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[center][b][u]Day 24: Long Live the King[/u][/b]
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Sentence: 40-50 Coli Battles, Writing][/center]
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Ulf was roused from his sleep by the rustle of the undergrowth around him. As he cracked open his eyes, this thick, inky darkness of night in the Tangled Wood surrounded him. Who would be traveling at this hour? His shoulder stung as he shifted, he had gotten into a rather nasty fight with a harpy the day before after getting too close to her flock's territory.
"I smell something!" One of the voices said, receiving nothing more than a grunt from the other.
The next thing Ulf knew, a tundra was staring at him right in the face. He let out a growl of surprise, prompting his imperial companion to lunge forward to use his size and strength to his advantage. Ulf soon found himself pinned to the murky ground, sharp talons digging through his pelt as a pair of fierce red eyes bore into him.
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"What are you? Beast? Dragon? Both?" the imperial growled, making a show of his sharp teeth.
"He looks sort of like a tundra. Smells sort of like one too," The tundra observed thoughtfully. "Though, he is quite a bit larger and wilder."
"I'm a gaoler you fool-" Ulf spat, onto to find the imperial digging in tighter.
"Watch your words," The imperial growled. "It is my duty to protect Thaloyss from anything that seeks to harm him."
"I promise you, I mean no harm. I was just sleeping while you were prowling around getting all up in my space," Ulf pointed out.
"He has a point, Sylph. It must be quite surprising, especially if he is unused to the dragons of the modern era," Thaloyss pointed out.
With a sigh, the imperial let go of Ulf and slid off to the ground. "Sorry," He grunted.
"See, was that so hard?" Ulf asked, still irritated from being disturbed in such a way.
"You'll have to excuse my friend. He takes this whole protection thing way to far," Thaloyss turned and socked his friend in the shoulder. "I am capable of holding my own in battle, I trained alongside you, remember?"
Sylph just huffed and looked away.
"So, stranger, where are you headed?" Thaloyss asked, genuine curiosity sparking in his eyes.
"I'm trying to get back home," Ulf said. "I've been wandering around this labyrinth of a forest trying to figure out how to get back into the city. It's rather unique for a city, but unfortunately that makes it rather difficult to find."
"Well, as long as your traveling, perhaps you would like to travel with us," Thaloyss offered. "It looks as though you have a nasty scratch on your shoulder, I could tend to that, I'm a medic."
"It's fine," Ulf grunted. This tundra was reminding him all to much of another he knew. Another he was trying to get back to.
"No, it's not. It's nearly infected! Really, have you been taking no care of it at all?" Thaloyss huffed. "I suppose you think it will give you a fancy scar. Well, let me tell you, you look plenty tough without one my friend, let me help."
Seeing that he wouldn't be able to be rid of him so easily, Ulf gave up his attempts and moved to let the tundra bandage him up.
"There we go, all nice and new!" Thaloyss said, dying the final bandage together. "Now we'll just change that every day or so until you've healed." The tundra beamed, clearly proud of his work. "Shall we keep moving?"
The tundra moved to lead the way, and the imperial soon followed. Ulf supposed he had no choice. Pulling his aching body up, he followed, stepping in stride with Sylph. The imperial paid him no notice. Ulf was more than happy with that.
"So, tell me," Ulf said, breaking the silence after a couple hours travel. "Your duty to protect Thaloyss, what does that mean exactly? Were you a guardian before all this?"
"I'm an imp, through and through," Sylph grunted. "You wouldn't understand. It's just important to me that Thalo is safe."
"I do understand," Ulf said, thinking of Larkin. He wondered if she still remembered him. Neither dragon spoke as Ulf reminisced. "Say a dragon you wanted to protect was in danger from someone they thought they could trust. What would you do?"
"It depends on the level of danger," Sylph said properly. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "But I wouldn't hesitate to kill should the need arise. 'Course, Thalo wouldn't approve, being a medic and all, so I'd keep it quiet as best I could. My little secret."
Ulf nodded, feeling his stomach doing backflips. Was that what was called for? Did Topaz really deserve to die?
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Topaz had hardly slept since Jett had hatched. Everyone was talking 'heir' this and 'king' that, it was driving him mad. Why should a hatchling come across and steal all his hard work. simply because he [i]might[/i] be the son of some long-dead queen who couldn't even keep her clan together.
Then there was the matter of Larkin and Age. Both of them were infatuated with him, calling him a 'miracle,' not to mention the stupid bird. It appeared Topaz was losing his crown, and fast. Now it was up to him to decide if he was going to step aside let that happen, or if he was going to fight for what was truly his.
He was so caught up in his scheming that he didn't notice the door open or Larkin's entrance until she was right beside him, pressing her fur against his scales as she cuddled into him. Suddenly, all of his anxiety faded as he was filled with a deep warmth.
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"What's this all about?" Topaz purred, reaching over to nuzzle her head.
"I've just realized, we haven't been spending a lot of time together since Jett's egg was found, and I've missed you," Larkin murmured.
"Yeah? Well I've missed you too," Topaz said, smiling.
"How are you doing with all of this? I know this can't be easy," Larkin asked.
"Can't be easy? Of course it's not easy!" Topaz huffed. "I thought I knew what was going on! I thought I would be guaranteed my throne after I claimed it, and that my lineage would be destined to succeed me. My mother and father raised me to rule, and that's what I've vowed to do!"
"But you also have a deep respect for your family. Why else would you come here?" Larkin asked. "You respect the royal lineage. Jett is a part of that."
"But he hasn't earned it!" Topaz spat.
"Oh, just like you've earned a throne you've claimed solely because your grandparents founded the bloodline?" Larkin raised her eyebrows.
"Shut up," Topaz grumbled, turning away. He knew she was right, though he didn't like to hear it.
"I'm not saying you don't deserve what you have, I'm just saying you can't have a double standard about this sort of thing," Larkin pointed it out. "And really, when it comes down to it, you are the king. It was your dedication that led us all here, though some of us may have helped you in the endeavour. We may speculate all we want, but the choice is yours."
"Thank you," Topaz said, heart swelling with joy at her words. He really did love Larkin, and someday, she would make a wonderful queen to rule at his side. She was wise, and she helped keep him in line. He would not be here if it were not for her, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life by her side.
Topaz snuggled closer to the tundra, feeling her warmth encapsulate him and reveling in the soft glow of her belly. Together, they had a beautiful and intelligent daughter, and they were working to create a legacy The Forgotten Kingdom would not forget. With her by his side, he would be able to face everything the world had to throw at them.
Why worry about Jett when he had everything he had ever wanted.
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Age rose early in the morning, too awake to fall back asleep. It was going to be another busy day between teaching Jett and continuing her research. She had to read daily, or else she might begin to forget all that she had learned of the clan's history. It was nice to have some time to herself before the busyness of the day began.
She decided to go for a morning walk, relishing in the faint pink light that filled the sky above all the trees and thorns of the tangled wood. That was one thing she appreciated about the palace. While the streets below were wild with overgrown thorns and foliage, here the stars were visible, and one got a taste for the little light that poured into the darkness of the realm of the shadow flight.
Soon, the other dragons of the palace would begin to awaken. The twins would leave early to continue their work in the garden. Jett rose early, as did his friend Scoril, though the skydancer was still weak from whatever had attacked her. Her parents too would soon rise to continue to run the kingdom smoothly. By about mid-day, smoke would begin to rise from Khepri's forge, and somewhere out in the wilds of the city, Accident was prowling around doing whatever Accident did. Speaking of Accident, she had a lantern to get back from him. She had already gone too long without it, and did not want to depend on the flame of the beacon alone forever.
Just as this thought crossed her mind, she turned the corner into the next corridor. Something was not right. There was a brown and gray form on the floor, draped in a red-stained white cape. Her father's crown had rolled to rest just in front of her feet. In the distance, she heard the shuffle of footsteps.
Feeling her stomach churn, Age moved forward, trying to deny what she knew in heart to be true. She did not have to walk far to recognize the body on the floor as her father, and to see the knife sticking out of his back.
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Time for a murder mystery!!!
Part of the reason I didn't post yesterday, apart from being busy, was because I was scared something like this would happen. I really really need to be more careful with my Coli Battles, this could have been avoidable if I had used a health potion instead of thinking I could finish off the last enemy with another blow. I promise to be more focused in the future.
But yeah, we are about to have our first shift in leadership! Idk if any of you noticed, but in the table on contents, I've started dividing up the chapters into sections based on who is ruling the clan. I thought that would be a fun way to break things up so the list isn't incredibly long. It looks like Topaz's is going to be a little shorter than I expected!
[b]If anyone wants to claim Topaz, you have until tomorrow night (Tuesday) at midnight FR Time to do so before he is exalted.[/b]
Ulf was roused from his sleep by the rustle of the undergrowth around him. As he cracked open his eyes, this thick, inky darkness of night in the Tangled Wood surrounded him. Who would be traveling at this hour? His shoulder stung as he shifted, he had gotten into a rather nasty fight with a harpy the day before after getting too close to her flock's territory.
"I smell something!" One of the voices said, receiving nothing more than a grunt from the other.
The next thing Ulf knew, a tundra was staring at him right in the face. He let out a growl of surprise, prompting his imperial companion to lunge forward to use his size and strength to his advantage. Ulf soon found himself pinned to the murky ground, sharp talons digging through his pelt as a pair of fierce red eyes bore into him.
"What are you? Beast? Dragon? Both?" the imperial growled, making a show of his sharp teeth.
"He looks sort of like a tundra. Smells sort of like one too," The tundra observed thoughtfully. "Though, he is quite a bit larger and wilder."
"I'm a gaoler you fool-" Ulf spat, onto to find the imperial digging in tighter.
"Watch your words," The imperial growled. "It is my duty to protect Thaloyss from anything that seeks to harm him."
"I promise you, I mean no harm. I was just sleeping while you were prowling around getting all up in my space," Ulf pointed out.
"He has a point, Sylph. It must be quite surprising, especially if he is unused to the dragons of the modern era," Thaloyss pointed out.
With a sigh, the imperial let go of Ulf and slid off to the ground. "Sorry," He grunted.
"See, was that so hard?" Ulf asked, still irritated from being disturbed in such a way.
"You'll have to excuse my friend. He takes this whole protection thing way to far," Thaloyss turned and socked his friend in the shoulder. "I am capable of holding my own in battle, I trained alongside you, remember?"
Sylph just huffed and looked away.
"So, stranger, where are you headed?" Thaloyss asked, genuine curiosity sparking in his eyes.
"I'm trying to get back home," Ulf said. "I've been wandering around this labyrinth of a forest trying to figure out how to get back into the city. It's rather unique for a city, but unfortunately that makes it rather difficult to find."
"Well, as long as your traveling, perhaps you would like to travel with us," Thaloyss offered. "It looks as though you have a nasty scratch on your shoulder, I could tend to that, I'm a medic."
"It's fine," Ulf grunted. This tundra was reminding him all to much of another he knew. Another he was trying to get back to.
"No, it's not. It's nearly infected! Really, have you been taking no care of it at all?" Thaloyss huffed. "I suppose you think it will give you a fancy scar. Well, let me tell you, you look plenty tough without one my friend, let me help."
Seeing that he wouldn't be able to be rid of him so easily, Ulf gave up his attempts and moved to let the tundra bandage him up.
"There we go, all nice and new!" Thaloyss said, dying the final bandage together. "Now we'll just change that every day or so until you've healed." The tundra beamed, clearly proud of his work. "Shall we keep moving?"
The tundra moved to lead the way, and the imperial soon followed. Ulf supposed he had no choice. Pulling his aching body up, he followed, stepping in stride with Sylph. The imperial paid him no notice. Ulf was more than happy with that.
"So, tell me," Ulf said, breaking the silence after a couple hours travel. "Your duty to protect Thaloyss, what does that mean exactly? Were you a guardian before all this?"
"I'm an imp, through and through," Sylph grunted. "You wouldn't understand. It's just important to me that Thalo is safe."
"I do understand," Ulf said, thinking of Larkin. He wondered if she still remembered him. Neither dragon spoke as Ulf reminisced. "Say a dragon you wanted to protect was in danger from someone they thought they could trust. What would you do?"
"It depends on the level of danger," Sylph said properly. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "But I wouldn't hesitate to kill should the need arise. 'Course, Thalo wouldn't approve, being a medic and all, so I'd keep it quiet as best I could. My little secret."
Ulf nodded, feeling his stomach doing backflips. Was that what was called for? Did Topaz really deserve to die?
Topaz had hardly slept since Jett had hatched. Everyone was talking 'heir' this and 'king' that, it was driving him mad. Why should a hatchling come across and steal all his hard work. simply because he might be the son of some long-dead queen who couldn't even keep her clan together.
Then there was the matter of Larkin and Age. Both of them were infatuated with him, calling him a 'miracle,' not to mention the stupid bird. It appeared Topaz was losing his crown, and fast. Now it was up to him to decide if he was going to step aside let that happen, or if he was going to fight for what was truly his.
He was so caught up in his scheming that he didn't notice the door open or Larkin's entrance until she was right beside him, pressing her fur against his scales as she cuddled into him. Suddenly, all of his anxiety faded as he was filled with a deep warmth.
"What's this all about?" Topaz purred, reaching over to nuzzle her head.
"I've just realized, we haven't been spending a lot of time together since Jett's egg was found, and I've missed you," Larkin murmured.
"Yeah? Well I've missed you too," Topaz said, smiling.
"How are you doing with all of this? I know this can't be easy," Larkin asked.
"Can't be easy? Of course it's not easy!" Topaz huffed. "I thought I knew what was going on! I thought I would be guaranteed my throne after I claimed it, and that my lineage would be destined to succeed me. My mother and father raised me to rule, and that's what I've vowed to do!"
"But you also have a deep respect for your family. Why else would you come here?" Larkin asked. "You respect the royal lineage. Jett is a part of that."
"But he hasn't earned it!" Topaz spat.
"Oh, just like you've earned a throne you've claimed solely because your grandparents founded the bloodline?" Larkin raised her eyebrows.
"Shut up," Topaz grumbled, turning away. He knew she was right, though he didn't like to hear it.
"I'm not saying you don't deserve what you have, I'm just saying you can't have a double standard about this sort of thing," Larkin pointed it out. "And really, when it comes down to it, you are the king. It was your dedication that led us all here, though some of us may have helped you in the endeavour. We may speculate all we want, but the choice is yours."
"Thank you," Topaz said, heart swelling with joy at her words. He really did love Larkin, and someday, she would make a wonderful queen to rule at his side. She was wise, and she helped keep him in line. He would not be here if it were not for her, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life by her side.
Topaz snuggled closer to the tundra, feeling her warmth encapsulate him and reveling in the soft glow of her belly. Together, they had a beautiful and intelligent daughter, and they were working to create a legacy The Forgotten Kingdom would not forget. With her by his side, he would be able to face everything the world had to throw at them.
Why worry about Jett when he had everything he had ever wanted.
Age rose early in the morning, too awake to fall back asleep. It was going to be another busy day between teaching Jett and continuing her research. She had to read daily, or else she might begin to forget all that she had learned of the clan's history. It was nice to have some time to herself before the busyness of the day began.
She decided to go for a morning walk, relishing in the faint pink light that filled the sky above all the trees and thorns of the tangled wood. That was one thing she appreciated about the palace. While the streets below were wild with overgrown thorns and foliage, here the stars were visible, and one got a taste for the little light that poured into the darkness of the realm of the shadow flight.
Soon, the other dragons of the palace would begin to awaken. The twins would leave early to continue their work in the garden. Jett rose early, as did his friend Scoril, though the skydancer was still weak from whatever had attacked her. Her parents too would soon rise to continue to run the kingdom smoothly. By about mid-day, smoke would begin to rise from Khepri's forge, and somewhere out in the wilds of the city, Accident was prowling around doing whatever Accident did. Speaking of Accident, she had a lantern to get back from him. She had already gone too long without it, and did not want to depend on the flame of the beacon alone forever.
Just as this thought crossed her mind, she turned the corner into the next corridor. Something was not right. There was a brown and gray form on the floor, draped in a red-stained white cape. Her father's crown had rolled to rest just in front of her feet. In the distance, she heard the shuffle of footsteps.
Feeling her stomach churn, Age moved forward, trying to deny what she knew in heart to be true. She did not have to walk far to recognize the body on the floor as her father, and to see the knife sticking out of his back.
Part of the reason I didn't post yesterday, apart from being busy, was because I was scared something like this would happen. I really really need to be more careful with my Coli Battles, this could have been avoidable if I had used a health potion instead of thinking I could finish off the last enemy with another blow. I promise to be more focused in the future.
But yeah, we are about to have our first shift in leadership! Idk if any of you noticed, but in the table on contents, I've started dividing up the chapters into sections based on who is ruling the clan. I thought that would be a fun way to break things up so the list isn't incredibly long. It looks like Topaz's is going to be a little shorter than I expected!
If anyone wants to claim Topaz, you have until tomorrow night (Tuesday) at midnight FR Time to do so before he is exalted.
as soon as i read the title, i got very worried
rip topaz, he may have done many naughties but he will still be missed. even if he was not very nice sometimes, i still liked him. that's probably because i'll like almost any character, meanie or not.
i wonder how larkin's gonna react to this?
i kinda wanna claim him but at the same time i might not know what to do with him hhfkghgkhn
as soon as i read the title, i got very worried
rip topaz, he may have done many naughties but he will still be missed. even if he was not very nice sometimes, i still liked him. that's probably because i'll like almost any character, meanie or not.
i wonder how larkin's gonna react to this?
i kinda wanna claim him but at the same time i might not know what to do with him hhfkghgkhn
I'm really going to miss him too, he was such a fun character to explore and write, not to mention he is the son of one of my all time favourite dragons. But his legacy will live on in his daughter and her descendants, so not all hope is lost. Also, I'm with you on that. A character has to be a real awful jerk for me to not like them at all.
You'll see tomorrow! (Probably!)
Let me know whether you decide to claim him or not!
I'm really going to miss him too, he was such a fun character to explore and write, not to mention he is the son of one of my all time favourite dragons. But his legacy will live on in his daughter and her descendants, so not all hope is lost. Also, I'm with you on that. A character has to be a real awful jerk for me to not like them at all.
You'll see tomorrow! (Probably!)
Let me know whether you decide to claim him or not!
@Petall XD I've got this bad habit of poking my nose into your lair pretty much every time there's a chapter update. When I saw Topaz under the "Misc." tab I realized this was going to be juicy.
It was great to catch up with Ulf! I'm glad he's doing well, and it was nice to see some NPCs again. I think I'm beginning to appreciate how NPCs work here -- since everyone's traveling and/or in a place where they don't know too many other people, having NPCs pop up from time to time makes them seem less isolated.
Awww. =( Now I feel bad for Topaz -- just when he and Larkin had had a warm moment together. I still stand by what I said earlier, though, this is heckin' juicy! I'm excited to see whodunnit. [emoji=coatl scared size=1]
@Petall XD I've got this bad habit of poking my nose into your lair pretty much every time there's a chapter update. When I saw Topaz under the "Misc." tab I realized this was going to be juicy.
It was great to catch up with Ulf! I'm glad he's doing well, and it was nice to see some NPCs again. I think I'm beginning to appreciate how NPCs work here -- since everyone's traveling and/or in a place where they don't know too many other people, having NPCs pop up from time to time makes them seem less isolated.
Awww. =( Now I feel bad for Topaz -- just when he and Larkin had had a warm moment together. I still stand by what I said earlier, though, this is heckin' juicy! I'm excited to see whodunnit.
Oooo you must come upon your fair share of spoilers here!
Yeah, I realized it had been a little while since we checked in with him and I wanted to explore some of his travels! Also, it seemed like the perfect way to bring in that particular pair of NPCs! Bringing in outside dragons was one of my favourite things about Windkeep Tower, so I'm glad I figured out a way to bring in other dragons to my pinkerlocke!
Yeah... I mean, regardless, I was planning on having Topaz and Larkin be official soon, but it seemed particularly juicy to have such a satisfying, heartfelt moment before it was all torn away.
I've never done a murder mystery before (apart from leading a mafia game once) and I am thoroughly excited to stretch my writing skills to pull this one together!
Oooo you must come upon your fair share of spoilers here!
Yeah, I realized it had been a little while since we checked in with him and I wanted to explore some of his travels! Also, it seemed like the perfect way to bring in that particular pair of NPCs! Bringing in outside dragons was one of my favourite things about Windkeep Tower, so I'm glad I figured out a way to bring in other dragons to my pinkerlocke!
Yeah... I mean, regardless, I was planning on having Topaz and Larkin be official soon, but it seemed particularly juicy to have such a satisfying, heartfelt moment before it was all torn away.
I've never done a murder mystery before (apart from leading a mafia game once) and I am thoroughly excited to stretch my writing skills to pull this one together!