SWNOVELS Dragonia: Rise of the Wyverns – Chapter 32
When Devarius awoke the next morning, he nearly fell back onto his cot at the sight of the red sun gleaming over the mountains and hundreds of wyverns surrounding their camp. Many of the people who’d already awoken were huddled together, trembling in fear. Brave warriors, reduced to cowering fools. Children had more bravery than these men.
Devarius stood. He looked at the men and women warriors. He shook his head.
“Get up. These wyverns aren’t to be feared. Where is your confidence? A wyvern hardly wants to fight alongside a coward. Wipe the shivering off of your face and stand as a warrior,” Devarius said.
Tynaer walked over to him. “What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure,” Devarius whispered back to him.
Ayla flew over to him and landed on his shoulder. His shoulder sagged from the weight.
“You know you can’t do that much longer, Ayla. You’re growing. You’re the size of an adult cat now, not a little kitten.”
Ayla’s head dipped.
Devarius reached over and stroked her behind the ears. “I will never turn away your affection, but soon it will be I who sits on you, rather than you sitting on me.”
Ayla’s head rose. Her eyes grew wide with understanding.
“Can you ask that creature what’s going on?” Tynaer asked.
“Do not call her that. She is a wyvern, and her name is Ayla.”
“Fine,” Tynaer grumbled. “Ask her what is going on.”
“Ayla, do you know what is happening? Do you know why the wyverns are here?”
Ayla nodded.
“Why are they here?”
Ayla jumped off Devarius’s shoulder and flapped her wings to hover in front of him. She flew closer until her nose touched his.
“I don’t understand,” Devarius said.
Ayla huffed, flew backward several inches, then came close again, touching her nose to his.
“They are coming to touch noses?” Devarius asked.
Ayla repeated the process again.
Devarius felt an emotion over their bond, a strong feeling of connection, of bonding between him and the wyvern.
“They are coming here to bond with us?”
Ayla landed on the ground and nodded.
Devarius looked to the wyverns surrounding them. They circled the camp, each one spread out instead of bundled together like the humans. Most of the creatures were large, two to three times the size of a horse, but others were smaller, the size of a large dog. There were more than just adults, but Devarius didn’t see any as young as Ayla.
“Should we spread out?” Devarius asked.
Ayla nodded.
“Everyone spread out. Swallow your fear. These wyverns can sense your emotions. They have come to help us in the war against the empire, against the dragonriders. One of these creatures will bond to you, much like Ayla bonded with me.”
The people were slow to move. Kaia, a woman who’d been traveling with Devarius since the beginning, was the first. She stepped away from the crowd, walking toward the wyverns. When she was apart from the others, she stopped and waited. One of the smaller wyverns the size of a large dog approached her. It paused in front of her and inhaled, taking in her scent. She smiled at the purple wyvern. The creature grumbled, a type of purr. It tried to reach its neck up to her face, but it was too short for its nose to reach Kaia’s by several inches. Kaia leaned down and touched her nose to the creature’s snout. A spark of light showed for half a second before disappearing. Shivers traveled across Kaia’s body.
Everyone stared at her, frozen by the incident. Murmurs began through the crowd of people, some of astonishment, others of horror.
“What does it feel like?” someone asked from the crowd.
Kaia turned to them and smiled. “A warm, tingling sensation. It’s hard to explain, but I feel … I feel more complete. I also feel stronger, like I have the strength of myself and the strength of the wyvern flowing through me.” She glanced at the creature in front of her and rested her hand on the top of its head. “I can feel its emotions … his emotions.”
After a few more minutes and murmuring, everyone spread out, ready to be accepted by a wyvern. Their fear washed away, replaced with excitement. One after another, wyverns chose a human companion.
Devarius smiled as he watched, Ayla curled in his arms, watching the selection process as well. “So it begins.”