Dance of Magic - The Books of Beginning [1]

40. Here There Be Dragons

Wilamena and Captain Anton dashed through the corridors of the Rose Citadel. The building, once warm and grand, now was cold with the magic of the ghosts hanging over the island. The beauty of the building was no longer a comfort, instead it served as a cruel foil to the hideous war outside. 

"Right through here, your highness," Captain Anton said, ever loyal to the good monarchs who lead his people. 

He pushed open the door, and Wilamena took a deep breath. In this dark hour, she could no longer afford to act like a mere girl, or even a princess. It was time to be a queen.

"Princess, thank you for rushing here," Dr. Pym sighed with relief upon seeing her, "we desperately need your help."

"I'll do whatever it takes," Wilamena said fiercely, "just tell me what I have to do."

Dr. Pym nodded, "I'll let Master Chu explain that part."

Wilamena turned to the wizard, who stood steadily and calmly even with the chaos raging around. He began to speak quietly, "Princess, we need a way to destroy these ghosts. Their energy and the chaos they cause is wounding our chances of winning this battle."

"I agree, but how am I supposed to help with that," Wilamena asked.

Master Chu replied, "have you ever heard of an astral form?"

"Yes. Wizards and other magical creatures can create one and send it into their dreams to search for something like a lost concept or memory. It's like taking a little piece of the soul and detaching it from the body for a short period of time," Wilamena explained, reciting all she had learned.

"Precisely," Master Chu said, "and since ghosts are the souls of the dead, it would take another soul to wound them. Sending out an astral form is our best chance of combatting them."

"Ok, but why do you need me?" the elf princess asked, "why can't you send out your own astral form?"

"Because my astral form, like the ghosts on our side, is too small to do anything quickly and unable to properly wield much magic," Master Chu explained.

"And I can fix that how?"

"Unlike most people, your astral form can take two shapes. One is an imitation of yourself as you are right now. The other is the form of the dragon you were, the dragon that left such a profound effect on you," Master Chu replied.

Wilamena froze. If there was one thing that she feared, it was being confined within that dragon again.

Master Chu saw her fright and spoke reassuringly, "do not fear princess, sending out your astral form in the shape of the dragon to defeat the ghosts would not trap your physical or spiritual self in said dragon form. Your body would merely go into a trance here while your mind guides the piece of you sent out to battle."

Wilamena pursed her lips. She wanted to help her people and her friends, and she knew she would have to be brave. But could she do this?

"You are positive this will not harm me and trap me in any way?"

Master Chu nodded, "princess, I have studied this my whole life. I am positive."

"Then I'll do it," Wilamena declared courageously.

"Good," Master Chu said, "we have no time to waste. Pym, guard the door. Princess, please have a seat."

"Do I have to do anything?" Wilamena asked, following his directions.

Master Chu shook his head, "the spell I will recite will send you into the astral trance. You merely have to think to control the form. Now, are you ready?"

"I'm ready."

........................

The ground burned. Fire lapped at the feet of the Wibberly family while the sorcerer causing it laughed. Emma felt anger bubbling within her. How dare he laugh! How dare he take joy in this battle! The more she was forced to fight against the Dire Magnus's wicked sycophants, the more rage she had. If only she could reach him and skewer him like a kabob, or punch him in his laughing face. But right now, she had to dance around the flames.

 "Clare!" Richard shouted, pushing his wife out of the way of a lick of fire. 

Clare squeezed his hand, "thanks honey."

Meanwhile, Michael worried for his many magical friends who were dodging fire, flood, and winds created by the ghost fueled sorcerers and sorceresses. He worried for the island of Loris that was taking hit after hit and being beaten into ruin. He hoped it could recover from such destruction. And as he rolled away from the fire, he knew they couldn't last much longer like this.

A wave of flames came for him, and he dropped to the ground, curling up to shield his vulnerable flesh as he waited for the burn. But then he felt cool air and heard the sound of the flames being whipped away. Someone was calling his name, and hauling him to his feet. He looked over to see his sister, with their parents looking on in awe.

"What did you do?" Michael asked.

Emma gave him a faltering grin, "what, no 'thanks for saving my life.'" Then the grin faded, "I tapped into my magic to get rid of the fire."

"How?"

"I saw my family in danger and I just reacted," Emma said.

"Could you do it again? Could I do it?" Michael pressed.

Emma shrugged, "I dunno. Even if we could, I think it would take a lot more than that to win this war."

As if on cue, a roar echoed across the island, booming in everyone's eardrums. Michael tensed. He knew the sound of a dragon's cry well. But Wilamena would never become the dragon again and risk trapping herself, right?

Then the giant beast rushed past, all golden scales and ferocity. Michael's heart sank as he though of lovely, bubbly Wilamena trapped within. He almost didn't notice Emma tapping him on the shoulder and asking, "why's she so shimmery and wobbly?"

Michael looked at the dragon again. She did have a translucency about her, as though she wasn't truly solid. She was also, Michael realized with a start, going after the ghosts and not the living. 

He remembered the passages on magical abilities in his beloved Dwarf Omnibus and recalled a peculiar little ability called astral projection. Then he remembered Master Chu calling on Wilamena for assistance. He nearly laughed. Wilamena's astral form had been sent out to deal with the ghosts!

Michael and his family watched in awe as the dragon tore into the ghosts. It's teeth snapped at the dead, causing their forms to dissolve and scatter, disrupting the energy fields they had made. The sorcerer that had been throwing fire watched in horror as his flames dulled as his magic decreased. 

A cheer went up among the elves, a cheer for their beloved dragon princess. Then the dwarves took up the cheer, then the warriors and the magicians. Soon, all the armies of good were screaming for their hero, come to level the playing field.

Emma joined in, "Woohoo! Go Wilamena! Eat those ghosts!"

Richard and Clare exchanged laughs, and began screaming Wilamena's name as well, caught up in the frenzy of good morale giving everyone hope on the battlefield.

And though there was a ways to go, for the war still had to be one and the the Dire Magnus still had to be defeated, Michael put his worries aside for a single moment as he watched the dragon, heart swelling with fondness. 

And he too, screamed, "WILAMENA!"

The dragon probably could not hear his shout. But he liked to think that the next triumphant roar she let out was for him.

A/N: I really wanted to incorporate dragon Wilamena in here somehow so I got creative. Hopefully you liked it.