[IC] Epyllion: Beyond Moonlight's Reach

Index

Chapter One: A Sinking Feeling
Chapter Two: Scar Tissue

[XxFellsingxX]

Chapter 1: A Sinking Feeling

Contrary to what some younger dragons may think, the Moonlight Isles are not static: the largest island, Yves, is constantly drifting, sluggishly making its way across the skies of Adulare and pulling the other islands along with it. Drakes don't realise this at first as they cannot feel the land moving beneath their feet, the same way one cannot feel rotation of the planet. It's only once they are taught to read the stars that they start to notice, and how they take this realisation can say a lot about a dragon. Sure, drakes are always taught that Isles move, but there is a marked difference between being told something and witnessing it with your own eyes.

What's more obvious, however, is that Isles also move vertically. Yves stays mostly consistent in this regard, but the other islands, especially the smaller ones, raise and dip with seemingly no rhyme or reason. A island that was level with Yves one day may find itself elevated by a good few feet the next. They do not stray far though and correct themselves soon after, so it's usually nothing to worry about.

Usually.

Throughout the Isles' history, there have been times where an island has been reported to start sinking. Like the Isles' journey across the heavens, it's such a slow descent that most don't even realise until it is some distance away from its neighbours, and approaching dangerously close to the clouds below. Why this happens is not always clear, but as the Isles are kept aloft by a mixture of magic and the goodwill of its inhabitants, it usually occurs during times of great unrest.

This, sadly, appears to be one of those times. House Rothscar, the House of Gold, has been caught in crisis of succession after the recent ascension of its head-of-house, Kurkar the Steadfast. As Kurkar was able to name a successor before his retirement, this normally wouldn't be a problem... unfortunately, the circumstances surrounding his ascension, as well as the identity of the dragon he chose, has caused a huge stir that has divided not only Rothscar, but every other House in the Moonlit Isles.

The dragon in question is one Topaz the Radiant. At the time of her choosing, she was a longtooth dragon, though has since aged to bearded after losing her connection with her third moon, making her the youngest dragon to be anointed for the position. Her perceived inexperience, along with her infamously haughty and vain attitude, would be enough to cause issues on its own, but the most controversial thing about her is not to do Topaz herself, but her lineage. Topaz is one of Kurkar's offspring, and the only one to be sorted into Rothscar. While the bond between parents and children isn't as encouraged as it is in other species, and Kurkar and Topaz were never shown to be particularly close, accusations of nepotism were inevitable.

Topaz is far from the only Rothscar head who had proved divisive upon being chosen, of course, and in the past there have been measures in place to properly mediate such decisions. As befitting of their status as a house of crafters, the House of Gold's elders usually choose the more permanent, solid form of a Mystic upon ascension, and this has been the case of every single head-of-house since Rothscar's formation. This way, leaders can always consult their predecessors if they have trouble making a particular decision, and it has been particularly useful is a head's choice of successor requires some explanation. On the day of his ascension, however, no statue of Kurkar could be found, leading many to believe he had broken this long-standing tradition and has chosen to become an Ancient instead. This silent, shining avatar of the Moons would be much harder to communicate with, though not impossible... if they could find him, that is. Despite several search parties sweeping every corner of the Isles, an Ancient bearing Kurkar's likeness has yet to be found, even during the full phase of his patron moon, the Stone Moon, and no new nesting grounds seem to have sprouted up on any of his favourite spots.

Unable to contact the former head of Rothscar, the Council has been split on whether to honour and let Topaz take up the role, or to overrule it and elect a new candidate. Topaz has been doing her best to argue her side, and despite her haughtiness, she is not without support. However, there is no shortage of Rothscar elders and bearded dragons who believe they are more suitable for the role. Outside of the House of Gold, dragons are divided further: traditionalist Brynback is torn between honouring Kurkar's decision and believing an older dragon should take charge. Semscale supports Topaz as the voice of the newer generation, while Tessith believes her pride and vanity will prove detrimental to an already overly materialistic House. Myndoth is less concerned with the politics and more with the mystery surrounding Kurkar's disappearance, believing that locating his Ancient should be everyone's first priority. Kebros has been mostly neutral in this conflict, though some of the younger drakes tend towards one side or the other. The few dragons who are unaligned with the Houses either don't care, see Topaz as the breath of fresh air the Houses desperately need, or believe that the fact she was chosen at all is proof that Rothscar's system is flawed.

With all this happening, it was a while before anyone noticed an island had broken away and was making a slow but determined descent towards the cloud bed...

---

You have been in the air for a while now. As rawscale drakes, your wings are not yet strong enough to carry you on their own, and it is only thanks to the magical paths of wind that connect the Isles that you have been able to stay aloft as long as you have. Even so, you more than feel the exhaustion as you begin to close in on the shores of the small, nameless island you have been sent to investigate.

This is one of the Tailbone islands, so named because they extend from the rear of main island of Yves, which from above appears like a dragon in profile. Most of these islands have no individual names, and are largely untouched by dragon society and are instead mostly home to Beasts, Elementals and the smaller species of fairy, such as pixies and kobolds. However, this island does contain a single dragon stronghold, originally built long ago by House Tessith as one of their many temporary outposts. Recently though, House Myndoth expressed interest in re-purposing the old stronghold to act as their new observatory, and a party comprised of mostly Myndoth and Tessith dragons was sent to evaluate the land and see if such a plan is viable. It has now been over two months since the party left, and very little has been heard from them. More disturbingly, however, the island's trajectory has changed during this time, separating from the Isles and drifting closer to the clouds below.

The Council deliberated for a long time before agreeing to send a pilgrimage clutch, and you know you weren't their first choice. However, with House Rothscar's current political dealings sending everyone in a frenzy, not to mention everyone preparing for the oncoming Moonbeam festival, pickings were slimmer than usual when figuring out who to send. The reason they settled on you, despite your young age, is because one of your members has a connection to the island in question: Stargaze, before she joined your clutch, was hatched on and spent her early life being raised by an elemental named Echo, away from the Houses and the rest of dragon society. Her knowledge of the land, along with Fellwing's powers as a seer, will give you a much needed in edge in locating the missing dragons and discovering why the island is sinking. At least, that's what the council hopes.

Your party is being lead by a bearded dragon by the name of Garrock, a member of House Tessith who will soon be old enough to be consider and elder and join the Council. He is very bulky, covered in thick, armored scales that are royal yellow in color. He has a pair of curled horns, icy blue eyes, and a long, scarred muzzle extenuated by a nasty overbite. His leathery wings are tipped with two extra 'talons' and his tail is long and club-like. Even with the magical winds, rawscales are required to have an older dragon with them if they wish to travel between islands lest they end up being knocked off course or, in extreme cases, falling through towards the clouds. Garrock was assigned to you, and he has made no secret of the fact that he's not happy about this arrangement. Every so often, he will glance over his shoulder at you, fixing each one of you with a glare as he makes sure you're all still following him. On one of these occasions, you think you see a hint of disappointment in his eyes when he confirms you are, but you might just be imagining that. He would then snort loudly before turning his gaze forwards once more.

Garrock was most vocal about sending someone to investigate, even volunteering to go himself. As an older dragon, he is no longer part of pilgrimage clutch - in fact, he's the rare dragon who doesn't seem to be part of any clutch at all - and thus, the elders refused. He did make such a fuss though, they decided to assign him to your group to supervise in hopes that this would please him and abate his fury. It did not.

Just as you're about to descend on the island, the older dragon glances over at you all one last time. "Hope you all know how to land," he says. "If any of you end up with a sprained wing or a broken leg, well, that's your own fault. I'm not a guardian from the hatchery or some coddling Semscale mentor and I'm not going to spend the whole mission taking care of you and tending to your injuries just because you weren't paying attention during gliding lessons." He sneers slightly before fully spreading open his wings and swooping downwards towards land. Once his feet are planted on the ground, he stretches out his front legs and flexes his wings, his aging bones giving an audible crack as he does so. He then turns to face you, watching as you too land.

The shores of the nameless island are quite beautiful. The area you have landed is a small, secluded beach which, instead of sand, is covered in powdered gemstones that glitter in various shades of purple, blue and green depending on the lighting. The beach is littered with brightly colored seashells. One near your feet trembles, and a small creature resembling a cross between a shrew, a hermit crab and a sea snail emerges and begins scuttling around you, clicking its front claws at you as a warning not to make any sudden movements towards it. Behind Garrock, the land begins to rise up into a shallow cliff, and just beyond that, you can see the tops of trees. You know from your briefing by the Council that beyond this point is a dense, tropical rainforest that takes up most of the island. The old Tessith stronghold lies not far within.

What do you do?

Stargaze's Knowledge

The home Stargaze shared with Echo is much deeper within the forest, where the land is more marshy and the trees so tall they practically block out the sky. Underneath one such tree is the entrance to the flooded cave which Echo calls home. Echo is actually a mixed elemental, being formed from the essences of water, wood and earth, making that cave the perfect place for her. It wasn't the perfect place for Stargaze, however, and would have likely spent more time outside the cave, wandering the swamp around it. She is far more familiar with this part of the island.

Fellwing's Vision

As Fellwing's feet touch the ground, she's hit with a strong sense of familiarity, despite never have been here before. Just before the clutch was summoned by the Council, she had a vision of a rainforest just like the one in front of her, and a small village within, inhabited by brownies - small, wingless fairies with rodent-like features. She followed one such brownie named Alpin as he scampered up the side of a tree like a squirrel, and crawled inside a small hole in the bark. Inside was a dimly lit yet surprisingly spacious room, its furniture seemingly formed from the wood of the tree itself. Another brownie was at the table in the center, their back to Alpin. They seemed to be working on something, and didn't even glance round as Alpin approached.

"Oy, Bartley!" Alpin called. When his friend didn't immediately respond, he called again, his shouts getting progressively louder and louder. "Bartley! Bartley, hey! Hey! He-"

"I'm not deaf yet, boy!" Bartley eventually barked, casting a glare over his shoulder. "What is it?"

Alpin didn't seem to notice their tone and scuttled closer, peering over the top of their head. "Oh, oh are you workin' on something? What is it, huh?" he said.

Bartley swatted at him before using their body to shield their work. "None of that! You can see it when it's finished, just like everyone else!" they said. "Did you want to tell me something, or are you just here to pester me?"

Alpin took a step back and gave a nod. "Right, right, so," he began. "So I ran into Gow just now, like literally ran into him, and he just got really angry at me! I understand he'd be upset, but he actually swiped at me! Nearly caught my ear with those claws of his!"

Bartley had turned back to their work and gave a rather uncommitted grunt as Alpin continued babbling.

"And 's weird 'cause I got a similar reaction the other day. I mean, it was partly my fault because I was playing coconut catch with Nab, and I did that thing where I wasn't really focusing where I was aiming and hit him straight and then he got really angry and said he wasn't going to talk to me anymore."

"Oh no," Bartley replied flatly.

"And I felt really bad, but it also struck me as really weird because the day before that-" Alpin continued listing off other events where a fellow brownie didn't take kindly to his hijinks, his speech getting progressively faster and faster until he to stop and take a breath. "Everyone's just been so crabby lately, you know?"

"Well, people do tend to get angry when you hit them or knock them over."

"No, no, this is different!" the younger brownie insisted. "It feels like ever since that stranger showed up in the hollow, no one has been actin' right!"

"I think you're just imagining it."

Alpin shook his head. "No, no, I know I'm right!" he said. "The forest has felt really different. Haven't you noticed how quiet it's been?"

"Not really, no," Bartley grumbled. They leaned forward to get a better look at their work and, as they did, something sharp seemed to catch on their skin. They gave a small cry, causing Alpin to finally stop talking for a moment to look at them.

"What's wrong?"

"Cut myself," Bartley said, nursing their wounded hand.

"What did you do that for?"

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Bartley snapped.

"Well, can I do something?" Alpin approached them again.

"No, I'm fine," the older brownie responded between gritted teeth. "Just, I need some space right now." When Alpin attempted to put a hand on their shoulder, Bartley sharply turned towards him and he - and by extension, Fellwing - finally got a good look at their face: it was bloated, with patches of dark green spreading across the skin. Their beady eyes were crimsone, and inside their mouth was rows and rows of sharp, needle-like teeth. "I said I'm fine!" they barked, causing Alpin to jump back several feet in fear. Without another word, they turned away and scurried back out of the room. The vision then ends, leaving Fellwing with this slightly prickly feeling under her scales.

[rush99999]

Skobeloff

Skobeloff landed the same way he had spent the journey to the nameless, sinking island: In complete silence and with an inscrutable smile on his face, his eyes rarely straying from the clutch's bearded guide. Ever since he'd learned of their task and had met their leader for the duration of the assignment, the wheels in the young Trickster's head had been turning non-stop. Their business on this island wasn't the only mission that Skobeloff had today. He'd received an obligation from his superiors in Myndoth. An obligation to use his skills as a Trickster to swindle a secret away from someone to add to the House of Secrets' vast hoard of hidden knowledge. And with how Garrock had been acting towards the clutch so far, Skobeloff was already scheming up ways to trick a tidbit out of that bearded boor.

OOC

Skobeloff studies Garrock. He rolls an 8* to figure out how he could get Garrock to give away a secret or vital piece of information.

*Note: In my current drowsy state I forgot to add the +2.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Stargaze

It was certainly strange. It wasn't just flying for as long as they have, but also the fact that their first mission as a clutch is taking them to her home! The place where she grew up. She was going to show her friends her home!

She did feel a little uneasy around Garrock. He clearly didn't want to be around them either. He wanted to be alone...

She was mostly silent as they made their way to the Tailbone Island. As soon as the island was in sight, Stargaze's mood brightened. Not even Garrock's sneer dampened it. Compared to whenever she had to land on another island for an event with other clutches, Stargaze's landing was a lot better than when a large crowd was watching her.

Her landing did include her moving forwards and stumbling a bit, but she didn't hurt herself. After checking herself and realizing she's stable, she turns to face her friends and she speaks to them, showing a happier and excited side to herself, making small excited jumps while her scaled tail wagged happily

"Guys! This is my home! Welcome, welcome! Sorry, there isn't any red carpet to roll out for you,"

She then notes the creature snapping its claws at the others, and she warns them, "Oh! Watch out for that one. Once it's claws catches you, it won't let go!"

She learned that the hard way! She remembered sniffing that creature inquisitively when she was younger, only to have a claw latch painfully on her nose. It hurt, and Echo laughed as she helped remove the creature.

[Digizel]

Shieldwing had spent much of the trip concentrating on his gliding. It wasn't difficult to figure out that this older dragon that had been assigned to lead his clutch didn't like being in charge of them. Even though this "Garrock" wasn't a member of House Brynback, he knew that this could be an excellent opportunity to get on good terms with an older dragon from another House. Most of the ones he knew grew frustrated with his educational endeavors outside of his very combat-centric mindset. But this one didn't really know him very well. Which meant that if he performed well on this mission, then he could finally start making some progress and start proving himself. He'd have something he could really show off to his superiors in Brynback.

However, he unfortunately got a little excited at the prospect of showing off his abilities when they were taking off. He had put too much into his original jump and glide and had tired himself out faster than the others in the process. On top of that, he had spent much of the flight looking over at Stargaze to make sure she was handling herself alright. After all, she was the smallest of the group and their newest member. He couldn't help but be concerned about what might happen if she would get caught up in a stray wind or something and get blown away. So he had spent extra time and effort to try to get closer to her, so that he could grab her if she needed it. And all of this while also, whenever their guardian was glancing back at them, making sure to maintain the outward appearance of a dragon who was confident and collected, ready to succeed in the mission at hand. After all, he wasn't going to be impressed if he saw the Brynback struggling or squirming awkwardly in the air to shift around.

Because of these needless actions on his part, he felt himself growing tired somewhat quickly even though they were relying largely on the winds between the islands to keep themselves up without too much of a problem. However, when he turned his head to look at the others, nobody else had been showing any signs of the same. That wasn't good. Maybe he was dividing his efforts too much? Or maybe it was all the constant corrections his wings had to make to get him where he wanted to be. But it didn't matter. At this point, it was too late to do anything about it. His wings were growing tired and started to ache...but he maintained a brave face, making sure there was no outward sign that he was struggling.

By the time they were closing in on the other shore, though, Shieldwing was starting to hang back ever so slightly. Finally, the older dragon turns to look back at them, and he focused his attention on him again. Oh, good. They were finally landing. He did his best to hide the relief from showing on his face.

"Of course we can land, don't worry about us, flying is just second nature!" Shieldwing would call back. "We can handle ourselves!"

He had spoken pretty quickly and without consulting the others first, but he was sure it was fine. He didn't recall any real accidents when learning to glide before, so why would it be a problem now? He intentionally shifted his wings to slow himself down; this put a bit more strain on them, but he wanted to make sure that Stargaze was going to be fine. He knew deep down that he should just trust her, but part of him was still concerned anyway, due in no small part to his role as her tutor for how to fight.

However, once Stargaze had landed successfully and even began to cheerfully call out to the group, he smiled to himself. As it turned out, he'd been worried over nothing. Of course she was fine. And so, Shieldwing adjusted his wings once more, redirecting himself so that he could come down at last...only to suddenly realize that he was...falling faster than what he was used to.

"Agh!" he cried out as he quickly raised his limbs, trying to make up for his faster rate of descent by using his stronger legs to brace himself from the impact with the powder shore beneath him. His claws collided roughly with the ground, kicking up a bunch of the powdered crystal "sand" as he practically slammed his body down on top of the shore...only for one of his claws to slip on a shell and caused his body to turn a bit. His momentum, however, did not care about his predicament, and he soon came tumbled a bit across the powdered crystal and finally came to a crashing stop as his chest struck the ground, and his belly fell to the sand a second later with a thud.

"Ugh..." Shieldwing murmured, raising his head. He shook himself, causing shell fragments and crystal sand to fall from his head and get flung aside. Luckily, he'd tucked his wings to keep them from getting injured in the crash; a trick he'd learned from Brynback to avoid wing damage if he got thrown or smacked to the ground in a fight. But he was still somewhat disoriented as he looked up from his spot and soon realized that, directly in front of his face where he'd just come to a stop...was a small creature poking out of a shell, clicking claws raised in the air. He blinked and stared at it for the moment; it was actually kinda cute the way it was snapping at the air like that....

[Vertigo]

𝐹𝑒𝓁𝓁𝓌𝒾𝓃𝑔

__________________________________________________

It didn't take a seer to notice Garrock's disdain for the young drakes he led, but Fellwing was hardly bothered. In the grand scheme of things, one bearded dragon's opinions mattered little. Who was Garrock but an old, clutchless fool throwing a tantrum anyhow? Honestly.

Flying had always been one of Fellwing's fortes, be that she could only really 'fly' with magical assistance. Many of her earliest visions had taken her to the skies even before her wings had however, and so she was familiar enough with theory and technique to control her glide comfortably. And thank the moons for that. She was a light, petite dragon always at the mercy of gusts, so not knowing how to navigate currents could have proven fatal quick.

Fellwing barely heard the old dragon's taunts about their imminent landing. The closer to the island they'd gotten, the clearer she recalled her earlier vision. Again and again, an older brownie's face seeped into her thoughts. Red eyes, sharp teeth, and dark green patches.

She'd meant to ask Stargaze about it time and again. Even as Fellwing swept down gracefully and landed upon a glittering beach, she rehearsed her phrasing. But seeing her clutchmate so excited to welcome them to her home, the seer couldn't help but hesitate.

Then Shieldwing crashlanded with a series of thuds and grunts, and Fellwing was snapped out of her thoughts - and her worries.

"Well," she mused, remembering what he'd declared so boisterously just a moment ago. Her tone was teasing, but friendly. "Some of us can handle ourselves, at least."

Her eyes swept over the clawed creature, then back to Stargaze. Her voice was soft and calm as usual, revealing none of the urgency that churned her insides. "Your home is beautiful, Stargaze. But do tell, is there... anything else than the crabs here we should be wary of?"

A strange sickness, perhaps, she pondered.

[rush99999]

Skobeloff

"Guys! This is my home! Welcome, welcome! Sorry, there isn't any red carpet to roll out for you," Skobeloff heard Stargaze say as she touched down on her home island.

"I'm not bothered. Carpets have never really felt all that pleasant under my feet anyway." Skobeloff said before looking over at the hermit shrail that had begun snapping at them. "Well that's a curious looking Beast."

"Oh! Watch out for that one. Once it's claws catches you, it won't let go!" Stargaze warned.

"Duly noted." Skobeloff confirmed before snickering lightly as Shieldwing crash landed in front of the hermit shrail and Fellwing snarked about Shieldwing's boast.

"Your home is beautiful, Stargaze." Fellwing then said. "But do tell, is there... anything else than the crabs here we should be wary of?"

"I have this weird hunch that you might already know the answer to that question, Fellwing." Skobeloff commented to the Seer.

[XxFellsingxX]

Garrock watched as each of the drakes landed, his expression dull and uninterested. It was almost like he was staring past them, imagining himself somewhere - anywhere - else. It was only when Shieldwing came crashing ungracefully down on the shore that the older dragon snapped out of his apathy. "Oh for the love of...!" Garrock hissed as he came storming over to the red drake. "What did I just say?" Despite the harshness of his tone and his previous words about not caring if the drakes got hurt, he began looking Shieldwing over for any sign of injuries. "Hmm, no broken bones, I suppose that's something." He huffed and shook his head. "Great moons, what were the council thinking, sending raw-scales do deal with this. This one can't even glide straight," he grumbled to himself. He then took a step back before saying, much louder now, "You're fine. Just walk it off!"

He made his way back to where he had been standing before and turned to address the rest of the clutch. "I certainly hope you're all better at navigating the land than you are the air," he said. "Otherwise this is going to be a long mission."

[rush99999]

Skobeloff

Skobeloff looked on in fascination as Garrock began fussing over Shieldwing despite saying that he didn't care if they were injured. The sight brought to mind a word the fox-like fairies that taught him how to be a Trickster used to describe someone who externally appeared harsh and irritable but on the inside was much more caring than they appeared. 'Soon-deer' they called it... Or perhaps it was 'sunder-ray'... Skobeloff actually had a somewhat difficult time remembering anything about his fairy mentors other than the lessons in trickery they taught him.

One of those lessons had been brought to the forefront of Skobeloff's thinking as he noticed that the crystalline sand had changed color where Shieldwing had crash landed. Moving to examine the sand, Skobeloff realized that the gemstones that made up this sand possessed magical properties that would be quite beneficial to them. It was just as his teachers always said. 'Failure now can mean success latter.' And with the help of Shieldwing's failure at landing now, Skobeloff had found something that would increase their chances of successfully completing the mission later.

OOC

Skobeloff plays the Long Game. He rolls a 10 and chooses to create an opportunity and seize a resource.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Stargaze

The young drake beamed at Fellwing's compliment to her home, but it disappeared and she tilted her head in confusion at her question.

She looked concerned when Shieldwing crash landed, but Garrock was already there, tending to him. It was clear to Stargaze that the bearded dragon did care, at least a little. That was surprising! Didn't he want to be alone?

She answered Garrock after he addressed all of them, her voice clearly showing that she's still happy to be home, despite the circumstances, "I can lead the way! I know this place like the back of my wings!"

She then answered Fellwing, "As for what else to watch out for..."

She thought about it and she commented, "I mean...there weren't a lot of dangerous things around while I grew up here. Sure, you gotta be able to jump or swim in the swamp, but I think that's about it...[/color]"

Then she gets an idea, "Oh! Maybe Echo knows? She lives on this island too. Maybe she noticed something?"

[Digizel]

Shieldwing

Shieldwing heard the jokes of his companions, and quickly scrambled back to his feet, clearing his throat. Luckily, his crimson scales hid the slight blush on his face rather well. However, it grew a little bit deeper as Garrock came and began to examine him more closely for any potential injuries he may have incurred from the crash-landing. He let out an audible groan, but did not resist the older dragon.

"O-of courese there's no injuries, I knew what I was doing the whole time," Shieldwing claimed, raising his head up high and straightening himself out. He huffed, clearly moderately annoyed as he was checked over like a hatchling, but he wasn't about to argue. "And I can too glide straight. I was just trying to make sure the others didn't need any help, that's all." His claws scratched a bit at the powder beneath them, digging into them a bit as he tensed slightly. He knew that this was just an excuse, and he was already kicking himself for messing up such a simple task. But it was fine. After all, their mission had only just started, right? He had plenty of time to figure out how to make up for this blunder.

He shook himself off once Garrock left him alone, and he was glad for a swift change of subject. He stepped back toward the others, tail swishing about behind him just above the gemstone sand. He turned his attention to the conversation between his companions, and grinned over at Stargaze.

"That's a great idea. Echo is the one who raised you, right? That would make things easy for sure," the red dragon said, stepping over to the newest and youngest member of the clutch. And he quickly spotted a way he might be able to help redeem himself.... Maybe. "Then this is what we should do." As he spoke, he swept his tail across the top of the sand to lightly clear away any shells to reveal a small, smooth spot in the sand. He then began to draw dig a claw into the sand, drawing simple shapes to help facilitate his points.

"We follow Stargaze to Echo's cave. Since they've lived here the whole time, they might be able to point us at anything new or weird. Or maybe at least give us a lead. Stargaze will obviously be at the front to show us the way, and I'll be next to her so I can help her out if something happens on the way." He drew two simple ovals in the sand next to one another. "Fellwing and Skobellof can be in the middle." Once again, two new ovals just beneath the first pair. "They just need to keep an eye on the sides. And then the rear can be Mr. Garrock because he's the biggest, strongest, and that lets him make sure he can see all of us without having to look backward all the time." He drew a circle that was larger than the others behind the two rows. "At the same time, nobody's gonna want to come up on us from behind if the big dragon is in the back."

He then lifted his head with pride at that, seeming proud of himself for coming up with this formation on the spot. His gaze drifted between his clutchmates to gauge their responses, of course, but the one he was most hopeful to have pleased was Garrock. Though he made sure only to side-eye Garrock just in case he needed to quickly avert his gaze at a disapproving or other negative expression.

[Vertigo]

𝐹𝑒𝓁𝓁𝓌𝒾𝓃𝑔

__________________________________________________

Before Stargaze had a chance to answer, Skobeloff chimed in with an observation - an accurate one, at that. Nothing ever escaped him, it seemed. Fellwing cast him a sharp look. He wasn't wrong, and Fellwing didn't want to lie, but she also didn't want the others to worry - and the contents of her vision were worrisome indeed.

Fellwing wasn't sure if Skobeloff had even caught the look she gave him, as the trickster's attention was soon stolen by Garrock and Shieldwing. Fellwing paid them little mind, her focus solely on Stargaze.

"I'll be mindful of the swamps," she smiled. "In exchange, do keep an eye out for any... strangers, I suppose."

"Ever since that stranger showed up in the hollow, no one has been actin' right."

Who was the stranger, and how were they connected to the weird behaviour of the locals? Was it magic or madness that plagued them, and was it just the brownies?

While Fellwing was lost in thought, Shieldwing proposed a marching order. From what bits and pieces the black drake gathered, she had no objections - though she didn't plan to stray too far from the two leading the group. She didn't know what exactly she had to be looking out for, but she wanted the best chances of finding it.

As Shieldwing finished, Fellwing couldn't help but notice how proud he seemed. She smiled, letting her gaze wander over to Garrock. Hm, she supposed she could help out a little.

"Impressive leadership, Shieldwing!" she made sure her tone sounded sufficiently inspired, and that she spoke loud enough for the old drake to hear. "Then, let us not waste any time."

She had many questions for Echo, and little patience to spare.

[XxFellsingxX]

Garrock craned his head to look at Shieldwing's diagram. "Your... art skills leave much to be desired," he said drily. "I was going to suggest we head to old Tessith stronghold, just to check if any of the missing dragons are still there and just haven't been able to send a message out to the main land." He then gave a loud sigh. "But the Council has made it clear this is your mission, and I'm merely meant to be supervision in case you find yourselves in over yours heads. So sure. Let's go trekking through the Wilderness in search of some elemental. What could possibly go wrong?" The sarcasm in his voice was practically dripping.

[rush99999]

Skobeloff

With Garrock's comment, Skobeloff sensed a golden opportunity to show the older dragon that he could handle himself without the help of his clutchmates. "I can go check out the stronghold." Skobeloff suggested. "I'll go scope out the situation over there, then come find you at Echo's place and let you know how things are looking."

[Digizel]

Shieldwing

Shieldwing couldn't help but grin a bit at Fellwing's approval. If he could tell that the shadow-colored dragon was potentially just humoring him to help him out, he didn't show it. However, Garrock on the other hand seemed...less than enthused with the plan he'd put forth. At first, the dragon's wings drooped slightly and his head lowered a bit as though some of the wind had been taken out of his sails. "...Oh." he murmured lowly. He wasn't particularly offended at the older dragon's quip about his art skills. He hadn't exactly done his best to make a work of art, he had simply done a quick diagram. But when he had so quickly and effortlessly dismissed his ideas, even mocked them through sarcastic remarks, he definitely took that a bit more negatively.

But then his gaze drifted toward Fellwing...and he remembered the support his friend had offered. And he shook himself off. He couldn't let his idea get dismissed just like that. Not when he thought it was still a perfectly valid one. He opened his mouth to try to stand up for himself and give a proper reason for his ideas...but he was stopped as Skobeloff spoke up again. Shieldwing's eyes widened at that and he looked at the green dragon like he'd suggested he go diving into the clouds.

"What? By yourself?" Shieldwing said, unable to keep the shock out of his voice. "No way, that's not happening. We have no idea what's going on over there. For all we know, it could be overrun by the Darkness and you could get ambushed." He then shook his head. "Besides, how would you even find us again without Stargaze to lead the way? She's the only one here who even knows where Echo lives. So it's either we all go that way or nobody does."

[rush99999]

Skobeloff

As Shieldwing voiced his objections to Skobeloff's idea, the young Trickster smiled that same smile he always had on his face when he was playing the Long Game. "You needn't worry about me." Skobeloff said. "I have this." Skobeloff then picked up some of the gem sand and showed it to the others. "There's useful magic in this sand. With it, I'll be able to teleport myself to Stargaze's location when I am done investigating the stronghold or if I encounter something I cannot overcome alone."

[XxFellsingxX]

When Fellwing uses her powers to peer into the Darkness, the Darkness peers back, before melting away to reveal multiple scenes:

First Scene: The Stronghold

The first shows what Fellwing can assume is the Tessith stronghold, though it is quite unlike the grand stone and metal structures of the Capital, or the intricate caverns Kebros favor. This place is instead formed out of a massive, hollowed-out yew tree, its bark almost entirely covered in ivy and moss. The vision zooms in on tree, before going through the walls and into the interior. A large spiral staircase takes up a majority of the room, and two drakes - about Stargaze's age - can be seen climbing down. Their movement is slowly and clumsy, and every time the stairs creak beneath their claws, they stop immediately. They stand still for a moment, holding their breath and listen out, as if expecting something. When nothing happens, they continue walking.

The drake in front is a pastel green, with bands of red, orange and yellow on her wings and around the base of her horns, which are split in a way that makes them resemble the newly developing antlers of a fawn. She wears a pair of large, rounded spectacles that she constantly has to stop to push back up her snout.

The other drake looks a bit like her, as they both share the same pudgy body shape and have tufts of feathers on their tails and the back of their wings. This drake, however, is lilac with pastel green splotches, and horns that spiral slightly like an antelopes. He is shaking like a leaf in the wind, and every time the stairs creak, he has to cover his mouth to stop himself yelping, causing his companion to shoot him a look each time.

"I really, really don't think this is a good idea," he whispers once they reach the bottom of the stairs.

"Yes, Pleexem, you said that already. Thirty-two times in fact, and counting," the green drake responds. "And I told you, I won't think any less of you if you stay behind."

Pleexem's eyes widen. "You can't leave me along with her!" he whines.

"Shh!"

"Oop-" Pleexem covers his mouth with his wings. Behind them, a small, muffled "Sorry" can be heard.

The green drake sighs and shakes her head. Up until now, her wings have been folded closely against her body. She reaches back to under her left wing as she slowly unfurls it, reveal a key made of gnarled wood. She places it in the main door's keyhole and carefully opens it. She peaks out, looking left and right for any sighs of danger. She breaths a sigh of relief. "Hmm, can't see anything around," she says. She then looks at the ground. "Can't see any tracks either, though. Kyte could be anywhere on the island at this point."

"Tamba, do... do you really think they are still on the island?" Pleexem says softly.

Tamba looks over her shoulder at him. "What do you mean?"

Pleexem lowers his head. "I mean... with those new, strong wings of theirs, they could go back Yves if they wanted."

"They wouldn't do that. Not without the others," the green drake says, a little too quickly. "That's not what they're like."

Pleexem shuffles awkwardly. "We don't even know them that well, though," he says. "How can you be so sure?"

"I just-" Tamba raised her voice slightly before stopping herself, and continuing in a quieter tone, "I just know, okay? You saw how they lead those creatures deeper into the forest. They were leading them away from us. They wouldn't do that if they didn't care."

The lilac drake is quiet for a moment. "But what if-" he begins, but he's cut off by a large creak above him. He looks up, and whatever he sees causes him to become paler than usual. He opens his mouth as if to say something, but doesn't get a chance before the door suddenly swings shut, forcing Tamba to tumble in an awkward, backward roll into the stronghold. As the vision begins to dissolve back into darkness, Fellwing hears one last panicked shriek from Pleexem before the scene transitions to something else.

Second Scene: Echo's Cave

The next scene takes place in a deeper, darker part of the forest, where trees grow so tall they block out the sky and the ground beneath one's feet transitions into moss and then, finally, into murky water. As Fellwing's vision pulls across the surface, she briefly glimpses some kind of shadow within the depths, but is forced away before she can get a proper look.

Eventually, her vision brings her to a cave entrance, almost completely obscured by the water running through it and the leaves and roots of the Willow tree it sits under. Fellwing may recognize it from Stargaze's description as the cave that Echo calls home. The vision brings her in before dipping beneath the surface of the water and pulls her down, down, down, until she can hardly see. Then she sees a a cluster of small lights swimming up and finds herself following them until they breach the surface, leading to one of the few parts of the cave not completely submerged. Here, on what little dry ground there was, was a drake with pale orange scales that slowly transitioned to pink like the sky at dawn. They were older than Tamba and Pleexem, even older than Fellwing and the rest of her clutch, as their wings looked developed enough that they could fly without the aid of magic. Still, right now, they didn't look like they would be flying anywhere, as one of their wings seemed to be damaged: the way they held it against their body implied it was strained, and there were a few tears in the membrane. More troubling, a web of dark veins seemed to be forming around the damaged areas, and were slowly spreading out towards the edges of the wing. The drake at one point attempted to flex, only to wince and let out a low hiss.

"Stop. Doing. That," a voice echoes in the cave. The drake raises their head as a mass of bubbles and lights begun frothing on the surface of the water, until they suddenly rise up and form a roughly humanoid being with hair like the leaves of a willow tree, translucent greenish-brown skin dotted with bio-luminescent specks, webbed hands and a large, eel-like tail. Judging by the combination of elements from which makes up her body, Fellwing can assume that this being is the elemental Echo. Fellwing can also assume they were the source of the lights that they followed to this part of the cave.

"I know, I know," the dragon respond, laying their head down on the stone. Echo slides up onto the stone on her belly. Once she's close enough, she lowers some small snake-like thing onto the rock in front of the dragon's snout, who proceeds to raise their head up in alarm. "What in the moons is that?"

"That," Echo responds. "Is sadly the only decent morsel of food I can find."

The drake look at the elemental, then back at the snake. There's barely enough meat on there for even a newly hatched dragon. "You're kidding."

Echo shakes her head. "I wish I was," she says. "It seems whatever strange force is affecting the island is also scaring away all the fauna and making the fruit from trees almost entirely inedible." To demonstrate, she places a small handful of berries, all shriveled and grey.

"That's..." The drake stares blankly at the berries, unable to finish that sentence. After a moment, they shake their head. Cautiously, they grab the snake and pull it towards them. As they eat, Echo inspects their wing.

"So the good news is, your wounds seem to be closing up much quicker than they normally should," she says after a moment. "The scratches on your shoulder, for instance, are almost completely gone."

The dragon looks up at her. "And the bad news?"

"The bad news is that these..." Echo gestures to the veins. "Are getting worse, and I can't help but feel those two things are related."

The dragon frowns, pausing in their meal to inspect their wing themself. "Is there anything you can do?" they ask. "Some kind of magic?"

Echo hesitates. "Yes, she says after a moment. "Though you have to understand, as an elemental, I am connected to this island. In it's current state, I don't know how much I can do, and it will likely take a lot out of me."

The dragon looks at her for a moment, then back at their wing. "What will happen if that... stuff overtakes my wing completely?" they ask.

Echo sighs. "I honestly have no idea," she says. "It's a form of corruption, but not like any I've seen before. Have you noticed any changes in your mood or thoughts?"

The dragon shakes their head. "Not really," they say. "Just... I feel colder, I guess. Not to the point of being numbing, but still... cold."

The elemental considers for a moment before speaking once more, "I don't think I can remove it completely, but I can definitely weaken it and perhaps even slow it down. That should be enough until we can get you back to the Capital. The power of the moons could likely do the rest."

"Alright," the dragon says, though they sound apprehensive. "What about you, though?"

Echo gives a small laugh. "Don't worry about me," she says. "We Elementals are surprisingly adaptable. There is very little in this world that can truly, irreparably harm us."

The dragon still looks doubtful but gives a nod. Echo gently places a hand on the damaged wing, and her eyes and the lights on her skin turn from yellow to a pale bluish-green and finally to white as a similar glow spreads across the drake's wing, getting brighter and brighter until it suddenly cuts out altogether. Echo shuffles back, the lights on her skin suddenly much dimmer and her body starting to waver, as if struggling to hold itself together. Fellwing can see that the drake's wing is almost completely heal, though those veins are still there, albeit much paler than before. They move their wing again, not wincing this time.

"It twinges a bit, but it feels much better," the dragon says. They then look up at Echo. "Thank you."

Echo nods weakly before retreating back into the water, her body dissolving back into the elements from which it is formed. The drake stares at the water where she emerged for a moment, before returning to their meal. The scene then fades out.

Third Scene: Shieldwing

The third and final scene of Fellwing's visions is the least clear. It seems to take place not far from the part of the forest the second scene did, and shows Garrock and Shieldwing back to back as swarms of bloated, rat-like beings come scurrying out of the trees and encircle them. The two dragons ready themselves as several of the creatures begin lunging at them. True to his nature, Fellwing can tell that Shieldwing will likely not back down from this fight, and she can already see him swatting at them with his claws as the vision fizzles out, bringing Fellwing back to the here and now at last.

[Vertigo]

𝐹𝑒𝓁𝓁𝓌𝒾𝓃𝑔

__________________________________________________

Garrock didn't seem impressed by Shieldwing's suggestion - on the contrary, he got even more irritable than before. Well, she'd tried. Hopefully the red drake wouldn't take the elder dragon's dismissal too harshly. She had a feeling that no matter what they did, they weren't going to hear any praise from the old coot. Unless, perhaps, they actually managed to rescue the missing dragons.

Then there was Skobeloff, who wanted to run off on his own. But while he seemed to have the means to come back if need be, Fellwing couldn't help but worry. She fiddled with her claws. Perhaps it was time to consult a higher power. A terrible, loathsome power.

She closed her eyes and saw darkness. A moment later, Darkness saw her.

Fellwing didn't know how long she was unaccounted for, lost in one scene after another, but when the last of them faded, she snapped back to reality with a gasp. She still wasn't used to the feeling her visions left behind; the feeling of being watched by the very darkness she had peered into, but the urgency of the situation left her little room to stay shaken for long. The dots were connecting, but even as she was still reeling, the details of what she saw begun to dissipate. And they had no time to waste besides.

"Stargaze," she looked to the youngest of their clutch first, voice compassionate. "Echo-- is well. I can see she's just as kind as you've told. She's tending to an injured dragon. One... that has been touched by whatever plagues this place. I'm sorry, Stragaze, I should have mentioned it sooner. Something is wrong. There is a curse, a sickness, a something magical that spreads here. Dark veins, irrational behaviour, a coldness; these are the lot of the infected. The Capital should cure it, or so Echo hopes. I'm sure she can tell more about what has been happening. Be sure to ask about a stranger in the hollow, as well."

She turned to Skobeloff, urgency written on her features. "There are survivors left still at the stronghold, but they might be in danger as we speak. Or perhaps they already were, or they have yet to be. My visions are not always clear. Their elders led them - the infected, I presume - deeper into the forest. Even so, you should not go alone. If Shieldwing goes with Stargaze, then I shall go with you. Pleexem and Tamba; they'll be who we look for."

Finally, she turned to Shieldwing. "You will accomplish great things here. When the time comes - when they swarm us, you will fight back-to-back with him," she looked briefly to the dragon with them, then nodded back at the red drake. "And he will see your worth."

[rush99999]

Skobeloff

Skobeloff listened carefully to the words of the clutch's Seer. Especially when Fellwing spoke to him specifically. The name Pleexem didn't ring any bells to Skobeloff, but the name Tamba certainly did. Tamba was an Academic in House Myndoth who Skobeloff occasionally visited whenever he needed the knowledge of someone well versed in the pages of Lung-Kwan’s Famous Dragons and What They Did to assist in his Trickster business. Knowing that she was mixed up in this was something Skobeloff found quite concerning.

As Fellwing turned away from him to speak with Shieldwing, Skobeloff cast his gaze to the ground as he considered his options. Fellwing would be helpful at the Stronghold no doubt, but that help would not come without hindrance. If he took Fellwing with him, his plans of demonstrating self-reliance to Garrock would be compromised. And Skobeloff simply could not have that.

Once Fellwing was done talking, Skobeloff smiled, nodded in appreciation of his cluchmate's abilities, and then summoned up his charm and spoke. "Nicely done, Fellwing. These insights you have stolen from the Shadows already prove themselves quite useful." Skobeloff said. "However, I must ask that you stay with the others. I'll be fine on my own. I have a lifeline after all." Skobeloff gestured to the gem sand he was holding. "I'll be back before you know it, Fellwing. In the meantime, I need you to keep an eye on everyone else while I'm gone. Do you reckon you can do that for me, my friend?"

OOC

Skobeloff rolls a 12 to convince Fellwing to let him head to the Stronghold alone. Fellwing marks experience if she allows it or Shadow if she does not.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Stargaze

Stargaze was silent as Shieldwing laid out a plan, and then...she isn't exactly sure what happened next. She was stunned by the fact that Skobeloff wanted to go off on his own. While she's done that on her own growing up, she isn't sure if now's a good time considering they were here on a mission. She tilted her head at Skobeloff's words about the magic sand and using it to teleport back to them.

She wasn't sure if that was true or not...that's another question for Echo.

Then her attention was drawn to Fellsing when she addressed her. She blinked rapidly at the fact that Echo was currently tending to a dragon and there's something wrong with the place. She answers her friend with a nod, and speaks out loud, "Stranger in the hollow. Got it. I'll be sure to ask her," It was clear that she was committing the question to memory.

Stargaze looked at Skeboloff concerned and she looked to Fellwing and Shieldwing to see if they would stop him from going off on his own. She understood wanting to prove herself...but was now really the time?

[Vertigo]

𝐹𝑒𝓁𝓁𝓌𝒾𝓃𝑔

__________________________________________________

Fellwing looked to her clutchmates, half nervous, half expectant, all ears. Her plan was but a suggestion, and she was no leader. Her expertise lay in acquiring information, not finding the best way to utilize it - especially when all she'd seen were bits and pieces of a much larger puzzle. And yet, even she knew what Skobeloff was suggesting was lunacy. She couldn't fathom his reasons. 'I'll be fine' was not an answer. But then, the clutch's trickster was not known for his tendency to provide answers.

He was, however, known for being both cunning and resourceful. Fellwing's eyes trailed to the gem in his claws. He sounded confident enough that she could almost believe he had a plan, a reason, a something to justify his gamble. And she couldn't exactly judge another for their foolhardy tendency to go at things alone, when she was guilty of such herself.

She sighed. "Take two gems more. Three, even four, if you've the means to carry them. If you encounter other drakes, perhaps they may use this same magic to teleport to us as well." She had to admit, she didn't quite know how this teleportation magic worked, or what were its limitations. She'd have to have Skobe explain it to her in detail at a better time. "Keep your wits about you, and your steps silent. Be vigilant. Come back alive. I'll see to it that the others do the same."

She turned to Stargaze and Shieldwing, giving them a reassuring nod. "I shall follow you, then. I've many a thing to ask Echo, anyhow."

For now, she'd place her trust in the trickster. She could only hope it wasn't a decision she'd come to regret; she'd loathe to lose a friend.