He led them into the tower and into a room which was empty but for a throne at its very centre. At the foot of the throne was a carving of a young dragon which seemed to stare at them, its emerald green eyes making its identity immediately obvious. Stormrider sat down with a sigh.<br/><br/>"I have rarely ventured beyond Dragonblight in my dragon form since the great Exodus but, for some reason, that day I chose to," he said, staring beyond them out into the city. "Unfortunately I drew the attention of a less than pleasant creature, a dark firebird."<br/><br/>"Imagine a phoenix," Kara said to Aurora, "but much bigger and vastly more dangerous. Sorry," she said, realising she'd interrupted the king's story.<br/><br/>"We fought and eventually I forced it to retreat," he continued, "but not before it would badly wounded me. I made a vain attempt to reach Dragonblight by my left wing had been badly damaged. When I saw I was landing near a human house I changed into my human form just before I hit the ground. Your grandmother nursed me for two weeks till I was strong enough to stand without help from her. When I finally came to tell her what I truly was she told me she knew already, she had seen me come down and had decided to help me anyway."