About the Academy

Keep in Mind While Reading: The Academy may not be what it first appears.

The Academy of Kasotha is the academy that trains Chosen Ones on how to properly bond and work with their dragons. The academy is visually a grand place, built with dorms for students and rooms for teachers to stay within the main building, as well as a cafeteria, a two-story library, and a meeting hall big enough for all current enrolled students and dragons.

There are two more buildings on the Academy's grounds. One is dedicated to schooling, teaching students everything they will need to know about dragons, caring for their dragons, how to work with their new magic, and, of course, how to truly be Dragon Riders. The other building is used for two purposes, one is to be the Stables, and to hold the equipment and saddles for the dragons.

There are three places within the Academy for the Dragons to sleep, as they are not permitted to find lairs for themselves whilst their riders are enrolled. There is an extensive cave system beneath the main building of the academy, large enough for dragons to walk through and caves large enough to house them comfortably. Dragons can move throughout the cave system as they please, but can only enter and exit when the gate is opened by a teacher or student. On top of the main building is a large dome, similar to a Butterfly House, which has nests for dragons to sleep in if they wish. Dragons can enter and exit this rookery much more freely than the cave system.

The third place isn't one that dragons can willingly choose to sleep in. It's known as the Stables, and is where troublesome or aggressive dragons are required to temporarily sleep so that they can be monitored overnight. This can also double as a place for injured or sick dragons to quarantine or heal.

The Academy prides itself on putting out information on dragons, and this is a huge part of what's in their library, as well as records, and some other material for students to read, should they wish. They claim to study the dragons and publish books - everything the humans know about dragons comes from the academy, whether it's true or not.

About the Chosen Ones

These are the riders.

No human knows if they are going to become a rider. They don't get to put themselves forward for it or go to a place to get chosen by a dragon. They get a letter delivered to them between the ages of 16 and 22, regardless of rank or situation, that calls them to the Academy to be paired with their dragon. No one knows how the Academy knows who the Chosen Ones are. The Academy claims to know through divination of some kind, getting names to call forth.

In reality, the higher ups at the Academy pick at random, and hope no one dies. The public, of course, does not know this, nor do any of the students.

The Chosen Ones are completely normal humans, until they bond with a dragon. When this occurs, they gain extremely long lives, slightly enhanced senses [not as much as a dragon, but better than a dragon-less human], and, best of all, magic. They gain powers similar to their dragon. They do not have to have the exact same powers, but at a minimum it must be something within the same domain. However, for every ability, they must have a weakness. In their forms, you can put "TBD" for their powers until they get a confirmed dragon bond, in which case you must fill this out.

Universal Strengths & Weaknesses
Things that Affect All Dragons

Weaknesses:
- Iron, it weakens the dragons. The more iron, the weaker the dragon.
- Belly Scales are softer than others, and wing membranes are able to be injured.

Strengths:
+ Heightened Senses, their senses are better compared to humans, even the bonded riders.
+ Enhanced Healng & Abilities Compared to Humans [Speed, Strength, Etc. Of course, the build of your dragon is still something to keep in mind.]

The Bond

The Bond, if formed naturally, would be an extremely powerful thing between Dragon and Rider. Unfortunately, in this case, the bond is not natural, and is forced between the dragon and rider. That being said, dragons can choose to forms bonds with certain humans if they choose to and don't have another bond already. It isn't unheard of at all, and is something that can happen. This is what the Academy is making the dragons do, assigning humans to dragons and not giving the dragons the option to not form the bond.

In this bond, the humans gain magic, longevity and heightened senses. The Academy has made the world believe that the dragons gain their human companion, and that they instinctively want to form the bond.

The bond, even if formed unnaturally like this, allows for telepathic communication between the paired people, and the other can feel intense emotions of the other. It will be weak at first, especially because it was forged rather than occurring naturally, but over time, this bond will strengthen to allow talking over great distances and pairs on both sides to push feelings through [such as comforting or soothing feelings].

The bond occurrs when touch between the dragon and human happen, with the dragon intending to cause the bond. Due to it being forged, both the dragon and human will likely feel pain in their head as the bond forms. How painful it is may change depending on individual.

First Posts

Time: ~12PM
Season: Mid Spring

The Chosen Ones received their summons three days ago.

The RP begins around midday, not too early and not too late. The day is pleasantly warm, not too stuffy, and the sky above the academy is clear. The Academy Buildings are far from the rest of the kingdom, connected by a single road guarded by various dragon riders, whether they're visible to passersby or not.

They're nestled nearby some mountains, not quite within the valley of them, but definitely close enough. They're far from the ocean, but rivers and lakes dot the nearby territories, and an old growth forest surrounds the area (including part of the road as it leads to the Academy).

The new students are gathering outside of the grand buildings, in a kind of 'courtyard' with a large fountain in the centre. They've not yet any staff approach them. Directly in front of them is the dorm building, with dorms, the meeting hall and food hall. To their left is the training building, where they'll be doing all of their schooling. To their right is the stables. High above, they can slightly see the roosting place on top of the main building, but there is no visible entrance to the caves.

For the dragons, they're in the stables. They're in a stable each, big enough to house the larger dragons but slightly cramped. Smaller dragons will have more space in them. From closest to the door to furthest, they're in this order:

Aalis Soile, Lorcan, Akuryō Yamishinigami, Illinto, Kaihanu, Auranthia, Rhyhor

They were put in these stables last night, and they know the Bond is coming. How they react to this information and being in the stables overnight and all day is up to you!

They were all captured at least a week ago. They've been on the Academy grounds. Some of them have been here a few weeks, some only one. The Academy waited until they had as many dragons as they could for this years Dragon Riders before they sent out Chosen One summons.

Magic
Of course, all the riders get magic once they bond with their dragons. This doesn't necessarily happen immediately – they're not going to immediately explode with power and light and fire. The only immediate affects will be their enhanced senses and the telepathic bond with their dragon. Their powers will manifest over the course of 24hrs, and they will receive the beginnings of training with them tomorrow.

With all that being said, welcome! You may now post <3

As annoying as it was to suddenly be dragged away from his friends, family, home and town, Alaric was actually having the time of his fucking life. His trip, though long, had been uneventful and unexciting, but he'd had a good horse and okay company for the first half. Beyond that, when there were no more turns in the road, the guards his father had demanded be sent with him were turned away.

But that was the best part, wasn't it? He wasn't a noble anymore. He was just some guy in a group of other 'just some person's, and they were here to become something great. No more hearing his dad tell him everything he's doing wrong, at least it would be actual professors this time and not a disgruntled parent.

But, damn. Standing in front of a bunch of old, massive buildings really had a way of making someone feel small and insignificant, huh? This was a place of legends; only actual riders got to come here. No one alive outside of the Academy had ever set foot on these grounds. The thought was a little daunting, actually.

Alaric whistled appreciatively, hooking his thumbs into a belt on his riding clothes. He'd avoided typical 'nobility' clothing, much to his fathers complaint. But practical was probably best when you were riding for days on end to the beginning of a new life, right?

He walked towards the fountain and sat on the edge, dipping one hand back into the water. There wasn't any sign of staff or anywhere to go, so he guessed they'd just.. wait to be noticed.

Alucard Frasier | 20 | Male | Mentions: Alaric Dir. Other riders Indir.

The ride to the academy had been disgustingly arduous, neverending dirt trails that the horses kicked up into plumes of assaulting dust that infiltrated the interior of his carriage. Emblazoned with the royal emblem, the carriage had been polished to perfection, not a scratch to be seen in the lacquer. However, that was no longer the case, his artisan paintwork had been sullied by stray rocks and rain-damaged during the week-long journey. What was worse was when those brutish commonfolk made him exit his ride and accompany them on a nag that looked as though it was about to keel over and die on the spot. How demeaning.

The prestigious nature of his life was now in tatters, stripped to ribbons before his eyes as he became a commoner. A nameless, powerless person in comparison to what he had held in his palms mere days before. When that crisp scroll appeared on his desk, the fear jolted through his veins and struck him so cold he thought he may die from hypothermia. A damnation, that was what that scroll was. His future forcefully ripped out from under him without mercy, not a shred of concern for how this was going to alter his life trajectory.

His soft white clothes had streaks of dirt across them, he felt horribly vile, marred with muck and grime and gods knows what. The linen shirt hung from his shoulders, being shifted in the light breeze, the full power of the wind being subdued by the courtyard’s architecture. There were others with him, the others chosen. The damned.

With a short sigh, Alucard cast his gaze over the other people. He recognised a few faces, a surprising turn of events considering the amount of faces he saw on a daily basis. These were noble families, he had dealt with them before. His pale eyes narrowed in curiosity, a smug expression tugging at his lips, as he reached a hand to swipe his hair from his shoulder to fall down his back. The long streaks of platinum blonde were pulled back into a pony tail, its tip reaching his midback, in front there were long strands that framed his face.

Despite being called out into this pig sty, Alucard kept his grandeur of jewelry that adorned his hands, neck and ears. The polished gold catching the spring sunlight brilliantly.

With a quick correction to his expression, he approached the fountain, footsteps faint against the aged cobbles. Resting his complacent eyes upon the man perched on the edge of the water feature. His neck tensed to tilt his head ever so slightly to the side. He had no doubt that the nobles would at least recognise him as the heir to this kingdom, the others he was dubious they would recall his status or former status without hearing his name. It did irk him that none of these people had bowed, none of them had shown reverence in any capacity, it made his muscles tense with irritation.

“You there,” He began, voice carrying that honeyed sweetness he had been taught, light and airy in the way he addressed this man. “I recognise you, why.” Alucard had proposed a statement, not a question as he looked down the bridge of his nose at this man.

Valencia Cobris-Strix | 22 | Female | Mentions: Alucard, Alaric Indir.

The prince had not spoken to her once during the trip, she had ridden alongside the carriage with a handful of other royal guards, embellished in the royal emblem and colours. Her sword strapped to her hip, the clinking of metal armour her only companion during the trek. Even when they had come upon the two men that made them travel alone to the academy, the prince did not even look back at her. In all honesty, she wasn’t entirely convinced he had even noticed that she was there.

It was a surprise to her fellow guards when Alucard was called forth to travel into the academy alone that her name was also called out. She had not told her friends that she had been chosen, she did not want some sadness filled goodbye event, no hugging and wishes for her safety. Afterall, if statistics had any say, she would probably be killed. So it didn’t matter in the end.

She had followed Alucard on another small pony towards the academy, watching him closely. He did not do much but complain about the state of his horse to the two men. Neglecting to notice that the two academy men were travelling on foot, so at least he had a horse.

Now Valencia was watching him swan up towards one of the other chosen, in that practiced elegance she had witnessed every day for two years now. She had been assigned to his royal guard upon her graduation from training, it was a cruel fate to be assigned to this prick. Despite her best efforts to bring some kind of softness to his nature, it had never worked and now they were both here. Lives doomed and intertwined once again. She hoped a dragon burnt her to a crisp before she had to try and babysit the prince again.

Her own blond hair was pulled back into a half-braided pony tail, the thick hair like a plume behind her. In the little time she had left, she wanted to make sure these people were at least enjoying small moments. The heavy burden of being chosen had not truly hit her yet, not in the way she had anticipated it to. Not that soul crushing fear that she had often speculated she would experience when she lay in bed at night, staring at the ceiling whilst fighting off the seduction of sleep.

Her eyes landed upon the two other women in the courtyard, they looked starkly different to one another. One held herself in a way that was easily recognisable as a high born, the other looked well..for lack of better words, a low born. She observed them quietly for a moment, the way they looked around, the minute twitches of their muscles before looking at the men.

There were seven of them. She was unsure how many were chosen and how regularly they were, everything to do with this place was in complete secrecy. A privilege to be here but also a life sentence of servitude to Kesotha.

Lorcan | 100 | Male | Mentions: Aalis, Akuryo Indir. Other dragons Indir.

When Dharial had come last night, he had expected the usual, chucking food at him and his den mates plus a few words of warning about not leaving the nest. Yet, here he stood in the stables. He was practically vibrating with excitement, it was the first time he had seen other dragons aside from his nestmates and Dharial, at least that he could remember. For the last few decades, he had been holed up in some mildew rotten cave along with his four companions, waiting for their chance to leave the nest and finally take on a rider.

Dharial was not a particularly comforting mother figure, but she was soft enough to sneak them out on occasion to teach them how to fly properly, how to be a dragon. Lorcan had noticed that his singular outings with Dharial had been increasing in frequency, he wasn’t sure why she had been taking him out more but now it made sense. He was finally old enough to get his bond, the humans would pick the right rider for him and he would be able to fly around with them and do cool tricks and show them the sky above the clouds, maybe they would think his fire was cool and-

His thoughts were cut off as he heard a noise in one of the other stalls, his head lifted and he looked about expectantly, trying to place which dragon had made the sound. None of them were looking at him, how boring. He swung his tail around and began to pace in a wide circle around his space. Luckily he was still small, some of the other dragons were not at lucky and were hunched up in their stalls rather uncomfortably. But it was only for one night! And they had done it already, Lorcan could see the tiniest hints of sunlight, the humans would com for them soon.

His human.

His human was waiting out there in the sunlight, his chest warmed with the idea that his lifetime companion was mere moments away. After keeping his trap shut for most of the night, he couldn’t help the excited keening noise that came from the back of his throat. A long, warbling trilling noise that caught behind his teeth before leaving his lips. Lorcan added a little jump-skip to his pacing, his tail blade scraping along the barriers that separated him from the two dragons on either side of him.

Lorcan had not spoken to the big black male, he had looked at him during the night only to find the male already looking at him, his white head sticking out of the darkness of his mane, unblinking. It had startled the young male so much that he had scampered to the other side of the stall and coiled himself up into a tight ball, feigning sleep whilst he subtly watched the male to make sure he wasn’t going to break through the bars to get at him.

He didn’t understand why the other dragons were so twitchy, perhaps they were as excited as him to meet their human but didn’t want to seem uncool by letting it show. Maybe he would grow as big as these dragons one day, they were so tall and cool. Whatever, he didn’t care, his human was out there.

The female on his other side felt calmer, merely her presence was a pleasant thing to be around in contrast to the scary male. He had also not spoken to her yet, but he had caught glimpses of her during the night. After he had ran away from the male, Lorcan had ended up on the female's side of the stall, almost touching the barrier between them.

He had almost jumped out of his sknl when he caught the glow out the corner of his eyes, as a small orb of light bobbed into his stall and hovered in front of him. It was so tiny, almost a speck, it swayed gently right in front of his nose. Transfixed, his eyes dilated and followed the slow rhythmic bobbing of the light which was soon accompanied with a small comforting huffed noise from the other stall.

Aalis Soile
Light Dragon | Female | Mentions: Lorcan, Other Dragons Ind

Aalis Soile wasn't quite sure how this had happened to her. One day, she'd been under the Northern Lights, flying through the beautiful colours. The next, she'd been in a net laced with iron, unable to break free as a magical pact was formed on her behalf. She'd always found humans so fascinating, with their little trinkets and strange contraptions and odd inventiveness. She hadn't imagined they could be so... brutal.

She knew the Bond was coming, though. They'd explained that much to her. She'd not heard of it before, far away in her frigid northern home. She'd never heard of this 'Kasotha', nor their academy for dragon riders, but she'd very quickly learned.

She wasn't the largest dragon, though there was a scant difference her and the large storm dragon in height, though he was much heavier, bulkier, and much more scarred. He was angrier, too. She'd heard him growling through some of the night, a deep, low rumble. She'd stopped bothering to wonder how they'd caught him; she doubted he'd share if she asked, anyway.

She found she was, however, the oldest among the other captives. Most were around their second century, though she was halfway through hers. One, though, was hardly a single century old. The little fire dragon in the box next to hers, young and innocent, seemingly unaware of the horrid situation he found himself in. He'd been scared, throughout the night. She'd watched through the metallic bars above the metal-enforced wooden walls as he'd peered into his other neighbours area and recoiled.

Aalis hadn't seen the other dragon beyond flashes of fur and black, purple-tinged scales, but she'd done her best to comfort the young male through the night. She'd made small glowing lights to dance around his face, made a low, soothing sound in the back of her throat the same way her mother had when she'd been afraid of storms as a hatchling. Anything to protect him from that fear, even if just for a moment longer.

Even now, she stayed close to his side of the box they'd put her in ('stables', the humans had called them. Another contraption she'd not heard the name of before now). She'd quietened as the sun rose, chasing away darkness and nightmares, and gone silent when the young male seemed to recover entirely from his fear, now seeming to prance back and forth across his wooden cell.