Queen of Ice (Through the Fire Book 2)

by Benjamin Medrano

  “You’re…” Master Mara’s voice grew warier, and he studied the dark elf for several long moments, looking tense. Finally, the teacher asked, “What are you doing here? You’re in Selwyn’s territory.”

  “What am I doing here? Isn’t it obvious?” Essryl asked, her eyes glittering with amusement, a hand resting on a dagger’s hilt comfortably.

  “No.” Her teacher’s voice was flat, Ruethwyn thought, and she was looking between the two magi nervously. Every instinct she had told her that this was bad.

  “Ah, a pity. I thought you would’ve figured it out by now, but… well, I suppose it isn’t like I left many clues behind,” Essryl said, flashing her teeth as she smiled again. “I’ll have you know that I’ve visited your academy several times. I was particularly entertained the day that the arrogant noblewoman decided to fake a dragon roar and nearly got herself killed by Ruethwyn.”

  Master Mara paled slightly, and Ruethwyn could understand why. While she’d known that Essryl could get onto the academy grounds without being detected, it was obvious that the teachers hadn’t. It’d likely cause something of a furor, she imagined.

  “You aren’t going to hurt him, are you?” Ruethwyn asked suddenly and swallowed as the two looked at her. “I mean… I knew you were watching, at least sometimes, but after your threats last time…”

  “Threats? You knew about her being able to enter the academy, Ruethwyn?” Master Mara demanded, his right hand flexing, then clenching and unclenching over and over again.

  “Yes, she did. At the time, I also warned her that if she told anyone, I’d kill anyone who got in my way as I left,” Essryl replied, buffing her nails on one hand. “I also said that I might take the long way out. Since the only person in your academy who’s worth my time is your headmaster, I think she made the wiser decision.”

  “You—” Master Mara growled, but Essryl cut him off with a chiding flick of her fingers.

  “Ah, ah! I will not abide insults today, Emrick Mara. I have chosen to be polite, thus far. I have not interfered over-much in your country’s affairs. In fact, there’s only one reason I’ve bothered intruding at all,” Essryl said, her gaze drifting to Ruethwyn.

  “Why me?” Ruethwyn asked, her voice soft, and Master Mara looked at her in surprise.

  “Ruethwyn?” the teacher asked uncertainly.

  “She saved my life when she didn’t have to, Master Mara. She’s the one who promised to keep the other villagers safe for two years, if I attempted to rescue them… and she’s shown up over and over again,” Ruethwyn explained, looking at Essryl pointedly. Essryl didn’t seem to mind, her ever-present smile only seeming to widen as Ruethwyn continued. “She said it was because of my determination, and that she was curious how far I could go… but I don’t understand why.”

  “Wait, you’re here because of Ruethwyn?” Master Mara asked, looking slightly incredulous. “You’ve invaded a foreign nation, where the vast majority of us would attempt to kill you on sight, to watch her?”

  “Precisely,” Essryl said, smiling.

  “That makes no damned sense! She’s just—” Master Mara began, but in that moment, Essryl’s smile vanished.

  “She’s just? Just what? A young woman who’s been crippled? An apprentice? Do you truly look at things so shallowly?” Essryl demanded, her eyes narrowed. A sudden, incredibly deep aura of danger surrounded her, and Ruethwyn almost felt pinned in place by it. Essryl wasn’t done, though. “You haven’t watched her as I have, Emrick Mara. I’ve used scrying to study her and watched Ruethwyn’s struggles. I’ve examined her injuries in depth to truly understand how much work it takes her… and she has persevered through more than you can imagine. My people are proud of ourselves. We’re believers in self-perfection, and in sharpening and strengthening our will as we grow up. No other society has survived more than a generation in the Thorned Wood, not without being forced to retreat or die out. And yet, Ruethwyn has a will to match or exceed most of the children of my clan. Most of my people would have long since given up in her place. She may not be Illisyr, but she has the will of one.”

  “But—” Master Mara began to protest, his eyes wide as he took a step backward.

  “I am not finished,” Essryl hissed, her eyes now blazing with emotions that Ruethwyn hadn’t imagined the dark elf could feel. She felt more powerful than she had at any point Ruethwyn had met her before, as the dark elf’s facade of amused interest fell away to show her power properly, and Ruethwyn shuddered as Essryl spoke. “You treat her like a child. Like she’s ignorant. Oh, you’re a decent enough instructor, for one who’s never had to live with your life on the line every day, where if you’re too easy on your students it will lead to their deaths within days. Your kingdom treats elves who’re fully grown like children for years after they should be seen as adults. Your test was enough for the others, but for Ruethwyn? It was meaningless. The most difficult aspect for her wasn’t the deliberate tests, but a foolish rope ladder, because it was exceedingly difficult to climb with only one arm. So I modified your test to give her a challenge appropriate to her. To truly test her skill and temper her will still further. I believe that I should show you what occurred, because Ruethwyn did not disappoint me.”

  Essryl clapped her hands together, whispering words under her breath, then slowly pulled them apart as Ruethwyn watched in stunned silence. Master Mara didn’t seem to be in a much better state, either. Between Essryl’s hands appeared an illusion, like a picture frame in mid-air. One which was moving, because it was showing Ruethwyn from behind as the shade of Resvarygrath first appeared. Ruethwyn flinched at the sight and memory, and Master Mara exclaimed in shock.

  “What? How could you… how can you access the spells here? They aren’t meant to be used by others, and… and…” Master Mara’s voice trailed off, staring at the shade, then at Ruethwyn. “How could you throw something like that at Ruethwyn? That’s little more than torture.”

  “Shut up and watch,” Essryl said bluntly, a smile on her face. “Tests should be designed to push a student to their limits, but still be within their abilities to pass. The shade was far weaker than My Lord, and had a rather excessive weak point.”

  Ruethwyn shivered at that, speaking softly as the image progressed at a much quicker pace. “Even if he was weaker, that was… very close. I’m surprised that I managed it.”

  Essryl didn’t reply, and Master Mara watched grimly, his eyes regularly flicking to Essryl, and occasionally to Ruethwyn. It was strange seeing her own actions, Ruethwyn thought. They’d reached the barrier, and she smiled slightly at her own obvious indecision. Then she’d pulled out her rope and heard Master Mara.

  “What? How would rope help with… oh. Well, I guess rope is a type of cloth…” Master Mara muttered as the past her used her cloth sphere to separate it into pieces so she could make the makeshift pullies.

  When she turned the rope invisible, he seemed intrigued, but it wasn’t until the dragon appeared that he went entirely silent again. The dragon’s fire blast and Ruethwyn’s shield caused an oath, and he stared at Ruethwyn in shock as the trap went off. The last few seconds passed, and then the image vanished.

  “You beat that? Without anything but a rope and your atavism?” Master Mara demanded, looking at Ruethwyn incredulously.

  “It was the only solution I could come up with. I knew what I had to do, which helped, but… yes,” Ruethwyn replied, shrugging helplessly, then looking at Essryl, who’d folded her arms as she watched them, some of her usual attitude returning. Ruethwyn hesitated before adding. “And… you weren’t wrong. I did need to get over my fear of him. Well, paralyzing terror of him.”

  “Of course I was right,” Essryl replied, a smile flickering across her face. “But that said, you did pass my test, Ruethwyn. Not the test of Tyrness Academy, mine.”

  “Okay…” Ruethwyn said slowly, growing more cautious now. “What does that mean?”

  “Are… are you saying that you regard Ruethwyn as your student?”
Master Mara asked suddenly, prompting Ruethwyn to look at him in shocked disbelief.

  “Are you joking? I couldn’t possibly—” Ruethwyn began, but Essryl laughed, interrupting.

  “Well, you do have a proper mind when you aren’t startled, don’t you? Yes, I do. Ruethwyn has the spirit of an Illisyr, and I’ve been testing her to see if she could also build up the strength to match. Adversity is the source of strength, in my view,” Essryl said, smiling even more. “At the same time, though, when someone passes a test, they deserve a reward, do they not? Your academy will allow her to continue attending classes, but I believe that I need to give Ruethwyn something as well.”

  “You’re… giving me something?” Ruethwyn asked, taken aback and her mind reeling under the thought of Essryl considering her a student. It just felt strange, and unbelievable.

  “Yes. Now, hold still and lower your defenses,” Essryl replied, stepping forward. “This is delicate work. Oh, it’ll also hurt a bit, but that’s normal when I work quickly.”

  The Illisyr grabbed Ruethwyn’s head, prompting a yelp as her fingers began to trace over the right side of Ruethwyn’s face, where the flesh had run like wax.

  “What are you doing?” Master Mara demanded.

  “Ruethwyn, stop resisting or I’ll hurt you,” Essryl demanded, the note of iron in her voice obvious.

  At the sound of it, Ruethwyn stopped struggling and obeyed, though she did ask weakly. “Um, what are you doing? Please?”

  “Giving you depth perception again.” Essryl’s response was blunt, and her reply caused Ruethwyn to stiffen and Master Mara to gasp.

  “How can you do that?” the teacher asked.

  “Shut up. This is delicate work, and I don’t want to make a mistake,” Essryl said, her fingers still tracing lines over Ruethwyn’s skin.

  The lines were warm, she realized. She couldn’t see Essryl from the angle she was at, but she could hear the soft words of an incantation and could feel the warmth growing. It was strange, and Ruethwyn held as still as she could. Depth perception… could it possibly mean what she thought it did? Ruethwyn barely dared to hope, but hope she did.

  Whatever Essryl was doing was incredibly complex, and several minutes passed slowly. Finally, she heard the incantation come to an end, and then thought vanished as pain lashed out through Ruethwyn’s face. It almost felt like her skin was boiling and twisting around her missing eye, and then…

  First, there was a glimmer of light. Then a popping sensation, and suddenly Ruethwyn could blink again. With both eyes. Her right eye was watering, though, and everything seemed too bright, but slowly things came into focus and Ruethwyn couldn’t help but freeze in shock as she saw Essryl’s gentle smile.

  “There we are. Yes, your eye is focusing and tracking correctly, now let’s see…” Essryl murmured, turning Ruethwyn’s head to look at both her eyes critically. After a moment, she nodded in satisfaction. “Good! Both eyes are focusing properly in tandem, and I got the color correct. Your new eye may have slightly better vision, but I don’t think that will be a problem.”

  “I… I can’t believe…” Ruethwyn began, just as Essryl let go of her, somewhat in disbelief. Her fingers were trembling as she raised them, slowly running them over her face around her eye.

  Ruethwyn could feel how the skin there had been moved around and smoothed out. It needed to happen to clear her line of vision, but considering how hard the priests and other healers had worked to heal her, Essryl’s ability to heal it was beyond simply astonishing, especially in only a few minutes.

  “How? I know that dozens of healers tried to figure out a way to heal Ruethwyn, and yet you just… how is it possible?” Master Mara asked, looking stunned.

  Essryl sniffed, stepping away and folding her arms again, her tail giving a slightly dismissive flick as she spoke. “Quite simply. Your healers focus on forcing the flesh to knit and body to heal by flooding it with energy. I don’t do that. I know how a body is assembled, and I shape it to how it should be. I consider that proper healing.”

  “Shape it? You’re…” For the first time, Ruethwyn saw Master Mara go fully still as he swallowed, then asked hesitantly, “You’re a Shaper?”

  “Yes, of course,” Essryl said, looking bored.

  “I thought that shaping was the most heavily guarded secret of the Illisyr. You’re here alone?” Master Mara asked, looking utterly bewildered.

  “Oh, you poor fool… yes, it’s the most guarded secret of the Illisyr. Yes, I’m a Shaper.” Essryl’s voice was soft and amused as she approached Ruethwyn’s teacher, a grin on her face as she asked, “But tell me… what need have I for guards here? Would you like to try and pry our secrets from me? It would lead to an amusing, if deadly, game…”

  “N-no… I’m not that foolish. If you’re a Shaper… I’ve far underestimated you,” Master Mara said, taking a step back and looking shaken.

  “That you have,” Essryl said, smiling in satisfaction now.

  “What’s a Shaper? I know one of the Illisyr castes is called Shapers, but I thought those were just the artisans and crafters, by and large,” Ruethwyn asked, feeling very confused.

  “Ask your teacher, Ruethwyn. I believe it’s time for me to go, since I’ve seen what I came here to see,” Essryl replied gently. She studied Ruethwyn for a moment, then nodded. “You’re coming along quite nicely. Keep up the good work, and do be careful. I’m happy to say that I actually like you, though technically you have a way to go before you’re worthy of that. Goodbye for now.”

  “What does that—” Ruethwyn began incredulously, but with a wave of her hand, Essryl shimmered and vanished. Ruethwyn froze for a long moment, wondering just what the Illisyr had been saying, or at least meaning.

  “Gods, a Shaper? He has a Shaper?” Master Mara asked, his voice trembling as he stared at the spot where Essryl had been standing. “Does he even know?”

  “Master Mara? I’m… I’m not certain what’s going on,” Ruethwyn admitted, looking at the teacher in confusion. “What’s a Shaper?”

  Master Mara looked back at Ruethwyn for a long moment, then sighed heavily. “You don’t, do you? Well, I think I can answer that much. Come on, Ruethwyn. Let’s go sit down and get some tea, and I’ll tell you a bit about what I know about the Illisyr, and why she’s so frightening.”

  “Alright,” Ruethwyn said, blinking and turning toward the exit.

  It felt almost unnatural to have her eye back and to see everything on both sides again, but Ruethwyn couldn’t help a smile. It was something she’d truly wanted, after all.

  Chapter 21

  Master Mara was calm by the time he’d gotten the water boiling and put in the tea leaves to steep. He’d looked more shaken than Ruethwyn had expected, and she had to wonder just what a Shaper was, to break the teacher’s composure so thoroughly. Only when the tea was ready did the teacher pour two cups and bring them over, sitting across the table from her with a sigh.

  “There you are, Ruethwyn. Perhaps not the best tea, but no one can be good at everything,” the teacher said, looking even wearier than she’d expected.

  “My teacher said much the same… Sinera, I mean,” Ruethwyn murmured, nodding slightly. “She always said it was best to find a specialist if you didn’t know how to do something since it was best to pay them to do it right.”

  “Not a bad suggestion at all. I think something along those lines is how the headmaster met his wife, come to think of it,” Master Mara said, smiling slightly. Smelling the tea, he considered a few moments, then took a sip. Only once he’d savored and swallowed did the teacher speak again, more seriously. “What do you know about the Illisyr, Ruethwyn?”

  “I did some research last fall, but I’ll tell you what I remember,” Ruethwyn said, frowning as she dredged her memory again, hoping she remembered enough. “The Illisyr were once one of the five great clans of elves and were devotees of the Dowager. When the royal house of clan Antar vanished, they attempted to take their place as rulers of t
he elven clans. The other clans objected, and after the War of Supremacy they were exiled into the Thorned Wood, and they declared themselves no longer kin of those who defeated them. Rather than being wiped out, the Illisyr managed to survive and became obsessed with self-improvement and personal power.

  “The Illisyr are few in number due to the dangers of the Thorned Wood, but even the weakest of them is considered a match for a trained solder of another kingdom. They have many different clans throughout the Thorned Wood and are arrogant, looking down on other species at best and being outright hostile at worst. I also know their society has three major castes, split between the Guardians, Hunters, and Shapers, while their culture is largely matriarchal in nature,” Ruethwyn finished, feeling almost breathless by the time she was done, then frowned and added, “I know there’s more, but I don’t remember it. There were also hints of more important information in the book, but I don’t think it addressed everything.”

  “It sounds like you read The Definitive History of the Illisyr, by Xineth Farstrider,” Master Mara said, and smiled as Ruethwyn blinked in surprise. “Don’t look at me like that. I was quite interested in the Illisyr when I was younger and researched them heavily. While the tome has many details correct, I’m afraid that Xineth was also prejudiced against the Illisyr and attempted to downplay their achievements as much as possible, as well as painting them as more of villains than they necessarily were.”

  “Oh. Well, that does explain a few things. I’d wondered… but I really didn’t have much to go off of, and I didn’t think that the research I’d done was doing me much good. Essryl is just too…” Ruethwyn let her voice trail off as she tried to think of how to express herself. It wasn’t easy, and finally, she sighed and finished. “She’s just too different.”

  “Indeed. Now, you’re correct on the broad strokes, and on the caste system of the Illisyr clans, but they’re far less restrictive than Xineth made out,” Master Mara said, gesturing dismissively to the side. “Their castes are just the roles the members play in their society, and Illisyr can change castes with the agreement of their caste leaders. Guardians are the bulk of their clans, forming the defenders of the villages, those who perform simple labor, basic crafting, and even the rare cultivation of crops. Hunters are those who delve into the Thorned Wood to destroy threats before they attack the villages and hunt down beasts for food and raw materials. Shapers are those who perform more focused crafts, such as weaponsmiths, enchanters, and more. The last are also those who perform the more advanced magics of the clans, and some of them have one of the true secrets of the Illisyr.”