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Let's see the results of today's Dusk Choice...
You make your way over to the
gate guard: a Snapper whose smile is friendly, despite the weapons he carries and the sturdy armour he wears. He nods in greeting. “Happy Starfall, friend.”
“Happy Starfall,” you reply, smiling against your worries. You glance past him at the gate. “What’s going on here? Aren’t we letting anyone else in?”
“Ah,” he says, shuffling his feet. “It’s a little embarrassing, I’m afraid: the gates just… shut themselves, earlier this afternoon. And no matter what we try, we can’t get them open.”
“What?” you gasp, eyes widening.
The Snapper nods sadly. “I’m afraid so. It’s caused quite the commotion, I can tell you!” He looks over his shoulder at the crystalline doors and shakes his head. “I just hope everybody who wanted to visit the Astrolodome today isn’t too disappointed.”
“Do you remember when it happened?” you ask, following his gaze. You have a feeling you could probably guess.
“Yep! It was right after the dome went all bright and sparkly earlier—did you see it? I thought it was beautiful, right up until
clang! The doors slammed shut right behind me. I’m lucky I didn’t have my tail in there—and that no one was walking through,” he says, eyes concerned at the thought of what a disaster either of those things could have been. “I’ve been a gate guard since I was barely more than a hatchling, and I’ve never seen anything like it.”
You move past him to get a better look at the doors, watching the swirls of magic move inside them. Is it your imagination, or is it getting more translucent? You can almost make out shapes through the arcglass now. You take another step, but the Snapper grabs your arm.
“Careful, it’s got this weird charge to it, you’ll get a shock,” he warns. You shake out your still-tingling fingers; you're definitely familiar with the feeling. He continues: “The mages who came ‘round earlier to inspect all the gates said something about—what was it? Well, I can’t remember the exact term they used, but they said whatever happened put a charge into the arcglass and now it’s all magnetized together.”
"Curious," you mutter, then turn to him with bright eyes, "but I appreciate the help!" He nods dutifully (seems like this guy nods a lot...). You wish him a Happy Starfall once again before walking away, lost in thought about what you’ve discovered.
If all the gates are affected, that means the whole of the Astrolodome is permeated with some kind of magic. Is that what caused you to—well,
travel through time? It has to be. But how? You’ve never encountered time-travel before in any of your texts or lessons.
You get swept up in the crowds, but the bustle of the Festival coming to life around you doesn’t break through your swirling thoughts: Is it because of the comet? If so, will it happen again when the comet ‘arrives’ a second time? And are you really the only dragon aware of what is happening? Suddenly you feel very small, and quite alone. What are you supposed to do next? If you are stuck in a loop, can you even break free?
A sudden gasp catches your attention. You blink and look up to find that it’s fully dark—and the comet is here. The chatter dips before returning with shouts and cheers. You spin around to look.
It is just as spectacular as the night before: the three tails burning blue and pink and purple across the night sky.
The comet pulses. You hold your breath.
The light falls onto the surface of the Astrolodome—your heart sinks as it grows and spreads just like last time, the arcglass blazing until you can’t see the comet or the stars and the night becomes like day. You shut your eyes as the crowd around you babbles their questions, and through your lids there’s a
bright pink flash—
—and when you blink open your eyes, you’re sitting in your ward circle, back in your room, Erasmus scribbling at his desk.
Again.
For the third time.
What now?
Dawn Choice 3
What do you do?
Make your choice via the Google Form linked above.
This Choice will be open until
11am FR Time on Tuesday 28 September.
