The old trick to a story, it’s said, is to start with “it was a dark and stormy night” - create suspense by drawing in the tension at the start, as many diurnal creatures cannot see well in the dark, and further amplify that with the violent nature of storms, putting them at the mercy of nature’s whims.
Well, it
was dark. And it
was stormy.
Caer, weakened though they were in these times, had a job to do.
There were flickers of familiar power here and there - Soláthraí, dutifully protecting the vulnerable from a flood. In the far distance, Lir, desperately rescuing the ones that slipped from high ground into the waters. The hollow presence of Aidan, leading away the ones neither could save.
None of it was Caer’s jurisdiction. Well-wishes and hope were left in the Dreamer’s wake, scattered with the spray of rain disrupted by the flight.
The flood was no accident. It couldn’t be. Water did not simply rise from the ocean and decide to take the land without cause or reason. Something was broken.
There.
A shadow ahead. Slinking and slipping through the darkness, pursuing a darker shape ahead of it. And well behind – Dorje’s sharp chatter and compact blur.
Caer had no weapons. Little strength. What power remained was still great, but… not enough to take on two shadows. The Creator’s faltering strength had left both of them struggling. But there were still duties.
Caer would perform them to the last.
The Dreamer charged forward just as the lagging shadow caught up to the other, striking out harshly – and together, they stopped. A poisonous flash of bright blue and inkwell purple caught in an errant flash of lightning as the creatures… fought. It was over quickly, the victor slipping back to leave the loser to Dorje’s mercies.
No honor among shadows. Caer carefully followed.
The hunt repeated itself several times. Each time, the pursuing shade, with its bright flash of blue, took out one of its own and left it, sometimes scrabbling away before the smaller chattering ball of anger and vengeance could catch up.
The storm moved on just before dawn broke. The shadow - which Caer had named Senka at some point during the night - retired for the day, having taken out a great many of its own.
But… why?
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Hints:
Dorje/Mushroom Dressup references the "Badger Badger Mushroom Mushroom" meme song.
The emerald tree boa stamp refers to... Snake. I was a bit blunt this year.
2 and 4 -- 24. I said this was a very nerdy hint, it references the cobra Pokemon Arbok, who is #24 in the PokeDex, and is the first thing I thought of when I finished the lines for the cobra's hood and started messing with colors. This was the hint that didn't get found until a few hours ago, so it never got solved.
I mentioned that my outcome would be in Slytherin, like me. Voila, snek.
Senka is a Slavic name meaning "Shadow" - the full story behind them is that they are a shadow that has started to hunt down their own kind, but it's not yet known if this is for good or evil. I originally did not want to lean into the snake motif for this idea, but given that the snake is also a symbol of rebirth/renewal, it seemed more appropriate than anything else I had considered.
