Kazul

Before you read this story, you should know a little bit about Magic. Magic is a gift given to few, that allows those who have it to perform spells, charms, and other Magical things. Many creatures do not have Magic. You have to be born with Magic; it is not something you can learn. There are different types of Magic- some types more powerful than others. The story takes place in different parts of Faery, the world that many creatures, including the dragons, live.

Chapter 1-An introduction to our heroine. In which Kazul becomes greatly annoyed
Although Kazul was but a young creature (in the eyes of a fellow dragon, that is), she was known to possess uncommonly remarkable sense, and thus could readily tell when an idea was logical according to the consequences or not. And for some reason, the contents of the letter she had just received didn't seem sensible in the least.

She glared at the envelope, addressed to Kazuline Firebreath. Somehow, seeing her full name printed out so caused Kazul to narrow her eyes. She greatly preferred to go by Kazul and leave it at that, not bothering with her extended name. But she supposed it didn't matter that much: more vexing than the exterior of the envelope were the contents within.

Beginning to pace around the room, Kazul wondered briefly if maybe there was something to be seen by Suma. Maybe he did have the answer. And maybe Kazul was a centaur.

Sighing, she flopped in an armchair, where her body immediately collapsed to form a comfortable pose. Kazul was only able to sit in chairs such as this one whilst in her human form; in the actual draconic form she took up too much space to even fit in her kitchen. Dragons, after all, generally averaged fifteen or sixteen feet when standing upright, and were bulky and spacious creatures. Running her hand distractedly through her hair, Kazul reached for the letter and automatically scanned the words again, as though hoping that the words might have changed. They hadn't.

"To Kazuline:
As you are already aware, the dragons in this region of the Myst Forest are working to establish a residence in which dragons can live together as brethren. You, along with other inhabitants of this region, are expected to attend a mandatory meeting the day after April's crescent moon at the residence of myself. This meeting will discuss the best way to find a solution agreeable to all, during which plans may be formulated and suggestions brought up. Your help and opinions of the matter of this ongoing project are necessary to keep it running smoothly. We value and appreciate your time, and look forward to your presence the day after April's crescent moon.
Sincerely, Suma Fangripper."

"Sincerely my foot," Kazul thought, her temper already rising. "Since when have dragons lived together under the same roof? This is going to be a complete disaster."

Clearly miffed, Kazul exited her kitchen, which was actually a small house in itself. Closing the door, she turned to survey her lands. It was an underground kingdom, her lair. It had been hallowed out from the earth's interior ages ago to accommodate a dragon. And when she happened to stumble upon the deserted place by chance, Kazul immediately seized it and declared it as her own. It wasn't all that special really, but she had a certain bond to it, a sense of pride that she had her own place.

Pride... Kazul muttered an incantation, and dragon magic flooded around her and throughout her veins, a tie from the material to the spiritual world. It swirled about her suddenly, and Kazul found herself in an even deeper underground crevice, her treasure room.

Sighing lovingly, Kazul gazed fondly at her hoard. Piles of gold and silver were dominant, whether in the form of coins, bars, or chunks newly taken from the bowels of its mother the earth, and not yet formed into a shape. Ornate jewelry was also seen commonly: crowns with colorful jewels gelded into it; necklaces of pearl, opal and topaz; rings made of platinum and obsidian; instruments formed from rare varieties of wood: harps, flutes, mandolins, violas. Diamonds and rubies, emeralds and sapphires, peridot, amethyst, quartz and alexandrite all sparkled at her merrily, reflecting off the gleam now set in Kazul's eyes. The hoard was messily fashioned, with piece piled upon piece to form a mountain of sorts, as is common with dragon hordes. "Mine," Kazul thought in a caress, looking over her life's work of collecting. And she was only 8000 years of age. She still had plenty of time left in her life to add to her hoard.

She frowned suddenly. Dragons by definition had a jealous nature, especially when it came to their treasure. Even mating dragons couldn't stand each other after a period of time. "Another thing that Suma hasn't taken into account for his flawless plan," Kazul thought in contempt.

Her frown deepening into an ugly scowl, Kazul snapped her fingers deftly and found herself back in the higher level cavern. "Stuff Suma and his ridiculous ideas," one part of her mind, decisively the draconic side, was saying. "You don't have to go."

Another part, a more human-like one, fiercely whispered to her, "Don't say that when you don't even know what Suma has in mind."

"What nonsense," the dragon part replied. "Dragons aren't social creatures. End of discussion."

"Perhaps not," the human side argued. "There's never been a community of dragons set up before."

"That's because dragons aren't social creatures!! We'd tear each other to shreds within the first century."

"Just go to the accursed meeting, and if you're right I'll back off. But you can't ignore it without first knowing what it's all about."

"Fine," Kazul grumbled; arguing with herself was tiring and generally unproductive. Her dragon self would usually emerge victorious, but her more human-like self today had made more sense to her logical mind, and thus had won the bickering.

Shaking her head ruefully, Kazul reentered her abode and started to prepare a small mood. She didn't particularly like to cook and wasn't in the mood to hunt, so her supper consisted of dried goods. As she chewed a strip of dried ptarmigan, Kazul mused about the meeting Suma had called. Perhaps she would see Kino again. She hadn't called on him to visit for a good while. Now that she thought about it, Kazul hadn't seen any dragon for a long time. Even though dragons might prefer solitude greatly, they enjoyed the infrequent company of fellow dragons, and Kazul was no different.

She shrugged. Hopefully, this meeting wouldn't be so horrid after all.