I.
“But you see why I don’t want to recruit more dragons from the land around here,” Drema was saying.
She and Bermuda were having tea in the Hummingbird Pavilion. The winter had abated on the breath of spring, and tender blossoms were beginning to sprout.
Bermuda, being an outsider, shook her head. “No, your majesty. I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
Drema, the living embodiment of beauty and grace, leaned nearer. Bermuda’s heart fluttered.
“We’ve put so much work into exorcizing Baron Steele’s spirit from these lands, but his influence still lingers, does it not? Everyone alive here has horrible memories of his reign. Everyone still carries the imprint of his boot. And I fear it’s much the same way in the lands around here, which he mercilessly exploited for his own gain.”
Bermuda was too entranced by Drema’s beauty to pay much attention. Besides, being a sorceress, she didn’t concern herself much with politics.
“So what do you need me to do?”
Drema glanced pointedly behind Bermuda, who turned to look.
Her two lovely snow-golems certainly hadn’t melted with the spring.
Sachi and Salena were both a bit odd, according to all accounts. The official story was that they were wanderers from the far north — easier to explain than yes, I gave them life from snow because I was bored.
But on the whole, they were both well-liked. It was positively enchanting to watch them interact. They were so in love with one another — as in love as only spirits brought together by fate could be.
As Drema and Bermuda watched, Sachi and Salena rubbed their noses together among a grove of violets.
Bermuda sighed wistfully and longed for Kirea. “I’m afraid I don’t entirely understand.”
Drema leaned forward, doubtlessly thinking that a sorceress should have more tact. “Heavenwing Eyrie should grow, but with your help.”
“Oh! Oh, of course.” Bermuda flushed. I’m very dense. Why didn’t I think of that? “But as you’ll notice, there’s no snow around.”
“I’m sure a resourceful sorceress like yourself will figure something out,” Drema said haughtily. And Bermuda thought she caught an undertone of…something…in that voice. This young princess was certainly a force to be reckoned with.
Sighing, Bermuda rose and bowed, and Drema did the same.
II.
No snow. What shall I use?
As all sorceresses know, it is best to choose soul-channeling materials that are physically attractive if one wants to attract good spirits. And Bermuda certainly did. Another pair of handsome elemental spirits, yes…but what type?
Bermuda’s idle wandering brought her to the edge of a great lake.
Heavenwing Eyrie was called that because it was nestled in the mountains, yes, but also because it was well protected. There were abundant water sources, from the ponds crossed by bridges, to two small rivers…to this lake.
Bermuda frowned and dug her claws into the marshy dirt. The water was still a bit chill with spring. She kept digging, though, and eventually churned up a pearl. A nice, large one, maybe a relic of an old Pearlcatcher.
Gazing into its white-pink depths, Bermuda closed her paw over it and hummed. She wanted a different spirit — a loving, female one, a magic-sprite, but a good one. The pearl grew hot in her hand.
Then a thought struck her — she remembered how lonely and chilly Sachi was at first.
Setting the pearl down on the earth, she hurriedly began to dig for another one. “Come on, come on. Oh, dear, I truly need to plan these better.”
The pearl on the ground was beginning to unfurl, to bloom like a rose in the spring. Delicate, heavenly scales glistened, fresh and new.
Bermuda kept digging, hurling up clumps of mud, until she had it.
Another pearl.
This one was dimmer, a bit chipped and bent, but serviceable. Chanting and humming again, she sat this one next to the flower-one, and watched as they both grew.
III.
Miki, as she was called, was happy to return to the mortal world once more. In the ocean-spirit realm, it was very cold and there was little sunlight. Heavenwing Eyrie, with its welcoming scenery and abundant light, was a welcome change.
Now she tasks herself with purifying all the water around Heavenwing Eyrie, which she adores. All of the ponds have cleared up of mud; the streams still taste of the snow-melt they come from. All of Baron Steele’s erosion and land-destruction is being steadily rinsed away.
While Bermuda has a hard time explaining the two aquatic Pearlcatchers, Heavenwing Eyrie is still happy to accept both of them.
In addition to water purification, Miki is renowned for her powers of telling the future, and her home is very popular for pilgrims who ask to know what the spirit world will reveal. Other than that, people love to come and watch her and Cassis’ happy little children, seeing the bright-pearl-flash of scales before their babies dive back beneath the water.
Like Sachi and Salena, the two are happy additions to Heavenwing Eyrie. And Drema has stopped giving Bermuda exasperated looks – for now.
Bio by Caelyn