After several days of sailing, the icy white cliffs of the northern ice cap came into view. The massive glacier dominated the skyline, spreading out over much of the Cycnic Sea. Few people wanted to call the region there home due to its inhospitable environment, with the temperatures always being below freezing and there being no arable land around.

Still, some small settlements were built along the coastline, mainly to cater to adventuring dragon slayers or those select few that wished to seek out the dragons for trade or other things.

When we drew close, and the settlement we were heading for came into view, timber houses and scaffolding became visible. Built inside a crack in the glacier, these buildings were partially built into the glacier wall itself, the spaces dug out into the ice. The wooden scaffolding snaked its way up to the surface.

The ship carrying us docked in the small harbour, designed mostly for the few fishing boats of the settlement, and Seren, Fluminix and I disembarked. The hardened locals were none too happy seeing us and greeted us mostly with curt grunts.

Not that the local creole was anything more than grunts even without the disdain for our visit.

Once we made it topside, I negotiated with the local sled rental person – not that sleds were usually returned upon being rented, though – and, with some difficulty, got us a sled to use. Normally these would have been pulled by dogs, horses or some other beast of burden capable of traversing the icy, barren expanse and not get spooked by dragons flying overhead.

When Seren and Fluminix were both comfortable and secured, along with our luggage, I set us off with some magical application, sending us racing over the icy surface.

*******

After a few days of racing across the northern ice cap, the sole stretch of land around became more and more prominent, sticking out like the baren, stony barrier that it was. As we got closer, I was forced to slow down, as the icy surface became less and less smooth, with icy dunes, cliffs and ravines becoming more common.

When a small group of dragons flew closer to us, I brought us to a halt.

“What’s going on?” Seren asked as soon as I slowed down.

“Some visitors,” I replied calmly, before climbing off the sled. “Just stay put. I’ll see what they want.”

“You say it like this sled will hide us,” she retorted with playfulness trying to disguise the worry that rose in her.

I sighed and stepped in between the incoming dragons and the sled. “No, but the sled does give you more mobility, in case I need to put the both of you at a safer distance.”

“I know,” she said with a little hum. “I was just trying to lighten the mood.”

I turned around and gave her a quick, reassuring kiss. “I know.”

“PUNY HUMANS! YOU DARE TRESPASS ON MY TERRITORY!” one of the dragons roared – the sound similar to that of a roaring firing readjusted to form words – forcing me to turn back around to face them with a heavy sigh.

Just as I was about to retort with a well-structured argument to try, futilely, to shut the clearly immature dragon up, the ground rumbled and another dragon surfaced from the ice not too far from us.

The deep blue scaled sea serpent didn’t roar a challenge or looked like he was about to interfere. He merely laid down and crossed his icy front limbs, and I turn to face him with a sly smile.

“Are you, or do you want me to?” I asked casually.

He growled thoughtfully, before replying, “I think you would be better at driving the lesson home.”

Unlike the roaring dragon, his words were formed with the sound of calmly lapping waves rolling onto the shore.

I snorted and turned back around to the approaching dragons. “Just keep an eye on my friends for me.”

He let out a short growl of agreement and the sled floated towards him, much to the alarm of Seren and the excitement of Fluminix. Though, I needed to ignore both of them for the time being.

“You know,” I said calmly, projecting my voice to the immature dragons, as I cracked my knuckles. “You really shouldn’t make assumptions based on appearances.”

The leading dragon – one with scarlet red scales – opened her maw, but before the breath of fire could exit it, it was forced right back down her throat. It sent her into a coughing fit, as black smoke flew out of her nostrils and she stumbled mid-flight.

“Some humans aren’t like the others, you know,” I kept going in my calm demeanour, whilst barraging the group with specifically tailored spells.

The storm dragon in the group got hit with lightning, forcing him down to the icy surface.

“You see, I still consider myself a human – even though most people don’t – but I’m not like every other human you might meet.”

An ice dragon broke through the surface, intending to do so where I stood, but instead doing so several paces away from me, causing her maw to snap shut around nothing but air.

“After all, I’m older than all of you combined.”

“YOU DARE DEFY ME?!” the enraged fire dragon roared as she recovered from her swallowed fire breath, before flying up higher.

“Is it not natural for those that are attacked to seek to defend themselves?” I countered calmly, as I stole the wind from her wings, causing her to plummet down. Fortunately for her, the storm dragon restored her ability to fly just before she could crash down into the ice. “Or do you only attack those that can’t defend themselves? Do you take pride in winning against easy targets?”

Further enraged, the fire dragon launched another fire breath towards me, at the same time as the ice dragon unleashed an icy breath of her own. I hijacked the ice breath and place it in the incoming fire’s path, causing both to cancel each other out in a large cloud of steam.

“Aquarix, what are you teaching the younglings these days?” I casually asked the water dragon guardian Seren and Fluminix.

“They are strays,” he replied curtly.

“Ah, that explains it,” I said mockingly. “No wonder they’re behaving like wild animals. No better than a common drake.”

Finally, the trio of dragons were given pause, backing off to circle me cautiously.

“Who are you to speak so casually with one of our monarchs?” the storm dragon asked carefully yet challengingly, his voice a combination of the booming of thunder and the howling of the wind.

“An old friend,” I replied calmly and honestly. “Visiting an even older friend.”

Behind me, Aquarix scoffed in annoyance.

“Doesn’t sound like he agrees with you, puny human,” the fire dragon retorted with a haughty huff.

“Oh, he’s just annoyed I called him old,” I responded with some annoyance of my own, before glancing back at the dragon monarch with a frown on my face. “Despite him being a few centuries older than me.”

“Prove it,” the fire dragon challenged me, rearing up to try and attack me at a moment’s notice.

“What? That he’s older than me?” I asked incredulously. “That we’re friends? That I’m as old as I claim to be?”

“Prove. It,” she challenged again, apparently not willing to elaborate on her demand.

I sighed heavily. “Very well.”

I trapped the ice dragon in ice, letting it slowly press down on her and crush her. I took the wind from the storm dragon’s winds and sent him crashing down into the icy surface with a lightning blast, where he spasmed from the electricity running through his veins. I heated the air around the fire dragon so much and so quickly that she couldn’t maintain flight anymore and her scales dried up and cracked, forcing her into the ground-turned-small-lake.

“Could someone younger so easily best you?” I asked, issuing a challenge of my own. “If I were a dragon, would you not consider me your elder and superior?”

“N-No,” the ice dragon croaked out, with the storm dragon too incapacitated and the fire dragon too stubborn to speak up.

“Exactly,” I stated firmly, scolding them. “A being’s strength is not measured by their species, but their skill and age. I hope this lesson drives that home for you.”

Not that I had any faith that it would. It usually took a few lessons for an immature dragon to get the message.

Regardless, I had had enough, so I let them to their suffering and walked back over to Aquarix, Seren and Fluminix. What I did to those dragons wouldn’t kill them, and they’d be able to free themselves in due time.

“Thanks for looking out for my companions,” I said gratefully as I drew close.

Aquarix raised his head, forcing me to look up at the sea serpent, as he was, like all fully grown dragons, well over fifty paces long. “It was no trouble.”

“Are you going to accompany us on the last stretch of our journey? Or are you going on ahead to warn them of my imminent arrival?” I asked with equal amount of curiosity and teasing.

He growled thoughtfully for a moment, before saying, “I think I’ll stay here for a bit longer. To watch over these troublemakers, and to ensure they don’t get up to any more foolishness today.”

I nodded and got back onto the sled. “I wish you success with that. We’ll catch up later.”

He nodded and I got the sled moving again.

“You could have warned me that we would be greeted by dragons like that,” Seren complained as soon as we’d made some distance from the dragon monarch.

“And spoil the surprise?” I countered teasingly. “I thought you were looking forward to meeting some fully grown dragons?”

She threw her hands up in the air. “Well, I didn’t know they were that big! I’ve only ever seen pictures of them, you know.”

Fluminix let out a little squeak of complaint, clearly not happy about not being included with the dragons we had just left behind.

“And you, of course,” Seren quickly added, as she gave the young dragon a few scratches. “Though, I understand now why keeping Fluminix at the school might create some problems in the future.”

I hummed in agreement, and silence fell over us.

*******

The last stretch of the journey passed without further incident, and we arrived at the slope of the circular mountain that was our destination. Due to lack of snow or ice on them, we were forced to disembark and climb the rest of the way.

When we reached the top, the view opened up to reveal that the mountain was a massive caldera. Dozens of dragons, young and old, roamed the ground between the cliff walls. The middle was an open space where dragons would either just hang out or spar.

The edge was divided into six sections, clearly marking the difference in terrain and the presence of a dragon monarch. One section was almost completely shrouded in a dark cloud. Another was broken up by rivers of lava. The next had small pillars of stone dotting its space. Then there was one eternally bathed in light. Aquarix’s space had a lake in it. The last one looked almost similar to the stone pillars one, except for the inexplicable howling winds that cut the stone into pillars and ravines.

“Welcome to the refuge of the dragons,” I said ceremoniously, as I swept my arm out over the view.