"To Start Anew" by Debra ´Shadow´ Krause

The night bird's song echoed off the mountains.

Silverclaw thought long and hard the next few hours. He came to his decision the next morning at day break. "I call upon Lilith, Lady of the Night."

She appeared with a sad look upon her face, as if she had something that she just didn't want to say. "What is your decision? Will she sleep or live again?" she asked.

"She will live again. I can't condemn her to a lifetime of sleep because she wouldn't be able to remember her old one," he declared.

"It is a wise choice. I'll perform the ceremony tonight, under the light of Selenia; the White Moon, Phoebe; the Red Moon, and Estella; Lady of the Stars. My children will lend their strength to her," agreed Lilith. She still had that look upon her face.

"My Lady, what is wrong?" asked Silverclaw, looking worried.

"The blast that Blayze released, it has affected the web more than we thought it would. Unfortunately, it's something only time can repair. Since dragons are a permanent part of the web you will be most affected by this change."

"What aren't you telling me?"

"All the dragons of Arlia will have to under go a transformation until the web has repaired itself. The only time you will be freed is if our world is in dire need of your kinds services. It will be all dragons of all alignments. There's no way around this, I'm sorry." Lilith bowed her head and left so he could have some time to comprehend all that has happened. For the first time since dragons came to Arlia, a tear fell from one's eye. The diamond it created was part of the web of magic, just like the dragons.

Later that day, just before dusk, Lilith came to Silverclaw once more. "You are the last one to change. You must choose your animal, but it must be non-magical, so no unicorns and creatures of like."

"That's an easy one, I'd like to be a wolf. Is that okay?" he asked.

"Yes, that is perfect. You'll be able to protect Anstaria easily as a wolf," commented Lilith. The sun had just set behind the mountains. "Now if you're ready, just give the cue." After taking a deep breath he nodded. Lilith raised her hands to the sky and gathered her energy. She then sprinkled it like dust over top of him. He slowly began to change. Scales changed to fur, horns to ears, and his claws and teeth shrank to a little larger than the average sized wolf's. When she was finished he looked just like a large silver wolf.

Silverclaw tried to speak. Nothing came out. Lilith explained, "I'm afraid you can only communicate through telepathy." He just nodded, laid down and waited for her to begin the ceremony to awaken Anstaria.

The ceremony went long into the night and was finished by dawn. Anstaria would still be sleeping for the next few days but would wake up with out knowing about anything that happened before. As a precaution Lilith had already arranged a house for her in the elven city of Orin in the Enchanted Forest. The forest had morphed after the blast but had already repaired most of the damage with the help of the elves. With Silverclaw to watch over her and the elves to guide her, Anstaria shouldn't have a problem restarting her life.

Anstaria awoke to the sound of song birds singing in the trees. A soft feather quilt lay at the foot of the bed. It was a small room, it smelled of lavender, and only had enough space for a bed, a bed side table, and a dresser.

On the table was a basin of water and a good sized diamond in the shape of a tear. She reached for it just as an elf walked in.

"You can look at it," he said when she quickly pulled back her hand. "It's yours."

She picked up the diamond, gazed over every facet, felt every edge. Looking up at the elf she asked, "Do I know you? Where am I?"

"No, you are new to this village." He extended his hand. "My name is Talon. And you, my dear Anstaria, are in the elven village Quinenta, well within the Enchanted Forest."