Ryu would not have chosen this particualr spot to set up camp but
Ryona's faint demanded otherwise. 'Ryona,' he thought 'took that surprisingly
well. Last time, Geas had a heart attack. And he was the sorcery teacher'
Of course, Ryu moved both Ryona and the campsite a few feet, since the
prospect of sleeping on hot glass in the middle of the desert had very little
appeal. 'Maybe I'll make the same deal with her as I did with so many others.
Doubt that it'll be any different though.' For a few reasons that last
thought made Ryu depressed. So he decided that he would only make that deal
with Ryona if she pressed the point, which Ryu was almost certain of. That
also hade him depressed because he didn't want to be ostracised again.
Nightfall arrived quickly and with it the pair were off again. Ryu
walked on in silence, hoping beyond reason that Ryona would not press the
issue of his true form. 'She's nice but this is going to be another one of
those times when her curiousness will get her in some trouble.' He let his
mind wander back to a day in Dogolony when Ryona's curiousity got her in
trouble. 'That day Ryona had found an ornate box in the streets. Such things
are rare in Dogolony so naturally anyone would be curious. Ryona, however,
had the type of curiousity that should have gotten her dead or at least
severly mauled. The only thing that kept Ryona alive and, mostly, unmolested
was having seen a bread-box sized Mimic attack and nearly kill her father.
Since that incident the then eight year old Ryona was always very careful
with boxes and usually brought any that she found to me, a Cleric, to be
analyzed.I remember that day well for two reasons, one being that I turned
thirteen;the other was that it was that day that I first transformed.I had
been a full fleged Cleric for two years, having completed training and the
rite of passage a year early than the usual four year period. The first part
of learing to be a Cleric is learning to identify Mimics, who seem to like
dragon-flesh. She found me rather easily since in Dogolony I wore an ice blue
robe and kept the hood on and most knew that I was almost always in the slum
part of Dogolony. Upon arriving she asked as sweetly as she could manage, if
I could see if it was a Mimic. When the detecton spell came back a negative
she opened it and to our surprise a full grown Barbury demon jumped out. I
don't remember if Ryona had started her training as a Warrior but it really
wouldn't have mattered. The demon slapped Ryona with its tail and kayoed her
and slashed at me, nearly disembowling me yet I managed to stand. I clearly
remember the transformation but I can't remember the shape or name of the
form, only the seemingly limitless power. I remember using a spell to damage
the demon and then attacking it and knocking it apart. My last act in this
form was to repair the damage that the demon had caused to Ryona. Then,
feeling no need to remain in my alterd form, I reverted. I haven't been able
to transform into that form again but I found that I gained the abiltiy to
use nearly any form I saw or had described to me. Well I guess that I owe
Ryona a few favors for what she did for me.' With that Ryu fell asleep.
Next Day
Ryona awoke with a start, her mind still a bit fuzzy. She looked
around the tent and saw that Ryu was already up because his sleeping bag was
empty.'As usual, Ryu gets up before the sun does. Wonder how he developed
an attack spell that powerful. He's a Cleric not a Mage so he shouldn't be
able to learn a spell that powerful. I hope that he's in a good mood though'
After that thought Ryona rose, stretched, and changed into another set of
clothes for desert travel. Ryona stepped out to find Ryu sitting on a rock
with a strange smile on his face. It was different from his usual smile but
he only smiled like that when he could help another person. So she walked up
to him and asked "Ryu, why are you smiling like that." Ryu was a little
startled because he hadn't noticed Ryona but he answered Ryona. "Oh, Ryona,
didn't see ya but I'm smiling 'cause I was able to get ahold of some
strawberry Spice Drops." Both dragons knew that anything but demon-flesh was
a rare comodity in Dogolony and that Ryu's favorite treat was strawberry
flavor Spice Drops. Ryona perfered Lemon Candy but she already had a few
saved up that she brought with her. Then Ryu spoke again "Hey Ryona, I'm
sorry about yesterday and if you want I'll show you what I really look like"
At that Ryona was torn her common sense told her that Ryu probably had a good
reason for keeping his Tainted form so secret but her couriosity said other-
wise. So she ended up saying "Yes, I would like to see what you really look
like." and upon hearing that Ryu said "All right, just let me change 'cause I
don't want to ruin this shirt."
Inside the tent Ryu took out a vest that had ties at the neck and waist and took off his shirt and put on the vest. "Form that was mine from birth/Which this spell has bound to Earth./Let the seals be shattered and mine form true/be mine anew." Considering the four line rhyme the transformation was very simple and caused little change. Most four line spells were much more impressive, like dust bunnies to Monty Python rabbits or man to giant golem but in this case a pair of dragon's wings slid out of Ryu's back, a tail appeared from just above his waist, and he gained claws on his hand and feet. 'Hmmm, claws are new. Well time for my grand entry.'
Ryona was expecting a totally different sight from how Ryu described
his Tainted form. He looked almost the exact same excepting the wings and
tail and the claws and his hair standing on end. Then she made a mistake.
She looked into his eyes. His eyes were different. One thing should be
explained right now. If you look into a Dragon's eyes, you can learn a few
things about the Dragon. Peering into a Dragon's eyes will tell how he feels
and give you a good comparison of your power compaired to his greatest form's
power, amoung other things. In the case of two Dragons it's like both were
compairing full power. So when Ryona looked into Ryu's eyes she did not
expect to feel like an ant in the middle of a Super Nova spell. Her first
words were "Wow...so...powerful.I-i-in-incredable." Ryu took the
incoherancy of Ryona as a good sign. Other than his parents most Dragons
acted like head-less chickens and avoided him. Then again he and Ryona were
related because Ryu's father was the brother of Ryona's grandfather. Dragons
had odd relations like that because they lived for hundreds of years and
could bear children up to age 365. So it was very possible to have an uncle
or aunt that you were older than, especially during long peaces like Dogolony
was having right now. While Ryu was thinking about the irony of his being her
uncle and only four years older Ryona composed her self enough to start
talking coherently. "Well Ryu that was very impressive. I don't see why you
would keep such power hidden, tho'." Ryu smiled and responded "I have my
reasons and we should be coming to where a friend I met a few years ago lives
and he should help get us to Winda much faster." and with that the Dragons
took up camp and started walking."
AN: This is all I have for now so please review. Also if you want to be a proofreader, since I don't have any now, e-mail me. For my e-mail address check my profile.