by Virlyce
***
“You do it just like this,” Vur said and pointed at a dwarf. A second later, the dwarf yelped as he convulsed and transformed into a turtle.
Lulu’s gaze shifted onto Vur, who was standing on her head. “Can you, uh, teach me in a way that actually makes sense?” she asked and wrinkled her snout.
Vur tilted his head. “But it makes sense?” He pointed at the turtle. “Like this.” The turtle shuddered as it sprouted a pair of feathery wings. “See?”
“Demonstrating it in the same exact way as before doesn’t help,” Lulu said and sighed. “How about explaining the concept behind it? What calculations are you doing for the spell?”
Vur hummed and scratched his head. “My mana goes vrmm, then swoosh! And then it goes bzz.” He pointed at the winged tortoise, causing it to sprout a pair of pointy horns. “Just like that. You try it.”
“There’s no way I can try it just like that,” Lulu said, her eye twitching. She snorted and knocked over a few trees with her tail, causing some nearby elves to shout. “What happens to the other person’s mana? How does your buzzing and swishing create physical changes to the other person’s structure without damaging them?”
Vur frowned. “Why are you asking so many questions when you haven’t tried it yet?” he asked and patted Lulu’s head once. “Just try it. Make your mana go vrmm, then swoosh! And then bzz.”
Lulu sighed. “I don’t want to be a murderer today,” she said and frowned. She pointed at a tree. “Vrmm, then swish, and then bzz?”
The tree exploded.
“No. It’s vrmm, then swoosh! And then bzz,” Vur said, shaking his head.
Lulu’s tail smacked against the ground, causing the army of dwarves marching behind her to fall over. “But that’s what I did?”
“You did swish, not swoosh,” Vur said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Lulu rolled her eyes and pointed at another tree. “Vrmm, then swoosh, and then bzz.”
The tree exploded.
“Swoosh! Not swoosh. Swoosh!” Vur said. He sighed. “Some people just don’t get it.”
“It’s not a failure on my part!” Lulu said, gritting her teeth. “You can’t teach! Can trees even be polymorphed?”
Vur snorted and pointed at a tree. “Polymorph.” The tree shuddered and transformed into a dog, which promptly fell over onto its side, a glazed look in its eyes. “How is that so hard to do?”
Lulu blinked at the husk of a dog. “So trees can be polymorphed,” she said. “Interesting. But a vegetable’s a vegetable. And it’s hard because you’re not telling me what to do! Shouldn’t it be a different swoosh and swish depending on what you want your target to turn into?”
“You just change the bzz into a bzzity or the vrmm into a vrmmrm,” Vur said. “The swoosh never changes.”
“You know what, just do it to me and maybe it’ll make some sense,” Lulu said, furrowing her brow. She tilted her head to the side, letting Vur hop off.
Vur pointed at Lulu. “Polymorph.”
Lulu shuddered as she shrank, her silver scales transforming into porcelain-colored skin. Silver hair sprouted from her head, cascading down to the backs of her knees as her body straightened, switching from four legs to two. Her claws retracted while thumbs appeared on her hands. Her face narrowed and her eyes opened, revealing a pair of green eyes. She became slightly shorter than Vur. And was completely naked.
Lulu blinked and looked down, inspecting her smooth hands. Then she poked her chest. She blinked again before taking a step forward. A yelp escaped from her lips as she leaned to one side and fell onto her face. “How do you balance without a tail!?” she asked as she crawled onto her hands and knees. She bit her lower lip as she struggled to stand, but she fell over again as a breeze blew past. A whimper escaped from her lips as cuts formed on her elbows and hips. “Turn me back, please. I feel squishier than a royal slime.”
Vur scratched his head. “Unpolymorph!” he said, pointing at Lulu. Nothing happened. Vur shrugged. “Can’t do it.”
“What do you mean you can’t do it?” Lulu asked, raising her head. “Just polymorph me into a dragon.” A winged and horned turtle appeared by her side, nodding its head rapidly.
“I don’t know if it works that way,” Vur said. “Turning people into dragons takes a lot of mana.”
“Just do it, please,” Lulu said and hung her head. “I’m way too fragile like this. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve seen my own blood?”
Vur sighed and pointed at Lulu. “Polymorph!”
Lulu cheered as she grew, her porcelain-colored skin turning a deep blue. A golden sheen lined the edges of her scales as her eyes turned from green to gold. Her body became larger than it usually was, and an extra feature had been added. Lulu’s eyes widened as she inspected herself. “Ah! You turned me into a male!? Turn me back into a human! What the heck is wrong with you!?”
Vur sighed as he pointed at Lulu again. “There’s just no pleasing you, is there?” he asked. “Jeez. No wonder why Tafel told me to stay away from other pretty women.”
Lulu exhaled as she turned back into a human. “I’d rather be a squishy human than a male dragon,” she said, shaking her head. She stumbled as she took tentative steps forward. “I think I can get used to this if I put my mind to it.” She bit her lower lip and scrunched up her forehead as she stared at the ground.
“You aren’t going to wear clothes, Miss Lulu?” one of the dwarves asked.
“Clothes?” Lulu asked. “What kind of dragon wears clothes?”
“Right?” Vur asked.
Lulu snorted. “Says the dragon wearing pants.”
“Hey,” Vur said with a frown. “Tafel says I look majestic in these pants.”
Before Lulu could respond, a fireball appeared on Vur’s shoulder. “Vur, Vur,” Sheryl said, nudging his neck. “There’s a really strong source of fire coming this way! Can you help me absorb it when it arrives? It’ll help me evolve, which will help you become a proper dragon.”
“Of course,” Vur said with a nod. “It’s about time the birdy arrived.”
Though the sun was beginning to set, the sky was lit up as if it were day. A massive bird soared through the sky, dispersing the clouds as it passed through them, revealing a line of clear blue. Vur shielded his eyes with his hand and squinted at the incoming phoenix. As it approached, something poked his cheek out of nowhere, causing him to flinch.
“You know, if you knew how to turn me back into my original form, I could’ve totally helped,” Lulu said, withdrawing her finger.
“S-substitute Your Gloriousness,” one of the dwarves said. “It’s moving too fast to lock onto. Didn’t you say you had a plan to subdue the phoenix matriarch?” He gulped as beads of sweat formed on his brow. The phoenix was still high up in the sky, yet the heat coming off of her could be felt miles away.
“Just watch,” Vur said, narrowing his eyes at the red bird. Vur’s body crackled as scales sprouted from his skin, a pair of wings growing out of his shoulder blades. He fell forwards as his fingers and toes curled, his nails sharpening into claws. A golden rune appeared on his forehead as the yellow and brown runes representing Sheryl and Diamant faded into faint gray lines.
“Dragon!” an ancient yet young voice said. “Why have you invaded my lands?”
“Your land just happened to be in my way,” Vur said, his voice deep and booming. Lulu swallowed her saliva as Vur leapt into the air, his wings kicking up tiny swirls of dirt and leaves on the forest ground.
“You are trying to say you are just passing through?” the phoenix matriarch asked, swooping down to meet Vur. “Then why have you treated my loyal subjects as such? Leading an army of dwarves through the forest, don’t think you can treat this as a mere journey.”
“I’m a dragon; I can do whatever I want,” Vur said with a snort. “If you don’t like it, then try and stop me. Besides, I don’t see a flag claiming this place as your territory.”
“A flag?
What would I need a flag for?” the phoenix matriarch asked. “But I see you’re one of those dragons, unwilling to yield and compromise. Didn’t the holy ones chase you all out eons ago? This land was promised to me by Kondra, the matriarch of the holy dragons. Are you willing to go against her as well?”
Vur sucked in a deep breath through his nostrils, causing his chest to expand. His wings beat downwards as his mouth opened and let out a roar accompanied by a flurry of icicles, each the length of a dragon’s tooth. The frost breath surged towards the phoenix matriarch, threatening to skewer her, but she spread her wings and shrieked. Flames surged out of her feathers, creating a wall of orange and red in front of herself. The ice and fire collided. Ice turned to water, and water turned to vapor. Plumes of steam surged towards the phoenix, buffeting her backwards but doing no harm.
“Arrogant!” the phoenix matriarch shouted. “Are you not afraid of her retaliation?”
“Living in fear isn’t living at all,” Vur said, flapping his wings to launch himself above the phoenix matriarch. “That’s the dragons’ way.” His eyes flashed with a gold light, and the rune on his forehead shone brighter. The phoenix matriarch plunged towards the ground as the gravity around her increased. She flapped her wings and struggled to stay in the air, but it was futile. As soon as she landed, Vur slammed into her from above like a comet, crushing the poor bird underneath a dragon’s weight. Though the phoenix matriarch was large relative to another bird, she was only a quarter the size of a dragon.
“Ouch,” Lulu said and winced as Vur climbed off the phoenix. “That must’ve hurt.”
“You don’t say,” the phoenix matriarch said while coughing. Her wings lay uselessly by her sides. “I’ve never seen a dragon fight like you before, recklessly using your mana and rushing the fight without toying around with your opponent. What dragon doesn’t toy around with their prey first?”
Vur grunted and poked the phoenix matriarch before plucking a few of her flaming feathers. “Is this enough, Sheryl?” he asked, holding the feathers up to his shoulder.
“Yes!” Sheryl said. A hand made of fire extended from Vur’s scales, grabbing ahold of the feathers. “Thank you!”
“Ah!” Lulu said before Vur could respond to his fire elemental. “The matriarch!”
Vur turned his head just in time to see a ball of flames rush towards the sky. All that was left behind of the matriarch was a thin layer of ash. The flames rushed towards the horizon, disappearing in the direction the phoenix had originally come from.
“She escaped,” Lulu said with a frown. “Why’d you let her…, oh.”
Vur fell onto his side with a crash. He exhaled out a breath full of ice before shuddering. His body shrank, and Lulu shivered. Scales sprouted on her arms and legs as Vur lost his. The horned, winged turtle also grew, turning back into a dwarf. “No wonder why you rushed the fight,” Lulu said, her voice sounding a bit strange as her throat transitioned from a human’s to a dragon’s. “Were you really a human to start with then? How odd.”
The dwarves, who had been following after Vur and Lulu, exchanged glances with each other. Even the elves were stunned by what had just happened. The phoenix matriarch, the being they worshipped, had been defeated in two exchanges. Lulu looked around and scratched her head at the strange atmosphere. “Since my future mate has temporarily collapsed,” she said, puffing her chest out, “I’ll take the lead. Continue the battle plan!”
The dwarves’ expressions were blank for a second before they nodded and shouted, “Yes, Substitute Substitute Your Gloriousness.”
“Hah?” a tiny high-pitched voice asked. “What happened while I was sleeping?” A fairy crawled out of Vur’s chest, her body half solid and half motes of light. Stella rubbed her eyes with the backs of her hands before blinking a few times. “Sheryl’s evolving? DeeDee’s unconscious?” Her head tilted to the side. “I thought he said the earth never sleeps.” Her brow furrowed as she sniffed the air before scratching her head. “This feeling…, fairies related to me? But I don’t have any kin on this continent.”
Stella flew off of Vur’s chest and landed by the pile of ashes the phoenix matriarch had left behind. She pinched some and brought her hand to her nose. Her eyes narrowed as she bared her teeth. “A phoenix burnt my children?”
26
Tafel whistled as she wrapped strand after strand of red hair around her sword, Chi’Rururp. By her side in the hollowed-out tree, there was a bald elf with an aggrieved expression on her face. “Thanks, Lady Persephone,” Tafel said when the hair completely obscured Chi’Rururp’s blade and hilt. Not even its eye was showing. “I’ve been looking for someone like you for forever now.”
Laughter filled the air as the baby phoenixes pointed at Persephone and whispered to each other. Emile was rolling around on the ground, kicking his little feet while flapping his wings. There were tears forming in his eyes as rapid chirps escaped from his mouth. “P-Percy’s finally been punished!”
Persephone stared at the empty space in Tafel’s hand where her sword had just been. Space magic? she thought. “I, I know you’re the phoenix matriarch’s guest, but don’t you think you’ve gone too far?”
Tafel patted Persephone’s shoulder. “Hair grows back. Besides, you said you’d do everything in your power to help me.”
But I didn’t think you’d shave my head! Persephone bit her lower lip, her eyes blinking rapidly. “I, I did, didn’t I?”
Tafel nodded and tickled Emile’s belly before picking him up and placing him in her lap. “How long does your mom stay out for?”
“Not long,” Emile chirped. “She usually never leaves the nest.”
Tafel pursed her lips. “I see,” she said and ran her fingers through Emile’s feathers. “Do you know where she went?” After the phoenix had dropped her off, she told Persephone to take care of her and flew off, leaving behind a smiling demon and confused red-headed elf.
“Dwarves are in the process of adopting our culture by assimilating elven families into their homes while taking a tour through our lands,” Persephone said. “The matriarch most likely went to have a pleasant chat with their leader that may lead to some celebrations including fireworks and games like dwarf hunting.”
“Does she always talk like this?” Tafel asked, lowering her head to meet Emile’s eyes.
“Yes, I’ll translate,” Emile said with a nod. He sucked in a deep breath, puffing out his feathers before shouting, “The dwarves are invading the forest! Elven families are being kidnapped and turned into hostages or slaves! My momma went out there to kick their butts!” His body deflated, and he blinked twice. “Exactly like that. You can tell she’s shouting on the inside when her voice becomes softer.” He narrowed his eyes at Persephone before flying onto Tafel’s shoulder and whispered into her ear, “So if she says I want to clean you in a really soft, coaxing voice, you have to run away because she’ll try to murder you.”
“What are you saying about me?” Persephone asked with a frown. She sighed and met Tafel’s eyes. “The matriarch’s children are still young. Sometimes they come to incorrect conclusions. If they’re telling you strange things about me, please, don’t take them to heart. The matriarch wouldn’t keep me around if I had bad intentions. Phoenixes have an innate gift to read people’s hearts.”
Tafel swallowed. Did the matriarch already know she was here for an imprint? That wasn’t a bad intention, right?
“Don’t trust her,” one of the phoenixes on the side said. The matriarch’s children had gathered in Persephone’s hollow tree to see the new guest their mother brought back. “She’ll hurt you with good intentions.”
Tafel stared at Persephone, who averted her gaze, before looking at the phoenixes around her. “Then what about me? Do you think I’m a good person?” she asked.
Emile rubbed his head with his wing. “You’re a good person,” he said, causing Tafel to beam. “But you’re very insecure.”
Tafel blinked. “Huh? Insecure? Me?”
A few phoenixes chirped in agreement. One of them spread her wings out to the side. “About this much,” she said with a nod. “Well, it’s more, but my wings can’t stretch far enough.”
Tafel furrowed her brow. Am I really insecure? While she was thinking, one of the phoenixes blinked and raised his head. “Mom’s back!”
A blazing red light filled the room as a fireball descended from the sky. Before it could set the tree on fire, the fireball shrank and condensed into the shape of a bird. It was bigger than the other phoenixes with more pronounced and trailing feathers along her tail.
“Mom?” Emile asked, tilting his head before hopping off of Tafel’s shoulder. “You became smaller.”
Persephone bit her lower lip, sensing the phoenix’s dark expression. “Matriarch?” she asked in a soft voice. “Is everything alright?”
“The dwarves had two dragons accompanying them,” the matriarch said and spat out a ball of flaming blood. It landed on the ground, but the tree didn’t catch fire. “Only one of them fought, but I still lost.”
“W-was it the holy dragons?” Persephone asked with wide eyes.
The matriarch’s eyes narrowed as she stared at the sky. “One of them was,” she said. “But the one that attacked me was an ice dragon—a very strong one.” She sighed and looked at Tafel, who seemed lost in thought. “What’s wrong?”
Tafel blinked and raised her head. “Nothing,” she said. “I was just thinking about what your children said to me.” The matriarch stared at her, waiting for more, causing Tafel to scratch her head. “They said I was insecure.”
The matriarch raised an eyebrow. “And what do you think? Are they right?”
“Should we really be talking about this right now?” Persephone asked before Tafel could respond.
