Dracuoatlax touched down on the volcanic island below Sirna Tai; his master had been gone for nearly a month, from his perspective, leaving him to do as he would. And so, on the advice of those from the guild of people who named themselves 'Heavenly Dragons', he had come here. Not that he minded being on his own, oh no -- yet it was a greater joy to him these days when he fought with his master and her friends. The others who were part of his master's guild each had their own charms for him, in terms of how they fought or the innovative tactics they would come up with, yet even they had been sparse in appearing the past few days. Elizasmith was the only one who seemed to be around the most.

  “But of course; for she has the most to gain from these lands, being a renowned maker of weapons and arms,” the dragon said to himself. “Their allies are all suitable in their own way; yet I long for my true masters to return! We have enemies to overcome and challenges to undertake for glory and renown!” he said proudly, and then suddenly a strange sight caught his eye; he wondered if it was the something that the one called Qi Lin had implied he might find.

  Just to the north of the volcano was a set of standing stone rings, one large one, a lesser one inside of this, and a smaller one inside the second. The stones appeared to have weathered many an eruption and many a storm in the long ages. He moved closer to this unexpected sight to examine it. In the center of the three rings was an altar with characters reminiscent of dragonic script, which he had not seen for many an age.

  “Yet my eyes still know their forms; 'Ith adz'j?lh harag? O'kr?kidh nefr T?gfree' -- 'Here in this Hallowed Circle rests a great secret for the winged ones'... hmm!” he mused with interest, carefully stepping through the rings to examine the altar itself more closely.

  In the world of Panarena Fantasy Online, NPCs who have allied themselves with players for long enough, such as Dracuoatlax and Fyu Dongtian, could, if left to their own devices long enough, encounter “quests” of a sort, simple landscape events that would give them a benefit or a bonus in permanence. Not that they themselves specifically knew anything about this function; after all, from their perspective, it was just a happenstance of the world they lived in to encounter magical places that did such things.

  Dracuoatlax had stumbled on to such a thing now, one which would alter his “play-style” in service to the masters who had outwitted him and so gained his respect. He touched his nose to the altar after sniffing it carefully; the shimmering image of what looked like an Elven woman came into view.

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  “Great One, do you desire more power?” she asked him.

  “I am Dracuoatlax, Bane of Empires; of what do you speak to me? What sort of power could any offer me that I would now accept?” he replied.

  “I see you are in service to mortals; I offer you the gift of a power that will allow you to accompany them no matter where they go.” the mysterious image returned.

  The eyes of Dracuoatlax gleamed with curiosity. This was a thing that he would be foolish to pass up. He did not know if it would allow him to join the masters in their original world, but there were plenty of places in this one where he was often forced to abandon them on account of his titanic size. Perhaps this gift would allow him to alter that size, though he hoped that it would not be a permanent change.

  “Speak! Your words interest me.” he said to her. The female smiled, and then her image shimmered into that of a dragon. Dracuoatlax watched unblinking, pondering the sight.

  “See you now? I offer you the power to alter your form, temporarily, so that you may join your mortal masters--or, perchance, friends--wherever they go in this world,” she said to him.

  “I see!” he remarked with a greater interest. “A temporary alteration is no bad thing...”

  “You see it true,” she nodded to him. “This power can also be trained to last longer, if you so desire it. But that is for you to decide. Now, will you receive the blessing I am to bestow upon you?” she asked, and Dracuoatlax grunted, a grin on his face.

  “I need no moment's thought to decide; if I can help the one who has gained my loyalty by it, then I will gladly accept this gift for her sake!” he declared proudly. The mystical dragon nodded, and a shining light enveloped him.

  “Then accept this power! The power to take on the form of a mortal, and so venture into places that a dragon's full size cannot go! Fear not -- your powers and strength will remain to you; though you will have to use them as mortals do, instead!” she told him as the light faded away.

  A moment later, she and the light had disappeared. Dracuoatlax was left standing near the altar in a mortal form, with copper-red hair and red robes covering his body. He strode towards the sea, looking at his reflection; his eyes gleamed with approval at what he saw. Though in a mortal body, he still looked every inch his own intimidating self. Even the collar had transformed in size with him.

  “Somehow, it is more becoming in this form,” he remarked. “Ahh! I feel my power, I feel my strength! I shall now put these to the test 'ere I rejoin my mistress and her allies... ha-ha! Let the enemies of my mistress beware -- Dracuoatlax has grown in power!”