Coldsnap: Harbinger of Ice

Prologue, Part 3: Cold-Blooded Murder

Coldsnap and Firebird walked through the Grand Terminus until they came to its well-known, expansive performance hall. Set to perform today were the Aquatorians, a group of Water Sect mages who never failed to amaze spectators with their powerful storytelling abilities and stellar visual effects. Most of their acts were based on famous people or events from Earth, bringing its various customs and cultures to life. Their craft relied on taking initially-formless masses of water and molding it into whatever shapes they deemed fit in order to tell their tales—humans, animals, buildings, or scenery.

This time around, the Aquatorians told the story of the famous heroine known as The Viper and her impressive show of bravery as she managed to take down Dr. Duncan Drevis, The Crawler, Mitchell, and their minions at the top of the Mercury Heights Space Needle earlier that same year. The crowd applauded as the serpentine super gracefully took out her enemies, threw Mitchell over the railing, and brought the doctor into submission.

As Coldsnap and Firebird sat together in the stands and watched intently, the Fire Sect mage let out a longing sigh. "She's definitely wonderful, isn't she? A true superhero....."

"Definitely!" Coldsnap agreed. "It's good to know that the mages aren't the only ones looking out for Earth's well-being."

"Well, you have to remember that, aside from a few exceptions, she only protects Mercury Heights, not the whole planet.  First us....and then her.....I wonder if any others will eventually come around.....?"

"I mean, hey, I'm all for it, you know?" the ice mage said. "The more of them there are, the easier our job is."

Firebird paused for a second. "True....it's too bad we're not nearly as known to the humans as, say, The Viper is."

Coldsnap tilted her head curiously. "What do you mean?"

Her friend took a deep breath. "Hydraxus sent a few water mages down to Earth a few weeks back to help put out a massive fire that started as a result of an oil pump explosion in the middle of the ocean. However....they mostly remained out of sight, and only stayed as long as they needed to in order to put out the blaze, with them departing quickly afterward."

".....That's all they did? They didn't make sure the workers were safe first?"

Firebird shook her head. "Nope. No ice mages were sent to temporarily freeze the water and grant the workers a safe path to shore.....no earth mages were ordered in to make stepping stones....nothing. All they did was put out the flames and then leave the humans stranded on the pump."

"What? No....that doesn't sound like something Hydraxus would do," Coldsnap protested. "He may be a bit eccentric, sure, but I can tell that he genuinely cares for the people of this planet."

The Fire Sect mage cautiously looked around her, then beckoned her friend in closer. "Some say Frost King Alpin was the one responsible for persuading Hydraxus to act in such a manner," she said. "I'm not 100% sure on that, but it's what I keep hearing the other mages saying."

"But....but that's a massive waste! That's like.....leaving the job half-done!"

"Between you and me.....I also thought the same thing. I did receive word later that the people working on the pump were indeed rescued later by their own kind, but still.....that whole operation still leaves a bad taste in my mouth to this day. And I didn't even participate in it."

"Why would he do that.....?" Coldsnap wondered aloud. "Maybe when we're done here, I'll give His Majesty a visit at the Boreal Throne and get his side of the story about these events. Because.....that really doesn't seem right to me. How are Earth's denizens supposed to truly know and appreciate their protectors if they always shy away from the spotlight?"