a collection of tales [[ chronocompass writing ]]

- into the deep -

The sun shone brightly across the sky that morning, and Basil thought it was the perfect day for a little exploration. Ever since he'd been sent to this strange new world and gained the friendship of two very intriguing dragons, he hadn't stopped to settle in any one place. There were too many things to see, and to do! On this particular day, he, Friend, and Bougin had come across a vast canyon. The earth split down the center and mist obscured the bottom. Basil, knowing he could just use his wings to catch himself if he happened to fall, wasn't risk averse at all. He trotted along the very edge of the precipice and whistled merrily (and quite out of tune) as several small stones fell towards the bottom behind him, disturbed by his footsteps.

Friend also eagerly joined in on the cheery tune, and hummed along as he twirled through the air, doing acrobatics that were quite stunning, even more so when done with no fear above a several hundred foot drop.

It was Bougin that was the most cautious among them. Not having wings was usually fine when one could just hold on to a friend, but she really didn't have any hands to grip with in the first place. So instead of waddling across the edge of the canyon like her rider and fellow dragon, she followed a couple feet away from the drop.

Good thing, too, for all of them jolted in surprise when another voice joined in on the singing - or rather, five voices in an only slightly off key harmony. Basil halted his tune, and glanced between both of his dragons, a quick confirmation that neither of them were the ones singing. Friend landed on the edge of the cliff, while Bougin waddled towards the edge and looked down, deep confusion in her eyes.

As the haunting tune echoed up through the canyon and towards them. "We're not alone here, eh?" grinned Basil, once he'd gotten over his shock. He briefly pondered the fact that the mysterious voices could be a trap, or some unfriendly faces, but dismissed it incredibly quickly. If there was any trouble, he'd grab his dragons and teleport away to somewhere new! "HELLO DOWN THERE!" the winged red panda called down into the abyss. He tilted his head and listened. The singing stopped for one long moment, and then continued as before.

"How odd. I love it! Nothing like a good mystery," Basil laughed. Friend, always glad to agree with his rider, nodded eagerly. Bougin hopped as close to the edge as she dared. She was quite intrigued as well. Who or what was behind the mysterious voice? "Hop on, Bougin," Basil nodded towards his second dragon.

Friend beamed in a large grin. "Oh, are we headed down there?" he asked, already back in the air and doing flips in excitement. Bougin clambered up onto Basil's back and held on as best she could with her two small feet.

"But of course," the red panda laughed, and he dove down into the canyon. He would have dropped down as fast as he could when he was alone, but here in this universe, in these adventures, he had people to look out for. Being a ghost meant a fall couldn't hurt him if he was too careless and didn't use his wings in time. The same wasn't true for his dragons.

As the trio glided slowly down and down, through the mist, the singing grew closer and closer. Basil was mesmerized, and he couldn't wait to see who it was. A new friend or a dastardly threat to be beaten - he was ready for either.

What he was not prepared for was to run head-first into the chest of a stunning, black and white, five headed dragon.

Basil flapped hurriedly backward and landed on the canyon floor. A quick glance back showed that Bougin was still there, and as he looked upward he could see Friend making his way towards them. The mist above obscured the top of the canyon, where they had come from. But none of those things drew his eyes quite as much as the new being in front of them. The haunting song stilled as the five heads of the new dragon looked curiously down toward them. "Were you the ones singing up top?" the center head asked, smiling.

"I told you there were more people around!" a feathered added, bobbing up and down.

Basil hopped to attention and grinned back at the friendly fellows. Bougin slipped off of his back as he offered a small bow. "Good to meet you fine folks! We were singing, yeah. I'm Basil. These are my friends, Bougin and, er, Friend." He held out a paw in hopes for a welcoming handshake. It had taken him a while to learn all of those social norms, but he thought he could do quite well with it these days! 

The five heads of the dragon each nodded back in their own way, and one clawed hand reached back and accepted the handshake. The rightmost head, a finned figure with striking blue eyes, spoke up. "We're the Company. Ocean, Storm, Metal, Wind, and Dark, individually. Not often that others come by here - first time out in the canyon?"

"Well, yes," Basil agreed. "I assume you hang out here a lot? Mind giving us singing lessons?" He was an awful singer, he knew, but he always loved an opportunity to sing some songs, anyway.

- discover yourself -

Wind, the feathered head, seemed to be the one in charge of the cool tunes. Basil was fascinated by the Company as a whole - the five heads of the dragon, always moving and talking and singing, were so hard to keep track of, but he was doing his best anyway. He and his dragons sat down in the canyon, the mist swirling above all their heads. Friend was attentive and excited, tail tapping along with Wind's song. Bougin, on the other paw, was quite happy to just hop around them all. Basil sent her a mental message to not trip, though she didn't answer, too wrapped up in her own head.

Though Wind was certainly the main singer, all of the Company's heads added their own personal touch to the song. Ocean added a siren melody in a higher octave, Storm and Dark sang some lower chords, and Metal, the mediator, added a drum beat with just her voice. While they certainly weren't perfect, it was clear the dragon had been practicing an awful lot over time, probably in this exact canyon. It was fascinating.

Basil fluffed up his fur and tried to sing along, though he was sure he was pretty awful. A lot of folks over his many years had criticized his singing. Luckily for him, and unfortunately for others, he didn't really care. He followed along with the melody as best as he could, and as loud as he could. The magic of this new world was fascinating to experience - he almost felt as if the song was filling him with bravery, a rush of energy that moved him to go out and conquer the world, in his own silly way.

When the song ended, the dragons and rider calling up at the sky, Basil smiled and listened to the last echoes travel down the walls of the crevice. "That was so cool! You guys are great at that, you know?"

Bougin hopped one final lap around the group and then tumbled down to the ground with a laugh and a nod of agreement. Friend, energized by the magic of the music, did a couple twirls in the air before settling back down again. "Yeah! I don't know what it was, but that music just inspired me, man!"

Wind beamed at the comments of Basil and Friend. "I - thank you! It's nice of you to say that. It's just the power of song - wind dragons can put magic into music, and I've been practicing a lot recently."

Metal nodded, floating horns bobbing up and down. "We're on a mission of a sort, to learn every bit of magic we can to protect our rider," she said proudly.

Basil was enraptured. "Well that sounds delightful! Has it been going alright for you?" He still knew next to nothing about dragons, but he still had a feeling that the five headed dragon was a bit of an unusual fellow. His mind was racing - how many types of magic were there? Could any dragons travel through time, as Basil did so often? He was full of questions and reeling from the possibilities.

Dark, the head with the ears and the cool floating orb, sighed. "I feel like it's taking forever and we're not making much progress. I mean, Wind's singing has been going on every day for three weeks. When are we going to learn about my magic?"

Ocean leaned in. The dragon's long tail twitched against the dirt and rock beneath them. "We'll get there soon, Dark. Mastering such things takes time, after all."

The five headed dragon seemed to be so used to talking amongst themselves that they almost forgot that Basil, Bougin, and Friend were still there. Bougin clambered up onto Basil's back as the red panda tapped his feet. He was watching the Company with immense interest. "Can my dragons learn all the magic you're learning?"

A paw reached up and scratched Storm's nose. "Depends. What elements are they?" she asked, voice curious.

"Uh...." Basil stammered. He didn't know what to say, and chose to fill in the silence with whatever words came to mind. "I don't know? I thought dragons are just dragons. You guys have elements? That's cool. Ooh, do I have an element?"

Ocean laughed, a light sound that echoed around them. "All riders do! You really aren't aware?"

"Nope!" Basil shrugged, a clueless grin on his face. "We haven't been here long, after all."

"Metal, are you willing to give them a look over?" Wind questioned.

The center head nodded. "Yeah." She stared intently at Basil and his two dragons, all of whom couldn't really stay still under her scrutinizing gaze.

"You've got a brilliance to you," Metal offered. "A sense of adventure, a bravery beyond belief. And a pure heart beneath it all."

"Just like our dear Teeba!" Wind added, delighted. "He has to be a metal rider, right?"

Dark tilted her head, thinking. "Well, there's certainly a way to find out."

"What do you mean? You know how I can find out more about all of this?" Basil asked eagerly. He hopped up onto his four paws. Bougin held tightly on and thankfully didn't fall off. Friend flew in circles above.

Ocean offered her wisdom. "When you're ready to learn, ready to find out what your place in the chronoscape is... come to Salvus. Folks there will be able to help."

Directions flashed into Basil's mind, a delightful map that led to a bustling town hidden in a forest. He grinned. Looks like he knew where he was going next.