"Samalander Lizard, Chapter 3" by Nathan W. Woods

"Why did you bring her here?" The council of lizards looked at the quiet form of Leeta, still sleeping off the effects of seeing her small friend in a completely new body.
"I had no choice, she has seen me, and no one else must be allowed, or the will cut me up, they will cut all of us up, to see how I managed that," replied Samalander-minidragon. (He wasn't much larger than his original form, but he was drastically changed in appearance.)

Waking slowly, Leeta is slightly surprised to find herself surrounded by samalander lizards of all shapes and colors. Sitting up with a start she looks around querulously, forgetting where she is for an instant. Seeing her awaken, Sam drops into her lap, changing colors rapidly through the spectrum of colors of his race.
"I'm sorry I startled you, but you had to see what is happening."
Leeta nods slowly, and then a question dawns on her, "Where are we anyway? This doesn't look like the enclosure we built for your people when we decided you needed to live in."
"The council," Sam points to eight of the lizards of various breeds surrounding her, "decided we needed more breathing room than the area you gave us. So we expanded it. Leeta, I need to tell you something, and you need to promise me not to pass out." Leeta nods slowly, and Samalander launches into the history of his people with a question. "What do you know of magic?"
"Well, I know that it doesn't exist."
Sam slowly shakes his head and looks over Leeta's shoulder, eyes unfocusing. "Magic founded all of the sentient races, hundreds of millennia ago, it was what pulled the 'humans' and 'elves' out of common apes and the dragons out of lizards..."
"Wait, you're telling me that dragons and elves really existed? And there was magic? Dwarves? Rings? Talking liza...oh."
"Dwarves are just short humans, and we can't go into rings for copyright reasons. As far as magic goes, it is older than time, and as forgotten as yesterday's breakfast. Let me tell you a story, it is long, and I won't be able to tell it all to you, because we don't remember it all yet.
"Magic, although not a physical thing that can be studied, does have a marked affect on the world. It is part of why scientists will never figure out chaos completely, nor why they cannot seem to unify all the forces of nature. Four races were pulled from the level of the animals originally: the humans, the small dragons, the great dragons, and the elves. Every person who can think today has a little bit of magic in them.
"There used to be great wizards and sorcerers in all the races, but most of the beings affected by magic gained only intelligence, not the control of magic. The common people soon grew jealous of the wizards and began to systematically exterminate them. Because the dragon races both naturally had control over magic, they were hunted down by the elves and humans.
"Soon there were few with the control of magic left, they transported themselves away from the marauding humanoids, and gathered together to save their kind, and their magic. They found a race of small lizards, dying out because they lacked the defense, and the size, to survive.
"These brown brothers and sisters you see around are the true descendants of that race, all still touched by magic, granting them sentience, but the inherent control of the magic bred out.
"It was decided that the remaining wizards to pour their own essence into the small lizards, each gaining a little of each race. A few human wizards rebelled, thinking they would be able to make it on their own, but the vast majority of the wizards poured their souls into the small lizards. What happened to cause the elves to die out is unknown, or what happened to the wizards who stayed behind.
"All of those of the samalander lizard race to be affected were what you termed 'tiger stripes'. Breeding and time diluted and separated our race into what you see today."
Leeta sat, staring awestruck at the small, seemingly fragile form in front of her. "It can't be true...but if it isn't, how did you extend the inside of your enclosure without changing the outside, how can I see what happened as you say it, why do I feel grief for those who lived thousands of years ago?"
"There is something else you should know," stated Samalander, the color slowly draining to a drab brown, and almost flesh in places. "I'm changing again..."