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WHEN one traveled via dragon, its speed was vital. Generally, the higher the dragon’s rank was, the faster it would be, but in truth, the dragon’s weight, the shape and size of its wings, the skill of the rider, and the amount of luggage it carried were all determining factors as well. When a group of merchants transported goods via dragon from the imperial capital of Rahelm to Lehrsatz, the city of trade, it took around five days. Since Jill was traveling with a selected group of elite Dragon Knights in the imperial army, her trip would be much faster, but this was Meine’s first time flying in formation.
Crimson dragons were highly intelligent, but as Meine hadn’t received any training, it was the same as any wild dragon that one could find. It was unknown whether Meine could fly with the rest of the flight. Plus, Jill was on her first long-distance flight by herself. Along with some potential days to train, she was given a schedule of ten days, allowing plenty of wiggle room for time should things go awry.
Some had claimed that perhaps a trained dragon should head to Lehrsatz instead of Meine, but Jill had stubbornly pushed her selfish request through. The Dragon Consort insisted on heading to the meeting with Kratos on her own dragon. She may have been dense when it came to politics, but even she was aware of how vital bluffing could be. She didn’t want it to be just a bluff—Jill had wanted to expertly control her dragon on the way to the Lehrsatz duchy, but…
“No, Meine!” she shouted. “You’re going the wrong way!”
The dragon cried out grumpily, confused as to why it couldn’t fly as it pleased. Or perhaps being surrounded by so many other dragons annoyed it. At first, Jill’s anxiety had been conveyed to Meine, and the beast had obediently flown with the rest, but after lunch, it began to fly more erratically. Meine was short-tempered enough to challenge Jill to a duel, after all. The dragon felt frustrated and raised its altitude.
“No, Meine,” Jill scolded. “Keep the altitude as is. You can do that, can’t you?”
“Grr…” Meine grumbled.
“Your Highness, perhaps it’s best if we follow Meine,” one of the dragon knights flying nearby called. “We’ve got a good breeze coming our way.”
He was called Finn, and the young man was in charge of training new dragon knights for the imperial army. His light-brown hair fluttered in the wind, and he spoke gently without batting an eye at Meine’s glare.
“I’m sure Meine wants to fly with the wind,” Finn said. “We’ll go faster that way, too.”
“All right,” Jill relented. “Meine, you can fly up higher— Huh?! Hey! Stop trying to fly lower! I’ll punch you!”
“Grar!” Meine roared back violently.
Try it if you dare! the dragon seemed to imply. Jill cracked the knuckles of one of her hands.
“You’ve got courage, I’ll give you that,” she rumbled. “Do you really think I’d be scared of fighting you this high up?”
“Your Highness, you can’t be the one to get swept away by your dragon,” Finn said. “Just watch.”
Finn expertly controlled his reins and had his dragon fly higher up. The others followed suit and flew faster, leaving Meine behind. The red dragon frowned angrily and flapped its wings to raise its altitude and speed. In a flash, it caught up to the rest and tried to fly ahead of the formation—no longer did it want to be restrained by Jill’s reins.
“Meine!” Jill called.
But the dragon ignored her orders, and with resignation, Jill considered using Raw to scold her steed. Just then, the rest of the dragons that flew in formation caught up, and the annoyed Meine outstretched its wings in hopes of increasing its speed. Its golden eyes glimmered with determination. The strong gust of wind that it created caused Finn’s green dragon to lose its sense of balance. Jill turned pale, and Meine also froze in place as it immediately stopped.
Finn’s green dragon regained its balance as it flew to the ground, but it soon raised its neck and flapped its wings with all its might. The green dragon tried its best to match everyone’s altitude, and suddenly, Meine decreased its speed. The rest of the dragons followed suit and slowed down. Jill gazed at Meine with astonishment, but the dragon remained expressionless as it allowed the green dragon to catch up with the rest of the group easily.
When the Dragon Consort glanced at Finn, he winked and placed an index finger over his lips. For the rest of the day, the dragons flew as they maintained formation, and they flew further than planned before they found a dragon lodge where they would rest for the night.
A dragon lodge was an inn for dragon riders. It was equipped with dragon stables for the beasts to rest, and had rooms where the riders could relax. Quite a few of them dotted the areas around the streets of the Rave Empire, or near bodies of water where many dragons gathered. From traveling troupes of entertainers to caravans, people from all walks of life mingled, and during busy seasons, some had to stay the night outside in a tent. It was no different from camping outside, but they had free access to fire and water and could enjoy meals indoors. Above all, everyone enjoyed a sense of security from the numbers gathered around a fire.
This dragon lodge, located in a mountain clearing and easily spotted from the skies, had open rooms, much to Jill’s luck. The owner of the lodge happily welcomed the Dragon Consort and her knights as he prepared rooms for them. When she went to the dragon stables to allow Meine to rest, the stableman opened his mouth in shock at the sight of a crimson dragon, but he soon got to work and helped Jill remove the saddle. Once it was removed, Meine immediately flew away. The stableman mentioned that there was a watering hole nearby that was popular with dragons.
While Jill received a detailed explanation about where she’d stay for the night, an orange dragon suddenly popped its head out, much to her surprise. The beast belonged to the inn’s owner, and Jill struggled to imagine the large inn owner riding on the dragon’s back, but the beast had apparently always claimed this area as a part of its territory. The orange dragon wasn’t meant to be ridden. It served more as a guard of the inn. This symbiotic relationship had started with the inn owner’s predecessor, and they shared a healthy, helpful bond. When Jill mentioned that she’d never seen an orange dragon before, the stableman laughed and noted that it was much rarer to see a crimson dragon.
Just then, Finn arrived to entrust his dragon to the stableman, and Jill hastily made her way toward him.
“Um, are you injured anywhere?” she asked. “Are you and your dragon doing all right after what happened earlier?”
Finn had just finished removing his dragon’s saddle, and he patted its neck before it flew off to the same watering hole as Meine. “I’m fine, as you can see,” he said as he turned around. “I only pretended to lose my balance back there.”
Jill was shocked to hear that. Finn encouraged her to take a seat atop some wooden boxes.
“Are you aware that higher-ranking dragons rarely fly in a group?” he asked.
“Yes,” Jill nodded. “The lectures by the dragon knights in Neutrahl have mentioned that green dragons are the highest rank that tends to form a flight.”
“Then why do you think the dragon knights have dragons that are lower in rank than green dragons?”
Jill sat down primly with her knees together as she crossed her arms pensively. “Hmm, I believe one of the factors is their abundance in numbers, as well as how relatively easy they are to capture. Though admittedly, I’ve seen quite a few crimson dragons.”
“No doubt it’s because you’re surrounded by the Rave imperial family, Your Highness.”
“When I said that I’d never seen an orange dragon before, the stableman laughed at me.”
Finn let out a strained chuckle. “The fact that there’s only one orange dragon at the lodge is a huge hint.”
“Thinking back, when I consulted about my personal dragon, General South recommended a green dragon for me. Could it be that higher-ranking dragons aren’t suited for flying in groups?”
“That’s right. I myself know a senior who chose a green dragon as their personal beast despite receiving a greeting from a yellow dragon. Green dragons are most adept at flying with others and adjusting to a group. Even out in the wild, you may often see them hunting in a flight. Hence, many ace riders tend to be atop green dragons.”
Finn sat on some sacks across from Jill. “Of course, higher-ranking dragons show consideration toward lower ranks, and you can teach yellow and orange dragons to fly together to protect a flight. But flying in formation, for example, is but one of the customs created for the convenience of humans, and is meaningless to do for dragons in the wild. And the higher the rank, the smarter the dragons are—they’ll inevitably question why they’re doing any of this in the first place, making it more difficult for them to follow orders.”
“Then, should yellow or orange dragons be used for solo missions?” Jill inquired.
“You’ve got a very flexible mind, and I can only be impressed, Your Highness. You’re exactly right. That’s precisely why there’s only one orange dragon guarding the lodge. As long as there’s one orange dragon, the others will generally show their obedience. Yellow and orange dragons are also generally used to guard a fleet of ships. There isn’t much room on a ship to house numerous dragons anyway.”