Creative Corner

[center][size=6][b]c1 – Hopeful Beginnings[/b][/size][/center] [list][columns][list][nextcol][list][nextcol] [rule] Moonlight touched silken fabric draping some windows. This light originated from the planet that hung above the sea, a shimmer rippling over the waves as the white ball was reflected into the mass of darkness. Lit by the night and its stars, a beach broke the waves. It was a calm night, serene and quiet, full of peace after all the chaos that had happened a few years prior. It was not a dark night, no. It was quite wonderful actually, far brighter than the previous nights that fell upon Sornieth and the lands surrounding it. A few plants seemed to enjoy the light from the moon, popping out of their shells and basking in the glow of darkness. Before coming here, the clan lived in agony serving under a black and white gaoler who called himself Ceridwen, a self-proclaimed god tainted by the feel of power. The heavens had opened and brought down a savior, a brave tundra who struck him down with the powers of his ancestor, the catcher of storms, the Stormcatcher! I’m just making things more dramatic here, to be honest. Indaviing came with a handful of dragons from the Water Domain to defeat Ceridwen and save the clan, bringing them here to safety. This place is a wonderful, humble little island with a cliff overhanging the sea, gardens and a structure standing on one half of the island. It was a hollowed out mountain with marble – or some other type of stone, who knows – pillars standing in various places to decorate the area. Bushes and trees alongside with other foliage covered the island in a lush embrace. The location was quite impressive, to say the least. During the day, dragons of various sizes, shapes and colors would be drifting around in the skies surrounding it, using their wings to make their way to a different chasm within the mountain. Positive chirps and polite greetings were lost in the wind as the Water Domain was well lived-in, a home for the lost and found. During the night it was quite cold, as chilly winds rushed through the halls and the rooms where dragons slept in. Some huddled closer to their significant other, while some were covered by a warm blanket. These blankets were usually intricately woven, decorated with patterns resembling something that the dragon enjoyed. A staple for the Water Domain was to have loads of fish woven into the blankets, to respect their patron. Some dragons had other methods to keep warm, such as a thick layer of fur. Tundras lived as well on the island; a few of the more notable members of this breed were Indaviing and his children. They all carried the same type of soft fuzz and fur that their father possessed. Few of them enjoyed having their fur styled or braided in some way, usually only done by those closest to them, while others preferred to keep their coats more natural and plain. Most of the thick-furred dragons of this breed slept cozily in their beds or nests, though one of them seemed to be struggling more than the others. Green and brown fur bristled restlessly as a cold breeze crashed into the room. A set of eyes were tightly shut, hopelessly trying to sleep. For the past few weeks, this dragon seemed to be incapable of sleeping the same way as the other dragons could in the Water Domain. She’s tried everything, switching rooms temporarily, changing out her bedding every day, cuddling up with her familiar, but nothing seemed to work. She even tried to seek help from her parents, trying to sleep together with them in a nest like she used to do with her mother as a hatchling, but even then it felt impossible. The tundra stirred out of her nest and stood up, stretching her legs. “Ugh,” A mumble came from her. The wind that roamed through the domain returned swiftly, pushing her fur around wildly. The dragon groaned, sitting down and using her front talons to try and keep everything in place, not wanting to bother with de-tangling everything again. The wind left abruptly and dragged some papers with it, shooting into the halls of the domain. “Hey! Wait!” The tundra exclaimed, jumping up from her position and chasing after the flying papers. Her footsteps echoed through the halls, her claws clicking against the stone floors, rolling up some parts of the fabric of a long blue carpet that lay there. A subtle pattern of decorative fish was woven into the carpet, all of them pointed in the same direction as the dragon was running. “Wait up!” She called out to the coiling piece of paper that curled through the hallways, passing by rooms where dragons slept or enjoyed their evening in peace. They did not seem to be bothered by the dragon running around chasing a paper that was being dragged by the wind. A door flew open and the breeze pulled the paper outside, hurling it into the open air outside. “Slow down!” The voice was thrown into the wind, her footsteps silenced by the rustling of grass beneath her. She looked around frantically for the sheet of paper that the wind stole from her, the electric blue gaze shooting from place to place until it locked onto its’ target. The dragon ran, following after it as it went further and further onto the open plains that laced the Water Domain. On the island was not only a mountain large enough to house a clan of this size, but also some places where nature thrived. Trees cloaked parts of it, and a large open clearing attached to a cliff edged the land. Dragons often came here to teach their young to fly, or to hold activities on the openness of the plain. Every now and then, the clan would gather for small festivals, or to celebrate the element that was due that month. And now, it housed… something else. There it stood. A dragon, unaffected by the darkness of the night. It seemed to glow actually, particles of a teal light emitting from the being, flickering around it. The dragon was of a large breed, akin to a guardian. Fans laced its cheeks, elbows and ankles, an impressive set of horns crowning the head. The guardian was impressive to watch, standing motionless as the wind brought the paper to its talons. The tundra approached, slowing into a halt when she saw the dragon standing there. Her eyes were wide at the sight, backing away slowly as she tried to hide amongst the tall grass. “Hope.” The tundra flinched, squeaking at the realization that the dragon had just said her name. Wait, how did it… she know her name? She had never seen this dragon before and- “I see you.” The voice that came from the guardian felt light, friendly, [i]familiar[/i]. The tundra – Hope – tilted her head, creeping out of her cover of the tall grass. “Who… are you? How do you know my name?” The guardian dipped her head with a smile as the question was asked. “We are family.” She responded to her. “My name is Shumru, we-” “Shumru?!” Hope chimed in. Her eyes were wide with shock, sparks of energy glittering in them. “Are you really her? Mother said she- She said that you-” The guardian nodded. “Yes, I am no longer amongst the living. I am a spirit, you see. I may be standing here in the form of one who lives, but my soul is no longer present in your realm.” The way she spoke sounded wise, even if Hope did not fully understand what she meant. “So you’re a spirit, why are you here? Shouldn’t you be doing… spirit things?” The green tundra tilted her head, raising her brows in confusion. “I [i]am[/i] doing spirit things, sister.” Shumru responded to the question with a hearty chuckle. “Part of the job of a spirit is to guide others to a new purpose, to lead them forth to a mission or something that needs to be done.” The guardian spoke, turning away from Hope and facing the edge of the cliff, staring off at the dark sea that lay before them. Hope frowned, following her gaze. “A mission? What kind?” The tundra stepped up to stand next to her sister, the eldest child of her parents. She looked up to watch the guardians’ reaction to her question. “Your father knew a dragon once, before you were born. His name is Variumn, an imperial who came from the shadows of Sornieth. He was a traveler, just like your parents were before they settled the clan down here.” Shumru seemed to speak positively of the imperial, a black dragon with purple eyes, as she described him. “He stood up against Ceridwen when he took down your father, but was exiled and chased away. He found himself stuck in a storm and the father of lightning struck him down. He’s stranded on an island somewhere, and you need to bring him back.” The guardian turned her head to face the one next to her, looking down. “Can you do that?” Hope paused. “I… I need a moment to think about this.” She distanced herself from the guardian, who sat down to wait patiently for her decision. She wandered around the plains in circles, pondering. Everything had been fine here for years, there were no threats and no dangers. But now she was being called by a spirit to bring back a dragon who’s friends with her father? Who knows what could happen during that journey! Perhaps a dragon from the ground would rise up and eat her whole, or maybe she could get stuck in a hurricane, be struck down by the Stormcatcher like Variumn had been, perhaps even drown! Or – maybe the worst theory of them all – Ceridwen could return and take over the world. That would be the most horrible thing to ever happen, but it was impossible. Ceridwen is dead after all. Hope felt… hopeless. lol. sorry. Powerless was a better word. She was just one singular dragon without magic or cool other special abilities, how could she be chosen by this spirit to bring back a dragon she’s never known before? Her family had been here for years in peace, and now she was expected to save a friend of her father. She tried to think of what her father would do if he were to be stuck in a situation like this. Would he give up? No, definitely not. Indaviing would’ve fought until the bitter end, just like he had done before. He would seek out help to go get them and strike down the dangers that lay before him. He would not go alone, at least. Hope had no other choice but to go alone, nobody would believe her if she told them she saw a spirit, let alone the spirit of her dead eldest sister. They would call her a lunatic, insane even. No, no! That's so wrong! They’re family to her, they wouldn’t be like that! Hope shook her head and took a deep breath. “I’ll be able to come back home again, right?” She asked the spirit that stood at the edge of the cliff. “Yes, safe and sound.” The guardian smiled. She tilted her head left and right a little, inhaling through her teeth. “If all goes well, of course. Which I assume it will.” Shumru smiled, closing her eyes briefly before looking back down at the tundra. “Good, good good good. Awesome, great.” Hope paused to think again for a short moment. Then, she nodded. “Alright, I’ll do it.” Shumru nodded at her response and turned around to face the ocean. “This won’t take long, I hope.” The guardian spoke, spreading her wings and taking flight. “Follow me!” [rule] [nextcol][list][nextcol][list][/columns][list]

[center][size=6][b]c2 – Through the Eye[/b][/size][/center] [list][columns][list][nextcol][list][nextcol] [rule] Moonlight illuminated the sky around them. It was hard to see, but there were two dragons flying after one another. The one leading was obviously larger than the one following. It was cold, far colder than it was back on the land below them. Hope glanced down, the land wasn’t even visible, a thick fog covering whatever was down there. She shivered, shaking her head free from the thoughts and continuing to fly after the spirit that guided her. She was a faint blue light amidst the darkness of the night, a blur within the clouds they flew through. The winds became stronger, more intense, more set on pushing the young tundra back. Hope grunted, straining herself and pushing herself to keep up with the guardian that soared before her, who seemed unbothered by the currents of the wind unlike her. “Gods damn it, I’m falling behind.” Was the only thought that raced through her mind as the blue light became fainter and fainter. Suddenly, a flash lit up the sky. Hope paused, hovering still for a moment. “Shumru? What was-” The crashing of thunder interrupted her question, booming through the sky. The young dragon screamed and picked up the pace again, flying in the direction she had last seen the spirit go in. Lightning slashed at her wing, but the dragon was fast enough to fold in and dive out of the way. She gasped when it did, feeling a fear being struck over her. Hope held on tight to herself, giving her all to evade the flashes of light that tried to connect to her body. Sound exploded in her eardrums as the darkness around her raged, only every now and then flashing with a blinding light to illuminate her empty surroundings. Hope looked around frantically for a way out of the storm. Then, she spotted it. There was a sliver of light emitting through the darkness, a gap between the hell that was this hurricane. Hope furrowed her brow and gritted her teeth, accelerating her wingstrokes to try and reach up to the light, to what she hoped would be safety from the storm around her. Hope took a deep breath, determined to make it out alright. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the change of winds as she approached the gap within the clouds. She shot right out, fumbling in a circle in the sky as the winds did in fact change drastically. It was silent up here, far more quiet than it was within the storm. Hope regained her composure and looked around, seeing that most of the clouds were below her, a hole through the darkness was right where she came from. The tundra breathed out a sigh of relief, feeling the tension leave her shoulders. Her ears rang a little, but she figured that it would fix itself eventually. Hope gazed around to see if she could spot the guardian again. Lo and behold, she did. Hope took a sharp breath and folded in her wings, diving down in an attempt to catch up to her. She dove right past the storm she had been caught in just a few seconds ago. Hope unfurled her wings and made sure to stay closer to the guardian this time. She decided to not speak of what happened, pretty sure that the spirit already knew. Perhaps it was a challenge, to see if she was up to thinking critically in dangerous moments? Or maybe to see if Hope was good enough at improvising a safe way out? Or maybe- “Hey, you alright back there?” The voice of the spirit pulled Hope from her thoughts. “Oh, yeah, I am. That storm back there was quite heavy.” She feigned a smile to the dragon in front of her, who just nodded and turned her head back around to face the direction they were heading. “We should be almost there. Are you ready?” Shumru asked. “Uh, yeah, I think so!” The spirit nodded in response and began to lower herself beneath some clouds. Hope squinted through the darkness, her eyes lighting up when she realized what they were approaching. It was an island, perfectly split in half by a river. The western side of the land seemed pale in comparison to the darkness that cloaked the eastern half. Due to it being night, a few fluorescent mushrooms were emitting a soft blue glow on either side, illuminating sections that were uncovered by the trees. It was a strange sight to see, an island so perfectly divided in half. Hope felt quite confused by it, in fact, never having seen something like this before in her life. The dragon took a deep breath and continued to gaze at where they were going to land. A beach was attached to the lighter side of the island, and a cliff to the darker side. Shumru seemed to be guiding her toward the beach. Hope extended her legs for a soft landing, still a bit exhausted from the flight through the storm she had to make. “So, Now what do I do?” The green dragon turned around to look for the guardian. There was nobody there. She was alone. “... Huh?” [rule] [nextcol][list][nextcol][list][/columns][list]