Creative Corner

I'm doing a little poll! You, that's right, you get to choose which dragons get to have a noncanon clan lore entry that writes as if there was a Super Smash Bro trailer for them!

They will:
Actually get to meet and fight the SSB roster!
Have a SSB-style moveset.
Guaranteed a canon POV clan lore entry in regards to the Bounty of the Elements!

Find the poll here and vote!

@ClockworkEclipse

The winner has been announced! After the Bounty of the Elements, Lazuli will get the SSB clan lore entry! Additionally, she is guaranteed a POV for the Misfits' Bounty of the Elements.

Aurum squinted at the paper that was delivered by courier.

Lazuli actually got the parchment and read it herself. It was an invitation from a machinists' guild for Seraphim to help build a secret project, possibly wanting to use his research in combining machine and magic in his inventions. But it's not like the Skydancer could read it to Aurum, considering her inability to speak.

"Wow, Seraphim is gonna freak out when he reads this! He's always wanted to be a part of one of these guilds before he founded this clan."
She signed asking how he knew that.
"Seraphim and I had a little chat when Obsius was nesting, before their break up."

The two walked through the tunnels, finding Seraphim in his part of the lair tinkering with something. Aurum hovered, somewhat disciplined and yet still relax, while Lazuli was standing on her hind legs rigidly with her hands behind her back.
"Hey Seraphim! This is for you!" the golden Nocturne said loudly, handing him the letter. As they turned around, Lazuli heard stomping. Likely the Tundra jumping around in excitement.
"Well, I'll take the patrol," Aurum told his second in command. "You take the rest of the day off."
Lazuli nodded and walked down the tunnels.

And then came the seer.

Oceanum flew out of her room in a hurry, with an energy Lazuli never seen before from the normally calm Spiral. Guess she had some hyperactivity after all.
"I've have learned terrible things from my fish! Awful things!"
The Spiral gripped Lazuli tightly, causing the latter to slap her in a "get a hold of yourself woman" way.
"Thank you. But while I was watching my fish, their movements, how the light shined off of their scales, everything told me that very bad things are to happen to this clan."
Lazuli tilted her head to tell Oceanum to go on.
"I do not know what specifically will happen to this clan. But everyone must stay here, for when the storm of misfortune hits."
Lazuli signs that it won't be possible as Seraphim is going to the Shifting Expanse.
"I must go stop him-"
The blue Skydancer pulled out her sword, making it clear that she won't stop Seraphim's plans, especially something that could be very important to him and definitely not over something so vague.
"...Fine. But the day when the misfortune hits, you'll need every dragon you have."

@ClockworkEclipse

After a few days, Seraphim came back. Between Obsius meeting with other clans and Umbreon loaded with the rest of the work, the Wildclaw couldn't help but feel relieved by the Tundra returning.

"Open your mouth," Umbreon said, as Amaranth, one of the warriors, opened his large mouth.
"Hmmm, it doesn't seem to be anything too serious," the black dragon continued. "Its just a sore throat. I recommend eating one of these plants twice a day to reduce the inflammation in your throat."
"Thanks doc," the Imperial rasped, taking the prescribed herbs with him.
"You look pretty busy," a familiar voice said. It was Morrin, one of the more odd dragons around here, what with her being a fanderg and all. "Do you need a helping hand?"
Umbreon shook his head. "No, it's all good. The minor illnesses are cropping up here and there but it's nothing I couldn't handle."
The Scarred Wasteland was a land rid with disease. He felt rather blessed by the Lightweaver that she let him live in a Plague clan where it wasn't filled to the brim with disease and rot, even if he had gotten used to the sight at this point.
"Alright, I'll just stay here in case-"

There was a low rumble.

Umbreon's head shot straight up, the feathers on his head and neck standing on end.
"Did you hear that?" Umbreon mumbled.

And then came Aurum's booming voice.
"THE FIRST SEED'S BEEN PLANTED! GET YOUR THINGS AND GET OUT OF HERE NOW!"
Panic ensued throughout all the tunnels as a stampede of dragons grabbed their most valuable and important things and fled the tunnel. Umbreon could have sworn he could hear Oceanum screaming, "IT'S HAPPENING!"
Morrin ran out, presumably to get her valuables. The Wildclaw scooped up as much healing herbs, medicine, and bandages as possible and ran out.

The Misfits ran as far as possible until they reached the Starfall Isles, where they were finally permitted to stop.
Umbreon turned around to see the Misfits' old home being swallowed up by the massive growth of leaves, vines, and moss.

His yellow gaze turned back to the other members of his clan. Apatite was crying into Anael's furred chest as Alkahest stood protectively in front of them. Basil hid within Papilion's green hair, shaking from fear. The Misfits Guard are all trying to calm everyone down, while Decept tried to distract everyone from the tragedy with a show of illusion magic.
Umbreon numbly met up with Obsius and Seraphim.
"I...I can't believe this," Seraphim mumbled. "Our home is gone."
Obsius was trembling with anger.
"Those...dang Nature dragons...THERE WAS AN ARMISTICE!" the Guardian roared angrily. "THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY FOR THIS! WE'RE NO LONGER TRADING OUR NATURE PARTNERS!"
"Obsius, calm down," Umbreon said. "We don't even know if our Nature trade partners are a part of this. For now, we have to find out where we go from here, since we certainly can't go back the way we came."

Umbreon let out a shaky sigh as he turned back to the direction of the Scarred Wasteland. The Misfits have no home.
Misfortune had hit them.

@ClockworkEclipse

It had been only a day since the Misfits' home was taken over by plants and they were taken in by a Shadow clan that had sorcerers and magicians. Well, it felt that way for Toxicus. It was all a blur, honestly. She only had remembered running from the advancing flora, her cauldron in tow. There was sensation of suffocating on air while the ominous feeling of pure dread washed throughout her whole body, intensifying with each short breath, before Obsius had came over to calm her down, showing the more tender side of the Guardian that Toxicus so far only had the privilege to experience firsthand, before she had fallen asleep on her back.

Which contrasted with Obsius's furious voice as Toxicus eavesdropped on her talking with Seraphim and Umbreon.

"I ain't standin' for this!" Obsius roared on the other side of the fungus covered door. "They coulda killed our clan with th' First Seed! Hell, they coulda killed Toxicus, and the whole thing literally sent her into a panic attack!"
"Obsius, you're letting your emotions as a Guardian cloud your judgement," Umbreon reasoned.
"'Ey, weren't ya the one sayin' that the times were changin'? Or was that lip service when ya said we were gonna send supplies to the rebellin' Fire clans?" Obsius refuted.
Seraphim interjected, "Let us not make any hasty decisions here. According to reports from our trade partners still in the Scarred Wasteland, the Nature ambassador was ill and not in her right mind."
"Ain't erasin' the fact we're homeless 'n she killed a ton o' dragons by plantin' the First Seed!"
Umbreon responded, "We're only going to be homeless for a few days until the plants that took over our territory die out from disease."

The Bogsneak turned away as the arguing and debating continued. Obsius was really mad, and Toxicus couldn't bear to continue listening in.

As she walked back to the part of the lair that the Shadow clan graciously provided for the Misfits, she caught the sight of Oceanum staring worried at her fish, kept alive and swimming around her with Water magic.
"H-Hey Oceanum, what's wrong?"
"Toxicus..."
The Spiral turned to look at her.
"Ever since I was young, I had an ability different from the other oracles. I saw prophecies and visions not from the water, but from the fish that swam in it. Everyday, I see predictions from my fish, whether minor like what I'm going to eat tonight or huge like what had just happened to us."
Toxicus tilted her head. "O-Okay...?"
"Toxicus, this is the first time I'm not scrying anything from my fish," Oceanum said. "I am only being met with silence."

@ClockworkEclipse

After a few days of living in the rather dark Tangled Woods, the clan returned to their wreck of a home. Quetzal didn't like the Shadow territory, as the Coatl could barely see in there, so it was a relief going home even if it meant hard labor pulling away the dead plants for a full day.

Now the fashion designer is just drawing his latest line of clothes in his room. Around the walls and floors were bits of dead plants and roots, the only thing left from the disaster around the First Seed. Even then, the Tundras were snacking on them so they may not be around for very long.

His crest of feathers flared up when he noticed a crowd of dragons in the tunnels. Was it the First Seed again?

Quetzal put down his ink pen as he walked into the tunnel that had led into his room.
"Dragons, Light or not, I have been alerted to terrible news from one of our Light allies," Umbreon said somberly, Obsius and Seraphim sitting off to the side.
"Oh my!" Quetzal mumbled. "What horrible news will we be cursed with this time?"
The Wildclaw took a deep breath, and said, "We were alerted that there was an Emperor rampaging through the Sunbeam Ruins. There are already countless casualties."
Quetzal's hand flew to his mouth. Well, no wonder Umbreon seemed so solemn. His home land is in trouble.
"We have put aside our concerns in regards to the potential of war between Plague and Nature and decided to focus on this. We're sending an envoy of dragons to the Sunbeam Ruins to evacuate the Light clans by teleporting them into ours. We have already dug out a series of tunnels and rooms for disaster relief and shelter. It will be a dangerous undertaking, but I trust you all will keep yourselves safe."

While the crowd dispersed after voicing their approval, Quetzal was approached by Aurum.
"Hey Quetzal," the Nocturne said.
"Helloooo!" Quetzal trilled, trying to look happy for the sake of everyone. "I certainly wish you the most well on this rescue effort!"
"Yeah, that's the thing, Quetzal," replied Aurum. "You see, teleportation is kind of an Arcane specialty. And Moonlight is the only dragon in the guard who's good at it and Arcanist knows I'm not a mage."
The Coatl's crest lowered. "What are you hinting at?"

***

Chaos.

Pure chaos.

Screams and yells surrounded Quetzal as the Misfits guard ushered dragons towards him, Moonlight, and Naos. Each one he helped warp back to the Misfits clan.

He wanted to keep caring, with mothers shoving hatchlings into the warriors' arms to spare their fate from this horror and the three-headed Emperor eating the unlucky victims in the distance. But it's been hours. Hours of having to see injured dragons and orphaned hatchlings. Seeing dragons bleed out in front of them, their attempts to escape their fate futile.

And the normally cheerful Coatl just felt numb.

@ClockworkEclipse

This wasn't the first time Luigi had to deal with disaster relief.

Before he discovered he had a dragon self that he becomes when dreaming, Luigi had dealt with disasters throughout the Mushroom Kingdom, whether natural or caused by whatever villain is causing trouble that month. Though Luigi had worked in the background, reconstructing and cleaning up the mess, while Mario had dealt with trying to soothe the victims. Though he had felt it worked better that way, since Luigi was also left a trembling mess at even the sight of it and doing something hands-on helped distract him from it.

Which was proven further by what's going on back in the disaster relief portion of the lair.

It was a cacophony of talking, screaming, and tears, and Luigi was unfortunately "blessed" with being able to hear everything as if he was still human and not as a Coatl. Unlike the majority of the Misfits Guard, Aurum had chosen him to stay behind as he probably wouldn't handle the Emperor very well with his cowardly disposition. He's not even sure if anyone is handling the situation well over there. No one here certainly is.

He was currently helping Aequor babysit the hatchlings and eggs they rescued from the Sunbeam Ruins, using the room with the Plague nests that have not been used in a very, very long time.
"Excuse me mister!" a cheerful white Pearlcatcher said, approaching the green fanderg. "Do you know when Momma's coming?"
Luigi took in a shook, hiss-like breath. This was one of the hatchlings that, from what he's been told, was practically given to the Misfits Guard by the mother, who was going to fight the undead monstrosity. How was he supposed to tell her that her mother could be dead right now, eaten by one of its heads?
"I'm sure she's-a coming," Luigi tried to assure her, with his nasally and accented voice. "You just gotta be-a patient, okie-dokie?"
"Okay!" The yellow-eyed hatchling bounced off to play with the other potentially-orphaned hatchlings, pearl in tow.
"Oh Aequor, how am I-a supposed to keep-a this up?" Luigi said, as the scent of food from Papilion bring food to the nests lured the multitudes of hatchlings over to eat. "How am I-a supposed to tell them...you know..."
The deep blue Snapper looked at him, looking more solemn than usual. "We just have to keep the hatchlings calm and happy until this all blows over. Then we'll...tell them the truth if the casualty count lets us know."

Luigi dreaded the thought of having to potentially break the news. The thought of their little hearts breaking, knowing that they might have no parents to return to...

Luigi didn't really follow the Eleven, but he hoped that anything are merciful enough to let the Emperor spare their parents' lives.

@ClockworkEclipse

(OOC: I'm gonna write another clan lore entry, but first, something you guys must be waiting for...)

A foot lands on the floating stage, an attempt to evade a foe. The fighter adjusts his crimson cap, eyes on the one whose attack he had just evaded. A round, pink creature glares back at him, or at least as much of a glare the sphere being could pull off with his otherwise non-intimidating looks.

Something strikes the mustached fighter from behind, prompting him to turn around to meet his new assailant. A figure in green bearing a metallic sword, his long hat waving slightly in the breeze. The one in green attempts to strike him again, but the plumber rolls out of the way and retaliates with a ball of fire hurled at his opponents.

The three fought each, moving and dodging agilely throughout the platform stage. Exchanges of attacks and screams of surprise when they were launched off the stage surrounded the little arena.

Until...

Something lands on the far right of the stage. The three fighters stopped to look.

Claws clacked against the floor as the newcomer approached them calmly. Her armor was making small clanging sounds with each movement. Then she pulled out a sword, her pale eyes gleaming under her blue helmet, and charged at the fights.

LAZULI
BRINGS THE CHILL

Weight: Medium

Neutral attack: Uses her wing to slap the opponent.
Dash attack: Runs and jabs
Forward tilt: Hits the target with her tail, similar to Charizard
Up tilt: Swings her sword upwards
Down tilt: Same as forward tilt but much lower.
Forward smash: Throws a Frigid Bolt attack.
Up smash: Jabs someone right above her with the sword.
Down smash: Sweeps with her back legs.
Neutral aerial: Uses Freezing Slash
Forward aerial: Moves directly few inches to the right, hitting anything in her way with a sword.
Back aerial: Kicks behind her
Up aerial: Thrusts sword upwards, similar to Link
Down aerial: Kicks down three times
Grab aerial: Grabs with her mouth and slams them to the ground (or void if they're unlucky enough).
Glide attack: Claws at anyone in her direct path.
Grab: Just grabs someone.
Pummel: Bites repeatedly.
Throw: Throws opponent and uses Frigid Bolt
Back throw: Throws opponent behind her.
Up throw: Throws opponent into the air and slashes at them with her sword.
Down throw: Throws opponent into the ground, throwing them up about a foot.
Floor attack: Smacks her tail at whoever is close to her.
Edge attack: Pulls herself up and does the same as above.
Final Smash: Uses Congeal on everyone before firing down a blizzard that damages everyone. Swings her sword, and whoever is caught in the range is instantly launched off the stage.

@ClockworkEclipse

Two pairs of pale eyes scanned the wreckage, the result from the storm that had went through Water territory.

The news reached the Misfits late. They were already quite busy looking after the Light refugees and sending out supplies to remaining Light clans and rebelling Fire clans. Now they're helping disaster victims in the Water territory, and the clan is sending out more food to here, and clans in Wind, Ice, and Plague as well.

Needless to say, the clan was stretching itself thin.

Iaso looked over at her older sister, who was helping reconstruct homes. Enyo was always the stronger one of the two, so Iaso was left to help heal Water dragons that can't be afforded to be warped into the lair. She was feeling tired, and oddly warm despite the cool breeze ruffling her feathers.

"Enyo, how long are we going to be here?" Iaso asked, approaching the other Coatl who was carrying a plank of wood.
Enyo set it down. "I don't know sis. But we just gotta stay strong. For our clan and everyone who's been affected by everything that happened."
Iaso wasn't feeling strong. And by the looks of Amaranth, he probably doesn't feel very strong, and Veigar is as stoic as ever as she warps a few dragons into Misfits territory.

Iaso coughed. "I just feel so tired..."
"Hang in there," Enyo said, gingerly placing a paw on her shoulder. "After I'm done rebuilding this hut, I'll go fishing and get ourselves some delicious shrimp. How does that sound?"
The healer nodded weakly.
"I'll go back to healing dragons."
"That's the spirit!" Enyo exclaimed, trying to keep each other's spirits up. "Just think about the yummy shrimp!"

Iaso slowly walked back to her spot, where two Skydancers brought over a blue-eyed Mirror, supporting the latter.
As they gently set him down, Iaso prepared a healing spell.

Her hands were unsteady as she surrounded the Mirror in a healing aura. She was starting to feel a little lightheaded. But it was likely how much magic she'd been using throughout the day.

Except it's just getting worse.

She feels so dizzy and so hot. It's unbearable.

She could only hear Enyo crying out her name in alarm before she collapsed.

@ClockworkEclipse

Basil was bored. Very bored.

The hatchling always loved cooking. There was the delicious smells, playing around with dough, and even taste tests. But he's been helping his adoptive mother Papilion cook the same stuff for hours now. All of a sudden cooking had lost its novelty.

Basil wasn't allowed to play with the hatchlings though. Or look at the rescued Light and Water eggs being kept incubated in the Plague nests. No, he has to stay in the kitchen with Momma.

"That should be the last of it!" he heard the Imperial say, taking the vast amount of food. "I must say, this whole thing has been keeping us pretty busy."
The massive dragon looked down at the tiny hatchling.
"Sweetheart, since you've been such a good boy helping your mother cook, why don't you play with the hatchlings that Uncle Aequor and Uncle Luigi are babysitting?"

Basil perked up. Now that's the cure to his boredom he needed.

He ran down the tunnel leading to the Plague nests, which sat rather close to the room with all the refugees. Though he was suddenly intrigued when he saw Aunt Veiger teleporting in with Enyo, who is carrying her unconscious sister.

The little green Nocturne followed them down to where Umbreon is healing the dragons in the room.
"Umbreon, please help my sister! She had fainted and she won't wake up," Enyo pleaded. It was kinda sad to Basil, since she was normally hotblooded.
The Wildclaw seemed to examine Iaso. "It looks like she just has a fever. She likely caught it while she was stressed. I'll keep your sister here in case her condition worsens though."
Basil hid behind a pot of herbs as Grandpa Aurum entered the room with Uncle Quetzal. Quetzal seemed to not be paying attention to anything around him.
"Veigar, thank you for your service in the Sea of a Thousand Currents, but I'm reassigning you to take Quetzal's place while I send him over to Water territory. You can handle the sight of the Emperor more than him."
The pink Tundra nodded. "Alright then. I'll head over there right now."

Basil's pink eyes lit up. An Emperor? That sounds so cool! He really wanted to check that out.
The Nocturne hatchling ran close to Veigar just as she teleported to the Sunbeam Ruins, making her accidentally take him there.

***

Basil blinked his eyes once the scenery changed to the Sunbeam Ruins.

Coooool!

The hatchling ran off from Veigar, and went off to explore. He could see the Emperor in the distance.

"Wow! Look how massive it is! It's even bigger than Momma."

Basil wanted to take a closer look at the three-headed monster. Look at it. It's an awesome zombie dragon of doom, something he could only imagine in his sessions of play-pretend.

Basil took flight, having just recently gotten used to it. The little green dragon eventually arrived close to the Emperor.

Except...

No other dragon was in awe like he was. And the three head were eating...something. All the big dragons around him were screaming and pleading for their lives. Combining that and the fact now the Emperor seemed more scary than cool, Basil was starting to become frightened.

An orange Spiral with yellow eyes sped in front of the hatchling.
"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"
The noise alerted the Wind head, and it slowly went and bit down on the Spiral as he tried to fly away.

Basil began to cry from terror, bring the Wind head's attention to him.

As the head began to open its mouth to eat the crying hatchling, a golden blur scooped up the hatchling.

"What you doing here kid?! You're lucky Lazuli saw you heading this way!" Aurum scolded him.
Basil could only cry harder in response, a wailing sound resulting from shattered innocence.
"I'll take you back to your mother, but next time, please consider staying at the Misfits and being safe!"

@ClockworkEclipse

Much like the deities, the Misfits have decided to speak.

Obsius: What Nature has done can't be allowed to pass!
Seraphim: Nothing is worse than feeling helpless as a leader.
Quetzal: I have seen true, absolutely terrifying horror...
Umbreon: We must persevere!
Toxicus: I-I'm scared for Obsius and what she'll do.
Lazuli: ...
Aurum: I am going to be strong in these trying times.
Sanguis: So much to record in the records.
Lisa: I have to keep the familiars safe.
Hyacinangelus: I don't know what's wrong with Quetzal.
Moonlight: Never have I seen such an abundance of magic.
Papilion: My poor baby...
Corundum: I want to prove my strength and fight the Emperor.
Forti: I can't wait to see what new treasures this will bring!
Conci: I will stand by the Fire rebellion, even if I am no longer with them.
Lapide: Conci seems distracted lately.
Aequor: My heart aches for these hatchlings.
Tempest: I've never seen weather patterns like this!
Hemomancer: I can only use my blood magic to help these Light dragons.
Venenum: My serpents and scorpions seem uneasy...
Vintage: Perhaps this all means I may return home soon.
Amaranth: Am I really only a mistake...?
Enyo: Will my sister be alright?
Iaso: I feel so hot...
Anael: What is happening with these crystals?
Oceanum: Where is the Tidelord's prophecies in our time of need?
Cathex: What's going to happen to everyone back home?
Skodati: Such curious findings...
Vinci: The world I know is slowly disappearing.
Hiero: Vinci is getting quieter...
Potion: My brews are getting strangely strong.
Morrin: My friends here in Sornieth are panicking and I don't know what to do.
Honey: My bees aren't being very active.
Australis: I need to go there. I need to defend my homeland.
Labradorite: My spirit...
Aeris: These ancient texts...! What does it all mean?
Corruption: The taint within me is getting restless.
Rakku: I am a demigod, I should be able to do more than this!
Demi: My lies are falling apart.
Sundae: So many dragons, I can't stand it.
Dandelion: I will defend my clan to the end.
Neriya: There's a lot of dragons in need, and all I can do is give them hot chocolate.
Necro: An Emperor? How curious...
Forge: I'm just gonna stay with the blacksmith, thank you very much.
Veigar: Still not the most unusual thing I've seen in my life.
Minuit: Where is my beloved queen when we need her?
Iliade: I just want to be left alone with my gems.
Rhox: They're leading up to something, but what?
Hathor: These hideous dragons. They should have done us a favor and feed the Emperor.
Chanter: I must stay strong. For my fellow Light dragons.
Tatia: I think I'm starting to become crazy like them.
Basil: I'm so scared.
Rhiana: I must steel my will.
Miracle: So much suffering...
Amalure: I tell jokes and they keep frowning.
Miya: My dancing is not drying their tears.
Argentum: It's all going to lead to certain death anyways.
Richard: So many opportunities, I feel like a kid in a candy store.
Interlude: Are the other Shade remnants doing this?
Nickel: Gah! It's huge!
Fondue: It seems I can't solve the problem in Water with justice.
Alkahest: My girlfriend looks broken by this.
Acidia: I must confess concern for the Tidelord...
Apatite: Is my pink mom going to ever be the happy Ridgeback I knew before?
Cantabo: Hunger...
Decept: I'm seeing more sorrow than joy...
Maledicta: I only anticipate worse things to happen in our grim future.
Naja: The Beastclans...they need my help.
Sheriam: Will this help me find out who I am?
Luigi: If only Mario was here to help...
Nemoro: My merchant business is suffering.
Judaia: Now is not the time for partying and music! I need to help somehow.
Luxectio: What a curious predicament I was hatched into.

@ClockworkEclipse