[Winteria] From The Ice

[Vyrrian Wren]

[continued from The Hunt]

"Are you so desperate to preserve your secrets, you would bring the entire realm crashing down on us?!" shouted the dark haired trespasser, a note of mad panic rising in her voice as the vibrations from distant and incoming events coursed through the clearing. She flexed her right arm, bringing the remaining wrist device in her possession in direct line of sight to the Crown Princess - the sole weapon in her possession, containing one last throwing star primed and ready to fire.

Daenarys remained still, locking eyes with the spy. "This is not of my doing," she stated. "Believe me, if I had wished your death, there are more easily available -"

"ENOUGH! Your veins may be so starved of blood as to survive this Ragnarok, but I'll wager there's enough left within you to feel this!"

Her arm twisted. An audible click of the mechanism triggering. A second passed, then another, then another. The spy flexed her arm again and again, feeling the weapon discharge repeatedly. And yet the promised final shot - her one, her last, her only means of bringing the Crown Princess's life to an end - failed to materialise.

She stared at it dumbstruck. "I... I don't-"

"It's really quite simple", said a voice at her ear. "I lied."

Further words from her were impossible. The dagger at her throat barely a second before had already concluded its deadly work. She instinctively wrapped her fingers around her neck to stem the torrents, but the bite of the Assassin's blade was one that had been honed to perfection over countless hours. She felt herself collapse forward, all mobility and feeling robbed from her legs. The terrible coldness of death overtook her and she knew no more.

*

Vyrrian Wren looked upon the corpse of the erstwhile spy, now fully visible once again. He was almost disappointed. Give anyone the vaguest glimmer of hope and they would sacrifice all logic and rationale to pursue it. Any half decent infiltrator would have immediately checked the device and realised he had emptied all of its chambers totally. To believe the word of a stranger unproven in his loyalty... how standards had slipped in the espionage world these days. Clearly she would not prove to be a loss to her craft.

The sounds of the incoming tsunami snapped him back from his lamenting on the decline of his profession's standards. Locking eyes with the Crown Princess, he realised with a grim lurch of irony that if he was to have any chance of seeing beyond this recent throw of fate's dice, it would be by her hand. Looking down, he was aware he still held the knife that had just dispatched the would-be spy. He cast it upon the ground, burying it point-first into the snow.

"Your servant, Highness" he said, arms outstretched.

[Daenary's Shar]

For a moment it sounded as if one of the very rare winter storms was about to descend upon them. That was until Daenary's could feel the strange and bewildering sensation of vibrations beneath her feet. For a second she considered the fact that it was only her until the female screamed about the keeping of secrets and her hand in bringing the world down upon them. Her answer was simple and to the point that masked the fear from within. The years of being schooled to show nothing of within fell into place as easily as a mask. "This is not of my doing. Believe me, if I had wished your death, there are more easily available." The last retort was very true and several came to mind , fleeting images of various methods of death she could have dealt herself or have delivered in her name.

She felt a smile touch her lips as she heard the multiple clicks and received no pain. The man Wren not forgotten though seemingly lost in sight until he appeared just behind the woman. Her already paling skin took on the hue that matched the white snow beneath them until the blood met it, turning it pink then ruby red. The sky above darkening, turning black despite the purest white snow she had ever seen. The lifeless body of the female fell forward hitting the ground with a dull thought. The spark of life gone and she was gone just as rapidly from Daenary's mind. Her pale gaze settling on Wren. Her pale gaze revealing a moment of amusement at the upturn of events. Her heart raced within her chest, the sound within her ears almost as loud as the rumbles from above as tidal waves of snow seemed purposefully directed towards then.

She knew if she acted fast enough what her fate would be but it was whether Wren's fate joined that of the dead female at their feet or remained standing. The male seemed lost in thought for a moment, she assumed considering whether he had the time to seal her fate. Her gaze drifted down to the blade in his hand while she remained stock still. The possibility that she could remove what she knew would be an extremely large and sharp thorn in her side crossed her mind and she could even let the spell driven weather take the blame when she informed her brother and yet that had not been the point in this halted hunt...his fate was in his own hands. His actions would be the trigger to her own reactions. Seeing the blade disappear into the snow tip first her head instantly snapping upwards as he spoke.

His words caused a small smile to touch her lips as she stepped forward. Aware that in that moment he had been intelligent enough to survive rather than enjoy a moment of pride had he managed to defeat her before they could of been washed away. She mirrored the pose of his arms as her eyes closed. Soft words being spoken rapidly under her breath, almost impossible to follow as she uttered them as fast as her lips allowed. Several inches of the snow had already gathered around their feet as the first tendrils of magic began to show. Around them a glassy snake of ice forming a wavy circle before it rose upwards, the glassy and clear surface becoming milky then white as the walls thickened and curved about a half a foot above their heads sealing them in a protective dome.

Within mere seconds the walls were enveloped within the snow trapping the pair of them in the cocoon. Her words coming to a gradual stop as her eyes opened to examine the shell. "Accepted." She stated simply the only word required as she turned her mind to that which mattered most. Their mutual survival.

[Coriolis]

[Continuing from Winteria - Family Gatherings ]

[Meanwhile]
*Coriolis was halfway up the hunting lodge stairs, his step sister bundled in his arms, when the rattling roar of unnatural hail started to make its way through the roof slates. Quickening his pace, he ducked and dived as the furniture around him was broken to splinters by the heavy bullets of ice. For the second time in nearly as many hours, he had almost made it to the courtyard and its relative safety when the deep chill of Aesandres magic took hold.*

*With Rhiannon in his arms and the realm itself seemingly taking a personal interest in killing him, the Watcher took the only option available to him. He pulled his fade around them both and prayed that the gods wouldn’t consider his little sidestep out of reality an affront to the rules of the game. All he could do after that is sit quietly in a limbo of his own making, watching the realm around him freeze into a peculiarly Winterian “Time Out”…*

[Leytan]

*Elsewhere in the hunting lodge Leytan who, still slumped against the wall, had been hovering between the light of conciousness and lucidity of the mind and the inky blackness of the coma as the 'draught' he had taken earlier had began to wear off had seemingly lost the battle and plunged towards the floor.*


*He would have crashed face first into it had it not been for the intervening concerned and loving arms or Lady Mercury who had managed to catch him and cradle him in her arms.*


*However as she had cradled him and about half a minute before the rumbling had started his eyes had suddenly snapped open, but while his left (Blue/Winterian) one was bright and alert his right one (The green Atlantian one) still looked dull and cloudy, the increase in Winterian magic in the atmosphere as Aesandra's storm has approached had caused his Winterian Heritage to come alive and fight through the blackness and force him back into awareness and lucidity.*

"We need to leave or find shelter....her fury is coming!"


*He said almost as soon as the last word had left his mouth the rumbling had started*


"Here it comes.... Isobel we need protection for being frozen and we need it NOW!"

[Lady Mercury]

The threat of Leytan hurting himself was one Isobel never truly thought much of, instinct always took control of her before she could worry and she stepped quickly to catch him, cradling him closer. He had seemed almost deathly pale and tired, his body losing all control, or so it had seemed. Then, almost miraculously, his eyes snapped open and he spoke.

"Shelter would be best."

Her tone was calm, dread sinking to her bones although she would never dare let Leytan see her fright, she needed to get them sheltered and safe. Instinct lead her to drag him through a corridor long enough to give her time to focus, now she needed a spell, something small, just shelter, then, almost instantly it came to her and she spoke clearly.

"Repercutio Magus"

The spell shot from her without much thought, a small anti-magic barrier, a shelter yes but one that was simple in design.

She had just got them sheltered safely, or at least, somewhat safe. Her eyes flickered with concern and anger, Aesandre was not someone she threatened, but she was not someone she would call a friend. Anger would do no good, she knew that much but she still felt it.

"That.... That... Woman."

The last word was almost spat, anger in her tone although it was controlled, for now. She rarely let her temper show but, alone with Leytan, it was harder to control it. She would face death alone without him, it would be better. A threat to Leytan was one she hated, anger coursing through her and tempering slowly, her arms still tight around Leytan, the anger slowly draining a little.

"Are you alright?"

[Coriolis]

*A short while later (A minute, an hour, a day? Who knew? Coriolis certainly didn't), a metal plate "levitated" from a surviving tabletop and clanged its way across the room.*


*A moment after that, presumably due to the fact the plate hadn't frozen in mid-air, two people step out of the ether into the cold air and start to look around. The interior of the lodge a mishmash of Christmas Winter Wonderland and the realms best decorated industrial meat locker. The Watchers could see shapes that could easily have been human at some time. Some of them cowering on the floor, others running to an unknown destination, others still in the routine day to day tasks that they had been doing only hours before. There was no telling who was alive or dead, only that it was a fools errand to remain here.*


*With seemingly little else that could be done with the ruined lodge. Coriolis returned to his own task at hand, Rhiannon, and started making his way out into the newly changed wasteland that used to be forest...*

[Vyrrian Wren]

Opening his eyes, all Wren could see was white.

Brilliant. Hell was a featureless blank void populated entirely by himself. He vowed that the next time he met a philosopher he would administer unto them a swift admonishment with the back of his metal hand.

"You may stand, Assassin. The threat has passed. You are quite safe from what lies outside."

Snapping his head up, he took in the sight of the Crown Princess, a look of contented accomplishment on her face. Aware that he was still kneeling - an admittedly futile gesture given what had apparently passed through them - he stood up and immediately beheld their salvation.

They were standing within a hemisphere of frozen ice, smooth circular angles falling around them forming a perfect dome. The walls were featureless white, broken only by the ground beneath their feet which had remained undisturbed in the onslaught. Beside them lay the freshly slain spy along with the weapons that Wren had liberated from her earlier. Silence surrounded them, broken only by their slow drawing of breaths.

"Well", said Wren, clearly impressed, "that's one way to do it."

"Oh?" said Daenary's, raising an eyebrow. "You had another plan, I take it?"

"Several as it happens. Although," conceded Wren, "most of them involved not being in the middle of several thousand tonnes of oncoming snow. So I'm happy to defer on this occasion."

"I thought as much," smiled the Crown Princess. It seemed that the lesson in humility she had sought to instill in him was not one easily forgotten.

"Sounds like its calmed down outside," Wren observed. "We better make a start breaking our way out of here." Approaching the inward slope of the ice, Wren gave it a hypothetical rap with his knuckles. No leeway was given, making the action of clawing their way out an unlikely means of escape. Kneeling down to retrieve the dagger he cast aside in what he now appreciated was the sole act that spared his life, he made a few experimental slices across. The surface barely yielded, leaving nothing save but the faintest of scratches. He twisted the dagger in his hand and bought it upwards in a stabbing motion. The point bounced away, once again failing to penetrate the frozen permafrost.

"Do you require assistance?"

Wren sighed. "Forgive me, Highness. It would appear I've left my Warhammer in my other cloak. An unforgiveable slight, I'm more than aware." Visibly frustrated, Wren turned back to the pile of discarded weaponry and began to gather it around him, considering the possibilities it presented to their latest predicament.

[Daenary's Shar]

A moment of concern flashed across her mind at his statement of it appearing to have calmed down. Perhaps Wren had not realized that the snow avalanche had not been caused by man nor simply nature deciding it was angry at them. She knew very few people capable of such magics. The image of one shone brightly within her mind as she hoped his words did not trigger another wave of wrath aimed their way. This one was certainly enough to keep them occupied a while. She decided not to reveal that information for the time being. It would help very little and she required confirmation. The person she felt it would be had a certain flair for the dramatic and the obvious. Her mind turned to those that she she had left in the lodge and considered their potential fates before burying that idea beneath a torrent of mental snow. It was a problem they would get to and handle when they got to it. They had to get out first and watching Wren futilely attempt to break through her shield of ice amused her far more than it should.

At his mention of his warhammer being in his other cloak caused her to smirk. Her eyes lighting up in amusement as he bent down to start searching through the small arsenal the woman had."Actually I do think that is back at the lodge. I do believe it caused some of my staff some puzzlement over it." Her eyes skimmed briefly over the collection and dismissed each one immediately to be of any use for their current predicament. Slowly she lifted her hands the soft sound of ice cracking began to fill the air, starting at the base of the dome faint lines appearing within the white dome. "I would cover yourself Assassin." She spoke softly but he seemed entirely too focused on his own task at hand while the cracking noise merely increased. "Assassin." This time her tone had quickly drifted to one of warning. As large cracks appeared with the icy cavern.

"I am going as fast as I can your Highness. You are simply going to have to learn the art of patience." His gaze still down as she circled around him coming to a halt behind his bent over form. His hands moving only to slide a weapon some where deep into his cloak. Lifting the hood of her cloak up she let out an impatient sigh. " Have it your way." She stated loudly as she flung herself forward ramming her shoulder into his back knocking him to the ground as she spilled her cloak over them both when a loud explosion filled the air. The cloak leaving them in darkness unable to see or defend themselves from the newest onslaught. Shards of ice cascaded and skimmed over their forms in various sizes. Several of the sharp edges she felt slice through her thick covering and even through the layer of clothing beneath the sensations of pain being felt along her arms and legs in several locations causing her to hiss in pain. "You need to learn the art of observation and hearing."

She stated icily in the darkness from above, her body lightly pressed over his own almost protectively. "I am not sure it is suiting that the fire side of your group should die due to the cold." She could feel the weight of the frozen liquid upon her neck, back and legs where they had landed upon her as the noise subsided and once more they were greeted by silence bar their breathing.

[Coriolis]

*A few miles away from the entombed hunters, a trail of paw prints and dragged cloak worked it's way across the near featureless expanse of white under blue. The once lush winter forest buried completely under the avalanche of unnatural making. The entire scene one that would impress even a Federation Creole Captain...*

*Coriolis was becoming desperate. While Rhiannon's condition had seemingly steadied, he was going to lose her to the endless realms once more if he didn't find help soon. But where would one find help out here in the middle of nowhere? He no longer knew where he was, he had absolutely no idea which way he was heading and what would it have mattered? There was nothing out here that still stood proud in the landscape...*

*Perhaps "stood" wasn't an accurate term. The Watcher still had his eyes and the frigid clear sky made the one and only object flying in it noticeable, even to him. It was hard to make out at range, but it looked to be a bird of some kind. The little songbirds pet Hawk perhaps? He knew that she was in the habit of roaming the forests much like the Watchers did. So it was a possibility.*

*One thing was certain, whatever the hells it was, the damned thing was circling. That meant it could see something it thought interesting. As before, when you run out of options, your only choice is to press on with what was in front of you. The dragged cloak and trail of paw prints turned and made for the bird. With luck, it's mistress wouldn't be far away and there was safety in numbers...*

[Leytan]

*Meanwhile, deep in the now snow infested and ice encrusted corridors of Deanery's Hunting lodge, Leytan & Lady Mercury were still taking refuge under Lady Mercury's hurriedly created anti-magic barrier.*


*Leytan looked up at Lady Mercury as his mind finaly fully cleared of the clouding and numbing effects of the 'draught'. He smiled softly up at her.*


"I'm fine Isobel"


*He said, he took hold of one of her hands which was still cradling him and with tenderly, and with obvious love, kissed it*


"Thanks to you."


*He looked out through the anti-magic barrier*


"Seems we or someone here did something to annoy my 'dear aunt' Aecandra."

[Lady Mercury]

Leytan's kiss had eased a little of the worry, about him at least, at his next words however, Isobel's smile was slight, almost taunting.

"What else is new..."

The words were muttered even as she gathered herself, forcing back the panic that had hit and taking control of her voice and mind, focusing on keeping them sheltered and safe, even if the shield was a basic one, it had been enough to keep them safe. Her eyes still held anger, the lightness of the blue not hiding her frustrations, she was only glad she had got a shelter in place, for a second she had doubted she could. 'Aunt' Aesandra had always been a frustration, not one she hated, not one she liked, but something she allowed to continue as, until now, Aesandra had at least left Leytan out of her attacks. She cared very little for her own safety with him, his demand for the shelter had snapped her to attention and had forced her to focus, something she had needed at a time when she was weaker, slightly afraid. Now though, there was no anger or fear, just ice-cold annoyance tempered by a light flicker of love.

"So... the big question is... how exactly are we supposed to leave... if I put the shield down..."

[Leytan]

*Leytan sighed*


"At the moment, not knowing how potent the spell Aecandra used was.... I don't have an answer to that."


*He admitted*


"I think the best thing we can do is stay put for now, wait till Deanery's comes back and in the meantime figure out a method to keep us, you in perticuler as warm as is possible given the circumstances."

[Vyrrian Wren]

Wren frowned at the comment regarding his entirely hypothetical warhammer, not knowing if his bluff were being called or the Crown Princess was trying to addle his already-fatigued mind further. He was fast coming to the conclusion that a conversation with her was akin to a game of verbal jousting that bordered on the Chaucerian. Invigorating in the right time or place, but here and now it was proving wearisome. Another test perhaps, this one being of patience?

If she was seeking such a rise he would not oblige her with it. If there was one thing he was good at, it was shutting out irrelevances. He instead busied himself with surveying the weapons he had liberated from the dead spy. The silver blade and dirk were not especially inspiring, but were sturdy enough and were the best he could do without his own balanced daggers. But the wrist mounted contraption, now, they could have applications. Nasty little devices, they took a lot of co-ordination and dexterity to wield with any degree of accuracy. He recalled stories of how novice Assassins would forget they had still equipped them and suffer unfortunate acts of self-mutilation. The incident involving "Headless" Ed Haltemprice still caused him to clench involuntarily to this day.

Doubtless he could make something of it. While they lacked raw stopping power and their effectiveness against armour was minimal at best, they were certainly more than capable of putting down anyone who was unprepared for them. The shot that no one expected. Wren's life had been saved by more than a handful of those in his time.

"Assassin," said the Crown Princess, snapping him back from his revelries. Had she been addressing him? Some other trite observation, no doubt. He busied himself with concealing the blades within his cloak and strapping on the two wrist devices. "I am going as fast as I can your Highness. You are simply going to have to learn the art of patience."

"Have it your way," she sighed. The next thing Wren knew the Crown Princess had connected sharply with his back, causing him to sprawl inelegantly to the ground. The stunned Assassin barely registered what had happened before realising that his body was now concealed within her cloak, and a thunderous noise surrounded them, followed by the telltale shards of what Wren guessed was formerly the dome disintegrating around them.

"You need to learn the art of observation and hearing. I am not sure it is suiting that the fire side of your group should die due to the cold."

Wren took a certain pride in these exact traits, and the stream of elaborately-phrased epithets that he considered barraging the Crown Princess with could quite easily have melted the shield of ice of their own accord. "Right. Sure. Because *I'm* the one who decided bringing down fresh hell without warning was the way to go about this. Also, 'group'? Making a *lot* of assumptions, m'Highness", he grimaced as a thick buffet of ice glanced off his shoulder.

[Lady Mercury]

An amused smirk played at Isobel's lips at Leytan's words, several offers coming to mind with speed, it was not the type of thing one said in polite company, but, since alone... it couldn't hurt to flirt a little surely? At least a little?

"Well, I have a few ideas about... keeping warm."

The change in her tone from cold and hard anger to light and playful, almost kittenish and flirty, was one Leytan may have expected but her voice dropped into a lower and slightly husky tone as she moved to whisper several ideas to Leytan, even as her thoughts ran on ahead. She would need more than a playful tease after all, she needed a proper answer. Her mind whirred a little faster as she began to think of ideas, although she was still slightly reluctant to lower the shield without ideas as the spell may still be in full effect.

"Besides that... we need to find a spell, well, I need to..."

A silence, some consideration before.

"Perhaps clothing... or a heat source, although fire is not clearly favourable in wooden surroundings..."

Another small pause of consideration before she began to consider options.

"Clothing... now.. what was that spell..."

Even as she was musing on her spell her mind had skipped ahead again, leaving her staring blankly into space before she added.

"Do we dare attempt to lower the shield... just enough to test our.. freezing?"

[Daenary's Shar]

While things appeared to be warming up between Leytan and Lady Mercury the hawk simply continued to circle around and around in the same direction above what ever had caught it's interest though the closer Coriolis and Rhiannon drew there were no signs of any life on the surface. Seemingly what ever it was circling was beneath the thick layers of snow.

Daenary's smirked at his words as she listened to the other wise silence around them. Trying to be as sure as possible that there was no more ice to fall before she began to move. Carefully she moved backwards, crouching on her feet before shaking herself thoroughly, hearing multiple soft thuds as several shards of ice fell from her cloak. "I did give warning, you were busy being frustrated at the situation to listen to my warning and I had to act before you were turned into confetti by the ice. If I could of melted the ice I would of done but I am not gifted with a ability to thaw such. That would require heat and I think we both would agree I cold hearted." Her voice sounding with a tone of amusement as she rose to her feet and stepped away giving him room to move but close enough she could help if such was required. "As for group. I do not think I am making assumptions. You arrived in a group and thus a member of one whether it be short term or long remains to be seen.....especially now."

With a soft sigh she turned around looking at the almost smooth cove of snow. With a shake of her head she approached one part. Pulling her gloves on tight she started to prod the snow carefully before beginning to form a small hill before her feet working on creating a way up and out. "Let's get out of this white hell. " She whispered faintly while remaining focused on the task at hand. "I wish to be out of here as rapidly as possible as I am sure you are to."