Report of the Mage Ardyn Frostgaze – On the Warm Zone Experiment

I write this report not to provide answers, but to pose questions—questions that may extend beyond our time. The expeditions that began only a few years ago have challenged our community in ways unseen since the Exodus. The green plains beyond the ice, with their scattered shrubs and resilient animal herds, offered a glimpse of something new. A world unfamiliar to us, yet undeniably fascinating.  

The First Steps – Hides and Shelters

At first, we attempted to wrap the plants and animals in hides, sheltering them in small frozen dwellings—miniature igloos, if you will. This method seemed a practical solution at first, but it failed just as quickly as the foreign lifeforms themselves.   Suppose we could teach the ice to embrace warmth rather than repel it—would that not be a way to preserve these new lifeforms?  

The Warm Zone – A Space Beyond the Ice

With the aid of magic, we created something I would call a “Warm Zone”—a protected space where cold is kept at bay, allowing plants and animals to thrive. The experiment was both a triumph and a mystery. The lifeforms began to grow and flourish, yet for us—the children of ice—this space became an impassable barrier. The humid warmth weighed heavily upon our bodies, and only Rune Warriors and Mages could work within it, protected by their magic.   If cold is our home and heat a foreign force, how could these two worlds ever be united? Are there runes that could help us endure warmth, or spells that might make it tolerable for us?  

Life in the Warm Zone – Hope and Contradiction

The shrubs grew. Tiny saplings pushed forth tentative leaves, and animals moved strong and secure through the Warm Zone. There was a strange beauty in observing these foreign beings. They were what we had never known, yet also what we could never be.   The question remains: Can we force them to accept our cold? Or must we force ourselves to endure their warmth?   If we find a way to bridge the boundaries, would that be a new symbiosis, or would we once again fail because we are attempting to change ourselves?  

Conclusion – The First Step Is Never the Last

There is no certainty in our efforts, no guarantee of success. Yet even failure holds value, if it forces us to keep moving, to keep thinking. The Warm Zone may be a solution, or it may be another dead end. But as long as we continue asking questions, we do not remain still, and as long as we do not remain still, we remain alive.   The expeditions we continue are a reflection of this drive. We seek not only hardier plants and animals—we seek ways to renew ourselves without losing who we are.   For the future, Mage Ardyn Frostgaze