"Thank you all, you've been a magnificent audience!" the bird bard bellowed, giving a deep bow to the cheering crowd. Opsis Peripety had just wrapped one of his classic musical performances at a small town square. He enjoyed giving out free shows, basking in the delight of the whole town, especially when the crowd had new knowledge for him to learn! Rumors were far more valuable than coin, in his eyes.

It wasn't strictly the town that the owl was interested in, but rather, word upon the streets of a woman who lived just outside of it in a deep forest dwelling. According to the townsfolk, she was a very powerful sorceress, but one who didn't make herself known too often. She kept to herself, usually only coming out to gather ingredients for various spells she was working on… though according to some, the sorceress often sent one of her kobold servants in her stead. 

To Opsis, it was less the actual woman he was interested in, but her collection. Based on the tales of the townsfolk, she must surely have accrued a wealth of various spellbooks, literature, studies, and more in her own private library. However, it was restricted to her and her servants, much to Opsis' dismay. He was one who was always seeking new knowledge, and the more secretive, the better. The owl spent his nights trying to find the magical secrets of the world through various means, be it scouring through dungeons or, in the case of what he planned to do tonight, sneaking into private collections to learn about whatever magical secrets were being kept hidden. 

Opsis made sure the night had already fallen to avoid prying eyes, sneaking away from his lodging at the town’s modest inn to make his way to the forest. The journey there was strange, in its quickness… it felt like the town transitioned into the woods rather quickly, and even looked like it was spreading out into the town. Something about it felt unnatural, compared to the many lands the wandering bard had travelled. Perhaps the answers as to why things were this way could be found in the library of the woman! Such possibilities only further pushed Opsis deeper into the woods, until the trees cleared away to a spacious glade. A lone building stood unassuming in the center, continuing the unnatural sense of the entire place.

The owl noticed he could sneak in through an open window, on what looked like some kind of tower. He flapped his wings, flying up and grabbing the windowsill. Opsis poked his head up, making sure the coast was clear before entering into the home. And it seemed like the owl's luck was favorable this night, as the window led him straight into the library he had heard so much about! The lights were off, and it looked like there were no signs of life anywhere except his own presence. 

Excited, Opsis scoured through the bookshelves, scrutinizing the titles upon each tome, looking for anything he hadn't read before. He grabbed a handful of books and put them on a desk in the library, a simple soft trill of magical notes further augmenting his already fantastic night vision. Perhaps it was a bit reckless of Opsis, but he knew from experience that if he had simply taken the books, the owner might know she had been infiltrated and come looking for him. The bard preferred not to bring that kind of spectacle to the town… and didn't need to be watching his back like that besides! He was a quick reader, he could finish and be gone before anyone even thought about waking up.

For a while, everything went rather smoothly, the operation never hitting a hitch. Opsis let himself become engrossed reading a particularly interesting book on novel transformative magics he’d never seen before. That was something he was going to keep fresh in his memory! Perhaps once he was gone from this region, the bard could deconstruct this craft and mix it in with his performances for some real extra showmanship! As he put the final book back on the bookshelf, Opsis saw the barest shadow shift in the moonlight; head swivelling back,  he realized someone else had entered the library.

"Enjoy your reading? You were here for quite a while!" a wyvern woman said with a friendly laugh. She had purple scales which were wrapped in a tight darker purple dress, along with a matching purple witch's hat atop her horned head. 

"It was quite good reading, yes." Opsis answered calmly. There didn't seem to be a reason to escalate, the wyvern seemed friendly enough. Perhaps it was a sign of respect? "Shouldn't belong to just one person's eyes, if you want my opinion."

"I don't, but thank you for telling me." she answered with a smirk and squinted eyes. "But it's a bit too late for that isn't it?" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "I must say Opsis, invading Thalia's abode, a bold play." The bard stepped backwards slightly upon his talons, as the knowledge of each other’s names echoed in the silence of the night.

"So you must be Thalia, or… is she your boss?" Opsis deftly kept up his cordial smile, pretending he wasn’t intentionally goading the powerful mage.

"Oh please, no one could boss me around! I'm more surprised you're not surprised I knew your name! Most people really freak out about that." 

"You're a sorceress, it's safe to assume magic was involved." Opsis answered. "And color me very curious about your work, Thalia. I'd love to study here more. I'm on a bit of a research sabbatical, studying new magics, enhancing my knowledge, you have a lot here I can learn from." Somewhat to his own surprise, Opsis felt honesty was truly the most convincing approach.

"I must admit, it's refreshing having someone else around here who can appreciate all this." Thalia smiled, but the friendliness of it quickly turned a bit more sinister. "Which means it'll be extra fun to take it all away from you~!" 

"Take it all away?" Opsis scoffed. "And how do you plan to do that? I've already read everything I've wanted to. I snuck in once, surely I can do it again if your security is this light. Whatever spells you’ve spread throughout here may work on the townspeople, but not me." 

"Oh? It's really quite easy. You may have read one of my transformation literature pieces, but you don't truly understand it until you've been through it yourself, wouldn't you agree~?" Thalia cooed, holding up a hand as yellow and blue sparks jumped off of her palm. “And since you’ve went ahead and read of it, this spell is already working its magic.” With a miniature explosion of lights, a summoned piece of paper unfolded into her hand.

"Let's see, Opsis Peripety, level 43, ooh, aren't you a high level bard?" Thalia read through the list. "Lots of traits, spells…" her draconic visage twisted in over-acted interest.

"What is that supposed to be? Did some research on me?" Opsis asked, getting a little bit nervous, but his curiosity also rose as he tried to look at the strange paper Thalia was holding by standing up on his talon toes. 

"It's called a Character Sheet. Drawn straight from the magical source, paper right here has every little thing about you! How much money you have, what spells you can cast, all your history, everything! And, I do wonder, what happens if I change it~?"

"I take it I'm about to find out? And what makes you think it'll change anything? It's just a paper, that can't do anything." Opsis responded, putting up a front of confidence, believing the parlor trick more entertaining than anything. In truth, he was… well, he knew the power that words on paper could have, no doubt. But he wasn’t just going to say that and give her the satisfaction, now was he?

"Then I suppose changing it won't matter, will it~?" Thalia giggled. "Like, if I add the letters 'f and e' in front of where it says male?" she said, and with a small zap of blue and yellow sparks from her fingertip, made that change appear on Opsis' Character Sheet.

"Female? Do you really...think..." Opsis was about to start calling the whole ordeal silly again, but trailed off when he heard how high pitched his voice suddenly sounded. A wing-hand went up to his throat, feeling his body and understanding only now that there was no longer a single thing about him that would be described as male. 

It wasn't just Opsis' voice that sounded feminine, but his whole figure had a more feminine build to it. Opsis' shoulders were more narrow, his arms notably more slender. At the sides of his torso near the navel, his figure had a deep indent, with a similar indent forming into his back to give it an arch which scooped down to his shifted tailfeathers.  

While parts of Opsis' figure had shrunk, that wasn't true for all of his body. His hips had grown wider, with his rear plumped up and pronounced. Opsis' calves and thighs both expanded, with the curvature between them deepened to give them a much more shapely tone.

At his chest, Opsis now had two sensitive spheres, a pair of breasts that were pronounced underneath his shirt which only now felt like they were weighing upon him. Despite his purple feathers still covering much of the more specific parts, it was clear now that whatever magic came from that simple change in words had made Opsis an owl girl. 

"What was that again about changing something on here not doing anything to you~?" Thalia purred. 

"A-alright, you proved your point." Opsis did his best to not blush at his new high-pitched voice. "Just erase what you put and we can move on." The bard had decided to gamble on the sorceress being content with just this one show of magical prowess.

"I coooould do that." Thalia paused. "But do I want to? No, not at all~!" she giggled. "How about we spice up that species, mix it up with something a little more...exotic! Something you don't see around much?" she said, using another magic zap on Opsis' Character Sheet as he once again transformed, and this time the sorceress felt the Bard’s page should lose his species in favor of another one. 

The plumes of feathers at the top of his head became wider, the faux ears growing into a definitive diamond shape of real lobes. The purple feathers became softer to the touch as they transitioned into fur, the color becoming a silver-tinted dark grey. This also applied to all of the feathers on Opsis' face, all taking on the same earthy grey tone. His beak softened and grew much larger, melding into the rest of his face as the distinction of hardened bird beak became naught but a muzzle instead. At the tip would be two slitted nostrils, the shape of Opsis' head now more in line with a rodent's. Long, brown hair had grown out from the top of Opsis' head that now reached down to the center of his back. 

The fur that replaced feathers at his head had spread all over his body, each individual feathers dissolving into a uniform fur coat. The feathery wings of Opsis' arms were much flatter, more traditional muscle and bone limbs showcasing just how slenderized his arms had become. They lost their ability to fly, the large feather-fingers now thin digits with claws at the tips of them, the fingers slightly jagged. Opsis' legs now had fur on them as the hard skin became softer as the dark fur covered them up. The three digits of talons all moved next to each other, all while two extra ones formed, the digits at the ends the smallest while the middle had the longest. Each of them had jagged digits not too unlike his new hands, with each of them having a long white claw at the end. Opsis' new mammal feet went up to the toes, the structure of his legs shifting into a pronounced digitigrade one.

At Opsis' backside, his large ruffle of tail feathers became much shorter, no more than the length of his legs. All of the layers accumulated into one of springy, whip-like muscles, now having the same fur on it that his entire body had. It was very thin, about the width of one of Opsis' fingers and ended in a dulled tip. With that, Opsis was no longer an owl man, but a rat woman. It was a species the Bard had never seen in any of his travels, but a few books of fiction spoke of a far-off land’s people which fit the description. Opsis somehow knew the name now upon that sheet, declaring him (or her) a Burmecian woman.

"Isn't that lovely, don't see many Burmecians around these parts!" Thalia admired her handiwork. 

"This is...so... bizarre..." Opsis looked down at his body, his outfit which was tailored for a male avian’s body barely hanging onto this much smaller frame and its thin fur. 

"Isn't it? Turning into a fictional species? But, in the world of Character Sheets, anything is possible~!" Thalia cooed. "The question is, what Class do we finalize you as. Do I make you into a dragoon or dancer? A stoic hero or someone who embraces tradition as an elegant performer? You're already halfway there as a bard right now, or I could have you throw away that magic knowledge in favor of aerial combat prowess. Both such lovely options! Any last words as you are, Opsis~?" 

"L-listen, we can talk this out! We don't need to change me like either of those ways!" he insisted, trying to get Thalia to quit while she was very ahead. 

"It's like I said before, we cooooould… but that's just sooooo boooooring." Thalia groaned. "I was gonna let you make the choice yourself, but then we'll just run in circles with you trying to stop this, so I'll make the decision for you~!" Thalia winked before delivering the final change to Opsis' Character Sheet. The word “Bard” burned away in an instant, and along with it went the entire career of music and magic that the former owl knew. The absence of definition rippled out and coalesced as Thalia traced new letters across the page.

The extent of the changes were best shown in Opsis' outfit, the ill-fitting clothes transforming into something more appropriate for his new species and size. Opsis' baggy pants became thinner, the white color thickening into a light brown, the material shifting and tightening against his widened waist. Over the exposed part of his legs, what looked like leather leggings materialized, covering up his legs down to the center of his large paws, wrapping around his arched up heels as well. The showy performer’s tunic that Opsis was wearing extended downward, expanding and covering up most of his body, the cut now reaching down past his knees. His sleeves became larger, the neck collar folded neatly up his neck. Already so much heavier than the light fabric he was used to, Opsis clenched his strengthened clawed feet to take on the weight of layers of heavy protective garb settling upon his empowered muscles.
A scarf wrapped around his neck and hung down his chest, with a crest hanging off the neck and covering most of his front. Looking down he could see that this regalia had imagery of Thalia herself on it. Now, his jacket looked a bit more like a large raincoat than anything. The outfit retained its purple coloration, but was more rugged and battle-worn, a level of heavy use that a fanciful owl would have scoffed at. Lastly, a matching purple hat formed at the top of his head, one that wasn't too unlike Thalia's own, graced with a dragon wing sticking out of each side.

To reflect the profound shift in career, more than just clothing changes swept across him; Opsis' mind was changing as well as the class change was finalized. A large spear that was almost as big as his body formed in the rat’s hand, which Opsis grasped with a certainty of purpose. Now, his class was that of a Dragoon. All that arcane knowledge that he had acquired over the years, even the knowledge he got from reading the literature today, was draining from his head. The former Bard's performance routines, from the scripts of plays to the lyrics of songs were all blank. However, there was something that Opsis thought about all this absence.

She didn't care. The rewriting and erasure of these pages felt insignificant. None of her old life mattered at the moment, only her new purpose to serve. It was a noble mission of utmost importance. A guardian of the skies, capable of flying as high as a dragon, and delivering a powerful attack from the clouds above onto anyone unlucky enough to be on the other side of a spear. The vivacious personality of the Bard was gone; now, the dry Burmecian was all that was left! Stoic, duty-bound, honorable. Opsis had insulted Thalia's security through this trespass; but now, Opsis was her security, keeping the home safe from intruders and its protector. Many Dragoons saw dragons as their superiors, and Thalia was no exception, feral or not. 

"And now aren't you the perfect guardian~!" Thalia admired her handiwork proudly. 

Opsis nodded, kneeling down and putting one arm on her knee, the other holding the staff of her spear up straight. "I am at your service." 

"Yes, I know. It's a good job to have, you'll be fed and treated well, here. All my servants are~!" Thalia smirked. "I treat you great, and I expect you to do a great job in return. Much more job security than your old ways, I’m sure.”

"I won't let you down. No one will trespass here again while I'm on watch. This I swear, upon my life, upon my spear, upon my honor." Opsis said, standing back up.

"Alright, you can dial that back a bit. It's a bit much." Thalia laughed. 

"Apologies." Opsis nodded her head. "You can rest now. I will keep watch through the night." The Burmecian rat’s face stayed stern while Thalia nonchalantly yawned.

"You do that. A pretty wyvern like me does need her beauty sleep after all~!" Thalia smirked, turning and leaving to retire to her chambers. "Maybe I should have gone the dancer route, have some more entertainment around here...ah well. If I grow bored of her…” she tucked away the sheet of paper that defined her newest servant’s role, certain there’d be uses for it again someday.

And all through the night, and every night to come, Opsis stood on the roof of Thalia's home with watchful eyes, ready to leap into the air to attack any would-be invaders from above. She remained aware of what had happened, but never spoke of it again. For her, the certain fact of herself being a Dragoon, the great Thalia’s own Dragoon, was far more important than all of that.

This was her sworn duty, so she was going to make sure she fulfilled it perfectly.