You don't just get to be king of the nagas for no apparent reason. You have to be special, and Vasuki was certainly that. Possessed of no small amount of unusual magic, he had a knack for not only leading and negotiating, but communicating with other beings, something that currently fuelled his frustration. Fully aware of the dire situation they all found themselves in, he'd tried everything to get through to the former prisoner, a dragon he now thought of as his ally. But his efforts had all been in vain. Fredric remained on the ground, tears still streaming from his eyes, mind locked solid, thoughts inhabiting a faraway place. Reluctantly, Vasuki rose up to his full height and turned towards George.
"It'ssssssss noooo goooood. I caaannooot geeet through toooo hiiiim."
Fighting off the hopelessness of their situation, a hell bent naga, and two dragons peppering him with projectiles from the air, it was tough for the dragon king to hear that his naga counterpart had failed. Options, he knew, were in short supply.
Grasping Richie by the arm, almost able to feel the thrumming power from the laminium dagger she held out in front of her coursing through her muscles, Flash was keen to acquire the young woman's attention. Having caught her eye, he conveyed his thoughts.
"I need to get out there Rich! I need to help the king!"
Fully focused on maintaining the shield, safeguarding them all, she glanced over at him.
"I can't take it down... not even for a second. We'll be overrun, of that there's no question."
"What about creating a gap for me to charge out of?"
With beads of sweat gradually building up on her forehead, the dagger wielding lacrosse player thought fleetingly about his request.
"I don't think so. I don't have the kind of fine control I would have had as a dragon. For me to conjure up a gap big enough for you to pass through, I'd have to go even bigger again, and that would give our enemies a chance to attack. It's just too risky."
Knowing that she was right did little to quell the urgency with which he felt he should get to the king. Trapped and with no place to go was a situation he'd been in many times before, but not when the king's life was quite literally in his hands. Drifting down through all his experience and knowledge, the ex-Crimson Guard searched furiously within himself for anything that might help. Rumours of vibrating mantras that could move a being through solid objects from decades ago sprang up. Almost instantly he ignored those. Next, some illicit experiments with phasing mantras, again with the aim of passing through solid objects, from back in his time with the Crimson Guards. None had proven even vaguely successful. Last but not least, a long out of date report of a reclusive wizard dragon that had boasted about succeeding with a teleportation spell. Unfortunately for him, it was mere speculation with absolutely no details. That left him with... NOTHING! Well... maybe.
Each one is different, coded to that particular individual's DNA. The words might be similar, the intent and willpower behind the magic almost identical, but what happens when that mantra is set in motion depends purely on the dragon in question. The mantra that holds one of the prehistoric beasts in perfect human form was designed millennia ago. Sure, it's been updated across the centuries, with little additions here, a little editing there, all of course designed to make it more sturdy and robust. Refinements have been made available, something every nursery ring student knows off by heart. They should anyway, especially as they spend over fifteen years of their long lives studying that aspect of dragon magic. With the right words and intent, faces can be sculpted to practically any design. Hair of almost any type and colour can be added, be it flowing long locks running down past the shoulders, to a short buzz cut that never needs cutting. Beards and goatees are now a breeze, whereas once they weren't available at all. Like all things, there are fads. For a while a full facial covering of stubble was perhaps the most popular add-on mantra of all for young male dragons. But it didn't last long. Most soon return to either clean shaven or a full-on hairy beard, at about the time they need to consider two of the most amusing hair traits... at least to them, anyway. Ear and nasal hair always causes much hilarity at whatever nursery ring it's being taught. Dragons have virtually no understanding of such things. While it might afflict a few (with Gee Tee being one of those, due mainly because of his super extended age) most won't have to face that threat for many, many centuries, if ever. To see a dragon suffering from either of these would be rare, especially nose hair. Why? Shouldn't it be obvious? Not only does the scorching flame of hell itself come out of their mouths, it also escapes in small amounts through their noses, whether they like it or not. In a hair versus fire fight, I think we can safely say there'll always only be one winner. So from that point of view it's of little concern. Next in the amusement stakes when it comes to add-ons for a dragon's human shape would be bellies, followed closely by reproductive organs. If you thought a gaggle of giggling schoolgirls at a girls only school being taught sexual reproduction was a teacher's worst nightmare, I can assure you it's ten times worse for any of the tors tutoring this particular subject to dragonlings. Dealing with the subject can last for months, with all the usual crude jokes, (elephant trunks, you've got your tail on the wrong way, all that sort of thing) and of course they've all been heard before. The nursery ring staffroom can be quite a depressing place throughout this period of time.
Surprisingly, particularly given the crisis he found himself in, all this shot through Flash's mind in less than the blink of an eye. Crucially though, it gave him an idea.