A dragons right of flight ritual proposal

[Droth]

I hereby propose that upon compleating the rop quest the newly winged dragon should announce it on the dragon channel and portal to nt for a dragon right of passage initiation. this would be a gathering of all dragonkind to congratulate and welcome the former hatchling into adulthood after the celebration the eldest dragon would pick a nearby location to fly to and all the dragons would take flight as a group into the sunset. this would serve a few purposes. firstly it would be a great way to further knit together our proud race and form a deeper bond of brother(or sister)ship and i can think of no better occasion to celebrate than comming of age. secondly i can think of no better way to for lack of a better word "wow" people just joining our world than 10-20 full grown dragons dancing about and then flying off as a pack into the sunset. i picked nt because it's the starting location but it doesnt have to be there but i thought it fitting as it is the stomping ground where it all started for each of us. let me know what you think i know i'd show up.

[Dremora]

It's a good concept, but I know I'm more happy when I actually know the hatchling.

Besides this, there are two things I have against it:

First is the lag all the chars will cause.

Second, when other hatchlings witness an ascension, that'll most likely make them want to rush to become an adult. This leads to level 30 or so hatchlings wanting help in their RoP, only for them to find out they are the only one not contributing, because they cannot hit their enemies.

I imagine the ascension of an unkown hatchling as of course watching, and once they are adult they are no more known to you than before. We tend to bond more closely with those who help in the Rites.

[Droth]

if 20 of your relatives showed up to wish you a happy comming of age would it matter how well they knew you? we as dragons are all family and as such i would think the same principle would apply. they dont have to be your closest friends but as your family they care enough to atleast come congradulate you and that makes it special. of corse your closest friends would also like to attend

[Dracana]

This type of thing is something that some dragons already do. It's just usually restricted to people that dragon already knows. If dragons want to come they will come, if not they won't

[Varangaard]

As a side note, there's only so far you can fly from Trismus before you reach the end of the world and get punted back to your bind - except in certain directions you will fly past the other, abandoned newbie islands first. They're arranged in a 2x2 pattern surrounded by nothingness. Been a while since I last checked, but there's been no reason to change this arrangement.

[Draeconis]

I don't know how things are done on Order, but on Chaos, the adults/ancients, and any bipeds, that assist the hatchling usually attend the ascension. An announcement is usually made on Dragon Chat that the hatchling is enroute to the Peak of Storms, for those that wish to witness it.

The way I look at it, if it's a friend/acquaintance, I'll attend if possible. If I assisted with their RoP, then, you bet I'll be there. In the past month, I've assisted, and witnessed, the ascension of a dozen hatchlings to adulthood. It's something I never grow tired of witnessing.

As far as acending in NT, I'd have to disagree. I feel it has more meaning being performed at the Peak of Storms.

[Deth]

Yes I could not see any dragon walking back to New Tris to fly. Every one I have seen want to and do take off right then and there.

[Frith-Rae]

aye, we do similar things on Order already...

I know many Ascensions announced in Dragon Chat for others to attend freely. I also know that once it is done, it is usually announced in Dragon chat for congrats, and many times a location is given where others can see the newly arrive.

I know that the unofficial "tradition" that has seem to be across the board on Order is that right after the hatchling ascends (and is viewable) all th e adults present take off and escort them into the air in their first flight, circling and welcoming their breathren into the skies.

Then they go off to some more sunlit area (the ones I've been to usually go to Chiconis) where they can be properly admired, and everyone who wishes to can stop and see the newly arisen.

So that's kinda then "tradition" I"ve observed over the last year and a half in all the ascensions I've been to.

If it gets announced, it will be attended. If I but know, and I know its true for many others, then we show.

[FleshRoast]

I speak from the perspective of the Blight shard so take it for what you deem it worth. I know that things vary greatly between shards.

A most befitting welcome it would be to have such an initiation. I do not think it practical, however. Many reason exist that would hinder all dragons on a shard from participating. The most obvious is time zones. On Blight we range from the USA to Australia, and I'm sure such variance exists on other shards.

If I may suggest, it is rare that a hatchling becomes adult without a guild. Help is usually needed to attain adulthood. The guild MOTD offering its congratulations would be most inspiring to a newly formed adult.

[pevil2000]

I read this just before I was going to start the RoP on Unity and thought it sounded great (except maybe going to Trismus). I've just finished a couple days ago and had 2 guild hatchies, another RoP-er, 2 guild adults and 2 guild ancients with me at the Peak. After we'd grown, we all took to the skies and circled around near the outcrop. It was really great, looked amazing to climb up high and see 5 other dragons circling below, so I definately agree that for the newly-developed this would be a great experience.

But of course it depends on who is there. Some may prefer to gather in Chic/Dralk depending on their faction and first take flight there with all other Lunus/Helian. Others might take off and immediately go back to adventuring/crafting. I certainly recommend having a flight with those who helped you though, it makes the whole occassion even more special!

[Dhalin]

As long as my mate-to-be (who is played by my IRL GF) is there, and maybe a couple guildies, I'd be happy enough, hehe. But I suspect that others may want a bigger turnout at their ascension. I do, however, agree with the point another poster above mentioned about this causing more people to want to do their RoP at Lv30. I still stand by my point that I do not agree with people starting their RoP any sooner than Lv45 (preferrably Lv50), as a Lv30 adult screams "impatience" to me.

But... before I get drug onto that side-subject that has nothing to do with the OP, I'm just going to say that in some cases it could be nice, and in some cases not. It depends on the individual.

--Dhalin

[Goriax]

I think the current tradition is very appropriate. The soon to become adult invites anyone they feel is appropriate. This inviitation list might just include a couple close friends, it usually includes any who helped on the ROP, and it often includes many many more. As soon as the dragon becomes adult they take off and the other adult and ancient dragons take off right after. Perhaps to the accompanyment of fireworks if anyone has any. Sometimes the new adult doesn't know how to land and some hilarity may involve not telling him/her right away

This is sort of like weddings in the real world. Some weddings are very small private affairs, and some are huge productions. The people for whom the wedding is for are (hopefully) the ones who have the final say on what kind of ceremony it will be. Sometimes the car the new couple planned to take gets decorated by some of the guests (we hid ours when I got married but they made sure we were buried in rice on the way out, I won't tell you some of the places we found rice). I think the ROP ceremony works best if done the same way with a combination of traditional ceremony and fun.

It's very appropriate and, like most really good traditions, the ascension ceremonies arose spontaneously.

It's also very cool that such a tradition has become established, entirely by players, in a virtual world.

I haven't seen any comparable traditions arise around new ancients but since they aren't acquiring for the first time an ability as cool as flight, perhaps that's not surprising. Although I have certainly attended enough transition to ancient gatherings.