Jarzyl Mintaka

Little Dragon on Top of the World

Author notes: Yet another story showcasing one particular incident in Jarzyl's childhood. This story is a quick little bit of characterization and worldbuilding writing I did from of a burst of inspiration.

This story is self-contained and can be read alone. (7,130 words) Rating: Clean.

Terminology: A drake is a male dragon, a drakka is a female dragon, and drakken is the collective term for the species. The human equivalents would be man, woman, and humans. Drak is a gender-neutral honorific, the combined equivalent to sir or ma'am.

---

"I'mbored," Jarzyl Mintaka complained. The young dragon slapped her forepaw down on the school work she was supposed to be working on. "Homework is so boring. I'm wasting my life sitting here!" she grumbled. Her scales were orange all over with a smattering of white spots on her side, but the tip of her tail was stained black with ink as she'd been using its prehensile end to write scientific formulas. Surely there was more to life than that. Jarzyl flipped open her wings and nudged her two friends and schoolmates, who were also sitting in her bedroom and studying.

Caden glanced up from her own homework. "You're always bored, aren't you?"

"I am! Let's fix that!" Jarzyl said.

Atlas, the third and final hatchling in the room, didn't look up from his studying. Whereas Jarzyl had amber orange scales and Caden had dull green scales, Atlas had scales of a deep, elegant black. He was also a cripple--he had three legs instead of the usual four, but Jarzyl had never learned precisely what had happened to her friend's left foreleg. "The faster we finish our work, the faster we can do something else," he muttered, his head lowered as he stared at his worksheet.

Jarzyl impatiently flicked her wings open and close. After class had ended in the afternoon, the three of them had done nothing but study, and that was horribly boring. She had already completed most of her science assignment, but the very last question had stumped her for the last thirty minutes. Forget it. She used the ink-dipped tip of her tail to scribble down a few formulas that seemed vaguely relevant and decided to settle for that. "Ok, I think I'm done. Are you done?"

"I'm done," said Caden.

Atlas shook his head. "I'm not done."

"How are you not done? You're the smartest of us three." Jarzyl reached over and picked up Atlas's sheet. Contrary to her friend's statement, it looked like he had finished the assignment, even including the last question which had baffled her. Jarzyl briefly considered copying his answer, but that seemed like to too much effort. She returned Atlas's assignment sheet. "Youaredone! You've finished everything."

"I've finished all the questions, but I still need to double check my answers and tidy up the working. And even if I was done with the assignment, we should probably study for tomorrow's quiz--"

"No, that's boring too. Let's go do something interesting..." Jarzyl decided. Standing up, she tossed her science assignment aside and onto the pile of schoolwork that was messily filling her table, and then she trotted over to her bedroom door. Just before leaving, Jarzyl grabbed a kerchief off the floor and tied it around her neck--her cloth bandana was dyed to the exact same colour as her scales, and proudly emblazoned with her clan's insignia.Mintaka."Come on! Let's go do something more fun."

---

Jarzyl stuck her head into the living room, where a drakka was sitting at the table and completing paperwork of her own. "Hey, we're going to go out and do stuff!" chirped the hatchling.

"Have you finished your homework?" asked her mother.

"Uh, yes!" Jarzyl insisted. At the very least, she had finished the homework that was duetomorrow, and everything else could wait. "We did our homework."

"Good. Where are you three going?"

"Uh, hang on a second." Jarzyl pulled her head back round the corner and glanced to her friends. "Where are we going?" she asked them.

In response, Atlas shrugged his wings indifferently. "I don't know. You were the one who wanted to go out and do things, while I wanted to study for the quiz. We could go to the library and study there?"

Jarzyl flicked her neck frill in annoyance. "Urrhg. Why do you always want to keep studying? You're already top of the class! All you're doing is making things harder for everyone else."

"I amnottop of the class," Atlas insisted. "Pyxis is top of the class. She scores perfect marks for everything--she got hundred out of hundred for last week's science test."

"So then you're second! How many marks did you get? Ninety-nine?" Caden asked.

"I'm not even second. That's Intarial--she got ninety-nine. I did much worse and only got ninety-seven," Atlas said

"Onlyninety-seven? Whereas Caden and I were happy that we even got above seventy. I feel like we're being mocked," Jarzyl muttered.

"We're definitely being mocked," Caden agreed.

"Whatever. Any other ideas on places to go?" Jarzyl said.

"We could go to the pools and take a swim?" Caden suggested.

Jarzyl shook her head. "Atlas doesn't swim."

"What? Why not?" Caden turned to the black-scaled hatching and asked him directly. "Why not?"

Atlas looked uncomfortable at the sudden scrutiny. His tail flicked from side to side. "I just have an issue with swimming. I don't like it. Drowning isn't fun, and my scales take a long time to dry properly. My wings stay damp for hours."

"You won't drown. And besides, it doesn't matter if your scales stay a bit wet--it's not like we could fly, even if we wanted to," Caden said.

Though Caden hadn't intended it, this last remark put a new idea into Jarzyl's head. The three of them were all hatchlings, but they would soon be fledglings who could use their wings to fly. Jarzyl had been eagerly looking forward to being able to use her wings for their intended purpose, and now she wanted to do exactly that. Young dragons were supposed to wait for flight school and proper training, but how hard could flying be? It was just flapping her wings, and she could do that easily enough.

"Oh, I know. I've got an idea. A really great idea." Jarzyl stuck her head around the corner and spoke to her mother. "We're going to go down to the marketplace and just look around over there! Is that alright?"

"Just the marketplace? So you'll stay in sector one?" asked her mother.

Crime was rare in Avaeria, particularly in the heavily developed central sector where they lived, so Jarzyl knew that her mother would be more likely to let her go roaming around the city if she agreed to stay only in that area. "I'll stay in the central district," Jarzyl promised.

"When will you be back?"

"We'll be back before dinner."

"And you'll stick with your friends? And not get into trouble?"

Jarzyl glanced back at her two friends. "Yeah, I'll stick with them!" She didn't make any promises for the second question.

Her mother nodded, finally signally her assent. "Alright, go ahead then. But you'd better be back by dinner! If you're not here by sundown I shall start to worry, and I don't like that."

"Ok! Thanks! We'll be back early." Jarzyl trotted to the front door, followed by Atlas and Caden.

---

"So why are we going to the marketplace? Do you need to buy something?" Caden asked, as they walked towards the marketplace. Since she was from an apex clan, Jarzyl's home was located in the central district. The residential zone here was next to a commercial zone, which meant her house was a conveniently short distance away from useful places like a market square and the school which they all attended.

"Not really. I've got better ideas than that," Jarzyl said. "Just follow me! Trust me, it'll be great."

"Whenever you say that we always get in trouble," Caden replied.

"Not always. Just most of the time," Jarzyl agreed.

The three hatchlings took about half an hour to reach the marketplace, walking slightly slower so that Atlas could keep up even with his three-legged gait. Once they became fledglings it would be much faster because they could just fly to the market, but for now they had to walk.

Because it was the middle of the afternoon, the bazaar wasn't crowded when the trio of young dragons arrived, but Jarzyl ignored the stores and kept walking. She led her friends through the market, then past it, until they were in the commercial office area which was at the centre of the whole city. Here everyone walked or flew with a busy, impatient manner as if they were in a great rush to be somewhere, and almost every dragon was wearing official clan pennants or kerchiefs as identification.

"So where are we going?" Atlas asked.

"Up!" replied Jarzyl. "The roof of my clan's headquarters is pretty high. Let's go there. I want to go climb somewhere high."

"What? Why?" exclaimed Caden.

"Because it's there! I want to go perch right at the very top and look down over everything. Then I'll open my wings and feel the wind gusting over them." Jarzyl threw open her wings as she walked, already imagining how it would feel like to be on top of the city.

"Why do you want to do that?" asked Caden, but Atlas could sympathize with Jarzyl.

"I get it," said the black-scaled hatchling. "It's just nice to perch, watching everything below and seeing things from up high."

"Yeah!" Jarzyl flapped her wings hard and jumped upwards, but she couldn't fight the inevitable pull of gravity yet. "We're going to go to clan headquarters, climb to the roof top, and then I'm going to jump off!" she declared.

"What? Why?" exclaimed Caden and Atlas together.

"Because I'm going to fly, obviously! I'm going to be a fledgling!"

Atlas shook his head. "But what if you aren't big or strong enough to fly? I don't know if I'm ready..."

"I'm ready, I'mrea-dy!" Jarzyl insisted, sing-song. "I can feel it in my scales. Ihaveto fly!"

"But flight school starts next month. We should wait for the teachers to tell us how to fly," Atlas insisted.

"Nah. I don't need someonetellingme how to fly! We're dragons! It's just instinct. How hard can it be?"

Atlas did not share Jarzyl's optimism. "Very hard? Otherwise why would they need school and classes to teach us flying?"

"I'm sure that's just for the advanced stuff like loops or, uh, flying in a storm. All I want to do is a glide or something simple." Jarzyl pranced from paw to paw, making her neck frill bounce up and down. "I think this is going to be great!"

"I think this is a bad idea," said Caden.

Atlas nodded. "I also think this is a bad idea. What if you fall?"

"Yes, but what if I fly?" Jarzyl retorted.

"But what if you...fall?" Atlas said, repeating his question more slowly.

"Yes, but what if I...fly?" Jarzyl said, imitating Atlas's sceptical tone. "You have to fall to fly. It's like that song:Sometimes I get so high; falling is the only way to fly! Gravity pulls on me; this is the only way to be free!" she sang.

"You know that song is not actually about flying, right? It doesn't mean 'high' in that way," Atlas told her.

Jarzyl cocked her head, but remained undeterred. "Oh really? What's it supposed to mean, then? Anyway it doesn't matter. Let's go!"

"We're definitely going to get in trouble," Caden decided.

---

With all the confidence a hatchling could muster, Jarzyl strolled into the main lobby of her clan's headquarters, followed by her two friends. Adult drakken were strolling in and out of the building, heading to various parts of the office tower via a series of elevators blocked behind security gates. A few drakken seemed surprised to see three hatchlings stroll into the office tower, but no one stopped to question them.

"Uh, this is an adult place where they do their adult things like taxes and paperwork. I get the feeling we shouldn't be here," Caden murmured.

Jarzyl sat back on her haunches and pointed towards a large sign which covered one wall behind the receptionist's table. "Do you see that sign over there? Do you see what it says?"

Caden let out a prolonged sigh which made her sound distinctly adolescent. "Huuh... It saysMintaka."

Jarzyl raised her neck frill proudly. She gestured to the bandana she was wearing around her neck, pointing at the logo woven into the fabric. "Yep! And what clan am I from? That's right--Mintaka! Oh yeah. Best clan in Avaeria."

"Just because this is your clan's headquarters doesn't mean we're allowed to be here," Caden retorted.

"Of course it does! Mintaka is aninclusiveclan which welcomes dragons of all social backgrounds and magical affinities." Jarzyl nudged Atlas's side with her wing. "We've got lots of nocturnal dragons, just like you, and lots ofalltypes of dragons. We've a very welcoming clan--that's what my grandfather said," she cheerfully declared.

"I think he was referring to your clan's recruitment process, not literally inviting anyone to enter clan headquarters."

"No, I prefer my interpretation of it. And I come here all the time! Follow me." Jarzyl walked over towards a café at the side of the lobby that was selling beverages and snacks. "Just pretend that we're getting food or something. Act natural..." Glanced around, she made sure no one was watching before she darted from the café and towards the lift lobby. Jarzyl dropped to her belly and rolled under the closest security gate. "Come on!"

"Why are we bypassing security if you are allowed to be here?" Atlas asked, as he crawled under the security gate behind her.

Caden crouched down on her belly to carefully squeeze under the gate. "That is an excellent question."

"Oh, that's just because the gates are coded to be unlocked by recognizing your specific type of magic. It's no big deal," Jarzyl explained. Normally the gates sensed magic, so a drakken would touch a sensor pad with their paw or their wing to be granted access. But only grown adult drakken had magic, not fledglings and certainly not hatchlings, so the gates didn't respond.

Jarzyl reared up on her hindlegs and bumped the elevator call button with her nose, and then she strolled over to the stairwell and pushed open the door. She waved her friends over. They all hid behind the partially shut door and peaked out through the crack where it met the door frame. "Ok here's the plan. When the elevator comes, we wait for anyone to get out and leave, and then we sprint over and go inside," Jarzyl told them.

"If you're allowed to be here, why are we acting all sneaky?" Atlas asked.

"That is also an excellent question," Caden said.

"Uh..." Jarzyl took a moment to consider this new line of inquiry. "Ok. When I say I'm allowed to be here, it's more like... we probably won't get in too much trouble if they find us, but they will probably kick us out. And my mother will ask why I went to clan headquarters, and if I explain it to her she definitely won't be happy, so let's just keep it a secret. It's easier this way."

"Hmf. I think you are definitely getting us into trouble again," Atlas decided, but he didn't sound too unhappy or reluctant about being dragged on an adventure.

"I think we should have just gone to the swimming pools," Caden said.

The elevator arrived. After waiting for a few seconds to check that the coast was clear, the three hatchlings ran into the elevator car, and Jarzyl reared up on her hindlegs and jumped so she could reach the highest button.

---

A collection of important drakes and drakka were assembled in a meeting room, doing important business things.

"So in summary, the Sector Forty-Nine project is running two cycles behind schedule, but we anticipate being able to catch up in phase three as per improved projections regarding the propulsion system integration. Furthermore, budget predictions are looking very good."

The drakka used her tail to tap the light field projector's controls, trying to change the displayed projection, but then something out the window in the distance briefly caught her attention. "Our liaison with Taslin clan has... uh... indicated that Taslin has finally started... begun to accelerate production... construction..." The wingleader tried to turn back to her presentation, but then she did a double take and stared out the window again. "I'm sorry to side-track, but I think there's something on the shield spire over there. Is that a...?"

Several of the other wingleaders also turned to stare through the large glass windows at the side of the meeting room. Their pupils distorted and become magnified as natural telescopic lenses slid into place within their eyes to enhance their vision, and there were murmurs of surprise as several of the dragons realized what they were looking at.

"Can't possibly be..."

"I think it is!"

"What? What are we looking at?"

"The spire--at the top! On top of tower one!"

"Don't just stand around. Someone contact security!"

"What's that up there?"

"Who'sthat up there, you mean."

"Just another thrill-seeker?"

"Would be a verysmallthrill-seeker."

On the top of the neighbouring skyscraper was a tall metal spire which contained emitter equipment for Avaeria's storm shields. And near the base of that spire was a tiny blot of orange colour, clinging onto the rooftop. From a greater distance it might have been mistaken for a flag or even a splash of paint, but the assembled wingleaders were close enough to see otherwise. "North, look at that!" rumbled one of the senior wingleaders, her tail twitching from side to side in surprise.

North Mintaka, prime wingleader of Mintaka clan and one of the most important drakken in the city, also turned to see what the distraction was. He didn't even need to activate his farsight--once he saw the orange colour he immediately recognized what he was looking at. After more than a century and a half of life, with almost a third of that spent leading one of the largest clans in Avaeria, there were very few things which could surprise him--or so he had thought. Now his eyes went wide.

"If my eyes do not deceive me..." he said slowly, and in a voice so quiet no one else could hear, "...that is my granddaughter."

---

The wind at the top of the tower was much stronger than Jarzyl had anticipated, but not anywhere near strong enough to dissuade her from her adventure. She was now standing at the edge of the rooftop with her tail wrapped around one of the spire's supporting spars so that she could balance and look out over the edge. Gusts of wind were battering her side, but the view alone was worth it--she could see over everything! Towering skyscrapers filled the city centre like jagged metal teeth, and numerous dragons were flying from point to point, so small that they sometimes resembled nothing more than specks of colour flitting from one building to another.

Most buildings in the City of Wings had been designed with draconic flight capability in mind, and therefore had open rooftops for dragons to come and go from--but the particular office tower was one of the rare exceptions because it housed a large emitter spire for the city's storm shields, and therefore the only access to the rooftop was via a maintenance hatch. This also meant that despite its height, there would be no one else up here who might question why the hatchlings were there.

Jarzyl glanced behind and beckoned at Atlas, who was also standing on the rooftop. "Come and see this!!" she yelled. The rushing wind almost drowned out her voice even though she was shouting as loud as she could. "You have to feel the breeze! This is what it feels like to be alive!"

Atlas shook his head and pointed his tail towards the access hatch from which they'd climbed out from. "Ok, you've seen the view! Now can we go back inside?!" he yelled in reply. Atlas had been willing to follow Jarzyl out onto the rooftop, although he remained closer to the central shield spire where the winds weren't quite as strong.