Crash

6th Generation Descendant of Naomi

Naomi --> Willow --> Erroneous --> Twelve --> Software --> Me

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A pair of shimmering eyes emerged from the darkness. A slender head, a neck, wings, then a body. A dragon. But not quite. There was something off about the Skydancer. Was it the way his emerald eyes glimmered? His ghostly appearance? The way he folded his translucent wings? No. It was none of those. His wings blurred with every step. His eyes seemed to change colour every so often. He seemed to freeze and appear somewhere else. Was he...Glitching? He smirked.
“Oh, so it wasn’t Asurvel this time? I thought she was looking forward to showing me that spell… the last one she performed completely amazing. By the way, no, I’m not glitching or whatever. It’s you who’s seeing things. You’re here to see me, right? Crash, one of the ‘famed Naomi descendants’. The ‘queen of glitches’ or whatever. You think I’m glitching because your brain has told you that I’m a descendant of Naomi, and therefore I must have the power to glitch as she did. Nope, nope. You’re wrong. I’m just some plain ordinary dragon that happens to be the descendant of your famous glitchy queen. Why are you even here? Shouldn’t you be gathering or at the coliseum or something? Tch. Well, whatever… State your business or leave. Asurvel will be returning soon, and I wouldn’t recommend messing with a powerful evil witch, or her mate, in that matter. We won’t be in this cave for long, and will probably return to the more permanent residence.”

The dragon recoiled. Their eyes darted around, suddenly finding the floor, boulders, and the moss on the side of the cave more interesting than Crash’s scrutinising gaze. As they fidgeted with their claws, they looked out into the sunshine. No, they had to find out more. They couldn’t leave now. Turning back to Crash with newfound confidence, they forced out two sentences.

“I want to know more about you and the other Naomi descendants. Please help me.”

Crash went silent for a moment, his eyes widening in surprise. Then, he laughed. Crash leaned closer to the dragon as a cold winter wind began to blow. His eyes narrowed and his icy breath seemed to freeze their wings as he drawled.

“How many times do I need to say that I have nothing to do with Naomi? How many times do I have to ask you to leave? Why do you care so much about my life and the lives of my family? Go away. You’re unwanted here. Go ask someone else.”

The dragon hung their head. Was that the end? No. Their eyes flashed as they motioned for the other dragons to enter. A group of dragons entered the cave as Crash gave a long sigh. Whispers, as usual.

“Glitch.”
“Naomi.”
“Rare.”
“Royalty?”
“Mystery.”
“Dangerous.”

“Whaaaat, you brought your friends with you? Just exactly how desperate are you? What do you even want from me? What will you receive from questioning me? Ah, am I talking to myself too much? It feels like I’m monologuing, just like some villain from a storybook… Speaking of storybook villains… Would you like to hear a story?”

The dragons murmured and nodded as Crash pulled out an old lamp out of nowhere. The cold wind seemed to cease as he began.

“Once upon a time, there was a poor old pearlcatcher who would fish and scavenge for food and trinkets by the Tsunami Flats each day. He would often bring up small fish and useless trinkets. In the end, he hopelessly begged the Tidelord to bring him something priceless so he could feed himself and live a more comfortable life. Tidelord seemed to hear his calls as the pearlcatcher fished up a shining golden lamp. Staring at it in awe, he thanked the Tidelord as he rubbed the emerald jewels embedded into the lamp. Suddenly, in a puff of green smoke, a ghostly snake popped out from the lamp, hissing.”
“I’ll killllll you!”
“The serpent flickered its forked tongue as the pearlcatcher recoiled in horror.”
“B-but I was the one who freed you from the lamp! Shouldn’t you be more grateful?”
“I have been imprisoned in here for three hundred years. In the first a hundred years, I swore that I would bring great wealth to whoever free me. In the second hundred years, I promised even greater a fortune to my saviour. However, by the time three hundred years had past, my patience had run low. I swore to kill whoever freed me from the lamp in an instant and wreck havoc across the lands of Sornieth. It has been three hundred years since I have seen the sun.”
“The pearlcatcher’s eyes darted around as he bit his lip. There must be some way he could avoid his death. What could he do? Then, it hit him.”
“I’ll let you kill me and roam the lands of Sornieth free, but can I ask you a question first? How did you fit in such a small lamp? You’re such a large and majestic serpent, and yet you can somehow fit in such a humble lamp… Before you end my life, would it be alright if you show me how you somehow fit in the lamp for such a long time?”
“The serpent hissed once more and was sucked back into the lamp. In a flurry for movements, the pearlcatcher sealed the lamp once more and threw it back into the water before he could hesitate. The genie was once again trapped in the lamp, and it threw a hissy fit inside the lamp as the pearlcatcher returned to fishing.”

“Aand that’s the end of the tale. Now, you must be wondering why I chose to tell you this. You see, the moral of the story is to be grateful for what you have and repay debts to your benefactor instead of stabbing them in the back. I haven’t brought any of you harm. I haven’t bothered any of you with my questions daily. So why did you all come here to pester me with questions I won’t answer? You should be grateful that I haven’t harmed any of you who have trespassed into my home. I’m giving you one last chance. Leave.”

Some dragons within the group left the cave slowly, while most of them remained rooted to the spot. Crash sighed as he brushed the rusty lamp with his tail with a smirk.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
In a flash of light, the dragons were seemingly sucked into the lamp as they all disappeared in a puff of smoke. A single scream could be heard from within.

“Crash smirked at the rattling lamp, and his wings gave a slight tremble.
“Dragons can really be idiots,” he smirked, “they can’t even recognize a ‘Glitch’ dragon standing right in front of them. I should really be teaching them more of these lessons.”

At the sound of a charging bolt, Crash stiffened.
“I smell strange dragons on you,” said the voice behind him, “can I kill them? Or have you already disposed of them? Oh, is that my cursed lamp you’re holding?”
When he turned around, his smile was wide and genuine.
“Asurvel,” Crash whispered, leaning into her embrace. “I’m glad you’re home.”
Written by @Mawile94

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Ship ahoy! Ship ahoy!
To the earth it comes,
Ship ahoy! Ship ahoy!
Hello, hello, and some...

one! Run and hide, stay and fight
Talk it out, you are right
Flickering, glitching, what is it this time
That I'm seeing?
Retched sailing, it hits a stone
Retched sailing, it's a home runnning

It crashes into the bumpy shore,
I crash and sing and howl in tone,
Here inside my own minds throne,
Am I alone, all alone, all alone?

Chest pumping, cool smiles
Silent ocean, ignite the dire
Need to scream, cannot or can
Flickering, glitching,
Nothing is real, you imaginative faes!
Nothing is real! The world never stays!

Just a moment, just a moment,
I need to dock,
Or maybe there's no reason, let's crash, let's go to
Smithereens!
Just a moment, the ship begins to rock-
O captain! O captain! I think that we have
Crashed.
Poem by @NovaBorn

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