This is just to give you a general idea...
You don't really need to read this section; you can skip straight to chapter 1... but if you're someone who has a lot of questions later on, here you'll find a simplified structure of the world and levels of power.
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The World:
Let's imagine a world covered not only by snow, but by a cold so ancient that it devoured colors and seasons. Three continents form it, separated by frozen crevasses so deep that no one has seen their end. Large cities remain on dry land, while small floating cities move along with the flow of the surrounding Gelio.
At the center lies a sunken continent, marked by an enormous crater, a place where Gelio is almost non-existent and Nif stagnates like a dormant poison; even the beasts prefer to circle around it rather than enter.
The Cities:
In this frozen world, the surviving human race is divided between a few floating fortresses and terrestrial settlements.
Seen from above, the aerial fortresses are divided into three main types: the mining Gamma, the resource-producing Royal's, and the civilian cities, Heaven. They form a scattered pattern across the snow-covered continents.
On land, far from the shelter of the sky, small walled settlements rise up, inhabited by the marked, people who lost part of their humanity in order to survive the snowy world.
These terrestrial fortresses remain isolated among mountains, crevasses, and snowy forests, resisting the freezing climate and the energy that flows beneath the surface.
From above, the whole scene—the skies, the earth, and the great crater located in the center of the ocean—composes a landscape as vast as it is inhospitable, yet perfectly ordered according to its own natural logic.
Contrast between Cities:
Gamma: The floating strongholds of absolute neutrality. Here there are no nobles or marked ones, only hard work and hot metal. Their task is simple to explain and difficult to do: extract, process, and distribute minerals, metals, and tools to all the other floating cities. If there is a shovel, a gear, or a beam in the sky, chances are it was born in a Gamma. They answer to no power in Heaven and no earthly stronghold, and perhaps that is why everyone depends on them... even if no one admits it out loud.
Royal's: The islands of life. While the rest of the world is covered in snow and silence, here they produce vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, leather, and everything organic that can still grow or be raised in this frozen world. They are small settlements, meticulously maintained and guarded like treasures. "We feed the sky," they say... and it's no exaggeration. Without them, neither Heaven nor Gamma would be able to survive for more than a few weeks.
Heaven: The cities of the privileged. Tall, bright, and covered by gigantic domes of tempered glass. This is where the upper class resides, the influential merchants, the protectors, and those who can afford a place where the cold cannot reach them. They are the only floating fortresses with direct support from the mainland, making them the political center of the skies. From here, rules, alliances, and uncomfortable silences are dictated. Living in Heaven is not just about survival: it is about having the guarantee that the world still owes you something.
Land Orders: Fortified cities that still cling to the old era. Built on the bones of a world before the Great Snowfall, their walls tell stories that no one wants to remember. Here dwell the marked ones, beings who seek to develop their strength to claim a place at the top of the devastated world. They are bastions of discipline, power, and ambition, where the cold is not as dangerous as internal rivalries.
Underground Towns: Hiding places of silence. Small underground settlements, dug into natural caves or deep crevices, are home to those who seek only a peaceful life, far from the tensions of the surface and the disputes of the sky. They do not produce large quantities or have great defenses, but they offer something more valuable: tranquility. If you don't make a sound, time passes without the world noticing you.
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The Great Crater:
Imagine a colossal crater. Now imagine yourself surrounded by grayish ice spikes, breathing energy as if it were a sleeping monster... and in the center, a bottomless hole from which pure Gelio springs forth, enough to crush even a seasoned veteran.
The pressure is so brutal that no one can get close; metal, bone, and willpower break before reaching the inner edge. There is no ecosystem, no paths, no ruins to explore—only a living abyss that recalls, with every pulse of energy, the incident that froze the world.
That's why no one goes in.
And that's why no one wants to know what's at the bottom.
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The Protagonist:
Amidst all the cold, mechanical grandeur of Gamma 3, we have Kyle, a 13-year-old boy whose life changed completely the day tragedy took away more than any child should ever lose... and left him with something no one expected: the Mark of the Nevada.
He was an exemplary student, the kind who could solve mental calculations before the teacher had even finished asking them, but his body was still too thin for the forge, where his father spent hours shaping incandescent metal or mining outside the city.
Kyle lived more in his head than in his hands... until the fall of his home led him to the mark he had obtained.
Since then, he has carried a tattoo of snow that should not exist, a living symbol that breathes cold and changed his destiny forever.
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Dangers of the World:
The Great Snowfall:
The Great Snowfall is an annual and inevitable event. An unnatural grayish snow falls from the skies, unlike any other, loaded with a very high concentration of Gelio Energy.
This snowfall doesn't just cover the world: it transforms it.
Those who come into direct contact with the gray snow see the Nevada Mark awaken in their bodies, an irreversible process that alters their appearance and robs them of part of their humanity, turning them into the marked. It is neither a blessing nor a clear curse: it is a forced change, imposed by the world itself.
However, not everyone can resist.
For those unable to withstand the pressure of the Gelio, body and soul fracture, leaving behind an empty shell. These living ruins wander without consciousness or purpose, transformed into Snow Walkers, walking reminders that the Great Snowfall forgives no mistakes.
Snow walkers:
They are the result of total corruption by the Great Snowstorm, caused by their inability to withstand the power of "Gelia energy", causing their bodies to fragment, thus changing their nature and energy into "Nif Essence". These zombie-like abominations, composed of snow, ice, and frost, pursue and attack the living. Nif Essence is the energy they leave behind when defeated, a tempting but highly corrupting source of power.
Snow Creatures:
Animals mutated by the Great Snowfall have transformed into ferocious "Snow Creatures". Their strength level is determined by the number of frost points they have on their own Snow Mark. The more points they have, the greater their intelligence, size, and strength, making it dangerous to encounter these beings in their developed stages.
Absence of Traditional Fire:
Since the world changed, fire could no longer be produced, as the air temperature suffocated even the smallest spark. In this frozen world, igneous rocks are the only mineral capable of generating heat and are essential for everything (cooking, heating, technology). These rocks function similarly to plants, absorbing the surrounding cold to emit heat, making them an "infinite" resource in terms of reuse, but scarce in their initial location. Igneous rock mines are vital strategic points, sources of conflict and ambition.
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Snow Marks:
The Snow Mark is a direct manifestation of Gelio Energy, awakened during the Great Nevada. It appears as a nine-pointed frost tattoo, engraved on the wearer's skin as if the cold itself had left its signature. It is neither ink nor wound: it is living ice, an energetic scar that cannot be erased.
Crystallization and Progress:
The power of the Mark does not grow immediately or linearly. Its progress depends on the internal crystallization of Gelio within the body of the marked.
Each Degree consists of nine internal crystals of Gelia Energy, which are formed progressively:
3 crystals → Novice Level
6 crystals → Intermediate Level
9 crystals → Peak of the Grade
When the nine crystals of a Grade stabilize, the Gelio crystallizes outward, forming a hard frost crust on one of the tips of the tattoo.
Each activated crust represents a complete Degree and is physical proof that cannot be concealed or falsified.
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The Nine Degrees of Frost Crusts:
The complete path of the Marking is divided into nine Degrees, each associated with the activation of a point on the Mark. As one advances, the body grows stronger... and humanity grows colder.
Awakened
The birth of the Mark. The body is just beginning to withstand the Gelio.
Snow Adept
The marked can consciously channel energy, although it remains unstable.
Icy Warrior
The Mark is no longer passive. The body enters a stage of unnatural strengthening.
Frost Warrior
The flow of Gelio stabilizes. Most useful Marked reach this point.
Winter General
A Marked capable of leading and surviving in lethal areas. No longer replaceable.
General of White Silence
The cold ceases to be an enemy and becomes an extension of the body. The presence of these Marked commands respect.
Throne of Ice
Beings whose existence dominates the battlefield. Their power alters the environment itself.
Sovereign of Gelio
The marked no longer uses the Mark: they embody it. Humanity becomes a distant memory.
Snowy Abyss (myth)
There are no confirmed records. It is believed that whoever activates the ninth point ceases to belong to the world... or becomes its core.
Failure to Advance to the Next Grade:
Not all bodies can withstand the crystallization of Gelio.
When the process fails, the body and soul fracture, leaving an empty shell that wanders without consciousness or will, becoming a zombie, a "Snow Walker."
Energies of the World:
Gelia Energy
Gelia Energy is the fundamental energy of the world, the force that replaced everything that existed before the Great Snowfall. It is neither magic nor an artificial resource: it is the natural state of reality under the dominion of eternal cold.
It flows constantly through the atmosphere, the earth, the currents of the sky, and living bodies. Everything that exists interacts with Gelio, although only a few can consciously assimilate it. In most beings, Gelio acts passively, shaping the environment; in the marked, it crystallizes and becomes power.
The Snow Mark is how the world recognizes those capable of withstanding greater Gelio pressure. It is not a blessing, but a sign of compatibility. The greater the integration, the stronger the body... and the more distant the carrier's humanity becomes.
Nif Essence
Nif Essence is the dead energy of the world, the corrupt residue that arises when Gelio loses its natural balance. It does not flow or renew itself; it stagnates, accumulates, and contaminates everything it touches.
Nif is the direct equivalent of dead energy:
a distorted manifestation, born of collapse, despair, and excess.
When a living being cannot withstand the pressure of the Gelio, its energy structure fractures. The internal Gelio decomposes and gives rise to the Nif, transforming the individual into a Snow Walker: a vessel of corrupted energy, without identity or purpose.
Although it can be absorbed by the marked, its use causes progressive erosion of the body and mind, accelerating the loss of humanity and bringing the user closer to the same fate as the Walkers.
Additional Notes:
In the world, there are very few men who have achieved the rank of "Sovereign of Gelio," and they can be counted on one hand.