Dawn crested over the cracked earth of Dragonhome. Even before its golden glow illuminated the dragons below, fervid whispers were flitting around the camp as the expedition readied itself. The air, typically silent, was punctuated by the clinking of tools and stirring of dirt. Today was going to be a very special day indeed.
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Offerings to the Earthshaker were not uncommon, but one of the oldest and most respected rites in praise of the earthen deity was to be held in a cavern miles underground. The ground would be broken to make way for this expedition’s offerings, which were as varied as the participants themselves. Between satchels full of supplies and sundries, the expedition carried beautifully-crafted gifts, ranging from jewelry to drawings; each handled with the utmost care.
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Sunlight seeped into the last of the tents as the camp rose to its feet. There was laughter now, accompanied by buoyant song that carried hope and praise along the wind. From the smallest Fae to the biggest Imperial, each dragon had their part to play in the ceremony, and they wasted no time collecting themselves and preparing the last of the resources for the next day’s travel.
Written by M42
Through the vast expanses of open ground the envoy traveled, keeping a watch out for dangers and an eye on the smaller hatchlings that darted around, entertaining themselves during the trek. For the most part, the journey was peaceful, the air filled with alternating chatter and song. Spirals adorned with streamers turned through the air, part scouting and part just as a jubilant display.
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Camps during the nights were just as bright and cheerful, special foods made- both as offering and for those gathered after the travel. Offerings that hadn't quite gotten done over the previous day were finished- or at least worked on more. Days were started early with the excitement of impending holiday, those already awake waking others with the same child-like fervor.
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The infectious spirit of creating had also finally come to full within the hatchlings, the wyrmlings now gathering after whatever small tasks they had been given to help in order to discuss making their own offering.
Written by SilverChaoswolf
Every so often one of the hatchlings could be seen scurrying from group to group, talking in whispers so loud that the dragons nearby smiled as they pretended not to hear. Their small voices raised in excitement and limbs waved through the air haphazardly as they discussed their ideas. The dragons who watched over them amidst their own journeying found their intense concentration on their task to be endearing.
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Once or twice a curious dragon would approach the hatchlings to see what they were working on and to make sure they were not getting up to too much mischief on their own, but these approaches were always met with squealing balls of indignant fluff and a furious flapping of wings as the hatchlings scurried to hide their secret project from prying eyes.
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The dragons speculated to one another about what exactly the hatchlings were working on, but soon they were distracted again by the journey, and the general consensus became that they would watch the hatchlings from a distance and let them have their surprise.
Written by Egwu
Sswizzipzip--tap..
Sswizzipzip--tap...
The dark, beautifully painted tunnel whispered to the hatchlings, called to them. They clutched at each other, tails and wings tight against their bodies. Some lowered their bodies into a squat fighting stance, ready to defend their fellows. Earthshaker was famously a kindly, or at least neutral deity, but there were other things, worse things, that hid in the veins and bones of the dying god.
Many Earth clans stayed out of those mysterious, smaller tunnels that ran too small for modern dragons to fit, or the caverns too massive and imposing for anybody to worry about anything but the ever-present danger of bad air, even if it had been originally pumped out in the First Age.
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There is a reason so many darkly primitive sayings have survived in Earth where more erudite expressions have triumphed in other Flights.
Trust, but keep an eye open.
There are worse things than monsters.
When the mountain comes down.
The darkness below them shifted, as though the hallway itself was moving to form something anew within and repel it without. The ground pitched and turned--Earthshaker’s slumber, they called it. The hatchlings dug their claws into the ancient stones, more afraid of whatever lay in the dark than a collapse.
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Golden eyes, like a Spiral’s but dangerously blank, glittered up at them.
Sswizzipzip--tap..
Sswizzipzip--tap...
No, not a Spiral, something worse, limping, its claws scraping along the stone like a thing not quite dead. Half-lit, fans rose up along its...head?
Sswizzipzip--!
The creature that came forth was but a delicate Death’s-Head stag, the largest and oldest any of the hatchlings had ever seen. While certainly light, it was as large as they were--larger! Extending its secondary proboscis from between its split upper lip, it lapped at the offerings, drinking a bit of sweet fruit juices to get back its strength. Bowing to each and every hatchling, the Stag then moved on, a creature born from a dream.
Written by Nethke
The Stag limped its way out from the gloom and emerged among the adult dragons. They shuffled away from it warily, giving it space and muttering between themselves the old stories about it being a ‘harbinger of misfortune’, but the Death’s-Head Stag paid them no mind, as peculiar as it was, and soon continued on until it was gone from their sights. The dragons breathed a sigh of relief.
The hatchlings too, returned to the task of preparing their offering. Their earlier fears had been forgotten, at least until one of them dropped a pebble and in the soundless aftermath of the clatter, the ground began to rumble and heave once more. Not taking any more chances, the hatchlings ran back to the other dragons, diving under their legs for protection. Their sudden appearance was met with confusion which soon turned to fear as an unearthly roar shook the air, and a monster dragged its way to the mouth of the tunnel from which the hatchlings had just come.
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The monster was huge, as big as any Imperial, with rolling, dead eyes and a gaping maw that was filled with razor sharp teeth. Bits of dried skin hung loose from its skeletal frame and any traces of hair and fur were filthy and knotted, worn away by age and decay. It roared again, and the sound was too much for the delicate structure of the cavern; the stones of the roof began to crack.
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The first few fragments of stone fell to shatter on the ground far below, and then the entire roof caved in with a crash and dragons and hatchlings alike all scattered. In the resulting chaos, one hatchling, spotting an opening nearby, called to the others and the dragons ushered the hatchlings inside, the last of which dove to safety just as the entrance to it was sealed behind them.
The hatchlings had become separated from the other dragons, and what was worse, they had lost sight of the monster in all of the chaos, so they did not know if it was trapped in here with them, or if it was on the other side, even now hunting down the others.
Written by Egwu
The dragons had gathered together, their crests drooping and wings hunched as they fretted, worried about the safety of the hatchlings who had become separated from them, and the monster that was now roaming free. Several dragons began to pull texts from their packs; books and tomes, old journals and fraying scrolls. They bent over these texts and began searching for answers - anything that could help them.
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While many consulted the books, others fell into deep discussion, prompting the elders and searching their memories for stories of old. Surely something like this must have surfaced before? There must be some reference to it, some way to chase it back from whence it came, or banish it entirely. They had to save the hatchlings.
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They fretted, their actions growing more and desperate as they turned page after page, tossing one scroll after another onto an ever-increasing pile of failures. The elders scratched their heads, trying various forms of meditation and memory retrieval techniques at the urging of the younger dragons. Someone had to know something. They couldn’t give up hope, not until the hatchlings were safe again and the monster had been driven from the land, one way or another.
Written by Egwu
