Energy has existed for much longer than 'him', and ever since humans learned to think, they learned how to manipulate that energy. With time, this energy manipulation came to be known as magic.
Of course, the first humans could do very little with this magic. The most talented would use the wind to fuel a fire, while the others would carry that fire around to keep themselves warm. When one of them got careless and set fire to a hut, they still had to bring water to put it out. Magic worked, but only if they caught on in time, for a fire as big as a hut was way too much for the people of old.
However, geniuses know no age, and when a genius is born, the world is bound to face change.
At first, there was no thing such as a representative, for there was no thing such as a god. The strongest beings to walk the Earth were called elemental beasts, and they each represented a basic element. Those beasts were bound to walk alone for as long as they lived, never to meet one another, for having two elements collide could break the continent in half with ease.
Still, just like when a genius appears, coincidences of many kinds could occur, and it was one of those coincidences that reshaped the world long before 'he' was around.
In a cave at the southern pole of the world, buried in thick snow, there stood a bear of an immaculate white. No, that bear was in truth almost fully transparent, the white coming from the snow reflecting on its fur.
That snow hadn't always been there either. In fact, the South Pole itself was much smaller just a couple of weeks prior. It had been 14 days since the bear cub had been born, and in those 14 days, the first glacial era of the planet started.
On that continent made of ice, only two other beings walked unbothered. As fate would have it, both of them were bears. One of them was of a grayish brown, having stones and dirt float around it as if it were shedding them.
The other one was a sweaty bear. Or that's what it would look like to somebody who didn't know any better, but that bear was actually the water elemental beast.
It was a coincidence that those two beasts were both bears. It was also a coincidence that they met, and it was a bigger coincidence that they got along so well.
The coincidences piled up, and soon, a new bear was born—one to carry an element that should have never existed in its pure form. That bear was the ice bear, and its birth represented the first time the planet itself felt cold.
The balance had been disrupted that day, and it would have taken many ages for it to be restored. That is, if another coincidence hadn't played its part.
The ice bear continued to wreak havoc upon the lands it crossed, not by ill will, but because that was all it could do. Wherever it set foot, its body absorbed all of the surrounding heat. The belt closing off the southern pole of the planet hadn't even been given the name of a nation yet, but everyone who walked those lands had no choice but to flee or freeze on the spot.
Small tribes were chased away one by one only because the bear walked where it felt like. Its parents had long abandoned the nest, each of them going their own way the second they felt their presence was needed somewhere else. Only the young ice bear was left.
Now a grown adult, but with no idea how to control his energy, the bear walked without a care in the world. He was a youngster with nowhere to be but with plenty to ravage. By now, the deep freeze was passing the southern belt.
Or it would have, were it not for another coincidence to occur.
*****
A hidden valley between the cliffs. A place where the sun shone kindly and a small spring delivered cold water from a mysterious cave.
"Wait—"
A warning from Giulia that came too late and a dip of that fresh water meant to quench Randulfr's thirst.
"It's cold. It feels so fresh!"
A nod and a confirmation that the water was crisp.
"And look at this grass!"
A joyful exclamation followed by hands spread to the sides with palms open.
"Giulia… This may be it!"
A declaration to end a long search. An ending that felt abrupt for one but meant sweet relief for another.
"…are you sure this is…"
A hint of doubt and a glance at a cave from which cold air seeped.
"Of course! We just have to seal that entrance! Imagine how useful it will be in summer!"
Excitement and hope at a future meant to be spent alone.
For him, it was what he had always wished for.
For 'him,' it was a place away from danger.
Be it a fulfilling life lived until the end or a chance to hone 'his' skills to face 'his' true enemy, 'he' was welcoming it.
"As long as you let me go out and hunt once in a while…"
A voice coming from his inside, accepting the terms as long as they pointed towards survival.
"Imagine what a life we can live here! Imagine raising our children—"
Words spoken by an excited man without much thought. Words that made blood rush to the surface in a woman's cheeks.
"Our what? …"
A question coming from a confused lady.
"What do you mean our children?"
A step back, then another.
"Giulia… wait… It was a slip of—"
"So that's what you really had in mind?"
Miscommunication. Or maybe just a lack of mutual understanding.
"No. Not at all. I can explain. Just wait!"
A request and a will to set things right. But how could he explain that he had envisioned a future with a woman who had met him mere days ago? He couldn't. Whatever Randulfr said at that moment couldn't right the wrong. In a mere moment, with a mere word, the serene calm was turned upside down.
Giulia took another step back. Forgetting about the dead bear in the middle of the glade, she tripped over it and fell on her back.
"Giulia! Are you all right—"
"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"
Randulfr felt his blood run cold. So cold, in fact, that it froze him on the spot.
Without taking her eyes off the man, Giulia got up and started backing up again.
"If you take one more step…" she said, picking up a sharp rock and pointing it at her own neck.
Panic. Randulfr was panicking. Visions ran through his mind of building a happy family with Giulia for many lives now, yet the moment he felt the closest to having such a dream come true, the woman threatened him with her own life.
He looked at her. The woman's body told a sad story. The scars and the muscles on her told the man what she'd gone through, but they hadn't told him everything.
"Haha… HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Irony. The Murdering Wolf laughed at this irony. He laughed, for the woman whom he had almost killed not long ago was now determined to die by her own hand.
No, such was not the Murdering Wolf's nature. He wasn't one to say "I was right!" and laugh in someone's face. The Murdering Wolf was smart. He was cunning, and he wouldn't let himself be deceived by wishes, for people who fall into this trap are prone to dying soon after.
"What? Did you think she'd fall in love with you just like that? Don't tell me…did you think it was love at first sight? HAH! Maybe for you!"
The Murdering Wood was right. The one who had been naive was none other than Randulfr.
'He' knew Giulia. What's more, 'he' knew that Giulia had once fallen in love with him.
"But that isn't now…"
Confidence that pushed one to rash decisions. Randulfr had noticed the woman's issues, and acknowledged them already.
What he didn't do, however, was take them into account. He knew that Giulia had issues, but he didn't try to find out what those issues were. What's more, he brushed over them as if the one targeted by the woman's issue was not Giulia, but Randulfr himself.
"Now isn't that a bit selfish…"
Ridicule that made him want to rip out his own tongue.
When that thought crossed Randulfr's mind, the Murdering Wolf fell silent. Having dangerous thoughts emerge was not his goal. He had gotten what he wanted. He had exposed the man's stupidity, so he could retreat into the deepest corner of his mind, ready to emerge were things to take a dangerous turn.
Unfortunately, hiding away in a dark corner wasn't an option for Randulfr. Even moving wasn't an one right now. His own stupidity had brought him there, and the man wasn't lucky enough that he could run from his own mistakes.
"Giulia… don't go there…"
Ignorance that brought forth lies was now catching up. The man had lied to himself, for deep down he knew that something was wrong with that cave. He could feel it, but Giulia could not.
Randulfr was standing between her and the exit, so the Giulia ran into the cave without looking back. After all, since Randulfr didn't fear it, there should be no reason to avoid going there. The cave had her master's approval.
Only when the girl faded into the dark cold cave did Randulfr mindlessly rush in too.
*****
A pair of eyes high above and a sly grin on his face.
A sign that came from a scout.
An order to stand by.
Lastly, a shadow watching from above as those two entered the cave.