As the envoy went further north, the plains became more barren. The wind sunk its teeth into the elves and chilled to the bone.

Silviana was watching Ghruz from the reins of the carriage, shivering in her seat. The orc didn’t seem to be affected by the cold at all, or at least wasn’t given any indication of as much. Snow began to gently float down from the sky, the ground covered in a thin blanket of white.

Titania popped her head out of the carriage window, and looked around with a frown.

“We need to stop for a moment.”

She stepped out of the carriage, the snow underfoot sizzling and seeping into the ground. Ghruz felt warmer as they approached the queen, like a summer wind bathing them. Titania clicked her fingers, and a bright portal opened. She reached in and brandished five amulets, each one a crest of silver leaves with a sparkling red gem in the middle, threaded with a thin metallic chain.

“Wear these; they are my gifts to you all for being so loyal and attentive,” she said blankly. The orc frowned at her as they donned the necklace, though they felt something was… off. Instantly a familiar warmth rushed over them, the snow melting around them in a small radius.

“M-my lady! We couldn’t accept gifts like these. We aren’t worthy,” Silviana stammered, looking up at the queen with awe.

“Nonsense. You have been a fantastic attendant, and you four have been impeccable guards,” said Titania with a warm smile, before turning away. “Except for the time you tried to kill my new friend,” she murmured under her breath. “You’ve also proven to be so… open to change. I appreciate that immensely. Couldn’t ask for better, really.”

Silviana and the elves looked at her with reverence, bowing to her.

The snowfall began to pick up, the wind howling and even seeping through their ward of warmth. Ghruz looked up to the queen, flinching when they saw her eyes burning red, liquid fire running from her eyes and searching the ground where it fell.

“We have a visitor,” the queen growled angrily. She pointed her metal finger into the encroaching blizzard, where a storm of unnatural intensity slowly crept to them. Every few moments a loud stomp could be heard. The guards unsheathed their blades, standing in front of Titania to protect her.

Ghruz squinted at the storm as snow quickly covered the envoy, the cold seething like a thousand needles pressed against their skin. Their eyes stung, only able to see as far as a few meters ahead of them.

Titania grabbed the collars of both guardsmen, threw them behind her effortlessly, and pushed past Silviana with both hands held out in front of her.

The queen looked over her shoulder, and shouted over the deafening storm: “GET BACK!” Her voice was almost entirely carried away by the wind.

Everyone dove to the ground, covering their heads with their hands. Ghruz peered up and immediately regretted their decision. A small portal opened in front of the queen, and a broad beam of blinding white hot energy pierced through, blaring so loud that nothing else could be heard. The snow over the tundra immediately evaporated, the grass on the ground catching alight. Ghruz squeezed their eyes shut and clamped their hands over their ears as the heat from the ray singed the hair on their body.

The world stopped and all was quiet, leaving only a ringing in the orc’s ears and their vision covered in dots. Ghruz rubbed their eyes and their vision slowly returned. The world in front of them looked like the underworld itself: a long scar of dirt still smoking, and the few trees in its path now ash. Standing before Titania was a humanoid behemoth of ice, one arm missing, melting water dripping from the empty shoulder.

Titania staggered backwards, panting heavily, looking up as it raised its remaining arm. “Oh, bother,” she muttered, before its fist collided with her. The force of it sent her flying off into the distance into the snow, where she lay unmoving.

The orc recoiled in shock, desiring to help the queen, but there was a much more pressing matter at hand. They grabbed their axe, and rushed into battle.

Ghruz felt their heart race, sprinting at full speed to their quarry. The massive elemental raised its arm up to the sky, and bought it down with incredible force. They leapt forward and the fist impacted just behind, sending them tumbling forward and losing their grip on their axe.

The orc quickly rolled to their feet and grabbed their axe in one motion. The elemental shifted its body back, its chest filled with a swirling darkness under its frozen chest. Ghruz felt their blackened arm pulsate, and a feeling of pure instinct overcame them.

The chest…. I need to break it open.

They had no idea how they knew it, but a deep feeling in their gut urged them to it.

The behemoth lifted its foot into the air, loud cracks resonating as ice rubbed against ice, and brought it down to stomp on Ghruz. The orc leapt out of the way, colliding with the ground as a shockwave of dust filled the air. They wasted no time, pulling a dagger from their boot as they leapt onto the monstrosity’s leg.

The elemental moved its attention to the elves hiding behind the carriage, lumbering towards it. The horses whinnied and reared up in panic, before running off with the carriage into the barren wasteland. It held its frozen claw up at the now vulnerable elves, its palm glowing a brilliant blue.

Silviana went wide eyed with panic, hurriedly gesturing with her hand, until a circle of vines formed around them. The vines shot up through the ground, entwining around one another until a dome of flora was formed over the panicked elves.

The elemental released an icy blast, its body lurching with the sheer force of the beam. Ghruz snapped their eyes shut, holding onto their weapons with dear life until the blast’s shockwaves abated. They looked over their shoulder to see the dome of vines completely encased in a glacial prison. Titania lying unconscious, and the elves likely dead—

Silvi..?

Ghruz’s corrupted hand became engulfed in black flame that licked along their fingers like talons. Their eyes turned as dark as void, and their mind consumed with an alien rage. The orc roared like a beast, and shoved their now clawed hand into the leg of the elemental, their dagger entirely forgotten as they scaled the behemoth with frightening speed.

The monster shook its body, trying to swipe at the orc in a vain attempt to shake them off, but Ghruz climbed persistently until they’d reached its back. They launched their engulfed fist ferociously into the elemental’s back, ice fragments splintering with each strike. Ghruz howled in frustration, pulled their engulfed arm back, and then plunged it into the dark core. A deafening crack rang across the wasteland, followed by a second. The elementals back exploded outwards, fragments of ice singing through the air, and covering Ghruz in black mist.

The monster swayed in place, lurching forward slowly before slamming into the ground with rough force to shake the ground, tumbling into a cascade of broken chunks of ice.

——————————————————————————————

Silviana felt the ground shake from inside her frozen dome, followed by an eerie silence. Tannyl, Cyran and Paeral gave each other cautious looks, before looking to Silviana for guidance.

Tannyl was the first to speak up. “What do we do now? Is it safe?” he said nervously.

“I’m not sure. Let’s go check.” Silviana gently touched the dome of vines, the tendrils retracting and slithering back into the ground, leaving the dome of ice.

“What now?” Said Paeral.

Silviana paused for a moment, touching the ice and hissing as the cold burned her fingertips. She looked down at her amulet, and an idea sparked in her mind.

“Our amulets. Hold them up to the ice. Perhaps that will work.”

The four elves removed their amulets, and pressed it against the ice. It hissed and bubbled into steam, and the dome cracked, then gave away entirely as the sun suddenly burst through.

They climbed out to see Ghruz a small distance away, pounding into the ground with their fists, their blackened arm covered in sinister black flame. Their eyes were completely black, their mouth twisted in an abominable snarl.

She crept towards the orc carefully, moving a little by little.

“Ghruz?” Silviana asked softly. The orc ignored her as if nothing else existed but themself and the corpse of the colossus.

“Ghruz?” She asked again, still receiving no answer. An idea popped into her head, one she didn’t like at all.

“Lailah?” Silviana asked one more time, and the orc stopped their assault on the dirt. Their eyes shifted from darkness back to their rich brown.

Ghruz looked at their bloody hands, their left arm covered in blackfire. They looked up at Silviana, tears cascading down their cheeks. “What did you say?”