The Air Dragon General - Dragon Knights #24 - A Bedtime Adventure

0:04 Hello friends from across the nation and around the world. I'm Martin, and you are listening to Dad's Bedtime Stories. And tonight, we're headed back into the Dragon Knight series. Now, if you've never listened to the Dragon Knight series before, you can honestly probably start right here, because this is kind of a story that's related to what I've done so far. But it's the entire backstory for a character, so it's totally cool to start here and If you like it, you could go find all of the others.

0:39 I think there's like 22 or 23 more of them at this point. Now, I got a lot of suggestions for the wind or air dragon general, which made it really, really hard to choose. But at the end of the day, I chose this one.

0:57 Hi, I'm Beckett from New York, and I have a story idea for the Dragon Knights universe. I have an idea for the Wind Dragon General. You can choose the name because I have no idea what to do. So the Wind Dragon General is a cunning young man who is not very great at fighting, but he uses manipulation and encasing the other elements in air and pushing them back at their opponents and making it so their opponents can't fly around to win a fight. Thank you. I love your podcast. I rate it 10 out of 10 stars.

1:51 Bye. Thank you, Beckett from New York. I think that's an excellent idea. But because you didn't come up with names for the dragon or the dragon general, I went to one of my other suggestions from Alex. So thank you, Alex, who wrote in about three weeks ago and suggested that the wind dragon general was named Breeze and had a dragon named Levitate. Alex wasn't the only one to write in. Honestly, there were a lot of really great ideas. It was super hard to choose. But thank you to everyone, because that's the story we're going to make today. If you like the podcast, don't forget to rate it and review it wherever it is you are listening, if you haven't already done that already. And thank you to those of

2:45 you who have. You know, share it with a friend. And if you prefer ad-free episodes or just want to support the podcast a little bit extra, you can join us on Patreon. Which, honestly, is the lifeblood of the podcast. Probably the only reason it still exists. So thank you, Patreon people. But now, we'll get on with the actual episode.

3:12 After a possible word from a possible sponsor. Time to close your eyes, get as comfy as you can in that bed, and imagine yourself doing what the kid in the story does. Chapter 24. The Air Dragon General. Before Breeze was the Air Dragon General, before dragons of every element whispered about the strange and, well, frankly frightening things he could do, And before he commanded the highest mountain stronghold in the Dragon King's empire, he was simply a boy who wanted more than anything to become a Dragon Knight.

4:01 He wasn't big, he wasn't strong, and he wasn't very good at fighting, but Breeze always wanted to become a Dragon Knight. He grew up in the mountains of the Air Dragon Nation. And when I say mountains, I don't mean the sort of mountains you, you know, like walk up a trail for a few hours and eventually, you know, reach the top of. These mountains were enormous. Some disappeared into the clouds. Others rose above them. The air dragon stronghold had been constructed across dozens of peaks, with towers carved directly into cliffs, and gigantic bridges stretching across gaps so deep that you couldn't even see the bottom. Of course, air dragon knights didn't really need bridges, because they could fly,

5:03 but Breeze couldn't, nor could many of the other people there. and that bothered him more than almost anything. As a child, Breeze watched dragon knights leap from balconies thousands of feet above the ground and simply float away. He watched wind dragons streak between the peaks, creating sonic booms as they accelerated through the sky. More than anything, he wanted to be one of them. But no dragon ever chose him.

5:41 No egg called to him. No mysterious pull ever led him to some hidden chamber. No dragon looked at him and said, You are my knight. Eventually, Breeze became old enough that people stopped telling him he might still become a knight. Instead, they put him to work. He carried food. He cleaned training platforms. He brought equipment to Dragon Knights.

6:13 He repaired harnesses and, well, Breeze hated it. Not enough to refuse doing it, of course. He was too smart for that. Instead, he watched. Every time he delivered something to a training ground, he stayed just a little longer than necessary. Every time two dragon knights discussed a technique, Breeze listened. Every time a dragon demonstrated something unusual, Breeze remembered it. And eventually, one of his jobs brought him to Current. Current was an elderly wind dragon knight who had spent most of his life studying the element of air.

7:06 Most people thought Current was, well, a little nutty and wildly boring. If someone asked him about the weather, Current might explain air pressure for an hour or two. If someone mentioned breathing, Current might begin explaining that air wasn't actually one thing. It's mostly nitrogen, Current told Breeze during one of their first conversations. A little oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and tiny amounts of other things. Breeze actually looked interested, which was unusual. Current's eyes lit up. You understand?

7:58 Not really, Breeze admitted, but I want to. That was all it took. Current started talking, and Breeze started listening. At first, Breeze had simply discovered a good way to avoid work. If Current wanted him around, no one questioned why the boy carrying supplies had disappeared for several hours. But the more Current talked, the more interested Breeze became.

8:30 Current explained weather systems, pressure differences, warm air, cold air, storms, and currents. Then he began explaining things that even most wind dragon knights didn't really understand. Most riders think our power is wind, Current said one afternoon. It isn't? Current shook his head. Wind is simply moving air. We can command the air itself. He lifted one hand. The air around his fingers shimmered. Moving it is merely the easiest thing to do. And, well, the only thing most of these dum-dums ever learn to do. Breeze leaned closer. What else can you do? Current smiled. That is a question I've been spending most of my life trying to answer.

9:42 Current explained that a wind dragon might, theoretically, manipulate the different parts of air. Oxygen, for example. Humans and dragons needed it to breathe. Fire needed it too. Without oxygen, flames couldn't continue burning. Plants were different. They absorbed carbon dioxide and used it to grow. Breeze listened to every word. So, if you could control the oxygen specifically. Well, then you could theoretically increase it, Current said, or decrease it. Could you remove it? Current hesitated. Theoretically, but I don't believe anyone's ever done that. Breeze smiled, and Current continued. And then there's the matter of a vacuum. A what? Nothing, Curran said. Breeze frowned. Nothing? Well, an area containing virtually

11:06 no matter at all. No air, no oxygen, no nitrogen. Nothing. Nothing. Breeze looked out through the enormous open windows toward the dragons gliding between the mountains. What happens to a dragon's wings if there's no air? Current smiled. Now you're asking interesting questions. For years, Breeze listened. Unfortunately, he never gained any power with which to actually use what he'd learned. Until, of course, the Dragon King came. Or, Dragon Thief, as many people called him. By the time the king reached the Air Dragon nation, his army was overwhelming. He'd already taken dragons from every one of the other nations and turned them against their own people. Earth dragons attacked from below.

12:20 Fire dragons filled the air with flame. Water dragons froze defensive positions. Elemental dragons, well, combined everything together. And Violet, who would eventually become the nature dragon general... helped force the air dragons into predictable pathways using gigantic vines growing impossibly high between the mountains. The true air dragon knights fought brilliantly, but they lost. Breeze knew they would, so, well, he hid. He crawled into an old maintenance passage behind one of the storage chambers and waited while the battle raged outside. He heard explosions, dragons roaring, and eventually everything became quiet. When Breeze finally came out, the Air Dragon Nation belonged to the Dragon King, or Dragon Thief as

13:30 many still called him. Most of the true Dragon Knights had been taken away, The remaining dragons stared blankly with glowing eyes. And Breeze did what he'd always done. He made himself useful. He made himself liked. When soldiers needed food, Breeze brought it. When equipment needed moving, Breeze moved it.

14:03 When officers wanted someone who knew the stronghold... Breeze showed them around. He didn't resist. He didn't complain. And eventually, his loyalty was noticed. In just the way that Breeze hoped it would be. The Dragon King had a simple way of rewarding loyal soldiers, and Breeze knew it. Dragons. One day, All of his hard work came to fruition, and Breeze was led to a huge platform where several controlled wind dragons waited. For the first time in his life, he was allowed to choose. He walked among them slowly until he stopped beside a long, pale gray dragon whose body seemed almost impossibly light. simply floating above the ground in the air. This one, Breeze said. The dragon lifted its head. Its glowing eyes stared forward without any emotion

15:20 at all. His name's Levitate, according to these papers, an officer said. Then Levitate it is. The Dragon King's magic created the false connection. Breeze felt commands become possible in his mind. Not a true bond. Not shared feelings or elemental power, but levitate would obey. And for Breeze, that was enough. Because finally... He had access to everything current had taught him. At first, Breeze trained normally. Gusts of wind, tornadoes, flying around, zipping through the air, fighting. He was never much of a fighter. But at night, when no one was watching, Breeze experimented in secret. Levitate, Breeze said one evening, placing a candle on a stone table. Remove the oxygen around that flame. Nothing happened. Breeze concentrated on exactly what

16:46 Current had explained. He tried to pass the understanding through the mental connection and into the dragon. Imagining... mentally the air separating into different parts, imagining himself finding the oxygen and moving only that. Levitate stared at the candle. The air shimmered slightly and the flame went out. Breeze smiled and practiced. The following month, the Dragon King's officers held a tournament. The winner would become one of the new commanders of the Air Dragon Army. Or, at least that's how they got everyone to participate. Breeze decided to enter. Again, he wasn't much of a fighter. In fact, his first opponent just laughed when he saw him. Eww. The Servant Boy.

17:58 Breeze simply climbed onto Levitate, the signal sounded, the opponent's wind dragon shot forward, and Levitate moved out of the way. All the while, Breeze gave him a quiet command, a mental command to remove the oxygen around the dragon and the rider. Nothing visible happened. There was no tornado, no wind, no attack that anyone could really see. The other rider continued to charge. Breeze continued to dodge. And slowly, the other rider, well, slowed down. He blinked several times. His movements became sloppy. His speech became somewhat scrambled, and he started to shake his head, trying to keep himself awake.

19:05 Breeze watched calmly. The man tried to command another attack, but the words came out confused. Then his body slumped forward, and he fell unconscious against his dragon. The crowd stared in complete confusion. No one knew exactly how he won, and some certainly thought it was probably just a technicality, but Breeze was declared the winner. His next opponent lasted even less time, and his victory started to look less like a flashback. The third rider knew something strange was happening and immediately attacked. Breeze simply had Levitate shoot straight upward.

20:02 His opponent followed while Levitate created a bubble around him. Not a bubble anyone could see. A bubble without any oxygen. Seconds later, the rider became dizzy, then confused, then unconscious. Levitate, nicely enough, swooped underneath and caught him before he hit the ground. After all, they were all on the same side.

20:35 Breeze won the tournament without throwing a single punch. The crowd wasn't exactly excited about it, since they didn't really know how he did it, but the Dragon King was certainly fascinated. He understood enough about the elements to have a pretty strong theory on what was going on, even if he didn't know how to recreate it. He made Breeze a commander. The greater rank... gave Breeze more time and more privacy to experiment. He began working on Current's other theories. The vacuum creating nothing. It took months for Levitate to successfully create a vacuum, but eventually Breeze learned how to command him to do so. How to push out every bit of air from a specific area and prevent it from rushing back in. The first time he succeeded,

21:50 Breeze dropped a feather into it. The feather fell strangely. No floating or drifting like you'd expect from a feather. It just fell straight down. And Breeze smiled sadly. He continued to force Levitate to practice the technique until he could do it faster and command a larger and larger area. Soon, Breeze and Levitate got a chance to test out the technique.

22:26 A handful of true air dragon knights had survived the conquest and formed a rebellion in the northern mountains. The dragon king sent Breeze after them. The rebels saw him coming and laughed. Five free wind dragons against one controlled dragon? They'd beat those odds many times before. They attacked together.

22:57 Breeze waited until they were almost on top of him. Then he gave the command. and the air disappeared. All five dragons dropped suddenly, not knowing what had happened to them. They continued to try beating their wings, but there was nothing to push against. They fell from the sky and crashed into the ground. Breeze kept the vacuum in place and continued to watch as All five of the dragon riders fell unconscious from lack of oxygen. With no air inside the vacuum, there was obviously no oxygen either. They were pretty easy to catch after that. Breeze was celebrated and promoted again. Eventually, there was no rank left above him except the dragon king himself. He became the Air Dragon General, and stories about him started to spread. Soldiers

24:15 saw Breeze face a fire dragon once. The dragon opened its mouth and unleashed a gigantic wall of flame. Breeze simply lifted one hand, and the fire disappeared. The soldiers thought he had somehow stolen it. That somehow, in addition to his wildly unexplainable air powers, he also had power over fire. Breeze never explained that he'd simply removed the oxygen feeding the flame. Another time, a nature dragon covered an entire battlefield in vines. Breeze and levitate floated overhead, and slowly the plants began to droop. Leaves curled, vines weakened, flowers collapsed. It seemed as though Breeze had power over nature as well. Breeze had simply removed most of the carbon dioxide from the air around them until... There was

25:29 nothing left for the plants to breathe, but again, he wasn't about to explain that to anyone else. He was too smart for that. Too cunning. He liked people believing he could simply command other elements to stop working. But the ability everyone feared most was the simplest. Breathing. Whole groups of enemies had fallen unconscious without Breeze ever appearing to attack them. Dragons had fallen from the sky because their wings suddenly stopped working. Even the elemental dragon riders became nervous around him. After all, what good was controlling five elements if you couldn't breathe long enough to use them?

26:21 And that was why, years later. As Breeze stood atop the highest tower of the air dragon's stronghold, he wasn't particularly afraid when the dragon king came to visit. The king, on the other hand, was afraid. Not that he'd admit it. Fire has fallen, the king said. Breeze nodded. Water, too. I know. Breeze said. Nature's gone.

26:59 The earth dragon stronghold's been defeated. They're freeing more dragons every day, the dragon king continued. And worst of all, my daughter is among them. Breeze had heard that too. Autumn, the dragon princess. a true elemental rider now fighting against her own father. They cannot be allowed to take the last stronghold, the dragon king said. If the air dragons fall, they'll have an army capable of moving faster than anything I possess. Breeze looked across the enormous mountain kingdom. Wind dragons floated between the peaks. Soldiers moved along bridges and platforms.

28:00 Levitate stood silently behind him. They won't take it, he said. The dragon king narrowed his eyes. You sound very confident. I've been preparing for them. Breeze walked toward the edge of the tower. Their greatest advantage is that their riders can fight separately from their dragons. They fly. They move through the sky without needing wings. Yes, the Dragon King said.

28:38 That has caused problems. Breeze smiled. Only because no one has taken away the sky. When they arrive... I'll allow them to come straight toward the stronghold. In fact, we'll make it hard to resist doing that all at the same time. I'll let their entire army take to the air, and then I'll remove the air. The dragon king slowly smiled.

29:21 The dragons won't be able to fly. The riders won't be able to breathe. They'll fall, and then they'll pass out. No air, no oxygen, no comfort. problem. The dragon king laughed. Well, I believe I can help with that. A large group of my elementes will be waiting behind, along with, well, several groups of soldiers. When the rebels fall, they will appear from camouflage around the edges of your stronghold and ensure that the rebels don't get back up. The rebels would never suspect a thing. The battle would be over before they even knew what was happening. It was a good plan. Perhaps the best one the dragon king had come up with yet. Or, well, had his soldiers come up with anyways. The king walked back toward his dragon.

30:45 You understand what happens if they defeat you, right? Breeze looked toward Levitate. then toward the endless sky surrounding his stronghold. They won't. The Dragon King climbed onto his elemental dragon. With a burst of wind, the dragon lifted into the air. Breeze watched him disappear into the clouds. Then, he looked down across his kingdom. For his entire childhood... Breeze had watched dragon knights fly through these mountains. He'd watched them command an element he could only study. They had been chosen.

31:37 He had not. But Breeze had learned something none of them had bothered to learn. Wind wasn't just wind. Air wasn't just something that moved dragons through the sky. It was the thing that kept nearly everything alive. People could survive weeks without food, sometimes days without water. But they couldn't even go minutes without the air. And that gave Breeze a huge advantage. Prepare the stronghold, he announced. The attack...

32:22 is coming. And Breeze went to bed. Good night, everyone.

33:38 Thank you.

34:19 Thank you. Thank you.

37:13 Thank you.

37:51 Thank you. Thank you.

40:44 Thank you.

41:26 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

44:18 Thank you.

45:00 Thank you. Thank you.

47:53 Thank you.

48:30 Thank you.

49:28 Thank you.

50:35 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

53:02 You Thank you.

55:40 You Thank you. Thank you. you