Creative Corner

Yep. It's a short story.

I'm using fandragons this time. Basically, the lore around them is that they're reincarnations of the ones they're fandragons of. So, no memory of their past lives, and they're in all new situations with all new experiences. I hope to strike the balance between accurately representing the characters and putting them into new and interesting situations. This is just for fun, really, but I hope whoever reads this enjoys it. :)

---

"More than anything else, the future is inescapable."

It was the usual thing. The pod of Nature Sandsurges went about their business underneath the nutrient-rich soil of the Viridian Labyrinth. Their workload was much more relaxed than that of the ancestors they had descended from: the industrious Sandsurges of the Shifting Expanse. Some time ago, their pod had gotten separated from the larger whole, and now, they had no connection with them. Indeed, their elemental connection with the Lightning Flight had been bred out. This pod was entirely comprised of Sandsurges with magic within them of the Nature element.

"No matter what you choose to do -- whether to idle, work hard, or busy yourself with trivial things -- we all are subject to the future which awaits us."

The pod was comprised entirely of Nature Sandsurges, yes. However, one or two of them were of unknown origin. One such member of the pod was the one standing atop a large, flat-topped boulder within the main chamber of the pod's tunnels now, giving his speech: Rose. He did this often, and recently, his speeches had become easier to understand. No doubt, that was because of another member of the pod of unknown origin: Cactus.

Despite having been taken in by the pod, she'd found it quite difficult to integrate into the group. She was submissive and quiet, until one got to know her. Then, when she spoke her mind, she became objective to the point of being cold and abrasive. As such, she hadn't made any friends...until recently. After a debate between Rose and Cactus, an odd thing happened: the two became inseparable. Rose also gave Cactus the name "Oleana." He laughed off any questions, simply saying it suited her better, when he was asked by the other members of the pod. The fact has by now been more or less just accepted. Stranger still was the friendship in the first place. They were complete opposites, as Rose tended to be stuck in his head, and spoke vaguely. Now that Oleana was assisting him, however, his ideas made much more sense when he gave these speeches. It wasn't a hard thing to figure out that she was helping him with his wording ahead of time now.

As usual, there was a small crowd of the curious, wondering how Rose would express himself this time. Others just ignored him.

"So why do we do nothing to prepare this future? Why do we not decide what is important to us? What we wish to keep, or do away with? Why do we not work together to mold this inevitable future into one we may all enjoy?"

As usual, Rose's pleas were emphatic, but inviting. He gestured expressively as he spoke, and his face reinforced his gentle but imploring calls to action, heedless of those who ignored him. Oleana stood quietly behind him, monitoring Rose and the dragons he spoke to. Indeed, she had helped him prepare this speech.

Solemnly, he addressed his audience. "The day is coming when we will no longer be able to support ourselves. Our pod was once a part of the Stormcatcher's mighty workforce, filled with direction and purpose. Now, we slowly dig and meander around the great roots of the vegetation of the surface. Very slowly, we dwindle. We were made for progress. For purpose! But now, we slog through the dirt aimlessly, while all others grow and thrive. Here, we stagnate and lose all color life once held for us!"

This got the pod's attention. More and more were gathering in the crowd now. He was speaking to their boring lives of complacency, and their need for marketed progress as Sandsurges.

Rose turned a smile to the roots which hung from the tunnel's ceiling. "The Gladekeeper indeed has a bountiful land. Energy and nutrients flow in a network connected by the roots. If one plant is suffering, the mother tree of a region organizes the resources of the entire group in order to supply what the singular ailing one requires. It is an amazingly efficient system, which does not even require the senses of sight or sound which we dragons employ."

Rose was an expert in this field, the pod knew. He possessed the ability to tap into this "mycelia network" he described now. He could communicate with the plants using their own "language," even though he joked that he still had a "draconic accent." After all, he was using his inborn magical energy to communicate with them, rather than the chemical signals the plants used with one another. It was because of his efforts that they never ran out of food below the ground. Sure, they could scrounge up burrowing insects and moles and the like, but Rose was able to transfer nutrients directly if he was connected to a plant network. So, even if food was scarce, they hadn't weakened at all since Rose joined the pod.

Unlike Oleana, he integrated into the pod seamlessly. It was like he had always been part of it. Even if other members found his friendly attitude a bit overbearing or nonsensical at times, Rose never seemed to notice it. He would just laugh and joke around with the others as though they were all old friends. Despite his wild ideas about the future, the pod leader had to admit that he supplied the pod with a valuable ability. That was the only reason why he tolerated Rose's radical speeches.

"We cannot remain as we are." Rose's trademark droopy eyelids settled onto the crowd as a relaxed smile spread across his face. His eyes shifted upward as he gestured toward the unseen surface above them. "We must aim higher! We must become more! We must..."

Rose gently folded his fingers together. "...become connected. Just as the plants all around us do, to benefit from one another. Then, one million years from now, we will not have been surpassed by all these other forms of life. We will not have died out, overcome by the heights to which others in the ecosystem have risen. We must rise up alongside them! We must grow! Just because we are mighty now does not mean that we will be forever! Those who stagnate die!"

Worried murmurs rippled quietly through the crowd.

"How, though?" Rose's voice rang out, despite its quiet, submissive tone. Then, that gentle smile returned to his face, his calm, cold, calculating eyes seeing a future no one else did. "All resources are finite in this world. Whomever controls those resources has power. Whomever has power spurns want...and controls others who desire the resources the powerful has. Simply put...we must harness whatever power we can. Then, use that power to build greater strength. We can combine the raw power of the Gladekeeper with the tactical application of the Stormcatcher: combine the strengths our shared heritage!"

The crowd's murmuring grew a bit louder in patches. Others were absorbed in listening to Rose. They'd never heard his ideals quite this clearly before, and they were intrigued. Something about how he spoke drew them in, and the topic calling to their instincts as Nature Sandsurges -- not to mention the appealing topic of not becoming weaker in general than other creatures -- sealed their interest.

"All growth and development requires energy. All the creatures and plants within the Gladekeeper's domain has energy in abundance, thriving and bursting with vitality! If we could harness that power and distribute it as we saw fit, we could create a world in which our progeny may live in peace and prosperity forever! Who among the plants, animals, or dragons is in as perfect a position as we, the Nature Sandsurges, to do so? We, created by the Stormcatcher and blessed by the Gladekeeper!"

Various heads in the crowd were nodding as they listened. Oleana smiled slightly. Yes, this was going well. She was happy to see Rose's vision coming across to them. And now, the final push was coming.

"And, as it happens, the plants already have an established network which they use for this very purpose: distributing energy, nutrients, and all other requirements for vitality. We are primed to make this network our own. Rather than being left behind by the life forms above, let us take advantage of our unique position, and ensure our supremacy into the future!"

This last appeal garnered an impassioned call from the crowd. Many of them were ready and raring to go, excited about this plan of Rose's. For many, they had never had a large-scale group project like this: the environment in which Sandsurges thrived the most. Their instinct was raging: they wanted to get back to work!

But then, a new voice boomed from within the tunnel. "And how do you propose we do this, Rose?"

The various eyes turned to the leader of the pod, standing with his head inclined and a sour frown on his face. The Sandsurge continued, his voice a touch quieter, but no less menacing. "How do you propose we cheat the very ecosystem out of its resources for us to control, when the Gladekeeper herself oversees it all?"

The crowd's eyes turned back to Rose, held in suspense. What would his reply be?

Rose's eyes were simply resting calmly on the pod leader. He didn't move to speak. After a pause hung long in the air, the pod leader jerked his head to the side, gesturing for Rose to follow as he turned down one of the side tunnels to his burrow. Rose breathed out a quiet sigh through the nose. Then, he gave one more easygoing smile to the crowd and raised a hand in farewell as he began walking toward the stage's natural ramp. Oleana began to stride over to walk by his side.

Once more, Rose addressed the crowd as it began to disperse. "I must speak with our leader about the future. Keep your ideal future in your heart! We will pursue it so that it may come to fruition."

As Rose and Oleana walked through the crowd, they passed by everyone as though they weren't there, even if their fellow Sandsurges tried to stop them to speak with them. However, they were attentive to the conversations dotted around the area. Some were concerned about the points the pod leader had brought up. Others wanted to hurry up and get going on Rose's idea. Still others voiced that they supposed that life in the pod would never change after all.

This last one, Rose found particularly irksome. It was only because of complacency and that sort of attitude which truly made "difficult" into "impossible." As his eyes wandered about, he caught a glimpse of Oleana. It was reassuring having her around. It was only because of her that he was able to relay his true desires to the rest of the pod. She was a supporter he knew he could rely on. On the other hand, however...

The pair of Sandsurges passed through the tunnel and into the pod leader's burrow. There, standing before them, the older Sandsurge scowled, ready to put these upstarts into their place.

Well. Rose thought to himself as his face fell into its usual half-lidded, relaxed eyes and easygoing smile. Let's see if we can't come to an understanding this time.

The pod leader's name was Tiller, and this wasn't the first time he'd invited Rose into his burrow. They had discussed Rose's propensity for making public speeches without prior consent, insights Rose had regarding the running of the pod, and Rose's ideals several times before. Each time, Tiller discouraged Rose from chasing after these ideals, and certainly from trying to rally the pod to them. This time was no different.

"Yes, Rose, I heard your speech. You presented your position very clearly this time," Tiller sighed, interrupting Rose, who was going over a long-winded list of reasons why moving the pod to action was a good idea. "I understand that the pod's life is much slower-paced than that of the pods in the Shifting Expanse, but when will you come to realize that that isn't a bad thing? The Stormcatcher isn't sending us orders, so there is no urgency to our tasks. We coexist with the other life in the Viridian Labyrinth as part of the ecosystem. We are at peace, Rose. We have healthy sleep schedules, we're not overworked. Life is good here."

Though Rose kept his eyes rested on the pod leader, those eyes were filled to the brim with boredom. He was making no attempt to hide how little these things mattered to him. He shook his head. "To what end? All we do is survive, with no purpose. We achieve nothing. All we do is stir the soil with our burrowing -- we're boring in circles, with no reason behind it! Perhaps that is fine for some dragons, but you saw the pod's reaction to my speech: we were made for more than just...rolling around in the dirt!"

Tiller quietly breathed out a sigh through the nose. "I understand your ambition, and that you want to do more with yourself than what this pod can provide. However, I believe that you are looking so far into the future that you don't see the value of what you have around you right now. All of your concerns are mere speculation. You don't know what will happen one million years from now. And besides that, something so far off has no bearing on the current generation."

Rose shook his head in emphatic disagreement. "No future comes to the dotering. The future is shaped by those who take action now. The others can see it. They're eager to get back to work! Why do you not care about whether prosperity or ruin lies ahead of us?"

"I do care," Tiller stressed. "That is why I take you aside to speak with you every time you do this! The present and the immediate future is what this generation should be focusing on -- it has enough problems all its own. Rose, you are missing your life, trading it for something you will never see! Let the dragons one million years from now handle their own problems while you take care of the problems of today."

Rose's irritation dissolved from his face, being replaced by cold indifference as he inclined his head formally. "Hmph. Once again, we come to the same problem: our ideology is completely incompatible."

Tiller's own posture slumped tiredly. He gave Rose a disappointed frown. "Yes, so it seems. No matter how many times we revisit the issue, you simply cannot give up this idea of yours."

"And you, sir, cling to this meaningless lifestyle."

There was a long pause between them. It was a heavy feeling that kept the air still.

Then, quietly, Rose spoke up again. "Neither of us wants to live the other's way... When an impasse such as this arises...it is better to go separate ways."

Tiller lifted his head in surprise. Then, fatigue reentered his face. "I am sorry to hear that, Rose. You may be eccentric, but you are still one of us."

Rose hung his head and shook it slowly, a light smile on his face. "I appreciate the thought, Tiller, but...I believe we both know that I have never truly been one of you."

Rose lifted his head again to regard the older Sandsurge, a look of disappointment in his eyes and that humorless smile on his face. "I will announce my departure to the others...and invite along any who wish to go with me."

Tiller's face pulled into a scowl, though his voice was cautious. "Rose... Do you mean to usurp me by dazzling my pod with that flashy speech you gave and have them come with you? Did you plan this from the beginning, if I did not acquiesce to your ideology."

"Nothing so nefarious," Rose replied, refuting the question with that light smile on his face, but a coldness and a seriousness in his eyes. "I will be leaving the pod. It is only right that I inform the others. And if there are those who wish to come with me, would you really hold them here against their will? Should they not get the chance to decide which future they would rather dig towards?"

Tiller growled as he regarded Rose. His words sounded perfectly reasonable, but they reeked of treachery. Rose had already stirred the pot with that speech he'd given just prior to their conversation. Many of the pod's Sandsurges were likely fascinated by Rose's ideas, and may not have been thinking things all the way through. How likely was it that they would make impulsive decisions that would cripple the pod on the whole, and lead to regret later for those individuals? This was his role as the pod's leader: to guide them, give them direction, and put a measure in against impulsive choices. Rose was undermining that, and not for the benefit of the pod, but for his own goals.

"Well, then. No time like the present, hm?" Rose cheerily asked Tiller. Then, he turned to his ever-present companion. "Oleana, you will be coming with me, yes?"

"Of course, sir," was her simple reply, with a dip of her head.

"Most excellent," he replied, that easygoing smile on his face. Then, he gave a polite nod to Tiller, though the pod leader felt more insulted than respected by the gesture. "Good day to you, then, Tiller."

And with that, Rose and Oleana strode out of the pod leader's den. As they did, quietly, Rose asked, "Is everything ready?"

Oleana nodded. "Yes, sir, apart from the name. Have you decided on one yet?"

Rose smiled at something he was looking at in his mind's eye. "Hmm... Perhaps, we could call it..."

Several Sandsurges were still loitering in the main tunnel when Rose and Oleana emerged from Tiller's burrow. Oleana ignored any eyes on her completely, while Rose just kept his calm, aloof smile as he walked by them. Casually as can be, he got back up onto the flat-topped boulder and looked out over the curious other members of the pod.

"My friends! I have an announcement! The time to choose is upon us."

As per usual, Rose had no trouble drawing a curious crowd. Several Sandsurges began gathering as Rose paused in his speech. Even Tiller reemerged from his burrow, eyeing the public speaker with suspicion. Rose just gave the dragon across the tunnel a cold smile. Then, he returned his attention to the crowd.

"If you heard my speech earlier and our cautious leader's opposing comments, then you already may have an idea about what I want to say." Rose's smile turned into a frown. "Oleana and I have decided to leave the pod."

Surprised murmurs spread throughout the crowd. Rose spoke over them.

"The sad truth is that the future I intend to champion and the future Tiller desires are entirely incompatible. I wish to take action and generate change which favors us, while he wishes for things to remain as they are -- to continue peacefully coexisting with the ecosystem which has adopted us. As such, we have decided to go our separate ways. He will continue to lead the pod here while I, Oleana, and any who wish to come with us..."

Rose pointed directly upward. "Will rise to the surface!"

Even more startled murmurs and whispers rippled through the crowd. Rose patted the air in front of him in a calming gesture.

"My fellow Sandsurges, please. There is no need for such unrest. Allow me to explain my intentions."

As the crowd gradually quieted and watched Rose expectantly, Rose inclined his head and puffed out his chest with a smile.

"Macro Ecos... It is a company I am founding right here, right now. Its purpose is to set a course to a better future. We will explore. We will innovate. We will find and seize creative solutions to whatever threats loom over the future which we desire. Food, water, energy, peace... Every possible benefit will be ensured by proactive exploration for this ideal future!"

Excited murmuring rippled through the crowd. Many of those who had been stirred by Rose's earlier speech were excited to see what this new company could do. Some were apprehensive about leaving the pod for it, though.

Rose extended an open hand. "Come with me, all you who wish for a future made by our own efforts. Let me guide us toward something better. Prosperous, meaningful! Join Macro Ecos: looking at the bigger picture of our shared ecosystem, and what it could be."

That got the crowd going. Cheers roared through the crowd, though there were still many who grimaced apprehensively or shook their heads and began dispersing.

Oleana stepped forward. "All who wish to join Macro Ecos, come up onto the stage. Everyone else may go about as you wish. We will leave in twenty minutes exactly. Gather what you wish to and meet us here. Anyone not standing upon this stone within that amount of time will be left behind."

Dragons hurried off in all directions. Never had the tunnel seen such a rush of activity. Some gathered on the stage immediately, and began excitedly loitering about, and talking about what kind of future they would build. Others had gone off to gather belongings, or tell friends or family about this new company Rose was building. Still others spurned the idea, and were simply going off to go about their usual business.

"Numbers appear to be greater than projected," Oleana quietly reported to Rose.

He was all smiles. "Yes, Oleana. I am quite excited! This future is going to be truly something to marvel!"

"Of course, sir," she agreed, a small smile on her mouth as the pair watched the activity within the tunnel. Twenty minutes to go.

The appointed time came. Many dragons were gathered on the flat-topped boulder, excitedly chatting amongst themselves. Many others were gathered below, Tiller among them. Many members of their pod were leaving, after all: dragons with whom they had had a long, shared history.

"Come to see us off, then?" asked Rose from atop the stone, where he had made many speeches in the past.

Tiller dipped his head. He addressed the first dragons of Macro Ecos on the whole. "I am saddened to see that so many were filled with such discontent living here. It will be lonelier without you. Our friends... Our family... So many leave us now... That is, if that is still your decision. It is not too late to change your minds, if you would rather stay here... Stay home..."

Rose twisted about to smile at the dragons behind him. "By all means! If you are having second thoughts, feel free to return to the lives you know. Once we emerge, it will be difficult to return."

The dragons on the boulder murmured and muttered amongst themselves. In the end, several dragons slipped down from the boulder. However, the majority stayed.

The two leaders locked eyes again.

"May all of you be happy with your choice," Tiller said to the dragons on the boulder.

"And you, yours," Rose replied.

The general concept roughly everyone had in mind was that the Macro Ecos dragons would then burrow away towards the surface. However, at that time, Rose took a long, deep breath...and his magic suffused the air, surging into the roots of the plant life twisted all about the tunnels. The Standsurges on the ground looked about in alarm. They could feel the insurgence of Nature magic.

"What's going on?!" Tiller demanded of Rose.

"Exactly what I promised, as the head of Macro Ecos," Rose replied, still keeping as calm and level as he could as the conduit of all that energy. Then, he smiled down at Tiller and his pod. "Proactively exploring every creative solution toward creating a better future! A future without want!"

What happened next was practically unthinkable. All of the Sandsurges of Tiller's pod began to glow with the unmistakable green light of the Nature flight...and that light began flowing into the roots of the tunnel.

"Rose!" Tiller roared, just before collapsing. His strength was rapidly leaving him.

"For so long, I have used my power on your behalf, taking from the plant life so that your pod could live comfortably, even in lean times. You owe the ecosystem you claim to coexist with a debt, Tiller. I am now paying that debt back to the mycelia network from which it was withdrawn...with interest. I am using the energy of the dragons who will not directly help create a better future to make a large deposit, you see. Indirectly, you will feed the future for the good of all...by your own lives."

Rose had said it so calmly. So reasonably. It was terrifying. The Sandsurges on the boulder behind him began to panic. Many ran down to their draining podmates, or tried to just flee the whole thing, only to feel a sudden weakness within themselves, and succumb to the same fate as the others on the ground. Rose clicked his tongue. It was such a shame seeing them throw their lives away like that. Those who remained looked on the leader they had chosen to follow, but not with awe or hope, as before, but with fear. None of them had wanted this.

One, followed by a couple more, roared in outrage and leaped at Rose, hoping to halt this horrific use of Nature magic. Oleana jumped in the way, however, flaring her poisonous thorns and baring her venomous fangs with a hiss. The dragons either couldn't halt themselves in time or were undeterred...and were left with puncture wounds and lacerations filled with toxin. Oleana threw her weakened opponents down, where they, too, began to glow and contribute their strength. What Sandsurges remained realized their situation. Rose and Oleana's combined strength was simply too powerful to oppose.

Finally, the light faded. Tiller and his pod were completely gone. Rose turned to give that now-unsettling, relaxed, cold smile to the remaining Sandsurges.

"Welcome, my friends, to Macro Ecos!"

[center][u]Into the Future[/u][/center] Soon after that, Rose and Oleana led the first dragons of Macro Ecos to the surface, abandoning the tunnels below. Rose's reasoning was that there wasn't much variety to be found underground for solutions to the upcoming crisis. They would integrate with the other dragons, beastclans -- whomever! -- in order to find myriad new solutions to the problems that was threatening the future. Presently, they had a wellspring of energy to draw from if needed -- the energy of Tiller's pod -- but it would not be enough. They needed more variety in their solutions, and greater energy sources in order to have an indefinite supply. With that, they would never have need again... And that was the ultimate goal of Macro Ecos. [center]End.[/center] ----- So! That gives the origin for Macro Ecos. Yay! Here are the dragons mentioned in the story. Rose [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/87133257][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=1&body=165&bodygene=189&breed=23&element=10&eyetype=12&gender=0&tert=86&tertgene=189&winggene=187&wings=78&auth=1b721ea6fafbcd04db906d1c48f5b587003c4f8b&dummyext=prev.png[/img][/url] Cactus/Oleana [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/86904062][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=1&body=143&bodygene=209&breed=23&element=10&eyetype=12&gender=1&tert=154&tertgene=186&winggene=212&wings=169&auth=565c265844fb3f6ce0d2d95d1637dbbd87f56a98&dummyext=prev.png[/img][/url] Also, you too can join [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/drs/3267859#post_3267859]Macro Ecos[/url] if you'd like! :)