Thanks for the lovely "hmmmmmmmm" review GloriousMagicalDeathSpit. Very inspiring. Anyways, hope you enjoy -MAG

When I opened my eyes, I found an intruder sitting in my room, a very unwelcome intruder. I tensed up at the somewhat small SkyWing sat upon the rug in my roof, gazing at me intently with piercing yellow eyes.

"Well hello, you've certainly been sleeping for a while. It's about time you woke up. We have much to discuss, I would appreciate you hurrying out of bed."

Um hey Aus, uh simmer down maybe, or cool down, chill, or something. That's funny right, a good pun? A good pun always works to diffuse the situation… Aus? AUS?

I was not listening to Walrus. All I could think about was the guard training I endured for years. Hit first and hit hard, the successful warriors are those who use the advantage of speed. The first hit was the most crucial, the one that determined the fight.

Adrenaline filling my veins, I leapt into action, snapping my jaws wide, claws extended, intent on incapacitating this invader with a neck bite and belly scratch, forcing the SkyWing to surrender before retaliation was ever a possibility.

As I curled my talons outwards, slightly bending my joints to brace for impact, the intruder sat calmly, awaiting her impending doom. When I swiped hard to inflict the first strike, my talons passed straight through the offensive SkyWing, and I crashed headfirst into the wall behind.

Not deterred, despite the immense ringing in my head, I spun around, light on my feet, ready to see my opponent's response.

The SkyWing hadn't budged, still peering at me intently, as if she wanted to stare a hole through me instead of using her razor sharp talons. Well, her loss. I snapped my jaws open, calling up the chill within and blasted her horn to tail with my frostbreath.

With no effect whatsoever done to her dark orange scales, the SkyWing yawned. "Are all IceWings this twitchy on first meeting, or am I missing out on some sort of secret greeting procedure that only the snobbiest aristocrats do? Please, enlighten me on your unwarranted aggression."

Through my gritted teeth, I hissed angrily. "How did you get past the giant ice wall?"

"Giant ice wall? Oh but we're not even in the frozen wasteland your tribe calls home. Come take a look outside, sweet pea, the weather is simply wonderful." Hopping up, she flexed her wings, and that's when I first noticed the jewels embedded in the tips. No proper self-respecting IceWing would ever wear something so hideous.

"Oh come on dear, I am so flattered that you find my wing accessories so attractive. But can we stop gawking at me, the whole purpose of my visit is to discuss you." The foreign SkyWing gestured for me to follow her out of the room.

I snorted my retort, giving her a piece of my mind. "Your embedded jewels are disgusting. No proper self-respecting IceWing would ever wear something so hideous."

A hint of annoyance, or possibly fury flashed across the SkyWing's snout but it was gone within a blink and instead the dragon smiled coldly and condescendingly.

"You are being distracted again. I mentioned that our topic of discussion is you, not my vanity choices. Then again, when you don't have your own power or riches, the best alternative is always to mock those who do. It's called sour grapes, dear. Try not to let your own shortcomings poison your opinions of others."

This SkyWing's slithery tone annoyed me to no end, and of course I had to respond accordingly. "If I had the power and wealth, I wouldn't be so dumb as to make myself a walking target for thieves."

"Yes, if you had the power and wealth. But you have none of that. If you come outside and listen to me, instead of criticizing me on topics you have no experience with, then perhaps I can provide a solution for you." She flicked her tail, marking the end of this conversation, and walked gracefully out the doorway.

I didn't want to converse with the enemy. The SkyWings were nothing more than a tribe of ruthless, vicious brutes who's fighting style was undisciplined and unruly. However, the promise of power intrigued me. Why would such a strange ghost dragon offer help to a low ranked guard? I stood up and followed the SkyWing outside.

Instead of the usual polished walls of the guard housing hallway, I emerged from a small cave into a sunlight meadow. My talons wrapped around soft grass instead of the usual ice and snow. Looking around, I saw long jets of clouds above, swirling around tall mountain peaks. Without a doubt, I was in SkyWing territory, the gorges and mountains were things I had read in the ice pads as required by training, but the real mountains dwarfed the expectations set up by the blurry drawings in the ice pads.

I saw my visitor (though now I was the visitor) soaring in circles, her giant wings gesturing for me to follow her. I spread my own comparatively compact wings and took off. With only three wingbeats, I was already at the same level. There was some kind of upwards lift unlike anything I felt before that made each flap almost effortless.

The SkyWing called out to me. "You haven't experienced true flying until you've felt the jet streams above. By the way, I'm Stream, I have a feeling that we're going to be good friends, especially after I help you gain that power you're seeking. Fly this way!" She turned and dashed off towards one of the mountain peaks.

We landed on a small ledge perched high up on the side of a mountain. The wind blew stronger here, not like the whispering at the bottom of the valley. The slopes were barren, with only hardy, scraggly grass blades snuggly nestled in the cracks.

Amongst them sat a single stout tree, tenaciously hanging on in the wind. It bore small roundish bright red and green fruits, which smelled floral and sweet, not tart like the berries in the tundra.

Stream gazed intensely at some far off object, when I followed her eye sight, I saw a massive palace with towering spires that stretched into the clouds above. Gold adorned the top of the spires, and no doubt the SkyWing royals were wealthy, and there was an abundance of that on show with the intricate marble walls. It felt lifeless though, no dragons flitted about, and the whole structure felt like a cold façade, with no one to inhabit it.

"Beautiful I know. I used to live in that palace." Stream sidled up to my side and pointed her wing at the structure. "The walls have gold inlays, magnificent glass ceilings let the light in so it was always bright, and the throne room had so much gold, it alone was worth more than the hundreds of dragons that died building this glorious monument."

Sure, the SkyWing palace was pretty, but it looked gaudy, with no sense of style whatsoever. Compared to the minimalist, elegant lines of the IceWing palace, this was a painting done by a year old dragonet. Not that I cared enough to mention it, choosing to keep it to myself.

Stream turned to me and excitedly grabbed my talons, a feverish glint in her eyes. "Now we turn to our main topic of discussion: you. I mentioned that I would be able to help you in your ambitions, and now I shall elaborate on that. I am willing to become your secret informant, a mole if you will, on one condition."

Trying to feign disinterest even though I could feel tremors in my talons, I asked carefully, "What is your request?"

"Ah! It's really boring here. All I want is someone to talk to in this lonely place. If you can provide some entertaining conversation, then I will give you updates on SkyWing activities, which might boost your ranking eh? Imagine predicting all the enemy movements and winning every battle! You would be the IceWing's top general, all for the price of talking to an old granny like me."

The SkyWing next to me didn't appear that old, and I let her know as such.

"Well thanks! I try very hard to maintain my appearance. But you don't need to fear these talons, I can hardly scrape dirt. That's the reason I was put in this little valley, my little dragonets, technically adults, but adult dragonets, they sent me here because they think I'm senile!"

Even though Stream had been nothing but pleasant, she still arose my suspicions. Her comments about being rich were likely a habit of the snobby older generation, but why help a lone IceWing that she knew nothing about?

Stream looked at me expectantly, awaiting a response, maybe some witty remark or compliment, and I chose the former to try to squeeze some more a reaction out of her.

"Maybe your children are onto something, embedding jewels in your body sounds like a very painful procedure that no sane dragon would do."

"Bah, all you young dragons are the same. I think I look beautiful, and nobody can tell me otherwise, or they might-" she cut herself off.

"They might what?"

The SkyWing merely shrugged. "Our time is up Auster, but if you do accept my offer, I will be here again soon. I don't have much else to do, after all." She waved goodbye and suddenly I was thrust into darkness as the meadows and mountains and palace disappeared from sight.

I awoke to a loud knock outside my room, followed by the ringing of the palace bell.

You're finally awake. You better have a good excuse for missing the first guard inspections.

Oh no. Three moons I slept past the first bell, and given my low ranking, there was a good chance I could be thrown out of the palace guard for missing such an important routine.

Panicking, I tried shuffling my ice spikes into a presentable manner, but no matter how hard I shook my neck, they would not settle in place. The second bell was going to ring soon, and missing the second round of inspections carried an even harsher punishment, so I gave my spikes one more shake, grabbed my spear and ran outside, hastily assuming guard posture.

I heard a pair of footsteps outside the corridor. I assumed Bering was back to visit, but the dragon that stepped in was a massive, muscular soldier who wore six rings, same as me. When he saw my disheveled experience, he twisted his snout into an ugly sneer.

"Look who's not following rules now," Tusk mocked. "I read your little 'report' and it was full of flattering statements. Maybe I should write a response about how your spikes aren't in proper position, or how you missed the first bell, or-"

Mink cleared her throat quietly. "That is outside your jurisdiction, I brought you along to observe guard inspections, so I suggest you silence yourself before I revoke your promotion."

Tusk looked like he wanted to say some flavorful words, but he shut up and decided to focus on glaring. Through gritted teeth, he muttered, "Stupid."

"You shall address me as Madame. Now move aside." Mink replied courtly. She flashed her four rings.

"Yes Madame," the insolent worm did as he was told.

"Auster, the council will not wait forever. If you really want that assistant position, hurry to the courtyard. You are dismissed." Mink spoke in the same calm and impassive tone she always used.

I nodded and quickly darted behind her and into the cool morning air outside, escaping the curious stares from Tusk and other guards as I flew over to the courtyard.

_Don't be jealous that Mink and Tusk got promoted. I'm sure Bering will choose you to be his assistant. _

'Thanks for the confidence booster, I'm glad that at least someone believes in me. But it's up to the judges, not you, and is that Narwhal?"

Indeed, the head of palace operations and second in command behind Queen Glacier herself stood under the Tree of Light, inspecting the ranking list. I secretly hoped he was considering moving my name up, but I ducked under an archway before I could see anything he did.

The council had arranged a series of long tables connected at the ends to make a column on which important dragons sat on both sides, stoic and still, awaiting the arrival of the leader, which I assumed would be Narwhal.

I could feel the hostile stares from some of the nobles as I treaded carefully towards the end of the tables, far away from the highest ranked elites. I spotted not one dragon with more than four rings, which only made my six more conspicuous and distasteful.

There was one dragon that was noticeably different though. Near the high ranking end, a familiar dragon wriggled and squirmed around, his neighboring dragons giving him plenty of space to not sit still and act nobly. Again, he had that big dumb grin all over his snout. I could tell that in his no doubt many studies, subtlety was never a priority.

The two dragons I ended up sitting next to were happy to pretend I didn't exist, conveniently shifting their conversation volume to exclude me from whatever important discussion they were having. Fine, they were probably talking about something boring anyways.

Crystal dishes lined the tables, filled with red currant juice and cured polar bear meat. Compared to the crudely prepared seal meat and moss, this was an incredible feast, but I could not touch it yet. It was a silent rule that no one touched the food until the leader of the conference did so.

After a few more moments of staring at the rankings list, Narwhal finally approached the tables, but he did not take the lead position as expected. Instead, the commander sat beside Tundra and assumed his usual stoic expression.

If Narwhal wasn't the leader, then that meant there was only one dragon that ranked higher.

Without warning, every single dragon at the table stood up and bowed their heads. I did the same but out of the corner of my eyes, I could see a regiment of guards marching in, kitted out in royal armor.

A regal voice drifted over the bowing dragons. "Rise, my subjects. Let this mark the commencement of the second session."

I had only ever heard the Queen's voice from afar during motivational speeches to the whole tribe, but at this close distance, she seemed more powerful than ever. Her voice sounded like the indomitable waves just north of the palace, authoritative and imposing.

As I regained my seat alongside the other members, I got to see the monarch in her full dress glory. Queen Glacier bore no jewelry on her thin and tall frame except for a sapphire crown signifying her power. She didn't need the adornments though because her perfectly polished scales and stark blue gaze garnered the approval of every IceWing in her presence.

She was the opposite of Stream essentially, who wore all the trappings of a queen yet emanated none of the authority. Stream did say that she used to-

If you're going to suck up to Queen Glacier, why don't you actually tell her directly? Everyone is waiting for you to raise your glass.

Snapping back to the present, I felt the heated glares of the rest of the assembly concentrated on me. All the nobles had raised their glasses to the Queen's toast, except me.

Embarrassed, I lifted my glass and attempted a weak smile. Despite the annoyed looks on everyone's snout, Queen Glacier gave me an affirmative nod before taking a sip of the currant juice. I, and the other dragons followed suit, but I was too nervous to enjoy the rich and tart currant juice slipping down my throat.

Queen Glacier set her cup on the table. "Now that we have toasted to our newest member, we can proceed to the task at hand, that being the campaign to capture the western regions of the SkyWing mountains. How is the progress?"

Narwhal stood up to address his sister. "Our expeditions are encountering unforeseen issues the resistance. The new spears are not holding up as promised. The winds are unpredictable and often renders frostbreath useless. We have yet to receive proper explanations from our scientist." He turned his view to Bering, who wilted under his glare.

The Queen also turned her attention to Bering, though she did not appear angry or surprised. "Bering, I understand your work is difficult, which is why I approved your selection of assistant, despite her background. How soon can you deliver your solution?"

"Your Majesty, a breakthrough is only a month away. I have been working tirelessly to improve the quality of the spears and about the wind patterns in the mountains, I also have an idea. Behold, my proposal."

Bering unwrapped his scroll onto the table and read aloud his proposal from yesterday, with the notable additions of increased load bearing, fatigue, and flying faster than a SkyWing. Clearly he had used my suggestions.

At the mention of faster than SkyWing speed, a massive IceWing, muscular and brawny stood up with a huff. "No offense to Your Majesty, but this is nonsense! Why are we spending any effort on this absurd fool? Even at top speed, I can't outflank those SkyWing brutes. We should focus on training instead, make each warrior a deadly killing machine. That's how we will win."

Queen Glacier motioned for her to sit down, and the IceWing reluctantly followed the order. She looked at Bering's proposal for a few terse moments before speaking.

"Alpine, your training program has not delivered anywhere near the same results as Bering's scientific findings. You may find it prudent to keep your perceptions of others private until you can support it with evidence."

I could swear for the briefest moment Bering stuck his tongue out at Alpine, but before I could confirm, Alpine replied in a much more subdued voice. "Yes my queen, I am well aware of my programs shortcomings. I am simply doubtful of Bering's plan. That's all."

"That is quite alright. I too have misgivings about this plan, but conquering those mountains are essential as it will allow us to set up a base for more direct assaults on our enemies. We need every advantage we can get."

Queen Glacier turned her attention to Bering, who immediately stopped his antics. "Bering, I hope you understand that the council expects results soon. The next round of funding will hinge on your ability to deliver a solution in a timely manner." She tapped her talons on the proposal.

The scientist eagerly responded. "Of course Your Highness, I won't let you down. With my assistant by my side, I will have the necessary talent to fix those spears and map out the wind patterns."

The Queen nodded in approval. "Those are bold promises, but I am sure you will rise to meet them. Before the council votes on your proposal, please introduce your assistant. My vote is yes, but perhaps she will inspire the rest of the council's confidence in your plan."

"As you wish Your Majesty." Bering gazed at the end of the table, and his eyes lit up when he found his query. Me. "Auster! Stand please."

Oh no.

Just as with the glass incident, every pair of eyes was focused on me. However this time, I could see curiosity and possibly admiration as I stood up. I threw my wings back into the standard guard position, the only formal stance I knew and immediately, some of the admiration looks turned sour.

Bering was unfazed by my posture and hurried over to my side to show off his prize, no matter how uncultured or lowly I seemed. "Everyone, this is Auster from the 6th circle (why did he have too mention that) who is now my assistant. I am honored to be working with such a talented and intelligent partner. Auster, is there anything you would like to add?"

All I could think about were the dumb slogans from guard training. The guards often spoke to each other in a crude manner, reserving the few phrases of legalese we knew for answering to superiors.

"I too, am … honored to also work with Bering, for he is a very smart dragon."

Real smooth. Remember what Glacier wants from you, try saying that you look forward to collaboration and achieving your goals. I hear a lot of that in motivational speeches.

"I look forward to working together on this promising project and with discipline, hard work and self-control, we will accomplish the goals as listed by Your Majesty."

Queen Glacier gave a small acknowledgement, replying "Those are very wise words. I look forward to seeing the results of your work. As assistant to Bering, you will receive the same rights, up to and including a promotion to the 3rd circle, effective immediately."

I stood in shock as Narwhal took my name plate and swiftly moved it to near the top of the list, just under Bering's name, safely in the 3rd circle, the upper echelon of IceWing society. With that one motion, I now ranked higher than many of the dragons in the council, above even my old commander Mink, and had the rights to live within the palace itself.

"Congratulations, you may remove your circle rings and present them at the jeweler for replacements as you choose. Here's to your success." Queen Glacier raised her glass of currant juice again, and this time, she had a small smile on her snout as she downed the entire contents of the goblet. "Now that we have concluded our introductions, we will now proceed to vote on the proposal. If you are in favor, raise your goblet." The Queen raised hers.

Slowly, dragons around the table also raised their glasses, I even saw Alpine reluctantly lifting hers. Eventually, every dragon at the table held up their glass, trusting in their leader's judgement.

The queen looked at me oddly like I had rabbits sticking out of my ears. "Auster, are you not in favor of your own project?"

You fool, you can vote now, you're part of the council. Raise your glass!

I grabbed my cup and thrusted it in the air, flustered from letting my inexperience show. The ice pads never mentioned the specifics of how to act in company of high society. Probably because the writers were all nobles and assumed that the reader already knew.

The Queen announced the unanimous approval of Bering's proposal and stamped her royal seal upon the scroll, and Bering's snout lit up with the biggest smile I had seen yet. Having accomplished the main goal of the meeting she waved her talons.

"That concludes our meeting today. Inner council, follow me to the throne room. The rest of you are free to enjoy this feast." Sweeping her tail majestically, she left the courtyard, followed by Narwhal, Tundra and a couple more dragons.

The two dragons who had ignored me before suddenly took an interest in me. It seemed like now half the members of the council had jewelry advice to share, or the best way to maintain my rank, and generally wanted to become my new best friend. I had about seven awkward conversations with these nobles before Bering came over and shooed them all away.

He flashed me a grin and pushed a plate of meat in my direction after the final noble had given up trying to convince me that emeralds were better than sapphires. "Enjoy the feast. There's evidence that you perform better on a full stomach."

"Sounds like you should take your own advice."

Bering held up his talons in mock defense. "I do eat! I just have a fast metabolism. And besides, I have even better food in my lab. I can't wait to show you my lab after you finish stuffing your face with that meat." He handed me a fork.

I had been so busy talking that I hadn't noticed that I was using my talons to shovel food into my maw. Normally, guards ate with their talons as it was the fastest way to eat and given the short breaks, speed outweighed etiquette. Based on the disgusted looks from my neighbors, lowly guard behavior was not held in high regard among council members.

Whatever, I was full anyways. After swigging the rest of my currant juice, I followed Bering out of the snobby courtyard and into the southern wing, where the walls were carved with intricate designs.

"The designs were inspired by equations in nature," my guide traced a long spiraling arc. "This one is a sequence found in flowers and a curious shelled animal we found from a sea expedition years ago. But here is my favorite." He walked over to a small carving of a tree and stroked it reverently.

"You can find very interesting patterns in nature, and this one appears everywhere. The number of tree branches at each level increases in a very predictable way. You have a single trunk, which splits in two, then three, five, eight, basically add up the previous two numbers and you will get the number of branches on the next level. In fact, if you go look at the Gift of Light tree, you will find that it follows this exact pattern."

"Well I guess Frostbite shared the same appreciation for math like you."

"The enchantment merely states that the tree grows like a real one. Nature decided to give us animus magic, but she retains the best magic for herself."

"Mmm hmm, this is all fascinating, but are you going to show me my future workplace?"

Bering twiddled his talons. "Neither my lab nor your room are quite ready. See, I only informed Glacier of my plan yesterday, and the palace staff did not have adequate notice of your arrival. I promise that it will be ready tomorrow, but you will have to spend one more night in your current housing, unless you wish to share my residence."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

'No Walrus, shut up.'

"Then I shall return to my chambers. I left some of my belongings there anyways."

"Wonderful, then we will meet in the library tomorrow at the second bell?"

"That sounds like a plan," and I strode out of the hallway, but not before Bering called me one last time.

"Auster, the nobles might seem intimidating, but they're harmless. Just act like you normally do and you will be fine. Sleep tight."