. It was a practice sword, I understood that. But It just didn’t feel like my blade. Granted I hadn’t even visited the smithy to learn the art of making a Rider’s blade.\n\nPhineas came over and noticed my expression, “I see you don’t find this adequate. Young Cobbler’s Son I suggest you understand that I am teaching everyone the _basics_ of swordsmanship. If you wish to meet me in my study after class I can provide some _private_ tutoring.”\n\nAurie growled, _Is he trying to put the moves on you?_ He asked me.\n\n“Calm yourself, Dragon. I’d do little to infringe upon a bond between Dragon and Rider. I know how sacred that bond can be.” He answered, a fragile look upon his visage.\n\n“Fergiva myx, Lyryr.” The dragon gave a small bow. “Jex ment ing deligkt.”\n\n_Forgive me, Teacher. I meant no offense._\n\n“Jex tög ingen, Hyr Drighe.” Phineas replied.\n\n_I took none, Sir Drake._ I was wondering now where this translation was coming from when I looked at Aurie and he had a nearly indiscernible smirk upon his lips. _I’m providing you the translation, my love. I know you don’t speak Draconic, nor Alfayakin so I am translating for you when either are in use._\n\nI smiled back and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Dagk jux, Lyryr. Jex mögd jena aaneng zyr fyl. Jex tror vet hej ijn ijnsnitekveffe fervéndena köd. Köda jej jenzax ferz??yxena, Hyr Lyryr?” Aurelion finished.\n\n_Thank you, Teacher. I would like that Idea very much. I believe that he could use a single-edged weapon. Could you try that?_\n\n“Vej kunum önd zollum jenzax döna.” He replied assuredly. “Archie please come with me.” The old man said to me, then to the students, “Class, spar with your Dragon. I expect to see welts. On _all_ of you.”\n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\nThat night, my body had more black and blue than the pale alabaster it should have had. My muscles ached and I felt as if my arms were leaden with fatigue. I got to Aurelion’S and my room and collapsed on the bed. Falling asleep almost instantly. Exhaustion overtaking my will to see Aurie.\n\nSometime later in the night I awoke to the dragon settling behind me, an arm draping over my chest. The comforting warmth of his chest pressed against my back as he cuddled me close. I drifted back to sleep with a smile on my face. Wrapped up in the comforting warmth of my beautiful dragon, I felt safe.\n\n_The flames of Tartarus swirled around me. A horrible ever-present dread hung in the air as I took in a depressing scene. A Dragon, black as the night sky chained in Stygian steel lay within a café of smoke and ash. His head lifted a scant few inches off the ground. He turned his large head and his blood-red eyes focused on me. “So the hero is chosen? And this boy? He can’t yet be thirty. How precious! The fates think you can stop me? What a joke!” The dragon reared his head back and he struck with malice._\n\nI awoke with a start. My chemise drenched in sweat and my breathing quick and erratic. Aurelion, the big lug, was still fast asleep. I turned to cry into his chest. It all finally became too much. The move, the pain from the trashing Phineas gave me, the dream. I just wanted a simple life. I wanted to make shoes like my dad, find a nice girl to settle down with and have a few children of my own.\n\nAurelion awoke moments later to the sound of my crying, muffled though it was against the scutes of his chest. He enveloped me in his strong beautiful arms and gently rubbed my back being mindful of the bruises and mumbled sweet nothings into my ear. He comforted me as all my frustration and homesickness and fear made itself known to the world. Eventually the comforting warmth of my lover and the exhaustion of the day lulled me back to sleep. Aurie touching my mind and sending me comforting feelings and letting me know that I was loved. I drifted off to the realms of dreams once again.\u0026nbsp;","series":{"name":"The Order of Dragon Riders","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1318172-the-order-of-dragon-riders-ch-1.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1327902-the-order-of-dragon-riders-ch-3.json"}}