"No, no this can't be happening. It's just a dream. It has to be." I scream in a deep raspy voice that's not mine.

Lying in front of me are a dozen statues of various dragons with expressions ranging from excitement to confusion and lastly to terror.

Just a week ago I was just another dragon in the academy. I was the top of my class but unlike the rest of my kin I hadn't been able to break the spell placed on me at my birth binding me to a human form. I didn't care much. It's not like I needed to fight and I was skilled enough in flight magic that only the wind dragons could out speed me. My lack I just chalked up to being an orphan since all the other kids had their parents and sibling's help with breaking the spell.

And last night I'd finally figured out the breaking point. It turned out my true form was a fair bit different then other dragons. For starters it was serpentine so I had to erase my legs rather than strengthening them and mainly my magic was centered on my eyes instead of the lungs like most dragons. I guessed I was simply a holy serpent, a powerful creature capable of gazing into a person's soul. How wrong was I.

"Keep your eyes on the ground Amarok." The voice of the headmaster came at me from the sky. I could feel his magic filling to ground as the earth rose forming a cone around my head, leaving me in darkness. "So this is what you were."

"Please, there has to be a way to cure them! I don't care what you need! I'll get it!" I yelled trying to grab my head with arms far to small to reach.

"I'm sorry young Lindworm. The unfiltered gaze of a Basilisk has no cure. It's the reason your kind was exterminated all those centuries ago. Or almost exterminated."

"Then please, finish the job. I won't stop you."

"I've already lost twelve of my students today Amarok. If I lost thirteen, I'd have to close the school for fear of these grounds being cursed."

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"I am not a king, I'm a teacher. I don't give orders, I give choices. You're a good boy Amarok, as are your friends. They will forgive you regardless of what you do but if you seek the advice of an old man with one too many sins on his back, if you ever wish to accept their forgiveness you better prove to yourself that this life was worth there's. May the Celestials bless you."