Speaker 1: Hello, friends from across the nation and around the world.
I'm Martin, and you are listening to Dad's bedtime Stories. Tonight,
we're jumping back into the Cards of Power universe for
a little bit of a spinoff story based on a
couple ideas. The first one is the main idea, so
let's check it out right now. Hi.
Speaker 2: My name is Anslin, I'm ten years old, and I
have an idea. It's a dragon versus It's a marshmallow
dragon versus a pillow gollumn. The marshmallow dragon turned into
a marshmallow dragon by eating too much marshmallows, and the
pillow column turned into a pillow column by sleeping too much.
Speaker 1: A lovely stories by great suggestion. And when I was
writing the story, sort of coming up with a whole
plot and everything, I realized that I'd probably need another
card holder with another magical creature of their own. So
I picked up this suggestion too.
Speaker 3: And my name is Solman. I would like there to
be for the Quada pastures, there to be a pterodactyl
that could be invisible and shoot electric boat of it's
mouth linked and hails.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
Speaker 3: I love your podcast. Listen to the ever I listen
to them every night.
Speaker 1: Well, thank you to h ASLN and Soma before we
get started. As of the recording of this episode, I
did notice one more person had joined my social share
contest where you can share the podcast on social media
and then enter into a draw for a guaranteed story idea.
So far there are seven people as of the record
of this podcast. Anyways, so big thank you to Melissa
MC for sharing on Instagram and joining as well. If
you want to know more information all of the infos
in the show notes, as well as a form to
fill out if you do share the podcast, because last
time I did this, I didn't have a form and
it was really hard to keep track. So please fill
out the form if you share the podcast, and thank
you for everyone who has. Now it's that time again,
time for a possible word from a possible sponsor. Don't worry,
there's never any advertisements during or after the story though.
I just have to fund this somehow. Now time to
get as comfy as you can in that bed, close
your eyes and imagine yourself doing what the kid or
marshmallow Dragon does. Now, as many of you know, the
protected zones and the cards of power universe are full
of all sorts of magical creatures, and for most of
those creatures, their main desire was to get more powerful.
Some wanted to grow stronger until a powerful cardholder came
along and chose them. Some dreamed of becoming rare battle cards.
Some practiced all day long, hoping to prove that they
were the best in the land. The marshmallow dragon had
once tried to care about all of that, a long
time ago, before he became soft around the edges, before
his tail turned bouncy and his scales became squishy, and
his horns looked more like more like puffed things than
pointy horns. He'd imagined himself as a terrifying dragon of legend.
He'd practiced his roars, his fiery poses, his fire breath.
But then he'd discovered her the enchanted marshmallows. They grew
in a certain hidden field of the protected zone, full
of magical sugar puffs that drifted from the tops of
special little reeds like little white clouds. Some would even sparkle.
The dragon had eaten one, then ten, then all of
the marshmallows he could find. Then he started toasting them
with his own fire breath and eating even more. At first,
nothing really happened except that he felt wonderfully full and
a little bit sleepy. But over time the marshmallow magic
had seeped into him. His scales softened, his body became
kind of stretchy and squashy. His landing stopped sounding like
dragon landings and more like someone dropping a pillow on
the ground. Worst of all, his fire had changed. Instead
of breathing fierce flames, he would sometimes sneeze out warm,
sugary fluff. After that, the other creatures in the protected
zone had stopped taking him seriously. A few laughed, a
few culled names like puff snout, flop wing, or even
dessert lizard. The Marshmallow Dragon had decided that if he
couldn't be respected, he'd at least be comfortable. That was
how he met the pillow Goleum. The pillow Golum had
once been made of stone, proper stone, hard, heavy, dependable stone,
with an affinity for the earth itself. He'd guarded a
ruined structure at the edge of the dream Grass plains,
and according to the stories he told in his slow,
sleepy voice, he'd been very stern about it, very stern,
he would say, while lying on his back and a
heap of pillows. I was extremely stern for oh at
least several afternoons. What had happened to him was simple.
The dream grass around the ruins was soft enough to
nap in. Then, some enchanted traveling merchants had passed through
years before and left behind a wagonload of magical pillows.
The goal had told himself he was only protecting them,
but then he leaned against one, and he decided he'd
have just a quick nap. After that, the pillows magic
had soaked into his stony body, until the hard rocks
softened into fluffy stuffing and springy cloth. He no longer stomped.
He kind of poofed around. Feathers sometimes drifted from his
shoulders when he sighed too hard. The other creatures thought
he was ridiculous, so he and marshmallow Dragon became friends,
best friends. In fact, Together they found a hidden marshmallow meadow,
tucked between a line of candy canes and a hill
of sleepy blue moss. It was one of the quietest
and safest places one could find in the protected zone.
The same marshmallows grew wild there. Dream pollen floated through
the air, and it was always warm and reasonably safe,
which suited them perfectly. On most days, the marshmallow dragon
lounged in the sun and toasted marshmallows on the tip
of his tail using his firebreath. On most days, the
pillow Golum arranged himself into a nest of giant soft
cushions and just sort of offered remarks that cloud looks
like it's shaped like a pillow. Sometimes they talked, sometimes
they didn't. Sometimes the marshmallow dragon practiced scary roars, just
in case he ever needed one, though they often came
out more like a puff or squeak. These days. Sometimes
pillow Golum built forts and then promptly fell asleep in them. Altogether,
they were happy, and because this was the cards of
power world, that happiness could not possibly last forever, not
for a magical creature anyways. One bright afternoon, the marshmallow
dragon was floating on his back at a pond of
melted sugar. Nearby well, the pillow Golum dozed under a
pile of pillows. The dragon tossed a toasted marshmallow into
the air and caught it in his mouth. This, he announced,
chewing proudly. Is the life. Pillow Golum opened one eye
halfway m He said, too much excitement for me. The
dragon snorted excitement. I just caught a marshmallow, yes, said
the pillow Golum. Very dramatic. The marshmallow dragon grinned and
flicked a marshmallow at him. It bounced harmlessly off of
his fluffy body. Then the meadow crackled with sudden blue light.
The air buzzed, and a shadow swept overhead. Both the
dragon and Golum looked up. Boy, who seemed like he
was just floating in the air, gently landed on the
ground in front of them, and then climbed off of
something invisible. The shadow below looked a lot like a terradactyl,
but they couldn't see anything at all until for half
a second it appeared a terradactyl. What is this place?
He said, It's even weirder than I heard. The marshmallow
dragon swallowed. Pillowgolum leaned toward him and murmured, do we
have to do battle? I very much hope not, whispered
the dragon. The boy smirked, I'm Soma. I'm looking for
unusual creatures, rare stuff, strange evolutions, you know, things worth owning.
He looked the two of them up and down. You
two were definitely strange looking. The marshmallow dragon puffed out
his chest as much as a marshmallow dragon could. We
are not interested in being owned, he said, huh, that's adorable,
Soma replied. A hum of energy buzzed through the pterodactyl,
then it disappeared where the terodactyl goal. The pillow Golum said.
Soma's grin widened. Oh, you'll find out. The attack came
from nowhere. A streak of blue electricity tore across the
meadow and slammed toward the pillow Golum's side. The poor
golum barely had time to turn before the invisible tear
or adactyl's strike would have hit him with full force,
but the marshmallow dragon leaped. He hurled himself sideways in
a heroic squishy blur, and took the attack instead. Blue
lightning burst over his soft body. He yelped, bounced twice,
crashed into a pile of marshmallow reeds, and passed out.
Dragon shouted, pillow Golum, not knowing.
Speaker 4: What to do.
Speaker 1: The pillow Golum jumped up into a ball and bounced
off into the forest. Soma walked up to the marshmallow dragon,
raised a hand and activated his card core. A blue
light spread throughout the dragon until his entire body became
bright blue energy. The energy started to reform itself into
the shape of a glowing blue card, and the boy
grabbed it out of the air. The pillow Golum watched
from the shadows. Soma read the card. Huh, marshmallow dragon.
He turned it over once. Honestly, I thought he'd be cooler.
Then with a shrug, he called his pterodactyl, jumped onto
its back, and flew off into the distance. The meadow
went quiet. The only sound was the slow settling of
flattened marshmallow reeds. Pillowglum sat up. He looked at the
empty sky, then at the place where his friend had fallen,
then back at the sky again. He didn't say anything
for a long time. I should have moved faster, far
from the protected zone. Soma arrived at the Beginner Card
Shop by dusk, just outside the protected zone. The place
was full of cardholders, buying supplies, trading creatures, and bragging
about things they'd done. Behind the counter stood an old man.
He was speaking to a wizard, one of the choosing
wizards from the Wizard's Council, the same one that gave
card cores to the children on their choosing day. Soma
tossed the Marshmallow Dragon card onto the counter. The wizard
caught it and peered at it through tiny round glasses
before handing it over to the shop owner. Interesting, he said,
not really, it's soft and sticky. Honestly, it seems kind
of pathetic. I'm hoping to trade it in. What do
you give me for it? The shop owner thought for
a minute, then reached below the counter and picked up
a pile of tokens, sliding them across the counter towards Soma. Eh.
I guess that'll do, Soma said, grabbing the tokens and
walking out of the shop. Mind if I have a look,
the wizard asked, Be my guest, the shop owner replied.
The wizard picked up the card and stared at it.
Poor fellow, he murmured, Mind if I take this one
with me to the choosing he asked, I have a
feeling about it, be my guest. The card shop owner replied.
The Wizard grabbed some tokens from his pocket, slid them
across the counter, and headed outside. A group of new
cardholders stood in a semicircle at the same time the
Wizard moved out of the shop. At the end of
the line stood a girl, a girl named A'sln. The
wizards started by explaining the importance of the choosing day,
then by tapping his staff on the ground three times,
producing a whole bunch of glowing, floating orbs that absorbed
themselves into each one of the kids, creating a card core. Next,
he presented them all with their own choice of cards.
When A'slen's turn came, the Wizard gave a small nod
and the cards floated in front of her. Several of
them looked really flashy. There was a horned lizard with
molten claws, a wind fox with three tapes feels, a
small armored beetle that looked like it made weird clicking noises.
And then there was one card near the side that
looked a little warm, a little crinkled, that even looked
a little sad, but it seemed to have character Aslyn
reached for it before she quite knew why an unusual choice.
The wizard said, what is it, Azelyn asked. The wizard
glanced down, Bosh, mellow Dragon. A few of the other
beginners snickered. Azeln simply ignored them. There was something about
this card that just felt right, so she reached out
and grabbed it. Then, with the help and guidance of
the wizard, she activated her card core and linked with
the card her very first card. Well, go on, the
wizard said, try summoning it. Aislyn stepped into an open space.
She produced the card from her card core and said,
Marshmallow Dragon, I summon you. A burst of blue energy
shot out of her chest, formed itself into a glowing card,
which then reformed itself into the shape of a marshmallow dragon,
which generally looked a lot like an ordinary dragon, only softer.
His scales looked pillowy, his wings looked spongy, His tail
was tipped with a fluffy puff that bounced when it
hit the floor. He blinked, looked around, and drooped almost immediately.
There were a few laughs from the other beginners. A'sln
gave them a look, then knelt beside the dragon.
Speaker 4: Hi.
Speaker 1: She said, I'm Hazelin. The marshmallow dragon looked up. Hello,
you don't seem very happy, she said. The dragon hesitated.
You don't have to be scared of me. I picked you.
Speaker 4: Just tell me.
Speaker 1: Why do you look so sad. The marshmallow dragon sat down,
curled his tail around himself, and took a deep breath.
Well I kind of had a friend, he said. Hazelin
didn't interrupt, so he went on. He told her everything
about the protected zone, about the hidden marshmallow meadow, about
the pillow golden who liked naps more than battle, about
Soma and the electric and visible pterodactyl, about the attack,
and by the time he finished, A'sln's expression had changed
from curiosity to outrage. He traded you away, she said,
I guess so, Otherwise I don't think i'd be here
after capturing you from your friend. She said, Uh, yeah,
I guess so that's horrible. The marshmallow dragon gave a
tiny shrug. He said, no one would want a marshmallow dragon.
Aislon stood up at once. Well he was wrong, The
dragon looked up. Now, let's go find your friend. He
stared for a second, as if he'd not expected the
answer to be that simple. Really, he asked, Really, she said,
A'sln climbed onto the marshmallow dragon's back. He was softer
than expect did like riding a spongy couch or something
one with wings. Sorry if I bounce a little, he
said nervously. I think I can handle it, she replied.
He launched into the air. The flight back toward the
protected zone was fast, bright, and a little bit wobbly,
but overall the dragon was comfortable, the kind of comfortable
you could sit on all day. They headed inside the
gate and up into the air once again. They flew
high above the beginner's zone until the dragon angled downward. There,
he said, the marshmallow meadow. But when they reached it,
Maslin felt him go tense. Beneath her, the meadow had
been ruined. Marshmallow reeds had been stomped flat, pillow nests
were ripped apart. The sleep the blue moss had been
churned into ruts and cracks, and all of the ground
had been broken up. In the middle of it all
sat a pack of rock golams lumbering through the field,
tearing up clumps of marshmallow, breaking up clumps of ground,
and hurling rocks at each other. Where's your friend, Aslyn asked,
I I don't know. A rock golum noticed them and turned,
then another and another. Soon the whole gang was staring
their leader. One of the largest rock golums stomped forward
well he rumbled. The desert lizard came back. The other
golums laughed. It sounded like boulders falling down a staircase.
The marshmallow Dragon lowered his head. Aslyn could feel him
starting to shrink inside himself. Then she stepped in front
of him. This meadow isn't yours, she said. The leader
snorted it is now. Then Aislyn activated her cardcre and
commanded the dragon Dragon, it's time to do battle. Something
passed through the dragon that E've never felt before, as
if the bravery from the girl her command to do
battle filled him with well bravery of his own. It's
as if a battle mode sort of activated inside him. Suddenly.
He really wanted to show these gouldams what was what?
Gilp them Asln shout it. The marshmallow Dragon nodded in agreement,
inhaled d deeply, and blasted a thick stream of sticky
white marshmallow goo across the field. It splattered over the
lead rock Golum's leg and glued them together instantly. He
took one more step, failed and toppled sideways with an
enormous crash that flattened three of his own allies. Again
Aslan shouted, the dragon spun firing more sticky goop. Two
rock golums gutted across the arms. Another god had full
in the face and staggered backward blindly. For a few
glorious seconds, it worked. Aisln laughed, See, you're amazing. The
marshmallow Dragon blinked. Then his expression had changed. A rock
golum ripped one arm free, grabbed a boulder straight out
of the ground, and hurled it right at them. Duck.
Aislen yelled, and the dragon ducked. The stone sailed overhead.
Something else happened too. It made the marshmallow Dragon a
little bit upset. For the first time in a long time,
he felt a spark deep in his throat. He opened
up his mouth, and this time he unleashed a blob
of goop that was also on fire. The flaming mass
of goop hit one of the golams, sending them flying
across the field. You can do fire too, A'slyn said
in surprise, Ah, I used to be a fire dragon.
It's a long story.
Speaker 4: Enough.
Speaker 1: The lead golum growled, whipping the last of the marshmallow
off of his body, and all at once he and
the others reached into the ground, pulled out boulder, and
began to run at the two of them. The marshmallow
dragon did his best, firing sticky flaming bursts as fast
as he could, gluing one, toppling another, scorching a third.
But for every golum that fell, more kept coming. One
slammed into his side and sent him skinning through a
patch of marshmallow reads. Another swung a giant, rocky fist
towards A'slin, but it bounced off of something strange. She
looked up to see another golum, only this one looked
really soft, as if he were made out of pillows.
Leave my friends alone, he said. He took in a
deep breath, shrinking his body down, and then suddenly shot
it back outwards like a ball. The ball hit the
rock golum and sent them flying across the field. The
golums continued to throw boulders toward Aislin. The marshmallow dragon
and the pillow golum. The pillow golum stepped in front
of the rocks and bounced them back in the direction
they came from. Every rock that came their way was
intercepted and flung back at the rock golums themselves. The
marshmallow dragon unleashed blasts of fiery marshmallow flame that hit
the golams and continued to burn afterwards. Eventually they called
for retreat. Let's get out of here, the lead golum said,
trying to brush off some fiery marshmallow goop. They turned
to boulders and rolled away. Pillow gol up. The marshmallow
dragon yelled and ran over and hugged his friend. Where
have you been, the pillow gola masked. I'm sorry I
could not save you. That's okay, the marshmallow dragon replied,
and I ended up finding a brand new friend. Ah
many chance you'd want to join us, he asked? Join you? Yeah,
you know, become a card like some of the others,
and well, do something useful in your life instead of
just sleeping all the time. Will I still get to
sleep a lot? The gola masked, Well, yeah, being inside
a cardcore is like the ultimate sleep. It's super relaxing.
That does sound nice. In that case, I will join you. You
may turn me into a cod he said, I won't resist.
Aislyn walked up to the pillow Golum and placed a
hand on its chest. She activated her card core and focused.
Just like the wizard had told her to. The Golum
began to glow a bright blue color, until eventually he
turned into pure energy. That energy reformed into a glowing card,
which Aislen absorbed into her card core. She now had
two magical creatures, and they were best friends. As the
sun sank down, she summoned the pillow Golum back into existence,
and the three of them curled up in the soft
blue grass of the meadow. As Lin laid down with
her head against the pillow Golum, one of the softest,
most comfortable pillows she'd ever felt in her life. The
marshmallow dragon wrapped around her on the other side, and
slowly she stared up at the sky and began to
relax her muscles. She let go of the tension in
her arms and her legs. She released the tension in
her shoulders and neck and face, allowing herself to sink
down deeper and deeper into the soft pillow Golum. Her
eyes became heavy, so she let them close too, and
slowly but surely, she began to drift off to thoughts
of new dreams, new adventures, and new magical creatures to come.
Speaker 4: Good night. Everyone must.
Speaker 5: Never union name ACoM.
Speaker 1: Ne more
Speaker 5: Union kicking, no thing, no