[I]"I see, I see..."[/i] Kalinth said as he made a mental note about enhancing the library and making his home more sound proof. 

[I]"My name? Oh dear, I totally forgot to introduce myself. I apologize for my abysmal manners, it's been far too long since I've had human visitors. I am Kalinth, welcome to my abode Princess Dracolia."[/i] 

He watched her sip of tea, and it seemed to him that she was enjoying it. He wasn't sure of course, it had been nearly a century since he last had a human to observe. Then she spoke again in his mind. She spoke of loneliness, abandonment, and the loss of a home. She spoke of resentment, personal injustice, and more surprisingly, a power. The power of dragons.

Before his very eyes, she turned her hand into a dragon claw. He paused a moment, and looked at his own claw. They did look quite similar.

[i]"How did you do that!?! Show me again!"[/i]

He was not the only dragon who could shapeshift; however, no other dragon had ever mastered shapeshifting into humanoid creatures in their life. Perhaps he had finally found one. One who was not actually a human, but who could become one.

Suddenly, he had a spark of realization.

[i]Wait... princess? The human before him was a princess!?! Weren't princesses supposed to be waiting in castles or something for Knights in shining armor to win their hearts?[/i] 

But then he thought about it again. If what she said was true, then she had been hated from the moment her powers had been discovered. He couldn't help but be curious about how they had discovered her powers, but realized that it was perhaps best not to ask. Then again, if she was actually a dragon who could become a human... perhaps she was lying? But that was impossible. One could not lie mind to mind. 

In other words, she could not be a dragon. Perhaps it was possible that she was half though? But no matter how he thought about it, it did not seem possible for such a pairing to ever produce children. Even if he chose to spend a great deal of time in wolf form, in the end he would still be a dragon, and he could not father a pack of half dragons and wolves. There were too many differences in the creatures for such a pairing to ever produce children. 

Then the only explanation was that she was a full-blooded human, but then how did she acquire this power? 

It seems he would not be able to discover the answers without more knowledge. After a moment of thought he went back into his study, cursed as he stepped in the spilled ointments, and returned with a rolled up map in his claws. He carefully spread it out on a clean dry surface and then put small round stones on the corners to hold the map in place.

[i]"Where is your kingdom located?"[/i]

[center][img=http://s5.postimg.org/4b8ek7gaf/vectorpagedecor1.png][/center]
The piercing sounds of hammer on metal rang out over the village. This early, the village was pretty quiet. Most of the villagers were already hard at work in the fields. Young children ran through the fields helping to pull weeds. The older ones were at home doing chores, in the fields, or hard at work as apprentices.

Alireth was no exception. Her long hair was braided and tucked back in a bun. Alireth had no desire to singe hairs after all. She had a piece of cloth tied over her hair, as an additional preventative measure. Sweat beaded her brow as she focused intently on her work. Recently, business had been slowing down, so this was a perfect time to experiment. She was well-versed in the methods of making wire, so this time she wanted to see if it was possible to make finer works, something more delicate, like bracelets, circlets, or necklaces. She already had designs sketched out for things she thought she might be capable of making. If she was successful, she might be able to earn a good amount of coin for herself.

Those who had only seen her outside of the forge would find her abnormally focused. There was a reason for that: fire is not forgiving. The forge was a dangerous place. Alireth, who had been raised from a young age to look after the forge, knew this well. Fire was beautiful and with its assistance, things were purified and made new, but it was dangerous. Alireth was always cautious. If she found herself getting distracted, she would stop her work and take a break rather than continue on and try to pay attention. Wire was especially dangerous. If the wire broke, the heated metal she was pulling would be flung into her face.

The bells of days end permeated her consciousness. Alireth finished up the last piece she was working on, and then began putting everything away for the night. Over the course of the day, many different experimental pieces were made. Some came out better than others, but that was to be expected. In the end, it was a good day's work. The failed pieces she had made before had already been melted down and cast into ingots for use again later. The ones that were passable, she kept for reference. She would melt them down eventually of course, but for now they would remind her of what worked and what didn't.

Alireth stretched as she walked outside and closed shop for the night. She glanced around and saw someone running towards the village. Immediately she felt some concern, but shoved it away. Instead, she observed her surroundings and searched for signs of others outside the village. She had half a mind to go back into her smithy and take down one of her prized blades, but in the end, opted to just wait for the runner. The man ran up to her puffing and panting and between gasps asked her if she was the blacksmith. At her sign of assent, the man looked relieved.

"Are you Alireth the blade-smith?"

"I am Alireth. What do you need?"

"I have a commission for you."

Alireth suppressed a sigh. Even though she'd done a full day's work, there was more to be done. Perhaps she should have just taken a break and napped all day.

"Alright, let's head to my house and we'll talk more there."

[i]Oh well, tedious work is better than no work at all.[/i]