"Good eve to you all," she found herself saying with surprising clarity. "Tonight I will be performing for you an original piece entitled, ‘The Last Rider’" She spoke the next part with a wistful sound to her voice. "It is a ballad of my brave ancestors," she explained. "Who once hunted from the backs of dragons. This tale begins with a song sung long ago, a ballad which made this, and the one who is singing it possible."

She took a final look at the waiting crowd before beginning.

"As Sako Ono, the mighty sun dragon, lay dying from the wounds of love,
She sang a final song of passion to her sweetheart in the skies above.
It was the great moon Matomba, which caused her heart to long.
The same figure who now finally took notice of her song."

She took no notice of the gentle breeze that began to surround her as she continued with the song.

"She had tried to fly to her beloved, fighting with the sky.
Rising too high, she then plummeted, no longer able to fly.
A deafening thud erupted as she crashed.
Her poor body was left broken and smashed."

The bard’s body jerked with her final words and the breeze began to grow stronger around her.

"A healer rushed to aid her as she fell, hearing her tear wrenching moans.
Alas, he was unable to help. Her draconic form was alien to his own.
Then, moonlight arms stretched towards her, embracing her crumpled mass.
When the arms receded, there lay a elven maiden in the grass."

She smiled and observed her simple, talonless hands before continuing.

"The healer worked swiftly, and soon he was done.
They had fought against death and won.
Sako Ono was never able to return to her draconic life.
She stayed and had many babies, as the kind healer's wife."

"There in the mountains, where Sako fell,
In a secret vale of elves they did dwell.
It was the ancient home of Sako Ono and her dragon kin.
And there they lived together, secluded within."

The bard smiled to herself. Her eyes were shut in serenity, remembering the tales of the lush and fertile vale. The now swift breeze began rippling her cloak behind her. As she opened her eyes, there was a new light and excitement in their crystal green depths.

"Emerging from this hidden vale, the dragon riders began.
They were the female descendants of Sako Ono and the kind man.
The women and dragons shared a bond deep within their souls.
And from the dragons’ backs, the riders hunted with their bows."

Her cloak began to whip about her as she broke into the fierce, up beat chorus.

"Tearing through the skies above.
On the backs of the dragons they love.
Flying freely through the air.
Dashing, soaring without a care."

"Eternal companionship, unbreakable trust, the bond could never be compared.
Their life, their love, their hearts and souls, all this and more they shared.
High above the cloads they soared, from hill to mountain and river to sea.
Such love! Such freedom! How I wish it could have been me."

"Tearing through the skies above,
On the backs of the dragons they love.
Flying freely through the air.
Dashing, soaring without a care."

The bard lifted her arms in the air as wind whirled around the room. Her cape began flapping behind her like majestic dragon wings ripping through an air current, and her long red hair tumbled in front of her face forming a stream of scorching fire. Then, as though it had never been, the wind subsided and she continued with her song.

"Their peaceful existence, their secluded paradise, was not to last.
It became harder to hide as more time passed.
Rumors and legends brought many seeking.
The dragons and riders felt their freedom weakening."

"Sneaking through the skies above,
On the backs of the dragons they still love.
Flying rarely through the air.
Performing tasks with extreme care."

The bard’s expression seemed to darken as she began to sing the next part of the song.

"Hearing stories of treasure troves and gold edge scales,
They came from far and near, seeking the bounties of these tales.
Greedy adventurers and remorseless slayers,
Ravaging the dragons and looting their lairs."

"No longer in the skies above,
Riders without the dragons they love.
Staring up at the empty air.
Leaving them with no reason to care."

"Broken hearts and bleeding souls.
Deathblows dealt by heedless fools.
One by one the dragons fell.
Soon, broken, their riders died as well."

"Empty skies looming above.
The hearts of the few left barren of love.
The quiet, deathly, choking air.
Shattered souls with no ability to care."

"In an empty field, a tiny girl sits and cries.
Arms stretched pleading, towards the empty skies.
Longing for her friends and family who have died.
The last rider, left with no dragon to ride."

The bard drew out her last note, leaving it lingering in the air, before finally bringing it down to a gentle hush. She was posed as the girl in the final stanza; arms stretched toward the roof. Her face looked up with a fierce longing towards the skies above. She dropped her arms to her side and then opened her tear-rimmed eyes slowly and looked out into the crowd. The bard slowly brought her fingers to her lips and then waved them away, collapsing into a deep bow.