The defenders responded with their own elemental might. The earth beneath the attackers buckled and split, jagged spikes shooting upward. Kaelin's breath quickened as he twisted his fingers in the air, summoning a fierce wind to scatter the falling debris. A shard of rock sliced across his cheek, the sting only sharpening his focus.
He remembered the ruined arena where he had claimed his frost-core, the moment he had felt the rush of mastery for the first time. Now that mastery flowed like second nature. He reached deeper, feeling the pull of the storm above, and sent a blast of freezing wind hurtling into the gate. The metal screamed under the sudden cold, frost spreading across its surface.
"Break it!" Kaelin shouted. A pair of Wolfkin slammed their axes into the brittle iron, and the gate splintered inward. The clash spilled into the fortress yard, steel and ice meeting stone and blood.
Kaelin stepped into the chaos, his senses alive with the flow of battle. Every movement, every shift of the wind, every glint of ice felt sharp and precise. Hollowspire was beginning to fall… and this was only the first taste of the storm he would bring upon the Guilds.
...
Snow churned under Kaelin's boots as he pushed through the chaos of the battlefield toward the wide black moat that circled Hollowspire. The fortress stood just beyond, its walls scarred by arrows and gouged by frost, but the gates still held firm. The drawbridge had been pulled up, leaving nothing but the deep, dark water between his forces and the heart of the fortress.
The moat rippled strangely, and Kaelin could feel the heat of elemental energy radiating from it. He knew at once that the defenders had enchanted it, likely to prevent anyone from crossing. It would burn like acid to those who tried. Behind him, the clash of steel and the roars of the Wolfkin echoed through the snowstorm, and the shouts of his own fighters rose as they tried to push forward.
Kaelin's jaw tightened. They could not afford a drawn-out siege. Every moment they lingered, more Guild reinforcements would be on their way. The storm above him swirled faster as he reached for the ice within his core. The cold was always there now, steady as his heartbeat, and when he called to it, it answered like an old friend.
He stepped to the edge of the moat, his breath forming a silver mist. Closing his eyes, he let the world fade into sensation alone. The rush of the wind against his skin, the chill of snowflakes melting on his face, the deep hum of water beneath him. His hands lowered toward the surface and frost began to bloom from his fingertips, spreading outward in a thin sheet.
The defenders shouted from the walls, loosing arrows and hurling spears of stone. Kaelin barely moved his head, a sudden gust sweeping upward and knocking the projectiles aside. The frost spread faster now, racing across the moat like a living thing. The water hissed and cracked as it froze, steam rising in jagged bursts before being swallowed by the cold.
When the surface was solid from edge to edge, Kaelin opened his eyes. His voice was low, almost a whisper, but it carried through the storm. "Rise…"
The ice began to shift. At first, it was only a ripple, then a bulge, then towering spines jutting upward. The frozen sheet shattered in places as a massive form pushed through, its shape taking form from the ice itself. A head emerged, carved in jagged angles like a wolf's but with horns of frozen crystal. Its body followed, broad and thick with plates of frost armor, claws as long as swords.
The ice beast shook itself, sending shards spraying in every direction, and the ground trembled beneath its weight. Its eyes glowed faintly blue, like distant lightning trapped in ice. Kaelin could feel it moving in his mind, tethered to his will. Every beat of his heart was matched by the thrum of its frozen core.
"Break the gate," he commanded.
The beast roared, a deep, cracking sound like glaciers splitting in the far north, and thunder rolled with it. It charged across the frozen moat, each step shaking the walls. Defenders unleashed volleys of fire and stone, but the beast plowed through, its armored hide shrugging off the attacks. When it reached the gates, it reared back, then slammed its claws forward. The metal shrieked and splintered under the force, frost spreading from the impact until the hinges shattered like glass.
The gates fell inward.
Kaelin raised his hand, signaling his warriors. The Wolfkin surged forward over the frozen moat, their boots striking hard against the ice, their battle cries echoing off the walls. The Glacier hunters followed, loosing arrows at the retreating defenders.
As Kaelin stepped onto the ice himself, the beast turned its head slightly, as if awaiting its next order. He felt the storm above deepen in power, and for the first time, he realized the truth. This was no simple tool of battle. This was the beginning of a bond, a manifestation of his will given form.
And with it, Hollowspire would fall.