CHAPTER 20 - MEDRA

Medra endures Professor Hassan’s austere lecture in a cold, open-walled classroom, where Hassan insists riders are mere intermediaries who channel highblood will to dragons. Hassan emphasizes that dragons’ loyalty belongs to their highblood houses, not riders, a stance Medra silently rejects.

When Hassan steps out, Medra searches the desk and finds a leather dossier: Nyxaris, Avari Duskdrake. The file details Nyxaris’s capabilities and labels him an historical enforcer used to suppress rogue dragons and riders, with repeated references to punishment and terror. Medra reels that neither Kage nor Nyxaris disclosed this past.

Medra then finds an Assessment of Rider Compatibility page bearing her name. Hassan’s notes judge Medra stubborn and undisciplined and include a chilling line: Potential for Soul Binding. Remembering Professor Wispwood’s teachings, Medra recognizes the ritual would grant a highblood control of a dragon through the rider, likely at the rider’s total expense.

Medra concludes the class is not just instruction but evaluation for her possible sacrifice. She suspects a powerful patron—most likely Viktor Drakharrow—ordered it and questions whom Hassan truly serves.

Hassan returns and challenges Medra, who masks her alarm with flippancy. Dismissed, Medra leaves, determined to uncover who is orchestrating the evaluation and how much time she has before a decision is made.