Chapter 3: Bond of the Lion and the Dragon

From a very young age, I had been taught that strength and power meant everything, that nothing significant could be achieved without both. And thus, like any respectable Lurranna Lord, I imparted the same teachings to you as my heir. However, the only thing I didn’t count on was the change. Not the change in you, my son, but the change in me. When the realization that I had a son suddenly sunk in, I soon realized that there was a part of me who didn’t want this life for you ... a part of me that wanted something more. Little did I know that this impossible dream would soon become my bane. In the end, it was hope that killed me, not despair.

At first, when everyone didn’t move because of shock, Ryan took it as a practical joke as he looked back to Éclair and the others, and said, “Man, I almost believed her there for a...”

Ryan cut off mid-sentence as he noticed something strange. Leon, Rachel, Tork, and even Grafael were all gone; all except Éclair whose jaw hung half-open in alarm.

“Hey, where did everyone go?” asked a baffled Ryan.

And then, Ryan noticed movement and stared dumbstruck as thousands of young Elementals made a beeline for the walls. Teenagers and young adults in the gold and red training uniforms of the Ministry of Fire began shuffling and shoving each other in a frantic attempt to make it to the top of the pit first. Some even went so far as to attack each other with Elemency, shooting small fires from their hands to shoo their opponents away from the walls. One such fireball almost took Ryan in the head. He ducked just in time, but not before his hair got singed.

The panic-stricken Ryan attempted to subdue the newly found flames to his gorgeous, red hair. A blast of cold fog soon enveloped him, causing his hair to shoot back in frozen icicles, and he found himself feeling brain freeze without even having eaten a snow cone.

“Don’t just stand there, you idiot! Come on!” shouted Éclair who was already far ahead of Ryan, heading towards the wall.

Ryan brushed the frost from his hair and followed after Éclair at an awkward pace - awkward because he kept tripping over his feet and bumping into other candidates partially due to his recent head trauma.

As Ryan and Éclair reached the wall, Ryan heard Éclair muttering to herself as she began to climb, “It doesn’t make sense.”

“What?”

“It doesn’t make sense ... what Saria said! They were allies. The Great Lion and Dragon spirits that founded the Ministry didn’t face off against each other ... at least not according to the lore. Why would she say that?”

“And that matters how?”

Éclair rolled her eyes. “Why am I even talking to you? You’re the competition!” And with that, Éclair leapt up the wall with remarkable agility, leaving Ryan behind.

Dolt! Shoot me in the face! Now she’s mad at me! thought Ryan. He had wanted to use their time at the exam to get some closure, but it looked like that plan was pretty much shot.

Like many of the candidates, Ryan used the silver, wire-like ropes that hung for a few meters down to give himself a starting point. When he ran out of rope, he used the stone footholds like the other candidates, and began his ascension. As he climbed up the wall with even more ease than Éclair did due to his Saurian heritage, something kept bugging him.

Éclair is right. Something seems off about this whole test thingy. I’ve learned that when it comes to Elemency, things are rarely simple.

However, before Ryan could give significant thought to his rising suspicion, he was obstructed by yet another designed obstacle. The flying glowworms were apparently meant for more than just dramatic effect. As the candidates ascended the walls, the worms shot some kind of white beams from the glowing orbs in their stomachs. When these beams made contact with a subject, a shroud of white light would envelop the candidate and freeze them in place. Then, the petrified candidate unlucky enough to be caught in one of the beams would float away from the wall and be transported back to the ground before the shroud of light vanished.

The giant glowworms were not the only danger of the pit. Some footholds had been rigged as many candidates found themselves shot from the wall by spring-like mechanisms embedded in the stone. As if by design, any candidate shot from the wall soon found themselves shrouded in white light that transported them safely to the bottom. There seemed to be no pattern to determine which one of the footholds was booby-trapped. Even stranger, some of the footholds that propelled a First off the wall seconds before would suddenly hold true for another candidate later.

As Ryan took all this new information in stride, he noticed almost too late as a glowworm sent a beam of light at him. Relying solely on his instincts now, Ryan jumped from his current foothold to another hold with one hand just as the beam of light hit the wall. Fortunately, since the beam was not intended to cause harm, it left no impression in the wall. Unfortunately, Ryan quickly found out the precarious nature of this particular foothold as it soon detached itself from the wall and almost sent him flying to the floor below. Luckily, as Ryan’s left shoulder scratched against the wall, he was able to get some leverage to keep himself from falling all the way. Though he did lose quite a bit of ground from the tumble, plus his shoulder throbbed with newfound pain.

As Ryan began the trek again, he noticed ahead of him that Éclair was having similar problems as a candidate above her created a small flame explosion that dislodged her from the wall. As Éclair went freefalling, Ryan instinctively grabbed out for her with one hand. Pain threatened to engulf him as his injured shoulder stung from the added pressure, but Ryan’s protective feelings for Éclair gave him the necessary strength. He swung Éclair back to the wall, allowing her to gain a foothold. He experienced a brief flashback of the first day they met, the day that he had saved her from falling off the cliff.

Maybe this will jog her memory. Maybe she’ll finally get over her obsession with Leon and realize what a great guy I am!

But to Ryan’s disappointment, Éclair simply smiled gratefully, and said, “Thank you, Ryan.” Then she frowned for a moment as if reconsidering. “I ... I mean no thank you! We’re competing, remember!”

“Oh yeah, I know, but you’re my...” Ryan was cut off as one of the glowworms got really close in a seeming attempt to catch one of the candidates in its stubby little legs. “Big hawking glowworm!” he shouted.

As Éclair and Ryan dodged away from the bulbous creature and tried to make their ascension once again, Éclair actually started lecturing Ryan. “They’re not glowworms, Ryan. They’re called Luthorai. They are usually quite docile.”

“Well, they sure as hell ain’t now!” screamed Ryan as he and Éclair managed to duck under another barrage of light beams.

“At least they’re not hurting anybody,” replied Éclair defensively as some poor sap was sent tumbling from an explosion. “Which is more than I can say for the other candidates.”

Though Ryan was able to ignore the pain from his bruised shoulder and his bloodied hands as they were repeatedly scratched from the rough surface of the wall, he was unsuccessful in tuning out the aggravation caused by Éclair’s constant jabbering. Really?! You’re really lecturing me right now?! Why did I even help you in the first place? I mean, it’s not like we’re supposed to work together!

For some reason, when those words went through Ryan’s head, they seemed to hit a cord. Wait a minute! That’s it!

More footholds turned out to be booby-trapped, and both Ryan and Éclair were sent plummeting almost completely back to the ground before gaining their footing again. As Ryan looked up, he noticed that some candidates had already reached the top, but many more were struggling. Of the remaining candidates, none seemed to have figured out what Ryan had already suspected to be the true purpose of this test.

As Éclair tried to dash ahead again, Ryan grabbed hold of her hand to stop her.

“What are you doing? Let go!” demanded Éclair in alarm as she struggled against Ryan’s grip.

“This isn’t a competition. We’re all supposed to work together,” he told her.

“What are you talking about? That’s...” but Éclair trailed off as she thought more of it. Then she snapped and held a finger in the air. “Of course! The Lion and the Dragon! You’re right, Ryan!”

“Well, that’s a first,” said Ryan with a smirk, but Éclair wasn’t listening as something beneath them both caught her eye.

“The rope! Remember, ‘the bonds that can never be severed’? We must use the rope to tether ourselves to each other!”

He looked down and noticed one of the ropes that he saw going up the walls. “Oh, yeah! I knew that,” said Ryan as he grabbed the rope with one hand and began wrapping it up around his arm and his elbow.

Heaving together, Ryan and Éclair yanked the rope from its tether to the stone wall. Surprisingly, it gave way very easily. As Ryan gathered up the rope, he noticed something strange about it. Although the rope felt like metal, it could stretch like a rubber band. What’s more, he could stretch it as far as he liked and it showed no sign of breaking, kind of like a bungee cord. He also noticed the momentary pause that had settled over him and Éclair. Luckily, on the lower levels, there didn’t seem to be any traps, and the glowworms (or Luthorai if you wanna be a nerd) didn’t seem to heed any of the candidates that were still stuck on the lower levels.

It didn’t take long before Ryan and Éclair were tethered to each other with the strange, metallic rope, though he failed to see how it would help their teamwork. Ryan looked over to Éclair and nodded as she returned the nod. This time, as the two of them made their trek up the wall, Ryan noticed something different. Throughout the whole test, he had been panting and struggling from near exhaustion. Just because he was an Elemental and part Earth Dragon, it didn’t mean that he possessed limitless stamina. However, this time Ryan felt rejuvenated somehow, as if he was getting renewed energy from somewhere. Both Ryan and Éclair seemed to be climbing at twice the speed that they could manage before, and they were able to do so with half the effort. Even dodging the traps seemed to be easier as both Ryan and Éclair reacted faster to the danger.

Ryan looked at Éclair in puzzlement who seemed to be able to guess his thoughts as she said, “I feel it too. Since we tethered the rope to each other, my body feels rejuvenated. But it’s not the rope, or at least not completely. I think that we’re feeding on each other’s psions somehow, compensating for the other’s weakness. It is similar to the telepathic bond you shared with Leon. This rope must be made from some kind of special material ... likely Sun Gems were used in its crafting.” She explained all this without slowing her pace once.

“How’d you get to be so smart?” asked Ryan with a smile.

“Pay attention in class sometime and you’ll find out,” said Éclair with an alluring smile of her own.

Out of his peripheral vision, Ryan noticed other candidates seemed to be following their example as partnerships were soon formed with the metallic ropes. However, as if to compensate for their newfound momentum, the glowworms charged Éclair and Ryan with renewed aggression. The intensified attack of light beams forced Ryan and Éclair to think outside the box with their rope-bond thingy.

Sometimes, Ryan acted as an anchor and let Éclair swing from the rope in order to gain a foothold that was too far away for either of them to reach. Sometimes, Ryan and Éclair would use the elastic properties of the rope to their advantage by having one jump from the wall while the other held tight to use the rope as a slingshot and ascend to a higher altitude. Though it was usually Ryan who held tight to the wall and Éclair who was slingshot up since, according to her, she weighed much less than he did. But judging from the strain that it gave his back when she did the slingshot maneuver, Ryan didn’t think she weighed less by that much, but there was no way he would ever tell her that.

As the goal was soon in sight, Ryan’s heart leapt out for joy at the thought of relaxing his aching limbs. Even if this rope is helping us out, it still hurts like hell to climb like this for so long!

As Ryan and Éclair prepared for one last slingshot to get themselves to the platform, one of the glowworms aimed a lucky shot towards Ryan. Since he had to hold on to the wall to act as the anchor for the slingshot, there was no way he’d be able to dodge in time. As the beam neared and engulfed all of Ryan’s sight, something appeared between him and the projectile. It was a silver rope! Somehow, another pair of Firsts had caught up to Ryan and Éclair; only instead of making a dash for the finish, they chose to swing their line between Ryan and the beam of light. Astonishingly, when the beam made contact with the rope, it seemed to vanish instantly as if the rope had sucked it up like a sponge.

The rope began to glow with the same white light as the light beams, saving Ryan by the skin of his teeth. He looked to either side of him and noticed that he was in between two little Elven children who seemed far too young to be taking such a test.

“That was for tipping us off about the ropes,” said one in a girlish voice.

“How’d you know that the ropes could stop the beams?” asked Éclair as Ryan was unable to speak due to shock.

“We didn’t. We just guessed,” said the other one with a slightly more boyish voice, but he could have been a girl judging from his feminine face and slender physique. All Elves naturally possessed a graceful and kind of girlie body type, even the boys.

The Elf children suddenly dashed away up the wall, giggling in glee. Ryan knew from experience that Elves sometimes tended to be mischievous little imps, especially the younger ones. Coming out of his daze as Éclair completed the slingshot maneuver, Ryan noticed that the Elf children had used the opportunity to get ahead of him and Éclair as they made it to the platform. Even though they had helped him, Ryan was a tiny bit miffed by the fact that he just got beat by a couple of Elf brats.

It’s like déjà vu, or something. Like when Henry used to beat me at board games all the freakin’ time.

Éclair managed to climb to the platform and helped pull Ryan up with much grunting and heaving on her part, though Ryan couldn’t know why since he was helping her by bracing his legs against the wall and walking along with her as she pulled.

As Ryan finally made it to the top, Éclair wiped her brow and said, “You should consider a little something called a ‘diet’ sometime.”

“I’m not fat!” cried out Ryan defiantly. “This is one hundred percent muscle, baby!”

Éclair knew that statement was probably true given his Saurian lineage, lending a more robust and dense build that normal humans did not possess. But she did enjoy teasing the poor half-breed boy every now and then, especially when he made it so fun for her.

“Really?” said Éclair with a bemused tilt of her head. “I’m not so sure.”

Ryan rolled up his sleeve to display his flexed bicep. “You wanna feel it and make sure?”

Éclair scoffed and rolled her eyes. “You’re hopeless.”

Before Ryan could get in one last quip, he was interrupted by the young voices of the Elf twins.

“So you finally made it, fatty,” said the Elf girl with short green hair to Ryan.

“Elf brat say what?” said Ryan in disbelief.

“She’s saying you’re fat,” said the Elf boy, his hair also green, which was a common hereditary hair color for Elves that usually indicated traces of nobility.

Ryan seemed beside himself with barely restrained rage as he grimaced at the Elves, though Éclair wasn’t really worried. He liked to act angrier than he actually was to put on a good show. Besides, Ryan Uruks was many things, but a child abuser was not one of them.