Over the past week I've been doing nothing but making small improvements to my lair.

it started with flattening the base of the caldera and moving any rocks or boulders down to one part of the slope and melting them down. Forcing and compressing them together I've been making a flat wall ringing about a third of the caldera with it coming down at an odd angle so that if something falls in they will have a hard time getting out.

At the top of the slope I've been smoothing out the top and have started creating pillars to surround the caldera making the place look nice.

Starting to feel peckish I go on a hunt and to stretch my wings. While in the air I'm able to spot rain in the distance about half a day away. Sensing an opportunity I land on a nearby hill and blow flame on the base turning it into superheated sludge. Hollowing out a small section of the top of a hill isn't easy but I'm able to manage it before the rains get here.

Not having to wait long I eventually start to feel droplets sliding into my plates and cooling my skin underneath. The rain going into the bowl Ive created is turned into steam since the rock hasn't had enough time to cool.

When it starts to really come down I can see a beginning of a puddle and Im quite happy with my work. Flying back home though the storm isn't easy but I manage and when I return I'm devastated.

The rain is collecting into the caldera and flooding into my den! Rushing inside I see that its starting to flood with the water collecting in the center.

Breathing flame I evaporate most of it but that doesn't help much since more water is coming inside still. Heading outside I try to solve the issue by creating a trench where the slope meets the flattened part of the caldera.

For the next couple hours I continue heating and shoving rock aside undoing my work of previous days I can begin to notice It starting to work as the center of the caldera is now a rough dome shape leading into a small trench for the water to collect.

Heading toward the entrance of the den I create a curved platform so that water will run off and around it and into the trench instead of flooding my home. Around the walls and ceiling of the entrance I create a bulge so that the water run around the entrance instead of running along the ceiling of the cavern.

By now a couple more hours have passed and the rain is letting up a little and the trench is half full. Heading inside to survey the damage the storm has caused. I see the water has collected up to my ankles and the moisture choking me in the now cold den. Breathing small patches of flame evaporates the most of it but now the steam funneling out irritates my eyes and forces me out.

Wading towards the center of the caldera I see that the cooled rock is beginning to melt from the lava trapped beneath it. Helping it along I break it apart and go into the pool. The last time I was in here was when I attempted to dive into the channel in the center. Unfortunately lava is much too dense and I was only able to head a few feet deep under the surface before it became too difficult to push myself down deeper.

Now relaxing on the surface I simply let the heat wash into me and put my mind at ease from the stress of the day.

The next few days were busy as I corrected the mistakes I made before the storm hit. Digging the trench deeper and smoothing out the dome around the pool in the center and the fixing the entrance to my den making it much harder to flood.

I adjusted the bottom of the cavern so that any water that makes it inside will fall into the channel on the left side of the cave and will lead into a pool that's on an extended part of the cavern instead of it becoming flooded.

Outside, the calderas slopes are completely smoothed over with blackened rock and at the top of them are the pillars surrounding the entrance to the hollow part of the mountain. If something where to head past the pillars and go down the slope they will meet the trenches and be forced to wade through that when it fills with water and later become acid do to the ash and sulfur in the smoke and sediments in the area.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

While resting and recharging I noticed that the power in the area had been starting to grow slightly denser allowing me to regain my heat faster than when outside of the caldera. Fascinated I head outside of the caldera and once I'm past the pillars surrounding it I can feel the drop-off of power. It's thinner outside of it and I can start making out the differences in the power out here where it mostly feels the same on the inside. Like a slow build up of heat and power waiting to explode.

Heading back and going into my den I can feel the changes here more than ever. Inside the caldera felt charged while in here it's absolutely overflowing.

It is so rich in here that I could choke on it but soon I'm able to adjust and am able to stand in it without drowning.

Heading deeper inside becomes almost unbearable and being inside the main chamber feels like I'm swimming on land. All the power is packed together and increasing the temperature to a point that it comparable to the pool of lava in the caldera.

Forcing myself to swallow down this power I feel the heat in my chest suddenly flare In pain as the burning grows faster than I'm able to handle and soon it explodes and evolves into something new. Spreading throughout my body like a tidal wave and pushing itself into my veins and hearts, into my organs and traveling across my skin and plates, it is almost to much to handle.

My bones feel like they are snapping and popping with my joints locking up an are being forced to bend, once it reaches my brain I black out.

Waking up on the floor left me sore and feeling lightheaded with a throbbing headache to match. Slowly rising to my feet I make my way to the pool of water on the other side of the cave.

Setting it to boil I drink from it heavily until I can feel it sloshing in my stomach. Laying down in my nock I try to figure out what happened before I passed out.

First, the construction efforts that I'd been toiling on were finished.

Second, the power within boundaries of the pillars rose with the cave rising to extreme levels.

Third, the heat in my chest had some sort of reaction to the extreme amount of power in the air and did something.

As time passes the headache slowly subsides and I start to feel the hunger in my belly. Deciding to walk it off I head outside and spot the pool of lava bubbling and whirling immediately.

Confused and slightly worried I make my way over to it and I can feet it absorbing the power in the air. Unsure of what's happening I decide to leave it alone and see what happens later.

Flying around my territory I spot an oxen herd far in the distance and am unsure if it's the same one that I encountered when I first arrived in this world. Flying closer I notice that the leading bull of the herd is not as large and it's horns aren't as black as the other one was which helps me decide if hunting them is worth it.

Spotting an older female that isn't as fast as the others I slowly make my way closer to her while staying out of sight. Forcing my muscles to unclench I land atop her and bury my fangs on the top of her neck and sink my claws on her shoulders and back.

Unexpectedly she does not collapse and starts trying to buck me off. Leaping off of her I slice into her with the bladed tip of my tail enhanced by my power and parting flesh along the ribs.

By now the rest of the herd is directing their attention towards me and to cut off a potential charge I let loose a stream of flame separating my prey from safety with a wall of fire. By now she is charging a fireball between her horns while bleeding profusely from the wounds she has taken leaving her with shaking feet.

Trusting in my plates I rush her an am met with fire and force but I push though it and soon encounter the horns. Turning my neck I let them graze the plates along my neck leaving shallow grooves in their wake.

Biting into her left leg, I pull and am rewarded with a snap, a bellow and a collapsing bovine ready to die. Angling myself and climbing over her back I disembowel her and soon go for the neck. By now the flames are starting the die down and the herd is starting to rush me so I'm forced to take to the air.

Flying away I'm pelted by a few fireballs but they do little against me now. Landing by a nearby hill I watch the herd from a distance with them watching me in turn.

Like last time the herd crowds around the corpse and starts to kick and nip at it but unlike last time they don't wait nearly as long before they decide to move on.

Investigating the kill I notice that there's a hole in the chest like last time. Unfortunately I wasn't able to watch them too closely so why they were doing this is still a mystery. Laying into the body I can feel some of the power of the beast rush into me and fueling the power located within my chest.

With a full belly I leave the rest of the corpse where it lay I head home ready for another nap.