Quests & Challenges

Please take care of yourself! Take all the time you need.

Please take all the time you need! This time of year and getting sick can be very draining, so take care of yourself. I'm sure no one will mind waiting for chapters even if it takes some time!

I hope you get better soon, Petall, and no worries.

You can write whenever you need to. My own Locke is going through a long hiatus as I slowly work on new character bios. So take your time.

Absolutely focus on getting better! Your health is more important than anything here. We can wait until you’ve recovered.

Feel better soon! Rest and take care!

----- [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3244658/90#post_56071588]Previous[/url][/center] ----- [center][b][u]Day 75: Snowcladden Giant[/u][/b] [item=longneck wanderer] Sentence: New Dragon[/center] ----- [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/92143048][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=1&body=46&bodygene=39&breed=17&element=2&eyetype=0&gender=0&tert=60&tertgene=35&winggene=39&wings=60&auth=fe6121767b3530bfcd12cdc14f90cb5977439df2&dummyext=prev.png[/img][/url][/center] Andru opened his eyes, feeling warm air on his fur. His fur was growing increasingly damp as the ice around him melted. He stretched, muscles stiff from disuse. The chains around his ankles rattled, reminding him that he was still confined. He had no idea how long he had been encased in the ice. His surroundings certainly looked different. A fresh energy coursed through his veins too, different from the icy magic he had been born with. It had a festering feel to it. Had he somehow been transported to the Scarred Wasteland? Had he absorbed the magic of the region while imprisoned? Of course, he was still imprisoned, and he was unsure why. What circumstances had led him here? He could not remember. All he knew was a yearning in his heart for someone who should be here, someone he missed. Arctic. Was she still alive? How long had he been dormant? It was then he was aware that he was not alone. He could hear voices ricocheting off the ice as footsteps drew closer. Soon, a pair of dragons came into view. He had never seen these breeds before. One looked to be made of mud, and sported a magnificent mane. The other was dressed in flamboyant colours and was twice as big as he was. [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/82229072][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/dressing-room/dragon?did=82229072&skin=0&apparel=25058,25059,25060,25061,25062,25063&xt=dressing.png[/img][/url][/center] [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/87492303][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/dressing-room/dragon?did=87492303&skin=0&apparel=18030,35549,26274,5165,5402&xt=dressing.png[/img][/url][/center] They met his gaze as soon as they entered the room. Andru could feel them sizing him up, surprise on their faces. Did they not expect to see prisoners in a jail cell? “What faction are you from?” The maned one asked. “I haven’t seen you around yet.” “I’m from the Sentry Order, or at least I was, before I got demoted,” Andru gestured to his chains. “No, I mean who do you follow? You’re participating in The Challenge of Ice, yes?” The maned one asked. “We all awoke in the prison, and have had to find our way to escape. I managed to find Izel, but we are looking for others of our clan - and the way out. My name is Ishtar, and I am the leader of the Disciples of Ishtar.” “I’m afraid I don’t know what the Challenge of Ice is,” Andru admitted. “My name is Andru, and I’m a prisoner of The Icewarden. Do you mean to imply someone else imprisoned you here?” “So you haven’t heard of Shui?” The large one named Izel raised an eyebrow. “The name is new to me,” Andru confirmed. Ishtar sighed. “I’m sorry to say, however you got here, you are stuck in the challenges now. Once you enter one, you are bound to participate to the end. This is the seventh challenge, four more remain. These challenges happen once a year, and are part of a ritual to ascend to godhood. Shui set up the challenges, but many of us are competing to take his place. His ascension would likely spell doom for Sornieth, he would be a terrible god.” “Wait, gods? Ascension? Has something happened to The Eleven?” Andru’s heart pounded with anxiety. Perhaps that was how he had gotten so far from home. “The Eleven are alive and well. Well, at least ten of them are. The Tidelord has been missing for many cycles, no one knows what has become of him.” Ishtar explained. “You must have been in the ice a long time if you don’t know about the pantheon of small gods.” “I’ve never heard of them,” Andru admitted. “Some mortal dragons have been granted godhood by The Eleven. Their power is not as strong as the original gods, but they have their own domains and abilities,” Ishtar continued. “Shui, however, is trying to take godhood by force by simulating situations to force the approval of the god. Hence the challenges. This challenge will sap the power of the Icewarden for the purposes of the ritual, which is why it takes place during the year in the cycle where Ice magic is at its strongest. The Challenges are very dangerous, and many dragons die.” “So what brings you to the challenges, if they are so dangerous?” Andru asked. “Some dragons are desperate, or power hungry,” Izel piped up. “Some just enjoy taking risks or the opportunity for adventure. Some, like me, were born into it. And some, like Ishtar, joined to try to put an end to Shui’s reign of terror.” “There’s nothing I hate more than a dragon who abuses their power to hurt others,” Ishtar growled. “Speaking of which, let’s get you out of those chains. You have a lot of catching up to do. However you got here, you’re stuck for the next four years. Izel and I will show you the ropes.” “Thank you, I appreciate your kindness,” Andru nodded. He felt slightly uncomfortable with how Ishtar implied the Icewarden abused his power. His god had a very good reason to lock him up. But it seemed there were more pressing matters, and now was not the time to debate the morality of The Eleven. It did not take long for the chains to be undone, and Andru was free for the first time in a long time. “Let’s keep moving, we shouldn’t stay in one place for long. Our time is limited, and there are monsters that hunt here.” Ishtar urged. Andru did not need to be told twice. He did feel a little guilty for escaping his sentence, but it seemed that to stay would mean death, and his survival instinct was stronger. Perhaps that was a shift that came with his new magic. The need to live embedded in the very nature of every plague dragon. Despite the hurry, his rescuers kept up a hearty conversation. They explained to him more about the clan he now apparently found himself a part of, the different factions and their cultures. They talked about their family, and asked if Andru had a family as his own. His heart ached as he thought of Actic, and their daughter, and he kept his answers short. It appeared he had been in the ice for centuries, and it would be foolish to believe they were alive. Then, the conversation turned to their own histories and lives. Ishtar talked of the curse that turned him to mud, and Izel spoke at length of his drag persona - May Lodi. Of course, their conversation was interrupted at times by monsters, the likes of which Andru had never seen before. Thankfully, they were able to avoid or fight off them all, and Andru began to sense them getting closer to the surface of the prison. At last, they reached a circular room. Andru could tell from the structure that it was meant to be the entrance to the prison, the first room of cells. They just had to break through the final bars, and they would be free. The gaoler moved forwards to examine the exit, and found a bowl carved from ice next to the barred door. On the stand in which the bowl sat, there was a plaque. The words etched into the icy surface read ‘The ice demands its prisoners. To escape, you must offer something in your place.’ “Do all the challenges have something like this?” Andru asked, surprised. “This seems… intense.” “The challenges all demand something of us,” Ishtar grimaced. “It is impossible to leave a challenge unchanged.” He stepped forward, and examined the bowl, and closed his eyes. “I give to the ice my love for my first husband.” A faint silvery light glowed from Ishtar’s heart, pouring out like a river into the bowl. It spilled from the bowl, following the trail of etchings in the floor, pooling by the door and freezing in place. A light blue light surrounded Ishtar, and they were lifted up as if by magic, passing through the bars. He was set down on the other side, free. A Snowdrop appeared in their hand. “My turn,” Izel sighed. He examined the bowl, clearly thinking deeply. “I give up my need to be like my father, Joshe carries that legacy now.” Izel’s chest lit up in much the same way, and the liquid joined Ishtar’s in the frozen prison, and the guardian was reunited with his partner. That just left Andru. Andru stepped up the bowl, wondering what he should give up. He carried a lot of things from so long ago, so many things the ice would love to claim. He had felt the hunger of the ice, it’s need to hold and remove from the world. It was hard to know, with all the time that had passed, what he would need to hold onto in this new world. A new world. And Andru himself had changed. Perhaps it was time to embrace that change. “I give to the ice the last of my ice magic. I am no longer an ice-blooded dragon, but a plague one.” Andru said. It felt warm, as the last remnants of ice magic left his body. He was no longer chilled by its presence. He noticed the air around him grow colder as his body temperature rose. He could feel the plague magic eating at him, but it did not consume him. It filled him with a hunger he had never felt before, a hunger he did not know if could be sated. And with that, Andru was transported to freedom, joining his new friends, and a Snowdrop appeared in his own hand. He had passed The Challenge of Ice, and it was time to see what life he had emerged into. ----- [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3244658/93#post_56207466]Next[/url][/center] ----- [center]@pinglist-3016[/center] ----- Finally, I am well enough and have enough free time to write the Crystalline Gala chapter! And its time to introduce Andru! I have decided to do two alphabet legacy challenges at a time, because I love them so much and I want to eventually do one for every ancient. Of course, even with doing two, ancients will come out faster than I can complete alphabet legacy challenges, and I am not going to do more than two at a time, but I figured a second would be fun! Besides, I miss doing breed specific challenges! So, gaolers! Andru's mate will be my Crystalline Gala hatch! I'm trying to decide if I should make Arctic and/or Andru an NPC and safe from death so I can keep at least one alphabet legacy founder from this lineage, like I have Adriel. Let me know your thoughts on this! I am undecided yet if when I finish my all modern breed alphabet legacy challenge, if I will do another ancient one, or if I'll do another wildclaw/coatl one (I miss my Amberlyn wildclaw/coatl lineage), but Adriel's line is years from completion at the rate we are going, so I will decide when it reaches its conclusion. Maybe I'll have a whole other alphabet legacy idea by then! I'm hoping to do my mail day tomorrow, but I am also not going to make any promises because life is chaotic and who knows what tomorrow holds.

Yay, you're back! And wow, Andru is such a handsome guy too. It's always exciting to see how Ancients navigate a new world -- especially since Shui's territory is a pretty tough place to begin with. No strong preference on the Alphabet Legacy challenge. Do whatever feels right to you! ^^ Hoping things get more manageable for you and you can catch more breaks soon. Take care! [emoji=heart]

Glad to hear you’re feeling better! I managed to peep Andru the other dair in your lair but never made the connection with his and his wife’s names that they’d be alphabet legacy starters. I’m excited! I love gaolers, so it’ll be fun to see where this lineage goes.