26- The Battle of Styllgren Line
That day of glory, history and legend, the Arendellan lookouts and naval forces at Lindgren Island had been the very first to discover that the first chapter of the war had come to start at last.
It was a day of wind and snow, the visibility at sea was not the best and yet the vast enemy armada could be seen in the distance as they advanced together like a nightmare... the scene before the Arendellan telescopes was much more alarming than they had feared, and all of the Lindgren warships prepared to fight as orders were given to notify the Admiral immediately.
The enemy warships were so many that it seemed that the Southern Isles had sent their entire navy to attack, the wind was clearly favorable to them and now it would be time for Arendelle to react on time and fight for everything they loved...
Quite fortunately for Anna, Elsa and everyone else in Arendelle, the system of light and fire signals worked in flawless fashion that day. Admiral Whitlek gave orders for the best warships to sail just a few minutes after the initial sighting, sailors and soldiers alike chanted with great courage as they prepared to fight and the bells soon started to ring nonstop all over the Town.
The Queen herself dashed on board the best warship of Arendelle together with her sister, and together they advanced towards the most important battle of their lives praying and hoping for the best...
What would happen if the Arendellan Armada failed to stop the enemy warships? What would be the consequences for everyone, if Anna's secret weapon turned out to be not as powerful as the princess had promised that it would be?
Just a few of the best Arendellan warships had been equipped with Annalyte rockets so far, the world would witness Anna's weapon for the first time and now everything would depend on fortune, destiny and legend for the glory of Arendelle...
Queen Elsa gasped and looked up at the silvery sky as wave after wave crashed against the hull of her powerful warship, the sea all around them looked so vast and dreadful and snow was falling everywhere as the wind cried and howled between the tall wooden masts.
The freezing weather now favored the advance of Arendelle's best and most deadly vessels on their way towards the Northwest, all of their artillery and rockets were getting ready for battle and Styllgren Line was now just a few miles away...
"All hands battle stations!" Elsa screamed at the top of her voice, pointing her naval saber forward as the Arendellan warships continued to advance with wonderful speed- "Front cannons ready! Annalyte rockets on deck, now!"
Admiral Whitlek growled a variety of additional orders as dozens of sailors, soldiers and artillery crew alike ran all over the vast deck of the powerful Ice Dagger. It took about twenty seconds to get all of the seven front cannons loaded and ready to open fire, the soldiers prepared their rifles and sabers as well and exactly the same was happening on board the other warships.
Seventeen wooden monsters charged to defend Arendelle almost flying in the wind, they could see the fiery combat ahead of them already and Queen Elsa would not be alone in battle that day...
"We'll finally see what your famous Annalyte is all about, Anna!" Elsa cried out, and after that she looked down into the cold eyes of her sister as the first sounds of battle reached their ears at last- "Those rockets better work well today, and Father helps us all!"
Anna displayed a mischievous smile as she witnessed how a few of her purple rockets were shoved into the metal pipes that would work as delivery system. The rocket cannons were then locked with only a few inches of fuse visible outside, everything would work exactly as she had designed it and at this point the moment of glory was just a few seconds away.
Twelve devastating Annalyte rockets would soon be shot from three different warships, the world would witness this new weapon for the first time and the Southerner forces had no idea of what was just about to hit them...
"Father stood beside me as I designed the final stage of Annalyte, Elsa" Anna said, and after that the princess unsheathed her own naval saber with great pride- "I know exactly what my weapon is capable of, and today... Our parents shall be proud of us and of all Arendelle!"
Elsa raised her telescope in order to have a better look at the naval battle ahead, and she was shaken to discover that at least three Arendellan warships were on fire while a fourth was already breaking down. It was great to see that seven enemy vessels were burning out of control with their sailors jumping to the water, and yet there was something else that came to terrify the Queen:
Well over thirty Southerner warships were advancing in order to defeat the Styllgren Line once and for all, the Arendellan vessels were outnumbered and if the Annalyte rockets failed everything would be lost...
"Take aim at the largest enemy flagship over there!" Elsa screamed to the rocket crews behind them, and after that the Queen pointed her saber at a true monster of a ship that commanded many others in the distance- "The first rocket is crucial, I want a direct hit and nothing else!"
Admiral Whitlek dashed to operate and aim one of the rocket cannons himself, the soldiers shook and shivered in those gusts of freezing wind, Ice Dagger continued to advance towards battle and then all of them could hear the sounds of fierce combat at last:
The awful screams of burning men came to Elsa's ears combined with the blasts and thunder from artillery fire, yet another Arendellan ship started to break down not far ahead, ships on both sides were taking heavy damage and all of a sudden the clean and wintry air became full of harsh smoke and debris coming from the battle...
"On your command, your Majesty!" Whitlek growled, ready to send the first rocket at an excellent target as soon as the Queen would approve.
It was clear to Anna that the Arendellan navy would soon lose the battle, at this point only the Annalyte rockets would change a tragic outcome and they needed to open fire while the distance would still protect their warships from the powerful blasts...
"Elsa, now!" Anna gasped in fear and desperation, already coughing thanks to all of that dark and acrid smoke- "What are you waiting for?!"
"Fire!"
Admiral Whitlek followed command, the fuse was ignited and then a slender rocket the size of a longsword was shot towards the enemy warships with marvelous speed... the mysterious weapon looked like a bolt of dazzling white light leaving behind a trail of fiery sparks, it traveled over half a mile in less than a second and then it happened at last:
The Annalyte blast was so bright that everyone gasped and covered their eyes, it was just a dazzling flash of the coldest white light followed by firestorm and sparks and the enemy vessel was gone.
Elsa was happy and terrified at the same time, the largest warship of the Southern Isles had been blasted to smithereens and ashes just like that and this had been just the first rocket of a vast and devastating arsenal that Arendelle was armed with...
"There you have my Annalyte, Elsa!" Anna cried out, laughing out of control as the sailors behind them shook and gasped in deep awe and shock- "Just as promised!"
The shockwave caused by the first rocket blast shattered and burned two nearby warships, four other vessels took heavy damage as well and at that moment Queen Elsa knew that the world had already changed forever...