Between Waves and Clouds

PART 2 - THE FROZEN LANDS OF THE NORTH

Chapter 6 - The frozen lands of the north

The frozen lands of the north were known to be the most dangerous land, where noone could survive. Freezing to death temperatures, merciless winds that could skins bodies, deadly waters, so cold its victims didn't even have the time to drown before freezing. No one dared to venture there.

Well, save from reckless people, such as a young viking seeking for adventures. Nuffink Haddock was reckless enough to do so. Without a fear for the harsh weather, only moved by the call of adventure and the thirst for knowledge, he had moved on a journey to the farthest lands in the north.

He had been going up north for two months, stopping by several islands where he could find and study dragons or getting to know peoples. The closer he was getting to his destination, the rarer the people get. Obviously, he was keeping his family informed, sending them letters periodically. The last one had been sent two days prior.

Since he was a little toddler, he was fascinated by the winged reptiles and couldn't get tired or studying them. He was curious and wanted to know everything about them, even more so now he was dedicating his life to travels and dragons. The knowledge he was bringing back to his clan was really precious.

He had often wondered if ice dragons existed. Of course, everyone knew about the Snow Wraith, these dragons living in the snow mountains, but they were creating storms and were considered Strike Class dragons. As to the Bewilderbeast, the dominant specie who could spit ice, he was a Tidal Class.

Any dragon that could be related to ice was either part of Strike Class, Tidal Class or Mystery Class. None of them were really ice dragons. This question was the reason why Nuffink had decided to venture to the frozen lands.

His parents had been reluctant to him leaving that far, yet it wasn't like they could really stop him, and Pouncer's fire did reassure them because he could keep their son warm. They still had insisted for him to take more dragons with him.

Having Dart and Ruffrunner with the duo was equally joyful and complicated. The young viking man had to admit he didn't like to separated his best friend fom his siblings, neither did Zephyr, so that was why she had accepted to let him take her dragon with him. Plus, 'the more the merrier' was definitively something applying to the Night Lights. These three overexcited dragons did knew how to have fun, their company would be welcomed for such a long journey. However, Nuffink knew all too well, these dragons were usually getting too much distracted when together.

It took him longer than expected to reach the frozen lands by boat – six days instead of two or three by flight – still he wasn't regretting bringing the drakkar since it could serve as a base, a place where he could shelter from the harsh weather.

He spent long days lost in the white landscape, studying different species of dragons he could find there, inspecting footprints in the snow, left by some groups he hadn't catch a glimpse of, filling a journal with all his observations. On the third day, he was glad to discover a new specie he had never encountered before. These dragons were as tall as sheeps, the global shape looked a bit like Gronckles, yet they were completely white with some hints of purple and their horns looked like Deadly Nadder's spikes.

They were living in packs and digging into the ice to create some burrow. While doing so, they were producing noises that sounded like woodpecker, so he had called them Icepecker. Obviously, discoveries didn't stop there, and Nuffink met other new species, such as the Pricklebite* – dog-size, fast, territorial and very agressive dragons – and gigantic dragons he hadn't find a name to yet.

The latter remained his most important discovery, and he knew he would never forget the first time he had met one of those.

It had been a week since he had arrived. Just like every morning, he had let the Night Light fly by and fish as they wanted. The cold waters were full of delicious fishes, making the dragon hysterical, so he had decided to let them enjoy a fishing party each day so they could stuff their stomach and spend some energy, hoping it would make them more docile for the rest of the day.