Creative Corner

A wisened dragon answers Cora's inquiry with a bit of huff and puff. He pulls out his own quill and sketches as he begins his explanation. "It seems that what we have here is a rendition of the 'scallop ascended'. A common theme in art of the age, the scallop rises from his carciferous prison and is depicted in a state of transcendency. The parts you identified in your studies are always included and symbolize the enlightenment of the flesh as follows:..." The dragon's explanation grows only more esoteric from there, but at the end of it he hands over his approximate sketch of the original piece. [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/995566899784069200/1120737878788538408/PXL_20230620_153005085.jpg[/img]

Aurax, more familiar with his own choices of subject, seemed once more puzzled. "I am so sorry I can't be of more help. I can only guess at what the artist wanted to portray."

"Hmm, a shell, some sticks of cinnamon, fragrant oil and glowing baubles? Some point in the direction of a meal, others remind me more of decorations."

Even after all his years on Sornieth, he still felt insecure. "What would these things portray together?" He questioned out loud as he looked over at Cora. Then he looked at his feet when he remembered that was exactly what he was asked for.

"My guess has to be the infusing of the oil with the cinnamon. Maybe the shell is used to hold some of the oil and cinnamon. The baubles to light the process?"

He knew it was a weak guess. "Maybe it is a ceremony of some kind?" he added.

Good luck with the archivation and see you tomorrow. Finally a smile appeared on Aurax' face. Even though he felt insecure he started to let himself enjoy the atmosphere. He nodded at Cora and took his leave.

(day two)

[center][emoji=light rune size=1][b] Day Two [/b][emoji=light rune size=1] [item=Lustrous Shell][item=Cinnamon][item=Glowing Pocket Bauble][item=Mushroom Oil] [b]________________________________________________________[/b][/center] [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/81384376][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/350/813844/81384376_350.png[/img][/url][/center] [center][i]"Oh, this is easy. I use most of these myself. Are these not popular in your land? Cinnamon incense, mushroom oil for glossy feathers and aromatic ointments, crushed shells for iridescence powder to dust on your scales." "I could see these in any spa... or perhaps in a temple. These things used to be quite valuable, you know. Even more so than today. Perhaps they were used as offerings, or to make the place beautiful." "And then there are those baubles. Don't they look like those dangling things pocket mice have? It seems a bit vulgar today, but it isn't hard to imagine what they might be used for. Whether for an altar or a scented bath, some soft lighting is always called for. I favour candles myself, but the light of a flickering flame is different. This seems just like the kind of thing Light dragons would like."[/i][/center]

[center][center][item=Lustrous Shell][item=Cinnamon][item=Glowing Pocket Bauble][item=Mushroom Oil][/center] [font=Cambria][size=4]The commotion in the streets had not died down between yesterday and this morning and, once again, Six had to make a beeline to the glassmaker guild, almost getting ran over on the way there by a bunch of hatchlings rolling down the main street with a (probably stolen) cart. He pushed the large doors and stepped inside the building, fixing the dusty tufts of fur around his chest before looking up to spot Cora in the small crowd. She was arguing with some workers; quietly, he sat down on an unused stool, taking in the sights around him unless the workers left - Six spared a somewhat compassionate thought for them, remembering the stray hatchlings in the stolen cart. Cora gestured to the glass window behind her, offering him a new parchment and quill. Six thanked her and dug the quill in his fur - he was better at speaking than writing, anyway. This time, some kind of ingredients were involved. 'Ah. Cooking. Cinnamon and mushrooms are common ingredients in the colder seasons.' His eyes narrowed slightly, and he let a claw run along the colored glass shapes. 'A mystery gift in the form of food, I'd wager,' he added, pointing at the scallop. 'Maybe containing the light baubles depicted and a small snack.' Plucking the quill from his fur, he roughly drew what he imagined the snack to look like. [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1024589446915567616/1120788085282701312/image.psd.png[/img] After a few seconds, he added: 'Of course, this is a bit avant-gardiste. It would have been more rudimentary back then.'[/font][/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/84009600][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/350/840097/84009600_350.png[/img][/url] [/center] (I never thought I'd see you talking about cinnamon again [emoji=new friend size=1])

Achlys tilted her head around for about half a minute, staring at the collection of objects. They were less easy to put together than yesterday's, which had at least somewhat correlated. "It's a funeral ceremony," she started slowly. "Probably from a mixed-element clan."

"The cinnamon might've been used for a funeral pyre, meaning a Fire dragon could've been involved. It's a good spice to use when you don't want the funeral to smell like, well, a funeral. It was pretty valuable back then, so I can assume this was for someone important. Mushroom oil could be from a Nature dragon, although I know the Tangled Wood has more than enough mushrooms to spare, so that's a possibility, too. It's a bit of a strange choice for embalming, but I suppose it could have its uses if you're clever enough." She tossed her head with a somewhat haughty expression, as if to say 'I'm certainly clever enough.'

"The softer source of light seems like something a Light dragon would appreciate. It's probably meant to be symbolic of hope still existing, even in the darkest moments (like someone's death)." She kept her tone as even as she could, although it was a bit hard to resist a laugh. Most dragons did, after all, tend to see death as an unbeatable foe that destroyed everything in its wake. Spinning a narrative about how lights represented finding the silver lining in an otherwise "hopeless situation" seemed to be an appropriate interpretation.

"Finally, the shell is definitely from a Water dragon. It looks valuable, and it also looks like it's meant to hold something inside of it. We can't see what's in it, obviously, but that's probably the point. It's a final parting gift, and it's not our gift to have." Achlys nodded to herself, the golden jewelry banded around her horns clinking. "It's a funeral. If you want to get really metaphorical, the idea that there are multiple elements involved is probably meant to say something about death bringing dragons closer together."

Ending on that note left a somewhat sour taste in her mouth, but she supposed it would need to do. It was appropriately sappy and came with a feel-good theme, which was probably what the glassmakers (and maybe Cora herself) were looking for.

Grinning widely you quickly gesture to the shell "Normally a random shell could be take as a trinket or bauble but with these other items, this has to be a bowl! Water dragons especially those that travel across the inner sea can sometimes want to bring less than water friendly food along, and what better to both eat out of and safely store them than a watertight shell."


Your enthusiasm dies as you look at the light baubles "The cinnamon and oil make great flavoring for a meal and its easy to imagine a guardian catching a fish and popping open their shell to flavor it. This isn't edible, obviously." You hum thoughtfully. "You know what...the sea of a thousand currents has some pretty deep places. Light doesn't always reach there well, and if one were not a water dragon it could be quite hard to see. So perhaps these lights were used by an explorer of the depths, and whatever caused the food and shell to stay together also kept the lights they used to navigate!" By the end of your speech you feel much more confident of your conclusions and are smiling once again.

[center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/49886956][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/350/498870/49886956_350.png[/img][/url][/center] Delta thought for a minute as she stared at the list of objects. "Well, the first that is coming to my mind is that all of them seem somewhat related to decoration. Whatever this stained glass piece is about, it definitely seems like a creative process of some sort. She squinted. "They seem kind of random, but maybe all of the objects could have been used to decorate a lair. The Lustrous Shell clearly could be some sort of decoration or even wall hanging. I know many Clans in the Sea of a Thousand Currents that display the prettiest shells that they've found." Delta turned her attention towards the baubles next. "It seems obvious what these could have been used for; lighting a lair. Since they replenish with the sun, they are extremely practical light sources for outdoor elements of lairs. They charge during the day and then glow at night! They don't work as well in the water where I live, but I have seen them used all over the Churnscar Wharf when I visit." "And then the Mushroom Oil and Cinnamon are a bit trickier. While they're both technically ingredients for food, Mushroom Oil also makes decent a paint on smaller surfaces. And Cinnamon could be used as a way to make the lair smell nicer." She turned back to Cora and smiled. "I could almost believe there's another stained glass lying around of the lair I described!"

[center][item=Glowing Pocket Bauble][item=Cinnamon][item=Mushroom Oil][item=Lustrous Shell][/center] [center][b][i]The Long Tale[/i][/b] [/center] It had been many moons, and Sornieth already had two of them. In the depth of the cave, the first who had wandered in and settled had grown into some habits, often bringing their own snacks and light sources. The Glowing Pocket Bauble was a favourite, its soft glow the perfect light to read by, the way it faded the perfect reminder to go back outside. The snacks, well, with as many types of dragons as there were, they were varied. Rolls of different types of bread, some of which fish based, adorned with cinnamon, could be carried by one cave explorer eager to see more of the large structure, while those intent on sitting there and enjoying the quiet brought various foodstuff, usually sticks of various vegetables, when not the odd cricket, to dip in mushroom oil. The hardest part was not spilling any. There were noises sometimes, deeper in the caves, but as no one really knew how many dragons were there, and as those noises never resembled cries for help, they were carried by the wind with the same semblance of normalcy as the fragrance of the various species of plants that grew in parts of the side galleries. "Did somebody drop this?" a Snapper had asked one day, puzzled, the lustrous shell in his hand emitting a soft rattling. Some dragons had looked up, shaken their heads. One had simply pointed to a corner by the entrance. There was a crate there, newly built, but already half full of many small treasures, all of them rattling softly if touched. Was this a specific kind of littering, or was something else going on? "Where did you find this one?" The dragon who'd pointed to the crate had asked, his voice soft but determined, a quill hovering over a piece of parchment. He'd been keeping track. The snapper had given a vague answer. He'd picked it up along the way, hadn't thought it was important enough to double back. "What do you think those are?" He finally asked. The pearlcatcher took some time to answer. "There could be two possibilities." He paused for effect. "Either those were left long before this cave was discovered, all of them at least somewhat valuable, a gift perhaps." He paused again and the snapper had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. "Or [i]something[/i] is leaving them for us to find. No one ever finds more than one, or reports it anyway. It's only ever the one." "You think..." "I think there may be more to this cave than meets the eye. Or that those who came here before us believed so. I dare hope that it wishes us well." ... [i]TBC[/i] ----- (I've embraced the fact that I'm continuing with the story I started, worldbuilding in a world that already has a ton of lore, I hope you don't mind! I love how what you pick can be prompts in any direction without being restricting!!)

[center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/30425782][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/350/304258/30425782_350.png[/img][/url][/center] Legion had honestly forgotten about the glass thing from yesterday. He was heading to get lunch when the archivist imperial hailed him again and didn't actually recognize her until after he'd already turned in response to the call and saw the new piece of glass beside her. "Eh? Oh sure... Soup." He scanned the mosaic and gave a decisive nod. "Shell-shaped thing with the bright color, that's the container and broth. You're a coastal flight yeah? And more spices and radshrooms ready to be added. Look just like the ones that grow outside Astrolodome." Damn he was hungry. "Know any places around here that serve a good radfused soup?"

You squint at the glass but quickly your eyes widen.

"oh!" you gasp and then give a quite chuckle, "I didnt realize the recipe was quite so old"

"Recipe?" Cora asks,

"yes, you see this a recipe for perfume. My Grandmother taught it to me. She learned it from her grandmother and her grandmother before her"

Pointing a claw at the glass you explain,

"She said to me 'If you want to attract a mate, steep cinnamon in mushroom oil for 3 days. Then mix in powdered lustrous shell and cork the bottle. Place the closed bottle in a saltwater bath for a night. The next day, strain the shell powder from the oil."

You turn to Cora, " That's the recipe but there are two ways to apply it. You can now either spritz the oil onto yourself, and you will give off the warm smell of cinnamon with an earthy undertone from the mushroom oil and a hint of ocean salt from the shell for intrigue. This method also lets you sparkle and glow slightly from the left over shell powder in the oil."

You then reach into your pocket and pull out a faintly glowing pocket bauble, giving off a cinnamon scent

"Or you can use the method shown on the glass, my grandmother's favorite. You paint the oil onto a pocket bauble, letting the oil dry between coats. The more coats the longer it lasts. You see, when the bauble glows, it gives off a slight warmth, which melts the oil and gives off fresh scent. This method makes the scent last longer as it will glow stronger when you're wearing it in sunlight but dim when you put it in your pocket, allowing the oil on the bauble to cool once more. This method gives you a pretty thing to wear with your outfit and lasts longer than spraying it directly on your scales."

You laugh to yourself and say "she though the bauble method was more sophisticated than drowning yourself in oil constantly to keep the scent going" and happily hold out your bauble. Cora reaches out to take it for closer examination.