Falling down, and down, and down. Darkness surrounding, and closing, and closing in on you. The air grew cold and smelled of the promise of death and ancient shadows. You can have a hundred eyes on you, or is it just one? Zarek’s cunning mind tried to count the seconds of his fall, but the void seemed to swallow his sense of time. Silence is the sound of death.

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          “Welcome, child. This is my home. Tempestus’s Den.” A blue, glowing light emerged from the darkness, and Zarek could make out the shape of a dragon. The voice didn't come from a throat, but felt like a vibration inside Zarek’s own bones. Is it the sound of a dragon or a human? Zarek guessed that he would never find out. In the pitch black, a single, massive eye opened—not with a glow of fire, but with a swirling, stormy darkness that made the shadows around it look like bright light. Zarek could make out the fact that he was falling down a tunnel. Why is there a tunnel under the cave? Zarek suddenly realized that Mister Sir and his other teachers always went to the cave to show them dragons. However, they never let students come into the cave. I should have known something was off when Mister Sir told me to go to the cave!

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          I don’t understand! Mister Sir genuinely seemed excited. Why am I here? Because I failed? No. Because I need to improve? No. Because I am a threat? No. Then why am I here? Zarek’s busy mind tried to think of all the possibilities on why Mister Sir would send a talented student to death. Wait, I’m not dead yet. Zarek’s instincts kicked in, and he tried to stop his fall, but couldn’t. Should I negotiate my life? The one that just talked to me might listen to me! After a few intense mental battles with himself, Zarek decided to speak up.

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          “Hello, guardian of the Tempestus’s Den, do I have the honor to ask you why I am here?” The silence was loud. The silence swallowed Zarek’s voice. The silence ended: “You are here for.” A pause. “Well, training.” “You are Mister Sir’s one hundred and ten percent! You are the definition of death, and I am too.” The shadows began to swirl, forming the outline of wings that seemed to be made of trapped smoke. “Hello, master rider. My name is Tempestus, and welcome to my den.” A single claw, as black as obsidian and sharper than any blade Zarek had ever seen, tapped the floor right in front of his boots. Wait a second, there is a floor? The dragon must have sent me falling in my mind. That’s why the darkness was so… fantasy-like. Now that Zarek could see, he saw that the place he was in was made out of pure obsidian, with lightning flashing between. Wow! This place is incredible! Weirdly, when Zarek tried to find the dragon that tapped the ground, he couldn’t.

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          “The first phase of the training is the vigor of both mind and body. You shall be put through a chamber of deadly traps. You will be able to see them, but you would have to walk across them and be stabbed. In that way, you exercise your mind to be fearless, and your body to be tough and strong.”

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          Oh no. Zarek started to glance everywhere, looking for a place to escape, but he could not find any way to escape. Maybe I need to bargain. Hopefully my life is worth something.

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          “Superior Guardian Tempustus, may I ask if I would die? Not that I’m scared for my life, but because maybe no one can ride and befriend you after me.” Zarek could hear the dragon snort, but suddenly, Zarek got teleported inside a hallway with booby traps along the walls and the floor. I hope that this is a mind thing as well. Tempestus's voice boomed inside Zarek’s head. “You won’t die.” These words sound familiar! A distant memory tugged at the edge of Zarek’s mind. When did I hear that?

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          Zarek then shook his head and cleared his thoughts. Wait a second, didn’t Tempestus say I won’t die. Welp, that was reassuring. Zarek looked around and saw a dark, poison-like mist drifting behind him. Uh-oh. After seeing the walls melt in the mist, Zarek decided that the booby traps were safer, although they weren’t exactly Zarek’s favorite choice.

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          In Zarek’s life, there were choices A and choice B, both of which involved risks, but then, there were choices C and D, which used Zarek’s smarts to survive. Zarek, if he could help it, always chose C or D. That was how he gathered enough money to get an education without parents. However, in this hallway, there are only two choices; A and B.

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