ã€ŠA Journey Through Frost and Snowã€‹


 Chapter 1: The Frozen Throne

    ¡°So cold.¡± I was shivering, even though I was bundled up as warm as I could be; it just felt like the wind ran right through my coat. ¡°Come now Adam, don¡¯t give up, we¡¯re almost there, so close I can almost taste it.¡± Eric was the only one in the group who had energy left. Levai looked at Eric with a slight sense of dismay. ¡°Eric, you have said that over and over for weeks now. How long do you expect us to stay in these god forsaken mountains?¡± Levai was at his wits end, not that he was the only one. We all left on this expedition with hopes of adventure and glory. What we got was very different. We lost four friends to these mountains and were almost out of food. The cold was horrible and eating us alive. Not much longer till we all just collapse.

    ¡°What is that?¡± Eric suddenly pointed up towards the peak. We all looked and suddenly I felt it; the rush of blood, the heat returning to my body. I knew we were close to what we were looking for. We could see the top of the mountain and at it, two large statues, each facing each other. One was of a stout and burly man with a ragged mane of hair and the sword as tall as he was. The other was a limp looking man in a long overcoat and a similar mane of hair. They were just like I remember from the drawings in my grandpa¡¯s old notebook. The gates were large and ornait with intricate artwork as ancient as the earth itself, maybe even older.

    As I stood there gaping I felt Eric run by me, he was sprinting headlong through the blizzard to the large gate. Levai and I followed. ¡°Hold it Eric, slow down a bit,¡± I yelled out at him. Levai and I, despite the adrenalin, were still extremely tired from the whole day of climbing, while we tried to follow we could not keep up with Eric¡¯s sudden speed. Finally, we reached the gate and stood behind Eric, our mouths agape. We must be the first modern humans, the first to bare witness to such a spectacle. The gates that my grandpa always spoke of dreaming about, that he had searched for his whole life. Here we stood, at the culmination of his life''s work.

    ¡°Alright, Adam. Do you still have that key on you?¡± Eric looked right at me; I could see the excitement in his eyes. I reached for the chain on my neck, feeling the metal key remove itself from under my coat. I removed the necklace and walked towards the door. ¡°Hurry up Adam,¡± Eric yelled at me. I ignored him. I had waited my whole life for this moment. I was not going to let some yelling ruin it. ¡°Hush Eric, I''m going.¡±

    I touched the ancient gate. It was warm despite the blizzard currently raging. I ran my hand along the seam where the two gate doors met and felt it, a small hold. I wiped away the frost that was covering the hole, my breath getting heavier with every passing breath. I looked down at the key and in one motion inserted the key, turning it with a small clank. A loud rumble that could be heard for kilometers roared from within the doors. I stood back and watched as the massive gates slowly opened, a loud creaking noise coming from the massive meter long hinges of the ancient gate.

    After several moments, the gates finally finished opening. I took off my backpack and fumbled around in it for a moment. Levai looked at me confused. ¡°What are you looking for Adam?¡± From within my backpack I pulled an old musty, leather book. The name Aden B. Lord was written on the side. I looked down at my grandpa¡¯s leatherbound notebook. It was this book that allowed us to get this far. I opened it and ruffled through the old pages, making sure no snow got on it. Finally I found what I was looking for. ¡°Look here you two,¡± I said as I held the book so they could both see.

    Inside the pages I flipped to was a set of old hand-drawn maps, levels upon levels of floors were drawn showing halls and great dining rooms. ¡°What are these old drawings, ¡°Eric asked, clearly more interested in exploring the old structure than he was in the drawings. ¡°Don¡¯t be a dolt Eric. Can you not see what these are? These are maps my grandfather, Aden, drew,¡± I said to Eric. We all knew that he was more of the physical type versus an academic so it came as little surprise that he took almost no interest in such diagrams and drawings. ¡°Ok, so you have some old maps, what of it.¡± Eric was clearly not impressed.

    Levai was incredibly interested in the maps, he being the exact inverse of Eric. ¡°Eric, you fool. These are maps of this dungen, what else did you think they were, random doodles.¡± I looked at Levai and reminded him, ¡°Levai, we can¡¯t say for sure this is a dungeon.¡± He looked at me in disbelief. ¡°What do you mean it is not a dungen? Any ancient structure that might have treasure or monsters in it is of course a dungeon.¡± He was always making dungeon and dragons comparisons to real life. I wanted to remind him monsters did not exist in real life but held my tongue. No point in continuing this pointless discussion, though it did bring back memories of when we all would would gather in my grandpa¡¯s study as children and play tabletop RPGs till late at night, my grandpa at his desk, smoking his pipe as we played, quietly watching us.

    Looking back on the situation in front of us, I walked forward, silently leading the group through the gates. ¡°Adam!!!¡± I jumped as my name was said loudly very suddenly and looked behind me. ¡°What''s wrong?¡± Eric and Levai both looked at me bewildered. ¡°We didn¡¯t say anything,¡± Eric stated, looking rather confused. ¡°Maybe a combination of excitement, hunger and exhaustion is giving you hallucinations,¡± Levai said jokingly. ¡°I could have sworn I heard someone call my name,¡± I muttered quietly to myself. I turned back around and continued onward.

    ***

    As we moved deeper through the long, labyrinthian like halls, I made sure to cross reference our surroundings to my grandpa¡¯s maps. Levai asked in wonder, ¡°I am amazed at the accuracy with which Mr. Aden drew those maps. How did he get ahold of all this information Adam?¡± I looked back at him. ¡°No idea, he never shared his work with anyone. He would always leave on long trips and return with bunches of old scrolls, books and tablets. I am guessing he got the info from those.¡± ¡°Enough talk, let''s keep moving,¡± Eric said, obviously getting restless at the slow pace we were moving at.

    We continued onward and deeper. Corridors and stairs, long hallways and large dining halls. As we went, I think all of us came to shared conclusion. After hours of marching, we sat down for a break, rationing out the little bits of food we had left. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is just some old set of ruins Adam,¡± Levai said with his mouth full of food. ¡°I think we all knew that at this point Levai,¡± Eric said. I nodded in agreement. ¡°This is not a ruin or some timeworn building, this is a palace of immense size and girth. This was a place for royalty and the highest echelon of some ancient society,¡± I declared. Levai got up and moved to the wall, running his hand along it. ¡°Look at these, they are covered in carvings,¡± he said. ¡°Thousands of years, if not more, they have been locked up and yet they show not a single day of age, as if they were carved just yesterday.¡± Eric and I both looked around and agreed. The walls, the floor, the carvings and the furniture all looked brand new, preserved perfectly. I looked around and remarked, ¡°This place was carved directly into the mountain, wasn¡¯t it. How long would this have taken to carve by hand?¡± It mattered little but I was still curious.

    With our break ending, we got up and prepared to continue on. ¡°Adam, where in the palace are we right now,¡± Levai asked. I looked at the many maps and confirmed our surroundings. ¡°I think we are¡­ yes, here we are,¡± I said, flipping through some pages and then pointed to one of the maps. ¡°According to the map we are currently at the end of the area called the General Residence. We are not quite in the deepest level of the palace yet. A bit farther and we will reach an area called the Glacial Enclave.¡± I was not quite sure what the difference was between these two areas was, though the Enclave seemed to be near the heart of the mountain, at least it felt like that. The maps did not show details like that though, they were just a general two dimensional layout.

    ***

    After what must have been another two hours, we finally reached another large set of ornate gates. These ones, unlike the rest of the palace, these looked even older and extremely aged. They were filled with scratches, dents and corrosion. The carvings in the door were impossible to make out. It was obvious that this part was here long before the rest of the palace was carved. Levai began inspecting the doors. ¡°I wager these doors are pure gold, how rich would we be if we took one of these back with us,¡± he said excitedly. ¡°Yeah right,¡± I retorted. ¡°Good luck carrying this back with us, do you know how heavy and dense gold is?¡± Eric had the same look as Levai, looking at the door and imagining how much money just one would be worth. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that you two. These doors are of significant historical value. Also don¡¯t forget that money is not the goal of this expedition,¡± reminding them of this fact as I approached the door.

    With all our might we tried to push the doors open, but no luck. We looked for a keyhole and could not find one. ¡°Adam¡­¡± I heard the same voice that yelled at me earlier. I looked at both my friends and both were just pushing on the doors, neither looking at me. Suddenly, a great deal of cold set in and I started shivering. Again I looked at my comrades, both of them were still pushed up against the doors, though this time, frozen. A bone chilling frost filled the room and, as I stood there shivering, a young girl came walking by us, like a passing ghost.

    She was young, no more than 12 years old or so. Her hair white like the snow that covered this mountain, her eyes shone a pale blue like dew drops. Her skin luminescent like the waning moon. The pale girl wore a white, one piece dress that one might wear in the summer. She looked at me, skipping by and stopped at the door. Turning to me she said ¡°I have waited so long, so very long. Finally you have returned, finally you have come back to my side. Adam.¡± She touched the door and it opened wide, flinging both Eric and Levai several feet back. The girl skipped through the doors, into the pale gloom beyond. I was tempted to follow her but instead rushed to Eric and Levai¡¯s sides. I leaned over and checked their pulses. Both of them seemed ok, the wind was knocked out of them but both were still alive. I shook both of them awake and as they struggled to their feet, rushed through the now open door after the girl. Levai and Eric both followed after me; Levai was staggering a bit as he did a strange mixture of a hobble and a jog.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    Beyond the gates was far different from what we had seen so far. Most of the complex was smooth stone, similar in texture to marble and was also slightly warmer than the temperature outside. This new section though looked like it was made out of glass or crystal. Though it was cold. ¡°This whole area; Adam, Eric, this is all made out of ice. This is incredible,¡± Levai exclaimed excitedly. ¡°In all my years of studying architecture, I have never seen a whole structure made out of ice of this scale or scope before.¡± Eric and I were just as impressed as he was. We continued down the frozen hallway until we reached a set of stairs. The stairs started narrow at the bottom and widened towards the top.

    We climbed, and climbed and climbed. After what seemed like an hour, we reached the top of the steps. Here we were greeted by a several large sculptures also made of ice. ¡°One, two, three¡­¡± Eric counted them one by one. ¡°There are seven in all, Adam, that fancy notebook of yours say anything about these,¡± he asked. I flipped through the pages, skimming text as I went. Near the back of the book I found it, seven rough sketches that looked almost identical to the statues. Under each of the drawings were titles, I assumed of the individuals these statues were meant to represent. I read the titles of each of them aloud so both Eric and Levai heard. ¡°Starting from the left, the Warden, the Royal Guard, the Archivist, the Vanguard, the Blacksmith, the Treasurer, and finally the Teacher.¡± Both Eric and Levai looked at the statues, matching the titles to the statues in their heads.

    We moved on passed the statues to another large set of doors that were situated directly behind the statues. I reached out to touch them but before I could the doors opened on their own. As they opened, we were hit by a bright light. Unable to stand it I closed my eyes, covering my face. Taking a moment to reorganize myself, I was able to open my eyes and saw a large, ornate room of pure ice in front of me. Suddenly, the little girl came skipping by me again. She beckoned me forward and I followed. Together, me and the girl approached a large crystalline structure that was in the middle of the room. She looked at me, smiled and grabbed my hand. She pulled it towards the structure, I did not resist. My hand touched the structure and suddenly, what was a smudged surface became clear like a glass of water.

    Within the crystal was a large throne. Upon that throne was the pale girl, shrouded in a gown of white, eyes closed, giving the appearance she was asleep. Bound by chains to the throne and encased in ice, an eternal prison where she was to be alone for all eternity. I looked down towards my side where the girl was standing but she was gone. I looked behind me to see Eric¡¯s and Levai¡¯s reactions, yet they were not there. It was just me and the girl in ice, the doors were closed tight and the room was empty save for the throne of ice and the decorations along the walls. I touched the crystal once more; cold pierced through my hand, through my arm and into my head. I could hear her voice. ¡°Adam, finally you have come back. We have waited so long for this day. We can be together once more... at last.¡±

    As I heard this voice in my head I grew frightened, confused as to what the voice meant. This was the first time I had ever seen this girl and the first time in centuries that anyone had come through these halls. There was no way this girl knew who I was and nor did I know who she was. Again the voice spoke to me, ¡°Why so quiet Adam? Why do you not speak to us, why do you fear us? Do you not remember your promise, your vow? Adam, please, let us hear you. Speak to us.¡± I could feel the pain and cold in my head getting worse the more I resisted and remained silent. Thus, I responded, fear rattling in my voice. ¡°Who are you? How do you know me, what do you want and where are the two who were with me?¡±

    After I asked, there was nothing, only silence. After a long moment I heard the voice again. ¡°Your friends are safe, we merely wish to be alone with you. Worry not, they will be sent down the mountain unharmed and no worse for wear, though they will retain no memories of this place. As for who we are and how we know you, did you not already know, did Aden not tell you anything?¡± She spoke as if she knew my grandpa. I felt great relief knowing that Eric and Levai would be safe, the girl continued. ¡°Returning to the subject of who we are and how we know you, that is both simple and complex. We are called by the name Eris Velia Windcot, the Frozen Queen, bound by ice.¡± Well, at least I now had a name. But Frozen Queen, that title was not in my grandpa¡¯s notes.

    I racked my brain to see if I could remember any time I had ever heard that title or name but nothing came to mind. ¡°I see you are still confused as to who we are,¡± the girl said in my head. ¡°Perhaps it might be easier to just say we once ruled over this world as it¡¯s queen but that was long ago. Now as to how we know you that is simple, you once served us long ago.¡± I grew more and more confused. I heard a sigh from Eris. ¡°Well, you in particular did serve us but your predecessor did, as my warden. He is the one responsible for my current state.¡± She said this and suddenly I remembered ¡°Warden, that is the same as one of the seven statues in the previous room.¡± I then asked her, ¡°So I am the descendant of this warden?¡± Her response, ¡°Yes and no, you are not so much his blood descendant but more the one who inherited his will and duty.¡± Confused, I decided it was best not to continue on with that topic unless I wanted to hurt my head even more.

    She continued on to answer my other questions, ¡°As for how I know you it is of course through your grandfather, Aden B. Lord. He is the one that led you to me.¡± I then had to ask a question I all but knew the answer to. ¡°So you knew my grandfather?¡± I asked. ¡°I did not personally know him nor did I ever speak with him as I have been with you. He just happened to find hints to my location through old documents and tablets. It was through his research that my throne was located. In essence, it was chance that brought you here. I hoped that you would come of course but that was all I could do. I have no power outside of this room and I have no influence on the outside world. All I had was the promise that my Warden made to me, that he would return; and now here you are, back at last.¡± As she said this last bit, I could hear the sorrow in her voice, one that had resinated in these frozen halls for thousands of years. There was such a sad ring to her voice.

    ***

    As we spoke more and more, her tone grew warmer and lively. She now started to ask questions of her own, asking about me, my life, how I came across my grandpa¡¯s research and notes and how I managed to piece together the location of this place. We talked for a long while and after what might have been hours, she grew quiet for a moment, her tone then turned far more serious. ¡°There is still something on your mind is there not Adam? You still want to know why I have waited for you, why I have not lost hope after such a long time, isn''t that right?¡± I had to admit, I still did not know anything about this girl save for very little, I wanted all the information I could get. While I had only just met this girl who had been sealed in ice for so long just a short time ago, I was curious, I wanted to know why she was sealed away, why she sees me as this Warden of old. Why me and not someone else like Eric or Levai.

    Before I could prepare to even open my mouth, Eris spoke again. ¡°Worry not Adam, your questions will be answered in time. However, not all will be answered now, you are not yet ready to know everything. Instead, it is time for you to prepare for what is to come. We ask you this, will you take up the mantle of the Warden, and follow under its star?¡± When she asked this, I froze completely. I was at a loss. I did not know what she meant by ¡°taking up the mantle¡± or what would end up happening from there. ¡°What does it mean to take on the mantel, and are you asking¡­ or telling?¡± I asked her, my voice trembling slightly as I asked. I felt as though I almost saw Eris smile for a brief moment. ¡°You do have a choice,¡± she said. ¡°Take up the mantel and pledge yourself to us, or decline the offer and you will lose all your memories of this place and the palace will once more be closed off until another learns of its location.¡±

    I thought for a few moments, frowning slightly. ¡°What happens to you if I decline,¡± I asked her, even though I could guess at her reply. Eris remains quiet for another moment¡­ ¡°We will remain here, alone once more. We have waited for many thousands of years already, what is another two or three thousand,¡± her empty and melancholic tone echoing in my mind. That answer alone made up my mind. After talking with her I knew Eris was still hiding many things, but nothing she said had been a lie. Whatever it was she wanted with me, it was not for some evil intent. I had my answer, I knew what I had to say to her. My answer¡­ ¡°I will take up the mantle.¡±

    I said these words, loud and clear. As I did, the world suddenly filled with frost, like a blizzard on the mountaintop. As the winds and snow raged past me like an howling beast, I realized that it was not growing colder, I was not shivering nor was I feeling the frostbit pain in my arms and head like earlier. I removed my hand from the crystal and stepped back, witnessing it melt away, the chain links that bound her broke into shards. Eris stood up from her throne, only to fall forward. Just before she hit the floor, I caught her. She was cold and pale, the lone queen in the mountain of ice. Her eyes opened and she smiled at me.

    Her smile pierced my heart. Eris opened her mouth, attempting to speak but no more than a grunt and some coughing came out. Her many millennium in ice had most likely made her body stiff and her voice horse. Holding the cold, limp girl in my arms, I said quietly ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself, you only just came out of the ice; take is slow.¡± She looked up and again I heard her voice in my head. ¡°Thank you Adam, thank you for accepting. Now we can go, to a new world, to one where our comrades may exist, where our powers will flourish and our kingdom can be built again once more.¡±

    With these final words, the room around us began to fade, turning into what looked like countless snowflakes. I looked back down at Eris, she too began to fade into snow; I panicked. After several moments, there was nothing left but me. Then I also started fading into snowflakes, pure white filling my vision and the whole world around me vanishing. As I fell deeper into the white, my thoughts became a blur and I could not think straight. My last thoughts were of home, of my brother and mother¡­ of grandpa.

 Chapter 2: A New Beginning, The Frozen Wastes

    A young boy of about eight years old stood in the snow, a bow in hand and draped in furs. He was of fair complexion, with light gray hair, a color uncommon in these parts of the mountains, and smooth, pale skin. His eyes were of a beautiful gray color, much like his hair. He was together with a rather large and gruff man, whose hair was a dark brown, long and braided. His skin and eyes were the same color as the young boy. He to was wrapped in a warm, fur cloak, both of them kneeling in the deep snow.

    ¡°Quiet now, don¡¯t make any sudden moves now. We don¡¯t want to startle it.¡± I slowly approached the large, white fur boar we had been tailing for nearly a half hour now, the snow acting as a natural cover. ¡°Ok, get ready; aim and take your shot,¡± father said in a grufe but quiet voice. I could feel my hand tighten around the rough hune handle of my bow. Notching my arrow, I raised the bow and took aim. After a few moments, I let my arrow fly straight into the giant boars eye. The beast unleashed a loud and deafening squeal, now sprinting in our direction. Calmly, I readied another arrow, drawing back the bow string one more time. Letting the final arrow fly, the beast fell to the ground at our feet. Father stood up and examined the large animal. ¡°Not bad for your first kill boy, at this rate you will be a fine hunter.¡± Grinning from the praise, I drew the small knife from my belt and began skinning the boar. Father followed suit, using his knife to start hacking at the carcass. ¡°Just take the pelt and larger chunks of meat for now, we will send some of the other hunters to come and collect the rest.¡± I nodded in agreement and ripped off the fur of the beast in one yank. After a few minutes, we had the most important parts removed and began hiking back to the village.

    After a short trek through the snow, we arrived back at the village. It was a small area with few people, maybe thirty or so. This was the home of the Erantu tribe, one of several nomadic tribes that wander through the northern mountains, living off the land as hunters and gatherers. While called a village, it was more a campsite than anything. There were no permanent structures, only fur tents and several huts made of tightly packed snow and ice, things that were easily abandoned. ¡°Welcome back chief, and you to Calder; how did the hunt go?¡± A little girl of fair complextion, her head was covered in long, light, brown hair, ran up to greet father and I. This girl was Alfhild, my younger cousin by two winters. ¡°It went well, Calder managed to kill a white fur boar during his Trial,¡± father proclaimed quite loudly, making sure practically everyone in the village could hear him. At this remark, some of the villagers started gathering around us. Alfhild was looking at me with utter amazement and respect.

    ¡°A white fur boar, eh Calder? Quite the beast to slay. Many of the adult hunters have trouble with those you know.¡± A large man, with a mane of light brown hair, walked towards us. ¡°Brother, you have a promising son there.¡± Father looked at the large man and laughed. ¡°I know Esborn, he has skill surpassing many of us despite being a child of only eight winters. He has to be at least this skilled if he is to succeed me as chief one day afterall.¡± The large man known as Esborn leaned down, now my equal in height, and placed his hand on my head, ruffling my hair quite roughly. ¡°Calder, keep this up and you will be a great chief just like brother.¡± Uncle Esborn got up and turned to the other villagers. ¡°Everyone, gather round. Calder managed to kill a white fur boar during his Trial; I need five strong men to gather the rest of it before sundown.¡± A group of men started towards the village entrance, bows and swords in hand, heading out to gather the rest of my kill.

    Uncle Esborn turned back towards me, ¡°Calder, go back to the tent and get ready for tonight''s ceremony. Alfhild, go and help him.¡± After Uncle Esborn said this, he and father both walked off towards the large ice hut standing in the middle of the village. This building was quite a bit larger than the rest of the structures that made up our tiny home. Its purpose was for ceremonies, meal times and tribal gatherings. Every time a tribe in the mountains planned on stopping in one area for a prolonged period of time, they would build one of these large gathering halls.

    Alfhild and I went in the opposite direction towards a large tent made of many animal pelts, two torches lit on either side of it¡¯s entrance. We entered the tent and I lit the oil lamp that was hanging from the wooden supports. With the room now well lit, Alfhild helped me remove my fur cloak, boots and gloves. I set my bow, quiver, knife and sword on the weapons stand in the corner and began to take off the rest of my cloths, throwing them messily on the floor while wandering towards the middle of the room. Alfhild followed behind me, picking up my dropped garments.

    In the middle of the room was a table, a set of beautiful clothes utop it. These were not the standard fur clothing I was accustomed to but soft, smooth silk garments. I put on the pair of brown trousers and then the bright, green shirt, both embroidered with beautiful golden runes along the trim. I reached for the boots; struggling to put them on, I fell right on my face. ¡°Let me help you with those Calder,¡± Alfhild said, though she was struggling just as much, having laughed at my blunder so hard she fell herself. After both of us finally managed to rise to our feet, I graciously accepted her offer of help. Finally clothed for the ceremony that would take place in a few hours, I told Alfhild, ¡°I am going to sleep for a short time before the ceremony. The hunt wore me out and I feel like I might collapse at any moment.¡± Alfhild pouted slightly, likely hoping to have played with me after this. All the same, she promised to wake me before the ceremony and left the tent. I laid down on a large pile of furs that were stacked in the corner, it being the closest thing we had to beds in the village. Closing my eyes, I began to dream of my first days in this world as I dozed off, listening to the howl of the wind outside.

    ***

    I could hear the howling of wind, my body limp and weak, unable to move as I pleased. My mind was slightly groggy and not fully coherent. Struggling to open my eyes and gain a look at my surroundings, I forced them open, greeted only by darkness. ¡°What, where am I?¡± I tried to turn my head, merely able to roll it side to side with immense difficulty. I could not see anything around me, it was pitch black. The only sounds were the howl of the wind and my own breath. Finally able to focus my mind better after a few minutes, I tried to go over what had happened to me mere moments ago. I recalled the expedition into the mountains with Levai and Eric. ¡°I remember traveling through the mountains and reaching the ruins. Eric, Levai and I reached the large glacial structure and then¡­¡±

    I could remember that much but struggled to remember more. I knew I was missing something, something vital. ¡°There was someone else in those ruins with us, no not with us, someone who was there long before us.¡± As I forced myself to recall various details of what happened, I vividly remembered the young girl with white hair and skin. ¡°What was her name again?¡± I questioned myself several times, struggling to remember. ¡°After the statues we reached a set of doors, they opened and I saw the girl again and I think we talked.¡± I could vividly see the room with the girl sealed in chains and ice. I recalled our conversation and then, finally, I her name. ¡°Eris. Yes, that was her name; Eris Velia Windcot, the Frozen Queen, I believe she called herself.¡± Going over these details, I now tried to piece together my current situation.

    The last moment I could recollect was Eris, in my arms, fading into snow. The room had also vanished in the same way, as did I. After that, well, my mind was blank and I was now laying in darkness, unable to move. I racked my brain for what seemed like hours, going over various scenarios of all types, from dying and brought to the afterlife all the way to being summoned to some alternate world. ¡°An alternate world, yeah right, like that would ever happen.¡± I started to feel exhaustion kick in; though I was merely laying there, the small bit of movement I had done was enough to wear me out. Allowing myself to relax a bit, I closed my eyes, yawning and the felt myself fall into a deep slumber.

    ***

    I awoke to the sound of someone moving around the room. ¡°Sorry, did I wake you?¡± I turned to see mother moving some things around, herself dressed in a warm fur dress. ¡°It¡¯s ok mother, I was not very deeply asleep. Is everything ok,¡± I asked her in a concerned voice. She smiled at me warmly and kneeled down. ¡°Everything is fine Calder, I was just making some final touches for your ceremony. Go back to sleep, there is still some time before the tonight''s event and you need to be well rested for it. Tonight is your big night after all.¡± I leaned back into the pile of furs and closed my eyes once more, mother covering me with a large and warm bear pelt. I fell asleep once more, my memories flowing around me once again.

    ***

    I was awoken by a dim light, the room had three people in it. I was laying in a small pile of cloth and everyone around me was wearing clothing of fur and animal hides. They were talking cheerfully amongst themselves. There was a large and well built man with a very bushy beard and long hair tied in braids, filled with gold beads. The young women next to him was talking to an old, short and stubby lady that stood in front of the two. The younger women had a look of immaculate joy on her face and after several moments of talking, she turned to face me. She walked towards me and effortlessly picked me up. ¡°I know for a fact that I am not exactly very large but no women should be able to pick up a full grown man so easily as if she was just picking up a¡­ baby.¡± As I finished this thought, I noticed something was off.

    All of the people in the room, even the small, old lady were extremely large compared to me. This, coupled with the fact that I could not move my body, almost as if my muscles had lost all their previous strength, which led me to one conclusion. I had truly died back with Eris in the Frozen Throne, only to be reborn into the body of a baby. ¡°Somehow I managed to retain all of my memories, perhaps thanks to something Eris did. Musing over this thought in my head, I looked up to get a good look at what I figured was likely my new mother and father. They spoke in a language that was not known to me, though one word was continually directed at me. This word was Calder, most likely my new name. ¡°Calder¡­ a new name and a new world. This will take some getting used to. At least my name was not as bad as it could be¡­ like Bob¡­ or Morty.

    ***

    I swayed in my sleep once more, the wind outside putting me into a state of half-sleep. I tried to ignore it along with the sound of people outside, rushing to prepare for tonight''s ceremony. My mind again moved towards my journey through this world. ¡°I wonder where Eris is and what she is doing,¡± I said quietly to myself. Leaving on this thought, I dozed back to sleep.

    ***

    It had been a little more than a year since I was reborn into this world. I understood the language and my situation for the most part. I was Calder Erantu, the son of the chief of the Erantu tribe. We were one of many tribes of nomads that wandered through the snowy wastes of the northern mountains, attempting to survive off what animals we could hunt and plants we could forage. This way of life was essentially the way the tribes had survived for hundreds of years. Our tribe, the Erantu, was one of the smaller and more peaceful tribes. There were some, such as the Lokvan and the Ivartar, who were far more violent and acted similarly to bandits. They survived not only by hunting but also by taking from the any other tribes they came across.

    Suddenly, the curtains to the tent I was in opened up. I sat up, finally strong enough to move my body in basic ways, though as far as mobility was concerned, I stuck with crawling and a little walking. In addition, while I understood the language, I still had trouble speaking it. I could say a few basic words but not much. I decided for the most part to not say anything until I could clearly speak in full sentences. The person who had entered the tent was my mother Ylva and Uncle Esborn. Uncle was called the ¡°Great Bear of the Erantu,¡± being considered the strongest warrior in the village while my father was known as ¡°The Mountain Hawk¡± due to his expertise in hunting and marksmanship. My mother and uncle were talking about something, both of their faces solem. ¡°Ylva, are you sure of that?¡± Uncle had a frightened look on his face. ¡°Yes Esborn, I am, the Lokvan tribe was seen by some of our hunters. If we run into them, we will have no choice but to flee, we don¡¯t have enough people to fight.

    As mother and Uncle were talking, I started pondering what was the problem with the Lokvan attacking; of course they were known for being highly skilled and warlike. Still, their tribe was even smaller than ours. Mother being so scared made little sense to me. ¡°You are right, I will talk with brother and convince him to flee. The Lokvan are the only tribe foolish enough to attack us, yet that makes them only more dangerous,¡± uncle said. I continued to lay there quietly, trying to get more information from their talk.

    The conversation continued and I managed to confirm several important pieces of information. Firstly, the Lokvan was a male only tribe that reproduce by attacking other tribes and kidnapping any girls or women over the age of around fourteen. They apparently used the girls as human cattle to give birth to more sons in order to increase the quality and size of the tribes fighting force. After a woman give birth to a son, the woman would be killed immediately. This made the tribe one of the most barbaric of all those that called the mountains home. The peace loving Erantu tribe would not stand a chance in an all out battle. Against beasts and monsters, the Erantu tribe was perhaps the greatest in the northern mountains, yet against other humans, our hunters would not fare so well.

    After the two talked for quite a while, father finally entered into the tent. ¡°Both of you, come; the village meeting to decide what to do about the Lokvan is about to start.¡± Both Uncle Esborn and mother were about to leave the tent but I wanted to know what the tribes actions would be. Thus I did something only a baby could get away with. I cried and acted like a little brat. Knowing father and mother would have to be at the meeting, I kept crying regardless of what they did to try and make me stop until father finally gave up and decided to take me with them. Held in father¡¯s arms, mother, uncle and I all left the tent and we moved towards the gathering hall in the middle of the tribal grounds. The inside of the hall was a simple design, just walls with some furs hanging from it and a large stone up at the front of the hall acting as an altar during ceremonies. There were several long and simple wooden benches for people to sit on during the meetings. Most of the adults of the tribe were already there, save for the few that were on guard duty. Father handed me off to mother. The three of them walked up towards the altar, father standing behind it, with mother standing at his left and uncle standing at his right. Everyone seemed to just ignore the fact that I was there to begin with, perhaps since I was not the only baby; several mothers could be seen holding their children as well.

    Father opened the floor, outlining the current situation to the whole tribe, everyone gasping in fear and whispering among themselves of what to do. Father raised his hand to quiet the nervus tribe. ¡°Everyone, we have two options, fight or flee.¡± Saything this, many of the younger men of the tribe clearly wanted the tribe to stand its ground and fight, though the older members knew better. After a few minutes of discussion amongst the tribe members, Uncle Esborn weighed in his thoughts on the issue. ¡°I say we flee brother, while the Lokvan is smaller than us in numbers, every member of that tribe is a warrior, bred to kill. We fight and they will kill all the men and take all of the women.¡± Father nodded his head in agreement. Uncles statement was met with many shouts and boos from the younger members of the tribe. The argument continued for a while longer. To me the answer was simple, flee. Our tribe had no chance at winning against a tribe of pure warriors, no matter how hard we tried. Though it was obvious that the young men would not easily be dissuaded from this conflict.

    Father seemed to follow the same train of thought as me, his mind already being made up. Yet before father could open his mouth to usher the command that our tribe was to flee, mother spoke. ¡°We have a way we can stop them from attacking us without fleeing,¡± she said. Father and uncle both looked at her, obviously stunned at the sentiment. ¡°What do you mean we don¡¯t have to flee,¡± father asked, obviously slightly annoyed. ¡°The Ivartar tribe is currently nearby, if we ask my father, the chief of the Ivartar, for help with warding off the Lokvan, he is sure to aid us,¡± she said. Mother brought up an interesting point. She was the only child of the chief of the Lokvan, the largest tribe to wander these mountains. If she went to her father for help, he would likely grant it. This was a solution that would please both younger and older members of the tribe. The old would feel safe with the Ivartar at our back and the younger members would be able to fight to their heart''s content.

    Father pondered on this for a few moments and after some quiet discussion with uncle he came to a decision. ¡°We will go to the Ivartar for aid, Ylva, prepare to head over there, you know where they are right?¡± Mother nodded and handed me off to my uncle. ¡°Esborn, please watch Calder for me while I am away. I should be back in the morning. Keldi, please come with me.¡± After mother said this she walked outside, into the dark. Father followed her, only to turn and say ¡°Esborn, while I am gone, watch the tribe for me. You are in charge until we get back.¡± He followed after mother swiftly, both of them gone. Uncle stood there with me in his arms for a moment and then he looked down at me. ¡°Well Calder, looks like it¡¯s you and me. Tell me, what would you do about this situation.¡± He laughed at himself for asking this and then walked off towards his tent.

    Uncle¡¯s tent was located near fathers, though noticeably smaller. When we entered, we were greeted by Serana, Uncle Esborn¡¯s wife. ¡°How did the meeting go Esborn,¡± she asked, a concerned look on her face. After uncle explained what happened to her, Aunt Serana let out a sigh of relief. ¡°I see you have Calder with you tonight. Shall I prepare a bed for him?¡± Esborn nodded and carried me over to the soft pile of furs once Serana laid them out for me. After Serana helped Uncle Esborn remove his coat and boots, he sat down to eat. I soon fell asleep only to be woken up a few hours later by a loud, rustling sound during the middle of the night. I looked over at Uncle Esborn and Serana¡¯s bed and saw the blankets moving. ¡°I hope the two of you make a cute little cousin for me,¡± I said quietly to myself, closing my eyes and going back to sleep.

    ***

    ¡°Wake up. Calder, WAKE UP!!!¡± Startled by the screaming, I opened my eyes and jumped to my feet right away. Reaching for my knife, I found it was not at my hip. ¡°Are you awake now Calder?¡± Alfhild was standing there, looking at me, her hands on her hips and a rather irritated look on her face. ¡°What is it Alfhild, what''s wrong,¡± I asked, still half asleep panic. ¡°It¡¯s time for the ceremony, you asked me to wake you up remember.¡± I finally got my bearings again and thanked her for waking me up. ¡°Alfhild, will you help me get my cloak on,¡± I asked her. She nodded, grabbing it and draping it around my shoulders. Now ready and dressed for the ceremony, we both walked out the tent and there stood mother, father, Uncle Esborn and Aunt Serana. ¡°Are you ready son,¡± father asked me. I nodded and began walking towards the gathering hall. My family followed and when we finally entered the hall, at the front stood the village elder, Old Lady Ragna. She beckoned me forward and when I reached the front of the room, I turned to face the entire tribe that was seated on the benches. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Mother, Aunt Serana and Alfild all took seats on the front benches. Father and Uncle both stood on either side of Old Lady Ragna, all three looking at me. ¡°Calder, stand in front of me if you will,¡± the short, old lady said. Once I did, I kneeled down and Lady Ragna continued. ¡°Tonight, Calder will officially be chosen as the next chief of the Erantu. He completed his Trial and slayed a white fur boar alone. Who will act as his witness to this event?¡± Father came forward and pulled from under his cloak the pelt of the white fur boar. ¡°Here I stand, witness to Calder¡¯s achievement. While I watched him slay the beast, I had no part in the kill, all credit goes to him. Let this pelt be proof of his hunt.¡±

    Father gave the pelt to Old Lady Ragna, who took it and after chanting for a bit, threw it onto the altar in the gathering hall. She chanted for a bit longer and then suddenly, the fur caught fire. Continuing to chant, she looked deep into the fire, though none of us knew what she saw. Finally, she let out a deep breath, gasping a bit. Taking several moments to catch her breath, she spoke again. ¡°Hear my words, people of Erantu. The Spirits of the Mountain have accepted the offering and place Calder as the next chief of the Erantu once he is fourteen winters old.¡± There was some talk around the room. ¡°Isn¡¯t fourteen a little young to become chief Old Lady Ragna,¡± Esborn asked. Everyone in the crowd had the same look on their face. It was the natural reaction. Normally someone becomes chief only if the current chief dies or they are older than twenty winters.

    Old Lady Ragna hushed the murmuring crowd and continued. ¡°Calder is to be chief at fourteen, thus is the words of the Spirits of the Mountain. Calder, will you accept the position of chief at the start of your fourteenth winter in this world?¡± I looked at Old Lady Ragna and then spoke. ¡°I will accept the position of chief once I turn fourteen and swear to lead the Erantu to a new age peace and prosperity.¡± After I said this, there was cheering in the room for a bit. Finally mother stood up and spoke. ¡°Everyone, please, come outside, there is food and drink for all. Let us celebrate today as the birth of a new chief of the Erantu.¡± Everyone filed outside and started gathering food and drink, all unable to resist the urge to sing and dance. For a tribe in these mountains, choosing a new chief was a big deal and something to celebrate. Alfhild came up to me in the middle of the celebration, ¡°Calder, Old Lady Ragna is calling for you, go see her in the gathering hall.¡± Receiving the old ladies summons, I left the banquet and headed back to the gathering hall.

    Once I entered the now dimly lit hall, I saw Old Lady Ragna sitting behind the altar, the fire still raging on the stone slab. ¡°What is it you have called me for, Elder Ragna.¡± She looked up from the fire and gestured for me to sit in the chair on the other side of the altar.  I sat and looked at the old women. ¡°Calder,¡± she said, ¡°I have talked with the spirits about your fate to try and determine where your path will lead.¡± The tribal elders were very spiritual and talked a lot about communing with spirits and such. I did not buy the act but she was a well respected member of the tribe so I had little choice but to listen to what she had to say. She continued, ¡°The spirits showed me a large, golden building. Inside stood a girl draped in white, her hair like snow and her skin like the moon. Her voice sounds like a song of the coldest winter. She is the one you seek, the one who brought you to this world. Do you know of what I speak?¡±

    I was speechless. How she knew about Eris along with the fact that I was brought to this world by her was beyond me. Perhaps there was more to the spiritualism in this world than I thought. ¡°Based by your expression, you know of the girl I speak of.¡± I nodded to her and then asked, ¡°Where is she, where is this girl, where is Eris.¡± Elder Ragna looked back into the fire for a moment and then back at me. ¡°She is located in the heart of the Empire located south of the mountain, the Astian Empire. There, she is a member of a prominent religious family. That is all I know¡± I had heard of the empire to the south. Officially, the northern mountains were a part of the empire, though none in the mountains accepts the rule of the empire. ¡°Thank you, Elder Ragna for the information. Now, I know where to start my search.¡±

    As I was about to get up and leave, Old Lady Ragna spoke again. ¡°One last thing Calder, in the future, you will have to make a choice that will decide the fate of not just the, Erantu, but the entire northern mountains and those that call these mountains home. Soon, you will meet a difficult choice, what you do during that moment will decide everything.¡± With those final words, I finally left the room. ¡°Well, now I know where Eris is for the most part. She is a member of a large religious family in the capital of the Empire,¡± I said to myself. As I did, Alfhild came running up to me, ¡°Calder, the chief is now calling you.¡± I smiled at Alfhild, ¡°What are you, some messenger or something?¡± The comment visibly angered her a bit. Saying nothing she ran off and I followed.

    The middle of the village was filled with people still singing and dancing. Father called together all their attention, ¡°Everyone, Calder will lead tomorrow¡¯s Grand Hunt. Let him show his ability to lead others as a great chief would.¡± Hearing this, everyone cheered and then slowly, over the next few hours, the crowd dissipated. Father walked up to me, ¡°Calder, be ready early in the morning for the Grand Hunt, we are going for some big game tomorrow, that pig you took out will look cute in comparison.¡± I nodded and headed back to our tent with father.

    When we arrived, Uncle Esborn and mother were both in the tent. ¡°Calder, I have something for you,¡± mother said. She handed me a bundle of items which I proceeded to unwrap. The bundle held many items including a new bow, sword, knife and leather armor with steel pauldrons. I gasped in amazement. ¡°Mother, where did you get all of this, this is¡­¡± Before I could finish my sentence, Uncle suddenly interrupted me. ¡°The sword is Arstian Blue Steel. The blade has a powerful frost enchantment on it, freezing the wounds of those it cuts. That armor is made of chimera leather and is more durable than steel. It also has an enchantment allowing it to grow to fit the size, height and weight of the wearer. The bow is made out of Black Rondian Ebony, enchanted with a deadly poison curse, afflicting those it¡¯s arrows hit, save for the largest of pray, a sure and swift death.¡±

    I was speechless. These were all top of the line enchanted weapons and armor. It would cost more money than the whole village made in three years to get even one of these items. ¡°They''re gifts from the Ivartar Tribe, a congratulatory gift for being chosen as the next chief of the Erantu,¡± Uncle Esborn said. ¡°If it¡¯s a gift from Grandpa Ivartar then that makes sense,¡± I said. My mother was the only child of the current chief of the Ivartar tribe, thus he came to our aid when the Lokvan attacked us all those years ago. ¡°The Ivartar definitely have the assets to send gifts like these, that or they were spoils of war from some other tribe,¡± I thought to myself.

    ¡°Well boy, what are you waiting for, you were sent all that incredible gear, try it on, we all want to see you in it,¡± father yelled at me. Father and Uncle assisted me with putting on the armor, it¡¯s enchantment allowing it to fit perfectly. Attaching the sword to my hip and slinging the bow over my back, I was fully equipped in my new gear. ¡°Calder, take this as well,¡± mother said to me, handing me one more bundle of cloth. I unfolded it, revealing a beautiful cloak made of a pelt I had never seen before. ¡°This is a gift from the whole tribe to you Calder,¡± mother said. ¡°The fur of a Northern Elder Dire Wolf was used to make the cloak and Elder Ragna enchanted it for you with various frost and armor enchantments. The wolf was hunted by several skilled hunters of the village while some of the women of the tribe did the textile work.¡± I donned the cloak, overcome with feelings of gratitude and thanks. After thanking everyone, I took off the armor and cloak and lay down to sleep, now looking forward to the hunt that would take place tomorrow.

    ***

    A large group of hunters trekked in the snow behind father, uncle and I. Almost the whole tribe was present to take part in the Grand Hunt, including some of the small children such as Alfhild. While the younger children would actually take part in the Grand Hunt, they were allowed to come along to watch. The target of the hunt was the elusive Sword Fanged Snow Leopard. An extremely large and rare creature in the mountains, they are considered one of the most dangerous creatures to hunt. We marched through the snow towards the beasts territory. They lived in an area known as the Forest of Telgoth, an old and expensive forest that was very much like a labyrinth, this was the place many dangerous creatures made there home, including a great white bear known as The Lord of the Mountain. It was considered common sense to steer clear of this monsters territory, though at this time of year, he stayed on the eastern side of the forest, we were currently in the western portion where the Snow Leopard made its home.

    Once we finally entered the forest, uncle and father gathered all of the hunter¡¯s into a small circle. The only ones participating in the hunt were me and the veteran hunters such as father and uncle. Our group totaled nine including myself. The younger hunter¡¯s would act as guards for the children and elders that came to watch the hunt. Father started to explain what would happen. ¡°Calder, from here on, you are the leader of the group. We will follow your lead so remember, our lives are in your hands. If we run into any unexpected situations, Esborn and I will take charge, understand everyone.¡± After everyone showed they understood, uncle turned to me. ¡°So Calder, what¡¯s the plan?¡± I called Alfhild over for a moment. ¡°Alfhild, hand me the pack I gave you to carry.¡± She handed it over and then clinged onto Uncle Esborn she was shooed her away back to her mother.

    ¡°Everyone,¡± I said. ¡°In this pack is some meat from the White Fur Boar I hunted during my Trial. This piece is one of the bloodiest of the bunch so it should attract animals from all over, including the Leopard. We will build snow mounds to hid in covering our scent and also allowing us to hid from the beast and wait for it to come to us.¡± Father then weighed in. ¡°Why not hid in the trees, would it not be safer there than on the ground with the animals.¡± He brought up a good point, one I had expected him to bring up. ¡°The trees are no good, several smaller animals make their strikes from up there. If we stay in the branches we won¡¯t be able to escape them and will be limited to bows as our only weapons. We also have to take into account the children and elderly with us. They will also be hiding in snow mounds like us so if we are on the ground we can react to situations that endanger them far faster. We will have four hunters stand a ways out to scan for the beast and take out any approaching animals that are not the target. Three more will be closer and shoot it with bows when it enters range. The final two hunters will be nearby the bait to make sure the beast is dead; if not, we''ll take it out with spears.¡±

    Hearing my whole plan, the older hunters were amazed that an eight year old came up with such a complex plan. Uncle, however, brought up one final point. ¡°Calder, you forget the beast has an incredible sense of smell, how will we hide our own scent completely? It is true that the snow mounds will hid some of it, but not all.¡± I had an answer for this question as well. I pulled out several more objects from the pack ¡°That is easy father, we cover the bodies of the hunters near the bait with this bottle of boar blood, it smells just like the bait so the leopard will not notice them close by so long as they stay hidden in the snow. We will also spread the blood along the entire area around the bait as another precaution. For those farther away, cover your mound with mud and dead vegetation, that should be enough to hid our scent when combined with the snow.¡± The hunters having seen that I took almost everything into consideration, all agreed with the plan and we went to our positions.

    I was stationed right near the bait along with Uncle. Uncle and I took the bottle of blood and dumped it on the ground around the bait and on ourselves. After hiding under the snow, we waited for a bit. The four hunters far out not only had to signal us if they saw the beast but also take out any any other creatures that came in search of the bait. Some of the younger members of the tribe would then go and collect the carcusses and bury them to hid any traces of their corpses. We would later take back whatever was killed to the village after the hunt. This was called a Grand Hunt not only due to the difficulty of the targeted beast we were hunting but also the large amount of other thing that would be killed in the process.

    After waiting for about ten minutes, we heard a whistle. This was the sign that our target was approaching. After a while, we began hearing the crunch of snow. Finally, we saw the silhouette of something massive, the lighting of the forest making it hard to determine the beast. Uncle had said the Leopards were huge in comparison to a human. The shadowy monster approached the bait, looked around, and then started eating. I gripped my makeshift spear and then gave the signal to shoot at the beast. Arrows whistled through the forest and striked the beast. I sprung out from my mound and stabbed the monster as hard as I could with my spear.

    To my surprise and shock, the spear broke on contact with a sensation similar to stabbing a rock. I looked down at the ground to see that all of the arrows that were shot were on the ground, broken into pieces as well. Suddenly, the monster stopped eating and stood on its hind legs. My eyes now adjusted to the lighting, saw the beast was no lepard, it was a gigantic bear with pure white fur. Its fur was covered in runes and the beast emitted a strange, bluish glow in the dark. I then felt an arm wrap around my chest, yanking me away from the beast with great force. I was being dragged through the forest at a breakneck speed. Uncle had grabbed me and was running as fast as he could. As he was running, he was yelling at the top of his voice, ¡°Everyone, run, run away now!! It''s him, the Lord of the Mountain!!!¡± I had never seen Uncle so fearful before, cold sweat dripping down his face as he ran as fast as he could. I looked over his shoulder to see the Lord of the Mountain running after us, mowing down trees and slowly gaining on us.

    Finally, we shook the monster off our trail for the moment and met up with the other hunters. ¡°Brother, have the villagers evacuated yet,¡± uncle asked father while grabbing his chest, breathing hard from running so fast. ¡°The others are already leaving, Ylva and Serana have taken charge of the evacuation, everyone has already fled.¡± We all started to make our getaway, father and uncle now in control due to this unexpected turn of events. Father was carrying me since I could not keep up with the full on sprint of the adults with my stubby little legs.

    We had run for quite some time until we caught up with the rest of the villagers that had come along for the hunt. I sat in on the discussion father and uncle were having regarding the Lord. ¡°The beast will not ever let its prey get away, it will follow us all the way back to the village at this rate brother,¡± uncle was saying. Father was deep in thought, simulating in his mind what to do. I to was at a loss, unable to form any plan on how to get away. Suddenly, Aunt Serana came running to us, out of breath and her face pale as the surrounding snow. ¡°What¡¯s wrong Serana,¡± Esborn asked her. ¡°Esborn, its Alfhild, our daughter¡­ she is¡­ she is¡­¡± Still gasping for air, she finally got it out. ¡°Esborn, she is missing.¡±

    Father and Esborn both stood there, their jaws dropped. I, fearing for the worst, bolted back towards the Forest of Telgoth as fast as I could. Father and Uncle were both still standing there stunned before they could even notice me running off. In mere moments, I was out of sight of the group and had reached the forest entrance again. Without hesitation, I went back into the dark, maze like woods. After a few minutes of wandering, I could hear trees being knocked down from deeper within. I crouched down, loosening my sword and drawing my bow. I nocked an arrow, ready for an attack at any moment. I quietly kneeled down and intensely listened to the sounds around me,finally hearing the sound I was looking for. A bit to the east, I heard a low whimper and cry. Following the sound, I found the source.

    Down in some bushes was a large ball of fur, curled up as tight as it could, trembling and shivering in the cold on the ground. I kneeled down, touching the trembling ball. It jumped up at my touch and the ball looked up at me, revealing the familiar and cute face of my younger cousin, the face of Alfhild. Her face was covered in snot and tears, some of it frozen to her skin and her eyes bloodshot. Seeing it was me, she started crying even harder, clinging to me tightly. I hugged her, relieved to see the small girl alive. ¡°Alfhild, stay quiet and don¡¯t make any noise.¡± She nodded at me showing she understood and instantly ceased her crying.

    With Alfhild a bit calmer, we started moving, still able to hear the rumble and roar of the Lord from the depths of the forest. Alfhild clung tightly to my cloak as we moved, while I led the way to the entrance of the woods. I had been to this part of the woods many times with father and knew it well. Having reached the edge of the woods and able to see outside of it, Alfhild let go of me and ran, excited to leave the damp, dark woods. ¡°Wait, Alfhild, don¡¯t¡­¡± I was to late. The sudden noise of her running had given the Lord all the information he needed to know our location. ¡°Run, just run girl, as fast as you can towards the west, you should meet up with father and uncle.¡± She turned to me, her face filled with fear again, ¡°What about you, aren¡¯t you coming with me?¡± I drew my bow again and turned back towards the woods. ¡°I will hold him here for as long as I can, you and the villagers retreat. Please tell father and mother¡­¡± I paused for a moment, hesitant to finish my sentence. ¡°Tell them I will catch up with all of you.¡± With this lie, I ran back into the forest, preparing for death. I think Alfhild knew what I said was a lie and that I had no chance of catching up with the others if I stayed, yet still she ran to the west.

    It did not take long for the Lord of the Mountain to find me, I had made no effort to hid myself. I shot an arrow right at the monster from my enchanted bow, though just like with other weapons, it just bounced off of him. I threw the bow down and drew my sword. ¡°Maybe an enchanted blade will do the trick,¡± I thought to myself. I charged at the bear, no longer caring for my own life. As I lifted my blade, ready a swing, I felt all the air get knocked out of me, the Lord having smashed his arm right into my chest, sending me flying. As I struggled back my feet, I looked up to see the bear looming right over me. ¡°Well, I guess this is it, I hope the others all got away alright.¡± Having given up on any chance of survival, I closed my eyes, waiting for the bears large claws to sink into my flesh, praying for a painless death.

    Just when I expected the Lord to strike me, I instead heard a loud scream followed by a ripping sound. I opened my eyes and looked up to see the bear once more. Two people were standing in front of the beast, both with their backs turned to it. I recognized their faces, they were highly familiar to me. It was Uncle Esborn and Aunt Serana. As I looked up at the two, I knew something was very wrong, both of their torsos were filled with what looked like multiple swords. They had been impaled by the claws of the Lord of the Mountain, sparing me from his wrath.

    ¡°Are you alright Calder,¡± Uncle asked me, blood flowing from his mouth. I started to tremble, unable to properly move or respond. ¡°Why... why would you¡­ why save me. You could have gotten away, you could have taken the villagers and Alfhild and ran.¡± I could not help screaming at Uncle. He and Auntie only smiled down at me. Uncle then said, ¡°Calder, you are to be chief one day, a chief that will lead the clan to a new era of peace and prosperity. That is what you said right? So at least¡­¡± He was struggling to get out the words, the bears claws having pierced many of his vital organs. Auntie finished for him, ¡°At least let us die for you. Calder, please¡­ please take care of¡­ of...¡± Before she could finish, the bear withdrew its claws, blood now flowing freely from both of their chests. Both Uncle and Auntie collapsed to the floor, already having been taken by death. The bear leaned over and picked up both of the now limp bodies in his jaws and started to walk back into the depths of the woods, no longer desiring to kill me since it now had a far larger meal than it originally bargained for.

    I was not so dumb as to think the two could now be saved. Both Uncle and Auntie were beyond salvation at this point. I snached up my bow and sword as fast as I could and ran. I ran for what felt like hours, the roar of the Lord of the Mountain still ringing in my ears. After some time, pain filled my chest and I collapsed into the snow, coughing up small amounts of blood. ¡°Ahh, I must have broken some ribs,¡± I thought to myself. As my conscious faded, I could hear some voices around me ¡°Here he is, we found him chief.¡± Unable to stay awake any longer, I blacked out.

 Chapter 3: Resolution Beneath the Frozen Moons

    My whole body hurt. I could barely move and my chest was throbbing. I opened my eyes to see Alfhild at my bedside, her face covered in tear marks. She must have been bawling her eyes out for some time. I reached out and touched her cheek. ¡°I suppose that was no dream after all. I really did fight the Lord of the Mountain¡­ and survive, all thanks to¡­¡± I remembered my Uncle and Aunties dying faces, the memorie so harsh it made me want to scream. It was unlikely that any of the other villagers knew what became of the two, I was the only one to see their end after all, thus it fell to me to give the news. I shook Alfhild awake. She slowly opened her bloodshot eyes and looked up at me. After a few moments, she jumped up and immediately ran outside the tent yelling, ¡°Chief, Miss Ylva, Calder is awake. Everyone, Calder has woken up.¡± She came back in and flopped down by my bedside. ¡°Calder, how are you, are you hurt anywhere, can you talk, can you move, are you, are you¡­¡±

    Before I could get her to slow down, a rush of other people came into the tent, Father, Mother and Elder Ragna, to name a few. I could hear the voices of the villagers outside, several children were even poking their faces into the tent. Father and mother both hit me with the same onslaught of questions, though never giving me so much as a moment to answer. Finally, Elder Ragna spoke. ¡°Alfhild, Keldi, Ylva, leave the tent now. I will talk with Calder and hear his story, your all too noisy and the boy needs his rest.¡± The old lady shooed the three out of the room and made the villagers disperse as well, leading to a strange and eerie silence.

    Letting out a sigh of relief, I took the chance to finally talk a bit. ¡°Thank you Elder, that was becoming a little overwhelming,¡± I said to her. ¡°Well you can¡¯t blame them for how they reacted,¡± she said. ¡°You have been asleep for almost three days now on the verge of death. Most of your ribs are broken and you almost froze to death. It was a miracle that you were found at all in the middle of those frozen wastelands.¡± I had not realized my injuries were that bad. That I almost died... the fear of the moment when I faced the Lord of the Mountain returned to me. I could vividly see him impaling Uncle Esborn and Aunt Serana. ¡°What¡¯s wrong child,¡± Elder Ragna asked me. I felt something wet and cold run down my cheek. Touching it, I realized I was crying. I suddenly, and much to the Old Woman¡¯s surprise, let out a loud howl, tears streaming down my face.

    After some time, I finally stopped crying. My eyes had become bloodshot and my voice hoarse. Elder Ragna looked at me with great worry. ¡°Why cry child, that was not a cry of joy for surviving. What happened in that forest.¡± I told her all that had taken place. The way I had found Alfhild curled up in the woods scared for her life, the way I stood before the Lord, ready to accepted my fate¡­ the way I was saved by Uncle Esborn and Aunt Serana. After going over my story, I started feeling tears well up in my eyes again. ¡°What a foolish child you are. I don¡¯t know if you are brave, or just plain stupid, but to face the Lord of the Mountain alone. What were you thinking, facing a beast like that.¡± I could not help but laugh at the remark.

    Old Lady Ragna let out a long sigh. ¡°Well Calder, what¡¯s done is done. Esborn and Serana saved you, keep that sentiment in your heart. You have to live up to their expectations properly and fulfill their final wishes to lead this tribe well, understand?¡± I nodded, fully understanding her point and leaned back into the soft furs. ¡°How long until I can get back on my feet Elder,¡± I asked. She frowned and went deep into thought. ¡°Calder, do not take this the wrong way. The injuries you took were almost fatal, you had frost bite in your right arm. I am sorry but¡­¡± I looked down at my arm. All that was there was the upper portion, the rest was likely cut off to stop the frost from reaching my body. ¡°I see, so you are saying I will live my life as a cripple then,¡± I asked her, my tone clearly showing my anger. ¡°That is not what I am saying Calder, there is plenty you can do, even with only one arm. However, leaving the issue of your arm for the moment, it will take close to three cycles for your ribs to heal, about four for you to get back on your feet, fully able to move.¡± (One cycle is roughly equivalent to one month)

    I felt a sense of worthlessness consume me. ¡°Not only did Uncle and Auntie die for me, now I am out an arm and it will take close to a third of a year just to get back to my former strength.¡± I gripped my right shoulder, lamenting the fact that I could no longer even hunt. ¡°I will leave you for now Calder. Get some rest and heal up, we will discuss what you will do next when you are a bit better.¡± I closed my eyes, not saying a word of protest, merely letting exhaustion take over. I fell into a deep sleep for another two days.

    ***

    It had been almost three months since the Grand Hunt and the death of Uncle Esborn and Aunt Serana. Their funerals had been held several days after I had told Elder Ragna of their demise. The loss of Uncle was huge to the village. He was our greatest warrior, perhaps the greatest in the North. However, life went on. The village, for the most part, went about business as usual. Death was not rare in these mountains. Even the mightiest could fall at anytime and everyone was prepared to wake up the next day, only to never see a loved one again. We lived side by side with death, forged by the cold and snow. Father was continuing his duties as chief, clearly attempting to distract himself from the death of his brother. Alfhild was depressed for about a cycle after her parents passing but soon returned to her cheerful self. Father had also adopted the girl into our family, seeing as she had nowhere else to go. I, on the other hand, had been forced to remain cooped up in the tent for the last three cycles. Unable to move, I could do little more than think and regret what had happened.

    ¡°Calder, Elder Ragna is here to see you again,¡± Alfhild told me as she entered the tent. I looked up to see the old lady enter the room. ¡°Hmm, you seem to be healing quite nicely child, you should be good to get up start moving around soon.¡± Hearing this perked up my mood a bit; being forced to lay down for several cycles had only added to my depression. ¡°Anyways Calder, as for the reason I came to see you, do you know what magic is, my boy?¡± Hearing this question, I sat up in the bed. In this world, magic existed, however, not everyone could use it. In fact, only about one in a thousand had a chance to use magic. Only one in ten thousand had any chance to become a high end mage, or so I had been told by uncle. Just to use magic, many conditions had to be fulfilled, though I had little knowledge on the subject.

    Elder Ragna continued, ¡°I believe, Calder, that you have the aptitude to become a mage. While you may have lost your arm to these mountains, along with your ability to hunt, you have not yet lost any chance at being able to fight for the tribe should the need arise.¡± My face lit up at this remark. What had been the most depressing for me had been losing my arm, which meant my ability to fight, in turn, affecting my ability to protect the village and my family. ¡°Elder Ragna, please, teach magic. If it will allow me to gain even a fraction of the strength my Uncle had, I want to strive for it.¡± Elder seemed pleased with my reaction. ¡°Slow down child, there is little you can do until you regain some of your physical strength, using magic is not as simple as you might think. There is much involved just to be able to gain the ability to use magic,¡± Elder Ragna said.

    Naturally I understood that I needed my strength back first, but I could not contain my excitement at the thought of learning magic in this fantasy world. In my old world, magic was something I could only dream about. Plus, this would likely help take my mind off of the deaths of my Uncle and Aunt. ¡°Elder Ragna, at least explain to me the process of learning magic, what does one have to do to become a mage,¡± I asked vehemently. Elder Ragna and Alfhild smiled, both enjoying my continued excitement. ¡°It is a difficult and complex process and not everyone who tries succeeds, in fact, most fail¡­ with extreme consequences. If you are sure you want to learn to use magic, I would be more than happy to guide you.¡± I agreed to learn without hesitation. Elder Ragna then began her first lecture, ¡°The first step of magic is forming a contract with an elemental. Here in these mountains, frost elementals are the most common.¡± I knew about elementals, they are also referred to as fea or fairies. ¡°To form a contract, first you must locate an elemental who will agree to work with you. You then offer the elemental something and if they accept, they will form a contract with you and share their power in return, allowing you to use magic. The magic you will be able to use will be dictated by the elemental you contract with. Ice magic for frost elementals, fire for fire elementals and so on.¡±

    She continued to explain the different strengths of elementals. As elementals absorb magic either from nature or from their contracted mage; the more magic they absorb, the stronger the elemental grows. The stronger the elemental, the harder it is to contract with. Thus, it was tradition to contract with a low level elemental and grow together with it. This way, one could eventually have a high ranking elemental without having to go through the difficulties of finding and contracting with a wild one. ¡°So Elder, where do I find one of these elementals,¡± I asked. ¡°For you, we will have you look for an elemental in the frozen caves north of where we currently are. There are other places in the mountains with them but that location is the closest one I know of.¡± Elder Ragna got up and looked down at me. ¡°In one more cycle you will be ready to look for an elemental, we will talk more at that time.¡± She turned and walked out of the tent, Alfhild following her. I layed back down and attempted to rest as much as I could, though I was much too excited to sleep.

    ***

    ¡°Are you sure you want to go alone Calder?¡± Mother was looking at me, obviously worried. Father stood by her with the same worried look. ¡°I will be fine, I¡¯m just going to get a small elemental and then I¡¯ll be back.¡± Elder Ragna approached me, handing me a cloth pack. ¡°Do not underestimate this task Calder. Contracting with an elemental is no small feat. I will have you know your Uncle tried once and failed miserably, as did your father.¡± Hearing this, I started getting slightly nervous. ¡°Elder, what is in this bag,¡± I asked her, trying to ignore her previous statement. ¡°It is a bag of Frost Pods, frost elementals can¡¯t resist them. It should help you in your negotiations. It also has some food. Remember, the contract is give and take. Think about what you can give the elemental in return for its magic.¡± Taking that last piece of advice, I bid everyone farwell and began my journey north of the village.

    I walked for about two hours until I reached a large, cliff wall. ¡°So where to from here,¡± I said to myself. I looked to my left and right, trying to make out a cave entrance. To my left, I saw nothing but rock and snow. However, to my right, I saw a pale, blue glow coming from the cliff face. Deciding to follow the light, I ran towards it. After about 100 meters of running, I found it, the cave entrance. The entrance was adorn with beautiful icicles and a pale light coming from within.¡°This light, could it be from the elementals?¡± I tightly gripped the bag of frost pods, following the light.

    I went through many twists and turns, room after room. After what could have been hours, I came upon a large cavern that was far brighter than the other sections of the cave. I was stunned by what I saw. Flowers of pure white grew from the rocky floor and it was snowing¡­ inside the cave. I looked up to see the source of the light. Pale, white balls that looked like small snowballs floated around, making it snow on the ground below. The small balls released a small, humming sound. ¡°And those must be my elementals,¡± I thought to myself. I kneeled down, setting the bag of frost pods onto the ground. I opened the bag and grabbed a handful of pods. Standing up and opening my hand I yelled, ¡°I am Calder Erantu, next chief of the Erantu tribe. I come with this offering, seeking a contract with one of you. Anywho would consider entering into a contract with me, please come down.¡± After I said this, I waited for several moments, though nothing happened.

    After a few more seconds, I the humming sound grew louder. The room started to grow cold¡­ I continued to fix my gaze upward. The many balls of snow that were floating above me started to fly towards me. Scared at the sheer volume of elementals, I ran for the other side of the cavern, the entrance I came through now covered by a swarm of flying snowballs. I reached the other side of the room only to be greeted by a hard and cold wall. ¡°This cannot be happening,¡± I said to myself. Hundreds of elementals were coming my way and I had nowhere to run. I pressed my back to the wall, preparing to be smashed by the many, hundreds of elementals. As I pressed back against the wall, I heard a loud crack. The wall gave way and I fell down a hidden shaft. ¡°I see, this must have not been rock but a thin layer of ice covering the hole.¡± Analyzing the situation as I fell, I looked below me to see darkness. I fell for several more seconds and then could see more pale, blue light. ¡°Not more elementals,¡± I cried loudly. I then smashed into the ground, the force of the fall knocking me out.

    ***

    I did not know how many hours I had been out for. I sat up, having landed right on my back, and surveyed my surroundings. ¡°How did I survive a fall like that,¡± I wondered to myself. I then looked beneath me to see a pile of snowballs. The elementals hummed and then moved from under me. ¡°I see, these little ones broke my fall for me.¡± I got up and gave the elementals some frozen pods, which they seemed to happily accept. How the little, floating snowballs ate them, I will never know. They then started flying off, almost bouncing as they went. I followed them down what seemed to be a rather narrow tunnel. As we continued on through the tunnel, I could see another light ahead, this one quite a bit dimmer than the other room. It was also far colder down here than where I was before.

    As the elementals and I approached the entrance to the glowing room, I grew colder and colder. Starting to shiver, despite my warm, enchanted cloak and armor I reached the room only to be greeted with an impressive blast of cold, the temperature dropping even more than before. It was so cold, I fell to my knees, looking up to then see what appeared to be a large pillar of ice. The pillar was surrounded by many elementals, happily humming while circling it. The pillar let off a cold, blue light, similar to that of the other elementals, only more sinister. It was also covered in familiar lookingrunes that shone with the same light. ¡°Where have I seen those markings before?¡± I thought back to where I might have seen them, though nothing came to mind. A small snowball came up to me and rammed itself into my face, and then flew off back to the pillar. ¡°Are you telling me to approach that thing,¡± I asked it. The elemental bounced up and down, almost as if nodding. I struggled to my feet, the cold still biting into me, and walked up to the pillar. ¡°This kind of reminds me of when I first met Eris,¡± I thought. I did what I did back when I first met her, reached out and touched the pillar.

    A sudden pain ran through my head, my whole body instantly freezing. I could hear screams and anger well up inside of me, madness consuming my very being. The pillar of ice started to shatter; a hand from within the ice reaching out to grab me. When the ice fully broke, I was greeted by the creature within, a large and ghost like humanoid creature. Its body was shaped like a human but it looked like a large mass of wispy, blue energy. As it held onto me, I could feel my skin freeze at its touch and the room grow even colder. The creature looked me in the face, and then down at my missing arm. It reached out and touched the stump that remained and I felt pain shoot through my right shoulder. Screaming, I started to kick at the creature, but I could not get it to let go.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    ¡°Let me go, LET ME GO!!!¡± I continued to scream, struggling to get away, my whole body now feeling the sheer cold. I could feel the frozen monster grip my right arm harder and harder, obviously not willing to let go. Still I yanked away, strength leaving my body. I fell to the ground, no longer able to stand, and could start to feel myself blacking out from the pain. ¡°Just how many times does this world want to kill me,¡± I said, laughing at myself, tears welling up in my eyes, only to freeze to my face as fast as they appeared. Unable to bear the pain any longer, I gave in and stopped resisting the monster. It¡¯s face approached mine and I felt like it said something, though I could no longer hear or feel anything. I blacked out¡­ again.

    ***

    I could feel a light tap on my forehead. Opening my eyes, one of the small, floating elementals was flying around my head, bouncing off of my head over and over. I swatted it away and rose to my feet. I looked around to see I was still in the same room with the ice pillar, though it was no longer as cold. Several more elementals swarmed towards me, congregating around my right side. Watching them dance circles around me, I could not help but smile. I could feel them bouncing off of my right arm and leg. ¡°Wait, my right arm?¡± I looked down and saw an arm, one that should not be there. It was seamlessly integrated in the place where my old arm once was. I raised it and the elementals continued to swirl around this new arm. I could see runes clearly engraved into the skin, the arm pale and cold. I opened and closed my hand, flexed my muscles and bent my elbow. This arm¡­ it just felt¡­ right. It felt like it belonged there, like it was always there.

    I could feel tears welling up in my eyes and streaming down my face. I suppose losing my arm had been more traumatic than I thought. The elementals started to hum, swirling around the outstretched arm faster and faster, like a mini snowstorm, they spun. Cold started to fill the arm and it went numb; a bright, blue light emitting from within the small storm of elementals, my arm at its epicenter. While I was frightened, it did not hurt, thus, I did not resist. Finally, all of the elementals hummed so loud, I thought my ears might burst. The light blinded me and then¡­ silence. The elementals had vanished with a little popping sound, like a puff of smoke into thin air.

    I looked back at my new arm, the runes now aglow with the pale, blue light. I could feel power emitting from it, the runes letting off a similar hum to that of the elementals. I touched the arm with my left hand and could feel the cold running through it, as though my blood flowing through the arm was made out of ice. ¡°This power, this feeling, does this mean¡­ did I contract with an elemental¡­ maybe.¡± I was slightly dumbfounded at the sudden turn of events. I did not know what that large creature was, be it an elemental¡­ or something far more¡­ questionable. However, I had my arm back and I might have gained the ability to use magic. It just felt like I could, I would still need to test it and talk with Elder Ragna about my current situation. She would likely have a better idea than me about what is going on with my body and what kind of elemental I contracted with.

    Now that I was alone, I took a moment to explore the room in a bit more depth. I walked to the middle of the room first, right up to where the pillar of ice once was. The whole thing was shattered thousands of tiny shards, all of them having lost their previous luster and glow. ¡°It must have shattered when I touched it and that creature came out. Does that mean that thing was sealed away? But for what reason?¡± Thinking allowed, my voice echoed off the walls of the empty and silent cavern. I then started exploring the walls around the cavern. I realized the room was actually rather small compared to the other rooms in the cave.

    After looking around for a few minutes, I came to the conclusion that this room was utterly empty save for the pillar that once stood as the centerpiece of this room. There were two entrances in the cavern to go through. One led to the area I fell into earlier, which was a dead end, and another hole in the wall that I had not yet gone through. This left me with little choice but to follow the path laid out before me. So¡­ I went down the path, the long, winding, narrow path that it led to. I continued on for a few hours. I was hungry and thirsty, having already eaten all the food I brought with me. ¡°I was definitely underprepared, who knew this little day trip would turn into some grand adventure,¡± I thought to myself. As I continued down the path, I was reminded of the expedition with Levai and Eric, our journey had ended with us having no food or water, just like the situation I was in now. Though that journey ended with no real conclusion (save ending up in an alternate world) I did not want this one to end in the same way.

    Finally, I reached the end of the tunnel and was at last greeted by the morning light of the beloved, snowy mountains. Breathing in the fresh, crisp morning air, I was truly relieved to be out of those caves. The only problem now was that I had no idea where I was and I had no food. Water would be no issue seeing as the mountain was covered in snow. My first goal for now would be to supply a source of food and then try and figure out where I was. I was familiar with hunting and had both of my arms again. Though I had one issue, I had no weapons with which to hunt with. I left my sword and bow back at the village and all I had was an empty bag, some Frost Pods, my armor, a small skinning knife and my enchanted cloak. Before worrying about weapons though, I had to find an area with some animals or plants to eat. I headed in the direction of the rising sun, which meant west. Plants tended to grow towards the west since that was the area with the most direct sunlight. That would also mean that animals would congregate in that general direction in search of food. After eating some snow to rehydrate myself, I started my trek through the snow.

    ***

    After a few hours of searching, I finally found a small forest, likely a part of the Forest of Torgath. I entered into it and almost right away, I saw a group of deer like creatures, only slightly larger and with far more devastating horns than the variant in my old world. I considered sneaking up and killing on of them with my knife but ended up following my better judgment. Those horns and hooves looked like they would really hurt. Trying to figure out a way to catch one, I knew what I would need. ¡°If only I had a bow to use, I could make one from one of the trees but that would take a while. I need one now?¡± With that thought lingering in my head, I began to hear a high pitch hissing sound and felt a burning sensation in my right arm. I looked down to see the lightly glowing runes in my arm hum and show a far brighter light than before.

    Once the humming reached terminal volume, some of the small, floating, snowball like elementals popped out from the runes in my arm. Their form changed to take on that of a bow and an. These landed in my hands and the humming then stopped. The bow and arrow were both made out of an ice like substance, though not very cold. The bow also had optimal bend and felt perfect, even more so than my enchanted bow back home. I turned to face the deers, surprised they were still there after all that noise. ¡°Maybe only I can hear that humming,¡± I said under my breath. I notched the icy arrow onto the bow¡¯s frozen string. Expecting it to slip, the arrow instead fit neatly onto the bow. I drew back the string and did not hear any cracks or pops. This was a good sign that the bow was stable. I fully drew the bow back and let the arrow fly. The arrow missed, landing on the ground right next to the deer, exploding into a large spike of ice. I looked down at my arm and said, ¡°I need another arrow.¡± Right then, another elemental popped out and turned into an arrow. I drew once more and fired at the running deer. It hit this time, and when it did, I was shocked. The arrow pierced the skin of the animal and then a large spike of ice emerged from the deer, opposite the arrow. ¡°I guess these arrows explode into large spikes when they hit.¡±

    Slightly scared to use anymore arrows, I walked up to my catch kill. I set the bow down; the moment it left my hand, it turned back into the small group of elementals. Two more elementals flew over to me, likely the ones that had been used to make the arrows, and they joined with the larger group. They all then flew to my arm and, one after another, touched the runes and were absorbed again. ¡°I am starting to understand how this works I think,¡± I said to myself. I examined the deer, expecting to see a large, gaping hole in it, only to see that the animal was perfectly in tackt. Looking at the area where the ice spike had been. I could see that the skin of the animal had turned pure white, waxy and firm These were all sign of a sever ice burn of the highest degree.

    Seeing this damage, I attempted to cut open the deer. It¡¯s whole body was frozen solid, though, making this task very difficult. After ten minutes of attempting to cut the animal open, my knife finally snapped. ¡°Damn, now what do I do, i need to thaw it out and cut it but¡­¡± Again the runes hummed and out popped an elemental that turned into a knife of ice. ¡°Well, a knife is nice but how am I going to cut through something frozen?¡± Almost as if insulted by my unwillingness to use it, the elemental knife flew out of my hand and floated in midair, retaining its blade form. The knife then proceeded to fly all around the frozen deer, slicing huge chunks of meat off of the creature. Within mere seconds, the animal was skinned and buchered; neatly sliced pieces of meat were laying on the ground, only leaving some bones and organs.

    I was amazed, the little floating knife had done is seconds what would take me several minutes, and far more neatly. Additionally, since all the meat was already frozen from the animal, it would keep for a good while in this cold environment. ¡°Amazing, you elementals are truly amazing,¡± I said to the little knife. It bobbed up and down several times as if pleased with itself and then returned to its ball form and was absorbed back into my arm. I filled my pack with as much meat as I could and then took the largest chunk hauling it for a few minutes until I came across a nice, little clearing.

    I gathered up some firewood from the local trees, some dry straw and leaves for a tinder nest, and a dry piece of bark. ¡°Now I just need a bow drill.¡± A bow drill was a tool we used to help make fires. It was similar in shape and size to a short bow but had a long, loose string. You would wrap the string around a stick and use that to quickly spin the stick on a piece of flat wood or bark and make some embers. I had the elementals in my arm make a fire drill for me and then used it to light some emberes. Dumping the lightly burning embers into the nest of twigs and leaves, I had a small bit of fire now. I threw it into the large pile of firewood and watched as the fire roared to life.

    I built a basic spit to put the meat on and then let it cook over the fire. As the meat cooked, I had the elementals make me a small table and chair, along with some eating utensils that existed in my old world. ¡°These elementals can do anything,¡± I said. Of course, I knew there were limits to what these elementals could accomplish. At the end of the day, they were still made out of ice, thus the elementals were highly useful in the cold environment of the north but I was unsure of how they would fare elsewhere with a warmer climate.

    After a little while, the meat was cooked. I took it off the fire and placed it onto the middle of the icy table. I had one of the elemental knives cut up the meat, just like before, leaving me with nice, small, cube shaped pieces of meat. I wolfed down as much as I could, though I came to notice a problem with the elementals while eating. When they cut or touch something, they chill it. The once hot food was now cold, though not quite frozen. I dealt with it and continued my meal. After eating most everything, I decided I should freeze the remaining meat cubes to preserve them in case I needed a fast meal. I asked the elementals to do it, and five small balls of snow came out of therunes and seemed to chill the area around the meat quickly leading to nice, frozen meat cubes. I put the cubes into my pack and summoned the elementals back into my arm. As I did this, I could feel a slight headache coming on. ¡°I think I am starting to understand how magic works a bit more now,¡± I said to myself, ¡°As well as my own limits.¡±

    The night was clear and there was no snowfall whatsoever. The trees of the forest acted as a natural barrier for the wind. In conditions like this, there was no need to build a tent since my cloak had a frost protection enchantment, allowing me to stay nice and warm, even in the snow. I dug a small hole into the snow in the shape of my body, lining the bottom with bits of twigs and leaves. I used my pack as a pillow and layed down, covered up by my cloak. I could see the full moons in the sky, both Lovita and Manatu. One difference between this world and my old world was the moons. Where the old world only had one moon, this one has two. Lovita was the larger of the two moons and pure white, while Manatu was smaller and hidden slightly in the shadow of Lovita, touched by a red hue.

    I now began to go over in my head what I knew about magic. It seemed my arm was a mechanism for storing or summoning frost elementals. With a simple verbal command, I could summon them and have them do or make things for me. I did not yet know what the limits of what they could make were, though it seemed one elemental was enough for a small object like and arrow or knife. More than one was needed for larger objects such as a bow or table. I also did not feel very physically tired from using magic, though I did get mentally tired. The headache was likely caused by using too much magic. I would have to be careful not to overexert myself until I clearly understood my limits. Along with not knowing the nature of my contract with the elementals, there was something else bothering me. I was fairly sure that each snowball was one low class elemental. Elder told me to contract with only one of them, however, I had what seemed like dozens living in my arm. There was also the large, blue creature from the cave. There were just too many uncertainties.

    I looked up at the moons, now much too tired to worry about all of the things I did not know. My first task was to get back to the village, then I could get my answers about what was happening to my body. For now, I just had to survive. I had food and water. My cloak kept me warm and I could make weapons with magic. I had all the tools I needed to survive, all the tools I needed to get back. At that moment, I decided to let sleep take me, worrying about the other things in the morning. As I looked up at the two moons, I made up my mind. I would no longer give myself up to death like I did with the Lord of the Mountain, I would not let those I loved die like with uncle, but most of all, I would find her¡­ find Eris. With this resolution made quietly to myself and myself alone, I rolled over, curled up into a tiny ball in my cloak and fell into a deep slumber, my arm humming quietly all the while.

    <hr>

    ¡°My lord Ludwig, I accept this position as Grand Paladin with great honor and will do my utmost to please you and the royal family.¡± Elizabeth said this while bowing before the emperor. ¡°To be made Grand Paladin at the age of just twelve, what is the Emperor thinking,¡± said High Priest Cornix; he was viewing the event from the back of the room. ¡°It should be obvious father, it is her position as a daughter of the Duvark family.¡± A young boy with a nasty smirk on his face was standing next to the High Priest. ¡°If you are born into the Duvark family, it is only natural to be given high ranking positions in the military, even if you just a child with no accomplishments.¡± The High Priest looked down at his son, ¡°I suppose you are right Mark, my boy. Now come, you have your training to attend to today.¡± The High Priest left the throne room, Mark Cornix right on his tail.

    Grand Paladin Elizabeth Duvark rose and left the room as well once the ceremony ended and was greeted by a small, well built, boy. ¡°Congratulations big sister, at this rate, it will only be a matter of time before you are one of the three high generals.¡± The young boy looked up his sister with the utmost respect. ¡°I might become a high general one day Blake, but you too will be knighted before you know it. Once that happens, we will have to have another celebration.¡± An old man walked up to the duo with a big smile on his face. ¡°That is true Elizabeth, but today is your day. Enjoy it while it lasts.¡± Elizabeth looked up at the old man, ¡°Thank you Grandfather. Tell me, when am I heading out to the field again soon.¡± The old man frowned a bit, ¡°Call me Grand Marshal when in formal settings girl, and is war all you can think about¡± he said. ¡°At this rate you will never find a man to marry.¡± At this remark, Elizabeth smacked the old man square on the face. ¡°Just answer my question, when am I going to war again grandfather?¡± The girl was insistent. ¡°Not yet child, not yet. For now, we will have you train for a while. Your next conquest will be far more dangerous than your previous one and we will need time and resources to prepare, a few years at least. I want you to be as strong as possible for it.¡±

    Elizabeth let out a sigh of frustration at the prospect of waiting. ¡°Your next conquest will take place in four more summers. Long have the inhabitants of this land enjoyed the honor of being a part of the empire, though they refuse to give up their barbaric ways and obey the empire,¡± The old man said. ¡°I know the land you are speaking of Grandfather,¡± Elizabeth said. ¡°You mean to send me to¡­ The North.¡±

 Chapter 4: Strongest in the North - The Ivartar

    ¡°Where the hell are we Robert?¡± A small, rat-like man was yelling at his comrade, both of them wrapped in long cloaks, shivering from the sheer cold and biting wind. The two were clearly not prepared for the pure extremities of the North. The larger man known as Robert only grunted at the rat-like man. The two spoke the common tongue, though in a dialect I was unfamiliar with. I had been tailing the two men for several hours, having run across them while searching for food in the Forest of Torgoth. The two of them were far underprepared for survival in these mountains, lacking ample supplies of food, warm clothes and weapons, each equipped with only a small sword from the looks of it.

    The larger man finally collapsed onto the ground after another hour of grueling marching. ¡°That''s it, I can¡¯t go any farther today. Greavier, we camp here for the night.¡± The rat-like Grieavier slumped down onto the frozen, forest floor, obviously just as tired as his comrade. Both didn''t even bother lighting a fire or eating any food, merely tossing their packs off to the side and going to sleep. I waited for them to fall into a deep slumber and then snuck up to investigate the two strange men. ¡°If I am to be chief of the Erantu, I should do my part to help defend these mountains,¡± I said to myself. Searching their bags, I found little save for some dried bread, salted meats and a few flasks of wine. Just as I was about to leave, thinking there was nothing of value in the bags, I found an important looking piece of paper bearing a wax seal. The emblem on the seal was unfamiliar to me; a serpent wrapped around a crown of thorns. Someone back in the village would likely have some knowledge about it.

    I looked back at the two sleeping men; both were shivering in their sleep. ¡°There is a chance that leaving them alive could come back to bite me, but¡­¡± I turned my back on the two men, not having the ruthlessness needed to kill two sleeping, defenseless humans. Chances were that if I just left them, they would die of hunger within two days, based on the small amount of food they had left. They could also just fall prey to the monsters of the woods, which was highly likely given their current, defenseless state. I skulked back off into the darkness of the woods, leaving the two men to their rest, though not before snagging a few pieces of that salted meat for the road.

    ***

    Once I put some major distance between me and the two men, I pulled out the piece of paper I had nicked. I carefully broke open the wax seal, making sure not to damage it, and read its contents:

    ¡°By order of His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Ludwig Arstian, you are to accomplish the following,

    Robert Lentian and Greaver Lorkenhan, you are both to scout out the northern mountains and obtain the following information to aid in the subjugation of the North:

    Strength of local tribes, food stores, basic geography and a location for us to build a base camp. The location for base camp must have a securable food source, water source and lumber source. Report your findings to High Paladin Elizabeth Duvark, Head of the Iron Legion, no later than the Summer of the 474th year. The Iron Legion is planned to arrive in the North in the Summer of the 476th year.¡±

    Reading the orders of the two men I found, it was clear they were scouts for the Empire, who were likely doing preliminary surveillance to aid in this ¡°Subjugation of the North.¡± With these orders in hand, I figured two cycles in the wild was enough. It was time to go home¡­ home to the Erantu. Father would need to know of this revelation, as would the other tribes. The only way the tribes of the North could stand up to the might of one of the twelve legions of the Empire would likely be through a united front. How willing the chiefs of the various tribes would be to do that though¡­ well, that was anyone''s guess.

    ***

    It had been a full two cycles since I had left home to contract with an elemental. I could have returned home sooner perhaps, but I had been enjoying my time in the wild, exploring what my magic was capable of. It was midday when I returned to the village and everyone was outside; the children playing in the snow and some of the women were busy cooking or mending clothing. Entering the village, I went straight to fathers tent, ignoring the flock of people welcoming me back. Entering into his tent, I saw he, mother and Alfhild were all having their midday meal. ¡°Father, I need to talk with you¡­ alone,¡± I said, not even bothering to greet the others. Father didn¡¯t question me, he quickly got up and followed me to the nearly empty gathering hall in silence.

    Elder Ragna was inside of the hall, staring into a fire that was burning atop the stone slab at the front. Father and I both sat around the altar, Elder Ragna looking up at both of us. ¡°If you both are here, something has happened, has it not Calder?¡± The old woman was incredibly sharp, easily able to tell that something was amiss. Father looked at me, ¡°Now speak boy, what is it you called me here in such a rush for, especially after being away for two whole cycles with no contact.¡± I reached into my cloak with my right arm, pulling out the paper with the orders of the two Empire scouts. ¡°Calder, your arm, what is that,¡± Elder Ragna asked, her face pale at the sight of my new and strange arm. Father had a similar reaction. ¡°We can discuss that later; for now, read this.¡± I unrolled the paper and handed it over for both Father and Elder.

    After Elder and Father had read the orders, Father put his hand on his face and let out a heavy sigh. ¡°Tell me boy, how did you come across this document,¡± he asked. I told them about my encounter with the Empire scouts out in the Forest of Torgath. After telling my tale, the two sat in thought for a few minutes. Finally, Elder spoke, ¡°So Calder, what is your plan for dealing with this¡­ invasion of the Empire?¡± I was slightly surprised that she wanted me to suddenly come up with a plan. ¡°Why dumbstruck boy, you discovered the Empires plan, thus you have to figure out how to deal with it,¡± Father barked at me. I was glad that the two had confidence in me to this caliber, though they might have forgotten I was still just a child of now nine winters old. Any normal child my age would never be able to come up with a war plan, at least not a good one (Thank god for past memories).

    ¡°Father, Elder, I do have a simple plan, of sorts. We can¡¯t hide from the Empire nor can we run away. We have to face them head on, though doing so alone is the same as suicide. We should try and join forces with the other tribes, the Ivartar, Lokvan, any other tribes that will fight together with us. If we band together, our chances of surviving will greatly increase, though that is just common sense...right?¡± Father and Elder both were slightly shocked at the suggestion. The tribes rarely, if ever, worked together, save for small amounts of trading and the like every now and again. Common sense of the mountains dictated that you attack another tribe when you run into them. A coalition of the majority of the tribes in the Mountains was unheard of, especially due to the many grudges held by some tribes. ¡°Calder, this idea of yours, it just might work. If we get the Ivartar on our side first, the other tribes will likely join us without argument,¡± Elder said. Father nodded his head in agreement. ¡°So we have a course of action then,¡± I said. ¡°We need to go and meet with Grandpa Ivartar and try to get him onto our side. From there, the rest should be easy.¡±

    ¡°Calder, isn¡¯t there something else you want to tell us; that arm, what is it,¡± Father asked. I had been hoping to avoid the subject but is seemed that wouldn''t be possible. I drew my arm out from my cloak and summoned a few of the small, round frost elementals. ¡°I got this arm when I came into contact with some strange creature in the frost caves; it might have been a higher ranking elemental, though I¡¯m not sure.¡± Seeing the multiple small frost elementals floating around me, Father and Elder were obviously surprised. I continued my story about how I met the creature in the caves, what it looked like and the pain I felt when we came into contact. I also told them about the powers of my arm, at least those that I knew of so far. Father and Elder Ragna merely sat in silence, listening to my tale.

    ¡°I have never seen something quite like that,¡± said Elder. ¡°It is not uncommon for higher ranking elementals to do things beyond human comprehension but making a whole new limb and then attaching it perfectly to your body... along with those powers¡­¡± She was dumbfounded. ¡°Perhaps if we were to investigate the glowing runes on his arm; Elder, can you make out what they say,¡± father asked. I held out my arm for Elder to investigate in more detail. As she turned it over and looked at it from every angle, soon began to poke and prod it. ¡°Hmm, Calder, do you mind if I test something,¡± the old woman asked. I nodded, signaling that she could. On that note, Elder started to chant. As she did, the room grew cold and the fire began to dim.

    After a few minutes of chanting, I started feeling a cold surge through my arm, power entering through the Elders touch. Suddenly, the runes on my arm glowed far brighter than than ever before, humming and hissing sounds coming from them. As the glowing grew brighter, the sound my arm let off grew. And then¡­ ¡°Bang.¡± I screamed in pain, my arm making an ear deafening sound. I fell to the ground, gripping my arm, pain searing through it. Father helped me up, though he was not looking at me at all. He and Elder both had their attention fixed on the middle of the hall right behind me; I turned to look. There stood the creature from the cave, it''s wispy, ethereal form looming over us. Elder and Father were frozen with fear. I, however, stood and walked towards the creature, my arm outstretched, the runes still vigorously glowing. ¡°What are you doing Calder, stay away from that thing,¡± Father screamed at me.

    As I approached the icy giant, I was filled with an absence of fear or terror. The creature started to cry and howl as I drew closer, my arm throbbing in resonance with the creatures cries. While it spoke no language, I partially knew what it was feeling, the creatures emotions flowing through me. ¡°Why are you so sad¡­ so angry,¡± I asked it. ¡°Why do you cry like that, tell me, please. Why did you contract with me, what happened to make you like this?¡± We now stood face to face, the creature calmed slightly, slowly reaching out its arm towards me. My glowing arm touched its own wispy, ghost like appendage. I could feel the cold enter into my hand, though this time with no pain. The creature started to slowly fade back into my arm where it had been before, and then¡­ ¡°Poof.¡± Like with the smaller elementals, the large creature popped back into my arm, the runes now returning to their previous dim glow.

    ¡°Calder, what was that thing, was that¡­ the monster you saw in the caves,¡± Father asked me, sweat pouring down his face. ¡°Yes, it was. That was definitely the thing I saw,¡± I said. Elder rose and approached me. ¡°That was not just some elemental Calder,¡± she said. ¡°I have no idea what that is, though no elemental should be able to take such a human like shape. That may have once been an elemental, but now¡­ well I am no longer sure.¡± I was glad to finally get some answers, few though they may be. ¡°So somehow, an elemental changed into that thing? And what does that mean exactly Elder?¡± She shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Calder, I have no idea. The only person I can know of who might have some answers for you is an old friend of mine, Relith, the Elder of the Ivartar tribe. Since you are heading that way anyways, you should have him take a look at your arm. He is an expert when it comes to ancient runes and legends, though he has an awful personality.¡± All of us ended up leaving the gathering hall, now preparing for the imminent meeting with the Ivartar.

    ***

    ¡°And so Calder, elementals will use magic based on what request you ask of them. Remember though, it is give and take. Be careful of using magic until you see Relith, we still don¡¯t know the nature of your contract.¡± Elder was busy lecturing me on magic from utop her horse. She, Alfhild, Mother and I were all on our way to meet with the Ivartar tribe. Mother had come along as she was the only person in our tribe who knew the constantly shifting location of the Ivartar. Seeing as the village of a tribe in these Mountains can change locations up to ten times a year, only a member of said tribe knows where they were at all times. Alfhild came along one a whim and Elder was here to keep an eye on my arm, just in case anything happened.

    ¡°Calder, I can see the Ivartar village just up ahead,¡± Alfhild yelled at me; she and mother were riding fifty or so meters in front of Elder Ragna and I. We joined up with mother and Alfhild, the Ivartar village now visible. What I saw amazed me. In all my years in this world, the Erantu village was the only human settlement I had ever been to. The nomadic tribes of the North rarely interacted with each other so I never had the chance to visit other settlements. The Ivartar village was many times the size of the Erantu village. Hundreds, if not thousands, of tents were scattered for as far as the eye could see. In the middle was their gathering hall, a mighty structure, built out of a singular, massive chunk of ice.

    ¡°Elder Ragna, how is their gathering hall so big,¡± Alfhild asked the old woman. ¡°I think Ylva can answer that better than I can,¡± the old lady said. Mother, instead of answering outright, asked us a question. ¡°Calder, Alfhild, do you two know why the Ivartar are called the strongest in the North.¡± Alfhild answered, ¡°That¡¯s easy, it¡¯s because they have the most people compared to any other tribe. Just look at the size of their village, there must be thousands of people living there.¡± Mother let out a light laugh, patting the young girl on her head. ¡°The Ivartar village is not called the strongest in the North because of its size but because of a special trait of the family of the chief, my father''s family that is. Those born the the blood of the Ivartar chiefs often have aptitude to become mages. My father, for example, is a poor warrior but an incredible mage, though I did not inherit his skill with magic. It seems as though you did Calder.¡± I felt slightly honored knowing I inherited the skills of the one of the strongest men in the North. ¡°As for how the hall is made, my father uses his frost magic to make the gathering hall. By using magic, you can build the hall larger, stronger and faster.¡±

    As we neared the village gates, we were approached by five large and armed men, each wearing full sets of plate armor lined with heavy furs. ¡°Hold there travelers, who dares approach the land of the Ivartar unannounced?¡± The largest of the men stepped forward, wearing a hood that covered most of his face, bearing an axe larger than he himself was. ¡°It has been some time, Head Warrior Van. I am here to see my father, is he around,¡± mother said in a rather authoritative tone. ¡°Ylva, is that you, I scarce recognized you. Who is this¡­ company, you you have brought along,¡± the large man known as Van asked. I jumped off my horse and walked forward, beckoning to Alfhild to follow my lead. ¡°I am Calder Erantu, next chief of the Erantu tribe. The young girl here is Alfhild Erantu, only child of the late Esborn Erantu, the Great Bear of the North. The old lady is the Elder of the Erantu tribe, Ragna.¡± The large man removed his hood, showing a long, but well kept mane of golden hair. He had tribal tattoos on his face and a light beard.

    ¡°So, you are the son of old Keldi hmm? And did you say Esborn passed. That is quite a shock, the man was a true warrior, perhaps the strongest I had ever known.¡± The large man seemed slightly surprised to hear of Uncle¡¯s passing. Father likely did not want other tribes to know about it and had kept quiet. ¡°We can talk about that later Van,¡± mother said. ¡°Caler needs to see my father right away, it is of the utmost importance.¡± Van consider our request for a moment and then turned, beckoning us to follow. ¡°And call that old fool Relith while your at it, we will have need of him as well,¡± Elder Ragna added in.

    As we passed by the many rows of huts and tents, I noticed the many heads turning our way, some bowing out of respect, either for mother or Van, and others averting their gaze, as if hoping to not get involved in whatever was to come. ¡°You mother¡¯s coming always signals the start of something bad lad,¡± Van said to me. ¡°Last time it was the Lokvan and based on how much of a rush you all seem to be in, this is something even bigger isn''t it?¡± I walked up to Van¡¯s side. ¡°That¡¯s right, Head Warrior. What happens in this meeting today could decide the fate of the entire North depending on grandfathers actions.¡± Hearing this, Van laughed. ¡°What could a child like you know about life or death, just sit back and let the adults talk.¡± Mother smacked Van on the back of the head, though she was barely able to reach due to the immense height difference. ¡°Do not underestimate my son Van, we are here on his request, not mine. I should also add he is a skilled mage and hunter; he even survived a fight with the Lord of the Mountain.¡± Hearing all that, Van was obviously shocked, his jaw agape while looking down on me. ¡°Lets be on our way Head Warrior,¡± I said to him, Alfhild giggling in the background.

    We eventually reached a massive tent, made of a mixture of ice and furs. ¡°Wait here, all of you,¡± Van said to us. He entered into the room and, after a few minutes, emerged. ¡°All of you may enter,¡± he said. Mother led the way, all of us following her lead; Alfhild was clinging onto my cloak. ¡°My lovely, trouble bringing daughter, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit.¡± An elderly man, not quite as old as Elder Ragna though older than father, sat in a large, throne like chair. I assumed this man was the chief of the Ivartar, Chief Arnbiorn Ivartar, most powerful mage in the North. Mother stepped forward. ¡°Is that anyway to great your daughter after not seeing her for the last eight winters,¡± she asked. Chief Arnbiorn frowned. ¡°Can you not even take a joke girl, you always were uptight.¡± Having lived with mother for a long time, father and I, indeed the whole of the Erantu Tribe, knew one very important fact, never piss off mother.

    She walked forward, and without hesitation, slapped the chief right on the cheek, knocking him clean off his chair onto the floor. ¡°Dammit girl, why do you always have to be so quick to violence, keep this up and my grandson will inherit your bad habits.¡± I walked up to the old man and helped him to his feet. ¡°Why thank you child, and who might you be,¡± he asked. ¡°I am Calder Erantu sir, next chief of the Erantu tribe¡­ and your grandson. We came here to see you today at my request,¡± I said. The old man stood there staring at me for a minuet and then looked at mother. ¡°This boy is my grandson,¡± He asked her. ¡°That''s right.¡± The chief looked back at me again. ¡°So boy.. No, Calder was it? Why have you come to see me, it does not seem to be for cake and snacks.¡± The old man¡¯s tone then changed, now far more serious than before. ¡°No, wait. Don¡¯t tell me, not yet. Van, see that Ylva and the young girl are taken care of. I then want you to come to the gathering hall together with Relith and the village leaders. I want you all to hear what the boy has to say as well. I have a feeling this will be troublesome. Calder, follow me. You as well Elder Ragna.¡±

    Elder Ragna and I both followed Chief Arnbiorn outside the tent, towards the gathering hall. ¡°See, I knew something was going to happen,¡± someone among the crowd of tents said. ¡°Everytime that women comes, something bad happens,¡± another added. I knew that getting angry about the insults to my mother would only hinder negotiations, so I held my tongue. ¡°Ever since my daughter was young, she always seemed to have a knack for attracting trouble. Bandits, the Lokvan, you name it. Because of this, the common opinion of her is not very good,¡± the chief said. ¡°While it is true she only comes around when something bad is happening, I have a feeling this time is a bit different, isn¡¯t it Calder,¡± the old chief asked me. ¡°That¡¯s right. While it is true that something horrible is about to happen, it is something that involves your all the tribes of the North, not just the Erantu and Ivartar.¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    ***

    Chief Arnbiorn, Elder Ragna and I all waited in the massive gathering hall for the others to arrive. Finally, Head Warrior Van, Elder Relith and a few other men, likely the high ranking members of the tribe, all gathered. ¡°Why have you called us all here, Arnbiorn, I was in the middle of some important work.¡± A very short and elderly man was yelling at Chief Arnbiorn. The old man wore a set of dirty robes and carried a walking staff. ¡°Now is not the time for one of your temper tantrums Relith,¡± Elder Ragna said to the Ivartar Elder. ¡°Well, then this had better be important old woman; spit it out Arnbiorn, why have you called all of the central figures of the clan together like this?¡± Elder Relith was obviously fuming.

    ¡°I will be honest with all of you, I have no clue why this meeting is being held as well. First, however, I would like to introduce you to the one who requested to meet with all of you; Calder Erantu, son of Chief Keldi Erantu and my grandson.¡± I stepped before the group and spoke. ¡°As your chief said, I am Calder, next chief of the Erantu. It was I who requested to meet with you all today concerning a matter of the utmost importance¡± One of the men laughed at me; he had a bow and dagger with him and was dressed in the clothes of a hunter. ¡°So you mean to say that we all had our duties interrupted because of a child, bearly what, nine winters old or so? And brat, you think that just because you are the chief¡¯s grandkid, you can go and waste all our time? Unlike your puny tribe, the Ivartar don¡¯t have time to go catering to some childs fantasy.¡± The man was obviously angry.

    ¡°Quiet Head Hunter Pippin,¡± Van said. ¡°The boy said he has something important to tell us, something that could affect the whole of the North. Do you think Lady Ylva and Elder Ragna of the Erantu would just waste their time on some childs fantasy? I say we all wait and hear what the boy has to say¡± Being backed up by Van was reassuring. His statement quieted all of the other members of the assembly, though Head Hunter Pippin was clearly displeased. I continued on,¡± While I know all of you men are very busy with your duties, I ask that you please just hear me out.¡± I reached under my cloak into my side pack and drew out the orders I had snatched from the Empire scouts. ¡°While I was out exploring, I came across two men who turned out to be scouts for the Empire. I managed to take this from them.¡± I handed the document over to Chief Arnbiorn, the wax seal still in good condition.

    He examined the seal first and then read the orders. When he finished reading, his face darkened and he rolled the orders back up and passed them over to Elder Relith. ¡°Relith, which family does that seal belong to? If I am not mistaken¡­¡± Elder Relith examined it. ¡°A serpent, wrapping itself around a crown of thorns, no doubt about it. Arnbiorn, this is the seal of the Duvark family.¡± Everyone in the room gasped and started whispering. Head Hunter Pippin started making a racket again. ¡°What the hell do you mean the Duvark Family. Elder, are you quite sure?¡± Elder Relith nodded his head. I was at a loss though, unaware of who the Duvak¡¯s were.

    I leaned over to Elder Ragna and quietly asked her. ¡°The Duvark Family is one of the three strongest families in the Empire,¡± She said. ¡°The Duvark¡¯s are the family of the Grand Marshall; he has complete control over the whole military. The other two families are the Royal Arstian Family, family of the Emperor, and the Cornix Family, head of the Church of the Seven Dragons.¡± This meant that the Duvark Family was dangerous and likely any orders with their seal on it meant that whatever was being planned was not just some small operation, but a full scale invasion. Grandfather then spoke, ¡°Calder my boy. You brought us these orders, so now what is it you have come here to ask of us? Surly you do not think even we, the Ivartar, Strongest in the North, can fight against the might of the Empire alone.¡± It seemed as though the members of the Ivartar got the wrong impression. ¡°You are mistaken grandfather. We did not come all this way just to seek your protection. We came here looking for allies; allies who would fight together with us against the Empire and their Legions.¡±

    All the members of the Ivartar started laughing. ¡°Fight together... with you. You do realize how small your tribe is right. What you are asking is the same as asking us to fight alone.¡± Head Hunter Pippin was howling and rolling on the ground with laughter. ¡°You did not let me finish,¡± I said, starting to get angry. ¡°I would not waste my time trying to fight the Empire with only one tribe as an allie, that would be a fool''s errand. You are only the first of many.¡± The laughter died and grandfathers face grew rather sinister. ¡°What do you mean we are the first of many boy? What is your real purpose here, lay out your whole damn plan forus to hear, stop hiding things.¡± I knew full well that I could draw out this discussion no longer. I had no choice but to bet on the intelligence of these men, if they had any.

    ¡°My plan is to unite as many tribes as I can to ward off the coming invasion. I want the Ivartar to join me first due to your status as Strongest in the North. If the ones bearing that title were to stand against the Empire, all of the smaller tribes would flock to your side, increasing our numbers exponentially, along with our chances of survival.¡± Hearing this, Chief Arnbiorn stood up and walked over to me. ¡°Boy, this plan of yours, how likely do you think our chances of survival are if we unite all the tribes.¡± I thought for a moment. ¡°If we just run and hid, waiting for the Empire to come, we will all die. If all of the tribes work together though, I would say we have a one in five chance.¡± Elder Relith sighed. ¡°One in five, twenty percent hmm, not great odds.¡± The others all seemed to agree with him.

    ¡°Calder, I have decided,¡± Arnbiorn stated loudly, making sure everyone could hear. ¡°I will have you go through a Grand Trial. Pass my Trial and we, the Ivartar, will be the staunch allies of the Erantu in the coming war. We will even handle gathering together all of the other tribes. Fail, however, and you are forbidden from ever coming near the Ivartar tribe again. Any protection we once offered will be retracted and you will be pray to us, like all the other tribes in these mountains.¡± Hearing this, I froze. The Erantu were never attacked by other tribes up until now due to the Ivartar placing us under their protection. Attacking us would be equivalent to attacking the Ivartar. Only the war-crazed Lokvan would ever risk attacking a tribe affiliated with the Ivartar. Losing that protection would be the same as asking the other tribes to attack us.

    ¡°Hurry and chose Calder, or else I will pretend this meeting never happened,¡± grandfather said. Once the Empire attacks, we would be powerless to stop them on our own. To unite all of the other tribes, we needed the Ivartar. This left me with little choice. ¡°Chief Arnbiorn Ivartar, I accept your trial. Tell me, what would you have me do?¡± Hearing this, several Ivartar members were clearly impressed with my confidence. ¡°I like your resolve boy,¡± Grandfather said. ¡°Your trial is simple. Fight against both Head Warrior Van and Head Hunter Pippin¡­ at the same time. Prove to them that you are worth following into battle. If my best hunter and warrior are impressed by you, I will have little choice but to accept the results.¡± Head Warrior Van was said to be as strong as Uncle. I could only assume Head Hunter Pippin would be equally skilled. ¡°What are we waiting for then, lets get this over with,¡± Pippin said, obviously not taking any of this seriously.

    ***

    Van, Pippin and I all stood in a large, open area a ways away from the village. Grandfather, mother, Alfhild and both Elders all attended the match. ¡°Why did you force me to come here Ragna,¡± Elder Relith was complaining. ¡°Just watch Relith, the boy will show you something that should interest you during this fight,¡± Elder Ragna said. Van and Pippin both drew their weapons. Van used a massive, enchanted axe, its edge glowing bright red, visibly emitting vast amounts of heat. Pippin used a bow that was made out of what looked to be the same material my old bow, Alpta Black Steel. It likely had a similar poison enchantment as well. ¡°Calder, where are your weapons. The enchanted bow and sword I sent you, where are they,¡± grandfather yelled at me.

    I threw off my cloak to reveal the Chimeric Leather armor under it. ¡°Sorry grandfather, I lost both of those in the Forest of Torgath.¡± I took off my right leather gauntlet, revealing my glowing, blue arm. Grandfather and Elder Relith both looked at it in amazement¡­ and fear ¡°Ragna, what is that thing¡­ that arm,¡± Relith said, having fallen to the ground, trembling and sweating. ¡°So you can feel it as well Relith, the energy that arm gives off. I don¡¯t know what that arm is. I was hoping you or Arnbiorn might know.¡± Grandfather laughed. ¡°Well, looks like my grandson picked up my skill with magic.¡± The two obviously had no idea what my arm was, though that was the least of my worries. I used the arm to summon a bow and arrow of ice. Having gotten more used to my powers, I was now able to summon items right away instead of having to summon an elemental first and wait for it to transform, vastly speeding up the creation process.

    ¡°I see that you are full of tricks child,¡± Van said. ¡°But¡­ THAT WON¡¯T BE ENOUGH TO STOP ME!!!¡± The large man came charging at me, his axe raised high in the air. At the same time, Pippin started firing a volley of arrows at me. ¡°That speed of shooting, he¡¯s as good as father,¡± I thought to myself. I managed to step out of the way of the arrows with little issue, however, Van was now right in front of me. He swung his axe down at full force. Bearly dodging the blow, the axe left a large, flaming indent in the ground. ¡°I guess that thing really does have a powerful fire enchantment on it,¡± I said to Van. I jumped back and shot my arrow. ¡°Where do you think you are aiming at boy,¡± Van yelled at me. The arrow had missed him by a long shot.

    I could not help but smirk when I heard a scream in the distance. Van looked behind himself only to see Pippin had been impaled by the icy arrow. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Van, I did not hurt him. That arrow was enchanted to bind its target, not kill it.¡±. Van looked back at me impressed. ¡°Worrying about your opponent in the middle of a fight boy, and having the strength to do so. You have wisdom and skill beyond your years child.¡± Van paused for a moment, letting his axe hang. ¡°I apologize. Calling one with such skill a child is rude. Calder, you have impressed me. As such, let me honor you by facing you as an equal; FEEL THE FULL EXTENT OF MY MIGHT!!!¡±

    Van raised his axe again with both hands and started to charge at me. I dropped my bow and summoned a sword of ice. The two weapons clashed, the flash of steel and the crackling of fire on ice could be heard by all. Van¡¯s hits were so heavy, each one nearly lifted me off my feet, my hands numb from the force of his strikes. I ducked under the large man and managed to get behind him. Touching his back with my right arm, I began channeling magic through it. Ice formed on his back where I touched, the large man screaming out in pain. As ice continued to build up, the man''s body stiffened until he was completely encased in ice. I collapsed to the ground. ¡°That was the first time I had ever seriously fought a human to that extend; add to it that it was the first time I ever actively used magic in a fight,¡± I said to myself. Even though the match only lasted for two or three minutes, it was more than enough to wear me out.

    ¡°Well grandfather, was that enough to convince you,¡± I yelled at Arnbiorn. He smiled at me, ¡°Not yet Calder, who said the fight was over.¡± I heard a cracking and popping sound. Looking for the source of the sound, I saw the encased Van steaming. The ice binding him was cracking in several places and and broke moments later, the heat of his axe both melting and breaking the ice. The large man stood over me once more. I, no longer able to move, could only close my eyes, bracing myself for the pain of his attack. I did not feel pain however, only to feel the familiar sensation of my hair being ruffled. I opened my eyes to see Van smiling down at me while patting my head. Van reminded me greatly of my Uncle in that moment, rubbing my head just like Uncle. ¡°That was impressive Calder. It¡¯s now even harder to see you as just a child, wouldn¡¯t you agree Pippin,¡± he said while looking at his friend. Pippin was already on his feet, having long since broken from his bindings; he had opted to merely watch the rest of the fight in silence. ¡°I suppose I have no choice but to admit it boy, you have skill, but remember this, a fight is never over until you confirm your enemy is dead. Surely your father and Esborn taught you that.¡± I nodded at Pippin, a slight embarrassed smile on my face.

    ¡°Chief,¡± Van said, turning towards Arnbiorn. ¡°I say Calder more than passed this trial. He gave me and Pippin a run for our money. Had the arrow Calder shot at Pippin not been a binding spell, it surely would have injured, or perhaps even killed him.¡± Hearing this, Chief Arnbiorn stood up. ¡°Very well; Calder, I say you have passed your Grand Trial. The Ivartar will stand with you in the coming war. We will also take care of finding allies among the other tribes.¡± Saying this, Grandfather headed back to the Ivartar Village, followed closely by Pippin. I then saw Elder Relith and Elder Ragna walk up to me. ¡°Come with me boy, I want to get a closer look at that arm of yours,¡± Elder Relith said. ¡°Van, carry the boy for me, he used too much magic and shouldn¡¯t even be able to walk.¡± Van picked up both me and my cloak, following the two elders, mother and Alfhild tailing behind us.

    ***

    When we arrived at Elder Reliths house, I noticed it was the only pure wooden structure in the village. ¡°Set the boy down over there Van and then go and help Arnbiorn plan for the war,¡± Elder Relith said. Van put me down on the small bed in the middle of the room and left. Mother and Alfhild stood there, both obviously worried about me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry mother, Alfhild. I¡¯m fine, just a little tired,¡± I said to them. ¡°I am not so sure about that boy, I doubt you are just fine. That arm is anything but alright.¡± Elder Relith forcefully grabbed my arm and started examining it closely. He poked and prodded in several areas and then pulled out a quill and paper. ¡°Hold your arm out, yes, just like that,¡± he said to me, putting my arm into a very uncomfortable position.

    The old man started to write something on the paper. He finally put down his quill after making me turn my arm this way and that. ¡°You can put your arm down now lad,¡± He said. He then started inspecting the place where the enchanted arm was attached to my shoulder. ¡°Ragna, you are sure that the boy had lost his arm yes,¡± he asked. ¡°I cut it off myself Reltih,¡± she said. ¡°After the boy had collapsed in the cold from the fight with the Lord of the Mountain, his arm was frozen through and through. If we didn¡¯t cut it off, the cold might have spread to the rest of his body.¡± The old man continued to examine the arm and then his paper, moving back and forth between the two. Finally, he spoke again. ¡°Alright boy, remove your clothes¡­ ahh just the top is fine.¡± Slightly embarrassed, I removed the top leather protector of my armor, my chain undershirt and the cloth shirt under that. The old man then started examining my back. ¡°Hmm, hmm, yes¡­ I see.¡± He kept repeating things like that for several minutes while examining both my arm and back. The old man then got up. ¡°Wait here for a minute boy; Ylva, little girl, both of you come with me, I need help carrying some things.

    All three of them returned after a while, their arms filled with a great many books. The old man started going through book after book, tossing the ones he did not need over his shoulder. ¡°What are you looking for Relith,¡± Ragna asked him. Relith, having found what he was looking for, showed us a drawing in one of the books. It looked like a circle with four triangles pointing upwards and one triangle pointing down. The center circle had some rune in it. ¡°This is what I was looking for. When a mage contracts with an elemental, the elemental brands the mages back with a mark. Looking at the mark, you can determine the power and attribute of the elemental. It also gives knowledge into the nature of the contract between the two. Your brand is similar to this one, though the rune in the middle is different. The process your brand was made in is also different from the one in this book.¡± Hearing this started to excite me. At last, I would know what happened to my body back in that cave, why elementals stayed in my arm and figure out what the large creature I saw was. ¡°I will be honest with you up front. I have never seen nor heard of a case like yours Calder. I do not know fully what you contracted with, though I can enlighten you on a few things.¡± Hearing that I would not learn everything was sad, though I suppose it was to be expected. ¡°Please tell me everything you can Elder Reltih,¡± I begged old man. He nodded and began revealing his findings.

    ¡°Firstly, I just want to confirm with you Ragna, you managed to see the creature in his arm when you interrupted Calder¡¯s arm with your magic, yes?¡± Elder Ragna¡¯s face filled with slight fear at the thought of remembering that creature. ¡°That is right, it took on a form similar to that of a human, just lager and a bit of an ethereal appearance,¡± Ragna replied. ¡°What you saw in that cave was likely an elemental, through a corrupted one. I do not know how, but the creatures magic is highly unstable. It likely bound itself to your body in the hopes of stabilizing its existence. As for the nature of your contract, it is something along the lines of the creature grants you magic and in exchange, it will live share a body with you. It may have granted you the arm in hopes of protecting its host and granting you more power, or it may just not want to stay in an incomplete body,¡± Elder Relith said.¡± He continued to ramble on for some time, Elder Ragna finally interrupting. ¡°Relith, what of the runes on his arm, what do those mean. We get what the mark on his back is but what about the runes.¡± Relith seemed rather upset at being interrupted but continued on. ¡°I am unsure about the runes. I can translate parts of them, but a partial translation would be useless to you. Your runes are similar to the ones born by a particular creature in these mountains though, one you have experience with Calder¡­ The Lord of the Mountain.¡±

    Hearing this, I grew curious. ¡°What does that monster have to do with me,¡± I asked. The Elder chuckled a bit. ¡°That is no monster Calder,¡± he said. ¡°The proper term for it is a Daemon.¡± I was confused. ¡°What is a Daemon,¡± I asked. Elder Ragna answered this time. ¡°For now, just think of a Daemon as an elemental that gained a physical form. All elementals are beings of pure magic, so they have no physical bodies, unlike Daemons. Just remember, Daemons used to be elementals.¡± Alfhild then interviend, ¡°So does that mean Calder contracted with a Daemon, Elder Relith?¡± The old man laughed again. ¡°No my dear child, he likely contracted with an elemental that was halfway transformed into a Daemon but was unable to finish the process for reasons unknown to man. Do not worry, the boy is in no danger of dying. In fact, he might stronger than a regular mage and likely has a far closer bond with his elemental than conservative mages. Should he fully gain control of the power, he could become stronger than our own chief.¡±

    Hearing this, mother and Alfhild both relaxed a bit, likely feeling greatly relieved. After some more rest, I rose and prepared to leave the tent. ¡°Elder Relith, thank you so much for all your assistance,¡± I said. The stern looking old man smiled at me. ¡°Calder, I will continue to research the topic of the runes on your arm and see if I can¡¯t find any legends or stories about the large elemental in the cave you contracted with. Should I learn anything, I will send a bird to you.¡± Thanking him again, The four of us from the Erantu Tribe left the tent and prepared for the journey home.

    Waiting for us at the village gates was Chief Arnbiron. ¡°Father, I did not think you would see us off,¡± Mother jokingly said. The old man laughed. ¡°Of course I would come to see off my own daughter and grandson.¡± We bid him goodbye and turned to leave. ¡°Ahh, Calder, one moment.¡± I walked up to the old man. ¡°What is it grandfather,¡± I asked. Making sure we were out of earshot of the others, the old man kneeled down. ¡°Calder, I am preparing to send runners to every tribe in the North that we know the current location of. Once a date for the summit has been decided on, all of the chiefs of the North, large and small, will come together for the event. I want you to attend, both as representative of the whole North and as the next chief of the Erantu and Ivartar tribes.¡± I froze for a moment, trying to comprehend what I just heard. ¡°Wait, grandfather, who is next chief of the Ivartar,¡± I asked, trying to make sure I had not misheard him. ¡°I have no heirs boy, my only child is Ylva, who married into the Erantu. That means you, my grandson, will have to succeed me as chief. I will make the official announcement at the summit.¡± The old man then walked off, leaving me there to try and work out what I had just heard. ¡°Calder, hurry up or we¡¯ll leave you behind.¡± Alfhild was yelling at me. I looked ahead to see that Elder Ragna, Mother and her were already far ahead. ¡°I will figure this out later,¡± I said to myself. ¡°For now, let''s go home.¡±

 Chapter 5: A Pact Forged by Winter: The Frozen Summit

    It had been nearly four cycles since the meeting with the Ivartar tribe. In that time, the Erantu hunters had begun training in ernest, the news of the coming war now common knowledge amongst our tribe. I myself had been attempting to improve my magic, training day in and day out with Elder Ragna. ¡°Not like that Calder, you must picture yourself freezing the pot of water.¡± It seemed over these four cycles, Elder Ragna had grown to enjoy yelling at me. I was currently training to learn to freeze a pot of boiling water. Having already mastered warm water, Elder said that to improve the quality of ice I produce, I needed to be able to freeze substances of any temperature. ¡°Ok, that''s it, I can¡¯t go on any longer,¡± I said, collapsing onto the floor of the gathering hall, completely out of breath. I had been attempting to freeze the same pot of water for a week now, with little success. ¡°Alright Calder, that¡¯s enough for now, go and take a break. You will try again later. I want you to master this by the end of tomorrow,¡± the old women said.

    I left the gathering hall, my head slightly throbbing from overusing my magic. I headed to Father¡¯s tent, hoping to rest for a while, though upon entering the tent, I was greeted by a highly unexpected sight. Mother and Alfhild were both in the tent, mother in her usual fur lined skirt. Alfhild, on the other hand, was sporting a familiar suit of hunter leathers and a slightly ragged fur cloak. She was also equipped with my old dagger and bow. I recognized all of that gear, it was the first set of hunting equipment I ever received from Father. ¡°Mother, what is going on,¡± I asked, quite puzzled by the sight of my younger cousin in a hunting outfit. ¡°You sound like your Father,¡± Mother said. ¡°Alfhild said she wanted to learn how to hunt and fight. The armor was a little large for her, but with a bit of adjustments, it fits perfectly. I figured you would not mind since you have your magic and all.¡± While it was true that the gear she was wearing was stuff I no longer had a use for, that was not the problem i had. So I rephrase my question. ¡°Alfhild, why do you want to learn to hunt, there should be no need for a girl like you to have to do that.¡±

    Alfhild  looked at me, taken aback by my slight resistance to her learning to wield weapons. ¡°Uncle Keldi said the same thing. I just want to fight to protect everyone as well. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m asking to fight in the war. When all the men leave in a few years to fight, who will protect the village while they are gone?¡± She brought up a good point. Most of the men would likely be taken away to fight once the war started. That meant the women would have to learn to fight, hunt and defend themselves.

    ¡°Fine then Alfhild, come outside now, but leave the dagger and bow. I know of a better weapon for you.¡± The girl followed me outside. Once we were in the middle of the village, I made an axe out of ice and threw it over to the girl. It was roughly as large as she was and incredibly heavy, though the girl caught it with ease. ¡°Alfhild, attack me with that axe, don¡¯t worry about hurting me, just attack.¡± The girl, slightly unsure about this turn of events, swung the axe. She effortlessly wielded the heavy weapon, her physical strength far greater than what her small body showed. Still, I was able to easily dodge her attacks. Again and again she attacked me, missing over and over. She eventually ran out of breath after a few attacks and dropped to the ground. ¡°Calder, why are we doing this,¡± she whined. I kneeled down and pat her on the head. ¡°You said you wanted to learn to fight right. Until the war starts, as time permits, I will train you and make sure you can defend the village by the time I leave for war.¡± The girls face lit up with joy. I doubt Father would like Alfhild learning to fight, but she inherited Uncle Esborn¡¯s amazing physical prowess and battle instincts, it would be a waste to let such talent remain unpolished.

    ¡°Anyways Alfhild, that should be enough for now. When I can¡¯t train you, ask mother. She¡¯s quite skilled with weapons and would be more than willing to give you some pointers.¡± We both headed back to the tent; our stomachs growling from the workout. I hadn¡¯t eaten all day and I bet it was the same for Alfhild. With so much happening lately, there was little time for rest, let alone eat and sleep, even for us children. Walking into the tent, we could smell Mothers delicious cooking. From the smell, it had to be a good venison stew; we all sat down to eat. However, before I could even take a bite, a young hunter of the tribe barged into the tent.

    ¡°What is the meaning of this trespass,¡± Mother yelled at the young man, immediately standing up rather threateningly. ¡°I didn''t mean to intrude milady, its just¡­ well.¡± The boy was obviously scared; Mother tended to have that effect on people. ¡°Well, out with it,¡± she screeched. The young man turned to me, ¡°Master Calder, a messenger from the Ivartar is here to see you. He is in the gathering hall, please meet him there.¡± Without another word, the boy ran before he had the chance to feel Mother¡¯s wrath. ¡°Well Calder, what are you waiting for, go meet the messenger.¡± Mother was now yelling at me. I looked longingly at my stew, my stomach making more sounds. ¡°NOW!!!¡± I ran out the door, not bothering to even put on my cloak, running straight to the gathering hall.

    Once there, Father, Elder and a man wearing a hooded cloak were gathered. ¡°It''s about damn time you finally got here brat,¡± a familiar voice said from beneath the hood. ¡°Pippin, is that you,¡± I asked, glad to see the Ivartar Head Hunter again. ¡°Let''s not waste time on pleasantries. Chief Arnbion has decided on the place for the Summit,¡± the hunter said, removing his hood, showing his shaggy head of messy, black hair. ¡°So where are we meeting and when,¡± Father asked him. ¡°We will be meeting in two cycles, on the night when the Lovita hids in the shadow of Manatu,¡± Days here were told by the position of the moons. ¡°The Summit will be held at the Grand Gathering Grounds, at Na Forais Bhaili¨².¡± Hearing that name made me remember Elder Ragna¡¯s old history lessons she used to make me sit through.

    Long before the tribes called these mountains home, the entire Northern Mountain had been home to a vast and expansive kingdom. They had built a great number of monuments in these mountains, many of which now lay in ruins. However, one structure that still shows the might of that once great kingdom still stood to this day, enduring the battering winds of the mountains and the corrosion of time. That was Na Forais Bhaili¨², often called the Gathering Grounds or Grand Gathering Hall. This place was holy land for the nomads of the mountain; it was forbidden by ancient law to fight within those grounds. Because of that law, it was the perfect location for the Summit. ¡°How many tribes have agreed to attend,¡± I asked Pippin. ¡°Quite a few. The most surprising one being the Lokvan, no one thought those savages would ever bother coming to something like this. We half expected them to try and fight the Empire on their own to be honest with you.¡± We all laughed at the reamark.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s  good that attendance for the Summit is rather high. Hopefully we can get all the tribes to work together. My biggest fear is trying just get through the Summit with all of us alive,¡± I said. ¡°With the Lokvan being the most troublesome of all. Good luck trying to get them to corporate,¡± Pippin said as he rose from his seat. ¡°Not my problem though. I should be heading back, lots to do and not a lot of time to do it. See you at the Summit Calder, Keldi, Elder.¡± Rushing out the door, Pippin was gone as fast as he had arrived. ¡°Well Father, how long until we leave for the Summit,¡± I asked. ¡°I would say about one cycle. If the Summit is taking place in two cycles, we will want plenty of time to make it to Na Forais Bhaili¨².¡± One cycle till we left, that gave me time to get better still with my magic and my arm. ¡°Elder, can we resume my training right away,¡± I asked the old women. She nodded and we prepared to start again right away. ¡°Don¡¯t neglect to train you body as well Calder, we can¡¯t have you getting soft because you rely too much on your magic,¡± Father added in.

    <hr>

    ¡°Cmon, is that all you guys have. At this rate you won¡¯t last even one day out in the Northern mountains. The natives up there are ruthless and kill on sight.¡± The young High Paladin Elizabeth Duvark was standing in front of a large group of knight, all of them out of breath. ¡°Maybe you should hold back on them a bit sister,¡± Blake said, observing from the corner of the courtyard where the training was taking place. ¡°I can¡¯t go soft on them Blake, I am their commander and a commander must take charge of the lives of her troops. I will not have any soldiers in my legion who are too weak to survive even the harshest of environments. We don¡¯t have the time nor resources for weakness.¡± At these words, the soldiers prepared to launch another assault. ¡°We won¡¯t give up here,¡± one of the knights yelled, leading the charge towards the High Paladin.

    ¡°That''s more like it,¡± she said with a smirk. Raising her giant lance in front of herself, Elizabeth charged towards the large group of knights. The moment they made contact, the spear sent the ,em flying with little to no effort. ¡°Well I guess that is enough for now boys,¡± Elizabeth said. ¡°All of you take the rest of the day off, tomorrow we have joint training with Grandfather¡¯s second legion so don¡¯t even think about being late.¡± Blake and Elizabeth left the courtyard and entered into the attached mansion, the group of knights still sprawled out on the ground, unable to move from exhaustion. This was the Duvark family manor, a massive building with dozens of rooms and a small army of servants. One of the maids walked up to Elizabeth. ¡°Milady, a bath has been drawn for you, please go and wash off the muck,¡± the maid said. Elizabeth nodded, handing her oversized lance to the maid, she headed to the bath.

    ¡°Blake, will you wait outside for me and make sure no one enters while I am bathing,¡± she ordered her younger brother. ¡°Understood sister. After your bath, will you train me though?¡± The boys face was filled with hope. Elizabeth gave in to the boys demand, ¡°Very well, after my bath, let me rest for a bit and then I will spar with you. It will be better training than fighting more of those weak knights.¡± Elizabeth entered into the bathroom while her brother waited in the hall.

    While Elizabeth bathed, the nine year old Blake practiced sword swings in the hallway. The boy wielded a massive blade, one that was far larger than he himself was. He effortlessly swung the blade, possessing an immense amounts of physical strength despite his skinny appearance. Suddenly, Blake heard a girl¡¯s scream from the bathroom and the shattering of glass. Rushing in, sword in hand, he saw four hooded men, all bearing daggers,  standing over his sister. She was at a compleat disadvantage naked and unarmed. Blake rushed at the four men. ¡°Leave her alone,¡± he yelled at them. The men turned their attention to Blake.

    The four assassins quickly surrounded the boy, all lunging at him simultaneously. A flurry of furious slashes stuck him, the knives of the assassins dripping with poison. After several moments of attack, the assassins jumped back. Blake still stood there, seemingly unfazed by the attack. ¡°Are you done,¡± he said, glaring at the assassins. ¡°If so, let me have some fun.¡± The boy ripped off his cut up shirt, revealing muscles honed to the limit and not a scratch on his body. ¡°How, how are you uninjured,¡± one of the assassins yelled at Blake. The boy rushed at the one that spoke and, in one fell swoop of his blade, cut the man clean in half, blood splattering all over. ¡°It¡¯s nothing special really,¡± the boy said. ¡°It¡¯s magic. Members of the Duvark family are magic knights, we all know how to use basic shielding spells you know.¡±

    The other three would be assassins attempted to run out the broken window they had used to enter. ¡°Not so fast, we''re not finished yet,¡± Blake said, stabbing his sword into the ground. The moment his sword entered the ground, pillars of bones and rotting flesh emerged from the fine, marble floor covering the windows and door. ¡°Blake, could you not use your necromancy here please, it really leaves a foul odor that is a nightmare to remove,¡± Elizabeth said. ¡°Sorry sister, I¡¯ll have this finished quickly.¡± Elizabeth got out of the water and began drying off as if nothing was happening. ¡°Very well, you have until I get dressed to dispatch them.¡± Blake removed his sword from the floor and took his stance. The assassins, having given up on escape, dashed at Blake one more time. Without hesitation, Blake proceeded to swiftly cut down all three men.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    ¡°Are you alright sister,¡± Blake said, approaching the now clothed Elizabeth. ¡°Yes, I am fine Blake, though you didn¡¯t need to come and save me, I could have taken out fools of that level on my own. I was merely startled by their sudden appearance¡± The boy smiled. ¡°I know, but I still worry you know. At least let me help you in little ways like this.¡± Elizabeth sighed. ¡°Have it your way,¡± she said, walking out of the bathroom. She went up to the maids stationed outside the bathroom. ¡°We had another attack, four this time, please clean up the mess,¡± she asked the maids. They merely bowed and proceeded into the bathroom, though that was followed by loud squeals. ¡°Master Blake, could you please remove these stinking, piles of death, they really smell,¡± on of the maids yelled from inside the bathroom, clearly more upset by the necromancy than the four dead bodies. ¡°Sorry about that,¡± Blake said while smiling in embarrassment. He tapped his sword on the ground, the sound of the pillars of bone receding was easily audible throughout the whole mansion.

    <hr>

    After a cycle long journey through the snow, Father, Elder and I all arrived at the destination of the Summit, Na Forais Bhaili¨². As we approached the large, iron gates, I gasped in amazement. ¡°To think that a kingdom really did flourished here at one time,¡± I said aloud. ¡°That was long ago Calder, this structure is about all that remains. What led to the destruction of that kingdom is unknown, but that area of study is not my forte. If you are interested on the subject, I suggest you ask Relith about it, he is well versed in ancient history and lore, as you already know.¡± A man stood at the gatehouse, his emblem showing he was of the Ivartar. ¡°Which tribe are you with,¡± the gateman asked. Father stepped forward. ¡°I am Keldi Erantu. With me is my son, Calder, and the Erantu Elder, Ragna, we have come to attend the Summit.¡±

    The gateman examined us for a moment from the gate house. ¡°Representatives of the Erantu Tribe, you are the last to arrive, please enter. Inside will be someone to guide you.¡± The gate opened and the three of us entered, greeted by large walls of stone and bright burning torches. Walking through the long entryway, we could make out someone at the end of the hall. ¡°Greetings friends, it¡¯s been sometime,¡± said a familiar, bellowing voice. The man there to guide us was none other than the Ivartar¡¯s own Head Warrior, Van. ¡°Van, it has been far to long,¡± Father said. Father walked up to the large man and the two vigorously shook hands, obviously good friends from the looks of it. ¡°That it has Keldi, I see you¡¯ve grown a bit of a gut since you became chief,¡± Van jokingly remarked. Father chuckled a bit. ¡°Blame my prodigal son, he¡¯s taken all of my work from me. I have no choice but to sit around all day while adding to my belly.¡± The two men continued to talk while walking down the many, winding halls. Elder and I followed the two in silence. Eventually, we arrived in a hall filled with a large number of wooden doors on either side. ¡°Welcome to the guest residence. These three rooms here will belong to the Erantu for the duration of your stay. Please rest well, tomorrow, the Summit begins.¡± Van bid us goodnight and went on his way.

    ***

    Come the morning of the Summit, Father and I gathered into Elder¡¯s room. ¡°Calder, you still have that Empire document, correct,¡± Elder asked me. ¡°It¡¯s with me, don¡¯t worry.¡± I reached into my cloak to remove the document, still in mint condition. Both Father and Elder nodded. ¡°Then I guess we¡¯ll get started after breakfast,¡± Father said. We had been provided with a basic meal earlier that morning, only some lightly dried meats and some wild greens. Based on the yelling in some of the other rooms in the residential area, it was obvious that not everyone was satisfied with this meal. As we continued discussing what might happen at the Summit, there was a knock on our door. ¡°Who is it,¡± Elder asked. The knocking continued. Father drew his sword and I summoned a dagger of ice. Father carefully opened the door, making sure not to startle whoever it was outside.

    Upon opening the door, we were greeted by Grandfather Arnbiorn, the Ivartar chief. ¡°What''s with the swords, there is no need to be so up in arms. We¡¯re here to negotiate peace against a common enemy, not gut each other before talks can even begin,¡± Grandfather said, lightly chuckling.¡° Father lowered his sword, ¡°You can never be too safe, Chief Arnbiorn. With so many tribes here, it would not surprise me if one tried something¡­ foolish.¡± Arnbiorn nodded in agreement and motioned us to follow him. ¡°Calder my boy,¡± he said. ¡°You have that paper with you I assume?¡± I showed him the Empire orders. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they haven''t left my side since I found them. I¡¯m not foolish enough to trust someone else with their safekeeping.¡± The chief smiled at this remark. ¡°Good choice boy. With something that important, don¡¯t trust anyone else with its safety. That document is the most crucial evidence we have for the Empires invasion.¡±

    We arrived in a large, ornate room. In the middle of the room was a large, round table with well over fifty chairs around it. The middle of the table was missing, a large fire pit in the middle, warming the whole room. ¡°This is where the Summit will be held. A total of fifty three people will be attending that we know of, though there might be a few late comers,¡± Grandfather said. ¡°Why have you brought us here early, Chief Arnbiorn,¡± Father asked him. Arnbiorn sat in one of the chairs, signaling us to do the same. With all of us now seated, Grandfather started to speak. ¡°I have called the Erantu here early to make a request. A request for Calder to be specific, though I would like Chief Keldi and Elder Ragna to hear this as well.¡± I leaned back into my seat, rather aware of what Chief Arnbiorn was about to ask.

    ¡°Calder, I asked this of you before, but I will ask again. Will you become my heir, the next chief of the Ivartar?¡± I had been thinking about this over and over for the last five cycles. I already had my answer but still looked to Elder and Father for a moment of guidance. Both stayed silent, perhaps expecting this. I looked back to grandfather. ¡°I am sorry Grandfather, but I am not yet ready to be chief of a tribe like the Ivartar, for me¡­ the Erantu is currently enough. When I am older, however, and have more experience as a chief, I will gladly take up that title.¡± I paused for a moment. ¡°That is only if the other members of the Ivartar will have me as their chief.¡± Grandfather smiled. ¡°That is what I wanted to hear my boy. Now then, why don¡¯t we...¡±

    Before Grandfather could finish his sentence, the door to the room opened. Head Warrior Van stood there, dressed in a regal outfit of fine silks. ¡°Chief, the other tribes are all ready to begin,¡± Van said. Grandfather seemed rather surprised. ¡°What do you mean they¡¯re ready, the Summit doesn''t begin until Midday.¡± A large hand appeared on Van¡¯s shoulder and pushed him to the side. ¡°You may say it does not start till midday but we say it starts now.¡± A loud man came bursting into the room. He was even larger than Van, his hair tangled and filthy, with a beard covered in spit and dirt. The large man was covered in scars and tribal tattoos. ¡°That decision is not yours to make, sir,¡± I said to the man, my voice cold and callus.

    The large man walked right up to me, standing at more than three times my height. ¡°Not for me to make huh. And what gives you, just a child, the right to talk back to me. Do you even know who I am boy?¡± I knew full well who this man was. This man was likely the most battle crazed maniac in the North, if not the whole of the Continent of Elana Isla (Continent that the Empire and North sit on); Chief of the barbaric Lokvan tribe. This man was none other than Leftheria Lokvan, said to stand equal to Uncle and Van in battle, though, unlike them, cared little for his own life and was known to run into enemy front lines and take on whole tribes on his own. Yet despite this recklessness, he always emerged from battle alive, though sometimes on the brink of death. He was called The Unkillable.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that enough bickering for now chief, remember what we came here to do,¡± a smooth and calm voice called from behind Van. Another man walked into the room, quite tall, though not as great of stature as Leftheria; he had dark brown hair and deep, green eyes. Unlike the former, he was well kept, with pale skin; regal almost. ¡°Fine Frestia, I will drop this,¡± Leftheria said to the man that just walked in, though he kneeled down to me. ¡°For now that is,¡± he whispered in my ear. The handsome Frestia came up to me as Leftheria walked away. ¡°I hope my Father didn''t cause you to much trouble, Calder Erantu,¡± he said to me, his hand outstretched.

    I grabbed his hand firmly and shook it. ¡°No harm done Frestia Lokvan. I¡¯m surprised though to see someone like you a member of the Lokvan tribe, especially with a father like that,¡± I said to him. Frestia laughed at the remark. ¡°I know, the people of my tribe tell me the same thing. Apparently, wanting to get along with the other tribes and not wanting to follow the way of my tribe is a sin.¡± I smiled a bit; this man was likely the one that forced the Lokvan to come to this Summit. He was definitely someone I could get along with, regardless of his tribal origins. ¡°Chief, why don¡¯t we start early, all of the other chiefs are here as well,¡± Van interjected. I looked towards to the door to see many battle hardened men enter into the room, all of different shapes and styles. Some were short and strong, much like a dwarf, while others tall and lean. Others still were large and fat or rather normal size.

    The many chiefs and their aids gathered into the hall, all sitting at their chairs around the table. Grandfather sighed and merely went to his seat as well. I bid Frestia goodbye and joined Father and Elder at our seats. Once everyone was seated, Grandfather spoke. ¡°I would like to thank you for coming all this way to these holy grounds. You were all called here for a reason of the utmost importance. Recently, a great threat was brought to my attention by a child of a certain tribe. That child is here with us today.¡± Grandfather looked at me, signaling me to stand and introduce myself. I rose and cleared my throat. ¡°Chiefs of the North, I am Calder Erantu, son of the Chief of the Erantu tribe.¡± Pausing for a second, I could hear some people laughing at me. ¡°Since it is obvious none of you care to listen to a child, I shall keep this brief and get right to the point. The Empire plans to attack these mountains we call home¡­ and soon.¡±

    Hearing this, the laughs turned to fearful whispers, some even seemingly in shock. ¡°The Empire¡­ attacking the North, are you mad boy,¡± Leftheria yelled out laughing. Frestia rose. ¡°Calder, that is a bold claim, one I hope you can back up, though it seems I need not even ask that.¡± I had already pulled out the Empire orders. ¡°Right here, I hold a certain document, a document written by the Duvark Family itself; orders given to a set of scouts to gain information on the North for the coming invasion. If any doubt me, come and look at the family seal on the orders, that should be all the proof you need.¡± I sat back down and hid the orders back in my cloak when none seemed to come up and confirm. I had everyone''s attention more or less now.

    ¡°Alright, so the Empire attacks us, and what do you think we should do about it, brat.¡± Again, chief Leftheria was unable to go a few moments without screaming or arguing. This time, Father answered. ¡°Chief Leftheria, surely you are not so foolish as to think we called all of you here just to waste your time. What we want is simple, for the tribes to unite together against a common enemy, is that so hard to understand. With a united front, we could¡­¡± Leftheria stood up and slammed his hand down on the table with such force, he cracked the stone. ¡°Well then, I hope you have a place for the Lokvan in the Vanguard. So long as we can fight well, eat well and die well, we the Lokvan will fight with you as staunch allies.¡± Hearing such a declaration, from the Lokvan of all people, was surprising to say the least. We had all prepared for a long and drawn out debate. The other tribes too started pledging their support left and right, a unanimous vote in favor of the alliance between all the tribes.

    ¡°Well, I think we have our army Arnbiron,¡± Father said. Chief Arnbiorn got up and faced the great many chiefs. ¡°Thank you, all of you. With this we might just have a chance.¡± The old Chief was almost in tears from the look of it, relief filling his face. I too stood up and spoke once more. ¡°Everyone, it¡¯s too early to celebrate. There are still many things we have to work out, who will lead the army, what are our formations and many others. We need scouts to determine which path the Empire will take into the mountains, and¡­¡± I was stopped by Frestia. ¡°Calder, we can worry about that a little later, for now, we have just achieved a sense of unity between us all. The first thing we need is a name for our army, without that, we can¡¯t say we are one, cohesive group.¡± Father rose in agreement, as did all of the other chiefs. Grandfather then spoke to the group. ¡°We are those who were forged in ice and snow, those who have lived side by side with death. This pact is forged in that same frost, a pact that determines if we live, or die. So let the Empire come, we shall greet them head on. Let them know our name and know who we are. NOW IS THE BIRTH OF THE FROZEN PACT!!!¡±

 Chapter 6: The Prelude of Iron and Blood

    ¡°Elizabeth Duvark, in the name of Emperor Ludwig Arstian, Fourteenth Emperor or the Arstian line, I hereby grant you hold over one of our Empires treasured weapons, the legendary spear, Fola Laraiin. Use it to bring justice in the name of the Empire,¡± Emperor Ludwig proclaimed to the large crowd gathered in the throne room. Elizabeth, having been kneeling, rose and took the spear from the squire who was holding it. ¡°I hereby accept the honor of wielding this weapon, and with it, the great naem of our Empire.¡± She turned to face the crowd and raised the spear. ¡°It is now the almost the 476th summer, we march now for the North. Let the savages there know our song and fury. The Twelfth Legion, the Legion of Iron, now marches for the North.¡±

    After her speech, the now sixteen year old Grand Paladin Elizabeth marched out of the room. Outside the throne room she was greeted by two people. One was a gather gangly but fair looking man who had short, dirty blonde hair, dark green eyes and a lazy smile upon his face. The other was a serious looking girl with violet hair and dark blue eyes. ¡°Well Lizy, the legion is ready, we can leave whenever,¡± the man said to Elizabeth. ¡°Edward, don¡¯t  speak to Lady Elizabeth so impolitely. She is a daughter of the Duvark Family and a Grand Paladin. She deserves¡­¡± Before she could finish, the man held his hand up in front of the stern girls face. ¡°It is because you are so serious Miss Fran that no man will ever approach you. Try to relax a little more or else you will develop wrinkles while still young.¡± Fran was obviously starting to boil over. ¡°Lady Lisa Fran, Lord Edward Windamir, please stop the bickering. And Edward, I don¡¯t  mind you being casual but in public settings please show at least some sense of decorum,¡± Elizabeth said.

    Edward smiled meekly and nodded while Lisa¡¯s gaze turned to Elizabeth, great respect, perhaps bordering on worship, showed on her face. ¡°Both of you, lets be off. We have a long march ahead of us and I want to arrive to the North in no more than three cycles. We don¡¯t want the locals to know what we are up to. We shall end this in one fell swoop,¡± Elizabeth said, leading the way down the hall. Both Lisa and Edward followed her in silence.

    ***

    Elizabeth, Lisa and Edward all arrived at the Duvark family manor. Upon entering, they were greeted by two maids. ¡°Lady Elizabeth, your new armor is ready. Please come with us, we shall aid you in getting ready,¡± one of the maids said. Elizabeth nodded and then yelled, ¡°Blake, I know you are there, come out.¡± The young Blake Duvark, now twelve years old, came out from the corner, fully equipped with pitch black heavy armor and his massive sword. ¡°Why are you dressed like that Blake,¡± Elizabeth asked him. The boy walked up to his sister. ¡°You know why, I am coming with you to the North, whether you like it or not. You know I will be useful. Edward has helped me polish up my sword skills and I even learned some new necromancy at the College of Magic,¡± Blake said, almost begging his sister. Elizabeth sighed. ¡°Blake, we have talked about this many times. I know you would be useful to me during this campaign but you are the next head of the Duvark Family. I can¡¯t send you into danger while you are still so young.¡± Blake started to look more and more upset, tears almost forming in his eyes. Edward walked up to the boy. ¡°Blake, you have skill and talent. Just focus on getting stronger for now. Your sister might take you on the next campaign if you are even stronger when we get back.¡± Patting Blakes head, Edward signalled Elizabeth to let him handle this.

    Elizabeth headed to her room to put on her armor, planning to leave right away. In the room, several maids waited for her along with a magnificent suit of armor. ¡°The armor is made from the finest Adamantite ore and the leather is made from the skin of an Elder Ogre. It also has various enchantments on it to aid you in battle such as strength and defense enhancements,¡± an elderly maid said. Helping Elizabeth take off her dress and undo her hair, the maids put on the unarmor made from Ogre skin on her, which a nice fitting suit of leather that covered most of her body. The armor was in sectional pieces. The leg armor and breastplate shone bright gold and silver with intricate design, yet still highly functional. Finally, she put on the her cloak, a beautiful red and gold mantle, marked with the Duvark family emblem on the back. Her golden hair was tied up into a ponytail. The armor contrasted with her pale skin to form what could only be called a Goddess of War.

    Now ready for battle, she left the room, spear in hand, and went out to the front of the manor. A small group of mounted soldiers, maybe one hundred or so, stood there waiting for her. At the front of the soldiers stood her father, James Duvark. ¡°My daughter, how you have grown,¡± he said. ¡°If only your mother were here to see you know, you are the spitting image of her when she was younger. This is truly the coming of the second Iron Valkyrie,¡± he said. Elizabeth smiled. ¡°I am not the Iron Valkyrie father, that was mother''s title. I aim to be even greater than she was; I am Elizabeth Duvark, first daughter of the Duvarks, the Iron-Blooded Valkyrie.¡± Hearing her say this, James''s face filled with pride. ¡°Elizabeth, I will grant you use of some men from my Sixth Legion. These hundred here will serve as your protectors and aids. They are the most elite from the Sixth Legion. Also this man here¡­¡± He signaled one of the men to come forward. He was an older looking gentleman who wore a full set of plate armor. ¡°My name is Warren Veltinheim, I serve in the Second Legion under your Grandfather, the Grand Marshall,¡± the old man said.

    ¡°This man is an old friend of the Grand Marshall and second in command of the Second Legion. He is likely the greatest swordsman in the Empire as well. Use him as you see fit during this war. If you perform well, you might just return the same rank as me, return as a High General.¡± Saying this, James walked back towards the manor, leaving Elizabeth with the Sixth Legion elites and Warren. She looked at the old man. ¡°Lord Veltinheim,¡± she said. ¡°I understand you might not want to follow the orders of one as young and inexperienced as I, but I ask you to follow me in this battle.¡± The old man bowed and turned to the Sixth Legion soldiers. ¡°All of you, we are now a part of the twelfth Legion until we return home from this war. All who would show their loyalty to the Empire, follow your Legatus, Grand Paladin Elizabeth. NOW RIDE, RIDE TO BATTLE, RIDE TO WAR!!!¡± the old man screamed. With the cheer and roar of the Sixth Legion elites, Elizabeth hopped onto her horse and they all rode for the outskirts of the Capital where Edward and Lisa waited with the rest of the Twelfth Legion, all twenty thousand of them.

    <hr>

    ¡°How is the training of the hunters coming along, Keldi, Pippin,¡± Grandfather asked the two skilled hunters. The two looked at eachother, each with a huge grin. ¡°It¡¯s going great Arnbiorn,¡± said Keldi. ¡°Thanks to the new training methods Calder came up with, we are easily able to train large numbers of hunters all at the same time.¡± I had introduced the concept of group training to the tribes, a common way the militaries back in my old world used to train. By having everyone on a single, fixed training regimen, we could guarantee the largest number of successful soldiers possible. In addition, we introduced a rank system into the new, and ever growing, united army. Doing so ensured everyone obeyed orders properly and that it was clear who controlled the Pact.

    Our army had been split into four major groups, or Coldmir¡¯s, as the people of the North referred to them. The first of the Coldmir¡¯s was the Lompr¨®idh, lead by the Lokvan. This Coldmir was comprised of the frontline fighters and the warriors. The second Coldmir was the Seabhac, or the hunters and scouts. This group focused on sneak attacks and reconnaissance and was controlled by the Erantu. This was the group Father and Head Hunter Pippin were currently training. The third Coldmir was the Eiliminteach, a group lead by Grandfather and the Elders. This group was the smallest of the four and was purley made up of Mages. The final group was the Capall, or the logistics group. Led by the Ivartar, this was the largest group and was in charge of running orders and communications between all the four Coldmir¡¯s. They were also in charge of providing provisions, lodging and weapons for each group.

    ¡°I have to say Calder, thanks to your idea of the Coldmir¡¯s and the different jobs for each one is in charge of has really helped solidify this army,¡± Father said to me. I had been watching the Seabhac training from under a tree a few yalms out. I got up and faced Father. ¡°While we may have a unified and organized army now, the Empire has far more experience with warfare that we do, meeting them headon would still be paramount to suicide,¡± I said. Pippin and Grandfather both came over to me. ¡°Then how do you suggest we take on the enemy,¡± asked Pippin. ¡°The whole point of making this army was so we could meet the Empire head-on, or was I the only one who thought that?¡±

    I sat in silence for a moment and then picked up a stick and started drawing in the snow. ¡°We can assume the Empire will send no less than ten-thousand soldiers, twenty-thousand if they really mean to destroy us. We can assume about a fourth of those soldiers will die just on the journey up here to the North. It¡¯s likely they¡¯ll take the Southern pass up the mountains, which will lead them through the Lord of the Mountain¡¯s territory in the Forest of Torgoth. That means that we still have fifteen-thousand soldiers minimum to deal with, less perhaps if the Lord of the Mountains has some fun with the Empire. Our army, at most has seventy-five hundred men, that is if we were to arm every man and women between twelve and forty winters. We have about five thousand trained soldiers. That still means a three to one disadvantage or so. With those numbers, there¡¯s no way to win head-on.¡± Father, Pippin and Grandfather all listened intently; having proved my worth and knowledge over the last three winters, I now commanded a good deal of respect amongst the tribes.

    I continued on, ¡°The two things we have over the Empire that could lead us to victory, is good knowledge over the geography of the mountains and our experience in hunting, save for the few warriors in the Lompr¨®idh. We need to attack the Empire as we would any prey we would usually hunt. Hit them hard and fast when they least expect it. That is what we specialize in, right,¡± I said, looking at Father and Pippin. Father let out a small chuckle. ¡°So you are saying this is just another, regular old hunt Calder,¡± he asked. ¡°Not a regular hunt,¡± I said. ¡°This is going to be the largest Grand Hunt to ever take place in these mountains.¡±

    <hr>

    ¡°Lady Duvark, we should rest here for the night,¡± Warren advised her. The Iron Legion had been marching for almost ten hours straight, the men exhausted from moving through the dark and snowy Forest of Torgoth. It had been over two cyclea since the Legion set out for the North, the trip far more brutal than any could have imagined. The searing cold was far more than the natives of the Empire were used to, usually living in a year-round warm climate. The last few days in particular had been especially difficult. The Iron Legion having entered into the Great Forest of Torgoth in hopes of being able to move unseen to the natives, had been forced to deal with the beasts of the forest, who had no fear of men and attacked the army over and over, slowly draining the usually stout hearted men, both physically and mentally. ¡°Warren, issue the order. We camp here for tonight, make sure everyone knows. Set up some fires and get the watch ready for the night. We leave at daybreak tomorrow.¡± Warren bowed and left to give the order.

    After the order had spread, the marching stopped. The Legion, though tired, started to set up fire¡¯s and tents in a speedy and organized fashion. Elizabeth sat next to one of the fires and started to eat a bit of meat, though she unable to stomach much. The North had gotten to her as much as to her men. The usually battle hardened maiden was now rather docial when given the chance to rest. After eating a bit, she ordered the watch to switch and went to a vacant tent trying her best to get whatever small amount of sleep she could.

    ***

    ¡°Lady Elizabeth, Lady Elizabeth, please wake up.¡± Elizabeth opened her eyes to notice it was still dark out. ¡°What is it Lisa,¡± Elizabeth said, still half asleep. Lisa was in a slight panic from the looks of it. ¡°We are under attack Lady Elizabeth,¡± Lisa said. Elizabeth sat up right away, now wide awake. She could hear screams and yells from outside, but something more than that. What truly scared her the most was a deafening roar, one louder than she had ever heard in her life. It was even louder than the dragons Elizabeth had raised since she was a child. She ordered Lisa to help her get her armor on, and onced armed with her spear, ran outside. The sight she saw made the girl feel an emotion she had only felt once in her life, the fear of death. Before her stood a pale, glowing bear, well over three times the height of an average man; the bear was covered in glowing runes that shone bright through the dark forest. The monster was annihilating men left and right.

    ¡°What¡­ what is that¡­ thing,¡± Elizabeth asked Lisa, shivering in terror. ¡°It does not matter what it is Lady Elizabeth, please, we need your orders,¡± Lisa said in a panic. Elizabeth quickly regained her composer and started barking out orders. ¡°Everyone, form a defensive line, slowly begin to retreat. Mages and archers, attack the creature from range. Where is Warren and Edward,¡± She yelled out. Edward and Warren came running to Elizabeth, both ready for orders. ¡°Lizy, we need to get out of here fast, normal weapons don¡¯t work on that creature. All our swords and arrows just bounce right off of it,¡± Edward said. Elizabeth walked towards the beast. ¡°Lady Elizabeth, what do you think you are doing,¡± Warren said. ¡°Lord Veltinheim, you are in charge of the Iron Legion until my return. I want you to order all the men deeper into the forest; go towards our destination. We must reach the site of our basecamp by the end of this cycle. I¡¯ll catch up, don¡¯t worry. I only plan to stall for time.¡±

    Warren begrudgingly obeyed the orders and began to lead the retreat deeper into the woods. Elizabeth stood before the great bear and prepared to attack. Casting shielding magic on herself, she yelled at the beast. ¡°I am Elizabeth Duvark, eldest daughter of the Duvark family, a name that does not know defeat.¡± She lunged at the monster and managed to pierce it with her spear. ¡°I knew it, magic weapons work on this thing,¡± she thought to herself. She then ran her magic through the spear, activating its ability. Suddenly, great, red spikes emerged all over the bear, the beast howling in pain. By this time, the whole army was out of sight. Elizabeth withdrew her spear, the bear falling to the ground.

    ¡°Fola Laraiin, treasured spear of the Empire and family hairloom of the Duvark family. Anything it pierces is crucified by spikes of iron made of the vicems own blood and lifeforce. Truly this weapon is worthy of the bloody legends that precede it,¡± Elizabeth said to herself, looking at the spear longingly. Elizabeth turned to follow after the army, only to be struck from behind by a massive blow. Just before she blacked out, she could see the bear standing back up, seemingly uninjured. From there, she could remember no more.

    ***

    ¡°Where am I, have I died,¡± Elizabeth thought to herself. Opening her eyes, she saw a campfire next to her and could hear the sound of men chattering and the clanke of armor. She sat up, though with difficulty due to a massive pain in her side. ¡°Finally awake Lady Elizabeth,¡± said the familiar voice of Warren Veltinheim. Elizabeth turned to see the old man gently smiling at her. ¡°Warren, I¡­ what happened,¡± Elizabeth asked. The old man sighed. ¡°After ordering the army to run, I left command with Lord Edward Windamir and came back for you. Thanks to your efforts, we managed to outrun the beast. It seems you managed to hurt it a bit, though I doubt you killed it,¡± Warren said. Elizabeth, relieved that the crisis had passed, continued to ask more questions.

    ¡°Warren, I need you to tell me, what is the current status of the army, how many were lost in the attack,¡± she asked. Warren¡¯s face grew heavy. ¡°We lost five thousand good men to the beast Lady Elizabeth,¡± he said. ¡°Please do not blame yourself for this, none of us could have predicted such a monster would make these mountains it¡¯s home. We still have eleven thousand men, more than enough to deal with the natives.¡± Elizabeth was in shock. Between the constant monster attacks, the cold and the strange bear that attacked them, almost half of the Iron Legion was dead. Regaining her composer, Elizabeth rose. ¡°Warren, we make for our basecamp. I want us there in the next ten days.¡± Warren stood and bowed, leaving to give the command. ¡°It is time to start this war, lest something else takes us out,¡± Elizabeth said under her breath.

    <hr>

    It was finally the 476th Winter, the dawn of war was upon us. Scouts had reported the Empire had an estimated ten-thousand or so soldiers, perhaps a little more than that. Additional reports from the Seabhac confirmed that the original size of the Empire¡¯s army was almost double what was currently stationed in the mountains. ¡°Based on what we have seen in the forest, we think that your prediction of the Empire going through the Lord of the Mountains territory was correct Calder,¡± Pippin said. ¡°Seems the beast took out a few thousand of them, more than we had hoped for originally.¡± Chief¡¯s Arnbiorn, Leftheria and Keldi all looked rather pleased. ¡°So the battle is now two to one instead of three to one eh,¡± said Leftheria. ¡°Pity we won¡¯t get to kill more but I suppose we will have to make do.¡± The three chiefs laughed. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    ¡°Now is not the time to celebrate,¡± I said. ¡°We still have a whole war ahead of us. The enemy has organized a basecamp for themselves and is already sending out scouts to try and get a lay of the land. We need to strike them now, while we still have the advantage.¡± A more serious atmosphere took ever the room. ¡°Your right Calder,¡± Father said. ¡°The Seabhac will start their night raids within the next few days; Pippin, get the hunters ready for battle,¡± Father said. Pippin got up and left the tent. ¡°I suppose we should get ready as well,¡± said Leftheria. ¡°I want the Lompr¨®idh to coordinate with the Seabhac during the night raid. A volley of arrows along with a bunch of raging berserker''s in the dead of night, I doubt the Empire will be able to do much against that,¡± he said. I nodded in agreement as Leftheria left the tent. I stood up as well, ¡°Father, keep the night raid short. We don¡¯t want the Empire to get a read on our numbers. Try to take a few of their soldiers alive if you can as well, we need all the information we can get.¡± Father nodded and followed after Leftheria and Pippin.

    ***

    It was midday at the base camp of the Frozen Pact. I had just woken up and was heading to the Pact leader, Chief Arnbiorn¡¯s, tent for a strategy meeting. The Lompr¨®idh and Seabhac had returned late last night from a successful night raid and managed to kidnap a few enemy soldiers, including what appeared to be an enemy leader. I entered into the tent to see Father, Grandfather and an unfamiliar girl, perhaps about fifteen or sixteen winters old, tied to a chair, her hands were bound by sealing ice, a type of magic that sealed away the magic of the one bound. ¡°So this is the one we managed to capture,¡± I asked Father. ¡°We also managed to take a few others prisoners, just some rank and file soldiers, but she seems to be a noble of the Empire and a ranking officer at that,¡± Father replied. The girl sat there silently, though clearly fraught with terror.

    I walked up to her and tried to get her to talk. ¡°Would you be so kind as to tell us your name and what your role in the Empires army is,¡± I asked the girl. She shook her head, clearly not willing to answer, despite her fear. ¡°I would like to do this peacefully,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to resort to harsher tactics than needed,¡± I continued. The girl still did not talk. I turned to Father and Grandfather. ¡°Could you two leave us, I think you''re scaring her,¡± I told them. Father and Grandfather grumbled but willingly exited the tent, leaving me and the bound girl alone. I went back to her. ¡°Now would you please tell me who you are,¡± I asked again. Now alone, the girl finally opened her mouth. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you are just a child, I have nothing to tell you savages, do with my body as you will, but know you will never control my heart and soul.¡± I leaned over to the girl and cut the ropes binding her, chuckling at the cliche statement. ¡°I won¡¯t do anything to you, so long as you remain my prisoner, you are under my protection. None of the men will be able to do anything to you,¡± I said. ¡°Now then, can we please have a civilized conversation, I am Calder Erantu, one of the leaders of the Frozen Pact, the United Army of the North. And you are?¡±

    The girl, now slightly less fearful now that she was unbound from the ropes, started to speak a little easier. ¡°I am Lady Lisa Fran, current head of the noble House of Fran, one of the families that serve under House Duvark. And how are you, a child, one of the leaders of this army, are you trying to mess with me,¡± she followed up with. I laughed at her and pulled up a chair. ¡°I am not joking in the least,¡± I said. ¡°I am heir to both the Erantu and Ivartar tribes, two of the three tribes that make up the leadership of the Pact. I was also one of the central people in forming this Pact, despite my age. I know it¡¯s hard to believe but you will just have to trust me on it.¡± Lady Fran was surprised, but seemed to believe me. ¡°So, as long as I answer your questions, nothing will happen to me¡­ right,¡± Lady Fran asked me. ¡°That¡¯s right, so long as you cooperate, I won¡¯t let anything befall you here,¡± I confirmed.

    The girl leaned back in her seat. ¡°Could I ask you to take this seal off of me,¡± she asked, motioning to the ice binding her hands. ¡°I am afraid I can¡¯t,¡± I said. ¡°We have already confirmed you as a skilled mage. I don¡¯t want to risk anything,¡± I said. ¡°Now if you would please answer a few questions for me.¡± Lady Fran nodded. ¡°I will answer what questions I am able, so long as you keep your promise of protection. I also won¡¯t answer any that I am forbidden to answer by oath.¡± Nodding that I understood her position, I began my interrogation. ¡°The main things I want to know are the amount of soldiers you set out with, how many you currently have, what information you have on the North and information about your armies leadership and formations.¡±

    Lady Fran thought for a bit and then began to answer. ¡°We set out from the capital with approximately twenty thousand soldiers. We lost two thousand during the march here, another two thousand from continuous monster attacks in the woods. Finally, we lost another five thousand to some large, bear like monster in the forest and likely another thousand during your night raid. I would say that leaves us with around ten thousand soldiers, give or take. I can¡¯t tell you about our armies formations because we don¡¯t really have any that can be used in this snowy environment, though our Iron Legion is comprised of calverley with some mage¡¯s and wyvern rider¡¯s, making our legion the most versatile of the Empire. Our army is headed by Lady Elizabeth Duvark with myself and Lord Edward Windamir as her left and right hands respectively. In addition, Lord Warren Veltinheim is our current second-in-command. He is the right-hand of the Grand Marshall and second-in-command of the Second Legion and holds the title of Strongest Swordsman in the Empire.¡± Hearing all this, I now had a good idea of the capabilities of our foe. They were likely a skilled and versatile force capable of any number of strategies depending on the situation, be they long-range magic battles, aerial battles or basic ground fights.

    I sat there in thought. ¡°Is that all you want to know,¡± Lady Fran asked me. I was startled out of my concentration. ¡°Ahh, yes, that will be all for now,¡± I said. I got up and went outside the tent for a moment. Outside, Leftheria, Arnbiron and Father all stood. ¡°I¡¯m done with the questioning,¡± I said, signaling the men to come inside. Upon entering, Leftheria¡¯s gaze went right to the woman. ¡°Now that we have all the information we need from her, mind if the Lokvan take her, my boys will treat her right,¡± he said, clearly starting to lose himself in his lust, a common trait amongst the Lokvan, a trait that has made it difficult to work with them. The men of that tribe had caused plenty of trouble since the formation of the Pact, often trying to forcefully take women, as was their tribes way.

    ¡°Sorry Chief Leftheria, I¡¯m claiming this one,¡± I said. ¡°I won¡¯t permit any to touch her without my permission.¡± Leftheria was clearly angry about this. ¡°You were not even the one to capture her boy, what gives you the right¡­¡± Father and Grandfather stood between me and Leftheria, both of us clearly ready to fight one another. ¡°That is enough Leftheria, Calder claimed the girl before you did, so let him have her. By rule of the Pact, the girl in now Calder¡¯s property. Touch her without his permission will mean punishment, understand,¡± Grandfather said to Leftheria. The barbaric chief of the Lokvan was clearly upset but obeyed all the same. Even he was not foolish enough to disobey Grandfather who held the title of Pact Leader. Leftheria stormed out of the tent, cursing and yelling outside. Lady Fran seemed rather disturbed by the sudden infighting. ¡°Calder, I won¡¯t question you on why you have claimed this woman, but make sure to keep an eye on her. She belongs to you now so she is your responsibility, understand,¡± Father said. I nodded and motioned Lady Fran to get up.

    ¡°Come with me,¡± I ordered her came over to me, though she was clearly on guard against Father and Grandfather, having little trust in the two men. I led her out of the tent, both of us greeted by the cold, morning sun. We were met with the glances of many of the soldiers, many of them clearly looking at the girl with ulterior motives. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry,¡± I told her. She nodded and we swiftly moved to a medium sized tent that was located a few yalms from the Grandfather¡¯s tent. The tent was rather bare, save for a pile of furs to sleep on, a small table and chair and a weapons rack in the corner. An oil-lamp hung from the ceiling, lighting the place. Fran looked around for a few moments. ¡°This is what you live in,¡± She asked. ¡°This is rather¡­ quaint¡­ I suppose.¡± This kind of environment was clearly not what a women of noble birth was used to. ¡°It''s a far cry from the residence you are likely used to staying in but it will at least keep the cold off your back. If you don¡¯t like it, feel free to roam around the camp, though I doubt that would be safe for an enemy prisoner to do. So long as you stay in here, no one will dare touch you,¡± I said.

    Lady Fran sat down in the chair in the room and breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Well then, I suppose I am your prisoner for now, do with me as you will, Calder was it,¡± she said. I sat on the bed of furs. ¡°I won¡¯t do anything to you. If I were to hurt a noble of the Empire, it would reflect badly on the people of the North. If you are unhurt, you might even serve as a useful bargaining chip with the Empire later on.¡± I got up and went to the tent entrance. ¡°For now, stay here quietly, I have a few duties to attend to but will return with some food later. And remember, so long as that seal is on you, you won''t be able to use your magic. I suggest you stay in the tent for your own safety. Even though I say you are under my protection, that is only so long as you are in this tent or with me.¡± I left the tent to go and share my findings from Lisa with the Pact leaders and begin strategizing our next moves.

    <hr>

    ¡°Three overnight raids, several soldiers taken prisoner and Lisa has gone missing; what in the name of the seven gods is going on here,¡± Elizabeth yelled at Edward. The poor man had been on the receiving end of her verble lashings for the last few days. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lady Duvark, we are currently trying to identify our enemy. They have a far greater lay of the land than we do and seem to have little trouble moving around, even at night,¡± Warren said. Moral of the Empire soldiers had dropped significantly. Day after day, they had been on the receiving end of enemy attacks. The Twelfth Legion had lost about one thousand men since making base camp and were down to ten thousand soldiers. Elizabeth was starting to get incredibly annoyed by the constant hit and run tactics of the Northern tribes.

    Getting up, Elizabeth went outside her tent. ¡°Warren, based on the enemies current attack patterns, can we expect another enemy attack tonight,¡± she asked. ¡°I believe so, they attack almost every night without fail, so I would not be surprised if we are struck again tonight,¡± he said. Elizabeth laughed a bit, a laugh so cold and cruel it would send shivers down the strongest of mens back. ¡°Tell everyone to stay hidden for tonight, I will deal with these pests myself,¡± she said. Walking up to one of the soldiers, Elizabeth grabbed him by the arm. ¡°You, I want you to get Fragrich ready for me, make sure he is fed and ready for battle.¡± The soldier saluted his superior and ran off in the direction of a massive, barn like structure. ¡°Are you sure about this Elizabeth,¡± Edward said. ¡°I know that together, you and Fragrich are nigh untouchable, but are you sure it is wise to try and take the enemy¡­¡± Edward was stopped by Warren. ¡°When a Duvark says to let them handle it, you let them Edward. She is more than enough to deal with them, in fact, Lady Elizabeth might be the only one who can deal with such a tricky enemy.¡± Suddenly, a loud roar came from the direction of the barn. ¡°Looks like Fragrich is ready to go,¡± said Elizabeth, walking towards the large building.

    ***

    It was the middle of the night and all of the Empire soldiers had cleared out of the camp, moving a ways away to the secondary base. Several shadowy figures wandered into the now empty basecamp. The men were armed with bows and daggers, all of them skulking around, searching for enemies to attack. Suddenly, a loud roar could be heard in the dark; a large, winged beast came flying down onto the Pact hunters. ¡°I see you¡¯re trying your cowardly attacks again savages,¡± yelled Elizabeth from utop the large beast. ¡°Why the hell is a full grown dragon here,¡± one of the hunters yelled. ¡°That should matter little to you,¡± Elizabeth said. ¡°Fragrach, finish this quickly,¡± she commanded the dragon. With the command given, the large beast let out a breath of pure fire, burning the hunters alive. Those that were spared from the flames attempted to flee, only to be speared by Elizabeth or by the dragon''s claws and fangs.

    It took mear moments for Elizabeth and her dragon Fragrich to dispatch of the hunters. Hopping off of the dragon, Elizabeth went to the one hunter she had spared. She grabbed the man by his hair and dragged him into one of the tents, several soldiers led by Warren were waiting there for her. ¡°Warren, I want you to use any method you need to extract information from him. You know what to do when you are finished. Find out the enemies numbers, locations and leadership¡­ and what became of Lisa.¡± Warren bowed as Elizabeth left the tent.

    <hr>

    ¡°So no one returned huh,¡± I asked Pippin. ¡°That''s right, I was watching from a distance but I think the enemy has a full grown dragon on their side, not that I have ever seen one. That thing was at least no wyvern, that''s for sure, way to big,¡± the Head Hunter said. I sat in thought for a moment. ¡°Grandfather, order the camp to move. We need to flee this location right away, I would not be surprised if they took to torturing some of the hunters to figure out our location.¡± Arnbiorn nodded in agreement with me and left the tent to start organizing the retreat. I also left the tent to go and inform Lady Fran of what we were planning to do.

    Just as I left Grandfathers tent, I began to hear screams and yells. Rushing to the source of the sound, I saw what we feared most, though far sooner than we expected. ¡°How... how did they get here so fast,¡± I said to myself. Before me stood an army of thousands strong. Horsemen, wyvern riders and mages all there. At the helm stood a large dragon, covered in deep red scales, the beast more than five meters tall while still on all fours. Atop the beast was the most beautiful women I had ever seen. She had long golden hair that flowed in the cold wind, a face like that of a doll, but her eyes were that of a raging beast. She carried a spear that was as massive as a grown man and covered in intricate runes. She was clearly someone who had experienced many battles despite her young age. This woman must be¡­ Elizabeth Duvark, leader of the Iron Legion.

    ¡°To all you savages,¡± Elizabeth yelled. ¡°I command your leader to come forth. The time has come to end this war, short though it has been. Be honored that we would give savages such as you the chance to speak to one such as I.¡± I could almost taste the woman''s arrogance on her tongue. She clearly saw us as little more than beasts, likely the common opinion of the Empire. I was about to step forward but Grandfather beat me to it, coming out of seemingly nowhere. ¡°Calder, all non combatants have fled. Leftheria and Frestia are preparing our soldiers for battle. It¡¯s up to me and you to try and buy them time,¡± he whispered to me. I nodded and the two of us stepped forward to meet the Iron Legion and their leader.

    ¡°I am Arnbiorn Ivartar, chief of the Ivartar tribe, strongest in the North. Tell me, why have you come here to the North, what have we done to provoke such an attack,¡± Grandfather yelled at Elizabeth. The girl got off of her dragon and walked forward to meet us.  ¡°That should be obvious old man,¡± she said, now standing mere meters from Grandfather. ¡°You savages refuse the rule of the Empire, so we have come to enforce it. It is as simple as that.¡± Grandfather laughed at the girl. ¡°Enforce your rule,¡± he yelled. ¡°The Empire has tried over and over to conquer the North, only to fail time and time again throughout the centuries. You just can¡¯t stand the thought of someone not obeying you, isn¡¯t that right, snake girl.¡± I was worried about Grandfather angering the women.

    ¡°Enough with the back and forth insults,¡± Elizabeth said. ¡°Simply vow to obey the Empire and pay what is due and we will leave peacefully.¡± I considered what she meant by tax. She likely meant to bleed the North dry of any and all resources. If that happened, we would have lost any chance we might have to fight back. While the current situation looked bad, I felt we still had a chance, thus I stepped forward. ¡°Lady Elizabeth Duvark, I would ask that you allow us time to consider your offer, would that be alright,¡± I asked Elizabeth. ¡°I know not who you are boy but I have no need to talk with children, begone,¡± she ordered. Refusing to back down, I pushed Grandfather aside, signaling him to let me handle this. I stood before Elizabeth, standing almost a head shorter than her.

    ¡°Treat me as a child if you will, I shall still have you listen to me Lady Duvark,¡± I said. It was obvious she was not used to being talked back to, slowly getting more angry. ¡°If you agree to talk and negotiate, I might be willing to return Lady Fran to you, unharmed,¡± I followed up with. I immediately knew this was a wrong move when Elizabeth turned her back to me. ¡°Warren, order the attack. Find Lisa and destroy these savages, all of them.¡± She hopped back onto her dragon and flew to the back of the Empires army. ¡°Struggle as you might savages, know the might of the Twelfth Legion. It is time for iron and blood to flow,¡± yelled Warren.

    The Iron Legion formed rank, preparing to rush us, though Leftheria had already prepared the soldiers and hunters. Lompr¨®idh, Seabhac and Eiliminteach had all gathered ready to fight. I retreated quickly to the tent Lady Fran was in while our army formed rank as well. ¡°Apologise Lady Fran, I am going to have you retreat with our noncombatants. Negotiations have broken down so returning you to your mistress is no longer an option at this point in time.¡± I dragged her to her feet and had two young hunters act as her escort. Lady Fran looked longingly in the direction of Elizabeth but followed the hunters with little to no resistance. I equipped my chimerich leather armor, put on my enchanted cloak and undid the leather gauntlet on my right, glowing arm. Running to the front, I stood now with Father, Grandfather, Leftheria, Frestia, Head Warrior Van and Head Hunter Pippin. Grandfather turned to the Pact army and spoke to the soldiers.

    ¡°Children of the North, now is the moment we stand and fight. Let us show the children of Iron what we, who were born in frost and forged by Winter are capable of. Let loose your arrows, let your blades ring, let your spells fly and let all the world hear our cry. TO BATTLE MY BROTHERS. TO BATTLE MY CHILDREN. LET ALL KNOW THAT WE STOOD HERE, LET ALL KNOW THAT WE FOUGHT HERE!!!¡± This battle cry issued the start of the grand battle. No more running, no more hiding, no more sneak tactics. Now we fought head to head. This was the type of battle I had wished to avoid, but we no longer had a choice. This was not an enemy we could retreat from. I charged with the Chiefs and Head warriors; now did we fight for our lives. I would make it out of this alive no matter what. I no longer stared at death, but at the battle that would lead the North to freedom, to peace, to unity.

 Chapter 7: The Strike of Iron and Blood

    Leftheria was the first of the Pact to rush into enemy ranks. With each swing of his axe, he sent heads flying in every direction. Blood splattered on his face and all could hear his crazed laugh even over the noise of thousands of men fighting. Grandfather stood with the Elder¡¯s, all of them chanting, magic weaving around their fingertips. Van and Pippin stood with them, acting as their guards. Father stood from afar and shot at the enemy, with each arrow another soldier fell. I was in a daze. In my arrogance, I thought I was prepared for what it would mean to kill another human, I thought I knew what war was. I was unable to move, my mind lost in confusion.

    ¡°If you won¡¯t fight, then I¡¯ll just take your head!!!¡± I looked to see a large man on horseback come riding at me. He had a spear in hand and was inches from me. Without thinking, I summoned a spike of ice and impaled the man with it, hearing a crunch as he was skewered, his whole body froze and fell off of his horse to the ground, frozen and motionless. This now nameless man was the first human I had ever killed. This was war and every man and woman participating was prepared to kill, which also meant they were all prepared to die for what they fought for. It would be shameless of me to ignore that sentiment and try and fight without killing. Burying my emotions, I closed off my heart and focused only on the fight before me. Summoning two blades of ice, I held one in each hand and began to let them dance through the enemy

    With each slash, another enemy froze and fell to the ground dead. No blood spilt from those I killed, their wounds freezing over immediately, followed by a cold and icy death. I eventually caught up to Leftheria. ¡°Well boy, how does it feel to have your first taste of death? Tell me, are you an insane man like me who enjoys the kill or are you a normal coward who only shirks at it.¡± Remaining emotionless, even in the face of Leftheria¡¯s question, I gave a cold and bitter answer. ¡°It¡¯s not about weather I enjoy it, if I don¡¯t fight, I will die. This is kill or be killed. Nothing more, nothing less. I can¡¯t and won¡¯t ever enjoy killing another, but I will continue on¡­ continue until this war ends.¡± Hearing my answer, Leftheria let out a huge laugh as his axe found itself stuck into the skull of some poor enemy soldier. ¡°Good answer boy, make sure you never become like me, never let go of your sanity. The moment you do, then you are no different from the beasts that are hunted as food. A fight is no longer a fight when it is between a beast and a human, then it¡¯s just a hunt. Keep that in mind.¡±

    Saying this, Leftheria ran off back into the heart of the battle, death following wherever he went. Disappearing from sight, his maniacal laugh could still be heard by all. I thought for a moment of Leftheria¡¯s words, not fully understanding what he meant, or their current importance. ¡°He likely meant that a beast is someone who kills without understanding their opponents, who kills for the sake of killing. A warrior is someone who kills for a purpose, someone who acknowledges their opponent as a fellow human, as an equal,¡± I thought aloud. Focusing my attention on the battle at hand, I held up both blades of ice and ran towards a group of soldiers.

    I lunged at the closest one and could feel the blade in my right hand effortlessly plunge into the man¡¯s throat. His face went pale as the cold from my blade seeped into his body. Each of his limbs quickly froze in place as the cold spread. I withdrew the blade to see a perfect, blade shaped hole in the man''s throat. He fell to the ground, death taking him almost immediately. ¡°The least I can do for you all is give you a swift and painless death,¡± I said to the group of soldiers as I stood there alone. This obviously angered some of them, perhaps mistaking my words for overconfidence. Two of the men lunged at me, spears aimed right at my chest. I ducked under them and, dropping my blades, placed my right hand on the ground. The runes in my arm shimmered and hummed as I channeled my magic through the cold, frozen ground. Giant spikes of ice grew around me in all directions, impailing the two men that had tried to spear me.

    The two limp bodies hanging from the spikes of ice and remained there motionless. The other men in the group of soldiers were now starting to back off slightly. ¡°What the hell is he? What kind of mage attacks an enemy head on like this, it''s not like your a magic knight or something,¡± one of the men yelled. Those words were his last as I dashed up in front of the man and grabbed his face with my right hand. ¡°Goodbye,¡± I said softly to him as I channeled power through my arm. The man collapsed to the floor as his brian was frozen through and through. The last few soldiers started running from me in fear, all realizing they had no chance, though it was already to late. I summoned a bow of ice and fired several arrows that proceeded to impale the fleeing men. All three collapsed the moment the arrows made contact.

    Having finished off this group, I ran over to Grandfather and the Elder¡¯s. ¡°Grandfather, how much longer,¡± I asked him. The old man grunted and looked over at me. ¡°Hmph, you seem to have changed a bit Calder. I suppose taking a life for the first time does that to all of us. Anyways, help us with this ritual, the more mages we have on it the better. This will turn the tide of the battle for sure.¡± I got into the circle made up of grandpa, Elder Ragna, Elder Relith and the various other Elder¡¯s from all the different tribes. I began to join in with the mages in chanting and poring magic into the center of the circle where a dense and glowing block of ice was slowly gaining mass.

    ***

    We continued to pour magic into the block of ice for more than a half hour; the block was now glowing brighter than ever before, now almost tripling in size as well. ¡°Can you guys hurry up a bit maybe, we can¡¯t last here forever,¡± yelled Pippin. He and Van were working together to keep the enemy off us. The Iron Legion had already determined that the mage group was the current, and largest threat on the field. Wave after wave of soldiers came after us, only to meet their end at Van¡¯s axe or Pippins arrows and daggers. While the two were doing a marvelous job of keeping the enemy away, it was true that both of them were at the end of their stamina. ¡°Grandfather, we need to hurry, is there anyway we can speed up the ritual,¡± I said, slightly in a panic. ¡°Rituals are not meant to be rushed boy but¡­¡± he stood there in thought for a moment. ¡°Your right, we need to speed this up. Elder¡¯s, get back and protect Calder and I while we finish this up.¡± All of the Elder¡¯s backed up and joined Van and Pippin on the defense line.

    ¡°It¡¯s been some time since I have been able to let loose,¡± cackled Elder Ragna, a large, toothless grin across her face. The air around her began to crackle and pop as magic hissed through her fingers. She let out a loud screech as a massive wave of ice appeared before her. Within an instant, she had changed the geographical state of the battlefield, the crushing surge of ice swallowing at least several hundred Empire soldiers. Relith followed suit with a similar spell. ¡°Don¡¯t lose focus Calder, you and I are going to finish the in a single strike. Focus all of your power on the catalyst and pore everything you have into it. Let every last drop of your magic flood the catalyst until it is fit to burst.¡±

    I followed grandfathers lead and both of us channeled as much power into the crystal totem as possible. Light filled the crystal and the glow became blinding. ¡°Not yet, it''s not enough, NOT ENOUGH,¡± I yelled, trying to force myself to put even more magic into the totem. I collapsed to the ground, my head throbbing from overusing my magic. Grandfather was barely able to stand after squeezing the last bit of his magic into the crystal. He to fell to the ground next to me. ¡°We did it Calder, we did it. Now watch, watch and see the pinnacle of ice magic, the tactical class spell, Sneachta Maisithe, the Cursed Snowfall.¡± Grandfather collapsed onto the ground completely unconscious. I looked at the brightly glowing totem and crawled forward to touch it. At my touch, a light flew up from the crystal high into the sky.

    After a few moments of the light flying into the sky, a deep rumble could be heard. The clouds gathered, now shrouding the previously clear sky in deep clouds and snow began to fall, though it was unlike any snow I had ever seen before. The snow was pitch black, slowly falling to the ground. Some of the snow touched me but merely faded away. ¡°Calder, this spell was created long ago by a tribe that hated it¡¯s enemies so much, they wished to wipe them from existence. This spell will destroy those the caster views as an enemy but spare the ones they see as an ally,¡± Elder Ragna said while walking up to me. She had known me for long enough to know when I wished for an explanation on something. Looking over at the Empire soldiers, I saw the snow touch several of them. The moment it did, they turned to ash, leaving nothing behind but a pile of dust. This spell was one that destroyed the enemy completely, leaving nothing behind but ash and soot. ¡°Elder, such a spell must come at a cost, a cost more than just magical energy. I can¡¯t imagine a spell so convenient that it only destroys the enemy,¡± I said, feeling something was amiss. If this spell was truly made by a tribe that was filled with anger and just wished to destroy, it was likely that the spell required such dark feelings to use. Spells were like emotion, they changed based on the mental state of the caster.

    Elder Relith of the Ivartar stepped forward. ¡°Right you are child, the spell comes at a hefty cost. That cost is the life of the caster. By giving up their life, the caster can completely annihilate an army. The only problem remaining is the large amount of magic the spell demands to be cast, though that is the same for most tactical class spells.¡± The life of the caster; the Elder¡¯s and I provided magic to activate the spell, but the actual caster was¡­ ¡°Grandfather,¡± I said under my breath. I crawled over to Chief Arnbiorn¡¯s side. ¡°Grandfather, why¡­ why would you use a spell like that. Why did you give up your life like this, the Pact needs you to lead it,¡± I yelled at him while sobbing. The old man opened his eyes ever so slightly. ¡°Calder¡­ I did what any chief would do, give their life to protect what they love. Had the Empire not attacked so suddenly we might have had another choice, but...¡± Grandfather started to cough up some blood, his life obviously reaching its end.

    ¡°Calder, listen to me,¡± he said. ¡°I have little time until my life burns out and there is much I wish I could tell you. Just know that you have made me and everyone around you proud, I leave this war¡­ this Pact¡­ in your...¡± Grandfather¡¯s eyes closed before he could finish and his body went limp. ¡°We need to get out of here, while the spell is still active,¡± I said, sitting up as best as I could, all the while tears streamed down my face as I started to bark out orders. ¡°Van, I need you to carry me, I am unable move. Pippin, join up with Father and Frestia; order the retreat for now. There has been enough death for one day. Once we have fallen back, we will send a messenger to the Iron Legion asking for a ceasefire during the night.¡± Hearing my commands, Pippin ran off to find Father and Frestia while Van picked me up and ran, a great many Empire soldiers turning to dust all around us.

    ***

    We fell back to our second basecamp. In fear of our first one being found, we had a second one set up just in case. The non combatants had already retreated to here and now the combatants, led by Van, were in full retreat. The Sneachta Maisithe spell forced the Empire into a full retreat. Our first basecamp was now covered in the cursed snow. If the Empire was to return there, they would only be met by death. In addition, since we did not know much about the spell, we deemed it wise to stay away from the first basecamp for now. We would need to go back later to gather what remaining supplies we could, but that would be for a later date. For now, we were all just relieved to have made it out of the first of likely several battles alive.

    Having finally arrived at the second basecamp, we were greeted by members of the Capall logistics Coldmir. ¡°Your all alive, I am so glad,¡± said mother. She was currently incharge of the basecamp when the combatants were fighting. She gave me a giant hug that nearly crushed my back. ¡°Calder, thank the gods you are alive. Where is Father and Keldi, I would like to see them,¡± Mother said. Van set me down, my legs still trembling. ¡°Mother, I¡­¡± I was having trouble getting the words out¡­ trouble telling her Grandfather died. ¡°Lady Ylva, please listen to me for a moment,¡± Van said. It was at this moment that Father came, having acted as rear guard for the retreat. ¡°Van, what''s the matter,¡± said Father, breaking in on the conversation. I raised my hand to Van. ¡°I will say it Van, I was there in his last moments, please¡­¡± I recomposed myself and looked right at Mother. ¡°Mother... Grandfather... Chief Arnbiorn; he has passed. I¡¯m sorry. He used his life to cast a large, tactical class spell. Thanks to him we all managed to get away alive and cut the enemy numbers by at least a fourth. They took more overall losses than we did. I guess, we can call this a victory.¡± Saying this, I could hear my voice trembling, tears running down my face. Despite winning this battle, it did not feel like much of a victory to celebrate. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Mother kneeled down next to me. ¡°And Calder, what were my Father¡¯s final words, would you please tell me?¡± I took a deep breath and repeated what he said to me. ¡°He said that he is leaving the war and the Pact in my hands,¡± I said. Mother rose and patted me on the head. ¡°Well then Calder, what are you going to do now? You have two choices before you, either fulfill your grandfather¡¯s request and lead the Pact in his place or you can ignore his final wishes and your Father or Chief Leftheria will lead in your place.¡± Mother showed no sorrow over Chief Arnbiorns death; perhaps she perceived his plan from the beginning and had already prepared herself for it. I was unsure as to whether I was worthy of taking Grandfather¡¯s place as head of the Pact, but at the end of the day, there was little choice. Father did not have any experience leading large numbers of people and leaving such a job to Leftheria, well, I didn¡¯t even want to think about what might come of that.

    I straightened up and faced towards Van. ¡°Head Warrior Van, with the death of Chief Arnbiorn, who is to take his place as chief of the Ivartar,¡± I asked. The Head Warrior stared at me for a moment, and then answered. ¡°You were named Arnbiorn¡¯s heir, as such, you are the new Chief, so long as you accept the title.¡± I then looked at Father and asked him, ¡°Father, if I asked you to step down as Chief of the Erantu, what would you say?¡± Father hesitated for a moment but answered promptly. ¡°That should be obvious child, if you want me to step down as Chief so you can take my spot a bit early, so be it. You have more than proved your worth. It¡¯s thanks to your plans and strategies that we have survived up to this point. No one in the Pact would deny you the rights of Chief.¡±

    I pushed mother, who had been helping me keep my stability, away and struggled to my feet. ¡°Father, Van, call together the entair Pact, I have an announcement to make that the whole Pact needs to hear.¡± I grabbed a walking stick that was in the corner of the tent and hobbled outside, still weak from using all of my magic earlier. Just as I exited the tent, I was greeted by Frestia Lokvan, son of Chief Leftheria Lokvan. ¡°Calder, I need to talk with you, alone,¡± he said. I wanted to go to the area I would be addressing the Pact at but figured it would take Father and Van at least an hour to spread the word of what was to happen, so I nodded and followed Frestia.

    ***

    Frestia and I had walked a ways, now on the border of the Forest of Torgoth, our second basecamp being just a few minutes walk from the woods. ¡°What is it you wanted to talk about Frestia,¡± I said to the tall Lokvan. He took a deep breath and then, on his exhale, began. ¡°I already heard the news about Chief Arnbiron and would like to say sorry for your loss but I have something more to inform you about. The Ivartar were not the only ones to lose a chief during this battle.¡± My mouth dropped in disbelief, already knowing the direction this conversation was going in. ¡°You mean to say that Leftheria, that crazed berserker¡­ he?¡± Frestia nodded his head. ¡°That¡¯s right, he passed in the battle. The fool rushed into enemy ranks all by himself and even managed to reach Elizabeth Duvark herself. From what I saw, it was not Elizabeth that took him down though.¡± I thought for a moment. ¡°So you mean to say that, aside from Elizabeth, the enemy has someone else who is strong enough to take out someone as strong as Leftheria,¡± I asked. ¡°It was some old man; he looked harmless enough from a distance, but¡­¡± he paused for a moment before continuing. ¡°He moved so fast I couldn¡¯t even follow. It seemed like, without even drawing his blade, my father just fell to the ground. I ran in fear and if I am to be honest, that old man might be even stronger than Elizabeth and her dragon put together.¡±

    Hearing all of this, my fear of the enemy only grew. ¡°Don¡¯t go getting cold feet here Calder,¡± said Frestia. ¡°The old man was not even the main topic I wanted to talk to you about. With my father gone, I am to be the one to be next chief of the Lokvan, but that¡¯s a title I don¡¯t want. Instead, I want you to take it. Let me and the Lokvan become a part of the Erantu tribe, let us serve you to the end. I think¡­ I think that is what my father, what Leftheria would have wanted. He saw something in you, something we all see in you. A wisdom far beyond your years, experience and knowledge exceeding that of any normal human. You must be the one to lead us, you and no other.¡± Saying this, Frestia kneeled down before me, pledging his and his tribes loyalty to me and to the Erantu.

    ***

    To my right stood Head Warrior Van with his giant axe and to my left stood Frestia Lokvan, holding a large syckle. Before me stood Father, and the entire Frozen Pact; every warrior and hunter, every person participating in the war stood before me. In total, close to seven thousand were gathered. Elder Ragna and Relith came up from behind me and both placed their hands on my back. After a moment of chanting, I could feel their magic in my back and move up into my throat. I opened my mouth and out came a booming voice, one so loud that all could easily hear me, even those standing far in the back of the crowd.

    ¡°Members of the Pact,¡± I addressed them. ¡°Today, we fought the Empire head in the first of what is to be many grueling battles was grueling. Much was lost today, including two leaders of the Pact. Leftheria Lokvan and Arnbiorn Ivartar both passed today so that we might live to fight another day. With these words, I could see many in the crowd begin to weep along with a great many whispers amongst the crowd. ¡°In Chief Arnbiorn¡¯s dying breath, he entrusted both the Ivartar Tribe and the Frozen Pact to me.¡± the whispers and murmuring in the group grew ever louder. In my mind, it was obvious that the Pact would be extremely anxious. Few would have confidence in an young adolescent boy to lead an entire army. Father and Frestia both came forward, the Elder¡¯s amplifying their voices as well.

    ¡°I would like to add something as well,¡± said Father. ¡°As of today, I hereby relieve myself as chief of the Erantu and pass the title onto my son, Calder.¡± I could see a small group of Erantu hunters near the front cheering for me; at least had the support of my home tribe. Frestia followed after Father, addressing the crowd just as the two of us had. ¡°Along with Calder taking over both the Erantu and Ivartar tribes, I, as the current leader of the Lokvan, hereby swear my loyalty to him and the Erantu till my dying breath. Out of respect for his valor in battle along with his wit and courage, I entrust my title as chief of the Lokvan to Calder, that he may unite the North under one true banner.¡± With this public announcement, I had control over the three tribes that made up the core of the Pact, the Ivartar with their massive size and resources, the Lokvan and their berserker warriors and the Erantu, with their hunters and scouts.

    ¡°Members of the Frozen Pact, I now hold your lives in my hands, as Chief Arnbiorn did before me. I ask you to entrust yourselves to me. I know that I do not yet match up to my Grandfather as a leader. I only ask you give me a chance to guide you to an era of peace and prosperity, free of these chains called the Empire, free of this burden called tribes, free of this responsibility called war, for here we now stand, for the first time in thousands of years, a North united under one pledge, one oath, one pact. Now I ask you, who will follow me, who will follow me to battle, to war, to vengeance?¡± Saying this, I stood there nervously awaiting for the crowds response. ¡°I will follow ya lad, you''ve more than proven your worth, you¡¯ll make a fine leader given enough time and help I wager,¡± said a familiar voice. I looked in the crowd to see the Ivartar Head Hunter, Pippin. Following this, more voices joined in. ¡°I will follow you, prove your worth to us boy,¡± one voice yelled. ¡°Let''s take it to the Empire Chief Calder,¡± another screamed Many others said similar things, ¡°Show us the might of the one Chief Arnbiron chose,¡± and ¡°If you take out that war maiden, we will follow you to death.¡± Hearing the many yells of approval, I finished my speech.

    ¡°I hereby promise to drive out the Empire, but much more than that. I think it is long overdo for the North to stand center stage on this continent again. I hereby call for the rebirth of the Kingdom of the North, the rebirth of the Talamh na nDaoine, the Kingdom in the North. All tribes, I ask you gather under my banner and fight; fight for your homes, your families...¡± I hesitated before finishing my statement. Getting over my fear, I opened my mouth for one last time. Raising my glowing, blue arm, I showed it to the crowd. It was met by gasps and shudders. ¡°Fight for me, for your lord, for your King.¡± This was met with a roaring boom, cheers from all corners of the venue could be heard for miles. I ended with this high note. I turned and walked off of the stage and back to the Pact Chief¡¯s tent. I looked at Father, Van, Pippin and Frestia who were all gathered in the room. I sat down on the large chair that Grandfather once sat on and the other four followed suit, all pulling up chairs around me. Thus the strategy meeting began. ¡°All of you, I want to ask something of all of you. I think I have a way to force the Empire back. I will outline the plan in a moment, just first let me say this. Elizabeth Duvark is mine and mine alone. No others will go after her, understood?¡±

    ***

    The entire army of Talamh na nDaoine was gathering in a frenzy. Word of the rebirth of the Kingdom in the North spread fast among the tribes that did not participate in the war and among the people who had stayed in their respective village grounds as noncombatants. Day, more tribes and people came to swear their allegiance to me. I was not one to play the role of king but I felt I had little choice given the situation that the North was currently in. The people needed something to rally behind and a Kingdom was the perfect for achieving that goal. My purpose for calling myself king was to ensure that the other tribes would join us, almost doubling our manpower and war fund. All had gone according to plan. We had all the weapons, armor, men and money we needed to fight. All that was left was to confront the Empire, though this time on our own terms. We had already sent a messenger to the Empire declaring war on them and they had responded in kind.

    The whole army of the North gathered onto the Frozen Plains, a vast flatland that was perfect for open combat. To the east was a sheer cliff and to the west, the Forest of Torgoth. The beasts of the woods could be heard, their eyes shimmering in the dark branches. We were stationed at the Northern end of the Plains. To the south was a massive host of iron and blood. There stood the Twelfth Legion, the Legion of Iron before our very eyes. At the vanguard stood the all to familiar Elizabeth Duvark with her massive spear and her dragon not far behind. She walked forward, no one from the Iron Legion followed her. I got off of my horse and mimicked her. We both met in the middle of the plains a good ways from our respective armies. Before me stood the armor clad goddess of war in all her beauty¡­ and terror.

    ¡°Where is that old man boy, I have no need for pests. Surely you jest if you mean to tell me you are the leader of this army, if you can call it that.¡± Elizabeth''s snarky comments were clearly meant to force me to strike her. It would give her an excuse to cut me down where I stood without soiling her honor. I merely looked up at her smiling, maintaining a calm and cool composer. ¡°I would prefer it if you did not refer to me as an equal Duvark,¡± I said. ¡°Know you have the honor of addressing Calder Erantu, first King of Talamh na nDaoine, the Kingdom of the North.¡± Hearing this, Elizabeth burst out laughing. ¡°Kingdom in the North¡­ boy, you are nothing but a ragtag group of rebels that refuse the rule of the Empire. But for giving me a good laugh, I will grant you, no not you, Talamh na nDaoine was it, an ultimatum.¡± I was intrigued by what she sought to offer us but could not let my curiosity get the better of me. I had to force myself to keep up my front as a King. ¡°Speak then Duvark, what is this ultimatum you speak of,¡± I ordered her, though Elizabeth was clearly not pleased with being ordered by someone who was not her King.

    ¡°Careful with what you say, half-pint King, or I will skewer you where you stand. What I offer is simple, the return of lady Fran and the North swearing loyalty to the Empire and in exchange, we will let you live.¡± I clearly could not accept these terms. Even if they were fair terms in our favor, the people of Talamh na nDaoine would accept nothing less than the total destruction of the Twelfth Legion after what they had done to us so far. My choice was clear. I drew out my right arm and summoned a sword of ice and pointed it at her. Elizabeth seemed intrigued by what she saw. ¡°My answer is obvious Duvark, we shall be at peace with the Empire when the Twelfth Legions blood has stained this field of white pure crimson and your head rests on a pike. You started this war, so we will end it. I turned my back on Elizabeth and went back to my army.

    ¡°Calder, what did you say to her,¡± Father asked. I smiled at him and got back on my horse. ¡°I said what Grandfather and Uncle would have said Father, simply that we will end this war¡­ here and now.¡± I turned to face the Empire and rode forth, sword in hand. I could hear the pound of hooves and the stamping of feet behind me as the men of the North followed my charge. The Empire to rode forth. Finally, the final battle began, the battle that would determine the fate of this land, of my Talamh na nDaoine.