The crisis of the Root Cellar had passed, but the energy in Winter-Hold was still tight. The adults were locked away in strategy meetings, arguing over maps and old grudges.
Which left the children with exactly one directive: "Go play. Don't freeze. Don't break anything."
They took this order very seriously.
In the snow-covered training grounds, two mighty empires were rising.
On the left side stood Vali's Kingdom of Chaos.
It wasn't a fort. It was a pile. Vali had used his supernatural strength to roll massive, uneven boulders of snow into a lumpy mound. It had three tunnels (two of which had already caved in), a "Watchtower" that leaned dangerously to the left, and a flag made from one of Orion's spare scarves tied to a stick.
"LOOK AT IT!" Vali yelled, standing on top of his wobbly creation. "IT'S HUGE! NOBODY CAN GET IN!"
On the right side stood Astrid's Citadel.
