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Chapter L4 - A Clash of Fire and Ice
🕑 Added 2018-09-04 12:24:27 +0000 UTC Lenoly gazes out the greenish, half-translucent volcanic glass window, seeing only a dance of whiteness, and sighs. It's the third moon they have spent with the fire giants in the Northern Kongensgrad, and the blizzard outside shows no signs of letting up. It started the moment Asoko was placed in the thawing vat as if the god that froze her was making it known that the attempt to undo his work was angering him.It took them two moons of traveling across the sea with Captain Morakan, and another moon to reach the fire giants' domain. The female clan leader and shaman elder Tofi received them in an unexpectedly nice way, though Lenoly still suspects that she only did so with political intentions in mind.
The frost giants have been amassing their forces, and there are rumors that their patron god Rimfryst has decided to join them to end the fire giants once and for all. The latter are slowly descending into hopelessness as their own god Leimu departed for an unknown destination a dozen moons ago.
Lenoly knows that Rimfryst and Leimu are actually the gods Zylos and Kanundra - the latter of whom she met face to face during their attack on the royal palace of Arkaim. Their names are merely in the local language, but they refer to the same concepts that the two represent: Winter's Frost and Bearer of the Flame.
And Kanundra's departure from these lands coincides with her attack on the demon queen. Maybe she was wounded in the battle and hasn't returned since to mend her body. Whatever the case, her absence may result in the fire giants being wiped out by the frost giants, who are being favored by Zylos.
The only reason Lenoly used to care about the giants is that, according to Flann, they're the only ones who can thaw out a person that has been frozen by the god of winter. At first, she had been skeptical, as she thought that the method they had at their disposal couldn't be any more effective than using an open fire. She had tried it, and nothing had happened.
By now, she has become friends with several of them and can emphasize with their plight. She has decided to fight with them - as long as she's still here - if the frost giants attack.
"They say it'll take maybe another night or two before Chaos-sama will be back." Nezera walks into the communal room and calls out to the Bakari girl at the window.
"That's good news." Lenoly turns around and sighs again, this time in relief. Then she has to suppress the urge to smile at the sight of the bat maid standing next to a piece of furniture. It's a stone chair that towers over her by one full head and could be mistaken for a hut. Even after staying with the giants for so long she hasn't been able to get used to the sheer difference in their heights.
And the fact that their people are unexpectedly hospitable - not counting the elders, who have a political agenda in helping the demons.
One or two more nights, before she can meet Asoko again. The maids still believe that she's Chaos, though Lenoly knows who she really is. And the reason she's still keeping it a secret is that it brings the demons hope, thinking that the heir to the crown is only frozen but will return eventually. Because Chaos has been missing for a long time now and nobody knows where she went.
Except for Flann, maybe. She seems to know much more than she lets on, as she sometimes pops into existence out of nowhere and brings them news about the war situation back in the Dominion. The humans are on a steady push, but despite being essentially leaderless, the demons are holding out well.
An alarming issue is the emergence of a new threat called 'Chosen Knights'. The two main advantages that the demons held so far were that many of their warrior clans possess physical prowess beyond even the strongest humans and the fact that to cast their tribal magic the shamanistic clans require no incantations. These two factors combined allowed them to stand their ground against their numerically superior enemies.
These have both been neutralized by these Chosen Knights. Not only have they displayed incredible feats of strength and speed, but they also each have special magical abilities which the likes of nobody has ever seen before. The saving grace is that they are few in numbers, and despite their seemingly overwhelming might, they aren't powerful enough to decide the fates of entire battlefields by themselves.
But Asoko's return will surely turn the tide of this war completely. Even though she may seem to be weaker than Chaos, she's still a powerful demon and the child of the previous queen. Lenoly witnessed Chaos fight against the Saint of Luminosity, a dragonkin, as well as several lecturers and the principal of the Royal Academy practically on her own. And the only way they could defeat her was to launch her into the heavens.
Hope that she returns also still remains.
"They are coming." Flann suddenly materializes right next to the little Bakari and states in her usual emotionless tone. 'They' can only refer to one thing; the frost giants have finally decided to use the absence of Kanundra to attack.
The entire fire giant domain seems to come to life only moments after the young court magician's appearance. She has once again arrived with the news before anybody else noticed what's going on.
"Quick, call Szaga!" Lenoly calls out to Nezera, who reacts immediately. Captain Morakan and his crew have remained on their ship because they're demons not made for land, so the only ones who can defend Asoko are the maids and her.
They have to hold out just a little longer.
The village of the fire giants is located in the side of the volcano Leimuseidfjall - named after their patron god. Due to this hostile environment, the frost giants should normally never try to attack. However, the volcano has become dormant ever since Kanundra left, and the caldera has cooled down significantly. The ongoing blizzard has contributed greatly as well.
The natural defenses were failing them, so the fire giants had begun to pile up lava to build walls around the entrance to their cavernous home. Szaga provided her knowledge of architecture to guide their efforts, as they lacked even a basic understanding of masonry and craftsmanship. It was part of their deal with the giants to thaw out Asoko.
Anthera and Xaggavea have felt antsy about living in a cave inside of a volcano that the fire giants continually complain about being dormant. The day they arrived they searched for places their instincts told them is safest, and finally created their nests near Asoko's vat. They will remain there and make sure that her thawing progress won't be disturbed.
"They're thinking about climbing the sides and dropping down within the walls." Hakon, the champion of the fire giants, points down the snowy slope, where a contingent of nearly a thousand frost giants is splitting up towards either side of the entrance, barely visible in the blizzard. And a host of easily over three thousand more is steadily advancing on their position.
Fire giants pride themselves in quality over quantity, as their bodies are always glowing hot, and they can erupt in fiery explosions that do their own no harm. They are the natural enemies of frost giants, whose body temperatures need to remain below freezing to maintain their shapes.
However, the difference in numbers is staggering. The reproduction rate of fire giants is far lower than that of the frost giants, who also have a much wider distribution across the entirety of the northern Kongensgrad. While the former can stand their ground against ten of the latter, this time it's a matter of being outnumbered nearly a hundred to one.
The only proper projectile weapons the fire giants possess are thrown stones. They use the interiors of their bodies to heat the projectiles close to their melting point, then throw them at their opponents. Due to the size of the projectiles, they don't have much range and usually fly in an arc that can be easily avoided. But this time, there are so many enemies that the few dozen lava throwers hit a target with every volley.
They are only a small spray of hot water against an incoming avalanche.
"Form up! Don't let them get close to the walls!" Pulling one of many stone javelins out from the back of the giant next to him, Hakon aligns the glowing hot tip with the frost giants, who have begun to sprint up the slope.
The other fire giants do the same and arm themselves with the weapons heated by their comrades' bodies. Holes left behind by the spears close up on their own, as if they're made of viscous fluids. Their bodies are far more resilient than those of their frozen counterparts, but strong impacts from the massive clubs they carry can still be deadly.
The first volley of javelins is let loose, targeting the enemies closing in. Unfortunately, the frost giants circling around are at too far away to be hit, but it also means they will be delayed for a while longer until they can join the battle. That's why they have to thin the enemies' ranks as quickly as possible before they become surrounded.
Szaga is the only maid who can join the front lines. With her earth magic, she's creating boulders that roll down the slope to crush the enemies while shooting pinpoint rocks at the enemies advancing at the very front of the large host. Each shot is a kill, but it doesn't serve to discourage the frost giants at all.
The enemies have reached the flanks and are fanning out, while the first few on the front are closing in on the volcanic stone wall. Many are mowed down by burning javelins, but there are too many for the fewer than eighty fire giants to put a significant dent in. At this rate, they'll be overwhelmed.
"Hraun Bylgia!" A deep female voice echoes through the cave and across the din of battle.
As if the hardened wall was just a pastry with liquid fillings, lava spills out from a gash along its entire length and sprays the frost giants that have started to try and climb it with molten rock. The screams of the frost giants as their bodies are being evaporated is unbearable, and Lenoly covers her ears.
The voice belonged to Tofi, who is one of only three fire giants capable of casting their tribe's mostly lost spells. Even she wouldn't have been able to summon a wave of lava out of nowhere, and it had to be carefully prepared over a whole moon beforehand.
Now that the trump card has been unleashed, they will need to hit the fleeing enemies decisively, or they will come back when the lava has hardened under the relentless blizzard.
The issue of those that are looping around to hit them from atop the cliff still remains, as the defenders on the walls abandon their posts to chase after the routing vanguard of frost giants. Sliding down the slope on the lava unaffected by its immense heat, which is already beginning to cool and slow down, they look like wave riders in slow motion, as they throw javelins and drive spears into the enemies' backs.
"That's far enough!" Hakon calls the pursuit force back, which promptly ceases their advance and begins to return towards the cave.
Szaga flies out of on her powerful wings, which have fully healed by now, in an attempt to scout where the detached force of the frost giants have advanced to. However, the blizzard continues unabated and relentlessly pushes her around, so that she has to return almost immediately.
"Ah spotted a few movin' fig'rs above, but ah dunno why they ain't attackin'." She reports out of breath. After all this time, Lenoly has gotten used to her country bumpkin speech - even though she grew up in Arkaim. She most likely kept the gargoyles who came from all kinds of backwater places and are living on the castle's roofs and battlements company and learned their dialects.
"Is there any other way to get in here?" Turning to Tofi, Lenoly asks with an alarmed expression. The only reason the fire giants can hold this place is that the cave is a natural bottleneck that the frost giants will have to squeeze through. It renders their superior numbers useless. If there is another entry point, they would be attacked from two sides, and the numerically inferior side could never hope to hold their ground.
"There is a small lava vent further up, but I had it sealed." The shaman elder of the fire giants responds in a self-confident tone. She thinks that they won't be able to break in through there.
That's when the ceiling of the cave opening shakes from a heavy impact. Rocks break free and rain down, and Tofi quickly shields Lenoly from the falling debris with one hand. Due to the size of the giants, rocks that would kill a human are like little pebbles to them.
"What they doin'? They tryin' ta bring da whole cave down?" Szaga asks in a skeptical tone as she's being shielded by another fire giant.
"We need to stop them!" Tofi quickly calls out to her people manning the walls.
"No, wait! They might be trying to lure us out!" Lenoly tries to stop her, but her voice is drowned out by another heavy impact that creates cracks all across the cave ceiling.
If it's not a feint, and even if they're not really trying to lure the fire giants out from within the wall, the cave coming down will bring about the same result as if the frost giants overran this place. At least that way they would only be trapped inside rather than get slaughtered.
Lenoly catches herself preferring the former option. Because it means that they will have the time to wait for the completion of Asoko's thawing process. Maybe she's putting too much hope in her revival, to the point where she doesn't care about the wellbeing of their benefactors.
"Szaga, can you strengthen the ceiling?" She calls out to the gargoyle - the only one here proficient at earth magic.
"Ah can try." But her response doesn't sound as confident as the last few times her abilities have been requested. The last demon queen most likely didn't choose her for her intricate control over the element, but her raw output - and her beauty, which is a rarity among gargoyles. She can shoot rocks with enough force to shatter frost giants, but masonry is something she has only mastered in the traditional way.
Slowly raising pillars of volcanic rock from the ground, Szaga begins to fortify the ceiling, just before another impact seems to shake the entire mountainside. One large boulder breaks loose and comes down on a fire giant, whose body of living molten rock is splattered about.
That's when boiling unease among the defenders turns into open panic. Several of them leave their posts and run back into the depths of their homes, to both seek shelter and to spend their final moments with their families. Even Hakon's voice is unable to stop them, as fear grips their hearts.
"The interior is safe; we are deep enough that this should not affect our homes." Tofi states with a grim look at the defenders, who begin to unravel. "Maybe it is better if we hole up inside and wait it out."
It's what Lenoly would have wanted, but if the only other exit is a small lava vent that has been closed up, it would mean that they're trapped. The initiative would lie with the frost giants then, who could still attempt to bury them all alive by bringing the whole mountain down on their heads.
"Nezera, tell Xaggavea and Anthera to stake out the lava vent." The little Bakari calls out to the bat maid. She has been waiting deeper inside, near the entrance to the main halls of the fire giants' home because she can't fly in the storm and is very fragile on the ground.
"Understood." With a quick reply, she takes off to find the two maids in question. Maneuvering around stalactites in her flight, she disappears into the depths.
Xaggavea surely already spread her network throughout the caves, so she should be able to inform them if enemies entered from somewhere. Anthera was unable to contribute on their journey across the ocean, but in confined spaces - especially dark ones with little to no airflow - she holds supremacy. When the only option is to hole up, they will be their greatest assets.
"Szaga, will this work?" Lenoly asks the gargoyle girl, who's still creating pillars while the quakes grow more frequent.
"Ah dun think so." She says as a large crack spreads from the center of the ceiling and travels towards both sides. Pointing at it with a blank expression, she looks like she's at a loss. "Tha's bad."
"Get inside!" Hakon bellows this command to all the remaining defenders on the wall. They don't need to be told twice, as they abandon their posts and begin to run back to their homes. One giant sweeps up Szaga on the way and shields her from falling rocks, while Tofi does the same with Lenoly.
The entire overhang of the cave entrance begins to come down. Some fire giants are left behind trying to avoid the rubble, while large boulders instantly smash others into pools of lava. More than a dozen die as the ceiling collapses on them, but the majority makes it to safety.
When the dust settles, everybody stares at the entrance, which has been completely sealed. A hand is sticking out from it, squeezing Szaga so tightly that she's groaning in pain. Just as Hakon runs to free her, the hand goes limp, and the gargoyle maid is freed. She looks up at the lifeless limb of her savior, which almost turned into a death trap, and then averts her eyes in sorrow.
"This is it, huh?" Xaggavea surveys the hollow behind the relatively small lava vent that she and Anthera have been tasked with defending. While it's only wide enough for one giant to pass through at a time, the area behind it is so wide that defenders can amass their numbers and hold out indefinitely.
However, morale is at rock bottom, and Tofi is confident that the enemy won't find this place. Even if they did, they wouldn't be able to break through it anyway, as the opening is sealed by hardened rock. But Lenoly seems to think that it's only a matter of time before the frost giants will try to make their way inside from this end.
"My web should be able to stall them for a while if they do come in one by one, but it won't be able to hold them for long." The spider maid says as she climbs the side of the wall and begins to lay down her string. Due to her size, it's very thick and can be seen easily by the naked eye, but what it lacks in stealthiness it makes up with tensile strength.
"I don't even know whether my poison works against those walking ice statues." Anthera mutters absentmindedly, as she grooms the fur collar growing directly from her neck. She has always been an airhead, which is why Xaggavea likes to tease her, but she can be dependable when it's important.
"We'll have to learn that the hard way, I guess." Shrugging, the spider maid lets go with her eight legs and hangs upside down from the ceiling on her web.
Spreading her four wings, the moth maid takes off into the air gracefully and silently. The pair of giant eyes on her wings instill the spider maid with instinctive fear, as she feels the hairs stand up all over her body. Suppressing the urge to retreat, she averts her eyes and continues her work quickly.
"Don't forget that you can't begin without-" Just in case, Xaggavea turns around one more time and begins to say, when she notices that Anthera's antennae and wings are quivering in midair. "Stop! I'm still here!"
Even though she may catch the moth maid in her web from time to time and play around with her, she's secretly afraid of her abilities. They both like dark and cramped places, which provide Anthera a far greater advantage than they do Xaggavea. Her invisible and odorless poison will saturate the air, and anything that breathes will be rendered immobile.
Then she will extend her tongue, which acts as a proboscis, and suck every last drop of liquid from her victims without a care in the world.
"Oops, sorry." Anthera answers as if it was an inconsequential slip of her mind. She stops the spreading of her poison and holds onto the ceiling with her four arms effortlessly, then looks down with the two giant compound eyes on her head. "Hurry it up, Xaggavea~"
"Be patient. This is intricate work." Sighing, the spider maid speeds up her work so that she can leave this confined space as quickly as possible.
A moment later the tremor of an impact shakes her web ever so slightly. Even though there was no sound, she could feel it because of her incredibly keen senses when it comes to even the slightest vibrations traveling through the taut strings.
They're trying to break through on this side without making too much noise.
