“A… dinner party?”

Ren watched his mentor attempt to straighten his wrinkled dress shirt, Thame watching from nearby. Aernorn was curled around Ren’s shoulders, snoring away happily after his flight lesson.

“Yes yes,” His mentor turned, scoffing at Ren’s attire. “You look like a mess boy! I have some clothes in the back of my closet there, tidy up! I cannot have the rest of my fellow riders think I’m getting too relaxed here, now can I?”

“I… guess not, but-”

“Go change,” His mentor ordered, walking to Thame.

“Sir, forgive me if this is… considered rude,” Ren wandered to the closet, searching for something that would fit his broader form. His elven mentor was taller than Ren, but about as thick as a stick, “but why are we attending a dinner party? Don’t you see your fellow Riders often?”

“We’re celebrating our two newest Riders,” His mentor explained, helping Ren choose a light grey top, “Yourself, and my collegue Parker has a new student as well.”

Ren nodded a bit, shifting uncomfortably in the new clothing. “There’s a lot of new Riders here. Did everyone get, like, a celebration?”

“Not exactly, but Parker was also my student. So for them to have a Rider of their own is incredible, and must be celebrated.” His mentor slid the scabbard that held his light blue blade on around his waist, and smiled in Ren’s direction. “So, let’s be off!”

Stepping out into the maze-like corridors, Ren found himself slowly getting used to the twisting and looping paths. At first they had seemed impossible to navigate with no problems, but now that Ren had been here for a while he understood that the maze was done with good reasoning.

The hardest places to reach in this school were the student rooms, where new Riders stayed between lessons. They were well defended by the older Riders, and the numerous hallways made it near-impossible to get through to the more vulnerable.

Ren and his mentor stopped outside a large set of double doors that Ren knew led to some kind of staff-only room. His nerves were on fire as his mentor pushed the door open, letting the muffled music from within wash over them.

Ren could count about a dozen teachers, with about that many students. The students ranged from youngest - a little elf girl, barely in the double digits - and to the oldest - Ren’s age, about 18.

“Grian!” A light voice rang out over the buzz of voices, and an elf made their way over to Ren and his mentor. The elf’s red hair was chopped short, their slim form seeming more fragile than Ren knew they would be. His mentor smiled, holding out his arms to hug the elf.

“Parker, good to see you again,” His mentor pulled back, his hands staying on his old student’s shoulders. “How’s Stormid?”

“He’s doing wonderfully,” Parker grinned, fidgeting with their loose tunic. “Absolutely adores Bristyl, and Allista.”

“Where is your student? I don’t see her about.”

“Right.” Parker turned to the crowd. “Allista Creightson! Where’d you go?”

“Sorry sir!” A human girl, obviously younger than Ren, appeared by Parker’s side. Her long black hair hung down to her mid-back, her hunched posture giving off her insecurity. She was obviously brand new, probably a Rider for less than a week given the pocket-sized dark blue dragon on her shoulder.

Ren waved to the student as Grian and Parker moved aside to chat amongst themselves. “Hi… I’m Ren.”

“Allista Creightson, but call me AC!” She brightened up a bit at the fading presence of her teacher. “And this is Bristyl!”

The little dragon perked up and its name, and Ren could feel Aernorn sending his own greeting their way. “This is Aernorn.”

“WATCH OUT!” Ren barely managed to duck before a wolf-sized orange dragon leapt over his crouched form. On its back, a girl was perched - she seemed to be the person to scream at Ren.

The dragon landed a bit in front of him amidst the silence the room had fallen into. The girl, whose light hair and green eyes shone with youth, laughed despite the glares of other teachers.

“Odalia!” An older Rider stormed forward, the black cloak draped over his shoulders dragging on the floor. “What have we talked about? You’re giving yourself a bad image.”

The girl rolled her eyes, resting against her dragon carelessly. “Yeah yeah, I’ll… head back to my room or whatever.”

“Poor Sam,” Ren’s mentor had snuck up behind the boy, his whisper making Ren jump. “His trainee is… difficult, to say the least.”

Ren couldn’t help but agree as Odalia left the room, her dragon tightly pressed to her side. Her instructor watched her go, dark eyes following her every step. The room had slowly grown louder with resumed conversations, riders turning back to their previous discussions.

Sam made his way over to Ren and his mentor, obviously frustrated. “I swear, Grian, that girl is going to be the death of me.”

The lilt Sam used when saying Ren’s mentor’s name made both student and teacher smile a bit. His mentor pulled the other teacher into a hug, comforting his friend.

The party seemed to resume as normal after the Odalia situation, and Ren found himself actively enjoying the celebration. Eventually, Ren and AC were sat together in the corner of the room, tired of the endless conversations older Riders seemed to like having.

“How long have you been here?” AC was watching the crowd, but speaking to Ren. He smiled a bit, glancing in her direction.

“Only a few weeks,” Ren shrugged, resting back against Aernorn. The warmth of the reptile calmed Ren’s slight nervousness at the size of the crowd before them.

“I got here a few days ago. Parker’s been kind, letting me call them by their name.”

“My mentor requires I only refer to him as such,” Ren chuckled a bit, “Says it creates respect.”

“Parker seems to… think otherwise.” AC grinned, shifting to rest casually against Ren’s legs. “I wonder if we’ll ever see a dwarf or urgal as a Rider.”

“Knowing we’ll possibly live forever?” Ren instinctively ran a hand through AC’s hair, feeling connected through their newness to immortality, and this life in general. “I hope so. I’d like to see the renewed Pact be put to use.”

“Mind if I join you over here?” Ahead of AC and Ren, a new girl had come over. She was tall, dark hair cut to shoulder-length and red tunic distinct. She was holding a glass of water, and seemed shy.

“Sure!” AC gestured to the floor space before the new students. “I’m AC, and this is Ren!”

“I go by Aqua,” The girl took a seat, legs folding neatly beneath her. “I’ve been here for about a year, so I figured you two were new.”

Ren studied the girl, noting the more angular face and regal expression of elves.

“How much magic do you know?” AC leaned forward, excited.

“Well, uh…” Aqua shifted a bit. “I don’t know much. Basic spells. Most of my training has been on strength - both in body and mind. Only recently have I been learning the Ancient Language.”

“So… does that mean it’ll be a while?” Ren’s sad tone made Aqua shake her head rapidly.

“Not necessarily! I mean… each mentor has their own idea on how things should be taught. So for me, my mentor - their name is Jess - is very intent on guarding myself. I think he got into a lot of fights trying to come here, so it makes sense.”

AC leaned back against Ren, sighing. “Parker seems very intent on not teaching me magic yet. It’s been all meditation stuff. I wanna get to the good part!”

“Patience is key, Allista,” The three students jumped at Parker’s presence, instantly straightening up out of respect. The teacher giggled a bit, waving them off. “Peace, young ones. I’m just here to see how you all get along.”

AC ducked her head, hair falling to block out her face. “I’m sorry sir, I didn’t mean to insult your training.”
“I took no offense,” Parker sat, resting with their legs tucked below them. “Grian was my teacher, but I found his methods… rough. I have my own way of instruction, and it’s somewhat frowned upon. Besides, you’ve been with us for a few days. We’ll pick up the pace when you’re more settled in, Allista.”

“Yes sir.” AC raised her head a bit, and Ren noted the smile on her face.

“Parker?” Aqua was looking to the teacher reverently, smiling wide. “You mean… the Parker?”

“Oh god is that still a thing?” Parker groaned, running a hand through their hair. “I thought people would have moved on.”

“What? What happened?” AC looked between Aqua and Parker quickly, ignoring their mentor’s expression of ‘i-want-to-beat-my-head-against-a-wall’.

“Parker was one of the youngest humans to ever be a Rider, but that’s not even the best part,” Aqua was buzzing a bit, a renewed energy running through her body. “At the centennial Blood-Oath Ceremony, the Ancient Elves chose to bless them! Out of anyone!”

Parker looked sheepish, burying their head in their hands. “It… wasn’t that big of a deal-”

“The last person to be blessed was-” Aqua lowered her voice, leaning in to the group “-the founder of this Academy. Eragon Bromsson.”

Aqua pulled back, grinning. “With their blessing, Parker was destined to be an amazing Rider, and they are!”

“I’m not that great,” Parker shrugged, face flushed from embarrassment. AC looked to have some newfound respect for her teacher, her dark eyes watching Parker’s every move. Ren was sitting quietly, content to learn from the older student.

“Of course you are!” Aqua grinned, pulling back from the group. “You’ve barely been a full-fledged Rider for five years and they give you an apprentice! You’ve been the ambassador to Alagaesia since your graduation, and you can do more magic than anyone here! How could you not be great?”

Ren found his eyes watching his mentor, who was chatting with Sam and another rider. He watched his mentor, catching his eye and earning a small wink. Was Grian listening to their conversation?

After the description of Parker’s blessing, the teacher managed to drag the other girls to a different topic of conversation. Ren excused himself, heading to the drink table to grab some berry juice.

“You must be Grian’s apprentice.” Ren jumped at the sudden male voice from behind him, and whipped around to see the other rider his mentor had been speaking with. His dark blue robes and tanned skin identified him as Taurtis, a man Grian had brought up numerous times as being a good friend.

“Yes, yes I am.” Ren held his hand out respectfully, smiling. “My name is Ren, Ren Doggard.”

“Taurtis Shadeslayer,” The rider shook his hand, grinning. “My apprentice is somewhere about here.”
Ren watched the older rider search the room, humming to himself. “Ashbel is a finicky one, but a great fighter. I’m sure you two would get along splendidly.”

Ren nodded, eyes going back to his own mentor. The instructor was walking towards them, face more serious than it had been before.
Taurtis followed Ren’s eyes, seeing the same expression on his friend’s face. “I’ll leave you be, Ren. If you ever meet Ashbel, give her a chance.”

With that, the older Rider left, quickly replaced by his mentor. “Ren, there’s business we must attend to. Something popped up, and we need to go. Now.”

Before Ren could ask any questions, a hand latched on his wrist, pulling him through the crowds and out of the ballroom. Once outside his mentor let Ren go, but continued walking briskly down the paths.

“Sir, what’s going on?” Ren questioned, jogging to keep up with his teacher.

He got no answer, other than his mentor picking up the pace. Ren sighed, resigning himself to just going along with this.

~~~
Boom! I had a lot of fun writing this part, since it meant I got to use all of your guys's submitted characters!

If you're missing out on people like Doc and Iskall and whatnot, sit tight. I'll get to them eventually. If you wanna submit a prompt about them, please do!

Also, I wonder what came up at the end there? 0.0

~Parker