Another story! This time not featuring Azar, but just two characters I (with Aaron's help too) came up with. Just a fun story of an up-and-coming mage vs a dragon.
Special thinks to for making this gift picture to go along with the story and for helping edit.

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“I’ve taught you everything I can. Now it’s time for you to go off on your own and prove yourself a mage worthy of this world.”

The words of his former teacher kept playing through Anat’s mind as he crossed through the open fields of the Eastern Plains. For fourteen years, the avian anthro had been under tutelage to learn the various intricacies of using magic to its fullest. But, as with all things, there came a time for his training to end. His master, believing that Anat was ready to find his own purpose as a mage in the world, gave the penguin enough supplies to last him a few weeks of travel.

The bad news was that Anat was almost out of supplies. He had spent most of his time just trying to figure out what his next move would be. The options were nearly endless. He could stay in the wilds, living off the land and getting closer to nature, helping the land and its creatures as needed. A solitary life, but a simple and enjoyable one. Or he could go to one of the major cities to join one of the many mage guilds. That kind of life would provide job security as he helped with daily tasks and research. He might even become a teacher to younger, newer mages in time. Just like his master.

And of course there was always the adventuring route. Anat had heard that many mages started along that path. The possibility of fame and fortune for vanquishing evils and plundering treasure in unexplored lands certainly had its appeal. Though mortality rates were just as high as the number of jobs available in the adventuring field. Despite the odds, this was the path Anat finally found himself heading towards.

The good news was that he had finally found something to test his knowledge on. A stop in a small military outpost caught Anat looking at a job board for mercenaries or adventurers to pick up jobs, and Anat had found the perfect one to make a name for himself. Riverside was a rapidly growing farming town that had been finding a wealth of luck in its good soil for growing crops in the past few years. With so much successful harvests year after year, the town’s livestock flourished and their exports increased. Riverside’s location along a tributary that lead into a much larger river further south had also contributed its part to the town’s success.

But as one would expect, a town doing as well as Riverside would attract unwanted attention. The abundance of healthy livestock was a prime target for predators. Wolves and coyotes were easily dealt with, but the newest predator was more than the town could handle. A dragon had descended upon Riverside, eating their cattle, pigs, chickens, and pretty much anything it could get its claws on. A sleek black drake, which the farmers had learned was named Sule’Kesh was starting to make a dent in livestock population in the six months it had remained near Riverside. Such a creature was more than what the local militia could handle, so the call for adventurers was sent out. A call that Anat was all too eager to act on.

When Anat finally reached Riverside, he was shocked to see that everything looked normal in the town. The stories he’d read of dragons tormenting towns, villages, and cities always made it sound like the places would be rundown and decrepit under the dragons tyranny, with wounded and miserable people everywhere. But in Riverside, daily life was continuing as normal, and not a single soul looked concerned about the dragon. Perhaps the stories were a little more exaggerated than he had been led to believe.

The extent of the trouble the dragon was causing wasn’t seen until Anat made for the farmlands the next morning after reaching Riverside. Out here, it was much, much worse. Strong fences were smashed through as if they were nothing, scorch marks lined multiple fields and entire crops had been burnt to the ground. No doubt Sule’Kesh burned them out of anger for Riverside trying to stop him from continuing to hunt livestock. As the blue-robed wizard continued towards the dragon’s lair, he saw charred bones of livestock that had been the dragon’s meals. And, as the locals pointed out to him, several of the ash piles he saw were previous adventurers that had tried to slay Sule’Kesh.

Anat was starting to lose some of his bravado. Were any of those previous adventurers mages like himself? Was he really prepared to take on a dragon as his first challenge? As the thoughts started to consume him, the penguin thought again back to his teacher’s words.

“Prove yourself a mage worthy of this world.”

Anat closed his eyes and repeated the words in his head over and over again. Slowly, the feeling of dread began to wash away as he filled himself with confidence. He had his magic, he had his wits, and he was determined. This dragon would not get the best of him. When the mage opened his eyes again, he was standing at the mouth of the cave that Sule’Kesh had made his den.

“A cave…how typical,” he said with a sigh as he descended in. Seems the stories that told of dragons making their homes in caves was not an exaggeration. Anat cast a simple Light spell to light his way, creating an orb of glowing sunlight that orbited around him. He crept forward step by step, looking every way he could for signs of the scaled beast. Sule’Kesh would have the advantage in his home territory, but Anat was hoping to catch him off guard. Perhaps he’d even get lucky and the dragon would be sleeping.

Finally, Anat entered what appeared to be the main cavern, as it widened out enough that a dragon could move around with ease. But there was just one problem.

“Where’s the dragon?” Anat said quietly to himself as he looked around in confusion. “I don’t under-“

Anat was cut off as he felt something slam into him from behind, throwing him off his feet and through the air, where he landed on the ground hard. It took a moment for him to get back to his feet, the penguin mage dazed from having the wind knocked out of him. When his eyes finally did refocus, the light he had cast finally showed him exactly where the dragon had been. Sule’Kesh had been clinging to the ceiling, watching Anat the whole time! The object that hit him was the black dragon’s tail.

“What’s this? Another Riversider come to dispatch me?” Sule’Kesh hissed as he climbed down from the ceiling, keeping his head low and crouching a bit on all fours as he got into an offensive posture. Anat took a moment to quickly look the dragon over, trying to find any possible weak points. The black dragon looked about 11 feet tall if he were standing straight, though his head up straight would probably put him at 14 feet in height. And he was certainly twice that in length. His curved, ram-like horns didn’t look too useful for impaling, but Anat was sure Sule’Kesh would give one nasty headbut if he tried.

During his observation, Anat was surprised to see that Sule’Kesh had no wings. So that was why the town wasn’t as affected as the farmlands. Sule’Kesh hadn’t been able to just fly over and attack the town. He’d have to try forcing his way through whatever defenses Riverside put up. Wingless dragons weren’t uncommon but it was rare to see one attempt to raid a town or its supplies.

The penguin’s observation took only a few seconds, and in that time Sule’Kesh was already charging at him. Anat dodged out of the way, rolling back onto his feet, turning towards the dragon, and outstretching his arms. His fingers were flat on his hand as he fired a bolt of lightning out from his fingertips and right into the side of Sule’Kesh. But to his dismay, the dragon looked more annoyed at the hit than actually hurt. With a growl, Sule’Kesh turned his head and breathed fireball right at Anat. The avian summoned a shield of water to protect him, but the sheer heat of the flames seared several of his feathers and singed his blue robe.

When the fire had passed, Anat dropped the shield and stood back up. Again he fired a bolt of lightning right at Sule’Kesh’s chest. Another direct hit, yet the dragon looked unfazed. Anat didn’t have time to process why his attacks weren’t working before he was hit in the side by the dragon’s swinging tail. Once again the avian was sent flying. He slammed into a wall hard and dropped to the ground. He had only a second or two to get his wits back about him and summon another water shield before a second fireball hit him.

From the other side of the cave, Anat could hear deep, confident chuckling. “You really have no idea what you’re up against do you?” Sule’Kesh said as he approached the wizard once more. “Hit me with anything you’ve got, wizard. It won’t do you any good.” He said before getting close enough that he swiped his claws at Anat. The mage used his water to slide out of the way before getting to his feet.

This was getting frustrating. Those bolts of lightning would have fried, or at least stunned, anything else. And now the dragon was saying nothing would work? To test the boast the dragon made, Anat swirled his hands around in a globe-like motion in front of himself. A green, sickly-looking liquid started to form. As the dragon charged again, Anat threw the ball of liquid at Sule’Kesh. To his dismay, it splashed on him and the drops splashed to the floor. The acid that he had created hissed on the ground as it began eating through the stone. “Even acid doesn’t work?” he took a few fearful steps back.

“Nothing you do works. For a mage, you’re not very well taught are you? Dragons are invulnerable to your magic. Hit me with your best attack and I’ll shrug it off,” Sule’Kesh told him as he chuckled again. “You’re not the first mage to try and get rid of me, but you’re the first that’s forgotten a dragon’s natural magic immunity. Our hides are impenetrable to all by the greatest weapons or powerful magics,” he boasted as he lunged at Anat again.

So far the only thing Anat had going for him was his maneuverability. Using water again as a slide for his feet, he rode a small wave off to the side and out of the way of the approaching teeth and claws. Anat mentally cursed at himself. He should have known dragon’s had strong immunities to magic. But in his haste to prove himself, and the chance at fame, he had forgotten a basic lesson about such beasts. Surely his teacher had taught him that, but he forgotten it in his many years of schooling. After all, there weren’t that many times that he imagined himself facing a dragon one on one.

Anat needed time to think. So to get that time, he placed his hands on the ground and focused. The earth trembled beneath him as large roots burst from the rocky floor and began wrapping around Sule’Kesh’s body and limbs. The summoned roots were strong, but they would only delay Sule’Kesh, not hold him forever. Even as the roots were tightening, the black dragon was ripping and tearing them apart.

Anat desperately tried to think of something, anything he could use to fell the dragon. A spell that might pierce through the dragon’s hide somehow? No, he knew of no such magic. Only the highest archmages could take on full-grown dragons alone, and even then it was difficult. Maybe he could cause the stalactites above to fall and impale Sule’Kesh? No, they weren’t large enough. Anat’s life was in danger and he couldn’t think of a single thing that would save him. Running was useless, as the dragon was far faster than he could sprint.

The penguin mage looked up and saw that Sule’Kesh had broken free and a glow was coming from his open maw. He was going to breath fire again. In desperation, Anat threw up the water shield once more to protect himself. This time, instead of a single fireball, the black dragon was shooting out a stream of fire. Anat fell to his knees as he tried to keep the fire at bay. But his stamina was running low, and if he didn’t find a way out soon he was going to be one cooked bird. If he could only put out the fire!

But with that though, Anat got an idea. He could put out the fire! And he had everything he needed right in front of him. A dragon’s flame was ignited internally, so if he could just extinguish that he’d have a much better chance against Sule’Kesh. Perhaps even find a way to restrain him fully. He couldn’t directly affect the dragon with magic; but, as the vines had proven, he could indirectly affect him.

Anat’s water shield changed from curving towards the mage to protect him to curving towards the dragon to contain the fire. With a cry, he began pushing the water forward against the force of the heat and flames. A continuous stream of water sprayed from his hands to the shield. To his amazement, it was actually working! Fire was no match for water when one was pitted against the other. Sule’Kesh was determined though, intensifying the flames and starting to fill the cave with steam from the clashing of the opposing elemental forces.

With a bit of time and plenty of effort, Anat had forced the wall of water up right up against Sule’Kesh’s snout. With one last surge of strength, he sent the water into the dragon’s maw and down his throat to extinguish the flames. The onslaught of liquid surprised Sule’Kesh, causing him to stumble. But Anat kept his aim with the water and the force of the liquid prevented the dragon from closing his maw shut. But Anat’s attack had an effect that he did not expect. He had certainly extinguished the flames, but the force of water had been so much and so strong that it started forcing water into Sule’Kesh’s stomach. Before his very eyes, the dragon’s lean stomach started to distend and then swell outwards.

Upon seeing the dragon’s middle beginning to wide, and remembering what he had done with the roots before, Anat smiled as he got a wickedly clever idea. Even though the dragon’s flame was gone for now, he kept the water stream going, constantly filling Sule’Kesh’s belly more and more. The dragon groaned as he felt himself filling up, his eyes widening when he realized what was happening. He tried to move closer and swing his claws or tail at Anat, but the mage would just increase the amount of water in the stream, pushing the black dragon back. And if Sule’Kesh tried to turn away from the flow, Anat would just follow and keep his aim right at the dragon’s stuck open maw.

After a minute or so of the continued “assault”, Sule’Kesh could feel his belly getting heavier. Every step he took to try and get away from the stream caused the liquid inside to slosh around, making his stomach bounce against the inside of his legs. And it wasn’t long before he felt his legs pushing against his stomach as it expanded outwards as well as down. Sule’Kesh’s speedy movement had slowed down to a heavy waddle. All the while Anat smiled as he saw his plan coming to fruition. A bloated, immobile dragon was much easier to beat than a fast, agile one. “Looks like you’re putting on a bit of water weight there Sule’Kesh,” Anat said with a chuckle, getting in his share of boasts now that he had the upper hand. It was only fair, given how the dragon had mocked him earlier.

Sule’Kesh let out a concerned whine when he felt his belly touch the ground and start pushing harder and harder against it. In truth, Anat was shocked at how round and large the dragon was getting. He did indeed mean to make the dragon immobile, not burst him, but he had no idea the dragon would have so much stretch in him. Perhaps it was a natural ability dragons had so that they could fit lots of prey inside their stomach in a single hunt rather than hunt for lots of prey over multiple days? He’d have to research that thought later.

After about ten minutes of filling the now dragon water balloon, Anat stopped the flow of water. Where once stood a ferocious, dangerous, and ill-tempered wingless dragon, now there was only an immobile, bloated reptile. Sule’Kesh let out a loud belch that echoed in the cavern, groaning as he laid his head down on his stomach. “You’ll…pay for this…mage…” he said, a light blush on his face from the embarrassment of his current situation. His fire was well extinguished now, and he couldn’t fight the mage in any way in his current state.

Anat took a moment to walk around the dragon, being careful not to let Sule’Kesh’s tail take one more swing at him. “There…I’d say you’re thoroughly defeated,” he said with a wide smile on his face. He had done it! A dragon, nearly impenetrable to magic, had been defeated by none other than the new mage Anat!

“Now…on to the second part of my plan,” Anat said as he raised his hands and started conjuring a new spell.

“New plan? What tricks are you going to try now?” Sule’Kesh asked, glaring at the mage who had beaten him.

“First, I need to see if my theory is correct,” the mage said as he started to concentrate on the water that was within the dragon. He waved his arms from side to side in a sort of flowing manner, and as he did so, the water inside Sule’Kesh started to slosh from side to side as well.

“H-hey! Knock that off!” the dragon growled as he wobbled from side to side. Anat, however, found this to be the perfect result. He may not have been able to affect the dragon directly with his magic, but he could affect the water inside Sule’Kesh, as it was technically “his magic” that had summoned the water, thus it was under his control to do with as he wished.

“The water has made you unable to harm Riverside anymore, but it’s just water. And so, it’s only a temporary solution. I’m going to create a more permanent solution,” Anat informed the dragon as he started to disperse half the water throughout the dragon’s body naturally, while keeping the other half in his stomach to keep the dragon immobile and unable to try fighting back. Of course, dispersing just water into the dragon would have done nothing but make him lose some of that water weight. But Anat had thought ahead, and through a bit of complicated science and magic, was able to magically convert the water into calories.

“Wh-what are you doing to me?!” cried out the dragon as he felt magic being spread throughout his body. Soon, it wasn’t just Sule’Kesh’s waistline that was growing, but his entire body. His muscled limbs began to soften and plump up, making them heavy, sluggish, and slow to move. The dragon’s powerful tail fattened up enough that it would take considerable effort to move it, a little payback Anat took for being hit hard twice with the appendage. Sule’Kesh’s neck, chest, and cheeks all plumped up in due time as well. And after only a few more minutes, Sule’Kesh looked like a very fat version of his former self. Anat took a moment to convert the remaining water in the dragon’s stomach into fat, focused on his belly, so that the black dragon remained stuck in place.

“There, that’s a more permanent solution. You won’t be able to go after Riverside’s livestock, farmers, or homes for a long time now. Now that you look like you’ve had far too many successful winter hunts, I’ll let the local guards know that they can safely deal with you as they please,” Anat said as he brushed his hands off before turning to leave, grinning at his success.

“Wait! You can’t leave me like this!” cried out Sule’Kesh as Anat was making his exit.

Anat quickly spun around, crossing his arms and looking sternly at the dragon. “Oh? And why’s that? You’ve caused more than enough trouble and heartache for Riverside. You’re lucky I decided not to slay you, if only because I needed to test out my new trick for incapacitating dragons,” he said, tapping one foot on the ground.

“I…I deserve to go out fighting! The guards will surely just slay me, but I refuse to let them kill me like I’m an overstuffed turkey! I should battle to the death, not lay helpless on my belly,” Sule’Kesh stated angrily, his front paws clutching at the front of his belly. He would have surely breathed fire on Anat for this humiliation if his organ for creating the flame was not still soaked. “I deserve to prove myself worthy of being a dragon, wings or not!”

Anat raised an eyebrow at hearing those last few words. Suddenly, he found himself looking at Sule’Kesh not with anger, but with pity. He started to see why he had even come to Riverside, instead of sticking to more natural grounds that dragons tended to live in. He had been trying to prove himself worthy of being called a dragon? Was that something dragons did naturally, so that they too would become famous among their own kind? Or had Sule’Kesh terrorized this town to prove that he was worthy of being called a dragon despite not having wings? In either case, Anat doubted he would get the black dragon to answer any questions about it. But it did start to make the penguin mage think a bit more about what he would do next.

“Tell you what, I have an alternative for you,” he said, smiling at his new plan.


It was an entire day before Anat returned to Riverside. Those who knew he had gone to slay Sule’Kesh quickly swarmed him, asking what had happened to the beast. Anat was quick to calm them, smiling and stated that he had vanquished Sule’Kesh and they would never have to deal with him again. Anat spent the rest of the new day in celebration at the Riverside inn, enjoying plenty of drink and food while spinning his tale of how he defeated the dragon.

“As he lay there defeated, I granted mercy upon the dragon. After all, he was only trying to make a name for himself. Who can’t understand and relate to that? So, I cast a deep sleep spell on him and encased him in thick roots, harder than steel, to encase him. And there he sleeps for all time,” he told the inngoers. Though the dragon was not slain as they had hoped, the people of Riverside found Sule’Kesh’s defeat adquequate enough.

The next day, after the celebration was over, Anat made his way out of town. He wanted to see what other opportunities lay ahead of him now that he was named an official “dragon slayer”. Once he was several miles away from Riverside, the penguin looked around to make sure no one had followed him. He then walked off the path and took a seat on a nearby tree stump before rummaging through his side bag.

Smiling when he found what he was looking for, Anat pulled it out and put it in his open palm. The object he had pulled out was none other than Sule’Kesh himself! Albeit, much, much smaller. And he still was quite fat, though Anat had granted him a little bit more of his mobility back. “Alright, we’re clear of the town. I thought you could use a little fresh air,” he said, smiling at the little dragon in his hand.

Sule’Kesh glared up at Anat, his thick tail thumping against the penguin’s palm. “This was NOT what I thought you meant when you said you had an alternative.” He said, hissing in annoyance. The dragon’s deep voice had taken a much higher, almost cuter tone with his shrunken body. After granting the dragon mercy, Anat had manipulated the now magic-infused dragon’s body to a smaller size. With his magic still within Sule’Kesh, he could essentially control any aspect of the dragon’s body. In this case, he had made the former terror of Riverside a more manageable travel size.

“You should be thanking me for not letting anyone see you as you were in that cave. Or as you are now. I even left out the truth of how I beat you. No one knows that you were turned into a dragon blimp, so your reputation in Riverside remained intact,” he assured the dragon as one finger poked at the dragon’s tubby belly.

“Hmph…I guess that’s something. But why take me with you?” he asked.
“Because, they say only the most powerful of wizards have ever tamed a dragon to be their companion. I may not be one of the most powerful mages yet, but I think getting a dragon companion so early in my career is a plus, don’t you?” Anat admitted to him.

“And why would I ever willingly help you? Why don’t’ I just leave when I get the chance?” Sule’Kesh asked.

“Because, I’m currently the only one who can turn you back to normal size. My magic won’t stay within you forever, and will dissipate within a few days at most. If I don’t make you big again before that time, or re-infuse you with magic after that time, you’ll be stuck at this size for the rest of your days,” Anat explained.

Some of the color drained from Sule’Kesh’s face as he thought of having to spend the rest of his life the size of a lizard. “Very…well,” he said with a huff.

“Don’t worry, I will return you to normal size and weight. A tiny dragon isn’t a whole lot of help aside from decent conversation. But I think I’ll keep you small until I can be sure you’re willing to be my companion,” Anat said as he again poked at the black dragon’s belly. “And come to think of it, working together you can make a much more honorable name for yourself as we both rise in fame as adventurers. That’s got to be worth something, right?” he asked.

The dragon just kept looking angrily up at Anat. “Perhaps…perhaps. In the meantime…I could use something to eat,” Sule’Kesh said as his stomach growled.