Scene 19

Sagr

He stood atop a plateau overlooking the battle, Ven'isai beside him. The Arradian reinforcements had been an unexpected surprise. He had thought this Donovan had been bluffing about a new nation, but the 20,000 man army and 300 ship navy were nothing to be ignored. They could still be destroyed, if only taking a bit longer. He held the haft of his hammer gently. Such a fitting weapon. Made to shatter rock, and beat iron. He meant to shatter the world. Ven'isai was getting impatient.

"Are you sure they will come? We do not think so." Sagr looked to her and smiled.

"You will get your turn, my dear. And she will come." He did not intend to let the Queen survive this time. She was too strong, and he had underestimated her before. He would not do so again.

The queen removed herself from the battle, followed by the Arradian. They alighted on the opposite edge of the plateau, facing him. Ven'isai growled in anticipation, but Sagr held out a hand, silencing her. He walked calmly to the center of the circular plateau, and they did the same. The Queen looked at him as if looking at a dangerous animal, wariness in her expression. Sagr regarded the Arradian with distaste, whose expression mirrored his.

Elsa

Sagr spoke first.

"Your Majesty, I am impressed with your daring escape. How ever did you manage to escape that furnace?"

"Enough, Sagr. This is your last chance. Call your army off, and return to from where you came, never to return." Elsa stated, her tone ice. He smiled and spread his arms wide.

"Of course not. I promised my people this rich land, and not even I can stop them now. Even if I wanted to. I was hoping to settle this honorably, but you give me no choice, Elsa of Arendelle." Donovan barked a laugh as Sagr removed his gray gloves.

"Honor? From you? I think not." Sagr lifted his huge war hammer in one hand, and the strange Uru'stai girl settled into a fighting stance.

"Farewell, Elsa of Arendelle, Donovan of Arradia. Prepare yourselves for death." Before he could move, however, Donovan shot forward, and blasted a jet of flame at the Elemental's face. A wall of rock lifted itself out of the earth and the flame impacted harmlessly. Sagr raised his hammer and slammed it into the earth, and columns of earth twisted up around Donovan and hid him from Elsa's view. She started forward to help him, but Ven'isai moved in her way. She smiled, and Skahdi sighed in annoyance.

"I really hate that girl." She commented as Elsa was forced to make a shield of ice to block a jet of water. It began to melt incredibly fast, and Elsa dove out of the way before it swept her off the edge. She spread her wings and sent shards of ice at the girl, but she swept them away with swirling water. It materialized out of the air itself, and an undulating coil flew at Elsa. It wrapped around her leg, and she struggled to free herself.

"We've already done this!" Skahdi exclaimed, and Elsa simply froze it. It shattered, and Ven'isai stumbled. Elsa went on the offensive tossing pure blades of energy at the Uru'stai, making the girl will more water around her. Elsa froze a patch of ground underneath her feet and she slipped. Elsa rushed forward and Ven'isai snapped her fingers. A sphere of water appeared around Elsa's head, taking her completely by surprise. Elsa took a deep breath of water, before freezing it on instinct, and the sudden weight pulled her to the ground. She shattered it, and got up, growling. Ven'isai was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, a huge wave rose above the plateau, with Ven'isai's smiling face at its center. Elsa groaned in annoyance. There just had to be water down there!

"Yeah, I know right?!" Skahdi agreed, and Elsa shushed her as huge swells of liquid surged towards her. She took off, making them follow her into the sky. She wove and ducked, frantically dodging. As soon as she was right above Ven'isai, she froze them into entwining pillars of ice. Ven'isai's smile disappeared. The huge mass of ice fell, and the dark girl barely managed to escape being crushed. Elsa risked a glance at Donovan. He was fighting Sagr hand to hand, his fire blade against his war hammer. They seemed evenly matched, but Elsa forced herself to concentrate on her own battle. The dark girl stood and gathered all her water into one huge wave. She launched it with a primal snarl, and Elsa barely managed to fly over it. She ran nearer to Donovan, and shot a blast of ice at Sagr. Somehow, he sensed it coming and dodged masterfully. He struck the ground and a ripple moved over the earth like a pebble dropped in a pond. When it reached her, the earth lifted itself into the air and fell towards her at a ridiculous speed. She barely managed to move out of the way, and a block of solid rock slammed into the ground where she had just been. Suddenly, Donovan was next to her, casting blasts of blue fire at Sagr, keeping him pinned down.

"How's it going?" He said casually, and she replied

"Pretty good. You?" He lifted his sword and vaporized a boulder flying towards them.

"Not bad. He's really good with that hammer." Elsa raised a wall of ice to deflect another pressured blast.

"Skahdi's having fun!" She cried, helping Elsa send a group of icicles out of the ground. Donovan laughed and they stopped talking and concentrated on fighting.

Donovan was right, Sagr was definitely the more skilled of the duo, but Ven'isai's constant barrage of chaotic attacks made up for it. They spun, ducked and weaved, back-to-back, trails of energy exchanged back and forth. Donovan launched a wall of fire, which Ven'isai blocked, and Sagr sent a spine of rock shooting out of the ground at Elsa, who grabbed it with one hand and shattered it. Donovan and Elsa moved in perfect synchronization, constantly switching opponents, keeping them off balance. In the back of Elsa's mind, she compared it to a snowball fight. Soon the plateaus' flat surface was scarred with scorch marks, puddles, spires of earth, and sheets of ice, but there seemed no clear ending in sight.

Donovan shouted to Elsa, "We can't keep this up for long! We need to defeat them!"

"I know a way to defeat them. Would that help?" Skahdi said energetically.

Elsa yelled out loud, "What do you think!?" just as Sagr raised a huge pillar of rock and brought it down where they were standing. as Skahdi sighed. "You don't have to be so mean about it. Get closer to the girl. Touching distance, if possible." Elsa stared at her in disbelief, when a convoluted twist of dark water grabbed her and pulled her inside it. Suddenly Ven'isai was right in front of her, golden eyes filled with hate. She began to crush Elsa with the weight of the water.

"Perfect! Thanks, Elsa!" Skahdi cried.Elsa saw her dive into the strange girl's head, and suddenly Elsa was no longer there.

"Wow. Never been in anyone else's head before." Skahdi said casually. She started searching through Ven'isai's head when she realized she wasn't alone. Two figures appeared, then settled into one. A voluptuous woman appeared, hands on wide hips with a stern look in her sea green eyes. She seemed stable enough, but Skahdi could see the broken parts of her clear as day. There was no way to save her.

"Who are you?!"

"Hello, Skahdi here. What's your name?" She replied with a wide smile. The other entity seemed genuinely shocked and began to reply.

"Uhhhh, Ven'isai here…"

She changed. The vicious, sharp-toothed girl replaced her. "What are you doing here!?" Skahdi again ignored the question, instead asking her a question.

"No no no. Not what Skahdi wants. What's your real name? Your first name?"

Change again.

"I told you, it's Ven-"

Change.

"Why should I tell a skinny little brat like you?! Get out!" Skahdi shook her head slowly, and began to pace back and forth in Ven'isai's mind. The consciousness hadn't noticed her yet, but soon.

"No, that's not your real name. Poor Elmenti. Doesn't remember her own name."

Change.

The Elmenti seemed shocked, and Skahdi could see the years of permanent bonding had worn on her intelligence. Skahdi continued.

"Skahdi could tell you. The Great Ones told Skahdi, so they could help you." She walked over to the poor insane Elmenti. She made no effort to stop her, the words too much for her to handle by herself. Skahdi regretted what she had to do, but it was necessary. She whispered in her ear.

"Hello, Isyah." The word broke what remained of their selves. She changed back and forth, indiscriminately. She began to scream, not at Skahdi, but at the mind around her.

"NO! My name is Ven'isai! Ven'eir told me our name was Ven'isai!" It was no longer clear to Skahdi which was in control anymore. Her work done, Skahdi left the insane mind behind.

Elsa gasped on the bare rock, dripping wet. Skahdi was serious as she returned to Elsa's mind.

"What did you do?" Elsa asked, gasping like a fish.

"I gave her mind a push." Skahdi stated sadly.Elsa got up and turned to look at the dark girl. She was crouched in a fetal position, muttering to herself. Elsa was distracted by Donovan's cry of pain. She turned to see him landing on the hard rock, Sagr moving towards him, hammer raised. She stood and released white flows of pure ice energy from both hands. Sagr's head snapped to her, and a wall rose from the earth to shatter before her power. Some penetrated, and the energy impacted his left arm, covering it in ice. She ran to Donovan, but he got up by himself. She stood next to him, and he grimaced a smile at her.

"What happened?"

"He got a good hit in with that hammer." He replied, clutching his side. Sagr stood up again, about ten yards from them. He began to gesture with his hammer, and they prepared themselves for what would come next. They weren't prepared for a look of surprise to come over his face as he turned around and ran.

"Oh, my." Skahdi breathed. Elsa spun, and behind them was a wall of water. It loomed over them, and Elsa caught a glimpse of Ven'isai in the center of the mass of water. Elsa immediately began freezing as much of it as she could, while fire lanced from Donovan's hands. The wave crashed down, flooding the plateau. Elsa created a thick dome of ice, grabbing Donovan and pulling him behind it. The water crashed into it, and Donovan sent a constant stream of fire to keep the water from coming in from behind them. A dark fist punched through the foot of ice and grabbed Elsa's neck. Ven'isai held her high with one small hand, a look of insane rage on her once-beautiful face. Donovan leapt up and Ven'isai swept his feet out from under him, and blasted him off the cliff. Elsa desperately tried to break her hold, but she was too strong.

"I am Ven'isai." She snarled as she tightened her hold on Elsa's neck. Elsa felt darkness consuming her. In one last effort, she gathered energy into her hand and slammed it into Ven'isai's body. Her childish eyes widened in shock, and she dropped Elsa. Elsa struggled to breath, and the darkness began to retreat. She looked over to Ven'isai, laying one the ground sideways. The first thing Elsa saw was her expression of shock frozen on her face, ice covering her entire body. Then she saw what had killed her. Three feet of flawless ice protruded from the center of her back. Elsa gasped and struggled to stand, forcing herself not to be sick. Donovan flew back up to the top of the plateau, landing next to Elsa. He grabbed her and made her face him.

"Are you all right?" He demanded. She didn't answer, instead stared in horror at what she's done. He looked behind himself, and his eyes widened.

Elsa whispered, "She was just a child. Younger than Anna. And I… I…" He pulled her close, and held her as she cried.

Skahdi stated softly. "They were both trapped in each other, and neither could really live. Elsa, you freed them both." Elsa did not listen.

"How touching." They jumped apart, and near them stood Sagr. "She was a valued tool, but her usefulness has been expended." He lifted his hammer to eye level and smiled. "There is nothing to stop me now from fighting you at my highest abilities." The ground around him cracked, and with each step, the ground shook. He slammed the head of his hammer into the ground, and a small section of the plateau separated and fell to crush the armies fighting below it.

"I have been granted power over the earth itself. You cannot defeat the earth." Massive shafts of rock lifted out of the ground and shot at the two of them. Donovan dodged cleanly while Elsa was forced to create a shield of ice. The bars slammed through it and impacted her in the shoulder. She went flying backwards, and landed heavily. Her shoulder screamed with pain, but she made herself move, fear mixed with the shock of what she had done beginning to overpower her. Donovan flew over to her, and helped her up. He turned to Sagr, and smiled.

"Hmm. So it seems." He turned to Elsa. "Do you think it's time?" She suddenly remembered what he was talking about. She nodded grimly.

Skahdi stated, "What, already? That was fast." Elsa stood unsupported, materialized her wings and spread them wide, formed her armor yet again, and created a blade of ice energy. She willed her power, and it created an ice storm around her, a blast of icy wind shuddering in all directions. Donovan threw aside his hilt, and ripped the sleeves off his greatcoat, baring his muscular arms. He put one hand out to the side, and a blade formed of pure fire. An inferno blazed to life around him, red and black energy swirling as if the center of a tempest. He smiled at her, his love for her giving her strength. They walked together, fire and ice, towards Sagr. He seemed taken aback, but scowled and slammed his hammer into the ground yet again, creating a column of black energy at the center of a dust storm. They charged at him, and he ran at them, yelling. The explosion was incredible.

Anna

Anna leaned on the shoulder of a willing soldier, both having been rotated from the front lines. A wide but shallow gash bled on her left leg, and she thought she had broken some ribs. She was dirty, tired, and she had seen things that she knew would change her life, if she survived. A sound, not unlike the cannons from the sea, but much larger, sounded from the top of the plateau that Elsa and Donovan had flown to. She looked up at it, and gasped. Huge blasts of energy were coming from the top of the plateau, great blasts of ice, huge plumes of dust, and tongues of flame were visible from her low vantage point. So they had done it. Anna prayed softly as the other soldier around her stopped and looked up at the plateau.

Elsa

Elsa brought her sword down on Sagr's hammer, and he expertly parried the strike away, sending spikes out of the ground. She froze them and shattered them with her bare fist as Donovan's sword cut a five foot burning gash in the ground where Sagr had just been. He spun and swung his hammer at Donovan's head, and he caught it, straining under Sag'r immense strength. Elsa scored a hit on his left side, but before it could touch his skin, rock appeared out of nowhere and stopped it short. Their personal storms surged around them, constantly battling each other for dominance. A great fist shot out of the ground and grabbed Donovan, squeezing mercilessly. Donovan closed his eyes, and the rock melted around him, leaving him unharmed. Sagr suddenly moved in closer to Elsa, surprising her. His fist caught her in the face, and she went flying. Donovan shouted, and engaged Sagr, fury in his eyes. Elsa lay on the ground for a second, examining the damage done.

She asked Skahdi, "Do you have any more tricks up your sleeve? If you did, please tell me right now."

Skahdi appeared, and bit her lip uncertainly. "Well, there is one thing, but it would involve Elsa getting really close to him." Elsa stood and moved back towards the battle.

"That isn't a problem. What do I have to do?" Skahdi sighed and admitted.

"You have to look in his eyes."

"What?!" Elsa exclaimed in shocked confusion, but before she could ask more, she was forced to block a blow from Sagr's hammer.

"Yes, Elsa must look in Sagr's eyes. Skahdi must have as strong a connection as possible to his Elmenti to get this to work." Elsa was forced to roll around Sagr to escape a sinkhole suddenly appearing out of nowhere.

"Are you serious!? It's that easy?!" Donovan looked at her with an expression of confusion, giving Sagr his opening. A slab of earth slammed into Donovan's leg, and Elsa could hear the snap. Donovan gasped in pain, and Sagr grabbed him by the front of his shirt and threw him across the plateau.

"Trust Skahdi, Elsa!" Elsa did. Sagr was quite surprised when Elsa grabbed his shoulders and looked deep into his eyes. They were dark brown, and Elsa saw his confusion clear as day, then fury. He slammed his forehead into hers, knocking her backwards. She struggled to keep standing, and shook her head to clear the stars out of her eyes.

She thought desperately. "Skahdi, I dearly hope that was worth it." Skahdi did not reply. Then Elsa noticed that her wings, armor, and sword were gone. Her power was gone.

Sagr

He gazed in confusion at the Queen, but then dismissed it. She was powerless, for some reason, and that made it all the easier to destroy her. He raised his hand and clenched his fingers into a fist. Nothing happened. He ordered his Geist to respond. It did not. He was stunned, but he still had his hammer. He stalked toward the helpless Queen, hammer held high. He felt his Geist return.

"Destroy her." He commanded. The spirit spoke to him.

"No." That simple answer shocked Sagr breathless. The voice was strong, and the image of a tall man with hard features and white hair appeared in his mind.

"Skahdi says Orahnos is free. You command Orahnos no longer, Master Sagr." The image disappeared, and Sagr fell to his knees. He looked up and saw the Ice Queen regain her power. She did this. She had taken away his power! He grabbed his hammer and charged. She looked up at him, and the only thing he saw in her eyes was pity. She slammed her sword into the ground, and cracks spread throughout the plateau. Queen Elsa twisted her sword, and the ground they stood on shattered. She stood and took off, her wings beating as the stone tipped beneath his feet. The plateau collapsed, and the massive shards of stone landed on the advancing Mjolgir army. Sagr, Lord of the Mjolgir, Terror of the North, held his hammer in in his hands and closed his eyes, waiting for death to take him. He was not disappointed.