Chapter 23: Starlon
Elsa stood outside of Starlon Hall, intently studying a battle map of Arendelle. Baldrek, Krar and few others were gathered with her. Krar informed her of some much appreciated good news, "Your grace, we found that the naga hadn't touched the stores of crop here, we could have them taken back to the capital and add some to our provisions for the battle ahead."
Elsa nodded then gestured to the hold as she explained her plan. "We now control Hadenville and I have every confidence that lord Aldren and my sister will have captured Riverview soon. However, in the meantime we need to make sure that Hadenville is secured: rebuilding the gate should be our first priority along with shoring up the general defenses of the city." She pointed to the map as she continued, "Once we know that both the Glister lands and the Troll's pine are in our control, we will regroup with the majority of our forces back at Hammerhel. Once that is done we will return to the capital, from there our ships will carry our army northwards for our final assault on Ashla's Pike."
She looked to Krar, "Have word sent to Gillian at Hammerhel, tell him we will need every armament and siege weapon the smiths of the Forge lands can muster. And to overseer Kai in Arendelle city, tell him the ships must be ready for our arrival as soon as possible."
Krar spoke up, "Your grace...if I may, it is likely that lord Aldren has already taken Riverview as we speak, this doesn't allow much time to gather extra provisions or for the construction of the siege weapons. We'll most likely only have a few days to-"
"Then that is the time we will have. We cannot afford to delay any longer than we must, the people of Arendelle are depending on us. See that it is done lieutenant." she said firmly but not unkindly.
"Your grace." he bowed and left to issue her command.
She nodded to the other soldiers who all bowed and departed to relay the reconstruction orders. Only Baldrek remained on the other side of the table with his head bowed, Elsa cocked her head slightly, "Baldrek, is everything alright?"
He cleared his throat, leaning his weight against his hammer, "Your grace...I wanted to know if I might...ask you something..."
"Of course."
He looked up at her, humble and reserved, "When you chose me to be your captain...I suppose I'm just wondering...why?" he said scoffing at himself.
She looked down at the ground thoughtfully for a moment before answering, "When lord Aldren first started training all of you, there were two promising warriors he pegged most qualified for the position; Arvid...and yourself. Aldren believed that Arvid would be best suited to be my second in command."
Baldrek nodded sadly, "So... I was not lord Aldren's first choice..."
"No...you were mine."
He looked up at her surprised, she smiled at him, "Arvid...was a loyal soldier, intelligent and skilled. But he was also what I would call rigid and... inflexible. I saw from the beginning how very unorthodox and at times 'wild' you were when it came to fighting, but I also saw how dutiful you were not just to me but to your fellow man. After I heard how you risked yourself to protect Krar and Barec while still completing your objective...how could I choose anyone else."
He rubbed the back of his neck bashfully, "I mean...I was just a nobody ice harvester from the Pike...I didn't feel like I was the best choice when you picked me or if I even deserved it..."
She walked around the table to stand in front of him, putting her hand on his shoulder, "It is for that very reason I know you are."
He smiled back to her and bowed his head, "Thank you, your grace."
She nodded and was about to say something else but was interrupted by a soldier running up to them, "Your grace, we found someone!"
Elsa followed the soldier towards the Hadenville jailhouse and soon set eyes upon two of her men who held a stretcher carrying a thin, fair skinned man with short brown hair, his eyes were closed. He wore a tattered and dirty blue shirt and pants with a silver vest that was nearly ripped in half, he did not have any shoes. His face was covered with several small cuts and large bruise across the right side, he looked like he had been beaten, tortured even.
She stood beside the stretcher and brushed his brown locks out of his face, the man's sky blue eyes slowly opened and he groaned in pain. The soldier spoke, "We found him in one of the cells when we were locking the naga away."
Elsa nodded and leaned down to the man, "Can you tell me your name?"
He breathed heavily and spoke in short spurts, "Mane...Starlon..."
Her mouth was slightly agape at this new knowledge, he breathed in sharply, his arm flying upwards. She grasped his hand as he spoke again, "Sol!...my sister, where...where is my...sister..."
He passed out again, Elsa turned to the men holding the stretcher, "Get him to the keep and get a physician, now!"
OoO
Elsa sat in a chair near a bed in the upper hall of Starlon keep, her eyes were closed and her head was leaned against one of her hands. Lord Mane Starlon laid asleep in the bed on his back under the blankets, his injuries having been treated by a doctor and his clothes changed. Elsa looked up when she heard him cough slightly, he groggily looked around until he saw her, "Queen Elsa..."
She put her hands together and nodded, "Lord Starlon."
He attempted to sit up but immediately winced from the pain, "Forgive me your grace, I would stand but I-"
She stood and gently pushed on his shoulder for him to lie back down, "It's alright, rest." As he laid back down she continued "How are you feeling?"
He sighed and rubbed his head, "Terrible, though not as terrible as I did rotting in that cell."
"And how did you end up in that cell?"
"When those...things attacked us they started...sorting through us."
"Sorting through?"
"They separated most of the guardsmen, adult men and anyone that was...strong...including Sol."
Elsa frowned sympathetically as she listened to him go on, his voice slowly becoming a hoarse whisper, "The one that led him, he was...huge, must have stood eight feet tall, all covered in heavy plate. He came for my sister..." Elsa narrowed her eyes slightly at the description of a monster she was all too familiar with: General Tarn...
Mane continued, "I tried to stop him. I struck him with my sword but it didn't even scratch him...he flicked me away as easily as one would a fly. This was his finger that did this." he pointed to the bruise on the right side of his face, "It felt like I was kicked by a horse...After he took her away, his army took everyone in Hadenville northwards, the strong and the meek in two different groups. But me...that giant said I'd be no use to the 'witch king' and that I wasn't worth the little effort it would take to kill me. He left me here for his minions to torture, I assume to interrogate me...or maybe it was just for fun...I couldn't understand them..."
He shuddered, putting his face in his palm. She grasped his shoulder, "I'm so sorry Mane..."
He looked up his eyes alight with desperate hope, "But...she's alive, I know she is! There is something we can do...isn't there?"
"Yes, we believe the Naga Ai have taken all of our people to Ashla's Pike, that is where we go next ...But I cannot guarantee we will find her alive." his face dropped slightly, she tightened her grip on his shoulder, "What I can promise you: is that we will fight the Naga Ai, we will defeat them and we will make them pay for what they have taken from us! Our army has already liberated Hammerhel and now Hadenville and once Lord Embercrow has retaken Riverview we will-"
"Embercrow?"
She released him, knelt next to the bed and smiled, "Yes...that is what I've been wanting to tell you. Your cousin: Aldren Embercrow...he's alive."
He nodded slowly, "Oh...that is...good to here." smiling quaintly.
"You don't seem happy to hear that..."
"If...if I may be honest with you your grace?"
"You may."
"Forgive me...it's not that I bare any ill will towards him it's just I never knew him very well, I believe his father somewhat...looked down on me. Aldren was strong and Sol as I said, was strong too...I was not. On the occasions when we would visit Hammerhel or they visit Hadenville, Aldren and my sister would always be locked in duels with wooden swords outside the keep while little Alandra would watch and I, well...I was usually reading. She was the warrior and I was the poet." he said with a slight chuckle.
"I see..."
"I imagine he is your Master of War then?"
"He is."
He shook his head and laughed, "Sol will be jealous, that was always a dream of hers: to be like our uncle Aldric and lead the kingdom's armies."
Elsa grinned, "Perhaps she can duel him for the title when they meet again."
"Careful, she just might take you up on that offer...perhaps though now, I might get to know him better." he reached over towards the end table to his right and opened the drawer, he pulled out a necklace: a small glistening white gem surrounded by a series of silver spirals that formed a star shape around it. He held it out to her "His mother, our aunt, Reyna...this once belonged to her, she then gifted it to me. Show it to Aldren if you will your grace, tell him that he still has blood here in Arendelle."
Gingerly she grasped the beautiful stone in her hand, "Is this a diamond?"
"No, a star crystal."
"Star crystal?"
"A white stone that glitters like the night sky when in the right light and they can be found everywhere here. It's why this region is called the Glister Lands, they aren't worth more than a few coppers...but they hold a different sort of value to my house, they are our house sigil after all."
"Huh...Well you can rest assured, I will make sure he sees it."
"Thank you, but please...find my sister..."
"I will try." she granted him a smile and stood, "Now get some rest lord Starlon."
He rolled over, "I'll do my best, your grace."
She exited the room and shut the door behind her, two guards were posted at the door to keep him safe. She made her way back down the stairs into the hall, now alone in the dimly lit throne room she looked to the twin thrones. It dawned on her that the gems she thought were diamonds were actually star crystals, something that may be seen as worthless to others was everything to their family. They didn't represent vanity or wealth...they were house pride.
She looked at the star gem necklace in her hand that Mane had given her, he'd said that it would glisten in the right light...she held the necklace by its string in front of her and placed her palm a few inches from its surface. Summoning her power to her hand, a small blue glow emanated that bounced off the prismatic surface, a display of random, angular patterns and shapes danced against every surface in the room in the color of her magic as the gem spun back and forth in the air. The light show was indeed impressive but for Elsa, the most beautiful thing for her was the star gem itself: it's center glowing brightly, rotating back in forth like a dancer in the center of a very well-rehearsed show.
She smiled widely as she watched the gleaming display a few moments more, eventually allowing her magic to fade and with it, the star gem's display. She pocketed the necklace, she very much looked forward to seeing Aldren's reaction when she showed it to him. She wrapped her arms around herself and closed her eyes as she drifted in thought.
She missed Anna, she missed them both, the first thing she wanted to do when she saw them was give them both a big hug. But with Aldren, she really wanted to make it last: to pull away only to look into his eyes like she had before, to see his vulnerabilities exposed to her...because he trusted her. Maybe she might even...they'd have to see, once they won the war and drove the naga from Arendelle and brought their family back together. However, she did know exactly what she wanted to tell Olaf when she saw him again though: that he was right...she had found her 'prince' and that he was very unusual...and that she loved him...
OoO
Within the Raider's hall at Ashla's Pike Venereth knelt before the Witch king who sat in his dark throne. General Tarn and Commander Sorvec stood to the side as their king addressed his most loyal Witch knight. "Riverview and Hadenville have fallen back into Arendelle's possession, the time has come for your blade to be unleashed on our enemies. They have shown great...perseverance in the face of near overwhelming odds but they must be reminded that their greatest weapons are not invincible. Do you accept this honor lady Venereth?"
She smiled and nodded, "I do my lord."
Sorvec folded his arms and rolled his eyes, "Let's just hope you are as skilled as they say...witch."
She turned her head towards him and glared, "More skilled than the poor fools you 'handpicked' to assassinate the queen the first time and lost my brother...commander."
He glared back and stepped forward, "Unlike you, I don't need magic to kill my prey. I'd have both of those elemental's heads on spikes faster than you on my own, or maybe you'd like to find out now how skilled I am you-"
"If you have taken praise for your past accomplishments as license, you are greatly mistaken..." Amicus' voice darkened the room, overtaking the very air they breathed as he spoke, his black helm turning towards the commander, "Your 'assassins' had their chance Sorvec, now I entrust Venereth to carry out this deed."
The commander lowered his head submissively and stepped back, "Yes my lord..."
The Witch King slowly leaned forward, turning towards Venereth. "And I trust you to return to me, your blade stained with the blood of an elemental...and that is all..."
She bowed her head, "I will not fail my lord."
"Then go now and do what you were born to do." he said, relaxing back in his throne.
She stood, lowering her face plate, leaving the hall and taking to the sky once she was outside. The Witch King waved a dismissive hand towards Sorvec without looking at him, "You are dismissed commander." his tone cold and emotionless.
The commander bowed and left through the double doors of the hall, once he was gone Amicus stood and casually stepped down from his throne, clasping his armored hands behind his back. General Tarn's enormous steps shook the floor as he walked to his master's side, despite being taller than...everyone, he would seem very small to any observer when near the Witch king.
Amicus turned towards him, "And you, my friend...you have been quiet for some time, do you not wish for your chance at revenge?"
"My first charge is to the Naga Ai: To lead your armies against our enemies and carry out your will. If my vengeance may be sated in the process of our conquest...then I will welcome the added gratuity."
"You have served me well thus far general, I have faith that you may yet be rewarded in time for your patience."
Tarn nodded, looking towards the double doors where Venereth had left and then back to his king, "Do you really believe she will succeed? I do not believe she fully grasps the power these elementals wield."
"I believe she will succeed in bringing me what I have asked of her...and nothing less..."
"And what of her brother?"
"She knows full well the penalty of defiance, she will obey her orders and if she does not and I am forced to kill her then mores the pity. But brother and sister will both serve their roles in our victory if they wish to see the other reach deliverance. Whether they serve their purpose together, apart, alive or dead makes little difference..."
