a collection of tales [[ chronocompass writing ]]

- returning to the start -

Erden wasn't sure what to make of the world. He had come into the world without a rider and been so very, very lonely - but now he had a family. His rider, Ashgar, was a master of the ocean thanks to his crew of dragons, and Erden gladly lent his skills to the people that had rescued him. Unfortunately, after spending all his life quiet, tucked away, Erden wasn't very used to the seemingly endless amount of dragons he went on adventures with these days. Today, when several excited dragons had asked him to show them his favorite hidden spots beneath the waves, he hadn't been sure what to say. Yes, of course he wanted to share all the things he knew - but when there were two other exuberant dragons chatting away the whole time, it got a bit overwhelming.

He was still learning names and matching them to faces, but these two dragons he recognized. One was a purple bird - or was it bat? He had introduced himself as Delta, and the oddest thing about him were the two swords that stood as horns on his head. The other dragon, Cartographer, was a bright and optimistic man with a treasure map painted across himself. Cartographer claimed it had always been there, but it was surely an odd coincidence that the map like dragon was so obsessed with charting out everywhere he went.

Either way, Erden found the two to be pleasant company, if a bit loud. Even under the water like they were, the duo were constantly shouting out their thoughts. It seemed like a wonderful way to get the attention of everything scary that lay in the depths. He had taken the other dragons out from the shore and towards the coral reef that he loved so much. The sunlight above them filtered through the water and illuminated the sand and stone beneath.

"Where we're going - is this where we fought you?" Cartographer mentally questioned. The dragon's wings were outstretched as he glided through the water. Neither Delta or Cart had fins, and they lagged behind Erden, who was built for the open sea.

"Very near it, yes," Erden replied in kind. He admired how the sun shone off his gemstone scales. What a delight that he was made so colorful! It meant that he fit right in among the coral. If only they could get to it soon - if only Delta and Cartographer could speed up! "I think we smashed some of the coral when we fought there. I still feel bad about that."

"But I bet it was a pretty epic battle! Right?" Delta was having issues getting through the water - feathers weren't really made for swimming - but he was trying his best. The feathery fellow was very cheerful nonetheless, going on about how cool this all was and how much he loved the idea of a fight, and his sorrow at missing it.

Erden swam onward. They were close now - the coral reef wasn't that much further ahead. "Fairly epic. I took hardly any hits - scales made of gems are surprisingly hardy." He couldn't help but brag a bit.

Cartographer snorted, and bubbles erupted from his blue nose. "Scales mean nothing compared to force of will and kindness of heart." He managed to pull ahead by digging his claws into the sand and stone and dragging himself forward. 

"Force of will doesn't matter when you're dead," Delta mused. "Although I bet that would mean you'd die in a fairly cool way."

Cart whirled in the water and gasped at Delta. "I didn't mean it like that! We would never have killed you, Erden, don't listen to him."

Indeed, Erden wasn't listening. He was focused intently on the destination, on the current of the water pulling him back to where he'd begun, where he'd hatched. The mental back and forth between the other two dragons quieted in his mind as he let the water take him where it would. The stone and sand beneath him changed to coral. First a single piece, and then a colorful menagerie of bright shapes and spirals, all reaching toward the sun. The colors were blinding, and he loved it. He was at home.

He whirled around in the water and laughed, a sound that turned into an explosion of bubbles. Erden turned back around to see that Cartographer and Delta had caught up at last. The two were quite in awe of the place, and Erden felt proud that this was his domain, his place that he kept careful watch over. Several equally bright fish swam by, and Delta turned to watch them as they continued on their merry way.

"Cart, Erden, you two didn't tell me just how spectacular it was here!" Delta said, grin on his batty face. "Is there treasure here?" He floated lazily above some of the coral and took it all in, eyes wide.

Cartographer shrugged. "Who cares about treasure? Imagine how long it's going to take to map this place out! I can't wait." Only Cart would enjoy making the map of an entire section of ocean. Erden thought it was hilarious. 

"There's always treasures to be found here," Erden said in answer to Delta's question. "Feeling like going and taking a look?" Delta's excited nod was all that Erden needed. He turned and dove further down into the expanse of the coral reef, ready to discover whatever the reef would show him this time.

911 words

- fish lead the way -

Cartographer had quite the appreciation for fish. The scales of the creatures were delightful, all sorts of colors, and some had a shine to them that Cart loved. Several days ago, Erden had shown him and Delta his favorite place to explore. Today, it was Cartographer's turn. The issue was that anywhere Cart had been was no longer his favorite. He lived to catalogue things, and once a section of land was pieced together, there wasn't as much worth to it.

But living creatures - those always had worth. Especially the fish. Today those fish were going to lead him, Delta, and Erden off on a brand new adventure. Or at least, so he hoped. He met the other two dragons by the side of a river, the water lazily drifting by below them. Erden was already in the water - the blue and orange dragon was at home in any body of water more than any other one of Ashgar's many dragons. 

Delta, who had been throwing rocks into the river, perked up upon seeing Cart approach. "Took you long enough to get here! Where have you been?"

Cartographer nodded toward the satchel attached to his waist. It was securely closed, but he knew what was inside, having packed it not even an hour prior. There were papers, maps and schematics, and pens to draw with. Of course, all were waterproof, thanks to a little helpful magic. "I was preparing for the trip. Who knows where the fish are going to take us?"

Erden splashed some water up on the grassy shore where Delta and Cart still stood. "Perfectly chilly. Why not hop in? Then we can get started."

Cart felt the light breeze blowing by, appreciated the sunlight shining above, and the damp green grass beneath his claws. He stretched his wings and dove into the water. It went everywhere, spilling on top of the other dragons. Delta sputtered and sighed. "I'd prefer to stay above the water this time, if you don't mind."

Erden shrugged his wings. "Fair. Not your fault you weren't made as fit for underwater battle as me."

"Hey!" Delta objected loudly. Cartographer chuckled, only his head above the water, and glanced about. Sure enough, the same red fish he had seen last time he was here were still around, and hopefully, those fish could take him somewhere new. He ducked his head beneath the water and looked intently at the fish. He blinked. The fish didn't blink back. He didn't need to say anything - the fish turned and started swimming upstream, and Cartographer motioned to his friends to follow. Thankfully, they did. 

The current was hard to fight against, and Cartographer took a moment to appreciate Delta, up above, able to fly with nothing to fight against except for the light wind. Cartographer felt like going out of the water to fly with him, but not this time. He had to prove himself to Erden, and he had to keep track of the fish. The little finned creatures were appearing to have a bit of an easier time. They swam cheerfully ahead. 

Cartographer had been partway up this river once, last month. He had seen several intriguing things, and yet hadn't bothered to take any of them home. Perhaps, this time around, he and the other two dragons would carry it all back for Ashgar to sell or trade away, or to make incredible things.

Erden swam quickly, but didn't quite pull ahead of Cartographer. This wasn't his adventure to lead. It took a long half hour swim until they reached their destination. The bright fish brought them up to the river's source, and fled back down the stream from where they'd come. Cart nodded a quiet thank you to the fish as they left, and turned to see what they would find here.

Delta swooped in and landed next to the bubbly pond the river flowed from. Hidden here in the water were shines, sparks - the winged dragon wasn't sure what he was seeing, but he knew it would be something cool. The others picked up on it quite quickly, as well. Erden dove back beneath the water, and when he emerged, he clutched several shining stones in his mouth. He spat them out on the grass covered shore. 

"Not a bad spot, Cart!" Delta said. He hopped over and picked up one of the stones, to admire it. The stone was a deep silver, with little specks of white deep within the metal. It was like the rock held a hundred tiny stars within it. "Ashgar can certainly do something with this."

"Then jump in! Help gather it all up," Cartographer said. Water splashed up towards the feathered dragon. "You can get wet at last."

Delta sighed, and took a few steps away. "I don't think I will," he said, dramatically and mournfully. He was quite enjoying protesting over such a silly thing. When Cart went to argue some more, Delta laughed and jumped into the water, sending a small wave over Erden and Cart.

Cartographer rose from the depths of the pond, laughing, and sent his own splash of water back. It didn't take very long for Erden to join in, too. The fighter of a dragon wasn't going to be bested in a battle! Gathering up all the items that the fish had led them to would happen later, but now was simply a time for play.

906 words

- up through ruins -

At last, it was Delta's turn to share his favorite location to explore. The feathery dragon knew just the place to go, too. He knew all the best places to salvage that weren't below the water. Tsotska De La Mer held many secrets - but other planets had their own treasures to be found. Off on a vastly different planet, there were a series of old, abandoned buildings, filled with metal, technology, and fascinating creatures. He twirled excitedly in the air as Cartographer and Erden looked around the apparently empty street.

"So where are you taking us today, Delta?" Cart asked, curiosity present in his face. The map dragon had spent the night sewing up a tear in his cloth wing, and yet he still was delightfully excited about the prospect of mapping out another brand new place.

Delta whirled in the sky and turned toward his two friends. "You'll see! The best building's right over there. Some super cool things inside, I can tell you that. But I want it to be a surprise!"

Erden was far less energetic about this newest adventure. Thankfully, he could float along in the air, but he still felt very uncomfortable out of the ocean. Where Delta was more at home here, Erden was out of his element - in many ways, quite literally. "I hope it's a good surprise. It was a long trip out to this planet."

Delta led the way toward the best building of all. He was especially fond of the little mechanical animals that lived in this place. He had no idea how they all had gotten there, but was very sure that his friends would enjoy it. "Just give it a chance," he said, cheerily. When the trio reached the door, he raised a claw and knocked. The flutter of metal wings spun from inside, and he took it as an invitation to enter.

The door squeaked open, and Delta led Cartographer and Erden inside. It was night, but three moons shone high in the sky. The moonlight shone in through gaps in the wood and metal the building was built of. Delta used that light to see what was inside. It wasn't quite as he had left it the last time he had been here, but it was comfortably familiar nonetheless.

Cartographer stepped inside and glanced nervously around. When he saw no threats, he smiled and moved further in. A folded paper and metal bird fell down and landed on Cart's nose. The dragon jumped and gasped. "What are you?"

An identical trio of metal birds fluttered from the sky and circled around Delta, while another curiously checked out Erden. "Oh, I was hoping they'd be here! I'm still not sure myself. They've just always been here. Someone must have made them and then... just left."

Erden tracked the birds with a suspicious glare. "Fascinating creatures. I don't like them all hanging around, but they're not attacking us, at least." The paper and metal birds reminded him of the sea creatures that hung around the coral reef. Startling, and numerous, but ultimately harmless. When the bird that was watching him moved on to greet Delta, Erden floated deeper into the dark, moonlit building, to search for worthwhile pieces of loot.

Cartographer soon joined him, and the two made their way to the back of the house, where they found an ancient staircase. It was nearly too skinny for Erden to fit, but he managed, and Delta caught up with them quickly when he saw they were moving on. Several of the birds zoomed past them, up to whatever was ahead.

The stairs seemed to go on forever. They kept going up and up, back and forth, and just when Erden thought the stairs could go up no further, they emerged into the moonlight.

Delta had been up here several times in the past. This was some long gone tinkerer's workshop, a delightful place with a domed glass ceiling that let all the light shine through. There were bits and bobs scattered everywhere, across the floor and workbenches and leaned up against the walls. It was a veritable trove of loot, and Erden, Cartographer, and Delta worked for about an hour to sort through the best stuff. The dragons grabbed the best metal pieces, the most intriguing trinkets, and the most fascinating treasures. At last, when the treasure was gained and put in a pile to take home, the moons has risen higher in the sky.

The sky was bright and shining now, and Delta flew up towards the top of the dome. He could see so many stars - the night above was a patchwork quilt of lights. Beautiful. Erden had fallen asleep atop one of the work benches, so it was just Delta and Cartographer who took the chance to admire the wonders above them.

Quietly, so Erden wouldn't be awakened, Cartographer spoke. "You have a really nice favorite place. All of us do. What do you think the rest of our rider's dragons have for their places?"

Delta smiled at the stars. "I've got no clue. Perhaps we could ask them? I bet we could gather up a bunch of cool things by going to all of these different places, too."

"Not a bad idea," said Cartographer with an excited nod. "It'll be nice to catalogue all the places, too."

"You and your maps," laughed Delta. "One day, I bet you'll have the whole galaxy mapped out."

Cartographer looked to the stars and imagined visiting every one of them. "That would be nice. Really nice."

928 words