Chapter 28: Battle of the Northern Gate

The sun above the Nordsoen was covered by dark clouds from which a light, winter rain descended on the sea. The Arendellian warships sailed along the eastern edge of the continent to the channel known as 'The Northern Gate' which led to the island city of Ashla's Pike. The unfurled crocus painted sails caught the favorable wind, carrying them steadily towards their destination. The roiling water perhaps less favorable might upset the stomachs of most but Arendellians traced their lineage to sea fairing raiders of old, the salt of the sea ran through the blood of the northern army and the ocean would prove to be no obstacle.

The central ship was headed by Elsa and Anna and the ships, offset by five from hers on either side, were led by lord Aldren and lieutenant Krar on one, with Captain Baldrek and sergeant Barec on the other. They all knew the plan. A three pronged assault: once they were past the wall Elsa would lead her third of the army down the center of the Pike while Aldren and Baldrek would lead theirs across the north and south sides to flank the city. All with one primary goal, free any Arendellian prisoners and ferry them to the ships while pushing the naga army out of the city, thus driving the Naga Ai from Arendelle entirely.

Aldren stood upon the upper deck of his ship with his hands behind him, looking out into the foggy haze as the rain pattered quietly against the steel surface of his armor. Krar walked up from the lower deck and stood beside him, "Penny for your thoughts?"

Aldren kept his gaze ahead, "Just...thinking on the battle plan..."

The elder man nodded disbelievingly, "You know...there's no reason an Arendelle noble couldn't...court the queen Arendelle..." he said innocently. Aldren did not respond, Krar gave a knowing look, "I saw how the two of you looked at each other before we left: I saw what she wanted from you...you wanted it too, I-"

"Perhaps its best if we stay focused on our current goal, lieutenant."

"Of course..."

The drawn out silence carried on for some time before Aldren sighed and shook his head, "I don't deny...feeling the way I do about her, I just want to have a clear mind. No good has ever come from charging into battle with emotions clouding one's judgment."

"That's not an unwise sentiment my lord..." he laughed slightly, "To think that over two decades ago I stood next to your father in similar positions."

"Hm, I imagine those were much happier times for you."

"In some ways, house Embercrow always held the warrior traditions of our ancestors dearly and though I would never have wished for war with our own kinsmen...I won't deny that I felt a great swell of relief, that we would finally test our metal on the field of battle." he said with a closed fist, recalling events from long ago.

Lord Embercrow's brow rose, "Does that 'relief' grace you again now?"

"No, that was a time of great uncertainty, we questioned many things in those days: if we chose the right side, if our actions would change Arendelle for the better...if we were leaving a worthy legacy for the next generation." he said, looking to the young lord, "But now for the first time I don't feel uncertain, I feel that what we are fighting for is truly righteous. That relief I felt then, it is little more than a fleeting shadow compared to how I feel now: to have fought alongside Aldric's heir and to have served a truly noble ruler."

Aldren smiled, "It is good to hear you say that Krar."

"She is noble, which is why I make this plight to you my lord: don't be like me. Don't grow old never having known anything but conflict, bitterness and death. When this is all over, make sure that she knows you feel for her the way she feels for you...don't miss your chance to be happy."

From Krar's last words Aldren wondered if he had spoken to Elsa before this, but he could see in the old man's face that the words were his own...another prompting jab from fate he suspected. He put a hand on his old friend's shoulder and looked into his eyes, "You're not that old yet, my friend...And I won't, or at least I shall do my very best...if she would still have me."

Krar smiled and nodded, "She will."

"It's good to know you don't have an ill opinion of queen Elsa."

"Neither her, nor her sister are their father of which I am thankful for...they are warriors, thanks to you."

"Whatever mistakes that king Agnarr made, they loved their father...and they were always warriors." he stated proudly.

They both looked back out towards the fog, smiles on their faces, in far better moods than before.

OoO

Elsa sat cross legged on the floor of the front deck with her eyes closed, a peaceful expression on her face as the cool rain soothed her skin and the constant sound of the ship on the waves helped clear her head. She could hear approaching steps behind her...Anna. Her sister dropped down hard on the floor beside her, "Hey sis."

Elsa smiled, her eyes still closed, "Mm, hello Anna."

Anna leaned in, "Whatcha thinking about?"

Elsa remained silent.

"Or do I already know?" Anna said, raising an eyebrow.

Elsa had confided in Anna about her near moment with Aldren at the port, but she did not lead with that. "Kristoff actually..." she said, eyes still closed.

Anna was more than a little stunned by her answer, "I... what?"

"We must be extra vigilant as we lay siege," she said, her eyes now open but her gaze still focused off the bow. "Taking great care to assure that he does not become collateral damage...that none of our people do. Though he will not be hard to find if he is with Olaf or Sven."

"Oh, right...gotcha."

Elsa's eyes now fixed on her, "But also...Well..." she sighed in momentary frustration, "When I watched you and Kristoff: when you two would go on your...romantic outings, I was...jealous."

Anna smirked, "I could tell."

Surprised, her wincing expression made her shame clear, "Really?"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of Elsa, I don't blame you."

"You don't?"

Anna laughed, "Of course not, the love that you and I have stopped an eternal winter, which is pretty neat. But when you love someone 'romantically' it's a whole other world of emotions lemme tell you! Wanting to share a life with someone...it makes you feel like you could float on the clouds forever-at first, now that feeling doesn't last forever but it's nice while it lasts and..." Anna could see she was starting to lose her. She sighed and moved to kneel in front of her, gently taking her sister's hands and looking her in the eye. "Elsa, I am so happy for you...I know that he feels the same way, when were all together again, the air will be crystal clear and you'll tell each other...how much you love one another."

Elsa smiled, "Thank you Anna...I do love him; I think he loves me too...but he still hates himself." she added sadly.

Anna looked away, biting her lip momentarily, "Well, if the romance novels I've read have given me any ancient wisdom: it's that true love is a good cure for self-hatred." she said in a jesting manner.

Elsa shook her head and chuckled, "I hope that's true Anna."

"Of course it is, I'm a genius!" Anna said with arms out in a wide smile.

Both sisters laughed together and Anna leaned the forehead of her helm against Elsa's, enjoying possibly their last moment of sisterly bonding before their final battle with the Naga Ai. Their moment was indeed interrupted when the sound of Trolgon's roar pierced the air, he had been flying above the fleet since the had left, his agitated cries and flight pattern was an early warning that they were nearing their destination. The sisters looked at each other and smiled sadly, Anna planted a kiss on her forehead before they both rose to their feet and turned towards the front of the ship.

As Elsa put her hands on her hips she felt something that made her eyes widen, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the star crystal necklace. She gasped, beating herself mentally for her forgetfulness, Anna looked at her perplexed, "Elsa?"

"The star gem! It belonged to Aldren's mother, his cousin Mane wanted me to give it to him when I saw him again and I forgot!" she said, ashamed and angry with herself.

Anna winced, her eyes cutting to the side, "Oh..."

Elsa ran towards the bowsprit, leaning over the side, out as far as she could, trying to catch sight of Aldren on his ship. She could just make him out as he stood on the front deck of his ship with Krar looking out in the Pike's direction. There was no way to get it to him now...unless...

She looked down at the necklace, focusing her power to craft another construct, the icy swirls of magic took the shape of a bird...a crow. The beast cawed at her before taking the necklace in its talons and taking flight towards Aldren's ship. She bit her lip anxiously, regretting her impulse, fearing that the bird might not make it over the churning sea.

OoO

Aldren continued to gaze out at the fog as Krar left his side to prepare the men for battle, his attention was drawn to the sound of flapping...wings, small wings. He turned to his right and saw a small white and teal bird struggling to fly towards the ship, the coloration of the bird told him who had sent it. He ran to the side of the ship and leaned forward, holding out his arm, the bird, which he could now see was a crow made of ice and snow, landed on his hand. He withdrew his arm from the edge and looked upon his guest and noticed it had something it it's talons: a necklace...it couldn't be...

He grasped the twine of the necklace and pulled it from the bird's claws, the crow cawed and moved to set on his shoulder as he examined it. The star crystal was unmistakable and there were many pieces of jewelry made with this common stone, but he knew this piece. The way the gem was cut, the arrangement of the silver spirals...this was his cousin Mane's, given to him by Aldren's mother...Reyna. Elsa had informed him that Mane was alive but the fact that he would give this back to him made him happier than he'd had a chance to be in some time.

Smiling fondly at the object as he turned it over in his hand, he looked up to see Elsa from her own ship looking back at him. He held up his other hand in a small wave, smiling at her and she returned the gesture. In that moment he wished he could take back his actions in Arendelle city, that he would've closed his eyes and leaned forward into her...he wished that he was standing in front of her now, he would say it...even if it was the last thing he ever did.

They looked into each other's eyes from afar for a little while longer before something very tall came between them, looking up he saw a great statue erected from the water 'Ashla the King of Winter'. Its presence meant that they would be within striking range soon and as they passed by the monument he noticed three key details about it: tied to his belt were three sword hilts, the blades broken off at the base and the runes upon them were in the naga language. Stabbed onto the crow's head spike of his left pauldron was a helm...the masked viper helm of the naga and the 'pike' held above in his hand bore a striking resemblance to Elsa's own spear, not the same weapon of course but it was clearly of Alfar craft. The runes on the upper half of the blade read as 'Bright Wind' while below them was an engraving of Arendelle's famous Crocus. He smirked at the stone figure, it seemed their ancestors had indeed faced the naga before...perhaps they even won, seeing as Arendelle was still here: a good omen.

As they passed by the statue he turned his gaze back to his queen, she looked back at him from the statue too. From here on they were not two people in love, they were soldiers, a queen and a lord who would lead their army to victory. They both nodded to each other and turned their attentions to Ashla's Pike which could now be seen emerging from the mist. Aldren put the necklace on, tucking it under his chest plate as he walked back to stand in the center of the deck while the ice crow cawed loudly and flew from his shoulder into the air. He could hear Arendellian boots gathering behind him: rows of spears in locked stance with archers at the sides of the ship, the scorpions loaded and ready to fire while oars reached into the water to propel them faster. Krar stood just behind him to the side, drawing his sword, readying his shield and cracking his neck. He drew Black Autumn, narrowing his eyes as they approached the final field in the war of Arendelle.

OoO

Elsa held up a closed fist as she gave her first command, "Archers knock, everyone else hold!"

She and Anna stood side by side as their soldiers moved behind them, flagmen signaling the other ships to prepare. The hard sounds of steel clad bodies running to ready positions, cross bolts being loaded into the scorpions and arrows being pulled from quivers into strings could be heard behind them and from all the surrounding vessels. The snow queen turned to face her soldiers, they stood at attention, shields held close, spears standing tall. She saw the eyes of many men looking to her for direction: blue eyes, green eyes, brown eyes...brave eyes, warrior's eyes. She breathed in deeply, exhaling as she turned back towards the city and drew Dragon's Flight, whipping it outward so it extended to full length.

Anna drew her own bow, her eyes widened when she heard a loud thud, looking behind her she saw a soldier playing a large drum in slow, repetitive cadence. The sound sent waves through everyone, their hearts quickening, grips tightening around their weapons...

OoO

Aldren heard the sound of drums from the queen's ships, he turned to Krar, "Drums."

The lieutenant nodded and turned to the flagmen, "Drums!"

The flags were raised, signaling their portion of the fleet to begin their own drumming, the sound growing with every passing moment.

OoO

Baldrek walked towards the front of the ship, Traitor's Bane in hand, pointing to the drummer as he shouted, "Drums! Oars in the water, shields at the ready!"

The beat of the drums now spread to the whole Arendellian fleet as the walls of the Pike began to come into view. The captain stood at the front of the ship and sergeant Barec joined him with his bow in hand. Baldrek could see the anticipation and anxiety on his friends face, he clapped his large hand against the smaller man's shoulder and smiled, "He'll be in there and we'll get him out...along with everyone else."

Barec did his best to smile and nodded solemnly, he then looked up at the north man and shrugged, "Maybe you should say some...inspiring words?"

Baldrek pursed his lips and stroking his beard in thought momentarily before nodding and turning towards the men. Raising his hammer above his head he shouted a bellowing war cry, the soldiers on his ship responded in kind: slamming their spears, swords and axes against their shields rhythmically, the roar of battle-ready soldiers spread to the rest of the fleet within moments. Barec grinned and shook his head as the captain jumped onto the ship's figurehead with one arm to continue shouting with his hammer raised. But he eventually joined in, he needed it, he needed his heart to be racing, his blood boiling for the fight and to find his brother.

OoO

Elsa could finally make out the city of Ashla's Pike in its entirety now, even from a distance she could make out naga riflemen and several cannons along the walls. As expected their enemy knew they were coming but that was not the current issue, four naga warships had been waiting ahead of the wall and were now sailing towards her fleet. The enemy vessels were clearly more heavily armored and larger; she suspected that if their weaponry was anything like what they had encountered on land then they would shred the Arendelle fleet like parchment...She would not give them the chance to try.

"Your grace, we are ready to fire." A scorpion operated shouted to her.

She held up her hand, "Hold."

"Uh Elsa *ahem* they're-they're getting closer..." Anna said, a worried look on her face.

"Not for much longer." Elsa replied. Slowly she raised both hands, palms up higher and higher, similar to a conductor urging on the music to a fever pitch.

From beneath the waves of the ocean, large jagged blades of ice speared upwards into the bottom of each enemy ship, ripping through metal and tearing through wood, tyranite explosions could be seen erupting from the hulls... a crescendo of the music. Elsa then closed her fists and slowly lowered her hands and as she did the glacial spikes retraced back into the water, dragging all four warships below into the freezing depths of the Nordsoen.

Elsa exhaled as her entire army cheered victoriously at the mighty display of their queen's power, she turned to Anna who couldn't stop herself from looking impressed, "Huh, maybe we have a chance after all."

Elsa smiled, "You doubted?"

"Ask me after we've won." she replied, knocking an arrow in her bow.

Elsa turned back to the wall, "Everyone draw!"

Anna and the rest of their archers drew back on their strings and aimed upward as the naga began firing. Tyranite bolts were loosed from rifles and cannons in rapid succession but none flew far enough to reach the Arendelle fleet yet.

"We have the range on them...Open Fire!"

Every Arendelle vessel loosed a salvo of arrows that carried along the wind and fell on the enemy, many of the naga manning the walls and cannons were killed by the rain of arrows but they were replaced with new ones as quickly as possible. Eventually tyranite shards could be heard striking the sides of their ships and cannon fire would soon follow. She gave the order for the scorpions to begin targeting the enemy artillery.

OoO

Aldren saw to it that his portion of the fleet followed every one of the queen's orders, keeping a constant downpour of arrows bombarding the naga while enemy cannons exploded as the six foot bolts pierced them. A blast from a tyranite cannon struck the side of his ship, stripping away part of the wood. He knew they'd need to begin bringing down parts of the wall for their army to pass through, it was up to him to figure out how to best do that.

His pondering was cut short when he caught sight of Trolgon descending from the sky and flying over captain Baldrek's ship towards the wall. As the dragon neared he let loose a powerful stream of icy breath that froze the wall solid and passing over he struck the icy surface with the spear shaped end of his tail, shattering it. The gaping hole that remained made plenty of room for Baldrek's forces to move through once they made landfall.

Aldren was then struck with inspiration, he turned to the scorpion crews of his ship, "Prepare to fire."

As soon as they each loaded a single bolt he set the ends alight with fire, keeping his hands trained on them. "Now!"

The bolts were loosed and Aldren's hands extended outward, following them. With the flames attached to the bolts he made them fly faster than they would on their own, they spun closer and closer together until they were a spinning cone of fire that slammed into the wall, exploding and heavily damaging it. He would take care of the rest once they made land fall.

He placed one hand agains the crow figurehead of his ship and turned to his men, "Prepare the boats...Hearts of Fire!" he shouted with his sword raised.

"Wills of Iron!" they shouted back, as they prepared to make landfall".

OoO

The men rowed hard, making their way towards land on every ship in the fleet, but Elsa remained on the deck with Anna and fifty men. One of them spoke up, "Your grace, what are we doing?"

She looked over her shoulder and smiled, "Follow me."

Without another word she ran towards the starboard/front of the ship and Anna followed closely. The soldiers hesitated at first but followed the lead of their queen, all of them jumping from the edge but rather than splashing into water they landed gently on a large platform of ice, Elsa using the wind to slow their fall. The platform then materialized forward into a bridge that extended upwards to the enemy wall and Elsa bolted forward with her sister and soldiers following close. She revolved Dragon's flight rapidly in both hands, deflecting any tyranite shards that flew their way as she continued to onward. The rest of the ships pulled onto the land to await any freed prisoners sent their way while the soldiers from every ship charged for the wall.

Taking note of how Trolgon destroyed the wall for Baldrek and his men, Elsa sent forth a stream of frost upon the walls surface as they drew closer to it. Once the wall in front of them was completely frozen she closed her hand and the ice shattered, sending any naga crashing to the ground and leaving a gaping hole for her army to charge through. Naga soldiers were already rushing from within the city to meet them at the breach, taking aim and firing at her and her forces. She continued to repel enemy fire, protecting herself and her sister who loosed arrows in between Elsa's defections while any stray shots shattered against Arendellian shields.

At last their feet met the wooden floor of the wall, Elsa extended her free hand and sent forth a blast of icy wind in either direction, some naga were frozen in place while others were simply thrown off the edge and landing painfully onto the ground. With the threat upon the wall gone she and her sister jumped down, using the wind to slow their fall they led the hundreds of Arendellian soldiers that had now joined them on the shore, slaying the disabled naga in the breach and pushing on into the city. The now battle hardened northern army once again met the Naga Ai in a brutal clash of spears, sword, axes, maces and shields. The queen's power combined with the royal army's fury pushed the momentum of their assault through the defending naga lines easily.

Now in the melee the two sisters proved to be equally deadly in close quarters as they were at range. Elsa's fighting style was as elegant and swift as it was bone breaking and powerful, Dragon's flight spun back and forth in wide arcs as she spun and pirouetted like a violent twister, combined with her powers over ice and wind she was a nye unstoppable force on the battlefield. And at her side throughout the battle was Anna who now wielded her sword with elven grace taught to her by Aldren, taking her anxieties and anger out on every enemy she felled.

As three naga charged Elsa spun her spear overhead for momentum and landed the shaft into all three of their heads hard, knocking them to the ground. She then pushed several more enemies back with a wave of wind. The naga forces began retreating into the city, their outer defenses having been crushed by the Arendelle attack.

Elsa pointed her spear in the direction their enemy fled, "Push forward to the upper levels! And free our people!"

Her soldiers charged past her by the hundreds, the rousing cry of battle in their voices while she and Anna noticed among the many buildings and houses, a stable with its doors chained together. They looked at each other briefly before running over with a few dozen soldiers. Elsa's elven blade easily cut through the chains and throwing the doors open they saw a group of terrified Arendellian citizens; men, women, children alike. Their terror vanished when they recognized their queen and princess.

Elsa turned to the soldiers, "Get them back to the ships, then rejoin the assault."

"Yes your majesty." they nodded and began helping the citizens to their feet and escorting them back to the fleet away from the battle.

She noticed Anna searching the crowd of people as they passed by, and her face dropping when she did not see who they were looking for. Elsa frowned, grasping her sister's arm, "Focus Anna, we'll find them."

Anna looked at her uncertainly but nodded, "I know Elsa..."

Elsa released her arm and motioned with her head, "Let's take this city back."

The sisters ran to rejoin their men at the front and push the rest of the naga army out of Arendelle.

OoO

Lord Embercrow's forces had made landfall along with the rest of the royal army, joining in the momentum of the charge and driving the Naga Ai army further back into the city. With any luck Elsa and Baldrek would be doing the same and Ashla's Pike would belong to Arendelle once more.

Aldren swung the length of his heated blade into the chest of a naga soldier and pulled across, leaving a gash of melted metal. He then parried the blade of another downward and backhanded them, the force of his hand causing them to turn, slashing upwards across their back, killing them. Two more attacked him from either side the first thrusting at him with spear, he sidestepped the attack and punched them in the throat making them stumbled back. The second swung down on him with a mace which he blocked and redirected to his side, the naga punched him hard across the face making his head turn. Gritting his teeth, Aldren pushed down hard and cut through their weapon with his guard, thrust upwards through their chest all the way to the hilt and threw them off. The first attacker recovered and thrust again and Aldren spun and dropped low, slicing across their leg. The naga cried out in pain and fell onto one knee, rising quickly Aldren kneed them in the face, as they fell on their back he raised his sword and stabbed it into their chest.

Not far from him was Krar who swung his shield into a naga's jaw, kicking them in the chest, then spinning and slashing across their face plate. The veteran then charged another ramming them with his shield, knocking them to the ground and finishing them off with a hard stomp to the head. The elder man breathed heavily, Aldren ran over to him, "Krar, are you alright?"

The lieutenant turned to him with a wide smile, "You joking? I feel twenty years younger!" the old warrior roared before rejoining the fray around them.

Aldren couldn't help but smile at his friend who clearly was enjoying himself. His smile vanished when he was forced to block a tyranite shard from above with the flat of his sword, he saw a constructed sniper tower from which two naga troopers took shots on the human forces below. Aldren prepared to launch a fireball to destroy it but he was beat to it by a pair of icy talons that smashed into the tower, pulverizing the platform and sending the snipers screaming to their deaths below. Aldren watched as the dragon flew behind the enemy lines, spewing freezing breath on them, death from above on icy wings.

Aldren grinned and muttered, "Show off."

He then saw one of his men nearby being kicked against the wall of a building by a naga brute, he ran to aid them. Before the brute could bring his hammer down Aldren sliced their weapon in half and slashed across their neck. He turned to his downed man and held his hand out, "On your feet sold-..."

His eyes widened and his hand recoiled when he saw their face, those fearful sky blue eyes could belong to only one man, "Mane?"

The thin lord Mane Starlon barely fit into the Arendelle soldiers armor he had disguised himself in, holding a sword in shield with unskilled hands, he looked up at Aldren in a nervous, almost childlike expression, "I-I know what you're going to say Aldren-"

"Hold that thought." Aldren fired a blast of flame at a naga that tried to sneak up on him, then turning back to Mane who seemed unsure if he should raise his voice or not, "BUT...I-I came to find Sol, AND that's...what I'm going to do..."

Mane was surprised however when Aldren smiled and held his hand out to him, "Then let's find her."

Mane smiled back and took his hand, Aldren pulling him to his feet, "Now stay close to me cousin, we still have a job to do."

Nodding to each other, the rejoined the fray, Aldren keeping an eye out for his cousin while leading the assault and search efforts through any promising structures. Mane helped in any small ways that he could, simply thankful that his elder cousin was not like his father before him.

OoO

Elsa and Anna continued fighting their way through the enemy alongside their army as well as freeing more Arendellian prisoners, having the upper hand meant that the naga were more or less in retreat the whole way. Eventually the two, along with a few warriors came across another large stable house, it appeared the naga had made a greater effort to secure this one than they had the others: boarded, chained and blocked by some heavy timbers. Whatever was inside was important and the girls could only hope in contained what they wanted most; Kristoff, Olaf, Sven and possibly lady Sol... their family.

As they approached the building Elsa noticed something odd: there were several bushels of thatch stacked along the sides of the stable house near the back. She thrust her arm out to hold her groups advance when she saw figures approaching from the haze behind the building. A naga commander in elaborate, sophisticated armor with a sword at each side and a rifle in one hand led a group of several soldiers into their view. He and his troops halted about ten yards away and the two sisters looked at each other, their gazes hardened yet unsure of what game this naga was playing.

The commander stepped forward, pressing the button on the side of his helm to reveal a pair of yellow reptilian eyes that rested above a shrewd face, his expression was neutral. He looked between the monarchs momentarily before holding his free hand out to another naga that handed him a lit torch. He then looked directly at Anna and raised his eyebrows before tossing the torch onto the thatch, his sadistic grin spreading across his face as the fire began to engulf the back end of the building.

Elsa was barely able to stop her sister who growled and shot towards the commander, her arm across Anna's chest was the only thing that stopped her from getting herself killed. "Anna No!" She looked into her sister's eyes, "Anna, get that stable house open, I'll put the fire out...and deal with them." Elsa said looking back to the naga commander.

Coming to her senses Anna nodded, "OK...OK I will." She took a moment to glare at the commander one last time before making her way to the stable house entrance.

Elsa looked to the soldiers around her, "Go with her, I'll be fine."

Elsa made her way towards the naga commander who ordered his men to engage her. She ran forward revolving Dragon's Flight, deflecting several tyranite shards back at the troopers who fired them. The first two naga warriors swung down on her with their spears, she raised her own to block them then parried them downward, the steel shaft of her spear snapping through the wood of theirs. Delivering two horizontal slashes across the midsection of the one to her right and a single powerful upward slash across the chest of the left.

Three more lunged from her sides and front, she spun with her spear overhead, the length of the weapon striking them all in the head. Firing a bolt of frost from her free hand to clog the twin barrels of a rifle, causing it to explode in the users face when they fired.

Two brutes charged her with maces raised, the first she sent flying with a column of ice to the chest she raised from the ground. Dissipating the ice, she spun past the second as he roared, his weapon striking the dirt where she was, then thrusting her spear behind her into his back. As he fell she removed her spear, thrusting both her hands forward knocking the rest of the naga to the ground...all except the commander who stood with that same smug grin.

Before she could raise her hand to start putting out the fire the commander aimed his rifle and opened fire, his weapon was more advanced than the others and held eight shots. She blocked all of them, reflecting the last two back at him, her eyes widened momentarily when she watched him swiftly dodge the shards as they flew past him. He simply shook his head, dropping the rifle and laughing as he walked towards her, "Impressive, even better than I'd heard."

She held her spear out towards him as he began to circle her, she could see now that he was only about her height, "Stand down naga or you'll find out what else I can do..."

He chuckled, drawing his twin swords from his belt almost tortuously slow. The top edge of the blades were lined with vicious hooks that gleamed in the dim light "Oh I'm counting on it. I want to see what sort of challenge you may offer me...then I will bring your head to the Witch King and he will know that your death came at my hand!" The two combatants circled each other a little while longer before finally stopping, having traded places Sorvec gestured over his shoulder, "Your sister has a strong spirit...I will enjoy breaking her..." he hissed, an evil smile on his face that showed his pointed fangs.

Elsa narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip on Dragon's Flight, he would not make a trophy out of her and he would not touch Anna...he would take no more Arendellian lives after today. The blades of her spear slowly grew into a blue glow, she spun the weapon in front of her threateningly, lowering into a dueling stance.

Sorvec didn't lower his visor, he whipped his swords and scraped them together making sparks fly from their surface and taking his own fighting stance. "First you then the pretty princess."

They locked eyes for several moments, waiting for the other to make the first move. Sorvec's foot shifted slightly against the earth as Elsa revolved Dragon's flight into her other hand. She remained in her stance as her free hand extended outward, hand flipping over, fingers motioning as a 'come and get me'.

Sorvec snarled and propelled forward with his blades poised, Elsa shot two bolts of ice to down him before he could get close but she was again surprised when he easily spun out of the way of both projectiles. He leaped forward once he was close, leading with a thrust from his right blade followed by a series of lightning fast horizontal and vertical strikes. Elsa met his weapons with her own, revolving her spear in both hands, stopping every blow from landing, catching his hooked blades against her spear and pushing him back. Spinning towards him, she thrust her spear at his chest, a move that would normally have worked but he spun out of the way and swung at the side of her helm.

Having over committed to the killing blow she was not able to bring Dragon's Flight back in time to block and took the full force of the strike. Her helm saved her from serious harm but she was left with a small cut across her cheek and the power of the swing sent her stumbling to the side. Her teeth clenched, eyes wrenching shut, the sting from his blade making her hand involuntarily reach for her cheek.

She forced herself to focus on the battle as Sorvec swung at her with both swords aimed for her neck, she ducked underneath the blades and swung hers at his legs, but he was quick enough to leap over her attack and kick her in the back of the head as he sailed past her. The hit to her head caused her to fall forward, quick to react, she rolled onto one knee and turned to face her opponent. Sorvec jumped and spun his body in the air, both blades in motion like a pinwheel, coming with a downward strike at her head. Elsa raised her spear in both hands, his blade slamming down on the shaft of her spear. He hissed and bared down causing Elsa's feet to slide backwards against the ground slightly as she strained to hold him back. He laughed almost maniacally, clearly enjoying what he perceived as humiliating her.

It was his turn to be surprised when she gritted her teeth, rose to her feet and shoved him away, making him stumble back as he sneered at her. In her burst of fury, she rushed him with a flurry of quick attacks, but he was quicker still, his blades dancing off of hers with expert precision and countering her with a jab to the side of her head with one of his pommels. Disoriented only for a moment she recovered, turned back to him and blocked the successive attacks to her legs, gut and head.

She continued a stalwart offense of sweeps, thrusts and rotating strikes but she couldn't gain proper momentum or force to deal a mortal blow. Sorvec met her with a constant onslaught of aggressive swipes and stabs at every possible angle, dancing round her with little effort. He was fast, incredibly fast, too fast for her to beat with her own speed and he kept to close for her to use her powers effectively against him. He was without a doubt the most skilled opponent she had faced and she would need to find a way to throw him off balance, soon...Kristoff, Olaf and Sven were running out of time...

OoO

Baldrek led the charge across the north side of the city as they trampled the Naga Ai resistance and freed captive Arendellians along the way, with Barec at his side, loosing arrows at any enemies he missed. The captain threw an enemy soldier over his shoulder, as they landed on the ground a naga brute swung at him with a war mace. In one surprisingly swift motion, Baldrek ducked under the mace, swinging Traitor's Bane upwards into the brute's chin and bringing it back down on the naga he had thrown behind him.

He dislodged his hammer from the dead foe, charging forward and throwing his fist into the jaw of another attacking naga. He prepared for the next foe but an arrow landed in their chest before they got close, he turned to see Barec running to his side as they both continued fighting forward with their army, "We've searched every damned stable and store house and still haven't found him!" he exclaimed in frustration.

"He's here somewhere, we'll find him!"

"What if we Don't?"

"WE WILL!" He roared as he grabbed a naga trooper by the throat, lifting them up and slamming them to the ground before swinging his hammer down on them. The north man lifted his weapon and looked Barec square in the eyes while they had a respite, "We'll find him."

Barec nodded, his confidence a little less shaken. Their attention was then drawn to smoke rising in the sky towards the south, "That's in the queen and princess's direction..." Barec commented, slightly dreadful.

Baldrek didn't have to think long, he turned back to his friend, "I'm going to check on them, hold it together here, I won't be long." The sergeant quickly nodded, but before he could rush forward, the captain gripped his arm and looked at him very seriously, "Hey, hold it together."

Barec nodded again, slower this time, understanding what he meant. Baldrek sighed, giving him one last concerned look before heading towards the smoke in the distance while Barec continued to lead their push towards the second level of the city.

OoO

Anna and the soldiers had removed the timbers and were now working to open the doors when Anna saw something that made her heart stop: His red waist scarf was unmistakable; Kristoff's sash had been tied around the handles of the doors. She shook her head and her hesitation away, untying the sash and wrapping it around her hand. She drew her sword along with the soldiers and they all began to hack at the chains with as much force as they could muster. But the chains were thick and would take time to break at this rate, they stopped momentarily to catch their breath. Anna growled in frustration, she could hear the screaming of people inside, pounding against the door. She pressed herself to the door, "Hold on! We'll get you out of there...I hope."

She wedged her sword between the chains and the door to try and snap them but to no avail. Using all her strength beads of sweat began to show on her forehead and tears formed in her eyes as she considered the unthinkable. She would not relent and bared down again with all her strength but the chains would not give, she was losing hope...

From behind her she heard a familiar voice, "Princess Anna!"

She turned to see the captain running towards her, "Baldrek! She screamed, "We can't get inside..."

He stopped in front of the door, "Right then." Flipping Traitor's Bane over and swinging down hard on the chains twice, the spike's edge cutting and snapping them. He then swung down on the thick wooden board with two more heavy handed strikes, then a final loud shout as he landed the final blow, cracking the board in two. He and Anna grabbed the handles and threw the doors open, people from inside running through the smoke, coughing and wheezing as they drove fresh air back into their lungs.

As some of the soldiers tended to the people rushing out from the fumes, Anna urgently searched their faces with desperate hope of seeing the man she loved ...then a wide smile spread from her face. Kristoff came stumbling out of the smoke with Olaf in his arms, coughing at first then freezing when he laid eyes on her. Anna's tears came freely now and an almost silent laugh escaped her mouth. Kristoff smiled too, his teeth showing and Olaf's mouth got as large as it possibly could in an enormous grin as he leaped from the ice harvester's arms and ran towards the princess. "Anna!"

Kristoff followed behind Olaf and Anna bolted forward, simultaneously scooping up the snowman and throwing herself into his arms, all three of them laughing out of utter joy and relief as the tall man spun them around once. Once Anna's feet touched the ground again she planted several kisses on Olaf's head and hugging him tightly. "Warm Hugs at last!" he cried out happily.

Anna then grabbed Kristoff's face in both hands and brought him in for a passionate kiss, both of their eyes closed as he returned the advance gladly with his arms around her waist. Olaf giggled and patted both of their heads, "Yeah, kissing that's...that's good too."

Pulling away Anna hugged them both again, "Oh Kristoff, Olaf...I missed you both."

Kristoff chuckled and kissed her neck, "We missed you too...and life outside of that stable house too for sure."

She laughed and punched him lightly, as they separated she looked over his shoulder, concern in her face once again, "Where's Sven?"

Olaf pointed to their left, "He's in the town over there, I know where!"

Anna nodded, setting him down and turning towards the soldiers, "Get these people back to the ships!"

"Yes your grace." most of the warriors escorted the citizens back to the ships while a few stayed behind with her.

Kristoff shook his head and grinned, "When did you become so bossy?"

She grinned back, "Oh don't worry, I've got some for you too when we get back." She then looked around for Baldrek to thank him but he had already left, more than likely to continue commanding the push on the upper levels of the city. She looked back to her ice harvester, "OK, we'll get Elsa and then we're finding Sven."

"What's Elsa been doing?"

"She bought us time to save you."

OoO

Sorvec was relentless in his self-appointed mission, Elsa continued to bat away countless attempts to cleave her head from her body. She parried his left sword downward, he followed with a hard swing at her back with the right sword. Quickly spinning her spear around to her back she blocked the second blade and fired a bolt of ice at his head with her free hand that he again dodged, though his face showed that it had been more than close for comfort. They both spun away from each other then rushed back to clash weapons again. Surely he couldn't keep this up forever, but then neither could she...then she realized what she had to do.

She feinted exhaustion, allowing her attacks and deflects to be slower, making herself appear defenseless. She could see the smile spread on his face, he thought he had her so she let him keep thinking that. He swung down hard on her with one of his swords and she raised Dragon's Flight to block the attack. His second weapon swung at her exposed side, the hook shaped teeth on the top edge of the blade aimed to rip and tear at her flesh but she anticipated this move and shifted her body so it would strike her armor rather than the space in between. The hooks caught against the edge and worked against him as he retracted, allowing just enough time for her to grab his arm with her free hand. Unable to pull away he realized her strength was greater than his and a brief moment passed where a small smile spread across Elsa's face and, in turn, a look of dread across Sorvec's...she had him.

Her spear retracted to the length of a dagger, causing his other sword that had been locked with her weapon to fall through. Her smile shifted to snarl as she drew back and, with a wrathful shout, slashed across the right side of his face with the shortened weapon. As her icy blade struck his skin, frost exploded from the impact point engulfing his right eye, destroying it. He howled in agony, losing his grip as he fell back, leaving him with a sword in his left hand while the other covered his wounded eye. While the enemy scrambled to his feet Elsa took his abandoned sword in her other hand, wielding it along with Dragon's Flight.

Roaring in rage and pain he charged with a desperate downward swing on her head, she raised both weapons to block the reckless attack then drawing back her sword and striking his hard, nearly knocking it from his grasp. She followed by spinning and thrusting at his gut with her spear, he barely avoided as he stumbled back towards the wall of the stable house. She swung at his head with her spear and he blocked the attack but not her second with the sword, slicing across his shoulder and striking his sword away. She finally hit him with a blast of her magic to his chest, making him fly back into the side of the building, suspended in the air slightly as the ice held him in place against the surface.

Elsa held the edge of her sword up to his throat, she breathed heavily, the high from her adrenaline wearing off. Retracting Dragon's Flight and sheathing it she then extended her other hand and used her power to suffocate the fire on the building. Looking back to her captive who hissed in pain and held a hand over his missing eye, she pressed the sword edge a little closer, "When I free you: you will call off your men and be treated fairly as a prisoner of war...but your ultimate fate will be decided after we win this war."

His silence held as she waited for his surrender, instead he simply cackled like he had heard the funniest joke in the world. He looked up at her with his remaining eye and smiled, "Win? You stupid girl...you lost the moment you set foot on these shores."

At that moment she couldn't fathom what he meant, but then she heard it: a sound like shifting, rumbling metal from high in the cities upper levels. She withdrew the sword, walking away from Sorvec backing away to gaze upwards at the city, towards the direction he had come from. The misty haze surrounding the second level of the Pike began to thin out, as it did Elsa's eyes slowly widened, her mouth held agape, a sharp, petrified gasp escaping her mouth.

She saw hundreds-no, thousands of naga warriors standing in formation on the second level of the city...more than her army could ever hope to match. Behind them were several large cannons, these were at least ten times the size of the ones that they had seen before. Giant artillery pieces that aimed skyward, their tyranite cores growing brighter and brighter until the massive bolt discharged, flying into the air and falling back down onto the city's lowest level. As the blasts fell to earth the hoard of naga roared a monstrous war cry and they charged down to the lower level in a singular rippling mass of metal, fangs and blades.

Elsa dropped the sword, unsheathing Dragon's Flight and running past her captive towards the front of the stable house as Sorvec's crazed laughing rang in her ears. She could feel the earth rumble nearby as the tyranite bolts slammed into the earth...on top of her forces more than likely, Arendellians could be dying right now.

Racing around the corner she came upon Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and few of her men. Anna's face held concern and confusion, "Elsa-"

"Get Back to the ship, NOW!" She screamed.

"Elsa what's-"

"I'll join you when I can, now go!" She said pointing her finger.

Anna knew better than to argue with her further, scooping up Olaf and running towards the ships. Kristoff stayed behind a moment, a pleading look in his eyes, "But Elsa, Sven's still-"

"We'll find him if we can but if we stay here we all die, now get to the ship!" she shouted, shoving him in the back. He nodded hesitantly and followed with Anna.

Elsa then turned to one of the nearby soldiers who carried a horn, "Sound a full retreat!" she ordered.

He complied and began to blow the horn three times, long and hard. As he did she pushed forward to help defend the front line and lessen the damage done by the naga to cover her armies retreat back to the fleet. She pushed herself harder than she ever had, there was no hope of victory...but she could save as many of her people as she could.

OoO

Aldren and Krar had continued to lead their troops up the south side of the city, pushing back the Naga Ai forces and freeing any Arendellian prisoners along the way. Mane had stayed close to Aldren while also staying out of the way of harm, but so far they had not found lady Sol. Just as the young lord Starlon was beginning to lose hope, Aldren cut open another set of chains holding the double doors of a barn closed. He and Krar pulled open the doors and just as it had been with the others: Arendellian soldiers rushed inside to get the prisoners on their feet and escort them back to the ship.

Then from out of the smoke, a young woman of fair skin, light brown hair and sky blue eyes came out of the dust. She wore a rustic set of dented, traditional Arendellian armor from the days of their fathers and over her shoulder was a wounded man that she handed off to a Arendellian soldier. Her attention was focused solely on the wellbeing of the people around her until she came face to face with her brother. A wide smile spread across her and Mane's faces, she didn't hesitate, rushing him and gripping him in a tight hug and lifting him off his feet as she was a great deal taller than he was.

She then released him, frowning and punching him in the gut, making him double over slightly, "You shouldn't be here!" she scolded.

Recovering, he had an apologetic look on his face, "I know, I'm-"

"They could have captured you or worse killed you! I-...I'd never forgive myself if I-"

He silenced her with a gentle hand on her face, "I'd...I'd never forgive myself if I hadn't done this Sol."

She smiled again, just happy to see him again finally. Mane eyes widened as he cleared his throat, "But I can't take all or...really any credit. Lord Embercrow is the one to thank." he said turning to Aldren.

Sol's own eyes widened when she turned and saw for a brief moment her uncle Aldric Embercrow. She walked up to him, hesitant to speak, "Aldren...is it really you?"

He smiled, nodding, "It is, cousin."

She laughed happily and threw herself on him, her arms wrapping around his neck. He laughed too, hugging her back with one arm while careful not to catch her on fire with his heated blade. "It is good to see you Sol."

She pulled away and shook her head, "I never thought I'd see you two on a battlefield together." she said looking between him and Mane who shrugged sheepishly.

"The past month has been filled with surprises, my lady."

Krar cleared his throat, "War now, hug later." he suggested with raised eyebrows.

Aldren nodded, turning to his men nearby, "Get lord and lady Starlon back to the ships with the others."

Sol looked more ready to stay and fight, Aldren might have taken her up on that offer under different circumstances. "Not this time Sol." he said, shaking his head.

She sighed, "Fine." she turned to a nearby soldier and snatched their sword from their scabbard, "I'll need one of these, thank you."

"Now go, I'll see you again when we've won."

Both of his cousins nodded and went with a small escort back to the fleet. Aldren turned back to his lieutenant, "Well, we have a battle to win so let's-"

They were interrupted by a massive tyranite bolt that flew overhead and landed in the distance behind them, then their ears were offended by the sound of an Arendellian horn than sounded three times.

"A Retreat!" Krar exclaimed, almost angrily.

Aldren's mind and heart raced but he knew what had to be done, he turned to a soldier with a horn, "Sound the retreat."

Before the horn caller could put it to his lips, Krar ran up and grasped their arm, looking to his lord as he did, with near desperation in his eyes, "But my lord, we're so-"

"It doesn't matter! Her grace wouldn't have ordered a retreat without reason."

Krar frowned, releasing the horn caller's arm who blew his own horn three times to sound for the Arendelle army to fall back.

"We're going to hold this line for as long as we can so our troops can make back!" he commanded to Krar and the two hundred or so soldiers nearby. "The rest of you get back to the shore and help defend the fleet!"

The two hundred gathered behind Aldren and Krar in a shield wall, two shields high with spears pointed forward, with archers behind them while the rest fell back to the shore. Lord Embercrow and his lieutenant took ready position ahead of their checkpoint to engage any enemy that were more than likely headed their way.

"Aldren!"

However, it didn't last long when a familiar voice drew his attention away, Anna ran towards their wall with Olaf in her arms and Kristoff running alongside her. He met them as they approached, "Your grace, we need to get you to safety."

"Aldren wait, listen!" she pleaded.

Kristoff then spoke, "Sven's still in the city somewhere!"

"I know where he is, I can show you!" The snowman chimed in.

Aldren's brow furrowed as he considered this, but he could see the pleading in all of their eyes, Sven was their friend and that is all that mattered. He turned to Krar, "Lieutenant, pull back once you have as many of our men thru as possible or pressure from the enemy is too much. Then help with the evacuation...use your best judgment." Krar nodded, Aldren then spoke to the crowd of soldiers, "Ten men, with me. Ax!"

One of the soldiers tossed him a two handed ax which he held out to Kristoff, "You know how to use one of these?"

Kristoff took the weapon, "Ice, naga...same thing right." he said with a slight grin.

"I assure you that the latter will try much harder to kill you." he warned. Then turning to Olaf who Anna sat down on the ground, "Lead us to him little one."

Olaf saluted, "Yes sir! Follow me."

The snowman took off in the direction leading further towards the south side of the city, the others followed around him in a protective circle. Aldren knew there was great risk in what they were doing, but no one was going to be left behind if he could help it."

OoO

At the northern flank of the city captain Baldrek had received the order to retreat and were in the process of pulling back their forces and all the freed Arendellians back to the fleet to evacuate. While Baldrek focused his efforts on directing the crowd, Barec frantically searched the crowd for any sign of Derad, scanning the faces, asking people if they had seen them. Baldrek watched his friend with caution, eventually a look of bold determination spread on the young man's face and he began to walk the opposite direction of the oncoming traffic.

Baldrek had anticipated this and ran to him, grasping his shoulder, "Barec, don't be a fool! There's nothing you can do now!"

Barec shrugged him off, "I'm not leaving without my brother!"

As Barec turned and prepared to make a mad dash, Baldrek whispered, "Neither am I..."

Barec's dash was halted when Baldrek's giant arm wrapped around his neck, "I'm sorry." he said before slamming his fist down hard on the smaller man's head, knocking him out. He stopped two soldiers, "Get the sergeant back to the ship, he's hurt."

The soldiers complied and carried an unconscious Barec back to the shore with the rest of the evacuees. Baldrek grasped the handle of Traitor's Bane and lifted it into his hands, turning back to stand with his men to hold off the advancing naga for as long as they could. His grip on the hammer tightened at the wretched sound of metal steps approaching from the haze, rank upon rank of Naga Ai minions that would soon set upon them...

OoO

Aldren, Anna, Kristoff and the small contingent of footmen followed Olaf through the alleys of the city as fast as they could, before the area would be swarmed by naga. Eventually they came upon the reindeer, still tied up against the side of a building, though on the upside; his antlers had started to grow back to their original height. Kristoff was first to run to the reindeer with Anna and Olaf following close behind.

"Sven! Buddy, are you OK?" Kristoff said, holding the animal's head in his hands.

The reindeer groaned back groggily, but was overjoyed to see his best friend. Olaf held his head high and winked to both of them, "Told you they'd come." Kristoff smirked at the snowman while Sven's ears flicked happily.

Aldren walked over, "Stand back please." the others complied, and with two precise swings Aldren cut the ropes holding Sven in place. "Get him on his feet, we need to move."

Kristoff and a soldier helped the reindeer up and aiding his stride as best they could. They started towards the checkpoint back the way they came, but they were stopped when a crackling bolt of tyranite slammed into the alley way, destroying the two buildings and blocking their way. Soon after other artillery shots could be seen and heard impacting the ground nearby.

"Move!" Aldren shouted, everyone followed him down an alternate path to the fleet. They needed to get out of the area, after the naga stopped shelling the city, foot soldiers would undoubtedly follow close behind.

As they neared their destination they stopped and beheld the destruction taking place around them: tyranite blasts raining down on the city from every angle, everything they had accomplished over the past month was being dismantled around them faster than they could have ever imagined.

Anna breathed shakily at the deadly light show, "How do we come back from this?"

"You don't."

Everyone whipped around behind them to the source of the deep, intimidating voice: a monstrous naga warrior in dark metal armor walking towards them from several meters away, at his back were several hundred naga troops that followed him close behind. Gripped in his giant, armored hand was a war mace that looked too large for an average sized being to carry without the use of both hands. The metal around the head of the weapon was molded in the visage of three viper faces, protruding from each open maw was a single tyranite spike that glowed faintly.

But the most striking feature was the piece of metal that had been scorched away from the left corner of his jaw...General Tarn. The naga general's gargantuan steps thumped against the earth as he whipped the mace, the tyranite spikes becoming slightly longer and crackling with energy, glowing brighter, "Your journey ends...here."

Anna didn't hesitate and quickly loosed an arrow at the giant's head, but as expected it simply shattered against cold metal. Anna's face dropped but she readied another arrow all the same, Aldren's eyes began to smolder, Kristoff gripped his ax in both hands while Sven lowered his head and scraped his hooves, both of them glaring at their cruel warden for the past month. Olaf had a fearful look on his face as he hid behind Anna's leg, recognizing a very, not so nice person.

Aldren grimaced and stepped forward, holding his sword in both hands, pointed forward as he glared down the length of his blade at his enemy. Anna could see the rage in Aldren that nearly drove her to fight the naga commander at the stable without any real plan, she also knew that was exactly what General Tarn wanted. But how could she hope to stop him?

Her prayers were suddenly answered when Trolgon's roar drew everyone's attention to the sky, the dragon descended and let loose a blast of frost between them and the naga general that left a fifteen foot wall of ice. Trolgon continued to let loose the freezing blast on his current path, likely instructed so by Elsa. Anna breathed a sigh of relief but could see Aldren was still coming down from his surge of anger as he breathed heavily. She put a hand on his shoulder, "Aldren, we have to go."

He exhaled, slightly shaky, nodding to her, "Alright...let's move."

"Was that a dragon!?" Kristoff exclaimed.

Anna rolled her eyes and grabbed his collar, "He's on our side! I'll tell you about it later, come on!"

The group turned heal and continued to the shore, though behind them they could hear the sound of General Tarn's mace pounding against the wall of ice.

Finally, the shore came into view, below they could see their entire army holding the line against the Naga Ai, the wall that Trolgon created had divided the enemy forces so that, at present, they held and outnumbered the naga on their side of the divide. Elsa could be seen at the head, her use of her powers in combat made her easy to pick out from the crowd. Archers and scorpions from the ships supported the army on the ground while row boats ferried the wounded and evacuees to them.

Aldren led them close to the fighting, launching a controlled blast of flame that left the naga their disorganized so that the Arendelle soldiers in the area could swarm them. The chaos worked in their favor, the ten formed a circle around the princess, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf with Aldren at the front, fighting through the few enemies that tried to stop them until they made it behind friendly lines.

Aldren looked to Anna, "Get to the ship, I'm going to help with the defense."

"What about Elsa?"

"I'm going to get her now, send her your way."

"But what about you-"

He put his hand on her shoulder, his voice softening, "I'll be right behind you. Now go."

Hesitantly she nodded, leaving with the others and made her way back towards the ice bridge that led to their ship. As soon as they were on their way, Aldren bolted north towards the head of the army. He found Elsa holding her own, easily dispatching any foes that got close and using her powers to rip through the charging naga within her view. She looked to him "Aldren."

"Your grace." he smiled.

The two elementals stood side by side, deflecting tyranite shards, cutting down enemies as they spoke to each other. "Where is Anna?"

"She's heading back to the ship with Kristoff, Sven and Olaf as we speak."

Elsa felt relief inside at this news, something had finally gone right.

"Krar?" Aldren asked.

"I sent him to help Baldrek at our north flank but I haven't seen Barec since the battle began." Elsa's concern was clear in her voice.

"They'll do their job, it's up to us to do ours. We outnumber them for now but we need to start getting our army back to the ships before they break thru that wall."

"Agreed, you and I will have to hold the line at the front while that happens."

"I will hold the front; you need to get back to the ship."

Elsa glanced at him, irked that he would suggest that, "I'm not going to abandon my army and hide on a ship! And I won't leave you here without help!"

The two thrust their arms out together in a combined blast of fire and ice that laid waste to every naga ahead of them. Aldren turned to Elsa, looking her in the eye, "You won't be! Your power has greater range than mine, you'll have a better vantage point from the ship and cover us from there."

She looked away, her stubbornness on this matter shown thru. He grasped her hand, "Elsa, please." She looked back into his eyes, her face softening as he continued, "Go and be safe...for me."

She gripped his hand tighter "You better come back."

He smiled, "You have my word. I'll see you back on the ship."

Slowly her hand left his as she stepped back, her beautiful blue eyes still locked with his until she reluctantly turned away and made her way towards her ship. Aldren's smile vanished as she left his sight... he hoped that he could keep the promise he had made. He drowned out the emotions and turned back to the battle, looking ahead to the barrier of ice he could see cracks in the wall as tyranite blasts battered against it. He held his sword in both hands and prepared for the flood gates to burst...

OoO

Anna ran hard at the head of her group to the boat that she and Elsa had arrived on, she smiled when she saw that the ramp leading up to the ship was near, "We're almost there!" she called to the rest of them.

Just as they were about to reach the ramp an orb of black smoke landed on the ground just ahead of them. Anna halted them and gritted her teeth at the sight of who walked out from the smoke: Venereth. The witch knight whipped her sword outward, Anna shot an arrow in her direction that she rolled underneath and swung at Anna's bow, cutting it in half.

Before any of the others could help, Venereth sent forth a wave of force that knocked them all to the ground. Only Anna was left standing, she looked back to the others who laid against the ground in pain, other than Olaf whose parts ran around trying to reassemble. Turning back, she screamed in fury and clashed blades with the witch knight.

Anna was a skilled fighter but in experience she paled in comparison to the Naga Ai knight. The princess dropped and spun, swinging at her opponent's leg, she blocked, she spun back around to block Venereth's heavy downward strike. The blow nearly made Anna lose her sword, in response she thrust at her gut, Venereth caught her sword against hers and pressed back in her direction. The edges of their blades scraped against each other, Anna straining to hold her attacker back who hissed and continued to bare down harder.

The princess's own blade and her enemy's got closer and closer and closer to her own neck, just as they started to cut into the surface of her skin, a voice interrupted, "NO! Don't hurt her!"

They both looked to Kristoff who held a hand outstretched, a desperate, pleading look on his face. Anna had no idea why Venereth would have even paid attention to Kristoff but it was an opportunity she wouldn't miss. She drove her knee hard into Venereth's side hard, then drawing back punching her across the helm as she doubled over, knocking her back. Anna held her sword at ready position again as the witch knight shook her head and growled.

Before either could engage again a bolt of blue hit Venereth and threw her to the side, the witch rolled against the gravel onto one knee. Anna turned and smiled at the sight of Elsa who was not smiling as she ran towards the witch knight with violent intent. Before Elsa could strike a killing blow, Venereth took to the sky and escaped.

Elsa looked to see Kristoff, Sven, Olaf and the ten recover and stand, then to Anna, running up to her and putting a hand on her shoulder, "Anna, are you alright?"

Anna held a hand to the small cut on her neck, "Yeah, I'm alright sis."

Elsa then turned to the sound of a tiny snowman who was overjoyed to see her, "Elsa! I knew you'd come."

She laughed and knelt down, hugging her snowman, "Olaf." Then standing and hugging her sister's man and petting Sven's head "Kristoff, Sven. It's good see you all again. But we need to get to the ship, now."

They all snapped to attention at the sound of the center of the ice wall exploding outward with crackling tyranite energy. "What about Aldren?" Anna asked.

Elsa turned back to her, "He's holding the line while everyone loads on the ships, he'll be right behind us."

Anna didn't seem convinced but nodded and started up the ramp with everyone else, Elsa watched as they all stepped onto the ice before looking back in the direction she had left Aldren, "Please...please be right behind us." she whispered to herself, before following the others.

OoO

Baldrek and Krar led the defense for the right flank, fighting alongside the army while they evacuated more men back to the ships, their forces thinned out and they were pushed further back to the water's edge, while the naga kept coming at an albeit slow but steady rate. Baldrek wielded Traitor's Bane in one hand and his ice harvesters ax in the other, his spirit could never be dampened but the prolonged battle was beginning to wear on him. He panted and shouted heavily, it was getting harder to breathe but he forced himself to keep fighting.

He kicked a naga trooper's chest hard, sending them sailing back before he blocked a sword from an enemy with his ax, swinging his hammer into their leg then kneeing them in the face as they fell to one knee. Two more attacked him from the left, he swung his ax hard, killing one and knocking the weapon away from the other, then crushing them with the hammer. A naga brute swung down on him with a greatsword, he raised both his weapon to block the attack then head butted them before batting them away with both weapons.

But as he was reeling from the previous foe, another brute blindsided him, roaring and ramming the shaft of their battle ax into his chest. He fell back into the water, losing hold of both his weapons, the back of his helm protected him from the ground which might have knocked him out otherwise. He struggled to refocus his vision and could only just see the outline of the brute as they stood over him with their weapon raised to cut into his chest.

Before the naga could end his life, lieutenant Krar charged the brute from the side, pushing his sword through their side until they fell dead. Another attempted to finish the others work but the veteran turned and brought his sword down on their shoulder, then slammed his shield into their head three times before they fell limp.

Krar turned to Baldrek who was still on the ground, he sheathed his sword, smiling and held his hand out to him, "I've got you captain." Baldrek smiled back and reached up to take his hand.

Two loud thunks, followed by a sharp, pained inhale from Krar made Baldrek's hand recoil. His mouth was agape as he looked down to his friend's side to see two tyranite shards protruding from armor. Krar wheezed painfully and fell to his knees, Baldrek rose quickly as possible to catch the old man as he fell back, "NO!"

Krar writhed weakly in pain, his teeth clenched and his eyes closed. Baldrek swallowed hard, looking around for the source of the shot, the shooter made no attempt to hide themselves, several meters behind the enemy lines: a naga commander holding a rifle with a vengeful sneer on his face, two swords at his sides...and a missing eye. Baldrek shook with anger, he wanted to take his hammer and knock the shooter's head from his shoulders. But Krar was still alive and there was a chance to keep him that way, standing he used the last of his strength to lift his wounded comrade onto his shoulder and picked up Traitor's Bane in the other. Not letting anything stand in his way, he bolted for the nearest ramp to get his friend back to a ship for a doctor. The naga commander's elaborate armor, one eye and twin swords set him apart from the others...he would remember that.

On this day, despite the battle being lost, the sons of Arendelle would defend their own, no one, wounded or dead would be left behind. Every northern man would find their way back to the ships, not to be looted, taken as trophies or have their corpse desecrated in any way.

OoO

Aldren continued to be a shield against the enemy forces, sending forth torrents of flame while striking down the occasional naga with his sword. The enemy had broken through Trolgon's ice wall and were starting to pour through the gaps in the city wall. Elsa helped by creating jagged ripples of ice that ebbed back and forth, ripping through the naga lines, staggering their numbers and keeping them from overwhelming her army as they pulled back to the fleet.

Aldren looked to the sky, Trolgon persisted to spew ice atop the enemies that charged through the city towards the shore. But now the Naga Ai wished to remove the dragon from the field altogether, their canons and heavier weaponry turned skyward and fired on him. Trolgon screeched and chattered in fear and anger as many of the tyranite bolts flew closer to his wings that he would've liked, the ice dragon was forced to fly higher to escape the range of the artillery, the skies were no longer safe for him.

"Go now, you've done enough." Aldren whispered as he watched Trolgon disappear behind the clouds.

Aldren turned back to the battle and saw something that at first he scarcely could believe, the illustration from King Agnarr's book staring at him from afar. Walking through the middle gap of the city wall and standing a short distance from it with his hands behind his back was the literal head of the snake: The Witch King of the Naga Ai...Amicus. Venereth and two other Witch knight's stood at his side as his dark helm surveyed the battlefield around him.

As the Arendelle Master of War looked upon the face of his homeland's nightmare, the battle around him became a slow motion blur and a dreadful realization set in. If the Witch King possessed a force this large or bigger, even he and Elsa's powers combined could not hope to halt his advance indefinitely. The Naga Ai would raze the kingdom within weeks, and the rest of Althgarr within months.

He looked around him, the army had nearly evacuated entirely, Elsa's efforts had separated them from the naga but there were still enough gaps for someone to slip thru. He looked down at Black Autumn then to the Witch King. There was no hope of victory for Arendelle, no hope of turning the tide of this battle...but he could give his family a fighting chance for tomorrow...

He sighed, gripping his weapon tightly and uttering what he suspected would be his last sorrowful words, "Forgive me..."

OoO

Anna loosed arrows alongside the other archers onto any naga that managed to make it past Elsa's shifting barriers. She glanced to her side to check on Aldren but stopped when she noticed that he wasn't getting in a rowboat, he was just standing there. She leaned on the side of the ship, she saw him tilt his gaze down towards the Witch King, his foot shifting slightly against the gravel.

She didn't even pay heed to the fact she was seeing the Amicus for the first time. Fear spread on her face as she spoke under her breath, "Don't do it...Don't you do it; Aldren I swear if you..."

He bolted through an opening in Elsa's barrier, cutting through any naga in his way in a straight path towards the Witch King.

Anna breathed heavily, her voice growing louder in anguish and terror, "You idiot...You Idiot! ELSA!"

Her sister was drawn away from her barrier, leaving it in a solid form and rushing to the side of the ship next to her sister. Kristoff, Olaf and Sven also ran to see what was going on. Elsa's eyes widened, her heart racing and her breath quickening at what she was seeing, "No..."

OoO

Aldren's feet pounded against the gravel, eyes burning, teeth clenched, his blade poised to cut his enemy's head off. No defense, no escape after he had made the kill, no plans on coming back home. As he drew closer the three witch knights stood ready to defend their king, Venereth made ready to engage him directly but Amicus placed his hand on her shoulder, making her wait.

Just as Aldren was only a few meters from his target a small wall of ice rose in front of him that he nearly ran into. Elsa had stopped him, why had she stopped him!

His face was wrought with confusion, as he turned to look in Elsa's direction he was instead met with Tarn's mace swung at his head. He raised his sword just in time to block but as the tyranite spike connected with his weapon a wave of crackling energy exploded outward that sent him flying towards the water's edge, his body shattering through the wall of ice, landing in the water face first.

OoO

"NO!"

Elsa could never hope to describe the absolute terror and panic she was feeling now, she had created the wall in a split second reaction, to keep Aldren from danger, to keep him from killing himself but instead she may have very well killed him herself. She looked to Aldren as he laid motionless with his face in the water, she and the others desperately searched for a sign of life...she felt a small amount of relief when she saw his arm move to push himself off the ground.

But now she directed her attention to General Tarn who made his way to Aldren, poised to finish the job. She fired several bolts of her magic at the giant's direction, Anna and the archers on their side added to the effort. None of their attacks were working, Elsa's magic and jagged spikes of ice shattered against his armor, even a direct shot with a scorpion bolt merely made him slide off course slightly, nothing would dissuade him from his prey. Elsa steadied her breathing, focusing, she gathered magic into her hands for something to knock the naga general off his feet and away from Aldren.

OoO

Amicus waved his hand and the wall of ice that the elemental queen had erected between him and lord Embercrow disintegrated. He watched as general Tarn went forth to claim his vengeance and remove the pyromancer from the picture. He then noticed queen Elsa's attempts to throw his general off course and save her Master of War. He pointed towards the queen and the two witch knights at his side took to the sky towards her ship.

OoO

Before Elsa could release her power on Tarn she heard the dark whisper of the witch knight's shadow flight. Two of them landed on her deck, she loosed her attack on them instead, the two created a ward of dark magic that her ice shattered against. They then sent a combined wave of force that knocked everyone else to the ground and making Elsa slide back on her feet. Looking back up she drew Dragon's Flight and screamed in rage, lunging forward with her spear to engage the two knights at the same time. She was more than a match for the two of them but then, their aim was not to defeat her but to distract her, to destroy her focus...

OoO

Aldren pushed himself up to his hands and knees, groaning in pain, his hand on his head, trying to remember what exactly had hit him. He was not allowed long to think before something heavy pressed against his back, forcing his head beneath the water.

General Tarn planted his giant foot in the middle of Aldren's back, lord Embercrow struggled in vain against the enormous weight that pinned him. He was in a truly vulnerable position: the water kept him from being able to use his power and threatened to flood his lungs, he couldn't reach behind him and was at Tarn's utter mercy. Of which there was none as the general slowly raised his mace, the tyranite spike aimed at the back of Aldren's helm. He would drown him and destroy his skull...

OoO

Elsa caught both of the witch knight's blades against the length of her spear on either side, she shoved them back then sent of blast of wind that knocked them back into the edge of the ship. She leaped forward to finish them but they both took to the air to return to the Witch King's side.

She looked behind her to see the others recover from the witch knight's initial attack, she returned to the edge of the ship only to see a nightmare: Tarn raising his weapon above his head to end Aldren's life...and there was nothing she could do.

Tears welled in her eyes as a violent scream tore through her throat "ALDREN!"

OoO

General Tarn was about to bring his weapon down on his enemy's head but instead was forced to shield himself from a spray of water as something huge landed in the water ahead of him. Trolgon roared loudly at the naga general before whipping around and batting him away with his tail. Tarn was sent flying back several meters, the impact of his armored form creating a small trench in the ground. He sat up and growled at the creature that stole his prize.

Trolgon's size was very clear now that he was on the ground, he had to be twenty-five feet from nose to tip of his tail. He reared up, flaring his wings and snarling at the other foes in the area before letting loose a stream of ice that froze and blew naga away in droves while any enemies that managed to get close were caught in the dragon's jaws or thrown aside by his massive head.

Trolgon looked down at Aldren who laid motionless in the water, nudging him with his snout and whining pitifully when he didn't move. He hissed at another line of attacking naga and smacked them away with his tail before positioning himself over Aldren and delicately grasping his body and sword in his talons. The ice dragon flapped his wings and took flight, the wind he created throwing several enemies off their feet as he shot a few more spiteful blasts of ice at the naga.

OoO

Elsa watched Trolgon fly into the air with Aldren in his grasp, wiping the tears from her eyes as she breathed several sighs of relief, "Thank you Trolgon...thank you." She then turned to the flagmen, "Signal the fleet, we're leaving!" then to the helmsman, "Get us out of here."

The last of the soldiers had made it back to the ships that now pulled back to leave the shores of Ashla's Pike. The Naga Ai army now broke down her ice barrier entirely and fired on the retreating ships with everything they had. Tyranite rounds pelted the rears of their ships and the artillery bombarded them as they fled, forcing anyone above deck to take cover. Most of the giant projectiles landed in the water while Elsa would fire a bolt of ice at any that looked like they might hit one of their ships, making them explode in the air.

The terrifying onslaught carried on for several minutes until all at once...it stopped. Elsa and the others rose and walked towards the rear of the ship, looking back at the thousands of naga now gathered on the shore. They were just...standing there, looking at them, not even moving, it was hard to say if they were even breathing. They were left only with the sound of their own breathing and the rain softly pattering against their armor.

She looked to the sky at the sound of large wings flapping. Trolgon descended from the clouds and hovered above the deck, setting Aldren down before taking back to the sky. Elsa immediately rushed to his side as his body and sword clattered against the deck, throwing off his helm as he sat up on his hand and knees, coughing violently and vomiting up water.

She stretched one arm across his chest, slowly helping him to his feet, "Aldren are you-"

He spoke quickly, in between coughs, "I'm fine...I'm OK-I'm...I'm alright."

They looked at each other briefly before Elsa seized him in a tight embrace, her eyes closed, fingers in one hand tangled in his hair while the other arm wrapped around his waist. Olaf waddled up and joined in the warm hugs, Sven who was very tired laid against the deck. Kristoff smiled and put his arm around Anna's shoulders who did not move from where she stood, her arms folded and her face somewhere between concern and anger, though she did grasp her man's hand for comfort.

Aldren breathed heavily, leaning his head against her shoulder and returning the hug. They leaned back arms still connected and both gave a small smile, Elsa's hand reaching up to his face. Aldren smiled back at her and down at Olaf before they then looked back to the Pike, in the distance they could see the middle of the swarm of naga shifting.

The enemy ranks parted and Amicus walked to the front of the mass standing just ahead of the water's edge, flanked by his general and Venereth. His cape billowed slightly in the the noiseless wind...his baleful presence was powerful even at that distance. The Witch King's black helm focused solely on them and nowhere else, and they looked right back at their true enemy, finally revealed. Whether he came to mock them or to simply survey they could not say. Whatever his reason for not pursuing them, they were not ungrateful for the reprieve after everything that had happened. They had been baited into a trap of their own making, the war for Arendelle was over...and they had lost...

OoO

Amicus watched the Arendelle fleet until they slowly faded into the mist above the sea, the war for Arendelle was over...the real war was just beginning. He turned and walked back to the city with Tarn and Venereth following, clasping his hands behind his back and spoke only two words, "Tomorrow then..."

Oh my goodness...that didn't go at all like it was supposed to, now did it?

Guess you guys will have to find out what happens in the next chapter, I should have it out fairly soon as it won't be nearly as long as this one.

I'll see you all next time, Ciao! :)