[b]@acorn781
That was awesome! A story of the first of the Arcanist's many scholars? Very enjoyable! Tickets and entry recorded.
[img]http://www.auplod.com/u/dlupoa9d969.gif[/img] Thank You & Happy Starfall![/b]
@acorn781
That was awesome! A story of the first of the Arcanist's many scholars? Very enjoyable! Tickets and entry recorded.
Thank You & Happy Starfall!
[img]http://www.auplod.com/u/auopdl9d957.png[/img]
Username: BlueHorse
User ID: 281897
Title (if applicable): A Map Without Landmarks
Special notes (if applicable - including triggers):
Submission:
Eden loved to make maps. Maps of the rivers, maps of the forests, maps of the trails, maps for the hatchlings to find 'buried treasure'. These maps were drawn with precise detail, all the lines placed exactly as they should. Every stroke perfectly made so that no one who used them would be lost.
But some maps she could never understand. These maps didn't show rivers, or forests, or trails. These maps held the stars. The female Pearlcatcher always loved to look at them, but she could never understand them. They showed paths and markers that were utterly foreign to her. Like the one she held in her paws now.
She turned it this way, then that way, tried it upside-down, or was that right-side-up? Giving a small frown, Eden studied it with a keen eye but still nothing made sense. Maybe if she held it up and tried to match it with the sky? Oh, wait.. It would need to be night which was still a few hours off.
With a small huff, she let the map fall in her lap and she slumped forward in defeat. Icy eyes stared at the small dots speckling the graphed parchment. For a few moments, she merely sat in silence glaring at the map. "If only you have land marks. Anything", she mumbled.
It was at that point her brother-in-law wobbled over and plopped down next to her. "Hi, Douglas. Any luck today with sales?" The male Nocturne gave a lopsided smile, but shook his head, "Nope. The market was packed, but everyone seems intent on selling, not buying. So we still have a bunch of stuff we don't need and not enough of what we do."
Eden nodded, but continued to glare at the paper. She was hoping that this haphazard journey to the central trading squares would at least be worth the trip. So far, all it had brought her was a useless star map.
Douglas glanced down at the map, leaning over to take a corner in his paw to straighten out the edge, and said, "Huh, where did you get this?" Eden shrugged her white shoulders and waved her paw, "In a shop over there somewhere. Not that it's any good."
"What do you mean? This is a star map; these things are cool. They are just like your land maps but of the sky instead." The Pearlcatcher looked at him, raising a brow in question so Douglas explained. "You see these dots? Those are stars. I know you know, just listen. Now, sailors who go out on the sea have no land marks to help them know where they are or what direction to go. They can make a guess by using the sun, but what about at night?
"That's where these come in handy. The mirror the night sky in a region, marking all the most notable stars needed for navigation. Look, here is Slaku the Yellow Beast, and over here is The Dark Mother, albeit upside down. As a matter of fact, this is a replica of our home in the Labyrinth."
Eden could now see the constellations as they were pointed out. Actually, she could see others as well. The more she looked, the more these once carelessly placed dots made sense. A smile crept onto her once frowning features as she looked up from the map, "Thanks, Doug." She wrapped her arms around the Nocturne's frilled neck and hugged him. He gave a confused smile, "You're welcome?"
Username: BlueHorse
User ID: 281897
Title (if applicable): A Map Without Landmarks
Special notes (if applicable - including triggers):
Submission:
Eden loved to make maps. Maps of the rivers, maps of the forests, maps of the trails, maps for the hatchlings to find 'buried treasure'. These maps were drawn with precise detail, all the lines placed exactly as they should. Every stroke perfectly made so that no one who used them would be lost.
But some maps she could never understand. These maps didn't show rivers, or forests, or trails. These maps held the stars. The female Pearlcatcher always loved to look at them, but she could never understand them. They showed paths and markers that were utterly foreign to her. Like the one she held in her paws now.
She turned it this way, then that way, tried it upside-down, or was that right-side-up? Giving a small frown, Eden studied it with a keen eye but still nothing made sense. Maybe if she held it up and tried to match it with the sky? Oh, wait.. It would need to be night which was still a few hours off.
With a small huff, she let the map fall in her lap and she slumped forward in defeat. Icy eyes stared at the small dots speckling the graphed parchment. For a few moments, she merely sat in silence glaring at the map. "If only you have land marks. Anything", she mumbled.
It was at that point her brother-in-law wobbled over and plopped down next to her. "Hi, Douglas. Any luck today with sales?" The male Nocturne gave a lopsided smile, but shook his head, "Nope. The market was packed, but everyone seems intent on selling, not buying. So we still have a bunch of stuff we don't need and not enough of what we do."
Eden nodded, but continued to glare at the paper. She was hoping that this haphazard journey to the central trading squares would at least be worth the trip. So far, all it had brought her was a useless star map.
Douglas glanced down at the map, leaning over to take a corner in his paw to straighten out the edge, and said, "Huh, where did you get this?" Eden shrugged her white shoulders and waved her paw, "In a shop over there somewhere. Not that it's any good."
"What do you mean? This is a star map; these things are cool. They are just like your land maps but of the sky instead." The Pearlcatcher looked at him, raising a brow in question so Douglas explained. "You see these dots? Those are stars. I know you know, just listen. Now, sailors who go out on the sea have no land marks to help them know where they are or what direction to go. They can make a guess by using the sun, but what about at night?
"That's where these come in handy. The mirror the night sky in a region, marking all the most notable stars needed for navigation. Look, here is Slaku the Yellow Beast, and over here is The Dark Mother, albeit upside down. As a matter of fact, this is a replica of our home in the Labyrinth."
Eden could now see the constellations as they were pointed out. Actually, she could see others as well. The more she looked, the more these once carelessly placed dots made sense. A smile crept onto her once frowning features as she looked up from the map, "Thanks, Doug." She wrapped her arms around the Nocturne's frilled neck and hugged him. He gave a confused smile, "You're welcome?"
Username: Pennifeather
User ID: 73921
Title (if applicable): Homecoming
Special notes (if applicable - including triggers): N/A
Submission:
"This is the place."
Ereshkigal scraped at the moss-covered earth nervously, gazing about at the glowing forest. Bioluminous leaves and petals fluttered in the wind, and one silken blossom drifted down to land on the end of her broad snout. A soft puff of air blew it away, and she refocused on her partner's gleaming blue eyes.
"It's strange, how many of these festivals have we attended, and I never thought to bring you here? It's not as if we haven't had the time or I forgot the way. I was born here! It's my favorite spot in the whole Isles, the view is magnificent, I mean, look at all those floating islands - "
"Darling," Torys interrupted her babbling, "relax."
Ereshkigal chuffed in mild embarrassment.
"Sorry."
"No need to apologize, it's been a long time."
"It has." Ereshkigal let her eyes wander the ancient lairsite. "They moved on a long time ago. Always on the move, you know? The Snapper way. They're probably halfway to the far seas by now."
"You don't know for sure?" Torys prompted, settling on a scrubby hillock overlooking the glimmering waters. Ereshkigal joined her, thumping down with a sigh.
"Nah. I was too young to remember the exact routes. Here was where we stayed longest, where I have the most memories." She twisted to peer down the slope toward the beach, squinting. "Down there is where I would collect starfish and urchins with my nestmates. There were tidepools full of them, we could watch all the bright, crystalline little glowing things for days."
Torys nodded and hummed, rustling her wings against Ereshkigal in encouragement.
"We would play hide-and-seek among the rocks and little caves. I was best, I could just tuck down tight, fold my wings close, and pretend to be a boulder. Took them forever to figure it out. And my father, he would carry us between the islands when we were too little to swim all the way, and we would stargaze outside the trees. That's how I first learned how to make maps, using the sky, not the earth. He would set up one of the old telescopes and we would take turns looking out there, seeing all the different colors the stars come in, watching meteor showers. My mother would collect meteor fragments and smelt them into all sorts of things. She made my first telescope, the one that was just mine. Actually... it's still in my satchel."
"I know the one," Torys said. "It's beautiful. You never told me where it came from..."
"I dunno, I just didn't think about it," Ereshkigal admitted. "It's been with me so long."
"So your telescope is made of stars..." Torys sighed, and frowned when her mate chuckled at her romanticism.
"Meteors aren't stars," the Arcane dragon corrected. "They're big hunks of space rock and metal and other junk."
"Spoken like a true Arcanite," Torys replied dryly.
"You're the least factual Lightning dragon I've ever met."
"Thank you."
The pair shared amusement at their own jokes, then drifted back to quiet, letting the sounds of waves and the fauna of the Isles fill the silence.
"I'm glad we came here." Ereshkigal brushed her heavy tail against Torys'. "I wasn't expecting to feel so..."
"Nostalgic?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"I'm glad you shared it with me."
"Anything for my little shortcake," Ereshkigal cooed, then dodged a swift blow from one of Torys' blocky paws. She rose as quickly as a Snapper can and barreled off along the slope. "Come on! Let's see if we can find the cave where I buried my brother's stuffed Mammertee!"
Username: Pennifeather
User ID: 73921
Title (if applicable): Homecoming
Special notes (if applicable - including triggers): N/A
Submission:
"This is the place."
Ereshkigal scraped at the moss-covered earth nervously, gazing about at the glowing forest. Bioluminous leaves and petals fluttered in the wind, and one silken blossom drifted down to land on the end of her broad snout. A soft puff of air blew it away, and she refocused on her partner's gleaming blue eyes.
"It's strange, how many of these festivals have we attended, and I never thought to bring you here? It's not as if we haven't had the time or I forgot the way. I was born here! It's my favorite spot in the whole Isles, the view is magnificent, I mean, look at all those floating islands - "
"Darling," Torys interrupted her babbling, "relax."
Ereshkigal chuffed in mild embarrassment.
"Sorry."
"No need to apologize, it's been a long time."
"It has." Ereshkigal let her eyes wander the ancient lairsite. "They moved on a long time ago. Always on the move, you know? The Snapper way. They're probably halfway to the far seas by now."
"You don't know for sure?" Torys prompted, settling on a scrubby hillock overlooking the glimmering waters. Ereshkigal joined her, thumping down with a sigh.
"Nah. I was too young to remember the exact routes. Here was where we stayed longest, where I have the most memories." She twisted to peer down the slope toward the beach, squinting. "Down there is where I would collect starfish and urchins with my nestmates. There were tidepools full of them, we could watch all the bright, crystalline little glowing things for days."
Torys nodded and hummed, rustling her wings against Ereshkigal in encouragement.
"We would play hide-and-seek among the rocks and little caves. I was best, I could just tuck down tight, fold my wings close, and pretend to be a boulder. Took them forever to figure it out. And my father, he would carry us between the islands when we were too little to swim all the way, and we would stargaze outside the trees. That's how I first learned how to make maps, using the sky, not the earth. He would set up one of the old telescopes and we would take turns looking out there, seeing all the different colors the stars come in, watching meteor showers. My mother would collect meteor fragments and smelt them into all sorts of things. She made my first telescope, the one that was just mine. Actually... it's still in my satchel."
"I know the one," Torys said. "It's beautiful. You never told me where it came from..."
"I dunno, I just didn't think about it," Ereshkigal admitted. "It's been with me so long."
"So your telescope is made of stars..." Torys sighed, and frowned when her mate chuckled at her romanticism.
"Meteors aren't stars," the Arcane dragon corrected. "They're big hunks of space rock and metal and other junk."
"Spoken like a true Arcanite," Torys replied dryly.
"You're the least factual Lightning dragon I've ever met."
"Thank you."
The pair shared amusement at their own jokes, then drifted back to quiet, letting the sounds of waves and the fauna of the Isles fill the silence.
"I'm glad we came here." Ereshkigal brushed her heavy tail against Torys'. "I wasn't expecting to feel so..."
"Nostalgic?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"I'm glad you shared it with me."
"Anything for my little shortcake," Ereshkigal cooed, then dodged a swift blow from one of Torys' blocky paws. She rose as quickly as a Snapper can and barreled off along the slope. "Come on! Let's see if we can find the cave where I buried my brother's stuffed Mammertee!"
Username: casuallySleepy
User ID: 268311
Title (if applicable): A Lament For These Stars
Special notes (if applicable - including triggers): Mentions of life-threatening diseases, but that's about it.
Submission:
The stars in the Starfall Isles are renowned for their brilliance and sheer beauty - something all Arcane dragons took pride in despite not actively contributing to such feat. However truthfully speaking, had she been an Arcane dragon, she would not hesitate to brag and revel in these stars and constellations that graced the night sky of Sorneith for millenniums as well. These stars had existed for centuries, a reminder of the vastness of the space beyond comprehension.
Similar to the way the kites back at home reminds Cirruli of the fragility of life - her life specifically.
Whimsically, she had found herself wishing again and again, to live as long as the stars that adorn these skies during her trip to the event grounds. Kalanchoe had told her that many of these stars had shone for thousands of years, and will shone thousands more. Every time a star blinks, only for it to come back to life moments later, her chest cavity aches with a phantom pain. It would never fail to elicit jealousy from her.
Wallowing in self-pity is her specialty. Even more so when she's constantly reminded that even something so trivial as a star can come back to life, when she can't. If she dies then that's it. Like a dying flame, a lone flicker could cost her the whole fire. Such thoughts scared her, but nowadays she's just numb. She rather becomes numb than being a moping over sentimental mess.
Every time she dwells, she inevitably lose herself to bitter melancholy. And she doesn't want to be remembered as the one dragon who feared death. Fatal illnesses is a appropriate thing to fear, yes, but she's trying not to. She wanted to be remembered as a star - despite the submerging darkness surrounding it, a star still shines unconditionally; even with its death, it still leaves a glow behind that has yet to reach others eyes, as a lasting reminder through space and time that it had existed beautifully before its untimely demise.
Maybe in another life, she could've been an Arcane poet. But for now, Cirruli gazed up into the starry sky again, she wants to see the Starfall Celebration and live through one.
Username: casuallySleepy
User ID: 268311
Title (if applicable): A Lament For These Stars
Special notes (if applicable - including triggers): Mentions of life-threatening diseases, but that's about it.
Submission:
The stars in the Starfall Isles are renowned for their brilliance and sheer beauty - something all Arcane dragons took pride in despite not actively contributing to such feat. However truthfully speaking, had she been an Arcane dragon, she would not hesitate to brag and revel in these stars and constellations that graced the night sky of Sorneith for millenniums as well. These stars had existed for centuries, a reminder of the vastness of the space beyond comprehension.
Similar to the way the kites back at home reminds Cirruli of the fragility of life - her life specifically.
Whimsically, she had found herself wishing again and again, to live as long as the stars that adorn these skies during her trip to the event grounds. Kalanchoe had told her that many of these stars had shone for thousands of years, and will shone thousands more. Every time a star blinks, only for it to come back to life moments later, her chest cavity aches with a phantom pain. It would never fail to elicit jealousy from her.
Wallowing in self-pity is her specialty. Even more so when she's constantly reminded that even something so trivial as a star can come back to life, when she can't. If she dies then that's it. Like a dying flame, a lone flicker could cost her the whole fire. Such thoughts scared her, but nowadays she's just numb. She rather becomes numb than being a moping over sentimental mess.
Every time she dwells, she inevitably lose herself to bitter melancholy. And she doesn't want to be remembered as the one dragon who feared death. Fatal illnesses is a appropriate thing to fear, yes, but she's trying not to. She wanted to be remembered as a star - despite the submerging darkness surrounding it, a star still shines unconditionally; even with its death, it still leaves a glow behind that has yet to reach others eyes, as a lasting reminder through space and time that it had existed beautifully before its untimely demise.
Maybe in another life, she could've been an Arcane poet. But for now, Cirruli gazed up into the starry sky again, she wants to see the Starfall Celebration and live through one.
[b]@BlueHorse @Pennifeather
I'm just getting caught up today. I do have your tickets and entries recorded for Monday!
And @casuallySleepy I have your tickets and entry recorded for today![/b]
[img]http://www.auplod.com/u/ulpoda9d971.gif[/img]
@BlueHorse @Pennifeather
I'm just getting caught up today. I do have your tickets and entries recorded for Monday!
And @casuallySleepy I have your tickets and entry recorded for today!
@
BlueHorse
Your story was cute and funny...A tale of starry discovery!
@
Pennifeather
Your story was so sweetly nostalgic and I laughed out loud at the end. I used to hide my own siblings things!
@
BlueHorse
Your story was cute and funny...A tale of starry discovery!
@
Pennifeather
Your story was so sweetly nostalgic and I laughed out loud at the end. I used to hide my own siblings things!
[img]http://www.auplod.com/u/pdloau9da9c.png[/img]
[center][font=Monotype Corsiva][size=7][b][color=#FE2EC8]M[/color][/b][/size][/font][font=Verdana][size=4][b]onday's Mini-Raffle Prize is:[/b][/size][/font]
[item=Iron Treasure Chest]
[b][i]and[/i][/b]
[center][font=Monotype Corsiva][size=7][b][color=#FE2EC8]M[/color][/b][/size][/font][font=Verdana][size=4][b]onday's Mini-Raffle Prize [font=Monotype Corsiva][size=7][b][color=#FE2EC8]W[/color][/b][/size][/font][font=Verdana][size=3][b]inner is:[/b][/size][/font]
[size=4][b][color=#FE2EC8]@QueenLunaRose[/color][/b][/size][/font]
[img]http://www.auplod.com/u/dlupoa9d969.gif[/img] [center][font=Monotype Corsiva][size=7][b][color=#FE2EC8]C[/color][/b][/size][/font][font=Verdana][size=4][b]ongratulations![/b][/size][/font]
[/center]
Oh my gosh, thanks! I never expected to win, honestly, I was having fun typing up my story! <3
@
casuallySleepy
This story is the second one this Starfall to make me cry...it's so bittersweet. In my opinion, Cirruli will always be a star - as long as one is remembered, their light shines forever! And no matter any dragon's element, we are all poets!
@
casuallySleepy
This story is the second one this Starfall to make me cry...it's so bittersweet. In my opinion, Cirruli will always be a star - as long as one is remembered, their light shines forever! And no matter any dragon's element, we are all poets!
