The Clever and Cunning Fox

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story.

Notes: This is a complete rewrite of one of my French-written stories. It's a self-insertion story in the world of Dragonlance. It is actually based on a real RPG campaign based on the AD&D Dragonlance series and mastered by my friend Silth. I, however used a pure human sorcerer in the original campaign.

CANTICLE OF THE DRAGON AND THE FOX

Hear the sage as his song descends like heaven's rain or tears,

and washes the years, the dust of the many stories

from the High Tale of the Dragonlance.

For in ages deep, past memory and word,

in the first blush of the world when the three moons rose from the lap of the forest,

dragons, terrible and great,

made war on this world of Krynn.

Yet out of the darkness of dragons,

out of our cries for light in the blank face of the black moon soaring,

a banked light flared in Solamnia,

a knight of truth and of power,

who called down the gods themselves and forged the mighty Dragonlance,

piercing the soul of dragon-kind,

driving the shade of their wings from the brightening shores of Krynn.

Thus Huma, Knight of Solamnia,

Light-bringer, First Lancer,

followed his light to the foot of the Khalkist Mountains,

to the stone feet of the gods,

to the crouched silence of their temple.

He called down the Lance-makers,

he took on their unspeakable power to crush the unspeakable evil,

to thrust the coiling darkness back down the tunnel of the dragon's throat.

Paladine, the Great God of Good, shone at the side of Huma,

strengthening the lance of his strong right arm,

and Huma, ablaze in a thousand moons, banished the Queen of Darkness,

banished the swarm of her shrieking hosts back to the senseless kingdom of death,

where their curses swooped upon nothing and nothing deep below the brightening land.

Thus ended in thunder the Age of Dreams and began the Age of Might,

When Istar, kingdom of light and truth, arose in the east,

where minarets of white and gold spired to the sun and to the sun's glory,

announcing the passing of evil,

and Istar, who mothered and cradled the long summers of good,

shone like a meteor in the white skies of the just.

Yet in the fullness of sunlight the King-priest of Istar saw shadows:

At night he saw the trees as things with daggers,

the streams blackened and thickened under the silent moon.

He searched books for the paths of Huma,

for scrolls, signs, and spells so that he, too, might summon the gods,

might find their aid in his holy aims,

might purge the world of sin.

A Clever Fox came, white as Ivory and Purity,

brought through the Dream from a far far away land and whispered Wisdom soothingly in his ears.

But he ignored her as only Huma could give him the answers he sought.

Then came the time of dark and death as the gods turned from the world.

A mountain of fire crashed like a comet through Istar,

the city split like a skull in the flames,

mountains burst from once-fertile valleys,

seas poured into the graves of mountains,

the deserts sighed on abandoned floors of the seas,

the highways of Krynn erupted and became the paths of the dead.

Thus began the Age of Despair.

The roads were tangled.

The winds and the sandstorms dwelt in the husks of cities,

The plains and mountains became our home.

As the old gods lost their power,

we called to the blank sky into the cold, dividing grey to the ears of new gods.

The sky is calm, silent, unmoving.

We have yet to hear their answer,

however the Wise Fox is still there in the Dream, waiting.

Character Creation.

"Hum... First time I'm using one of those infernal contraptions... Let's see... It seems rather simple..."

New Character?

"Why, yes, of course..!"

The man blinked as he was suddenly plunged into Darkness. He had been reading his posts on his computer while drinking tea and then without any warning... He tried looking around. He could feel a flat ground under his feet, but nothing else. Even the rapid beating of his heart seemed muffled. "Hu..? What's going on..?"

Male or Female?

"Hum... Oh, let's say female. After all, there is not many girls in my future party."

The man tried to remember anything that could explain what was happening to him, but nothing emerged. He was on vacation from his paramedical work and he was indulging in his hobby about Role-playing Games before logging on his D&D Online account, then...

The sudden and intense pain erupting from deep within him left him on the pseudo-ground gasping from pain. "Glurgh... ...what... What..? WHAT!?" It had been as if someone had taken a scalpel to his most intimate parts and started cutting without a please thank you.

Choose a Race.

"Hum... Another Dwarf, perhaps..? Nope... An Elf..? Hu... Too much ego. A human..? Too simple. Let's scroll down a little... Oh oh! An Hengeyokai... Could be fun... Damn, specific to Oriental Adventures. Hrm... A Saiyajin..? Too powerful. What's that..? A Kitsune..? Blablablah... Ho HO... Nice... Oops, only for Pathfinder... Grr... Although... What's this..? Home-brew..? Hrm... uh uh... Hum... Yeah... let's go with a Home-brew Zenko Kitsune."

The pain impossibly began anew and higher. The man wasn't a violent person. An interesting paradox for one who practised Martial Arts and did two years as an officer in the Military. And yet, the healer he was would have gladly find the one responsible for that pain and have "a little discussion with him", preferably with a bazooka. It was as if his bones were broken and then remoulded into... something else.

"Oh my God..! What's happening to me NOW!?" He stopped and put a hand at his throat. "My voice..?" Why was his voice so high in pitch? It was like the voice of a... His eyes widened as he remarked that his hand was now slender and... He looked down. "My body..?" He... No, SHE was swimming in her clothes. His fat replaced by a trim body with a very feminine breast, a pair of fox ears moved on his head and a fluffy tail emerged from his trousers. "I... I'm... I'm a female Kitsune..?!"

Roll or Choose Abilities.

"Roll or choose? I supposed that some prefer to have... What was it called? An Over-Powered Character..? Let's see... I suppose I could use some of the original abilities and then adjust a few so to have a playable character... Hum... Let's say 13 for Strength, 16 for Dexterity, 13 for Constitution, 15 for Intelligence, 16 for Wisdom and 18 for Charisma... After the Racial Adjustments of course."

Her/His body seemed to ripple as biological changes happened violently, giving her/his new physical and mental attributes. "Hurgh... Oh god... Oh GOD!" This wasn't violence, this was... a VIOLATION of his/her most precious inner individuality. She/He felt like a toy in the hand of a small child.

Choose a Template.

"Hum... Nope. All are either too powerful or inappropriate... Although I'm taking some notes about the Fey-related templates."

Everything stopped as abruptly as it began. She/He was kneeling and breathing hard. She/He had always confidence in her/his instincts, gifted through her/his mother and refined through the Iron Will of her/his father and curiously, she/he wasn't sensing any malice behind what happened. "Is it finished..?" She/he cautiously stood up. "Where I am..?" She/He blinked as she/he looked at herself/himself. Despite the complete darkness... "I can't see anything but myself..."

Choose an Alignment.

"Easy, since I already know what he... SHE will be. There, Chaotic Good."

She/He managed to regain her/his breathing and cautiously tried to feel something from her/his environment. Nothing... There was nothing, either hostile or not, a complete void and yet... "...that... That was strange..." The only impression she/he felt was that of a... An automated system..?

Choose Total Levels.

"The same as the rest. Level 5. Oh nice, I almost forgot about the Ability increase at Level 4. Let's say... Charisma 19."

Her/his eyes widened as her/his flesh rippled again. "Oh no..! It's beginning again..." Whatever the function of the mechanism, it wasn't finished with her/him.

Choose a Class.

"Ah, the main thing... Too bad I can't choose a sorcerer, but I decided on a Ranged-type Warlock and one Fey-oriented will be perfect and funny. Hum... Eldritch Spear, Entropic Warding and Baleful Utterance for Invocations. And of course, a cool 3d6 Eldritch Blast, Detect Magic at will and Damage Reduction 1/cold iron."

Something ignited deep within her/his soul. It was like a cold fusion reactor being sparked and mounting in regime. "What was that..? That strange feeling deep inside me... It's like a chilling bonfire..." She could feel a tingling from her hands... HER hands..!? Since when did she... SHE..!?

Choose a Prestige Class.

"Hrm... No, not yet... Although... I could... Yes, I can give her a "Legacy Weapon". Hum... Let's mix those two weapons in one... Yeah, and tweak it a little like... this... There! A +1 Throwing Chinese Wind and Fire Wheel (1d4 damage, X2 critical, range 10 feet) without the protruding blades but still edged with a guard on one section. A hand-held Chakram visually. Able to be used in melee range and thrown. Going to abuse a little a certain Prestige Class later..."

Her right hand reflexively closed on the weapon as it appeared in it. She goggled at the iconic weapon, shinning in her hand. "What's that? Why am I holding Xena's Chakram?!"

Allocate Skill Points.

"Hum... Need to be creative here... I'm going to transform his... her modern skills into equivalents for the setting and also give her the standard Warlock skills at her current level... So, that's Appraise 1, Auto-Hypnosis 6, Balance 6, Bluff 8, Climb 5, Concentration 8, Craft (Alchemy) 8, Decipher Script 5, Diplomacy 6, Disable Device 1, Disguise 5, Heal 6, Hide 5, Intimidate 8, jump 5, knowledge (Arcana) 8, Knowledge (The Planes) 8, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Listen 6, Move silently 5, Open locks 1, Perform (Singing) 5, Profession (Healer) 8, Ride 1, Search 5, Sense Motive 8, Sleight of Hand 1, Speak Language (Common, Sylvan, Draconic, Elven & Dwarven), Spellcraft 8, Survival 5, Swim 6, Tumble 6, Use Magic Device 8... Hum... Yes, a little heavy but good. And I'll use the optional note-box to put all the required knowledge for her about the setting... Hey! It's like the Grail-imbued knowledge of a Nasurverse Servant!"

Her mind exploded and expanded. In a flash, all the skills she learned as a He on Earth were filed, analysed and then copied into another format. Her medical knowledge adapted to a more medieval setting. In fact all her skills were being duplicated and changed to be of use in a High-Fantasy setting. New skills appeared and were shoved without consideration in her head. "AARRGGHH..! My head! My mind..!? What..?! Where..!? WHO..!?" Helping... Someone was helping her to... what?

Choose your Feats.

"Ouch... Here, it's going to be hard... I need her to be able to survive and be efficient... Hum... Let's go with those three... Point Blank Shot, Wild Talent and Psionic Shot. Hu..? I can use that to put..? Oh oh! And since she's a former human from planet Earth, I can also do this and this..! Of course, it's cheating, but the Dark Queen did also cheat."

Her mind was straightened and strengthened as a clarity she'd never known before revealed... Things, many and many things... Most notable was that it all concern one very particular planet. "Krynn..? The DRAGONLANCE series..!?"

Choose your Traits.

"Hu..? I can have those..? All right... Going with her personality... Let's say Plucky (+1 Will saves, -1 Fortitude saves), Polite (+1 Diplomacy, -2 Intimidate) and Quick (+10 feet Movement, -1 Hit Points/level).

Krynn, a RPG setting, first written as a novel... And the time-line pointed to the beginning of the War of the Lance... She... An Extra-dimensional Exile..? SHE WAS AN EXTRA-DIMENSIONAL EXILE! "No... Nonononononono... It can't be... THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE..!"

Selection your Skill Tricks.

"A bonus..? Cool... Let's see, Two from sixteen available with her current skills... Hrm... I say... Healing Hands (heals 1d6 HP to a stabilized dying character) and Never Outnumbered (can Intimidate all enemies within 10 feet)... Yeah, that's the trick... pun-intended."

"Stay calm..! I MUST STAY CALM!" But how can anyone stay calm faced with an impossibility that happened only on the Internet with too numerous so-called Self-Insertion stories..? Was she the victim of the infamous R.O.B..?

Selection your Gear.

"Ho ho ho... I'm going to abuse it a lot... Hurrah for Hammer-space... Damn, there is a limit on the number of Magical Items and their price... Okay... For Armour? A Mithral Chain Shirt. Can't take any shield, but if I redesigned a Mithral Buckler as a Shoulder Pad..? Yeah, that works. Now, for weapons... Only Simple Weapons? Hum... Got to be sneaky here... One..? No, two Daggers, one Masterwork on the belt and one Adamantine in a Wrist-sheath. And for ranged attacks..? Hey, let's give her a Darkwood Heavy Crossbow with a Gnomish Crossbow Sight to make her a sniper. All the equipment possible for an adventurer, thank you very much. And... ho ho... Absolutely ALL the Alchemist-based items available... A little tweak with the various existing bolts for crossbows and she'll have a Green Arrow arsenal... Now for her Magical Items... A Chasuble of Fell Power (+ 1d6 to Eldritch Blast) redesigned as a silk scarf... A Cloak of Charisma +2 (Charisma 21) redesigned as a Headband... A pair of Gloves of Dexterity +2 (Dexterity 18) redesigned as bracelets... A relooked Warlock Sceptre with a dragon-head instead of a demon (+1 Light Mace, +1 ranged touch attack, 5 charges a day for boosting Eldritch Blast) for the main punch... And finally, a Kitsune half-mask which works like a pair of Horizon Goggles (+50% range for projectiles and ranged magic, +100% range for thrown weapons)."

The chakram disappeared from her hand. She blinked as something tingled within her mind. "Hu..?" She reached instinctively for it and was flabbergasted as she accessed a... Hammer-space..? And organized like... "An... Inventory..?" She rifled through an easy and intuitive interface that organized the sub-space alphabetically and by general categories. "Weapons... Armours... Magical Items..!?"

Select an Appearance.

"Ha... The best part of this contraption... Let's see... Skin... A light Caucasian... Eyes..? Emerald green, of course. Hair will be a nice honey brown. Type..? I would love to see her with a neck-length haircut... Yeah, like that. The visage will be like that to go with her high Charisma... Let's give her a cute and non-threatening aspect... 5 feet tall for a skinny 100 pounds weight... Yeah and her appearing age should be... Let's go with a nice 15 years plus 1 year per level... A standard Miko outfit for the default appearance... Good... And "voilà"."

She suddenly found herself clad into the traditional red and white outfit of a Japanese Miko. Her armour and shoulder pad followed. Her weapons organized themselves on her for easy access. Her magical items fell in place to grant her their powers. She had the impression of a finalization.

"HOOOOEEEE!?" She stopped and gripped her throat. For one moment she sounded like... "What..! What..!? My body..! My clothes..! A mirror! I need a mirror!" She retrieved it easily from her hammer-space and looked, bewildered, at her young face with her emerald eyes and honey brown short hair. She really looked like...

Name your Character.

"Well, she can't use her old name now. Hum... I could go with her resemblance to Sakura Kinomoto, or more exactly Princess Sakura but... Well let's go with Fox... Yeah, Kitsune of Whitestone... Ho ho, nice pun. Let's use the note-box to give her a proper background so that Gilean don't lecture me to death about proper anchoring, twisting the threads of Fate and Destiny and whatnot."

She knew who she was. She was Kitsune of Whitestone because she was born near the sacred glade. She knew why she was a Warlock with a fey-aspect in an era where only the Arcane magic of Wizards existed. She knew why she was a Fox-spirit... "Kitsune..? Who..? ME!?" Her true memories of her male self collided an instant with her memories of her female fox self before re-shelving themselves neatly.

Finished yes/no.

"Checking... Hum... Hrm... All right, let's hit her. We'll meet soon, my dear."

Solace... She was about to appear near Solace. Her eyes widened. A self-insert from the modern world..? A chosen one at the beginning of the Dragonlance Chronicles and more precisely at the beginning of "Dragons of Autumn"..? There was only one entity in all Krynn who could pull a fourth wall breaking and made her a future Companion of the Lance... Paladine, the supreme god of good... But... it made no sense... Paladine wouldn't have submitted her to this... metaphysical rape... Unless... He didn't truly know what he did..! Before, she could even think of a reaction, the darkness around her became a void and she fell... "NOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooo..!"

Notes: Much better than the original prologue which was a retelling of the first chapter of the book with just a few phrases changed.

The Homebrew Kitsune race is made of FIVE separate creations. I just use it as a guideline. Sakura will have typical Kitsune powers (shape-shifting and fox-fire) and the ability to gain Tails and Powers from experience. There is also a deep influence from Fey creatures (enchantment, mischief and illusions).

Edited after some commentaries.