Day 114: The Other Side
Sentence: Art, Writing, Breed/Scroll a Dragon
Sentence: Art, Writing, Breed/Scroll a Dragon
Solstice and Dahlia slid into the Siren's Call, bell ringing as the door shut behind them. The two nocturnes giggled over some shared joke, in a world that belonged to only the both of them. Though they were not related by blood, the two had been inseparable since Dahlia had hatched, raised together as sisters.
Granted, the pair had lost the bulk of their childhood to the year of sleep the kingdom had been under. Since awakening, the kingdom had been under tense guard, fully aware that they were at war and desperately trying to prepare for the first move. Moments of joy like this were few and far between, and even this one was not to last.
"You go find us a table, I'll get us our food," Solstice grinned at her sister. Dahlia nodded and quickly moved to claim their favourite spot, leaving the other nocturne to approach the bar.
"What can I get you?" Seaberry asked, looking tired.
"Where's Amity?" Solstice glanced around the room in confusion. Usually the spiral was the one taking orders while Seaberry worked in the back preparing food. "Is she on her day off?"
"She quit this morning," Seaberry snapped, shaking her head. "Said she didn't think she was cut out for tavern work and wanted to pursue gardening or something ridiculous like that. No notice or anything, just up and left in the middle of the breakfast rush. I tell you she needs to sort out her work ethic, or she's not getting anywhere."
Solstice nodded sympathetically, then turned her eye to the menu. "I'll get the duskrat stew, the dusky mealworm spaghetti, and two blackberry wines." She decided, reciting their usual orders and sliding a few coins across the counter.
Seaberry grumbled to herself as she pocketed the treasure and moved to the back to start cooking. Solstice moved to join Dahlia at their table when her attention was captured by the ringing of the bell.
A cold breeze blew through the tavern sending shivers down the nocturne's spine. The lights seemed to dim, and Solstice squinted to try to make out the figure in the door. It looked like a wildclaw wearing some sort of cape that blew behind him. Then, the door closed and the air stilled, growing stale. The wildclaw stepped forward, revealing brilliant purple scales. Candlelight glinted off of his gleaming radioactive opal.
"Ah, just the dragon I was looking for. Solstice, right?" The wildclaw tilted his head as he flashed a crooked smile. He gave no chance for her to response. "Can we talk?"
Stunned to silence, Solstice followed the wildclaw to an empty table hidden away in some nook of the tavern, ignoring the way her sister was staring, eyes wide and mouth agape, at the newcomer.
"Who are you? What do you want with me?" Solstice asked, finding her voice again. There was something she didn't trust about this stranger.
"I'm Jett, I believe you've heard of me," The waldclaw flashed another smile.
Solstice felt herself paling. She had heard her parents curse the name of this wildclaw. He was the leader of the other side, the one who wanted to wipe out her family and seize the throne for himself.
"What do you want with me?" Solstice asked again, her voice unintentionally falling into Ulf's low growl.
"I've come to take you home," Jett explained.
"What are you talking about?" Solstice asked, still borrowing Ulf's voice.
"Oh come on, you can't seriously believe that Coldstorm and Cantarelli are your biological parents," Jett scoffed. "You may mask yourself as a royal, but you aren't truly one. You are made for far greater things. You came to be in the Year of Night, created by the elemental magic surrounding you. You may be born of earth, but there's something else within you, a great darkness. I can teach you how to hone that and use it. Come join the family you are really meant to be a part of."
"No, you must be completely mad!" Solstice voice cracked as she slipped from her own voice into her mother's. "You can't seriously think I'd betray my family!"
"They aren't your family," Jett reminded her. "Look at you, your dusky, dull scales. How do they compare against the royal white of their piebald? You have so much potential, don't waste it on dragons who will never recognize your birthright."
"No! You can't make me!" Solstice shrieked.
"Oh honey, I'm not making you do anything. The fact that you're getting so worked up proves my point. Deep down, you know that you don't belong." Jett clicked his tongue as he shook his head. "I'm not making you do anything, simply offering you a path. A path to power."
Try as she might, Solstice couldn't help but be intrigued by what Jett was offering her. He seemed to know more about her than she knew about herself.
"Here, try this, and let me show you," Jett said, rifling through a small sidebag and pulling out a small flask of murky liquid. It was impossible dark, absorbing even the gleam off the glass where the liquid sloshed. "Drink this, and it will awaken what's been slumbering within you."
Solstice stared at it warily, not sure whether she could trust the prince. Still, her curiosity was stronger than her caution, and she popped open the flask and downed it.
All of a sudden, she felt something cracking up out of her skin, streaking her scales, as if the elemental energy within her was being pushed to the surface. She wanted to scream in agony, but just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. She felt something new within her, a dark presence flooding her very being, overtaking the stores of elemental magic she had once had, consuming all.
By the time the ordeal was over, Solstice was shaking. She looked up to meet Jett's eyes, which were staring at her with a deep hunger.
"You don't need to make a decision now," He said, getting to his feet, pocketing the flask, and dusting off his cloak. "Just know that either way, I'm going to be getting the kingdom. Do you want to be on the winning side, or the losing side?"
With that, the wildclaw left. As soon as the door slammed shut behind him, the lights returned to their usual flicker, save for the ones on the table Solstice was still sitting at. She felt sick. He was asking her to betray the dragons who had given everything to raise her, but at the same time, she knew what she had to choose. She could not deny this new power, or the opportunities it brought. She had seen the power Jett held, and there was no way the kingdom could hold up against it.
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I'm on a break from school this week, so hopefully I can get back into the habit of writing. I've been finding myself with more time for flight rising and stuff, but I've been using a lot of that to watch Critical Role.
Here's the art piece I drew for today (another thing holding me back, I wanted to get it done before I wrote and I get writing motivation far easier than I get drawing motivation). It's Kobe and Kala in the magic training tent in the Black Market!
If I get on a big enough writing kick, I might write multiple chapters a day to help with catch-up if I have a day where I have a significant amount of free time.
