Witch Doctors Inc: SEASON TWO (Ongoing)

Part 3.21

1,000 YEARS IN THE PAST
BEFORE THE DEATH OF LAZARUS
THE ICE DESERTS OF PHAEDRA

"This place is too cold," Scion complained.

Amarat pushed onwards, not seeming to mind the freezing weather conditions. "Come on, Scion," she said. "Don't you want to see the ice demon?"

"What if it's not here?" Scion whined.

"It is here," Amarat insisted. Determination blazed in her eyes. "We know it is. All our research points to this spot. This is where the Orb of Phaedra is."

"I don't know about this, Amarat. What if it's just a myth like everyone says?'

"It's not just a myth!" Amarat replied hotly. Gathering her temper, she tried again. "Scion, we know that, in ancient times Phaedra was populated by ice demons, just like Ariadne was populated by fire demons. They were our ancestors. You read the same texts I did. Don't pretend you don't believe in it now."

"I believe in the demon ancestors," Scion clarified. "But that one lone ice demon survived all this time? What if it's a fantasy?"

Amarat shakes her head. "It isn't a fantasy. After the Orb of Ariadne was created, the Ariadni tried to recreate it, except with a fire seal instead of an ice one. Everything we've read point to them having successfully trapped an ice demon with this second orb."

Scion cringed as a cold wind bit into his cheek. "What if it's not friendly?"

"There's no reason it shouldn't be," Amarat said. "Only an Ariadni can break the orb's seal, so it has to be you. No one else would do it. Think of it, Scion - the poor creature has been trapped in that thing for so many centuries. It must be so lonely in there. All of its people are gone."

"It could be angry that it was trapped," Scion points out.

"Not to think of all the knowledge such an ancient creature would hold," Amarat pressed on, ignoring Scion's suggestion. "Think of what it could tell us! It's the last of its kind, Scion."

Scion sighed. "The last ice demon. Alright. But if it attacks us, I'm running."

Amarat laughed. "Speak for yourself. I'll be putting it right back in that orb."

"I suppose I'd help you," Scion said thoughtfully. "From a distance."

They leaned against each other and laughed.

The passageways under the ice were accessible by a hidden passageway in a nearby cave, just as the texts had suggested. Amarat brimmed with excitement as she bounced along next to Scion, through tunnels that could barely fit both of them side by side.

After several failed attempts, they found the chamber in the middle.

And there it was.

A black orb, glimmering with flashes of fire

"The Orb of Phaedra," Amarat breathed.

Scion watched the orb with wonder. They had actually found it. If they could find such treasures, what couldn't they do?

Amarat turned to him. "Well? Aren't you going to unseal it?"

"Oh! Yes."

Scion worked his magic on the fire seal. Among the rush of fire, a tear opened up. Black tentacles reached through it, probing the air probing the air curiously.

Scion pulled the tear wider. The tentacles pushed through, forming a mass of black mist in the centre of the chamber. Dots of sapphire blinked in this mist, becoming brighter and brighter until they swirled into the form of a row of serrated sapphire blades. The blades ended in a diamond-shaped stone, and sat on what looked to be a black panther.

It was smaller than what they'd expected, but it had the icy glow in its eyes that they'd read about, and the freezing mist rising from its paws.

Where am I? it asked. Where is my mother?

"I'm Amarat," Amarat said excitedly. "And this is Scion. You were sealed in that orb, but we freed you."

The ice demon blinked at them. There was something oddly vulnerable about it, like it was looking for guidance, but didn't know quite where to look. I was waiting for my mother when the warrior of Ariadne found me, it said. He was much bigger than me. How long have I been sleeping? Has my mother been looking for me?

Amarat and Scion exchanged a glance.

"You've been sleeping a very long time," Amarat replied carefully. "A lot of things have changed. We can show you if you come with us."

The demon reached out one frozen paw. It came to rest on Amarat's shoulder, causing mist to rise from her skin in a frozen twinkle. You are cold, like me, it said. But the other one is hot. Have we stopped fighting?

"Sort of," Amarat said. "We'll explain later. In the meantime, what can we call you? Do you have a name?"

The creature tucked its legs under its body. It breathed ice over one of its front paws, then gave it a lick.

Onyx, it said. You may call me Onyx.

END OF EPISODE THREE
Episode Four coming up next!