Icestorme, Thale

  In the midst of sightseeing around the capital of Thale, eventually the group of eleven broke apart. Britiana wandered off by herself, her interests much different than her brother's. Isa silently fell into step behind her. Darius dismissed the other guards to entertain themselves, keeping only Amadeus and Lazarus with him. They agreed to meet back up at a local specialty restaurant when it was nearing dinner time.

  Britiana looked at a few boutiques and jewelry shops along a commercial shopping street quietly, as if ignoring the presence silently walking behind her. In fact, she was not ignoring said presence. She was just looking for the right opportunity.

  She finally found it when she entered a snack street. Several stalls were set up along the street selling fried local snacks. Nearby was a park area with several gazebos. Smiling brightly, she listened to each stall owner describing their goods. As she went, she bought a bit of everything. Finally she made it to the park.

  Under the Domes, would not expect that the land was actually a frigid desert. Much work has gone into making the Domes a place where more people, plants, and animals can thrive. There were even birds flitting through trees, trying to get home before the rain hit.

  Britiana sat on a stone bench of a gazebo. "I wonder why Isaz has never utilized domes," she said aloud, watching the sky continue to darken with occasional flashes of lightning high in the sky. She wasn't expecting an answer and Isa didn't have one. "Come, sit," she ordered lightly and patted the stone seat beside her.

  Isa sat behind, keeping a modest distance. She didn't argue and merely handed him a type of fried dough snack filled with sweet and tart fruit jam. He took the snack and waited for her to speak.

  She hesitated a moment then scrunched her nose with a slight frown. "Am I so charming?" she asked. It was a genuine question. On Thelessia she spent most of her time interacting with other people in a glamor disguise. It not only changed her appearance, but also had the effect of people overlooking or forgetting her when she wasn't right in front of them. The people who knew her real appearance, weren't those that would be attracted to her nor she to them. Her brother, for example, their friend Sariya, and the gang who raised her and Darius. Even if some of the elders would pat her on the head and tell her how cute she was, it didn't mean much.

  Isa paused slightly then chuckled softly. "Don't discount your charm, my lady," he told her.

  She pursed her lips and looked at him. She wasn't foolish. Her mother may be playing matchmaker, but she seriously doubted that just because of a dance with her. "Be serious," she scolded and bit into her own snack.

  "It's my lady who doesn't believe my seriousness," he said with an exaggerated sigh and took a bite of his. He nearly choked when that earned him a glare from a face with cheeks full of pastry. He coughed and had to laugh.

  "Hmmph," she snorted and turned her back on him. "Serves you right," she grumbled.

  He took out a flask of water and took a drink to clear his throat. "All right. I was already considering a transfer to Silvermoon once I was past my Changing Age," he explained. As the son of the Ambassador to Isaz, he could coast along as a guard around his father for an untold number of years. He didn't want to do that. He had his own ambitions. Transferring to the Silvermoon regular army would have been good for his career.

  "Then one day, I danced with a charming lady at a banquet on a cool early spring night. I decided that putting in a transfer early wasn't a bad idea. Though, honestly, I have no idea how I ended up as your personal bodyguard," he admitted honestly.

  During his explanation, Britiana turned to look at him again. That she believed. She explained that the Grand Duchess took it upon herself to interfere with guard assignments. "I guess it was fate," she only said in a carefree fashion, but her cheeks were slightly red. She fidgeted with her skirts for a moment. He only smiled.

  A closer crack of thunder startled them and suddenly the downpour began. Britiana quickly put up wards to keep the dampness out of the gazebo. In the distance, she could hear cheers from the merchants and patrons of the street.

  Britiana stood and walked to the edge of the gazebo and looked into the sky. "Oshango is happy, right? That Thale is no longer isolated," she asked softly.

  Isa walked up behind her and looked at the sky as well as lightning flashed in long branching streaks. "I think so. Why wouldn't he be?" he agreed.

  Feeling him behind her, Britiana unconsciously sank back against him, as if it were perfectly natural to do so. Neither of them felt any discomfort with the position. They stood like that and watched the rain while eating a few more snacks.

  Before long, music began to fill the air along with the rain. Britiana laughed softly. "They really do celebrate the rain here," she said.

  Isa, having lived his entire life on Emphyralis, knew more details than she did. He was also from a family steeped in politics. "It hasn't rained in Thale since High General Stormbringer died," he said. "Now, with the rain coming just as the Bridging Array was built, how could people not celebrate?" he explained softly.

  She was a little surprised. She must have missed that detail when learning about Thale in preparation for her trip here. "Mm. They really do have a reason to celebrate. And with Zane in charge, it shouldn't be long before they can celebrate the end of the Siege," she stated.

  Isa enjoyed her optimism. Although he didn't doubt Zane Darkwynde's ability, he suspected that ending the Siege wouldn't be easy. Not something that can be done quickly at all.

  Britiana pulled a rain cloak out of her storage. "Come. This isn't a good place to wait out the storm. We'll head to the restaurant first," she declared. Isa helped her put on the cloak. He took out his own military issue cloak and a silver mount. The gazebo was large enough to accomodate the automaton. He held her by the waist and helped her mount the metallic horse then pulled himself up behind her.

  He wrapped his arms around her to reach the reins. "Ready, my lady?" he asked softly near her ear.

  She flinched from the feeling of his breath brushing against her skin. "It tickles," she complained.

  He chuckled. He tapped his heels against the metallic horse to activate it and rode out into the street, heading toward the meeting place. The rain poured down around them, and the people danced in the streets as they trotted by.

  --

  A few days later, the group decided to visit the Great Glacier. To do that they had to pass through the outer city of Icestorme. Icestorme's outer city wasn't as large as the part under the Dome, but it was still part of the capital. It was worth braving the cold to see. Outside the Dome, the temperature was extremely cold. While the people could bundle up in magical clothes, the mechanical horses could not withstand the extreme conditions.

  Over the past few days, Mason, sometimes accompanied by his older or younger brother, accompanied the guests as a good hose should. When he heard they wanted to visit the Great Glacier, he readily agreed to be a guide again with Maddox tagging along.

  They had to rent some local mounts. Snomels were large, white, fuzzy camel-like creatures that were not only adapted to thrive in the cold, but also minimize water loss in the frozen, arid environment.

  While the delegation from Silvermoon were bundled up in fur-lined cloaks from head to toe, Isa, the Icestormes, and the Icestorme guards following were dressed lightly but their skin had taken on a pale blue hue. This was the special adaptation of Platinum Dragons to survive in Thale.

  To get to the outer city, they had to pass through a guarded arch. Maddox was so excited he was almost bouncing on his snomel. He actually didn't often get a chance to leave the Dome. His brothers were usually busy, and school trips out of the Dome were few and far between.

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  After passing the arch, the air immediately changed. Even though it had rained a few days before, the air was incredibly dry. Although it wasn't snowy or icy, a chill even slightly permeated their magic cloaks. The architecture didn't change, there was still that same white-gray tile that dominated the construction. The landscape did change. Instead of green grass, ornamental shade trees, and flowers, there was white sand, hardy shrubs, colorful succulents, and other desert loving plants.

  The outer city wasn't empty. Far from it. Not only were there Platinum Dragons, but they saw large fur covered races, small hefty races, and regal cold looking races.

  Mason introduced the sights to them as they passed through. They didn't come out without a destination. They were being led to the best place in Icestorme to see the polar ice caps. It wasn't the touristy overlook that had been built in a specific place but a place Mason assured only the locals knew about.

  It was a rare event to see the Great Glacier. Even Isa, who lived most of his life in Isaz, never saw the northern ice caps, the Luminous Glaciers, because they were hidden by the Diamond Dragons. The most anyone could see was a mirage-like glimmer of color that never seemed to be in the same place twice.

  Mason and Maddox took them out of the city and along a sandy path. The sun shone down upon them with a cold light appearing white rather than the usual warm yellow. Before long they could see the edge of the island that made up Icestorme. It wasn't that Thale had no water. The water was frozen. The broken islands of Thale could only be a few yards apart. Stone bridges usually connected them. Every island usually had a village, but not every island had a Dome.

  The reason the Great Glacier had to be observed from afar is because of the cold. Even Platinum Dragons couldn't get too close without being affected. Thale was the closest city to the south pole and had the best views. Why was the Great Glacier such a big draw? Even from this distance they could begin to see that the sky was changing colors as if a light was being shone through a prism.

  "Beautiful," Britiana murmured.

  Mason smiled. "It never gets old," he agreed.

  "C'mon! We're almost there!" Maddox exclaimed and kicked his mount into a faster trot, moving out ahead of everyone else.

  Mason made an exasperated sound and quickly sent some guards to follow his impatient little brother.

  They rode for about another ten minutes until to a point on the coast where a wooden beach house was built. When they reached the area, they dismounted and moved to the fifty yard ice river that separated Icestorme from the opposite shore that was an expanse of white sand that seemed to stretch forever. In the center of that white desert, standing like giant prisms was the Great Glacier.

  Clear without any cloudy imperfections, the broken edges sparkled like diamonds. The sun shone through, dyeing the white sand in an explosion of colors that continually shifted. Even the hyperactive Maddox settled down as he watched the display.

  "Wait til it's night! It's even more awesome!" he said excitedly. "And when the sun sets it's like fire!" he exclaimed with his eyes wide. His wings fluttered excitedly, lifting the child off the ground several feet. Mason hurriedly grabbed his foot to keep a hold of the child, throwing them an apologetic look.

  The older members of the group couldn't help but be amused by the child's antics. Britiana pulled out a magic stone and activated it to record the image. "I wish ZsaZsa had stayed," she said, knowing a recording was nothing compared to seeing it in person.

  Darius smiled slightly. "There will be plenty of chances in the future to come back," he said with conviction.

  Mason glanced at him then Britiana and nodded in agreement. "Thanks to you and the grace of the Sisters," he said, overcome with the thought of a future free of the Siege and a bustling Thale. It was something he'd never seen and almost couldn't imagine.

  Britiana awkwardly twirled a strand of hair, not knowing how to react to his fervent expression. The odd atmosphere soon passed and they began setting up a picnic lunch. The plan was to stay to watch the sunset and see the night view before heading back, so they didn't set out too early. It was already around three afternoon and tummies were rumbling.

  They set up three tables, one for each set of guards, and a smaller one for the four aristocratic children. Both Mason and Maddox were looking forward to this meal. They'd been promised international and even interstellar specialties. It was difficult, but they had managed to sample food from the other nations, but they'd heard so much about Terranthean food, but it was impossible for them to try it.

  Britiana was the type to over prepare, especially food. She always had plenty of warm, fresh food available in her storage space. Providing the two with an interesting meal was not a problem for her. She spent several minutes pulling dish after dish out.

  Each dish that appeared, Maddox watched with wide eyes, practically drooling. He followed each dish with his head bobbing, brightly asking what each one was. Mason tried to silence him, but Britiana didn't mind answering. Sometimes Darius answered, sometimes, when something appeared that the other guards especially enjoyed, they'd pipe up as well to wax poetic about the taste. By the end, even Mason was practically drooling.

  It was quite a harmonious scene of international relations.

  After a satisfying meal, the party broke up to walk along the coast to aid digestion. The guards enjoyed themselves while doing their jobs. Some followed as Mason and Darius spoke separately. Some followed as Maddox played on the ice. Some stood a distance away as Britiana watched with Isa only a step or two behind her. "That looks fun," she said.

  The boy had changed his sandals to a pair of ice skates. He skated along the ice in a carefree manner. Occasionally he'd fly a few inches and land in order to achieve an impression maneuver.

  Isa chuckled. "Want to try it?" he asked.

  She scrunched her face slightly as she thought about it. Then she shook her head. "Maybe another time," she finally answered. She frowned slightly and looked around.

  "What's wrong?" he asked, noticing her change in mood.

  She pursed her lips and covered a star-like pendant she wore around her neck with her hand. "Get him off the ice. Now!" she shouted.

  Isa reacted without even thinking and ran into the ice and grabbed the child, crashing into the opposite shore moments before the ice burst open. Water shot up into the air like a spout.

  Gasping in shock, Maddox and Isa looked at the water spout. Isa was already on his feet again, dragging the boy away from the water.

  Britiana, too, was already running away from the waters edge. Her shout had already alerted the guards to a problem. Some of the Icestorme guards tried to cross the ice to the opposite shore but creatures were already starting to come out of the ice. Bloodfin, Nyxies and some small, seaweed covered hobgoblin creatures. What was most shocking, Several Wyrms also shot out of the water.

  A gray face, dark and scaly Nyxie with a mouth full of teeth was holding on the back of a Bloodfin. It looked around with an eerie smile. "We haven't seen such a good feast in so long," it said in an eerie, husky, yet somehow pleasant tone.

  "Yes. Look. There's even a child," another Nyxie agreed.

  "Yes. Yes. The child. Bring us the child," said a third.

  Nyxies couldn't transform their tails, but they seem to have figured out a way around that by riding on the backs of the Bloodfin. These creatures were covered in rough gray sharkskin, with thick bodies and limbs. They stood nearly nine feet tall with a shark's head with rows and rows of teeth. Carrying around a bony Nyxie was not a burden for it.

  Isa narrowed his eyes as the kelp creatures began running toward him. Without missing a beat he began to run toward the glacier. He pulled out one of the enchanted cloaks he'd been assigned and draped it over the child and activated it. He caught the capsule as he ran, putting it into the relative safety of his storage. He didn't like being separated from Britiana, but he understood that he'd been the only one who could have reached the boy in time.

  With the boy safe, he pulled a way and spun around, slashing one of the closest kelp goblins. Half went flying through the air. Much to his horror, that part of the goblin stood and continued to chase, soon joining with the bottom half again.

  He narrowed his eyes. Although he is technically a Cryokinetic, his abilities are quite unique, melding certain types of Silver Dragon abilities. He could control ice but he could also manifest frozen energy similar to other Silver Dragons manifesting mental energy. He could control that energy even more easily than ice. At this moment, he manifested this energy to a frost net that he used to try and contain the kelp goblins.

  The creatures slowed down, but eventually they worked their way through the holes of the net. Isa cursed and took back the energy. He slashed through a few more, but his blade kept getting entangled with the kelp tendrils. Finally, he attempted to freeze them. He was a very young Dragon, so his freezing speed and area of effect weren't the strongest, but running toward the colder part of the landscape was helping speed up.

  Afterall, these were creatures composed mostly of water. Soon even he began to feel the cold, much less these things that lived on the warm ocean bottoms. Soon, the things chasing him became ice sculptures. He managed to stop running and catch his breath. However, he soon realized that the kelp goblins were the least of his problems. Two Bloodfin were running behind them. The only saving grace was that they're size made them slower and less agile and they were more sensitive to the cold.

  Isa put away his sword and began to transform into his Dragon form. There was no way he could handle two Bloodfin alone otherwise. After he transformed, he roared, sucked in a breath and breathed his unique fire of frost energy at the Bloodfin.

  --