Even as his arms burned where they held her, even as the steam scalded his face, even as fear clawed at his throat and screamed that this wasn't working, that he'd brought her here to die in a different way.
"Vor'kai isen thara,
Keth'ven moryl vask,
Drae'kor sethan'ui,
Voraeth isen'kora VAI."
...
Answer fire with winter,
Balance heat with endless cold,
Let ice and flame find serenity,
Let winter CONQUER.
The final word wasn't spoken... it was commanded.
Layered with so much power that the cave itself vibrated, that crystals shattered and reformed, that the steam was blown back by sheer force of will made audible.
And the river responded.
Cold flooded in.
Not from the edges. Not gradually.
All at once, from every direction simultaneously, as though the entire pool had decided enough and mobilized with military precision.
