Quests & Challenges

@Tirtouga678

SCORIL YES

Yes, it is a very fitting title, isn't it?

@Disillusionist

Hehehe I figured that might be the case for many readers!

These nests did give a good opportunity to bring in some characters I haven't been able to show for a while! Amity has been bouncing between jobs still, so she's been a bit sporadic and hard to catch in chapters.

@Moonweaverr

AAAAA That means so much a hear! I'll add you to the pinglist right away!

@Dakala

Ooooo, that would be an interesting concept, wouldn't it?

It's good to see you again!

@Unicorn6

That's impressive! It means so much to hear that you ready through so many pages like that! I'll add you to the pinglist right away!

@Petall
Oh my gosh, there's so much I haven't read!! You are an incredible writer, as always, and I can't understand how you manage to write so much!

Just like Just Go with those apparel polls, mm.

@Aetherstorm

Aaaa, thank you! I hope you enjoy the story as you catch up!

@MisterMylez

Pinkerton wants those babies apparently

----- [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2698754/122#post_43264202]Previous[/url][/center] ----- [center][b][u]Day 144: I Never Shoot to Miss[/u][/b] [item=black tetra][item=silvery ivy][item=moonstone] Sentence: 30-40 Coli Battles, 10-20 Coli Battles, Writing[/center] ----- [center][url=https://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=59816354][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/dressing-room/dragon?did=59816354&skin=0&apparel=24238,26567,24234,20832&xt=dressing.png[/img][/url][/center] Kestrel awoke to a thump on her balcony. She glanced at the clock. Had she slept too long? No, Bok wasn't supposed to drop in for another two hours. Besides, Bok was never that noisy. Kestrel's heart began to beat rapidly. If it wasn't Bok, who - or what - was on her balcony? What did they want with her? Her father had said it was most likely a gaoler that had killed Kala - was she next? All Kestrel wanted to do was curl up in a knot and hide under her covers, but she had to be braver than that. She was a trained mage. Sure, she wasn't as powerful as if she had given in to her Shade magic, but she could still pose a threat, or at least make it seem like it. "Who goes there!" Kestrel shouted through the glass door, trying to make out the hulking shape on the balcony. "I'm warning you, if you don't leave, I'm attacking!" "Shh!" The dragon on the other side hushed. "It's okay, I'm not here to hurt you." "Why should I believe you?" Kestrel demanded. "Did Bok send you?" "Bok?" The confusion in his voice was undeniable. "No, I needed to see you." "Who are you?" Kestrel was beginning to panic, but she did her best to contain it and sound brave. "I'm-" The dragon on the other side hesitated. "You're my charge." His voice faltered. "Please, let me in. I need to see you." "I'm your what?!" Kestrel asked. "My charge," the dragon explained. "All guardians have one, and only one. We search all of Sornieth to find them, and when we do, our one job is to protect them no matter the cost. You are mine. I have to look out for you." Kestrel hadn't ever heard of 'guardians' or 'charges' before, but there was a desperation in his voice that she couldn't deny. She cracked open the door, and let him in, hoping that she wasn't signing her own death warrant. [center][url=https://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=60931075][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/dressing-room/dragon?did=60931075&skin=0&apparel=13825,13857,21843,21863,21852,21857&xt=dressing.png[/img][/url][/center] The hulking dragon stepped inside, looking relieved. As soon as he could see her, he scanned her up and down, an indescribable expression on his face. She in turn used this time to size him up. She had never seen a dragon of his breed before. She wondered how many other breeds were out there that she didn't know. Were guardians and charges actually a thing? Or was he relying on her sheltered upbringing to pull something on her. "What's your name?" The guardian said at last. "Kestrel," The spiral responded, realizing too late that she should have made up a fake name. "I'm Hackett," the guardian responded. "You're in danger here, aren't you?" "What do you mean?" Kestrel's heart skipped a beat. There as no denying that her anxiety had only been increasing as time went on, but did he mean danger from whoever had killed Kala? "Your father," Hackett explained. "The Shade. I've heard the palace is a very dangerous place. Unless you're one of them." "I am Shade-touched," Kestrel admitted. The guardian winced at the thought. "But I don't practice Shade magic. I hate it. And my father hates that I don't use it. He's been panicked lately, ever since-" She took a breath. "Since my sister was assassinated. He wants to retaliate, bring a strong force and wipe out everyone who opposes him. He would use the disease, but Frederick used it up behind his back in one of his creations, so he can't use that as a threat anymore. He's so angry." "You need to get out of here," Hackett said somberly. "You don't belong here." "You think I don't know that?" Kestrel shot back. She had Bok had had this conversation many times over. "I'm tough, I can handle myself here, I know how to escape my father's rage. If I leave, that puts me in a whole other level of danger." A pained expression filled Hackett's face. "Let me help you," he begged. "The best way you can help me is by leaving me alone," Kestrel told him. "If my father knew that I got visitors, he'd be upset. I'm afraid that would make him snap." "But-" Hackett protested. "Hackett, I've been surviving here and keeping myself safe for years, long before you showed up. I know what I'm doing. I appreciate your concern, and if there ever is anything you can do to help, I'll send a message to you through Bok, but you need to leave now. Your size will draw far too much attention." Kestrel warned. "Okay," Hackett sighed. "But you have to promise to let me know if you are in any real danger." "I promise," Kestrel vowed. "Now go." She could tell that leaving her was an extremely difficult thing for Hackett to do, but to his credit, he stepped out on the balcony again, and took off into the night, looking back with each wingbeat until he was too far away to see her anymore. [center][img]https://66.media.tumblr.com/38b30b419b80446dfb5163715d894882/tumblr_pr6wevGMDK1ugssd3o3_500.png[/img][/center] [center][url=https://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=61054496][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/dressing-room/dragon?did=61054496&skin=0&apparel=29003,27907,10399,27995,27905,27908&xt=dressing.png[/img][/url][/center] [center][url=https://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=61014300][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/dressing-room/dragon?did=61014300&skin=0&apparel=18820,317,323,329&xt=dressing.png[/img][/url][/center] Hackett had gone missing, and Hermann and Landon feared the worst. The idiot had probably slipped away to the palace the moment that they two of them took their eyes off of him. Still, they didn't want to jump to any conclusions without checking around the clan, so the two of them found themselves in the one place all dragons of the Forgotten Kingdom find themselves sooner or later - The Siren's Call. [center][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=54489021][img]http://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/dressing-room/dragon?did=54489021&skin=0&apparel=278,24714&xt=dressing.png[/img][/url][/center] "Excuse me," Hermann asked a spiral heading for the door. "Have you seen a guardian anywhere?" "I can't talk now," Karma shot back. "I've got somewhere I need to be." Hermann and Landon watched the spiral dart out the door without another word. They exchanged glances and shrugged. Maybe she didn't work at The Siren's Call after all. Instead, they turned their attention to the spiral working at the counter. [center][url=https://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=59816351][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/dressing-room/dragon?did=59816351&skin=0&apparel=492,1706,6978,10380,12924,20596&xt=dressing.png[/img][/url][/center] "Hey! how can I help you?" The spiral grinned. "My name's Kaori, and I'm in charge of the tavern tonight." She puffed up with pride. "Mom's busy looking after my new sister, Xuxa!" "We were wondering if you'd seen a guardian around here," Hermann asked. "We've lost our friend." "A guardian?" Kaori tilted her head quizzically. "What's that?" "It's a dragon breed. We haven't really had any in the clan," An older spiral explained, stepping out with a squirming hatchling in her arms. "Well, there was one who was with us briefly, but she spend most of her time up at the palace. Rumor has it she became a statue in the gardens or something along those lines. I never really met her." [center][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=52846259][img]http://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/dressing-room/dragon?did=52846259&skin=0&apparel=492,10385,26359&xt=dressing.png[/img][/url][/center] [center][url=https://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=61383904][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=0&body=28&bodygene=24&breed=7&element=7&eyetype=2&gender=1&tert=45&tertgene=20&winggene=13&wings=95&auth=acde6ef94e2e14764c73804c693363ee217f81bf&dummyext=prev.png[/img][/url][/center] "Oh, thanks anyways," Hermann sighed. "Can I get you anything?" Kaori asked her mother. "No, I just wanted to check and see how you were doing," Seaberry smiled softly. "Everything's going well, you have nothing to worry about," Kaori reassured her. "Just as I thought," Seaberry patted her daughter's shoulder. "I really appreciate this, you know." "I know," Kaori smirked. "Now, if you don't mind, I have customers." She turned to Hermann and Landon again. "Can I get you anything?" "Er, we don't exactly have any money, sorry," Landon responded sheepishly. "We're just looking for our friend." "Oh, okay," Kaori looked surprised. "I wish you luck. I'll let you know if I see any dragons you don't recognize." "Thank you," Hermann grinned. "C'mon Landon, we've got to keep looking." The two young dragons made their way towards the door then they were intercepted by a fierce looking wildclaw. [center][url=https://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=60009598][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/dressing-room/dragon?did=60009598&skin=0&apparel=278,979,25020,25059,25061,21851,279&xt=dressing.png[/img][/url][/center] "I think I saw the dragon that you are looking for," she said gruffly, baring her razor sharp teeth. "He was flying towards the palace." "Of course he was," Hermann groaned. "Hermann, we can't go. You know that right?" Landon asked. "We can't just leave him there!" Hermann protested. "He's a grown dragon, he can do what he wants. We should go home, before we get hurt. This is risky enough already. We don't know who our enemies are," Landon reminded her. Hermann had to realize he had a point. Storming into the palace would be a stupid move, and would possibly mess up everything the resistance had been working to build. "Alright, let's go home." [center][img]https://66.media.tumblr.com/38b30b419b80446dfb5163715d894882/tumblr_pr6wevGMDK1ugssd3o3_500.png[/img][/center] [center][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=53334409][img]http://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/dressing-room/dragon?did=53334409&skin=0&apparel=17900,21273,17891,17918,21240,17882&xt=dressing.png[/img][/url][/center] Scoril returned to the palace, potion in hand. It was time to act, time to win her Jett back away from the talons of that awful Kass. Now it was time for the difficult part - getting the potion inside Jett. She returned to her room, looking to see if she still had a flask of blackberry cider - Jett's favourite drink. To her luck, she found one half-empty container on a shelf. She took the liberty of pouring it into a glass and dumping the contents of the vial inside and stirring it in. The liquid took on a slightly pinker tone, but hopefully the differences wouldn't be noticeable unless you knew what you were looking for. Scoril grinned in satisfaction at her creation, then began to search for Jett. She found her best friend in the throne room, talking in hushed tones to Kass. Scoril scowled at the coatl who stole her love away from her, and strutted up to Jett. [center][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=53323249][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/dressing-room/dragon?did=53323249&skin=0&apparel=33506,20830,20831,10362,13809,13793,16492&xt=dressing.png[/img][/url][/center] [center][url=https://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=43771161][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/dressing-room/dragon?did=43771161&skin=0&apparel=944,33507,13802&xt=dressing.png[/img][/url][/center] "Scoril," Jett remarked, sounding less than pleased. His tone stung more than the skydancer would like to admit. She could tell she was unwelcome here from the hostile waves off of both dragons, but she chose to ignore it - how different would it be from normal? She had been ignoring the emotional waves from Jett for a long time. "I- I brought you a drink," Scoril offered. "I thought we could go for a walk or something, you know, like old times." Jett flashed a fake smile. "Oh, of course, thank you." He reached out for the glass, only for Kass to slap it away with her tail. The glass shattered upon hitting the ground, the liquid spilling out on the rocks. "What was that for?" Jett asked Kass indignantly. "It's obviously been spiked with some sort of potion, probably a love potion," Kass hissed, glaring at Scoril. "Your so called best friend was trying to betray you." "Scoril, is this true?" Anger flared in Jett as he got to his feet. "Your my best friend, tell me you weren't trying to dupe me and play with my emotions." "Jett, why are you doing this? After all we've been through together all these years! Who was it who stood by your side when no one would look you in the eye after you were booted off the throne the first time? Who was it who spent ages living on the streets with you until we could build up the Black Market? Who was it who was with you through every trial and triumph, who has never left your side, even on the darkest of nights? Who has borne your children and devoted her life to serving and supporting you?" Scoril's emotions were rising, she was getting dangerously close to explosion again. She was going to have to keep it together. She took a deep breath and spoke quietly. "Are you really going to throw that all away for someone who has literally just show up?" Jett didn't answer, he just glanced awkwardly at Kass. "If you don't want me, that's fine, but please say it to my face. Don't just keep going behind my back and having all these affairs with no word," Scoril said evenly, trying to harness her rage. "Scoril, I think it's best if you leave," Jett said at last. "Your services are no longer required at the palace." Scoril felt her heart crack, and with it, all her magic faded. She felt numb, as if nothing would ever touch her again. For the first time in her life, she felt none of the powerful arcane energy flowing through her veins. She just felt empty, devoid of any emotion. "Fine," Scoril said. "I'll go. But you're making a mistake, Jett, and someday you'll see what you've just lost. And you're not going to be able to get it back." "Baby, I've got everything I need right here," Jett said, lovingly nuzzling Kass. Scoril turned and left the throne room, back eyes trained on the couple until they were no longer in sight. If this was what Jett wanted, then so be it, but she was going to try to take as many of their children with her as she could. He was going to regret this. ----- [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2698754/124#post_43322774]Next[/url][/center] ----- [center]@CleverDual @HauntedWhale @Disillusionist @AlchemyFox @Tirtouga678 @catmeow1 @Leopardmask @Midwinter @chantric @Dynami @ShinyDecidueye @tigressRising @REEEEEEEEEEEEEE @Stitched @Willnotgogently @Sabariel @MisterMylez @Skystrider @Starongie @icetail0912 @myriadofstars @Aetherstorm @Weredogalism @Nargeorgicorn @WeaverofLies @herobrinna @secretlylying @Azurepocalypse @GoldictheHedgefx @CobaltMoon @Tiffkaboo @Orodruin @SkullGeist @Violeteevee @Amaluna @DragonPrincess27 @Dakala @Drachenschwinge @Glassowary @GrinningWolf24 @CleverTrick @Moonweaverr @Unicorn6[/center] ----- I started writing this chapter yesterday, but didn't end up completing it until today. So here it is now! A day later! It's strange to me to think that for dragons that have been born and raised in the Forgotten Kingdom, there are dragon breeds they just wouldn't know simply because there would be no way for them to have ever seen them, unless they had heard stories or something. But, for such a reclusive clan, that's just the way it works. If anyone wants Xuxa's sister, she'll be available until she's grown up. Today I hatch Lester and Amity's nest! [center][url=https://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=61383903] [img]https://flightrising.com/rendern/350/613840/61383903_350.png[/img] [/url][/center]

@Petall That first meeting with Kestrel and Hackett was pretty tense! And not because there was any antagonism, but because they both confirmed they were on the same side...and currently powerless against Jett. The Search and the Charge are really fascinating topics to explore, and I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for Hackett to find his Charge, only to realize he can't always be around to protect her. It's nice to see Kaori; I like how her getup gives off a slightly piratical vibe: perfect for a tavern keeper! And wow, Xuxa really does look cool. [emoji=spiral love] Also [s]Baby Shark[/s] Citronella, I was wondering where she'd been. [i]"It's obviously been spiked with some sort of potion, probably a love potion," Kass hissed, glaring at Scoril. "Your so called best friend was trying to betray you."[/i] [emoji=bogsneak star] I metaphorically pulled my chair closer and started shoveling popcorn into my mouth at this point. But wow, Scoril's speech and Jett's matter-of-fact dismissal. Wow. If he'd reacted with rage, that would've told Scoril he still cared a bit, but as they say, "The opposite of love is indifference," and oh boy, it radiates from Jett in [i]waves[/i]. Now I'm eager to see how their children and other comrades will react.

@Petall I'm beginning to like Scoril more and more. I'm really exited to see what impact she'll have on the outcome of this war.

Poor Hackett, he's trying so hard. But if I were Kestrel I probably wouldn't trust a stranger that knocks on my balcony door either xD

I've come across a similar situation a couple times in my 'lockes, lol, where there are breeds that some of the younger dragons just don't know?? Like half the clan being wary of Dina when she shows up because their only major experience with Nocturnes (apart from Hudson's very brief cameo) was Myste.

Also I like that you didn't go for the trope of "person A gives B a love potion that makes B fall in love with the first person/creature/thing they see, which is supposed to be A but they get distracted and fall in love with a donkey or something", and instead just smashed the potion before it got used. Not a bad trope, but pretty overdone and definitely not a trope I'm personally a fan of.

@Petall I'm still not all caught up but wow, this is interesting! I've always loved the concepts of Guardians and their charges. This is so cool!! Scoril and Jett seem like intriguing characters [emoji=spiral winking size=1]