In the morning, up on the balcony overlooking the courtyard, Varric Stonewake, Grand Prime of Frostpeak, froze in confusion. He leaned over the stone railing, one broad hand resting against the edge, eyes narrowing as they tracked the movement below. He had seen Solace fight and throw men twice her weight like toys flung aside in irritation, but not this.
Below him, Solace shook her head dramatically. "No, no, no. If you're gonna play in Frostpeak, at least stand correctly Wine." She nudged Wine's foot with her own and adjusted it by a hair. "No, your base is too narrow, look like this Dine." She tapped Dine's shin lightly. "Okay, better, now it's time to learn the important part."
Varric's brow furrowed. "She's doing drills," he murmured, then he paused. "No... a dance."
Below, Solace clapped her hands, the sound cracking through the warm air. "Okay! You put your left foot out, like this." She stepped into it, weight settling forward."Then you slam your arms like you're playing drums, like this!"
As her arms came downward, her body sank. She kept her spine straight, and her weight settled evenly. She went down in a controlled descent, and her hair whipped with the movement.
Wine mirrored her almost perfectly, dropping with the motion and staying rooted. Dine swung his arms with the same enthusiasm, trying to copy the motion exactly. He overdid it, as he got lower his knees wobbled and his weight shifted too far, he fell sideways but he put his hand out and caught himself.
Solace pointed at him, "Yes! Good commitment!"
Varric just watched, "That..." he said quietly, "...is not normal."
Below him, Solace called out, laughing. "The more fun you have, the better it looks!" The kids shrieked with joy and slammed their arms down wildly.
Varric stepped back from the railing slowly. This was only day two, and this Sovereign was already imprinting Frostpeak children with form, rhythm, and control. "I need to tell the King," he muttered. Solace was unusual, and in Frostpeak Dwelling, anything unusual went straight to King Wonek.
The Hearthwell children adored Solace, they had half the castle whispering about the mysterious girl teaching crazy dances to children.
Later that morning the doors opened and Tovin Blackcall stepped in, Royal Herald of Frostpeak. "King Master received your message," he said, "He expects your arrival."
"Good, good," King Wonek said, "Go inform Solace." Tovin turned and went to find her. Solace was sitting on the ledge of a massive window, watching snaw fall onto a mountain.
"Solace, hello," Tovin said.
Solace smiled, "Hello."
He clasped his hands together, "My name is Tovin."
"Nice to meet you Tovin, my name is Solace," She said.
"I'm aware," Tovin chuckled, "I just used it."
"Oh yeah you're right," Solace smiled, "Don't tell thiago I just did that."
"You have my word," Tovin said, then he pointed to an open space on the ledge, "May I."
"Of course," Solace said and shifted over a little.
"What are you looking at," Tovin asked.
"You see that mountain over there," Solace said, "I'm just thinking about what could be up there."
"Do you want me to just tell you?" Tovin asked.
Solace nodded her head, "Yes, tell me everything."
"There's brobdingnagians living up there and some animals." He said.
"Really?" Solace asked.
Tovin nodded, "Yeah they love the mountains. If you want to see something exciting though, it's that mountain over there." He pointed to the left of the mountain she was looking at.
Solace turned her head, "What's on that mountain."
"Different types of animals you've never seen before," Tovin said, "Some start at like 20 feet tall."
"How do you know what I've seen?" Solace asked.
"You're not from here," Tovin replied.
"Thats for sure," she said, "Where I'm from there's a race of Brobdingnagians called Yeti. They are massive and usually stay to themselves.
"That sounds pretty cool," Tovin replied, "You have to be more careful when you talk about where you're from though.
"Why is that?" Solace asked, confused.
Tovin looked around, "Do you really want me to say it?"
"Yes, now I'm even more confused." Solace said.
Tovin leaned in and whispered, "It's pretty obvious you're a Hybrid."
Solace didn't say anything at first, she just stared at him for a moment. "What are you talki—"
Tovin chuckled, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't bother. Your secret's safe with me anyways." There was a long pause after he spoke.
"How do you know," Solace asked.
Like I said, you're not from here," Tovin said, "Even though your powers would suggest otherwise."
"What do you mean exactly," She asked.
Your abilities are completely northern, yet you're not from the north. There's only one way to explain that, you're a hybrid," Tovin said, "Well there's more than one way, but this makes the most sense."
Solace ran a hand through her hair, "Well… that's something."
"I'm ninety-eight percent sure if I poked you right now, I could poke your second heart.
Solace looked around, "Okay, okay, I get it. Shouldn't you be more freaked out, you hear how they talk about them."
Tovin smiled, "Doesn't make it true."
"You're right," Solace mumbled.
"King wonek sent me here to tell you that you're leaving this afternoon to go to King Masters Kingdom," Tovin said, "I just wanted to give you a little heads up."
"About what?" Solace asked.
"I figured you out in two minutes," Tovin said, "If I can do it I want you to think about who else can and be careful."
"Thank you, I will watch what I say closely," Solace said, "But I have to ask why help me, what's in it for you."
"Why does wanting to help mean that I'm gonna benefit?."
"That's just how hume's usually are," Solace said, "I've learned the hard way people aren't usually nice just be nice."
Tovin sighed, "I guess I can see that you want change, and maybe I want change too. I don't want to live my life like this anymore."
"What would you change about it?" Solace asked.
Tovin grinned, "Please just remember what I said, I need you to stay safe Solace." He stood up and started walking. "I have this feeling that you're gonna make change happen," he mumbled.
Solace watched him walk away. She made her way to the kitchen before she went up to Kidwild's room, her arms full of food. She knocked once, then opened the door when there was no answer. "You didn't come up for breakfast," she said, stepping inside.
Kidwild sat on the edge of the bed, hugging her knees, staring at the floor. She glanced at the food, then back at Solace.
Solace shifted, suddenly aware of how much space she was taking up. "Listen," she said, "Um, People say I'm not really good with... the social stuff, communication and—"
"Yeah…I know," Kidwild said.
Solace stopped short, "You know?"
Kidwild nodded, like this was obvious. "Yeah."
Solace tilted her head, "What do you mean, you know?"
"You're pretty awkward," Kidwild said plainly. "And you start conversations in the middle." Solace blinked, and there was a pause. "When you were walking with that other girl," Kidwild continued, " you'd just say things. No beginning or explanation, and she'd answer like she already knew what you meant. It's like you start conversations in your head or something, then finish them out loud, but only a few understand that." She pinched her nose. "I don't know how that girl does it." Solace started smirking. "You're blunt," Kidwild added. "And you say weird things with a straight face, not to mention you just blinked at me instead of actually saying anything, so I had to assume that meant continue."
Solace huffed a laugh. "Wow, I didn't know I did all that. That's actually funny," she said as she looked around the room.
Kidwild watched her for a moment, then said, "Pretty sure It means I can trust you though." Solace looked back at her. "I don't think you'd be a good liar," Kidwild said, "You'd forget which part you were supposed to hide."
Solace burst out laughing, "Yeah, that's definitely true." The tension broke and she finally set the food down. "So," Solace said, finishing what she'd come to ask, "are you coming with my crew? Or are you staying here Wildkid?"
Later that afternoon. Wine and Dine clung to Arlenna first, squeezing her tight and babbling their thanks. Then they crashed into Thiago, who nearly toppled over from how hard they hugged him. Finally, they turned to Solace, and both kids paused. They wanted to hug her, they really did, but by now, they understood her. Wine wiped her nose and held out her hand, Dine did the same beside her, trying not to cry. Solace knelt and tapped her hand against theirs, a little three part handshake they had invented.
"You better come find me when you get older and stronger!" Solace said grinning. Wine sniffed, smiling through it, but Dine outright burst into tears.
Mr. Hearthwell dropped to his knees, and pulled both children close. His voice was heavy with emotion. "Solace," he said quietly, "If you need anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to ask. I am in your debt forever." Solace shifted, uncomfortable with the weight of the words, but nodded anyway.
"It's time for us to go home too kiddos, guess who decided to come back from her trip early after hearing her kids were safe," Mr. Hearthwell said, excitedly
"MOMMY." Wine and Dine yelled, simultaneously, Mr. Hearthwell laughed.
"I want to go back to caramel island after we see mommy," Dine said.
You'd think the idea of trying to go to any island would be hard for them after what they've been through but I guess not. Then again caramel island never did anything to them, they loved it there, it wasn't their fault they got taken. "I have a lot of time off, so we can go wherever you want," Mr. Hearthwell said, and both kids shrieked. The news raised their spirits, but they were still sad to see the crew leave.
King Wonek went outside and put his hand on an Identification scanner, after it scanned his hand, a long lever came out of the ground next to him and he pushed it forward. There was a loud screeching noise, and the ground split open in two areas. Massive steel poles punched up from the first area, one after another, in a steady line driving outward. Each pole locked into place with hard metallic snaps as it stretched farther and farther toward King Master's kingdom.
A luxury Aerial-parlor-car rose from the second area. The body panels are dark metal trimmed with gold filigree, and decorative scrollwork. Tall arched windows line the Aerial-parlor-car, each glowing with warm amber light. Above it, mechanical arms and pulleys for gripping the cables. The castle gates opened with a shudder. To most people in Frostpeak, the Aerial-parlor-car was just transport, to Solace it was magic.
When they stepped outside, the Aerial-parlor-car door creaked as Thiago pulled it open. He paused, one foot still on the stone, and clicked his tongue. He glanced back at Solace. "...Why is there a child," he said slowly, "and why does this child have more tattoos than you and Arlenna combined?"
Kidwild looked up immediately, "I'm not a child."
Thiago stared at her, then at the markings running along her arms. "That did not answer the tattoo question."
"I'm thirteen," Kidwild said flatly, "That's not a child where I'm from."
Thiago turned fully toward her, eyes widening, disbelief setting in. "That is absolutely a child where I'm from."
"Do you want to fight about it?" Kidwild shot back.
Thiago jumped to his feet and grabbed fistfuls of his hair. "Why," he demanded at the sky. "Is this child threatening me?"
Kidwild crossed her arms, "You started it."
Thiago slowly looked back at her, wide eyed with his hands still in his hair, for a brief moment they just looked at each other, before Thiago took one hand and shut the door hard. His expression was torn between annoyed and exhausted. "This keeps getting worse." Thiago exhaled through his nose and looked back at Solace, waiting. Solace was facing the opposite
direction, eyes fixed on the far edge of the courtyard, shoulders suspiciously still. Her mouth was twitching, just barely. Thiago followed her line of sight, then looked back at Kidwild. "...Right," he muttered.
He stepped aside and held the door open, Arlenna went in first then Solace moved to climb in. "I'm going to strangle you," Thiago said quietly, without looking at her. Solace paused for half a second, then kept going. The hint of a grin she refused to let show.
Kidwild glanced back and forth between them, "He sounds like he means it."
"He does," Arlenna said calmly and smiled.
Thiago shut the door, and the mechanical arm reached up and connected to the suspended cables stretched between the towering poles, like an aerial tram car. It began to rise, After it reached the top, about two-hundred-fifty-feet it started to move forward. King Wonek did not ride with them, He stood beside another Aerial-parlor-car, one built to fit his frame.
Solace, Arlenna and Thiago waved goodbye violently all the way up, Wine and Dine jumped and waved until the poles curved. Mr. Hearthwell stayed long after, a hand over his heart, watching the Aerial-parlor-car disappear into the distance.
Inside, Solace stuck her head out the window again, eyes wide. "Woah, look at that rock, it's shaped like a bear!"
Arlenna grabbed the back of her shirt before she pitched forward. "Solace, inside."
Solace frowned, "But it's cute and—"
"Inside," Arlenna repeated.
Solace huffed and sat properly, for about ten seconds. Then a sound outside caught her attention, and she popped halfway out again.
Arlenna reached over and closed the window. "No falling out of the moving vehicle," she muttered.
"But everything's new..." Solace said.
The Aerial-parlor-car rolled on, and It rocked gently as it picked up speed. For a moment, no one spoke, then Solace shifted in her seat and glanced at Kidwild. "You know," she said, "your name was so cool I forgot to tell you mine." Kidwild looked at her. "I'm Solace," she said, "And this is my crew." She pointed toward Arlenna. "That's Arlenna, she's one of my Primes." Arlenna decided to smile awkwardly and gave a thumb's up. Solace pointed to the other side. "And that's Thiago, also a Prime."
"You can call him Bum, though," Arlenna added
Thiago chuckled and covered his face with his hands,"I hate all of you."
Solace kept going, "We're the Pinnacle Crew, the best crew there is."
Kidwild leaned back slightly, thinking, "So you're a dual-headed snake crew."
Solace blinked, "A what?"
"That's what they call crews with two Primes," Thiago said, "Same leader, split command."
Solace's eyes lit up. "That's so cool, I didn't even know that was a thing. It just made the most sense at the time." She leaned back, getting comfortable. "Thiago's my Hitter Prime, Arlenna's my Anchor Prime," she said, "This way I can add people as we need them, more leadership, more balance."
Kidwild studied her. "You know most dual-headed snake crews disband…or worse."
Solace tilted her head, "Why?"
"They butt heads," Kidwild said. "Too much overlap, too much ego."
Solace slid down a little, stretching her legs out in front of her. "No," she said easily. "Not this crew." Thiago smirked, and Arlenna chuckled. "We just work too well."
The land widened and the trees thickened as they crossed into the Kingdom of Oak Alley. Ahead, the region of Mighty Oakes rose into view. Arlenna took a peak outside and noticed right away it was significantly larger than Thrymmhold Summit. From their height you could see multiple outdoor markets in the streets, and a massive indoor supermarket, both packed with people.
"I hate those gigantic supermarkets," Solace said, "It's always so cold inside, the outdoor ones have better fruit anyways."
Arlenna looked over and saw solace staring out of the window again and watched for a second, "Who gave you window privileges?" Solace turned to her slowly and closed the window again.
The region of Mighty Oakes was bigger than Thrymmhold Summit, but the surrounding area was Unprepossessing. The surrounding forest was not a place you lay down just to breathe. It lacked the careful stillness of Frostpeak Dwelling, where flowers were left undisturbed and every stretch of land felt deliberately protected.
Mighty Oakes was spotless, in a polished, ceremonial way. The streets were swept, statues were scrubbed clean of neglect, and fountains ran freely as children played nearby. King Master ruled differently, but the result mirrored Frostpeak. Like King Wonek's people, respect was not demanded of King Master's citizens, it was returned.
The castle was nothing like King Wonek's. King Master's Castle was a true castle, with sweeping architecture, tall stained-glass windows, warm colors, and intricate banners hanging from every archway.
The Aerial-parlor-car stopped, and started descending slowly. Trumpets sounded and crowds gathered on both sides of the poles, cheering, and tossing petals. Arlenna already had the earmuffs waiting in her hand.
Solace watched the people through the window. Another swell of cheers rolled through the street, louder now. Solace's voice softened. "This," she said, eyes tracking the smiles and raised hands, "This is something else. I'm not getting out till King Wonek gets here."
At the end of the path, King Master stood waiting. He was short and pale, barely five foot three, with a chubby build. His hair was short on the sides, long on top and combed over. He had blue eyes that watched everything through glasses that caught the light as he lifted his head. He looked gentle, and approachable, with a beard that was neatly trimmed.
Two men walked behind him, one on each side, like planets orbiting a sun. The first man was pale and thin, around five-ten, moving with near weightless grace. Short dark blond hair lay neatly across his head, and square glasses rested low on his nose. His eyes scanned everything, every little movement, breaths in the crowd, shifts in the wind, everything.
The Fearsome King was also pale, but heavier, stockier, five-six with a thick gray beard and hair retreating under age and stress. His resting face looked angry even when he felt nothing. People didn't look at him, they looked away because instinct told them not to challenge him.
Both followed Nick Master because he earned loyalty. When he stepped forward, he looked like a king carved from confidence and clarity, the kind of man you followed because he believed in something bigger than himself. Solace felt it instantly, he did not look powerful, he felt powerful, a controlled storm wrapped in royal cloth. Nick approached with calm strides, and King Wonek's Aerial-parlor-car landed not too long after Solaces.
As King Wonek's door opened, Nick's face broke into a smile. "Wonek!" He stepped forward and pulled King Wonek into a firm, brotherly hug. The crowd reacted instantly, cheers rising louder.
King Wonek patted his back, stepped aside, and greeted the two men beside King Master. King Wonek turned to Solace and her crew, gesturing them forward. "Master Nick," he said, "allow me to introduce the Sovereign I told you about, Solace and the pinnacle crew.