Creative Corner

@Murklin @LagMonster @Gallows @Cewientje @Tedium @Kizmetto @AerinCantator @caperantagonist @Fuurin @VictoryInSolace @Survivors @Chloraphyll @Sildrael @Khoshekh @Stormdragon @Scyras @Almaren @Sinnapine @Sellenair @Charias @Digimon11 @Katerrn @Shalzuku @Caeoltoiri @nindeanwa @Lyel @Tiirran @sykotikkytten @TawnyOwl @tigressRising @Harbinger @tsaarn @ediblepandas @Sinsational

Well, I'm back!

This is the second version of my Nuzlocke, After the Storm. I've done a lot of work on it over the last year. I'm much happier with it than I used to be. The majority of the changes are in the first arc of the story, but there's improvements all the way through. Hopefully it's good enough to me that I won't have to rewrite the whole thing again.

I haven't actually finished, per se, but the last four entries aren't going to take long.

I'll probably mention he changes I made to each entry, but I'm thinking of removing all the links to my original thread so that new readers don't read ahead and think they know how the story goes. I'd also appreciate people not spoiling any future events.

If you're new and want to be added to the ping list, just ask! Critique is welcome.

This story follows an altered version of the traditional Nuzlocke rules. When I started, the Nuzlocke boom was just getting going. Baby-lockes got less respect, and Pinkerlockes didn't even exist. I didn't want to get rid of all my dragons, but I could never have lived with a bunch of useless food munchers in my lair either. So I decided to just get rid of most of them, and use all of the keepers as characters for the story. I ended up keeping nine dragons - two of my original "Founders" (the dragons that created the clan according to my lore), four children of the Founders, the first gen one I ever got, and two additional dragons. (I also kept my progens, because let's face it, I'm not stupid. They aren't characters yet, but they probably will turn up eventually.) This story has two viewpoint characters, and oscillates between them. There are a couple of "interludes" from other characters' points of view, but I have been very careful not to make the annoying mistake of having more than one character as the viewpoint character in any particular scene. Tenora is one of the original founders. She is the most direct analogue to the Nuzlocke Survivor and encounters the dragon from the challenge egg. She was level 25 at the start of the story, so I restricted her to not being able to grind in the coliseum until I had two level 25 healers as well as her. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=932613] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/9327/932613_350.png[/img] [/url] Malidane (or Marl for short) is the son of the clan's original Matriarch and another founder. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=6528839] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/65289/6528839_350.png[/img] [/url] The story was originally written as two separate but interconnected Nuzlockes, but eventually ... well some stuff happens ... and the two come together. The other major changes I have made to the rules are: -- Characters gain 4% immunity to death in the coli per level until level 25, at which point they are fully immune to death-by-coli. Each near death, even at 100% immunity, incurs a 10% survival penalty on one egg in the next nest laid. -- Since I started with so many I don't get to buy eggs, with one exception. I can buy an egg at the start of a month if the number of deaths in the story so far is greater than the number of eggs I have bought. -- I'm allowed to use food gathering skills, but only so I can get swipp/baldwin ingredients. The rest will be sold. -- Malidane and Tenora are basically immune to dying at all regardless of level because they're the viewpoint characters, and them dying would be silly. Rules I never really mentioned because they're weird and I might have wanted to break them: -- I can use scatterscrolls on a gen one if I don't appreciate their colours at hatching, but I'm not picky and don't like spending money at the best of times, so I probably won't bother. -- Dragons are stuck with the breed and colours they're introduced with. This is mostly because I don't headcanon the scrolls as real objects anyway. Other: -- I have to take the hit to energy if I leave the coli in the midst of a battle. It'd be cheating to do otherwise??? -- I'm not gonna exalt any dragon that dies until they're dead in-story. In relation to characters that died in the run of the original, I'm not even gonna mention it. You'll probably be able to see who's dead, but don't ask me about it, you're gonna have to wait and see.

Contents:
Arc 1: Aftermath
Entry 1 - After the Storm (Tenora 1)
Entry 2 - The Aftermath of Destruction (Malidane 1)
Entry 3 - That Ocean is not Silent (Tenora 2)
Entry 4 - Gathering the Dust (Malidane 2)
Entry 5 - The Antitheist (Tenora 3)
Entry 6 - But Hope can be Crueller (Malidane 3)
Entry 7 - The Egg (Tenora 4)
Entry 8 - Heavy is the Head (Malidane 4)
Entry 9 - Baby Steps (Tenora 5)
Entry 10 - Lessons in Leadership (Malidane 5)
Entry 11 - Further Frustrations (Tenora 6)
Entry 12 - The Corruption (Malidane 6)
Entry 13 - Kindling (Tenora 7)

Arc 2: Changes
Dorian interlude part 1/Entry 14 - Changes and Strangers (Malidane 7)
Dorian interlude part 2
Entry 15 - Derianda (Tenora 8)
Dorian interlude part 3
Entry 16 - Moving On (Malidane 8)
Dorian interlude part 4
Entry 17 - Singing Stones (Tenora 9)
Dorian interlude part 5/Entry 18 - On the Banks of the Rubicon (Malidane 9)
Entry 19 - Guardians (Tenora 10)
Entry 20 - Nuisance (Malidane 10)
Entry 21 - Travellers' Troubles (Tenora 11)
Entry 22 - The Weight of Assumptions (Malidane 11)
Entry 23 - Reunion (Tenora 12)
Entry 24 - Reunion part 2 (Malidane 12)
Entry 25 - The Birds and the Bees (Tenora 13)
Entry 26 - The Bear (Malidane 13)

Arc 3: Pursuit
Entry 27 - The Antitheist (Reprise) (Tenora 14)
Entry 28 - It's Dangerous to go Alone (Malidane 14)
Entry 29 - A Sense of Failure (Tenora 15)
Shianzar/Derianda 1
Entry 30 - The Jade Guardian (Malidane 15)
Entry 31 - Snake Eyes (Tenora 16)
Sarinth
Entry 32 - A Rude Awakening (Malidane 16)
Entry 33 - Duren/Weirdoes (Tenora 17)
Shianzar/Derianda 2
Entry 34 - Confrontation (Malidane 17)
Entry 35 - Duren's Charge (Tenora 18)

Stats:
Survivors: 5/9
Eggs hatched: 54 Dragons bought: 10
Dragons gifted: 1 (thanks, Cewientje!)
Dragons dead: 6 (My gorgeous daughters, our lady of mystery, other descriptors will go back once they're dead again)
Dragons levelled to 25: 18
Currently living dragons: 60

Breed changes unused: -1
Egg purchases unused: 1
Dragon purchases unused: -4 (no self control lol)
Near-deaths since last nest: 9



Ping list (Which I'm not taking the dead lairs off, but can people please tell me when they change their names?)
@ Murklin @ LagMonster @ Gallows @ Cewientje @ Tedium @ AerinCantator @ caperantagonist @ Fuurin @ VictoryInSolace @ Survivors @ Chloraphyll @ Khoshekh @ Stormdragon @ Scyras @ Almaren @ Sinsational @ Sellenair @ Charias @ Digimon11 @ Katerrn @ Shalzuku @ Caeoltoiri @ nindeanwa @ Lyel @ Tiirran @ sykotikkytten @ TawnyOwl @ tigressRising @ tsaarn @ ediblepandas @ Ariya @ Maddiebird @ MasqD @ winterbright

@Murklin @LagMonster @Gallows @Cewientje @Tedium @Kizmetto @AerinCantator @caperantagonist @Fuurin @VictoryInSolace @Survivors @Chloraphyll @Sildrael @Khoshekh @Stormdragon @Scyras @Almaren @Sinnapine @Sellenair @Charias @Digimon11 @Katerrn @Shalzuku @Caeoltoiri @nindeanwa @Lyel @Tiirran @sykotikkytten @TawnyOwl @tigressRising @Harbinger @tsaarn @ediblepandas @Sinsational who did you used to be on the above list, by the way? I need to fix that. [i]Aye all right here we go! I wrote the introduction here just before I actually started my rewrite (which was a long while before I stopped writing my original) and though it's been quite some time since then I still think it's pretty dang great. Also, the entries have names now! Entry one is pretty unimaginatively just named after the story though ...[/i] In the darkest shadow, a light shines. In the brightest light, a shadow is cast. The Hewn City stands starkly separate from the rest of the Sunbeam Ruins. Over that shattered remnant hangs a mystery – a deep shadow which no light can penetrate. The days here are shadowy, and the nights even darker, but nevertheless a great many curious Light dragons live here, determined to find an answer, a reason for the darkness. Before whatever lurks in the darkness finds them. [u]Entry 1 – After the Storm[/u] After the storm, Tenora awoke trapped under rubble and far from home. Even to her Shadow eyes the darkness was impenetrable; panic filled the Ridgeback the moment she regained consciousness. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=932613] [img]https://i.imgur.com/JSp7cCt.png[/img] [/url] Scrabbling helplessly, struggling to breathe, she scratched against her prison. At first it seemed like she could do nothing against the many tonnes of masonry pressing down on her back and wings, but adrenaline spurred her on. She rattled her spines, strained her muscles, and slowly but surely she began to pull herself upwards. It felt like it took an eternity, but eventually her head broke the surface. Fresh air flooded her lungs and she knew from the familiar gloom and the ruin-strewn landscape that she was still in the Hewn City at least. She dragged herself from the crushing depths and lay for a while in the dust. She searched her recent memory for an explanation, but she couldn't recall anything except a muddled haze of panic and confusion. Tenora and her clan had lived in the shrouded ruins of the Hewn City for most of her life. She knew which strange things were commonplace there, and which were decidedly not, so she was absolutely certain that the tempest had belonged in the latter category. Honestly though, she had no idea if it had actually been a storm. The rushing darkness she remembered seemed more reminiscent of death itself. Well, that was a melodramatic thought. Tenora snorted, shaking her head to try and clear it of such dazed musings. She sat up slowly; after this first attempt at movement was successful, she began to pull herself to her feet. She was met with a chorus of protests from aching muscles and bruised limbs, but she endured, scolding herself. Hesser could stop these trifling pains in a second once she got home … Hesser! Tenora realised she had no idea what had happened to Hesser, and hoped desperately that the Wind Tundra was all right, as well as her other best friend, a Light Spiral called Umbrex. Tenora had led the three of them into battle thousands of times, and together they had been unbeatable. But now she was alone, with no idea where she was, or how far it was to home. In the hope of getting her bearings, Tenora clambered up a nearby pile of jumbled stone. At the top, she gazed out into the gloomy landscape, but she saw nothing that she recognised. For as far as she could see, most of the ruins had been reduced to rubble, and the few fragments of ancient architecture that were still standing were shattered, empty, and lifeless. Most unsettling of all was that everything was surrounded by wisps of some clinging oily darkness that didn't look like any shadow Tenora had ever seen, even in the Hewn City. She decided to spread her wings to get an aerial view of the landscape, but the movement was interrupted by a sudden burning sensation in her left shoulder. The cramp lanced down through her flight muscles, pulling her left wing tight. After several minutes of struggling against it, the pain finally subsided, but Tenora knew she would not be getting airborne any time soon. She sighed in frustration and picked a direction at random. Even if it was the wrong way, maybe she'd be able to find someone else alive in this mess who could help her get home.

@AerinCantator y weirdo <3

@Murklin @LagMonster @Gallows @Cewientje @Tedium @Kizmetto @AerinCantator @caperantagonist @Fuurin @VictoryInSolace @Survivors @Chloraphyll @Sildrael @Khoshekh @Stormdragon @Scyras @Almaren @Sinsational @Sellenair @Charias @Digimon11 @Katerrn @Shalzuku @Caeoltoiri @nindeanwa @Lyel @Tiirran @sykotikkytten @TawnyOwl @tigressRising @Harbinger @tsaarn @ediblepandas [i]Marl's story starts out more interesting than Tenora's, pretty much by default, because it's got the rest of the survivors in it, whereas Tenora is alone. But the first two entries of Tenora's story are still important to understanding how she ends up where she does, so they have to stay. There's more big changes to Marl's early story too, because I had less of an idea who he was when I first started out.[/i] [u]Entry 2 – The Aftermath of Destruction[/u] Malidane's first hazy thought was, [i]Lady Light, what was that?[/i] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=6528839] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/65289/6528839_350.png[/img] [/url] He opened his eyes blearily. At first, what he saw only registered to his addled brain as an enormous mess. His mother would probably be here soon then, to demand an explanation. Knowing the Matriarch, she'd probably also demand that he fix the problem, even if it wasn't his fault. He shut his eyes tight, hoping that maybe he could pretend to still be asleep. He opened them again almost immediately as his brain finally figured out what he'd been looking at. It wasn't a mess. It was devastation. Suddenly awake, Marl sat bolt upright, and surveyed the destruction with shocked curiosity. He was lying in the main hall of the lair, surrounded by rubble and fallen columns. A significant portion of the roof had also fallen in; craning upwards, Marl could see the perpetually dim sky through the hole. “Marl!” Malidane twisted rapidly in surprise when he heard the shout, and saw his older sister behind him. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=1108772] [img]http://40.media.tumblr.com/90e3b282cc5b091a63ec66c42f9e268e/tumblr_nfla8ojCp61rkef44o2_r1_400.png[/img] [/url] “Rianne! What happened? Why did the roof fall in? Where's everyone else? What's gonna –” “Shut up a second, Marl!” Rianne interrupted. “I've got no idea what happened. We should find Mum.” Marl nodded. “Do you know where she is?” Rianne shook her head. “I was hoping you did, actually. But we should look in the vault.” Their mother Malagrine usually did spend a lot of time in the vault, counting the clan's treasure. But even though they had to wander all the way down through the tunnels, Marl and Rianne didn't find her there. In fact, even though they searched through the whole lair, they didn't find anyone down there at all. When they headed up to look aboveground, they found the entrance half full of rubble. Marl realised it was a wonder that he and Rianne hadn't been trapped underground with the new window in the roof as the only way out. The destruction outside was far worse. A strange dark fog was already dissipating over a landscape of rubble and flattened buildings. Presumably the bodies of their clanmates were somewhere under it all. As they stared, a large pile of stone shook and the vast lavender and blue form of a Guardian called Thela emerged from it. She lifted her wings, revealing several smaller dragons underneath: Rianne's friends Kiita and Cater, as well as the priestess Arinne. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=764577] [img]http://40.media.tumblr.com/a51f6d15e153c3de6eb5a0e795480b79/tumblr_ni25o7CWvI1rkef44o2_400.png[/img] [/url] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=1320891] [img]http://40.media.tumblr.com/8ae6fe2143931e855c2884cc15c4e09a/tumblr_nfla8ojCp61rkef44o3_r1_400.png[/img] [/url] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=1096414] [img]http://i.imgur.com/3UPEWSO.png[/img] [/url] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=4362814] [img]http://40.media.tumblr.com/b0a2d408a08e1b4a10591582ccddc2f4/tumblr_ni25o7CWvI1rkef44o5_400.png[/img] [/url] They quickly spotted Marl and Rianne and hurried over, drawn by the only bright colours in a desolate landscape. “Rianne. Malidane. Where is your mother?” rumbled Thela. Rianne looked up from the hugs her friends were giving her and said, “We haven't found her, Ma'am. You're the first ones we've seen at all.” “Very well,” said Thela. “Then you will be our leader, Rianne. Until your mother is found.” Rianne nodded. She seemed to solidify under her new burden. “We need to see if anyone is still alive under there,” she said, gesturing at the destruction. She began organising the survivors to move the rubble, and Marl tried to fade into the background before – “Marl!” Marl stiffened. “Uhhh.” “Get over here, Marl!” his sister demanded. “Actually help out for a change!” Dragging his feet, Marl shuffled over. He began pushing vaguely at a chunk of stone. Rianne rolled her eyes at him, but she seemed satisfied enough for now.

@ArgenteaMoon

OH HEY WELCOME BAAAACK! I used to be Sinnapine in that list. Hahaha!

@Sinsational I figured it out! I was just being unobservant before. It says you're sinnapine on your clan page.

And thank you! I hope you like this version.