Opening his eyes slowly Kyrio stared groggily at the room in front of him. It was hard to focus his thoughts, everything felt hazy, his name seemed to echo through his thoughts, bouncing and spiralling off images, scents, colours, he couldn’t focus on anything.


He watched as the red and maroon scaled lizard draped a thick, blue, scale lined cloak over a waiting mannequin. It was a nice cloak, heavy with a thick woollen interior lining and a sturdy, blue scaled exterior that looked tough and sturdy. It had a hood as well and as he watched it Kyrio admired the amethyst inset broach the kobold… yes he was a kobold, was using to hold it in place.


Focussing his thoughts Kyrio stirred, fabric swaying, curling about as the clasp finished biting into his fabric. It felt quite nice, to hang there, moving gently with a wind, or will of his own. Being a cloak felt good, he was filled with an urge to protect, to keep warm, to cover. The armour on the stand was him as well, he could feel it, he was part of it all and it felt nice, he couldn’t wait for someone to wear him.


Sighing or imagining a sigh, relaxing Kyrio let his hefty, fabric and scaled cloak self droop and hang on the stand, complimenting the blue armoured tunic and trousers. It was all part of a set but Kyrio’s awareness was pulled away as he blinked his eyes and stared at the ceiling. Odd why could he… blinking again he turned his head… yes the head on the table that could move and looked himself in the eyes.


He had two bodies, one lying on the table, mostly missing, the head and legs of a blue, feather crested dinosaur. It looked a lot like the him he was looking at who was stood, immobile as stone at the foot of the table.


“Oh… right…” Kyrio mumbled, “I’m being made into clothes,” the head on the table, it’s mouth moved but the sound was so very low and barely perceptible.


The kobold must have heard however as his ear frills perked up and he turned to look at the table. The red lizard man, kobold… they where kobolds, grinned, showing off a lot of needle sharp teeth.


“Oh you are awake, and speaking,” he walked over and pressed his hands to the legs on the table, “Impressive, most people are too far out of it.”


The statue that was Kyrio watched impassionately as the kobold worked magic into his legs. He could feel the magic creeping through his scales, teasing his flesh and scales, making it tingling and warp. For a moment there was a tiny spike of fear, worry… some sort of emotion of alarm or trepidation. But as the fabric of his body, his organic body started to change Kyrio let his tongue hang out and sorely regretted not being able to move his stone tongue as it felt really nice.


The sensation of his flesh bending inward, of bone and muscle transmuting, shifting, being forced into a specific shape. Vikris’ will was guiding the change, his magic enforcing it and Kyrio relaxed into it. It was fascinating to watch, seeing the way the fabric and bones of his legs and feet twisted and arched into new positions.


His feet grew somewhat flatter, wider, the toes remaining indistinct, tipped with sharp claws. But now they had structure, a solid sole and tough, overlapping blue scales that glistened with a faint metallic sheen. They rode up in a tube of stiff leather, scales clinging to the fabric at the front and back to form a pair of knee high leather and metallic armoured scaled dinosaur boots. 


“Cool,” Kyrio breathed, and they were cool, he could feel his mind settling into the fabric. It was different though, less coherent, more fleeting, a sense of life, of purpose but no real thought. 

It got worse as Vikris continued to work on the remnants of his body. Kyrio let his eyes close, the view of the ceiling, the kobold and the statue fading away as he let his awareness drift into the darkness. He was a pair of gauntlets now, sturdy leather, designed to enfold a kobold’s arms and the backs of his hands. Armoured, and secure, strapped in place with buckles as required.


“Thasssss…. Diffffff’enttfffff,” Kyrio slurred, his mouth not working right, it was so hard to think. A shiver pulsed through his spine as Vikris laid his hands on his head. 


Kyrio’s double vision wavered, split and started to pull apart. His view from inside the statue was shutting down, growing watery, wavering, splitting and fragmenting into colours. 


Darkness slowly engulfed the rainbow patterned view of the kobold holding his head, “My heaaaaarrdddddddddddddddd,” Kyrio tried to speak, try to vocalise what was happening but his jaw no longer moved. It was frozen in place, a smooth metallic representation of his face, hinged to the hollowing shape of his head.


Vikris was smoothing, stroking, moulding his head into stiff leather, hollow and lined with scales and a striking crest of black feathers, “Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaddddddd,” Kyrio slurred, inside his mind, inside his thoughts. He was no longer in the statue, not that he could sense, he was settling, his brain gone, his ability to breath deleted. He was the helmet and as Vikris brought it over to settle atop the mannequin Kyrio’s lingering awareness flowed out to meet the rest of the armour.


There was a tingling sensation, a deep, reverberating click inside the warm sense of being that he was as the completed armour was brought together. He was protection, he was designed to guard, to keep safe, to warm or cool as needed. He was a tunic, he was boots and trousers and a cloak of tough scales with a thick black feather lining around the hem of the hood. He wasn’t style or fashion he was useful. A name… no he didn’t have a name, he was armour, his job was to protect, to guard and look after. There were… scents, presences, coloured ones in the air outside that he had to focus on. The red one, burning with an intense flame and the new one, cooler, but more jittery, energetic and purple and yes!


He was being lifted up, a warm body was sliding inside his fabric. The armoured tunic and trousers fit snug, he clung to scales and limbs perfectly. He felt claws doing up the laces, feet settling into the boots that where his body. He clung to his wearer, the world outside was a dark place, but the purple one was all around him. Hands tightened the buckles on the bracers and swung the cloak in an arch that settled him on shoulders.


Then the purple one picked something up off the table and settled it on his head. Three horns pressed through the perfectly made gaps in the metallic scaled leather helmet. His crest of feathers swayed in the wind and the face guard was pulled down, the smooth, metallic shape of the dinosaur mask completing the sleek, feathered and scaled dinosaur shaped armour.

He was protection, he was armour, he was designed to be worn, to protect his wearer, to keep the purple presence safe in combat, from the weather, from the environment at large. He was armour, he was being worn, he liked it, it was what he was made for.


-0-


“How does it feel?” Vikris asked, admiring Nocuous in the new armour. His purple scaled second in command adjusted the straps on the gauntlets then lifted the face mask so it sat atop the brow of the helmet.


“It feels good,” he spread his arms and smiled, admiring himself. 


“I really like the cloak,” Nocu said, spreading his arms and swirling the long, ankle length cloak with a satisfying whirl of fabric, “What gave you that idea?”

“You’re always complaining about having to pack a sleeping bag or bedrool,” Vikris said with a grin, “This means you don’t have to, it’ll keep you warm, safe and mostly clean and not stinking.”

Letting his arms drop Nocu adjusted his helmet and turned sideways to look at himself. He made a dashing figure, dressed in the scaled vest that was held in place by study laces at the throat, the entire torso covering flaring down over his hips woven out of solid blue dinosaur scales. His trousers where sturdy cotton, held in place by a heavy belt of blue leather with a soft black feather inner lining. The boots where sturdy and didn’t restrict his movement, they’d been designed as just an extra layer over his usually bare feet, toes separate, balanced for a kobolds gait and posture.


The gauntlets where fine, covering his hands entirely with a protective shell of metallic blue scales whilst leaving his fingers free to move freely as needed. The gauntlets then wrapped about his entire arm, up to just past his elbow to offer more scaled protection to his body.


The whole ensemble was finished off with the blue metallic helmet with the hinged dinosaur shaped face place that he could swing down. It lay atop and over his muzzle, hiding it from sight and offering extra protection. Light as anything but Vikris had demonstrated how the metal was stronger than even the best steal. The helmet had a thick crest of black feathers and with the visor down it was clear Nocu was some sort of reptilian warrior, he looked really good.


To finish the look he had the cloak, ankle length, pinned over his neck with a amethyst broach in the shape of the clan Triskelion. The interior lining of the cloak was soft, warm, designed to keep out the weather be it heat or cold. The outer layer however was an overlapping bed of sparkling blue scales that swirled and shifted and flowed on its own, magically empowered to always cover him in the best, most optimal way.


“It’s still alive?”


“Oh yes,” Vikris grinned and brushed a hand over Nocu’s shoulder, dusting away the imaginary lint, “I’ve woven his spirit into the enchantments, protection, weather, it’ll look after you Nocu.”


“Awesome thanks Chief, I will go try it out in the training arena now,” the purple kobold moved toward the door then stopped to look at the statue of the dinosaur, “What you doing with the rest of him?”

“Oh I have a plan,” Vikris yipped softly, “But that’s for Touye, unless you want to volunteer to have her test it on you?”

“Nope,” Nocu darted for the door, cloak flapping behind him, “Have fun Chief, and thanks!”


The door slammed behind the huntmaster and his new dino armour and Vikris turned to regard the statue. He could feel the remaining life force and spirit of Kyrio trapped inside. This was going to be a lot of fun, he had a very special gift planned for the remnants of the dinosaur.