Yevoc Cryoblood's Story

So much was going on around him, Ash was finding it hard to concentrate. The bull seemed to be settling down, though not at all calm. A new avian seemed to appear out of nowhere and was helping the others for which he was grateful. He could sense that Lailah was beginning to wake but he wasn’t finished healing her yet. He knew he had to speed up the process and the blood that had pooled in the crater began to flow from the crater back into the few open wounds that remained like a waterfall going in reverse. Ash knew the blood would help her to regain her strength. After all the blood had gone back into her there was nothing more he could do, she was healed but she had to wake up on her own. He took her back to the cave to get away from the bull should he decide to go on a rampage again. He set her down gently. “Hey, uh… girl, you need to wake up. We’re not exactly in a safe place right now.” He spoke as he shook her shoulders in an attempt to wake her up.

Yevoc was following the trail of dust as quickly as he could before it dissipated. He managed to get to the center of Frosthiem before it completely vanished. Luckily, he saw that the trail had led directly to an old cemetery and seemed to end abruptly at a plain looking headstone. As he walked through the city he was met with stares, muffled gasps, pointing and whispering. He had almost forgotten the fact that he was royalty until these people began to make a big deal out of seeing one of eleven princes of Polara. Before he could get to the gate of the cemetery, he was already swarmed by a mob of people. “Okay, look everyone, I need you all to back off of me.” He began to shout in order to be heard. “I have some important business to take care of, but afterward I will sign autographs and answer all the questions you want. Just let me do what I have to do first. Please go back to your daily routines.”

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Not in the slightest, but I've got nothing better to do and curiosity's got me by the tail."

"Says the one without a tail."

With her fluffy therian bodyguard in tow, Juniper decided to follow the trail inside of Frostheim. Exploring outside was out of the question, as she'd rather stay out of danger and keep close to their rendezvous point; who knew where it could lead them?
They had kept a steady pace trudging through wave after wave of thick snow when a young man - an elvish man? - sprinted straight past them right along the shimmering blue path.

"He's following the path," Tsudao stated the obvious.

"Come on," Juniper said excitedly, patting his shoulder and picking up her feet to trail the elf. "That's our lead!

"What lead?" the wolf asked, catching up to and then swiftly running past her. "I thought you were waiting for the adventurers."

"Open your eyes, Tsu, he was one!" she replied, already out of breath but not slowing down. "The swords, the disheveled clothes, he looked like he just booked it straight out of a brawl! Let's go make a good first impression, yeah?"

Rolling his eyes in something like compliance, the pair made their way into what suddenly formed into a mob. A minute ago, it didn't seem like there were too many folks prancing about, but now that so many had gathered into one, condensed ball of screaming and waving hands, it was like a sea of people had begun to bar their path.

"Is that him?" a woman shouted, hopping around the heads and shoulders of fellow gawkers to get a better look.

"A son of Cryoblood in the flesh!" A tall, grizzled-looking man raucously confirmed to nobody in particular, briefly fixing his cap before fumbling for the camera in his bag.

"He's a prince, he's a prince!" was another youthful voice, piping up from deep within the mob.

Suddenly, a piercing whistle rang out amidst the cheers and hoots, the following silence giving way to the howl of the wind.
The voices began to drop to hushed tones and murmurings, many of the heads turning to see the source of the noise. Before the crowd stood Countess Juniper Varosa, a grin on her face and a silver whistle between her fingers. At her side, the tall and imposing therian wolf folded his arms over his chest, glaring down at the masses with a sharp eye and slightly bared fangs.

Juniper released her grip on the whistle necklace, letting it fall against her collar as she performed a full curtsy. "Greetings, fine folk of Frostheim! This is more out of courtesy than anything, but perhaps you'd like to give the man some breathing room? Why, he's a living being before he is a prince, for god's sake!" The mob began to begrudgingly part as the golden-haired woman and her partner approached the elf, the former observing him intensely as she placed her fingers to her chin.

So, this one's a prince, is he? she thought, looking the man up and down with curiosity. Certainly not the crown prince by the looks of it, but high-profile royalty nonetheless. The first noble I've met since first stepping foot in Polara, in fact. The crowd slowly attempted to reform around him, but the intimidating bodyguard's very presence deterred their efforts, one hand wrapped loosely around the sword at his waist. This had less to do with making room and more to do with taking concern with Juniper's own safety.

"Well met, young prince!" Juniper said aloud, standing up straight and resting her hands proudly on her hips. "You certainly look like a busy man and I don't mean to keep you for long, but where exactly is it that you're going? I had some questions in mind, but before that, perhaps me and my aide could be of some assistance?"

Like the very trail that had brought them here today, her eyes sparkled a vivid blue, great fervor in both her gaze and the way in which she delivered her words. Hopefully, it was showy enough to grab his attention - or maybe she was being too showy?
Hm, hadn't considered that. This definitely might have come off as obtrusive and garish in the eyes of some, but he looked to be more warrior-y than traditional royalty so it didn't bother her as much as it should have.

While Yevoc was grateful for the arrival of the young woman and her canine body guard, he was still a little confused by her interest in his destination.
“Thanks for that.” He nodded. “I’m not exactly sure where I’m going to be honest. It seems my trail has gone cold.” He answered as he walked through the gate of the graveyard. “So what’s with the sudden interest in me?” He asked skeptically. “Don’t exactly look like a reporter in that kind of armor.” He got to the headstone where the trail seemed to end before it had vanished and knelt down to read the engraving. The headstone had an odd tiny bowl atop a snowflake adorning the top of the headstone and a carving of the Snow Elf royal crest; a shield with a snowflake on it and a war ax and a sword crossed behind it. There was an even weirder sentence carved just below the crest.
“I bleed Coo thin.” Yevoc read out loud. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? Who is Coo?” He asked frustrated. He began pushing on the stone, looking for secret buttons or switches or anything that might open a door or path. He was desperate to find the reason why he had been brought to this headstone. He looked back to the young woman and her wolf and could easily see how crazy he must seem.
“The trail I was following led me here. It was supposed to be leading me to the source of an enchantment that was controlling the troll out there.” He explained, gesturing to the gates of Frosthiem. “There has to be something here.” He looked at the bowl again and noticed a small hole in the bottom that went through the snowflake and into the headstone itself. He read the carving once more. “I bleed Coo thin.” His mind suddenly started going into overdrive. “Ice in the blood!” he suddenly shouted. “It’s an anagram. Ice in the blood. They used to say that my family, the Snow Elf royal family, had ice in their blood. The name Cryoblood even implies that. I think I know what I have to do.” He pulled out one of his swords and sliced a cut across the back of his left hand. He held his hand over the tiny bowl and his purple hued blood began to drain down the hole at the bottom. The snowflake and the carving began to glow. The ground below them started to rumble and Yevoc jumped back as what should have been a grave opened sliding doors to reveal a staircase leading into a cave. “I think this goes into old Frosthiem. You wanna ask your questions, you’re gonna have to come along with me.”

At the beginning of the fourth era of Gialpha the king of the Nordic humans in Polara, King Ventis, ruled his people from the city of Frosthiem just south of the Snow Elf capitol city. He had heard about the Oblivion blade and the vile negation, and he knew that even a fraction of the power in the blade would be more than enough to keep his kingdom safe. He sent out his best knights and his court mage to find any of the shards they could. Soon after the court mage returned with one of the shards. The shard had the power to bend the elements to the users will. It was more powerful than the most powerful of neutral elves. At first he used the power for good and raised walls up from the earth itself to protect Frosthiem. However, soon his protection grew to obsession and paranoia. He began to refuse to let outsiders into the city, then he started attacking anyone who tried to enter the city. Eventually he grew so paranoid that he opened a crater and allowed the earth to swallow the city whole before sealing it back up from the rest of the world. The newest form of the city was built in the sixth era over the very location where the old city used to stand. In the sixth era as well the court mage of the snow elf kingdom discovered the remains of the city while excavating an ice sapphire deposit. He knew the legend of King Ventis and sealed the site under the guise of a grave. He also enchanted it so that only one of royal Snow Elf blood could break the seal, thinking that a royal family member would never even think of looking for the city, let alone sacrifice his own blood to do so. This was the cavern in which Yevoc now found himself.
As he walked down the small tunnel from the outside world Yevoc saw a dim green glow emanating from in front of him. He reached the mouth of the cave, not bothering to wait for a response from the blonde woman or her wolf body guard, and he saw an astounding sight. The entire city of old Frosthiem was lit by the dim glow of some bioluminescent giant mushrooms growing along the edges of the city. They were green and purple and illuminated the whole cavern. The city, however seemed to be completely devoid of life.
“Damn it, fucking spell dissipated. How am I supposed to find the damn source of the enchantment in this huge city?”