She followed the current deeper, tracing its flow through the alloy's structure.The magical signature was complex, layered in ways she'd never encountered.Beneath the surface enchantment lay something else—an ore she couldn't identify, with a vibration unlike any metal she'd worked with in the forge.
Thalia's eyes snapped open."This isn't just a different blend," she said, her voice rising with excitement."It's a completely different base metal, something I've never encountered before.The magical current within it..."She searched for words to describe the sensation."It's self-sustaining, almost alive.And it resonates at a frequency that's completely opposite to the black alloy."
Kaine's brow furrowed."Opposite how?"
"Like...like wave patterns that cancel each other out," Thalia explained, her mind racing ahead of her words."When two opposing forces meet with equal strength, they neutralize each other."Her fingers traced the blue runes again, confirming what she'd felt."This alloy doesn't just resist the black metal's effects—it actively counters them.The enchantment patterns are inverse, perfectly mismatched."
She stood abruptly, pacing the small chamber as the implications crystallized in her mind."Don't you see?If we could reproduce this alloy, we could reforge our weapons, our armor, everything—create defenses that not only withstand the Wardens' black blades but potentially neutralize them on contact."
The fear that had gripped her upon entering the chamber had burned away, replaced by the fire of possibility.This wasn't just a defense—it was a counter-offensive, a way to strip the Isle Wardens of their newfound advantage.
Kaine rose more slowly, his expression thoughtful."The Founders must have faced a similar threat.Perhaps an earlier wave of maritime invaders, using the same black metal technology the Wardens have rediscovered."He ran his hand through his hair, leaving it standing in unruly spikes."But if this blue alloy was so effective, why was the knowledge lost?Why aren't our weapons already made from this material?"
Thalia frowned, considering."Maybe the ore is rare.Or perhaps the technique was deliberately obscured after the threat passed."She gestured to the hidden chamber they stood in."This room wasn't meant to be found easily.The Founders’ Price has been kept secret for decades.The knowledge might have died with the original metallurgists."
"Which means," Kaine said slowly, "we need to find the source of this unknown ore before we can even begin to test your theory."
"The mines," Thalia said immediately."Frostforge was built here for a reason—the mountains are rich with metals found nowhere else in the North.If this alloy was forged here once, the ore must have come from somewhere nearby."
She turned back to the wall, studying the blue-silver runes with new intensity.Now that she knew what to look for, she could feel the subtle differences in the metal's composition, the unique signature of an ore that had somehow been forgotten by time.
"We need to map the old mining tunnels," she continued, her mind already racing ahead."Many were abandoned centuries ago when their veins ran dry, but if we're looking for something rare, something that might have been overlooked because it didn't fit known patterns of metallurgy..."
"The academy keeps records of all mining operations," Kaine said, nodding."Most focus on iron and copper deposits, but there might be mentions of anomalous findings, veins that were abandoned because the ore was deemed unsuitable for traditional forging."
Thalia stepped back from the wall, a new determination settling over her.The chamber that had once been the site of her greatest terror now held the key to Frostforge's salvation.Maven had tried to invoke ancient defenses through blood sacrifice, not understanding that the true power lay in knowledge, not death.
"We should go," she said, gathering her frost gloves."We need to search the archives, find those mining records before the Wardens return.They've retreated for now, but they'll be back—and with reinforcements."
As they made their way back through the main chamber, Thalia found herself looking directly at the ritual circle for the first time since entering.The carved runes that had once filled her with dread now seemed smaller somehow, less significant in the face of what they'd discovered.Maven's shadow no longer loomed so large.
At the threshold, Thalia paused and looked back at the chamber, seeing it with new eyes, not as a place of terror, but as a repository of forgotten knowledge—knowledge that might save them all.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The bell's chime rippled through Frostforge like a stone dropped in still water, its deep resonance vibrating through stone walls and iron railings.Thalia paused mid-stride in the corridor, her hand instinctively tightening around the small piece of blue-silver metal she'd been turning between her fingers.
The summons was unmistakable—not the usual toll marking meal times or class changes, but the low, sonorous note that signaled a mandatory assembly.Her pulse quickened.Three days since the Isle Warden attack, and finally, the instructors were ready to address what had happened—and what would come next.
She tucked the metal fragment into her pocket.It was one of several samples she and Kaine had carefully pried from the wall in the Founders' Price chamber, small enough that they wouldn't be missed but sufficient for preliminary tests.Not that she'd had time to conduct any.Between processing refugees, reinforcing defenses, and tending to the wounded, she'd scarcely had a moment to breathe, let alone study an ancient alloy.
Luna appeared at the junction ahead, her short dreadlocks catching the morning light that streamed through a narrow window.She spotted Thalia and waited, her normally playful expression unusually grave.
"Took them long enough," Luna said as they fell into step together."Three days of letting us all stew in speculation."
"They've been busy," Thalia replied, though she shared Luna's frustration.Every hour without clear direction had allowed fear to ferment among Frostforge's inhabitants, producing rumors more toxic than spoiled ale.
They found Ashe already seated at the back of the mess hall, her posture militarily straight despite the crowded bench.The hall, designed to accommodate hundreds, now strained under the weight of nearly twice its capacity.Students, soldiers, and refugees packed the long tables, their combined breath fogging the air despite the enormous hearths that blazed at either end of the room.
"Saved you a spot," Ashe said, nodding to the space beside her.Her expression was carefully neutral, but Thalia recognized the tight set of her jaw—the same tension she'd carried since being forced to testify against Roran.
Thalia slid onto the bench, her eyes scanning the room.Roran wasn't here yet.Neither was Kaine.The absence of both twisted her stomach into a knot that she tried to ignore.
"Look," Luna murmured, tilting her head toward the high table where the instructors usually sat.Only Virek and Marr were present, their heads bent in conversation.The other chairs remained empty, including the central seat normally occupied by Wolfe.
Before Thalia could comment, the kitchen doors swung open.Two cooks emerged, carrying baskets piled high with dark loaves of bread.They began distributing them, starting at the tables nearest the doors.
"Bread but no stew?"Luna's brow furrowed."That's ominous.They're rationing already."
