Birth of a Drake Chapter 1: Rebirth

I posted this on FTT, and thought it might be a good idea for this site as well.

Birth of a Drake

Chapter 1 Rebirth

Crystal blue skies and oceans of amber wheat flowed beneath me as I twisted over and looped in the air. The air whistled by my ears and flowed smoothly under the pair of wings on my back. Coming over, I felt the sun’s warm, radiant light on my body. It felt like paradise. It felt like absolute freedom. I started for another pass around, but noticed a shadow coming over me. Trying to flip over to see what exactly was above me, I saw what appeared to be another set of leathery wings and I heard a soft, laughing hiss, then everything vanished.

The alarm pierced the bliss of slumber. The shrieking sounds of GWAR broke the dream. Groaning, I opened my eyes. This was the third time this week I had dreamed that particular dream. Groaning, I reached for my glasses. Putting them on, I saw the time. 5:00 AM. I reached for the switch for my lights. Flipping them on, bathed my room in the dark orange glow of fake-fire torchlight.

My name is Josh, I live in central Florida. I’m not what you’d call an average or normal person; in fact I’m almost the exact opposite of what someone would call normal.
Only Amber, my girlfriend who sees my points of view, so that’s why I date her. She prides herself on choosing a boyfriend that is honest, has never been arrested and is still a virgin. (Yeah….18 and still a virgin is almost unbelievable, but it’s true.) I have a few hobbies as well. Music, video games and reading are a few. But recently I had gotten into collecting replica and even some historical medieval weaponry.

My room was a dark recreation of a medieval gothic knight’s armory. Swords and shields adorned every wall, and fake fire torches were positioned in the four corners of the room. As a centerpiece, I had a Celtic crucifix was placed over my bed. I am gothic, but undeniably Christian. One thing that I couldn’t stress enough was that I was not one of the “emo” Goths that give people like me a bad name.

I got up, stretched and then searched for my clothes. The torchlight never gave off much light, but enough to find a pair of Tripp pants and a Metallica tee shirt. Having gotten dressed, I looked into a mirror that I kept mounted on the wall. I bowed my head and clenched my fists, slowly felt my adrenaline rising as I listened to the screaming madness that was GWAR.


I did this every morning to wake up, or else I would most likely fall back to sleep. Raising my head after a few minutes, I then looked at one of the many posters that lined my walls. It was a picture of a silver dragon in aerial combat with a red. I had always been awed by them, and I truly believed there was fact behind the myth and mystery that was their nature. Meaning, that I honestly believed that they exist or that they had existed at some point in time.

I grabbed my backpack and turned the music and torches off. Moving out into the kitchen, I went about my normal routine. I grabbed a bottle of Green Tea and poured myself a bowl of cereal. I ate breakfast alone as usual. My parents never got up this early and I did not really care to see them anyway.

My mother was a good person, but didn’t understand me. She cared for me, but did not care for many of the darker nature of my interests. My dad on the other hand, was an intolerant person. He grew up with a very controlling father himself and that’s where most of his unpleasantness comes from. He lives in a world of ‘just do as you’re told and no questions asked’. He never accepted the cold hard fact that I was not like him and that I was a thinker. Putting my now finished dished in the sink, I grabbed my stuff and headed out the door.

~*~

School was only a short drive away. I got there early as usual, and headed towards the building that had my locker. I also kept my mp3 player on, its music kept me awake in the mornings. I had always preferred a natural adrenaline rush to the artificial and time delayed effects of caffeine. I selected some old Megadeth as I walked up to my locker and slid in the key to the lock. Grabbing a few books and a notebook, I closed it up and left.

I was on the way out of the building when I heard a shout that cut above my music. Turning, I saw a schoolyard bully, Phil, having a little ‘fun’ with one of my friends. Phil was big, about 6’2 and full of bluster. He also was the worst heckler in the entire school.

“Common Cliff, I know ya got cash on ya. Spot me some!” he said as he cornered him. Cliff was a small, freshman that had become one of my friends because he needed someone to guard his back half of the time he was at school. I didn’t mind being his unofficial guard, but he could ramble on and on about something for eternity!

“Go away! I told ya I need that for lunch.” Cliff told him and tried to get around to big oaf.

“Oh no you don’t!” he said and blocked his path again.

“Hey!” I shouted, “Phil, stop acting tough.” I started moving towards him.

“This ain’t none of your business, Josh.” He told me.

“You’re hittin’ up my friend for cash that he can’t spare and intimidating him until he gives it to ya. Uh, yeah it’s my business.”

By this time Phil had all of his attention on me and none on Cliff. He made the wise move and bolted past him while his back was turned. Noticing the ploy finally, Phil tried to turn around to grab him, but was way too late. Turning back to me, he growled “You’ll regret that, punk.”

“Whatever.” I muttered and headed off for my first period class. If I
had known what was to come I would have been more worried.

Classes were surprisingly easy this day and things seemed turn for the better by lunch. I had gotten a slice of pizza and had sat down with Amber and her friend Sally. We started getting into a conversation, when Phil came and started to heckle us.

“Ohh, Josh you and Amber are gonna make a good Woman and B****!” he laughed. It took me every ounce of willpower not to break his jaw right then and there.

“Phil, do not piss me off right now, I don’t want to make Allie watch me drop your lard ass right here!” I told him. I thought that a little intimidation might work; he knew I could hold my own in a fight, although I hoped that it wouldn’t come to one.

“What’s that? Did I just here you say you could drop me?” he shouted. That was bad. A hoard of others anxious for a fight formed a ring around us, all of them egging us on to fight. I could see several security guards also taking an interest and I knew that I had made a mistake.

“Stop it Phil, while you still can. You can still walk away.” I warned him as I turned to the side, in preparation for any attack. All I had to do was evade him, and nothing would happen to me.
“You’ll learn some respect for me even if I gotta kick your sorry ass to do it!” he yelled and charged. The fool was going to tackle me to the ground, or at least try to. I did what any person would have done, got out of his way. A quick sidestep and I was out of his path, but an exposed root was.

Phil went down hard, knocking the wind out of himself, he also landed at the feet of one of the school deans. They hauled both of us up to the office. Because of the fact that I had no discipline records on my file, the dean believed Amber and me over Phil who had been in his office more times than he cared to remember. They gave Phil detentions for a month for fighting and making threats. I got nothing but a warning to stay away from the oaf. On the way out of the office, he whispered, “This isn’t over.” I just kept on walking back to class.

Rumors of the near fight spread like the plague around school. Lots of people bombarded me with questions and each time I said that nothing happened. I did not want to take credit for a fight that never happened. There was no honor or glory in that.

By the time school had let out, I was still a bit ticked off at the constant badgering of people asking questions. I met Amber outside by the building with my locker as we usually did. I told her I was going to drop off some books and went in.

I dropped most of my books off, and shut the door. I started walking back when I heard shouting and heard Allie scream. I bolted for the door and through the glass, I saw Phil outside, laughing. Amber was doubled over and had a hand on her face, she was crying. I knew that Phil had slapped her and that made me see red. Hitting a girl was to me, one of the ultimate signs of disrespect and utter contempt for someone; I dropped my pack and rushed him, roaring.

Phil put his arms up, trying to guard himself, but he had never been in a real fight, and had no idea just how vulnerable he really was. As I reached him, I managed to spin and kick low at the back of his shin, and it connected.

He screamed in pain as his legs buckled, then gave way. He hit the ground hard, flailing his arms as he fell. I thought that would have done it, but I underestimated Phil. Quickly he got to his feet and started swinging. His punches were hard to block, but he was slow and I managed to counter with a punch to the stomach. He doubled over, but still had enough energy to make one last punch; it got me in the left temple.

It hurt, but I was so mad I did not feel it just then. He wanted to play rough, well so could I. Moving fast, I slid back, and before he could do anything to counter, got him with an axe kick to his shoulder, bringing him face to face with the pavement. He was not moving at all, but I saw his chest expand and contract, he was only knocked him out. I had won.

“You alright, Amber?” I asked, her face was red from where he had hit her, and she was tearing up.

“Yeah, how about you? You took a hard hit.” She said. She was right, now that the fight was over, and the adrenaline rush I got had faded a bit, my head was throbbing.

“I’m fine.” I lied “Let’s get outta here before he wakes up. Common, I’ll drive ya home.” I said and after I picked up my bag, offered my hand. She took it and after she kicked Phil in the side for her own revenge, then we headed for my car.

My head really started to hurt after a minute or two. I was beginning to fear that Phil might have actually done some real damage to me. Amber’s house was only a few short miles from the school, and I had her home in about five minutes. But by that time, I was having a headache that could only be described as a migraine on steroids. I was also feeling a weird tingling sensation throughout my entire skull.

“You sure you okay?” she asked as I pulled up to her house.

“I’ll live.” I told her “I’ve been hurt worse.” I leaned over and even though my head screamed in protest, gave her a quick kiss on her cheek before she left. Amber smiled and then left the car. That left me to seethe in pain. I knew that I had suffered at the very least a concussion and that I needed to get some help. I knew of a small medical clinic nearby and tried to start the car to take off to get there. But to my horror, fund my hands were immobile.

No! I thought, desperately trying to shake out of my paralysis. Slowly, I began to get dizzy and incoherent of the world around me. This was not good. I knew that people who passed out after concussions had a slim chance of ever awakening again.
God, please. I don’t want to die here, not like this. I silently begged.

Then I heard a steady flap of air and the thud of something hitting the ground next to me. I tired to turn my head to see what had just happened, but at that moment I passed into a realm of utter blackness, but not before I heard a gasp and felt something grab me.

~*~

The physical world come back to be after awhile. I felt very weak, but my headache had gone down to a tolerable level. A small ray of light hit my face and I turned over onto my side to get it out. Wait…turned over?

My eyes flew open at the memory of me being unable to move. I bolted up into a sitting position. To my complete and utter surprise I was in a room, but not my room or in a hospital either.

I looked around. I was on a large bed, with a black silk blanket covering me up. Looking out into the room, I noticed that it was a large, spacious place. Surprisingly it was similar to mine. The walls were made of stone, the same grayish color that I had on my walls. Various types of swords, shields, flails, axes and helms hung on the walls of the room. A large window was in the corner and it let in a good amount of light.

The landscape outside showed that I was no where near Florida, for I was somewhere near, or up on top of a mountain. I put a hand to my face trying to ponder what was going on, but when I touched my face, something did not feel right. I looked down at my arms and gasped in shock.

My body was no longer that of a human. My arms were covered in a layer of shining, silvery scales, and my hands had reformed to where my fingers were more like claws. I moved a hand up and touched my arm, the scales were real. Turning, I saw a pair of leathery wings protruding out of my back. I then threw off the blanket covering myself. I gasped in shock, I saw that my legs and lower body were likewise covered in scales, and that I also had a thick tail, but to my complete surprise, I was also wearing a thick, and wet diaper.

“What the!?” I cried. I could not believe that whoever had rescued me had put me in a diaper! But before I could make any guesses on who or why I was placed in this thing or why I was now covered in scales, the door opened; hurriedly, I covered myself up. Just in time, in stepped the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.

A slender looking female dragon entered the room. From what I could see, she appeared as I did. Silvery scales covered her entire body, and her wings were folded behind her. Instead of hair, a large spiny frill filled the top of her head. There were also frills in place of where humans’ ears were. She wore a robe made of fine white cloth, and from her appearance, she looked around 25, but it was impossible to tell. She looked at me and gave me a heart filled, smile.

“Well it’s good you’re finally up.” She said. Her voice was beautiful and soothing to hear.

I tried to think of something to say, but ended up blurting out, “How long was I out?” My voice sounded a bit deeper than normal, strange I thought.

“About three days now, but don’t worry, you’re safe. You are in my home.”

“Where?” I asked

“Oh, I should’ve been more specific. We are in the Colorado Rocky mountains.” She answered and started to walk towards me. That answered one question, but this was still so confusing. I kept thinking that this was some sort of dream but decided to continue and see where all of this led to.

“My name is Kaylasilryosa, but please call me Kayla. What is yours?”

“Josh.” I replied. It seemed such a bland name compared to hers.

She finally came to the bedside, pulling up a chair and sat down next to me. Just looking at her was enough to make me relax, a lot. So relaxed in fact that, I didn’t notice her reach and pull the blanket back revealing the soaked diaper that I had on until it was too late to do anything about it.

The only words I could use to describe what I felt would be ‘complete and utter humiliation’, and even then that would be an understatement to the embarrassment I felt at that moment in time. This was not the glorious introduction that I had always thought I would have if I had ever met a dragon.

“Don’t worry.” She said, “I swear I didn’t do it for any sort of pleasure, only for necessity. No one will know about this but the two of us.” I just nodded my head. Then, without warning my stomach growled.

“Guess you’re hungry.” She said. At that moment I felt hunger gnawing at me.

“Yeah, I’m starving.” She stood up.

“I’ll go make a little something for you, but before that, I should probably change you out of that diaper.” She said and headed for the door.

This left me to ponder my strange situation. I had no idea where I was, had been unconscious for three days, and with a complete stranger. That, and how on earth had I been altered into what I could only assume was some sort of half dragon? That thought made me pause. Dragons were the epitome of power and strength, and now I had become one. At least one positive thing had happened to me (that and the fact that I was not dead).

Kayla then came back into the room carrying another diaper, some cream and powder. I wore a look of surprise and confusion when reached my bedside once more.

“I know it’s embarrassing, but your body is still recovering, and might not be fully under your control, this is just to be safe.” I wanted to refuse at first, but she did make since. I had no real idea how or what had happened to my body and I was not about to risk anything. I nodded my head and lay back down on the bed.

Kayla changed me as quickly as possible. I could tell she was good at this; it took her almost no time at all. She delicately removed the wet diaper, applied the cream, powdered and taped the new diaper on me.

“Uh…thanks.” I said awkwardly. I felt myself blush.

“You’re welcome.” She said smiling. “Now I’ll get some lunch for you and we’ll talk. I’m sure you must have plenty of questions.”

“Yes, I do” I said as she exited the room. At least I’ll get some answers, I thought.

About five or ten minutes passed and Kayla came back in with a tray of meats and cheese as well as sandwich bread, and carried a cup of water in her other hand. She came back to the bedside and set it down on a small table by my bed.

“I had no idea what you like so.” She gestured to the plate, and let me make my own sandwich. When I took the first bite, I had to control myself not to devour the rest of the sandwich in the next few chomps. I guess I was more famished than I thought, after I had finished.

“Thank you, I really needed that.” I said

“You’re welcome.” Kayla replied. “Now I’m sure you have quite a few questions for me. I’ll answer as many as I can.” Ok now was the time to finally find out what was really going on here.

“Ok, first, what exactly are you and what happened to me?”

“Well isn’t it obvious? I’m a dragon, a sliver dragon to be precise.”

“I thought that dragons were shaped a little…differently.”

“Yes that is true. What you see is only an assumed form.”

“Okay that answers one question, but how did I become…this?” I pointed to myself.

“It is a bit more difficult to describe what exactly happened to you. When I found you, you had just fallen into unconsciousness. I tried to wake you but you did not respond. When I searched for a pulse I could not find one.”

“Hold on, you’re telling me I died?”

“Well, yes.” She said, but quickly added, “But I still had enough time to bring you back though.”

“How?” I asked, totally bewildered.

“For lack of a better word, magic.” Kayla said. “I used magic to bring your body back to life, however something did happen that I did not expect.” She paused, and searched for the right words. “I only preserved your body, that is, your human body. You enacted your own transformation.” She told me.

“That’s impossible!” I said, “How could I have? I control no magic, I don’t even believe in magic!”

Kayla smiled at me. “Is that so?” she asked, a hint of amusement in her voice. She lifted her hand and pointed a finger at a sword hanging on a wall. Without warning, it came off, floating in midair. My jaw dropped, as it spun around, slashed and thrusted at unseen enemies. After a second or two of this, it stopped and then returned to the wall mount.

“How did you do that?”

“I willed it to.” She replied.

“Willed? I always thought you had to cast a spell to use magic.” Kayla chuckled a bit at that.

“No, that’s a common misconception. Humans have always thought that how one uses magic is by studying and use of certain materials; or controlling spirits to use magic.” She shook her head, “They are wrong. It’s impossible to control a spirit, and knowledge will only tell you how to use the power you already posses.”

“So then what exactly do you call yourself then?”

“I would use the word ‘Psion’ if I had to choose.” She answered. Finally, something I knew about. A Psion was a person who could do incredible things with mere thoughts. He did not need a powerful body, his mind was his muscle. Considering that I was also in the body of a half dragon, it was a near perfect balance.

“Ok, I take back, what I said, but still, how could I even have power in me?” I asked, still trying to fully understand.

“We all have power inside of us.” Kayla replied “Only a very rare few can actually tap into it, and even fewer can control it.” I could believe that, but was still surprised that I actually had this kind of power. Another thought popped into my head.

“What does my human family think happened?” Although my life at home was chaotic, I still cared for them. Kayla searched for the right words.

“They are aware of what has happened.” Kayla said her voice serious. “They were hard to convince, but in the end, they allowed me to take you here.” I was stunned; I would have never thought that my parents would let anyone take me from them.

“And my girlfriend?” Kayla sighed.

“She saw me carry you out from your car and fly off, but she has no idea of what became of you.”

“Will I ever be able to see them again?” I asked, my voice a mix of hope and fear.

“In time, yes; but you’ll need to get used to being one of us first.” She answered and put a comforting hand on my shoulder; all of this was a lot to swallow all at once. Kayla’s eyes widened suddenly.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, concerned. My situation with my human family and girlfriend could wait. Whatever made a dragon worry was obviously very important.

“I forgot to tell you that the rest of my clan should arrive sometime today!”

I could only assume just how serious of a matter that was. In some books I had read, dragon clans rarely ever gathered in one place. When they did, it only meant that it was because of something very important. I didn’t quite know how to react, so I asked the first question that seemed logical.

“What’s the occasion?”

“You are the occasion.” She answered. “They heard about your transformation and are coming here to see what exactly you are.” This was a surprise. It seemed like I had just became the center of attention of an entire clan of dragons. The thought was exciting and frightening at the same time. Kayla then snapped her claws; I could tell she had an idea of some sort.

“Now that you have a new body, perhaps you should have a new name to go with it.” I thought about it for a second. It did seem appropriate.

“What name did you have in mind?” I asked

“Let’s see,” Kayla pondered for a minute, “How about Arixamirosila, Arix for short?” I liked the sound of it. It sounded like what you would name a Roman general, or a medieval king.

“I like it. Somehow, it fits my personality.” I told her.

“I’m glad you like it, now if you’ll excuse me, I have much to do, and little time to do it.”

“My questions can wait; in fact, you’ve given me a lot to think about already.”

Kayla smiled. “Thanks for understanding.” She said softly, “I do indeed have much to do, and I do apologize about having to take off like this. But I do have some things you might remember.” She reached under the bed and pulled out my backpack. “I pulled this out along with you.” I took it from her and opened it up. My mp3 and my books were still inside.

“Thanks. It’s good to know that I still have some of my things with me.” Another thought came to mind. “Where are my clothes?”

“They’re being altered for you. Slits are being put in your shirt for your wings, and a hole in the back for your tail in your pants.” That made sense.

“That’s good to know. These books should keep me busy for a while. And don’t worry, I understand, it’s not everyday that you have a family reunion.” Kayla laughed a bit at that. She had already made it to the door, but before she left I asked, “By the way, what is your family like?”

She turned back to me. “I can only let you see for yourself.” She closed the door. That left me to my thoughts. This is big, I thought as I rummaged through the things in my pack. I took my mp3 and switched it on. Selecting Alter Bridge’s “Open Your Eyes” I laid my head back on the pillow.

So many things had just happened all at once, it was almost overwhelming. As the music played, I tried to come to grips with all of what Kayla had just told me. I was a half dragon, a magic user, had a new name and to top it all off, her family was coming to see me! Deep in the corridors of my mind, I realized that this was one of the greatest gifts that I had ever received. I let closed my eyes and let my mind drift on the current of music.

please dont let this great tale go unfinished! T_T