Most people who come to know Scale, also come to know about his magic staff, the strange, size-altering magical artefact he wields. What most of them don't know, however, is the truth about its origins. The staff, in fact is composed of two objects. The staff component is made of enchanted, magic-conducting cedarwood, but is otherwise completely normal. The staff's power comes instead, from the purple orb.

The true nature of the orb is known only to an elite few, and for the good of the world, one would hope to keep it that way. The purple crystal, like its siblings, was created countless millennia ago by the gods of the first age, who hid them upon leaving the mortal plane to prevent their misuse. In all, there are seven, yet despite the efforts of all the elite masters across the ages, they have never been united. The orbs, it seems, have the ability to elude those who would seek them out, and have even been known to disappear from the most secure vaults and treasuries if left alone. For these reasons, nobody had ever been able to collect more than a few of the orbs before dying of old age- Even the longest living old dragon sages fell to time before finding them all.

Scale and Lyle were lucky, then, to have three orbs in their possession. Besides the purple orb, which Scale had owned for years, they had recently found both the red and blue crystals, in the tomb of a long-gone old dragon king. Scale knew nothing of the red orb, besides its name- the "imprisoning sphere", but had heard a little about the blue one by his teacher, who years ago had provided him with the purple one and taught him how to tap into its power.

"Remind me... what is the blue one for?" Lyle yawned, scratching his neck.
Lyle and Scale were sitting in the garden out back of their cabin house, relaxing in the afternoon sun, tired from the past week of adventuring. After three days roaming the northern pole's freezing mountains, Scale was glad to be home, where it was a lot warmer. The icy climate, as well as the journey through the dragon king's pyramid, had taken a toll on him. Lyle, on the other hand, was holding up better.

"Well, Lyle, the ancient masters called it the "switchstone"..." Scale said, holding the orb in front of his face. "It lets two people trade bodies. That's what my teacher knew about it", he finished, taking a sip of his grape juice. Lyle's ears perked.
"You mean, it could let us trade places?" The wolf asked.
"Yes, that's what I just said, Lyle." Scale said, with a smile.
"...Can you make it work?" Lyle said, sitting up off the grass.

Scale gave his friend a surprised look.
"Uhhh... You want to be me? Why?" The dragon asked, looking away from the orb and putting it down on the grass.
"Why not, buddy? Don't you want to see what it's like being me? Your awesome best pal?"
"Well, I dunno, Lyle, maybe we shouldn't be messing with-"
"Besides, it's reversible, yeah, like your purple one? It wouldn't hurt to test that thing out." The wolf chuckled, scratching an ear.
"I guess... I don't see why it wouldn't be reversible." Scale answered, picking the orb back up. "We could switch for a little while, if you want", he said, smiling a little.
"Great!", Lyle proclaimed. The wolf stood up off the grass, rising to his height of six foot, something inches, and stretched. "So, let's go. You know how to use it, yeah?"

Scale frowned. "Well, yeah, I think I can. I think... anyone could. It's not like my size orb, in that way." He said, puzzled.
"What do you mean, buddy? I thought they were the same?" Lyle asked.
"Um... This one is different. The magical energies are already flowing through it. Remember, I had to go through a ritual before the creator of the purple orb granted me access to its power, but this one is... Unlocked, already. I think it's... automatic?" Scale stood up and looked at the orb, feeling curious. "Though, my teacher said most of the orbs are like that. I should have expected it, really. I think we just have to touch this one together to make it work."

Before Scale could take another breath, Lyle's palm was touching the top of the orb.

"Lyle! Some warning would have been nice!" Scale yelled as his felt the magic flow out of the crystal.
"Heh, sorry, buddy." Lyle laughed. "Next time".
The orb began to glow and immediately, the glow became a tangible, magic aura that swept up the arms of both the dragon and the wolf, spreading so quick that they were both enveloped in the strange light within seconds. For a moment, the aura became so thick the pair were unable to see, and Scale shut his eyes. The magic force washed over the two friends, then suddenly vanished. Scale dropped the orb onto the grass in surprise, and suddenly realized he felt...warmer. He opened his eyes.

It was to his astonishment, then, when instead of seeing himself- that is, his own body, in front of him, he saw something else. A green-eyed, buff, big black dragon.
"...Scale?" The dragon said.
"Lyle?" He answered.
"Yeah... woah." The new, dragon-Lyle mused. "This is... sweet!"
Scale looked at his hands. They were furry.
"Ha, buddy, I guess you weren't totally wrong about that thing." The dragon laughed.
Scale looked down at the ground. He was standing in the same spot he'd been in before the transition, so he and Lyle hadn't switched bodies.
"What the..." Scale turned and took two steps to the nearby pool, and looked at his reflection.

Instead of his usual self, he saw a slender, gray wolf looking back at him.
"I'm..I-I'm a wolf now!?" He said, stunned.
"Yeah, and look at me! I'm a freakin' dragon! Woah, look at these feet!" Lyle said, staring down at his new footpaws.
"We didn't switch bodies, Lyle..." Scale said, turning back from the pool. "...Well, we did, sort of. We traded species..."
The former dragon tried to move his tail, but the control he had of it was clumsy, not at all like his prehensile dragon tail.
"Yup. Good observation. Hey, I think I got bigger too, look", Lyle said, walking over to his friend.
It was true- As a dragon, Lyle was now a tiny bit above six foot, four inches tall. Scale, in comparison, was a head shorter. He'd obviously lost height- perhaps he was below average wolf height just as he had been below average for a dragon?
"Wow, you're big... Uh, wait, where is the crystal?" Scale asked.
"You dropped it after we switched, remember", Lyle replied, walking a stride away and picking up the blue orb, before putting it on the small wooden table with Scale's glass of grape juice.
"Right..." the wolf said, looking at his paws again. "Well. This is certainly... Different", Scale thought out loud.
"I know. And I like it. We've definitely gotta make this a regular thing, buddy."
"Maybe", Scale replied.
"Yup. I could get used to this", Lyle smiled, moving his now fully controllable tail. The black dragon moved a hand to his bicep and felt it over. "Nice..."
"Ah!"
Scale was surprised when his friend suddenly lifted him up off the ground, and began to cradle him. "Lyle!"
"Heh... Just as I thought. I'm like... twice as strong now." He chuckled.
"I... Yeah, you would be... It's your um, dragon physiology." Scale said.
Lyle smiled and let the wolf back down, then returned to pick up the blue orb.
"Scale, buddy?"
"...Yes? The dragon asked.
"I think we should go visit Gaaren today. He's gonna like this."

---

Something else that took longer than I thought to complete *n* but here we are.
Next: the imprisoning sphere!

Comments appreciated!