Siu went to the library tower as soon as he left the meeting. Delaying that would only allow his imagination to do what it always did best, and he would start exaggerating in his mind. As a kid, he imagined himself flying, standing on swords as he soared through the clouds, or punching out, summoning fire with each movement. Just as the stories went... Then, when it was discovered that he had the talent, and he was taken to a sect, it was supposed to become a reality... Yet, that never happened... for multiple reasons.

  Of course, as a kid, he detested his Master at first, but as the years went on, he finally understood that all he did was done to save him from himself. From his own fantasies, fueled by the ramblings of other old men, who were blinded by their own ignorance. Then he learned that his imagination and reality rarely aligned... But it took time to understand how to keep the former in check and to constantly compare it to what his senses told him about the world.

  He wanted to make sure he didn't fall into irrational fear of an Icecrown Stag and overthink its strength, or why it would make six cultivators come together like this. It was one of the things he was taught early, as his very first Master had drilled it into him over and over again, to try to keep himself rational and observant... because panic will kill a cultivator faster than anything else.

  Feeling his thoughts, Arya shifted on his head as he stepped inside the library's tower, her ears twitching.

  "The grumpy one is not here."

  “Yes,” Siu murmured back at first, “Still, do behave.”

  “I am behaving! I was all silent in the meeting, too!”

  “You were afraid, that's why.” He smiled, teasing her a little.

  “I was still silent...”

  "I can't argue with that."

  This time around, the present disciple, acting as the librarian, only looked at him once, noticing the fox before averting his gaze and returning to the book he was reading. Happy that there were at least people who knew the rules, Siu walked deeper inside, remembering where the codices about beasts were, trying to find it by himself, and not to bother the 'busy' librarian. The interior was well lit by the carefully placed lamps as he perused rows upon rows of shelves that stretched upward along a spiral walkway, all of it open to the outer disciples from top to bottom. Still, it always raised a question in Siu... If this is for them... what does it look like the one that is for the inner disciples? Core disciples? Or... the one for the Elders?

  Arriving at the correct section, he exhaled, seeing that there were more tomes than he remembered, so instead of randomly beginning to flip through them, he scanned the public index, hanging from every shelf. Some of the books were even duplicated across different shelves when a new variant appeared or was documented by others who disagreed with their predecessors' assessments. Which... made it a bit trickier to find what he wanted or to believe everything at face value.

  "Well, it supposedly lives in the cold, so... Let's start there." He muttered to himself, taking up one of the indices, flipping through the multiple pages it had. "Good, there are marks of habitats..."

  That narrowed things considerably, making the search easier. Reading, Arya hopped down from his head and onto his shoulder, peering at the spines of the scrolls as he finished one index, passing by to another shelf to look at the others.

  “Why winter animals?” she asked, making Siu's fingers stop.

  “Were you even listening?" He smiled, realizing the little one may have been a bit more scared or focused on the others than on listening to what they were saying. "Because it only appears in winter,” he explained to her one more time.

  “I know, I was listening,” she said, tilting her head, “But if it only appears in winter... where is it at other times? Or... what is it when it's not winter?”

  “That's...” Siu stopped, furrowing his brows, "A good point."

  Getting praised, Arya happily smiled, standing on his shoulder, proud of herself, while Siu finished the preliminary search. True enough... There was no mention of the creature's name in any of the indices, in fact. With that in mind, he decided to look up all those with 'stag' in their name, which took him hours... There were way too many stags, more than two dozen species, before he finally found one that sounded very close to what he was looking for.

  Ironcrown Stag.

  "It's not made of ice..." Arya concluded at once, already reading it by herself, which, if others knew, they might find it... incredible. Yet for the duo, it was perfectly normal, since Siu had taught her how to do it. He just missed the main point: The whole ordeal shouldn't have happened so quickly.

  "No, it's not. Let's go, sit down somewhere to read."

  Saying it, he carefully pulled the tome free; it was heavier than expected, bound in layered bark-leather with thick, yellowed pages. Examining it, the codex was an older variant, written with annotations crowding the margins in different inks, left there by later authors. After he settled at an empty table near the back, he opened it, flipping to the proper page. There was an illustration that welcomed them, perfectly representing the creature's size, with a human standing next to it for reference... barely reaching up to its torso.

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  “Big deer,” Arya whispered, "Bet you it has a big meat."

  Of course, Siu ignored her, making Arya pout because his joke should have made her Master giggle, but he was more focused on the details. The creature depicted was already looking more dangerous than that damned bird, as this was standing taller than a horse... Much taller. Its fur was dark brown, with antlers that were greyish and actually bigger than Tian himself, at least, that was what Siu thought of, looking at the picture. Then, when he flipped the page, another illustration welcomed him, the same stag, but with a different coat.

  It was not merely pale, but a true albino, with pure white fur, deep red eyes, while its grey antlers turned blue and looked like crystallized ice. They were even more jagged, growing branching spikes, resembling spears instead of swords or hammers... That thing looked just as dangerous as its standard variant, but it now also carried a very human-like aggression in its stance.

  "Yeah, this is it..." He muttered, moving his eyes towards the description next to the illustration.

  Icecrown Stag

  Classification: Seasonal Mutant Variant

  Origin Species: Ironcrown Stag

  Suggested Group: Inner Disciples

  "Promising..." he smiled with a not-really-a-smile, flipping back a page, deciding to compare the base version with the mutated one.

  Apparently, the Ironcrown ones were common enough to be constantly seen, a kind of territorial forest beasts, dangerous if met as a pack, but pretty much fine for an outer disciple if they managed to get one separated from their herd. They were mainly prized for their antlers, which were a good material for forging weapons; at least, it was better than regular iron. The rest of the creature was mostly used for food, and nothing else, which, of course, made Arya smack her lips.

  But then... the codex itself prompted Siu to flip back to the next page and read about their future target.

  As the author detailed, at the onset of winter, a rare subset of Ironcrown Stags, for unknown reasons, had a chance to undergo a spontaneous mutation that manifests each time the cold season arrives. Apparently, if it happens once, it will constantly recur until the stag dies. Of course, this transformation was not permanent, as the Icecrown Stag existed only during the cold months and under snowfall. Upon the return of spring and the melting of snow, surviving Icecrowns always reverted to their Ironcrown form, retaining no apparent memory or physical trace of the change.

  “They change back, huh?” Arya asked, reading by herself, "I never turned white when it was snowing... but it would be fun, it's easier to hide! They are smart, Master!"

  “I don't think it's about how smart they are, but... I guess.”

  Reading on, it made him turn serious, as per the book, Ironcrown Stags that survived multiple winters were also becoming stronger with each transformation, their antlers thickening, strengthening, and becoming more and more valuable. But that was not all; as per the notes in the margins, behavioral observations of hunters suggested that they also showed heightened aggression, becoming even more territorial and more tactically aware if they were forced into a battle. Icecrown Stags have even been observed using terrain, weather, and ambush tactics atypical of their base species when stalking an intruder on their territory.

  "Damn..." Siu whispered, pursing his lips, "No wonder this isn't something to solo..."

  "Good thing that there will be more of us, no?"

  "I hope." He grunted, reading on.

  It was no wonder the group wanted to attack it; per the texts, the antlers of an Icecrown Stag were composed of a highly reactive crystalline material that was especially potent in a cultivator's hand, particularly if they had a cold-based affinity. Which meant... that it was material for those at the late stages of the First Circle or even those who had stepped into the Second... It was definitely not something useful for an outer disciple who was still tempering his bones, the very foundation of the First Circle. This was, if Siu had to guess, either high-grade inner disciple material or even something for a core disciple. No wonder that, even when split amongst everyone, it may leave them with ample money.

  "It's too late to back out of it, huh?" Siu suddenly leaned back, pinching his nose.

  "Master?" Arya asked, suddenly a bit afraid.

  "If the specimen is old, us twelve may not even be enough." He began talking, "If it's not old enough, the value will also be low... This is, my dear Arya, the case of getting greedy... And the case of me being way too curious! Tsk."

  "Then don't go!"

  "That's not how it works," He muttered, tapping his finger on the book, watching the illustration, his eyes scanning the multiple notes left on the sides.

  There were writings on its hide's toughness, its resistance to conventional weapons, and its tendency to charge through battle formations, preferring to single out enemies, dealing them one by one, and separating hunting groups into manageable sizes. There were even warnings for disciples that engagement without proper preparation was suicidal. Icecrown Stags have been recorded trampling entire hunting parties, impaling cultivators through reinforced armor, and freezing internal organs.

  Of course, there was also the obvious note at the end of it all, talking about its primary weakness: fire.

  Letting out a long breath, Siu briefly closed his eyes and then the book while he organized his thoughts.

  “Master,” Arya said softly, “it’s bad... Isn't it?”

  “Yes, and I now don't want to go.”

  “But we... are going?”

  “I can't pull out now, and I don't think I can tell them that this is a stupid idea, because they are way too confident. Our priority will be gaining experience and surviving. We will take up a support role, Arya, and let them handle the meat of the battle.”

  “Hehe! You said meat!”

  "You are pretty confident, huh?" He chuckled, putting her in his lap, rubbing her head.

  "You killed that stupid bird, Master, this will be fine, too!"

  "Thank you for the vote of confidence. Still, while preparing, I will talk with the others and maybe see what their actual strength is. Haaah... I somehow always manage to step into shit..."

  "I don't smell it..." She mumbled, raising her nose.

  "It was metaphorical."

  "Um, Master... There is also something else..." Arya suddenly perked up, making Siu reopen one of his eyes, stopping the scratching of her fur, "Shouldn't you be meeting with... Neya?"

  "..." glancing out the window, it was already getting dark, way past lunch time, "Oh... Fuck..."