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Just before his unexpected metamorphosis into a statue, Rhiss was about to begin his first day as a full Stonemason, shedding the title of Apprentice. He was lined up as Khmunu's next Head Stonemason, following his father's recent death from lung failure. Rhiss was just checking the dimensions on his plan for a statue honouring his father when the curse struck.

It was a small mercy that he hadn't begun work yet, for if the hammer had fallen on Rhiss, he would have been smashed to pieces.

Finding life as a statue dull, Rhiss fell into a long slumber. He chose to cease watching the sun rise and fall on a city that was gradually eroded into rubble in the absence of able Stonemasons. Instead, he dreamed; he dreamed of the wedding to his bethrothed (which never came to pass), of other statues standing sentry about the ruins. Most of all, he dreamed of helping to rebuild the city with new tools, a city better than the one he had seen crumble to pieces and with others who would care for it, just as they had cared for the last one.

Change was upon him, so quick he didn't realise it. What happened was this: the symbols on the base of Rhiss's statue, which had held the curse for so long, faded as painted hieroglyphs should after centuries. There was a glow of soft gold light, the same colour as the small sun painted on the cat-statue's side, and when the light faded it left Rhiss behind in his new, very small and rather furry body. Much furrier than he was accustomed to, at any rate.

"The hell?" he said, except it came out as "Mrow?!". For now, it seemed, he would not be able to use this mouth to speak properly - it could not form the words that he wanted to. He attempted his first step off the cold pedestal which had been his companion while he dreamed, lost his balance and fell over.

"I can breathe and move and blink again," Rhiss thought to himself, still somewhat dazed. "But I don't seem.. human?" All he could see was a pair of large, four-toed feet; and he could certainly feel the tail, which he used to help get himself the right way up again.

Leaving the "What happened?" question for later, he decided to settle his newfound hunger, and wandered out of his prison-room to explore. As he did so, old memories of being human and of the older language gradually disappeared, and smaller, more primitive, newer thoughts came in, much like those you and I would have as very young children. Beyond "foooooood...." and "oooh, what's that?", there wasn't much on Rhiss's mind, for now.