Those mugs of steaming chocolate,
"So, why did you call me here again?"
The spiral snapped another tome shut, sending dust motes into the air before answering:
"I wanted to show you something I've found."
"I swear Ari, if it's another Ragepu-"
"No, no! Nothing like that!"
Ariana smiled at the Tundra's face as she remembered the incident from a fortnight prior. She guided Faun down one of her clan's many staircases, still marveling at the near-infinite amount of tomes that lined the hallways, and have done for generations.
It was no secret that Ariana and Faun were close to each other as only friends could be. When the Thick-furred tundra was exiled off the tip of the Southern Icefields for undisclosed reasons, Ariana's father was the one to save her from the icy depths, and for that Faun had pledged her life to serve the clan for the rest of he lifespan. The first few years of Faun's life in the observatory were difficult for her, as the harsh training timetable she set for herself plus the constant reminders of seeing home through a telescope only served to deteriorate her mental state further.
When she met Ariana for the first time, it was like the Icewarden and the Arcanist were working together to make up for her years of suffering alone. Ari was beacon of hope for her, a light at the end of a long tunnel. With the spiral's help, she had finished her basic training in record time.
Ariana's story was quite different. Growing up in a observatory made her sheltered and naive, too innocent for the outside world. Ariana was pampered on a daily basis by the staff and her father, a scribe to the great Arcanist. When she finally saw the mysterious Tundra after hearing rumors about her for years destroying herself from the inside, Ariana made it her personal goal to bring a little light into this skilled Tundra's life. And that she did.
The two friends entered one of the main rooms- a ring of bookshelves centered around a small fountain alive with Rosy Similis, dotted with various velvet chairs and silky cushions enchanted to self repair and soften. Ariana coiled her body on top of the chair while Faun barely managed to fit in one the same size. Another smile flitted across Ariana's mouth.
"Having a bit of trouble there Fluffball?" She gently teased.
"Not as much as you'll be having when I'm done with you, Noodleface." Faun said, amusement carried across from her tone.
Ariana snorted. "Pfft, now that you've finished getting comfortable-"
Faun shifted a bit.
"-I'm sure you would love to know what I called you down for."
Faun nodded, but didn't dare interrupt her monologue for fear of her wrath.
"As you know, I have recently begun my studies into ancient texts, mythology, Beastclans, the lot. I expected to find tomes dedicated to some Beastclan or Shade deity, but instead I found this."
Ariana produced a faded, flaky scroll of parchment that looked a strong breeze away from falling to pieces. "This here is a spell scroll!" She proclaimed, somehow expecting Faun to show any kind of reaction. Faun cocked her head. "What's so special about that?"
The spiral sighed, before explaining: "Well, you know how all the spells nowadays are written in tomes or etched into runes?" She waited for a nod from the tundra before continuing, "And you know in the ancient times, when all the deities were fighting each other, their followers fought other followers of different deities in a war?” The tundra nodded, remembering the basic history lessons.
“And your point is?”
“These are ancient war scrolls, written by great scholars in the battle against the Ice flight.”
Faun’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding?” She rasped, starstruck by this new information.
Ariana nodded, and then continued. “There are plenty of offensive spells in here, but one that particularly caught my eye was this.”
The spiral shoved the parchment towards Faun, claws pointing out the passage she wanted her to read. Ariana could see the gears turning in Faun’s head as her eyes flicked back and forth across the page.
Suddenly something clicked, as Faun spluttered out.
“That looks like- it can’t be a teleportation spell!”
Ariana smirked. “Yes, it is. I was thinking we could use this to spy.”
“On your brother?” The tundra questioned, seemingly missing the point
.
“No, silly!” She got up from the chair. “We’re gonna use this to spy on the Ice Flight!”
“Are you crazy?” Faun breathed “If we’re found, best case scenario is we get left in the Icewarden’s prison to rot, worst case is where we get forcefully exhalted to the Icewarden like fodder!”
Ariana sighed. "You're missing the point Faun! We zap in there with the teleportation spell, gather some information, and then be out of there in a flash!"
The tundra shook her head. “It’s too dangerous Ari, you know as well as I that Ice flighters have an arson of immobilisation spells ready to throw at anything that moves.”
Ariana slithered up to Faun and grasped her furry head. “Look on the other side of this, we get out of there, and we get glory and riches! No longer ‘the scribe’s daughter’ and ‘that one tundra’, we’ll be heroes! Our names will be spoken throughout the Starfall Isles!”
Faun’s eyes lit up, though she tried to remain firm. “I still don’t know about this…”
“Look, we don’t even have to spy the first time. If it makes you less uncomfortable, we can go there, bury ourselves in snow for a bit, and then teleport right out again. No ‘threat of exaltation’ if we’re buried in snow!”
“I guess…” The tundra trailed off. “We could check it out, but we’re out of there within five minutes, alright?”
“You got it! We’ll be in and out.” Ariana chirped.
Just then, Davis, the guardian head librarian came walking into the room, his misty blue scales glinting calmly in the candle light.
“You two, we’re closing up the library for the night because of a threat by Plague.” He rumbled, taking care to avoid knocking the bookshelves over. Ariana pouted at the huge guardian and Davis merely snorted in good humour. “Come on now, get out.”
And with that, he used a giant paw to safely usher out the two smaller dragons.
Once they had gone, he took a breath, and blew out all of the candles, letting the darkness engulf the room until the only light that remained was the glowing of the runes imprinted on his skin.
.:=:.
Ariana and Faun walked side-by-side along the servant's passage that led back to Ariana's room. Every hallway in the observatory had to be as large as a great hall to make room for the various imperials, ridgebacks and guardians that worked and lived here. Because of its vast space, it was easy to miss the little details. Such as nearly stepping on fae dragons.
"Oh I'm so sorry!" Faun squeaked as she narrowly sidestepped another fae servant. "It's quite alright dear, just, uh, watch where your paws are taking you next time." The fae said, before fluttering off to a smaller passage meant for fae and spiral staff.
When she had gone, Faun covered her face with one paw. "It's been years and I still can't see these little guys!" she moaned in embarrassment. Ariana poked her with the end of her tail. "Hey, it's not your fault that your lair didn't have fae." She said firmly. "Still..." Faun trailed off quietly. "Let's just get to my room quickly, before the mirror guards come out on duty." Mirrors gave Ariana the creeps, no matter how kind they were, those four pupil-less eyes gazing back deeply unnerved her.
Eventually night had completely fallen and the duo reached Ariana's room. Violet light shined down from the skylights as meteors and comets were hung in suspension around the tip of the observatory, where the Arcanist apparently worked. The silence of the night was only broken by the beat of mirror wings as they circled on patrol. The anonymous threat originating from Plague territory put the entire island on high alert, and every warrior from the inexperienced to the wise was called to help besides ones adopted from other flights because of Arcane pride or some other rubbish.
Ariana clicked the lock on her door with satisfaction before spinning around to see Faun sitting on her woefully undersized bed. She smiled sheepishly before pulling out the scroll that she had skillfully hidden under her wing. Faun gazed at the scroll and blurted out "We're doing it now?"
"Well yeah, after all the Ice flight are all asleep and peaceful at this time of night." Faun grumbled something inaudible before speaking up. "I guess that makes sense, but won't it be cold?" she prompted. Ariana's eyes flashed cunningly. "Already got that covered, I was planning to teleport somewhere in the middle of the Snowsquall tundras, so the trees could keep us sheltered!" Faun looked up at the fanciful glass roof, almost like she was searching for another argument to stall what she had already agreed to.
Eventually all she could do was let out a small sigh, her eyes closed. She opened them before speaking. "Alright. Let's get this over and done with."
Ariana nearly jumped for joy, her crystalline serpent body seemingly vibrating with excitement. She settled down for a second before grasping the scroll with one claw. Faun felt Ariana's familiar, warm magic pulsing around her as she activated the runes and words that were written on the scroll. Magenta mist was floating around Ariana in suspension. She took a deep breath before pouring all the representation of her magic into the very scroll itself.
However, instead of the steady strong flow of the spiral's magic that would continue until the spell was completed, a cold feeling crept slowly through her veins until she couldn't move her legs. "A-ari! I... I can't feel my legs! Stop this, please!" she begged in desperation. However, it looked like Ariana hadn't heard her, or wasn't noticing her surroundings as the warm purpley mist faded into an ugly swamp green. The claws of coldness crept up her torso as the magic kept feeding itself into the scroll.
Ariana let out an ear splitting screech as the scroll seemingly cut her magic, letting the remnants feed into itself. She fell onto the ground and tried to crawl over to Faun, but all of her energy had been viciously sapped. Faun moved over to Ariana, and rested her head next to hers as the scroll did whatever evil magic it was enchanted to do.
"F-faun... I-"
She let out a wheeze.
"E-everything's s-so cold..."
Faun felt the same coldness settle through her neck without mercy, making her vision fade slowly. Ariana's eyes were already closed, giving the illusion of a peaceful sleep. Darkened spots seeped slowly through her tunnel vision, leaving nothing but the sound of her own raspy breathing. Eventually, that faded away too.
And Faun was left with nothing but the void.
.:=:.
A sharp crack was the only warning the two got before they were forcefully awakened. Blistering winds raged around them, throwing up slush and hail. The only noticeable shape against the endless whiteness was a withered black tree, bent over and bare.
"D-did the spell work?" Ariana's voice was meek, scared. "By the looks of it, maybe?" Faun vaguely gestured toward the raging snowstorm that they had awakened in. "I..." The small spiral's voice paused, hesitating. "We should... p-probably head over t-there." She signaled with an incline of her head, shuddering violently against the chill of the wastes. Faun, on the other paw was fine, her thick wooly coat protecting her from the elements.
The tundra noticed this, but decided not to say anything. After a while a trekking through the thick snow bank they settled in the upturned roots of the lonely dead tree. It provided little shelter and the spiral's shudders were slowly getting worse by the minute.
Eventually the roaring of the blistering wind was too much and the tundra spoke up. "It feels creepy sneaking around in here, don't you think?"
The Ariana was huddled in Faun's thick fur, and she gazed out at the wasteland glumly before answering. "It does, I don't know why but..." her eyes flared open, panic flashing in her violet irises. "I... I can't feel my magic!"
Faun's neck clicked as she snapped her head toward the now cowering spiral. "You- what?!" Her voice cracked between menacing and surprised.
"I mean, it's there, sure, but..." she took a deep breath. "It's being overpowered by the ambient energies in the atmosphere."
"But that's impossible! Everyone in Sornieth knows that no matter where you go, all magical energies will remain more or less the same!"
"You know F-faun, I honestly d-don't think we're in Sornieth anymore." She said in a small voice, doing her best to melt into Faun's fur.
"But... the scroll said it would take us to the Southern Icefields!"
"N-no." The spiral shook her head, looking into Faun's eyes. "It said it would transport us somewhere cold, and I-" she let out a choked sob. "I stupidly b-believed that it was talking about the S-southern Icefield..." she broke her gaze, and buried her head in her claws, sobbing lightly.
"T-this is all my fault!" She cried out, letting the freezing snow muffle her cries. The tundra could just lie there, watching her small friend break down in front of her in shock.
"H-hey..." Faun began, turning words over in her head. "Look, it's... it's not your fault." Ariana looked up, her usually magenta eyes red and puffy, a tear slowly working it's way down her cheek.
Faun swallowed before continuing.
"Nobody knew that that spell was different, that it would take us... here." She took another breath. "The Southern Icefields are the only true 'cold' region in Sornieth." She put a comforting paw on Ariana's shoulder blade. "You couldn't have known."
Ariana let out a small sigh of resignation before snuggling into Faun's fluff. Her breathing eventually settled out evenly as she drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
Faun was left awake, and slowly the wind dropped, and following that were the thousands of snowflakes falling from suspension. Making the place look like a white haven instead of a freezing deathtrap. She watched them fall slowly, drifting this way and that.
She counted each one, imagining them as all the people they had left behind. A tear escaped her eye when she thought of all the people in Ariana's family that had raised her to be who she was.
She wiped the stray tear from her eye and rested her head on her paws, feeling Ariana's steady heartbeat beside her. Eventually sleep claimed Faun despite her best efforts.
And the two lay side by side amongst the snow.
Author's Note
Welcome to my little project! This little thing has no time for garunteed updates, as I have school + once in a lifetime updates.
If you're wondering what game this is based off of, it's Flight rising!
