Frozen In Time

"What is it?"

"No one knows, other than it's frozen."

"How long has it been here?"

"Longer than our family has, and yet it hasn't changed an inch on the outside. On the inside, well… I'm sure you can see that."

Constance stared at the lake. Under the 10ft thick ice sheet, laid a giant koi fish, with the claws of a falcon and the wings of a dragon. Mouth gaping, golden lights still swirled around it's fangs, ready to unleash their latent fury.

"Is it safe to just let it stay there?"

"That question has been asked for generations, no one has been able to give an adequate answer." Constance crossed her arms and smirked in dissatisfaction.

"One would think that with this amount of dormant power lying beneath the surface, that it would be ready to burst forth any minute now. The beast's blood vessels, and fervent energy should be proof of this. Look closely enough, and you're not sure if you see the water flowing, or you're still seeing it sweat. However, this viewpoint has persisted throughout centuries. If it were to break free, it would've done it by now. But it is incorrect, because with every passing minute, it bides its time, making that horrible future increasingly more likely."

Little kids tended to spread rumors of the beast. They say they saw its power surge, a moving iris, or a single blink of what was yet to come. Most adults tended to disregard such fairytales. They had no proof and could have always made up stories for attention. Some adults would set up camp, for several days at the sanctuary, trading shifts, always coming back with the same results

Valeria was different. She had accepted the beast's existence as a part of life, a constant reminder of it's fleeting essence, able to be ripped out from under you, in an instance. She was the last one who could cast the necessary incantation. Some people believed she was the last one renaming from the original peoples, but no, even her family stole it from the native settlers.

Eons ago, Thames wanted a means to overtake the nation, so he could cement his people in this land and usurp Parmveer's throne. Having stumbled upon the dark arts, Thames conglomerated every familiar ritual he could get a hold of, crafting some type of chimeric invocation. Casting it backwards, he could transmogrify the entity from one of protection to one of destruction. He was warned by his council that no one could predict what it'd be capable of. Combining one spell with another could have synergistic effects of unseen proportions. Hundreds could eclipse any power fathomable. Thames was assured that was exactly what he'd need.

People suggested it wouldn't even work, or wondered if anyone was capable of even casting such a thing. But when Thames unleashed his summoning circle, all doubts were quickly put to rest.

Thames had summoned the beast to ravage his enemies and destroy their villages. Obeying Thames' every command, nobody could stand up to its might. Not even the strongest priests could keep it at bay. Soon, the foul creature's fury became too unhinged for even Thames. It did not care for the past they made. No speckle of civilisation was left standing in it's line of sight. Thames could no longer tame it, and could only defend, for brief periods of time. Both sides of the conflict could only hope to deflect it, switching off between each other. This struggle lasted for 6 months.

Soon Parmveer was forced to flee his fortress to quench the beast's wrath. Channeling the strength of the ancients and all the unseen forces of his covenant, he engulfed the beast in a bright blue light, obliterating anything within a two mile radius. The beast, unable to fight back, thrashed violently. It began to charge one last beam of light, but was brought down to the earth, in a newly formed crater, sealed under a large block of ice.

Parmveer's gambit caused more damage than the beast did in 2 months. His council fought hard against the decision. Unfortunately, the spell took too much of his power and he was no longer around to be reprimanded. When the inner core began to melt, people began to fear for the worst, only for nothing to happen.

Meanwhile, Parmveer's kingdom sustained too much damage and acquiesced to the takeover. Together, they had one goal in mind: watch the lake.

Months turned into years, then decades. The area became closed off and heavily guarded. Constant surveillance was set up, every hour on the hour. Still nothing.

The periphery began to restore itself to what it one was. Forests sprung back to life. Fauna returned in droves. The lake began to recede in diameter, to the size of a pond, causing some alarm, but still, it helped strong. Parmveer's gambit was a success. You couldn't even tell a war was fought from the outside, but the beast was, as a constant reminder, deep within the woods.

Seeing that Thames was the 'victor' his council would never allow his name to be tarnished by the powers that be. This would shake faith in the kingdom. They couldn't pin the crime on Parmveer. The summoning circle was seen coming from their castle and all records indicated Thames involvement in the destruction.They falsified claims and testimonials to suggest that the beast came out of nowhere and the war was a result of Thames' opportunistic nature.

Thames was there only one strong enough to even attempt Parmveer' s spell again, when the time came. He was tasked as guardian of the reserve, not out of filial devotion, like some sources now claim, but as punishment. It was the only reason they kept them around, albeit, in exile. The council began to run independently, and the kingdom flourished once more.

As the years passed by Thames, having no children of his own, would need to search for a successor, which he found in a wandering group of unsuspecting nomads, with a strong affinity for magic. The nomads proved capable, They happened to be passing by and wanted a place to settle down. The council agreed that one would have to oversee the beast, come his passing. They were unwilling to permit freedom to Thames', but these new magic users did not share the same original sins.

The council would provide generous accomodations for the nomads, seeing to it they would be privy to the kingdom's riches, in exchange for a solemn lifestyle. They would be trumpeted as heroes, sacred protectors, infallible to forces that be.

Crafty as they were, they and their descendants safeguarded the truth while coveting the council’s influence. They were the ones who opened the forest doors to the public, saying they cast a spell making it ‘safe’, as long as they were satisfied. If everyone still knew about the beast, the nomads could usurp power whenever they wanted, threatening to unleash it if they didn’t get their way. There was one Thames. There were plenty of them. They claimed they could do a better job subduing it, seeing as they had learned magic from regions far beyond this land. What they call on from one source, they could understand from many. This was how they were able to travel. They even took down Thames in a magic duel. No one was willing to call them out on their bluff or risk another attack. Any disagreements would shatter the sanctity of the ice prison.

Although, no one was willing to actively practice Parmveer’s gambit, seeing it being far beyond the scope of everyday magic. No one even knows for sure if the current generation has what it takes or if the thing even still works.

That is until today. Valeria’s time was coming to a close. She had grown curious as to how well her ancestors were able to craft a strong magic regiment for her in the present day, as well as how Constance would fare as a successor. If that wretched day were to come, what could they even expect?

They would head to an empty quarry in the mountains and would be able to reach it by sundown. Valeria already taught Constance the spell and had long proven herself capable. It would be this or natural causes. They had nothing else to lose.

“Come along now. We have much work to do.”