Fragments - Ivy Water

For twenty-four years, Gilshif has been an outcast-born without magic in a world where it defines your worth. They've made peace with that isolation. But on the eve of their twenty-fifth birthday, everything changes.

A consciousness awakens inside their mind. Ancient. Patient. Dragon.

Over three weeks, Gilshif's body transforms while a primal being claims more and more of their mind. The Dragon Within grows stronger each day, and Gilshif feels themselves fragmenting-losing ground to something vast and powerful that sees them as nothing more than a cage.

Only one person refuses to let Gilshif disappear: Rith, their oldest friend and the one person who has always seen them-truly seen them-for who they are.

But as Gilshif's final transformation approaches, Rith must choose between saving Gilshif or reaching the Dragon. She doesn't know that integration isn't about choosing between human and beast. It's about becoming whole.

A story about being seen. About belonging. About the power of love fierce enough to hold two consciousnesses together.