Chapter -129: Battleground of Warring Climates
Over the course of the next couple of months Sarajin decided to take a break from exploring new places and work on learning what he could from the places he had gone to.
Prioritizing learning how to read and write from Justek, Mos and Lostrom, Sarajin was eventually able to start writing letters to Temporis.
Of course getting them to her was harder, but Nimus had a ton of confidence that he'd be able to pass them on to her.
She got a few biting remarks about his sloppy handwriting but the praise showered on him for trying to keep in contact motivated Sarajin to keep working to better his craft.
She even snuck out some books from Sancturia for him to read. Her and Justek didn't talk to each other much during this time, but they didn't seem to be angry at each other anymore.
The trio went to the other Tribes and Sarajin paid closer attention to how the people used their powers. He was getting better at controlling Nature, which allowed him to grow tiny plants now, while with Water he was able to make it dance around with ease...
Even though the journey to Obscura gave him some bad memories, he couldn't forget how selfless Ophelia had been in teaching him how to control water.
There had been no signs of her after that day, but it's not like he dared to stay out at night anymore. On that, he could agree with his dad on.
And speaking of his parents, his mom was back to her normal self after a couple of days of rest, and didn't have any incidents afterwards.
Now he felt more comfortable telling her about his plans on the surface, while this same persistence continued to distance him from his father, who was spending more and more time out of the house by himself.
When Sarajin told his mom about his prior plans to go to Cryofloe, she started working on something that would help him out. She wanted to do what only she could to help him follow his dreams, and put all her love into every stitch of a fine wool sweater to keep him warm whenever he finally decided to go there.
She even made one for Justek, based on Sarajin's recommendations.
And finally, by the time both sweaters were done, Sarajin felt he was ready to go to Cryofloe.
The books he had picked up were more history and story oriented and didn't really describe ways of harboring peace.
But he felt more confident, more sure of himself. And as long as he combined this with a tempered attitude he felt he might be able to get through to even the most stubborn of hearts.
Sarajin met up with Justek at his home and gave him the sweater. Justek groaned at the fluffy animal pattern but put it on anyway.
Sarajin had sent a letter to Temporis the prior day telling her to meet up with them outside the village.
So now all that was left was to march to the frozen lands south of Justek's home. It was a distance comparable to going from there to Tanglefae, but with a more noticeable change in climate.
The air started to feel damper around them, which didn't help with the clothes they had on. Sarajin started breathing slow, deep breaths and had to switch to his Water Conduit Form, spraying water into his mouth from his hand.
He then held his hand out towards Justek, who brushed his own up before his chest and remarked in a somewhat grossed out tone, "No thanks..."
Sarajin then wiped the sweat off his brow and murmured, "Is it supposed to be this warm out?"
"Oh, you didn't read that far into the Cryofloe journal?" Justek remarked with a hint of surprise, "Cryofloe and Canofloe are direct neighbors."
Sarajin crossed his arms and proclaimed, "Oh right, I forgot. I-I just thought Cryofloe would be closer."
"Let's swerve a little to the left then." Justek suggested.
As they moved away from the heat Sarajin wondered, "You're holding up just fine."
"Dragons do enjoy the heat," Justek tugged at the collar and there was a little bit of sweat under his clothes, "Though only to a point..."
A few steps further and the two were able to catch their first glimpse of the Tribes of Fire and Ice. Sticking up towards the sky a cone shaped mass of black and brown stone with magma flowing down the sides, and a smoke filled ring of lava rock floating around the peak.
A little beyond that was a snow covered white and light-blue mountain with a ring of ice crystal near the top. They were divided by a fusing river of melting ice and molten magma, neither winning over the other, and eventually splitting off around the bases of their respective mountains.
There was a lot of land in front of the two mountains with skeletons and discarded armor lying around. Otherwise, it was barren.
"...Is that the Rot Walkers doing?" Sarajin whispered, unsure of himself.
"Unlikely," Justek remarked, "The only skeletons they leave in their wake are the ones who join their numbers."
"Hrrrmmm..." Sarajin had only taken a peek at the books on Cryofloe and Canofloe because he wanted to experience the village with a fresh perspective. All he knew was that the temperature on both sides could be hostile, and they were home to some of the most dangerous beasts on the planet.
And that could be why there were bones on the ground...But something in his gut was telling him otherwise. The vibe that area gave off reminded him a little of Ophelia.
They continued walking past this near-barren land and towards the crystallized fog of Cryofloe's main village, the shadows of what might be houses peeking through.
But the two stopped to take a break atop a rounded rock and get some water in their system. Sarajin then took a look around while remarking, "Do you see her?"
"She's not hard to miss." Justek jokes.
"True," Sarajin laughed back, "But it's not like her to be late..."
"Hmmm," Justek nudged his glasses up and then turned around, "It's entirely possible she got impatient and went on ahead of us."
Sarajin looked back and was hesitant to say, "I guess? Do you want to sit around for a bit and see if she shows up?"
"That's up to you, Sarajin," Justek stood and began walking towards the village, "I'd rather not risk the possibility that she caused trouble before we got here."
"Justek..." Sarajin sighed and with a childish smile stood and walked up beside him, "Alright, I'll help you look for her then."
"Thank you." Justek gave an appreciative nod and then the two pushed on ahead towards the icy fog.
The sheer drop in temperature hit them like a boulder, mostly in the face. The two started seeing their own breath and the only reason they weren't collapsing was because of the motherly warmth stitched into their sweaters.
Their bodies would adjust over time but for now, they were shivering their way through the outskirts of Cryofloe.
The houses, once clad in shadow, now revealed themselves as igloos, huts built entirely out of cubes of ice and packed snow. There was a warm blue light coming from inside each igloo but no windows to speak of. And the small tunnels leading inside were tall enough for a full-grown adult to walk through.
The people's clothing could be described as minimalist, as their shirts were paper thin and could fall off from a light breeze. A lot of them chose to wear shorts, even the women, though theirs were more lacey and revealing.
Black and aquamarine were pretty prominent colors, with the occasional white and yellow mixed in.
There were men who marched around with metallic shoulder plates and heavy armored leggings, with a cape made of white fur hung over their shoulders.
And this design didn't stop with the adults either.
As the two marched further into Cryofloe, a symphony of "HUAAH!"s had them looking towards a fenced in zone. A bunch of armor-wearing boys ranging from their age to half their age were hard at work, thrusting lances tipped with permafrost into red armor hung up by black wood poles, the penetration making a truly visceral sound.
Sarajin paused and kept watching them stab the lances into the armor, with a taller man shouting "AGAIN!" when every attack connected.
Sarajin's hair got blown in his face by a cold breeze and he swept it back, rubbing his head as he wondered, "Are they...training?"
"Looks to be the case." Justek's answer left him a little concerned.
Sarajin closed his eyes partway and pouted, letting out some of his discomfort with a groan.
Justek said "For some people..." only to pause when the children stabbed their spears into the wood above the chest plate.
Sarajin grabbed hold of his neck like he was experiencing this in the moment.
The man watching off the children clapped his leather gloved hands and shouted, "Remarkable work! That's it for today's lesson. Tomorrow..."
He trailed off and Justek and Sarajin wandered away from the scene, Sarajin continuing to rub his neck until Justek remarked, "For some people, war doesn't end at peace."
Four by four, soldiers with helmets made of light-colored solid ice marched past them. Sarajin walked backwards to watch them. They had lances frozen into the back of their armor, swords at their hips, or hammers in their hands.
When Sarajin kept walking forward he asked, "Doesn't it feel like these people are preparing to fight...now though?"
"Not preparing." Justek pointed to the north, where a regiment of thickly armored soldiers could be seen riding atop monstrous, white-furred beasts,
Their claws were black and emitted a cold air and had fangs as shards as hard and sharp as swords. There were harnesses on their necks and with a tug from their rider, their fur hardened into icy plates and they began to ride off.
Their combined stampede moved the ground like a single Argent Heaver could. Leading the pack was a man with riveted ice armor and pants made of dirtied white fur, which dipped into his leather boots. He had foot length shoulder plates and thigh plates that went down to his knees, wrapping around his legs with a curvature similar to the igloos.
His mustache was curled with stiffened tips, and had big, shiny, icy-blue eyebrows, wearing a leather riding helmet so everyone could see how well he kept himself.
Sarajin and Justek wandered into a crowd of cheering young boys and waving women seeing these riders off, with the man at the front waving back and shouting, "Cheer cheer my adoring crowd! For today, victory over those flaming bastards is assured!"
He tugged on the hoist and his ride stood on its hind legs, blowing the ice crystals aside with a mighty roar.
"Full speed ahead, Shatter Fang!" The man shouted with stunning confidence, leading his men towards the barren lands to the north.
"They ARE prepared." Justek said in a grim tone.
Sarajin and him snuck out of the crowd with Sarajin whispering, "This doesn't make any sense. I thought Ophelia's threat stopped this?"
"..." Justek crossed his arms and after a couple taps of his elbow remarked, "No, your concern is spot on, Sarajin. These are the last folk who should be gearing up for more battles."
Sarajin waved his hands out and said, "I hate to ignore Temporis, but I want to meet the village's leader and find out what's going on."
Justek nodded, "Agreed. Let's keep pressing on."
As they pressed on more soldiers kept passing them by. And others were beginning to roll out larger weaponry, like a large stone and ice barrel pointed diagonally at the air, carried by a set of wheels.
There was a very noticeable lack of women among their numbers, as all of them were staying behind at the igloos or tending to the monstrous ursines in frozen stables.
The igloos themselves were getting taller and wider as they got closer towards the mountain. And a very, very tall and impressive structure was constantly in the distance, taunting them with its size.
The heavy presence of ice had also darkened the skies and made the sun less pronounced, adding to the off-putting atmosphere of this Tribe.
There was no fun or excitement for Sarajin to gaze in awe at this time, and he didn't like that in the slightest.
Eventually they made their way towards the largest building under the assumption it was where a leader would live. The surrounding buildings were more in line with the homes in Obscura and Pulsa Minoria, being square-shaped and looking extravagant.
But when it came to the largest building, their size paled in comparison.
It was a mighty fortress one-hundred feet tall and as wide as a sector in Pulsa Minoria. It housed numerous towers closer to the center and had a tall staircase leading up to a rectangular quarter that was gated off with black ice.
It looked like the fortress had been carved out of a massive iceberg and had plenty of snow glued inside it's cracks and crevices to help it stand out.
Without giving it a second thought Sarajin made a beeline for the stairs only for two long, thin lances to cross over and bar his path.
"Halt!" Shouted two men in unison, each clad in sleek dark blue armor with sharp gauntlets and a fur cape. Their heads were covered by leather hoods and a steel net mesh over their faces, with a dim yellow glow inside to represent eyes.
They didn't say another word and Sarajin peered around their weapons to try and look up into the castle.
"Can I speak with your leader? It's urgent!"
The men remained as still as their element.
Sarajin tried to use their weapons to hoist himself up and get a closer look only for the frost to bite back and make him step away.
He quickly blew air into his palms and rubbed them on his sweater to give them some warmth. The guards then planted their lances upright at their sides and stepped closer together in front of the stairs.
Sarajin sighed and then once Justek was by his side again he remarked, "Well now what are we supposed to do?"
"We could try barging our way through." Justek said half-jokingly.
"That sounds like something Temporis would try..." Sarajin said with a fond smile and chuckle.
Justek nudged his glasses up and with a dull expression muttered, "On second thought, I've been soured on the idea."
Sarajin wrapped his arms against his body and shivered. As they were waiting for an idea to pop into their heads, the two were greeted by a woman's silvery voice.
"You wish to have an audience with father?"
When they looked to their right the person they found couldn't have been more unfitting for that tone of voice.
It was a young girl, probably about Temporis' age. She had fair, pale skin with short, glossy electric blue hair and subdued icy blue eyes. She had a bit of lip gloss on and wore a long aquamarine dress shirt with white, snowflake specks littered over it, and splits in the sides that revealed part of her black laced bloomers.
She wore ice blue bridal gloves and an iron plate on each shoulder, with high-heel boots that went up to her knees, and then continued on up to her thighs with spread apart netting.
But what was noticeable about her appearance was that she also had slight red smears all over her clothes and skin, which made her welcoming and curious smile come across as a little disconcerting.
She was holding a frozen steel knife in one hand and a long rope in the other, tugging what appeared to be a dead, skinned creature frozen in a block of ice.
Sarajin's body shivered in another way as he gestured his hand out and wondered, "A-And you are...?"
"Cecilia Frost," She put her knife into a sheath on her backside and remarked, "And my father is the leader of whom you wish to see."
Her tone of voice really should've been coming out of an adult's mouth, but her politeness kept the atmosphere of the conversation from getting too uncomfortable.
Sarajin approached her with his friendly air and asked, "Is there any chance you can let us enter his fortress?"
Cecilia hauled the rope over her shoulder and began to effortlessly drag the massive creature through the snow, "He's not here at the moment."
"Huh?" Sarajin walked alongside her to keep the conversation going, "Then where is he?"
She put the ice block at the guards' feet and whispered to them, "You know what to do."
The guards bowed and then planted their lances in the ground, hoisting the block up at both ends and carrying it up the stairs.
Cecilia then craned her head back over her shoulder and smiled softly, "If he's not here then he must have marched off towards battle."
"Battle? With who?!"
Cecilia turned around with a graceful twirl and then laid her arms flat at her sides, "You're not very familiar with our customs, are you outsider?"
"Actually, my name is Sarajin Stratos."
"I don't recall asking," Cecilia said, biting his friendly hang with a remark as cold as...ice. And as he stood there in recoil she mentioned, "But if you wish to speak with father then you'll first want to learn a little more about how things work in these lands."
Suddenly a massive explosion went off, with the sounds of rocks grinding together mixed in.
Sarajin flinched and then spun around to look up at the mountains. Both their peaks were now on fire, one icy blue and the other deep red.
And from these flames emerged titanic visages, with one being half of an icy-blue bear with each claw the size of a two-story house and fangs that could eat a whale whole. It had a mane of frost that extended all the way down it's back but a body that seemed see-through, with lots of fog mixed within.
Opposing it was a beast of fire shaped like the upper half of a monkey, it's fur coming off like flames on an oily surface, and spraying out bright yellow flames from the back of it's head. It was also see-through, with black smoke on the inside.
Neither of these titanic creatures had pupils but their emotions were as clear as day. Fierce, aggressive, they stared each other down and barked and shrieked across the land.
Justek stirred with intrigue and awe, "Those must be..."
"The Titans of Ice and Fire!" Sarajin proclaimed.
Cecilia was on the move, skating through the snow with the greatest of ease. Sarajin reached out and tried to stop her with a "Wait!" but she was already deep into the icy fog.
Justek put a hand on his shoulder and remarked, "We should make our way back to the edge of the village. I can hear rallying cries coming from the villagers."
He then brushed his hand off and began to run through the snow with Sarajin following close behind. First he paused to look at the two Titanis, with the bear grazing the monkey's face with it's claws, only for the monkey to spit black hot ash in retaliation.
"Titans fighting each other? How could this be...?" With his mind bothered by the happenings of these Tribes, he ran ahead to catch up with Justek, eventually making it to the edge of the village overlooking the barren lands between ice and fire.
Most of the citizens had evacuated further back with only the likes of himself, Justek and Cecilia daring to get closer.
There had to be hundreds of soldiers lined up at the very edge of the village with the bear riders in the middle, archers behind them, and the man in the leather helmet at the very back with the armed artillery by his sides.
On top of cannons they had large frost tip bows and arrows being rolled out to the frontlines.
Sarajin hastily hopped on top of one of the igloos only to wind up slipping and falling onto his back, sliding down into Justek's hands.
"O-Ok, bad idea I guess..." Sarajin groaned, rubbing his back as he stood up.
"Let's try over there." Justek said, pointing to a more flat surfaced roof nearby.
Before they headed off Sarajin looked at Cecilia, who was staring up at the leather headed man's backside and saying, "Give them hell, father."
He lingered on her for a bit until Justek shouted, "Hurry Sarajin, they're about to begin!"
Sarajin hurried over to the roof and leaped with a burst of wind as his aid. He was just able to find steady footing next to Justek.
Justek crossed his arms and widened his eyes, with Sarajin trying and failing to peek out himself.
"Can you see what they're up against?"
"Not what. Who," Justek said, "Canofloe is mobilizing their own forces."
"What?!" Sarajin shouted in a brief flirt with panic.
"Their soldiers aren't as armored but they appear to have more weapons at their side and horses, which are superior mounts to bears."
"This is crazy! They shouldn't be fighting!" Sarajin was about to rush towards the Cryofloe forces when Justek put his hand up to his chest.
"You can't take on a whole army, Sarajin," Justek sighed and then craned his head back, the two of them looking up at the mountains to see the titanic figures clashing hands, "Unfortunately...I think this matter is out of our hands at the moment."
Sarajin bitterly grit his teeth and forced himself to look straight ahead.
Justek glanced aside and commented quietly, "You don't need to watch if it's too much to handle, Sarajin."
Sarajin shook his head and said, "If I want to talk peace with others...I need to understand what war is like."
Justek silently nodded and then looked back, widening his eyes and commenting in an exasperated tone, "Well...I'll try and follow along as best I can."
Cecilia's father thrust a thick, permafrost covered lance into the sky and shouted, "MEN! For glory, for victory, we ride forth! Leave no flame unsnuffed! Bury them all under an avalanche of might!"
Any who wielded a weapon raised them and roared, as did the men of fire on the other side of the battlefield.
Cecilia's father swung his lance down by his side and hunched down, gripping the reins of his beast with fervor, "For the glory of winter!"
"FOR THE GLORY OF WINTER!"
The arrows fired off from the bows and hit the ground, sliding forward and leaving a sleek icy floor in its wake. With one last roar the frontline skated onto the battlefield while the men of fire went after.
The men of fire seemed to wield katanas that ignited with a twist of their wrist. While the ice soldiers were scattered all over the place, the men of fire started off as groups of three.
They swung their swords at the ground and sent out a large wave of fire that burned the arrows to vapor midway through.
The two armies then met head-on in the middle. The ice army's own swordsmen used their momentum to slide in close and land the first hits, penetrating their armor.
A couple fire soldiers fell from that single stroke, their spewing blood frozen and then melted down to crimson vapor in seconds.
The fire army retaliated with their tighter numbers, as two or three soldiers drew their blades up and slashed them at the ground, creating a maze of fire walls to halt the ice army's momentum.
The fire soldiers were then able to leap through the walls and start attacking the ice soldiers. Though the men of ice had hearts as strong as permafrost their courage buckled under the flames surrounding them.
Sarajin could just barely make out an ice soldier's hand rising out of the flames, only to be burnt down to pure ash along with the rest of his body.
Another soldier was kicked through the flame wall, causing his armor to start melting off, and allowing a wounded and bleeding fire soldier to leap through and impale them through the heart, twisting the blade for good measure.
Sarajin winced but kept looking forward, his heart beating hard.
The cannons started firing off huge chunks of ice that broke up the fire walls and sent some of the fire soldiers flying in all directions.
There the ice soldiers were able to press the advantage, swinging their hands out to rip spikes from the ice and fling them at their enemy.
While some fire soldiers found their footing and sliced the spikes down, others found them ripping through their legs or chest. One unlucky soldier's impalement sent them hurtling into the magma river, where their last seconds of consciousness was spent screaming in agony.
With the cannons continuing to fire the bear riders charged into the fray while the horsemen of fire did the same. The horses were ashen black with hair and hooves of burning red flame, as big if not bigger than the bears.
The riders of flame had chainmail armor covered in plating and helmet with a small tassel on top. They wielded swords that allowed them to carve through ice and men with ease.
The wounds and lives lost were building up on both sides and the poor animals were no exception to the conflict.
The lance wielders speared the ground and caused ice spikes to rise all over the battlefield, a couple managing to impale the horses through the stomach.
But their riders fought on, leaping off the saddle and repaying their old friend's sacrifice by cleaving their killer down the chest.
Only for the satisfaction of vengeance to be for nothing, as a hammer wield clubbed his head clean off his shoulders, sending it to roll and be crushed under the hoof of another horse.
It was just a constant back and forth and neither side seemed superior to the other.
The men of fire attempted to turn the tides in their favor with a new weapon, a trebuchet. Using a hardened lava bowl they had it dip into the magma river and then fling it out onto the battlefield, creating a magma rain that either burned the ice soldiers' armor or "better" yet, their skin.
The ice men briefly retreated past the middle line and the fire men pressed the advantage, returning to three men squads that allowed them to combine their heat into towering pillars of fire.
The ice men had to keep retreating and Cecilia's father could be heard grumbling even by Sarajin.
"Take aim...!" He shouted to the bowman directly in front.
They raised their bows and formed frosty arrows out of thin air.
"FIRE!" And at their leader's command they filled the sky with a rain of arrows.
But this wasn't random. They were all coordinated onto the incoming magma loads, where once enough of them hit, the magma turned to solid rock and crashed down atop the fire soldiers.
Either they died or were gravely wounded, allowing the men of ice to continue pressing on following a rallying cry.
And so the conflict continued. And their Titans were adding to this wartime atmosphere, smashing their limbs together and breaking apart their visages like they were made of glass.
After minutes of bloody battle, Cecilia's father finally stirred. Wiggling his fingers along the grip of his rein he narrowed his eyes and chuckled, "There you are, you stubborn ol' flame..."
Riding out among the middle of the fire soldiers was a horse with scars all over his front legs and a mane of orange fire. Atop him rode a middle-aged man with a metallic general's helmet that had a small candle on top, a full set of garnet red hair hidden underneath.
He had a bushy mustache with curled up points that looked like an ember. By his side, a hilt of gold and red with a sword inside. Though his armor was thinner plated than all the rest of his men, it wore many scars, similar in appearance to the one on his nose.
Cecilia's father sat upright and whipped his rein, "Onward, Savage Fang! Today shall go down in history, as the day we conquered those flaming bastards!"
He charged straight ahead without a second thought. No matter how many fiery blasts or corpses flew in his way he remained on the straight and narrow.
The only time he distracted himself was to hoist a fire soldier up and forward with the side of his lance, and then stab them frozen with the tip. And even then, he didn't move his eyes away from his target.
The two's collision would happen in the dead center of the battlefield in a matter of seconds...
The leader of flame struck out first, drawing his blade of lava rock and impaling it into an ice soldier so he could use their corpse as a projectile to throw his frosted enemy off.
But Cecilia's father guffawed and swerved to the right, causing his mount to do the same.
It didn't matter though as they kept pressing on, both parties leaping off their mounts with weapons drawn to attack.
The bear rammed it's shoulder into the horses' head, while the lance of Cecilia's father met with the broadside of the fire leader's blade.
Waves of heat and cold lashed out across the battlefield like a bubble had burst, the two men gritting their teeth and locking down mid-air until one of their stubbornness gave out.
"Valflame! Still out here pretending you have a chance?!" Cecilia's father shouted.
"Colrez, you stubborn curmudgeon! How many times have we met on this battlefield now?!"
"Too many, my bullheaded nemesis! And it's a cycle I plan to end today!"
The two began to descend with Valflame grunting, "You're welcome to TRY!"
The two's clash broke with a metallic sound echoing out. They landed away from their mounts who were having their own fight.
The bear smashed the side of his head into the horse's head to dizzy him and then tried to leap out and slash it with both claws.
The horse backed away and then engulfed it's legs in flame, attempting to burn through it's shoulder armor with a thunderous crush.
Meanwhile Colrez wiggled his mustache and charged at Valflame, missing with the thrust of his lance.
Valflame ignited his blade with dark red flames and swung down, forcing Colrez to skate away on his own ice. He then swung his lance up to knock one of Valflame's shoulder plates off.
And he had ample time to swing back down, parrying his enemy's second slash.
Valflame hopped back and gripped his sword in both hands. He then pressed on and slashed down, narrowly avoiding Colrez's chest plate.
Colrez then gleefully thrust his lance at Valflame's chest.
But with a quick turn left Valflame swung his sword right back up and disarmed Colrez.
Colrez staggered back and Valflame positioned his sword straight up, swinging it around in a circle to create a ring of fire reminiscent of the surface of the sun.
He then pulled back with the sword's tip pointed at the center, "Solarian Charge!"
"I don't think so old chap!" Colrez proclaimed at the exact same time, catching his lance and smashing it into the ground to summon a massive pillar of ice that connected with Valflame's charge.
The ice melted and dispersed a heavy fog over their surroundings. The only thing anyone could see for the next few seconds were the occasional flashes of steel matching steel until the heat blew it aside.
When the leaders were back in focus they were locked in close combat, matching each other blow for blow with a few measly scratches in their armor to show for it.
Colrez attempted a couple thrusts aimed at his head only for Valflame to dodge and then shave part of the ice off the lance with his bare sword.
Colrez kept pressing on though, being not too subtle with his smirk.
Valflame briefly glanced past his shoulder and then sheathed his sword, weaving away from another of his enemy's thrusts before drawing it again in a 360 degree slash, cutting through the ice wall that he was backing towards.
Colrez grunted and then was put on the run, as Valflame extended his glowing hand out and summoned massive fire pillars from the ground.
Colrez grinned and then held his own glowing hand out, "Oh come now this old childish game?!"
He summoned solid pillars of ice beneath Valflame's feet but he kept hopping away. However, he was losing focus on Colrez's location.
Colrez launched himself into the air with a pillar beneath his feet and then used a flip to build momentum for throwing his lance down at Valflame's head.
Valflame sheathed his blade and then hopped back, slicing Colrez's lance in half before it hit the ground.
Through the dividing weapon he saw Colrez land and grab hold of his cape. He cast it aside and behind it, lay two short swords made of black ice.
"Oh fine..." He grabbed hold of the blades and when he pulled them off, a swathe of frost spread out beneath his feet.
He then turned around and slashed the sword by his hips with a smug smirk, "We'll play it your way this time."
Colrez lunged forward at a quicker speed and Valflame barely got his sword up in time. Colrez rapidly slashed away to chink off pieces of the blade.
Valflame raised his right gauntlet up and there was a bracelet of small cylindrical capsules attached to it. With a flex of his knuckles a barrage of firecrackers hit Colrez in the face.
"Pfft...paaah! Another trick?!" Colrez sputtered in disgust as his eyes were forced shut.
He then blindly tried to defend against Valflame's stab only to have one of his blades dislodged from his hand.
Before Valflame could then cut that hand off, Colrez smiled and the mighty roar of his mount put Valflame on edge.
The bear charged and threw its claws up to throw Valflame to the ground and send him rolling. Before he could keep that up though the horse returned, knocking the bear onto its side with its head.
Colrez was able to wipe the burning feeling off his face and then reclaim his sword, leaping forward to have them both meet Valflame's shoulders.
His body was surrounded in a powerful icy aura while Valflame got on his knees, surrounded by a fiery aura. The two's bodies gave off such intensity that it was spreading across the battlefield.
And then the two clashed weapons, their auras pooling into their weapons to unleash a massive sphere of red and blue light that bowled the rest of their armies over.
Justek, meanwhile, stepped in front of Sarajin to hold off the incoming gale. A few of the boards on the roof flew off but otherwise, they made it out just fine.
And when the light subsided there was a half a mile wide barren circle where the two leaders were clashing in the center, now both back on their feet.
The two hit each other's weapons with an imperceivable flurry of blows but never landed a clean blow.
"Your mustache is hideous!" Colrez shouted.
"Like yours is any cleaner, you filthy manwhore!" Valflame shouted back.
And this battle continued to go on with both armies just standing back and watching. Really, they were in no position to be getting involved anyways...
However after minutes of pointless fighting raged on, the mountains roared, and every spectator watched as the two torn up Titans sank back into their homes.
At that moment there was an empty silence across the battlefield, with Colrez sweating and Valflame's armor in shambles.
Colrez ruffled his mustache with a grumble and put the swords on his back, "Always over too soon..."
He then turned to Valflame and muttered, "So you live another day, you stubborn bushy haired lion."
"Age hasn't slowed either of us yet..." Valflame remarked whilst sheathing his sword, "Next time though, your territory WILL be mine."
"Over my dead body." Colrez smirked, grabbing hold of his mount's reins and hoisting himself up to ride off along with his surviving men.
While the people of Cryofloe celebrated the end of battle, Sarajin only saw a graveyard standing in front of him.
Dozens of bodies laid out to rot with no one to care for them. A land scarred and bloodied and for what?
"How can anyone be happy about this?" He murmured in a melancholic tone.
He then made a sharp turn to the left and saw Colrez slowly making his way through the crowd of cheering villagers.
"Yes yes! Your glorious leader has returned alive once again!" He lightly waved at the people and had his head held high, basking in the moment.
Sarajin narrowed his eyes and then leaped off the roof, vaulting straight for the crowd.
"Colrez! Sir!" He tried to reach out but his voice was just one of many in a terrifyingly overjoyed crowd.
"I want your baby!" Shouted someone.
"And you can have it!" Colrez shouted, snapping his fingers randomly to the crowd, "But later! I already have my scheduled victory celebration ready to go at the fortress!"
"Colrez! Hey!" Sarajin jumped and swung his arms around to try and be a little more proactive in grabbing his attention. But Colrez was already riding off into the icy fog, out of sight and definitely out of hearing range.
And stuck with his dismay, Sarajin watched the crowd break up, with the remainder of the surviving soldiers heading home to their women.
Justek slowly walked up behind him and Sarajin crossed his arms, remarking in a disturbed tone, "I don't like what's going on here, Justek."
Justek waved his hand out and said, "Now do you understand the horrors of war?"
Sarajin shook his head and mumbled, "No, I don't understand it...It's stupid. And terrible."
"But do you honestly think you'll be able to convince that man of that?" Justek said, adjusting his glasses.
Sarajin turned to him and gestured his hands down with a declaration, "I'm going to try!"
"Well you heard him, he'll be returning to his fortress. Maybe we'll have better luck getting in now that he's back."
"...Let's try it!" With a shared nod Sarajin and Justek decided to make their way back to the fortress for a meeting with Colrez Frost...
Next Time: For the Glory of Winter