Wolfe's expression tightened as the man approached."This assembly is closed to outside visitors," she said, her tone clipped."State your business quickly, or wait until we have concluded our matters."
The man stopped before the dais, making no gesture of deference."I am Tordek Grimalt, an emissary of my clan," he announced, his voice carrying the distinctive gravel of a Northern accent."I come bearing orders that cannot wait."
"Orders?"Wolfe's eyebrows rose fractionally."Frostforge takes orders from no single clan, Emissary.We serve the alliance of North and South."
"That alliance," Grimalt replied, "is precisely what brings me here."He withdrew a scroll from his fur mantle, the wax seal bearing the distinctive blue-white crest of the Frostborne clan—one of the most powerful families in the Northern Reaches."By decree of Jarl Hakon Frostborne, all students and soldiers bearing allegiance to our clan are hereby ordered to withdraw from Frostforge Academy and return north immediately."
The words dropped into the silence like stones into still water, sending ripples of shock through the assembly.Gasps and exclamations broke out across the hall as the implications became clear.
Thalia felt as though the floor had dropped from beneath her feet.The Frostborne clan was withdrawing from the alliance entirely—pulling its people back to defend only their own territories.It was the beginning of the end, the fracturing of the fragile unity that had held the continent together against external threats for generations.
To her relief, Wolfe seemed equally appalled."This is unacceptable," she said, stepping out from behind the lectern."Those students and soldiers swore oaths to Frostforge.They have commitments, duties—"
"Their primary commitment is to blood, Instructor Wolfe," Grimalt cut in."The North is under attack.In such times, one must defend one's own."
"We areallunder attack," Wolfe countered, anger coloring her voice."That is precisely why the alliance must hold."
Grimalt's weathered face hardened."The Frostborne clan is not the only one weighed down by this alliance," he said."Many in the Northern Reaches question its value.Our young men and women are shackled to the defense of the indefensible—this academy, and a continental alliance weakened by Southern incompetence."He spat the last words, his gaze sweeping contemptuously over the Southern refugees huddled in the hall."The North will fight stronger on its own."
The hall erupted into chaos.Northern students shouted support for Grimalt's words, while Southerners responded with equal vehemence.Instructors tried to restore order, their commands lost in the din.Refugees huddled closer together, fear evident on their faces as the fragile peace of the hall shattered around them.
Wolfe raised her hands, calling for silence, but the noise only grew.Beside Thalia, Kaine's expression had darkened to something dangerous, his fists clenched at his sides.Ashe stood rigid, her face a mask of Northern stoicism that couldn't quite hide the conflicting loyalties warring within her.
"Silence!"Virek's voice cut through the clamor, amplified by a pulse of ice magic that sent a wave of biting cold through the hall.The crowd fell quiet, breath visible in suddenly chilled air.
Wolfe seized the moment of quiet."This academy stands as the shield of all humanity," she declared, her voice ringing with conviction."North and South alike.We face threats that will consume us all if we fragment now.The oaths taken by every student and soldier in this hall transcend clan loyalty."She fixed Grimalt with a piercing stare."I reject this decree.All personnel will remain at their assigned posts."
Grimalt seemed unmoved."You may reject it, Instructor, but the young men and women of the Frostborne clan now face a choice between duty and blood."His lips curled into a cold smile."Let us see which they choose."
The emissary turned away without waiting for dismissal, striding back down the central aisle as whispers followed in his wake.The doors closed behind him with a resonant boom that seemed to echo the closing of a chapter in Frostforge's history.
"Blood," Thalia murmured, the certainty settling like lead in her stomach."They'll choose blood."She looked around the hall, seeing the divisions already forming—Northerners drawing together in clusters, Southerners doing the same."The alliance is unraveling.Right when we need unity most."
Kaine's hand found hers in the press of bodies, his calloused fingers warm against her palm."Then we fight harder to hold it together," he said, voice low and fierce."One thread at a time, if necessary."
But as Wolfe attempted to resume the assembly, Thalia saw the fractures spreading like cracks in thin ice—visible to anyone with eyes to see, impossible to mend once broken.The Deep Tide advanced on their shores while humanity tore itself apart from within.
And she, stripped of rank and standing, could only watch it happen.
CHAPTER FOUR
Dust motes danced in shafts of pale light that filtered through the high, narrow windows of Frostforge's archives.Thalia's fingers traced the brittle edge of a yellowed page, her mind struggling to absorb the dense, archaic text before her.
Across the table, Kaine and Luna bent over their own ancient tomes, their faces etched with the intense focus that had sustained them through countless hours of fruitless research.They moved through the labyrinth of forgotten knowledge with a surety that Thalia envied—knowing which threads to follow, which references might yield answers about the shadows spreading across their world.She, meanwhile, felt like an intruder in this realm of dust and whispers, her presence more hindrance than help.
The archives stretched around them like a forgotten catacomb, shelves soaring into shadow-draped heights where the light couldn't reach.Leather-bound spines lined every wall, some cracked with age, others gleaming with oils from hands that had sought their wisdom over centuries.The air hung heavy with the scent of parchment and binding glue, tinged with the metallic hint of ink and the mustiness of paper slowly surrendering to time.
Thalia suppressed a sigh as she turned another page, her eyes glazing over strings of words that refused to form coherent meaning in her tired mind.She was a warrior, not a scholar—her hands more accustomed to the weight of a blade than the delicate pages of ancient texts.
"Here," Luna's voice cut through the silence, her finger stabbing down at a passage in the book before her."Listen to this, Kaine."
Kaine looked up from his own research, ice-blue eyes sharp with interest.He leaned across the table, dark hair falling forward as he peered at Luna's discovery.
"'The threats of ancient times,'" Luna read, "'proved unable to be stopped by conventional means.The founders of our sanctuary sought methods beyond mortal understanding, delving into magics that demanded sacrifice.Thus was the Price established—a barrier against the advancing darkness, yet not its defeat.'"She looked up, her dark eyes bright with excitement despite the grim content."It's talking about the Founder's Price, but it's more specific than anything we've found so far."
Kaine's brow furrowed as he considered the passage."It confirms what we suspected—the Founder's Price was meant to slow the threat, not end it."His voice lowered, a roughness to his tone that betrayed his frustration."But it's still maddeningly vague.We don't even know if this 'threat from the sea' is the same as what the Wardens call the Deep Ones."
"That's a good point," Luna tapped her finger thoughtfully against the page."We're assuming the threat mentioned in these founder-era texts is the same entity, but 'Deep Ones' is Warden terminology.The mainland might have had different names for them."
