"Sir, please," a soldier tried to calm him, gripping his elbow."You're safe now.Frostforge will—"
"No!"The merchant wrenched free, his eyes wild with terror."You don't understand!We watched it happen at Greymist Point!The fortress wall—solid stone, three feet thick—it just dissolved!Like it was being eaten away, consumed by the darkness!"
Thalia stepped forward, abandoning the ponies."I know what you saw," she said, her voice steadier than she felt.
The merchant's frantic gaze locked onto her."You do?You've seen them too?"
"Seen what?"Senna demanded, striding toward them, her silver eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"The Deep Ones," Thalia answered before the merchant could speak."The entities from the black waters.I saw them attack Thrum'kith—the fortress-whale.They move through shadow and consume whatever they touch.They're not Wardens.They're something much older, much worse."
Senna's face hardened."You're overstepping, Greenspire.Remember your place."
"Myplace?"Thalia felt a flare of anger despite the biting cold."My place is trying to save lives while the Council buries its head in ancient prejudice!"
"It's true!"the merchant interjected, stepping between them."Whatever she calls them, I saw these things with my own eyes.They aren't like any Warden attack I've witnessed in thirty years at sea."His voice dropped, thick with dread."They're something else.Something unnatural."
"Then you need to tell the War Council," Thalia said, turning to him."They need to hear directly from Northern witnesses what's happening on our coasts."
The merchant nodded vigorously."Take me to them.Now.They must be warned."
Senna's jaw tightened, but even she couldn't dismiss the man's obvious terror or his status as a Northern merchant—someone whose word would carry weight with the Council.
"Very well," she said stiffly."We'll return to the academy immediately."Her gaze cut to Thalia."But remember, Greenspire, your task is to manage the ponies, not to interfere with my command."
Thalia bit back a retort, instead focusing on helping the shaken survivors mount the waiting animals.The merchant, still trembling but resolute, insisted on riding beside her as they began the arduous climb back up the mountainside.
The sleet had thickened to driving snow, yet Thalia barely noticed the cold that had numbed her face and fingers.Her mind raced ahead to what awaited at the summit.After weeks of frustration and dismissal, she finally had what she needed—a Northern witness, someone the Council couldn't easily dismiss, someone who had seen firsthand what she had been trying to warn them about.
She wasn't glad for the attack, of course.Each lost ship, each fallen outpost, meant lives destroyed and families shattered.Yet a part of her—a part she wasn't entirely proud of—recognized the opportunity this tragedy presented.This man's testimony might finally shatter the Council's complacency, force them to acknowledge the true threat beyond their shores.
And perhaps, just perhaps, it would open the door to what she had been fighting for—the release of the Isle Wardens, the formation of an alliance that crossed ancient boundaries of hatred and fear.An alliance that was their only hope of survival.
***
Thalia's boots echoed against the stone as she led the merchant through Frostforge's winding corridors, his labored breathing punctuating each step.The Council chambers lay in the western wing, behind heavy oak doors emblazoned with the academy's crest—a forge hammer crossed with an ice spear, symbols of the North and South united in common purpose.A purpose that now seemed as fragile as frost in morning sun.She approached with determined strides, the merchant at her heels, his salt-crusted clothing leaving damp patches on the flagstones.Two guards flanked the entrance, their expressions hardening as they recognized her.
"Halt," the taller of the two commanded, stepping forward to block her path.His hand rested meaningfully on the hilt of his sword."The War Council is in session.No admittance."
"This man has vital information," Thalia replied, gesturing to the merchant who stood shivering despite the relative warmth of the corridor."The Council needs to hear him immediately."
The guard's eyes flicked dismissively over the merchant before returning to Thalia, narrowing with recognition and disdain."Instructor Wolfe left explicit instructions regarding you, Greenspire.No exceptions."
A familiar heat rose in Thalia's chest, the same burning frustration that had driven her to confront the instructors in the mess hall.She'd been sidelined, demoted, humiliated—all for speaking truths they refused to hear.But this wasn't about her pride anymore.This was about survival.
"Listen to me," she said, lowering her voice to a fierce whisper."This merchant's ship was attacked on the Northern coast.Not by Wardens—by something worse.Something the Council has been ignoring at our peril."
The guard hesitated, uncertainty flickering across his face.Inside the chamber, voices rose and fell in heated debate, the words muffled by the thick wood of the doors.
Before the guard could respond, the merchant stepped forward, drawing himself up with whatever dignity his bedraggled state allowed."My name is Tormund Blacksail," he said, voice rough but clear."I've sailed Northern waters for thirty years.My ship was attacked by...by something I cannot explain.I demand to speak with the Council, by right of Northern citizenship and maritime guild membership."
The guards exchanged glances.Denying entry to a disgraced cadet was one thing; turning away a Northern merchant who invoked guild rights was another matter entirely.
With obvious reluctance, the first guard rapped his knuckles against the door in a precise pattern.The voices within fell silent.After a moment, the door cracked open, revealing a junior officer whose eyes widened at the sight of Thalia.
"Merchant Tormund Blacksail requests immediate audience with the War Council," the guard stated formally."He reports an attack on Northern waters."
The officer disappeared back into the room.Muffled conversation followed, then the door swung wide.
