Call of the Guardian

“Call of the Guardian”

Pur Fum growled at her current circumstances. She had been honorably defeated by an outsider male, and as such, was honor-bound to marry him. Naturally, he didn't refuse, but he had a stipulation for his marriage; namely, that Pur Fum return with him to his home elsewhere in China. Pur Fum initially didn't object to this; after all, she wanted to see more than just the walls of Joketsuzoku all her life. When she arrived at her husband's estate, however, she quickly grew to understand why so few Amazons left the village with their husbands.

He was an egotistical domineering prick, and believed that a woman's place was in the home. What was more, since he owned a rather large tract of land, he owned a proportionate number of 'honor-bound servants' – ie, slaves – to work the land. Slavery was a concept forbidden by the Joketsuzoku, and seeing that the man she had married was such a man, Pur Fum was growing to hate her husband. Still, she was honor-bound, and bit her tongue while there. Tension, however, isn't designed to be bottled up, and it was only a matter of time before she snapped.

The breaking point came when her husband returned home from the fields one night, a bloodstain covering his jacket. Pur Fum, ever dutiful, walked over, asking, “Are you alright, my husband?” She had to bite the words out to keep the disdain from showing in her voice.

Thankfully, the object of her disdain didn't notice. “Worry not, my blossom, it's not my blood. One of my servants decided to be sick in the fields. I whipped her myself. Crops don't easily grow on vomit-covered land.”

Pur Fum mentally gnashed her teeth. Out loud, however, her voice was calm. “I assume that discouraged others from doing the same thing?”

“Naturally. Seeing one of their friends whipped to death on a dais would make anyone think twice about being sick and working at the same time.”

She didn't bother to hide her shock, now. “You killed her? Beg your pardon, husband, but isn't that somewhat extreme?”

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Are you actually questioning my decisions, Pur Fum? Lest you forget, I am your husband. You are my inferior. You have no right to question me.” With that, he struck her with the back of his hand across the face.

Pur Fum had had enough. All of her built-up tension, all of her disdain, everything she despised about this place came rushing up to the surface. With a flick of her wrist, her favored weapon, a large gwan dao, was withdrawn from her storage pocket. Surprise flickered across her 'husband's' face for a moment...and that was all she needed. With a vicious swing, she left a rather nice gash across his face. He yelped, stumbling backwards and tripping over a table.

“Lest you forget, 'husband',” she growled, “I am only your wife because you defeated me in combat. I may be honor-bound to marry you, but you cannot own me or my soul. Once I tell the Elders what a magnificent prick you are, I'm certain I will get our marriage annulled.” So saying, she left out the front door.

A prick he may have been, but he was far from being a fool. With a snarl, he slammed his hand on a panic button he kept with him at all timed. Soon enough, a voice came over the radio.

“What is it, sir?” his guard captain asked.

“My wife, Pur Fum, has decided to rebel. Bring her back to me so I can show her her place. She will most likely try to return to her village of Joketsuzoku.”

“Understood, sir,” came the reply.

Within moments, a full platoon of his security forces had been deployed. Motorbikes, Jeeps, and even a horseman or two set out after the wayward woman.

Seeing the response to her rebellion come so quickly, Pur Fum knew a quick retreat to Joketsuzoku was now impossible. Therefore, she decided on the next best thing: plowing through the nearby bamboo forest. The bikes, Jeeps, and horses would be unable to follow her through the dense growth of bamboo, and the footmen would be unable to catch her.

Still, she knew that the bamboo forest wouldn't last forever, so she prayed that she would be able to reach the other side before long. After all, once they realized trying to catch her in the forest was nigh-impossible, they would more than likely try to intercept her by going around. Even she couldn't contend with a full platoon of men and vehicles, all using firearms. That would be a feat only one of the Elders could pull off.

So lost in thought was she, that when she tripped and fell facefirst into a pond, it came as a complete surprise. Sputtering, she picked herself up, cursing the precious seconds she had lost...and then paused as she looked around in wonder.

She had somehow stumbled onto an oasis of sorts in the sea of bamboo. Here, the growth was far less dense, and what was more, small pools of water dotted the area. The idea that they were natural was dismissed when she noticed they formed a pattern of sorts; the pools, if one looked at them from above, would resemble a claw or talon of some kind. That, and each one was surrounded by a circle of stones, which meant that these pools had been made by someone...or something.

“Breathtaking, isn't it?” a voice came. Pur Fum spun around looking for the owner of the voice. “Down here!” Looking down, she was hard-pressed not to yelp, as looking back at her from the pool's water wasn't her own reflection, but the reflection of a dragon of sorts.

“Wh-what sorcery is this?” she asked.

“Magic most ancient, my dear,” the voice replied, seemingly from the reflection of the dragon. “It has been far too long since I've had visitors.”

Pur Fum was starting to get her mind back in order. “I cannot linger; if those men find me -”

“Don't worry; none will find you here. This garden is protected. Only those with no ill will in their hearts may enter. You fulfilled that criteria, which is why you are here. And fortunate for us both that you are.” The dragon – she finally admitted that was who was speaking – sounded almost relieved.

Pur Fum blinked. “Why is it fortunate for you that I stumbled across this garden?”

The dragon sighed. “It has been an age since I had a true physical form to guard this place with. The magic that keeps my spirit here is starting to fail, and with it, the protections around here. Soon, I will disappear entirely, and this garden will be ravaged as the rest of the world has been. That's if I cannot find someone to pass guardianship to.”

Pur Fum slowly nodded. “And you wish me to be this..guardian?”

The dragon nodded. “You are the first person to come here in an age. I can't afford to be picky...although, I admit, having a female guardian would be a bit interesting. My predecessors and I were all male. That's part of the reason we survive in this manner.”

“Because you cannot reproduce on your own?” she asked.

“Correct. In truth, you would not be able to either, but at least this place will be safe.”

Pur Fum sank to her knees. “And what of my family and friends? How am I to tell them what has happened to me?”

He gave her a small smile. “You do not have to remain here, you realize. You will be able to leave this garden. When you do, the protection spells will keep it safe. As to informing your family and friends, all dragons are capable of shape-shifting. I'm certain that when you explain the situation to them, they will understand.”

Pur Fum looked around. This place was beautiful, and deserved to be protected. On the other hand, how could she leave her old life behind? You won't, a part of her whispered. You'll simply be doing something more important than being a whipping-girl for an abusive overlord.

That thought seemed to clinch it. “Alright...I'm ready.”

Immediately, a wave of...something emerged from the surface of the pool, and seemed to float, like an odd purple mist, before zooming into her mouth and nose. Coughing slightly at the unexpected invasion of her oral cavities, she soon focused on another priority: namely, the sensation of fire that was rippling down her spine. It felt almost like her spin was starting to stretch.

And stretch it did. With a sudden lurch, her spine started to lengthen, and a massive tail formed behind her. As a matter of fact, it was a bit too massive; the tail had to be twice her own size. With the sudden shift in her sense of balance, she yelped as she fell backward onto her insanely long tail. She was soon propped upright, however, when she felt something starting to form on her tail.

Looking down, she saw another pair of legs beginning to form. What was more, her old legs were shifting and rearranging themselves. Soon enough, she stood on her four new legs, although her old legs had taken the form of an extra set of arms. She sighed. Well, what else is going to happen to me?

That question was answered when her not-inconsiderate bust expanded, going from a proud D cup to a voluptuous F. This had the effect of ripping the top of her dress, and despite the privacy she couldn't help but blush. Now I know what the big tail is for, she thought idly.

An itching sensation across her body caught her attention. Inspecting herself, she saw purple scales covering the previously bare skin of her tail, while black fur covered her legs and feet. A 'fin' of black and white fur appeared on her tail, stretching almost to the end, which was tipped with a large tuft of grey fur.

The scales began covering her abdomen as well, and as the progress reached her arms, the black fur of her legs covered those as well. She now noticed that all three sets of limbs were tipped with vicious white claws, that would more than likely hurt someone if used. Like my 'dear husband', she thought darkly.

The scales climbed up her neck, and soon covered her face. She felt her face expand into a dragon's muzzle, and saw a thin pair of black whiskers sprout on each side. Looking in the water, she could see the progression complete as her hair changed from chestnut to dark purple, and her eyes changed from brown to red. A pair of horns grew on her head, topping off the whole transformation. The last feelings of the magic withdrew, and she was left complete, a purple-and-black dragon-taur with a rather impressive bust.

“Well, now. This...is going to take some getting used to,” she said, cupping a hand under both of her breasts. “I hope that dragon wasn't lying when he said this place could protect itself without me for stretches...”

With that, she tapped into the instincts that came with being a dragon. The magic was easy enough to access, and she took flight, soaring into the sky while cloaking herself with another spell. She saw that her 'husband's' security platoon had done their best to surround the bamboo forest, notably around the area that led to Joketsuzoku. While she contemplated leaving them, she decided, instead, on sending a powerful message to her ex. Swooping down, it was child's-play to pick off the drivers of the bikes and Jeeps. From there, she merely circled around, completely invisible, and systematically killed every member of the platoon.

She finally stopped when she reached the captain, who was looking around fearfully, not understanding what could have done this. She whispered in his ear, “Tell your master that the guardian doesn't like intruders in her lands.” The poor man yelped, scrambling for his Jeep, and drove off in a fury. She chuckled long and hard at this.

“Now on to less pleasant matters...” she murmured. Taking flight again, she flew to Joketsuzoku, where she prayed she would be understood...