"Ranked sixty eighth on the Gaia Ice Wall. Sounds pretty intimidating."
Zeke walked forward without hurry, each step steady, deliberate. Fire bloomed around him, sparks snapping into existence as heat bent the air.
Once, he had been a Sky, a pure flame bearer who bent fire as easily as breathing. The element answered him without question.
After his second voyage, that simplicity had been stripped away. What replaced it was denser, layered, something sharper hiding beneath the flames.
"Fire versus ice. A rivalry as old as history. Of course you're nothing but…" Liana began, lips already curling in disdain.
Her words faltered.
"…Sky," she muttered, eyes narrowing as she truly looked at him.
The Sky were no minor faction. Comparable to Lokians once, stronger now by most measures, honed by conflict and scarcity.
Instead of irritation, her smile widened. Excitement flickered behind her gaze.
"Much better."
