Had her lands always been this crowded? For decades, nary a soul save beasts trod upon her domain any deeper than the fringes. Now? Even the Scalebacks themselves were no longer safe. First, it was the undead to the east, tenacious vermin that only grew worse each year. That they drove out that stubborn old wolf and forced him to move west was a bad enough sign.

But now?

It seemed even the lesser races were growing more daring. Countless souls from the north and south had flooded her forest. Fools thinking they could settle lands that all the neighboring rulers had left alone for centuries. Most wizened up when the forest took its toll, but an odd few had stuck it out. In the past, she would have simply burned the trespassers to ash, a reminder to all who ruled these lands.

These days, though? She didn’t have the time to find and stomp out every little anthill that popped up. Loath as she was to admit it, times were changing. Her kind’s dominance of the world had been waning ever since the descent of the false gods. While she took pride in how long her kind held on despite the pantheon’s oppressive yoke, perhaps it was time. Time to change. Her people would resist it, but she was their queen. Even if she had to drag them kicking and screaming, she would lead them back to their days of glory. If her cousins, the great leviathans of the depths, could do so, why couldn’t she?

First, though, she needed her own pieces to place on the board. Her people were too few. Too busy contending against the undead. Thankfully, as if her ancestors had blessed her, this latest batch of unwelcome guests would serve her needs just fine. A whole clan of dragonewts, and from the smell of them, distantly related. Unfortunately, they were already dropping like flies. Many of the women and children were recently abducted by slavers from the putrid stain of a nation that called itself Kohdessia. If only her father had followed through and wiped them from the map when he had the chance.

As she contemplated how to handle the kidnapping, another scent fluttered into her nose. It was the scent of something new, a strange creature unknown to her despite her hundreds of years on this world. It was also her current fascination.

At first, she thought it was a human, but as the strange scent grew, the creature began to change. Time and time again, she watched it overcome the challenges the forest threw in its path, only to rise stronger.

From her hiding spot, she watched the adorable creature try and fail miserably at hunting. Oddly, this time it was accompanied by a dire wolf. One now giving off the same strange scent.

She knew she had been gone from the peaks too long. That she should at least rescue the dragonewts so they lived long enough to be useful. She knew this, yet she couldn’t look away. Something about this thing, this woman called to her. Some primal part of her mind screamed at her to kill it. That it was wrong, that it didn’t belong in this world. At the same time, she coveted it, asking herself what if? What if she could make the woman hers? Her gut told her the woman had a connection to the things that invaded the north. The potential was there, plain to see. The only question now was whether the woman would become her greatest trump card? Or her greatest threat.

This warring question inside her drove her to her current inaction. She had to make a decision soon, soon, but not yet.

For now, she curled up as the ancient trees concealed her massive form and watched. Watched and pondered the answer to her question. At the very least, the woman’s antics were entertaining.