Dynalya
Dyna fell in comfortable silence with Cassiel by her side as they made their way through the seaport city. They reached the pier, where several large ships came into the wharf to moor and unloaded their cargo. Their search proved futile when the harbormaster said there was no one of the name Leoake or the Druid listed to board the ship to Arthal.
“I think we may have missed him,” Dyna said once they had left the harbormaster’s office.
Cassiel frowned. “No, the ship is here. Leoake wants to avoid being found. Either he is using another name, or he didn’t come to the city at all.”
Dyna sighed heavily. The Druid was on the run from King Dagden, so it made sense he would stay out of sight. “You may be right. Let’s hope the others had better luck.”
Cassiel led her to a cluster of wooden tables set outside a line of shops selling fried fish on the pier and motioned for her to sit. “Let us tarry here for a moment. I’m sure you are hungry.”
He removed a new wineskin strapped to his rucksack and took out two wooden cups as she sat next to him. He popped off the lid and poured the steaming broth in a cup for her. It smelled of rich herbs and vegetables. She handed him a roll, and they ate while they watched the ships sail on the horizon. The sunset radiated like a shroud of gold silk over the surface of the ocean. Seagulls squawked and flew through the large mounds of clouds moving across the sky.
“The tavern should be down this street.” Cassiel nodded to the right of them as he ate.
“Have you been hereabouts before?” Dyna asked him.
“Yes, but I have not been this deep in the city. I lodged at a small inn on the outskirts to avoid any attention. Poachers centralize here.”
She stiffened at the mention of poachers, but he remained relaxed. His new jacket hid his wings well. They’d already enchanted it in an alley so he could change into it. The fine, deep navy fabric was adorned with silver trim on his collar, lapels, and shoulders. He wore a matching shirt underneath, fastened with silver buttons.
The wind tousled Cassiel’s soft locks over his forehead, his distant gaze fixed on the horizon. Not wanting to disturb him, Dyna reached in her satchel and thought of Jökull. The familiar heavy shape of a book landed in her hand, and she pulled it out. The silver lettering on the cover shone under the low rays of the sun.Lord of the Everfrost. She traced her fingers over the beveled words and the sigil of the phoenix crest beneath it. The pages fluttered against the wind as she opened it to the middle section, to an illustration of a great, pale blue bird on a backdrop of snow and a woman in white furs riding its back.
“What are you reading?”
Dyna looked up to find Cassiel watching her inquisitively.
A blush crept up her cheeks. “Only a book of fairytales … and romantic tragedies.”
The corners of his mouth quirked. “Any specific one in particular?”
She showed him the front cover. “It’s about the tale of the Ice Phoenix. Have you heard of it?”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “Tell me about it.”
“At the beginning of the First Age, before the time of demons and Celestials, snow covered the land of Azure. It was called the Everfrost, and ruled by Jökull, the Ice Phoenix king.” Dyna flipped the page to the illustration of a striking man sitting on a throne made of ice. His long blond hair was so pale it was nearly white, with eyes the blue of frost. The page after it bore an illustration of Jökull shifting into an immense bird with light blue feathers.
“He was harsh and cruel and cared for nothing but his power. All manner of creatures bowed before him, for he had unparalleled and destructive magic—Jökull was master over life and death. Not only did his power make him invincible, he was immortal. He ruled for a thousand years and may have ruled forever if he hadn’t met Sunnëva Morkhàn.”
Dyna turned the book to show him the image of a woman dressed in gray furs holding a spear. Her blond hair flared around her face, fixed in a feral glare as she faced off with the Ice Phoenix.
“She was a warrior and daughter of the head of the Morkhàn clan that lived in the east. But her people were starving from the lack of food. Everfrost was a tundra of Jökull’s making, and the conditions made it nearly impossible to survive. Sunnëva came to challenge him for their sake, even at the cost of her life. Taken with her ferocity and devotion, Jökull agreed to withdraw his power from the eastern edge of the Everfrost if she would remain with him in his castle until the end of her days. The head of the Morkhàn clan readily agreed and sold his daughter to the Ice Phoenix.”
“I take it this did not sit well with her,” Cassiel said.
“Oh no, she was furious. Sunnëva thought of Jökull as arrogant and unpleasant. She did all she could to escape with little success. His spell had bound her to the castle. The only way to free herself was to kill the Ice Phoenix. So she pretended to befriend him hoping to discover his weakness.”
“And low and behold, that is when she fell in love with him.”
“I thought you never heard of this story,” she said, glowering playfully.
He hid a smirk and motioned for her to continue.
“Yes, Sunnëva fell in love with Jökull, as he did with her. He made her queen of the Everfrost. She softened his frozen heart and his ways, but she worried about her people. He wished to make her happy, so he gave up his form of the phoenix and bestowed her with the magic of life and the ability to fly.”
Dyna flipped the page to another illustration of Jökull and Sunnëva, wrapped in a kiss, with crowns of ice on their heads. The frosted outline of wings rose form her back.
“By giving away his wings and half of his magic, the land thawed. Green grew nearly everywhere but in the north where their castle stood, which is now known as Old Tanzanite Keep. Jökull then only had the power of death, for he gave his immortality to Sunnëva. He was a mystical being and could have lived forever, regardless. They had many years together, and she bore him three children. They were happy … until the clans of the east rose against them.”
