In a moment of urgency, I turned to Freya. “We must reveal the truth about my predicament,” I insisted. She shook her head, countering, “They don’t need to know. They believe you’re on a solo mission. It’s better this way.” I protested, “But Freya, they might think I abandoned them for personal reasons. That’s not fair to them or to me.” She hesitated, then asked, “So what do you propose we tell them?” I outlined my plan, and we proceeded.

Together, we addressed the crowd. Freya spoke on my behalf, repeating the narrative I had crafted. Solara, using her reputation as a respected and revered creature, stood by our side. They welcomed me as a new sacred being and as the king that I already was. We spun the story of my transformation as a blessing, not a curse, a temporary gift that would allow me to fulfill a greater purpose before returning to my normal form.

In accepting this narrative, I was relinquishing some of my royal duties and taking on the role of a guardian. However, I would not lose my status as long as Freya remained loyal to me. I agreed to this because Solara had promised me she knew a way to help me regain control of my shapeshifting abilities. But that required us to leave the valley and embark on a long journey. We had to explain this to our people as well. They deserved to know why they would be without a guardian eagle for a while.

Their reaction was not positive. They were worried and fearful for their safety. Before we departed, Solara wanted to test my ability to turn into a cloud of flames one more time. The only way to trigger it was either by willing it myself or by being attacked unexpectedly in a lethal manner, which Freya did. She ambushed me with a sword while I was flying peacefully with Solara. The sword and Freya passed through me as if I was made of air. I felt nothing but a loss of shape. Then a surge of emotion—the shock of being assaulted—made me reform into an eagle about a hundred meters ahead, leaving behind a trail of fire that dissipated in the air.

I looked around and saw Freya and Solara flying towards me. I yelled, “Really? Again? Haven’t we proven this enough?” Freya said, “It was Solara’s idea. I just followed her instructions.” Solara added, “And you did splendidly. Your powers are flawless. Now we can begin our quest.” I said, “Fine. Let’s go.”

I flew away from Freya, feeling a pang of sadness. She stayed behind in the kingdom with Fyrenthos and Akira, who would help defend our land in my absence. They didn’t tell me much about the quest. Solara only said that we were looking for an ancient and wise dragon that she had met long ago, a dragon that might know how to unlock again my shapeshifting powers.

We soared across the sky for days, never pausing or touching the ground. As we flew, I memorized the landmarks below us: the vast ocean, the winding river, and the dense jungle. I wondered how much longer we had to go before we reached our destination.

“Solara,” I called out to her. “How far are we?”

She glanced back at me and smiled. “Not much. We’re almost there.”

I felt a surge of curiosity. “How do you know about this place?”

She shrugged. “I came here a few years ago. Secretly. You didn’t even notice.”

I frowned. “You did? Why?”

She sighed. “I was searching and exploring, you know. Hoping to find others like me. As I told you.”

I nodded. “So you’ve been looking for love?”

She snorted. “Tsk, maybe.”

I smiled. “Well, you didn’t have to keep it a secret from us. Besides, I think I know this place too. I’ve been here recently.”

She made a quick snap with her head and said “Really? Oh right, Freya told me.”

I said, “She did? Very well…” Then I added, “But she didn’t tell you everything. She only mentioned the jungle, the kingdom of the Crashing Thunder, and the portal. Stuff like that. Did she?”

She tilted her head. “Yeah, she didn’t tell me everything. Do you want to?”

I said, “Maybe later. Look!”

We had arrived at our destination, a place that was familiar to me. The village of Erebus. She flew ahead of me and signaled me to wait for her cue. After she landed, I circled above, scanning the area for danger. Erebus approached her, and they exchanged a few words that I couldn’t hear. Then she waved at me with a wing to join them. I descended and landed next to her. Erebus greeted me with a grin.

“Welcome back, Nox. Did you miss us already?”

I blinked. “What? How did you recognize me?”

He chuckled. “A fire eagle never lies, especially this one.”

I glared at Solara. “Thanks a lot, Solara.”

She winked at me and said, “You’re welcome.”

I said, “Did she also tell you why we’re here?”

She shook her head and said, “Not yet, right?”

I cut her off and said, “Erebus, where is Siveth?”

He pointed behind me and said, “Right there.”

I turned around and saw her standing there, looking up at me with wide eyes.

She whispered, “Is it really you?”

I said, “Who?”

She said, “It’s you, Nox?”

I said, “Yeah, unfortunately.”

She frowned. “Unfortunately? Why?”

I said, “I’m here because I have a problem.”

She asked, “What problem?”

Solara answered for me: “He’s stuck in this form. Erebus, can you help him?”

He looked puzzled and asked, “How did this happen? Did you try to shapeshift into a fire eagle and got stuck?”

I shook my head and said, “No. I went through a portal, and then I was like this. I didn’t do it on purpose.”

He thought for a moment and then said, “Are you joking with me?”

I said, “Joking? I’m dead serious, Erebus. I’m stuck. I can’t shapeshift anymore. Damnit.”

He said, “Alright, calm down. I can help you with that. You’re in the right place.”

I responded with a desperate plea. “Oh yes, please save me from this nightmare.” He warned me, “Be aware. It will be a painful process.” I felt a surge of fear and swallowed hard. “I can do this. It can’t be more painful than what I witnessed here before.” He looked at me with a serious expression. “We’ll see. Are you sure that you want to do this?” I nodded firmly. “I’d do anything to fix this, really.” He said, “Very well, then we’ll start as soon as it starts raining. We’ll need a storm for this.” I agreed. “Sounds good. I’ll wait.”

I thought that I would stay in the village and wait patiently, like I was supposed to, but Solara had other plans. “While we wait for a storm, what do you think if we explore the area?” she suggested. I shrugged. “I already know this place, but why not? If you want to, I can show it to you.” She smiled brightly. “I’d love to.”

We left the village, and I showed her the area. I brought her to the lake, then back down the river, showing her the bifurcation. We also went further, exploring the waterfall I heard about but never saw. It was a magnificent sight. We landed next to it, and while I was admiring the landscape, Solara splashed me with water. I gasped. “Alright, fine, we’re resuming the exploration, sorry.” She giggled. “It wasn’t for that. You’ve got a bug on your wing.” I looked at the wing. There was nothing. I said, “I don’t see any bugs. What are you talking about?” She winked at me. “It flew away. It was on you a moment ago.”

I decided to play along. “Well, anyway, let’s keep exploring. We’re getting into new territories for me too.” She clapped her wings. “Fantastic, let’s not get lost then.” I added, “Let’s just keep an eye on the river. We can’t get lost if we don’t lose the river.” And we resumed the exploration.

Then, while we were really far from the village, we saw some clouds building up. The clouds of a storm, so I shouted, “Maybe we should go back quickly.” She pouted. “Why? I was having fun.” I pointed at the sky. “Look at that! In less than fifteen minutes, that’s going to turn into a storm so strong that you can’t even believe its strength compared to those in our kingdom! Let’s get back!”

She listened to my wise words, and we headed back to the village, but the storm was building in all directions until we were in the middle of it, with the roaring water hitting us. Before we could get over the storm, we needed to follow the river and get back to the village. The thunder around us was deafening. It was all a terrifying experience, but after a lot of effort, we made it to the village. Solara was a great flyer. She handled that really well, and I also proved myself to be one too. These wings were incredibly stable.

Upon arriving at the village, I found Erebus engrossed in his preparations. He looked up and greeted me with a smirk. “Great, you’re back. I thought for a moment that you left because you were afraid of my warnings.” I shrugged and replied, “Nah, nothing scares me. Ahah.”

Before I could say more, a shadow fell over me. I barely had time to look up when Siveth pounced on me from a nearby tree. She wrapped her arms around me and exclaimed, “Gotcha!” I grunted under her weight and tried to push her off. “Could you please get off me? Siveth!” She ignored me and nuzzled my neck. Erebus chuckled and said, “She’ll help us with this. Maybe she could ease the pain.” I sighed and said, “Ok, thank you, but anyway, could you please get off me?” She shook her head and said, “As he said, I’m going to help you with this, so no, I’ll stay here.” I rolled my eyes and said, “Fine, stay on me, even if you’re just heavy.”

I glanced at Erebus’s work. He had arranged several stones and crystals on the ground in a geometric pattern. It looked like a portal, except that it was circular and horizontal.

He gestured for me to stand in the center of the circle. I obeyed, feeling a surge of curiosity and apprehension. “What is this?” I asked him. “Some kind of ritual? I think I did something similar for a friend once.” He shook his head. “No, it’s a spell. A forbidden one, but it will fix you. Trust me.” I glanced at my form, and Siveth was still on my neck, waiting, like a parasite. “Will this thing come off?” I asked hopefully. Siveth remained silent, but Erebus nodded. “She won’t stay with you much longer. She’s about to do her part.” As he spoke, Siveth brushed aside my feathers and exposed a patch of bare skin. Then she bit me hard. I screamed in shock and pain, but the sound was garbled and distorted. “You fucking bastard, warn me next time!” I tried to say, but it was too late. My vision blurred, and my “limbs” went limp. I collapsed on the ground, conscious but paralyzed. I couldn’t feel my body anymore. The poison had a different effect this time. It didn’t hurt me. It just immobilized me. Siveth ran away and muttered something incomprehensible. I saw Solara standing at a distance, her expression a mix of concern and resignation. She knew what I was going through, and she couldn’t stop it.

Erebus moved closer to me. The geometric symbol on the ground glowed with light and shadow. Then I felt a surge of energy coursing through me, but my body resisted it. It tried to transform into a cloud of flames, but the rain doused the fire and turned it into smoke and steam. The pain was unbearable. The smoke and steam were alive, and they were being pulled by the light and shadow. I was trapped in a tug-of-war between opposing forces, and I couldn’t escape. I wanted to cry out for mercy, but no sound came out of my mouth. Then I heard a voice in my head, pleading for help. It wasn’t mine; it was another soul inside me struggling to survive. The spell lasted for an hour. An hour of torment and conflict between me, the light, the shadow, existence, two souls, life, and death. Then everything went silent. The rain stopped falling. The only sound was Erebus’s voice, speaking words I couldn’t understand.

I opened my eyes and saw a bright cloud hovering above me. It was me, in my ethereal form, waiting for a chance to change back. I seized the opportunity and shifted into my original dragon shape. Erebus ended the spell, but as soon as he did, I fell to the ground again, paralyzed but painless. The pain was a memory now, a memory that made me sob silently. But I couldn’t cry; I had no tears left. I almost lost consciousness and drifted into a limbo between reality and dreams. A dreamscape that mirrored reality but made no sense. A nightmare that filled me with fear

Then they lifted me up and carried me back to the hammock. Siveth followed them, her eyes fixed on me with an eerie intensity. Finally, my eyelids closed, and I left reality behind. I was asleep at last.