This was a special mission. Not just another test if they were worthy to join one of the teams for good. Mother sent them to Brazil. The Amazon rainforest, actually. Off the maps. Hidden in the jungle, far away from any kind of known civilisation, awaited a city. Finding it had been the first task they had to achieve. Most people who tried died on the way. By natural disasters, hunger, because they just got completely lost or attacked by animals. The further they came, the more supernatural the predators...
Mother wandted to know everything about that city. The people living there. And, most important, their source of energy. She had warned them. It was supposed to be so powerful, so destructive, that it couldn‘t fall into wrong hands. And the warriors living there were such a threat.

To Levi’s surprise they were supposed to be quite human. Even though a bit stronger and faster than the average human being. Connected to nature. They practiced their own kind of magic. Not the way witches did, but using their ominous source of power.
The best of the best were called riders. The half dragon had joked about giant jungle elephants. But no, they flew. On wyvern. It felt a bit strange. Because those creatures were somehow… close relatives to dragons? And Levi wasn’t used to dragons. Well, he had once had a quick chat with a guy hanging on mother's coattails. Finn or something like that. He just started to train with the recruits, but had never been to the orphanage. Levi couldn't believe he should be a real dragon. Because the Hayes imagined them like… well, the biblical leviathan. Ancient brutes full of anger. In love with war. The earth dragon was in love with his piano.
It somehow made Levi doubt if he was wrong, even in a draconic sense of being.

Raynara was at his side. Why them? Because they were supposed to blend in easily. The chimera usually didn‘t use electricity. They both relied on their reflexes. On their trained bodies. The people here didn’t let real witches enter. And wolves or vampires were far from human.
Usually outsiders weren‘t allowed at all. Riders were an exception. If you managed to survive the training, if a wayvern chose you, bonded with you, you became one of them. A protector of their realm.
It was their entry ticket. So after fighting through the jungle for more than a week, they were greeted by bows and spears. Arrows pointing in their direction.
Levi imagined the tribe more like… well, the typical loincloth wearing natives. But this here was totally different. Like the incas mixed up with some fantasy middle ages and made modern technology look like magical devices.
The half dragon raised his hands, but the smirk on his face didn’t look like pleading for mercy at all. Finally things started to become interesting.
„We’re here to offer ourselves as cadets.“ A big, muscled woman in colourful clothes approached, looking them up and down. „Fresh meat for our wings and claws then.“ Didn’t sound like many made it through the training. Levi‘s smile grew even wider.
She pointed to barracks outside the ridicolously high and smooth city wall. If the gates were shut, there was no way to get in, except flying. Way to slipperly to climb. And warded.