Quests & Challenges

[center][color=maroon][size=6][b]Welcome to my Kingdomlocke![/center] [center][size=3]This is an EXTREMELY lore-heavy 'locke, where my main goal is to tell the story in its completion. I love writing and am using this challenge to test my 'endurance' skills by writing every day that I have time to: expect long lore pieces everywhere you look, but if you're just here for the game action, don't worry! I always link an out-of-lore summary for the logistics of each day at the bottom of an event entry. Note: I am currently following the [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3102226#post_3102226]official Kingdomlocke rules[/url] almost as-written, except for a few amendments to aid me in creating complex characters and writing more intricate lore. I plan to write all of these amendments down in one place sometime soon, but for the most part, the logistics of the game (Pinkerton/Crim pulls, dice rolls, etc.) are the same. Thanks for stopping by.[/size] ____________________________________________________________ [size=4][color=transparent]this is a horrible idea and i love it[/color][/size] [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/999029746409164905/1001573855824969758/vend2.png[/img] [i][color=#5CAECC]A[/color] [color=#5AAAC7]K[/color][color=#5AA8C5]i[/color][color=#59A6C3]n[/color][color=#58A5C1]g[/color][color=#58A3BE]d[/color][color=#57A1BC]o[/color][color=#569FBA]m[/color][color=#569EB8]l[/color][color=#559CB6]o[/color][color=#559AB3]c[/color][color=#5498B1]k[/color][color=#5396AF]e[/color] [color=#5293AB]s[/color][color=#5191A8]e[/color][color=#518FA6]t[/color] [color=#508CA2]i[/color][color=#4F8AA0]n[/color] [color=#4E879B]t[/color][color=#4D8599]h[/color][color=#4C8397]e[/color] [color=#4B7F92]S[/color][color=#4B7E90]h[/color][color=#4A7C8E]i[/color][color=#497A8C]f[/color][color=#49788A]t[/color][color=#487787]i[/color][color=#477585]n[/color][color=#477383]g[/color] [color=#456F7F]E[/color][color=#456E7C]x[/color][color=#446C7A]p[/color][color=#446A78]a[/color][color=#436876]n[/color][color=#426774]s[/color][color=#426571]e[/color][color=#41636F],[/color] [color=#40606B]a[/color][color=#3F5E69]m[/color][color=#3F5C66]o[/color][color=#3E5A64]n[/color][color=#3D5862]g[/color] [color=#3C555E]t[/color][color=#3B535B]h[/color][color=#3B5159]e[/color] [color=#3A4E55]L[/color][color=#394C53]i[/color][color=#384A50]g[/color][color=#38494E]h[/color][color=#37474C]t[/color][color=#36454A]n[/color][color=#364348]i[/color][color=#354145]n[/color][color=#354043]g[/color] [color=#333C3F]F[/color][color=#333A3D]l[/color][color=#32393A]i[/color][color=#313738]g[/color][color=#313536]h[/color][color=#303334]t[/color][/i] [size=1][color=transparent]aka me on my way to wipe my lore-filled subclan out with stupid decisions and then cry about it B)[/color][/size] ____________________________________________________________ [size=4][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3102226#post_3102226][b]Rules & Goals of the Challenge[/b][/url][/center][/size] [center][size=5][b][color=#63B2CE]1. Overarching Lore[/size][/center] [size=2][i]"Chuillyon Vaskar, you have been found guilty of the murder of Clanmaster Torgan Erekah. Your sentence is yours to decide: death ... or exile to the Forsaken Wastes." [size=1][color=transparent]_[/size] - Justice Argan Erekah[/i][/size] The story of the Vaskar Clan began with Chuillyon Vaskar, for whom the clan was named. Sent away from his home clan in the eastern dunes, he ventured to form a clan of his own that would conquer the deadly climate and terrain that bridges Carrion Canyon and the Charged Barrens. Known as the most desolate, unforgiving region in the Shifting Expanse, this narrow and unstable strip of land is called the [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/world-map?pinx=3612&piny=3122&view=land&viewpin=true]Forsaken Wastes[/url]. A clan that managed to thrive here could lock itself forever in the history of dragonkind, as pioneers unparalleled by any other. But the survival and growth of his clan is not Chuillyon's only goal. The ancient Imperial has unfinished business with his old clan--and perhaps with the rest of the clans of the Shifting Expanse as well. Set on his ulterior motives and intent on [i]keeping[/i] them secret, he will stop at nothing to finish what he started. Not even at his inevitable death. Join the Vaskar Clan in their journey as they fight to create order in the lawless gorges and raging dunes of the Forsaken Wastes, and grapple with the perilous secrets of their clan's founder ... or fade into the desert sands trying. [center][size=5][b][color=#63B2CE]2. Clan Members[/size][/center] [size=2][i]"This is a place that you go to when you have nowhere else. ...Welcome home, wanderer. May this land make you strong again." [size=1][color=transparent]_[/size] - Clanmaster Chuillyon Vaskar[/i][/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/79532096]An unknown entity[/url] is watching the Vaskar Clan's every move. Click on it to learn more about the current and former members. [color=maroon][b]WARNING:[/color] This dragon's biography carries the most up-to-date clan population at all times and may contain spoilers for clan stories/lore. To see the clan population at points in the past, check the most relevant lore piece instead. [center][color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] [columns][font=century gothic][size=4][color=transparent]AL VLR OBXIIV QEFKH RFC BCGRGCQ RFCKQCJTC UMSJB YJJMU QMKCRFGLE JGIC RFGQ? RHN TKX IETRBGZ PBMA WXTMA WJZ EP SEHH PQNJ KJ UKQ.[nextcol][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/79532096][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/avatars/795321/79532096.png[/img][/url][/columns] [center][color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] [center][size=5][b][color=#63B2CE]3. Chapters[/size][/center] [size=2][i]"Time heals all wounds. Keep on ticking!" [size=1][color=transparent]_[/size] - Ludivina Fereson[/i][/size] The things that take place in the Vaskar Clan will be tracked in terms of events. An event can happen in either a very short or long time after the previous event, but the interval will typically range from one day to a few months. Things happen fast in the Shifting Expanse, but even the Forsaken Wastes can have moments of peace. [center][size=2][i]Note: I try to stick to running one or more events every real-world day, but I may run a greater or fewer number of events each day (by using both Crim and Pinkerton as my randomizers) depending on the amount of free time I have to write. I will often be "skipping" days since I don't have as much time to write anymore, but I still post at least once a week![/i][/size][/center] [columns][b]Part I: Preparation[/b] [size=2] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51768513]Prologue: The Beginning[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51773055]Event 1: The Hatchling[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785#post_51773566]Event 2: The Fall[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51777456]Event 3: The Recovery[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51785359]Event 4: The Hike[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51791653]Event 5: Tenzo[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785#post_51797912]Event 6: Aguistin[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51806360]Event 7: The Seeker[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785#post_51813712]Event 8: Will Be Long [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/2#post_51826267]Event 9: Retribution[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/2#post_51832399]Event 10: Envoy[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/2#post_51836097]Event 11: Sons and Daughters[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/2#post_51838879]Event 12: Zero Day[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/2#post_51843338]Event 13: Storm's Brewing[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/2#post_51855804]Event 14: But I Will[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/2#post_51859806]Event 15: Spearhead Forth[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/2#post_51866606]Event 16: Quick to Learn[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/2#post_51872548]Event 17: Scroll[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/3#post_51880286]Event 18: Marble[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/3#post_51886090]Event 19: Reckoning[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/3#post_51896528]Event 20: Prisoner[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/3#post_51902835]Event 21: Azren-Dushen[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/3#post_51907200]Event 22: Be There For You[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [nextcol][color=transparent]________[ [nextcol] [b]Part II: Containment[/b] [size=2] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/3#post_51913234]Event 23: When You Rise Again[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/3#post_51921773]Event 24: The Lonely Throne[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/3#post_51932678]Event 25: Get Back To Work[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/4#post_51944016]Event 26: The Dig[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/4#post_51953278]Event 27: Reconstruction Blues[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/4#post_51967607]Event 28: Declaration[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/4#post_51978006]Event 29: Invasion[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/4#post_52004516]Event 30: Raise Your Weary Head[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/4#post_52007126]Event 31: Lost Generation[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/5#post_52015208]Event 32: A Two-Front War[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/5#post_52052404]Event 33: One New Assignment[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/5#post_52069074]Event 34: Order and Chaos[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/5#post_52072897]Event 35: Turning the Tide[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/5#post_52102434]Event 36: The Beast[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/5#post_52117547]Event 37: Null Magic[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/6#post_52143217]Event 38: Revelation and Grief[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/6#post_52160457]Event 39: Out of the Blue[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/7#post_52200110]Event 40: Into the Black[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/7#post_52208570]Event 41: Heat Wave[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/7#post_52250523]Event 42: The Meaning[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/7#post_52252745]Event 43: Fleeting Moments[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/8#post_52277004]Event 44: The Assassin[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/8#post_52391284]Event 45: The Stand[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/8#post_52454884]Event 46: And I Will Greet You[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [nextcol][color=transparent]________[ [nextcol] [b]Part III: Release[/b] [size=2] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/8#post_52535099]Event 47: In Your Return[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/9#post_52969168]Event 48: Family Fragments[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/9#post_53004855]Event 49: Vendetta[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/9#post_53010988]Event 50: The Promise[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/9#post_53054089]Event 51: Awoken[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/9#post_53068467]Event 52: Heartbroken[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/10#post_53090539]Event 53: Everything Is Normal[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/10#post_53118020]Event 54: Go Slowly[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/10#post_53123876]Event 55: On Your Feet[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/11#post_53158505]Event 56: No One Left Behind[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/12#post_53233857]Event 57: So Far Apart[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] Event 58: Coming soon! [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [/columns] [/size][center][color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] [b]Bonus Content[/b] [size=2](Warning: to avoid spoilers, I recommend reading the lore before looking at these!) [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/2#post_51867057][i]Bonus Post 1: Physical Size Comparison (As of Event 17)[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/4#post_51963629][i]Bonus Post 2: Adult Outfits and Backgrounds[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/4#post_52010886][i]Bonus Post 3: Physical Size Comparison (As of Event 32)[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/6#post_52163636][i]Bonus Post 4: The Story So Far[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/10#post_53072246][i]Bonus Post 5: The Expeditioners[/url] [size=1][color=transparent]space[/size] [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/11#post_53170540][i]Bonus Post 6: Oh, Brother[/url]

[center][size=1][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51773055:~:text=___________________________________________________________-,Out%2Dof%2Dlore%20summary%3A,-The%20summary%20for]Click me to skip to the out-of-lore summary![/center] [center][color=#63B2CE][b]Prologue[/color] [color=#63B2CE]_______________________________________________________________[/center] [center][size=6][b][color=#73DAFF]T[/color][color=#6DCDEF]H[/color][color=#68C0DF]E[/color] [color=#5EA6BF]B[/color][color=#5999B0]E[/color][color=#548CA0]G[/color][color=#4E7F90]I[/color][color=#497280]N[/color][color=#446571]N[/color][color=#3F5861]I[/color][color=#3A4B51]N[/color][color=#353E41]G[/color][/b][/size] [i][color=#5CAECC]T[/color][color=#5BACCA]h[/color][color=#5AAAC8]r[/color][color=#5AA9C6]e[/color][color=#59A7C4]e[/color] [color=#58A4C0]w[/color][color=#58A2BE]a[/color][color=#57A1BC]y[/color][color=#569FBA]w[/color][color=#569EB8]a[/color][color=#559CB6]r[/color][color=#559AB4]d[/color] [color=#5497B0]d[/color][color=#5396AE]r[/color][color=#5294AC]a[/color][color=#5292AA]g[/color][color=#5191A8]o[/color][color=#518FA6]n[/color][color=#508EA4]s[/color] [color=#4F8BA0]e[/color][color=#4F899E]n[/color][color=#4E879C]c[/color][color=#4D869A]o[/color][color=#4D8498]u[/color][color=#4C8396]n[/color][color=#4C8194]t[/color][color=#4B7F92]e[/color][color=#4B7E90]r[/color] [color=#497B8C]e[/color][color=#49798A]a[/color][color=#487788]c[/color][color=#487686]h[/color] [color=#477382]o[/color][color=#467180]t[/color][color=#456F7E]h[/color][color=#456E7D]e[/color][color=#446C7B]r[/color] [color=#436977]b[/color][color=#436875]y[/color] [color=#426471]c[/color][color=#41636F]h[/color][color=#40616D]a[/color][color=#40606B]n[/color][color=#3F5E69]c[/color][color=#3F5C67]e[/color] [color=#3E5963]a[/color][color=#3D5861]f[/color][color=#3C565F]t[/color][color=#3C545D]e[/color][color=#3B535B]r[/color] [color=#3A5057]a[/color] [color=#394D53]t[/color][color=#394B51]r[/color][color=#38494F]e[/color][color=#37484D]m[/color][color=#37464B]e[/color][color=#364549]n[/color][color=#364347]d[/color][color=#354145]o[/color][color=#354043]u[/color][color=#343E41]s[/color] [color=#333B3D]s[/color][color=#32393B]t[/color][color=#323839]o[/color][color=#313637]r[/color][color=#313535]m[/color][color=#303333].[/color][/i] [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/737536277888499844/998236750042370098/unknown.png[/img] [color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] It was the perfect storm. It seemed that way to Chuillyon, at least. He walked alone among the dunes, knowing well that any moment could be his last here, but he still found time to appreciate the torrential weather around him. Walls of sand swept the air while thunder and lightning lit up the sky, in a way that let one see almost nothing but blue-grey and white. Chuillyon had no protective goggles: he had to spend most of the time with his eyes closed, as if this storm was holy and staring at it too long would turn him to stone. Rogue particles of sand assaulted his scales and mane, getting in his mouth or eyes every time he tried to open them. White-hot lightning flashed and roared almost every second, with a deafening [i]BOOM[/i] to follow. Where was the canyon? He wouldn't be safe from the lightning discharges until he got there... He chanced a quick glance out of squinting eyes, and through the gusting sandstorm around him, he thought he spotted a few crags and gorges a few hundred meters ahead. That was where he'd be safest, if he could find a deeper spot in Carrion Canyon. The Charged Barrens were the expulsion zone for all of the excess energy that the Lightning Farm and Tempest Spire produced: a wave of electricity could come charging through there at any moment, with so much force that it burst his heart and scorched his wings off. The white Imperial hurried forward, not moving too quickly, for fear of tripping and falling off of a cliff several hundred times taller than he was. He felt the howling wind roar up about him... he could practically hear a voice in the gust: "[i]Diiiiiiiie!!![/i]" It tried to tear his wings open; assaulting them with sand; threatening to blow him away. He held his ground and pulled them back shut: he had no intention of listening today. Soon, he could see a ledge through his squinted eyes. It looked like a drop of a few hundred feet into a protected gorge, where he would be safe from the sandstorm and the lightning. Scoping out a safe area to land and waiting for the wind to falter, even for just a second, Chuillyon laid low to the ground. [i]Any moment now...[/i] he thought. The wind picked up, propelling tiny painful particles into his face and prompting him to close his eyes again. [i]Almost time...[/i] It gusted harder, the angry gale trying to pick him up and carry him away once again--but then it subsided, just for a moment, but long enough for him to act. [i]...Now![/i] In a burst of motion, Chuillyon snapped his eyes open, letting the sand attack him, and lunged forward to leap off the canyon's ledge. For a moment he was in free-fall, as the wind continued threatening to blow him off-course, but as the air whistled in his ears and he watched the ground rapidly approach, he suddenly could hardly feel the sideways gusts at all anymore. That was it: glide, now! Throwing open his wings, they caught an updraft and sent him into a slow, safe descent. The ground came to him, and he landed smoothly on his talons atop the sharp gravel and rock. As soon as he was safely on the ground, he laid down and did his best to cover himself with his wings. If lightning struck the cliffside and blew it apart, those rocks would be coming down on his head. This was no safe place... but compared to the surface he'd just been on, it was like heaven. The storm of sand and thunder finally subsided hours later, but heavy, rolling clouds still covered the landscape from horizon to horizon. It was always that way. Chuillyon finally stood up, flexing aching muscles and inspecting himself to see if he was injured. His jaw shifted, and he felt thousands of tiny crunches as sand particles between his teeth moved. Shaking out his wings, Chuillyon looked around the narrow canyon he was in. He studied the nearby bones, and scanned the walls of the cavern for any sign that flash floods could come through here. Water in the Shifting Expanse was extremely rare, but [i]something[/i] had to form the canyons; and the culprit usually was the rains that scarcely found their way into the highlands, from the Sea of a Thousand Currents. The rainwater would all flow down the canyon at once in harrowing waves, containing millions of gallons, that would sweep away anything that wasn't embedded in the ground. He could see markings on the canyon walls that were a sign of these floods: it was separated into layers, with the lightest sandstone being the least affected by water at the top, and darkest regions that were frequently flooded down at the bottom. As he inspected the canyon and tried to determine whether it would be a safe source of drinking water or not, he suddenly heard a distant voice. It sounded feminine and slightly raspy, as if this person yelled a lot. "Hellooooo!? Mom? Blustra? [i]Anybodyyy!![/i]" Chuillyon turned to the sound. There were other dragons out here? [center]* * *[/center] "Oh, it's no use!" Mamonaku cried, flopping to the ground. She was coated in sand already: she didn't care if she got any more on her! "How are we ever gonna find them? They're probably miles away already." Hearing no response, she opened her eyes and lifted her head back up, peeking around her. "Luna?" Oh, there she was. Ludivina was up on top of a large rock monolith, her body and tail coiled around it while she looked around. Her wings were flicking like she wanted to fly, but a hint of anxiety in her otherwise-curious expression suggested that she thought the better of it. Her light green eyes turned back to Mamonaku after a second, and her teeth showed as she grinned at her sister. "This place is so cool." Mamonaku frowned. Ludivina was always like this, but did she really have to be [i]now?[/i] "Did you not happen to notice," she started, softly at first, "that we are currently LOST IN THIS COOL PLACE ON OUR OWN!?" "Hey, hey! Relax!" Ludivina uncoiled herself from the monolith, standing atop it. "We'll find Mom and our brother no problem. Or, we'll find someone else to pit with for a while!" The spiral spread her six red-orange wings for a moment, stretching them. She held her head high as if she were soaking up the sun, even when there was none to speak of: those dark grey clouds looked as impenetrable as the trunk of the Behemoth. Mamonaku just turned away, shaking her head in disappointment. Ludivina always had this horrible, horrible optimism around her, as if everything in the world was going exactly the way it should and she had no reason to fix it. No, everything was [i]not[/i] going the way it should. If [i]that[/i] was true, Mamonaku would be bathing in the Everbloom Garden Springs right now, sipping coconut milk and talking with Verstei. Gosh, she missed Verstei... all she wanted right now was to listen to her voice, assuring her that everything was going to be all right. That they'd find their family, and that they were going home right now, because the Plague soldiers were already gone. She heard a soft chuckle behind her. "Hey... Momo." Ludivina hopped down from the monolith, landing smoothly on the gravel--but producing a sharp "Ow" as one of her talons landed on a pointy rock. Shaking out her claws, she came up to Mamonaku's side and gave her a little grin. "You've got it all wrong, you know. I call this an opportunity! We've got the chance to explore a whole new world here, in this terrifyingly empty desert." She nudged Mamonaku with her wing. "We'll be getting back home before you know it! You've just gotta hold out and [i]keep on ticking.[/i]" Mamonaku growled at Ludivina. Keep On Ticking... she acted as if that were her catchphrase, saying it [i]all the time[/i] as if she were [i]trying[/i] to aggravate with it. Before she knew it, she'd snapped her jaw and was already speaking. "The only thing saying [i]that's[/i] gonna do is keep TICKING ME OFF!" she shouted at Ludivina. Her sister took a step back, eyes widening slightly in shock at the offense. Mamonaku didn't stop, though: she stepped forward, snarling. "You're acting like everything's okay. NO! It's not! We should be at home right now, tending the rose gardens and getting ready for university and--and just being normal Nature dragons! Not exiled to the middle of an empty desert where the vultures are watching us, just- just [i]waiting[/i] for us to keel over and die! Are you INSANE!? Get your tail out of your mouth and LOOK AROUND YOU FOR ONCE!" Ludivina looked shocked. She stood on her heels in silence for a few moments, her mouth shut and her eyes wide like saucers. It was as if she was waiting to see if Mamonaku was done. She decided she was: she relented after that, turning away quietly as she felt her eyes start to sting with tears. Home, home, she wanted to go home so badly... where was Mom? Where were they..? She head a quiet [i]swoosh[/i] behind her, where Ludivina had been standing. When she turned around, she saw the red-and-orange Spiral flying away in silence. Mamonaku gasped quietly. "Luna..!" she called. "Luna, I'm sorry- I didn't mean to yell! I was just... oh, [i]janustrap...[/i]" She quickly jumped into a sprint and then leapt up in the air, going to follow her sister. [center]* * *[/center] Ludivina flew for only a few seconds before she spotted something and stopped. She wasn't really leaving out of anger--well, obviously it was a bit of a shock to get yelled at--but the main idea was she was just going to leave her sister alone for a little while to calm down. That didn't turn out how she thought, though... in fact, it seemed like they were less alone than Mamonaku had assumed. There was an icy white Imperial down in a cavern to her right, already looking back up at her. His scales and wings glittered like he was a fresh snowfall come to life, swept over by gusts of chilly wind that presented themselves on his body. Eyes as white as he was stared back up at her, reflecting intrigue, and perhaps a hint of relief. She turned back to Mamonaku, excitement thrumming up in her. "Momo! Come look!" Her body felt like it was crackling to life with energy: this was an incredible discovery! She started flying in circles and doing up-and-down spirals as her sister caught up to her, trying to release her pent-up energy. Mamonaku got to her in a few seconds, the brown, red and orange Spiral looking up at her with an apologetic expression; but Ludivina didn't care, there was something more important than an apology going on! She stopped her stunting midair and then pointed down at the canyon, with wide-open eyes meeting her sister's confused ones. "DRAGON," she declared, grinning. Mamonaku raised a brow at her, and then she looked where she pointed--and she gasped when she saw the Imperial. "Sweet glades!" she cried--then she instantly went quiet. She looked back up at Ludivina. "Wait, has he been standing like that the whole time? Is he a statue or something?" Ludivina turned back to the Imperial, and waved down at him with a talon. The dragon in the canyon below raised a talon just slightly. "Nope," concluded Ludivina, looking back at her sister with a cattish grin. Mamonaku didn't look impressed. She huffed quietly and faced the Imperial again. "What do we do?" she asked, a hint of worry creeping into her voice. "Do we talk to him? Does he [i]want[/i] to see us? Maybe we should just go, what if he's a cannibal or someth- wait wait, LunaLunaLuna WHERE ARE YOU GOING??" But Ludavina had already left: she was diving down towards the Imperial, abandoning Mamonaku once again to stupidly risk her life. She stayed on her own in the air a moment, her mind racing with anxiety: what was about to happen to her poor sister with no sense of self-preservation? She couldn't just sit here and watch, could she? She had to follow her! Fearful of what could happen, but knowing she couldn't leave her, Mamonaku followed Ludivina down to meet the Imperial she had spotted from above. Ludivina had already landed, and finally got her first look at the Imperial up close. He really did glitter like snow... she also found it interesting how his scales seemed to almost be split up in body segments, as if he were some sort of giant wasp-drone. Perhaps it was just a trick of the eyes. "Hi," she declared simply, raising a wing. The Imperial stared at her for a moment, almost looking confused. He seemed slow... but that was okay, she could handle slow, come on already make a reply she wanted to see what you're like. Finally, he opened his mouth, and spoke with a dry tongue. "Greetings." Ludivina tried [i]so[/i] hard to not let her expression crack, but she burst out in a snort anyway. "Sorry, sorry sorry. What's your name? I'm Ludavina, but call me Luna." She heard a quiet [i]thump[/i] on the ground just behind her, and she gestured to the sound with a talon. "And [i]this[/i] is Mamonaku. Momo." "Luna," Mamonaku sharply whispered in her ear. "[i]Let's go. I don't like this.[/i]" Ludavina just waved a talon at her nose, getting her away from the side of her head. "My name is Chuillyon," replied the Imperial, after a moment. It sounded almost like he was carefully thinking about every word before he spoke it, he was so slow. "Chuillyon Vaskar." "Fereson," replied Ludivina. "Nice to meet you, Chuillyon! Can I call you Quill? Or Chill? Nevermind moving on, question: what are you doing out here? Do you live here? Maybe got a cave somewhere we can spend the day in?" "Luna!" snapped Mamonaku. The Imperial ignored her and shook his head to Ludivina's question. "I am on my own. I just arrived here as well. I departed from my old clan, but... ended up walking straight into the storm last night." "Us too," said Ludivina. "Actually we got... [i]literally[/i] blown away from our family by it." Mamonaku chimed in, speaking quickly before Ludivina shared any more private information. "I've got no clue where we are; I don't think I even know which way north is! Can you tell us? We'll be out of your mane the second we know where to go." "No, no," said Chuillyon, waving a talon. "Stay. I do not know which direction is which, either. If you try to leave right now, you could only get yourself more lost. Our chances are best if we remain together." Ludivina noticed his ears flick strangely, and his eyes narrowed slightly as he looked to his left. "Fly up. Flash flood is coming." "Flash WHAT!?" cried Mamonaku; but Chuillyon and Ludivina were already up in the air. She followed them hurriedly, stricken with confusion but too afraid to defy. They all landed at the top of the cliff that dropped into the gorge, looking out at the rest of the world. Chuillyon sat down for the moment, and Ludivina decidedly laid down in a coil a few meters left of him. Mamonaku stayed standing, her eyes darting around at the bottom of the cavern they'd just been in. Suddenly, she started to hear a low, gurgling roar--and then around the corner of the cavern to her right, where Chuillyon had been looking earlier, a wave of murky brown water suddenly emerged. Bones and other debris floated atop the water, but it moved so quickly that it got easily submerged. Within seconds the spot they'd been standing in was soaked, and in another moment's time it was suddenly ten feet underwater. Mamonaku's jaw dropped with horror as she watched the spectacle, white chunks of bone that floated in the water reflecting in her eyes, as they crashed against the walls and rocks and split themselves in half. "Dear Gladekeeper... if we were still down there, we'd all be dead." "How'd you see it coming?" asked Ludivina, turning to Chuillyon. Chuillyon didn't gesture in reply, and he didn't turn to her either. He watched the water the whole time as he spoke. "I [i]felt it.[/i] There is just a slight tremor in the ground as the water rushes, and you can hear it too, if you listen closely." Finally, he turned to her. "I have lived in the Shifting Expanse for the majority of my life. I know, better than anyone else you will meet, how to survive here." He raised his head slightly, and looked back at the desert around them. "That is why I recommend you stay." Ludivina nodded, finally turning to look at the flooding canyon as well. As ancient fossils collapsed and gigantic rocks were dislodged, she mulled the idea over in her head. [i]Why not?[/i] was her first thought; and it was her last as well. Maybe Mamonaku was right and they needed to find a way home, but now and for the time being, this [i]was[/i] their home. There'd be no sense in turning down someone who could help them get familiar with it. Ludivina looked back to Chuillyon with a smile. She nodded to him. "...We're in." Aaaaand... "[b]WHAT?[/b]" There was the Mamonaku she knew and loved. [center][color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] Out-of-lore summary: The summary for this event was blended into the summary for Event 1. Read about it [url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785#:~:text=___________________________________________________________-,Out%2Dof%2Dlore%20summary%3A,-%3E%20Started%20by%20acquiring]here![/url] [center][color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] [center][color=transparent]__[/color]Prev[color=transparent]__[/color]<[color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785#post_3153785][b]Home[/url][color=transparent]__[/color]>[color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785#post_51773055]Next[/url][color=transparent]__[/color][/center]

[center][size=1][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51768513:~:text=___________________________________________________________-,Out%2Dof%2Dlore%20summary%3A,-%3E%20Started%20by%20acquiring]Click me to skip to the out-of-lore summary![/center] [center][color=#63B2CE][b]Event 1[/color] [color=#63B2CE]_______________________________________________________________[/center] [center][size=6][b][color=#73DAFF]T[/color][color=#6DCDEF]H[/color][color=#68C0DF]E[/color] [color=#5EA6BF]H[/color][color=#5999B0]A[/color][color=#548CA0]T[/color][color=#4E7F90]C[/color][color=#497280]H[/color][color=#446571]L[/color][color=#3F5861]I[/color][color=#3A4B51]N[/color][color=#353E41]G[/color][/b][/size] [i][color=#5CAECC]L[/color][color=#5BACCA]u[/color][color=#5BABC8]d[/color][color=#5AA9C6]i[/color][color=#5AA8C5]v[/color][color=#59A7C3]i[/color][color=#59A5C1]n[/color][color=#58A4C0]a[/color] [color=#57A1BC]s[/color][color=#57A0BB]e[/color][color=#569FB9]e[/color][color=#569DB7]k[/color][color=#559CB6]s[/color] [color=#5499B2]t[/color][color=#5498B0]o[/color] [color=#5395AD]l[/color][color=#5294AB]e[/color][color=#5292AA]a[/color][color=#5191A8]r[/color][color=#5190A6]n[/color] [color=#508DA3]m[/color][color=#4F8BA1]o[/color][color=#4F8AA0]r[/color][color=#4E899E]e[/color] [color=#4D869A]a[/color][color=#4D8599]b[/color][color=#4D8397]o[/color][color=#4C8295]u[/color][color=#4C8194]t[/color] [color=#4B7E90]h[/color][color=#4A7C8F]e[/color][color=#4A7B8D]r[/color] [color=#49788A]b[/color][color=#487788]r[/color][color=#487686]a[/color][color=#477484]n[/color][color=#477383]d[/color][color=#467281]-[/color][color=#46707F]n[/color][color=#456F7E]e[/color][color=#456D7C]w[/color] [color=#446B79]m[/color][color=#436977]a[/color][color=#436875]t[/color][color=#426774]e[/color][color=#426572].[/color] [color=#41636E]M[/color][color=#40616D]a[/color][color=#40606B]m[/color][color=#3F5E69]o[/color][color=#3F5D68]n[/color][color=#3E5C66]a[/color][color=#3E5A64]k[/color][color=#3E5963]u[/color] [color=#3D565F]h[/color][color=#3C555E]a[/color][color=#3C545C]s[/color] [color=#3B5158]a[/color] [color=#3A4E55]s[/color][color=#394D53]u[/color][color=#394B52]r[/color][color=#384A50]p[/color][color=#38494E]r[/color][color=#37474D]i[/color][color=#37464B]s[/color][color=#364549]i[/color][color=#364348]n[/color][color=#354246]g[/color] [color=#343F42]e[/color][color=#343E41]n[/color][color=#333C3F]c[/color][color=#333B3D]o[/color][color=#323A3C]u[/color][color=#32383A]n[/color][color=#313738]t[/color][color=#313637]e[/color][color=#303435]r[/color][color=#303333].[/color][/i] [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/737536277888499844/998236750042370098/unknown.png[/img] [color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] "So you talked about an old clan a while back," Ludivina piped up curiously. "Wanna tell me more about that, Quill?" Mamonaku rolled her eyes. Not this again! It had been two days since their arrival, and Ludivina was already trying to get this icy... [i]ice[/i] dragon to tell them his life story. She didn't need to hear it! And what was with that nickname, 'Quill'? What, were they best friends or something? Chuillyon had been busy putting together a sort of tent. He had a frame made from ribcage bones he'd picked off of a frighteningly big corpse in the canyon, (which quickly dried up after most of the flood had passed; [i]frighteningly[/i] quickly, Mamonaku thought) and now he was draping leather over it as a protective cover. He stopped what he was doing to look at Ludivina, and then spoke in his slow, careful voice. "I would... rather keep it to myself, for now." Ludivina smiled. She dropped down into a coiled position while she sat, with her head resting on top of one of her wings. "That's fine. I'll tell you about where I'm from instead." Ohh boy... Mamonaku knew that her sister had other intentions. She had a way of socializing that could get even the biggest of brick walls to open up, sometimes in a matter of minutes. The whole reason she was talking about herself was just so she could learn about the Imperial! Not wanting to sit and listen to this charade, Mamonaku left behind the rest of the tiny jerboa she'd been eating and leaped up to go for a little flight. She didn't want to be here anyway; Ludivina had made her stay here! [i]Yeah... that's smart,[/i] she decided. [i]Maybe I'll find something this time.[/i] The little flight turned into a half-hour's venture, which turned up nothing at all. Not one waypoint or sign, and not a single discarded map, glimpse of sun through the clouds, or even a compass offered itself up to show her which way to go. Oh, what she would've given for a compass right now... she'd had [i]three[/i] of them before getting caught flying in the storm, and the sandy winds had blown all three of them right off while disorienting to a pitiful degree for a Spiral. Even just trying to [i]guess[/i] which way was north made her head spin; let alone where the rest of her family might be. Mamonaku let out a long groan, coming down to land on a small butte that stuck out of the ground. Her wings were tired from fighting the unpredictable wind currents, and the air was so dry that she felt like it was dehydrating her insides. And yet... the sun wasn't even out. The dark clouds cast the entire world in shadow, and still it felt like her blood was on the verge of boiling. [i]I can't stay out here,[/i] she realized. [i]Well- I knew that, but right here: I can't stay in this spot. I'll get heat-stroke or something with no one around to help. There's not even a drop of water! Okay, okay. Just one more shot, and then go back. Maybe...[/i] She slapped herself on the forehead, ashamed of thinking this: [i]Maybe Chuillyon can help me. The tent might be cooler and maybe he can find water.[/i] She steeled herself and stood back up, spreading her wings. "Here we go!" she shouted out loud, as if it would help her. Taking off and catching an updraft, she elected to try something new: fly as high as she possibly could, pray to the Gladekeeper and Stormcatcher that she wouldn't be struck by lightning, and look at everything she could while she had the chance. Perhaps there would be a traveling caravan just out of view behind a dune, or she'd see something down in one of the gorges. The howling winds quickly got more aggressive as she ascended. It was nowhere near as bad as those of the storm two days ago had been, but it still did its work to throw Mamonaku off and make the task of flying an exhausting, unworthwhile pain. Still she fought, doing her best to cut through the air currents with furious wings and gritted teeth. Tears streamed from her drying eyes for keeping them open too long: precious water wasted by the winds and her determination. "Come on!" she snapped. "A little more... a little more!" The clouds felt like they were getting closer. She felt her heart racing; not just in exertion, but also in fear. What if the lightning came down on her? What if her last moments would be spent looking to the sky as it split open and rained down its fury? Anxiety finally seized her heart and her body, forcing her to stop. She was over a thousand feet up and didn't dare go any further. Looking back down, her eyes darted everywhere they could, searching for any sign of life with the little time she had to spare. She spotted Chuillyon and Ludivina far below, looking like they had actually gotten to chatting--but come on, where were the explorers? Where were the towns? For pohip's sake, where was her [i]family!?[/i] There was nothing out here... not a soul, and nothing but endless, deathly desert, no matter how far she looked. Canyons to her left, electrified dunes to her right. Even as she hovered still in the air, she could see the discharging bolts of energy roaring and flashing through those sandy hills; and further beyond yet, she could see the black horizon practically strobing with white and blue light, barraged by a source of great energy she couldn't even begin to comprehend. A faint idea of what it could be called to her... but in her moment of worry and hurry, the thought slipped away. Heartbroken, and loathe to stay up here much longer, Mamonaku made her descent with nothing new in her mind except defeat. How was she ever going to get out of here? How was she going to get her [i]sister[/i] out, too? But as the Spiral slowly glided back down to earth, with real tears beginning to well in her eyes ... she spotted something. Her eyes caught on a tiny, almost unnoticeable splotch of purple: if she didn't have the eyes she did, she probably would've overlooked it completely. She squinted slightly, trying to get a better glimpse of what it was. She saw--[i]Oh my gosh.[/i] That was a head, two wings, a tail, and a body. That was a dragon. All of Mamonaku's caution was cast to the wind as she went into a dive. She knew those colors, she knew who what was! "VERSTEI!!" she cried, her voice cracking with emotions. "How are you here!?" But they quickly fell off as she got closer, and she started to see better... "Verstei! How- how are you... oh..." The blue-and-purple dragon she'd seen was no Skydancer. It was a Pearlcatcher, and a tiny one at that. Mamonaku wasn't in the air much longer: she came in for a heavy landing, almost falling flat on her face as she did. As soon as she recovered, she turned to the little dragon, and the little dragon had already turned to her. Her jaw dropped, and she felt a wound in her heart at what she saw. This wasn't just a little dragon: it was a hatchling, all on her own. She didn't carry a pearl with her, and her left wing was twisted at a grotesque angle. The expression on the hatchling's face read pain at first, but as her big green eyes studied Mamonaku, they quickly began to spark to life with restored hope and relief. And now she felt her heart crack a little. "Oh, sweet baby..." Mamonaku got low to the ground and tucked her wings in, standing straight forward to make herself look as small as possible. With that stance she crept forth, hoping not to scare the baby dragon; and it seemed like she didn't at all. The hatchling hobbled towards her, in fact, not saying a word but letting out a quiet squeak that felt like it was a cry for help. Mamonaku sat back and caught the hatchling in her arms, where the little one stayed for a moment with a racing heart that Mamonaku could feel, pressed up against her long neck. "What happened to you?" she mused in a soft voice. "You're really hurt... did you get caught in the storm too?" "Rrrble," replied the hatchling. Mamonaku stepped back from the little dragon for a moment so she could study her more carefully. She looked at any obvious injury she could find, and tried to do a few other 'tests'--she could hardly call them that--to surmise if this hatchling was healthy overall, aside from the damaged wing. She brushed it at one point by accident, making the Pearlcatcher squeak and jolt away in pain. Mamonaku winced. "Sorry!" she whisperyelled; and that seemed to make the hatchling forgive her. That was interesting. "Can you understand me?" she asked the Pearlcatcher. She gave Mamonaku a puzzled look with her big eyes. The Spiral tried again. "Um... your pearl. Where's your pearl? Do you have it?" The hatchling's eyes widened with understanding, and then she shook her head. "Did you lose it?" She nodded. Mamonaku nodded back, looking away for a second... then she asked one last question. "Did it ... did it break?" The Pearlcatcher's eyes almost looked like they welled up with tears. She hung her head--and then she nodded. Mamonaku gave her a sympathetic look. She knew how important a dragon pearl was to its owner ... she vividly remembered a time when one of her friends from school lost his during a walk along the lakes, and how he had broken down in panicked tears while one of the teachers fished it out of the pond he'd dropped it in. "I'm really sorry," she said to the hatchling in a soft voice. Then, she offered the Pearlcatcher a little smile. "But it's okay. You don't need a pearl to impress me." [i]Just the fact that you're still alive is amazing enough. I'm so glad that I didn't just find you as a corpse.[/i] [i]... But who knows, if that'll end up being the case anyway?[/i] She shook herself away from that thought. Taking a breath, she came to a decision as impulsive as one of Ludivina's. "I'm going to take you with me. We can keep you safe, and help you find your family again. ...Do you have a name?" It took a moment for the hatchling to make sense of what she said--but then she shook her head quickly. "Hmm..." Mamonaku tapped her claws on the sand, looking away in thought. She couldn't just keep calling her 'kid' all the time: she deserved something better than that. Oh! She knew a good one! Having looked away from the hatchling, she turned back to her with a decisive voice. The baby dragon looked up at her with brightening, wistful eyes as she spoke. "I'm going to call you Jennsen. I will protect you ... and you and me: we're going to find a way out of this desert." [i]Together.[/i] [center][color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] Out-of-lore summary: > Started by acquiring my three starter dragons, whom were already named or were given randomized names: Chuillyon, Mamonaku, and Ludivina > Bred Chuillyon (my royal) and Ludivina together, as suggested by the game rules > Began Day 1 with a Crim Roulette (since I had already pulled from Pinkerton before deciding to start this kingdomlocke). Got a material/trinket item (Roll for a challenge) > Grabbed my trusty d20 and put the fate of my new favorite dragons in the hands of RNGeezus > Rolled a 1 > Felt my heart stop > Checked what rolling a 1 meant I had to do and realized it was actually a good thing (There's romance afoot: breed two dragons) > Since I already bred my only compatible pair of dragons, I took a hatchling from the auction house instead: Went to the cheapest hatchling page with no other parameters set, and rolled a d10 > Rolled a 1 AGAIN. Unnamed Pearlcatcher was the first dragon on the cheapest page: I bought her > Randomized her name: Jennsen > mfw all 3 other clan member names are weird 4-syllable names that are hard as heck to pronounce, and then there's just [color=#FF0000]J[/color][color=#FFDA00]e[/color][color=#48FF00]n[/color][color=#00FF91]n[/color][color=#0091FF]s[/color][color=#4800FF]e[/color][color=#FF00DA]n[/color] > laughed a little > Realized it was 1AM, quickly typed a forum thread to track my progress, and then went to bed Pretty nice first day! At the moment of typing, I should be on Day 2, so I'll start my second Roulette (and my first real Pinkerton pull) to see what comes next in the Vaskar Clan's story. Lore will probably come tomorrow, unless I have [i]mega[/i] fast-hands and type something out in a matter of minutes. After that I should be back on a regular daily schedule [s]or rather on one for the first time[/s]. Thanks for reading! 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[center][size=1][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785#:~:text=___________________________________________________________-,Out%2Dof%2Dlore%20summary%3A,-%3E%20Rolled%20for%20Jennsen%27s]Click me to skip to the out-of-lore summary![/url][/center] [center][color=#63B2CE][b]Event 2[/color] [color=#63B2CE]_______________________________________________________________[/center] [center][size=6][b][color=#73DAFF]T[/color][color=#6CC8E9]H[/color][color=#65B6D4]E[/color] [color=#5793A9]F[/color][color=#508194]A[/color][color=#49707E]L[/color][color=#425E69]L[/color][/b][/size] [i][color=#5CAECC]T[/color][color=#5AA9C6]w[/color][color=#58A5C0]o[/color] [color=#559CB5]s[/color][color=#5497B0]i[/color][color=#5293AA]s[/color][color=#518EA5]t[/color][color=#4F8A9F]e[/color][color=#4D8599]r[/color][color=#4C8194]s[/color] [color=#497889]g[/color][color=#477383]o[/color] [color=#446A78]o[/color][color=#436673]n[/color] [color=#3F5D67]a[/color] [color=#3C545C]t[/color][color=#3B4F57]r[/color][color=#394B51]i[/color][color=#38464C]p[/color][color=#364246].[/color][/i] [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/807870740535443466/998427672227090432/unknown.png[/img] [color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] Another few days passed. At this point, Chuillyon, Mamonaku, and Ludivina had created a successful foundation for what was looking like it would be their lasting home. Ludivina was comfortable; giddy, in fact. Mamonaku seemed to be getting used to the place ... and that lovely hatchling she found, Jennsen? She was definitely helping: Ludivina could tell. She stepped out of her tent that morning to look at a less-cloudy sky than normal. Rather than dark, stormy, dreary grey, this was more of a sort-of fluffy, medium, lazy grey. And that was PERFECT! Only two seconds after coming out of the tent, she dove straight back in to go over and prod her sister. "Momo!" she whisperyelled: Jennsen was fast asleep right next to her, with her broken left wing carefully tucked so it couldn't get touched accidentally. Ludivina kept poking her sister's nose, until her eyes finally blinked wide open, then immediately narrowed at Ludivina. "Momomomomo! Get up, sleepy dragon!" "Mrrrmhgh," grumbled Mamonaku, raising her head and blinking. "What? What's up, Luna, what is it?" Ludivina was right back in her face a moment later, grinning from ear to ear. "Sky." Mamonaku leered back at her. Huh, she didn't look as excited as Luna thought she would--OW! She'd just smacked her nose with a talon! Ludivina jumped back and clutched where she'd been hit, knowing she wasn't really hurt at all, but still very surprised. Mamonaku closed her eyes right back up and laid her head down again. "Hey!" complained Ludivina. "What was that for anyway?" "For waking me up just to pull a stupid joke on me," mumbled the tired Spiral. Huh? OHHHHH. Wait wait, wait a second! "There's no joke!" Luna blurted. "Literally the sky is up! But also the cloud-cover's thinner than it's ever been!" Now [i]that[/i] got Mamonaku's attention. Her eyes shot open, and then she leapt to her feet; though she was careful not to disturb Jennsen. "[i]What!?[/i]" she cried, quietly. "Why didn't you just tell me [i]that?[/i]" "I- did." "No you didn't!" "Yeees I did." Mamonaku groaned, and waved a talon dismissively. "Know what? Whatever. Not important--because... because the sky! Maybe we can see where the sun is and find north!" "What's north?" asked Ludivina, tilting her head. She had to step out of the way as Mamonaku dashed by in front of her, rushing out of the tent even faster than she'd rushed [i]in.[/i] "Where [i]home[/i] is! Come on, Luna! Before the clouds get worse again!" Luna hurried to follow her sister after that... feeling a grimace forming on her face as she did. [center]* * *[/center] They flew for about five minutes, staying low to the ground in case any scheming lightning decided to say hello. It looked unlikely, though: those clouds were pretty docile. Hah... docile clouds. She was describing clouds like she would describe any animal that wouldn't try to eat you on sight--but that didn't say anything about [i]provoking[/i] it. Keeping close behind Mamonaku, they eventually made it to a tall butte that stood far taller than anything else nearby. It seemed almost out-of-place, being such a high-and-mighty mountain that sat right next to what looked like the biggest gorge anyone could see, like [i]ever.[/i] The side of the butte to her left looked like it sloped almost straight off a cliff and into the deep gorge: if she put a big, grouchy boulder at the top of the butte, Ludivina would happily bet other dragons that she could push it and have it roll all the way down from the top, run right off the cliff, count to two, and then hear the [i]boom[/i] of it hitting the bottom. She'd win every single time. Mamonaku flew up, and then landed at the top of that butte, looking out at the wasteland beyond. She sat almost right at the edge of the butte that rolled off into the cliff, lending them an amazing view. There was nothing but gorges, arches, and ridges as far as the eye could see: the terrain was such a warped mess that it almost looked surreal. Traveling by foot through that looked like a blast! "[i]Wow...[/i]" Ludivina remarked as she looked at the scene, sitting down to the left of her sister. She looked to her sister with an excited smile and a quivering tail, eager to see what she thought of the canyon--but she found Mamonaku looking at nothing but the sky above them. Feeling odd disappointment tugging at her, she looked up too. Somehow, this lighter, fluffier cloud-cover felt depressing, as opposed to the intense, exciting dark stormclouds that lurked over the Forsaken Wastes most days. It felt like a bad omen... like how there hadn't been a cloud in the sunny sky when the Plague soldiers attacked. "So ... what's special up there?" Ludivina asked after a few moments of quiet. "Hush," said Mamonaku. "And take a look." She raised a talon, pointing ahead and to her right. Ludivina squinted where Mamonaku pointed, trying to see what her sister had spotted. "I don't get it," she said, giving up after a few seconds. "Look at the color of the sky. See how it's just a little more orange over there?" Then, Mamonaku turned and pointed the opposite direction. "And there, where we came from: it's darker. And it's not just the clouds being denser over there or anything... it's actually the sun." Ludavina snorted and laughed. "The sun, causing [i]darkness?[/i] Did Jennsen wake you up too many times last night by crying, or something?" "I meant that it's dark because the sun's [i]not[/i] there!" Mamonaku snapped. Then, she pointed back to where she had at first. "It's there! Almost right in front of us." Ludivina was starting to see it now. The horizon was tinted just a slight orange out in front of them, compared to its bluish-black behind them. "Hi, sun!" she said with a little laugh, then she looked back to her sister. "That's really cool. Good catch: I didn't see that." Mamonaku looked back at her with a disbelieving expression. "But don't you know what that means?" Ludivina shrugged. "It means we know which way is east now! The sun always rises in the east, remember?" She pointed again, closing one eye like she was getting ready to fire an arrow. Then, like a compass, she slowly turned her extended talon just a little ways, until it hit a point where she didn't move it anymore. "I bet that's east," she started; and then she sat up with the help of her flapping wings, suddenly holding her head and torso comically high in the air compared to Ludivina. She still watched from below as her sister demonstrated. "[i]That's[/i] west..." she added, now pointing the opposite direction with her other talon. "And so..." Then she slowly drew her two talons together, until they pointed a direction a little ways left of where the butte dropped off into the gorge. She came back down on all fours, circled around, and then went to stand to Ludivina's left. She was between Mamonaku and the cliff now. "That's north," she finally concluded, taking a deep breath. Slowly, a smile began to grow on her face. Ludivina smiled as well. She liked seeing her sister happy; especially now, since that didn't seem very normal here. But even back when they were both hatchlings themselves, like Jennsen was now, Ludivina liked making little gifts for her. An origami bird here and there, or the petals of flowers spread into a mural representing the sky and the wavecrested sea... it was fun to do! And it was fun to know that it made her mom proud, and her sister overjoyed. Maybe she'd find orange cacti here someday that she could make a mural of the rising sun with. "Luna? Did you hear me?" Ludavina shook herself. "Sorry?" she replied. Mamonaku huffed and rolled her eyes, but she didn't snap at Ludavina for that lapse in focus. She didn't mind either way. "I was saying, now that we have a guess for which way north is, we can start planning our way out of here! We can scout ahead every day and look for the safest way back across Carrion Canyon, like Mom did when she was leading us." Her smile came back, and soon, she was beaming. "Luna! Isn't that amazing? We have a way out!!" Ludivina pumped a talon, flaring her wings as well for extra effect. "Yeaaah!" she hissed, grinning as she looked back at her sister... but then it faded. She felt it slide off her face. "But- hey. Why's that so important?" Mamonaku looked at her silently for a second, her mouth hanging open with an confused smile. She made a nervous laugh as she spoke. "I- heh, Luna, what're you talking about? It's important because it means we can go home?" Ludivina blinked at her. "Momo ... this [i]is[/i] our home. It has been since we got here." At that moment, Mamonaku seemed to realize she was serious. Her lightened mood dimmed as she stared at her cynically. "Y- you're serious." "Well ... yeah." Ludivina shrugged with her wings. "We've been here, what, almost a week now? You and I built a home tent for ourselves. I built one with Chuillyon." She raised a claw, realizing one more thing: "Oh! And, you've got Jennsen now! She's like your daughter it's so cool; like, we're both basically moms now!" Mamonaku lifted her head back, and she narrowed her eyes. "We're ... [i]both[/i] moms?" she repeated; and then her jaw dropped slightly. Scorn suddenly filled her voice. "[i]Ludivina Fereson...[/i]" "Vaskar," replied Ludivina with a little smirk. "We're married now." "NO." Mamonaku shook herself aggressively, as if she were trying to get herself out of a dream. "No, what the--you can't be serious, [i]no![/i]" "Serious as you are about leaving, apparently," replied Ludivina with a roll of her eyes. "THAT IS SO..." Mamonaku trailed off with a growl. Then, her voice entered a low hiss as she continued. "That is so [i]impulsive, irresponsible,[/i] and completely, totally [i]stupid[/i] of you. You've gone crazy!" "Momo, I feel [i]fine,[/i]" Ludivina tried to assure her, leaning forward slightly. "Chuillyon's really cool. He's 'chill', no Ice-flight pun intended." "[i]That[/i] dragon [i]scares[/i] me," hissed Mamonaku, pointing back in the direction of camp. "There's something up with him. Why would he come den with us in the middle of Death Central, [i]hello?[/i] He's a nut, Luna. You can do better than him!" "Not when we live here! This is our new home; more dragons will come, and soon we'll be an entire clan! He told me!" Mamonaku stood still, her jaw hanging in disbelief. "More dragons? An entire clan..?" "Doesn't that sound... nice..?" Ludavina offered, chancing a tiny, wary smile. "[i]NO[/i] IT DOESN'T!" her sister exploded. "No it's [i]not![/i] I- how, I--Luna." Mamonaku's voice calmed suddenly. She leered at Ludavina, looking her in the eye, and she pointed to the cliff. "Look at this gorge. I bet it'll be a mass grave one day. If Chuillyon makes some big clan out here, and you're there with him at the helm of it? We're gonna be sitting here, watching it fill up with body after body. This place; the Forsaken Wastes? It's called that for a [i]reason,[/i] Luna. It's a deathtrap. Gladekeeper knows how many of us are going to survive." Suddenly, her voice arose with anger once again, exploding into a yell. "And you're STILL OODLYGAFFING AROUND HERE WITH THAT IMPERIAL?? Do you know what it's already DONE to you!?" "I think I see it more clear than you!" argued Ludivina. "You think I wouldn't rather be in the Everbloom Gardens right now? The reason I want to stay here is because there [i]is[/i] nowhere else to go! This is the safest place for us." "The safest place for us is with Mom and Blustra!" "Well they're not there!" Things were heating up fast. Ludivina felt her heart racing. Mamonaku looked ferocious in front of her: she was snarling, and her eyes were narrow, violent slits. She tried to find some way to cool the situation down... "But you [i]do[/i] have family [i]here.[/i] You've got me and Quill. Heck, you've even got Jennsen! You're not leaving her, are you?" She gave her sister a significant look. "She loves you." Mamonaku hung her head, still with a scowl on her face, but she didn't meet Ludivina's eyes. "No," she growled, her voice quieting. For a moment, Ludivina thought that it worked. "That's different. Nobody loves me like Verstei does." "Like she [i]did,[/i]" Ludivina reminded her--and she didn't realize how big of a mistake that was until after she'd said it. "You know she wouldn't fight. She probably surrendered right away and-" "DON'T TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT!" Suddenly, Mamonaku shot back up and roared at her. Tears were falling from her eyes now, and anger was clouding her judgment worse than the clouds were blocking the sun. "Momo, calm down!" Ludivina cried. "CALM DOWN? YOU'RE TELLING ME TO CALM [i]DOWN??[/i]" They descended into an argument where Ludivina desperately tried to get Mamonaku to relax, while she just kept getting angrier and angier. They spoke over each other, each of their voices rising as they tried to drown out the other. The sound of the two Spirals arguing echoed in the canyon and strode across the land... but finally, it reached its climax. "HAVE YOU GONE INSANE?" "No, you need to listen-" "I can't believe you'd say something like-" "I'm trying to help you! "HOW IS THIS HELPFUL!?" "'Cause I know better, now listen!" But Mamonaku wasn't listening. Steam might as well have been coming out of her ears, and her teeth were gritted so hard that it looked like they might break. Finally, she had had enough: letting out an enraged roar, she reared up and shoved her sister away. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" she shouted--and then her talons hit Ludivina's neck, forcing her back. And she was still between Mamonaku and the cliff. Ludivina felt her hind legs slip off the ledge. She dropped to the ground for a moment, the back of her body suddenly dangling. With a gasp, and a jump in her racing heart, she instinctively reached for the first handhold she could find: Mamonaku's horns. Grabbing onto them, Mamonaku stumbled forward, making Ludivina slip even further down. "Let- [i]go[/i] of me!" she bellowed, trying to shake her sister off. Ludivina held on tight, feeling her tail and legs hanging in the air. The hard rock along the cliff was digging into her underbelly, scratching it up. "Momo..." she tried to warn, but she had lost her voice: it came out weak and cracked. Mamonaku raised a talon, still trying to shake her off. She was moving too fast, and she was too angry, to realize what was going on. "Let... GO!!!" And then she shoved Ludivina, and her talons broke free of the red Spiral's horns. Ludivina's jaw dropped as she watched herself quickly drop away from the cliff and her sister. She could see her jaw drop as she'd realized what she'd done--but it was already too late. Ludivina tried to turn herself over, as she was upside-down in the air, but there wasn't enough time. She felt her back strike the rocks in a dizzying impact, which sent her into an irrecoverable tumble down the entire side of the butte. The world was spiraling and bursting in pain around her while she flailed, making any attempt she could to save herself from the fall, but it was impossible now: she was tumbling too fast. It hurt so bad; in just a few seconds, it felt as if every bone in her body was broken--but then suddenly, there was nothing. Somehow, her panicking brain managed to register it as the free-fall: the one that dropped straight into the gorge. [i]One...[/i] she counted, automatically. The world was spinning around her. She couldn't tell which way was up or down. [i]Two...[/i] She caught a glimpse of the ground--or was it a canyon wall? She couldn't tell. It looked like it was getting closer- it was! She tried to turn her battered body, spreading her wings so she could try and safely glide... but she was out of time, and she knew it to the second. [i]Boom.[/i] Ludivina landed flat on her belly, sending a shock ripping through her whole body at once. Her vision went white, and her throbbing head felt like it'd explode. She felt numb now: she couldn't even tell what hurt anymore, or if she even [i]was[/i] hurt at all. It all blended together in this one big, heaping mess that reduced her to nothing but simple instincts and a near-lack of thoughts. Something in the back of mind knew, though... these were her last moments, spent writhing at the bottom of this gorge. As her vision cleared slightly, but still remained tunneled and blurred, she looked to the sky. [center]* * *[/center] Mamonaku stood alone at the top of a butte. She couldn't move: her body wouldn't let her. Her heart felt like it had stopped in her chest. All the rage in her had immediately fizzled. She'd just watched her sister tumble down the side of a mountain, and then disappear behind the edge of a cliff. Moments later, she heard a [i]thump[/i] on the ground far below. Slowly, Mamonaku collapsed as well. Her open jaw was quivering. Her vision was blurred with tears as her head hung over the edge of the butte. She couldn't breathe: her lungs felt like they were frozen, and so was her heart. Heat flashes and cold chills rippled through her as the shock settled in; and finally it all ramped up, building and building until she grabbed her horns--right where Ludivina had--and tugged on them with a long, terrible wail. Her sister had just fallen off a cliff, perhaps to her death. [b]And it was all her fault.[/b] Finally, she had control of herself again. She let go of her horns and shot back up, immediately taking flight. She had to check on her. She had to see what happened. Part of her wished she would fly away, but to do so would be nothing short of horrible... and it seemed as if she were on autopilot anyways, flying off of the butte and then diving down into the deep canyon. Mamonaku landed, and immediately sprinted over to her fallen sister, sobbing. "Luna!" she cried. "Luna, I'm so sorry- I-" She cut herself off as she arrived, looking at wreck that was Ludivina's body. She was covered in scratches and torn scales from the rough rocks, and from the fall... her wings were broken, her left arm was twisted wrongly, and the position she was laying in made it seem as if her back was broken too. And that had nothing to say about all the internal injuries... Mamonaku dropped to a sit, hanging her head as she loomed over her dying sister. Through blurry vision, she saw the Spiral's eyes turn from the sky, coming to meet hers instead. "I'm so, so sorry..." she cried softly to Ludivina, her wings shaking with a sob. "I wasn't thinking- I just [i]pushed you,[/i] and... and- oh, dear Gladekeeper... H- how could I DO this?" "T's okay..." a quiet, weak voice whispered back to her. Mamonaku's eyes had squeezed shut, but she opened them again, looking at the broken Spiral on the ground. Blood was trickling from her wounds, and her broken limbs must have felt like they were on fire--but still, even through all of that, she somehow managed a tiny, gentle smile on her dying lips. "It's okay. I th...think. I think... this had, to happen." "No-! No it didn't!" Mamonaku wiped her eyes; and then she saw that Ludivina had teared up as well. "This was all my fault..." Ludivina took a soft, shallow breath; but it seemed like the best she was able to do. "I'm gonna be all right," she whispered. She tried to swallow, which only made her wince. Her eyelids were starting to close, and her voice was getting slurred... as if she were growing tired. "Time heals... all wounds." Her head dropped slightly, laying to rest. But she gave Mamonaku one last look... and one last smile. "Keep on ticking..!" And then she was quiet. And Mamonaku was alone. She knew she couldn't stay here. She felt no grief anymore... she felt nothing at all: her face was as numb as her mind. Wiping her eyes, she stood back up. She had to get out. [i]She had to get out.[/i] Mamonaku looked to the canyon, and then, bidding one last farewell to her fallen sister, she took off and flew wherever the wind would take her--whether it was home, or into the maw of the canyon where she, too, would find her last resting place. [center]* * *[/center] Chuillyon Vaskar sat alone in the rough sand, looking up at the lightly covered sky. He'd felt something while Ludivina and Mamonaku were gone: while he couldn't quite explain it, even to himself, he had the feeling deep down that he knew what it was. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath--and then he heard little talons padding on the sand, walking up to him. "Quilly?" the hatchling's voice asked softly. She stumbled slightly as she walked next to him: he could hear as she did. But then, she sat down. "Where's Mamo and Lunie?" Chuillyon opened his eyes, and stared out at the dunes. He didn't look at Jennsen, but he did answer her question. "They're gone," he said simply. Jennsen blinked up at him. She didn't understand. "Why?" "They weren't strong enough." Slowly, the Imperial turned to her, looking down, down, down at the young Pearlcatcher. He looked into her eyes for a little while, studying her. Then he spoke once more. ... "Are you?" [center][color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] Out-of-lore summary: > Rolled for Jennsen's survival. Did NOT flip a coin for her, since she was found instead of hatched. Rolled a 3, where a 1 is fatal. She lives! > Went to Pinkerton to decide my dragons' fate for me. He told me... CHALLENGE TIME! (Got a material/trinket item) > Rolled a d20. Got a 19 (Nature's Gambit: level 2 dragons up once and flip a coin. Heads: add 2 dragons to clan. Tails: both adventuring dragons are lost.) > ... oh no > Grab a quarter > Stare at it > "this coin could be the beginning of the end for my locke in about 10 minutes on event 2" > Set it aside and level Luna and Momo up once under quest rules > Stare back at coin. Heartrate increasing > "it can't land on tails, right? not this early. not right after developing lore for momo and getting ideas for luna" > flip coin > it can. [b]tails.[/b] > "******************" > 10 minutes later... get over it, and get an idea for how to incorporate it into lore > accept this as a valuable lesson that nothing lasts forever and you have to enjoy every little thing you have before it's gone for good And that's a lesson I'll take to heart through the rest of this locke, probably. The lore ideas I have are still right there in front of me, and I'm still going strong, but [i]man,[/i] am I gonna be bummed to not have Mama-Momo and Luna around for it. Still, I'm looking forward to Day 3, and hoping for Chuillyon's and Jennsen's survival! (Also very excited to see what the nest Ludivina left behind for us will bring :O) Thanks for reading! [center][color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] [center][color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785#post_51773055]Prev[/url][color=transparent]__[/color]<[color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785#post_3153785][b]Home[/url][color=transparent]__[/color]>[color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785#post_51777456]Next[/url][color=transparent]__[/color][/center]

[center][size=1][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51777456:~:text=___________________________________________________________-,Out%2Dof%2Dlore%20summary%3A,-%3E%20Rolled%20a%20d6]Click me to skip to the out-of-lore summary![/url][/center] [center][color=#63B2CE][b]Event 3[/color] [color=#63B2CE]_______________________________________________________________[/center] [center][size=6][b][color=#73DAFF]T[/color][color=#6ECFF2]H[/color][color=#6AC5E6]E[/color] [color=#62B0CD]R[/color][color=#5EA6C0]E[/color][color=#5A9BB4]C[/color][color=#5691A7]O[/color][color=#52879B]V[/color][color=#4E7C8E]E[/color][color=#4A7282]R[/color][color=#466875]Y[/color][/b][/size] [i][color=#5CAECC]C[/color][color=#5BACCA]h[/color][color=#5BABC9]u[/color][color=#5AAAC8]i[/color][color=#5AA9C6]l[/color][color=#5AA8C5]l[/color][color=#59A7C4]y[/color][color=#59A6C2]o[/color][color=#59A5C1]n[/color] [color=#58A3BE]e[/color][color=#58A2BD]x[/color][color=#57A1BC]p[/color][color=#57A0BB]l[/color][color=#579FB9]o[/color][color=#569EB8]r[/color][color=#569DB7]e[/color][color=#569CB5]s[/color] [color=#5599B3]t[/color][color=#5598B1]h[/color][color=#5497B0]e[/color] [color=#5495AE]a[/color][color=#5394AC]r[/color][color=#5393AB]e[/color][color=#5392AA]a[/color][color=#5291A8].[/color] [color=#528FA6]J[/color][color=#518EA4]e[/color][color=#518DA3]n[/color][color=#518CA2]s[/color][color=#508BA1]s[/color][color=#508A9F]e[/color][color=#50899E]n[/color] [color=#4F879B]d[/color][color=#4F859A]i[/color][color=#4E8499]s[/color][color=#4E8397]c[/color][color=#4D8296]o[/color][color=#4D8195]v[/color][color=#4D8093]e[/color][color=#4C7F92]r[/color][color=#4C7E91]s[/color] [color=#4B7C8E]s[/color][color=#4B7B8D]o[/color][color=#4B7A8C]m[/color][color=#4A798A]e[/color][color=#4A7889]t[/color][color=#4A7788]h[/color][color=#497686]i[/color][color=#497585]n[/color][color=#497484]g[/color] [color=#487181]t[/color][color=#487080]h[/color][color=#476F7F]a[/color][color=#476E7D]t[/color] [color=#466C7B]s[/color][color=#466B79]u[/color][color=#466A78]r[/color][color=#456977]p[/color][color=#456876]r[/color][color=#456774]i[/color][color=#446673]s[/color][color=#446572]e[/color][color=#446470]s[/color] [color=#43626E]h[/color][color=#43616C]e[/color][color=#42606B]r[/color][color=#425F6A].[/color][/i] [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/493931080269955078/998658459627171870/unknown.png[/img] [color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] [i]Is she powerful enough? She is powerful enough, Sire. What do you want to do? ... Leave her. There are still ways forward. Agreed, Sire.[/i] [center]* * *[/center] Chuillyon awoke unexpectedly, and raised his head. He was alone in the tent he had made... he had been, since the night before. He knew for certain now that Ludivina and Mamonaku were gone: their stay may have been short, but he could still feel it. He stood up, stretching his wings and tail as far as he dared without hitting the frame of the tent. The stark white bones were the only thing he could see in the dim light, but he heard the rustling of the leather canvas in the wind, and the soft breathing of the young dragon in the tent with him. Jenssen had grown significantly since Mamonaku came back with her, but she was still young and weak, and needed to be protected. Even just a hungry storm seeker flying overhead would be enough to finish her off, especially with her bad wing. Chuillyon didn't really mind Pearlcatchers, anyway. Some had abrasive personalities that could be difficult to bear, but their breed as a whole wasn't something he scoffed at; even as an Imperial himself. They could be just as powerful and noble as any other breed. Stepping carefully towards the exit of the teepee-styled tent, Chuillyon avoided the small assembly of twigs and rocks Ludivina had put together inside, and came outside look up at the sky. He was surprised to see a rare spectacle underneath the lasting storms in the Shifting Expanse: stars. The clouds had grown thinner since this morning, when Mamonaku and Ludivina had departed, and now they were nothing but a broken barrier that allowed the light of just a few flecks in the sky to sprinkle in. He only remembered seeing the stars twice before in his life... once when he was just a hatchling in the Southern Icefield, and once again on a miraculous night in the Charged Barrens, when the Stormcatcher's eternal typhoon had come to a brief lapse in power. Even still, with the light of the stars and occasionally the moon shining through, the nighttime world was dark. Distant flashes of lightning in the denser parts of the storm helped to bring faint light for brief moments, and the constant lightning strobing on the eastern horizon, where the Lightning Farm and Tempest Spire sat hidden from view, was the only real source of constant light after the sun went down. [i]I wonder if Mamonaku is looking at those stars too.[/i] That was a bit of an intrusive thought. Chuillyon blinked and shook his head slightly, then walked a little ways further out from the campground. He cast out a talon and twisted it, and then a glowing sphere of calm, light-emitting energy appeared where he'd pointed. It followed him as he walked, doing its work to light the way and tell him what was on the ground in front of him. He wouldn't be gone long, he promised himself: this walk was just to do some scouting of the local area, and to help clear his mind of the strange thoughts that had come about him. [center]* * *[/center] Jenssen slept peacefully that night, despite her confusion and grief that morning. She awoke when she heard the Imperial leaving, though: she watched his bright white tail disappear through the flaps of the tent's cover. She stood up, thinking to follow him at first, but instinct stopped her a moment later. [i]It's dangerous,[/i] the thought in her head went. [i]Stay here.[/i] So she did. Jenssen sat back down, her tail curiling around one of her front talons. What was there to do here? She didn't want to go back to sleep... She wanted to be there and awake for when Chuillyon came back, so she knew for sure that he was okay. Jenssen looked around from where she sat, her padded talons shifting and fidgeting on the rough ground. The tent was virtually empty, except for some jerky rations along the edge of one part of the circular tent, and a small pile of twigs and pebbles piled together in another. Jenssen didn't feel hungry, so she ignored the jerky; but curiosity struck her about the pile of junk, which was covered over by a blanket. Why was that there? She had watched Chuillyon pull the cover on it back once or twice to look at it throughout the day; and whenever he did, he'd cover it back up afterward with a disappointed sigh. But she'd never gotten a glimpse at what was under it. With a yawn, Jenssen got up and ambled over to the nest, her right wing flicking while she kept her left still. She didn't have any problems getting across the tent to there: walking was actually far easier without the pearl Dad always told her to carry. She'd been heartbroken to have lost it at first, and was terrified of how angry Dad might be, but every day since then she'd actually become more and more happy that she didn't have to lug the heavy thing around everywhere anymore. Mamonaku's reassurance was nice... 'You don't need a pearl to impress me.' Jenssen felt a tug on her heartstrings. She missed her. She didn't have the words for it, but she really wished she could've seen the Spiral again before she disappeared. Shaking those dark, looming memories from her mind, she looked back to the strange cover. She was standing in front of it now; and had almost tripped over it, in fact, while she was spacing out. She lifted a talon and looked at some of the dust that was clinging to her sticky claws, and then turned back to the weird collection of rubbish. "If I..." she tried to think out loud. Extending that talon to the leather cover softly, she grabbed it and clenched on to it weakly, and then she began to pull it back. The thin leather cover began to slide off of something smooth underneath. Soon it was completely exposed, and Jenssen was left staring at it in wonder. Two wonderfully round objects shone back at her, each of them about the size of her head--which was quite small. Chuillyon would've been able to hold them between two of his claws. They had a soft, greyish surface, but they seemed to be in the process of slowly changing... there was a faint glow coming from them, which was what let Jenssen see the shape of them in the first place. Every now and then, a tiny pinprick of cyan light would gently flash on the thing's surface. The object was just slightly transparent, and below its outermost layer, she could see a glimmering core at the very center, thrumming with energy like she'd never seen before. Jenssen stepped away from the two glowing spheroids nervously, then she went to cover them back up with the blanket. She felt like she knew what they were... something called an 'egg' that would make a baby dragon, like her. She'd seen one before, except that looked more like a giant seed. Her father had been carrying it, trying to handle it, his pearl, and a much-younger Jenssen in his talons while the world got dark and the wind blew around and around, practically forcing him into juggling the three objects. And of those three... he only dropped Jenssen. If she were any older, she'd wonder what that said about how he thought of her. She stepped away from the nest and returned to where she'd been sleeping, in a slightly smoother spot on the ground. Her broken left wing hung limply by her side, and it bumped a rock as it went, sending sharp pain up and down her side. She winced and held in a yelp, feeling tears sting her eyes. But nothing else happened and nobody came. Chuillyon was still out there somewhere... she didn't want to sleep! Not yet! Not until she knew he was back. So she sat down, fighting the pain, waiting patiently... wondering about the two eggs she'd seen, and what they might bring soon. [center][color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] Out-of-lore summary: > Rolled a d6 for Jenssen's survival. Rolled a 5. She lives! > Realize I have been spelling Jenssen's name wrong this entire time. Whatever. > Went to Pinkerton. Challenge time! (Got a material/trinket item) > Rolled a d20. Got a 12 (A Coup: Roll 3 d20s. If any land on 1, the royal is struck down by the clan and a random dragon replaces them.) > Spend a moment wheezing. "IF THIS HITS A 1 MY LORE IS GONNA BE SO WEIRD. AN ANCIENT, POWERFUL IMPERIAL WITH INCREDIBLE KNOWLEDGE OF MAGIC GETS OUSTED BY A [b]FREAKING BABY PEARLCATCHER[/b]" > Rolled 3 d20s. Rolled 13, 8, and 6. No coup today! > Spend another few moments thinking about how weirdly things would've turned out if Jenssen grew up to become the sole survivor and royal of the clan It looks like this'll be a short piece today. That's nice, especially after the long one I just wrote: it gives me time to relax and focus on a little worldbuilding; and some character-building for a less-than-explained Chuillyon! If I get bored I may follow the optional rule and do a pull from Crim today as well, to make something else happen. Once again ... thanks for reading! [center][color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] [center][color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51773566]Prev[/url][color=transparent]__[/color]<[color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785#post_3153785][b]Home[/url][color=transparent]__[/color]>[color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785#post_51785359]Next[/url][color=transparent]__[/color][/center]

[center][size=1][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51785359:~:text=___________________________________________________________-,Out%2Dof%2Dlore%20summary%3A,-%3E%20Rolled%20for%20Jenssen%27s]Click me to skip to the out-of-lore summary![/url][/center] [center][color=#63B2CE][b]Event 4[/color] [color=#63B2CE]_______________________________________________________________[/center] [center][size=6][b][color=#73DAFF]T[/color][color=#6DCBED]H[/color][color=#67BDDC]E[/color] [color=#5CA1BA]H[/color][color=#5692A8]I[/color][color=#518497]K[/color][color=#4B7686]E[/color][/b][/size] [i][color=#5CAECC]C[/color][color=#5BACCA]h[/color][color=#5BABC8]u[/color][color=#5AA9C6]i[/color][color=#5AA8C5]l[/color][color=#59A6C3]l[/color][color=#59A5C1]y[/color][color=#58A4BF]o[/color][color=#58A2BE]n[/color] [color=#579FBA]s[/color][color=#579EB8]c[/color][color=#569DB7]o[/color][color=#569BB5]u[/color][color=#559AB3]t[/color][color=#5598B1]s[/color] [color=#5496AE]t[/color][color=#5494AC]h[/color][color=#5393AA]e[/color] [color=#5290A7]a[/color][color=#528FA5]r[/color][color=#518DA3]e[/color][color=#518CA2]a[/color] [color=#50899E]a[/color][color=#50889D]n[/color][color=#4F869B]d[/color] [color=#4E8397]t[/color][color=#4E8296]e[/color][color=#4D8194]s[/color][color=#4D7F92]t[/color][color=#4D7E90]s[/color] [color=#4C7B8D]h[/color][color=#4B7A8B]i[/color][color=#4B7889]s[/color] [color=#4A7586]c[/color][color=#497484]o[/color][color=#497382]m[/color][color=#497181]p[/color][color=#48707F]o[/color][color=#486E7D]s[/color][color=#476D7B]u[/color][color=#476C7A]r[/color][color=#466A78]e[/color][color=#466976].[/color][/i] [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/493931080269955078/998658459627171870/unknown.png[/img] [color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] Chuillyon strode calmly through a gorge, never minding the obstacles like fallen rocks from the cliffs or the shattered bones from fallen creatures. He certainly passed by one or two dragons on the way ... foreboding as it was, it was to be expected. The Charged Barrens were often filled with skeletal remains as well, buried under the rapidly-shifting sands that earned the Shifting Expanse its name. That would be where he explored tomorrow, he decided. One of the most important parts about survival here was to get an electrical system going as soon as possible: no clan in the barrens survived without one, both to protect their lair from duneriders (the careening waves of pure, overwhelming Lightning magic discharged from the Lightning Farm) and also to offer them the luxuries of lighting, air cooling, and refrigeration of rations. He would have to go scavenging as soon as possible; but today, his goal was to find a region in this gorge which was protected enough from the scorching sky to keep a water reservoir. Chuillyon had stopped at several points in the gorge so far. The sun had since come up, brightening the world around him to the point where he didn't need the magic glow-orb to see anymore. Instead, every hundred yards or so, he would cast an ice-element spell that would cover the entire area around him in a thick layer of snow. He tried to count in his head how long it took the snow to melt, and then count further to see how long it was until the water evaporated. It was taxing to even just keep the magic snow and water there by itself, though: matter created by spells instead of moved by them didn't really tend to [i]want to exist[/i], so it would quickly disappear unless constantly fed more energy from the caster. Chuillyon arrived at the next area he wanted to test, which was a narrow space that he thought he would just barely be able to fly out of. The walls of the canyon sloped inwards here, so the space at the bottom was much wider than that at the top. Most of this area was beginning to be cast in shadow, which bode well for his evaporation test. It was for the better too: he was starting to become exhausted after all of this casting, and soon he'd be out of energy to do any more. After that, he would be vulnerable: his physical strength paled in comparison to his ability to wield elemental magic. Extending a talon, he made a few hand-symbols with it to channel the flow of his energy, and recited a small incantation in his mind. Then when it was done, he pointed upwards, and then a huge cloud of enchanted snow manifested itself in the air. It rained down, settling rapidly on the sandstone below his feet. The first flakes of snow to land evaporated almost instantly on the hot stone, but soon it piled up, and in seconds Chuillyon was up to his underbelly in fallen manasnow. He watched it intently, beginning to count in his mind. Puddles of water started to quickly form at the edges of the snow pile, which he kept close track of. Already the layers of snow were getting thinner... it looked good. This was already taking longer than all the rest of the areas he'd tested, in narrow crags and in (extremely precarious) spots covered by slight, thin overhangs at the top of the eighty-foot cliffs. As he watched the snow melt, he saw something move out of the corner of his eye; and he heard a loud [i]poomf![/i] as well. He looked over, and a chunk of flying snow immediately landed on his nose. He shook it off and then looked again ... and then he saw that there was a hole in the snow-pile where it hadn't been before. Did something just fall down? Chuillyon turned his gaze to the top of the ravine in alarm, worried that there may be more rocks coming--but when he checked, he didn't see any falling rocks, pebbles, or even ground-up sand falling from the top. Instead, he saw a dragon's head, peering back down at him with wide eyes and a hanging jaw. It was a Guardian, colored white with a purplish beard... Chuillyon tried to get a glance at what his element was, but he ducked back from view before he could, hiding away and leaving the Imperial alone. Chuillyon narrowed his eyes. Had that dragon deliberately tried to kill him? He immediately turned to the crater in the snow and marched to it, looking down to see what the Guardian had thrown--and he couldn't hold back a quiet gasp as he saw it in there. "No," he whispered to himself. ... "He tried to kill [i]you.[/i]" In the deep crater, stuck in the snow that surrounded him, there was a baby Guardian dragon. He looked even younger than Jenssen had when Mamonaku came back with her... his scales and wings were plain, but they came in bright colors, with a white body--like what had presumably been his father or older brother. Gently, Chuillyon reached down, and scooped the little dragon out of the crater he'd formed with his fall. He didn't cry out or panic, and he looked uninjured: the snow had completely broken his fall. His talons and tail dangled as Chuillyon held him around his underbelly, but he was awake and alert, looking up at the Imperial with big white eyes. That told Chuillyon that he was born in the Southern Icefield, just like himself: he was of the ice element. His left arm had something on its side... Chuillyon thought it was a birthmark at first, but upon closer inspection, he realized it wasn't natural. It was a brand, burned (or perhaps frostbitten) into his scales, which read a single word in Draconic: 'Leonid'. That must have been a name. He turned away from the silent, but calm hatchling, looking back at the cliff. That Guardian had just tried to toss Leonid to his death. There was no way it was accidental. He whirled around, carrying the hatchling, and then he set him down in a spot where the snow had thinned out to mere water. "Wait here," he said, firmly and plainly to the Guardian; and then he turned away, spreading his wings and flying upward in a cloud of blowing snow. [i]Your victim escaped with his life. YOU WILL NOT.[/i] Chuillyon set his deadly sights on top of the cliff, and where he thought the attempted murderer might be beyond that. He was almost out of energy to spare for spellcasting... but in the moment, righteous fury outweighed his caution and exhaustion. He emerged from the narrow ravine, just barely scraping his wings on the cliff behind him. For the dragon; the [i]many[/i] on the ground, it seemed almost as if he'd come from nowhere. His eyes locked immediately on the culprit: the white guardian with the purple wings and beard. He had since turned around, and was facing a caravan of some fifteen other dragons with flared wings. He was yelling something--but he was cut off by Chuillyon himself. Silently, vehemently, the Imperial called forth his magic once again and manifested a long, needle-sharp icicle in his right talon. He wheeled back in the air, and then threw it at the Guardian before he could even turn around or realize he was there. With the guidance of his magic, the icicle flew forward and true ... and struck the Guardian in the back, piercing his heart on the way through. The ice-spear embedded itself partway through the attempted murderer's chest with a satisfying [i]Psshing![/i] Chuillyon smiled, even as he felt the last of his energy reserves for spellcasting deplete. The deed was done... and he took great pleasure in having done it. The dragon's wings fell limp, and then he collapsed to the side, his body kicking up a cloud of dust when it hit the ground. Chuillyon was left standing in his place, staring out at the rest of the dragons with a dangerous look. He wiped the grin off his face, replacing it with a snarl. He knew he wasn't strong enough to take on all these dragons without his magic... but as he watched them, ready for any moves they might make, he realized suddenly that that wasn't going to happen. These dragons who stared back at him: Skydancers, Nocturne, and Mirrors, for the most part ... they were petrified. None of them dared move, and whenever Chuillyon turned his gaze to one of them, they looked like they were on the verge of falling and cowering. [i]It's like they think I'm a god,[/i] he thought. ... He spoke up, putting his voice in a low growl. "Your actions against the hatchling named Leonid today have angered the Deities of Sornieth. [i]They demand a sacrifice.[/i]" Fearful pandemonium broke out in the small crowd. Despaired cries filled the air, along with pleas for their lives, offerings of devotion and service... one of the Skydancers even offered to give up his life for everyone else. It became such an erratic mess of chatter and begging that Chuillyon had to put a stop to it, stomping a talon and letting out a long, deafening roar. As soon as he stopped, it was deathly quiet once again. His ploy and threat had [i]definitely[/i] worked--and eyeing the carts, bags, and packs they all carried, he soon knew exactly what he wanted from the caravan. "Give up all your supplies. Your tents, your food, your water pumps... and all the goods you have taken with you to sell. Keep only a single day's worth of rations for yourselves, and leave the Shifting Expanse immediately. The Stormcatcher no longer welcomes you here." Chuillyon heard no objection from the terrified dragons. With the Guardian's bleeding corpse right there as a reminder of what happened if they stepped out of line, the Imperial didn't have to lift another claw. He sat down, watching in silence as the terrified denizens tore open their packs and carts, pulling out everything they could carry at once and beginning to lay it in front of him. [center]* * *[/center] Jenssen was awake the entire rest of the night. She even noticed the sun rising, as the inside of the tent got brighter with the rest of the world. Worry was starting to set in... was she on her own again? Would Chuillyon come back? Did he go with Ludivina and Mamonaku and Dad? No, no he didn't: he wouldn't leave too. She wouldn't give up hope! He'd be back. Finally, as she was just laying back down with a yawn to stare at the pile of jerky for a while, she heard wingbeats and the thump of heavy talons landing on sand outside. She immediately jumped back to her feet, her tired mind suddenly renewed with excited energy. "Quilly!" she exclaimed, running out of the tent--and when she did, exposing herself to the daylight... there he was! She saw him! Chuillyon was carrying a bunch of things on his back, all tied down with several long ropes he'd wrapped around his waist and underbelly. It looked like other things Dad had been carrying before he left... containers full of water, poles and tarps for tents, and a myriad of other traveling supplies that she didn't know anything about. The Imperial looked to the Pearlcatcher as she cried out. "Jenssen?" he replied, sounding surprised. "You should not be awake this early. And look at you: you look like you didn't even sleep." "I no seep 'cause I was waiting for you!!" She ran up to him, almost tripping a couple of times as she did; but finally she sat down in front of his talons. "You jus'- you, you just walked away! At night! I was think you, y- you left! Like... Momo and Luna." Chuillyon had been giving her a scolding look at first, but then it softened slightly. "...I'm sorry," he told her in a more gentle voice. "It was bad of me to leave you. I was confused, and I won't do it again." Jenssen blinked up at him, her jaw dropping slightly open. Somehow, she hadn't expected that answer out of him. Shocked into silence, she just nodded at the Imperial thankfully. Chuillyon nodded back, his expression hardening once more. "Look," he said, gesturing with a wing. "I brought food and water for us. You should eat breakfast." He sat back and started untying the ropes wrapped around him; and as he did, Jenssen noticed something move on his back. It was colored white and pink, and it started moving down the curve of his back, behind his wings--then she heard a stumbling sound, and a tiny baby dragon emerged from behind his wing as it faceplanted down on the ground from a light fall. The hatchling got up right away, and shook out his head and dusty wings with a squeak. Jenssen gasped when she saw him. "Ooo," she murmured, creeping over to him. He was bigger and taller than she was, but not by that much; and he actually seemed [i]younger[/i] than her, despite the size difference. He looked over at Jenssen as he composed himself, nervously at first: he sniffed the air in front of her for a few seconds, as if trying to smell out any danger on her. But finally, he seemed to relax; and then he gave her a little smile... shy, but in a friendly way, like he was excited to see someone new. Jenssen immediately knew that this was perfect. Maybe Chuillyon had left her alone a while, but in the end, it couldn't have turned out any better. A new friend was here, and that was everything! [i]Just don't leave. And everything is good.[/i] [center][color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] Out-of-lore summary: > Rolled for Jenssen's survival. Rolled a 6. She lives! > Went to Pinkerton. Challenge time! (Got a material/trinket) > Rolled a d20. Got a 1. (Romance! Breed 2 dragons or buy a hatchling if no dragons are RTB.) > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFGQXjlAXEg ("ENTIRE TEAM, IS [i]BABIES![/i]") > freaking lose it at 2:30AM > Go to buy a hatchling from AH. Time to snipe something from a fellow Lightning Dom player (i'm totally contributing to the festival push by doing this locke) > Rolled a d10 while on the cheapest AH page for a hatchling. Rolled a 9, which happened to be a male Guardian named Leonid. Welcome to the babyclan, little guy! ADDENDUM: I got bored and felt like doing another Crim pull, so I did it. The summary for that is below! > Did NOT roll for Jenssen's or Leonid's survival, since I already did Jenssen's today and Leonid's first roll is tomorrow. > Went to Crim. Coliseum time! (Got a Plant food item: do 10-20 matches with random dragons at the venue whose level equals the lowest leveled dragon.) > Chuillyon is my only eligible dragon; take him to Training Fields > Watch him die repeatedly as the only dragon on the team; consider the optional to use personal dragons when your Royal is the only eligible fighter; ignore it for now > Watch him die or have to flee 8 more times > "ok fine you win flight rising" and equip two personal lvl 1 fodder dragons > Finally some progress! Getting through the rounds now and watching Chuillyon gain some (basically free) EXP > Complete 20 rounds of Coliseum, using it as an opportunity to practice combat with low-level, un-statted dragons. I'm going to need it to protect my other dragons when they grow up. > Results: Chuillyon has reached Level 4! I'll consider that a reward for his ventures in this lore piece. I can't help but laugh at how both of my adult starters have been replaced by [i]hatchling[/i] starters. It's just the beginning, and we've only taken a step backward... but that just means that we haven't fallen yet! Soon we'll have another two hatchlings joining us (if they do hatch successfully), and I think that this situation does present me with some advantages. If I find myself on a death streak in the next day or so, I won't lose [i]any[/i] dragons because the Royal can't be killed in Coli, and hatchlings can't [i]enter[/i] Coli. >thinkaboutit.jpg also, i'm finally on schedule with posts now yaay As always, thanks for reading! [center][color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] [center][color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51777456]Prev[/url][color=transparent]__[/color]<[color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785#post_3153785][b]Home[/url][color=transparent]__[/color]>[color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785#post_51791653]Next[/url][color=transparent]__[/color][/center]

[center][size=1][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51791653:~:text=___________________________________________________________-,Out%2Dof%2Dlore%20summary%3A,-%3E%20Rolled%20for%20Jenssen%27s%20and]Click me to skip to the out-of-lore summary![/url][/center] [center][color=#63B2CE][b]Event 5[/color] [color=#63B2CE]_______________________________________________________________[/center] [center][size=6][b][color=#73DAFF]T[/color][color=#6DCBED]E[/color][color=#67BDDC]N[/color][color=#61AECA]Z[/color][color=#5BA0B9]O[/color][/b][/size] [i][color=#5CAECC]A[/color][color=#5BACC9]s[/color] [color=#5AA9C5]t[/color][color=#59A7C3]i[/color][color=#59A5C1]m[/color][color=#58A4BF]e[/color] [color=#57A1BB]g[/color][color=#569FB9]o[/color][color=#569DB7]e[/color][color=#559CB5]s[/color] [color=#5498B1]b[/color][color=#5497AF]y[/color][color=#5395AD],[/color] [color=#5292A9]C[/color][color=#5190A7]h[/color][color=#518FA5]u[/color][color=#508DA3]i[/color][color=#508BA1]l[/color][color=#4F8A9F]l[/color][color=#4F889D]y[/color][color=#4E879B]o[/color][color=#4D8599]n[/color] [color=#4C8295]p[/color][color=#4C8093]r[/color][color=#4B7E91]e[/color][color=#4B7D8F]p[/color][color=#4A7B8D]a[/color][color=#497A8B]r[/color][color=#497889]e[/color][color=#487687]s[/color] [color=#477383]t[/color][color=#477181]h[/color][color=#46707F]e[/color] [color=#456D7B]c[/color][color=#446B79]a[/color][color=#446977]m[/color][color=#436875]p[/color] [color=#426471]f[/color][color=#42636F]o[/color][color=#41616D]r[/color] [color=#405E69]a[/color] [color=#3F5B65]l[/color][color=#3E5963]a[/color][color=#3E5761]r[/color][color=#3D565F]g[/color][color=#3C545D]e[/color][color=#3C535B]r[/color] [color=#3B4F57]p[/color][color=#3A4E55]o[/color][color=#3A4C53]p[/color][color=#394A51]u[/color][color=#38494F]l[/color][color=#38474D]a[/color][color=#37464B]t[/color][color=#374449]i[/color][color=#364247]o[/color][color=#364145]n[/color][color=#353F43].[/color][/i] [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/807870740535443466/999338529496760441/unknown.png[/img] [color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] Weeks passed. Chuillyon had been in the Forsaken Wastes for over a month now, and most of it had been spent taking care of two hatchlings. Jenssen and Leonid were a fine pair. They had grown to see each other as brother and sister, and both of them were energetic, but also obedient: they listened to Chuillyon when he told them to do something, and at this point, he was quite certain that they had his list of rules memorized. [i]1. You must remain in the tent at all times unless I say you can come out. You are free to ask if you may, two times a day. 2. When you're outside of the tent, do not go near the canyons or dunes. 3. No means no. If I don't let you do something, you don't do it. 4. Look out for each other. Your safety is each other's responsibility as much as it is mine. 5. Save your food. Don't eat if you don't feel hungry.[/i] They may have been children, but they listened to him and understood him. That was more than he could say for himself when he was a hatchling. For that, he was impressed. Today, though, was going to be their test. They were running out of food and clean water that he'd taken from the caravan... perhaps he should have made them give up their last supply of rations too. Hindsight didn't change the situation, though: he needed to leave the two hatchlings alone and hunt. "You two will stay in the tent while I am gone," he said to the Pearlcatcher who was hugging his leg. She absolutely [i]did not[/i] want him to leave, no matter how many times he said that she would starve if he didn't. "That is final. Do you understand?" Leonid, who was sitting in front of the Imperial, nodded vigorously. While Jenssen had a tendency to test Chuillyon's rules and push his buttons just a little--like she was right now, groveling at his talons to get him to stay--but Leonid had become the one to keep her in check. He always listened to Chuillyon and was the mouthpiece that got her to listen as well. "Yes," he declared simply. "We two stay! [i]Two![/i]" He emphasized by holding up a pair of claws, indicating to Jenssen as well. Chuillyon nodded back to him. "Good. Leonid, you may take an extra piece of jerky today." "Whaat!?" cried Jenssen. "Why does he get jerky and not me??" "Because he is doing as I said. You are clinging to me and not allowing me to leave." Jenssen gave him a pouty look. "But you [i]promised.[/i]" Chuillyon sighed, letting his eyes fall shut for a moment. He knew what she was talking about. He looked down again and gave her a more gentle look. "Jenssen, I only promised I would not leave without telling you. I am telling you now that I'm leaving, and I will be back at the end of the day." "But why?" "Because I said so." Jenssen gave up after that. She let go of his forearm and plopped back down on the ground, her left wing--which had healed quite well so far--flicking out slightly. Chuillyon let her pout, turning to the tent's exit flap. "Remember to care for each other," he said back to the two young dragons, before walking through. "I will come back with food and water." [center]* * *[/center] Hours later, Chuillyon was still flying out on his scavenging trip. He knew he'd need to return soon: if he didn't get back when he said he would, that would make Jenssen even more troublesome to deal with next time. In hopes of striking down two goals at once when he had the chance, he was flying over the Charged Barrens to the east of the campground today, looking for any abandoned supplies, clan lairs, or dead caravans. The clouds were light overhead today, and he took that to his advantage, allowing himself to fly higher than he normally would over the electrified dunes. His white scales reflected the heat very well, offering him a natural protection against the Barrens' intense temperatures. The only danger that was posed to him here was the risk of a dunerider coming through and shocking him to death: he didn't have the grounding protective gear that he always used, back in the Erekahs' clan. Finally, as he was beginning to consider heading home with the few supplies he'd scavenged, Chuillyon spotted something on the horizon ahead of him. It was a caravan, but of what he couldn't tell until he got closer. When he did, several minutes later, it became overwhelmingly clear that they were longneck. The upright stature of the walking creatures, as well as the smaller size of the carts, packs, and tools they carried told it to him. He wondered what they were doing here, on the east side of Carrion Canyon when all their claimed territories were to the west--but these thoughts were wiped from his mind as he spotted something even more significant: the beastclan caravan had dragons with them. From what he could see, they had at least one Guardian and one Skydancer, and they were in chains; captured. While he normally would've seen this as a warning and a threat, Chuillyon now saw it as an opportunity. These captives: if they were there against their will--and they probably were--he could break them from their chains and convince them to come back to his campground. Then they would have all of the longneck caravan's tools and supplies at their disposal as well. Chuillyon pressed on, intent on attacking as soon as he got there. He flew higher in the air and then glided on a warm air current, trying to blend in with the clouds to allow himself a surprise attack. It worked quite well: in moments, he was directly above the caravan, and then he entered a dive, preparing a spell in his moving claws and focusing mind. A sphere of solid ice grew floating between his two talons, and then it broke apart into a thousand razor-sharp fragments. Before they melted, he quickly sent them soaring, raining down needles and knives on the unsuspecting dragon captors. Twenty of the mammalians out of the caravan of fifty went down immediately, and didn't get back up. From below, the Guardian and Skydancer watched as deadly icicles suddenly rained atop their beastclan captors, without any warning or sign beforehand that it was coming. Cries and yells broke out from around them as the longnecks searched for their attacker--and then they all saw him come down from the sky, landing and making a large crown of sharp ice spikes erupt out from around him. It sent several more tumbling away, and one icicle drove itself through the chest of an unlucky bowman who had been too close. The Guardian and Skydancer glanced at each other: they knew that this was their chance to break free. Jumping up and clinging to the larger dragon's back, the Skydancer cast out a runic spell that began to warp the metal chains on the Guardian's wings, slowly bending them and preparing to break them. Chuillyon let the ice-spikes disappear after a moment, his eyes searching for the next group of attackers to strike down. He quickly realized he was surrounded, though. The beastclans were rallying around him, seeing their threat and preparing to act. He felt something powerful and stinging strike him on the left side with a [i]fwoosh[/i], several times: he turned and saw a magi holding an enchanted staff, about to cast several more hydro bolts at him. He conjured a golden bolster-shield in response, but some of the bolts punched right through, letting another one hit him in the chest. The magic-formed water sprayed him with incredible force, leaving torn scales where it hit and soaking him everywhere else before it rapidly disappeared. "Come on!" he yelled out, trying to get the other dragons to hear him. "Help me!" He actually got a response. "Almost there!" That was the low, growling reply of the Guardian, whom the Skydancer was helping break free. Some of the longneck saw what was going on with them and were trying to get the Skydancer to stop, but the Guardian whacked them away with her bound wings. Chuillyon watched them for a moment too, but it was foolish of him to get distracted: he felt a thick rope suddenly wind around his forearms and then try to pull them together. A pair of armored gladiators had just hurled a bolas at him, keeping him from separating his front talons. He turned his tail to them and whacked them both away with it--which left a deep throbbing where he'd hit them. Casting away the bolster-shield, he thrust it towards where the magi had been. It missed completely, as he was busy watching another skirmisher come towards him and clawing it away with a talon; and nearly tripping in the process as the bolas tugged on his other talon. This was overwhelming: too much going on at once... Before he knew it, and no matter how many longneck he struck down, Chuillyon was on the ground and quickly being tied down further. Gladiators pushed against his wings with their sharp shields, forcing them to fold in. Skirmishers bound more ropes around his tail and talons, forcing them to stay in place. The magi he'd failed to kill came up before him, raising its staff with a fury in its eyes. One massive hydro bolt formed above him, preparing to strike Chuillyon in the head. He glared daggers at the magi as it stepped up to deal the finishing blow. [i]So be done with it.[/i] He watched the magi raise a hoof; and then suddenly it was the only part of the magi left that he could see. A Guardian's deadly jaws snapped shut around the spellcaster, and the hydro bolt that was about to kill him dispersed instantly. Several longneck yelled out as their one magi was killed; and their attention turned to the Guardian, allowing Chuillyon to start to wrestle himself free. A gladiator came for his head with its sword, but a contuse suddenly hit it in the face, the sphere of condensed air blowing off its helmet and half-flipping the longneck backwards, where it fell flat on the ground with a [i]clang.[/i] Chuillyon saw the small Skydancer, with grey scales and brilliantly colored wings, leap in front of him to his defense. Clashing and banging was erupting from everywhere around him now as both of the dragons began fighting as well: the tide had turned! Chuillyon shook off the rest of the ropes that had been thrown around him and stood back up, finally breaking the bolas that had bound his front talons together. These beastclans had caught him by surprise: he wasn't going to ever let it happen again. With each other's combined help, the Guardian, Skydancer, and Imperial made very quick work of the remaining longnecks. In just a few moments, the rest of them were lying dead on the ground or running for the hills. Chuillyon stood panting, blood trickling from his mouth and a few other wounds on his body. The Guardian and Skydancer were scraped up too from the fight, but none of the dragons were seriously injured. "Wow!" exclaimed the Guardian as she kneeled down, catching her breath. "We showed [i]them![/i]" "Great fight," agreed the Skydancer. Then, he turned to Chuillyon, bowing respectfully. "Thank you so much for coming to the rescue. I'm sorry we couldn't help you sooner: Iphreus' chains were tough to break." He stood back up, holding a talon up to his chest; and then he gestured to the Guardian. "I'm Akairus. And this is my mate, Iphreus." [center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/807870740535443466/999692017930088529/unknown.png[/center] "Hm." Chuillyon nodded in reply to the Skydancer's gratitude, as well as the introduction. "I am glad I could help... but we should not stay for long." He stood tall, giving them each a look. "These dunes are extremely dangerous without the proper equipment--of which we have none. I do not know what the longnecks were doing bringing you here." "I ain't got a clue either," agreed Iphreus. She grabbed a longneck and then snapped it up for a quick meal, not minding the leather coat it had been wearing. "They grabbed us while we were sleeping a couple of days ago, and started walking us out into the desert." "I assume you don't know where you're headed," replied Chuillyon. This was playing into his talons... "If you need a place to settle down, I manage a small campground I am forming a clan out of." He gestured to the destroyed caravan, and all of the supplies that had been left behind. "That's the only reason I'm here: to gather resources and dragons. You are both excellent fighters. You'd do well in the Forsaken Wastes." Akairus and Iphreus glanced at each other, and then each exchanged a smile at Chuillyon. The Skydancer spoke up, shaking his head gently. "Sorry... but we can't stay." He pointed west. "We were on the way to look for our son, on the other side of the canyon. Have you seen him--big Obelisk, grey and yellow, hatched in Ashfall?" Chuillyon shook his head. He'd actually never seen the new breed of dragons before: compared to his whole life, the existence of Obelisks only spanned the last tenth or so of it. "Ah, well... it was worth a try. Thank you anyway." "How much food do you need to get out?" asked Chuillyon. "Nothin'," Iphreus assured him. "We're good enough at hunting to make meals along the way. We got here all the way from Tempest Spire: that's where we were looking last." Akairus piped up suddenly, darting away. "Oh! Before we go, there's something I've gotta ... did you say you're starting a clan?" He slowed down as he looked at the Imperial. At Chuillyon's nod, he continued: "Then let me show you something that might help." Chuillyon followed Akairus to one cart of the many, which he stopped at and then stood up on his hind legs to open it. It was essentially a big crate with wheels, sealed at the top with a few holes cut into the lid to allow airflow. Pulling the lid off and then shoving it away, the Skydancer gestured for Chuillyon to look inside--and when he did, two pairs of light green eyes looked back up at him, instantly brightening. His jaw dropped slightly, too, as he looked down. "I saw them get put in this crate the day after we got captured ourselves," Akairus explained. "I think the longnecks tried to capture their parents, couldn't quite manage to lock them down, and just..." He trailed off. The message of what happened to them was already there. "But- maybe they'd be happy to come with you instead. Every clan starts with the next generation, right?" Chuillyon nodded idly, turning back to the two hatchlings. There was a little Nocturne down there, with big eyes that looked up at him excitedly; but beside the female hatchling, there was another dragon watching him with a calmer, more intrigued temperament that he reflected. There was an extra layer of power about him; one that Chuillyon could sense with his own magic... but one that he already knew would be there anyways. It always was. The second young dragon was an Imperial. [center][color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] Out-of-lore summary: > Rolled for Jenssen's and Leonid's survival. Jenssen gets a 3, Leonid gets a 3. They live! > Went to Pinkerton. DANGER! (Got a battle item: flip a coin. Heads is a beastclan attack, tails is a death streak.) > Flipped a coin. Tails (Death Streak: 10 consecutive coli rounds with random dragons, quitting when the first dies). My current situation DOES come in handy! > Take Chuillyon to his current level's coli venue, along with the rule-permitted personal fodder dragons, since he is my only eligible coli dragon > Got through 7 rounds in Woodland Path before Chuillyon went down on round 8. Not bad, tuffguy. It's called death streak for a reason. I KNEW that having two hatchlings in my lair would help me somehow. Today was the day! Happy to get some free EXP for my royal, and keep him in his place. Chuillyon Vaskar is quite an important part of the Vaskar Clan's lore after all, and there's plenty more of that to come in the future ;) Hyped for the hatching of his and Ludivina's nest tomorrow! I checked forsee progeny (couldn't help myself) and they had some kids who could possibly be really pretty. I got lucky with my first round of random AH buys! Side-note: I'm going to be away from home and at a lake-cabin with family for the next few days, so I might be inactive until Sunday. I'll continue doing dailies every day and writing when I can. More lore will come when I have time. As always, thanks for reading! SIDENOTE: These hatchlings didn't come from nowhere. I took a day off of writing lore due to being busy and ended up getting an apparel pull from Pinkerton the next day, which I decided I wanted to incorporate into this overdue lore piece from the day before. [center][color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] [center][color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51785359]Prev[/url][color=transparent]__[/color]<[color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785#post_3153785][b]Home[/url][color=transparent]__[/color]>[color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51797912]Next[/url][color=transparent]__[/color][/center]

[center][size=1][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51797912:~:text=___________________________________________________________-,Out%2Dof%2Dlore%20summary%3A,-%3E%20Rolled%20for%20Jenssen%27s%20and%20Leonid%27s%20survival.%20Rolled]Click me to skip to the out-of-lore summary![/url][/center] [center][color=#63B2CE][b]Event 6[/color] [color=#63B2CE]_______________________________________________________________[/center] [center][size=6][b][color=#73DAFF]A[/color][color=#6CC7E8]G[/color][color=#65B5D2]U[/color][color=#5FA3BC]I[/color][color=#5891A6]S[/color][color=#517F8F]T[/color][color=#4B6D79]I[/color][color=#445B63]N[/color][/b][/size] [i][color=#5CAECC]J[/color][color=#5BABC8]e[/color][color=#5AA9C5]n[/color][color=#59A6C2]s[/color][color=#58A4BF]s[/color][color=#57A1BC]e[/color][color=#569FB9]n[/color] [color=#559AB3]a[/color][color=#5498B0]n[/color][color=#5395AD]d[/color] [color=#5190A7]L[/color][color=#508EA4]e[/color][color=#508BA1]o[/color][color=#4F899E]n[/color][color=#4E879B]i[/color][color=#4D8498]d[/color] [color=#4B7F92]f[/color][color=#4B7D8F]i[/color][color=#4A7A8C]n[/color][color=#497889]d[/color] [color=#477383]w[/color][color=#467180]a[/color][color=#456E7D]y[/color][color=#456C7A]s[/color] [color=#436774]t[/color][color=#426471]o[/color] [color=#40606B]p[/color][color=#405D68]a[/color][color=#3F5B65]s[/color][color=#3E5862]s[/color] [color=#3C535C]t[/color][color=#3B5159]h[/color][color=#3A4F56]e[/color] [color=#394A50]t[/color][color=#38474D]i[/color][color=#37454A]m[/color][color=#364247]e[/color][color=#354044].[/color][/i] [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/807870740535443466/999338529496760441/unknown.png[/img] [color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] Jenssen watched Chuillyon's tail disappear between the tent flaps. Suddenly, despite everything she'd done, she was alone again. Then Leonid walked up behind her, holding an extra piece of jerky in his mouth. He set it down on the floor, which was now carpet instead of gravel, and nudged it towards her. She smiled and took it in her talons. Maybe not completely alone... "Thank you," she said to the Guardian softly. Not completely alone at all--but still! Why was he just going away like that? What was it now he had to do that was so important, that Jenssen and Leonid had to be left behind? Was he just doing this to test them? That felt like something he'd do ... pah. Why couldn't he just keep staying here, telling them stories and helping them hunt for little animals here and there? Such a long time of being here, and she was starting to get bored of it: she wanted to go out and see the world Chuillyon was exploring, for once. "I hate how he leaved us here," she pouted to Leonid. "We can come back food and water too!" Leonid wasn't that good with words yet: he could only really repeat what Jenssen or Chuillyon said to him. "We come back too," he repeated now, his voice grating with exaggerated frustration. Jenssen just grumbled and stuffed the jerky he'd given her partway up his nose. "Ow!" he yelped, jumping away from her. Then he pulled it out of the nostril and stared at it, before turning back to the Pearlcatcher. [i]Why did you do that?[/i] his look demanded. "Don't be a big stink," she snapped, sticking her tongue out at him. "He's not here! You don't need to be his little pup." Leonid sat down slowly and gave her a sad look. "But... because he said so." Jenssen sighed. She loved having Leonid around, but he was [i]so[/i] doggedly loyal to Chuillyon's rules. She was about to turn away and mope off to another corner of the tent; but then she saw Leonid walking towards her again. He held out the piece of jerky to her again: the piece that she had stuffed up his nose just now. There was a soft smile on his face, like he was making a peace offering. "You's still sister," he declared in a quieter voice: one that was his own, rather than repeating after Chuillyon. She looked between the smiling Guardian and the jerky he was offering her for a moment. That had been the extra piece Chuillyon gave him for listening to him ... and he was offering it to her. Something in her heart felt a little pang: that was so kind of him. At last, she took it for real, sitting back and nibbling on it with another "Thanks." Leonid went over and took another small bit of jerky for himself. As they ate together a few minutes later, though, a soft [i]crack[/i] suddenly broke the air. Jenssen and Leonid had been poking their claws at each other while they ate, although the play-fight wasn't completely fair: Leonid was actually more than twice her size now. Jenssen was giggling through as Leonid started tickling her underbelly with a careful claw, about ready to collapse- and that was when they heard the cracking sound. Leonid stopped instantly, and Jenssen's giggling cut off. That sound ... it had come from the weird pile of rubble they had both learned was called a nest. The eggs inside! Had they gotten hurt? Jenssen turned to face Leonid, but he had already wandered off, hurrying in the direction of the covered nest with worry in his eyes. Over the last couple of weeks, any time he wasn't spending sleeping, eating, or playing with Jenssen, he was guarding that nest of two eggs like it was his own little hatchlings in there. It made sense that he was worried now... if the eggs had gotten hurt somehow, he was probably going to feel like it was his fault. She knew nothing yet of the Guardian's instincts, though: she just thought that Leonid was weirdly protective of everyone. When he lifted back that cover, though, his loud gasp instantly told Jenssen that something was wrong. She hurried over, tripping once on the carpet and flapping her right wing in frustration. Then she peeked over the rocks and twigs, getting a look at what was going on. Jenssen gasped too. One of the eggs... it had cracked. Tiny cyan arcs of lightning energy buzzed out of the fracture in the transparent egg. It had grown significantly brighter and clearer since Jenssen had first seen it, probably as the baby dragon inside was growing. She could see their darker forms inside... they were moving, and the flowing electricity inside the eggs was moving along with them. The first egg cracked again, and Leonid yeeped quietly in fear for it. He pulled it out of the nest, taking it up in his two front talons and holding it tightly. It started to crack even [i]more[/i] after that, prompting Jenssen to cry out as well. "Stop!" she exclaimed. Leonid looked to her, his eyes reflecting nothing but terror. She jumped towards him when he didn't let the egg go, trying to pry it out of his talons. "You're- [i]squishing[/i] it! Stop, stop-!" Suddenly the egg slipped from Leonid's grip, and before Jenssen could do anything, it dropped straight to the floor and shattered into a million pieces. Jenssen couldn't look, Leonid stared with a hanging jaw. Dying arcs of electricity bounced and zapped away from the demolished shell, which looked like little fragments of glass scattered around on the carpet. ...But in the middle of it all, there sat a tiny, tiny Spiral, who got up on wobbling legs and tried to stretch herself out like a pool noodle. Leonid watched her with disbelief; and then he saw that the Pearlcatcher across from him still was covering her eyes. "Jenssen," he said softly. That got her to peek--and then she clamped her talons over her snout instead when she saw the baby dragon. She was hardly even the size of Jenssen's tail. Her giant blue-brown eyes were studying everything except her own form, which looked wine red and was covered in marbled stripes and whorls. She stared deeply into Leonid, and then Jenssen, and then almost immediately started dancing and dashing around in circles until she was abruptly tied into a knot. Despite his terror earlier, Leonid immediately burst into giggles as he watched the spectacle. But that masked the sound of a second series of scraping and cracking noises, which only Jenssen seemed to hear this time. She looked away from the entangled Spiral and hurried back to the rim of the nest, stepping inside of it to inspect the egg more closely. It wasn't so scary this time, watching the egg start to crack... she had the feeling that something else was up before, and this time, she felt like she knew: they were hatching, not breaking apart for no reason. The second egg soon had a small hole clawed out of it by talons colored orange, strawberry red, and even blue. Shortly after, the colorful head of another dragon like Chuillyon poked out of the little opening in the shell, glancing up at Jenssen for a moment before he lifted his head back, opened his mouth--and let out a big old yawn. Jenssen covered her mouth as she giggled. The eggs had both hatched, and what did they bring? Wonderful new friends! This couldn't have been any better! [center]* * *[/center] "Where we going?" the incessant voice on his back asked, yet again. "Hey? Hey! Where we going?" Chuillyon took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. He was [i]almost[/i] beginning to regret not forcing Akairus and Iphreus to take these hatchlings... but at the same time, he knew he needed all the extra dragons he could muster, no matter if they were an eager-to-help Spiral or a nosy baby Imperial. Tenzo ... that had been his name. He told it to him by himself: the hatchlings were already several weeks old, and plenty capable of speaking. He thought he remembered the Nocturne's name... Amou, perhaps; but Tenzo had immediately made himself a prominent and troublesome figure that stuck right there in his mind. If Chuillyon had ever asked this many questions in the Southern Icefield, he was certain his father would have frozen his mouth shut. Perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad idea, in a few minutes. Chuillyon finally made it back to the camp, and allowed himself the pleasure of responding to the hatchling's nonstop questioning at last. "We are going nowhere. We're here." It was strangely silent inside... normally he would've expected to hear Jenssen and Leonid tussling, or banging on the pots and pans that had been taken from the dragon caravan weeks ago. Instead, it was unnervingly quiet, and that put him into high alert right away. Were the hatchlings gone? [i]Did they break his rule?[/i] He stormed into the tent with the grace of a swan, the entrance flaps flowing to either side with a gust of chilly air. Expecting to see nothing, Chuillyon was surprised when he found instead that both Jenssen and Leonid were laying on their bellies, their wings and tail raised excitedly as they watched the nest in front of them. The cover was off, and he saw a jumble of orange colors inside... his jaw hung slightly as he stared, quickly realizing what those figures must be. Jenssen turned to him. "Quill!" she exclaimed in a quiet, whispering voice. "The eggs! They broke and made dragons!! But shhhh... they sleepy!" But Chuillyon was already shocked into silence. The nest that he and Ludivina had made... the eggs had hatched while he was away. Today, of all days, when he was finally gone. He crept towards the nest, each step on the carpet feeling louder and heavier than the last. The additional hatchlings on his back peered over either of his shoulders to see what was going on. He sat down in front of the nest, looking into it. The hatchlings: he could tell they were both alive, and he knew instantly what they both were. There was the Spiral, and then there was... [i]He remembered lifting him out of the nest: the one surviving egg of the clutch. The other two never hatched, withering and dying inside of their shells. Such was the way of the barrens: to have a living child was a rare, unique gift from the Stormcatcher himself. He had never thought he would be the one to be blessed. But there he was, holding the young dragon, who looked up into his white eyes with his luminous cyan ones, radiating an energy and curiosity which he had never seen before; not from another successful parent's hatchling, and not even from that parent's eyes. When he looked into this hatchling's eyes, he knew that it was meant to be. There would be no one the same, and there would be no other he would swear more to protect. "Luachian," he remembered saying that day. "You've made it, Luachian. You're alive."[/i] Before Chuillyon knew what he was doing, he set down Tenzo and Amou, and then rushed back out of the tent. Throwing off the extra supplies he'd taken back, he thrust himself into the sky, not thinking twice of the setting sun or the encroaching storm on the horizon. [center][color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] Out-of-lore summary: > Rolled for Jenssen's and Leonid's survival. Rolled a 2 and a 6. They live! > Hatched the nest of Chuillyon and Ludivina, and got a wonderful looking Spiral [i]and[/i] an Imperial! > Flipped a coin for their first-day survival. Spiral: heads. Imperial: heads. Welcome to the family, you two! Chuillyon will be happy about that. > Randomized their names: the Spiral is Sunrunner (fitting!) and the Imperial is Aguistin (I re-randomized this one a couple times for lore purposes: Chuillyon would NOT call his one Imperial son Dwarfbeak or Goldtooth, so I'm breaking the rules for this one. sorry not sorry LOL) > Went to Pinkerton. > ... > APPAREL. MORE LITTLE DRAGONS. [b]WHAT.[/b] > Roll a d4 to determine the number of hatchlings to buy, since no clan dragons are RTB. Rolled a 2 > Bought the 2 cheapest hatchlings from AH by Apparel rules (the 2 cheapest dragons, at the top of the page). They were an unnamed Imperial and Nocturne. Randomized their names: Tenzo and Amou! ADDENDUM: Did some Crim pulls to pass the time. Results are below! > Went to Crim. Challenge time! (Got a material/trinket item) > Rolled a d20. Got a 7 (Quest: pick 2 random dragons and raise them a level. Roll 1d6 for each dragon: on 1, exalt/life lost). > Took Chuillyon and leveled him up, since he's the only available dragon to level loooooool > Rolled a d6. Got a 3: he lives! > Went to Crim again; got another materials roll. > Rolled a d20, got an 11. (I Quit: a random dragon excluding the royal rerolls for a new job) NOBODY CAN QUIT THEIR JOB LOLLOLOLO > Went to Crim again; got a plant item. Coli time! Chuillyon solos yet again. SIX BABIES. SIX. If I couldn't say the entire team was babies a few days before, I certainly can now. [s]or maybe i need to wait for chuillyon to die from something extremely unfortunate lol[/s] I couldn't be a whole lot happier with the kids I got, either. Tenzo and Amou being brother and sister gives me a great idea for lore to introduce them with, and I'm pleasantly surprised by the fact that both of Ludivina's hatchlings survived their Day 1 coin toss. The Dice of Fate may be coming ... but with six hatchlings in total, I have a good feeling that we'll get at least two or maybe three to adulthood. I have a lot of writing to do when I'm given a spare moment! As always, thanks for reading! [center][color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] [center][color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51791653]Prev[/url][color=transparent]__[/color]<[color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785#post_3153785][b]Home[/url][color=transparent]__[/color]>[color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51806360]Next[/url][color=transparent]__[/color][/center]

[center][size=1][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51806360:~:text=___________________________________________________________-,Out%2Dof%2Dlore%20summary%3A,-%3E%20Rolled%20for%20all]Click me to skip to the out-of-lore summary![/url][/center] [center][color=#63B2CE][b]Event 7[/color] [color=#63B2CE]_______________________________________________________________[/center] [center][size=6][b][color=#73DAFF]T[/color][color=#6CCAEC]H[/color][color=#66BAD9]E[/color] [color=#5A9BB3]S[/color][color=#538CA0]E[/color][color=#4D7C8D]E[/color][color=#476C7A]K[/color][color=#415D67]E[/color][color=#3B4D54]R[/color][/b][/size] [i][color=#5CAECC]W[/color][color=#5BACCA]h[/color][color=#5BABC9]e[/color][color=#5AAAC7]n[/color] [color=#59A7C4]C[/color][color=#59A6C3]h[/color][color=#59A5C1]u[/color][color=#58A4C0]i[/color][color=#58A3BE]l[/color][color=#57A1BD]l[/color][color=#57A0BB]y[/color][color=#569FBA]o[/color][color=#569EB8]n[/color] [color=#559BB5]u[/color][color=#559AB4]n[/color][color=#5499B2]e[/color][color=#5498B1]x[/color][color=#5497AF]p[/color][color=#5395AE]e[/color][color=#5394AC]c[/color][color=#5293AB]t[/color][color=#5292A9]e[/color][color=#5191A8]d[/color][color=#518FA6]l[/color][color=#518EA5]y[/color] [color=#508CA2]d[/color][color=#4F8BA0]e[/color][color=#4F899F]p[/color][color=#4E889D]a[/color][color=#4E879C]r[/color][color=#4E869A]t[/color][color=#4D8599]s[/color] [color=#4C8296]o[/color][color=#4C8194]n[/color][color=#4C8093]c[/color][color=#4B7F91]e[/color] [color=#4A7C8E]m[/color][color=#4A7B8D]o[/color][color=#497A8B]r[/color][color=#49798A]e[/color][color=#497788],[/color] [color=#487585]t[/color][color=#477484]h[/color][color=#477282]i[/color][color=#477181]n[/color][color=#46707F]g[/color][color=#466F7E]s[/color] [color=#456C7B]h[/color][color=#446B79]e[/color][color=#446A78]a[/color][color=#446976]t[/color] [color=#436673]u[/color][color=#426572]p[/color] [color=#41636F]f[/color][color=#41626D]o[/color][color=#41606C]r[/color] [color=#405E69]t[/color][color=#3F5D67]h[/color][color=#3F5C66]e[/color] [color=#3E5963]h[/color][color=#3E5861]a[/color][color=#3D5760]t[/color][color=#3D565E]c[/color][color=#3C545D]h[/color][color=#3C535B]l[/color][color=#3C525A]i[/color][color=#3B5158]n[/color][color=#3B5057]g[/color][color=#3A4E55]s[/color] [color=#3A4C52]o[/color][color=#394B51]f[/color] [color=#38484E]t[/color][color=#38474C]h[/color][color=#37464B]e[/color] [color=#374448]c[/color][color=#364246]l[/color][color=#364145]a[/color][color=#354043]n[/color][color=#353F42].[/color][/i] [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/493930498427584513/999826105680797816/unknown.png[/img] [color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] Jenssen watched Chuillyon sweep out of the tent as fast as he had come in. Immediately, inexplicably, nonsensically. "Quill!" she called, trying to run after him; but he was already gone as soon as she got past the tent flaps. She watched the Imperial soar up into the sky, and then fly away over the western gorges she wasn't allowed to go into. Jenssen spread her wings, as if she wished to follow anyway ... but even she knew she couldn't. She had no idea how to fly, and her left wing still ached as she tried to move it. "Stop!" She tried to cry out to him one more time--but he didn't stop, no matter what she tried. Soon he was just a glittering white speck in the air, among other strange figures that flew up against the dark clouds. She didn't know what those things were, circling around high above--but in the moment, it didn't matter to her. She sighed and turned away, going back into the tent. There were suddenly two new hatchlings to look after... a brightly colored Imperial and Nocturne. They seemed about as old as Leonid, and slightly younger than her. She couldn't help but feel a burning anger as she looked at them; and before she knew it, she barked: "How could you!? Now Quill is gone! [i]Again![/i]" "I din't do it!" the Nocturne screeched immediately. She flapped her right wing angrily, the same as Jenssen had done. "He was coming back with food and water. And then you're here, and then he [i]leaves[/i] again! Why did he leave? Why did you make him?" "Jenssen," a quieter voice said beside her; and then she felt a dragon's nose bump her side. It was Leonid, trying to get her attention. There was a look in his eyes, asking Jenssen to calm down. She guessed she couldn't say no to that. She sat down and sighed, and the Nocturne sat down too, folding her front wings around herself as she looked at the nest. Leonid sat down next to her and put a wing over her back, offering her a reassuring (and thankful) smile. "We need to go find him," she said after a few moments, in a calmer tone of voice. That made the bold orange-and-blue Imperial on the other side of the tent perk up in excitement. "Go find!?" he repeated excitedly. "We go! We go adventure!" "No, no." Leonid shook his head. "We stay, here. Because he said so." "But he said he stays too," complained Jenssen. "And he didn't. He broke his rules, so we can too, to find him!" Leonid was ready to shut her down--but he had no chance of stopping the orange Imperial, who suddenly dashed by Jenssen and Leonid and out into the open. "[i]We go adventuuuuuure![/i]" he called as he went; and in moments, he was gone. The Nocturne sighed, watching him leave. "My dumb brother," she sniped. "He's Tenzo. I'm Amou. I needa to go save him now!" Standing again, she hurried out of the tent as well. "Wha- huh??" Leonid let go of Jenssen and started to chase after them. "Tenzo! Amou! Stop!!" But he stopped himself when he got to the tent flaps, refusing to go any further. "Poobah..." he grumbled, staring at his feet. Jenssen followed Leonid to the exit of the tent, stopping there for a moment to look at him. She watched the Imperial and Nocturne gallivanting off for a moment, before turning back to the Guardian beside her. "I'm gonna go get them," she assured him, nudging him with a wing like he'd nudged her with his nose. "And look for Quill. You just stay, okay? Guard... guard the babies." "It's not safe," Leonid complained--and in response, Jenssen blocked his mouth with a talon. "I know... so I'm gonna go make them more safe. You make the babies more safe too." Leonid went quiet, but Jenssen didn't wait around for an answer. She turned away and hurried after the smaller and bigger dragons, leaving Leonid behind while she went to catch up. "Guys!" she called to the Imperial and Nocturne. "Tenzo, Amou! Waaait!" The Nocturne turned to her, listening, and then she repeated it in a higher squawk to the Imperial, who hadn't turned from the path he was running down at all. He didn't seem interested in slowing down, though: Jenssen just ended up having to run harder, to catch up with them. She almost stumbled over a rock, slowing herself down; she cried out again to try harder and get the Imperial's attention ... but now she was noticing something else going on, up above them. Where Chuillyon had been flying earlier, there were still those darker figures soaring high in the sky. They were descending now, and were getting closer and closer to the three hatchlings as they ran across the desert gravel. Jenssen tried to call once more, seeing the two dragons ahead of her start to slow down--but they were getting frighteningly close to the cliffs that dropped into the gorge as well. She'd seen them once before, when Chuillyon showed them to her as she sat on his back: those falls were so dizzyingly long that she didn't think anything could possibly survive. "Hey! HEY! STOOOOP!!!" [i]Finally,[/i] Tenzo seemed to listen. He slowed to a stop, when he was only a few feet away from the edge of the gorge. The Imperial finally looked at where he had been running, and seemed to realize at last that he'd nearly sprinted straight to his death. Amou peered over as well, echoing a quiet 'Whoa...' as she looked at the fall. Then she grinned, as if she thought that was so cool. Tenzo beamed excitedly as well as he looked. Jenssen was finally about to catch up--but then out of the corner of her eye, she spotted one of those dark, feathered figures swooping down from the sky. It looked like a gigantic bluish-black bird, with small, beady eyes and an extra giant blue eye embedded in its chest. Its huge, sharp talons were outstretched--and it was swooping in with its chest eye locked on Amou. Jenssen could only gasp before it had already grabbed her: there was no time to warn the Nocturne. She shrieked out as the storm seeker's talons locked around her shoulders and dug in, trying to carry her away. Even as a hatchling, though, Amou was heavy and difficult to carry. The storm seeker couldn't get back off the ground with her in time to escape Jenssen, who immediately ran at the thing and clawed its sides with her talons. The giant bird of prey released Amou, but now it turned to Jenssen, and several others swooped in to the scene as well. They were under attack from almost the whole flock. [center]* * *[/center] Leonid watched from the entrance of the tent as Jenssen ran after the Imperial and Nocturne hatchlings, also trying to keep one eye on the couple of sleeping newborns behind him. He knew that he was going to stay here with them--he just wanted to make sure that Jenssen and the others were all right. So much had just happened, and so suddenly too... none of it even made sense to him! All he knew, and all he wanted, was to protect everybody through it. So when he watched the storm seekers descend on the trio far ahead of him, he suddenly found himself cast into a dilemma that he was far too young to be faced with. Leonid saw the large, ferocious birds coming, but he couldn't cry out in time--and across the windy desert, they wouldn't have been able to hear him anyway. A seeker grabbed Amou by the shoulders and tried to lift her away, but Jenssen stopped it by clawing it. Then it turned to her and several more came down, surrounding Jenssen. She started to push and claw at them, even making one of them fall off of the gorge's cliff a few feet from where she stood, but their numbers were overwhelming. The Guardian felt his heart racing in his chest as he realized what was happening. Tenzo and Amou were too scared to do anything: the flock was going to get Jenssen! His gaze tore between the hatchlings in the nest behind him, and the struggling Jenssen in front of him. Something deep inside of him wanted to stay and protect those newborns, but in front of him, he was watching the dragon he was being raised with; who he'd known since the day he [i]got[/i] here--being murdered by wild animals! A storm seeker suddenly got a good hold on Jenssen's left wing, claws digging into the vulnerable bone and soft flesh; and it started trying to lift her from the ground, while she screamed out in terror. That was it. He couldn't watch, listen, or just stand here anymore. [b]He had to do something.[/b] Leonid charged forward as fast as his legs could take him, his eyes locking on to the storm seekers with protective, vengeful fury. He closed the distance quickly, and when he arrived, he reared back onto his hind legs and batted the storm seeker that had grabbed Jenssen out of the sky. It was dead instantly, falling away limp and letting the Pearlcatcher drop back to the ground with an "Oof!" "DON'T FIGHT MY SISTER!" roared Leonid. He'd head Chuillyon say that once: 'sister'. It felt like the right word for Jenssen now. The storm seekers turned their fury to him, swiping with their talons and biting with their beaks, but to them the Guardian's scales might as well have been impenetrable. He smacked another seeker and crushed its chest eye, leaving it skittering away blindly until it fell into the ravine on accident. He turned to another and chomped down on it, crushing it between his jaws. When one tried to come for his eyes with its talons outstretched, he saw an inspired Tenzo leap up and grab its tail feathers in his own mouth, pulling it away from Leonid. Now they were in action! The storm seekers didn't stand a chance! Soon the birds of prey were dropping like flies. The number of seekers still or twitching on the ground grew quickly, until finally the rest of the flock retreated, and left the hatchlings alone. Leonid leapt forward and roared triumphantly at the last few seekers as they soared off, struggling with their wounds and never looking back. He felt something hit his chest, and he realized it was Jenssen, who had leapt forward to hug him. "You did it!" she exclaimed. "Thank you thank you [i]thank you...[/i]" Leonid felt his heart swell with pride at that. He wrapped a wing around Jenssen briefly, sighing in relief to see that she was all right. Her left wing had blood trickling down its side, and she and Amou both had a couple of other scratches, but the Nocturne was already licking her wounds and Jenssen didn't seem to mind them at all. Everyone was okay, he told himself. Everyone was okay. "We must..." He trailed off, but then tried again. How did Chuillyon say it..? "We must remain in the tent. At all times! He back soon." Jenssen sighed and let go of Leonid, glancing to Tenzo and Amou. "Okay. We'll stay." She gave Tenzo an especially significant glare, which he wilted under and then nodded to weakly. Seeing his sister get hurt must have shaken some sense into him. Leonid led the way back, keeping a close eye on the dragons behind him. He strode confidently, carrying his wings high and standing ready for any more attacks, but they never came. It seemed like it'd be a safe walk back; but as they were getting close to the tent, Leonid heard a loud screech from inside. It sounded like the scream of a tiny animal being torn apart. It was so loud and so shrill that it sent shivers down his spine. He broke into a sprint instantly, dashing towards the tent as fast as his tired legs could carry him. The entrance flap was wide open: he'd [i]left[/i] it wide open, without realizing, and it didn't particularly register until he suddenly saw another storm seeker fly out from inside of the tent. What carried in its talons made his prideful heart suddenly crack. Up above him, the bird flew away out of reach. He turned and tried to leap up and grab it anyway, but all he succeeded in doing was brushing its prey's limp tail, which dangled from the seeker's clenched claws. Leonid dropped to his haunches, his jaw hanging as he watched it fly away unharmed. The little Spiral that had just hatched, only hours before, was dangling dead in its talons. "The- it was-!" That had been Jenssen, who cut herself off as she turned and sprinted into the tent; and Amou and Tenzo followed her. Leonid heard the sounds of yelling and fighting as she and Tenzo took down another storm seeker, but had already been quiet in there before they'd gone in. He knew what that meant... the newborn Imperial was gone too. For the first time, Leonid felt tears sting in his eyes. A deep, boiling rage rose up inside him; and suddenly he shot to his feet and clawed the ground, over and over again until his claws were dull and his talons were bleeding. He threw his head back and roared to the sky, which broke off in a quiet sob. This had been [i]his[/i] fault. It didn't matter how it happened, or even if it had been doomed to happen: he was supposed to look out for them. He'd been told to. He [i]wanted[/i] to, ever since he first started guarding the nest! And now, right after they were born ... he'd failed them already. He'd already failed everyone. [center][color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] Out-of-lore summary: > Rolled for all the hatchlings' survival. Jenssen: 2. Leonid: 4. Amou: 6. Tenzo: 3. Sunrunner: 3. Aguistin: 4. They live! > Went to Pinkerton. Challenge time! > Rolled a d20. Got a 10 (Train the newbies: level all dragons under 5 up once. Skip if none are.) > .......my situation betrays me > Decide to "archive" this roll for when the hatchlings age up and level them up then. Until then, nothing will happen for this roll > Went to Crim because that was boring. Challenge time! > Rolled a d20. Got a 13 (Bloody duel: two non-royal dragons at random fight violently! Roll a d4 for results) > Use random.org to decide the fighters. BABY FIGHT INBOUND. > Randomized a 6 (Sunrunner) and 7 (Aguistin). Siblings clash!?! > Rolled a d4. Got a 1 (Both fighters involved die). WOW. okay i don't even know how to incorporate two [i]literal newborns[/i] fighting each other and both killing each other in the process... can any newborns of any species do that?? i'll just write their (incredibly early) end in a different way and save myself the mental gymnastics lol > Realize now that Jenssen has finally grown! I have a way to use this in lore, I realize... oh, this is PERFECT. Drama coming soon! A couple more deaths, but these are less painful for at the time of writing because I didn't develop deep lore for Sunrunner and Aguistin yet. (edit: now that im typing this AFTER writing the lore... OW. OW OW OW that hurt to type out) How they connect to the deeper lore going forward, though, will still be pretty significant... this is something Chuillyon won't forget about, and it's going to change some things about how his planning works. (and how much not-planning he does, considering how he ran off and it ended up causing this LOL) In truth, I'm glad for these deaths. It'll make the next lore piece much more interesting in turn ;) As always, thanks for reading! [center][color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] [center][color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51797912]Prev[/url][color=transparent]__[/color]<[color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785#post_3153785][b]Home[/url][color=transparent]__[/color]>[color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51813712]Next[/url][color=transparent]__[/color][/center]

[center][size=1][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51813712:~:text=___________________________________________________________-,Out%2Dof%2Dlore%20summary%3A,-%3E%20Rolled%20for%20Leonid]Click me to skip to the out-of-lore summary![/url][/center] [center][color=#63B2CE][b]Event 8[/color] [color=#63B2CE]_______________________________________________________________[/center] [center][size=6][b][color=#73DAFF]W[/color][color=#6DCDEF]I[/color][color=#68C0DF]L[/color][color=#63B3CF]L[/color] [color=#5999AF]B[/color][color=#538C9F]E[/color] [color=#497280]L[/color][color=#446570]O[/color][color=#3F5860]N[/color][color=#3A4B50]G[/color][/b][/size] [i][color=#5CAECC]L[/color][color=#5BACCA]e[/color][color=#5BABC9]o[/color][color=#5AAAC7]n[/color][color=#5AA9C6]i[/color][color=#59A7C4]d[/color] [color=#59A5C1]m[/color][color=#58A4C0]a[/color][color=#58A3BE]k[/color][color=#57A1BD]e[/color][color=#57A0BB]s[/color] [color=#569EB8]a[/color] [color=#559BB5]p[/color][color=#559AB4]r[/color][color=#5499B2]o[/color][color=#5498B1]m[/color][color=#5497AF]i[/color][color=#5395AE]s[/color][color=#5394AC]e[/color][color=#5293AB].[/color] [color=#5191A8]C[/color][color=#518FA6]h[/color][color=#518EA5]u[/color][color=#508DA3]i[/color][color=#508CA2]l[/color][color=#4F8BA0]l[/color][color=#4F899F]y[/color][color=#4E889D]o[/color][color=#4E879C]n[/color] [color=#4D8599]r[/color][color=#4D8397]e[/color][color=#4C8296]t[/color][color=#4C8194]u[/color][color=#4C8093]r[/color][color=#4B7F91]n[/color][color=#4B7D90]s[/color][color=#456C7B],[/color] [color=#446A78]f[/color][color=#446976]o[/color][color=#436875]r[/color][color=#436673]c[/color][color=#426572]i[/color][color=#426470]n[/color][color=#41636F]g[/color] [color=#41606C]a[/color] [color=#405E69]n[/color][color=#3F5D67]e[/color][color=#3F5C66]w[/color] [color=#3E5963]s[/color][color=#3E5861]i[/color][color=#3D5760]t[/color][color=#3D565E]u[/color][color=#3C545D]a[/color][color=#3C535B]t[/color][color=#3C525A]i[/color][color=#3B5158]o[/color][color=#3B5057]n[/color] [color=#3A4D54]u[/color][color=#3A4C52]p[/color][color=#394B51]o[/color][color=#394A4F]n[/color] [color=#38474C]J[/color][color=#37464B]e[/color][color=#374549]n[/color][color=#374448]s[/color][color=#364246]s[/color][color=#364145]e[/color][color=#354043]n[/color][color=#353F42].[/color][/i] [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/807870740535443466/1000255581120102480/unknown.png[/img] [color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] [i]You have them... How do you have them!? You told me to take them, Sire. No no no, HOW! What happened? How did they become yours? ... Your neglect, Sire.[/i] [center]* * *[/center] The remainder of the evening had been rough for Leonid. He couldn't stop crying, no matter what Jenssen tried to tell him: thanking him for saving her, assuring him it was okay, that the little dragons were looking down to him and saying he did his very best ... but he didn't. He could've done better. They could've still been alive if he'd just been a better guardian. He was convinced that Jenssen was worried that something was wrong with him, but nothing [i]felt[/i] wrong. He messed up, he hated himself because he shouldn't mess up, and that was that. He spent most of the waning daylight hours by the tent entrance, watching the rolling clouds with moist, unblinking eyes. If another storm seeker came, he would be prepared this time. He wouldn't let them come back and snatch the Imperial's body away to eat it. He wouldn't let them kill Amou and Tenzo, too. And he would never, [i]ever[/i] let them lay a single feather on Jenssen again. But the skies were empty of flying figures now and the sun was setting, and soon the sky had grown dark, and Leonid grew tired too. Still he vowed to stand here, all night he had to, all the rest of the nights and days to make sure they were- Something touched his shoulder and he exploded in terror, leaping away and flaring his wings, his jaw wide open and ready to bite down on something. In response, Jenssen jumped back too with a look of fear on her face, her right wing spreading to defend herself. Regret hit him instantly, like a rock dropping on his head, or like he'd felt when he had fallen into the snow. "I'm sorry!" he squeaked quietly. "You- you scared me!" "More [i]you[/i] scared [i]me,[/i]" replied Jenssen, calming back down and scooting closer, before sitting. She had to crane her neck to look up at Leonid now: he'd gotten significantly bigger in the last couple of weeks. "I wanted to see you're okay. You're sitting here for all evening and night." She was right: it was nighttime now, and the clouds could only be seen when nearby lightning flashed in the sky, sending quiet roars echoing across the desert landscape. The wind picked up slightly, making Jenssen's oddly greyish mane flutter in the air. Leonid turned away and closed his eyes. He didn't want to talk about it. But, it seemed like Jenssen wasn't giving him a choice: she touched his shoulder again, having to reach up to hold her talon there. "Hey," she said quietly. "...Please." [i]I wish I had the words to explain,[/i] he would have said, if he had the words to even say that. "I don't know," he replied instead. "I'm sad. I did bad. The little dragons got killed... I didn't protect them." 'Protect.' He didn't truly know what that word meant; he knew nothing of definitions and terminology, but it felt almost natural to him. It was his job, his responsibility, his [i]existence[/i] to protect... and he didn't do it. Didn't Jenssen understand that? Could he ever possibly explain it to her? She probably wouldn't even listen: she never listened when she thought that there was someone she had to help, whether it was Chuillyon or himself. "But you protected me." Jenssen took her talon away, but looked up at him with a smile. "You saved me. The bird, it would fly, and I would be gone too." Leonid looked up from where she was, and stared straight ahead as his jaw hung slightly. She'd been telling him this, but only now it seemed to actually sink in. His actions had cost the lives of the two newborns... but in turn, he had saved Jenssen's life. He had saved his [i]sister.[/i] Somehow, as he thought about it now ... that actually felt right. He still felt horrible about the hatchlings; he'd still failed them, no matter if it was inevitable or not--but he hadn't failed his [i]true charge.[/i] Not yet. Not as long as he started trying harder than ever. "You're right," he admitted, his eyes falling again. He scraped the floor gently with his scratched talon and worn-out claws, tracing a pattern in the shape of an egg into the carpet. "You be gone too." He took a deep breath, his wings falling down to his sides softly. Then he finally faced Jenssen squarely, meeting her eyes with solidarity. "You won't be gone. I won't make you get killed. I protect you, [i]always.[/i] Forever." Jenssen gasped silently, her mouth falling open. "But..." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "But what if I get killed too?" That must have been hard for her to realize, and to say. But Leonid replied with no hesitation: he knew in his heart that this was what he wanted. "I get killed for you first. Protecting you forever." "Don't do that." Jenssen hung her head, but she couldn't help the flattered smile that grew on her. "Don't die for me. No, really. Don't!" "I would," promised Leonid, taking a shaky breath. "I would do and do and do." Jenssen laughed softly. Did she think it was a joke? He was serious! He was about to give her a lengthier speech about his decision and how it felt inherently right, struggling for words the whole time--but then Jenssen just jumped forward and hugged him, and as the Pearlcatcher's warm wings rested on his own, he decided he'd do it another time. Not now; not when, just for a second, everything was perfect. "You're funny," she murmured, resting her head to the side of the Guardian's chest spines. "Don't and don't and don't. But you're great. You did great. Thank you for saving me." A tear slid from Leonid's cheek. He slowly lifted a talon, and gently draped it over Jenssen's back to hug her too. He sniffled quietly, but managed a broken reply through his tightening throat. "You... you're w- elcome." He began to break into quiet sobs, expressing his grief for the hatchlings once more; but also feeling relief start to wash through him, as if he had just found a great calling in his life going forward. It gave him something to cling on to: an anchor to keep himself in place with, before the perilous, flooding stream washed it all away. [center]* * *[/center] Jenssen's dreams were strange that night, filled with images of caves and creatures she had never seen before. Empty glowing eyes stared into her mortal soul's depths from the shade, splaying wide the threads of her existence before her. Revelations and memories alike were laid out in front of her, infinite fractals twisting and winding everywhere she looked. What was this? Where was she? [i]Who was staring at her?[/i] She tried to reach out to the eyes; and she found her talon extending ahead, reaching much, [i]much[/i] further than it ever possibly should have. Her claws were bigger, and their tips were sharper. A deep, warbling chortle echoed from head of her, sending shivers down her long, long spine. She awoke suddenly, when something shook her shoulder. "Jenssen," a familiar, demanding voice whispered. "Wake up. Look at me." Her eyes fluttered open; and then she looked up to just barely see a massive white Imperial through the midnight darkness. The wind howled outside, threatening to tear the cover clean off the tent. Between the sounds and the sight of the dragon in front of her, Jenssen felt terror race through her body: a ghost was here to haunt her! She shot to her feet--and then she yelped out loud as she suddenly found herself standing [i]way[/i] higher up than she should have been. She collapsed again, almost immediately... and she came falling down on top of her left wing. She'd winced as she fell, preparing herself for what could be the worst pain of her life--but it never came. It still hurt, but not in the stinging, roaring pain she'd expected of her broken wing. It was just sore. Jenssen was calming down a little now: she realized that the dragon standing in front of her, watching her stand and then fall again... gosh, what was his name? It had been so long since she'd seen him: it felt like forever ago... Oh! Chuillyon! Chuillyon was his name. So he was back once again... "Hi," she said, tension in her voice--and then she realized that her voice was much lower, and [i]fuller[/i] than it had been before. Chuillyon didn't offer a hello or even a nod in turn. His face looked as if it were made of stone: it hardly moved at all, showing no emotion. "Come with me," he ordered. "We have a body to bury." A few minutes went by as Chuillyon gathered something in his arms. It looked like the corpse of a dragon similar to himself... this, she vaguely remembered: hearing the hatchling's cries of mortal terror and agony, and charging in to find a storm seeker tearing away at his eyes and neck... She shuddered softly, and then turned away, trying to clear her mind and focus on something else. [i]Myself...[/i] she thought. [i]Focus on myself. What happened to me?[/i] Why was her voice so weird? What happened to her height? Why did her vision seem better; why did she feel [i]stronger?[/i] Jenssen had no way to fully understand it, but she had a good guess: she, as a whole, had gotten bigger. [i]Much[/i] bigger, but over how long, she didn't have the slightest of clues. Everything felt hazy: she remembered this tent, and the little hatchlings scattered about within it, but it was faint and fuzzy, like she hadn't been here in many long years--and yet, not a single thing had changed. This felt like it was exactly how it had been before she went to sleep, and then... ... And then [i]nothing.[/i] Despite how long ago it was, she remembered nothing beyond going to sleep in this tent, beside that white Guardian whose name she couldn't quite recall. "Let's go," Chuillyon said suddenly, snapping her out of her thoughts. Carrying the dead hatchling in one forearm up against his chest, he stepped out of the tent, and Jenssen obediently followed after a moment. She stepped outside to meet heavy, but consistent winds, and a dark, dark sky. Chuillyon marched away, and she followed him, on a long walk that allowed her time to get used to her altered body. They hiked for what must have been hours, Chuillyon carrying the hatchling the whole way. When Jenssen asked for water, the Imperial simply handed her a canteen he'd taken with him. Whenever she tried to ask questions about what happened to her, she was just met with a simple "Not now" or "We will get this done first". She was starting to get sick of it--but finally, they seemed to have made it to where Chuillyon wanted to go. They were approaching a tall butte for a long time, but as they arrived at last, Jenssen started to gain an appreciation for just how dizzyingly high it really was. It felt like a huge, flat mountain reigning supreme out in the middle of the desert. She thought she had seen it from afar a few times before, way back when... [i]whenever[/i] way-back-when was. They hiked around the butte and to the opposite side, where they stopped at the edge of a cliff which rolled straight off into a deep gorge. The Imperial leapt down before her, spreading his wings to glide into the enormous canyon. Jenssen felt a small jump in her heart. "I can't fly!" she called after Chuillyon. Chuillyon stopped in the air, flapping to turn around and look back at her. The dead hatchling's head hung limply in his talons... it made her feel sick just looking at it. She had to close her eyes as Chuillyon spoke to her. "Yes you can. Spread your wings and let them catch the air currents as you go. Keep yourself level." Then he glided the rest of the way down, with Jenssen watching him closely in hopes of getting a better idea of how this worked. Then, the Pearlcatcher looked straight down. The ground, which already looked so far away from her with her new height, was suddenly a new dimension of far, seemingly zooming away from her as she stared. She thought she saw bones down there... perhaps the remains of another traveler who didn't know how to fly. How did Chuillyon expect her to do this!? "[i]Jump down and glide,[/i]" the impatient voice called from below, cutting through the strong winds high atop the gorge. Jenssen closed her eyes. Her wings had been spreading slowly at her sides; but as Chuillyon spoke, reality set right back in. She [i]did not know[/i] how to fly. She pulled them shut now, digging her claws in to the rocks and sand as she froze in place. "No!" she yelled back. "I won't do it! I said already, I can't fl-AIIIIIEE!!" She screamed out as a massive talon suddenly wrapped around her stomach and lifted her away from the ground, before she even had a chance to react. She covered her eyes at first, feeling as if she were falling; but then she risked a glance up at her captor, and realized it was Chuillyon himself. He carried her in a single hind talon, bringing her down to the bottom of the gorge and then dropping her when she was just above the ground. Her talons outstretched instinctively, and she caught herself in a clean landing with little trouble this time. Despite how different her body suddenly felt, it seemed as if she was getting more used to it quickly. She looked up from her giant talons, and glared at the even larger Imperial as he landed too and marched away from her "Quil- [i]Chuillyon![/i] That could've killed me!" "Silence," growled the Imperial. "Hurry over here." He stopped a ways away, in front of a large rock that looked like it had been placed at the bottom of the gorge, rather than falling there or settling in under flooded sediment. Jenssen just let out a low growl, and then trotted forward to catch up with him. What was his problem!? She recalled him being strict; that had always been the truth... but he'd never just been downright awful like this. When Jenssen caught up with Chuillyon, she opened her mouth to ask what was next--but then the Imperial held the limp hatchling out to her without a word beforehand. "The body cannot touch the ground," he said plainly. "You have to hold it while I dig." Jenssen's words caught in her throat, her stomach twisting awfully. "Wha-? Why..?" "[i]Just do it.[/i]" A few minutes later, the corpse was buried under several feet of desert dirt. Jenssen's stomach hurt so badly that it drew tears from her eyes... as if the horror of what she'd just done to put this poor hatchling to rest hadn't already been enough to do it. She sat in front of the rock that marked the grave, with Chuillyon sitting there too, a few feet away. He stared at the rock with empty eyes and an expressionless face, saying nothing. Something about this scenario felt familiar. [i]They weren't strong enough.[/i] A little voice in her mind felt almost like it was taunting her. [i]Are you?[/i] ...She shuddered, and stood up to turn away while Chuillyon still paid his respects to the fallen hatchling; and to someone else who was buried here, it seemed. She thought she had spotted a small, sand-covered talon poking slightly into the hole where they had laid the Imperial into his grave. When Chuillyon stood to leave as well, Jenssen took the first chance she got to look at him and ask questions. A tear fell from her eye, and she let it go as she glared at the old Imperial. "Why would you make me do this?" she cried quietly. Chuillyon regarded her with an unapologetic look. It was almost like he was a different dragon, compared to the way she remembered him treating her. "I needed your help," he replied simply. "The process of burying an Imperial cannot be undertaken by one dragon." "But--why me!?" "Because you are the only other adult here. I cannot place this responsibility on a hatchling." "Adult?" Jenssen exclaimed. "I'm not..." But then, she trailed off. Suddenly, pieces were clicking together in her mind faster than they ever could have before. Her deeper voice, and how she was taller now, and what Chuillyon had just called her... she flared her wings in shock. "You- you made me grow with your magic!" "Hm." He nodded, raising his head as if impressed by her realization. "I had no choice but to do so. There are countless responsibilities I have been trying to fill while keeping you and the other hatchlings alive. It is simply too much to handle on my own." He narrowed his eyes slightly at her. "I would have wanted to give you a fair, true childhood, but that was my mistake. You weren't ready to take it on." He gestured to the rock that marked the grave. "That mistake ended the lives of my son and daughter hours after they were born. I will not be making it again." Jenssen looked back at the obelisk with a soft gasp. "That was your son?" "Yes." A haunting silence settled over the two of them. Jenssen felt a chill go up her spine, which made her shudder. The way Chuillyon was speaking... it was like he didn't feel anything at all about this. He had been that dead hatchling's dad, and he was sitting here now with a neutral expression like he had no regrets at all. It reminded her of something, which she particular struggled to remember, but still picked up on: her own father, who lost her and then never came back to look for her afterwards. The deep feeling of wrongness pierced deep into her heart. She felt a lump in her throat as she thought about the poor hatchling; left all alone to his fate, with no sister or father to protect him. Leonid truly didn't have himself to blame. The reason they were here was really Chuillyon's fault. She turned to him once again. "Why did you leave?" Chuillyon glanced back at her when she spoke up, his brow raising slightly. "You hear me. Why did you fly away? You could have been there and saved his life." He stared at her silently for a moment, his eyes narrowing into a leer. Then he turned away, his voice lowering into a soft growl. "Like I told you... there are too many responsibilities for me to handle alone. That is why I've accelerated your growth: so you are actually prepared to bear some of them as well. I will be doing the same to Leonid in the morning, when my energy recovers." "But [i]what?[/i]" Jenssen snapped. "What's so important that you leave your child behind!? And not just them, [i]me[/i] too!" Chuillyon leaned towards her suddenly, looming over her with his towering form. White eyes glared deep into her mind and soul... her dream flashed before her suddenly, of the glowing eyes in the darkness that tore her mind open. "[i]You would not understand. You will never understand.[/i]" His voice felt almost like it was echoing in her head, but that was just the feeling of dizziness that had suddenly swept upon her with the flashback. She shook out her head and backed away fearfully; and at the same time, Chuillyon relented. "Your body and mind are grown, but before you develop, you are still a child. Don't ask questions you aren't ready to comprehend the answers to." Jenssen felt ready to comprehend. She [i]didn't[/i] understand, but she knew she could, and she knew she wanted to. Why would he leave them like Dad left her? What was he off doing instead? Who did that other body under the sand belong to? [i]How did he force her to suddenly grow like this?[/i] But Chuillyon wasn't in the mood to answer, and for that, Jenssen didn't dare to ask again. Her head was spinning and aching now: nothing was moving forward in her thoughts well enough to argue. She nodded slowly, hanging her head and accepting defeat. "...Yes, Chuillyon." [i]But I'll ask. I'll ask and poke and prod, until I figure out what's going on, so I can do everything to protect Leonid. That was the Guardian's name, right? And I'll protect the Imperial... Tenzo. And the Nocturne... Amou. And I'll protect whoever else might come along; anyone that you'll leave behind when they need you the most.[/i] From that day forward, Jenssen swore, she would be devoted to the dragons of the clan; more than Chuillyon had shown himself to be. She didn't know what was up to him, but if it put the dragons around her in danger again, she wouldn't let someone innocent like the hatchlings or someone with a good heart like Leonid get hurt. She'd die first to keep them safe. [center][color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] Out-of-lore summary: > Rolled for Leonid, Amou, and Tenzo's survival: 6, 5, 3. They live! > Went to Crim, since I won't be able to take a pull from Pinkerton tomorrow. Challenge time! > Rolled a d20. Got a 2 (Death-bond: two dragons are bonded and will both be exalted if one or the other is lost/killed) > Normally this is done as random dragons, but for lore purposes, I decided to select the bonded dragons rather than let RNG do it for me. Sue me! > Jenssen and Leonid are now death-bonded. If one or the other is lost, they will both be exalted. > Went to Crim again for a second pull. Got an apparel item: time to buy some replacement hatchlings for Sunrunner and Aguistin! [s]this is starting to look like it'll just be a kingdomlocke of children rather than of grizzled adults, should i have called this locke Lord of the Dragon-Flies?[/s] > Went to AH and Picked up 2 new hatchlings (rolled d4 and got 2), and happened across a Veilspun and a Mirror as the cheapest two! > Randomized their names: Mesocyclone (nice) and Clyde (lmao) > Cool lore idea: they're buddies, departed from the same clan, who are a couple of years old already and have been traveling on their own for a few days! I'll introduce them in the next lore piece. This was something of a darker piece today, focused on the aftermath of the hatchlings' demises--as well as how I've decided to have hatchlings canonically grow! Chuillyon knows some very powerful and obscure spells, including a way to cause dragons to quickly grow in age, but without developing any new memories in between. Because of that, Jenssen feels like she's lived a whole life up to her new age, and her memories from just yesterday feel like they were years ago; all the way back when she was merely a hatchling... As the first part of this story draws to a close and the clan continues to develop, things are beginning to heat up! There's a lot going on with the clanmaster that nobody knows about yet--but as a direct result his secretive attitude, he's pulled everyone around him into a very dangerous game, whether he wanted it or not. As always, thanks for reading! [center][color=#63B2CE]___________________________________________________________[/center] [center][color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/1#post_51806360]Prev[/url][color=transparent]__[/color]<[color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785#post_3153785][b]Home[/url][color=transparent]__[/color]>[color=transparent]__[/color][url=https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/3153785/2#post_51826267]Next[/url][color=transparent]__[/color][/center]