Chapter 29: You are Awaited
The frigid Nordsoen was calm, much too calm, allowing for the Arendelle fleet to travel in heavy silence and despair of defeat as the biting winds snapped at the sails. Many of the Arendellian hostages had been rescued but many still were left behind...and many brave soldiers died so that they could be free. The war they had fought, the cause they bled for, the promise of a freed Arendelle had all turned to dust to be swept away by the hand of the Witch King. Now nothing would stand in the path of the Naga Ai conquest of Althgarr...It felt like all hope was lost.
And the end of their troubles would not come anytime soon, captain Baldrek had signaled for queen Elsa, princess Anna and lord Aldren to come aboard his ship. Kristoff also joined them as they were ferried over by rowboat. Once they reached the side of the ship, Aldren climbed up first, lending a hand to Elsa. But Anna didn't take his hand...she didn't even look at him, though Kristoff showed no ill nature and happily accepted his assistance.
As they made their way to Baldrek, who stood at the center of the deck, Aldren watched the princess and wondered what was bothering her. He put that thought aside for now, focusing instead on the particularly somber mood from the soldiers and crew aboard the vessel. They approached the captain, drawing closer they could see the weariness on his face, Traitor's Bane sat on the deck next to him while his helmet dangled from his hand by one horn.
Elsa and Aldren approached him together, "Baldrek what was it you wanted us here for, you said it was...urgent?" Elsa looked around and past him, "Where are lieutenant Krar and sergeant Barec?"
"Barec's fine, he's below deck but..." The normally boisterous north man was barely able to look them in the eye, he breathed a heavy sigh but before he could speak the door of the ship's cabin opened. Everyone looked to a man with light skin, dark hair and brown eyes who wore a buttoned up shirt, dark pants and boots, when the man saw them he quickly put his hands behind his back. None of the others had caught it but Aldren had: the flecks of red across his fingers and palm, this man was a physician...and he had ill news.
The man approached the two elementals and bowed, "Your grace, my lord."
Aldren nodded, "Doctor."
The others had not deduced who the man was and grew slightly fearful at the mention of 'doctor'. They looked on expectantly as he turned to Aldren, "Lord Embercrow, I would ask that you...make it brief, his time is short."
Anna's eyes widened and her hands covered her mouth, suppressing a horrified gasp while Kristoff frowned and placed his hand on her shoulder. Elsa stood with her mouth slightly agape, tears welling her eyes.
Lord Embercrow nodded solemnly, "Thank you." He put a hand on Baldrek's shoulder, who would remain outside, before walking past the doctor towards the cabin with the others following hesitantly, dreading what they might see.
Aldren opened the door of the dimly lit room, halting at the sight of the once proud warrior, now laid low on a cot, wrapped in fur and blankets, a stained bandage covering the wound on his side. His eyes were closed but even from the doorway he could see his friend's labored breaths. He proceeded past the door, kneeling beside Krar with Elsa standing a short distance behind while Anna and Kristoff kept to the doorway.
Aldren removed his helm, setting it on the floor and grasping Krar's hand. The veteran stirred, his eyes opening slightly, licking his chapped lips then smiling, "My lord Aldric...good to see you again old friend."
The young lord struggled to respond, then the elder man's eyes opened a little wider and his smile faded, "Oh no... it's just you..." he said almost disappointed.
Aldren couldn't help but smile at the old man's curmudgeon attitude, even at the edge of death, he chuckled under his breath, "And after all that talk back at Hammerhel about how 'happy' you were to see me again."
Krar coughed and laughed weakly, waving his other hand at him, "I still am... just...thought I'd be dead by now."
"You still have some fight in you."
He sighed, "Too bad this fight...will be my last. Lost two fights in one day...not a great turnout."
Aldren looked off to the side somberly, "No, I suppose it isn't..."
"Mm... I never asked much about your life after you left Arendelle...but I know that look, and I can tell you've had it too many times...I'm sorry that is the case again today..."
"So am I..." he replied in a near whisper.
Aldren then released his hand and reached for the blankets over his side to examine the wound but was stopped when Krar grasped his wrist weakly, "No-no, they...they don't need to see that." He withdrew his hand as he coughed before continuing, "Doesn't matter now anyway, doctor says it went right through a bunch of...'vital stuff'...damn tyranite. The captain tells me some...naga commander with one eye dealt the blow, I'd deal him one too if I still could."
Aldren looked behind him when he heard a small gasp escape Elsa's lips, but she looked away to hide her reaction. He ignored it for now and turned back to his friend who coughed again, this time a little harsher. "Might I have...have some water?"
Aldren reached for a bowl on the side table, supporting the elder's head, holding the bowl to his lips for him to drink, then setting the bowl aside when he'd had enough. "Thank you, wish it were something stronger...well...my days are nearly done...I'll be seeing your father again. And... I like to think he'll be proud of who his son became, might not approve of all your choices but... still proud all the same."
Lord Embercrow smiled as Krar reached up and grasped his shoulder plate, "And in any case...I'm proud of you." He then smacked the younger man on the neck lightly, "Now move out of the way you daft boy...so I can talk to the pretty girl."
Aldren grinned and nodded, grabbing his helm and standing aside for Elsa. The young queen took Aldren's place, removing her own helm and setting it down as she knelt beside the wounded man who held his hand up to her. She didn't hesitate to take it, her small, nimble hand grasping his rough, calloused one, she exhaled shakily as tears began to leak from her eyes.
"Now don't tell me...you weep for an old sod like me?"
"Yes..." she whispered.
He smiled, "Now don't pity me...pity him." he said gesturing towards Aldren. She looked over her shoulder at her Master of War whose eyes cut to the side while Krar spoke, "He's wanted to die for many years...he has lost so...so much. And he's afraid of losing more...but he'll fight for what he's got now, all the years of his life he will, for Arendelle...and for you." Elsa looked back to him as he continued, "But me...my fight is over...and I don't fear what come next...I'm a happy man."
"Happy?"
"Ecstatic."
"How?" she asked, truly confused.
"I'm old, I've been waiting for this day for a long time...to see old friends long gone once again." Krar's coughs became more violent now as he began to strain to get his words out, "I had the chance to fight again, we may have lost but...this time I know, we were fighting for the right reasons. I die now...having served a ruler who was not just a great warrior with a calm mind...but a mother to her people who will never stop fighting for them...only wish I could have served you better."
She shook her head, "No, Krar don't-don't say that...I could have asked no more of you, I... I'm proud to have had you fight by my side."
He laughed before coughing again, grasping her hand a little tighter, "I appreciate that...And that is all I would ask of you...my queen...that you don't let the evil crush your spirit... don't let this 'Witch King'...choke the life from Arendelle. That you keep...fighting onward, no-matter-what!"
Elsa smiled, still sad but moved by his words, "I will Krar, for my family...for your memory and for all of Arendelle I will keep fighting...I swear to you." she finished, grasping his hand back.
He smiled back, "Good...good..." he glanced back and forth between her and Aldren, his smile showing a bit of teeth, "And tell that fruitcake...Baldrek...not to be...so damn...sad..."
The last word came out in a hiss of air as the veteran breathed his last, the light fading from his eyes as his hand slipped from the queen's and hit the floor. Elsa breathed heavily, feeling shame that she had let his hand fall like that. Aldren knelt beside her as they took in the reality of the price one brave man had paid in a fight for their country's freedom. Elsa bit her lip trying to maintain her composure, wave upon wave of sadness and almost panic as her heart and mind considered the path she had led her people down. Was she right? Had she committed them to a fight they could never have won in the first place? What could they possibly do next? Everyone would be looking to her...what would she do?
Aldren put his hand on her back and she leaned into him. He looked at her briefly before moving to softly drag his palm over Krar's face; closing his eyes and folding one of the great man's arms across his chest.
"There." Aldren whispered, "Sleeping... sleeping like a baby." The words trailed off as his tears caught in his throat.
Anna buried her face in Kristoff's chest and sobbed, the ice harvester himself could not help but let a few tears roll as Aldren placed his left hand on Krar's forehead, speaking in ancient Arendellian, "Vaer fred i den gamle kraken, spred dine vinger og flyg evig gjennom evigheten...du er ventet. Jeg vil ogsa sveve med deg en dag. (Be at peace old crow, spread thy wings and fly forever through eternity...you are awaited. I too will soar with you one day.")
He lifted his hand and stood, offering his hand back to Elsa and helping her to her feet. Once there he didn't hesitate to wrap both of his arms around her, she clung to him tightly and cried into his shoulder, her despair and sorrow bleeding through with every breath. He exhaled and rubbed her back soothingly, the hurt was no less powerful for him but he kept himself steady, he continued to be her shield...her pillar to lean against in her weakest moment.
Aldren looked back at Krar, his sadness amplified by a cruel realization: perhaps one of the last relics of Arendelle's warrior culture before their generation had passed into the next life. Besides this, he would be missed by all the people of Arendelle as a heroic patriot, a born fighter...and a true friend.
OoO
Baldrek sat against the railing of the ship, his woeful blue eyes, unkempt red hair and scraggly beard highlighted his melancholy expression. He knew there was nothing he could have done to save Krar but he still felt terrible, but he made one promise to his fallen friend: he would strike down the coward that shot him in the back, he would not be sated until their skull was crushed beneath his hammer...or better yet; his boot.
His brooding was interrupted at the sound of someone ascending the stairs from the lower deck, he noticed that his hand was gripping his hammer so tight that his knuckles turned white. He loosened his grip when he saw it was Barec, a hand on his head, wincing in pain. To say that Barec didn't look more than a little angry with Baldrek would be an outright lie, but the sergeant was hesitant to say anything for, though Baldrek was his friend...he was still his superior.
His expression shifted from anger to confusion when he saw the doctor rinsing his hands in a bucket of water and princess Anna and Ice Master Kristoff standing by the doorway of the cabin. He made his way to Baldrek, "Captain...What's going on?"
Baldrek breathed deeply before standing, putting on his helm and looking Barec right in the eye, "Krar is dead."
At first Barec's face didn't change, the he swallowed hard, his eyes blinking rapidly before his eyes wrenched shut and his hands clutched his head as if his headache had gotten immensely worse. He grabbed his helm off his head and threw it against the deck hard, "DAMN IT!" he stormed off towards the front of the ship, his hand over his eyes.
The captain moved to follow him but halted at the voice of his lord, "Baldrek."
He turned to see lord Embercrow walking towards him with his helmet in hand, while queen Elsa, princess Anna and Kristoff walked away from the cabin.
Aldren looked between Barec and the tall north man, "I take it...he didn't find his brother."
Baldrek shook his head, "Krar's passing isn't helping either..."
"Let him be for now...he'll come 'round."
"Yes my lord..."
Elsa stood in the center of the deck, her tattered braid flowing gently in the wind, both her arms wrapped around her body. If she held herself tight enough, maybe she wouldn't fly apart. Aldren knew something was very wrong, she needed to be out of sight quickly. They did not need any rumors or worry among their troops that the Queen herself may have lost all hope. He moved to her and placing his arm around her, moved towards the captain's cabin.
She did not resist or even look at him at first but just as they were reaching the door she pushed away from him. "It was my fault." she said in a pained whisper. "I... I fought and defeated the naga that killed him, he called himself Sorvec and I'm the reason he has one eye. I had him at my mercy but I... I let him live...I should have killed him; I should have pushed my spear through his heart! If I had, our friend would still be alive!" She almost shouted, guilt lining her words.
"Perhaps...or perhaps another naga would have killed him anyway..."
She turned and looked up at him, her eyes were sad, but her expression was near anger. He didn't flinch, instead he reached up to her face, his fingers softly tracing the cut on her cheek, "Did he do this to you?"
She closed her eyes, shaking her head and grasping his hand to withdraw it from her face, "It's nothing..."
She still held his hand, opening her eyes to look back up at him, her expression softened. He grasped her hand a little tighter, "Elsa, in anything you do in life you're going to find there are many things you'll come to regret and wish you did differently...but you couldn't have ever known how events would play out. We can't see the future...and we can't change the past."
She swallowed, "It doesn't make it hurt any less."
"No...no, it doesn't...but remembering that will help you stay the course for the future, not to dwell on what had already come to pass."
"To not, 'let my spirit be crushed...to keep fighting onward...' "
"Exactly."
"What do you regret Aldren?"
He looked on thoughtfully for moment, then back to her, "Many things my queen, Krar's death...is but another notch in that evil belt of mine. But most recently; I regret...What I did at the docks-or rather...what i failed to do." Elsa was taken aback by his blunt, blatantly honest answer. She cracked a small smile as he continued, "I told myself that ignoring the way we felt about each other would help both us fight and lead with clearer heads...But the truth is...that I was only sparing myself."
She reached up to the side of his neck, "Sparing yourself from what?"
"I... I couldn't bear the thought of losing you and I thought that if I didn't admit how I felt that I could numb myself to it for the battle ahead...but in my heart I knew that wouldn't work; I care too much about you and Anna...and in the end I did something foolish that I regret even more." He looked into her eyes as he proceeded, "Back at Ashla's Pike-"
He was cut off when a fist collided with the side of his helm that nearly knocked him to the ground and sent him stumbling towards the front of the ship. Everyone turned to the sound of the ringing metal, even Barec and Baldrek looked up from their separate wallowing in surprise. Elsa turned in shock and almost horror to see it was Anna who threw the punch. Kristoff watched in sadness at what was happening, knowing he was unable to stop it.
Her sister was absolutely livid as she huffed, glowering at Aldren who touched a finger to his now split lip. "TELL ME!... when you pulled that stunt back at the Pike, did you think about us! Did how we feel cross your mind for even a second!" She threw her helm at him, it bounced off his shoulder as he looked towards the floor.
She couldn't believe Anna, she grabbed her sister's arm and forced her to look at her, "Anna! What do you think you're-?"
"Yes."
They both looked back to Aldren who walked back towards them and stood a few feet away, "It was...the very last thing I thought about."
Anna walked out of her sister's grasp, her expression becoming more distraught as tears streamed down her cheeks and her voice shaking as she spoke, "Then why...Why wasn't that enough? Why didn't you get on a boat and come home with us!"
"I saw a chance-"
"To kill yourself." she hissed, scornfully.
He narrowed his eyes, "To kill Amicus! Leaderless, the Naga Ai would have lost their direction-at least for a time...I might have bought Arendelle time, given you a chance to prepare."
She walked towards him, jabbing him in the chest, "But you didn't kill him, did you? And you might have died anyway! And if it wasn't for Trolgon-...We'd be crying over two dead heroes." She spoke the last words as if in her own head, an outcome she didn't want to even imagine.
Aldren breathed deeply, his grimace rigid like a statue as he spoke angrily, "Anna...I regret my decision, I will regret for the rest of my life...but it was my decision to make. I swore an oath as Master of War to fight and if need be die for Arendelle-to fight and die for you! And if at any point there is a choice between my death or your's-ANY OF YOUR'S!...then I will gladly accept the former."
Anna withdrew her finger, looking down at the floor and shaking her head before looking back up, "Because your life is worth less than ours? That's what you said at Riverview, wasn't it?...That's what you told me...your sister."
Aldren opened his mouth to speak but no words came forth, reminded of the sting of his own words as she went on, "You're family to us Aldren, we have some say about your life...I have some say about the life of my brother..." The last words were a sorrowful/angry whisper as she turned away from him towards the stern of the ship.
Elsa tried to grasp her sister's shoulder but she slipped away from her, Kristoff followed her, trying to speak to her though she did not seem to want to talk anymore. Elsa looked between her and Aldren, torn between them in that moment. Aldren decided for her, he spoke in a neutral tone, "Go to her..."
She looked at him, "Aldren I-"
"It's alright...she needs you more than I." His last words perhaps seemed harsher to her than he had meant them to, but she nodded to him before running after her sister.
Aldren looked back at princess Anna's helm on the deck, walking over to it and taking it in his hands. Looking on the scratches and scars in them metal from previous battle...and also his own reflection in its surface, seeing his own face again after some time he began to wonder if his priorities were straight. His hand found its way to his right shoulder as he argued and deliberated internally with himself. By law he had a duty to Elsa and Anna, was not his duty to them as family just as important...if not more so?
When he finally felt there were no more eyes on him he leaned his forehead against the helm in his hands, his eyes wrenching shut and his teeth clenching as he quietly sobbed, his nails scratching against the steel as he gripped tighter. He would never complain...but it didn't feel fair, that he should have to suffer so much; the death of his oldest friend, the wrath of his surrogate sister, the feeling that he had failed not just Elsa but all of Arendelle. This would be his moment, the only one he would afford himself and then...he would become iron again.
OoO
The harsh winter snows had returned as Ashla's Pike now crawled with the full might of the Naga Ai. They had drawn the Arendelle assault into their trap and broken their army, Ashla's Pike remained in their control and now the legions of the Witch King moved out from the island city to begin enacting their real plan. Their fleet ferried across the various machinations of the naga horde from the Pike to the mainland: Soldiers, riflemen, brutes, siege engines and war beasts. All these foul devices of the naga horde mobilized on the mainland to march forth and take away all of the ground the Arendellians had retaken.
Directing the efforts on the shore was commander Sorvec, his face shield lowered to hide his missing eye from the rest of his kin. Walking along the shore he spotted something lodged in the gravel ...not far from where he had killed the Arendellian lieutenant, the one called Krar. He walked over to it for a closer look, it was an ax, not the kind for warfare, the type used by the ice harvesters...yes, he remembered now. The Arendellian captain known as Baldrek wielded it in addition to a war-hammer, likely to remember his life before war.
He dislodged it from the earth and looked it over...such a simple thing, no markings or runes, no significant shape or design. The north man must have left it behind when he carried the old man away from the battle...he only wished he could have seen the queen's face when she watched her loyal soldier die. She had taken his eye, and while he might not face her again, he would do his part to kill everyone she ever loved. As he looked upon the ax, he had one particular candidate in mind. The north man was likely missing his lost weapon, at the earliest opportunity...he would return it to him.
His attention was drawn away from the weapon to the crystalline device on his side known as 'the shadow voice' began to hum and pulsate in a faded red. He stood, taking out the device and holding it flat in his hand. From the sides poured the black fibrous substance that formed above the pad in the visage of a naga helm.
He bowed his head, "General Tarn, how may I serve?"
There was a foreboding silence as the General's dark helm stared him down before speaking, "Our liege would have words with you, commander. Return to the Raider's Hall...now."
"Y-yes General...at once."
The substance dissipated and retreated once again. Sorvec pocketed the device and looped the ax in his belt as he growled low in disdain...this was going to hurt...in more ways than one...
OoO
Within the Raider's hall the Witch King sat upon his throne with the general to his right, holding his mace in hand and Venereth to his left, holding her helmet under her arm. Setting on the floor ahead of the throne was a large crystalline pad, thru which he used the shadow voice to communicate with his minions. The black smoke formed into the visage of a naga admiral who bowed to her king.
Amicus' metal claws gripped the arm rests on his throne, "Admiral, what is the status of your efforts?"
"My lord, our assault forces have been ferried to the mainland and the fleet awaits your order. We are ready to retake the southern regions of the country."
"Very good Admiral."
"Shall I relay orders to begin siege preparations?"
"There is no need, order our troops to occupy the cities and await my order."
The admiral did not question, "At once my lord."
The Admiral's visage dissipated, Venereth turned to Amicus in confusion, "My lord-forgive my impertinence, but why are our troops not to be ready for further battle with the Arendelle army?"
"Because there will be no army for them to fight." He turned towards her, "Tell me Venereth, what was the queen's first impulse when she saw the battle was lost...what was her instantaneous reaction?"
"She ordered a full retreat..."
"Precisely, Queen Elsa will not waste the lives of her soldiers in a hopeless defense of the southern regions, she will withdraw all her forces to defend the capital and her people...we will find no resistance in the south beyond Arendelle city."
Venereth nodded, a short moment later the doors of the hall opened and in walked commander Sorvec with his face shield still down. He slowly approached and knelt a short distance away from the throne, "My lord, you summoned me?"
There was silence for several moments before the Witch King spoke, "So I did..." he hissed. "As I recall commander Sorvec, you were a mere assassin before I recruited you into our army. You may also recall that I did so when I saw potential for you to be more than a simple cutthroat working small jobs from the streets and alleys of Amal Nanmag. I saw a feared, lethal commander to lead the armies of the Naga Ai alongside general Tarn with righteous vengeance...now I fear, I was mistaken..."
"My lord-"
Amicus leaned forward, "Take-off-your helm."
Sorvec hesitantly reached up and removed his helm and sat it on the floor next to him, a wounded frown upon his face...his shame now revealed to his superiors. Venereth's eyes widened slightly at the sight of his missing eye, Tarn did not react.
The Witch King leaned back in his throne, "Yes, there it is...you abandoned your command of the southern flank to pursue more dangerous prey. You are bold to take on an elemental, I will grant you...but bravado I find is too often placed before intelligence. I'd hoped that a place in the Naga Ai would have cleansed you of that impetuous nature, yet instead you gave in to your baser desires: you allowed Aldren Embercrow to push further inland, costing us two prisoners we were not to lose and forcing Tarn to compensate for your loss! And why?...because the 'assassin' wanted a trophy."
The ax at Sorvec's side flew from his belt and into the Witch King's open hand, "And this is all you have to show for it." He looked over the weapon a moment before standing and slowly descending down the throne, "Had you claimed said trophy I may have been willing to overlook your rash decision, but now I am forced to consider that you may no longer be an asset to the campaign..."
The commander looked up, pleadingly, "I've given everything to you, to the Naga Ai, I-"
He was silenced when the ax's blade was held to the side of his neck, The Witch King's black helm piercing into his very soul, "Not-everything..."
The ax lingered a moment longer before it slowly withdrew, Sorvec exhaled silently as Amicus turned and walked back towards the throne. "Fortunately for you, that decision will have to wait till the end of this war." He stopped just ahead of the steps leading up to the throne, turning back to the kneeling naga, "I trust that the loss of your eye will not further impede your abilities on the field...this is not the first time you have proven to be CLUMSY!"
Suddenly Sorvec's hands flew to his own throat, gripping tightly. He choked against his own grip, the aura of dark sorcery lifted him off his feet and into the air. The Witch King's lifted hand gripped a little tighter, the naga commander's legs kicking frantically, "Should you fail me again Sorvec, more than your position will be at risk...commander."
Amicus' hand dropped and so too did Sorvec who hacked violently as he hit the floor. The Witch King took his seat on the iron throne and threw the ax to the floor, clattering near the commander, "You will lead the force to reoccupy Hadenville and Riverview. Move with the greatest haste, as if...your life depended on it."
"Yes my lord." he said through raspy cords, recovering his helm, the ax and quickly bowing before leaving the hall.
Venereth hated Sorvec and she held no sympathy for him, but she did not take pleasure in watching any form of torture...even inflicted on him. Amicus then spoke to her, "Venereth, go to Arendelle city and bring me news of the Queen's next move."
"Yes my lord." she dawned her helm and made her way to the doors.
She was stopped just before she left by his voice, "And Venereth…do not become distracted." he warned.
She knew now for certain that nothing slipped by her master...nothing. she nodded quickly and left through the doors.
General Tarn let the head of his mace rest against the floor as he now spoke to his king, "I gleam, that it is safe to assume you already know what her next move is my lord."
The Witch King clasped his hands together, "Indeed, like any child, queen Elsa is prone to mistake and error that is in turn followed by panic and anger. Now that we have revealed her own weakness to her, she will do as any child does when faced with overwhelming consequences; she will flee or...she will call for help."
If I don't make you cry, then i haven't done my job right.
Well that's it, until next time. Ciao! :)
