'Arctic' was an adult male IceWing prince and
one of the three main protagonists of Runaway. He was an Animus
magic|animus Dragons|dragon, and after fleeing the Ice Kingdom to settle
in the lost city of night, a banished member of the IceWing Dragon
royalty|royal family. He was Foeslayer's partner, the father of
Darkstalker and Whiteout, and served as an advisor in Queen Vigilance's
court. He was killed by Darkstalker's animus magic.

## Description

Arctic had silvery, polished white scales as pale as the moons that
contained hints of pale blue. He had piercing blue eyes, like fragments
of ice, that were the color of a cloudless sky. His scales looked
scuffed, and he had a thunderous, glacier-cracking voice, as well as a
cracking, bitter laugh that sounded like icicles snapping off of a roof.
He wore a light blue diamond earring in his left ear, and a silver
narwhal earring in his right. His long tongue was blue and forked.

## Personality

While he lived in the Ice Kingdom, Arctic felt trapped by the rules of
IceWing society. He enjoyed the thrill of being a dragon who was not
tied to rules and wanted to be seen as that dragon. He radiated cold,
congealing resentment and cold anger, with rotten patches around the
edges. Allknowing described him to be "seething with darkness." His
voice was spitting, loud, splintery, and jagged. He was vengeful, grim,
lost, scornful, angry, bitter, cold, and menacing. His thoughts were
dark, grumbling, and venomous.

However, he was patient, and seemed genuinely concerned for Clearsight
after she suffered from a harsh series of visions. He was genuinely
afraid of going mad from use of his animus magic, as he was worried that
he might become evil and hurt Foeslayer. According to Darkstalker's soul
reader, Arctic's soul was severely damaged, but he was not completely
evil. Clearsight could see that he had nearly no happy futures.

## Biography

left
Pre-Series
After the events of
Runaway, Queen Diamond refused to accept that Prince Arctic ran away due
to his love for Foeslayer. Hence, she lied to the tribe about how
Foeslayer wanted animus power for her tribe and kidnapped Arctic. Since
Prince Arctic abandoned the IceWings, there were no more IceWing animus
dragons to be bred, and the whole tribe was furious at the NightWings
for seemingly stealing their last animus. There was also no way to take
Arctic back after his son, Darkstalker, killed him. The misunderstanding
caused hatred between the two tribes until Glory became queen of the
NightWings and forged a peace treaty with Queen Glacier. However, after
Darkstalker reappeared and became part-king of the NightWings, the old
hatred sparked up until Darkstalker was transformed into Peacemaker.
Glory made another peace treaty with Queen Snowfall.

-----

### The Jade Mountain Prophecy

left Moon Rising
When
Moonwatcher telepathically asked Darkstalker who taught him to step out
of his visions, he answered that his father did. When Moon later went to
the Jade Mountain Academy library to read about dreamvisitors, she came
across the story of Darkstalker, which read that he had killed his
father with "an aspect of animus power that no one had ever seen
before." Later, when Moonwatcher pointed out that she had never plotted
to steal any thrones or killed her father, Darkstalker replied that he
saved his tribe from his father, and that he thought she would kill her
father if she had had his father, and that Arctic was a lot worse than
he was.

left Winter Turning

Arctic was mentioned by both Winter and Foeslayer. At the NightWing
island, Winter explained to his friends that the reason the IceWings
hated NightWings and the legend of Darkstalker, was because his tribe
believed that Foeslayer stole Arctic and became his partner to bring
animus magic to the NightWing tribe, and Darkstalker killed Arctic so he
could not bring it back to the IceWings. But when Winter met Foeslayer
during his trial, she revealed that this was a lie; she and Arctic had
fallen in love, and he went with her willingly.

left Escaping Peril

It was revealed that Darkstalker had enchanted Arctic to obey his every
command, then instructed him to disembowel himself instead of murdering
the IceWing himself as most believed. Moonwatcher discovered this after
reading the enchantment on the Darkstalker's scroll|scroll, then asking
Darkstalker if he made Arctic kill himself, to which he replied yes and
began making excuses.

left Talons of Power
He was mentioned several times throughout the book, with many dragons
asking Darkstalker if it was true that he murdered his own father. At
one point, Darkstalker even said that even Arctic knew he deserved what
he got.

left
Darkness of Dragons
Arctic was
mentioned when Darkstalker said to Qibli that he could have enchanted
Arctic to be a better father to him and Whiteout.

-----

### The Lost Continent Prophecy

left
The Dangerous Gift
Snowfall thought
about other animus dragons and their gifts before they lost Arctic.
Later, Lynx stated that IceWings did not have an animus dragon since
Arctic. During a conversation, Snowfall mentioned Arctic as Diamond's
son who ran off with a NightWing. Tundra objected and claimed that
Arctic was kidnapped by a NightWing. During one of Snowfall's visions,
Jerboa mentioned that there were five animus dragons coexisting — the
one in the Ice Kingdom was Prince Arctic.

-----

### Legends

left Darkstalker
In
the prologue, Arctic was shown in his room at a diplomat's palace,
receiving a message from a noble IceWing he could not remember the name
of. He had been studying animus gifts of the past, trying to come up
with his own unique gift. After a brief and tense conversation, he
remembered that her name was Snowflake and that they were engaged. He
was not enthusiastic about this as he thought she was a boring and
shallow dragon. They made their way to the balcony while having what was
described to be an incredibly boring conversation. On the balcony, they
see a NightWing admiring the sunset while trying to keep herself warm.
Arctic asked Snowflake to leave, then began a conversation with
Foeslayer, the NightWing. He mentioned that he and Snowflake were
engaged, but forgot who she was, which Foeslayer used to tease him. The
two talked and flirted for a while. Arctic, fully aware that he was
breaking almost every IceWing law but already hopelessly in love,
enchanted a diamond earring to keep Foeslayer warm. He explained the
situation, and Foeslayer was flabbergasted that he would break such an
important law for her.

Arctic was shown years later arguing with Foeslayer about their eggs.
Darkstalker "sees" his soul rotting away. After finding his father
suspicious, he read his mind and, in his future, saw blood and death.

Years later, Arctic had discovered Darkstalker's animus powers when
Clearsight and Darkstalker were at his house playing with Darkstalker's
scroll. There, Clearsight had visions about Arctic and unwillingly told
him this prophecy:

"Beware your two queens; beware your own power.

Your claws will betray you in your final hour."

This prophecy turned out to be true, as it was his own talons that
disembowel himself. He seemed to be more worried about animus powers
after Clearsight spoke this prophecy.

Arctic was also mentioned several times later in brief scenes with
Darkstalker. Later, he tried to go to the Ice Kingdom with his daughter,
Whiteout, whom he had enchanted to follow him and to speak normally.
Enraged by this, Darkstalker enchanted Arctic to obey his every command.

Darkstalker then brought Arctic back to the Night Kingdom and gathered a
crowd, commanding Arctic to tell the NightWings what he had planned to
do. Arctic revealed that he would have offered Whiteout's talons in
marriage to a royal IceWing to continue the animus bloodline in the
tribe. Additionally, he would have given the IceWings a way into the
Night Kingdom in exchange for Foeslayer's release. His last words were
that he 'should have strangled Darkstalker the moment he hatched.' Upon
hearing this, Darkstalker commanded him to cut out his own tongue and
then to disembowel himself by cutting open his stomach and spilling out
his guts, quickly leading to his inevitable death.

-----

### Winglets

left
Runaway
In the beginning, Arctic saw
Foeslayer and her mother, Prudence, arguing over the earring Arctic had
gifted Foeslayer. Arctic tried to prevent Foeslayer from being punished.
Later, Diamond found Arctic in his room and asked why he was up so late.
Arctic lied, stating that he was worried about his gifting ceremony when
he had really just been about to go to a secret meeting with Foeslayer.
Diamond stated that a true IceWing would not be worried and reminded him
of what she wanted him to make. Arctic has a memory of two nights before
when he was at a secret meeting with Foeslayer. She had laughed about
Diamond's idea of a "gift of vision," stating that it would be much
better if it were something that told you what was going to happen
whenever you ask, but that he should not make that, as Diamond would
likely do terrible things with it.

In the present, Arctic said he wanted to talk to Diamond about some more
potential ideas in the morning. Diamond placed two guards inside
Arctic's room to make sure he slept; ergo, he could not meet with
Foeslayer. One night later, Foeslayer had been pacing, frustrated with
Arctic for not meeting her, when Arctic used his magic to "freeze"
Foeslayer's mother, phased through a wall, and told Foeslayer that they
should run away together, then enchanted Foeslayer's earring to be
protected from Diamond's enchantments. Foeslayer insisted that they
could not abandon her tribe and mother to be stuck with the IceWings.
Arctic reluctantly agreed to go to the Night Kingdom.

Unfreezing Prudence, they made their way out of the Ice Kingdom. As they
leave, six IceWing guards came after them, one of them being someone
Arctic knew. The guards shot arrows at Foeslayer, and Arctic enchanted
the guard's spears to stop them, not realizing that they would kill
them. When Snowflake tried to kill Arctic after she witnessed him kill
the guards, Foeslayer breathed fire at her, Arctic caught it with his
magic and threw it at Snowflake, badly burning her wings, resulting in
Snowfox shrieking agonizingly about how she was going to kill every last
NightWing for what they did to Snowflake. When Foeslayer asked Arctic if
his soul felt fine, he responded that it was none of her concern. When
Foeslayer stated that it was, Arctic growled at her.

## Relationships

### Darkstalker

Arctic resented Darkstalker. He often rudely asked his son if any part
of him resembled an IceWing, and was furious upon Darkstalker's hatching
that the dragonet did not resemble him. Arctic never looked Darkstalker
in the eye, and often glared at him. Darkstalker believed that Arctic
was the most dangerous dragon in the lost city of night, and when
Clearsight observed Arctic and Darkstalker interacting, she noted that
there were many giant, furious, unspoken thoughts and feelings that were
not verbally expressed between them. Darkstalker was dangerous, quiet,
angry, and cruel toward his father, and the only slight liking he had
for Arctic was due to his love for Foeslayer. He was suspicious of and
bothered by Darkstalker's mind-reading abilities, and was jealous of his
son's knowledge of Foeslayer's thoughts. They often tried to avoid one
another as much as possible, and Darkstalker was aware of multiple
futures where Arctic attempted to kill him. Despite his seething hatred
toward Darkstalker, Arctic refused to kill his own son.

### Diamond

Diamond constantly yelled at and reminded her son about his duties as an
IceWing prince. She was judgmental and regulating towards him, but
despite her attempts to control his life, he eventually fled the Ice
Kingdom in order to live with Foeslayer. Diamond claimed to love Arctic,
but was quick to remind him about her disapproval of his choices. In a
letter she sent to Arctic, she said he could return to the Ice Kingdom
and be forgiven for his actions if he killed his dragonets.

### Foeslayer

When Arctic first met Foeslayer, he found his wings responding in a way
that matched her own. Foeslayer laughed and grinned with him, and he
found himself unable to stop smiling at her. Arctic noted that she was
the beginning and the end of his universe. He thought that perhaps
nothing would ever be boring or frustrating again so long as they were
together, and he would do anything to spend a few more minutes with her.
He broke his animus vow for Foeslayer, and longed for her to view him as
a dragon who did not care much for rules. He brushed his wing with her
own, and promised her that his soul was hers, if she wanted it.

In later stages of their relationship, Arctic threatened Foeslayer after
she made a joke to him, and Darkstalker sensed that his mother was in
danger. There was fury, bitterness, suspicion, hatred, and emanating
outrage from both partners. They often argued and squabbled loudly, and
Foeslayer was irritated with Arctic for staying in their home and
complaining constantly. Although Arctic believed Foeslayer only loved
him for his animus magic, in truth, she disliked his magic and wished he
had not been an animus. In fact, she stated she loved him more than
anything.

However, he still loved her; when Darkstalker hatched, he sensed a
small, warm ember of love for Foeslayer hidden under layers of ice. He
could not bear to keep secrets from her, and worried about her safety.
In one of Clearsight's visions, he was crying over a painting of
Foeslayer by Whiteout. They were still physically affectionate with one
another in the later stages of their relationship.

### Snowflake

Although they were arranged to be married, Arctic found Snowflake quite
unmemorable, and was worried that she might not have a personality
besides repressed fury. He tried to make conversation with her about his
animus gifting day, but this ultimately resulted in them becoming
mutually irritated. They were both unexcited about their marriage.
Arctic was the reason that Snowflake lost her ability to fly
permanently.

### Whiteout

Whiteout was Arctic's daughter, and, according to Darkstalker, he often
acted as though she was his only dragonet. He openly preferred her over
Darkstalker, most likely because her IceWing genetics were more visible.
Although Arctic seemed to spend time with Whiteout by taking her on
outings and buying her special fish, Darkstalker thought that Arctic did
not really care about her feelings. Later in the book, Arctic showed
disapproval of her feelings for Thoughtful, most likely because he was a
NightWing. Arctic also showed little consideration for who his daughter
actually was as a dragon, using animus magic to alter Whiteout's
personality — making her hate her brother, want to marry an IceWing, and
live in the Ice Kingdom even if she would be miserable there. He also
used his magic to change the way Whiteout spoke so she would sound
"normal," revealing a desire for his daughter to be exactly how he
wanted her to be: a "perfect" dragonet in contrast to Darkstalker.

## Known Enchantments

I enchant this earring to keep the dragon wearing it warm no
matter the temperature … and to keep her safe no matter the danger

A diamond earring
To keep Foeslayer warm, safe
from harm, and immune to animus spells.
L1p

Phrasing unknown.
A dagger
Whenever the
user would point it in the direction of a dragon, it would freeze them
whenever the user says "freeze." To unfreeze them, the user must say,
"unfreeze."
W4q
161

Phrasing unknown.
An armband
Enchanted
to allow the user to walk through walls and turn invisible when turned
clockwise, and then turn the user visible once more when it is turned
counterclockwise. If another dragon is touched while the armband makes
the user invisible, the dragon being touched will also become invisible.

W4q
159

Spears! Stop those guards!
Spears

Enchanted to stop the guards from catching them. However, due to his
lack of specification on how the spears would stop the guards, the
guards were accidentally killed.
W4q
167

Phrasing unknown.
A fireball
Enchanted
to directly attack Snowflake
W4q
168

Phrasing unknown.
An earring
Enchanted
to shield the user from any animus spells
L1
300

Phrasing unknown.
A necklace
Enchanted
to make Whiteout speak "normally", erase her love for Darkstalker and
interest in Thoughtful, want to marry an IceWing, and to follow him to
the Ice Kingdom.
L1
321

## Quotes

Imagine disobeying an order — any order. Where would I even
start?
Arctic's thoughts
Darkstalker
prologue

-----

Ooo, how about an animus-touched object that can make any
dragon interesting. Skies above, now that would be useful.

Arctic's thoughts Darkstalker

prologue

-----

I promise to remember that name. […] Sticks in the brain a
bit better than Snowflake.
to Foeslayer
Darkstalker
prologue

-----

This is a bad idea. The very worst. Neither of our tribes would
forgive us. Mother will never allow it. All the more reason. I won't let
the queen crush my entire life between her claws. It's my life, my
magic, and my heart.
Arctic's thoughts about his meeting with
Foeslayer Darkstalker
prologue

-----

She's not doing me an honor. You know what she wants. She wants
my power. The gift I should have given the IceWings — she wants it for
your tribe.
to Foeslayer about Vigilance
Darkstalker
47

-----

You love my power. That's all you ever loved. You wanted my
magic and you got it. That's why you came to the Ice Kingdom in the
first place, isn't it? It wasn't ever about me. You didn't ever love me.
You came to steal my power.
to Foeslayer
Darkstalker
245

-----

Because you're an arrogant fool. Because you flaunt your magic
and don't care who you offend. Because you insulted his mother, or
cheated off his test, or read his mind when he told you not to. I can
think of a million possible reasons, but what does it matter? He's dead
now, isn't he?
to Darkstalker about Quickdeath's reason for
attempting to assassinate him Darkstalker

299-300

-----

I wasn't going to kill my own son. Whatever you think of my
soul, it's not so far gone that I would actually do that. I know I
should, though. One more spell, and I'll probably be there, won't I? I
mean, what are you going to do to stop me? Our magic is equal, you and
I. Our souls are equally doomed.
to Darkstalker

Darkstalker
320

-----

I was taking my daughter to Queen Diamond. I was going to offer
her talons in marriage to whomever Diamond chose, so she could hatch
some heirs for the throne who might have animus blood. I was going to
live in an ice palace again, sleeping at night like a normal dragon. I
was going to find out if Foeslayer is still alive. I was going to offer
the IceWings a detailed map of the Night Kingdom and a way to get inside
to destroy you all, in exchange for her life.
to an audience
of gathered NightWings Darkstalker

331

-----

I do wish I'd been a better father. If I were, I would have
strangled you the moment you hatched.
to Darkstalker

Darkstalker
333

## Trivia

  - Even though Arctic had no NightWing powers, he unintentionally
    taught Darkstalker how to use them.
  - Darkstalker brought hawks home to eat because they reminded Arctic
    of the Ice Kingdom.
  - Whenever Arctic and Foeslayer attended parties in the lost city of
    night together, they would intentionally complement one another's
    jewelry because it gave the illusion of matching and fitting
    perfectly together.
  - Tui has confirmed that Arctic had siblings. However, none of them
    were animi.