The journey to the Aztez Empire took nearly a week, as they traveled by carriage. Their jaws dropped in shock as they saw the mountain-high walls surrounding the city, stretching as far as their eyes could see.
They approached the enormous gate, adorned with gold and silver. Upon seeing Prince Elric's dragon, along with the carriage, the guards promptly opened the gate to let them in.
The city was even grander than what the seers had told them. The buildings in the city were far different from the shabby huts they were used to. Instead, they were built from cobblestone and limestone.
They exited the carriage to meet Prince Elric, who was climbing down from his dragon's back. As they exited the carriage, their dragons descended from the sky to greet them. Sigurd watched the sky as Joyrax flew towards him, but just then—
SPLAT!
Something fell from the sky, almost crushing him. He had to dive out of the way to evade it. Everyone gathered around to see what it was.
"It's a baby sheep," Sigurd said, confused. "It came from Joyrax."
"Did your dragon throw that at you?" Theon asked, slightly amused, while Varys and Astrid stared at it warily.
Joyrax descended from the sky and picked up the dead sheep, then chugged it at him. Sigurd caught it by instinct. Joyrax was excitedly wagging his tail while hopping up and down at the sight Sigurd holding the sheep. In that moment Sigurd understood what Joyrax was trying to tell him.
"You want me to eat it?" Sigurd asked, looking at Joyrax's face as he excitedly wagged his tail.
GRRRU!
"It's raw, I can't eat it."
Joyrax took a step back, his stomach heaving. Everyone reacted instantly—they knew what was about to happen, and even their dragons sensed it. In panic, they all rushed to put as much distance as possible between themselves and Joyrax.
But Sigurd stood his ground, calm and steady, fully aware of what Joyrax was about to do. In a dazzling display, purple flames burst forth from Joyrax's mouth, aimed directly at Sigurd. Everyone watched in confusion as the dead baby sheep in Sigurd's hands was singed by the flames.
Sigurd was perfectly fine, not a burn mark on him. He had realized it a while back that Joyrax was able to maintain perfect control of his flames. Even if he touched it, it wouldn't burn him. After Joyrax was finished, Sigurd tossed the meat at him.
He leaped into the air and caught it in his mouth, swallowing it whole.
Just then, Prince Elric approached them.
"Before we go to my estate, I would like the three of you to get your measurements."
He was addressing Theon, Sigurd and Varys. Since Astrid didn't have a dragon.
"Measurements?" Theon asked, confused by what Prince Elric meant.
"Yes, you're going to need proper equipment if you are to ride your dragons. Astrid, if your salamander grows big enough, you too might need equipment to ride her."
He then proceeded to call over one of the butlers who was traveling in the carriage with them. The butler was a bald old man with a mustache. He had been along on the whole journey with them but barely spoke.
"This is Alfred. He'll take you into the city to get you what you guys need. Another important matter is your dragons." His attention turned sternly to Sigurd. "You'll have to keep your dragons under control, especially you, Sigurd, since that species is known to cause a lot of problems.
It's not a rare sight to see dragons flying over the city. There are a lot of dragon tamers here. Every dragon tamer here is taught how to properly control their beasts so that unwanted fights don't erupt between them. An out-of-control dragon can lead to a lot of casualties. For now, make sure they are within your sights at all times."
They nodded and followed Alfred as he led them to an unusual-looking store. The owner was an old man, and he and Alfred spoke to one another with an air of familiarity.
"What can I do for you?" the old man asked.
"These three are looking for saddles for their dragons," Alfred replied.
The old man inspected them. "Oh, I see. I'm guessing those dragons outside belong to them?"
Alfred nodded. The old man then disappeared to the back of his shop and returned with a long measuring tape. They left the store and headed outside to where the dragons were, then proceeded with the measurements.
He started with the tamers first, then moved on to their dragons. Varys was up first to take his measurements.
"Don't you have any equipment that you can just sell us?" Theon asked as the old man measured Varys.
"Each dragon saddle has to be custom-made, young man," the old man said. "Each dragon has its own uniqueness; it's not a one-size-fits-all situation."
When he was done with Varys, he moved on to Hope. The white dragon slept quietly, without a care in the world, as the old man took its measurements. He finished relatively quickly and moved on to Theon and his dragon. Aquarax was clearly not a fan of being touched, but the old man managed to take his measurements without much fuss.
After he took Sigurd's measurements, it was Joyrax's turn. "What species of dragon is this? I've never seen anything like it."
"It's a fiend," Sigurd responded.
The old man looked at Joyrax curiously. "Be right back."
The old man retreated back into the store, and after a while, he returned with a bag. He took out what looked like baked goods and tossed them towards the dragons. Immediately, all the four beasts, including Astrid's salamander, lunged at it and began to devour it.
"What is that?" Sigurd asked.
"They are dragon edibles. They're very nutritious for dragons. You need to keep your dragons healthy if you're going to cultivate them to their fullest. Your dragon over there looks aggressive, so I wanted to find a way to calm him down."
"You could tell that with just one look?"
It was impressive how the old man managed to figure that out. Looking at Joyrax, you'd think he was just a playful puppy—a shameful excuse for a dragon. Aquarax and Hope looked far more intimidating than him, yet the old man didn't hesitate to approach them.
"I've been doing this job for years; I can tell an aggressive dragon when I see one."
The old man then picked up his measuring tape and began measuring Joyrax while he ate.
"That's it," the old man said when he was finished. "You'll get your dragon saddles in about a month's time."
After saying their goodbyes to the old man, they left and returned to the carriage.
The carriage carried them to a rather large estate, and after a few more minutes, they arrived at a huge mansion. Butlers, maids, and other staff lined up outside as they arrived. They welcomed them with polite bows and ushered them inside.