Winter's Fall, ~9,800 B.C.E.

Tepid.
Obtuse.
Repetitive.

Drop by drop I watched my queen's masterpiece fall apart. Our once glorious ice age, a display of her power and dedication to preserving the Fae against the growing threat of those bipedal apes had come to an end.

From within the hawthorn bastion where I first discovered Winter's beauty, I stared ahead at the coalition of rivals brought together to take down their mutual enemy: me.

Before me stood Oberon, Consort to Queen Titania, and emissary of Spring to Summer. Adjacent to him was Regali, a traitorous Dark Elf who deserted Winter. His twisted words turned many of my kin, regretful of their change, to his cause. They too, came to fight me, but they were petulant, weak dogs: a disgrace to the Dark Elf name. Their bodies peppered the area around me. Fools. This once peaceful grove was infested with vermin.

My fingers wrapped around the long, icey spear forming in my hand. A grin of anticipation crawled across my face. I still had one more fight in me.

"You finally found me. I imagine Titania and her newlyfounded Light Elves are handling Mab, at the behest of Spring, no doubt. We are truly out numbered, then. Very well, Regali, I shall give you the duel you seek. You brought that Pixie-lover Oberon with you, perhaps now the fight will be fair," I taunted.

Oberon did not approve to being called a Pixie-lover. As consort to Queen Titania, one of the most powerful beings in all of magic, my blatant disrespect was unwelcomed. Though, he handled his temper infinitely better than the Erlking did. Evidently not all of Summer were created equally.

"Your actions I abhor, and won't ignore.
This, we implore: Mab's ice age is no more."

"Come to liberate your seasons? What chore.
Or you've come to lure me back to the fore,
And settle the score? If we fight, don't bore." I mocked, lacking the lyrical lilt that Fae royalty spoke with.

Oberon scowled at me. Certainly his status and laurel crown made him feel as if a Faerie King, when in sooth, that pesky Faerie was no more qualified for the title than I. I had to make sure I defeated him. If only for Mab's sake. Oberon was the only one in centuries that matched my strength. Regali was of my more capable Elves, but against me, he was still just a quivering pup.

My ears twitched.
Oberon thrust his arms outward shooting a distorted, silver energy into the ground. Gargantuan tendrils of Earth shot from the ground and sought to crush me. With ease, I hopped out of the way as the tendrils crashed into each other. His attacks were powerful, but predictable.

I readied a charge, but Oberon was prepared. Clutched in his hand were dozens of tiny acorns, which he swiftly threw at me. Around each acorn was the faintest glimmer of Summer magic. Had I not trained as a Hunter, it is likely I would have not noticed them. While soaring through the air, the shells began to crack open and in a matter of seconds, each one grew into the tree it was destined to be. I barely had time to dive out of the way as their tremendous trunks whizzed passed me and crashed into the ground.

My feet locked in place.
Once again I felt the familiar pulling sensation of Foundation magic. The tug of it was far more tense than that fateful night I battled the Erlking, however. It seemed Oberon's cleverness rivaled my own. But my time in Winter had made me strong, and the thought of fighting a worthy advisory made me smile.

Creaking and shifting, the trees animated with life. Their monstrous limbs readied to slam down and crush me in place. As an emissary, Oberon showed his prowess over both seasons of magic. With the magic of Summer, he made the trees grow with haste, tall and strong. With the life breathing powers of Spring, he animated them to his will. It was a magnificent display of magical mastery, to the say the least. But I continued to grin. I grinned because it seemed Oberon did not know how I killed the Goblin king.

Pressing against the pull of Oberon's magic with great effort, I extended my arm forward. Sapphire and amethyst lightning violently danced around it. The air temperature dropped at a staggering rate. Soon, a concentrated blue flame appeared in the palm of my hand, growing bigger and stronger as the air chilled. Ice formed on the ground and crawled up the flora until even the titanic trees were covered in frost: frozen solid, and entirely immobile.

Cold.
Wild.
Chaotic.

This was the beauty that Entropy created. Ice knew no boundaries or limits; it attacked all as a wild and uncontrollable force of nature. All except for the equally wild and uncontrollable incidiary raging in the palm of my hand. It's cindering blue flames reflected like gems in my eyes.

Regali stared at me in awe. He began to understand the difference in our power.

"Do you like it, Regali? My Queen gave me insight to explore the full potential of Entropy. Displacement of heat was just one of many discoveries I made. It reflects the cold that fuels winter itself. This fireball is all the heat I could absorb from the surrounding area preserved in my hand," I boasted.

It brought me endless delight to see concern besmirch Oberon and Regali's faces. But I could not dwell on their expressions. Cornered prey will always fight back.

A simple flick of the wrist was all it took for me to hurl the concentrated ember at them. Oberon's emerald eyes widened as the fireball raced towards him. Even someone as adroit as he, hardly had time to raise an earthen spire from the ground and use his wings to propel himself out of the blast radius. Regali's magical reflexes were not as attuned. The ensuing azure explosion not only shattered the spire, but thrust a now flaming Regali back into the forest.

I looked up to see the silhouette of Oberon soar above the trees. His arms covered his face but he still maintained enough concentration to keep me rooted. Fortunately, I still had use of my arms.

Recalling all my experience and instincts as a Hunter, I took aim at Oberon with my spear and propelled it through the air. My feet loosened from their bonds the moment it found its target. They both crashed into the foliage below.

Rising up from the bushes after falling, he slowly tried to recover. Despite being off guard, he minimized the damage. He was skilled. I couldn't let him go on the offensive again.

A Hunter was never without options, and I had not wholly forsaken Autumn's magic yet. It took effort, but I was able to transform my twine necklace into a bow. A twig I snapped off a branch would serve as the ammunition I needed. I broke it in half and changed the first into an ice tipped arrow. Preservation magic swirled around it as I launched it at Oberon.

Once more he grew the boughs of trees, this time to shield himself. However, my enhanced arrow pierced through with minimal resistance. It lost a considerable amount of flight speed, but was still fast enough to lead him into my trap.
When he sidestepped to his right, it once again gave me clear line of sight. I loosed a second arrow. A swirling sapphire cone of Entropy trailed behind it.

I snapped my fingers just before impact, and the Entropy magic inside the arrow caused it to fracture, splinter, and ultimately shatter. Simultaneously I crossed my fingers on my other hand and the remains of the arrow turned into a dozen icicle stakes which began to buffet Oberon. The attack blinded him as he tried to shield himself from it. He had fallen for the same tricks Erlking did. Summer Fae are predictable.

I took my opportunity to charge in. Another spear of ice formed in my hand. I had to get to Oberon before he recovered. The explosion had returned heat to the area. Creaks and twists of thawing trees echoed behind me. They were awake again. Their giant shadows enveloped the ground around me. The moment I readied to lunge with my spear, Oberon recovered and thrust off the ground to avoid being crushed by the incoming boughs. With my free hand I grabbed his leg. I would not allow him to get away this time.

Even though he was nearly half the size of me, he was remarkably strong. I slowed his flight enough to keep him below the treetops, but he was gradually gaining air.

And then I felt the painfully familiar tug of Foundation magic behind me. Even from the air it managed to pull me down and lock me to the ground. But this did not stop me.

Before I finished falling, I transformed my necklace-turned-bow into a lariat and lassoed it around his leg. When I hit the ground, he was yanked back. He looked at his ankle to find it tethered to him. He tried using both tools and magic to cut or destroy it, but neither would work. The Preservation magic I was empowering it with ensured it maintained its strength and durability. And because I was locked to the ground, I was the perfect anchor. I could not move from that spot while his spell was active. As a result, he was unable to fly any further while either of us were attached to the lariat.

This was no time to boast regardless of the pride I felt inside for showing up that pretentious prick. Oberon may have been strong, but I was still stronger, and I had leverage. All it took was a jerk of my lariat to pull Oberon into striking range.

My spear swirled with Entropy and pierced his armour with ease. Lust and love of battle filled me and I began impaling him in a frenzy.

Sharp.
Chaotic.
Repetitive.

I kept attacking until my spear shattered, leaving a large stalagmite of ice in Oberon. If he wasn't dead already, his injuries would make sure he soon was. I reverted my lariat back to its necklace form and put it on. This necklace symbolised my learning of Winter magic, and using it, I just displayed to both Spring and Summer the might Winter provides me.

A sharp sensation pressed into back. I growled in pain and turned around. It thrust into me again, this time hitting my belly. I jumped back, towards the center of the grove, clutching my wound. Before me stood an enraged Regali, his body badly burned. But the amethyst colors of Preservation raced around his scars. However, his scilera were colored a familiar Entropic sapphire. In his hand he wielded a short blade crafted from Obsidian. More magic swirled around it. Dripping blood soaked it up to the handle. My blood.

"A deserter of Autumn and of Winter, and now you stab your opponent while his back is turned. You have no honor, coward," I spat.

Behind his exasperated tone, a boldness reinforced his words.

"We forsake honor long ago. I am just here to preserve what's left of the courts."

"Idealistic fool," I mocked.

"It-"

Before he could even begin speaking, I rushed him, my body enhanced with Preservation. His dagger pierced me once more, but did not cause me to bleed. I clutched his trachea, and began squeezing. I would crush this worm.

To my disbelief, however, I felt my feet take root once more. Over Regali's shoulder I caught the visage of Oberon standing up. Sparkling silver blood dripped from his body. The leafy green magics of spring surrounded his body in a cleansing aura. One by one his wounds began to close.

Spring: the season of Creation and Rebirth. In the chaos of our duel, I had forgotten that he originated from Spring. Its magic progressively healed all the damage I did to him.

Damn it.

Wasting no time, Regali began swinging his blade. I blocked the first hit, and my magic ensured the blade broke upon impact, but Oberon used Growth to have it instantly grow back.

Damn it!

Strike after strike the process repeated, Regali hitting harder each time. The attacks themselves did little, but shards of obsidian bore into my skin.

I tried forming another spear to counter, but white magic surrounded Oberon's hand and a blinding, radiant sunlight emitted from his palm. Its rays seared my skin. This was the true esssence of growth: light. Without the sun's shining light, nothing could grow.

Sharp.
Chaotic.
Repetitive.

I could not see, but I could feel; I felt every strike Regali made. Many moments passed before I could no longer stand the pain, and I collapsed to my knees. Darkness glossed over my vision as the attacks ceased. Their assault was over.

Once I could finally see again, I wanted to both weep and cry out in rage.

Shards of volcanic glass peppered every side of both of my blood soaked arms. Gashes adorned my chest and one of my eyes was still blinded, presumably from being cut. Several fingers were either cut open or severed entirely. I could not move either arm past the shoulder because of the damage they sustained. My raven feather necklace had been cut from my body and lay on the ground in front of me. Even with magic, I couldn't find the strength to pick it up. Magic would be my only chance at ever using my arms again, and I couldn't even reach for a necklace.

I did not hate them.
In fact, the two of them held my respect. I was not an easy prey to catch.

"Am I to die a Hunter's death then?" I mused.

Oberon stood before me, proud. His wounds were healed, but it was apparent that he was considerably weakened.

"If my wish granted, thou would now be dead.
But instead, Spring wishes no more bloodshed."

"Typical Spring, concerned only about the balance of life. You are no different than the Woodborn when they failed to recognize the threat of the Goblins. Winter is the only court prepared against the threat humans could be, and Mab is the only one fit to be a ruler of Fae. She is the only one that cares about our future," I argued.

These fools would never learn. It would be them who bring and end to us all.

"Mab is volatile and leading Winter astray. I fear our current course will mean the end for the Dark Elves. But there is time to set things right...to preserve the future of our kind. Now, more than ever it is dire to keep the courts united. That is why we must displace Mab, Kinsever. She cannot be allowed to mettle in our future," Regali countered.

I glared at him. The naive sincerity in his voice annoyed me.

"Regali... You were the first Woodborn to join my side the night we joined Winter, the night I earned my name. I think you've finally earned a name too, pup," I baited him.

He took a knee so his eyes were level with mine.

"Call me what you want Kinsever. I am going to ensure a safe future for our kind."

"Tch. Good luck, Usurper" I replied, matching his emphatic tone.

I could tell I struck a nerve. I expected a buffet, but instead he walked away. He held back his temper well.
Damn.

"Lord Oberon, we should take him back to Arcadia, now. It will not be long before the Queens defeat Mab."

The pull of Foundation tightened on my body, making me completely immobile. Regali clasped my vest and began dragging me out of the grove. Pain had long since left my body. All I felt was numbness.

But despite my ruined body; despite my Queen's inevitable defeat; despite the elegance of our plan falling apart, part of me found comfort in knowing there was still something safe from the toxic bile of the courts: the solace I found in the one being I regarded as a friend.

At the edge of the grove I saw a flash of silver. I knew it She-Who-Wanders standing behind a veil of glamour so masterfully crafted not even Oberon would detect it. But She let me know She was there. She had been there the whole time. She was always there, always watching.

As I was dragged away, She lowered the veil just enough so I could see her silhouette. In her arms a familiar tiny bundle wriggled and watched curiously through the mirroring fractals. I smirked a wicked smile and met my son's golden eyes one last time.

"Keep a close hold of your name, Kinseveros."