Creative Corner

@Zexeos
Oh, I'm definitely an amateur too, just tricking people as I go, haha. Wild ride! ROMANCE! I can't wait to see what you come up with!

and YAAAS, FANART

@Cerastes
The sound of wingbeats was the only noise that broke up the lulls in conversation between the Golden Guard and Thundersong. The obsidian and teal heiress to Clan Stormfront flew lazily behind the group, her wings aching from flying for so long. The 3 members of the Golden Guard, however, were keeping a fast pace effortlessly, used to these kind of excursions.

“Maybe we should slow down?” Starfall, a blue and yellow female Imperial asked the group. Her voice was smooth and calm, with an almost unearthly sound to her speech. Akitosh perked up before turning his large head back to Thundersong.

“Of course. Will you be alright, my lady?” The black Imperial was by far the largest of the three, and his set of golden armor made him even more imposing.

“We’ve made great time today, slowing down won’t be a problem.” Kyga, the leader of the group, chimed in. The crimson and gold Guardian was smaller than the two Imperials behind her, but that didn’t make her any less intimidating to Thundersong. The heiress huffed, a bit offended by them babying her once more.

“No- don’t slow for me. I’ll make it back to the clan, I can tell we’re close. I might be an heiress, but I’m no princess.” Her cyan eyes narrowed at the thought of what a traditional princess was- soft and unable to care for herself. Thundersong strived to be the opposite of this idea, to rule the clan with strength and power she herself had to be just as strong as Eonna, her mentor and adoptive mother. Akitosh chuckled, his deep voice resonating from his purple throat.

“As you wish, your majesty.” He said smugly, keeping up speed with his other Guard members. Kyga laughed while Starfall merely trilled at the remark, which made the obsidian Ridgeback puff out her spines in agitation.

“My liege, if you want Akitosh punished for his insolence, please let me deliver it to him!” Kyga glanced back at the male Imperial behind her with a sarcastic smile.

“I’d like to see you try, you little shi-“

“Enough! I’m going to smack both of you if you don’t stop harassing each other and giving me fancy titles that I don’t deserve or need.” Thundersong interrupted, and her sharp tone made Starfall chuckle with amusement.

“All joking aside, we made a good haul today. The clan will be fed for days on what we gathered here!” Starfall tried her best to defuse the situation by changing the subject. Each of the four dragons had a large sack strapped to their back, each one filled to the brim with food and trinkets that they had gathered on their hunting trip. The traditional trip that the Guard took spanned almost a week, but this trip was only a 3 day trip, due to Thundersong’s inexperience to the wild and combat. But she had exceeded the expectations of the Guard – she was spectacular in combat, and she certainly knew how to use her size and spines to her advantage against foes.

“When will we reach the clan?” Thundersong asked after about an hour of silence. The darkness of night had swallowed the land once more, enveloping the group in a shroud of obscurity.

“We should reach it at about daybreak, assuming we keep up the pace.” Kyga’s answer was curt and lacked her usual cheer, a testament to how tired she was. The feeling was mutual.

@Zexeos
Ahhh, I love it! You've done a great job at establishing characterizations, even in just a few brief chapters. ^^

@Cerastes @Crystalcave - Added! Thanks for the interest! :D

And sorry that this one took so long! I've been busy x.x;



“Faster!” Starfall’s voice was firm and commanding, and the cavern echoed with her voice. Thundersong let out a yell and lunged at the larger Imperial, extending her wings so that her Ridgeback spines would rake her foe. The blue and yellow dragon jumped out of the way effortlessly with a flap of her large wings and huffed an icy blast towards her sparring partner. Thundersong yelped at the cold and lunged once more at Starfall.

“Be ferocious! Don’t hold back!” The words of encouragement and advice from the older warrior seemed to hit home, because as soon as she said it, Thundersong roared and managed to rake her claws down the side of Starfall’s breastplate, creating new claw marks in the dented gold.

Panting heavily, the ridgeback smiled. “How was that?” She asked between breaths with a large grin on her face. Starfall chuckled in reponse.

“Very good! If I hadn’t been wearing the armor, I would have been easily gutted and killed.” She rumbled in delight. “Remember to use your size and anger to your advantage, Heiress.” At the mention of her title, Thundersong snorted in disdain. Noticing this, Starfall blinked and sighed to herself. “You are dismissed. Go talk to Eonna, I believe she was organizing a trip to Darnassus?” Thundersong’s eyes sparkled as her combat trainer mentioned the dragon city, and she hurriedly flew off towards the entrance of the long system of caves and caverns that made up Clan Stormfront’s home.

<…>

“So I take it you’re going to the city?” Zeri asked her friend. Joule smiled and nodded as she packed some essentials into a satchel that she would take with her on the trip. She as stuffing it full with dried meats, gold coins, a scroll of her favorite comic to read, and a pair of magnifying goggles.

“It’s been a while since I went last, and I need to get some more copper wiring if I‘m going to finish repairing that drone anyway.” She replied, her cyan eyes catching the lantern light that filled the room. “Are you not coming?” She asked with a flare of her crests. Zeri laughed and shook her head, the feathers swaying softly.

“I need to stay here and continue scouting. Kyga said she would teach me some fighting moves anyway.” She trilled. A thought popped into her mind, and she let out a small “ooh!” as she stuffed her claws into her own pouch. She pulled out a few coins and tossed them to her friend, who caught them with ease. “Buy me a new roll of silk with that, if you’d please.” Joule smiled and nodded, quickly putting the money into her own satchel. “And try not to forget this time.” Zeri added playfully, but with a touch of seriousness to her tone.

With a laugh, Joule replied “I’ll try not to, but I can make no promi-“ before a loud roar cut her off. That was the signal from Eonna that the party was leaving in 5 minutes. “Well, I’d better get going! I’ll only be gone for 3 days- try to keep my side of the room safe, will ya? I don’t want Thundersong nosing through my comics again.” She said before flying off into the halls, which made Zeri roll her eyes. The gust of wind from the flapping of Joule’s wings caused a gust through their shared den, ruffling various piles of paper and some of Zeri’s silks. A drawing had fallen from the shelf and fluttered to the floor, and had caught the Skydancer’s eye. She approached it quietly, her thin legs moving her around the clutter of the room to get to it. Upon getting closer, she noticed that the words “Family Portrait” were visible on the top of the image, and the subject of the drawing was a group of black dragons with bright blue and green markings.

“This must be Joule’s...” Zeri said as she picked it up to inspect it closer in the low light. All of the dragons in the image were tiny Faes, with Joule sticking out among the group like a sore claw, the Mirror being six times the size of the dragons around her. Zeri blinked and put the drawing back on the shelf from which it had fallen.

“Weird.”

<…>

“Alright then. Are we all ready to go?” Eonna looked down at the group of dragons that would be accompanying her to Darnassus, the dragon city of the Sunbeam Ruins. Thundersong, Icecap, and Joule looked up at her expectantly with bring eyes, and the Matriarch smiled at the group, although the smile was a bit reserved. “Do you all have your bags packed? It’s a day of flight to the city, then we will stay a day before returning home. Don’t buy too many things, we will need all the strength and space we can get in order to carry back supplies. Eonna looked at Thundersong, who had four extra-large packs on herself, two on either side. Eonna had on the same packs, and all of them were filled to the brim with items to sell and barter with. And hopefully they would be overflowing with goods on the way back.

“I’m good to go, the packs are secure.” Thundersong said while standing up straighter.

“As am I.” Icecap hurred softly, his voice smooth and calm as ever.

“I’m so ready to go!” Joule bounced happily in her spot, making Eonna smile.

“Then let’s fly!” The matriarch roared as she lept off the cliff they were standing at, which was also the entrance to the lair. Her traveling companions followed, and soon all 4 dragons were flying off into the horizon, as the rest of the Clan looked onwards, praying for a safe journey for them.

<...>

@Zexeos Love the update (and the length is just fine, don't worry). Yay for adventures, and you've got me curious about Joule's backstory now!

@Cerastes
Aaaa thank you. ;w; The city is gonna be fun, and new characters are going to be introduced! :D A darn shame I didn't get Clem, she was gonna wake up on the docks with amnesia once they hit the city lel And Joule has accidentally became my favorite character haha whoops.

Also omg thank you so much for taking the time to read my cruddy writing. ;-; My characters feel so flat compared to yours! Hopefully the future angst and drama will help with that though. >w< But once again, thank you. <3

@Cerastes @Crystalcave


The liar was oddly quiet with so many dragons gone. The silence was almost unbearable, and in the short space between breaths, Zeri could swear she heard the voices of spirits from the past, those sent to protect her. Lighting another stick of incense, she admired the small flame in the low lantern light.

“Oh, ancestors…” She whispered, lowering her head as she started to pray. She was alone in her room, with her small ancestral shrine housing the incense. The golden accents on the small shrine glittered with the dancing flames, and within that flame, Zeri could feel the hearts of her ancestors still beating. “Please watch over my friends in the city. Darnassus is a dangerous place, and if something happened to them… To Joule…” Her voice was barely audible, no more than a whisper. But the ancestors did not need to hear her voice, they only needed to feel her heart to understand her prayer.

With a sudden gust of wind, the flame was put out and Zeri’s trance was broken with a startled cry from the cerulean Skydancer. “By the Gods above!” She shouted as she stood up sharply on her hind legs, assisted from a strong flap of her feathered wings. “Something is wrong…” The murmur was a small one, and she craned her narrow head around to see the entrance to her den.

She could hear sobbing. With a soft trill, Zeri began to slowly and quietly make her way to the source of the noise, her claws clicking lightly against the hard sandstone that made up the lair of Clan Stormfront. Her tail swayed softly with anticipation and a slight anxiety as she rounded the corner, the sound getting louder and louder. With each step, her heart hammered harder, desperate to find the source of the disturbance. When she entered the room the noise was coming from, she wished she hadn’t.

“Kyga?” Zeri asked, her voice soft and betraying her worry and confusion. The large Guardian dragon’s body shook with each sob, her crimson and gold scales shimmering in the lantern light with each movement of her body. Her back was facing Zeri, and on the floor around her was her golden armor, which displayed her exalted status as a member of the Golden Guard, the fighting force and primary defense of the Clan. It was one of the highest honors, and members very rarely discarded their armor. After receiving no response, Zeri tried to step forward, but the sadness emanating from Kyga was crippling, and almost forced Zeri to the ground with the weight of Kyga’s apparent grief. “What’s going on?” Zeri asked, trying to suppress the shudders rising up from within her body.

Kyga sniffed, and let out a cry of sorrow, the haunting sound bearing a likeness to the cry of a Crystal Jester. “Rah-Rajah…” Another sob burst out of the Gaurdian’s chest, and she turned her massive body to face Zeri. In her gigantic claws, there was a scroll, which would be also comically small in any other situation. The back bared the symbol of the fire Flight, a small flame. A letter from Rajah would be from the Ashfall Wastes, because that’s where he was. Although Zeri was fuzzy on the details, she knew that Rajah left the clan to guide his and Kyga’s children on their Search, and then to visit his parents. Kyga opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out, just sobs and wails. Zeri knew that that scrap of paper held terrible news about Rajah, and she braced herself for the worst. She imagined the large red and gold Imperial, with his large smile, larger beard, and his booming laugh filling the lair. It was easy to see why Kyga loved him. But the red dragoness was otherwise occupied- she had to protect the Clan, it was her Charge. And being a member to the Golden Guard, she could never take the time to raise a family. The Clan came first, forever and always, as long as Kyga lived. Rajah challenged that, as well as their nameless cubs. Although she could not take time away from combat and hunting for the clan, she loved all 3 of her children and her mate with all her heart.

“Rajah is dead.”

Zeri stumbled. “What?” She asked quickly, hoping for Kyga’s sake that it wasn’t true. Kyga nodded her large head, hot tears streaming down her cheeks.

“He died of natural causes… His lifespan…” She wheezed before letting out another haunting howl. The noise was loud and echoed through the rooms and halls of the liar, Spell was sure to have heard it. Starfall and Akitosh were out hunting, leaving only the 3 dragons to themselves. Zeri managed to step forward, even if her legs were trembling from the weight of Kyga’s emotions, and reached out, placing her claw on Kyga’s shoulder.

“I-I’m so sorry, Kyga…” Zeri whispered.

“H-he knew. He knew he was going to die soon, so he left…” Kyga’s sobs turned into a deep growl, and tears of hurt and loss turned into tears of anger and betrayal. “How could he? I’m the bearer of his children…” She reared her head and roared, every ounce of pain and anguish filling the hair and making the walls of the lair hum with the vibrations of the noise. Zeri lowered her head in understanding, and felt Kyga’s hurt flow through her body.

“He didn’t want you to worry. He didn’t want to distract you from what you needed to do…” Zeri whispered softly, running her hand over the rough overlapping scales of her friend. She hissed, a plume of smoke slowly rising from her nostrils.

“I know… But it doesn’t soothe the pain… That big idiot.” Kyga’s voice carried the weight of her agony, and her teary eyes softened and she lowered her head. Zeri lowered her head as well, a display of humility to honor the life and spirit of the departed. Sniffling and shaking, Kyga turned to look at Zeri, and smiled weakly.

“Please don’t leave. Not for a while, anyway.” She whined, her chest aching from her heartbreak.

“Never.”

@Zexeos D: Oh no, you're breaking my heart already here! Poor Rajah. Poor Kyga. Zeri is so sweet though, I love how you're developing her character.