Quests & Challenges

[center][b]Day 22[/b][/center] [center][i]Material[/i] [item=Skein of Silky Yarn][/center] [rule] [b]Lore.[/b] Changes. [rule] As Riln grew older, Glidra began to notice some changes in her daughter. It began when she grew into her magic. Every once in awhile, her scales seemed to fade in and out of existence, as if incorporeal. It seemed that, true to the shade of her eyes, she had developed a type of Wind magic. Shadesong and herself had never been completely certain of the capabilities that their daughter would possess, as their eggs had taken on an Ice and Wind hybridization in their appearance, having been laid so close to the boundary between the two domains. Her eyes at birth were pale, so pale that their primary color was difficult to discern. The future of her magical abilities would be a complete mystery until the day that Riln herself discovered them. And as Riln became more confident in her abilities, she began to become much more active. She ran about the cave, taking leaps into the air and stretching her wings. It was difficult to keep her inside the safety of the hollow's walls, where the centaurs would not touch her. She could only assume that this spirit came from her Wind nature as well. But the first shock came when her precious hatchling began to disappear. She would see her in one moment, blink, and she would be gone. Glidra would always find her again after just a few moments, either behind her or out of her sight in some other way, at times popping out of seemingly nowhere to try to surprise her. But her disappearances were far too abrupt to feel as if her daughter had simply been swift on her feet. She realized what was happening for the first time when Riln was bouncing about the cavern one day, leaping higher and higher into the air before she simply.. disintegrated, or something of the sort, her body only visible in small wisps of color before disappearing completely. She reappeared just a brief moment later, several feet ahead of where she had previously been. And, well, she supposed that Riln's magic must be one with the Wind itself. Though it initially caused her no shortage of panic. But the more that she saw her hatchling practice her magic, the more.. faded, she appeared. The stripes of her hide, the ones that had looked so much like her father's at first, had slowly begun to wash away until she was covered only in sleek shades of purples and blues. Prism had begun to study her habits in an attempt to work out all that the clash of Ice and Wind could potentially have affected Riln's development. Loretta, who had taken a quite a liking to Prism, was frequently at his side, chirping and attempting to run alongside her sister. It was honestly extremely adorable, and Loretta appeared to be trying to copy the Winded teleporting that her sister could perform. Perhaps, with her Arcanity, she would one day teleport alongside her as well. But one thing is for sure: Riln's personality had grown. What was once a shy, withdrawn hatchling grew into a vibrant, energetic, passionate, though still quiet, young dragon. She would become a great dragon that she will have been proud to have raised.

[center][b]Day 23[/b][/center] [center][i]Food: Plant[/i] [item=Cattail][/center] [rule] [b]Glidra, Naal, and Riln head into Wilderness.[/b] They backtrack into safer forests. [rule] Naal and Riln stalked slowly, quietly through the undergrowth. All focus on the alert for any sudden movement or sound. The Coatl rose his foreclaw, holding it in front of his sister to signal her to stop. They paused. Listening. He dropped his claw, and at the motion, Riln pulled back into a readying crouch. Her brother leapt from the bushes, firing off a powerful blast of white mana at the first basilisk. Their mother crashed through the branches to their left, bringing down a hard strike on the creature. Naal fired a second blast at the other basilisk before Riln took her cue, leaping from the brush and landing a strike on the first. Their plan was efficient clockwork. Both basilisks went down quickly. Riln lifted her right foreleg, favoring her left a bit after a particularly harsh blow. Naal bounded over to her immediately, pulling an orange vial from the pouch at his waist. "That.. kinda hurt." Naal snickered, handing his sister the vial to drink before returning the empty vial to his stock. "It does that. But the stronger you become, the better you'll dodge, and the more hardened your scales will be" "My scales are literally Wind!" she laughed, carefully placed her claw back to the ground before finding that it no longer throbbed at the attempt. Potions really were something. After Glidra had ensured that her daughter was well, the group moved onward. --- The massive owls before them were really quite a pain. Mostly a pain in her neck. And her shoulder. Glidra pounced, a full-body tackle landing squarely on the larger beast that was on her, followed up by a strong bite to grip it in place. Naal took a running leap, firing a blast of his magic at the other creature that had her, knocked it to the ground. He spun mid-air to land in front of her, shielding her from the birds. Between Naal peppering them both with his magic and her mother's powerful claws, the two went down in no time flat. Riln pulled herself up from the ground, wincing a bit as she aggravated her new wounds. Naal motioned for her to sit back down before he quickly wrapped her injuries in fresh gauze, handing her a golden potion. These tasted better than the orange ones, she decided. "Well, if you can take a hit like that, you're only getting better from here" her brother chuckled quietly, letting their mother finish gathering the supplies that the owls had guarded. She smiled at that. She was growing faster than Naal, and was much larger than him now, but he had much more experience, and started practicing his magic for battle at a much younger age. He seemed to think that she was doing well, and that helped her to feel that she had a chance at figuring this out. "I think that's enough injury for the day, we should head back and rest," their mother looked up from the plants she had gathered, letting out a sharp chirp, calling Prosperity back to her. The juvenile gyre tucked its beak into a satchel at her side, pulling open the flap enough to place the supplies that it had gathered safely inside. "You're doing great, really," her brother whispered to her with a small smile. "Maybe we can start teaching Loretta about herbs and poultices, too!" She laughed quietly, "I think she'd really like that. She's always interested in any plant that Prism is working with." "If by interested you mean scattering them about the hollow!" The two continued to laugh, joining their mother and Prosperity as they headed home.

[center][b]Day 24[/b][/center] [center][i]Material[/i] [item=Enchanted Remains][/center] [rule] [b]Lore.[/b] A chapter closes. [rule] Naal sat atop the grassy hill, looking out across the tundra below. It was the prettiest hillside near their new home; a large, lone oak bore its strength against the ice for all to see, wide boughs stretching out into a comforting shade. Dry grasses flecked the sides of the slope, a few golden flowers dotted here and there. There was an uninterrupted view of the beautiful horizon, which gave them fantastic sunsets and sunrises alike. It was a perfect place to watch the stars. He'd picked it out himself. Mother had been much too quiet as of late to voice her own opinion, but she seemed to approve. He had even managed to bring her here with him a few times, and suspected that she would come here on her own given time. The coatl curled his long tail around the old oak, resting his head at the base of the tree where the cairn lie. Prism had helped him to engrave the stones that adorned it; immaculately detailed leaves, in particular a grouping of plantain and a bundle of feverfew. A name, and an inscription. It was the least he could do for his father. The Wind began to pick up, bringing the chill of the Ice of the border to him as night approached. He could see the stars beginning to spot the sky, even if his eyesight would blur with tears. His father had done everything he could for this family, and had brought them this far. And alongside his mourning on the hill, he felt an inner peace. He could no longer hear the sobbing of the air that had followed his father in life here at his grave. It could not touch him now.

[center][b]Day 25[/b][/center] [center][i]Material[/i] [item=Ash Twigs][/center] [rule] [b]Lore.[/b] We rebuild. [rule] Riln stretched herself upwards, gathering the dry, dead wood that had collected in the upper branches of the trees above the snow melt of the ground. She twisted her head behind her, handing off the bundle to the small Nocturne perched on her back. Loretta tied the newest additions together and gathered the other bundles in her arms. She made a short chirp, calling Prosperity to her before the duo took to the skies to make the short trip back home with the supplies. "She's really quite the flyer now," Naal hummed to himself, snaking his way back down a tree nearby with the debris of an old hawk's nest. Riln snorted to herself, "It helps when you're mostly wings." --- Loretta made short work of the flight back to the hollow, checking that Prism and her mother were still at their spots at the northern end of the territory before diving downwards. Prism had told her that she and Props could fly stuff back and forth, but she had to fly low and make sure mom and him were still where they should be before heading inside. He said that they'd run off if they saw centaurs, and he didn't want them to know where they lived. Though she didn't have many memories of being inside her egg, the word "centaur" seemed to make her uneasy. It didn't take much convincing to follow that particular set of instructions. The Nocturne set the bundles in the pile by the cavern entrance, taking some of the more pliable twigs and a few bundles of drier leaves over to an alcove. Naal and Props had been showing her how to weave nests, and she was getting pretty good at it! They were soft but really sturdy, and the large, soft leaves she had been adding made them really warm. Mom said she had to keep checking in with Naal and Riln though, to make sure everyone knew where the other was. She had the best vantage point, too! She could see everyone pretty easily from the air, and could hear their thoughts from far enough away. Props was always really easy to talk to like that, maybe because she didn't have any other words. Plus, she was really warm, so she always made a good nestmate at night. The hatchling's head perked up at a chirrup from the bird. Loretta wove a few more bindings of foliage into the nest in front of her before joining the phoenix in the skies.

[center][b]Day 26[/b][/center] [center][i]Material[/i] [item=Bluestreaked Shell][/center] [rule] [b]Lore.[/b] Rest. [rule] The small Nocturne pounced, diving into the water and popping her head back above the surface with a fish proudly snagging between her jaws. "You fish like a duck, Lor!" Naal snickered at the shore of the small pond, grinning as his sister flew back to him. "It's fun! I like swimming!" The hatchling shook off her hide, spraying her brother in a fine mist of water. "Hey, it's cold, and some of us have feathers to keep dry!" The hatchling grinned smugly to herself, curling up next to her brother to watch him fish the more "proper" way. Keep your shadow off the water, hold your strike, and spring forward to snag. She liked her way better, though. She caught a small glimmer out of the corner of her eye, jumping up and bounding over to a small shell a couple lengths from the shore. Her brother stuck his tongue out at her as she scared off the fish that he had been eyeing. "This must have been an ancient ocean floor, you've found so many of those things today." Loretta plucked the shell from the sandy ground, turning it over in her claws. It was a vibrant and iridescent blue, as shimmering as her mother's wings. "C'mon, you can add that one to the collection when you get home." The hatchling trotted back over to the shoreside, placing the shell gently in her satchel before turning her focus back to fishing.

Today's posts begin with [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2800082/4#post_42003028]Day 24[/url]. [rule] [center][b]Day 27[/b][/center] [center][i]Familiar[/i] [item=Sparkling Stinger][/center] [rule] [b][url=https://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=58182297]Vincente[/url] joins the clan.[/b] A vengeance is fought. [rule] Naal will never be able to forget the image of the star-studded sunset suddenly streaking off into the hillside. A dragon, of fiery oranges and starry blues, rained Fire down upon the encroaching centaurs. The fatal arrows poised to strike burned to ashes before they met flesh. Glidra roared, taking off into the skies and covering the pack in sheets of Ice. Their enemy knew now that they would no longer be retreating. They had the power to win. --- The Sunset Dragon landed gracefully upon the flame-scarred earth, looking back to Glidra, Naal, and Riln as they landed beside him. "Who are you?" Glidra placed herself between the strange dragon and her offspring, still tensed and ready to strike. The Tundra sat back onto his hindquarters, letting his tail rest over his front claws and letting out a small sigh, "I could ask the same of you, myself. I've wandered this path for some time now, and your scent is unfamiliar." "LORETTA!" Glidra snapped her head back towards Prism's voice, seeing her youngest bounding toward them. "[i]Loretta[/i], head back to the hollow [i]immediately-[/i]" "-It's okay, mom! He's just confused like us!" And the words of a hatchling shut everyone up. "You come through here a lot, yeah? You seem comfortable but confused. We're new here," the small Nocturne came to a stop at her mother's feet, looking up at the adult dragon towering in front of her. The other dragon paused, eyeing the child for a moment before seeming to calm himself. "You're right. I follow the easternmost edge of the Icefield in my journeying, and I have never run across quite a group." "Why do you journey?" Glidra held his gaze once more, but without the hostility she held previously. "You could say that I am lost," The Tundra nearly snorted, looking back toward the horizon from which he came. "I had a clan, once. Not more than a few friends, really. We went our separate ways, but I never felt a place that I truly belonged since then. I travel, but have rarely seen other dragons about." Glidra looked the other dragon over. He appeared confident, but there was a certain unease in his posture. He was well-fed enough, but his eyes were sunken. His shimmering fur unkempt. "..I am Glidra, matriarch of the Clan of the Phoenix. And you are?" "Vincente, my lady." "Vincente," Glidra paused, looking to Loretta. She really had a promising talent. Perhaps Prism would be able to help her hone it. "..Why don't you rest with us for a while?"

[center][b]Day 29[/b][/center] [center][i]Material[/i] [item=Brilliant Feather Cluster][/center] [rule] [b]Lore.[/b] Continued change. [rule] "Rinny, have your wings been looking.. lighter, lately?" The Guardian hummed, gathering the bundle of leaves and flowers together and giving a casual glance back at her wings, fanning them out slightly, "..Maybe? Mother said my colors and patterns have changed quite a bit since I was young. I think I used to have a lot of stripes? Something to do with instability in magic with being born on the Elemental borders." The Tundra seemed quite a bit more off-put by this fact than the dragon in question, but turned back to the task at hand. If she wasn't bothered, he supposed it was likely harmless. [i]Strange,[/i] but harmless. Vincente tugged up a mouthful of the bright orange flowers at his feet, turning to Riln, "Are you sure we can't just eat these? They taste delicious." Riln swatted him with the tip of her tail, "No! We'll plant them and let them spread. Mother never let me or Naal decorate outside the Hollow when the centaurs were around, and I want it to look beautiful." She gave a small, contented sigh, collecting a few small purple blossoms and their roots near her, "..you can eat some of them when we've grown more." If Vincente was a tad more enthusiastic about their task after this, she wouldn't say anything.

[center][b]Day 30[/b][/center] [center][i]Apparel[/i] [item=Paper Pearlcatcher Masque][/center] [rule] [b]Riln and Vincente have a clutch of 3 healthy eggs.[/b] Nests were full today, so they were laid on Day 31. [rule] "A clutch was not expected, but.. is not unwelcome." Her mother's speech was somewhat stilted, and Riln knew she was playing with Time to find her words. She knew her mother was agitated- the only clutch the clan had ever bore had been her own, and it had been struck with tragedy. But she was also aware that her mother loved hatchlings, and despite her reservations, caring for a nest here in the Hollow was far safer than the Meadow had been. "She can fight, now, mom. We nearly all can." Naal soothed her, looking to the nest and smiling in adoration. "Three healthy eggs," his smile turned mischievous, "-and maybe beauty even skips a generation!" Vincente scoffed and swatted him with his tail, turning back to the nest, circling it and curling around the eggs. Loretta was perched on the edge of the nest nearby, staring intently at each egg in turn. Prism, though less openly interested, had most of his eyes shut in focus. Riln lifted her younger sister off the side of the nest with her tail, "Okay, you two, don't start invading their privacy [i]before[/i] they're born." Loretta squabbled and protested her movement, but Prism at least had the decency to look somewhat repentant, if not put-upon at being called out.

Today's posts begin with [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2800082/4#post_42014709]Day 29[/url]. [rule] [center][b]Day 31[/b][/center] [center][i]Food: Meat[/i] [item=Southern Gull][/center] [rule] [b]Naal, Vincente, and Loretta head into Wilderness.[/b] [rule] 'Go play with a hatchling,' she said. 'Help Loretta learn to fight,' she said. Vincente hardly thinks her rationale justifies the panic this one causes him every time she jumps at something. And oh, he had just about had [i]enough[/i] of the day when she was mauled by phytocats. But Loretta seemed none-the-worse. If you looked solely at her attitude. Her hide was a mess. And oh, Glidra would [i]not[/i] be happy about that. Her hatchling seemed to be having the time of her life, however. And after the phytocat incident, he'd been the only one taking on new injuries, because he was now acting as her personal meat shield. Oh Flamecaller, could his heart, or pelt, even [i]handle[/i] triplets? He could only guess that getting his skills in now, with a much older, stronger hatchling is what his mate had intended. We [i]was[/i] kind of a worry-wart. Naal handed off a potion to each of them, grinning ear-to-ear. "You're getting better, Lor! I'd have figured you'd feel more comfortable with magics, but you've really got the swing of claws!" Loretta hopped around him excitedly, "It's been really fun! Maybe Momma and Rinny can help me with attacks too, then?" Naal snorted, Vincente carefully avoiding eye contact. Ah. That was the name he called Riln in private. She was listening in on them. That would be a discussion for later. Beyond the next patch of brush was a ledge, maybe a length or two of a drop. And below, a phytocat had already spotted them. The phytocat in front of them now posed little threat; Loretta had a bit of experience under her belt now, and could easily read their attacks. And the potential to get a jump-strike onto it had her excited enough to immediate run in for the hit. But she was completely focused on the phytocat when the damn plant took its shot. "-LOR!" Naal ran for his sister. Everything seemed to slow down. The phytocat went down at some point. There was blood everywhere. He had to get that plant. He took a flying leap into the tree, scrabbling through the branches after it as it tried to dart out of his reach. But Fire doesn't need touch. It took one (albeit heavy-handed) shot, and it was down. The branches were wet enough from the recent rainfall that they wouldn't spark. Thank the Flamecaller. "Lor, c'mon, wake up! Please!" Vincente shook himself out of his stupor, leaping out of the tree and back to the young dragon. Naal had several empty vials scattered around him, his claws working frantically to apply pressure to the rather large wound on his sister's abdominal. Vincente turned quickly to the bags, grabbing several binds of gauze and passing them off to Naal. She was breathing, but it was faint. "Is she stable?" "Yes, but she needs help, Prism has the supplies back at the Hollow-" "Leave her to me." Naal spun to stare at him, questioning confusion and desperation both written on his face. "I flew from dawn to dusk every last day of my journey- fastest flyer around." Naal sprang to his feet, securing a few more pieces of gauze before helping to secure his sister, his sister who felt weaker by the minute, onto Vincente's back. He had to trust him with this. The Tundra shot up into the air, and flew as fast as his wings could take him. --- Glidra may have given him an earful, but at least she saved the most of it for Loretta when she woke up. --- [img]https://i.imgur.com/iTE1k8M.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/9xcBxMU.png[/img] this caused a gasp so loud that I woke my dog up and nearly had a heart attack I was not expecting that.

[center][b]Day 32[/b][/center] [center][i]Material[/i] [item=Zalis Weaving][/center] [rule] [b]Lore.[/b] With great power comes great responsibility. [rule] "Why at night?" "Keep your voice low, Loretta" "...But why at night?" Prism looked across the Hollow at each dragon in turn, checking that they remained undisturbed in their slumber. "Powers such as ours can be.. offputting, to those without them. They deem them an invasion upon their privacy." "But I can talk to them so much better when I can see what they meant!" "Shhh. Yes, I know, hatchling." Prism paused again, closing most of his eyes to focus in on his thoughts for a moment. "We can practice honing your powers at night, extending their reach and ability, with the hatchlings within their eggs. They have no secrets yet to themselves that we may be intruding upon. But in your waking hours, it shall be necessary to display restraint. Though we may feel differently, we must respect the wishes of our family and others best we can." The small Nocturne hesitated, but nodded, seeming to trust his words. "D'ya think I could talk to more people besides Props through my magic?" "Only time will tell. There are others that have magics similar to yourself- myself and Naal included- but yours is particular in that it interacts with a dragon, and at any given moment. For now, Prosperity and yourself can communicate by reading the emotions of one another, where you both possess an ability to read the feelings of others. But only those with that type of power can speak in this way. I believe you may be able to strengthen your magic, such that you can not only read emotions, but exert them. That would be true empathetic telepathy." Loretta seemed to think on this, eyeing the ground between her feet as she mulled the idea over. "..Practice makes perfect, right?" "Correct." The young dragon grinned, nodding with a determined look upon her face. She could do this. And it will be so much fun.