Flight Rising Discussion

The Message

Bopp fluttered up the spiraling staircase, satchel strap clutched in his claws. He had to warn them, the comet could potentially be dangerous! Three flights… two flights… one… he burst into the viewing room of the Observatory. The space was a hive of activity, dragons of all colours and breeds weaving around one another in a flurry of beating wings.

He looked around for someone who seemed relatively un-busy. The corridor over there seemed more quiet… maybe he could find some dragon there to help? Cautiously, Bopp navigated his way through the crowd. He soon came across a Spiral inspecting a report closely. “Excuse me! Would you happen to have a moment to spare?” He raised his voice, hoping the astronomer could hear him.

She squinted at him. “What do you need? We’re on a tight schedule here. Comet viewing preparations are entering their final phase and we need to get all the info on the comet compiled pronto!”

“A-about that…” he pulled out the tome from his bag. “This book says that the comet might be dangerous! Don’t you think we should, you know, be more concerned about its potential side effects?” Sparing a single glance at the book, the astronomer waved a claw in the air dismissively.

“Nah, this comet seems fine. Run along, we’ve got enough things to do without worrying about… whatever you’re holding.” Without waiting for Bopp to respond, she flew away, muttering something under her breath. “I could have sworn I handed this report in yesterday…”

Bopp’s crests drooped in dejection. Why weren’t they concerned at all? He had to continue trying. Perhaps he’d have more luck elsewhere. Oh, maybe the scientists at the Oculus will listen! With that, he turned and made his way toward the Oculus of the Eleven.

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Day 3 Week 1: The Message written by @Tirtouga678

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The Decoration Crew

“Surely someone has to understand that there’s more to this comet than it seems,” Bopp muttered to himself, skirting around a pile of what looked like a hundred bolts of very shiny fabric and two metric tons of glitter that for some reason were sitting in the middle of the path from the Observatory to the Oculus of the Eleven. He flipped through some of his scattered notes he’d gathered, as well as copies of the ancient references he’d made, eyeing the multiple instances of what he was pretty sure meant ‘danger’ in the ancient script. Clearly this comet meant trouble, but in what way?

“Whoa! Watch out!”

Bopp shrieked in surprise and barely managed to flap out of the way as a giant floating crystal swooped by, dragging along a pair of screaming Fae dragons who were clinging to ropes that were tied around it. Right behind them soared a Wildclaw, who managed to catch up and grab onto one of the ropes, dragging the crystal to a halt. Unfortunately she stopped it too fast, and the two Fae ran into the crystal with a splat. Bopp winced as they slowly peeled off and fell to the ground, groaning.

“Whoops. Sorry about that guys,” the Wildclaw giggled.

Bopp flew down at once to check on them, worried that someone could be hurt, but before he’d even landed, both Fae were already up and battering the Wildclaw’s head with their tails in irritation.

“Ah! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” she laughed, “Ack! Stop it! I said I was sorry!”

“Learn to fly, Sateen, geez,” the one Fae grumbled, though from the position of his fins, Bopp could tell he was more amused than angry.

The other just gave Sateen one last bop on the head, and then settled herself down on the Wildclaw’s back. “You can give us a lift back up to the others to make it up to us,” she insisted primly. “Come on, Confetti, hop on.”

“Of course, of course,” Sateen agreed good-naturedly. “Though even I might have some trouble trying to wrangle this thing up these slopes with you two clinging to my back.”

Bopp took the opportunity to clear his throat, drawing their attention to him. He blanched a little as they all whipped around as one to stare at him, but then he rallied himself, straightening his fins to project as much confidence as he could muster. “Perhaps I could help?” he offered.

Sateen immediately brightened. “Ooh, would you mind?”

“Sure, what would you need me to do?”

“I can do the pulling,” Sateen told him, “I’d just need you to keep the crystal on course if it starts to drift.” She held up one of the abandoned ropes for him to take.

“Are you sure you want to help us?” the female Fae on Sateen’s back asked, jerking her thumb in the Wildclaw’s direction. “I mean, you saw what happened to us a few seconds ago, right?”

“Oh hush, Ribbon,” Confetti chided the other Fae, flying up to grab the rope alongside Bopp. “I’ll help him. Thank you, by the way,” Confetti added, giving the Fae equivalent of a cheerful grin with his fins.

“Not at all.”

“Confetti,” the Fae introduced himself quickly, and then he gestured to the other two. “That’s my sister Ribbon, and this is Sateen.”

They waved, and Bopp nodded in acknowledgement, hurriedly tucking his notes into his satchel so that both claws were free to help. “I’m Bopp, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, making sure his grip on the guiding rope was secure.

Once he was ready, Sateen gave the signal, and then the four dragons began to fly, carrying the floating crystal up towards one of the higher ledges on the Focal Point above.

When they arrived on the ledge, Bopp found himself staring at a massive stash of items. Closest to him was a group of floating crystals like the one he had just helped rescue, and beyond them were thousands of bunches of balloons. Next there were piles of rolls of ribbons stacked taller than himself in a whole rainbow of colours. Streamers, flags, and yet more bolts of fabric and glitter like those he’d seen on the road below covered the rest of the available surface of the ledge. In the middle of all this mess was another group of dragons, wrangling it all to various degrees of success.

“Here you go, Cupcake,” Sateen announced as they landed, passing the floating crystal over to a Snapper dragon who was playing shepherd to the others. He took it with a shake of his head, carefully bumping it along with his snout until it was back with the rest of them. Sateen waited until he seemed to have the crystals under control, and then turned to the others.

“Bubbles, Tango, how are balloons coming?” she asked.

“Just...great…” the Mirror dragon wheezed, looking exhausted. “Just...for next time...can we please get...some kind of pump...to blow these things up? Bubbles and I are…dying...”

The Tundra was too busy blowing up another balloon to speak, but she nodded tiredly in agreement.

“Why don’t you just use magic?” Ribbon asked, her tone flat even by Fae standards.

“That’s…boring.”

Ribbon rolled her eyes, but begrudgingly hopped off of Sateen’s back and sat down next to them, a soft pink glow encasing her claws. Within seconds, balloons began inflating themselves next to her, grouping themselves into bunches based on colour.

“Show off,” Tango muttered.

Meanwhile, Confetti and Sateen went over to the last dragon on the ledge, a massive Gaoler who was currently struggling to tie delicate bows with his huge paws. So far he seemed to have done nothing more than tangle himself in dozens of rolls of ribbons.

“Having some trouble there, Punch?” Sateen asked jovially.

He nodded. “I could use some help,” the Gaoler whimpered. Sateen and Confetti shared a look, and then the Fae darted off to start untangling the ribbons from Punch’s horns.

Once everyone seemed to be absorbed in their tasks, Sateen turned back to Bopp, as if just remembering he was there. “Oh yeah! Thanks again for your help!”

“Not at all,” Bopp quickly assured her. Then, his usual curiosity kicked in. “What exactly is all this, anyways?”

“Starfall decorations!” Sateen announced proudly, gesturing broadly to the eclectic collection of materials around them. “We’re the Starfall Celebration Decorating Ccommittee! We’re really going all out this year too. Have you heard about that fancy comet that’s coming?” She didn’t seem to notice his wince. “It’s gonna be here just in time for Starfall, can you believe it? Something that exciting means that we need to really step up our game.”

For a moment, her wings drooped. “The only problem is figuring out how. We’re really struggling with how to make this Starfall really pop, you know? We gotta make it big!”

Bopp played with the strap of his satchel nervously. “Well, actually, about that…”

The Wildclaw turned to him, frowning. “Something up?” she asked.

Bopp hesitated for a moment, but then decided with a sigh that he might as well show her his notes. It would be irresponsible not to warn them, not to mention there was a slight chance that they could help him with the mystery of the comet’s powers.

“Here,” he said, showing her his copy of the ancient text. “It’s an old reference I found, which I believe describes this same comet the last time it passed by Sornieth. And look, here,” he pointed to one of the inscriptions that he believed mentioned how dangerous the comet was. “See what it says there? It says danger. We should be worried about this comet, not excited.”

Sateen stared at his reference, eyes wide. “Pillar shards,” she breathed, reaching out and taking the parchment with trembling claws. She stared at it for a moment, and then looked back at Bopp. “Do you have more of these?”

Bopp blinked in surprise, delighted that someone finally seemed to be taking this as seriously as he was. “I do!” he said, pulling everything out of his satchel. Sateen helped him spread the notes out onto the ground.

“Guys! Guys, come over here!” she called. A moment later, the rest of the committee had surrounded Bopp’s notes.

“Guys, are you seeing this?” Sateen asked, holding up one of the sheets.

“Oh my!” Bubbles exclaimed, grabbing another.

“Hmmm?” Cupcake grunted, leaning over Tango’s shoulder to see what she was looking at, while behind him Punch was still struggling to make his way over with his legs all tangled in ribbons.

Bopp watched the group pour over the notes with barely disguised relief. At last, he’d found other dragons who understood! It didn’t seem like any of them could read the ancient language any more than he could, but at least he’d found help! Thank goodness, he was starting to think that he was the only dragon in the Starfall Isles that had any sense!

“Oh, I’m so glad you understand!” he cried, reaching down to point at one of his papers. “See, this one here seems to have the most information in tact, but I can’t make out what this word -”

“Oh my gosh, it’s perfect!” Tango squealed, cutting Bopp off. “Look at this design here in the margins, we can totally use that for our banners!”

“Yes!” Bubbles agreed immediately. “And look, the picture shows that the comet has three tails. What if we -”

“Used grav magic to have a crystal fly around like the comet, and attach multiple tails?” Tango finished for her.

“Exactly!”

“I think there’s some ribbons we could use for the tails that’ll match those colours perfectly,” Cupcake said thoughtfully. “Especially that nice one with the silver trim. Maybe we can make a few comets, and enchant them to fly around the Starfall Isles like the real one.”

“I love it!” Sateen cheered. “Keep the ideas coming, guys! This is great!”

Not to be outdone, Punch leaned in and added, “Look at the nice pink and purple tail the comet has in this drawing, we have some fabric that would match perfectly! Maybe we can make some nice pennants with them. Or, oh! What about stringing them across the main path through the trees in Starwood Strand?”

“Ah, Punch, that’s brilliant!”

Bopp felt his mouth drop open in shock as he watched the group dissolve into chaotic chatter, Sateen egging them all on and Ribbon pulling a clipboard out of thin air to take notes. Once again, the danger that this comet posed was being completely ignored. Confetti was even reading through Bopp’s translation, cross-referencing with all of the extra notes he’d taken, and he was still only talking about making sure they made their fake comets look as authentic as possible!

“Don’t you get it? Can’t you see the problem?!” Bopp tried to cut in, but the decorating committee completely ignored him, too excited about all of their new ideas to pay him any attention. Within moments, they’d dispersed back to their various supplies, only this time the chaos seemed a lot more organized.

Soon, only Sateen was left standing next to him, and she was bouncing so much with excitement he half expected her to hop out of her scales. “This is so amazing, first you helped with the crystal, now this! We were really struggling with inspiration, but thanks to you, Bopp, we’ve got a plan! You’ve been a huge help, would you be interested in joining us? We could use you on the committee.”

For half a second, Bopp considered trying to point out his concerns about the comet one more time, but one look at the sparkle in Sateen’s eyes and the intense preparations going on around him made him hold his tongue. He had a feeling none of them would be able to help him. And besides, they were so excited, he’d feel awful ruining their good moods.

“I’m sorry,” he eventually told her. “I’m, uh. Pretty busy at the moment. Maybe next year.”

“Right, right,” she nodded wisely, “You scholar types, always up to something. Well, if you change your mind, we’d be happy to have you. In the meantime, let me at least help you collect up these papers. I’m pretty sure Ribbon copied down all the important bits we needed.”

Bopp privately thought that Ribbon hadn’t recorded anything important at all, but once again, he decided it wasn’t worth the trouble.

Once he had his notes gathered back up and safely in his satchel, he travelled to the edge of the outcropping, spreading his wings in preparation for takeoff. Right before he left, though, he heard Sateen calling out his name, and he turned back.

“Good luck with your stuff!” she shouted with a wide grin. Behind her, the rest of the decorating committee briefly looked up to wave goodbye as well. Even grouchy Ribbon was giving him a small smile. He weakly waved back to them, and then took off into the sky, leaving the group behind.

They may not have been much help, but they had been willing to at least look at his notes, Bopp considered. Maybe the next person he spoke to would be both willing to look at them, and be able to help him decipher their mysteries before it was too late. He was running out of time.

Of course, there was one person Bopp knew for sure would have the answers. Someone who was knowledgeable enough to be able to read the texts, wise enough to understand what they meant, and powerful enough to be able to do something with that knowledge. With a gulp, Bopp realized exactly who he needed to speak to next.

It was time to seek an audience with The Arcanist.

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Day 4 Week 1: The Decoration Crew written by @CupcakeNova

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Audience

Bopp flew to the Observatory as fast as his wings could carry him with a mixture of excitement and nerves building in his chest. He was about to meet the Arcanist — and he had to make it count!

In the skies on the way there, and even as he hurried through the Observatory’s corridors, he rehearsed what he was going to say under his breath. He wanted to explain his ideas clearly and concisely, to be sure that the Arcanist understood the potential danger of the comet.

All too soon he arrived at the archway labelled ‘The Eye of Many Lenses’, but standing just in front of it was a desk and a long row of chairs stretched along the corridor beside the door. Seated behind the desk was an enormous Ridgeback with shimmering purple scales and deep pink eyes.

“Um, hello,” Bop said as he peered over the top of the desk. She paused in filing her claws and raised a brow at him. He cleared his throat and explained, “I’m here to see the Arcanist?”

“Well, you’re in the right place,” she said, though she didn’t seem particularly interested. She turned the page in her magazine, flipping from a selection of swords to an array of axes. “Please take a ticket and sit down, your number will be called shortly.”

“But it’s an emergency!”

The Ridgeback fixed him with an unimpressed look. “I’m sure you think it is. But you’ll still have to wait.”

“But —”

“Listen, kid,” she sighed. “Do you know how many times a day we have people coming in here raving about how their duplication experiment’s run wild and now they’re overrun by Steadfast Sweepers? Or they accidentally brewed a potion that’s turning everybody into Wavehoppers on scale-contact? Or they drew a summoning circle they found in a book and it unleashed untold horrors from beyond the void …? Well, it’s a lot! And most of the time, it all gets fixed before the Arcanist has a gap in his schedule anyway. So now we have a new system: everybody who wants to see the Arcanist has to take a number and wait. And if you’re still here when I call you up … well, then you get to see him and tell him all about it. Understand?”

“And there’s absolutely no way I can get to see him faster …?”

“I’m afraid not. You’ve just got to wait for the magic number,” she paused and tore off the next ticket from the roll beside her. “Which for you is 233.”

She went back to her weapons catalogue. Bopp glanced at the glowing pink number magically written above her head: 144. He was going to be here forever!

\|/
O

Meanwhile, in the Astrolodome …

“Flux. Flux! FLUX!”

Flux jolted awake to the sound of her mentor’s voice squawking in her ear. She’d fallen asleep on her notes — again. She scrabbled for the two-way radio beside her and answered: “Copy, Doc. What’s going on?”

“Where did you store the latest shipment of crystals?” he asked through the mild static.

Flux frowned as she unknotted herself from the chair she had coiled around in her sleep. She replied, “The same place as all the others? The storeroom.”

“Well, you’re going to have to come down here and show me, because I just don’t see it! Over and out!”

Rolling her eyes, Flux clipped the radio to her belt. At least being in a hurry was an excuse to have a little fun! She pulled down her goggles, flung open the window of her tower room and noodled her way out. She corkscrewed down to ground level as fast as air resistance would allow and swooped into the lab through one of the large ventilation shafts in the roof.

Doc scoffed at her entrance. “Can’t you use the door?”

“Nope!” she grinned as she glided down to join him.

“One of these days, you’re going to get a face full of fumes from a toxic experiment ...” Doc grumbled. He was already wearing all of his protective gear ready to begin the day’s experiments, and as usual he wasn’t best pleased with his assistant’s antics.

“Then I’ll be the experiment!” she laughed over her shoulder as she trotted over to the storeroom.

Doc followed her, grumbling about Arcane dragons and foolish risks.

It took Flux only a moment to find the warning-stamped case of pink chalcedony that had arrived three days ago: it was right where she’d left it. She patted the top and spun around to face her mentor.

“You can’t have been looking very hard! It’s right here.”

“No, not that case!” Doc said, starting to pace the length of the storeroom. “I’m talking about the new stuff! It came in yesterday!”

Flux’s brow furrowed. She pushed up her goggles. “We didn’t get any deliveries yesterday, Doc.”

“Nonsense! It arrived, you’ve just misplaced it,” he said and started rooting through the shelves and crates in search of the elusive crystals.

“No, Doc. The couriers are flapping their wings off to get everything in place for Starfall, so the delivery’s going to take longer than usual — remember? They warned us when we placed the order,” Flux said. She sat down on the case of chalcedony, directly over a radiation warning label, and watched her mentor as he searched.

“Of course I remember that! How could I forget? It’s such a nuisance, putting all our work on hold because of this — comet, or whatever it is this year,” he grumbled. Flux sighed: Doc really was a workaholic. He ran rubber-gloved claws through his wild silvery mane and turned towards her. “I just also remember the new shipment arriving! Yesterday!”

Flux raised her brows. Her mentor could be a little eccentric — the natural consequence of a Lightning-aligned inventor who had lived in the Starfall Isles for most of his life, she always supposed — but he wasn’t usually this bad. Usually, he made sense, even if it was only to her.

“If it arrived, then where is it?” she asked.

“I don’t know!” he cried, slumping against a crate of depleted chalcedony as he gave up his search. “But I could’ve sworn ... I remember I even checked the seals on the case!”

“You always check the seals, Doc,” Flux said kindly. She too got confused over whether she’d done something today or yesterday or last week: it was hard to keep track. “Look, it doesn’t matter that it’s not here yet: these crystals still have plenty of juice in them, and they’ll keep your invention running until the new ones come in. I’m sure they’ll be here soon.”

“I hope you’re right, Flux,” Doc sighed, rubbing his forehead as if to ward off a headache. He patted her fondly on the shoulder as he headed out into the lab. “Now, get your radiation suit on and let’s make a start.”

\|/
O

Back at the Observatory …

Bopp sat on one of the chairs in the corridor, staring despondently at his notes. Would he even get to see the Arcanist in time before the comet arrived …? After a few minutes, the door to the Eye of Many Lenses creaked open and a Guardian carrying a smoking flask edged out. They headed off down the corridor in the opposite direction.

The Ridgeback behind the desk waved a hand at the numbers above her to change them and called, “233!”

“What?” Bopp jumped to his feet. “But they were only number 144!”

The Ridgeback laughed. “Oh, did you think the tickets were numbered consecutively? No, no, no: for today’s tickets, the next number is the sum of the previous two!” She pointed one long, extra-sharp thumb-claw at the door. “In you go, kid.”

“What about everyone else who’s waiting?” Bopp asked, looking around. Almost all of the other chairs were full: some dragons were deeply engrossed in books, others were whispering together in pairs and threes over papers, and quite a few had been here so long they were asleep sitting up!

“Oh, they’re not waiting. This is just one of the only quiet-ish places in the Observatory with lots of seats,” she said with a shrug. “People come here all the time when the libraries get full, or when they need a nap. Now hurry up and get in there before he gets distracted by something more interesting than you and your little ‘emergency’!”

Eyes widening, Bopp ran for the door.

He pushed it open and was immediately confronted with the sight of the Arcanist. He was seated beside the enormous eyepiece of the Eye of Many Lenses, two of his hands holding different star charts, a third busily annotating, and the fourth adjusting the telescope.

“Ah, hello!” the Arcanist said. He leaned down towards Bopp, his expression kindly. “How can I help you? Or perhaps you are here to help me, hmm?”

“Er,” Bopp began. Now that he was finally in front of the Arcanist himself, he couldn’t remember a single word of the speech he’d prepared! He swallowed his nerves and started, “I wanted to speak with you about the comet …”

“Ah, yes! The Starfall Comet! An excellent discovery by Polaris, I’ve been tracking its progress. Would you like to see?” the Arcanist offered.

Without waiting for an answer, he scooped Bopp up to bring him over to the eyepiece. Bopp’s curiosity got the better of him. After all, how many chances would he get to look through The Eye of Many Lenses? Probably none after this. He peered into the eyepiece and there was the comet, streaking towards them with its vibrant tails of pink, blue and purple. It really was like nothing he’d ever seen before, and it absolutely did match the descriptions in the book.

“Arcanist, I think the comet might be dangerous,” he said as he leaned back. He pulled the tome out from his satchel and opened it to one of the diagrams. “You see, I found this book about an ancient comet and I think it might be the same one.”

“Ah, fascinating!” the Arcanist said, bringing Bopp and the book up to his eye-level and peering at the pages. He waved a hand, using magic to levitate the book and flick through the pages. “So my scholars have discovered this comet before … yes … hmm, how interesting ...”

“Not interesting,” Bopp tried to interrupt. When the Arcanist didn’t seem to listen, he slapped his palm into the middle of the book to stop the pages from turning, and pointed. “This word, right here. It translates to danger! And it’s repeated over and over all the way through the book!”

“Ah, young one, what is danger but an opportunity to learn?” the Arcanist asked. He patted Bopp on the head with one slender finger. “The generations who came before survived the comet to describe its effects in those pages. This generation will survive too, and may make untold discoveries in the process. Yes. Now, let me transcribe the contents of this book into my notes …”

That absolutely couldn’t happen. Bopp needed the book to discover more about the comet, and he couldn’t wait for the Arcanist to copy out every single page!

As the Arcanist turned to gather more paper and ink, Bopp leapt into the air and snatched up the floating book. He darted to the door, shoved it open and fluttered through before the Arcanist looked around, and made a break for it down the corridor.

“Good luck with your emergency!” the Ridgeback said sweetly as he passed.

“Thanks!” he called over his shoulder. It seemed he was going to need it.

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Day 5 Week 1 - Audience : Written by @Lundlaeva

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Halley

Bopp exited the building and sat on a small boulder a few wing beats from the door, his chest heaving as he caught his breath, glancing at the massive, ornamental doors to see if anyone was following him.

Just as he was about to relax, one of the big, gold and white doors started to creak open slowly. With a tiny, barely perceptible shriek, Bopp ducked behind a sparkling bluish shrub. He held his breath as he peeked through the plant’s leaves to see who it was.

A purple and gold Spiral emerged and took a candy from their pocket. Glancing around for a moment, they hurriedly popped it in their mouth before stuffing the wrapper back into the pocket and returning inside.

Sighing in relief, Bopp felt better that he wasn’t the only one hiding something, even if it was only a candy. Nodding to himself, he decided he needed to get off this island before the Arcanist himself came after him.

Before he could allow himself the time to second guess his actions, he stuffed the book back into his satchel and strapped it securely onto his back. He then threw himself off a nearby cliff overlooking the west coast of the Focal Point. After a few terrifying, gravity fighting seconds, he was able to flap his wings and get his flight under control.

Keeping his altitude was easy, so long as he stayed in the jet stream. Unfortunately, the jet stream would only go as far as the top of the Astrolodome before it turned sharply east.

As the current of air began to turn to the left, Bopp beat his wings strongly, using his head frills to help turn him away from the rushing air. He landed on top of the dome to rest his wings and catch his breath. Where am I going? he asked himself.

The satchel on his back felt heavier as he allowed his thoughts to turn to the Arcanist and how he’d essentially disobeyed him and absconded with his object of interest. His heart started to beat faster, until he remembered that there was basically a whole army of researchers in the Tourmaline Archives who did nothing but read obscure references all day long, every day.

Stretching his wings and frills, he looked down through the dome. Everyone seemed to be so...normal right now. They had no idea what was coming, not that he knew much more. He watched them going to and fro, some carrying party items and others just having lunch on a bench. Taking a deep breath, he launched himself off the dome and headed for the archives. It’s a good thing the archives were so much shorter than the Astrolodome. He could easily glide down from here.

He landed right on the steps to the big library and had to shove one of the big, green crystal doors open with all his might. Just as he created an opening big enough for himself and the heavy satchel on his back, a tall dragon shoved it open easily from inside, knocking poor Bopp back and stranding him on top of the bulging satchel.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t think anyone would be on the other side,” said a tall, pink Skydancer. “My mother is always telling me to look before I open doors, but how am I supposed to see through this door? The crystal is so thick!”

Bopp tried to speak, but couldn’t get a word in edgewise. He waved and flapped his frills and wings instead. The chatty dragon noticed and bent down until his face was just over Bopp’s.

“Oh, dear, I’ve done it again, haven’t I? I’m talking too much! Here, let me help you up. I’m Delphinus, by the way!”

Once Bopp was upright and dusted off, he wriggled out of the straps holding the book onto his back and turned to Delphinus. “Maybe you can help me,” he said, patting the satchel with one hand. “I need to talk to someone who can translate ancient script.”

“Oh, that’s not my department, my friend,” Delphinus said with a chuckle. “I’ve been in the Runic Studies Department since I began my service to the Arcanist. I’m afraid I wouldn’t be of any help. You should try Linguistics, on the second floor.”

Bopp thanked him and, slinging the strap across his body, slowly dragged the satchel up the stairs.

On the second floor, he immediately went over to the red and blue Coatl sitting at the information desk just inside the room. Clearing his throat, Bopp opened his mouth to speak.

Not looking at him, the Coatl stuck one finger in the air and continued to read the book in her hand. “One sec,” she said languidly. As she turned back to the page she’d been reading, Bopp noticed her nametag, which read, Charlotte.

After several seconds, she picked up a narrow card with a picture of an axolotl on it and stuck it between the pages of Concise Language: Now and Then before carefully placing the yellow volume on her desk. “Now,” Charlotte said breathily, “what can I do for you?”

Bopp took a deep breath to calm himself. “Yes, thank you. I need help with a translation of a passage in this book. It is in an ancient language I know very little of. It is very important, as it relates to the comet just discovered.”

“Hm.” she said. She stared at him for what seemed like minutes. Bopp shuffled his feet slightly.

“This is Linguistics, as you can see by the sign,” she said, pointing to the plaque on her desk.

“Yes,” he said. “You study languages, one of which I need help with.”

She rolled her eyes and sniffed. “You don’t understand. We study aspects of language, not specific languages.”

Bopp waited for her to say something else, but was disappointed. “Do you know who or where I might find help in translation? Is there a translations department?”

Charlotte considered him for a moment and then looked at a directory of departments. “Mm, nope. No translations department. I suppose you’re already supposed to know the language if you’re going to study a text, you know?”

Bopp’s frills rippled furiously. Charlotte seemed to notice his frustration. “You could try Ancient Studies, on the third floor. I don’t know what else to tell you.”

Bopp sagged a bit for a moment and then straightened up. “Right, then. Thank you for your...help.”

He turned back toward the stairs, hesitated at their steep incline, and then resolutely started to climb them.

After a couple of breaks on the way up, Bopp finally reached the landing of the third floor and immediately looked around for the information desk. It was empty. Not even a scrap of paper on it.

He glanced around and saw several dragons bent over other desks and tables, looking over ancient artifacts. He spotted a wise-looking Obelisk and dragged the book-laden satchel over to their corner of the room

The dragon didn’t notice his arrival, so Bopp flew up onto the table the Obelisk was using to hold up a stone tablet from which he was removing dead vines and dirt.

“Hello!” he said as he landed. “I was wondering if you could help me.”

The brown and silver dragon didn’t respond. Here I go again, Bopp thought. He cleared his throat again and waited. Nothing.

He unfurled his wings and flapped them vigorously. The Obelisk startled and looked around. Upon noticing his guest, he nodded and pointed to a sign, which read, I am deaf. Please use the slate to communicate with me.

Bopp looked at the dusty slate with its chalk and wiping rag. Then he shook his head and began to sign in Draconic Sign Language. Surprised, the Obelisk watched the Fae’s tiny hands and frills.

“I am called Bopp and I need help with a translation,” Bopp signed. “The book in my bag is in an obscure, ancient language and I understand very little of it. It’s about the new comet.”

The other dragon nodded and signed, “Well, I’ll do my best, but I’m not an expert. I’m Sirius, by the way.”

Bopp pulled the heavy satchel up onto the table and removed the book. He opened it to the relevant page and pointed. “This passage here seems to be about the comet.”

Sirius looked at the text for a few minutes and then grabbed a magnifying glass. Bopp sat down on the table while he waited.

After several minutes, the Obelisk put the magnifying glass down and leaned across the table to a stack of books. He selected one faded blue volume and opened it. After several minutes of reading and nodding his head to himself, Sirius put it down and turned toward Bopp.

“I found a chapter that discusses this language,” he signed. “It doesn’t have a complete analysis of this language, however. If you look at this page and compare, you can see that the third word in the second sentence reads, ‘danger’.”

Bopp hung his head for a moment and said nothing.

After a moment, Sirius waved a hand to get his attention. “I am unsure, but the word at the beginning of the following sentence may be ‘twist’ or ‘curve’. Maybe it refers to the comet’s path? I wish I could help you more.”

Bopp nodded and signed his thanks before packing up his things. Sirius waved goodbye as the tiny, tired Fae dragged his satchel toward the stairs.

The satchel thumped loudly as he descended the stairs. He barely noticed dragons on the other floors looking curiously toward the source of the noise.

He got all the way down to the ground floor and stood looking at a portrait of the Arcanist. “I’m sorry,” he said aloud, “I’ve failed you. I hope you can forgive me.”

Bopp looked toward the door he had entered by and felt a deep sadness. Instead of going out the grand doors, he turned the other way and walked out the back door and into a verdant courtyard.

The trees were not only blue, but also pink, green, and yellow. It was a garden with benches and tables and birds and butterflies. Bopp dragged himself over to a low bench and sat down to drink in the calming natural environment.

The sound of birdsong was nice and the breeze caressed his tired face. Underneath a tree to his left, he saw a Gaoler and a Mirror playing chess.

The Gaoler moved his bishop on the chessboard, held it for a couple of seconds while looking at the rest of the board, then let it go.

The Mirror gasped. "Wow, Merak!"

"What?” the bigger dragon asked. “What's wrong, Tianyi?"

"Nothing," she said. "It's just you used that same move on me yesterday. Did you think I'd forget it?"

Merak shook his maned head, eyebrows meeting in the middle of his face. "What do you mean? I haven't used this one in weeks!"

"Are you calling me a liar?" she demanded, wings starting to unfurl.

Merak huffed. "Of course not! But I know I haven't used that move in a long time. It only fits in a few responses and you didn't make your corresponding move yesterday, did you?"

Tianyi's eyes darted across the chessboard. "Well, no," the younger dragon mumbled. "Maybe I'm misremembering."

The slightly confused pair shrugged and continued their game.

Bopp chuckled a bit and then let his gaze wander around the rest of the courtyard’s space. He noticed a Spiral at the table across the path, having a snack of chocolate covered insects. His stomach gurgled.

“Oh, hello!” called the other dragon.

Startled, Bopp looked over at the blue and silver dragon. She waved him over.

When he looked apprehensive, she said, “I heard your stomach grumbling. Here, we can share!”

He was hungry, so he dragged his satchel over to the table and hopped up on it, settling on a stone placed there for smaller dragons to use.

The Spiral pulled a few insects from the little sack they were in and handed them to Bopp. He accepted gratefully and immediately stuffed one in his mouth.

“Mm! Fthnk oo!”

The Spiral smiled broadly and said, “You’re quite welcome! You don’t look familiar. Are you new?”

He swallowed and wiped his mouth before replying, “Well, yes, but not in this building. I’m Bopp and I’m a new archivist on loan to the Observatory. I was supposed to be archiving the astronomers’ notes, but I...saw something...in one of their notebooks that put me on this quest.” He took another bite of delicious, chocolatey insect.

“I’m Halley. It’s nice to meet you!” she said with a smile. “Is part of your quest inside that heavy-looking bag?”

He nodded and indicated she could look inside. She picked up the satchel and pulled the book out.

Halley plopped it on the table and looked at the old, weathered cover. “Ooh, is that one of the Missing Tomes of Mystery?”

“The what?” Bopp’s frills flattened a bit as he struggled with the name. He’d found the book under a desk in a corner of the long, rectangular room at the base of the spiral staircase at the center of the Observatory building. It wasn’t near any other books. In fact, it looked like someone simply forgot to put it back where it belonged.

“Oh, that’s the name I gave the list of books that got checked out of the archives that weren’t returned,” Halley said with a wave of one graceful hand. “It sounds much better than ‘List of Overdue Books’, but they aren’t any more mysterious than any other books!”

“You may want to rethink that observation when you see what I have here,” as he opened it to the page describing the comet.

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Day 6 Week 1 - Halley - Written by @SocklessWonder

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The Spell

Halley opened her mouth to speak but paused as she skimmed the page Bopp indicated and frowned instead. She leaned closer to the book, and handed him the snack sack.

“I’m not familiar with the language but this passage references the new comet,” Bopp said, frills twitching with renewed energy. The Spiral was actually interested in the information! “I can read these notes in the margins: ‘Danger of space-time distortions. Passes close to Sornieth.’ Sirius of Ancient Studies told me that this-” he gestured to the word in the second sentence. “- means ‘danger’ and the first word of the next sentence means ‘twist’ or ‘curve.’ Clearly, there’s some form of danger or hazard associated with this comet. But everyone is more interested in celebrating its passing for Starfall! Even the Arcanist was more fascinated in studying it!”

As Bopp told his tale, his frills flared in frustration. Halley seemed to take no notice, nodding along to his words, while pulling out a handkerchief to wipe the chocolate off her claws. She shoved it back into a pouch on her side as she traced the lines of text. The Spiral’s wings twitched in excitement as she turned to the Fae with a grin that was slightly too full of teeth. He flinched back and clutched the chocolate treats closer to his chest.

“This isn’t exactly the language I study, that’d be variant AA12-4, but it’s very close! Sirius isn’t wrong about the second word but this language orders descriptors as the noun followed by the adjectives. See, the word following ‘curve’ means total or complete. The word after that is related to the word for the passage of time in AA12-4!” Halley spoke with increasing speed as she pulled out a notebook and pen from yet another pouch and began to write notes in a shorthand that Bopp could not make heads or tails of. “Space-time distortions… Maybe ‘Total Twist of Time’? No, that’s not quite right. ‘Complete Curve’? Oh! maybe it’s a compound word!”

“You can read it?” Bopp cut in when Halley paused to take a breath.

“Kind of! There’s definitely some differences from AA12-4. See, AA12-4 is a specific dialect of an ancient language of a clan from the Gale Sanctum that immigrated to the Isles to be closer to the Oculus and-” She glanced at her captive audience and chuckled nervously. “Okay, okay, not a fan of the language’s history. More pressing concerns, like the comet overheard. Right.”

“Yeah, sorry…” Bopp trailed off. He’d hoped he hadn’t been too obvious but the Spiral was observant when she wanted to be. He cleared his throat and asked, “Does it say anything about how to prevent the danger?”

Halley hummed a reply as she skimmed further down the page. She paused about a third of the way down.

“This header means ‘instructions’ or ‘plan’ and this means ‘stop’, though in some contexts it means ‘to be the cause of’.“ Halley kept tracing the words with a claw but stopped at a word in the next line, “This is a really archaic word for the descriptor form of ‘spell work.’ Hang on a moment-”

She started mumbling over the next few lines. Bopp watched on anxiously and realized he was still holding the bag of snacks. He glanced at the Spiral for a second before taking another chocolate-covered insect and popping it in his mouth. He was finally making progress on figuring out what to do about the comet. It was fine to take a moment to eat (and he was still a bit hungry). It probably would be fine to eat another bug… or two.

Halley poured over the text, but seemed to be focusing on one line in particular. She tapped her notebook and scribbled a few notes, scratched some out and rewrote them. The Spiral’s body twitched and flexed in excitement and she seemed to be making an effort to not tie herself in knots. Whatever the passage said had to be very interesting.

The dragon suddenly nodded to herself, lifted her arms and chanted a sentence that was CLEARLY an incantation. The language was pretty, like chiming bells, but the Fae felt his insides twist. Her arms spun to form some somatic component that Bopp had no hope of following. The moment she finished, a shimmering barrier sparkled in blue, purple, and pink just a hair's breadth from their scales. A couple of seconds later, the barrier faded from visibility, though the hum of the magic tickled the back of Bopp’s consciousness.

“Uh,” Those chocolate covered insects suddenly felt very heavy in his stomach. “Halley? What did you do?”

“The spell!” She said brightly, smiling and turning to look at him. “The passage said to do it to…. Stop… something…” She drooped as Bopp’s frills flared in frustration.

“You cast a spell from an ancient text. With no idea of what it does.” Bopp stated flatly, even for a Fae.

“Um,” Halley rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “Yes?”

“What in the Arcanist’s name, Halley?!” Bopp raised his voice but managed to not yell, yet. “‘Don’t Cast Mysterious Spells’ is one of the first rules any respectable researcher learns!”

“Well, I… yes,” Halley sighed, “It appears to be a barrier or protection of some sort, but I don’t know exactly what it protects you from. That phrase is a bit too different from AA12-4 for me to read it, without something else to compare it to.”

Bopp sighed and rubbed his face with his free hand, smearing some chocolate around in the process. He grimaced and dropped his hand. Wordless, Halley handed him a fresh cloth.

“Sorry, Bopp.” She muttered as he wiped his face clean.

“What’s done is done now.” Bopp sighed and handed back the cloth and the treat bag. “You need more references to read the rest of the passage?” At the Spiral’s nod, he nodded and continued, “I think there are some texts back at the archivist office in the Astrolodome with the same language, or at least something similar to it. Would those help?”

Halley brightened and smiled. “Yes! Those would definitely help!” She started checking the table to make sure she had everything and slipped her notebook back into one of her bags. “I definitely owe you any aid I can provide after casting that spell. Maybe we’ll find a way to reverse it!” She looked up to Bopp and smiled more softly. “I’m ready when you are.”

“Thanks, Halley,” Bopp said, and he meant it. She might be one of the crazier researchers he’s run into (and that’s saying something in Arcane), but at least he had an ally in figuring out what the comet was going to do. He turned to the sky and plotted a course to the Astrolodome, Halley following close behind.

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Day 7 Week 1: The Spell written by @Aerii

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Outside the Astrolodome, just after the midnight hour has passed

Above, the night sky is full of stars and the two moons of Sornieth are barely slivered crescents of colour curving above the distant horizon. Dragons across the Starfall Isles are gathered near their homes or places of rest, ready to view the comet that’s set to finally appear tonight. While the largest of the comet viewing parties has been set up around the Astrolodome, many smaller parties are scattered across the whole of Sornieth as well.

The astronomers of the Observatory wait with bated breaths, ready to watch and observe the comet once it arrives. Along with the Arcanist’s Eye of Many Lenses, telescopes have been set up around the various levels, and some astronomers are hoping to see the comet with their eyes alone. It’s a chance for great observation, a chance to observe something new. The buzzing excitement that occupies the halls of the Observatory dwindle down as the night deepens until --

Above, the comet burns.

The comet is bright, burning with three vibrant tails. Pink, blue, purple.

Lu -- one of the many warriors of Arcane, loyal exalt to the Arcanist -- stares up at the sky, eyes wide and mouth agape as he watches the comet. Around him, astronomers are once again whisper-shouting as they flit around each other. Lu may not have been one for understanding all the science that many of his fellow exaltees go on about all the time, but this moment is awe-inspiring.

For this young dragon this is a reminder that in a great vast world like his, the cosmos are another realm entirely. Lu can’t help but smile as he closes his mouth. Like his ma used to tell him when he was little, every dragon is little when compared to the vastness of space and every one of them is important.

Inside the Astrolodome, just after noon

“What do you mean we can’t leave?”

“Sorry kids. The door’s are all jammed up. Have been all day’,” the Ridgeback sitting beside the gates tells Bopp and Halley. “Dome’s been all misty too. Hope that’s somethin’ that’ll clear up before nightfall so we can see that comet. Hey, are you kids goin’ to one of them comet viewing parties they’re holding?”

“Maybe?” Bopp hedges. “We came to retrieve some texts, but--”

“Oh, but you two should definitely go!” The Ridgeback interrupts. “Yeah, yeah, they’re holding a real big one outside the Astrolodome. Them decoration committee dragons look like they’re goin’ all out for Starfall this year, can’t wait to see what kind of stops they pull out. Especially after last year, right?”
“Oh, we’ll keep your words in mind! Right Bopp?” Halley tells the gatekeeper with a bright smile and then looks down at Bopp who just nods while his frills droop a little. “Better get going though, thanks so much for letting us know about the gate! Hope they get that fixed!”

Halley drags Bopp away from the gate, weaving back down the streets towards the archivist office. Neither dragon says a word until they’re back inside.

Bopp drops his satchel of notes and sits on one of the tables, sighing dejectedly. “How are we supposed to get these notes back to the Observatory and tell everyone about what that comet can do if the gates are locked? This is important and it’s going to be really bad if we can’t tell everyone what’s happening.”

Halley lays her head on the table next to the Fae, giving him a reassuring smile. “We’ll just have hope they can get the gates open soon, Bopp. I know that everything else we translated this morning is concerning, but we don’t even know what it really means when it says ‘time-curvature’. Maybe it’s just an exaggeration!”

“They’re academic texts, Halley! You don’t exaggerate in an academic text!”

“We don’t, but maybe they did back then! Who knows!”

Bopp ruffles his crests, staring down at the Spiral. He doesn’t think academia would have let anyone exaggerate about what they studied, even back then, but he does appreciate the effort Halley is clearly giving to try and cheer him up.

Suddenly, Halley’s head shoots up off the table and she gives him a wide toothy grin.

“That’s it! We can just tell the people here in the Astrolodome about the comet! There’s a forum in the south-east part of the city. We can go there and talk with other scholars and they can help us spread the word.”

Bopp agrees, and the pair quickly set off towards the forum, eager to spread the word about the comet and the potentially dangerous effects that it might cause in the Starfall Isles.

Day 1 Week 2 - Written by @QueenAlais

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