The snowfields of the Realm of Fire, framed by crimson light, appeared in the center of the workshop compound. With a brief flash of light the last of the Draconic Paladins appeared alongside Shane. They had set up the strange goblet in the center of the yard, surrounded by glass jars filled with blue liquid. Neasa stood in front of the goblet with one hand outstretched. Her long red hair was tied up in a braided bun and she wore a pair of shaded spectacles.

The goblet burst into flames. Neasa placed an inverted pot over the goblet to quench the flames.

"I think I am beginning to understand," she said.

"It is not too difficult after all," Felix replied. "The hard part is getting to one of the Realms. There are guilds, big groups of mobsters really, with tight monopolies."

Shane joined the group of Paladins gathered around Neasa. He must have caught the tail-end of the conversation, because he added: "Sorcerers can detect connections to their own Realm at a distance, depending on how much power is being drawn through. It is difficult to hide from the guilds."

"When you are able to establish a connection to all three Realms, you just pull power through all three until you get the familiar feeling of being a drake." Felix raised one hand and shot a plume of crimson flame straight up into the air. The Paladins recoiled from the light and the heat.

Deorwine approached Felix from the edge of the yard, followed by a Quarian military geomancer named Cliona. The green-haired man was wearing his signature shaggy brown robes, and the geomancer's feminine form was shrouded in dark gray robes, ornamented with thick crimson bands.

"There has been a development," Deorwine said. "Good news, and..." he trailed off, nodding toward Cliona.

"Something that disturbs me," the geomancer said in a soft voice.

"I will leave the instruction to you Shane," Felix said.

"Why me? These are your subordinates. Have I not done enough?"

Felix ignored the comment and left the yard, following Cliona. She led him down a stairway into a stone chamber devoid of tables or tools. Wooden torches at the corners illuminated the room, and the ground was littered with hundreds of metal ingots of various colors and luster. In the center of the room there was a shapeless lump of metal. Felix estimated that it could be some type of engine.

The geomancer dropped to her knees and began fiddling with the device. She slipped the cowl off, and then split the case in half, revealing a long shaft of shining metal with countless fan blades around it. She held the shaft up to him. Felix could not guess at the material that was used to craft the thing.

Cliona slipped the shaft back into the case, where it slotted neatly between metal ridges. She gave it a spin. The blades on the shaft appeared to be scraping the ridges of the case, but it made no sound. Felix dropped to his knees to get a better look. The blades were not scraping the sides, but they were very, very close.

"Not anything like the shape that you described," Deorwine said. "A coiled snake with wings."

"Does it work?" Felix asked.

"Yes," Cliona said. She ran her finger just above the strange shaft with blades. "Air passes through each set of blades and becomes crushed by the blades." Her finger stopped at a large gap between two sets of blades. "Then, you can summon flames here in this chamber, and the air will ignite."

"So if it works, what is the problem?" Felix asked.

The woman removed the hood that shrouded her face. "Felix, I do not know how to say this. It is very difficult to explain. I know I risk sounding insane, but since I was a child, I have been training in the Realm of Stone and the Realm of Metal. I have never, ever had anything like this happen before."

Her blood-red eyes looked straight at Felix.

"The magic wants to make this shape."

"Ridiculous," Deorwine said.

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"Is that all?" Felix asked. The woman looked confused by this question. "If it works, it works. There is nothing to be gained from dwelling on such details."

"Friend Paladin, you don't understand," the geomancer said. Her soft voice was a bit louder and her face was filled with determination. "This overturns my entire field of study. Centuries of research, generations of geomancers. Nobody will believe me. If any of the other geomancers in the military find out about this, I will be branded as a charlatan. They might even dismiss me!"

"Hold on soldier. I will make arrangements with the Lord Paladin. From now on, a few geomancers will be permanently stationed within the Draconic Paladins. Now, about this small matter with the magic wanting to make this specific shape. Can you take me to the Realm of Metal?"

She reeled back from this question. "Felix, there is no command that you could give me, there is no threat that you could make to my person, that would cause me to betray my oaths to my guild."

Felix nodded. "Reasonable. And what are those oaths?"

Her face betrayed a sudden realization. "You want me to take you there, without making a deal?"

"If it does not break your oath, then why not? I would speak to the Elemental. She will be able to tell us why she likes this shape. Deorwine, you can be my witness."

"As you wish," Deorwine rasped.

"With Deorwine as my witness, I promise that I will not accept the power offered by the Elemental in the Realm of Metal. I am a Paladin, and you can trust my promise."

She seemed to consider this for a long moment. Then she said, "Fine. We can go together." She pointed to Deorwine. "Please leave the chamber, and lock the door."

Felix had grown accustomed to portals. This one was rimmed with a grayish-purple light, and the center of the portal revealed a reddish landscape with silver rivers. With a silvery flash of light Cliona carried them both to the other side. All around Felix the roadway was made from black metal, polished to such a shine that he could see his reflection clearly. Beyond the edge of the metal roadway there was a marsh, filled with tall grasses and water. At the end of the road, there was a city made from sheer, glassy buildings that towered to impossible heights.

But these marvels seemed insignificant a moment later when Felix looked up. He turned, and marched toward the edge of the glassy road, where it ended in an abrupt edge.

"Don't go over there!" Cliona protested. "It's not safe!"

Felix realized, by peering slowly over the edge of the flat structure, that he was very, very high in the sky. Higher even than the Teeth of the Red Dragon. Tens of thousands of feet up above the ground. And that ground was a dull, rusty red color, banded with white and yellow streaks. Enormous mountains jutted up into billowing white clouds, and the rivers, lakes, and oceans of this strange world were all made from a mercurial silver metal.

And then there were the giants.

Half as tall as the Teeth of the Red Dragon, at least fifteen-thousand feet in height, the humanoid creatures were made of the same mercurial metal as the rivers and oceans. They roamed about their landscape lethargically, though some of them suddenly burst into an unprovoked sprint, leaving clouds behind their blade-like feet.

Finally, there was no sky.

Speechless, Felix followed the gentle curve of the land as it became vertical, arched overhead, and formed the "roof" of the world. He realized that this world was shaped like the inside of a barrel, with the landscape carefully fixed to the inner surface. Far away, the barrel was open to a dark sky at one end. A single purple-gray moon dominated that dark sky.

"Felix!" Cliona cried. "Felix, listen, you are too close to the edge. If you faint you will fall off and die!"

"Good point," Felix said. He turned on his heel and began to march back down the mirror-like road toward the impossible city.

Cliona led Felix, once again, down. Deep down, through ancient, abandoned dwellings. Down to the space below the platform, a space made from the same mirror-like black metal, a space shaped like an inverted pyramid. Standing on a platform in the center of the pyramid-like volume, there was a smaller version of that mercurial creature seen on the outside. Like every other Elemental that Felix had seen, she had a feminine form.

This is unexpected, the Elemental said in his mind. Her voice was a high-pitched screech that was somewhat uncomfortable.

"Hey, Elemental. I'm not here to make a deal."

I am aware of this fact. A strange promise to make, but not one that is forbidden.

"My companion here has noticed something out of place."

"I desired to make a shape," the geomancer said. "It is a metal shaft, with many blades. As much as I tried, I could not deviate from the shape that was given."

It is a good shape, the Elemental replied.

"Have you made this shape before?" Cliona asked.

Thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of times, my kind have been summoned to craft this shape.

"When?"

In the many moons when Ashe, the Queen of Darkness, was sealed away. This time your kind has named the Binding of Ashe.

"Can you make other shapes from that time?" Cliona asked. Her voice and her face were both filled with hope.

I have been forbidden.

"By who?" Cliona asked.

"You have your answer," Felix said. She ignored him.

By Vaska, the one you have named Consort Eternal. This shape, along with a few other similar shapes, was afforded to me. Other shapes are forbidden. This precedent was set by Ashe, the Elemental Queen of Darkness, as part of her eternal accord with Ingrid and Vaska. Together, they released Ashe from her bindings and thus they alone were rewarded with such extraordinary exceptions.

"Exceptions to what?" Cliona asked.

I have said all that I am allowed to say. Return to the Elemental Plane of Dreams, ask the priests there for guidance.

Felix slowly turned to face Cliona. Her face was frozen in shock.

"We should leave," Felix said.