Quests & Challenges

The dryads who lived in the green, fern-covered grove spent a good deal of their time tending to the many different species of plants around them, helping them grow. Naturally, they tried to teach Kholyn how to do it, too, but it was slow going at first. She couldn't seem to make anything happen by caressing and singing to the plants, the way the druids did, and her reptilian body lacked the ability to temporarily merge into the plant life to feel what it was feeling, the way the druids' could. Still, she tried her best.

As she grew bigger, she began to experiment, following her own instincts instead of trying to obey her tutors' instructions exactly. She found that she, too, could channel the forces of life and growth all around her, but in a different way than the druids did. When Kholyn did it, using her wings and the crest-fins on her head to direct the energy, her eyes glowed with an emerald light.

Cleia and the others began to trust Kholyn more and more to explore the higher branches of trees on her own. She hadn't quite figured out how to take off and fly on her own, but she was getting better and better at using her wings to glide down from the branches to the ground, and she was very good at climbing.

One day, when she was up in a tree picking ripe nuts to trade with the aviars, Kholyn was startled by the loudest buzz she had ever heard. She looked up to see that a big, ugly, yellow-brown bee, one as large as she was, had crawled through the forest canopy and was flying down toward her tree.

A dawning sense of wrongness crept into Kholyn's mind. This giant bee didn't belong here. And it wasn't getting any of the nuts from this tree, either, she decided. She hung her basket from a branch and watched the bee closely, hiding herself behind a spray of leaves.

When the bee had come close enough, Kholyn sprang up on her powerful hind legs and flapped. She channeled all her dislike of the bee's presence into a single, powerful flap of her wings, and they gave off a white puff of energy. The energy puff hit the bee squarely in the head. It faltered, beginning to fly down to the forest floor in jerks.

Emboldened, Kholyn stepped out of cover, onto the end of the branch, held on to it with her long toes, and flapped again. Her wings generated another of the white energy puffs, which shot toward the giant bee and hit it again. It rolled over onto its back and lay still.

Kholyn glided from branch to branch until she reached the giant bee, lying there on the ground. When she got there, she could see and sense it: The bee was dead.

She stared at it, astonished. She had done that. She'd had no idea her dragon magic could do something like that. She'd used it, and now, this bee was dead. Kholyn had never taken a life before. She was made to create life, not take it away.

What had she done?

"CLEIA!" Kholyn cried out. She ran for the safety of her adoptive mother's tree, the one she'd first hatched under.

I flipped a real quarter and got Tails, so nothing happens this time. (If I had gotten Heads, I would have banked this item until I had more dragons.)

Please note that I have intentionally skipped Day 6 for now. I did get my item that day, but I'm holding off on posting it until I reach a particular point in the story I'm writing.

Cleia emerged from the bark of her tree. "What is it, little one? What's wrong?"

"There was... there was a big bee, and I didn't think it belonged in our grove, so I used... I used my dragon magic to... it's dead. I killed it." She took a shuddering breath. "I don't know what I was thinking... I..." Kholyn's words dissolved into tears.

"Shhh..." Cleia held her in her arms, comforting her. "We've always known there would come a day when you would do something like this. You're a dragon - you're bursting with magic. It's only natural that you would want to use all of its potential."

"It... is?" Kholyn said.

"Certainly," said Cleia. "Some dragons think they're above Nature, especially those Lightning dragons. But they're not. They're living, breathing beings, so they're a part of Nature, too. It was no more wrong for you to kill an insect with your magic than it is to catch the beetles you eat every day with your claws."

"But... this one was so much bigger than them... and I think... I think it was smarter, too."

"Was it as big as you?"

"Yes. Maybe bigger. And it had a mane of fur around its neck."

"A Bumble, then," said Cleia. "Dragons hunt them all the time, and yet, their kind still thrives." Cleia looked into Kholyn's eyes, her hands on the dragon's shoulders. "I have an idea. Take a special seed and plant it somewhere that needs more plant life. If you ever take another Beastclan life, do the same again. That will help the world heal and grow."

Kholyn nodded. "I will. Thank you, Cleia."

"You're welcome, my love."

Among the items that the aviars traded to the dryads for the nuts Kholyn had been gathering were a box of tulip bulbs and a tiny, silk bag of orchid seeds. The druids of the grove agreed to give the little bag to Kholyn, so that she could plant the seeds to make amends to nature for the taking of Beastclan lives, as Cleia had recommended.

She was out in the woods, looking for a good place to plant her first orchid seed, when she heard another sound she'd never heard before coming from somewhere above her - not the buzzing of a Bumble this time, but a soft, reed-thin cry of distress and despair. Kholyn hurriedly climbed into the canopy, following the sound.

Its source turned out to be an outlandish contraption - a silken balloon with a little wicker basket hanging under it, connected to the balloon with ropes and a bamboo frame. In the basket was... was that another dragon?

It was such a little thing, about the same size as Kholyn, but clearly younger. Its scales were patterned in black, white, and gray, and bright-green eyes shone out brilliantly from its indigo face. Kholyn couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl, but it was looking up at her curiously, and it had stopped crying.

"You're okay," Kholyn said. "You're going to be okay."

The little dragon looked at her curiously. Kholyn realized that this other dragon had probably never heard the dryads' language before. "Are you lost?" she asked in the Beastclans' language, but this made the unknown dragon whimper and shy away from her. Bad idea, Kholyn realized. The other dragon had definitely heard those sounds before, and they meant fear and danger to her.

"Shhh," she said, returning to the lilting language of the forest. "I'm going to get you down from here and take you home. You're going to be okay."

Kholyn set about getting the balloon and basket disentangled from the tree branches. Working together, and with the unknown little dragon following Kholyn's lead, they got themselves, the basket, and the balloon all the way down to the forest floor, unhurt. When they got there, Kholyn showed the other dragon how to plant an orchid seed, planting it in a hollow between the roots of the tree they'd just come down from.

"This seed is going to grow into a dark-purple orchid someday," Kholyn said to the other dragon. "The raptoriks call this color murasaki. If you don't already have a name, I think that should be your name. Murasaki."

The little dragon nodded and repeated it. "Murasaki."

[center][size=5][color=green][b]Event Post #2[/b][/color][/size] [size=4][color=green][b]Fulfills task for: Day 6 (March 26, 2019)[/b][/color][/size] [color=green][b]Item of the Day:[/b][/color] [Item=Amethyst King][/center] I was very excited to get my first familiar drop so early in the challenge. I did buy my new dragon on the day I got the drop, but I held off on making this post until I had had a chance to write her into the story. Random.org gave me #11, so I get the cheapest Nocturne on the AH at the time (about 7:16 AM FRT on Tues. 3/26), which was... [center][img]http://flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=0&body=177&bodygene=23&breed=11&element=3&eyetype=0&gender=1&tert=112&tertgene=20&winggene=23&wings=146&auth=a4330b93598377747ee419d4276036f7d9addcdf&dummyext=prev.png[/img][/center] ...this little one here. (She's a girl, by the way.) Nocturnes can eat insects, but are primarily carnivores, so this story is about to get interesting.

I flipped another real coin (a nickel, this time) and got another Tails, so my dragons are safe from death streaks for another day.

[center][size=5][color=green][b]Coliseum Battle Post #2[/b][/color][/size] [size=4][color=green][b]Fulfills task for: Day 11 (March 31, 2019)[/b][/color][/size] [color=green][b]Battles Completed: 41 Item of the Day:[/b][/color] [Item=Incorporeal Dinner][/center] [b]Loot[/b] [item=Firestarter] x5 [item=Blue Spot Pygmy Wrasse] x5 [item=Hardy Antler] x3 [item=Carpenter Wax] x3 [item=glowing Pocket Bauble] x3 [item=false leaf] x3 [item=Dwarf Fawn] x2 [item=Broken Flower Pot] x2 [item=Pygmy Wrasse] x2 [item=Blue Honeycomb] x2 [item=Triad Moth] x2 [item=Micro Deer] x2 [item=Pale Pink Rose] x2 [item=Ire Tweet] x2 [item=Shell-Dwelling Cichlid] x2 [item=Chipskink Tail] x2 [item=Frosted Violets] x2 [item=Jagged Beak] x2 [item=sticky pollen] x2 [item=Rosy Similis] x1 [item=Herdbeast Hoof] x1 [item=honeycomb fragment] x1 [item=beeswax] x1 [item=Silk Spool] x1 [item=frozen Might Fragment] x1 [item=Florist's Satchel] x1 [item=Worn Pincushion] x1 [item=Satin Violets] x1 [item=Sparrow Skull] x1 [item=Emerald Brooch] x1 [item=reverse silkworm moth] x1 [item=pollen] x1 [item=yellow-tinged featherduster] x1 [item=cheerful bird toy] x1 [item=silverfish] x1

Kholyn knew she and her new friend couldn't just stay out here in the forest forever. She had to return home to her fern grove, which, fortunately, wasn't far. "Come with me," Kholyn said, gesturing with her foreclaws. "I know where there's a safe place to stay."

Murasaki didn't hesitate to follow Kholyn as she headed that way. She - yes, the newcomer was definitely a 'she' - walked unsteadily on her hind feet, as if it were a skill she had only just recently acquired. It probably is, Kholyn mused. She's lost and alone out here, just like I was when I was hatched. I'm glad I found her.

"I'm home!" Kholyn called out when they finally reached the fern grove, to whoever might be around to hear. Cleia swiftly floated over to the side of the grove where the two dragons were entering.

"Kholyn!" she exclaimed. "What is all this?"

Kholyn quickly explained how she had found the damaged balloon caught in a tree and had rescued its occupant from her unfortunate predicament. "Her name is Murasaki," said Kholyn. "Or at least, I named her that. I don't think she speaks our language. She recognized the Beastclans' common language, but she was afraid of it."

"That's not surprising," said Cleia. She crouched down to examine the balloon, and Murasaki's bright-green eyes, more closely.

"Do you see this sigil here?" she said. "It's the one that represents the Wind Flight. And with eyes that color, she and the balloon must both have come from a Wind clan. I wonder if they will come looking for her."

"Until they do, can I take care of her?" Kholyn asked. "She can stay in my burrow with me."

Cleia chuckled. "That would be fine for now, but she's a Nocturne. That's a different breed of dragon than you are. She's going to be much, much bigger than you are when she grows up, so big that she won't even fit in your little burrow. And in order to get that big, she's going to need meat. She doesn't naturally eat only insects, like you do."

Kholyn's crest-fins drooped. "How are we supposed to get meat for her? I don't want to have to kill anything again."

"We can get it from the aviars," said Cleia. "You can show Murasaki how to collect nuts and grubs, like you have been, and then you can trade them to Karrakut for meat."

"Okay!" said Kholyn. "Come on, Murasaki. I'll take you to my burrow first, and then show you how to gather."

"Gather," repeated Murasaki, following Kholyn where she led.

(Note: Days 13 and 14 have been intentionally skipped, for now, because they were both art days. Art will be posted as it is completed.)

Kholyn and Murasaki proved to work well together as a gathering team. Murasaki was a natural at imitating the movements and strategies for finding nuts and grubs that Kholyn demonstrated to her. She was just as good at copying the vocal sounds of those around her, and started picking up their language a little bit at a time. Some of the dryads in the fern grove doted on her, but she was a bit less popular with them than Kholyn had been, perhaps because she was a Nocturne and a carnivore.

Karrakut, the aviar trader who regularly visited the fern grove, came around to them roughly every seventh or eighth day. Until he returned, Murasaki lived on the local supply of insects, the same as Kholyn did. There was certainly no shortage of them, and Kholyn was even grateful that Murasaki finished off most of the Bumble whose death had upset her so much. Nonetheless, the entire grove was very glad to see Karrakut's return.

Karrakut was wary of the new dragon at first, but Cleia explained that Murasaki was another adoptee, who had been found and taken in by the dryad clan. "I never thought I'd see the day," the roving trader said, shaking his head. "You're either the craziest or the most open-minded fellow Beastfolk that I know. But very well. If meat is what your new addition needs, I'll be sure to bring you a lot more than just this dried jerky the next time."

"We'll take whatever you have with you," Kholyn said. "We gathered all these grubs and all these tree nuts just for you."

"And you did it very well, little lady," said Karrakut, accepting them. "Here's a quarter-stack of dried jerky for you. I wish it could be more, but that wasn't what I was expecting to sell you."

"Thank you. Murasaki will be happy to have it." Cleia and some of the other dryads came forward to take the bags of dried jerky over to the burrow under the roots of Cleia's tree that served as Kholyn and Murasaki's makeshift lair.

"Your new friend is a Nocturne, right?" Karrakut said to Kholyn.

"Yes," said Kholyn. "Cleia says she's going to be bigger than me someday."

"She is. When that day comes, you're probably going to want a real lair of your own. If you're interested in this old trader's advice, I know where there's a thicket of thorny vines where a Nocturne like her should feel right at home. Some of them even have flowers."

"Where is it?"

"I can draw you a map, if you like." Karrakut began to rummage through his many packs for parchment and ink.

"Do we have to pay you for that?"

"Naw, that's all right. Consider it a community service." Karrakut found the writing tools he was looking for and sketched a map of the area they were in, clearly marking the locations of the fern grove they were in now and the thicket of thorny vines he had mentioned.

"Thank you very much," said Kholyn. "Maybe we'll go there and explore it soon."

"I hope you do," Karrakut said. "It's an easy place to hide in, and to build a hidden lair in, so it should be perfect for Murasaki. It's the kind of place she was made to live in."

(Again, Day 16 has been skipped for now because it was an art day. Art is coming as soon as it is finished.)

The thought of moving to a new place to live scared Kholyn almost as much as her discovery of her power over life and death had. She put the map Karrakut had given her in a scroll case and kept it carefully hidden, hanging on a low tree branch behind a curtain of leaves. She didn't intend to take it out until she really needed it.

Time passed, and just as Cleia and Karrakut had said, Murasaki did grow to be bigger than Kholyn. When Kholyn found her using her claws to dig deeper into the ground at the back of their lair to make it bigger, she knew that the time had come to tell her friend about the map. Murasaki was very excited to learn that she had it, and started making preparations to leave right away. Kholyn talked her into only making a short visit to the thicket of thorny vines, for a day and a night, and then coming back.

Early the next morning, Kholyn and Murasaki said goodbye to Cleia and the other dryads (assuring them that they would return the next day), and set out on the path marked on Karrakut's map. Murasaki was now big enough for Kholyn to ride on her shoulders, although she only did so for parts of their journey. Neither of them could really fly for long distances, and even if they could have, there was too much thick jungle in the area to find their way from the air.

As they traveled, the trees they passed grew shorter, and the ground vegetation less delicate and hardier. It was midafternoon by the time they found the thicket of thorny vines that they were looking for. Murasaki seemed to be just as happy to see it as Karrakut had predicted. She climbed up, over, and through the vines as quickly as a jungle lizard, a few thorns breaking against her thick, heavy scales without harming her.

"Kholyn!" her voice called out from somewhere deep inside the thicket. "Come here! I found something!"

"Coming!" Kholyn did her best to follow the sound of her voice, keeping low to the ground with her wings folded tightly, avoiding the worst of the thorns. She still had scratches on all her limbs by the time she found Murasaki.

What Murasaki had found was another dragon like herself, hanging upside-down by his feet from a sturdy branch of an old, thick vine, with his wings wrapped around him like a cloak. His eyes were closed, and he breathed quietly as he slept.

"See, look!" Murasaki squealed excitedly. "I found another Nocturne!"

"Keep your voice down!" said Kholyn. "We don't want to wake him up. It looks like Karrakut was right when he said that this was the kind of place that Nocturnes were made to live in."

"Oh. So there's someone else already living here." Murasaki sounded disappointed.

"Maybe we should wait for him to wake up and then talk to him," Kholyn said. "It might be that he would like some company. I don't know."

"I have a rabbit I caught." Murasaki held it up. "Maybe he would like it if we made him dinner."

"Maybe he would."

Looking around, Kholyn and Murasaki found what looked like the remains of a fire, with a deliberately-made hole in the brambles above it. However, they could not find any tools with which to start a fire. They settled down to wait until the other Nocturne woke up.

When he did, he was very surprised to see that other dragons had found his home. He was wary of them at first, but Murasaki had guessed right: sharing their food did earn his trust. It turned out that he had been hatched in Fire Flight, and had the ability to breathe flames onto the firewood to start a fire, which shocked and delighted Murasaki and Kholyn. His name was Baze, and he was, indeed, glad to have the company of other dragons.