All was well in the Time Factory. The guard dragon rested in its den, the occasional snort of flame glassing yet another patch of sand. A nymph approached its feeding pit, carefully laying down the tribute of
before hurrying back a good twenty feet or so. The dragon eyed the offering, but elected to remain where it was. It could eat later. The nymph sighed in relief. Phew! Feeding the dragon was the most hazardous task in the factory-- far more so than sundial surges, exploding hourglasses, or even fate egg experimentation, and that last one had resulted in a temporal paradox! The dragon was ancient and fickle, its moods dangerous to even the most experienced nymph.
Cheered by her survival, she went back to the Grand Assembly Hall. GAH! for short. Here, long rows of women in uniform worked in silent harmony, producing all sorts of mechanical marvels. Giant whirling domes of glass, to be fitted for hourglasses. Large spinning gears, popular among all the elements! An eternity spent among the greatest inventions in all--
"WoOooOooo!" A ghost appeared before her.
"What?" she demanded. What now? She'd fulfilled her obligatory task for the day; she'd planned on spending the rest tinkering with an Eternity. "Are you really that annoyed that the dragon killed you? Well I--"
"WoOooOooo! WooooOooOooo! WoooO!"
"What do you mean free time is rescinded? You can't just--"
"WOOooOO!"
"PESTS?" She looked down. "We have a dragon for that! That can't be right--" She felt something pinch her leg. One such offending leech was already climbing up the ghost. "Oh..."
Shrieks broke the silence in the Time Factory.
