Day 2: Sun's First Rays
Sentence: Writing
Sentence: Writing
A few days had passed since Ifor had arrived at the school, but it felt like minutes. The guardian had thought that having time to get settled before classes started would give her time to get used to the place, but she could not be more mistaken.
There had been no sign of Enser, so Ifor was stuck with only Midnight for company. The imperial wasn't bad company, per se, but he did nothing to calm Ifor's battered nerves with all of his prattling about his magical prowess.
It was Midnight who woke up Ifor by banging on her door the first morning of the Brightshine Jubilee.
"Are you up?" her classmate's muffled voice sounded through the door.
"I am now," Ifor groaned, pulling herself up to her feet and rubbing her eyes. "Couldn't this wait until later?"
"It's the first day of the Brightshine Jubliee!" Midnight's voice was practically glowing. "You don't want to miss it!"
Ifor's stomach turned. "We're getting our mentors assigned today?" She asked warily.
"No, you silly goose!" Midnight chuckled. "They're giving us a day off to enjoy the celebrations! Plus, Enser is arriving today and they want us to go and pick him up so he doesn't get lost!"
Despite her grogginess, Ifor couldn't help but feel the thrum of excitement. She had never experienced an elemental festival before, having been born long after the previous Greenskeeper Gathering, and perhaps Enser would prove to be a better friend than Midnight.
"I'm coming," Ifor sighed. "Just let me get my stuff together."
Midnight was basically bouncing with excitement by the time that Ifor joined him on the other side of the door. The guardian was surprised that the crystal floor wasn't cracking under his weight. She had with her a small leather bag with the few coins she had remaining. The imperial grinned as he met her eyes.
"Alright, let's go!" Midnight raced down the stairs, barely giving Ifor any warning. It took considerable effort to keep up with his pace.
"But what about breakfast?" Ifor asked, glancing at the kitchen.
"Huh? Oh, we can eat in town!" Midnight reminded her.
"In town?" Ifor asked. Wasn't the school putting something on?
"Yeah, near here, the town of Starwhisper Crescent has a great celebration going on!" Midnight explained. "They'll have lots of food for sale there, we don't need to worry about hunting today!"
Once they exited the student quarters, the two dragons took to the skies. It took about an hour to fly from Astra Academy to Starwhisper Crescent, but soon Ifor caught sight of the town through the trees of the Whisper Woods. It was indeed shaped like a crescent, with domestic homes on the narrower edges, trailing away from the central hub in the center.
Despite the daylight, there were a number of lights lining the streets. Ifor had to squint to avoid being blinded, her shadow eyes not used to such splendor. In front of the usual establishments and businesses were a number of festival stalls, selling souvenirs of all shapes and sizes.
Ifor found herself distracted by a number of beautifully metalworked lanterns with a spark of light magic keeping them alight. The sign advertised them of having an 'everlasting light,' and it reminded her of home. She began to scan the signs for prices.
"You got any immaculate tablets?" A raspy voice sounded form behind the stall. It belonged to a scarred banescale. He flicked his tail at the sign, pricing them at ten tablets.
"No, sorry," Ifor apologized, feeling flushed with embarrassment. She immediately turned away and rushed to rejoin Midnight, ignoring the banescale's calls behind her.
"You caught up," Midnight observed. "Sorry, am I going to fast?"
Ifor shook her head. "I just got distracted."
"You don't have any immaculate tablets, do you?" Midnight sounded amused, which infuriated Ifor even further.
"No, do you?" Ifor snapped back.
"I do actually, my parents gave me some before I left home," Midnight admitted. "Usually its pretty standard for shopkeepers to accept festival currency instead of treasure if they are selling festival favours."
"I didn't know that," Ifor admitted.
"They're usually pretty easy to get. Maybe we can get you some after we find Enser," Midnight suggested, voice tainted with pity.
"Where are we supposed to be meeting him?" Ifor asked, ignoring his condescending response.
"At the main gate to the town," Midnight responded, gesturing to a large crystal archway. Dragons were milling in and out of it, and no one seemed to be standing still enough to be waiting for anyone, save for a pair of guards, a ridgeback and a guardian.
"Excuse me," Midnight approached the ridgeback guard. "Did you see a wildclaw pass through here heading to Astra Academy?"
The ridgeback narrowed her eyes at Midnight. "What's it to ya?" She asked. "You trying to mug him?"
Ifor shriveled at the accusation, but the imperial held his patience.
"No, we're just supposed to be escorting him to the campus," Midnight explained.
"Well, I did see a green fella asking for directions before heading into the tavern," The ridgeback admitted, nodding towards a bursting tavern on the other side of the street.
"Thank you," Midnight dipped his head, slipping a few copper coins into the ridgeback's hand as a tip. She glanced wide-eyed at them, then pocketed them immediately.
The building was larger than the others surrounding it. It's many stories were crooked, as if it were held together by magic. Loud shouts and boisterous music could be heard from within. This didn't seem like the calm, family tavern back home, and Ifor was hit with another wave of culture shock. She didn't exactly want to go in, but Midnight was already making his way across the street, and Ifor feared being left alone more.
The tavern was even more intimidating on the inside as it appeared on the outside. Every table seemed to be full of dragons loudly eating and drinking. The smell of sweat immediately hit Ifor's nostrils. In the corner, a band of three were trying to compete with the noise of conversation. The guardian could hardly make out the beats amidst the cacophony.
Behind the counter, a couple of dragons looked harried, trying to keep up with the orders they were receiving and handing them off to a couple of servers.
"I think I see him!" Midnight shouted, trying to raise his voice enough to be heard.
"Where?" Ifor responded in an equally raised tone.
"I'll go get him! You wait here, this doesn't exactly seem to be your scene," Midnight chuckled, then disappeared into the crowd, leaving Ifor on her own.
Ifor tried not to pay too much attention to the table of ravenous mirrors nest to the door, or the hooded dragons eying her from the next table over. Instead, she turned her attention to the music.
The chaotic beat of the previous song had come to an end, and the band was beginning a new tune. This one was less loud and, while still upbeat, had a smoother sound to it. It was then that Ifor realized that she remembered this song from her travels, and that it was a tune she quite enjoyed. The guardian found her hips swaying to the music, and soon found the rest of her body joining in.
The world around her faded away as she began to dance. Even her anxiety became nothing more than a distant memory. All that mattered was the song and the way her body responded to it. Her steps soon aligned with the beat as she gave in completely to the song.
All too soon, the song came to an end. Around her, a couple of dragons clapped and whistled, and Ifor quickly became self-conscious once more. She huddled her wings closer to her back, and looked around for a familiar face, mouth dry.
Midnight was standing next to a green wildclaw adorned in golden jewelry. He looked at Ifor, clearly impressed.
"Enser, this is Ifor," Midnight stepped forward to introduce the two. "Apparently he decided to explore town a little bit before seeking us out." He cast a glare at his new roommate.
"Ifor! It's a pleasure to finally meet you! It looks as though you enjoy a good song," Enser grinned, holding a hand out to Ifor. The guardian took it, at a complete loss for words. She wasn't sure what she was expecting her other clasmate to be like, but this was not it. She had yet to decide if this was a good thing or a bad thing.
"So, do you both want to go out and enjoy the festival?" Midnight asked, stepping in once more.
"Yeah, sure," Ifor shrugged. "Where do we find these Immaculate Tablets?"
"Ah, let me show you!" Enser stepped away from the crowds and towards the door. "I know the best way to do festivals."
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I got back from my camping trip yesterday, and wow, it was a blast! I had forgotten how much I enjoy a good camping trip!
It feels good to do a festival properly. My last pinkerlocke wasn't really the right setting for a big crowded festival-type celebration. I've brought in the town of Starwhisper Crescent for times like this. I even have 10 dragons spots set aside in my pinkerlocke allowances for actual pinkerlocke participants from the town, so you can expect those to be introduced as my cast of characters gets bigger!
