Return To The Ice Kingdom - or what happened After Ember Rule

The Goblin Ball is brought to life in the imagination of our guests. With the calibre of artists who attend The Goblin Ball (come on! You are ALL artists! Look at your outrageous costumes!) we are always surprised and honored to have people who are willing to play!

From amazing art, to short stories we are always excited and honored to be the recipient of such wonderful creations! The Ice Guardian (played by the menacing, yet calm Charley Noates) has sent us an account of what happened when he returned to The Ice Kingdom.

The Ice Guardian spent the evening bestowing passive aggressive offerings of Chili Chocolate to our Fire Gods. Did you know chocolate cancels out the burning fire of chili. Extremely thoughtful yet disturbing and completely appropriate.

Here is his account of what happened to the Ice Guardian following The Goblin Ball.

(c) PMD Studios

The Return to the Ice Kingdom

The Snow Guardian took a deep breath as he entered the Ice Palace. While he always strove to maintain a calm and detached demeanor the recent trip to the Ember Rule had taxed his endurance. Returning to his birthplace of ice and snow restored his strength and calmed his thoughts.

Nodding curtly to the palace guards as he walked, he thought over the recent events. The escape of Princess Pintina from the Ice Kingdom, her theft of the Snow Apples and her defection to the Ember Rule. It was with these matters in mind that he strode towards the quarters of his ruler and creator, the Ice Queen herself.

As he entered she was seated upon a chair that could almost be a throne unto itself, wide and high-backed, crafted from purest diamond ice and softest snowsilks, turning over what appeared to be a sky blue rose in her hands . Her gaze looked him over and, as ever, he felt the full force of her assessment fall upon him. He closed the doors behind him before he approached and knelt in respect and reverence. 

"My Snow Guardian," she said, her voice soft yet chilling at the same time, "my keeper of secrets and whisperer of honeyed words. You have returned from the Ember rule, from the care of my warm sister unharmed." She paused as she looked him over, her eyes catching momentarily on his hands, still mildly misshapen from where the Fire God had gripped them. "Mostly unharmed, it seems." Her eyes grew harsh again and her lips pursed. "But I did not summon you. Why have you come before me?"

The Snow Guardian took a breath. He knew that he was about to tread on dangerously thin ice, and to speak poorly would result in nothing less than his very literal destruction. "Majesty, I have served as your loyal subject for many centuries now, and been your eyes and ears among the last two Goblin Balls. It is for this reason I need to ask you a question, simple in its asking but terrible in its implications."

"As you know," he began, "when Princess Pintina escaped from the custody of our kingdom she took with her Snow Apples stolen from your own garden. These apples are an incredible source of Ice Kingdom magical power, and our kingdom is lessened by their loss."

He saw her eyes narrow upon him, but carried on, knowing he was already past the point of no return. "And while at the Ball in the Ember Rule I witnessed the same Princess, now turned to the energies of fire instead of frost, steal the Heart of the Fire God."

"Many would think that Pintina is opportunistic, seeking to move from Kingdom to Kingdom until she finds a place of sufficient power or opulence. Some would assume that Pintina is working to usurp the powers of the various Kingdoms, that she first stole Snow Apples and then the Heart, and next would seek to steal the items of power from Terra Bayou and Starlantis. "

He raised an eyebrow and continued to speak carefully. "But I have considered a third option. That these actions are the results of a higher plan. A plan that, like the mind which conceived it, is cold, calculating and ruthless. A plan that moves with the patience and unstoppable certainty of a glacier."

The Snow Guardian stood and looked his queen directly in her eyes. "Majesty, my question is this: Is Pintina actually still loyal to you, and working under your instructions to steal the items of power from the other realms?"

One would not think it possible for the air in an Ice Palace to grow cold....

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