I woke up. Where was I? Did they leave me in the forest? Did this day really happen or was I just at home? I could already eliminate the possibility of the last, because I was lying on the floor of the pit, just like the night before. My eyes had to get used to the dark and I was startled when I saw a shadow on the other side of the barrier. I could not see who it was, but he had a lantern with him, so a tiny bit of light fell into the pit. Thousands of stars were shining in the sky and to my surprise there were two moons floating in the darkness. I guessed it had to be around midnight. As the boy continued to stare ahead, I let out a soft cough.The figure turned round, visibly startled, and I saw that it was Aros. He stood up and untied the bamboo web. Within seconds he was sitting next to me in the pit.The figure turned round, visibly startled, and I saw that it was Aros. He stood up and untied the bamboo web. Within seconds he was sitting next to me in the pit. He sat down against me and wrapped a blanket around us, trying to keep out the cold. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. He straightened it out and I saw the photo I had found in the old house; I only now realized that he was one of the two boys in the photo, only a few years younger. Without saying hello, he began his story; "This is Victor," he pointed to the boy with white hair, "he came from your planet." I raised my eyebrows; "was? And I've never seen a human with purple eyes and such snow-white hair..." Aros continued to look at the picture; "when he first arrived here, he looked different, but then he came in contact with a dragon soul, similar to what happened to me." He paused for a moment and wiped a hand along his nose. "He went missing three years ago. I was fifteen then."
I asked him if Victor and him were close. "Yes, sort of," he answered. Then, he just wished me goodnight and left. I dozed off pretty quickly in a dreamless sleep.

...

The birds were singing. Slowly I opened my eyes and became aware of my surroundings. I was still in that same dull pit in the ground. Someone had removed the grating so that I could climb out myself. I put one foot on a sticking root. I pushed the other one off the ground and grabbed a patch of grass with my hand. Unfortunately, I had not been given new shoes, along with other equipment, and you don't get very far with trainers in the jungle. Rellian promised to get new footwear when he and Rex went into the city, and that wasn't for another two weeks. Somewhere deep down I hoped I would be back home by then. With a handful of grass, I fell back into the pit with a thud. I groaned. Footsteps came at a steady pace towards the pit in which I had spent the night. A new face looked at me. The boy had shiny black hair and bright green eyes that lit up in the light of the first rays of the sun. He looked at me with a dangerous grin: "Looks like our rookie isn't even strong enough to climb out of a pit! I wonder how she'll fare on her first trip into the forest on her own," he sneered. I looked angrily at the newcomer. I knew he meant a fight with a Vortexia if I 'accidentally' strayed from the path.
I crawled to the back corner of the pit. Meanwhile, a few other boys had joined the bully, whose eyes were full of mockery. "Look, she thinks she can crawl through the wall! Is invisibility some new gift of yours, greenie?" he shouted, and I ignored him. I turned and ran to the other wall of my little abode, pushed off against the wall with one foot and landed a little awkwardly in front of him. Only, he was standing so close to the edge, just in front of where I was standing, that I almost tumbled back into the pit. Amazement flashed in the boy's eyes, but it all happened so fast I didn't know whether it was my imagination. His face was even closer than it had been to Aros' face on the first day. I struggled not to step back and hiss. The three boys who accompanied him crowded around me. I could not turn around anymore. One of them kicked me in the knee. Groaning in pain, I fell to the ground. 

The black-haired boy laughed loudly: "What a wimp." He pulled me up by my arm and forcibly pushed me towards a sand circle, where practice fights were done, by poking the point of his homemade pocket knife into my back. There I stood: face to face with a group of older, bigger and stronger inhabitants. The leader of the gang was about to attack me first. He rammed his shoulder into my stomach and I fell into the sand. I coughed out a mouthful of dust and turned around just fast enough before the pocket knife cut into my shoulder. I rolled over and jumped back up.
He lashed out with his gloved fist, which I clumsily dodged and repelled. The four boys standing behind him looked on, grinning. Suddenly, in front of the sun, I saw a small black dot, which grew bigger and bigger. The thing approached with the speed of a tornado. A gust of wind blew the boy off his feet. He fell face first into the sand at the feet of his friends. He looked up, ready to slap whatever it was on his or her face for disrupting his fight with an inferior rookie. His plans were ruined however, when he saw what was standing in front of me in a protective stance ready to deliver more blows. I knew what Wind Dragons looked like because of the cub I saw hatching yesterday. One difference: this was a full-grown one. Its blue horns were long and ended in a graceful curl. It had mainly white scales, some of which seemed to be dipped in silver glitter. The beast was about the size of a miniature car. Its wings hung protectively like a curtain in front of me and the reptile took up a fighting stance. In the distance I heard hurried footsteps. I saw how Aros came running towards the commotion and before I knew it, he hit the guy who attacked me in his face with his staff, which he held onto at all times. "Forgot about the rules, Tristian?", He said in a sarcastic tone. Tristian fell down on the sandy ground with a groan. Aros did not flinch when he saw the small wound on the head of my attacker. I sat still behind the dragon. By now I had realized it had to be the other wind dragon, Eimid. Why did the beast protect me? Maybe that meant something. The dragon turned and sat down next to me. It was a funny sight: he reminded me of a dog, with its tongue dangling out of its mouth and its tail neatly wrapped around his paws. Aros, meanwhile, was discussing with the other rebels. It looked like their friend was going to take a pleasure trip to the pit. After the other boys had walked away with the wounded Tristian, Aros came walking towards me. "Looks like I have a new Rider on my team!", he said, and his serious look gave way to an amused smile when he saw Eimid's playful behavior.

"I'm sorry, what??" I gasped. "I've barely been here for two days, I haven't even seen a dragon this close before, and you want me to be a rider??"
Aros nodded, still smiling: "All the new boys being trained have the same knowledge as you. It will work out. Plus, you already have a head start. The little ones don't even have a bond with one of our dragons yet, you obviously do." Eimid was still panting, with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
"Well...I can only try...", I muttered. Aros immediately brightened up. He turned around and whistled through his teeth. Myrdor, Aros' dragon, came flying.
"It's best that you come and sit on the rear of my seat for now. We don't want you to tumble off the first time. Eimid will follow." He laughed loudly when I made a mock face. I climbed clumsily into his saddle and Myrdor walked towards the strip of mown grass, the loudest and busiest part of the camp.
Above the din of daily life in Eastborne, Aros called out "READY?"
"WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOAAAAAAH!!!!"
Myrdor had already taken off at lightning speed. After a few seconds of screaming in Aros' ear, he finally slowed down. "Thanks for the headache", said Aros, a bit irritated. oops. "Where are we going?", I asked, to change the subject.
"To the training arena", said Aros. he pointed ahead, where I could see the coast, and the beginning of an ocean. If I squinted my eyes, I could just make out the vague silhouette of an island in the distance. "You have an entire island for one arena?" Aros smiled. "No, each guild has their own place to train there. But we're not here to have coffee chats now," he said quickly as I looked excited, "you'll definitely be meeting the other guilds soon, then you can chat with them as much as you like."
We quickly approached the island, and I took a closer look. Five giant arenas were arranged in a circle around a large tree. The island did not have a soil, but hard rock as a base. Eimid had already landed and was waiting patiently for us to arrive.
Aros looked proudly at the arenas. I noticed that, apart from the different colors, they were each decorated with painted animal skulls, similar to the deer masks that each green guild member carried. Aros had his in his hands. It was painted with gold, white and black paint, and so it matched Myrdor perfectly. Maybe one day I would make one based on Eimid.
Aros looked at me with anticipation. "Ready to go?"
I nodded, and we entered the arena of the green guild together.