"How do I look?"
Lumi opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Orion standing before her.
The concern and affection in his gaze ward her frozen heart.
"Perfect," she whispered. "I am the Warden of Winter now."
She had beco the goddess who held dominion over the snow.
"This will be our ho."
Lumi gestured behind her to the Ice Phoenix Palace. During the condensation of her Authority, she had instinctively used the laws of the realm to reconstruct it. She had forged a perfect replica of the palace on the tundra, the one Orion had gifted her.
"Yes. This is our ho."
Orion nodded, genuinely happy that he could provide a sanctuary that belonged solely to Lumi.
"From now on," Lumi said, testing her new power, "I will summon a great snow across the Divine Kingdom for the final three months of every year."
"When the snow lts, the permafrost will soften. It will accelerate the growth of all living things and enrich the soil."
This was the most direct benefit Lumi's control of the Snow Authority brought to the Abyssal World.
"However," she continued, "the rules of the Divine Kingdom are not yet fully operational. To awaken other laws, you must continue to separate and assign Authority."
"To make the realm complete, you need to expand its territory and establish order."
Orion knew all of this, of course. But knowing the path and walking it were two different things.
Expanding the Divine Kingdom required his true body to toil in the Chaos Void. The only shortcuts were devouring other Divine Kingdoms or draining the Abyssal World itself. Both thods were part of his plan, but they required ti to execute.
"If it worked for ... Gustalon should be able to gain the Kingdom's approval as well," Lumi suggested softly.
She was thoughtful. Given their shared nature as elental beings, she imdiately thought of the wind elental.
"I'll talk to Gustalon," Orion promised.
He already had plans for the wind spirit. If Lumi could ascend, Gustalon was almost certainly a lock.
"Won't you walk with ?" Lumi asked.
Business concluded, she extended her hand. Orion smiled and took it.
Lumi leaned into him, holding his arm. Like a couple who had been married for decades, they strolled leisurely through the pristine, white snow.
Stoneheart City. The Silent Goblet.
Redfang the Giant felt a surge of imnse pride as he ascended the stairs to the tavern's second floor.
It was a symbol of status.
The zzanine was reserved for the elite. The sense of accomplishnt he felt stepping onto these floorboards was greater than winning a duel in the Colosseum.
"Redfang! Over here!"
Just as Redfang was basking in his own importance, a familiar voice called out from a corner booth. It was his friend, Zhenlo.
Redfang strode over, the floorboards groaning slightly under his weight.
"Ordered this for you. Hero's Blood. Last cask of the day."
Zhenlo, a Pandaren, slid a massive tankard across the table. He knew the Giant well; this was Redfang's poison of choice.
Redfang glanced at the human stranger sitting next to Zhenlo but didn't speak. He lifted the tankard and drained the fiery liquid in a single, thunderous gulp.
The alcohol hit his throat like a pyroclastic flow, burning with the heat of a warrior's blood.
"Hero's Blood is right. That's got a kick!"
Redfang sighed in satisfaction, his long tongue darting out to lick the droplets from his lips. Only then did he look at Zhenlo.
"This is Bastien," Zhenlo introduced, gesturing to the human. "A friend I made in Northguard. He hit Alpha level fighting the Insectoids. He's a tough bastard."
Redfang nodded and flashed what he thought was a friendly smile at Bastien.
However, was a Giant's smile ever truly friendly?
Bastien certainly didn't think so. He stiffened visibly.
"He's my Giant friend, Redfang," Zhenlo said quickly, patting Bastien's arm. "Ignore the teeth. He's smiling."
Zhenlo did his best to bridge the gap. They were all comrades who had bled on the battlefield; they should get along.
"Redfang, you have no idea," Zhenlo said, shaking his head, his black-and-white fur bristling with agitation. "Northguard... it's hell."
"You know what I saw the mont I teleported in?"
"Famine."
"An entire city, starving to death."
"The humans there... skin and bones. Frail. I felt like I could poke a hole through them with my pinky finger."
To demonstrate, the Pandaren extended a chubby pinky and poked the empty air, as if popping a soap bubble.
"When they saw us arrive, their eyes... they glowed green."
"Friend," Bastien interrupted, his voice rough. "That was hope. Not hunger-madness."
"Right, right. Hope," Zhenlo corrected himself, though he looked skeptical.
To the Pandaren, the "green light" in a human's eyes usually ant they had turned feral, ready to eat anything that moved. But Bastien insisted it was gratitude.
The Lord of Stoneheart maintained strict order in Northguard, preventing the tragedy of cannibalism, but the desperation was real. When the Stoneheart Horde reinforcents arrived, the locals didn't just see soldiers; they saw the promise of a full belly.
"Okay, hope. Not the look of a predator," Zhenlo grinned, showing rows of small, neat teeth.
"But Fang, listen to this. The common folk in Northguard? They can't even eat the bugs. The Insectoid at is toxic to them. It kills them."
"They ate their reserve grain weeks ago. They're at the end of the line."
As Zhenlo described the horrors of the North, Bastien remained silent, staring into his empty cup.
He knew the Pandaren wasn't lying or exaggerating.
In the final days before relief arrived, people in Northguard died of starvation every hour. Others were snatched from the streets by flying insects.
"And outside the walls?" Zhenlo continued, animated. "The Insectoids are a plague. A flood."
"I guarantee you, you take one step, you crush a bug."
"Why do they stay inside? Why don't they go out and sweep the field?"
"Fang, I'm telling you, that place is a Paradise for us. It's the best place to farm bounties and earn rit."
Zhenlo wasn't as oblivious as the Giant. He noticed Bastien's mood plumting, sensing the human's sha and inferiority.
Zhenlo reached out, placing a heavy, furry paw on Bastien's shoulder.
"Hey. My friend. Zhenlo ans no offense. I do not look down on your race."
"I am describing a disaster. A disaster that needs us."
"Look at Redfang here. He is exactly the kind of teammate I want to bring north to fix this ss."
The Pandaren's blunt honesty and warmth broke through Bastien's defenses.
Bastien shook his head and downed his own drink.
"I'm sorry. My mood is ruining the gathering."
"Hahaha! Friend, it doesn't matter! The disaster is about to beco history."
The comfort didn't co from Zhenlo this ti, but from the Giant, Redfang.
"Friend, Northguard has returned to the embrace of the Horde. From now on, we are family."
"Whatever the hardship, we carry it together."
Redfang thumped his massive chest. In that mont, he radiated pride—not arrogance, but the solid, dependable pride of his kind.
"Redfang promises you. For the sake of a friend, I will go to Northguard. I will kill the most bugs. I will bring hope."
"I have many retired comrades in Stoneheart. They will be more than willing to co north and lend a hand."
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