[columns][nextcol][nextcol][nextcol][nextcol][nextcol][nextcol][nextcol][nextcol][nextcol][nextcol][nextcol][nextcol][nextcol][center][item=scratch][item=shred][/center][nextcol]
[center][font=garamond][size=6][b][i]"The Shredders"[/i][/b][/size]
[/font][size=5][font=cambria]a pinkerlocke
[/center][nextcol][center][item=shred][item=scratch][/center]
[/columns]
[center][img]http://68.media.tumblr.com/aed6377eb396abbaa7338900db5baea2/tumblr_nj9kyb0AiI1r28672o9_500.png[/img][/center]
[center][size=4][b][url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sF5TlwKUqRXJbkrOBdlf2NigjYslgMk93A2RmUchc3w/edit?usp=sharing]--> Link to self-editing pinglist <--[/url][/size][/b][/center]
[color=#7E2817][size=4][font=cambria][b][u]Synopsis:[/u][/b][/size][/font][/color]
A pack of mirrors calling themselves “the Shredders” has settled near [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&id=27614&tab=dragon&did=149820]Danelle[/url]’s clan. They are a savage bunch, valuing physical strength above all else. Their pack, once large, mighty, and feared, originally lived in the Scarred Wasteland. There, like many other mirror packs, they lived in the way the Plaguebringer intended for her children: proving themselves worthy of survival by battling with tooth and claw. Driven from their home, they now live on the Windswept Plateau and will do whatever it takes to rebuild their pack and preserve their way of life.
[color=#7E2817][size=4][font=cambria][b][u]Current Pack Members:[/u][/b][/size][/color]
[quote][columns][size=4][b]Spellshadow (Shadow)[/b][/size]
Shadow is the current alpha of the Shredders. He was a member of the original Shredder pack, and was the son of the former alpha, Jaggedwing. He has a strong sense of duty, and hopes to one day lead his pack back to the Abiding Boneyard and take revenge on the Serthis.[nextcol][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=32553686]
[img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/325537/32553686_350.png[/img]
[/url][/columns][/quote]
[quote][columns][size=4][b]Gisil[/b][/size]
Gisil was a member of the original Shredder pack. He and Shadow grew up together and are close friends. He supports Shadow’s goal of rebuilding the pack, but is not as devoted, and has more doubts about whether what they're doing is worth the struggle.[nextcol][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=32586145]
[img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/325862/32586145_350.png[/img]
[/url][/columns][/quote]
[quote][columns][size=4][b]Eilwyn[/b][/size]
Eilwyn was a member of the original Shredder pack. She was born in the Shifting Expanse, but traveled to the Abiding Boneyard because of her desire to join a large mirror pack and live in the traditional way of her breed. She was only a member of the Shredders for a couple of years before the Serthis invasion, but hopes to rebuild the pack because she sees it as her true home.[nextcol][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=32613219]
[img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/326133/32613219_350.png[/img]
[/url][/columns][/quote]
A pack of mirrors calling themselves “the Shredders” has settled near Danelle’s clan. They are a savage bunch, valuing physical strength above all else. Their pack, once large, mighty, and feared, originally lived in the Scarred Wasteland. There, like many other mirror packs, they lived in the way the Plaguebringer intended for her children: proving themselves worthy of survival by battling with tooth and claw. Driven from their home, they now live on the Windswept Plateau and will do whatever it takes to rebuild their pack and preserve their way of life.
Current Pack Members:
Quote:
Spellshadow (Shadow)
Shadow is the current alpha of the Shredders. He was a member of the original Shredder pack, and was the son of the former alpha, Jaggedwing. He has a strong sense of duty, and hopes to one day lead his pack back to the Abiding Boneyard and take revenge on the Serthis.
Quote:
Gisil
Gisil was a member of the original Shredder pack. He and Shadow grew up together and are close friends. He supports Shadow’s goal of rebuilding the pack, but is not as devoted, and has more doubts about whether what they're doing is worth the struggle.
Quote:
Eilwyn
Eilwyn was a member of the original Shredder pack. She was born in the Shifting Expanse, but traveled to the Abiding Boneyard because of her desire to join a large mirror pack and live in the traditional way of her breed. She was only a member of the Shredders for a couple of years before the Serthis invasion, but hopes to rebuild the pack because she sees it as her true home.
Rules:
Link to thread with more thorough Pinkerlocke rules: [x]
What Pinkerton gives me determines what I do that day. If I get...
Hardmode: You must select coliseum challengers in your lair using a random number generator. Then, select the coliseum arena that corresponds to the highest level dragon of that group (For a 'medium' mode, select the venue that is one tier down from that of highest level dragon). If your dragons level up while in an area, you can still stay there for the whole day. You can quit your battle streak at any time to regen health, and flee from battles if it is appropriate. Don't try do 50 matches in a row unless you want a wiped-out dragon!
I'm doing the medium mode edit.
Materials: Writing! I'll use these days to fill out my dragons' bios, write more detailed death scenes, and add some supplementary world building/character interaction.
Trinkets: Art! First and foremost I'll try to do little bio icons for all of my dragons. I'll also try to do some scenes, comics, and maybe some graphics for this thread.
Familiars: Buy a new dragon off the AH! I'm only going to use mirrors for this challenge. I'll buy the cheapest one off the AH. In some cases, this may need to be postponed until I have lair space.
Edit: I'm actually going to buy the cheapest adult mirror, so I don't have to wait for it to age up. This is also better for lore reasons.
Apparel: Breed two of my dragons! This may need to be postponed if I don't have any nests open, or if my only eligible dragons are on cooldown.
Note: You must flip a coin for each hatchling once they hatch. If tails, the dragon is dead and you must exalt it.
Battle items: Uh-oh!!!
Flip a coin.
Heads = DEATH STREAK
Tails = Nothing happens
DEATH STREAK rules: Randomly select three dragons using a random number generator. Fight in the coliseum using the "food" rules 10 rounds consecutively (ie. you cannot leave that arena), quitting midway if a dragon dies. If you are using the easymode rules, switch to the hardmode rules for battlestones.
My other rules:
- Unless they are named when I buy them, dragons are given the first name that pops up in the random name generator. No matter how bad it is, I have to deal with it.
- I'm doing the "If a dragon reaches level 25 it "retires". It can join the ranks of your main lair" sentimental rule
Hardmode: You must select coliseum challengers in your lair using a random number generator. Then, select the coliseum arena that corresponds to the highest level dragon of that group (For a 'medium' mode, select the venue that is one tier down from that of highest level dragon). If your dragons level up while in an area, you can still stay there for the whole day. You can quit your battle streak at any time to regen health, and flee from battles if it is appropriate. Don't try do 50 matches in a row unless you want a wiped-out dragon!
I'm doing the medium mode edit.
Materials: Writing! I'll use these days to fill out my dragons' bios, write more detailed death scenes, and add some supplementary world building/character interaction.
Trinkets: Art! First and foremost I'll try to do little bio icons for all of my dragons. I'll also try to do some scenes, comics, and maybe some graphics for this thread.
Familiars: Buy a new dragon off the AH! I'm only going to use mirrors for this challenge. I'll buy the cheapest one off the AH. In some cases, this may need to be postponed until I have lair space.
Edit: I'm actually going to buy the cheapest adult mirror, so I don't have to wait for it to age up. This is also better for lore reasons.
Apparel: Breed two of my dragons! This may need to be postponed if I don't have any nests open, or if my only eligible dragons are on cooldown.
Note: You must flip a coin for each hatchling once they hatch. If tails, the dragon is dead and you must exalt it.
Battle items: Uh-oh!!!
Flip a coin.
Heads = DEATH STREAK
Tails = Nothing happens
DEATH STREAK rules: Randomly select three dragons using a random number generator. Fight in the coliseum using the "food" rules 10 rounds consecutively (ie. you cannot leave that arena), quitting midway if a dragon dies. If you are using the easymode rules, switch to the hardmode rules for battlestones.
My other rules:
- Unless they are named when I buy them, dragons are given the first name that pops up in the random name generator. No matter how bad it is, I have to deal with it.
- I'm doing the "If a dragon reaches level 25 it "retires". It can join the ranks of your main lair" sentimental rule
[color=#7E2817][size=4][font=cambria][b][u]Our Story So Far...[/u][/b][/size][/font][/color]
[quote][u]Lore Post #1: The Backstory[/u]
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]The Serthis had always been an enemy of the pack, but usually were not a threat except to a lone dragon. However, they had recently started to become much more organized and emboldened. An army of them, in numbers which the pack had never seen, ambushed the Shredders’ den as they slept. The Serthis warriors killed mercilessly, not hesitating to slaughter even nesting mothers and their hatchlings.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]The Shredders’ fought back fiercely, slaying many of the beasts. However, for every Serthis killed, it seemed that twenty more would take its place. Over half the pack had fallen, but the survivors continued to fight. Eventually, the mighty and respected alpha, Jaggedwing, was slain. This caused the remaining few fighters to admit loss and flee. They scattered in all different directions, most of them thinking that this was the end of the Shredder pack.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]Among the survivors were three young members of the pack: Spellshadow, Gisil, and Eilwyn. They had been fighting together, holding off the Serthis as best they could. When Jaggedwing fell and everyone else started to flee, they, too, abandoned the fight. Realizing that they needed to regroup, and that the Abiding Boneyard (their late pack’s home) was too harsh a place for such a small number of dragons, they headed south to the Windswept Plateau. They knew that the Windsinger’s domain was supposed to be a peaceful, safer place. Usually they would scoff at the weak dragons who chose to live there, but this was not the time for such petty reservations if they were to survive.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]Spellshadow, called Shadow for short, was Jaggedwing’s son. He was a natural-born leader, and many had assumed that he would one day take his father’s place as alpha. After his father’s death, he vowed that he would not let the Shredder pack die, and would one day return to win back his home territory from the Serthis. This would not be an easy task, however. He only had two dragons to go with him, the rest, he assumed, had fled in the hopes of finding another pack to take them in. He would have to rebuild his pack from scratch, taking in allies wherever he could find them.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]Gisil fully supported his plan to keep the Shredders alive. He was Shadow’s closest friend. They grew up together, and for a time were the only two hatchlings in the pack. They were often each other’s only playmate and training partner, and consequently, they became lifelong friends. After losing his family and almost everyone else he knew in the battle, Shadow was especially grateful to still have Gisil beside him.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]Shadow did not know Eilwyn quite as well. She had not been born into the pack. It was not uncommon for the Shredders to take in outsiders or merge with smaller packs if they proved their strength. Eilwyn joined the pack with a couple of other mirrors who had traveled to the Scarred Wasteland from afar. She was a lithe, muscular she-dragon with striking blue eyes. Her eye color was a very rare sight among the dragons that Shadow knew. Some had dark blue eyes from being born near the sea, but her bright blue betrayed the fact that she had come from the Shifting Expanse, a land so far away that none of the Shredders had gone there in living memory.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]Shadow knew that his eyes were strange, too. Before he was born, there was a famine in the Plague domain. It was a very hard time for the pack, so they traveled northeast to the lush Viridian Labyrinth where prey was plentiful. Being Plague dragons, they did not want to stay there long. Shadow had been the only egg lain there, giving him strange dark green eyes. Gisil had been born not long after, while the pack was making its return journey through the Tangled Wood. His purple eyes were not uncommon in the pack, though, as Plague dragons often nested near the Shadow domain. Spellshadow realized sadly that none of them had the familiar red eyes of his homeland that he was so accustomed to. He wondered if things could ever be the same again.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]He had also heard that the place of your hatching affected more than just your eye color. Supposedly, all dragons of different elements could channel magic that depended on their origin. No one in the pack had known much about this, as they preferred to fight with only their physical abilities. However, now that the pack was gone and they were in a strange land, Shadow wondered if they might have to learn how to use their magic in order to survive.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]Shadow was glad that Eilwyn had joined his cause. He had thought that once they escaped the Serthis, she might split up with them and go her own way. To his surprise, she was very loyal to the pack even though she had not been a part of it for nearly as long as he and Gisil had. Eilwyn was as passinate about restoring the Shredders to their former glory as they were.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]They had set off together and crossed the border into the part of the Wind domain known as the Reedcleft Ascent. They found this area much harsher than they expected, with sheer cliffs, perilous drops, and raging wind. The developed a newfound respect for dragons who lived there. It was a completely unsuitable area for them, so they continued on until they reached the foot of the ascent. The Zephyr Steppes was a much calmer place. It had wide open expanses of land to run on, like the mirrors were used to back in the Boneyard. However, the place still seemed strange to Shadow. The sky was a harsh blue instead of murky yellow-green, and there was bristly grass underfoot instead of comforting, pulsing, fleshy ground. There was no scent of decay in the air. Everything seemed too bright and clean, and the unrelenting wind that they had encountered at the Reedcleft Ascent had not ceased. Even so, they decided that this would have to be where they would settle.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]Shadow knew that there would be a lot of trials ahead of them. Who knew what dangers lurked in this place, hiding behind every stalk of bamboo? He had heard that there were other races of Beastclans besides the Serthis, as well as other monsters that may not be as intelligent, but were equally dangerous. Other dragons might also be a problem. They had scented a large clan nearby. It had smelled of many different breeds, some that he knew would be much larger than him. The new Shredder pack would have to be clever and vigilant if it wanted to have any hope of becoming strong again.[/quote]
_____The Serthis had always been an enemy of the pack, but usually were not a threat except to a lone dragon. However, they had recently started to become much more organized and emboldened. An army of them, in numbers which the pack had never seen, ambushed the Shredders’ den as they slept. The Serthis warriors killed mercilessly, not hesitating to slaughter even nesting mothers and their hatchlings.
_____The Shredders’ fought back fiercely, slaying many of the beasts. However, for every Serthis killed, it seemed that twenty more would take its place. Over half the pack had fallen, but the survivors continued to fight. Eventually, the mighty and respected alpha, Jaggedwing, was slain. This caused the remaining few fighters to admit loss and flee. They scattered in all different directions, most of them thinking that this was the end of the Shredder pack.
_____Among the survivors were three young members of the pack: Spellshadow, Gisil, and Eilwyn. They had been fighting together, holding off the Serthis as best they could. When Jaggedwing fell and everyone else started to flee, they, too, abandoned the fight. Realizing that they needed to regroup, and that the Abiding Boneyard (their late pack’s home) was too harsh a place for such a small number of dragons, they headed south to the Windswept Plateau. They knew that the Windsinger’s domain was supposed to be a peaceful, safer place. Usually they would scoff at the weak dragons who chose to live there, but this was not the time for such petty reservations if they were to survive.
_____Spellshadow, called Shadow for short, was Jaggedwing’s son. He was a natural-born leader, and many had assumed that he would one day take his father’s place as alpha. After his father’s death, he vowed that he would not let the Shredder pack die, and would one day return to win back his home territory from the Serthis. This would not be an easy task, however. He only had two dragons to go with him, the rest, he assumed, had fled in the hopes of finding another pack to take them in. He would have to rebuild his pack from scratch, taking in allies wherever he could find them.
_____Gisil fully supported his plan to keep the Shredders alive. He was Shadow’s closest friend. They grew up together, and for a time were the only two hatchlings in the pack. They were often each other’s only playmate and training partner, and consequently, they became lifelong friends. After losing his family and almost everyone else he knew in the battle, Shadow was especially grateful to still have Gisil beside him.
_____Shadow did not know Eilwyn quite as well. She had not been born into the pack. It was not uncommon for the Shredders to take in outsiders or merge with smaller packs if they proved their strength. Eilwyn joined the pack with a couple of other mirrors who had traveled to the Scarred Wasteland from afar. She was a lithe, muscular she-dragon with striking blue eyes. Her eye color was a very rare sight among the dragons that Shadow knew. Some had dark blue eyes from being born near the sea, but her bright blue betrayed the fact that she had come from the Shifting Expanse, a land so far away that none of the Shredders had gone there in living memory.
_____Shadow knew that his eyes were strange, too. Before he was born, there was a famine in the Plague domain. It was a very hard time for the pack, so they traveled northeast to the lush Viridian Labyrinth where prey was plentiful. Being Plague dragons, they did not want to stay there long. Shadow had been the only egg lain there, giving him strange dark green eyes. Gisil had been born not long after, while the pack was making its return journey through the Tangled Wood. His purple eyes were not uncommon in the pack, though, as Plague dragons often nested near the Shadow domain. Spellshadow realized sadly that none of them had the familiar red eyes of his homeland that he was so accustomed to. He wondered if things could ever be the same again.
_____He had also heard that the place of your hatching affected more than just your eye color. Supposedly, all dragons of different elements could channel magic that depended on their origin. No one in the pack had known much about this, as they preferred to fight with only their physical abilities. However, now that the pack was gone and they were in a strange land, Shadow wondered if they might have to learn how to use their magic in order to survive.
_____Shadow was glad that Eilwyn had joined his cause. He had thought that once they escaped the Serthis, she might split up with them and go her own way. To his surprise, she was very loyal to the pack even though she had not been a part of it for nearly as long as he and Gisil had. Eilwyn was as passinate about restoring the Shredders to their former glory as they were.
_____They had set off together and crossed the border into the part of the Wind domain known as the Reedcleft Ascent. They found this area much harsher than they expected, with sheer cliffs, perilous drops, and raging wind. The developed a newfound respect for dragons who lived there. It was a completely unsuitable area for them, so they continued on until they reached the foot of the ascent. The Zephyr Steppes was a much calmer place. It had wide open expanses of land to run on, like the mirrors were used to back in the Boneyard. However, the place still seemed strange to Shadow. The sky was a harsh blue instead of murky yellow-green, and there was bristly grass underfoot instead of comforting, pulsing, fleshy ground. There was no scent of decay in the air. Everything seemed too bright and clean, and the unrelenting wind that they had encountered at the Reedcleft Ascent had not ceased. Even so, they decided that this would have to be where they would settle.
_____Shadow knew that there would be a lot of trials ahead of them. Who knew what dangers lurked in this place, hiding behind every stalk of bamboo? He had heard that there were other races of Beastclans besides the Serthis, as well as other monsters that may not be as intelligent, but were equally dangerous. Other dragons might also be a problem. They had scented a large clan nearby. It had smelled of many different breeds, some that he knew would be much larger than him. The new Shredder pack would have to be clever and vigilant if it wanted to have any hope of becoming strong again.
Finally got this thread all set up! I'm not actually going to start the challenge until all three of them age up, though.
Can I be added to the pinglist? I like the idea of a single breed Pinkerlocke!
I loved how you described wind! I've always heard it described as one of the most peaceful places to live, with plague being the most harsh. It was interesting to read of it being uncomfortable for plague dragons! I'm interested to see where this will go!
Can I be added to the pinglist? I like the idea of a single breed Pinkerlocke!
I loved how you described wind! I've always heard it described as one of the most peaceful places to live, with plague being the most harsh. It was interesting to read of it being uncomfortable for plague dragons! I'm interested to see where this will go!
I decided to go ahead and make a spreadsheet for the pinglist so people can add/remove themselves whenever they want.
I added you already, but the link is at the top of the thread now if you ever want to edit it.
I decided to go ahead and make a spreadsheet for the pinglist so people can add/remove themselves whenever they want.
I added you already, but the link is at the top of the thread now if you ever want to edit it.
[center][b][u]Day 1[/u][/b]
[item=spellbound beetle]
20-30 matches[/center]
I was really happy to get a food item today! I had wanted to start things off with the coli. It's really cool that the new training fields came out right before I started. I got to see it for the first time with my dragons.
It was an easy day, no one even came close to dying. I went ahead and did all 30 matches so my dragons could level up as much as possible.
-----
[url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&tab=dragon&id=27614&did=32553686][img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/325537/32553686p.png[/img][/url] Spellshadow grew from lvl 1 to lvl 4.
[url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&tab=dragon&id=27614&did=32586145][img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/325862/32586145p.png[/img][/url] Gisil grew from lvl 1 to lvl 4.
[url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&tab=dragon&id=27614&did=32613219][img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/portraits/326133/32613219p.png[/img][/url] Eilwyn grew from lvl 1 to lvl 4.
-----
[quote][u]Lore Post #2 Exploring the Territory[/u]
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]The dragons took a day to explore their new territory. The Zephyr Steppes proved to be as peaceful as the stories had described. Large moths and butterflies lazily fluttered everywhere, with their winged cousins, the gentle Miths, living among them. Many small birds and rodents also made their home here. They would make for easy prey, but may not be enough to sustain the dragons if their pack grew like Shadow hoped it would. There was a river nearby; the large clan that they had scented before seemed to live close to it, upstream from where the mirrors were. They were sure to keep their distance from the other dragons, and stayed at least a couple miles away as they explored. They eventually made their den in a small clearing surrounded by a dense field of bamboo.
[/quote]
Pinglist:
@Fraxinus @Petall
This beetle crossed paths with the wrong mage. Hopefully its binding does not transfer upon consumption...
43
5
20-30 matches
I was really happy to get a food item today! I had wanted to start things off with the coli. It's really cool that the new training fields came out right before I started. I got to see it for the first time with my dragons.
It was an easy day, no one even came close to dying. I went ahead and did all 30 matches so my dragons could level up as much as possible.
Spellshadow grew from lvl 1 to lvl 4.
Gisil grew from lvl 1 to lvl 4.
Eilwyn grew from lvl 1 to lvl 4.
Quote:
Lore Post #2 Exploring the Territory
_____The dragons took a day to explore their new territory. The Zephyr Steppes proved to be as peaceful as the stories had described. Large moths and butterflies lazily fluttered everywhere, with their winged cousins, the gentle Miths, living among them. Many small birds and rodents also made their home here. They would make for easy prey, but may not be enough to sustain the dragons if their pack grew like Shadow hoped it would. There was a river nearby; the large clan that they had scented before seemed to live close to it, upstream from where the mirrors were. They were sure to keep their distance from the other dragons, and stayed at least a couple miles away as they explored. They eventually made their den in a small clearing surrounded by a dense field of bamboo.
[center][u][b]Day 2[/b][/u]
[item=traprock]
Writing[/center]
This is a bit late, I didn't manage to get it finished yesterday like I hoped. Since I drew another material today and I still don't have it finished, I'm going to split it into two parts. Hopefully I can get the second part out before tomorrow. I want to try to stay on schedule for this challenge. At least for the first week. xD
I might try to get my dragon's bios filled out today as well. I'm getting tired of all that lorem ipsum up there.
[quote]
[u]Lore Post #3: First Encounter (Part 1)[/u]
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]Shadow woke to the feeling of claws digging into his flesh. Gisil had kicked him in his sleep, the purple mirror’s sharp back claws jabbing his ribs.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]“Watch it!” Shadow groaned, instinctively scooting away.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]Shadow blinked open his eyes. For a second, he didn’t know where he was. He had thought he was back in the Scarred Wasteland, sleeping among his packmates. Then he remembered the battle. The Serthis pouring into their den; confusion, chaos, and hopelessness as his pack tried to fight them off. Strange potions fogging the air, making it hard to see. Hard to breathe. Hard to [i]think[/i]. His mother’s body limp on the ground. His father drowning in a pile of writhing serpents as they impaled him with their spears. His whole life crumbling before his eyes.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]A wave of despair crashed over Shadow, knocking the wind out of him, but he stifled his feelings. His family had died noble deaths, defending the pack in the heat of battle. There were few fates more honorable. There was nothing he could do to bring them back. Besides, he had always been taught that it was not right for the living to dwell on the dead, except to learn from the mistakes that led to their demise.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]It was morning, but the sun hadn’t risen yet. Cold wind trickled across his skin. Shadow wanted nothing more than to curl up under his wing and go back to sleep, perhaps returning to the dream world where he could forget his troubles, but he would not let himself. It was his responsibility to lead the others. They would need a solid show of strength and confidence, and that started with getting out of bed.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]He rose, yawning and stretching. His muscles still felt sore from the long journey they had made to this place. He roused Gisil from his sleep, repaying his friend’s aforementioned kick with a harder-than-necessary shove on the shoulder.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]“Ack! Wha-?” Gisil said, startled. “What was that for?” he asked grumpily.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]“It’s time to get up,” Shadow replied. “We have a lot to do today.”
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]“It’s not even dawn yet,” Gisil complained. He squinted, blinking the sleep from both pairs of his eyes in turn.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]“All the better for hunting. I thought shadow dragons were supposed to [i]like[/i] getting up before dawn,” Shadow said teasingly.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]Gisil rose to his feet. He was taller than Shadow, with a long, lanky neck like a goose. His purple skin looked blue in the darkness. “Not when there’s a perfectly warm nest begging to be slept in!” he replied to Shadow, more amicable now but still groggy.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]They were in an oval-shaped clearing, surrounded by tall thickets of bamboo on all sides. Shadow had hoped that these would block out the wind, but some icy gusts still managed to slip between the stalks. This sometimes caused a faint, eerie whistling noise.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]Eilwyn was sitting on the other side of the clearing, muscles tense and rigid. She had offered to keep watch for the night. Usually, Shadow would’ve insisted that they do it in shifts, so that everyone would get some rest. However, Eilwyn had seemed content to do the whole task herself that night. She was a reserved dragon, and didn’t seem to be completely comfortable around him and Gisil. He couldn’t blame her, they were like brothers, while she hardly knew either of them. It must’ve made her feel like somewhat of an outsider. Shadow figured that she wanted to spend the night keeping watch by herself so she could collect her thoughts.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]She glanced their way as they got up. “Any trouble last night?” Shadow asked her.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]“No, nothing,” she replied curtly.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]Shadow and Gisil went hunting, leaving Eilwyn behind to rest. Shadow was hesitant to leave her on her own, but they were spread so thin that it was inevitable.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]“Wind lands aren’t as dangerous as the Plague territory,” she had assured him. “That's why we came here in the first place. Where I’m from, many dragons were able to travel on their own. We haven’t seen anything dangerous here so far, and I can handle myself as well as any dragon if something does show up.”
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]Even so, Shadow felt uneasy as he and Gisil glided away. He was used to finding safety in numbers. That was the philosophy of the pack. He hoped that they would be able to recruit more members soon, but fretted that they wouldn’t be able to find anyone interested in the Shredder ways here in the Windsinger’s domain. He wondered whether they should move elsewhere, perhaps to the Tangled Wood, once they had regained their strength.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]It seemed lucky that none of them had sustained any major injuries from the Serthis invasion. However, Shadow suspected that this was not pure coincidence. After analyzing the battle countless times, he realized that the serpents had been uncannily coordinated. They focused the majority of their numbers on the eldest and most powerful pack members, and seemed to know who would need to be killed in order to scare the rest of the dragons off. They paid little mind to the younger dragons like him. He shuddered at the cunning it had taken to plan that strategy. It was commonly believed that Serthis were much less intelligent than dragons, but these events turned that perception upside down for Shadow.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]He and Gisil only flew a short distance, just going far enough to escape the dense field of bamboo where they had made their camp. They preferred to run on the ground rather than fly. It was easier to hunt that way, too. Once they landed, he and Gisil split up, going in separate directions so that they could scout for prey. Had they been searching for big game, they would’ve hunted together. However, this area seemed to be dominated by smaller animals, which required more stealth and were easier to hunt alone.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]Shadow surveyed his surroundings. The sun was rising now, turning the sky pink. There were small bushes and clumps of bamboo everywhere, which would be likely hiding places for prey. He tasted the air, but still found it hard to pick up a distinct scent with the strong wind carrying everything away. Closing his larger pair, he let his fore-eyes take over. They could sense the heat signature of any warm body that had been there recently. He saw a couple small, faint trails leading in various directions. Choosing the one that seemed the most promising, he began following it. It lead him under some bushes and then through a small path in a thicket of bamboo. He relied only on his fore-eyes, thoroughly absorbed in his hunt.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]Suddenly, the trail became muddled. It was lost in a sea of a much larger heat signature. At least as large as Shadow himself. He snapped open his sight eyes and looked around frantically for the source of the new trail.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]“Gisil!” he called, hoping his friend would hear him.
[color=F7F4D5]_____[/color]The bamboo in front of him parted, and out stepped a mirror who stared at him with four piercing red eyes.
[/quote]
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It is easy to spot traprock due to the distinct grey striping present along its surface. Some say that the deepest layers were from a time before dragonkind.
50
Writing
This is a bit late, I didn't manage to get it finished yesterday like I hoped. Since I drew another material today and I still don't have it finished, I'm going to split it into two parts. Hopefully I can get the second part out before tomorrow. I want to try to stay on schedule for this challenge. At least for the first week. xD
I might try to get my dragon's bios filled out today as well. I'm getting tired of all that lorem ipsum up there.
Quote:
Lore Post #3: First Encounter (Part 1)
_____Shadow woke to the feeling of claws digging into his flesh. Gisil had kicked him in his sleep, the purple mirror’s sharp back claws jabbing his ribs.
_____Shadow blinked open his eyes. For a second, he didn’t know where he was. He had thought he was back in the Scarred Wasteland, sleeping among his packmates. Then he remembered the battle. The Serthis pouring into their den; confusion, chaos, and hopelessness as his pack tried to fight them off. Strange potions fogging the air, making it hard to see. Hard to breathe. Hard to think. His mother’s body limp on the ground. His father drowning in a pile of writhing serpents as they impaled him with their spears. His whole life crumbling before his eyes.
_____A wave of despair crashed over Shadow, knocking the wind out of him, but he stifled his feelings. His family had died noble deaths, defending the pack in the heat of battle. There were few fates more honorable. There was nothing he could do to bring them back. Besides, he had always been taught that it was not right for the living to dwell on the dead, except to learn from the mistakes that led to their demise.
_____It was morning, but the sun hadn’t risen yet. Cold wind trickled across his skin. Shadow wanted nothing more than to curl up under his wing and go back to sleep, perhaps returning to the dream world where he could forget his troubles, but he would not let himself. It was his responsibility to lead the others. They would need a solid show of strength and confidence, and that started with getting out of bed.
_____He rose, yawning and stretching. His muscles still felt sore from the long journey they had made to this place. He roused Gisil from his sleep, repaying his friend’s aforementioned kick with a harder-than-necessary shove on the shoulder.
_____“Ack! Wha-?” Gisil said, startled. “What was that for?” he asked grumpily.
_____“It’s time to get up,” Shadow replied. “We have a lot to do today.”
_____“It’s not even dawn yet,” Gisil complained. He squinted, blinking the sleep from both pairs of his eyes in turn.
_____“All the better for hunting. I thought shadow dragons were supposed to like getting up before dawn,” Shadow said teasingly.
_____Gisil rose to his feet. He was taller than Shadow, with a long, lanky neck like a goose. His purple skin looked blue in the darkness. “Not when there’s a perfectly warm nest begging to be slept in!” he replied to Shadow, more amicable now but still groggy.
_____They were in an oval-shaped clearing, surrounded by tall thickets of bamboo on all sides. Shadow had hoped that these would block out the wind, but some icy gusts still managed to slip between the stalks. This sometimes caused a faint, eerie whistling noise.
_____Eilwyn was sitting on the other side of the clearing, muscles tense and rigid. She had offered to keep watch for the night. Usually, Shadow would’ve insisted that they do it in shifts, so that everyone would get some rest. However, Eilwyn had seemed content to do the whole task herself that night. She was a reserved dragon, and didn’t seem to be completely comfortable around him and Gisil. He couldn’t blame her, they were like brothers, while she hardly knew either of them. It must’ve made her feel like somewhat of an outsider. Shadow figured that she wanted to spend the night keeping watch by herself so she could collect her thoughts.
_____She glanced their way as they got up. “Any trouble last night?” Shadow asked her.
_____“No, nothing,” she replied curtly.
_____Shadow and Gisil went hunting, leaving Eilwyn behind to rest. Shadow was hesitant to leave her on her own, but they were spread so thin that it was inevitable.
_____“Wind lands aren’t as dangerous as the Plague territory,” she had assured him. “That's why we came here in the first place. Where I’m from, many dragons were able to travel on their own. We haven’t seen anything dangerous here so far, and I can handle myself as well as any dragon if something does show up.”
_____Even so, Shadow felt uneasy as he and Gisil glided away. He was used to finding safety in numbers. That was the philosophy of the pack. He hoped that they would be able to recruit more members soon, but fretted that they wouldn’t be able to find anyone interested in the Shredder ways here in the Windsinger’s domain. He wondered whether they should move elsewhere, perhaps to the Tangled Wood, once they had regained their strength.
_____It seemed lucky that none of them had sustained any major injuries from the Serthis invasion. However, Shadow suspected that this was not pure coincidence. After analyzing the battle countless times, he realized that the serpents had been uncannily coordinated. They focused the majority of their numbers on the eldest and most powerful pack members, and seemed to know who would need to be killed in order to scare the rest of the dragons off. They paid little mind to the younger dragons like him. He shuddered at the cunning it had taken to plan that strategy. It was commonly believed that Serthis were much less intelligent than dragons, but these events turned that perception upside down for Shadow.
_____He and Gisil only flew a short distance, just going far enough to escape the dense field of bamboo where they had made their camp. They preferred to run on the ground rather than fly. It was easier to hunt that way, too. Once they landed, he and Gisil split up, going in separate directions so that they could scout for prey. Had they been searching for big game, they would’ve hunted together. However, this area seemed to be dominated by smaller animals, which required more stealth and were easier to hunt alone.
_____Shadow surveyed his surroundings. The sun was rising now, turning the sky pink. There were small bushes and clumps of bamboo everywhere, which would be likely hiding places for prey. He tasted the air, but still found it hard to pick up a distinct scent with the strong wind carrying everything away. Closing his larger pair, he let his fore-eyes take over. They could sense the heat signature of any warm body that had been there recently. He saw a couple small, faint trails leading in various directions. Choosing the one that seemed the most promising, he began following it. It lead him under some bushes and then through a small path in a thicket of bamboo. He relied only on his fore-eyes, thoroughly absorbed in his hunt.
_____Suddenly, the trail became muddled. It was lost in a sea of a much larger heat signature. At least as large as Shadow himself. He snapped open his sight eyes and looked around frantically for the source of the new trail.
_____“Gisil!” he called, hoping his friend would hear him.
_____The bamboo in front of him parted, and out stepped a mirror who stared at him with four piercing red eyes.
