I'm still trying to figure what I'm "eating."   Am I just absorbing heat, or did the lightning strike give me electrons.

I have the ants break about the fallen tree.  I have the ants bring me bits of the tree, mixing the I acid I'm producing, I experiment until I get a crude celluoid.  At the same time, I  have the ants dig a pit on the other side of the stump.  When they are done, I have them line the pit with tree pulp, I then send in the snails, producing the same acid as I did.  Now I have a water tight bucket.   When theres another rain storm, the bucket fills up with water.

Mosquitos are attracted to the standing water, one lands on me.  Controling the mosquitos, I concentrate myself on the labrum, as they bite the animals in the forest,  I try contolling mammals and birds.

I can fly!  Looking out of the song bird I infected, I finally get above the tree tops.  I can see my situation better.

The core is in a cove of trees at the bottom of a narrow valley.  The mountain valley, is small with steep moutain walls.  The trees remind me of aspens.  The mountain walls are covered with conifers.  My cove looks sick, the trees in the area do not look heathy at all.  There is a noticeable temperature change in the area, a cold spot.

I fly higher, I can see the horizon.  I am on a globe.

Pain, I'm hit by a hawk.  I lose connection to the bird I was in.

My bucket of water, also attracts rabbits.  Infecting one, I learn I don't have to have the mosquitos land on me again to infect the next rabbit.  I can use a rabbit as a resevoir of infection.   It takes me some time to take control of the whole warren.   As I control additonal warrens, I have the rabbits start farming, digging up plants they don't eat, leaving dropping near plants they like to eat.

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As the conentration of rabbits attracts predators, wolves.  Since the wolves have a larger range, I have some of them patrol the mountain side, with a few send further out into the next valley.

Getting control of additional birds, I see deer, then the next valley over, a stream and a small goblin village.

I get a shock of fear from all of my animals.  A shadow passes over the cove, looking up I see a flying lizard?  A dragon.

The dragon unleashes a breath of fire into the cove.  The sickly aspens burst into flames, as I greedily absorb the heat, a claw comes down.

I have no defenses, I feel pain at my core, I'm shattered.

Pain floods, my senses, the animals flee the fire and the dragon.  Wait, a shard is in the dragon's paw?  I'm in it's blood stream.  I start to absorb the dragon's body heat, and grow.   The dragon's heart beat moves me, I crash into the blood vessal wall and break up, but I aborb more heat.  The dragon roars in pain, and flies away.

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As the dragon flies away, I lose contact with the sliver of me in the dragon.  I wonder if I can gain control of the dragon, like I did the wolves.   Wait, I've lost control of some of the animals, I hurt.

After the fire dies down,  I have the wolves dig me up and spread the peices across the valley and the next.   I still feel fuzzy, but I am able to send a group of rabbits and mosquitos into the goblin valley to infect them.

When I gain control of a goblin, I can hear it's voice.

"Oh Lord, what is thy will?" 

"First, don't call me Lord.  But I would like to know more about the goblins here."

 "We are one of several tribes in this mountain range.  We move from valley to valley, to hunt and gather food."

 "Do you make anything?"

"Make? No, we just take, what we need form the land and other tribes."

"I guess, we are going to change that.  I'm gong to have the tribe make some tools and dig tunnels for me.  Do you have a black smith?"

 "No, Lor-, Master, our tribe is poor in skills.  We do no have a blacksmith."

"That shouldn't be a problem.  Since we can talk, I think I can teach you to set up a forge.  We'll need  workng surface, I thinking about a meter square to start."

 "Master, what is a meter?"

All the wolves in the area cry out in pain.

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