The cat hissed, twisting to punch him in the face, blowing him back. Hardly deterred, Ralem used the wind to push him back, dealing a fierce upper-cut to its jaw, and a tooth was knocked loose, turning from human to fangs mid-air. Jaydon, go back and help Fraylon and Daemon out! Ralem commanded as he was nailed in the jaw. Don't leave them without backup. I can take care of myself!

Jaydon hesitated. Then he was gone.

The cat took the chance to dig its claws into his chest and he cried out as the wickedly curved talons slid between his rib cage. "You weak humans," it spat, morphing into its huge cat form. "You all will die..."

"Last time I checked, big kittens like you die too," Ralem replied back, his voice choppy as he kneed the cat in the stomach. The cat growled, ripping through his flesh like butter. Ralem could hear Jaydon's roar echo through the battle field. By now the forest was getting terrifyingly close, they had only thirty seconds before impact. He could see the cat morphing, struggling against the wind to unfurl its wings.

Ralem smiled at an idea even as blood dribbled from his lips and flew in the creature's face in thick red stripes that streaked through its rippling fur.

"Why are you smiling?" It hissed. "The others are holding your dragon back, in a few seconds you will be nothing but a mess of blood and guts on the ground. And then, I'll be the one smiling. "

"You forgot one ... thing," Ralem choked as he grabbed the creature's meaty wrist and inch by inch pulled its claws out of his chest. "I am the Rider of the.. wind king!" And with that he kicked the creature with both legs like a kangaroo, thrusting himself away from it.

It snarled and spread obsidian black wings, which quickly ballooned with air. Ralem twisted mid-air, calling the wind to his aid to keep himself airborne and jerk the wind upwards like a geyser under the cat's wings. It shrieked as a loud snap filled the air when both of its wings broke like a cheap umbrella.

Ralem stretched out his arms as he stood, still suspended in the air. His palms faced the sky as he propelled the struggling cat higher and higher.... Then he twisted his wrist.

Several thousand tons of pure force crashed into the cat, sending it reeling into the forest, its body making a racket as it was smashed into tree after tree.

Ralem realized he had been holding his breath and started breathing again, heavily, looking down at his callused hands. Had he really just done that? His eyes lit up as he realized that he had. With a cocky, un-Ralem-ish smile he started walking, still a hundred feet over the ground to were the battle was raging full force. He looked down at them from his lofty perch, so tiny, so powerless. He could feel Jaydon's power coursing through his veins, electrifying his being with breathtaking energy. All of Jaydon's power was available, ready for him to take. He could feel it in his fingertips like a solid object, spinning in his hands and caressing his palms. He could feel the breeze all around him, ruffling his hair, whispering in his ear. He closed his eyes, letting the wind swirl faster and faster around him. Out of his mouth poured the words of an ancient song in the language spoken by Adam and Eve to God. The language of names.

A curling smile lit upon his face as he twisted his wrist so that his palms were facing upwards. Slowly but surely the Vulnairians and Felinus alike were lifted into the air as if they were but puppets on a string.

Jaydon threw his head through the swarm of Felinus Draconis like a crazed bull. He could hardly see through the haze of beating wings and snarling faces, sharp talons tearing anywhere where he didn't have his plates of armor. His limbs flailed, his tail swiping back and forth as he belched fire. Gobs of black spit dribbled down his gorgeous green armor, melting scales and flesh before his healing mechanism could catch up.

Then he felt as if something had grabbed him by his intestines and yanked. Hard. He roared in fury as he was bashed through the horde of thrashing black dragons. And then his eyes spazzed as he felt his power flood out of him. "What's happening?" he echoed as he struggled to find enough lift, his large body weighing him down. Then his eyes widened in realization. Ralem.

"Ralem!" his sail-like tail flashed through the air, trying to turn himself around. "Stop!" It took all his will power to keep himself in the sky. The invisible force brought him closer and closer to the ground, his razor sharp wingtips began to chop off the heads of mighty trees, one by one.

Then he suddenly froze, a huge pine pressed to his scaly chest. He looked down to find Ralem standing there, triumphant, his palms on Jaydon's snout. And in that instant Jaydon knew that his Rider was in complete control. And for the first time the thought scared him. Ralem smiled, his eyes an acid, swirling green. "Jaydon, we can finish this together. You and I."

Jaydon could feel Ralem draining his energy even as over a thousand men and creatures were dangling in space below, their sudden flight powered by Jaydon's frantically beating hearts. "Ralem stop. The power- it could kill you."

"No," Ralem continued, his voice low and haggard. His muscles were shaking visibly, his veins seemed to glow as they forked under his shining olive skin. "Jaydon, become one with me. We will be invincible together- truly undefeatable."

"No," Jaydon said.

Ralem's eyes narrowed. "No? Why?"

Jaydon reached out his scaly hand and scooped Ralem up to look him in the eye. "The power- it's poisoning your mind. I never should have done it in the first place. Give me back my energy or you will die."

"Jaydon- come on, we can do this. We're a team right?" Ralem gasped.

"Your human body can't take this much longer! Let it go!" Jaydon snapped, squeezing him harder. "Rider, please listen to me."

Ralem started shaking faster, his eyes turning completely green. "No! We can be stronger together, Jaydon! Let's become one and nobody else has to suffer!" At Ralem's bidding the sky rolled with dark waves of black, zig-zags of glittering lightning fingering through its depths.

Jaydon struck like a viper, his sabre teeth arcing to just inches from Ralem's chest. The roar that came next rolled across the battlefield like ominous thunder- but in Ralem's ears it was like a hammer being slammed into his head. The vibration shook through his whole body, his brain rattling in his skull, every bone in his body shaken to the breaking point. Blood started to trickle out of his ears as his screams turned to soundless shrieks of agony.

When it ended Ralem slumped against Jaydon's scaly fingers, letting go of all his pent up energy. The storm immediately stopped and the whole Vulnairian armor fell with a loud bang, only to struggle to their feet. Jaydon frowned, holding Ralem's open jaw between two talons. "Come on, Ralem..." he hissed softly.

Ralem groaned finally, his Adam's apple bobbing as he tried to breath. "Let go-of me. You're choking me," he gasped.

Jaydon sighed and twisted his hand so that Ralem could stand on his palm. Ralem gasped for breath, suddenly feeling like a little toy in Jaydon's hands. Suddenly his stomach churned and he vomited right onto Jaydon's fingers. "Sorry," he apologized, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. He found a talon press to the underside of his jaw, gently pushing his face up to look into the huge head of the dragon. Ralem's eyes widened in fear at the sight of his gruesome, protruding teeth, each one longer than his whole body. His hot breath washed over him, and he suddenly felt very small and fragile compared to this great beast.

Jaydon's eyes were stormy and sad. "Ralem? Are you well?"

Ralem shied from his contact. He wasn't used to Jaydon being so.. large. Jaydon could crush him under a finger! He was just an ant under Jaydon's burning gaze. He scooted backwards, his breathing light and fast. Jaydon let out a sigh when he saw Ralem's eyes turn back to normal. "I'm- I'm fine," Ralem gasped, shaking. He felt like he had run a hundred miles and back.

Jaydon lowered him gently to the forest floor. "Ralem, I hate to see you so defenseless. Here, I made something for you months ago." He reached into his manly pouch before pulling out something that rattled like coins in a purse. He dropped it to the ground with a loud noise before turning to smoke.

Ralem waited as the cloud churned into a dark funnel before Jaydon's human form stepped out, the tiny twister disappearing into his body. Jaydon looked horrible. His messy black hair was haywire and littered with chips of wood and leaves, his shirt was ragged and torn, hanging off his muscular chest like someone had just thrown a rag over him. His boots were caked in mud and his pants were so loose Ralem was afraid a string would break and they would fall off his body. There were bags under his eyes like he hadn't slept in days and the green of his iris was flashing sporadically. The whites stood out against his smudged face and he had the startings of a beard crawling up his cheeks.

"Jaydon you look like death," Ralem wheezed, somehow relieved that Jaydon was still.. Jaydon. From seeing his dragon so often in human form, it was almost like he had returned. His muscles loosened at his familiar face.

Jaydon's lips twitched. "Believe me, you don't look much better." He said kneeling and picking something up from the grass. It was a shiny green chestplate, covered in the smaller scales from Jaydon's neck. "Here is some real Rider armor," he smiled as he helped put it on and fasten the straps. Ralem gasped in wonder as he ran his hand down the smooth scales.

"When I was a hatchling I lost a lot more than that one scale but I decided to make this instead of giving it to the scale fairy," he said, yanking on the straps to make sure they were secure.

"Thank you Jaydon," Ralem breathed, staring at the beautiful engraving of his dragon tattoo inscribed on his gauntlet. Then he staggered forwards, his eyes wide. He clutched at Jaydon's shoulders. "Jaydon I'm so sorry I didn't mean it I swear-"

"It's okay, brother," Jaydon reassured him, fastening the shoulder piece which had sharp scales sticking sideways like spikes as if it were made to be a weapon.

"No it's not. I could have killed you. I don't know what came over me-"

"Power." Jaydon said softly. "Power is what happened. He took Ralem's hand and he flinched when he felt their bond widen, all his energy just waiting to be used. "Never take my energy into yourself and if you do, use it only to heal you. Use your body as a conductor, to direct the energy, but don't absorb it into you it it will poison your mind." Jaydon said as he helped out the last pieces of armor on. "There," he said, stepping back to admire his work. "It fits perfectly."

"Jaydon, thank you," Ralem said earnestly, taking a step forwards and surprising himself at how light the armor was. He felt so much more powerful clad in his dragons scales, it was surprisingly comfortable, and he could tell soft moondeer leather lined the undersides, brushing against his skin. He had no mail, unfortunately, but he figured his healing mechanism would make mail almost unimportant. The shining emerald scales were sure to make him a target though... He smiled at Jaydon, ignoring the thought. "It's amazing."

"I know," Jaydon beamed. "I worked really hard on it." He looked at Ralem for an awkward moment before continuing. "Ralem I sense that you are glad that I have returned to my human form. Why were you scared of me? I'm the same no matter what form I take. It's still me."

Ralem realized Jaydon was not looking at him but into him and he couldn't help but shiver for a second.

Jaydon walked closer, his callused thumb traveling up Ralem's dirty cheek. "Don't ever feel inferior to me just because I am more powerful. Because even though you may be small, you're my whole world, Ralem. My real treasure."

Ralem smiled softly, feeling like he had swallowed a small ball. "Uh..." He started to say as Jaydon wrapped his arms around him and dug his face into Ralem's armored chest.

Then they heard it. Three long, blaring notes that filled the forest with a perilous tenor.

The King and Queen were in danger!