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The person Cyrno refers to is the Ice Lord just an FYI

To Be Somebody

Cyrno took a long glance at the ice palace. He was waiting for his friend, Shiva, to come out. It was midday and she would be out soon. Snow sparkled on the ground and on the other buildings. Winter times were his favorite time of the year, being an ice dragon.

He was a blue scaled dragon with silvery horns, wing membranes, and claws. He had brilliant yellow eyes. At least, he would have eyes if he didn't have a black rag over his left one. He was well built; not too bulky, yet not that thin. Average. His spike at the end of his tail was a massive ball of ice used to bash someone's skull in. Icy armor covered his body, making him seem like a warrior of the wastelands.

It had been a year since he last saw this town. He was enrolled to join the army of the Iceheart Clan, which was made up of ice dragons. Smaller than most clans, most everyone, male or female, was required to at least serve a few shifts. Having turned into a drake last winter, he was pulled a few weeks after his hatchday and was sent away to aid the Firewing clan against the corrupted Windstalker and his followers.

That fight was brutal. Brutal enough for Cyrno to lose his left eye. He wondered how Shiva was going to take that. Shiva was the princess of this clan, and when her parents passed on, she would inherit the clan. However, the time of her choosing of a mate was coming. While she wasn't forced to become mates with a royal suitor, she still had to get one within the next few years.

On that subject, he felt his heart flutter. Unknown to the royal family, who he was on good terms with, he was in love with Shiva. Ever since he started to develop emotions, he wanted to be with her. No signs of her returning the feelings were apparent, but he damn well was going to fight any others for her claw.

Five minutes later, he sighed and started to walk towards the castle. The other soldiers were in there. He wanted to wait out here just in case Shiva came out. It was clear that she wasn't. It was idiotic to assume that she would anyway; the soldiers likely had her attention. On that subject, he moved faster.

Walking into the frozen hall, he was greeted by a platoon of soldiers that he worked with. They all saluted to him with their tails and he did the same back. He made a lot of friends out there. Losing his eye was almost the only bad thing that came out of it.

"Man, I thought you would never come in!" a large burly dragon slapped him on the back. It was all he could do to stand after that assault.

"Sorry, I had to do something," Cyrno replied, smiling and lightly hitting him back.

"What, your lady friend waiting for ya or something?" Cyrno blushed a bit at the other dragon's words. Thankfully the armor prevented it from seeing light.

"No, just waiting on a friend. Who is female. Not like that..." He said to the loud 'oooh' that came from all of them.

"So what's her name? It couldn't be Shiva you are talking about. She's got enough males in her claws. She wouldn't want you!" a female ice dragon said. Even though he knew she was joking, it struck his heart deeply.

"....Yes..." Cyrno wanted to shrink into the corner after another round of 'oooh's' came up. Someone yelled 'OH SNAP!'

"Don't sweat it pal, we all know your connection to her. We ain't gonna stand in your way. Yet," The dragon who slapped him said.

Cyrno smiled and nodded, grateful. He had gotten really close to this group over the year. It was amazing that something as horrifying as war could bring so many dracidons together. He trusted them with his life and no doubt they felt the same.

Cyrno, although not a part of the family, was accepted as one due to his close friendship with their daughter. He was just a small hatchling when he stood up to someone who tried to kidnap her. Although he failed miserably, it bought enough time for guards to come in. They also probably took interest in his yellow eyes, which was extremely rare in ice dragons.

Having nowhere to go, he lived with them for a while. Shiva used to be this almost shy dragoness, but over the years, she developed into an assertive, almost sarcastic, and kind one. She would never leave herself open and defended anyone openly. He loved that, among other things, about her.

Cyrno wondered what she looked like now. He should go and see if she was home. Saying goodbye to his friends, he trudged along the castle corridors. The place had changed a bit. Maybe it was because he grew or that he wasn't here for a while. The painting of the royal family was there. He smiled when he saw himself next to Shiva, both a few years younger than now.

She was a white dragoness with light blue horns. They seemed almost crystalline. How beautiful she looked even then. It made his heart swell with love and adoration for his princess. Yet, he was a coward. He could never tell her upfront. Cyrno had to try though...

"Cyrno, is that you, lad?" a voice asked as Cyrno turned to see the king and his adopted father walk towards him.

The king, Glace, was a large dragon who was quite overweight, but overweight in the way of 'You just stabbed me and hit nothing! Now I can hit back!' Cyrno highly respected him for his ability to fight and that it was he who raised him and understood him. How would Cyrno tell him about his love for his daughter, though?

"Father..." Cyrno could see the shock in his face when he saw the rag. It made him feel guilty.

"I thought you had died!" Glace threw his wings around the younger dragon and threatened to snap his back, "The last thing anyone got back was you saying that there was to be a large battle, and then a few days later your name was listed among the casualties!"

"S-sorry...but I had no time..." Cyrno managed to gasp out. His armor cracked a bit.

"I understand, but still...your eye..." Glace lifted the helmet off of Cyrno. Unseen due to the armor, there was a large healing scar that indicated a blade had been the object to destroy his eye.

"It's no big deal, really..." Cyrno tried to shrug it off, but the loss of his eye scarred him. If he could lose one so easily, then his other eye could be damaged and he would never see Shiva again.

"Of course it is! You are my son, blood related or not! It is my duty to protect you, and I couldn't. Damn the ambassadors from other clans. Should they not have been there, I would have been right there beside you!" Glace sighed and looked up at the picture.

"How has things been back here? Besides the ambassadors, of course," Cyrno followed his gaze to the portrait again. Turning his head slightly so he could see, he felt a tremendous amount of guilt when he saw a tear running down the king's muzzle.

"It's been...fine. Shiva misses you, you know?" Glace said, shaking his head.

Cyrno's heart leapt. She missed him? This was great! He almost let out a roar of elation. He must have done something to express how he felt, as now Glace was staring at him. Cyrno gave him a sheepish grin.

"S-sorry...I just...missed her too, you know?" Cyrno tried to explain. He really thought he was going to die from embarrassment.

"I can see that...that's the first time I have seen you react that way," Glace turned around and started to walk away, motioning him to follow. Cyrno kept at a pace right beside him, "You are trying to be her mate, aren't you?"

Cyrno tripped.

Picking himself up, Cyrno avoided his gaze, "Yes," he answered meekly.

"How much do you love her?"

Cyrno swallowed, collecting himself, "Father, my love for her is colder than the harshest of winters and more intense than a blizzard. I would treat her like newly fallen snow and love her no matter what changes she goes through. I have been with her since I was adopted. My heart belongs to her and no other female can claim it. She is my princess, my friend, and should she not accept me, then so be it. However, I cannot guarantee I will move on."

At first, he thought he had said something wrong from the stern look that Glace gave him. Then, the elder dragon smiled and patted the soldier's head, "Always poetic, aren't you Cyrno? You truly are devoted to her. You've impressed me, but the question is; can you impress her? She loved your poems. Try writing her a love one."

"Father...that is....actually a good idea," Cyrno was thinking about it, but wasn't sure if she would accept it. Now that he had the ok from the king, there was nothing to stop him except writer's block.

"Indeed it is. Come, let us meet her. No doubt she is waiting to see you," Glace continued down the hall, taking a right at a fork.

Cyrno quietly thought to himself of what he was going to say. He didn't want to offend her by pampering her, yet he had to get across his message across. On that subject, did she deviate from how he remembered her and become soft? Shiva isn't that type, but who knows? There was only one real way to find out.

How would she react to seeing him? Would she be happy, surprised, both? Or would she tell him that she loved him as well. It was impossible to say, but the last one wasn't likely. He gave no hints of his adoration. Cyrno never had the right words! It wasn't until his time in combat did he formulate something.

Glace opened the icy door to her room and into an icy wonderland. Everything was frozen! The metal beneath the floor could be seen perfectly. Due to there being no other rooms near her, the ice was clear and he could see his own reflection on every plane. A chandelier made of ice crystals hung, lit by fire trapped in ice. That always mystified Cyrno and he could spend hours watching it.

There, hanging over the frozen balcony, stood Shiva. She was absolutely stunning. Her frosty wings glittered in the sun. The crystals on her shoulders had a thin trail of mist running through them. The crystals were as pristine as ever. The tips of her tail spikes were deadly yet beautiful. Shiva had lost all of her hatchling fat and was now slender and lithe enough to do countless twists and turns in the air.

Her beauty enthralled Cyrno and before he knew it, he was walking up to her. Shiva didn't notice him. Glace stood back, watching. Cyrno understood why, and while he would never dare touch her like that, there was no doubt he would be like that as a father. Just as he was about to reach her, Shiva suddenly whirled around and set her icy eyes on him. The lack of pupils always got him.

She tackled him to the ground and held her tailspike to his neck. What was she doing? Didn't she recognize him? "Shiva, wait!" He called out. He never took his eye off of her. A hint of recognition crossed her muzzle.

"...Cyrno?" Shiva's voice, like him, was accented. It was music to his ears.

"Please don't kill me..." Cyrno was extremely nervous right now. She could kill him in an instant and he couldn't retaliate. Not that he would anyway. Hurting her frame was torture.

"I asked for no visitors, so why did you come in?" Cyrno saw her look up and spot Glace, "Oh, you let him in? Well, it is Cyrno, so I'll let this one slide, father. I was about to banish him from the kingdom if you were not here and he was another."

"Shiva, can you please...?" Cyrno tried to signal her to get off of him. It was getting really uncomfortable.

"...What happened to you?" Shiva looked at him more clearly. Even though he could never tell where she was looking, it was perfectly clear that she was referring to the rag.

"It was a casualty from the battle," Cyrno shrugged, giving her a small smile, "Don't worry, I'm fine. I can still see," he tapped a claw to the scales around his other eye.

"So this was what they meant by casualties. You used to write every week. I understand why you didn't now," Shiva turned to Glace, "Father, can you leave us? I wish to discuss something with Cyrno."

"What, mating already?" Both Shiva and Cyrno blushed and shouted 'NO!' Shiva launched an ice spike at him, narrowly missing, "Ha, I'm kidding dear. Just call if you need anything."

When Glace left, Shiva got off of him and looked away for a moment. Cyrno was glued to the ground. Not that he minded; he liked the feeling of the ice. Very refreshing. "So tell me, Cyrno, what happened to lose your eye?"

"...Are you sure you want to know?" Cyrno asked after a moment. Shiva laid down next to him, keeping her gaze on his eye.

"Well, if I am to be a queen, I need to know how the battle went. I can learn that from your tale," She answered simply.

"...Very well," Cyrno sighed and focused on her, "It was night. We were sleeping with a few sentries up. I was one of them, and my shift was almost over. I wouldn't have minded myself, but like any other mortal, I needed sleep. Even though the polar lights distracted me, I was aware of my surroundings. I noticed someone sneak into the camp and when I finally caught up to her, everything went to hell."

"How so?" Shiva asked. She really had inherited the stern look that her father had.

"She was a decoy. In fact, she wasn't even real; an illusion. The real threat was when an all out attack came from where I had just come from. I was just doing my duty by investigating! Then...she appeared," Cyrno visibly shook, closing his eye.

"Who did?" Shiva pressed.

"I didn't get her name. I just know that she had scales like ruby and horns as black as the night. By Orphilious, her eyes were red and had black slits for pupils! Fire danced around her and I thought she was an ally until I saw her stalk my group. I dashed over to my squad and just as she was about to lunge, I jumped in the way, knocking the one she was to hit out of the way and in the process...."

"In the process, you lost your eye," Shiva summed up. Cyrno nodded slowly, "That was a brave thing you did, Cyrno. You earned yourself quite a few points for that one."

"...Points?" Whatever did she mean by that?

Shiva smiled sweetly, "Well, that is if you are entering for my claw. Don't tell me if you are; it is better that way. Just because you are my closest and oldest friend doesn't mean that you get a free shot," She laughed and ran her claw gently on the inside of his thigh. He jolted violently and tried to get away, "You have to seduce me first, Cyrno. Why don't you start by telling me what appeals to you about me. Everything, I don't care what."

Cyrno felt like he was in the center of the sun from the heat that he was feeling. She wanted him to WHAT? He couldn't say that! This isn't what he was expecting! Even if she did touch him there, this wasn't what he wanted yet!

"I-I'm sorry, but I need to go!" Cyrno got up and bolted out the door, ignoring her perplexed expression. Glace was waiting outside and he went past him as well. He could hear him ask what happened, but didn't stick around for the answer. He needed air.

Reaching an outside hall, he stopped and slumped over the railing. You wimped out! His mind chastised. You had her and then you went and lost it. Now you don't have a chance in hell. Congratulations, you suck.

"I know...I just can't bring myself to say it to her directly," Cyrno replied out loud. He didn't care who heard. He was defeated, "I just...can't. I don't want to offend her. She made it difficult to think. I know now that was part of the test..."

"Indeed it was," Cyrno looked over to see someone most peculiar. It looked like a white bipedal raven. A black cloak covered most of the body and gold-white energy formed around the eyes. The beak matched the feather color. Cyrno thought ravens were black.

"How do you know?" Cyrno asked. Who was this figure? And why did a sense of terror rise around him?

"Oh, I have seen my fair share of rituals like this. It is the female or male's duty to test suitors and find how they act under stress, how intelligent they are, and so on," Suddenly, the raven stopped, "Oh, my apologies. I never introduced myself. My name is Ephiral..."