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Chapter 11:Arwen’s Past and the Snowbound Sanctuary
Scene: Northern Training Grounds – Snow Region
The academy had sent Zephyr and a group of elite students to the Snowbound Sanctuary, a remote frozen outpost for practical exams in extreme weather. The mission? Survive, retrieve an artifact, and return in one piece.
Zephyr, still adjusting to his new Combat Instructor title, wasn’t thrilled.
“Who volunteers to freeze on a weekend?”
He pulled his new coat tighter. It was warm, but the emotional cold from the students blaming him for “extra exams” was frostier.
Arwen walked beside him, quiet as always, her breath forming small clouds in the air.
“This place…” she murmured.
“I’ve been here before.”
Flashback: Arwen’s Memory
A younger Arwen stood barefoot in the snow, facing an adult mage with cruel eyes.
“You’ll never control ice properly unless you feel it take your body.”
The memory vanished like melting frost. She shook her head.
“Sorry. Let’s keep moving.”
Scene: Ice Labyrinth – Sanctuary Core
Inside the icy ruins, everything shimmered with frozen mana. Monsters of crystallized magic lurked in silence.
Suddenly—ROAR!
A Frost Revenant, a corrupted spirit beast, burst from the floor. The group scattered.
Zephyr instinctively pulled Arwen behind him.
“Behind me.”
“Zephyr—!” she gasped. “You’ll freeze—”
Too late. The beast struck. Zephyr took the full hit… and didn’t budge.
A faint steam rose from his skin. The cold evaporated around him.
“This coat is laundry-resistant.”
He stepped forward, calm, and struck the Revenant once with his mop. It shattered into glittering dust.
The others stared in awe. Arwen, however, looked at him differently.
Scene: Abandoned Chapel – That Night
They camped in an old chapel surrounded by falling snow. Zephyr made a fire with magically heated rocks and roasted something suspiciously glowing.
Arwen sat beside him, her hair lit by firelight.
“Why do you protect people you barely know?” she asked quietly.
Zephyr shrugged.
“Isn’t that what a janitor’s supposed to do? Clean up messes and keep things safe?”
Silence.
Then she leaned slightly toward him, almost shy.
“You remind me of someone I lost… but you’re gentler. Dumber, too.”
“Thanks?”
“I mean it in a good way.”
Snow began to fall inside the open roof of the chapel. Arwen looked up, then back at him.
“Stay near me tonight. It helps with the cold.”
Zephyr blinked.
“Wait, what do you mean by—”
But she was already asleep, her head gently resting against his shoulder.
End of Chapter 11
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