What's that? An early upload? And a cover? Whew! That's right, I finally stopped being lazy and finished up the cover, hope you like it. Anyways, I'll keep this short. Enjoy! -MAG
The young IceWing arrived promptly at the second bell, not a minute early or late. Tern carried with her nothing more than a small satchel and a nervous poise, constantly darting her eyes around to scan the expansive courtyard and lobbies, though she received no response from the other bustling dragons, who did not deign to acknowledge a peasant.
Strictly speaking, peasants not associated with the circles were allowed in the palace ever since a decree by Queen Glacier to encourage the populace to marvel in the beauty and hopefully garner support for the war, but said peasants were often belittled or outright ignored by the disdainful nobility, and several places still required circle membership to enter, for instance, the south wing minus the library.
I still didn't understand how Feesh managed to haul a crate of currant juice past the guards. But whatever persistence her father had, Tern made up for it in pure enthusiasm, though she was very careful not to let it show, otherwise a particularly snooty IceWing just might come along and crush her with a scornful insult.
I acknowledged her presence with a simple nod and beckoned her to follow me along the pathway. The guards were hesitant to let a commoner through, but my scowl put their concerns to rest.
To Tern's credit, she followed along dutifully, and managed to keep her maw shut until we were out of earshot of any uptight aristocrats.
"Auster, where are we going?" she asked.
There were a multitude of options available, including the library, courts, and sparring grounds, and maybe even Bering's laboratory if I could convince my employer. But I had something else in mind. Stream had visited me again during the night, reminding me of the precious treasure in the desert. Mink grumbled when I requested the paperwork but I arranged for Tern and I to visit Princess Blaze as a diplomatic delegation.
"We will not be staying in the palace today," I declared. "Instead, we will be visiting Her Highness Princess Blaze, because that is a far more interesting endeavor than anything these gilded halls can provide. Besides, I'm sure you don't want to be trodden on by the nobles all day."
Tern breathed in wonder, "Princess Blaze? Actually? But like how did you arrange- isn't Her Majesty busy with the war effort?"
"When Queen Glacier resides in this palace, rest assured that Princess Blaze will remain in her fort. She prefers the posh and comfortable interiors of the fort we IceWings provide instead of the battlefield. And that is why she is a suitable candidate for the SandWing throne, as she understands and appreciates the civilized amenities that come with royalty."
"I see," was Tern's response to my lecture.
Out of all the wings, the southern section always had the least amount of traffic. Simply put, not many IceWings were terribly excited to read the vast volumes of the library and the lunatic yet talented Bering had reserved much of the remaining space for his eccentric operations.
I didn't keep direct tabs on Tern, but through reflections on the walls, the young IceWing appeared as if she had a million questions sitting patiently on her snout but had the decency to not bother me with such petty talk. Good, at least she wouldn't get demoted over a poorly controlled tongue.
We climbed the stairs up towards my residence and when asked to enter my suite, Tern stepped gingerly onto the polished floors and drew in her wings to avoid touching anything. It amused me greatly how nervous and tentative her actions were.
After collecting all the necessary supplies, I opened up the balcony doors to Tern's amazement. Personal access to the sky? The young IceWing practically worshipped me already.
"Come along then," I beckoned, "I assume you studied the maps, you want to lead the way?"
"Ah sure! I would be honored to." Tern leaped into the sky with enthusiasm rivaling Bering. To her credit, Tern flew much faster than my employer and thus I could extend my wings and stretch them out. Within a few hours, the ground had turned from dry tundra into dry sand and the chimney smoke of Blaze's fortress came into view.
The fort was smaller than I had imagined, consisting of four drab sandstone walls, the only decoration being tired, tattered banners waving in the wind. This was the residence of future Queen-to-be? Ahead of me, I could see Tern doing a double take, presumably also surprised that our revered ally and fashionable royal would settle for such a dull existence.
We kept our mouths shut as we approached the guard positioned at the door, it wouldn't do to insult our friends.
"Delegation to visit Princess Blaze?" inquired the guard.
"That is correct," I affirmed.
"Right this way then," the guard replied, heaving open the wooden gate. "Make yourselves at home," he added affably, "Her Majesty has not had many visitors recently and is looking forward to conversing with you. If you need anything just ask and we'll be glad to make it happen."
Just a few steps past the gate there was a gleeful shout and the sound of something or someone getting pummeled all while a shrill feminine voice howled with laughter.
"Got you now!" shrieked the same voice.
"Yippee!" someone else cheered.
We entered on an absurd scene of chaos in the main chamber. There were four dragons slapping each other with pillows and overall having a fantastic time beating the stuffing out of each other. In particular, a cape bearing SandWing adorned with an imitation crown leaped around joyfully flinging cushions all over the place. One of the pillows came flying my direction and I ducked instinctively, letting it soar over my head where it smacked Tern, who blinked in confusion at this whole mess.
"Three moons, I never get invited to the fun stuff," the guard from before walked up beside us. He wrinkled his snout in amusement. "Princess Blaze has ordained that there must be a pillow fight every month. And of course, the one time I'm here for the party I get assigned as guard. By the way, I'm Horizon."
Tern continued to gawk at the scene but since I had more important business, I tapped the guard's shoulder. "How long does this last?"
"About an hour or so, soon enough the princess will get exhausted and then we will have a grand feast," chuckled Horizon.
"Then can you inform the princess that we are ready for said feast and that we come bearing a gift from Queen Glacier."
Strictly speaking, the three bottles of currant juice in my satchel weren't direct from the queen, but nobody would complain about free currant juice.
"And ruin the fun? No thank you. Besides, I think Ocotillo is about to win, I'll bet you two dates that he squashes everyone."
I didn't want a date, much less two with this ineffectual guard, and I definitely didn't feel like waiting for the merry SandWings to complete their ludicrous ritual, princess ordained or not. SandWings did dating like the uncultured swine they were, while IceWings performed proper courtship. I signaled to Tern who shrugged and made a gesture that looked like a pillow exploding.
If the SandWings were too intoxicated with fun, then perhaps I could restore a sense of business urgency. Though I dared not touch the princess, the other three were fair game as far as I considered, and thus, removing them from the situation was a completely appropriate solution.
Only one of the SandWings noticed when I barged into the midst of the racket, and I removed him first, separating him from the rest with my wing and firmly pushing him aside. Tern caught on to what I was doing and helped me untangle the two other SandWings and thrust them to opposite corners where they sat dazed and befuddled as to why they were being put in time-out.
The only SandWing that remained was the princess herself, still buried in a mountain of pillows and screaming with delight, blissfully unaware that her companions had finally come to their senses and stood waiting for her. One of the SandWings, a slender female not any older than Tern tried to rejoin the princess, but Tern held out her wing, holding her back.
Horizon noted the swift decrease in pillow fight participants as his cue to enter and he cleared his throat loudly, hoping to catch the attention of the blithe princess. It took several more tries until Blaze lifted her head up and noticed the crowd staring expectantly at her.
Horizon pointed out the visitors. "We have a delegation, Your Highness, perhaps we should move on to the feast to better accommodate the visiting IceWings?"
Blaze resettled the crown ornament before leaping out of the pillow pile and bounding over to shake my talons. "Apologies for keeping you waiting, but the monthly pillow fight is very important, as you can probably tell. Don't worry though, we will have a lovely dinner! Ocotillo is the best cook ever, and he knows how to make things super romantic!" The SandWing princess gushed with exuberance.
"Great," I responded indifferently. "Then shall we get on with it? I brought a gift that is best enjoyed sooner rather than later. This delegation serves two purposes. One, to reaffirm relations, and two, to serve as a demonstration to my apprentice here. So more business and less fun please."
"Okie dokie!" Blaze acted as if she didn't hear my spiel and immediately jumped over to Tern and gave her a hug. Despite Blaze's best attempts at masking her whispering, her less than flattering words were easily heard by everyone. "You are one pretty IceWing! Though not as pretty as me, but that's asking the impossible. Second most beautiful though, much sparklier than your grumpy friend."
The first SandWing I detangled grunted awkwardly, "Princess, as much as we would love to sit around and hear you introduce yourself, our visitors might be starving, and you wouldn't want to deprive them of the feast, would you?"
"Oh yes! Sorry!" Blaze squealed. "But you did hear my excellent whispering, right?"
"Yes," he noted dryly.
"Wonderful! Ok, Ocotillo, go get our guests the food. Jackal and Barb, set up the table please."
The corresponding SandWings bowed dutifully and went about their business, dragging furniture in and setting something edible on fire in the kitchen, filling the entire fortress with the smell of cooking meat.
The princess assembled a mountain of pillows as a mock throne to sit on and beckoned for Tern to sit by her side. I was given a spot as far away from the princess as possible. Horizon attempted to sit down besides me but Blaze shooed him away, sending the unfortunate guard back to his post, though the princess promised that someone would bring him a plate eventually.
Ocotillo brought out three heavy dishes laden with SandWing delicacies. There was a large steak of unknown animal origin, some kind of bug crisps and a collection of pinkish round fruits.
Blaze was first to tuck in, carving off a massive chunk of meat for herself and consciously avoiding the bug crisps. Once she had helped herself to the food, the rest of the SandWings dug in as well. Tern grabbed a modest slice and managed to consume the food without gagging too much. I myself selected a few of the fruits, which I then delicately sliced with my talons and chewed slowly, mostly to mollify the chef until it was time to bring out the currant juice.
The topic of conversation was quite boring, just small talk, getting to know the visitors and discussing mundane things. Despite Tern's best efforts, the conversation seemed to always revolve around Blaze's jewelry collection. At one point, the princess noticed my elegant adornments and insisted upon taking a closer look. I passed my necklace and bracelets over to the inquisitive SandWing who admired it and tried it on herself, playing with the things until Ocotillo kindly reminded her to return my belongings.
It was then I deemed appropriate to bring out the currant juice, three bottles of which went around the table filling everyone's glass. I didn't not pour any for myself, but Tern had a glass half full, probably curious about the taste but unwilling to down a full glass. The SandWing dragonet on the other talon had no problem gulping down two glasses.
While the dragons were busy with the tangy sweet juice, I excused myself and went over to the gate, intending to go out and find the map. Horizon sat blocking the doorway, however.
"Hey," he grinned, holding up a plate of dried round red clumps "Want a date?"
"No," I replied curtly, "I have business outside."
"Please take one, you'll like it," he insisted. "They're quite rare up here and it's a miracle we even got a shipment, at least give it a try."
-Try it!
Oh great, you're back again.
"Fine, but only if you try some of this in return." I retrieved a glass of currant juice that was somehow miraculously still unconsumed and dripped in a drop of green quack, sloshing it until the two were thoroughly mixed. "IceWing specialty," I promised.
Horizon angled his head questioningly but took the glass and drank it anyways. "Hmmm, this tastes like the mead the caravans bring through, though sourer and with a more pronounced fruit taste."
I nodded in assent, despite not knowing what mead was, I assumed it was some kind of local delicacy. I was waiting for Horizon to fall asleep so I could pass.
"Ergghh," the guard moaned with displeasure, clutching his forehead with a grimace. "That headache's back again, it wouldn't have anything to do with the currant juice would it?" he slurred.
I shook my head and instead curled a wing over Horizon, encouraging him to settle down and take a nice doozy nap. He protested meekly but within a moment was snoring away. Now I could go conduct my business without interruption from silly SandWings.
The wind was starting to pick up as I shut the gate closed, sending a cool breeze across the barren sand. This part of the landscape had little physical resistance and thus any wind could blow unimpeded, picking up speed and sweeping across the dunes, smoothing them out until everything in the area looked like the same flat, desolate and empty desert.
However, small pockets of life still managed to hang on and bravely resist the constant gusts. Clumps of shrubs and cacti formed the only fauna in this land, and there was a certain configuration of cacti I was looking for, specifically a clump of five cacti.
It took about an hour to find my query, but eventually I spotted the cacti in question a few leagues east of Blaze's fortress, just far enough where the tops of the towers disappeared over the horizon. The map was placed within a sealed tube, haphazardly thrown into the mix without any regard for hiding it, almost as if Stream didn't care who found it, just as long as someone did and took it.
Like bait. Yet, the skies remained dreary but clear of dragons, and apart from the fortress, no other animal seemed to exist in the area. I was truly alone, though the wind prevented me from checking the map as much as I would have liked to. No matter, there was plenty of time to verify it before bringing it to the council.
On my way back to the fortress, the sun had started to set, casting an amber glow across the sand, and illuminating something in a sand dune, something glinting at me, winking at me, inviting me to pick it up.
The glint turned out to be from a star shaped sapphire half buried in the sand, exquisitely polished, and carved to draw my attention. When I touched my talon to it, brushing some wayward sand off, I felt an odd sensation, similar to the healing worms. It was as if my scales were aching to separate and fall off, while thousands of tiny worms writhed beneath my skin, trying desperately to break free that faded when I pulled back my talon, ceasing contact with the sapphire.
When I went to grab the jewel, with the intention of bringing it back and perhaps lending it to Bering to study or to fashion it into a new accessory that would be sure to make Blaze even more jealous, the worms sensation immediately shot up again, rising in pitch until there was an unbearable itch all over my body, and unable to endure such a feeling, I dropped the sapphire, letting it fall back to the sand, where it continued to goad me, mocking me for my inability to touch it.
But I had a plan that the little sapphire couldn't thwart; I couldn't pick it up, but someone else could, like Tern. After carefully checking the surroundings to ensure that no one else saw my secret, I flew at breakneck speed back to the fortress.
Horizon stood waiting anxiously outside the gate, scanning in the other direction and was shocked when I landed behind him.
"There you are! I'm afraid someone must've snuck past me and poisoned everyone, take a look! Everyone's fallen over," he exclaimed urgently.
Indeed, everyone at the table who had drunk the currant juice was now keeled over and snoring away without care. Blaze's snout was wide open about to accept a massive piece of meat, Ocotillo lay headfirst on a spilled patch of currant juice and Barb, the small dragonet had collapsed onto the table directly. The IceWing I had originally intended to assist me was sprawled over her chair. Of course, Tern had sipped some of the currant juice, so now I had to settle for Horizon's aid.
"Very sneaky, any ideas who could've done this?" Horizon inquired, lifting up one of the intact glasses and sniffing it cautiously.
"Nope," I lied, "but I do need your help."
"We have to figure this out first," he griped.
"I will help you figure it out if you help me, and maybe then you can give me some of those dates."
"Fine," said Horizon, easily persuaded, "What is it you need me to do?"
"I found a sapphire near the fortress that's buried in the sand," I explained, "but for some reason, I can't pick it up. So, just follow me and we'll be back before these sleepy dragons wake up."
"Alright." The guard glanced anxiously at the unconscious dragons before following me outside and eastward towards the sapphire dunes. It only took a short while until I caught the glint again, and it appeared that Horizon saw it too as he descended towards the mounds, staring intently at it.
"What is this? It's very shiny," he asked as I landed next to him.
"Just pack it up in this satchel and bring it back to the fortress," I ordered, "I will get an expert to look at it."
"Hmmph, what if I want to keep it though? JUST KIDDING! Three moons your angry face is cute, and thankfully Blaze isn't around to hear that," he joked, like this was all some funny farce.
"Do you try this with every IceWing delegation?" I asked, putting on as apathetic an expression I could.
"Maybe," the guard smirked. "It works, sometimes."
"If you do it again, I'll make sure you end up with one less talon."
"Yikes, such a grouch, though not the worst threat I've gotten. I'll call that a success eh." Horizon flashed a toothy grin before launching himself back into the sky, heading west towards the setting sun.
Tern was the only one awake when we returned, still drowsy and barely able to stand up straight and meander around the room. The remaining SandWings were still dozing away like before.
"Auster," she mumbled, "Why do I feel so sleepy? Urgh, I just want someone to put a blanket over me and I'll just go back to sleep."
"No!" I demanded sharply, grabbing her wrist, and forcing her away from the lush carpeting. "Stay awake you dizzy yak. Horizon, give her the sapphire."
"Are you sure? She doesn't seem to be able to focus and stand steady."
"Do you want one less talon or two?" I growled.
"Fine, here, IceWing, take it," Horizon shook the sapphire at Tern, who wobbled over and grabbed it, managing to make a comment about its beauty and stuffing it into her satchel before collapsing onto the ground again.
"Wow, she did not last long at all," the SandWing guard stated. "Looks like you two are stuck here tonight."
"Apparently," I glared with disdain at the snoozing IceWing. "Help me drag these dragons into more acceptable positions. And clean up the table mess."
Horizon obliged and lifted the small dragonet and carried her into a different room, then pulled Ocotillo and the rest of the SandWings off of the table, dumping them in various positions on the carpet. Meanwhile I pushed Tern away from the table and into her own corner, before draping a blanket over her, letting her snore in peace.
With all the mess cleaned up, I could finally relax, and I did so by enjoying some of the remaining food, without five other grubby dragons stuffing their snouts. Horizon was overjoyed to find out that Blaze hadn't consumed all of the camel and split the rest between us two. Even with Horizon's crude drawings, I still have no idea what a camel is, but it had an inoffensive taste, if a bit tough.
"How's the food? Ocotillo is one of the best cooks around here, so Blaze doesn't let him leave, otherwise I'll end up in the kitchen and the food will go up in a blaze, ha, get it?" Horizon spoke through a mouth full of meat, muffling his voice.
"The food is acceptable."
"Hmm. So will everyone be ok?" the SandWing gestured to the sleeping forms.
"Absolutely, they'll wake up tomorrow morning, refreshed and alert."
"Oh ok, that means Blaze will have more energy than ever."
"That is for you to deal with."
"Yikes," Horizon shuddered. "Anyways, what's the crystal, and why can't you touch it?"
"I have no idea what it is and why I seem to be repelled by it," I replied honestly, "except that I need it and I know someone who can help identify it."
"Actually, I was thinking about that while cleaning. I think it may be an animus touched object, because it tingled when I picked it up."
"Impossible, all the animus dragons died a long time ago. The last one was Darkstalker, a dragon so evil that he killed his own father and now nobody knows where he is, except that he's dead."
"I'll admit I haven't heard of any SandWing animus dragons," the guard conceded, "but that doesn't mean the objects they enchanted couldn't have survived."
That was a fair point, and surprisingly insightful for a goofy SandWing. After all, the gift of light and splendor still existed. The sapphire though, what purpose or enchantment did it have? Perhaps it was a weapon, or aid. No matter what it did, the council would love to see an animus object in the clutches of the IceWing tribe, where all animus objects belonged.
"Hello? Auster, I can see you're in your deep meditative thought session, care to share any smart realizations?" Horizon waved a half-eaten bug crisp in front of my snout.
I lunged forward and shut my jaws around the bug, narrowly avoiding Horizon's talons in the process, the SandWing darting back with a yelp.
"Rude, I was planning on eating that," he whined.
"Then get another one." I shoved the entire plate at him.
Horizon pouted but kept his snout shut as I explained the IceWing gifts. There was the gift of light, which illuminated the palace with moon globes, the gift of order, which maintained the balance. However, the only one Horizon seemed to show interest in was the gift of sustenance, apparently food was a great motivator for this particular SandWing.
"So you just reach in, and boom! Food?" he asked.
"That is an extremely crude explanation, but accurate."
"If only there were such a thing in the desert," he bemoaned wistfully. "Oh well, I'm done, is there anything else I can do for you? Because if not, I'm going to stand guard again. If Blaze asks who ate the rest of the camel, just blame Ocotillo, she's not bright enough to connect the dots."
"Understood. You're dismissed."
Horizon gave a mock salute before bounding away, not to the gate, but rather the kitchen where I could hear him rummaging through cabinets.
I cleaned up my plate and arranged the table as neatly as possible, then carefully unlatched Tern's satchel and took a look inside. Nestled beside the sapphire was a scrap of paper that read
To Skua - This is a notice about your recent intrusion into the residential apartments in the south wing. If you do not provide an adequate explanation in court, fifty tokens additional tokens will be collected for the next tribute.
Fifty tokens, that's what Feesh, or rather, Skua's little currant juice delivery cost. No matter, I could waive his culpability and remove the sentencing in court. The next item in the satchel was a small wooden carving of an arctic tern. It was pretty useless, so I moved on to the next item, a little circular gauge that said barometer. I put that in the useless pile as well.
The only thing remaining was the sapphire, snug against the fur lined interior. The jewel gleamed, encouraging me to touch it, but I dared not approach it, the fabric of the satchel was the only thing protecting me from certain pain. The sapphire was carved in the shape of a star, and I could feel an eerie energy emerging from the bag, even though I didn't directly touch the gem.
Walrus, what do you know about animus objects?
-Not much, just the usual stuff you already know. Very powerful, destroys the soul of the enchanter.
Who enchanted this then?
-How would I know? You might as well ask the sapphire itself.
What is it for?
-It's for asking impossible to answer questions.
You're very helpful.
-Like you said, animus magic died out a long time ago. Unless the enchantments were important and dragons remembered them like the IceWing gifts, then it's likely that everyone forgot about them.
What enchantments do you know of?
-All the ones you know about, basically all the gifts. I think one of the ice pads you read mentioned a SeaWing animus that went crazy? And then everyone banned animus magic and that was the end of that.
Why can't I touch the sapphire?
-That's not a question I can answer. Go to sleep Auster, it has been a long day and tomorrow you can bother Bering. That was your plan, right?
Yes. Maybe he can shed some light on this whole ordeal. Though I just want to make it clear that I am not his lab experiment dummy.
-Of course not, nobody would ever assume that.
Good.
I stole one last stare at the sapphire, noting its intricate carving and smooth polished exterior. Someone clearly spent tons of effort and time into making this. And tomorrow, I would know the answer.