The Dragons of Ice and Snow

by J. J. Thompson

  “No. The...being that spoke to me said that such things could only be given once. I have no idea why, but there it is.”

  “Then what was the purpose of this vision, sir wizard?” Anaposus asked quietly.

  “Well, the lady that I saw did give me a gift. Several small gifts is the better way to describe it, I suppose.”

  Simon looked up from the cup and put his elbows on the table. He interlocked his fingers and rested his chin on them, staring from one elemental to the next.

  “She said that from now on, I'll be able to cast spells while I have the Shield spell activated. That's huge.”

  Aeris was wide-eyed.

  “That is huge, Simon,” he said. “Imagine being in a battle and not having to drop your protection spell before you attack? Amazing.”

  “Exactly. She also told me that I will be able to memorize more spells and, something else that may be quite helpful; I'll be able to cast while moving.”

  He grimaced a bit.

  “I've always had to stand still to cast. Running and chanting incantations always seemed mutually exclusive. But the lady told me that I'll be able to do that now, and I see no reason to doubt her.”

  “Wondrous gifts, sir wizard,” Anaposus said soberly. She seemed a lot more thoughtful than the other elementals, who were both looking quite pleased.

  “You sound less than impressed,” Simon said to her.

  The water elemental looked surprised by his observation.

  “Oh no, it's not that. But my people have always believed that divine gifts are a double-edged sword. There is a balance to things, that's all. Did she say anything else, this goddess?”

  Simon pulled at his lower lip, a bit less excited than he had been because of Anaposus' sober comment.

  She has a point, he thought. I was a little too cocky last year when I had so many powerful spells at my disposal. I'm going to have to watch that.

  “Master? Are you all right?”

  “Hmm? Yeah, I'm good. Just thinking. Yes, Anaposus, she did say one last thing. How did it go? Oh yeah. She said 'a legend walks the Earth again.' And something about if I'm worthy enough and treat others honestly and remain pure of heart, I might earn their trust.”

  He shrugged and smiled crookedly.

  “Something like that. Sounds a little too Arthurian for me, but that's the gist of what she said.”

  Kronk looked confused but Aeris was staring at the tabletop, his brows lowered, tapping his chin.

  “Aeris? What is it?”

  The air elemental looked up at Simon.

  “Riddles, my dear wizard. And hints. These gods never mean just one thing when they speak. That is well known to all in my realm. What does it mean, a legend walks the Earth? We are surrounded by legends again, are we not? Dragons, wizards, the undead. The list goes on. What makes this 'legend' more special than any of them? And pure of heart? No offense, Simon, but no one is pure of heart. It is not possible. The world isn't made up of saints and sinners. All people, all humans, are a mixture of both.”

  Simon nodded slowly at Aeris' comments.

  “I agree. I'm just going to put this whole 'legend walking' thing on the back burner. I'm more interested in trying to cast through my Shield spell. If I can do that, and this wasn't just some sort of fever dream, then we can have a look at Anaposus' Blizzard spell.”

  “Your Blizzard spell, sir wizard,” the water elemental corrected him amiably. “And please, now that we will be seeing more of each other, call me Ana. It's much easier and faster to say, don't you think?”

  Simon chuckled as he stood up.

  “Thanks, Ana. It is. I'm going to get cleaned up and I'll meet you all out in the field. And then we'll see what we will see, hmm?”

  A half hour later, Simon strode out on to the broad field in front of his tower. Standing side by side in the center were the three elementals and he paused for a moment to take in the strange sight.

  The dark brown, hard-edged figure of Kronk contrasted starkly with the ethereal form of Aeris as he bobbed several inches off the ground and the constantly rippling, translucent body of Ana.

  Kronk's right, he thought lightly. I think we do need a fire elemental. How cool would that be?

  Yeah, right until it accidentally burned down the tower, he added to himself and laughed silently.

  He walked up to the group and Kronk suddenly smiled widely.

  “You brought the new staff, master!” he exclaimed.

  Simon had strung a cord around the upper part of the staff and hung it over his shoulder, the way he used to carry Bene-Dunn-Gal. He felt a pang of regret at the loss of that precious weapon, but tried to let it go. He had to deal the hand that he was given.

  Now he slipped the staff off of his shoulder and leaned it against his chest.

  “Yes, I did. And thanks again for this, my friend. I figured if we're going to try new things, we might as well try them all.”

  He slipped his spell-book out of an inside pocket and flipped through it.

  “Go big or go home,” he muttered to himself.

  He memorized the spell on the page he'd turned to and looked down at the elementals.

  “Okay, everyone. Stay close. I'll cast the Shield spell first and then this one. Fortunately I have Shield permanently locked in my head now.”

  Simon took the staff and held it up in his right hand. He chanted the incantation for his shield and invoked it.

  As the opaque barrier popped into existence around him, six feet in all directions, he felt the staff warm in his hand and the shield crackled and sparked like it was charged with static electricity.

  “I don't remember it doing that before,” Aeris said as he watched with interest.

  “That's because it doesn't normally do that,” Simon told him. “I think the staff is augmenting my powers.” He smiled down at Kronk. “Awesome.”

  The little guy grinned up at him happily.

  “Okay, now let's see if I can cast through this thing.”

  “What spell have you decided to use, sir wizard?” Ana asked, nodding at the spell-book.

  “Fireball,” Simon replied and Aeris gave a low whistle.

  “You do realize that if the spell doesn't penetrate the shield, it will rebound and hit us, don't you?” he asked tersely.

  The wizard nodded silently.

  “If anyone wants to leave, just in case, now's the time,” he told them.

  Kronk shook his head and folded his arms defiantly. He gave Aeris a hard look.

  “Don't worry, I'll stay. We must have faith in our dear wizard, mustn't we?”

  “Exactly,” the earthen growled at him.

  Simon looked at Anaposus.

  “Ana? You can get out of range if you want. It might actually be the wiser choice.”

  She frowned at him.

  “Oh no, sir wizard. I chose to stay with you because I believe in your cause.”

  Simon was startled. He hadn't realized that the water elemental was an idealist. Interesting.

  “I won't desert you now,” she added.

  “Well, thanks, all of you. Let's hope your faith isn't misplaced.”

  He quickly wiped his palms on his robe, grasped the staff firmly and chanted the spell. He paused and looked down at the elementals again.

  “You might want to crouch down a bit.” he said with a gesture. The three looked at each other and got lower to the ground.

  “Just in case,” he added under his breath.

  Then he pointed the weapon at a large, battered tree stump near the edge of the forest, a favorite target of his that had seen better days, and invoked the spell.

  “Invectis!” he barked, trying to sound firm and confident. Unfortunately his voice broke and for a moment he sounded as young as he looked.

  No one snickered but Aeris gave a suspicious cough and quickly covered his mouth.

  There was a moment of silence and Simon stared at the remains of the old tree uncertainly.

  “Um, maybe...
” he began to say.

  And the stump exploded.

  A huge whomp of sound rolled across the field, sounding like an exploding bomb, and a plume of fire and smoke expanded in a large ball around the target.

  “Gees!” the wizard exclaimed as he stumbled backwards.

  Wood chips and burnt pieces of bark scattered in all directions. A few hit his shield and and flared into nothingness in little puffs of smoke. Simon gaped at the hole where the stump had been, shocked at the force of the blast.

  “Well now, that was impressive,” Aeris said. He stood staring across the field with his hands on his hips, looking pleased.

  “It certainly was a stronger result than your normal Fireball spell, wasn't it, master?” Kronk asked as he watched the smoke rise from the small crater.

  “It was, wasn't it,” Simon agreed weakly. “I guess the staff really does help enhance my spells.”

  “Even better news, sir wizard, is that you can indeed cast spells through your shield.”

  Ana was examining the shield. She had moved close to it and was running a hand lightly over it, a few inches from where it pulsed and crackled.

  “Its power level is steady. There is no fluctuation,” she added.

  “Really? You can tell that?”

  “Yes Simon,” she said and looked over her shoulder at him. “Water conducts electricity. We of the water realm understand power in all its forms. This spell is very impressive.”

  She looked at the shield, following it with her eyes along the arc over their heads.

  “I cannot truly judge its efficacy, but I would say that it could repel massive amounts of damage with being destroyed. Just my opinion, of course.”

  “Thanks, Ana. That's reassuring.”

  The four of them stood silently watching as the smoke cleared. The tree stump had been obliterated. A round hole with wisps of smoke still rising from it was all that remained.

  “I'm going to leave the shield up,” Simon told them all. “It's already lasted longer than it used to. I'll time it later so I know when it's going to fade, but right now I want to see what Ana's Blizzard spell can do.”

  The water elemental opened her mouth to object.

  “Sorry, our Blizzard spell is what I should have said.”

  She smiled broadly and gave him a slight bow.

  “Follow me, guys,” Simon said. “Let's get back to the wall.”

  The wizard and the elementals walked back toward the tower, the shield moving with them. When they reached the gate, Simon turned around and faced the field again.

  “You're going to cast from here?” Aeris asked.

  “Yeah. I don't need a specific target; the spell damages an area not one thing. I figured I'd just cast it at the middle of the field to see what it looks like and what it does.”

  “Hmm, good idea,” Aeris told him. “One step at a time with new spells is the best way to go.”

  “I'm so happy you approve,” Simon said and the air elemental made a face at him.

  With a quiet chuckle, the wizard pulled out his spell-book again and found the new spell that he'd copied into it earlier. It struck him that the Blizzard spell seemed so powerful and yet was very simple; only a few runes made up the incantation used to cast it.

  Probably a good thing, he thought. Might make it easier to permanently memorize. If the thing actually works, that is.

  “Okay, here we go,” Simon said.

  He uttered the incantation, keeping his eyes firmly focused on the middle of the empty field and then, when he was done, he paused to swallow nervously.

  “Invectis,” he said a bit tentatively.

  Simon wasn't quite sure what he'd expected. A slow build-up perhaps. Maybe a cloud gathering overhead, the way the Ice Storm spell began to form. What he got was something else entirely.

  A subsonic thud, like an invisible giant stomping his foot, scattered old leaves and dry grass in the center of the field. Debris flew up in the air and then, from every direction, shrill, icy winds converged, turning the air foggy with ice crystals. A violent, chaotic storm, thick with snow and ice, formed in the middle of the open area. It raged and screamed with fury and Simon watched, appalled, as the new grass and the ground beneath it froze instantly.

  The area of the storm was perhaps twice as tall as he was and twenty feet across. It moaned and shouted like a live thing for perhaps a minute and then it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

  The field was left silent and empty. Simon waved his hand, dismissing the Shield spell, and he and the others hurried to examine the damage.

  Kronk moved to stand in the middle of the frost-covered grass and jumped up and down several times.

  “Master, this ground is completely frozen,” he said in wonder. He knelt down and touched the earth.

  “It extends downward over two feet! The level of cold it would take for this to happen so quickly is immense, master,” he added.

  Simon bent over at the edge of the ground frost and touched some blades of grass. They felt like metal spikes and they were sharp enough to cut flesh. Above the ground the air rippled, like waves of heat rising from desert sand. But it wasn't heat; it was unendurable cold.

  He stepped back carefully and analyzed what he'd just seen.

  From the time he'd invoked the spell to the time it had fully coalesced had been no more than two or three seconds.

  Not too bad, he thought. A couple of seconds gives me a lot better chance of hitting something with an area spell. Nice.

  “Was that acceptable, sir wizard?” Ana asked him as she surveyed the damaged ground.

  “Much more effective than I'd expected, Ana. Thank you again for this. How much it will hurt a white dragon remains to be seen, but another weapon in my arsenal is reassuring.”

  She smiled pleasantly.

  “Good enough. And now, if you have no commands for me right now, I must make a short journey.”

  “A journey?”

  Kronk and Aeris approached from behind the water elemental. Both of them looked puzzled.

  “You are leaving?” the earthen asked her.

  “For a short time, with Simon's permission, of course.”

  “I've told you already, I am not your master.”

  The wizard watched Ana until she nodded slowly.

  “Good. You can come and go as you choose. But, if you don't mind me asking, where are you going?”

  “Out of courtesy, I want to travel north to the river and pay my respects to Aquamastis. He is a great one of my people. If I am to reside so close to his claimed territory, I should make myself known to him.”

  Simon began to walk back to the tower, Ana and the others by his side.

  “Would he be upset if you didn't?” he asked curiously.

  “I honestly don't know. I am sure that he doesn't even know I exist. However, in the future we may need his aid. He might be more amenable to a request for help if he knows that one of his own kind is assisting you.”

  “Clever,” Aeris said with admiration.

  “Not really,” Ana replied. “It is a precautionary move as well. If Aquamastis learns that I have taken up residence here and did not inform him, he may be...irritated. He could take it as an insult that I did not pay my respects.” She shrugged. “Or not. It is very hard to read a being that powerful.”

  They reached the front door and Simon sat down on the steps.

  “By all means then, feel free to pay him a visit. Give him my regards as well. He certainly came through when I needed him most.”

  Ana gave him a sly glance.

  “He gained more from your bargain than you did, sir wizard. Surely you must know that? You summoned him to this world and gave him permission to inhabit a major river. In that moment, you as his master, although he would not use that term, freed him to exist on this planet for as long as he wishes. I would say that in Aquamastis' mind, he got the better part of the deal. It is also quite possible that he still believes he owes you for such a gift. When
I speak with him, I shall attempt to find out if this is true.” She grimaced. “Carefully, of course. Angering him would be most unwise.”

  “Do not take any chances,” Kronk told her quickly. “I know my master would not want you to risk yourself unnecessarily.”

  “He's right, Ana. Be careful with Aquamastis.”

  “I shall be, Simon. Believe me.”

  The water elemental bowed to him and gave the other two a quick wave.

  And then, to the wizard's astonishment, she sank into the ground with a tiny splash.

  “Whoa! I didn't know she could do that,” he exclaimed.

  Aeris snickered.

  “And just how do you think she examined the well under your tower, my dear wizard?” he asked, teasing.

  Simon rolled his eyes.

  “Yeah, whatever.”

  He looked at Kronk, who had sat down on the step beside him.

  “Do you think that she's in any danger?”

  “I cannot say, master. You know how powerful Aquamastis is. Water sprites are...” he glanced at Aeris as if for confirmation, “flighty, is the best word I can think of. They are mercurial. Quick to anger and just as quick to find joy. Very odd bunch, I have to say.”

  “Yes, our earthen friend is correct,” Aeris added, bobbing in front of Simon at the bottom of the steps. “Water elementals, the more powerful ones, are legendary for being difficult to deal with. Few of the old wizards back in the days of magic would summon any more powerful than Ana, for that reason. I hope she doesn't irritate him.”

  “Great,” Simon muttered. “Something else to worry about.”

  He stood up and went inside, resting his staff next to the door.

  “I'm going to make some tea and then call Liliana,” he told the trailing elementals. “I'd like to give her some good news for a change.”

  “I'll get your mirror, master,” Kronk said brightly and turned toward the stairs. “You left it in your study.”

  “Thanks, bud,” the wizard replied.

  He pumped some water into the kettle and hung it in the fireplace. Then he stood at the counter and looked at Aeris as the elemental flew up and hovered on the kitchen table.

  “With any luck, maybe she's found my spell-book by now,” he said optimistically.