This is an amazing response written by ramshacklefey to a writing prompt about a wizard transmuting a goose into a human for a wife. Here is the full prompt: “Many young wizards have taken to transmuting swans into humans and marrying them. One day, you are lucky enough to find a swan in the wild, and without hesitating, you turn it into a beautiful lady. Unfortunately, that ‘swan’, was a goose. You have just given a goose a human form.”
Source: ramshacklefey
“You can call me Gwydd”, LOL, this is actually Welsh for “Goose” 🙂
Welp, now I NEED the rest of the story….
…and that’s how they getcha’!
Swan Wife broke my arm!
Wait, where is the rest of this? I need to know this story!
I want more!!
Please can someone expand on this, it’s an *epic*hook
I stumbled to keep up with Gwydd, my mind racing with questions. “Wait, so you’re not a goose, not a swan, and not really a human. What does that make you, exactly?”
Gwydd glanced back, a playful grin on her lips. “You ever heard of a selkie?”
I shook my head, still confused. “A selkie? Like the seal folk from the old tales?”
“Close,” she said. “But let’s just say I have a lot more tricks up my sleeve than those old folktales would suggest. And if those swans are anything like me, there’s more to them than meets the eye.”
I frowned, trying to piece together what she was saying. “So you’re saying… the swans might not be swans at all? Then why would they pretend to be?”
Gwydd stopped abruptly and turned to face me, her eyes serious. “That’s what we’re going to find out. If someone is using magic to disguise who they really are, there’s always a reason. And it’s rarely a good one.”
As we walked back into the bustling town, I couldn’t help but notice that everything looked different. The streets were filled with what I now realized could be enchanted creatures, transformed beings hiding in plain sight. Had I been living among illusions all this time?
“So, where do we start?” I asked, trying to sound more confident than I felt.
“We start with those swan ladies,” Gwydd replied, her voice steely. “You said they always seem so calm, so perfect. That’s not normal. Real swans are ferocious when provoked. It’s time to see if we can ruffle their feathers a bit.”
We headed towards the park where the swan ladies often congregated, their elegant gowns billowing in the wind, their laughter soft and musical. As we approached, I felt a twinge of guilt. These women had been the envy of every wizard, admired for their beauty and grace. But now, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something deeply wrong with all of this.
Gwydd didn’t hesitate. She walked right up to the nearest woman, her eyes narrowing. “Excuse me, miss,” she said loudly, drawing the attention of everyone around. “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”
The swan lady turned, her expression serene. “Of course,” she replied in a lilting voice. “What would you like to know?”
Gwydd’s smile was all teeth. “Oh, just the usual. Your name, your origin, and what exactly you’re doing masquerading as a human in this town.”
There was a beat of silence, and then, almost imperceptibly, the swan lady’s calm facade flickered. Her eyes darted around as if looking for an escape. I stepped forward, my heart pounding. “Please,” I said. “We just want to understand.”
The swan lady’s gaze snapped back to me, and for a moment, her eyes seemed to shimmer with an otherworldly light. Then, just as quickly, her face softened again, and she let out a melodious laugh. “Oh, you silly wizards,” she said, her voice smooth and enchanting. “Always looking for mysteries where there are none. We are just women, enjoying the company of good men. Isn’t that enough?”
But Gwydd wasn’t buying it. “Nice try,” she said, crossing her arms. “But I’ve seen through better disguises than yours. If you’re really just women, prove it.”
The swan lady hesitated, and in that moment, I saw something change in her eyes. They darkened, her smile fading as if a mask had been pulled away. She took a step back, and I could see the other swan ladies moving, their expressions shifting from amusement to something much more sinister.
Gwydd leaned in, her voice low and dangerous. “Last chance. Who are you really, and what are you doing here?”
The air around us seemed to thicken, the light dimming as the swan ladies’ true forms began to emerge. They weren’t swans. They weren’t geese. They were something else entirely, something ancient and powerful, their shapes twisting and warping before my eyes.
“You should have left well enough alone,” the leader hissed, her voice now a guttural growl. “Now, you’ll see what happens to those who meddle in things they don’t understand.”
Gwydd’s hand shot out, and suddenly, the air was filled with a blinding light. I shielded my eyes, stumbling back, and when I opened them again, the swan ladies were gone, replaced by a group of dark, shadowy figures, their eyes glowing with malevolent intent.
Gwydd turned to me, her expression grim. “Welcome to the real world,” she said. “Now let’s see what you’re really made of, wizard.”
And with that, the battle began.
NOw i need more of THIS one too!
Chat GPT says this is what happens next.
The shadows lunged forward, their movements swift and erratic. Gwydd’s eyes flashed with determination as she raised her hands, conjuring a shield of shimmering light that repelled the onslaught of dark figures. I scrambled to my feet, desperately trying to summon any semblance of magical prowess I could muster. The swan ladies—or rather, the creatures they had become—were not just formidable; they were terrifyingly powerful.
One of the shadowy figures, taller and more menacing than the rest, stepped forward. It spoke in a voice that seemed to echo from a void. “You think you can challenge us? We are the Keepers of the Veil, guardians of the boundary between worlds. Your intrusion will not be tolerated.”
Gwydd didn’t flinch. “The Veil?” she shouted over the clash of magic and shadows. “You’re the ones distorting reality and deceiving people!”
The leader’s form wavered, shifting between shadows and a grotesque, otherworldly visage. “The Veil is our realm to control. We conceal our true forms to protect the balance. Those who discover us must be silenced.”
I felt a surge of anger and fear. I’d been deceived, and so had everyone else in the town. I had to do something. I grabbed a nearby stone and used a simple spell to imbue it with a burst of magical energy, sending it hurtling towards one of the shadow figures. It struck with a crack, causing the figure to dissipate into wisps of darkness.
Gwydd glanced back at me, a hint of approval in her eyes. “Good work. Keep it up!”
She continued her relentless assault, weaving through the shadows with agility and precision. Her magic seemed to flow effortlessly, each spell striking with the force of a tempest. As she fought, I noticed her weaving in and out of the light, drawing on its energy to strengthen her attacks.
The shadowy figures began to falter, their movements becoming more erratic. With a fierce shout, Gwydd unleashed a wave of pure light that washed over the battlefield, engulfing the remaining figures. They screamed in unison, their forms dissolving into a swirl of darkness that was slowly being drawn back into the Veil.
The park was silent again, save for the distant sounds of the town. Gwydd and I stood amidst the aftermath, breathing heavily.
“Is it over?” I asked, still trying to process what had just happened.
“For now,” Gwydd replied, her tone weary but resolute. “They’ll regroup and come back eventually. The Veil must be maintained, and those who seek to uncover it are seen as threats.”
I looked around at the wrecked park and the faint remnants of shadow that still lingered in the corners. “What now? What do we do about the swan ladies?”
Gwydd’s gaze softened slightly. “We need to warn others and find out more about these Keepers of the Veil. They’re just one part of a much larger scheme. But for today, we’ve bought ourselves some time.”
As we walked away from the scene, the weight of what had transpired began to sink in. The town, once a place of simple enchantments and idyllic beauty, was now a battleground of hidden truths and ancient powers. Gwydd and I had only scratched the surface of the real danger that lurked behind the veil of normalcy.
Gwydd glanced at me with a half-smile. “You did well, considering. Looks like you might have more to offer than you thought.”
I managed a weary grin. “Thanks. I guess we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”
Together, we left the park, ready to face the mysteries and challenges that awaited us. The shadows of the Keepers of the Veil were not the only threat we would encounter, but as long as we stood together, we might just be able to uncover the secrets hidden in the heart of our world.
The original Tumblr user who wrote the story did not consent to you using the AI plagerism machine, and given how unpopular AI is on Tumblr you would be yelled at for it by the users involved.
The people in the original Tumblr post did not consent to have their writing thrown into the plagerism machine. Do not feed stuff you see so casually into AI. It isn’t ethical, it’s theft. Also considering this is originally from a screenshot of a Tumblr post, and AI is so widely hated there, you definitely will get resentment.
And now I need everybody to roll for initiative.
Nat 1😭
Here’s a non-Chat GPT attempt at Part 3, for anyone interested:
I’d love to pretend we had a chance, and maybe Gwydd thought we did, but I certainly didn’t. See, I’m not always very good at magic. Sometimes things don’t go exactly the way I plan. In a sense, that’s how I met Gwydd in the first place.
Still, I suppose at this point my options were kind of limited. I tried my best spell first – transfiguration. I wanted to make them something small and harmless, so I tried to for cute little newts like the ones my flat mate kept as pets and potion ingredients.
I didn’t successfully turn them into newts.
Instead, I accidentally transfigured them into small dragons about the size of the average golden retriever.
Gwydd turned to me and shouted angrily, “Did you seriously think turning them into dragons would help? Change them back!”
“I’m trying, but they just keep getting bigger! At least they’re corporeal now!” I yelled back as I dodged a gout of fire from the nearest dragon. It had nearly doubled in size now, and was about the size of a mountain lion. I conjured a spear for myself, and another for Gwydd. At least I could manage simple weapons without incident.
Back to back together armed with our spears, we managed to hold them at bay while we formulated a new plan. We had to think fast – wizards generally aren’t the fittest group of people, and the spell I’d tried had really taken the wind out of my sails. Wielding a spear wasn’t in my wheelhouse to begin with, and I was tiring quickly. I knew that was dangerous.
“I think we should run away,” I said breathlessly, poking my spear to keep one of the dragons from getting close enough to claw me.
“I think you need to turn them into something smaller!” replied Gwydd.
“I was trying… to turn them… into little newts… and we got… dragons. Do you seriously… want me to try… that spell again?” I panted, hoping she had a better idea.
“Fair point. My turn,” Gwydd replied. She turned her head to the sky and loosed a rather odd but familiar call. It was almost… goose-like. As I turned to look over my shoulder at her, I saw something odd off in the distance moving towards us. It looked… It looked like a goose! No, several geese! I did a double-take as I slowly realized that what I was seeing wasn’t just a handful of geese – that must’ve been every goose in a several-mile radius, now rapidly converging on our battle with the dragons.
“What are you trying to do, feed the dragons dinner?” I yelled, unsure how a gaggle of geese was helpful in our predicament.
“Nah. Giving you something else to supersize, Wizard. Do the geese,” she said calmly.
This is so much better than the chatgpt. Let’s keep it going!!!!
yeah, can we NOT use ChatGPT? I didn’t even bother to read it. I scrolled until I found a human… doing human things…..
Me too! This is great!
Part 4, I’m trying because guess what—-
Oh Gwydd. Lovely Gwydd.
You have such hope for me, I want to believe I can too! I let the power surge and throw it like a baseball into the sky yelling “Beans!”
And we all pause to watch it fly into the bushes. About 30 feet away. I made a noise that was NOT a squeak, before I whirled around to face the dragons. Can dragons smirk? What now? Oh man, I really wish we had run.
Gwydd looked at me with genuine concern, then asked “Are you considered an average wizard around here?”
I choked. “Did you just ask me if I was average?”
“Was that impolite?”
“Yes! I am a little offended! I am more than my magic.”
“Yes, of course.”
She turned back to the Eldrich existences peering from the eyes of dragons. Then she called over her shoulder, swinging the spear around again, “We just have to wait for the geese to make it to us. If that’s all, I can…” A sudden loud crash sounded from the bushes then, followed by more and the groaning of wood, the leaves shaking, falling.
“What was in the woods?” Did anyone even ask that or is my mind really loud, wait, I can’t even think.
Gwydd grabs my arm, “I agree, let’s run!”
The sounds only got louder like the whole forest was being ripped apart behind us. “What was in the bushes?!” Gwydd yelled. “I don’t know!” I yelled back. “Then why did you scream beans?!” “Because I was thinking biggest! And growing! So I got Jack and the Beanstalk!”
“So what was in the bushes?”
I should’ve remembered the dragons. They were based on the storybook dragons too. Vaguely reptile, vaguely horselike, winged and fire breathing.
One pounced from behind a tree and tackled Gwydd before either of us knew it and had her on the ground, a spear wedged between her and its comically jagged toothed mouth. My magic has quite the imagination.
“No! Gwydd!” I threw my hand out, and flicked a small spell to do idk what, oh no, uncontrolled magic tended to act even more erratically than what I was used to.
I squinted as I watched it plink against the dragons snout and fall. Was it.. going to explode? My eyes flew to Gwydd who was reaching for the twinkling bead that power coalesced into.
All while the crunching of trees in a forest uprooting itself closed in, louder and louder. I couldn’t stop myself from looking behind me, to see how close “it” was.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I’ll come back eventually to see where this story goes.
If anyone else wants to keep it going…
This one wins lets keep going…..
Out of the bushes popped the biggest sparrow I’d ever seen! Gwydd honked in disgust. i didn’t know if it was the sparrows or the bead. Gwydd snatched the bead from in front of the dragon and tucked it away somewhere. it was too fast for me to see. “Can we focus on the geese?” as she forced the dragons teeth away from her face. I wan’t sure if i was up to another spell and on so many geese! they had flown into the trees with us and were circling above me and Gywdd. With a last shout I was able to get the spell out before I collapsed to the ground. Gwydd picked me up and said “Good Job.” I saw a flock of… Not Geese anymore, but Silver Dragons as big as a car tearing into the Shadow Dragons just before I blacked out.
Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever considered the positives of a goose- protective, speedy, good memory- are also part of its arsenal. Pure fury with a barbed tongue, toothed beak that remembers yours face with disdain and a cobra inspired neck, that honks and shits while biting all your tender bits. And that was the hoard coming in from hill and dale. Feathered spite on a massive scale, with battalion of staff wielding bewildered goose herds following.
The dragons, absolutely stunned to find themselves surrounded by creatures far more sinister themselves, desperately tried to escape. Even other worldly beings from a different dimension knew that you didn’t mess with a determined goose. The air was soon filled with scent of singed feathers, unadulterated fear, and dragon guts. And goose poop. So much goose poop.
What a ride!
Yes, Caltrops, that was much better than the LLM.
Anyone else for the next chapter?
I froze for a moment, worry flickering through me. Memories Flashed through my head. My mother warning me to stay away from a nest. “Geese are awful birds that will attack for no reason.” She has said, pointing to a mama on a nest in the street.
Gwydd had never been mean. She had understood, been firm, and clever. I took one clearing breath, deciding to trust Gwydd, my new friend, and cast the spell.
The results sent me tumbling to the ground as I watched dragons fight with dragons. The pure white beasts biting at the silver ones, roaring. The silver scratching. All the while Gwydd laughed maniacally. “You don’t see this every day, do you, wizard?!”
My breath caught in my throat as she turned back, noting the terror in my eyes. “I’ve doomed everyone. The town will be destroyed.” I managed, shaking.
Gwydd shook her head, an understanding smile crossed her lips, “no. You’ve saved your town. You just don’t know it yet!”
Not until I know who you are 👀
Nod to Jane Howell i think your addition will almost fit after this if rewritten just slightly.
I’ll give it a go…….no promises
I shook my head in disbelief, how could Gwydd know that I’d saved the town and not set in motion it’s absolute destruction. But that would have to be pondered later, right now we had to work out what to do with these magnificent geese that were rapidly filling the centre of town with unmeasurable amounts of sticky white……shit, really nothing else to describe it as.
Using what little reserves I had left…..(I really must get into better shape, this magic lark is much more physical than I’d been lead to believe) I stood up and pulled Gwydd out of the melee and headed for the path that lead deeper into the forest. If we made it out we might be able to regroup and form a plan for our next move.
“Wizard, are you mad?” She yelled over the honks and hisses “We can’t possibly leave these giant beasts here to savage the townsfolk”
I turned around and looked skyward and realisation set in, she was right but I was absolutely out of ideas other than retreating to catch my breath.
Gwydd’s eyes lit up and she yelled out to me “Gather your wits Magic boy, we got work to do” and taking the deepest breath she could she created an orb of light around herself and made that disconcerting sound once more.
The orb was acting like an amplifier but only to the creature both Void and goose………
Your turn peeps 😁
I’m genuinely in love with that fact this is now multiple authors writing a story about wizards and geese.
Can we get a part 5?
Eagerly waiting for the next instalment! I’d like to have a go at it if I ever have time lol.
I’m loving all of this!
part 5
The glowing orb expanded out and as it did time began to slow around us. It was like being enveloped in a glowing fog. I looked at Gwydd gasping, “H-How? How did you do that? Magic isn’t supposed to work like this!”
Gwydd blinked. “Yes. I suppose it would come as something of a shock to you. Our magics are not the same. Mine is a bit more…chaotic.” She turned taking in the scene around us. “I’ve only bought us a little breathing room. I won’t be able to hold this for long. And I most certainly won’t be able to do it again for a good while yet! I’ve only slowed things down some.”
As I looked I could see what she meant. The battle was still being fought, only very very slowly. It was like a game children would play sometimes when they would pretend to move as slowly as they could.
She spun around to face me, “We really won’t have much time. We need to come up with a plan. These dragons will fight it out, and we can’t be sure which side will win.” She cupped her chin with her hand, one finger tapping her jaw. “Maybe those swany whatevers gave something away about how we can defeat them when they were going on about the Veil.”
“The what?” I asked.
“The Veil. They were insisting they were protecting a boundary.”
I looked at Gwydd, genuinely startled. “I don’t remember what they said Gwyyd… How can I not remember what they said? A wizard prides himself on his perfect recall. I don’t understand.” I began to feel panic in the pit of my stomach. I searched my memory trying to recall the words, but they wouldn’t come. Even the memory of the last few minutes was becoming muted. “Gwydd,” I said, far more shakily than I intended, “I can’t remember what they said. It’s like I can see there were pages in a book that were torn out. I know something was there, but I have no idea what! How can that happen?”
Gwydd had cocked her head as I spoke, intensely scrutinizing me. “Well now, that is very interesting indeed.”
“I’m scared Gwydd, I can feel the last few minutes being torn out of me. What the hell is going on!”
She took two quick steps closing the distance between us and took my face in her hands. They were cool and soft, like a new borns. She pulled my face up, forcing me to look at her. “I want you to focus.” Her voice was soft and feathery, impossible to ignore. “Look into my eyes and listen to my words. I want you to feel the warmth of my hands on your face. I want you to feel that spread all through you. Can you feel it?” I nodded weakly unable to pull my gaze from hers. “Good,” she said. “I will do what I can for you wizard. I still need your help. Now close your eyes.”
As my eyes closed the warm feeling intensified. I could sense Gwydd’s lips moving, but no sounds. After what felt like hours, the warm feeling suddenly stopped as she took her hands away. “There.” She took a deep breath. “I think I’ve stabilized whatever it is they were doing to your mind.” She sounded tired and subdued. “But, it may have drained me too much to deal with this,” she waved her hand toward the park and the battle frozen around us. As she did her eyes locked on something over my shoulder and grew wide in shock. “Wizard! What did you do?”
I turned to see what she was talking about, and my jaw fell open. There in the bushes, where I had tossed my bean, thorny vines had sprung up. As tall as trees they were lashing about much faster than the dragons still caught in Gwydds glowing fog. The vines had even torn several of the dragons to bloody pieces, hurling their parts into the rest of the fiery melee.
Gwydd looked at me, studying me closely, and I couldn’t help but feel a little nervous, “Well, wizard, it seems you are certainly not average at all.”
I LOVE this story! Can’t wait for anothelr chapter.
What fun. Thank you to all participants so far. Keep feedding each other’s imaginations.
Part 6
“Need a hand?” a familiar voice said behind me. It was Thamus, the eldest of the town Wizards. He had brought everyone. “It seems we misjudged you as well. Leohinda!” He yelled and swooshed with his staff like one would a golf club. sending the white light from the motion bursting outwards, knocking down a murky brown dragon, who was trying to gnaw a silver dragon’s tail. I could not stay staring my mouth open, more and more wizards and witches joined the battle all around me and I had to dodge ballistics hurling towards me. “This is getting ridiculous!” I tried to yell over the cacophony. “We need to focus our attention!” Thamus nodded to me and beckoned the four wizards behind to join forces. Together we concentrated our effort on containing everything in a bubble so magic and fire alike could not spread to the town.
The dark dragons expired one after another, releasing their shadowy true form, which winked out from existence. But so did the silver ones, and when doing so they exploded into poof of feathers with a sad honk.
In the chaos I lost Gwydd. I tried to find her with my eyes, still keeping my flow of magic to Thamus, who had taken over controlling it. And then I found her. Lying in a dark bundle on the ground, half covered in feathers.
I rushed to her letting go of the flow.
It was not her. On that same instant the bubble came crashing down and a gust of wind blew the dust and feathers into the air, into a whirlwind of feather-pen darts.
Part 6 cont
Dodging the flurry of pen-darts I ran yelling her name. “I’m here”, she finally replied with weakness in her voice. “Good to see you.” she smirked. She was sat down legs spawrled and gasping air. Something dark oozing beneath her gown. “It’s not mine”, she said assuringly. “One of the smaller dragons did try to knock me down, but underestimated my stomach muscles”. She let out a small laugh, that was interrupted by a sharp pain. “Might have broken a rib, tho”.
“TIMBER!!!”, someone shouted pulling me back to my surroundings. The vines and trees were in the process of being cut down. Some of them smashing from quite high, making the ground shake and boom when they landed in piles and coils. Dragons of all hues and shines tried to evade the falling lengths, with varied success.
“The others seem to have the situation under control”, I said, “that leaves some room for us to try to figure out what is going on. Do you know what is going on?”
“Well… swan wives were actually shadow people protecting the veil. That much I have gathered. It only means the veil is vulnerable in this town. Why is the veil weak here? How?”
“Must be something the wizards are doing, if the swan-shadows want to get to close to them.” I said and sat down beside her, ignoring everything whirling about us.
“In that you must be correct. But which wizard? Even the shadow people did not seem to know, or else there would just be one swan bride, or a direct attack.”
Part 6 cont vol 2 (I swear it is not my intention to hijack this thread but I cannot stop thinking about this tale)
“That leaves the witches off from being suspects… I guess we can rely on the shadow people to have done SOME research on this. It just irks me, how can it be only the male half of the population?”
“Well that just comes to the mere fact of human nature, it is always the fault of the other half, isn’t it?” Gwydd said while I helped her to stand.
“Are you ok? Can you walk?” I asked and she nodded reassuringly and waved at me with her hand. The hand looked more and more like a wing, with all the loose feathers falling from the sky just emphasizing the fact.
“Your transmutation!”
“Ah, gawwk! I’m running on fumes! No matter! Run we must if we want to get to the bottom of this. Think fast! What is the only think men can do what women cannot?”
“Peeing standing up, without wetting our feet? That can’t be it.”
“Oh but it MUST be! The simplest solution is usually the correct one. But why would such a normal activity disrupt the Veil?”
“Well, maybe they drank something…and…eh… I do not know…”
“Potions! It must be some ointment or potion, they are using on daily basis. And the Swan Wives were trying to figure out who it is. But what I cannot fathom what difference it makes if one is standing up…” Gwydd frowned and tried to scratch her head with her non-existing fingernails. “Gawwk!! Faster, faster time is running out!”
“The..the..wizard… eh… wait. The Perimeter! There is an ancient protective rune-carved perimeter around the town!!”
“You are joking, you care to mention you have a Holy Perimeter just now? THE WIZARD HAS BEEN PEEING POTION-INFUSED WEE ON A HOLY PERIMETER?!!”
Writing this as a comment, as we cannot edit. Do note, whoever continues, Gwydd is not the one who did the transmutation on herself, she forgot 🙂
Omg kaisa that is hilarious! Love it! I too still think about this story. Only time I’ve ever turned on notifications is for this!
This was awesome.
We need more. Find the ending of this story!!!
about to
adding all parts to a single comment to make it easier for the everyone to read and add to later. ill work on part 7 and add it to that comment as well.
This is part 1-7 as complete as could be managed while trying to make it a contiguous story. Also added some character names to give it life.
Authors so far
– writing-prompt-s
– ramshacklefey
(who apparently hates his story)
-Simon Hales on March 19, 2024 at 7:27 am
(Who apparently knows welsh. And this is the language of magic now. Yay!)
-Eric J & Debbie L Cromwell on September 3, 2024 at 9:23 am
-Caltrops on September 7, 2024 at 12:45 am
-Danielle on January 14, 2025 at 6:51 am
-Jane Howell on January 14, 2025 at 8:18 am
-”Brandon Wilcox on January 15, 2025 at 8:42 pm
-Patrick on January 14, 2025 at 9:14 pm
(Hey that’s me!)
-S is the Best on January 14, 2025 at 9:40 am
-Kaisa on May 14, 2025 at 2:41 pm, June 13, 2025 at 1:11 am, and June 17, 2025 at 1:39 pm
(she definitely hijacked the thread)
Many young wizards have taken to transmuting swans into humans and marrying them. One day, I was lucky enough to find a swan in the wild, and without hesitating, I turned it into a beautiful lady. Unfortunately, that ‘swan’, was a goose. I just gave a goose a human form. After I explained the mistake, she laughed uproariously.
“You’re damn lucky I’m not a swan!” she said, wiping tears from her eyes. “They get by on their reputation for being pretty and graceful, but buddy, a swan ain’t nothing but a bigger, meaner goose. What do you all want swan wives for anyway?”
I opened my mouth and then shut it again. Honestly, I hadn’t actually stopped to think about that much. It had become a mark of status, having a demure, graceful woman following on your arm, always dressed in white and gazing soulfully about.
“They all seem very nice,” I said finally. She pursed her lips thoughtfully as she finished pulling on the robes I’d brought with me. “Then there’s something else going on,” she said. “I’ve met my share of swans and not a one of them would put up with that shit. Are you sure they were swans to begin with?”
“Well, no, now that you mention it. I mean, everyone says that’s what they are, but I’ve never actually seen anyone else do it.”
“Do they talk? Act like humans? Do they seem intelligent?”
“Well, they are humans so I suppose they must be, right?” This conversation was not going the way i had expected it to.
“Hah! Fat Chance. Transmutation is just changing the shape of a thing. You turn a swan into a human and all you’ve done is put a swan mind in a human –shaped box. Wouldn’t do a wizard much good to be able to turn into a wolf or whatever if they suddenly only had a wolf’s brain to work with would it?”
“So, you’re saying that if those women were swans originally, they’d still act like swans?”
“Hoo boy yeah,” she said. “Absolutely. Hissing, biting people, trying to build nests, shitting everywhere. The works.”
“Wait, but what about you?” i asked, desperately trying to get the conversation back on track. “You seem like a human, but you were a goose ten minutes ago.”
She grinned wickedly at me.
“I was shaped like a goose ten minutes ago,” she said. “And I appreciate the makeover. But I wasn’t a goose to begin with. Now come on. There’s something hella creepy going on around here, and we’re gonna figure out what.”
She started walking back up the baths towards town
“Wait!” I shouted, hurrying after her, “If you weren’t a goose, then what are you? And What’s your name?”
“You can call me Gwydd,” she said. “You’re going to tell me everything you know about these swan ladies.” Gwydd turned and starting towards the village at a startling pace.
I was speechless because that was an ancient welsh word for “Goose.”
I stumbled to keep up with Gwydd, my mind racing with questions. “Wait, so you’re not a goose, not a swan, and not really a human. What does that make you, exactly?”
Gwydd glanced back, a playful grin on her lips. “You ever heard of a selkie?”
I shook my head, still confused. “A selkie? Like the seal folk from the old tales?”
“Close,” she said. “But let’s just say I have a lot more tricks up my sleeve than those old folktales would suggest. And if those swans are anything like me, there’s more to them than meets the eye.” I frowned, trying to piece together what she was saying. “So, you’re saying… the swans might not be swans at all? Then why would they pretend to be?”
Gwydd stopped abruptly and turned to face me, her eyes serious. “That’s what we’re going to find out. If someone is using magic to disguise who they really are, there’s always a reason. And it’s rarely a good one.”
As we walked back into the bustling town, I couldn’t help but notice that everything looked different. The streets were filled with what I now realized could be enchanted creatures, transformed beings hiding in plain sight. Had I been living among illusions all this time?
“So, where do we start?” I asked, trying to sound more confident than I felt.
“We start with those swan ladies,” Gwydd replied, her voice steely. “You said they always seem so calm, so perfect. That’s not normal. Real swans are ferocious when provoked. It’s time to see if we can ruffle their feathers a bit.”
We headed towards the park where the swan ladies often congregated, their elegant gowns billowing in the wind, their laughter soft and musical. As we approached, I felt a twinge of guilt. These women had been the envy of every wizard, admired for their beauty and grace. But now, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something deeply wrong with all of this.
Gwydd didn’t hesitate. She walked right up to the nearest woman, her eyes narrowing. “Excuse me, miss,” she said loudly, drawing the attention of everyone around. “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”
The swan lady turned, her expression serene. “Of course,” she replied in a lilting voice. “What would you like to know?”
Gwydd’s smile was all teeth. “Oh, just the usual. Your name, your origin, and what exactly you’re doing masquerading as a human in this town.”
There was a beat of silence, and then, almost imperceptibly, the swan lady’s calm facade flickered. Her eyes darted around as if looking for an escape.
I stepped forward, my heart pounding. “Please,” I said. “We just want to understand.” The swan lady’s gaze snapped back to me, and for a moment, her eyes seemed to shimmer with an otherworldly light. Then, just as quickly, her face softened again, and she let out a melodious laugh. “Oh, you silly wizards,” she said, her voice smooth and enchanting. “Always looking for mysteries where there are none. We are just women, enjoying the company of good men. Isn’t that enough?”
But Gwydd wasn’t buying it. “Nice try,” she said, crossing her arms. “But I’ve seen through better disguises than yours. If you’re really just women, prove it.”
The swan lady hesitated, and in that moment, I saw something change in her eyes. They darkened, her smile fading as if a mask had been pulled away. She took a step back, and I could see the other swan ladies moving, their expressions shifting from amusement to something much more sinister.
Gwydd leaned in, her voice low and dangerous. “Last chance. Who are you really, and what are you doing here?”
The air around us seemed to thicken, the light dimming as the swan ladies’ true forms began to emerge. They weren’t swans. They weren’t geese. They were something else entirely, something ancient and powerful, their shapes twisting and warping before my eyes.
“You should have left well enough alone,” the leader hissed, her voice now a guttural growl. “Now, you’ll see what happens to those who meddle in things they don’t understand.”
Gwydd’s hand shot out, and suddenly, the air was filled with a blinding light. I shielded my eyes, stumbling back, and when I opened them again, the swan ladies were gone, replaced by a group of dark, shadowy figures, their eyes glowing with malevolent intent.
Gwydd turned to me, her expression grim. “Welcome to the real world,” she said. “Now let’s see what you’re really made of, wizard.”
I’d love to pretend we had a chance, and maybe Gwydd thought we did, but I certainly didn’t. See, I’m not always very good at magic. Sometimes things don’t go exactly the way I plan. In a sense, that’s how I met Gwydd in the first place.
Still, I suppose at this point my options were kind of limited. I tried my best spell first – transfiguration.
I wanted to make them something small and harmless, so I tried to for cute little newts like the ones my flat mate kept as pets and potion ingredients. I didn’t successfully turn them into newts.
Instead, I accidentally transfigured them into small dragons about the size of the average golden retriever.
Gwydd turned to me and shouted angrily, “Did you seriously think turning them into dragons would help? Change them back!”
I tried casting Transfiguration again. Maybe it would work this time.
“I’m trying, but they just keep getting bigger! At least they’re corporeal now!” I yelled back as I dodged a gout of fire from the nearest dragon. It had nearly doubled in size now and was about the size of a mountain lion. I cast a low level conjuration spell and conjured a spear for myself, and another for Gwydd. At least I could manage simple weapons without incident.
Back to back together armed with our spears, we managed to hold them at bay while we formulated a new plan. We had to think fast – wizards generally aren’t the fittest group of people, and the spell I’d tried had really taken the wind out of my sails. Wielding a spear wasn’t in my wheelhouse to begin with, and I was tiring quickly. I knew that was dangerous.
“I think we should run away,” I said breathlessly, poking my spear to keep one of the dragons from getting close enough to claw me.
“I think you need to turn them into something smaller!” replied Gwydd.
“I was trying… to turn them… into little newts… and we got… dragons. Do you seriously… want me to try… that spell again?” I panted, hoping she had a better idea.
“Fair point. My turn,” Gwydd replied. She turned her head to the sky and loosed a rather odd but familiar call. It was almost… goose-like. As I turned to look over my shoulder at her, I saw something odd off in the distance moving towards us. It looked… It looked like a goose! No, several geese! I did a double-take as I slowly realized that what I was seeing wasn’t just a handful of geese – that must’ve been every goose in a several-mile radius, now rapidly converging their skien on our battle with the dragons.
“What are you trying to do, feed the dragons dinner?” I yelled, unsure how a gaggle of geese was helpful in our predicament.
“Nah. Giving you something else to supersize, Wizard. Do the geese,” she said calmly.
I froze for a moment, worry flickering through me. Memories Flashed through my head. My mother warning me to stay away from a nest. “Geese are awful birds that will attack for no reason.” She has said, pointing to a mama on a nest in the street.
Gwydd had never been mean. She had understood, been firm, and clever. I took one clearing breath, deciding to trust Gwydd, my new friend, and cast the spell.
Oh Gwydd. Lovely Gwydd.
You have such hope for me, I want to believe I can too! I let the power surge and throw it like a baseball into the sky yelling “Ffeuen!”
And we all pause to watch it fly into the bushes. About 30 feet away. I made a noise that was NOT a squeak, before I whirled around to face the dragons. Can dragons smirk? What now? Oh man, I really wish we had run.
Gwydd looked at me with genuine concern, then asked “Are you considered an average wizard around here?”
I choked. “Did you just ask me if I was average?”
“Was that impolite?”Gwydd asked.
“Yes! I am a little offended! I am more than my magic.” I treid and failed to say without another squeek.
“Yes, of course.” Gwydd snickered.
She turned back to the Eldrich existences peering from the eyes of dragons. Then she called over her shoulder, swinging the spear around again, “We just have to wait for the geese to make it to us. If that’s all, I can…” A sudden loud crash sounded from the bushes then, followed by more and the groaning of wood, the leaves shaking, falling.
Gwydd grabs my arm, “I agree, let’s run!”
The sounds only got louder like the whole forest was being ripped apart behind us. “What was in the bushes?!” Gwydd yelled. “I don’t know!” I yelled back. “Then why did you scream bean?!” apparently Gwydd knew enough of the ancient magic language to translate it.
“Because I was thinking biggest! And growing! So, I got Jack and the Beanstalk!”
“So, what was in the bush?” I thought to myself.
I should’ve remembered the dragons. They were based on the storybook dragons too. Vaguely reptile, vaguely horse like, winged and fire breathing.
One pounced from behind a tree and tackled Gwydd before either of us knew it and had her on the ground, a spear wedged between her and its comically jagged toothed mouth. My magic had quite the imagination.
“No! Gwydd!” I threw my hand out, and flicked a small spell to do idk what. “oh, no!” i muttered thinking back to my studies. Uncontrolled magic tended to act even more erratic than what I did on purpose. I worked so hard to control what my mentors called “Impulse Magic.” They always said it was unnatural and should never be used. Thye also told me to never let anyone see me do it in public.
I squinted as I watched it plink like a glass ball against the dragon’s snout and fall. Was it going to explode? My eyes flew to Gwydd. She was reaching for the twinkling bead that my power coalesced into.
The crunching of trees in a forest uprooting itself came from behind us, louder and louder. I couldn’t stop myself from looking behind me, to see what was coming.
Out of the bushes popped the biggest sparrow I’d ever seen! Gwydd honked in disgust. I didn’t know if it was at the sparrow or the bead. Gwydd snatched the bead from in front of the dragon and tucked it away somewhere as the sparrow flew into the distance.
“Can we focus on the geese?” she shouted as she forced the dragons teeth away from her face. I wan’t sure if I was up to another spell and on so many geese! they had flown into the trees with us and were circling above me and Gywdd. With a last shout of “Beans”
Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever considered the positives of a goose- protective, speedy, good memory- are also part of its arsenal. Pure fury with a barbed tongue, toothed beak that remembers yours face with disdain and a cobra inspired neck, that honks and shits while biting all your tender bits. And that was the hoard coming in from hill and dale. Feathered spite on a massive scale…with scales. I saw a flock of… Not Geese anymore, but Silver Dragons as big as a car
All the while Gwydd laughed maniacally. “You don’t see this every day, do you, wizard?!”
My breath caught in my throat as she turned back, noting the terror in my eyes. “I’ve doomed everyone. The town will be destroyed.” I managed, shaking. Gwydd shook her head, an understanding smile crossed her lips, “no. You’ve saved your town. You just don’t know it yet! Good Job!”
The shadow dragons, absolutely stunned to find themselves surrounded by silver creatures bigger and more sinister than themselves, desperately tried to escape. Even other worldly beings from a different dimension knew that you didn’t mess with a determined goose that can breathe fire. The air was soon filled with scent of singed feathers, unadulterated fear, and dragon guts. And goose poop. So much goose poop.
Gwydd, freed from the small shadow dragon pulled out the glass orb she had snatched earlier.
The glowing orb expanded out and as time began to slow around us. It was like being enveloped in a glowing fog. I looked at Gwydd gasping, “H-How? How did you do that? Magic isn’t supposed to work like this!”
Gwydd blinked. “Yes. I suppose it would come as something of a shock to you. Our magics are not the same. Mine is a bit more…chaotic.” She turned taking in the scene around us. “I’ve only bought us a little breathing room. I won’t be able to hold this for long. And I most certainly won’t be able to do it again for a good while yet! I’ve only slowed things down some.”
As I looked I could see what she meant. The battle was still being fought, only very very slowly. It was like a game children would play sometimes when they would pretend to move as slowly as they could.
She spun around to face me, “We really won’t have much time. We need to come up with a plan. These dragons will fight it out, and we need to be sure which side will win.” She cupped her chin with her hand, one finger tapping her jaw. “Maybe those swan whatevers gave something away about how we can defeat them when they were going on about the Veil.”
“The what?” I asked.
“The Veil. They were insisting they were protecting a boundary.”
I looked at Gwydd, genuinely startled. “I don’t remember what they said Gwyyd… How can I not remember what they said? A wizard prides himself on his perfect recall. I don’t understand.” I began to feel panic in the pit of my stomach. I searched my memory trying to recall the words, but they wouldn’t come. Even the memory of the last few minutes was becoming muted. “Gwydd,” I said, far more shakily than I intended, “I can’t remember what they said. It’s like I can see there were pages in a book that were torn out. I know something was there, but I have no idea what! How can that happen?”
Gwydd had cocked her head as I spoke, intensely scrutinizing me. “Well now, that is very interesting indeed.”
“I’m scared Gwydd, I can feel the last few minutes being torn out of me. What the hell is going on!”
She took two quick steps closing the distance between us and took my face in her hands. They were cool and soft, like a new borns. She pulled my face up, forcing me to look at her. “I want you to focus.” Her voice was soft and feathery, impossible to ignore. “Look into my eyes and listen to my words. I want you to feel the warmth of my hands on your face. I want you to feel that spread all through you. Can you feel it?” I nodded weakly unable to pull my gaze from hers. “Good,” she said. “I will do what I can for you wizard. I still need your help. Now close your eyes.”
As my eyes closed the warm feeling intensified. I could sense Gwydd’s lips moving, but no sounds. After what felt like hours, the warm feeling suddenly stopped as she took her hands away.
“There.” She took a deep breath. “I think I’ve stabilized whatever it is they were doing to your mind.” She sounded tired and subdued. “But, it may have drained me too much to deal with this,” she waved her hand toward the park and the battle frozen around us. As she did her eyes locked on something over my shoulder and grew wide in shock.
“Wizard! What did you do?”
I turned to see what she was talking about, and my jaw fell open. Apparently the sparrow wasn;t the only thing my magic affected.
There in the bushes, where my spell had landed, thorny vines had sprung up. As tall as trees they were lashing about much faster than the dragons still caught in Gwydds glowing fog. The vines had even torn several of the silver dragons to bloody pieces, hurling their parts into the rest of the fiery melee.
Gwydd looked at me, studying me closely, and I couldn’t help but feel a little nervous, “Well, wizard, it seems you are certainly not average at all. Now where are the rest of those wizards hiding. That surely saw this fight from the village.
“Need a hand?” a familiar voice said behind me. It was Thamus, the eldest of the town Wizards. He had brought everyone. “It seems we misjudged you as well. Leohinda!” He yelled and swooshed with his staff like one would a golf club. sending the white light from the motion bursting outwards, knocking down a murky dragon, who was trying to gnaw a silver dragon’s tail.
I stared for a moment while Thamus and three other wizards came out of the woods. Several witches from the town coven walked out behind them.
“This is getting ridiculous!” I tried to yell over the cacophony. “We need to focus our attention and protect the town!” Thamus nodded to me and beckoned the four wizards behind to join forces. Together we concentrated our effort on containing everything in a bubble so magic and fire alike could not spread to the town.
The dark dragons expired one after another, releasing their shadowy true form, which winked out from existence. But so did the silver ones, and when doing so they exploded into poof of feathers with a sad honk.
In the chaos I lost Gwydd. I tried to find her with my eyes. Then I found her. Lying in a dark bundle on the ground, half covered in feathers. I rushed to her. Suddenly it exploded into a poof of feathers. It wasn’t her it was just a goose dragon. On that same instant the time bubble came crashing down and a gust of wind blew the dust and feathers into the air, into a whirlwind of feather-pen darts.
Dodging the flurry of pen-darts I ran yelling her name. “I’m here”, she finally replied with weakness in her voice. “Good to see you.” she smirked. She was sat down legs sprawled and gasping air. Something dark oozing beneath her gown. “It’s not mine”, she said assuringly. “One of the smaller dragons did try to knock me down, but underestimated my stomach muscles”. She let out a small laugh, that was interrupted by a sharp pain. “Might have broken a rib, though”.
“TIMBER!!!”, one of the witches shouted pulling me back to my surroundings.
The vines and trees were in the process of being cut down. Some of them smashing from quite high, making the ground shake and boom when they landed in piles and coils. Dragons of both hues tried to evade the falling lengths, with varied success.
“The others seem to have the situation under control”, I said, “that leaves some room for us to try to figure out what is going on. Do you know what is going on?”
“Well… swan wives were actually shadow people protecting the veil. That much I have gathered. It only means the veil is vulnerable in this town. Why is the veil weak here? How?”
“Must be something the wizards are doing, if the swan-shadows want to get to close to them.” I said and sat down beside her, ignoring everything whirling about us. My magic was depleted anyways.
“In that you must be correct. But which wizard? Even the shadow people did not seem to know, or else there would just be one swan bride, or a direct attack.” I said as Gwydd continued to think.
“That leaves the witches.” Gywdd looked at the witches cutting down my mutated vines and the trees to crush the dragons. “Off from being suspects…” she quickly added.
I guess we can rely on the shadow people to have done SOME research on this. It just irks me, how can it be only the male half of the population?”
“Well that just comes to the mere fact of human nature, it is always the fault of the other half, isn’t it?” Gwydd said while I helped her to stand.
“Are you ok? Can you walk?” I asked and she nodded reassuringly and waved at me with her hand. The hand looked more and more like a wing, with all the loose feathers falling from the sky just emphasizing the fact.
“Your transmutation! Is my Magic wearing off somehow?”
“Ah, gawwk! I’m running on fumes! You may have used the spell, but my inner magic keeps the spell active. Why do you think everything is changing back after it is destroyed. No magic to support the spell.”
No matter! we must hurry if we want to get to the bottom of this. Think fast! What is the only think men can do what women cannot?”
“Pee standing up, without wetting our feet? That can’t be it.” I said incredulously.
“Oh but it MUST be! The simplest solution is usually the correct one. But why would such a normal activity disrupt the Veil?”
“Well, maybe they drank something…and…eh… I do not know…”
“Potions! It must be some ointment or potion, they are using on daily basis. And the Swan Wives were trying to figure out who it is. But what I cannot fathom what difference it makes if one is standing up…” Gwydd frowned and tried to scratch her head with her non-existing fingernails. “Gawwk!! Faster, faster time is running out!”
“The..the..wizard… eh… wait. The Perimeter! There is an ancient protective rune-carved perimeter around the town!!”
“You are joking, you care to mention you have a Holy Perimeter just now? THE WIZARD HAS BEEN PEEING POTION-INFUSED WEE ON A HOLY PERIMETER?!!”
The deafening quiet made that last yell ring through the half razed forest. I looked around to see that the Silver dragons had finished off the shadow dragons, and ran into the forest to escape the witches version of baseball with tree trunks.
Thamus looked over and grunted. “Oh, that explains the wierd influx of women into the town. Minerva, did you know about this?” He looked at the leader of the witches coven.
“I have been investigating a weakening in the veil, but never suspected that it was bad enough for Veil Watchers to come through. This is going to be hell to explain to the Council”
Thamus looked down at me “Simon, why don;t you introduce your…friend to us.” I gulped as Gwydd still standing struggled to keep her eyes open. I felt her magic fading fast.
“Can you heal her first? She used a lot of magic to help protect m.. the town and is having a reaction to low mana.” Thamus cast a heal spell and made a mental note to add light magic to the mandatory lessons in the future.
Gwydd seems to stiffen before passing out, but the transformation reversed in a flash. Thamus grabbed my shoulder and said “ She will be fine, healing takes a lot out of you especially when your already weak. A short rest and she will be good as new. Now tell me what happened!”
I explained the basics of what happened leaving out a few details about how I had used Impulse Magic. I explained how the younger wizards were using transmutation to make swans into wives and how I tried to do the same, but ended up with a Goose. Thamus harrumphed “That is ridiculous. Transmutation merely changes the physical form, not the mind”
“Thats what Gwydd said, so we came to the village to confront the…not swans?…and well you see how that turned out.”
“Hmm. This Gwydd seems to be rather knowledgeable, but that doesn’t explain how we didn’t notice the Veil Watchers coming through.” Minerva muttered.
Thamus glanced at Minerva and then said to me “Go back to your room Simon. We will get this mess cleaned up. Keep this to yourself, no need to let people know you were here.”
“What about Gwydd? Can i take her to the infirmary?” Thamus nodded at one of the witch elders and said “Nirobi, can you help get Simon and his friend settled while me and Minerva talk?”
Minerva nodded her head almost imperceptibly at Nirobi, and she quickly cast a float spell to move Gwydd to the infirmary. The other elders began heading back to town to calm down the residents and start cleaning up the mess from the battle. As I followed Nirobi, I heard Thamus whisper “The Impulse Magic is getting harder to hide, we need to make a decision soon.”
As I sat by the bedside waiting for Gywdd to wake up, I kept hearing that repeat in my head “we need to make a decision soon.” what did that mean? Was there something wrong with me? Was I in danger? I had gone to the Tower library and had a book that mentioned selkies open on my lap. There wasn’t much to read. The librarian had looked at me like a child while explaining that fairytales were not the best use of a wizards time. I told her it was just for entertainment while I sat with a friend at the infirmary, and she seemed to believe me.
The book was literally a book of fairy tale creatures. Selkies were mentioned as shapeshifters that lived as seals in the sea, and would shed their skin to become human on land. If Gwydd really was a selkie, how did she become a goose? And where was her seal skin? Why was i listening to Gwydd it was clearly a fairytale, even the wizards thought that.
I read the page over and over and only the brief mention of a legend was all there was. I had to wait until she woke up to ask her more questions. As I waited I realized how tired i was from the fight and dozed off laying my head on the bed as I sat beside her.
Let me know if You want me to keep going with this.
Please keep going, I don’t even know what is this website I saw a link on Facebook and followed it, not sure if you will get my notification but please continue this is amazing
I awoke with a start. The book fell off my lap… no. Gwydd had awoken! And she was reading it?
She muttered, speaking to no one in particular, “no, no. These humans have gotten so much wrong. No, my sisters were not seals. Silly humans. They only write what they can…” she looked up. Realizing I had been listening, she shut the book. “I’m sure you have many questions. But now is not the time. Now that we’re both awake and recharged, we must find the elders and speak with them.”
“I- I don’t know where they are. I’ve been here since I found that book. I wanted to make sure you were okay”
Gwydd sighed. She got up with a start, dragging me along her route.
My head was spinning. How long had I been asleep for? How did she transform back into a human form? Before I had the chance to ask any questions, I heard voices murmuring all around. I looked up from my haze and saw we were surrounded. Every wizard and witch was in the town’s square. The elders were huddled to the side of the group. Minerva leading their hushed conversation. What in the gods green earth was happening here? I just wanted to be accepted by my peers through obtaining a swan wife. I didn’t realize my mishap would land us in such chaos.