Eli soared high above the twilight realm of Purgatory in his draconic form, scanning for threats. They’d arrived at Aratessa’s fortress-city a few hours ago, stopping only long enough for Eli to give his dark elven queen a brief kiss before departing for the glacier. In the time since, they’d left the realm’s purplish forests behind, the ground beneath them gradually transitioning from rolling foothills to mountainous peaks.

“There!” The passenger on his back shouted over the whistling wind.

His keen draconic vision quickly followed where she was pointing, easily finding the glacier and small camp set up on top of it. He angled his wings downwards, forcing the angel by his side to flap her own so that she could ride in his wake. As they approached he saw dark figures move out of the tents, pointing at his approaching form and shouting to one another.

Less than a minute later Eli flared his wings and dropped the last few feet to the ground, his tail and hind legs absorbing the impact. He carefully placed the bags he was carrying in his forearms down on the ice before slumping further, allowing Vespera to climb off him and stand next to an already-landed Minerva. Finally, he triggered a transformation into his human form – one that ended with him reaching for the dropped packs and starting to place his armour on. His bond mates watched him for a moment, adjusting their own matching armour as they did.

“Lord Consort.” A familiar voice said, using his official dark elven title. “The darkness has shrouded our meeting today.”

“May the shadows provide us sanctuary, my friend.” Eli replied, using the traditional dark elven greeting as he looked up at the speaker and paused what he was doing.

She had stark white hair pulled back into a tight braid that fell lightly against her black leather armour. If the twin short swords, crossbow, and the bandolier of throwing knives she kept strapped across her chest didn’t mark her as a warrior, then her wary eyes and relaxed stance certainly did. Despite that, she wore a genuine smile on her face as she took Eli in.

“Seraphina.” Eli grinned. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Likewise, Lord Consort.”

“Phinny!” Vespera cried, running to hug the older dark elven woman.

“Phinny?” Eli chuckled at the nickname.

“You know Vespera and her nicknames.” Minerva smiled indulgently before embracing the dark elven woman as well.

“There’s no need to be uptight Phinny.” Vespera said as the three of them broke apart.

“He’s the Lord Consort. I’m the captain of the guard.” Seraphina shrugged. “Certain protocols need to be observed.”

Vespera huffed, but Eli interrupted her before she could voice any more objections. “Seraphina, could you tell us about the situation on the ground here? I’d appreciate your perspective.”

“Of course.” She replied as he continued to strap on his armour over top of his clothes. “This glacier is situated between mountain peaks on three sides, and a valley on the fourth.” She began to point. “We tried to use driders to dig through the glacier itself, but once we got about 10 feet below the surface the ice began to grow back faster than we could dig. We tried other approaches as well – digging through the surrounding mountains, or tunneling up through the valley – but we were met with the same problem as we approached.” She paused. “There’s an enchantment actively blocking our progress, but we can’t get close enough to target it with a silence spell and disable it.”

“Ah. That makes more sense now.” Eli nodded, adjusting the chest plate so it was centered properly. “Does the ice grow back behind you though? I don’t want to get trapped.”

“No, it’s strange. It seems to grow back from the most recently affected section first. It pushes you out, as if it’s trying to prevent us from seeing whatever’s underneath the ice without trying to kill us.”

“And the demons? Have they arrived?”

“About 30 minutes ago. They used fire magic to melt a hole in the glacier over there.” She gestured. “They started to tunnel on an angle and made it about 20 feet down, but they’re having trouble.”

“Trouble?” Minerva asked.

“They’ve hit the point where the ice is regenerating, and the tunnel is filling up with water as they melt it.”

As if on cue, a satyr carrying a large bucket grunted as he stepped out of a hole in the glacier. He tipped the container to the side, cursing under his breath as the water and chunks of ice drained. When he caught sight of Eli his eyes went wide with surprise before shouting and racing back down the tunnel.

“Right.” Eli replied while checking his vambraces. “So we’ve got our work cut out for us then.”

“My guards and driders are still here to help – we’ve got 15 of the former and 5 of the latter. Though I have to warn you: at least some of them will need to remain here to guard the entrance.”

“Against what?” Minerva asked nervously.

“There have been sightings of cryovores nearby.”

Eli raised an eyebrow. “For the uninitiated?”

“Big, wolflike creatures. 6 legs, big teeth, long claws. They hunt in packs, and are covered by a layer of ice on top of their hides. Hard to kill, and hard to see – especially in the dark, or in the snow.”

“Great.” Eli said sarcastically, shaking his head. “Alright. You and your guards get to stay up here and watch the entrance then. The last thing I need is something sneaking up on us from behind.”

“Understood, Lord Consort.” Seraphina replied.

With that, Eli quickly finished strapping on his armour before marching towards the large hole the demons had created. The sounds of crunching ice underfoot were soon overshadowed by the shouts of demons echoing upwards towards them as they worked. Casting a final glance at Minerva and Vespera to ensure they were ready, he triggered a transformation into his Nephilim form before beginning his descent.

Ahead of him was an almost-comical sight. Several large demons bailed freezing water with their hands into a bucket, while others pressed their still-burning hands against the wall in front of them to melt it. The sounds of shouting intermingled with the crackling of ice as it reformed around them, ensuring that the group never made any real progress.

To Eli, the satyrs were the more familiar form. They each stood about 7 feet tall, with goatlike legs and hooves in place of humanoid legs and feet. If not for the curled horns on top of their heads, the sharp angular teeth in their mouths, and the fact that they were speaking the demonic language they could have passed for elvish from the waist up.

The lesser demons were joined by a quartet of muscled brutes with deep red skin. Their bodies were somehow more humanoid than the satyrs, albeit with red skin and large black horns poking out of their heads. They were crouched in the relatively short tunnel, unable to stretch to their full 10-foot frames.

“Rage demons.” Vespera murmured. “They’re not too smart, but the were the only ones we could get on short notice. They only speak a few words of elvish each, so I might need to do some translating.”

“Right.” Eli said before approaching them and raising his voice. “Looks like you could use some help.”

The largest demon looked up from scooping water and narrowed his eyes at him. “What…are you?”

“Just someone who’s here to help you work smarter instead of harder.” He replied, cracking his knuckles as he did. “Make a little space for me? I’ve got an idea.”

Surprisingly the normally-unruly demons pressed themselves against the wall as he passed, their eyes flicking between Eli and his two bond mates. Under other circumstances he might have pointed that fact out to Vespera and Minerva as being further evidence of his Nephilim form having some sort of mysterious coercive powers. As it was though he was far too distracted by mentally centering himself while preparing to cast a powerful spell, a golden glow forming around his tattooed hand as he did.

As he reached the edge of the advancing ice he knelt and pressed his hand downwards where the corner met the floor. He took a moment to angle it properly before releasing his stored power, firing a beam of pure golden mana that cut a 6-inch diameter hole through a good chunk of the glacier. The nearby demons leapt back in surprise, hissing and barking in their harsh native tongue at the casual display of raw power.

The new channel he cut into the ice started to work immediately, draining the water beneath their feet. Eli grinned as he turned to look at the slack-jawed demons, shrugging before pulling out a mana potion to top off his reserves. When he finished it he placed it back into one of the pockets in his armour before glancing up.

“That hole I cut in the ice isn’t going to last all day folks.” He gestured beneath him. “But if you keep tunneling alongside it, the excess water should keep draining downwards.”

As one, the demons rushed forward and began casting their fire spells again. They worked fervently to melt the ice, making progress far faster than before. Eli stepped back to let them work, waiting for Minerva and Vespera to join him once more.

“Incredible.” Minerva whispered as she looked at him.

Seeing the shared look on hers and Vespera’s faces he grabbed them both by the shoulders and shook them lightly. “Hey. None of that now. I’m still me, you’re still you. Snap out of it.”

Vespera blinked first, shaking her head. “Oh. Good. Thank you.”

Minerva blushed a moment later. “I’m sorry, I just… I don’t know what happened.”

“It’s not your fault, it’s mine.” Eli said as he turned back to the quickly-deepening tunnel. “Let’s just…focus on digging this ice hole.”

They started down the tunnel once more, slowing their march so it matched that of the demons progress. Despite their outwardly wild appearance Eli couldn’t help but be impressed by how effective they were, with the largest ones pouring every ounce of mana they could into summoning more flames around their assorted axes, swords, and cleavers. Their flaming weapons broke off chunks of ice which they would then kick backwards towards the smaller demons, who in turn tossed them into the bucket to be carried back to the surface.

“You probably could have just cut the tunnel in one shot with your spell.” Vespera commented as they watched.

He thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. “The mana beam takes a lot out of me. Using it to cut a human-sized tunnel through who-knows-how much ice would be stretching my mana reserves to the limit, and I really don’t want to be mana drained when we get to the bottom. I’m fully expecting there to be more defenses and I want to be ready for them.”

“A reasonable argument.” Minerva agreed.

“It’s a lot less fun though.” Vespera countered.

Eli chuckled and was about to respond before noticing that the water was starting to build up once more. Furrowing his brow he moved closer to the demons, causing them to press themselves against the ice walls to get out of his way. When he knelt once more he saw that the drain he’d created had filled itself up again.

Glad that Zee insisted I pack a lot of mana potions. He thought to himself as he summoned his mana once more.

It took almost an hour more of tunneling and three more mana beams before the demons broke through the last of the ice to expose a large, hemispheric pocket of open air. Unable to contain his curiosity Eli darted forward and glanced into the darkened pocket, his straining eyes finding only darkness. Furrowing his brow he summoned his mana as the demons around him continued to widen the entrance.

“Veyra!”

His ball of light illuminated the cavernous space, exposing an enormous snow-covered fortress made of black stone hidden underneath the glacier. It was built in a rough square, where each outer wall was about 200 feet long. Even from this distance he could tell it was constructed to withstand a siege, with 20-foot-tall ramparts that were covered in ancient glowing magical inscriptions. In the middle of the walls a single circular black tower almost stretched to the top of the dome.

“I’m gonna go ahead and assume that’s the place we’re looking for.” Eli grinned as he looked at his two bond mates in turn. “The only question is: how are we all getting down there?”

Given that they’d tunneled downwards through the glacier they’d emerged about midway down the dome, right above a sheer drop. The angle they’d come in at was gently sloped enough that the demons didn’t immediately fall in as they continued to widen their entrance, but Eli knew that was at least in part because they’d each anchored themselves to the ice using their claws, tails and weapons. He leaned closer to the ledge and estimated that it was 40 feet to the ground – too far for at least some of them to fall without injuries.

“We should keep them here.” Vespera replied confidently. “The three of us can handle anything this place throws at us.”

Minerva looked less confident, but she nodded as well. “It’d be good if they kept this tunnel open too. In case we need to make a quick exit.”

Seeing the logic, Eli turned to his demonic crew only to frown when he saw the glossy haze in their eyes. The image of an elven prince wearing a crown and controlling humans bubbled up in his memory, triggering fresh feelings of revulsion and guilt. Shaking his head he triggered a transformation back into his human form, putting a stop to his form’s powers and returning them to normal.

“You did well to get this far.” Eli started, appealing to their egos. “I need you to stay here and keep the tunnel open.”

“No…fight?” One of the larger demons asked, confused.

“Tell you what: if you hear fighting, you can come.” Eli replied. “For now we’re just going to see what we’re dealing with.”

To his surprise, the demon nodded in understanding. Eli looked him in the eye for a moment longer to ensure there were no traces of his Nephilim form’s coercion left in his system before accepting the answer and scooping up Vespera under one arm. He summoned his mana as he launched them into the air, causing the succubus to yelp in surprise.

“Snámh Objet!”

Their descend slowed almost instantly, allowing them to float gently towards the ground. Minerva joined them a moment later and began to push them towards the fortress, ensuring they would land safely inside the castle walls. The moment they touched down in the snow-covered courtyard Eli let go of the spell and drew his hammer from his back, activating his mana vision as he did.

“Woah.” He whispered as he took in the medley of colors swirling around him.

“What is it?” Vespera asked, drawing the sword on her belt.

“Lots of enchantments around here.” He replied, turning in a slow circle. “It’s not just one type of magic either. I’m seeing ice magic, fire, light, life…and death.”

“Our ancestors were masters of death magic.” Vespera reminded him. “It makes sense that they would have enchantments on their fortress.”

“Still concerning.” Minerva added, glancing around nervously.

“Agreed. Let’s just…try not to set any of them off.” Eli said before waving them forward. “Come on, let’s check out the tower.”