Joe Rover

A few weeks ago, Jonathan Kruyer, author of The Land of Dragons, posted a “if you lived in Drayth” video. The comments section filled with people giving descriptions of their characters so they could find out where they’d be if they lived in the fictional Drayth.

In the video about my character, Joe Rover, Kruyer said that he’d be picked by the god/goddess of chaos, fire, and heart, the Changer. Of course, this means I couldn’t resist creating a fanfic of the two meeting.

ZAP!

“The Paradise Realm at last!” I said, spreading out my arms and taking a deep breath. “Watchdog, are you ready for two weeks of Spring Break fu-uhhhh-nnn…”

I glanced down at my sidekick. Instead of a 3-foot, cartoonish humanoid dog dressed like a ninja, I saw a 3-foot, cute white dragon with a brown “mask” covering most of their head.

“Why are you a dragon?” I asked Watchdog.

“Probably has something to do with that.” He pointed a claw.

I followed the claw and took in our surroundings. “Hmm, unpaved road, undeveloped countryside, small village in the distance. I don’t think we’re in Cloud 9, Toto.” I got angry with myself and huffed. “I knew it was left at Realm Albuquerque!”

I took a long sigh. I didn’t have the patience to see how I’d changed so I could fit into this reality. As soon as I knew where we were, we were gone. I lifted my Omni-Cuff wristwatch close to my face and tapped it. “Let’s see where we are.” A holographic map of something looking like the universe appeared above the high-tech watch.

“Huh,” I said. “It’s not on the map.”

I closed the app and inspected the land more closely. I turned my head to the sky and saw words floating among the clouds. I checked the road; I saw that it had a sketch-like quality to it.

“Ah,” I said, making Watchdog crane his head up towards me, “I see. No wonder it’s not on the map. We’re in a Work-In-Progress. This world is still being formed.” I glanced down at my dragon-dog. “We’ve fanfictioned ourselves into this world.”

A sudden chill passed through me. A figure in a cloak appeared down the road. The figure looked male. They then dissolved into a fire-smoke-like mist and reappeared closer to me, but they now looked more feminine, and ghostly. The figure kept disappearing into smoke and reappearing as it circled around me like a buzzard deciding on if its target would make a filling meal. With each disappearance, the figure shifted from male to female.

“You know,” I said, “I have a friend like you in my world. Full body armor, goes by the name La-Zar. They don’t speak much either.”

The figure then did speak. It was in the small, still, whispering of Celestial speech. I closed my eyes so I could focus on translating it. My Celestial was a little rusty. I opened my eyes; I could almost see the glowing purple and white Celestial glyphs as the figure spoke.

“I know what you are,” they said, their voice changed between many male and female voices. It then whispered, which is hard to do when you’re already whispering, “Wolf.”

A chill went down my spine.

The figure continued. “Zapper of BLT, Jailer of the Destroyer. Beast of Chaos. He who destroyed Sodom with a huff and a puff. Fenrir, Cerberus, Anubis, the Big, Bad Wolf.”

I narrowed my eyes, which probably lost the intended effect because I wore my purple tinted surfer sunglasses. “I’m not that beast anymore. I don’t even remember being it.”

“I know,” said the hooded figure. “The beauty turned the beast into a boy.”

I could almost feel a hand on my shoulder. “You can play the sheep all you want,” said the figure, whispering in my ear, “but we both know you are a wolf. You hear the Call of the Wild even now, trickster. But that’s what I like about you.”

The figure shifted into a female figure before me. They became more solid looking. “I am the Changer, the divinity of chaos and fire for the land of Drayth.”

I took a deep breath and puffed out my chest trying to look more impressive than I felt. I was dealing with an embodiment of Chaos. This was going to be trouble. “I’m not going to destroy this fledgling world for you. I’m done with that.”

“You mistake my meaning,” the Changer said becoming more male-like. “I do not need your past, but your present. I need you to do as you have for others. I need you to Champion this realm.”

“Huh?”

“This world is almost complete. As it draws closer to that time, the Shadows and The Nothing will work harder to destroy it. You know this better than most. Even once it is finished and it joins the rest of the Omniverse, its fight won’t be over. The Dark will empower the haters and trolls. They will seek controversy. They will take things out context and twist it to meet their goals.”

The sky rumbled for a moment then I heard a voice say, “Looks like Napoleon will be joining us for this video.” The purring of a cat followed the voice.

The Changer took on a more feminine appearance and voice. They lowered their hood. I saw a beautiful woman with words shifting along her face. She was half-formed, the beginnings of an idea becoming reality. “The Shadows wish to control humanity. The Nothing seeks to destroy Creation. Neither will like a story that casts outcasts as heroes.”

The Changer raised their hood and became more masculine. “As a being of not only chaos but of Heart, I know these things, and I can reach out to another. I cannot interfere because this story isn’t an isekai. My Author doesn’t know the secret nature of the universe, not yet anyway. However, he unknowingly opened a path when he made that video saying I would choose you. Think of it as a loophole.”

I glanced off to the side with a heavy heart. Watchdog was using his fire-breath to roast marshmallows. “Having me as a friend will only make it worse. I’m not particularly…well-liked.”

The Changer became more feminine and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Yes, the Others hate you for your betrayal, and the mortals who know your true self fear you because The Powers That Be painted the Wolf as a villain. You have been through so much. You have your own problems. I, and I am sure Jonathan, would understand.”

I closed my eyes and took a breath. I opened them and faced the Changer. They took a step back as I started to radiate phantasmic power. Watchdog used his new dragon-wings to hover next to me. “No. The Land of Dragons must be told.”

I could sense the Changer’s smile under their hood. Their voice sounded both male and female. “Oh, this is gonna be fun.”

---

Don’t forget to leave a like and a follow.

Until next wormhole…thanks for reading!