A Secret Bliss
Lincoln is a young, twenty-two-year-old man. Fit, lean, a fairly muscular guy with German blonde hair, oval face with a full chin, and hazel yellow eyes. Ever since Lincoln could remember, he had always been fascinated by dragons. He had this overzealous feeling for them, as though he didn't belong as a human. One of his deepest secrets about them was that he had a secret bliss for them. But most of all, he wanted to be a dragon. Truth was that he never really found humans attractive or interesting. Oh, he knew a lot of people, but the fact was that everyone was no different from the last person. People were boring and corrupt. But just like anyone else, Lincoln had to face reality, that his fantasy would never come true no matter how much he wanted it to. That is until one day everything changed when he went venturing in the woods. Numerous miles of woods untouched for thousands of years surrounded his little town, which was located nearby a large city.
*Beep beep beep beep beep... * "Grrrooooaaan, shut up, damn clock!" mumbles Lincoln. "Wonderful, yet another hellish day with my imperious boss. I don't even know if I want to go to work today." It was his sixth day of work in a row with twelve-hour shifts. "I mean, I work at a medical syringe factory, and I hate needles!" Lincoln forcefully drags himself out of his queen size Tempur-Pedic® bed and sits up straight. He stares at the wall blankly. "At least I have this nice pattern to wake up to. Splatting yellow with a natural sea sponge on top of this green was a terrific idea," Lincoln thought to himself. "Oh, the hell with it. I'm calling in sick today. I need to take this stress off my shoulders."
Lincoln walks down to the kitchen where the phone is. He prepares himself a cup of coffee while he thinks of what to say and trying to find that unfettle tone in his voice to make it convincing. He dials the phone number. "Hi, can I speak to Chris? This is Lincoln."
"Hold on one moment please... Hello?"
"Hi, Chris. I don't think I can come in today. I think I *pretends puking* I think I have the stomach bug."
"Dammit, Lincoln. I need you to come in today if you can. We're already short as it is!"
"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't think I'm *pretends to lurch* I'm sorry I've got to go." "Ha that was perfect," Lincoln thinks to himself, "I wonder what Jim is up to today. Maybe he'd like to go for a hike through the woods with me for the day. More like a forest that surrounds this tiny town." Jim looks similar to Lincoln, only his hair is black and has a darker tone to his skin. He starts drinking his coffee and calls Jim.
"Lincoln, what's going on, man?"
"Not much. Yo, I took the day off and was wondering if you'd want to go the day for a hike with me in the forest that practically surrounds this town."
"Sure, sure. I just have to take care of some shit first. You know, I've got a bag of smelly green here. Got to do some side job business, you know? Give me about an hour before you come to meet me."
"Right. Maybe you could bring some of it with you for the hike."
"Yeah, I can do that. It's pretty heavy stuff, though. This shit is covered in trichomes that'll make your mouth scream with delight. So we'll only need like three grams to be set for the entire day."
"Sounds good. Right, then, I'll see you in about an hour. Peace."
***
*Knock knock knock*...... "Hey, man. What's up?"
"Not too much, Lincoln. Hey, great idea you thought of. This'll relieve the stress from work in the city."
"Yep, I've got everything we need. Food, water, lighter, all the basics."
"And I got the special spinach. So I guess that means we're ready to go."
"Haha, special spinach. I love that little catch phrase of yours. So let's get hoofing and puffing."
***
It's been roughly 20 minutes since Lincoln and Jim started walking through the woods. They stopped to sit on a log on the ground. "So, Jim, break out the weed." Jim goes to pull out his bowl. But little does he know that Lincoln brought a bong with him. "Hang on, Jim. That's what I brought this for."
"Nice piece. When did you get this?"
"About three weeks ago. Lovely piece to add to the collection. Now start packing. So, you wanna continue heading on?"
And so Lincoln and Jim continue on venturing through the woods, or forest as some would say, enjoying the serene beauty of their surroundings. The lush green, trees all around them, and occasional assortments of wild plants and flowers. They've been wondering around for about an hour and a half now, with a bowl or two in between, when they come across a small stream, about four to six feet wide.
"Ah, good," says Jim. "This gives us the chance to refill the bottles we've emptied. Looks pretty clean too. Lincoln, you been remembering to mark the way with that can of spray paint?"
"Course I have. The reefer hasn't made me that clueless, at least not yet. So, Jim, what do you think..." Lincoln cut off to what sounded like a dull roar, distorted by the steady flow of the stream.
"So what do you think WHAT? ... Lincoln?"
"Ssh, did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"It sounded like a roar from something."
"I didn't hear anything."
*roar*
"There it is again! I swear I heard it."
"Lincoln, I don't hear anything other than the flow of the stream here. I think that smoke is starting to get to your head."
"No, I swear I heard something. It sounded like something roaring. And it definitely wasn't a bear. It sounds like it's coming from that direction." Lincoln points northwest ahead of the stream. "THERE! We can use those rocks just to the right as stepping stones to get across. The stream is just a bit too wide to hop across."
Jim tries to convince Lincoln that he's just hearing things, but Lincoln just continues to press on at a steady pace. Five minutes have passed by. "See, Lincoln. I told you it was nothing. Now can we just continue with our normal hike, around the area we're familiar with?"
"Wait, what's that over there?"
"I don't know. It looks like a giant boulder."
"Yeah, a giant boulder with a huge break in it. Let's go check it out. It looks pretty fresh." It took them about a minute to reach it, so it was roughly the size of a small house. Little did they expect to find a huge hole in the ground in front of the boulder. What was more surprising was the strange mark on the side of the boulder, almost alien-like, or from long ago.
"How deep do you think it is?" Jim asks. He takes a rock and drops it.
"I'd say at least 75 feet or so."
"I'm going down there."
"You're nuts! What if you fall and break your back? Besides, neither of us are in the mental condition to do this right now."
"That's why you come prepared. You forget how much this backpack can hold. Got my rope, my safety clip. I'm set to go. Just gotta have you up here in case I slip and fall."
"I don't know, man. This isn't safe at all. You ain't got no pin clips, safety harness, or anything like that. Why don't we just head back?"
"Na, man, I can do this. And I've got a hunch down there is where the roar was coming from. Here, take this rope and put it around that tree behind you. I'll go and put it through my belt loops and secure it with the safety clip so that the weight distributes evenly around my waist."
"Alright, but this is your call not mine. If anything happens this is your fault."
Jim wraps the rope around the tree, hands it to Lincoln, and Lincoln secures it around his waist. Lincoln does a check first to make sure its knotted at the end good and tight. "Alright, I'm all set to go. Oh, wait, flashlight would be good." As Lincoln lowers himself, crevice by crevice, he notices that there are strange claw-like marks on the walls of the hole.
.................................
"How you doing down there?" hollers Jim. Lincoln is almost at the bottom by now.
"Pretty good. Looks like about ten more feet." A minute passes, and Lincoln lands with an "Umph!" relieved of the strenuous pull on his arms and legs. He looks into the distance with his flashlight and notices a large object shifting slightly. "What is that? JIM!"
"Yeah?"
"Um, throw down my backpack so I can get my gun. There's something down here, and it's BIG! Quick, never mind taking it out." Jim responds immediately, and the bag lands within three seconds. "C'mon, c'mon, where is it. Got it!" Lincoln approaches slowly and cautiously. He walks in the tunnel about 35 yards. As he approaches closer, Lincoln notices that the giant figure does not make any attempt to move towards him, nor any signs of threat. And as he gets closer, he realizes that it is a dragon! In an instant, he realizes that overzealousness for dragons has come true. He is absolutely euphoric, yet at the same time full of fear. For Lincoln does not know what is about to happen to him. And then he quickly notices that there is not just one, but in fact fourteen. "Fourteen dragons!!!"
"Actually, there are seventeen."
"Who said that?!"
"I was the one who said that." The dragon turns its head and gives Lincoln a wry smile.
"You can talk!? I never thought dragon's actually existed, least of all talked in human language. And how have you managed to keep your existence a secret?"
"Lincoln, are you okay down there?!" shouts Jim.
"Um, I'm not sure yet!"
"Lincoln? What's going on down there?! What's with all the commotion?"
"Ah, I see you have brought company with you."
"Whoa, what the..."
"Easy, human. Let your mind relax, and I will explain to you through mental telepathy. We do not want to cause any more unneeded concern from above right now. Do you understand?"
Lincoln nods and yells, "It's okay, Jim. It was just the dark and the marijuana playing tricks on me! That's some powerful stuff man!"
_ "You show much bravado in your stance, human. Most impressive for meeting a creature such as myself for the first time in your life. And what is this Marijuana you speak of?"_
_ "Yeah, this green stuff right here."_ Lincoln digs it out of his backpack pocket and shows it to the dragon.
_ "Aw, so that is what I smell. I thought it smelled familiar. A most common herb to smoke in old times of celebration. Not to mention that this DOES smell much more potent than from thousands of years ago. I see things haven't changed much with its use."
"Forget about that right now, how long have you been in hiding? Why, and what should I call you by?"
"Ah, yes, where are my manners. You may call me Ganthor, daughter of Quaziac and Nicunchi, my father and mother. And you would be?"
"I see, old school greetings, most common back then I suppose. I am Lincoln, son of John and Stephanie._ "
_ "Now that we know each other, please, allow me to explain. Long ago, times had become dark upon the human race. Back when dragons and humans were acquainted with each other, things were good natured between the two races of species. We dragons taught the humans the use and practice of magic. And in return they taught us of fine art, such as paintings, music, poetry, riddles and puzzles. And they taught us the practice of science. For about a thousand years things were prosperous between the two races, and all was well. Foolish were we, though to, think that it would last, for your race soon started to emulate with one another, and with us, by abusing their knowledge of magic and reeking detrimental havoc across the land. There was only one way to stop it. We had no choice but to let the fury of our magic take its course, and wipe out all knowledge of us and the use of magic. It pained us so to do what we had to. But we realized that if we had not, the humans would have continued to combat one another for power, eventually wiping everything out with their madness. Our lugubrious feelings still linger in those who remember those times. Bloody they were, and deaths by the millions. But there was a small group called the quimbecs who hid themselves from all. They kept to themselves in those times of peril. And soon they began to spread stories of magic, dragons, and sorcerers. This is how it came to be of legends from the middle ages. You wonder what BC and AD mean? In our terms, it means Before Chaos and After Dragons. Yes, it does also mean Before Christ and Anno Domini. During all these years of AD, we have hidden away in a great sleep, hoping that mankind would once again regain its senses. Has it improved?"_
"No, I'm afraid it hasn't. I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but I had to pay real close attention due to this powerful... herb I had recently. If it weren't for the mental communication, I probably would've missed some of it."
_ "Do not worry about that. We all need to have a little fun. You just weren't expecting anything like this, were you?"
"Honestly, no. Though, still in dismay, my fantasy has become reality._ A REAL... Oops, I mean A REAL DRAGON... DRAGONS!!!"
"Yes, yes, you are excited that I can understand why. But right now I need to ask you of something, Lincoln. May I have your permission to view the thoughts of your mind to get an idea what it is like out in the world these days?"
_ "Yes, but I have to tell you, it isn't pretty. There's been a lot of chaos in my time as well."_ So Ganthor began viewing the thoughts and images of Lincoln. Images of war over seas, starvation, and greed. The pollution of machines, and the destruction of forests. Of murder, rape, and suicide bombers... Two minutes have gone by after Ganthor was finished viewing the thoughts of Lincoln. A couple tears rolled down the bumpy grooves of her scaly face.
"My God, all this madness. We tried, yet the madness continues. Dammit, it's all our fault. If only we had not introduced the teachings of magic to humans, none of this probably would have ever happened. The power of magic unleashed the darkness in the hearts of your race. We may have wiped out all traces of the USE of magic, but we never wiped out the insanity. And the magic was simply replaced with this... this... technology."
"God? What do you mean God? Your race believes as well?"
_ "What, you never knew? We have a God as well. All three races do, that is, two now."
"Three? Okay, so if you and I are two of the three, what was the third?"
"Why, elves of course."
"What happened to them?"
"Your race wiped them out on this planet due to their insatiable desire of having power over one another. It was no wonder why the elves never taught magic to them. I just wish my race wasn't so foolish at the time and had realized that. I have to be honest with you, Lincoln. I wasn't entirely honest what I was saying before. We dragons ran and hid from our God, ashamed of what we had done hoping that he would revive the corruption that we had caused. To think such a thing was beyond inconceivable. No God would ever restore what his creation had caused. It's time we finally set things straight."
"What about the others? Aren't they going to wake up?"_
"Like I had stated, we dragons put a spell on ourselves. The spell had two parts to it. One was it would break all together if balance were restored to the land once again. The other was, if not, each dragon would awaken to his or her own accord. You, Lincoln, were destined to come to face me. Your feelings for your race and mine were not coincidence. The other sixteen are still out there. We must bring them here, so that they are in coalition with their destiny and dragon as well."
_ "Curious, does that boulder up there have anything to do with this spell? Only reason why I think that is because it's not like your average boulder when you get up close to study it."
"You are correct, Lincoln. The break in that boulder broke the spell on me. More breaks will accrue as more people come into coalition with their dragon. And if you noticed a mark on that boulder, that mark appeared because of you.
"What do you mean?"
"You have a birthmark that is the same as that symbol on the bolder right now. It's on your head, covered by your hair. Even in this dark I can see it through your short hair. That birth mark now bestows power, more than you can imagine."_
_ "Holy shit, this is crazy. ME, ME?! Of all people, why me?"_
_ "You have a strong heart, Lincoln, and a strong spirit. Heart over mind will prosper every time, as proven throughout time. Now, Lincoln, you must understand that before I continue, your new life purpose will be full of hardships. There will be fighting and difficult decisions to make. It will be the war of all wars. THE war to bring peace once again. Hopefully with minimal casualties. It is up to you, though, to make the decision whether or not you will follow through."
"And I have already made my decision. The answer is YES! I have had it with all the darkness in my race!"_
"Then come here, Lincoln, so that we may complete our coalition, by performing a ritual of blood oath! It will..."
_ "Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa, did you say blood oath?"_states Lincoln, shaking his head, and blinking his eyes in dismay.
_ "Yes, I did."
"You mean like exchanging and sharing the same blood?"
"Yes."
"Ironically, the fact that I hate them, I have something perfect for that."_ Lincoln goes digging for his first aid-kit in the backpack and presents it to Ganthor.
"What's in there?"
_ "I'll show you its..."_ *ring ring ring ring* "Gah perfect!" says Lincoln shifting around uneasily. "Hold on, Ganthor. It's my communication device. You'll see what I mean."
"Lincoln?"
"Yeah Jim."
"Lincoln, what the hell is going on down there?! It's been twenty minutes, and I haven't heard a damn thing from you." Lincoln looks at Ganthor for her consent.
"Wait until we are finished, then we will reveal all to him that he needs to know."
"I'll explain it when I come up, Jim. But you're not gonna believe what just happened. Right now though, I gotta go. Talk to you in a bit."
"Sigh, you better not be pulling my leg. Seriously, what's going on?"
"I'll tell you when I come back up. *click* "So, where were we? That's right. I was going to show you what's in this box." Lincoln pulls out a syringe.
"Hmm, pointy. Is this what you had in mind for the blood oath? Not exactly what I was thinking, but it is less primitive in your time I suppose, and possibly less painful and less messy. Lets at least hope that needle is strong enough to penetrate my skin underneath my scales."
"Oh, don't worry, I have a big one in here that should hold at least once. But God, I hate these things nevertheless. At least it's a good thing I always come prepared." Lucky for Lincoln, being that he worked at a syringe factory, he had a special one where you could change the needle size. That big one would HURT!
"So how does this work?"
"Basically, you just stick the needle in you and let it fill up. That's really about it. Let me be the first to go and show you." Lincoln takes a deep breath, hesitates for a second or two, and sticks it into his arm. Ganthor watches with much interest, fascinated how simple it really is. "See, simple. Now I just put it into the syringe meant for shots, and basically you just shoot it up."
"I see. Now it's my turn." Ganthor lifts a scale plate on her leg to expose her leathery-like skin surface. "Let's see how effective this really is."Lincoln takes the blood draw and jabs it into Ganthor, the blood filling up inside it. To Lincoln's amazement, Ganthor's blood is a metallic orangey color. *Grumbles&Chuckles*"What, surprised that my blood is not the same color as yours?"
_ "A little, it was just unexpected. I guess we should start the exchange now?"_
Lincoln is ready to put his blood in Ganthor, when all of a sudden, she states, "Wait. I want to warn you that once this is done, you will end up turning into a dragon as well. Or I should say HALF-dragon."
Lincoln just looks up into Ganthor's giant eyes, the flashlight emanating just enough light on her face. For the first time, Lincoln notices just how vibrant and beautiful her eyes are. Slitted pupils, like a cats, large and full in the darkness, gorgeous green color, and full of intelligence. All Lincoln can do is just stare in her eyes, and then he hugs her leg. "Thank you, Ganthor. This is the greatest gift that anyone could ever give. I would have given up my freedom for this gift."
Lincoln removes his clothing and places them to the side, standing bare naked. He takes the syringe full of his blood and injects it into Ganthor. Then he takes her blood and injects it into himself. In a matter of moments, Lincoln begins to change. He did not, however, expect it to be so excruciatingly painful. "AAARRRRGGG!!!!" His cry is slowly becoming a mix of a man's and a dragon's.
"Be at ease, Lincoln," Ganthor whispers in his ear. "I will provide you with a steady flow of magic to ease your pain."
"Thank you."
"LINCOLN! What's wrong?! That's it. I'm coming down!"
"No!" shouts Ganthor and lets out a jet of flame through the tunnel and up the hole. "I'm sorry I had to do that, but we cannot let him interfere while the change is taking place."
"That's it I'm outta here! I'm getting help."
"No Jim... stay, please!" cries Lincoln. Every second that goes by, Lincoln's body is shifting and changing itself. Bones becoming hollow and honeycomb-patterned, with reconstructing carbon fiber, muscles reshaping, his organs reforming, to the needs of a dragon's functions. His back begins to form wings with a membrane, a tail starts to sprout, hands and feet start to become PAW LIKE. His face starts turning into a muzzle shape, eyes becoming more dragon-like, his skin begins to turn into scales. Horns start to form on his head, while spikes begin running down his back starting from his neck down to the tail. The receptors in his brain reorganize and regroup to function with the change of his body.
"Calm, Lincoln. The transformation should not be too long at this pace."
"Uuurrrggg."
"Lincoln, who is that down there?" Jim shouts. "I can hear a voice down there, deep voice. Are you being..."
"Do not stress up there, human. I will explain shortly. Give a few minutes, and please do not flee. If you are a true friend of Lincoln, you would stay there for him."
.......................................
It's been four minutes since the injection, and Lincoln's transformation has finished.
*Pant pant pant...* Lincoln's panting slowly, but gradually, declines to a once-again steady breathing. "Gasp, that was intense."
"But worth it?" states Ganthor.
"Oh, yeah. Wait my voice! It's different. My body, my vision, its... its perfect. Is this how you see in the darkness?"
"Yes, for the most part. You did well, Lincoln, for something such as what you just went through. There is much hope through you in the future."
Lincoln can't help but stare at the form of his body. Looking at one arm to the next, feeling the scaly structure of himself. His body is not like Ganthor's as he had expected it would be, but rather a mix between a human and dragon. He speculates over the form of his body but can't quite make out his color, for the flashlight died, and there is not quite enough light protruding through the tunnel to make it out. "This is amazing. Thank you, Ganthor."
"Lincoln?"
"Ah, yes, your little friend from above. We should attend to him as promised."
Before heading on, Lincoln squeezes into his shorts that had fit him so well before, so that he would be more proper in front of Jim. Lincoln and Ganthor start heading through the tunnel to the gaping hole from above. Lincoln is a little unbalanced from his new form. His tail is moving to its own accord, aimlessly swaying about. He notices and states, "It'll take some time getting used to additions like that, I suppose. These wings will be especially difficult to learn using in flight."
"And you will learn. And I will teach you everything in my knowledge. Soon, you will have mastered your skills and abilities to there fullest."
"What's this talk about wings and flight?!" exclaims Jim. "And who, or what, is that other voice I hear?" They have arrived to the gaping hole now, and Jim is looking down, but cannot quite see because it is too dark at the bottom.
"I will give you a lift, Lincoln, then you can attempt to flap out with your wings as your first practice of flying."
"WHAT?!" says Jim, astonished and baffled from what he is able to hear. Ganthor lifts Lincoln up with her head, and then he makes a flying jump attempt. It turns out to be a success for his first try. He shoots out into the open and practically lands on top of Jim.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!! Ah, get away!" cries Jim.
"Jim, take it easy. It's me, Lincoln."
"Lincoln?! ... Holy hell, dude, look at yourself! What happened to you? Your body, your voice, your face!"
Lincoln looks at himself again and realizes that he is a brilliant hue of yellow and silver. His spikes and claws yellow, his scales a metallic silver.
"Wow!" says Lincoln, flabbergasted with his new look. "Look at me, I look incredible!"
"You look fucking scary! And yet, awesome. You're like a real live anthro-dragon!"
"Get over here you. Gimme me a hug gimme a hug!" Lincoln just lunges forward towards Jim and grabs him in a bear hug.
"Whoa, dude easy! *cough* You're like a beast now. No, you ARE a beast. And your scaly body is WARM!"
"I can't believe you stuck around with all that going on down there! I probably would've fled in fear if I were you. You're awesome. I love ya man. It means a lot for doing that." Ganthor had been peeping her head out the entire time, but thanks to Lincoln's now keen eyesight and heightened sense of perception and awareness, he noticed the entire time through the episode of excitement with his friend. "Jim, I want you to meet someone. Ganthor, c'mon already, don't keep him waiting." She shoots out into the air with such resplendent grace; it took the breath away from both of them. Jim's was, of course, with a little shock and awe. "Isn't she gorgeous?" With her out in the sunlight, you could now clearly see that her scales were a vibrant jade green, her spikes the color of Lincoln's scales.
She flew around them a few times in a meandering pattern, lights of green reflecting onto them in a colossal pattern from her gleaming, shinning scales. Jim stands there stiff and rigid, looking at Lincoln in astonishment. "Would you chill out," says Lincoln. "She'll explain everything. She may be five times your size, but she won't hurt you."
At long last his Secret Bliss has become reality. He is now a half-breed, and the dragon of his dreams has come into play with his life.