Dragonfly schooled her expression as best she could, hiding the wince of concern as Sprite once more ignored her proffered hand of assistance to get up.

  “You did well, Sprite. You’re doing great in everything so far. Almost too great. Rest and introspection are equally important,” she told her student as the girl got back on her feet. “Building a foundation is about patience and steady progress, not just rushing ahead for greater heights.”

  “Thank you, teacher. I will think upon what you have said,” Sprite replied, and while the words did sound grateful, Dragonfly’s aura senses told a different story.

  “Still so much fear, even after two seasons have passed,” Dragonfly thought with concern as she felt the fright which still lingered in Sprite’s aura.

  While aura senses weren’t mind reading, Dragonfly had such an advantage due to the great rank disparity between her and her student that the girl’s emotions were like an open book, giving clear indications as to her thoughts. And while Dragonfly tried to not pry all the time, it was hard not to use it to glimpse some of the truth; that Sprite wanted to keep pushing herself to be good, obedient and to excel. Those aspirations were in and of themselves everything Dragonfly would ever wish from a student, but the crux of the problem came from the accompanying, simmering fear that took those ambitions to their extremes at times.

  “But I suppose that Dove and Crow are correct in that these things can’t be forced. Even though ‘giving it time’ is just so… frustrating,” she thought, leaving such musings to another day as she instead focused on the elf girl that stood expectantly before her.

  “Teacher?”

  “It was nothing, Sprite. Just an indication that it is high time for us to take a break for food and to center ourselves with some meditation after that,” Dragonfly said. “You will also be having some more lessons with Crow and Dove in the weeks to come while I go out on some contracts. Kite may have been called away by Gauntlet with short notice - which probably means that it is something either important, complicated or both - but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any local ones that need to be taken care of. And as he brought Glint with him, it’ll simply be too dangerous for you to come with me this time.”

  Seeing the girl’s obvious disappointment at being left behind, Dragonfly tried to cheer her up. “I’m honestly a bit jealous that you get so many lessons though. My own master always provided for me, but she didn’t have the contacts or stable home to give me such an opportunity to learn. If you keep doing your best, your path will just become all the stronger for it. Just imagine it; knowing magical rituals, alchemy or any of the other many magical secrets of this world. While I’m great at many things, I know almost nothing of how they work, so you’ll surpass me in no time.”

  Sprite did straighten at her teacher’s words, a bit of the fire rekindling in her spirit even though the ever-present fear never completely left.

  “Of course, teacher. I will not disappoint you!” the girl declared, before racing ahead of Dragonfly towards their house to wash up before the meal.

  “I’m not worried in the slightest, little Sprite,” Dragonfly murmured, her feelings complicated as she watched her young student charging off as if intending to prove herself the washing-up-champion of these lands. “If only you could say that to yourself as well.”

  With an inward sigh she followed, letting her thoughts drift back to Kite. The contract had indeed sounded urgent, as he was rarely called away on such short notice. And while Dragonfly had every ounce of trust in him handling himself, she also knew that there were powers out there far beyond them.

  “Stay safe, Kite,” she thought, the words half a prayer to Fortune at the same time. “May things go smoothly and without issues for you. There are enough complicated matters here at home.”

  “Mast- I mean, Sir Ilmaril. My greetings.”

  Kite, with the currently draconian-shaped Glint in tow, had barely stepped out of the portal and onto one of the more secluded marshaling yards of the Port Singhni adventure society campus before he found himself before the gold-ranked elf that had been his superior and supervisor during his training with task group Gauntlet. As many high-rankers were wont to do, Ilmaril Thenston looked much the same as before; blonde hair in a sidecut half framing the solid blue orbs that were his eyes.

  But unlike the times Kite had interacted with the man in his office, the gold-ranker was now wearing a full set of cyan crystalline armor with multiple other faceted gems hovering around him; from the common but efficient ones that passively helped to restore mana to a trio of smaller orbs that orbited Ilmaril’s head like a crown. The whole setup was most impressive, and gave a clear indication that the man probably shared the crystal essence with his niece Christine, who had been another of Kite’s instructors.

  “Adventurer Kite. I’m glad you accepted the contract even on such short notice. It’s always annoying when we have to move down the list to people with less fitting power sets,” Ilmaril said in way of greeting, clearly all business at that moment. “As we expect to portal out within the hour to the actual staging point, pre-contract briefing will be handled by the respective team leaders. Lansar is awaiting you along with team four.”

  As the dismissal in the gold-ranker’s tone was clear and another portal had already opened up behind Kite, he quickly made his way towards where he had already seen some familiar faces.

  “Kite! Oh, wait- Junior Brother Kite. My greetings.”

  Christine Thenston, the aforementioned niece in question, aborted her initial cheerful call into her best attempt at a Hua-Xi bow, her tone a clear imitation of Kite in his more formal moments. Behind her, the midnight-skinned Mtanga shot Kite one of his pearly white smiles while Ryker Lansar put one hand over his rugged face in another show of clear exasperation.

  “Senior Sister Christine. My greetings,” Kite replied, his tone somber but with a clear smile on his face as he did his best to mimic the elven woman’s own attempt at mimicry. “And to you as well, teacher. And Senior Brother Mtanga.”

  “Kite. Good,” came Ryker’s gruff acknowledgement, the man choosing to ignore the antics of their other team members. “It’s not always we get those who we request to fill out our team for a contract, but I’m glad to see you still answer the call. But your record is at least good in that regard.”

  “Why teacher, I’m most honored for you to find me worthy to call upon,” Kite remarked, bowing again and even deeper as he continued teasing his team leader and sometimes mentor. “But if they’re deploying the three of you directly like this without prospective members in tow, I will assume that things are… complicated?” he finished, his tone making the statement a clear question.

  “More like intense, and a bit time sensitive,” Christine chimed in.

  “But definitely complicated on the magical front,” Mtanga added. “There will even be a contingent from the magic society moving in our wake to secure the site afterwards. As members, Christine and I will be liaising after things are done. Assuming it goes well, of course.”

  “Sir Ilmaril did say that you would handle the briefing, Sir,” Kite said, turning to Ryker. “What are we charging into this time? Or are we waiting for more members?”

  “No, it’s time. All five of us are here,” Ryker said, causing Kite to look about for the supposed fifth, or sixth if they were counting familiars like Glint.

  “A scout then? Or stealth specialist?” Kite asked as he couldn’t detect anyone else near them. It wouldn’t be the first time one among that specialization chose to remain hidden until it was time for introductions, be it a prank or to show off their skills.

  Ryker didn’t reply, instead just turning and looking meaningfully behind the group. While Kite didn’t sense or detect anything, his teammates apparently did.

  “Linger, this is Kite,” Christine said, looking in the same general direction as Ryker. “We know that this is a good opportunity to practice, but introductions are in order.”

  Kite had to admit that he had not expected what came next, and had to fight down the instant impulse to conjure his weapons as a towering form suddenly appeared at the back of the group, a vanishing shimmer over its grayish skin being the only hints of the fading obscuring magic. The monstrous form was well over two meters tall, with wide shoulders and a head situated more between them due to the lack of a distinct neck.

  “A… lurker?” Kite asked in disbelief, instantly seeing the similarities to the troll-like monster that existed in many shapes, forms and ranks across the world.

  In response, the monstrous thing gave Kite a wide smile filled with razor sharp teeth as it lifted a clawed hand to wave cheerfully. A moment later it seemed to shrink in on itself, the towering figure reaching less spectacular proportions as the transformation was completed.

  “Got it in one,” said what was revealed as a celestine man with short-cropped hair and eyes of a matte, pale metallic gray. He was in combat robes which seemed to shift colors to blend it into the environment but otherwise looked to be unarmed. “The name’s Linger, and the essences are lurker, echo, harmonic and transfiguration. I’m a scout and support all in one regenerating package, and I can share my special abilities with you to different extents. People just love to get some of that lurker regeneration for themselves!”

  “And with us five, we have a decently rounded team,” Ryker said, getting them back on track. “As for the contract, some concerned powers-that-be caught track of a mass-summoning event out in the tundras far north of Estercost and east of the Mirror Kingdom. Mostly a mass of unregulated city states out there, the kind where there hasn’t been an adventure society branch in a long, long time.”

  Kite was already familiar with similar regions around the world; where the laws and norms of polite society were more like very vague suggestions. With the relatively lax - or entirely lacking - regulations, such places were rife with restricted magic, forbidden soul experimentation, followers of the shunned gods and other such unsavory practices. The smuggler town of Havenpeak that Kite and his team had infiltrated during his training with Gauntlet was one such example, and that was a most tame one compared to some others which Kite had heard of or encountered during contracts that followed. Adventurers usually only came there on illicit errands of their own, or to make one of numerous sweeps and strikes against the forbidden practices which came into light.

  “So far we have little information about the summoning, only that the site is apparently well hidden and protected, and that the main ritual being performed is gold rank with several other sites of silver ones acting in concert. Given the unknown time frame of said rituals, the society chose to call upon Gauntlet directly. We will be one of ten silver teams acting in support of a team of five gold-rankers, with Sir Ilmaril being one of the golds in question. Our foremost objective will be to hit the silver-ranked sites unless the gold in charge says something else, and the contract is pretty open-ended given the low level of information. Expect other tasks to crop up as we go.”

  Given the nods of understanding from everyone involved, Linger included, no one seemed surprised at the last addition. More often than not, a contract needing the intervention of Gauntlet tended to branch off into other different matters that also needed to be handled, be it impromptu investigations or lengthy pursuits.

  “And our roles, teacher?” Kite asked, having an idea of it but seeking confirmation.

  “As we said, Linger will be our scout and support with some healing involved. I will act as rapid response and close-quarter damage, with Mtanga and Christine as ranged damage support. And, as usual, you will be leaning into the role of defender and suppressor, with Glint acting as control,” Ryker stated, giving the familiar a nod which she deigned to return. “As we deem the risk of our targets summoning reinforcements to be high, you are to prioritize thinning them out when possible, as well as ritual disruption if we deem that there isn’t enough time for Mtanga or Christine to dismantle it more properly. But I don’t need to remind you all to stay flexible as the target will no doubt make things complicated for us.”

  They continued with the briefing over the course of just under an hour, the conversation soon centering more around a quick discussion of different tactics to employ with their respective power sets in combination. While Kite knew that few things could beat the thoroughly ingrained teamwork of a stable group who had fought alongside each other for years, each of those chosen as outer members of Gauntlet were adaptable; the quick cognitive processes of silver rank making it easy to at least establish a simple outline for coordination.

  “See? Pretty neat, isn’t it?” Linger asked with a smug smile as the others in the team were in the process of getting used to their brand new - if temporary - sense of echolocation. One of the celestine’s special abilities from his echo essence was just that; a supernaturally enhanced ability to sense the world around him through how minute sounds echoed off everything nearby. Another ability of Linger let him share up to two of his special abilities for an ongoing mana cost, and the group had spent some time cycling through all of them. For Kite, it was less of a change as he was already quite used to the widened perception and helped further by his mantle, but he found it incredibly useful as it helped with noticing things his eyes couldn’t readily detect.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “Oh wow, this is amazing!” Mtanga exclaimed with his normal grin. “Just imagine what I can do when curving my arrows with this. The-”

  His words were interrupted by a pulse of a gold-ranked aura, Ilmaril instantly silencing the whole marshaling yard with this spirit.

  “We got word via water link that the portals will be inbound soon,” the gold-ranker declared. “Teams one and two, follow me through the one I enter. Teams three to five, use the other ones. We’ll exit at a prepared staging ground and will make the final approach with the help of conjured vehicles. Briefings will be updated with what the forward scouts have discovered, but expect to be at the site and probably in combat within two hours. Prepare accordingly.”

  As if to punctuate his statement, a disc of shimmering water appeared at one of the designated spots behind Ilmaril just as he finished, and a latticework archway of glowing metal followed soon after. The gold-ranker didn’t hesitate, turning and walking through the disc of water without another word. What Kite assumed to be teams one and two followed, and Ryker took the lead as their team four joined the queue.

  “Once more across the world. May Fortune preserve us. And may Warrior guide our hands.”

  Vitruvius Edmonton smiled as he once more felt another loop of the ritual complete, one of multitudes of magical fractals locked in and building upon those that came next. Even with their blessed powers bestowed by Winter, each of the golds and silvers present at the ritual site could feel the sting of the increasing chill. While not directly harmful, it had still been a long, long time since he could feel it so clearly.

  “Blessed Rimebringer, another step of the ritual has been completed,” one of the silver-ranked acolytes needlessly informed him, but Vitruvius didn’t chastise the noticeably exhausted ritualist. All of those present were fervently dedicated to the cause of the Everfrost Order, each and every one as eager as Vitruvius for the ritual to be completed.

  So instead, the gold ranker gave a nod of confirmation to the acolyte, placing a hand on the other man’s robed shoulder.

  “Winter bless your hard word. The Fimbulwinter Herald has taken one step closer to us, and through it blessed Winter will begin its inevitable march to reclaim this world.”

  Zeal shone in the acolyte’s eyes as Vitruvius spoke, mirrored by the gold ranker. Around them, other exhausted ritualists paid their respects as they, one by one, switched places with another to continue the next frozen fractal of the summoning.

  Vitruvius continued his vigil, him and the other golds able to take much longer shifts, and it was three full days later that he found himself walking back through the frozen corridors of their hidden sanctum on his way for some rest. Such thoughts were abruptly scattered as he felt the auras of his fellow gold-rankers flare in alarm, outrage and defiance. They were gathered in the command center - which was also the main shrine dedicated to Winter within the complex - and it took but seconds for Vitruvius to join them as he accelerated to his full speed.

  “- it the Order of Snow’s Cycle? Have those so weak of faith suddenly decided to grow a spine rather than to insist on their so-called harmony and balance with the others?”

  The angry words came from Abelinde, another gold-ranker among the order. Vitruvius shared every ounce of her contempt for the rest of their brothers and sisters who couldn’t see that Winter was always meant to take command of this world, and that their holy duty was not just veneration but to actively make sure that they came closer to such a blessed existence.

  “What is the matter?” he asked, the other golds turning to him.

  “Our outer defenses have been activated. We have incoming enemies of our god and cause,” Abelinde answered, gauntleted hands clenching so hard the enchanted steel creaked ominously.

  “But as to your question, blessed Avatar, I do not sense the touch of Winter on them. The force is a hodgepodge one, no doubt adventurers,” another of the clergy - a smolder glowing not with the heat of the earth’s blood but the pale chill of Winter - said, his misty eyes seeming distant as his senses was projected through the ice and snow of the whole region.

  “Bah, it was no doubt the other orders who tipped them off,” Abelinde spat. “And it matters little. I will prepare the defenses and the knights. By the ever-lasting will of Winter, we will hold them off until the rituals are completed.”

  “Why did this have to happen now, of all times,” another priestess swore. “We were so close.”

  “Gather your inner chill and find peace, sister,” Vitruvius counseled. “We always knew that discovery was a risk. There are plenty of gods that would spend their authority to act against us given what mighty force of the dark cold that will arrive should we succeed. Preparations have been made. Trust in them and our fellows. Our devotion will see us through!”

  His words did have a calming, steadying effect on all in the room. As Rimebringer, Vitruvius was the most senior among them; the first among equals. And his words were no lies; they had indeed prepared. Had even gotten farther than Vitruvius had feared before any discovery of note came their way. And now, all that was left was to prove their devotion, emulating their relentless patron.

  A herald of Winter’s purview would soon march across these lands, and the Everfrost Order would join its charge.

  “Everyone to your chosen place of proving. For Winter, we march!”

  “Well, I don’t think we need to doubt the last pieces of intel we got upon arrival. If it’s not some radical offshoot cult of Winter, I’ll eat my cloak. Probably stupid enough to try and summon something akin to an apocalypse beast,” Ryker muttered where the team stood atop the battlements of the latest exotic means of conveyance Kite had experienced during his time in Gauntlet. He had been carried to the site of contracts atop many different kinds of familiars and vehicles before of course, but they had all been silver rank so far. In this case, gold rank once more proved to be in a league of its own.

  One of the five gold-rankers chosen for the mission - a Viscount Melordrian if Kite remembered correctly - had the fortress confluence. Upon hearing this, it hadn’t been too much of a surprise that the man could indeed conjure a fortress; a shining white edifice with gleaming spires and bristling battlements. As far as fortresses went, it was on the smaller side, but small on such a scale meant that it could easily house hundreds of people.

  But what had been more of a surprise was that said fortress proved to be their transport, as it had risen from the ground above a floating golden disc with several majestic feathered wings springing from its rim. Magic was obviously involved in more ways than one, as said wings didn’t need to do more than gently sway to keep the thing aloft and flying towards their goal at a good clip.

  And as to their supposed targets…

  “Teacher, if I may ask, is it common for more legitimate churches to cause trouble like this? Assuming the information to be correct, that is,” Kite asked Ryker, still feeling a bit torn in going up against clergy of such a deity.

  “The churches as a whole? No. And while they’re usually kept in check by either other parts of their clergy or those of other deities, this isn’t the first time and definitely not the last. There’s always some fanatics who like the thought of giving their deity’s domain a nice little push, and many of the nature gods are simply too uncaring of people to intervene or really care,” Ryker explained, all while keeping his eyes trained on the barren tundra landscape zooming by not too far beneath them, their relatively low altitude necessary to not attract too many monsters of the skies.

  “I felt the same when I first encountered it,” Christine chimed in, apparently sensing Kite’s hesitance. “Things are pretty easy when the followers of Undeath or Destruction are your opponents. But when those you face cry the name of a god whose temple you could visit in most major cities, things get a bit more complicated conscience-wise.”

  “If they’re trying to devastate cities or regions to further their cause, they’re all the same,” Ryker said darkly, apparently having seen enough of the phenomenon to leave any such qualms behind. “And back to the briefing, it would seem that our targets hid rather well.”

  As he spoke, Kite’s teacher and team leader nodded ahead, to where the tundra was changing to a large frozen lake, its gleaming surface completely serene in the early morning light.

  “It’s not that hard to hide well in the middle of nowhere,” Mtanga countered, “but at least we were lucky enough for someone to note that it and its surroundings remained frozen even as the seasons were changing. Tunnels beneath? Or a compound hidden by illusions? Any bets?”

  “Illusions,” Linger immediately said, quickly followed by Christine vouching for tunnels.

  “Neither. And both,” Ryker added, just as they all felt the fortress around them come alive even more as defenses started activating. “Call it instinct, but I think that we have been spotted.”

  As if to confirm his words, the icy lake started shifting in the distance. Kite could see the vague glow of formations coming alive across its surface, and said surface was soon disturbed by great jagged spikes of glowing ice that emerged at an angle. They formed a rough circle, like some ominous and grand winter crown, and other spikes of ice started to form along their lengths before being launched up into the air and towards the approaching fortress in ominous volleys.

  “At least they were nice enough to clearly point out their location,” Mtanga noted cheerfully, even though Kite could feel his aura sharpen and gather itself, much like that of every adventurer present. There was no general alarm or warning, because there was no need; all of those present were professional enough to keep their attention where it belonged. Or at least all members of Gauntlet.

  “Lansar! What’s going on? I very specifically demanded to be notified at once should something happen!”

  A most irate human woman in heavy blue robes with the magic society emblem pinned to her chest was storming over towards their group, her core-laced aura barely under control. The emblem was not the only decoration, accompanied by several necklaces and rings on every finger. One of those adorned fingers was pointing accusatory at Ryker during her whole march up the stairs to the battlements of the fortress.

  “I demand to- eeeekk!”

  Her next tirade was interrupted as one of the incoming projectiles impacted nearby, fragmenting against a hitherto invisible barrier not far from their location with a thunderous boom. While most people flinched or steadied themselves, the angry woman stumbled away more ungainly, only her silver-ranked balance helping her stay on her feet. One of Ryker’s length of cloth had also shot out to steady her, even though she looked at the steadying fabric as if it was a personal affront as she regained her feet, a previously neat bun of black hair now looking a bit frazzled.

  “Well?” she finally demanded, ignoring the rest of the team to level a glare at Ryker.

  “As you can see, Lady Ljublia, we are under attack as we’re making the final approach,” Ryker said dryly, not fazed in the slightest. “Yet another reason as to why I would strongly suggest that you and your team wait here in the fortress until we sound the all-clear, as we cannot guarantee your safety-”

  “And let you meatheads ruin all of that no doubt delicate magical equipment and materials? Don’t be absurd,” the woman snorted in response, literally turning her nose up on the team leader. “The members of my team are experienced field researchers who can handle themselves. So you will stick to the agreements which your betters have already made,” she finished, even poking Ryker hard in the chest at one point.

  “As you wish then,” Ryker retorted, his aura gaining a bit of an edge even though his words kept their dry tone. “Then you should at least know of our capabilities so that we run less risk of friendly fire by accident. Christine here is-”

  “I don’t care who your goons are or what they can do. You’re supposed to be professionals, so I’ll expect you to act like it and keep your violent tendencies under control. And given that no one saw fit to inform us about the potential of violence even during the approach, I will direct my team to wait inside with at least a modicum of the comfort our station deserves. We will summon you when it is time to descend.”

  With that, she turned to storm off again, only flinching slightly at another impact nearby. For a few moments after her departure, the rest of the team could only stare in mute incomprehension as Ryker pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “Teacher…” Kite eventually began, tentatively breaking the silence.

  “Yes, Kite.”

  “I would assume that to be part of the magic society researchers that would be coming along ‘in our wake’.”

  “You would be correct.”

  “It did sound like our and their definition of how far behind the aforementioned wake is did differ quite a lot.”

  “You would be correct again,” Ryker repeated, his annoyance clear. But where the team leader showed a remarkable level of restraint, the normally casual Christine was a lot more vocal with her feelings on the matter.

  “Seriously? What kind of heidel dung was that?!” the elf half shrieked. “I refuse to believe that command would have agreed to this!”

  “In a perfect world, they wouldn’t,” Ryker agreed, turning to the team. “But we are instead left with one where politicking between the societies and their different sub-groups can cause a lot of stupid decisions to be made. As such, we’ll have to put up with the agreement as is. And thank the gods that our superiors at least managed to refuse any actual responsibility for the researchers. They are indeed supposed to manage their own security.”

  “So-called researchers at least,” Mtanga muttered. “You know who among the magic society that are chosen to go on expeditions such as these. The most well-connected ones. And those are rarely the ones who are actually the most competent.”

  “They’re at least silvers, right?” Linger asked, trying to keep his tone cheerful. “Should be decent meat shields then?”

  The flat look Ryker gave him in response was so unamused that even the celestine had the grace to backpedal, raising his hands in a placating gesture. “Just kidding, of course! Kidding!”

  “While Linger’s solution would indeed come with a certain level of gratification, we will have to take them into account,” the team leader said, turning to address the whole group. “While our own safety and taking care of the ritual will remain a priority, I will not just leave them entirely to their own devices. Consider keeping the researchers intact a tertiary objective for now. Because agreement or not, it will reflect badly on Gauntlet should none of them return.”

  While they talked, more of the defenses from the hidden complex ahead of them had come alive, blue frigid beams joining the icicles as an artificial snowstorm was starting to swirl around the area, gradually widening. The approaching flying fortress was not without defenses of its own though, barriers flaring as they absorbed hits and crystals atop the spires sending crackling golden lightning to intercept whole salvos of projectiles and tear apart the icy protrusions in the distance. While the defenses of both sides were gold rank, the fortress had so far shown a clear superiority in both offense and defense, and had the battle merely been between the two behemoths, Kite did not doubt that their shining bastion would come out victorious.

  “But piercing their outer defenses is just the first step,” Kite thought, taking in the spectacular levels of violence exchanged between the two sides. “We’ll soon be the ones to take the plunge and dive deep. May the heavens keep us.”