[center][h2]Chapter 2: Scar Tissue[/h2][/center] [center][youtube]https://youtu.be/QkXJ53_u5iY[/youtube][/center] They say time heals all wounds, but those who have experienced true pain know that is a gross oversimplification. While time dulls pain and allows for the reflection and growth needed to overcome it, it can also allow for a wound to fester. Infection can seep in, causing even the smallest cut to become a fatal if not properly treated. Even in his young age, Skobeloff has seen enough tragedy in his life to know this, and as such, is not content to leave Stargaze's island in its current state. With the strange shadow dragon gone and missing dragons recovered, he sets to work on finding a way to restore the island's heart to its former glory. Not a simple task, but thankfully one he is not alone in. As the group are regaining their bearings, Echo gets in contact with the party, manifesting within the reflection of a small dewdrop as Stargaze and her clutch explain what has occurred. Even in a such a small image, it's easy for the group to see that Echo is not only doing better than when they last saw her, but she is quite literally radiating with pride, as the bioluminescent algae on her skin seems to glow brighter and warm when addressing Stargaze. She seems a little surprised when Skobeloff expresses his desire to heal the island's heart - an emotion that Stargaze would know the elemental does not show often - but she agrees and soon joins the group. Once everyone is together, Skobeloff discusses his idea with the group. Most agree with little hesitation, the only exception being Garrock, who seems impatient to get Maug medical assistance and to report what they have witnessed to the Council. However, because Skobeloff has proved himself worthy of his respect and out of a sense of duty as the clutch's supervisor, he does eventually relent and allow the group to start formalizing plan. Between Vipereye's studies of the area compared with her already extensive knowledge of nature, Tamba's historical expertise and Echo's innate connection to the island, they are able to work out the outlines for a purification ritual. Of course, in order to bring it fruition, they will need huge amounts of moon magic, which requires access to a plentiful supply of moonlight. Altostratus is able oblige by coaxing the few sylphs in the area to come out of hiding and manipulate the wind into parting the leaves of the trees. Soon, their is a steady steam of moonlight illuminating the glade, and the way the plants in the area seem to bend towards it show that something is already starting to take place, starting to awaken beneath the surface. Vipereyes also informs the group that they will need a dragon with a strong connection to the Spirit Moon, the Moon most associated with growth and healing. Ideally, an Elder who has devoted themself entirely to that moon would be the best, but since one is not readily available, it's up to one of the present bearded dragons to fulfill that role. Garrock has already given up his connection to the spirit moon ages ago, so he's automatically out. It's between Vipereyes and Fogdance, and the former is particularly eager to take up that role, believing it would be a fascinating opportunity and experience for her to gather some data for her reasearch. However, Fogdance interjects, saying Vipereyes is still weakened from being held captive by the Darkness for the past few days, and that such a ritual may prove particularly strenuous on her. After some back and forth, the Myndoth dragon does step aside and allow Fogdance to proceed. The grey Tessith dragon takes a stand at the very center of the hollow, her scales glimmering slightly in the moonlight. Vipereyes scratches some markings into the dirt with her claws, making a very rough looking circle that encompasses the area and then instructs the group to stand at different points of that circle. Those not partaking in the ritual - Garrock, the unconscious Maug, the pixies and Alpin - all stand to the side, a few feet away and observe in silence. All those partaking in the ritual raise their heads up towards the sky and silently call upon the Spirit Moon's power, and in the response, the light starts to intensify, filling the woods until the light is so blinding everyone is forced to close their eyes. It takes a few seconds before everyone can open their eyes again, and when they do, it initially seems like nothing has really changed... ... then Fogdance starts glowing, her scales suddenly lighting up and turning from a dull, purplish-grey to a silvery white. Her eyes start glowing a pale green, and her expression becomes pensive and unreadable as she digs her claws into the dirt beneath her. The light from her feet seems to sink into ground, and everyone feels a brief tremor before the roots beneath the earth lights up, the same pale green light spreading through the system and into the various trees, bushes and other plant-life until they too start to give off the same shine. Echo's body is also starting to glow, implying that whatever healing magic that is sweeping through the area is also effecting her. There is a faint hum in the air, barely audible but still present. Beautiful tropical flowers start to bloom throughout area, similar to what happened when Fellwing had called upon the moons earlier, and the last of the dark vines that previously filled the area seem to crumble away, allowing for brighter, healthier vegetation to take its place. Once the glow has seemingly overtaken the entire forest, the group hears a loud yawn come from one of the nearby trees as large dryad starts pulling himself out of the bark. Once his gnarled, moss-covered wooden body had fully formed, he stretches starts stretching out his limbs, which give a loud creak as he moves. He opens his eyes and surveys the area in a sleepy manner before focusing on the group. He frowns, seeming a little wary at first, before noticing Echo among them, and gives a big, loud laugh, and calling out to the rest of the forest that it is time for everyone to wake up. In response to his words, several other elementals start to form: a few flimsier dryads sprout out from the trees and bushes, while rocky gnomes start to dig themselves out from the earth. A splash can be heard in a nearby stream as shy-looking undine lifts her head from above the water. There's even a couple of mixed elementals that look like collections of dandelion fuzz floating around in the area, attempting to form a vaguely humanoid shape and only partially succeeding. Stargaze recognizes a couple of these faces as the other elementals that call the island home. The greenish glow eventually dissipates as the ritual reaches its completion, but the surrounding woods remain much brighter and more colorful than they were previously. Echo moves away from the circle to go talk to some of her fellow elementals while the dragons regroup. The magic that was filling Fogdance's body seems to let her go and she stumbles slightly as she regains herself. Notably, while she is no longer glowing, her scales and eyes seems paler in coloration than they did before. Vipereyes starts checking her over and asking her several questions, both as a way of making sure she's okay and also out of curiosity on the effects such a powerful ritual may have had on her. As this is all happening, Fellwing starts to feel an odd tingling in the back of her mind. She catches a glimpse of one the symbols that Vipereyes had scratched in the dirt and finds herself unable to stop staring at it as her vision starts to blur and shift. [hider=Fellwing's vision]While Fellwing's visions often leave her disembodied, there are times where her powers allow her to see through another dragon's eyes. This is one of those times, as she finds herself in a different forest. She's running a claw across the bark of a tree, tracing over an old symbol that is carved there, not dissimilar from the symbol she was just staring at. However, the claws she sees in front of her are not her own: they are larger, gnarlier and covered in tough verdant scales. [color=228B22]"This is still here I see,"[/color] Fellwing finds herself saying in an unfamiliar voice. [color=228B22]"You know, for all Tessith preaches of living simply and living off the land, even they find ways to do irreperable damage to the world around them."[/color] "Unsurprising," a voice rumbles to her left. "They are still dragons, after all." Fellwing, or whoever she's currently seeing through, turns her head to see standing beside her a being unlike anything she has seen before. It's form resembles that of a horse, but instead of flesh and bone it's made of some sort of dark matter, the same color as the night sky. It's eyes are made of pale wisps of light, which also seem to be covering its feet. The only part of it that is solid is the silver horn in the center of its head, which is notably has a crack running down the middle that is causing it to split into two, with the two ends starting to curl outwards in different directions. Despite this creature's frightening appearance, Fellwing feels a great sense of reverence looking upon it. "Are you ready to do this?" the horse asks. Fellwing feels herself give a heavy sigh. [color=228B22]"Not really, no,"[/color] she says after a long moment. [color=228B22]"But this is our best chance."[/color] She pauses before adding, [color=228B22]"You'll let me do the talking, yes?"[/color] "If you can think you can handle it," the dark horse responds. [color=228B22]"I do. Don't worry, she's an old friend, she'll hear me out."[/color] The horse creature gives a loud, prolonged snort, but otherwise doesn't respond. He doesn't have to. Fellwing can sense that whatever reason they're here for, he doesn't hold much hope. He seems impatient, as if this whole endeavor is a waste of time. Fellwing also gets the sense that that's not an unusual sentiment from him. They move away from the tree and start making their way to the centre of this forest. It's colder here than the forest Fellwing is in, more alpine, with a thin layer of fog hanging in the air that seems to grow thicker the further they walk. Eventually, they reach the a glade within the forest, containing a large pond. While snow has yet to fall in the area, the water's surface is already covered in a thin layer of ice. Fellwing approaches this pond and gazes into her reflection, allowing her to get a good look at the face of the dragon she's controlling. It's a bearded dragon, with beautiful green scales that remind Fellwing of a luscious forest in spring. Her wings, seen just behind her head, even somewhat resemble leaves. She looks at herself for a long moment, and Fellwing senses within herself a strong sense of disastifaction with her own appearance, as if what her reflection is showing her is not what she wants to see. However, before Fellwing can fully analyse these feelings, something moves behind her reflection's head and she raises her eyes up to find herself gazing into someone else's. "Well, I certainly wasn't expecting to see you here today." This voice belongs to a pair of icy blue eyes, which in turn belong to a being who's body is composed entirely of thick white mist, from its skin to its long flowy hair. It's humanoid in shape, floating just above Fellwing's head with its legs and arms tucked up close against its chest. [color=228B22]"It's good to see you again, Brume,"[/color] Fellwing says, before pausing and adding, [color=228B22]"Assuming you still go by that name?"[/color] The misty being shrugs. "It's a good as name as any," she responds. She tilts her head to the side. "What about you? You still go by your name, or have you abandoned that as well?" There is the smallest hint of frost to her voice. It's Fellwing's turn to shrug. [color=228B22]"You can still call me that if you wish,"[/color] she says, seemingly not picking up on the elemental's tone. [color=228B22]"I haven't thought of anything better, or if I even want to be called anything at all."[/color] "Hm," is Brume's only response to that. She turns her cold gaze from Fellwing to her companion. "And who's this?" Without waiting for an answer, she makes a beeline for the horse-like creature, stopping directly above him. He gives a loud snort and begins pawing at the earth with a hoof. "Not an elemental, nor some kind of beast or monster. What exactly are-" She reaches a hand out to touch the creature's horn, only to recoil when violet sparks start flying from its points. She starts floating backwards, eyes still transfixed on the creature. "Moons above!" she hisses under her breath. [color=228B22]"He's no threat,"[/color] Fellwing speaks up, yet even as she says that, she feels a twinge of panic within her chest. This discussion is clearly not going how she hoped. "Like Darkness he is," Brume says, turning to face the dragon once more. "This creature, whatever [i]it[/i] is, is full of shadow magic. What kind of forces are you playing with?" [color=228B22]"Shadow magic, moon magic, elemental magic,"[/color] Fellwing says. [color=228B22]"There isn't really as much distinction as everyone would have you believe."[/color] Brume gives a shake of her head. "Not this again," she says. [color=228B22]"The Darkness is a part of nature, Brume,"[/color] Fellwing continues. [color=228B22]"Just as much as you are, just as much the wind, the trees, this very pond that you and your sisters protect. It's been a part of this world long before dragonkind started to form, and will be a part of the world long after we're all gone."[/color] "Just because the Darkness is old doesn't mean it isn't unnatural," Brume interjects. "It's a toxin, a parasitic force that sucks the moonlight out of the world around it, then twists it into something else, something horrible." She gestures to the smoke horse. "Just look what it's done to this creature, look what it's done..." She hesitates before pointing directly at Fellwing. "What it's done to you, Greeny." Her voice cracks slightly on that last word. Fellwing blinks before gesturing to herself. [color=228B22]"I feel fine,"[/color] she says. [color=228B22]"Better than fine."[/color] "Don't lie to me!" Brume suddenly shouts, a sharp cold wind suddenly passing through the area at her words. "I saw the way you were looking into the pond. You can't even stand to look at yourself anymore!" Tears start to form in her eyes, yet instead of falling to the ground, they float upwards and become one with her vapourous mass of hair. "Deep down, there's a part of you that knows what's happening to you is wrong. That's why you can't stand to look yourself in the eye." Fellwing feels her body tense. [color=228B22]"That's not why..."[/color] she starts, only to trail off. Whatever she wants to say, she doesn't quite have the strength to voice. "Listen to me," Brume quickly speaks again. "You can still stop this. You can still go back. Dragons have done far worse than you have under the grips of the Darkness, and they're still able to find their way back to the light." She starts drifting slightly closer to Fellwing. "You can turn around and go back home. You can go back to your family, I'm sure they would love to see-" Before she can finish her sentence, the dark horse interjects, taking several steps towards her. "This is taking too long," he says, and even as Brume turns to face him, he doesn't hesitate: he brings down his horn and spears it right through her chest. That same panic that had briefly gripped Fellwing's heart takes full hold of her. [color=228B22]"Bicorn, stop!"[/color] she shouts, but it's too late. Purple light starts to fill her body, causing it to destabilise to lilac cloud of mist that begins to fill the glade. The air becomes incredibly cold, the sensation of frost beginning to form on her scales creeping over as the vision comes to an end. [/hider] Fellwing's vision fades back into reality, and while definitely disturbing, it doesn't have the same knock back her previous vision had. In fact, no one (besides, potentially her clutchmates) seems to notice anything is wrong with the Seer. Echo is conversing with her fellow elementals, some of which she brings over to introduce to the younger dragons, while the older dragons are still fussing over Fogdance. Once it becomes clear that the grey dragon is okay, Garrock starts to clear his throat in hopes of getting everyone's attention, likely about to suggest everyone heads out... when there is a large rustling in the bushes nearby. Everyone briefly stops what they are doing, and Garrock in particular tenses up as if to prepare for a fight. He calls at whoever's hiding to show themselves and after a long pause, someone comes stumbling out: a brownie, older and a little chubbier than Alpin, their clothes left in tatters despite seemingly having no real injuries. While the other dragons do not recognise them, both Fellwing and Alpin do. It's Bartley, now completely free of the Darkness' influence. Alpin immediately comes scuttling towards him, and without waiting for a response, gives the other brownie a hug. Bartley seems a bit hesitant at first, clearly a little dazed, but eventually returns it. As the two reunite, several other purified brownies start to come out of the bushes, all of them a little confused but otherwise no worse for wear. Alpin quickly fills them in on what happened, aided by Foxglove and her fellow pixies. It appears some of them are old friends, as several start embracing and chatting among themselves. As things start to quiet down and everyone starts to go their separate ways, with Garrock adamant that they start the flight back to Yves now, Echo requests a moment alone with Stargaze and her clutch. Garrock seems like he might object, but quickly swallows whatever protests he might have spoken, instead telling the group not to take too long and that they'll meet them at the same beach they first landed on. He and the other dragons then leave them alone. Echo congratulates the four drakes on a job well done, seeming particularly grateful towards Stargaze for scaring off the shadow dragon and Skobeloff for insisting on restoring the island's heart. She says that she can sense no other traces of Darkness on the island at this time, and that the environment is likely going to be much healthier as a result. However, even as she's saying this, hints of graveness start to creep into her tone, and her eyes briefly meet Fellwing's as she states that they were likely going to face much more dangerous foes going forward. She doesn't elaborate on what she means by this, of course, instead changing the subject to say she has a gift for Stargaze. She produces a large pebble covered in a thick coat of glowing moss. In the center of this stone is an odd spiraling symbol. Echo tells the group that this stone is attuned to her essence and if they ever wish to contact her, for any reason whatsoever, they must trace their claw against the symbol and envision her in their mind, and she will be able to speak with them. She does warn them that the further away they are from the island when using it, the more difficult it will be for the signal to go through. She then hands the stone to Stargaze. [hider=Custom Move: The Echoing Stone]THE ECHOING STONE: When you use the echoing stone to contact Echo, roll. Add +1 for every true statement. - The stone is being used by or in the presence of Stargaze. - You are using the stone while in Southern Yves or one of the tail-bone islands. - You have no Darkness marked. On a 10+, the call goes through and Echo picks up immediately. On a 7-9, the call doesn't reach Echo immediately, and she'll get back to you at a later point. On a miss, you end up contacting another elemental by mistake. [/hider] As the drakes are bidding the elemental farewell, Stargaze slips up and refers to Echo as 'Mom', surprising everyone in the group. There is a small pause before Echo gives a smile and places a hand on the white drake's head, ruffling her horns gently. It is a genuinely touching moment, yet both Skobeloff and Fellwing may notice a hint of sadness in the elemental's eyes as this is happening. However, it passes just as quickly as it appears, leaving the two of them to question what they saw. The clutch then parts ways with Echo and makes their way to the beach to meet up with the other dragons. [hr] The flight departing Stargaze's home feels drastically different from the one arriving: while Garrock is at the front of the group once more, he is no longer shooting scathing looks over his shoulder at those following behind him. Instead, his attention is split between keeping a look out for any possible threats and making sure the unconscious Maug doesn't slide off his back. Fogdance is at his side, also keeping an eye on Maug's body and consistently reminding Garrock to speak up if he feels he needs to rest. He merely grunts in response each time. The drakes are flying all in the center of the formation, with Vipereyes and Altostratus on either side of them. Tamba is flying in between Vipereyes and Skobeloff and is chattering excitedly to the both of them about what they just witnessed. Vipereyes in particular chimes in with how she's hoping to return to the island again with a different expedition to study what long term affects their ritual had on the environment. Tamba seems eager to join her. Altostratus isn't conversing with any of the dragons present, though he does occasionally glance over towards where Vipereyes and Tamba are when his name comes up in conversation. Instead, he is chattering in the tongues of wind elementals with a flock of sylphs that have started to gather around the group, aiding them in their flight back to the Capitol. Kyte and Pleexem are slightly behind the other drakes, with Pleexem in particular seeming quite grim. He keeps looking between where Tamba is and where Maug is, the frown on his face deepening the longer they fly for. Kyte keeps trying to start conversation with him, but the lilac drake only responds in short, curt responses. It's still some time before the group reaches the Capitol. What will our drakes do?