There was something else out there.
Caer could feel the dread flood the land, and worked frantically to stem the flow as all walks of life abandoned their homes and fled. The panic left an uneasy peace in its footsteps; only the creaking of wood and a soft clatter of forgotten chimes sang with the soft susurrus of innumerable shivering, rustling leaves in the wind.
No crying birds, no chirping insects, no chatter of countless mammals going about their daily lives. Only desolation and the sudden urge to
run, run, run!Caer resisted… to an extent. The source needed to be stopped, surely then hope would return and so would life and joy and happiness and the affected land would remain in balance. The Dreamer hunted for the edge of the affliction, following the invisible line as if on an ever-moving faint scent trail. It shifted and ebbed like the tide, retreating some, then surging to encroach on healthy land.
Finally, a glimmer.
Far ahead, a lithe form darted along the edges of the boundary, massive winglike structures framing its shoulders and hackles like a horrible, ratted frill. Caer surged forward, ready to defend the area, but it was just too fast - it disappeared into the shadows, appearing again further ahead and gaining distance.
The Dreamer followed, but it was like chasing a comet.
The susurrus of the leaves became more ominous - a massive storm, seething with lightning and promising a torrential rain, was approaching over the sea. But the shadow was getting away.
It took little time for the lightning to strike dry wood ahead of the rain, and for the spark to grow into a fire, fueled by powerful winds pushing it further inland. Thick, noxious smoke rolled between the trees as if it, too, suffered from the sickness of the land and felt the urge to flee. The heat alone was overwhelming, and the chase had to be abandoned lest the Dreamer become merely The Dreamed.
The area - stricken as it was, was home to so many things that once lived happy lives there. And now, looking back on it from the safety of The Creator’s presence, it was simply a land of death. Flooding had overtaken much of the coastal territory, and while the rain was catching up to the fire and steadily smothering it, a vast swath was blackened, without a sign of the vibrance that had lived there.
The Dreamer was angry. Where was Senka, who so heartily chased down other shadows and weakened it? Where was Dorje, the swift hunter that could destroy such horrors? Where was Soláthraí, who guarded the lands, or Lir, who may have helped quell the extent of the flooding?
The Creator, though notably weaker, could sense the fury radiating from Caer’s form like the light from a star, and could guess at the many things running through the little creation’s mind.
No creature or being has control over the elements of nature. There was nothing that could have stopped that storm.“The creatures were chased by something that
led that storm in, though. It infected the land, and made it so much worse than it had to be!”
You do not listen. No creature or being has control over the elements of nature, including the creation of storms. What you encountered was an omen, of sorts - it does not cause misfortune or doom, but precedes it, and those who heed the warning benefit from its presence, even if it is unwanted or unwelcome.“Benefit? Those creatures lost their shelters! Hope fled them at the mere presence of that thing!”
And yet, they still live. They escaped with their lives and will build anew. Life is the one thing that can never be replaced once lost. And I trust that you will see to it that their hope returns.The Dreamer glared quietly at the land, noting that the last tongues of flame were finally dying and the floodwaters were starting to settle and, in some places, drain back from whence they came. A flash of Aidan’s distinctive wings appeared along the shoreline, surveying the area at a rapid clip. Only a sparse few souls were collected from the devastation.
It was true; many, many lives had been saved because of that dreadful… thing. The omen.
Fear has a place in the world. Just as mortals can use some poisons in certain amounts to cure… fear, in the right situation, becomes not a tool of death, but life.Some time later, The Creator had retreated to rest, and Caer returned to the wasteland. Broken and burned trees, the shattered remains of homes and shelters, and the occasional thin trail of smoke trickling from some hidden ember that had so far survived the flood and deluge that left the ground a sodden wreck lay scattered in every direction. And -
There -
The thin, glimmering shape stood in the middle of the carnage, head and winglike structures lowered but tail still streaming level to its back, winding back and forth like the tail of a long fish or snake. Inky dark eyes passively met The Dreamer’s, shaded by the long, somewhat stiff mane that ran from head to tail.
Placid. Harmless. It was like the omen knew it had been sought out by something more powerful than it, and, with its task complete, was submitting itself for judgment.
So few lives had been lost by the alarm it had caused. So many creatures would return - and The Creator was right, Caer would see to it that they were given all of the hope possible to rebuild.
Caer gave a stiff, reluctant gesture of approval. The omen perked up, yipped, and bounded off, disappearing in the smoke and shadows within seconds.
–
The Omen is based off of an Oarfish (not a dragon) in the mane and markings, with admittedly a little frilled lizard, bat, and owl going on with the “winglike structures”. The Omen cannot necessarily fly… but it can travel through shadows, as it is a shade/being of fear and dread. They are instead used to make itself look bigger and more fearsome, like a startled frilled lizard or owl (which, many owls and other birds use their wings in a similar manner to accomplish this). Adapting the oarfish idea to the dog lines without losing too much of the dog and forcing me to start over was very tricky, so… I know it’s not as obvious as my others but it did allow me to stretch beyond the habitat restrictions of the oarfish and work in things that inspire some level of fear in nature, so I can’t be too upset. The end result reminded me of Caer – so this outcome really ended up being a very well-fitting opposite for the little Dreamer. They’re perfect opposites in nature but their goals run parallel. Appropriate, too, that this is my tenth staff litter outcome.
CluesTwo 2011 horses (one being dressed as War, the other is Death from the Apocalypse set) -> 2011
+ Doomsday Clock (set to current time)
+ Several stamps of “dark” looking pets, some with skull markings (minor clue meant to set theme)
These were to lead you guys to the Fukushima Daiichi tsunami (I used the Doomsday Clock to point toward the nuclear power plant’s meltdown, so you were in the right place as well as the right time). There’s a little mythology behind certain animals appearing before disasters, and some of it has a kernel of truth behind it – oarfish are spotted (and actually
were spotted, in this case) in shallower waters before some kind of devastating event. With them being deep sea creatures, they’re really only found in shallow water when they are sick, dying, or dead, and this can either be from whatever causes the disaster or from the impending disaster itself (ie: I would assume increasing sulfur output from vents indicating impending volcanic eruption/earthquake/tsunami would make this fish rather ill, as an example).
“Nearly Unique” extension to this clue, when we first reached 2011, was another nod to Fukushima Daiichi. One of the most dangerous substances we know of, Corium, has been made and escaped containment four times in history - once during the Chernobyl disaster, and three separate times in Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. It notably did not escape confinement in Three Mile Island.
Rock Photos
The first set, Fluorite and Smoky Quartz, are made from natural radiation underground. They were meant to lead you to radiation. This wasn’t actually going to get anyone anywhere because at that point, we’d already gotten where we needed to be, just needed to understand why.
The second set, Larimar, Amazonite, and Ocean Jasper, are all igneous stones related to water. This was to get you to disasters. With enough digging, I’d been hoping someone would find the articles I remember about oarfish being spotted in the area before the incident.