As we neared the gates, the prince came rushing towards us. Out of breath, he implored, “Wait! You surely aren't leaving so soon? We would be honored to show you around our city, or perhaps you'd consider joining us for a special dinner with our Queen and King. They would be delighted to meet those who saved our king’s life. What do you say?”

I smiled, responding, “That sounds delightful. I am indeed here, after all.” But Akira, ever the cautious one, shook her head, “No, thank you. We must return to our kingdom. We've been away too long.” Freya, always the diplomat, interjected, “Please, Akira, it’s a matter of courtesy to accept the hospitality of noble hosts when visiting foreign lands. It’s only for a day.” The prince chimed in, “And as a token of our apology, we'll offer you a night’s stay in our palace. It's the most luxurious accommodation we have.”

The offer was tempting, so collectively, we turned to Akira for her decision. She questioned, “Are you certain about this? What if it’s a trap? We were almost branded as enemies, and now we're taking their word for it?” The prince opened his mouth to apologize yet again, but I interjected, “We weren't at war yet, as the ultimatum hadn’t expired and we hadn't responded to it.” She frowned, asking, “Are you sure? Did you instruct your stepson not to respond to it?” I nodded in affirmation, “Yes, we did.” She sighed in resignation, “Alright, fine. I suppose it's better than sleeping in the wilderness or in an ancient labyrinth.”

Fyrenthos chuckled, “But I was there with you. I believe you were quite comfortable, thanks to me.” She retorted, “Nothing beats a real bed.” Then Freya graciously accepted, “We gratefully accept your generous offer to stay. Thank you.” The prince replied, “You’re very welcome.” We turned back from the gates and headed to the palace.

We parted ways. Fyrenthos and Akira remained at the palace while Freya and I embarked on a tour of the city. Freya had seen it before, so for her, it was a revisiting of familiar sights, with a few minor changes. For me, the entire experience was a novelty. I was intrigued by the city's theme. The dragons were predominantly dark as shadow dragons with accents of light blue, yellow, or orange, casting a generally gray and dark theme. It was like seeing metal everywhere, but the buildings were well insulated against the Crashing Thunder, a local phenomenon that gave the kingdom its name.

The Crashing Thunder, a singular storm that unleashed its power in one deafening roar, had its energy captured within crystals and coils embedded in every building and secret tunnels beneath the city. We had the privilege to explore these marvels, guided by the prince himself. He never shared his name, only his title, so I addressed him simply as “Prince.”

That evening, we were invited to a royal banquet with the king and his court. The king, having recovered from his recent ordeal, greeted us warmly. As we sat at the table, similar to the one in our own palace but fully occupied, I pondered the fate of our nobility. What had become of those who had vanished or fled? Were there any left besides me, Freya, Leo, and our loyal servants?

The feast was splendid, filled with interesting conversations, including one with the king himself. Although most were friendly and curious, a few held resentment towards the last noble wyvern. The king's authority swiftly silenced these dissenters. After the meal, we signed a treaty of peace and friendship with their kingdom, agreeing to a period of non-aggression lasting fifteen years. Retiring to our chambers, we relished the comfort of a real bed after countless nights in a hammock.

The night at the palace was mild. The air was warm and cozy, but Freya still wanted me to cuddle with her as we had in the past. So, I obliged, shifting into an Earth Dragon and enveloping her in my protective wings. The bed was too small for my dragon form, and I hung over the edge awkwardly, which proved to be quite uncomfortable. The next morning, I awoke with a curiosity: I wanted to try the form of an Electric Dragon. Freya, however, advised against it, saying it would attract undue attention and cause trouble. So, I reluctantly returned to my normal form.

We reconvened with everyone else, enjoyed a hearty breakfast, and in the afternoon, after bidding our hosts farewell, we prepared to depart. They offered us some guards to escort us, but we declined. Akira had a different plan. She suggested using another portal instead. So, we set off, heading for a location known only to the SunFlares. A hidden, undamaged, and fully functional portal, which we activated by transforming some elementless crystals into wind crystals. This time, Freya performed the enchantment for me.

We found ourselves in a verdant valley as we stepped through the portal. I was just about to exclaim, “Finally!” when an eagle’s cry, loud and unmistakable, escaped my mouth. Every eye turned in my direction and a surge of fear and vertigo washed over me. I glanced down at my body, realizing with a shock that I had taken an incorrect form. I bore a striking resemblance to Solara, the fire eagle.

Hearing my call, Solara swiftly flew towards us. She spread her talons wide, pouncing and pinning my head to the ground with a grip of steel. Freya greeted her politely, but Solara ignored her, demanding, “Who is this intruder among you? Did he follow you here?”

“No, no, he’s one of us. He’s just… I think he’s Nox,” Freya stammered. I tried to say, “It’s me, in the wrong form,” and attempted to shapeshift back to my normal self, but nothing happened. All I could produce were some unintelligible squawks. I couldn’t speak. Solara narrowed her eyes, asking suspiciously, “Are you sure? Since when can he do this?”

“He learned it recently. Nox, can you please return to your original form?” Freya said. I tried again, but failed. I tried to communicate my predicament but failed. I resorted to gestures, but all I had were wings. I shook my head from side to side to indicate no.

Freya looked worried and asked, “Why not?” Akira spoke up, his voice grave, “I’m afraid he might have fallen victim to a rare phenomenon of body shifting caused by the portal.”

“A what?” Freya gasped.

“Sometimes, very rarely, the portal can alter your appearance. It’s a probability lower than 0.1%, almost impossible but not quite,” Akira explained.

Fyrenthos added sarcastically, “He’s very lucky indeed. He could have turned into anything worse than an eagle. A bug, for instance.”

I stared at them in panic, struggling to balance and move properly. Everything felt different. My movements and my vision, which were too sharp for my comfort, everything was wrong.

“But he should still be able to shapeshift, right? Why can’t he do it now?” Freya asked.

 

“Maybe he likes it this way, or maybe he’s stuck with it,” Akira shrugged. I tried to say “I am stuck” and managed to make it sound somewhat clear. They understood me and looked at me with pity.

Freya devised some simple yes-or-no questions and inquired, “So you can’t shapeshift,” to which I nodded. She continued, “And also, I see that you can’t talk, correct?” I nodded again, and then Solara interjected.

“So, does this mean that I’m not the only one left now?”

I shook my head. She was still the only one. This was just a tragic accident. She then offered, “Nox, you know that I could teach you how to talk, right?” I flapped my wings in the gesture of “I don’t know, I hope.”, I tried again to speak and uttered “Help.”

Freya glanced at Solara and Akira, then asked, “Can you help him?”

“I don’t know. I can’t shapeshift, and I’ve never read if this is reversible. Maybe he should jump into a portal thousands of times and hope to get back to normal,” Akira responded.

Solara was about to say something, but Freya retorted sooner “A thousand times? There must be another way. He can’t show up like that in the kingdom,”

Akira apologized. “I’m sorry, Freya, I don’t know how to help here.”

Solara gave me a sweet and kind look. Then she assured me, “I’ll help you with this. Don’t worry, King Nox.”

I said, “Thank you.” And finally, I felt like I could talk, so I added more “Freya, even like this, does anything change between us?”

She said, “Don’t worry, we’re still together even like this. We’ll maybe fly together in the evening, and I’ll ask for your advice for any decision.”

I quickly asked, “Wait, are you keeping me out of the kingdom?”

She denied, “No, but I think that you’d rather enjoy doing that than living in it like this, am I right, Solara?”

She agreed, saying, “Yeah, the city isn’t made for us giant eagles. It’s better if you stay with me.”

I wondered, “Oh no, and how are we going to explain this to our sons and daughters?” At that moment, they made a vision connection.

“Hi dad, are you back?”

I said, “Oh, not now, my dears, please.”

Then they noticed my height, “Wow, you’re really high. How?”

Akira joined the vision connection. “Hey kids, look through my eyes. This is the new form of your father,” he guided them. And they did as instructed.

“Oh, but he’s like the holy sacred eagle. Dad, you look impressive,” they exclaimed.

I managed, “Thank you, but this isn’t a good thing. Sorry, Juno and Luna.”

While we were talking, a young light dragon was flying in our direction. Flynn had just reunited with his parents and greeted them warmly: “Welcome back, dad and mom. I’m so happy to see you.” He went for a hug, which fortunately Akira gave him, then said, “We’re happy to see you too, Flynn.”

Then he asked, “Who is this new eagle? Did you bring it here?”

I spoke for myself: “Thanks to your mother, who made us use a portal, I’m King Nox, now stuck in the form of a giant eagle.”

The discussion didn’t last much longer, so we parted ways again. I broke the vision connection with my daughters, reassuring them that I was going to be fine and warning Zephyrion and Vesper about this.

Bidding farewell to Freya, Fyrenthos, and Akira as they returned to the kingdom, I was left behind. My task? To stay with Solara and master the art of flying in my new form. Solara, patient and supportive, guided me through the basics. Soon enough, I found myself soaring through the air alongside her. However, I couldn't shake off an uneasy feeling, a sense of being out of place. My wings, they were so large. I had lost two limbs in the transformation, and the question lingered: how would I ever adapt to this drastic change?

As we flew side by side, I turned to Solara, "How am I supposed to grab things now?" She looked at me, a smile playing on her eyes before answering, "You’ll use your beak and your claws, of course. Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” Despite her reassurance, I shook my head, "But this is only temporary. I’ll find a way to get back to normal. I don’t want to be stuck like this forever.” She chuckled at my determination, her response laced with sarcasm, “If I were you, I’d embrace this opportunity. Don’t you enjoy being an eagle like me?” I sighed, “No offense, but I don’t. I feel limited and restricted. I’m sorry.” She didn't take offense, instead saying, “It’s alright. You’ll learn to appreciate it sooner or later. Now, let’s try to land.”

Pointing to a forest below us, she advised, “Pick a sturdy branch and land on it. I’ll follow you shortly.” I scanned the trees, spotting a branch that seemed strong enough to hold my new weight. Angling my wings, I descended toward it. Attempting to grab it with my claws, I misjudged the distance and nearly slipped off. Frantically, I flapped my wings and managed to regain my balance. Solara landed next to me, praising, “Good job. You’ve mastered landing on a branch. Now, can you move a bit closer to the tree and give me some more space?”

I looked at her nervously, “Are you sure? I might fall off.” She reassured me, “Don’t worry, we’re not that high up. Even if you fall, just glide and slow down your fall.” With her words in mind, I attempted to move along the branch. It was tricky, but I managed it without falling.

My first tentative step onto the branch earned a smile from Solara. “Good. Now try to keep your balance while I push you off.” I protested, “Wait, I’m barely standing here,” but she ignored me, flapping her wings at me. Adrenaline surged through me as I dodged her gusts, leaping to another branch with surprising ease. I had just learned a new skill by accident.

We continued our playful fight on the branches, trying to outsmart and outmaneuver each other. Despite my efforts, she was always one step ahead of me. I managed to push her to the edge of a branch once, but then I made a wrong move and fell on top of her. My head landed next to hers on her soft wing, and she playfully scolded, “Hey, be careful. Don’t hurt yourself.” Then she added, “You know what? You look really cute like this.” I blushed and retorted, “Don’t get any weird ideas. But thanks anyway.”

She continued to teach me more about landing, taking off, balancing, and flying. After a while, she suggested, “Shall we get back to my duty?” I asked, “What duty?” She replied, “Guarding the valley. Silly King.” I nodded, “Okay, how do we do that? We split the area?” She explained, “We don’t have to split up. We can just fly high together and watch over everything from there.” She was right. With our enhanced vision, we could see everything from a great distance.

We soared into the sky, so high that the clouds seemed low beneath us. Then we glided on the wind currents, which I had learned how to use to my advantage with her help. The updrafts saved me a lot of energy, but I didn’t feel tired anyway. These wings already felt like they belonged to me. They didn’t tire me out anymore. Flying was amazing, and we spent the whole day doing it.