Stanifly

You Think You Know Humanity?

Energy Twinkle

The teenage girl that sat on the ground cocked her head at Rhys. Energy only grinned, taking in her friend's new look.

"Well, you don't look too bad," she commented easily, getting up again on her unsteady legs. It looked like Rhys was already quickly adapting to his new form, whereas she was still slowly getting used to hers. A flash of frustration rose up within her but she hurriedly shoved it back down, her grin unwavering.

"Oh, I think you know what we're doing next," she said, humour dancing in her eyes. She nearly pranced forward on all fours in her excitement but she stopped herself, remembering that she wasn't quite quadrupedal anymore.

"Let's go out into the world!" she exclaimed, enthusiastically repeating her previous idea, "We can't exactly go back now like this. What's the harm in going out for a little adventure? We might even find a reverse spell somewhere out there." Unlike her friend, Energy hadn't quite thought this through. She hadn't thought of all the needs their human bodies might need that their dragon ones had not. She had not thought of how they could even blend in with civilisation. She hadn't even thought of where they would even go. No, the excited Whiptail-dragon-turned-human had not thought of those things at all.

You Think You Know Humanity?

Energy Twinkle

She had been prepared for him to come after the scroll floating in front of her. What she hadn't expected was for him to crash into her as well, causing the both of them to land in a heap on the forest floor.

"Gah-ow!" Oh, she was going to feel that one tomorrow. Apparently, shifting into a human didn't do her fragility any good. She stopped at that thought. "Shifting into a human"?

Widening her eyes, she sat up as Rhys stumbled off her. The spell must have affected him too, her mind numbly noted. Right now, though, she was concerned about herself. She was smaller in size, that was for sure as the trees around them were noticeably larger than before. What was strange was that her entire physique had changed.

Her skin was way paler than her usual colour but they still retained a brown-ish hue. However, she knew that the humans tended to come in few different colours in so many different shades and she had often wondered why when her own kind was limitless in terms of colours. And...it was her skin. She didn't have scales anymore. Just soft, squishy, vulnerable skin. Energy poked her hands a few times before sighing. "Way to increase my frailty," she thought wryly. Her limbs were different too. Her claws were gone, replaced by pink nails. She had ten fingers and probably ten toes on her feet. She couldn't really count because she had odd, cloth thingies that were grey and had blue strings knotted on top of them covering her feet. Shoes, she recalled them to be. She had on other human accessories on her too. A soft, thin light brown long-sleeved shirt with familiar diamond blue stripes running across its front. A glance at her back showed that there were stripes too, at the back of her shirt, though not connected to the ones in front. The stripes on both sides had spiky ends. A pair of black slacks went all the way down her legs.

Something soft brushed her cheek. Mildly irritated, she swatted it away, only for it to fall back against her face. With a slight frown, she grabbed it and tugged, only to realise that she also had hair now. Fascinated, she brought it to her front, inspecting the strands that now brushed against her back and shoulders, covering her neck. It was dark brown, the same colour as the scales she used to have. With a slight grin, she instinctively got onto her hands and knees before remembering that humans were supposed to be bipedal. Huffing, she got up slowly, first on one knee, then her own two feet. Unused to her new centre of balance, she stumbled, before steadying herself with the huge root protruding from the ground. Due to her new small size, calling the root a towering wooden wall was more apt.

Her legs were trembling, she realised. She wasn't used to this new form and so, her new limbs weren't used to carrying around her weight either, it seemed. Thinking back on the spell, Energy had also now discovered the difference between it and a regular camouflage spell. It didn't just camouflage the caster, it completely changed their physiology altogether. Technically, it was her fault that they both had changed so she supposed she deserved the consequences of this incident.

One thing she was glad for, though, was that she wasn't completely human. She could feel her dragon ears hidden within her long straight hair - and she reached up with a hand to affirm this - and look at that! Her long tail had stuck with her!

"Oh my faithful tail! I wouldn't know what I'd do without you!" she cried happily, snuggling her tail against her cheek with her hands. Which required taking a hand off the root so she promptly fell on her butt.

"Oomph!" Wincing, she rubbed her bottom before noticing that her tail was stripeless. It was just a plain brown tail now. "Huh."

You Think You Know Humanity?

Energy Twinkle

Energy rolled her eyes, as a smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth, unconcerned about the Royal Crimson's actions. She knew precisely what to do to get his attention.

"That's alright, go on ahead!" she called after him, her voice the very sound of sweet innocence. "I'll join you in a bit - I just want to take a peek at the spell first." It wasn't just meant to attract his attention. She really did want to look at the spell. Maybe she wouldn't cast it on herself right away, but she was curious to see what made it so different from other camouflaging spells. Lowering her tail, she used her telekinesis to direct the scroll to levitate in front of her. Narrowing her eyes, she focused her magic on breaking the seal.

The seal broke easily enough. With bated breath, Energy unrolled the scroll with anticipation, her eyes scanning it for the spell it contained. Now that it was unlocked, she could feel the strong magic now flowing out of it, surrounding her. Words were written carefully on the fragile parchment paper.

"What one will be,
What one will see,
True souls be free,
Body and mind,
With change in thee..."

Energy read aloud to herself the spell, well aware of the build-up of magic that was now coursing around her. The spell was initiating itself now that she had opened the scroll and read out its contents but she wasn't too worried. After all-

"Wait. Where's the reverse spell?!" Indeed, there was no sign of another spell that would reverse the one she had just cast. She blinked, her grin now nervous instead of cheery.

"Oops?"

You Think You Know Humanity?

Energy Twinkle

Slightly put off by her friend's negative response, Energy pouted, her tail that clutched the scroll subconsciously retracting further behind her.

"Well, duh, of course I don't. But I would if we went out there, wouldn't I?" Her grin only seemed to widen, a teasing edge to her voice.

"Humans discovering our existence would be bad," she nodded, tapping a claw against her chin before calmly (or as calm as she could be) putting it back down, "So we just can't screw up, then!" Her eyes darted back to the scroll, which hung limply from her tail. She could sense the magic from it, the complexity of the spell it contained. Yes, she'd heard that it was meant to camouflage dragons as the humans but she had a feeling that it was more than a simple camouflage. Which made her all the more curious. The magical seal on the scroll itself was simple. Normally, they'd be more complicated but she had a feeling that the Elders had entrusted her father with the scroll, thus simplifying the seal.

At that particular thought, guilt jabbed suddenly into her heart and she wondered if she really should have taken it in the first place. However, upon remembering her very reason for taking it in the first place, her wish to do something in her boredo-err, to explore the unknown world that lay beyond the ancient trees that made up their home, she shook off the thought.

At Rhys' request on returning the scroll, Energy merely stuck out her tongue playfully and leapt backwards, landing on top of one of the humongous roots that supported the massive tree she had buried the scroll by. Her wings were now half stretched out, ready to take flight if Rhys were to give chase - which she didn't doubt he would indeed do. Though since she wasn't actually running away at the moment, she would consider herself safe for now.

"Come on, Rhys, it's just for a little while! What could a teensy weensy venture out in the open possibly do to harm any dragon?" she pleaded, her ever cheery grin never leaving her face.

You Think You Know Humanity?

Energy Twinkle

"But why not?" Energy blurted out, still bouncing. She stopped, a sheepish expression overcoming her.

"I mean, of course not. I-I'd never just go through my parents' things. It's just, you know, I was looking at them..." spluttered the Whiptail, fidgeting a little. She had honestly not meant her outburst, though. Naturally, Energy had been an inquisitive little dragon since her hatchlinghood but she knew not to just up and nose around in her parents' stuff. While it was fun to do that to her friends to sate her ever curious impulses, she knew her place with the older dragons.

Well, sometimes.

"Anyway, that's not the point," she said, pulling herself together. As quickly as it had dissipated, her enthusiasm returned full force. "Okay, so you know my dad's a Magi dragon, right? Of course you do, you've known me my whole life. So last night, when he came back from a meeting with the Elders and a couple other dragons, he had this scroll with him! And I'm pretty sure it's what lets the chosen dragons travel to the Human Lands!" She beamed, the very idea of it filling her with ecstasy. Energy had always thought about going out into the world, though not necessarily the Human Lands. All dragons had been taught that humans were despicable, after all. However, for someone as hyperactive and excited as Energy, who could get worked up about almost anything, the forest just wasn't enough for her. She wanted to see the places that dragons could only talk about.

Sighing, the Whiptail looked up at the emerald green leaves and thick, mud-coloured branches that snaked through them that served as their natural roof. They were a world away from the outside and while most dragons wouldn't even think of going to such a place, Energy Twinkle dreamed of venturing the foreign lands. She looked back at Rhys, her eyes now practically sparkling with joy at the thought of an adventure out in the open.

"Wouldn't it be great if we could go out there?" she grinned, a hopeful expression on her face.

You Think You Know Humanity?

Energy Twinkle

The only reason she was even speed-walking at the moment was to restrain herself from outright running off. Had she done so, it would have left her friend behind and would completely defeat the purpose of bringing him along. Energy just grinned back at Rhys, her sky blue eyes gleaming.

"I kinda did. Sorry 'bout that, big guy," she replied, humour evident in her voice with a tone that implied that she was, in fact, not sorry at all. She abruptly stopped, her ears flicking as she glanced around the area. The part of the forest they were in looked no different than any other part of it but that was precisely why she had chosen that spot. "After all, it would be really bad if any other dragon or human had found it here." She chased away the thought, reassuring herself with the unlikelihood of anyone coming across what she had hidden there.

"Well, you're in luck! We're here~" she chirped excitedly, bouncing on her paws. Stopping just as abruptly as she had begun bouncing, she looked around again, this time scrutinising each tree close to them. Her gaze fell onto a tree with a trunk as thick and rough as any other but had four small ferns drooping slightly at its roots, vaguely resembling a peeled banana, without the banana. Twitching her tail, Energy's diamond blue stripes began to give off a low glow as she focused her telekinesis on the spot with the ferns. Almost casually, a few pawfuls of dirt, as well as the ferns, was lifted out of the ground, a second item following and drifting towards Energy. With a happy squeak, she snatched it with her tail, dumping the levitating soil and plantation back where it belonged and the thin magical blue aura surrounding it disappeared, as did the glow radiating off her stripes.

"Guess what I found in my parents' cave last night!" she said, practically filled from head to tail with exhilaration, once again bouncing on her paws. Her tail, which was extended above her head, was curled tightly around a scroll, complete with a magic seal and parchment paper.

You Think You Know Humanity?

Energy Twinkle

The Whiptail dragon only grinned at her grumbling friend. Her long, striped tail twitched excitedly as she speed-walked ahead of the Royal Crimson. Clearly, Energy Twinkle was excited, as she nearly always was, even for the smallest thing. Hopping onto a mound of soil stacked against the thick trunk of a tree, she flashed a grin at Rhys, her canines plainly showing, before jumping off it.

"Nope!" she answered, skipping ahead once more, "My hunting shift starts at that time and there's no way I'm going out at night if we're gonna do this." At that, she paused before slowly continuing onwards, deliberately not looking at her friend as she continued speaking.

"Speaking of which, it might not entirely be...within the uh, barrier," admitted Energy hesitantly. She was actually a little surprised that Rhys hadn't noticed that they had passed the exit earlier, one of few in the magical barrier that surrounded their clan. Of course, the exits looked no different than the rest of the barrier, due to the Elder dragons' illusionary spell, but any dragon that knew magic could sense the subtle shift in the barrier to know that it was an entrance or exit point. Only the dragons chosen to infiltrate the Human Lands went through those. Granted, the dragons that had to hunt also left the barrier on a daily basis but they had to stick to a set perimeter to avoid contact with the humans.

To sum it all up, Energy was breaking a rule. Maybe two if she went through with what she wanted to show her friend. Then again, she had ensured that no dragon had seen them leave the barrier and caused no reason for any dragon to suspect her of doing anything wrong. Except maybe for Rhys. Well, what the Elders didn't know wouldn't harm them. She grinned at the thought.

You Think You Know Humanity?

Username: Night_Star
Name: Energy Twinkle
Species: Whiptail dragon
Age: Just entered the Adult stage
Personality: Energy Twinkle is just like her name - she has so much energy, she's usually gone in the twinkle of an eye! She's very friendly and she just cannot sit still. Exploring new places is her thing, especially places that have a sense of mystery and adventure about them. Energy tends to easily get over-excited about something and she can get so hyped about something, it's almost heart-breaking to see her reaction when things don't turn out the way she expects them to. She has a stubborn streak when the situation calls for it. When there's a fight, she never backs down, no matter how fragile her Whiptail body might be.
Appearance:

Dragon Form

Human Form

She'll look like an average seventeen-year old teenage girl, with slightly tan skin and dark brown hair that reaches past her shoulder blades. Her eyes would be sky blue, turning a vivid deep blue if she uses her telekinesis. Instead of normal human ears, she would retain her scaly, pointed brown dragon ears. They're not very noticeable, as they blend in with her hair. Her long tail will remain, minus the blue stripes.

Abilities/Powers: She's slightly faster than most other Whiptails and has some experience with magic, being able to use moderate telekinesis from pushing a candle over to lifting up another dragon. However, she does not use magic much as it takes a toll on her fragile body.
Other: Running around is one of the things she does best - and she likes it! While using telekinesis, her blue stripes will glow. Like other Whiptails, she is physically weak but her acute speed and agility more than makes up for it.

You Think You Know Humanity?

The Story

The Outdated Plot

There was a time when dragons everywhere lived in peace.

Yes, we are beginning with the most cliched plot of all.

A time when dragons wandered free in the forests, the lands, the oceans, and the skies. A time where there was little controversy between creatures, except when one was hunting for food. No one likes to be eaten so, of course, the little bunnies and rodents tried to speak up for their rights but they did so in vain as dragons and predators simply snapped them up into their jaws. Indeed, it was a time of peace.

Then humanity came along. Well, not exactly. They had been living in their own tiny villages in areas scattered over the world. Being the scared and confused people they were, they knew little of the great, death-defying dragons. What were these rumbling beasts that seemed to live forever? Mothers told their children stories of beings of fire and magic and the men armed themselves for any hostile activity - namely dragons - whenever they went out hunting.

That is, until one fateful day. Humanity invaded the dragons' lands, defeating the mighty beasts with little to no effort. They wielded magic, powerful magic, a possibility that had once been considered inconceivable but now, no longer. With battered prides, the dragons retreated, allowing the humans to take over. And it was when they slunk back into the dark bellies of the mysterious forests, that they vowed that they shall, one day, reclaim what was rightfully theirs.

Now, in the present, humanity lives in a modern society. You know the deal, handphones, iPods, tablets, the Internet. Except for one teensy weensy fact: they have powers! Or the majority do. There's still the 10% without any special abilities. Although, technically, they have magic but since they're human and blissfully ignorant, they call them powers. Dragons are nowhere to be seen in the modern age and are considered to be mythical creatures but that couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, there are dragons who have mastered magic and hidden amongst human folk, posing as the homo sapiens themselves. Their intent is largely based on 'reclaiming what was once theirs' as they had vowed to do so long ago. However, some of them tend to be a bit...aggressive, shall we say, on the poor (not) humans, taking advantage of their disguised selves to give the humans a 'taste of their own medicine'.

Our story follows two dragons, just in their adult stages, who will set out on an inexplicably random and incredible journey ahead. Whatever shall they get up to in the near future? We shall soon see.

The Updated Plot

In the world of Valkemare, there was once a time, so very, very long ago, when everyone lived in peace. The world was a safe haven for mythical creatures and mortals alike. Where the humans tended to their kind's needs, the dragons and griffins hunted to sustain their own, and the mystical celestial beasts bothered no one, minding their own business and living out their long lives in their fortresses in the clouds.

However, the peace between the humans and dragons was an agitated one, a peace that could not truly be called as such, so full of perturbation and unease as it was. Perhaps a better way to word it would be a disdainful tolerance between the two races. The griffins were unnecessarily aggressive animals but they were all bark and no bite, backing off as soon as they were shown hostility. Whereas the dragons were proud creatures, unafraid to pick fights with humans, who were thoroughly outmatched, or griffins, if need be. They hunted as they pleased and even deigned to loot the human villages that they came across. The more ruthless dragons burned down some of them as much as it amused themselves. To them, the humans were tiny, insignificant wastes of space and they had no qualms about stomping them out.

All of this redundant bloodshed and looting enraged the humans but no matter how infuriated they were, the unfair reality of it all grounded them: they were helpless against the brute strength and the powerful magic the dragons wielded. So they fled, running to wherever they could find that was not infested with the bullying beasts that so oppressed them. The dragons became the monsters under the children's beds. They became the demons that haunted the shadows, the glowing eyes that would watch the men as they hunted in the night. Mothers told stories of horrifying beings of fire and magic to their children and the men were perpetually on guard with their pitiful spears and knives on the off-chance that a dragon would stumble across their villages. The humans were scared and confused and all they knew of the dragons were that they were great, demonic beasts with insatiable bloodlust and an everlasting thirst for gold. They had no leverage against the dragons, no allies that could best them - the griffins were abrasive cowards and the celestial creatures that resided in the clouds would never mingle with the puny mortals.

However, it would be unfair, unrealistic even, to say that this cycle of oppression and destruction applied to all dragons and humans. There were dragons who were benevolent towards the humans, perhaps some going so far as to protect them from other dragons. They helped rebuild some of the humans’ villages. They introduced the humans to magic and taught them how to defend themselves. The whispers of these “forbidden friendships” began to spread and unrest prickled within the two races. Opinions clashed and the humans were confused, as were the dragons. Were the dragons not their enemy? Were the humans not their prey?

“Ah,” you think, “this must be the part where they begin to understand each other a little more.” Well, you might be right if this story took place in Galsreim, where humans eventually integrated their society with dragons. Alas, this is not the case. This particular continent is known as Khorvaire.

In Khorvaire, the restful peace between dragons and humans erupted into bitter hostility. They did not pause to stop, and think, and perhaps resolve the matters between themselves, no, no, they did not. For the humans would always be little more than meat sacks to the dragons and the dragons beasts to the hapless humans. The friendlier dragons were not appreciated by their kin for siding with humans and were promptly exiled from their individual clans. So were the humans who tried to understand the dragons; they were kicked out of their villages without abandon. Hate, bitterness, resentment – the continent was smothered with the stifling swaths of loathing that every creature was emitting towards each other.

It was unclear when the vicious cycle broke but when it did, it marked humanity’s turning point in their history with the dragons. A single man, skilled with his magic and experienced in the way of the sword, calmly walked into a village in the middle of being looted and razed to the ground by a pack of dragons. He pulled out his sword and in the deliberate pause before he leaped into action, the light of the fires glinted off the slightly shimmery dragon scales of which the sword’s hilt was adorned with. Before anyone could comprehend what was about to happen, he beheaded the leading dragon, a Brute. The subsequent defeat of the rest of the dragons marked the first of the humans’ victories over the dragons and promptly began the war between dragons and humans. Spread all over the continent, there was no escape from this war and it lasted for well over a decade. It was only when the bravest of humanity’s warriors, the most ingenious of humanity’s mages, and the most innovative of their thinkers finally came up with the best solution that ended it all.

The dragons had no warning; this new tactic that humanity employed came upon them right in the middle of the battlefield, in the dark of night. The dragons that had prided their superiority over the meek humans for so many centuries were finally knocked off their high horses.

The majority of the dragon population in the continent were wiped out by a spell known as Dragon Banishment Procedure, or DBP for short. A Banishment spell was normally harmless. It was only meant to push or lock someone out of a designated area. But after centuries of abuse, a decade of war, and a lifetime of mourned losses, the humans were not pulling their punches. Playing with Life, Death, and Earth mana and countless days of experimenting had resulted in the spell we now know as the unrelenting DBP, the only Banishing spell which serves to send its intended targets out of existence. Only a meagre number of dragons survived. The dragons who had the insight to cast a powerful Protective Barrier around the small dragon nests they had spread out all over the continent. There were, of course, the unfortunate few number of still proud dragons who had scoffed at the idea of humans invading their nests and had only conceded to place a weak Protective Barrier around their own nests. Those nests did not survive.

The humans rejoiced at the defeat of the dragons. Time passed and they evolved with it as well as proudly stating their continent to be dragon-free. As for the dragons? They dared not move past the barriers placed around their nests and quietly rebuilt their lives hidden away from the humans, prides sore and silently contemplating the fact that perhaps the humans were not so meek after all. And so they grudgingly thought to themselves, “Let the humans have their victories for now.”

It is now 2014. Centuries have passed since then. With each day that passes, the dragons get closer to reigniting the fire of despair and destruction that had once swallowed the continent whole. As the ignorant humans relive the same cycles they call “daily life”, the dragons have not been as stagnant.

They will reclaim what was once and is rightfully theirs.

Our story follows two dragons, just in their adult stages, who will set out on an inexplicably random and incredible journey ahead. Whatever shall they get up to in the near future? We shall soon see.

---

The Setting

The Outdated (and poorly written) Setting

I'll be honest, I'm not too good at describing or making out layouts so here's some stuff to form a vague shape in your mind. Let's see, there are forests annnd...there's a city. Not sure what it's called, really.

Okay, you know what, forget this. Here's a nice, detailed map.


Hey, looking much better already! It's from something called Eragon. So, uh, just ignore all the strange words and pretend that there's a nice modern city between the Hardarac Desert and Farthen Dur, okay? With sky-high skyscrapers and wonderful technology. I'm sure we'll get more details as we progress along. All good? Yes? Great!

So now where do the dragons live? How have they managed to maintain their status as "mythical beings"? Well, throw in an ancient illusion spell and a strong magic barrier and I think the dragons are all set. They are now scattered in small clans all over the world, hidden in dark forests, inaccessible mountains, and the such.

The Updated Setting

Now, in the present, humanity lives in a modern society. You know the deal; handphones, iPods, tablets, the Internet. The only difference it has from the world we live in is the fact that magic has become an integral part of society. The magic that the humans once masterfully wielded are still there and generation after generation of messing with magic, the humans have become one with magic themselves, in a way. The modern generation has certain types of magic literally running through their veins. There's always the 5% that end up without these traits but they're rare and are usually looked down by the rest of society, as wonderfully unique people often are. There are magic affinities (yet another method humanity uses to segregate themselves and form groups of varying levels of inferiority and superiority), magic schools, magic universities, even jobs that are tied in with certain magical abilities.

Mana is a resource that Khorvaire is quickly running out of, but it's not stopping them from mining more. Besides, they always have international trading. As it is, mana is a fairly uncommon item and there are few educational institutions who are able to offer educational services on how to utilise mana.

The dragons have done a good job taking refuge from the humans over the centuries. Small (relatively speaking) dragon nests are spread out all over Khorvaire. Thanks to the dragons’ complicated magic, not one of them have been discovered by the humans. These nests consist of a variety of individual dragon breed communities; they have long allied together even before the war had been abruptly put to a halt. For over half a century, the most wisest and experienced amongst the dragon leaders, known as the Elders, have managed to execute an ongoing undercover operation. They pick the most worthy amongst the dragons and they undergo a perfected transformative disguise spell. The spell is extremely intricate - it shifts a dragon's very being into a human's in almost every aspect, with the exception of their magical frequency.

Here's a map of Khorvaire we'll be using. En's and Rhys' dragon nest is in the thick of the Whisper Woods.

Khorvaire

---

So basically yeah, that's the story. Whew, finally got that down. So @Sharyxe and I are gonna have ourselves a nice little role play, y'know, get some writing practice and all that, and while we do have a vague plot (still working out the kinks, heh), it's sorta more like a sandbox world. Kind of. Yes.

Nice little form here:
Username:
Name:
Species:
Age:
Personality:
Appearance:
Abilities/Powers:
Other:

Not sure if I'm missing out on anything. Probably am. Oh well.

All in all, it doesn't look too bad, considering it's the first time I've ever made an actual thread (other than my introductory ones :P). Alright, now to wait for my dear friend.

Ah yes, and did I mention that we'll use DC dragons?

UPDATE AS OF 14TH FEBRUARY 2017

Guess who're still alive and kicking? We are! At least, I am. Not sure how @Sharyxe is doing. Anyway, it's been over a year and much like the dragons, we haven't been idling around. We finally ironed out the bugs and put together a solid plot! Didn't think it'd take so long but eh. It's done so we're rolling on forward! Of course, we might be tweaking some stuff later on but we can worry about that later.

Not sure why I'm talking as if anyone's gonna read this since this RP's just between us two but whatever. (wow that dance pretty much sums up myself)

Hi Peeps! :3

Alright, thanks! ^w^