His heart pounded in his chest loud enough that it almost drowned out the noise of the air blasting past his ears. The heat radiating off of the dragon’s scales as they closed around his torso was sweltering, forcing him to deal with the conflicting extremes of hot and cold. The clouds broke briefly, allowing him a view of the landscape below: a blasted wasteland of cracked stone, pools of boiling water, vast pits where noxious gases and sulphurous smoke billowing forth and… dragons.