Lovino stood at the corner of the table, looking at the large map of Prathage that had been brought from the palace.

They had quickly sent word back to Primgate yesterday on how it was Princess Madeline who lifted the spell. Servants rode through the night to bring them this map, along with the first reports from the scouts positioned through the kingdom. They also brought a small chest of gold at Alfred's request, as payment to the farmer and his family for their generous hospitality.

Now their entire group circled the table, rifling through the various written reports that had arrived so far, determining which duchies had been defrosted and which were still frozen. Madeline had moved to a rocking chair by the fireplace, still wrapped in blankets to regain her health. She had recovered enough to be brought up to speed on everything that happened, and now listened closely to all their reports.

"Word from Azenada says that the duchy is completely defrosted," Feliciano transcribed from a report, "Even the Bay of Shertara has become accessible again, the layer of ice on the water is completely gone."

"So most of the South is defrosted then," Antonio realized, "That is quite the range for Madeline's first attempt."

"Perhaps it worked better to the South than to the North," Alfred amended as he read another report, "The Duchy of Vousta is still mostly frozen over."

"Rochosta as well in the Northwest," Feliks added from his own report, "Being surrounded by mountains on all sides there doesn't help them much."

"And I have Ridudia to the Northeast here to complete the set," Tolys completed, "All territories north of the Raevellian mountains are still frozen, while everything south has been defrosted."

"That doesn't make sense, or does it?" Arthur examined, "I see here on the map that Glefield is at the southeast tip of the Raevellian mountains. How could Madeline have defrosted the entire southern two thirds of the kingdom, but have hardly any effect on the territories just to the north of where we are now?"

"That's a tough question to answer, Arthur," Alfred assessed, "Still, it appears the next logical move would be to have Madeline travel north to defrost those duchies if she can. I've already been neglectful of managing them, with the civil war based primarily in the southern duchies. They won't be too happy to find out that they're still frozen while the rest of the kingdom has had the winter lifted."

"This plan is going to be more difficult than you all think."

The group paused at the interruption by the feminine voice, and turned to look at the only woman in the room.

"What do you mean by that, Your Highness?" Lovino inquired, "Is it the limits of your magic, or of your health, that concerns you?"

"Arthur was wise to ask why the North wasn't defrosted," Madeline endorsed, "It might have to do with why I covered Prathage in the endless winter to start with, which you have all failed to consider asking me about."

"Please forgive our negligence, Your Highness," Arthur addressed, "Would you please explain how the endless winter came to be in the first place, and why it still matters now?"

"I spent the seven years of my exile travelling the Raevellian mountains," Madeline recounted, "During this time, I used the meditative qualities of the wild natural environment to focus on controlling my ice magic. While doing so, I discovered within me the latent non-ice magic that I gradually learned how to access."

"Non-ice magic?" Antonio checked, "You mean you can do more than just ice magic?"

"Ice is connected to the elements, and as such gives me a latent magical connection to nature," Madeline elaborated, "I was able to connect to the environment itself, it was as if I could feel what was happening to the land. From afar, I could feel the crashing of waves on the shores of the Northern Sea, the blizzards in the mountains. I could even taste the blood of corpses seeping into the ground in the southern valleys."

"We definitely had a hand in that one," Feliks noted, as everyone else cringed at the thought.

"It was a midsummer night five years ago, just after dusk, when it happened," Madeline continued, "While I was admiring the full moon from the edge of a cliff, I felt a strange sensation coming from the northeast. It felt as if someone was casting powerful magic, a spell meant to cause drastic harm. I could tell that, if I didn't act fast, the spell could quickly expand its range and consume the kingdom."

"So you cast your own powerful spell?" Feliciano figured out, "You covered the land in snow to counteract this other spell, and to protect Prathage?"

"Well, that's a surprise," Alfred remarked, "All these years, everyone thought you were reminding everyone of your own claim to the throne. Turns out, you were actually trying to protect us all from something possibly worse than the war."

"So why did you wait five years to lift the spell?" Tolys asked, "It's not like you and I had any substantial conversation in the forest to make you suddenly change your mind on the matter, right?"

"You are correct, I had been thinking of it for some time now," Madeline defended, "Over the past year, I had noticed the decreased bloodshed in the south and knew the war must be subsiding, even though I had no contact with the rest of the world to confirm these suspicions. I had been working my way over to Glefield, to see if I could sneak into town and hear some gossip about the war. That's when I met you, Tolys, and you told me about how the birds were struggling. I decided then and there that it was time to set things right, regardless of the war's outcome."

"So you then tried to lift the winter, which gets us here and now," Lovino finished off, "And yet your first attempt had no effect on the northern duchies. You think it has to do with the other spell, don't you?"

"I don't think so, I know so," Madeline clarified, "While I was lifting my spell, I used the last of my strength and consciousness trying to figure out why I couldn't lift my entire spell. That's when I felt the other spell again, it was intertwined with my own."

"You fear the other spell could spread again?" Arthur recognized, "If you lift the winter in the north, the other spell might be unleashed?"

Madeline slowly nodded.

"Well, that's definitely a problem," Antonio commented, "Both spells would have to be lifted at the same time, wouldn't they? Is that even possible?"

"That's hard to say," Arthur replied, "You would need magic users to track down the remnants of that magic, and investigate its power. Madeline might be able to lift it if it's intertwined well enough with her own spell, but it could also prevent her from doing so."

"You would need magic users like me and Feliciano," Lovino realized, "This type of magical investigation would be right up our alley."

"Lovino's right, we'd be able to help," Feliciano agreed, "We're already able to read Madeline's magic use, after all. If she were in contact with the other magic, we'd be able to sense it using her as the intermediary conduit!"

"Then that's what should happen," Antonio recommended, "The two of you should accompany Madeline to the northern duchies, and help her defrost the lands and break this other spell."

"Your group will need members who know how to travel through the north," Tolys added, "Feliks and I are both from Vousta, we know the best routes through all three duchies."

"I say Tolys should be the one to go with our spellbreakers," Alfred judged, "Feliks will stay in Primgate with me and Antonio. That way, we can also have Naktakė carry messages back and forth as needed."

"I believe Arthur should round out our team," Madeline suggested, "You all told me Arthur's purpose in our realm is to help untangle mysteries and break spells. This journey to the northern duchies appears to cover these issues."

"I gladly accept your invitation, Princess," Arthur accepted, "I was thinking the same thing, the North sounds like the perfect place to find what I'm looking for."

"I'll send word to Ixaidel on your behalf," Antonio promised, "If this trouble extends past Ridudia into Acecaria, Gilbert and Basch will want to know about it immediately."

"I'll send the request for servants to procure travelling clothes, supplies and horses," Alfred planned out, "They can bring it all up from Primgate tomorrow, allowing you all to leave the next day. Madeline, do you think you'll be ready to travel by then?"

"Yes, I believe I'll be ready."