The Winter Wizard

by Daniel Peyton

  “The Queen of the Fairies, can't you hear her?”

  “No.” She cocked her head, “You alright?”

  The Queen spoke, “She cannot hear me right now, only you perceive my voice through your touch.”

  “What do you want?” Brian asked.

  “Freedom. Centuries ago, the Winter Wizard defeated me and used terrible magic to trap me in this crystal. He has used his magic to seal this place so that no other fairies of my domain could rescue me. Without me, the fairies are no match for his power. When they try to rescue me, they are met by that barrier. He comes and either kills them or chases them out of this place.”

  “That's awful. Why would he do this?” Brian asked.

  “He is jealous of my power. Only I can stand up to him and stop him. He means to use his power to craft an all powerful winter to consume the world. Each of these snowflakes around us contains the power of an entire winter. When he has enough, he will unleash them at once, bringing the strength of a thousand winters together in one time. With me locked away, he will succeed and my fairies will be destroyed as he seeks to rule or crush all magical beings who would stand against him.”

  “Wow. How can you stop him?”

  “With your help, of course. Take me through that barrier and get me outside. Once free of this place, I can return and he will have a worthy adversary.”

  “Alright. I'll do it. Hey, if I help you, will you grant wishes or something?” He asked.

  “You will be rewarded, I promise. Tell your friend to gather two of those snowflakes, give them to my little helper.”

  “Why?”

  There was a moment of pause, then the queen answered, “My fairies can't free me alone, they will need the power of those snowflakes.”

  “Sherri, go get two of those snowflakes.”

  “What?”

  “Just do it.”

  Sherri grunted and walked a few feet away, reached out, and took two of the snowflakes. When she returned, the little fairy snatched them from her hand quickly. “Hey!” She replied in shock, then rubbed her cold hands together. “Uh, the fairy has the showflakes.”

  “Okay, we have them. I'm going to...” Brian took one step and suddenly heard a new voice.

  “I was right.” The winter wizard flew up on a gust of wind, his ice blue staff held out.

  Brian hurried through the barrier. Just as he was about to hold up the crystal, the wizard shot a blast of magic at the fairy. She quickly pushed Brian in the way, he took the blast and then the fairy grabbed the Queen's crystal. Brian fell down, his skin blue and covered in a layer of frost. The little fairy said something in a strange, tingling voice and a bolt of white energy blasted out and hit the incoming wizard. He was thrown against a far wall, an explosion of white frost instantly forming with the wizard at the epicenter. Without a second wasted the little fairy raced out of the room so fast that Sherri couldn't even see where she went.

  Sherri fell to her knees and held Brian's frozen body. “Brian!” She rubbed his chest and arms trying to warm him up.

  “Brian? Sherri? Is that you?” The wizard stood behind them now.

  Sherri looked up with teary eyes. She was scared out of her wits, and unable to process much right now. “YOU KILLED HIM!” Then she gasped, “Oh my god! Dan.”

  Dan knelt down, “Oh no, I didn't mean to...I was trying to get that fairy.” He pointed his staff at Brian, “We have to get him back to my room, he doesn't have much time.” Brian levitated and flew with Dan back down toward the door, Sherri ran down the paths to follow.

  Chapter 5: Dan

  Dan laid the frozen Brian out on a bed in the work room. He knelt down to the floor so to examine the damage. Sherri arrived, wheezing from the run back down again.

  “Is he...gonna be...alright.” Sherri breathlessly asked.

  Dan held his staff over Brian's body and closed his eyes, “He still has life in him. I can bring it out.” Moving his staff up and down over Brian’s body the frost slowly evaporated into the air and color returned to his skin. With a sudden gasp of air and then a trembling of his body, Brian showed the first signs of life. Dan let out a sigh of relief and sat back on his heels. “He's going to make it.”

  “Oh, thank goodness. I was so worried. I don't know what I'd do without that dope around.”

  “What are you two doing here?” Dan asked with a sober tone, his back still to her.

  Sherri frowned at him, “We fell through a hole in the ground up in the park. What the heck are you doing here? I still can't believe what I've seen. Though, I might be dreaming.”

  Dan stood up, “You're not dreaming. This is entirely real and you weren't supposed to see it. But, that's too late now, isn't it.”

  “What happened? What is up with that fairy? Why did Brian just stand there holding that crystal and then suddenly start talking?”

  Dan stopped and closed his eyes, “It is as I feared. The queen got to him, no doubt filled his head with lies. They'll try to gather enough winter magic to free her.”

  “They? Winter magic?”

  Dan walked back into the room they first found him in, Sherri followed. He stopped right where one of those crystal snowflakes was still hovering. Reaching out, he plucked it from the air. “The magic of winter, strongest this time of the year when the days are the shortest and the nights the coldest.”

  “What is that?” Sherri looked at the tiny, beautiful snowflake.

  “This is a condensed winter. Once, every few years, I take in the power of winter and create one of these flakes. The world thinks that they're having an extremely mild winter. However, I've actually prevented a terrible, long winter.”

  “What for? Why do you make them?”

  “This is a source of power for a winter wizard such as myself. I draw strength from these during the other seasons, as do the other winter wizards. I craft them for myself, but I also offer them to the Santas.”

  “Santas! As in Claus?”

  “Yes, there are around three hundred Satan fairies that work for him. They require a lot of magic during the holiday season.” Dan said this as if she should already know.

  “Yup, I'm dreaming.”

  Dan laughed, “Why don't we have some hot tea and warm up. Brian should be...”

  “Sherri?” Brian called out from the other room.

  Dan and Sherri came back in to find Brian shivering hard. Sherri ran over to him, “Brian, how do you feel? Are you okay?”

  “I'm cold, really freaking cold.” He held his arms up against himself while his body jerked uncontrollably.

  Dan set his staff down and held his hand up, a wand appeared. “Let me get some tea. It'll make you feel better.” He pointed the wand at an old cast iron pot on a shelf and it floated over to a little fireplace in the wall. He set his wand down and used a match to light a small fire. “I hope you like mint tea, it's my favorite.”

  “Sherri! What the hell's going on? Is that Dan!?”

  “I don't honestly know.”

  Dan waved a hand in the air and a chair formed out of ice. He sat down and looked at them, “You aren't dreaming. This is real. I'm Dan, the author. I'm also a wizard. Though, most of the time I don't play around with magic. I'd rather be writing. Winter is my busy season, what with having to keep the ice fairies away. Now, tell me, what are you doing here in Tennessee?”

  Brian looked at Sherri and then said, “We...uh...wanted to come surprise you.”

  “You succeeded in that.” Dan retorted.

  “We went to your house. But you weren't home.” Sherri said. “We thought about waiting for you by spending some time in the park you love so much.”

  “You should've called first. I love a good surprise, but this wasn't the best time.”

  “I told him that.” Sherri said.

  Brian shot her a smirk, “Okay, so I made a mistake. Anyway, we were in the park shooting a video when we saw flashing light. We followed it and found all that strange frost. One thing led to another and we fell in
to a sinkhole. It broke open a wall and here we are.”

  Dan frowned, “I've been meaning to bolster that hole. These mountains are filled with sinkholes all over the place.”

  Brian blurted out, “What the hell is going on! I was talking to a strange crystal who called herself a queen. Then I get attacked by you, and wake up here.”

  “Well, that crystal is the queen of the ice fairies, Isadora. I froze her in that a long time ago. She's dangerous and her minions have been trying to free her for centuries.”

  “Oh no! I think that little fairy got her.” Brian pushed himself up a little.

  “Don't worry. They've got to her before. They can't free her easily. I'll get her back.” He heard the whistling of the tea pot and pointed his wand at it, it floated away from the fire and automatically poured three cups of greenish dark tea. “Care for some? It'll help warm you up.”

  “Sure. I'll take anything warm right now.” Brian held out shivering hands.

  With another wave of the wand, the tea cups floated over to each of them. While Dan held his he stated, “If you want sugar or honey, I have some over there.”

  “No, tea is fine.” Sherri said.

  “Who are you? What is this place?” Brian asked.

  “I'd love to explain, but I'm going to wipe your memories before you leave, so it won't matter.”

  Sherri gulped, “Wipe our memories?”

  “Sure. Just what you saw since you fell. You won't know anything happened and will find me at home ready to have a pleasant time.”

  “For right now, could you help explain all this?” Brian asked, “Even if I'm going to forget, I'd like to know. If that makes any sense.”

  “It does. Sure, okay. I'm a winter wizard. That flashing light you saw earlier was me fighting an ice fairy that tried to get into here. Probably the same one that you guys met. She's been poking around these trees for some time. I normally don't follow them outside, but I really wanted to get rid of her. Guess she was pretty persistent.”

  “So, what's with this queen?” Sherri asked.

  “Back, about four thousand years ago, there was a great war. The seasons are controlled by four groups of beings. Winter Wizards, Summer Pixies, Autumn Gnomes, and Spring Nymphs. The queen of the ice fairies, the most powerful fairy in the world, convinced the Winter Wizards to follow her to take over the seasons. Using our combined powers, the fairies and wizards usurped the seasons and turned the world into a long winter. I was her most trusted general. She was my dearest friend before the war. I thought her ideas had merit, until I realized her long winter would eventually kill the other seasonal creatures forever.

  “I turned on her. Using magic she gifted me, I was able to craft this staff.” He gestured toward the staff leaning up against the table. “I used it to seal her and her powers, turning her into that snowflake. Without her sustaining magic to keep the winter going, the seasons would return to normal. I took her and protected her here, to keep her from bringing back her eternal winter.”

  Brian asked, “Why did you seal her? Why didn't you destroy her? Could you destroy her?”

  “Yes, I had the power to destroy her, and the seasons council could have easily dealt with her. But, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Before the war, she was one of my dearest friends. I…uh...you see...”

  Brian understood, “You loved her.”

  Dan nodded and looked down into his tea, “Before the war, we spent all our time together. She had a beautiful ice palace in what you call the antarctic. During the Spring and Summer months, I would spend all my time with her.”

  Brian asked, “What changed? Why did she start a war?”

  “It was partly my fault. She never wanted to leave her domain in the south pole. She loved the cold so much. I told her that the world was beautiful and she needed to see it. But, she wouldn't go. You see, the warmth hurts her more than it does me. I'm fine in the summer, she's in agony. So, I convinced the seasons council to allow the ice fairies and winter wizards to chill the world for one full year, it wouldn't do much harm so long as we didn't make it too cold.”

  “Just one year?” Sherri asked.

  “That's all it was supposed to be. I took her around the world. I had seen most of the world, but it was all new to her. She loved it. It was so amazing. What affection I had for her blossomed into true love during that time. But, when I was ready to propose to her, she had her own proposition. She wanted the world plunged into an eternal winter. The ice fairies have the power to do this, and the winter wizards could help lead them when the other seasons rebelled. We would be an unstoppable force. The sudden winter would shock the other elemental creatures and weaken them, the fire Ifrits, the water leviathans, even the wind dragons, all were crippled by the first onslaught of global winter.”

  “You didn't stop her then?”

  Dan let out a soft sigh, “I was in love. I was blinded and fooled. She is a conniving, twisted, wicked person. She manipulates people with ease, including myself. I was given the role of her head general, leader of all the other winter wizards who would follow. I didn't care about the power or prestige of the position, I saw myself at her side and felt like we would be together as I had dreamed. But, the long years of war raged and I never saw the woman I fell in love with. The queen next to me was a terrible person who took great pleasure in the torture of all who would oppose her. I had to stop her. Thus, I formulated a plan. I used the power she gave me against her to create this staff. I couldn't destroy her with it, winter magic cannot destroy an ice fairy, especially the queen. But, I could stop her. She would not expect this turn of events.”

  “What can destroy her?” Sherri asked.

  “Truest warmth. I know it sounds cryptic, but it is hard to explain.”

  “Do you still love her?” Brian asked.

  “There will forever be a part of my heart that longs for the days before the war, for that woman that I would spend countless hours being with. But, in time, I have realized she's truly gone. Isadora has a heart as cold as her magic. Her lust for power overshadows everything about her.”

  “No wonder you write fantasy novels. They aren't fantasy, they're real.” Sherri said.

  Dan laughed, “No, they're fantasy. I take from a lot of fantastic reality that you do not realize is out there. But, the far off lands, mighty dragon wars, that kind of stuff. Pure fiction. There hasn't been any fire-breathing dragons around since the fifteenth century.” He said this and then took a good drink of his tea. Halfway through that he noticed the looks on their faces. “Oh, right, you don't know that either. Yes, dragons are real...well, they were real. Humans killed them off. Now, your people find their bones and call them dinosaurs.”

  “Wait...so, you're four thousand years old?” Brian asked.

  Sherri scoffed, “Weren't you paying attention?”

  “I was. I don't often listen to ancient wizards talk about magic, fairies, and dragons.”

  Dan was laughing at these two. “Yes. I'm over four thousand years old.”

  “You don't look that old.” Sherri said.

  “Thanks.” Dan comically replied. “Every century I'll use a spell that de-ages me back to about ten years old. I join up with some friends who are also wizards, and we become a family. I go to school, learn how life has changed since I grew old last, and assimilate into the culture. It keeps me young, you might say.”

  “Oh, teach me that spell.” Sherri piped in.

  Dan laughed at her, and then asked Brian, “Are you feeling better?”

  Brian sat up on the edge of the bed, “Much better. I don't feel like I'm going to shake apart.”

  “Your lucky. That blast was meant to take out an ice fairy. They may be small, but they are sturdier than you. “

  “Speaking of that fairy, aren't you worried about the queen now that she has been taken?” Brian asked.

  “I'll go and find her. I've done this a few times before. Normally they find a way to break my seal and steal her. But, they don't have the com
bined power to free her quickly. It takes a few winters of magic for them to get enough strength. In that time I'll get her back. I can't seal her like I seal the snowflakes. The fairies can't get to them at all. If they had just two of them, then we'd have a problem.”

  “Oh my god!” Brian dropped his tea cup, smashing it on the ground. “They got two of them. The queen had me get them for her.”

  Sherri gasped, “Oh no, your right!”

  Dan set his tea down quickly and grabbed the staff. Without saying anything to them, he ran for the small room. Brian and Sherri followed him, Brian a little more sluggish than before.

  Waving the staff through the air, the ceiling of the room broke apart and came down to the ground. A set of stones formed a floating staircase leading out into the park. All three raced up the steps.

  Chapter 6: Winter World

  They came to a new world. What was a cold, dry land before was now a white snowfield. Dark gray clouds rolled and boiled above, belching out torrents of snow. The wind screamed through trees. Tiny white lights flew all over the skies, hundreds of ice fairies playing in the blizzard.

  “OH MY GOD! WHAT IS GOING ON?” Brian yelled over the rushing winds.

  Dan held his arm up to block the gales of snow from his face, “THEY'VE UNLEASHED BOTH WINTERS! THEY'LL GATHER THE POWER AND FREE HER SOON! I HAVE TO FIND AND STOP HER!” He held up his staff and then slammed the end of it into the ground. The blasting snow slowed down and then with a huge whoosh, it peeled back in the air. The blizzard dwindled down into a gentle snowfall.

  Sherri sighed in relief, “Well, that was easy enough.”

  “That was nothing.” Dan said, “I merely slowed the storm here, the true power is still pouring into the skies. This storm will cover most of the world in a matter of hours. I have to find her now.”

  “Why don't you call on the other wizards? Your friends. How about those Santas?” Sherri asked.

  “Santas?” Brian gave her a funny look.

  “Not now.” She replied.

  “I don't have time. They're too far away. By the time any arrive, it'll be too late. I have to get to her before they unseal her from the crystal. If she's freed, then I won't be able to stop her again.”