The School of Scales stood tall, like a palace, in the centre of a grass field which stretched on forever. It was like something out of a fairy tales. Large white marble walls decorated with gold spiraled up into tall towers that casted shadows upon the lush garden near its entrance.

Students walked in and out of the school, each one clutching their books, laughing and talking with fellow classmates.

Near the entrance of the school was a huge fountain. In the centre of it was a statue of a tall stone man with a golden monocle on one eye. Five girls were sitting on the fountain edge chatting. Each one of them had matching saddle bags, strapped around their shoulders.

Climbing on the fountain statue were about five small dragons. Some of them were resting on his shoulders, enjoying the warm sun. While others, like small green dragon, whose scales would sometimes flash a strong blue, were running, jumping and tackling each other's.

Kyle flinched at the sudden sound of a raspy cry. The small blue dragon had tumbled off and landed on a long red dragon with no arm or legs. The red one had been the one to cry as he was disturbed from his nap. The young girls didn't even look up until an old woman, with her white hair neatly tied up behind her head, came rushing down the front stairs.

"Oi! You lot!" She pointed a harsh finger and the five girls looked up. "For the last time, get your dragon's off of Merak's fountain!" Kyle stumbled back slightly as the students collected their things and ran away, their small dragons in tow. "Honestly," the old woman threw her hands in the air. "I'm going to have to put a fence around it if this keeps happen." She spoke to herself.

"Ms Wingoolie." Arsha called to the woman, who turned around.

"Ms Arsha Beladoven!" She hurried forward and hugged the young bonding guardian. "It's so good to see you. How have you been?"

"Fine, this is Kyle Dunber. He's a new student from Hyrin."

Kyle clutched his suitcase tightly as the woman inspected him with a warm smile. "Another one? Oh, and he's in good shape too. It's nice to meet you Mr Dunber, I am Ms Wingoolie the vice principal here at the School of Scales."

"It's nice to meet you too." He shook her outstretched hand politely. The woman was small but still a little taller than him. Kyle was yet to go through a growth spurt, making him smaller than most teens his age.

"Well, we'd best get you settled into your dorm. Your classes will be starting at midday, but so you know they will usually begin at nine am." She placed her hand on his back, leading him inside. Kyle glanced back at Arsha and the Wing Rider's, but they were already walking through a Dimensional Door to who knows where.

"This is the ground level. Here you will find things like the office, uniform and supply shop, library and the cafeteria, which is open from six am, at lunch times and until ten o'clock at night. So, don't think of sneaking out of classes for a bite to eat."

The ground level was busier than outside. Kyle had no idea that so many people had gotten accepted into the school. Dragons of all type followed their riders. Occasionally, Kyle would see that some riders had the same breed of dragon, but there was always something unique about them. Whether it was the way they walked, the shades of their scales or how some older dragons were actually speaking to their riders.

The dragons weren't the only ones that were peculiar. Most of the students had horns, some had tails, others with different coloured skin. But they all wore the same white uniforms that reminded him of the Wing Rider's, only instead of golden patterns the students wore silver.

A girl walked past, and Kyle couldn't help but stare at the gills that decorated the sides of her neck. "Staring is incredibly rude Mr Dunber."

Kyle looked at Ms Wingoolie before shaking his head. "Oh, sorry."

"It's okay. I understand it must be a bit much." She placed her hand on his back again and continued to lead him through the crowds. "That door there leads to the uniform and supply shop. I suggest you go there at lunch to grab your uniform and things for class."

He looked at the double doors the old woman had pointed at. Above them was a sign with the same words written in various different languages in gold writing. He was able to read the words 'Supply Shop' before it was out of view.

Ms Wingoolie walked behind the front office desk and began shuffling through a stack of paper. "First year... first year..." She mumbled before grabbing a few papers and passing them over. "Here they are."

At the top of the first sheet it read, 'First Year Schedule'. Kyle's eyes quickly looked over his classes. Some of them were ordinary and half-expected such as; Math, Geography, History and Herbology.

But others made him smile. These was Care of Dragons, Riding, Languages, Survival Education, Self-Defence and even Gemmology.

"These are only some of the classes you will be learning in your time here at S.O.S. In the upcoming years you will learn the skills of a blacksmith and even be able to take part in our traditional Dragon Derby."

"Dragon Derby?" He asked.

"Yes, it's one of our school's most popular sports. Now our school has a few houses. The house you are in depends on what dimension you come from. You are from Hyrin, but because we hardly get any riders from Hyrin you will have a chance to choose your house. But don't worry you'll have a chance to do that later."

Ms Wingoolie began walking up a large spiralling flight of stairs and Kyle ran to catch up. "Just come to Reception when you've made up your mind. Your small stack of papers will also include your dorm number, permission for you to obtain a uniform and books from the Supply Store – don't lose it and a map of the school."

They walked up one flight of stairs. "Welcome to the first level, this is where all the dorms are. Remember that there is a ten o'clock curfew, so unless you have permission from a teacher then I don't want to see you out of your room past then. Study sessions are also on in the library every day after school until nine o'clock."

She finished and stood next a single wooden door. "Here is your dorm. It can only be opened with this key, don't lose it because I will not give you a spare."

He took the shiny key and gave a polite nod. "Your first class starts in about an hour, so get settled quickly." With a kind smile she walked off. Kyle stood silently outside his door, thinking over everything Ms Wingoolie had just said. He looked up as a dorm room open and two girls walked out talking. He was too far away to figure out what they were saying but he noticed one girl glance at him and giggle.

The other one's eyes followed where her companion was looking. She had long curly blonde hair, fair skin and dark brown eyes. Kyle found himself staring again but he didn't have a chance to look somewhere else before the blonde girl dragged her friend, who was still looking at him, away.

Before they disappeared around the corner, the friend gave Kyle a kind and flirtatious wave.

He put the key in the keyhole and opened the door. The dorm was stunning compared to the room he had to share with three other boys back in the orphanage.

There were two large canopy beds. There was a window facing the back of the school. In the distance he could see a huge colosseum. A silver rug decorated the floor between the two beds. Each had a bedside table, a desk, a small bookshelf to share, an oak wardrobe and a long mirror each.

Sitting on one of the beds, which had been decorated with a fluorescent green bedsheet, was a boy. He barely noticed Kyle entering the room as he was too busy reading one of the hundreds of comics decorating his side of the room.

There was a painting of a young man surrounded by dragons. By his side was a beautiful gold dragon. All the dragons seemed at peace and he wondered what the scene was about.

Kyle stood in the doorway building up his courage to speak. "Hi," he began. The boy didn't look up, and Kyle tried to get a good look at his face hidden behind the comic. "I'm Kyle." He put his bag down on his bed. His hand brushed the soft white sheet and he gave a small sigh of comfort.

He looked over to see the boy holding up his index finger as if asking him to wait. Kyle sat awkwardly on his bed until the boy finished reading a page and folded the corner. He placed the boy down and gave Kyle an excited smile.

Kyle nearly slipped off his bed in surprise. His roommate had a long black devil tail, two small curly horns that poked out of his completely white hair, yellow snake eyes and two sharp fangs. He immediately turned pink with embarrassment. "I'm Axel, nice to meet ya!" He held out his hand.

His skin was as pale as porcelain, but his fingers where a dark black. Kyle shook it quietly. Axel continued to grin. "You're from Hyrin aren't you?"

"How could you tell?"

"I've been told that Hyrian's have never seen someone like me." His tail hung lazily at his side.

"Sorry," Kyle mumbled.

"Don't be." He waved his hand. "It's your first year here isn't it? Same here. I was brought here only a day ago, after my bonding ceremony."

"What dimension do you come from?"

"I come from a small trading dimension. It's nothing impressive, a bit of a wasteland actually. Have you ever seen this much green?" He pointed out the window at the long grass fields and random trees that had been planted to provide shade. "I think green is my new favourite colour."

"I can tell." Kyle chuckled looking at his bed sheets that brightened up to room. He began to unpack his things. "Have you visited the supply store yet?" Axel asked, once again glancing at his comic.

"No, but I'm planning to."

"You should go now; our first classes start in an about an hour." It was then that Kyle realized that Axel was already dressed in his uniform which consisted of a white button up t-shirt, a black vest and tie with silver markings on it and white pants and brown laced shoes. Kyle wasn't sure how he felt about the outfit.

"I'll come with you." His roommate offered.

The two boys walked down to the first floor and into the supply store. A lady sat at the front desk reading a brown leather book. "Morning Ms P." Axel chirped confidentially causing the woman to look up from her novel.

"Kyle, this is Ms P. She'll grab you a few uniforms to try on while I get your books and things." Axel walked off to a table which had a large display of items. Kyle was glad he had a friend who knew what he was doing otherwise he'd have been completely lost.

Ms P had gotten up and was looking through the uniforms. There were two isles, above each isle was a sign. One said 'Boys' and the other 'Girls'. Ms P went down the boy's isle. She didn't even ask him his size as she grabbed two different uniforms.

Kyle glanced at them. "There you go. Try these on. This is your day outfit and that's your training uniform. The extra clothing needed for Dragon Care will be handed out in your class." She pointed to a change room and he hurried inside.

His day uniform was exactly like Axel's, while the training uniform consisted of a short-sleeved black t-shirt, tight brown pants, laced hiking boots and leather fingerless gloves. There was also a belt that looked like it could hold numerous objects.

Surprisingly, they all fit perfectly. Ms P sure had a gift for sizing. He walked out of the changeroom in his day gear. Axel was at the desk with a large pile of stuff. "Looking good!" He complimented.

"How much is this stuff gonna cost?"

"Nothing at all. Most of the clothes here are second hand unless you got the money for a new one." Kyle didn't mind second-hand things; he'd grown up wearing the clothes other boys had grown out of. "These things," He placed a hand on the pile of books and objects. "Are brand new and also completely free, but if you lose it you have to buy another I think."

"What's the currency here?" He asked out of interest. He knew had no money whatsoever, but luckily, he wasn't known to lose or ruin his belongings.

"Or currency is like yours. You'll find in most Dimension they use these things called pieces. There're gold pieces, silver pieces and bronze pieces. You'll get the hang of it."

In the pile Axel had formed, there were textbooks, notebooks with hard leather covers, fountain pens in numerous colours, a wooden ruler, a shiny gold compass, a water satchel and other strange objects. Ms P put a small bag on the table, inside were more day clothing "We should go, our first class is Dragon Care meaning we get to see our eggs. Bye Ms P!" Axel beamed and gave a small wave.

Kyle felt a flush of excitement rush through him. Thank God, he would get to see his egg again. Ever since it had left his side Kyle felt a sort of disconnection. But when he heard Axel's words that pit feeling in his stomach seemed to fill slightly.

As the two boys walked outside carrying an equal number of objects. The hallway was less crowded. Kyle guessed that the older students would currently be in class. The students that did hang around in the halls, looking around, chatting and occasionally peeping into classrooms, all looked his age. He spotted the two girls from earlier.

"Hey, you've been here for a while, right?" He asked Axel.

"Only for one day, why do you ask?"

"Those two girls." He didn't point to them, but Axel guessed who he was talking about. "Who are they?"

"The brown haired one with the freckles is Clare Burlane, the blonde one's Chloissa Burlane. They're stepsisters I think." He heaved under the weight of the books.

"Let's get back to the dorm." Kyle smiled.

"Yes, let's." Axel said in a strained voice. He laughed and they both walked up the stairs to their dorm and prepared for their first class.