Cancer

"Father," I said quietly. Pisces was sitting at his desk, hand propping his shaggy-haired head up. He looked awfully tired, with dark circles forming under his eyes. His whiskers drooped, and his stance showed that he hadn't had a good night's sleep in days; maybe weeks. The sound of my voice seemed to trigger some sort of fear and excitement within him and he stayed silent for a moment. Then, he turned towards me. "Yes?" I hated to bother him. The Pearlcatcher looked so exhausted; the last thing he needed to hear was the news I was about to tell him. "The… High Mage of Lightning wishes to see you. He called a meeting between you, him, and the High Mage of Shadow."

The High Mages were rarely known, rarely spoken of "gods" from the Second Age. Now… fun fact. My father, Pisces, was one of them. He was the High Mage of Water, but he had a problem. His powers had faded to Ice. Mushy, wet ice. That was all he could do. And his powers had continued draining since my birth. Something was deathly wrong… and best yet, Zeno, the High Mage of Lightning, didn't know. Great, right? They used to be the three most powerful dragons in the universe next to the elemental gods. Now? Their powers were draining, and Pisces seemed to be transitioning from Water to Ice. His elemental alignment changed years ago, and his magical powers were somewhere in between. It first started when the Tidelord went missing so long ago, and dramatically worsened at my birth. His breath turned frigid and his body temperature dropped greatly. For a High Mage (who were basically immortal), he seemed to be slowly dying, deteriorating from the ice within him.

Pisces stayed silent for a moment. Then, with fear and exhaustion lining his tone, he asked, "What?" I didn't repeat what I said. I knew he had heard me. He just… didn't want to believe it. "You're telling me Mr. Z and Mr. H are calling a meeting for the first time in decades? Out of the blue? With no context?" "...Potentially." I knew my father wouldn't say their names because it… well… brought a Mage's attention whenever one said his or her name. That's part of the reason Pisces still feels alert, reviving excitement whenever I say the name 'Pisces'. The bond between father and child was a powerful one, more powerful than any regular dragon saying the names. Pisces remained silent, pen still gripped tightly in hand, staring at the wall in front of him. "I'm far from being the High Mage of the Sea now…" "And none of them know." "Yes." "Then I guess we show up and tell them." With a serious look on his face, Pisces turned towards me. "If they need my magic for something, you're going to have to do the job instead of me. If they need Water Magic, you're the closest thing they have. You're a… demi-mage." I dipped my head. "I know."

My father and I walked towards the towering coppery building. There were no dragons in sight; only the sound of the storm raged overhead. Grimly, my dad opened the door to the building, motioning that I follow him into the elevator. I stepped inside after the Pearlcatcher, walking softly to keep the floor from creaking under my weight. I didn't look a whole lot bigger than Pisces, but the world sure seemed to say it felt like it.
"Cancer," Pisces started.
"Yes?"
"When you go into that room…" the dragon sighed. "These two beings are destructively powerful. Whatever you do, don't get on their bad side."
I nodded but was secretly worried I'd get crabby around them. After all, my name literally meant Crab.

Following behind my father, I watched the two other people in the room. One dragon was lightning blue and gold. I assumed that was Zeno. The other, on the other hand, had a pale face with a black mane and wings. He seemed a lot... darker. Both were Pearlcatchers.

Zeno's gaze met Pisces' the moment the Pearlcatcher walked into the room. Immediately, the dragon's eyes widened and he said, "You transitioned to Ice?"
Pisces dipped his head. "Unintentionally, it seems."
Hadrian's pale face smirked sourly. "You are troubled, even in your sleep, I see."
"Mages, I feel that my magic is eating me from the inside out. I have weakened, and I must combine my magic with the energy of another being to make anything more than half-hearted, slushy ice."
Zeno stroked his Pearlcatcher chin silently. "Can mortal tools affect you?"

Probably a good time for another explanation. High Mages are immortal. They can only be wounded by something called High Steel. Weapons created by earthly mortals could not harm them, and their blood was an unnatural shade of silver.
But I knew my father wasn't so lucky anymore.

A classic pocketknife appeared in Zeno's hand. Seemingly taking this as a cue, Hadrian drew his High Steel sword.
Unnerved, Pisces backed away from both Mages; I took a threatening step forward, setting my huge foot on the floor. The water in my eyes started swirling, hinting that my powers were at ready.
Zeno took on a non-threatening position. "Calm yourself, Pisces. I'd simply like to see how both weapons affect you. A cut on the arm, nothing more."
Pisces sent a suspicious glare in Hadrian's direction. "Very well." The Pearlcatcher offered his arm to the others. Turning the direction of his gaze away from his arm, he focused instead on Zeno's wing. As the High Mage of Lightning wrapped his hand around Pisces' wrist, he asked, "Your daughter. She inherited your magic?” The Mage’s intense eyes landed on Cancer.
“I… Believe so. But only an aspect of it.”
Zeno’s expression darkened. “Are her powers growing? Expanding?” The Pearlcatcher drew the mortal steel knife quickly across Pisces’s arm. It left a bloody gash and Pisces inhaled sharply, flinching back. After a moment, he replied, “Yes, they are.”
The High Mage of Lightning drew away quickly from Pisces’s arm, expression lined with understanding and a sense of doom. “You’re blood,” the Lightning dragon stated. Pisces turned to look at the wound, then immediately looked up at Zeno with fear. “It’s not silver,” Cancer’s father said in shock. “No.” Cancer’s heart sank as Zeno nodded to Hadrian. Something was horribly wrong; the blood on her father’s arm was icy blue. Not even mortal red. This was worse, more mysterious, than she’d first thought. Raising his sword, the pale Mage stepped towards Pisces.
A sudden surge of protective instinct coming over her, Cancer raised her wings, summoning a ball of water beneath each wing. Hadrian’s unnerving eyes immediately switched from Pisces to her. “I’m not going to kill him, Cancer. I’m going to cut him as Zeno did to see how it affects him.”
Reluctantly, Cancer lowered her wings. If these Mages were immortal, she wouldn’t stand a chance against them anyways. But still… her father… she had to defend him if the time came.
Hadrian drew the tip of his sword across Pisces’ arm. The blue Pearlcatcher let out a yell, drawing quickly away from the blade.
“It wounded him, Zeno. It appears he’s the equivalent of a Half-Mage now.”
The group turned their attention to the High Mage of Lightning. Thoughtfully, he stared at the floor. “The universe seems to be deciding to turn the tide. I believe Cancer is drawing his power and making it her own.”
Cancer immediately stepped forward. “What? I would never! Whatever is doing this is torturing him, Zeno. I wouldn’t do this to him!”
Turning towards her, the Pearlcatcher replied, “You’re not doing it willingly, child. The magic itself is choosing to do this.”
“Okay, I get that the magic is transitioning. But why did he turn to Ice?”
“I sense that is tied to the disappearance of the Tidelord. The only conclusion we can draw is that the magic believes it is his time to lay down his power and yours to overtake it.”