It was a cold morning,

with this blizzard day blustering frostbite everywhere. Luckily, I am sheltered from the wind in my icy cave. I was alone to any eye that could see. Except that I was really not alone. I had someone in my conscious, whom I call "Teacher."

   She, if she really is a she-I mean her voice is womanly so I am assuming she is definitely a she-but I am not totally sure.. She could be a spirit and some spirits-or souls-don't have definite genders sometimes.. The moments when she decides to appear in my head-little creepy sometimes.

   Anyway, she is in my head and she talks to me a lot. I had wondered for quite some time how I had come to this cave. Finally, one day my Teacher answered my question..

   I was looking around my solitary-habitat-of-a-cave thinking about the upcoming day's events as usual. Like always, I pondered why the cave was so massive-a ceiling with glorious, sharp icicles hanging in stalactite form-pristine and iridescent. It always had somewhat of an eerie feeling to it. Always reminding me of a mirror reflecting on me. Though, spending the amount of time I have here makes it hard to remember what an actual mirror looks like. Or a bed for that matter. The cave had nothing within except me and my consciousness. Almost like a hideout strategically placed in the middle of nowhere. This day, however, my shadow-of-a-conscious-Teacher brought me back to reality. 

    This is the North Pole. Yes, you are currently as they say, 'on top of the world.'  The voice was as wise and slightly older sounding as usual. You must change back into a human for a moment to understand my next words. I was confused. 

   Back into a human? I questioned. How and why? 

   My teacher did not answer. Yet I somewhat felt her presence in my head so I guessed she was waiting for me. I looked down at my snow white paws, felt my ashen gray claws extend outwards a little as I stretched hungrily. I then looked up again and found my favorite spot in my cave, a solitary icicle pointing upwards from the ground. I sluggishly walked over to its gleam tinged blue with cold. It was big enough for me to see my face reflect in it. 

   My pale face shone back at me, my sunken black, soul-searching eyes, black and grey nose-slightly pink around the edges. My closed mouth with black colored blubber outlined in a grey tinge. A tinge of gray fur separating my pristine coat from my fat lips. The whole of my face square-shaped with a long snout and two small, chubby ears on the top. Round corners to top it all off--a true polar bear. I thought about human features.. like my platinum-blonde hair, grey-green eyes, and my small nose..

   Well done apprentice.

   Hm? Oh! I looked hard at my reflection once more and saw myself looking back at me. 

   You are human once again. Now I can give you my gifts so your tests can finally begin.

   I didn't understand the gravity of her words, but I still listened anyway. She continued her cryptic word riddling spin. 

   You are many things, you will be many different things, for good or for bad-that is your choice. So is your identity. Use your identity as a trick to buy you some time, if needed. That is my first gift to you, survival knowledge. She paused, as if in thought of what to say next, almost like a human being does.

   Now here is my second gift. The gift of foresight. There will come a time when you will find a shape that speaks to you-in other words you find it to be the one. Hopefully it is as I see it to be, but be careful. Choosing it will take you down a dangerous path-even if you are ready for it, be advised to use caution. Hope will guide you, should you trust it. Use hope and a light will guide you even when there seems to be no way to be found. And now for my final parting gift.

   Good luck, my child. These next few months will be your tests. May you succeed. Right after that, she suddenly disappeared. I could not sense her presence. She was gone. I was truly alone. I sat for while wondering if she would come back-she did not. An hour later, I decided she meant what she said. So I set myself to work.

  ~

    Now it is three months later after the day she left. Every day she was gone I worked my hardest, shape-shifting over and over again, seeing what was beyond my limit and what was not. What was beyond my limit, I trained myself for until I could achieve the shape. Of course, these were all pretty small animals.. wolves, foxes, dogs, cats, rabbits, hares, eagles.. etc. Polar bear was the biggest I managed. After every shift something spectacular flashed before my eyes. So spectacular I would keep changing just to glimpse it again, all the while developing my abilities. By the end of three months I glimpsed it long enough to make out a dark purple outline in a snake-like shape.. but bigger in size, almost like a dragon. There were horns, and spikes and something on the tail. I couldn't make out what it was, but it was definitely calling out to me. It shined bright while the rest of the dragon was dark and ghostly. The whole thing left me with an impression afterwards-beauty and power-and I wanted it. 

  Little did I know this was my destiny calling and everything my teacher had said was starting to come true..