A heavy snowfall covered the entire area with a thick layer of snow, cutting off the cities and towns of Iceleon from each other. King Lars looked out his window with a heavy heart. He watched the desperate attempts of his people to remove the snow covering their roofs. The wet and heavy snow had already collapsed a few homes in the poorest part of the capital causing the first confirmed deaths of the day. The calamity had already taken hundreds of lives and he doubted his country was going to survive. Distracted by his thoughts, he overlooked the fact that the people had stopped their work and were looking at the sky behind the palace. Only their excited but nervous cries snapped him out of his trance.

"I'm back, Father!" Lars couldn't believe his ears as he heard the happy voice of Theresa.

He turned around and his eyes went wide upon seeing a tall man slowly walking right behind his daughter as she darted towards him. The Human officer was wearing a long, elegant, dark blue trench coat lined with white fur over a pristine foreign uniform. His dark eyes calmly looked around as if he was calculating something. Under his left arm was a strange cap with some sort of insignia on the front but Lars could not see the details from where he was standing. His right hand hung loose and relaxed as he stood tall, full of confidence, and with an air of authority to his bearing. Slightly trailing their entry, two female knights of the Iceleonion Royal Guard entered the room just in time to witness the Princess hugging King Lars with laughter.

"Theresa? How is it possible that you are here? You should have only reached Avalon by now..." He asked in confusion.

"It's a long story and I bring the great news! We managed to negotiate help from Arcadia, Father! Everything will be fine!" She explained quickly and let go of him. "I returned as quickly as possible to warn you and everyone that help is coming."

"Warn us? That's..."

"Yes, I know..." She giggled, making the man sigh but he was smiling softly. "But that's the only appropriate way of describing what is coming. The First Fleet of Arcadia is on its way to Iceleon, carrying two Immortal Legions and the first batch of supplies we will need." She smiled very meekly and shuddered. "It's an army capable of conquering entire countries. Soon you will be able to see them..."

"So, you must be...?" Lars looked toward the young man who inclined his head respectfully.

"Lieutenant Commander Victor Thornton, Royal Navy of Arcadia, Captain of HMS Scimitar." The man raised his head and looked with dark eyes straight at Lars. "The Emperor assigned me to return Princess Theresa safely to her home."

"Thank you, Lord Thornton." The King smiled awkwardly, glad he had not called him the Emperor.

"It was a pleasure, King Lars." He smiled. "However, I'm not a Lord. In fact, I don't have a noble title. I wanted to inform you that the Royal Family of Arcadia is on its way to Iceleon. They expect to meet with you soon."

"Naturally..." The King huffed, but with every moment, he felt more and more lost, as if he was stomping on unfamiliar grounds.

"In that case, I will return to HMS Scimitar and I will inform you when we are ready to depart." He smiled politely and once more slightly inclined his head. "Now, if you will excuse me."

"But, of course!" Lars tried his best to smile but he simply couldn't fathom what was going on.

"Princess." The man bowed his head a bit more politely and, to Lars’ astonishment, Theresa brightly smiled.

"See you soon, Captain." The man smiled brightly and left the throne room, leaving them alone.

The King went silent as he genuinely wasn't sure how to proceed. That man, who wasn't even a foreign noble, ignored and spat on laws and millennia-long traditions. What was more outrageous, King Lars noticed a glint of amusement in Thornton's eyes. However, before his confusion reached a tipping point, his daughter put her hand on his shoulder. She leaned towards his ear and whispered, squeezing his shoulder.

"Forget about the kneeling or anything you were accustomed to, Father. To understand his actions, you must see Avalon, Father... No soldier of Arcadia is going to bend their knee in front of anyone who is not a part of the Arcadian Royal Family." Theresa's voice was cold and serious. Lars stared at her with his mouth agape. She was completely different and changed after her trip. "Arcadia is nothing like any other country. You won't find Nobles there who undermine the Emperor's authority or challenge his rule. You won't find anyone looking favourably at the customs that shaped our part of Aderon. It's an amazing and unbelievable country full of wonders and fairytale-like riches."

"What happened?! What is going on here?" Lars demanded as the doors to his throne room closed with a thump. "What happened to you?"

"I will explain everything but, let's just say, I had to grow up. Also, the world we knew just ended. So listen to me closely, Dad, because things with the Empire are wildly complicated..."

•••

Freya observed the fields of Iceleon from above. The unnatural weather painted the landscape with a thick layer of snow. The snow drifts were piled high and created a truly amazing view. However, she understood that the situation was extremely lethal to the people caught in this disaster. The ships of the Royal Navy were sitting almost five kilometres away, hanging in the air like spirits of vengeance, motionlessly watching their target. Their guns and missiles were locked on the local Dungeon. The Thunderbolt Legion had spread its ranks along the most direct route leading to the Dungeon while the Death Heralds Legion approached from across the river. The Eagles and Wyverns of Avalon were circling in the air, impatient and surprised by Lady Freya's order to wait. She had sent Gavain to parley with the Dungeon and ask it to surrender. Her bond with the lesser Dragon was strong and almost as clear as it was with Balin. She could feel what the Wyvern Scion felt and knew what he was thinking. The biggest of the Wyverns of Avalon landed in the middle of the dormant, almost lifeless looking Dungeon. She focused even more and her point of view changed to Gavain's.

"It's so quiet, my Lady." He said with a deep, humming voice.

"It's strange... It's almost as if the Dungeon is dead." She mused more to herself than to Gavain and tried to look around. "What is going on?"

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

She smiled as she realised she wasn’t in control of his head. However, Gavain slowly turned his head, stopping only when he felt her desire to inspect something closer. He walked slowly, compressing the soft snow under the weight of his body and, yet, nothing came out to fight him off. The Dungeon, which looked like a derelict fortress, was quiet. It wasn't an eerie quietness like right before something bad and it wasn't a silence where you could feel someone watching you. After almost ten minutes, Gavain roared loud enough that the snow tumbled from the ruined walls and sparse thicket of nearby trees.

"My name is Gavain, the Wyvern Scion of the Righteous Dungeon, and I speak on behalf of my Master!" The large drake bellowed, offended by the cold welcome. "Surrender to the rule of my Lord!"

There was silence followed by Freya's disappointed sigh. "Welp. What a bummer..."

"Well, as you can see, Freya, he is barely alive." The voices of Gavain’s Lord and Lady softly echoed in his head. "Oh damn... We arrived just before the coffin closed."

Gavain felt the mana of his Lord begin to pour through the place. The nearly starved Dungeon groggily started waking up. However, Gavain knew that the local core was unable to defend itself. There were no spawners, no scions, and just a few depleted mining nodes. The Wyvern looked around in confusion because it made no sense at all. It was like the core gave up and decided to die. However, at the edges of his senses, Gavain finally noticed the Dungeon defences: hundreds of traps and fake treasures were set up to lure in any victims. They were currently being erased by his master as the entire place was cleared of any structures. As the local core was waking up, fueled by the roaring mana, Gavain started discerning its thoughts. Suddenly, the Wyvern nimbly and swiftly turned around and lowered his head.

"Don't mind me, Gavain." Lord Theon's voice betrayed his amusement as he looked at the Scion. "It's a little bit chilly, isn't it?"

"It certainly is, my Lord." The Wyvern replied, but in truth, he barely felt any cold at all.

"But what a view we have here! It's marvellous, Gavain." Lord Theon clapped and rubbed together his hands with a rather peculiar smile as he looked around. "This place has unbelievable potential!"

The lesser Dragon simply nodded. Even for him, as a Dungeon Scion, the steep mountain range was far more appealing than the flat and boring plains of Arcadia where Avalon sat. This Dungeon was located on a majestic plateau in the foothills and surrounded on three sides by tall mountains. It formed a long and wide valley with many cascading streams that joined into a fast flowing river. Even the snow wasn't able to stop the defiant water but ice was slowly building frozen and dangerous piles on the river bank.

"Are you finally awake?" Lord Theon asked the air.

"Yes." A short and resentful confirmation was angrily hissed.

"Why so grouchy?" Lord Theon asked amusedly.

"It was your forces that destroyed my minions before they managed to feast and provide me the mana I needed! Because of you I almost died!" This time, the voice was angry.

"First of all, I have no idea what you are talking about. Secondly, it was me who saved you. So stop whining. Life is unfair." His Lord was amused by the hostility and he shrugged and moved uphill with a wide smile.

"What?" The voice was genuinely confused.

"What, what? I've been in this world long enough to know that strength is the only thing that matters." Lord Theon's voice was calm, continuing to be amused and, yet, a cold shiver travelled down Gavain's spine even though he wasn't the target of his Lord's words. "Why should I care about your resentment? You will obey me or I will imprison you within this place you once called your domain. Are we clear?"

"Yes..." The voice was now more mellow, however, still defiant.

Gavain, becoming annoyed by its insolence and let out a guttural grow that echoed dangerously across the valley most probably reaching the mountains. His head swiftly turned towards the insolent core and he felt the incendiary fluid boil in his throat sack. The snow around Gavain rapidly melted as his scales shone with a faint orange glow which quickly turned to blue and then white as he prepared to spew his fire.

"Abandon your hubris when you speak to my master, unnamed Core!" He roared, changing the melted snow into steam every time he opened his mouth.

The white glow of his internal fire reflected off the ice and snow and blinded anyone who was observing his display. Through his bond with his Lord, he felt the hatred and amusement of that Core. In a fit of rage, without waiting for an order, Gavain lashed out and spewed a single droplet of the liquid fire. Once it hit the ground, its power shattered the stone and left a deep crater. Before the dust settled, the large Wyvern was standing over the ruptured ground and peered into the Core’s inner sanctum.

"That's enough, Gavain." His Lord's voice was firm and stoic. Through their link, Gavain sensed gratitude but also a warning not to go overboard. "Listen to me now. I'm not in the mood to stomach your antics. I'm certain that if our roles were reversed, you would be gloating. You have done that many times before. Remember,as your master, I have full access to your libraries and I can read your history. So, I will give you a choice: You will serve me diligently until the very end of time, or my death, or, I will suppress you and imprison you forever. Don't bother acting all high and mighty and spouting nonsense about choosing death because that will be eternal imprisonment. I need this place so I won't just kill you. You can choose, if you will, to become, either, the administrator of this domain or a mere powerless spectator."

The silence filled the air as Lord Theon Avalon slowly walked towards Gavain. Suddenly, the Wyvern sensed the attention of all of the Cores in service to his Lord. They silently watched and judged the new core. The strange flow of their various thoughts bombarded his mind as he, unintentionally, drowned for a brief moment. However, before he was completely overwhelmed, a bright flash from a green shining jewel returned him to his senses. Lady Freya was standing nearby, holding her hand gently on his neck and slowly rubbing his scales. Balin and a full company of Praetorians were standing a few paces behind her. Gavain took a deep breath and gazed upon her with gratitude.

"I'm surprised you are sensitive enough to hear the high frequencies, normally, not accessible to the Scions. That is how we communicate between the Dungeon’s Cores of Arcadia. It's much safer than allowing our undiluted thoughts to, basically, shred the minds of anyone and anything who is not a Dungeon." As she spoke, she trembled and added "It's so cold out here!"

Gavain lowered his head awkwardly and curled his huge body around Lady Freya. He allowed his internal heat to warm her, and soon enough, she smiled brightly.

"Thank you, my Lady, for saving me." That was all he managed to say.

"Freya?" Lord Theon looked at her surprised.

"I'll explain it later, Theon. I guess you didn't know about it." She smiled and looked around with a big smile on her face. "It's so amazing here! I just love it!"

"I'm sorry, Gavain... It looks like there is always another thing I don't know about..." The Emperor patted his head which made Gavain purr like a cat while Freya giggled.

"You will have plenty of time to learn everything. And speaking about time..." The Empress' voice hung in the air.

"It ran out for a certain someone." Lord Theon chuckled and jumped into the hole in the ground. "Will you obey me or should I lock you up in the box and bury it somewhere around?"

"I will! I will obey you!" The answer came quickly and without the previous hostility or even any animosity.

"That's more like it!" and, with that, the Lord leapt back to the surface holding a fairly large purple stone. "Huh... I’m starting to suspect that every Dungeon Core is a gemstone, at least, at some point in their life. Anyway... Let's get to work, shall we?"