CHAPTER THREE #2
"These actions were taken without authorization, against direct orders from this academy and the Northern Council.
The commanders responsible will face consequences.
" Her expression hardened. "However, we cannot ignore the reason behind these desertions.
Black waters have been sighted near several Northern outposts. "
Thalia's throat tightened. Luna's intelligence had been correct. She caught her friend's eye, seeing her own vindication reflected there.
"The retreat was disorderly and premature," Wolfe continued. "It has created critical vulnerabilities in our defensive line against Isle Warden incursions. We must act swiftly to shore up these weaknesses before our enemies can exploit them."
"Our enemies," Thalia muttered, frustration building anew. "She's still fixated on the Wardens while the real threat closes in."
Kaine's fingers tightened on her shoulder. "Not here," he whispered, his breath warm against her ear.
Thalia closed her fists at her sides, swallowing the retort that threatened to burst from her lips. She knew Kaine was right. Another public confrontation would only cement her status as an outcast, eliminating what little influence she might still wield.
"Frostforge will respond to these events with immediate action," Wolfe declared, her voice ringing with authority. "We cannot afford inaction while the situation deteriorates around us."
"About time," Thalia whispered, unable to completely contain herself.
Kaine's grip on her shoulder tightened to the point of pain, a silent warning that needed no words. She could feel the tension in his body, his fear that she would speak out again and face consequences even more severe than demotion to menial labor.
"They're only acting now because the Northern Reaches are affected," Luna murmured, her voice barely audible. "When it was just Southern towns disappearing, they called it rumor and exaggeration."
Thalia nodded tightly, the truth of Luna's observation lancing through her like a blade of ice. The Council's priorities had always been clear—Northern safety first, Southern concerns second, if at all.
"We require precise intelligence on the extent of these phenomena," Wolfe was saying. "Therefore, Frostforge will dispatch a scout to the fallen Northern fortresses to assess the situation and report back with all possible haste."
The crowd stirred, whispers breaking out as people speculated on who would be sent on such a perilous mission.
"This assignment is high-risk and demands volunteers of particular skill," Wolfe continued. "Given their nature, they will be undertaken by one currently serving a… probationary term at this academy."
A cold certainty settled in Thalia's stomach. She knew before Wolfe spoke the next words.
"Roran Bright will travel into the Northern Reaches," Wolfe continued, drawing Thalia's attention back to the lectern. "He will assess the coastal situation firsthand and carry word from Frostforge to our scattered forces, with orders to regroup rather than retreat further inland."
Roran stepped forward from somewhere in the crowd, his wild black curls tied back from his face. Despite everything, Thalia felt her heart constrict at the sight of him. His warm brown skin seemed paler than usual, the gravity of his assignment written in the tight line of his jaw.
"I accept this mission, Instructor," he said, his voice steady.
Anger and fear tangled in Thalia's chest, each fighting for dominance.
Roran would be walking into hostile territory, where his Warden heritage already marked him as suspect.
And now, in a time of panic and abandonment of posts, he would be carrying orders that many commanders had already defied. The danger was immeasurable.
Thalia felt a prickling sensation at the back of her neck and turned to find Virek watching her from the dais, his pale eyes calculating.
A terrible suspicion bloomed in her mind—was Roran being sent away as punishment for her insolence yesterday?
Was this the Council's way of striking at her where it would hurt most, while simultaneously removing a potential ally from her side?
Before she could dwell on this thought, a commotion at the hall's main entrance drew every eye.
The massive doors swung open, revealing a guard escorting a newcomer into the already crowded space.
The man wore thick furs over armor of Northern design, his beard frosted with ice that had yet to fully melt in the relative warmth of the hall.
He carried himself with the unmistakable bearing of authority—shoulders back, chin lifted, gaze direct and challenging.
Murmurs swept through the assembly as the newcomer strode down the central aisle toward the dais, his heavy boots striking the stone with deliberate force.
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 are all under 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.