Well, it's Saturday so that means: A New Chapter!
Hope you all enjoy the upcoming shenanigans.
Of Ice and Men
Chapter 4: Snowfall
The shouts and screams from outside caused Elsa to look up from the trade agreement that she had spent the past half hour working over. She got up swiftly, hurrying over to the shut window that overlooked the courtyard. In her haste she caused several pieces of paper to blow off of her desk, spiraling slowly onto the floor. Upon reaching the window the queen wrenched it open, allowing a small gust of wind to blow through the room, dislodging yet more papers and sending them to join their brethren on the floor.
The queen saw several men clad in metal and leather armor herding the townsfolk into the courtyard by the ends of their weapons. Their faces where obscured by faceguards that covered their mouth, leaving only their eyes showing. One of the men stepped forward, removing his face protection before speaking. "Queen Elsa of Arendelle, we have come to punish you for opposing the will of your gods. Come with us peacefully and none shall be harmed. Oppose us again" the man paused, gesturing to the townsfolk cowering on the floor behind him. "and they will die." Elsa stepped forward onto the balcony overlooking the courtyard. "You are mistaken soldier. If you do not leave my kingdom be, it will be you that shall die!"
The warriors raced forward, their weapons pointed directly at her, steeled looks in their eyes. They were used to killing; it was merely an action to them, a job, nothing more. They had no mercy, no sympathy, only hatred and fear. Elsa felt pity for them, they were sent here to capture the snow queen, but she was now so much more. Yet they were still unaware, their weapons pointed at her back, ordering her to drop to the floor. Elsa let out a slight laugh; they actually thought they had the situation under control. She felt her magic rise inside of her, enhanced by her newfound abilities. She wouldns hand made contact with the ice, half of the magic went down, toward the base of the staff. Upon reaching the end it died out with a fizzle, leaving a perfectly smooth base. The other half of the magical wave traveled upward, toward the tip and the icy snowflake. The magic followed the ice, spiraling up and leaving the strange metal in its wake. When it reached the tip of the staff the magic converged, pouring back into the snowflake shape and changing it. Instead of a solid white the snowflake began to glow, a bright blue light pouring out from its center. The ice itself morphed into a strange crystal like substance that seemed to radiate out energy.
Once the magic had finished reforming the ice, Elsa slammed the staff down into the floor, the ground around the base of the staff freezing and sending icy spikes radially outward. As she did so she allowed her shield to fall. The enemy soldiers raised their own weapons, aiming them at the snow queen. She picked the staff up again, raising it above her head and spinning it to allow the magic to form a disc of ice fragments, almost like a halo above her head. She opened her mind, allowing her spirit to flow through the staff and into the ice around her. Power surged through her body like never before. It was an incredible feeling; as if she was focusing on each individual crystal but able to still view and control all the others. It was as if she had been blind up until now, and had only now been able to see. Using her heightened senses she dodged to the side just as one of the soldiers fired a blast at her head. She moved just in time, feeling the heat of the weapons palm had him clutching his chest in pain, trying in vain to stop the ice spreading slowly, painfully across his body.
Elsa continued, moving swiftly yet gracefully in between the soldiers. The snow flurried about her and her staff moved like a blur, hitting and twirling, blocking and swiping. Soldiers screamed and fell, various body parts frozen upon contact with the queen blocks, continuing as if nothing had been in its way. The queen was active as well, she dodged and weaved, somersaulting over a guards head and stabbing him in the back with her staff. She succeeded in avoiding every blast the warriors leveled at her and hitting back with magical blasts of her own.
She struck quickly, bringing her staff up in between the legs of one of the warriors before spinning around and stabbing another in the chest with the pointed end of the weapon. The warrior had barely fallen to the floor by the time Elsa had moved on to the next group of soldiers. One of the men charged at her, swinging his weapon down toward her head in a desperate close quarters attack. The queen placed both hands on the staff, raising it above her head to shield herself from the blow. Metal struck ice with a sharp clang and the soldier gasped as his weapon shattered upon touching Elsat spare him a second glance, sidestepping the cowering warrior and dispatching his buddies with a single, swift movement.
Within moments all the warriors but one had been dispatched. The remaining soldier had backed into a corner and was firing his weapon desperately at the snow queen. In the blink of an eye she was standing before him, staff in hand. And she did not look happy.
Elsa disarmed the warrior in one smooth motion, bringing her staff up under his chin. She walked forward until the man was forced against the courtyard wall. "Who sent you and why?" the snow queen hissed between clenched teeth. Good thing she had learned to control her powers even when she was angry. The man simply smirked "Our gods do not need to explain themselves to the likes of you." he spat in reply. "Fine" Elsa retorted, before swiftly punching the man in the head and knocking him unconscious. She turned to the guards just now rushing into the courtyard "Make sure he wakes up in a cell." She ordered to the nearest guard who nodded in response before hoisting the unconscious man over his shoulder and dragging him down to the dungeons.
The rolling sound of thunder drew Elsas grip on the staff tightened, she felt something was wrong.
Then everything froze.
A deep voice rolled over the still, lifeless landscape. Despite its smooth tone, he voice had a strong hint of malevolence behind it
Immediately everything went back to the way it was only minutes ago. Satisfied with its work, the dark clouds retreated until the sky was clear again. Below in the kingdom of Arendelle events repeated themselves, albeit with a different ending.
The shouts and screams from outside caused Elsa to look up from the trade agreement that she had spent the past half hour working over. She got up swiftly, hurrying over to the shut window that overlooked the courtyard. In her haste she caused several pieces of paper to blow off of her desk, spiraling slowly onto the floor. Upon reaching the window the queen wrenched it open, allowing a small gust of wind to blow through the room, dislodging yet more papers and sending them to join their brethren on the floor.
The queen saw several men clad in leather and metal armor herding the townsfolk into the courtyard by the ends of their weapons. Their faces where obscured by faceguards that covered their mouth, leaving only their eyes showing. One of the men stepped forward, removing his face protection before speaking. "Queen Elsa of Arendelle, we have come to punish you for opposing the will of your gods. Come with us peacefully and none shall be harmed. Oppose us again" the man paused, gesturing to the townsfolk cowering on the floor behind him. "and they will die." Elsa stepped forward onto the balcony overlooking the courtyard. "You are mistaken soldier. If you do not leave my kingdom be, it will be you that shall die!"
The warriors raced forward, their weapons pointed directly at her, steeled looks in their eyes. They were used to killing; it was merely an action to them, a job, nothing more. They had no mercy, no sympathy, only hatred and fear. Elsa felt pity for them, they were sent here to capture the snow queen, but she was now so much more. Yet they were still unaware, their weapons pointed at her back, ordering her to drop to the floor. Elsa let out a slight laugh; they actually thought they had the situation under control. She felt her magic rise inside of her, enhanced by her newfound abilities. She wouldn't mind showing them how wrong they were.
The grin on her face vanished as a bolt of energy hit her in the shoulder, sending her to the ground. She tried to lash out with her ice magic but one of the warriors was too quick. He pulled out a strange device, placing it on the queen's wrist. Elsa immediately felt her energy drain, her eyelids felt heavy and her vision darkened. She could hear one of the warriors speaking, the sound seeming to come from the bottom of a deep well. "We have captured the target. Returning to base camp. Should we leave some men here to-" Elsa never got to hear the end of his sentence, for at that moment she passed into unconsciousness. In the darkness of her own mind she heard a voice, a voice like distant thunder.
"Now who said only the heroes get a deus ex machina?"
