Prologue
Three dragons were chosen by randomizing the list of all possible characters (minus Lucky) via List Randomizer and then picking the first name each time.
They are: Ozone, Dew, Desmond. (Wow, thanks, random.)
As Ozone traversed the lush and surprisingly cold forest of rainbow trees, she again pondered whether this was a dream or not. The strangeness of this place seemed unreal, yet she felt lucid and aware in a way she never did when asleep. She could feel the warm moss under her claws and smell the unmistakable scent of citrus, which followed her all the way from the tree under which she first woke up.
Another sphere of light zipped right past her, numerous sparks bouncing off Ozone's armor and falling into the soil under her claws. Dragoness paused, observing how they immediately grew into a number of blue plants with small star-shaped flowers, and sighed. Even something that looked familiar was fundamentally different here.
Overhead, the sun - the green sun - seemed to randomly move in the sky, its light seeping through the tree tops and illuminating the forest, casting strange shadows around. The colorful tree branches weaved above, tangling with each other, with bright golden birds green spotted lizards sitting on some of them and gazing at the dragon below indifferently.
Ozone shook her head, and continued down her path, carefully side-stepping the newly grown bushes. The trees weren't standing close enough for her to be unable to squeeze past them, thankfully, but she was getting tired from walking the terrain - she was familiar with stone and sand, not frozen soil and tree roots. Some part of her mind also wanted to catch one of the spheres to analyze it, but mostly she was worried about getting back home from wherever she was right now.
Eventually, she noticed the light getting brighter, and in about five minutes Ozone was past the tree line. The forest ended abruptly on the edge of a relatively low plateau, and from here and to the horizon a snow covered plain stretched, with misted mountains towering far away.
Not far from the forest, there was an ice - or maybe just light blue rock - construction, which vaguely reminded Ozone of a giant ribcage, with gapes between the ice walls and a roughly oval shape. It reflected the light of the sun, and there were lichen-like plants scattered around and under it, from what Ozone could see.
As she narrowed her eyes, straining to see more, something bright dashed in front of the structure, and Ozone almost stumbled back in surprise. If her eyes didn't deceive her, it was a Fae - a bright orange Fae, fluttering around the structure. In a hurry, Ozone stretched her wings and tucked away her scarf, preparing to fly down and hopefully meet the other dragon before they left.
Despite the coldness of the air, flying warmed her blood pleasantly, and for a moment she felt energized - wanting to pirouette in the air and fly as fast as she could. But Ozone knew it was more of an illusion; she better conserve what energy she actually had left. Spreading her wings, she slowly glided down through the air, towards the plain and, hopefully, an explanation of where she was.
As Ozone flew down, she took in the landscape before he. The plains seemed to be mostly covered by the hardened snow, with patches of ice eerily glinting in the green sun's light. Instead of the friable snow that she was accustomed to, it was almost flat - buy there were plants growing from it, so maybe it wasn't that solid as it looked.
When Ozone descended close enough to the ground, considering making the last stretch on foot, she noticed something else. There were tracks in the snow below her - scratches on the flattened surface, almost unnoticeable from afar even to her attentive to the details eyes. Intrigued, the Guardian dropped down after a quick glance towards the structure.
The snow felt dry and didn't crunch under her steps, but it was icily cold and, amazingly, non-slippery. A bit reassured by that - at least it was more or less normal, not rainbow, - Ozone followed the tracks. Luckily for her, they headed in the direction of the structure as well, and now she could see the Fae again, an orange blur between the ice columns.
Ozone was almost sure that everything is actually going as planned, when her claw didn't find an expected ground and she stumbled forward under the force of her movement. She yelped, immediately getting a mouthful of snow, and tried to flap her wings, but the fall was short on its own - her legs met something surprisingly soft, and suddenly there was grass in her eyes. Fumbling, Ozone spit out the snow and stood up, bumping her wings into the walls of a... cave?
As she lifted her head to look around, she almost stumbled back down again, as right to her left there was another dragon, a raspberry and gray Tundra, sitting a step away and looking at her with surprisingly relaxed and curious expression. Ozone backed away, her tail nervously swishing in the air and wings held protectively close to the body, feet uneven on the soft ground - was it moss, again? She tried to calm her breathing, and focus on the Tundra before her.
He was dressed in simple clothing and had a vert fluffy coat with a majestic mane and bright amber eyes and white fins. The Tundra grinned at her assessment of him, and waved his paw.
"I was contemplating on seeking a way back up through the caves, but it seems I wan't the only one tricked by the illusion," he made a humming sound, and bowed his head. "I'm Dew. With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?"
"Ozone", she bowed back, and then looked around. They were in a small cave, the ground of which was fully covered in grass and moss-like flora, some of it even being on the walls, with vines spreading through cracks and some dark blue fruits or vegetables hanging down from them. There were two tunnels behind Dew, both dark and narrow, and then, of course, there was an opening up above, apparently covered by the illusory snow - which still allowed the light to fall down.
"So..." Ozone looked back at her new acquaintance. "Are you... from here?" She gestured with her wing around her, trying to indicate the whole world. Somehow, the Tundra actually understood her vague wording.
"Not to my knowledge. I woke up in the above ground cave, about an hour of slow walking from here." He tilted his head. "I'm assuming you experienced something similar?"
She nodded. "I woke in the forest, up on the plateau. I was flying over to the ice structure when I noticed tracks - yours, I think."
Dew chuckled. "And we both ended up in the same trap." He looked up. "I tried to fly back up, but it is solid as rock despite being transparent, and I don't have raw stength to break it in flight."
"Let's see if I do, then." Ozone carefully stretched her wings. The cave wasn't spacious, but it was just enough to fly back up if she made sure to maneuver in the airs. She just hoped she can get enough speed to use her weight as an advantage - one of the many good thing about being the Guardian, being able to just ram through obstacles.
Dew nodded with a wise expression, and stepped back into one of the tunnels to give her space. Briefly, Ozone thought on why wouldn't he use his Fire magic to melt the snow, but after all, not all dragons could control their elemental part well. With one strong downstroke of wings she flew upwards, trying to both gain speed and not brush the walls. As she was almost to the top, she twisted her side, so that her shoulder takes the main hit.
Surprisingly, it was enough - the snow cracked, and chunks of it dropped down, with Dew cautiously jumping away from where he just looked out from the tunnel.
"Great job!" The Tundra cheered, and Ozone smiled.
It was a short time until they were up on the surface again - both glancing at the surrounding snow with great suspicion. Ozone looked towards the ice structure, still standing before them, although she couldn't see the other other dragon. "Would you like to accompany me?" She turned to Dew, who beamed at her in answer.
"Of course! I believe you would be a delightful company." He eyed the ground then, and added. "And I might need another rescue, if there are any more of these."
Ozone snorted, and flapped her wings. "Maybe we should just fly." By the time they landed before the structure, Ozone briefly told Dew of her walk through the forest, the electrical spheres that grow flowers - they just kept intriguing her too much, - and the orange Fae she saw from above. Dew, in turn, described the caves that peppered the side of the plateau, and how he trotted near the cliff until he noticed the ice columns and decided to investigate.
He was well-spoken, and something in him almost gave out a noble vibe, and yet Ozone didn't feel the presence that usually surrounded dragons like these. Instead, his manner was almost lazy, relaxed, just a bit shy from apathetic - he certainly wasn't very bothered that he was stuck in what possibly was another world. Or a dream, she still wasn't sure.
Now, the ice structure towered over them, casting long shadows on the snow, long lines of glittering ice much more obvious under its foundation; Ozone noticed Dew eyeing them warily - they both clearly lost trust in the solidness of the local ground.
As the duo made their way to the closest archway, avoiding the ice and alert to any sounds, Ozone considered the structure as a whole. The columns were frequent, with the passages between them almost too narrow for her shoulders and wings, even though she hoped she'll fit anyway. They had a bright blue colour, and seemed very reflective, not that similar to the ice up close. She wondered what they were made from...
"Ahoy, mateys!"
Both Ozone and Dew jumped in surprise at the greeting from above and lifted their heads. The orange Fae was hovering above, and before either of them managed to respond, dashed before them, flying lower to the ground.
"Sorry for spooking ya, didn't mean to," the Fae waved at them. "I'm Desmond."
Ozone introduced herself, all the while looking over the Fae in interest. Unlike both herself and Dew, he had a very distinctive style in his clothing; he looked like a sailor, complete with a bandana and a striped shirt. His striped as well wings fluttered quickly and energetically as he listened to both of their introductions, and the next moment he was quickly chatting, explaining what he was doing here. His speech was heavy with some unrecognizable to Ozone accent, and he also seemed to pepper it with nautical jargon.
"I happened to wake up somewhere to the north from here, and I spent some time gathering supplies before going to explore," he gestured towards a satchel on his hip. "Headed out to check where in the seven seas I was after all. Noticed this thing right away, it sticks out like a lone sail, and went here. Looked through from stem to stern, there is nothing except green berries - I was planning on leaving when I noticed you two below." He explained all that in about one breath, and finally paused.
While Ozon blinked in astonishment at that speed, Dew tilted his head in question.
"Green berries?"
"Yes, small, look like strawberries, probably poisonous." Desmond lifted his arm, where a couple of his scales were a bit off-colour. "Burned my scales, didn't risk tasting after."
Ozone sighed.
"This world is bizarre. Are you alright?"
"Some berries won't sink me," Desmond huffed, but grinned at her anyway. "The lack of company just could, but it seems to not be a problem anymore!"
