Flight Rising Discussion

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Woohoo!

Here's a fun fact about flowers coming from a Plantae: [img]https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/transparent-skeleton-flowers-in-rain-diphylleia-grayi-fb__700.jpg[/img] In the Appalatian Mountains and some parts of China and Japan, there exist diphylleia grayi, or "skeleton flowers". Known for turning transparent when it rains, the petals have loose cell structure that, when wet, will turn the same color as water (no color). This one is my personal favorite flower, seconded by the leucospermum catherinae (Protea Pinwheel).

ayy!

W00T! @MoonlitCacti Love the gif! [emoji=fae happy size=2]

[center][size=1]@blue1dragon @BlackSherruk @Catkinstarchild @Biyu @DraigTeg @LadyRenee [/center] [img]https://i.imgur.com/3X7dNsX.png[/img] [columns] [indent] [nextcol] [font=arial][size=5][color=#3a3330] If you'd like to be pinged for the daily lore, please add yourself to the self-editing ping list [url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gMRBiAW04PyQ33WWgZU0DB3g3DLxvEPfUnk6Oe7HrRw/edit?usp=sharing]here[/url]. [/font][/size] [nextcol] [indent] [/columns] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/PGDfXaW.png[/img][/center] [columns][indent][nextcol] [font=arial][size=5][color=#3a3330] “Welcome, contestants and students, to the Biwizard Tournament!” A cheer swept through the crowd below as a large, bulky Gaoler made his way to the stage. It was a sunny day in the Starfall Isles, and the light reflected off of the magenta crystals that made up the land. With a shake of his thick fur, the dragon pulled himself onto the main platform, where poles sporting each Flight’s colors flew in the wind. The crowd intensified their cheers, then went respectfully silent as the Gaoler prepared to speak. “Ladies and gents, hatchlings and dragons,” the Gaoler began. “I am Fluffledore, the emcee of this year’s Biwizard Tournament. Today, we have gathered here to see the students from each academy be tested by trials and events, obstacles and potential death!” At the word death, everyone cheered. “But before all else, let us first feast our eyes upon the object both academies desire - the Biwizard Cup!” At his nod, two Guardians clambered onto the platform, which swayed dangerously under the new weight. Hoisted between the two was a bright, shining trophy. It was a thing of beauty, made of the same eerie pink crystal the Starfall Isles was carved from. An unnaturally bright white flame burned in the center of the cup, and despite the obvious fire hazard, delicate vines, adorned with small but vivid flowers, wove together in intricate patterns on the surface of the trophy. The audience made the appropriate sounds of awe, and Fluffledore smiled. “Yes, this is the Biwizard Cup, the famed trophy imbued with a spirit of choosing that will decide which candidates are worthy to be tested. Three events await the lucky contestants who are chosen. The first event will bring them face to face with a Guardian and his Charge. The second is shrouded in mystery - you’ll never see it if you pass the first. The third is the trial wherein nothing you know will work.” He paused, letting the words sink in, then smiled slowly. “Let’s see which students each academy has chosen to brave those three events!” ----- [font=arial][size=5][color=#3a3330]“You are late.” Seren skidded to a stop, her wings almost sending her tumbling to the ground as she attempted to stop. The crowd parted for her, murmuring, and she swallowed hard as another Fae landed before her. Star was small and slight in build, with a dark body illuminated only by the golden runes on her body and wings that mimicked the galaxy. The senior student of House Starseeker surveyed the crowd, which backed to a respectful distance, then bent gracefully to help the other Fae up. “Sorry,” Seren gasped, her fins fluttering in embarrassment as she managed to scrabble to her feet. “I forgot the Biwizard Tournament was today.” “You’re one of the potential contestants, and you forgot?” A third Fae asked as he teleported into the clearing. His eyes were bright with curiosity, and stripes of yellow marked his bright fuchsia body. On one of his wings was the emblem of House Shatterspell. “This is one of the biggest competitions in all of Sornieth. Scholars and mages from all eleven flights have flocked here just to observe, and you just [i]forgot[/i]?” “I never said I had a good memory, Spell,” Seren pointed out, flicking her fins. “Besides, remember that time Rune forgot about final exams?” “In my defense, I was pushing the limits of modern science!” a Spiral complained as he darted out of the crowd to join them. He was dark and shady, cyan runes flashing with every word. His arcane eyes were enthusiastic and he was wrapped tight around a flagpole that displayed House Runesworn’s colors. “You left us to finish the final project all by ourselves,” Star recalled, folding her wings and seating herself. “And you promised us the day before, that you - and I quote - ‘definitely will not forget [i]this[/i] time.’ As far as memory serves, you definitely forgot that time.” “Okay, but the limits of modern science can’t just be pushed in one day!” “You’re always pushing the limits of modern science, the same way you push the limited patience of your teachers each and every day,” said a Skydancer, coming over to perch down next to Star. She was tall and graceful, her auric feathers tinted with a pale green. Her bookbag bulged with art supplies and textbooks, and sewn into the fabric was the flag of House Dreamstrider. “Now, as the five potential contestants for the Arcane Academy, let’s not make a scene, shall we? Fluffledore’s still talking.” “You… you do know that’s impossible, right?” Seren asked, dusting herself off. “As long as Spell and Rune are here, we’ll always make a scene.” She’d learned that the hard way - on her first day at the Arcane Academy, Rune and Spell had gotten into a heated argument about who could build a better bomb with only the ingredients found in the cafeteria recycling bin. Needless to say, the cafeteria had ceased to exist shortly after. “What? We’d never argue!” Rune protested. Then he paused, considering. “But if we did, I’d win.” “Excuse your face?” Spell asked, fins shooting up furiously. “Our score is one to zero in my favor, and you have the face to say that?” “It’s one to zero in [i]my[/i] favor, short stuff!” “No, it’s in my favor, beanpole,” Spell scoffed. “Now that I think about it, maybe it’s two to zero in my favor, or even three to zero, or a hundred-” “To be fair, that can’t be right, because you two have only ever had one argument - it’s just continued on and on and on for the entirety of your time at the academy,” Dream pointed out. Star’s fins flickered in amusement. Though House Starseeker and House Runesworn were the ultimate rivals, Star herself preferred to ignore Rune, which was fortunate, because Rune had a personal rivalry with Spell and if their friend group turned into a three-way battle, a cafeteria might not be the only casualty. “Now, quiet.” “Never!” Rune and Spell retorted, then glared at each other. “I said it first!” “Why not play a game?” Star suggested, stepping in. “It is called the Quiet Game. Whoever speaks first, loses.” As if she’d cast a spell, both Rune and Spell immediately closed their mouths and glared at each other. If looks could kill, both would’ve become instant murderers. “Why does that always work?” Seren wondered, sitting down next to the Starseeker student. She folded her wings carefully to conserve space, like all the other Fae were doing. “Their competitive spirits are so powerful, even something like this would work,” Star commented drily. “Now hush. Let us listen. He is about to introduce us.” “Introduce wh-” “Now, let us introduce the contestants!” Fluffledore bellowed, shaking the platform. Seren was impressed by the Gaoler’s lungs, and his ability to keep an Arcane dragon’s attention for more than three seconds. “First, we have Star, of House Starseeker!” Star rose, glowing with an Arcane hue, and did a graceful twirl. “Next, it’s Dream from House Dreamstrider!” At the command, Dream rose to her feet, that being enough to tower over the rest of the Arcane students. Not that the bar was high, as most of them were Fae. She nodded her head. “Spell from Shatterspell! And Rune from Runesworn!” Both students attempted to push each other down to get up first. Star looked extremely amused when Rune ended up last. “They save the best for last, anyway,” Rune groused, taking the first opportunity to smack Spell out of the sky. “Finally, last but not least, we have Arcane’s final contestant - Seren!” At the sound of her name, Seren jumped up, startled. She felt every eye on her and shuddered, almost blowing up Dream’s bookbag. The Skydancer tactfully jumped a few steps away, and an innocent little rock exploded instead. “Each one of those students have been chosen for their brilliance and outstanding performance,” Fluffledore continued as Seren’s anxiety mounted. She felt Rune twist excitedly around his flagpole, and Spell flutter his fins in enthusiasm. The Gaoler smiled. “But which one will be the Arcane Flight’s representative? Well, that’s up to the Biwizard Cup!” ----- [font=arial][size=5][color=#3a3330]As ridiculous as it was given the importance of the day, her nose itched. Rosie held her head high determined not to give ground on that pesky prickling deep in her sinuses. She would never reveal to anyone how she tended to sneeze when she was nervous, not to her dearest friends and certainly not to her present company. The best students in the fields of botany and transmogrification had come together to provide transportation for the event, but even though the interior of the flying carriage of roots and flowers was spelled to be larger, it was still stifling. The presence of the other potentials blocked everything out. It wasn't that Rosie hadn't tried to make friends, but even charisma faltered under Valence's calculating stare, Ancordia's secret smile, and BlueRiverRose's witty quips. The others had all dispersed to the far corners of the carriage as soon as it had taken flight and Rosie's nerves had prevented any more attempts at bridging gaps. "You do not have to look so stiff." How had sleepy old Professor Verdant managed to sneak up on her? "The inherent magic of the Starfall Isles is something to be enjoyed." Whispering to the faeries of his entourage, he bid them open the window that was nearest to Rosie. The fresh air helped to distract her as did the sight of millions and millions of butterflies that swarmed around and in front of the carriages to herald the arrival of the contestants from Nature's Biomagica Academy. Professor Verdant was right, the magical warmth of their surroundings had her calm by the time they landed. The four of them were ushered to their seats with Rosie taking up the rear due to her hulking Imperial stature. From her vantage point, she could see the almost hungry way Valence stared at their emcee. Fluffledore was a walking, talking piece of ancient draconic history that she guessed he was itching to collect. Further down their row, however, Ancordia and BlueRiverRose were more interested in the goaler's bellowed words. "A Guardian and his Charge? Blue you're a Guardian who do you think it is?" "Not all Guardians know each other Ancordia. It-" The rest of BlueRiverRose's drawl was drowned out as introductions began. Rosie's gaze went to each of Arcane's contestants in turn, and that itch came back with a vengeance. And then Fluffledore was turning to them his ringing brassy tones introducing each of the Houses in turn, "Ancordia of House Fungi!" The Mirror, a consummate entertainer, met the cheers head on her smile at once confident and challenging. "BlueRiverRose of House Plantae!" The spell that the Guardian uttered to make a fall of flower petals whirl around her was improvised, but the crowd went wild. "Valence of House Monera!" No smiles or spells were needed for the Wildclaw. His quiet dignity carried him through, unflappable as he bowed to the crowd. "And Rosie of House Animalia!" Don't sneeze was her frantic thought as she rose to her feet. You're like to blow all these Faes across the ocean if you do. Instead, Rosie lifted her chin and slowly spread her wings the incandescent patterns on them an echo of the butterflies that had borne their carriages aloft and a silent testament to why she was here. For Nature, she thought drawing on that stubborn determination. I do this in your name Gladekeeper, give me the strength to see this to the end! ----- [font=arial][size=5][color=#3a3330]“Without further ado, let us decide!” Fluffledore cried as soon as the Nature contestants had been introduced. Stepping over to the Biwizard Cup, he drew from somewhere within his fur ten strips of paper - one for each contestant. With a flourish, he tossed them into the Biwizard Cup, and the white flames climbed into the air as the fire devoured the names. With a loud crackle and a hiss of steam and smoke, the cup jerked violently with a vivid glow before settling down. Absolute silence possessed the crowd. Slowly, as the smoke cleared, all but two name tags had been burned by the flames. The remaining strips of paper floated above the white flames, the vines of the cup twined around them. With slow, purposeful steps, Fluffledore approached the cup and pulled the two tags out. He smiled. “Our contestants are Seren of Arcane, and Rosie of Nature!” [nextcol][indent][/columns] [center][font=arial][size=2]Much thanks to @[i][/i]MythicalViper and @[i][/i]onemessyperson for today's lore![/center]

I'm so excited to read about the challenges this week! Go Rosie!

*so excite* I loved this theme on it's own so much the first time I bought myself a commemorative Monera rep dragon hatched in nature during it (who also happens to be a runecatcher subspecies). [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=33411295] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/334113/33411295_350.png[/img] [/url] Oeramn and I are happy to see it pop up again :D

[center][size=1]@blue1dragon @BlackSherruk @Catkinstarchild @Biyu @DraigTeg @NlCKname @kvon [/center] [img]https://i.imgur.com/3X7dNsX.png[/img] [columns] [indent] [nextcol] [font=arial][size=5][color=#3a3330] If you'd like to be pinged for the daily lore, please add yourself to the self-editing ping list [url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gMRBiAW04PyQ33WWgZU0DB3g3DLxvEPfUnk6Oe7HrRw/edit?usp=sharing]here[/url]. [/font][/size] [nextcol] [indent] [/columns] [center][font=arial][size=5][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/frd/2718146/2#post_39820851]>> Day One Lore <<[/url][/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/Qs7YNLs.png[/img][/center] [columns][indent][nextcol] [font=arial][size=5][color=#3a3330] Until now, Rosie had never appreciated the inescapable quality that memories had. She was sure that she'd be well into her seventh century before the booming voice of Fluffledore announcing her name at the ceremony would fade from her ears. Her dreams and waking thoughts were colored by the glittering wings of the butterfly swarms that had been released in celebration, by the excited faces of her supporters and the echos of their cheers and congratulations. It had been a momentous high, but reality had sunk slowly in, and breaks began to show first in the cracked edges of her smile and then in the strain of her usually chipper attitude. Her fellow hopefuls were of no help. Though she had not expected them to be jumping for joy, the cool graciousness that they had shown her had stung just a little. Now sitting in her tent, Rosie was alone in trying to stop her stomach from further tying itself into knots. She was beginning to think that the presence of Professor Verdant and the humming faeries of his entourage would have been pleasant company, but the old Tundra had gone to see to the proceedings. He had left her with a small mercy, however, having spelled the material of her tent to block out most of the noises from the crowds of spectators waiting outside. She could still hear a mild susurrus but nothing else. As if her thoughts had conjured him, the flap of her tent was pushed open, and Professor Verdant poked his head inside. The bone antlers that he proudly wore served as seating for his faeries, and they beckoned to her. "It's time, Rosie." Maybe she would get tired of the sounds of cheering after this contest was over. Rosie smiled widely at the spectators who yelled and howled their encouragement at her. She waved at a large contingent from her House and turned her great head to the path in front of her. Oddly enough, she had walked it a dozen times before. The Trading Post had always been a busy place, but now it was bursting with dragonkind. She could spot Swipp's daughters perched upon their father's cart and Pinkerton in the crowd covertly trying to give out pieces of Crim's collection. Her journey leads her to a newer area of the Trading Post, and Rosie pauses to acknowledge the judges before taking a breath and stepping into the arena. This was mind-blowing; her breath left her in a slow exhale as she took in her surroundings. Rosie had done her research, listened to all the first, second and third-hand accounts on the size of Galore's horde that she could get her claws on, but nothing could have prepared her for what she was seeing now. "Step forward child time's a wasting, and you have none to spare," Her gaze darts to the huge hourglass on the right watching as the crimson sands inside trickle to the bottom. "The item you are seeking is hidden in my horde." Galore continues as Roise's attention cuts back to them. "And I am your guide, after a fashion. You may ask me three questions and chose from the items that I have set out for you here," The Guardian gestures to an ornate table whereupon sat three different objects, "Alternatively you may conduct a search of your own however I must warn you that my horde is my Charge. Touch something out of turn, and I will be very annoyed." The smile on Galore's face was friendly, but it was leagues from being warm. "First things first then," Rosie replied after a beat as she lowered her head in a respectful bow, "I greet you Messere and will endeavor to keep my claws off your things." "Polite." Galore nods and moves towards the table, curling their thick tail around its legs. "Are you from Fungi to serenade me into complacency or from Plantae to attempt to confuse me with your wit? Or Monera to bore me with your facts?" "Animalia, Messere." The sentence went on in her head, And I will not be intimidated by you. A large piece of glowing amber with many little flies trapped inside it, a copper pocket watch and what looked to be a black ball, those were lined up on the table, and Rosie scrutinized each one before saying, "I choose the first route and make use of the three questions given to me." She wasn't Valence, but Rosie was ninety-nine percent sure that simply asking Galore was the route to take. The Guardian didn't want her here any more than she wanted to be. Why make it more difficult and increase the chances of touching something she shouldn't by allowing her to go through their things? "Is it alive?" "There is potential." "Is it dangerous?" "Very much so." She wasn't Ancordia, but Rosie strutted forward confidently taking in Galore's reactions. The Guardian seemed to take quiet pride in their vague, confusing answers, but there was one thing that they couldn't hide. Lifting a paw, she skimmed it an inch over each object hemming and hawing softly under her breath to trick the Guardian into betraying themselves. There! The tip of Galore's tail lashed as she came close to touching the watch. "What is your third question child," They were starting to sound impatient, it was clear she could only try this trick only once. Roise deliberated between the chunk of amber and the black ball eyes narrowing in concentration. The former had the potential to be alive and was (sort of dangerous). Her paw drifted to it before Rosie noticed that what she thought was a ball wasn't spherical at all. It looked more oval like an... "Do you like them scrambled?" Rosie blurted, startling Galore into laughter. She thought that they muttered something about her being clever under their breath. "When prepared right." Oh. As the crimson sands continued to trickle downwards, a good portion of it left, Rosie made her decision. [nextcol][indent][/columns] [center][font=arial][size=2]Much thanks to @[i][/i]onemessyperson for today's lore![/center]

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