At the crest of the mountain pass leading to the main gate, the first wave of Wardens appeared.Even from this distance, Thalia could make out their distinctive silhouettes—tall and lean, their bodies wrapped in dark leather armor embedded with the same black metal as their weapons.Their faces were obscured by leather helms etched with embroidered storm clouds, with only their eyes visible.
The golem sentries stationed at the pass lumbered forward to meet them.Thalia watched, breath held, as the constructs engaged—massive forms of ice-steel and brass, their joints creaking with each movement.For a moment, she dared to hope.
The hope died as quickly as it had been born.The Wardens cut through the golems with terrifying efficiency, their black blades severing limbs and cleaving torsos as if the constructs were made of snow rather than enchanted metal.One by one, the golems fell, collapsing into heaps of disintegrating components that sparked feebly before going dark.Thalia let out a long breath; this wasn't a surprise, but it was terrifying to watch nonetheless.They hadn't had time to build any constructs from ice-glacenite, and had decided the effects of the unknown alloy might be dangerous if used in a golem.It had been the right choice, but now, Frostforge's defenders were on their own.
"They're coming," Thalia said, her voice steadier than she felt."We need to get down there."
Kaine nodded, and together they descended to join the defenders gathering at the main gate.Brynn was there, her twin daggers already drawn, her face a mask of fierce determination.Luna stood nearby, her usually dreamy expression replaced by a sharp, calculating focus.Senna paced among a group of Northern students, barking orders and adjustments with the authority of a born commander.
Thalia took her position at the center of the line, Kaine a solid presence at her right.The pendant he'd given her pulsed warm against her skin, matching the thundering beat of her heart.To her left stood Brynn, her stance deceptively relaxed, like a viper coiled to strike.
The first of the Wardens crested the final rise before the gate.Crossbow bolts arced from the parapets above, a deadly rain that felled several of the enemy before they could react.But for every Warden that fell, three more appeared behind them, an endless tide of black armor and flashing steel.
Then they were upon them, crashing against Frostforge's defenders like a wave against rocks.The air filled with the screech of metal on metal, the sharp reports of ice-magic colliding with storm, the grunts and cries of the wounded.
"Ice-steel users, fall back!"Thalia shouted, seeing how quickly the Wardens' weapons cut through the standard blades."Use cryomancy, not blades!"
Those with standard weapons retreated several paces, their gloved hands already glowing with frost as they began to weave their magic.Lattices of ice sprang up across the battlefield—barriers that shattered against the Wardens' storm magic but slowed their advance nonetheless.
A Warden broke through the line directly in front of Thalia, his black blade slashing toward her throat.She raised her glacenite sword to meet it, bracing for the impact.The weapons met with a ringing clash that reverberated through her arms, but her blade held firm.The Warden's eyes widened behind his helm, shock evident in the sudden stiffening of his posture.
Thalia grinned, savage and fierce."Surprise," she said, and pushed her advantage.
The Warden recovered quickly, but Thalia was already inside his guard, her blade a silver-blue blur as she forced him back.Around her, other glacenite wielders had engaged the enemy, their weapons gleaming in the storm light.Brynn danced between two Wardens, her daggers flickering too fast to follow.Senna fought with cold precision, each strike calculated and lethal.Luna ducked and wove through the chaos, her small frame allowing her to slip past defenses and strike where least expected.
Kaine moved with economical grace, his hammer a devastating force each time it connected.His eyes were like steel, his expression calm even as he brought the weapon down on a Warden's helm with a sickening crunch.
Farther down the line, Thalia caught glimpses of Rasmus, Felah, and Daniel fighting back-to-back, their training evident in how they covered one another's weaknesses.Even some of the refugees had joined the fray, their fear evident in their eyes but their faces hardened with resolve.
To the west of the portcullis, the air swirled unnaturally around a single point.Clouds and mist spun like a miniature hurricane, punctuated by brilliant flashes of lightning that struck with impossible precision.At its center stood Roran, barely visible through the maelstrom he commanded.Wardens who approached him were hurled back by gale-force winds or struck down by lightning called from his fingertips.
Thalia's momentary distraction nearly cost her.The Warden, she fought, feinted left, then brought his blade around in a sweeping arc aimed at her ribs.She twisted away, the black metal missing her by a breath, and countered with a thrust of her own.The glacenite sword sank deep into the gap between the Warden's chest plate and shoulder guard.He gasped, blood bubbling between his lips, then collapsed as Thalia wrenched her blade free.
Victory surged through her veins, bright and fierce, but it was short-lived.As she turned to find her next opponent, a familiar dread began to claw at her chest—the glacenite's curse taking hold.Her vision blurred at the edges, shadows lengthening into grotesque shapes that her mind insisted were real despite what her reason told her.
She forced herself to focus, to push through the growing unease.Nearby, Rasmus wasn't faring as well.She watched in horror as he froze mid-swing, his eyes haunted as he stared at something only he could see.The Warden he'd been fighting seized the opportunity, knocking Rasmus's blade from his nerveless fingers and sending him sprawling onto the frozen ground.
Thalia was moving before conscious thought, her legs eating up the distance between them as the Warden raised her sword for the killing blow.She slammed into the woman's side, sending them both tumbling across the blood-slicked cobblestones.The Warden recovered first, rolling to her feet with feline grace, but Rasmus had used the distraction to scramble away, his face ashen.
Before Thalia could engage the Warden again, a blur of movement caught her eye.Zanaya darted forward, snatching up Rasmus's fallen glacenite blade with a fluid motion that belied her lack of training.She hurled herself at the Warden with a primal scream, her attack so unexpected that it caught the woman off guard.
"Zanaya, no!"Thalia shouted, but the girl was already committed to her charge.
To Thalia's astonishment, Zanaya fought with a ferocity that seemed impossible for her slight frame.She lacked technique, but made up for it with savage determination, driving the Warden back step by step.There was no hesitation in her movements, no fear in her eyes—only cold fury and the memory of what the Wardens had done to her home.
All around them, similar scenes played out.Defenders fell prey to the glacenite's curse, their minds assaulted by visions only they could see.Some recovered, shaking off the phantoms through sheer force of will.Others weren't so fortunate, left vulnerable in crucial moments, their weapons taken up by hard-eyed refugees.
Fear pressed against Thalia's ribs like a physical weight.Even as the alloy saved lives by standing against the Wardens' black metal, its curse was exacting a terrible price.Too many such collapses would shatter their defensive line entirely.
A flash of lightning arced across the sky, unnaturally elongated, drawn toward something massive moving among the Warden ranks.Thalia shielded her eyes, trying to make out what had attracted the bolt.
The ground trembled beneath her feet, a rhythmic shuddering that sent loose stones skittering across the cobblestones.Metallic crashes echoed through the valley, drowning out the sharp reports of electricity and the clash of blades.
Out of the storm strode a monstrosity that made Thalia's blood run cold.A golem, but unlike any she had ever seen at Frostforge.This construct stood nearly thirty feet tall, its frame built entirely from the Wardens' black metal.Where Frostforge's golems moved with ponderous grace, this behemoth advanced with terrifying speed, each stride covering yards of ground.
"Founders, help us," someone whispered nearby—Senna, her face pale as she stared up at the approaching titan.
The golem swatted aside defenders like insects, sending bodies flying through the air to land broken and still among the rocks.It hurled debris with the force of a catapult, crushing those too slow to dodge.And with each movement, lightning danced across its obsidian frame, illuminating runes etched into the metal—storm magic, not cryomancy, giving it life and purpose.
