Chapter Zero: Prologue
Soldier Aleksandr's eyes darted from side to side as he surveyed the trees around him.
At the slightest rustle he jumped, he and his two remaining companions levelled their swords at the shaking leaves. Two nights of constant fleeing, two nights of being hunted by a force of nature.
The Fifth Company of Arendelle's Riflemen had set off scaling the North Mountain. The cure for the King's illness grew on the tallest peaks, just out of their reach. Ninety of Arendelle's finest had set off with cleanly polished weapons, full packs of rations and the spirit to find the cure for the King, no matter what happened. Once he was cured, the Sorceress who had cursed him would pay for her sins.
Aleksandr cursed their optimism. It had lasted for all of a day before things began to fall apart.
After a day's worth of hard hiking, the Company had settled down in a clearing for the night. Tents were set up and bags dumped in. A hearty fire was lit in the middle of the clearing, and soon water was boiling and the smell of hot food rumbled the men's stomachs. Congregating around the warm glow, they dug into their food, savouring the warmth before snuggling in for the night.
Patrolling with Dracon, Aleksandr checked his rifle for the full seven rounds before they split up. He whistled as he walked, admiring the night sky and his misty breath billowing in front of him. All animals who had brains at all were hibernating for the winter. Only ones dumb enough to be awake are us humans, he thought. He was so deep in thought, laughing about the idiosyncratic nature of humans, he almost missed the piercing bang of a gunshot, and the unnatural quiet that followed. Almost.
Instantly alert, Aleksandr raised his weapon and looked around. "H-Hello?" He called, jumping as the bushes began to rustle. "Is anyone there?" A bloodcurdling scream cut through the air. Fixing his bayonet as he ran, Aleksandr ground to a sliding stop on the snow as he saw another firearm lying on the floor. The wood was stained red, bolt partially retracted. Looking up, Aleksandr's vision reeled, his bayonet's blade waving on reflex.
Staring up at him with blank, glassy eyes was Dracon. The entire front of his ribcage was ripped open, the innards lightly steaming in the cold air. A single icicle pinned him to the tree by his head, and as the cold wind blew he swayed lightly.
"Aleksandr! We thought- What the blazes is that?"
Aleksandr turned his head to see a man-sized figure step into the moonlight. There was something wrong with everything this figure did. It walked almost mechanically, as though it were some kind of reanimated statue. Facets of light shimmered off its body as it walked. The true horror came when its face was bathed in silvery light that reflected off the silver smooth surface. It was made of glittering ice! Multiple clicks sounded behind him as men cocked their weapons.
At the first sound of a crackle, Aleksandr stabbed his bayonet straight into the creature, and squeezed the trigger. Bang The bullet shattered the creature's icy torso, and as it crumbled to pieces, tinkling to the floor, rustling was heard in the trees. Spinning around, Aleksandr's eyes widened as the spaces in the trees all around them began to glitter and shine. At the sight of the multiple facets of light, he simply cocked his rifle and ran, escaping just as an army of ice statues stalked into the clearing and proceeded to slaughter his friends.
For the last two days, Aleksandr and his two companions had encountered all form of ice creatures, most commonly birds and small mammals. Their rifles had long ago run out of ammunition, so they'd abandoned them in the snow. Not a single one of them had eaten, and their armour only seemed to be getting heavier and heavier. Going back down now empty-handed meant certain death for desertion. Going upwards to their objective there was still a chance. Alexander hated to do this, but it was the only credible option. Up. Aleksandr didn't even have the energy to bother lifting his sword anymore. He just walked up.
Then, it loomed before him. A magnificent castle made completely out of ice, the majestic gates etched with snowflake designs. Aleksandr and his companions could not help but gasp at this beautiful, fifty-foot tall structure.
Too late, a flash of white appeared in his peripheral vision, against the blue sky.
"No!" Aleksandr cried as man in front of him turned back, giving him a quizzical look. Had he been looking forward, he'd have seen the ice soldier in front of him raising what looked like- no, what was a complete replica of a rifle.
Tauntingly, the ice soldier cast a cursory glance at Aleksandr, who didn't move a muscle out of fear. God have mercy on our souls he prayed. Let there be bright sunshine, to melt these creatures. Let a wind blow, and divert their cursed ammunition.
Alas, God was preoccupied. The ice soldier's weapon elongated, a tube with two lenses on each end sprouting out the top. There was nary an indicator but a blue flash of light that the weapon had fired. That of course, and the icicle that embedded itself in his companion's chest, spilling steaming red blood onto the snow as he crumpled and fell.
Shaking his head, Aleksandr turned back in front of him. He was fortunate enough to have at least a glimpse of his own fate before a blade of glittering solid water stabbed straight through all his layers of clothing, cleaving apart the flesh and sinew in his chest and skewering his heart. The last thing he felt was the ice soldier kicking his head, and withdrawing the sword, before he joined his comrades on the road to his Creator.
All was silent on the North Mountain.
Arendelle Castle
"Your Highness, we have received news of another enemy incursion into Krukoslik just a day ago…"
Crown Princess Anna of Arendelle sighed as she received the bad tidings. Ever since her father, King Josef of Arendelle had been taken ill by that horrifying frost ailment just four years ago, things had just gone downhill. The blonde Sorceress had cursed her father and killed every single men she'd send up the North Mountain for the cure. Then there was the war with Russia and… She sighed and buried her head in her hands. There was just too much.
Not a single man who had returned from the North Mountain came back alive, in one piece or sane. Ever since the search parties had been sent up the Mountain to search for the Healing Spring, those who were still coherent jumped at shadows and refused to go near trees. They spoke of warriors made of the winter element itself, silently stalking the forests on the slopes of the mountain, killing any mortal foolish enough to traverse those cursed trails in cold blood.
Arendelle had paid for its scepticism. The reports had begun arriving from the Outskirts, near Jaela, Krukoslik and Viaduk. The same cursed warriors that the insane soldiers spoke of now frequently intruded upon the territory of Arendelle patrols. Every single incursion had been beaten back by the valiant troops of Arendelle. But indeed each man had been forced to fight tooth and nail. Being made of ice gave these things inhuman strength and resilience. Hundreds of men had been lost repulsing even a small force of ice warriors. This effort was unsustainable over the long term, if sustainable at all. Which was why they needed the King back, and soon.
"Your Highness! Your Highness!" shouted a squire as he ran in, clutching a communique in his hand. "Terrible news! Krukoslik and Viaduk have fallen to the enemy. Viaduk has been captured by th-the ice creatures. Not a man is left alive. Krukoslik has fallen to those men of the East."
"Disgusting Slavs." Military Advisor Boris slammed his hand on the table.
"They say, Your Highness," the squire continued, "that the Russian commander was seen talking to a platinum haired woman, with eyes bluer than sapphires!"
Anna's breath caught in her throat. No, it can't be. No, no, no, NO!
With uncharacteristic purpose, Anna ran to the war room and flung open the curtains that guarded the Chart, marker of the boundaries of the Kingdom, and utterly invaluable asset of war.
That was not the only surprise waiting for her. Anna's eyes widened as the seal of the royal family disappeared from all cities on the map, reappearing on the city of Viaduk to the Northeast. Krukoslik had a tricolour hanging over it, the white-blue-red of the Russians in the East. Both cities were fairly close together, and a thin golden line appeared on the map, joining them in alliance. A small snowflake, ice blue was etched into the map's lines next to the crest of Arendelle over Viaduk. Only confirming the squire's ludicrous reports.
"Chart," Anna rasped with a dry throat. "I come in my father's stead. Show me enemy troop movements."
The map remained static. If it had a face it would have smirked at her. Frustrated, Anna tried three more times until the map finally showed some movement. Blue cloth descended over the map, the white embroidering within showing a message.
"We serve only the True Sovereign."
With an indignant huff, Anna spoke again, "Excuse me, but I am the Crown Princess! In serving Father, you have to serve me too. I'll be the Queen pretty soon too! I mean, I'm not sure whether I can handle it, but I'm sure I'll work out something, ha-"
Anna was cut off by the embroidery moving again.
"Self-doubt and self-assurance a Queen does not make. Reclamation has begun."
The blue veil receded, and an alarming mass of both white and red began to slowly spread across the Chart. The inanimate object took great pleasure in tracing out in extra precision the precise route the troops took.
Far off somewhere, Anna knew, armies of flesh and sinew marched alongside armies of ice and snow. A Sorceress and a Slav led them forward. A magician and a barbarian. She ignored the sinking feeling in her heart that this was wrong, and substituted it with images of the huge armies of animated elements and huge, hulking barbarian Russians sweeping across the trails. Unless something was done, the next village would fall, and then the next and the next. Until they were right at the gates.
Returning to the gathered noblemen, she told them to rally their armies.
Viaduk
Elsa walked through the streets, surveying the population. Most of them were ragged and bone thin, a select few not much more than walking skeletons. At first her icy drones had been regarded with unease, but the fact that they were being led by a human allayed any fears they had. Not to mention of course, the supplies she'd brought that lifted their spirits. Elsa made a mental note to thank Officer Tupolev if she saw him again. Without the food she could have been standing in a very different place, in a very different position. Fortunately for her though, the citizens' hunger for food and justice was satisfied, and as her name was chanted with fervour, they gazed in awe at the ice soldiers that marched up and down the streets, ever watchful for threats.
Elsa sighed as she began to actually think about what she was doing. None of her plans before the action in Tsarov had involved actually marching against Arendelle cities proper, much less alongside the Imperial Russian Army. However her 'sources' in Arendelle City itself had revealed the stark contrast between the beautiful city that stood on the banks of the Fjord of Arendelle and this settlement out at the Edge of the Kingdom. It was disgraceful, and disgusting. She had no doubt that the Queen in her little castle didn't have an inkling of knowledge as to what had been going on out here. The Kingdom did not stand on the shoulders of its monarch, or the corrupted and tyrannical nobles that ruled its various towns. It stood on the shoulders of a solitary monarch hated and forgotten by all. A monarch of the elements themselves. Elsa didn't like to admit her sister's incapability to rule, but the entire Kingdom would have fallen apart long ago if not for her intervention.
"Your Majesty?" A voice broke into her thoughts.
Elsa's frosty sapphire orbs shifted to rest on the newcomer, a warrior clad in an Arendelle military uniform. He laid his sword on the ground, but the hundred or so men behind him still held their rifles.
Glancing about herself, Elsa realized that she'd wandered into a deserted alleyway. Quelling her heart as it began to beat faster, she conjured over herself a suit of armour made of glowing blue ice. Her voice was frosted over with caution as she answered. "I am not your Queen, why do you address me so?"
To her surprise, once the awe left the soldier's eyes, he dropped to his knees, the men behind him following suit. Rifle muzzles pointed straight up, unmoving as the leader began to speak. "It was vital to resist, for there were some still loyal to our diseased Kingdom. However, none of them still stand among us. I, Captain Misriah of the Third Viaduk Company, and all my hundred and thirty men, pledge allegiance to you, My Queen."
The soldiers stood in unison, boots slamming into the ground as all came to attention. The Pledge of Allegiance rolled of practiced mouths, swearing to defend the Queen and lay down their lives for her if need be. Upon completion the insignia and helmet plumes denoting ranks in the old Arendelle Army were ripped off, and thrown to the floor in a flurry of movement. The soldiers stood facing forward, waiting expectantly for her reaction.
Elsa touched her mouth in wonder at the spectacle before her. Rebellious elements had existed for a long time. All the same, a hundred and thirty fresh warriors for the cause was quite something. Her eyes glistened with happiness and warmth as she hid a smile behind her hand.
"I say, put me down immediately!"
A pompous voice bellowed down the alleyway, and the shadow of a struggling man slid into view. Wait, what? Slid?
"Unhand me, you ice cubes!" A fat man clad in rich purple robes and heeled boots was dragged into view by two ice soldiers. Thick spectacles rested on his nose and his head was balding. By the way his hands drummed uselessly on the ice warriors' arms, he hadn't done a single day of honest work in his life. As he continued raining insults and curses on his captors, he struggled and twisted, further aggravating them. Wordlessly, the ice soldiers swung him backwards, before flinging him forward hard, and he landed in a heap in front of Elsa.
Utterly bewildered, Elsa blinked and looked up from the moaning bundle of flesh. "Who's this?"
His beady eyes narrowing in rage, the man spat up at her. "I, am Jarl Steinhoff of Viaduk, and I demand that you release me this instant!" Turning towards a smirking Misriah, one of his fingers stabbed towards Elsa. "Captain, capture this woman! This is treason!"
The Jarl was positively stunned when Misriah instead thwacked his face with a beret, and he fell onto his porky behind. "How dare you!" He raged. The now dangerously stoic captain did not even grace him with a reply. He gestured and received a rifle from one of his men.
Not wasting a second, the bayonet stabbed into the Jarl's stomach, unimpeded by any amount of insulating fat. "Treason would be you," Misriah hissed, "for deceiving our own Queen." He squeezed the trigger, and Steinhoff's organs leaked out through a hole in the back of his stomach. He kicked the corpse off the bayonet and polished it with a rag. The round was ejected before it was returned to its owner. Elsa raised an eyebrow, impressed by this show of loyalty.
Raising her arms, a few gestures forged pauldrons of solid ice on the arms of every one of the soldiers. As they gazed at these new accessories in wonder, Elsa arched her back, allowing power to flow from her heart into the pauldrons, infusing them with a bright blue glow. Her gaze softened as she began to speak, "Captain Misriah, I would like to thank you for your bravery, and loyalty to Arendelle as a country."
Gesturing to the pauldrons, she continued, "These pauldrons of un-melting ice will identify you as the Hundred and Thirty Lieutenants of my army. Our minds are linked, and the power to shape ice is yours." The soldiers gasped in awe as ice weapons materialized in their hands with crackles and hisses, glowing blue and shifting forms as easily as fluid, a multitude of different devices taking shape and disintegrating at the same time. "Command well," Elsa said, drawing their attention once more. "The 'men' bound to you await behind, my fellows.
A loud hissing heralded the materialization of a hundred ice soldiers behind each of the men. The animated statues moved mechanically, forming themselves into strict formation. Spears materialized in their hands as they, along with their commanders, saluted their new leader. Their new Queen.