Aurin pressed his hand against the ancient stone, the sigils beneath his fingers flickering to life. The portal shimmered, revealing the Stormpeak Citadel beyond. He had come to restore the Heart of Veynar, stolen by the frost giants, without which the valley lay trapped in endless winter.
He stepped through, landing in a vast chamber of ice and shadow. The Heart pulsed atop a dais, its golden glow flickering. A frost giant loomed before it, eyes like shards of frozen sky. Aurin raised his staff, channeling the warmth of the sunstone embedded within. Fire licked along its edges as he struck the ground.
The ice cracked, steam rising in violent bursts. The giant lunged. Aurin rolled beneath its swipe, slamming the staff into the dais. A surge of heat burst forth, melting the ice and sending the Heart spiraling toward him. He caught it and leapt back through the portal, just as the chamber collapsed in a cascade of frost and shattered stone.
As he placed the Heart back in the valley’s altar, warmth spread across the land, and winter finally released its hold.
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