▼The Resurrection of Dragons ▲ (O/A)

[cocogerber13]

(Art credit)

—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—

The Resurrection of Dragons

[intro]

For centuries humans and dragons have lived together, some peacefully and some less so. The magic of dragons’ blood was evened out by the rarity of the creatures and the humans with their innovative minds had numbers and determination on their side. This balance was eventually broken as members from both groups grew power-hungry and attacked. Dragons destroyed entire cities over things like territorial disputes with the people who lived there and people killed dragons for the magical properties of their blood. Tragedies continued to grow as numbers dwindled, the dragons becoming nearly extinct and human families rarely left without a loss. Any hope for a truce between the species seemed fruitless...

That would be, without a well-known legendary duo - A dragon and rider; human and beast. The last Titan Dragon had allowed his temper’s flame to be doused by a pure-hearted human hero, and together the two stopped disagreements and needless killing from this conflict. Even as dragonkind was near the end of its existence the strongest of both sides were ready to be finished with the unnecessary bloodshed. The future looked bright for the first time in ages.

Despite these plans, however, the future could still never be the present; humans had their families to feed and dragons had their species to avenge and protect. There was no temporary solution to these issues and peace did not support either industry. What better way to end the stalemate than to eliminate the unofficial ambassadors? Thus a brawl was staged by a group known as The Underground, attracting the attention of the pair. The dispute was quickly revealed as a trap and while the goal was to assassinate both rider and dragon, it ultimately ended with only the rider’s life being taken. Enraged by the selfishness of the group and (moreso) the death of their friend, the Titan set his wrath upon mankind and destroyed the former capital city of Heartessa - appropriately renamed The Scorched Expanse. The human government was deeply troubled by the dragon’s aggressive change and enlisted the help of powerful sorcerers to cease his fury by putting him into an endless sleep within a volcano. Remaining dragons were eventually killed by members of The Underground or independent hunters for the harvest of their magic-infused blood. Unbeknownst to the humans, a meagre number of dragons had managed to escape human clutches and forfeited their conscious lives to wait out the conflict in a trance, hiding in places so extreme that no human would dare seek them out.



Of course this is all just a legend, one that is up to you to believe in or ridicule. The world has nearly forgotten of the existence of dragons, dismissing most mentions as myths. If such beasts do ever end up being real, then what role will you play in the chaos that will unfold? Would you risk everything in the name of a potentially noble cause, or stand with your own kind? And if something sinister unfolds, do you have the power to stop it?

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[overview/current day]

Welcome to the nation of Multenera, where you will take on the position of a human or dragon. In the Port-Capital of Navem, a group of Multen ambassadors have returned with a revered treasure that was gifted to them as a gesture of peace by a the nation of Thealus. What appears to be a nearly transparent crystalline carving of a sleeping bird has just been placed under the security of the national government. While this bird appears to be normal treasure, it actually hums with regeneration magic that was a wide enough range that it is effecting the dragons currently in stasis around the city. These dragons are now stirring from their slumber and there have been recent tremors from the volcano offshore. The humans living in Navem and the towns nearby know something is going on, but don’t know just what it is.

To make matters worse, the salespeople of The Underground are selling off the last of the dragon blood they have left, meaning that human-use magic energy is running out and they will be looking into alternative methods to retrieve magic energy.

[Basically...]
The “resurrection” of dragons has not been a public occurrence and is not yet widely known, however the fabled resting place of the Titan Dragon Hotei is showing some strange signs and those that believe in the tale are concerned. Because dragon blood has recently been labeled “extremely scarce”, wealthy/powerful people want to get their hands on the remaining magic and will go to some immoral lengths to retrieve it. If your human has a magic item or vial of dragon blood they will be able to use them to have certain abilities but should probably keep the existence of them secret because thieves are specifically seeking magic out.

The newly wakened dragons are in their juvenile stages (aside from Hotei), and they are aware of a general rivalry between humans and dragons as well as the hunting of them. It is up to you how you would like them to view humans as well as Hotei. These dragons are also not used to humans using magic since they didn’t know why humans were hunting their kind down. None of the dragons know why they were woken up either.

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[links]

Discussion and Lore Thread
(Please read the lore to get better acquainted in the world! ^^)

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[cocogerber13]

Announcements
SunnyJustice is a mod for this rp!


Rules
These are important, so please bear with me!


- Please post everything off-topic and your forms on the discussion thread

- let me know on the discussion thread if you plan to be inactive or leave, and please let those you are rping with know as well!

- feel free to contact me if you are confused about something! I’m happy to help and don’t care about formalities as long as you are nice (this goes for if you would just like to talk as well!)

- post at least four well-written sentences and try to use good grammar! It is a huge help to those you are rping with if they have something to respond to that they can understand. I understand if you cannot speak English very well, in which case I would be willing to try to help you!

- no powerplaying, playing anyone else’s characters, no Mary Sues, etc. the same rule you see on every rp

- follow all of cs’ site and rp rules

- LGBT+ is allowed, as well as any similar character traits! Please respect these!

- no fighting or arguing about anything! This is meant to be fun!

- please be accepting of everyone and try to help out if someone can’t find a character to interact with! Please also try to give a recap if someone asks!

- have as many characters as you think you can handle! I also ask that if you wish to have multiple characters, please make more or equal humans than dragons, as there is only a small amount of dragons left in the world! (AKA please try to keep species even)

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Characters
* you may have characters be a scale descendant or a Titan dragon, however please limit these spots to one per person! Titan dragons will also not start out as Titan dragons, and any trials will be run by SunnyJustice or I. I would also prefer that any team-ups be made with characters from different people!
* you may have a character from Thealus or Multenera, the only difference between them being certain information/views of certain things (Thealus doesn’t have a lot of dragons)

Humans
Name // gender, sexuality // age // rper

Aria Thunderclap // female, pansexual // 20 years // cocogerber13
Dusk Hunter // male, bisexual // 18 years // SunnyJustice
Forrest Mayerr // transfemale, bisexual // 20 years // Spiritstar3
Maleena Briarwood // female, pansexual // 19 years // honeybee.
Adam Medimare // Male, bisexual // 32 // Blaisism
Genevive (Gigi) // transfemale, homosexual // 26 // ornamental
Locke Marsh // genderfluid (she/they) // 30 // ornamental
Alex // Male, homosexual // 27 // Supertoasty777

Dragons
Name // gender, sexuality // breath ability (// Titan if a titan) // rper

Lukas // male, bisexual // ice // cocogerber13
Fayanne // female, ? // ? // SunnyJustice
Baelfire // Male, homosexual // fire // Spiritstar3
Renn // female, bisexual // fire // Spiritstar3
Lokei // Male, homosexual // fire // Spiritstar3
Feroz // Male, asexual // air // honeybee.

Scale Descendants
(Please keep these spots limited)
Name // gender, sexuality // age // ability // rper

Morris // Male, bisexual // 23 // water // Spiritstar3
Xiaoyue // female, asexual // 29 // visions // Blaisism

The Lost Heroes

Hotei // male, asexual // "bringer of the end", the last Titan Dragon
Justine Beaufield // nonbinary, demisexual // Human representative for interspecies peace

[cocogerber13]

Another earthquake shakes the ground underfoot, shaking ancient cobblestones on Navem’s streets from their original pattern. A few even fell into canals while horses and birds stirred from their day-to-day lives, filling the air with whinnying and wing-beats. Shop wares shifted on their shelves as venders scrambled to catch any that fell and nearly everyone else froze where they were sitting or standing. The tremors happened at least once a day now, and people still weren’t quite used to it. The volcano not too far offshore hadn’t erupted from centuries, and the superstitions around it were starting to become popular rumours around the city.




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♤//Jack Burnfield//human rouge//earth, boosted jump, minor telekinesis//tags: Maleena

With one hand wrapped around the lead guiding his horse, Jack made his way back to Maleena’s family shop at the crisp early hours of dawn as he had promised. Just as he had done the evening before, he tied the animal to the nearby fence that was barely standing, trusting that his steed wouldn’t try anything. Golden irised trailed back to the door. He stifled a yawn in the case that Maleena would come out at any moment, not wanting her to know he was tired on their first day on the job. That would’ve been irresponsible, especially since he was the one who had coined the journey. As tough as he wanted to appear, though, the blonde failed to stop his hand from reaching up to rub the sleep from his eye. They’d have to be sharp to catch a dragon, especially since the one he had harvested the blood from appeared to have come from the mountains. If the beast truly had returned then they might have better luck looking for a new source, even if it was near impossible.

Jack didn't feel the need to comment on their lateness, however. That would likely take away any change they had, since he certainly couldn’t take a dragon all on his own. And a hopeless travelling partner was never good, especially to start out a hunt. Just as the man was about to lean back against his horse to continue waiting, the ground shook underneath him and he quickly balled his fist around the mare’s halter. Despite the intense training the horses of Nobel families received, very few would ignore an earthquake. Jack, knowing the story, couldn’t ignore it either. His expression hardened the smallest bit at the thought of the dragon of legend waking up.

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♧//Lukas//dragon//frost//tags: open

The azure and raven beast let out another annoyed, string of hisses as he clumsily landed in the first clearing he saw. First he had to navigate the series of tunnels he had awaken in, and now this? A short, taloned limb reached up to stroke the bloodied spot on his head. That dumb mage and his dumb, stolen power! All Lukas had wanted was for his friend to be safe and to steal a catch that only technically wasn’t his own. Now the other dragon had left, and as far as Lukas knew some human had stolen some of his blood. The greed of those creatures knew no bounds!

Not paying attention to his very easy ability to catch the attention of others, the serpentine dragon angrily spread out his wings and let out a tiger-like growl, not too loud but still enough to vent his frustration with the situation. The tremble of the earth made Lukas freeze again, however, sine the magic user he had met before had a particular skill with using the ground to his advantage, but upon only feeling the rumbling assumed it was from his own glorious power.

This pleased the young dragon, and finally done with his little temper-tantrum, he arched his head down and tore off one of the deer’s legs.

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♢//Aria Thunderclap//human barbarian//no magic//tags: open

Adele had already done her daily strutting around and scouting of the market’s wares, barely phased by the tremor of the earth that had become a repetitive occurrence. The woman got a few calls from the owners of the places, her notorious self receiving a good dose of warnings, “you owe me”s, and light-hearted threats. To each the brunette just grinned and waved, swiping a few different kinds of meats, cheeses, and fruits whilst leaving gold leaflets in their place. It wasn’t the traditional way of buying things, but the mercenary left more than what the products were worth anyway so she figured she’d get away with it.

Stuffing her face with an apple, the barbarian headed over to a familiar central square in the back city. There were around three levels of bricks sectioning off the area with a crudely-fashioned water dragon fountain in the centre. She wasn’t here for the fountain, however. The tank of a woman merely strolled over to one of the buildings in the far left corner, taking the last couple bites of her apple before eyeing one of the second floor windows. Then, before she could really even consider what she was doing, she chucked the core at the glass. Apparently she had underestimated her strength in that moment, for at the sound of splintering glass hazel eyes widened and though snickering nervously, she hurriedly slid at the bottom of the opposite side of the fountain. “Sure hope Dusk doesn’t mind the fresh air...” Aria muttered to herself. There was a tiny bit of guilt in her gut, but as long as it woke up her younger friend than it would be worth every cent she’d have to repay his mother.

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♡//Fire Titan Hotei//Titan Dragon//Fire, Flying, shapeshifting//tags: x

In all his grandeur, the red serpent Hotei woke with a rattling cough that shook his entire being. A column of black smoke rolled from between his teeth as his mouth opened, pupils narrowing into slits as the dragon’s eyes cracked open. The crimson reptile laid on some sort of natural pedestal protruding from the inner side of the volcano, any magma that had been there previously now out of sight. Despite this, Hotei’s scales glowed with molten rock in between them, lighting up the rocky walls and exposing any crevices. Another puff of smoke exited the sides of the beast’s maw, this time intentional. The dragon was beginning to remember what he had lost. He wanted nothing more than to put the humans to extinction, what they had done to his own kind, and any remnants of their kind to ash.

But before his rage completely kindled in his chest, Hotei decided that he must first regain the lost memories of what had happened after he had lost his dear friend. The edges of what little fur he had was charred, which meant it had not been burned through normal dragonfire or lava, but human-commanded magic. This only brought his set of shining, ivory teeth into a snarl. Those creatures would pay for their betrayal. A roar thundered out the volcano, loud but much too far from the mainland for anyone to hear. In the distance a scarlet string took to the sky, although it very quickly disappeared from sight as Hotei dove down to land in a mess of rubble on the back shore. A century of being pretty much knocked out could leave some repercussions.

[Blaisism]

Xiaoyue | Scale Descendant | Female | 20 | Navem Plaza - Open
The mornings in Navem were always hectic--the bustle of activity at the market of any large city was always busiest in the morning but to add the docks to the traffic meant it was nearly impossible to ignore. And in the intersection between the sailors loading and unloading cargo and captains barking orders with the locals buying and selling their goods Xiaoyue was tightening the ribbons with small silver bells around her ankles and wrists. She stretched an arm out, shaking it lightly to make the bell jingle and smiled, the soft ringing with her movements exactly as she liked it--it helped to draw a crowd and made it so much easier when any of the musicians were late. Such was the case this morning, a lute player should have been in the plaza fifteen minutes ago to give her something to dance to. Well, she supposed it couldn't be helped, at least this way she wouldn't have to split her earnings.

She had only taken a few steps when the ground rumbled beneath her, strong enough this time to knock her from her feet as the bells rang wildly. She only heard it for a moment--the sounds of the waves and shouts fading first before everything seemed silent in a flurry of images. The volcano, flapping wings, spouts of flame and giant shadows from the sky over the city. In one moment the blood in her veins burned and in the next chilled as if freezing before she exhaled again, aware of herself and her surroundings all at once. The earthquakes always brought out something, but usually neither so vivid nor exhausting. She covered her face with one hand, a throbbing pain overtaking her desire to try to make any sense of what she saw. Any moment now it would fade as it always did and she would stand and begin her dance... But a quick rest on the ground would have to do for the moment.


Adam Medimare | Human | Male | 32 | Docks - Open
The ship had docked in Navem under the cover of night--he had rowed in himself to grease the palms of the guards to make sure everything was in order for this morning. As far as the authorities were concerned he was the captain of a merchant vessel, docked for routine inspection and repairs and would be staying until those were complete--he had of course already prepared a long list of delays and excuses for however long it would take to properly swindle the city for all its worth. "Unload the goods for the market, I'm paying for a crew 'a men not sloths!" The bark of his orders was nothing new--it was often the only way to be heard over the wind, waves, and creaking boards of the ship. But at port it seemed much louder, much harsher. Perhaps it was.

The earthquake went almost unnoticed--so much time at sea made him quick to rebalance himself. It wasn't until he heard something shrieking nearby that he realized what it was. Odd, when he was last at port no one had mentioned earthquakes in Navem. A recent development? How would that happen? Perhaps someone discovered a spellbook, the royal family here supposedly wielded magic. And where there were spellbooks... he idly scratched at the tattoos one of his arms as he considered how likely it was that he would find a good source of dragon blood. So long as he could get a few vials there was nothing that could stop him from getting anything he wanted here short of a dragon itself.

[Spiritstar3]

Morris M Brightener//scale descendant//animal summoning spell book, minor water magic//tags: open

(Wip, gotta go do something...)

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Renn//dragon//bi//fire (black), swiftness, floating//tags: open

The brown dragon hummed a dragon sound as she nudged Baelfyre a few times, then trotted from the cave. She purred at the touch of sun setting down on her, ears twitching and claws digging into dirt a moment. She dipped her head to sift scents of dirt and bugs through her nostrils a moment, then shook her head a few times. She continued that humming sound as she raised her head again, ears still twitching, and trotted on down a path of sorts.

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Baelfyre//dragon//homosexual//fire (blue), swiftness, floating//tags: Lukas

The tan and brown beast huffed as his cousin nudged him a few times, and opened his eyes to stare at her a moment. He watched her leave the cave, but he himself took his time in getting up. He purred as he finally stepped from the cave, feeling sun on his coat just as his cousin had, tail and ears twitching and flicking. He made small sounds as he picked up the pace, soon hearing another dragon and flinching. He'd frozen up because of the sound...He shook his head, walking until he saw an azure and black dragon, and called "Hello?"

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Forrest Mayerr//human bard//bi//wind magic ring//tags: open

wip

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lokei Dremur//dragon//homosexual//fire (yellow), maybe more//tags: open

Being on the larger side had its problems for the gorgeous male dragon...It meant, if he weren’t careful, prey animals or even humans could easier see him approaching. If he was downwind, that was fine, but sometimes they turned and grazed facing that way then...Shaking himself, the golden and darker dragon snorted, blue eyes narrowing a moment as wings shuddered against his sides. He left his cave, unfolding his wings to keep his balance steady as he began to run.

[honeybee.]

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Maleena Briarwood
Tags: Jack
⋯⋯⋯⋯⚗️⋯⋯⋯⋯

When Maleena announced to her family the night before that she was going dragon hunting her father had raised his eyebrows at her.
"Last time I suggested you look for dragons you were attacked by a bear and wouldn't speak to me for a week. Now you want to try again?"
Maleena had scowled at him."You sent me trawling through caves looking for sleeping dragons! That's hardly dragon hunting. This time I have reliable information."
Whilst her father was derisive her grandmother and great-grandmother had both reacted with excitement. Her great-grandmother, Cordelia Briarwood, clasped her hands tightly. "You go and finish what my mother started. Those sorcerers simply put that beast to sleep when he should have been slaughtered with that species-traitor who rode him." The old woman's shakey voice had been passionate. She was 108 years old, and Maleena suspected somewhat that she was only still alive thanks to the fire magic flowing through her from the violet, leather bracelet on her wrist.
"I'm not hunting that dragon." Maleena had told her nervously.
"You'll find him eventually," Her great-grandmother had patted her hand reassuringly, "It's your duty as a Briarwood. But the death of any dragon is a victory in the fight against evil."
Her grandmother, Janine Briarwood, was more pragmatic, immediately going to retrieve a stack of books from the bookshelf. "Look over these. And be sure to aim for the throat to collect the most blood."
Obviously Janine had never seen a dragon herself. She had spent her youth greatly increasing their dragon blood stores by just taking what she wanted with whatever force necessary.
Reeling under the weight of these books, hand written by Briarwood of previous generations, Maleena had nodded sincerely."I will." She promised, "I'll continue our legacy."

Now she was in 'Briarwood Baubles', her family's shop, getting last minute preparations in before dawn. When a silhouette appeared outside the shops windows Maleena grabbed everything she had carefully prepared and headed towards the door. Her crossbow was slung over one shoulder and a pouch of bolts over the other. On her belt she carried a knife,, a waterskin and a pouch containing medical supplies and vials, one containing a numbing agent, one containing a poison and plenty of empty ones. Of course Maleena didn't expect a poison made from the plants they hung as decoration in their shop window to have much effect on a dragon, but she hoped it might at least slow them a little. Some of the numbing agent had already been massaged into her injured shoulder. It was mostly healed now but she couldn't afford to let a twinge of pain distract her even for a moment. She also wondered if the anaesthetic would maybe let them extract blood from a dragon without alerting it. Despite her family's whole 'kill all dragons' spiel she also knew that it was the 'death' of all dragons before that had led to them nearly running out of their money-making supplies.
As she opened the door to the shop, the chime above it jingling, an earthquake shook the shop. Bottles of dragon's blood could be heard clinking against one another and Maleena cursed as she slammed into the door frame, losing her footing. At least she hadn't heard anything smash.
"I hate these earthquakes!" She grumbled aloud to the man waiting outside, as she locked the shop's door behind her. She momentarily disappeared to behind the shop, returning leading a rather anxious looking horse who clearly agreed with her previous sentiment. It wasn't so much the earthquakes themselves, though they were obviously a pain, but what they meant. If the legends were indeed true, and they no longer seemed such a stretch, Maleena would begin to feel that heavy legacy placed on her shoulders.
"Ready to lead on?" She asked, mounting her horse. She looked wide awake and ready, dressed practically in flexible fabric trousers and a close-fitting jacket made from the tanned hide of the bear that tried to attack her. She left the pleasantries out for now, they could be exchanged on the ride up, since they had very little time to waste.

[Supertoasty777]

Alex | Human | Male | 27 | Docks | Open

Set up in an alleyway near the docks, Alex already had a few people sitting around the crate he was dealing cards on. It didnt take him long to find some poor souls to gamble away their earnings. He had ready loosened them up, letting them win a few small rounds. His charming smile and demeanor kept them around when they lost.

He was stacking the deck when the earthquake hit and nearly fumbled his shuffling. But years at sea kept him steady. His dear patrons, on the other hand, were quite rattled. "It's all good, friends," he assured, trying to calm their nerves so they'd keep playing. They murmered some not so friendly words about the earthquakes and focused back in on the deal.

[Pistol Annie #1 NPC]

Dusk Hunter
Human Fighter
Tags: ARIA WHAT DID YOU DO

Although Dusk's passion for cooking burned bright, his passion for cleaning up afterwards was... lackluster. Even after a thorough washing, his hands still smelled of onions and other assorted vegetables after collecting the chunks strewn all over the kitchen floor. Apparently he'd been too enthusiastic while chopping em up.
Well, dinner was ready now, waiting downstairs for when his mum came back from work. Being a city guard, she was bound to be hungry when she got home.
Even in his room, Dusk could smell the home-cooked meal he'd prepared with nothing less than fiery determination. He flopped onto his bed as his stomach emitted a growl. Maybe he'd take a nap, and later invite his friend Aria over for dinner...
Crash! Dusk jolted upright at the sound of shattering glass. His eyes widened as he noticed the shards strewn about his floor. The culprit was a well-chewed apple core that taunted him with its fruity smile.
Oh man. He would have to explain this to his mom, but not without having a little fun. The lanky teenager hopped off his bed and slipped into his shoes, then crunched his way across the glass-strewn floor to retrieve the apple core. Taking the gross thing between his fingers, he marched up to the window with a mock furious face.
Ironically, Aria was standing right there. Of course. Of course it was her.
Dusk couldn't maintain his angry mask and burst out laughing. "Hey, you! If you wanted to play catch, you could've just asked," He hollered down at her, tossing the apple core right back. "And wanna come over for dinner? You can explain this to my mom over my homemade casserole!"

[ornamental]

Gigi | Human | Female | 26 | Navem - Open

and

Locke | Human | Genderfluid | 30 | Same Location

It was not every morning that Genevive got to travel so far from her home. The recent turmoil in the upper levels of the government have kept her on her toes as well as it has kept her office or bed-bound. With the departure of the ambassadors, Genevive had been filling in positions that needed filling. Running papers through her pens day in and out, sending off letters, taking meeting and notes, the government aristocrat had her work cut out for her. Today was supposed to be a day of rest from that drama. Locke, her bodyguard, had promised her a day out. Not only to return to the church and catch up with those members of the congregation she had been neglecting for her work load. From there, Locke would take her to the market to allow her to browse the wares. Perhaps to by a new dress or ribbons or shoes, or simply collect more books to read from her bed.

It was after the early morning church service that Genevive felt the tremors under her feet, her body pitched, tossing forward in a flurry of petticoats and jackets and ribbons, cane giving way under her hands and with it her knees - until Locke leapt from her horse at Gigi's side to scoop arms under her and catch the girl before she could entirely collapse to the ground. Her cane clattered, meeting the sound of horse hooves as Locke's ride nervously shuffled on the stone path, other pets and birds in much the same state of distress around them sending their cries up and some taking to the sky to escape the tremors.

Gigi's pale hands clung to the leather of Locke's armor until the ground stilled under her feet enough to wobble up onto her slippers, panting lightly from the scare.

"Are you okay, my lady?" Locke asked, brushing the dirt from the path off of Genevive's skirts as they pulled her up again, grabbing her cane from where it had ran off and returning it to the hand of the aristocrat.

A shrug, a deadpan nod, and eyes scanning the square. A tipped basket of eggs here, a stall of trickets displaced there, a loose cart wheel running away down the road... it seemed much everyone was in a state of distress, and she was happy just to have a dizzy head and an upset horse as her own outcome. "They are getting stronger." She replied. "How long ago did the ambassadors return?"

"Ah... You know I'm not well with keeping dates, my lady. You are the one with the paper skills."

Gigi nodded, looking off and beginning to walk, cane first, to help pick up some tipped items in the square. "I will arrange a meeting to speak with them on the morrow. I believe they would like to hear of the damage that is being done from these quakes, if only to begin to commission repairs from the builders in town. The streets will be cracking before long... would it not be horrible if their carriages should get stuck in the cracks and capsise, Marsh?"

"You should not say such things, my lady. You will bring ill will to the people by putting the energy in the air."

"Such supersitions..."

"One who has dabbled in divination such as you should know my supersitions to be truth."

"Perhaps...." A pause, heading off deeper into the plaza, toward the docks. "Come, tie the horse at the inn. I wish to see the state of things for my report."

"Of course, my lady..."

[cocogerber13]

♤//Jack Burnfield//human rouge//earth, boosted jump, minor telekinesis//location/tags: the start of the road out of town/Maleena

A bitter frown was on Jack’s face as he turned to watch the sky in the direction the rumbles had undoubtedly come from. There was no smoke, at least. From what he had heard from the legends of Hotei, the demon was furious and obvious. And that meant that the haughty dragon would at least put on a show to enact fear in the hearts of the citizens of Navem before outright destroying the place. The blond’s mind was so set on calculating his predicted victory that he only recalled what he was there for when he heard a voice behind him complain.

Arms were crossed over his chest when he turned. Maleena hadn’t lied about being on time. The rogue’s mouth flattened as he nodded in agreement. “That Scourge will be cut down before long.” He said simply, though the phrase didn’t have the reassuring effect it was meant to. As the other returned from around her family’s shop with her own steed, Jack lifted a hand to undo the simple knot connecting his to the fence. Shortly after she mounted her ride he did the same, looking over and giving a curt nod. He gently pulled the reins and they were off at a canter.

As their travels began, Jack glanced over to his new hunting partner with the first semi-friendly expression of the day. Clearly the earthquake had put him on edge before. “That’s a nice jacket.” He commented with an edge of curiosity. “It might bode well if we must near the mountains.” It was no use hiding the fact that journeying there could be a possibility, even if Jack himself did not like the sound of it. Instead of starting off the trip full of pessimistic views, though, he also decided that a quick briefing of what he knew might be handy had Maleena any alternate ideas of how to go about tracking the monster.

“I had my run-in with the lizard at a stable right on the edge of the forest this path leads to. It wasn’t very large, but it had wings and wasn’t the right hue to blend in with the landscape. It was partially blue though, so maybe keep an eye to the sky for anything with big dark wings. Oh, but if you point out a bird then I might have to chip off a bit of dragon blood from your share.” His tone was serious enough that the joke almost didn’t seem like one.

—————

♧//Lukas//dragon//frost//location/tags: clearing in the forest/Baelfyre

The call of “hello?” Was enough for Lukas to snap his head up, holding still with blood from the deer leg dripping on the ground every so often. The serpent tried to bare his teeth despite not giving up the meat. Slitted pupils inched left and right as the dragon searched the dark undergrowth for any signs of the trill that had rung out. It was another dragon certainly, and not the one the beast had heard before. However little followed the word and Lukas’ ears had started to lower as he wondered if the interaction had only been a side effect of his not-so-glamorous head collision not too long ago.

Lukas hesitantly set the leg down again and started slowly tearing through it, leaving enough silence to be ready if he heard it again. Right as he had nearly finished off the start of his meal, something moved out of the corner of his eye. Lukas leapt back to his talons with an arched back, his wings spread halfway, and a fresh layer of frost glazing his red-bloodied tongue and teeth. The dragon lowered his head like a snake coiled to bite. That is, until teal eyes narrowed in on the earthy-toned dragon not too far away.

Shock led Lukas’ mouth to close ever so slightly and his head to raise a little. ‘Who goes there..?’ The winged serpent tentatively thought, his telepathic voice smooth despite the threatening edge laced into it.

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♢//Aria Thunderclap//human barbarian//no magic//location/tags: residential area near Navem Plaza/Dusk, Xiaoyue

It was just Aria’s luck that the moment she stuck her head out to peek back at the window, Dusk’s face appeared behind it. Aria’s eyebrows flew up at the mock anger, though her mouth as wide and toothy as a smile could be. Deciding that returning to her hiding spot would just make her a bigger nuisance, the brunette gave a hearty laugh and stood up fully again. That was the wrong move apparently, since just as she had done so the apple core was hurled right back at her. The action was reflexive as her wrist flew up to deflect it with a bracer. A stoic expression passed over her face before she laughed back in her friend’s face. Well, as much as someone could from a story away. “Haha, you missed me you punk. But not as much as I missed you!” Soft, hazel eyes rounded at the mention of Dusk’s cooking. “Oh, so that’s what I smell burning!” She joked, but was clearly already daydreaming about the taste. “I’ll definitely take you up on that though! Except maybe not talking to your mother. Maybe if we could cover where the window was with a bunch of those little stained-glass candies? They’re pretty solid if you lick-and-stick ‘em together. Plus that earthquake distracted the merchant-“

Aria looked back as she pointed to the shop the expensive sweets and delicacies were housed, but before she could suggest swiping anything was silenced by the sight of someone laying on the ground. A flutter of panic rose in her chest and she glanced back to the boy still at the window. “Uhhh Dusk..? C’mon down here, would ya? I think this lass ‘s unconscious...” wide-eyed Aria gently stepped over to where a woman she commonly saw dancing lay. Perhaps she had hit her head dancing? Or maybe she was balanced and the earthquake shook her feet and she fell and knocked her head..? In any case, Aria hoped Dusk knew what to do. Squatting down beside her, the woman carefully prodded her arm. “Hey, are you unconscious?” She murmured as if expecting an answer even if Xiaoyue really was unconscious.