-What's this? An update? No way... -MAG

To Bering's credit, he did not bring up the encounter with the NightWings once we had arrived at the palace. He faced Alpine's intrusive questioning with calmness and revealed none of the details,

I grabbed the vial of market green quack from my room and headed to Bering's laboratory, where he was waiting in the small side chamber with the ice panels and uncomfortable, muggy heat.

Bering pointed to the small plate with the patches of moist green growing. "These little critters were a present from Princess Blaze. They require extreme heat and moisture, so the only place to find them were in swamps or an oasis. Or here, now that I have set up this contraption that focuses the sunlight onto them and placed ice pellets that melt to provide the humidity."

"And they just produce green quack?"

"Sopornum," he corrected. "And they only produce it as a defense response, so I need to sprinkle some salt every few days so they continue pumping out the sopornum. It takes an incredibly long time."

"Why not just put a lot of salt on them?" I asked, confused.

"Too much salt kills them."

I handed my vial over to Bering, who uncorked it and sniffed the green substance. "It seems that this 'green quack' of yours is mostly water," he noted. "Take a sniff," he said, giving it back, "and also smell this." He passed the plate of sopornum producing critters to me.

I inhaled the smell carefully, and detected a minor hint of herbs in the green elixir, but when I lifted the plate to my snout, I was immediately overwhelmed by the overpowering scent, fogging my mind and sending the world into a temporary blur.

"Potency is important," Bering explained. "With market quality remedies, one may have to ingest excessive amounts to gain the same effect that a few drops of a specially developed formula."

I nodded along, examining the small specks of the plate closely while he continued talking.

"I know you are a bit uncomfortable about this, but I have to ask, what happened in the desert?" Bering suddenly brought up bluntly, causing me to shudder in surprise and accidently knock my talon into the plate, sending it off its pedestal onto the floor where it shattered into tiny pieces.

Bering stared his ruined project despondingly but forced his attention back to me. "Look, I want to help you figure out what is going on, it could reveal something important that we don't yet realize."

"There is nothing to figure out because I have no idea what happened either," I replied honestly. "Walrus didn't tell me anything useful."

"Walrus?"

"He's a uh, friend," I said quickly, trying to cover my mistake. It wasn't a complete lie after all.

-Awww, so we're friends. Yippee!

Don't let it get to your head. If Bering finds out I've got this crazy mind voice, he's going to think I'm a lunatic.

-You'll have a fellow lunatic to keep you company.

Luckily Bering moved on and resumed his speculation. "Let's write out what happened and see if we can make some sense out of it." He grabbed a scroll and feather pen, dipped with a special ink that did not freeze in the frigid climate. "We'll start with the little NightWing dragonet who cut me."

"He slit to your throat, to be precise."

"Right, then you came barreling my way, and opened your jaws, and…"

"Fire came out."

Bering scratched his head in confusion. "But that's not possible. You're an IceWing, and IceWings breathe frostbreath," he gestured to the ring that contained a thin sheet of ice that he had applied. "It is not physically possible, we don't have the necessary throat structure and internal heat to generate flame."

I shrugged, "Well perhaps it was just a hallucination and we saw wrong."

"No, we have to study this behavior," Bering interjected. "It could prove useful as an advantage over opponents and unlock new opportunities. Can you try breathing fire again?"

"Fine." I attempted to summon up the same raging inferno from my core but there was barely a sputter. I coughed but not a spurt of flame emitted from my mouth, nor any telltale smoke. The only thing that came out was a weak almost imperceptible stream of frost.

Bering and I stared at the wisps of ice that faded into the surrounding air.

"Well then," I sighed. "That was not the result you wanted was it?"

My partner shook his head. "It is certainly unexpected."

"Let's talk about something else then," I tried changing the topic. "What do you know about animus magic?"

"Animus magic?" Bering laughed. "There hasn't been an animus dragon in centuries, from any tribe! It's just an old tale at this point and honestly I doubt it ever existed."

"Ever existed? But then how do you explain all the gifts?"

"Simple! There just hasn't been a sufficient scientific explanation discovered yet. But some day, we'll find one."

"Even for the great ice wall?"

"That may take a little longer. Why are you interested in this animus magic anyway?"

"Just wondering," I lied. "I read a scroll about it somewhere."

Bering considered my responses for a moment before returning to his work, adjusting the rings of ice and cleaning up the shards of the plate. He didn't seem particularly resentful either, humming as he employed a small broom to shift the sharp fragments into a corner to be dealt with later. I decided that my presence wasn't helping and retreated to the main chamber and waited.

"You know Auster," he called after finishing his tasks, "Why don't we walk and talk about something a bit more cheerful? I've been meaning to share something with you that you may find quite useful."

I perked up at his suggestion. "Where?"

"North side of the palace, " he replied. "I've been meaning to visit again because it has been too long since I have seen the lovely sights."

I didn't object at all to his plan. Hopefully it would give me some peace and quiet to discuss with Walrus. We trudged through the courtyard which had just received a fresh sprinkling of snow and down the corridors towards the north side of the palace. When walking through the court room I saw a familiar snout, a nervous young dragonet sitting in front of a closed door. Tern continually checked the ice pad in her talons, anxiously waiting for some appointment.

"Tern," I called out. She waved back with a slight smile. "What are you doing here?"

"I took your advice and applied for a court position. I've been training with one of the judges and I'm here to submit my application to become an actual judge." Her expression lifted with wonder and hope. "I hope the council will approve," she squeaked.

"I'm sure the council will approve," I assured Tern, patting her shoulder.

She beamed her brightest smile and I strode back to where Bering was waiting patiently.

The courts corridor's north entrance led directly to a shallow bay where the calm frigid waters lapped gently against the gravel shore. It was here where Bering took to the air and headed northwest over the frozen ice floes and inky blue waves. The flight was short, about five minutes, and we landed on a small rocky island with a few straggly trees hanging on to the loose soil.

"This was one of my friend's favorite places to escape palace life," Bering said wistfully as he traced the lines on one of the trees. "Rather peaceful here, a rare recess from all those power hungry IceWings on that ranking list. But anyways, I brought you here because I think you need to have a session by yourself. I'll be on the other side of the island, come find me when you're done." Bering pointed to a small clearing among the trees and trotted away behind a large rock pile.

I sat confused by this sudden decision. I didn't need time alone, I needed to relay Stream's confidential information on troop movements to the council. I needed to continue exploring Bering's laboratory and helping him develop and refine his tools into weapons.

-Calm down.

Don't get me started on you! You have been no help at all for these past few days.

-Maybe you should listen to Bering. You seem flustered.

Why won't you answer my questions you useless dunce.

-Because you weren't ready for the answers. But now you have the chance to understand yourself without the possibility of overreaction. Go ahead, meditate on that and I'll try my best to help.

Tell me everything you know about animus magic.

-It's magical.

Please, help me out here. You said you were going to help.

-Well, it's complicated. Sometimes, certain dragons are born with the power. There are very few things that animus powers cannot do, like reviving the dead. And there's a price for each enchantment, it degrades a bit of the soul every time and the dragon goes crazy.

So how many enchantments can someone do before going insane?

-I have no idea. I just remember when you read the ice pads and they mentioned that IceWings do one big enchantment in a grand ceremony and that's it. Like the Gift of light or the Ice palace.

Yes I vaguely remember that too.

-Ok so basically the animus dragon casts a spell and the magic does its best interpretation of that. You can cast a simple spell like make a rock float or an elaborate one like force another dragon to disembowel themselves.

That sounds terrible, but also really useful.

-Two infamous animus dragons come to mind, one of whom did the dragon self destruction enchantment.

Are you talking about Darkstalker? Who's the other one?

-Yes, Darkstalker ordered his own father to kill himself. Can you imagine being so sadistic and evil that your enchant your own dad to do such horrific things?

Well, it worked didn't it?

-The legends never said what happened, he just disappeared.

And what of the other dragon?

-Albatross, the first SeaWing animus. Went crazy and killed a whole bunch of SeaWing royalty, and also two SkyWings. Neither tribe has had any animus dragons since, at least according to your ice pads. These two dragons are the reason why everyone fears magic and the animus dragons that do exist are heavily restricted.

So then are there any animus dragons left?

-Yes.

Who?

-I really can't say. Maybe the SandWings have one, or the NightWings if Darkstalker is still alive, or possibly the RainWings, nobody seems to know anything about them. But I would assume there are at least a few still around, even if they don't know of their own power or are just hiding it.

Would it be possible to maybe recruit one of them to give the IceWings an advantage? Like enchant all the MudWings to go to sleep or enchant Queen Scarlet to just die?

-That's not something I considered before, but I suppose if you found someone willing to do it, then yes. Is that what you want?

I would think about it some more and consult with my queen before enchanting but generally that is the idea. I could singlehandedly end this war and position my tribe on top. The IceWings would peacefully rule over Pyrrhia and end this nonsense.

-Quite the plan eh? Unfortunately there hasn't been an animus in the IceWing tribe since Prince Arctic.

What about me though? Is it possible that I'm an animus?

-No, I am sure that you are not an animus.

Then how do you explain that weird phenomenon and strange tingling behavior?

-What tingling behavior?

Like when I flung that backstabbing NightWing dragonet beyond the horizon and healed Bering. It felt like worms crawling under my scales and reaching out through my talons.

-That is certainly strange. Why don't you try an enchantment?

I thought back to the incident with the NightWing, trying to muster up the same under the scales excitation, urging any vestige of this strange ancient power to manifest itself and prove that I had animus power. A nearby rock served as the object of my obsession, and I directed all my attention into making it float upwards. But it never budged, it settled deeper into the thin soil.

-Well then that proves our little theory wrong. It would seem you do not have animus powers.

How do you explain all of those clearly magical events?

-I can't, maybe you have an overactive imagination or hallucination or something.

An overactive imagination? Excuse me.

-I'll pay closer attention if it happens again.

Alright, I think we are done here, I have something very important to do.

-Oh?

Yes. I have to inform Queen Glacier of the great opportunity we have to inflict a fatal blow upon the SkyWing army. Scarlet is leading a small strike force through IceWing territory to try and assassinate Blaze and will be vulnerable then.

-Huh. Interesting. That's a new development.

Exactly, and I'm going to be responsible for this tactical strike.

-Well, good luck I suppose. I'll keep watching for any strange behavior.

Sensing that my internal reflection had come to an end, I picked myself up and stretched and hollered for Bering. The small IceWing strolled back with a self satisfied grin and a bottle of currant juice nestled in the crook of his wing.

"Want a sip?" he offered.

I shook my head, "I have important business with the council, are they back yet?"

Bering frowned. "They should be arriving soon, you want to call an emergency session? We should let Glacier and the rest of the council rest first. And I still have some other projects that could use your help."

"This is more important. It's a chance to end the war."

"If it's really that urgent, then I suppose we can ask Mink to organize a council meeting right now." Bering still sounded unconvinced, though he didn't ask for an explanation, not that I could come up with something he would understand with his overly rational thought process. The IceWing set his currant juice bottle in a stone crevice and took off south towards the palace.

We landed on a balcony on the higher levels of the northeast part of the palace, above the courtrooms. This was where all the accounting was done, endless lengths of scrolls full of mundane legal details, meticulous records of every action, decision and spoken word. And this was where Mink would sit around all day stamping her talon print and approving various proposals. It sounded boring but of course the benefits were excellent, but I could see how someone like Bering would turn down a position in administration for his personal freedom in the laboratory.

Mink was busy inspecting a scroll as Bering cleared his throat to make his sister aware of our presence. "It's a strange sight to see you both here," she noted with casual indifference while scanning the document.

Bering sighed, "Auster wants to organize an emergency council session."

"And what is the purpose of this council session?" his sister asked. "The council does not enjoy being called for frivolous purposes so soon after the previous session."

"It's an important piece of enemy intelligence," I stated. "The council will surely want to hear about a crucial piece of knowledge."

Mink narrowed her eyes to slits. "And what exactly is this information? And where did you get it? It is quite suspicious that you of all dragons are privy to such knowledge despite our spies working overtime and producing no such results."

I wondered if the gruff second circle dragon would accept something as outlandish as Stream the dream SkyWing being a credible source.

"Actually," my former guard captain informed us, "it is none of my business. I think the council will find your claims irrelevant and useless, but I only constitute one vote at the council table. If you embarrass yourself then the responsibility lies wholly upon you. I will summon the council for a meeting at midday once I finish this document."

"What is that document?" Bering inquired, curiously trying to snake his head around his sister's shoulder to take a peek.

"This is the formal judge application submitted by," Mink paused as she read the header, "Tern."

"Tern," he echoed, "are you going to approve it?"

"It appears that all her references are legitimate and her test scores place her well above the common aptitude. Tern will likely be instated as a junior judge for a few cases before receiving her first full case in which she will be the senior judge. Time will tell if she falls into the same corruption habits as the older court occupants. Let's go." Mink stamped the scroll and stomped out of the office.

Mink strode with purpose into the throne room, approaching the ranking wall and the regal dragon that stood beside it, inspecting the list of names. Mink said something inaudible and the other IceWing nodded in acknowledgement and disappeared into a small backroom.

My former guard stalked back over. "The deed is done, expect a crowd of grumpy nobles at midday," she stated with her usual impassive voice. "Is there anything else you wish for me to do?"

I wasn't sure if Mink meant that sarcastically, but I decided not to push my luck. Mink headed off back to her presumably busy accounting office, so I followed Bering back to his laboratory.

"I hope whatever it is you want to share is really important," he said while fiddling with the metal ring. "There isn't much I can do to mollify the council in the event things go unfavorably. I would really appreciate it if you could stick around and continue assisting me. Here, try this." He presented me with the ring.

"What do you want me to do with it?"

"Use your frostbreath lightly to form a thin layer."

I examined the ring with suspicion but I let the frigid air build up in my core and exhaled gently, easing the frosty stream onto the cold metal, where it built up in layers of ice until it filled in completely.

Bering took the now icy ring from me and inspected it carefully. "It's dripping," he observed. Some of the frostbreath had not congealed into proper ice and started to dribble onto the ground as slush. "This application won't work unfortunately, there are too many air gaps and the whole thing is melting."

"So what then? How should I use frostbreath then?"

"Hold that thought, I have been refining the ring's edges to make it easier to form the lens, perhaps there is something I can tweak for you specifically. Can you give me a small sample on the table please?"

I complied, exhaling a line of frostbreath where he pointed, upon which he scrutinized it closely before taking a file to the ring. After he was done refining the ring he gave it back. This time, my frostbreath stuck soundly to the edges and filled in the center almost perfectly. "Wow," I breathed. "Why does something that small have such a big effect?"

"It's a working theory of mine, but I suspect all IceWings have different patterns of frostbreath, mostly distinguishable by miniscule variations in the flow arrangement," Bering explained. "I can't tell the difference between me and my sister's frostbreath, even when I zoom in close, yet it's different enough in subtle ways to affect the application on the ring. That being said," the IceWing scientist held up the ring with my frostbreath, "Your frostbreath is a little more unique."

"Did it work?"

"It's not particularly clear, but I think it should produce at least a minor magnifying effect. Perhaps a little less moisture and a lower temperature next time."

While I pondered how exactly one controlled frostbreath properties, Bering placed the ring back onto the stand and twisted it so the sunlight focused through it onto a small vial of blue liquid.

"That's a new substance I have never seen before," I noticed.

"This? This is just water I'm heating up. It retains heat very well so I have an idea to bathe the sopornum producers in this warm water so I don't have to constantly maintain the rings. But anyways, I suppose it is time we headed back to the courtyard, angering the council by being late won't help your cause."

That was definitely true, if I had the audacity to call an emergency session, then I had better be there on time. Though I was sure the council members would understand the urgency of this matter.

Out in the courtyard, the requisite table was already set up and a few disgruntled noble dragons were hissing and scowling their displeasure. I assumed it was partially due to the lack of currant juice and elk roast.

I took my seat across from Bering who had snuck his own personal bottle of currant juice, which drew the envious glares of his neighbors. Slowly, disgruntled dragons filed in followed finally by the monarch herself, Queen Glacier, at whom everyone stood up and respectfully bowed. I saw Mink slide in beside her brother, wearing her casual indifference shrug that conveyed mild disapproval with her blank stare. The generals from the last council session seemed irritated while Alpine kept glancing at me expecting some kind of explanation.

Queen Glacier fixated everyone in her icy blue glare and announced with stony disdain, "Auster of the second circle has summoned the council for an emergency council. Auster," she turned to me," I hope your reasons for doing so are sufficiently robust. Tell us what is so urgent that you could not wait until the next session to declare."

Now all the glares were on me. But they would all turn into stares of curiosity or admiration or something positive of that sort I was sure. "I have received credible intelligence of enemy troop movements."

General Iceberg grunted her quiet interest when Iron Throat whispered something in her ear.

"The SkyWings are planning a meeting with Burn and the MudWings during the next moon cycle peak. An inside spy told me that the SkyWings will be taking a flight path through the previous battleground where we decimated the MudWings, and they will be vulnerable then, especially since Queen Scarlet herself will be attending."

I glanced around the table to see what the various council members thought of this. The two generals were busy conversing in hushed tones, Mink and Queen Glacier wore stoic expressions, Bering was busy trying to get a few last drops of currant juice out of his empty bottle. Only Alpine and Narwhal seemed to take keen interest in my revelation.

General Fox, the old stately IceWing who creaked more than he lived cleared his throat, garnering the attention of the disinterested council members. "Auster, you said this information was from an inside spy?"

"Yes."

That must had jingled his head marbles because his dull blue eyes lit up with an untold fury. "We are not a despicable backstabbing sneaky devious tribe, we do not plant spies in the matters of other tribes. How dare you have the audacity to make such a bold claim and present it as factual evidence?"

"Enough," said Alpine. "With no disrespect General Fox, things are different now and during war we play by different rules. It has been decades since you made any decisions of consequence. I say we change things up and consider what our new talent has to offer."

Before the old IceWing could retort with an indignant answer, Narwhal tapped the table, indicating it was his turn to talk. "Auster," he spoke authoritatively, "General Fox is correct in stating that we do not operate spies within other tribes. But as Alpine has rightfully pointed out, old traditions have not done anything to improve our standing in the war. However you gained this information is not a priority to me. I want to know your intentions with bringing us this intelligence. What do you propose the council do?"

General Fox huffed angrily but kept his snout shut while Alpine looked on expectantly.

"This is possibly the only chance that Queen Scarlet will expose herself to any sort of vulnerability, and I believe this is our chance to exploit her overconfidence. We should set a trap for her. If we can capture and eliminate the entire SkyWing tribe in one move, then the other tribes will bow down to our superiority."

"That is certainly an appealing proposal," Narwhal replied. "But you are asking to commit a sizeable force away from the front lines to a possibility. And we cannot guarantee that the capture of Queen Scarlet will end the war on favorable terms. Burn will still be alive and she is not one to back down easily."

"Yes all of that is true, but certainly the elimination of a powerful foe will allow us to concentrate our efforts elsewhere," I countered.

Queen Glacier tapped the table. "Auster, my brother is correct. Allocating a strike force to lie in wait for this trap will be strenuous on our tired troops. How certain are you that Scarlet will be passing through defenseless?"

"Quite certain, Your Majesty."

"Very well, I am neutral on this proposal," the monarch proclaimed. "I will leave this decision to a council vote. If you wish to explore further action, raise your glass. If you wish to take no action, then leave your glasses on the table."

The council members deliberated amongst themselves, debating whether to approve my proposal. Alpine immediately raised her glass, beaming her support in the form of a radiant smile, while General Fox's scowl grew new resentful ridges. Around the table, several dragons raised their glasses, but it was nowhere near the unanimous vote I expected. Narwhal deliberated with a tall IceWing next to him before they both raised their glasses. In front of me, Mink remained dispassionately stubborn, refusing to touch her glass. Bering looked unsure, like he wanted to converse in detail before making a decision. After all the council members had made their decisions, the scribe, a fidgety young IceWing brought his ice pad to the queen with a distraught expression.

Queen Glacier stood up and announced somewhat amusedly, "We have reached an impasse. The vote is currently at a tie, so perhaps we need some more consideration. If you change your vote, please let the scribe know."

"Bering," I hissed, "Are you not going to support my plan?"

"Yikes, I don't know Auster," he replied. "Your plan sounds awfully risky."

"Precisely," Mink interjected. "These are unfounded claims and I cannot with a clear conscience approve of such an action. I am sure my brother feels the same way," she assured with a poke to the IceWing next to her.

"But we won't get a chance like this ever again," I reiterated, "this is the chance to strike a blow that our enemy can't recover from."

Bering inspected his glass carefully, avoiding my pleading gaze. "I think Mink is right, there is too much uncertainty involved."

"Think about how many IceWings will continue to die if we prolong this war," I implored. "Plus we can test your new projects. Please." I emphasized that last word with as much desperation and persuasion as I could.

The skinny IceWing played with his talons some more before clasping them around his glass. "Something feels wrong," he muttered. "No I can't support this-that's no-but I-nope absolutely not-I will not listen to-stop trying-it won't work-fine-"

"Bering, what in the three moons are you going on about?" demanded Mink. "Are you going to make up your mind or what?"

Mink's brother turned to face her and the two dragons stared at each other until I saw Bering's eyebrow wiggle a little. "I have made my decision," he announced. With a half smile half frown he raised his glass. "I vote in favor."