The Winter's Dark Heart Frenzy

Where Darkness Devours the Light

Selverat glared at the massive sands, feeling the heated glares of twenty two dragons returned in kind. He didn't like the fact that the next part... was gathering candidates and having the massive clutch hatching.

No, that was definitely not going to be his favorite part.

Of to the side, in a special alcove that had been created just for her, Sunaka and her bond rested, still guarded by Sateino. The dragon had refused to leave her side until she could safely leave the Clan's territory, away from the dark creatures that still eyed her, although discreetly. Sateino had taught a few of them a lesson soon after the flight was over and they all had a wary respect for him now.

"Well? How many little terrors do we have to hunt down?" Krethae asked, giving glare for glare from the dragons on the sands.

Selverat shrugged, "They won't say. Veridiain has suggested that we search for between 24 and 48 candidates. But then she said that if we found over, it would be fine." He snorted, "Frankly, I'd prefer having as few candidates as possible... the dragons are going to be hard enough to deal with when they hatch."

Krethae nodded, "Well, send another notice out, then. Let's see what we end up with, eh?" She glanced over at the alcove where Sateino crouched protectively, "We'll have to send out a notice for that, too... I doubt many of her hatchlings will turn out to be on par with the rest of these beasts, and she'd probably prefer that they bond to candidates of the less evil variety."

"I'll make note of that." With a sigh, Selverat turned on his heel and strode out, to make out a notice to send to other places about the new clutch.

Rules for the Main Clutch:

• 1. All candidates must be of the darker persuasion, or at least able to hold his or her own with one of the beasts likely to come from this clutch.
  
• 2. I don't mind what is written into the stories, be it violence, language, or more... adult themes.
      But others do mind, so if your story involves something with a more adult theme or a lot of inappropriate language, put a warning at the beginning of your story.
      Anything not tastefully written is doomed to be rejected (I might not be picky, but keep it tasteful).
      Anything with such themes and no warnings on the pages will be rejected out of hand and an email sent to the author with the reason why.
  
• 3. No candidates for the main clutch will be allowed within Clan Akelara's bounds.
      The dark sands are outside of the Clan's bounds, to the west in a small compound all their own.
      If a bonder for the dark clutch wanders into Clan Akelara, the bonder will be hurried out of the Clan as soon as draconically possible and dumped unceremoniously in the sands where the broody mothers are.
      Any that die, die. And good riddance.
  
• 4. All sponsorships must be accompanied by a caretaker for the hatchling. Story optional but enjoyed.
  

Theme for the Main Clutch:

Clutches such as the Flurry celebrate the lighter, joyful side of winter. Yet there is a darker side that has rarely been looked at in depth. Winter is the time when the weak and unprepared die. Winter is the time when creatures become hungry and violent. Winter is the time of unrelenting darkness and blizzards that can freeze a creature solid in moments. Add this darker side into your story, in any way you desire.

Rules for the Side Clutch (Sunaka's Cluch):

• 1. Any candidates applying for Sunaka's eggs must be strong, but not evil.
  
• 2. As with the main clutch, I don't honestly care what's written into the story. Violence, language, or more adult themes.
      But, as before, while I'm comfortable with such things, others are not.
      As such, a warning must be posted at the beginning of the story with such warnings that the story warrants.
  
• 3. Any candidates for Sunaka's clutch will undoubtedly be housed in a section of Clan Akelara for their own protection, rather than housed with the nastier candidates for the main clutch. The guard dragons have enough trouble trying to keep everything under control as it is, without having to worry about Sunaka's candidates getting into trouble.
  
• 4. There will only be two sponsorships preset for this clutch, one going to Kat and one to Dray, seeing as Sunaka is Kat's baby, and Sateino, Sunaka's current protector, is Dray's.
  
• 5. As there are only going to be a maximum of eight available eggs for candidates, I am going to be very picky about who gets into this clutch.
      As such, I would prefer that the candidates not be part of a massive group that's being scattered far and wide.

Theme for Sunaka's Clutch:

While winter must be a part of the story, passing reference or not, the main theme of this clutch is along the lines of Surviving Adversity.

Take that however you wish, there are a multitude of possibilties residing in those two words.