Book One: Onnu and Pannu

Troubled Waters

"At this point, you may as well just pop your head down and look," her friend said.
   "If that is the will of the people, I shall do just that."
   He snorted. "Why do you wait for them to decide what you do?"
   She wasn't used to hearing such impetuous talk from him. Logic seemed to have escaped him.
   "What do you think would happen if I decided their fates, all the time? As big as I am, they may grow to resent my help. Worse still, I might become a despot. Society began anew this day. Nothing is the same."
   The words in her head when she woke on this planet came out of her mouth, and sent a tingle down her spine.
   "We should strive for equal treatment, as much as is possible right now. I should be held to the same standard as they. Everyone should have a say. Call me an idealist if you will, but everything hinges on what we do in the beginning. We must be better."
   He hadn't played the newer God of War, so he mightn't know who she was quoting, and perhaps that was for the best. He might mistake her intent. She did not call herself a god, but she did have the strength of one, in relation to the rest. It would be far too easy to assume the role of dictator; equally easy for them to try to worship or idolize her. The very idea, had it occurred to her, would've made her scales shiver. She simply meant that with all her weight to throw around, she wanted to aim it the right direction, when possible.
   The thing she hadn't gotten used to was, her voice carried, whether or not she wanted it to. Granted, not everyone could understand Draconic, but those who did were free to interpret her words as they saw fit. Of those who understood her words, a handful got the video game reference. Only about three made the connection she wouldn't have wanted, but that was three too many. Time would tell whether they came to revere her as something she wasn't, or rejected her seeming claim out of hand.
   She would prefer the latter, were she privy to any of this.
   Stella was just too happy to be near water, and leapt into the stream with a strangely muted splish. Her person called to her, but she was ecstatic to be swimming, and did not heed his calls.
   The dragoness swung her great head over the dog, scanning the waters for threats. For a while, she saw nothing, so she let the dog play, despite her owner's distress. Not only was she a dog on Earth, but she was now a native of the planet they were on. She would surely know better than anyone if there were danger, right?
   Stella grew tired, and swam back to shore, dragon jaws ready to snatch her from danger if necessary. Sure enough, something slightly bigger than the once-dog headed for her as she neared the bank. It was just a little too close to the surface.
   In one move, the dragoness snatched the creature with a quick downward thrust, and nudged Stella to shore with her nares on the way back up. The wave from her massive jaws swept the once-dog into her owner's arms before the aquatic predator could so much as snap its jaws.
   Her stomach growled just then. The beastie wasn't much of a meal for her, but it was already in her mouth. Don't look a gift um... gator? in the mouth. She couldn't see it, but it felt vaguely gator-y. She tugged it out away from the gathering, lifted its struggling body into the air, and tossed it into her mouth. She could've used her paws, but she didn't really want to touch it. She wasn't really sure she wanted to eat it, either, but nothing was the same. She wasn't going to find a gluten-free pizza out here.
   She'd seen enough dogs, gators, and cats eating things to get the general gist of it. Keep the head perpendicular to the ground, break it up as much as you could, and then... Oh. She didn't want to set its carcass on the beach and gnaw at it. That would be unnerving. Well, gators swallow their prey whole. I don't have time to drown and bury it, but it's also not as big to me as an antelope, so I should be able to digest it..?
   Maybe, even though it was relatively small, the chitin and bone would keep her digestion working long enough to stave off hunger? How efficient was a dragon's digestive tract? Guess they were about to find out!
   "Okay, I'm not gettin' back on if we're gonna be close to that! Can we please see how deep it is? If the water goes too far up, I vote we fly!"
   The crowd was more than happy to agree with that sentiment!
   "As you will," she said. She stood slowly, in case anyone was nearby that she couldn't see, looked around to make sure her sides were clear, and walked out into the stream.
   The water rose up her foreleg with the next step. Doable, for her. Third step lapped her underside, and the kin gasped audibly.
   As she said, though, it took five steps to cross. Fourth step was back to her foreleg, fifth was wrist depth.
   The crowd cheered and called her back. They were hugging and jumping, as though she'd just cured cancer.
   "Clear a path, would ya? I want to see if I can jump it, in the future!" she called.
   Immediately, the crowd parted roughly down the middle. Those who couldn't understand her words could understand her intent, when she backed up for a running start (checking for loose rocks and things as she went). She'd never flown, but again, she knew the basic principle. A five step gap with water in it was the perfect time to try, to her thinking.
   A calm came over her, like she imagined Luke had before blowing up the Death Star. No one told her to use the Force, but she was gently reminded that this was a new body. She needed to pay attention to how things wanted to move. Let go of what she thought she knew, and listen to her instincts.
   Three good bounds, a leap, and a single flap sent her over the stream. She glided a little beyond the gathering, because she'd have to backwing a bit to land. She didn't want to knock anyone over.
   She turned back to the little clan and lay down at the river's edge. "I am ready for whatever you decide. You've seen both, it's up to you."
   Almost universally, they opted to wade across. While impressive, and good to know that she could fly, the thought of trying to stay on her back while she flew any distance was daunting.
   They climbed aboard, including some of the fliers who'd grown tired, and she waded across with no trouble at all.
   There were hills beyond the stream, which were little impediment to her, but would've been a couple of humanoids tall, for them. In the distance, they began to see odd structures; like mountains, but not. They looked to be jumbles of tall spires that all leaned toward each other. Some were roughly as long as they were tall, while others were twice as long as they were tall. They were all different heights, which made perspective difficult. Was it further away, or smaller? They just couldn't tell.
   Everything is different.
   At length, they realized that the dragoness was headed toward one of the odd structures. As they drew closer, the spires became clearer. It looked as though some great beast had burst from the very bedrock of the planet! Only... all of the mountainous spires angled toward each other. What kind of eruption would hurl the projections inward?
   The kin on her back grew nervous, the closer they got. The strange structure was taller than their dragon was!
   Even though they'd only known her for a day, they'd come to think of her that way. She seemed such a part of the environment, on this planet that was so much larger scale than they, some had already forgotten that she was once human.
   She stopped at the base of the nearest spire, feet dancing. She obviously wanted to climb up and in, but she didn't want to abandon or drop any of the kin. She looked over her own shoulder, and down a bit.
   "Look, this is where I've been pulled. I simply must go in. I'll understand if you want to stay out here, but my future lies within. I ask who will stay out here, and who will attempt the crossing, but I go."
   She lay down for them to converse amongst themselves, though few were brave enough to disembark. They were afraid she would leave without them, as anxious as she was to climb those daunting spires.