Teammates?
Within the building was much less fancy than I had come to expect of the buildings constructed within Helios.
Everything was made of a hard grey stone and it all looked very utilitarian.
the only hint of decoration or design were the heavy blue curtains covering the tall windows and the sporadic, golden framed paintings dotted here and there along the walls as we passed.
Each painting held a stiff image of either a knight or a dragon, and often times both.
My assumption was that these were current or former dragoons and their partners, memorialized within the building for future generations.
As we followed Master Otis, our foot falls echoed on the stone floors, making the only sounds I could here for a good minute.
The place was quite expansive, even as it was simple in appearance.
The thing of biggest note was the sheer size of the place, though even that was muted in comparison to several other buildings I had seen throughout Helios so far.
It was clear that dragons my size, and even larger could fit, but perhaps not comfortably.
I could see why the dragon, Brakus, would not want to be in here.
Especially if he was as large as Leon described.
"Just around this corner..." Mumbled Otis, scratching his bearded chin. It was the first sound either of us had made since entering the building. I had a feeling that Master Otis was a man who rarely spoke unless he had something that needed saying.
As he said, the second we turned a corner I could finally see other living beings withing this stone fortress.
At the far end of the long hallway I could see several people and nearly as many dragons.
Honestly, there were more than I thought!
Given how Leon describe the rarity of dragoons, and the fact that since arriving within the capital I had seen next to no dragons outside the throne room, I had thought there would only be two or three others.
I was pleasantly surprised to see five dragons gathered, each one larger than myself by a couple feet in height, and all of them clearly more sturdy and muscular compared to my lithe form.
Still, as we grew nearer I felt my excitement grow.
Not only was I going to meet others of my current species.
.. but my inner fantasy buff could not help but geek out a little.
Yes, I too was a dragon; but meeting others was a novel experience, especially since these were real dragons in that they only knew a life as a dragon.
Where, as far as I was concerned, I had started out my life as a human.
Both dragons and dragoons alike stared at Leon and I as we approached. It was not the gaze of those glad to see a companion, but rather cold and assessing stares. there was curiosity there, as well, but mostly I felt as if we were being assessed rather than greeted by these students.
And they did look like students. Even among this class, three of the five dragoons looked to be in their mid to late teens. The last two seemed to be in their early twenties. Very early. My guess was that they couldn't be more than a year or two older than Leon.
"Your majesty, and Allura: Welcome!" Beamed an elf man I had completely missed due to being focused on the dragoon partners at first. I saw that he was tall and slender with dark hair like Hanna.
He had narrow, dark, eyes and a wide smile.
In my last life I might have described him as sketchy looking if I had seen him drawn as a manga character.
But meeting him in person, he had a calm and sturdy presence that exuded strength and confidence.
I may have been inexperienced in such judgments, but I thought him to be a strong and capable knight.
"I am Abram, the swordsmanship instructor for the intermediate class. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Bah, enough of all your elvish manners!
" Huffed Otis, waving an impatient hand.
Instructor Abram did not seem to take offence, and simply smiled patiently at the older man, as if amused.
"They are students under your care fist and foremost." Otis' one eyed gaze narrowed in on Leon now.
"Do not expect the royal treatment as you have in the junior classes, young princeling. Here, all cadets are treated the same."
"I would expect nothing less, Master Otis." Leon said in a very dignified manner, a hand over his heart as he offered the exulted Master a small bow of respect. He may not be treated as a prince here while attending lessons, but he was still acting like one.
"Hmm" Growled the older man, seeming both satisfied and amused. "Behind the elf is Magistrix Frida. She will be in charge of you magical studies."
I saw that, behind Instructor Abram was a straight backed and silver haired woman with eyes as piercing as any dragons.
He held herself with an easy and intimidating grace, wearing leather armor over a short, black dress of what looked like stiff linen of some sort.
My guess was that the outfit was enchanted and much more sturdy than it appeared.
"Greetings." The woman said in a breathy voice, also offering a short and elegant bow.
It rivaled Leons, but where the prince's held a humble warmth to it, the magistrix's felt icy and formulaic.
I got the feeling that this woman often found herself amongst the best in any field she entered.
"I am pleased to be your instructor in the art of magics for the foreseeable future.
" She didn't look pleased... more like indifferent.
Abram cleared his throat and indicated the other people in the room: Five dragons and their respective dragoons.
"These will be your classmates. There is a larger group of intermediates than usual, so I hope you all can get along and help one another during your training. Cadets, introduce yourselves."
Instantly the men and women present stood at attention, backs straight and hands clasped behind their backs, each one looking at us (well, mostly Leon) with cold and assessing gazes.
Were they unhappy to have the prince here?
That wouldn't do... Maybe I would have to nip a few of them to smarten them up?
"Cadet Ryan!" Stated the first man, a human male of about twenty years of age with ruffled honey brown hair, a strong jaw line, and amber eyes. "This is my partner: Neumic" He stated, indicating the drake that sat on the cold stone floor at his back.
"Greetings" Rumbled the indifferent looking dragon, his yellow eyes traveling from me to Leon in a lazy sort of way.
He was one of the largest dragons gathered in the hall at nearly double my own size.
He had burgundy scales that made his yellow eyes stand out even more, and dark spines down his back.
Apparently that was all in the way of an introduction, as the next cadet spoke up within seconds. "Cadet Lillian! And, this is my partner: Parthus."
Lillian was a human woman at about the same age as Ryan, with long dark hair held back in a tail and skin a porcelain whit color, both highlighting her deep blue eyes.
She was a classic beauty wearing the drab uniform of a cadet, and, despite her stiff introduction, here eyes seemed a little warmer than Ryan's had as she scanned Leon and I.
As for her partner, Parthus, he was another story.
He hadn't even looked at us. As a matter of fact, I was pretty sure that the deep purple drake was asleep, his sleek sides rising and falling evenly and his eyes shut where his big head sat on large purple paws.
I saw Lillian eye the dragon with some sort of exasperated frustration before she shot Leon and I an apologetic look.
I decided that this woman, at least, would be amiable to be around.
The other three people looked to be in their mid to late teens.
One was a female elf named Cintry and had short, platinum hair and the typical long ears I expected to see from elves from my biased Earthling brain.
What was different about her, however, was that she was built like a farmer.
I was pretty jealous of her muscles, to be honest!
Not to mention her caramel skin ton and no nonsense attitude.
She even levied a dirty look my way, which earned her a very rare glare from Leon.
Her dragon, Flux, was a pleasant green color with yellow eyes that gazed at us with evident curiosity that he did not seem to share with his dragoon at all.
The elf was leaning against his side with her tanned and scared arms crossed over her ample chest, not hiding her irritation at all.
I wasn't sure if it was Leon and I that aggravated her, or some other external factor.
.. But I found the pair more amusing than anything else.
"Er, ah.... C-cadet Benson..." Stammered another teen, also avoiding eye contact.
Though, in his case it seemed to be out of awkwardness rather than aggression as Cintry portrayed.
He was small and skittish with brown hair and green eyes, his uniform looking rather baggy on his slim frame.
To be honest, he did not look like a person who wanted to be a dragoon at all.
Not in the way I imagined the people who would pick such a career path would look.
At Benson's stammered introduction, Otis sighed and shook his head.
But, despite looking like he was disappointed in the younger male, he also slapped a supportive, heavily scared, hand on the boy's shoulder, nearly knocking him over.
Behind them sat a dignified dragon with shiny brown scales and dark blue eyes.
Benson introduced him as Grysbok, and the dragon bowed his head slightly my way.
This took me by surprise, given my own disdain for any sort of bowing.
The the last Cadet, despite being one of the younger ones, was also one of the largest: both in height and muscle mass.
Only Cintry and Ryan beat him out. He had messy blonde hair, grey eyes and a handsome but cocky smile that stated he clearly thought he was the next greatest dragoon of all time.
At least he was personable and introduced himself as Warren.
Warren presented his dragon as if he believed him the king of dragons.
I couldn't fault the teen for this, as I was quite sure that every dragon should be introduced as such.
As for the dragon, who was revealed to be named Jarzan, He actually seemed pleasant enough.
He also was the largest drake present. Both traits lead me to believe that he was probably the oldest dragon here, meaning that he was an inherited dragon.
Still, his stone grey scales looked unmarred and quite shiny, telling me that he probably was still fairly young for a dragon.
I would assume that a dragon of any sort of advanced age would have at least a few scars, given the race was confrontational in nature.
So perhaps not as old as I thought... or just very good at not getting hurt.
Though we went through the introductions in a speedy manner, it still felt like it took ages. But then again, I wasn't known for my patients.
"Though he is currently out on a mission, Captain Trent Nordson is also part of your group.
He is the man in charge, and your main teacher throughout your intermediate studies.
He and his dragon, Kalon" Stated the magistrix.
"Both are new to teaching fledgling Dragoons, but they are both also highly decorated themselves. You will be in good hands with them."
"Once they return from their mission, Kalon will work with you, Allura, and the other younger drakes." Stated Abram confidently. "He will be your arial teacher, as well as guide you in any other facets that the dragon half of a dragoon partnership, needs to know that Frida and I can't help with."
"Both Abram and Frida are not dragoon's themselves.
" Explained Otis. "They are both masters of their crafts, but for anything directly related to dragons or dragoons you would do best in consulting with your Captain and Kalon.
" The old man ran a grizzled hand through his beard a couple times and nodded to himself, as if agreeing with some unspoken question.
"Kalon is nearly as old as my Brakus, and will be able to impart a great deal of knowledge to you. "
At that, Leon actually leaned in and spoke quietly into my ear slit: "Smart, yes... but also old and unsociable." He sounded highly amused and I took that as meaning that the prince knew and liked this Kalon, even if he was unpleasant to most.
Apparently Otis' hearing was better than I gave him credit for, as he snorted at Leon's comment. "That is not untrue. But he is amiable enough. Plus his current dragoon is personable for the both of them."
Given the half smirks shared amongst the group, I assumed that our captain and his dragon were quite the characters.