A Deal
A gate, tall as walls that housed it, stood deep within a tomb of kings. Crafted of a black stone and embedded with a pattern close to the likeness of scales. Inside the gate was a vortex, a portal, alternating colors of blue and white and shifting like the image was on a plane of water. A gem, a contradictory violet to the portal's blue, sat encased in a coil at the peak of the construct's frame.
At the base of the portal, less than ten feet away stood a man; wearing a dark red cloak, with feathers a varying ordering of crimson and bright yellow all about its fringe. The quills braided into his hair were poised upright, as though showing how curious of the gateway the man was. His eyes were fixed upon it, mouth partially agape in the awing experience.
"Well?" Came a voice from the shadows just outside the portal's light. It was evidently female. "Aren't you going to pass through? Or do you find gaping at the raw majestic power of the portal a worthy time consuming task?" When the man turned his head, he beheld a dragon marked with blue and white scales, and crimson in the webbings of her wings. She also bore a necklace with shards of glass, gold fringe about its borders.
"And who might you be? A guardian of this portal I'd presume." The man replied, hand reaching for the blade settled into his belt, and trying desperately not to show fear. The dragoness ran her tongue about the borders of her mouth, and the man was, in addition to being put off by the gesture, pondering why the dragon, a guardian no less, held such an odd coloration; the colors, though matching by themselves, seemed out of place on the dragon.
"Well, Keharr," The man's composure flickered when she correctly spoke his name. "I am Shira, guard the portal. Now, what miffs me, and its not often when I'm presented with a matter I don't understand, is why you choose to throw your life away by trying to enter this portal? Nothing within your comprehension lies beyond."
"How is recovering the codex of ultimate wisdom a meaningless task?" His hand tightly gripped the blade's handle.
"Now, did I say that to you? Most certainly not! Please refrain from placing words into my mouth. It's unbecoming of you." Shira smashed her tail against the stone steps. Keharr stepped back from the display.
"Then would you care to explain what you meant?" He asked.
"Well, this portal as you know, grants one the passage through to the realm beyond and more, if that be your intention. Many a beast has searched for, and not often has it been found. Those that do make it usually end up on a trip down my gullet or, sometimes, I play devil's advocate with my own little curse. My question is, considering you're still amongst us living and breathing, why you'd dare venture into the world where the living is unwelcome and doomed upon their first step within?" Keharr hadn't expected that answer, so he tried to provoke a response.
"What makes me doomed?"
"Just as the dead don't belong in the world of the living, the same applies to the world of the dead and anti-benign, to those who are living. No consumables can be used by your intestines, thus your body would wither into oblivion. And when you die in the world of the dead," Shira paused momentarily. "Your soul is lost to eternity. All this if you survive long enough to starve. However, there is what you seek on the furthest part of the beyond. If you could make it there and back, I'm sure you'd live to see another day outside." Keharr blinked and dipped his head in thought.
"Either way, your choice will be met with a consequence. My position here is not to keep those that manage to find this place from entering, it is to make them question is it worth it to take the trip. And then if they still wish to enter, I must prevent them from doing so." She paused to study Keharr. "My word is truth, man, I see your questioning eyes. You should know that as a guardian, loyal to the governors of the world, I am bounded by them to only speak the truth. It is my duty." Keharr looked over his shoulder at the tantalizing image that stood there. Large and magnificent, and taunting him. The man could hear a voice calling to him, asking him to ignore what he'd just been told and to step through to the world beyond. He looked back at Shira still pleading, but coming to the resolve that there was truly no other way for him to reach his goal. "I'm afraid we'll have to fight one another. I do intend to enter." The man could've been wrong, but he could swear he saw a smile appear on the dragoness' face. Her purr of delight on the other hand was completely undeniable. She licked her lips.
"Well, Keharr, if you feel there is no other alternative, then I have no choice but to stop you. But, be warned, should you win, you have to deal with the horrors beyond the portal. However, should I win...well you'll be changed."
With that Shira's flame erupted from her maw, and the man dove to the side quickly as he could. His cloak unfortunately had been set alight by the fire, but he used that as a tactical advantage. Ripping the cloth away he threw the flaming ball into Shira's face. She roared and thrashed about as the cloak burned her eyes. Keharr laughed at the simplicity of his victory and dashed for the portal.
Just before he could taste long awaited victory the dragoness' tail smashed against his chest, sending the man sprawling down the temple steps. When he gathered himself he saw Shira launch from above, beaming down at him. He rolled to his feet, blade at the ready for when the dragon landed. But this did not happen. Shira chose instead to fly in sweeping passes overhead, spewing flame down at the man as he ran through the trees, trying franticly to find cover to collect his thoughts.
But Shira's attack was ruthless and relentless. It seemed as though she'd no issue with setting the whole forest ablaze if it meant he would lose this battle. Running as fast as he could he came to a great open field that had yet to be touched by dragon's fire. He looked back at the raging inferno of a forest for but a second before dashing across the plain. But, alas, this was his downfall. He'd hoped that Shira would still be looking for him in the burning trees and not bother looking in such an open place, but sure enough the dragoness appeared overhead and made a burning ring around the man.
He covered his eyes with his arm to shield himself from the searing heat all around. Keharr was then smashed against the ground by a great force, causing his grip on his sword to slip away and the blade came to rest several feet away. Looking up he saw that Shira had pinned him to the ground with her talons, crushing the life out of him.
"I win Keharr, I win." The man bellowed and smashed his fists against the dragoness' paw. But this seemed to barely bother her, if at all. Instead she held her other forepaw to her snout, as if contemplating what to do with the man. "You know, I would've thought you would've man at least a small bit of anxiety form in me with this scuffle of ours. But alas, you were no fun at all. You're much too skinny to make a meal of, and it would be an insult to kill you, so what to do, what to do... Oh," A devious smile formed on her face. "You valued so greatly the treasure in the portal, so that would make you a treasure hunter would it not?"
The dragoness laughed a great villainous laugh as she appeared quite content with whatever she'd decided to do with the man. As she released him from her grasp he felt his skin begin to itch, to crawl, and to burn like fire! His bones shattered, enlarged, and reformed in an orgy of agony. He screamed as the burning change swept through him, and feathers began to sprout from his pores.
His body elongated, legs turned to a scaly black and large claws emerged from his reformed feet. Arms turned into great wings, and his face elongated into a beak. With a powerful convulsion and mighty screech the transformation was complete.
"Since you wished to seek a treasure, you have now become one yourself. Fly now, great phoenix, and face a world of people that stalk you every hour of every day just to have your hide. Though you will be reborn after every death, you shall feel the agony of dying time and time again until the end of time."
I have some dreams that are quite forgetable. And then I have some, like those above, that are vivid enough to be written down.