Creative Corner

[center][br][font=courier new][size=5]A FORWARD FROM THE AUTHOR[/size] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=40224850] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/402249/40224850_350.png[/img] [/url] I have been called many things by many dragons, but you may call me Selene. To understand this work, you must [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=40224850][color=grey]understand me[/color][/url] first. I came to Capella many moons ago and immediately found myself interested in documenting the stories passed around by the dragons surrounding me. As I took over the care of the clan's library, I also began to document the clan's history with the permission of the clan leaders. So, here it is in its physical manifestation. This book is broken into three parts: Dawn, Dusk, Starlit Wanderings. Dawn and Dusk focus on the origin of the clan leaders and the formation of Capella, respectively, while Starlit Wanderings documents the stories from clan members. I have put many hours of hard work into this book and will continue to do so as the clan expands and more stories are shared amongst our dragons.[/font][/center]

Every star has a story of birth and death. Few have a story of life.

Zelle was birthed from the cosmos, a child of galactic dust and shattered constellations cocooned together in a cloud of universal beginning. For years she sat in the sky above Sornieth and watched the creatures below her as they evolved and changed. She doesn't remember much of the stories before her fall to Sornieth, but she does remember the pain of falling.

Miles and miles she soared through the atmosphere, every scale along her body glowing white hot, setting her ablaze. She landed in the sea beyond the Starfall Isles, the cold breath of the saltwater dousing the flames along her body, but not before they had left permanent marks on her hide. Exhausted and shaken, the young dragon found her way to shore.

Zelle stumbled through the Crystalspine Reaches, mesmerized by the spires that rose above her from the sea. She wandered the strange land around her, her eyes wavering in the stench of the magic. Pushing through the unfamiliar landscape, she sang quietly to herself to ease her mind.

Zelle did not realize how far she had travelled until night fell around her and the sky was lit by constellations she did not recognize. The stars seemed so close she felt she could pluck one from the sky. Curious, Zelle reached between the branches of the trees around her, grasped a twinkling light between her claws, and pulled. The star fell into her hand. As she turned it in her claws she realized it was no star, but a flower that twinkled like one in the night. It was then Zelle knew she had been called to this strange place by something divine.

For weeks—or was it only hours?—Zelle wandered beneath the mystery of the Star Wood, facing every threat that approached her with sharpened claws. With each step deeper into the Strand, she felt more and more the presence of something large looming around her, whispering secrets into her ears. The voice seemed unfocused and hazy, its words lost to the winds around her. With each day, the voice grew in volume but lost clarity until Zelle thought she would lose her mind. Frustrated, she settled her large body at the root of an ancient Star Wood tree. For days she sat unmoving beneath the tree, focusing her strength and concentrating on the voice weaving through her mind.

With all her effort, the voice started to take shape and form words. Zelle listened warily, unwilling to blindly trust the voice that had been haunting her for so long.

"What curious... energy... stirs beneath this place," the voice sighed.

"Who are you?" Zelle demanded, turning her head. "What do you want with me?"

"I am Arcanist. My children... are lost... beneath these trees. You must find them." The voice wavered, growing more distant. Zelle jumped to her feet and turned around, wildly searching for the source. "Find my children beneath the trees... Some will find enlightenment, but some will perish. Find them, Zelle."

A chill coursed down Zelle's spine at the sound of her own name coming from the disembodied voice. "Why should I?" she shouted into the silence of the trees. But the voice did not answer.

Frightened by the voice of the god in her ear, Zelle bounded back into the trees, shaking off the encounter, and continued her exploration of the Strand. But with each day, the god's voice grew louder and more persistent. Zelle could find no place that would give her peace from the words swarming around her head. Now that she had heard what the god had to say, she could not ignore his words. She was not his disciple and yet, was he really asking that much of her?

When she gave in, shouting, "Fine! I will find them!" to the trees, the voice ceased.

So, she began looking for others lost in the Star Wood, inviting them to make a home with her. She did not tell them why she had sought them out, only opened herself to them when they crossed paths. As time passed, she began to doubt the actual presence of Arcanist in her head. Perhaps she was just lonely? Was he truly a figment of her imagination? Sitting amongst her family—her Clan—she decided she didn't care. However she had found them didn't matter, only that she had.

The egg was strange, glassy and pulsating with bright energy unlike its coral-encrusted siblings in the nest. When any dragon reached for it, they were met with a sharp jolt and a buzzing that sat heavy in their mouth for hours, leaving them with the taste of singed scales and the sting of a bad omen.

Terrified, the clan tossed the egg into the sea, glad to be rid of it.

The warm currents of the sea carried the egg gently, deeper and deeper until the water was cold and dark at the sandy bottom. There, the egg hatched. With a flash of light, the bright hatchling pushed forth, already strong enough to pull his way through the water around him. He should have drowned before he reached the surface, but the sea already loved him and guided his way.

The hatchling gained his strength with each stroke as he strode towards air. He broke the surface under the light of a full moon, his scales illuminated by the moonbeams skipping across the waves. The moon clung to his scales, burrowing its magic deep into his body, leaving silver marks on his hide to show his prowess. In the distance, land jutted out above the water, pink crystalspines glowing with old magic. The sea urged him to go to them, so he did.

The land—the Starfall Isles, the sea instructed him—had strange energy. It was wild and untamed and Silverscale was certain he'd never learn to channel the magic churning through every rock. By day, he slept in the Star Wood, hiding himself amongst the celestial trees away from the sun and prying eyes. By night, he sat with the sea, his friend and mother, and learned how to use the magic around him and inside him.

For quite some time, Silverscale lived comfortably in his routine, moving between Star Wood and the sea, learning and growing as much as he could.

Until one day, a star plummeted to the sea.

In a flash of light and a ripple of energy, the star crashed into the sea. From afar, Silverscale watched curiously, careful to stay out of sight as the star—the dragon—pulled herself from the sea and stumbled into the Star Wood. He watched her explore, always keeping his distance, curious about this being that had fallen from the sky and disrupted his peace. But this dragon seemed as confused as he had been when he first reached the isles, so he left her when the sun began to fall beneath the horizon. When he went to the sea that night, she was quiet.

"Mother, what's wrong?" Silverscale asked, settling himself in the sand at the edge of the water. "Is it about that dragon?"

After a few painfully quiet moments, the sea spoke. "It is time for you to continue on, my son," she said to him. "I have taught you all I can. Now you must learn from others. Strike out on your own and leave the safety of the shallows behind."

Silverscale knew better than to argue with the ancient being. With a heavy heart, he left for the Star Wood as the sun crested the horizon, leaving his mother and best friend behind him. As he reached the edge of the Strand, the voice of the sea spoke to him one last time.

"Do not mourn, my son," she said, her voice carrying the salt of the sea breeze to him, comforting him. "You may return to me one day, but your destiny lies beyond my shores. Do not forget me."

Bolstered by his mother's encouragement, Silverscale began his search for the star—the dragon—he had seen. It seemed like weeks before Silverscale crossed her path again. The Star Wood Strand liked to play tricks on those that entered, creating sounds deep in the trees, moving paths, and shifting light around to trick the eyes.

When Silverscale finally found her, she was shouting at the trees.

"I will find them!" she cried, spinning frantically. "I will do it, just leave me be!"

-- to be continued --