The Fragile Dragons

Title: 4 Times It Wasn’t an Ice Bow (& 1 Time It Was)
Author: Sarah
Word count: 1527

i. Eliana doesn’t like to think of herself as the type of person to lay awake at night worrying about such trivial things. And yet here she lies, tangled up in a mess of sheets and pillows on a hard mattress in Kas and Jory’s spare room, worrying about the bold colours of her robes; the cut of her hair; her shapeless nose; if people will notice that her glasses are only for show and other frustratingly ridiculous thoughts that would otherwise not get the time of day, or night.

She closes her eyes and sighs. Of course she’s noticed a few changes in her own behaviours and decisions since the incident with Omadd’s machine. She’d be crazy to think she would come out unscathed from what was such a life altering experience. One of these days, she thinks, she really needs to get Braham to convince Taimi to stay on the sidelines. That kid will be the death of her. Though to be fair Taimi’s actions let her get in touch with a spiritual side she’d never known even existed. Perhaps seeing the Eternal Alchemy and other bizarre visions could do that to a person.

Eliana thinks back to the glowing orbs. She remembers reaching out to them, almost touching them with the tips of her fingers before the world around her lost all colour and light. The last few moments before she woke up surrounded by her very concerned friends.

When she reopens her eyes she bites back a shriek of terror. Hovering over her, claws sinking deep into the mattress, is a massive mordrem wolf. The sound it makes when its eyes settle on her is about as terrifying as its appearance. The deafening growl echoes in the room. Eliana raises her arms to cover her face but finds that her hands are gripped firmly around a pleasantly cool ice bow. She takes aim, blinks, and both the mordrem wolf and ice bow twist, curl and fade into the darkness.

Eliana is left alone with just the sound of her heart hammering against her rib cage, demanding to be let out. She takes a deep breath, covers her face with a pillow and groans loudly. Maybe worrying about her next outfit isn’t such a bad thing after all. She’d honestly prefer it to yet another nasty hallucination.

She sits up in bed and wonders, for a moment, if Kas and Jory would respect her any less for bothering them in the middle of the night about the demons that plague her so. How would her guild mates react? She sighs.

With a sloppy sweeping motion of her right arm and a whisper, she summons the only friends who won’t judge her at her most vulnerable. “Arise, my creations.”

Two small bone minions crawl out of the ground and jump onto the bed. Eliana picks up the nearest and hugs it close to her chest. She can’t help but smile when the tiny minion’s tail wags a little faster. She settles back down onto the mattress as the other bone minion circles the foot of the bed a few times and plops down onto the sheets. She falls asleep to the muted sound of crickets and snoring.



ii. It’s half past two in the morning when three hooded figures, with their faces hidden, meet in a dark alleyway in the Salma District. The area is lit only by small lanterns hanging on each side of the buildings.

“Do you have it?” Eliana shivers as she speaks and pulls her robes tight around her arms. She’s still not used to the bitter cold of the season.

“Right here.” A man with a gruff voice speaks. He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a small package wrapped in leather and twine. He carefully unwraps the tiny parcel and shows the contents to Eliana.

“This is some kind of joke, right?” No one is laughing. Eliana narrows her eyes as she inspects the tiniest object. She pulls a small bag of coins out of her pocket and tosses it at the man. He catches it easily, though he’s obviously a bit surprised by her reaction to the whole thing.

“…no?” The man pockets the small coin purse and hands her the box. “This is what you asked for.”

“I asked for a fucking ice bow, you prick.” Eliana empties the contents of the package into her hand. It is a tiny painted wooden ice bow. Possibly a small toy meant for children.

“Fuck you. Next time ask a god damn elementalist if you’re looking for the real thing.” He snaps. “We’re out of here.”

The two leave Eliana to stand in the alley shivering, disappointed and penniless. One thing’s for certain: she won’t ever make a purchase from Fartzz0nYou ever again.



iii. Miyu has always been like a sister to Eliana. They grew up together and went through a lot of the same hardships. They made a promise, long ago, that they would always share what little they had with each other.

And so Eliana has a house guest. A strange, messy, talkative, dirt-covered, hasn’t-showered-in-a-week, animal-obsessed ranger.

Eliana curses under her breath as she steps on something sharp on the messy floor of the front room. It wouldn’t be so bad if Miyu didn’t also toss her weapons around haphazardly and then cover those with a layer of treasures and clothing. Eliana could count at least a dozen times she’d stepped on and almost broken vials of blood, totems and her own bones.

From the corner of her eye she spots a glimmer of bright blue and immediately she lunges for the pile of hidden treasure.

“Ellie?” Miyu stands, bleary-eyed and half-asleep, in the doorway. She has a blanket wrapped around her like a cocoon. “Whatcha diggin’ for?”

“Ice bow!” Eliana picks up a skirt and tosses it back over her shoulder. It hits Miyu square in the face and falls to the floor.

“You’re nuts.” Miyu stumbles into the room and collapses dramatically in a heap beside her friend. “And just who do you think summoned a weapon in that pile of shit there?”

Eliana glares and sticks out her tongue at Miyu before she resumes her great search for the ice bow.

“Ooh.” Miyu shifts a little. “You mean Wintersbite. I thought I sold that thing to a merchant.”

Eliana pulls a glowing blue longbow out from the pile and smiles. “It’s perfect.”

“Girl, it’s still not an ice bow.” Miyu throws a glove in Eliana’s direction and misses by about a mile.

“No. But it’s close enough.” Eliana drags the bow out of the room with a smile. Finally… the skin is hers!



iv. A glorious owl sits perched atop a branch of a snow cherry tree. Its gaze switching direction in a manner more suited to a child with difficulties concentrating. It lets out a series of quiet ‘hoo’s.

“I cannot believe the names which you bestow upon your beloved pets.” Eliana leans back against the base of the tree, head back and eyes following the movements of the wide-eyed bird.

Beside her sits a pink haired ranger with a smirk on her face and what appears to be a permanent scowl. The girl remains silent.

“They’re absolutely brilliant.” Eliana smiles up at the owl. “Right, Not An Ice Bow?”

Not An Ice Bow tilts its head to the side and bobs it up and down somewhat enthusiastically.



v. It’s not until the Dragon Bash festival that Eliana stumbles upon an ice bow quite by accident.

The sun is out, the heat is incredible and the city of Lion’s Arch truly does feel alive again. Although it’s been nice to be recognized as the hero of the city, it does get tiring and overwhelming having to interact with so many people. So she somehow manages to stray away from the crowd and the noise and finds herself on a nice path down by the water.

After a few minutes Eliana spots a bright thing in the sand. Curious, she runs over to it and almost bursts into tears of joy. It’s an ice bow. An actual ice bow. Not a dream, a hallucination, a toy, a pet with the name or a bow made to look like it. No, this one has been conjured. She can sense the magic. She can almost feel it call out her name.

Eliana reaches out, picks it up and knows instantly that she’s right. The bow feels like cool, static-filled air in her hands. It’s lighter than any other weapon she has been able to wield in her time as a necromancer.

Eliana dances with the bow in her arms and hums a little as she sways. After a moment there’s a snicker from behind a nearby bush.

She raises the bow above her head and calls down an ice storm on the poor, unsuspecting plant. Hundreds of tiny shards of ice rain down from the sky. There’s a yelp and a guild mate, a black-haired elementalist she knows well, barrels out from behind the plants and runs back towards the festivities. Eliana cackles at the retreating form.

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