Sir Jase of Kalamar

Following inspiration from a guest review for "Four", I've decided to give Jase a more deeper backstory than presented in Frozen 2, the Snow Queen. This will follow Jase from boyhood to the man we all know in my Frozen series. Who was he before he met Elsa? Well, now you'll know!

Hope you enjoy!

May 21, 1820 (9 year before the Coronation of Queen Elsa of Arendelle)

In the small, crumbling city of Kalamar, a twelve year old Jase and Isaac played tag with some of the other younger boys in town. They were playing amongst the ancient runes of the old castle just south of the city. Jase was currently "it", and was having trouble finding his playmates, who were hiding amongst the runes.

The runes, victim of neglect and wear, the castle had lost its roof and upper stories almost a century ago, leaving behind a roofless first floor. The stone floor was overrun with patched of grass and weeds, while some of the pillars and half staircases provided a home for vines and vermin. A few pioneer trees grew between the cracks of the floor, further fracturing the already fractured foundations.

Wandering around, Jase could hear the footsteps and giggles of his fleeing friends, but as he ran around corners, they would vanish, keeping a step ahead of him. Finally, snuck up on one of his friends hidning in a nook, who, facing the other way, still believed himself to be hidden.

"Got you, Erik!" he cried, sprinting to the still crouched boy. Turning around, Erik saw that he had been spotted, and bolted out of his nook. Leaping over a few large stones, Jase was gaining on the slower boy. "I've got you no..."

Jase suddenly felt the floor give away beneath him. He momentarily lost his breath as the surprise of falling through the ground took him by surprise. he watched as the ground went over his head and darkness surrounded him. For what felt like minutes, he landed on the hard floor a second later. He grunted as he legs buckled from the weight. pain shot through his ankle as he hit the ground, followed by additional pain on his butt and side as he slammed against the ground. Momentarily dazed, he looked around, seeing nothing but darkness surround him, minus the light from the hole. Seconds later, one head popped into view, Erik's face.

"Jase?!" he called down. Still despondent from the surprise and pain, Jase was slow to respond. "Jase?! Oh no! What do we do?!" he asked himself.

"What happened?" asked another voice.

"Jase fell through the hole!"

"What" asked another voice as the other boys gathered around.

"Do you see him? Where is he?!" asked Isaac peering down, a kid who just moved in.

"He's not talking! He's dead! He's dead!" Erik started screaming dramatically in panic

"I'm not dead!" Jase deadpanned in a loud enough voice for his friends to hear him. He tried to get up, but it hurt to move his ankle. "I'm fine!"

"Jase?! You're alive!" Isaac cried in relief.

"Guys, go get my dad!" Jase called.

"I'll go!" said Erik, bolting away. Some of the boys followed, while Isaac and the rest stayed behind.

"Should we get some rope?" one of them asked.

"No!" said Jase, forcing himself up to his knees. "You might fall down too! Stay away from the wall!" As he tried to get up, he felt another shock of pain run up his leg. He stubbornly held back the tears, as boys do not cry or show weakness. Acting tough, he forced himself to stand up.

"What should we do?" asked Isaac.

"I don't know" said Jase. "Just... stand there, make sure no bears show up."

"Uh, right. got it!"

Jase looked around, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. He could see small beams of light filtering though the cracks in the floor above. It was clear this was once a room, arches and more pillars holding the floor up above. He jumped at the sound of something scurrying. He looked down, seeing a small mouse run away. He was relieved that it wasn't anything menacing.

Curiosity taking over, he began to walk down one of the halls.

"Jase!" called Isaac, peering over the edge. "What are you doing? Stay put!"

"I'm just looking around. Stay away from the edge!"

"But..."

"I'm fine!" he said, annoyed by the insistence of the new kid. "I'll be right back!"

Stepping back from the edge, Isaac began to worry. "That kid's crazy!"

Ignoring the chattering from above, Jase limped around. He couldn't make heads or tails about what these tunnels were used for. His best guest would be a secret passage, or a cellar of some sort. Passing each set of columns, he saw a nook between each set. Painted onto the walls were images of people, most of which were worn and faded from time, there features bearely noticeable. Some, however, had enough detail to make out crowns and medals of valor, indicating that these must have been the nobility and heroes of old Kalamar. One particular picture showed twins, a brother and a sister, with some sort of blue, smoke like essence coming from their hands.

He himself was a descendent of the line of stewards of the old kingdom, his father, Jon Lindstrom, being the current steward, or whatever the leader was called for such a small city; most wouldn't consider it a country. The wealth of glory that came with the title, however, had been lost to the ages.

He limped on, mesmerized by the history represented in this hall. There were names on the base of each statue, but there were written in old Norse, something he had little knowledge of. Then, he passed one painting that seemed to have escaped the effects of the years, as it showed little signs of wear. The painting, clear to anyone with a pair of working eyes, was a knight, clad in armor, a sword drawn in a defensive pose. He stood between a peasent family and a gang of barbarians, defending them. His eyes were focused on his enemies, showing not fear, but determination. He stood brave and tall, more like an icon or an idea rather than a man. Jase stared at the painting, imagining himself in the knights place. He stood there for a short while, just staring. He felt a new surge of ambition run through him, as if it were in him all along, and was just waiting to come out. He staid there until he heard the boys calling his name more frantically. He turned, hearing his father's voice calling him. Despite him not wanting to leave, he turned and limped back to the hole entrance, where a rope was being slid down for him. Within a few short minutes, he was lifted out, carrying the spark of inspiration in him.

Jase was taken home and, luckily, his ankle was only sprained. His mother, Merriam, who had experience in medicine, took care of it and wrapped it up promptly. For the next few days, his imagination went wild, going to the library (on his own free will, to which Merriam nearly fainted) and reading over old books on knights and their adventures. He felt that he had found his calling.

Then, one day at the dinner table, he told his father "Pa, I want to be a knight."

For moment, both parents dropped their forks, taken by surprise. After taking a moment to absorb what his son was asking, Jon responded.

"You want to be a knight, son?" he asked. he wasn't the tallest man, just under six feet. The blond haired man wasn't particularly strong either, but what he lacked in physical strength he made up for in presence, according to Jase. He was a wise man, gifted in his words. He had to be, to keep this place together the way he did.

"Yes" he said boldly.

His mother, a black haired woman, turned to her husband. He looked around the room, caught of guard by the question. His son never showed any interest in the profession, or any profession for that matter. "And, what brought this on?" he asked.

Jase shrugged. "I don't know. I just, I thought I would be good at it."

"Would this have anything to do with your accident earlier?"

Jase looked around the room briefly. "Well, maybe. See, I saw this picture, of a knight. He kind of looked like me..." Jase shrugged. He couldn't really put it into words. He never felt such an inspiration before. "I don't know, I just want to be a knight. like Mr. Craig."

Jon nodded. Craig was a young man at the time. After the death of his master, he was now the only knight in Kalamar. "Son, you remember what I taught you in your studies? Who the knights were and what they do?"

Jase nodded. "Yeah. They fought bad guys and saved princesses."

Jon smiled. "Yes, well, there's more to it than that. There's lots of training, and practice involved. It's a dangerous life."

"Dad, come on, my middle name is danger!" he joked.

"You're middle name is Gudbrandsdalslågen!" his mother corrected. "And after scaring me half to death today you'd think you have more sense then picking a profession like that!"

"Ma!" he complained. "Would you stop calling me by my middle name!"

"It's your great Grandfather's name and you will be proud of it!"

"But I can't even pronounce it!"

Jon smiled at his son's and wife's pickering. "Alright, enough you two!" he said, stepping in between them. He looked to his wife. "Merriam, if our son wants to be a knight, it's his decision."

"But, Jon, you know what Knights in this kingdom are charged with!"

"I know, dear. I know" he said in a calming voice.

"What?" asked Jase nervously. "What does knight has to do in Kalamar?"

His father turned to him, hesitating for a moment. "Dear, I think it is time I show our son the Curse of Kalamar."

That evening, Jon lead his son to a cave, one which lied at the base of two mountains, next to an old plot of pine trees. The entrance was small hardly noticeable to onlookers, but his father knew where too look. With them was Sir Craig, a lean, build man with brown hair.

"Wait here, Sir Craig" said Jon. Craig nodded and stood outside while Jon and his son walked in. Once inside, Jase felt a sudden chill run through his body. It was a warm, late spring evening, but it was almost winter inside the cave. He didn't need his father to tell him that there was something unnatural about this cave.

Jon lead Jase further and further into the cave. Then, turning a corner, Jon held the lantern up, revealing a large wall made of ice. Jase peered into the wall for a moment, a shape, no, a figure catching his eye. It was obscured, blocked by the fractures of the ice, but he could make out a man. There was a man frozen in the ice.

"He isn't dead" said Jon, as if reading Jase's thoughts. "He is very much alive, and he is very dangerous."

"Who... who is he, Pa?" asked Jase.

"He is the reason for Kalamar's fall, for the fall of the royal line. In some quest for power, he willingly cursed himself with the power of ice and snow, something that should be never be done. In result of his corruption, this has become his fate, to forever be frozen in ice, never to awaken again."

Jase was trembling next to his father, his eyes fixated on the figure within the ice.

"Let me tell you the story..." And so, Jon, the last steward of Kalamar, told the story of the Ice King Gregor and his siblings, Esben and Iris, and the reason the knights of Kalamar must protect this cave from any wishing to free him and form an alliance with him.

Jon brought Jase back, instructing his son to not make any decisions until a week later. When the week was up, Jase was still set on this new life. His mother was not happy about it, but she supported his decision. And so, Jon would hand Jase over to Craig after school, to be the knight's apprentice.

Craig would appear to most on the outside as a harsh, unfeeling man, something Jase thought was true after his first few training sessions with him. But, after the first month, Jase began to understand that this was just his style. He learned how to stay on Craig's good side, and the two would become life-long friends.

Craig taught Jase not only the techniques of sword play and self defense, but also the moral aspects of knighthood, things like chivalry, and honor, things which were becoming more and more rare in a world eager to move forward. Between Craig and his father's teachings, Jase learned humility, courage, faith, and the value of hard work.

A few months into training, Craig found himself teaching another unlikely student. Isaac, who had come to be Jase's closest friend, decided that he too would join the knighthood, if not just to keep his friend out of trouble, as he would put it.

As the years went on, Kalamar hung on as a city. People came and left, but there was still a future left for Kalamar as Jase and Isaac continued there training.

Then, on the year both he and Isaac turned 18, Jon Lindstrom, the steward of kalamar, knighted his son and Isaac as knights of Kalamar. As was tradition, they spent the previous night praying until dawn. Then, beaming with childlike excitement, the walked over to the runes, the place that inspired Jase in the first place all those years ago.

On that day, his father stood at the head of what was once the throne room, his sword in hand. For the past few centuries, the stewards would hold this ceremony outside in the runes. A few of their closer friends came as witnesses. Jase and Isaac walked forward and kneeled down before the steward. Then, Jon walked down, his sword extended.

"Do you value to code of chivalry, and vow to protect and serve Kalamar with your lives?" he asked.

"I do" they said in unison.

"And do you swear to uphold the law and respect your fellow man as long as you draw breath?"

"I do."

"And do you swear, to keep the evil that resides here forever imprisoned, and protect not only this land, but every land from being consumed by it?"

"I do."

Jon raised his sword. "Then I now dub thee..." he placed his sword first on the shoulders of Jase, then Issac "...Sir Jase, and Sire Isaac of Kalamar." This was followed by an applause and chears from the small crowd. "Now, rise, knights of Kalamar." And with that, the ceremony was over.

Now, Jase, along with Isaac and Craig, would stand between order and chaos in the dwindling town. On their first year, Jase stopped riots, found criminals, and kept gangs from plundering the small town. He found meaning in his life.

Then, the whole world would come crashing down on Jase and his family. On August 1, 1827, just a year into the knighthood, Jon had a heart attack. By the time Jase heard the news and ran over to his house, it was too late. His father died by his mothers side as she held him in her home, helpless. They buried him the next day, just a few months before his 67th birthday. Jase stood by his grieving mother as they laid his body in the ground, staying strong for her, not letting anyone see him cry. After the funeral, he found time to stand over his father's grave alone.

"Hey Pa" he said casually, trying to make it sound as if her were there, even though he wasn't, at least physically. "I uh, I want to thank you, for everything... You know, raising me and keeping Ma and I fed and sheltered. You were, the greatest man I ever knew..." he started sniffling more, the dams holding back the emotions bursting as his eyes began watering. "Don't worry about us. Mom's tough, and, well, I'm her son (laughs). We'll be fine." He wiped away some tears with his shoulder, looking into the afternoon sky. "I don't think I could ever compare to you, you know? But I'll try. Someday, I'm going to find a girl, settle down, and maybe give you those grandkids you always wanted..." he laughed at the idea. "And uh, I'm going to tell them about their grandpa. How you lead this small, forgotten remnant of a country and... kept us alive through every harsh winter and... fought to keep this city alive. I don't know how much longer we can go without you... but I'm not going anywhere. You knighted me... and I'm going to stay as long as I'm needed... And... Well, I'm going to miss you Pa." Then, he bowed his head and cried, running out of words to say.

After letting out all the tears he was willing to let out, he wiped his tears away, turned, and walked back to his mother, who would be needing him now.

His prediction about how long Kalamar would continue to exist was right. The winter that year was one of the hardest winters they ever had, forcing all but a few families and ice harvesters to leave. Unable to maintain a leadership like his father, Jase watched as Kalamar finally fall from existence. With each passing day, Jase literally felt the life drain out of the city as people who lived there turn bitter and dreary. During its twilight years, Kalamar barely clung on, its knights being its only form of government. Their once optimistic future looked bleak, as they swore to guard the Ice king until their deaths, whether or not there was a chance of a fulfilling life to be had.

Within another year, someone would enter Jase's life who would finally remove the problem of Gregor, allow Kalamar to rest in peace, and lead Jase away from his home, only to find a better life. A life of meaning; a life with a future, as a knight not of Kalamar, but of Arendelle.

That someone's name was Elsa.

It just occurred to me, four stories into this, that I never gave Jase a last name. How could I have forgotten the last name!? I mean, sure, Elsa and Anna, were never given a last name in the movie, but then again they are royalty, so I don't know how that works. Heck, Kristoff and Hans were given last names. Well, now he has one: Lindstrom. It's Scandinavian, meaning "linden stream" or "linden tree stream" Just sounded right.

After writing this, I decided to add a shorter, more condensed version of this story as a series of flashbacks in Frozen 2, just to give Jase more character development. I'll let you know in my most recent story when I post it and what chapters they will be in. This is just for all my faithful readers who already read up to now.

Hope you all enjoyed it, and don't forget to review! I'll be getting to work on Wesley's back story soon, but I have to finish Frozen 6 first, as part of it will be revealed there, and I don't want to give anything away.

Now, back to Frozen 5!

-Batman