Fantasy Of Fire and Ice [Completed]

[Flutterby]

Catalina climbed the stairs, one by one. The hot smell of sulfur grew stronger with every step. But, so did the vision of the ice crystal in her mind's eye. She adjusted her grip on Idren's sword before stepping onto the next level. It used to be something of a common area or lounge, but it was destroyed now.
There was nothing there. She took a deep breath, and moved to the second staircase. It would lead into a second library, the Council's private one. She tried to place her feet silently as she went. As she emerged at the top of the stairway, she could see the last uldean, facing away from her and looking up the stairs to the chambers. In three running steps, she was upon it, stabbing it through the back and into its heart. It was too fast for it to cry out, and then it was too dead to react. It dropped to the floor beneath her, and she pulled Idren's sword out of it slowly. Now for the alpha.

She climbed the stairs quickly with soft footfalls, and came to the top as Idren cried out in agony. The alpha was crouched over him, and she realized it was performing some kind of ritual, pulling power from Idren. She pulled out one of the legendary knives, and threw it directly at the alpha's head.
"Back away from him, demon." She said softly, somehow exuding an extreme amount of confidence, when inside she was more scared than she ever had been.

 

[Tharivle]

Ice Man didn't not proceed with cushion. He ran up the stairs, one flight after another. He knew that he would eventually come to either Catalinas body or the body of the last guard uldean. It was on the second floor he found the uldean dead, stabbed in the back. Well Done Catalina. He proceeded up the stairs.

The alpha didn't seem to notice Catalina until the blade bounced off his head. It looked at her quietly but did in fact release Idren. Idren stopped yelling but just laid there clearly exhausted by the ordeal. The alpha seemed to slither to the side, silently gliding across the floor. It looked puzzled. "Your fire burns bright, but it is cold as Ice." The alpha paused briefly then stepped closer a few feet. He lowered his head to the ground and peered her with narrow eyes. "Only once has someone ever lived to have a cold flame, this cannot be." The alpha sounded surprised but hidden in his surprise was fear. For some reason this ancient creature seemed to fear Catalina. "Where did you get those weapons?" it asked wearily.

Yato was starting to sweet from the strain of being a conduit of power. "Get ready to take on the shield warriors." The army shifted and started channeling power into the shield again. Yato let the power stop and the strain fell back on the army. Only about 60% of the attacking army was dead. But it was clear that the shield would not hold much longer.
"I'm going to teleport the army to the cathedral hall. Those doors will hold out for another 15 minutes and bottleneck the attack instead of being surrounded." With that he started crafting the spell to teleport the group inside the shield. The shield was buckling and a tear in the energy started forming on one side. An uldean was able to jump through the crack before it sealed again. It fell awkwardly towards the middle of the group. Everyone Shot it as it broke through so it was dead before it hit the ground, but it distracted everyone. Soon more cracks were rippling through and uldean were breaking through every few seconds, one at a time. By working together the army was able to hold out, but one can only be lucky for so long.
One larger uldean broke through and instead of trying to push deep into the army alone it charged lateral. It ran through three of the men holding the shield before it was brought down. then the shield failed where those three were. It was like a giant zipper opening. The uldean descended upon the now defenseless army, clawing and batting them into a tight crowd instead of a group in formation. They were now suffering casualties left and right. Just then Yato activated the spell and everyone that was still standing disappeared then reappeared in the cathedral, now battered and tired.

 

[Flutterby]

Her toss of the knife worked, in a sense. It did get the alpha to stop whatever it had been doing to Idren. But now it was focused on her. And it was the biggest uldean she had ever seen. It couldve been easier twice her height if it stood all the way up. It could probably crushed her with one hand. And it was horribly intelligent.
When it moved closer to her, she raised Idren's sword, reminding it that she was armed and prepared to fight. But it seemed less interested in killing her, for the moment, than it was in questioning her. It seemed.. almost fearful.
"They've been passed down for generations," She said coldly. It was not entire untrue; Idren had said they were family heirlooms. "It would seem their creators knew they would be needed again, one day." Catalina heard something, down on the floor below, and prayed with all her soul that it was Ice Man coming after her. "An amazing twist of fate, that the famous weapons would return to one of the line of Kendra in a time of great need." She had no idea if this was true, it was a wild idea that she had stitched together based solely on the fact that her mother's maiden named just happened to be the same as the famed heroine. But the uldean didn't have to know that, and something about the cold fire, and the famed weapons, was keeping it at bay.

The fire-keepers, as calmly as possible, panicked when the shield broke. They had no magic defense against the uldean, and swords were not the most effective weapons against the horrible beasts. They fought, frantically, to protect themselves and the ice-bringers with them. When they were suddenly transported, it was a shock to their systems, and a few of them fell over onto the cathedral floor. Zuko looked around and counted his men. They had lost almost a fifth of their group in just those few seconds.

 

[Tharivle]

The alpha took another crouched stepped closer, then cocked his head and peered at her again. "Hm hm hm hm hmmm." The alpha started chuckling. "You are untrained, and you are bluffing...." The alpha sat up and smiled at her. The alphas eyes narrowed and he focused in on her. The air rippled as if the wind was blowing.
"CATALINA, DROP" Ice Man reached the room way just in time to hear the alpha laugh. He saw the air move and ran to jump between her and the uldean. He jumped hoping she would drop because if she didn't he would be pushing her down.

The ice bringers were just as shocked as the fire keepers at the sudden transport. They too lost about a fifth of their people. Everybody picked themselves up and started looking around. Yato and his crew that was up on the Wall teleported in. "It'll only take them a few minutes to figure out were we went."

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina's heart sank when the alpha called her bluff, but it been worth a try. She felt the energy change in the room, and the alpha saw up and.. smiled.. at her. It made her skin crawl. She heard a voice, recognizing it a moment later as Ice Man, ordering her down. If he thought she should duck, she would duck. She threw herself to the ground, and slightly to the side, so that she closed the ground between her and Idren's motionless form. She felt the wind from Ice Man's leap in her hair. The alpha had strange, deadly magic.

The fire-keeper archers that had been holding the light were transported with Yato and his men, severing the magic they were using and plunging the courtyard outside into darkness. The sky at the edge of the horizon had began to lighten; the battle had already lasted most of the night, and dawn would be upon them in a few hours.

 

[Tharivle]

Ice Man sailed over her with only inches of clearance. He landed and squared up with the alpha just as the wave of energy hit him, and he was standing right where Catalina had been. The force pushed him back a little bit but it was not a physical force. Both Ice Man and the alpha seemed to be straining but neither of them were moving. The invisible energy seemed to be flowing out of the alpha and attacking Ice Man, but at the same time Ice Man seemed to be making a shield around himself, made of the same mysterious invisible energy. The alpha growled and made one last effort to win whatever duel was playing out, but was unsuccessful and relaxed, giving up. The air stopped moving from the uldean to Ice Man and Ice Man relaxed and let his shield drop.
"It is clear that your mind is still sharp, even after all these long years in solitude Sentinel." The alphas voice sounded annoyed, but with a hint of genuine admiration.
"I could say the same about you.... Children just aren't the same company as a brother." Ice Man replied, in a cold sharp voice.
The uldean hissed at the word brother, then roared and charged, directly for Ice Man.

"Sure up the door. Get men up in the bell-tower." Yato commanded. As people started to move the door started shaking, as the uldean started pounding on the door.
"Damn, that was faster than I thought." Yato mumbled.

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina took advantage of the alpha being distracted to check on Idren. His heart was beating, slowly, and he was breathing. His skin was warm to the touch. Catalina scowled, setting his blade down. It rested on top of his forearm, but she didnt really notice. Idren normally felt cool to her skin, and he definitely should be in such a warm place, after she had just fought her way through a few uldean.
She took a deep breath, and thought about the snow that had been on the ground the day they had met. Snow was the purest form of cold she knew, and the mental picture of the flakes spirally down to the earth helped her focus. She directed the cold feeling to her hand, and placed it behind Idren's head, on the back of his neck. Hopefully, cooling him down a little would wake him up.
When the alpha spoke again, she looked over her shoulder to listen. It did not escape her notice that the two ancient beings seem to know each other, which she would ask about later if they were all still alive, and that made her more uneasy than ever.

The fire-keeper archers went with Yato's men up into the bell tower, and began shooting down at the uldean banging on the door. The other stationed themselves in the best places to protect the citizens of the ice city, in the event that the uldean broke through.

 

[Tharivle]

Ice Man threw both hands forward and a double shot of ice came out and hit the alpha in the face. The uldean stumbled but the ice melted off in just a few seconds leaving just a little burn on its eyes, but it was clear that it was unaffected by the attack and it continued its charge. Ice Man was able to step side the charge because the alpha had stumbled. And so began a dance of death. Ice Man could not land damaging strikes because he was not big enough to stand toe to toe with the monster. But the alpha could not land any blows because the sentinel was smaller and quicker, with less mass to move and change direction, even still the massive uldean was getting inches away from hitting his target.

Idren felt hot, and he could hear the alpha and Ice Man talking but couldn't make out any words. Suddenly there was cold at the back of his neck. It was so so cold, it was actually painful, but refreshing. He shot up, fully awake. As he sat up his sword slid down his arm and he caught the hilt. It felt different in his hand. Usually it was warm, as if it was absorbing his cold, but now it was nothing, not warm or cold. Idren reached within and put his power into the blade, trying to power up to get into the fight, but nothing happened.... He could feel his power, it was there, but it was just unreachable.

As the duel continues, Ice Man was shooting the alpha in joints trying to slow the beast, but everything he did was just not enough. Then Ice Man stumbled... the alpha was able to land a glancing blow, no damage but it threw Ice Man off balance. The alpha realized Idren had stood up so instead of capitalizing on his advantage he spun around, hitting Ice Man across the chest with his tail. Ice Man went sprawling backwards from the blow, but was unhurt again. The alpha reared up and took in an impossibly large breath, making his chest and belly glow bright red, then he came down to all fours and blew out a cone of flame that would envelop both Idren and Catalina.

Catalinas back was to the alpha when the cone of flame came at them, because she had stood as he stood, but they stood as the fire came at them. Idren said nothing, he simply pushed Catalina in the chest, high enouph to push her down, but low enouph that she had to take a step or two backwards before falling away from the flames. Idren faced the fire and raised his sword in front of him. The cone of flame poured over him like a wave, completely enveloping him....

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina prayed that Ice Man could hold the alpha at bay, which from the sounds coming from behind her, he was for the moment. She had to focus on Idren.
He shot upward, and she placed a hand on his chest. "No, no, no," She said softly, "If you stay down the alpha won't pay attention to us, Iden.. you need to lay-" She was cut off, rather abruptly, when he pushed her. Hard. She was lucky she didn't have her own blade drawn, or she might've been in trouble.
Catalina ended up on her butt, staring up at him, as he raised his sword. Was he.. was her attacking her? Was the alpha influencing him in some way?

And then, from behind her, came a large cone of bright red flame. It covered Idren, completely. It was plenty to incinerate a person instantly.
In the back of her mind, she knew that the alpha had intended to hit them both. She knew that it probably had not anticipated Idren.. doing what he had just done. She should attack now, while she had an advantage. She told herself to get up, to throw the knife, to charge the alpha with her own sword..
But she didn't. She couldn't. Her body wouldn't move. She told it to, but her muscles didnt budge. Catalina sat, and stared, at the alpha's flame. "Id-No-Idr-" Her voice came out as a whisper, without her permission.

 

[Tharivle]

Ice Man stood and watched the fire wash over Idren. Stunned by the fact that the alpha decided to kill Idren and Catalina instead of finishing him. Ice Man saw Catalina fall as Idren pushed her and that is when he snapped back to reality. He couldn't save Idren, but maybe it would give him the attack of opportunity he needed to injure then eventually kill the alpha. Ice Man leapt into the air and was coming down upon the alpha with his claws raised when the uldeans jaws snapped shut and the creature spun around and hit Ice Man wile he was airborne, sending him flying across the room once more. With Idren dead, Catalina shocked senseless and Ice Man hurt, the alpha let himself have a moment of victory.... But the fire didn't go out... The alpha could hear flames burning behind him, but what was burning.
The alpha turned back towards where Idren had been standing and was shocked by what he saw.
Idren was standing there, the sword in both hands with the tip pointed down and to his right. The fire that had been shot at him was hitting some kind of invisible field where the hilt of the sword was and being redirected into a stream of red energy that followed down to the point of the sword, then behind Idren, then spiraled up around his body. Idren held the sword up in front of him with the hilt at his chest and the blade straight up and between his eyes. The plume of energy swirled up and down his body as if waiting for a command.
"Impossible...." the alpha hissed, clearly fearful this time, as it backed away from Idren
Idren through a hand forward, and like a snake uncoiling it unwrapped and shot out at the alpha. The creature could not dodge it, because the energy moved as the uldean moved. The attack was never not going to land in the enter of the chest. There was a hissing sound as the energy hit the alpha, for the attack was red like fire but cold as ice.

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina heard the mouth of the alpha snap shut, and a familiar crystal thud as Ice Man fell from his attack. But she didn't turn to look, or to attack.
She stared up at Idren, who was surrounded in blood red energy. It didn't seem to hurt him, no, it obeyed him. He sent it, this energy that wasn't quite his, back at the alpha, and it hissed as it hit. She could feel the cold of it as it whipped past her cheek.
It was red. It was cold. He had been dualed, like she had. He's my counter..
The alpha hissed something, and Catalina remembered that they had to finish this. She pushed herself up, coming to stand next to Idren, and let an icy blue flame fly at the alpha's eyes.
It back away from her attack, but there was only so much room in the chamber. The attack landed on its neck instead, and the icy blue spread around the alpha's throat like a choker.

 

[Tharivle]

The alpha slashed at the fire burning his neck and it went out. He the looked at Ice Man who was still trying to get up, smiled, then looked back at Idren and Catalina. "You don't have your sentinel to protect you now little ones."
Idren glanced over at Ice Man who was still trying to stand, but every time he moved it seemed a little piece of his chest would fall away, and he would crumble back to the floor.
The alpha sat up like he did before and focused on Idren and Catalina. The air between them shimmered again and a wave of invisible power washed towards them.
"....To defend your mind, one must hold onto ones identity. Don't let him convince you that you are less than you are. Focus on something or someone that you love, something you would give your life for..." Ice Mans words were heard in their minds like a whisper, then there was silence....

As the mental attack reached them Idren stepped forward taking the brunt of whatever it was that was hitting them. And instead of pain his vision flashed white and he found himself in the courtyard of his city. Only his city burned. He could see but could not move. Uldean were strolling through the city, smashing, burning, and killing anything they could. Everybody was dead. Idren looked down at the lifeless burned figures of his parents. "They fought valiantly Idren, but they fell quickly never the less." Idren could feel the alpha slithering through his mind, slowly, playfully breaking down what little resistance he was putting up against the monsters attacks. He tried focusing, picturing his parents alive, side by side atop a field of victory over the uldean, but that thought fell away. His vision shifted to a wide view of the city and he could see a line of people being lead away, surrounded by uldean. "The few survivors will make fun pets and play things until they die. Then they will fill the hungry bellies of the young." Again he tried to picture something positive, like the children playing in the street, but again he lost his concentration.
Idren had not somehow been transported to the future. He was in fact still where he was moments ago, but on his knees, straining with pain and concentration as the alpha pealed back the layers of his mind in a battle of wills.
Idrens view switched again, this time to that of the time he first meet Catalina, only the scene played differently. Instead of him passing out and her dragging him to safety she walks up to him and says in the alphas voice, "You know that she will never love you... Silly boy, falling for the first pretty face you meet in the new world... She knows that you saved her from the fire, and even now she is running." Then the image of Catalina picked up his sword and stabs him in the heart and whispers in his ear, "Leaving you here to die alone...."
He knew it wasn't true... It couldn't be, not after everything they had been through together... Could it be???
And that single second of doubt shattered his defense.

Then it was dark... Idren could not see or feel anything except for the feeling that he was falling, slowly and endlessly falling.

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina was confused as to why the alpha didn't fight back. It sat back, and looked at them again. That's when she felt the energy shift, and the whisper of Ice Man in her mind. Idren stepped forward, and then almost instantly fell to his knees. Whatever was happening, he was taking on most of it. She only saw a few flashes, of her father being struck by an uldean, of uldean moving toward the village, of the House of the Eternal Flame burning to the ground. But they were only flashes in her mind, not the all-consuming visions Idren was having.
With that advantage, she drew out the second knife. She knew that if she stepped in front of Idren to attack the alpha, she would be affected to. So she stayed where she was, watching as the alpha's concentration deepened, and chilling the knife as cold as it would go. She tried to fuse her energy to the blade, hoping to make it as cold as Ice Man himself. At the moment that she was sure it wouldn't notice her move, she threw the knife, straight at it's unguarded chest.
Moments after she released it, Idren fell, slumped to the side, and she felt the alpha's attention turn to her mind. It was like the cloud of ash and rock that rushes down a volcano during an erruption; hot, black, and all-consuming. She was entirely unprepared, and the brute force of the attack brought her to her knees, just like Idren. There were a few, long seconds where everything she had ever feared was played through her mind, including some things she didn't realize she feared. Tears ran down her cheeks.
And then it all stopped, as the alpha let out a horrendous cry. She opened her eyes, and saw it clutching the knife's handle, which stuck out from its chest proudly. Catalina stood shakily, taking her bow from her back and preparing an arrow. There was a small patch of ice spreading from the knife, and the alpha was too busy trying to scrap it off to watch her ice the tip, knock the arrow, and draw it back to her cheek.
The sound of the howling alpha ended in a gurgling, strangled gasp, as her arrow pierced the side of its head. It fell with a thud that seemed to echo through the entire tower.
The alpha was dead.

In the Ice City, the uldean outside of the door suddenly stopped pounding. One, two, three seconds of pure silence. And then, they collectively gave the most heart-wrenching roars ever heard, so full of pain that even the most skeptical may believe the tales about their creation. And then they started to pound on the door again, but it was different this time, more frantic and random. Something had changed.

 

[Tharivle]

As the alpha fell Idren relaxed, but in doing so he slumped over and laid on the floor completely passed out. Ice Man had dragged himself over to Idren. He looked down at Idren and placed a hand on his forehead. "Idren... You must wake up. The alpha has fallen. Open your eyes and see." With his last words Ice Mans hand started shimmering with the same invisible energy as before. Only this time it was not sharp or quick, but light and gentle. The energy wrapped around Idrens head and then sank into it. As it did so Idren began to ster. Then he sat straight up completely awake, almost nocking Ice Man over.
"Catalina...?" was his only word as he looked around the room for her.

"Sir, we managed to route the cities energy into the Cathedral and we are using it to reinforce the door." said one of the solders to Yato.
"How long will it hold?" Yato asked grimly. the man didn't reply, only stood there looking worried. "Speak boy!" Yato snapped
"This door is for decoration, not protection...." The man answered, but he fell silent when the pounding stooped.
"What is going on?" Yato asked. Ten the howling started, then the pounding on the door resumed.
Keaher walked up and dismissed the man that had been giving the report. "They are acting more confused and wild. As if there is no leader. Unfortunately they are still swarming the building. We need to keep this door sealed, because it won't be long before they come through the windows."
As if on cue by his words there was a sound of glass shattering.

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina watched the alpha fall, almost as if in slow motion. She felt sick to her stomach, as the immediate danger passed. As Ice Man dragged himself over to Idren, Catalina retrieved the knives and arrow she had launched at the alpha, moving like she was stuck in syrup. She snapped out of her trance when Idren said her name, and she turned and hobbled over quickly.
"I'm right here," She said, crouching next to him. She looked at his face closely, searching his eyes for a sign that he wasn't himself. When she saw none, she smiled a little. "We did it." She leaned in, putting her arm over his shoulder and resting her forehead on the side of his head, her lips inches from his ear. She stayed there silently for a moment, and then spoke."Idren, I need you to get up and help me find the crystal. We have to get to the Ice City. They're waiting for us."

Zuko and his men, who had grown up with the stories of the uldean, knew what the change in behavior meant. Zuko looked over at his son, and then at Eron.
Eron smiled and said, "The kids got the alpha." The fire keepers standing nearest gave a small cheer, but the celebration was cut short as a window near their ranks shattered, and the arms of an uldean pushed through, scrabbling at the walls to try and pull the uldean through the narrow window. The firekeepers beat it back with shields and swords, fighting with a renewed vigor now that they knew the tide had turned.

 

[Tharivle]

Idren just sat there looking at her, then shock his head and mumbled, "Yeah, right." He stood up and looked around. "Where is the crystal."
"It is to warm in this room for it to be here, unless it is shielded, which it probably is." Ice Man mumbled weekly.
Idren noticed the week tone and knelt down beside him, "Are you ok."
"I need to heal again, my core is cracked." Idren could see a large crack from his breastbone all the way down to his hip diagonally across his body. And wile the crack was not all that bad there was a bunch of spider web like cracks that spread out from it and he seemed to be falling apart.
"Then heal. The alpha is dead, we will look after you for a minute." Idren replied.
"There is no time for that, your people are almost surly on the brink of defat. In any case it is too hot in here. If I try to heal, I will melt." Ice Man said sadly.
Idren thought for a second, "Could I heal you?"
"You have not the strength young one... Farewell Lord Idren. Farewell Lady Catalina.... Goodbye my friends....." Then he died...
Ice Man slumped down and the color left him again. A tear came to Idrens eye as Ice Man turned gray. Because of the warmth of the room Ice Mans body started glossing over as it started to melt.
Idren stood again and looked at Catalina. "Where do you suggest we look first?"

The uldean were wild and crazy. Scratching and scraping, being bulls rather than attacking in unison like before. But even though they were easier to kill they were still coming in drones. Most of the windows were broken and uldean were clumsily climbing through them, and the door was about to break.

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina leaned away from Idren, her face flushed, either from the heat of the room or otherwise. She was about to speak, when she realized Ice Man didn't sound quite right. They both moved to his side, but he didn't seem bothered by his impending death. He seemed rather peaceful. He went limp, and his body began to melt, and Catalina gently touched his shoulder. The energy that used to fill his aura was gone. She felt a brief, crushing sadness, and pushed it away as Idren stood.
"The sorcerer would have wanted it as protected as possible, but he would have made sure it didn't melt. Putting it in here would have made sure no one could get to it without a fight..." Catalina cast her eyes about the chamber, sending a ball of blue flame into the center just below the ceiling to light it better. Where they stood was an empty, circular floor. The wall of the room was partially obscured by stone chairs, 13 of them. Tapestries hung above the chairs, but they were covered in soot and couldn't be read. She shook her head. "I don't know, I didnt see where it was, I just felt that it would be in the city." She motioned vaguely to his sword. "That's all it told me, to come here."
She turned to face due east, where the acting ruler's chair sat. It was no different than the others, except for a small red gem set in it's back.
"Would he put it near the king?" She spun directly around and looked at the chair opposite. "Or in his eye line?" She turned slowly in a circle, looking up toward the ceiling. "High or low? Is it protected by some spell that could kill us? If it is, finding it won't do as much good as we hoped..."
Her eyes fell back on the red gem, the stone of the high ruler, and she trailed off in thought.

Fire keepers clashed with uldean right next to the windows they were coming through, trying desperately to hold them back with brute Force to allow ice bringers to deal killing blows. It was chaos; now that the uldean we're disorganized, it was easier to kill individuals, but impossible to predict the movements of the force. Now, it was tooth and nail for each person's survival.

 

[Tharivle]

"Or Maybe it is neither." Idren responded in the same thoughtful voice. "The alpha told me that HE had a weapon of ice." Idren looked toward the center of the table. It was scorched black from the countless days that the alpha lay upon the center of the table, using it as his thrown for he was two large to sit upon the kings chair. Idren drew his sword then jumped up onto the table, and moved to the middle of it.
"Catalina? Do you know any spells that can easily wipe away scorch marks? The table looks to be in perfect condition, save for the layers of soot on it. Maybe there is something hidden in plain sight."

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina looked at him oddly as he jumped onto the table, not sure how leaping on top of furniture was going to help them. Her looked was repeated when he asked her what seemed like an extremely stupid question. It was one of the first things they learn as kids; with children running around learning to play with fire, there could be a lot of scorch marks. And, it was extremely simple magic, unlike most of the other written spells of fire magic.
"You'll get covered in soot if I do it while you're standing up there." She said, walking over to the round table that sat in the center of the room. She knew that underneath all the soot, the table top was painted in a map of the surrounding area, showing their city in its relations to the Ice City, as well as some key mountain features. It had been decorative for a long time, but during the war it had been used for planning as well.
Catalina walked up to the table, and placed her index finger in the center. She drew a circle, with a diagonal slash through it. It wasn't quite rune magic, but the basis was the same. She leaned down and blew horizontally across the symbol, and then stepped back quickly.
Nothing happened for a moment, and then the black grime on top of the table shot straight into the air, and then to the side and down to the floor, following her breath.
"There, clean table." She stated, looking down at it. It still had the beautiful painting on it, albeit a little faded. It was amazing it hadn't been permanently damaged by the uldean sitting on it.

 

[Tharivle]

Idren studied the table for a moment, taking special care when looking at the Ice City as it was depicted on the map. "Catalina, look at this." Idren was pointing to the Ice City. "The rest of the table is smooth, not even a scratch, but there is a fain impression where the Ice City is depicted."
In order to notice the flaw in the table one had to run their hand across the surface and feel the little bump, which Idren did as he studied the picture.
Idren pressed down where the divot was..... and nothing happened. He was annoyed. How could there still be a picture here, and there not be a scratch or flaw in the entire table, and this impression not be a secret door.
"Any ideas?'

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina looked down at the impression he indicated, right on the Ice City. She had been focusing on the depiction of Caloria, naturally, but moved her eyes to the Ice City when Idren pointed it out. She ran her finger over the impression a few times, seemingly lost in thought.
The sorcerer wanted to do nothing but destroy the ice bringers, to wipe them completely from the face of the earth...
Her finger ran over the impression again. "Taking the crystal left the Ice City extremely vulnerable... It would've finally been possible to use fire to melt your defense..."
She had a thought, and then looked at Idren and took a deep breath. And then she looked back down at the table, and placed her finger on the impression. She channeled heat down into her finger, slowly to not damage the wood of the table.
Before their eyes, the painting of the Ice City changed. The painting moved, showing the Ice City's walls melting. It was complex, confusing magic, that would need to be stripped from the table by the elders of the council. There was a soft sliding sound behind them, and when they turned, there was a brick rising from the stone floor, just a few steps in front of the ruler's chair. Catalina approached it slowly, and as she did, it slowed to a stop. She walked around it, and in the other side, there was a cavity.
Carefully, she reached inside, and pulled out a wooden box. It was cold to the touch, and on the lid, was a carving of the Ice City's skyline. "Idren.." She said softly, and slowly opened the box.
Inside, nestled in purple silk, was the ice crystal.

 

[Tharivle]

Idren watched as she melted away the city on the table, a little worried that that is how the sorcerer would choose to hide the stone, but glad they were getting somewhere. He followed Catalina around the table, letting her clam the prize, for she had figured out how to fine it.
He looked down at the swirling blue stone. It was smaller than he thought it would be. Small enouph to hold in one hand, but big enouph to where one could not conceal it in just their palm. It was dark blue, the same color that Ice Man was. And it had white ripples that actually moved around inside the stone.
As Catalina opened the box they could feel the cold coming off the stone, cooling the room. "Wow..." Idren couldn't help it, when he saw it he became captivated in the brilliant blue with the hypnotic white swirls. Then he shuck his head and looked at Catalina, "Close the box, we nee to get back to the city."

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina stared down at it, watching the moving white ripples inside of it. It was old, old magic, just like the Eternal Flame was. She glanced upward, realizing that the life force and spiritual center of her people was in the room above her head. She felt a chill run down her spine, and it wasn't from the ice crystal.
Idren came out of the trance like state first, and his voice brought her out of it. She closed the box gently, and looked up at him.
"We won't get there in time." She said softly. "The Ice City is almost a full days journey away from here, and if the uldean haven't overrun the city by now, its only a matter of time." She looked over at Ice Man, and felt tears rise up. "I had planned to give it to Ice Man, because he could've run it there in maybe a couple hours, but there's no way we can make it."
She looked down at the ground. "We've failed your people." She admitted, feeling her heart being crushed instantly as she said it.

 

[Tharivle]

Idren let himself feel a flash of sadness as he too looked over and acknowledged the loss of their friend. Ice Man was nearly fully melted now. Just a puddle with some ice chunks, not even recognizable as the tall proud sentinel that he was moments ago. He then smiled at her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"All is not lost Catalina. Did you really think my dad let me go off to retrieve an object of value without giving me another hearthstone." Idren pulled out a smooth white stone with some runes on one side and a small painting of the cathedral on the other. "Every ice bringer got one of these in preparation for the battle. It will teleport the user and up to two other people to the alter in the cathedral, which is the last place anyone alive will be." Idren smiled again. "We should get outside the city though. We only have one of these and I don't want to take the chance that it wont work in one of the buildings or even in the square." Idren then collected his blades and started for the door. And the two of them made for the city gates.

 

[Flutterby]

Catalina stared at him like she wanted to punch him. "You could've mentioned that a little earlier," She retorted, wiping tears from her cheeks. Honestly, its like he enjoyed seeing her cry like a wimp. She glanced over her shoulder, at a set of stairs behind the red-gemmed chair. They lead to the Chamber of the Eternal Flame, she knew. But it could wait, she would be back soon. She glanced sadly at Ice Man's puddle one last time, and then nodded to Idren, leading the way down the stairs and back out into the square. She left closed the doors of the library behind them, and then started down the main street at a jog.
As they headed toward the city gates, the horizon was beginning to grow light. It would actually be dawn soon. They had made it through the night, and they could only hope that their peoples had too.