Called by the Dragon novel Chapter 8

The Imperial City, from whence every good thing flowed. This was the cradle of the nation that had unified every divided territory from the western edge of the Adaraat Desert all the way to the sea. This was the birthplace of all things just and fair, all things meant for greatness. And of course, the seat of the Emperor’s power could be nothing less than grand and breathtakingly beautiful. Far below, the colors of the sprawling city blended and rippled into each other like threads in a great tapestry, the red banners of the various districts twining all about with splendid, curated groves of exotic trees lining every roadway. Many generations before, this place once had another name, but the Emperor had decreed long ago that it would simply become the Imperial City. The Empire was therefore simply the Empire for that reason as well. Instead of attaching a name to it and making it only one of many, this reign was meant to be the one and only. Not an empire, but The Empire.

And that was what it had become. Under its authority, the people thrived. There were no more warlords, no more fighting, no more misery. All of that had disappeared. Even the most destitute of territories that had suffered from the worst kind of poverty and starvation were cared for now. The Empire conquered first the land, then the soul of it: this was how life should be, full of prosperity and peace.

There had been costs, though. The dragons that used to inhabit the land were gone now, and there were no more wild serpents in the skies. The Purge had made sure of that, the difficult decision by the Emperor to wipe out all the wild dragons that could not be tamed. In the final days of the great creatures, the warlords were still fighting tooth and nail over the last of them in the hopes they could still use them to fight back against the Empire, and they all perished as a result. Now the only dragons that existed in the land were those that hatched in the Imperium under the loving care of their human partners. A bloody history, but in the end, this was what it had become, and this was what it had always been meant to be.

Anzi leaned forward and pressed her palms along the dragon’s glinting blue scales, marveling at the cool smoothness on her skin. Maybe soon, she would be so lucky…She looked up at Colonel Bisset’s back and wished once more that she could ask him all the questions burning on her tongue. But even if it weren’t out of line to interrogate him that way, trying to talk would be pointless. High in the sky with the wind rushing in their ears, he would never hear her -

The dragon dropped into a sudden nose dive, and her stomach plummeted like a heavy stone thrown into a pond. She clutched at the knobs on the sides of the leather saddle, fingers wrapping around the hardened protrusions tighter and tighter as they dived toward the ground. Her eyes watered against the wind, but she refused to close them. The descent was the most thrilling part of the flight, and her heart thrummed in her chest with furious gusto as they cut through the sky, down, down, down.

When they finally leveled out, she released the breath she had been holding with a loud exhale. Would there ever be a day when she accepted this as calmly as the colonel did? He didn’t look the slightest bit affected. Even his white hair remained perfectly groomed, every strand still in place. That was the kind of poise she aspired to, but for now, she savored the last few moments of being airborne as she imagined riding her own dragon, taking to the skies and venturing forth to new lands, new worlds.

Here they were. Now they soared in wide circles, floating on warm thermals as they neared their destination. The Imperial Palace, right in the heart of the city. It was as grand and fearsome as ever with its gray stone parapets, hexagonal walls, and the river that circled around the entire structure with six stone bridges that led across the water into each gate. A hundred guards were stationed on top of the walls alone while a hundred more guarded the bridges, the gates, and the wide roads that connected the paths to the rest of the city. They looked like ants from this high up. She wished she could stay here forever, gliding on the wind and breathing in the crisp dawn.

When they landed, it was all too soon, but now there were other things to look forward to instead. Her blunted weapons needed replacing, and she needed a refitting for her armor in case she needed to gussy up for official induction. And - well, she ought to send a letter to Oza at the Tower, although she didn’t know if she really wanted to…It wasn’t as if he would answer. For now, she followed Bisset and slid off the dragon to stand on a grassy, open courtyard in the middle of the palace. It had been difficult to catch the full aerial view of the grand structure from where she had been sitting as they descended, but there would be plenty of other chances to admire the gold, silver, and gem studded scenery later.

“We’re to see His Excellency, so make yourself presentable.” The colonel hadn’t even glanced back at her, but his tone made it clear she expected she was a wind-beaten mess, which she was. “Do what you can with your hair. Unfortunately, we don’t have time to cut it.”

Her hands jumped to her head, and she smoothed the tousled strands the best she could as she hurried to follow him across the large grassy enclosure. He had a way with words, making her go from exhilarated to ashamed in the span of half a second, and now that he had called her attention to her messy appearance, she felt even more out of place than before.

The blue-and-white clad guards posted between the slender white pillars spaced around the area had nothing to say about it, but as she and Colonel Bisset passed between two of them to enter the palace proper, she could feel their stares digging into her back. When she looked over her shoulder, however, she saw only the colonel’s dragon staring after them from the middle of the courtyard. With a rumbling growl-sigh, the enormous creature settled down to rest on the grass, and she quickly faced forward once more, hoping Bisset hadn’t noticed her momentary distraction. She had to be perfect in every way now. The smallest mistake could cost her dearly. She was here in the home of the Emperor. This was her chance, her one opportunity. She had worked so hard, given up so much. She wasn’t even sure if she could dare to hope.

The white stone reliefs carved into the walls and ceiling of the palace interior told the story of the Empire’s history. The beginning wasn’t located here, but this hallway that led in from the courtyard told the story of the Emperor meeting his dragon for the first time, a great golden marvel with wings that spanned such a great breadth that it took up the entire wall from one wingtip to the other. Too bad that she couldn’t linger long enough to see more; the colonel was striding along too quickly for her to examine anything in depth.

“When you enter,” the colonel said, voice echoing between the walls with ominous solemnity, “don’t bore His Excellency with any stories. When he asks you who you are, state your name, and when he asks you to speak about yourself, be brief. He has no need to know about your childhood or other useless things. Explain that you’re a candidate to join the Premier Guard, and that you would be honored, and that will be enough. If His Excellency attempts to draw you into conversation, don’t forget that you are only a soldier. Do not distract him.”

“Yes, sir.” She didn’t turn her head to peek at him, but from the faintly disgruntled edge in his tone, it sounded like he expected the Emperor to be easily distracted anyway. She didn’t know how to feel about that. This was the monarch, the head of the Empire. Did the colonel have any right to criticize him, even indirectly? For the first time ever, she felt a trickle of displeasure and dismay at the man’s behavior. If it were her, she would never suggest any kind of disapproval over the Emperor, especially not to a subordinate.

So even Colonel Bisset had his faults. She pressed her lips together as they continued to head toward the throne room, and she was glad he had nothing else to say. But with every step she took, something nervous and tight coiled in her belly with increasing insistence, and she quietly wished they could stop a moment so she could catch her breath before the emperor granted them an audience. Stop it, she scolded herself. This was no time to be agitated, no matter how lightheaded her anticipation was making her. This was nothing, just a preliminary step. She shouldn’t be so excited when nothing was for certain yet.