[GD] Adonis, Mammon, Aster & Suijin

Strength Trial

Mist rolled low across the water, silvered by moonlight and stirred by the slow, steady current. Beneath the surface, something vast shifted, then the lake opened its eyes. Rows of them blinked along the length of Suijin’s neck, fourteen on one side, fourteen on the other light brown and unhurried as they watched the stranger pacing the shoreline. Fins drifted from his body like torn silk in the current, dozens upon dozens swaying around him while his six forelimbs rested against the rocky floor below. Only the top of his head and part of his snout broke the surface.

Glassworm had not noticed him yet. That alone was interesting. Suijin tilted his head, watching the translucent dragon nose through a cluster of reeds with all the subtlety of a raccoon stealing jewelry. “You know,” his voice rolled across the water smooth as river stones, “most creatures at least pretend they aren’t stealing things.” Glassworm jolted violently. Suijin saw the exact moment suspicion won over curiosity. The pale dragon immediately turned his back, angling his body away while clutching whatever shiny object he’d just picked up. A soft laugh bubbled from the water. “Oh, that’s adorable.” Several fins breached the surface as Suijin drifted closer, massive body coiling lazily beneath the lake. “You don’t even know what I am yet and you’ve already decided I’m dangerous.”

One pair of his many brown eyes narrowed playfully while the others blinked independently down his neck. “Smart.” Glassworm glanced back briefly, spiked tail twitching. Suijin smiled wider. “But now I’m curious.” His voice dropped lower, warmer. “Do you always steal first and ask questions later, or am I special?” The see-through dragon said nothing. “Mm. Silent type.” Suijin rested his chin on a submerged stone. “I can work with that.” A pair of geese drifted nervously nearby before abruptly paddling away from him. “You’re staring,” Suijin murmured. Another pause, then his tone took on a more teasing pitch. “If you wanted my attention, little thief, you already had it the moment you tried pretending I wasn’t here.” He knew this was a trial, something to prove he had the ability to court another dragon but he found it fun to pretend this wasn’t exactly what he thought it was.

Mammon had faced a variety of things at home. He was too small to stop his rider’s other dragons from trying to kill each other, so his secret power was to snitch. He had had fire shot at him, he’d nearly been buried alive and almost crushed by Belphagor. But none of those things compared to trying to flirt with Phantom. He had intentionally picked a spot away from the other giant dragon, to avoid any conflict and had found himself in the presence of an even BIGGER dragon. The colossal black dragon rested in the cavern lake like a living piece of midnight, fins resting against his sides while white, glowing eyes tracked Mammon with calm attention. Every slow breath Phantom took stirred the water around him. He was massive, large enough that Mammon could’ve curled up comfortably on one of his hand and still had room to pace anxiously. Which he was currently doing.

“You, uh…” Mammon tugged nervously at one of his antennae. “You look… large tonight.” Wow. Incredible start. Phantom blinked once before a low chuckle rumbled through the cavern walls. “I should hope so, I haven’t changed size since yesterday.”

“Right. Yeah. Obviously.” Mammon laughed too quickly, nearly tripping over his own tail. “That would be ridiculous.” The enormous dragon lowered his head slightly, bringing himself closer to eye level. Even then, Phantom’s face was still bigger than Mammon’s entire body. “You seem tense.”

“I’m always tense.”

“I’ve noticed.”

Mammon groaned softly and covered his face with his insect limbs, which didn’t do much to hide himself.. “Ah! That sounded pathetic out loud…” Phantom’s expression remained patient, warm even. The faint starlike specks along his scales shimmered in the dark water while he waited without rushing the much smaller dragon. Somehow that made Mammon more nervous.

“I just,” Mammon started, voice cracking horribly, “wanted to say that I think you’re very handsome and terrifying and polite, which is a really unfair combination, honestly.”

Silence. Then Phantom smiled, a slow, gentle thing.

“Oh? Handsome, am I?”

Mammon’s wings flared in mortified panic. “Please don’t make me repeat it, I’ll actually evaporate.” Another soft laugh echoed through the cavern. Perhaps he hadn’t made a complete fool of himself, and would pass this trial with… some kind of colors.

Maple stood rigidly near the volcanic ridge, staring out across the hazy valley with the exhausted expression of someone enduring a conversation against her will. Behind her, Aster puffed himself up dramatically. The blue dragon’s scales shimmered in the light, while his tail curled high over his back in what was clearly supposed to look impressive. The small branch-like horns atop his head twitched with nervous energy. Maple did not turn around.

Aster cleared his throat. “So,” he began smoothly, “you ever notice how the magma flows reflect beautifully against your scales?” All he got for his efforts was silence. Maple blinked once at the distant mountains, couldn’t they have picked any other dragon for her to be a companion to? Aster shifted awkwardly. “I mean, objectively. Not in a strange way. Though I am saying you look nice. Very nice. Striking, even.” Nothing. A hot breeze swept across the ridge. Maple finally sighed through her nose. “Are you done?”

The words hit him like a physical blow and Aster straightened immediately. “Done? I’ve barely started.”

“I would prefer if you had finished before you arrived.”

His crest twitched sharply. “Well,” he said, forcing a laugh, “you don’t have to be rude about it.” Maple finally turned to look at him, blue eyes narrowed with tired irritation. “You are small, probably unreliable and I’m done helping you with whatever this is.”

“It’s not whatever this is,” Aster snapped. “It’s important.”

“To you.”

The ground rumbled faintly beneath their feet and Maple’s expression flattened further.

“Oh, good. Tantrums.”

“It is NOT a tantrum,” Aster barked, slamming one clawed foot against the earth. Magic surged instantly. Stone split with a deafening crack as jagged fractures tore across the ridge line, racing through the dirt between them. Massive slabs of rock heaved upward violently, scattering ash and debris down the mountainside. Maple didn’t even flinch. Aster froze, breathing hard, the silence afterward felt enormous. Then Maple looked down at the ruined ground. “…Are you finished now?”

Aster’s tail lashed furiously. “I hate this trial.”

Moonlight spilled silver across the lake, turning the water smooth as polished glass. Mavis lounged at the shoreline with all the effortless elegance of a dragon who had never once been denied comfort in her entire life. One foreleg draped lazily over a smooth stone while her long tail floated partly in the water behind her. The pale membrane of her wings caught the moonlight beautifully, and the tentacles near her tail twitched occasionally beneath the surface like patient sea-creatures waiting for prey. She looked deeply and profoundly bored.

Nearby, Atlas snored loudly against Adonis’s side, tiny flower necklace that he had decided to wear as a crown instead, slipping crooked over one eye. Adonis carefully adjusted it with his tail before looking back toward Mavis. “You know,” he said gently, “I think this is the first time I’ve seen you outside your rider’s estate.” Mavis didn’t look at him. “A pleasure, I’m sure.”

Adonis smiled instead of taking offense. “A little. You’re hard to miss.” The larger dragon finally glanced toward him, orange eyes half-lidded and unimpressed. “Was that flirting?”

“It was an attempt.”

“It needs work.”

“That’s fair.”

Mavis expected him to sulk after that, most dragons did. Instead, Adonis settled himself more comfortably into the grass, warm yellow wings folding around the sleeping Atlas like a blanket. The little dragon made a sleepy squeaking noise and rolled onto his back. Something in Mavis’s expression softened for half a second before smoothing over again.

“You seem unusually cheerful,” she observed.

“I am cheerful.”

“That sounds exhausting.”

Adonis laughed quietly. “It’s nice, though. The eggs are close to hatching. Atlas is excited.”

“Atlas is excited about everything.”

“That’s true.”

The lake lapped softly at the shore between them. Mavis studied him in silence for a moment. He was smaller than she was, softer in both shape and temperament, covered in flowers and vines like some woodland spirit. Completely unlike the dragons usually presented to her by handlers and breeders. Oddly refreshing. “You aren’t trying very hard to impress me,” she noted.

Adonis tilted his head. “Should I be?”

“Most dragons do.”

“Well…” He smiled warmly. “You already know you’re beautiful. I figured complimenting you constantly would just waste both our time.” Mavis blinked. That. Not the flirting, not the smile, but the comment caught her off guard. A faint ripple disturbed the water as one of her tentacles curled thoughtfully beneath the lake’s surface. “Hm,” she said at last. To Adonis, that sounded dangerously close to success.

Flexibility Trial

The herd moved like drifting shadows across the meadow, quiet and delicate in the golden green grass. Deer lifted their heads now and then, ears twitching toward the distant shapes of dragons crossing the hills, but none of them fled. The evening air carried the smell of flowers, damp earth, and cool water drifting from the lake farther beyond the trees.

The trial group stretched across the hillside in a loose line of scales, wings, claws, and tails.

Adonis walked near the center at an easy pace, yellow and pink scales warm beneath the fading sunlight. Vines hung around his neck, brushing softly against his chest whenever he stepped over a fallen branch. Beside him, Atlas bounced through the grass with endless hatchling energy, occasionally disappearing entirely beneath the taller patches before reappearing somewhere completely different.

“Slow down,” Adonis called gently and Atlas ignored him completely.

Above the group, Mavis drifted through the air with slow, effortless wingbeats. Her white-gray scales caught silver where the clouds thinned overhead, while her long tentacles trailed beneath her. She hovered just low enough to remain part of the conversation, expression fixed in the same perpetual annoyance she wore for nearly everything.

Lancelot appeared first, dusty blue scales bright against the dark grass. His wooden legs clicked neatly over stones and roots with almost theatrical precision, head held high like a proud stallion parading through a festival. He walked close beside Aster with steady attention, occasionally glancing down at the smaller darker blue dragon as though supervising a prince with behavioral issues. “This place smells like mud,” Aster complained.

“It’s a meadow,” Lancelot answered, almost dryly, like he had been listening to this dragon complain for a while now.

“And deer.”

Lancelot had to stop the sigh building up within him. Surely if he could prove he could put up with the blue menace beside him, Lilith might finally give him some positive attention. “Yes.”

“And flowers.”

“Yes, Aster.”

Aster’s curled violently. “This is stupid.”

“You said that five minutes ago.”

“I still mean it.”

Mavis snorted from overhead but said nothing. “I’m suffering,” Aster declared dramatically.

“You’re walking.”

“Exactly.”

From behind them came another set of footsteps, quieter this time.

Mammon hovered nervously over the grass as the new pair approached, tiny compared to the others and visibly trying not to brush up on anything important. His yellow and black tail seemed to curl up, as if ready to strike, whenever the deer moved in the distance. Every rustle in the grass made him flinch. Beside him walked Boney Jones. The skeletal dragoness moved with eerie grace, long limbs silent despite their size. Wisps of black shadow drifted lazily from her tails as she scanned the meadow with focused attention, treating the trial like a genuine responsibility rather than a pleasant outing. Mammon glanced up at her anxiously. “Are we… doing okay?”

“Yes,” Boney Jones answered immediately.

“Nothing’s gone wrong?”

“No.”

“You’d tell me if something was wrong, right?”

“Yes.”

Mammon still looked unconvinced. The deer herd shifted farther across the meadow, delicate bodies moving through the tall grass like ripples across water. Atlas spotted them first and immediately darted after a butterfly instead. “Atlas!” Adonis called. The tiny dragon ignored him with a confidence only a baby could have.

Aster groaned. “Can’t you keep that thing under control?”

“Can you keep your mouth under control?” Mavis replied from above. Aster opened his mouth and then closed it, thinking for a moment. But before he could begin another complaint, the grass farther uphill suddenly bent beneath something much larger moving toward them.

The group became quiet, not quite sure what was coming, aside from Mavis who had seen him from the air. Suijin emerged from the haze of evening mist like a moving hillside, dark green scales shimmering in the slowly departing sun. He was enormous compared to the others, large enough that the deer finally decided perhaps this group was becoming a problem after all. Several bounded farther into the distance, white tails flicking through the grass. Suijin barely seemed to notice.

Geese rested comfortably along the curve of his massive body while thin strands of mist drifted lazily around his fins. He moved with the calm certainty of something that had never once needed to hurry in its life. Trotting beside him was Mischief.

The blue dragon lifted her head immediately when she spotted the group, colorful star markings beginning to glow more as the sun was setting. Tiny moths fluttered around the lantern floating beneath her neck as she trotted ahead of Suijin with much more excitement than her companion showed. “You’re all walking so slowly,” she announced cheerfully.

“We’re walking at a normal pace,” Mavis immediately sniped back, almost instinctively. Mischief tilted her head innocently. “Maybe for old dragons.” Mavis narrowed her eyes mid-flight. Adonis coughed suddenly to hide a laugh. Suijin lowered his massive head slightly toward the group. “She’s behaved herself so far.”

Lancelot tilted his head perhaps in curiosity but it was more of a, are we gonna keep moving or just stand around talking? He had places to be, a mare to court. Mischief looked offended. “I’m taking this seriously.” Before anyone could say anything else, Atlas suddenly burst from the grass carrying three crooked dandelions and immediately offered one at Suijin. The massive dragon blinked once down at the tiny offering. Then, very carefully, he lowered his head, resting his chin on the ground for Atlas to place the flower in his feathered crest. He smiled as the tiny dragon scrambled up his snout to place.

Mammon stared in awe. “You’re really long.”

“Yes,” Suijin replied.

“That’s all you’re going to say?” Mavis snorted quietly overhead.

“Yes.”

The group continued deeper through the meadow as evening slowly settled around them. Fireflies blinked among the flowers while the sky turned pale purple overhead. Somewhere beyond the hills, water rushed softly against stones. For a while, things were peaceful, then Atlas accidentally startled another deer. The animal bounded suddenly from the grass only a few feet away. Mammon squeaked in terror and tucked himself behind Boney Jones, a few of his tentacles wrapping around her hind legs. Aster yelped loud enough to scare three more deer into running. Mavis jerked upward in surprise, wings snapping open wider as her tentacles curled beneath her.

“IT MOVED!” Mammon cried. “It was standing there the whole time!” Aster snapped.

“Why are they so fast?!”

“They’re deer!”

Mischief burst into helpless laughter while the deer disappeared across the hills. Even Adonis struggled not to laugh. Atlas rolled through the grass chirping happily, entirely unaware he had nearly caused a panic. Boney Jones remained perfectly serious through all of it. Mammon blinked before realizing how he had responded and quickly untangled himself from the older dragon’s legs.

Suijin lowered himself slowly into the grass nearby with enough force to flatten half the flowers beneath him. One small bird hopped casually onto his nose. “You’re all very loud,” he observed.

“Those deer attacked us.” Aster muttered.

Mischief immediately snorted laughter again. Mavis eventually descended lower, hovering just above the grass. She watched as Adonis tucked a very sleepy Atlas carefully in the vines around his neck Atlas yawned loudly before settling further into the vines to nap. The group rested there together while twilight settled fully across the meadow. Fireflies drifted through the flowers like floating embers. The deer herd remained far in the distance now, small pale shadows against the hills.

“We should get moving again or we’ll never complete this trial.” Suijin was the first to break the silence and he was the first to move. The other dragons completing their grand displays seemed to perk up, as if they had forgotten this was a trial at all. Without  further words the group set off again, heading to their end goal with new determination.

Providence Trial 

The first thing Suijin noticed was the silence. Not the ordinary quiet of the marshes he currently called home, but the heavy sort of stillness that settled before rain. Fog drifted low over the water, brushing against his scarred sides as he moved through the reeds. Somewhere behind him, claws squished noisily in mud.

“Mud is disgusting,” Aster announced for the fifth time. “It’s a swamp,” Mammon said weakly. “There’s kind of… a lot of mud in swamps.”

“That sounds like an excuse.”

Mammon flattened himself lower beneath a twisted cypress root. The little black and yellow dragon always seemed one loud noise away from fainting. Beside him, Atlas toddled through the muck with complete delight, tiny tail wagging as he left crooked footprints behind. Adonis sighed fondly and nudged his mini-me back onto firmer ground. “Careful, sweetheart.”

Atlas chirped proudly, carrying a smooth pebble in his mouth like he had discovered the greatest treasure in existence. Which, Suijin thought, perhaps he had. The four siblings had not intended to travel together. Dragons were possessive creatures by nature, especially when they reached the age where the instinct for collecting began. Hoards mattered. A dragon’s first treasure mattered even more.

Adonis wanted something beautiful. Aster wanted something expensive. Mammon wanted something safe. Suijin simply wanted something that felt worth keeping. Unfortunately, none of them had found anything yet. “You said there was treasure here,” Aster complained, glaring at Suijin. “I could be sleeping right now.”

“You are always sleeping,” Adonis replied.

“Yes, because unlike you, I value comfort.”

Atlas climbed onto Adonis’s tail and seemed to almost immediately fall asleep there.

Mammon looked around nervously. “Are we sure this place is abandoned?”

“Yes,” Suijin said calmly.

“You sound very confident.”

“I am.”

Mammon still looked unconvinced. The marsh slowly opened into a rocky shoreline. Beyond it rose steep cliffs layered with pale stone. Thin waterfalls spilled down the rock face in silver ribbons. Adonis paused immediately. “Oh,” he breathed. A rainbow stretched through the mist from the falls, bright against the gray morning sky. Atlas woke just long enough to stare at it with round blue eyes before immediately going back to sleep. Aster rolled his eyes. “It’s water.”

“It’s pretty,” Adonis said.

“It’s wet.”

Suijin ignored them and continued forward. The scent of salt drifted through the air now. Sea caves. Old tides. Hidden places. Treasure did not always mean gold. Humans liked gold and yes some if not most dragons also liked gold but there was more than just gold out there. The cave entrance sat low beneath the cliffside, half-hidden by hanging vines and tidewater. Mammon immediately stopped walking. “No.”

Aster groaned. “You’re afraid of a cave now?”

“What if something lives in there?”

“Then Suijin eats it.”

Mammon stared at the much larger dragon hopefully. Suijin blinked slowly. “Nothing lives there.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.”

“How?”

Suijin tilted his head. “No scent.”

Mammon considered this, then hurried closer to Suijin’s side anyway. Inside, the cave smelled of wet stone and ocean brine. Water dripped steadily from the ceiling. Their claws clicked softly across smooth rock as they moved deeper underground. Atlas finally slid off Adonis’ tail and wandered ahead with fearless confidence. Adonis perked up immediately. “Atlas, don’t run off.” Tiny claws splashed through shallow tide pools. Then Atlas sneezed and a moment later, he disappeared with a squeak.

Mammon squealed in panic, the sound bouncing loudly off the walls. Aster whipped around. “What happened?” Adonis lunged forward, panic flashing across his face. Suijin reached the hole in the cave floor first and peered down. Atlas stared up at them from a lower ledge, entirely unharmed and deeply confused. “…Oh,” Mammon whispered shakily. Aster started laughing. Adonis glared at him before carefully climbing down after Atlas. The lower chamber opened wider beneath the cave system, hidden from above by collapsed stone.

And there, scattered across the cavern floor, lay treasure. Not piles of gold, not crowns or jewels or gems but sea glass. There had to be thousands of pieces here washed up from many different places. Green, blue, white, amber, and soft frosted pink, all polished smooth by decades beneath the ocean before tides carried them here. Tiny gemstones made by the sea itself. The chamber glittered faintly where sunlight filtered through cracks overhead. For once, Aster stopped talking. Mammon’s eyes widened. Atlas immediately tried to eat a blue piece.

“No,” Adonis said, gently removing it from his mouth. “But shiny,” Atlas protested.

“Yes. But not food.”

Suijin lowered himself quietly onto the stone floor, studying the glass spread around them like fallen stars. “It’s beautiful,” Adonis whispered. Mammon carefully picked up a pale green shard no larger than his claw. “Nobody wants this?”

“Apparently not,” Suijin replied.

Aster snorted. “Humans are stupid.”

He prowled farther into the chamber, tail flicking dramatically. A few moments later came a loud splash followed by furious shrieking. “COLD!”

Adonis covered his face with one wing. Mammon jumped. “Are you okay?!”

“There’s water!”

“…We’re in a cave beside the ocean and you are a water dragon.” Suijin glanced his way with nearly all 30 of his eyes. Aster glared at the pool as though personally betrayed by it. Atlas wandered after him and immediately sat in the cold water. Adonis sighed. “Of course.” While Aster continued complaining, Mammon slowly began sorting through the glass pieces near the walls. He handled each one carefully, like they might break if he breathed too hard. Suijin watched him quietly. Mammon noticed quickly, his hands shifting nervously. “What?”

“You like the blue ones.” Mammon froze.

“I— maybe.”

“They match your eyes,” Adonis said warmly.

Mammon looked horrified by the attention. Aster finally emerged from the tide pool carrying something in his jaws. “Ha!” He dropped it onto the cave floor with a triumphant grin. A smooth silver bracelet clattered against the stone, tarnished from seawater but still intact. Tiny opals lined the edges. The entire group stared. Aster puffed up proudly. “Finally. Something valuable.”

“You found that in the water?” Mammon asked.

“Yes. Because unlike some dragons here, I am brave and talented.”

“You, a water dragon, screamed because your feet got wet.” Adonis said and Aster glared at him with a hatred only a sibling could have for their brother. Suijin rumbled softly with amusement. Aster looked offended. “Why are all of you bullying me today?” Mammon nervously chuckled from his spot, happy that he was not being bullied for once and Adonis smiled to himself and began collecting pieces of pink and gold sea glass into a small pile. Atlas helped by selecting the roundest glass possible and proudly dropping them at Adonis’ feet. Mammon gathered tiny blue and green fragments near the cave wall, building careful little rows sorted by color. Aster claimed the silver bracelet and several bright white pieces that reflected light beautifully.

Suijin wandered deeper into the chamber alone. Near the far end of the cave, half-buried beneath old sand, he found something larger. It wasn’t jewels or gold but a bottle. Dark green glass, thick and smooth with age, its surface worn cloudy by the sea. Inside rested folded paper, still protected from the water after all these years. Suijin turned it over thoughtfully.

This was a memory someone once considered important enough to preserve. He liked that. When he carried it back, Aster looked baffled. “That’s your treasure?”

“Yes.”

“It’s just a bottle.”

Suijin settled onto the cave floor beside them. “It traveled far and ended up here, right where I would find it.” Aster snorted in response, absolutely ridiculous. Adonis smiled softly. “I suppose that is special.” Atlas waddled over to Suijin and curled against his foreleg with a happy chirp. For a while, the cave became peaceful. Waves echoed softly through the tunnels. Water dripped from stone ceilings. Three siblings and one tiny mini-me sat surrounded by sea glass and forgotten treasures, each building the beginning of something that belonged only to them. Aster eventually sprawled dramatically across his pile. “I think my hoard is objectively the best.”

Mammon clutched his sea glass protectively. “I like mine.” Adonis nosed Atlas gently beneath the chin. “That’s all that matters.” Suijin looked around the cave once more. At Adonis carefully wrapping sea glass in sea weed to carry home safely. At Atlas, proudly presenting everyone with ugly little pebbles he thought were precious. At Mammon, who smiled for perhaps the first time all day as he organized his treasures by color. At Aster, pretending not to enjoy any of this while refusing to leave his bracelet unattended for even a second. He smiled, happy to help the younger generation with their journey.