πͺ π΄σ ΅σ ³σ ‘σ «σ Ώ πͺ
Main Character: Alaska?! I’m an earth mage.
Dispatcher: They have earth.
MC: North of the Arctic Circle, they have permafrost, as permanently frozen.
Disp: The frost is getting less perma.
MC: Do NOT make climate change jokes to an earth mage.
Disp: Fair enough. The problem is we need a mage who is level two or higher.
MC: I thought we had someone there?
Disp: Yes, and they’ve gotten into a fight with the indigenous communities. They’ve retreated to their lab and told everyone to, quote, deal with it their own damn selves, unquote.
MC: Wait, I thought the person there was local?
Disp: They are. The leader of the nearest tribal council is their uncle. No fight like a family fight.
MC: There is still the problem that I have no power. Earth Mage. Earth as in soil. As in green, growing things.
Disp: Well, we’ve got someone there who has power.
MC: This is like pulling teeth. Just tell me.
Disp: We had a problem. The disagreement, as mentioned. We sent someone. It did not go well.
MC: Who. Did. You. Send.
Disp: Balthazar-not-his-real-name.
MC: Why? Why would anyone think that was a solution to a personnel issue? Balthazar-not-his-real-name doesn’t get along with anyone. He’d have a fight with himself in the mirror.
Disp: He’s an ice mage. He’s has been doing good work. Until now.
MC: He does great work. With glaciers. And icebreaker ships. And remote Antarctic substations were you don’t talk to other people for weeks on end. Do I need to remind you what happened in Siberia?
Disp: Do I need to remind you that we are limited number of mages to cover the entire planet?
MC, sighs deeply: How bad is the imbalance?
Disp: We are getting spikes as high as 7 dedis .
MC: Oy.
Disp: Let us not forget that Alaska is home to an extensive chain of volcanoes.
MC: Yes, yes. Ring of fire. Doom. Gloom. Dogs & cats living together. Fire as well as ice. This is so not me.
Disp: You are more than your magic. As you said, the problem is as much personnel as power.
MC: I know. I know. Of course I’ll go.
πͺ π΄σ ΅σ ³σ ‘σ «σ Ώ πͺ
Afterword
The obvious title here is PermaFrost. A conflict between ice and earth. A substance composed of ice and earth. As with previous, I have managed to set myself up for a romance novel. [North To Alaska]
In this case, enemies-to-lovers, grumpy/sunshine. What is the trope reversal? A throuple with all three mages? Having his heart grow three sizes without a romance? A mystery element? A straight-up end-of-the-world urban fantasy?
The muses have not revealed specialization of the third mage. Perhaps from a magic system orthogonal to the earth/ice/fire system.
Talking animals would be a given.
Source of unit name, Dedi The Magician, credited with performing the first magic trick.
Inspiration. Currently ettending UChicago Graham School, Alaska: Indigenous, Russian, American.
Onwards!
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 
Air would be orthogonal. Thin air. Wind. Carrying snow.
Joan
Seems to me air would be another element: earth, ice, fire, air, metal, wood, and so on. I’m wondering about a totally different way of organizing the process: lyric poetry, interpretive dance. Hmmm.
“The frost is getting less perma.” What a great line! Things like this are the way I like to start my day. Eowyn, on the other hand, thinks it’s still too early, and has gone back to sleep.
Smart dog!