Joust by Mercedes Lackey

Vetch is a much-abused serf on a farm owned by a man called Khefti-the-Fat, a most vile and unpleasant man who feeds his serfs and slaves as little as possible, and assigns them duties which are almost more than their bodies can handle. But one of Vetch's duties is to fill the cistern with water by making trips with a bucket that is almost too large for him, and almost too heavy, when filled with water.

Vetch's family once owned part of the land that Khefti-the-Fat now farms, until the land was conquered by Tia. When his father attacked the Tian soldiers who came to take his farm away, Vetch's sister was nearly killed by a blow to the head, his mother and sisters were raped, and he, the only son, was given to Khefti to enable him to hold the land.

But one day a Tian Dragon Jouster swoops in to land on the farm and takes Vetch's bucket to drink from, and throws the rest over his head to cool off. When he sees Vetch standing there with the empty bucket, Khefti-the-Fat comes to beat Vetch, but is stopped by the Dragon Jouster, who says that all serfs are the property of the King of Tia, and that the Dragon Jousters are entitled to any of the King's property they wish. This man chooses Vetch, and takes him away over Khefti's wails and claims of Vetch being a food-thief and lazy.

Ari, the Jouster, takes Vetch to the stables where the Dragon Jousters live. He wants Vetch to be his new Dragon-boy, to take care of his Dragon, Kashet, and also of Ari himself, but mostly of Kashet. Here in the compound, he can eat his fill, drink as much water as he wants, and be provided with clothing that is not little better than rags to wear. All he must do is look after Kashet and Ari.

But as Vetch soon learns, the gentle, good-humored Kashet is nothing like the other dragons at the compound, who are only tractable when drugged with the dried and powdered fruit called Tala. No, Kashet obeys his rider and is far closer to Ari than the other dragons are to their own riders, who seem to treat them as nothing more than beasts of burden.

Vetch, an Altan, has great hatred for the Tians who conquered his lands, but he finds he cannot hate Ari, nor some of the other Tians he works with. And as he and Ari grow close, he finds that Ari himself was born a commoner, and a scribe. The reason why Kashet is different is that he was not caught as a fledgling, but Ari raised him from egg to adult.

And soon after, Vetch has his own dream of doing the same. He's been an exemplary Dragon Boy, and Haraket, the man in charge of the stables, is bringing in other serfs, especially ones with experience working with animals. But unlike some of the new slaves, who might have a chance at being free after working with the Dragons, Vetch will never be free. A slave can be freed. A serf cannot.

So when a dragon named Coresan is mistreated by her Dragon Boy and goes into a mating flight, nearly killing her rider in the process, Vetch steals one of her eggs and hatches it himself. And from the moment his dragon, Avatre, is born, he completely falls in love with her. And, thankfully, soon after, new dragons are brought into the stables that he can hide her among. He even gets recruited to help train them.

But when he is discovered trying to ride Avatre, Vetch must flee the stables with a horde of dragons in pursuit. His only hope is to make it to Alta, to bring the secret of training dragons to them in hopes that they can prevail over the Altans and bring an end to the war between the two countries. But the only man who possibly has a chance of catching him is on his tail- Ari. Will Ari let Vetch go or bring him back, betraying him to those who were his captors?

Mercedes Lackey is a gifted author who can easily suck you into the mind and person of her characters. You start reading, and before you know it, you are that character, sympathizing with him or her and feeling like you are truly inside their skin. Well, that's just how it was with Vetch. From his hungry servitude under the abusive care of Khefti the Fat to his working in the dragon stables, the reader is with him all the way.

I loved the world building here just as much as the characters. The war between the Altans and Tians is laid out, even though the two nations aren't very different, either in looks or culture. The dragons, too, are interesting, having the characteristics of birds of Prey or big cats, both of which Mercedes Lackey has written about before, and yet are also something completely different as well. The tame ones, like Kashet and Avatre are a bit like something more domestic. Not quite a dog or a cat, but something like both.

This is an excellent fantasy book, and one I feel appeals to a wide audience- both teens and adults. Vetch is an intriguing hero who it is a priviledge to travel along with on his journey. Highly Recommended.