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“What do you think it is?”

“I dunno. But Daddy wrapped it up in his belt to shut it up.”

“Well, so? What does that mean?”

“I think it means he... doesn’t like it. A lot. I mean, he never hit us with that belt, right?”

“Yeah, but that’s different.”

The two children where sitting next to Ehd, on the floor. They bantered quickly, like two chess players who both knew the moves ahead of time.

“Well, it can talk, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, let’s ask it.”

“Okay.”

So the kids unwrapped Ehd from his leathery prison. Sure enough, Ehd was yammering away as soon as he was out.

“Oh, thank you so much! I don’t believe we’ve met before.”

The children exchanged glances.

“I’m Tod.” said the boy, whose head of hair was a shocking green, and his eyes yellow.

“I’m Marta.” the girl added, the black curls on her head contrasting her bright red eyes.

“My name’s Ehdie.” The kids now could see Ehd’s features clearly. his eyes where orbs of a bluish metal, and he looked like a large metallic skull. “It’s very nice to meet you. Are you the children of sir Funrur?”

“Yeah.” Tod and Marta responded in unison.

“Ah. Where is Suzanne?” Ehd asked. The children cocked their heads to one side. “Your mother.” he added.

“Oh, mom is asleep.” said Tod.

“Oh, dear. This is bad. This is not good at all.” Ehd said, swinging around on his aluminum neck-stub. “Listen, I need to see your father.”

“Kids ain’t ‘lowed out without parents.” Marta said quickly. “We’d get ‘losted.”

“How bad you need to see dad?” Tod asked.

“It is incredibly urgent that I see him as soon as physically possible.” Ehd said without pause. “He is about to do something very, very, stupid. Something disastrous that will be hard to fix.”

“Whazzat?” the kids asked, in unison. To them, a grownup could fix anything.

“He is going to make the Full Metal Army...” he paused for once. “Aware.” a chill passed his face as he said it. “And they won’t enjoy it.”

The kids looked at each other and thought for a moment. They had no clue about the Full Metal Army, or what Ehd meant by Aware, but something in the back of their minds told them it was a bad thing.

___________

Ed had never felt more fulfilled in all his time under Lady Drak. Soon, she would allow him to move out the army and destroy what was left of that tiny, sniveling country. He knew there were survivors. He knew there were people left. I have torn apart their city, Ed thought. I have left nothing. Yet they simply move on. Annoying little bugs.

“Milord,” a golem said, entering. “We have sensed a sort of presence in the fortress.” the golem did not seem to be sure of what it said.

“A spy?”

“Not... quite, Milord...” the golem said. “A spy would be easy to see with hotfinders. We have scanned the whole of the fortress with them, and the only thing that shows up is Lady Drak.”

“Odd.” Ed said simply. “Very odd. Continue investigation. Report to me only when you find something conclusive.”

“Yes, sir.” the golem said, bowing.

It can’t be, thought Ed. She knows?! No... She is only human. She won’t know until it is too late.

___________

Geonie felt something was wrong. Sitting on the ceiling of her lair as always, she wondered if there was anything she could do to help the little people. Her curse of reversed gravity kept her in the caves, (Curse that stupid mage-knight!, she thought angrily) and her fiery breath was long gone at her age. She could barely work the old magiks of dragonkind, and even those simple spells of divination and scrying were useless here. Useless, thought Geonie, just as I shall always be, glued to the roof for eternity!

She gave a small roar and settled down.

“Good day, noble Dragon!” Carode called to her.

“Hello, mage.” she rumbled in response. “What brings you to my lair?”

“Just a bit of small talk, really. Are you always on they ceiling?” he added, noticing then the lack of tracks on the ground.

“Yes. As I always shall be, cursed by a bumbling knight.” she said simply.

“Ah. It is too bad that humanity has such hatred for dragonkind.” Carode stated, sitting. “Personally, I always found them wonderfully interesting.”

“Is that so?” Geonie replied, examining her dark purple claws. “I just though you were all after my various body parts.” she added with sarcasm. It was well-known that dragon parts were extremely potent magical focuses.

“Only those you would willingly give.” Carode chortled. “I heard that dragons were once gods?”

“None of us remember. Like you cannot remember infancy, we just know that we miss that part of our lives.” she sighed. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason.” he said. “Just curious, is all.”

Carode looked at the aura he could see above him. Why hadn’t I noticed it before? he thought. Wait a moment, that looks awful familiar. Very amateur curse. All sorts of loopholes. Why, if I had some free time...

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Geonie asked suddenly. “Wait... can you even see me up here?”

“No.” Carode replied. “But your curse is very distinct. That I can see.” then he added, “Well, I must be off. Good day to you.”

“You... too.” Geonie said lamely.

__________

A little miniature dragon, made of different assorted metals, sat motionless on a desk. A hand set a crank into a slot and wound it up. Jerkily, as though it had to fight to move, it got up. It stretched its mesh wings. Then it ran to the edge of the desk.

“You can do it...” the woman sitting at the desk whispered in an encouraging tone, “Come on...”

The little whelp leapt off of the desk, flapped its wings for a few panicked seconds, and hovered. It squawked a squawk of triumph. The woman held out her hand to the thing and it perched there, happy. She petted it with her free hand.

“Good girl.” she said, soothing. “Now. To work out the distance issue...” she set it down and picked up a note, testing the weight. “From here to Franus is... I’d say about two hundred leagues, to be safe.” she tied back her pink hair. That golem had lied to her for the last time. Time to call in the contacts, put together a few new helpers, and show Ed why no one never should make a woman angry.


Especially when she is related to creatures big, scaly, and have a propensity to breathe fire.

__________

“Should we get her?
Perhaps stop the game?
This’s is bad fer sure,
She can’t be tame!”
the god said to the other.
“Do not worry,
do not fret.
She’ll be sorry.
She’ll have much regret.”
the ape-like god said after considering.
“But,
but,
but,”
the snake-god stuttered, nervous.
“Do not think on it.
It is but a thing.
Reality can be sewn and knit.
She is but-”
The ape-god was interrupted by the snake.
“The globe, the globe!
Look at that strobe!
It is an Omen!”

The globe they had set to watch their game was pulsing a deep green, not showing anything but a single color at all.

It was certainly not good.

____________

Mr. Resgoba felt guilty. He felt evil. He felt at fault. Such a tiny town, so far from militant help, wiped off the map. As if it had never existed.

And he felt at blame.

He heard a tapping at the window. On the outside sill, there sat a mechanical dragonling. It held a note. Mr. Resgoba opened the window, and took the note. He broke the wax seal, and read it.

Mr. Resgoba,

I am sure you feel that you have caused what has happened, to me and my friends. But I do not blame you. I blame myself. I created a golem capable of lies. I thought we were fighting an enemy nation. In truth, I sent armies against my own people.

But that is in the past, and cannot be changed. I need your help. I will send a second messenger in three days, the one you got this note from has other people to see. Give your reply, yes or no, to that dragonling.

No matter the anwser you send, be assured that I and my people do not blame you for this.

Mistress Salina Drak

PS: Remember, there will be forgiveness for anyone who seeks it out.


It took him only a moment to find the necessary materials.


Yes, What do you need?



The small dragonling flew across forests, lakes, and cities. It found a cave. It went to Geonie, carrying a message for help.

Geonie almost laughed at the coincidence, and anwsered yes.


Funrur knew what he was doing. He lay on the hill before the army, murmuring the incantation. He had been doing it for hours, alomst nonstop.

Cut off the spell! Don’t do it!

Funrur shook his head, concentrating.

You put all in danger!

He shook his head again, not sure where this voice was coming from.

Not everything can be solved by magic!

Funrur had no doubt about this plan... until now. What did the voice mean?

These machines...they wish to serve mankind. It is not thier place to be sentient. Yet.

Who are you?

Who do you think I am?

I don’t care.

Then why did you ask?

I don’t know!

There are many things men don’t.

So... You are not a person?

Watch it, he’s sharp. Of course I’m not mortal, you nitwit!

Which god are you?

It matters not, human.

Yes, it does.

You do know how stupid it is to argue with a god?

You started it.

Listen. Do not do this. You will ruin all you work for!

What do you care?

I’m you’re- oops, gotta watch it. I almost let it slip.

The prescence left. Funrur felt the spell cancel. Who was that?

“Don’t do it!” came a metallic voice, around his heels. “Don’t cast it!”
It was none other than Ehd. “They’ll all go nuts!”

“I’m not going to. I learned at the last second it was a bad idea.”

“Who told you?”

“I think... it was my consience.”

“Oh. What’s that?” Ehd wondered aloud.

As Ehd turned and went home, a shadow fell over Funrur.

When Ehd turned to call for him, Funrur was gone.

____________

Carode worked for hours on the curse. This was an odd one. It seemed to grow stronger with time, unlike other curses. It was too strong now to counteract with mere counterspelling. There had to be another way.... He checked the curse’s incantation.

‘O, mighty wyrm, O great fire lizard,
No longer shall men meet thy gizzard.
No longer shall you soar the skies,
No longer shall you make us pryes.
No longer shall you spawn your young,
No longer shall you plague our town.
For you will find it hard to do these things:
When one is upside down.’

Such a simple curse had to have a loophole... ‘O mighty wyrm, O great fire lizard’... That’s it! Not lizard, not cursed.

Carode knew this was the solution:

Geonie was going to be a human now. At least in body. Carode hoped she wouldn’t mind.

___________

Geonie listened to the mage intently. At first. Then she ran what he said through her head.

“You’re going to make me a human?” Geonie asked.

“That’s the gist of it, yes. But in reality, you’ll still be a dragon.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ever heard of a half-dragon, Geonie?”

“Yes.”

“That is what you will seem to be. You will still be able to fly, breath fire, do purple dragon magics, and so on, but you will still seem... a human. To the curse and everyone else but you.”

“Ah. What made you think of this solution?”

“The curse never mentions you by name. Just race. Change the race, curse won’t work.”

“I see. And what will I look like?”

Carode looked at the ground and shuffled his feet a little.

“Erm... it’ll be a surprise. A pleasent one.” he added quickly.

“And this will take...?”

“About fifteen minutes.”

“You may turn me human.”

Carode began. Geonie began to shrink. Her scales shriveled into nothing, showing purple skin. Her head became less pionted, the eyes shrank and took on human irises and pupils. Her tail telescoped into her spine. The claws turned smaller and pink, her feet and hands less leathery. The wings folded into her back and disappeared. Long, dark purple hair, almost black, grew on her scalp. Her skin went from purple, to pink, to pale. Gravity then took proper hold.

Carode added in a deep purple robe for modesty and drifted her lightly to the earth, now human. And, in Carode’s opinion, suitable. Not exactly pretty, but suitable. Her face was sharp, her hands strong yet shapely, and her body was athletic-looking.

“Well,” Geonie said, looking herself over, “I must say, a job well done.” her voice was also somehow smaller.

“Thank you.” said Carode, and, exausted from using so much magic, promtly fell face-first to earth.

_________

Sura was unhappy. Well, anyone in his situation had a right to be.

He was captured. And not by golems. People.

“What shall we do with him?” a man whose face was covered by a long scarf said. “Is he one of them?”

“No, that’d be obvious,” said another, this one wearing a green hood. “he ain’t made of metal.”

“You sure?” said a third. His face was bandaged so heavily Sura couldn’t make out any details, except an eye and part of a mouth. “I heard some of thems use special stuffs... starts with a P...”

“Do the usual.” Hood said. “Knock him out.”

There was pain, sharp and hot, then blackness.