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This isn’t fun, the boy thought to himself as he stumbled through the dense humidity of the jungle.It would be worth it, though. He'd learned a lot from his teacher over the last several months but now, it fell to him. He'd prove it to the cathars and he’d prove it to the queen. He wasn’t a child anymore.A bead of morning condensation ran down a spike of his white hair, freezing before it reached the tip. He scowled. The first thing he’d do when he got back to Thraben was have his hair cut.And then maybe ice cream.There was a rustle in the clearing up ahead and he saw his prey.The man was eight feet tall and carried an intimidating looking axe but the boy wasn’t afraid. His quarry was little more than a beast.He stepped forward and brushed foliage aside, freezing it in place and was about to announce himself when the beast-man spoke, addressing a hooded figure in blue that he hadn’t noticed behind all the greenery.“One final piece of advice, Beleren,” the larger man said, as the man in blue began to planeswalk away. “Only the very best hunters can hunt alone. You? You need friends.”The hooded man disappeared.So that was Jace Beleren. The boy knew him only by reputation. Somehow, he’d pictured a taller, more imposing man.Reputations could be misleading, he concluded. He’d have to make sure that was never the case when people spoke of him.The beast-man stood alone.Showtime.He stepped forward, letting the cold flow from him as he did. The forest around him began to freeze.The beast-man turned to face him.“Odd,” his prey said, in a gruff voice that sounded like bones cracking. “Who are you?“I am here to take you back to Innistrad,” he said confidently. “Come with me now, Garruk.”The beast-man narrowed his eyes and gripped his axe and the boy felt a chill that didn’t come from the cold.
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Gideon ducked under a swinging fist of wood and knotted vine and it whistled by his ear, missing him by inches.In truth, he’d barely moved. The elemental had telegraphed its attack; Gideon could have dodged it in his sleep.He rolled forward and lunged for the tree-beast’s legs. He’d done this, what? Twice in the last week alone? A person would be nimbler, better able to adapt and adjust in a fight, but even among the battalion the Boros had given him to command, there were frustratingly few people whose skill could challenge his. None, actually.He trained with his men—a soldier’s skill ought to be his sharpest sword. Hixus had drilled that into him as a boy until he mumbled it in his sleep—but he could teach someone for a lifetime and they’d still not be able to punch through his invulnerability.Not that any of them had even been able to hit him, so far—although he knew it wasn’t for lack of trying. He knew they had a running bet to see who among them could tag their Captain. Last he’d heard, there was enough gold in the pot to buy a small manse.Nissa’s elementals were slower but at least they could throw him around. Invulnerability didn’t make him immovable and, at least at first, having a different breed of opponent had excited him. But beasts were predictable and even these contests had started to grow one-sided and stale.The beast toppled under his takedown and Gideon backed off with a sigh. That had taken even less time than the last one. Maybe he could ask Nissa if she could summon two for him to fight?The elemental stood back up in a rustle of leaves, unhurt, and bounded toward Nissa on four legs. Nissa caressed its head lovingly. Gideon knew she didn’t care for these little sparring sessions. She didn't like using her creatures that way but her unease about the city's countless unnatural angles meant she spent most of her time in the house, mostly confining herself to the gardens in the courtyard and on the roof. She was bored. They all were. He finally got her to relent after a few weeks. “Impressive, Captain, but let me know if you ever need a real sparring partner.”Lavinia’s eyes were the same cold steel as her armor but the corner of her mouth was turned up as she approached, in what Gideon supposed counted as a smile for the arrester.“Do you have a minute now?” he asked, flashing her his perfect teeth.“I do,” Lavinia said, and the smile grew the tiniest bit before fading. “Sadly, you don’t. The Guildpact is looking for you.” She looked toward Nissa and her eyebrow arched very slightly at the sight of the living topiary the elf was stroking. “You as well, Ms. Revane.”“Thank you, Lavinia.” Gideon said cheerfully, as he picked up his shirt. “Another time, then.”Gideon raised the shirt over his head to put it on and saw Nissa pat her beast once on the head before returning it to the garden as a large, misshapen bush. “Did Jace say why?”“No,” Lavinia said, averting her eyes upwards quickly to meet his. “He only said to tell you that you have a guest. I’ve already informed Monk Nalaar and Countess Vess.”Gideon smiled, feeling himself grow excited. Jace and Liliana had lived for extended periods of time on Ravnica but the rest of them had come from their own, different planes. There was only one reason all five of them would have a guest.“Gatewatch business,” he said, with an eager smile.Lavinia frowned slightly and Gideon felt a little guilty. Now if they disappeared on some mission, Jace was sure to get an earful from his bailiff.But the guilt quickly drowned in his excitement as Gideon strode back into the house. An off-plane mission would be a welcome break.He and Nissa arrived at the library at the same time Liliana and Chandra did to find Jace grinning as he thanked a blonde, goateed man, who disappeared in a swirl of light and blue smoke.“What was that all about?” Liliana asked, as they walked in.Jace was still smiling. “That was Stone, one of the planeswalkers from Tamiyo’s story circle.”“He calls himself Stone?” Liliana raised an eyebrow.“It’s a family name, I think. I believe his first name is ‘Drake’.”“That’s even better.” Liliana said sarcastically, and Chandra snorted.“And, did he have a job for us?” Gideon asked.“Yes,” Jace replied. “In his travels, he came across a kingdom ruled by a sorceress. Her apprentice went missing months ago and she’s been trying to find him ever since.”Jace grinned. “She asked for us personally.”Gideon smiled. The Gatewatch advertised its service by word of mouth, through the jobs that they did (which were few and far in between) and through the traveling planeswalkers of Tamiyo’s Story Circle. They didn’t get many referrals.“I don’t see how that’s our problem.” Liliana said, easing herself onto Jace’s couch.“The apprentice was a planeswalker,” Jace replied, confident that would be enough.“It still sounds like a local issue to me.” Chandra said.Maybe it was the excitement at the idea of a mission but Gideon couldn’t resist piling on. “I thought we didn’t do that kind of thing?”Jace’s smile morphed into something more exasperated and the Guildpact began to fluster.Chandra punched him in the arm and laughed. “We’re just teasing, Jace. We’re all bored too.”“I wasn’t teasing,” Liliana said lazily. “It sounds like an utter waste of time.” Then with a long, dramatic sigh, she added “but things have been a little dreary around here.”It was true. Even helping the Boros Legion clean up the Ninth District had been slow lately. An unexpected truce between warring gangs had left Gideon and his men with little more to do than go on patrol and investigate petty robberies.“So where are we going?” Gideon asked.Jace was rubbing where Chandra had punched him with a mildly annoyed look on his face. “I don’t think the plane has a name. At least, Stone didn’t know what it was. Apparently, not a lot of planeswalkers visit. He did say we should pack for cold weather, though.”“You should be all set, then,” Liliana remarked. Jace ignored her. Gideon knew it wasn't the first joke she'd made about his fashion sense. It wasn't even the first one she'd made today, which was sloppy by Liliana's standards. They all really needed this break.“Did he mention how we’re supposed get there?” Gideon asked. Visiting a new plane usually entailed following another planeswalker there, otherwise you ran the risk of walking yourself into a volcano or the middle of the ocean.Jace held up a scroll in response.“Are we supposed to know what that is?” Liliana asked.“Don’t you?” Jace asked, genuinely surprised.They blinked at him.“Alright,” he said, still a little dubious. “You see, one of the complexities of knowledge transfer…”Liliana and Chandra both groaned.“Right.” Jace said, “short version.”“It’s an interesting bit of mind magic,” he explained, as he broke the seal. “The enchantment on this scroll condenses knowledge. Once we read it, our minds should know enough about the plane to be able to walk there as if we’ve already been there before.”“Wish I had one of those when I was still in school.” Chandra muttered as they gathered around Jace. Nissa, who’d said nothing the entire time, peered over her shoulder.He unfurled the scroll and the parchment began to glow slightly before fading to reveal a Coat of arms—a gold flower on a dark blue and green field—underneath which was a single word written in neat script.
Arendelle
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Jace tumbled through the blind eternities and into the middle of what he realized was a throne room.Shouts of angry surprise greeted him and the guards leveled their spears. The two closest to the throne positioned themselves in front of the dais. The rest of them charged at him from around the room.“Wait!” Jace cried, holding up the scroll.“Sorcerer!” a guard growled, thrusting his weapon forward. The breastplate offered little resistance and spear went straight through, its steel tip peeking through the back of Jace’s blue cloak.There was no blood.The guard frowned and withdrew his weapon to stab at the intruder again. When he achieved the same result, he tried again. This time, the illusion popped.The guards frowned their confusion and their eyes darted around the empty room.Jace stood away from the stab-happy guard with a look of surprise on his face that nobody could see. It had been surprisingly easy to turn himself invisible. And while there was nothing complex about the mute illusion he’d conjured, he’d barely even had to think his clone into existence.Curious.Before he could give it any more thought, the air shimmered with fire and Chandra appeared in the room beside him.“Another one!”The guards turned to face the new intruder and Jace noted the apprehension that mixed with the angry uncertainty on their faces. That was surprising too. He’d have thought that a place ruled by a sorceress would have guards who were more equipped to deal with magical enemies.Orange light danced in the corner of his vision and Jace saw more than one of the guards hesitate. He turned to Chandra to see that the pyromancer’s hands were ablaze. She raised her palms to the advancing men.Not good.“Chandra, no!” Jace yelled, breaking his invisibility. Azure light engulfed the fire mage’s hands, extinguishing the flame and countering the spell before she could finish casting it.“We’ve walked into their house.” Jace said to her, and then added in her mind, “Of course, they’re jumpy.”Chandra turned to frown at him and he put his hands up for the guards to see. She grumbled something about people always spoiling her fun.“Sorry,” he thought in her mind, even though he wasn’t. He wasn’t trying to be a stick in the mud but they’d only just arrived. Explaining what amounted to parlor tricks would be simple enough. Explaining roasted guards would not.Jace watched as the pyromancer’s hands went up and then waited a moment just to be sure before dispelling his control magic.Seeing one intruder reappear and disarm the other had given the guards pause but they kept their weapons leveled, holding a loose circle around Jace and Chandra, several steps away.“There are more of us coming,” he said aloud to the guards. “Don’t be alarmed.”On cue, the air shimmered beside them and Nissa appeared, then Gideon. Both of them looked confused and Jace got into their minds before they could do anything the guards might misconstrue as threatening. They put their hands up without any fuss.Jace didn’t need to reach into the guards’ minds to see the growing fear on their faces but he did it anyway just to be safe. Fear made people do foolish things.Reading their thoughts, Jace found that the guards were simple people. A strong sense of duty, annoyed confusion at the suddenly present intruders, and dread—not the fear of the unfamiliar idea of magic, like he’d initially thought, but the fear that they were outmatched. It had only happened once but these men had fought a magic wielder before. It did not go well. And now there were four mages in front of them.Jace smiled, feeling a little safer.“Just one more coming in a second,” he said.The air shimmered one last time and Liliana appeared, shadows falling away from her as she planeswalked in. She looked at the guards then at her surrendering friends. Then she scoffed and looked to Jace. “Great mission so far,” she said, before putting her own hands up.Jace ignored her and looked to the guards. “I am Jace Beleren of the Gatewatch,” he said. “We are not your enemies. Your queen invited us.” He motioned to the slender, tiara-wearing woman who, in the commotion, had stood from the throne and was now looking at them with interest.A balding, mustachioed, lion of a man looked glared back at Jace. “Prove it, sorcerer.”Jace held up the scroll and it unfurled in front of the guard. “A man named Stone delivered this invitation.”The guard looked at the scroll for a moment and then turned back toward the throne, where the queen began to step down off the dais. Two guards parted to let her pass and then fell in close behind her as she approached.The woman carried herself with a regal air until her tiara started to slip off her head. She frowned and steadied it. It was slightly too big for her.As the queen approached, Jace saw that she was younger than even Chandra. He wondered how she felt, bearing the weight of so much responsibility at such an early age.His mind went back to his stacks of documents and Lavinia, his bailiff, who he knew would be fuming when she woke up from the sleeping spell he’d put on her when they’d left Ravnica.There was a sound of surprise and the queen lost her footing just as she reached them. Her guards’ arms flew out to catch her but she caught herself, wide-eyed, and snorted as she stifled a laugh.Jace had to make an active effort to keep his face impassive. To his left, he heard Chandra snort.The woman adjusted the tiara and then stood very straight, suddenly formal again, as though nothing had happened.“Tell your men to lower their weapons, Captain,” she said, imperiously.She adjusted the tiara again.“Your highness, are you sure?” the lion asked, looking at Jace distrustfully as he did.The tiara sagged and the woman sighed, defeated, and pulled it off her head. Her posture relaxed a little as she did and she smoothed a tuft of her red hair.“Captain, that’s my sister’s seal and her handwriting,” she said, smiling brightly and turning to look at the five planeswalkers in front of her.“I believe these are the friends we’ve been expecting.” The next morning, Gideon stepped out into the cold morning air.Two carriages sat outside the door of the inn. Their drivers sat in thick furs, waiting, just as the Princess Anna said they would be.He thought back to the last night’s events.The woman they’d mistaken for the queen was, in fact, the queen’s sister. And the Princess of Arendelle was a strange girl. She clearly tried to project maturity and formality in her demeanor but she was far too bubbly and excitable a person to keep a straight face when she spoke. And she liked to talk. A lot.After brief introductions, she’d told them that her sister, the Queen Elsa, had requested their presence weeks ago and was currently in her palace on the North Mountain, nearly half a day’s ride away.The princess made arrangements for them to leave at dawn and then had them escorted to the inn, where they found a warm meal and rooms prepared.Despite the excitement of their arrival, the rest of the night had gone by uneventfully. +He and Jace had tried to start planning for the mission but the princess had surprisingly little information about the queen’s missing apprentice, a boy named Jak, who apparently had spent most of his time in the queen’s mountain retreat. Aside from a basic description of his physical appearance (adolescent features, white hair, and blue eyes), the only thing the princess had been able to tell them was that he, like the queen, could control ice and snow.Ordinarily that wouldn’t be enough to find someone but, the longer Gideon spent on this plane, the more he was convinced that someone like that would stand out.He looked around at the square where he was standing. The early birds were already starting to leave their houses to start their days in the town that sprawled around the castle—a place that was charming, if unremarkable. The locals were all human, smiling, polite people who wore practical clothes in muted colors as they walked up and down the street. There was no sign of any kind of magic at work and the only semblance of artifice he’d seen since arriving had been the strange three-handed clocks they used to tell time.
Wasn’t Arendelle supposedly ruled by a sorceress?
That there was little magical about the place also surprised Gideon because the first thing he’d noticed when they arrived was the mana; the world was thick with it. And when he’d tapped into it, anticipating the fight with the guards, it had rushed into him like a raging river.The sensation had been incredible. Gideon remembered feeling like he could fight a thousand men on his own.He felt a slight tingle in his head as Jace spoke in his mind. “I know what you mean. The mana’s denser, somehow” the mind mage said. “And there’s a lot of it. I feel like, if I really try, I can read every mind in this town at once.”He felt another tingle as Jace left his mind. “Sorry, I forget,” the mind mage said, walking up to stand beside Gideon. “And it’s almost like the mana here wants to be used.”Gideon chuckled and clapped a hand on his friend’s shoulder. Then he said “Makes me wonder how powerful the Sorceress Queen is.”Jace said nothing and his face turned grim.A man drove up to them on a cart. He wore the uniform of the castle staff under a heavy coat.“Good morning!” the man said cheerily. “I’ve brought something from the Princess Anna.”He dismounted and began pulling four large trunks off the back of the cart. Gideon stepped forward and helped him. After they’d unloaded them all, the man thanked Gideon and opened the chests to reveal several furs.“The princess hopes these will be enough to keep you warm on your journey.”“That’s very thoughtful of her,” Gideon said.The door of the inn opened and Liliana walked out talking to what, for a panicked second, Gideon thought was one of her zombies, until he realized it was just a very groggy Chandra.“—there’s something wrong about this place,” Liliana was saying to the sleepy fire mage.“Aw, I wouldn’t mind the staring,” Chandra said through a yawn. “We’re from out of town. I’m sure we look funny to them.”Liliana laughed lightly. “Sweet girl, when you look the way I do, you learn to ignore the stares.”Jace scoffed. Liliana ignored him and continued. “I was referring to how strange it is that everyone here is so upbeat and happy. It’s very disconcerting.”It was true, Gideon realized, looking around. Birds flitted around a little girl who was skipping down the street ahead of her mother. Further down, sailors sang a cheery workman's song, their breaths misting as they loaded crates onto a cart. A young couple, clearly in love, danced through the town square, blind to the world. It was almost as if everyone was going out of their way to seem delightful and it made everything seem brighter and more lighthearted.Not that he minded. It was a nice change from the rude streets of Ravnica.A little boy with tousled hair ran up and stood in front of Chandra and Liliana. He wore a coat that was several sizes too big for him. He looked up at them shyly and raised a pink flower he was holding through the sleeve of his coat.Chandra beamed. “Aww, is that for me?”The little boy shook his head.“Is it for my friend?” she asked, even more delighted.The boy nodded with a bashful smile.“Lili, look he brought you a flower!”Gideon felt himself smiling.Liliana’s face was impassive as she took the flower from the boy, who turned and ran back to his mother before anyone could say anything else, leaving little footprints in the shallow snow as he did.Chandra was still grinning at Liliana. “See, Lili, it’s not so bad.”Liliana waited until the boy and his mother were around the corner before she withered the flower in her hand. She let the husk fall into the snow and then walked toward the second carriage.Chandra was speechless. Nissa (when did Nissa get here?) glared at Liliana. Liliana ignored them and turned her head to wink at Jace, who rolled his eyes.Gideon shook his head and began to rummage through the chest to find a cloak that would fit him. Chandra and Nissa did the same.“Liliana, there are cloaks here,” Jace called out to her.“I don’t need one,” she said from inside the carriage, with a dismissive wave of her hand.“We’re going up a mountain in the middle of winter, Lili,” Jace said. “You’re going to need one.”“Then I’ll borrow yours,” she smiled.Jace scowled and started digging through the chest.
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They’d been sitting in the carriage for hours.The snow-covered town gave way to a snow-covered forest, and then, as the sun rose and the trees thinned, they began to ascend a snow-covered path that led into a mountain range.Jace looked out the window at the carriage ahead of them on the trail. Orbs of fire were suspended in the air around it, floating in a lazy circle. Chandra was keeping the other carriage warm, Jace realized a little enviously. The furs the princess provided were useful for keeping most of the wind away but the cold was slowly seeping through and it was only getting colder as they ascended.He stole a glance at Liliana, who was looking out of the window on her side of the carriage, away from him. Without meaning to, he lingered. She wasn’t what anyone would call classically beautiful but everyone who saw her would agree she was beautiful. Jace couldn’t remember who he’d heard describe her that way, only that he’d thought it remarkably accurate. She looked the same today as when they first met all those years ago.She was just as infuriating as well.Jace knew that refusing a fur had been her way of getting him to carry the cloak for her. Ordinarily, he would have done it, but today, for some reason, he’d decided not to.And now he was regretting his childishness as he watched a snowflake land on her bare shoulder.“Here,” Jace heard himself say, shrugging off the pelt and holding it out to her. “Take this.”Liliana looked at him and laughed. Jace couldn’t help but notice how little her breath misted as she did.“No,” she said, in a tone that said she didn’t want his charity, and with a look to match.“Lili, it’s freezing and getting colder. We both know your dress won’t keep you warm. Why are you being difficult?”“Perhaps you’ve forgotten, but I don’t feel cold the way you do,” she said. She looked at the cloak in his hand and back at Jace. “And I think cloaks are really more your style than mine.”“Nice to know you’re still too proud to accept help,” Jace muttered, wrapping the cloak back around himself.“There’s no point in both of us freezing to death,” he said, and he pulled the hood over his head. Liliana affected a bored demeanor and looked off into the snow-covered range outside the carriage so Jace wouldn’t see the smile that she was having trouble keeping out of her expression. She was, in truth, beginning to feel a chill, but unless it got much colder, she was certain she’d be fine. Being a necromancer had many perks and a resistance to lower temperatures was one of them.Jace scowled suddenly and pulled the cloak off himself, dropping it on the seat in a bundle in between him and Liliana.“What are you doing?” she asked, quizzically amused.“I’m not going to be the man wrapped in furs while a clearly under-dressed woman sits in the freezing air.”“You’re not serious,” Liliana said incredulously. “You’ll catch your death.”“I’m sure you’ll bring me back,” Jace replied sarcastically as he rubbed his arms to try and warm them.“What makes you think I’ll want to?” Liliana asked with a raised brow.Jace didn't respond. He frowned out the window at the mountains on his side of the carriage and shivered.Liliana was a little disappointed that the back and forth had ended so quickly but she smiled. Sometimes she felt like she enjoyed pushing his buttons a little too much. Maybe.They ascended the mountain in silence.The air grew thinner and the temperature dropped several degrees. A particularly strong gust made their driver shrink into his furs. It was cold enough to remind Liliana that her resistance had limits. Before today, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d actually seen her breath turn into mist in the air.She looked over at Jace, who was still shivering with an annoyed expression on his face. His lips were turning blue.“Put the cloak on, Jace, don’t be a fool.” There was a hint of what sounded like concern in her voice.He glanced sideways at her. It was hard to tell if he sighed through his chattering teeth but he reached for the bundle of pelts in between them with a trembling hand.The carriage hit a bump and the cloak slid to the floor. Jace swore and began to bend down to reach it, shivering the entire time.Liliana watched him struggle for a second then rolled her eyes and sighed. She pushed him back upright in his seat with one hand and reached down and picked up the cloak with the other.She shifted on the carriage seat so she was right beside him and then shook the cloak. Then she draped it over both of them.Jace looked surprised and slightly confused.“There are worse things than freezing if you really want to die,” Liliana said, as she nuzzled closer for warmth. “But right now, you’re more useful to me alive than dead.” It was too cold to pick apart Liliana’s words.It was too cold to think of something clever to say.It was so cold that Jace was having trouble answering the question of why he kept doing this to himself.So, it was surprising that Liliana had done what she’d done. Pleasantly so, but surprising nonetheless.And Liliana surprised him again by laying her head on his shoulder and her arm on his.The wind blew again but, this time, Jace didn’t even notice the cold.