Coldsnap: Storm's Call

Chapter 1: Water Warriors

-2022-

A little under two decades after Coldsnap and Keena's births, the Mage Aspects as a whole had undergone a significant change in management, with only one of the original four Sect Leaders still standing. Within that time, Coldsnap was forced to kill both Frost King Alpin and Morton Flamestar in her efforts to save Earth from their cynical world-ending schemes, with the icy heroine inheriting Alpin's position and her good friend, Firebird, inheriting Flamestar's position. Furthermore, after Coldsnap had taken the throne, Keena, who confessed her feelings to and had begun a relationship with Coldsnap during their campaign against Alpin and Flamestar, worried that Coldsnap would no longer love her or see her as an equal due to her lack of an authoritative position. So, unbeknownst to everyone else, Keena murdered her own mentor, Hydraxus, by spiking his drink with poison during the celebration party following Alpin and Flamestar's downfall, before quickly winning over the favor of the remaining Water Sect mages and usurping Hydraxus's old job as Sect Leader. After all of the turmoil had passed, Sledge, the Sect Leader of the earth mages, was the only surviving member of the old guard left.

Unlike most murderous usurpers, though, Keena soon proved with time that she did have the skills necessary for the job. Under her leadership, the Water Sect had seen much more action on Earth, and she, like her other friends, allowed the mages to visit the planet even when there wasn't a disaster to solve. Her fellow Sect Leader, Coldsnap—who oversaw the ice mages—believed that the Mage Aspects of the Elemental Realms no longer needed to hide away in their own dimension and only come out to deal with threats as they arose. Instead, Coldsnap had radically changed the way the Aspects functioned; now, the portal in the Grand Terminus which led to Earth was now open 24/7, granting the mages the ability to travel to the planet as they wished.

Rather pleasantly, the humans of Earth greeted the Mage Aspects with great amicability. Just last week, Firebird and a few fire mages had visited the shores of a Hawaiian beach to perform a mesmerizing nighttime fire performance for the guests, with their equipment producing flames that were both captivating and capable of producing great visual effects. Additionally, Coldsnap paid a visit to an ice-skating rink, spent some time with the kids who regularly went there, and positively enthralled them by manipulating the ice directly beneath their feet.

Sledge and his son, Geode, however, hadn't gotten a lot of time to visit Earth; rather, since Sledge was starting to advance in age, he was busy training Geode to eventually succeed him. Though Alpin and Flamestar had committed unspeakable atrocities, he still treasured the good memories he had shared with them in the past, and longed to see them again.....or at least, the people they used to be. And, of course, he mourned the abrupt passing of Hydraxus, the former Water Sect Leader, remaining completely unaware that his own student, Keena, had killed him.

Today, however, the Mage Aspects' first order of business was all work and no play. If their forces failed here.....one of the United States's most well-known establishments could suffer millions—potentially billions—of dollars in damages.

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-Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada-

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH! What are these things?!" a resort employee exclaimed in fear as he frantically rushed around the grand lobby of the resort, trying to run away from the hyperactive fire spirits that were chasing him, setting everything around them ablaze wherever they went. These "fire spirits" would have actually had a chance at being called "adorable", were it not for their rather destructive nature. They resembled ever-burning fireballs with stubby arms and legs, oddly-shaped "mouths" with a visible pair of buck teeth, and solid red eyes. Despite them setting everything on fire, they seemed to be having the time of their lives, laughing and bouncing around like uncontrollable little children.