Looking at the small cottage I had just created, I nodded in satisfaction. It looked quite solid, but I could do better. I still felt a connection to the ice I had created, allowing me to manipulate a little more. It took some focus, but I was able to turn most of the ice opaque, with a couple of panes turning nicely clear, like windows.

Walking inside, I added a nice chair for each of us, the others would need to cushion theirs against the cold ice, but I was happy sitting on diamond dust. Halting my magical construction, partially because I had to regenerate Astral Power, I checked my cooking and decided that it needed some attention. While I did that, I took a few sneaky glances to the dwarven camp and was quite satisfied at the sheer disbelief I could see on their faces whenever they looked into our direction.

Finally, the stew was done and I called in the rest of my group, gesturing for them to take a seat while I created a table and doled out the food.

“You’ve really outdone yourself, love.” Sigmir said with a wide grin, as she tried the first spoon of stew.

“Thank you.” Looking around to make sure no dwarves were close enough to listen in, I softly explained, “It is partially to show the dwarves something unexpected. I’m not sure how many people can do what I just did, even if they have the same power as I do. They’d also need the right elemental affinity,”

“They’d also need the idea and the will to use their magic in such a manner. Not that I’m complaining, even if the walls are a little cold.” Adra added, quite amused.

“That’s what the blankets are for.” I replied, before eating became the priority. It was quite tasty and having a table and chairs added a bit of comfort that we had been missing most of the times. Add some small-talk and jokes, turning the atmosphere in our small icy cottage quite warm and relaxed.

Some time after we were done with dinner, I had created my armchair and was sitting in front of the quite complete cottage. I had added the last wall and even tried to create a door but sadly, the hinges were a little problematic. I could create the form, that just needed a great deal of focus, but I was unable to keep the different parts from quickly freezing together. Lenore and I were contemplating a way to accomplish that task, and using our magic to move the door when necessary, when Dargira walked up. It was quite obvious that she was a little hesitant, maybe due to insecurity or she might just be shy.

“Erm… Greetings, Morgana.” she spoke up, after a second of mumbling as if unsure just what to say.

“Greetings, Dargira. Why don’t you have a seat?.” I invited, causing the dwarf to blink, only to make a squeaky noise when a chair materialised behind her. I had to push the speed a little to make it look good but at times, showmanship was useful.

“Yes, thank you.” she replied, looking a little shaken and wide-eyed as she seated herself, the chair as close to perfect for her size as I could make it. That had the added effect that my comfortable armchair was a little higher, allowing me to look down on her.

I simply waited for her to speak, as she was the one coming to me, curious why she had approached, was it due to her superior or was it on her own accord.

“I… I wanted to ask about a few things I’ve read on the forum.” she said, looking at me expectantly.

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“You can always ask. But why should I answer, and, more importantly, how would you know that my answer is true?” I asked, considering just how I wanted to play this. Dargira paused for a moment, obviously not sure how to answer the question instantly.

“Answering, maybe just to be nice. And for the truth, how can we know whether what anyone is telling us is true? I just have to look at your answers, look at everything else I know and make a judgement.” she answered, after thinking about it for a bit.

“To be nice, but am I a nice being? Ah, it does not matter, I’m feeling content, so ask away.” I accepted, curious where this was going.

“Is it true that you, the person now animating the Avatar called Morgana, have been Titania of Amarantine in a previous life?” she asked, leaning forward on the seat of her chair and looking expectant. Her question rocked me for just a moment, I had rarely thought of my former team since coming to Mundus, but I managed to keep a serene mask on my face.

“A question for a question. Why do you ask a question about previous lives? They are done and over, are they not?” I asked in return, deciding that I’d ask a question for every question she was asking me, making my responses as detailed as she was answering my questions.

“I’ve played Craft of War for a few years and always looked up to the pro-teams. But the last few months, things turned a little stale so I was incredibly happy when I got a capsule in the third wave, letting me look at different things. Maybe I’ll even be able to get my guild-mates to join, once Road to Purgatory officially launches.” she explained, giving me a quite detailed answer.

“Yes, I have been the one known as Titania in days past.” I answered her original question, making a mental note that I owed her some details.

“So the rumors are true, cool. There was quite a bit of talk and discussion on the forums why you left Amarantine and were replaced by Acrasia, but nobody truly knew what was going on.” she said, sounding incredibly insecure again, as if she wasn't sure she should ask. Luckily, I had a few seconds to get my mind back on track and prepare for questions about that part of my past.

“You mean the flamewar, don’t you. Yes, I watched that with interest, it was quite amusing. This time, I’ll answer first and ask you to answer my question afterwards, why do you want to know?” I paused for a second, contemplating how much I should and could say, there was always the possibility that she would release a recording later.

“About my parting with Amarantine, there were contractual obligations involved, which is all I can say about it. If you have ever heard of the eighth Ferengi Rule of Acquisition, it has proven true for me.” I explained, keeping well inside the limits of what I was allowed to say while implying a lot of things that I didn’t say. The dwarf in front of me blinked for a moment, before she nodded and answered my question.

“I wanted to know cause it felt strange. Sure, Acrasia was a lot more public and out-there but you were one of the earliest and longest-running pro-players. The switch looked great from a publicity-perspective but right after, Amarantine ran into problems and started to decline, as if the team wasn’t quite mashing together any longer. There’ve been rumors that Leymar considers to resign at the end of the season but nothing official has been released anywhere.” she explained, brining a sad smile to my face. Somehow, knowing that my old team, a team I had put in so much time and effort, seemed to be steeply going downhill was filling me with conflicted feelings. Sure, there was that devil in my heart, laughing at them suffering for kicking me out but at the same time, Amarantine had been a project I had loved. If even Leymar, one of the team’s offensive strikers, was considering to leave, that would mean things were going even worse than I had thought.

“I obviously cannot speak about the current state of the team, it would be just wrong.” I interjected, before Dargira could ask another question. “And, in all honesty, it is not just a question of morals, it is also a question of knowledge. Amarantine was something near and dear to me, the team was founded by one of the few friends I had during my time at highschool. Sure, he had left the team a while back, to pursue what he called his adult life, but it was something we built together. After leaving, I tried to keep myself from looking back, not always successfully but I certainly didn’t try to keep contacts with any of the others on the team. I just could not.” I added, looking up at the darkening sky, remembering the time I had spent in Craft of War, wondering about might-have-beens.

Somehow, deep inside, I felt that the way things had turned out was a good one. Maybe things had happened for a reason.