Ember slid in quietly, leathery wings beating a soft whoomph as he approached the Wishing Stone. Its call had fascinated him, drawn him like a moth to flame, and now he landed--after a moment's curious circling--before it.

Wings folded at his back, and he prowled cautiously to the rock, face innocent and fascinated. One hand, careful, laid atop the stone, the white claws settling there. And as Ember did this, he understood what the Wishing Stone was. ...Anything I want? he wondered, amazed.

He took a breath, and spoke softly.

"I want to be a smith. I want others to come from all over the caves to have me make their armor, their weapons, and to enchant them with all sorts of magic. I want to help them. I want to be looked up to for my work. For it to be... good." He hesitated, because there was one important step that should come first.

"...Also, I need to learn how to smith things."

That seemed like an important step.

Ember let go, and slid back, daring to feel hopeful--but worried that he was asking perhaps a bit too much.

The song touched the white goose's ears and she followed its source to the Wishing Stone, waiting quietly for its next request. She'd not known something like this before - a magical stone that granted wishes? Could she ask for anything? Anything she wanted?

What did Nameless want? Well...a name, for one. But she would not ask that. Cycles upon cycles of being nameless had left her fairly content with waiting for the right name to choose. Perhaps she would never find one, and she found herself okay with that. As long as she found a name she could be worthy of.

Then, what else? Friends? Like a stone could forge a connection like that! Even if it could, she didn't want a false, manufactured link. She wanted it to be real. Friendships were made over time. Bonds were made over long periods of care. They had to be nurtured.

The idea popped into her head, then. Something to nurture, care for. Oh, how she craved it. How she'd mourned when she found the apatite chrysalis broken open and the child gone, wandering the caves somewhere, most likely, without her to mother them. How she yearned to care for someone so deeply, be a mother to them and watch them thrive from her doting care and love.

So she asked the wishing stone, quietly, with a trill of excitement in her voice, "Will you give me someone to love? Someone I can protect and nurture like a child?"

It took a few days for the little star creature to hear the call of the stone, but when he did, he was drawn like a moth to flame, standing before the wishing stone with gleaming eyes wide with wonder. He could smell lingering scents in the air, feel where others had been under his feet. Shed fur, a feather or two, little bits left behind showing that this was a gathering place, at least for now while the magic was here. Incredible! What a special, wonderful moment! And how glad he was that he was here to participate in it!

He crouched down and wiggled forward, wings curled back against his body. Ooooo he had to wish for something real good! But there were so many things he could wish for! He could wish for Meissa to have more flowers, for him to look more pretty, for more and more friends, for everyone to suddenly break out in dance and have a giant party...

He shook himself out of his thoughts and continued spinning the wheel in his brain, trying to figure out what he wanted to wish for before he ended up coming up with a real good idea. "I wanna bring joy to people! I want people to just be so happy when I'm around! I know I kind of do that already, at least I think so, but I wanna do it more!"

Maximus took the stone into their massive hands, holding the gem as daintily as they possibly could. Ever so gently, they looped the chain around their neck, letting it settle amongst their fur and quills, right over their chest and close to their own heart.

”Thank you,” they said, bowing their head graciously. ”I will use this gift well. Right away, even! Thank you, wishing stone.”

They would leave, for a time, only to come back the next day.

---

Maximus returned, though their mood was somber. They pressed their back to the stone and slid down, their quills clicking against its surface as they went. They hid their face in their arms, which they placed on their knees, their ears drooping and their demeanor sad.

”... When I left the Chaos Forge, I-I had to leave someone behind in exchange for my freedom. A child, my child. And not Porkchop, he kind of got himself kicked out. But... But this child had no choice, no choice at all. Not only did I leave Khavur behind and flee like a coward, I-I left them, too. I don't even know what they look like.”

Maximus sniffled and wiped their eyes, curling up a bit further. ”And I know it's so, so selfish of me, but I want them here. I want them with me. God, I just... I want to see them, to know they're okay, at least.”

They looked up at the stone with teary eyes, pressing their hand to it. ”Please... I want to know if they're okay. I wish you could show me what they look like, their name, how they're doing. Please.”

Max had held onto this guilt for so long and hadn't been able to let go. Maybe this would bring them some peace.

It arrived just in time to see a glaive fall into the world out of nowhere, glowing with a soft, glorious light. Kind of like itself, it thought absently, twisting its head over its shoulder to give a long, admiring look at the tendrils on its back pulsating with green light. Beautiful. Look at the shining blade on that glaive...

Bedlam wasn't under the delusion that it could make any use of something like that. Any cool, tall weapon like that would look significantly less cool if the wielder was a struggling catwhale. Besides, it had its own specialization within which it was fond of dangerous experimentation...

It waddled over to the stone, sitting next to it and covering it with two faintly glowing paws. "Magic," it wished out loud. "Something showy and powerful, like that weapon that guy just got. Noisy and flashy and dangerous and awesome to look at."

It closed its soft green eyes, a wide, happy grin stretched across its face as it imagined magic that would awe the world—and itself.

Hera knew what she wanted as soon as she saw the stone.

Oh, she was sure that if she really thought hard, she could come up with other wishes too. Which person in these caves had only one heart's desire, after all? But this was her first reaction, her gut instinct, the aching want that hit her like a fist when she found out, all of a sudden, that there was something that could grant it. The stone's own mesmerizing colors seemed to confirm: yes, wish for this, this is what you've wanted for ages.

She flapped down to the wishing stone with an unusual kind of clumsiness. It was like the natural grace and confidence of an eagle in flight had all been swept away by her leaping heartbeat and eager nervousness.

"Colors," she whispered, leaning down to touch the tip of her beak to the stone. "Like you. Bright colors, glorious colors, that I can put on and change without getting my feathers sticky with sugar and berry juice. Golden, coral pink, whatever. Anything but this gray drabness."

She leaned back, breathless with anticipation.

Pelt wouldn't lie. She'd totally thought this was just some other stupid land animal party at first. All of them crowding around some random rock and milling around aimlessly. What were they doing, wasting their time like this? Nobody was using the opportunity to have fun and race, or beat people up, or affectionately bully anyone! Those three things being pretty much Pelt's only goals in life, of course she thought this was ridiculous.

But then people actually got things. A shining, wicked-looking blade that looked AMAZING for beating people up. A mountain of colorful jewelry (okay, yeah, that WAS pretty stupid and laughable. So Pelt hadn't been completely wrong). But just because other people might not be wishing for things she approved of didn't mean Pelt couldn't use this opportunity to improve her ability to beat people up EVEN MORE.

In a lightning-quick movement, she shot from the Crystal River and nearly slammed her nose against the rock. "Something to help me fight magic," she hissed, hatred narrowing her eyes as she remembered her ill-fated battle with an ice dragon. She would never be humiliated like that again.

Faceless had been... vaguely aware of the wishing stone's existence for these past few days. It'd been pretty tempted to go visit, actually, but there'd always been too many people. Faceless was... less than fond of crowds.

It figured it'd just come back some other time. But each time it came back, the number of people present only increased from the last. Finally, it decided to just... steel its nerves and go in.

During the dark cycle, though. And also lurking underneath a haphazard cover of glowing moss. After having lurked behind various rock formations all day, waiting for the moment when most Gembound had left. It emerged from its hiding place slowly, the tongue from its snake-tail flickering nervously, and crawled over to hook an arm around the stone.

I want... to know what's going on, it mused. To know people's intentions, if they're, like, safe to be around or are totally uncool. To know what they're thinking when I can't tell from looking and can't understand what they're saying? And make, like, good decisions off of that?

Forgraves had thanked the rock for the box, before rushing to help bebby carry the hefty loud of stuff she had recieved, walking home with his box in tow, exciting to uncover its secrets. he would be back


which is exactly what he was right now!! everyone else was at home, so he hoped it'd be easier to carry things home this time, if only a little. he smiled as he sat in front of the rock again, dipping his head.

"thank you very much for the box, studying it so far has been incredible, i've never seen such craftsmanship! thank you, truly." he said, before continuing.

"now, i'm back, and i was wondering. do you have anything that would make brewing tea easier? i don't have maybe the CORRECT equipment, but i've read from books in the library of things like it. its definitely a trouble trying to get the mess of clay ive pulled together to work for me, heh." he said, chuckling. "anything like that would help tons, given it seems everyone in my home wants tea almost all the time. much appreciated.


"Speech." Thoughts.

what might this be..?

The Wishing Stone hummed and chimed, as if deep in thought. After all, learning to smith was a matter of finding a mentor--and the caves had that, already. But then again... Inspiration! With a loud clatter, a massive blacksmith hammer suddenly fell to the ground to one side of Ember. The moment the hybrid touched it, he'd hear a crotchety old voice ringing through his head, deep and aggravated: 'Who's this now!? Who's this? I've been asleep for years--maybe more!--and now some pup wakes me up? Fancy yourself a smith, do you? I've seen better smiths in the cradle, lad! Pick that handle up properly! And address me by my full name! Sir Hammersly, to you! Why, when I was your age...'

The ranting continued. But the hammer clearly knew what it was 'talking' about, and so long as Ember could deal with 'Sir Hammersly's' temper, it might be able to teach him a thing or two.

Ember receives: Sir Hammersly. (See below for more details. When properly bonded with, Sir Hammersly will reveal the location of an old, non-magical forge somewhere in Orion's ruins that Ember can work toward restoring.)

OOC reward:
Dark has won their choice of a Tier One reward, and may claim any of the following for ANY of their characters in Update Me or Discord's Requests channel: Low Spell Borrow, 300 Magicka, Lost Stone (Guaranteed Revive, Earth Animal, GM-Rolled)

---

Nameless was met with a quiet thoughtfulness, an almost sad note to the chiming. A familiar could be loved, but they would never be a child. Perhaps, somewhere, there was a lost and lonely child that could use a parent to protect them, in turn..? A soft hum of hesitation entered the stone's song, as though it were deep in thought--and this turned brighter, as if with inspiration. Nameless would suddenly see a vision: a dull, pale brown chrysalis, streaked dark red, somewhere deep within the bone-stacked shelters of Canis. The vision swept backward. The chrysalis was buried--hidden deep under piles of bones, bones Nameless would need to clear away to help the child hatch again. And with this vision came a sense of deep sadness, and of fear--a sense of a lost child, someone who had seen terrible things and lay in hiding ever since. Someone, perhaps, who could use a parent.

Nameless receives: Directions to a long-dormant chrysalis.

OOC reward:
Jaymie has won their choice of a Tier Five reward, and may claim a Winner's Choice in Update Me or Discord's Requests channel!

---

Arcturus was met with a brightly thoughtful chime. It was a kind request that he was making; but the stone could not promise that all the strangers he would ever meet would simply be happy at his presence. But-...! 'Everyone loves food,' came the sudden, cheerful thought. And to that end, a small drawstring bag of plain, pale cloth tumbled to the floor beside him. It smelled of whatever Arcturus might like best to eat as a snack--be that clouds of gas or chunks of dried jerky or popcorn. The smells coming from the bag were mouthwatering. And somehow, he would know that the little bag--and everything inside it--was called Trail Mix: and that it'd always be the way to a new friend's heart. Or, at least... their stomach.

Arcturus receives: Trail Mix. (See below for enchanted item details.)

---

Maximus's request was met with a long, long silence. The Wishing Stone went quiet, its colors dimming, as though it were searching the entirey of the caves. When at last it lit back up, the gemstone's song was almost questioning: and the image that Max would briefly see, in their own mind, was one of a simple, dark Oilstone chrysalis. It was not even clear where the stone was lying, or how it'd come to be there--or even if the Wishing Stone were certain that this was the right one. And it came with a sense of apology--that it was a shame that more could not be done. Sad.

Maximus receives: A vision of a chrysalis.

OOC Reward:
Charlie has won their choice of a Tier Two reward, and may claim any one of the following for ANY of their characters in Update Me or Discord's Requests channel: Medium Spell Borrow, 500 Magicka, or Lost Stone (Guaranteed Revive, Hybrid Animal, GM-Rolled)

---

For Bedlam, there came a bright and happy chiming! The Wishing Stone knew just the thing! Oh, if only all requests were so easily honored. It seemed to hope that Bedlam would be happy--and as if in promise of what was to come, the stone gave a sharp, dark tone and a flash of light. In an instant, Bedlam's mind was flooded with the knowledge of a new magic--one that was noisy, and flashy, and dangerous, and awesome to look at.

Bedlam receives: Lightning Storm.

OOC Reward:
Cicada has won their choice of a Tier One reward, and may claim any of the following for ANY of their characters in Update Me or Discord's Requests channel: Low Spell Borrow, 300 Magicka, Lost Stone (Guaranteed Revive, Earth Animal, GM-Rolled)

---

Hera's request was also easily honored, and again the Wishing Stone practically vibrated as though with excitement. This spell's inner workings flashed and curled through Hera's mind with bright possibility. It could come in so many colors! And in any patterns! And with such ease! -Would this be enough..? The Wishing Stone seemed hopeful, waiting with bated breath (though the stone was a stone and did not, in fact, need to breathe).

Hera receives: Pattern Painter.

---

Ahh, magic was difficult to fight for one who chose to fight with tooth and... flipper. For Pelt, the Wishing Stone again sent out a flash of new knowledge--but this one wasn't magical. It was the knowledge usually earned by one who'd earned their scars in much the same way: fighting, and failing, to tackle an enemy mage. But there were ways to dodge a blast, for those with such experience; ways to use terrain and movements to avoid the worst of a magical spell or--failing that--to move the body in a way that at least reduced the damage that was done.

Pelt receives: Deflect.

---

The request that Faceless gave was a good one, and was met with a sort of thoughtful, conspiratorial chiming. The Wishing Stone knew just what Faceless meant--or, at least, it felt as though it did. It was so hard, sometimes, to know just what someone wanted-! The Stone had great experience in this. Perhaps it could share..? A way to judge intent, to gauge desire? Yes--this would do.

Faceless receives: Gauge.

---

The Wishing Stone gave Forgraves a sort of hum of happiness. Gratitude was always so welcome! And now came a quiet clink, to one side. Hopefully Forgraves could carry a tea tray, because this one was delicate--porcelain white, broad, a handle at each end. And stacked atop it was a full, if rather small, tea set: a kettle and teacups, a creamer and a small cup for sugar, and tiny silver teaspoons. The entire thing was beautifully wrought, with only one tiny chip on a single cup; all were pale pink and white, laced with gold and silver.

Forgraves receives: A fine tea set.

OOC Reward:
Josie has won their choice of a Tier Two reward, and may claim any one of the following for ANY of their characters in Update Me or Discord's Requests channel: Medium Spell Borrow, 500 Magicka, or Lost Stone (Guaranteed Revive, Hybrid Animal, GM-Rolled)

---

Spells and enchanted icons for profiles will be handed out shortly!

Identified Item!

Arcturus has received an identified item from The Wishing Stone!

3★ Trail Mix A small drawstring sack that always seems to smell pleasant.

☆☆☆★★★ Trail Mix A small drawstring pouch that always seems to smell pleasant, no matter who is doing the smelling. Opening the bag with the intention of retrieving a snack for someone will provide that 'someone' with one of their most preferred snack foods, even if they've never tasted or seen it before. Somehow, it always remains (mostly) clean. Residual scents of jerky, chocolate, fruit, popcorn and potato chips sometimes emanate from the bag at random. ELEMENT: MAGIC LEVEL: 80 DURABILITY: 10 SPECIAL: The bag provides preferred snacks to whomever intends to take food from it. MATERIAL: Simple, rough cloth ATTACK: N/A ADDED: N/A DEFENSE: 0 WEIGHT: 3 EQUIP: Bag (carried) Currently owned by: Arcturus

Identified Item!

Ember has retrieved an item from The Wishing Stone!

1★ Sir Hammersly A large, heavy, and slightly battered blacksmith's hammer.

☆★★★★★ Sir Hammersly A large, heavy, and somewhat battered blacksmith's hammer. Though it's entirely unclear how it functions, the hammer can communicate mind-to-mind with its wielder. This comes in the form of the hammer demanding to be addressed by its full name--Sir Hammersly--and providing crotchety and irritable advice on the bearer's smithing skills and techniques. Sir Hammersly can bond with more advanced smiths and provide a less hostile smithing partner. 'Water?! For THAT steel? Where's your OIL, boy?!' ELEMENT: MAGIC LEVEL: 50 DURABILITY: 90 SPECIAL: Teachers the user smithing skills, albeit with reluctant annoyance. MATERIAL: Strong steel, wood ATTACK: N/A ADDED: Must be addressed by his full name in order to properly function. DEFENSE: N/A WEIGHT: 15 EQUIP: Hammer (carry) Currently owned by: Ember

@Ember @Nameless (Arcturus) @Maximus @Bedlam (Hera, Pelt, Faceless) @Forgraves