CHAPTER 911: A LIGHT DUSTING (PART ONE)

Not far from where Dame Sybyll’s army camped, an outcropping of rock surrounded by large boulders stood out from the forest around it like a stone finger pointing toward the distant Southern Steppe.

As the sun sank toward the horizon in the west, two figures standing atop the stones seemed to glow faintly in against the darkening sky, seeming to the people gathered below as if they were surrounded in faint halos that shifted from cool, icy blue to vibrant silvery green and half a dozen other colors in between.

Even brighter than the setting sun or the energy surrounding the people atop the stone was the shining, iridescent sword held by the taller of the two figures that glowed so brightly that it cast dancing, color-shifting shadows on the people watching from the ground below.

Hauke’s eyes were closed as he focused all of his attention on the Runic Blade of Eternal Ice in his hands, connecting his mind with the intricate patterns and ancient runes embedded in the long sword by the Frost Architect, Eraric. As he worked, his iridescent horn glowed in a shifting array of pale colors, matching the colors of the powerful relic in his hands.

At first, Hauke had been intimidated by the Runic Blade, fearing that it contained traps laid down by the same ancestor who trapped Hauke’s spirit within his own mind, binding him with icy shackles while the other ancestors used his body to fight against Ashlynn. When the deranged artificer, Erkembalt, handed the weapon over to Hauke, however, he assured the young Frost Walker that the weapon was ’safe’, at least in the sense that it contained no traps for an unwary wielder.

Now, after using the relic for several days, Hauke’s apprehension had turned into a combination of eagerness and wonder as he supplied energy to the weapon, working his sorcery through the sword in much the same way that a witch might use their wand to work witchcraft, except in this case, the blade did far more than simply acting as a conduit for its wielder’s will.

Deep within the layers of ice that formed the sword, carefully carved runes guided Hauke’s power the way a whitesmith’s molds guided the flow of molten tin, forming it into intricate, complex shapes that Hauke would have struggled to envision clearly while directing the flow of so much energy.

When Ines, the Unending Blizzard, had tutored Hauke in shaping weather, it had taken all of his concentration to create a single, luminous sky ribbon, reaching up into the frozen winds high above the mountains for a source of greater cold to channel into the first blocks of Eternal Ice to be created in the High Pass in hundreds of years.

With the Runic Blade of Eternal Ice in his hands, however, Hauke was able to conjure eight iridescent streams of sorcery that stretched out across the sky, so faint against the setting sun that only people who were exceptionally sensitive to the flow of energy in the world, like the diminutive witch standing next to him, could even perceive their presence.

"I’m sorry, Heila," Hauke said, keeping his eyes closed as he stretched his senses as far across the sky as they were able to extend. "I’ve used up almost all the water in the sky for as far as I can reach. There’s only enough left for a dusting of fresh snow in the valley tonight and then it will be days before the skies hold enough water for heavy snows again."

"A light dusting is fine," Heila said with a smile as she heard the confidence in the young Frost Walker’s assessment. He might be apologetic about the answer he had given her, but unlike a few days ago when he had only begun to use the Runic Blade, he didn’t couch his assessment in qualifiers of ’I think’, ’I can try’, or ’maybe it will work.’

He knew what he could do and what he couldn’t, and he didn’t hesitate to admit when he had reached the limits of what he could do.

"Even if snow only falls on the town itself," Heila added. "It will still encourage the people to stay within their homes. The more we can do to keep the townsfolk behind closed doors when we attack the city, the fewer innocent people will die by getting caught up in the battle. So do what you can before the sun sets, and clear the skies of clouds afterward."

"I understand," the young Frost Walker said. "Do you, do you really think it will work?" Hauke asked, finally opening his pale eyes as he turned to look at the witch who had been a constant source of support and guidance since they left the Vale of Mists.

Hauke was further away from his home than he’d ever been, and further away from the High Pass than any Frost Walker had gone since High Lord Torbin died and the Vale of Mists fell to human invaders more than a hundred years ago. He was alone among a sea of strangers with very few friends, and yet the soldiers of the Second Army looked at him with eyes that held the same respect, admiration, and heavy expectations that Hauke had seen in so many of his clansmen in the High Pass.

The pressure he felt was immense, and many of the plans Dame Sybyll had made relied on Hauke’s ability to wield the Runic Blade of Eternal Ice to manipulate the weather. Now, as he prepared to make his final attempt to bring about a snowstorm before the battle was set to begin, his heart trembled with worry that it wouldn’t be enough, and his horn pulsed with a faint, pale green glow of uncertainty.

"I don’t know, Hauke," Heila said gently, resting a hand lightly on the Frost Walker’s lower back as she stood beside him. "Lady Ashlynn says that, when you play chess, you can try to force your opponent’s hand, but you can never know what’s in their mind or how they’ll really move when the time comes. I think this is what she was talking about," she said, wishing for the dozenth time tonight that Ashlynn had been able to join them for what would soon be the largest battle of the Winter War thus far.

"We’ve done what we can," Heila said in the most reassuring tone she could manage. "Hopefully, your blizzard has frightened the humans enough that they’ll run and hide as soon as the first snowflakes start to fall, but if they don’t... Dame Sybyll still has a few methods of her own to encourage people to stay indoors," she said gently. "You just have to do your part."

"All right," Hauke said, drawing a deep, steadying breath and closing his eyes once again to return his focus to his sorcery and the Runic Blade in his hands. "I’ll do my best," he promised.