Creative Corner

@TaintedEden What the heck, I love them all, and I see so much potential in the interaction of each parent-kid pair. Also, I can't wait until Pyros gets dominance. XD

All right! Due to these opinions, I believe I will allow for gifted familiars to be used if they're unique (or returned to their original owners or sold, should they be duplicates). I'll add this to the main rules in a bit, but I think I should also add that I can't give familiars to Adam and Eve. After all, they're not part of Eden's clan, per say... if anything, they're against all of my lovely children and I don't want to see them corrupt those bunnies! Here are said bunnies, by the way, who will most likely be gifted to the next pair of dragons to grace the locke! [center][item="Bucktooth Digger"][item="Marbled Jester"][/center] @Meonox Ah, getting caster stones for Maratra would be lovely! I already have a Shock Bolt for her early elemental magic STAB, and I believe I will be purchasing a few elemental Acuity Fragments for her in the upcoming days. Donations, of course, are always welcome! ^^ I hope the ladies of your clan will truly enjoy the letter. :) Pyros would definitely look snazzy with Viking attire, and I do plan on giving him that Pillager's Helm as soon as possible tomorrow. In the meantime, I may also outfit him in that Filigree armor; if it looks really nice on him, I think it could also suit his warrior spirit! @InHeritent / @OverTheWolf Thank you for your feedback! :) I will be employing this as soon as I edit the front page rules. @tahwarts I'm so happy you like them all so far! Each one is going to be a treat to write, I can tell already. :) I have some great ideas for interactions between each duo and I hope to be able to tell their stories in the upcoming updates. (I, too, can't wait for Pyros to become clan leader, but he may have to wait a while; after all, Jac would need to be bred in order to move to the back of the Lightning line! I get the feeling Pyros would be none to happy about waiting, though... hopefully he doesn't throw a fit over being "less entitled" as the middle child.)

@TaintedEden

I think they're so cute!

And My ladies very much love the letter! I'm going to respond as soon as I find the fluff legs that go with that viking hat...I found the fluff arms just not the legs

@Meonox

That would be wonderful! :) Thank you so much! I'm sure Pyros would love the pieces to finish the look. Who knows? Perhaps he'll be the one to write the response letter in time... provided, of course, he can learn to write. Someone still needs to figure out the difference between three and five, apparently. Silly boy!

[center][size=5]Day 19, Part 1[/size] [i]Special thanks goes to @InHeritent for donating apparel and @Achi for donating clan treasures and the final gene for Barda![/i] [item="Sea Sparrow"] [i]Team: Barda | Anzu | Hollowmaw[/i][/center] As Imriel watched the young Mirrors during a short hunting trip made by her first set of adoptive children, a little dove landed on her crown. She trilled, startled for a moment, before taking the crown off her head. The dove was unfazed by Imriel's surprised response, opting to merely tilt its head at her and coo. Much like a carrier pigeon, there was a letter slung across a satchel on this dove's chest. Unlike the grimy and gooey letters from the Swarm, this one was neatly sealed with a pineapple-shaped insignia and covered entirely in orange glitter. Since glitter was far more sanitary than sludge, Imriel did not hesitate to remove the letter attached to the dove. After carefully prying the seal open, a package manifests in a glowing swirl of magic by Imriel's side. Letting out an awed trill and with her curiosity piqued, she placed the crown back on her head and let her eyes fall on the letter's surface. Once more, there were two distinct handwriting styles. The first was of elegant cursive. The second was of blocky chicken-scratch. [i]Children of Eden, We at Clan Pineapple have watched your struggles from afar. I have seen omens of your great battle with the Shade... ...AND I SEE THIS BATTLE. EVERY BIT. EVERY SCRATCH. EVERY DEATH. EVERY BIRTH.[/i] So there were more. More clans watching them from afar, seeing the struggles of Eden. Imriel had to wonder what that meant for them. How many distant dragons in the Flights around Sornieth were viewing their struggles, failures, and triumphs from so far away? Why would they look on at this once-forgotten corner of their world with bated breath and send treasures their way purposefully? Did they all pray for Eden to once again be pure, just as Imriel always has? An answer was offered in the following paragraph. [i]The importance of the quest on which you embark cannot be overestimated. In your hands lies the future of the Shadow lands, some of the lands most susceptible to the progression of the Shade. There are misguided dragons, who are confused in their love with the gentle darkness of the Shadowbinder, and find themselves drawn to the ultimate dark corruption of the Shade. Know that this is misguided, that the Shade is a force of pure destruction, and there can be no life and no peace for any dragon for as long as it reigns... THE SHADE IS BAD. BUT YOU ARE STRONG. THE GOOD ARE STRONG, BECAUSE EVIL IS WEAK. IT FEEDS ON THE WEAK. IT EATS THE WEAK. IT IS WEAK BECAUSE IT EATS THE WEAK. THE STRONG DON'T HEAR IT, THE STRONG ARE NOT EATEN, THE STRONG LIVE ON.[/i] Of course -- the Shade. Imriel had heard whispers of its existence, but she had no idea it had grown so powerful in Eden. After all, as far as Imriel could tell, the Shade wasn't an entity that could interact directly with their world. It needed lackeys. Beings to do its bidding, to tear Eden apart. Who could they be? The letter continued. [i]We want to aid you in your noble quest. The Lighweaver, who we both serve, has chosen to aid you in your quest by giving you one of our own, a child of true Light, born with no parentage but that of the Lightweaver herself... I EYES OF SHADOWBINDER. SERVE HER. BUT MIRRORS ARE BROTHERS. AND MIRROR BROTHER LOVE FLOOFY ONE. SO I BLESS FLUFFBALL.[/i] Imriel let out a dry swallow. He paws in which she held this letter began to shake. "What?" she whispered. She reread this paragraph, again and again, struggling to comprehend the full weight of what she just witnessed. Her little Barda, found as an abandoned egg being tended to by a basilisk, was a child of the Lightweaver herself? Could that be why her powers are so strong and her marks are coming slowly and surely, unlike those of any other dragon born? "What's wrong with you?" came a gruff female voice. Letting out a tiny trill, Imriel looked up to see the ever-pouty Maratra giving her a quirked brow. Her brothers were behind her. Jac had noticeable worry on his brow, and Pyros looked as grave as he always did. Imriel laughed a little and shook her head. "Oh, nothing. Nothing's wrong. You can all keep playing." "Establishing dominance is not 'playing,'" Pyros grunted. Jac gave him big eyes. "Is that why your bites hurt so much?" "Yes." Imriel was only half-listening. [i]We give you three gifts. The first and greatest gift is our blessing, which will help you attain the markings of the warriors of old, they who first fought the Shade, they who kept us safe for so long. MARKS MAKE FLOOFBALL STRONG. Then there are the enchanted remains. These are the remains of the last Emperor. Emperors were a great and dangerous power, the Lightweaver's one mistake but also a source of great strength. The remains of the Emperor are very dangerous. They are to be used only when you are in true danger of death, and the cost for using them is steep. These are to be your last resort. BIG STRENGTH FOR BIG SACRIFICE. HOPE YOU NEVER USE. FROM MY STASH. YSONDRE COLLECTED FROM EMPEROR LONG TIME AGO. WHILE LIGHT DRAGONS CRY, SHADOW DRAGONS LOOT GIANT DRAGON ZOMBIE BODY. Finally, I send the glitter of the Lightweaver herself. Glitter, you should know, is impossible to wash off. Once thrown, it sticks. It irritates, it disorients. In battle, if you toss glitter, it will disorient your enemies and allow you to flee. Use it when you need an escape, when you need to protect your young and run from your enemy. GLITTER FOR WIMPS. FIGHT, DON'T RUN.[/i] "What on Sornieth are you even reading?" Maratra butted in, agitated that Imriel's attention was not focused on her. She reached forth and tried to grab the paper, only to loosen a scroll that was attached behind it. It was written in ancient runes, illegible to all dragons present, and the moment it was jostled it began to glow an ethereal gold. Maratra gasped, backing off immediately. Imriel's eyes grew wide. "W-wait," she cried. "Those are for--." The scroll already knew. It transformed immediately into a bolt of light, swirling around the clearing, seeking a host to bedeck with the markings of a true warrior. Jac meeped and ducked as it approached, and Pyros attempted to stare it down as it passed above his head. As the light reached the end of the clearing, it began to grow brighter and brighter. It was seeking its target, and would not stop until Barda was found. Imriel shuddered. A feeling of dread -- one that she hadn't felt in so many months -- welled in her very core. "Come with me, cubs," she commanded, her voice ringing throughout the clearing. "Follow that light!" Jac and Maratra didn't need to be asked twice. They raced after Imriel, following behind her as the light went farther and farther away. Pyros, meanwhile, stayed still. His electric gaze locked onto the letter, which had fluttered -- forgotten -- to the ground. With a calm and cold expression, he picked it up and read it through until the end. His face was stonier than usual by the time he reached the final lines. [i]We wish you well on your journey. I will be looking for omens of your future, gazing and doing what I can to help. I WATCH EVERYTHING. IF FUNNY, I LAUGH. GROUND RUMBLES. IF SAD, THOUSAND EYES CRY. IT FLOOD RISK. With love AND POWER, Aissa of The Order of the Pineapple AND ELIAKIM OF THE AWESOME PINEAPPLE REBELLION OF AWESOME[/i] "Hmm." Pyros's eyes narrowed before he folded the letter up. "A daughter of the Lightweaver?" He shook his head, crushing the letter slightly in his palm. "This won't do." A slight pang rattled in Pyros's chest. It was not as if he hated Barda, or found her anything less than endearing. He adored her stories. In spite of his tenseness when it came to physical contact, her hugs were certainly warm and fuzzy enough. She was a good dragoness through and through. The kind of good and powerful dragoness, perhaps, to completely overthrow any plans Pyros might have once had. Then again, that would be assuming that Pyros was a quitter. And Pyros never quits. His eyes locked onto the package and a slight grin quirked the corner of his lips. With a serrated claw, he opened the package and eyed the two bottles filled with Emperor residue and enchanted glitter. With careful paws, he removed them, took them into the nearby woods, and hid them in his secret little hoard of "surprises." Then, as all of the others remained far away, he grabbed two normal bottles and filled them with little goodies of his own. The first, to mimic the Emperor's remains: a foul-smelling muddy puree, charged with a couple of his own magical sparks to give it a false aura of power. The second, to mimic the glitter: some electrically-charged rose petals which he cut into tiny pieces, made to have similar gleaming properties in the now, but eventual rot would ruin them. He set these in the parcel box and sealed the closed wax with the plasmatic heat that comes with lightning, then followed the trail of Imriel and his siblings into the dark. [center][b]To be continued...[/b][/center] [i]This is gonna be a long one, ladies and gentlemen. So long, in fact, that I had to divide things up on purpose. Brace yourselves for part two, coming later today! That will be the post which includes the item list, stats, additional commentary, etc. that comes afterwards.[/i] [size=1]@Meonox @tahwarts @Elzerei @Silverhame @Whimzica @PaintedLiger @OverTheWolf @fairyhalo @221bdisneystreet @Deathwolf555 @Skyeset[/size]

@taintededen

i am so excited to see the end!!!!
They all look so grand! I see the plotting bebbies.

@TaintedEden :o

@TaintedEden
*Deep breath*....drama is coming...

[center][size=5]Day 19, Part 2[/size][/center] Meanwhile, on the other side of Eden, Barda found herself in deep crap. This hunting and gathering trip had started out normally enough. Hollowmaw told a few groaners and Anzu absentmindedly walked into four trees, but aside from that, everything had been going pretty well. The fish were jumping, mice flowed freely, moths fluttered everywhere, and all around the young trio were the most perfect and juicy mushrooms Barda could ever imagine. In fact, everything around them was almost [i]too[/i] perfect. It came to Barda as a chill down her spine. A cold wind -- one not too unusual in this part of Eden -- was blowing by, but something about it felt different today. Pessimism wasn't the sort of feeling to come naturally to an optimist like Barda, but her eyes began to flicker with a sense of paranoia. How many mushrooms had she eaten out here? How long had Anzu and Hollowmaw been bantering together, nibbling on insects and fish and having a great time? And why was it that she felt the sensation of frigid claws shredding lightly on her neck? [i]"Hello, little Barda."[/i] Barda's breath hitched. As much as she had wanted to forget about this being's existence, here she was again: that raspy, taunting, echoed voice which gave her nothing but grief. She was purring in Barda's mind, making the Tundra feel lightheaded and dizzy. She growled to herself. [i]Go away.[/i] [i]"Aww, phooey. And here I thought I was welcome. It must feel like such a shame, though, knowing you can't be rid of me."[/i] [i]Whoever you are, I don't want to hear it.[/i] Barda huffed, picking some fruit off of one of the trees. The sounds of Anzu's and Hollowmaw's voices played at her ears, indistinct and distant as Barda stayed lost in her internal conversation. [i]Nothing you can say or do can break my spirit, so you might as well just shove off and leave me alone, you contemptible wretch.[/i] [i]"What a way to speak to your elders. Didn't your mama teach you manners? Oh, wait. I forgot. The mama tasked with teaching you conduct is dead because of you. What a shame, what a shame."[/i] A raw pain panged in Barda's gut. Memories of Widow telling her right from wrong, teaching her good manners to use in life, reminding her to never lose the innocent spark of wonder from her eyes -- they gouged Barda like a knife in the heart. With her breath rattling in her chest, she scrunched her eyes closed and willed herself to stay calm. [i]I'm not responsible for Mama Widdy. Nor for Papa Skully. And I'm in no mood to take lip from some whiny specter who's too much of coward to tell me her name.[/i] Her laugh echoed in Barda's head, cacophonous and cruel. [i]"Oh, sweetheart. I would have thought you could have figured it out. The fault is on me, I suppose, for giving your brains too much credit."[/i] Barda's eyes opened, but not to the world around her. It was to a realm made of haze and shadow, one where even the ground beneath her was lost to a deep purple swirl which reeked of death. Four glowing eyes peered from the dark expanse, followed by the slow reveal of a Mirror dragoness. To Barda's horror, it was apparent that this dragon was no longer alive. She was a walking jumble of flesh and dried blood, skinless all over and covered with dark, protruding jumbles of navy entrails and bones. One of her eyes was dangling out of its socket, and an ear on the opposite side of her head was hanging on by only the tiniest ribbon of flesh. The very sight of this abomination of unlife made Barda's stomach turn. Upon seeing her fright, the dragoness smirked at her, revealing the rotting teeth and the bones protruding out of her jaw. [i]"They call me Eve, the Empress of Eden. What a pleasure to finally meet you, O Special Cub of the Light."[/i] Her final words were dripping with malice and she drew closer, extending a meaty palm. "Get away from me!" Barda yelped. Every muscle in her body was screaming to pull back, get away from this decaying monster of a dragon, but some dark magic was keeping her in place. With no will of her own, Barda's arm was forced up and her paw turned sideways to shake with Eve's. When her furry palm met with that of the undead, its sickening squelching sound, combined with the stench of rotting flesh, gave Barda the distinct urge to throw up. [i]"There. Now we are all acquainted."[/i] Eve pulled back and clapped her skinless paws together, sending flecks of blood everywhere. [i]"Isn't that just grand?"[/i] Barda closed her eyes tight. [i]This isn't real,[/i] she told herself. [i]This is all just a bad dream. I'm out gathering with my friends. It's a nice day.[/i] [i]"How cute,"[/i] Eve cooed. [i]"You think you can hide your thoughts from me? Please. Your mind is an open book filled with such elegant prose. It's only natural I would like to take a peek."[/i] "Let me go," Barda snarled, willing her paws to glow with light and slash at Eve. The light never came. Her muscles stayed still. Panic drummed in her chest. "Where are my friends? You can't just keep me here forever!" Eve rolled her eyes, maintaining her delighted smirk. [i]"What a simple mind you have. Barda, what reason have I to keep you here forever? I have nothing to gain from it. No, I only wanted to see you for a little while. Maybe have a nice chat. After all, the young can learn quite a lot from their elders. You know. Like those loving, adoptive parents you killed. It's fascinating to think about how their knowledge and wisdom has been lost forever to the soil and worms. Don't you agree?"[/i] Barda couldn't even shake her head in negation. Tears welled at her eyes, her body desperate to recoil and flee but unable to under the lopsided stare of Eve. And then she heard them scream. The echoes of Anzu and Hollowmaw. Barda's eyes widened. She tried to move. This time she managed to struggle, even though nothing came out of it. "My friends!" she cried. "What are you doing to them?" [i]"Me? No, no, I'm doing nothing to them,"[/i] Eve hummed, waving a meaty paw. [i]"It's my mate who's meddling with them now!"[/i] From behind Eve came a distorted vision of the clearing. Anzu and Hollowmaw were surrounded by cockatrices, fighting a flood of them as Barda's body lay unconscious on the ground. Barda's fur stood on end as she saw Anzu out of breath, trying desperately to catch it and hurl Leafy Bolts at the onslaught. Meanwhile, Hollowmaw was gravely wounded; he was lying on his side, barely managing to fight with his tail and glowing green claws, maintaining a smirk even as he walked the fine line between life and death. Barda screamed, her cry echoing in this strange vision as Eve began to laugh. [i]"My dear Adam is such a stud of a dragon. He certainly knows how to please a lady. Look at that fine craftsmanship. I couldn't have asked for anything more."[/i] As Eve's laugh rang in Barda's ears and the smell of death offended her nose and the sight of true danger broke her heart, she felt something begin to glow within her. Eve's laughter was cut short as Barda cried out in sudden pain. Something had hit her back. It was bright and glowing and surrounded the Tundra in an ethereal light. [i]"What?"[/i] Eve gasped, taken aback. Barda's whole body began to radiate light and energy, and she opened her eyes, staring down the undead Mirror with the might of all the warriors of old. Eve tried to speak, but she couldn't. The power broke the illusion and Barda's body in the real world snapped to attention, waking up and gleaming with a burst of primal virtue. As Anzu watched her with his breath taken away, as Hollowmaw looked on with a fading smirk, as Imriel and Jac and Maratra entered the clearing at this one moment, Barda let out a noble roar. What happened next was lost in a wave of blinding light and a thunderous echo of sound. When the dust cleared, all the cockatrices had been crushed by the pressure of the brilliant roar, their bodies torn open from the gash of photons and mangled to the point of unrecognizability. Barda was passed out in the middle of it all, continuing to glow a brilliant light with the faintest ripple of warrior stripes under her glimmering fur. The world was silent and starstruck. "Woah," Maratra breathed, stepping forward. She passed Barda by and moved towards the corpse of a cockatrice. She pushed aside the bushes and came face-to-face with a peony mage hat and overcoat. "These are exactly what I need to complete my look!" [center]x[/center] Barda awoke later that day to find that her entire being was glowing. A shudder of a breath escaped her lips and she looked up, her vision bleary to everything and everyone. "Hello?" she mumbled, trying her best to wake up. She felt a gentle paw rest her head back. "We're here." It was Anzu's little whisper, gentle and kind. Barda smiled the moment she heard it. "Yeah." Hollowmaw's deeper voice rumbled and Barda smiled even more, reassured by the notion that they were safe. "Don't worry about us. Imriel patched me up in time. Her efforts for healing us were com-[i]mend[/i]-able." "Really, Hollow?" Anzu grumbled. "Must you?" Hollowmaw chuckled. "Like you really have to ask by now." As Barda's vision cleared and senses grew more viable, she could feel warmth huddled against her back. Imriel was sleeping, cuddled up next to her side, keeping the bigger Tundra as warm and toasty as her small Coatl body possibly could. "You're just like the awesome heroes in your stories," Maratra said, coming up from behind Hollowmaw with Jac by her side. "You wrecked those cockatrices like they were sacks of twigs." "Someday, I'm going to be as strong as you." Jac puffed out his chest. He then leaned in and whispered in Barda's ear. "Thank you so much for saving my mom. I don't know what I would've done without him." The back of the clearing rustled and Pyros came out from the bushes. He was panting, his sharp blue eyes narrowed with anger. "Stormcatcher damn it," he growled. "I missed out on something fantastic." Maratra's face resumed being bitter. "Where the hell were you? Didn't you hear Imriel call out for us?" "I hit a tree on the way there," Pyros grumbled, rubbing his head in a somewhat exaggerated expression of pain. His hyperbole when it came to his moments of emotion was nothing new to the clan. "Passed out for a bit. And here I am, back again to see Barda glowing like a freaking firefly." Barda chuckled, waving a pained paw. "It's okay. I missed it, too." Jac bounded away from Barda and picked up the letter from the Pineapple Clan. He returned with it in his hands, his eyes glimmering. "Hey, Barda. You actually got help from one of the Lightweaver's acolytes! Their magic gave you some strength. It was one of their three gifts to you. Maybe you should answer their letter?" Anzu frowned at Jac. "Now, now." He rubbed a paw on Jac's head, making Jac's pupils dilate and a purr rumble in his throat. "Barda needs her rest." With a flop next to Anzu's side, Jac began to rub his face against Anzu's shoulder. "Whatever you say, mommy," he giggled. Anzu was as stiff as a pine trunk, but nonetheless cracked a small smile and an affectionate sigh. Maratra gave them a salty glower from the sidelines, pouting and grumbling to the other end of the clearing. Barda, meanwhile, shook her head. "No, no. I can reply to them. I have to thank them for helping me." She looked between Hollowmaw and Pyros, wondering who to ask this to, and then decided on the young Mirror since he didn't nearly die today. "Pyros, would you be a dear and transcribe my reply to them?" He straightened up, grim and proper. "It would be my pleasure. I'll read it to you, and you can reply as you will." Pyros neglected to inform her about being a daughter of the gods. Without this knowledge, she began to tell him her message. [center]x[/center] [i]Dear Clan Pineapple, Your parcel came not a moment too soon. Was that a premonition from the Lightweaver, knowing today I needed the pelt of the warrior? Either way, I really needed it. My friends and I got into the sort of sticky situation that requires a surge of power, and the Emperor's remains and glitter are safely stored in a chest in our den, so they'll be safe in case anything horrible happens to our clan. I'm so grateful for your help. If it weren't for you, my friend Hollowmaw would have been a goner. Maybe even Anzu, too. I really don't know what I'd do without them! Anyway, I'm not the fanciest dragon with words outside of storytelling, and Anzu says I have a concussion, but what I'm really trying to say is thanks. Thanks for watching us, thanks for saving me and my friends, and thanks endlessly for all the kindness you've shown me. You've really, really made our world a better place! Mama Imi, Anzy, Hollow, Jac-Jac, Pyro-ro, and Mara thank you, too! Love <3 <3 <3 Barda[/i] [center]x[/center] She had considered asking them about Adam and Eve, but Barda wondered how much keepers in the Light Flight would know about two of the darkest spirits who have ever lived. It didn't seem quite right. Answers, she figured in her half-concussed state, could come in time. As Barda finished her letter, Pyros added one last statement of his own. [i]P.S.: I will make good use of the other items you have granted me. I promise.[/i] With that, he folded the letter, placed it in a dusty envelope, and let Hollowmaw send it on the wind back to the clan who had generously donated to his cause. [center][item="Mage's Peony Hat"][item="Peace Dove"][item="Mage's Peony Overcoat"] [item="Enchanted Remains"][item="Primary Gene: Tiger"][item="Cerdae Sparkle"][/center] [i]All Barda had to do was hit to save Hollowmaw's life. If it weren't for her, he would have died of wounds on the immediate turn after. And after that, if Anzu was the one struck by the cockatrice, he would have assuredly gone down. Today could have easily been another double-death... but Barda refused. Not only did she slay the final cockatrice -- she annihilated it with a critical hit just for good measure. Due to her outstanding bravery, today she will be wearing the Brightheart skin. Tomorrow we shall see her in all her triple-gened glory! Now that Barda is triple-gened, she is considered available for breeding and can be partnered with any eligible bachelor should the time come! As an aside, now those of you who have visited Eve's profile can see why I was thinking Jupiter and Saturn would make excellent genes for her. It really brings together that skinless, fleshy look. (By the way, if you're wondering why Barda's receiving of Underbelly and Spinner went unannounced in the item columns of previous posts, it's because they were gifts by a good friend of mine who requested anonymity.)[/i] [center]Starting Funds: 69894 Ending Funds: 60324 Battles Won: 34 Battles Fled: 2 Coliseum Changes: Barda, Anzu, Hollowmaw (Level 5) Barda received elemental Slash + Might Fragment Anzu received elemental Bolt + Acuity Fragment Hollowmaw received elemental Slash and a normal Might Fragment[/center] [size=1]@Meonox @InHeritent @tahwarts @Elzerei @Silverhame @Whimzica @PaintedLiger @Achi @OverTheWolf @fairyhalo @221bdisneystreet @Deathwolf555 @Skyeset[/size]