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The Wolf and the Dragon
The dragon spread her wings, gliding through the clouds as she was lost in thought. Rejected yet again, she sighed. Every year it was the same— she would undergo the far journey to the Dragonheart for the mating season, and every year she was overlooked by those judged more presentable to the males. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t right, but such were the rules of life. She idly wondered why she even bothered to try, and the tiny fragment of hope that lay within her soul was her answer. She wouldn’t give up, for she knew that one day, a dragon would look beneath the surface and find her true beauty within. The clouds thinned, revealing in the distance a lake. The dragoness folded her wings as she descended, spreading them only at the last moment to land softly onto the ground, causing the water to ripple lightly. She slowly approached the shore on all fours, and stretched her long, sinuous neck to look at her reflection. A large draconic head greeted her, the great horns stretching out from between the eyeridges, her wide earfans drooping in sadness as the amber eyes took in the ugly sight of her reflection. To the casual observer, she was magnificent dragon of the silver genus…who just so happened to be as brown as rust. A quirk of fate gave her that coloring as she grew up from a tiny silver hatchling to the monstrosity she was now. She sighed, knowing that she was as in reality as beautiful as the other females, but it was the coloration that made her different. No one was willing to be seen with someone considered so "hideous", and sometimes she actually believed the hurtful words. She lumbered over toward the edge of the woods, toppling over a few of the stray trees as her great mass pushed against them. I need a diversion— something to occupy my mind, she decided, but was at a temporary loss as to what could possibly keep her from dwelling on the taunting and teasing she had suffered through today. It was then that her eyes spotted the distant structures on the horizon. Hmmm, a city, she thought. That would be perfect for a distraction. I haven’t had a good rampage in quite some time. she smiled, and she toppled trees in the slow, steady gait towards the unsuspecting city. When she was close enough, but still not close enough to be seen by the little creatures, she changed, her muscles and size compressing and growing smaller, until a female anthro-wolf stood on the path to the city. Her fur was as brown as her scales had been, and she was strong but not bulky. To any wolf, she would be considered a prime specimen of a canine, but her coloration served as a harsh reminder of how she was di fferent to her own kind. Shaking such negative thoughts, she cast a spell to outfit herself in a simple halter and shorts, and loped towards the city, her stride taking her quickly to the front gates where a great wall faced her. She assumed the wall surrounded the entire city, and watchtowers were stationed all around the wall. She could see the guards patrolling at the top of the wall, and noticed they were well-armed. They wouldn’t last a moment against me if I began my rampage now. She smirked, but decided to wait. After all, the thrill was in the planning, not the actual implementation. Two guards, both great, hulking bears, stood at the gates. She approached them with a friendly smile. "Good day to you, sirs," she said pleasantly. "I am a traveler who has lost her way. What might this city be called?" The guard on her left was closer to her, and trained eyes searched her for any visible signs of weaponry. Seeing none, he relaxed a bit. "You are in the city of Jasmine, traveler, and we bid you welcome." he rumbled. "Our rules are simple: No weapons, and do not cause trouble. You may pass, and we hope you enjoy your visit." "I most certainly will enjoy my visit." And I will have some fun, eventually, she mentally added. As she entered the city, she was greeted with the usual hustle and bustle found in such large civilized areas. Vendors selling their wares in shops and roadside carts, people going about on various errands, and the constant patrol of the guard. Being a dragon, all cities looked alike— especially when she devastated them into rubble— but she was in a playful mood and went to the nearest tavern for a drink. The aged wooden sign hanging above one such drinking establishment said The Hidden Dragon. For her, the irony was exquisite, so she chose to enter the tavern. The interior was well-lit, the sweet smell of pipe smoke hung lazily in the air. Several furs of various species were seated around many tables. The tavern had a feeling of relaxation, and even she felt more at ease, despite her mood. Silver quietly found herself a table in the corner, and watched the furs around her as they talked, laughed, and drank. She tried to suppress a smirk, as they were such fragile things at her true size. They are insects, nothing more, she thought to herself. After a moment, she was aware of someone placing a mug containing some sort of liquid. She twitched, looking up in surprise at a serving maiden, her bovine eyes blinking in surprise. "Oh! I’m sorry, my lady, I didn’t mean to startle you!" the bovine said gently, ears drooping. Silver waved her hand, smiling in what she hoped was a friendly grin. "I was merely lost in thought. Thank you for the drink, but why did you do this?" "It wasn’t me, my lady," replied the bovine serving maiden , pointing towards another corner. "It was that wolf over there." Silver leaned over to see who the cow was pointing at, and saw a lean, grey-furred wolf seated in a dark corner by himself, trying not to look like he was looking in the disguised dragon’s location. She could not tell much more about him, other than he was dressed in a green vest and pants, so she decided to amuse herself by playing the game. This one obviously thinks I am an easy catch, she thought as she thanked the serving maiden, getting up from her chair and moving over to his location. Too bad I feel the same way about him. Silver took a sip of her drink, finding it to be water. How boring, she inwardly grimaced. "Hello, good sir. Thank you for the water." she smiled down at the wolf, able to see more details of the wolf— how his head fur was short, the bangs barely hanging down frown his eyeridge, and his clothes old and weather-beaten. The wolf lazily looked up at her, his eyes containing a dull shine to them, as if he were older than he truly looked. "It was the least I could do for a fellow traveler." He gave her a slight grin, as if a full smile was too much for him to do. "Please, won’t you sit, and chat with a tired journeyman?" "I will do just that," Silver replied with a smile that did not quite reach her eyes. Sitting down, she took a sip of her water before making eye contact with the wolf. "My name is Silver," she said, not seeing the harm of using her real name. The wolf nodded politely. "My name is Treylan. It is a pleasure to meet you, lady wolf." Silver relaxed slightly, wondering how to play this little game. She decided to find out more about this wolf that sat across from her. "Where do you journey from, sir wolf?" she asked, leaning forward a bit, acting as if interested. Treylan smiled, staring into his mug. "I come from very far, far away. Farther than any map can locate. It has been so long since I have began my journey, that I fear it is but a distant memory." He suddenly looked sad, and Silver could feel the weight of his mood. She did not quite understand his words, but she did understand the emotion. There were times her happiness seemed but a distant memory as well, and she wondered if she could ever be as happy as she had been during her childhood, before she became the filthy brown-scaled dragon she despised. "Are you all right? There is a dark tone to your voice," she asked. Treylan looked up into her eyes. "I could ask the same thing, my lady. There is a bitter look in your eyes, and I sense great pain in them as well." It was now Silver’s turn to stare into her mug. "I, too, have had my share of sadness," she then looked back at Treylan. "However, I suppose we are not the only ones to have that happen, eh?" "I suppose not." Silver almost reached out to touch the wolf’s hand, but caught herself before doing the act. What is wrong with me? she thought. He is just a wolf, nothing more. When I destroy the city, he will fall just like the rest of them! "I do not think you will have the chance, Silver." The dragoness’ thoughts broken, she flinched as she stared wide-eyed at Treylan. "What...what did you just say?" "You won’t have the chance to destroy anything." His gaze was steady, indifferent. Her eyes narrowed in response. "A thought-mage, eh? So I suppose you know what I truly am? A hideous dragon abomination?" Treylan shook his head sadly. "No, I am not a thought-mage, and you are no abomination. Merely… " His words were interrupted by the combination of a huge crash from far away, followed by an earthquake which shook the tavern fiercely. Patrons fell to the floor as the shelves and support beams started to collapse. Silver quickly got up to her feet, fleeing from the establishment, Treylan following close beside her. Silver’s mind was racing with the possibilities that could cause such a crash, but when she stepped outside, she saw darkness all around her, as if the day had suddenly become night...or something enormous was blocking the sun over the city. Looking up, she saw it was most definitely the latter. He towered over the city, a black mountainous minotaur with white eyes that gleamed from the dark fur, his baleful gaze filled with contempt over the city below his knees. He lifted his leg, and a hoof the size of a city block rained debris below as it hovered for a moment before crashing down into the city, causing another earthquake. Silver was knocked off her feet, her eyes unable to tear away from the terrifying visage of this titanic minotaur. Wanderer, she heard the voice inside her mind, the words sending a lance of pain through it. Give me what I seek, and I shall not be forced to destroy this place. Deny me, and you shall watch as I reduce this hive into rubble. He then stood there, like a brooding volcano ready to erupt at any moment, waiting for a response. The guardsmen took this chance to fire their arrows at the minotaur, but they were ineffective, snapping and breaking like twigs against the creature’s thick hide. He didn’t even acknowledge the attacks, instead moving his great head up and down slowly, and Silver realized it was nodding. Very well, Treylan, you have sealed yet another city’s fate. The minotaur raised his huge hand, and something appeared in it, leaping from the enormous appendage and landing on the ground with a terrible trembling of the ground. While not as huge as the minotaur, its legs were taller than the tallest building in the city. A nightmarish combination of various animals, it had the head of a lioness, the forepaws, wings and body of a dragon, the hindquarters and hooves of a goat, and its tail was that of a dragon. A chimera! Silver thought. But I have never seen one so huge! It is larger than even my great many times great grandsire! Her thoughts were interrupted by the roar from the chimera, deafening her even from the great distance away, but the people below the chimera found their eardrums rupturing from he sound. Buildings collapsed under the creature’s claws and hooves as it tore a path of destruction through the city, only pausing momentarily to scoop up a handful of furs and study them. With a snarl, it then shoved them into its maw, swallowing once, then roaring its disapproval. As the chimera made her way towards Silver’s area, the dragoness found her frozen with terror. It was one thing to destroy a city, but to be one of the victims? She quickly snapped out of her terror when Treylan pulled her out of the path of carnage, and a minute later a heavy paw crushed the tavern, bits of wood and brick crumbling from underneath the forepaw as it lifted into the air to land heavily once again a far distance away. "We must flee this city," Treylan shouted above the chaos. "But...the people," she protested, waving a helpless arm across the city that was falling before the might of the chimera. The screams of the dying filled her ears, and something was gripping her heart: sympathy. "You cannot defeat them." he said sternly, pulling on her arm forcefully. "I must try." Treylan shrugged, and released her arm. "Very well." With that, he turned and ran into the panicked crowd. Silver wasted no time in pursuing the chimera, relinquishing her hold on the shewolf form. Her muscles bulged and strained against the fur as her neck began to stretch out from her rapidly growing body. The scales started to slice out of the pelt, and soon in the wolf’s place stood the brown-scaled form of the dragon. So, the voice in her head smirked, sending a wave of nausea and pain through her mind. It would seem, Pandora, that you have a playmate now. Crush her dead and bring me her head! The chimera turned, crushing more helpless furs under its paws, and glared down at the dragon. Then it spoke. "Yes, my lord Gorgon" it said in a feminine voice that rumbled like thunder. She took a heavy step towards Silver, her weight sinking the paw into the ground like it was soft mud. "I bear you no malice, little dragon," the chimera growled. "But my lord has commanded your death, and I have no choice but to obey." Silver hissed angrily at the chimera, trying to keep the fear of death away from her mind. "I will not die so easily, monster!" "We are all monsters, little dragon. Some of us are born into it. Others, pushed into it. Where do you find yourself?" The chimera suddenly slammed a forepaw against the dragon’s chest, sending her through a building before collapsing onto the ground. She felt the wet crunch of little furs mashed into jelly underneath her bulk, and for the first time, she felt shame. It quickly was forgotten as the chimera loomed over her. The dragon scrambled underneath the larger female before Pandora rammed a clawed fist into the ground. Snarling, the chimera turned, only to be struck across the eyes by the dragon’s tailspade. When the chimera stumbled backwards, Silver followed up the attack with a gout of flame that engulfed the chimera’s head. She grinned with victory when she heard the roar of agony, but then her heart sank when she saw the chimera advance towards her, the fires quickly burning themselves out, leaving only burnt fur and a murderous look in the chimera’s eyes. She took a clumsy swipe at the dragon, who was able to move out of the way of the huge claw. It proved to be a feint, though, as the dragon’s head on the tailtip breathed a gout of flame in retaliation for the one Silver gave them. The flames, of course, did not hurt her, but an idea crossed her mind, so she threw herself to the ground miming the throes of agony. Please let this work, I cannot defeat her in a fair fight! Pandora approached Silver as the flames died down. Seeing the dragon in agony, she lifted her forepaw with claws extended, intending to deliver her from the supposed agony. Silver then quickly sprang into action, lashing upwards with her tail, sinking her tailspade into Pandora’s neck. The chimera gurgled as the blood flowed from the wound, but Silver pushed the spade deeper into the vulnerable flesh. Pandora's struggles quickly weakened as she looked into the dragon’s eyes. She spoke two words in a soft bubbly whisper as blood dribbled down her muzzle. "Thank you." Silver yanked her tail out of the chimera as the death rattle preceded her departure from the realm. She defended the city from this creature, and she felt… proud of such an act. She would not have long to decipher these feelings, as the minotaur’s huge shadow loomed over her. You have killed my herald, Gorgon spoke as Silver crumbled before the pain. You shall take her place, dragon. He reached for the dragon, each finger bigger than the dead chimera, and she was able to say a short prayer before the pain swept her away to unconsciousness.
It was an eternity before the darkness faded from Silver’s thoughts; it was another eternity before she could open her eyes. But instead of the mind numbing terror of the minotaur, she was looking into the eyes of Treylan. "Are you all right, Silver?" She took her time to answer, feeling as if she had to learn to speak all over again. "I… I think so. Where… are we?" She lifted her head, seeing nothing but trees. Perplexed by the size of the magnificent redwoods, she looked down at herself, and saw she was the shewolf again. "How… ?" "A simple spell, Silver. Hush, give yourself time to recover." He stroked her headfur, and she realized she was resting against his thighs. Having no strength to resist, she leaned against his body. "You saved me?" "I did." "But why? I thought you left." "I came back after I realized you were right, in a way. After I saw you defeat Pandora, I knew we can fight back. When you fell, however, I knew it was time for a strategic retreat. I almost didn’t get us out of there." "Who was that creature? What did he want from you?" Her eyes were calm, but she remembered Gorgon’s gaze. It still made her very afraid. "You already know his name— Gorgon. He is pure evil, and he wants an object placed under my protection." Treylan held out something wrapped in a black cloth, then started to carefully unfold the fabric, until a sphere of solid crystal was shown. It was a simple thing, so fragile-looking she almost mistook it for a soap bubble, but somehow, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Then it grew larger, until she was drawn into the crystal itself. A myriad of images flew around her, showing her things undreamed of by her kind... A man goes into a gymnasium, wishing to become fit, when a giant minotaur walks in behind him. They soon find their destinies inexplicably entwined through death and life... A giant shewolf enters a dream, looking for a sibling that could not possibly exist. She finds more than she bargained for... Two oddly garbed furless creatures, one short and wearing a full plate of armor, fight a golden dragon in a realm of dungeons... A giant lupine creature made of metal rains death on the tiny furs below, smashing into their tall, gleaming boxes they inhabit... Herself, giving birth to her first child... "My first child..." she whisper, her eyes coming back into focus. The crystal was back in its silken wrappings and Treylan looked down at her with concern. "What...what happened?" she asked, her thoughts still in a haze. "It… accepted you as its guardian." Treylan’s voice sounded incredulous. "I did not expect that to happen. "What is that crystal? You almost make it sound as if it were alive." "Well, for lack of a better description, it is the key to the collective unconscious of Creation itself. It is the way to unlock all the knowledge of anything you might be able to dream about. In a way, it is alive, as it chose me as its guardian, from creatures such as Gorgon. Were this to fall into his hands, Creation would be doomed to slavery." "Such power. Are you not tempted?" "I am. Every day, I am tempted to use its power, so perhaps that is why it brought me to you, and let me see what you truly were. One may not be able to resist the lure of power, but two..." "Two can do what one cannot, is that what you are saying?" Treylan nodded, and both felt what the other did. That at one time, they suffered from terrible loneliness. Treylan, from the burden he bore as guardian of the crystal. Silver, from her own self-loathing from being different. As her eyes grew heavy, she felt something had changed, and she knew what it was before she fell to the mercies of slumber. She now knew a kindred spirit. The days grew into weeks, and those weeks grew into months. There were times they had several days of peace from Gorgon, but then there were those terrible moments when he ruthlessly hounded them until they nearly collapsed from exhaustion. Were it not for their own magics, wits, and the support from the crystal, they would have fallen before his wrath. As it is, their battles against the evil one served to strengthen the bond between the wolf and the dragon, so it was no surprise to either one when the bond grew into something deeper— that of love. "Silver, you are truly beautiful," Treylan said as he helped her undress. He drank in her lovely form with his eyes, taking in every curve of her body, but most importantly, he looked into her eyes, seeing the love for her reflected back to him. "Once, I would have scoffed at such words, my wolf. Now, I realize that love is based on more than just appearances." She drew him closer to her body, her wings covering his magically enlarged form. "Treylan, my love, I accept you, and will always be with you." Their first night together as mates would never be forgotten.
From the journal of Silver Steel, in the year 569 AF The attack on the city was unexpected in its ferocity. Gorgon had called the very power of Oblivion down on us, and we watched helplessly as an entire section of the booming civilization was wiped out of existence. Even worse, the disruption separated Treylan and I from each other, as nature abhors a vacuum. When the chaos subsided, Gorgon and my mate were both gone, leaving me in custody of the crystal. Gorgon reemerged three weeks later, and thus, the search for my wolf would be put on hold as I had to go into hiding to protect myself in my fragile condition, as I discovered I was with child. The crystal shielded myself and the unborn child I carried, but I had no way of knowing how long this shielding would last, as the crystal seemed to have its own policies on what emergencies needed help. My dreams are becoming more chaotic. There are times I see Treylan, and he is in a strange land, surrounded by creatures that boggle the mind. His name is no longer the same. Why did he change it? Other times, I dream, but I do not remember them. Am I truly dreaming? My child will be a hybrid of wolf and dragon, with the wolf side more dominant. This I know from what the crystal showed me. The temptation to use the crystal is demanding, but I know why I was chosen. It knew Treylan would fall. No, he did not fall. He is not dead. It knew Treylan would be forced to leave. I do not know how he lasted for so many years alone, with Gorgon nipping at his heels like some kind of dog. I know now it was solely Gorgon that pursued him. Now he is after me, and my child. Can I allow myself to bring this unborn babe into the world, where he will never have a normal childhood, even one as unusual as a dragon-wolf hybrid? It is cruel to bring this babe into such a life of hardship, but I do not have the strength to abandon him before he is even born. ...he. The child is a male. Again, the crystal is giving me information. Mayhaps too much. What thoughts are mine, and what are fed into me by this key? Regardless, I shall name my son Geemo, and he will grow up to be strong, like his father. Come back to us, Treylan. We shall be waiting for you. |