A late summer breeze blew in my face as I stepped out of the house. Dressed in black pants,  a dark blue shirt, my vest and boots, I climbed the ladder of thick vines on the side of the house. Ananta waited impatiently on the roof, her tail flicking this way and that when my head popped up above the edge.

Come on, we're gonna be late! Ananta whined, spreading her wings and giving them a few mock flaps.

The ceremony doesn't start until mid-afternoon. Ananta was right though, it took a couple of hours to fly to the cliffs beyond the forest. Few people knew of its existence as it didn't appear on any maps, well, except for the one I made. Ananta had strung her antlers with dragonberries for the flight and I had packed a snack for lunch before we arrived.

Watching Ananta take off now made me wish she had re-learned flying technique years ago. I jumped off the roof, casting the spell for my dragon form. Shooting out of the cloud of smoke, I called on a gust of wind to startle Ananta who scowled at me, her draconic glare stuck on me as we glided above the treetops.

The Fire-Ring Ceremony was a big deal for dragons. I decided to skip the morning preparations which, in my opinion, were down right gross. Fish, dragon berries, fresh kill, and some awful smelling liquid that was supposed to be a delicacy to dragons, were brought out and sorted for snacking during the games and trials. The games and trials were what Ananta and I were going for, not the preparation and accidental bath in smelly liquid. Since my first time, I had always imagined participating in the games and even the trials where fledglings became dragons. It started centuries ago when the warring colonies of dragons fought one another. When fledglings were ready, they were put through difficult and rather dangerous trials before being declared dragons. When they passed, they were sent to fight other colonies. Since the waring time of dragons was over, the trials were nowhere near as grusom. The trials had become the fire-ring ceremony, representing the unity of the colonies.

I had learned all about the trials from Xynuss the first year I was invited and Ananta carried my through one of the games a couple of years ago, a small race of sorts, and although we had come in last place, it was the most fun I had experienced from any of my visits.

A few hours later, Ananta and I landed just south of the cliffs, their towering grey edges barely visible beyond the remaining forest.

Well it's about time we stopped for lunch!

I laughed at Ananta's comment, though I hated to admit that I was pretty hungry too. We found a dragon berry bush and I pulled out some bread that I had grabbed before I ran outside. A couple of dragons flew overhead. I recognized one of them as the green one from practice. I picked up a reasonable sized rock, about the size of my fist, and threw it at him. I watched the stone hit him on the stomach before waving my hand to camouflage Ananta and myself into the trees.

Ananta was snorting out puffs of smoke as I fell to the ground laughing. His face was ridiculous! I mocked the dragon's startled expression and movements before I couldn't contain my laughter any longer.

I estimated it was around noon and we still had three more hours to fly. With our pre-festive laughing fits, we set out for the rest of the flight to the cliffs.

In the next couple of hours, the trees began to thin out as we neared the rocky terrain. Oaks were replaced by tall pines and the dirt became a rocky mix. The cliffs were now a dark bluish-grey that looked overhead while dragons flew about, the groups of fledgelings following in their elder's shadows. I spotted Xynuss with his thunder of dragons and I joined up by his side.

Are you ready to become a real dragon? Xynuss looked to me.

Definitely. I've been waiting to do this for so long, and now I feel more nervous now that it's happening! Thoughts began racing through my head as I looked around at the thousands of dragons and the few hundred who would be entering the trials with me.

I know you'll do just fine, remember what you learned and trust yourself Xynuss was always good a pep-talks and my confidence for this afternoon's trials.

A great shadow spread across us as the sun was blocked from view. The Dragon King perched high on a large cliff and raised his wings to gather everyone's attention. His wings must have been a good hundred and fifty feet or so, making Xynuss look tiny.

Dragons, in a few moments, the games and trials will begin. We have a good number of fledgelings this year as well as a newcomer who we will be watching as she enters this year. His voice boomed in my head like an echo.

Xynuss and I flew to the cliff and landed, bowing down to the colossal grey and white dragon. I looked like a pea next to a melon.

It is Novia, right? His deep voice said.

I gave a nod and proceeded to speak. Your majesty, it is an honor to be invited to the ceremony and to participate in the trials.

We are pleased to have you and might I say, your most recent transformation as Xynuss has told me about, surpasses my expectations and I am quite impressed with your draconic appearance.

Thank you. I bowed once more before taking off to join the others. Another thunder was performing the trials while Ananta and I waited together for our time. Xynuss, being that his names was at the end of the alphabet, was last on the list, in which we had to wait for several other groups to finish. There was a game going on, a sort of team sport where two teams competed to throw a melon-sized rock through a series of hoops on opposite ends of an oval shaped ring. Ananta called it some strange name I couldn't remember but she dragged me into the ring before I could say a word.

Three dragons set the rigs ablaze as both teams lined up. I watched the rock as it was tossed into the air and then hit toward me. A rock that big would hurt, knock me out of the sky even. I held out my hands and braced for impact at the last second as I caught the flying sphere. It must have weighed hardly anything as I opened my eyes to find myself still in the air.

Silly, dragons are stronger than humans, you can lift things much heavier than that! Ananta signaled for me to pass her the rock.

The green dragon from earlier was speeding to intercept the rock when an opening appeared by one of the rings. Turning toward it, I hurled the rock into the ring and the dragons below shot up fire.

The game went on, point after point when a glowing blue fire shot into the sky.

Xynuss. The deep voice could only belong to one dragon. The king, and that meant my turn in the trials. I spelled my hair as always, when dealing with fire so I wouldn't come out with burnt remains on my head and followed Xynuss's group.

The sun suggested it was early evening and the temperature began to drop with every hour. We had to score above a certain number of points to pass and I had already warmed up with that game earlier.

Alright, your first task is to race through a course. They want to see speed and aerial agility. You are smaller than most of these dragons so don't worry too much about maneuvering. Xynuss landed by the elders to observe and instruct while the king himself blew the line of fire. I took off instantly, gathering speed and easily passing to the front group.

See you at the end! The green dragon flew in front, blowing a cloud of smoke at me. I barrel rolled through it just in time to duck the first branch at the edge of the forest. With him in front, a tree branch could come my way at any second. As if on cue, a large branch dropped from the tall tree in front of me. Pushing hard with my left wing, I rolled to the right, narrowly dodging the large stick.

That trick won't work on me anymore. A smirk formed on my face as I swept down to pick up a couple of small stones. Making my way around branches and trunks, I threw the stones with flawless aim, each one hitting the green dragon on the head.

It was you who threw that rock at me this afternoon!

I could only laugh and fly ahead of him while he was distracted. Yes, and you put on quite the show when it hit you. I could see the clearing in the distance, a couple hundred yards ahead of me. Picking up speed, the forest around me became a blur, crossing through the firing geysers and into the cliff split. Being so small, I didn't find it hard to steer clear of the sides which would be hard for most dragons since they would have to tuck in their legs when they turned on their sides.

I could see the huge flaming tunnel, made from the fire of a hundred dragons. So hot, that without proper protection, would burn the flesh right off any human. "Darastrix ternocki," I whispered. A spell I had come across last night while I was reading. Scales spread to my face leaving none of my human skin exposed. What used to be hot fire to my skin became a warm fuzzy feeling as I glided effortlessly through the orange and yellow flames.

A few dragons waited at the finishing ring as I extended my wings, letting the air push against them and eventually slowing to a stop. I looked to Xynuss who gave his signature nod of approval.

Breathing fire. One of the few things I wish I could do without a spell. We had to set a tree aflame from ten yards away. Of course, Xynuss has told me what this year's trials were so I spent the entire night researching.

On my count, I want you to set that tree on fire. The audience of dragons had gone silent when my name was called. One, two, three! Xynuss gave me the countdown

"Ixen trekis," I whispered and held my finger to my mouth as one spark erupted into a stream of fire. The tree engulfed in flames and burnt to a crisp in mere seconds.

Lastly, and what Xynuss referred to as, 'the hardest' trial, was the measure of altitude. I had to fly as high as I could before it became hard to breath, and as for fledgelings, they could only go so high. This was a test of dragon development as adults were able to fly high enough to look like ants.

As a human, altitude sickness was a common occurrence from even climbing tall mountains. For this trial, I would have to fly higher than the clouds. At the king's thunderous roar, we took to the sky, flying higher and higher. I felt the air get colder as I flew toward the clouds. The thin atmosphere didn't have a single effect of my lungs as I broke through the clouds, courtesy of the spell that changed my appearance. I watched some dragons stop a few meters below the clouds, sulking at their lack of the ability to breath the thin air. I didn't have to make it higher than the puffy white blanket to pass so I hovered to watch as a quarter of the dragons turned around.

When I landed, an eruption of loud roars and shots of fire bellowed through the crowd and Ananta tackled me to the ground.

You passed! You actually passed! She got off me and I could only smile, knowing I have accomplished something that no other human had ever tried. She had this odd look on her face which I knew well enough was a sign that she was up to something.

Ananta, what's going on? I asked as nervousness washed over my face. A horrible odor filled my nose and just as I was about to look up, the awful liquid fell on me, coating my hair, wings, and body. Wiping the juice away, I saw Ananta rolling on the ground laughing as I shook my hair over her. Not funny! I couldn't help but laugh though.

Xynuss walked over and licked the juice from me, his sandpapery tongue brushing against my face. Thanks.

I landed in front of the king, giving a bow. My apologies, but I must go, I am expected at home soon.

Very well, congratulations, and I hope to see you next year. The enormous dragon nodded his head and I took off with Ananta to head home.

It was dark by the time we arrived, the moon lighting our way for the last hour of the journey. The stars shone brightly, illuminating the night sky as I landed on the roof.

"Novia? Is that you?" my mother called from the door.

"Yes, is dinner still hot?" I asked. I was hungry from today's events, I hadn't found much time to eat so I was hoping dinner would at least be ready. My wings and scales disappeared, however, the liquid, which had become slimy, remained in my hair and on my skin. Entering my house, my mother instantly turned around as I probably smelled horrible. After being around the odors for a few hours, I had come to get used to it.

"Novia, you smell awful, what happened?" she said.

"Ananta had that gross dragon juice dumped on I me after the trials."

She just shook her head and waved her hand. The smell faded and the greenish tint on my arms disappeared. "There, now you don't smell like rotting fish."

We sat down, Ananta at her end of the table while my mother brought down steaming plates of stewed carrots and ginger flatbread. We talked for hours, mostly answering the questions my mother had about the trials before it got too late for me to keep my eyes open. The day's activities were exhausting and I decided to do nothing more than relax for the next few days.