HOME | DD

Description
Dictionary
Fibble – a small, mostly harmless subspecies of the pragindy.
Garina – a winged subspecies of the pragindy.
Luharae – a marine subspecies of the pragindy; smooth skin, usually blue or aqua.
Murno root – a type of root that grows in Praginani.
Nubari – a furred subspecies of the pragindy.
Prag – a young pragindy.
Praginani – the planet that the pragindies live on.
Pragindy – an alien creature unknown to humankind.
Pragindy – sa’thon – literally translates to Pragindy – beyond, where only a few of the most ancient elders of Praginani enter and live there forever.
Pragindy – Watchers – the ancient spirits of Praginani.
Raksym – a powerful, turtle-beaked subspecies of the pragindy.
Silmein – a snake – like, massive subspecies of the pragindy.

Guide to Prag School
Prag School is a strictly non – for – profit education system, where all prags can join and learn the skills that they need to pass into adulthood. We teach grades one to ten. The following pages list the prags in the small ‘tribes’ that make up the school. Listed next to the tribe names are the names of the supervisors that will watch over the prags. The prags in each tribe will learn together about different subjects and share a dorm.

List of Subjects
Here is our list of subjects taught by the esteemed teachers at Prag School.
History
Taught by Mrs Galgrun
The students will learn about the history of the land around them, learning of its significance and how important it is to our culture.
Geography
Taught by Mr Arunto
The students will learn about the whereabouts, religion and different cultures of the countries all over Praginani.
English
Taught by Mr Burra
The students will engage in several different topics, such as spelling and writing, which they will learn to use properly in everyday life.
Flight Skills
Taught by Ms Yimbyro
The students with wings will learn how to fly skilfully and efficiently, as well as several other techniques to enhance their flight abilities.
Physical Education
Taught by Mrs Sylfie
The students will engage in several different means of sport, including running and ball games.
Special Education
Taught by Mr Peragon
The students who struggle with schoolwork or other matters will learn how to cope with their feelings.
Science
Taught by Ms Ueri
The students will conduct different experiments and gather information about different chemicals.
Maths
Taught by Mr Wyvern
The students will learn how to calculate sums as they steadily progress towards adulthood.
Survival
Taught by Ms Peryna
The students will learn how to hunt and use other important survival skills, which are all vital for adulthood.
Art
Taught by Mr Kaelius
The students will learn how to express their creativity and create beautiful artworks.
Dramatics
Taught by Mrs Elyna
The students will learn how to express themselves and put on interesting plays.
Music
Taught by Ms Rylora
The students will learn how to use several different instruments as they progress throughout the grades.
Healing
Taught by Ms Ashara
The students will learn how to fend for themselves when they have an accident. Ms Ashara also tends to the Healing Centre.
Counselling
Taught by Mr Nymora
The students who struggle with mental issues will be counselled and spoke to accordingly.

1

‘Nope,’ said Kai, ‘nope, nope, nope.’
It wasn’t that he wanted to be a disobedient son. His mother was not a friendly pragindy when she was angry at him, which was another reason to shut up and obey her orders.
But this – this was beyond the question of ‘obeying orders.’ This was called ‘madness.’
Kai raised his muzzle and stared up at the towering marble school above him, casting a dark shadow over his terrified eyes. Everything seemed to be held up by fancy chiselled pillars, and straight, flawless edges. No imperfections whatsoever. Which was even more reason for him to run away and refuse to come to the school.
He had plenty of flaws.
Kai stared at the unfamiliar creeper vines crawling up the walls of the school, sprouting too – bright purple and pink flowers. A few small saplings were even growing in the corners of the clumped – together buildings that made the school, as well as wild spurts of ferns and golden – veined leaves wherever he looked. One wall was completely dominated by moss – a dark green, leafy wall that Kai hated already.
Had the teachers deliberately made the school look like it had been sitting here for years? Or had they just let the vines grow as the school was in the process of being built?
He knew that the building had not been here for long. Nyrani had only been Chief for three years now, but after she’d moved to Rintari, she had created Prag School, so everybody could have a chance at ‘education.’
Pah. Education was the last thing he needed.
‘I’m not going to learn here,’ Kai said firmly.
‘It’s not a question of whether you want to or not –’ Sl’tora began, with the voice of a weary mother who had clearly been arguing the whole morning.
Which she had. The whole journey to Prag School had been full of tears and yelling and infuriation in general.
‘I said, I’m not going to step one foot into that hideous building.’ Kai shook his head resolutely, and sat back down on his haunches.
Why should he go to school, anyway? What if everyone started making fun of his stupid idiot wings and weird pelt? No, not ‘what if,’ it was more of a question of ‘how will I deal with the fact that everyone will treat me like I’m a science experiment gone wrong?’
Because it was certain that there would be at least some pure – bred prag who would point the talon, and therefore encourage everyone else to do the same.
‘Well, I’m leaving you here, even if you don’t want to go in, so if you stay out here, you’re not going to get fed. Which isn’t very smart.’ Sl’tora narrowed her eyes, her luharae ears flicking back in annoyance.
‘I said no!’ Kai flapped his stunted wings frantically. ‘Don’t make me do this, please!’ His long, feathered tail whipped back and forth in fear. ‘I mean it!’
A spear of ice seemed to stab his heart, again and again, till he wanted to collapse and cry forever in the earth. Because he couldn’t do this. He had his limits. And the world was stupid, stupid, stupid, even though he hadn’t even tried the school, but it was still all terrible and everything was awful already and nothing was going to go right, ever.
Sl’tora shook her head. ‘I’m going to miss you, Kai, but it’s good for the both of us. You need to learn to cope without me. It’s what every prag needs to learn.’
‘Please, Mother…’ Kai rested his paw on Sl’tora’s shoulder, ‘…please…don’t leave me here, it’s scary…I’m going to get bullied…especially with my stupid tiny wings…’
‘You won’t,’ Sl’tora assured him, ‘in fact, I’ve let Nyrani know about your…ah, slight disability.’
She didn’t, she didn’t, this is a mean joke…please, it’s just going to make everything worse, everything. Kai felt like he was spiralling into a dark mouth of fear and shadows and hatred, the main source of all negativity being his mother. Even Nyrani, the freaking Chief of Praginani, knew about his…disabilities…of being a three – way crossbreed.
‘You didn’t really tell Nyrani, did you?’ Kai yelped frantically.
‘She’ll understand, and so will the teachers.’ Sl’tora’s voice was gentle, but Kai knew that she was just trying to pry him away.
She smiled at him, briefly, before she flared her luharae – garina hybrid wings and flapped into the air, her tail trailing behind her. Kai leapt after her, opening his too – small wings as he tried to launch into the air. He flapped, hard, but every time he rose into the air, he always fell back. Sl’tora, his mother, looked back once more, her eyes revealing nothing about what she really felt inside. But he knew that she didn’t really miss him. Did she?
‘Enjoy, Kai,’ she called, but her voice was flat, as if she couldn’t be bothered to put emotion into it.
‘I love you,’ he called, feeling his eyes begin to bubble and burn with tears.
Why do I have to be a quarter – garina!? he thought angrily. Maybe if I was a full garina, I’d be able to catch up to Sl’tora…
Kai let himself fall to the hard rock trail beneath him. He shook his head, watching as Mother became a small, dark speck in the bright blue sky. He bit his lip to hold in the tears, trying to hold on to the sound of her voice in his ears. Had Mother just dumped him in this unfamiliar school without having a proper goodbye, at least?
She had. Even his own mother hated him. Was he really that awful to be around?
Maybe he was uglier than he’d thought. Maybe his tiny wings were too hideous to even look at. Maybe he’d never make a friend in his whole year here.
And yet…he still had to find out what the School was like. An image of Mother’s disappointed face flashed into his mind, as if she was yelling into his ear, At least try to please me!
And if you hate it, he told himself, just tell an instructor and say that you want to go home.
But he knew that the chance of any teacher letting him visit Mother before the year was over was very, very low.
Kai glanced towards the School and sighed. He stood on reluctant legs and began to trudge towards the marbled entrance. He felt like the huge door was just another dark pair of jaws waiting to swallow him up.
Before he could reconsider his choice, he felt a surge of prags his age jostle him towards the entrance. They were all talking excitedly to their friends, and they had all combed their fur back so that their pelts or scales glistened in the early morning sunlight. He was the only one who hadn’t put tree sap in his crest to make it look stylish. Most of them also wore fancy leather backpacks, whereas he just had a small straw satchel slung across one shoulder. They were all rich, snobby prags who would turn their noses up at him, the crippled three – way hybrid.
Kai began to wish that he’d just been born as a thoroughbred prag. But no, that was apparently not an option! His father had been a nubari, and his mother a luharae – garina hybrid. That explained his stunted wings, and weird luharae ears, and feathered pelt with patches of bronze nubari fur here and there. He wasn’t even sure if he could breathe underwater with his gills. He didn’t even know if he could shoot venom, like some nubaris. And he’d been putting up with curious stares from other pragindies for ten years. Ten! All that time, and he’d just been getting uglier.
‘Hey, you!’ someone from behind snapped.
‘Yes?’ Kai whispered, trying to shrink into the earth.
What were they going to say? Had he done something wrong already? Was he going to get kicked out of the school?
‘You do realise that we’re all behind you, and you’re just standing there, blocking the doorway!?’
‘Oh,’ he whispered, before realising that he’d stopped right at the entrance as he became more and more tangled up in his thoughts.
‘Yeah. Oh.’ The female nubari that had snapped at him sighed. ‘Go on!’
Kai padded into the School with his ears laid back in fear. He tucked his wings tightly to his flanks in hope that nobody might see how small they were. Maybe if he kept them like that the whole time…
‘Don’t hide them from me, cripple.’ The same nubari with the mottled rust – coloured fur strutted up to him and grinned with all her sharp teeth. ‘Can you shoot venom like a real nubari? Eh?’ She laughed – a high, sharp, short sound that made Kai’s feathers flutter in fear.
‘I’ve never tried,’ he whispered, but he had a sinking feeling that he couldn’t shoot venom even if he wanted to.
‘I can show you how!’ she mocked, flashing her front fangs which Kai knew housed venom. ‘Would you like me to demonstrate?’
‘Please, I don’t…I don’t…’ Kai trembled.
This was it. This was the moment when the bully would roar and shoot venom right in his eyes, so that he would collapse into a steaming puddle in the hallway around him. A puddle that had once been a prag called Kai.
‘Hey, come on.’ Another voice. ‘Stop taunting him.’
Kai glanced up and saw a well – built raksym standing over the nubari. A she – raksym, with curled ram horns and a kind face.
‘It’s not his fault that he’s got small wings.’ The raksym blinked her dark ocean blue eyes at Kai. ‘Come on. We don’t have time for nubari weirdos like Kerlon.’
He managed to nod shakily, before he followed the raksym deeper into the School. He felt the frosty stare of Kerlon follow him all the way, but then he remembered that this burly raksym was by his side now. Hopefully it would stay that way.
Had Kai found a new friend already? Maybe. Perhaps. He felt a small ember of hope warm the centre of his heart.
‘Your first day here?’ the raksym questioned.
‘Yeah,’ he mumbled. ‘My name’s Kai, by the way.’
‘My name’s Ringa’toramo, but call me Ri.’ The raksym grinned – a friendly grin, which Kai wasn’t expecting. ‘My family is obsessed with dumb names.’
‘Okay, Ri,’ Kai gave her a small smile back, feeling a tiny bit happier. ‘Hey, do you know what we’re meant to do? Is it your first year here?’
‘Yeah,’ said Ri, wrinkling her nose, ‘but I’ve tried my best to memorise everything in the building. I think we’re meant to go to the Great Hall first, to find out which dormitories we’re sleeping in.’ She wagged her stubby tail in excitement. ‘Can’t wait!’
Kai had to run to catch up to Ri, who was bounding towards a small mahogany door to the left of the entrance hall. Over fifty other doorways of the same size were scattered all around, and tall marble arches like shiny – scaled silmeins rose into the air to hold up the dome – shaped roof.
Kai, not knowing where else to go, followed Ri through the entrance, hoping that she’d got the room right. What if they were about to wander into some random prag’s dorm by accident…?
He pushed his worries away and focused on what was in front of him. He had expected to see a squat little chamber that might or might not be someone’s dorm, judging by the size of the entryway, but instead another hall branched out from the first, filled with yelling pragindies and roaring and the sharp smell of stone and sky. He glanced up and saw that he was standing in a huge hall made entirely of boulders stacked on top of each other, except the top opened to reveal clouds and sunlight. Someone had gone to the trouble of planting ferns and moss between the cracks of the rocks, so the hall looked like it had grown naturally.
It’s…beautiful.
‘This way,’ Ri shouted over the noise. ‘To the front. I want to see Nyrani.’
‘Uh…I might stay…’ Kai began, faltering.
The last thing he wanted was for more curious pragindies to see his stunted wings.
‘Oh, stop fretting! I’m sure Kerlon was just a stupid individual!’ Ri narrowed her eyes in amusement. ‘Are you chicken, eh?’
‘No,’ he replied instantly. ‘No, of course not.’
Kai forced down his fear and followed Ri through the clash of pragindies of all other species. He felt glares and stares and ogling eyes as he passed through.
‘There’s the cripple,’ he heard Kerlon’s voice murmur. ‘The cripple who blocked the doorway with his muscles.’
A wave of laughter swept through the crowd. Kai seemed to shrink, dipping his head low so he stared at the ground. Ri gave everyone a fierce look.
‘Leave Kai alone!’ she shouted.
He glanced up at Ri in surprise. Was she truly standing up for him? Did Ri want to be his friend, or was she just pretending because she felt sorry for him?
‘What if I said that you’re not the boss of me?’ leered a wiry luharae, stepping forward to block Ri’s path.
‘If you think that you can get away with teasing my friend, you’re wrong.’ Ri lumbered a few steps forward, so her dark blue eyes glinted in the sunlight warningly.
The luharae took one look at her wickedly sharp horns and backed off, shaking his head.
‘Okay, okay, you don’t need to fight, you little creep.’ He bared his teeth and his gills flared angrily. ‘We’ll finish this later.’
‘I do not think you will, actually,’ a new voice called.
Kai couldn’t help but grin as the luharae turned around very slowly, like he was prey about to be hunted.
Chief Nyrani’s angel – white wings beat the air delicately. She touched down on a tall cliff edge that overlooked the sea of prags below her, before folding them in and addressing the crowd.
‘Our first hour, and we have already had a fighting couple of prags who think that they are more important than the rest of us.’ Nyrani shook her head slowly. ‘We will put a stop to that, will we not?’
A slightly nervous ‘yes’ rippled through the crowd. Kai breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone’s attention was focused on the Chief of Praginani. Or rather, they were too scared to look at him in case Nyrani scolded them.
‘Peachy.’ She smiled, but her sharp yellow eyes were stern. ‘Of course, there will be much time for you all to have good fun. We ensure that at Prag School. I know that most of you are nervous, naturally.’
‘Not me,’ Kerlon hissed.
Kai gave an inward sigh. Why did she have to be so stuck up about everything?
‘We have messengers in the School that will frequently fly letters to your family, so you can talk to them. But I know that none of you will be lonely once you have gotten used to your new dormitories and your fellow prag friends that will be sharing them with you.’ Nyrani paused as everybody began to grab onto their friends’ paws, before she raised one eyebrow and the whole cave fell silent. ‘Thank you. We have several lessons that you will be divided into, at different times of the day. These subjects include fitness, survival, and history.’
Everyone groaned at the mention of the last word.
‘That is enough!’ she scolded. ‘Of course, you may not want to learn about the monarchy of Zelestia, but it is something that we all must put up with, for we all know that it is important.’
Do we have to? Kai thought with an inward sigh. Is Nyrani really this boring?
‘Trust me, I’m sure it’ll be a lot better than it sounds,’ Ri whispered to him out of the corner of her mouth.
He smiled back at her, but quickly shifted his gaze back to Nyrani, who was still talking.
‘Now, several instructors will show you to your dormitories. And enjoy your stay at Prag School!’
The crowd began to talk again as Nyrani leapt off the cliff and came soaring above their heads. Kai spotted several prags linking tails and gossiping, like they thought that maybe they wouldn’t get split up into different groups if they stuck together.
A Winged Silmein with scales the colour of moonlight flapped towards him. She jerked her head towards the doorway.
‘Kai, Ringa’toramo, Kerlon, Lana and Suui! Off with me, please! You’re going to be in the Tai Tribe!’ the silver silmein called, beating her wings impatiently.
Kai’s brain slowed to one word. One word that had just ruined his whole year at the School. Just one word, yet it meant so much.
Kerlon is in my tribe.

Description
Dictionary
Fibble – a small, mostly harmless subspecies of the pragindy.
Garina – a winged subspecies of the pragindy.
Luharae – a marine subspecies of the pragindy; smooth skin, usually blue or aqua.
Murno root – a type of root that grows in Praginani.
Nubari – a furred subspecies of the pragindy.
Prag – a young pragindy.
Praginani – the planet that the pragindies live on.
Pragindy – an alien creature unknown to humankind.
Pragindy – sa’thon – literally translates to Pragindy – beyond, where only a few of the most ancient elders of Praginani enter and live there forever.
Pragindy – Watchers – the ancient spirits of Praginani.
Raksym – a powerful, turtle-beaked subspecies of the pragindy.
Silmein – a snake – like, massive subspecies of the pragindy.

Guide to Prag School
Prag School is a strictly non – for – profit education system, where all prags can join and learn the skills that they need to pass into adulthood. We teach grades one to ten. The following pages list the prags in the small ‘tribes’ that make up the school. Listed next to the tribe names are the names of the supervisors that will watch over the prags. The prags in each tribe will learn together about different subjects and share a dorm.

List of Subjects
Here is our list of subjects taught by the esteemed teachers at Prag School.
History
Taught by Mrs Galgrun
The students will learn about the history of the land around them, learning of its significance and how important it is to our culture.
Geography
Taught by Mr Arunto
The students will learn about the whereabouts, religion and different cultures of the countries all over Praginani.
English
Taught by Mr Burra
The students will engage in several different topics, such as spelling and writing, which they will learn to use properly in everyday life.
Flight Skills
Taught by Ms Yimbyro
The students with wings will learn how to fly skilfully and efficiently, as well as several other techniques to enhance their flight abilities.
Physical Education
Taught by Mrs Sylfie
The students will engage in several different means of sport, including running and ball games.
Special Education
Taught by Mr Peragon
The students who struggle with schoolwork or other matters will learn how to cope with their feelings.
Science
Taught by Ms Ueri
The students will conduct different experiments and gather information about different chemicals.
Maths
Taught by Mr Wyvern
The students will learn how to calculate sums as they steadily progress towards adulthood.
Survival
Taught by Ms Peryna
The students will learn how to hunt and use other important survival skills, which are all vital for adulthood.
Art
Taught by Mr Kaelius
The students will learn how to express their creativity and create beautiful artworks.
Dramatics
Taught by Mrs Elyna
The students will learn how to express themselves and put on interesting plays.
Music
Taught by Ms Rylora
The students will learn how to use several different instruments as they progress throughout the grades.
Healing
Taught by Ms Ashara
The students will learn how to fend for themselves when they have an accident. Ms Ashara also tends to the Healing Centre.
Counselling
Taught by Mr Nymora
The students who struggle with mental issues will be counselled and spoke to accordingly.

1

‘Nope,’ said Kai, ‘nope, nope, nope.’
It wasn’t that he wanted to be a disobedient son. His mother was not a friendly pragindy when she was angry at him, which was another reason to shut up and obey her orders.
But this – this was beyond the question of ‘obeying orders.’ This was called ‘madness.’
Kai raised his muzzle and stared up at the towering marble school above him, casting a dark shadow over his terrified eyes. Everything seemed to be held up by fancy chiselled pillars, and straight, flawless edges. No imperfections whatsoever. Which was even more reason for him to run away and refuse to come to the school.
He had plenty of flaws.
Kai stared at the unfamiliar creeper vines crawling up the walls of the school, sprouting too – bright purple and pink flowers. A few small saplings were even growing in the corners of the clumped – together buildings that made the school, as well as wild spurts of ferns and golden – veined leaves wherever he looked. One wall was completely dominated by moss – a dark green, leafy wall that Kai hated already.
Had the teachers deliberately made the school look like it had been sitting here for years? Or had they just let the vines grow as the school was in the process of being built?
He knew that the building had not been here for long. Nyrani had only been Chief for three years now, but after she’d moved to Rintari, she had created Prag School, so everybody could have a chance at ‘education.’
Pah. Education was the last thing he needed.
‘I’m not going to learn here,’ Kai said firmly.
‘It’s not a question of whether you want to or not –’ Sl’tora began, with the voice of a weary mother who had clearly been arguing the whole morning.
Which she had. The whole journey to Prag School had been full of tears and yelling and infuriation in general.
‘I said, I’m not going to step one foot into that hideous building.’ Kai shook his head resolutely, and sat back down on his haunches.
Why should he go to school, anyway? What if everyone started making fun of his stupid idiot wings and weird pelt? No, not ‘what if,’ it was more of a question of ‘how will I deal with the fact that everyone will treat me like I’m a science experiment gone wrong?’
Because it was certain that there would be at least some pure – bred prag who would point the talon, and therefore encourage everyone else to do the same.
‘Well, I’m leaving you here, even if you don’t want to go in, so if you stay out here, you’re not going to get fed. Which isn’t very smart.’ Sl’tora narrowed her eyes, her luharae ears flicking back in annoyance.
‘I said no!’ Kai flapped his stunted wings frantically. ‘Don’t make me do this, please!’ His long, feathered tail whipped back and forth in fear. ‘I mean it!’
A spear of ice seemed to stab his heart, again and again, till he wanted to collapse and cry forever in the earth. Because he couldn’t do this. He had his limits. And the world was stupid, stupid, stupid, even though he hadn’t even tried the school, but it was still all terrible and everything was awful already and nothing was going to go right, ever.
Sl’tora shook her head. ‘I’m going to miss you, Kai, but it’s good for the both of us. You need to learn to cope without me. It’s what every prag needs to learn.’
‘Please, Mother…’ Kai rested his paw on Sl’tora’s shoulder, ‘…please…don’t leave me here, it’s scary…I’m going to get bullied…especially with my stupid tiny wings…’
‘You won’t,’ Sl’tora assured him, ‘in fact, I’ve let Nyrani know about your…ah, slight disability.’
She didn’t, she didn’t, this is a mean joke…please, it’s just going to make everything worse, everything. Kai felt like he was spiralling into a dark mouth of fear and shadows and hatred, the main source of all negativity being his mother. Even Nyrani, the freaking Chief of Praginani, knew about his…disabilities…of being a three – way crossbreed.
‘You didn’t really tell Nyrani, did you?’ Kai yelped frantically.
‘She’ll understand, and so will the teachers.’ Sl’tora’s voice was gentle, but Kai knew that she was just trying to pry him away.
She smiled at him, briefly, before she flared her luharae – garina hybrid wings and flapped into the air, her tail trailing behind her. Kai leapt after her, opening his too – small wings as he tried to launch into the air. He flapped, hard, but every time he rose into the air, he always fell back. Sl’tora, his mother, looked back once more, her eyes revealing nothing about what she really felt inside. But he knew that she didn’t really miss him. Did she?
‘Enjoy, Kai,’ she called, but her voice was flat, as if she couldn’t be bothered to put emotion into it.
‘I love you,’ he called, feeling his eyes begin to bubble and burn with tears.
Why do I have to be a quarter – garina!? he thought angrily. Maybe if I was a full garina, I’d be able to catch up to Sl’tora…
Kai let himself fall to the hard rock trail beneath him. He shook his head, watching as Mother became a small, dark speck in the bright blue sky. He bit his lip to hold in the tears, trying to hold on to the sound of her voice in his ears. Had Mother just dumped him in this unfamiliar school without having a proper goodbye, at least?
She had. Even his own mother hated him. Was he really that awful to be around?
Maybe he was uglier than he’d thought. Maybe his tiny wings were too hideous to even look at. Maybe he’d never make a friend in his whole year here.
And yet…he still had to find out what the School was like. An image of Mother’s disappointed face flashed into his mind, as if she was yelling into his ear, At least try to please me!
And if you hate it, he told himself, just tell an instructor and say that you want to go home.
But he knew that the chance of any teacher letting him visit Mother before the year was over was very, very low.
Kai glanced towards the School and sighed. He stood on reluctant legs and began to trudge towards the marbled entrance. He felt like the huge door was just another dark pair of jaws waiting to swallow him up.
Before he could reconsider his choice, he felt a surge of prags his age jostle him towards the entrance. They were all talking excitedly to their friends, and they had all combed their fur back so that their pelts or scales glistened in the early morning sunlight. He was the only one who hadn’t put tree sap in his crest to make it look stylish. Most of them also wore fancy leather backpacks, whereas he just had a small straw satchel slung across one shoulder. They were all rich, snobby prags who would turn their noses up at him, the crippled three – way hybrid.
Kai began to wish that he’d just been born as a thoroughbred prag. But no, that was apparently not an option! His father had been a nubari, and his mother a luharae – garina hybrid. That explained his stunted wings, and weird luharae ears, and feathered pelt with patches of bronze nubari fur here and there. He wasn’t even sure if he could breathe underwater with his gills. He didn’t even know if he could shoot venom, like some nubaris. And he’d been putting up with curious stares from other pragindies for ten years. Ten! All that time, and he’d just been getting uglier.
‘Hey, you!’ someone from behind snapped.
‘Yes?’ Kai whispered, trying to shrink into the earth.
What were they going to say? Had he done something wrong already? Was he going to get kicked out of the school?
‘You do realise that we’re all behind you, and you’re just standing there, blocking the doorway!?’
‘Oh,’ he whispered, before realising that he’d stopped right at the entrance as he became more and more tangled up in his thoughts.
‘Yeah. Oh.’ The female nubari that had snapped at him sighed. ‘Go on!’
Kai padded into the School with his ears laid back in fear. He tucked his wings tightly to his flanks in hope that nobody might see how small they were. Maybe if he kept them like that the whole time…
‘Don’t hide them from me, cripple.’ The same nubari with the mottled rust – coloured fur strutted up to him and grinned with all her sharp teeth. ‘Can you shoot venom like a real nubari? Eh?’ She laughed – a high, sharp, short sound that made Kai’s feathers flutter in fear.
‘I’ve never tried,’ he whispered, but he had a sinking feeling that he couldn’t shoot venom even if he wanted to.
‘I can show you how!’ she mocked, flashing her front fangs which Kai knew housed venom. ‘Would you like me to demonstrate?’
‘Please, I don’t…I don’t…’ Kai trembled.
This was it. This was the moment when the bully would roar and shoot venom right in his eyes, so that he would collapse into a steaming puddle in the hallway around him. A puddle that had once been a prag called Kai.
‘Hey, come on.’ Another voice. ‘Stop taunting him.’
Kai glanced up and saw a well – built raksym standing over the nubari. A she – raksym, with curled ram horns and a kind face.
‘It’s not his fault that he’s got small wings.’ The raksym blinked her dark ocean blue eyes at Kai. ‘Come on. We don’t have time for nubari weirdos like Kerlon.’
He managed to nod shakily, before he followed the raksym deeper into the School. He felt the frosty stare of Kerlon follow him all the way, but then he remembered that this burly raksym was by his side now. Hopefully it would stay that way.
Had Kai found a new friend already? Maybe. Perhaps. He felt a small ember of hope warm the centre of his heart.
‘Your first day here?’ the raksym questioned.
‘Yeah,’ he mumbled. ‘My name’s Kai, by the way.’
‘My name’s Ringa’toramo, but call me Ri.’ The raksym grinned – a friendly grin, which Kai wasn’t expecting. ‘My family is obsessed with dumb names.’
‘Okay, Ri,’ Kai gave her a small smile back, feeling a tiny bit happier. ‘Hey, do you know what we’re meant to do? Is it your first year here?’
‘Yeah,’ said Ri, wrinkling her nose, ‘but I’ve tried my best to memorise everything in the building. I think we’re meant to go to the Great Hall first, to find out which dormitories we’re sleeping in.’ She wagged her stubby tail in excitement. ‘Can’t wait!’
Kai had to run to catch up to Ri, who was bounding towards a small mahogany door to the left of the entrance hall. Over fifty other doorways of the same size were scattered all around, and tall marble arches like shiny – scaled silmeins rose into the air to hold up the dome – shaped roof.
Kai, not knowing where else to go, followed Ri through the entrance, hoping that she’d got the room right. What if they were about to wander into some random prag’s dorm by accident…?
He pushed his worries away and focused on what was in front of him. He had expected to see a squat little chamber that might or might not be someone’s dorm, judging by the size of the entryway, but instead another hall branched out from the first, filled with yelling pragindies and roaring and the sharp smell of stone and sky. He glanced up and saw that he was standing in a huge hall made entirely of boulders stacked on top of each other, except the top opened to reveal clouds and sunlight. Someone had gone to the trouble of planting ferns and moss between the cracks of the rocks, so the hall looked like it had grown naturally.
It’s…beautiful.
‘This way,’ Ri shouted over the noise. ‘To the front. I want to see Nyrani.’
‘Uh…I might stay…’ Kai began, faltering.
The last thing he wanted was for more curious pragindies to see his stunted wings.
‘Oh, stop fretting! I’m sure Kerlon was just a stupid individual!’ Ri narrowed her eyes in amusement. ‘Are you chicken, eh?’
‘No,’ he replied instantly. ‘No, of course not.’
Kai forced down his fear and followed Ri through the clash of pragindies of all other species. He felt glares and stares and ogling eyes as he passed through.
‘There’s the cripple,’ he heard Kerlon’s voice murmur. ‘The cripple who blocked the doorway with his muscles.’
A wave of laughter swept through the crowd. Kai seemed to shrink, dipping his head low so he stared at the ground. Ri gave everyone a fierce look.
‘Leave Kai alone!’ she shouted.
He glanced up at Ri in surprise. Was she truly standing up for him? Did Ri want to be his friend, or was she just pretending because she felt sorry for him?
‘What if I said that you’re not the boss of me?’ leered a wiry luharae, stepping forward to block Ri’s path.
‘If you think that you can get away with teasing my friend, you’re wrong.’ Ri lumbered a few steps forward, so her dark blue eyes glinted in the sunlight warningly.
The luharae took one look at her wickedly sharp horns and backed off, shaking his head.
‘Okay, okay, you don’t need to fight, you little creep.’ He bared his teeth and his gills flared angrily. ‘We’ll finish this later.’
‘I do not think you will, actually,’ a new voice called.
Kai couldn’t help but grin as the luharae turned around very slowly, like he was prey about to be hunted.
Chief Nyrani’s angel – white wings beat the air delicately. She touched down on a tall cliff edge that overlooked the sea of prags below her, before folding them in and addressing the crowd.
‘Our first hour, and we have already had a fighting couple of prags who think that they are more important than the rest of us.’ Nyrani shook her head slowly. ‘We will put a stop to that, will we not?’
A slightly nervous ‘yes’ rippled through the crowd. Kai breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone’s attention was focused on the Chief of Praginani. Or rather, they were too scared to look at him in case Nyrani scolded them.
‘Peachy.’ She smiled, but her sharp yellow eyes were stern. ‘Of course, there will be much time for you all to have good fun. We ensure that at Prag School. I know that most of you are nervous, naturally.’
‘Not me,’ Kerlon hissed.
Kai gave an inward sigh. Why did she have to be so stuck up about everything?
‘We have messengers in the School that will frequently fly letters to your family, so you can talk to them. But I know that none of you will be lonely once you have gotten used to your new dormitories and your fellow prag friends that will be sharing them with you.’ Nyrani paused as everybody began to grab onto their friends’ paws, before she raised one eyebrow and the whole cave fell silent. ‘Thank you. We have several lessons that you will be divided into, at different times of the day. These subjects include fitness, survival, and history.’
Everyone groaned at the mention of the last word.
‘That is enough!’ she scolded. ‘Of course, you may not want to learn about the monarchy of Zelestia, but it is something that we all must put up with, for we all know that it is important.’
Do we have to? Kai thought with an inward sigh. Is Nyrani really this boring?
‘Trust me, I’m sure it’ll be a lot better than it sounds,’ Ri whispered to him out of the corner of her mouth.
He smiled back at her, but quickly shifted his gaze back to Nyrani, who was still talking.
‘Now, several instructors will show you to your dormitories. And enjoy your stay at Prag School!’
The crowd began to talk again as Nyrani leapt off the cliff and came soaring above their heads. Kai spotted several prags linking tails and gossiping, like they thought that maybe they wouldn’t get split up into different groups if they stuck together.
A Winged Silmein with scales the colour of moonlight flapped towards him. She jerked her head towards the doorway.
‘Kai, Ringa’toramo, Kerlon, Lana and Suui! Off with me, please! You’re going to be in the Tai Tribe!’ the silver silmein called, beating her wings impatiently.
Kai’s brain slowed to one word. One word that had just ruined his whole year at the School. Just one word, yet it meant so much.
Kerlon is in my tribe.