So, I meant to upload this by the end of the month, but forgot February was so short. Whoops.

Also, please leave a review if you read and enjoyed (or didn't). Even if it's just pointing out a spelling error or something.

-theheartlesssoul010


Dragon Temple, Warfang. Spring, Year 1, 1st Age of Harmony.

Consciousness didn't come quickly; it felt like hours or perhaps even days had been spent in a state of delirium. Eventually, however, Eowynn reached the point where he could think somewhat coherently again. And the first thing he thought was,

"Why the fuck can't I open my eyes?"

Indeed, whilst he could feel his eyelids it seemed he couldn't open them even a crack. Now that he realised it, he couldn't move any of his muscles at all. He felt panic course through him as he remembered the events prior to his loss of consciousness.

A wall of water ten times his height, a blinding flash…

He had survived, obviously. At least, this didn't feel like an afterlife. Had he drowned, suffered brain damage perhaps? Or had the water slammed his body into a wall and he was now paralysed? Was he now trapped in his own subconscious forever, doomed to lie motionless in a hospital bed until they finally pulled the plug on him?

He took deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down. Wait, he realised, the fact that he could regulate his breathing meant he wasn't completely paralysed. Yes, he could feel his body now, and it felt worse than any pain he had experienced before. It wasn't pain, however. Everything just felt wrong-his head felt too big, his legs to short compared to his arms, and whatever was going on just above his rear end was definitely a cause for concern.

Working to open his eyes again, Eowynn focused on feeling the muscles. Slowly but surely, he managed to crack open his eyelids just enough to see a blinding white light, and immediately he shut them again. Once more he tried, and this time he could begin to make out details. There was a bright square- no, a window. He made out stone walls, and what he presumed was a strange-looking bed; low to the ground and having a rounder shape than normal. He noticed that his head rested on a cushion or pillow of sorts and realised he too was on a bed. In fact, there was a whole row of them.

So he was in a hospital then, although it was like none he'd ever seen before. No medical equipment, no staff, and no other patients as far as he could see. Straining to move his head, he felt something odd at the back of his skull. Exactly what kind of condition was he in? Working on moving his arms, he gritted his teeth-there was that strange feeling in his mouth again- and brought an arm up to his face.

At least, what should have been an arm.

His breath caught in his throat as he stared at the horror in front of him. The limb was dark blue, almost navy in colour and…scaled? It bent awkwardly inwards where the elbow would be, and what could only be described as a paw at the end of his wrist-no, ankle-had four digits ending in wickedly sharp claws.

Beginning to hyperventilate, he checked the other arm. It yielded the same result. Looking down at the rest of his prone body, he discovered that he now occupied some terrifying reptilian-like form, with navy blue scales covering every inch of him except for a lighter blue region on his stomach and neck and- oh God, was that a tail?

Recoiling in horror, he accidentally managed to fall off the bed and slam his body against a cold stone floor.

"Ah! Shit!" he cried out. "What-what-whatthefuckhappenedtome?" Eowynn managed to sputter out, the words feeling alien and uncomfortable in his mouth. His voice was different too, all gravelly and hoarse.

Now in the grip of a full on panic attack, he flailed his limbs in a futile attempt to stand up, only succeeding in working himself up even more. His mind raced, questions flying through his brain faster than he could even keep up with. This had to be some sort of disturbing nightmare, but the foreign sensations coursing through his new form felt more real than anything he'd experienced before. Giving up on standing, he instead managed to roll awkwardly onto his belly and looked around the room.

It seemed his suspicion of being in some form of hospital were correct. The room was rectangular-long and narrow, with a large empty doorway on the long side opposite Eowynn. He counted about two dozen beds, and contrary to his observation earlier one was occupied by some sort of…thing similar in appearance to his own new form. This creature, however, appeared bright red in colour and was apparently not awoken by the racket he caused.

Forcing himself to look back at his own body, Eowynn cringed internally when he saw his lower half again, that grotesque tail sitting limply between his back legs-which he noticed were somewhat different in shape to his front ones. They reminded him more of the shape of a dog's hind legs.

"Oh no" he murmured to himself. "Are those fucking wings?" He groaned lowly as it dawned on him what he had become.

"Some sort of bloody dragon? Why? What the fuck? Just…GAH!" HE cried out in frustration at his predicament. Why did it feel so real? It wasn't even close to being possible, so why was every part of his mind apart from his logic telling him it was?

Just then, a smaller wooden door past the end of the row of beds clicked open, and something else came out. It stood on two legs, and the parts of it that weren't clothed in a light brown-coloured tunic were covered in fur. It had the appearance of an anthropomorphised cat, with feline eyes and two pointed ears, and in its paws it clutched what looked like a bag of medical supplies.

Eowynn gaped at it, too stunned for words. The cat-creature froze and looked at him for a moment before dropping the bag and hurrying out the main doors at the front of the room. Eowynn watched it practically spring down the long corridor before turning a corner and vanishing from sight.


"Terrador! Terrador, sir!"

The Earth Guardian looked up from the pile of scrolls and paper on the table to see one of the infirmary workers, a cheetah named Siro, burst into his study.

"Yes, Siro? What's the matter?" Normally, Terrador would have turned him away or directed him elsewhere, as being the de-facto leader of the Guardians-and therefore the person with the most authority in all of Warfang-left him dreadfully overworked and constantly drowning in paperwork. However, the dragon had a fair idea as to why the young cheetah was in such a hurry.

"It's the new dragon, sir. He's woken up!"

"Indeed? What sort of condition is he in?"

Siro shifted uncomfortably. "He…he was just lying on the ground, staring at me. Sort of disconcerting, really…" The cheetah trailed off as the Earth Guardian stood up and fixed him with a harsh gaze.

"And you simply left him there, didn't check if he was alright? He may not even have been of sound mind, you realise?" Terrador stared down at Siro, who withered under the towering dragon's glare.

"Uhh…sorry, Terrador! I'll just go right back and-"

"No…no, Siro, leave it" the Guardian said, exasperated. "I'll check on him personally. You go and inform Cyril, he'll want to meet this dragon as well if he'll be staying in the Temple." Terrador said as he strode out into the corridor.

"Yes, sir Terrador!"

"Siro, I've told you before. Terrador is fine. Oh- on second thoughts, fetch Cynder as well. She witnessed this newcomer's arrival, she deserves to hear his story first-hand."

The young healer faltered slightly at this new instruction.

"Is there a problem with my request?" the Earth Guardian questioned.

Siro straightened his stance. "No sir-no, Terrador"

"Good. Carry on, then."

The great dragon turned and made his way along the corridor, towards the infirmary wing of the Temple as Siro hurried in the opposite direction. The cheetah was still young and inexperienced, Terrador knew. But he was a skilled healer, if a little scatterbrained. Still, they were lucky to have him. The Cheetahs were a stubborn people, and many refused to work with the Dragons, even now that the war was over. Siro was not as prideful as some of his kin, and his eagerness to please was invaluably helpful to the Earth Guardian. Relatively few injuries occurred in the Temple which could not be cured by red gems, so Terrador had taken to using Siro and his colleagues as errand-runners when he was available, a duty which he took to without complaint.

Terrador's train of thought was broken when he arrived at the main infirmary doors, and spotted the strangely-coloured dragon awkwardly leaning against his bed in a half-seated position. He seemed to be attempting to stand, bur was making little progress. The Guardian cleared his throat to get his attention.

The dark-blue dragon turned, and froze on the spot when he noticed Terrador looming in the doorway. He looked positively terrified, the larger dragon realised. Perhaps he had never been in the presence of a Guardian before? Terrador knew he could present quite an imposing figure sometimes, so he attempted to relax his stature before he approached the newcomer, although he still looked like he was about to pass out.

"Hello, young dragon. Sorry to startle you. My name is Terrador, Guardian of-"

He was interrupted by a sort of strangled groaning noise coming from the younger dragon in front of him.

Perhaps he was right about this dragon not being entirely…well, sane.


The green and ochre monstrosity towered above Eowynn, at least twice his height and three times his body mass. It appeared to be dragonlike, similar to his own form yet also vastly different- much stockier and more powerful looking. It began to pace towards him, and for a moment Eowynn feared it was going to attack.

Then the goddamn thing spoke.

"Hello, young one" it boomed. "Sorry to startle you. My name is Terrador, Guardian of-"

Eowynn realised he had been exhaling in a type of stifled cry, and steeled himself. Ok, these things could talk. They were intelligent, at least, and could be reasoned with. Finally, some sort of good sign. He could find answers a whole lot easier if these creatures were willing to talk to him. Then again, he thought, this one seemed to think that Eowynn was one of them.

"Are you alright? You look rather unwell. Can you stand?"

"No" Eowynn blurted out, unthinking. Wow, his voice really did sound strange.

The great monster looked almost concerned. "Here. I shall assist you." It stepped closer and flicked its massive tail around, inclining his head to indicate Eowynn should use it to help himself up.

"No, I mean…I don't know how"

Terrador stared for a moment. "You…don't know how to stand up? What in the Ancestors name do you mean?"

Eowynn was silent for a minute. How could he even begin to explain his predicament? Here he was, trapped in a strange body in a completely insane situation. His bad dream hypothesis was beginning to look more logical again.

A long moment passed. Eventually, Eowynn decided to ignore the green beast's question for now and instead attempt to get some answers of his own.

"What...um…what exactly am I?" he asked.

Terrador appeared very taken aback. "You…what? You are a dragon, of course! As am I! Surely you must recognise your own species?"

Ok, so that cleared up that matter. It seemed he had guessed correctly. Of course, why he was a dragon was another question entirely. But that could wait. Next was finding out where the hell he was.

"And where exactly is this?"

The larger dragon took a moment to respond. "You are in the Dragon Temple, in the city of Warfang. I would expect you to know where that is, but based on what you have told me so far I assume you have absolutely no idea. Am I correct?

"Yeah. No clue."

Eowynn only received a grunt in response. Ok, here was the real kicker.

"So, you have any idea how the hell I got here? Because…this all seems pretty crazy to me." Eowynn figured there was no point beating around the bush on that one. It would be both impossible and illogical for him to try and bluff. These…things-he hesitated to call them people- may or may not be trustworthy but hey, this was probably all a really vivid dream or hallucination anyway, so what did it matter?

Terrador's booming voice cut across his inner monologue. "You were found by another young dragon in a forest not far from the city. According to her account, you simply 'appeared' following a bright flash of sorts. It seemed to be quite a violent event. Does any of this mean anything to you?"

"Bright flash…hmm. I remember seeing something like that before I blacked out. It was a pretty different scenario though." How the hell could he explain what happened in a way these creatures would understand? He simply didn't know enough- where even was he? Still on Earth or…somewhere else?

"Interesting. It may be some form of unusual magic, although that isn't my area of expertise. I'll consult Volteer on the matter. In the meantime-and I do not mean to make this into an interrogation-I would like to ask some more questions of my own. Where *did* you come from, if this is so strange to you?"

More answers sounded like a good idea to Eowynn. Wait, did he just say magic? Damnit. Stay focused on the basics for now.

"This may be a shot in the dark…Terrador?" he questioned

"Yes, the Guardian of Earth. And you are?"

"Eowynn. Forgot to introduce myself, sorry. Anyway, this may be a shot in the dark, but have you ever heard of a 'human'?"

The Earth Guardian pondered briefly. "I cannot say that I have, no. Why?"

Oh, great. He'd have to start from the beginning then. "You see, up until very recently, I was a human. Until I woke up here I'd never seen a dragon in my entire life. They don't exist, where I'm from"

If Terrador had seemed surprised at the earlier revelations, nothing compared to the look of sheer disbelief he now sported. It was funny, Eowynn realised, how well expressions that would normally considered human translated onto the reptilian snout of a dragon.

"You say that, wherever you are from, we do not exist? And that somehow, in arriving here, you have been transformed into one of our species? You will forgive me if I tell you that I find that highly improbable."

"It's just as difficult for me to believe, trust me. Dragons are just an old legend, mythical creatures only found in stories. We don't have magic or those weird cat things either"

The green dragon did not look amused. "Siro is a Cheetah, and one of our best healers. Though I suppose I'll have to forgive you for disrespecting his kind on the grounds that I almost believe you." He paused. "No magic? At all? That would explain your confusion…"

He looked as if he was about to say more, but their conversation was interrupted by the sound of multiple sets of footsteps from the doorway. Eowynn watched as the cheetah from earlier returned, along with two other dragons. One was almost the size of Terrador, albeit with light blue and lavender colours instead of the strong greens and browns. The second new dragon was smaller, Eowynn estimated about his own size. It body was a very deep black, almost purplish in hue, with bright red 'highlights' where his own body had turquoise colouration. Unlike the rest of the dragons, this one sported multiple horns arcing back from its head. It also wore some sort of metal collars around its legs and neck.

Every bloody creature he met here was stranger than the last.

The two new arrivals stopped and stared at him, propped up against the bed as he was.

"Terrador, I must ask; why is this dragon slumped on the floor instead of standing in our presence? Is he injured? And if so, why has he not been assisted?" The blue dragon spoke in a haughty voice, his tone making him seem extremely arrogant in nature. Although, Eowynn thought, if he was another 'guardian' like Terrador then he may indeed have had the stature to back that up.

The green dragon gave a curt nod. "Ah, Cyril. I was hoping you would arrive soon. Eowynn, you are in the presence of Cyril, Guardian of Ice, and Cynder, a great hero of ours and the one who alerted us to your arrival." At this introduction, Cyril seemed to stand taller and puff out his chest to some degree. Comparatively, Cynder simply nodded a greeting at him, seemingly not wanting to get too involved. Eowynn noticed the cheetah, 'Siro' retreat into the same side room he first emerged from. Evidently he too didn't wish to interfere in…whatever this was.

Cyril was the first to resume speaking. "Yes, myself and Cynder came as promptly as we could. You surmised correctly that I would want to talk to this newcomer." Cyril turned to face Eowynn, struggling to pronounce his name. "Oh-win? Did I say that correctly?"

Eowynn screwed his eyes shut and brought a hand-no, a damn paw-to rub awkwardly at his forehead in a futile attempt to alleviate the major headache he could feel brewing. He looked to Terrador again. "Can…can we just slow down a bit here? This is all a bit too much right now." In truth, Eowynn was still reeling from the initial shock of his arrival here, and his conversation with the Earth Guardian had only served to create more questions than answers. Now there were more of these dragons talking to him and confusing things further. God, how much he wanted to wake up in his own bed right now.

Cyril evidently didn't take dismissal lightly, however. "Excuse me, young dragon! When a Guardian addresses you, you much show the proper courtesy and respond politely! I don't know where you've come from-in fact I've never seen a dragon of your colouration before-but if they don't have a concept of manners there then it is clear I must inform you of the correct protocols-"

"Where I come from dragons don't exist. Or magic. Or Cheetahs. Or Guardians." Eowynn deadpanned, at risk of causing further offence. But at this point he was too frustrated to care.

"…I…erm…what?" Cyril stammered, clearly blindsided by that response. Eowynn supressed a chuckle at that.

"Cyril." Terrador gave his fellow guardian a look. "I suspect Eowynn here is somewhat out of his depth. We need to give him some time to adjust, and to find the answers all of us seek I suggest we continue this discussion in the meeting chamber."

"Erm…why, yes, old boy! A fine suggestion. I presume Cynder here may come as well?"

"Of course." The Earth guardian turned back to Eowynn. "Do you think you could try and stand?"

Eowynn flexed his new leg muscles "I'll give it a go, yeah". These dragons were quadrupedal, so he'd have to get used to walking on four legs. He imagined himself as a human crawling on all fours, and attempted to replicate that with his new body. Slowly, he raised his rear off the ground, back legs shaking as his new muscles took the strain. Trying to repeat the action with his forelegs, his weak limbs suddenly gave way, and the ground rushed up to meet him in a perfect faceplant.

"Ah, shit! Fucking damnit! Why?" He cursed himself, this stupid body and this insane situation. The other dragons looked on in a mix of concern and alarm at his sudden outburst. "Sorry…give me a moment…"

Surprisingly, it was the smaller dragon, Cynder, who came to his aid. "Here-I'll help you up. Hook your wing over my back." The voice was feminine, which confirmed a suspicion of Eowynn's. Still, he rejected her offer.

"No-I've got this." This time, he extended both sets of legs simultaneously, shakenly lifting himself into a standing position. Now this felt really weird.

Cynder nodded her approval. Terrador actually grinned, displaying a wicked set of teeth. "Excellent! Can you try and walk?"

Eowynn concentrated hard, picturing how the other dragons had walked into the room, alternating their limbs. Front left, back right, front right, back left. Slowly but surely he replicated that motion, his confidence growing with each stride. Letting a smile spread across his new face for the first time since he awoke, he looked at the other dragons as he paced in a circle. "Wow. Not as hard as I thought."

Even Cyril looked amused at his display. "Well, now that matter is resolved, I suggest we proceed to the meeting chamber. Terrador?"

"Indeed. Although I suggest you don't attempt to run before mastering the art of walking, Eowynn" the green dragon said in response to Eowynn's rapid pacing.

"Uh…yeah. It'll still take some getting used to" he replied, looking down at his new limbs again. He tapped his claws in sequence a few times before noticing the other dragons had begun to file out of the room. The two Guardians walked side by side, with Terrador filling Cyril in on their previous conversation. Eowynn paced up beside Cynder, matching her walking speed, and attempted to strike up a conversation.

"So…Cynder, right?"

The black dragoness turned her head to face him. "Yeah, you're Oh-win?"

Eowynn supressed a cringe at his name being mispronounced again, but decided it wasn't worth his time trying to correct it at this point. "Yep. You're the one that found me then?"

"I wouldn't say I found you, so much as you…appeared. I have to say you made quite an entrance." Eowynn noticed she ended that sentence on a questioning note, evidently hoping he would elaborate.

Eowynn sighed. "At this point, I'm as clueless as the rest of you. More, in fact. What I told Cyril was true, this is all completely new to me. You saw how much trouble just standing up was for me."

Cynder seemed to ponder that answer for a moment. Finally, she fixed him with a curious gaze. "So where do you come from?"

"That's gonna take a hell of a lot of explaining, and I'd rather not have to do it three times to be honest. No offence." That question would have to wait until they got to this 'meeting room'.

She nodded in understanding, and they both fell silent. Once again Eowynn sensed the reality of this situation hit him. After getting so caught up in learning how to walk all over again, he had found himself practically accepting what was going on. Just 'going along with things'. He almost laughed. It was as if he had begun to believe all of…this, despite knowing it was impossible-no, downright insane. He looked around at the corridor their group was passing through. Great stone buttresses held up a roof over twice as high as Terrador, the tallest of their group. The passageway curved around in a great arc, suggesting this Temple was a large circular structure. Lit torches provided light in the absence of many windows, adding to the very medieval feel of the place.

Eowynn felt as he had been dropped straight into an old fantasy tale, complete with castles, dragons and magic. Whatever sort of mad dream world this was, it wasn't exactly original. He was pretty sure his brain could do better than this. Although, he had to admit it was scarily realistic. The stone tiles felt cool beneath the rough soles of his new feet, and he could detect a faint musty smell in the air, as if the building had-until recently-been in disuse. The way his muscles moved and flexed as he strode along felt both alien and realistic enough to be believable.

But he knew this wasn't real. It just couldn't be.

…could it?


For the first time in her life, Cynder had met someone who had absolutely no idea who she was. She wasn't quite sure how to feel about that.

The newcomer walked alongside her, his gait fumbling and awkward like an oversized hatchling. He tripped three times just getting to the main corridor. Then again, she supposed, if what Eowynn said was true and he was, well, something else before he arrived, then he may as well be as helpless as a newborn. The way he stared and gawked at everything, from her to the Guardians to the stone walls around them certainly helped that image. Not to mention his colouration made him stand out like a broken claw. That part almost reminded her of herself. She wondered how he'd react when he inevitably found out about the war, and her own involvement in it.

She was intrigued to hear his own story, however. Eowynn's 'dramatic entrance' was like no magic she'd ever seen before, but Cynder already had some suspicions. The purple flash reminded her of one thing: Convexity. Having visited that forsaken realm in her previous life, then wielded its Element herself in the final battle with Malefor, it seemed an uncanny coincidence. Perhaps it was some sort of portal?

Either way, her own curiosity wasn't the only reason she was staying involved in this affair. Cynder needed something to take her mind off what happened earlier. It wasn't like she had much to do around the Temple these days, and anything that would keep her from thinking about the purple dragon was worth pursuing.

Their group neared the meeting room, and Terrador pushed open the wooden door to reveal the interior. Some had taken to calling it the 'chamber of visions' after the magical pool which stood in the centre. Similar in design to the one in the Swamp Temple, this pool had only been rediscovered when the Guardians arrived at Warfang-during the three years she spent in that crystal with him. It was said that every dragon temple across the realms possessed one of these pools, and most were still waiting to be found and reclaimed. But that would take years, if they even remained at all after the war-many had been destroyed. She should know.

The four of them gathered around the Pool of Visions, Eowynn staring at the swirling fluids as if he was in a trance. Terrador cleared his throat, and all eyes turned to him.

"So, Eowynn. Why don't you start from the beginning?"

Chapter ends.