or
Continue to read
Gather ‘round children, tonight I shall tell the tale of how I came to this realm. What’s that you say? What is a realm? Why, the wonderful land of Mysteria that we live in, that is a realm. Now hush and let me tell the tale.
I was fully an adult, and quite used to my were-human ability when distressing news was brought to the tribe. A group of humans had begun building houses out on the tundra, not far from where we lived. There was a great stir, and the elders of the tribe argued long about what should be done. We knew humans hunted animals for their fur, and we did not trust them to know the difference between us and our dumb cousins. But what could we do? Firecats do not go to war, so we could not fight them, yet to do nothing could mean our destruction. It was Cloud Singer who first suggested a solution. Perhaps we could treat with these humans. If they knew we were not the animals we seemed they might be persuaded to make an agreement of peace. All the elders thought this was a good plan, but they also thought it could not be done. For one of us venturing into a human village would be killed out of fear before he could deliver any message. They argued about this for a long time before Cloud Singer again spoke up."Flame Song could go," he said. "She can look like one of them if she wishes to."
The elders immediately saw the wisdom of this, and so I was sent out to meet with the humans. Ghost Flame snuck into the sleeping town in the middle of the night and stole clothing for me to wear. Then he and Cloud Singer walked with me to the edge of the village at dawn. There were only a few humans about, but as I walked through the streets of the town more of them came out and stared at me. I know now how strange I looked to them. A young human woman, dressed in ill-fitting clothes and with two huge white cats at her side, strolling through the streets of town.By the time I reached the house that Ghost Flame had identified as belonging to their chieftain there was a crowd of humans around me. Most of them kept away from me, so I moved in the center of an empty circle. I stopped in front of his door and waited. I didn’t know about knocking, but he’d heard the commotion on the streets and he came out right away. He just about fell over when he opened the door and saw me standing there.
"You are the chieftain of these humans?"It took him a moment to collect himself before he could reply. "Yes, I’m the uh, chieftain."
"I have come from the Phoenix clan of the firecat people to make an agreement of peace between us. They fear that you will take their lands from the and hunt them.""We would never hunt other humans, child." He’d regained his composure and now was assuming a superior air. I suppose he thought I was a barbarian girl from some human tribe.
I shook my head at his mistaken assumption. "I do not come from another clan of the human people, I come from the firecat people." Then I motioned to Ghost Flame and Cloud Singer. "These are my people. We know how humans hunt our dumb cousins, the snow leopards, for their fur. We do not wish the fur of our people to be worn by your people."Again it took the chieftain a minute to regain his composure. "You mean that you want me to make a treaty with a bunch of cats?"
I nodded. Then Cloud Singer spoke. "We are not merely cats, O human chief. We are firecats of the Phoenix tribe. And yes, we would make a treaty with you."This time it was nearly five minutes before he recovered enough to speak. "I... I apologize. Of course, of course we won’t hunt you." He seemed to be more afraid of them now that they had spoken than he had been before.
"We have your word then? You swear peace between our peoples?" Cloud Singer was fierce."Yes! Yes, you have my word."
Cloud Singer nodded. "It is good then. We will keep peace with you always."He turned and walked back the way we had come. I followed him with Ghost Flame trailing behind. When we reached the edge of the village, I shifted back into my natural form, much to the surprise of the humans who had followed us that far.
The three of us ran across the tundra, returning to the tribe.Now the human village was at the very edge of our territory, a place that I had never been and would never had gone if the humans had not been there. As we ran toward home I smelled a strange scent. "Hold a moment," I called out.
"What is it?" Ghost Flame and Cloud Singer halted."Do you smell that?"
Ghost Flame sniffed the air. "Yes. How strange. I’ve never scented anything like that before."Cloud Singer sniffed as well. "It smells of magic, Flame Song. Be cautious."
I nodded and went forward, sniffing carefully. The scent led into a small grove of trees. The summer air was cool and damp here, rich with forest smells. But over it all I could smell that strange scent. Suddenly I saw something. A tiny creature, running so fast I couldn’t make out what it was. I could tell though that it was what I’d been smelling. Ahead of it was a thing like a hole in the air, rimmed with fire. The little creature dashed into it. Without even thinking I leaped after it.I was surrounded by swirling flames. I looked back and saw Cloud Singer and Ghost Flame dwindling away in the distance. Ghost-Flame leaped toward me, but I saw the portal close before he reached it. Then there was nothing but blackness filled with fire. Flames licked around me, blinded me. But I’m a firecat, I didn’t fear them. Suddenly the world stretched oddly around me. The fire was gone and I floated in blackness. How long had I been there? I might have floated in utter nothing for a second or an eternity.
Then with a thump I landed on solid ground. I looked around. I stood on a flat almost featureless plain. The sky overhead was full of strange stars. There were too many of them, and the constellations they formed were unfamiliar. In the distance there were things like the buildings of the human village, but much bigger. Creatures circled through the air above the buildings, but at this distance I couldn’t make out what they were. Since there didn’t seem to be anywhere else to go, I got to my feet and padded toward the buildings.Distracted by the strange sights, I neglected to listen to the sounds around me. Ghost Flame would have been disappointed with me, for something touched my shoulder before I noticed it was there. I jumped into the air and spun around. When I landed I could see and smell that the creature I’d followed here was standing in front of me.
"Who are you? How did you sneak up on me like that? And where is this?""I am Frye, the sprite," the odd-looking thing said in a piping voice. "We are in one of the magic portals," it continued, "on our way to Mysteria."
"Mysteria?" The word is strange on my tongue."Yes. Mysteria is home to the clan of the Lost Dragon."
Ah. Something I could understand at last. I knew of the importance of clans, and I’d met a number of dragons. Looking up again, I realized that the creatures circling over the big buildings were indeed dragons.The little creature started walking toward where the dragons circled. Quickly I followed him. "How can I get back home from this place?" I asked.
"Only one of the elders can help you return. They control the magic portals. You weren’t supposed to follow me through, but they’ll have to decide how best to send you home." He spoke to me over his shoulder as he walked. Suddenly in front of him there was a door that hadn’t been there before. He opened it and waited for me to go through. I shrugged and walked through the door. Even though nothing but the buildings and dragons seemed to be on the other side of the door, when I’d crossed through it I saw a castle on the shore of a lake."That’s the castle of the wizard, Darius," explained the sprite. I had never met a wizard either, but I’d heard tales enough. Cloud Singer had said that they were like shamans for humans. Surely a shaman would know how to send me home!
The sprite opened a door in the side of the castle with a key. He motioned me through, so I went. Inside I was greeted by a bearded human dressed in long robes. This must be Darius, I thought, and indeed it was. I seated myself on the floor in front of him and asked him how I could return home. He looked at me curiously then said, "We don’t get many people from your world. I myself and most of the adventurers that come through the portals are from Earth." I was confused, but he smiled and then told me the tale that all Mysterians know, the story of the Dragon Queen. I listened intently. In my realm there is also a dragon queen, I’ve even met her once, but that is a different tale.At last he finished and offered me the choice, to stay or to go. I wandered the halls of the castle thinking. At last I decided. I would miss the clan, my family, and my friends, but I was needed here. I went through the halls again to the Quest room. There a scribe took down my answers to a great many questions, and directed me to the Hall of Meditation.
I lay down in the hall and put my head on my paws. At first I couldn’t concentrate. I found myself running through my life in my mind. At last I cleared my mind. I don’t know how much time passed, but at last I knew I was finished. I got to my feet, not feeling any different. Into my mind a thought came... "You are a shape-shifter. Now you are part of Mysteria." I couldn’t tell if the thought was my own or someone else’s.Without thinking twice about it, I shifted into human form. But I could do that before. Eager to test my new power, I tried out a hawk, a housecat, and a dragon. Suddenly I was tired, shifting apparently took a lot out of me. But I was happy. I’d found a new home. I left the hall of meditation and went in search of Darius. I was sure there would be lots of new friends to be found here. I couldn’t wait to meet them.