Jack, The Dragon Jumper - Splinterlands Fantasy Story and Music Contest. Week 28

Splinterlands

The wind was howling between my arms. Squatting on the edge of the cliff, I narrowed my eyelids to strengthen my sight and detect my target. I was ready to jump my first dragon, alone.

I used to climb Cliffs of Solace and practice everything I had learned from Christian.

It was important for me to become a Dragon Jumper, the times of peace would soon end and Draykh - Nahka would be at war again. My eyes dropped for a few moments and a sad expression was painted on my face as I imagined these creatures losing their lives in a stupid battle.

But they were born to fight and never turned their backs on war.

I closed my eyes for a moment and remembered when I was a little boy living in Brynn, that morning I reluctantly woke up very early to look for firewood. I should have picked it up the previous afternoon, but I've got distracted playing with my friends and that day I had to look for it again but with my empty belly.

I decided to get to the Naga River first and take advantage of it to eat the small fruits of the cherry trees that grew around it. My mouth and fingers were already stained with strawberries when I heard a loud roar coming from the sky.

The little cherries fell on my feet. I had become paralyzed, looking up. With my mouth wide open I could not believe what I saw, before me, a reptilian beast plummeted, flapping its wings hard to avoid crashing into the ground.

I did not even run, instinctively closed my eyes tightly and covered myself with my thin arms.

I felt a strong push that threw me away from where the dragon had crashed seconds before. Pebbles were still falling on my arms.

Would I have died? I knew the dragons weighed more than 20 oxen at least. I would be crushed by then, but I barely felt a body perhaps 100 pounds on me.

Fearful, I removed my arms from my face and saw the coolest suit I had ever seen.

"Are you okay? little one," the stranger paused to check that the boy was still in one piece.

He got up and offered me his hand so that I could get up as well.

"You can get up, can't you?"

Without blinking and with my mouth fully open again, I nodded.

"What's your name, boy?"

After a few minutes had passed for my brain to assimilate the question and for the foreigner to believe that I had suffered a brain contusion, I spat.

"Jack!"

"For a moment I thought the dragon had eaten your tongue," he replied relieved.

The stranger's name was Christian and he was a Dragon Jumper. For a while I had forgotten about the dragon, his words had reminded me of it. The foreigner, after being satisfied with my good health and fortune, ran towards the dragon, spoke a few words to it and gave it something to eat that he took from a small backpack that he carried on his back.

Some time later he explained to me that it was a small cub, however, for me it was as big as the house where I lived.

The dragon snorted and then stood on its legs, shook and flapped strongly until it managed to rise from the ground and cross the sky again. We both stood and watched until it became a small black dot that disappeared in the distance.

"Do you live near here?" asked the stranger.

I nodded my head.

"Would you be so kind as to take me to your county?"

I nodded again without being able to close my mouth.

That afternoon he appeared before my mother and paid her good money for our leather. We lived on the sale of ox leather, among other things. My mother knew how to tan it and make it more weather-resistant. She also knew the secret of giving it color, which was what surprised the foreigner the most.

With the leather, he made again his strange wings sewn under his arms. During his time in our village, I learned about dragons from him. He taught me that they were not ruthless monsters that plowed the skies and burned the villages.

They were splendid animals of great intelligence and loyalty.

Christian noticed me very interested in dragons and promised to come back when I was old enough to teach me how to be a Dragon Jumper.

Three years later, Christian returned to fulfill his promise.

My mother had finally given me permission to go and do what I wanted most. The dragon boy, they called me now in the village. I did nothing but talk about dragons and how in the future, I too would cross the sky on their backs.

Thanks to Christian I left Brynn and we headed for the majestic Centrum Castle. There in the royal library, I read more about the history of Draykh - Nahka and the Golden Treaty.

I loved reading about dragons and spent most of my time in the library cubicles. Gornick was the royal librarian, a strong man with gray hair, whose face was already furrowed with many wrinkles. A very wise man, I soon gained his friendship, maybe it was because of the cakes I took to him in secret, who knows. Best of all, he got me the best books on dragons.

The physical training was very hard. I had to get up very early and run several miles a day. Then we did stretching exercises and other types of exercises to get elasticity in our muscles.

But the most annoying thing was to learn about flight theory. I spent hours listening to aerodynamics and other sciences. It took a long time before I could ride a dragon.

A little red dragon glided near me, taking me away from my self-absorption. I instinctively threw myself into the void. I spread my wings and reached the dragon's back. I clung as hard as I could.

It began to spin on itself, apparently not in the mood to be ridden. The force of the spin threw me away from his body. I remembered my training, focused my mind to control the dizziness and quickly spread my wings. I planned long enough to reach the treetops of the surrounding forest.

I removed my hood and saw the red dragon move away, still spinning frantically.

I sighed and slowly descended from the giant tree.

"Next time," was all I said.

I have suffered many falls, fractures, scratches and even dragon fire burns. But there is no word to describe what it feels like to ride the skies and ride on the backs of these majestic creatures.

I guess that's what Christian saw in me that day.

Thank you for sharing this experience with me.

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