The Dragons of Ice and Snow

by J. J. Thompson

  “Hmm, good point. Okay.” He took a deep breath. “Here goes.”

  Simon pictured Daniel's face, not as he had been once but after he had aged and changed into someone the wizard had barely recognized as his old friend.

  “Invectis!” he said firmly and stared into the suddenly foggy mirror.

  The three elementals hurried to cross the table and stand by Simon's shoulders. He gave them all a nervous smile as they waited.

  The mirror stayed cloudy for several long minutes.

  “I don't think it's working,” Simon said, looking down at Kronk. “Either it can't get through or it's being blocked somehow. I'm sure the elves can do that.”

  “Wait, sir wizard,” Ana said excitedly. “Look! Is the mist fading?”

  Simon hurriedly looked back in the mirror. She was right! The mist was dissipating.

  All of them waited, the wizard holding his breath, for the mirror to clear. When it finally did, Simon gaped at the sight. It was simply one of the most beautiful things that he had ever seen.

  He was peering into a forest glade. Immense trees, as large as redwoods or bigger, with pale yellow leaves and white bark, surrounded a clearing. Flowers were growing rampantly, their colors mixing and flowing in a dazzling display. In the center of the glade was a round, grassy knoll in the midst of which a fountain made of silver splashed and gurgled with clean, sparkling water.

  Simon could almost smell the intoxicating scent of the flowers and a part of him yearned to be in that place.

  And in the middle of all of this riot of color and movement, sitting on a simple stone bench next to the laughing fountain, sat an old man wearing a deep blue robe and reading a scroll. It was Daniel.

  As Simon noticed him, the view in the mirror zoomed in so that he was looking at his friend from no more than a few feet away.

  He paused and looked away from the mirror, clearing his throat and wiping his suddenly moist eyes.

  Why hadn't he tried this before, he wondered. Daniel's advice would have been invaluable over the past year. Just having him to talk to would have been so helpful.

  He looked back at his friend, pushing his self-recriminations to the back of his mind. I have more important things to deal with, he thought.

  “Daniel?” he said hesitantly. “Can you hear me?”

  The old man looked up slowly, his eyes misted with age and something like wisdom.

  “Simon? Is that you?”

  “It's me, old friend. It's me.”

  Daniel put the scroll down beside him and turned his head this way and that.

  “Where are you?” he asked. “Don't tell me you've crossed over! That would be foolishness.”

  “Same old Daniel, if you'll pardon the expression,” Simon said with a chuckle and Daniel's face broke into a wide grin.

  Suddenly he looked as young as the wizard remembered him.

  “Don't be smart with your elders, boy,” he growled. “So, if you aren't here, you are using a communication spell of some sort?”

  “Magic Mirror,” Simon agreed.

  “Ah, perfect. Give me a moment.”

  The wizard watched as Daniel stood up slowly, wincing in obvious pain. He stepped up to the fountain and made a small gesture. The waters instantly became still and placid and the man peered deeply into the reflecting pool.

  And suddenly Simon was meeting his friend's eyes directly.

  Both of them grinned simultaneously and then laughed. Simon felt his heart lift at the meeting and was happier than he had been in ages.

  “So there you are, my friend,” Daniel said, eyes flicking over Simon's features. “I see a lot of white in that mane of yours.”

  Simon ran a hand through his hair self-consciously.

  “Yeah, well, you know. Magic.”

  “Yes, true enough. Ah, I am so happy that you decided to try to contact me. Personally I didn't even know that it was possible.”

  “I didn't either,” Simon said a little shamefaced. “I wish I'd thought of trying it a long time ago.”

  Daniel shook a crooked finger at him.

  “Now, now. What have I always said? The past is gone. The future is uncertain. All we have...”

  “...is now. Yeah, I remember.”

  “Good. Self-recriminations are poisonous.”

  The man laughed in obvious delight.

  “I cannot believe that we are finally speaking. Ah, it's been so lonely here.”

  Simon frowned.

  “Don't you speak with the elves? Surely you've made some friends there?”

  “Yes, of course. But conversations with elves are, hmm, how can I describe it? Limited, I suppose. As polite and helpful as they've all been, they are immortals and I am not. Their perspective is much grander than mine is. Why, I've met elves who had wizards as friends five or six thousand years ago.” He shook his head ruefully. “Among them I feel like an infant, despite my appearance. I don't know. I just can't seem to get comfortable around them.”

  “What about Ethmira?”

  Daniel smiled gently.

  “Yes, Ethmira. Thank the gods for her. She is quite old as well, but her youthful exuberance makes it much easier for me to forget that. She's been a comfort, I can tell you.”

  “I'm glad,” Simon told him with some relief. “I'd hate to think that you're unhappy there, considering that it will be your home until...”

  His voice trailed off and he looked away.

  “Until the day I die? Oh, come now, Simon. Don't be so morbid. I'm not kicking the bucket any time soon, I assure you.”

  The wizard looked back at him and they both laughed again.

  “Now, I hope these calls become a frequent occurrence,” Daniel said.

  “Oh, they will. I guarantee it.”

  “Good. But I'm guessing this attempt was made for a specific purpose, yes?”

  “It was.”

  Simon picked up the amulet and held it so that Daniel could see it clearly.

  “I found this pendant, medallion, whatever, in the home of a dark wizard.” He hesitated. “Uh, do you know what happened last year? With my ex-neighbor Heather and the primal green dragon?”

  “Oh yes, I know.” Daniel scowled. “The elves keep a close eye on things in the mortal realm, old friend. Very impressive, the way you defeated that dragon, by the way.”

  “A mixture of trickery and luck,” the wizard said with a shrug.

  Daniel rolled his eyes and Simon grinned.

  “Yeah, you don't agree. I know. Anyway, I found this in her old home today. As you can see, there's a stylized picture of a dragon on one side and some sort of writing on the other. But I can't read it. I was hoping that the elves might be able to help with that.”

  “Looking for more spells to add to your arsenal?” Daniel asked slyly.

  “Always,” was Simon's grim response.

  “Good. Wait a moment.”

  His old friend reached into a pocket of his robe and fished out a scrap of paper and a stick of what looked like charcoal.

  “I'm always jotting down notes these days,” he told Simon with a rueful smile. “I find my memory isn't quite what it used to be.”

  “Well, don't chalk it up to age,” Simon told him reassuringly. “Most days, I can't remember what I had for breakfast.”

  Daniel shook his head, looking amused.

  “Now, hold that amulet steady and I'll copy those runes. We'll see if the elves are as wise as you think they are.”

  For all of his apparent age, Daniel's hand was steady as he wrote and he quickly copied the writing from the amulet.

  “Okay, got it.”

  He examined what he had written and finally shrugged.

  “Certainly it's like nothing I encountered on my travels, back in the day. We'll see if the elders can make something of it.”

  He slipped the paper back into a pocket along with the charcoal and then just stared fondly at Simon for a moment.

  “I'm going to have to start carrying a small mirr
or with me from now on, just in case you call,” he said. “This standing and looking into a pool of water is hard on my old back.”

  “Are you all right?” Simon asked with quick concern.

  “Fine. Fine. Now, I'm off to speak with the council. It shouldn't take long, one way or another.”

  He stared off into the distance, lips moving.

  “If my knowledge of the time differential is correct, it shouldn't take more than an hour or two to get an answer.”

  “That's great,” Simon said enthusiastically.

  “Which means you should call back in about a week.”

  “What! A week?”

  Daniel laughed at his friend's expression.

  “The flow of time is very different here. You know that,” the man said as his touched his thick white hair.

  “Yes, I know. But I guess I hadn't realized how different. Two hours of time there and a week here. My God.”

  “Crazy, isn't it? Welcome to my reality. Now, try to be patient. Call back in a week and I'll have news one way or the other. And we can have a decent chat. To be honest, this standing and talking is killing my back right now.”

  “Okay, my friend. Thanks for this, by the way. I wish...I wish you were here to fight the good fight with me.”

  “So do I, Simon. More than anything. But hey, now at least you've found a way to get me involved. I haven't been this pumped up for a long time.”

  “I'm glad,” the wizard told him sincerely. “So, I'll let you go and talk with whomever and I'll call back in one week.”

  “You do that.”

  Daniel began to turn away and then stopped to catch Simon's eye again.

  “Oh, by the way, there is one thing that I can tell you about that amulet of yours.”

  “Really?” The wizard stared at him, surprised. “What's that?”

  “That engraving of a dragon on one side? It's not stylized or some artist's fantasy. It's a picture of an actual dragon.”

  “You're kidding!” Simon looked at the snaky figure in his hand. “What kind of dragon looks like that?”

  “Don't worry, they're extinct. But I saw an illustration like it during my studies here. That's a picture of a gold dragon, one of the lost guardians of the Light. They were betrayed and slaughtered by the evil dragons in the distant past.”

  “Then what the heck is it doing on this amulet?”

  “No idea. Let's see if I can find out. Talk to you in a week, my friend. Take care. It was good to see you again.”

  “And you, Daniel. I wish you luck.”

  The old man waved and walked out the image on the mirror.

  Simon shook it to break the spell and put it back down on the table. He looked at the elementals, aware that he was grinning foolishly.

  “Well, what do you know?” he told them. “It worked!”

  Chapter 13

  The week that Simon had to wait to speak to Daniel again passed quickly. He was spending as much time and strength as he could, trying to lock the Blizzard spell into his memory permanently, along with as many other spells that could be used in battle as he could manage.

  He was finally able to keep five in his mind at all times, along with his utility spells, like Light, Gate and Shield.

  They were Blizzard, Fireball, Steel Skin (he'd improved his Stone Skin spell), Ice Spear and Magic Missile.

  It took four days of intense practice, massive headaches and several arguments with Kronk, who kept trying to get him to eat and sleep more, until he succeeded. After that, he bowed to the little guy's wishes and spent a day in bed, exhausted.

  There was no word from Liliana, which didn't come as a complete surprise to him. She did want to be left alone for the moment.

  Simon called Clara once, to bring her up to speed, and she was thrilled for him that he'd managed to speak to Daniel. He knew she worried that he spent too much time alone.

  Listening to Kronk and Aeris argue, while Ana tried to play peace-keeper, sometimes made him wish that was true.

  Before he knew it, a week had gone by and Simon was back sitting at his kitchen table, tea cup at hand and the elementals crowded around him.

  He cast Magic Mirror eagerly and then waited.

  This time, the spell connected much more quickly and Simon found himself staring into Daniel's face. Obviously his friend was looking back at him through another mirror.

  “And there you are,” the man said with a broad smile. “I was beginning to get a little worried.”

  “But you said a week,” Simon protested.

  “I know, I know. Relax. The time flow is imprecise. I spoke to the elders several hours ago, my time. Well, at least it gave me a chance to dig up a mirror. It's amazing how little ego the elves have. Mirrors are rare here. Probably because they're all so naturally attractive.”

  “They are that.”

  “Anyway, let me see here.”

  Daniel dug into a pocket and it gave Simon a chance to see a part of the room that his friend was sitting in.

  Books. Shelf after shelf of books was all that he could see.

  “Are you in a library?” he asked curiously.

  “What?”

  Daniel stopped searching his pockets, looked over his shoulder and then chuckled.

  “No, these are my rooms. Here, take a look.”

  He turned the mirror around so that Simon and the elementals got a slow panning view of his quarters.

  The walls were indeed covered with shelves. There were hundreds of books, scrolls and tablets. Odd objects like crystal balls, small silver and gold statues, pieces of strangely shaped stones and other things were scattered about on small tables.

  At one end of the room was a large canopied bed covered with a bright comforter. Many pictures, all of which depicted scenes of nature, hung on the small sections of the walls that weren't covered with shelving.

  All in all, Simon thought, a comfortable and homey place.

  “I like it,” he told his friend when Daniel's face came back into view. “I hope you do too.”

  “Oh absolutely,” the man said, glancing around fondly. “The elves have been very kind to me. And very indulgent. They rounded up these reference books and scrolls from far and wide, when I expressed an interest in doing some research.”

  “Research? On what?”

  Daniel grinned.

  “On magic, of course. What else? Our world is a magical place again. I may not be able to return, but that doesn't mean that I am totally useless. To be honest, I was hoping that anything I found could be sent to you one day. Now, of course, we can speak directly. So if you ever need anything investigated, let me know and I'll help as best as I can.”

  Simon stared at him thoughtfully for a moment and Daniel raised an eyebrow.

  “Something on your mind?”

  “Yeah, maybe. But before I mention it, what did the elders tell you able the amulet I found?”

  “Oh! Right.”

  Daniel pulled a creased piece of paper from his pocket and peered down at it.

  “Okay, this is their interpretation of the runes. They claim that they are written in some odd derivation of dwarvish, but I find that very strange. The dwarves despise dragons. Why would they fashion an amulet of a dragon in the first place?”

  Simon glanced down at Aeris, who shook his head, mystified.

  “No idea. So what do they think is says?”

  “According to them, it's an incantation.”

  “A spell?” Simon asked, startled.

  “Maybe. If it is, they say that they don't recognize it or what it does. They think...” Daniel paused, looking unsure, “that it could be a tracking spell. If that's true then it would explain why the dwarves would create it, to hunt dragons. And it is 'on' permanently. No need to cast the spell itself.”

  “Wow. That could be incredibly useful.”

  “It could, yes. More useful than they actually might have realized.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Well, when I got b
ack after my meeting with the elders, I did some research of my own.”

  Daniel made a gesture at his mass of books.

  “I have examples of the dwarvish language here as well. Once the elders had pointed me in the right direction, I searched and compared what they told me to what I had in some of my books.”

  He stared intently at Simon.

  “They were right, as far as it goes. The amulet will, I believe, help a person track dragons. But it doesn't track the average, fighting dragon. It tracks primals.”

  Simon sucked in a breath.

  “Primals? Whoa. Now that is useful.”

  “It is? Why? You haven't had any trouble finding primal dragons so far.”

  Daniel winked as he said this and the wizard smiled weakly.

  “To be honest, it wasn't hard. They basically came to me. The other primals may not be so easy to find, especially the primal white.”

  “Hmm, yes. That one.”

  “What about it?”

  “Again, this is based on my research since one of the elders told me that you'd traveled to Europe and had a run-in with some white dragons. Why did you do that, by the way?”

  Simon explained his search for Changlings using his atlas and the Magic Mirror spell. Daniel rewarded him with a look of admiration.

  “Clever, old friend. Very clever. Well, about that primal white. You may indeed need your amulet to find it. My books, based on conjecture and legend, speak of the white as a very sly opponent. And of its love of ice and snow. I don't take any pleasure in telling you this, but you may have to travel to the far north to find it.”

  “The far north?” Simon shivered. He hated the cold. “How far?”

  “Possibly all the way to the Pole.”

  The wizard groaned and Daniel smiled in commiseration.

  “Sorry. But that's in the future. Try not to think about it too much. And now that I've told you about that amulet, maybe you can tell me what's on your mind and why you look so worried?”

  “You know me too well,” Simon told him.

  “Yes, I do. Now talk, mister.”

  Simon chuckled and then sobered and told his friend about the events in Moscow. While he spoke, Aeris made him another cup of tea while Kronk waved and left the tower, going to check on the horses.