The Isles of Ice Book Three: The Destined World

Chapter Eight- The Mentor's Trial

Xavier piloted the ship into the night, feverishly chasing after the final monster. Jacob and Helena had just disembarked, and the pirate had to pray they could protect Centrixia.

Leaving his homeland behind hurt him, but Xavier was the only one who could take the ship where it needed to go.

A trail of ice was coming off from whatever creature they were chasing. Its figure was still hard to determine, though it seemed to look like some sort of serpent.

Maya and Arvirdi were both looking ahead, surely wondering where this monster was headed. Xavier had that same question burning in his mind.

The pirate looked up at the stars to confirm where they were headed. The realization then crossed his mind. "Arvirdi, we just might be headed home." Xavier verbalized.

Arvirid's eyes widened. "You mean... this thing is going to attack Marok?"

Xavier winced. "That seems to be the direction that it's heading in."

Maya crossed her arms. "Won't the island just keep it out?"

"Marok's able to protect itself from ships," Arvirdi clarified. "Not Ancient Monsters. We don't even know what sort of magical power this one has."

Xavier shook himself a bit. "We'll see when we get there. Let's just focus on being ready to fight this thing."

With that, the conversation died away and everyone went back to staring at the sea before them.

The chase continued for some time, up until Marok started to become visible. It was Xavier's fears come true, the beast was attacking the jungle isle.

The beast was a serpent. It had white scales and what looked like icicles jutting out from them. The creature's maw fired out frost at the island.

Its tail seemed to go on for miles and mindlessly flicked at Marok. Each flick conjured a wave of snow that barreled into the trees on the island.

Marok's largest trading port was under attack by this frosty monster. Grief crossed Arvirdi's face as he looked on at the destruction. "M-my island."

Maya took out one of her knives as they sailed in closer. "Look alive! This is what happens when you stand idly by! We need to take action and do it now!" Sparks seemed to be shooting from Maya's eyes.

Xavier guided the boat up to the beast's side. A wave of cold blew into the man as he did this. This creature's ice was no joke.

Maya jumped off of the boat and onto the serpent. The girl jammed her knife into its scales and started to ascend. The creature stopped its assault on the town to see what the new pain it was feeling was from.

Xavier passed by and coasted the boat into the docks. Much of the town was already coated in the ice left by the creature, which counteracted the heat rising from the island.

Many natives and visitors were scrambling to get to safety or to try and fend off the monster. "Arvirdi, go and try to organize your forces. Maya and I will hold this thing back in the meantime."

Arvirdi looked at Xavier with wide eyes. "Xavier, you can't get and face that thing on your own. Are you kidding me? Look at what it's doing to the island!"

The pirate rolled his eyes. "Right now Maya is facing it alone. Besides, I can handle myself Arvirdi. I've dealt with the cold all my life."

Arvirdi frowned. "That's exactly it, Xavier. You froze your own heart. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? Are you going to try and stand up to that thing using that power again?"

Xavier was confused as to where this was all coming from. The man felt a bit of frustration building up. "Why are you acting like I did it intentionally? It's not exactly something I can do at will. Arvirdi, let me do this. I don't understand why you're being so strange, we don't have time for this!" Xavier gestured to the serpent, which let out a hearty shriek.