The training is tough. Leona's sweat is covering her whole body. As she takes a breath in, the air scratches her throat. Her chest aches. The bandages are tight and no helpful on that hot day. A punch from nowhere lands on her face. She ends up on the ground with a ring in her ears. “Leon, will you ever learn not to daydream on training?” says Master Yien.
She opens her eyes, seeing his tall figure coming her way. His yellow bright eyes meet hers as he stoops right beside her. She pushes the ground with her hands so she can stand up.
‘He is angry,’ she thinks. “I'm sorry Master. I'll... be better,” she answers with uncertainty.
He cross his hands and raises his eyebrow, knowing that she is lying. “Just take a small break and be back in 10'.”
Jet, the boy that punched her, moved his head in disapproval. “You are easy on him Master. Why? Is it because he is small and weak?” he says while the rest of the trainees laugh at his comment. Master Yien scoffs and urges them to continue the training.
Leona moves on the back of the training house to catch her breath and also be far away from these comments. She splatters some water on her face and seats on the stairs, looking at the setting sun.
‘Finally,’ she thinks.
“You can't act that way! You need to train harder, you know that,” he says in an angry tone.
She rolls her eyes and acts like she didn't hear. That sets him off. He grabs her by her shoulder.
“Can you not act like you know-it-all? If you get discovered, you will be stoned to death!.”
Her bulging eyes look straight at him. He is scared and she knows that. He understands her fright and immediately let goes. She lowers her gaze, whispering, “I know.” He seats besides her, holding his head in frustration.
“You know how important it is for you to succeed, right?.” She nods her head approving. He lets out a sigh and continues, “You can't let them bring you down because their muscles are bigger. You are stronger. Yes, your body is smaller, and it will never become like theirs, but your connection with the Light is greater, something they will never achieve!.” Leona looks at him in relief.
She knows he only wishes for her to achieve her goal, to become a dragon warrior, also known as, a warrior of light. These are the names given to the people that are chosen of this great task. To protect the kingdom of Nora, the Emperor, and the royal bloodline from any harm.
That's the only task she is aiming at. And that's what is about to come tomorrow, in the Arena of Fire. Ten young boys are gonna be chosen to enter the palace and learn the secret techniques and knowledge of their power. They will serve the Emperor and the best will be rewarded. Every boy with the power of the dragon from the age of 15 to 18 will travel across the country to participate in the Game so they can take a place next to the royal family.
But Leona isn't a boy. One night, an arbitrary thing happened. A girl born with the powers of the dragon. All the traits to make her qualified for this task. How? we don't know yet. All we know is that Master Yien saw something in her and took her in, teaching her to dress like a boy, to act like a boy, to be a boy, so she can become a dragon warrior, something that he failed.
So, as the setting sun is being swallowed by the night, she undresses her bandages that are tightened around her chest, let's her short brown hair fall down her neck and sinks into the bathtub while looking with her amber eyes at the moon that is now shining in the sky. ‘And so it begins.’
The new dawn begins, and our trainees are getting ready for the Game. Leona is tying a slip of cloth around her chest and wears her hair in a ponytail. She eats fast and goes out of her room waiting with the other boys for Master Yien.
“Look boys, here is Leon, the most powerful man this world has ever known,” Jet mocks her once more.
She scoffs and the rest of the trainees laugh. “I don’t know about powerful, but I can beat you,” she answers back.
He opens his eyes wide-open and moves aggressively towards her. He is ready to fight, and so is she. she continues provoking him even more, “I saw you crying the other day. Was it cause Tara said no to your confession? Or because you think you are someone, but no one else agrees?.”
He raises his left fist and with hate he aims at her. His hand stops right before her eyes, all because Master Yien’s hand prevented it. Yien’s face is blank, like he can’t tolerate any of this anymore.
“Can we not do this now and get going to the Arena?,” he says while hitting both of them behind their heads. All boys fall in line and like that go out of the academy.
All the people are out in the streets and balconies, celebrating this day. All kinds of decoration is accompanying their way to the Arena. Leona remembers seeing this scenery by the viewpoint of the people standing on the sides. Always hoping for this day to come. The streets are made of stone and the color of red and yellow is everywhere ‘the color of the dragons’, she thinks in awe.
As they walk, more people meet their way, from other academies of teaching from across the country.
The Arena is placed inside the palace walls, thousands of thousands meters right and left, all covering this magnificent place. And after all this time she is about to enter her biggest dream. And there they are, 100 trainees and only 10 will shine.
Her jaw has dropped from the sight. They entered from the side gate that leads straight to the Arena. Countless of people are there on the stands, screaming. The trainees, without breaking their formation, enter further in, reaching the middle.
At this point, the Masters need to leave as the trainees are gonna go through each task. Each of them gives some last words on how to overcome the enemy. Every Master says how important strength is, and how to win using that. Leona looks around. She seems to be one of the weakest, if not the weakest, trainee around.
‘How am I gonna win this?’ she thinks in desperation. Master Yien comes her way. He touches the top of her head and smiles.
“Let them think they can beat you. Remember, you aren’t in disadvantage.” She frowns.
“You kidding? I don’t have their muscles or strength.” She looks down in disappointment. He immediately grabs her head by the jaw and brings it up.
“Hey! Who told you that a Dragon is all about ‘muscles’? It’s about the strength that comes within,” showing with his finger the top of her chest.
“I have never seen someone with your gift really. You understand the Dragon powers most of all. So please, don’t try to do something that isn’t You. I risked everything for you. Do you think I would do that if I didn’t see a real dragon?.”
Master Yien’s words eased her soul. He was never that nice with her. Always mocking her, screaming at her, correcting and training her. But what he says is true. Who else would risk such thing, taking a girl in and dressing it as a boy, if he hadn’t seen something? Leona let’s some tears fall down her cheeks and smiles. “Aye, aye. I will make you proud.” And with these last words, his figure is being lost behind the bars.
All trainees are now gathered and waiting. People are speaking with each other, whispering and laughing, to kill the anxiety that’s been bothering them. The drum has rung, and everyone stands still.
The crowd stands up and the trainees turn around. There’s a big platform elevated high so people can see. A tall figure comes out dressed in a long golden robe. An elaborate rope is tight around his waist. He wears black boots, and a crown is decorating his head. His eyes are bright blue, no doubt that this is the Emperor. Only the royal bloodline is blessed with this clear blue eyes.
Next to him clinging, is a boy with short black hair and a blue tunic-robe. ‘He must be prince Ren’ she thinks.
A man is standing on a lower stand and speaks through the speakers, “Please welcome, the Emperor Lao and his son Prince Ren!.” The people start screaming and clapping in excitement.
And then, another person comes on the platform. He wears a gold light armor that has imprinted on a dragon design. It looks like it goes around his armor with the head of the dragon locating in the center of his chest. His hair are long and white. His eyes are gold, and he has a long white beard. This man is no other than the Grandmaster himself, or else called, the Dragon. The Grandmaster is the highest person in rank when it comes to the dragon warriors. He is the Master of all, and the right hand of the Emperor.
The man continues saying, “And of course, the Dragon, Grandmaster Wu!.” The crowd cheers, waving flags, crying from happiness.
The Emperor then, starts speaking to the crowd, and to the trainees.
“Welcome. Today we gonna handpick the best of you, the elite. Today, ten of you are gonna achieve this great dream of being a dragon warrior. But, don’t be fooled that it will be easy. These tasks that you will face today are nothing compared to what your training is gonna be. It will be tough. No weak person can withstand this. The ones that will lose today, fear not, since you can still be called dragon warriors and help our kingdom from the outside. So, let Grandmaster Wu speak about today’s game,” and with this speech Grandmaster Wu steps forward to continue from that point.
“My young dragons. The first task is this: you will be ten teams of ten people each. You will find a series of creatures on your way to the other side of this town. The two first teams that reach their destination with all their members will pass and move to the second task, that will be..,”
Leona thinks of the different tasks that are made each year. She is hoping to be a strategic or riddle solving task. she crosses her fingers and whispers, “Don’t be combat fight, please” again and again.
The Grandmaster continues, “... each of you will fight 1vs1 in combat fight. The element of fire, is of course allowed, since this will be your great tool. But don’t be fooled. It’s not about strength but your power to wield the dragon’s unique ability: fire. Best of luck.”
