The pair settled back onto the great stone perch as the bonding rituals commenced. Neither said so much as a word or sent even a single thought to their other's mind, but rather opened their minds to the tsunami of emotions that crashed over the colesium's walls, flooding the grounds with the most immense level of passion and love as each of the young drakes sought out and claimed a tamer of their own. His instincts were right; each individual he had brought here on this day was chosen by a dragon. And nearly all of the drakes completed the bond, spare for a few breeds. Merrik knew not all would find their destined tamer here on this day, and the oracle had motioned in his mind and in the minds of the hatchlings that they should not ever settle. All things happen for a reason; there is only one human on the earth, for each dragon, and for a dragon not to bond at a specific time is not a reason for sadness, but for joy in knowing that their soul mate is still waiting for the fateful day that they should become whole.

After the group had settled from their emotions to some extent, it would probably take a few weeks before the jitters of the new bond exited wholely from their fluttering hearts, Merrik wiped away a single tear from his cheek. Never had he experienced such a magnificant event, his pride over the young dragons swelled to a maximum as he knew they now were whole. He motioned to Nova within his mind and the pair took off and once again glided down to the center of the colesium to address the newly bonded pairs. 

[b]"My brothers, my sisters, I welcome you to the New Order of the Dragon Tamers. You will never return to the lives you once knew; everything has changed now that your souls have been reunited with their missing halves and your mortality has been exchanged for eternal life. You do not know it yet, but there is mana of old coursing through your veins, drawn from the magicks within the blood of your dragons. There is an endless amount of training and learning that must pass before we depart for the dark lord's tainted lands. And we have precious little time." [/b]

All the while Merrik spoke, Obsidian Nova trailed his gaze across each of the young drakes' eyes, emitting an unspoken tone. His look told them the same thing it had told them their entire lives; they were embassadors of the draconic species, the last remaining dragons. He expected excellence, he expected perfection, he expected dedication and professionalism, bravery and nobility. Each day his dark gaze reminded the young ones of the seriousness of their fate; they were to protect this land from the evil that approached, just as their ancestors did in the old days. Nova believed in the young ones, despite their tendancy to step out of the line of order and into the domain of play and games, he knew they understood the severity of the events at hand.

[b]"There are rules. Some are simple, obvious ones, and others are severe and pain me to ever have the need to enforce them. I suppose the most important rule, is that you don't get to run from this. You all knew what you were getting in to when you agreed to join me here today. You all know the effect of the dark sickness that is pouring over our lands. You all know that without us, there is no hope for Illos. And so, you cannot run, you cannot turn your back on the cause, you cannot betray the order. For if you do, the consequences of your actions will be of the highest severity...I only hope that I should never have the need to inflict punishment for such treason. I trust your hearts and minds are in the right place and that I, nor the Oracle, were mistaken in bringing you here."[/b] He paused, bothered by the idea that the training and the reality of these events may be too much for some of the tamers to handle, and that they may try and flee with their drakes. He knew the hatchlings would never commit such an audacious crime, to betray their own kind and their homeland, but now that they were bonded, the influence of their tamers were strong. He relied on faith to continue. [b]"On a milder note; there are basic rules as there are in any army. You will train every day, your mind and your body will be in peak condition at all times. You will respect myself, Nova, and your fellow tamers. You will consult with me before trying anything new, this includes magicks, maneouvers, mixtures, etc. You will not, under any circumstances, move forward in your training before I say. The powers you've been given, the beasts you'll soon ride, it's all dangerous if not controlled and respected."[/b]

Obsidian Nova's words continued when Merrik's shut off, in perfect timing as if one person spoke with no more than a change in the sound of their voice. Nova spoke to the minds of those before him. [b][I]"Flying, will be our first task. You must learn to be comfortable atop your bonded drakes at any time, at any height, in any weather. Their wings should feel like an extension of your own limbs. Hatchlings, the weight of your tamer upon your back should feel as perfect as the weight of your own scales on your hide. Stay close in mind with each flight and feel each other's movements. For anyone who wishes to "make things more exciting" and take high pace or extreme maneouvers, there will be consequences. Need I remind you all, there at least 7 great tamers over estimated their and their dragon's abilties while in flight and have plumetted to their death. None of you have mastered retrieval dives well enough to guarantee you will save your tamers life, should they fall, so unless you wish to end your bonded lives on the first day of grace, I suggest you all take it slow and listen to Sir Merrik and myself."[/I][/b]

Merrik spoke then,[b] "In each of the dragons' dens, lining these walls, you'll find leather straps, to be used much like a halter and reins on a horse. You will find no saddles, for assuming that riding a dragon is anything like riding a stallion is an unwise assumption indeed. You will all use these straps for the first week or two, until I and you are confident in your abilities. Secure them under your drake's front limbs, around the neck, and then around your waist. You won't fall easily if you secure yourself on properly. Once you're set, I want you to get used to the movements of your dragons on the ground. Take time to move about the colesium, and when you're both ready, take to the skies, but stay close, no more than 400 ft in the air and not out of the clearing. Are we understood? We'll soon be departing for the Forest Garden, your new home. And the flight will be a long one. Get comfortable and get confident. Now go." [/b]The great black dragon unfurled its wings and beat down hard, sending the two up into the air as they observed the scattering order. They would be keeping a close eye on each tamer to assess their interactions with their drakes. Nova began to circle the colesium, not quite 100ft into the air and observed the events below. His great wingspan blacking out a portion of the sky as he rode the warm currents of air about the mid-day sky.

Merrik spoke to Nova's through thought. [b][i]"Let's see how many thrive and how many dive shall we?" [/i][/b] He hoped deeply that none of the new tamers met their death from the skies today. But still, Nova was prepared to dive in any direction to retrieve fallen tamers, just in case.