Reign of Embers

Chapter 18 - Magic

Dorian

Flying over the lakes surrounding the castle, wind whipping around us, I watch my daughter as she screams with delight. We are sat on Abraxos high above the valley, the vast expanse of city sparkling beneath us. Asterin sits at the front, with my wife behind her and me at the back. Their identical white hair flies out of their braids as we soar through the sky.

Abraxos dives towards the great glittering expanse of water and Asterin screams. Manon hoots in delight and I join her. Just before hitting the water, the wyvern pulls up, talons grazing the cool surface. I use my magic to create arches of water that curve over our head and a mist around us that the sun shines through to create a shimmering rainbow. My daughter gasps with delight and I can picture her face full of awe. I curl my fist around the wind and use it to direct the current of water animals I now conjure to dance around us. Dolphins swim around in the air, frogs hop along the water, wyverns fly above our heads, little magic folk run and twirl along the blue carpet beneath - all these creatures and more made from water. I spiral snow flakes around Abraxos and us, him snapping at them and trying to catch them in his great jaws. Up ahead I create a ring of crackling fire for a water ghost leopard to jump through. As we begin to rise, I bring the creatures up with us, their glimmering bodies casting rippling rainbows where they travel.

I begin to let the water creatures fall behind, and as we soar above the blossoming trees of the nearby woodlands, I substitute them for a huge tunnel of twisting foliage. Light dapples through the elaborate pattern - leaves and flowers of all colours creating a kaleidoscope of magic. I grin, magic makes me feel alive, even if I have a fraction of the magic I once had.

We burst out the other side, Asterin almost speechless from my great display. But I'm not done yet. We head towards the edge of the mountains, temperature instantly dropping as we near them, and as we climb higher I dig deeper into my well of magic. From deep within I conjure huge figures of ice and snow. Some mirror creatures found during my lifetime, others that I've only read about in books, but leading the small congregation is a life size wyvern. Ice spirals around inside the great beast creating beautiful decorations and patterns fit for any palace. As we fly closer to the wyvern I can tell that both Manon and Asterin can see what those patterns are forming. 13 witches. 13 wyverns. Manon tenses. Asterin squeals in delight.

"Daddy look! That looks like the painting at home." She shouts, pointing her tiny hand towards it.

"Yes that's right darling. One day we'll tell you who they all are." I reply softly, dulling the wind around us to allow my voice to carry.

I lean in towards my wife and wrap my arms around her.

"Are you ok?." I whisper, wrapping a bubble of air around us to stop our daughter , who is still gawking at the ice creatures, from hearing us.

"Yeah I'm fine." She replies, and I can tell she is holding back emotion.

"We can return to the castle if you want."

" Yeah. I think I just need to get going before I regret the decision to leave her. "

"Lead the way."

Manon steers Abraxos back towards the castle and to make one last moment of joy for my daughter, I cast a mist of water to create a rainbow, and we follow that all the way back to Orynth castle, Asterin laughing the whole way- oblivious to the uncertain future that lies before her.