Quests & Challenges

Hello! This is my second Pinkerlocke thread. I started my first one, From Ember Into Flame, two years ago, and still intend to finish the remaining writing and art tasks as my free time permits. For this second thread, I will try harder to keep it updated in real time. This one will run from today, March 21, 2019, through September 21, 2019.

Writing Posts

Prologue Scene 1 Scene 2 Scene 3 Scene 4 Scene 5 Scene 6 Scene 7 Scene 8 Scene 9

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Scene 10 Scene 11 Scene 12 Scene 13 Scene 14 Scene 15 Scene 16 Scene 17 Scene 18 Scene 19

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Scene 20 Scene 21 Scene 22 Scene 23 Scene 24 Scene 25 Scene 26 Scene 27 Scene 28 Scene 29

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Scene 30 Scene 31 Scene 32 Scene 33

Art Posts

Art Post #1
Art Post #2
Art Post #3
Art Post #4
Art Post #5
Art Post #6
Art Post #7
Art Post #8

Coliseum Battle Posts

Coli Post #1 Coli Post #2 Coli Post #3 Coli Post #4 Coli Post #5 Coli Post #6 Coli Post #7 Coli Post #8 Coli Post #9 Coli Post #10

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Coli Post #11 Coli Post #12 Coli Post #13 Coli Post #14 Coli Post #15 Coli Post #16 Coli Post #17 Coli Post #18 Coli Post #19 Coli Post #20

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Coli Post #21

Other Event Posts

Event Post #1 Event Post #2 Event Post #3 Event Post #4 Event Post #5 Event Post #6 Event Post #7 Event Post #8 Event Post #9 Event Post #10

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Event Post #11 Event Post #12 Event Post #13 Event Post #14 Event Post #15 Event Post #16 Event Post #17 Event Post #18 Event Post #19 Event Post #20

[center][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2651902#post_2651902]Introduction[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2651902#post_38214418]Table of Contents[/url] | [b]Starting Characters[/b] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2651902#post_38214423]Other Current Characters[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2651902#post_38214425]In Memoriam[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2651902#post_38214438]Daily Items List[/url] [size=5][color=green]Starting Characters[/color][/size][/center] [columns] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=42842061] [img]http://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=1&body=87&bodygene=0&breed=1&element=10&eyetype=0&gender=1&tert=78&tertgene=0&winggene=0&wings=7&auth=265c0385ffc78238c068223dfeb88face3f96e30&dummyext=prev.png[/img] [/url] [nextcol][center] [color=green][b]Kholyn[/b][/color] Kholyn hatched from a lone, stray Fae egg that mysteriously found its way to the middle of a peaceful, enchanted grove in the Viridian Labyrinth. She was taken in and raised by the Dryads who lived there. Her story is just beginning... [/center] [/columns]

[center] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2651902#post_2651902]Introduction[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2651902#post_38214418]Table of Contents[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2651902#post_38214420]Starting Characters[/url] | [b]Other Current Characters[/b] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2651902#post_38214425]In Memoriam[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2651902#post_38214438]Daily Items List[/url] [size=5][color=green]Other Current Characters[/color][/size][/center] [columns] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=50462180] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/504622/50462180_350.png[/img] [/url] [nextcol][center] [color=green][b]Murasaki[/b][/color] One day, Kholyn found a paper balloon with a bamboo basket attached to it tangled high in the branches of a tree. In the basket was a baby Nocturne dragon, whom Kholyn rescued from the tree and named Murasaki. The balloon bore the Wind Flight sigil, and her bright-green eyes mark her native clan as belonging to that flight. What happened to that clan, and why and how this little one was separated from it, remain a mystery. [/center] [/columns] [columns] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=50945086] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/509451/50945086_350.png[/img] [/url] [nextcol] [center] [color=green][b]Baze[/b][/color] When Kholyn and Murasaki first ventured out of the fern grove in search of a more accommodating place to live, they found Baze already living in the thicket of thorny vines they had gone to visit. Fortunately, he was willing to let them share meat with him in his home. A native of Fire flight, Baze must use his fire-starting breath weapon carefully and responsibly to survive in the realm of Nature. [/center][/columns] [columns] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=50960639] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/509607/50960639_350.png[/img] [/url] [nextcol] [center] [color=green][b]Meridian[/b][/color] Meridian was hatched in the Sunbeam Ruins by a Coatl father and a Wildclaw mother, both of whom were scholars and astronomers. Like Baze, Meridian left his native flight for the Viridian Labyrinth as as soon as he could survive on his own, because he wanted to learn what life was like there. He also wanted to reconnect with the ancestral ways of his mother's breed. He has found a place with like-minded fellow dragons in Clan Ferngrove. [/center][/columns] [columns] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=51064438] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/510645/51064438_350.png[/img] [/url] [nextcol] [center] [color=green][b]Sakura[/b][/color] Sakura was hatched into a small, newly-founded clan in the Crystalspine Reaches. Her native clan has encouraged several of their children, including Sakura, to travel to other parts of the world to seek their own places in it. Sakura traveled to the Viridian Labyrinth mainly because of her strong bond with her Nature-aligned familiar, Golan the Travelling Garden. When two of the members of Clan Ferngrove stumbled upon Golan and Sakura, they were happy to take them in. [/center][/columns] [columns] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=51876213] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/518763/51876213_350.png[/img] [/url] [nextcol] [center] [color=green][b]Arduinna[/b][/color] Among Murasaki and Baze's first nest of hatchlings, Arduinna stands out because she was the only one born with Primal eyes, believed to be a sign of special favor and blessing from the deity whose element they represent. As such, she was named after a legendary spirit of nature, told of in the folktales of a past age. [/center][/columns] [columns] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=51876214] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/518763/51876214_350.png[/img] [/url] [nextcol] [center] [color=green][b]Reilana[/b][/color] Reilana is Murasaki and Baze's second-hatched offspring. She has lighter and more vivid colors than her siblings, and has a sweet, calm, and easygoing nature. [/center][/columns] [columns] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=52014411] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/520145/52014411_350.png[/img] [/url] [nextcol] [center] [color=green][b]Eostre[/b][/color] Clan Ferngrove knew that it was especially blessed by the Gladekeeper when it welcomed its second hatchling born with Primal eyes. Like her elder clanmate, Arduinna, Eostre was also named after a legendary ancient goddess, and the two quickly became fast friends. [/center][/columns] [columns] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/51924957][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/350/519250/51924957_350.png[/img][/url] [nextcol] [center] [color=green][b]Daelin[/b][/color] Like Murasaki, Daelin was separated from his original Wind clan. He was found by Eostre and Arduinna one day while they were playing outside, and was promptly welcomed into Clan Ferngrove. He is much more adventurous and thrill-seeking than Murasaki, developing an interest in airship racing while still young. [/center][/columns]

[center] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2651902#post_2651902]Introduction[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2651902#post_38214418]Table of Contents[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2651902#post_38214420]Starting Characters[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2651902#post_38214423]Other Current Characters[/url] | [b]In Memoriam[/b] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2651902#post_38214438]Daily Items List[/url] [size=5][color=green]In Memoriam[/color][/size][/center] In the interest of avoiding spoilers for the story, I will borrow a technique I've seen many other Pinkerlocke challenge participants use, and represent deaths with clickable images. Clicking on the [b][color=purple]flowers[/color][/b] takes you to one of the posts in this thread in which a death takes place. Clicking on the [b][color=brown]tablet[/color][/b] takes you to that dragon's exalt page. (If it isn't clickable, the dragon is still pending exaltation.) [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2651902/6#post_39028786][img]http://flightrising.com/images/cms/food/830.png[/img][/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/51876212][img]http://flightrising.com/images/cms/trinket/188.png[/img][/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2651902/6#post_39029956] [img]http://flightrising.com/images/cms/food/830.png[/img][/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/51876215][img]http://flightrising.com/images/cms/trinket/188.png[/img][/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2651902/7#post_39137180][img]http://flightrising.com/images/cms/food/830.png[/img][/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/52014410][img]http://flightrising.com/images/cms/trinket/188.png[/img][/url]

As in my other thread, I will be keeping track of Pinkerton's item drops and my progress through the challenge via Google Sheets.

[center][size=5][color=green][b]Coliseum Battle Post #1[/b][/color][/size] [size=4][color=green][b]Fulfills task for: Day 1 (March 21, 2019)[/b][/color][/size] [color=green][b]Battles Completed: 21 Item of the Day:[/b][/color] [Item=Rainwater Stink Bug][/center] Finding 20 battles that were winnable with only a single magic-user was hard and tedious, but I found them. The payoff is that Kholyn is up to Level 3 now! [b]Loot[/b] [item=honeycomb fragment] x4 [item=firestarter] x4 [item=blue spot pygmy wrasse] x3 [item=blue honeycomb] x3 [item=carpenter wax] x2 [item=jagged beak] x2 [item=emerald brooch] x2 [item=broken flower pot] x1 [item=beeswax] x1 [item=glowing pocket bauble] x1 [item=pygmy wrasse] x1 [item=crunchy moth legs] x1 [item=florist's satchel] x1 [item=pale pink rose] x1 [item=bluelight chipskink tail] x1 [item=silverfish spectre] x1 [item=mustache moth] x1 [item=shell-dwelling cichlid] x1 [item=satin violets] x1 [item=sweet songbird] x1 [item=silverfish] x1 [item=dwarf fawn] x1 [item=micro deer] x1 [item=hardy antler] x1 (Thread is now open for posting, by the way!)

[center][size=5][color=green][b]Prologue[/b][/color][/size] [size=4][color=green][b]Fulfills task for: Day 2 (March 22, 2019)[/b][/color][/size] [color=green][b]Item of the Day:[/b][/color] [Item=Smoky Quartz][/center] The world of Sornieth was ruled over by eleven dragon deities. They and their followers constantly struggled against each other for dominance over the world, sometimes fighting each other to the death. When that happened, the spirits of the fallen returned to their own deities' respective regions of the ethereal plane; even there, each one had his or her own domain. Once there, these spirits continued to contribute to the deity's base of power. Usually, the deities were content to grant them peaceful rest, but on occasion, they would send a particular spirit into a new body to live out a new life. The minds of the deities were capable of contemplating many things at once, allowing them to manage their affairs in the material and ethereal planes at the same time. On one particular day, the Arcanist, youngest of the deities, was savoring his exaltees' latest victory in battle over the forces of Plague. [i]Your followers have fared well today, little brother,[/i] came a soft, sweet mental 'voice,' interrupting his contemplations. In this immaterial space, there was only one feminine voice that ever spoke to him so gently, or used such endearments as "little brother." [i]Gladekeeper,[/i] he answered respectfully. [i]They have indeed, thank you very much. But you did not reach out to me merely to flatter me, did you?[/i] [i]Of course not. One of your realm's powerful mages was killed defending a river crossing in the Gladeveins. He didn't want to fight that battle, and has been nothing but a thorn in my side ever since. I wish to return him to you, but in the interest of keeping the struggle between Flights fair, I would ask that you send me one of your spirits in return.[/i] [i]You speak wisely, elder sister,[/i] said the Arcanist. [i]I will do as you have said. One moment...[/i] The Arcanist cast his mind across his corner of the ethereal plane. Who should receive his mercy - if, indeed, it was mercy to be given a new life in that deep, savage jungle? Ah. There was one spirit who stood out, one who had been a strong and beloved leader in her previous life. The Arcanist mentally pulled her forward, bringing her to the Gladekeeper's attention. [i]This little one was tenacious, a true fighter,[/i] he said. [i]She was the last survivor of a group of five dragons who set out from my domain to start a new clan. All her friends and most of their mates and children died along their way to the Ashfall Waste, but still she persisted. She never gave up fighting for her friend's dream of founding a new Fire clan, even though it ultimately cost her her life. The clan did get founded in the end, but she never even got to see them settled in their new home. I think she deserves another chance.[/i] [i]If she is as strong a fighter and as tenacious a survivor as you say, little brother, she will do well in my domain. I accept your offer.[/i] [i]Very well, sister.[/i] The connection between the two divine intellects strengthened for a moment, just enough to transfer the two spirits between their domains. The mage's spirit rang out in joy as it returned to the realm of its native element. [i]Be blessed in your new home, little one,[/i] Arcanist thought toward the spirit that was departing from him. [i]She will be,[/i] Gladekeeper answered. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* In the center of a grove of fern fronds in the Everbloom Gardens, a lost Nature egg began to crack open. A tiny Fae hatchling opened her eyes. [img]http://flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=0&body=87&bodygene=0&breed=1&element=10&eyetype=0&gender=1&tert=78&tertgene=0&winggene=0&wings=7&auth=ef59619b88cfca60810c4f920248973eaed62743&dummyext=prev.png[/img]

The little red dragon scrabbled at her face, pushing the bark-like fragments of her broken eggshell aside, then wiping goo from her eyes with stubby claws. She opened them, but immediately squeezed them shut again. Ow! Bright! It was a few minutes before she dared to try again.

When her eyes finally adjusted, all she could see was brown and green. She was in the hollow between two of the roots of a huge, mossy tree. Other trees stood all around, their leaves forming a high ceiling overhead. Beneath the trees, there were other, brighter-green plants. Everything was perfectly still and silent, except for the sounds of beetles buzzing around.

The baby dragon looked around in wonder. What was this place? Why was she here? She had no answers to these questions, but it did not matter. For now, it was enough to look.

One of the buzzing beetles landed on the tree root next to her. They had a smell, as well as a sound. They smelled delicious. Some instinct told her to be very still, look with her eyes, and reach out with her clawed hand, striking quicker than an eyeblink. She did, and the green beetle was crushed between her claws. It tasted even better than it smelled.

She decided to venture out to the next tree, which had some flowers growing near the roots. It was easier to catch beetles here. When she had eaten as many as she wanted, she sat and watched them fly. She lifted her wings, flexed them experimentally. They felt mostly dry now. She wondered...?

She tried to make her own tiny, gray wings into a blur, like the wings of the beetles. It was a lot of work, and she tired quickly after only a few little hops off the ground. Disappointed, she made her way back to the remains of her broken eggshell.

A drop of water landed on her nose as she crossed the clearing. What was this? She looked up, and blinked as more drops of water started falling on her from among the leaves. It was cold. She hurried back to the tree roots she'd started from, but they didn't keep many of the droplets off of her. She tried using her wings as a shield against them, which sort of worked, until the wind picked up and nearly blew her away. She grabbed on to the tree root with all four sets of claws, struggling against the wind to fold her wings back down.

The bark under her claws was growing warmer. How could that be? She looked up and saw a shape coming out of the bark - a shape with a face, and arms and legs, and a thick cluster of leaves for hair. The arms reached out to the little dragon.

The dragon cocked her head to the side, curious, then reached back. The mysterious figure took hold of the little dragon's claws and gathered her into her arms. She carried her to a hollow under another root of the tree, one that led underground, into a warm, dry cave. Together, they watched the rain fall in the forest.

The little dragon learned much in the days and weeks that followed. The mysterious figure who had welcomed her and sheltered her was called a dryad, and her name was Cleia. She got a name of her own - Kholyn - and learned that she was a kind of dragon called a Fae, the smallest and most magical of all dragon breeds. They lived at the edge of a place called the Gladeveins, which were in a land called the Viridian Labyrinth, the realm of the Gladekeeper, goddess of nature and all that lived.

There were other dryads, too, living in the trees near Cleia's. They helped Kholyn learn how to speak in their lilting, ancient language, as well as the rougher mishmash of words the various Beastclans used to speak to each other. When she asked, "Why am I the only dragon here?", they said they did not know. This was a sacred grove, kept safe from the prying eyes of dragons by the thick ferns that surrounded it and the canopy of leaves and vines that grew over it. Nobody knew how a dragon egg had ended up so far from the territories of any known dragon clans.

"You may not be of our blood," Cleia told Kholyn, "but you are a part of our family. You will always be able to find safe refuge here, no matter what." That answer made Kholyn feel secure and happy.