The registration area was a little meadow. A simple-clothed doll stood in the middle, having Jian Lin’s features. Pre-selected as always was human. The empty data field was hovering next to him, where information would be filled in as he changed things.

It had been such a long time since he had last seen this that Jian Lin felt a bit emotional. The same excitement as back then bubbled up again, so he took a few breaths to calm himself down.

[tn content="Jian Lin had thrown a dice before on what his new race would be."]Yes, he actually did. Or, well, I did.[/tn]

He didn’t like dwarves, so it was a throw between human, elf, beastman and… specifically, wolf beastman, because Xi Yang had whined about it.

To his surprise, he ended up rolling exactly that.

[Please select a race.]

[Beastman - wolf selected.]

[Do you wish to adjust your specifications?]

Jian Lin selected the random throw for colours and kept his height, weight and looks as they were.

Because his hair had grown a bit longer, it was the same in his beastman form. The beastman who looked back at him had dark green, almost black eyes and golden-brown fur that grew into pure white ends, giving him something of a shimmering halo. Both ears moved around slowly. The furry hair was long and floofy, making him think of a wolf with a thick winter coat.

Jian Lin checked the stats he had gotten - it only displayed the stats with his racial bonus already.

[Strength: 14

Agility: 18

Intelligence: 15

Luck: 19]

Ah, his luck had stayed the same. His agility was acceptable now, at least he could fight with that and not be a complete hindrance. However, as a beastman, he wouldn’t be able to play a mage anymore.

Well. Maybe it was time for a change.

[Please choose a username]

Jian Lin had long considered what his name would be, but in the end, the decision was spontaneous. The only thing he didn’t want to give up was the name everyone called him by.

[...Entered Golden Leaf framed with Ice. Nickname is still available.]

[Do you wish to confirm this character?]

[Warning! You cannot change anything after confirming!]

[Please confirm again.]

[Confirmation successful.]

In front of Jian Lin, the beastman tilted his head up a bit, dark eyes focusing on him.

“Hello, Little Ice”, Jian Lin whispered to himself before the world turned dark.

When he opened his eyes again, his footing was unstable.

All around him, various people were having trouble standing up straight - some toppled over directly. Everyone was wearing the same basic tunic design.

Golden Leaf framed with Ice felt the ears on his head move. He touched them as he made his way to the edge of the ship, looking out into the vast ocean.

It was dark blue, an almost threatening colour. The kind where you couldn’t help but see shadows move everywhere.

Shuddering, he retreated.

The ship with which the newbies were brought to the beginners’ village was huge. Numerous NPCs, sailors, were walking around to keep everything in order. When talked to, they mostly ignored the players or reacted with annoyance.

Nothing had changed from back then, when he had first registered.

A bit curious, Ice ended up approaching the area of the ship’s private quarters. Although you could see the sailors, you never once saw the captain, so he was wondering if there was a possibility of catching a glimpse.

Through the windows, he could spot a singular figure. The man was huge and broad like a bear, with thick black hair tied messily together and a large beard.

Noticing Ice, the captain turned his head towards him, a thick eyebrow raising. From this angle, there was a small hint of horns sticking out of his dark hair. The captain raised a hand in half a salute before returning into the depths of his chambers.

“A demon”, Ice whispered to himself. This would mean that, maybe, demons were directly related to the beginning of Haven, as they were a race able to traverse the ocean as well as they were found living around Tiamat.

Satisfied with his discovery, Ice returned to the front of the ship to wait for Solstice to come into view.

Excited newbies were chatting all around him, some in groups, some alone. Hearing about Haven and experiencing it yourself was quite the difference, so they couldn’t hold back their nervosity.

Out of the new players, one stood out in particular. Ice glanced at him from the edge of his eyes.

It was another beastman, a reptile. Some scales, a venomous green, were shining on his face. His silver hair was a mess, partially covering his shining dark green eyes. Like a predator, they were gleaming out from under the light-coloured strands.

All in all, the man was… pretty scary.

Thick arms crossed, he stood at the side like an ancient warrior waiting for the next challenger. He was steady on his feet despite the waves.

Out of instinct to avoid trouble, Ice kept away from him.

A while later, at the same time as usual, the ship docked. Most players rushed down, so Ice waited until most were out of the way until he descended himself, glancing around for a familiar face.

In the end, there were two familiar faces.

Dead Rabbit pointed at Ice the moment he saw him, while Bloodless Sunset directly darted forward, through the crowd. He jumped at Ice, who miraculously wasn’t thrown over. Arms around his… boyfriend’s waist, Ice steadied both of them.

“You’re back! And a wolf! This is awesome!” Bloody could hardly control himself. Tail wagging, he held Ice tight. His warm breath tickled in Ice’s ears, making them twitch. “This felt like forever!”

Ice hummed a low reply.

Dead Rabbit came running as well, dragging his brother back. “Stop clinging to him! Control yourself!”

In return, Bloody merely whined. “Oh, be quiet! I can cling to him as much as I like until he says to stop it!”

The brothers began bickering while a third, cloaked figure slowly approached. Ice had noticed them standing near Bloody, but hadn’t realized they were part of the group. Shuffling forward nervously, the person peeked out from under the too large hood.

Surprised, Ice’s eyes widened. His face softened as he recognized the person. “Ithiel.”

The NPC elf flinched softly. He took another step closer, giving a formal bow. “U-Uhm… Hello. I-I hope you don’t mind me being here?”

“Right! Totally forgot. Was kinda a spontaneous action.” Bloody started to babble, interrupting the NPC. “So, I was at the Lythian Forest to tell him you were returning, and he asked to come along. He wants to-”

“Xi Yang?”

A dark, low voice broke Bloody’s words.

The reptilian beastman from the ship came over with a long stride. His mere presence was making other players step back, but having him approach with a frown on his face had both Ice and the poor frightened Ithiel almost turn tail and run.

“Long Xin!” To the two’s confusion and surprise, Bloody didn’t feel threatened. Instead he crossed the last bit between them, roughly hitting the player’s shoulder. “Didn’t know you’d come today! Why didn’t you inform me?”

Long Xin, the reptile, creased his brows further. “I didn’t think about it.”

Bloody dragged the man over.

“Time for introductions, I guess! This here is my cousin, Long Xin. Long Xin, this is Ice - the former Ice Emperor - and that there is Ithiel.” Realizing something, Bloody tilted his head. “Ah, wait. I can’t call you Ice anymore, can I?”

“Golden Leaf framed in Ice”, Ice replied with a hint of a smile. “I kept it in my name.”

“That’s great!” Once more - just for good measure and because he could - Bloody wrapped his arms around Ice’s shoulders, nuzzling their faces together. Dead Rabbit made a disgusted face at the display of affection.

“I’m Huntsman”, the reptile rumbled. The name was in use already, Ice knew, so it was likely only part of it.

Frankly speaking, Huntsman was hardly what Ice had imagined when Bloody had talked about his good-guy cousin with a phobia of dogs. He was a good bit more scary, the name oddly fitting.

At this moment, Ithiel felt forced to join the introduction. He was visibly nervous, almost timid, but he persevered. “I-I’m Ithiel. I’m a librarian at the Lythian Forest. It’s nice to meet you…”

He pushed his cloak back, revealing his face and held out his hand to shake Huntsman’s.

The past weeks of stress had taken some of his weight, making him look a tiny bit sickly. Paired with his big, watery eyes, the cute freckles and oversized cloak…

Huntsman twitched. He raised his hand ever so slowly, taking Ithiel’s as if it was made out of porcelain. He made an effort to relax his tense facial muscles, making it worse in the process. “Hello.”

The sight reminded everyone of a large carnivore meeting with a little chick.

With how carefully he was greeting Ithiel, the reptile appeared a good less scary from one second to the next.

Bloody stuck to Ice, watching the scene. All around them, newbies who had left later had stopped walking, squinting at their group. “We are kinda catching everyone’s attention. maybe we should go somewhere else?”

Dead Rabbit rolled his eyes. “Of course you’re catching attention. You’re a famous ranker clinging to a newbie. The internet is going to be full of pictures in a few hours.”

“I am already prepared for a long and odd war of explaining that I am not cheating on Ice with Ice, without mentioning that Ice is Ice.”

Huntsman was visibly confused.

“We’ll give you a rundown later”, Bloody offered.