Chapter 1: Still Waters
A look into the daily lives and happenings of the members of the clan.
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The sunrise was beautiful here.
Eonna stood alone on a high cliff, watching the sun rise over the territory for the thousandth time. This was a ritual that she did every morning, and she also used the opportunity to scan the horizon for any new dragons or threats. The calm and stillness of the new morning washed over her fears and anxieties, however, as the golden light warmed her body as if it was a warm bath. Eonna trilled softly as she looked down to see the mouth of the cave, the entrance to her den. That was where her clan would sleep and live, seek shelter, and stay warm. Although a large cave system was nothing she wasn’t used to, she still felt uneasy in its walls. Maybe because nothing would ever compare to the chiseled sandstone that made up Clan Stormfront’s original lair in the Shifting Expanse. She let out a long sigh as she dwelled on those memories- the constant static in the air, the rolling of thunderstorms to lull her to sleep every night, and the bolts of lightning to illuminate her way home during a nighttime flight. Her clan would never understand what that was like because all of them, besides Icecap and Kyga, were there for the glory days of Clan Stormfront. They were over 30 strong, and life was grand…
Spreading her large pink wings, Eonna leaped from the cliff and began to soar over her chunk of the Sundial Terrace.
<…>
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Zeri groaned as Joule tinkered with a small golden robot. The mirror grinned up at her friend and let out a wolfish laugh.
“Oh, come on! I love this stuff, and maybe if I can get this bad boy working again, it can help the clan gather something or whatever.” Joule’s claws scrabbled away at the innards of the small golem, the metal heap being roughly the size of her head. The wires whined in protest and they were bent and disconnected from their sockets, and Joule hissed in frustration at one blue wire that was screwed in a slot that was particularly stubborn to remove. Zeri fluttered her wing softly as she observed her friend do what she does best, but the skydancer didn’t understand any of it. Machines were so… final. But magic and spells had no limitations outside of the caster’s imagination, and even if Zeri was no mage, magic was often something she daydreamed about. She looked around the small room that Joule had claimed as her own. There were mechanical parts, wires, tools, and many comic books strewn about everywhere. Zeri always wondered how Joule obtained all this junk, seeing as they arrived at the clan together with no belongings, but Joule always dismissed the question with a huff of “I’m a scavenger, remember?”
A yelp pulled the black and blue skydancer out of her thoughts and back to her friend, who was nursing a singed claw as the smell of smoke filled the air.
“I guess the battery still had some juice in it.” The obsidian mirror admitted sheepishly. Zeri rolled her eyes and trilled at her friend.
“Maybe you could scavenge some gloves next time.”
<…>
Icecap sighed softly as he tried once more to cast a lightning bolt onto the straw dummy that he has set up in Spell’s den. Holding out his paw, he hummed as he closed his eyes and focused his magic energies. He envisioned a large blue bolt jumping from his hand and engulfing the target, zapping it out of existence. The tundra strengthened his resolve, and willed his imagining into existence.
But nothing happened.
“Gah! Blast it all!” He hissed and stamped his paw on the ground, while made a large purple and black guardian chuckle. Spell looked up from her ancient tome and looked at Icecap, and she found his frustration amusing.
“You must clear your mind and heart, Icecap. Having too many thoughts will only make you flustered and incapable.” She instructed. The dragon was old and wise, and as an arcane dragon, she was a natural at casting spells and magics, hence her name. Icecap huffed and fluffed out his wings in annoyance.
“I’m trying, and I know how to do this. I’ve been a mage for years, I just… can’t seem to get this one right anymore.” He closed his cyan eyes once more and hummed as he tried to focus and cast the spell one more time.
“Maybe you need to remove Eonna from your thoughts?” Spell chuckled as she read passively. William, her arcane elemental familiar, nodded in agreement from across the table as he organized various scrolls. Hearing the name of his once-mate, Icecap sighed and slumped down onto the ground.
“Stormcatcher damn you, Spell. I felt like I was getting it right, and then you mention her, ruining my thoughts.”
“That is your fault, and only yours.” Spell might be wise, but she was not the gentlest dragoness in the lair. Icecap gritted his flat herbivore teeth and scowled at her, even if Spell pretended not to notice his antics.