Drake sat on the cold, hard ground, desperately pulling himself backward at the border of the Frozen Expanse, as three frost lions closed in, their icy blue eyes glinting with predatory hunger, like shards of winter's heart set aflame. They prowled closer, their massive paws crunching against the frost-bitten earth.
The mind of Drake was racing; Lena's words still echoed within him, a whisper through icy caverns. "Watch and listen attentively. 'Aqua Shield (First Circle)'".
A jolt of defiance ripped into him. He flung his quivering hands out before him; closing his eyes, he could feel the mana welling up inside him, gathering like a tidal wave.
"Aqua Shield-(First Circle)!" he yelled, his voice cutting through the icy stillness. In an instant, an aqua-blue shield materialized around him, glowing with an ethereal sheen, like the surface of a still lake frozen over.
One of the frost lions launched into an assault, falling heavily on the barrier, its claws screeching against the invisible shield like fingernails down a glass pane. Shivers of fear ran through Drake.
The barrier cracked with the sound of splintering ice. In that instant, the barrier burst in a hard surge, sending the frost lions tumbling backward with a force equal to a crashing wave.
The lions stumbled, their huge heads shaking furiously as they battled to clear the disorienting fogginess. But this time, Drake was ready. A second image exploded in his mind-aqua dragon roar third circle.
Instinct took over, and Drake let loose a stream of water, roaring as if a stormy river broke its banks through canyons. It hit one lion squarely and sent its body flying through the air like a puppet on severed strings. The rest of the lions, bruised and bloody, limped out into the snowy desolation to snarls dissolving into silence.
Drake's legs felt as though they were made of lead, bolted by chains of iron into the ground. Struggling to stand, he whispered, "Why do I think of her whenever I'm in trouble?"
Barely above a whisper, his voice could hardly be heard against the sharp cold wind. "Perhaps it is because.she was my maiden," he mumbled and shook off the thought. Brushing the snow from his clothes, he pressed on, limping through the frozen wasteland.
Four days later, with a little more vigour, Drake trudged on and heard a commotion off to his left. He neared it guardedly, sliding behind a jagged outcrop of ice to see a group struggling to bear off five frost lions.
Three men, clearest of all in their thirties, laid spears against them, shielding a girl who must have been at least half their age, dark, wind-swept hair ill hidden by her jacket. They were in dark blue sweaters, brightly stark against the blinding white of snow.
The frost lions drew closer, their eyes boiling with hunger, their muscles tight as coiled springs. One of the men called, "Lady Kald, please, get on your horse and run! We can buy you some time." The girl spun a no violently with her head. "I am not a coward, abandoning you. If I came back alone, what would I say? I could hardly see that conversation going well.
These lions huddled together and then sprang forward, claws outstretched and teeth bared. Drake stepped forward, forgoing his cover, and shouted,
"Aqua Dragon Roar! (3 circle)." A mana circle appeared in his hand as he sent a jet of water with such force the air shattered, catching the lions in mid-pounce. Two lions were hit directly and their bodies tumbled limply to the ground, lifeless.
The other three males attacked, their spears finding their targets as they fought with grim determination. As the frost lions fell to the ground, the young lady walked towards Drake, her tone sounding like that of a queen. "My name is Isabella Kald, daughter of King Axel Kald of the Kaldris Kingdom."
She pointed towards her guards, who stood firm and alert. "It may sound strange, but I came here to train. May I know the name of our life-saver?"
Drake nodded slightly, coming closer. "I am Alexandra Drake, just a wanderer traveling from the Frozen Expanse." He instantly saw their eyes widen, a spark of recognition and confusion in their expressions. Isabella's gaze sharpened; her brow furrowed.
"Are you. from the water dragon race?" she asked, her voice full of both awe and suspicion.
Drake's heart thundered in his chest, the pounding echoing through the hollow of his body. He fought to steady his voice, his senses warning him the air was taut with implicit menace. "Nay, I am no dragon. I am human, the same as you." Isabella took a cautious step closer, her eyes raking over him.
You are human, yes, but how have you survived the frigid temperatures here? You speak of the Forbidden Region, yet you wear such thin clothing, she said in wonder and in doubt.
Drake looked down, then, and was surprised for the first time to realize how little the cold bothered him. Lena's face swam in front of his vision, like an ember among snow.
He smacked his face lightly to try and clear the image. "About that," he said, turning his attention back to Isabella, "I don't rightly explain. But may I ask why is the Frozen Expanse considered a forbidden region?
Isabella arched a brow, a small smile dancing on her lips as she beckoned him to follow. "Why don't we walk as I explain?" Drake nodded, falling into step beside her.
As they walked, so she launched into her explanation. "There are five continents, each with its own forbidden region. For Thralia, it's the Frozen Expanse, the place you claim to have come from." She looked sideways at him, an eyebrow cocked.
Lady Isabella," Drake curtailed, composed and with a hint of curiosity, "if I might ask, why is the Frozen Expanse forbidden? Is that because of the dragon race residing there?
A shadow fell across her face and she nodded, once, barely perceptibly. "That's part of it. But the true reason is in the very land itself. Look around you-our coasts freeze, our people move south, yet the Frozen Expanse is a realm of death where anyone who enters freezes almost instantly. Nothing, not even the most hardened of souls, can survive it.
She whirled to him, her eyes darting with incredulity mingling with curiosity. "Drake, are you certain that's where you came from?"
Drake faltered; he could feel the web of suspicion close in on him. With a sheepish smile, he nodded. "Perhaps I have mistaken another place for the Frozen Expanse." Thereafter, Isabella's face softened, and the tension fell away from the faces of her guards.
More cautious once again, Drake traveled with them toward the Kaldris Kingdom. But behind the mask of serenity, he felt the beat of something deep and primeval: a link with Lena and a curiosity about this land so far beyond ice and snow.