Glorious

Renat's vision was fuzzy and his body hurt all over. He thought for sure he would die when he saw the blast ball roll off the shelf and begin to fall. If not for breaking the fireproof jelly ball above his head and diving below the brown mass of solid chocolate rock, he never would have survived. Yet, here he was with the world beginning to come back into focus. He was in pain and covered in slippery clear jelly, but at least he was alive.

Renat blinked a few times while staring at the sky. There were no dragons anymore. That had to be a good sign. When he turned his head, he spotted the most beautiful blue eyes of the woman he loved, yet her face seemed... wrong. Perhaps she was a mirage.

"Mairwen?" he asked carefully.

"And who might this be?" Cafer leaned over the scientist and came into the boy's field of vision.

Although Renat had never seen the gnome before, he instinctively did not like him. The tall boy unconsciously scowled, which made the gnome lift his eyebrows in challen