Icestorme, Thale

  The Silvermoon party weren't the only people outside the dome on this particular day. Dalia Blackheart had been given an assignment, and she took it seriously. Several of her key targets of investigation lived outside the Dome of Icestorme. She was disguised as a rather ordinary looking elderly Frost Elf woman, with stark white hair and a back hunched with age. She'd been filling in as the housekeeper for a certain politician's mistress.

  As she walked down the street, she reflected on the fact that a mercenary's life was not as glamorous as it sounded. A lot of it was mundane. Such as cleaning up the house of a spoiled, pampered young man after a party. She's seen things she would rather not have seen in that house. However, the love nest was a useful source for information.

  She was considering the feasibility of taking the place of that young man. She felt like he was a breakthrough point. Although he was ostensibly the mistress of a certain politician, given last night's party, he had ambiguous relations with several other targets and other people in key places.

  When she entered her temporary residence, she intended to have a quick meal before moving on to the next identity. However, when she stepped in, she realized someone was already there. There weren't many people who could bypass her protections. There was only one currently in Thale. She shifted to a Icestorme guard, the same one she used before. "Let's not talk here," she said and stepped into the shadows.

  Zane Darkwynde, who came to chat with his sister, followed her. They walked out of the shadows in a secluded spot near the coast. No one was around and they walked along the beach for a bit. "Is something on your mind?" Dahlia asked him.

  Zane was a little uncomfortable, but finally asked what was on his mind. "What did Sonja say when you reported to her about the Darkbane girl?" he asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

  Dahlia raised a brow. "What exactly are you worried about?" she asked. She had a confidentiality mandate, which he knew. For him to ask something about one of her investigations was truly unusual.

  Zane frowned. "Did she say how she planned to deal with the girl?" he asked.

  Dahlia shook her head. "She didn't say. Maybe she didn't want me to end up telling you," she pointed out.

  He grunted. That was likely. He was about to say something else when they heard a distant crashing sound. They were pretty far from the outer city. The flat desert gave them a good view of a waterspout in the distance and the dark shapes that flew out of it.

  "Wyrms!" Dahlia exclaimed.

  "Crysti's and Morri's children were viewing the Great Glacier today!"

  The two shared a look and immediately began to transform into Onyx Dragons, flying in that direction. With luck this was happening in isolation. However, neither of them thought their luck was that great.

  --

  While Isa was being chased toward the Great Glacier, the ones left behind had to jump into action. After her separation from Isa, Britiana hurriedly ran behind the guards. The Noxies transformed into their unicorn forms and ran forward to flank her, trotting around her to give her some measure of safety. "Thank you," she said to them.

  Noxie One tossed their head and snorted, kicking at one of the kelp goblins that kept chasing after her. The creature immediately tangled around the horse-like being's foreleg.

  Seeing the situation, Britiana unfurled her wings and flapped them, lifting off the ground enough to avoid being entangled, but not high enough to interfere with the battle against the Wyrms in the sky. Her Dragon abilities may not help in this situation, but she was a mage. She had a special interest in spatial magic. She reached into the folds of her skirt and pulled out a stack of wooden slivers. Almost unable to help themselves, as something came close to the kelp creatures, they'd reach out to entangle the slivers. Immediately the creatures were encased in a space bubble. Unlike her stasis capsule which kept the person inside alive, these bubbles didn't allow any living being inside. The kelp creatures withered at a rate visible to the naked eye.

  "Kill the girl!"

  "Kill the girl!"

  "Kill the girl!"

  The Nyxies that seemed to be in charge of this operation noticed what was happening and shouted at the Bloodfin goons they commanded.

  Several Bloodfin began running toward the girl and the unicorns guarding her. Noxie Two charged at the closest Bloodfin and gored it with their swordlike horn. With unfathomable strength, with a toss of their neck, the injured Bloodfin went flying through the air and crashed into several others coming up behind him.

  While the Noxies were guarding Britiana, Darius and Mason were dealing with their own hassle of trying to fight the Bloodfin and the kelpie goblins that kept trying to entangle them. Mason activated an emergency beacon, but there would still be delay until reinforcements arrived. They had to stay alive until then.

  He was still a young Dragon in his changing age, but he was a full Platinum Dragon, his ability to freeze the kelp goblins was much stronger than Isa's. He was also able to produce small ice obstacles that distract them when trying to entangle. He was also able to use his Froststepping skill to create footholds in the air to move around and dodge in conjunction with the wings that can't fly high, but help him move around nimbly.

  Darius was in slightly better shape than some others. He didn't have to rely on shadows to move, as he was able to Voidwalk, but he was still new to Voidwalking and it took a lot of energy to generate a void. When he heard the shrill voices of the Nyxies, he realized what Britiana was doing.

  He remembered her giving some of the wood slivers to "test out sometime." He pulled a handful out and began to throw out several at a time. With his telekinetic abilities, he could guide them wherever he needed. He tried to send one toward a Bloodfin charging toward him, but it only enveloped part of the arm. Said arm quickly shriveled up and fell off because it had completely cut off from the same space as the rest of the body.

  The Bloodfin paused, looking at its missing limb in a dumbfounded fashion. It suddenly roared and rushed toward Darius. Darius calmly tossed a talisman at the thing's head and watched as the body continued forward to do momentum, but the now shriveled head fell to the ground, still in the bubble.

  From nearby, where Amadeus and Lazarus were having a tough time with the kelpie creatures, they saw their young lord and lady's actions. "My lady! Why haven't you shared something so good, sooner?" Amadeus asked in surprise. He and his cousin were discovering the drawbacks of trying to fight in an open space where there were no shadows. The most they could do was utilize the shadows of others in order to save themselves from getting wrapped up like mummies.

  "These were actually considered defective," she answered with a sigh. "Who knew they'd have such a use," she lamented. She originally created these when she was trying to develop the stasis cloaks. Insofar as transporting or capturing a living person, they were a failure.

  "Respectfully, my lady, fail like this more often," Lazarus encouraged. He could already see a future where the Silvermoon army was equipped with these defective products.

  Britiana was too busy to answer.

  Above their heads, eight Dragons were battling against four Wyrms. The Wyrms were massive, craggy creatures that were slightly larger than Emphyralian Dragons. They had stone-like scales and spines. Four Platinum Dragons and two Bronze Dragons attacked the Wyrms.

  The accompanying guards on both sides weren't very old, all less than fifty and their sizes reflected that. The Wyrms were larger and more ferocious. Delia Stonehaven's mother was a Virgatrix. Delia's father was a Forgecrafter in Silvermoon, which is why she lived and worked there. But her mother was among the top Viragatri and had trained her daughter as much as she could without revealing secrets to outsiders. Not only was she well trained, her and Spencer Ironstryke's Bronze Dragon forms were the largest among the guard.

  Still, the two and their Platinum compatriots were young and had never fought Wyrms before. Delia roared in pain when one of the Wyrms bit her tail. She wasn't the only one injured, but no one was giving up.

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  Seeing the impasse, Amadeus and Lazarus shared a look. It seems they were the only ones with experience against Wyrms. They broke away from their fight and transformed into their Dragon forms.

  They teamed up with Delia and Spencer to take on one of the Wyrms. They depended on their numbers to overwhelm the creature, clawing and biting at the few weak spots. Finally, Amadeus managed to injure one of the Wyrm's wings, causing it to stagger midair. Lazarus took the chance to claw at the other wing. Delia and Spencer gained altitude while the Wyrm was distracted and roaring in pain. Amadeus and Lazarus flew away just as the two Bronze Dragons crashed into the Wyrm's back, forcing it down, crashing into the sand and ice below.

  The fight wasn't over yet because the Wyrm was still alive. Amadeus and Lazarus left the injured Wyrm to Delia and Spencer to deal with and flew toward the nearest battle with the Platinum guards.

  Suddenly, two Onyx Dragons flew in from afar. The largest of the two roared and crashed into one of the larger Wyrms, ripping with his claws and tearing with his fang. Onyx Dragons weren't the largest of the Dragon races, but they were powerful. Zane Darkwynde was an exception to the rule, almost rivaling the largest Topaz Dragons in size.

  Seeing that he could handle the Wyrm on his own, Dahlia didn't bother him and chose to team up with a couple of Platinum guards to work on another Wyrms.

  The Nyxies saw the situation in the sky as well as anyone. "Reinforcements are arriving."

  "We must away."

  "We must away."

  They tried to guide the Bloodfin back to the ice hole they'd arrived from. Seeing this, Darius made a hasty decision. He stepped into the void and reappeared behind one of the trio. He threw a cloak on a Nyxie and activated it. When the capsule fell, he used his telekinetic abilities to bring it to his hand before stepping into another void.

  "Save us!"

  "Save us!"

  The other two Nyxies screamed in panic. They hadn't expected that. They were torn between leaving and trying to rescue their comrade. They could see more Dragons flying toward them. In the end they chose self preservation. They emitted a high pitched sound that hurt the ears of everyone who heard it. The Bloodfin and the kelp goblins immediately turned and retreated. Only the Wyrms were unable to retreat because they were entangled in the fight with the Dragons.

  Soon more Dragons, mostly Platinum, joined the fight against the Wyrms, but one of them landed, changing into Marius and looking for his brothers. "Where's Maddox?" he demanded. He saw Mason, but not his younger brother.

  Mason looked toward the Great Glacier with a heavy heart. "They went that way. Let's go," he said and started to transform, but before they could, a Dragon flew over from the vicinity of the Glacier. The planetary curve at the Bottom of World, was severe and it was hard to see past a certain point.

  Isa saw that while the Wyrms were still in the air fighting, the ground battle seems to have subsided. He landed and transformed back into his humanoid form. Mason rushed over to him. "Maddox?" he asked, not seeing his baby brother. Marius's eyes turned red, whether in anger or fear or heartbreak, it was hard to say.

  Isa produced the capsule containing the boy. "He's safe," he assured them. When they saw the capsule, the brothers breathed a sigh of relief.

  Marius took the capsule. "We'll let him out somewhere safer," he said. His face was a mask of coldness.

  "I don't know how to apologize enough. There have never been Bloodfin sightings anywhere close to Icestorme," he said, now addressing Britiana and Darius, who had regrouped.

  Neither of them spoke polite platitudes. While they didn't blame anyone, this was a serious matter.

  Isa approached Britiana. "Are you all right?" he asked. He didn't apologize for leaving his post because she'd sent him to save Maddox on purpose, but he was still worried about her.

  She gave him a faint smile. "I'm fine. The Noxies are a bit worse for wear. I really must give them good names," she said with conviction. She visually appraised him. "You're injured," she said.

  He didn't downplay it. He'd broken a few ribs in his fight against the Bloodfin. She reached out and took his hand without saying anything else.

  Soon, all the Wyrms had been defeated. The guards and Zane regrouped on the ground. The other Onyx Dragon seemed to have vanished. Zane approached the Icestorme brothers and Silvermoon siblings. He looked everyone over.

  "Let's get back to the Hall and get everyone treated. We'll go over everything that happened later," he said, speaking with the authority granted to him by the Dracosenati to oversee the Siege. No one argued with him.

  None felt like riding their fluffy mounts back, so the Dragons flew while the Noxies herded the animals. Some of them had been killed and eaten by the Bloodfin during the chaos. Noxie One was limping, but they insisted on running back on their own. Noxie Two stayed beside them in case they could no longer make it. Like Dragons, Noxies didn't like anyone riding on their backs, but a sibling would be an exception.

  It was a quiet flight. There were too many things to say and it wasn't the time. The group landed at the entrance of the Dome where Morganna was waiting for them. Seeing only two of her sons, she nearly panicked, but fortunately, Marius showed her the encapsulated Maddox and she sighed in relief. Keeping her dignity, she led the group back inside.

  It would be a long day and the idyllic dream of seeing the Great Glacier on fire at sunset was not realized on this trip.

  --

  Silvermoon, Silubra

  Chrystianna had long returned to Silvermoon. She met with the High Justice of Silvermoon, Maia Dawnweaver, and the acting Knight General, Ysandar Thorindale, to make an action plan for the hate groups springing up in Silvermoon and Silubra. The only thing she could do was catch anyone spreading hate and handle them within the law for now.

  She began secretly dispatching mages to the other capitals to lay down Bridging Arrays. While the main architect of the arrays was loudly sightseeing. The last array was almost laid. All they had to do afterwards was lay the arrays in Thale.

  She'd also been interviewing prospective candidates for Chancellor of Silvermoon. So far no one had quite met her specifications. The closest person would be Xolani, her personal assistant. Both were reluctant for the change. She didn't want to hold her assistant back, but she also didn't want to train a new one. Yet, Xolani essentially handled all the duties of a Chancellor as her assistant.

  She was mentally debating this issue in her office when a message from Britiana came through on her call stone.

  She stood and darted from the office. "I'm going to Thale. Cancel the remaining interviews," she instructed Xolani as she rushed by.

  "Do you need me to go with you, your Grace?" she called out.

  "No need. Just have my honor guard meet me at the transit station," she said. She didn't even bother to use a porter. She went to the first open window and jumped out. She spread her wings and took flight. She transformed into her Dragon form as she flew.

  When she arrived at the transit station, she transformed again to await her guards. She walked into the station and headed to the Thale Bridge. The message she received was brief. It was meant for her not to worry, but how could she not worry.

  [Attempted attack in Icestorme. We're fine. Will explain everything later. Don't worry.]

  For such a sensitive girl, she left a very insensitive message. "Don't worry my foot," she sniffed in disdain. Her worry for her children wasn't the only reason she was rushing to Thale. The fact that Icestorme was attacked was not a good sign.

  When her guards assembled, she led them to the Bridge and they fell in behind her. A new occupation had been created for the transit station. Bridge Operator. It was their job to organize the travelers and then activate the Bridge. The man currently on duty bowed to the grand Duchess and activated the array. Chrystianna and her guards disappeared in a flash of silvery purple light.

  --

  Icestorme, Thale

  Only Darius, Amadeus, and Lazarus were allowed into the war room for debriefing after they returned to the Hall. Britiana escorted the injured soldiers to Icestorme's Healing Hall so that they could be treated, especially the injured Isa.

  Amadeus and Lazarus weren't wounded, so they stayed with Darius, while he gave a report to Zane and Marius. Maddox had been taken by Morganna to release him from the stasis cloak and ease his fears. Little did anyone suspect that the boy would be angry that he lost his chance to fight Bloodfin. That remark earned him an exasperated bop on the head by his mother.

  After Darius and Mason finished reporting the events of the attack, Darius handed over the captured Nyxie. "There were three Nyxies. They seemed to be in charge of the assault," he explained grimly.

  No one in the room was a fool. The Bloodfin and other races had never been seen near Icestorme, yet when the group of important young people went to see the Great Glacier on a simple sight seeing venture, they were attacked.

  Zane thoughtfully looked at the cloth ball containing the Nyxie. "It will be questioned," he said. He frowned slightly. He needed the other protectorates there in person. There was no choice. They had to be delivered via Drake.

  He gave Darius a steady look. "Will you join?" he questioned. Even if he didn't have an official position, participating in the campaign would be a good experience for him.

  Darius shook his head. "Not immediately. I gave my word to High Magus Darovan to help the Earthborne reconnect with their homeworld. When I return, I'll join," he answered.

  Zane indicated his understanding and didn't persuade him. Keeping one's word was a must. Besides, this campaign wasn't something that could be accomplished in a short time. It wouldn't be too late to join when he returned. "You all can go. Get yourselves checked out at the healing Pools and rest," he instructed.

  Darius and his guards bowed slightly and left the war room.

  Zane looked at the captured Nyxie again. He made a note to inform Ulrik Icebridge to bring Truthcallers.

  None of them knew a slightly angry Dragon mother was already on her way.

  --