Creative Corner

[center][b]Chapter 34: Rise[/b] [size=2]@LagMonster @Khoshekh @Tempestuous @starslang @Scyras @excessnight@pensandink @Solaristigres @Nihilo @WillowWhisper @Averis @SolarPhoenix@RizuChan @ArgenteaMoon @Elzerei @eeeeel @tigressRising @hotdoge@Dragonfang @Whimzica @Soleil @Zexeos @windsway @Neige @KIMJA @rax@PandragonsBox @Silurian @Wolcan @AnnaStar353 @Rhyvendra @TwoJay @Aravis@CoatlPrince @Galaxy99 @Tarajara @tsaarn @Druddigon8 @brianna100@Digimon11 @Espeon5712 @fairyn @Surpirate @HuntingAlpha[/size] [/center] Every night, the gods were getting louder. She’d always been able to hear them, ever since she’d sprouted her egg-tooth and fought her way out into the world. Back then, they had just been whispers – sounds that wormed their way into her ears even before the voice of her mother or the squeaks of her siblings. She had feared them, before she’d realized just how truly she’d been blessed. The divine voices had been growing stronger, rising in pitch and urgency. Here and there, she caught words, snatches of conversation. If she just had time to piece together their messages— “Vendari, if we could continue?” The imperial opened her eyes, casting about until she found the source of the interruption. Cambrian was sitting by her side, expressionless as always, although there was a trace of irritation in the way he spoke. The mirror barely came up to her elbow, but he had never shown any fear of her. “The gods’ magic will flow through me when it will,” she told him. “And it would be easier for me to concentrate if there weren’t so many...[i]extraneous[/i]...dragons.” Her whiskers twitched as she shot a glare at the other two dragons in the tunnel – the pert nocturne in her lab coat and the eccentric spiral. She detested him in particular; never had she met a dragon with such impertinent disrespect for the divine. His presence here was nothing but bad luck, and she couldn’t stand the nonstop movement. Even now, his coils were in erratic motion, the glassware in his pockets clinking. “I’ve told you before,” the mirror said, placating, “they are here to [i]help.[/i] I’ve seen science and magic together accomplish amazing things.” “Blasphemous,” Vendari muttered under her breath. The mere presence of these...[i]scientists[/i] went against all of her religious teaching. Did Cambrian dare suggest that the magic of the gods could not achieve all? [i]It matters not. It matters not.[/i] “It matters not,” she assured herself, focusing on the task at hand. Scientists or not, this was a place of power, and she could almost feel the Icewarden’s magic thrumming through her. The cavernous tunnel glittered around them, lit not by torchlight but by some internal crystalline glow. The ice was unimaginably thick here in the heart of the Fortress, stretching into deep blue infinity wherever she looked. And here and there, she could see the shadows. They, too, whispered. “Very well,” she said finally. “Do you have the materials?” The mirror nodded somberly, reaching into the small chest at his side and pulling out a wrapped package. Vendari took it delicately from him and unwrapped it with reverence, arranging each item on the floor. They were yellowed and tiny – behind her, she heard the fae tut in distaste. “If I may ask...“ the spiral began. Vendari cut him off. “You may not.” “...why hatchling bones? Do they have some distinctive property? Or is it just to enhance the creepy factor?” he continued as though he hadn’t heard. The imperial gritted her teeth. She could break him in half with one snap of her jaws, but if she wanted continued access to the project, that was not in her best interest. “If you must know,” she growled, “yes. When an adult dragon dies, its essence detaches cleanly from the physical form. With a young dragon, the soul has not had time to solidify, and so its magic cannot join the gods in entirety. Some is...left. There is power in these bones, as old as they are.” “Absolutely horrifying,” the spiral chirped. “Continue.” Ignoring him, Vendari continued her meticulous arrangement of the skeleton, aligning it so the skull was pointed at the wall of ice before her. It was time. Closing her eyes, she dipped her head toward the ice, resting the tip of her muzzle against its cold surface. Immediately, the voices of the gods jumped in volume, reaching out through the thick wall before her to the shadow that lay beyond. She felt her own plague magic growing, dark and thick within her. Dragons that had seen her channel the gods’ powers always expected a show – incantations, flashing lights, perhaps sigils drawn on the floor – but true necromancy did not require such ostentation. It was about focus and pull and power. It grew hot within her, and she nudged it this way and that, shaping it into the form she needed to break the film. After an indeterminable amount of time, she was ready – opening her eyes, she spoke one word. “Rise.” Nothing happened at first; she could feel the dragons around her, still and waiting, even the spiral’s coils frozen in anticipation. Then there was a shift from deep within the ice, and an earsplitting crack, and another. Before her eyes, flaws appeared in the frozen ocean, and a section of the wall began to crumble. Inside, something was awake. There was movement from the shadow, and as the ice around it fractured, its form began more distinct. It wriggled experimentally, then moved toward them, pushing aside broken chunks of ice. The thing clawed its way into the tunnel, where it lay quivering among the glittering shards of its former prison. The nocturne jumped back in surprise, and the spiral crept forward, fascinated. “I don’t believe it,” she heard him murmur. “Is it...supposed to look like that?” Cambrian asked distastefully. “Sort of...rotten?” “Oh, that’s just the species,” the spiral answered before Vendari could open her mouth. “Plague animals, you know. Fungusbearing phony – [i]Ursus mucor[/i], as we in the zoologist community call it.” “Yes,” the imperial rumbled, although she was at loath to agree with him. “That is correct. This creature is in the condition it was in when it died.” At her words, the bear raised its head and blinked at them, its eyes clouded with confusion. “Or, rather, it was not completely dead, but held in the Icewarden’s purgatory.” “Biological stasis,” the spiral muttered. “Fascinating.” “Very well,” Cambrian mused. “Vendari, what of your experiments with awakening the larger creatures? Dragons?” Vendari’s whiskers drooped. “They have been...unsuccessful. I lack the power needed, even with the help of the gods. They have not yet deemed me worthy.” “Hmm. Very well,” the mirror repeated. “Continue with your work. You three,” he called out, gesturing with a wing at the assembled scientists. “Take this creature down to your lab and run your tests. I want to know if it is truly viable.” [i]Of course it’s viable,[/i] Vendari thought, suppressing a flicker of rage. [i]You doubt divine power?[/i] “Will do,” the spiral told him, throwing a mock salute before leaning down to inspect the bear. “Hey there, little guy.” Vendari nodded a farewell to the mirror before turning and departing back down the tunnels. Soon, the voices of the others faded behind her, eaten up by the impassive silence of the ice. She would commune with gods until her powers were needed again, and maybe then their voices would be loud enough. In the deepest tunnels of the Fortress, giant shadows slept, only awaiting the touch of her magic to rise again. When the gods called her, she would be ready. [center][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=19192573] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/191926/19192573_350.png[/img] [/url] (I'm baaack! At least for a chapter! Changing gears a little with a new character - Vendari was kindly donated by Rhyvendra (thank you)! I promise I will get back to our main gang soon. If anyone was curious, Cambrian, the leader of the Polar Night, is based on [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=view&tab=dragon&id=0&did=8711321]my exalted progen[/url].)[/center]

@Cerastes
Yaaay, new chapter! *throws confetti* :D I like Vendari already, she's creepy. And such tantalizing plot tidbits! I already can't wait for the next installment.

@LagMonster @Khoshekh @Tempestuous @starslang @Scyras @excessnight @pensandink @Solaristigres @Nihilo @WillowWhisper @Averis @SolarPhoenix @RizuChan @ArgenteaMoon @Elzerei @eeeeel @tigressRising @hotdoge @Dragonfang @Whimzica @Soleil @Zexeos @windsway @Neige @KIMJA @rax @PandragonsBox @Silurian @Wolcan @AnnaStar353 @Rhyvendra @TwoJay @Aravis @CoatlPrince @Galaxy99 @Tarajara @tsaarn @Druddigon8 @brianna100 @Digimon11 @Espeon5712 @fairyn @Surpirate @HuntingAlpha @Icewing24

Hi everyone! I am just about done with finals (forever!) so I've been thinking about returning to this. I would like to conclude things for my own purposes, but I thought I would check and see if there's anybody who would still like to read along. It's been...over a year since I started this, so I TOTALLY understand if the interest isn't there. If I do start posting updates again and you'd like to be taken off the pinglist, no problem, just shoot me a PM.

Might be less of a nuzlocke going forward, since I've broken a bunch of rules in the hiatus lol.