A/N: I will be the first to admit that this is completely crack fic. Reposted crack fic even. I had been tempted to leave this off now that I'm reposting all of my work, but I couldn't leave this out. I love SorceressCirce's work too much to let it go unremembered.

I merged two of my loves, DnD and Twilight into one story. It was written with many laughs, some lust, and in dedication to SorceressCirce, the author of Just One of the Guys. It's the story I'm currently on the edge of my seat for constantly. I can't wait for the next update, even if I just read one.

To the Raistlin lovers, we'll see our favorite mage, but in a new light. Edward Majere anyone?

I know that I have several readers who do not have English as their first language. One of the words I use may not translate properly. Shade is another word for spirit, most often used as the lingering spirit of someone who has died. Commonly, it is used in high fantasy books as a way to speak with the dead; their shade comes to you and gives you some last bit of knowledge...

To the Ravelry UU girls, this Sethelhoff is for you. To Jean, creator of Dhamon Grimwulf, I hope you will forgive me for this.

One more note; my Carlisle/Riverwind says cock. Deal with it. :)

Chapter 1: Awakening

I waited. My sun-darkened skin and hair of ebony had no substance in this realm. Malystryx had cast me, Riverwind of the Que Shu, into the world of shadows when her claws and fiery breath had embraced me. At least I took the red dragon's spawn with me.

Sadly, one of my daughters came with. Brightdawn had fallen before I made the killing blow against the wyrmling still within the egg. She held my hand as we crossed into the afterlife. Her twin, Moonsong was left scarred in our journey. Only Wanderer, Goldmoon's and my son and eldest child remained unharmed.

My beloved Goldmoon had come to me here on the otherside, a mere shade of her former glory. The scale Malystryx had placed upon the Knight of Takhisis had ensorceled Dhamon. He was under the control of an evil dragon overlord as he killed my wife. I should forgive him, but I cannot.

I stood here, waiting on the opposite shore of the chasm between life and death, with open arms until my Goldmoon, the one I swore to protect, had run into them. Oh, how good it had felt to hold her once again. It seemed unfair that I had to let go of her so soon. When I told her it was not her time to come back, she took a part of my essence with her.

Time has no measure here. You wait, you drift, or you fade away. I waited.

My Goldmoon was grieved at our parting and I constantly felt that grief through bond. One day, it stopped, replaced by hope. My form faded, and I wondered if the gods had seen fit to move me onto my next life, and my love with me.

Then I felt pain.

"Edward, I don't know if it is working."

A soft voice, brittle beyond his years, comforted my wife. "Patience, Goldmoon. You came to me in search of combining our magics. Edward Majere will not fail at this task. My golden eyes measure death, and his hourglass has been reset. What he comes back as, I cannot say. This is why I summoned my brother, Emmetton away from his wife and children. If my magics cannot hold Riverwind at bay, if evil has formed in his soul, Emmetton will send him back into the shadows.

"Do not fear. You have faith in your healing, hold to that. Your Goddess," even I could hear the scoff in Edward's voice, "favors you. Her healing magic has created a form, I am merely summoning his shade back to it."

"He's gaining color, Edward. Perhaps you should exchange your red robes for white." It was good to hear my good friend Emmetton's voice after so long. I could just see his hulking form, his dark curls held back in a band at the base of his neck, loving tied by Tika before he left their inn.

I felt two sets of hands upon my flesh, two resting upon my chest, two upon my brow. My entire body felt made of stone, or as if I was being dragged down to the depths of the ocean. My lungs burned as if Emmetton and Edward Majere were both seated upon my chest. My eyes refused to open and my hands could not so much as twitch. They were bogged down beneath Sable's unholy swamp.

"Goldmoon, he needs your prayers. Let him know you're here."

The sweet scent on incense filled my nose as if pumped through me. "Beloved, you have to wake up. Our people need you, I need you. Mishakal, hear the prayers of Your priestess. I invoke Your powers, Your magic, Your love for Your people, to return life to this form. The shade and form have been reunited, but we need Your divine spark to awaken my mate. Allow Your shining light to rest upon him. This I pray."

The blue light of the crystal staff penetrated my eyelids, and the ache in my chest turned into a burning. I was consumed by a fire that seemed to go on for time beyond time. I could hear the voices of my loved ones but not make out their words. There was a sound covering their words. The pain was of Malystryx's flames licking at my flesh, but there was no sweet retreat into death. I was forced to endure it until finally, the pain receded.

"It has been three days, Edward. Will he awaken? I cannot take his screams any longer."

At Goldmoon's words, I realized that the continuous sound had been my own voice, screaming out my pain. My lips snapped shut and the sound ceased.

"Riverwind, can you hear me?"

I wished to see my wife and my eyes opened. The world was bright, the colors overwhelmed me in their intensity. I looked upon my wife's face, faint lines marring the one smooth expanse. She had aged in my absence. I had abandoned her for so long.

"Stop feeling like that, you sorry excuse for a ranger. I can sense your guilt at the range of my short bow."

Tanis! My lips parted and I went to greet my old friend but there was no air in my lungs to speak. Taking in a slow breath, I was once again consumed by fire, this time centered in my throat.

"Give him the cup. I told you he would thirst upon awakening."

Edward stepped forward, his frail arms sliding beneath me and lifting me to a seated position.

"Drink, my friend. Drink and then we shall speak. Your journey was not without a price."

Emmetton reached for a silver goblet and my eyes followed his movement. Goldmoon took the cup and I noticed for the first time that both of her wrists were wrapped in fabric strips. Her lips were feverishly hot as they pressed upon my forehead. A delicious scent, sweet, floral, and filled with life, met my nose as I took another breath.

"Drink."

I reached for the cup and saw that my hand was insubstantial; I was still no more than a shade. Yet my fingers could feel the cold metal and a subtle warmth within that was slowly heating the cup. I put it to my lips.

It was the ambrosia that other shades spoke of on their journey. My body pulsed with strength and I watched my hands solidify before my eyes. I was not my sun-darkened tan, nor the deep olive tone of my people. My skin was as pale as Solitari's silver-white light.

"Goldmoon, how?"

She stood on tiptoes, her golden braid falling onto my hand as she kissed me in greeting. I was home. She tasted like she always had, but stronger. She was fresh and herbal like her teas, a hint of incense clinging to her skin, and the natural sweetness of her mouth.

"You look different, my husband, but you are still mine. I can feel you inside this new package."

I reached up to feel my face, expecting scars from the fire that had consumed me. My skin was smooth, like it had been before I quested for the crystal staff. What had happened to me?

Emmetton grasped a polished metal mirror and held it before me. "If we thought you had the mug of a draconian before, you should see yourself now."

My hair, once dark and long, was short-cropped and the palest blond. My eyes were gold, like Edward's, but the pupils were round. I had the face of a young noble lord, or an ancient god made flesh. Gone were the scars I had earned protecting Goldmoon in our younger years. Gone was the face reborn in our son. Gone was everything that marked me, "Riverwind, Chieftain of the Que Shu."

"What price did you pay? I was dead, Goldmoon."

Her finger rested upon my lips and my mouth immediately flooded with a bitter fluid. It was soon replaced with more of the sweetness from the cup. Bite, drink, hot, fresh, vitality. I swallowed down repeatedly until the vessel was removed.

"No! I need it."

Edward came closer at my words, his hands upraised, his lips murmuring a spell.

"It isn't nice to bite, Riverwind."

I looked over at my wife and saw that she was clutching a bloodied finger. I'd bitten her.

"It will be alright, my love. I must exchange my blood for your life. It keeps you rooted in this plane. If you go too long without feeding, you will begin to fade back into the After-world."

I looked from Goldmoon's wrists to the cup. When she nodded, a hiss came unbidden from my lips.

"You've cursed me to be a wraith! I am an abomination in your Goddess's eyes!"

Her arms went around me and the heat of her body covered me.

"Oh, my love. Never, my love. It is by Mishikal's light and Lunitari's magic that you have returned to us. A dragon has chosen to include the plains in his nest range. We need your military prowess and warrior instincts to fight him. I did not wish to walk this world without you at my side. We were too young to be parted."

Edward began to cough, the dry sound wracked his body until he bent over in half. His health was still poor. Emmetton quickly grasped him gently in those huge arms.

"I have got you, my brother. You gave too much to bring him back; you must go into seclusion now if you are to fight in the approaching battle."

Edward's hand was cold, almost as cool as mine as he clasped my forearm. "It is good to have you back, my blood brother."

His eyes fell to his own wrists and I saw the edges of bandages hiding beneath his robes.

"Not you as well. How much did you pay, Master of Past and Present?"

His thin shoulders shrugged beneath the fabric. "Crysania has taken good care of me in your absence, Riverwind." A small frown puckered his lips. "The name does not suit you any longer."

The door to the chamber opened with a creak. "That is because his form is that of Carlisle, a battle-cleric devoted to Paladine." Fizban entered the room, his beard and hair as wild as ever. It did not seem as if he had aged at all in my absence.

His ever-present companion, Sethelhoff the kender, came bounding up the steps behind him, although he limped slightly even after the years of my absence. He had never quite recovered from being stepped on by that dragon. Ignoring my wife and the others in the room, Sethelhoff climbed up onto my bed and unceremoniously dumped out his sack of treasures.

"Now, I know you don't have any of your own to share, but given where you've been, you must have a story or two to trade. See all my treasures? Aren't they beautiful, Riverwind, err um.. Carlisle? Carlisle Riverwind? That works. A proper name for a kender friend."

Goldmoon reached onto the pile of collected and pick-pocketed items, grabbing a small gold and aquamarine ring. "This is mine, thief. When will you stop taking things that don't belong to you?"

Sethelhoff huffed indignantly. "I am not a thief. I was merely borrowing it; keeping it safe, if you will. You were fretting and pacing about so much, you'd have lost it anyways. I was keeping it safe here in my treasure bag. No one would ever look in my pouch for anything. Ooh! Look at this one! Isn't it a beauty? I acquired it this morning."

The piece he held up was a small shimmering dragon scale of black, indigo, and smoke colors. It was unlike any scale I'd ever seen.

"That looks like Dhamon's." Tanis spoke up from his perch across the room. He was seated opposite the door to the hall with his crossbow resting upon his knee. The bolt was set and with but a simple release, an intruder would replace me in the land of shades. "The dragon's curse was finally fulfilled and Dhamon turned into a shadow dragon. He is not entirely evil, although his blood thirst has overwhelmed many villages."

I closed my eyes. I'd seen many shades come from my village. Their parting smiles ripped at what had been left of my heart as they passed me on their way through the veil. Dhamon was the one who was destroying my people, Goldmoon's people. I had to save them.

"No, you're going to rest right there, my chieftain." Goldmoon was looking at me, her eyebrows lifted in a look I had not seen since our children were young. She may not have Edward's mind-reading magic, but she knew me.

I flexed my arms. "I feel fine, my love." Reaching forward, I lifted a small dagger from Sethelhoff's treasure trove. The dagger collapsed beneath my touch, the hilt snapping off in my hand. The metal turned to putty; a flimsy toy when touched. I reached for the wood beam supporting my mattress and it splintered away. I was strong.

"Emmetton, hit me."

He held his hands up, shaking his head. Anger filled every inch of me until the room took on a gray cast.

"I said, 'hit me!'" The bellowed command echoed from the stone walls, frightening even me. I have never been an angry man, merely determined to protect my people.

Emmetton's hand folded into a tight fist and I clenched as his muscles tensed. My eyes followed the motion from the snap to the connection as if in slow motion. The momentum and force should have been enough to at least knock the wind from me.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Edward's warning came too late.

Emmetton howled as his fist crumpled, bones shattering. It... confused me. He had appeared to punch me at full speed and strength, yet I felt nothing more than when Wanderer had hit me with one of his mother's handmade ragdolls. I felt the impact which came with as little fanfare as a handshake yet I could determine the direction of growth for each fine hair upon the back of his hand.

I had felt the bones shatter, splinters cutting the inside of his skin. There was no shed blood, although I could feel the increased heat where blood pooled beneath the surface of his skin.

My wife reached for Emmetton's hand, her eyes filled with fear. "Let me see, Emm."

He held out the mangled extremity and I could clearly see the damage I had inflicted. I disgust myself. Why did they bring me back for this? This is not life. This is pain and death in a handsome package.

The light in the room dimmed, as if sucked in by Goldmoon. I watched, in our age-old manner, as she cupped her hands around the injury, and called for the healing powers of her Goddess. My death-touched eyes could see the light she conjured. The more I watched, the less stable the rest of the world seemed.

"Edward, he's fading!"

~*~

I had grown opaque again following another feeding, this time from Tanis, who had bared his arm to me. He used Flint's dagger, our fallen comrade, and opened his vein for me to drink from. Goldmoon tested her powers after and found that I lost substance when she conjured forth healing. Edward believed that in time, the effect would lessen, as I drank more and grew comfortable in my new nature, depending less on my wife's magic to stay "alive."

With his hand healed, Emmetton agreed to take me out on a hunt. We spent the better part of an hour as I learned how to stalk prey in my new body. No blood smelled as good as my wife's but I could make do with the forest beasts. With each draw of their life force into my body, I felt myself grow more present in the world. The remaining fog in my thoughts was receding, leaving my memories crystal clear.

"You're even more deadly than before, Riv...Carlisle. It has been fifteen years since your death. We felt your loss each day. When word came from Wanderer that he could no longer keep Dhamon at bay, I sought out my brother in his tower.

"In Edward's mysterious ways, he already knew and had discovered a way to bring you back before Goldmoon arrived seeking his help. You are not a vampire like the undead beneath the ancient cities, but you have their same needs. Goldmoon brought back your soul when Edward summoned your shade."

Emmetton watched as I washed my face in the clear stream. I did not want to return with blood smeared upon my cheeks. He led me back once I was clean. Each blade of grass and color-shifting leaf could be seen in clear relief against the sky. On the horizon, I could pick out a dragon drifting on the wind currents.

"Dragon."

Within moments, I could smell it. "Not prismatic or metallic. There is no normal scent of a dragon clinging to it."

"Then it is Dhamon. Run!"

While Emmetton ran for the tower and reinforcements, I ran to the dragon. I carried nothing but a short sword we'd taken from the armory on our way out to hunt. Dhamon was going to run me through with his claws, let alone whatever breath weapon he had gained in his transformation.

It must have been two or three miles that I crossed in under one cycle of Edward's magical time piece. Sixty seconds I counted in my head as I ran from the haunted woods, through the ruins of the city, and leapt across the river. My feet propelled me forward, climbing up the foothills of the mountains.

I smelled him before I saw him. My new body still carried my old instincts and I dropped to a crouch as the dragon flitted down over my head to land on an outcropping of stone. Dhamon's claws were a rich blue black and it was as if his whole body was wreathed in smoke.

"Hello, Dhamon. You killed my wife, now it is your turn."

The dragon snorted, billows of black oily smoke coming from its snout.

"I guess that is your greeting then, wyrm. I shall send you to your beloved Takhisis in the Abyss!"

Dhamon lifted his regal head, tendrils of shadow waving in the breeze. I watched as he took in a deep breath, gathering air to support his breath weapon. Dodging to the side, I missed the bulk of his attack, but some of the corporeal shadows clung to me. With a wave of my arm and leg, the shadows dissipated in the sunlight.

I felt no fear for the dragon. I have died once and will gladly do so again to protect my people. Raising my sword, I charged.

The stones crumpled beneath my feet and I launched myself into Dhamon's chest. The impact rang through the mountains like thunder, and we toppled over the edge.

The wind whipped past my ears, whistling in an eerie tone as we hurtled together, his wings trying to unfurl while I held onto him. My fingers dug in beneath scales to hot blood, black as ink. My clothing began to burn away, but my skin felt nothing but the wet. I climbed to his back, pulling his wings up and back so that he could not fly.

Our free-fall turned into a spiral and my enhanced vision knew that even if I released his wings, we would not pull up fast enough. We were going to hit the ground. Given his size and our approximate height at the fall, he would at minimum be knocked unconscious and possibly die from system shock.

I released one wing and grasped my sword. I held it against his throat, sliding upwards beneath the scales. I would take his life in a heroic manner. This dragon would not die from falling damage. He deserved better than that.

Blood and smoke surrounded us as I made the mortally wounding cut. His roar was silenced forever. My wife's blood debt was settled and the Que Shu were safe again.

I had made it back to the river and was kneeling beside the bank, cleaning the black fluids from my shirt. The sound of a horse startled me from my ablutions. I stood up, my chest dripping water down onto the pants borrowed from Tanis. They were too snug, even more so now that they were wet from the river.

Looking out, I saw the flying golden hair and waved to my wife. I stood silently as I watched her approach. Her smile was bright, although it faltered as she took in the blackened clothing.

"I am unharmed, my wife. Dhamon will trouble the Plainspeople no more."

She dismounted quickly and ran to me, her arms going up around my neck. "We saw in Raistlin's glass orb that you had fallen. I took off immediately, in hopes that I could heal you."

I kissed her forehead, pulling Goldmoon against me. "I am well, Goldmoon. The impact was jarring but not painful. Dhamon broke my fall."

She broke my grip by gently shaking free of me. After examining me from head to toe, and deeming me unharmed, she stood looking out over the land. Other than the slightest sensation of fading, like I had done in the tower, I was well.

"Riverwind, I worry what our people will think, what our children will think, when they find out I've brought you back."

I stepped behind Goldmoon and lifted her long braid over her shoulder, exposing the delicate skin of her neck. "You were a widow for many years, my love. Call me by my new name and let them think you have found a new husband. Let me be this Carlisle and be with you always. I am still your Riverwind, but this is easier. People will not understand your magic and will want you to bring back others. Just love me."

Leaning forward, I gently rubbed my stubble-roughened cheek against her, earning a gasp from my beloved. I placed open-mouth kisses down the length of her neck, gently licking the sharp line of her collarbone before working my way back up to her ear where I nipped.

Goldmoon fell into my arms as drops of blood coated my lips. With each drop, I felt my form solidifying. We had waited too long for this type of feeding and joining.

"What happens when you do not age yet I continue to?"

I laughed against her temple, turning her to face me as I twisted so that a tree was behind her.

"You will always be my Goldmoon. I have loved you since you were but a maiden. I love you for your heart, spirit, bravery, and the magic you possess over me is all encompassing. You are beautiful, no matter your age or what infirmity may bring. You are my beloved, beautiful priestess, and that will never change."

I pushed Goldmoon up against the tree and her hands rose above her head to clasp the branch. Her robes and skirts provided easy access as I skimmed my hands up silky smooth thighs. I folded the front of her skirt up into the waist ties so that it would stay up. My cock was pushing against the front of my breeches and I quickly undid the laces and was glad that I had found little time to seek out underclothes before leaving the tower of sorcery.

My fingers moved to the cleft between her legs and after a few touches, her moisture began to grow. Slipping one finger inside, Goldmoon's hips arched toward me. She was tight, almost as much so as our first night as husband and wife.

I must have spoken my thought aloud as Goldmoon answered me, "Only you, Carlisle, only you."

I would have to grow accustomed to the new name, or fear growing jealous as my wife cries out 'Carlisle' instead of 'Riverwind.'

"I have missed...seeing you... in tight pants... my love." Her words were separated by small moans as my fingers reacquainted themselves with my wife's flesh.

It was after our second year of wedded bliss when Goldmoon told me one of her secrets. The days she did not fight me, when she would gladly give in and ride our horse during our travels, were the days I wore the tight breeches of our people or the elven-kin. She had enjoyed watching me walk.

I twisted my fingers within her, earning mewls that soon turned into loud whines as she tried to take my hand deeper within. I listened to the sound of her heart beating and watched the telltale flush form on her chest as her body tensed for her climax. Leaning forward, I watched the pulsing in her neck and I could not resist.

My movements were gentle as I let my teeth slowly bite down, and as Goldmoon's blood ran into my mouth, her body erupted with pleasure. I worked her sensitive bud and the hidden gem within while I drank, only stopping both as she relaxed against my chest.

Removing my hand, I quickly replaced it with my cock. This was worth the unending pain of my transformation. This was worth everything, even dying again. Goldmoon was the sun in my sky and truly was my reason for living.

Our bodies moved together, Goldmoon's back steadied against the tree as my hips pushed against her repeatedly before drawing away. It was not long before her nails scratched at my back, a pleasant sensation despite her inability to harm me. When her sounds of pleasure turned to pleas for more, I lifted my wife and carefully lowered us to the river bank.

I held off my own climax by focusing on the hundred shades of green in the grass beneath Goldmoon. Only when I felt her body welcome me a second time did I succumb to the ultimate pleasure. With a groan of her name, I gave myself over to the light within.

We laid there, in the cool grass until nearly dark when I noticed the vibration of footfalls a mile off. I slowly redressed my wife, and fixed the lacing on my pants. I had feigned sleep while she napped, finding myself unable to doze.

Sethelhoff came limping through the tall grasses on the opposite river bank.

"Tanis! They're over here. Emmetton was right! You owe me second supper for the next week."