Flurries of snow diminished all senses. A blustering, eternal blizzard. And the gray cold—it seeped into every pore, petrifying you from the inside out. You were part of a crucial high-stakes mission in the North wilderness, where no one could survive the night in the abyss of hostile elements and ferocious creatures.

The Orora were the most harrowing of the wilderness’ perils, though. You’d only heard of them in campfire stories—an arcane, cultish, savage tribe that captured “intruders” in their lands and tortured them extensively before cooking their flesh. You’d convinced yourself it was only a legend, that only recklessness explained the mysterious disappearances in these woods. You’d be fine.

Or so you thought. A storm struck, one that raged on, and not without separating you from the group. You couldn’t tell if it had been months or days since your disappearance—you’d staked out with the materials you had on hand, hunting and fur trapping so you wouldn’t starve and freeze, praying to be saved.

You were petrified by the chill and your fear. You heard noises one night. Your matches weren’t lighting, and your fingers froze. But the shouts grew closer. Cries and shrieks. Only when they surrounded you, carrying their torches, did you grasp it—the Orora were real. You screamed in vain for help, but they knocked you out instantly.

You awoke lying in the snow, more falling on you. They stood in a hostile circle around you—identical, with pale skin, silvery hair, piercing icy eyes. They were covered in intricate designs of white and blue paint, naked save for the animal skins and furs draped over their loins and shoulders.

The chief stood at the head. He was a stone giant, the only one with intricate markings on his face as well. He stalked towards you, cowering in the snow, utter contempt on his face as he chanted something in their language. The rest rushed towards you until a boy—who had been standing beside him at the head, smaller but with the same markings—rushed out and protested. The rest backed off, and the two fought. What now?