Dragon soared through the skies and through time. This was perfectly natural, and in no way strange to him. Well, the “him” that he was at the moment.
He knew he was going back, but not too far. The words “Aqua Net” and “Bad Music” flashed from somewhere in his head, back where he was still human. Dragon shook his head and snarled. The shadow that was calling to him was what was important. The wooden horse needed to be part of the Shadow, as he was. It would become brethren. Clutch-mate.
Dragon bellowed again, softly landing in the grass. He looked around him, sniffing and tasting the air. Yes, this was the place. The air tasted like grease and gasoline and human. It was this strong in the trees, it would have been overpowering outside of them. He could see the square stone towers, and the light from inside them. They almost drowned out the stars… but it was not his place to punish them. Not today.
He positioned the carousel horse in the proper place, and peered carefully into the shadows. He could see what was to be slowly emerging from them. The Carnival would live here for a little while. He could hear the soft calliope music begin. Now was the time for ritual.
Dragon hefted his war-hammer high and roared defiantly at the stars. He struck the ground below him with all his might and all his will. The hammer began to glow… first red, then blue, then white-hot… wisps of smoke and flame shot out in six directions, then rose to greet the sky. The flames suddenly extinguished, and a twisted version of a carousel sat in their place. The new horse was there, as perfect as it had been before the flame, but in every other spot were the most finely wrought statues of mythical creatures both remembered and forgotten. Some of wood, some of brass, some seemingly of gold. The platform of the carousel seemed to be made of the very granite that was the bedrock of the park. The canopy seemed to be made of intertwined ivy and rose vines, trailing down both flowers and thorns. The carousel began to turn and emit the strangest song… it conjured images of dancing around a fire at a tribal gathering, fighting wars with those who do not respect, and coming of age in a society that knew what that meant.
Dragon nodded his wedge-shaped head in satisfaction at the carousel. He left it to survey the other rides that seemed to be growing out of the ground and the trees themselves. He would have to make sure that the technology-magic was playing as big of a part as the earth-magic. Peh. Humans.