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[center][b][u]Day 94: Uncovered Past[/u][/b]
[item=sparrow skull]
Sentence: Writing[/center]
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Tiffany kicked at a small stone, sending it tumbling down the slight incline of the tunnel. She was trying not to make eye contact with Xavier, but she could tell he was staring at her. She wished she had gone with Caroll and Cedric to chase after Marasi, but she also didn't trust Xavier to keep watch on his own. Finally, she had had enough of his creepy gaze and whirled on him.
"Okay, buddy, you're going to tell me who you are and what you want with me right now!" Tiffany growled, trying her best to appear intimidating. She raised her bow for effect, aiming for the imperial's heart.
Xavier raised an eyebrow as he saw the arrow, quivering as Tiffany shook with the unrestrained nerves of the confrontation.
"You can put that away," the imperial mused. "I mean you no harm."
"What were you doing in my dreams?" Tiffany asked, not backing down. "That's a bit invasive, is it not?"
Xavier paused. "I hadn't thought about it that way. It's not exactly something I have a whole lot of control over. I never have my own dreams, I've been designed to always appear in someone else's. I have control over who's dream I walk in if I really want to, but if I don't choose, I end up somewhere at random."
"Why me?" Tiffany asked, lowering her bow.
"I came across you by accident," Xavier admitted lowering his head. "I didn't mean to stick around, but then I realized what was going on, and I couldn't leave you there. There wasn't much I could do to help, but maybe if I convinced you to run, if I gave nightmares to the slavers who wanted to sell you, convinced them you were cursed and no good for them, that you wouldn't turn a profit..."
Realization dawned on Tiffany, along with the usual sickness in her stomach as she was reminded of her capture as a young dragon. She didn't like to think of such days. "It was you," She breathed, and suddenly, her perspective of the imperial changed.
"I couldn't just leave you there," Xavier confessed. "I know all to well what its like to be in that grasp of someone who just wants to use you. I wasn't born with these abilities, I was enhanced with them so I could be a weapon, a spy. I knew that I had to at least try."
"Thank you," Tiffany breathed.
"It was nothing," Xavier dipped his head, turning away.
Tiffany opened her mouth to ask another question, but before she could, there was a flash of light and Marasi stepped once again stood in the tunnel, Cedric and Caroll clinging to her back.
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"What happened?" Tiffany asked. "Where are Dusk and Darkstar? Are they coming?"
Cedric shook his head, sliding down Marasi's side with Caroll. The two looked absolutely dejected.
"Their consciousnesses are no longer near," Xavier observed.
"There was a cave-in," Caroll confirmed. "Darkstar and Dusk were buried, along with everything within the vault."
"I don't want to assume to worst, but I don't see how anyone could survive that," Cedric sighed. "We lost them."
"Wait," Xavier said. "I said that they consciousnesses were no longer near, but I can still sense their presence. They are just much fainter."
"So they're alive?" Tiffany perked up. If there was any hope to cling to, she was going to cling to it."
"They're alive," Xavier confirmed. "And if I can talk to them tonight, maybe we can find a way to help."
Tiffany wanted to leap up and give the imperial a hug, but she restrained herself. Still, she couldn't resist hopping around in a little happy dance. They were going to save their friends. There was no other option. She simply wouldn't allow for it.
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Clarissa grew up bouncing between the two homes of her parents. Half the time, she spent in the palace with her father's family, playing games surrounded by dragons who cared about her. The other half of the time, she lived at the Siren's Call, experiencing a very different kind of love. There was more work to be done at the tavern, but it wasn't toilsome. She enjoyed learning to cook with her grandmother, and getting to know the dragons of the clan as they stopped in for a drink or a meal. Her life wasn't free from trouble, but it was a good life, a full life.
That said, she couldn't deny the tension between her parents. There was no denying they once loved each other, or that feelings might linger deeper within, unannounced and unacknowledged, but there were some very stark differences.
Clarissa's mother never told her where she slipped away to when she left the tavern, saying something about not wanting to taint her daughter's views and that she could make her own choices. She also was not able to see much of her Uncle Lucian, though occasionally he did stop to chat with her.
It was an ordinary afternoon when the two skydancers stepped into the tavern, sitting themselves down at an empty table in the edge of the dining room. Clarissa had never seen these two before, and as she was not working at the moment, decided to go introduce herself.
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"I'm telling you, Dad's changed," the male skydancer said in a whisper.
"And I'm telling you there's nothing to worry about, Kael," the female shot back. "There's no need to-" she stopped in her tracks as she saw Clarissa's approach and pasted a grin on her face.
"Can I get you anything?" Clarissa asked suddenly, feeling foolish for not having a reason to come.
"No, we're just here to chat. Would you like to join us?" The female skydancer asked. "My name is Katie, and this is my brother, Kael."
"I'm Clarissa," the mirror grinned. "Are you new to the city?"
"Oh, goodness no," Katie laughed. "We live more on the outskirts. There's a nice community of us. I think some of us came from this part of town? Lucian I believe mentioned something about growing up in a tavern..."
"Lucian?" Clarissa perked up. "He's my uncle!"
"Ah, you must be Cecily's daughter then! I've heard about you!" Katie grinned, more genuine this time.
"You know my mom?" Clarissa asked quizzically.
"Not well, but we've crossed paths," Katie admitted.
"And you know what she does when she's not working at the Siren's Call?" Clarissa asked, feeling excited that one of her long-standing mysteries was beginning to unravel.
"Now that, my dear, is a rather big question," Katie grinned. "Are you sure you want to know the answer? I've heard of your heritage. It's quite an interesting split, all things considered. I wouldn't want you to feel conflicted. There is quite a history between your parents..."
Kael rolled his eyes as his sister spoke, looking a bit miserable, but said nothing. He eyed Clarissa warily, as though begging her not to ask more.
"Tell me everything," Clarissa said, unable to keep her curiosity at bay any longer.
Needing no further prompting, Katie began to share the story...
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[center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2698754/80#post_41298907]Next[/url][/center]
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[center]@CleverDual @HauntedWhale @Disillusionist @AlchemyFox @Tirtouga678 @catmeow1 @Leopardmask @Midwinter @chantric @Dynami @ShinyDecidueye @tigressRising @FallenEclipse @Stitched @Willnotgogently @Sabariel @MisterMylez @Skystrider @Starongie @icetail0912 @myriadofstars @Aetherstorm @Weredogalism @Nargeorgicorn @WeaverofLies @herobrinna @secretlylying @Azurepocalypse @GoldictheHedgefx @CobaltMoon @Tiffkaboo @Orodruin @SkullGeist @Violeteevee @Amaluna[/center]
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I'm really on a roll here, aren't I? I hope I can keep this going, I feel as though so many things are falling into place and I'm finally getting all of these newer characters established...
Tiffany kicked at a small stone, sending it tumbling down the slight incline of the tunnel. She was trying not to make eye contact with Xavier, but she could tell he was staring at her. She wished she had gone with Caroll and Cedric to chase after Marasi, but she also didn't trust Xavier to keep watch on his own. Finally, she had had enough of his creepy gaze and whirled on him.
"Okay, buddy, you're going to tell me who you are and what you want with me right now!" Tiffany growled, trying her best to appear intimidating. She raised her bow for effect, aiming for the imperial's heart.
Xavier raised an eyebrow as he saw the arrow, quivering as Tiffany shook with the unrestrained nerves of the confrontation.
"You can put that away," the imperial mused. "I mean you no harm."
"What were you doing in my dreams?" Tiffany asked, not backing down. "That's a bit invasive, is it not?"
Xavier paused. "I hadn't thought about it that way. It's not exactly something I have a whole lot of control over. I never have my own dreams, I've been designed to always appear in someone else's. I have control over who's dream I walk in if I really want to, but if I don't choose, I end up somewhere at random."
"Why me?" Tiffany asked, lowering her bow.
"I came across you by accident," Xavier admitted lowering his head. "I didn't mean to stick around, but then I realized what was going on, and I couldn't leave you there. There wasn't much I could do to help, but maybe if I convinced you to run, if I gave nightmares to the slavers who wanted to sell you, convinced them you were cursed and no good for them, that you wouldn't turn a profit..."
Realization dawned on Tiffany, along with the usual sickness in her stomach as she was reminded of her capture as a young dragon. She didn't like to think of such days. "It was you," She breathed, and suddenly, her perspective of the imperial changed.
"I couldn't just leave you there," Xavier confessed. "I know all to well what its like to be in that grasp of someone who just wants to use you. I wasn't born with these abilities, I was enhanced with them so I could be a weapon, a spy. I knew that I had to at least try."
"Thank you," Tiffany breathed.
"It was nothing," Xavier dipped his head, turning away.
Tiffany opened her mouth to ask another question, but before she could, there was a flash of light and Marasi stepped once again stood in the tunnel, Cedric and Caroll clinging to her back.
"What happened?" Tiffany asked. "Where are Dusk and Darkstar? Are they coming?"
Cedric shook his head, sliding down Marasi's side with Caroll. The two looked absolutely dejected.
"Their consciousnesses are no longer near," Xavier observed.
"There was a cave-in," Caroll confirmed. "Darkstar and Dusk were buried, along with everything within the vault."
"I don't want to assume to worst, but I don't see how anyone could survive that," Cedric sighed. "We lost them."
"Wait," Xavier said. "I said that they consciousnesses were no longer near, but I can still sense their presence. They are just much fainter."
"So they're alive?" Tiffany perked up. If there was any hope to cling to, she was going to cling to it."
"They're alive," Xavier confirmed. "And if I can talk to them tonight, maybe we can find a way to help."
Tiffany wanted to leap up and give the imperial a hug, but she restrained herself. Still, she couldn't resist hopping around in a little happy dance. They were going to save their friends. There was no other option. She simply wouldn't allow for it.
Clarissa grew up bouncing between the two homes of her parents. Half the time, she spent in the palace with her father's family, playing games surrounded by dragons who cared about her. The other half of the time, she lived at the Siren's Call, experiencing a very different kind of love. There was more work to be done at the tavern, but it wasn't toilsome. She enjoyed learning to cook with her grandmother, and getting to know the dragons of the clan as they stopped in for a drink or a meal. Her life wasn't free from trouble, but it was a good life, a full life.
That said, she couldn't deny the tension between her parents. There was no denying they once loved each other, or that feelings might linger deeper within, unannounced and unacknowledged, but there were some very stark differences.
Clarissa's mother never told her where she slipped away to when she left the tavern, saying something about not wanting to taint her daughter's views and that she could make her own choices. She also was not able to see much of her Uncle Lucian, though occasionally he did stop to chat with her.
It was an ordinary afternoon when the two skydancers stepped into the tavern, sitting themselves down at an empty table in the edge of the dining room. Clarissa had never seen these two before, and as she was not working at the moment, decided to go introduce herself.
"I'm telling you, Dad's changed," the male skydancer said in a whisper.
"And I'm telling you there's nothing to worry about, Kael," the female shot back. "There's no need to-" she stopped in her tracks as she saw Clarissa's approach and pasted a grin on her face.
"Can I get you anything?" Clarissa asked suddenly, feeling foolish for not having a reason to come.
"No, we're just here to chat. Would you like to join us?" The female skydancer asked. "My name is Katie, and this is my brother, Kael."
"I'm Clarissa," the mirror grinned. "Are you new to the city?"
"Oh, goodness no," Katie laughed. "We live more on the outskirts. There's a nice community of us. I think some of us came from this part of town? Lucian I believe mentioned something about growing up in a tavern..."
"Lucian?" Clarissa perked up. "He's my uncle!"
"Ah, you must be Cecily's daughter then! I've heard about you!" Katie grinned, more genuine this time.
"You know my mom?" Clarissa asked quizzically.
"Not well, but we've crossed paths," Katie admitted.
"And you know what she does when she's not working at the Siren's Call?" Clarissa asked, feeling excited that one of her long-standing mysteries was beginning to unravel.
"Now that, my dear, is a rather big question," Katie grinned. "Are you sure you want to know the answer? I've heard of your heritage. It's quite an interesting split, all things considered. I wouldn't want you to feel conflicted. There is quite a history between your parents..."
Kael rolled his eyes as his sister spoke, looking a bit miserable, but said nothing. He eyed Clarissa warily, as though begging her not to ask more.
"Tell me everything," Clarissa said, unable to keep her curiosity at bay any longer.
Needing no further prompting, Katie began to share the story...
I'm really on a roll here, aren't I? I hope I can keep this going, I feel as though so many things are falling into place and I'm finally getting all of these newer characters established...
It just occurred to me that Xavier technically has bindings around his mouth so now I'm just imagining that every time he talks he never actually opens his mouth, he just kind of speaks via Magic(tm). Not telepathy, it's actual sound, just... not requiring the use of his mouth.
It just occurred to me that Xavier technically has bindings around his mouth so now I'm just imagining that every time he talks he never actually opens his mouth, he just kind of speaks via Magic(tm). Not telepathy, it's actual sound, just... not requiring the use of his mouth.
I like how the skydancers are seemingly concerned about Jett. It adds a lot of depth, seeing the different viewpoints of characters.
Pinkerlocke? Not now, but one day...
@Petall That's an especially pretty moodboard! It looks so warm and free and hopeful -- and wow, that was a surprising revelation for both Xavier and Tiffany. It's nice to have some secrets cleared up every now and then, especially if they're heart-warming!
[emoji=bogsneak star] AAAAAAHH, Clarissa turned out so pretty!! You have a gift for putting outfits together! And seeing her cross paths with Jett's kids was very interesting too. They do have a lot in common, and I'm very curious about how they'll deal with their wayward parents, particularly since Jett's kids aren't happy about where he's going.
@Petall That's an especially pretty moodboard! It looks so warm and free and hopeful -- and wow, that was a surprising revelation for both Xavier and Tiffany. It's nice to have some secrets cleared up every now and then, especially if they're heart-warming!
AAAAAAHH, Clarissa turned out so pretty!! You have a gift for putting outfits together! And seeing her cross paths with Jett's kids was very interesting too. They do have a lot in common, and I'm very curious about how they'll deal with their wayward parents, particularly since Jett's kids aren't happy about where he's going.
Thank you! I wanted to clear up relatively quickly that despite his appearance, Xavier isn't really as sinister as he seems. Just offputting, because he's been stretched beyond his natural capacity.
Thanks, I had a lot of fun dressing her up! I'm excited to see where this friendship with Katie and Kael will lead for her!
Thank you! I wanted to clear up relatively quickly that despite his appearance, Xavier isn't really as sinister as he seems. Just offputting, because he's been stretched beyond his natural capacity.
Thanks, I had a lot of fun dressing her up! I'm excited to see where this friendship with Katie and Kael will lead for her!
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[center][b][u]Day 95: I Can Sleep When I Die[/u][/b]
[item=frost whisper][item=golden birdskull armband]
Sentence: 20-30 Coli Battles, Breed/Scroll a Dragon[/center]
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Bahat had told Bonegnasher to leave the issue alone. Bahat had told him not to meddle in his relationship, but Bone had had enough. He was tired of seeing the way this broke him, how Cecily’s betrayal had shattered him, how he had to split his time with his daughter, not knowing if she too would be turned against him.
Of course, Bone trusted Cecily’s intentions. She seemed decent enough, and he had heard enough from Karma to know a broken family was the last thing she wanted.
No, it was Lucian who was to blame, poisoning Cecily’s ideals with the belief that Bahat could not be trusted because of his heritage, because he was part of a system that could potentially go rotten, but currently was not. Bone didn’t know much about politics, but his experiences with Pomona and Karma taught him that there were some things that were stronger than blood, and it was not where a dragon was born that defined who they could be.
Which was why he had to teach Lucian a lesson, get him to give up this crazy crusade against the royal line for simply being royal, for painting them all with the same brush as if they were Emery and Fabian, the monarchs of old who had led the crown into corruption.
Maybe it wasn’t rational, but Bone was tired of being rational for Bahat’s sake. It was time to act, before Lucian could corrupt Clarissa too.
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“I can’t reach them,” Xavier sighed, opening his eyes again and returning to consciousness.
“What do you mean you can’t reach them?” Cedric asked. Everyone else was sound asleep, leaving the snapper on his own once more.
“Dusk is definitely unconscious, but he’s not asleep. There are no dreams for me to walk into. Darkstar seems to still be awake,” Xavier sighed. “Perhaps looking out for Dusk, if it is some sort of injury causing his current state. She is a healer, after all.”
“Then what are we going to do?” Cedric sighed. Every moment that Dusk was gone just increased his worry. He didn’t want to lose his friend.”
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“Are you both idiots?” Marasi’s voice piped up as her scales shifted from brown to their usual pink and she slid from her place on the wall. Cedric hadn’t realized that she had been awake. “We dig of course. They’re just buried underground. You have a ridgeback here, why not ask me if I can be of some help?”
Cedric felt guilty for assuming the worst of the other ridgeback. To be honest, he hadn’t entirely trusted that she was there to help them. But then again, she hadn’t left their group, even though there was plenty of opportunity to.
“Well, don’t just stand there, come on, we have work to do!” Marasi barked.
“Are you just doing this for the treasure?” Cedric couldn’t help but ask, remembering the amount of riches that had been buried with their friends.
“Of course I’m doing it for the treasure, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see your friends safe and sound again. I’m a thief, that doesn’t make me a heartless monster. I didn’t leave The Sunbeam Ruins to continue to lead a life where certain dragons are worth more than others,” Marasi sniffed.
“I’m sorry for underestimating you,” Cedric dipped his head apologetically. “Let’s wake the others. You’re right, we should get started immediately.”
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“Lucian,” Bone’s voice came out in a low growl as he prowled towards the fae. The smaller dragon had been difficult to track down, but he eventually found him deep in an alleyway.
“Oh, what a surprise,” Lucian rolled his eyes. “The hot-headed brother. I was wondering when you’d come for me. I must admit, I expected this much sooner.”
“Quit mocking me, we have something to talk about,” Bone wrinkled his nose.
“Ah, but you don’t really mean ‘talk,’ do you Bone,” Lucian smirked. “You see, you are all so predictable. We hurt your pride by deigning to not stay in relationships with you and suddenly your beloved kingdom becomes a battleground of justice. If you want to fight, say fight, and I will gladly take you up on it. I’ve been waiting to get my claws on one of you for a long time now.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Bone snarled, his claws itching for a fight.
Without a word of warning, Lucian shot a bolt of light at him. The tundra narrowly dodged it, and it hit a building behind him, breaking through the wall and causing debris to rain down within the structure. Bone felt a surge of anger and leaped, claws outstretched, trying to catch Lucian in his grasp, but the fae was too nimble.
With a taunting giggle, Lucian dove through the hole he created and into the building. Bone charged after him, having to enlarge the hole with his own brute strength to make his way through. He was angry, and his vision was growing red. He wanted nothing more than to tear the irritating fae apart, and stop him from doing more damage to his family.
Unfortunately, the fae evaded his capture. With his aptitude for range attacks, Bone felt he spent more time dodging his opponents assaults than he was attacking. Lucian’s agility allowed him to dart from room to room with ease, while Bone’s movements were more clumsy due to his size.
Lucian led him through the building and out into the street once more, where he sprang on Bone with a powerful blast of light, almost blinding Bone. Everything seemed fuzzy for a moment as he tried to get a baring of his surroundings. He shook his head, and his vision cleared, and he caught sight of the fae, fluttering just out of reach.
With a powerful flap of the wings, Bone lifted himself into the air and managed to catch Lucian in his talons. He pinned him down to the ground, growling. Red filled his vision again, and he bared his teeth. It was time to end this, for once and for all.
Just as he opened his jaws, however, he was interrupted by a stern voice.
“Bone? Lucian? What is going on here?”
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Bone lifted his head to see Ulf approaching, looking more furious than Bone had ever seen the usually-calm gaoler. Suddenly the adrenaline began to fizzle and reality set back in. He stared down at the fae, wings bloodied by the piecing his talons had made, and felt a turn of revulsion. Had he seriously been about to kill the other dragon? Had he really let his anger get to him like that? Maybe Lucian had a point. Maybe royalty was too much power.
Shaking a little, Bone got off of the fae, giving Lucian room to get to his feet again. His wings looked too sore to attempt flight, so instead he glared at Bone from where he sat. Neither of them met Ulf’s eyes.
“Honestly, I expected better of both of you. I know tensions are high right now between the two groups, but Bone, you know full well your mother wants to find a peaceful solution. How do you think she would feel knowing her own son was going against her wishes and causing the very bloodshed she feared the most? You are a prince, and you have to be better than that, especially if you hope to one day be king. The council is not likely to choose one who is so easily moved to violence.” Ulf lectured, narrowing his eyes at Bone.
“Yes Ulf,” Bone murmured, feeling ashamed at having to be scolded like a hatching. Resentment burned in side of him, but mostly directed at his own lack of self control.
“As for you,” Ulf turned to Lucian. “You are not under my jurisdiction and I respect the choices you have made to ally yourself with the other kingdom. I myself have had my doubts about a monarchical system in the past, and you cannot be blamed for wanting to fight for your freedom. That said, think about the message your actions are sending, because there is a difference between working towards a better future and attacking other dragons simply because you do not like them. There is a time and a place for a fight like this, and it is not when the clan is ruled by a queen who is perfectly willing to attend to her peoples’ concerns. I can’t tell you what to do, but I urge you to consider a better way to achieve your goals. I would hate to see you locked up because your radical revolution caused unnecessary chaos and bloodshed.”
But Bone was not able to see Lucian’s response, as all of a sudden the earth began to shake beneath his paws, and the earth opened up and swallowed him whole, burying him in darkness.
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“Oops,” Marasi said as more earth rained down from the ceiling. It was not the first cave-in she had caused.
“Are you sure you know what you are doing,” Caroll asked, clearly unimpressed with the ridgeback’s tunnel digging.
“Oh yes, just because I’m a ridgeback I’m suddenly an expert at digging sound tunnels. Well excuse me for not learning those skills growing up,” Marasi shot back. “Marasi, light dragons don’t dwell in the dark like earthworms!” Her voice turned to a mocking tone as she put on an accent to mimic some dragon from her past.
“Earthworms,” A voice murmured from through the dirt wall ahead of them, sounding surprisingly similar to what Marasi had just said.
Caroll and Cedric exchanged a look. If someone was repeating-
“Keep digging,” Cedric urged. “You’re doing great.”
Marasi didn’t need to be told twice. She kept digging until she broke through the wall into the other side.
There was a pocket chamber in the soil. Marasi summoned a ball of light to illuminate what they had found. Darkstar was curled around Dusk, nudging him awake. She looked up in surprise to see newcomers.
[center][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=55707297][img]http://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/dressing-room/dragon?did=55707297&skin=31064&apparel=428,440,333,28406,2506&xt=dressing.png[/img][/url][/center]
[center][url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=55842718][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/dressing-room/dragon?did=55842718&skin=0&apparel=32034,293,294,23030,23036&xt=dressing.png[/img][/url][/center]
“Oh thank goodness,” Darkstar sighed, sounding unusually warm. I managed to create an arcane pocket while we fell, I thought we were going to die in here. Or rather, I thought this idiot was going to die in here. She nudged the groggy Dusk again.
“What’sgoingon?” Dusk shook his head, rubbing a point on the back of his skull.
“Well, your stupid bird set off the machine and now we’re buried deep in the ground with no way out. I didn’t want to dig, because I was worried about burying us further,” Darkstar explained, nodding to Drifter, who was pecking at the wall. “He hasn’t stopped doing that since we arrived, by the way. I think he might be malfunctioning.”
Dusk moved to collect Drifter, but his gaze caught on something else. Something was glowing slightly in the wall. His heartbeat quickened. He didn’t know why this was so important, but something within his essence was drawing him towards it. Despite his lack of capacity for digging, he began to unearth the glowing object.
“Okay, your brain’s obviously still a bit addled,” Darkstar shook her head. “What are you-“
She paused as the first object began to take shape.
“What did you say the machine did?” Dusk asked.
“It takes the magic of other dragons, and combines it together, infusing it into other dragons,” Darkstar repeated. “You read that yourself.”
“And what did the machine do when it exploded?” Dusk asked.
“It released a bunch of elemental magic stored up within, pulling every bit of elemental energy it could towards itself including-“ Darkstar paused to swear. “Including our own.” She swore again. “Those are ours, aren’t they?”
“It seems so,” Dusk agreed somberly, staring at the three eggs wide-eyed.
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Ulf had tried to dig out the tundra, but by the time he had reached him, it was too late. It wasn’t being buried in and of itself that had killed him. In fact he had seemed to fall in some sort of tunnel beneath the ground. He had survived the fall, but he had been unable to survive the sheer weight of dirt and rock that had fallen on top of him.
Ulf did his best to unearth the prince’s body, feeling his heart shatter as the truth he had known deep within was revealed.
How was he ever going to tell this to Age? How was he ever going to tell this to Larkin?
Beside him, Lucian said nothing. It was impossible to tell what the fae was thinking. But to his credit, he stuck around, waiting to hear of how the tundra had fared.
Ulf, however, didn’t have much time to focus on the loss, as another sound drifted down the tunnel as it wound deeper and deeper into the earth. He recognized those voices.
The missing dragons had been found.
“Come,” Ulf urged to Lucian. “We can come back to Bone. We need to get these other dragons out.”
And without waiting to see if the fae was following, Ulf charged down the tunnel towards Dusk’s voice. Maybe this day would not bring entirely bad news.
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FINALLY!
Oh my goodness, you all have no idea how long I've been waiting for an apparel pull. I think that's why it's taken me two weeks to write the whole vault bit, because I got really stuck on the idea of the machine being the cause of Dusk and Darkstar's nest, and I just kept trying to stretch things time to make things work. I was so close to just giving in and letting it happen when it happened. I was sure this was Pink's way of getting back at me for the illegal nest that resulted in Clarissa.
Apparently Pink needed to blood sacrifice of Bonegnasher to give me the pull I wanted and atone for bringing Clarissa into the locke without a pull.
Really, it was Dusk who died, I was fighting with Lucian and Ulf (hence their involvement in Bone's death) in the Woodland Path and Dusk was too low leveled and died. Since he hadn't had his nest yet, that meant I had to roll to see who would take his place, and unfortunately, it was Bone... This feels like a big one, he's been a pretty significant part of the locke. Ultimately, it wasn't Lucian who killed him. Marasi's unsound tunnel digging ultimately resulted in his fall.
Speaking of Marasi, I think I sense a ship forming between her and Cedric, and that was not something I expected to happen.
Also, I'm interested to see where this will take Lucian. I have no idea yet how he's going to react to all of this, and it may bring a shift for him.
[b]If anyone wants to claim Bonegnasher, you have until 23:59 FR Time tomorrow (Sunday) to do so before he is exalted.[/b]
These arctic insects leave beautiful crystalline spirals on dragon lairs. They derive their power from the full moon.
41
4
Golden Birdskull Armband
Apparel
A feathered armband adorned with small skulls and gold beads. It is held together with braided twine and sinew.
1300
Sentence: 20-30 Coli Battles, Breed/Scroll a Dragon
Bahat had told Bonegnasher to leave the issue alone. Bahat had told him not to meddle in his relationship, but Bone had had enough. He was tired of seeing the way this broke him, how Cecily’s betrayal had shattered him, how he had to split his time with his daughter, not knowing if she too would be turned against him.
Of course, Bone trusted Cecily’s intentions. She seemed decent enough, and he had heard enough from Karma to know a broken family was the last thing she wanted.
No, it was Lucian who was to blame, poisoning Cecily’s ideals with the belief that Bahat could not be trusted because of his heritage, because he was part of a system that could potentially go rotten, but currently was not. Bone didn’t know much about politics, but his experiences with Pomona and Karma taught him that there were some things that were stronger than blood, and it was not where a dragon was born that defined who they could be.
Which was why he had to teach Lucian a lesson, get him to give up this crazy crusade against the royal line for simply being royal, for painting them all with the same brush as if they were Emery and Fabian, the monarchs of old who had led the crown into corruption.
Maybe it wasn’t rational, but Bone was tired of being rational for Bahat’s sake. It was time to act, before Lucian could corrupt Clarissa too.
“I can’t reach them,” Xavier sighed, opening his eyes again and returning to consciousness.
“What do you mean you can’t reach them?” Cedric asked. Everyone else was sound asleep, leaving the snapper on his own once more.
“Dusk is definitely unconscious, but he’s not asleep. There are no dreams for me to walk into. Darkstar seems to still be awake,” Xavier sighed. “Perhaps looking out for Dusk, if it is some sort of injury causing his current state. She is a healer, after all.”
“Then what are we going to do?” Cedric sighed. Every moment that Dusk was gone just increased his worry. He didn’t want to lose his friend.”
“Are you both idiots?” Marasi’s voice piped up as her scales shifted from brown to their usual pink and she slid from her place on the wall. Cedric hadn’t realized that she had been awake. “We dig of course. They’re just buried underground. You have a ridgeback here, why not ask me if I can be of some help?”
Cedric felt guilty for assuming the worst of the other ridgeback. To be honest, he hadn’t entirely trusted that she was there to help them. But then again, she hadn’t left their group, even though there was plenty of opportunity to.
“Well, don’t just stand there, come on, we have work to do!” Marasi barked.
“Are you just doing this for the treasure?” Cedric couldn’t help but ask, remembering the amount of riches that had been buried with their friends.
“Of course I’m doing it for the treasure, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see your friends safe and sound again. I’m a thief, that doesn’t make me a heartless monster. I didn’t leave The Sunbeam Ruins to continue to lead a life where certain dragons are worth more than others,” Marasi sniffed.
“I’m sorry for underestimating you,” Cedric dipped his head apologetically. “Let’s wake the others. You’re right, we should get started immediately.”
“Lucian,” Bone’s voice came out in a low growl as he prowled towards the fae. The smaller dragon had been difficult to track down, but he eventually found him deep in an alleyway.
“Oh, what a surprise,” Lucian rolled his eyes. “The hot-headed brother. I was wondering when you’d come for me. I must admit, I expected this much sooner.”
“Quit mocking me, we have something to talk about,” Bone wrinkled his nose.
“Ah, but you don’t really mean ‘talk,’ do you Bone,” Lucian smirked. “You see, you are all so predictable. We hurt your pride by deigning to not stay in relationships with you and suddenly your beloved kingdom becomes a battleground of justice. If you want to fight, say fight, and I will gladly take you up on it. I’ve been waiting to get my claws on one of you for a long time now.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Bone snarled, his claws itching for a fight.
Without a word of warning, Lucian shot a bolt of light at him. The tundra narrowly dodged it, and it hit a building behind him, breaking through the wall and causing debris to rain down within the structure. Bone felt a surge of anger and leaped, claws outstretched, trying to catch Lucian in his grasp, but the fae was too nimble.
With a taunting giggle, Lucian dove through the hole he created and into the building. Bone charged after him, having to enlarge the hole with his own brute strength to make his way through. He was angry, and his vision was growing red. He wanted nothing more than to tear the irritating fae apart, and stop him from doing more damage to his family.
Unfortunately, the fae evaded his capture. With his aptitude for range attacks, Bone felt he spent more time dodging his opponents assaults than he was attacking. Lucian’s agility allowed him to dart from room to room with ease, while Bone’s movements were more clumsy due to his size.
Lucian led him through the building and out into the street once more, where he sprang on Bone with a powerful blast of light, almost blinding Bone. Everything seemed fuzzy for a moment as he tried to get a baring of his surroundings. He shook his head, and his vision cleared, and he caught sight of the fae, fluttering just out of reach.
With a powerful flap of the wings, Bone lifted himself into the air and managed to catch Lucian in his talons. He pinned him down to the ground, growling. Red filled his vision again, and he bared his teeth. It was time to end this, for once and for all.
Just as he opened his jaws, however, he was interrupted by a stern voice.
“Bone? Lucian? What is going on here?”
Bone lifted his head to see Ulf approaching, looking more furious than Bone had ever seen the usually-calm gaoler. Suddenly the adrenaline began to fizzle and reality set back in. He stared down at the fae, wings bloodied by the piecing his talons had made, and felt a turn of revulsion. Had he seriously been about to kill the other dragon? Had he really let his anger get to him like that? Maybe Lucian had a point. Maybe royalty was too much power.
Shaking a little, Bone got off of the fae, giving Lucian room to get to his feet again. His wings looked too sore to attempt flight, so instead he glared at Bone from where he sat. Neither of them met Ulf’s eyes.
“Honestly, I expected better of both of you. I know tensions are high right now between the two groups, but Bone, you know full well your mother wants to find a peaceful solution. How do you think she would feel knowing her own son was going against her wishes and causing the very bloodshed she feared the most? You are a prince, and you have to be better than that, especially if you hope to one day be king. The council is not likely to choose one who is so easily moved to violence.” Ulf lectured, narrowing his eyes at Bone.
“Yes Ulf,” Bone murmured, feeling ashamed at having to be scolded like a hatching. Resentment burned in side of him, but mostly directed at his own lack of self control.
“As for you,” Ulf turned to Lucian. “You are not under my jurisdiction and I respect the choices you have made to ally yourself with the other kingdom. I myself have had my doubts about a monarchical system in the past, and you cannot be blamed for wanting to fight for your freedom. That said, think about the message your actions are sending, because there is a difference between working towards a better future and attacking other dragons simply because you do not like them. There is a time and a place for a fight like this, and it is not when the clan is ruled by a queen who is perfectly willing to attend to her peoples’ concerns. I can’t tell you what to do, but I urge you to consider a better way to achieve your goals. I would hate to see you locked up because your radical revolution caused unnecessary chaos and bloodshed.”
But Bone was not able to see Lucian’s response, as all of a sudden the earth began to shake beneath his paws, and the earth opened up and swallowed him whole, burying him in darkness.
“Oops,” Marasi said as more earth rained down from the ceiling. It was not the first cave-in she had caused.
“Are you sure you know what you are doing,” Caroll asked, clearly unimpressed with the ridgeback’s tunnel digging.
“Oh yes, just because I’m a ridgeback I’m suddenly an expert at digging sound tunnels. Well excuse me for not learning those skills growing up,” Marasi shot back. “Marasi, light dragons don’t dwell in the dark like earthworms!” Her voice turned to a mocking tone as she put on an accent to mimic some dragon from her past.
“Earthworms,” A voice murmured from through the dirt wall ahead of them, sounding surprisingly similar to what Marasi had just said.
Caroll and Cedric exchanged a look. If someone was repeating-
Marasi didn’t need to be told twice. She kept digging until she broke through the wall into the other side.
There was a pocket chamber in the soil. Marasi summoned a ball of light to illuminate what they had found. Darkstar was curled around Dusk, nudging him awake. She looked up in surprise to see newcomers.
“Oh thank goodness,” Darkstar sighed, sounding unusually warm. I managed to create an arcane pocket while we fell, I thought we were going to die in here. Or rather, I thought this idiot was going to die in here. She nudged the groggy Dusk again.
“What’sgoingon?” Dusk shook his head, rubbing a point on the back of his skull.
“Well, your stupid bird set off the machine and now we’re buried deep in the ground with no way out. I didn’t want to dig, because I was worried about burying us further,” Darkstar explained, nodding to Drifter, who was pecking at the wall. “He hasn’t stopped doing that since we arrived, by the way. I think he might be malfunctioning.”
Dusk moved to collect Drifter, but his gaze caught on something else. Something was glowing slightly in the wall. His heartbeat quickened. He didn’t know why this was so important, but something within his essence was drawing him towards it. Despite his lack of capacity for digging, he began to unearth the glowing object.
“Okay, your brain’s obviously still a bit addled,” Darkstar shook her head. “What are you-“
She paused as the first object began to take shape.
“What did you say the machine did?” Dusk asked.
“It takes the magic of other dragons, and combines it together, infusing it into other dragons,” Darkstar repeated. “You read that yourself.”
“And what did the machine do when it exploded?” Dusk asked.
“It released a bunch of elemental magic stored up within, pulling every bit of elemental energy it could towards itself including-“ Darkstar paused to swear. “Including our own.” She swore again. “Those are ours, aren’t they?”
“It seems so,” Dusk agreed somberly, staring at the three eggs wide-eyed.
Ulf had tried to dig out the tundra, but by the time he had reached him, it was too late. It wasn’t being buried in and of itself that had killed him. In fact he had seemed to fall in some sort of tunnel beneath the ground. He had survived the fall, but he had been unable to survive the sheer weight of dirt and rock that had fallen on top of him.
Ulf did his best to unearth the prince’s body, feeling his heart shatter as the truth he had known deep within was revealed.
How was he ever going to tell this to Age? How was he ever going to tell this to Larkin?
Beside him, Lucian said nothing. It was impossible to tell what the fae was thinking. But to his credit, he stuck around, waiting to hear of how the tundra had fared.
Ulf, however, didn’t have much time to focus on the loss, as another sound drifted down the tunnel as it wound deeper and deeper into the earth. He recognized those voices.
The missing dragons had been found.
“Come,” Ulf urged to Lucian. “We can come back to Bone. We need to get these other dragons out.”
And without waiting to see if the fae was following, Ulf charged down the tunnel towards Dusk’s voice. Maybe this day would not bring entirely bad news.
Oh my goodness, you all have no idea how long I've been waiting for an apparel pull. I think that's why it's taken me two weeks to write the whole vault bit, because I got really stuck on the idea of the machine being the cause of Dusk and Darkstar's nest, and I just kept trying to stretch things time to make things work. I was so close to just giving in and letting it happen when it happened. I was sure this was Pink's way of getting back at me for the illegal nest that resulted in Clarissa.
Apparently Pink needed to blood sacrifice of Bonegnasher to give me the pull I wanted and atone for bringing Clarissa into the locke without a pull.
Really, it was Dusk who died, I was fighting with Lucian and Ulf (hence their involvement in Bone's death) in the Woodland Path and Dusk was too low leveled and died. Since he hadn't had his nest yet, that meant I had to roll to see who would take his place, and unfortunately, it was Bone... This feels like a big one, he's been a pretty significant part of the locke. Ultimately, it wasn't Lucian who killed him. Marasi's unsound tunnel digging ultimately resulted in his fall.
Speaking of Marasi, I think I sense a ship forming between her and Cedric, and that was not something I expected to happen.
Also, I'm interested to see where this will take Lucian. I have no idea yet how he's going to react to all of this, and it may bring a shift for him.
If anyone wants to claim Bonegnasher, you have until 23:59 FR Time tomorrow (Sunday) to do so before he is exalted.
oh hey we updated at like exactly the same time lol
Also this post was a rollercoaster, my goodness. And I loved everything that happened in it. I mean obviously I don't like that Bone died, but the way you wrote that and the ultimate cause of death was great. It's like "rocks fall party dies" but with actual context :P Also I love that they knew they were getting close to where they needed to be digging because Dusk mimicked Marasi, that was cute :D
oh hey we updated at like exactly the same time lol
Also this post was a rollercoaster, my goodness. And I loved everything that happened in it. I mean obviously I don't like that Bone died, but the way you wrote that and the ultimate cause of death was great. It's like "rocks fall party dies" but with actual context :P Also I love that they knew they were getting close to where they needed to be digging because Dusk mimicked Marasi, that was cute :D
AAAAAAHH, Clarissa turned out so pretty!! You have a gift for putting outfits together! And seeing her cross paths with Jett's kids was very interesting too. They do have a lot in common, and I'm very curious about how they'll deal with their wayward parents, particularly since Jett's kids aren't happy about where he's going.
