Dragon Frost

by S. J. Wist

  "You heard the lady," a voice said from a different direction in the mist. "She does not want to go with you anywhere."

  "I don't recall asking you permission. Now get out of my way!" Kenshe shouted back.

  "Not going to happen," another voice replied.

  Kenshe felt another Thread snap in him, and he wiped his nose as blood started to drip from it. "You have some never to attack me! I am the Atrum Lord and protected by the Caelestis!"

  "The Goddess has forsaken you as you have long forgotten her," the first voice said. Kenshe's legs were made numb, and he was forced to the ground again. His hands caught him and he stayed still, trying to calculate which Thread they would go for next.

  "Her daughter has been given to us," the second voice said.

  "I don't think so," Kenshe spat back and caught the Threads to the voice as they appeared for a split second. He cut them with his nails, before realizing his stupid mistake.

  The red-haired Awl unshifted and rushed at him, delivering a kick to his face that threw him backwards.

  "I think he is trying to kill us, brother," his attacker mocked. Moments later, the mist engulfed the phelan Awl again.

  "Somehow he has survived this long despite being intolerably stupid," the first voice said. "You cannot kill what is already dead you fool. Leave before we kill you for wasting our time."

  Another foot hit Kenshe in the back, and he buckled over as blood gushed from his mouth to the ground. He couldn't take much more of this. A rush of estus energy surged past Kenshe then. The hatred and sadness of it threatened to drag him into the ground and to his grave. "Ubi I would never hurt you! Sybl and Kas were everything to me! Please stop this!"

  "Yet you were weak and did not protect them," another phelan said.

  The Threads were lifted under Kenshe, and he was thrown into the air. He fell a meter before colliding with the ground on his back. Kenshe could feel his life draining from him fast now as he hurt too much to roll over. There were just too many of the Awl phelan to defend himself against.

  "That is not true," a female voice spoke.

  Kenshe looked to the side as the mist lifted all at once, and dispersed into clear air. He could see all twenty-four of the Pack he was up against now. Cursing himself for being such an idiot to tackle such odds alone, he lay flat on his back. He heard footsteps, and looked up to the only face he wanted to see. Sybl's glowing blue eyes looked back down at him. "I'm sorry. Sybl... Please...forgive me."

  "You're an idiot, Kenshe!" the voice spat back, but it was different now. The image of Sybl that he had imagined vanished and left Prisca looking down at him. Her red eyes were furious. "What in the seven Hells do you think you're doing?"

  "Dying," was all Kenshe could reply and closed his eyes.

  "Sister, what are you doing here?" Terren asked, walking closer to them.

  "What does it look like?" Prisca replied with a bitter tone. "Mother," she called, and the old woman began to slowly make her way over with Ubi. "What is going on here?"

  "Kenshe wishes to take the Fay against her will. I was not going to let that happen."

  "By killing him? Are you insane, old woman? If the Caelestis can see us now, she would never forgive you! Kenshe was given to her and he answers only to Sybl!"

  "Do not attempt to tell me what to do!" Mother Weaver snapped back. "We are not of your corrupted Order!'

  "That Fay," Prisca said, looking at Ubi, "is the Atrum's responsibility. It was her father who ruled over it before Kenshe. She is coming with us." Prisca kneeled down then, and started to heal Kenshe's wounds.

  "She can't see yet...what we know," Kenshe said through painful breaths as Prisca patched his inner wounds back together with her limited aeri.

  Prisca understood what he was talking about, and walked over to Ubi.

  Ubi stepped back to avoid being grabbed, but Prisca was faster and caught her tunic. Then the Caller pressed her hand against her forehead. Ubi tried to struggle free, then realized that she wasn't standing in the same place anymore. Ubi looked at Prisca before her, then looked to where she did, as the ayame's memory melded into her own. She saw her father.

  The gardens at the back of the Sanctus were vibrant and beautiful. If you stood back and looked at the rows of them, you could see a line separating them. The side of light were alive and healthy, while those in darkness were dreary. The line between consisted of roses like what could be found on Earth.

  Kas walked the line for a few moments, before setting down a small pail of blue paint. Eyes watched him from all sides, and it didn't seem to bother him.

  Three ayame had taken up playfully laughing at him when he picked up the paintbrush. They seemed desperate to get his attention. The laughter stopped a few minutes later, and Kas looked for what could have sent the ayame away so suddenly. It was Sybl.

  "Are you painting flowers?" she asked as she walked over.

  "Just the roses," he corrected. He glanced only momentarily at her and away from his chosen rose bush.

  "Phelan can't see red, can they?"

  "We can see it enough to know that it is connected to something important." He snapped the one free that he had finished painting blue, and offered it to her.

  "But all your eyes are red--how do you see the eyes of other phelan?" She took the rose from him.

  "We see each other's intentions instead of red, as the eyes are a reflection of the soul."

  "Like blood." Sybl smelled the rose. But it wasn't doing much for her. "Am I like the only creature on this whole planet who has blue eyes?"

  "You are one of the few who have the colour of pure destiny in their eyes. You should be more than content with that."

  "You mean there's someone else other than me?"

  Kas didn't answer and started painting another rose. He dipped his fingers in the blue paint, and touched her nose before she could dodge it.

  "Hey!" Sybl tried to wipe the paint off of her nose, only to smear it worse in the process.

  "Perhaps I should try more unconventional methods to help you remember your past life."

  "You're so mean," Sybl said, as she took the spare brush from the pail. "Just for that, I'm painting your entire room a bright red while you sleep."

  "I have nothing to fear then, as I have not slept since I was a newborn."

  Sybl looked at the rose bush for where to start practicing.

  "Which one is the most red to you?"

  "Um... They're all like the same color of red," Sybl replied.

  "Then your best guess."

  Sybl started to paint a rose, before realizing that it was trickier than it looked. When she couldn't get it as neat as Kas could, she decided to paint him while he looked the other way.

  He wiped the blue off of his face and onto his white sleeve. "Try that again."

  "Okay." She laughed and went for him again, but he caught her and tackled her to the ground. Then he used her own brush to paint more of her face.

  "Hey! Stop!" Sybl tried to get free of him, but he didn't let her go until she was mostly blue, and they couldn't laugh anymore.

  Kas released her and stood up. He smiled as he realized that in painting her, he had painted most of himself as well.

  "I'm so not feeling the color of 'pure destiny' right now," Sybl said as she sat up. She tried to get her long wavy strands of hair back in order, including her newest blue ones. Then she stopped running her fingers through her hair and stared up at him.

  They stared at each for a long while, each of them deciphering the other's thoughts.

  Kas sat back down, and looked at his rose bush. "There are not enough flowers here to cure the world's sufferings. The Aeger cannot be cured with flower petals, and few spirits are healed by their beauty."

  "One Fay cannot save the world. But it's important that we show that we haven't given up and keep trying," Sybl said.

  Kas nodded in agreement. "Perhaps the stubborn ones against us simply need to be painted a different color. Tomorrow, I will try purpl
e."

  Sybl picked up the blue rose he had given her. "Nah, try white."

  "The red will bleed through..."

  Sybl giggled as she got to her feet.

  Kas looked back at the rose bush with a more determined expression. "Keep trying, I get it."

  The memory faded, and Ubi blinked as her eyes returned to the present. "You were one of the ayame watching him?"

  "I was still very young back then," Prisca explained. "The Atrum may not be the perfect sanctuary like the Sanctus was, but it is all we have now. Your father was its rightful ruler, as was your mother. You've been fighting the wrong side, Ubi. Kenshe, the Order--all of it has not forgotten your mother or Kas."

  Ubi stepped back for a moment as she tried to take it all in. She looked at Terren. He sat patiently in his phelan form, waiting for her to speak of what she would do next. "How can I trust you? Especially after the massacre Kenshe made at the Efereal Mountains?"

  "The Awls are dangerous," Kenshe said, sitting up with a groan. "You know why and you've seen it for yourself. Your very blood is what our enemy is using to control them. If you stay here, then the same thing will happen to this Pack what happened just now at the Efereal Mountains. The one who is after you isn't going to stop."

  Ubi looked at Terren, as the last thing she wanted to do was put them in danger.

  "It's alright," Terren replied. "Kenshe has a point. There has been unusual stress on the Threads that connect my kind to each other. Whether your blood's power is responsible or not, we would not want to put you in harms way if we should turn. You will be safer in my sister's care."

  Ubi looked at Prisca as she helped Kenshe to his feet.

  "We will not be far if you change your mind," Mother Weaver said and touched her shoulder. "You may call on our help whenever you need."

  "Thank you," Ubi said, and then turned and walked over to Kenshe. They both stared at one another for a while, before he stepped back and shifted into his phelan form. Crouching down, Ubi climbed onto his back and he started to leave right after.

  "Sister," Terren said, looking at Prisca.

  "I know, Terren," Prisca replied. "I will take care of her. With this thing taking control of the Awls, we will be closer to stopping it with the Fay's help. If anything, she will draw her mother's spirit closer and the Caelestis will protect us."

  "Stay close to Aragmoth, daughter," Mother Weaver said. Then the old ayame turned and started to walk back to camp. "The caels are not here, they are with Him still."

  "You too, Mother," Prisca replied, then shifted into her cat-like phelan form and followed after Kenshe.

  TWENTY

  Ubi felt like screaming when Kenshe pulled the dress over her head by force.

  "You make this a lot harder than it has to be," he said, straightening the black and blue garment on her. Then he started to tie the laces on her back. "I won't have you moving around my castle smelling like death and looking like I dragged you out of a gutter."

  "Your ayame are even worse than you!" Ubi spat back. "Stop touching me!"

  "Of all things they think that I might fall for you," Kenshe sneered in her ear.

  "That's a laugh. You are the worst individual I've have ever met. I would rather die a thousand times more!"

  "Likewise," Kenshe said. He tightened the last of her dress to an uncomfortable tightness. "To think I was so damn close to being free of you."

  "Lord Kenshe," Prisca said, appearing in the doorway.

  "Oh thank Aragmoth," Kenshe said and pushed Ubi forward and away from him. "I need you to watch this brat until one of her caretakers come for her. I can't take her shit anymore."

  "Of course," Prisca said and looked at Ubi with her unreadable red eyes.

  "Please don't leave a mark on her. You are the only ayame I can trust with this. Keeping her in one piece is currently very important to me."

  "I won't let you down, my lord. Please leave her to me."

  Kenshe nodded and left the room at that.

  They stared at one another for some moments, before Ubi gave up and went to sit on the bed given to her.

  "I must say, it's amusing to see Sybl's character in someone who looks so much like Kas. Surely Fate was being cruel by not dealing your cards in the opposite," Prisca started.

  "I don't think so. My father was an animal."

  Prisca's eyes widened in disbelief of Ubi's words. Then she began to pick up Ubi's old, torn clothes and tidy up the room. "Your father was anything but an animal. He was magnificent. He was perfect in every sense. When he took control over the Atrum after Vanir's death, the phelan rejoiced. Equally, the Suzerain Continent wept when he was lost. He was a leader and a soldier, but most importantly, his very aura shone of the Fay he was."

  "And my mother?" Ubi asked, changing the topic to one she was interested in.

  "I was still small when I met her for the first time as you have seen. My first impression of her was that she was some filthy human beggar. When I later learned that she was a Fay, I wouldn't believe it for a long while. Your mother was hard to understand, but I don't think it was because she was a human."

  "Oh?" Ubi asked, cautious to where Prisca would take this conversation.

  Prisca put the dirty clothes she had in hand in a basket near the door. Another ayame came by within moments to pick it up and take it away. She brushed her black hair back over her shoulder and straightened her grey dress. Prisca then wandered around the room, trying to find the right words. "You would have had to hear her Nova to understand her, I think. When she sang, half the world's Threads shuddered and reacted to her will. While she looked harmless, if not useless on the outside, I think that was just a face she wore to hide her true power. She was truly a raw power that wasn't supposed to be here, let alone exist."

  "What do you mean?"

  "According to the Texts," Prisca said as she went to sit next to Ubi, "there should always be a Fay of darkness and one of light. That is how balance between life and death is maintained. But Sybl was a balance of both on her own. She was like the great Asteria of the first Aster. A Sylph, capable of wielding light and darkness at will. Maybe Asteria gave her that power before her destruction. No one really knows."

  "If she's so strong, why doesn't she come back from the dead to help us?" Ubi asked.

  "Oh, I'll bet that she will," Prisca replied. "This unseen enemy will see its last once it reveals itself, I'll bet my tail on it." She stood up and headed to the door then. "Now, will you come down for dinner, or should I have it brought up here?"

  "I'll stay here, thanks," Ubi replied. "Please make sure it's vegetarian as well."

  "Vege--what?" Prisca asked.

  "No meat, please."

  One of Prisca's eye's twitched and she continued to leave. "Of course. Our chef has been in need of a challenge as of late..."

  "Prisca, wait," Ubi called after the ayame.

  Prisca returned to the room, faking patience for the Fay. "What is it?"

  "What was my mother to Kenshe? I want to know why he flipped out on me like he did in the Keol over her."

  "She was like a mother to him. She was the only mother he ever had."

  "What, seriously? Where is his?" Ubi asked in disbelief.

  "The daoran is still alive to my knowledge. She didn't accept him since he was born like a True, and his father brought him to the Sanctus. For a long time I thought that Kenshe felt something more for Sybl. But I have studied him closely all these years. I'm certain that it was nothing more than a child's affection he had for her. When Sybl died, he was no longer that child."

  Ubi nodded in understanding, and Prisca left and closed the door behind her. She got to her feet and looked around the room. On the dresser, she found a sword on a stand. She picked it up, curious to who it belonged to. But she didn't know how to read its Thread. She brought it over to the bed and sat down with it on her lap, and closed her eyes. Touching the fairy pendant on her neck, then the hilt of the blade, she tried to use it to see into the weapon
. A familiar voice pulled her into it.

  Kenshe wandered lost for a while, between the living and the realm of death. When he didn't find Ubi as fast as he wanted to, he decided to resort to his phelan senses to try and pick up on her. He knew that venturing so deep into Aragmoth would require a great deal of luck to get back out again. The lost Fay was untrained on how to do all this, and if he didn't find her soon, she would likely be lost in limbo forever. There was a potentially lethal difference between Dreaming and Dreamwalking. With Dreamwalking, your soul left your body with little more than a Thread or two to lead you back.

  He caught her scent and jogged through the fog towards it. He found her, sitting quietly before a pond of gas and water. He concluded that this was a part of Aragmoth's mind that had been made to resemble the first Aster. Such climate and environment had only ever existed on the first. "Ubi." She turned to look at him without any kind of emotion on her face.

  "It's so warm here," she said, as her fingers made ripples in the water.

  Despite his better judgement, Kenshe felt himself feeling sorry for her again. "What are you doing here? I found you with your father's sword--are you looking for him?"

  "Is that who it belonged to?" Ubi asked.

  "We should go," Kenshe said and crouched down beside her. "This place isn't safe."

  "Why should I go back?"

  "Don't talk like that. You're needed alive," Kenshe insisted.

  "Am I?"

  "Well, you can die later if you want, but I won't have Nafury killing me for leaving you here." He picked her up into his arms, and was thankful when she didn't struggle. When he stood up straight again, the scenery around them had been changed to resemble the Keol.

  He turned to look in all directions, before his eyes saw a young man staring back at him, almost out of range of his sight. He squinted to look closer, and saw that it was Kas. "If you wanted to say anything to your father before we left, now is the time."