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. This dragon embarked on a trip across Sorneith during Brightshine Jubilee 2020 from June 21 to June 27. She is one of many who are traveling to various lairs and clans in the hopes of spreading love and joy to those they encounter. When it's over, they'll be able to look back at the adventures they had and dragons they met and remember the journey they went on. ____________________________________________ coding // graphics

Poppy was won during a BS event our first year playing. Breed and name changed, added cherub to prepare for BS2020. Poppy is our flight's Light Rep. Poppy's job is the clan's scribe. She handles recording important events, writing or notarizing certificates, and assisting the organization of the clan's important documents. Poppy also keeps a collection of ancestral pearls of knowledge to preserve their ancient experience and wisdom.

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The golden sign read, showing above the field of sunflowers. Pausing, Poppy pushed through and found a clearing bustling with dragons.

She is noticed immediately - “Oh! That’s where you got to!” says a strong lady Guardian, “We’ve been expecting our first Traveller!” - as Poppy looks around.

“Hello!,” greets the Guardian, “I’m Janice, Clan Leader here at Brilliant Talon. We’re in Brightshine Jubilee proper now, and we’re glad to see you!”

She escorts you around the patch of field. There’s food and drink, and music, as well as fine floral decorations, besides the sunflowers. Poppy notices there’s also many Wildclaws, outnumbering every other type of dragon.

Well. That explains the talon, at least.

It’s too bad the musician’s style is outdated, but it’s still a fun day as you luxuriate under the sunflowers and make new friends.

Sour Strawberry Plant You probably should have waited a few more days before harvesting this. 70 8

Travelled to the Alstroemeria Clan Your dragon appeared during their sunflower delivery route, through the brambles and blacksand beaches, to end up with the Alstroemeria clan for a time~ With a renewed sense of whimsy and a few weird trinkets, they head off to their next destination! Achieved: BSJ 2020

The flight from Poppy's second host clan to her third was brief enough to see her arrive before the sun had even reached its noon mark. She honestly expected a longer trip, given that the third host was of Lightning, but she found Thunder Hollow on the border of its territory as opposed to deeper inside of it. As she touched down in the bustling central courtyard, she wondered what all she would do with the extra time she'd gained; first impressions told her that there was more than enough going on here to fill the additional hours.

Poppy glanced around the plaza, finding the place to be truly bedecked in Brightshine decorations. Banners and strings of lights draped across nearly every available surface, lending a certain glow to the buildings that towered over the wide streets. Festive music drifted over the soft sounds of murmuring dragons, and laughter echoed from stalls and tents where events were being held. The clan seemed alive with celebration, and Poppy was eager to join in--but where to start?

A nearby welcome booth provided her with a map, which showed not only the city's layout but also the locations of various events throughout the week. There were dozens of them, all marked in prominent red ink, and many were quite tempting. There was a poetry competition being hosted later in the day that she was quite curious about, and there was also a sunflower maze run in an an hour that seemed like a fun way to pass the time. The thing that really jumped out at her, however, was something called a 'Bibliothon' being hosted at the clan's public library. Flipping the map over, she read its description in the legend:


Poppy all but shivered with excitement. A way to utilize the knowledge she'd collected? What a wonderful idea for a festival game! Not to mention the fact that she wouldn't have to wait long to participate; the event was slated to start in less than fifteen minutes. Determined, Poppy flipped the map over and traced the path she had to follow to the library before setting off at a brisk pace. Hopefully, she wasn't too late to get a team!


Fortunately for Poppy, the event director, a stately tealish guardian, was more than happy to add her to a team when she arrived at the library a few minutes later. As Poppy regained her breath, the director looked over the startlingly long participant list and grouped her with two of the locals: an aged snapper by the name of Onca and a considerably younger tundra named Sage. The director pointed them out to her in the crowd before turning to address the other latecomers who had filed in after Poppy.

Onca and Sage had seemingly been grouped together before she arrived, and they were chatting with one another near the rope that separated the participants from the rest of the library. Poppy didn't particularly want to interrupt their snappy banter, but Sage paused as she approached, addressing her,

"Hey! You our last teammate?"

"I am!" Poppy gladly replied, relieved to have been included without having to disrupt their conversation, "My name is Poppy. You're Onca and Sage, right?"

"Sure thing, hun!" Onca replied, and Sage nodded in agreement, "Glad to have you. Is this your first time competing in a Bibliothon?"

"Yeah, it is. What all do we do?"

"Well," Onca replied, shifting around to get a better view of the library, "the whole goal of a Bibliothon is to answer trivia questions for points using the reading material here in the library--plus our own knowledge, of course. Pretty easy, yeah? Unfortunately for us, I doubt we're the only dragons here with some smarts on our side. Clan Thunder Hollow takes matters of learning seriously, as I'm sure you can tell from the turnout. It got pretty intense last year, though we've formatted the rules a bit better this time so as to hopefully avoid the issues we faced the first go 'round."

"Yeah," Sage added, "no more physical contact between opposing teams this year! Or ladders. There were way too many ladder- and contact- related injuries--it was a mess."

"It was a riot of a good time, though," Onca said with a chuckle, "and this year will be even better. Sure, we can't brawl over books, but they're going to offer bonus challenges every ten minutes where the teams can compete directly for extra points."

Poppy was relieved that whatever chaos had transpired last year wasn't likely to be replicated this time. Brawling over books? Not her kind of battle, that was for sure. She preferred the sort they advertised: battles of wit.

"Attention teams!"

Poppy whirled around to face the event organizer, who had planted her front paws on the entry desk so that everyone in the crowd could see her.

"The Second-Annual Brightshine Bibliothon is about to begin! Does everyone understand the rules?"

A chorus of 'Yes!' rose from the crowd.

"That's good to hear, and any of you who have questions are free to get a refresher from any of the event helpers whenever you like. You will have one hour to collect points by answering trivia questions--which you may receive one at a time from any dragon wearing the "Library Aide" badge--and competing in bonus challenges every ten minutes right here in the lobby. You are free to enter and take books from any area of the library so long as you return whatever you take to its rightful home before moving on. You may not jostle, attack, or otherwise harm any dragon from another team as you hunt for answers, and, if you cannot reach a book that you need, please seek out one of the helpers to get it for you instead of climbing shelves to get it yourself. Ladders will not be available until after the event has concluded, for safety reasons. Are these guidelines clear?"

The crowd once again cried out an affirmative.

"Then, everyone take your marks, get ready, and go!"

The rope separating them from the rest of the library was pulled aside and dragons poured into the rows between the shelves, dashing towards the desks in the back where event helpers sat next to large baskets full of questions written on small scraps of paper. Poppy kept close to Onca and Sage as they darted through the fiction section towards an out-of-the-way service kiosk to receive their first question.

They were the first to reach it and were rewarded with a small sheet of paper that contained the question,


They moved away from the desk a bit so that others could get trivia slips before puzzling it out.

"I haven't been in the Sunbeam Ruins for over a decade, and I've never been particularly keen on geology," Onca commented, "Any of you know or will we have to hit the stacks?"

"I think it might be Sacridite?" Poppy mused, a flicker of recognition returning to her, "Agates are pretty common too, but they're not strictly gemstones."

"That's a better answer than I've got," Sage replied with a shrug, "so let's give it a shot. The worst that could happen is that we get it wrong and have to take a new slip, right?"

They darted back up to the desk, which still wasn't receiving much traffic. The helper standing behind it took their clue and listened carefully to their answer before checking a scroll that was kept just out of view.

"That's correct! Congratulations, guys--that'll be a point for your total! Here's another question for you."

The aide handed them a second slip, this one containing the question,


Neither Onca nor Sage nor Poppy had an answer for that one, and so they dashed off into the library in seek of the answer.


Though they didn't have an immediate answer for every question they received, Poppy's team did extraordinarily well overall. Poppy could provide obscure bits of knowledge from the pearls she had cared for back at her home clan; Onca seemed to know everything about fungi and a great deal about many other biological subjects; Sage, who had been certified in two medical fields, could answer any medical question they received with ease. They even excelled at the bonus challenges, winning an impressive two of the six.

Poppy couldn't believe it had been an entire hour when the event organizer called out again, signaling that the Bibliothon had concluded. The time passed in a blur of running between the shelves and the desks, receiving questions and answering them as fast as they could. She and her two teammates lined up in the lobby with the other groups, nervously whispering to one another as the event helpers compared their progress scrolls and added up team totals. After a long moment of calculation, the host stood up and addressed the gathered dragons,

"Congratulations on an excellent Bibliothon! Though I've only had the pleasure of hosting two Bibliothons, the improvement this year was tremendous--the point average between the teams increased by almost ten! Now, I won't keep you in suspense any longer. With a whopping fifty-two points, this year's winning team is...

Team number twenty-seven: Onca, Sage, and Poppy!"

The gathered dragons erupted into cheers and applause, congratulating Poppy and her teammates as they stepped forward.

"As a reward for your impressive display of knowledge, each of you will receive a voucher that is good for purchasing any book from the neighboring book shop, as well as fifty Immaculate Tablets to spend as you please throughout the rest of the festival. Everyone, please give another round of applause for our winners!"

Poppy received her Tablets and voucher to the thunderous sounds of applause, and she couldn't keep herself from grinning at her teammates over the victory they had won together.


Poppy, Onca, and Sage all stopped by the book shop together to make their selections, chatting amicably with one another as they browsed the impressive selection. Sage found a bound set of fiction novels that interested him and Onca picked up a newly-printed book on mycology. Poppy found a beautiful journal, with glittering gold-leaf bindings and an enchanted quill that never ran out of ink. The shopkeep was more than happy to accept their vouchers in return for their purchases and congratulate them on their success in the Bibliothon.

Before Poppy could think to check her map to find out what events she could fill the rest of her day with, she remembered the sunflowers she was supposed to deliver. Resolutely, she removed a parcel of blooms and split its contents with her newfound friends, who each promised to plant them when they returned home (though Onca confessed that she had more luck cultivating mushrooms than flowers; Sage offered to help her set up a more conventional garden). Full of excitement and confidence, the trio set off for the next challenge, and Poppy knew that the rest of her day here would be supremely enjoyable--though there was no guarantee they'd be so successful with the next game they tried!

Smolderpetal Plant Easier to gather than the speckled fire lily, this hardy flower tastes absolutely divine after a good roast. 37 4

Upon arriving a small village, Flos est Infernum, one such as Poppy could immediately recognize a festival happening here. Although it wasn't one in celebration of the Jubilee, however, one could still spot sunflowers from building to building through the market area. The market area, in the meantime, was quite crowded despite the size of the village itself. Dragons of a variety of shapes and sizes ventured through, talking and laughing while being dressed up for the occasion. 'What are they celebrating?' the Pearlcatcher couldn't help but wonder, ready to pull another dragon to the side to repeat this question out loud.

"Ah! You must Poppy!" A voice called out, causing the Pearlcatcher to turn her head quickly to see a Wildclaw of a sandy color coat of fur. He was decorated with orange and silver that somehow blended well with his natural color, while pale yellow flowers framed his hips and tail - even a sunflower could be seen within the body bouquet! "Oh, my apologies. I have become quite excited to even remember my manners." With a light chuckle, he gave her an apologetic bow of his head. "I am called Kydoimos and I am here to welcome you to our lovely home, Flos est Infernum. Despite the intimidating name, this village is actually a great place to relax and get away. There's quite a bit of history here, too, but..." He shook his head mostly towards the fact that he was getting carried away again. "You're not here for the history lesson. No. Instead, I want to show you our garden, which I am sure you'll appreciate."

As he guided her through the village, he explained to her that the festival that the village was currently celebrating was called The Bloom, which lasts the entirety of the month - there just happens to be more dragons in the area due to the Brightshine Jubilee. His excitement shined through his voice as he further explained how The Bloom was a reminder to the village on how far they have come, individually and as a whole - similar to a blooming flower after some rough hardships of growth. When the village had heard of sunflowers being the main theme for this year's jubilee, Kydoimos couldn't help but admit that many wished to be a part of this theme and grow many sunflowers this year.

"Here we are~" The Wildclaw paused in front of a large metal gate, which was clearly in front of the said garden he had mentioned earlier. With very easy ease, he pushed open the gate and urged her inside. "Take all the time you need to see the sights. We are very proud with all the work that has been put into this, so I hope that you, our dear guest, could enjoy it."

Without another word, Kydoimos left her be alone in the garden, allowing her eyes to gaze upon the beauty before her. Not only were there sunflowers, but there were many others to compliment the yellow flora. It seem that the Wildclaw was true to his word when he said that they had gone through so much for a display such as this one. Really makes one wonder what this village had gone through to be sure to have such a reminder of all that they have gone through...


"The tower's thataway, past the meadows and three paces into the forest and then a turn to the right..." Poppy took mental note of the directions given to her by the guard as she set out on the trek to the library. It didn't seem like dragons frequented this path, she noticed; the stones were jagged and in places loose, and weeds grew profusely out of cracks of varying sizes. She almost tripped on a particularly disheveled rock the size of a small boulder, scraping her arm in the process. "Ouch.."she muttered, inspecting the scratches quickly before moving on. As she passed by the edge of the meadows, she could hear joyous shouting and see the kites flying the distance, probably closer to the main pavilion. But she didn't mind it; in fact, she found the quietness tranquilizing and calming, allowing her to ponder about the information she was going to discuss with the head librarian and historian of Sundial Terrace.

Past the meadows, she reached the edge of the forest; immediately she felt a shiver going down her spine as she stepped foot into the glooming darkness. There were vines everywhere, obstructing her path and creating thick mazes that make it difficult to gauge the surroundings. There were also sprawling brambles all over the forest ground; Poppy could have sworn that she saw a large spider with ten fangs darting out of a rotting log at one point. Either way, despite her discomfort, Poppy forced herself to count the steps as had been instructed, hoping that her memory would lead her to the library.

"Three, two, one..." she breathed before daring to look up. In front of her was a large, ivy covered golden door. There were some inscriptions engraved along the archway but they had evidently faded over time. Stepping back for a moment, she realized that the "library" was an ancient castle like the ones she had read in the historical texts; judging by the the gargoyles and the decor, this was most likely the residence of a minor deity before the great war. The intricate carvings and scenic depictions, were, even in their faded glory, beautiful and majestic. Taking a step forward, she held her breath and knocked on the giant door.

A few minutes passed before she heard a faint thumping coming from inside. Slowly, the ancient door creaked open, revealing a female pearlcatcher carrying two books in claw.
"Oh! You must be Poppy! Welcome! I hope finding this place wasn't too difficult...I know the forest can be intimidating," the pearlcatcher said, almost apologetically.
"Why yes," Poppy replied. "It took a while but I got here; mind if I catch my breath a little first?"
"Yes sure! Feel free to meet me on the second floor whenever you're ready."


I am terribly sorry, I haven't got time today. I'll send my contribution over the next week.
Sorry again.

The last stop on Poppy's journey brought her to a traveling market full of sights and sounds both foreign and familiar to the pearlcatcher. Taking her first steps into the crowd before her, she began to make idle conversation with a few of the merchants whose wares caught her eye. It was not long before she learned that this clan had a historian as well, dedicated to keeping records of the market's history and meddlings in local affairs, wherever 'local' happened to be at the time. Curiosity pushing her forward, she forged ahead into the market square, hoping to come across the golden spiral she had been advised to seek.

'Golden spiral', as she would come to learn, was deceptively nondescript when applied to the market square. The first one she had approached was an incorrect guess, although not even he, with his foul attitude towards interruptions, could blame her; the endless scrolls and papers that occupied his workstation could easily give off the impression of 'historian' rather than 'accountant'. It was with practiced motion that he walked her over to the correct dragon, leading Poppy to conclude that visitors mistaking one for the other was a rather common occurrence.

Looking up from her own stack of papers, the historian smiled and greeted the pearlcatcher warmly,
"Hello and welcome! My name is Honeycomb, and I am the chief librarian for the market. Was there something I could help you with?"

Indicating her interest in hearing exactly what history the market had been built upon, she was surprised to see the spiral stifle a small laugh,
"At the risk of disappointing you, I must admit that we have very little in the ways of ancient lore or harrowing tales. Although, there was a time we attempted to take our boss fishing."

Poppy offered laughter of her own at the tale of several of the market's denizens dragging Swinde out of his shop and down to the coast for a festival held by a local wind clan. She anticipated quickly how the story would end after learning that he was a ridgeback about to be introduced to a seemingly endless body of water. The only way they had managed to force him to attend at all was through the creation of a grand scheme involving and affluent clan and a deal he needed to oversee in person. Poppy was amused to see an official, detailed document stating that any and all fishing trips were now banned in the market, unless it was explicitly stated that they were, in fact, fishing trips.

The rule reminded her of what she had learned about the past year's bibliothon in Thunder Hollow, a clan she had visited earlier this week. Repaying a story with a story, she told of her own experience dashing through bookshelves and leafing through old tomes with frantic yet careful fingers, looking for the answers to question after question. She told of her team mates and how they had bonded over the hectic hour they had spent working together, and how they had bonded further seeking even greater success in the other events the clan had to offer, receiving mixed results.

Again and again the cycle was repeated, Honeycomb sharing stories about unattended hatchlings attaching themselves to the accountant she had met earlier, much to his chagrin, the time the market had helped a clan of lightning engineers collect copious amounts of junk for their experimentation, and, of course, the tales of other sunflower couriers that had passed through the market during the festivities. In return, Poppy spoke of the wildclaws and strange music of the Brilliant Talon, the oddities of the Alstroemeria clan, her time celebrating The Bloom at Flos est Infernum, and her horrifying journey through an unnamed forest in search of an ancient library. By the time their conversation began to dwindle, the pearlcatcher had told of each and every piece of her journey thus far in bittersweet reminiscence.

She had only begun to dip into the stories of her clan at home before another spiral, who Honeycomb had addressed as Ward, abruptly joined them at the table. Overhearing that Poppy had experience in detecting and preventing the use of fraudulent documents, Ward began to plead his case,
"If you know exactly what a fake certificate looks like, then you could totally help me make one that looks real right? Not for anything bad, of course! You see, we got this new weaponsmith the other day and he's always in such a bad mood, so I want to give him an official 'Worst Temper in the Market' award!"

The plan as a whole gave Poppy the distinct impression of swinging a stick at a wasp's nest, but today was her last day of adventure and the spiral truly meant no harm, so she agreed to lend her aid. After all, even if he was lying, how much use could an authentic 'bad mood' certificate really be to a dragon?

With Honeycomb's supplies, Ward's creative inspiration, and Poppy's expertise, the trio set to work. The pearlcatcher looked for a few minutes for the appropriate sized paper with the standard edge trimmings to begin with. While Ward put his calligraphy skills to the test in writing the official wording of the document, she sought out seals which, in a normal scenario, would have marked a superior's approval of the sentiments expressed in the document. Once the ink had dried, Ward and Poppy went in pursuit of Swindle's signature, with Honeycomb giving her farewells and staying behind to resume her work. When they found the ridgeback she had heard so much about, he was surprisingly happy to sign his blessing on the playful harassment of his newest employee. That was simply the nature of the market, she supposed.

Excitement carrying him far faster than Poppy would have liked, her guide wove through the crowded streets with maniacal efficiency until the noise of customers was replaced by the noise of the forge and they found themselves standing before a black skydancer, who greeted the pair with a simple,
"What is it now?"

Ward took a visible breath with which to give his grandiose presentation, but was stopped by Poppy who, deciding at last to fully commit to the joke, presented the formal words with the poise and grace that came only with her experience as both a keeper and presenter of certificates. She was surprised to hear the skydancer give a single snort of laughter in response before beginning his own speech,
"You know what? I like this one. If I put it up where everyone can see it, any chance they'll quit bothering me?"

With that, the weaponsmith took up a hammer and a stake, and secured the certificate to a wooden post at the front of his shop by driving the large nail through it with a single strike. It was a final, perfect touch that neither of them would have thought of themselves. With a small, satisfied smile he turned back to Poppy,
"You're a brave one. I'd bet you can handle yourself in a fight. Pick out whatever you want."

With a gesture to the weapon lined walls, the skydancer returned to his sharpening stone and Ward, finally resolving his surprise at how well the joke was received, bounded up to Poppy to help her make a decision.

Her farewell to the weaponsmith was met with an articulate 'hm' and her farewell to Ward was met with an invitation to come visit and try their luck with a few jokes again whenever she wished. Placing her final bundle of sunflowers just below where the newly displayed certificate hung, it was back to the drawing board for Ward and back home for Poppy.