A stray dart of poisoned magic spun counter clockwise through the air as it headed in her direction, deep behind two piles of upturned marble. Normally she'd just bat it away with a touch of the supernatural, much like you or I would swat a fly. But using even the slightest touch now might alert her enemies to her presence and so she calculated the lost projectile's path to the nearest millimetre and let it zip past her left thigh, tearing a hole in her fluttering brown cloak as it disappeared into the recesses of yet more debris. Ducking down, wary of each footstep, she made sure not to touch any of the rubble strewn around her. As her painstaking journey reached its conclusion, she peeped out from her hiding place, sheer delight on her face at what she saw. There, only twenty metres away, was her so-called father kneeling on the cool, white marble, tears spilling down his face, with the current dragon king of this world and a very fancy coloured naga, trying hard in her opinion to look important. This was it! Her chance had come. None of the trio had any idea she was here, so wrapped up in their own world had they become. A fatal mistake this would prove to be, as far as they were concerned. Raiding her mind to bring forth the perfect spell, a smile of epic proportions drifted into place across her purple scarred features, as the deliciousness of it all sank into place.
For Flash, time had slowed to almost nothingness. As well as taking on the hummingbird's form, some of its unique qualities had also merged with his dragon consciousness. The appreciation of time was one of those. Flapping his wings at around fifty beats a second instantly gave him a much greater understanding of his surroundings. Magic oozed, blasted, shot, fragmented and exploded all around him, but he was in absolutely no danger because of the form he'd chosen. As agile as anything and able to fly at around sixty miles per hour, there was a reason the hummingbird was renowned, the very same reason he'd selected it all those years ago.
A grumpy old dragon, even in terms of all the other instructors, this one had been there from the beginning, and it showed. Flash, unlike most of the other candidates, had little time for tomfoolery or jokes. He was there to learn, something he was well aware of, due in part to the number of times it had been drummed into him. But most of the others, his classmates and future colleagues, all liked to muck about. Considered a loner because of this, he spent most of his evenings studying by himself, and most of his tutor time sitting as far away as possible from anyone else. Today was no different, apart from the fact that the ill-tempered tutor had dragged him into a challenge, something the other students were absolutely delighted about, much to his horror.
"And so now, we will see just how much you've learned on this subject," announced the dragon tutor known as Fleetingsmeet, all plummy and upper class. "Transcend here and Flash will see just how small they can go. The winner will have tomorrow off. After you gentledragons," offered up the tutor with a wave of his hand.
Transcend, cheered on by the rest of the class, minus Flash of course, released her DNA and allowed her bonds to relax. In an absolute muddle, causing eye strain for even the most fervent of her supporters, the physical form that she'd clung on to throughout the lesson so far, ran amuck briefly, before buzzing into place, a much smaller place than her previous incarnation.
"Bravo, bravo," shouted Fleetingsmeet in delight over the howling and the clapping, at the sight of the small ape.
Flash stood stock still, a totally blank expression covering his entire face.
"Not joining in?" enquired the tutor sarcastically, as the crowd basked in Flash's failure.
"Hardly worth bothering yet, is it?" replied Flash.
Transcend, her hackles up and buoyed by the crowd's support, once again released the restraints of her DNA, recognising a challenge when she heard one, sure she could go one better than the ape. As the same magical mixing and writhing started to occur, this time there was a pause, almost as if her physical form was against what she was trying to achieve. A battle of wits might well have been taking place; if that was the case, she eventually won, but at what cost? Much slower than before, her physical form shimmered into place, the last pieces taking an age to reform. Moments later a large house cat purred softly in the crowd's direction, producing screams of excitement, much to Fleetingsmeet's displeasure. As more clapping ensued, a sudden squawk from the cat stopped them in their tracks. One of its paws had totally lost cohesion. It didn't seem to be able to regulate its form. And then letting out one long sigh, the change they'd seen twice already reoccurred once again, the end result this time being Transcend back in her recognised human form, looking more than a little worse for wear and flustered.
"Well done my dear, well done. A super example of what we were trying to achieve. It's only a shame that your opponent ducked out of the challenge."
Something inside Flash stirred.
"Funny," he uttered, "I never think of any of us as opponents. Only brothers and sisters in arms that I've yet to work with, and as for the challenge... ACCEPTED!"
Accessing the magic inside him as simply as you or I would blink, he started the process of change, at the same time whispering the words in his mind, giving himself over totally, applying all his will. He had no doubt that it would work, because truth be told he'd tried it before, on his own, in his room. That night it had been about testing his limits, the strength of his magical endurance and imagination. Inspired by something he'd read a while ago, an article about the Aztec God of War Huitzilopochtli often being depicted as a humming bird, something piqued his curiosity, and he made it his mission to find out what he could about Huitzilopochtli. When he did, it made him chuckle, and I bet you can guess why. Of course, the Aztec God of War was... a dragon! Not just any dragon as it turned out, but a mighty powerful one. And what's more, rumours abounded throughout the ages about him being able to change his form into a... hummingbird! Brilliant, he thought on discovering this, knowing that it was the perfect form to aim for. Not only did he achieve his goal, but the creature itself was spectacular, its dazzling colours as close to perfection as he could have hoped.
And so it was on that fateful day in the classroom that the change occurred, much to the surprise of not only his classmates, but Fleetingsmeet as well. For the next twenty minutes or so, the soon to be Crimson Guard flew around the room, dive bombed the tutor's fish tank and precariously hovered in place right in front of all their faces, one by one, much to the whole class's delight. For everyone involved, it was a day to remember. And remember he did.
Arcing energy from a series of crackling, electrical, blue bolts startled his tiny form out of the memory he'd been enjoying and back to the raging battle he now hovered in the middle of. Whilst in no danger from the form he'd chosen, he was only too aware of how costly lack of concentration could be, having seen others lose their lives time and time again. Jinking left, out of the line of fire of some vicious looking ice shards, he turned his head to follow their trajectory, watching them splatter harmlessly against the powerful shield his friend so confidently held in place. Thoughts about what would happen when her magic ran out tried to infiltrate his mind, immediately swatted away by his strong will and self control. He couldn't divert his attention to that, not now. The king needed him which was his one and only priority, and maybe the answer to the shield problem. If he could get George, Fredric and Vasuki behind Richie's magical barrier, then the king's ring might well be able to power it indefinitely. Unaware of the deep flaw in his plan... that the ring hadn't been behaving for its rightful owner for some time now, and that his friend, Tank, was in possession of the real band, Flash swept back round on himself to avoid yet another mystical barrage, dropped down like a stone towards the deck and, building up all the velocity he could, corkscrewed off in the direction of the trio that desperately needed his help.