Day 30: The Magic District
Sentence: Art, Death Streak Roll
Sentence: Art, Death Streak Roll
Even with the light of the lantern, it was difficult entering the magic district. Even walking into the palace tower that housed the entrance brought on an icy cold that made it difficult to breath. Falcon almost turned back, but she had to see this place for herself. Paying little attention to how low the flame in her lantern was flickering, she squeezed herself in the crack of the rubble that blocked the entrance. It was only just manageable at her size, it would be impossible for larger breeds unless they were to move the rubble and risk further damage to the palace. She was beginning to see why no one had explored this portion of the city.
One the other side of the rubble, Falcon felt the scratch of thorns breaking through her skin as she broke into the open. She strained her eyes through the thick fog, trying to make out her surroundings. Brambles grew wildly here, only illuminated by the glowing mushrooms characteristic of the shadow flight. Suddenly, her circuitry began to glow. Scoril was right, this area was significantly magically charged.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her. She spun around, ready to attack whatever threatened her, but before she could blast her magic, she recognized the slim form of Scoril emerging from the fog, her multitude of eyes glowing.
"Oh thank goodness, it's only you," Falcon breathed.
"Why didn't you tell me you were exploring today?" The skydancer was clearly hurt.
"I wanted to be sure it was safe before we officially moved our training sessions here," Falcon admitted. It wasn't a lie, and she was beginning to wish the skydancer hadn't followed her. She had the sinking feeling something was going to go terribly wrong. Everything about this place felt wrong, like it could see deep into her soul and was telling her to leave. It was ridiculous, how could a place 'see?' But Falcon could think of no other way to describe it.
"I can handle myself," Scoril insisted.
"I know," Falcon lied. The skydancer was still very young, and she had a lot to learn. She had only just managed to gain some control of her magic, but it was still volatile.
"What do you think we'll find here?" Scoril asked, her eyes darting in curiosity.
"No idea," Falcon admitted. "But I can tell you I don't like it here."
The wildclaw had hoped that with time, the awful sensation would pass or fade as they adapted to their surroundings, but the closer they got to the heart of the district, the worse it got. Falcon had never felt such heaviness, and all she could think of was her fallen partner. She could almost swear she could see him, moving in the fog, just out of sight. He wasn't the only one. Out of the corner of her eye, Falcon kept catching a glimpse of what looked like other dragons. A pearlcatcher. A coatl. Other oddly draconic shapes.
Falcon halted as she began to seat from the weight of the curse. This wasn't a good idea. They shouldn't be doing this, they'd find somewhere else to train. But just as she was about to call to Scoril, she realized the skydancer had gone on ahead.
"Falcon! I've found something! Some sort of building!" Scoril called. Taking a deep breath, Falcon followed the sound of her voice. Sure enough, a large building rose out of the fog.
Scoril stood in front of the door, nudging it open. Before Falcon could stop her, the skydancer slipped inside. The wildclaw cursed. She was finding it hard to stand. She had no idea how Scoril was doing this so easily. Surely she felt the weight of the magic? Was she far more powerful than Falcon had ever realized? Or was there something else protecting her? Something Falcon didn't have?
She was gasping for breath as she slipped into the building. Suddenly, everything faded, like she was in the eye of a storm. She could breathe again, and she could feel her strength returning. That was when she realized how much of a gold mine she had stepped into. All around the room were a number of magic artifacts, books and scrolls. This had obviously once been the home of a powerful mage. Falcon began to grow excited as she looked around. Maybe this was the mage who cast the spell in the first place. Maybe, here, she could learn how to break it.
It would be difficult to find it, however, in the sheer mess of everything. Either the caster had left in a hurry, or he and his lair had both fallen victim to the curse as well.
"Isn't this amazing?" Scoril exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Who knew a place like this existed! Think of all the things we could learn! This is the perfect place to train!"
Falcon was about to protest, saying the journey itself had been too taxing, when she caught sight of something out of the corner of her eyes. A dark shadow was emerging from one of the central rooms. It seemed to be shifting in appearance. First it appeared in the form of a wildclaw, then before Falcon could take it all in, it became more similar to a pearlcatcher, then some other shape entirely. Falcon suddenly felt a greater fear than she had ever felt before.
"I-I've seen that thing before!" Scoril exclaimed, fixing a pair of her eyes on Falcon while the rest remained fixed on the growing shape. "That's what consumed the pearlcatcher I-" She trailed off, obviously feeling the weight of her guilt.
Falcon was hardly listening. Her fear was overwhelming. As the darkness leaped at Scoril, the wildclaw turned tail and ran, running out of the building and into the fog.
The moment she stepped through the door, she was suddenly overwhelmed byt eh effects of the curse again, and guilt filled her as the face of her partner flashed in her mind. She couldn't do this again, she couldn't leave another dragon in her care to die. Feeling a fresh surge of determination, Falcon turned around and raced back into the building.
She couldn't even see Scoril. The room had been filled with inky blackness, and Falcon could no longer see anything. This time, entering the building had not been a relief from the curse. Suddenly she felt it intensify to the point she wasn't sure how much longer her body could take it. Raw energy flowed through her, and she tried to channel it as she had Scoril's, but this magic was incompatible with her own. Instead, it filled her veins with poison, and Falcon couldn't take it anymore, she collapsed. As her head hit the floor, she heard a ringing in her ears, and she felt as though the world was spinning. As she slipped into unconsciousness, she could swear she could hear the voice of her partner, urging her on.
And then there was nothing.
Scoril screamed as the darkness surrounded her, hugging her tight like a blanket. It felt cold, and she shut her eyes, desperately trying to keep it out. Suddenly, she felt the presence of something, and she cracked open a single eye. In the darkness, she could almost swear she saw a familiar grin, caked in an opaline gleam. But he couldn't- he was dead. Scoril had seen it with her own eyes. Filled with a sudden rush of fear, her magic exploded out of her. Once the blast had faded, she cracked open her eyes.
The darkness had recoiled, as if it had been injured. It glared at her, then slunk away. Scoril got the impression is was leaving willingly, as if it had finished what it set out to do.
"Falcon!" She called, wondering what had become of her mentor. She could have sworn she had seen her run out of the room, but she wouldn't have, would she? But at the same time, the wildclaw was nowhere to be found.
That was when she saw her body on the floor, pure white as if all the arcane energy had been drained out of her. Her antennae detected no signals of any sort from the body.
Falcon was dead.
@CleverDual @HauntedWhale @Disillusionist @AlchemyFox @Tirtouga678 @catmeow1 @Leopardmask @Midwinter @chantric @Dynami @ShinyDecidueye @tigressRising @FallenEclipse @Stitched @Willnotgogently @Sabariel @MisterMylez @Skystrider @Starongie @icetail0912 @myriadofstars @Aetherstorm
So, I flipped heads for the death streak... Larkin, Falcon and Heaven went in, and Falcon didn't even make it through the first battle... I'm sorry to lose such a beautiful dragon, especially so soon after getting her, but hey, you get a glimpse of the magic district! I must admit, I got the 'eye of the storm' idea from the Stranger Things episode I watched last night. I only have one more left in the season...
If anyone wants to claim Falcon, you have until midnight (FR time) tomorrow (Monday) to do so before she gets exalted.
For the art pull, I did a sketch based on a comment Disillusionist made:
Disillusionist wrote on 2019-07-19 19:30:41:
Plus I couldn't get rid of the image of Heaven in a fedora and smoking a cigar like a 40's gangster. "Now, now, sonny boy, we had a deal, you'n me. I thought we was chums..."
But hey, good news, Age and Accident's nest hatches tomorrow!
