"During the cataclysmic period of the fire harvest millennia ago, under the reign of the Fire lord King Chani, a call was made..." The enigmatic voice finally receded into oblivion. "My lord, can you perceive my words?Do you hear me?"The urgent words of Minister Laus pierced the fog shrouding Chin's consciousness, forcing him to squirm uncomfortably upon the mahogany desk where his torso had collapsed limply against his forearm. Finally, with immense effort, he got to raise his eyelids only to behold the anxious countenance of the royal physician hovering dabove him. "The royal carriage must be readied immediately.Get it done," Chin suddenly announced.He utterly baffled the assembled dignitaries within the council chamber. By long-standing tradition, the majestic imperial transport was made prepared only when the monarch or the dynastic lineage intended to progress toward the outer perimeter of the city wall; intrinsically, it signified that they deployed it solely when abando

They were supposed to be powerless. "My Lord! The messenger bird has returned with another report!"A scout sprinted frantically toward the royal carriage, breathing heavily while his chest heaved. "Speak!" the ice king thundered, his usual witty composure almost broke by the sight unfolding across the plains. "According to the frontline scouts, the Fire Lord might have...," the messenger stammered, trembling under the king's gaze. "They believe... they believe he has resorted to some kind of forbidden dark sorcery to force the flames to obey him!" "Nonsense!" the Ice Lord roared, slamming his fist against the carriage frame. "What kind of absurd sorcery could allow a fundamentally ordinary man to command a ravenous, world-consuming flame like that? He is supposed to be sealed!" It all now all made sense why he was being cocky—the fire lord. " He is ravaging a cavalry of over a hundred thousand soldiers!" And in a matter of seconds, half of that massive vanguard was su

Deep within the Southern Hills palace, the Ice King rested in his private chamber. His body was badly injured from the recent battle, but his mind was in a worse state because his magic was now tainted. His frost energy used to be strong, but now it felt weak and corrupted inside him.It made his heart ached. The royal physician knelt next to the bed and carefully removed acupuncture needles from the king's leg and hands and the king didn't miss the look of visible stress on the physician as he worked. "My ice capabilities have reduced and I can feel it," the Ice King growled with a stunted sigh. "I lost a great amount of my Qi during the fight."The physician stopped moving and held a needle in his hand. "My lord, the amount of energy you used has affected the volatility of your Qi," he said. He paused right after that, because he did not want to tell the king how bad the situation really was. The Ice King did not like the hesitation. His brow furrowed and his face darkened,

"His Highness has been claimed by the heavens and may his soul rest in peace." The high prince's chamberlain wailed out audibly through the palace and within a matter of minutes, the entire nation heard of the tragedy. Before the body of the king who was never crowned could be taken to the west hall fountain, the palace attendants prepared the traditional rites. According to imperial custom, he was meant to be set ablaze at the fountain to connect him with the spirits of his forefathers, because it was believed that the faster a royal went through this last ritual, the faster and more seamless it would be for him to navigate the spirit realm and reunite with the ancestors. The Queen Mother wanted nothing more than that. But Chin stepped forward to intervene. His brow furrowed and his face darkened as he gave a firm command, demanding that the body be taken instead to the Sacred Shrine in the Land of Stone. This decision was connected to a previous revelation from the priest. It