All Disclaimers can be found in part 1

Title: Golden Spheres and Silver Snow
Author: Simone of the Zordiak
Part: 2/?
E-mail: burning_night@hotmail.com

"Welcome to hell," the voice of the Mei-ou said with a touch of amusement.
Dynast looked at him, startled by this revelation. Never before the Mei-ou
had allowed another Mazoku Lord to enter his domain. Hell, the place of
fearful stories, even among the mazoku. A small akki was running towards
them. "Mei-ou-sama, Mei-ou-sama. SHE is here." The Mei-ou stiffened. "I
see. When did she get here?" "Right after you left, Mei-ou-sama. She awaits
you in the library." "Then we better don't let her wait any longer. I don't
want her redecorating like last time." A shudder ran through the frame of
the Mei-ou and he couldn't help but wonder who it was, and how she had
redecorated hell. Silently he followed the Mei-ou, until they came to a
set of craved black obsidian doors. The doors swung open before them and
they entered a library like Dynast had never seen before. The entire room
was illuminated by silvery candles with ice flames and the books seemed
to be alive. Newer books were in the process of writing themselves and
the older books were giving them tips. In the middle of the room, there
was a pond with water, clear as the finest crystal. Next to the pond
there stood a woman. A woman with long blond hair. In her right hand she
casually twirled a shovel.

"You are late." she stated. "I'm sorry, mother, but the wards around
Lina's group were activated and I had to clear up a few things." A sardonic
smile played around her lips. "That's a nice way of putting it, child.
Ok, but that's not why I'm here....," She straightened and went to
business, "The soul of the Maryu-ou is in your realm and it is time
that he is released to be reborn. There have to be five Chaos Lords
again." "As you wish, mom." The Mei-ou said and vanished, leaving Dynast
alone with the still smirking L-sama.

She stepped closer to him, making him uncomfortable with her nearness.
"He respects you." "Huh?" L-sama laughed softly. One of the brightest
people of this world, in her presence, he was reduced to a simple 'Huh'.
He would need some time to get over the shock of actually seeing her.
Well, Zel should help with that process.
"You are the first one he invited to hell. You sent out your people to
kill Lina Inverse's friends and yet you still have a home and your people
are still alive. He must really respect you, because he went out, ready
to douse everybody in his way in the eternal flames of hell.... I should
reward him for displaying so much control." She mused, seemingly not
noticing his discomfort with that topic. Gladly he didn't have to seek
for an answer, because the Mei-ou returned, in his arms a baby with familiar
red hair. Gently the Mei-ou lowered the soul of Maryu-ou Gaav into the
pond. L-Sama stretched out her hand and golden light filled the pool before
the water shoot upwards. In the middle of the pillar of crystallized water
floated the soul of the Chaos dragon, sleeping and looking as angelic as
only babies look.

The Mei-ou smiled. "In a year he will be reborn, this time without the
taint of a human soul. Satisfied mom?" "Very, child. Now, to help you
with your little problem with the chaos child and her group..," in the
mind of both mazoku alarm bells started to wail rather loudly, but their
fearful expressions didn't change L-sama's mind, it only made her grin
rather impishly, ".. since it were Dynast's people starting the mess, it
seems only fair to me that Dynast is going to help you from now." "Mom!"
The Mei-ou protested. "In three months you two are going to join the party.
Zelgadis, you better prepare him for his role. See you next century."
And with that, she dissolved into golden light and was gone before either
of the men could protest.
"Oh great," the Mei-ou, Zelgadis, groaned. Dynast stayed silent for the
moment, but in his thoughts he agreed with the statement.

***

In the sea of chaos, L-sama let herself fall heavily on her bed. That
had went rather well. In a year, when the ancient dragon Val would hatch
for the second time, Maryu Gaav would be reborn. He would be a good foster
father for the little Val, like the golden dragon Filia would be his
foster mother and the chosen mate of Gaav. A mazoku lord and a ryuzoku
priestess, chaos and order at the same time, they would work well for her.
And for her son, she chuckled, he and Dynast were going to make a cute
couple.

***

Zelgadis sat down, sighing heavily. He hated it when she played such
tricks with him. And this time she had pulled another one in her games.
He cast a short look at the fellow mazoku lord, his mind already working
at the question how to integrate him into the group. Zel could see the
moment Dynast realized all the consequences of L-samas order. Dynast
couldn't suppress a groan as he sank down into another chair.
There was nothing that could be done to get out of ignoring her order
unscratched and neither of them wanted her breathing down her necks. He
didn't need to tell Dynast about this, he knew this all right. But he could
give him some of the answers he sought.

***

Dynast leaned back in his chair. Mei-ou, Zelgadis, had given him answers
to a lot of questions. Now that he knew, what happened to the previous
Mei-ou, he was more reluctant to go against L-samas wishes. He had no
desire to be completely destroyed, to be dissolved into his astral
components and to be reabsorbed into the astral plane. It must be the most
horrible thing to be unmade, to have his own soul undone. It wasn't
something he wanted to experience on his own. And the only way to prevent
it, was to obey her. So he would help... he shuddered mentally.. Lina
Inverse. It was so absurd. He was a mazoku lord, he had been plotting her
downfall and now he was roped into helping her! And masquerading as a
human! He felt like his mind was running in circles and tried to return
to his normal logical calm. Not an easy thing to do after hearing of the
destruction of the strongest of the five Chaos lords, yet he needed to
stay rational when he wanted to fulfill HER wishes. "Come," the voice
of the Mei-ou roused him out of his thoughts. He let Zelgadis lead him
to a place that was blissfully cold and filled with mortal agony and
suffering. Wonderful. "What is this?" "It is Niflheim, the ice hell.
Seventh of the nine outer rings of hell. I come here when I need a quiet
place to think." Dynast looked around, noticing for the first time the
human souls that were caught in huge blocks of ice, forever suffering,
yet unable to do anything, not even able to scream out their pain. "I
like it."

Zelgadis sat down on one of the blocks, his face a study of concentration.
It was time to work on the real problem. "We need a good story for you,
why you want to become a part of this group. And a good disguise, something,
that fits your personality." He mused out loud.

***

He looked into the mirror, trying to get used to his new form. His body
was taller, he measured almost seven feet now and his hair, which was
of a silvery white shade, went down to his hips. Almond shaped eyes and ears
curved up into points were showing that he wasn't completely human, but a
elf/human mix. The face in the mirror was different from his own, leaner
and his features were sharper. This face was not his, except for his eyes.
They were still of the same ice blue shade than before, just the pupils
were round now, not slitted. It was a strange being, that looked at him
from the depths of the mirror. But it was perfect. Perfectly fitting his
personality. At least that was what Sophia, headbook of the Library of the
Dead had said, before she had returned to supervising the other books.
"It looks good," Zelgadis stated from behind him. "Here, Sophia made this
for you." He handed him a book. It wasn't alive like those in the Library,
it was a dead book and it looked old and worn, but that was an illusion,
the book couldn't be older than four to five hours. And it contained
ice spells. Everything from simple combat spells to high level destruction
spells. Spells that had been forgotten by humans since long before the
Kouma war. The book was priceless, at least by human standards.
Dynast leafed through the pages, memorizing the spells with ease. He knew
why Zelgadis had given him that book. When they entered the group of
mortal adventures, neither he nor the Mei-ou would be able to use their
mazoku powers, not without exposing themselves to the golden dragonmaiden.
Both of them were comfortable with their sword abilities and Zelgadis would
use shamanistic magic. He himself hadn't picked a special field until now,
but ice magic, something so close to his natural habitat, was the best idea.

*** three month later in the forest near Oran ***

Lina couldn't believe her eyes. There, camping in a clearing a few steps
ahead of her, was Zelgadis. That was nothing so unbelievable, but he was in
a serious conversation with an... an elf!? But elves were secluded beings,
they didn't go near to the cities of humans! And the port city of Oran was
only a days journey from here. She cast a second look towards the unknown
elf when Zelgadis noticed her. He said something to his companion and both
turned towards her. "Hello Lina." Zel said casually, as if her meeting him
was something that happened on regular occasion. Before she could ask him
about his travel companion or even return the greeting, they were
interrupted by a loud "Mr. Zelgadis!" and Zelgadis could only sigh before he
was glomped by an overjoyed Amelia. Since Zel wouldn't be able to answer her
questions, until he had pried Amelia from his arm, Lina turned to his new
companion. The sharp eyes of the elf were making her a bit uncomfortable,
it felt like she was examined and analyzed by them. The elf gave her a
polite nod. "Mashiro Kitayori." He said shortly, introducing himself.
"Lina Inverse." Mashiro tilted his head a little. "I have heard about
you," he stated simply, "but from the stories I heard I imagined you to
be taller." "Not everybody can be as tall as an elf," she snorted. His
face grew hard. "Don't mention them." "Who," now she was confused, "elves?"
Mashiro's face grew even colder. Thankfully Zel choose this moment to
explain some particularities of his companion. "Shiro's mother was human.
His parents were killed by his fathers tribe." Mashiro turned away from them
and his body language was screaming loudly not to interfere with him now.

Unfortunately Xellos decided to make the unknown elf his next target.
No warnings could stop him from teasing Mashiro about his looks, companions
and then about his heritage. Mashiro/Dynast looked at the Trickster
through half-closed eyes. His disguise was obviously working well, Xellos
wouldn't have dared to insult him like that if he had known who he really
was. But it was time for a visible reaction towards the servant of Juu-ou.
He knew he was emitting enough anger and hate to feed an entire mazoku army,
but that didn't seem to be enough. Even if his family history was fictive,
nobody could insult him and get away with it. His body started to glow
silver-white, his chosen battle aura. He would teach the Trickster a lesson.
Quietly he started the chant.

"Storms of the North, cold force of destruction..."

Zelgadis' sensitive ears picked up the spell and he paled. Obviously Dynast
had had it with Xellos' teasing. "We need to get out of here." "Why?"
Wordless he pointed at Mashiro, who was standing in the eye of a raging
winter storm.

"..I call upon thee...."

Xellos frowned as he tried to place that particular spell.

"..let me be the instrument of your wrath, and cut through our foes..."

Zelgadis had herded the group together and they were seeking cover.

".. in the unforgivable..."

Lina's eyes widened as she watched the halfelf. He was standing in a sphere
of ice blue energy, countless snowflakes, each as big as a palm and with
razor-sharp edges dancing around him.

Mashiro pointed at Xellos.

"BLIZZARD RAGE!"

A beam of ice energy shot towards Xellos. The snowflakes were twirling
around the beam, cutting down everything standing in their path.

There was a blinding white light when the beam hit the surprised mazoku
and when the group was able to see again, they saw Xellos standing, a
hole of the size of a fist in his chest, blinking in astonishment. The
forest around and behind the Trickster was leveled and covered knee-deep
with snow. "Ouwie," Xellos said cheerfully, before sitting down rather
abruptly. Mashiro stalked towards him, grabbed him by his cape, pulled him
upwards until he was eye to eye with him and glared. "Nobody insults my
family! Understood?" There were moments when the Trickster knew it was
better to stay quiet. This was one of them. He nodded silently. The spell
the halfelf had used had caused damage and it would take some time for it to
heal. He wouldn't push his luck with the strange new addition of the group.
The spell had been a combination of astral and physical energy and if the
elf had more than one of this unknown spells at hand, he could really become
a threat to his life. How had the elf known this spell anyway? He hadn't
been able to identify it.

"What was that?" Lina asked, staring at the destruction the spell had left
in his wake. "That," Zelgadis said, dusting a fine sheen of snow from his
clothes, "was the Blizzard Rage, one of Mashiro's strongest spells. The
powerlevel is equal to that of the Dragon Slave." Lina's mind started to
work overtime. A spell, as powerful as the Dragon Slave and she had never
heard of it? She had to have it! This one and any other spell Mashiro might
know. Only if she could cast most of the destructive spells she would be
satisfied and such unknown and impressive magic as Mashiro had just cast
would do wonders for her reputation. She turned towards the halfelf, who
was slowly closing up to the group. But Amelia was faster. "Mr. Mashiro,
what was that for a type of magic? I didn't recognize it. And don't you
think that it is terribly unjust to destroy the forest like that?"
"Ice magic." The halfelf answered simply, ignoring the princess' second
question completely.

Lina rolled her eyes. Zelgadis had managed to find somebody who was even
less talkative than himself, a feature she'd never believed possible, but
she would get him to talk... she would get to know everything she could
about this 'ice magic'. "Say Mashiro," she started, "is this the strongest
spell of this ice magic?" "No," he muttered, "there is the 'Ymnir Blaze',
but I don't use it." "Why not?" "Because if I miscast it, it will temporary
freeze the Sea of Chaos." Lina gulped. A spell, powerful enough to freeze
L-sama's domain, that could be really dangerous! Dynast smirked inwardly as he
watched her reaction, remembering his own:



He had just read the last and most powerful spell in the book and looked
up astonished. "This spell can freeze the Sea of Chaos!?" There weren't
many spells that could affect L-sama's chosen domain and he wondered
about the effects it would have. "I wouldn't try to do it on purpose,"
the voice of Zelgadis sounded more amused than worried. Dynast turned
around to him. "What would happen if I try it?" Zel smirked. "Mom told me
that you once froze the Demon Sea because you were annoyed at Deep Sea.
What did she do?" Dynast grimaced at the memory. "She whacked me with her
fishing pole, fried me and then flooded my old fortress, killing most of
my servants in the process." "Well think of that and then try to imagine
it two times bigger. Mom can get seriously pissed if someone tries to
mess up her domain." Dynast swallowed and made a mental note not to use
that spell unless he had to and switched the topic. "Say, why do you
always call HER mother or mom?" "Well, in a way she is my mother. When she
turned me into a Mazoku, she infused me with her essence. Then she sort of
adopted me, while I was living with her." Zel shrugged. "I never had a
mother before and it was her first attempt at being a mother to a child, not
a world. It worked really well. And I call her mom, because if I call her
L-sama...," a golden glowing shovel appeared over his head and whacked him,
"OW! she whacks me with her shovel. I'm only allowed to call her at her title
in public." Zel finished, rubbing his head. And that had been the end of
that particular conversation.



"I've never heard of ice magic before. Where did you learn this spells?"
"From a book," was Mashiro's rather short and unsatisfying answer. Lina
took a deep breath, trying to calm down before she dragon slaved his butt
to Seyruun. "And where did you find this book?" For a small moment he was
tempted to tell her the truth. It would be really funny to tell her that
the Library of the Dead held an exemplar of each book ever written... and
that those books were truly alive. If he estimated her correctly, she would
try and break into hell to get to these books. But that thought vanished
as quick as he had been born. "It is a family heirloom. And no, it is not
for sale." Darn, obviously Zel had warned his new companion about some of
her particularities. Lina sighed. What was it with her companions and their
families? With powerful heirlooms that would be better of in her hands?
"Can I at least have a look at it?" She begged shamelessly, much to Dynast's
amusement. He pulled the book out of his pack and opened it. Lina squinted
at the strange symbols. "What is that? Why can't I read it?" "It is Talvi,
an old dialect of the elves of the North. I'm one of the last people that
can read it." Mashiro/Dynast watched her, as she realized that she couldn't
simply steal the book from him, that she had to learn the language the book
was written in first and that without Mashiro's consent to teach her this
book would be useless to her. Her anger was quite delicious... no wonder
that the Beastpriest liked to travel with her. This, he decided, this could
be very amusing.

tbc
-----------------------

akki : devil

Niflheim : Iceland, part of hell, in Nordic mythology

Sophia : means wisdom, a fitting name for a book

Mashiro : Pure white

Shiro : white

Kitayori : from the North

Ymnir : Ice giant of Nordic mythology, first giant and father of the
race of giants, father of the gods Odin and Bran, The Nordic
mythology says that the gods killed Ymnir to use his body to
create the world.

Talvi is the Finnish word for winter

The Blizzard Rage spell and the concept of Ice magic are my own invention.
Ice magic, like several spells of Shamanistic Spirit magic, attacks a
target on both the physical and the astral plane in a combined attack.
For example: the energy beam of the Blizzard Rage attacks only the astral
side of the target, similar to a Ra Tilt, but the snowflakes around the
beam attack the physical side by cutting through anything in their way,
making the spell as property damaging as the Dragon Slave.