Fantasy Kitari

[Ninja Jane]

Kitari
​

The world of Kitari takes place in slightly futuristic times. Flying cars, floating buildings, are just some of the things found in Kitari. Kitari consists of twelve countries and each country is known for either a resource or a specific skill. For example the people of Nuk Strakum are very militaristic and are known for their advanced weaponry. But each country trades with the others for survival. Each country such as the Dalar, cannot obtain all resources due to their geological location. For the Dalar, they are miners and their land is not suitable for growing crops. So putting a great effort in trading with the other countries is important and with time, everyone traded peacefully.
However, an evil started to grow throughout the world. Shipments of goods were being stolen and precious resources being lost to this unknown evil. Soon it started to influence otherwise peaceful people, to do some dirty deeds. With time, this evil started to become such a problem that no country could contain it. They discovered that this evil spread like a disease, infecting anyone in its path but the scary part is, no one knows where it came from.
These countries desperately needed help, so they turned to the Celestial Order.
The Celestial Order is an international group that is trained to ride dragons. They vow to protect all life and keep the peace. Dragons have been around since the beginning of time and have been a part of society. Those who want to be part of the Celestial Order must prove to dragons that they live worthily to be a part of the dragon's life. Together they work to destroy evil. So the Celestial Order agrees to help the countries of Kitari.
But the evil is so strong that the Celestial Order can not do it with the number of dragon riders it currently has, it needs to increase its numbers. Anyone can join, regards of who they are. Will you join in the fight?

 

[Ninja Jane]

Introductions​

The bright sun rises across the land. The Celestial Order headquarters stands in the way and as the time passes, soon the building is lit up as well. This awoke many of our dragons riders and their dragons still trying to get those little extra minutes of sleep. Some just arose out of bed to watch the sunrise. Others were already busy with their morning routine. Just another day at the Celestial Order headquarters.
Rydel was one of the few that is already awake and getting started on his morning tasks. He is in his large office on the top story of the Celestial Order. All around the office were large floor to ceiling windows so that he had a perfect view all around the island below. Sitting at his desk he was going over paperwork that he had to sign and looking at messages on his data pad. He noted that there was an abnormal amount of messages sent to him. But soon found that it was just complaints about the west wing bathrooms. He remembered being reported that a small group of new recruits did a prank there. So, he just informed them that the problem was being taken care of and to not worry about it.
Soon Iris entered the office yawning, not feeling quite rested from the night. She barely mumbled good morning to Rydel as taking her place next to him. They both knew that neither of them were morning people and it was just best to not talk except for a single greeting till after breakfast. Iris sees the messages about the west wing bathrooms and she just rolled her eyes. She still could not believe that humans can act so childish at times.
The morning continued to be quiet as both of them continued to complete their morning tasks. It was a beautiful day and everything was going as planned. The birds chirped outside. Dragons with their riders could be seen flying for their morning flight and others practicing fighting moves in the courtyard. This day could not get any better.
Soon a knock was heard at the door,
Iris growled, she hadn’t quite finished her breakfast yet.
Rydel said without looking up, “Come in what is it?”
A young man entered with his young fresh water dragon behind him. The green fur of the dragon glinted in the fresh sunshine as they walked forward to Rydel’s desk.
The young man politely spoke, “Sir, I have just come to deliver a message from the hatchery in Gire. They just had a hatchling taken like all the others. The Matriarch wanted to tell you in person but didn’t due to being afraid more hatchlings would disappear.”
Rydel immediately stopped what he was doing and looked at Iris. She too was looking at him. They both knew what this meant and it wasn’t good. They knew what had to happen now.
Rydel put his face in his hands, rubbing his face before answering the young boy, “ Thank you. Tell the matriarch that I will do what I can. Give her my best.”
The Young man and his dragon bowed graciously and left. Leaving Rydel and Iris alone.
Iris stated in exclamation, “That is the eleventh one this month. How are they finding our hatcheries? They are hidden by magic!”
“I don’t know Iris. All I know is that someone is taking special care not to get caught.” said Rydel vexed by this problem, “And they seemed to have taken one from each species, except for Caerulum of course. That hatchery has not been hit yet.”
“This is so troubling. Who is attacking our young? And why would they? Dragons naturally don’t just let people take them, no matter what age they are. If they are not worthy we would eat them!!”
Rydel answered, “Now Iris in all our years here in the Order, we have never seen any dragon eat a human. But I understand what you are trying to say. That being said this problem has become larger than what my kind can handle. We must call upon our best riders and have them see if they can solve this dilemma.”
Iris snarled, “Hopefully, we catch whoever is kidnapping the hatchlings. I would like to feast upon his heart!”

After rolling his eyes at Iris, Rydel opens a drawer and pulls out a box with special enchanted paper. Rydel wanted means to make sure the message gets to the right riders safely. Data pads could be hacked you know. The paper looked like a normal page of paper, however bordering the edges was a faint watermark shown by interwoven designs. This meant that the pages have been imbued with elven magic. This particular spell was designed so that objects will, with surety, arrive to their owners. All you do is simply write their name on it and toss it in the air. The object then disappears and then reappears to the written name. This is the most secure and fastest way to send an important message.
Rydel knows exactly who these are going to. He quickly writes the message and with a flick of his wrist the message is copied neatly onto the other pages to be sent out to his desired dragon riders. If you look closely you can see the names of Alec Bolton and Rila, Gypsy Bolton and Cora, and lastly Verre Toorey and Glass. Each name was written in legible calligraphy. Sealing each letter he threw all at the same time in the air and they vanished in smoke.

Soon each of you receives a letter in a puff of smoke, reading as such,

Dear (insert name here),

You are urgently needed. Please report to my office NO LATER than 10 am. There is a serious matter that needs to be taken care of. Do not speak to anyone about our meeting. This is a very private matter.

Sincerely,
Rydel Vulred

 

[AEONmeteorite]

"What is your favorite flower?" Verre inquired as she leaned forward and squatted a tad to get eye level with a child who was whimpering from the loss of a treat she had dropped. Something quite typical for a child to do, but hearing a sob thrusted Verre into a state of fixing. "Hm? Hm? Hm? I can make any appear my doll." Some people had stopped while others gave her apprehensive looks and quickly scooted themselves and their family out of the way. Her red eyes shown with exuberance while she shifted her feet back and forth. "You needn't be afraid doll," her voice was low and smooth, even when she spoke in such a gleeful way.

Verre looked up at the doll's parents. "She does appear to be a tad afraid of me, I'm afraid. And I fear that she may fear that she will always fear the loss of something special. Would you two perhaps have something in mind that may take her mind away from the things that mind her?"

The parents exchanged looks. The mother didn't seem like she wanted to stay, while the father was far more amused. "Daisies. My daughter has always like daises."

"Daisies?!" Verre straightened her back. "What color?"

The daughter managed to fumble out some words this time and said, "I like the yellow ones."

"But of course. Classics always stick my doll. I'm sure I have a magical one that you can eat."

"I can eat?!" the doll gasped.

"Mhm! All I need you to do is to spin in a circle at the same time as me. Ladies must never forget how to spin and twirl. Do so three times and I'll have all the help I need to form a daisy perfect for your taste." The mother audibly scoffed as Verre announced what she needed for the trick to work. For the briefest moment, Verre frowned and shot daggers at the parent and returned to her made up giddy self and counted down from three for the two of them to spin. The kid's spins were awkward and unbalanced, while Verre's happened all on a single toe and was fine tuned to appear as a music box ballerina.

When they came to a stop, Verre let one leg stick out behind her in a graceful bow and produced a hand from behind her back. There in her grip were three different glass candy daises, each in the daughter's favorite color. The mother was stupefied, which was a pleasant thing for Verre to see. The family took up the daisies, thanked her greatly and went on her way. "Anyone else, want some," Verre announced and pulled another handful from behind her with her left hand, though, right as she had done so a note appeared in her other hand, inevitably causing her to throw the candy out of surprise. And, from that same left, a window had clearly been broken.

"Glass!" she hollered as a dragon swooped down from the heavens while she opened the letter. "Hm, hoh, I see. So private. Interesting. What information," she muttered to herself as the dragon took to his landing. The maiden waltzed over to the window she had broken and casually picked up a piece of glass, turned around while she ignored the owner's remarks and walked up the wing of her dragon until she stood on his back.

He took off as she put the note and shard away. "You seem quite absorbed by the letter," Glass' husky voice boomed. "What did it say?

"You want to know?" she teased and walked back and forth along his spine. "I can't tell. It's a secret. But we must be there no later than 10 a.m."

 

[UnsteadyPenguin]

• Gypsy Bolton •​

Gypsy leaned on her favorite leaning tree in the courtyard with a smirk on her face as she waited for those timid recruits to return. On some level, she knew this was childish and mean, but boredom was an ailment Gypsy couldn't just tolerate. It wasn't easily cured and abuse of power was one of her only self-treatments, especially while she was here at HQ. It wasn't hard to spot the motley crew as they beelined toward her from the West Wing entrance. She rolled her eyes. Amateurs.

"We did what you said," the short stocky one proclaimed.

Gyp stared at him for a minute, as beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. She waited until he looked as if he were ready to either cry or disappear, and then smiled at him smugly. "Well, were you discreet?"

The boy looked confused.

"Did anyone see you?... Well?... You don't know?... Were you even paying any attention to anyone else???"

Suddenly, Gyp felt a note in her hand. It was always a little bizarre when things just appeared into her hands out of nowhere, but her reflexes had developed enough that it wasn't an unfamiliar sensation. She took a look at the note and knew who had sent it. With her other hand she waved dismissively at the nervous recruits.

"Get back to training, or whatever it is you grunts do. Remember, if anyone asks, you tell them nothing."

The recruits scattered and Gyp giggled to herself. She knew that what goes around came back around, but hazing the newbies couldn't be that terrible. With a smug sigh, she opened the note and read quickly. A light flickered in her eyes as she did. An urgent matter? That was a lot more fun than hanging around HQ terrorizing recruits. Whatever mission Rydel had for her, it had to be something interesting. He wasn't a person who used words like "urgent" for small matters like bathroom pranks. Merrily, Gyp tossed the note into the air and pointed at it with her index and middle finger. A gust of blue flame burst forth from the front of the gauntlet she wore on her right forearm, and the note was incinerated. She then left her tree and hurried into the building, not about to miss whatever important meeting Rydel had called.
​

 

[FlashLink95]

Clang
Clang
Clang
Clang
Alec pounded a metal blank into shape, forming it into a broadsword with surprising speed. In between the sound of Steel hitting Steel, a faint electrical hum was coming from across the workshop, where Rila was holding two bits of metal with her front index claws and welding them together with a small electrical Arc emanating from her mouth. The light reflected off her specially made welding goggles. Without warning, spoken word or even thought, Rila grabbed the metal between her teeth and and quickly tossed it across the shop. At the last second Alec thrust out his hand, snatching the bit of metal and with considerable force, shoved it on the tang of the blade he just formed. The two met in the middle of the shop next to the grinding stone where Alec held the completed sword up to Rila's snout. She let out 2 short bursts of energy, firmly and permanently fixing the pieces of metal together. Immediately Alec set to grinding the edge into this blade. Rila heard a faint poof come from the workbench nearby.
She thought, There's a letter here for you.
From who? He thought back, without even a pause or a glance away from his work.
Rydel Vulred. It looks important. She responded.
After a moment, Alec cursed, turned off the motor that powered the grindstone and set the nearly finished sword on the table next to it. He walked over to the workbench, swiped the letter off of it, and broke the seal. He quickly glanced over the letter, crumpled it up and shoved it in his pocket.
He cursed again and said to Rila in his strong accent " We've gotta go." He immediately went to work putting away his tools, has rila went and got her saddle and saddlebags. Alec then went over to one of the walls grabbed his armor, bo staff, his trusty revolver, and one of the rail guns off their hooks. He put on his armor, strapped Rila's saddle on her, grabbed ammo and what looked to be a medium sized Bolt out of a drawer. He then opened the large bay door at the end of their workshop.
" Where are we going?" Rila asked in her smooth voice.
"Headquarters"

 

[Kt_Prx]

Aside from the occasional shift of paper from another page being turned, only the long gusts of a dozing dragon disturbed the near silent atmosphere of the Celestial Order Archives.
With her back nestled against her dragon's warm belly, Ina was deeply invested in the records of her home nation of Hazic. She was noting similarities and discrepancies between these written words and what she had seen and lived through herself after the events of yesterday. Another rider from Skreig made an offhand comment about her people, not meaning to be offensive, but Ina was still deeply unnerved by it though she didn't show it. Instead she only gave the rider an intense stare before turning abruptly with a swish of fabric, Nilzir following shortly behind.
Stressed by the uneasiness she felt at how to respond to such a comment, she intended to educate herself more on how others saw her and her dragon so that she may be able to better predict and counteract actions toward them if the event was to happen again. Unfortunately the archives had been closed at the time and so had to wait until the next day. Not even a mud bath had been able to calm her down until she finally got the permission to access the old decrepit documents the next morning.
Nilzir, while unruffled by words from an ignorant human, was relieved that Ina was now at ease with knowledge all around her and no longer quietly fluttering around their quarters, pacing in agitation. Of course, it definitely made Nilzir even more content with his human tucked safely against his side where nothing could hurt her. His acid glands swelled the smallest amount at the idea of someone trying to take her from him, but he let loose such feelings forcefully with a big whuff of a sigh that no way that will ever happen.
Ina paused in her reading to rub the crest of Nilzir's head settled in her lap, when a puff of light appeared just above her head and a single letter floated down to her outstretched hand.
Carefully setting the ancient documents aside, Ina opened the letter to read the contents. While she did not show any change of attitude, Nilzir spoke up with a low rumble that seemed to echo within itself, "Time to go then." Lifting his head to allow his rider to rise, the deep green dragon gave a wide yawn of contentment.
Once Ina had returned the documents to their proper placings, both rider and dragon strolled out the archives to report for duty.

 

[Pokemormon]

Alexandrite took in the cold, earthy air and the shadows danced across the cavern walls from her headlamp. A shuffling noise came from the wall behind her, it grew into a rumble as the wall broke and a dragon head peeped out. In between his jaws a large rock glittered.
“Whatcha got there, Cyd?”
“It tastes like an opal.”
“Spot on!” She says as she leans toward the dragon's teeth. “Can I hold onto her for ya?” A slight rumble of reluctance and the gem fell into her hand. “She's got quite a bit of fire in her.” She chuckles, “I always appreciate your expensive tastes.” an awkward pause where no laughter could be found, despite the wonderfully crafted pun, “Anyways... Look at what I dug up over this way.”
The dragon followed her rider past a couple support beams, and a few stalagmites. The rider ducked under a couple boulders that were promptly chomped in half to make way for Cyd. Once the last boulder was cleaved in two, Alexandrite was standing next to a gray wall glittered with a faint grey-blue. Cyd nuzzled past her and ran his tough tongue against its gritty surface.
“Sapphires.”
“Yep! And lookey over here.” as her hand clenched to direct her finger toward the corner it was obstructed by a rolled up note. “What the-” Unrolling the note she adjusted her lamplight. Squinting eyes darted back and forth. “Cyd, we’ll have to try to remember where this is. I want to come back later, but we’ve gotta get going, apparently it's urgent. Can you safely make us a shortcut to the surface?”

 

[Calibutcher]

Rydel could hardly keep his focus on the other matters he needed to attend to, notifications piled up on his tablet and paperwork continued to appear on his desk. Normally he could breeze through such matters with utmost efficiency. However his mind wandered today between Iris pacing across the room and his own diluted thoughts trying to uncover why and more importantly how dragon eggs and hatchlings were being taken. He sat back from his paperwork and massaged at his temples he could feel the headache brewing in his skull like a bad storm threatening to pour down tempest and wrath on his poor brain. “Iris you really must stop your pacing you’ll wear a hole in the floor.” Iris’s loud claws had been clacking on the floor since they received the news, she was a mobile thinker unlike himself.


Iris snapped back. “You know full well why I am pacing. I have achieved such a level of agitation I could not even stomach to finish my breakfast this morning. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! So now my whole day is askew I shall be too hungry by lunch time that I overeat and then i shall not desire my dinner and I shall awake famished tomorrow morning.” She huffed out a deep sigh. “AND YET NONE OF THAT SHALL MATTER BECAUSE WE DO NOT KNOW HOW THE HATCHLINGS ARE BEING TAKEN!” Her booming voice shook dust loose from the ceiling. She stopped pacing realizing her mistake. “I’m sorry Rydel I have become overcome with emotion in this tumultuous time, please forgive me.” Rydel got out of his seat and rubbed at his now sore ears. “Iris we must face this tragedy with clear heads. Come now since we are both so agitated let us take a walk and prepare to meet the new team. After all they will be our best shot at a solution.” The pair left and went for a stroll taking the opportunity to clear their heads and breath the fresh air.

They were sure to arrive back at the office at 9:45 to prepare for the arrival of the new team. Riders piled into his office bit by bit until all had gathered with their riders. He said nothing as any of them came in. He expected them to wait for him to address them first. He continued at his paperwork head much clearer now after taking time to get out. He continued working as Iris glowered at all the riders and their dragons. When all had arrived Iris cleared her throat. Rydel looked up and let his eyes slowly scan each rider and there dragon. He made sure to make direct eye contact with each and everyone of them dragon and rider alike. Iris was doing the same scanning one at a time. They both finished within moments of one another. There minds shared there thoughts freely.
“So this is what we have to work with?”
“Yes Iris they are what we have to work with. Let us have faith in them they are all worthy of each other."
“But are they worthy of this challenge?”
“Only time will tell such things to us.”

Rydell finally broke the silence.
“Good morning riders and dragons alike.” Rydel checked his watch the time was 10:01. “Thank you all for being so prompt to my reply.” He stood from his seat and walked around to the front of his desk, leaning back on it he continued. “You have been summoned to solve a great mystery. I shall not mince my words in this matter and I expect you to treat this with the proper care it is deserving of.” he paused and steepled his hands in front of his face. “We have had eleven hatchlings stolen from us, one of every kind of dragon from each hatchery excluding the Caerulum hatchery." He stood up and took a step away from his desk. "For this unprecedented action we have assembled you all." He gestured briefly to all of the them. "You are a unprecedented team, such a collection has never been assembled before and it is the hopes of the president his council and myself that you will be able to help us uncover this great mystery.... You are to depart to Caerulum immediately, where you will team up with hatchery patrol leader Evan Woods and his dragon Baroque. We believe Caerulum will be the next target as the only type of dragon not stolen so far, is blue fire. You are to coordinate your efforts With Evan and Baroque. They will be expecting you." Rydel returned to his seat and began looking over paperwork. As what seemed an after afterthought Rydel pointed to Alexandrite and her dragon. "There is transport awaiting you and your dragon at the launch pad." He directed his attention to the rest of them. "I will be checking in on you all via magic letters. Now please go we cannot waste another moment." Iris echoed his statement. "Quickly quickly Fly with all haste!"

 

[UnsteadyPenguin]

• Gypsy Bolton •​

Gyp had entered the office alone, as she'd sent Cora out on a long morning fly before her conspiracy with the recruits. She stood and did her least favorite thing to do (wait) while other riders and their dragons began to arrive. Fortunately she didn't have to wait too long, as a familiar face walked into the room. Gypsy grinned from ear to ear when she saw Alec, skipping over to give him a warm kiss. She didn't know he'd be part of this meeting, but she figured he might be. Gyp stood by him and Rila as the others filed in. She recognized most of them; Verre the fancy albino with her Hurricane Glass, the reserved lady from Hazic that Gyp had never really spoken to, and Alexandrite the Shiny, as Gyp had taken to calling her, with her mining dragon Chalcedony. Just before 10, Cora slipped into the room and glided over to Gyp, gently nuzzling the side of her head. Gyp gave her a quick "You're almost late" glare, but couldn't stay mad at her dragon. She tickled her longtime friend under the chin as Rydel began the meeting.

As he began to speak, Gyp could feel his sense of urgency. She felt a pang of worry and sadness as he reported on the missing hatchlings. She gazed around the room as he spoke of the team he'd assembled. They were all exceptional riders as far as she knew, and she was excited to have this group of comrades for such a mission. When he got to the part about Caerulum, she exchanged glances with Cora. Cora was a blue fire dragon, and had come from the hatchery there. Gypsy knew there was going to be emotional investment here, and she worried a little bit. She knew herself, and she knew Cora, and sometimes they let their emotions get the better of themselves. Cora knew just what she was thinking.

"I will be alright. I will be objective," she thought at Gypsy.

"Okay, as long as you're sure," Gyp thought back.

When Rydel concluded his briefing, the young warrior turned to her husband. "Well, we better get going, shall we?" she asked Alec, the thrill of adventure sparkling in her eyes. She was so ready for this adventure, and so glad that he was coming too.
​

 

[FlashLink95]

"Aye, Lets get goin'." Alec responded to his wife.
"I have to work with him??" Rila thought to her rider as she stared with distaste at the mining dragon across the room
"Do you think that I enjoy working with the others?" Alec thought back as they made their way outside.

 

[AEONmeteorite]

Verre first peeked into the office before she dared set foot in it. There were a few riders that she wasn't on good terms with and other riders that she owed a pretty penny to. No matter what a letter said, she refused to be in the same room with any of the riders she had in mind, but, much to her glee, none were those who she'd tricked. Verre waltzed in, each step she took was en pointe as she kept to the balls of her feet. Any time her footfall came down, a distinct chime sounded from her belts of glass, shattering the silence until she took her place with the others. As she waited for information, she pulled out the glass shard she took earlier and a thin, strong metal. With her teeth and free hand, she straightened out the wire, twisted and dug it into the glass and added it to her collection.

When Rydel informed them their reasonings for being there and used the every so fancy word, mystery, Verre looked up to Glass, gave him a strange look and wiggled her brows. He let out an unmistakable huff and nodded his head toward Rydel, indicating that she should pay attention. She did so and put her hands on her hips to stand at her own version of attention. As she heard the amount of hatchlings that'd been taken, she, once again, looked up at her dragon and mouth, "Eleven?" and gave him the most overly exaggerated, WOW, face she could muster. Glass frowned the best a dragon could manage and sighed. He knew as well as anyone that there was no way to convince her out of her antics.

The last word she truly paid attention to was the word; haste, and she gladly did so. The speed at which she left and took place on the back of her dragon, wasn't probably as fast as she imagined it was, nonetheless, it was pretty hasty. She stood as she normally did while he took off and she watched the building below gradually become smaller. "Well," she cooed and took a deep breath as they made way to the skies, "that was a meeting."

"Right," the dragon's gravelly voice said, though, he seemed more questioned than anything, "do you know where we are heading this time?"

"Not a clue. That's why I have a dragon," she tapped her chin and pulled out her telescope. "Did he say Evan Woods or Evan Wellingston?"

"Woods."

"Oh good." Verre extended her telescope. It was old-fashioned, but it was hers. She gazed through it, taking note of the dragon riders nearby. "Wellingston had such a beautiful stained glass window in his living room, I'd be silly to not get at least one panel broken to add to my collection." She brought down her telescope, minimized it and put it away. "Though, I am curious about something. Do you want to hear what?"

"Not particularly."

She poked at the back of the dragon with her toe over and over. "Oh come on. You know something is weird about this too, right? This is a strange duty for someone in my department, right? I'm not the only one who thinks that."

Glass shook his head as his body acclimated to the chillier air in the clouds. "Perhaps they just need to put someone as weird as you on a mission so they keep you in line." He laughed at what he considered his own joke. Verre but pursed her lips and wiggled her toes. "You're supposed to laugh," he grunted, but only silence followed.

 

[Kt_Prx]

Ina and Nilzir arrive in the office with plenty of time to spare being that they were already on the grounds of the Celestial Order, but they weren't the first. Stepping over a black tail with care, Ina takes a moments notice of its owner and the couple humans nearby the she-dragon but then picks her spot in the room and holds it to await the meeting's opening.
Nilzir only makes a low huff, following Ina and curling his tail lightly around her calf, not caring of the others in the room at the slightest. Instead he focuses on the serious faces of Rydel and his dragon, Iris. A stressed dragon could only mean trouble was afoot.

Introductions could be made at another time. He felt what his human did. The air emanating from the elder leaders was heavy with tension. There was no more time for frivolities. And this was confirmed when Rydel opened his mouth. Acid threatened to spill from Nilzir's lips and his tail tightened around Ina further at the thought of hatchlings being stolen from Hazic. Only so few are laid each year and it's a serious business with how precarious the conditions have to be. He wasn't sure whether to be more angry with the kidnappers or those who let them get away.
Ina understood Nilzir's fury but inwardly urged him to calm it.
This is why we came out here, Ina thought. If dragon young are being stolen under the very nose of the Celestial Order, could we have done better? No. Most likely not.
With a resolve of steel, both rider and dragon breathed in and out as one, cooling the heat in their hearts.
But we can get them back.

The meeting conclude quickly, and with haste Ina and Nilzir rushed to their rooms. Usually Ina never bothered to saddle Nilzir as she already spent most of her life riding bareback on his supple leather-like skin. But considering the unknowns of how long they will stay and where they could possibly go from there, Ina only took a moment to grab her travel bag that she always kept ready and another moment to saddle Nilzir for flight.
And then they were off, with just the glimmer in the distance revealing their company of the sky blue hurricane dragon and their rider, leading the way to the Caerulum Hatchery.

 

[Ninja Jane]

Chapter Two​

As traveling toward the Caeruleum city, you receive a message to meet Evan Woods on the outskirts of the rather large city. You all meet on a cliff overseeing the entire city. Looking at the city you see that it is lit up with lots of bright lights shining as a beacon into the dark sky. You see tall buildings with blinking lights. Several pillars of light shined back and forth across the sky signaling that there could be an exciting form of entertainment if you followed the source of the lights. You can also hear cars honking and the faint sounds of music telling you that this city does not ever sleep.
In the center of the town was a very tall building and you can faintly see the Roman and Greek designed columns that followed the whole length of the building. All the other buildings in this city are similar to this architecture design. This particular building you can tell is very important and must be their government building. Surrounding this building were other tall buildings but they were not as tall as the government building in the center. And as you gaze further out from the center you notice that the buildings tend to get smaller and smaller in size. But this city looked magnificent and elegant and so inviting.
In the darkness you soon hear the wings of a dragon flapping. And a grey, smaller than normal hurricane dragon appeared and its rider was dark skinned. As they flew closer you could see the rider looked slim with short black hair. On his right arm, he was wearing full plate armor. He also wore a chain mail shirt with a tunic and tall black boots. The dragon was light grey in the face and faded to black ending at the tip of the tail. They dove right before the cliff and then the dragon created a gust of wind which caused the pair to shoot up into the sky and land gracefully on the cliff.
“Hello there! Welcome! Rydel wasn’t kidding, when he said that they were sending such an odd crew.” responded the rider, “I am Even Woods. Rydel told me you were coming. I was going to meet at the hatchery but then remembered, none of you have ever been there. We except for maybe you.” motioning at Cora, “Anyways, before we do introductions, follow me. Baroque (his dragon) and I will be guiding you through the city and to the hatchery. Your friend Alexandrite and her mining dragon Chalcedony are already there waiting for you. Let us make haste.”
You follow him and one by one you all jump off the cliff and glide over the city. As flying over, you see busy streets filled with all kinds of people, some wearing normal clothes and others wearing costumes going from one performance to the next. There were also vendors selling fresh food and as the riders flew over, you could all smell the aroma, making your mouth water. The city appeared lively despite being so late at night. You continue and right before you reach the middle of the city, Evan signals for everyone to land in a public park just below. You all obey, forming a half circle.
“Alright Baroque, tell them how to get in.” said Even looking around, double checking that no one is listening. The park and surrounding area seemed empty and usually quite for such a city.
Baroque took a few steps forward, “Alright, now we can’t all go in at once, so what you are going to do is walk around the block and then you are going to walk straight into the white brick wall over there.” He pointed right across the street from the park
There were two buildings and in between the buildings was an alleyway. There were a few scattered trash cans but the alleyway seemed big enough for any sized dragon. In the darkness , it was hard to see the white brick wall considering the moon wasn’t out tonight. It say a few yard back from public view. But it was illuminated enough that everyone could see it.
“So we will send you one by one to enter the hatchery. We do so, obviously to not reveal our hatchery but also so that no one finds the hatchery!” said Baroque emphasizing, “When you get to the wall you simply whisper the magic word, ‘bumble bee’ and walk through. If you do not say the magic word then you will just smash into the wall and I have done that before and it is not fun. Not fun at all almost broke my tai……...”
Evan butted in, “Remember to be discreet. Granted in this part of town there are not very many people out and about, but with a kidnapper on the loose, we cannot be too careful. No one must know about the entrance to the hatchery or this investigation will be all for naught.”
Baroque continued, “Yes, exactly. So, go on! Walk a block and be sure not to enter all at the same time. We will be waiting for you inside. Good luck!!”

You all go in different directions to walk a block. As you do, you see Evan and Baroque go into the entrance of the hatchery. Now, EVERYONE must try to sneak into the hatchery without raising suspicions……………..

 

[Kt_Prx]

Already Ina and Nilzir face their first challenge as they took their first turn around the block from the hatchery entrance. Nilzir, being an acid dragon and so far out from his native swampland, was quickly becoming noticed by each and every passersby. Ina also didnt get spared the looks as she was in a different garb than her usual diplomatic robes. During the flight, she had wrapped her legs, arms, and head with a treated material with Nilzir's shedded skin sewn into it. In case they were to run into any trouble during their travel, Ina wanted to keep herself protected from her dragon's acid in case he had to go on the defensive. It was a strategy they established a long time ago as Nilzir would become beside himself every time he accidentally burned his fragile human.

While Nilzir felt more at ease with Ina swathed in his scales, Ina at the moment felt slight trepidation at being so garbed now. While they could blend away like this in the swamp, a busy city that never sleeps is an entirely different story. They might need to take a course of action that a certain olive green dragon is really not going to like.

With every step they took closer to the next turn around the building, the heavier Nilzir's footfalls seemed. Nilzir's spines were erect and stiff, different from his relaxed state when the spines could rest and relax against his hide due to his flexible skin of tiny green pearl-size scales. Ina did her best to smooth and massage the tense muscles of his wing joints in front of her, to assuage to Nilzir that it will only be a few moments and everything will be fine.
He sent a low rumble through his body back to her, his way of agreeing with her but also failing to convince himself of the fact.

The logical course would be to separate smoothly. No rush, hustle or bustle. Ina with her quiet footfalls and small stature would be better able to fade into shadow unnoticed to walk the rest of the way to the hatchery. Meanwhile Nilzir would leap upwards to fly away and over the buildings, blend into the night sky with his dark colored belly and nearly translucent wings, and land only when he caught sight of his rider by the entrance.

The corner neared and just as Ina was about to slide off, a feeling of dread hit her heavy in the stomach halting her movements. Nilzir would've stopped dead too when he felt his rider tense up so suddenly, his glands flaring for just a moment, if Ina hadn't whispered urgently, "Keep walking." And good thing they did, as just then a large gaggle of hooligans, inebriated from the nearby Bernie's Bar came strolling around the corner. As the two parties came closer, the men made some jokes and gestures toward rider and dragon, but merely parted their group to let Nilzir pass through.

When rider and dragon turned around the corner to an empty street, Nilzir turned his head to look directly into Ina's eye, giving her a proud (and maybe a little bit smug) smile. While Ina was not always grateful for her gift, Nilzir was always insisting her to trust it as it's never failed them before.
If they had separated when the men came around the corner, Ina would assuredly have gotten into trouble. What kind they couldn't ever be sure of, but this next moment was most definitely better than the one before.

With no one in sight, they followed through with their chosen plan, separating into the shadows with Nilzir keeping a close watch on Ina from above.
Only when the entrance was clear did he drop down to join his human, utter the secret phrase, "Bumblebee" together, and entered the hatchery, unsure if any rider had beaten them to it or not.

 

[AEONmeteorite]

Verre tapped Glass' back with her foot as Evan began speaking to them. "Glass, Glass..."

"My name isn't glass."

"You were right," Verre ignored him and whispered. "It isn't the other Evan. Thank goodness, at first I though you may be deceiving me.

"You should probably listen to him," Glass hissed back and glared at his rider. Verre waved him off and put her hands on her hips as they went to follow Evan and jumped off the cliff. The buzz of the city sounded below them and Verre couldn't help but get excited. She loved new things. New people. New ways to entertain and make people laugh. Smile. Ways to help people enjoy their day. Glass landed them in the half circle. And, her attention completely stayed everywhere else besides Evan and Baroque.

When instructions were finished being explained to them, Verre fell to her knees and crawled up closer to Glass' the best she could manage. "Glass, Glass, let's make seventeen rounds. Let's explore."

"Seventeen? Why seventeen?"

Verre pursed her lips and wrinkled her nose. "Why wouldn't it be seventeen? Why would I want to choose any other number? How dare you even question that?"

Glass shook his head, a common thing that happened whenever he heard his rider speak. "Do you remember the codeword you are supposed to use? Did you at least listen to that? You have been chosen for a mission, to help save people and you want to stare at cars. Do you even have plans to introduce yourself to the others?"

"Of course I plan to and you know that it is your job to listen not mine. Now, go forth, we shall fill our eyes with the visuals of this place. Seventeen times. We must exhaust our eyes and possibly entertain some people, make some grins, giggles?"

"No," Glass flapped his wings as he figured making the round in the skies would be best to keep Verre away from the people. "You don't even like children much."

"But I like imagination!" she yelled but grumbled as he lifted off the ground. Glass, strangely, did as she said, he went around the city seventeen times. He even went slow and steady for her in order to give her the best view she could get. He settled on the fact that he needed to please Verre without making her too frustrated with him. Before they made it to the wall, he did have to make sure she heard the codeword. After telling her about as many times as she wanted to make rounds, she finally agreed and they flew on through.

 

[UnsteadyPenguin]

Cora and Gyp glided through the air next to Rila and Alec as they made their way toward the city. Gypsy loved it just as she always did, her galaxy braid trailing behind just like Cora's tail. There was something about flight that was so liberating, so cathartic. Cora could tell exactly how much fun Gyp was having, and threw in a barrel roll or hard bank here and there to keep her rider's adrenaline up.

When at last they landed in the park, Cora listened while Gypsy's mind wandered. Gyp wasn't a very good listener, though she caught a few important words and phrases here and there. Mostly her attention was on the city around her. She didn't like metropolises, or big flashy lights or loud music or anything the like. Since finding Gire she had found peace in nature, and much preferred the sounds of wind and rainfall to engines and horns. But she was here for a reason, and so she tolerated it. When Evan and Baroque gave them the cue to break, Gyp squeezed Alec's hand. It made her feel a little better, and she strode off onto one of the more well-lit alleys.

Cora parted with her rider and headed straight for the hatchery. She hadn't been here since she was very small, but it was more familiar than not. She spoke the password and crawled inside the hatchery, disappearing from sight.

Gypsy still felt uneasy as she walked around the block. It felt stupid to be taking this little stroll through the city, especially while there was work to be done. She was not a patient person, and very eager to get to the bottom of this mystery. She walked as fast as she could while trying her best to be discreet (which really wasn't a successful effort) and made her way back around to the two buildings. I should probably check to make sure nobody's watching, she thought briefly, but shrugged it off. She strode up to the wall cavalierly, and said "Bumblebee." With a raise of her eyebrow, she walked into the hatchery.

 

[FlashLink95]

As they listened to Evan and Baroque explaining how to enter the hatchery, all Alec and Rila could think about was how much they wanted to try out this new weapon that they had been developing. They made sure that they knew what to do to get in.

When the instruction was over, Alec felt a squeeze on his hand from his wife. He turned and gave her a smile.

Alec and Rila decided to circle above the city for a while. For a while they could see Verre and Glass circling as well. The entire time, Alec just sat in his saddle using a whetstone to sharpen the knife that he always kept well-hidden. When it was their time to enter, Rila Dove down and landed just in front of the alleyway. They spoke the password and entered, ready to take on the next challenge but they faced.

 

[Calibutcher]

Evan and Baroque watched the wall from their nearby hill. The interior of the hatchery held more than enough space for the riders and their dragons to come in. Indeed Evan wouldn’t even really call the hatchery an indoor space. Rolling hills and green grass stretched out in either direction, leaving plenty of room for dragons to make a nest and lay their eggs without too much disturbance. Evan was not watching any of the landscape though he was watching the wall as the riders and there dragons came through. He would call to them and wave them over once they had made it inside.

Once they had all made it inside he addressed them. “Ok thank you for taking our security seriously here and delaying your exits one by one. Welcome to Coreleum hatchery. I have things pretty secure here since word of the thefts has taken place. We are limiting our traffic in and out as of late, so we ask that if any of you need to leave check in with myself or Baroque.” Evan started directing them all down the path towards the barracks. “Those barracks will have accommodations for you and your dragons, if you should need anything else let the barracks master know. Now it’s late and I need to check up with my patrols. You guys get settled for the night, I will be with you first thing in the morning to show you around the rest of the hatchery.Make yourselves comfortable” With that Evan strode off and mounted his dragon and took off.

Baroque watched silently as Evan led the riders and dragons around. He wanted to be on his way shortly. Away from all these other dragons. They were all bigger than him and it made him nervous. He was relieved to hear Evan talk about getting on with their patrol. “Yes lets go!” Baroque thought to his rider, he stretched his wings ready to take off and hurry his rider along. As soon as he felt Evan sat upon him Baroque took off at maximum speed. “They will be trouble. Why are we babysitting them again.”
“They are supposed to be able to help. How exactly I don’t know.”

 

[Kt_Prx]

Before any riders could disperse from the group, Ina felt that now would be a good time to connect with this team they were all assigned too. Nilzir stood ready at her back, staring at the other dragons and riders and doing his best to seem "approachable". He understood why his human felt the need for connection, as every brood of dragons feels that kinship within their conclaves. Nilzir hasn't felt that bond in a long while himself except with Ina, and her small spark of hope inside her somehow made it's way into his heart as well (though try as he might to smother it).

So again, he waited quietly for a rider or dragon to step up, blinking away both his eyelids to see them more clearly and perhaps any hidden intentions.

Ina spoke up clearly, though haltingly, doing her best to annunicate her consonants sharply and not roll her "r's" too excessively.
"Would anyone like to join me in some hatha yoga before we retire? We could establish roles so that this investigation can be conducted more efficiently."

Ina turns to head to the nearest hill by the barracks, a good place for both dragons and riders to spread their limbs, ending with the comment, "I believe that there is still the possibility in retrieving the stolen hatchlings."

 

[FlashLink95]

Alec grumbled at the thought of doing any sort of group activity. Rila & him promptly went to the barracks and found a place to sleep, making sure they saved a spot for Gypsy and Cora. They went to sleep, thinking of the many ways they were going to destroy the kidnappers.

 

[Ninja Jane]

Nania Stemin
Ina & Nilzir
​

When waking up in the morning Ina wakes first and decides to go outside for a morning stroll with Nilzir. As you walk around you wander into a building that appears empty and unoccupied. The building was white on the outside with greek columns standing just in front of and either side of the entrance. The gold decorative double doors were laid open, allowing you to peer inside. You see along the wall but there are many shelves filled with potions and medical supplies. You also notice that there are lots of windows that stood floor to ceiling allowing the natural light to come in. In the center you see large furnaces producing glorious blue light and in the center are blue fire dragon eggs. The shell is the color of baby blue with soft dark blue spots scattered on the shell. As looking closer, you can see that some of them are moving a little bit as if they are about to hatch. This building is huge and you notice that there are thousands of these eggs.
As you walk in, you are stopped by an old woman with a big smile on her face. She looked like a sweet grandma that would give you candy every time you would visit. She wore simple white clothes with the shirt buttoning up on the left side. On the border of the clothes was in the color of navy blue and upon her feet were simple but comfy white shoes. Across her forehead she wore a simple gold band. Being in the room with her, you can feel that this person was someone important. Looking at her face, you can tell that she wasn’t angry but seemed excited at the company.
“Hello, my dear! You look like you are new here? You must be one of the Dragon riders that Rydel sent. He is always such a considerate elf. He may seem stern but he has the best for all of us in his heart.” said the old woman, “Oh I am sorry my name is Nania Stemin. I am the matriarch here. I oversee all that happens here at the hatchery” She gazed at Nilzir, “You must be an acid dragon. Raising you guys is not easy but so worth it. Acid dragons are just so unique and an important part of our ecosystem.” She turned to face the eggs and motioned to Ina and Nilzir, “Come, come, look at the eggs. We are going to have several hatches today. The miracle of dragon egg birth is a beautiful process. Do you have any questions for me?”

Here you have the matriarch of the Hatchery. She is the most important person here at the hatchery. What information do you wish to gain from her?

 

[Ninja Jane]

Kilturn Neff
Alec & Rila​

Alec and Rila, you are woken up by abrupted sounds of gun shot. By listening to the shots you can tell that it was probably a handgun of some type. Between the shots you can hear grunts from a person. Curious, you go outside and see a young looking elf wearing a type of cameo uniform doing what look like drill routines at the nearby gun range. As looking closer you notice that this person is tall, slim and has piercing blue eyes. The young elf seemed focused as if nothing else around matters.
The young elf notices your presence, “ Oh, hello. Don’t mind me. I am just doing my morning exercises.” He holds up his hand guns and you notice that they look like glocks, “Like them? I just bought them yesterday. These are the only weapons worthy of an elf” he walked over and held out his hand, “My name is Kilturn Neff. I just ended my shift at the hatchery. I would love it if a proud dragon rider like yourself joins me for a morning stroll. Care to join? I can tell you all about my glocks.”

Do you accept the invitation? Or just ignore it?

 

[FlashLink95]

Alec glanced at the two pistols in the Elf's hands, more than enough time to analyze them.

"Those are good pistols," Alec said, " however they are ugly blighters and only good for short range. Take a look at this"

Alec pulled out his trusty rhino and fired off a few shots, each shot hitting center mass of the targets. All of the targets hit were well past the range of the glocks.

"Would you like to try it?" he said as he held out the revolver.
" It doesn't hold as many shots as your Glocks do, but if you're good you don't need that many. If I ever do need more shots for longer engagements or more armor--piercing I just use my rail gun." he then unslung his bullpup railgun.

 

[Kt_Prx]

Ina's eyes couldn't get any possibly wider. Of all the luck to meet THE matriarch of the hatchery after taking a walk on a whim. She immediately deeply bowed to the elder in respect and awe. As she came up and opened her mouth, she still couldnt help but choke on her words.
What could she say? What questions should she ask? Should she ask about any suspicions she might have or is that too intrusive? Should she compliment the matriarch on her cleanliness????

Yet before she could go any farther down the rabbit hole, Nilzir whuffed a great stinky puff of air into Ina's face and rumbled a low chuckle at his easily agitated rider. Then faced the matriarch again to say in a deep whisper, "We would greatly appreciate seeing younglings coming into the world for the first time," finishing with a great nod of his head.
If Ina was like any person, you would have witnessed such a glare to be directed toward her dragon. Instead there was only the barest flick of her eyes to Nilzir before looking back to the matriarch and agreeing with him.
"Yes, mistress. We'd love to see them. Will they be moved to a different facility after hatching? I'd imagine spry younglings would be a bit hazardous for still growing eggs."

Ina was interested to know any time that dragon young would be outside locked facilities and if moved, what kind of personnel would be responsible in doing so.

"Also, are dragon younglings particularly vulnerable at certain ages? I'm wondering what criteria is needed for healthy growth of Blue Fire dragons and if it's any similar to acid or other kinds of dragons."

The pessimism in Ina said that we still dont know if the younglings stolen are even alive, but the optimism said that if they were being kept alive, they could match areas of the city to high productions of energy to possible holding places for them.

 

[Ninja Jane]

Dranela Star
Verre & Glass
​

The sun shines brightly in your room. The white interior of the room makes it impossible to hide the rays from your eyes. The sudden brightness in the room wakes you up and Glass. But you realize that it is not quite time to get up as Evan Woods has not come to fetch you. The bed is comfy and warm, inviting you to stay in it. With the room being so bright, it would seem difficult to go back to sleep.
But as you are about to close your eyes, you feel as if someone is watching you. You sense that you and Glass are not alone in this room. So you look around in your room and discover someone standing in the doorway, leaning on the frame. She is a short but slim elf wearing some kind of black bodysuit with a neon blue sleeveless robe. On the robe you notice that it is decorated with interwoven strands of gold creating shapes like Celtic knots. It was beautiful. You notice that she has tan skin and rosy lips that match her flushed cheeks. She wore no shoes on her feet leaving them bare. She does not seem like a threat to you, especially with her slightly curly dark brown hair and the curious look on her face. She also was not carrying any weapons, from what you can tell. You must wonder who she is?
“I did not mean to pry.” said the elf, noticing your gaze, “I just haven’t seen new visitors from the Celestial Order in such a long time. You look very different from the rest of the group that came here. What division are you from? Some strange part of the diplomatic division I guess by your dress.” she paused for a moment, “I can’t say I am much the same however, I am part of something very different here. I lead the elves in ancient magic ceremonies to bless hatchlings and dragons with healing and long life. It is not a very exciting job but I love it because it involves a lot of dancing and seeing all the different colors produce while performing the ceremonies. My name is Dranela. You?”

What will you learn from Dranela?