Prince Tombyfyre

Prince Tombyfyre By Bob A.

Tombfyre looked around his new lair. He

had just flown to Sagania from western

Canada, on the advice of the dragons who lived

there. Putting his magicked bag down, he

began to explore.

First, there was the large front room,

where he could let himself grow to 100 feet or

so, and still stay inside. The seal spell actuator

was plainly marked, and he pushed on the

stone. The opening disappeared, replaced with

rock. From the outside, little trace of the lair

was visible now.

He flew his 30' long body around the

room, checking out the light, heat, and

ventilation spells, which functioned as

advertised. Perfectly. 'I think I'm gonna like it

here.' he thought.

Next was the back area. These rooms

were built for a smaller frame, so he reduced

his 30' body to 9', so he could fit in there.

One room was comfortably built for

human-dragon interaction. Farther back were

two bedrooms, for human friends. In another

room, Tombfyre found what he was looking

for: a computer terminal built for draconic

users. 'Great! Now I can keep in touch with my

friends, and won't have to change to human

form to do so!' He shuddered at the thought

of reverting to human.

Tombfyre, or Matt Kragen as he was

formerly known, grew up in western Canada.

He was a human, or so he thought. It was

known he was susceptible to the Sagan virus,

but it didn't manifest when he was a kid. He

always dreamed about being a dragon, and

always wanted to be one.

He didn't manifest until he was 17. He

manifested when he saw a friend of his get

mugged by a group of toughs. Something

snapped inside him, and he changed into a

bright-red, winged dragon. He charged into

the group, scattering them and standing over

his friend.

One of the toughs was a Sagan, with

energy-projection powers. He fired at Matt,

who roared at the pain, then started to grow!

He grew from a 6' dragon to a 60' dragon in

seconds. The tough just stared, then ran. Very

fast.

"Are you all right, Jessie?" he growled,

turning to look at his friend. His new draconic

body was surprisingly flexible.

"Matt? What happened? You're a, a

dragon!" she stammered. "You're huge!"

"Looks good, eh?" he said, stretching

and admiring his new form. About then, police

arrived. It took some time to straighten

matters out.

Needless to say, once he changed, Matt

had no desire to change back. In fact, until he

was visited by a dragon from Lake Louise, he

didn't know he could! He found that he could

change his size, from 6' long to over 300'. He

learned how to fly, and he learned finer

control of his Sagan powers.

One power he discovered he had is the

ability to change other people, making them

grow, shrink, fatten, trim down, inflate and

deflate. He could do it to himself, too. He had

a circle of friends from before his First

Change who enjoyed that sort of stuff, and

now he could actually change people's sizes,

without paying a mage for the size-change

spells!

Tombfyre settled in to his new home.

He found the hunting more than adequate, the

neighbors friendly, and the Sagania transit

booth network has a booth not far away, so he

could flick around the island without flying and

teleporting himself. (He started doing that

after appearing over Suncoast City at full

size, startling one too many people, which

unfortunately was the Chief of Police. After a

very harsh lecture, even Tombfyre admitted

he got off easy).

He hosted a few parties at his lair for

the size-change crowd and for the neighbors,

and attended some in return. His natural

charisma served him well, and nobody thought

ill of him.

A few months after moving in,

Tombfyre received a visitor he wasn't

expecting, Dr. Rex Pomeroy, one of the

foremost veterinarians on Earth, as well as a

very good draconic healer. He has the ability

to pass completely unnoticed in a crowd. If he

didn't want to be seen, nobody notices him.

Tombfyre was busily chatting away on

the computer when he heard "TF? Need to

talk to you."

Tombfyre nearly leaped out of his chair,

but caught himself in time. "Rex! Why didn't

you use the door knocker?"

"Can't move it." Unsurprising, since Rex

is a slim, not overly muscled man. "Have to

deliver a message for you. You're going to

receive two visitors tonight."

"Oh? People I know?"

"Know of, definitely. Their Draconic

Majesties, King Erik Slashfang and his wife,

Queen Casey." Rex was smiling when he said

that.

"I'm honored." he said slowly, but inside,

he was cringing. After he changed to dragon

form, Tombfyre had studied dragon lore. He

knew of the True Dragons who lived here on

Earth from before Humans even appeared,

and of the Saganized Dragons, like himself. All

dragons bow to the True King, no matter what

their origin or color.

King Erik had taken the throne from his

father recently, only about six years before.

(For dragons who can live millennia, six years is

'recent'). Queen Casey bore the largest viable

clutch of eggs known since before the Exodus,

when many of the True Dragons left Earth,

seven eggs, all of which hatched and are

healthy, two boys and five girls, who are

maturing very rapidly.

"When will they be here?" Tombfyre

asked.

"In four hours. Better get the place

cleaned up." Rex said.

"Thanks for the heads-up. How did you

get stuck with messenger duty, anyhow?"

Rex grinned. "The queen's family is

connected to mine. Look us up, if you have the

chance." Dr. Pomeroy waved, then disappeared.

Literally. Try as he could, Tombfyre could not

locate him. After a couple of minutes, he gave

up the chase.

It took two hours to make the lair as

presentable as he could make it, without

resorting to a cleaning crew. [That would have

cost more than he could handle. His only

income was from running a website that

catered to his inflatable friends, or those who

wished to.] He didn't neglect himself, either,

taking a long soak in his bathing pool.

After he was presentable, he inquired

more about Their Majesties. King Erik was the

only son of the former king, Harald

Strongheart, who retired because of age, just

beating out a possible coup by some other

dragon nobles. Erik needed to wed and produce

a viable egg before he could take the throne.

He did, surprising the nobles, who regarded

him as pretty much of a dunce. However, he

matured rapidly into a fine, powerful king,

thanks to his wife.

Queen Casey was born Casey Diana

Somers, daughter of Sophia Somers and Juan

Alvarez Sandoval. Juan was a third-generation

Saganized half-dragon, the other half being

that of an elf. Sophia is not a dragon, but is a

powerful Sagan, the older sister of the

Deputy Prime Minister, Christopher Robin

Somers, and the daughter of Christian and

Raven Somers, two of the founders of

Sagania, some ninety years before.

Casey was unique in that she grew to

maturity in a single night. She proved capable

of wielding the Sword of Saint George, the

true dragon slayer. Casey had made it her

mission to drive back the True Dragons who

tried to return and claim the Earth as their

own again. She was quite successful. She met

Erik when she was driven to find a mate. Erik

answered her call. Together, they have

produced 15 children in two clutches,

productivity that has been unheard of in

Earth True Dragons in millions of years.

Tombfyre whistled when he finished

reading. "Why have they decided to come see

me? I'm just a Saganized dragon, and still a

teenager! Their Majesties rarely leave the

Royal Lair!" he said to himself. Then, there

was a pounding at the door.

"They're here!" he said as he rushed to

the main room. Pressing the seal stone, he

bowed low.

"Rise, young Kraken." said an imposing

male voice.

"Relax, Tomby! Be yourself! This isn't

official!" said a cheerful woman's voice,

followed by an "Oof!" from the male.

Tombfyre looked up to see a hind paw moving

away from the male.

Tombfyre stepped aside. "Please come

in."

King Erik is an impressively-muscled

dragon, presently 10' in length, with scales of

different shades of red, looking similar to

Tombfyre, but the colors on the King were

more varied then Tombfyre's. He was carrying

a large chest, like an old steamer trunk.

Queen Casey was the same size as Erik,

only her scales are silvery-grey. Also, she was

just beginning to show egg bulges, if you knew

where to look. Both of them wore gold chains

around their necks, with the Royal Pendants.

"Shut the door, Tomby. We have

business to talk about. Personal business." the

queen said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Tombfyre pressed

the seal stone. Before the wall reformed, he

glimpsed the entourage they had brought with

them. Three dragons, two werewolves, and a

centaur. Tombfyre knew the centaur- he was

the local forest ranger.

Tombfyre looked at the couple closely.

He felt some sort of presence around the

king, something comforting, something...

familiar? From the queen, he sensed power,

but held firmly in check.

Erik set the chest down. It was heavy,

and Tombfyre thought he heard clinking from

inside. "You look like you're doing well, Kraken.

Casey is a big fan of yours, when she's online."

"Fan of mine? How?" Tombfyre asked,

looking at the queen.

Casey laughed. "On your site, I'm 'Big

Mama D'." she said.

Tombfyre's eyes got wide. "You're Big

Mama D? I've been chatting with you for

years! You've been so encouraging to me! I

can't thank you enough for the spells you sent

for the inflation party four years ago!"

"Yes, well, I wish I could have been

there. Seven kids kept me busy, so I sent

what I could. I saved all the descriptions.

"Did you save the bag?" Casey asked

with a smile on her dragon muzzle.

"I sure did! Having a bag that's bigger

inside than out is handy!"

"Well," Erik said, "we have some

business to talk about, Kraken. You need to

know about your true history." He reached

into an overpocket and pulled out a large

gemstone, about the size of a softball. He

tossed it to Tombfyre.

When Tombfyre caught the gem, it

glowed softly from inside with a warm red

light. Casey and Erik looked at each other.

"Father was right." Erik said.

"What is this?" Tombfyre asked.

Erik held his hand out for the gem.

Tombfyre handed it back. "This is a lineage

detector. It allows one with the proper

training to determine the bloodline of whoever

holds it. My information on you was indeed

correct."

"And that is, if I may ask?"

"You are my younger brother, the

second son of King Harald."

Tombfyre's legs gave out from under

him. "What? I've been a dragon all my life and

I didn't know? How did this happen?" he

exclaimed, his voice squeaking with surprise.

Erik put the gem back in the

overpocket. "Politics. Father was old, and the

fact that he managed to produce a viable egg

was kept hidden, for fear of kidnaping you and

using you as a hostage."

Casey took up the tale. "You were

shapeshifted into a human being and put up

for adoption. Apparantly, the shapeshift made

you a Sagan, and the two bloodlines... mingled,

making you a true dragon with Sagan abilities.

As far as I know, you're unique."

"Father only told me about you in his

last letter. It's taken three months to track

you down, brother." Erik said, placing a paw on

the trunk. "This is a share of your horde, what

you should have inherited. It will set you up

nicely now, allowing you to afford some things

you enjoy."

"We have decided that your true

heritage should be kept hidden for now, until

you develop the skills necessary to claim your

true place in the hierarchy. To that end, I

have asked a friend of my family, and a couple

of relatives, to help teach you what you need

to know." Casey told him.

"Who?"

"For dragon history and lore, Lucien

Fontaine will come up and tutor you once a

week." Casey said.

"Lucien Fontaine? The newscaster? I

didn't know he's a dragon!" Tombfyre

exclaimed.

Erik grinned. "It's a closely-held secret.

He's been a premier newscaster for centuries

now, keeping the true dragons informed of

human doings. He's very valuable, old, and wise.

Listen to him well, brother."

Casey went on. "My great-uncles will also

teach you. Uncle Horace in history and

politics, and Uncle Chen in combat arts and

meditation. He will come and take you to his

monastery. He can't stay away from it for

long. You'll like him."

Tombfyre thought about what he was

told. Slowly, he said, "I look forward to the

training. Hopefully, I can come to your place

one day and visit, not as subject to sovereign,

but as family."

Their majesties grinned. "We hope so

too, Tomfaa. Until that happy day, you must

keep your relationship with me a close secret.

There are members of the court who would

not hesitate to use you as a pawn or hostage

to influence me." Erik said.

Casey then spoke up. "We have to be

going now. I'll keep in touch with you, as 'Big

Mama D'. Oh, check your hoard chest

carefully. I put something in there for you.

Something you'll enjoy."

"Something very expensive to create..

Oof!" Erik muttered before and during a swift

kick from his wife. "Be happy, Tomfaa. Live

well and grow big and strong. Or just big!"

As their majesties headed for the door,

Tombfyre asked "Tomfaa? What's that?"

Erik smiled. "That's your true draconic

name, brother. The name your mother gave

you when you hatched. Sounds like you

remembered it, deep inside you." He touched

the seal stone, and the wall vanished. They

stepped outside to their escorts, and with a

final wave, took wing.

Tombfyre went back inside, closing the

wall. He went to the chest and opened it.

Inside, he found gold and silver coins,

gemstones, jewelry, and other objects. He dug

deeper and deeper into the chest. He soon

discovered the chest was much deeper on the

inside than the outside. In a while, there was

piles of gold, gems, and objects around the

front room, and Tombfyre found he had to

grow larger to reach deeper into the box. At

the very bottom, he found a box, about 1'

square. Curious, he pulled it out and opened it.

Inside, was a black dragon balloon, all

folded up. He unfolded it to its full deflated

size to look at it. Then, with a hiss, it started

to inflate by itself!

Startled, he backed up and watched it

blow up. Soon, it was inflated. Then, it moved!

It looked at him and blinked.

"So you are Prince Tomfaa. I am Una. I

am to be your friend, teacher, and companion.

When i was created, I was told of your

desires about inflating. I'm here to be your...

playmate?" she hissed, winking.

"You are? What can you do?" Tombfyre

stammered out, grinning, but surprised.

Una drifted over to Tombfyre and

hugged him. "I can inflate and deflate myself

to any size we wish. I can also blow you up, my

Prince. Blow you up, with air or helium, until

you pop!"

Tombfyre snuggled into her hugging and

caressing. "But, I can't pop! I've tried!" he

protested.

Una grinned. "There's more than one way

to pop, my Prince!" she hissed, her hands

exploring his body.

The Earth moved under the eastern

slopes of Mount Pomeroy that night, and it

wasn't due to the volcano!

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