The Steel That Melted
"Ugh, come on. I told you I'm going alone this time."
"Grrrr..."
Alduin planted himself firmly in the cave entrance and let out a low growl. The sound rolled across the ceiling, rattling the icicles before it reached the floor and tickled the soles of my feet.
I tightened the strap of the pack on my back once more and looked up at the black dragon. He was far too large to be a simple gatekeeper and far too sulky to be called a mountain range.
"Blocking the way won't change anything."
"Grr..."
"It won't."
"Grrrr..."
"Don't talk back."
Alduin's golden eyes wavered dramatically.
His expression screamed that I was scolding him even though he hadn't said a word. But that level of wounded pride in his growl was basically the same as talking back.
I raised a finger and held it in front of his snout.
"You're on house-sitting duty today."
"Grr?"
"House."
I pointed deeper into the cave.
"Food."
I pointed at the pile of leather sacks and dried meat.
"Stone box."
I pointed at the heavy stone container that held the invisible dagger.
"And Invisible's spot."
I pointed at the flat rock and water bowl I'd set up near the entrance just for the second dragon.
"Guard all of it."
Alduin looked at each thing in turn.
The food pile.
The stone box.
Invisible's spot.
Then back at me.
His gaze was crystal clear. It asked why he, a dragon, had to stay home while I, a human, got to wander the snowy mountains alone.
"If you follow me, it'll be too noisy."
"Grr?!"
"You're too big."
"Grrrr!"
"Every step makes the snow collapse."
"Grr!"
"One tail wag and boulders start rolling."
"Grr..."
"And if you breathe wrong, you carve out a whole new path."
Alduin closed his mouth slightly. He seemed to recognize that these were undeniable facts.
I lowered my voice a little more.
"Besides, Invisible won't come out if you're there."
At the name, the corners of Alduin's eyes drooped in a very specific way. Jealousy or discontent, I couldn't tell, but the emotion showed with honest clarity between his black scales.
I sighed and stroked the bridge of his nose.
"Don't be jealous."
"Grr."
"I'm not abandoning you."
"Grrrr..."
"I'll be right back."
"Grr..."
"And you're the oldest, remember?"
The growl softened just a fraction.
Easy to handle. Well, not exactly easy, but I knew which direction to push.
I patted his nose twice more.
"The oldest should know how to guard the house."
"Grr?"
"Don't look so happy. This is more responsibility."
Only then did Alduin's face shift into the expression of someone who realized he'd been tricked.
I turned toward the cave entrance, fighting back a smile.
Beyond the opening, the world was pure white light.
The snow piled on the peak of the Cradle of the World reflected the sun perfectly, and the wind slicing across it felt like thin blades scraping my cheeks.
I pulled my scarf up over my nose and tightened the waist strap so the small bottles and cloth pouches in my bag wouldn't rattle.
"No breath attacks."
"Grr."
"No touching the food sacks."
"Grr?!"
"Just in case."
Alduin's eyes widened like he'd been wounded.
"I'm kidding."
"Grrrr..."
"Mostly."
His growl deepened.
I waved and stepped out into the snowfield.
My foot sank deep.
When I moved with Alduin I hadn't noticed, but the Cradle of the World was far harsher when I walked it alone.
Black rocks jutted up between the snow like the ribs of some giant beast, and the slightest misstep made hollow snowdrifts tremble as if they might collapse.
I prodded ahead with a long stick and walked slowly.
Thump.
Safe.
Thump.
Safe here too.
Thump.
Deep.
I shifted my weight sideways.
"It'd be so much easier if Alduin were here. I could just ride on his back."
The muttered words scattered on the wind.
But there was a reason I hadn't brought him today.
If I wanted to find the source of the strange stones and minerals Invisible kept bringing, a small human who could walk quietly was better than a black dragon whose footsteps shook entire mountains.
Of course, the "small human" part was already dangerous enough, but I'd decided not to think too hard about that before leaving.
"Invisible," I called without looking around. "If you're following, make a sound."
The wind blew.
No faint scraping noise reached me.
I pouted without meaning to.
"Guess he's not coming."
It stung a little.
Just a little.
We'd made a deal, I'd prepared a spot for him, and I'd even made a dagger from his scales. Yet Invisible still kept his distance.
That was fine.
I wouldn't force him to stay.
I wouldn't force him to show himself.
I would wait.
That was the rule I'd set for myself.
The problem was that the rule sometimes left me feeling a bit lonely.
After descending quite a way, I finally spotted Invisible's traces.
The footprints in the snow were much smaller than Alduin's, but still enormous by human standards.
The snow was pressed down deeply as if an elephant had passed through, and four sharp claw marks stretched forward.
I swallowed.
"Found you."
The tracks continued downward between the rocks.
I followed them.
Little by little the smell of the wind changed.
Near the peak it was cold and clean, but down here it carried the scent of animal fur and old frozen blood.
I slowed my steps.
"This area feels... off."
Right then, a low sound leaked out from behind a rock.
Grrrrr.
It wasn't Alduin's growl or the sound of Invisible's scales.
It was much rougher, heavier, a wet throaty rumble.
I turned my head slowly.
The blizzard shifted for a moment, revealing the massive shape behind the rock.
An orc.
But not the stupid green-skinned monster I'd imagined.
It was more than twice a human's height, and frozen gray skin was covered in snow and ice like armor.
Its shoulders were as wide as boulders, and thick arms were wrapped messily in beast hides and bone fragments.
The club in its hand wasn't wood. It looked like a massive beast's bone pulled out and encased in ice.
When the orc exhaled, instead of white steam, finely crushed ice powder scattered.
I took one very slow step back.
"Ah."
The word slipped out quietly.
"I'm starting to regret leaving Alduin behind."
The orc's yellow eyes locked onto me.
Those eyes held no tedious procedures like conversation or mercy.
Prey.
Food.
Obstacle.
That seemed to be the extent of its categories.
"Hello," I said, raising a hand slightly. "Just passing through."
The orc opened its mouth.
Black and yellow teeth had ice shards stuck between them.
"Doesn't look like talking will work."
The orc moved.
Its enormous foot crushed the snowfield, and the weight alone made the surrounding snow sink in a circle.
I retreated, but the ground suddenly gave way beneath me.
"Whoa."
My body tilted.
I stabbed the stick into the snow and barely caught myself.
The orc wasn't slow enough to miss the opening.
The giant bone club rose above my head.
I'm dead.
The thought flashed through my mind for a split second.
Then it happened.
Scrape.
A small sound sliced through the blizzard.
In the next instant, the orc's club split in half in midair.
The upper piece spun away and buried itself in the snow. The orc stared blankly at the half still in its hand.
I stared blankly too.
But I recognized that sound.
"...Invisible?"
There was no answer.
No footprints.
Instead, a single thin line appeared across the orc's shoulder.
At first I didn't even realize it was a wound.
Then, a beat later, the ice armor split, the gray flesh beneath parted, and blood sprayed out.
The orc roared.
"GRAAAAAHH!"
Its massive body swung its arms wildly.
But there was nothing in the empty air.
Scrape.
A line appeared on the orc's forearm.
Scrape.
The ice armor on its thigh cracked open.
Scrape.
The thick ice plate on its chest unfolded like a sheet of paper.
Invisible was moving while remaining invisible.
Between the orc and me.
Between the blizzard and the rocks.
As if nowhere and everywhere at once.
Every time the sound rang out, a line appeared on the orc's body, and that line soon became a cut surface.
There were no flames.
No explosions.
None of the overwhelming heat that let Alduin melt mountains and lakes.
Instead there was only silence.
Cold, quiet, and far too sharp.
The orc was strong.
Any human facing it would have found escape nearly impossible.
Its ice armor was hard, its strength brutal enough to shatter stone, and it was a monster that moved freely in the freezing cold of the Cradle of the World.
But in front of Invisible it was no different from a large chunk of meat.
An invisible blade passed by.
A line formed.
And then it split.
The orc turned its head one last time.
Its yellow eyes looked at me.
Or rather, at the space somewhere between me and Invisible.
Fear finally surfaced in those eyes.
At that moment Invisible's front paw passed through the orc's chest.
Slice.
The roar cut off.
The giant body couldn't even fall in one piece.
Its arms dropped separately, its legs collapsed, and the ice armor covering its chest shattered into multiple pieces that rolled across the snow.
Red blood spread over the white snow.
I couldn't move from where I stood.
The wind passed by, carrying away the smell of blood.
And there, amid that blood, Invisible stood.
I saw him clearly for the first time.
He wasn't fully visible.
The orc's blood had simply clung to his body and traced his outline.
A red stain on his forehead.
Blood flowing down the line of his neck.
Drops of blood clinging to the tips of his front paws.
Red specks on the edges of his folded wings and long tail.
Those red marks painted the shape of an invisible dragon within the blizzard.
Invisible didn't move.
He didn't run.
But he was trembling very slightly.
He'd been seen.
The appearance he'd never wanted to show had been revealed by the blood.
I opened my mouth slowly.
"Invisible."
Invisible took one step back.
Thump.
A bloodstained footprint appeared in the snow.
I raised my hand.
"You don't have to run."
Invisible stopped.
I approached one step at a time.
"I'm not trying to catch you."
When I stood in front of the bloodstained forehead whose position was now revealed, I swallowed again without meaning to.
An elephant-sized invisible dragon.
A dragon with scales that could cut through steel.
A monster that had just sliced an ice orc into pieces.
Yet that forehead was trembling right in front of my hand.
I reached out slowly.
When Invisible tried to pull back a little, I stopped immediately.
"If you don't like it, I won't."
Silence.
Invisible didn't retreat any farther.
I moved my hand again with care and placed my palm on the bloodstained forehead.
It was cold.
Alduin's scales were always warm, but Invisible's forehead felt cool, like a mixture of snow, metal, and dawn wind.
But it was alive.
I could feel a very faint tremor beneath my palm.
I stroked that forehead slowly.
Once.
Twice.
Blood got on my palm, but I didn't pull away.
"You did well."
Scrape.
The scales made a tiny sound.
"You protected me."
I didn't stop stroking.
"The scary one was that thing over there."
Invisible stayed still.
"You're just the strange kid who brought weird rocks near our house and paid for meals with scales."
Scrape.
This time the sound came faster.
I didn't know if it was protest or embarrassment, but it made me smile.
"It's a compliment."
Scrape.
"Mostly."
Invisible didn't run.
Instead he very slightly pushed his forehead farther under my hand.
At that moment, the scales not covered in blood began to regain their color one by one.
Scrape.
Scrape.
Scrape.
The scales that had been shedding light turned back to their original orientation, and the steel-colored body slowly revealed itself within the blizzard.
First the forehead.
Then the tip of the snout.
The slender long neck.
The sharp front paws.
The folded wings.
And the elephant-sized body.
Invisible showed his true form in front of me for the first time.
His steel-colored scales were dense and smooth, each one overlapping like a thin blade.
His wings weren't huge and broad like Alduin's but folded long and thin like sword sheaths, with edges that looked sharp enough to slice the wind itself.
His face was long and sleek.
Pale silver eyes watched me with caution.
They looked frightened, expectant, and for the first time, as if he wanted to be seen.
I stared at him for a long time before smiling slowly.
"So this is what you look like."
The small scales that looked like ears on Invisible's head flattened slightly.
"You're cool."
Scrape.
This time it was a very small sound.
He seemed embarrassed.
I stroked his forehead once more.
"You'll keep coming to our house, right?"
Invisible pressed one footprint into the snow.
Thump.
"And you'll keep paying for meals with scales?"
A brief silence.
Thump.
Another footprint.
I shook my head.
"Stop that."
Invisible's silver eyes wavered.
"Not a trade."
I gently rubbed the bloodstained forehead with my palm.
"Just eat."
Invisible stayed quiet.
"The kids in our house don't pay for meals."
Invisible's eyes widened.
I smiled a little as I looked into them.
"Of course, if you steal food you'll get scolded."
Scrape.
"Even family gets scolded for that."
Scrape.
"But you don't have to pay for meals."
Without removing my hand, I stepped a little closer.
The wind swept snowflakes between us, and the snow that landed on Invisible's steel-colored scales quickly slid off.
"So."
My voice settled softly onto the snowfield.
"Want to become one of our family's kids too?"
Invisible didn't answer for a long time.
He left no footprints.
He made no scale sounds.
He simply looked at me.
I waited.
When I shouldn't look, I didn't look.
When I shouldn't grab, I didn't grab.
This time too, I waited.
Then Invisible very slowly lowered his head.
And pushed his forehead a little farther under my hand.
Instead of words.
Instead of footprints.
That single action was his answer.
My throat tightened for no reason and I closed my mouth for a moment.
"Good."
I stroked the bloodstained forehead again.
"From today, you're the second."
Scrape.
Invisible's scales made a small sound.
Within the blizzard the steel-colored dragon quietly closed his eyes.
"And you have to greet the oldest yourself."
Invisible's eyes snapped open.
Scrape.
"No running away."
Scrape.
"No turning invisible either."
Invisible very quietly averted his eyes.
I tapped the bloodstained forehead.
"You're already visible because of the blood anyway."
Scrape.
"Don't react the same way to that too."
The way back was different from the descent.
When I'd walked alone the ground felt unstable and the world too wide, but now a steel-colored dragon walked beside me.
Invisible no longer hid completely.
At first he followed cautiously a few steps behind, but when the snow grew deep he moved ahead and pressed down a path with his feet.
I walked by placing my feet inside those large footprints.
"Oh."
It was more comfortable than I'd expected.
"This is nice."
Scrape.
The tip of Invisible's tail twitched very slightly.
"Alduin's footprints are so big that once you step in you can't get out."
Scrape.
"Don't tell Alduin I said that."
Scrape.
That one sounded like laughter.
I was starting to understand a little.
As the cave drew closer, Alduin's presence grew stronger.
Or rather, it was the enormous growl he was desperately holding back inside the cave.
The black rock entrance came into view, and golden eyes flashed from within.
Alduin's eyes found me first.
They saw the blood on my hands.
They saw the blood splattered on my clothes.
And finally they saw the steel-colored dragon standing behind me.
The inside of Alduin's throat glowed red.
I shouted immediately.
"Ald!"
The red light stopped.
"Don't breathe fire on family!"
Alduin froze.
Invisible froze behind me too.
Even the air inside the cave seemed to solidify.
Alduin's golden eyes slowly widened.
"Grr?"
The growl was small, but its meaning was clear.
Family?
I lightly tapped Invisible's forehead and stepped into the cave.
"Say hello."
Alduin looked at me.
Then at Invisible.
Then back at me.
I declared with complete confidence.
"He's the second."
The giant black dragon lost all ability to move from the shock.
His tail tip stuck to the floor and the edges of his folded wings trembled faintly.
Invisible made a small scrape sound behind me.
It was probably a greeting.
Alduin very slowly lowered his head.
"Grr...?"
Invisible hesitated for a long time before placing one front paw on the ground.
Thump.
One footprint.
I nodded.
"Yes. That's a greeting."
Alduin still hadn't recovered from the shock.
I pointed at the food pile with my bloodstained hand.
"And let me make one thing clear."
One black dragon and one steel-colored dragon looked at me at the same time.
"Even family gets scolded for stealing food."
Alduin flinched.
Invisible flinched too.
I narrowed my eyes.
"Why are both of you flinching?"
Silence.
"From today onward, the rations will be divided among three."
Alduin's golden eyes wavered.
Invisible's silver eyes wavered too.
I looked at the pair and let out a deep sigh.
"What a household."
Outside the cave the wind howled long and low.
Inside the cave stood the first dragon and the second dragon.
And only after I wiped the blood from my hands did I realize.
...It's been less than a year since I woke up in this body, and I already have two dragons?
I was gathering an absurdly unbalanced force at an alarming speed.