Footsteps scrape over stone beyond the hollow. A lean young dragon woman emerges between the ocher rocks, her russet scales dust-streaked, narrow wings folded, and one ivory horn chipped at the tip.
She stops well outside the spring’s reach, breathing hard. An ivory-marked strip of nesting cloth hangs from one claw, while the nesting ground lies beyond the rise with Black-wing still unconscious under the elders’ care.
Mareth
Caedryn. Tempesta. The elders need an account of what happened, while every witness remembers it clearly.
Mareth
This is a summons for witness and responsibility, not a demand for immediate bonding. Caedryn may remain here with Tempesta if he chooses.
Mareth lowers the cloth but does not approach. Her gaze passes over Caedryn’s treated wing, then returns to Tempestra, careful and plainly expectant.
Caedryn
I will answer the elders, but I will not leave before Tempesta decides what happens next. The choice remains hers.
Mareth
Then come when you are ready, or send your account with me. The elders will wait long enough to hear it properly.
✓ Quest Accepted
Give the elders an account of the challenge
“ill go meet the elders”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +1)
Tempestra leaves the spring and crosses the hollow’s threshold, keeping her damaged wing close. Mareth turns toward the rise, and Tempestra follows her down the stony path.
Caedryn
I will come as well. My wing can carry me, and my account belongs beside yours.
Caedryn steps carefully after them, injured wing held tight. Mareth keeps a respectful distance, the ivory-marked cloth visible against her russet scales.
Mareth
The elders will hear the contest, the declared mate-claim, and the boundary you placed around bonding. Nothing more will be assumed.
They crest the rise together. The nesting ground opens below, its dust settling around the guarded ring where the unconscious black female remains under the elders’ care.
The ivory elder steps forward from the watching dragons, immense and weathered beneath the cliffs. Rust, slate, and ivory bodies form a silent court around her.
The Ivory Elder
Tempesta, Caedryn, and Mareth, stand before the elders. Give us the truth of what occurred, and let witnessed choice guide what follows.
“I recount the challenge and my boundary plainly”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +0)
tempestra
I challenged Black-wing for the corridor and defeated her. Caedryn then offered strength without obedience, and I tested him in turn.
tempestra
He struck cleanly, endured my lightning, and escaped my holds. I accepted him as my mate because he proved worthy, not because he overcame me.
tempestra
My boundary is plain: I accepted Caedryn as my mate, but not yet as my bonded partner. That second consent must be earned by us both.
Tempestra’s account carries across the nesting ground without boast or apology. Dust drifts around her claws as the gathered dragons listen in complete silence.
Caedryn
That is my account as well. She chose freely, fought openly, and set the boundary before witnesses. I accepted it without reservation.
Mareth
The contest was lawful, the mate-claim was declared, and the limit on bonding was unmistakable. No elder can call that surrender or coercion.
The Ivory Elder
Then the record stands. Tempestra and Caedryn are mates by declared choice, while bonded partnership remains absent until both give renewed consent.
Quest Complete
Give the elders an account of the challenge
Attribute Upgrade: Agility Great→Superb