While Maeve battled to prevent Sidra from further crumbling, Shiroe, Menelik, Idris, and Taharqa trudged through the fiercest blizzard any of them had ever encountered. Even Taharqa, born on this very island, found himself facing an intensity of weather he had never witnessed before.
The Neverwinter Island of Ayce wielded a relentless cold capable of claiming lives before the victims even realized their impending demise. The bone-chilling temperatures offered only four means of survival: first, being made out of the essence of cold like the Frost Giants; second, relying on Yeti fur, but this required the skilled touch of a Ymir Dwarf to craft such garments; third, harnessing Dark Elf Magic; and fourth, belonging to the resilient Ymir Dwarves.
Unlike the Yetis and Frost Giants, natives of Ayce, and the Dark Elves who arrived long before Ymir's icy spell, the Dwarves came later. Originating from The Great Beyond, specifically an island named Krev, the Ymir Dwarves were the sole ones to depart their homeland. Upon reaching Ayce, they encountered Ymir a few months before he transformed the island into a frozen wasteland. Striking a deal, the Dwarves pledged their aid in Ymir's war against West Urith. In return, Ymir granted them the Neverwinter Band—a genetic alteration allowing them and subsequent bloodlines to endure the cold, akin to Ymir and the Frost Giants, no garments or spells needed.
Our group of four relied entirely on Taharqa and his Dark Elf Magic to keep them alive; without him, all of them would perish in an instant.
"It’s cold as fuck," Menelik boasted.
"Well yeah, it’s an island made of ice; ice is cold," Idris replied, stirring Menelik to turn toward him.
"Shut yo stone wall looking ass up."
Idris turned to him, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth. "We both know damn well you ain’t out here calling me a stone wall when you a whole ass furry."
"Yo don’t be bringing Human fetishes into this shit; I can’t help I was born a beautiful bipedal panther."
"Wet nose having ass."
"Statue looking bitch."
"Meowing ass hoe."
"Oblong shaped rock with an attitude."
"Back alley living ass."
"Roof ornament ass bitch."
"Worms having stray."
"HEEEEY-YO!" Menelik called out. "That was once, we don’t need to talk about it neither."
"Both of you, quiet," Taharqa stated, pulling them all into a hushed tone. "You hear that?"
The entire area lay beneath a thick blanket of blizzard, obscuring visibility to mere inches. The relentless high winds and the rhythmic thud of snow against their gear dominated their auditory senses. Taharqa, attuned to the environment, moved his head back and forth, attempting to sift through the sounds. His pointed ears twitched as he deciphered the approaching threat from behind. Swiftly turning around, his long black jacket billowing in the harsh wind. He clutched his mage staff tightly and began casting a spell but opted to shout instead, hoping for a quicker response.
"SHIROE, LOOK OUT!"
The time required for a spell to be uttered, cast, and traverse the distance from the end of his staff to the Frost Giant swinging its axe through the air would have been far too long, but it seemed even shouting wasn’t fast enough.
The intense wind, soft snow, and everything in between allowed the Frost Giants to approach undetected until it was too late.
The colossal axe head sliced through the air, rising from below in an upward strike that lifted snow with it. It collided with Shiroe, effortlessly cleaving him in half. No blood splattered; it froze instantly, pelting the group with sharp stings as Shiroe's upper half slid into the snow.
"FUCK!" Menelik's cry pierced the air. "Where the fuck did he come from?"
The Frost Giant roared triumphantly, lifting its axe high above its head, not for a swing, but for a war cry, staking claim to its kill. As it roared, two more emerged, matching the height of the first, towering at nearly six and a half meters. Ashy gray skin adorned with deep blue tattoos that coiled around their chests and arms, each unique to the bearer. Forearms covered in thick chunks of metal, tied with leather, and skirts made of dense Yeti fur. The first bore a string of bones around its neck, each larger than any member of the group. Transparent icy blue eyes with a white pupil, and thick white braids for hair, with the center one boasting the longest locks.
The lead lowered its axe, fixing its icy gaze on the trio. "ARGHHHH!" The Frost Giant's voice boomed, creating a vortex of wind.
Idris shook his shoulders, his gray skin glowing slightly from Taharqa’s spell. He tightly gripped his shortsword and spear, the frosted metals reflecting the sparse sunlight poking through the blizzard. Adjusting his body, he got into a fighting stance. "I’m gonna be honest, Gargoyles ain’t too accustomed to fighting in the snow." He rotated his bare feet in the snow, both slipping slightly. Flipping his sword with his wrist, he aimed it forward. The tip began to glow red, a small fireball forming. "Looks like I’ll be playing backline." He launched the fireball forward, only for it to dissipate into nothing.
Menelik pulled his war hammer from his back, dropping it into the snow, along with his mage staff. "Since you’re gonna be useless, guess I gotta take this a bit more seriously." He dropped onto all fours, his fingers and feet transforming into paws, claws digging into the snow as his tail crackled with lightning. He bolted forward with intense speed, kicking up snow as Idris prepared for another spell and Taharqa began chanting his own.
The center Frost Giant took a step back, surprisingly swift despite its enormous size. The one on the left stepped forward, swinging an enormous club. The wave of snow it launched knocked into Menelik, sending him backward. Idris lowered his sword and raced to Menelik, stumbling along the way, while Taharqa launched a lightning spell, knocking the front Giant backward. Taharqa wasted no time sending another spell, stepping forward as Idris helped Menelik to his feet.
"Take it seriously, huh?" Idris remarked.
"You can’t even run without slipping around and tumbling; I don’t wanna hear it," Menelik retorted.
Taharqa, a maestro of magical prowess, unfolded before them like a living symphony. His every movement and incantation painted a breathtaking cascade of vibrant colors across the frozen canvas. Lightning crackled from his staff, casting an ethereal glow that danced in tandem with the swirling gusts of the blizzard. Arcane runes materialized in brilliant hues, shimmering in the cold air as he wove them into intricate patterns.
Rocks levitated around him, suspended in mid-air as if choreographed by unseen forces. Each stone pulsed with a unique energy, radiating an array of dazzling colors. The air itself seemed to shimmer with his magical command, transforming the bleak landscape into a mesmerizing spectacle of swirling lights and elemental forces. Taharqa's mastery over magic manifested in a display of awe-inspiring beauty. Lightning arcs intertwined with the levitating rocks and propelled themselves forward rapidly.
"Damn. You know he could do that?" Menelik asked.
Idris shook his head. "Nope. Can’t say I did."
The spells rippled through the air in a dazzling display of light, surging toward the Frost Giants in repeating succession. Contact after contact, the Giants were pushed further and further back into the snow. The farthest one in the back took a giant step forward to hold its ground, sending a small shockwave through the area. Lifting its warhammer high above its head, as the next wave of spells approached, it slammed it down, creating a fracture that spread like wildfire. A tsunami of snow and ice cascaded forward, sweeping all three of them off their feet and into the icy heart of Ayce.
While Maeve battled to prevent Sidra from further crumbling, Shiroe, Menelik, Idris, and Taharqa trudged through the fiercest blizzard any of them had ever encountered. Even Taharqa, born on this very island, found himself facing an intensity of weather he had never witnessed before.
The Neverwinter Island of Ayce wielded a relentless cold capable of claiming lives before the victims even realized their impending demise. The bone-chilling temperatures offered only four means of survival: first, being made out of the essence of cold like the Frost Giants; second, relying on Yeti fur, but this required the skilled touch of a Ymir Dwarf to craft such garments; third, harnessing Dark Elf Magic; and fourth, belonging to the resilient Ymir Dwarves.
Unlike the Yetis and Frost Giants, natives of Ayce, and the Dark Elves who arrived long before Ymir's icy spell, the Dwarves came later. Originating from The Great Beyond, specifically an island named Krev, the Ymir Dwarves were the sole ones to depart their homeland. Upon reaching Ayce, they encountered Ymir a few months before he transformed the island into a frozen wasteland. Striking a deal, the Dwarves pledged their aid in Ymir's war against West Urith. In return, Ymir granted them the Neverwinter Band—a genetic alteration allowing them and subsequent bloodlines to endure the cold, akin to Ymir and the Frost Giants, no garments or spells needed.
Our group of four relied entirely on Taharqa and his Dark Elf Magic to keep them alive; without him, all of them would perish in an instant.
"It’s cold as fuck," Menelik boasted.
"Well yeah, it’s an island made of ice; ice is cold," Idris replied, stirring Menelik to turn toward him.
"Shut yo stone wall looking ass up."
Idris turned to him, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth. "We both know damn well you ain’t out here calling me a stone wall when you a whole ass furry."
"Yo don’t be bringing Human fetishes into this shit; I can’t help I was born a beautiful bipedal panther."
"Wet nose having ass."
"Statue looking bitch."
"Meowing ass hoe."
"Oblong shaped rock with an attitude."
"Back alley living ass."
"Roof ornament ass bitch."
"Worms having stray."
"HEEEEY-YO!" Menelik called out. "That was once, we don’t need to talk about it neither."
"Both of you, quiet," Taharqa stated, pulling them all into a hushed tone. "You hear that?"
The entire area lay beneath a thick blanket of blizzard, obscuring visibility to mere inches. The relentless high winds and the rhythmic thud of snow against their gear dominated their auditory senses. Taharqa, attuned to the environment, moved his head back and forth, attempting to sift through the sounds. His pointed ears twitched as he deciphered the approaching threat from behind. Swiftly turning around, his long black jacket billowing in the harsh wind. He clutched his mage staff tightly and began casting a spell but opted to shout instead, hoping for a quicker response.
"SHIROE, LOOK OUT!"
The time required for a spell to be uttered, cast, and traverse the distance from the end of his staff to the Frost Giant swinging its axe through the air would have been far too long, but it seemed even shouting wasn’t fast enough.
The intense wind, soft snow, and everything in between allowed the Frost Giants to approach undetected until it was too late.
The colossal axe head sliced through the air, rising from below in an upward strike that lifted snow with it. It collided with Shiroe, effortlessly cleaving him in half. No blood splattered; it froze instantly, pelting the group with sharp stings as Shiroe's upper half slid into the snow.
"FUCK!" Menelik's cry pierced the air. "Where the fuck did he come from?"
The Frost Giant roared triumphantly, lifting its axe high above its head, not for a swing, but for a war cry, staking claim to its kill. As it roared, two more emerged, matching the height of the first, towering at nearly six and a half meters. Ashy gray skin adorned with deep blue tattoos that coiled around their chests and arms, each unique to the bearer. Forearms covered in thick chunks of metal, tied with leather, and skirts made of dense Yeti fur. The first bore a string of bones around its neck, each larger than any member of the group. Transparent icy blue eyes with a white pupil, and thick white braids for hair, with the center one boasting the longest locks.
The lead lowered its axe, fixing its icy gaze on the trio. "ARGHHHH!" The Frost Giant's voice boomed, creating a vortex of wind.
Idris shook his shoulders, his gray skin glowing slightly from Taharqa’s spell. He tightly gripped his shortsword and spear, the frosted metals reflecting the sparse sunlight poking through the blizzard. Adjusting his body, he got into a fighting stance. "I’m gonna be honest, Gargoyles ain’t too accustomed to fighting in the snow." He rotated his bare feet in the snow, both slipping slightly. Flipping his sword with his wrist, he aimed it forward. The tip began to glow red, a small fireball forming. "Looks like I’ll be playing backline." He launched the fireball forward, only for it to dissipate into nothing.
Menelik pulled his war hammer from his back, dropping it into the snow, along with his mage staff. "Since you’re gonna be useless, guess I gotta take this a bit more seriously." He dropped onto all fours, his fingers and feet transforming into paws, claws digging into the snow as his tail crackled with lightning. He bolted forward with intense speed, kicking up snow as Idris prepared for another spell and Taharqa began chanting his own.
The center Frost Giant took a step back, surprisingly swift despite its enormous size. The one on the left stepped forward, swinging an enormous club. The wave of snow it launched knocked into Menelik, sending him backward. Idris lowered his sword and raced to Menelik, stumbling along the way, while Taharqa launched a lightning spell, knocking the front Giant backward. Taharqa wasted no time sending another spell, stepping forward as Idris helped Menelik to his feet.
"Take it seriously, huh?" Idris remarked.
"You can’t even run without slipping around and tumbling; I don’t wanna hear it," Menelik retorted.
Taharqa, a maestro of magical prowess, unfolded before them like a living symphony. His every movement and incantation painted a breathtaking cascade of vibrant colors across the frozen canvas. Lightning crackled from his staff, casting an ethereal glow that danced in tandem with the swirling gusts of the blizzard. Arcane runes materialized in brilliant hues, shimmering in the cold air as he wove them into intricate patterns.
Rocks levitated around him, suspended in mid-air as if choreographed by unseen forces. Each stone pulsed with a unique energy, radiating an array of dazzling colors. The air itself seemed to shimmer with his magical command, transforming the bleak landscape into a mesmerizing spectacle of swirling lights and elemental forces. Taharqa's mastery over magic manifested in a display of awe-inspiring beauty. Lightning arcs intertwined with the levitating rocks and propelled themselves forward rapidly.
"Damn. You know he could do that?" Menelik asked.
Idris shook his head. "Nope. Can’t say I did."
The spells rippled through the air in a dazzling display of light, surging toward the Frost Giants in repeating succession. Contact after contact, the Giants were pushed further and further back into the snow. The farthest one in the back took a giant step forward to hold its ground, sending a small shockwave through the area. Lifting its warhammer high above its head, as the next wave of spells approached, it slammed it down, creating a fracture that spread like wildfire. A tsunami of snow and ice cascaded forward, sweeping all three of them off their feet and into the icy heart of Ayce.
