“There’s simply no way I could watch her, I’m afraid. The Guild doesn’t run itself.” Master Korrigan shook his head sadly, gesturing at the stack of paperwork on top of his desk.

Professor Dweli nodded, giving a polite bow. “Understood, Master Korrigan. Come along, Princess.” The two of us left him to his work.

Professor Elwarn opened the door to his office before we could even knock, heading out with his arms loaded with books. “Ah, Dweli, what can I do for you?”

“We need someone to watch Princess for a bit. Just for a few hours, pleeeease?” She laid it on thick with the big eyes. I did my best to follow suit.

But our target was likely the one mage that was the most resistant to such things. He had a faint, polite smile as he shook his head. “You know I have classes to teach. I simply cannot abandon my responsibilities. You will have to find someone else.”

Dweli let out a big sigh. “All right. Best of luck with the students.”

“Nope.” Artificer Botolf didn’t even look up from the intricate device on his worktable.

“Why not?” Dweli grumbled, leaning against the wall next to the door while I sat beside her.

“Can’t.”

When no elaboration was coming, Dweli glared in his direction and repeated her question. “Why not?”

“Busy.” There was a note of strain in his voice, as much as there was. He still hadn’t so much as glanced at us, picking up a tool without looking and using it to tweak something in the contraption.

Dweli gritted her teeth. “With what?”

“Work.” Setting down the tool, he picked up another and continued working.

Sighing, she raised a hand. “Can’t you just… let her stay in here, out of the way? Just for a bit?”

“Nope.” He simply stared at the object. It was impossible to tell if he was actually working, calculating some aspect of its design and planning his next move. Or if he was stubbornly waiting for us to leave.

“But we need someone to watch her! Korrigan and Elwarn both said no.”

“Sorry.” It was the closest we got to sympathy, the same gruff tone as all his other one-word responses. Apparently content with whatever it was he had been thinking about, he picked up a tool and began his tweaking again.

Dweli sighed, opening the door. “Fine! Good day!”

“Bye.” The word came before we could make it out, prompting Dweli to slam it closed.

Coming back into the workroom that served as our temporary home, I flopped heavily onto the floor over by Master’s feet. “Rrruph. Jerks, all of them.”

Master looked up at Dweli, his tail flicking lightly. “Having trouble finding a sitter?”

I reached out with a paw and batted lightly at the tip of the swaying tail. “Yeah, too busy. As if a bunch of paperwork is more important. We asked everybody!”

Dweli grimaced slightly. “Not quite everybody. Just the best options. We’ll have to go with someone who isn’t already aware of Princess’s ability to talk.”

“Huff. They’d probably be even more likely to make excuses, so they don’t get stuck with a ‘dumb animal’, then.” I batted again at Master’s tail, only to have him curl it upwards out of reach, leaving me to pout.

Dweli simply smirked. I was just about to ask her what was so amusing, but a knock at the door interrupted us. Grumbling, Master got up and hid behind the folding screen that blocked the sleeping area of the room from view of the door.

It opened to a thin, almost gaunt-looking man with a dour expression and fancy, formal robes. Upon seeing Dweli, though, his face lit up with a happy expression. “Ah, how have you been, dear?”

“Yenny! Oh, I’m glad to see you. I need to ask a huge favor. Please, come in, have a seat.” She gestured over to the table, before going over to clear off books and papers.

Magister Yenturan stepped in, looking around, but more out of habit than any real investigation. Pulling a chair out, he settled into it. “It must be a pretty huge favor to have you acting like this. What do you need?”

She came to the table as well, with me following at her side, and sat down. Gesturing down at me with one hand, she gave a sweet smile. “We need you to take care of Princess. Just for a couple hours, please?”

His face turned uneasy, not wanting to say no, but also not wanting to say yes. “Take care…? Why?”

Dweli was similarly awkward. “Well, you see… She’s… We could focus better if she was out of the room. She won’t be a problem, it’s just an issue with… Mage Tola’s condition.”

The man’s eyebrows raised sharply. “Oh, I should have known this ‘mystery project’ would involve him, if the dragon is here. I haven’t been able to get any word on his ‘condition’ from anyone, not even Master Korrigan. What IS going on here?” He began to grin in anticipation of juicy gossip, casting his gaze down at the books spread out next to him.

“Ah ah ah, Yenny. You know I can’t say anything about that. All I can tell you is that it’s a delicate matter, and may revolutionize entire fields of magical study.” Yenturan’s grin had nothing on Dweli’s. Mages really were a bunch of gossips.

“Oh, Dweli Dear!” He made a big show of letting out a huge sigh. “Well, all right. I can put her in the kennel, there’s some males she can–”

“A-hem.” Master had come out from behind the screen, his left hand on it to help support himself, the clawed forepaw laid across his chest to grip a handful of his shirt. The fake clearing of his throat startled Yenturan, who turned to look at the voice. Yenturan’s eyes looked like they were about to fall out of his head at the sight before him, watching the claws flex against the shirt, before being drawn back up to Master’s face, with a developing draconic snout and stubby horns spiraling through his hair.

A dire glare was levelled at the guild manager. “If I wanted her thrown in the kennel for breeding, then I’d have handled it myself. She is not to be put in contact with some beast. Am I clear?” Perhaps it was my imagination, but I thought I saw flames behind those pointed teeth as he spoke.

Maybe they were there, or it was just the sight of fangs, but Yenturan paled and nodded. “I suppose. I don’t understand the reasoning, though.”

A low growl came from Master’s throat, the human fingers gripping the wooden frame of the folding screen. “Magister Yenturan. The last time I left Princess in your care, she was returned to me with a plucked scale, and I had to fend off accusations of harming her for drugs. I want her healthy and happy, not traumatized for your convenience. Just… Please, promise me you will not allow her out of your personal sight while she is in your care. She means everything to me, it is difficult enough for me to entrust her into the care of anyone.”

Dweli reached out to put her hand on his, diverting his attention. “Pleeeease? You can watch her, right? In your office, NOT the kennel?” Even more than she had tried with Elwarn, she gave her biggest puppy-dog eyes.

I followed suit, giving my best puppy-dragon eyes, just in case it helped. I even let out a soft mewl for effect.

Yenturan deflated under the twin assault, letting out a heavy sigh and rolling his eyes. “Very well, Dweli Dear. You both have my word, she will not leave my side, and I will not even approach the kennel. Um, assuming she will follow? There’s no obedience spell in her collar, after all.”

Dweli leaned in, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t you worry about a thing, she’ll follow. Princess is the best, just the sweetest girl I’ve ever seen. It’s part of why she’s so important to Mage Tola, and why he’s so protective of her.”

Scowling a little as he stared at me, he shrugged and stood up, beginning to walk towards the door. “All right, come along, I suppose. I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“Thank you so much, Yenny! I owe you a real huge one. Okay, Princess, see you in a few hours!”

Master had eased up a little, sagging a little where he stood once the tension faded from his body. “Thank you, Magister Yenturan. See you soon, Princess. If he breaks his word, bite him for me.” The last part was said with a bit of a grin, one that made Yenturan blanch.

As I slipped out the door, Dweli closed it behind me, leaving me alone with the Magister. Yenturan started walking down the cobblestone path, stopping to make sure I was following, which I was. Continuing, he muttered to himself. “I swear, I don’t know how I keep getting talked into this.”

Dweli would have to owe me a favor as well, for putting up with him and keeping silent.

With Yenturan and Princess gone, Tola made his way to the chair, sitting down heavily and letting his tail drape off the side. “Rrrh.”

Dweli giggled. “You seem to be getting a hang on that draconic anger.”

Lifting his gaze, Tola replied. “I assumed you would appreciate me not yelling at your boyfriend.” Despite his attempt to play things cool, his tail swayed slowly in satisfaction with himself for maintaining his composure.

“Mmm-hmm, I do.” She was still smirking, eyes darting to the tail for a moment before meeting his again. “Though, I do worry a little, if you’re becoming comfortable enough with it to have such control.”

Tola rolled his eyes, looking down and picking a book to flip through the pages of. “If self-discipline is a bad thing, then I’ll be glad to offer to disembowel him with my bare claws the next time he compares my Princess to some common animal.” The pace of his tail’s movement changed, from a steady swaying to the intermittent lashing of annoyance.

Taking a book of her own, Dweli smirked. “I didn’t mean it quite like that. Though, I suppose I’d be more worried if you refused to allow her out of your sight at all. Dragons can be awfully possessive, after all. As long as she’s still your ‘pet’ and not your ‘mate’, I know you aren’t too far gone yet.”

There was a low growl, the claws grabbing a handful of shirt and putting a new set of tiny holes in the cloth. “Let’s not think about ‘too far gone’ and just focus on finding something.”

Dweli lifted the book she was reading for a moment. “This is the journal immediately before the one that mentioned the ‘cleansing’. If he’s going to detail it in one of these, working our way backwards is our best bet in finding it.”

Back on Earth, Ida Grove was an absolute hotbed of reporters, all hoping to get a peek at the town. Janice’s phone was ringing constantly, and poor Alice was struggling to keep up with the questions. Road crews had been working to restore services as soon as the Storm dissipated, but as soon as the internet was reconnected, the townspeople were eager to talk to friends. And share videos. Like ones featuring a gigantic battle between a troop of ogres and a handful of mages. Or mages channeling energy into mysterious pylons that created a shell to protect people from the storm.

All in all, it was a nightmare for pretty much everyone involved.

“Is it too late to get Horgust to swallow us all in another Storm?” Janice grumbled through the hands covering her face. It was that or scream, and she didn’t want an ever-present camera to catch her screaming.

Alice gave an uneasy face, grimacing. “No offense, but I’d be happy to go the rest of my life without ever seeing one of those things again.”

Janice sighed heavily. “Yeah, I know. Just… Ugh. Okay, fine, send the next jerk in.”

After leaving for a moment, Alice returned with a man dressed in a nice suit, accompanied by another man carrying a hefty camera. “Hello, Miss Hearthbloom! I’m Ted Abernathy, with KTIV News in Sioux City. Thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me.”

The reporter held out a hand, and Janice begrudgingly shook it before gesturing to the two chairs across from her desk. “I don’t know what you’ll be getting out of this, but I’ll answer what I can.”

Instead of replying, Ted gestured for his cameraman to set up in a good spot, waiting for a hand signal to let him know recording was starting. “Thank you again for meeting with me. I’m here today with Janice Hearthbloom, Mayor and self-proclaimed ‘Protector’ of Ida Grove.” Gesturing with his hands, he directed the audience to focus on her. “Janice, I have a lot of viewers who are desperate for any information at all regarding what’s been happening here over the last two weeks. The biggest one, I suppose, is just how did the town manage to survive? These ‘Unmaker Storms’ have been shown to destroy everything they come into contact with, yet here we are, speaking with survivors. What can you tell us?”

Janice was no stranger to cameras, with a career in philanthropy and politics, so she had no difficulty in putting on a warm smile. “It’s true, the Storms do destroy things they touch. But it wasn’t a solid sphere, it was more like a shell. Of all the places for an unusual Storm like that, we were actually the best place for it to hit. As you may be aware, I’ve been hard at work spearheading the development of a form of protection from these Storms. If it weren’t for the success of the Project StormShield prototype, we likely would have been literally wiped off the face of the Earth, when the Storm began to close in on us.”

Ted seemed to actually lose his composure at that news. “Pardon me, did I hear that right? You have actually created something that can stop these Storms? How does it work?”

The warm smile turned sly. “Now, Mister Abernathy, I can’t go into the details exactly. What I can say is that it harnesses the same energy as within the Void to create a ‘bubble’ that strengthens reality within it. You might have noticed how, at the edge of town, roads and pipes and cables and such were completely destroyed, but a clean line marked the edge of the intact roads. That line was the edge of the StormShield. We did lose some buildings, but we had evacuated them in time. Had we been given more time to prepare, we would have had sufficient coverage.”

Holding up a hand, Ted gestured for Janice to slow down. “Now, just a moment. Some of our viewers may not share your expertise. I know I sure don’t! Ha ha!” The laugh was fake, of course, but a news reporter wasn’t about to let something as trivial as the end of the world keep him from putting on a good show. “Could you explain what you meant by ‘the Void’, and the ‘energy within’ it? Exactly what ARE these Storms?”

Janice smirked, if only to keep herself from seething in frustration at having to hide so much. But the public was too scared to hear the full truth just yet. “My apologies. I’ve been in constant communications with the best experts imaginable with this project, and sometimes I forget how privileged I am for that. The ‘Unmaker Storms’, as most people know them, are rifts in the fabric of reality. We’ve been calling them ‘Chaos Storms’, to be honest, as they open into what we’ve termed the ‘Chaos Void’. It’s an ocean of pure energy, swirling and chaotic, and that’s why anything that enters is broken down into nothing. Or rather, it’s broken down into raw energy and mixed with everything else. Being able to tap into that energy is a vital component to the StormShield Device, it’s the only form of energy we have found that can possibly combat it. However, being able to channel that energy is… challenging. It’s still in development, after all. While it succeeded here, it was still exceedingly difficult to get into place and set it up. Until we have a reliable, scalable way to handle that, we simply can’t offer these devices to others.” She spread her hands and gave a contrite smile. “They’d have no way to deploy them.”

Ted turned to the camera and smiled. “You heard it here, folks. Help is on the way!” Turning back, the smile faded. “But, you have to admit, Ida Grove has been the center of attention for more than just surviving a Storm. Surely you know about the videos that have been posted, once the Storm lifted? The ones with… some kind of battle waged, right before the Storm descended on the town?”

There it was. Janice let out a strained sigh, her face grim. “I’m not too sure what I can say on that matter. One of my main goals as Mayor was to make Ida Grove a haven for the creation of art, with tax breaks and even grants aimed at enabling people to express themselves. Most especially, for movies and TV shows. The videos were of actors filming a movie, one with the goal of not using CGI and green screens. Before the Storm interrupted them, the shoot was simply fantastic, everything going perfectly according to plan. Hopefully, most of that can be salvaged, because it’s going to be hell setting everything up for another take.” Every word felt like rotten milk in her mouth, her stomach filled with sour acid at having to tell such a massive lie.

“A… movie shoot?” Ted seemed to have been caught completely by surprise. “There’s been a lot of rumors flying around, and I do mean a LOT. Surely you’re aware of this, yes?”

“What I can say at this time,” she stressed firmly, “is that it was a movie shoot. After all, what other possible explanation is there?” Her smile was gone, staring deep into the reporter’s eyes with a piercing glare.

Ted seemed to almost relax, any deeper meaning going right over his head. “Those were some incredible effects! Green monsters, flying icicles, walls of stone, the works! How was it all done?”

Janice smiled sweetly. “You know I can’t reveal trade secrets.”

Putting his hands together in front of his chin, the reporter’s gaze turned serious. “Speaking of trade secrets… The rumors surrounding your StormShield are just as wild. People claiming to be witnesses said the main device seemed to send out some sort of shockwave that scrambled all the phones around it, and that’s why there’s no videos of it, but they’ve been saying something about… a dog turning into a dragon? And that wasn’t a movie shoot, that was the device you said saved the town.”

Giving a polite chuckle, Janice didn’t lose her smile. “I can honestly tell you that no dogs turned into dragons.” After all, it was only an illusion being dismissed.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Ted joined her with a laugh. “Ha ha! No, of course not. But I need something to tell my viewers. Tell the world!”

Janice took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and let it out slowly. “Figuring out what to tell your viewers is YOUR job, isn’t it? Look, what do you want me to say? You’ve clearly got something you want to say, so just say it. I don’t have time to sit here and beat around the bush. As a good friend recently said to me, ‘I can’t defend myself against accusations you won’t tell me.’”

The reporter seemed taken aback by the sudden shift in her demeanor. He was being put on the spot. There was no way around it. He would have to be the first one to use the word. “…It… It looked like… well, magic.” The last word was stressed, tinged with his defeat, with the fear and uncertainty he’d been trying to pretend this whole time that he wasn’t feeling. He even deflated a bit as it came out. “Please, how do you address these rumors?”

Janice nodded solemnly. “The word ‘magic’ has become incredibly loaded. People all over the world have their expectations for what magic is and isn’t. But it’s synonymous with ‘impossible’. Even though nobody actually believes magic exists, there are quite a few people who would call it ‘witchcraft’, and start screaming about Satan the moment that word gets used. That panic’s been used as an excuse to murder countless people over the millennia. But these are wild times. We just re-established communication with the outside world two days ago, and I haven’t had the chance to catch up with the state of things. So, tell me this: What does the world think about ‘magic’ now? Are we headed towards another Salem, but on a worldwide scale?”

Ted bore a haunted expression. The speech was terrifyingly close to a confession, but it wasn’t quite one. “I don’t know. Maybe? Maybe not. There’s been a rash of people stepping forward, claiming to have power. There’s this ‘Superbunny’, out in Colorado, filmed fighting some kind of identical doppelganger and showing inhuman feats of strength. You guys have… everything you’ve got going on. And day by day, the Storms get worse. People are scared. I think… I think some people are going to want something to blame, but first and foremost, people want something that will help. People want your StormShield. Is… Is it really magic? IS magic REAL?” He knew most of this would have to be cut from the tape, but he couldn’t help but let the fear lead him to babble. He was desperate for any answer that let him keep believing it wasn’t.

It was such an earnest question, free of the posturing for ratings, that Janice couldn’t help but want to help soothe his fear. But it was clear that telling the truth would only make it worse. Even though she deeply wished she could just stop the charade. Sighing heavily, she spread her hands wide, and gave her speech. “There’s a lot of strange stuff going on in the world right now. People are throwing the word ‘magic’ around, and my biggest fear is that it’s going to get people hurt, or killed. I’m urging everyone to remember that the people around them are human beings. This is a time when we all need to join together and do everything we can to protect each other, to help each other get through this. We WILL survive this, but not if we start going after our neighbors’ throats just because we’ve seen something weird.

“These ‘Chaos Storms’ are a new phenomena, but we’ll investigate them scientifically, and we’ll learn about them, and we’ll have protection that we can make available to everyone. It’s no different than the first humans who saw lightning strike a tree and spark a flame. Just because we don’t understand it yet, it doesn’t make it ‘magic’. I urge everyone to focus on staying safe, and helping people they can.”

Ted nodded along, smiling wider. “That is wonderful to hear.” Turning to the camera, he addressed the audience directly. “You heard it here, folks. Safety is the number one priority in these wild times.” Turning back, he spoke to Janice again. “But one thing I have to ask, when you talk about distributing StormShield, how much is it going to cost?”

Janice was prepared for this. She’d been giving a speech similar to this every time she’d been asked. “As little as possible. Once I have the issues worked out, the plans will be made available for free. Any devices sold will be for the cost of materials, not a single penny of profit. We’ll urge everyone to make their own, and we’ll be working to have devices manufactured as fast as we possibly can. The goal is to ensure coverage of every major city at minimum. I’d like it if we could have every single home covered, losing even one person to the Storms is more than I want to accept. And I refuse to let a single person die because they couldn’t give me money. That’s not ‘joining together and helping each other’.”

The reporter smiled widely. “What a lofty goal, Miss Hearthbloom! Here’s hoping we’ll see it in time. Though, the fact that it worked here does put it ahead of every other venture so far, I must admit. I have a feeling the entire world is going to be following your progress desperately. I know I will, ha ha!”

“Yes, all eyes are definitely on us.” Janice chuckled ruefully. “We promise that as soon as we have reliable information to share, we will share it freely. Until then, the potential risks of sharing half-complete designs is too great. As I said, the device draws energy from the Storms themselves, so we need to make sure it’s safe before we release it into the world.”

Standing up, Ted extended a hand across the desk. “I, for one, am glad things are in the hands of someone with such a long career in philanthropy and charity. Hopefully we’ll be celebrating the successful large-scale release of the technology soon! It was wonderful meeting you today.”

Janice stood up and shook the hand, signaling her agreement that the interview was over. “It was my pleasure. I wish I could have given you more answers, but I have to admit, we’re still facing a lot of questions ourselves.”

Ted turned to the camera and drew a finger across his throat, telling the cameraman to cut the feed. Once that was done, he nearly slumped over, letting out a ragged sigh. “Questions, questions everywhere, and nobody has any damn answers. I pray to God your device works, because it feels like the world is ending. C’mon, let’s get back on the road.” Without waiting, he stepped out to wait in the van, eager to be out of town as soon as possible.

The cameraman, however, had to pack his gear, and couldn’t resist speaking up now that he was alone with Janice. “Hey, so… I know you said it’s just stuff we don’t know yet, but like… It’s magic, right? For real? ‘Cause I saw those videos, and they can’t possibly be special effects. And, like, there’s no videos, but people said that StormShield thing had glowing runes around it.”

Janice froze, staring at the man with a wary eye. “You’re not satisfied with it being a movie shoot?”

He shifted his weight uneasily. “It’s just… If it was a photo shoot, how come you guys didn’t block off the area, keep people out of it? Why does everyone who saw it say it’s the real thing? And why is there talk about people dying?”

That last part made Janice recoil like she’d been wounded. Emotionally, she had. Being forced to dishonor the people lost by hiding their existence had weighed on her this whole time. With a heavy sigh, she put her hands on the desk and grit her teeth. It felt like putting down a heavy burden, but picking up an even bigger one. “Yes. Magic is real. The videos are real. Six people lost their lives, torn apart by the ogres. But between defeating them and stopping the Storm, magic saved the lives of two thousand, one hundred and sixteen people. We still have much to learn. The StormShield is a magic device, activating it requires mages to channel the energy required, and that’s why we can’t distribute them yet. But soon, as soon as we can figure out a way to overcome that.”

The man’s heart raced at the admission, skipping over the pain in her voice. “You’re one of those mages, aren’t you? The dude with the dog, dragon, whatever got the most attention, but there were people recording the other devices, and you were using one of them, right?”

Janice nodded, barely looking up from her desk. “Yes, I have been learning magic.” She raised a hand, palm upward, and concentrated. It felt cliché, but it would be effective. Focusing on the Containment and Fire runes, she created a ball of flame, hovering over her hand. “I’m no expert, not yet, but I can do enough to empower one of the Echo Devices, which extend the coverage of the main StormShield to protect more of the town.”

Watching the flame flicker in the air, he whispered under his breath. “Holy shit.”

After the comment, Janice dismissed the flame. It had served its purpose, after all. “You should get going, your boss there didn’t seem to want to wait. And I have a lot to do.”

Magister Yenturan was hardly an entertaining host. But then, he wasn’t aware that being one was even an option. I sprawled out on the floor of his office while he did paperwork, the monotony only broken up by the occasional meeting. I was half-listening to one of those meetings now, Yenturan meeting some professor I’d never met before about some proposed budget, except at this point it had turned to gossip.

“And now I’m being expected to pick up the slack from Professor Dweli. You think it’s another part of whatever’s been keeping Master Korrigan and the others so distracted? I hear it has something to do with that Mage Tola fellow, and the rumors of him being a demon.” Okay, now I was listening.

Lifting my head didn’t go unnoticed by Yenturan. “Yes, that’s right, we said your owner’s name.” The tone was patronizing, and his attention quickly turned back to his guest. There was a slight shudder along his spine as he recalled the sight of Master’s draconic appearance. “I’ve been assured repeatedly that Tola is not a demon. I still don’t know if I particularly like this whole business, though… I saw him earlier today, in fact, and he was… Well, ‘dealing with a condition’.”

The middle-aged man in the seat across from his desk raised his eyebrows. “A ‘condition’? What condition could be the cause of so much secrecy, though? Were you able to tell what it was?”

Yenturan grimaced. “What it was…? No, I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like it. I can certainly see the need for secrecy, I probably shouldn’t say anything more than that. I just wish Dweli would talk to me more about it.”

I let out a soft huff, letting my tail thump against the ground in frustration. Seeing the two jump, I realized I needed to keep in better control of myself. I tried to play it off as something to be ignored, busying myself with grooming under a wing. It worked, and soon they resumed their conversation.

“Pardon my ignorance, Magister, but why don’t you tell her to? You outrank her, do you not?” The guest was clearly still mulling over the bits that Yenny had said, which was far more than he should have.

The Magister sighed, glaring at a piece of paper and sliding it across his desk idly. “On paper, yes, but only on paper. In truth, she has Master Korrigan’s eye. The whole lot of them do, everyone that got wrapped up with that self-taught upstart when he arrived. In theory, I could order them to inform me of what’s going on. In reality, I’m here with the damn dragon in my office, while they probably talk behind my back.”

This professor nodded, as if it was some important wisdom that was just said. “I was wondering about that, yes. She looks like a friendly one, at least. But what you just said, that sounds like more fuel for the demon rumor, doesn’t it? This fellow comes in out of nowhere, and everyone who meets him is suddenly keeping secrets about him from everyone else?”

Yenturan fixed him with a severe gaze. “What I want to know is, where does he keep going off to? He’s not leaving through the gate, as far as I’m aware. Or if he is, he’s not in any of the official logs. And after this whole nasty business with that Initiate Roffil– Sorry, Mage Roffil now. Well, he was an Initiate when it happened. But that was the start of this ‘Demon’ rumor, and now it’s just been silently dropped by the entire group, including Roffil! I simply don’t know what to make of it all, and that’s the most frustrating part. I am supposed to be responsible for the smooth operation of this Guild, putting Master Korrigan’s decisions into policy and action! Instead, I fear I’ll be cleaning up dragon droppings by the end of the day.” The bitterness creeping into his voice was almost enough to get me to react again, but I kept myself under control.

“Perhaps I best leave you to it. I certainly don’t want to be here when it happens, you might demand I aid you!” The professor laughed at his own joke. “I still say you should put your foot down, though. You’re right, it’s hardly fair you’re expected to run things in this kind of situation. You’re Master Korrigan’s right-hand man. And in my experience, the moment the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing, things get dropped on the floor quickly. And if Dweli won’t tell you anything, perhaps you should rethink this relationship of yours.” With that, he stood up and started to head towards the door.

The Magister waved a hand, taking another piece of paper from the pile on his desk. “Even if things do get dropped on the floor, you know it’ll be me who’s expected to pick up the pieces. Best of luck with the students, friend.”

With the door closed, I thought about everything that had been said. This was probably a terrible idea, but if he was spreading rumors out of ignorance, it was probably best to deal with him. So I spoke. “If you even think of trying to dump Dweli, I really will dump on your floor, just so you know.”

The startled reaction sent several papers into the air, with Yenturan nearly falling out of his chair, looking around. But the only other figure in the office was me, staring up at him with a steady glare. He was clearly weighing the likelihood of explanations in his mind, and came up lacking. “Did you…?” Instead of finishing the question, he shook his head and chuckled at himself as he leaned over to retrieve the paperwork. “I swear, I just imagined you spoke. I’ve been working too hard.”

“Master isn’t a demon.” I spoke again the moment he started to turn away, causing him to snap back to me, his eyes wide. “But he tried channeling my energy mixed with his through a spell, and now it’s causing him to start turning into a dragon. That’s his ‘condition’, and it’s what he and Dweli are working hard to cure. Left untreated, we fear it might become permanent.”

The silence hung in the air. “You… you really DO speak?”

Huffing, I turned away for a moment, staring at the twitching tip of my tail as it curled around beside me. “Honestly, that’s probably the least weird part of this entire situation.” I brought my gaze back to him and shrugged, which translated to lifting my wings before letting them settle back in place. “But you wanted to know what’s going on, and I’d rather get in trouble for telling you than have you lend any credence to harmful rumors.”

With an air of caution, he glanced up at the door, making sure it was closed. That done, he regarded me again, the mix of emotions playing out across his face, trying to figure out what the best question to ask would be. “…So, if he’s not a demon… Where does he go? What place is so secret that even I’m not allowed to know about it?”

“Ooh boy, you had to ask the Big One, huh?” I thought about how to approach this. But since my face didn’t really have the same muscles as a human, I had a natural poker face, and the silence was making Yenturan increasingly uneasy. So I tried to show my indecision in a way he’d understand. “Hmm, let’s see… How do I put this…? Perhaps it’s best to think of it as… a special diplomatic mission. One that a few others have also been able to go on. Roffil’s been spending a lot of time there, and was able to create a successful prototype of a device that can hold Chaos Storms at bay. Buuuut, it took a lot of power, more than even Master could channel, which is why he resorted to drastic measures. It’s not easy to cover an entire city in a protective field, after all.”

He didn’t seem to like the half of an explanation. Crossing his arms, he glared at me with a cross expression. “A ‘special diplomatic mission’?”

I thought I’d try to give him just a bit more. Maybe if he thought he got enough, he’d leave it alone. “To his homeland. You remember how he talked about it, when you first met him?”

It took some effort for him to recall the memory. “The land that didn’t know magic existed? Yet somehow bore one of the most talented mages we’ve seen in hundreds of years? What’s so special about such a place, that it should be Master Korrigan’s top priority?”

Of course it wasn’t enough. I sighed heavily, flopping down onto my stomach and groaning. “Look, I’m trying to be nice, but I can’t very well say everything, can I? Especially to a rumormonger eager to badmouth my Master and talking about breaking my friend’s heart.”

“Wh–! I object to such a… a gross mischaracterization! I am assuredly NOT some idle gossip, or else I would never be entrusted with such a position!” But I continued to glare at him from the floor. “I can’t believe I’m arguing with a beast. And I can’t believe a beast knows so much about what’s going on!”

I let out an exaggerated yawn, rolling over onto my side, and letting my tail lift up and drop with a thump. “Keep laying the ‘a beast’ thing on thick, buddy. See how far it gets you. Or are you this rude to everyone? I don’t know how you got this job if you can’t at least pretend to be polite.”

Yenturan bristled in growing frustration, but took a deep breath to regain his composure. Letting it out, he closed his eyes as he tried to force his voice to be even and calm. “Very well. I… apologize for my hasty remarks.” It was still obvious this was stinging his pride. I shouldn’t be taking such delight in this, but it was fun to let him stew in it a little. “And I apologize for any ill I may have spoken of Mage Tola. But you must admit, the demon rumors–”

“Ah ah ah!” I cut him off. “Master is just as human as you or anyone else here on Terra. Well, normally, anyway. Present circumstances excluded.”

His eyes immediately narrowed. “What do you mean, ‘here on Terra’?”

Oops. I scrambled to my feet while I tried to think of something to say, but the reaction gave me away despite my reptilian poker face that I was just mentally bragging about. A knowing grin spread across his face. “Well, I mean… What do YOU mean, ‘what do I mean’?” Smooth, Princess. Real smooth.

“What I mean is, it sounds like there really is some truth to that ‘World of Chaos’ talk Roffil was throwing around, when all this secrecy began in earnest. But what I don’t understand is why Tola is working to counter the Storms, if he’s from the world within them. Or how he has everyone enthralled.”

I let out a low growl, as it was my turn to be frustrated. “Fiiiine. It’s not a ‘World of Chaos’, it’s called Earth. And it’s not within the Storms, it’s on the other side of them. Kind of. Maybe. It’s complicated.” He had me trapped, there was no getting around it now. I sighed heavily. “Master is from Earth, it’s a world much like Terra, except magic is practically unknown there. People believe it doesn’t exist at all, and so they turned to science and technology to master the world. The Storms, they’re… gaps in the fabric of existence, holes opened in both realities. Earth suffers from the Storms just as Terra does. And human beings on both worlds are in danger from them.”

Yenturan’s eyes were wide as I spoke, and it took a minute to process everything I said. “Another world…? Truly? But if it’s so devoid of magic as you say, what benefit would there be from these ‘diplomatic missions’?”

A grumbled chuff sound passed through my throat, and I flicked my tail. Of course every mage saw themselves as the pinnacle of learning, so they just couldn’t imagine any other path. “The technology on Earth surpasses the magic on Terra in ways you can scarcely imagine. For instance, you know those communication orbs Botolf is so proud of? Nearly every single person on Earth has a device similar to that, the size of a hand mirror, except you can use it to access nearly every library on Earth in addition to talk to one another. You can send missives, you can read posted notices, you can form groups to all talk to each other, you can watch any stage play put on in the last hundred years, and you can even play games that look like you’re looking at the real world. And these devices have been commonplace for around… fifteen years, I think? Maybe twenty. Earlier versions only let you speak and send short missives. Before that, they were larger and had to be fixed in a home or office, and only let you speak. And all of this is done completely and totally without magic. Electricity and semiconductors, harnessing the properties of metals and chemicals.”

He glanced over at the orb on his desk, but he could barely keep up with everything I piled on to the smartphone. “That is… I don’t think I can believe that. You’re certain this is true? You’ve seen it with your own eyes?”

Should I tell him that before I was Princess, I was trained to program these devices? No, that would be way too much for him to handle. “I have. And that’s only a tiny fraction of the technology Earth has come up with. Those devices can connect anyone with anyone. A person in Ida Grove can join a group chat with people in New York, California, Texas, England, France, Japan, anywhere in the world. And they can all talk to each other as if they were in the same room.”

“Ida– Wait, England?” It was clear he wanted to call me a liar, but I had already said such incredible things that he wasn’t sure what to believe anymore.

I brought a wing over my face in the draconic equivalent of a facepalm. “Ah, yeah, I forgot, Terra’s weird about England. It’s a real place, it’s just on Earth. We think the legends were started by people who crossed between worlds and didn’t know it. If the diplomacy goes well, perhaps you’ll even have a chance to visit it some day. Just to warn you, it’s probably going to be a bit of a let down, it’s not really any more special than anywhere else on Earth. At least in Ida Grove, we’ve got people who know about Terra.”

Yenturan slumped back in his hair, shaking his head, trying to get over his shock and the feeling of being completely overwhelmed. “I… am not sure I’m ready to be visiting this Earth place any time soon.”

Dweli and Tola were staring at the journals on the table. What they had pieced together would barely be better than a desperate gamble, but it was something. However… “Tola, this is… I don’t know about this. The way it talks about ripping the power out of you along with the contaminant. You’re in much worse shape than Elimaio ever was.”

Tola let out a low growl, his tail swinging behind him as he leaned over the table, his hands bracing himself. One hand still human, the other a thick paw, with white scales covering the entire arm. “That fact had not escaped me. But will it work? Do we even have enough time left to find another method? This is the best we’ve found.”

“But the danger…! What if it destroys your ability to use magic completely?” The worry on her face was etched deeply as she watched the partially transformed mage. “We’re looking at tearing out parts of your soul!”

It clearly hurt to think about it. He might have been looking at the book, but he wasn’t seeing anything in the room right now. “I… I don’t know. I lived most of my life without magic. But it’s become such a core part of my life now… It’s as natural to me as breathing. It’s like being able to see or hear, after a lifetime of being blind or deaf. How do I go back to not knowing magic? I can barely imagine it.”

Dweli shook her head, at a loss for words. “I don’t know. I’m sure you’d find a way. You and Princess could stay here at the Guild, our resident expert on Earth. You could go back to Earth and live there. Either way, you’d probably need to sell the tower by Hammerfell, since you wouldn’t be able to earn a living as the town mage anymore…”

“No, I suppose I couldn’t. Which is worse? Living here, surrounded by magic, but knowing I’ll never be able to touch that energy again? Or living on Earth, knowing the moment I go to tell anyone what I’ve been through, they’ll lock me in a padded cell?” He let out a heavy sigh, sagging under the weight of it all. “At least here, I could have Princess with me and she’d be safe. I don’t know if I could say the same of Earth.”

The silence was thick. “So, you’re going to go through with it?”

Tola growled again. “What choice do I have? There’s the chance I’ll come through with magic intact, after all.”

But Dweli was undaunted. “You could… let it continue. Let yourself become a dragon, like Princess. I presume you’ll be able to speak like she can. I’ll speak on your behalf, and I’m sure Master Korrigan would as well. You’d still be Mage Tola, just… our first dragon mage.”

He raised his eyes, trying not to glare at the suggestion. “A dragon mage, except dragons can’t use human-based magic.” Feeling bad about the look of shock on Dweli’s face, he softened his glare. “Well, I suppose there is that conversion bit I made for Princess’s collar. Maybe I could still have access to magic, with something like that. Or maybe I’ll just have to invent a whole new form of magic.”

But Dweli wasn’t reacting to the intensity of the glare. Not quite. “Your… your eye…!”

Tola raised his paw to his face reflexively, but obviously that didn’t do any good. So he looked for a mirror, going to the sleeping area behind the folding screen, where one sat on the crate used as a nightstand.

And in his reflection, he saw that his right eye now had a golden iris with a slitted pupil. Any hope that this affliction was something he could weather without treatment was now definitively dashed, with the sight of the mismatched windows to the soul.

Tola would have to decide what to do, because time was now running out.