It had been failure upon failure until Shaecayrn was ready to scream. Days had passed. Days of no sleep, of recharging her own energy off of the ambient nature of the forest. She had run out of charged crystals, the last one held her hand, drained fully of it's power. But she was so close. She could feel the spell's success just before she was so often cut off. And so she had absorbed as much energy as she could, and she quivered with the sheer amount of power that her body held right then.

Charged, naked as the day she'd been born, and dripping down with blood, she stepped into the circle and up to the last attempt she was planning to make until she had managed to recharge her stones. A kennel sat in the middle of her circle, filled with a large dog. Gently she pet him to quiet him, murmuring softly until he had calmed slightly. She placed a small cage with two snakes within it next to him. Poisonous swamp snakes. Then, with the dog whining but no longer in half of a panic, she stepped out of the circle, and began to chant once again.

It felt like an eternity of suffering the draw of energy. It was not quick, but slow and torturous, determined to make her feel the amount of pain she was putting the animals through. The spell was not without consequences of such things, it seemed. But the power still buzzed under her skin as she forced it into the shape she wished it to be, pouring it into both snake and dog and willing them to blend together. Her hands twisted through the gestures, both those she had learned in the book and those she had devised herself, and she poured power into her spell until she felt it tip over the edge from pain into euphoria.

A bright flash of light came as pain poured into her brain, until she couldn't tell the difference, and began laughing as euphoria flooded her along with it. Moments later, she passed out upon the cold stone, drained entirely.

There was no way to tell how long she was unconscious. But she awoke, her throat hoarse and painful. From laughing or screaming she couldn't tell. As she pulled herself to her feet, Shaecayrn turned her eyes to the center of her workroom, and what she found there was both disturbing and brilliant. Hoarse laughter came from her as she stared upon the first success. The dog, something still close to it's lupine cousins, had no fur, instead, smooth, iridescent scales covered its body, canines turned to fangs so long as to poke out over its lower jaw. Ears, pointed even more sharply now, still sat upon its head and as she rose, the creature let out something between a growl and a hiss before a whine took over.

"Oh, my dear, dear creature.... How painful that must have been...Hush... We will make it all right." She murmured softly as she dragged herself up to her feet and smiled, her eyes showing a glint of insanity within.

Days passed after her return with experiments and notes. Her fingers were blackened from ink, her eyes bloodshot from being awake for too long. And at her heels, followed her now beloved Eitri. The mutated animal was, in her mind, formed perfectly. He maintained his canine form, but had become more flexible within it, and his hide was now tough, almost armored where the bigger scales covered his body. His claws had lengthened, hardened a bit, and his once brown eyes were now a mottled golden and brown mix, pupils nothing but a slit of black among the color. His fangs, she had found to be venomous, just as the viper she had combined him with was, and though they could fold against the top of his mouth, they just as often hung down over the lower jaw. His coloring had been dull before, but now it was a camouflage mixture of colors, perfect for the Duskmire swamps.

The creature had become a devoted guard at her side, encouraged by the food she treated him to, the living rats and other animals she tossed in his kennel to feed him with. Gently, she trained him to follow at her heels but never get underneath her feet. Often, as she read or wrote down notes within her blank tomes, he sat at her side, one of her hands often falling upon his head to stroke him gently. Somehow, though he had a viper's tendency to hiss, the animal had remained mainly canine in personality. He craved for affection, and the more she gave to him, the more love and loyalty he poured out to her. Before long she took to taking him with her through the swamps, and training him even more thoroughly, as a guard dog for home, as well as herself.

It was only a week before she made another. A female this time, of a dog that was another mutt, still close to it's lupine ancestors. Where Eitri had turned a mottled mixture of browns, this one was a delicate mixture of greens, from bright leaf colors to the dark green of evergreens. The process was much the same, though the mage was better prepared this time, and did not collapse in exhaustion.

Cooing, she brought the terrified canine from its kennel and into her lap, comforting her through the last moments of her pain and introducing her to Eitri. Her voice was quiet as she murmured. "Suma. That's what I shall call you. You and Eitri together will guard me. Along with the rest." There were certainly plans for more now. Her first had been a delightful success, and now this was even more so. What else could she create?

It had been a terribly dramatic and eventful week since she had brought Ladon and Luhan to her home, their "safehouse" amid the rest of the world. They had known Luhan would be followed, but perhaps they hadn't expected it to happen so soon. Despite their advice, Luhan had run, and despite their efforts combined, he had eluded both her and his dragon lover. Her spells hadn't found him, neither had her two hounds. Suma and Eitri had lost him among the waters of the mire. And with his bestial form being... less than impressive, Shimmer held no doubt within her that he had suffered one of the many deaths that the mire offered. Perhaps even at the teeth of one of the creatures she had released to live in her home. But, despite many of her plans for the two men, in the end, losing Luhan had been to her favor. Ladon now had no one... except for her. His heartbreak had left him vulnerable to her whispers, her promises. His wrath had easily, so easily, been turned away from her failure and onto his fellow guard that had been the reason for Luhan fleeing.

Quite obviously, Luhan had been one of the few things that held Ladon to the light. Without his lover, the dragon had become very vulnerable to the darkness in his soul, and it was that darkness that the mage fed, fueled, and harnessed into her control. She allowed him to beat the guard to near death, but had been firm on wanting him alive, promising Ladon that his fate would be worse than even the most painful death the dragon could grant him. She waited now, listening to the dragon rail upon the merman, both in their human forms. Physically, Salil would be worse for wear, but emotionally, Ladon was broken. For all of his fury, his heart was being torn from the inside out. She waited, giving the man his time alone, until finally, her workroom was silent, and a few moments later, the door to where she stood opened. A moment longer, she waited, refusing to turn her eyes away from the tome she was staring at until Ladon's voice sounded. Then, with the gentle clinking of the beads in her braided hair, she turned and cast a small smile upon the man.

For a moment, as she looked over Ladon, bare as the day he'd been born and covered in blood, a bloom of attraction came. And then it was chased away just as swiftly. There was no room for such things in her life. All that mattered was that he was her creature now. Without his light to guard him from the darkness, he was hers, belonging as solidly to her as she did to the Goddess of the Night. It showed as well, through the slight deference he now gave to her, and the tone in his voice. A bond forged because of hopelessness, necessity and despair... but it was a bond nonetheless, and she held it strong. Her voice came in response to his words, a low purr of satisfaction. "Good... Stay to the sidelines when I begin. I would hate for you to get caught up in the magic. I don't know what would happen." She plucked a vial from a shelf before walking into the domed room, eyes fixating upon Salil in the center of her circle. Formed from crystals and placed into the very bedrock, it was an arcane magic. Her magic did not originate from runes or their uses, but who said that it could not help focus her magic for what it was. The symbols placed within the circle were all angled for transmutation and change, and that was what her magic was focused around. Now, more had been added since her original circle, to contain symbols and runs for blending physical matter and attributes.

As she stepped further into the room, she dropped her cloak from her shoulders. While usually she wore practical clothing, for she was often out gathering herbs among the wild areas of the world, when she wore magic, her clothing was... less so. It was almost more of a ceremonial outfit that she wore, covering enough to maintain a hint of modesty, but most of the dress was such a thin fabric as to be nearly see through. It was multitudes of colors, contrasting with her dark skin, and much like the gown she had worn to the ball, covered in crystal decorations that were tribute to her chosen goddess. She looked at the bloodied man, lying on the floor, and stepped over to him lightly. Even as she did so, she murmured softly, and the chains, located int he center of the circle where he lay, shifted, clinking as they moved to shackle his wrists and ankles. There was plenty of slack within the chains. He could have stood, if he was able to and wanted.

Looking down at Salil, Shimmer's smirk was a dangerous, and cold one. Her voice was quiet, but carried within the stone chamber. "I could almost pity you for what you are about to go through. All for the love of a prince... You would have been better of to not have entered the mire, you poor man." Even as she spoke, magic disintegrated his shirt, and she pulled the cork from the vial she held. Dark, burgundy liquid spilled from it into his chest, and she chanted softly, as she drew symbol after symbol within it. The language she chanted in, however, was not the common one, but a low, guttural tongue, that perhaps might have not been meant for a human tongue to pronounce. The power in the room began to gather, a palpable feeling in the air, thickening until it seemed hard to breathe. Shimmer withdrew from Salil, even as the man began to regain a bit of struggle to him. Patterns began to glow among the crystals of the circle, and the gestures the mage made as she backed away from the center of it soon became a sort of dance, shaping the power that she had summoned into the room, even as she summoned more.

The power in the room seemed to swirl, stirring the air around the mage as she continued her chant, now outside of the circle. Her mage mark seemed to glow fiercely against her skin as power continued to gather around her.

Her chanting changed neither cadence nor tone despite the screams that began to emanate from Salil. Ladon's maniacal laughter joined into the background, and she merely pulled more energy to swirl around the room and center it's focus upon the merman. The screams shifted into something that was akin to a roar, but her focus didn't waver. Salil's hair slipped off of his head, and his skin rippled and contorted. Scales flashed over his skin, and then his legs merged together as his true form, for a brief moment, was revealed. Only moment's later, the disturbing crunch of bones breaking and reforming could be heard. Much like the sound of nails on chalkboard, or grinding gears, it brought a slight twitch even out of Shimmer herself. But despite the momentary cringe, power continued to gather and pour into Salil.

Light gathered with it, and then was sharply contrasted by shadows, and then the merman changed. Already deformed by the breaking of bones and contorting of muscle, now he truly began to shift. His jaw popped, and then began to grow forward, lengthening and becoming more square. His spine popped several times in a row as the back shifted and grew longer, and extended. The process would remain a series of confused images as a memory, even for the mage herself, who had seen it all within her magic as well as with her eyes.

The heap upon the ground was much larger, easily twice the size of a horse. It was sinuous, and shining. Glimmering in the darkness, the tones were jeweled, emerald and dark blues, the colors of the ocean. They were dark upon the back and faded into a lighter color upon the stomach. After several long moments, the bundle unraveled to reveal a more true form. Salil was no longer a merman. Indeed he was no longer a man, but something that closely resembled a sort of dragon. To those without knowledge, perhaps, he could be mistaken for one. But he lacked any sort of scale, instead covered in a smooth, slick hide. All along his back was a long, rigid fin the color of seafoam, branching out into something wider and more flexible upon his tail. His legs were short things, webbed at the joints and along the toes and claws, meant for swimming... Streamlined, flexible, sinuous... He stood as high as a small horse but twice as long, and his face, while obviously a predator, was smooth, lacking the sharp angles that often accompanied a reptilian predator.

Shimmer's lips quirked upwards, pleased that she had successfully completed a change. His body remained, breathing, even. But what of the mind? Had that changed? The strange sea creature managed to get up to his feet, staring at Ladon for a moment, and then at Shimmer. His eyes narrowed, and like a snake, he gathered himself to lunge. The mage merely made a soft tsking sound, and gestured swiftly. The chains no longer held him, but the floor of her chamber obeyed her will much like his body had, and up snapped manacles that wrapped around his feet, and then the rest of him until he was pinned, stretched out in an S along her floor. Not unlike how she had trapped Ladon.

Softly, with only the hint of a tiredness to her voice, Shimmer murmured. "Changed, but not broken.... This just shan't do." Unafraid, she approached Salil despite his rumbling snarl. "Shhh, darling... You are mine now... And it shan't do for one of my creatures to be disloyal. Perhaps you would like to go through the pain of being changed once again...?" She raised an eyebrow at him. Carefully, she hummed, and then chanted swiftly. From her study, a large crystal shot through the air into her hand. Shining and black, it was a piece of obsidian. She murmured softly as she handled it. "Obsidian. Forged in the very opposite of your element. Fire. And should you try to remove it... It shall cause you much more pain than if you let it be..." Cryptic words, but she obviously wasn't about to explain.

Carefully, she placed the stone against his chest, reaching around the curve of his body to place it in the center of the front. A chant followed, along with a bellow of pain from the creature as he bucked against his bonds. They didn't break, and when she pulled away, the stone now sat gleaming, embedded into his breastbone. Carefully, she explained now. "Currently, everything hurts. In time, the pain will fade. This crystal, when you displease me, will cause you more pain than when I changed your body in the first place. When you please me, it will remove the pain, or perhaps even provide... pleasure. You will not die in my care, but until you give your will unto me, you will not be well, either... And I assure you, I can make your life be very long." She straightened, one hand trailing along Salil's hide. "Ladon... Come. Tell me what you think of this... creature. What should I name him?" Her dark, fathomless gaze turned to Ladon where he stood, a small smile tilting her lips as she beckoned to him.

Not too far from her underground lair, Shimmer now rested. It had been several days since Ladon had left upon the errand she sent him out upon. The pain had finally left her body, she had fed herself upon unwary creatures of the mire, and she could focus. Without hesitation, she called her journal forth, and using her magic, since her claws her fall too large to manage the quill correctly, she began to write.

This success is more problematic than I had originally thought. Though I hate to admit it, Ladon is right, and there is a reason that dragons remain mainly in their human form. Perhaps if I had thought all of this through a bit better, I might have gained their ability to choose between my forms at a moments notice. But I do not believe that is something that I could make my magic do. But my success is still a sign of approval. The Dark Mother cannot want me to fail when she has allowed such power to come to my fingertips.
I will not fail Her.

I must use what time I have. I must learn this body, and how to use it, for when the time is right. And I must discover how to change back without leaving myself permanently damaged. The concept is not much different from how I turned into this creature in the first place. It is a matter of power and will, of visualizing the form perfectly. There should be no crossovers or contamination between the forms when I change back.

I will have to rebuild a little. Another room within my halls will be required, perhaps another small wing. I cannot become as efficient in my magic as I wish if I am constantly called away from my research and having to make my own food. It is time that I stepped up and started acting like the nobility that I am meant to be.

The entry continued, outlining possible theories on what it would take to change back into her normal form, of experiments that she would have to attempt first, in order to ensure that she could do it without leaving herself weakened as she was with the first change.

Her black eyes whirled with a multitude of colored sparks, excitement, rage, obsession, and the entry ended with one last string of ominous words.

I will turn the day into Night for you, Mother of Shadows, and cover the world in Your gifts, so that all my learn of the Beauty you hold.

The journal got tucked upon a high, natural shelf within the cave, and a little clumsily, the mage-turned-dragon stood, slowly moving out of the cave. She needed more food.