Quests & Challenges

@SkyDagger

Oh my! I'm so excited! I think this will be a very fun way to get some writing exercise, and I'm also really looking forward to seeing everyone's stories. :3

Please take your time as needed and don't exhaust yourself. I am just happy to play.
:3 b

Oh wow! I don't know how I didn't see this notif! I'm excited for this!

This is great! I'm looking forward to doing some creative writing!

@Sinjin @StormDragon21 @Sandydragon595 @Forestwolf @Mutation @Saronai @Wylin @romlily @Tenrecidae @AloVra @Pensacola @Scatterspark @Bxy26 @dragonpals @robouiop Hello everyone! Today is day one for Stories in the Stars. Here is today's constellation: [img]https://i.imgur.com/yrikvsV.png[/img] [item=Electric Stingers] [b]Electric Stingers[/b] [b]You have until July 26, 2021 17:01:09 FR time to submit your story. Remember the story must not exceed 800 words. [/b]

[i]Day One: Electric Stinger Constellation (Sunday) By Saronai Word Count: 687 (counting this header and the footer notes)[/i] [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/70131700][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/350/701318/70131700_350.png[/img][/url][/center] “Oh, hey! I know this one! Yeah, Star Ocean Squishies! My mom used to tell me this one...at least...I think she did.” Dory takes a moment to reflect on that before she continues. “Anyway, see, a long time ago there was this one squishy in particular who grew big enough to start eating smaller dragons. It was called...stinger...something…[i]they’re really painful! Ooo ooo![/i] Electric stingers, that’s it, yeah. Where was I?” Though friendly, this excitable tundra doesn’t seem to realize her wayward story-telling ‘skills’ can be a little difficult to sit through. On the plus side, she’s also enthusiastic and polytoned. Then again...she seems to have taken to stargazing and requires several more moments before she notices you staring. And waiting. “Can I help you?” She looks dubious at first, then her face brightens again. “Oh, right! I was telling you a story wasn’t I? Sorry about that! Right, the Giant Star Ocean Squishy. See, it grew too big to be around any of the electric stinger schools by the time the Tidelord took notice. Which [i]probably[/i] explains why it wasn’t too terribly bright either. I mean, I think [i]most[/i] of us would chill out after making the [i]Tidelord[/i] angry, don’t you? Not Star Ocean Squishy! Nope, it not only stung his favourite seer but then it [i]ate[/i] a whole Guardian!” Another pause for stargazing follows during which you begin to think she’s forgotten she’s telling you a story again. This time, still looking up at the sky, she continues. “You know...I can’t remember exactly how it happened or [i]why[/i] it happened like this, but the Tidelord couldn’t or maybe [i]didn’t[/i] want to outright kill The Star Ocean Squishy? I think it was as impressive as it was painfully annoying? Or maybe the Tidelord was immune to the stings because squishies just look [i]awfully[/i] cuddleable - don’t you think so? I do. “Anyway, the Star Ocean Squishy was growing [i]way[/i] too big for even the ocean. So, with the Arcanist’s help, the Tidelord tricked it into voluntarily leaving Sornieth, elevated up, up and away by The Arcanist’s magic where it then transformed into stars.” Here, Dory speaks in a deeper voice meant to mimic the Tidelord, apparently. “See all those sparkling dots up there, my wonderful giant squishy? See those seven in particular? It’s a [i]narwhale[/i].” Dory interrupts herself in her own voice. “No wait, sorry…” Back to the Tidelord’s voice. “I mean a [i]star whale[/i] in a vast and unending ocean. With your permission, the Arcanist here can help you fly into that star ocean where you’ll be free to grow as large and admired as you desire.” Back to her normal voice. “I mean, who refuses an offer like that though? Except for people who know you can’t breathe up there - and I’m [i]pretty[/i] sure there’s no water up there. Or fish. Anyway, it worked and that’s how the Tidelord and the Arcanist together hung the Star Ocean Squishy constellation for us all to admire its vast size in safety. “Pretty cool, huh? Hey, did you know I can speak whale? I can say hello to the whale constellation right next to it.” At this point the excitable dragon gains a [i]lot[/i] more attention by random passersby as she proceeds to speak a long, slow, and [i]loud[/i] greeting up at the sky. ----- Feel free to rule me out of prize consideration today for RPing a fandragon whose original concept does not belong to me, though the writing is mine, Dory is based on the character Dory from Finding Nemo and Finding Dory, so she doesn’t belong to me. I just couldn’t resist using her for this idea when it popped into my head.

The Electric Stinger

This star formation clearly resembles a jellyfish, one of the Electric Stingers species. See its tiered cap and long tendrils? A dangerous-looking star cluster, to be sure!

But what could an electric stinger even do to earn being immortalized in the stars? Well, let me tell you a story from my youth that might shed some light on their potential...

I was out fishing with my brother, and we hadn't caught a thing all day. It was starting to get late, but our father had told us not to come back without a full basket for supper, so we resigned ourselves to keep at it for a couple hours longer. As the sky began to fade from a stormy sunset crimson to dusky plum, we cast our net one more time... and this time, finally, we pulled up fish. A nice wriggling batch of silver fish... mixed with jellyfish.

We cried out in dismay at the sight, and carefully deposited the net in the middle of the boat while we tried to figure out what to do. Some dragons will eat the things, though I've never understood why. Stringy, gooey things, and not very filling, either. But the electric stingers were thoroughly mixed into the rest of the fish, and we weren't sure how to separate them. The suggestion of tossing the load and trying again was as unpalatable as going home empty-handed, so after some debate, we decided that someone would have pick them out.

A game of rock-paper-scissors won Nigel the unenviable task (I put my foot down at "best five out of eight"), and he reached in to catch the cap of a stinger with his talons. Watching a Ridgeback that big plucking so delicately with his claws, arm fully extended... I might have laughed. Just a little bit. As he unwound the jellies from our catch, I scooped the fish up to throw in our basket. We'd gotten through almost the full lot before the inevitable happened: one of the stingers touched him.

Now, I swear the thing only brushed him for the barest nanosecond, but Nigel absolutely shrieked. He jerked back, making the boat rock, but his talons were still caught in the stinger's cap and the thing jerked back right with him. That just made him scream louder, as if he really thought the stinger was somehow chasing him, and he flailed his arm wildly trying to shake it off. The stinger's tendrils flipped and spun, landing tiny stinging strikes on his hand and forearm, and he reacted with a panicked dance and a cacophony of wails and curses.

I yelled too, trying to instruct him to calm down and throw the thing into the water before he capsized our boat, but my poor brother was beyond reason. Finally, he managed to unhook his claw from the stinger's cap and flung his arm out, sending the jellyfish rocketing into the air just as our boat finally tipped.

I'll spare you the details on the rest of the story. We lost all but a handful of the fish, but we got the boat back on land with minimal stinging, and our father laughed himself sick (though of course, we were still thoroughly lectured for not bringing home any good fish). As we both tumbled into the water, I never saw the electric stinger land. It doesn't seem too far-fetched to imagine that Nigel flung it hard enough to leave its imprint in the night sky, a warning that every good fisherman ought to keep a pair of nice, long tongs close at hand.

Ricky Ridgeback and the Sting of Unheeded Warnings of Half Measures

In the Scrub, overlooking the Sea, lives the Witch. For a price, she will offer her services to not only the new dragon clans have made their homes in the Expanse, but also the beastfolk that call the Scrub their home. She is not that hard to find. In fact, if you journey into the Scrub, she will find you. You need only to need her help.

One day, a longneck maiden named Opuntia very much needed the Witch’s help. You see, Opuntia had found her fish pools at the mercy of Ricky the Ridgeback. The pools were an oasis in the scrubs, salted by the minerals of the desert, full of sea life. Opuntia’s village would take from the pools every year for a feast, letting the life replenish in between. It was a very awful day when Opuntia, tasked with tending the pools that year, found Ricky gulping down a village feast’s worth of fish…

“Well!” Ricky laughed. “It seems I have been caught! And I don’t think you’ll want back what I have ‘borrowed’ when I’m done. But, little lady, I tell you what. Since you managed to catch me in the act of stealing and not really borrowing, I will grant you a wish.” Opuntia’s fear turned to anger very quickly. “I only wish to never see you eating our fish again!” She yelled.

Ricky smiled deviously. “Then I promise you will never see me eating your fish, ever again.”

Opuntia never saw him eating the fish again. He only did it when she wasn’t looking, the terrible Ricky! She could not fight him. She could not poison him without hurting her fish. She just couldn’t figure out what to do! So she needed the Witch. Little did the Witch know, she would also be very glad to find Opuntia.

After only an hour of wandering the Scrub, Opuntia found herself under the shadow of a female ridgeback, large even for her species. This dragon was none other than the Witch. Lumps of copper almost too heavy for the longneck to carry, but like poppy seeds to the Witch, were enough for payment. The Witch spread her wings as shade for Opuntia and listened to her request.

“Pardon, child…did you say this creature’s name was Ricky?” The Witch’s demeanor suddenly became like stone. “Yes,” said Opuntia, timid. The Witch softened. “Payment is not needed, dear Opuntia. You will find the copper at the edge of your village. Take me to your pools.” She commanded.

The Witch looked at the ravaged pools in disgust. She then gently scooped water into the curves of each of her talons, closed her eyes, and focused her magic. She thought of the stinging salt of tears, the minerals in the water crystalizing. Lacy patterns were formed, lovely, flowing, like her gown on that day at the altar. She opened her eyes, looked at the still, delicate creation, and breathed a small spark into it.

“Don’t touch these, dear Opuntia. Lot of…energy in them. Electric and stinging.” The Witch placed them gently into the water. She sighs and frowns. “We’ll have to put a sign up warning him. It’s only fair.”

....

Sneaking into the pools was oddly easy this time for Ricky. He saw the Witch’s sign and laughed. “Oh, HER? She wouldn’t…”

...

When Opuntia returned to the pools the next day, she found Ricky towering over her, eyes narrowed, ponds plundered. “Tell that Witch I liked her snacks she made me. They were tasty. Tasty! SPICY, even! Didn’t realize she could still cook!” He flew off, guffawing, as Opuntia collapsed to the ground, hope shattered.

This time, the Witch did not even wait for Opuntia to come to the wilds. She was waiting for Opuntia when she returned home. She frowned. Her heart no longer ached for her younger self, but for this sobbing little girl before her. “Follow me to the pools once again, child. I will not fail the second time.”

The Witch called the stinging jellies to her claws. She asked Opuntia to place one of the discarded fish heads (who wastes the heads anyways?!) in with them and gathered them to herself. The sin of thievery and waste was poison enough.

“Opuntia. Cooked, these are delicious but fresh, their sting is one of the most painful in the world. Electric and venomous, enough can kill a dragon. Even one as large as me.” Opuntia gasped.

“We’ll have to put up a sign warning him. It’ll be funnier that way.”

Once again, Ricky returned. Once again, he read the sign. “Oh, she just WOULDN’T!” He sneered.

The next morning, Ricky was found beside the pools, smile upon his face, but dead as a doornail still.

[i]You come across a small gathering of hatchlings. Somehow they seem familiar...very familiar...[/i] [center][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/60783636][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/dgen/preview/dragon?age=0&body=21&bodygene=5&breed=2&element=4&eyetype=7&gender=0&tert=28&tertgene=5&winggene=6&wings=30&auth=21a78d2b002ffddbcefbe094b59a8f4e9613d88d&dummyext=prev.png[/img][/url][/center] "Oh, oh, I know this story!" Tideling settled in, curled his tail around his back legs, and tried to look very solemn. "[url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/63053651]Gladeling[/url], quit pulling [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/63136202]Plagueling's[/url] tail. Once upon a time, there was a Ridgeback who lived on the edge of the Sea of a Thousand Currents." "Was he a very smart Ridgeback?" [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/63678444]Stormling[/url] asked. "One with amazing math skills, and science skills, and zappy-zap skills?" One stray zappy-zap caught [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/63289025]Lightling[/url] on the nose. She yelped. "Quit that!" "No, he was a not-very-smart Ridgeback, who kept playing pranks on his friends, and no one liked him." Tideling frowned. "But he did have zappy-zap skills." Stormling smirked. "ANYWAY. The Ridgeback went down to the sea to catch some fish. He didn't like water--I have NO IDEA why--so he had to use a net." "OOOOOOOH!" cried [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/63659364]Windling[/url]. "I can make nets! I can make them REALLY WELL! I just need some kite string!" "That's nice," said Tideling. "Anyway, the Ridgeback threw out his net, and didn't catch anything. So instead of being a SMART Ridgeback and diving in, he decided to just throw his net out again. And again. And again. And again. And..." "We get the picture," [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/63705788]Iceling[/url] muttered. Tideling glared. "And again. And again, all day, until finally, just as the sun was setting, there was something in his net." "Was it a fish?" asked Iceling sarcastically. "He could have gone to the Tangled Wood," [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/63309942]Shadowling[/url] mentioned. "I made fish recently. They are cool. And tasty." "Yes, well, not exactly." Tideling was distracted for a moment by the [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/game-database/item/37888]glittering purple fish[/url] who appeared out of midair, circling around Shadowling in lazy circles. "Hey, what are those for? I like fish." "They're mine," Shadowling purred. Tideling tried to grab one, but it darted out of reach. "Oh, can I play too?" [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/62676043]Earthling[/url] trundled forward, stubby paws outreached to catch a fish. It dodged him easily. Stormling zappy-zapped again. Everyone jumped. "I wanna know what happened next!" he pouted. "Oh yeah." Tideling paused in his pursuit of the sparkly shadow fish. "Um, well, what he caught was a jellyfish." "Boooooring," [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/64428255]Flameling[/url] yawned. "That's what the Ridgeback said!" Tideling said triumphantly. "He was so annoyed. 'Jellyfish are so boring! They just kind of blob around, and they chew and chew, and they don't taste like anything.' Then he had one of his not-so-smart ideas." "What was the idea?" Stormling asked, frowning. "He decided that jellyfish would be less boring if they could zappy-zap just like him! So he cast a magic spell. 'By the hair of a frog and a fish scale, let jellyfish zap hard and stun a whale!'" Plagueling yawned. "And then what?" "And that's how jellyfish got their stings," Tideling finished. He looked around triumphantly, only to see ten grumpy hatchling faces glaring back at him. "What?" "You were supposed to tell the story of how the Electric Stinger got into the night sky, not how they got their stings in the first place," Lightling accused. "Oh." Tideling was crestfallen. [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/63803864]Arcaneling[/url] clasped his head in his claws. "Wait, I got it! I know how it got up there!" "How?" asked several hatchlings. "I put it there!" "Okay...but, why?" Earthshaker asked. Arcaneling shrugged. "Why not?" "Good question." Stormling gave Arcaneling a high five that knocked him flat on his back. "I like your story better." "Gee, thanks, guys," Tideling muttered. "Never mind," Earthling said, attempting to pat him on the back. "You can try again tomorrow." Tideling ignored him. [i]((Or at least they will be hatchlings eventually, once I bother to buy them their scrolls.))[/i]

Day 1:
"Wow! That one looks like an electric jellyfish!" the hatchling said.
"It does! I remember a fairy tale my mother told me when I was your age," the parent said.
"Tell it to me!" the hatchling said excitedly.
"There was an oasis infested with the electric jellyfish. There were so many jellyfish that no dragon, not even a Guardian, could drink from it. It was the only water source for miles, and many dragons needed the oasis for fresh water. The jellyfishes would swarm and sting any dragon that tried to remove a jellyfish, making it impossible to remove the jellyfish. They had to kill them. wasn't safe for dragons to drink. It was shocking for the dragon that suggested it, as they believed that their solution was the only one. Everyone was at a loss for what to do. As no other solutions were presented, they were considering electrocuting the water to get rid of the jellyfishes. A storm was setting in, so they had to act soon. They chose to electrocute the water, but the storm had already started by the time they were ready, soaking the sand they were standing on. They electrocuted the water, which in turn electrocuted the sand, electrocuting the dragons. The jellyfishes were dead, but every dragon got a permanent injury from the experience."
"So, what do you think?" the parent inquired.
The hatchling was sleeping, and had been sleeping for the past hour.
"Hatchlings..." the parent muttered.