Frostbound

Edward Halstead

St. Louis

Headquarters of the Historian's Society

The usual sounds of scribes writing down information or the shuffling of parchment on parchment were absent. The scruff of scribbling pens had been absent many days as of late. Most of the Society had been sent out and they weren't so large that they had enough people remaining to keep the library staffed.

Not that the work didn't go on, Edward made sure of that. His newest evolution made him able to do the work of dozens, and even Cassandra could chip in if he got behind.

His lovely wife would help if it was needed, as they both knew the work was that important.

Back before the world became a video game, Edward was an archaeologist. His wife too, but in a different specialization. That was how they first met, even though that felt like a lifetime ago.

After being forcefully yanked away from his office in the Smithsonian, he came back to disaster. The hidden histories of so many civilizations were destroyed. Things they were working to unearth or things they hadn't even found yet, gone.

So many things were lost, all because of magic and mana.

He hated it at first. It was illogical, but he couldn't help it. Magic was the cause of losing what he'd loved, and so he had directed his anger at it. It wasn't until Cassandra pulled him out of it that he understood. That he grasped what his future entailed.

He was still bitter and sulking about how everything had changed when she gave him a new path.

"You spent your life digging up the past, Eddie, and while I'm sorry about what happened, you are missing the bigger picture."