Chapter 498: Light of the North

 

  …Hollow Shade… Northern Commoner District…

 

  The storm raged on in the middle of the night. What fires had spread across the city in the wake of the dragons and dragonbanes had all been extinguished by the pelting rain. The winds howled in the darkness and sent a chill through Freya’s soaked clothes. The light armor assigned to battle mages did little to protect her from the freezing rain.

  Flashes of bright green lightning ignited the dark streets for brief moments, revealing glimpses of corpses and wreckage spread across the ground. Freya squinted and held one hand over her brow to prevent the rain from blinding her. It was a new moon and a storm had covered the skies, but there was still the rare magestone light post still working. A single enchanted magestone offered little light, a dim fraction of the well-lit streets of the Villa and Night Districts, but it would have to do.

  Freya ran against the wind and sprinted across the streets, relying on her memory to lead her to the medical encampment. Her eldest brother, Aric, was there lying helpless. House Goldelm needed him and right now he needed her. She wouldn’t abandon him.

  Kegrog’s uncertain smile flashed in her mind’s eye. The gentle giant of an orc always had trouble speaking up about his opinions, but earlier tonight he had never appeared so resolute. The solemn expression on his face was like nothing she had ever seen. There was something off about him and Nora, though both pretended as if everything was fine.

  Freya had told them both to come to the medical encampment if anything went wrong. She wondered if they were there now, waiting for her to appear. Waiting like a deer in the sights of a wolf ready to pounce. The valley army was marching to the encampment. She needed to hurry.

  A small shriek caught her attention. Freya skidded to a stop, water splashing at her feet. She took a turn past a half-collapsed house and rushed towards the noise. A human mother and her child sat shivering and huddling underneath a wagon. A stone golem roamed around them, searching for its next prey.

  The mother covered her child’s mouth with her hand and whispered for the little boy to stop crying. The toddler trembled in her embrace and closed his eyes tight. 

  Orange mana filled Freya’s legs. She dashed to the golem’s flank and hefted Oginum. Gripping the war hammer tight she leaped into the air and swung Oginum down on the golem’s shoulder as it turned around. A wave of energy surged out from the hammer and ripped apart the golem in an explosion of rock, and sent Freya flying backwards.

  She fell on her back with a hard thud and groaned quietly. The hammer delivered far more power than she thought. Rubbing her back, she winced and slowly got up.

  Small bits and chunks of rock were all that was left of the 2-meter golem. Freya glanced at the golden hammer in her hands with newfound awe. She hadn’t channeled any mana into the weapon, this was simply its raw power.

  “Thank you!” the mother called out hesitantly.

  Freya glanced up and saw the two were still hiding underneath the wagon. She tried her best to put on a brave smile, though she doubted they could make out any distinct features in the darkness and rain. “It’s safe to come out. Take your son and head towards the Central District. Lady Ashe has opened up the Central gates for refuge to all the city’s people.”

  The mother glanced out in the direction of the Central District; the street was dark and the occasional faint scream echoed throughout the neighborhood. “I don’t know if we can make it.”

  “You have to try,” Freya said and offered her a hand.

  The mother stared at her hesitantly, then grabbed her hand, and stood up. “Are you a mage?”

  “Huh? Yeah, I am.”

  “I was just wondering about the light,” she pointed a finger at the hammer.

  “What light?” Freya glanced at Oginum and furrowed her brow.

  “O-Oh, n-nothing… never mind.”

  “Momma…?” the little boy mumbled.

  “You two should get going,” Freya said and sprinted away. Some part of her wanted to take the woman and child with her and keep them safe, but where she was going was far more dangerous. 

  The streets passed by in a dark blur as Freya ran. The fear of death rose in her chest every step she took, but she refused to stop. It felt as if she were to stop, she’d be unable to keep going.

  Suddenly, the soft blue light of magestone lanterns caught her eye. She looked up and spotted an array of white tents crowded together in the middle of the district square. 

  “I made it,” she gasped with a relieved smile. She took a step forward and stumbled and fell to her hands and knees. The battle atop the Northern Gate and the chill of the unnatural storm had taken their toll on her body. Her breathing was rough, her muscles ached, and she couldn’t stop shivering from the cold, but she had made it.

  Freya took a deep breath and slowly got back up. “I’m coming, Aric. Just wait for me.”

  She took a step forward and then she heard it, above the sounds of the howling winds and pelting rain. The clanging of metal on cobblestone. She slowly turned around and saw a wave of torches burning in the night. Hundreds of valley warriors marched up the street in blood-soaked fur armor.

  Whether her body trembled from the cold or her fear, Freya didn’t know. She wanted to run. She wanted to flee to her home and hide from the horrors of war. 

  Freya glanced back once at the tents and imagined the countless patients lying in cots, helpless to escape. And then the thought of death truly sunk in.

  She was going to die tonight. 

  A fool. 

  Perhaps her brother was right.

  Perhaps…

  One of the valley warriors spotted her in the middle of the dark street, alone, and shouted in alarm. The others quickly drew their weapons and began advancing on her.

  This was her last chance, Freya thought. The last chance to run away and live another day.

  Her lips curled in a shaky defiant smile. She gripped Oginum with both hands and turned to face the enemy. “For my friends… for my city… for my people!” 

  Freya screamed a war cry and charged straight into the horde of warriors. Orange mana filled her limbs and she leaped into the air, hammer held high. It grew warm in her chilled hands and like a spark falling on a pyre, Oginum ignited in blazing golden light.

  She swung the hammer down on the front line of warriors as she landed. Waves of golden light echoed outwards in destructive ripples and sent the men flying. 

  Freya raised Oginum for another strike. A torrent of water burst through the crowd and slammed into her chest, hurling her back. She crashed into the wet cobblestone and rolled several times before slowing to a stop. Freya gasped a painful shallow breath, it felt as if her chest had been crushed by a boulder. Cold rain showered her skin, sapping what little warmth she had left. Yet Oginum felt like a fire in her hand.

  “Kill the dwarf!” yelled the valley blue mage.

  Freya gritted her teeth, leaned on the hammer for support, and tried to catch her breath. The barbarians roared and charged her. A sudden arrow flew past her and struck one of the barbarians in the chest. Freya spun around and saw a dwarf holding a bow in the distance. 

  “Cedric…!?” Freya cried out in surprise.

  Her brother ran to her side, bow at the ready. “Get up!”

  “You came back…” she mumbled.

  Cedric grabbed her shoulder and helped her to her feet. “I’m not alone.”

  Goldelm soldiers poured in from every street, a few at first, then dozens, and in a matter of seconds, hundreds had gathered in front of the medical encampment.

  Freya looked on in disbelief. This was far more than the 200 soldiers they had back at the barracks. This was twice as many men. “H-How…? How did you gather all of them?”

  “I didn’t,” Cedric answered. “You did.”

  “What?” she asked, confused.

  “They saw your trail of light. Oginum’s light found them.”

  “Oginum’s… light?” Freya glanced down at the golden hammer and as if a spell had been lifted from her eyes, she suddenly noticed the blazing aura emitting from the weapon. Like golden strings, motes of light trailed outwards across every street, all leading back towards Oginum.

  “I don’t… I don’t understand,” Freya muttered.

  Cedric smiled wryly. “The Light of the North called and they followed.”

  “When we are lost in the dark, the Light of the North shines the way,” recited Commander Randall as he walked up to them.

  “Light of the North…?” Freya stared at her family’s ancestral hammer. She had heard the legends of a time long ago when Oginum would shine like the sun in the hands of Goldelm’s lord. “But I’m not the lord—”

  “My Lady, there is no time! What are your orders?!” shouted Commander Randall.

  Freya looked up and saw the valley warriors preparing to charge once more. She took a deep shaky breath, hefted Oginum, and pointed it at the enemy, “...Prepare for battle!”