In a large, opulent throne room, sitting on an oversized throne, Winter sits cross-legged, her eyes closed in meditation. Her appearance is that of a petite human girl in her late teens, with soft porcelain white skin and long white hair hanging loosely down to her waist. Her loose-fitting baggy pants are dyed blue with silver embroidery of a long serpentine dragon running down the side of each leg, with a black sash warped belt holding them securely in place. Her shirt is a similarly loose-fitting, white sleeveless button-up top, fastened in the front with knotted buttons. The untucked shirt hangs loosely on her lithe frame, the high collar undone, exposing her slender neck.
The grand throne is a magnificent work of craftsmanship, sculpted with intricate detail from a massive block of ice and enchanted with powerful magic. An array of precious metals and sparkling gems adorn the throne, adding to its splendor. The most prominent of which is a majestic dragon head emblem made of silver inlaid in the backrest of the throne, the two large sapphire eyes glaring down at all in judgment. This massive throne gives Winter’s petite five-foot stature an even smaller appearance, making it clear the throne was made for someone at least two to three times larger than her.
The throne room is carved stone, emblazoned with engraved murals depicting beautiful mountain vistas, bloody battlefields, and other artistic depictions. Elegant chandeliers made of gold and silver hang from the high vaulted ceilings, but where burning candles would sit, rests blue crystals illuminating the room in a soft glow. Eight large pillars frame the cavernous room, holding the vaulted ceiling aloft, with a dark blue carpet running down the middle of the room that extends from the heavy steel double doors of the throne room and stretches to the foot of the throne. Throughout the room, there are dozens of large and small tables and pedestals displaying sculptures, weapons, books, jewelry, and other valuable items, all encased in crystal-clear ice. The skillfully made barriers allow a clear view of the finery but prevent prospective thieves from accessing these precious treasures.
Sometime later, the cracking and crashing of ice can be heard as the heavy throne room doors open, dislodging the thin layer of ice that had formed over the frigid throne room. Two guards flank the open door, standing at attention, as three individuals step through the throne room’s threshold. The leading figure is massive, towering over the two small childlike figures that nervously flank him, trailing a few steps behind. The three individuals stop at the first set of columns, only a few meters from the door, taking a knee and bowing their heads in silence. After several minutes, Winter opens her eyes, her gaze wandering over each of her guests, evaluating them with a critical stair as they patiently wait to be addressed.
Winter smiles to herself, gripping the throne’s armrests, and launches herself through the air, clearing the complete length of the room in a single movement. Landing silently in front of the three individuals, her bare feet not making a sound as she touches down, smiling with a mischievous grin. The large dragonkin knight does not flinch at the sudden flash of movement, merely maintaining his kneeling position in stoic silence. On the other hand, the two small kobolds were not as lucky. Both fall to the ground in fear, raising their arms to defend against the sudden display of speed and aggression. Winter’s mischievous smile widened in amusement as she spoke. “Hopefully, I did not keep you waiting too long, Frost.” “Of course not, Your Majesty.” The knight replied, the tone of his voice calm and steady.
Frost is one of Winter’s oldest dragon knights, having served as captain of the royal guards under her and her patients for many years. Frost is a large eight-foot tall dragonkin with hard white scales covering his entire body, a draconic face and muzzle with two large black horns protruding from the top of his head, a long heavy tail extending from his rear, and two massive wings folded behind his back. He is wearing the standard armor of the royal knights, a suit of steel plate armor with blue accents, and a white dragon head emblem emblazoned in the center of the chest plate. Winter chuckles as she watches the two white-scaled kobolds quickly scramble to return to their kneeling position. “I wish all my subjects were as fearless as you, Frost.”
Winter’s piercing blue eyes scan over the two kobolds, her heavy gaze causing them to tremble in fear under her intense analysis. “So, these are the kobolds I asked you to retrieve? I’m not that impressed.” Winter’s expression becomes serious as she steps past Frost, approaching the small female kobold to her right, who immediately gets down on the floor in complete prostration at Winter’s approach. Winter stares at the little trembling kobold in contemplation, her subject of interest, wishing in desperation to disappear under the overwhelming pressure of her gaze. “If this is the best of the current generation, the kobold training regimen needs a reevaluation.” Frost replies with tension in his voice, trying to justify the situation. “Unfortunately, these are the only two that fit the criteria you are looking for. Many of this generation have already become warriors and scouts, with a small handful becoming mages. There are others with the capacity to become Seers, but they have not shown any aptitude for extra sensory abilities.” Winter sighs in disappointment. “We must encourage the evolution of more specialized individuals like shamans and herbalists. Seers will naturally appear in smaller numbers, and that is fine, but that is not the actual problem. From what I can see, the overall number and quality of skills are lacking.” “Your Majesty, I apologize for our incompetence, and we will endeavor to meet your expectations.” Winter waves her hand through the air, attempting to fan away Frost’s concerns and bring an end to the conversation. “It is fine. We will address this at a later date.”
Winter walks over to the second kobold, and a similar scene plays out as the small trembling kobold throws himself to the ground in prostration under the pressure of her heavy gaze. However, to her surprise and amusement, this kobold began to plead for his life. “I- I sorry. I be good kobold. Please, no kill. I not be bad again.” Winter snatches the kobold up by the collar of his robe, lifting him off the floor like a helpless rag doll as she brought him to eye level with her, a wicked smile on her face as she spoke. “O, now what did you do, I wonder?” The kobold clings to Winter’s wrist in desperation, attempting to support his weight, as he dangled helplessly in her grip, closing his eyes tightly to avoid Winter’s glowing ice-blue eyes. Holding the small two-foot tall kobold in mid-air makes even her petite stature look large and imposing. The kobold stutters as he speaks, listing his perceived transgressions. “I- I sorry. I- I take extra food when hatchling. I- I lazy, not work enough. I work better. I- I- I keep shiny rock when I little miner. I give- I give back. I- I be good kobold. P- please, no kill. Please, I be good.” With shaking hands, he reaches into his robe, retreating a small colorful stone, and holds it out to Winter. She retrieves the stone from his sharp claws, discarding him to the floor with a thud. He takes this opportunity to scurry away from Winter as she turns the stone over in her hands, inspecting it with curiosity. “And here I thought you might have actually done something worth worrying about.” She muses, looking down at the cowering kobold, her eyes glowing as she commands him. “Kneel before me.” His body obeyed without hesitation despite his abject terror and feeble attempt at resistance; he rose to his feet, walking in a rigid mechanical manner approaching Winter before kneeling at her feet with his head bowed. Despite his body being frozen in place by an unseen force, pleas for amnesty spill from his mouth. “Please, no kill. Please, I-” “Silence! Do not speak until you leave this room.” Winter’s booming voice shook the room, silencing his insensate pleas.
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The nail on Winter’s index finger elongates and sharpens into a claw that she uses to cut into the colorful stone. Her nail slices through the stone without resistance, rounding out the rough stone and shaping it into an oval. After a brief inspection of her work, smiling contently at the quality, she carves a small magic circle with slow, meticulous care into the face of the stone, imbuing it with mana and forging a magical process into it. Smiling after several slow, careful minutes of hard work, Winter admires the results of her diligent effort. The colorful stone, refined, shaped, and imbued with magic, possesses an appearance more akin to a small one-inch oval gemstone than a simple stone, the magical array giving off a faint glow. With the work on the stone now complete, Winter swirls blue energy around the gem, causing ice crystals to grow and form around the stone, creating a crystalline setting. The ice crystal formation continues to grow out of the setting, expanding at a rapid pace, creating small delicate chain loops, one by one, meeting in the center to form a single chain loop.
After a few quick tests of its durability, the necklace is complete; Winter looks back down at the kobold with a mischievous grin as she speaks. “Look at me.” Despite the little kobold’s continued resistance, his body complied with the order, forcing his head up and opening his eyes to meet Winter’s oppressive gaze. “Both of you have been summoned because I believe you will be useful to me in the future. You can rest assured that I have no intention of killing you unless you give me a reason to do so.” Winter reaches down, a kind smile on her face, placing the necklace around the kobold’s neck, the pendant casting a soft glow on the creature’s scales. “Keep this as a gift. I will also assign you an instructor to ensure you stay on top of your assigned training in the future.” Her smile turns mischievous as she continues. “Besides, if this is how far you have come by being lazy, it would be nice to see how far you can go if I push you to the absolute limits of your capabilities.” With these words, an overwhelming sense of dread washes over the petrified kobold.
The glowing energy fades from Winter’s eyes, releasing the unfortunate kobold from her influence, causing him to collapse to the floor in a heap from the mental and physical exhaustion. With a graceful turn, Winter steps away to face the group as a whole, her eyes scanning over each individual before speaking, her voice clear and commanding. “While I am disappointed in the overall growth of the kobolds, in general, the two of you have survived several human attacks and, as a result, either by luck or skill, have developed a unique set of skills that I wish to nurture. So I will be rewarding the two of you for your current and future service.” She points to the kobold that she had been tormenting just moments ago. “You, step forward.” He shudders, struggling to his feet with difficulty, his body trembling, making his way forward to face Winter. He kneels at her feet, his head bowed, his body still shaking in fear in front of the overwhelming pressure her presence exudes. Winter smirks, reaching down and placing her hand on his head, causing him to flinch. “I shall name you Fear.” Fear grips his chest in pain as a massive amount of energy floods his body, overwhelmed by the deluge of power flowing into his core, causing him to collapse to the floor unconscious.
Winter’s gaze fixates on the female kobold still lying on the ground in prostration, trying to hide in plain sight by suppressing her presence from all present. Winter chuckles in amusement, addressing her with a smile. “Were you hoping I would forget about you? Step forward.” She scrambles to her feet, her claws scraping on the floor, eyeing her brethren’s unconscious form with apprehension, her body tense and her hands shaking as she makes her way forward to kneel at Winter’s feet. Winter examines the female kobold kneeling before her, trembling with visible fear, her gaze falling upon the little kobold’s scared scales. The wicked scar runs along her left shoulder and neck, having been inflicted by an unknown flame strike; she is fortunate to have survived this grievous wound, but the injury rendered the unfortunate girl mute. Placing her hand atop the kobold’s head, a sad smile on her face as she spoke. “I shall name you Silence.” Like Fear before her, Silence gripped her chest, collapsing to the ground, the rush of energy overwhelming her and threatening to destroy her body, causing her to pass out from the experience.
Winter gazes at Frost, still kneeling before her, letting out a deep sigh. “Enough of the formality. We have known each other far too long for this; you know this level of decorum is unnecessary.” Rising to his feet, Frost towers over Winter by a meter, bowing his head and placing his fist over his heart in a salute as he speaks. “Of course, Your Majesty. With you having said that, would you listen to my thoughts regarding the kobolds?” Winter gives him a playful smile. “Of course, you are always free to speak your mind.” Frost bows his head in acknowledgment as he begins. “Thank you. With all due respect, you should not have tormented the kobolds to such a degree, regardless of the possible benefits. I believe your father would be disappointed in the current treatment of the subspecies. We are pushing them extremely hard to grow and evolve; if this continues, they may rebel.” Winter sighs, lowering her gaze, her expression becoming despondent. “You are probably right….” Trailing off in thought, sadness in her eyes, her gaze locked on the unconscious kobolds. “Unfortunately, the dead don’t get a say, and the results speak for themselves. Silence is a fine example of this. This simple experience allowed her to reach level eight in lesser fear resistance, level five in lesser pain resistance, level two in silence, and level seven in hide. If that was not impressive enough, she also gained and reached level six in presence control. It is unfair and cruel, but without this kind of rapid growth rate, it is unlikely any of us will survive the next major human incursion. Fear’s situation is regrettable; he has yet to develop in a specific direction, and as a result, he did not gain as many benefits from the experience as Silence. Despite everything he experienced, he only reached level two in moderate fear resistance and level three in lesser pain resistance. However, gaining lesser mental resistance and reaching level three during this exchange is reasonable.” Frost looked down, his brow furrowed with concern in his voice as he spoke. “Your majesty, I am simply concerned that this could be detrimental in the long run.” Winter releases a deep sigh, raising her head, eyes burning with determination, locking eyes with Frost. “You are probably right, but I do not see any other options. Enough of this for now.”
Winter’s attention focuses on an empty corner of the room behind Frost. “Drudge, find these two a room, and once they wake up, teach them how to strengthen their bodies using the energy they were gifted. You will be in charge of personally training Silence; I have high hopes for her future.” A slender, six-foot, white-scaled female dragonkin emerges from the shadows wearing a black three-piece tailcoat suit, bowing her head with a fist over her heart in a salute as she apparates from the darkness. “As you wish, Your Majesty. Are there any specific instructions in regards to Fear?” Winter looks down at Fear in contemplation. “He needs to be taken in by a master, but outside of evolving into a kobold seer, his current skills do not indicate the best path for his future growth. If pushed hard enough, he may-” “Your Majesty, if you would permit it, I request permission to train Fear personally.” Winter looks up at Frost with a raised eyebrow in surprise, a devious smile spreading across her face. “Fine, do what you like, but I expect great things if you train him personally. I expect nothing less than excellence from your disciples; if he falls short of my expectations, I will reassign him to a new master.” Frost bows in respect. “Of course, Your Majesty. I will not disappoint.” Drudge reaches out her hand, making a fist, causing both Fear and Silence to disappear into their respective shadows. “Very well. I will take my leave, Your Majesty.” Drudge bows, her form dispersing into the surrounding shadows.