Creative Corner

[center][size=7][b]Hopeful Beginnings[/b][/size][/center] [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/57265232][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/coliseum/portraits/572653/57265232.png[/img][/url][/center] [list][columns][list][nextcol][list][nextcol] ----- Moonlight draped on the curtains, her beam of light focussing on a little island in the sea, far away from Sornieth. The marbled towers and pillars made it very clear that this location was the Water domain, home to Aegaeon and his kin. And after a long battle, Indaviing and his kin all joined too, living together with the others. The trees in the gardens bristled, their beautiful green leaves trembling in the breeze as it pulled some along with it. The wind roamed around, whispering many words. Was this the work of nature, or something else? It travelled, going through the halls of the domain, blowing softly against the potted plants and hammocks that were on the ceilings. Torches flickered, and the wind sped up. Soon enough, the wind reached its destination, a room. The room had no door, just like all of the other rooms. There was a bag on the floor, a piece of paper and some food with a long shelf life stored inside of it. The wind brushed through some green and brown fur, but moved on to explore the room. It passed drawings and self-made maps of locations that hung on the wall, along with a larger painting of a family. It was a brand new painting, no dust. The breeze hung around at the painting for a while, seemingly a bit… sad. Green and brown fur moved on its own, turning around a bit. The dragon was restless, unable to sleep. It realized that there was a strange force in its room, and got up. The wind fell flat, leaves dropping to the floor. “ Who’s there? “ The dragon asked, eyes wide with some fear. The dragon sniffed the air, hoping to figure out what kept her awake this night. She was unsure, and turned around to face the open window in her room. Her eyes focussed on a strange blue light coming from the field that was near her room. The dragon inhaled, climbing out through her window after hesitating for a couple seconds. The grass was somewhat wet-ish from the dew that came overnight, hanging in the fur on her legs. She moved closer and closer to the faint light, squinting to try and see a shape. It was a shape of a dragon, a large one as well. “ Hope. “ It spoke, its voice light and breezy. “ How- How do you know my name? “ The tundra muttered. “ I know many things about you. “ The voice moved on. It was clear now that this presence was the shape of a guardian, her fins more visible in this position. The dragon stepped closer, towering above the small tundra. “ How… “ Hope sighed, and inhaled, speaking again. “ Who are you? Why are you here? “ The dragon turned her head slightly, blinking slowly and trustingly. “ My name is Shumru, It can be possible that you heard of me before, but the chances are low. I am here to ask you to come with me. “ “ … Come with you? I just got here not so long ago after a war – How am I supposed to leave my family behind like that?! “ Hope spat back, the fur on her back bristling angrily. “ It is understandable that you are mad, but this is somewhat urgent. I will explain everything later. Now come with me. “ The dragon moved away to the cliff, not really waiting for Hope. She spreaded her wings, setting off to hover in the sky. Her large wings didnt seem to cause any diffrences in the wind, as if they didnt exsist. “ … I’m hallucinating. “ Hope simply declared. “ You’re not real, just my mind telling me to leave and get lost and lose everyone again. Why should I follow you?! I dont even know you! “ She paced back and forth, her claws grasping into the floor whenever she paused to think. Hope was hesitating, she wanted to join to find out what was wrong, but she wanted to stay home with her family, her father, who she had just met. Everyone. There was NO way she would just leave like that! But…. Hope yelled out angrily, unable to decide. She groaned, and stomped on the ground. “ What if there… is more out there? More than just these locations? More than just these dragons? “ The tundra sighed, staring at the floor. Finally, she decided. Hope buried her claws in the ground, legs tensing to her side. She threw herself in the direction of the cliff where the guardian was. Hope charged, wings spreading, flying up to follow the dragon. The clouds were thick, the only thing Hope managed to see was a soft blur from the flying guardian. She tried her best to keep up with the dragon, but the large amount of flying was exhausting. The two dragons were going at such a high speed too. “ Shumru! Slow down please! “ Hope called out, hoping to reach the dragon with her voice. The guardian didnt seem to notice, and kept flying at the exact same pace through the thick, dark clouds. After a while of flying through the clouds, barely able to see anything, Hope bursted out. She flapped a couple times to regain balance and some fresh air, and looked around. The small dragon spotted the guardian again, a bit further below. It was about to land on some strange island. Hope dove down, spreading her wings at the end to catch herself. She landed on the soft grass, gazing around to look for the dragon again. The guardian was nowhere to be found, Hope was alone on a strange, unknown island. Or, so she thought. ----- [nextcol][list][nextcol][list][/columns][list]

[center][size=7][b]A Familiar Visitor[/b][/size][/center] [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/42495985][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/coliseum/portraits/424960/42495985.png[/img][/url][/center] [list][columns][list][nextcol][list][nextcol] ----- Moonlight broke through the leaves, lightly dappling the floor and leaving the trail of a mysterious aura behind. It was eerily quiet, no sounds of birds, no crickets, not even the wind. Everything was silently sitting and waiting for something to happen, and something sure did happen. It was just… not as exciting as hoped. Some of the critters at night peeked out of their dens and homes to stare at the dark figure walking past as it barely made any sound. The figure moved swiftly, almost as if it was in a hurry. That is when the shadow dropped something. “Ah, flip, darn it,” The figure cursed, stumbling backwards in its tracks to look for the item it dropped. It was a small bag, made of dark hairs and closed off with a messy, ragged cord of the same colour. It picked the bag up, and went back along its path. The path the figure followed was decorated with glowing, light blue mushrooms. One of them moved lightly, a satin pocketmouse giving away her hidingspot by sneezing. “Bless you,” The figure spoke, having crouched down with its snout close to the small mouse. She fell over in shock, but got saved from falling on the floor by large dark talons. The pocketmouse was set back down onto her paws and she looked up at the dark figure. A shadow with clear purple eyes, and a large scar in the center of its face. She placed one of her small paws on a claw of the figure. “Yes, no problem. Now go look for your home again, okay?” The figure hushed, letting go of the satin pocketmouse. She followed the figure, hopping along and avoiding fallen leaves on the floor. It walked rather fast, but she managed to get a grasp on the long snake-like figure that trailed behind it, a tail with a tuft. She held on tight, climbing up further. The satin pocketmouse reached an arched place, but it was between two walls, walls that felt like leather. She went up further, reaching its shoulders. The figure realized it had a surprise hitchhiker, and chuckled. “You want to come along?” And it turned its head to look down at her. The pocketmouse nodded, holding on tightly to the figures mane and cloth. “Thats alright with me. My name is Variumn.” He was a dragon, an imperial of Sornieth. Just, rather strange looking. Variumn had a wiggly scar that originated from the center of his face. It covered his head, horns, neck, torso, arms, tail and even parts of his wings. The dragon was dressed in some loose drapes, they were dirty and dusty, probably in dire need of a proper cleaning. Variumn was quiet during the walk through the forest. “So, whats your name?” He asked, talking softly and quietly as to not alert any dangers in the night. “You dont have one? Thats okay, I’ll just call you Friend. Since you are a friend to me now!” Variumn smiled, the corners of his mouth raising and his eyes squinting. Variumn trailed through the trees, appearantly knowing the forest as if he had always lived here. But it was clear that he was from a diffrent place, the dragon didnt fit in enough with the rest of the forest, especially not with that strange scar and those clear eyes. He hummed a little, gazing around. “Oh! We have arrived, to my humble home.” He grinned, entering a cave that was lightly hidden by a patch of ferns. Variumn moved through a tunnel, wings folded in closely to himself. There were small drawings on the walls, but the dragon walked too fast for Friend to see. She however, caught glimpses of games such as tic tac toe and hangman. The dragon entered a larger place, stretching for a second before putting Friend down on a table made of a tree-trunk. “Welcome to home!” He spun in a little circle, patting on some crystals that started to glow softly. It was a small room covered with murals, cobwebs, plants, loose papers and books. There was a miserable looking nest in the corner of the room, big enough for a dragon the size of Variumn. He moved to the right side of the entrance to the room, pulling around a bit with his talons in a horizontal crack. The dragon pulled out two wooden plates and set them down on the tree trunk next to Friend. “I actually went outside to go fetch some last preparations for dinner, so I met you at the best possible time!” He chirped, pulling out the same dark bag from his cloth drapes that he dropped earlier. It was the same colour as his hairs, and neatly woven. Variumn untied the little rope and slowly let some blueberries roll onto both plates. He went to a crack in the wall that was higher than the one he pulled a plate from, pulling out some leaves that looked rather exotic and tasty. He moved back over to the table, and put an even share of the leaves onto the plates. “Voila, dinner!” He spoke, sliding one of the plates closer to the satin pocketmouse. She took a blueberry, quietly munching on it. Variumn took some leaves. “It has honestly been a while since I’ve had a visitor, so please dont mind the mess.” He chuckled, glancing back at the dusty room filled with cobwebs. He rolled some blueberries onto his hand and put them into his mouth, silently chewing. The dragons ears perked. Something felt… off. It felt like the first time he saw those two. As if he sensed that someone new had arrived. Probably just the wind and the temperature. “I’ve had a couple friends before you actually, one of them comes and goes but never shows themself, theyre just a voice that plays games with me, I dont know what they want but its nice to have a voice around.” He continued, watching Friend lightly chew on a leaf from the plate. The feeling returned, a chill creeping up his back. He flattened his ears, turning around to look at the entrance of his cave. A sudden cold wind blew aggressively into the room. The crystals stopped shining, moving and clinking against eachother from the gust of air. Papers moved through the room, books opening angrily and flipping through the pages. The leaves on the plates blew away, and Variumn rushed in to grab Friend from being blown away by the sudden air. He held the satin pocketmouse close to his chest, covering them both with his wings untill the wind stopped. It left, leaving the two in shock and confusion. The room was messy and rummaged, everything thrashed around and out of their places. Variumn inhaled deeply. “Yeah, something is wrong.” And the dragon got up, setting the pocketmouse down on the floor who squeaked angrily. “… You want to come along? It might be dangerous out there, who knows.” He spoke, holding out his hand to the mouse who ran up his arm onto his shoulder. Variumn nodded, moving into the tunnel. “Alright then, out we go.” The dragon and the mouse left the cave, waiting behind the ferns untill Variumn was sure the way was clear. They sneaked past the ferns, the dragon keeping low. Friend was hidden in his mantle that now also covered his head like a hood, keeping herself safe to not be spotted since she was still glowing. Variumn paused sometimes, gazing around. “… Maybe at the beach?” He whispered, looking at Friend for her opinion. She just nodded. Variumn nodded back, continuing his search for whatever caused this strange energy in the forest. They passed by the glowing mushrooms again, and by the staring night-critters. Variumn entered a bush of ferns, walking through them with one of his talons covering his mouth to prevent any ferns entering his jaws. He stopped, crouching low. “There, the beach. There is-“ He frowned, squinting. Variumn gasped. “-A dragon.” The dragon was noticeably smaller than him, had way more fur and was in different colours. Shades of brown and green. Variumn stared at the dragon, seeing them turn around slowly and step around a little, visibly confused about their surroundings. The tip of Variumns tail twitched, the dark tuft flicking left and right. He frowned deeper, watching their every move. “Hello?” The dragon called out, their tail sliding through the sand. It stepped onto the grass, seemingly more comfortable on that. “Anyone there?” It called again. “I’ve been brought here by some… ghost or something.” “A ghost?” Variumn whispered, looking at Friend. The pocketmouse shrugged, looking back at the fluffy green and brown dragon. That is when he spotted it. The The eyes of the dragon were lightning blue. Variumns forehead ached sharply, as if he could feel that same intense feeling again, a sound in his ears booming loudly and frighteningly. He hissed in pain, stumbling out of the fern into the open. Staring them directly in the eye. The two stared at eachother, silent. Everything stayed quiet for a while. He blinked at the smaller dragon, something extremely familiar about their appearance and the way they looked back at him. What was this called again, a Tundra? Wait, how did he- “My name is Hope, who- … Who are you?” She asked, lowering her head a little as a greeting. Variumn removed his talons from his forehead, dipping his head slowly as well. “Uh, my name is Variumn.” He spoke slow, a bit cautious. A pair of talons came flying at him, lightly smacking him in the face. He stumbled back in shock, about to snap at them in confused anger. “Sorry! Sorry sorry, just had to check if you werent another ghost.” She quickly replied, softly patting Variumns face. ”It’s okay- just- please warn me before doing that?” Hope nodded at his response, inhaling deeply. “Right, right, you didnt come here on your own, you said?” Variumn spoke. “Yeah, I was guided here by a dragon, but she was… not real I think, probably just an illusion.” “What did they look like?” Variumn spoke, eyes lighting up with excitement. “Sorry, just, more visitors are always good.” “Well, she dissapeared right before I got to this place, some island. I’ve never seen anything with the shape of it on a map as well, super strange.” Hope gazed around a bit, turning back to the imperial. “Anyways, bring me to your clan so I can ask them if there is anything in this forest. I’m supposedly here for a thing according to weird ghost lady.” She swirled her talons around and rolled her eyes, looking back up at the dragon. “… My… My clan?” Variumn replied after a pause. The nervous smile vanished into a frown. “I dont have a clan, well, theres none here.” He spoke softly. “Just me.” “Only you? Nobody else?” Hope dropped her jaw lightly, “How long have you even been here?” She gasped, staring at the dark dragon. “Uhm, hm, roughly two years I think? I dont know, theres a better reference on the wall at my home.” “Two years?!” The tundra repeated, eyes wide with shock. “Thats so long!” Variumn shrugged, and popped his head up in a realization of something. “Oh! There is another introduction! I nearly forgot whoops.” He fished around with a hand in his cloak, pulling out a satin pocketmouse. “This is Friend. She came to visit today when I went to get the rest of my dinner. Oh! Would you like to join us?” Variumn smiled, squinting his eyelids a little. Hope nodded. “Sure. I’ll need you to tell me more about this island though, this… forest.” The three left to go to Variumns home, the cave covered with ferns. Variumn moved the ferns aside and went into the tunnel first. He hummed a little, and Hope took a more proper time to look at the murals we missed out on earlier. Games, sketches of wings, sketches of food and scribbles of a handwriting she couldnt read, a messy map of the island and so much more. “Dont mind the walls, I just ran out of paper.” Variumn spoke, entering the room. Hope sneezed as dust flew into her nose. “Ah- dont mind the dust too. Some wind blew into the room and everything got all messed up.” He crouched, grabbing some fallen books and putting them back in the wall-crack that stored his books. Variumn bent down to grab the fallen plates, leaves and blueberries, walking to the plate-wall-crack and the one above it. He grabbed out a third plate and some more leaves, putting half of his berries on the plate and handing the whole thing to Hope. “It’s jus plants, I’ve eaten them before and so has Friend so dont worry.” Variumn smiled, taking a bite of his own leaves. Hope stared at the plate of plants and more plants. This was… fine. ----- [nextcol][list][nextcol][list][/columns][list]

[center][size=7][b]A Failed Flight[/b][/size][/center] [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/58558534][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/coliseum/portraits/585586/58558534.png[/img][/url][/center] [list][columns][list][nextcol][list][nextcol] ----- “So, let's just, replay all of what you just told me. Some dragon took over your clan, killed your father, threw him into the ocean, forced all of you to dig a giant pit, you made a plan and overthrew the guards, and then your father appears out of nowhere in the sky together with like ten other dragons, they attack the rest of the guards and your father kills the dragon who took your clan over in a sky battle?” Variumn frowned deeply, rubbing his brow with his talons slowly. The tundra nodded furiously, the fur on her face swishing along with the movement. “Yeah! It’s true! A rather strange story if you put it like that, but it really happened!” Hope spoke. “It kinda sounds like a story a hatchling would tell their parents to try and make them play with them or pay attention to them, are you sure this is a true story?” The dark dragon asked, storing away the wooden plates in the crack in the wall. He looked as if he didnt believe the story and thought it was just a fairytale. “No it really happened! I can go home maybe and like… take proof with me?” Hope offered, ears perking up a tad in excitement. Variumn shook his head with a sigh. “Are you sure? Like really sure? How long would a flight from here, to there, and back take?” “Probably not long, I’ll just have to memorize the route and be as quick as possible.” The tundra chirped, eyes lighting up with determination. “I can fly pretty fast.” She bragged, a proud and sassy smirk on her face. Variumn snorted out a laugh. “Fine fine, go ahead then.” He patted the dragon's head, ruffling the green and brown fur lightly. [i]”Don't forget. Do not forget what the voices tell you. You may lose something important that you will need in the future. Beware, of the opposite.”[/i] Moonlight. It was stark and pale, vastly shining down through the leaves of trees and bushes into the forest floor. An opening in the woods got the most attention, a clearing. An altar. Rocks were neatly placed in stacks, the highest stacks in the center. Red, blue, white and golden fabrics were laid out over some rocks as a small tablecloth, but were covered again by a different rock, the edges sticking out. There were plants, moss, bushes and flowers that hadn't been seen before anywhere else on the island. The night flowers bloomed strongly in the moons’ light, waiting for the nocturnal animals of the island to come pollinate them with their fur. Or maybe even scales. A figure, as white as the moon, moved itself towards the altar. It lightly circled through the stacks, not touching them. Almost as if the stacks were placed for this dragon to wander through. The figure paused at a small tower of stones, and set down a new stone. Was the figure building this altar? What for? Why here? A lot of questions, if only someone could answer. But there was nobody here except for this figure. A large, white shimmer in the light of the moon. It gently patted the newly placed rock with its talons. “There, a nice spot for you.” The Ghost smiled, her silver-like body shimmering in the moonlight. This was her home, the island she woke up on. The Ghost was a known figure on this faraway island, her presence was not a surprise, not even at these ungodly hours. The night was strong and heavy, and it sure was taking a long time until the sun and its rays came. The pillars of the altar stood proud and tall, the Ghost calmly walking around and through them to look for the smallest of pillars. She had a small bag around her shoulders, filled with rocks and slabs that were around the same size. Some of the rocks were wet, some were painted with spots and circles, some were plain. The dragon had a similar physique as a wildclaw, standing on two strong legs with a large hooked claw on the inner toe. Yet her appearance seemed sharper, slightly more primitive and built for survival and fighting. She finished stacking up the stones on the altar, leaving the open circle once her bag was emptied out. Some visitors used to come by, but none ever returned. The white dragon blamed the weird dragon on four legs, his striking purple eyes filled with frenzy and craze. The Ghost could not take this dragon seriously, and figured that he was probably just homeless, scaring away the visitors, wanting to be alone. She exhaled deeply, tail swishing side to side a little as she continued to walk through the forest of the island. The island was a medium size, not a small island but also not a big island. This is a strange comparison to be fair, but you can imagine a rough size. The island had caves, cliffs, beaches, small open fields, and a river that tore it in half straight through the center. During the day, it seemed like a nice and normal island with just some trees, but it truly revealed itself at night. Small, glowing critters and creatures of the night would wake up, roam around and change the atmosphere with their presence. The Ghost absolutely loved nighttime on this island, on her home. The Ghost made her way through the trees, following a small path in between bushes and flowers. The dragon paused at a small little flower, crouching down to sniff it. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes. The Ghost focussed, trying to figure out what the smell was. That is when it finally hit her nose, the stench of rotting meat. “Eargh!” She snarled, pushing the fragrant orchid away. The dragon quickly moved on, leaving the patch of horribly smelling flowers alone. She crossed a small side-river of the large main river that split the island into two sides. The homeless dragon lived on her side, but she had seen him cross the river every now and then. The Ghost made her way to the larger river, holding her bag open and putting a carefully selected rock into the bag. She paused, standing still to look at the water. Eyes, eyes as pale as ice, with a dark horizontal stripe, raised their way to gaze up at the other side of the river. Something was there. Something was there on the other side. The Ghost had never been able to cross, as if a power of higher up held her back from going to the other side. She didn't know why, but a stronger internal feeling made her want to cross. The dragon took one step into the water. The cold river water running against her foot, splitting apart to figure a way around to keep the stream going. Loud splashing on her left side caught her attention. One of the trees was moving. … Was it really one of the trees? No, it was a small brown and green dragon, crossing the river unsteadily. The Ghost decided to watch it quietly from the sidelines. The dragon struggled a lot to walk through the river, a thick coat of fur and fluff holding them back from moving elegantly through the river. They paused, crouching a bit after opening their wings. They were lightly furred at the front, and leathery and long in the back. The dragon flapped their wings a couple times, jumping off of the ground. It raised itself, flying and gliding to the other side of the river. The Ghost was amazed, feeling a sharp tingling in her own wings. She had never used them before, but seeing this dragon use them freely like this felt… eye-opening. The Ghost was inspired, replaying the scene of the dragon flying over the river in her thoughts nonstop. An idea popped up into her mind. She backed up out of the river, lightly spreading her wings. The ghost inhaled deeply, moving them up and down a little bit and holding the ends slightly cupped to catch the wind. She backed up a bit further, crouching. Her legs tensed, readying themself for a charge and a leap. There was the splashing of the river as she took a charge of faith, flapping her wings strongly and taking off. The Ghost let out a yell out of joy, smiling in amazement and pride. She carefully flew over the river, going to the other side of the island. Nothing could stop her now, she was a dragon in her full glory, flying with strong wings. The Ghost could use some more practice, however. The flaps of her wings were messy and uneven, and she wobbled side to side a lot, legs clumsily hanging. It all went downhill when the wind came. The strong gust of the air knocked the dragon back down, throwing her into the cold water of the river. The Ghost panicked, struggling for air as she tried to swim up. Water crashed into her side, forcibly pushing her back to the side of the river. There, she managed to cling on to the rocks and scramble back onto land. Panting, she shook herself dry. The dragon roared out in anger, frustrated by the fact that despite all of her tries, she still hadn't been able to cross the river. “Why are you holding me back? What is beyond the river? Tell me!” She yelled up at the sky, looking for an answer. But no reply came from the stars, at least not today. The Ghost inhaled sharply, sighing in defeat. “This isn't over, I’ll find my way across.” And she let out a curse under her breath, cursing out the stars and its rulers. Her back prickled. What's this? The dragon turned around slowly, staring at the other side of the river. Trees covered up the ground with shadows and darkness, nothing was visible. There were no flowers, no creatures moving, no fireflies. Nothing was there to prove that there was something worth searching for, yet she still wondered what secrets were beyond the river. The dragon searched longer, waiting until she could find something that made her feel this type of way. But it was just grass, bushes, dark trees, and a pair of eyes. Two, ice cold eyes stared right back at her. The Ghost felt a wave of discomfort and stress wash over her, seeing two dark, horizontal lines in the pale circles. They glowed. The Ghost backed up, her tail lightly brushing against a bush, making sure she wasn't accidentally stepping on something. She paused. A quick turn, and she left. The dragon sprinted as fast as she could, the haunting image of the two eyes flashing in her mind constantly. No other thoughts moved through, only the words run, remember, Beware. A nightmare, this is what it was. This is what she hoped it was. But if it was a nightmare, why wouldn't she wake up? ----- [nextcol][list][nextcol][list][/columns][list]

[center][size=7][b]The Crystal Underneath[/b][/size][/center] [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/59874813][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/coliseum/portraits/598749/59874813.png[/img][/url][/center] [list][columns][list][nextcol][list][nextcol] ----- Moonlight, reflecting sharply into two deep pools of ice decorated by a dark horizontal stripe in the middle. The dragon sniffed the air, having watched the white dragon struggle with the river that broke the land in two. It was there for a reason, it had to be. And so was this dragon, they were all there for him. To cause him chaos and pain, this was all to make this island hell for him. Trysian blinked, watching the white dragon scramble back to the earth. The dragon yelled, screaming an incoherent mess to Trysians ears. His feathers bristled calmly, staring at them from the shadows of his side. He stared. The white dragon turned around slowly, staring back at places around him. They were visibly uncomfortable, but Trysian did not move his gaze, simply staring back at them. Their eyes met after a minute of searching. Forget. Stay where you are, forget. Words echoed in his mind as he stared at the dragon, watching them step back into the bushes, turn, and run at a high speed. They left a trail behind them, a trail Trysian certainly would not follow, ever. He slowly turned around to go back into his shadows. Trysian was a distant dragon, not enjoying company or the sound of dragons talking. Earlier when he was watching the white dragon, he had seen a small, fluffy, green and brown dragon cross the river with no problem. The dark dragon felt a bit of frustration bubble up into his chest, his throat tightening at the thought of having to talk to another dragon, especially some random stranger who came onto his side of the river without permission or warning. He kicked a pebble in anger, hearing it rattle over the ground. Tick, tick tick tick… tick… It stumbled around, waiting on the floor to be kicked away again, and again. Trysian followed it around a bit, until deciding he was done with the pebble and needed to move on to a place to sit in and cool off in. Footsteps filled up a bit of the silence on the other side of the river, a darker forest. There were barely any flowers, most of them were dark and colorless, only there for maybe a smell here and there. It was lifeless, empty and boring. Only one type of tree, only one type of flower, constantly repeating over and over again. Trysian had grown bored of his side. Nothing here was made to be enjoyed, everything always torn down the moment it stood up. The dragon had tried to make life on his side before, but all of his attempts ended up in a sad, lifeless lump of dirt. Why was this fate given to him? He suffered. The light of the moon lit up a bit of the forest floor, dappling little patches of light on the dirt ground. There was barely any grass, the dark circumstances not allowing anything nice to grow. No birds ever tweeted, no songs were sung, no stories were told. No visitors ever came, except for this one little dragon who decided to cross the river. Trysian thought that maybe he should scare them off, get them away from his side of the island. All so he could be alone again, like he had always been, ever since he woke up here. His story was unknown, all he knew was his name. Trysian. What did it mean? No idea, not as if anybody would ever get to know either. His past was a mystery, and the way he got here was a larger mystery. He himself believed that maybe at some point in his life, he was exiled, knocked out, and brought here. But still, he would have memories of before getting here. The dark dragon had no idea. The reason he was here was also unknown to him, but little did he know that it would soon be unveiled. The stars above in the sky did not help him either. All they did was twinkle, twinkle and twinkle. Sometimes one of them fell, but that was really the only exciting thing to happen in the sky. Sunlight was evil, hurting his eyes and skin. The sun was his true enemy, most likely. If he ever had the power to, Trysian would knock the sun out of the sky and remove it for forever, so only darkness and the moon would remain. Trysian stayed on the move, unsure of where to go in order to find the trespasser. He stomped a bit angrily, unaware of his emotions at this current time. The dragon sniffed the air, attempting to sniff out the stranger. He buried himself deeply in thought and focus, thinking about what they looked like, colors and shapes. Trysian opened his eyes again after the sniffing, turning his head to where he thought the scent came from. The dragon followed the trail, staying as quiet as ever. The trees thinned out, causing more space for the moonlight to come in. It shimmered over Trysians body. His face was a blank slate, emotionless. But inside, he felt cold and bitter. Trysian paced forward strongly, reaching the end of the forest. The strong, salty wind of the ocean hit him straight in the face, blowing his feathers back into his neck. He gasped in the fresh air, surprised at how strong the wind was today. The dragon paused, standing still for a moment to try and look for the dragon on the pitch black beach. A small line of lighter blue touched the horizon, the sun was slowly coming. Trysian quietly hissed through the wind of the sea, stepping out from the dirt into the sand of the beach. It was a strange texture, much looser than the clumped up dirt roads and paths that he was so very used to. A quick blur of movement caught his attention, slowly making his head turn. It was a dragon stepping out onto the sand. Their fur was full, blowing in the wind. Markings covering them, markings with the colors of brown and green. This was the trespasser on his side of the island. Trysian waited for them to make their next move, staring quietly from the border of the treeline. He felt interested in what they were doing here, but the stronger emotion, anger, overpowered him easily. The fluffy, brown and green dragon opened its wings, and suddenly jumped off. The wind brought them up faster, and they vanished. Trysian raised his brow, confused as to why they were gone so quick like that. But, it was much better than having them hang around for any longer. He inspected the sky one last time, to look for sudden inconsistencies in the stars, but there were none. They just twinkled, but slowly faded out to make way for the sun. Trysian groaned, a loud rumble rising up from his stomach. He was hungry, and in dire need of some food. The dragon turned around to look back at the forest, thinking. There had been some bushes with blueberries on the way to here, only a few however. Trysian retraced his steps into the woods, keeping his head low to look at the bushes on his path back through the forest. He sniffed the ground, frowning deeply. What was this scent? Muddy, earthy, but dragonlike. Trysian pulled his nose back, trying to hold back a sneeze. His holding back failed, and the dragon felt his longs squeeze out a loud “ Achoo! “ He silenced himself back down after the sneeze, looking up and around to make sure that they who carried this earthy scent had not heard. There was a sharp, dusty and berry-like whiff to the smell. Trysian flinched, realizing that this dragon who appeared in his territory may cause danger to the blueberries he needed to eat. The dragon quickly moved back on his way, an angry expression displayed on his face. He exhaled angrily, frustrated that someone might come in and fully ruin his day. Trysian followed the muddy scent, dust particles entering his mouth and throat. His mouth was dry with anger, wanting not to scare away, but to hurt the new trespasser. A dark figure in ragged, dusty drapes entered his field of vision, carrying a pouch filled with either marbles, or Trysians much needed blueberries. Trysian sped up to a run, opening up his muzzle to prepare himself for a bite. The opposing dragons’ tail lay closely on the floor, within reach of Trysians teeth. The ragged dragon yelped, whipping around and dropping its pouch. Trysian bit again at it, this time attempting to maybe snatch away the blueberry pouch. The other dragon yowled, turning and running away from Trysian, who chased after him. The two circled around trees, zig-zagging through the dark forest with no flowers. The very first rays of sunlight broke through the night, slowly lighting up the sky. Screeching and roaring came from the forest, breaking this beautiful and peaceful moment of the day. The first birds who tweeted a song on the other side of the river were interrupted by leaves shaking from the other side. They watched intently, worried and afraid of what was coming. There was Variumn, running away as fast as he could from Trysian, a dark and angry being that lived alone on the dark side of the island. They yelled at each other, Trysian screaming curses at Variumn, and Variumn begging for his life and for forgiveness. The imperial crossed the river at a high speed, messily crossing the river in multiple hops and jumps. Trysian inhaled deeply, preparing himself in his run for a leap. The dragon let out a yell, crossing the river fully in a single jump. No barrier held him back, nothing could stop him. Nothing could stop Trysian, except for a clearing filled with stacked rocks. Variumn crashed into it blindly, knocking over three or two towers. “ Hey! Hey stop that! Get out of there! I’m building something here! “ A voice screeched, filled with pure rage and anger. Trysian changed his direction to storm at the voice. And there she was, the white dragon from before. Trysian gasped, a burning sensation and recognition awakening inside of him. He charged straight at her, knocking her over into the pile of rocks. “ You! “ Trysian bit at his words, hissing in anger at the dragon. At the Ghost, a dragon he had seen before in his past life. [i]"Forget. Forget what the voices tell you. You may remember something important that will hurt you in the future. Beware, of the opposite."[/i] “ Ma’am, your army is ready. “ “ Splendid. Are they gathered out in front? “ “ Yes ma’am. “ The white dragon nodded with a large, proud smile. “ Wonderful. “ She stepped out to a small balcony, looking out onto a field filled with winged creatures. “ Dragons of my army. “ The dragon called out, their voice loud and booming, filled with an emotion called pride. “ Tonight, we ambush one of our enemies, they will be overwhelmed by our numbers and strength! Nothing will hold us back tonight, not even their puny little army. “ The dragon spread its wings, glimmering in the moonlight like a fallen star that came from the heavens. “ The sun and its rays won't hold us back either! We strike at midnight, when we are strongest! “ She yelled, her eyes gleaming. Trysian watched his lord from afar, stepping back after telling her about her army. They stood proud down below from the tower. It was a large army, filled with mixed dragons of many breeds. None of them looked like any of the breeds from today, but they all shared similar features. His dark physique was similar to the lord, up on two legs, a feathered head and tail, and a large curled claw on the inner toe on both feet. They were opposites, personality and appearance. The lord grinned wide, her teeth exposed. The dragon inhaled deeply to continue her speech. “ Do not let anything or anyone hold you back, destroy them all! Nobody gets a chance to see the daylight! “ She roared, staring down at her army. The army roared back up at their leader, filled with pride and hope. “ Trysian. “ A voice said from his left. He snapped his head to the sound, being surprised to see the figure. He looked different than any other of a breed similar, almost even more developed. His whiskers twitched, long and elegant at his sides. Two silly, messed up horns branched from his head, underneath two long, tufted ears. But still, this breed was a mistake in the eyes of their creator, a flaw. “ Are we entirely sure that this is a good plan? We can't let her kill all of those innocent dragons, what if there are hatchlings among them? “ The being kept on talking while Trysian stayed silent. He finally decided to speak up. “ Silence, Imp. Do not speak of our lord like that, you foul being. Go back to your herbs and be productive, or something. “ Trysian snarled, snapping back at the other dark dragon. Cheering remained in the background, as the two stared at each other. Blue eyes, purple eyes. Two similar beings, close to one another. The dragon nodded, backing up and scurrying away. It was a strange movement for such a large dragon, but Trysian was used to it. He watched them move off, and turned his head back to his lord. A feeling itched inside. What if he was right? What if these were all innocent dragons who were defenseless, helpless and at their mercy? Trysians head fogged up with thoughts and worries. He shook his head, trying to shake out the feelings and emotions. A general of an army this large should not have weaknesses, he could be easily overthrown like this. He looked back up at his lord, inhaling deeply, waiting for them to finish their speech. The leather-like wings of the dragon glittered, sparkles on her belly and throat twinkling like stars. Trysian had never felt so conflicted before. He wanted to speak out, yell, scream, maybe even cry. But all that would endanger his position and rank. Stay serious, stay focussed. Don't let it grab onto you. Don't forget your importance. “ Ma’am? “ Trysian came to the dragon after the gathering, carefully speaking. “ Do you have a minute free to talk? “ He asked. The white dragon turned over to look at him with a small smile. “ For my beloved general? Of course! “ She laughed, following the black dragon with some pep to her step. Trysian walked stiffly, aware and cautious. “ Trys, loosen up, you’re walking like a broomhandle. “ The white dragon chuckled, the glitters on her throat shifting as she spoke. Trysian did not reply, walking her out through a back exit onto a small open field. Orange rocks and sand surrounded the camp, almost even a small castle. He turned, facing the white dragon. “ … I worry about a thing.“ He spoke, eyes filled with pain. Trysian did not wait for a vocal reply, her gaze was enough for him. “I worry that this plan has gone too far.“ The dragon swallowed some air, his throat dry with stress and anxiety. “What are you talking about?“ She spat back, standing on the other side of him. “This is ridiculous, you waste my precious time to talk about worries-“ Trysian interrupted her mid-sentence. “No, I don't want you to attack those villages. Those dragons have done nothing wrong to you.“ He hissed, waiting a moment for her reply. “Did that stupid little Imp tell you this? You know very well that you should never trust a shaman like him! His mind is corrupted with spices and herbs, stupid ideas and stupid words come from him!“ The lord growled, her feathers flaring up. “Yes! Yes he may have told me all that but-“ Trysian tried to respond, but was immediately cut off by a roar from the white dragon. “Shut it! Silence! I won't let you stop my plans, not even if your mind is taken over by that Imp!“ She yelled at him, stepping closer threateningly. Trysian backed down, holding his head low and remaining silent. The white dragon rose her head, snorting. “ That's what I thought. Get back to your duties. “ She turned, walking back inside. Trysian stayed behind, regaining his breath from the arguing. His feathers flattened back down, bristling unsteadily. He exhaled deeply, letting out an angry groan. The Imp was right, totally right. He was true all along, after all that happened. Innocent dragons died because of them, the white and the black dragons. He snarled loudly, stepping back into a circle to look at the orange rocks and the place around him. There had to be something he could do, something he could do to end this war. The black dragon thought deeply, trying to think of a solution. The only solution that came up was a dark one. One that was supposed to be a last resort. [i]Kill the white dragon.[/i] “You! You did all of this!“ Trysian roared at the Ghost, pushing her back harshly onto the rocks. A mix of fur and scales flew through the air, shimmering in the few sunrays that came. “Stop that! Stop it!“ Variumn yelled, mixing himself with the two other fighting dragons. Trysian focussed on trying to bite the Ghost, snapping his teeth at her. The Ghost was yelling back at him, trying to push all three of them away from the ruined altar. The three stumbled around, knocking over more and more towers of the stacked rocks. Hope arrived. In her arms, she held a handful of scrolls. They were decorated with art and paintings, messy and unsteady handwriting, dates and notes, all of them dating back from when the clan lived in the Pit. She hummed a little tune, landing on the island. The tundra paused, looking around. It was… eerily quiet. Uncomfortably silent. “… Variumn?“ She called out, waiting. Her ears pricked alterly, picking up the faint sound of voices, loud and angry. “Oh no.“ Hope muttered, stuffing the papers in a small bag that was draped over her back, rushing over to where the sounds came from. She sped up her pace, switching between gliding through small clearings and running between the trees, all searching for the sound. The yelling got louder, but it stayed incoherent. It was clear that there were more dragons on this island than just one. She panted, her warm coat not really allowing this type of exercise. Hope paused at the edge of a clearing, seeing three figures tangled together in a ball of chaos, fighting. Around them were rocks, collapsed on the floor, some of them were cracked severely. “Get away from my altar! Leave!“ The Ghost screamed out above the other voices, only to be met by the agonizing screech from Trysian who was bitten on accident by Variumn on his arm. Variumn immediately apologized, but kept trying to pull the dragon away from the Ghost. It was a constant battle for power and control, nobody was winning, nobody was losing. Except for the towers of stacked stones. A soft glow came from the last remaining towers, getting brighter as more of the towers fell. “Variumn!“ Hope yelled, trying to reach out to the dragon. A sharp smack on her cheek kicked her away, the quick flash of a hooked claw surprising her. It was almost definitely an accident, but this would become a scar for sure. She backed up swiftly, placing her talons on the cut in shock. Hope gasped, staring at the towers that were glowing brighter and brighter. “Get away from the towers!“ She tried to yell at the three to warn them, but more and more of the stone stacks started to fall over. “Please! This wont turn out good! Stop fighting!“ Hope was desperate, but backed up further and further, bracing herself for anything that was going to come. Two towers were left, one of them fell down slowly after being kicked over by a furious Trysian chasing an angry Ghost. The last? It glowed, bright purple. This was not going to end well. Variumn rushed over again to try to pull the two apart, hitting the last stone pillar with the side of his face once he grasped onto both of the dragons. It collapsed, slowly. Cracked stones dropped onto the ground, tumbling their way down to the bottom of the pile of broken rocks. The three moved quickly, slowly getting covered in that same, blinding purple light. Hope stared at the three, yelling with no sound coming out. They slowly became a blur of just purple, growing larger, larger and larger. Hope gasped, realizing that it was not going to give her any space. She ran away from the growing purple shape, talons, claws, horns and teeth emerging from the glowing purple entity. It was way larger than any dragon she had ever seen before, larger than the largest imperial she had ever met. Larger than the island itself. Half of the beings body dropped into the ocean, a long tail emerging from the sea, splashing water all around on the island. An agonizingly loud roar came from the figure. Hope felt the ground shake and quiver, cracking apart at her feet. Hope was out of breath, her legs sore from the running and hasting. The shape continued to grow, fur dropping out of the moving, purple shape and draping down into a large mane directly around the neck, jaw and shoulders. The coat blew elegantly in the wind. The shape grew a face. Large eyes filled with expressions came up, staring down at Hope as it held its head high. A nose akin to hers blasted out pipes of hot air, forming smoke and the terrible smell of sulfur. Four horns stood proud like a crown on its head, spikey and sharp. But it was far from transforming fully. Two, large wings erupted from its back, arching and spreading to cover and block out the sunlight. A ginormous shadow casted over the sea, swallowing the island whole in darkness. A large, toothy grin formed on the face. Slowly, the purple shade faded out into color. It was a monotone palette, grays that slowly formed into tones of black and white. There was barely any color, except for that violent pop of purple in the eyes. And there they were. They were finally done, back, at last. A loud voice came from the dragon, the colors revealing a large white mane around a black head, horns coloured with purple and icy tips. The edges of the wings were white, the majority of their fur being white as well. It watched Hope with its large, bright purple eyes. The two orbs glowed in the leftover moonlight, the sun lightly peeking out from behind them. The gigantic dragon spoke, voice deep and rumbling with a hint of a higher pitch. This was not the voice of one dragon. “Finally!“ A thunderous roar erupted from the grown mass, teeth glimmering in the light. It laughed, almost sounding manic, insane. Hope felt dread seep into her head, realizing that this dragon was too big to fight against. The dragon slowly regained its composure, staring back down at Hope. “Your name does not matter, nothing matters anymore now that we are here. Only us.“ It grinned, claws gripping onto the edges of the island as Hope stared up with her mouth open wide in shock. "I am Varghosian, and I have returned to take vengeance.“ ----- [nextcol][list][nextcol][list][/columns][list] [center][img]https://flightrising.com/dropbox/lore_arcane9933737.png[/img][/center]