A serial tale of a hero/ine whose Manifestation offers hope to an entire mythical species, and gives promise to many awakenings in a sleeping world very much like our own.

--- --- ---
A re-imagining of several old story concepts that never saw anywhere near as much love as they should have. Now they're back, combined and fused into one whole. Hopefully I didn't mess up the formatting too badly; although I will hopefully learn to do better in time.

-Arianrhod.
--- --- ---

A forsaken house, they called us...cursed, and doomed to die because of our transgressions. Fresh out of allies, we were caught unprepared. They attacked...and they won.

That was the story that I had always been told, anyway. The legend was handed down through generation after generation of my family, a tradition from darker, more savage times. Personally, I think that the modern times are in fact just as evil as olden days...just that the wicked have learned to conceal themselves better.

I doubt that my parents bought into it any more seriously than I did--it was a relic of a tale; nonetheless, they served the tradition and related it to me when I came of age. It was several years after that point, and I was nearing the end of my high school career when things all changed. My younger sister still had a few years left to go, which promised to keep my parents entertained, but I was almost to the relative freedom that college offered. For some reason, she always seemed to actually find merit in the old family yarn. I'm not sure that I'd go so far as to say that she believed it back then, but she did always get a bit more defensive about it than any of the rest of us.

The fact was, my life was pretty boring. I was never one of the popular crowd, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that I was at the opposite end of the camp either. I never excelled at my studies, but I always attributed that to a lack of caring rather than anything else. My high school wasn't progressive at all -- the idea of letting students take classes they were actually interested in never occurred to them. Instead, they existed to produce pseudo-moral and pseudo-knowledgeable civilians that were nigh carbon-copies of each other, and I hated it. In a strange way, though, I have to thank them for their societally crippling ways, since my apathy led to my Manifestation.

It was a beautiful spring day, and I was cutting class shamelessly. We were supposed to be learning about atavism in biology, but I had decided that I didn't really care and that being outside and enjoying the sunshine was more important. I was planning on heading back in for my final class of the day, since I actually enjoyed it, but unfortunately for me, I was not the only one who had decided to skip the penultimate period.

I was chilling on the roof, watching the lazy sky roll by when I heard the stifled guffaws of the Reddies coming from the service entrance. The Reddies, as everyone (including themselves) called them, were the school's resident gang of hooligans. A few fractured, smaller groups had existed on and off again in the years before my class entered circulation, but with the new freshman had come a very peculiar transfer: an upperclassman from a school at the opposite end of the state. He came in as a freshman, and we quickly learned why.

Will Langton was a thug.

He wasn't stupid, though...that had been our first mistake. At first we had tried to avoid him when possible, like a looming appointment that nobody wanted to attend -- and it had worked. Nobody had any problems with him freshman year. He was rarely in class, but academic excellence was hardly a cornerstone of our facility. Either he actually did well on the tests that he showed up for, or the faculty edited his results to suit their margins...probably both, because when we all showed up the first day of our sophomore year, there he was, grinning loathsomely at everyone around him.

We soon found out why.

Nobody had any difficulties with him the previous year, or any of the other bullies, for that matter, because he had spent that year hammering every minor bully, clique, and wanna-be gang into a cohesive machine reminiscent of a teenage mafia. Despite being a proud redneck, who indeed had named his organization after his ideological affiliation, Will proved to be highly cunning...in the way that a wild predator might be. He saw people's actions, and he understood their motivation, but most of all, he hated. He hated with a spectacular fury that would have made Styx flush with pride.

Himself and his private group of delinquents were essentially allowed to do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted to. The school officials were downright in league with the Reddies, in fact. There was a rumor that went around during our junior year that Will had threatened the principal of the school that if any actions were taken against himself or his crew, he would expose the officials of the school district as unfit due to the corrupt faculty that covered up their students' failure clandestinely over the summer. In exchange, he would agree not to kill anyone or even seriously harm them during his stay at the school.

Of course, Will Langton's definition of "serious harm" was not always one with which the student body as a whole agreed.

I wasn't aware that the roof was anyone's specific territory, but when Will and his cronies showed up, it turned into their territory. With only one entrance to the roof, and a three-story drop to the sun-baked lawn below, my only alternative was to stay motionless and hope to avoid notice until I could slink back inside at an opportune moment. I had at least used the foresight to sequester myself behind one of the various units that protruded from the roof's otherwise flat surface like so many voluminous steel pimples, so I was out of sight from the doorway -- for the time.

Will and his thugs emerged from the service doorway, accompanied by the dull thud of boots and the low, guttural moans of someone stretching pleasurably in the open air and warm sun.

"Parson, keep a watch on the doorway," Will's sickeningly dulcet voice rode the breeze to my corner of the roof. So much for sneaking down quietly. At this point, a confrontation seemed almost inevitable.

Now, I wouldn't go so far as to classify myself as hopeless in a fight. Standing a proud six-foot with shoulders to match a frame that in no way belonged to a weakling, I could hold my own in a fair fight and knew it. The problem was that the fight was going to be anything but fair.

I didn't have long to wait, either. Not five minutes had passed before one of Will's compatriots noticed me, calling out in alarm to his boss. Scant seconds later, Will Langton, terror of West Heights High, stood scowling down at me.

We exchanged the usual pleasantries -- I tried to weasel my way out without causing a ruckus, while he insulted everything to do with me, and then we got down to business. Both of us knew what the outcome would be: I would hold him off until he got pissed, then he'd pull out his prized gold-handled skinning knife and slit me open a few times. Then he'd let his cronies beat the shit out of me, and then I'd be let go do to whatever I felt like.

The last time this had happened, I had briefly considered telling either the police or my parents what was going on...but almost as if he was reading my mind, Will had warned me that if any cops started sniffing around, he would know whose family to gut in the middle of the night. I was old enough and wise enough to believe him.

What neither of us realized, though, was that this time around, something would be different.

He came in first with a right-cross, which I ducked under and attempted to counter with a straightforward blow to the chest. What I was not expecting, however, was the hands that grabbed me from behind when I lunged forward.

"Roger, Roger, Roger..." Will grinned in front of me. "What have I told everyone about using my territory as if they were allowed to be here? It's bad enough that I suffer to let you immy scum with your notions of fairness and equality run amuck in this town, acting like you are entitled to the same rights as the rest of us."

I quickly countered that I was now a second generation American, but Will cut me off. "We don't need your kind in these parts. Stay to the big cities where you've got each other for protection, where you can screw over the chinks and the niggers and all the other scum that make us true-blooded Americans have to scurry around because you take our jobs and warp our culture." He paused. "You know something ironic?"

I was sure that I didn't, nor wanted to, and I told him so. "I think you can take your notions of irony and go stuff 'em up your ass," I replied. That remark earned me a solid punch in the gut that left me panting. When I looked up, I saw him fondling his knife.

"If it weren't for people like you, I wouldn't even be at this school. My old man lost his job to an immy and we had to move here because this is where the new job was. I thought maybe if we came inland far enough we'd escape your kind, but apparently even West Virginia isn't enough. I'm still surrounded by foreign scum."

He scraped his knife blade across the steel shell that I had been resting against, creating a chilling sound that screamed and wailed of pain yet to come.

"Well, I'm going to make sure that this town is cleansed of you bastards. I'll run every one of you out of town personally if I have to, but..." he gestured at the six or seven thugs which had now surrounded us, "I don't think that'll have to be the case. I've got plenty of help."

Looking around at his accomplices, he asked them what they thought should be my fate for usurping his rightful American soil. The replies involved a lot of things that I wasn't particularly fond of, like scarring my face, putting an eye out, or just plain gutting me on the spot.

But Will Langton was cunning, and wasn't about to let his cackling jackals mutilate me.

"No, we can't do anything that severe...yet. We aren't strong enough yet to drive this scum out of the area. If we did something that obvious, people might get suspicious that something beyond simple bullying was going on. No, I have a much better idea."

He grinned then, a feral, ugly thing that promised a sinister fate for me.

"Jackson, you got that trash-ass piece of jewelry you're fond of on you?"

One of the boys fidgeted uncomfortably, but said in a high, thin voice that he did.

Will leered at me a second before stating, "You see, Jackson here thinks that he's all cool because he wears a swastika around his neck. I think he's full of shit personally, but at the same time, it comes in handy sometimes to have a fellow like him around." He stopped and turned back to Jackson. "Go take that thing and get it hot. Real hot. Then bring it back here." Jackson smirked and departed.

"See, I can't think of anything more hilariously damning than to see one of you kraut scum running around with a Nazi brand on your cheek. You'll be considered outcast by every American with his weight in Washingtons."

Something woke up in me at that. While I found it disgusting that he was comparing an American's worth to a unit of monetary measure, something about being outcast sent bells tolling somberly in my mind. I didn't know what it meant, but I started struggling anyway. Up until that point I'd just been passively waiting for my beating so I could move on with my life...it was how things worked at West Heights High. But now, I could see that Will's malice had vastly surpassed sheer brutality.

Unfortunately for me, one verse five odds were pretty terrible for me, and I was held steady despite my struggles.

A few exhausting minutes later, Jackson reemerged from the portal to the normalcy that actually being in class represented. He seemed a little unsure of himself, but he held a glowing swastika necklace before him, nestled in a pile of paper towels from the bathroom.

"Sorry boss, but this is the best I could do without a real fire of some kind...I just kind of held it against the side of the boiler for a while." I mentally noted that apparently the rumors of a year ago were a bit more substantial than just that, if one of Will's underlings had access to the boiler room.

"Good...give it to me." Will held out his right hand, and Jackson carefully delivered his package. As I got a better look at it, I could see the heat rising from the metal charm, dissipating carelessly into the spring breeze. Scorch marks permeated the first layer or two of towels at least, and while it appeared as if it wasn't hot enough so as to sear flesh down to bone, as my mind had been picturing, it would undoubtedly leave one hell of a noticeable mark.

Will grinned his evil grin again, and moved in closer, getting his hand ready to hastily deposit the brand on my face.

Outcast was still ringing in my head...outcast and damned...forsaken...

The bells grew ever louder in the milliseconds between memory and happening, louder, louder, and still louder yet until it seemed as though my skull was going to split open.

And then it did.

Dazed, I saw Will recoil, a look of abject horror on his face. A livid, screaming part of me protested that my skull was cracked open and that I was in -- or should be -- in intense pain, or perhaps I was dead already. That part of me was ignored. Instead, a great, timeless calm pervaded my conscious self...timeless, and very, very cold. The thugs around me had all recoiled at the sight of a man whose head was split in two, but Will was quickly regaining his senses. He was hefting his knife from hand to hand, and licking his lips, eager for blood. The glowing swastika dropped to the ground, forgotten.

"If you're gonna go and die on me anyway, bastard, I'm gonna at least get my licks in before all the lights go out, " he said savagely.

My soul suffused with ice, I merely stared at him with a fury that I had not known myself to be capable of...and perhaps was not even now.

As he stalked eagerly towards me, I recognized that the cold seemed to be another presence in my mind, and that it was waiting with infinite patience for a moment that was about to happen. A single word floated to my confused spirit...said as a quiet whisper, a chilled hush...

Manifestation

The crack that had begun at the top of my skull now continued downward, splitting my face in an inhuman, vertical grin. Down, down, still down is progressed, but still Will rushed madly towards me

I care not

knife in hand and gleam in eye. With dismay I watched as he began to stab my chest repeatedly, but I noticed that I wasn't feeling any pain in my detached state, and began to watch a bit more dispassionately. Part of me was still screaming, but I ignored it. The Ice, which had now assumed proper-noun stature to my consciousness, seemed to be helping me...and frankly, there wasn't much about it that I could've done anyway.

Even as Will continued to stab, and his henchmen continued to back away apprehensively, the split continued like a quaking fault destined for infamy. A sullen teal-white glow emerged between the halves, and still the split continued. A panting Will finally realized that something wasn't right and began looking around nervously, only to realize that his cronies had all deserted him. He started backing away, but the Ice only regarded him with that same timeless calm, as if he was an insignificant gnat to be squashed at a picnic.

The split concluded, and the sides of my former body fell away like a dried-up husk. The result was a steadily expanding ball of the same teal-white light. Now that I was having a true out-of-body experience, I found that I could see myself almost as if from a third-person camera. It felt like I still had a body, somehow, but I certainly wasn't in control anymore. If I was, I might have been able to save Will's life. But the Ice, I would find, was definitely not a friend of Man.

The orb of light that was all that remained of my body continued its merciless growth, and Will finally panicked. Making a mad dash for the doorway to the lower levels where pens waved back and forth like lilies in a field and boredom above all defined human existence, Will prayed to the God of the Founders that he would escape.

He was denied.

A beam of light shot out from the central orb, which was now about the size of a SUV. Shooting and stretching, it barred the door that was Will's only exit. The orb floated closer to him, and shapes began to form within the blinding bright. The beam refined and compressed until it resembled an arm. Another arm formed, and two legs soon joined it, providing physical support against the roof of the school. A long, whip-like stretch of light extended from what was quickly becoming the hindquarters of a shape that I recognized very, very well.

At home, we had a plaque that hung on the wall in the foyer just inside the front door. On it was emblazoned our family's crest, an antique that was prized very highly among our family. And on that crest, occupying the proud forefront, was a four-legged dragon, and I was becoming that dragon.

The light continued to compress and refine, becoming further defined in its shape. Wings sprouted just below the foundation of a serpentine neck, which quickly began to support a proud, fiercely jawed head.

Throughout all of this, Will's only further reaction was to wet himself.

As I watched in awed silence, I felt Ice again in my mind, compelling me, whispering

Hunt

I felt the presence staring balefully at my would-be assailant. Hungrily.

Now that the rough shape was complete, more minute details began to take shape...the wicked fangs and recurving claws present not only on the arms and legs, but at the elbows and knees as well. An array of spines nearly a foot in length sprouted from the dragon's -- my -- body, and the tail became tipped with a lethal-looking display of spikes. The wings of light stretched outward and up, towards the open sky, and I watched amazedly as tendons began to spin themselves out of the nothingness of the shape.

Complete

The voice seemed immensely satisfied, and the light began to fade almost on cue. Dimming, dimming...the light diffused, leaving only gleaming black behind. All across the dragon-shape, polished obsidian scales formed, coating the body in armor that I knew somehow was harder than steel. Thick scutes cloaked the chest, and the various spikes and claws became sheathed in bright white bone. As the body became completely corporeal, though, I noticed something wrong. The eye sockets, located beneath fearsome brows but above the origins of the two-foot-long jaws, were completely vacant.

I shortly wished that I hadn't noticed, though, because all of a sudden, the world began spinning. Rapidly...quickly enough that I would've thrown up if I had a body...I felt as if I was going to spin into oblivion. And then it stopped, and I was definitely not in third-person mode anymore.

I was the dragon, but I was not yet actually in control of my new body. Ice was still very much at the forefront...and Ice was still hungry.

My head swung around of its own accord, staring greedily at the trembling mortal in front of it. Will backed away quickly, shaking his head and wiping at his eyes. My body moved to pursue, causing the roof to creak under the strain. The prey found itself backed up against a wall, and let out a frustrated scream. It appeared as though it were weighing its options, for it was certainly looking around furiously. In the end, it saw no salvation, so it did the one thing that it could do.

It tried to fight.

The food charged at me, brandishing its skinning knife like a toy sword. The first bite took off the head, arms, and torso, leaving behind an echoing scream of inhuman agony and a forward-falling pair of legs attached at the groin. Ice merely chewed the remains of Will and then continued to feast by picking up the lower half. It was as if it was completely indifferent to the life that it had just stifled so easily. And then I had another intuition about the being that was now sharing my mind. It wasn't an it. It was a she.

A serial tale of a hero/ine whose Manifestation offers hope to an entire mythical species, and gives promise to many awakenings in a sleeping world very much like our own.

--- --- ---
A re-imagining of several old story concepts that never saw anywhere near as much love as they should have. Now they're back, combined and fused into one whole. Hopefully I didn't mess up the formatting too badly; although I will hopefully learn to do better in time.

-Arianrhod.
--- --- ---

Panicking, I felt a sudden surge of mental strength and shook off Ice's dominance. As I felt the new sensations flooding in from all over my new body, I realized that I didn't have any way of telling if the body that I was inhabiting currently was male or female. After all, just because Ice was female didn't mean that the transformation she had enacted on my body necessarily transcended the boundary of sex as well as species.

I wasn't given the opportunity to really explore my new body more, though, as faculty (and a few students, as well) began to emerge on to the roof. I realized belatedly that Will's dying screams were probably not the best way to stay hidden. I could feel Ice in the background, trying to reassert her control, demanding more food.

Stuck between staying roofside and letting more people see the first real dragon that human eyes had laid eyes on for centuries at least or trying to fly, I did the only thing that seemed logical at the moment: I jumped off the edge.

Luckily for me, my body did indeed come pre-programmed with the knowledge of flight. The feeling of my wings pounding the air was a strange one, but somehow thrilling, too. I had never really been too scared of heights, but I wasn't exactly what you'd call fond of them, either. Now, though, it seemed my perspective had changed. Everything was too new for me to really make any hard decisions, but I privately admitted to myself that I loved flying.

I hadn't yet really given any thought to where, exactly, I was heading. My body was pretty much on autopilot. All I had really known was that I had to get away from humans, but I had yet to actually decide on a course of action. Studying the buildings beneath me as I cruised, I got my bearings and swung around to the north. My destination was a little-known state park that I sometimes visited when I wanted to be alone to think...I could hardly think of a more perfect spot. It was isolated, peaceful, and certainly not dangerous to me...at least not anymore, I thought to myself.

I touched down just about fifteen minutes after departure, which I figured put my flight speed at somewhere around sixty miles per hour, even when considering that I was able to take a direct route instead of having to follow the road network. Ice was still sullenly lurking in the back of my mind, protesting about the lack of solid food that my body was in desperate need of. The problem was that I was in even more desperate need of things less corporeal: a plan, somebody to talk to, and some knowledge of what the hell had just happened to me.

I quickly decided that the plan was the most important thing, and analyzed the situation, breaking it down as thus:

First, I was now a dragon. This caused a number of logistical problems, not the least of which was making contact with other human beings, such as my family. It also contributed the problem of food, which was going to be a big deal. I guessed that transforming had taken a dramatic amount of resources to enact, and flying probably wasn't helping my energy situation either.

Second, I didn't know much at all about my capabilities. I knew from the basic kind of pop-culture knowledge that one accrues throughout life that most dragons have a breath attack of some kind, and usually have a plethora of other abilities to complement this primary weapon. I knew that some at least were shapeshifters as well.

Third, I needed to figure out why this had happened. It obviously had something to do with my family lineage, since it had triggered based on a combination of being in both mortal and societal danger (the ominous bells of outcastdom still echoed faintly in my head). The draconic form that I had assumed was also frighteningly reminiscent of that which graced the foreground of the Nebel family crest...add to that the family legend, and it was all too much to be a mere coincidence.

I quickly decided that humoring Ice was probably wise, since she doubtlessly knew a lot more about what my body needed than I did at this point. Eating more humans was out of the question, though, so I decided that the next best thing would be to poach a sheep or two (or five, Ice thought hungrily) from a nearby farm. Sighing, I ordered my body to lift off...and was met with nothing. Apparently it wasn't just that simple.

Okay, then I'll find a nice cliff to jump off of, then, I thought. Hauling myself through the narrow trails proved to be a bit of a chore, which surprised me, since I figured I was only about the size of a SUV or a small van.

Wings

That gave me a bit of a pause. I hadn't actually thought about it before, but while my wings were pretty large, they shouldn't have been enough on their own to actually enable me to fly. The proportions just weren't right. Stumbling through the woods, I had finally found my cliff, though, so I shrugged it off as magic and went about getting dinner.

A couple of farmers lost some pretty plump sheep that afternoon.

Now that I wasn't hungry anymore, Ice receded further into the background of my mind, lurking quietly. I was starting to get an uneasy feeling that Ice represented my instincts, sort of like a sixth sense. It was unsettling that I thought of my instinct-persona as female.

Wheeling back around towards town, I decided that I would have to try to get in touch with my female. I hadn't actually tried to talk yet, and frankly I doubted that this body would be capable of making the necessary sounds to emulate human speech. But I was confidant that I could at least right in the dirt with a claw or something. Family was always a strong motivator for me, and whatever lay ahead in my future, I couldn't just leave them hanging thinking that I had vanished into thin air or something. My family lived on a quiet cul-de-sac in the quiet town of West Heights. I had always found it strange that there was no East Heights or any other directional Heights, for that matter, to go with it. Such was the way, I supposed. Hovering above the neighborhood, I could see several police cars parked along the curb in front of my house. My family was on the porch, talking with the policemen in a frenzied manner.

I continued to watch for a few more minutes, slowly despairing of the cops ever leaving. Finally they turned to go back towards their cars, which was good, because my wings were starting to ache. Apparently hovering is a lot more work than actually flying is. I could see that my father was shaking his head and holding my mother closely. I couldn't be sure from how far up I was, but I think she was crying. My little sister had already run back in the house, and I had heard the door slam from my location hundreds of feet up. I wondered idly at my amazing hearing, when I hadn't noticed if I even had ears anymore. My good eyesight surprised me less...for a predator of the skies, sharp eyesight was a prerequisite.

I quickly surveyed the neighbor situation. None of them were actually out on their lawns or porches, which was good for me. That didn't mean, though, that they weren't home...and having an SUV-sized black dragon land on the front yard and attempt to converse with the house's owners wasn't exactly the best way to evade notice. I decided on the next best course of action: kidnaping.

Gritting my teeth, I dove several hundred feet, and landed on top of the breezeway, making sure that my claws made all kinds of peculiar clicking sounds. Sure enough, my mom and dad both scurried out to the yard to take a look...and then they were safely clutched in my arms, and I was flying again.

They both struggled, of course. They punched and kicked and screamed, but I paid them no heed and instead flew straight to the woods in the nearest middle-of-nowhere I could find; locales of which West Virginia has many. Eventually I decided that we were far enough out, and landed in the first clearing I found. First I carefully released my parents, and then began trying different forms of communication.

As I had feared, I quickly discovered that forming human speech was impossible, although I did end up producing some fairly disturbing and probably spine-chilling sounds. I thought that they sounded attractive and musical, but from my parents' reaction, I guessing that was a dragon-only opinion.

Next I tried clawing the dirt. I tried to scribble out "I am your son," but my parents, who were on the other side of the clearing by now and still trembling with fear, were either unable to read it or unwilling to try.

Telepathy was next on my list. I tried to open my mind and see if I could feel them psychically, but all that succeeding in doing was perturbing Ice again...and I definitely wanted to let that sleeping dragon lie.

The minutes began to tick down, and I grew increasingly frustrated. My parents tried to run away once, but I discouraged that. Eventually my father got brave, or tired, or both, and tried to talk to me. Unfortunately, I found to my horror that I could not understand the words coming out of his mouth. I could see his mouth moving clearly enough, and I could hear the sounds, but I couldn't make any logical sense of them.

That brought me to the shocking conclusion that ever since I had transformed, I hadn't even been thinking in English. I swiveled my long neck around and peered at the words that I thought I had scribbled in the dirt. They said what I had wanted them to say, but drawing upon my human memories, I could discern well enough that whatever language I had written it in was definitely not English.

This made me begin to feel very depressed. Whatever had happened to me, it had stolen away more than my humanity. It seemed like it had also taken my memories...which was strange, because I still had my memories. Then I tried accessing them again. I knew who the people in front of me were, of course. They were my meal for the evening.

Wait, that wasn't right.

Straining mentally against the fog that was increasingly blanketing my mind, I pushed everything else away except my parents and my sister. Above all else, I thought frantically, I must remember them.

Depression turned to frustration, which turned to anger. It wasn't enough that this thing had stolen my body. Now it needed to steal my very identity too, or so it seemed. Well I wasn't going down without a fight.

My raw anger led to me accessing what seemed like a mental corridor as my vision blurred. At the distant end, I saw Ice resting peacefully. On either side of Ice were two platforms. As I looked closer, I realized that Ice was sleeping coiled around the base of a giant scales, rising hundreds of feet into the darkness. Golden chains fell gracefully to the platforms, which were as broad across as a house. The scales were slipping. One of them, on Ice's right, was raising itself up, while the other was moving downward steadily, as if being pushed by an invisible force.

I didn't need much time to realize what I had to do. I flew down the hallway, and landed on the upward-bound scale. It seemed like a good idea...until I realized that I apparently had no weight within my own mind.

Weight...what has weight within my mind... I thought urgently. Memories...I can try to put my memories on it!

Now, if anyone had told me earlier in the day that I was going to be heaping my memories on top of a golden scales within my own mind in order to regain my humanity, I would have told them that popping acid was bad for you. At the moment, though, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world and made all the sense therein.

Eventually, as I forced myself to remember detail after detail, the scales slowly, grudgingly began to even out. Still I piled on. I went systematically through my life, remembering Christmases from years past, relatives long dead, and hurts that I thought -- and hoped -- I had forgotten.

*Click*

A resounding rightness filled the mental vault, but Ice remained asleep, as if it were all part of the plan.

Slowly coming back to my senses, I realized that I had apparently fallen asleep in the real world, mirroring Ice's behavior while my consciousness struggled to define its own identity against the flow of dragon-ness that had threatened to consume me.

My father seemed to have thought that I had up and died randomly, since he was awfully close. My mother was clinging to a tree a little ways back, and was calling worriedly to her husband.

"It's awake! Lars, get back quick!"

I had never been so relieved to hear -- and understand -- simple human speech before. I cycled through my various attempts at communication once more while my father retreated to the supposed safety of his wife's tree, but to no avail. So, failing all other alternatives, I tried the final option.

I closed my eyes, and willed with my entire being that I was human, and that my body would match who I was inside.

To me, it merely seemed as though the world was growing. I couldn't see the bright glare of light that filled the entire woodland clearing. My parents recoiled and hid behind the tree to avoid being blinded, but I saw it as another attempt to run away.

I stretched my hand out in silent terror, wanting to beg them not to go...and saw a human arm extend before me.

Kind of.

I looked a little closer and noticed that it wasn't entirely human, but I didn't have time for more than a cursory glance. I had to catch my parents before they got too far away. I began running forward towards the tree that my parents were hiding behind, and abruptly realized two things: my parents were coming back around the tree...they hadn't run away after all; and my center of gravity was horribly, incredibly wrong.

I considered the latter for only the briefest of seconds, putting all emphasis on running forward to my parents. Ignoring the strange sensations from all over my body for the second time in this weird day, I ran. Calling out to them, I ran. "Mom! Dad! It's me, Roger!" I called, but then I no longer ran.

My voice told me plainly and simply everything that was wrong with my center of gravity.

As I stood there, trembling, I dared to look down, and was met with all the proof that I could ever want that Ice had indeed changed more than just my species. While my mind shied away from certain aspect of anatomy that were going to take a long time to get used to, it also noticed at the same time that I was most definitely not entirely human. I held an uneasy arm out in front of my face, and noted that I still had claws instead of fingernails, and had patches of black scales on each finger, the back of my hand, my palm, and my forearm. A wicked-looking hooked claw also still protruded from my elbow.

My parents, meanwhile, had actually started moving towards. Once we were almost at arm-length, I realized that I was a heck of a lot shorter than I used to be, too. My father, Lars, now towered over me at his 6'4", and my mother, Susan, also had a few inches on me even at her moderate 5'7".

"What do you know about my son, monster," my father said finally. I flinched, but stood my ground.

"I am Roger, believe it or not," I replied. This earned me a punch in the face, but to my surprise it was my father who recoiled in pain, shaking his hand as if he'd just hit a brick. I lifted my clawed fingers to my face and carefully felt it. It seemed to be a normal human face from what I could feel, but my fingertips also couldn't miss the telltale texture of scales covered my cheeks.

"Are you really my boy?" my mother asked then, with tears in her eyes. I could feel myself tearing up too, and I just simply nodded.

"This beast is just trying to trick you. It probably devoured our son already and it's trying to season its meal with deceit," my father said hatefully. In response I spun my head and stared at him, letting my eyes do the talking for me. The result was not what I expected.

My father dropped to the ground and began writhing about. My mother quickly rushed to his side, casting a fearful glance at me. I followed a little slower, but still knelt down at his side.

"What did you do to him?" my mother demanded. I could only shrug my shoulders. "I don't know. I just wished for a second that he could see what I've been through this afternoon, and then he started doing this," I replied.

Then he started clawing at the top of his skull, and I realized what was happening. Apparently I was telepathic...I just couldn't figure out how to do it before.

"He'll be okay, Mom," I said then. "I think he's just seeing what happened to me today...or maybe experiencing is a better word."

"Are you sure?" she said worriedly, glancing back at my father's still-writhing body.

"As sure I can be about anything right now," I answered.

We tended a silent watch over him for the next couple of minutes until at last he started to come out of it.

"Hell of a day you've had there, son," he said finally. I just grinned back at him. I was too out of it to do anything more than that.

"So...uh...how are we getting home now, exactly," my mother prompted.

I suddenly realized that this was a very good question, since I had made sure we were miles away from any town when I selected the location.

I told my parents to wait a moment, and furrowed my brow in deep thought. Nothing seemed to work. I knew that I had transformed from dragon to human off of willpower alone, or so I had thought. I tried remembering the events that had led to me to become a dragon in the first place, and concluded that Ice must have something to do with it. I pictured the mental corridor again, and was pleasantly surprised to see Ice still sleeping, coiled about the balanced scales. I walked up to her, this time in my human-ish form, and kind of nervously poked her in the side. She woke up instantly, and seemed to understand.

I had a peculiar sensation of growing, and my parents were forced to look away from the brilliant glare that once again filled the grove. When it dissipated, I was once again in full dragon mode. I carefully scooped up my parents again, and we were off. By the time we had reached the outskirts of West Heights, twilight was settling into night, and I realized that I was nearly invisible against the cloudy and starless sky. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my eyes were every bit as good in the dark as they were during the day. It was as if the shroud of night didn't exist for me.

This enabled me to land in our backyard, much to the annoyance of our dog, Hanzel, who had been sleeping beneath the old elm tree that occupied the center of the lawn. I focused on shapeshifting back to human-ish, which led to the offensively bright glow filling the entire neighborhood. I was sure that there would be questions in the morning about that.

It also led to my sister coming out of the house, with our cat, Gretyl, following on her heels. I was around about then that I realized for the first time that my human-ish form was stark naked.

Now, it was just my sister, and technically we were the same gender now, so she wasn't exactly seeing anything that she didn't see on a daily basis. Even so, though, something about being completely unclothed in front of my sister disturbed me greatly, and I tried to hide behind my father, who chuckled at my efforts.

"Michelle, come welcome your brother back," he called mirthfully, then grimaced when I punched him softly (or so I thought) in the back.

I could hear her approaching softly, her slippers crushing the blades of grass underfoot. Apparently my hearing as every bit as good in this form as it was in my other one. I pulled a face behind Dad's back, and then decided to just get it over with and stepped out in front of her.

Her reaction was shocked, as was to be expected, but it was also somehow cool at the same time. It wasn't cold, or unhappy...but it wasn't exactly enthused, either. Now, my sister and I had always gotten along relatively well. We didn't fight much, probably because we largely avoided each other. She had her life, and I had mine. Both of us were happy with the arrangement.

It was clear from Mom's reaction that it was expected that we were going to be a lot closer now that we were sisters.

I just shrugged and walked inside without a word. Let my parents update her on what happened. Icy was alert again, and I was learning to listen to her, if not trust her just yet.

Sleep

I had to say that I agreed. I furrowed my brow as I walked up the stairs to the second floor, trying to remember what day it was. My mind lazily replied that today had been Friday, and then asked me why I cared, exactly. It wasn't like I could go back to school anyway. Roger Nebel was, for all intents and purposes, dead.

In his place, though, this thing that I had become stood if not proudly, then at least defiantly. I rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, and was confronted with the full-body mirror at the end of the hallway. I was definitely surprised at my reflection.

I saw mirrored back at me what could only be described as a half-dragon, half-human girl. I'd pretty much expected this from what I'd found out about my body thus far, but I definitely wasn't expecting some of the specifics.

Chest-length black hair cascaded around my shoulders, but also revealed a number of spiky white protrusions emerging from my scalp and my spine. Two especially prominent horns curved gracefully from the back of my head, ending about a foot or so back. My face was not unattractive, but carried a slightly haughty look on it that seemed almost built-in. Two patches of polished ebon reflected in the mirror, one on each cheek, as expected. I did, however, have human ears...a fact which surprised me greatly.

Continuing my self-examination, I noticed that my upper arms were also sporting black scales. I started to avoid looking at my chest, and then reminded myself that I was definitely female now and that I would have to deal with this body for the rest of my probably-greatly-extended lifespan, so I'd damn well better get used to it.

I wasn't exactly knowledgeable about womens' chest sizes aside from what looked visually appealing to a teenage male...which I'll be the first to admit doesn't exactly qualify as the most realistic of measuring systems. Mine appeared moderately sized, which suited me just fine. I was very glad that Ice or whatever other powers-that-be had engineered this body had decided not to make my body into the sexpot that a half-dragon girl would have the potential to be.

Underneath my breasts, I noted rows of gleaming jet scute scales that covered much of my stomach, and extended all the way down to The Final Frontier. My legs resumed the patchy splotches of black scales, and two evil-looking hooks curved out of my knees, similar to my elbow-claws. My feet were the biggest surprise, as they were almost completely draconic. I wasn't forced to walk digitigrade, but my feet were most definitely all dragon, all the time. Three clawed toes extended from the long foot, and another claw poked out from my heel. They were also completely covered in my trademark black scales.

My tail was still present, as were my wings, but both were greatly diminished. It was weird for them to be there, but I had felt their presence in some form or another all day, so I was kind of almost used to it. My tail stretched about three or four feet behind me, still as thin and whip-like as in my dragon form, and still capped by the same cluster of spikes. My wings almost looked like a draconic version of a little girl's butterfly or angel wings that she might wear when playing outside on a nice summer day. It seemed like there was more to them, though, so I focused on them a bit...until I noticed that they were growing, that was. Standing in a hallway wasn't exactly the place to extend them to full, but I was pleased that it seemed like I could fly in human-ish mode if I had to.

Shrugging, I decided that it wasn't a bad body. It certainly wasn't what I was used to, but I would adapt. I could work with this. I meandered to my room, and was quite literally asleep before my head even hit the pillow.

A serial tale of a hero/ine whose Manifestation offers hope to an entire mythical species, and gives promise to many awakenings in a sleeping world very much like our own.

--- --- ---
Sorry that this one is a little shorter than the first two, but I figured I should keep it that way due to the massive amount of exposition and background compared to stuff actually happening. That'll be fixed in the next part, but unfortunately I needed to set some of this up, as it's critical to where not just this story, but others that weave in and out throughout it, will go.

-Arianrhod.
--- --- ---

I awoke the next morning slightly groggy but otherwise refreshed. My alarm clock read 10:36am, which would mean that everyone else would already be up and out. My parents were both serious yard sale junkies, and my sister and I would usually tag along for something to do. Well, and because sometimes you could find stuff that you wanted for incredibly cheap.

Stretching languorously, I wondered what my plan of action for the day should be...and then noticed that I was still naked.

"Well I guess that answers that question," I chuckled to myself.

I had an old robe in my closet from about five years ago, and I guessed that I had shrunk enough that it would be roughly my new size. I attempted to put it on, and then discovered that my wings were going to be a serious problem. On a happier note, it looked as if the length was about right.

Twisting my head around, I tried to get a better look at my wings. They emerged from my body just a little bit below my shoulders and a couple inches in from my sides. Since they were basically miniaturized versions of my full dragon form's wings, they poked up and out on stalky appendages before the real wing material started...and this gave me an idea.

I rummaged around in my desk a little bit until I found a pair of scissors. Working my claws through the handles was a little obnoxious, but I eventually got it. I measured out how far in from the sides of my body my wings were, and cut two downward slats, one for each side. Then I tried to pull it on again, this time being careful to push the top half of the robe upward so that my wings fell into the slots. It looked horrible and squeezed me in certain places I didn't want to think about...but it worked.

Alright, one problem solved. What's next on the list? I thought as I went downstairs.

Mentally, I ran an Ice check. She was still coiled asleep up at the base of the scales, which were still nicely balanced. I was starting to get the impression that she was going to remain there in a weird kind of dreamstate unless she was actually needed for something -- like if I was in mortal danger.

Scrounging around for breakfast, I had my family's car in the driveway. I peered out the window and saw them unloading several baskets of goodies from the trunk. I was just about to go out and help them carry it all in when a police car pulled up at the curb, which made me remember that I wasn't exactly able to be seen in public at the moment. Oops.

I decided that it would be a good idea if I were upstairs, in case the cops wanted to come in to the house...which proved to be a wise intuition. The front door opened, and I heard Mom tell Michelle to take the yard sale goodies upstairs. Dad and at least one cop were talking about me. I decided it might good to hear what they knew so far about what happened, so I laid down on the floor upstairs, well out of sight but definitely not out of the range of my improved hearing.

"Are you sure that your son has never been involved in any gang activity? We found a swastika insignia on top of the roof where the remains of Will Langton were found," the policeman was saying.

I could tell from the tension in his voice that my father didn't appreciate that. "My son would never have anything to do with any of those people," he replied coldly.

"I'm sure not," the cop quickly smoothed over. "Just have to check all the possibilities, that's all." My sister's head appeared over the horizon of the floor. She looked a little startled, then had to stifle a giggle. I looked at her with a confused expression, and she knelt down and whispered, "Think about it. There's a dragon girl in a blue, torn robe laying on the floor." Then I heard something interesting and put a finger over my mouth.

"This is what we know for certain," the cop was saying. "We know that about fifteen people at the school and another thirty in the surrounding area witnessed a black dragon about the size of an SUV or a small van yesterday. It was first seen on top of the roof of the high school, then later in the skies around town heading back and forth to somewhere. Now ignoring the fact that dragons don't exist, we also have Will Langton, who was a real shady character by everyone's account, on top of the roof of this same school. We have your son and about six or seven other males skipping the same period, and we have the curious matter of this swastika, which showcases some minor heat scarring. Now if that doesn't sound like gang activity, I don't know what does."

I got up and went into my room, and my sister followed me, closing the door behind her. I'd heard all I needed to hear.

"We got some stuff for you this morning," Michelle said quietly. "Of course, we have no idea if it'll fit or not, but we had to try."

I just grunted noncommittally, and waited for the cop to go away. Unfortunately, he didn't. Apparently I should've listened a little longer, because now he wanted to investigate my room. Even as I panicked at the sound of his heavy boots on the staircase, I noted that it made logical sense. If he suspected me of being part of Will's little group of associates with ties to neo-Nazism, then of course he'd want to check out my room.

Ice! I need some help here, I yelled into the recesses of my mind. I checked the window, but there was no way I could fit through unless I didn't have my wings. Grimacing, I made a mental note that if I got out of this mess, I needed to find a way to shift to all human, not merely human-ish. A quiet part of me replied that it wouldn't be possible...not yet, at least. That part of me was ignored, though. Ice was waking up.

Hide, Ice. How do we hide?

There was another of those peculiar shifts as I felt Ice come fully awake, accessing my memories to discern the situation. Then she did something, and the world became slightly blurred and much darker, like if I was wearing sunglasses.

Humans can't see into the realm of the void

The realm of the void? I think it's about time we had a little chat, Ice.

For a moment, I thought I heard Ice laugh in my head. I think that you should leave this room first. While we may be invisible, we are not without form and substance. It would be awkward for this lawgiver to step on something that he can't see.

I realized that for the first time, I had actually communicated with the entity in my head. Before it had always been impulses and brief one-liners...but never anything approaching a defined and complete message.

My father knocked on the door, and Michelle opened it. "Hey. This is where you wanted me to put that stuff, right?"

At the policeman/detective's questioning look, Mom quickly inserted that some of the stuff was for my room, and that we usually passed the baskets around from room to room until they were empty. The cop looked a little suspicious, but ignored it for the moment.

He stepped into the room, and I ducked out before my parents managed to block the doorway. Then I went to an unassuming corner of the hallway, near the mirror, and sat down to have a mental conference with the being that I called Ice.

"Ice, are you in there," I called silently.

"You must go back, now. The lawgiver is departing. I cannot tell from here if he has found anything or not. Regardless, you must come up with an answer to this problem. The perpetual eye of the human government must not be fixed upon us, lest our plans be ruined. Now, go back. I will be here should you need me."

My field of vision shifted in that peculiar way again, and I found myself staring vacantly at the other end of the hallway. Shaking my head, and I stood up and stretched, then realized that I was still invisible.

A serial tale of a hero/ine whose Manifestation offers hope to an entire mythical species, and gives promise to many awakenings in a sleeping world very much like our own.

--- --- ---
Hope everyone is enjoying where this is going, and stays with me for the ride that's going to commence. Another couple parts and we'll finally be done with the set-up, and can get into the fun stuff.

-Arianrhod.
--- --- ---

For a long moment, I thought that Ice was going to leave me invisible so that I would have to try to figure out how to use my powers on my own, but I was quickly greeted by a shimmering as the blurred, sunglass-like effect fell away.

Shrugging, I decided that I would definitely have to put some time into learning how to manipulate my various abilities a little better. I peeked out a window to verify that the cop had indeed left, and then joined my family downstairs.

They were clustered around the kitchen table, in various stages of preparing their food. At my arrival, they all looked up and greeted me.

"Hey Annie," they all chimed together.

I probably looked a little taken aback, because I was. I mean, I'd expected it coming sooner or later, but it still served as a reminder of just how much my life had changed in a day. That left me with only one question left to ask:

"Why Annie?"

"It's what we would have named you if you had been a girl," my mother said simply. "And besides, it suits you."

I thought it all seemed a bit lame, but as I mulled it over, I realized that I couldn't come up with anything better, so I let it pass.

"So, did you hear what that cop had to say, Annie?" my dad asked me.

"Yeah. It leaves us with a really simple problem. We need to come up with an explanation of Roger's disappearance." It felt weird talking about myself like that, but I ignored it. "It's obviously that I'm not going to be able to go back to school or get a job, not looking like this and not without any legal records of my existence."

Everyone had stopped what they were doing and were looking at, but I kept going. "I can hide myself pretty well, I think. The real problem is going to be making the cops stop sniffing around."

"You realize what you're saying, right?" Mom asked.

I nodded. "I have this...presence in my mind. I call her Ice...I don't know what her actual name is. She says that something is coming. Some kind of rebirth of magic in the world. A couple of days ago I wouldn't have believed it, no matter how reliable the source." I paused and gestured at my altered body. "Now, though, I find it pretty easy to plan for."

"Your plans don't have anything to do with humanity, do they," my mother stated as much as asked. "Look, I know you've seen some pretty ugly people. Yesterday, you saw probably some of the ugliest examples that humanity has to offer. But just because you've had some bad experiences doesn't mean that you need to write all of us off."

For a strange, interesting second, I felt Ice's presence watching me curiously. Almost...almost as if to see how I was going to handle the situation.

"That has nothing to do with it," I said perhaps somewhat coldly. Then I reconsidered. "Actually, I guess it does have something to do with it. When this Time of Renewal that Ice spoke of happens, I want to make sure that people like Will don't stomp it out again. A good share of mankind isn't going to react favorably when...entities like myself start appearing.

"I won't pretend to assume that there won't be conflict, or hatred, or even all-out war. I'm not that ignorant. But when the dust settles, I want all sides to still be present on this world. From the history that Ice showed me, I'm pretty sure that when some of the elder races re-emerge, there's going to be a lot of pent-up anger towards humanity. My plan is not so much to diffuse that, as shield those who are deserving from it."

"Do you really think that you'll be able to make that distinction?" Michelle asked quietly. I understood the implication behind what she actually said, and it worried me.

"I'm not going to pretend that I'll get it entirely right. I'm not some kind of god, passing judgment on who is worthy and who isn't...and I don't ever want to become that. At the same time, though, I recognize that I have to at least try. If I don't try, there's going to be a lot of very, very angry ghosts of the past that will succeed at extracting their revenge in not mere pounds, but tons of human flesh. If I can't create a coalition to protect at least some of humanity, the species will cease to exist. And I can't do that with the government still hunting for Roger Nebel. He has to die, with a cleared name."

"Perhaps if you could redirect suspicion elsewhere, then provide a suitable alibi..." Dad mused.

"You actually agree with all of this nonsense?" Mom exclaimed. Dad winced, but didn't say anything. "Roger, have you actually tried to shift all the way human yet? It'd be easy enough to make a cover story that you're secretly transgendered and that they found out and beat you up or something."

I realized that I actually hadn't tried yet, and was shocked to discover that I was already that comfortable in my new body, when getting back to a human standard of normal should have been my first goal.

I consulted with Ice briefly, and then nodded my head. "It should be possible to do, but only for very limited periods of time. From what Ice says, I'm both dragon and female now, through and through. I can maintain an illusory form that is female but human, or one that is dragon but male...to fashion one that is human and male both is going to put quite a strain on me, apparently."

"How does Ice classify that form that you're currently in, then?" Mom asked, curious.

I checked, and replied, "According to Ice, this form is a natural derivative of my full draconic form. I think there's more to it than that, but she won't tell me yet."

"So, let me get this straight. You can assume your former body for a a very limited time, or you could assume the body of a human female for a longer time, but you can stay as you are right now indefinitely?"

"Roughly, yeah. See, there's this weird scale thing in my mind that acts to show me how balanced I am between the human and draconic realms. When either side gets out of balance, I start getting warped. I think that's why this particular form feels so natural to me...it represents balance between human and dragon."

She furrowed her brow in thought. "Could you make an appearance as Roger long enough to make a statement to the police alleging that you're going to be moving to a relative's for the summer?"

"I suppose so, but that would still leave us with several problems," I countered. "First, they'll want more information on what exactly happened on the roof, and what with the whole gang/neo-Nazism thing that they're worried about, they're going to want to keep track on my movements. I can't say that I'm going out of town and then never show up or be seen there. Second, I don't know how long I could actually hold that form. It may well be for only a few minutes."

As we kept talking and bandying options around, I began to realize that Dad had the right of it. If I could implicate Will's cronies with enough evidence, I could get the police to think that they had killed Roger Nebel and hid his body. The cronies would deny it, of course, but if I did a good enough job, they wouldn't be believed.

Sighing, I decided that it was a project for later in the day. Everyone was getting a little too worked up at the moment.

"I'll be back a bit later, everyone. I'm going to go out for a fly...I need to clear my head a bit."

Mom looked like she was going to protest, but Dad quickly intervened and bid me a good flight. Michelle looked slightly disappointed about something, but knew enough to keep her thoughts to herself.

Frowning, I asked Ice if I could change forms while invisible, and when the answer came back affirmative, I quickly asked her how to do it. She seemed slightly exasperated, but she walked me through the process...and honestly it seemed pretty easy.

Waving to my family, I cloaked and walked to the back yard, where I spread my wings to their full size and, with Ice's assistance, took off. Flying is hard.

Flying in my human-ish form was a lot different than when I was a full dragon. As a dragon, I could pretty much just think about where I wanted to go and barrel my way through any opposing winds that got in my way. My reduced power and size made every little gust a nerve-wracking experience. Looking down, I realized that I was far enough out of town that I could safely become visible again. No sooner than I switched back to the realm of the visible, though, I felt something behind me approaching -- and fast.

My reflexes begged me to swerve to the right, and I obliged just in time to see a scorching blast of fire blaze through the airspace that I had occupied seconds before. Wheeling around, I spotted another dragon fifty or sixty feet away from me, racing through the air in a manner that told me plainly that it was a much, much more experienced flier than I was.

Ice! I yelled mentally.

I see him. You're going to have to fight him. He's more experienced, but you have vastly more raw power than he does.

Nodding, I grit my teeth and willed myself into my full dragon form. I finished growing and changing just in time to have to dodge another fire attack. This one was close enough to me that it managed to sear a couple of scales on my shoulder. My attacker overshot me, and began to turn around for another pass.

I wasn't sure what exactly I could really do about him, but if nothing else I at least had my claws and teeth. Flapping my wings unceremoniously, I accelerated towards my opponent, claws outstretched and at the ready. As I raced through the skies, I had to dodge several blazing orbs that he sent my way instead of the streams of fire that had been his modus operandi before.

I closed to melee range, but he ducked back just out of my reach before my claws could even scratch him.

Let me take over Ice said mentally. Without waiting for an answer, she assumed control of our body once again.

Ice proved to be a much better fighter than I was. Now that I was merely watching the fight as opposed to participating (kind of), I noticed a couple of things about our enemy. He was a brilliant red blended with orange in such a manner as that he appeared on fire himself...and he was also almost twice my size. I also saw to my surprise that he was wearing jewelry -- several golden bracelets adorned each of his arms.

Ice made a peculiar motion with one of my arms, and the other dragon came slightly closer, but did not attack.

"Explain yourself, Pyrandon. Why do you attack this youngling?" Ice asked through my mouth. I noted that even as in the memory-land where we had talked earlier, she was most definitely not speaking any language of men.

The other dragon -- Pyrandon, apparently -- replied, "Your breed was cursed to extinction centuries ago, Aryllia. This Manifestate is no exception. The ancient laws still stand."

"Did your master set you up to this callous display of dishonor, or were you drawn to it by your very nature?" Ice sneered. Hatred dripped from her voice like acid.

"Our lord convened with the other seven as soon as your presence was felt corporeally. They agreed unanimously that you must be silenced before the Renewal. I just had the good fortune to stumble across you first."

Ice spat, and utter darkness issued forth. "Your fortune was anything but good, Pyrandon. I have no more use for you. Die."

Enraged, Pryandon charged, spewing fire as he flew. Ice wheeled to the side, and took a deep breath. As our opponent screamed by, she exhaled, and that exhalation took the form of a stream of darkness so black that it seemed to drink in all the light around it. The blast hit the red dragon square in the side, leaving a wound that seemed to be almost an erasure of existence.

Where the scales and flesh had been, now there was simply...nothing. It was as if someone had taken a gigantic drill and punched a hole through his body. As he screamed in anguish, I noticed with sick interest that I could actually see through him, where the beam had punctured his body. The sides of the hole seemed to be perfectly smooth.

Although Pyrandon was grievously injured, Ice did not stop there. Screaming her fury to the mountains, she bore through the sky with ungodly purpose. I knew what she was thinking, and my mind recoiled from it. Tearing through the sky, she stopped just in front of where the red dragon was heading, and breathed an beam of darkness that dwarfed the first one in power and intensity. This beam removed Pyrandon's neck and most of his left wing from this plane of existence, sending his body plummeting to the ground and his head shooting off through the sky.

As Ice followed the body to the ground, intending clean-up, I asked her what manner of energy that was.

"To put it simply, it was actually a lack of energy. As a black dragon, the elements that we manipulate are void and shadow," she replied.

Those don't sound like traditional elements to me.

"They aren't, by man's standards. Human mages have always had a very dim understanding of how magic really works."

As we landed by the corpse of our slain foe, I felt another of those strange twisting sensations, and once again found myself in control of my body.

I want you to dispose of this trash Ice said. If what Pyrandon said is true, we can expect more challengers in the near future, and you need to be able to fight on your own without my assistance.

"Alright, tell me what to do," I replied.

Start off by taking a deep breath, then picture the purest shade of black that you possibly can. Don't allow any imperfections to seep into the image. No matter, no light of any kind, no sound. Absolute nothingness. Imagine yourself as one with that void, then let the breath go.

It took me three tries before I finally got it. Ice told me after each failure that my imagined void wasn't pure enough...that I kept letting little bits of color find their way in. When I finally got it, though, it issued forth with such fury that not only way Pyrandon's body consumed, but about a hundred yards of the woodland behind him, as well.

Somewhat overkill, but not bad for a first effort Ice said, amused. We must find his head, now, as well. We cannot leave any sign beyond a mysterious scar in the woods.

I nodded, and took off in search of it. "Ice," I said while I looked, "Why did he call you Aryllia?"

As I said, I have gone by many names over my existence.

"Can I call you that? It sounds nicer than Ice...ice is such a old, ugly word."

I could almost feel her amusement. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm a cold, ugly type of being she said dryly. But whatever makes you happy, youngling.

After a couple minutes of searching, we finally found Pyrandon's head, and erased it. As we flew back towards my home, I had a worrisome thought.

"Aryllia, is there any way I can disguise my presence from other dragons? I mean, Pyrandon found us. We were lucky that it was out in the middle of nowhere, as opposed to when I was with my family."

As a matter of fact, there is. Let me show you...

A little while later, I cloaked and landed in my back yard. Following the steps that Aryllia had mentioned, I transformed first from dragon into human-ish, and from there into something completely new.

I walked into my house, and was immediately spotted by my sister. Her face split open with a grin when she saw me. As a full human, I looked roughly the same as I did in human-ish. I was still short, and I still had long, black hair. What I didn't have, however, was any sign of a tail, wings, or scales...unless you counted the strikingly detailed tattoo of a black dragon that occupied my left shoulder blade, that is.

I grinned back, and cracked my knuckles. "It feels kind of weird not having claws, now," I remarked casually. My parents had come to welcome me back, and Mom charged me and hugged me almost as soon as she saw me. When she finally let go, I said grimly, "Time to get to work."

A serial tale of a hero/ine whose Manifestation offers hope to an entire mythical species, and gives promise to many awakenings in a sleeping world very much like our own.

--- --- ---
I'm glad the comments have been good so far. I'll try to keep up the good work. Time to introduce a few more characters.

-Arianrhod.
--- --- ---

Of course, I managed to forget that I was naked again, as I had lost my robe when I shapeshifted during battle. Luckily, my family had apparently been hunting the yard sales specifically on my behalf. As they carted the baskets loaded with goodies back downstairs, I noticed that not a few of them were filled with various sizes of girl's clothing.

Sighing, I resigned myself to my fate. If I was going to have to spend some time as a human, then I would have to suffer to allow myself to be ruled by the laws of society. And society said that being naked was bad.

Figuring out just what size I was ended up being a frustrating affair. Eventually, I got frustrated and just threw on the first thing that seemed to sort of kind of fit, and was done with it. I reckoned that if anyone said anything, I could just say that I had just finished going through a late growth spurt -- something which I supposed wasn't even exactly a lie.

At least I was clothed, I decided. The winning option was a light pink t-shirt with some jeans. Everything felt very different, and the clothes hung on me in some pretty strange ways, but I strove to ignore it. I had too much to do.

I had barely completed this outfit, however, before things took a little bit of a turn for the bizarre.

I was making preparations to track down the few faces that I had recognized from the roof, when a strange, lilting voice accosted me from behind.

"You're the dragon that Manifested yesterday, aren't you?"

I turned around and was faced with a strange sight. It appeared to be a girl in her young teens, but her eyes belied an intelligence and a wisdom that did not match up with her physical form. She was shorter than me, and sported long silver-white hair that reached to the small of her back. Her ears stuck out almost six inches at a 90 degree angle from her head. Perhaps most striking of all, however, was her face. It was attractive enough, I supposed, but it seemed to defy every human standard. Sharp and feral, she sported quite possibly the highest cheekbones I had ever seen, and her irises were the same brilliant silver as her hair. This definitely contributed to the overall elvish feel that the girl exuded. At the same time, though, I got the feeling that whatever manner of being she really was, it was vastly more than modern depictions of such beings tended to be. Her outfit was simplistically modern but stylish, consisting of a red blouse and knee-length black skirt, both of which served to set off her ivory complexion and silver eyes and hair.

"Perhaps. Who or what are you, that you would be interested?"

The girl twitched slightly, as if annoyed at the question. "I asked first. Confirm my suspicions, and then I'll give you some information that you might find interesting."

My father had appeared in the doorway and was shaking his head "no," but I ignored him. I focused for a moment, and elf-girl found herself staring at my human-ish form. Unfortunately, it had the annoying side-effect of poking holes in my clothes as my wings, tail, and back spines formed, but it conveyed the desired effect to my visitor: I was definitely the dragon that she was looking for, and I was both in charge of my powers and ready for a fight (although I was certainly bluffing on both accounts).

"I see," she said in her peculiarly dulcet voice. "In that event, as promised, some information. "My name is Llewellyn, but please call me Llew. I Manifested about two months ago, and I've been hiding with my family ever since."

"I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you weren't born with either that name, nor that appearance," I said dryly.

Llew nodded. "I was a pretty boring girl starting my first year of college, with an equally boring name and appearance. But that's in the past." She looked slightly pained, so I let it pass. "What matters now is the future...specifically the Time of Renewal."

At my look, she continued. "I don't have the advantage of an ur-dragon in my brain to help me piece things together," she said. "However, I Manifested into a species that wasn't quite extinct, and that still remembers the old ways. I won't bore you with the details, but let's just say that I have a vested interest in ensuring that humanity is not destroying in the upcoming cataclysm. As I suspect that you do."

Well, she wasn't wrong about that, at least. I decided that fishing for more information was probably wise. "Elves and men have had a long association in fiction. Not so with dragons. What makes you think such a thing?"

She frowned when I deemed her an elf, and quickly retorted, "I'm not an elf, I'm a sidhe. As I said, this race was not extinct, and they remember. You're a black dragon, and the blacks were extinguished because of their friendliness to man. There's no reason to expect you to be different, especially since you were one of them a mere two days ago."

"Fair enough. You've got my interest, at least," I admitted. I glanced up and saw that my father was also looking pretty intrigued. I think he was just glad that I wasn't going to be in this alone...there's only so much that he, or the rest of my family, could do.

"Let's go and meet the others, then. They're waiting." She extended her hand, and I hesitated a moment before I accepted it.

Aryllia I called mentally, making sure that she was paying attention. Did you follow all of that?

Yes she replied. It's peculiar. The sidhe were never known to be friends to man, although they never went out of their way to cause humanity problems, either. Something strange is going on here. I'll be paying attention and will be ready at a moment's notice, should we need to fight.

"Conferring with Aryllia, I'm guessing?" Llew asked. I nodded, and accepted her outstretched hand. She turned and looked at my dad, and said, "We'll be back in a couple of hours."

Then we were off.

Apparently Llew was a teleporter, among other things. I had the peculiar sensation of the world falling, and we became surrounded by silver-blue light. When we touched down while it felt like we were moving upward, it was quite possibly one of the strangest feelings I'd ever yet felt.

As the light dissipated, I saw that we were standing in a peculiar circle in the woods. It was dominated by a gigantic tree in the middle of the clearing, and the open space under its branches extended out probably seventy feet or so. It was almost as if the other trees were somehow afraid or unable to come any closer.

About six or seven being similar to Llew were standing near the trunk of the giant tree, and we strode to meet them. Llew was the only one in modern clothing, I noticed. The rest were wearing strangely formal clothing: about half were in armor, and the other half were wearing flowing robes or dresses.

"Ghorder, Rauthor, Tailtiu, Trena, Kaldon, Promely, and Hrulder," Llew introduced them one by one.

"Nice to meet you all," I said somewhat lamely. I realized suddenly that I must be quite a sight in human-ish form with various appendages poking out of my clothing.

"So you're the latest Manifest, eh?" Rauthor stated as much as asked. He was one of the ones wearing armor, and I could tell just by looking at him that he was a warrior.

I nodded. "Apparently I'm not the first," I chuckled. "Aryllia said that the Time was still a ways out, and that more would begin to Manifest the closer we got to it...she didn't say anything about this happening before."

"She probably didn't know," a robed one spoke up. Ghorder, I think Llew had said. "She's been asleep a long time."

I shrugged, then realized that was true. The last time she had been awake had been when I was born, and that had been nearly eighteen years ago. Anything could have happened in the period between, and in fact had, it would seem.

"Alright," I said somewhat briskly. "What would you have me do?" In a flash of insight, I saw that Llew actually wasn't in charge. All of them were looking at either Rauthor, Promely, or Kaldon. I guessed that those three made up a sort of council leadership.

Promely spoke up. A tall, older-appearing woman, she was wearing a long, plain dress. "Would it be possible to speak to Aryllia? It is to her that we would address a few questions."

I shrugged. "I don't see why not."

You get that?

Aryllia didn't bother to respond. I felt another peculiar shift of consciousness, and Aryllia assumed control of my body, transforming it into full dragon form in the process.

"What would you ask me?" Aryllia asked but didn't say. Amazed, I realized that she was using some kind of mass telepathy...yet another trick that I couldn't pull off yet, I thought to myself sourly.

Don't worry, you've only been a dragon for a day and a half, youngling. It will come in time Aryllia thought at me.

Kaldon stepped forward, and knelt respectfully before me/Aryllia. An older male, he was wearing a flowing robe that was not dissimilar to Ghorder's. "Mighty Aryllia, long it has been since the world trembled beneath the beat of your wings," he said formally...and archaically.

Aryllia nodded, acknowledging the flattery -- or perhaps it was merely also a formality. "Long also it has been since the sidhe rose up in defense of anything not their own," she replied. I winced, expecting a harsh reaction...but nothing came.

"True enough, great one. Yet now, we find ourselves in an odd position. The youngest among us, the first new sidhe in nearly four hundred years, has come to us a child of humanity, and we find ourselves drawn into the conflict that is yet to come," he stated. Aryllia understood, and I leeched off of her knowledge. Llew had been human before her Manifestation, of course, and the other sidhe were probably worried about losing her if anything untoward happened to her still-human family and friends.

A younger female sporting light armor dyed blue spoke up. I thought her name was Tailtiu. "We have never been known to be friends of man, Origin. In truth, we know not how. The will is there, aye, but practicality of it is that in this liminal time between now and Then, we must establish a sanctuary for man, if the species is to survive."

"It's not just that, though, is it?" Aryllia noted. "You eight are all that remain of the once formidable sidhe nation, aren't you?"

Kaldon nodded sadly. "The years have not been kind to us, great one."

"I think I can sympathize with you there," Aryllia said dryly. "Still, it is a beginning, as all things must have. I -- and the former human who owns this body -- will stand by you. An alliance to shake the foundations of the world, it would have once been. Now, in this modern era where our magic is dessicated but soon to return, it may instead be our only hope for survival, and humanity's along with it."

The gathered sidhe nodded their heads gravely. "A pact we have, then," Kaldon intoned.

"A pact," Aryllia agreed.

"Now, we must formulate a plan. How far away is the Time, exactly?" he asked. "As an Origin, surely you can sense its approach."

Aryllia nodded. "At this point in time, it awaits us two years hence," she said. "However, I should note that it is not fixed. At various moments in the past, it has been both closer and also further away in time. What rules this, I do not know. I merely sense its presence, I do not pretend to understand its workings."

The sidhe nodded gravely. "Two years..." I heard Llew whisper nervously.

I could feel Aryllia smile mentally, but I don't think that any sign of it showed physically. "Not much time, is it, young one?" she said, not unkindly. Llew looked up and smiled tensely. "I don't know how we can possibly accomplish what would need to be done in two years," she said honestly.

This time, Aryllia actually laughed...a horrible, scraping sound that reminded me of a truck backfiring. "When you are as old am I am, young one, you realize that time is fluid, and anything can be accomplished in any amount of it. Don't worry. We'll protect and save as many as we can, because that's all that we'll be able to do when the Time occurs. There is..."

"Funny that you talk of protecting others, when you won't be able to protect yourself," a voice spat from above.

Aryllia clearly recognized it, though none of the rest of us did, and bellowed "Scatter!"

As the sidhe ducked and dove for cover, and Aryllia took off, a gigantic fireball engulfed the entire glade in flames.

Looking through Aryllia's eyes, I saw a massive red dragon in front of us, hovering over the charred remains of the giant tree. It had to be at least twice as big as Pyrandon was.

Who the hell is that I asked Aryllia uneasily.

"That, youngling, is Maoten, ur-dragon of fire," Aryllia said softly.

A serial tale of a hero/ine whose Manifestation offers hope to an entire mythical species, and gives promise to many awakenings in a sleeping world very much like our own.

--- --- ---
Sorry for the delay. I'm trying to get out a new part every day, but sometimes I have an especially busy day here or there, and I'll miss here and there.

-Arianrhod.
--- --- ---

"Aryllia!" the giant red dragon bellowed with a voice that filled the mountains. "How dare you emerge in this world again?"

"You know as well as I that the Time of Renewal is approaching. Did you really expect never to see me again, Maoten?" Aryllia responded scornfully.

Maoten paused, and then grinned viciously. "No, I suppose not. But I relish the opportunity that your appearance has GIVEN ME!" The red screamed and channeled an enormous fireball that engulfed the air between his beating wings in brilliant orange.

I assumed that it would take a minute, at least, for him to complete his attack and fire it -- thereby rendering it worthless other than as a demonstration. I was also very wrong.

Maoten launched his fireball mere moments later, but Aryllia had a response. Gathering her will about our mutual body, she summoned a much smaller sphere of void in the maw of her mouth, and spat it contemptuously at the scorching doom that hurtled towards the ground. It connected solidly in the middle of the fireball, and the resulting explosion sent a shockwave rippling across the mountains for miles in all directions. The dissipation of fire and shadow could almost be considered beautiful, if not for the dire circumstances of its creation.

"Pathetic," Aryllia mocked. "You always did put too much effort towards show, Maoten, and never enough towards actually stopping your opponent. Even in this youngling's body, I can wield enough power to stop your weak attacks."

I could tell even from my observer's perspective that Maoten did not like that comment one bit. He dove towards the ground, and slashed savagely as soon as he was within range. Aryllia ducked to the side, but was hit in the side with a blast of flame from Maoten's mouth as a reward for her trouble.

From the flashing pain that I could feel coming from Aryllia's mind, I could tell that she was going to lose control over our body. At that point, we were as good as dead, since her experience was the only thing that had been keeping us alive in the first place against Maoten's formidable attacks.
Luckily, we weren't alone in the fight.

"Maoten, leave her alone!" Llew yelled as she emerged from behind a smoldering trunk. She extended her arms and closed her eyes in concentration, and two silver blasts of energy shot forth, arcing towards Maoten's gargantuan form. Unfortunately for Llew, they didn't so much as scratch the ancient red dragon.

He turned his head towards her, sizing her up. It didn't take long for him to decide that she wasn't a threat.

"Die," he bellowed, and stretched his mouth wide as a stream of liquid fire, resplendent against the twilight that was settling in around us, scorched forth.

But Llew was not alone. Ghorder, Kaldon, and Promely were making motions with their hands, and erected a glowing barrier in front of their comrade. The earth began to shake, and Trena slunk out from behind a boulder, with fury in her eyes and rocks swirling around her head.

On the other side of the former grove, Tailtiu had begun to channel water from the atmosphere around us into two balls of liquid, centered around each fist. Rauthor was charging Maoten, with a gleaming longsword in each hand.

Moments later, the glade erupted in a bombardment of light. The stream of fire deflected off of the barrier, sending it harmlessly into the sky. Streams of water were being pounded into Maoten's eyes, and Llew had resumed her barrage of silver energy. Trena's rocks were hurtling into his sides, but were bouncing off of his scales.

Aryllia's eyes grew wide as she realized that she had an opportunity, while Maoten was distracted. The Sidhe didn't have enough power to deal with an Origin, but she could -- perhaps -- even the playing field.

Struggling painfully to stand, we both were startled as Rauthor's limp form hurtled in front of our eyes, before slamming into into a tree.

We need to finish this, now, before we lose our newfound allies I told Aryllia urgently.

I know. The problem is that your body cannot handle the amount of power that is needed. I can summon more, but the backlash would probably kill us both she replied mentally.

If we don't try, we're going to die anyway, and the Sidhe too. I like probably much better than certainly

Aryllia nodded her assent, and grit her teeth. Swinging her head around, she examined the wound that the blast of flame had dealt us. It filled up the greater portion of our side, and was an unhealthy shade of charred red mixed with the onyx of our scales. Fortunately, the heat of the attack had also served to cauterize the wound, although it still hurt like hell.

The Sidhe were still doing their best to hold Maoten off, although Trena, Tailtiu, and Kaldon had all joined Rauthor among the ranks of the motionless.

"Spirits of the dead, hear my call," Aryllia intoned softly. She began inscribing a series of arcane symbols in the scorched earth before us, and repeated the phrase several times.

Sensing the upwelling of energy, Maoten turned and regarded us scornfully. "Trying to draw on the power of your dead lineage, Aryllia? I think not." A scorching blast of flame and heat was searing through the air seconds later, but was dissipated by a breath of void -- one that did not come from us.

Instead, it seemed as through the rippling air in front of us fired the attack itself. Looking a little closer, I could see why. The shadows all around us were rising up from the ground, and taking on the form of dragons -- dragons much larger than myself. The shadow-dragons clustered around us as they formed, forming a protective circle around the body that carried the soul of their ur-dragon.

"Lend me your strength, my children," Aryllia said sorrowfully. "I had hoped to see you again under happier circumstances, but I need to lean on you now, lest all is undone."

One of the shadows spoke, much to my surprise. "Do what needs done, Origin, as you always have. We will deal with the consequences."

"Anoseth," Aryllia began tearfully, "You know that I will likely never see you or any of the others again, if this works?"

"We know, and as I said, we will deal with it. We accepted our fate centuries ago," he replied quietly.

"Stop your YAPPING!" Maoten raged.

Is is just me or is it getting colder I asked.

"It's not just you," Aryllia answered. "He's sucking the heat out of the surrounding area, probably several miles in diameter. He thinks he can annihilate us in one fell attack."

"Don't hesitate, Origin. Do it," the one once called Anoseth said. His voice was joined by those of the others, rising in a chorus of death and shadow.

The Sidhe who were still conscious were huddled underneath a fluctuating barrier that may or may not have been able to withstand the force of a moderate breeze, let alone an explosion of the cataclysmic variety that Maoten was planning.

In desperation, I added my voice to that of the others, and Aryllia heard me.

Fighting back her sorrow, Aryllia choked out doom for the ur-dragon of fire, and for her shadow-comrades as well.

It took the form of a gigantic ball of void energy so black that it seemed as though it would devour all the light in this world. Raising her head, she sent the sphere to hover overhead, and each of the dead shadow dragons fired a void beam at the ball. Over a hundred shades contributed their energy to her final, desperate attack. Looking through Aryllia's eyes, I saw Maoten charging his fiery Armageddon, and realized that we didn't have much time left.

By now the voidsphere was crackling with an odd contrast, as native electromagnetism sizzled like lightning against the unnatural absence looming against the night sky. As was to be expected of two Origins, their devastating attacks finished at the same time, and met with a thunderous fury over the beleaguered forest that had become an impromptu war zone. But while Maoten's blast was fueled by a hatred of man centuries old, Aryllia's response was filled with the power of her entire race, and the void sliced through the fire as if it was not even there.

So great was the power of Aryllia's strike, that it felt as though we were being torn apart. As we channeled the energy of the black dragon species, I understood why Aryllia had warned that we might not survive ourselves. We might be torn asunder from the tremendous energies that we had unleashed.

I cast an eye towards the Sidhe, who were still hiding behind their failing barrier. Llew was trying to yell something, but I couldn't hear her over the tumultuous roar of the energy. Frustrated, she gave up and pointed and in the direction of Maoten. Then I noticed what she was trying to tell me.

Maoten was disappearing.

I don't mean to say that he was being eaten away, as he would have been if he was truly struck by Aryllia's assault. Instead, the air around his giant form was shimmering as if a barrier were protecting him, and behind that barrier, he was evaporating.

I had no idea what that meant, but Aryllia clearly understood it."No!" she screamed. "Get back here, you coward!"

Maoten's only response was a ghostly chuckle, and then he was gone like valley mist. The shimmering barrier disappeared with him, and the remnants of Aryllia's attack ate away a large section of the forest behind where he had been standing. Later, human rangers would come across the battle site, and be stumped by the strange, warped things that had been left behind by the ravaging void.

Aryllia's wails only intensified as the shadow-dragons who had once been alive disappeared one by one. In her sadness, she didn't notice what was happening. She didn't realize that our shared body was literally being torn apart by the forces that she had unleashed, even as the shades returned to whatever netherworld they inhabited.

My anguished and terrified mental screams eventually brought her back to her senses, as she realized that we had a more immediate problem than her loved ones falling back to nothingness. "Annie, try to stay calm," she said, although I thought I heard a note of panic in her voice as well.

The corporeal degradation had already consumed the lower half of our body, with wild energy erupting from the flesh underneath our armored scales. Within the rifts in our body, I could see more rifts forming, and yet more within even those. They were all expanding and growing, slowly consuming our body and turning it into a void not unlike that which we harnessed as a weapon.

As the dragons around us disappeared, the conscious Sidhe moved in. Seeing us in agony (and the decay that was occurring) had them obviously confused, but Promely was quick to offer her services as a healer. Aryllia and I weren't exactly in the condition to tell her to do it, so Promely went ahead on her own.

She said something to Llew and Ghorder, and they both held hands with each other and Promely, forming a magic circle. Magic energy raced along the circle, spinning until it became a solid stream of silver energy, glowing against the night. Then they separated, and the light flew towards us.

Even as we screamed in anguish, we could feel the magic working its way in, healing where it could...but also causing a peculiar separation. It seemed to affect Aryllia much more than me, and the strain caused her to black out, which put me back in control of our body. Oddly, I was pain-free.

I looked down at my flank in shock, and the rifts were gone. The burn wound from Maoten's flame breath was healing quickly, with silver magic bouncing around like a ground-bound firecracker, restoring vigor wherever it hit.

Nodding her head in satisfaction, Promely moved away to tend to the other Sidhe scattered about the smoldering crater that the woodland glade had become. Grimacing as the last of the magic faded away, I shapeshifted to human-ish, and joined the Sidhe.

"Well, that was fun," Llew said sourly.

"I agree," I replied. Aryllia still wasn't answering my mental calls, and frankly I was a little worried. "Any ideas how that Maoten found us, exactly?"

They all shook their heads. I remembered Pyrandon, and wondered if I was doing something unconsciously that attracted magical notice.

"It could just be random bad luck," I said as much to myself as to them. "I know that they're looking for me...it could be a coincidence that he happened to be flying around in this area."

Ghorder shook his head. "I seriously doubt it. My guess would be that since the other eight ur-dragons all participated in the Sealing of Aryllia, they have a means to track her now that their Seal has come undone."

"How do you explain Pyrandon finding me, then?" I asked pointedly.

"It may be that there is your random luck. Or perhaps they have passed on the means of tracking Aryllia to their subordinates. It's impossible to say, really," he said quietly. "At any rate, we need to heal and recover our strength before we can assist you much further."

I surveyed the Sidhe, and agreed. None of them were in any condition to help me, now.

Llew disagreed, however. "I'll go back with you, Annie. I'll be good as new within a day or two, and then I can help you get started, at least."

"You really shouldn't..." I began, but cut off when I saw the glinting look in her eyes. I'd seen that look several times before from girls I'd known at school, and I knew better than argue when it was present.

"I'll teleport us back to your house." Assuming something of an air of command unlike what I had seen from her before, she turned to the other Sidhe. "The rest you take the wounded further back into the woods, well away from this place. I will find you and come back to help as soon as I get Annie back.

Before I could protest further, she grabbed my hand and we were falling through the peculiar silver-blue light again.

A serial tale of a hero/ine whose Manifestation offers hope to an entire mythical species, and gives promise to many awakenings in a sleeping world very much like our own.

--- --- ---
Sorry for the delay, again. Nothing I can really say about that...except that I hope to fail less in the future. And so, without further ado, here is your fix!

-Arianrhod.
--- --- ---

The next couple of days passed relatively uneventfully. Aryllia remained disturbingly quiet within my mind, but my growing unease regarding her absence was tempered by the fact that we didn't get attacked again.

Llew had settled in to the guest room comfortably, and was recovering smoothly. I hadn't heard word from any of the other Sidhe as yet, but I assumed that they were doing well also...wherever they were holed up.

For the rest of my family, life continued normally. School for my sister and work for my parents occupied the bulk of conversation...apparently my novelty was beginning to wear off. That was just fine by me, as it let me lay plans with Llew. Plans regarding issues that mere humans were better off staying out of.

We agreed upon several courses of action that needed immediate consideration right off. The first and foremost of these was finishing the problem of my untimely demise, and Llew had an unusual suggestion.

We were sitting on the floor of the guest room, papers and notebooks scattered around us to record our ideas as we generated them. It was just after lunch, and we were nibbling on a pizza that we had thrown in the oven.

"A gholem," Llew suddenly exclaimed out of nowhere...with a half a bite of pizza still present in her mouth.

"A what?" I asked, and scratched at the scales on my hand absently. I had begun spending almost all of my time in my human-ish form, only shifting to full human when I needed to leave the house. I hadn't gone dragon since the battle against Maoten, more for fear that I was somehow trackable when I was in my full form than any other reason.

"A gholem," Llew repeated. "It's something that bridges the gap between magic and science. Usually they're like stone statues that are carved out and then animated as guardians, stuff like that." She paused, as if listening to somebody that only she could hear. I absently wondered if I was the only one who had an elder being inside my head, but let the notion go.

"Hrulder is a specialist at something that we call spellsmithing. I don't know if he's ever tried to make a gholem or not, but it should be something that would be within the realm of possibility. He usually just makes weapons that are imbued with magical capabilities...like Rauthor's sword, for example."

"So you're suggesting that Hrulder could essentially make a body that looks like what I used, and then we could arrange for it to die in some suitably random and horrible fashion?" I mused.

"Essentially, yeah. The trick would be destroying it without letting anyone poke at it too much...but still making sure that they realized that it was physically you," she replied. We pondered that conundrum for a bit, continuing to devour the pizza.

"What if I killed myself?" I said suddenly. At Llew's look, I chuckled. "Not like that. What if the gholem were in a specific location...and someone just happened to tip off the police that the guy they're looking for is there. Then suppose a certain black dragon that everyone has seen but nobody has really seen shows up and blasts the hell out of aforementioned guy."

Llew paused, obviously thinking it over. "It could work. The biggest issue that I see with that plan is that you'll be a confirmed manslayer in the eyes of the public. I'm talking visions of dark age mobs with torches and pitchforks here."

I nodded. "True, but it would definitely pull the attention away from my family, and by extent, us. The townsfolk that you're worried about would assume that the dangerous monster has a lair somewhere in the mountains, because that's what all of the lore that has come down to modernity says a dragon would do. They'll comb the mountainsides for weeks, which will give us all the time we need to set up the next couple steps of our plan."

Llew shrugged, and went for another slice of pizza. "At the end of the day, it's your call. I just think it might not have quite the effect that you think it will."

There was another aspect of my plan that I wasn't telling her, though. In order to thoroughly divert all attention away from us, I was going to arrange for a certain group of thugs to be seen beating my double to a pulp.

I grinned savagely to myself, and grabbed the last slice of pizza.

---------

Looking across at the dangerously beautiful dragon-girl, I felt a brief, nagging worry. I didn't think that she was telling me everything of her plan, but decided that I didn't really care, as long as there was no interference with my own plans.

Abbie my mentor called softly.

Yes? I replied.

She is not the same as when you first met her. Use caution.

I was just thinking that myself. Thanks for confirming it, though.

Also, Rauthor wants to see you as soon as possible.

I wasn't sure what was going on, but in the months since becoming one of the Sidhe, I had learned quickly that when Rauthor wanted to see you, you dropped everything.

"Excuse me, Annie. Something's come up with the other Sidhe...I need to go see them for a bit. I'll be back later," I said.

"Is everything alright? Do you need my help?" she asked uneasily. I knew that her lack of fighting prowess was a sore spot with the young dragon.

I shook my head as I stood up. "Nah, it isn't a fighting something. More of a bureaucratic something. I'll be fine," I smiled, and teleported away before she had a chance to say anything else.

The falling sensations and silver-blue lights had freaked me out for a while after I'd learned how to teleport, but by now it was almost welcoming in a weird sort of way.

I emerged in another quiet forest glade several miles from the scarred remains of the wood in which Aryllia and Maoten had clashed. I quickly spotted Hrulder keeping watch over a cave entrance.

"Hrulder," I greeted him.

"Llew," he replied diffidently.

"I may have a job for you soon. I think you'll find it quite challenging," I added, and he perked up a little.

"You'll have to tell me later," he said. "Rauthor's inside with Kaldon and Promely." The Council, and they want to see me. Ugh.

"Well, I won't keep them waiting," I answered, and went into the cave looking much calmer than I felt. The three Sidhe that made up the Council were seated in a torchlit cavern not far in from the opening.

"Llew," they intoned formally. "We wanted to discuss the matter of Aryllia with you," Rauthor began.

"It's not Aryllia that worries me," I interrupted. At their mildly affronted looks, I continued. "It's Annie herself. She's not acting in the same manner as when I first introduced herself to me. It's subtle, but it's definitely there. Druantia agrees, and is urging caution."

"I should hope so," Kaldon said dryly. "We're talking about a draconic Origin here. With as much power as they've all accrued throughout the millenia -- even Aryllia -- we're like twigs to be crunched underfoot by comparison."

"We just think that you should be paying a little more attention to matters that pertain to our survival, as opposed to spending all of your time with the dragon," Promely added.

I looked at each of them, and I could tell that they didn't want to be saying this any more than I wanted to hear it.

"Look," I said calmly. "You made me your Queen because you thought that I could revive the Sidhe race somehow. I've got this voice in my head that's apparently an echo of one your best and brightest. I think that Aryllia is crucial to our survival, and Druantia agrees. We cannot simply scurry about hither and yon without a care to the troubles of the rest of the world. We cannot live like vagabonds any more, as you have done for so long. The Time of Renewal is close, and who can say that it won't bring merely terror and destruction, but hope also?"

"I hope you're right, Llew," Rauthor said tightly. I knew I had struck a nerve with him, so I backed off a bit and took a different approach.

"Aryllia could well be the best ally that we could possibly hope for. The other ur-dragons are consumed with their power and their hatred for man, but Aryllia has stayed the sanest of all of them -- ironic considering the predicament that she was placed in. And as you said yourselves, Origins possess tremendous power. I would rather see that power used on our behalf instead of against us, is all."

"But allying with Aryllia means that the others will thus be set against us. Maoten may have been defeated this time, but you can be assured that he will return...and that's just the reds. I'm certain that if the other dragon clans are not yet stirring, they soon will be. Even with our help, Aryllia cannot stand before their united might. This alliance is foolish," Kaldon said harshly.

"Then let us be fools," I replied coldly, and teleported away.

---------

With no idea of when Llew would be returning, I decided that the best thing to do would be to set some of my plans in motion. I knew the names of several of the low-class scum that had hung out with Will and participated in my near-torture. One of them, Arthur Jackson, was the gentleman who aligned his beliefs with neo-Nazism, and it was to him that I paid my first visit.

I definitely was not comfortable walking out in public as a full human female yet, but I grit my teeth and did it anyway. The too-detailed black dragon tattoo on my left shoulder blade was aching for some reason, but I ignored it.

Jackson was something of a pathetic human being, his personal beliefs notwithstanding. It was common knowledge at the school that he habitually crashed at the local pool hall as soon as classes were finished. Nobody really knew anything about his family, but he either didn't care about them in the slightest or purposefully avoided them...either way, he preferred to hang out with the bikers and skinheads that called Gunny's Billiards home away from home.

Nestled away in a quiet corner of the town, the pool hall was almost always open, but was also usually vacant except for the owner, a morose middle-aged gentleman whose parents, in a moment of twisted humor, had named their child Gunther. When I was younger, I'd once had a birthday party at his shop, and he'd seemed like a nice enough guy.

Regardless of Gunther's own ideals, however, I had business to attend to. Opening the door underneath the gaudily painted sign, I walked in and was not surprised to discover that Gunny was the only one occupying the building, unless you wanted to count the rats that my enhanced senses picked up as running underneath the floorboards.

"Gunny, I presume?" I asked, knowing full well it was him.

"Aye," he answered morosely. "What do you want, girl? I'm guessin' that it's not a table for you an your friends."

"You'd be correct in that. Arthur Jackson likes to hang out here later in the day, doesn't he?"

Gunny nodded, and I continued, "Would you please give him a message for me?"

He didn't say anything, so I put a five dollar bill on the desk in front of him. "Well, I reckon that I could relay some words after all," he said as he grabbed for the bill greedily.

"Good, I'm glad we could come to an understanding. Tell him that Roger Nebel will be at the high school a week from today, and that he's got a grudge to settle with Jackson and the rest of Will Langton's thugs."

Gunny eyed me appraisingly. "An who should I tell him gave me the message? I don't remember seein' you around these parts before."

"Just say that it was a friend of Roger's sister." In a weird way that isn't even a lie I thought.

I turned without another word and left the pool hall. The message was sent, now all that remained was the waiting. I smiled with grim satisfaction, and walked home.

Llew was there waiting for me. She had a troubled look in her silver-grey eyes, but she was smiling nonetheless. "Where've you been?" she asked curiously.

"Just setting the trap," I smiled back. "Did you talk to Hrulder about that gholem yet?"

"No, I didn't have a chance. Was busy trying to avoid smashing the heads of the Council against a stone wall," she said, pulling a tragically annoyed face. "You manage to get in touch with Aryllia yet?"

"Negative. Everything is eerily quiet. The scales balancing my human and draconic aspects are still in the mental corridor, but Aryllia isn't lying at their base anymore. It's like she's just disappeared," I said worriedly.

"I'm sure she'll be back," Llew said soothingly. "Aryllia is an ur-dragon, it would take a hell of a lot more that what she went through against Maoten to actually kill her."

Having been one with Aryllia throughout that fight and feeling her pain -- both physical and emotional -- I rather doubted that, but I was wise enough to keep my mouth shut.

"At any rate," Llew continued, "I think it's time we actually talked about the Time of Renewal."

A serial tale of a hero/ine whose Manifestation offers hope to an entire mythical species, and gives promise to many awakenings in a sleeping world very much like our own.

--- --- ---
I think two more does it for the setup...

-Arianrhod.
--- --- ---

"The Time of Renewal, according to Sidhe legends, is something that comes around once every couple thousand of years to replenish the amount of magic in the world," Llew began. "Normally, this coincides with the ebb and flow of magic which occurs naturally in this plane of existence, but the advent of the religiously-inspired terror of the Dark Ages caused the ebb to occur much, much quicker than the flow, as magic across Europe died out.

"You still had the shamans of Native American cultures, of course, and various mystics scattered throughout the Far East, but this was not enough in and of itself to keep the amount of magic in the world afloat, and eventually magic as a whole gave out near the end of the Middle Ages."

"Which would be around when the humans exterminated most of the mythic cultures, like the other dragon clans," I interrupted.

"Correct," Llew lilted. "Those who survived lay as lo and as quiet as they could, aware that the Time of Renewal would return to them their stolen prowess. Many of them plan amongst themselves for the Time of Renewal to also become a "Time of Retribution" against man.

"Of course, you know much of this. You also know -- or have guessed -- that there are also a number of mythic species like my Sidhe who believe, for good or ill, that humanity has grown since those dark days. Some of us, again including the Sidhe, as well as your black dragon clan, were associated closely with humanity since time immemorial. Others, however, have more recently come around to our way of thinking. We have formed an impromptu alliance with many of these, creating a loosely organized network that hopes to preserve some, if not all, of humanity, and live alongside them in relative harmony."

Llew took a breath, and then continued. "Each of us is our own individualized nation of people, though. For example, as queen of the Sidhe, I am invested with most of the power of my race, although the Council wields more than I, behind the scenes. None of our affiliates can order around my people; only I have that ability.

"Between us, however, there are some fears about a few of those who have joined our coalition. I very much worry -- and the Council agrees with me -- that some have allied themselves with us because they wish to see humanity survive as a slave race to the rest of us."

"Which is definitely not the idea," I added. Courtesy of Will Langton, I had no intention of allowing people like him -- human or not -- to gain control of anything worth more than two stones in a barrel.

"Indeed," Llew smiled. "So, you see, we are beset on all sides...even by those would call themselves friend. For the Time of Renewal does not work like many dare to hope. It is not merely the mythics who will regain magic once lost. Mankind itself will also once again be abuzz with magical forces. This creates a serious problem. Humanity's prejudice against non-humans is easily documented, and although there are a wide variety of exceptions, those in power are usually some of the worst. When humanity as a whole is attacked by many diverse species of mythics..." she trailed off sadly.

"They're going to come after everyone, not just those are the real bad guys," I finished for her.

She nodded. "And now you've thrown us even more of a curveball. By allying ourselves with you, the Sidhe will draw the ire of the other eight ur-dragons and their tribes. Obviously, Maoten and his reds have already made it known that they are aware of your existence, and disapprove of it."

"Pryandon said that Maoten had already convened with the other seven...and that they were in unanimous agreement that I was to be ended," I said somberly, remembering my...Aryllia's fight with the red in the skies.

"Quite so. The other races will not stand by us if we engage in a war with the united dragon tribes. I was...warned of this by the Council when I went to see them."

"I understand," I said morosely. "I will distance myself from you and try to help out as I can..."

"No, you won't," Llew interrupted harshly. "The decision has already been made. The Sidhe stand with the black dragon clan. It's quite elegant, actually. We don't have to worry about those who only wish to enslave humanity this way."

"What makes you so certain that I am trustworthy or worth it," I asked.

"Call it intuition. You have at your disposal the power of an ur-dragon. You might not know how to use it yet, but in time you will become exponentially more dangerous. It took all eight of the other ur-dragons to shackle Aryllia last time, and this time she will not be forced to stand alone. As far as your trustworthiness, I don't know. I just have a feeling that I need to help you," Llew finished simply.

"Well, I appreciate it. Without the assistance of the other races, though, I'm highly doubtful that we can stem the tide and ensure man's survival and coexistence."

Llew shrugged. "The others will come around in time...or they won't. Either way, we face losing odds. It's just that without them the losing will be that much more spectacular," she grinned madly.

"I never planned to go quietly," I grinned back.

She nodded, but still looked troubled. "What's on your mind?" I asked.

"A lot," she replied evasively. At my stern look, she frowned. "I'm worried about this vengeful impulse that you seem to have driving you. Yes, what Will Langton and his thugs were doing is unforgivable. At the same time, though, the power that you wield cannot be allowed to become corrupted. If you pursue vengeance, you will eventually become twisted and only care to save those of humanity that you deem worthy. And that's not our mission," she said firmly.

"Are you saying that those people deserve to be saved?" I demanded hotly.

"Are you saying that they don't?" Llew answered just as hotly, and continued: "What gives you the right to decide that, oh almighty dragon goddess? I know void and death and shadow are all your realms to judge, but when we're talking about saving the human species from everything that goes and has ever gone bump in the night, we can't allow such haughty decisions. You are always going to get the scum with the saints. There are no exceptions."

The fury of her reply took me by surprise. "Since we're cleaning house, then, elf," I said meanly, "I want to know how you can afford to be so idealistic? Romanticism only goes so far in modern times. If you want to save some people, then I'm all for that. But when you start talking about saving every soul, I feel the need to point out that it's impossible. You aren't going to get everyone. People will die. I'd just prefer that the casualties are those who deserve to die," I said coldly.

"Like your little plan with Jackson?" Llew replied.

I felt like I'd been slapped in the face. "How the hell did you know about that?" I demanded.

"I know many things," she said haughtily. "I know that you really want to use the gholem to lure Jackson and the rest of Langton's assholes into a trap that will see them damned in society's eyes as well as fulfill the primary goal of killing your human self."

"And they SHOULD be damned," I roared back. "Jackson is a neo-Nazi. I don't know if you know anything about that, o great queen, but the people that he associates his beliefs with should be scourged off this planet for what they did."

"How does that make you any different from them?" Llew asked quietly. "I guess you wouldn't know this, but I was human, too. I Manifested a few years before you, but I traveled down the same path that you are now. I'm well aware of the history, and equally aware that you need to overcome it. If you don't...well, I'm sure that manflesh tastes good over a barbecue."

She's right, youngling Aryllia's voice came out of nowhere. This time, it seemed as though she had included Llew in our mental conversation as well, as I watched her tilt her head as though she was listening to a voice that wasn't really there.

"Aryllia, is that you?" she asked to the open air, confirming my suspicion.

Yes, little one. And now there are things that I must tell both of you

My quarrel with Llew was laid aside for the moment as a result of Aryllia's sudden appearance. After not hearing from her since the battle with Maoten, I had feared the worst, and was overjoyed to have her make contact.

"Where have you been?" I asked happily.

Here and there... Aryllia replied uneasily. But first: a warning. Annie, are you still planning on going through with this plan?

I shrugged. "I'm not sure any more, to be honest. Llew pointed out a couple of unsavory aspects to my idea, but I still believe that it's the right thing to do."

This does not surprise me, and is largely because of your Manifestation

The voice from nowhere paused for a moment before continuing.

What I am about to tell you two is something that predates both humanity and the Sidhe, and is mostly echoes from an older time. You might want to sit down for this one, Aryllia said dryly. With a start I realized that we had just been standing in the hallway this whole time.

"What a second," I said suddenly. "Where are my parents and my family? They should be home by now?"

"They're fine," Llew said soothingly. "They just had some shopping to do, and they wanted to do it without you. It was supposed to be a secret, but I guess you're the worrying type." I wasn't entirely sure that everything was alright as advertised, but I walked into the living room with Llew and sat down on one of the couches there.

Alright, Aryllia began. Some time after this world was created, myself and my eight brothers and sisters came into existence. Our origins remained a point of contention among us until I was shackled, and I would assume that they are still arguing about it to this day. The bottom line was that there were nine of us, and that we were each attracted to different aspects of creation:

As such, Llew, you will have to serve to balance her out. While I was a part of Annie, I was able to keep her instincts in check with my wisdom. However, now that I am a separate entity, I will no longer be able to do so.

"Wait, separate? What? When did this happen?" I asked furiously. I knew something was off, dammit, but I hadn't guessed that it was this serious!

Quite separate. The force of the attack that defeated Maoten was enough that it quite literally drove us apart, splitting our joined spirit in half. In a way, I really have to thank Maoten, Aryllia's disembodied voice chuckled.

"Why? Because now you don't have to listen to me bitch anymore?" I raged.

Aryllia's voice actually laughed at that. Funny, it sounds like I'm doing just that now regardless of our spiritual status, she said dryly. No, because it lets me do THIS

The room grew incredibly pitch dark, even though twilight had not yet fallen outside. I reached for the lamp at my side, and I heard Llew trying to conjure her silver magic to shine some light as well.

Fumbling with the switch took a moment, but I eventually managed to turn it on, revealing...nothing. The lamp's light could not penetrate this darkness, and from the cussing I heard across from me, I guessed that Llew's magic couldn't, either.

Not more than a minute of calling Aryllia's name later, the intense shadow began to dissipate. And it revealed that we were no longer the only two people in the house.

Standing in the hallway was a woman in a floor-length elegant black dress. She had long, raven hair that reached to her shoulders, and her eyes were equally dark in color. Her skin shone with a healthy luster, but was not an atypical tone like Llew's shining white. She strode across the room, with long, graceful legs stalking without a sound. As she passed me, I noticed with shock that she also sported a too-detailed tattoo of a black dragon on her left shoulder blade, even as I did. Without thinking, I reached back to touch it, and was surprised to notice that it was warm to the touch.

She sat down in a chair, and spoke in Aryllia's voice. "The sundering of our joined spirit means that you are now alone no longer.

A serial tale of a hero/ine whose Manifestation offers hope to an entire mythical species, and gives promise to many awakenings in a sleeping world very much like our own.

--- --- ---
I think one more does it for the setup...

-Arianrhod.
--- --- ---

----
Annie
----

"Surprised to see me?" Aryllia asked archly.

"Not really," I replied offhandedly...though truth be told, I didn't know what to make of this shift in events.

"Well, I was," she laughed. "I never thought that it would be possible for me to have a corporeal form again after I was shackled so very long ago," she continued with a note of sadness in her voice.

"I'd say that our odds just got that much better," Llew said cheerfully. "How does this affect Annie's power, since you aren't a part of her any more?"

"It shouldn't at all, if my suspicion is correct," Aryllia answered. "I had the experience and the knowledge to make the most of her abilities, but the raw power was hers alone."

"You mean, I had enough power to actually go up against monsters like Pyrandon and Maoten and survive?" I asked, surprised.

"Quite so. You didn't know how to use it, and without my spell to revive my fallen children, even if only for a few minutes, you would have certainly perished at Maoten's claws. But the fact remains that you have a tremendous amount of power for a youngling."

"So if what we were witnessing was not amplified by being the host of an ur-dragon, as we thought..." Llew trailed off, staring at Aryllia in awe, who nodded in response, and stated:

"My power is like nothing you've ever seen before."

"The fact remains that we have two primary goals that we must accomplish. We still have to get the authorities to stop sniffing around, and we still need to commence our preparations for the Time of Renewal."

"Now is not the time for your revenge, Daughter," Aryllia said formally.

I bristled a little bit, but replied calmly, "If the detectives keep looking for Roger Nebel, sooner or later they're going to learn what really happened. Even if magic is destined to once again awaken, and soon, I'd think that we would prefer not to let the authorities know that it is coming. At least not until we're already established."

Aryllia stared at me with a gaze that I felt go right through me. Literally. "By the time that anyone figures out what's really going on, our plans will be past the point where they can stop us, regardless. If you really want to be avenged for your near-branding, then stop trying to be tricky with it. Just do it. Show up appearing as Roger, and then reveal yourself and deal with it."

I ducked my head a bit, annoyed that I'd apparently been so transparent. Luckily, headlights appeared in the driveway just then and saved me from any further embarrassment. Or so I thought.

----
Llew
----

I knew that I shouldn't laugh, but I couldn't help it when Annie's parents and sister came trundled in the front door burdened by bag after bag after bag...filled to the brim with female clothes, towels, sheets, you name it, it was there. I was glad that she had a family that was accepting her and would help her move along with her life, but at the same time, her reaction was just so damned funny.

Aryllia (Oh nice to meet you and how do you do, according to Annie's parents) and I were both roped into helping with the impromptu redecoration, and I had to stifle a giggle as Annie recoiled as if she was touching poison.

I couldn't help but think about how this reinforced Aryllia's point of "cops be damned." If they did choose to continue the investigation, as they undoubtedly would, they would find it very peculiar that Roger's room was now very obviously belonging to a late teenaged girl...and equally obviously lived in. Oh well...no secret stays buried forever.

The whole process reminded me a little of my own origins, and I silently hoped that my own family was safe and sound. They'd distanced themselves from me -- at my command -- for their own safety. I couldn't help but hope that with Aryllia's unexpected corporeal manifestation, it would be safe enough to bring them back to me again. I guessed that they were as worried about me as I was them, and felt a brief twinge of guilt, which I stifled quickly.

After the redo of Annie's room was complete, the family plus Aryllia and myself sat down for a late bite to eat. Annie, at her mother's order, was rocking some of her new duds...and looking hilarious uncomfortable. I honestly doubted that she even knew she was doing it. I smiled in remembrance, briefly. She will, I thought to myself.

"So you're the reason that our son transformed?" Annie's father was asking Aryllia.

"I'm not sure anymore. As Annie may or may not have told you, your line is descended directly from myself. You can think of me as a sort of ultimate grandmother, if you want. That means that your family has always carried a strain of draconic blood in your veins, quietly and very far beneath the surface.

"I won't pretend to say that I didn't hope and dream that my species would one day be reborn, as I slumbered through the generations. At the same time, though, I would not have forced such a transformation. At first I thought that I might have somehow caused Roger's Manifestation because of both my own desires and and his own unnaturally strong draconic influence...but now I'm not so sure."

"Why so? It sounds perfectly reasonable to me," Lars noted in a "none of this is reasonable, though" tone.

"Her power is too great," she said simply. "I don't mean this as an affront, mind, but for the first new generation of black dragon in hundreds of years, Annie possesses an enormous amount of raw power -- very nearly equal to my own, in fact. No, I suspect that the close proximity of the Time of Renewal has much to do with her Manifestation. The form is easy to understand, due to her draconic blood. The change in gender makes less sense to me, but I'm confidant that in time I will be able to answer that question, as well."

Conversation turned to small talk, but Aryllia had one more bomb to drop before the humans drifted off to sleep.

"I'd like to take this opportunity while everyone is so gathered to cause the Naming," she began.

"The Naming?" Annie asked, although I already knew where this was going.

"Indeed. It is a tradition of many of the mythic species that when a youngling reaches a certain age, that they are to assume an adult name worthy of their status as such. It used to be true for humans, as well, but somewhere along the way your species apparently outgrew such childish notions," she said mildly. I was beginning to get the feeling that Aryllia's sense of humor, if it could even be called that, would be considered dry in a desert.

Annie looked a little bewildered. How many name changes could one go through in a less than a week and still preserve a sense of identity?

"Alright," she sighed finally. "How does this work?"

"It's quite simple, really. As death is one of our Domains, all you need to do is commune with the dead. Someone from the past will eventually come to you in a vision and talk to you. Over the course of the conversation, you will find out many things about yourself. One of these will be your truename, another will be the name that you will use, as a black dragon, with others. Are you prepared?"

Annie nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

----
Annie
----

Once Aryllia completed the spell, I blacked out for what seemed like only a moment. In that moment, however, I somehow had an entire conversation.

I found myself in a plane of pure shadow, except for two spotlights of white light: one surrounding myself, and the other enclosing the woman that I had seen in Aryllia's flashback. Somewhere along the way I had apparently shifted to full dragon form.

"It is because you have come to view yourself as a dragon, now," the woman said. "Yes, I can read your thoughts, as you can read mine. While communing, information travels both ways."

I looked into her mind, and saw the past. Meryline was her draconic name, and she want by Sarah as a human. She had been the final black dragon to die in exile, and I was of her line. At the same time, I could feel her rummaging around in my memories, as well. It was a very odd experience.

"What a strange time you come from, Annie," she said, using my human name. "It is amazing to see the world so very far in the future."

"How is this working?" I asked. "I thought that when Aryllia borrowed the collective strength of the species, it was the last time that such a visitation could be enacted."

"And it is true. I am not physically nor spiritually in your world now, nor can I ever be again. Think of this as a meeting zone where two separate timelines cross. We are in between moments in time. I will awake when we are done here to continue my life in exile, and return to nursing my son...your some-number-of-greats grandfather. You will likewise return to your own time, where you are sitting with your family, the Origin, and the Sidhe."

"I see. So you select my names for me, then?"

"Nay. Only you can do that...I am merely here to give you inspiration, of sorts. Indeed, now that I have seen into your mind and experienced your memories, I am now relegated to only being able to answer questions. Bear these rules in mind, for one day it shall be your turn to participate in the Naming of one of your line."

This brought things to mind that I didn't really care to think about, and I turned away, blushing. I managed to bring my thoughts back into focus, and asked, "How is this supposed to help me?"

"Look into my memories," came the answer. I did, and lived through her own Naming process, with another black dragon known only as Ku. He apparently had lived in the time before the Exile, and had no need of a human name.

How long I spent in that world, lost in my own thoughts and the memories of the dragons that had come before me (with Meryline as a doorway), I doubted I would ever know. Eventually, though, the inspiration came, as Aryllia and Meryline had said it would.

"Excellent names, both of them," Meryline announced. "The Naming is complete. May your mission bring you much happiness," she intoned formally, and disappeared.

I came to staring blankly at everyone gathered around the table, exactly as I had left. As Meryline said, no time had passed in my world while I was dreaming.

"Cynthiera," I said slowly, trying out the sound against actual ears. I liked it, I decided, and said it a few times more to get the hang of it.

"Greetings, Cynthiera," Aryllia said gravely. "The tribe welcomes you as a full, adult member. May you bring honor to yourself and others."

I bowed my head, feeling not a little sheepish and embarrassed. Regardless of the emotions that were going through my head, though, I still managed to finish the ritual. "And may I likewise honor my tribe: the memory of those who came before, the respect of those who exist now, and the hope of those who will one day remember me."

"So, what do I call you now," Llew said, obviously confused.

I shrugged. "Call me Cyntheria unless we're in public and I'm human. It resonates with me more than my human name...it's kind of hard to explain."

I'm not sure how my parents took that news, and my sister was all but asleep in her chair, but I didn't really care anymore. I had a new family now, and while I would never stop caring for my old one, the affairs of humans were behind me as though remains of another life.

Llew was staring at me for some reason, but I opted to ignore it. She sometimes would do that, I'd been noticing...almost as if she was trying to figure me out by relating me to someone else.

My parents continued talking about meaningless things, and my sister drifted up to her bed. I seriously doubted if her head was going to even hit the pillow before she would be asleep. A few minutes later, my parents joined her.

"Now, we must lay our plans carefully and wisely. Llew, would you mind taking us to your people? I would have them be a part of this, although I am aware that as their queen you speak for them," Aryllia said.

She nodded. "Of course. For something as serious as this, we need as many opinions as possible," she agreed. A scarce few moments later, we were standing outside of a cave somewhere in the wilderness, with several of the Sidhe coming to greet us.

A serial tale of a hero/ine whose Manifestation offers hope to an entire mythical species, and gives promise to many awakenings in a sleeping world very much like our own.

--- --- ---
In which the set-up of this universe is concluded. I will still have these characters (and others) and continue writing them and telling their story, but I would like to also open it up to other authors who are free to invent their own characters within this setting.

-Arianrhod.
--- --- ---

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Annie
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The Sidhe greeted us, and we were ushered into the cave. We came to a large chamber where three Sidhe were seated. I recognized them as Rauthor, Kaldon, and Promely.

"All of you, come here," Llew called with a tone of command. Playing the Queen, alright, I thought.

Being with the Sidhe again brought back memories of Maoten, and I turned to ask Aryllia, "If you're actually here again, doesn't that mean that you are trackable by the other tribes again?"

"I've been thinking about that," she replied. "I suspect that they were able to track me by magical means because I was shackled inside your consciousness. Now that I am free and have my corporeal form back, I very much doubt that they will be able to find us as easily."

"Fair enough. Looks like everyone's here," I said quietly.

"Indeed. I'm interested to see where Llew goes with this."

Looking for all the world like she was about to make a speech, Llew drew herself up in front of everyone...as much as she could while in jeans and a tee shirt, that is. The torches in the cave flared up with her, and the reflection of the flames in her silver-grey eyes was strangely inspiring.

"A war is coming. I have told all of you this, many times. The Time of Renewal is almost upon us, and we are most definitely not ready. We had some sort-of allies before, but they proved false, with goals that ran contrary to our own. Tonight I present to you formally some real allies. I would like everyone to meet Aryllia, ur-dragon of the void, and Cyntheria, who you know already as Annie.

"Some among you have questioned my decision in this matter." She broke off momentarily and glanced at the Council before continuing. "To them, I say: be not fools. The ill effects of this alliance would have been felt regardless. It is true that we have now set ourselves squarely against the other eight dragon clans. It is also true that we would have needed to face off against them when the Time occurs, anyway. Hunted to near-extinction, and forced to hide for centuries...did you really think that they would try to save humanity from the coming chaos?

"I think not, and the advent of Aryllia's reawakening has provided us with an opportunity that I have decided to take. I hope that in time you will agree with me, but for the here and now, agreement is not required. Understanding is. If any of you have any questions on this matter, raise them now, before I continue."

She paused, but the gathered Sidhe were silent.

"Very well then. I'm sure you all remember the last time that we attempted to form a settlement.." she trailed off as the room was filled with groans.

"We'll we're going to try it again," she said firmly. "This time we will be more careful, and this time we will have help," she continued as she glanced meaningfully at me and Aryllia.

"I see no particular reason to stray far...in fact, I see no reason to move at all. We will set up permanent camp here, and this location shall henceforth be known as Baile de Dhá³chas: Town of Hope*. Trena, I'm planning to begin construction tomorrow first thing. We'll plan to weave our powers once again to accomplish it -- same goes for you, Tailtiu. I want the rest of you to enter into a training regimen. Rauthor, you'll handle that, I trust?"

He nodded, and grinned. I saw some of the other Sidhe flinch visibly.

Llew continued to give her speech, as Aryllia pulled me to the side. "I think it'll do you some good to join in with the training. You need some help learning how to use your abilities, and as much as it pains me to say so, it would not be the worst thing in the world with the Sidhe to practice against a dragon.

I nodded. "I'll plan to stay the night here, then, and get an early start tomorrow. Are you going to help me get the hang of it?"

"No, Cyntheria. I'm going to be renewing some old acquaintances. There are a number of lesser races that had sworn allegiance to me and my clan. I'm going to try to locate some of them...with luck, they both still exist and remember me. Perhaps I will be able to find our fledgling coalition some much-needed support."

"That would certainly be welcome," I agreed.

The rest of the evening was relatively quiet. Aryllia left, citing a long distance to travel. Llew had apparently thought that we were going to return to my family's home before getting to work, but I changed her mind on that. I really wasn't having any problems with my parents, or at least so I thought. I told myself that I was protecting them by staying away, but I wasn't sure that I even believed that anymore.

Regardless, there was a ton of work to do, and I needed to focus on it. I'll worry about my family later, I thought as I lay in the makeshift cot that the Sidhe had prepared for me. Sleep came slowly, but it was damn good when it did come. Fresh air apparently works wonders.

I awoke shortly after dawn to Llew shaking me. "Rise and shine, time to work!" she exclaimed entirely too cheerfully.

I slowly got up, bitching about morning people the whole time. By the time I was fully awake, I saw a very strange thing indeed.

Llew, Tailtiu, and Trena were all channeling their powers into a weird column shape. It was formed of earth in the center, but was being mixed with water and silver magic, which was swirling around the whole thing like some kind of demented ice cream cone.

"What the hell are you three doing?" I yelled over, but they didn't hear me.

"They are constructing a town by fusing nature and magic into one," a rumbling voice said behind me. I turned to find myself staring at Rauthor's chest, and was reminded once again of how short my human form was.

"Are you prepared to begin training?" he inquired.

"I'm not sure I can say that I'm ready, but I'll give it my best shot," I answered truthfully.

"That's all anyone can ask," he replied. "I think we'll put you with the ranged combat group first, and then move you to melee later on."

The 'ranged combat group' proved to be myself, Kaldon, and Ghorder.

"Tailtiu would normally be here, but she's busy helping with the construction project.Llew sometimes practices with us as well, although she usually fits in more with the melee practice group," Ghorder explained...while staring at my chest. I quickly solved that particular issue by shifting to full dragon form, and was rewarded with the disappointed look on Ghorder's face, while Kaldon grinned.

"Looks like this one won't have to put up with you," he said mirthfully to Ghorder.

The next several hours were spent decimating a small portion of the mountainside. Kaldon and Ghorder were both mages, although the pervert was substantially more powerful. It took me nearly an hour to reliably produce my breath weapon, but when I did, we discovered a slight problem.

Kaldon and Ghorder cheered when I finally emitted the void stream...until we realized that by practicing my breath attack, we were going to lose our training grounds.

Luckily, Kaldon had an idea: "We all know how devastating your breath attack is; what matters is that you become more reliable with producing it and controlling it, not the amount of power that you can put into it. Try firing short, controlled bursts into the open air."

We concluded our training by lunch time, and I was able to consistently produce the void beam in varying thicknesses by then. The construction project was coming along swimmingly, or so I thought. The bizarre conglomeration of mud and magic was actually starting to resemble a building, now.

The afternoon consisted of training with the melee group, which was made up of Rauthor and Hrulder, while Llew and Trena were working. For this exercise, Rauthor had me in humanish form, and I began to learn the rudiments of basic fighting styles and swordfighting.

"This is pointless, I'm never going to need to know this," I complained once.

"Probably not," Rauthor replied agreeably. "But if for some reason you find yourself unable to transform into your full form, you still need to be able to at least defend yourself until you can."

Grudgingly, I had to admit that he had a point.

The next couple of weeks proceeded slowly. I visited my parents a couple of times, but I think they understood that I was going through a lot right now, and mostly left me alone. My sister was a bit more demanding of my attention, and accused me of not paying enough heed to my human side nor to my newfound femininity. And you know what helps with being a human female? Shopping! I merely groaned and managed to push it back...and back...and back. She bugged me about it every time I saw her, but that's what little sisters do.

The building of Baile de Dhá³chas proceeded smoothly. One by one, buildings of earth and magic slowly rose to meet the tops of the trees surrounding the area. I won't pretend to say that they looked like much, because they really didn't, but they were surprisingly sturdy. Apparently the magic supported and shaped the mud until it hardened, at which point the magic weave actually became part of the structure itself, forming the floors, walls, and ceilings. As a result, the whole settlement literally glowed silver, making lamps unnecessary.

Aryllia came and went, her black wings beating silently against the night sky. She said that everywhere she had traveled, there was no sign of any of her retainers, but she had a troubled look to her. It was almost as if she was finding things, and what she was finding troubled her greatly.

We did, however, come into contact with several other Manifestations. Twins named Chris and Erica were the first. They both Manifested into, for lack of a better term, angels. They had sprouted wings overnight and their powers were primarily based around the manipulation of light. At first I envied them, because they hadn't been forced into an unwanted sex change, but the more I found out about them, the more I began to think that I was actually pretty lucky. Their parents, ironically enough, were atheists. When you don't believe in any deity at all, let alone the Christian God, and your children turn into angels...well, that's going to cause some problems. They were both essentially thrown out on their own. As she was on one of her trips, Aryllia spotted them and brought them back with her.

A centaur named Devon was the next to join us. Like the twins, he was brought to us by Aryllia, and like the twins, he had also had an unpleasant experience with his family. He quickly developed into a master archer, and was capable of forming both a bow and an arrow out of magical energy, which was very convenient since it meant that he would never run out of ammunition.

Somewhere along the way the semester ended, and my sister began showing up of her own accord. How she found us, or who she seduced into driving her out so far, I have no idea. She was utterly determined that she was going to keep me grounded in my once-humanity, though, and I suppose that in a way I was grateful for that.

She also brought us news of increasing numbers of Manifestations. They were largely being kept hush-hush, but the Internet has a way of disseminating information that the authorities don't want anyone to know about. What happened to them was a mixed bag, but was often tragic. For example, one tale she told us was of a teenage girl who Manifested into a simple magic-wielder, but was careless with it and showed it in public. She also happened to live in Mississippi. Reports were that she was burned at the stake, but some digging revealed that Sarah Evans was supposedly never born.

The settlement of Baile de Dhá³chas grew rather quickly. We each had our own 'house', so to speak, and Hrulder also had a blacksmith. He couldn't really use it that well yet, since we needed a forge and tools for it, but the building was there at least. Likewise, Llew had also constructed an infirmary type building, which Promely was already stocking with bandages and medicinal herbs in preparation for the coming darkness.

And we didn't have long to wait.

July 11th found Michelle in my quarters at the crack of dawn, shaking me rigorously to wake me up.

"Urf, I'm here, I'm here," I finally managed.

My sister had tears in her eyes. "It's happened, Annie. I was hoping that you were just playing hero and that none of it was real, but it is really here," she sobbed.

A lump grew in my throat very quickly. "Mom and Dad?"

She shook her head, and fresh tears sprang forth. I joined her in sorrow for a few minutes, before the tears of sadness turned to rage. "Who?" I asked simply.

"I don't know. Everything's chaos...the town is burning, Annie. Weird things are in the sky, people are running all over the place with magic sprouting from their fingertips uncontrolled, and there are reports of much, much worse from the bigger cities all across the world."

I think she had more to say, but she was interrupted by a tremendous roar from the middle of Baile de Dhá³chas. I ran to the window, and saw Aryllia illuminated against the dawn, with the day's first light streaking across her ebon form.

Raising her head to the morning sky, she bellowed, "THE TIME OF RENEWAL HAS ARRIVED!"

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*Apologies to anyone who actually knows Irish Gaelic...I did the best I could to not butcher it completely with the aid of several online translators.