Ed Singer cherished the summertime the most.

Back when he lived in Vesa City, this season saw him devising every possible scheme to escape his mother's watchful eye, plunging into the Veynz River with his friends. The fierce and turbulent upstream waters, upon reaching Vesa, became wide and gentle. Ed was an excellent swimmer, able to reach the opposite shore in one go, where legend spoke of the oldest human-constructed temple of the water deity, long since vanished without trace. With the aid of the black rock dwarves, a sturdy stone bridge had been erected, connecting the two banks. Vesa's wealthy began to erect grandiose dwellings on the once barren east bank, their gardens blooming with the vibrant pomegranate flowers of summer.

At five, Ed had moved with his parents to the east bank, but he preferred the bustling markets and noisy docks of the west. He would spend hours at the window, watching the ships come and go, imagining the wondrous places they had seen and the perilous adventures they had weathered.

He even once spotted an elven ship, slender and graceful, docked quietly in a corner, just as his mother had described in the elven tales before bedtime. He dived into the water, drawing as close as he could to marvel at its perfect form and intricate patterns, daring not to touch. Until someone from the ship leaned out to warn him, "Careful, we're setting sail."

It was an adult elf, handsome and gracious, with golden hair cascading over his shoulders, smiling at him kindly, nothing like the aloof and unapproachable elves of the legends.

Reluctantly, he swam away, then rushed to the bridge to watch the ship sail southwards, disappearing over the horizon.

That was his first and only encounter with an elf. The elven kingdoms lay in the distant southern forests, and they seldom ventured to the cold north.

Ed liked that elf. He guessed that's why he was so eager to befriend Isty the first time he saw him; they shared similar golden hair and delicate features. He couldn't help but ask if Isty had elven blood, to which Isty shook his head, parting his hair to show his rounded human ears.

"Half-elves have pointed ears," he said, "I knew a half-elf..." then he clammed up.

"Half-elf!" Ed exclaimed excitedly, "Where is he? What's his name? Is he your friend? Can I meet him?"

"Kalebryn," Isty replied reluctantly, "We better not talk about him behind his back, he'll know, and he's much scarier than Narya."

As they parted, Isty cautioned with evident unease, "Swear you won't tell anyone I mentioned a half-elf to you."

Ed swore, then immediately turned to question Narya. He had known the siblings for several months, winning their friendship through persistence—though Narya claimed it was to keep an eye on him so he wouldn't deceive Isty.

"Seen Kalebryn lately?" he asked.

"That half-elf priest?" Narya glared skeptically, "Elen said he went to..." and she too fell silent, kicking him in frustration.

"Not a word to anyone!" she warned.

Thus, Ed knew at least that the Delian carpenter family was acquainted with a half-elf priest, not a common occurrence. He resolved to investigate, discreetly.

But soon, something more intriguing captured his attention.

By late summer, Ed had explored every secret passage in the castle he could find—just one, in fact. Since Isty had pulled him into that first secret passage, the castle, once a cold and empty bore, was now a place of mystery and delight.

Not that he made any significant discoveries.

The other passage he found led from an unused second-floor room to a cliff behind the castle, likely an escape route. Only the sealed iron door fueled his imagination, but he dared not try to open it. He knew all too well how unpredictable, powerful, and terrifying magic could be.

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Then he pilfered his mother's keys and sneaked into the locked rooms whenever possible. Though he was caught and severely scolded, confined to his room for three days, he had indeed found something incredible.

It took him over half a month to get the chance to leave the castle with his father and share the discovery with his friends.

It was a map, seemingly ancient, its edges frayed despite careful rolling and storage, emitting a musty scent upon unfurling.

Narya sniffed, "I don't recognize this spice."

"Perhaps because it's not an edible one," Ed tapped the table solemnly, "Listen, this is important!"

"Is it?" Narya looked doubtful. They huddled in the Delian's cramped basement, surrounded by clutter, an unlikely setting for anything of import.

"Look at this map!" Ed's enthusiasm nearly toppled the candlestick, "Look at these!"

He jabbed at the map's faded, dragon-like symbols: "Can't you recognize them? Dragons!"

"Dragons?" Isty asked, puzzled.

"...Unbelievable!" Ed was aghast, "You’ve never heard of dragons? Not ever?!"

Isty tilted his head, "Is it strange?"

Scott's stories never mentioned dragons, nor did Carvo, and even the books Isty perused in Thirk's library were silent on them.

"I might've heard something in a minstrel's song when I was little," Narya said, "Just some big, evil creature with horns, flies and breathes fire, very rare. You won't stumble upon a dragon every day, so it's not strange not to know."

"Only flame dragons breathe fire!... This is truly unbelievable!" Ed lamented, "Dragons! The oldest, most fearsome, most powerful magical creatures in the world, I can't believe there's someone who hasn't heard of dragons! Where have you been..."

"Alright." Narya cut him off, "Not everyone is interested in these strange things. What do you want us to see?"

Ed's fervor took a hit, and he slumped over the table, pointing at a spot on the map, "This marks every dragon's location on the continent, five in total... Here, you must recognize this place, right?"

His finger traced a small castle. Isty leaned in.

"Thirk," he said, surprised, "There's a dragon in Thirk? Hidden... beneath the castle?" He remembered the iron door.

"...Trust me, it can't fit through that door. And ice dragons don't like staying underground," Ed declared, giving up on further explanations, "Look, it's here." He seemed ready to bang his head on the table.

He moved his finger a short distance on the map, stopping at a small mountain peak, topped with a white, lizard-like creature with outstretched wings, mouth open as if spewing white flames, and a spiny tail coiled in a strange pose.

"It doesn't look very scary," Narya assessed, "Does it breathe fire too?"

"That's ice... Ice Thorn Dragons exhale lethal frost that can freeze you solid in an instant, not melting even after ten thousand years," Ed said flatly.

"Wow!" Isty exclaimed, unenthusiastically, more to console Ed.

"I know this mountain; it's unseen from the village, hidden behind Dragonwing Peak, Estro. Villagers say there's a lake on the mountain," Narya said, "Is your ice dragon living in the lake?"

"It's not 'my' ice dragon," Ed stressed, uncertain if he truly wanted a dragon, despite the appeal, "It's not in the lake! It's not a fish!... The point is, if there's an ice dragon there, there must be treasure!" His eyes sparkled.

"Oh, I've heard that too. Dragons like shiny things, like... crows," Narya said.

"Not the same!" Ed cried out, jumping up, feeling insulted on behalf of the dragons, "Dragons hoard real treasures! Gold, gems, magical items, and perhaps even artifacts with immense magical power!"

"So, you want to go treasure hunting? But there's a dragon there; do you think it'll let us near its treasure willingly? If it's as fearsome as the legends say," Isty said, "Or do you think we can..." he counted the people in the room, "slay a dragon?"

"No chance. But look, this map is very, very old. While a dragon can live for thousands of years, have you ever heard of one nearby?"

They shook their heads.

"Me neither. So, the dragon's either been slain by some great adventurer or it's sleeping, as Ice Dragons do, longer than Isty. If we find this place..."

"We'll discover the adventurers took the treasure," Narya concluded.

"It's a dragon's hoard! They must've left something behind!" Ed protested, "Or it might be sound asleep, not noticing us sneak something away! And even if there's nothing, seeing a live dragon... or at least its skeleton would be cool!" His ambitions were modest.

"So, you want us to join you?" Isty frowned, "That'll take days, Elen won't agree." He wasn't afraid of danger; in fact, he rarely felt fear.

"Neither will my parents, so we need the right moment," Ed felt his confidence returning; at least his friends weren't opposing his adventure, "Narya, will you come too?" he asked, hopeful.

If Narya didn't go, there was no way she'd let Isty go with him.

Narya thought for a moment, then shrugged, "Alright, we can take a look."

Elen occasionally spoke of his youthful adventures but never allowed her and Isty to do anything risky, not even venture into the forest alone, which did rankle Narya.

Perhaps it was time to show the great warrior Elen Carvo that his daughter was fully capable of looking after herself—and her brother.