Arius knew that he had to crouch to fit through the crack on the wall, but the strength of the wind prevented him from doing so.
The prince sat down on the cold ice floor of the cave, next to the crack on the wall, where the wind passed by him. And there he began to meditate and channel all the holy energy he could use without taking his father’s life; his body began to glow with such intensity that it made it hard to look at Arius, as he became a glowing bright star.
Arius knew he had to act fast, as he could not maintain this amount of energy around his body for long. And with that thought on his mind, the prince stood up and gave a step to his side, facing the winds coming from the crack on the wall head on.
The prince was forced to take a step back, as even with all that energy at his disposal, the winds were too strong. But Arius planted his feet and made a stand against the wind and began moving forward.
Little by little Arius began to approach the crack on the wall.
Once he made it, he lowered his head and looked through the crack and saw it. It was the Frozen Blade, resting over a small pedestal made of ice; a short sword with a beautiful metal handle and a blade completely made from ice. And from that ice, all the wind in cave emanated.
Arius stood at the entrance of the crack, amazed by the fact that something so beautiful could unleash such a destructive force. But as the seconds went by, the cold began to work its way through the golden aura that surrounded the prince.
Arius was immediately reminded by the pain that he had no more time to waste. So grabbing the walls with each hand, the prince crawled through the crack in the wall until he emerged on the other side of it.
The room was nothing fancy, just a circular room completely made of ice, containing nothing else but the pedestal of the blade and the shape of a frozen man just a few feet from it.
The prince then stepped inside the room and felt as if a tornado lifted him from the ground, so he quickly raised his holy shield again, protecting himself from the wind current and landing him again on the ground.
He then walked as fast as the wind allowed him towards the sword. And as he passed the frozen figure, he realized that it was not a man, but an Elf, with the gold and red armor that the elite once wore during the great war, stretching his right arm towards the sword that had frozen him in that place over two thousand years ago.
Arius wondered how this Elf had managed to make it this far down the cave without dying, when no one else but him had managed to advance more than a few feet without becoming a part of the cave’s solid ice walls.
The prince knew that taking the sword out of the cave could mean his death and the death of countless others, but looking at the frozen Elf he thought,
Is this a worse fate than burning alive at the hands of Xandraf?
Finally the sword was in his grasp; he had made it.
“This must mean that I am the one who deserves the sword.”
And in that moment, he remembered the stories he heard about how his friends came across relics of power, and how each of the relics accepted his friends, forfeiting their power to them. It was not him who would determine if the sword was his, but the other way around.
The prince then placed his gold glowing hand on the handle of the sword, as he waited for the sword to accept him as his rightful owner.
But to our hero’s surprise, not only did the sword reject him, but it increased the strength of the winds, as it felt threatened by Arius’s touch.
Our hero knew there was no turning back now, so he focused all the energy he had, as he lifted the sword over his head. Screaming in pain, the prince began to form a small holy shield around the sword. containing it and its wind inside.
The blade fought against Arius’s grip, as the winds inside the holy shield continue to increase in strength.
The prince knew that he had very little time to make it back, as the sensation in his fingers was already completely gone and he felt the cold temperature moving through his arm toward his heart.
So he began to run as fast as he could. He quickly made it through the crack on the wall and onto the other side. He ran with nothing more than the light from the holy shield encasing the sword to guide him.
It was not until the prince reached the edge of the cliff that he began to think that he would actually die in that cave.
Unwilling to give up, the prince backtracked as much as he could, looking for another pillar, or anything that would help him make it across the fifteen-foot gap. But this time, there was nothing.
The prince stood there for a few minutes, as the pain in his arm increased due to the cold. And without any viable options, Arius thought of the only way out he had. He was going to jump.
I doubt that I will make it, but at least if I fall into the abyss, the winds of the sword will be contained down there.
The prince then took a step back and, as a tear ran down his face, he ran towards what it seemed an imminent death. Once he reached the edge of the cliff, Arius closed his eyes as he jumped towards the emptiness of the abyss.
Arius was a great warrior who maintained his body and mind in peak physical condition, but not even he could make that jump, especially with the added weight of his armor, his hammer and the frozen blade.
As the prince felt his momentum fading, he opened his eyes to look his death in the eye. But what he saw was Korgat the Gore Blade charging towards him in midair.
The two warriors clashed in the air, but Korgat’s massive body and momentum quickly pushed them towards the side from which Arius had jumped.
“I knew you had balls, but trying to make that jump was fucking crazy.”
“For the first time, I think we agree on something. But we don’t have time to waste; do you think you can make it across carrying me?”
“Who do you think you are talking to, I’m Korgat the fucking Gore Blade, off course I can make it through that gap carrying your tiny little prince ass.”
“That is good, because we do not have much time left. I don’t know how much longer I can sustain the shield around the sword.”
“Your Dwarf friend better be at Blood Howl village by now, or else we’re fucked.”
Using the strength of his legs, Korgat made the jump effortlessly carrying Arius. Once on the other side the mighty Korgat began to run as fast as his legs could take them.
With no wind to slow him down and fueled by the adrenaline of the moment, Korgat made it out of the cave in a matter of minutes and, without stopping began to travel back towards Blood Howl village with Arius in his arms, as the prince fought to maintain control over the winds in the sword.
Korgat was not aware of the struggle between Arius and the sword as he ran through the snowy mountains, but he could sense that the Human prince was quickly losing energy.
Arius fought with all his power to contain the winds inside his holy shield, but the freezing cold of the sword continued to make its way down his arm. They were not even halfway home and the prince had already lost sensation all the way up to his elbow.
The prince began to have shivers all over his body, as his body temperature continued to drop.
“You…you need to hu…hu…hurry!”
Korgat took one look at the prince and knew there was no way they could make it to Blood Howl village in time, at least not using the conventional route.
The giant Outsider then looked at Arius straight in the eyes.
“This might hurt a bit, but we need to get there fast.”
“Do wha…what you have to, bu…bu…but get us there.”
Korgat turned towards a snow-covered hill dotted with pine trees on their left and began to run towards it, moving away from the road. He began to jump up the hill using his shoulders and arms to protect Arius from the tree branches the best that he could.
The iron-skinned Outsider managed to make it over the tall hill in no more than a few leaps. Once on top of the hill, Korgat looked at the long way downhill covered with more pine trees that awaited the
m and at the end of that hill a huge precipice. Yet none of those were Korgat’s reason for the detour, but the snow-covered road at the other side of the four-hundred-foot wide precipice, the same road that led to Blood Howl village.
Korgat new that it was a long shot, but if he was able to make that jump it would save hours if not a day of travel. Besides, there was no way that Arius would last if they took the long way home.
So with his mind set on making the jump, the mighty Korgat jumped down the hill, landing halfway down. But as they approached their landing spot on the middle of the hill, Korgat realized that they were headed straight into several pine trees.
Korgat did his best to turn around in the air, landing with his back against the trees, and use his iron skin to shield Arius.
The weight of the two of them was enough to break the branches and land against the trunk of one of the trees, making it explode from the force of the impact with Korgat’s iron skin.
They landed in the snow, and began to slide downhill. It was not long before they ended up covered in snow, which did not help Arius’s struggle. But that would not matter, unless Korgat could find a way to get back up and use the momentum of their fall to make the jump across the precipice.
Momentum kept building, as they continued to slide down the hill, as Korgat fought to keep Arius protected. But as they came upon the precipice, Korgat held Arius with just his left arm and, stretching his right one, he grabbed the base of the trunk of one of the trees on the hill.
The tree was ripped away from the ground, but it managed to slow Korgat’s decent just long enough for him to tumble over and get back up, landing on his feet.
The mighty Outsider then grabbed the Human prince as hard as he could without hurting him and continued to run towards the edge of the cliff, as he used the momentum he had acquired to make the leap of faith.
Korgat ran as fast as he could and by the time he took his fifth step, he found his foot at the edge of the precipice.
Then without hesitation, he made the jump into salvation.
They crossed the sky as they flew through the enormous gap, but as they approached the other side; they began to lose altitude quickly. It seemed as if the mighty Korgat had miscalculated the jump by a few feet.
So as they began their descent, Korgat held Arius with his left hand again and stretched his right arm as far as he could, to try and get hold of something on the opposite rock face.
Korgat’s hand plunged in the snow that covered the rocks, as they hit the opposite wall just a few feet below the edge of the cliff. And as they began to fall, the strong Outsider managed to grab a rock, bringing their fall to a sudden stop. And with one strong pull, he lifted the two of them in the air, landing on his feet on the road on top of the cliff.
Arius could not believe what Korgat had accomplished, but all of it would be in vain, if they did not hurry and finish their journey. So the prince looked at Korgat and tried his best to communicate the sense of urgency, as he was unable to speak anymore.
Korgat took one look at the pale prince and saw how ice had begun to form over his eyebrows and beard. He immediately knew that their time was almost up, but now they were no more than two miles away from Blood Howl village. So Korgat resumed their journey, trying to run as fast as he could, while a thick snowstorm began to fall as nightfall finally approached them.
Korgat did his best to shield Arius from the falling snow, but there was little he could do if he was to run as fast as he can. But soon vision became a problem, as the falling snow made it difficult to see where they were running at that speed.
“Hang on, prince, and don’t you fucking dare to give up, we’re almost there.” Korgat shouted at Arius, as he reached for his sword that was strapped to his back.
Korgat began to run, screaming at the top of his lungs, while he pointed forward with his sword. And soon after the screaming started, a strong lightning bolt hit the ground just a few feet in front of them, giving light for a brief moment and showing Korgat the way. That lightning bolt was soon followed by another and another, lighting the way back.
At last Korgat saw the light from the few torches outside the buildings of Blood Howl village.
The mighty Korgat did his best to run even faster until they finally got there.
“We are here! Where is the Dwarf?”
They were immediately received by Lizandra and Licius.
“Stundroff is not yet here,” Licius replied.
“What do you mean, he’s not fucking here?”
Licius said nothing, as he watched how his friend suffered, while struggling to maintain his holy shield over the sword.
Then the air began to get much colder, as they saw how the light of the holy shield began to dim.
“Well, I guess we tried,” Korgat said, as he looked down upon Arius, letting him know that he could stop struggling now.
But Arius he refused to yield, for his conviction was too strong.
A thin layer of ice began to form over Arius’s arm, as he was no longer able to contain the frozen winds.
“Lizandra, maybe you can make it out of here, if you turn into a bird and fly off,” Licius said to the druid.
“I doubt I’ll get far in this storm. Besides, I have lived a long life alone. Maybe is fitting for me, to die among friends now.”
Arius let out a horrible scream, as he felt how the flesh from his arm began to freeze. Yet he managed to maintain the shield.
But the air continued to grow colder and as Arius felt the ice inside his body get dangerously closer to his heart, he said,
“I am sorry.”
The shield began to flicker, as Arius’s connection to the light was being severed by his departure from this mortal plane. And from inside the holy shield, a strong freezing wind began to escape, every time the shield flickered.
Licius turned around and embraced Lizandra, with the hope of using his armor to guard her from the cold winds, while the mighty Korgat stared at the face of death, without hesitation.
And just as Arius’s heart was about to give in and surrender to an icy death, a loud bashing sound was heard.
It was Stundroff, who had landed just a few feet away from them after being guided by the lightning through the thick snowstorm. And on his belt he carried the Bronium sword sheath. The Dwarf looked at his friends and immediately knew what had to be done.
So lifting the sword sheath, he jumped towards Arius, as the prince finally surrendered to the pain.
Korgat did his best to protect Arius from the wind, as it escaped the hold of the holy shield, while at the same time, Stundroff sheathed the sword.
The cold winds had burned the flesh from Stundroff face and chest, and there was little hope for Arius’s arm, as it seemed to be completely frozen.
Korgat and Licius carried their friends inside the tavern, as Stundroff’s body slowly began to heal.
It took two days, for Arius to wake up. And when he did, he felt an intense pain, as the fever was burning him up.
“What happened?”
“You almost died,” said Licius.
“My arm… it hurts.” Arius struggled to get the words out of his mouth.
“Yes, most of the flesh is dead. We even considered cutting it off, but we weren’t sure you would survive the process,” Licius replied.
“I see, well… I am glad you didn’t, because I think I can fix it.”
“You can?”
“Yes, but it will take time.”
He looked around him.
“Where are the others?”
“Lizandra departed shortly after you returned; she said there was nothing else she could do to help from here, now that I can walk. But she promised that she would meet us for battle. She just had to do something first.”
“You can walk again? That is amazing.”
“Yes, I can. But I am far from being the warrior I once was; it will take me some time to get accustomed to using the armor to walk, time that we unfortunately do not
have.”
“I see. It looks like we will have to make do with what we have.”
“Yes, it would appear so. As for Korgat and Stundroff, they are most likely outside fighting, they seem to have a strange yet fond rivalry.”
“Huh, that I did not expect.”
Licius left Arius alone so he could start healing his arm. He went outside to gather the rest of the troops and inform them that now that Arius had awakened, they would soon begin their march to the Fire Mountains.
Chapter 11
Trial by Fire
“White and cold snow… it is all I can taste and all I can see. I still remember they joy I felt, the first time I touched it.”
Stundroff lifted his head from the snow and stared at the imposing figure of Korgat in the distance.
“It seems you will never learn that all that strength is useless if you don’t know hot use it,” Korgat said.
The mighty Dwarf stood up and shook the snow from his clothes, buying time as he considered how to strike. But it was hard for him to keep a clear head, after all he’d been through.
“So, are we going to fight, or have you finally admitted defeat?” Korgat asked.
“Have I accepted defeat? I will show you the meaning of the word, you humongous brute!” Stundroff began to charge.
Korgat smiled as he watched the Dwarf stampeding in his direction and leant to the left, allowing Stundroff’s right punch to pass him. He then took a step back to his left with his right foot, as he let the rest of the Dwarf’s body to pass right by him.
Stundroff was further enraged, as his strike missed his mark completely. But before he could retaliate, he took a massive blow to the back of his head which made him lose his balance, sending him face-first into the snow again.
“Your anger is a weapon, it is clear you draw your strength from it. But if you let it guide your every action, you become predictable,” Korgat said to the Dwarf.
“I do not let it control me!” Stundroff yelled.
“Yes, it clearly shows that you don’t. I’m a hundred years old, and I still saw that fucking punch of yours coming a mile way.”
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