These new Fonts are of a different class from the originals and have some notable differences. The Primordials that arise on the Material Realm for these new Fonts are much less destructive. Creatures living in proximity to these Fonts also develop into Primals at a much faster rate.

-Tallen Elmheart, Secondary Fonts

—

Kole’s light had followed him behind the shelves and revealed a long hall spotted with doors. The floor was the same white stone as the Dahn, while the doors were all made of simple wood. They opened the first few cautiously but found them all empty. Each was a small dormitory meant for two students. With the self-cleaning magic of the Dahn, it was impossible to tell the age of the place.

“This must be one of the old dormitories,” Amara said.

“Students used to live in the Dahn?” Kole asked.

Amara nodded.

“Early on, before the voidlings invaded and they had to pull the building into the Material Realm to prevent incursions, all the students were given the option to live in the Dahn.”

“If it was so dangerous, why do these places still exist?” Kole asked. “Is it still dangerous?”

“I don’t know.”

They looked through a few more rooms but found them all equally bare. They continued toward the end, passing over a hundred rooms before the hall opened up into a large room.

“Can you make the light brighter?” Amara asked.

As soon as she said, light, runes in the ceiling high above illuminated, bathing the chamber in a soft white light revealing the room. Dozens of tables filled the space, identical to those used in the dining halls throughout campus. The place was completely abandoned as if it had been closed one night and simply never reopened.

Rakin and Kole both jumped at the sudden lighting. Kole reached for his blasting rod, which Amara still had, and Rakin brought his fists up and spun around searching the room. When nothing jumped out at them, they relaxed.

“Here,” Amara said, handing the rod to Kole. “The tracker points to the kitchens.”

Together they walked through toward the kitchen, hopping over the serving counters.

“It’s cold back here,” Kole noted as he felt a breeze.

“Over there,” Rakin pointed.

In the back of the kitchen, a stone door lay open, with banks of snow pouring out of it. The snow was melting, creating a puddle that constantly drained into a grate below one of the sinks.

“The refrigeration runes are still active!” Amara said with excitement Kole thought the statement didn’t warrant.

A shadow flickered through the crack of the door.

Rakin snapped his fist up to quiet the group. Kole froze, looking for what alerted the dwarf, but Amara wasn’t as conditioned to the situation.

“What is it?” she whispered.

Rakin shot a glance back at Amara and held a finger to his lips then turned to Kole who was on alert. He pointed to Kole, covered his eyes, and then pointed to the far corner of the kitchen opposite the open door, and then took off himself towards the door.

Kole understood Rakin’s meaning—or at least thought he did—and turned invisible before running around the food prep tables to flank the entryway to the refrigerator. He’d used about half his Will in the study session today but had recovered almost half of what he’d spent since then.

He saw Amara slink away from the kitchen, back into the dining hall.

Rakin beat Kole to the door, having run straight for it. When he was still ten steps away, a blizzard of snow shot out the opening, throwing the door wide. Rakin dove behind a counter as the wall of white met him, sending metal pans sailing to the ground in loud clangs.

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The snow began to spiral, filling the area around the door and a haughty nasally voice yelled through, “Come out, rebel. Submit yourself, and you might get to keep your hands until your trial.”

Kole had never heard someone speak with this strange accent. They were clearly speaking Rilith, but sounded closer to the old speak used in the classical pre-Flood plays than anything he’d ever heard a person speak in conversation. Though he admitted he wasn’t exactly well-traveled.

Before Kole could decide what to do, Rakin made the choice for him.

“I’ll give ye my hands alright! Right up yer arse!”

Kole fought the urge to laugh at Rakin’s threat, That was terrible!

Terrible threat or not, Rakin backed his words up, dove over the counter, and charged into the snow, eliciting shouts of alarm from within.

Before he reached the white cloud a shard of ice shot out at him, but he dove underneath the projectile and kept up his charge. Kole stood in the billowing cold, holding his blasting rod out, searching the snow. Within, he heard Rakin’s angry grunts, punctuated by the decidedly more terrified cries of those he fought, but Kole couldn’t see anything and dared not risk shooting Rakin.

Kole stood, helpless, as the battle raged, until slowly the sounds of conflict faded and the snow began to disperse.

Two figures lay unconscious on the floor, partially covered in snow while two more stood over Rakin. The dwarf was encased in ice up to his chest, with his arms each trapped in a spike of ice reaching up to hold him. Snow caked his hair and beard and formed a mask over his mouth preventing him from speaking.

He fought against the restraints, screaming muffled shouts beneath the ice which Kole was certain were curses.

The figures standing over him were human-shaped beings with icy blue skin. In place of clothing, armor of ice and cloth seemingly made of snow adorned their bodies. Of the two still standing, one was a man, lightly clad in the ice armor and wielding a spear made of ice.

The other standing creature was a woman with long white hair dressed in a gown of the purest white. She held an icicle staff and was pointing it at Rakin to maintain the prison against his struggles.

Both possessed an otherworldly beauty, that rivaled Esme’s enchantment—though Kole was certain no such magic was at play here.

The two on the ground were similarly adorned but they were stained all over a deep blue of their strange alien blood. Whether or not these two had been beauties was immaterial, as their faces were destroyed.

"What in the emperor's name is this thing?" The armored creature asked in disgust.

"There was another! Chase after it!" The girl commanded, pointing at Amara who had stood frozen in indecision through the whole conflict.

The warrior complied and ran after Amara. Kole acted on instinct and regretted the choice immediately.

What he should have done was wait for the warrior to get a distance away before ambushing the woman, and then take the warrior out before he could return.

What he actually did was stupid.

While the armored one was still in the circle of snow surrounding the refrigerator, Kole broke his invisibility as he sent a bolt of Force at him. The magical projectile struck one of the armor plates, causing it to shatter into shards and fly in all directions. Some of the shards flew back at Kole, striking him in the arms and sending him stumbling back in surprised pain.

It occurred to him in that moment that this was real. Whatever these creatures were, they could kill him and his friends and no professor or magical dungeon magic would save him.

He clutched his blasting rod as he fell, and sent another bolt blindly at the ice man who was now charging him. This bolt struck true, and the creature stumbled.

Kole landed hard on his butt, and turned invisible, before pulling himself to his feet on a counter with his good blasting rod-wielding arm.

The woman looked over at Kole, but quickly turned her attention back to Rakin as he fought the restraints.

The ice man got back to his feet, using his spear as a crutch, and then waved his hand in Kole's general direction, conjuring a cloud of snow that clung to Kole, revealing him.

The ice stung where it touched flesh and he let out a frustrated snarl as he sent his Will back into the blasting rod. He felt the magic channel itself through the device and watched the bolt fly out of its tip just as he felt the rod crumble to bits in his hand. His opponent dodged and jabbed at Kole's chest with his ice spear. With little thought to the action, Kole constructed Shield and wrenched all of his mental might into forcing his bridge to open to accept the spell.

The shimmering Barrier appeared before him, and the spear shattered on impact. Kole let the spell collapse as he tried to turn invisible once more and flee, but the man continued his lunge and tackled Kole to the ground where he began to pummel him with his fist.

Before the pain, the first thing Kole noticed was how cold the body of the man on top of him was. It was as if there was a yawning portal to a frigid wasteland atop him, hungrily sucking up all his body heat.

Then he felt the pain. Each blow to his face sent pulses of agony through his skull and he threw his arms up to protect his face against the assault.

Distantly Kole heard a roar and saw the world turn red—though at the time he thought that was just his vision.

The pummeling ended and the weight atop Kole vanished. The ice warrior rolled off Kole and rose, pulling a new ice spear out of the melting snow around him. The water rose and froze at his command. He turned to face the foe behind him and saw a raging inferno.

Rakin stood over the melting corpse of his jailor, his body wreathed in flames, his eyes glowing red and his face twisted in a mad rage. Rakin screamed incoherently and charged the spearman. As he ran the bodies of the other two melted around him.

The spearman ran to meet Rakin, but the flaming fist of the dwarf turned the spear to steam and continued through its wielder's chest.

The ice man stood still for a moment and then began to rapidly melt, starting from the gaping hole in his chest.

Kole watched all of this in awe. Awe that turned to terror when Rakin turned his rage-filled eyes at him, and he saw no sign of recognition.

Kole ran.