Petruchio Bones trudged his way through the gravel and glacial silt which formed the floor of the glacial ice cave that led to the sleeping cavern of his Ice Dragon mount, Dreadcold. Deep inside the Kairn Glacier Fields, this cave had been carved out by meltwaters from hundreds of meters of thick, ancient, glacial ice. Even though Dreadcold’s cave was situated relatively close to the edge of the glacier, very little light penetrated this far down. What light existed was green and blue, and cast an evil glow over the dead environment at the bottom of the glacier, next to the lateral moraine. Petruchio Bones stepped up from the gravel floor and into a giant crack leading into the side of the mountain. He had been present when Dreadcold had entered the cavern, more than a century ago. Battling the Elvish armies of Borealia, Dreadcold had been badly injured while bearing Bones against the Elven Wizard Lord. It was all they could do to return to the ice covered wastes of Gehenna. The exhausted and injured Ice Dragon had dug himself down into the layers of glacial ice and instinctively sought out a restorative cave. Petruchio Bones had done his best to cover up the entry hole into the glacier in case those troublesome Elvish great eagles were still pursuing them. That was more than one hundred years ago.
Dreadcold had been sleeping for more than a century. It was time to wake him. It was long past the time to deal with the summoned one. James, he was called, and his summoning represented an opportunity for Bones. For centuries Petruchio Bones had sought a pathway to enter the realms free of Chaos. He was aware of the existence of such places but could never quite find a way to breach the barriers in place. That bastard Gilderwood seemed to be able to get to those unmined worlds but not yet Petruchio Bones. That was going to change. James of Earth was going to be just the ticket to exploit an entire universe ripe for the picking.
Petruchio Bones had been there when Theodor crossed the Norgeland Sea and conquered Europa. His most trusted colleague, Petruchio Salazar, as he had been known then, became instrumental in forming alliances with the warring Germanic tribes that had previously ruled the Old World for centuries. Each tribe saw Theodor’s invading army as the allies they required to defeat their neighbour. And every alliance led to their own conquest and subjugation. The Empire was formed of these defeated foes and soon overwhelmed central Europa all of the way to the warm waters of the Mare Nostrum.
Unfortunately, Theodor ended up taking himself far too seriously and sought out forms of spirituality that were at odds with Petruchio’s. The two would debate long into the night as to which religious and magical practices to incorporate into their new kingdom. Petruchio knew the way to world power and domination. He experienced the dreams every night to this day! The Chaos gods provided all to those who served. Theodor would have none of it, and decided to deify himself! Petruchio could not suffer such blasphemies and schemed to overthrow the dictator of the lands of the newly created Empire. And he would have succeeded, if it wasn’t for the intervention of the meddling Zelphar. That was the first time the Elves had allied with humans, but not the last. Century after century Petruchio Bones led the Northmen warriors of Chaos out of his frozen continent and into war with the elves and Empire armies. Successes had occurred, but always the combined armies of humans and elves would eventually drive him back to the frozen wastes. Petruchio Salazar’s mastery of Chaotic magic had grown and grown, until he was the unquestioned champion of the Chaos gods. Eventually his flesh aged and died, but Petruchio’s magical lores preserved his mental energy and animated his fleshless body. He had achieved immortality! Absolute devotion to the gods of Chaos had been rewarded and Petruchio aimed to repay his masters with a Demon ruled world.
This time, it would be different. The elves were weak and dying out. So full of their own philosophies, they couldn’t even reproduce! Surely the average age of an elf was now measured in centuries. As for the Empire, they too had a new found weakness. This summoned “Lord” from another world carried within him the seed of destruction for the Empire, Borealia as well as James’s own universe. Of this, Petruchio was certain. The gods of Chaos had shown him this in dreams of prophecy!
“Time to waken, servant of the frozen dark!” chanted Petruchio Bones. Low humming filled the century old sleeping quarters of the ancient Ice Dragon. Petruchio inspected the sides of the massive monster, pleased to see that healing had closed up all of the terrible burns and wounds inflicted by the Elvish weapons and the dreaded Fire Dragons of Islandia. The Chaos Wizard Lord raised his arms into the frigid air and shouted out words of demon power, “Micraty! Simsonato! Raepazovitch! Rise Dreadcold! Rise from your slumber!” The green blue light of the cavern increased and the 100 meters long ice beast stirred. Petruchio beamed as he saw the collected ice of decades fracture and shatter, crumbling to the floor of the cave. Dreadcold’s eyelids fluttered and the pace of his breathing increased. Time passed and Petruchio called up further magical power to call the Dragon from his dream state. One eye opened, then the other. Ponderously the gargantuan head rose from its resting place and swung around to face Petruchio. “You are awake, my champion! We have business to attend to!”
The Dragon rose on to its four massive legs and towered over Petruchio Bones. “I am ready,” boomed out his low and powerful voice, so loud that it caused material to vibrate and fall from the cave walls.
Dreadcold powered his way to the surface, digging through the glacial ice with ease and forming a new passageway to the surface. Petruchio Bones followed at a safe distance behind, negotiating the pulverized ice upwards, ever upwards with considerable magical help from a conveyance spell. The sunlight was incredibly bright as Dreadcold broke through to the surface of the ice covered plateau. By the time Petruchio had successfully made his way to the surface and reached the solid ice footing of the glacier, Dreadcold was extending outwards his long folded blue white wings and shaking out the stiffness of hibernation. A look of satisfaction covered his reptilian face as he inspected his gargantuan body. The monster turned his head towards Lord Bones and in the lowest imaginable voice rumble out, “I am once again whole Master Bones. Where shall we go?”
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“We need to pay a visit to the Grimdark, my glorious beast! To the fjords of Norgeland, if you are up to the task?” replied Petruchio Bones.
“Of course, Master Bones! Of course I am up to the task! To Norgeland! My brothers aboard the Grimdark will be a welcome sight,” stated the ice dragon.
With that, the fleshless body of Petruchio Bones, clad in black robes and magical artifacts, mounted the neck of the beast and rose into the air. With remarkable agility for such a vastly large creature, the ice dragon flew upwards and off towards the east, where the fjords of Norgeland lie.
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Celeste Dreamweaver gently separated the goldenrod rhizomes growing in the wooden flat of composted soil. The dried goldenrod blossoms were in particularly high demand lately, as healers from across the Empire visited the Gardens of Taubra for their medicinal herbs and magical ingredients. Meticulously, Celeste planted each viable rhizome in its own small pot, providing it with composted soil fortified with green glacial silt from Coldwater Creek, the water source for the gardens. There were thousands of plants to repot, but being as Celeste knew the value of Goldenrod to the healing community, the effort seemed worthwhile. Her mind did wander a bit though, as she endlessly repeated the motions with her hands, careful to give each delicate plant the soil and fertilizer it needed.
I wonder what James is up to?” thought Celeste. Mother Hermonie would not approve of Celeste’s thoughts about James, but Celeste couldn’t help wondering about James’s return to his own world and whether or not she would ever see him again. James had often frustrated Celeste with his awkward approach to challenges and dangerous situations but in the end the successful defence of the Gardens of Taubra had left Celeste with a positive impression of James. What could he be up to at this moment?
“Surely James’s life must be vastly different than hers. Waking at dawn and constantly meeting the needs of the animals and plants of the Gardens of Taubra was a demanding life. Celeste welcomed the adventures she sometimes experienced when Oakleaf Gilderwood required her assistance, but it had been some time since she had left the Taubra valley. Someone had to administer the Gardens while Lord Gilderwood was away on his plant finding journey to Borealia. That task was left to Celeste. She was grateful to be of use to the healers of the Empire but still her mind wandered. Would she ever get to experience another adventure? Glancing around the gardens she could see dozens of other Sisters of Theodor busy with important tasks. Up and down the hillside gardens there were so many vital crops and gardening projects. The health of the Empire depended on their efforts. Off in the distance Celeste’s gaze caught the sight of a small group of travelers entering the valley from the direction of Pfiefdorf. Healers in need of more medicinal plants, no doubt. ‘Hmmmmm…… they look a bit different than the usual travellers,’ thought Celeste to herself. Just then Celeste noticed one of the Sisters making her way up the slope towards her, moving with some urgency. Sister Bernadette it was.
“Celeste! Celeste! Lord Gilderwood returns! It is Lord Gilderwood, Celeste!” exclaimed the breathless Sister. “I can take over your work with the Goldenrod seedlings, Celeste. You should greet Master Oakleaf. He bears some news that concerns you. That is what I have been told. Hurry, hurry! I will deal with the plants.”
“As you wish, Bernadette,” replied Celeste.”Thank you for spelling me off. I will meet Lord Gilderwood at the gates. It has been so very long since I have been able to speak with him. I am very interested to hear the tales of his journeys!”
With that Celeste made her way with some haste down the paths and trails to the grand wooden gates of the Gardens of Taubra. Oakleaf and about a dozen horses and carts following him were just arriving. There were a few soldiers as well as an assortment of cart drivers and men carrying back packs.
“Celeste! I am pleased to see you healthy and vibrant as always!” exclaimed Oakleaf Gilderwood.
“You also look well Sir Gilderwood. I can see that you have brought a great deal home with you from Borealia! I can hardly wait to sort through the fruits of your travels!” responded Celeste, as she cast her gaze over the carts piled high with plants and trees.”
“Your attention to our plants can wait, young Celeste. There is a much more urgent need for your services elsewhere in the Empire. Great machinations are afoot!” explained Oakleaf, and he pointed towards a pair of horse mounted Empire soldiers standing beside a third, riderless, horse.
“You mean that I am to leave the valley Sir Gilderwood?” answered Celeste, quite confused at this point.
“Indeed Celeste. An old friend of yours is in considerable danger and requires your assistance. You must journey to northern Britannia to join his party at the harbour of Thurso. James Blair will meet you there.”
