Chapter 3

Frost and Ice of the North

855 was the year, or so that was how it was told to Clive by his tutors. He had started counting down the days to his father's return. The entire castle was alive with noise, the sounds of people busying themselves with work in preparation for Elwin's return. It had been a few weeks since the last report came through, Clive only paid attention to the passage of time when Ambrosia wound up looking Joshua in the eye. At this rate she would be rideable by years end. And far too big for Joshua to try and smuggle into the keep. Again.

Looking out upon the castle grounds, Clive could not help but to let his mind wander. Things had changed ever so slightly recently. And not for the better. Since coming to Rosalith everything felt perfect, a little too perfect. But these last few weeks he had begun to feel unwelcome. The servants never made mention of anything to him or tried to hide anything as he passed by. Though he had gotten the feeling some of the guards were watching him more closely. Then there were the Bearers…Clive knew it was something far different in custom than Westeros but to find that even Rosaria had what amounted to a slave population was disturbing.

Children newly born were labelled and marked for something outside of their control. It was horrible to think about. But Clive could not hide the fact that the wonders of magic drew even him in. Crystals or no crystals, Bearer or Dominant. What was magic if not a blessing from the Gods? As he gazed down at the garden, spotting one Bearer taking a break, Clive winced. He remembered the first time he had seen what too much magic did to the body. Lord Murdoch had to drag him away in a stupor. The last thing he had seen forever etched in his mind. A body made of stone where there was once flesh.

"Enjoying the view?"

Clive startled, right hand over his chest "Sir Rex! One day you will have to teach me how you do that."

"It's all in how you carry yourself Lord Marquess." He gave the boy a roguish grin. Of all the shields of Rosaria, Rex was the most unpredictable. Unlike Lord Murdoch and Sir Cody, Rex valued survival over all else. The Knight without Fear, they called him. A title he sought to prove true on the field of battle. "His Grace is returning today, Cody claims that the war is not yet over for us."

"How much longer do you think it will be?"

"Silvermane is a tough one, his people just as tough as he is." Rex hums "If you want my opinion my lord, I will say a few months' time is all it will take, almost into the new year."

"Months? Not years?"

"Without a Dominant, they cannot hold out against us. Surrender will come soon, and with it, peace will follow."

Clive turns his gaze back to the gardens, a frown marring his face as he thinks over what he has been told. Down below he can see Joshua picking flowers with Anabella and two of her attendants watching over him.

"Have things been…difficult for you, my lord?"

"I do not know Sir Rex," Clive rests his arms on the marble railing "Mother has been…odd, and I know not if it is through fault of my own or someone else. But she's grown cold…unnaturally so. And as soon as it occurs it is over, and she returns to her normal warmth. It worries me."

"We all respect the Archduke and Duchess," Rex begins slowly "But we of the shields also know that what is happening, what you described, is not normal. Unfortunately, there is nothing that we can do. We are duty bound to the defense of the royal family as well as the kingdom. Unless the Duchess does anything to cause harm to either…we shields cannot act upon even our own concerns for her."

"Torn between duty and what is right," Clive mutters to himself "Sir Rex?"

"Yes, my lord?"

"How do you feel about causing Sir Cody no small amount of grief?"

The older man grins "It would be an honor my lord."

"Some days I truly do wonder why we let you both wander off together," Rodney stared down Clive and Rex with a tired look on his face. The young First Shield could be allowed some leniency for his age as children were often wanting to do when bored was to cause trouble. Sir Rex on the other hand was a fully trained knight and should know better than to run off with a child and cause havoc, even if he was technically following orders from his lord. "What do you have to say for yourselves?"

Rex and Clive shared a look, Rex giving a shrug of his shoulders as Clive steps forward "We are just sorry it was you who caught us Lord Commander, we were actually hoping to get a little more time with Sir Cody."

Rodney put on a brave front, scowl in place as he eyed the two before him. He could not and would not crack. Even if what they did had effectively eased the tension that hung heavy in the air, they still had to be disciplined. "What you did was the most reckless thing you could have possibly done within these walls."

"What he is trying to say is, he is very impressed with how we did it," Rex says as he leans over towards Clive "And he wants us to not do it again without him present to watch it unfold."

"I certainly did not!"

Before the two knights could continue their verbal sparring, match something caught Clive's attention. Knights were bustling about, scrambling for the gate. Rex and Rodney did not seem like they would notice without help. Clive gave a short cough, nudging his head tot eh side after getting their attention on him.

"Right…we will discuss punishment for you both later," Lord Murdoch says, "but know that next time either of you sets the chocobo chicks loose like that there will be dire consequences for you both."

"Wouldn't have it any other way Lord Commander," Rex was smiling as he nudged Clive along "Nice eye my lord, got us out of trouble with your mother as well."

"I do my best Sir Rex."

Rex pushed his way into the growing crowd of knights, making a path for himself and Clive to reach the front "You'd think these boys would have learned to make way when I start having to shove them aside," he grumbles, forcefully moving one stubborn knight "Out of the way!"

Clive on the other hand was apologizing, bowing his head as they passed through the crowd "Well maybe if you were a little more polite, they wouldn't need to be so stubborn."

"That a challenge my lord?"

"A suggestion captain."

Rex lightly clapped his hand to the boy's shoulder as they made it to the front of the crowd. The gate was being raised. Leading the procession that entered the castle grounds was a white chocobo riddled with battle scars. His fathers personal mount and riding atop it was Elwin Rosfield. The Archduke brought his mount to a stop, dismounting in a single motion as the gathered shields gave the Rosarian Salute.

"Rise, my friends," he says with a light chuckle. Elwin winces, clutching at his chest as he laughs "I must apologize…travelling so far has not agreed with all of us as well as I would hope."

Clive wanted to step forward, see if he was alright, but he didn't budge. Rex held him in place, a smile being all the reassurance he got in return. "You know something, don't you?"

"Now what gave you that idea?"

Elwin did his best to not give away his plans as he approached the men. His eyes locked on Clive's as he gave the boy a reassuring look of his own "I hear that you are quite the troublemaker when I am gone, is that right?"

"I…apologies, your Grace, I mean no disrespect."

Elwin chuckles, lightly bumping his right fist against Clive's chest "Worry not, your uncle and I were much the same at your age. Which is why…it is a good thing I have…this."

Clive was caught off guard as he watched his father fish out form his own tunic a small bundle of grey fur. As the bundle shifts around, he notes the tail and the ears atop its head just before it turns and yellow eyes stare back into his. "H-hello there."

The pup tilts its head, curious as to the new human before it, giving a little bark in return.

"Go on," Elwin says, "He won't learn to trust you if you just stare at him all day."

Abashedly he reaches his arms out, accepting the pup form his father with a gentleness "What is he?"

"A wolf pup. We found him on our march back south." Elwin explains "No sign of any pack, just all alone in the snow. I believe that he will be an excellent tutor for you."

"Tutor?" Clive looks the puppy in his arms over "This little guy?"

"Yes, for if you can keep him under control then perhaps you can keep yourself out of trouble as well."

Off to the side, Rodney smirks, chuckling to himself as he hears Elwin's plan "Right punishment indeed."

Clive felt worry settle within him at his fathers' words. Training, lessons with his tutors, keeping an eye on Joshua, getting dragged into trouble with Joshua and Rex…and now this? The puppy in question did not seem to mind much as it nuzzled up to him. "I'll…do my best, father."

"I have no doubt that you will my boy."

Elwin gave one final smile before leaving Clive to his thoughts. The puppy in his arms giving a little bark as it squirmed around in his hold. Just how exactly was he expected to raise and train a puppy when he could hardly keep his younger brother out of trouble without being dragged into it with him?

"Well, seems you will have your hands full for a long while, my ord." And there was Rex, teasing as always "I don't suppose the puppy there will be joining me in your stead in making Cody's life difficult?"

"Not very likely…will you settle down?" Clive was already struggling to hold the puppy and keep it calm as it began to get curious. "This is going to be a nightmare."

"This is a nightmare."

Anabella was sweating. Her face pale as the snow her husband had to trudge through for weeks on end. Her headaches had not gone away. They only got worse as she kept hearing the rumors. They were questioning her, challenging her legitimacy and all because of a boy that was not even hers. But none of them knew that it was true. He was hers in all but blood…but to equate the boy to a bastard born of her husband's infidelities?

"But is it not true?" she asks herself. Anabella glances at herself in a mirror, frowning as she sees the state she is in "Your family, the Duchy itself, and it all could go away because of one boy…no, he would never do that, he's a good boy! But are they not born of sin? Internally full of those same desires for greed and lust, the same that made them?"

Another headache, this one bringing Anabella to grasp at her head so tightly she might just draw blood with how her nails were digging into her scalp.

"The boy is mine!" she declares, wincing as the pain does not relent "Father…father isn't right. He cannot be…they are mine, not his…his playthings."

Her fingers wrap around a bottle, a potion given to her by the physician this morning. The Duchess downs the contents in a single gulp, the headache subsiding as she sits down and recovers.

"Why…why do I question it so? Why fight what you already know to be true?"

This was all his fault. If he hadn't shown up, none of this would be happening. It was the only conclusion that made sense. Her eyes wandered to the letter left on her husbands writing desk. A letter bearing a red phoenix on a white background, the sigil of House Cole, her family's house, lay open bearing its secrets to the world.

"For the safety of the Duchy…he only cares about his own standing," she scoffs "But what he proposes…I need to tell Elwin."

Anabella moves over to the writing desk, shaky hands grasping the letter as she reads it over again. As 'requested' by her Lord Father, Gerold Cole, she is to keep an eye on the Phoenix and ensure that their bonds of friendship with the Empire are stronger than ever. To say nothing of the treatment he demands she give to Clive, it all sounds normal, but Anabella knows her father well. Who else but he would use his own daughter as a political puppet to control not just a kingdom but their own family so well?

"Requests," she spat out "No one gets a request from Lord Cole, only demands. Just like no one can make demands of him for he is the only one who can do so. That old man wants my boys to suffer, to control me and the Duchy…I won't have it. I will not do it!"

She tosses the letter in the fire. Burning the evidence as her head throbs once more. "But…maybe he is right? Surely…he cannot be completely wrong?" she stumbles, catching herself on the wall "No! He's not…he cannot be…I am the Duchess…he is but a Lord, not true royalty."

At the same time as Anabella has her moral debates, Clive is on his back in the drill yard after taking a rather hard hit from Lord Murdoch. The boy groans, wincing as he feels the dull pain in his left arm, though there is something wet on his right cheek. With a groan he shifts his head, locking eyes with a yellow eyed ball of fluff as it smiles at him. "Were you trying to help me boy?"

The puppy barks in response.

"Consider me helped then," he groans as he sits up lightly testing his arm "Nothing broken…but I doubt mother and father will be pleased with how it will look come the morrow."

"A rather good observation," Rodney acknowledges "Consider that one a reminder as to the proper role of a knight. Should you forget, then I am more than willing to give reminders until the message sinks in my lord."

"I don't doubt that" Clive dusts himself off "I think it's all thanks to Torgal that my spirits are not as numb as my arm feels."

"Torgal?" The look on Rodney Murdoch's face was almost comical. The veteran knight and Lord Commander of Rosalith looked as if he had sucked on a lemon "What on earth would make you choose that name?"

"Legends spoke of a Torgal that shaped the earth," Clive informs, running his had through Torgal's fur "He may be a puppy for now, but one day he will be a great big hound and fight by my side, isn't that right boy?"

The puppy, Torgal, was not paying attention. He just liked the attention and nuzzled up to Clive's hand for more pets. The boy laughs, scratching the pup behind the ear while the Lord Commander watches on. Leave it to his student to find a way to shirk his training if but for a moment.

"If he ever outgrows the puppy stage," Rodney mutters "Alright, we can continue this tomorrow. But do not think that you can use him to get out of training."

"Understood," Clive says, picking Torgal up "Besides, now Joshua will have a friend for a little longer when he comes to visit me in training."

"Tell me again, what exactly did he say?"

A lone messenger stood in the Archduke's Solar. Wool cap clutched in his hands nervously as the Lord Commander stared him down, arms crossed his burly chest, two more knights behind him likely waiting for an excuse to kill him. The Archduke himself sat at his desk; hands folded deep in thought.

"I-it came from Port Isolde your grace," he gulps, wringing his cap more "Lord Rosfield, that is your brother your lordship, bid me bring word to you as quick as I could that he had a map. He said it was the map. One you had him looking for for…five years? I…I'm not so good with numbers your grace. But he said that it was real! T-that you could…go back?"

"And you expect us to believe this without so much as a single shred of proof?"

The Lord Commander was the most intimidating man he had ever seen. He had heard the tales of Crusaders from the Iron Kingdom being big bulky men, more beast than anything else. But staring down Rodney Murdoch felt like he was staring Death itself in the face.

"Rodney!" Elwin calls out "That will be enough. Sir Rex, see to it our friend here is shown to the kitchens for a warm meal and drink. And only that, Rex."

"My lord!" Rex salutes, coming up to grasp the messenger by the arm and drag him out of the room.

"Cody, do a round with the sentries. I want no word of this to leak outside of these walls, that messenger is now our most important visitor. Do you understand?"

"It will be done, your grace."

Rodney watched the last of his men leave the room. "I still do not trust him. What if he is lying about the message?"

"How could he be?"

"Surely one trader must have mentioned our search for a map, he just took a lucky gamble is all and expects to be paid for his work."

"No pay was ever brought up," Elwin reminds his second-in-command "Byron's message was clear, and even if it was not there is the finer detail to keep in mind. Only the trader who brought home the map would be paid. For gaining Rosaria a new trade ally."

"And just who is this ally then?"

"We wont know until we see the map," Elwin sighs, leaning back in his chair he gives the Lord Commander a pointed look "We cannot delay any further Rodney. Negotiations with the North to sue for peace are slow going as it is. My presence will be required back in a few days' time and now we have this to deal with as well."

"You're worried about Jon then?"

"Clive!" Elwin snaps, composing himself "His name is Clive…as chosen by him himself. And I am not worried about him. But if this map is real…then it is his decision again whether he desires to be here or back in his homeland."

"Elwin, you know as well as I do that this map changes everything. The boy may very well choose to stay here but now we know these lands exist for true. If the map is real then we have an advantage over our neighbors, we have entire new lands to trade with, resources to gain, and above all else potential allies."

"You think I do not know that, Rodney?" Elwin chuckles "If Byron has done as I have asked then we need only wait for everything to come together. Our priority is the Northern Territories. If I return quick enough, I might be able to negotiate their surrender sooner."

"And then make ready to sail for Westeros?"

The question hung in the air. Elwin refused to look up at his friend of so many years. Refused to give him the satisfaction of an answer. The fire crackled, the only sound not afraid of what might follow in its wake.

"Yes…then we make for Westeros," Elwin gave a resigned sigh "What else could I do? Deny the boy the right to see his homeland one last time? You know as well as I do that he will want to see it, if not for any other reason than to know he has risen above what they always thought him to simply be."

"And this has nothing to do with the fact he may just oust himself and be forced to stay?"

"What is this about Rodney!?" Elwin slams his hands on his desk, staring daggers at his friend and Lord Commander.

"Elwin…are you even prepared for this to happen now?"

Elwin took but a moment to ponder those words. The resigned look on his face said it all before he opened his mouth and spoke the words "No, I am not ready for that day to come. Not right now…maybe not even by the time we would depart."

"Give it time," Rodney assures him "The boy loves you both, respects you above all else; but you have to let him show that he is capable on his own first Elwin."

"I will…but there is still time for my own heart to accept that as fact. Within the week, I will be going back to negotiate with Silvermane on my own. Flame willing, I should return with peace achieved for our people once more."

"And hopefully not another dog for the younger son this time?"

Elwin chuckles, feeling the tension hanging around him loosen somewhat "Yes…hopefully without a pup for Joshua."

There would be little sleep in the coming nights for Elwin. No time to explain all that weighed him down either. Elwin, with each passing day, revised plans for peace until the early hours just to rest his eyes and start all over again the following day. It took the combined efforts of Lord Murdoch, Sir Cody, and his wife Anabella to get him to finally rest. Finally, the day came for him to return to the front and attempt the greatest battle of all. Convincing Silvermane to make peace and not war.

The cold reaches of Valisthea's northern territories truly puzzled Elwin. A land all but swallowed up by the Blight, and yet they still had the strength to pose a threat to entire kingdoms. A land of ice and snow, slowly being drowned in the black shroud of the Blight. With the loss of their Mothercrystal there was no hope left for them except to escape the Blight somehow before it was too late. And yet, they fought for their territory more fiercely than the crusaders of the Iron Kingdom fought for their chain of islands.

Now here he was. Seated at the negotiation table with his most trusted guards behind him. Silvermane, the ruler of the North, King of the Frosts sat before him with his own guards standing behind him. In truth, Elwin knew very little of the man before him. The piercing gaze he held with his grey eyes had intimidated many a man on the field of battle before being cut down by the twin axes that hung at his waist. Silvermane was a burly man, built like a coeurl with broad shoulders, with a greybeard that just reached his upper chest.

"Are we going to negotiate Lord Rosfield," his voice came like thunder, rumbling deeply in his chest "Or are you going to sit and look pretty like the rose you are named for?"

The comment drew a chuckle from his guard. Elwin's own tensing, ready to defend their Lord's name. Elwin would not have it. The Archduke just chuckled, giving a slight nod of his head "Aye, one of my ancestors surely was fond of the flowers. But I would never dare to pretend that I can sit and look prettier than you, Silvermane."

The look Elwin received could have frozen a lake.

"Now, if you are ready to begin the negotiations, I believe that terms were left with you when last we met?"

"Aye…and we have come to a tentative agreement," he casts a look behind at his forces in the distance "It might not be what we want but we will take what we can get to escape the Blight."

"Then I will have to refuse them."

There was silence amongst the gathered. Guards all in various states of outrage and shock at the Archduke's words.

"You would…refuse us, in peace negotiations? I don't know if I should be laughing in your face before I lop your head form your shoulders with my axes, or if I should be considering you more dangerous than that perfume smelling emperor in Sanbreque."

"More generous, I should think." Elwin pulls out a piece of parchment, folded "While I was away, I had time to go over what the original demands were. I had a change of heart, you might say."

Elwin places the parchment down on the table, gently sliding it over to Silvermane. The King in the North frowns, gently pulling the parchment towards himself and unfolding it.

"This…this is a joke…a trick surely?"

"It is no trick." Elwin assures him "Your people are dying out here, and with the Blight creeping ever closer to our own borders there is little I can argue against. Should you find the notion of sending your women and children, your sick and elderly, south as refugees then I can see to it that adequate supplies are shipped up north for your people to survive. But time is not on our side. Every day we wait will see us come ever closer to destruction. I just want to save lives, Silvermane, surely even you can see the merit to that?"

Silvermane hums in thought, turning his head just enough to see his guards look as unsure of this as he did. "Your word, Elwin Rosfield, is said to be worth more than all the gold in Dhalmekia. Is that true?"

"I should hope so."

"And for all of this you want…peace?"

"I am not a fool Silvermane, what I offer you is more than should be allowed under normal circumstances…you are lucky however that the Blight is a far greater threat to us all." Elwin leans back his chair, giving the King of the North a hard look of his own "I will freely be merciful in this, however, to ensure your people's vow of peace…"

"You will require a hostage…my daughter." Silvermane's shoulders sag, his voice sounds defeated. "I knew it was too good to be true…you understand Lord Rosfield that should anything happen to her, I will never rest until those responsible pay with their lives."

"She would be treated well; you have my word on this. I will raise her as if she were my own, and hopefully one day in the future there will be no need for her to be kept from you."

Silvermane motions for one of his guards to step forward "Very well then," he turns to his man "Fetch Jill for me…we have much to discuss."

Elwin took no pleasure n separating a child from her family. But if her people were to know peace and his were to not fear another war, this was a sacrifice that had to be made for that peace. He just hoped that Anabella would forgive him for doing this without her consent first.

AN: So yeah….45 hundred words before this note. Wanted to show off the negotiations that could have happened between Elwin and Silvermane…also halfway through this I forgot about the archives for the lore and kept looking stuff up on the official wiki…so Silvermane, if he has an actual name, is left with the name used in game to describe him because I forgot to go back to double check and just used the first name that they gave for him. Didn't have a description for him either but oh well. Another thing is how big Torgal will get: So in game canon he is a puppy in the prologue while Clive is 15, but then fully grown 13 years later...problem is, the lore states he was brought back before Jill became a ward and he was still a puppy for a few years leading up to the incident at Phoenix Gate. My theory: Torgal ages at a comparable rate as a human being and not like a canine in our world. So...the best boy will still be a puppy for a while longer. Moving on; now we have Jill in the story, kind of…and the best boy too! And one more thing…besides being an old reference…this story is now officially on AO3. Shobu556, because I am uncreative. Now…the Reviews, this is kind of fun.

Delphine Pryde: Well…you and others like you will be very curious, not sue how much you keep notes to compare but things will be a changing as we've gotten some hints this time round for what is to come in the next few chapters.

Furvustocs: Did I spell that right? As of right now game is finished, New Game+ has started but you bring up a good point. While in Valisthea it will mostly be the games events that will occur though I have narrowed down where the canon events end and the new begins. When in Westeros…well, you'll see.

Jamieoeyes: I want to say it was yours I noticed first though furvustocs does it as well but now whenever I read Clive/Jon or Jon/Clive my mind just reads Jon/Clive Van-Damme….anyway, your review, idk what you are thinking is going to happen but I would suggest writing your idea of what happens down just to add more fics to the category. Maybe it's the same, maybe it is not. I wont spoil a thing though you do have a great suggestion there with Sansa and Arya, I had plans but that won't be happening for a…a long while, by Clive years.

ThirdCabinBoy: Glad you are enjoying it so far, and I hope you continue to like it as it goes on.

Xvotex123: No thanks needed, it was either I write what my brain was telling me or I just get another idea in the folder of potential ones I just haven't done yet.

Guest: ….there must be something I can call you because one day there will be too many and I would hate to just brand every guest with he same nickname. I will not give out spoilers…well, not huge spoilers, and I feel that the events of the Red Wedding as well as when Clive would be back in Westeros would be a big spoiler. We all know it will happen, wouldn't be a good crossover if it didn't happen, but I'm not saying when.