"Kate, hold the bar steady. "

And she was trying to hold a bar by holding it with her hand/paw.

"You have to put the claw of your wing through the ring and lock it. It will make a click!."

"But why?"

"You don't know how to fly yet, you'll hurt yourself and wear yourself out, this will help you learn and use the vents on your tail."

I

t was true that she was not fully in control of her anatomy and the current critical situation no longer allowed me the luxury of devoting myself entirely to her.

I was happy, but I wasn't expecting her sudden arousal.

I had waited so long that I threw in all these projects at once...

"Good! You see! Now the edges of the wing in the strap, like a ring and your wings are kept taut.

The exercise is to get used to using your tail.

The drones will assist you. You try to follow me and they take care of everything."

Two robots with propellers and taut webs hooked onto the tube and we started to run and the propellers whirred and Kate jumped, propelling herself into the air.

She screamed with dizziness but calmed down, her instincts taking over.

Then she calmed down and began to enjoy the freedom of flight.

We flew over valleys filled with flowers, areas full of magnificent trees, some of them huge, over a hundred meters high.

They were landmarks but also islands of greenery.

"But this is great, Hans!"

"Yes, my dear,..I never get tired of it!"

"Etttt Ehhh...I can see all the details on the ground. There are little goblins, mushrooms that walk! Ooooh how beautiful!!!"

"This world is yours! You just have to learn to protect yourself and you can have as much fun as you want!"

"Oh...how I would love to paint! All these colors! All those flowers...how beautiful.."

I smiled, but I didn't share her view.

All these years had bruised me, embittered me to the point that the Hans she described was like a stranger, a lover.

But I had to face the facts...Something had broken inside me. Like a whole section had disappeared, replaced by the cruel and devious professor, the cornered mad scientist.

I was a dragon now.

A real one. And she was a human, still human in a body like mine.

I still envied her a little, seeing her innocence and overwhelming kindness.

But sooner or later she would see the monster I had become. She could never accept it. And I let out a little moan.I still had a heart, but it was suffering. And my soul was now turned to my Goddess.

Yes... Kate... She came back much too late.

Tears fell from my eyes, swept by the wind.

"HANS??? "HANS???"

She was following me with the 2 drones just stabilizing her, she started to unconsciously use her vents, instincts helping.

"Yes?"

I said, turning my head, while beating the rhythm with my powerful wings.

"Do you think it's going to rain? I felt droplets..."

"No, Honey... I had some tears... I'm glad you're flying with me..."

Then, I slowed down and stood next to her

"Look ahead..!"

She smiled at me and I took the seat in front.In this configuration, the follower had less air resistance and Kate had an easier time flying.

We arrived at a mountain range with villages and fortresses on the mountainside.

There was a large square and no one in sight.It was weird and eerie at the same time. It was the Mountain Hall, MountainHall, the dwarf capital.

Kate shuddered at the beauty...

The city that emerged from the mountain was a jewel of art and technology. The streets were neatly lined up, but also in symbiosis with the mountain, for which the dwarves had a real respect.

But the city was only the tip of the iceberg. It hid the entrance to the real underground city.

The mazes stretched for dozens of kilometers or more. Legend has it that all the mountains are connected and that it is possible to spend one's entire life underground without the need for daylight.

They were the founders and guardians of the underground worlds.

And seeing me bathing in the lava, which is the blood of the mountain, made me appear to them as a kind of deity. My escorts arrived in advance to secure the terrain and spot any form of traps and ambushes.

Or a simple betrayal...

In its immense hall, pierced by skylights that gave an airy feel to the palace, was the throne of the dwarf king.

Magical runes conducted the light but also protected the structure.

His most faithful soldier announced my arrival.

I was waiting with Kate outside.

He grabbed his cane and put his crown back on his bald head. The face full of runic tattoos.

Then two columns of dwarves in plate armor and battle-ready gear preceded their king and made a half-circle in front of us.

The two of us sat in doggy style, while the drones helped my dragoness off the flight axis.

I turned to her, "Can you fly without the axis?"

"Yes, my love.."

But I felt a hint of anger, as if she no longer trusted me completely.

Then, 16 dwarves carrying a heavy platform with an iron canopy and a throne on which the dwarf king was sitting.

Despite his small belly, and overweight appearance, he was still a warrior elite. The dwarves placed the throne high enough that the dwarf did not have to look up at me but face to face.

"Lord Cranedur!"

The dwarf king was smiling. His forges were firing on all cylinders, in fact ten times as much.

"Lord Carnage..."

At these words, Kate turned her head to me...astonished at the name.

But she didn't dare say anything, she even bowed her head to a king.

One of the robots whispered to her, "Mistress Kate, your husband is also a king...which makes you a queen and you should never bow your head to another ruler..."

She immediately pulled herself together, following my example. Then the king jumped down from his throne and went to shake Kate's hand/paw

"Lady Kate, I take it, your majesty?"

The dragoness began to blush, not knowing what to do. And she looked to me for support.

"Lord Cranedur, I present my wife, also a survivor of the Cataclysm."

Cranedur: "Your husband is just talking about you...and it is a joy to be able to meet you."

But Kate was cringing and burst into tears. The king looked at me and motioned for me to follow him.

Little dwarves and maids brought Kate tissues and rubbed her eyes.

She had a fit and pressed her cheeks against the little hands and the women understood.

"I thought you were coming for an inspection..."

"No, dear king. I know you can't trust me yet. I've been making displays of power but out of necessity."

The dwarf's gaze darkened."The elves??? "

I answered: "yes".

"They are amassing troops in the cities to the south and organizing a purge. They will attack in a month at the latest, I would say 15 days to 3 weeks.

The battle should not take place here but further south.

There are remains of an old fortress. And the heights, I can put some units to cover the battlefield."

Cranedur: "So that Kate doesn't see?"

"No. For total annihilation.!"

"But they'll use magic". (Cranedur)

Me: "And I have weapons that block their magic. Prismatic tanks that light up the area with iron waves that block all magic."

Cranedur: "And you?"

"I come from a world without magic but I have draconic magic and my all powerful goddess."

Cranedur: "That's just it, there's a problem."

"I know what you're going to tell me... My legitimacy as a lord?"

I frowned and grew angry, growing before the king and emanating a draconic aura of terror. The dwarves wanted to jump on me to protect their king.

Kate collapsed, unable to sustain my aura. With a gesture I planted a claw in my palm and blood flowed to the ground.

It made a circle and became a black sphere that sank into the ground. A black mitre appeared on my head with a cross and in the center a black circle, a black flame.

"Almighty Mother! Show these unbelievers where they belong!"

Suddenly, the day disappeared, replaced by the night. Only the moon still lit up the sky. And all of them looked up to the sky to scream in terror and understand their smallness.

There were two moons in the sky. But the second one was red and split in the middle.

Then a second one, and so on, until a sixteenth one.

I knelt down to greet Mother ENKA.

We could not see her body, black in the darkness of the night, but we saw an astronomica claw passing in front of the lunar star.

"It is the devourer of the world...my mother! My goddess!"

Then the next moment there was nothing. The king was on his knees before me, without his crown, on the floor.

The dwarves were also all on their knees...I lifted the dwarf up, but for a moment he saw seven other heads, one of which was crowned and the others wearing a black mitre.

I had regained my normal appearance and turned once again to the moon, bowing and thanking my goddess for her support.

The dwarf was crying. The dwarves were crying.

"Respect her and worship her for she has freed your souls. She is a destroyer but she rebuilds and repairs worlds. Even though she is cruel and sometimes unjust, she is the first to defend and restore freedom.

She is also a true primordial goddess.

She participated in the construction and creation of the universe but she is also a formidable guardian.

I have prepared a bible telling her story but also all her exploits in the multiverse.

She is a hydra but she respects the brave and the bold."

Cranedur: "And Tyrant?"

"His days are numbered..."

The dwarf understood now that I was not joking. That I was not only a monster of calamity class helped by powerful weapons and some golems but I was supported by a God, an infernal deity.

And that made all the difference. It swept away all doubts in their population.

To die by the elves and suffer the judgment of Tyrant or to join forces and defeat the false Gods.

Then Kate was awakened and I explained to the king that Kate was still a humanoid like the dwarf women in her mind and that she needed support, a female sisterhood.

Friends, in fact.

"I entrust Kate to you. Introduce her to your world, your culture, and she is passionate about cooking and baking.

Teach her to love you but explain to her the danger of elves..she is too kind.."

The king smiled. And he reflected that I had just brought perhaps a hostage, but a proof of trust.

The carrot and the stick...

"Hans?..What happened to me?"

"They are friends, Dear... They will help you and ..."

"But I want to stay with you!"

Cranedur: "The elves will attack and your husband and I are making preparations to defend our wives and children."

Then Kate rushed in with the maids "Lady Kate... Come...we will dress you and make you the most beautiful dragoness that ever was!"

She realized that she was naked, just covered in scales, this did not ring a bell. She lay down on her stomach, all embarrassed..

"Come! There are only women here!."

And Kate got up and started to follow a dwarf who looked like a maid, but on closer inspection, she was wearing chain mail.

"My name is Pixel! and I am the daughter of Cranedur!"

Kate: "Oh... a little princess!"

Kate was then led into a cave with forges and jewels that were spread out here and there. A craftsman was heating glass and making glassware and enamel.

Then a parchment was placed over Kate's mouth and eyes and strapped to her horns, then one of them took a pencil and took measurements.

Then he removed the parchment and cut the edges.

Then they struck gold and began to forge jewelry.

Then Kate's ear was anesthetized and earrings were attached. A belt buckle was fitted over her belly and a metal and jewel reinforced loincloth was adjusted to match the line of her scales.

Her claws were also plated with gold and finally, her muzzle was covered, except for the nostrils, with a stylized pattern with chains leading back to the earrings.

She looked like a lizard of the one thousand and one nights but obviously, she was breathtakingly beautiful. At first sight, one could see that she was an intelligent and thinking creature.

She was no longer bestial. But her big teeth were a reminder that she was a giant carnivore.