Creative Corner

[center][size=5][color=orange][b]Coliseum Battle Post #21 - #24[/b][/size] [size=4][color=orange][b]Fulfills tasks for:[/b] - Day 69 (June 11, 2017) - Day 70 (June 12, 2017) - Day 73 (June 15, 2017) - Day 74 (June 16, 2017)[/color][/size] [color=orange][b]Battles Completed: 83 total (10+11+21+41) Items of the Day:[/b][/color] [item=cinnamon] [item=bonebark mold] [item=polar wooly] [item=black capped chickadee] [/center] Round 21 was Silviana's first time in the coli, and she leveled all the way up to Level 4. In Round 23, Starbloom reached Level 10. In Round 24, Kessel leveled up (I forgot to note the level), and Silviana reached Level 6. [b]Loot[/b] [item=giant desert centipede] x30 [item=bonepriest venom] x16 [item=dwarf fawn] x16 [item=zebra cricket] x12 [item=decorative centaur quiver] x11 [item=thick meat strips] x8 [item=white-masked dustbug] x8 [item=leather centaur quiver] x7 [item=forest field guide] x6 [item=wisp fruit] x4 [item=fragile antler] x4 [item=hardy antler] x3 [item=minor health potion] x3 [item=dried jerky] x3 [item=centaur ration pouch] x3 [item=tiny feathers] x3 [item=zeeba horn] x3 [item=red-winged dewbug] x3 [item=river wiggler] x2 [item=micro deer] x2 [item=daddy longlegs] x2 [item=grouse] x2 [item=sakura moss] x2 [item=rotting leather] x2 [item=owlcat journal] x2 [item=broken flower pot] x2 [item=expertly-crafted spear] x2 [item=rambra horn] x2 [item=herdbeast hoof] x2 [item=red maple leaf] [item=bluefin charger fin] [item=clown charger fin] [item=vampire eel] [item=grouse basilisk field notes] [item=wildwood owlet] [item=wildwood moss] [item=dust slither] [item=blooming vine] [item=harvestman] [item=common sparrow] [item=umbral catfish] [item=umberhorn qiriq horn] [item=bottled embers] [item=sparrow skull] [item=emerald shiners] [item=death’s-head stag] [item=jar of vapors] [item=earthen acuity fragment] [item=zeeba]

[center][size=5][color=orange][b]Art Post #9[/b][/size] [size=4][color=orange][b]Fulfills task for: Day 86 (June 28, 2017)[/b][/color][/size] [color=orange][b]Task completed on: February 19, 2018 Item of the Day:[/b][/color] [item=rasa pottery fragment] [/center] Problem: I have the rest of the story of this Pinkerlocke mapped out in my head (as shown in my previous art post). I know all the major story beats, but there are more scenes left to go than there are materials left on my spreadsheet of items I got from Pinkerton. Solution: Tell some parts of the story by drawing them. This art post and the next two art posts are sequential and tell the next part of the story. [img]https://78.media.tumblr.com/d9e1d01ac5237b77691f583818980e9e/tumblr_p4f6tanNA11sp47bko1_1280.jpg[/img]

[center][size=5][color=orange][b]Art Post #10[/b][/size] [size=4][color=orange][b]Fulfills task for: Day 93 (July 5, 2017)[/b][/color][/size] [color=orange][b]Task completed on: March 17, 2018 Item of the Day:[/b][/color] [item=scroll case] [/center] [img]https://78.media.tumblr.com/3db6f9ce4b9eebac4047e4ee2f3d889e/tumblr_p5rm5oawBE1sp47bko1_1280.jpg[/img]

[center][size=5][color=orange][b]Journey Chronicles - Scene 29[/b][/size] [size=4][color=orange][b]Fulfills task for: Day 91 (July 3, 2017)[/b][/color][/size] [color=orange][b]Task completed on: March 17, 2018* Item of the Day:[/b][/color] [item=intact stone relief] [/center] [i]( * OOC: I actually did most of the writing on March 2, 2018, but am just posting this now because I finally finished the picture in the post above this one, and I wanted that picture to be posted above this scene.)[/i] "Did you check the stream?" Belladonna asked. "Of course I did," Rythorn answered. "All the way to the top of the cliff and back. They weren't there." The Bogsneak looked distraught. "Brandywine, Garnet... where are you?" Felicity glided in for a landing in front of the two worried parents, just outside the entrance to their cave. "I didn't see them," she said, making her way inside for a rest. "Even my scout's eyes have failed me." She lay down and rested her head on her forelegs, eyes downcast. "Can we use this to find her?" Kessel asked, poking at Felicity's pearl with his nose, as if trying to roll it away. "No!" she snapped at her son, batting him away with the end of her tail. "It's a distilled store of memories, not a gods-blasted crystal ball." Kessel stumbled back. "Sorry, Mom. I was just trying to think of some way to help." "You can help us by kneeling down quietly and asking Tidelord to protect them," Felicity said, the anger in her voice turning to defeat. "They must have run away to the sea. That's the only way we could have missed them in our searching." "Yes, Mom." Kessel walked past Belladonna and Rythorn and knelt as close as he dared to the edge of the waves, just outside the line they made when they came up onto the sand. He bowed his head and closed his eyes. "Father Tidelord," he said, "wherever Brandywine and Garnet are, please keep them safe. They're so little, and the sea is so big, but it is yours. Please don't let them die. Please send them back to us." He opened his eyes and looked out to sea, hoping there might be a colorful bubble headed for him in response. There were none, just the same unbroken horizon as always. Wait. Was that a sail? A speck had just appeared on the horizon to the northeast. Kessel set and watched it grow larger. It was a sail - a red one. Slowly, it came close enough for him to see the sigil on it - it was that of his own clan! "Mom!" Kessel shouted as he ran back into the cave. "I see them! They're coming!" "What?" Felicity said, raising her head. "You were right - they ran away to sea on their own raft!" Felicity got up and followed Kessel to where he had seen the raft. When she spotted it, she took off and started flying out to it. She circled above it a few times, then returned to the shore. "It's them!" she said to Belladonna and Rythorn. "Brandywine and Garnet - that's their raft! They're safe! They're coming home." "Oh, thank the Eleven!" said Belladonna. "Did they build their own raft all by themselves?" Rythorn asked. "They must have," said Felicity. "It's much too small to hold me [i]and[/i] them - I didn't try to land on it because I couldn't have taken off again without capsizing it - but it's certainly seaworthy." "It worked!" Kessel said. "I did what you said, Mom. I prayed to Tidelord to keep them safe, and he did!" "Yes, son," said Felicity. "They're safe. Thank you for being a good boy and a good lookout." The raft carrying Brandywine and Garnet finally came ashore. After Belladonna and Felicity had finished smothering them both with hugs and scolding them for getting their clan so worried about them, the two adventurers told their whole story. They had, indeed, started building their own raft as soon as they had been allowed to go off and scavenge on their own. They had only set out for a short voyage to scout ahead along the route marked on the clan's map, to find out what awaited them when the clan continued on its journey. They had found something they'd never expected to find out on the sea - a woven basket floating all by itself, with a little blue Tundra hatchling inside. They had helped her climb onto their raft, then reversed course to bring her back to Clan Ashfeather's lair. The Tundra was just old enough to speak for herself. She was named Mithril, after a kind of magical metal made in the Sunbeam Ruins. She was from a clan that had lived on one of the three islands in the northeastern part of the Sea of a Thousand Currents that were actually part of Shadow's territory. The island had been attacked and invaded by centaurs, and most of the dragons living there had fled or been killed. The last few survivors had set Mithril adrift in the woven basket so that at least one member of their clan would live to keep the clan's memory alive. Diego reacted to this story more strongly than anyone else - "You remind me of me," he said to Mithril. He had been only a little older than Mithril was now when his own native clan had fallen to the Serthis, but he had never forgotten it. It was at least possible that the dragons who had set the basket adrift might still be alive, and Diego exhorted the rest of his clan that they had to try to save them, or if they could not save them, avenge them. His two sons were both thrilled at the prospect; the other older members of the clan, less so. Belladonna and Rythorn had just gotten Brandywine and Garnet out of danger, and weren't eager to let them get right back into it again. The clan debated what to do for a while, and in the midst of the discussion, Mindor went and got the clan map. He pointed out that the island Mithril had come from lay near the route marked on the map, and said that he and his brother had been eager to leave on this journey for some time - wasn't this the perfect chance to get going? As Felicity looked at the meandering line she and her friends had marked on their map in yellow paint, then into her son's eyes, she knew that he was right. "You're right, son," she said. "That is what this clan set out to do. We will go." "On one condition," Belladonna added. "Brandywine, Garnet, you two have to stay on your raft out at sea while there's fighting going on. I want you to be safe, no matter what." "Does that mean you're in for the counterattack?" Diego said. "You bet I am."

[center][size=5][color=orange][b]Event Post #8[/b][/size] [size=4][color=orange][b]Fulfills task for: Day 61 (June 3, 2017)[/b][/color][/size] [color=orange][b]Task completed on: June 3, 2017 Item of the Day:[/b][/color] [item=shalebuck] [/center] On June 3, Random.org gave me #6, so I got the cutest of the babies on the first page of Tundra hatchlings at the time. This is what she looked like. [img]http://flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=0&body=174&bodygene=7&breed=6&element=7&gender=1&tert=27&tertgene=11&winggene=13&wings=71&auth=5e89561e9d192c40ad01ff035ef50a43933b6418&dummyext=prev.png[/img]

[center][size=5][color=orange][b]Coliseum Battle Post #25 - #27[/b][/size] [size=4][color=orange][b]Fulfills tasks for:[/b] - Day 82 (June 24, 2017) - Day 83 (June 25, 2017) - Day 84 (June 26, 2017)[/color][/size] [color=orange][b]Battles Completed: 93 total (31+21+41) Items of the Day:[/b][/color] [item=sea fae] [item=fallout whisper] [item=brent goose] [/center] In Round 25, Felicity reached Level 11. In Round 27, Mithril reached Level 8. and Mindor reached Level 9. [b]Loot[/b] [item=giant desert centipede] x23 [item=zebra cricket] x14 [item=charged sprocket] x12 [item=bonepriest venom] x11 [item=dwarf fawn] x11 [item=songbird mimic] x9 [item=thick meat strips] x9 [item=white-masked dustbug] x8 [item=fragile antler] x7 [item=miniature potash peach] x5 [item=decorative centaur quiver] x5 [item=wildwood moss] x5 [item=bottled embers] x4 [item=red-winged dewbug] x4 [item=rotting leather] x4 [item=jar of vapors] x4 [item=wisp fruit] x4 [item=dried jerky] x4 [item=zeeba horn] x4 [item=river wiggler] x4 [item=forest field guide] x3 [item=owlcat journal] x3 [item=expertly-crafted spear] x3 [item=leather centaur quiver] x3 [item=tiny feathers] x3 [item=bamboo leaves] x3 [item=blooming pods] x3 [item=minor health potion] x3 [item=rambra horn] x2 [item=centaur ration pouch] x2 [item=ebon-edged spear] x2 [item=centaur nut mix] x2 [item=grouse] x2 [item=coral grouse] x2 [item=wildwood owlet] x2 [item=sakura owlet] x2 [item=janustrap root] x2 [item=blooming vine] x2 [item=vampire eel] x2 [item=strangler seeds] x2 [item=decorative feather fan] x2 [item=forestpath rooster] x2 [item=maple leaf] x2 [item=sakura moss] x2 [item=strangling root] x2 [item=venus flytrap] x2 [item=common sparrow] [item=zeeba] [item=enamor] [item=umbral catfish] [item=painted centaur] [item=coral basilisk field notes] [item=shining acuity fragment] [item=harvestman] [item=sticky pollen] [item=strangling vine] [item=delicate bat wing] [item=phytocat toy] [item=bluefin charger fin]

[center][size=5][color=orange][b]Art Post #11[/b][/size] [size=4][color=orange][b]Fulfills task for: Day 99 (July 11, 2017)[/b][/color][/size] [color=orange][b]Task completed on: April 14, 2018 Item of the Day:[/b][/color] [item=iron gear] [/center] [b]WARNING:[/b] This is a drawing of a death, and I drew some blood in this one. Not much, but I think I'll err on the side of caution and just post a link to where the picture is hosted. [url=http://barbarafett.tumblr.com/image/172945727166]Click to view the image[/url] ... [b][color=orange]In Memoriam[/color][/b] [columns][img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/avatars/326628/32662733.png[/img] [nextcol] [b][color=orange]Diego[/color][/b] Hatched: Unknown Exalted: June 5, 2017 Means of Death: In honorable combat with centaurs Diego came into Clan Ashfeather from a life wandering the roads, borrowing goods from traveling dragons to survive. After discovering that he and Felicity shared a special bond through their kindred spirits, he became her second mate and the father of her second nest of hatchlings. He was a good and caring mate and father, and a bold and fierce fighter who died avenging Mithril's cause. [/columns] [columns][img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/avatars/272142/27214166.png[/img] [nextcol] [b][color=orange]Belladonna[/color][/b] Hatched: September 25, 2016 Exalted: June 5, 2017 Means of Death: In honorable combat with centaurs Belladonna was the very first Bogsneak hatched into Clan Adeptica, brought up and taught the ways of alchemy by two of its resident alchemists. She was compassionate and understanding toward those who, like her, were different and set apart. Her close friendship with Starbloom, Ember, and Felicity led her to join them on their quest. She loved and fought for those younger and weaker than herself, ultimately giving her life to avenge Mithril's former clan. [/columns]

[center][size=5][color=orange][b]Journey Chronicles - Scene 30[/b][/size] [size=4][color=orange][b]Fulfills task for: Day 102 (July 14, 2017)[/b][/color][/size] [color=orange][b]Task completed on: April 14, 2018* Item of the Day:[/b][/color] [item=chimera fangs] [/center] [i](*OOC: actually, I wrote this at least a couple weeks ago, I'm just posting it today. I didn't keep track of which day I actually wrote it, sorry.)[/i] [i]Faster. Faster. Farther. Faster.[/i] That was all anyone in Clan Ashfeather could think. It felt like they would never be able to stop running. The smell of scorched forest had faded away behind them by now, supplanted by the scent of damp, rotting leaves. They crashed through brambles and tree branches, ignoring the scratches on their backs and legs. They still weren't far enough away from the destruction they had escaped. Brandywine dipped her head downward to check the sling again - yes, Mithril was still there. Spirals couldn't really run on land, but they could fly very fast, and she was - or at least, as fast as she could without abandoning her best friend, Garnet. Snappers could only run awkwardly on their longer back legs, so the two of them were bringing up the rear as their whole clan ran headlong into the Tangled Wood. From time to time, whenever the two younger girls fell too far behind, Felicity and Starbloom shot levitation-spells at them to bring them up closer to the rest of the group. It was disorienting, but it was keeping them alive and near their family. After the last time she was pulled forward by one of these spells, Brandywine opened her eyes to find herself lying on the ground, in total darkness. Mithril wriggled in her sling, apparently alive and unhurt. "Where are we?" Brandywine groaned. "We have decided to take shelter in a hollow tree trunk," Starbloom said. "I couldn't go on another step," Felicity panted, "but I'm pretty sure we've lost anyone who might have been chasing us by now." Mithril got her head free of the sling. "See if there's a hidden panel," she said. "What?" Brandywine asked. "In the tree trunk, in the back. If you feel around, there might be one." "All right," said Mindor, who was the closest to the back of the tree trunk. He began feeling it with his whiskers and forepaws. "Hey, you're right!" he exclaimed. "There is something here..." There was a click, and a whisper of wood as a panel slid open, admitting the soft glow of blue light into the space. "Look at this!" Mindor said as he continued to push the panel aside. "It's a... well, it's a safe space. Looks like it, anyway." He cautiously ventured through the opening, followed by his clanmates. Kessel had to kneel down and crawl through into the opening space beyond the hidden panel. The hollow tree they had found turned out to be one of a rough circle of many such trees, forming a thick, protective wall. Here, there were grasses and mosses on the ground, as well as glow mushrooms. Hundreds of them, growing from both the forest floor and the patches of moss on the tree trunks. They were the source of the soft, blue light. [i]"Wow,"[/i] breathed Brandywine. "It's [i]beautiful[/i] here." "It is," said Mindor. "I think we should stay for a while." "Are you sure it's safe, son?" Felicity said. "You'd think someone would already be living in a nice place like this." "Look there." Mindor pointed out a white gleam between two of the tree trunks - the neatly-cleaned bones of a pangolin. "Mirrors. They must have moved on to another den already." Felicity nodded. "All right. We'll stay here for the time being." The dragons of Clan Ashfeather set down their belongings and lay down on the soft moss and grass. It was a great relief to finally have a chance to process what had happened back at the island on the edge of the Shadowbinder's realm. They had been far too optimistic about their chances of avenging Mithril's clan. They had found no survivors besides Mithril, and far more centaurs than they had expected. Diego was gone. So was Belladonna - seeing him hit, she had charged headlong into the thick of the fight, intent on taking a life for a life, only to fall to another spear herself. After seeing two of their own fall in such quick succession, the rest of Clan Ashfeather had decided to retreat. Starbloom had at least had the presence of mind to look at the map, and had directed the retreat, clinging on to Felicity's mane and guiding her by the ears, as if she were some common elk. She hadn't seemed to care. None of them had been able to think of anything but their own survival. Rythorn slithered across the forest floor like a hatchling, apparently too spent to fly any more, and gathered his daughter into his arms. "Brandywine... you're all the blood family I have left," he said. "I'm so glad we made it." "Me too, Dad," Brandywine said. "I'm sorry I ever got us mixed up in all this." "Don't blame yourself. You did the right thing when you rescued Mithril from the sea. And she was the one who told us there might be a hidden panel in that tree. We're lucky to have her - she's the only one of us who knows anything about living in Shadow territory." "Hey, that's right," Garnet said. "You can eat the blue glowy mushrooms, right?" "Of course," Felicity said, picking one. "They're great. Back in our old clan in Arcane, we were hardly ever allowed to eat them because our hoard manager kept them all to sell. But look at this - they just grow all over the place here." She ate her mushroom. "I'd forgotten how good those were," she said with a wicked grin. "Forget you, Shadowspell. [i]I'm[/i] in charge now. Glow mushrooms for [i]everybody![/i]" She picked several more mushrooms and began eating them. "That is a very strong emotional reaction, is it not?" Starbloom asked. "Shadowspell had no negative intentions toward you. He was merely doing his job." "I think she's trying to cope with her loss by asserting what power and control she can," Mindor explained. "My son has great insight," Felicity said, sighing. "The Subterranean Clovers are the best, if you can find them," Mithril said, without moving from where she lay. "But yes, the glow mushrooms are good, too. This is a good place to stay for now." It certainly was. What was left of Clan Ashfeather would have to build a life for themselves in this new place with only what they had among them. They no longer had the option of supporting themselves through alchemy. Or metalworking, for that matter. All of that knowledge had died with Belladonna and Ember. They would have to hunt and gather and scavenge for their living with their own claws. Fortunately, the majority of the clan at the moment was made up of entomo-herbivores, and this grove certainly had enough plant and insect life to sustain them for at least a few days. What they would do for Kessel, they didn't know yet, but they resolved to work together to figure out how to live in this new realm. *~*~*~*~*~*~* One of the greatest mysteries on Sornieth was how or why the Icewarden, god of eternal preservation, had come to create a dragon breed with a memory like a sieve. It was profoundly paradoxical and was sometimes seen as a curse, but for Mithril, it was a blessing. She recovered from the grief brought on by the clan's devastating losses in its last battle much more quickly than anyone else, and the rest of Clan Ashfeather's younger generation followed her lead. Shadow was Mithril's native element, and she began to explore the forest eagerly, sharing everything she learned and discovered with her new clanmates. One of her first important discoveries was a freshwater pond that provided the clan with both water and fish. The entire clan, and particularly Kessel, was grateful to her. Kessel's brother Mindor, however, was Mithril's most constant companion. He took it upon himself to record all that they learned and discovered together, on parchment as well as in the surface of his pearl. He came to love living in the forest; the glow of the bioluminescent mushrooms and other plants invited reflection and thought, activities that he enjoyed and valued very much. He and his Shadow-hatched guide grew more and more fond of each other, too. As soon as Mithril came of age, she asked Mindor to be her mate, and he gladly accepted.

[center][size=5][color=orange][b]Event Post #9[/b][/size] [size=4][color=orange][b]Fulfills task for: Day 87 (June 29, 2017)[/b][/color][/size] [color=orange][b]Task completed on: June 29, 2017 Item of the Day:[/b][/color] [item=Iron Filigree Helmet] [/center] My third nest of this challenge got me 3 eggs. Again, I neglected to take a screenshot at the time. I'm using Shadow eggs in this visual because of the lore I've written, even though I bred all my Pinkerlocke dragons in my own Arcane nests at the time I got these items. [center][img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/avatars/332394/33239382.png[/img] [item=unhatched shadow egg] [item=unhatched shadow egg] [item=unhatched shadow egg] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/avatars/334666/33466572.png[/img][/center]

[center][size=5][color=orange][b]Journey Chronicles - Scene 31[/b][/size] [size=4][color=orange][b]Fulfills task for: Day 104 (July 16, 2017)[/b][/color][/size] [color=orange][b]Task completed on: April 14, 2018* Item of the Day:[/b][/color] [item=etched tusk] [/center] [i](*OOC: Or a day or two before that; I didn't keep track of the exact date at the time. In any case, I am posting a revised and improved version of this scene on February 3, 2019.)[/i] The time came for Mithril and Mindor’s first nest to hatch, ushering in the third generation of Clan Ashfeather. As before, the entire clan gathered around to watch. The glowing blue patches on the three Shadow eggs brightened, illuminating the hollow of the old tree stump they were resting in. With a flash of light, a single, tiny, curved Pearlcatcher horn broke through one of the glowing bubbles on the egg’s surface. The glow faded as the egg broke apart. A purple Pearlcatcher who had inherited her father’s and her grandmother’s patterns of markings emerged from the eggshell. She was followed soon after by two brothers, another Pearlcatcher and a Tundra. Felicity was delighted - she’d had grandchildren before through her first son, Gladeknight, but they’d all been Spirals like their mother. This was her first Pearlcatcher grandchild. Mindor named his eldest daughter Silviana, in honor of his love for the forest that had grown so strong during his explorations with Mithril. She proved to be a vibrant, energetic little one, like her father and uncle had been back in the seaside cave where they had hatched. Her two brothers, however, didn’t seem to have the same spark that she did. All the adults in the clan did everything they could to keep all three hatchlings happy and healthy, but despite all their efforts, the two little male hatchlings slipped away only a day or two after hatching, much like Little Sunshine before them. “I’m so sorry, Mom,” Mindor said during the burial rite for the two little hatchlings. “I don’t know what happened. Maybe our family just has bad blood.” “It's all right, son,” Felicity said. “Blaming yourself won't help anyone. The most important thing you can do right now is to give your daughter the best life possible.” But in the secrecy of her thoughts, Felicity wondered if Mindor might be right. When she was growing up, her father Ephron and her uncle Eliezer had told her the story of how their mother, her grandmother Duskbright, had fled from Clan Adeptica in the aftermath of a great explosion of Arcane magic, which had accidentally killed one of the clan’s trainees for exaltation. This had been when Ephron, Eliezer, and their sisters were still young, and ever since their mother had run off, the two brothers had both [i]hated[/i] magic. They had professed a preference for the ways of the Stormcatcher when they bothered to acknowledge the gods at all. There had always been some enmity between them and the rest of the clan, and between them and the Arcanist. Was it possible that that figurative ‘bad blood’ had become literal? Could there be a curse on Duskbright and all her descendants? It could have been a side effect of the explosion, or perhaps of Lady Adeptica’s pronouncement that Duskbright was forbidden from using her magic within her clan’s territory – though the latter seemed unlikely, since she hadn’t otherwise punished any other members of Duskbright’s family. Or maybe it was the Arcanist himself who had cursed their bloodline – in general, he seemed a decent and fatherly sort, but the way Ephron and Eliezer had hated him, maybe he hated them, too. Felicity just didn’t know. Not knowing bothered her, and the loss of her two newest grandchildren hurt. She began thinking of ways to find out the truth about her family line. If she could find a skilled seer, he or she could tell her whether she really did bear a curse, or was merely the victim of random mischance. Returning to the Sea of a Thousand Currents to find one was out of the question, after the trouble they had gotten into when they had crossed over from Water into Shadow territory, but it was likely there were migrants or travelers from that region here in the Tangled Wood. There had to be a seer around here somewhere. If Felicity wanted to run an errand that would take her far from the hidden clearing that was Clan Ashfeather’s current home, she would need protection and companionship. She decided to invite Starbloom and Rythorn to come with her. Brandywine insisted upon tagging along, too, over her father’s protestations. The rest of the clan could take care of itself now, Brandywine argued, and nothing had invaded, threatened, or even disturbed the peace of their secret grove so far. “Technically, we are not legally recognized as residents here in the Tangled Wood,” Starbloom pointed out. “We never went through any official process to enter it, as we did when we entered the Sea of a Thousand Currents. I imagine it is unlikely that the goddess of [i]secrets[/i] has not become aware of our presence by now. What if she or one of her agents finds us here?” “Mithril can vouch for us,” Brandywine said. “She’s Shadow-hatched. If you and Felicity named her acting clan leader while you’re away, we shouldn’t get into any trouble with their exalted.” “That is true,” said Starbloom. “All right. We will do as you suggest, and you may come with us.” “All [i]right![/i]” exclaimed Brandywine. “Thank you so much!” Mithril was awed and a little nervous to be named acting clan leader, but Felicity reassured her that she was a brave, capable dragon, and would do fine. She and Starbloom told the rest of the clan that they were leaving Mithril in charge while they were gone, and went on their way. The four dragons emerged from the secret grove with all their senses on high alert, Starbloom and Felicity using their Arcane magic to both sense danger and scout around for the presence of other mages. Felicity’s whiskers twitched as she identified such a presence. She led the way between the trees until they came to a narrow path, which the group began to follow. ... [color=orange][b]In Memoriam[/b][/color] [columns][img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/avatars/341891/34189005.png[/img] [nextcol] [b][color=orange]"Orchid"[/color][/b] Hatched: July 4, 2017 Exalted: July 4, 2017 Means of Death: Failure to thrive One of Silviana's two nestmate brothers, Orchid was hatched in the Tangled Wood, but lived only a few days after hatching. [/columns] [columns][img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/avatars/341891/34189006.png[/img] [nextcol] [b][color=orange]"Verdigre"[/color][/b] Hatched: July 4, 2017 Exalted: July 4, 2017 Means of Death: Failure to thrive The other one of Silviana's two nestmate brothers, and the only Tundra in the nest, Verdigre was hatched in the Tangled Wood, but lived only a few days after hatching. [/columns]