Quests & Challenges

Somewhere north of the Abiding Boneyard is a small territory whose boundaries are outlined by shrines of bone, beads, and hide that burn offerings day and night. The dragons who dwell within the circle of these shrines claim to be touched by the Plague Mother Herself. They give her glory and do not take kindly to outsiders setting foot on their hallowed ground.

Dragons that are strangers to the members of Tva'Kadith, or dragons who have offended the Plague Mother in some way, find themselves in the Pit. It is a deep well of ground, its top made of thick bones and woven wire, sealed over with magic. The only things that escape the Pit are the frantic howls of its prisoners. Those that languish in the Pit wait for their day to meet the Plague Mother.

The Laws of Tva'Kadith say that any dragons who prove themselves capable of fighting and conquering what foes the Plague Mother brings before them are able to shed their exile status and sit before the shrines as a Brave One, a full member of Tva'Kadith. Those who try and fail to best their enemies will merely meet the Plague Mother sooner rather than later. For many dragons ensnared in the talons of Tva'Kadith, the challenge is too daunting and they silently await their fate in the Pit. But there are those who would face the odds and claw their way to freedom. This is a chronicle of their stories, the Exiles of Tva'Kadith.



(These pages will get fancier as I figure things out, heh)

The rules below are the ones I'm playing by, by and large.



Basic rules:

• A death in the coliseum = that dragon must be exalted. This is the most essential rule of a nuzlocke. Personal Modification: Dragons are allowed two strikes, after their second faint, they will be exalted.
• If a familiar is obtained in the Coliseum, it will be assigned randomly to a dragon on the team. Same with apparel.
• And, most crucially, all nuzlocke activity corresponds with the loot obtained daily from Pinkerton's plundered pile!

The Law of Tva'Kadith:
If a dragon reaches level 25, they have earned their freedom from the Pit. They will join the ranks of the main lair.

Drops of Fate:

Food: Coliseum time!

Choose from one of these two rules:

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!

OR

Easymode: Choose whichever team and venue you want and go for it. Running from battles, using health pots, and ending the battle streak is fine, as I explained above.

(These ranges can also be altered to suit your level of activity/personal preference.)

Materials and trinkets: Flex your creative muscles!

Note that there is currently a glitch in which Pinkerton mislabels materials as trinkets. If you obtain a "trinket" from Pinkerton, double check to make sure its not actually a material!

Materials: Since I'm writing up every day of the challenge, a material drop will mean writing something extra. haven't quite figured this out yet. Maybe if anyone shows interest in this thread I can do writing prompts or question answers?

Trinkets: Do some art for your nuzlocke! Digital or traditional, use whatever medium feels best for you. Draw deaths. Draw dragons. Draw humanized versions of your dragons (if that's your sort of thing). Draw familiars and dragons together. It doesn't have to be that good or elaborate. If you make a nuzlocke thread, post your art there.

Rare drops: Wildcards

Familiars: Buy the cheapest dragon in the auction house of a specific breed. Use a random number generator (between 1-15) to determine which breed you will get! (Optionally: attach the familiar to the new dragon.)

1. Fae
2. Guardian
3. Mirror
4. Pearlcatcher
5. Ridgeback
6. Tundra
7. Spiral
8. Imperial
9. Snapper
10. Wildclaw
11. Nocturne
12. Coatl
13. Skydancer
14. Bogsneak
15.Gaoler

Apparel: Breed two of your dragons. The dragons you pick are up to you. You can also change one of the genes on a dragon, or use a scatterscroll if you are rich and crazy.

Note: You must flip a coin for each hatchling once they hatch. If tails, the dragon is dead and you must exalt it. Modification: Tails hatchlings may be sold on the AH or if there is outside interest in obtaining them.

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.

---

Personal Rules


Crim's Clause
If the demands of a pull cannot be met for whatever reason, I will go to Crim and use the first item she requests as my determining item. If her first request is ALSO a piece of apparel, see second rule.


Rule of Impatience/ Rule of Four

If the demands of an apparel pull cannot be met due to restrictions of the dragon population at the time (long cooldowns, all dragons the same gender, etc) I will use the familiar drop rules to purchase the dragon needed to complete the challenge. After which, I will roll for the survival of the dragon purchased out of necessity.

There must always be at least four dragons in the Pit. If one dies in battle, it will be replaced with the rules of the familiar drop.

[center][b]Current Cast[/b] [quote] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=52521187] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/525212/52521187_350.png[/img] [/url] [b] Pyrite[/b] She was a spare heir for a clan living in the Starfall Isles. On a hunting trip into the Wandering Contagion, a small group of hatchlings fouled her hunt. Angry, she cuffed one of them for their insolence and quickly found herself staring up at the sky through the Pit's bone cage. She's impulsive and quick tempered, prepared to do what it takes to make it out of the Pit alive. [/quote] [quote] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=52428933] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/524290/52428933_350.png[/img] [/url] [b]Amertine[/b] Amertine was hatched in Dragonhome without a pack to surround and teach him. His parents wandered off not long after his birth and he was left to fend for himself almost immediately. Often hungry and often alone, he learned strategies for hunting without a pack. While on a hunt, he found himself herded into the battle arena where other dragons were fighting for their lives. Easygoing for the most part, Amertine is still acclimating to a life spent around other dragons. [/quote] [quote] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=53604666] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/536047/53604666_350.png[/img] [/url] Born in the Pit, Eekiri is the child of two exiles. She is a bright and empathetic young dragon, but the drive to survive is strong inside of her. The Council has decreed that Eekiri, being born under the gaze of the Plague Mother, shall be treated as those hatchlings born to the faithful of Tva'Kadith to be Her servants. She shall learn the craft of battle and then her fate will be determined by trials. [/quote] [/center]

[center][b]The Fallen[/b] [quote] [b]Craegor[/b] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=52423849] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/524239/52423849_350.png[/img] [/url] [/quote] [quote] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=52549518] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/525496/52549518_350.png[/img] [/url] [b]Marlene[/b] Marlene was looking for a few new bird bones to add to his collection. Unfortunately, he found that the specimen of his dreams was the keystone piece in a shrine. Once he sent it tumbling down as he extracted the piece he wanted, a large black and white Bogsneak showed him the way into the Pit with a rough headbutt. He is a gentle fellow who has a deep, abiding love for collecting bones, pelts, and various other things of that nature. [/quote] [quote] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=52439974] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/524400/52439974_350.png[/img] [/url] [b] Shirva[/b] Shirva ran into Svet, one of Tva'Kadith's High Council members, when she was trying to corral her errant familiar. Initially, she languished in the Pit for days before coming to her senses and deciding to wager her freedom in the trials. Used to the finer things in life and to being a little bit coddled, fighting for her life and living in a prison pit is a bit of a shock for her. When things get to be too intense for her, she tends to retreat to the safety of dreams. Outgoing and kindhearted, she forgives easily and might let others walk all over her a bit too much.[/quote] [quote] [b]Eekiri[/b] [i]Escaped[/i] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=53604666] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/536047/53604666_350.png[/img] [/url] Born in the Pit, Eekiri is the child of two exile prisoners, Marlene and Shirva. She is a bright and empathetic young dragon, but the drive to survive is strong inside of her. The Council has decreed that Eekiri, being born under the gaze of the Plague Mother, shall be treated as those hatchlings born to the faithful of Tva'Kadith to be Her servants. She shall learn the craft of battle and then her fate will be determined by trials. [/quote] [/center]

[center][b]Prologue[/b] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=52423849] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/524239/52423849_350.png[/img] [/url] "There it is!" Halla called out to him over the noxious drafts rising up to greet them. Craegor didn't need his brother to tell him they'd nearly reached Rotrock Rim. His muzzle was pulled back from the stench of decay that permeated the surroundings and he tried vainly to breathe through his mouth. "Let's..." His voice stumbled and croaked over a tongue too dry from the wind. Smacking his lips a few times, he tried again. "Let's land in the flats!" "Too far!" Halla called back in his usual obtuse way. "We'll land right on the Rim, we're almost there!" Craegor snarled at this, the phrase that had been their constant through this entire slog of a journey. A storm had forced them into a desperate swim for a small islet as they left the Southern Icefield. Halla's constant, unfailingly cheerful refrain was "We're almost there!" as they paddled, limbs aching, for a shore. The drudgery and dust of the Abiding Boneyard unfolded before them, and "We're almost there!" blew into Craegor's face with the hot updrafts of air. Now, though, it seemed Halla was right. A large geyser erupted as they began to draw down in a slow circle, the stench deepening with each downward spiral. [i]It takes on a new layer of nastiness with each breath,[/i] he thought dourly, banking behind Halla. [i]Let's see if I can decipher the bouquet. Hmm, rotting carcass, that's a given. Festering sunbaked wound, maybe? Oh, the inside of an old Snapper's mouth? Mingled with....ah, yes, spoiled fish. What a lovely place, I'm so glad I paid a v-[/i] Something slammed into his midsection from the side. Halla's startled growl resounded in the air as whatever had hit Craegor viciously raked into his flank and then hung on, weighing him down. "Craegor! Craegor run! Get [i]away[/i]!" His brother's voice pitched up in a scream at the last command and Craegor, flapping frantically to try and stay aloft, tried to look upward. Bright fire blazed in his vision before it went completely dark and he fainted away. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=52521187] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/525212/52521187_350.png[/img] [/url] Screams reverberated through the Pit. Pyrite flung herself against the side of it again, claws scraping pointlessly against the smooth rock face. Getting up, she shook herself off and stalked in a circle. An Imperial gave a disconsolate honk when Pyrite trod on one of the Imperial's wings, but the Imperial shut her eyes and turned her head away when Pyrite snapped at her. "Those little brats," Pyrite snarled as she paced, her tail lashing. "I should have broken their necks." "Could you possibly pace a little more quietly?" A smooth, even voice floated toward her. "It's disturbing my concentration." "Your concen[i]tration[/i]?" Pyrite's anger skyrocketed and she barreled toward the owner of the voice. The Skydancer barely glanced her way before turning back to his work, talons deftly arranging small rocks and scraps of pelt. "Just trying to find a little light in the darkness is all," He said with a soft sigh. "If I'm going to be here awhile, anyway." Pyrite uttered a frustrated scream and smacked a chunk of rock out of her path. It struck something soft that gave a muffled groan. Pyrite and the Skydancer both swiveled their heads, bodies tensing as there was movement in the back corner of the pit. The Imperial merely sighed and dragged a wing across her face. She hadn't been the one to groan. A shape sat up in the darkness, then rose to its feet. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=52549518] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/525496/52549518_350.png[/img] [/url] Marlene cupped a paw protectively over his favorite pelt as the thing in the back corner of the pit staggered forward. The angry Mirror who had been disturbing his thoughts seemed bent on confronting whoever or whatever was in there with them, and Marlene himself was content to let her do so. He'd stay right where he was and hope that nothing else dreadful happened to him. Instinctively, he flexed the wing he'd bruised when the Bogsneak had tossed him into the Pit. No flying on that one, not for awhile. Squinting, he could see that the creature the Mirror was confronting was a Pearlcatcher. The poor fellow limped forward and Marlene winced at the ugly, sluggishly bleeding scratches that gouged deeply into the Pearlcatcher's face. Abandoning his work, he drew closer, hesitantly. "Where...where am I?" The Pearlcatcher asked thickly, shaking his head. "Where's Halla? We were..." "You're in the Pit," the Mirror rasped shortly. "We're going to be sacrifices to the bloody Plaguebringer. Only they don't call her that around here. Here she's the Plague Mother." "Do you need water?" Marlene asked. "What is your name? I'm called Marlene." "Where's Halla?" The Pearlcatcher asked again. "Where's my brother?" "If he's not here? Probably dead." The Mirror wasn't a fan of mincing words, and didn't seem to notice Marlene glaring at her. "Dead? Halla? No, no..." "Have some water, friend," Marlene said gently. "It will clear your head." "What are we going to do?" The Pearlcatcher moaned, slumping to the ground again. "Get out," the Mirror responded, her eyes resolute as she looked up to the top of the Pit. "We'll find a way out, or we'll die trying." [/center]

[center] [b]Day One: The Laws of Tva'Kadith[/b] Morning light filtered down through the weaving of the Pit's cage top, casting a scant bit of light across the dragons hunkered there. Marlene cocked his head as he felt magical energy swim through his bones. His antennae shivered at the currents of it. "I think they're moving the cage top," he murmured to no one in particular. Several shadows began to gather as he looked up, but with the light at their backs, he could not tell what they were. Pyrite had been dozing, but at the sound of the Skydancer's voice, she was on her feet. Crouched and tense, she held her wings close to her body as she looked up at the shadows. The top of the Pit slowly began to ease backward, and a rain of food scraps filtered down as it did so. "Come on, come on," she growled under her breath as half-flayed carcasses and stalks of plants bounced off of the ground and rolled to the corners of the Pit. The cage top eased back a little wider and from above there was a grunt of effort as a heavy body tumbled down into their darkness. The opening was wide enough. Taking one running hop, Pyrite leaped straight up, her wings helping her claw her way forward. Those at the top weren't expecting her upward onslaught. Sunlight struck Pyrite's eyes, blinding her for a moment, and she clawed forward blindly. Colliding with something solid and impossibly muscular, she snaked her head forward to sink her teeth in. Meeting with nothing but open air, she was slammed sideways as a voice called "Close it! Close the cage!" Then she was pinned beneath an implacable foe. Kicking and snarling did no good, the great black Wildclaw that sat atop her merely swerved to avoid her and seemed heedless of what blows Pyrite did land on her. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=39994787] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/399948/39994787_350.png[/img] [/url] "This one has fire," her captor remarked in a cool, amused voice as she fixed Pyrite with a pale golden eye. "Let me go! Fight me, you coward! Let me up and fight me!" "It's a fight you want, little one? Your freedom?" The Wildclaw inquired. "Do you know the Law of Tva'Kadith?" "I don't know your stupid laws and I hate your stupid faces!" Pyrite snarled, earning a muzzle punch to her head from the Wildclaw. The bigger dragon blinked at her sedately, unmoved by Pyrite's desperation or insults. "I should think you might be interested in this particular law, little one. You see, any of you from the Pit who think themselves able can fight for your freedom. If you prove yourselves worthy, you may belong to Tva'Kadith." "And if we don't?" "Then you will meet the Mother, as you would if you remained in the Pit. However, you will have died fighting, and in glory. In the open air. Do you accept?" Her mind already racing ahead to the possibility of escape, Pyrite nodded. The Wildclaw gave her an appraising look, and then nodded in return. "The other two accept as well," she said quickly. "The Pearlcatcher and the Skydancer, they accept the challenge." The Wildclaw gave a low chirring noise and a black and white Bogsneak appeared at her side, dipping his head in deference to her. "Have the shaman bring the Skydancer and Pearlcatcher from the Pit. We will begin the trials at once. Summon Prism and whichever dragon is her mate at the given moment, we will need them." The Bogsneak nodded and slithered away and the Wildclaw turned her pale gaze back onto Pyrite, who lay motionless in thought. Craegor limped beside the Mirror and the Skydancer, head hung low. Halla was most likely dead, and he himself was on death's brink, it seemed. He found he didn't care much one way or the other. He'd felt no alarm when the Wildclaw announced that he'd be engaging in fighting trials alongside the other two. Whatever might happen now would happen. He lagged behind a step and a rumble came at his back. He glanced back with only slight alarm at the Guardian that nipped at his heels. Had she been the one to kill Hala? Or had it been the Wildclaw? Craegor couldn't remember anything after he had felt that enormous weight slam into him in the air as Halla's shriek sounded in his ears. So lost in thought was he shuffled right into the Skydancer who had stopped. Craegor shook his head and blinked, and the Skydancer, Marlene he remembered, gave a soft sympathetic chirr. Craegor smiled weakly back, and then looked ahead to the Wildclaw, who had stopped the small party on a wide grassy knoll. "You three wish to invoke the Law of Tva'Kadith," she said formally. "I, Hel, Queen of Tva'Kadith, accept your invocation. You have been brought here to begin your trials. Any who fall, fall in glory to the Plague Mother. If you survive, you will sit before the shrines as an equal, no longer an exile. Your trials will be long, and until you have passed them you will remain in the Pit by night. By day you will be tested before the eyes of Tva'Kadith. We begin!" The two Guardians, a male and a female, that had been flanking the procession from the Pit nosed the three contenders forward down the slope of the knoll. There was a wide ring of stones up ahead, the area inside of them smooth and devoid of grass. Craegor glanced left as movement caught his eye. The black and white Bogsneak that had been present when he'd been dragged from the pit slipped away into the grass. He thought he saw a glint of metal bounding alongside him, perhaps another dragon joining in? [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=51258100] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/512582/51258100_350.png[/img] [/url] "Eyes front," the female Guardian snapped, giving him a light nudge. "Stay together," she added to Pyrite, who was slowly drifting to her left. "I should have bitten that meddling hatchling of yours in two," Pyrite responded sweetly as she complied. "I might still be here, but there'd be one less squalling noise maker in the world." The Guardian reared back a striped paw as large as Pyrite's head and struck her, sending her rolling. "Prism!" Hel, the Wildclaw, shouted from the knoll. "Do not interfere with the combatants!" "You heard her," Pyrite panted, getting to her feet, "you have to leave me be. Good thing, too. If we fought? I'd win, then I'd get the whole nest of those mewling pups of yours in one go. Just one bite-" "Get moving," the male Guardian growled, sending his female counterpart a pointed look. "Into the ring. Now." Pyrite sneered one final time at Prism before bounding into the circle of stones. Craegor followed her, hissing as he picked his way over the stones. As Marlene joined them, the Skydancer shivered. "What is it?" Craegor asked him. "Magic," Marlene replied. "All through this thing. It feels like binding magic..." He trailed off, walking to the edge of the ring of stones, but not daring to touch it. A moment later he reared back as a large webwing crashed into his face. It shrieked, battering at him with wings and feet. With a cry of disgust, Marlene pried it off of his face, jabbing at the air to keep it away. The webwing shrieked again and flapped erratically toward the far end of the stone circle. There was a sharp lightning crackle and it changed its trajectory, zooming straight for Craegor. Before he had a chance to react, Pyrite leaped up and snatched the creature from the air, clamping her jaws tight and shaking it until it stilled. The dragons around the ring had gone silent and were staring intently in at the three of them. The grass near the ring rustled, and Craegor saw that glint of metal again, heading away. A large furry insect barreled into the ring, heading straight for Craegor. He slashed at it, roaring in pain at the resulting re-opening of his cuts. Marlene was at his side, pulling the moth thing down with his teeth. Everything became a blur of tooth and claw, bodies colliding with bodies and howls of pain. Something knocked Craegor down and he found he lacked the strength to get back up. His wounds hurt, but in a faraway throb that he was leaving behind with each passing moment. He closed his eyes, feeling a sort of gray snow falling inside his head. He hoped he would see Halla waiting for him. A cool thread of light danced playfully through his veins, easing the hurt and the darkness. His eyes flickered open and he saw Marlene crouched above him. Marlene chirred at him again and gently placed his other paw on Craegor's flank. "They're taking us back to the Pit, friend. Their healer is going to heal us, they say we have earned our health but not yet our freedom. Our trials are done for the day." "We'll be fighting for an eternity," Pyrite's voice, somewhere above him, had been wrung of all of its fight. "It will take us a long time to reach our freedom." "No," Craegor said, struggling to his feet as the Guardians drew closer to them, ready to collect them. "We're almost there." [item=discipline] [/center]

[center][b] Day Two: New Blood [/b] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=52439974] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/524400/52439974_350.png[/img] [/url] [i]In her dream, Shirva romped through the snowdrifts that had piled outside the lair overnight. Rolling and tucking her wings, she dove straight through a drift higher than her head. The cold whiteness enveloped her for a moment before she burst through the other side. Her sisters were chasing her, but they weren't fast enough, not by a long shot. She'd always been the swiftest of them. Grinning, she scooped up a mound of snow with her tail and slashed it backward with an impudent flick. She chanced a look over her shoulder to see if her missile had landed. Her grin died on her face. The bright sunlit snow was rapidly melting into a black tarry sludge. It wasn't her sister that was chasing her, it was a Mirror dragon in a blood-spattered iron helmet. Shirva stilled and the Mirror's red eyes blazed greedily as, step by deliberate step, she stalked Shirva.[/i] Waking with a gasp, the Imperial swung her head up and around in blind panic. The lair was dark and silent. Where were the light globes burning for those who might be doing some late night reading or work? Why did it feel so empty? Why did it smell so terribly in here? Perhaps she ought to get up and look around, find out what was going on. She uttered a moan when her front foot struck a tacky [i]something[/i] that gave under her weight. Shaking it furiously, she put it down more carefully. Her eyes began adjusting to the dimness and a wave of fear nearly swamped her. The lair had changed! Gone were the gentle blue ice walls softly glowing with light from within. Gone were the plush fur hides scattered throughout the lair that covered the cold floor beneath. The ground under her feet was rough and littered with offal and rotting vegetation. The walls rose up and up as she craned her head to the cage top that cut her off from the sky. Everything came crashing back to her, then and she slumped to the ground in despair. Abda had gone missing, and she'd been out of her head with worry for him. She'd protested her sister's jibe about spoiling the half grown wolf cub and not training him properly. But she knew in her heart that she [i]had[/i] been spoiling him, letting him do whatever he wanted. And he'd run off while they were on a foraging trip, following his nose. She'd tracked him and found him sniffing around a strange altar that was burning something that looked and smelled like charred flesh. Abda had looked up when she called for him, but had continued sniffing. Angrily, Shirva had gone to collect him. That was when the Mirror had appeared from, to Shirva's way of thinking, virtually nowhere. Abda tucked tail and bolted away, but Shirva was rooted to the spot in fear as the Mirror had approached. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=40320947] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/403210/40320947_350.png[/img] [/url] "You have profaned the shrines," the Mirror intoned, circling Shirva. "Now you must pay." Shirva thought to flee, she was incredibly fast for her size. Her muscles quivered when she commanded them to bunch, and the defiant growl that rose in her throat turned to a whimper as it reached the air. Cold iron butted into her flank, setting her in motion. A Guardian appeared at her other side as they walked, striped hide rippling. "We found ourselves a butterfly, it seems," the Guardian crowed. "Alright, butterfly, in we go." With a mighty headbutt from the Guardian, Shirva was thrust tail over snout down into the Pit, hitting her head on impact. She'd lain for days where she had landed, in something of a daze of shock. Closing her eyes, she had fuzzy memories of being trampled on, of screams and growls. Now she stretched herself, her body tingling in fire as it woke again. "You're awake! I was worried about you," a voice from the darkness said. Squinting, Shirva made out a Skydancer picking his way toward her. "Here," he added, holding out a pawful of pale, squirming grubs, "you might be hungry for something other than rotten lettuce mayhap." Shirva snapped the grubs up, relishing their nutty taste as she chewed them. Her body clamored for more, reminding her it had not eaten in days. "Sank-oo," she managed to utter between bites. The Skydancer smiled gently. "Before you ask, you're in a place called the Pit. If you're like the rest of us, the dragons who control this territory found you objectionable and threw you in." "She said something about 'profaning the shrine'," Shirva murmured. "How long have I been here?" "Dunno, you were here when I got here, and that was days ago." Shirva felt a chill at that. Her family, her clan...did they know she was missing? Were they looking for her? "They'll let you free," the Skydancer continued, "but you have to fight in an arena until they say you're worthy. Something about the law of...whatever they call this place." "Tva'Kadith," Shirva whispered, unsure why that would come back to her. "Yes, that. If you want to see the sky again, you'll tell them you want to do the trials. Otherwise, you stay here," he motioned to the grimy surrounds of the Pit, "until they decide they're done with you." "Thank you for telling me. I'm Shirva. What's your name?" "Marlene. The other two, I haven't caught their names." It was then that Shirva noticed the dragon sitting near the far wall lovingly cradling his pearl as he smoothed viscous black liquid over it, murmuring. In the shadows off to his left prowled another dragon. Shirva felt all her muscles seize as she saw it was a Mirror. But it wasn't the Mirror that had caught her, she realized. This knowledge didn't set her entirely at ease, though. Something about the way this dragon stalked back and forth set Shirva on edge. "They're coming," Marlene said. "They're coming to collect us for the trials." Shirva looked up as shapes gathered at the top of the cage. The Mirror stopped pacing and came out into the center, staring fixedly upward. "If anyone tries an escape, you will be killed," a cold voice proclaimed as the cage top slid back. "Please!" Shirva called, her voice unsteady. "Please, I wish to do the trials!" "Only three may do the trials at a time, butterfly," Another speaker, this one's brassy voice Shirva recognized as belonging to the Guardian. "One of the others will have to stay behind if you go." "You're not taking my place," the Mirror snarled, raising a paw to strike. "Perhaps the Plague Mother can choose," a third speaker up above. This one sounded as though she were waking from a dream. "She will choose three, and one shall stay behind this day. Bring them up." Shirva felt herself lifted and pushed upward by an unseen force, and saw that the others were also being hoisted. The open sky came rushing toward her and she turned her face up to it gladly, uncaring as it dazzled her after the darkness of the Pit. Waiting at the lip of the Pit were four dragons. The Guardian that had pushed Shirva into the Pit, an imposing Wildclaw with unnerving eyes, a black and white Bogsneak, and a hooded Pearlcatcher. The Pearlcatcher pushed back her hood and all four of the prisoners flinched back at the sight of her strange faceted eyes. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=47270130] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/472702/47270130_350.png[/img] [/url] "You have invoked the Law of Tva'Kadith, exile." The Wildclaw addressed Shirva. "It seems that has created an imbalance we must now solve. Skytouch," she nodded to the Pearlcatcher. Skytouch closed her strange eyes and began to croon. The air above her horn began to glow and take on a white-hot feel. Beside Shirva, Marlene shifted uncomfortably, rustling his wings. Glancing to her other side, Shirva met the eyes of the male Pearlcatcher, her fellow prisoner. They were pale like her own, and she felt a pang of homesickness as she looked at him. He dipped his head in acknowledgement, and then stared straight ahead once more. A shape formed in the air directly above Skytouch's head, growing clearer with each passing moment until the sigil of the Plaguebringer hovered before their eyes. No one spoke or moved a muscle as Skytouch's crooning droned on and on. The sigil flared and then disappeared. Skytouch opened her eyes again and let them settle on each prisoner in turn. She then gazed at the Wildclaw. "Hel, Queen of Tva'Kadith, the Plague Mother has spoken to me." "What has She said?" "These four exiles wish to test their strength in the trials. Their strength will be tested. She calls forth three of the challengers this day. You, you, and you." Skytouch beckoned to Marlene, the Mirror, and Shirva. "She has also told me that She has no need to speak through me on this matter, and has given me a way to let Her will be known to you. I must meditate on it, and then I will tell you what it is." "Very well. The challengers will come with us. This one will go back into the Pit for now." She nodded to the Pearlcatcher. "Gently, Prism," she added as the Guardian stepped up to comply with Hel's command. Shirva's heart galloped madly as she, Marlene, and the Mirror were shepherded away to their trials. She chanced one look backward as they left. The Pearlcatcher had been knocked back into the Pit, and the top of the cage was sliding slowly, inexorably back into place. [item=berserker] [/center] [b][u]Results:[/u][/b] Everyone lived! Pyrite and Marlene reached level 4 Shirva reached level 3 Should I stop capitalizing dragon breeds? Maybe, it might getting to be too much. It just seems right. Hmmm.

[center][b]Day Three: Marked[/b] Marlene felt his bones hum with the nauseating energy that left him feeling as though he was coated in a light layer of filth. That could only mean that the shaman was using her magic to open the cage once more. Most magical currents danced through him pleasantly, but the magic worked here crawled into his blood and seemed to throb like a pulse of its own. Shaking his head to clear it, he gritted his teeth as that same magic lifted him and the others to the surface. Skytouch the shaman was there, along with Hel, the wildclaw who had called herself the Queen of this clan. The large guardian with bright peacock eyes on her wings that seemed to relish tossing them into the Pit was present, flanked by two other guardians Marlene had never seen before. Against their black and red hides, stark white markings like bones stood out in relief. Fascinated despite himself, he noted that the bone markings articulated at the joints whenever the dragons moved. He'd never seen the like and it amazed him. Then one of them turned and looked right at him. Their impassive gaze made Marlene's skin crawl and he looked at the ground to avoid meeting their eyes any longer. "Prism, line them up," Hel said. The lead guardian stepped forward and nodded to the two behind her. The pair split up to circle the prisoners. Marlene skittered away from the male guardian as the guardian lunged toward him. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=52533460] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/525335/52533460_350.png[/img] [/url] The guardian roared in laughter, his deep bellow shaking the ground beneath Marlene's feet. The brightly colored imperial, Marlene remembered her name was Shirva, didn't move quickly enough for their captor's taste. He snapped at her, his teeth barely grazing her whiskers, and she yelped, leaping into place beside Marlene. He lightly brushed her foreleg with his in sympathy, and she gave him a quivering nod of her head. When they were all in line, Skytouch stood before them once more. Even above the fearsomely huge guardians or Queen Hel and her cold voice and imposing command, Marlene feared Skytouch. Her magic felt wrong, her eyes whirled and sparkled, seeing nothing and everything at the same time. The marks on her sides stabbed white fire into his vision whenever she moved. She was rot creeping across grain, the race of infection through the blood, a dying animal in the forest. If not for the guardians at his back who would easily tear him to shreds, he would have turned and bolted from her. "That one," Skytouch said in her droning voice. She pointed to the pearlcatcher, and the male guardian nudged him forward none too gently. "To participate in the trials, you will receive the mark of the Mother's favor. Now I will do as my Mother has bid me. Lie on your side and be still." When the pearlcatcher blinked at her, the guardian headbutted him sharply. The pearl flew from his grasp and careened backward into the Pit. There was a sound like clay being dropped on stone as it hit the bottom. "No!" The pearlcatcher cried, flailing in vain to recover his pearl. The male guardian barred his way, lashing his tail to keep the pearlcatcher back."Please, I'll do whatever you say, please just let me get-" "You forfeit your freedom if you leave now. This will take only a moment." The shaman seemed to have no sympathy for a fellow pearlcatcher separated from his essence. Her own pearl shimmered in a satchel at her side, nestled among stalks of plants. Casting a last look toward the Pit, the pearlcatcher seemed to find some inner resolve. Slowly, he lay down at the shaman's feet. Marlene could see his muscles quivering, but the pearlcatcher remained still. "For our Mother to show us Her will," Skytouch intoned, slicing a strange rune into the pearlcatcher's right haunch with her claw . She then opened a cut on her forepaw and smeared it into the rune. Bending her head, she touched the pearlcatcher's haunch with her horn. Marlene felt the sick glow of her magic as it flared with the shaman's touch. The pearlcatcher was allowed to rise, but when he attempted to race back to the Pit, the guardian blocked him again. Marlene could see no blood from the wound at his haunch, just the faint outline of an odd design. The pearlcatcher was pushed back into line and he was flexing his back leg with mild surprise. The mirror female, who Marlene might have expected to put up more of a fight, willingly submitted to the ritual. She bared her teeth when the rune was slashed into her right haunch, but did not cry out. Shirva, too, submitted willingly, though she yelped as the first line was engraved into her flesh. Marlene warred with himself, ultimately deciding that death at the claws of those guardians should he resist would be slower than death at the hands of the creatures he battled in the trials. His eyes met Skytouch's as he lay before her and he nearly lost his nerve. It seemed as though there were rubies were her eyes should have been. Their facets left no room for kindness or expression, like the eyes of a mindless insect. [i]Do you really want to earn a place in a clan where [b]she[/b] is a revered member?[/i] He asked himself. The burn of the engraving answered for him, but it was a welcome pain, a pain felt only at the surface. It didn't swim through him like her magic did. She touched her horn to his side and he spasmed as the rush of ill magic flooded his body. Was it worth it? Was his freedom worth this? Yes, he asserted, it was. When Marlene was back in line, Skytouch pulled her hood over her head once more, to Marlene's relief. "Mother," she called up to the sky, "Your mark has been made, now You may show Your will to all!" Shirva gasped beside him, her eyes riveted on her haunch. The carved rune emitted a glow there as though lit from within her skin. Marlene looked at his own haunch, but his unmarred skin did not glow. The pearlcatcher and mirror were staring at their legs in much the same manner as Shirva. "The Mother has chosen those She wishes to see fight in the trials today. She will choose this way every day." Skytouch announced. "Prism, you and Nathor will take the prisoners to the verge of the woodlands to fight," Hel ordered the guardian with the peacock wings. "Nethua," she addressed the female bone guardian, "put this prisoner back and then join us." "Safe travels," Marlene murmured as he was turned back toward the Pit. ----- Craegor felt disconnected from what was happening, as though he were only an observer. The familiar weight of his pearl, his anchor in this darkness, was gone. He was empty. Losing his brother had been nothing compared to this feeling, this separation from his very soul which now lay in so many pieces on the floor of the Pit. There was nothing left for him now. Freedom? What was the point? The guardian Nathor had just herded a squalling phytocat into their combat circle. Pyrite darted forward to meet it, but then circled around it and swatted its hindquarters. It leaped up with a hiss of fury and rounded on her. She backed closer to the circle of stones that marked off their arena, the cat following. A moment later, a strangler burst from the ground between her front feet, wrapping a coil around her neck. Pyrite's scream of rage was choked off as the strangler tightened its grip. She blearily saw the phytocat closing in before her world went gray and then black. Craegor surged forward, his teeth meeting on sharp bamboo as he struggled to pull the phytocat from the fray. It kicked backward to free itself, cutting into Craegor's underbelly. He held on grimly until it stopped moving, and then leaped for the strangler. It twined its head around, attempting to snap at Craegor, but he darted forward, getting it just behind the head. It went limp, loosing Pyrite from its grip. Two owls descended from overhead branches. They didn't need to be coerced into fighting, it seemed. Craegor's desolation had sparked a burning bonfire of sheer anger. It consumed every other feeling in him, from the sadness of his losses to the pain of his wounds. He tore into the owls, leaves flying in every direction as he snapped his head back and forth. Pyrite stumbled to her feet and watched in awe as the pearlcatcher became a force of destruction. The imperial staggered to Pyrite's side and the two of them could only watch as Craegor laid waste to everything crossing his path. A bluefin charger reared at Craegor, stabbing the pearlcatcher with deadly forehooves. Craegor fell, and the charger stabbed down again, as though onto a snake. "No!" The imperial cried, racing forward to claw the charger from Craegor's prone body. Pyrite glanced around, seeing that Prism, Hel, and the two other guardians were fixed intently on the scene. Turning from the fight, Pyrite slunk toward the circle of stones, intent to hop over it and make for the tree line. This close, she could feel the magic that kept the creatures inside the circle. But if they could pass through it to get in, surely something could get out, if it tried hard enough. Closing her eyes and steeling against whatever pain she might feel, she leaped for the barrier. Expecting resistance, she was amazed when she sailed through it unhindered. Finding her feet as quickly as she could, she bolted for the treeline, heart quickening with the joy of freedom. She galloped as fast as she could, dodging through trees and over fallen logs. Glancing over her shoulder to see who might pursue her, she saw the stones of the combat circle at her heels, the scene still the same as it had been only moments ago. Redoubling her efforts, she felt the ground eaten away under her feet as she ran deeper into the forest. The keening of the imperial caused her to look back again, and she staggered to a stop in shock. She hadn't gone anywhere! She stood, breathing raggedly and trembling in exhaustion. "You've had your fun," a shadow fell over her, a wing extending across her body. She looked up into the eyes of the bone patterned female guardian and dropped her head in complete futility, slowly following in the other dragon's wake. Shirva gently pushed the broken pieces of pearl together, keening softly as she did so. When they were all collected, she pawed a hole in the stony earth of the Pit and piled the pieces inside. Covering it back over, she curled her body protectively around the mound. She'd promised him, and she'd do her best to keep her promise. How could she not? His eyes had pleaded with her as she hovered over him after she'd killed the charger. "What's your name?" She asked him, trying her best to sound normal, to not cry at his ruined face. "Craegor," he rasped, smiling faintly. "I'm Shirva," she said, a tear escaping. "They'll heal you, Craegor, they can help you. I've seen them-" "No, don't want that. Want...want my pearl. Find it? Keep it for me..." "I promise," Shirva said, "I promise I will do that for you Craegor." He smiled and his eyes glazed over and closed. Shirva pointed her muzzle to the sky and keened. That had been the end of the trials for the day. They'd left Craegor's body in the circle and gone back to the Pit. Now Shirva lay with her eyes closed as darkness drew in around them, trying to forget the basilisk she'd seen landing near Craegor's still form, its beak open and darting forward as the prisoners were marched away. ------ [item= shale skitter] [/center] [u][b]Notes[/b][/u]: Shirva reached level 4 Craegor died I initially picked up a piece of apparel from Pinkerton on day three. Since I had no RTB dragons at the time, I invoked Crim's Clause, wherein I go to Crim and use the first thing she asks for as my activity prompt.

[center][b]Day Four: Intervention[/b] Step by patient step Amertine slunk after his prey through the undergrowth. The little stag paused in a patch of sunlight, wings fluttering as his ears swiveled to catch any sound. Amertine paused as well, eyes fixated on the stag. When his breathing quickened in anticipation, Amertine slowed it deliberately. He would not ruin this hunt with eagerness. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=52428933] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/524290/52428933_350.png[/img] [/url] Sniffing the air, the stag continued on, his sedate pace relaxing Amertine just a bit. A creature walking like that had no idea that its doom shadowed it a scant two yards behind. Hunger pangs clamored in the mirror's shrunken stomach. Part of him shouted that he should strike now, right now, he'd waited long enough. He beat them back silently as he continued his slow progress. His quivering muscles told him he wouldn't have the strength for much more than one great lunge, and timing was absolutely everything. He eased closer until he was just a few feet behind the stag. The stag stopped again, his head flying up and his wings flaring, displaying their eyespots. Amertine held still, cursing silently. Had the thing heard or felt him draw closer? He had been mindful of treading on sticks and crunchy leaves, he knew he had. His prey uttered a small bleat of alarm and Amertine could see the whites of its eyes as they rolled. The time for stealth was over, he needed to act now! Gathering his haunches for a leap, he was knocked aside into the brush. The stag trumpeted in fear, rearing and bounding away from the dragon that had knocked Amertine down. Amertine snarled in outrage, struggling to his feet. The armored mirror that had ruined his hunt merely sneered at him before it barreled after the stag. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=52322958] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/523230/52322958_350.png[/img] [/url] Filled with wrath, Amertine rose to his feet and ran after the other mirror. That was [i]his[/i] prey! Vaguely, he heard something crashing through the underbrush just behind him, but he didn't much care what it might be. He'd get the interloper who dared take his hard-won game from him. The other mirror was just ahead of him, diving through the scrub after the stag. Amertine plunged after them, roaring a battle cry. Shirva froze, hearing a yell that sounded like it belonged to a dragon. Her first wild thought was that someone was coming to rescue them from this nightmare, to lay waste to their captors and set them free. The shrubs parted and another stag was thrown into their combat circle, one of the clan's harriers on its heels. Shirva whipped her head around, ready to subdue it, when she was hit from behind. She arched her neck, lashing to get the creature off of her. Her cries drew Marlene's attention and he shouted a word, his eyes blazing for a moment. A blast of air stung her cheek on its way past, and her assailant fell to the ground, stunned. Shirva turned to see it and gasped. It was another dragon! Marlene was at her side in a moment, one foot lifted as he prepared another spell just in case. The dragon groaned and got to his feet slowly, craning his head upward to see Shirva towering over him. "Are you alright?" Shirva asked as Amertine staggered backward. "Where...wh-where am I?" The new mirror asked, looking wildly around. ----- Amertine gnawed at the bone greedily, lapping the marrow from the crack he had made. His haunch throbbed dully where the rune had been scrawled into it, but he paid the feeling little heed. Despite being imprisoned in a hole in the ground hundreds of miles from everything he knew and loved, he reflected that things weren't so terribly bad. Remarkable what the first actual food he'd had in weeks could do to his outlook, really. "You seem remarkably cheerful stranger, given your fate," the other mirror prisoner, remarked as she strode by. "Content to possibly die here?" "Food is food," Amertine responded blithely, using his claws to pull his prize apart further. "I haven't had much of it, of late." He chomped the bone with an insolent smirk before pawing another one from the pile. "Don't worry," she snapped, "they feed their sacrifices well. Fat little fawns for the slaughter." "Seems you'll avoid that fate, forever pacing as you are," he pointed out, grinning as Pyrite growled and slapped the pile of bones he was eating from, scattering them hither and yon. "Stupid! All of you!" She shouted to the Pit at large and resumed her relentless stalk of the Pit's perimeter. "Is she always like that?" Amertine asked Marlene as the skydancer picked through the bones that had been scattered. "I'm afraid so," Marlene agreed gloomily. "It gets a bit tiresome, really. Shirva and I are good conversation, though." He nodded to the imperial, who was curled around a mound of earth in one corner. "As good a conversation as you can have in here, anyway. I'm Marlene, I don't think we caught your name in the day's excitement." "Amertine." "Well, Amertine, if you'd like some company, the offer's open. She doesn't hold a grudge, by the by. About earlier." Gathering his choices from among the bones, Marlene retreated to the far corner to join Shirva. They began murmuring quietly to one another. Pyrite's ever moving shadow danced along each wall, the Pit's uneasy sentry. Amertine looked up, the cold stars burning and winking in the patches of them he could see through the cage top. Somehow, he felt that they were gazing down into the Pit at him, a feeling that made his hide ripple with unease. Rising, he collected two more bones and went to join his fellow captives. [item= java sparrow] [/center] [b]Review[/b] Nobody died! Amertine got to level 3 Pyrite got to level 5 I'm a wee bit behind, but working to catch up Is anyone out there?

[center][b]Day Six: I Will Remember You[/b] For Pyrite, the days blurred together into one long ache. Some days, she would be awoken by the warm pulse of the mark the shaman had etched into her skin. According to their captors, it was a sign that the Plaguebringer had chosen her to fight for her freedom. Pyrite always felt her flesh creep when she heard them speak of the deity that presided over the Wandering Contagion. She had been raised knowing the proper names and origins of all of the gods. Their place in the creation of the world was immutable, everyone knew how things worked. These dragons, though, had changed the stories and godslore she knew until, much like the shrines so beloved to them, those stories were warped and twined into grotesque shapes. The way they zealously chanted "The Mother has Chosen! The Mother has Chosen!" as they moved their captors to the battleground turned her stomach. The days that the mark did not illuminate were worse, however. Left in the dark confines of the Pit with the others drove her out of her mind. Dragons came and went with such frequency that speaking to any of them was a waste. Oftentimes there was a new dragon in the Pit for a night only, their egress marked by monotone chanting and the shaman's sickly touch of magic. The only thing to mark their presence would be a feather, or some faint gouges in the earth of the Pit. [i]Weaklings[/i], Pyrite sneered as she scattered a small pile of pebbles one such dragon had been making before his time had come that morning. [i]They could have chosen to fight, but they did not. That will not be me, I will always fight. I have to.[/i] Her eyes trailed upward to the top of the Pit, and she pulled back her lips in a defiant snarl. [i]I will ALWAYS fight,[/i] she repeated. One of the pebbles Pyrite had disrupted arced through the air and bounced off of one of Shirva's spread wings. The imperial turned to regard it, following the path it had taken with her eyes. Carefully she picked up the pebble and secreted it beneath a rock shelf she had enhanced in the corner of the Pit she had claimed for herself. The pebble joined a slowly growing collection that included a few scraps of cloth from various outfits, feathers in a multitude of colors and patterns, and a tarnished pendant with a cracked peridot at its center. These items were all clustered around a small ragged chunk of Craegor's pearl. "Keirr," Shirva whispered as she placed the pebble, "I will remember you. You will not be lost." Her talons moved to graze across a bright red shred of satin. "Collin," she murmured, "I will remember you. You will not be lost." Picking up the pendant, she gently scrubbed at the gem in the center. "Miika, I will remember you. You will not be-" "You sound like them," Pyrite said flatly, watching as Shirva touched and whispered over the objects in her impromptu shrine. "Like who?" Shirva asked, setting the pendant down. "Like the ones who have us trapped here. You have your trophies and you chant nonsense over them, just like they do. I'm surprised they don't want you to join them." "If we do not remember the names of those lost, they are truly gone," Shirva replied serenely. She had spent enough time around Pyrite to know the mirror was looking for a disagreement to disperse her pent up energy. While Shirva didn't blame her, it did get terribly annoying. "I will remember you in the same way, should you fall before I do." "I won't [i]need[/i] remembering,[i] I'm [/i]going to get free!" Pyrite spat before stalking off. Shirva nodded agreeably and turned back to her work. When she had finished speaking to every object, she glanced furtively around to assure she was unobserved. A tent of large rocks leaned with arranged casualness against the wall of the Pit. Prying the rocks apart revealed a mound of earth and dried grasses that had been painstakingly collected in secret on the marches back from the battlegrounds. Brushing the earth and grass gently back, Shirva felt the familiar creep of worry as she looked at the eggs. She had by no means been a regular to the nesting grounds of her clan, but she had seen a nest or two, and the eggs that she had borne looked nothing at all like the ones her cousins and clanmates had looked after. These were slimy and oddly flexible to the touch, qualities she thought a healthy egg might not possess. [img]https://i.imgur.com/JAzXnAz.png[/img] Instinct seized her and she set the rocks aside and clambered onto the impromptu nest. The eggs pulsed beneath her, a sensation she was somewhat used to by now. Worry continued to gnaw at her. She had no one to guide her, to help her. She had kept the eggs a secret from Marlene, though it destroyed her to do so. The decision to tell him was a war she fought daily with herself, but could not bring herself to do it. He was so tremendously gentle and loving, he would be delighted by the eggs. It would crush him if things went wrong, and Shirva felt there was a good chance of that. That she could find a mate as wonderful as Marlene in such a dark and horrifying place as they found themselves was a miracle unto itself. The fierce desire to protect him from harm only grew every day, complemented by the mounting, primal need to keep safe the hatchlings that would emerge into an inheritance of captivity. [item= brown birdskull necklace] [/center] ------- Notes: Back from hiatus!