Slowly Elio rose to his feet while Olias sat back on its hind legs and folded its wings at its sides. Elio approached slowly, never taking his eyes from the dragon's. Its size dwarfed Elio and its pearl-white scales shimmered in the shade of the trees. Its steady breaths actually began to calm Elio and the more he focused on its presence, the more he felt the bond. Still this was a lot for him to take in so Elio swallowed and forced himself to speak.<br/><br/>"You wanted to talk? So talk" he said nervously.<br/><br/><span style="color: #40BFFF">"You of all people should remember the events of the cataclysm 10 years yes?"</span>Olias's voice range inside of Elio's head yet his large mouth did not move. It was as clear as day and even soothing. Elio nodded at the dragon.<br/><br/>"That's not something you forget..." Elio spoke softly.<br/><br/><span style="color: #40BFFF">"Indeed. Well it appears the same evil force is gathering itself again and it is only getting stronger. The other dragons and I can feel it and we fear that if we are not prepared this time, it will destroy more than just Sanctum castle. It will envelope all of Cretia in darkness and destroy everything. Anything left alive will suffer greatly. We have decided that it is time to gather new riders to lead us into battle against this evil force and stop it, and Elio, like your brother before you, you are destined to be my rider. I will train you to become a great and powerful warrior and rider but we must begin immediately. Come, I have a few things for you."</span>and without waiting for a response, Olias turned and reached up into a nearby tree, pulling down a rather large wrapped bundle of sorts.<br/><br/>Elio simply walked over to the bundle and began to examine it. Strangely he felt calm. His mind wasn't line with thousands of questions for Olias, he just felt that everything he was just told is very real and that this is his destiny. The only thing he had to do was reach out and accept it.<br/><br/>With that Elio opened the bundle, revealing a magnificent set of armor. Light but hard leather lined with intricate designs of silver and metal. The white coloring made it all stand out tremendously and gave it a very honorable look and after Elio finished the last fastener of the chest piece, he ran his fingers over it lightly, physically taking in every detail. It all fit perfectly and it felt right. Beneath the armor, still lying on the unwrapped cloth was a magnificent pair of<a class="postlink" href="http://m.flickr.com/photos/50237617@N02/4669954295/">swords</a>that were sheathed and attached to the back end of a large leather belt. After fastening the belt and removing the blades Elio stood it awe of the beauty and design. They were blades that any warrior would be honored to wield. Elio bounced them around in his palm to feel the heft and weight of the twin blades and a swarm of emotions filled Elio's very soul. These blades felt familiar and they felt powerful. And just like the armor, they just felt right.<br/><br/>Olias looked on extremely pleased with how perfectly everything fit on his new rider. As Elio turned to face Olias fully suited up, they both knew the bond was fulfilled and they were ready to begin. Elio sheathed his blades behind him, still holding tight on the handles as he could feel Destan's presence all over them and it was a welcome feeling and surge of emotions. Elio felt a confidence he hadn't felt since his brother was alive and these blades was their reunion.<br/><br/>"Be with me brother, and together we will be victorious" Elio spoke softly to himself, letting his fingers trail off the handles slowly. After a deep breath Elio looked back at Olias and smiled.<br/><br/>"This will be hard on my mom...but she needs to know." Elio looked back through the section of the forest that he thought he came through.<br/><br/><span style="color: #40BFFF">"Shall I go with you?"</span>Olias spoke out loud this time. Elio shook his head.<br/><br/>"I should tell her myself. It'll be hard enough I'm telling her that I'm leaving, seeing you will only make things worse."<br/><br/>"How can you be so certain?" a familiar and pleasant voice spoke out from behind a tree. Elio turned sharply and to his surprise he stood looking back at his mother.<br/><br/>"Wait what...I mean how...or when...?" Elio's confusion almost brought a laugh out of Olias and his mother.<br/><br/>"I followed you into the forest. I thought about what you said and you were right in what you did at the market. I just worry about you and I wanted to apologize" Efalna looked at Olias nervously.<br/><br/>"So what all did you hear?" Elio asked calmly, knowing full well what the answer was.<br/><br/>"All of it..." she said as she forced a few tears back. Elio approached his mom and put his hands lovingly on her shoulders.<br/><br/>"I have to do this mother..." he said softly. Efalna wiped away a single tear from her own cheek, smiled then kissed him on the forehead.<br/><br/>"I know son. I know...just come back to us alive." more tears began to stream down her face as she embraced Elio one more time in her arms before letting him go to Olias whom after she wiped the tears away again she gave a stern look towards and pointed her finger.<br/><br/>"I don't blame you for Destan, but you better take good care of Elio or I will  kill you myself, long before that cursed darkness even gets close to you!" she ordered. Olias moved his head back in confusion at this scolding, something he had never experienced before. Then with a humble bow of his head he spoke.<br/><br/><span style="color: #40BFFF">"Madam I swear to you I will protect him with my very life."</span>with that he lowered his body and positioned his neck so Elio could mount. After one more look at his mother Elio waved his last goodbye and Olias spread his wings up high and brought them down with tremendous force while jumping up, resulting in a massive sudden burst of wind that lifted them high above the tree line. Olias turned his head back towards Elio who was holding on rather well for his first time being on a dragon.<br/><br/><span style="color: #40BFFF">"You'll want to hold on a bit tighter than that..."</span>and with a sudden swoop of his wings, Olias took off at high speed climbing up towards the clouds. Elio found himself dangling off of Olias's neck clinging on for dear life.<br/><br/><span style="color: #40BFFF">"You need to hang on with you legs too, squeeze them good and tight. I can barely feel you back there so don't worry about me, I'm no measly horse!"</span>Olias spoke clear into Elio's mind while still climbing higher into  the clouds. Elio struggled briefly while trying to get his legs back onto Olias's neck and eventually managed to do so and much quicker than Olias anticipated. With a smile Olias suddenly looped upside down and began an incredibly fast nose dive back through the clouds. With a brief look back he could see Elio still holding on perfectly and could even feel the boy's excitement. In another sudden movement Olias began a barrel roll and Elio could feel himself slipping. Without stopping Olias spoke back into Elio's mind.<br/><br/><span style="color: #40BFFF">"You have to learn how to feel when I turn and turn with me. This is essential for when you need to direct me so I am able to turn with you at the same time."</span>Elio grunted as he pulled himself back into a proper position and leaned his body into the turn as Olias was doing and he was once again riding stable. Olias smiled once again at how fast Elio was learning. This was indeed the perfect match. Still in the nose dive Olias stopped the corkscrew maneuver and straightened out into a straight dive picking up speed.<br/><br/><span style="color: #40BFFF">"You learn quick my friend but you better have your wits about you for this next part. I'm letting you take control. Keep your focus and I will follow..."</span>suddenly they broke through the bottom of the clouds and Elio stared wide-eyed at the fast approaching rocky mountain surface with a thin crack as an opening.<br/><br/>Elio shook the fear and surprise from his face and replaced them with a more determined and focused look. In moments before crashing into the surface Elio leaned himself sharply to the left and Olias copied, allowing the two to barely fit through the opening crack. Elio found himself looking into a deep mountain cave and without thinking he managed to navigate the two of them through the dark cavern, ducking and weaving and dodging through a massive web of stone pillars that stretched the entire length of the cave all at high speed. Elio's senses and instincts were in perfect harmony with Olias's and the two burst out through the end of the enormous winding tunnel. With a final swoop Olias landed on a large rocky ledge at the cave's entrance. After Elio dismounted he looked back at Olias in disbelief of what he had just accomplished.<br/><br/><span style="color: #40BFFF">"Now that you know how to ride a dragon properly, it's time you learn to fight along side one."</span>Olias spoke proudly.<br/><br/>*************<br/><br/>For weeks the two trained vigorously as Olias showed Elio the advantages and disadvantages of wielding two blades but also how to always turn the battle in his favor no matter the circumstance. They trained in aerial battle and tactics as well. Over the weeks of training Olias watched Elio evolve from a timid farmer unto a fast calculating and furious warrior. His movements were swift and precise, just like Olias. The more he wielded his brother's blades the more connected Elio felt towards Destan, and the more the blades felt like his own. He was fully attuned to them and all of his skills he had learned from Olias. It was then that they both knew it was time.<br/><br/>"I'm ready. What do we do now?" Elio said looking up at the magnificent dragon.<br/><br/><span style="color: #40BFFF">"Climb aboard. We go to meet the others if they are ready."</span>Olias lowered himself for Elio.<br/><br/>"Alright then. So where do we meet up with them all?" Elio inquired as he took hold of the harness he made for Olias and mounted himself on top of the dragon. Olias pointed to the distant Kalra'vi mountain range far off into the horizon.<br/><br/><span style="color: #40BFFF">"There. That is where we dragons have stayed for this past decade and that is where we all shall meet when we have all trained our riders. Shall we?"</span>Olias readied himself for takeoff and with a slight tap with his heel, Elio sent the two off towards the distant horizon towards the Kalra'vi mountains to meet with the others.