Creative Corner

Gloom was strange. For a creature born from the egg of the Lightweaver, he was a fairly dark Mirror. His name reflected this. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=33692034] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/336921/33692034_350.png[/img] [/url] Gloom was blind, yet pale gold. All he could see was darkness. All he could feel was sadness. This clan of Fae, now mixed between breeds, was sad. There was a heavy air of misery here. Even with all the Lightweaver gave him to brighten it, he could not cut through this darkness. Not since the wraith appeared. Nuzlocke. A gargantuan beast that looked like a dragon with blazing red eyes. An Imperial of the deepest black, glittering like a diamond with dark stars coating his belly. Yet even the wraith was sad. Even with all the death he brought, it did not make the wraith happy. A deep, dark sadness clung even to him. Gloom could only sit and watch the sadness deepen around him. He could not cut it, no matter how brightly he attempted to glow. His colors were mute and dark. Gloomy, like him. And he could sense another sadness deep in the forest. Another dragon crying for help. Yet Gloom could not reach it. He dared not leave the clan. He could only sit here, staring at the full moon, trying to glow brightly enough to chase this sadness away. He wondered idly how long he could hold out for...

How dare this child defy him? That was what ran through Nuzlocke's head. Faced with the tiny scrap of a Fae, he felt insulted. This tiny thing dared to stand against him. Was it mad? Yet Tidal refused to back down. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=34051821] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/340519/34051821_350.png[/img] [/url] "I'm not gonna fight in your stupid game!" Tidal looked at his four companions, who all fell back once the mighty Imperial arrived. "None of us will!" Nuzlocke grinned. "It appears your friends aren't as brave. You should rejoin them. You'll live a bit longer that way." "No way!" Tidal pounced, claws swiping at the other. "If I'm gonna die, I'll die fighting!" Nuzlocke let a booming laugh escape him. "You think you can best me?" With a pump of his wing, he sent the Fae sprawling and the other four skittering away in terror. Tidal shakily rose. The Imperial huffed, rapidly growing annoyed. This was funny at first. Now it was just getting boring. "Go back. Or die here," he said harshly. "Then...I die," Tidal hissed. Nuzlocke frowned. "Very well." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Imperial slunk back to the shaded portion of his 'lair'. He watched the dragons around him without care. Soon, they'd discover the eviscerated body of the young Fae. Then the screaming would begin. The crying. For once, he wasn't looking forward to it. A broken toy didn't deserve his attention.

The Mire was thick with beasts. It was also thick with EXP for those prepared to do battle for it.

Having finished a race through Golem's Workshop, Banana fell back to rest at the Crescent Forum while Dewdrop and Dreamweaver forged ahead. The Level 25 pair brought rookies with them to train up. Though Manic had seemingly dropped from the face of the planet, the new threat killing their hatchlings was still at large.

Koga and Bartimaeus made for quick learners. Gloom, slower, held in for the long run. Naturia, curious and eager to please, dove into battle with her elders as if she had been doing it all her life.

But an ominous air seemed to hang over them as they all fought and grew. Like something was feeding off of their strength, absorbing it into themselves.

They didn't know. Training went fast until the rookies all hit Level 6. Then they fled from the Coliseum, unnerved.

Nuzlocke snarled as he watched them battle. Though he was invisible to these dragons, his scales itched something awful. His teeth bared as the beautiful green Imperial dove into the fray, swatting at Toridae and sickle-clawed weasels. Naturia, she was called by her clan. Pest, she was called by Nuzlocke. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=34373657] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/343737/34373657_350.png[/img] [/url] She was as blind to his presence as the rest of the dragons here were. Only the hatchlings could see him. But his presence could be felt. He was happy to be the source of unnerving for them. Yet Naturia was not so much unnerved as...curious. She flitted close, even passing through him once! Yet she, like the rest, was deaf and blind to him. She fled with her clanmates when it was time. Nuzlocke watched them go, claws tearing into the earth. His frustration grew, overshadowing his joy. For some reason he could not discern...he had wanted the cheery Imperial to see him just then...

They were almost home. They could feel it!

"Just a bit further," AngelOfDeath coaxed, nudging Chamo.

Chamo curled along the ground, body aching. He made a small groan but did not rise.

For over a month, the two rogue Fae had been looking across the region for their birth clan. Cast from the Soul Tree by a violent entity, black as night with burning red eyes, the pair had been forced to flee for their lives. They had not seen their mother since then. They feared she was dead.

There was no time to go back. They had to move forward. They had to get home. To warn their ex-clanmates.

Because if anyone could save mother...it had to be father. Right?

"Rise and shine, Manic." Manic did not wish to rise. Her wings burned from where she was pinned. Trapped to the burning trunk of the Soul Tree, wings spread. Like a butterfly. A pinned butterfly in a flaming case. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=20835115] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/208352/20835115_350.png[/img] [/url] Before her loomed the beast. The nightmare. The pitch black Imperial whose scales shone like gems with a belly covered in stars, eyes as red as blood and burning like fire. Nuzlocke. That was what he said he was. Killer of dragons. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=32851776] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/328518/32851776_350.png[/img] [/url] The Soul Tree had birthed him. It was unsatisfied with her lessening offerings, which halted once her clan had moved. She could not find them now, though she had tried. The Soul Tree grew tired of her, yet it did not crave her soul. It made her a puppet. A toy. A plaything for Nuzlocke. A prize to be gazed at. A reminder of what failure looked like. "I have found your clan. I am killing their young. They cannot stop me. I have surpassed you," Nuzlocke growled, teeth bared in victory. "I have won." Manic watched, torn between laughing in joy and screaming in despair. Some deep part of her had revived during her month-long imprisonment to the bark of the Soul Tree. A piece of her that lived during that first week of life before Crest's birth, before her madness had consumed her. Not, it hadn't been her madness. It was the Shade. It had consumed her. Used her. And now it was messing with her, tormenting her, punishing her. "Your son Crest cannot stop me. No amount of deities that he recruits can stop me," Nuzlocke continued. Manic blinked. Crest? Crest was dead. He'd been dead for over a year now. The beast had to be mistaken. "He will die soon too. Then your clan will join him. Your mate also." Mate? What was the beast talking about now? It took her a moment to remember King. His handsome face, massive Guardian frame, his kind heart. So opposite of her. Yet he'd loved her so dearly. She wondered how he was now. "Then you will die. Nothing will be left except for me," Nuzlocke said. "Then I shall find another clan to ruin. And another. And another. Until all has fallen beneath my claws." Manic watched the beast turn to flee into the welcoming shadows. The flames licked at her bloodied wings, not close enough to burn her. It was a warning. The Soul Tree taunting her. She idly wondered where her children were. She had not seen them in so very long...

[url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=30749341] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/307494/30749341_350.png[/img] [/url] "They come," the Shadowbinder hissed. Crest watched, perched atop the highest tree bordering the Crescent Forum. The inky darkness curled along the branches, violet eyes watching the young Fae. Crest scanned the distance, searching. He knew that Chamo and AngelOfDeath were coming. They were alone. Manic was gone. And, strangely enough, neither Fae was able to pose a threat. They were scared, hungry, and injured. In need of help. "Nuzlocke caused it. He drove them here," the Shadow flight deity hissed. "I should drive them off. Let them die. It was their choice to leave," Crest said. "Then you will be just as cruel as Nuzlocke and your mother." Crest stewed in his anger. He remained on the tree, continuing to search. The Shadowbinder watched him, victorious. Though AngelOfDeath and Chamo had abandoned her, they were Shadow-bound by nature. It was her job to protect her children, rogue or no.

King lifted his head to screaming. The whole clan rushed into action to answer Rue's high-pitched shriek. When they reached the treeline bordering the Crescent Forum, it was clear what had happened.

After over a month of silence since the hatchling-snatcher had taken Rue and Lark's four hatchlings away...bodies were brought back to them. Lark and Rue's four children lay curled, bloodied and broken. Dead. Fresh, too.

King had hoped the horror was over. He hated that he was wrong.

What had taken so long? Was the hatchling-napper toying with them? What had happened to Rue's children in that month since they were taken away?

Lark held his wailing mate close. The other Fae gently guided them both back to the safety of the ruins. Iggy stepped forward, prepared to bury the lost hatchlings.

"Why? Why is it happening again, after so long?" King muttered angrily.

"Perhaps he was testing our patience," Chrome said, perched nearby his father.

Chrome always referred to the hatchling-napper as a he. It was like the Fae knew far more about this than his parent did. King craved to know, to put a name and a face to this evil. Yet Chrome never brought up more than this and would only withdraw further if pressed. It frustrated and concerned King. Why would his own son hold such vital information away from them?

There was nothing else to do now. Lark and Rue would need help. And nests were hatching again. Always in the wake of death.

King almost wished Manic was behind it, if only because then he knew his enemy...

Banana never thought she would have a nest of her own. She had always been alone, a watcher of lovers but never a participant. The wounds she bore drove off potential mates, only bringing about looks of awe and fear. Never of true love. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=20559993] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/205600/20559993_350.png[/img] [/url] Of course, this was only once she'd fallen under Manic's command. Before this, back in the Shoesprite clan, she'd had two clutches with two wonderful mates. One of her sons, Nightshade, was even present in this clan by the time she arrived here. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=21178758] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/211788/21178758_350.png[/img] [/url] Now she was a mother again, by some kindly twist of fate. Marly, her mate, was two months younger than her and new to parenthood. Banana was happy to help him learn the ropes of nest-sitting and now hatchling-feeding. It was an art, but a messy one. She cycled between caring for her two daughters, Jujubee and Alaska, and going into the Coliseum with Dewdrop and Dreamweaver. Though a mother, she was eager to join the ranks of her clanmates and reached that blessed Level 25 position. Then maybe she wouldn't feel as anxious. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=35367830] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/353679/35367830_350.png[/img] [/url] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=35367831] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/353679/35367831_350.png[/img] [/url] Because the anxiety had returned full force today, when Lark and Rue's children had been found eviscerated at the treeline. Just like many other innocent hatchlings before them. First Manic and the Soul Tree. Now this hatchling butcher. Why could they not get a break? Alaska chirped, swatting at a fly. Jujubee gurgled, sucking on her forepaw. Marly watched over the girls, love in his yellow-green eyes. Yes, the sooner Banana hit Level 25, the better. Then she would cease worrying. That much, she was certain of.

Nara watched her daughters squeak and chirp, paws raised to try and grasp the floating indigo fabric that twined around their invisible father's body. Ciel chuckled, twisted and spiraling above them. The hatchlings continued to chase and reach in an effort to win this new game they'd invented. Glacia and Spira. The first nest they'd had since returning to her home lair. [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=35368041] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/353681/35368041_350.png[/img] [/url] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=35368042] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/353681/35368042_350.png[/img] [/url] Nara shifted, her great head swinging to look out across the polluted seeing pond that gave the Crescent Forum its name. She could faintly see the white and red form of Iggy digging in the moist earth at the treeline. She was glad she was unable to see the four tiny bodies curled near him, awaiting burial. It made her heart clench. She knew it was likely making her Spiral mate just as worried. She and Ciel had chosen to have a nest only once the hatchling-snatcher had apparently disappeared. They had done it because Manic was gone and there was no longer any threat to their young. They could have a nest and not fear if their children would live to see tomorrow. But now they had to fear again. No amount of supervision had spared any hatchling, just like with Manic. Nara feared for her daughters' safety. "They'll be okay," she whispered to herself. "Everything will be okay." If only it was so easy. To declare something true and have it be so.