Shavan unfolded herself and stood up to face me, her eyes taking on a Medusan quality. No doubt about it, the lady was angry. "No longer finds it acceptable?" she hissed. "You think you can bully me? Bully us?" I didn't need my astral sight to see the power building. "Saeder-Krupp has already agreed to the funding, my stupid friend. With their nuyen, The Revenants will yank the reins of the European Restoration out of the hands of the bureaucrats and put them back in the hands of the people!"
I shook my head, turned, and step-vaulted over the float couch, putting it between us. Landing with a turn, I saw she'd cut herself short on a spell, but not short enough to hurt. "I think I read that on your last scream sheet, didn't I?" I pushed back my leather coat and jammed my thumbs in my pants pockets.
Her voice and anger rose together, and I knew myself only moments away from cinder-city. "You of all people know I'm right!" Her left hand shot out to point at me. "How many trillions have already been spent so that the contractors and analysts can build their villas?"
I shrugged yet again. "I don't know, but I was always fond of The Revenants' little hideaway on the Riviera. Great view."
Shavan's anger solidified as her arm slowly came down and she shifted into a neutral, pro-aggressive stance. "Why now? Der Nachtmachen has always supported our view. Steadman did, his people did, even you did-when you cared to comment. I want to know why you've changed your minds." Ever kind, she left out the words "before I kill you," but her tone was clipped and hard. Without realizing it, she'd shifted into German. My programmed pause was almost up.
"Why? We haven't, and you haven't been listening." I slowly spread my hands wide. I walked clear of the furniture and dropped myself into a lotus position, and in doing so, declared a duel. She smiled, but I continued. "Der Nachtmachen firmly believes in Europa Dividuus, no question. You, however, made the wrong move."
About five meters from me, she dropped down as well, mimicking my position. I nodded, we breathed, and the world became walls of scintillating green energy. The shield that kept out prying eyes and hands would provide the limits of our battle. We couldn't get out, and nothing could get inside-or so she believed.
As we shifted, I'd triggered the spell imbedded in my pinky ring. As I floated free, it manifested adjacent to my body as a point of twirling copper light. She could tell by looking that its power level offered her no threat, but she kept an eye on it anyway.
"You went to Saeder-Krupp," I said. "You wanted the nuyen, but you could have gotten that from just about anyone. You kept it quiet because you didn't want it known you were getting the credit from a corporation." The glare in her eyes was truly blinding, and her aura left no question that I was seconds from death. I had to keep talking, keep her interested just long enough.
"More than money, you wanted the Dragon, and you wanted him enough to come to Seattle to see him." I paused and her eyes narrowed. "You wanted Lofwyr behind you."
"So?" she snapped. "With the Dragon backing us, we could rally the apathetic Awakened."
"Saeder-Krupp is one of the controlling corporations of the Restoration. Why would he betray it for a bunch of street hustlers?"
Her eyes glinted as she saw an opening. "I've spoken with him. You forget how old he is. A Restored Europe would quickly become a concrete Europe. He wants it to return to the way he remembers it."
Now it was my turn. "Damn it, Shavan! Haven't you ever read Saeder-Krupp's profile? Who do you think builds more heavy industry plants in Europe every year? Who do you think pumps more toxins into the atmosphere? Who do you think pollutes more rivers?"
"Those are all companies he bought. It takes time to bring them into line environ-" A shape moved somewhere beyond the shield and I cut her off hard.
"I don't run Der Nachtmachen. A friend of mine does. And he doesn't want his brother screwing around in Europe!"
We both moved. My hands slammed together and I pumped all my will into the Shattershield spell. Raw astral force ripped around us, and hot power streamed upward out of me, tearing into the lattice of the shield. I felt tendrils of ice whip into me as her attack struck. I reeled, trying to control the power arcing around me. As my bolt impacted, the shield was hit hard from the outside. Unable to withstand the dual concussion, it shattered, raining prismatic energy. A dark form poured down through the shards as the music exploded out of my copper energy globe.
Falling away, my power slipping from me, I saw her for the last time. The Dragon's astral form slammed into her, its unearthly claws tearing great jagged rips into her spirit body. Magical energies flowed from her to course ineffectually around the Dragon. I shuddered as her screams merged with the Dragon's roar.
"Shavan, meet Alamais!" I cried out, unheard.
The world spun into the red-tinged darkness, the music stopped, and I grew calm.
Sometime later, I floated. My senses were dead, but I was acutely aware of the sensation.
"Alexander."
I tried to turn toward the source, but found it to be everywhere. Alamais, I thought.
"Good guess."
I may have smiled. "You have a distinctive thought-voice."
"I would imagine."
There was a pause, and I waited.
"So?" I said finally.
"So?"
"So, did you get her?"
The Dragon snorted, and I felt a warm shudder. "Every last bit."
DUNKELZAHN: THE MASS-MEDIA DRAGON
by Tom Dowd
This article originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #199.
The streets are dark in the Shadowrun roleplaying game, and the masters of those streets are the shadowrunners. Deckers, elves, mages, dwarves, riggers, mercenaries, trolls, samurai, orks, and shamans take on the jobs that the megacorporations don't want to dirty their hands with. It's a hard world, and it takes more than strength to survive. It takes guts.
In the Shadowrun game, magic and technology exist side-by-side in a game made for them both. In the year 2054, megacorporations rule, magic has returned to change the world forever, and nothing is what you'd expect. Remember the street proverb: Shoot straight, conserve ammo, and never, ever, deal with a dragon.
›››››[lnformation dissemination being the soul of the Shadowland electronic network, it fails to me as its local controller to post information of interest and watch the fur fly. The following profile is excerpted and abridged from the far-too- hip-for-its-own-good online edition of the infozine Meta Trends (January 2054). Some of the information presented in the article has been disputed by various sources. Believe it at your own risk. As always, electronic readers of this file are invited to post their own comments and observations. Believe them at your own risk as well.]
– Captain Chaos 08:21:51/2-23-54
If dragons are beasts of legend, why is it that modern Man can periodically flip a cable channel and find one alternately babbling good-naturedly on some fascinating (to him) facet of human society or having an equally good-natured chat with a celebrity of the moment? Why is it that a dragon, once the bane of Saint George, the near-consumer of darling/annoying Bilbo, and the quarry of knights-gallant has his own talk show? The answer, very simply, is ratings and power.
›››››[Yeah, when a great dragon asks for his own trideo show, are you gonna be the one to tell him no?]
– X-VP 02:13:1312-25-54
To understand Dunklezahn even somewhat, one must look back to his first appearance. The dragon's arrival in Denver on January 27, 2012, only weeks after the first appearance of others of its kind, was notable not only for his examination and inspection of that steel-and-concrete sprawl, but for the exuberance he displayed in doing so. The handful of dragons seen to that date had been aloof, elusive, and the subject of fevered and often reactionary public and media debate. Suddenly, there was this great beast of mythology utterly and completely fascinated by the concept and workings of a simple automobile. The impact was tremendous.