Thank you -shirzadym and -tempesttheseawing for your praise and critique. This one took a long time because I found a really good album and every time I would listen to it trying to write, I ended up dancing instead. I plan to update weekly but we will see. As always, I hope you enjoy. -mag

This time when Stream appeared in my room, I greeted her calmly and she smiled, evidently pleased that at my cooperation. Not that I would spill any IceWing secrets. I would sooner be banished to the forgotten corner of the continent than betray my tribe.

"So, you have decided to entertain an old maid after all? Most of the stuff I talk about is boring, but I will try my best to keep up with whatever you youngsters are all about these days." Stream smiled benevolently, but her smile was lopsided and crooked.

"I suppose we can start with me. I'm Stream, as you know, and I used to hold a high position in the palace. That's how I could afford these marvelous jewels," Stream brandished her wings and fluttered her eyes, showing off her appalling fashion choices. "But lately, my children, the treacherous little devils they are, decided that I was too old and cranky. They banished me to this lonely valley and even though they promised to visit, I haven't seen anyone in a month."

"That is quite sad."

"Indeed. Why don't you introduce yourself?"

"Well, my name is Auster, and I am a … guard. I sit around with a spear all day basically." I did not mention my recent promotion or Bering's interesting projects.

"Then you can teach me how to cope with staring a wall all day," the SkyWing tried to laugh but it ended up sounding more a cough and tendrils of smoke rose from her nostrils.

"It is all about discipline. You focus on one thing and complete that task to perfection. Also, I have a friend I talk to while standing guard."

Stream's wings sagged at the mention of friends. "Oh, I don't have any friends to talk to here, only some lowly peasants that deliver food. Can you tell me more about your friend?"

"He's called Walrus, and sometimes I think he only exists to argue with everything. For example, he thinks the IceWing circles are dumb. He wants to abolish them and all the formalities."

"That sounds pretty ridiculous. I, for one, am perfectly content with a tiered political system. The most capable and ambitious rise to the top while the weak willed, immature, ineffectual are punished severely."

"Perhaps you should talk to Walrus then."

"Maybe someday I will," she said with a wistful smile. "But I don't want to keep you too long, go enjoy your wall staring." She waved her talons and the conversation was over.

I awoke to the first bell ringing, and out of habit, I grabbed my spear and headed outside for guard inspections, except that Mink and Tusk bowed their heads to me while I gawked at them.

Auster remember that you're in the 3rd circle now. You outrank them.

Mink decided to break the awkward silence. "I see that you are up at the appropriate time madam. May I or my partner be of any assistance to you today?"

I really wanted to test something. I responded with as calm as voice as I could muster for my request, trying not to feel giddy. "I require an escort to the library, and you two will provide it."

Tusk growled in defiance, but Mink stepped on his tail, warning him not to defy orders from a higher ranked dragon. "Of course, head this way madam," and she marched elegantly out of the hallway. Tusk followed, his tail lashing in frustration, but he held his tongue.

'Wow, I can't believe that actually worked.'

I'm glad you find pleasure in ordering others around.

'You sound disappointed Walrus. I'm just doing what all the other nobles do. It's the baggage that comes with the position. And what use is power if I don't wield it?'

Just don't be a jerk about it. Bering doesn't seem to do it, be more like him. He's a nice fellow.

'Bering is weird and definitely an exception. You're just jealous that I'm ranked higher now and have the ability to do stuff like this.'

Walrus decided to stay silent, so I declared mental victory and walked outside where my escort was waiting.

The three of us made the rest of the trip in silence, though Tusk occasionally stole a glance at me, shaking his head when he saw the three rings around my forearm. Upon entry to the south wing, Tusk whirled around with a look of displeasure on his snout when Mink was out of earshot.

"I see you were promoted, madam." His voice reeked of envy.

"Yes I was," smirking at his indignant countenance.

"We all know you have no skills," he hissed angrily. "Your luck will run out one day and you will have nothing to show for it. You're nothing but a phony worm."

"Those are some strong words to use against a dragon who has the power to send you to exile."

"I ain't afraid, you won't have that rank for long. Try me, I'll bite you."

After an intense moment of mutual glaring, I decided that I would take the high road. Self control. It wasn't worth getting into a scuffle with a lowly peasant when I had better things to do like visit the jeweler. With a final pointed scowl at the insolent knave, I stepped daintily into the chamber where Mink awaited.

The IceWing captain beckoned me to a plain stone door, firmly sealed. Upon reaching the door, she knocked three times before bowing and exiting the chamber, leaving me alone to face Bering. I don't know is she had heard Tusk's insubordinate attitude outside but even if she did, her snout remained steely and rigid.

I waited for several moments, willing the door to open but it never did. I was about to give up and go visit the jeweler. Maybe it was all a hoax, Bering didn't deem me worthy of the spot. Try as I might, Tusks' cruel words rang in my ears.

No Aus. You are worthy. Don't let yourself be put down by Tusk. I am certain that Bering saw something in you that you aren't aware of yet.

'Well thanks Walrus. At least you have faith.'

Of course. I'm your friendly conscience, it is my duty to keep you on the right path. How about a trip to the jeweler? You'll feel better when you get the official jewels so you won't have to worry about others mocking or doubting you.

As I made my way to the exit, I heard a commotion coming my way. Perking my ears forward, the lead voice revealed itself to be Bering speaking in a distressed tone to some unknown audience.

"That's impossible! He would never do that, I know that he would never betray the tribe, he's just missing that's all. He will be back in a couple days and we can all forget about this."

"Bering, we have significant evidence that he ran away to join the Talons. You know the penalty for abandoning the tribe."

"But you haven't even shown the evidence! You can't convict him like that!"

"We will hold a trial then. That is the best I can do."

Bering groaned miserably. "I suppose it is."

The mystery voice continued, though it seemed more familiar the closer they moved. "Good then. Your lab is secure?"

"Always."

"Make sure nothing was stolen. We can't have those plans leaking out to anyone. I was informed that you have some business with your new recruit, guarantee that she will not hinder us in any manner. I will go notify Mink of the news."

"As you wish, Your Majesty."

I tried my best to appear busy staring at the wall and definitely not eavesdropping when Bering entered the chamber, but he was too agitated to even notice my presence until I gave him a subtle tap on the shoulder.

"AH! Hello Auster. I am so very sorry I kept you waiting, I had some pressing… business to attend to unfortunately, but I'll show you around, come in," he stood by the now agape doorway, inviting me to enter his dominion, concealing whatever shock he had behind his normal jovial face.

Compared to the orderly, polished, and elegant halls of the rest of the palace, Bering's lab was a monument of disarray. Flasks full of exotic colors sat upon shelves lined against the plain walls, occasionally emitting smoke and particles. At the back of the large room, a jumble of strange metal shapes sat on the ground.

The skinny IceWing ignored all of this and went straight into a smaller side chamber, leaving me to my own devices, so I meandered around the room for the most interesting object.

That turned out to be a peculiar ring hanging from the ceiling by the only window in the room. Upon closer inspection, the ring appeared to be made of the same metal as in the pile, but this specimen was notably smoother and was covered in some kind of slippery coating, making it difficult to hold around the edge. I sat puzzled by the object. It was not made of gold or silver, it couldn't possibly be some kind of bizarre ornament. It was too wide for an armband, but not wide enough for a necklace.

'Walrus, what do you think this is?'

No idea. It looks foreign, I remember during guard training, we read about SkyWing weapons and this looks similar. Not sure what a ring would be used for given that you can't wear it, but the ice pad said that it can endure extreme heat and had to be forged in big furnaces.

'Why would Bering have a piece of SkyWing metal though?'

Why don't you ask him?

I spun around to go find the absent IceWing, only to see him sat calmly upon his haunches, peering at me intently. He wore a tinted visor on his snout, rendering his eyes unreadable.

"Well, are you going to play with it or do you just want to stare at me all day?" He didn't sound angry.

"I just thought this was the most interesting object in the room, so I was naturally drawn to it, by its beauty and design."

"You have certainly found my most important project. Though I would not consider the ring beautiful or of any special design, even if it took a month to create."

"A month? For this ordinary thing?"

Bering took the ring from my talons and with surprising vigor, smashed it into the wall. It left a gash in the ice but the ring was unscathed. "This is a high quality metal forged in the hottest flames in the SkyWing mines. One of our contacts brought it back from an expedition because no matter how hard they tried, they were unable to break it. Our pitiful wood fires here would not suffice, so I spent a month hammering and polishing it into this shape."

Looks like I was right about the origin.

Ignoring Walrus, I held out my talons and Bering willingly gave the ring to me. "But what do you use it for?"

"Put on this," he handed me another tinted visor. The visor made everything dark, like how clouds blocked sunlight, but I could still make out the outline of Bering arching his neck and drawing in a deep breath before he opened his jaw slightly. I heard a familiar humming sound, and a moment later, a narrow jet of frostbreath hit the outside of the ring.

Bering went excruciatingly slow, circling his frostbreath around and around, forming a layer of clear ice within the ring, occasionally flipping it over to work on the other side. I could see the ice was slightly thicker in the middle, bowing out from the ring. He inspected his handiwork closely before declaring it done and holding it up for me to see.

"Bring me one of those metal pieces. We are going to observe one of nature's most powerful sources of energy." He went over to the window and after giving him a small metal trinket, he placed the ring within a special stand.

"Now we will see the reason we are wearing these visors, the power of the sun is not to be taken lightly. Hah."

Hah.

Light rays hit the ring but as per usual, they bounced off the shiny surface, casting bright reflections around the room. Until Bering adjusted the stand so the ring faced perpendicular to the light rays, at which point a thin focused beam of light exited the ice and hit the metal trinket.

But the metal didn't react, it failed to change color, nothing interesting happened. It sat there basking in the light, immobile, stagnant and disappointing.

Bering carefully moved the ring out of its stand and onto a nearby table, then removed his visor, indicating that I should do the same.

"What do you think?" His normal amiable smile returned.

I couldn't tell if he was trying to fool me or make me look stupid for watching absolutely nothing happen, but I played along, just out of curiosity. "It looks like you shone some light on a piece of metal."

"Bring the metal piece over," he requested, strolling over to a large empty table.

At least I was getting jewels and a 3rd circle rank out of this lunatic plan. I carelessly wrapped my talons around the metal object, expecting the cool surface of the material as I did before.

PAIN. A sharp stab of agonizing pain stemming from where my palm made contact with the metal forced me to drop the wretched object. I smelled my flesh burning and my claws felt hotter than the heart of the wooden pyres for funerals, but it did not register in my mind that the source of such agony was the innocent metal piece.

After countless seconds of needless panicking, I got the bright idea to use frostbreath on my talons and the immediate stinging pain receded, though a dull ache still pulsed in the worst area of the burn.

Meanwhile, the dunce who had told me to touch the metal knowing full well it would burn me could barely stand, due to his howls of laughter.

"Bering, that is an INAPPROPRIATE command and you were definitely aware that is would burn me! This is not funny, stop laughing! Now I have a maimed talon, and you are directly responsible."

"But I can't stop laughing! Your reaction was priceless, like you stubbed your toe and were trying to find the invisible wall. And now your talon is encased in a block of ice, though that was a pretty quick response. The temperature wasn't actually that high, your precious claws will be just fine."

"If I see a single scar, I am going to burn you with that ring or light or whatever it is," I threatened, lashing my tail angrily.

Annoyingly, the devious little rascal only continued to grin mischievously. "And what, burn your talons again?"

I had enough of his antics. Declaring to nobody in particular, I proclaimed my intentions. "I am done for today. You can keep doing whatever ludicrous projects you do around here while I visit the jeweler."

When I purposefully marched down the room towards the door, Bering scrambled in front of me and flared his wings, agitated about something, maybe he wanted to apologize for his stupid trick.

"Auster, please, I really wouldn't go to the jeweler right now."

"And why not? Because you don't think I'm worthy of the jewels guaranteed to me?"

"No! The jeweler is currently not available. Can you wait for another two days? Everything will be better then."

"What will be better then? If the jeweler isn't in, then someone else will step in for the meantime."

"If you must go, then I will not stop you, just don't cause any trouble. And I'm sorry if I insulted your pride. Don't feel bad about burning yourself, look at the outcome of my first encounter with the ring." He swung his tail forward, brandishing a darkened spot near the tip. "My tail brushed against the first object I heated, that's how I discovered the unique properties."

Good for him. Truthfully, my palm had stopped aching already and brushing away the ice revealed that indeed, no damage had been done. Still, I had made up my mind and intended to follow through, so sweeping aside Bering, I exited the south wing and took to the sky.

Wasn't that exciting.

'Absolutely, especially if you enjoy being the victim of a silly trick.'

Oh, come on, it was not that bad. Besides, aren't you curious about how that works?

'Nope, that is above my paygrade.'

You should cooperate with him; I don't see how you're going to move up higher without his help.

I remained silent, irritated that Walrus was right. Bering did hold the key to any kind of promotion. His success would mean my success, which meant that I had to actually assist. Even if that meant more practical jokes.

The jeweler's room was situated in the western portion of the palace, alongside the merchant stands and storehouses that kept the supplies necessary to keep the palace running. This wing was the busiest, it was where the commoners congregated and did their commoner business.

As a guard, I had been stationed here a few times to keep the rowdy peasants in line and protect some rich noble's wares. Largely though, I was ignored by the merchants, or pestered by the abhorrent dragonets.

One time when Tusk and I had been assigned here, we stood guard to one of the royal storehouses. A pair of dragonets decided that we were the perfect targets for a poking and prodding session. True to my training, I moved not one bit, standing still like a statue. Tusk, assuming that nobody was watching decided to engage the dragonets, and they were delighted to have an adult willing to play with them.

Needless to say, after a filed report, Tusk was sentenced to retraining and I was relocated to a much more pleasant position in the courtyard.

I landed in a bustling market square, swarming with busy dragons going about their daily routine. They seemed to not care about the three rings on my arm or my upright posture, and hustled around me without noticing the high ranking dragon amidst them.

Fine then. I didn't want the attention of brainless peons anyways.

The jeweler's building stood in a quieter avenue surrounded by ice sculptures and more upscale decorations. Here, the buildings were elegant in contrast to the chaotic mess outside. The building itself was small, with only a single room in which the customer met with the jeweler. The only things that gave away the true purpose of the hut were stacked shelves of jewelry and a large clear crystal near the rear of the room.

Like Bering noted, the usual jeweler was absent, or so I assumed because familiar dragon stood behind the counter, her neutral gray eyes and composed snout just as impassive as when she was my quarter leader. She lifted a single eyebrow slightly upon my entry.

"Welcome madam Auster. How may I be of assistance to you?"

"Hello Command-er Mink, I am here to claim my jewels for my promotion to the third circle."

"Understood, here is a selection for you to consider." She placed several necklaces, armbands, earrings, and tail bands on the desk. They ranged from intricate designs inlaid with rubies and amethyst to simpler, dignified, and traditional designs made with mother of pearl and jade.

While peering at the selection, Mink hesitated before squaring her shoulders and speaking. "Most dragons of your rank choose a more conspicuous piece that ostensibly shows off more. However, if I may be so bold to interject with my own advice, don't choose something because it is flashy. The jewelry is to help you distinguish yourself in your own unique way for you are no longer a commoner."

Mink concentrated on me, examining me visually from horn to tail intently before selecting two armbands and a necklace from the pile. The necklace had a plain chain, and a single dark blue crystal in the center.

"This is not as flowery or ornate as the other options, nor is it the highest value. The gemstone is a pedestrian topaz, but it is cut very precisely and contains few impurities. I think it looks better than most of the diamond and emerald jewelry that the nobles have been toting around recently.

The armbands are also not made of anything special, just lapis and tin. It is intricately carved however and has no surface flaws. It complements your disciplined nature well and doesn't appear too ostentatious.

I don't want to discourage you from making your own choices, however. You are welcome to pick out any other pieces to try." She put the necklace and armbands aside and retreated, letting me see the others.

In particular, a ruby horn ring caught my attention because of its intricate and pretty design. The circular band, made of a lustrous gold had small rubies set in it, a total of 9 gems in total. They sparkled in the afternoon light in the same way Queen Glacier's sapphire crown became the centerpiece in any room it entered. The piece was beautiful.

"Mink, I really like this one," and I placed the majestic ruby ring in front of her.

Something akin to a frown crossed her snout, but before I could properly examine her exasperation, she picked up the piece and inspected it for any flaws before presenting it to me. "This is gold foil, very convincing of course, but you must take good care of it otherwise it may scratch off. The rubies are not as clear, but given their small size, it will be difficult to distinguish from afar."

Shiny is shiny. Looks nice to me.

"Wonderful, then I will have the horn ring."

"Do you want anything else? You are allotted three pieces."

You should get something else that looks really shiny. Maybe diamond!

Looking around at the remaining pieces, I could see a few diamonds sparkling, but even with my untrained eye, I could tell that they were small and cloudy. My gaze drifted back to the blue necklace. It certainly was a pretty jewel, though not as valuable.

"I will have the blue necklace as well and..." I deliberated over the selection presented to me and decided on a bracelet with small purplish pink stones, "this one."

Boo. You could've chosen the gold at least.

"These are your final choices?" Mink held up the ruby ring horn, blue necklace and the final bracelet.

"Yes." I was ready to become a noble, complete with the accompanying dress.

"Step forward and I will place your new possessions upon you." My former commander, now outclassed by myself, placed on her snout a visor, very similar to the one I had worn just a while ago, though this one was clear. After years of dreaming of this moment, it seemed rather dull, as Mink simply slid the bracelet and horn ring into their respective spots.

The necklace felt slightly more special, because I had to dip my head as Mink placed it over my snout. It wasn't a crown; the blue gem rested solidly on my chest instead of my head, but I was elated nonetheless.

Mink gave one more cursory glance over my attire before nodding her approval. Though perhaps she stared at the bracelet for a moment longer than the horn ring and necklace.

"The bracelet you chose has a very interesting history. The previous dragon who wore it-"

"Am I wearing a dead dragon's jewelry?" I hadn't studied court politics all that much, but surely that was inappropriate.

"Oh no, this dragon is still alive. Occasionally, we receive donations from the wills of deceased dragons, but this bracelet was actually sold to us."

"Who was the seller?"

Mink shook her head. "I cannot disclose the identity, all dealings are confidential, but I am sure you will find them soon enough."

"I see."

I did not see, and I wanted to inquire further, but Mink had conveyed that the discussion ended here. I bid her farewell politely, a gesture returned with an indifferent facial expression, and stepped back out into the alley, taking a running takeoff off towards the main palace.

The album is called Exit Plan by fearofdark for anyone that's wondering.