The frozen ice cracked beneath his feet.

"On the most bitterly frigid days of this season, and during a blizzard, Chrein had to start birthing her young'un. I can tolerate walking through snow, but ice is another matter. This cold is eating down beyond my bones, downright to my soul, and worse, my joints." Danduil mumbled as he slowly trudged toward Chrein's cottage. It was over one league more, and Danduil had already been walking approximately four candle marks, though he did not know precisely as his lantern gutted out a while back.

After an eternity, he spotted the cottage across a frozen pond. Instead of taking the extra time, Danduil decided to walk over the frozen pond. When he was over halfway across, he heard the loud puffing of a large running animal. As he turned, Danduil saw a great Red Tundra Bear within twenty yards and closing fast. Acting instinctively, he reached into the herb pouch, grabbed a small handful of crushed and powdered herbs, and flung it toward the Red Bear, chanting a short verse. The outcome is immediate as the Red Bear runs through the cloud of herbs.

The incantation's result happened so quickly that, even though dead, the bear's momentum carried it another five yards, colliding with Danduil and knocking him down and underneath the sliding Red Bear, covering him with snow, ice, water, and the body of the dead bear. While attempting to stay above the freezing water, outer garments, supply satchel, and herb satchel weighed him down.

Fighting the freezing water by trying to stay above the slush and snow, fatigue began to take its toll. Danduil took control of his panicking thoughts and began to paddle toward the icy edge of the lake, breaking the ice as he swam. When by the edge, he painfully reached the top of the snow-covered slope and paused to regain his strength.

"Curse you bear and all your offspring: may their fur fall off, and teeth rot away."

Knowing he needed to build a fyre to warm himself from freezing, Danduil crawled over to one of the Hemlock Fir trees and under the branches and twigs. He chose this particular tree because of its affinity with witches and freely offered warmth, shelter, and food. Looking through his water-logged satchel, he discovers what he is looking for: the flintstone and a stone with waxy blue coloration. After gathering brown fir needles, dead twigs, and small branches, Danduil dug a small pit into the earth and placed the fir twigs within. He struck the flintstone against the blue stone and created a demon fire. He immediately removed the wet clothes and put them on the low-hanging limbs above the fire.

When satisfied with his garment's placement, he once again brought out the blue stone and, using the sharp edge, cut his left palm along the line closest to the thumb while softly chanting an archaic spell. \When his spell reached its crescendo, he held the bleeding hand over the fire and intoned, " I seek thee, Sazrarith Rurnoth, to obey my summons. My power over you cannot be ignored. Appear before me, Sazrarith Rurnoth, as I command. Immediately, the fire exploded upward and nearly singed the tree's bottom branches.

What appeared a moment later in a blue cloud of sulfur was a gigantic human-like being with two horns upon its head and teeth like the tusks of a wild boar. It carried a shiny trident the color of a moonless midnight.

"WHO DARES TO SUMMON...Oh, it's you, Danduil. I thought I was summoned to another wanna-be sorcerer. I have been summoned to four within that number of days. Of course, they didn't do the summoning or the request as ascribed in the Death Wizard's Summoning Tome. They were delicious.

"Hello, Sazri. Nice to see you've been busy. I hoped you would get that type of response when I placed those tomes near the faithless. I knew they would try to summon you. I wrote in the tomes that you granted great wealth to those who ask."

So that is why I received those requests. I always get a laugh after I consume one of them. They had no idea who they summoned. The demon turned his attention back to Danduil. So, what do you need? A plague on a family or village, a town burned down while everyone is sleeping, or appear again as a Muse to the young writer in Stratford? I like that fellow. His reactions to seeing me are pretty hilarious.

"Not this time, but later. I need to assist in a birthing beyond the pond. I am unable to make it and doubt I will survive the night. I would like you to be there before the child was born."

Why? What is so special about this welp from a human? What's in it for me?

"I like that about you, always to the point. Do you remember the servant girl you bed in her dreams, but it truly happened? Well, as I knew she would, she became with child, your child. This child will grow into a mighty wizard, fit for a king who will establish the greatest-known kingdom in history."

"The child, a boy, must then be raised as a Ward, with you being the boy's surrogate caregiver. You can use this cottage as your residence, as the mother will perish after the child is born."

You must have been working on this for many years. It sounds intriguing. I will teach him the ways of magic, and he will embrace it as you wish. One final question as I see the light in your eyes dim: what shall I name this boy?

"You will name him Merlin."