The sun's bright orange rays had begun to dwindle as it slowly lowered itself beneath the horizon, night was approaching Hyrule field. Lora watched as the hour of twilight ended, the magical time when the day isn't quite gone, but the night hasn't quite appeared. It was her favorite time of the day. She could stay where she is, leaned against a tall tree near the entrance to the Faron province, and watch the sky for ever if she could. The clouds took a pinkish tone, the sky was a lovely orange that faded into a dark blue the farther east it went. there was just something about this time that the young Kokiri loved, maybe it was the fleeting nature of the twilight, or how it was so rare for someone to just sit and watch it, or maybe it was because by the time you really began to appreciate the beauty, it was gone.

Before she realized it the sky had turned dark blue and black, twilight had gone and it became night time. There was a soft orange glow on the few trees nearby the kokiri girl, Dania was so easy to find in the dark. Lora stood up and made her way over to her beloved fairy and sat down next to her. The orange fairy flew up and sat on Lora's right shoulder, her most common and favorite resting place. "You should have built a fire while there was still light you know." Dania's said. Lora turned her head so she could see her fairy and smiled, knowing once again she was right.

"We gathered all the sticks already, and put them all right here." Lora said lightly, in an attempt to appease her fairly slightly. She sighed and stood up slowly, careful not to make Dania fall. She had become quite skilled in making fire, staying out in the wilderness all these years helps her pick up a few things. She began the process that had become second nature to her now, and before long the bark and dry pieces of grass began to smoke and finally ignited. She quickly threw the bigger logs onto the fire to make the catch before the small fire ran out of fuel.

The fire was now stable, burning at a consistent height and intensity, casing a bright orange glow on the surrounding trees and grass. The night had grown dark very fast, not much outside of the fire's glow was visible. She took off her back pack, set it down beside her, and opened to to retrieve one of the canteens inside. She took off the cap and took a long sip, she hadn't had anything to drink since morning, and the cool water felt amazing on her dry throat and mouth. She capped the canteen again, having her fill of water for the time being and laid back on the grass, listening to the sounds of the field and the forest, how they melded together here on the edge, it was like music to her.

Lucius awoke with the stars above him, he had spent the majority of his day resting on the edge of the Faron forest.

"Solitude does one good," he often muses.

"I do not understand the appeal of this land, so dry, dull......and hot," thought Lucius. Adjusting himself to get a clearer view of the fields, Lucius noticed something, a light, no, a fire. He carefully stood up, trying not to attract any unwanted attention. Deciding to investigate further, Lucius gathered his items, equipped his armor and weapons, and began to slowly make his way towards the unexpected traveler.

Although the fire was only two hundred yards away, it took Lucius over an hour to get close enough to inspect it without being seen, or heard, himself. His back against a tree, Lucius pulled out his knife and angled so he could use it as a makeshift mirror. From what could be seen, there was a fire, backpack, and a person lying down next to both. Upon further inspection, Lucius determined it was a female Hylian youth lying down next to the fire. Lucius thought it strange that a Hylian child would travel so far alone, a female even. Determining nothing of interest, Lucius sheathed his knife and began to quietly walk away. There was a loud squeal.

Lucius had accidentally stepped on the foot of a sleeping rabbit. The rabbit limped away in pain as Lucius stood frozen in place, his back plainly visible to the campsite. His thoughts racing, Lucius considered his options, "I could run, fight, hide, or stay where I am." While Lucius calculated the odds, he was wary of whether the child had noticed or not.

The sweet music of the night was abruptly interrupted by a loud shrill screech. It sounded like some kind of animal was in great pain, as if a trap or snare had taken a hold of its leg. Several possibilities flew through Lora's mind, a wide range of animals that could have potentially produced the horrid sound. Her curiosity finally got the better of her and she sat up, and looked for Dania. She found the fairy floating close to the fire in attempt to warm up, as the ground was somewhat cold. She made a motion for her to follow, and with a roll of her eyes, Dania followed.

It didn't take long to find the source of the sound, a monstrous figure fully clad in plate armor had crushed a bunny underfoot. Lora felt more sad for the rabbit than she felt afraid of the monster. Only after she had a moment to process the bunny's pain did her mind focus in on the armored behemoth that stood before her. At first she thought it was one of the Hylian guards, as they always seemed massive to the tiny Kokiri, or maybe a Goron, but she wasn't too sure of the exact nature of the beast.

After a quick moment of analyzing the creature her face turned pale, and Dania must have reached the same conclusion for she turned to Lora and said, "it's a dark nut, one of the deadliest and vile of all monsters." Her fears were confirmed, the armored gargantuan could end her life in a mere moment if it chose to, all of her life would have been for naught if this monster chose to turn around and end it. She couldn't let that happen, she needed to live, there was so much more to learn. Instinctively, she removed the cap from her canteen and commanded what ever water was left inside to come out, and prepare itself to defend her. It would probably be useless against a dark nut, but she was NOT going to die out here, not yet.

The water flowed from the canteen as if it was being poured, sparkling in the firelight that it came into contact with. It formed an thin "S" like shape in front of the young Kokiri, waiting on her command to try and foil the dark nut. "I am warning you, dark nut, I know how to use magic!" She knew the threat was useless, it was one of Ganon's shock troopers, why would it be afraid of a young girl? The thing would either not care and move along, or it would take its mighty sword and end her life right now. She seriously hoped it would be the former, and not the latter.

After contemplating his options, Lucius had decided on his course of action. Lucius turned to face the child, who was now standing infront of him, suspending a sliver of water mid air. Surprised by this, Lucius began to rethink the situation. At this time, he noticed the orange fairy fluttering next to what he thought was a Hylian. After noticing this, Lucius realized that he was not dealing with a Hylian child, but a Kokiri adult who had at least a basic knowledge of magic. "This explains things," thought Lucius, "She's not far from home at all, and I'm surprised that I did not run into the Kokiri sooner." Lucius had met few people in the outside world, and this would be his first encounter with the Kokiri, whom he had only read about until now.

Lucius stepped closer to the female. He could see the fear in her eyes through the slits in his helmet, but at the same time, he could see her determination to fight, even against one of the infamous Darknuts. Even though she had a severe height disadvantage, she was still willing to take him on; Lucius respected this. However, he simply could not ignore a direct challenge to himself. Although he was the intruder in this situation, Lucius was not about to yield to someone half his size. Since she was a woman, Lucius would show mercy.

Lucius first addressed the fairy, "I do not appreciate being called a monster, but you are observant for recognizing the lethality of my people." He then turned his head so that he was looking directly at the Kokiri. "It is not wise to challenge an opponent with such a severe height advantage. You should learn to pick your fights more carefully." His attention was drawn towards the water that defied the force of gravity infront of him. "And as for your power over water," he raised his right hand, "I too have similar skills," Lucius said cooly. Immediately, he snapped his fingers, the rune on his gauntlet pulsed light blue, and the snake-like water hovering midair froze solid.

Lora gasped as her only defense was frozen solid, still suspended in mid air due to her own magic. She look at the monster with a new expression of fright, this was no normal dark nut, that was threatening her, it was far worse. This dark nut had some sort of enchanted armor, that allowed him to manipulate either water or ice, she wasn't sure, nor did she want to stick around and find out. "I wasn't challenging you, but your race has a reputation that preceded you, and I was just getting ready to defend myself if you did in fact turn out to be hostile." Dania hovered nearby, not saying anything, lest she piss the thing off even more.

She melted the ice and the water turned back into its liquid state, which was much easier to control for the Kokiri. With this power the beast had she knew any resistance would be futile, so she went ahead and placed the water back inside the canteen. This was partly a gesture to show she meant no harm, and partly because she was tired from the day's activities. Hiking from Ordon village to the edge of the forests of Faron is not easy for one as tiny as a Kokiri. The monster still stood there, gauntlet glowing green and face hidden behind the large slotted helmet, staring down the tiny girl.

Lora knew nothing else to say, stereotypical dark nuts would have filleted the girl by now, but this one seemed different. It had seen her from a distance, crept near and decided not to attack on sight. Dania came to the same realization and attempted to apologize to the warrior. "I'm sorry, but you look indistinguishable at first sight from the beasts who served the Dark Lord. I meant no disrespect." She obviously was lying, of course she meant disrespect, theses were vial and evil creatures. Why did they deserve respect when all they do is kill?

Lora backed slowly from the creature, and sat with her back to the fire, and as a last ditch attempt to keep him from gutting her and wearing her spine as a necklace, she invited him to sit at the fire with her. "Would you like to sit down? I am sorry we got off on the wrong foot, you seem more educated than most of your race." She straightened up, "My name is Lora, what's yours?"

Lucius eyed Lora with suspicion as she sat on the ground infront of the fire, inviting him to sit with her. Her magical abilities were stronger than he had anticipated, which hinted that Lora was much older than she looked. Stepping forward hesitantly, Lucius walked into the warmth of the fire, but leaned against a tree on the edge of the campsite. "She seems innocent enough, if a bit too trusting of strangers," he thought. Although it seemed Lora had stood down, Lucius clutched the hilt of his greatsword behind his cape just in case. Lucius' attention drifted towards the fire; It made him feel uneasy. After his rebirth, Lucius had always preferred the cold, and did not like being close to an open flame, it hindered his abilities. Refocusing his attention to the present, Lucius decided to address Lora and the fairy.

"Do not mention those traitors, they do not deserve to call themselves Darknuts," Lucius said sternly. Lowering his tone as to not seem any more intimidating, Lucius continued, "Also, some helpful advice, don't apologize, if you want forgiveness, earn it." He folded his arms to add emphasis to his words, "And yes, I am learned in many fields. Knowledge is the most powerful weapon one can use on the battlefield, it has determined more victories than armies or magic tricks ever have." Lucius stood up and unfolded his arms, he had never talked this much to anyone outside of his tribe before, nor had he revealed so much. He started to make his way deeper into the forest but stopped just inside of the camp. He wanted to leave but something about this girl intrigued Lucius. He turned around and spoke again, "Most people would have tried to kill me three times over by now. Is it fear or courage that keeps you here, with me, in such a passive state?"

Lucius couldn't believe this, he had never kept an open dialogue with an outsider for so long. His curiosity always did get the better of him, in fact, he never would have gotten himself in this situation if he had not came over to investigate. Looking again back at Lora, Lucius couldn't tell if she was trying to appease him, or if she was simply unafraid of one of the most terrifying creatures in Hyrule. When he was younger, he had always played with the idea of what he would say to an outsider if he ever found himself in a talking mood around one. Lucius considered showing his face but decided against it, so as to not frighten Lora any more than she appeared to be. "For the record," Lucius spoke, even though his instincts urged him not to, "my name is Lucius."

"What is the point of being hostile?" Lora said with a slight smile as she lay down by the fire, its glowing light dancing around her in an orange glow. Dania landed on the opposite side of Lora, distancing herself from the menacing dark nut. "If you were going to kill me you would have, but you didn't, so you can't be all bad." She gave a slight chuckle under her breath, a dark nut not being all bad, a strange thing to say. She hoped he would not take offense to that laugh, she wasn't sure about the temperament of dark nuts. She let the laugh and smile go for a moment and decided to ask her own question now that he has asked his. "So, what is a dark nut doing way out here in the Faron Province? Don't you guys live in the desert?"

She had read several books when she was staying in castle town, in her spare time between magic lessons in cleaning. Several of them documented the races of Hyrule, including the mighty dark nut race. It told of their unmatched physical prowess, and their tribal devotion to shamanism. She never gave much credit to these books, all the stories of dark nuts she had heard were of them tearing Hylians limb from limb. She highly doubted they would let anyone close enough to their tribes to observer their culture and ways of life. She believed the parts of how fierce and territorial they are, but the intricate details of their lives she never seemed to believe.

She looked back over the dark nut now that the fire illuminated more of his armor, it glistened in the dancing light. It was black, but it was covered in these strange symbols, much like the one that lit up on his glove earlier. It unnerved Lora, these strange markings, they made the armor look more intimidating and scary. He was armored head to toe, no exposed points that she could see with her untrained eye. His sword wasn't visible, but she assumed it was hiding behind his armor and cloak. He was an awe inspiring figure, she was glad he had not decided to kill her.

She lay there, propped up on one arm, waiting to hear if Lucius would explain his reasoning for being here.

Lucius did not find Lora's chuckle entertaining and did not understand what was so amusing. Deciding to make himself comfortable, Lucius sat down on a fallen tree that was near him, all the while making sure his sword was carefully hidden by his cloak. He adjusted himself as he answered Lora's question, "Yes, the majority of Darknuts live in the Gerudo desert, however my tribe does not come from there. I come from the Frostwolf tribe of Darknuts that live in the mountains of Peak province. As to why I am here in this forest, I've been traveling, meandering through Hyrule exploring the kingdom. Few Darknuts ever leave their tribe for the outside world, however I was left with no other option...." Lucius' hand touched the center of his breastplate right over the gash in his chest. Lucius continued, "I lost a fight for control of the tribe, if you are dishonored in that way, it's simply better if you leave."

Lucius sat at attention for he heard something in the distance, a loud booming sound, thunder; a storm was on its way. He sighed, "I guess I have no choice, I can't leave now with a thunderstorm on its way. It seems as if the fates want me to stay with this girl," thought Lucius. The sound of rain always put Lucius at ease, he enjoyed the constant splashing of water, and the solitude that it brought. His brothers would always cower next to him for shelter during a blizzard; there was something about the raw power of nature that assured him that everything would be alright in the end. Lucius chuckled, the thought of rain reminded of his first time caught in a storm. He hadn't had complete control over his new armor and the instant the rain hit him it froze. Lucius had to take off all of his armor at the time for fear of being trapped in ice, again.

Eyeing the orange fairy hiding behind Lora, Lucius spoke, "Your fairy has a highly developed sense of self-preservation. I'm one of the more civilized Darknuts, next time you might not be so lucky. It would do you well to listen to her advice more often." Seeing that the fire was dying down, Lucius grabbed a log next to him and tossed it onto the fire. Sparks flew up and danced into the air. An ember fluttered toward Lucius and landed on his hand, which glowed a faint blue and the ember died in frost. Perhaps it had to do with his new power, or the fact that Lucius grew up around snow, but it seemed as though his very being hated fire.

Lora knew all about leaving home due to uncontrollable circumstances, but Lucius had different reasons. Lora could not deal with the grief of having to see the towering corpse of her father every day, he left due to shame. This dark nut culture must have been the pure polar opposite of the Kokiri. She could not fathom throwing out one of her friends just because they failed at some task, it was cruel. "I left my home too, I just couldn't stay there anymore." Her head dropped and her gaze softened, old memories of her Kokiri friends and the Great Deku Tree came flooding back to her all at once. She shook the memories off and looked back to Lucius, "How can you reject someone just for not doing something good? It's not right." She said, the rolling of thunder drowning out any further talking.

She looked over the horizon, a flash of light illuminating the otherwise pitch black sky, and it drew closer with each passing moment. The storm would be upon the two within the hour, and it looked to be a strong storm based on how frequent the lightning appeared. She had no idea on whether or not Lucius would stay, or if he would simply move on and leave Lora and Dania to fend for themselves in the storm. He threw a log on the fire, the embers rising high into the air, dancing before they all died out. Lora couldn't tell if he was cold or just trying to help the two girls out.

Dania looked over Lora as she heard the armor clad stranger mention her. She went into almost a rage, the dark nut thinking that she did not care for Lora, and only cared for herself. She flew from behind her cover and hovered a good four feet from the wanderer. "While I appreciate the compliment, don't assume I seek only my own safety." She gave a stern look that would most likely not be seen beyond her radiant glow. "Since we were wrong to assume things about you, you must be equally wrong to assume things about me." She settled down a bit, her anger and frustration successfully vented. She turned to face the storm once more, and her first instinct was to tell Lora to construct them a shelter to stay dry during the coming storm.

She looked at Lucius again, the dark nut would probably not take kindly to such an outburst after all he did was compliment her. Her voice cut through the silence once more, "I'm sorry about the outburst, I am protective of Lora and... I don't want people assuming I am looking out for just myself." Her head looked down at the ground below for a moment, arranging her next words in her mind as a thunder echoed in the distance, "We need to build a shelter before the storm gets here."

Lucius could see that he was dealing with an exile, just like himself. His attention off of the storm and back on Lora, "It is the basic principle of order: the strong rule while the weak are ruled. I was raised from birth to become the leader of tribe, my people depended on me to protect them. However, when my leadership was challenged, I had to defeat my opponent to prove my worthiness to rule. I lost the fight," Lucius' hand touched his chest again, remembering the sting of death, "Not only did I let my people down, but I let myself down, I could not live up to what was expected of me. If I am not the strongest, then I cannot insure my people's safety. Imagine if no one challenged my authority, and a threat came along stronger than I could handle, many people would have died because of my weakness." Lucius glanced north towards the mountains of his tribe, "I left because I claimed to be the best protector for my people, and I did not have the wisdom to recognize someone else as more worthy to succeed me." The lightning was moving closer to them by the minute, "It is all about wisdom and power, knowing when to fight, but more importantly, when not to. However, like most stories, there is more to this. To put it simply, I could not live among my people because I did not consider myself one of them."

His attention was turned towards the fairy that was speaking to him. It became apparent that these two shared a closer bond than he realized. From what Lucius saw of the outside world, he was often correct when he assumed people were out for themselves. Lucius addressed the fairy, "I've found that most people are generally selfish creatures, and that what may be seen as companionship is often just the weak allying themselves with the strong in the interest of furthering their own lives." The thunder boomed, even closer now, as if to assert itself in the conversation. "You are correct, we should build a shelter before the storm is upon us. It is not wise, nor healthy to be exposed during a lightning storm," Lucius stated.

Standing up, his eyes still focused on Lora, Lucius spoke, "I will go to gather wood to serve as the frame, and you can go to collect branches and leaves to create a roof to protect from the rain." He turned around to make his way deeper into the forest where he might find an adequate fallen tree for a sturdy structure when a thought hit him, "Your magic can command water can it not? I do not suppose you are skiled enough to divert rain drops enough so that they don't fall on us and more importantly the fire?" Lucius kept thinking, imagining ways to use Lora's abilities for both of their benefit, "Or, perhaps with our combined talents, we could create a shelter out of ice in a fraction of the time it would take us to make one from scratch?" Lucius was a bit anxious, there was not much time before the storm was upon them.

Lora was about to stand up and walk away from the fire, when Lucius put a brand new idea into her head. He flash froze her controlled water, she would only have to control large amounts for very small amounts of time, it could be done! Except that she didn't have enough water to from a sizable shelter. She would need gallons at her disposal, and she only had one. There were two options, the two could search for water and attempt to bring it back and create an ice shelter, or they could create one out of sticks and branches. There was no guarantee there was any water source nearby, but she also doubted they would have time to construct a shelter in a more conventional matter. It was settled, she would have to find water.

She needed to collect as much water as possible, using anything that was water tight to collect. She had two half gallon canteens and a few empty bottles, not enough. She wished she could just leave the water here, but it would simply disperse and be difficult to regather later. If only she could keep it bunched up in one spot while she searched for more. A great idea flashed in her mind, and she began to dig a hole in the ground. If she could get it big enough, she could use it as a temporary makeshift reservoir. She continued digging, the hole gradually becoming wider and deeper.

The hole finally came to a satisfactory size, and Lora patted the sides of the hole flat to minimize seepage. Satisfied with her task, she stood up and began pouring in all the water she had with her. A gallon flowed from her canteens and a little more came from the bottles she carried with her. Once the water was all emptied she put the containers back into her backpack and looked at the dark nut. "Bring back any water you find, make the hole larger if you need, we are going to need a lot for a shelter." She turned, not waiting to hear his answer, and ran off towards the forest to find some kind of water, Dania following close behind.

Lucius merely watched as Lora and the fairy ran off into the forest in search of more water. Eyeing the hole in the ground, he walked forward and pulled out his own canteen and poured what was in it into the hole. "Not like I would be needing it anyway," Lucius thought. The wind was starting to pick up speed. Lightning flashed overhead, and the thunder clapped. It was looking to be a fierce storm. Judging from the size of the hole, if it were filled it would hold enough water for a sizable ice structure, however, Lucius had never frozen that much liquid water at one time, he was going to need to need some assistance. In order to freeze the water accurately and quickly, Lucius would need to draw runes in the dirt to make sure the water stays frozen. He examined the campsite and determined the size of the structural matrix he would need to create.

Firstly, Lucius had to clear the area of leaves, sticks, logs, and other forms of debris. He moved the pile of firewood to a spot where it would not be in the way of his work and threw a few pieces of wood onto the fire. Although the fire and the hole would be a slight problem, he calculated the center of the matrix to be in a space between the hole and the fire. Pleased with the condition of the camp, Lucius pulled out his knife and began the process of carving runic circles and glyphs into the ground. This process reminded him of his lessons with the shamans in his tribe, and how every curve, dot, and line had to absolutely perfect in order for the magic to function properly. Lucius couldn't count the number of times he'd misjudged a line and his magic fail utterly, or how many times he was yelled at for being too hasty which caused the mistake in the first place. However, Lucius did not have the luxury of time at the moment, at any second the rain could start falling and ruin the matrix.

In a matter of a few minutes, Lucius had cleaned up the camp and etched dozens of glyphs into the ground, all of which were focused on a central, open circle. Lucius walked over to the center of the circle in between the hole and fire, making sure not to step on any runes. Satisfied with his work, he unsheathed his runic greatsword, Brinhäldr, and held it with both hands, the tip facing towards the earth. Lucius gripped the hilt tighter and focused on the blade. The etchings on the sword started to glow a bright blue and Lucius could see his breath in the air. He brought the sword up and with a strong force, thrusted the sword into the ground. A pulse went through the air and the runes on the ground started to glow a faint blue, as did the ones on Lucius' armor.

With his work done, Lucius stood in the center of the camp, waiting for Lora to return with the water in order for the task of constructing a shelter to begin. He closed his eyes and listened to the sound of the storm grow louder and angrier. The trees were swaying to the force of the wind, their leaves struggling to stay on the branches. With this Lucius opened his eyes to the sound of a drop of water hitting his shoulder.

The forest was dark, save for when flashes of lightning illuminated the entire place. Lora kept running in one direction, so she wouldn't get lost with twists and turns on her return trip to camp. She stopped a few times on her venture, swearing she heard the sound of running water nearby, but most turned out to be false alarms. She kept on searching, she could not come back without water, it would mean that she would have to spend the night in the rain and most likely get sick. That would not go over well with her travel plans. It had begun to mist slightly, she had very little time to collect the water and make it back to Lucius before the full force of the storm arrived.

She stopped suddenly, a lightning bolt flashed over head and the ground about twenty yards to the side of Lora reflected the light back. The surface had ripples on it, and looked to be moving. The Kokiri's eyes widened, she had finally found water. "Dania!" She yelled, "I think there is water over here!" She ran over, a canteen in one hand ready to be submerged and filled. The water seemed to be farther than it really was, whether she had misjudged the distance when the flash lit it up, or if it just seemed further due to the anticipation of finding her goal.

She reached the edge of the water and immediately knelt down to stare at it. Her fairy flew next to her and perched on her shoulder once again. She could see a slight reflection of herself in the water, the orange light from Dania giving some light in the other wise black of night. A flash of lightning allowed a clear reflection to be seen for a brief moment. She wasted no more time and began unscrewing the lid to the second canteen. Both canteens were open and submerged, slowly filling up to a half gallon's worth of water. The process seemed to take hours, the adrenalin flowing through her tiny body, wanting to go and get back to a shelter. The canteens soaked there, air bubbling out of the top and breaking the smooth surface of the water when the popped.

A few minutes passed, and finally the steady stream of bubbles began to dwindle into a trickle, then they stopped all together. Lora pulled both canteens out of the water, careful not to spill them, while she fumbled with getting the caps back on securely. She placed both containers into her backpack and began filling up the few empty bottles she had on hand, then placing them in the backpack with the canteens.

She stood up and started running as fast as she could back to the campsite, nearly knocking Dania off in the quick movement. She could feel the rain go from a light mist to a slight drizzle as her pace picked up. The storm was closing fast, she hoped that between what she dumped earlier and what she had now, there would be enough for a shelter for the two of them. She couldn't help but think of the demonstration that the dark nut had given before, he froze a half a gallon of water with just the snap of his fingers. She had never heard of any dark nuts that had that level of magic power, even Lora could not flash freeze that amount of water with out having to sit down and rest immediately after wards. She was dealing with a powerful dark nut, not your average kind, she would have to make sure and not piss him off.

She was back at the camp faster than she expected, being lost in her own thoughts making the journey seem shorter. It was not drizzling as bad at the camp, the rain clouds were not uniform in structure or else the camp would have already had some rain. She ran to the hole she had dug earlier, and began dumping the water she had collected there, effectively filling the hole. A smile crossed her now wet face, and she began to look around the site for Lucius. She saw him standing in the center of the camp, how she missed him earlier she did not know. How she did not notice the giant drawing on the ground was an even greater question. She had seen similar things used for other magical purposes in her studies, but never one this size before. She looked back at the path she had come into camp on, and to her relief she had not stepped on or disturbed the glyphs. She turned to the dark nut and said, "So how is this gonna work? I can only control so much at a time without becoming exhausted." She looked at the massive sword in the center of the inscription, and the eye in the blade seemed to look back at her. "Can you flash freeze it as soon as I get it into the right location so it's not as straining on me?" She looked at the hole and hoped it would be enough to provide a sturdy, dry shelter.

The rain was starting to pick up speed from scattered to a slight mist. Lucius was hoping that Lora would return soon so that the rain did not dissolve his meticulous work. The only factor that mattered was how soon the freezing process started, once that had begun, the process of phase-changing the water to ice would protect the runes from being disturbed by the rain. Lightning was striking overhead frantically and sporadically, and the wind was picking up speed. Lucius' cape flapped in the wind around his legs. It seemed that the shelter would serve a greater purpose of protecting them from falling limbs and rotten trees. Standing arms crossed over the blade in the soil, Lucius mentally prepared himself for the task that was to come, he had never performed cryomancy on this scale before, and never with the assistance of another, especially not a Kokiri female.

The sound of advancing footsteps caught Lucius' attention, Lora had returned in only ten minutes with what looked like the required amount of water. While she poured the water into the makeshift reservoir, Lucius answered her questions, "You needn't worry. Just get the water into place and I will take care of the rest." Lucius unfolded his arms and extended them parallel with the ground. He focused his energy and thoughts onto the phasic matrix on the ground and the inscriptions on the ground, as wel as on his armor and blade started to glow deep blue in color.

The rain started to fall at an increased rate as the wind began to blow with a stronger force. The temperature around the campsite started to drop to the point Lucius could see his own breath in the air. Lightning struck near where Lora and Lucius were standing. "Perhaps we should be quick about this," warned Lucius as he gestured towards the dark gray clouds that were spiraling overhead, hinting at the chance of tornadic weather.

Her eyes widened in curiosity at the magic that now coursed through the campsite. It was getting colder, her breath materialized in front of her face. What kind of power did this dark nut possess? All of her questions would have to wait, as she was brought back to the present by the lighting bolt that struck nearby. She put her hands to her ears as the roar of the thunder sounded as if it were about to engulf her. She turned to the hole that had the gallons of water stored in it, and began to work her magic.

She moved her hands, and large clumps of water began to flow from the hole. It took all of her concentration to hold it in form. She moved it and formed the shape of the bottom half of one of the walls. The dark nut's magic took hold and the water froze in place. The slab was thick enough to be sturdy. Satisfied with the thickness she placed a slab of identical thickness on top. One of the walls were done, long enough and thick enough for the two to be comfortable in once the other walls were up.

Lora wasted no time in getting the rest of the walls assembled, moving glob after glob of water to fit their shelter. The hole had run out of water about halfway through, but the rain had picked up enough that she could simply gather the rain and use it. The shelter was finally coming together.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of manipulation, the shelter was done. Lora fell to her knees in exhaustion, the strain moving the large amount of water rendering her body weak. She managed to gather the willpower needed to crawl into the shelter, where the rain finally stopped barraging her, and she had a moment of peace. She waited for the dark nut to enter the shelter before she asked, "So, what is going to keep the ice from melting?"