Page 17 of Frostforge, Passage Four

The fjord stretched before Thalia like a frozen mirror, reflecting the pale winter sky as her breath clouded in the crisp air.

Water lapped against the carved wooden pier where she and her squad gathered, their boots creaking on the frost-rimed planks.

The maritime combat arena floated ahead — a roped-off area of the fjord, surrounded by bleachers of floating pine that jutted from the water like the jagged teeth of some ancient sea creature.

Thalia's stomach knotted as she surveyed the challenge that awaited them, knowing that victory here would bolster her command record — and failure would only give Rasmus and Sigrid more reason to question her authority. In the last trial, her squad had managed to work as a team. She couldn’t let anything jeopardize that fragile unity, and she knew that the Northern students were likely receiving ravens from their clan elders, begging them to rebel against her.

The cold pierced through her layers of wool and fur, a familiar discomfort that she'd learned to endure over her years at Frostforge.

But this was different — the damp chill of the fjord carried the tang of salt and snowmelt, a scent that pulled at memories of Verdant Port's harbor.

The same scent that had filled her nostrils when she'd said goodbye to her mother and Mari, when she'd watched her home shrink into the distance.

"Fourth-years, assemble your squads by the docks!

" Instructor Marr's voice cut through the murmurs of the gathered students.

He stood at the arena's edge, a commanding figure clad in a cloak woven with glittering glass threads that caught the pale sunlight.

His scarred face was set in its perpetual stern expression, dark eyes scanning the assembled students with the sharp assessment of a former admiral.

Beside him, Instructor Calloway waited, her silver-streaked dark hair pulled back in a severe braid that emphasized her pale, angular features.

Those intimidating icy blue eyes — the eyes of a true Northerner — swept over the students with clinical detachment.

Where Marr was stern, Calloway was cold; her knowledge of Isle Warden tactics matched only by her apparent disdain for weakness.

"Today's Command Challenge will test your ability to function as a unit on the water," Marr announced, his voice carrying across the fjord without effort — a voice accustomed to being heard over gale-force winds and crashing waves.

"Many of you will serve in our naval forces after graduation.

The ability to command on water is as vital as commanding on land — perhaps more so, given our enemy. "

Thalia felt her squad shift nervously behind her. Daniel's breathing had quickened, and she could sense Felah's slight trembling without even looking. The Northern students, Rasmus and Sigrid, maintained their stony expressions, but their rigid postures betrayed their tension.

"Each squad will man a war canoe," Marr continued, gesturing to the sleek vessels tethered to the arena's edge.

"Your objective is simple: capsize your opponent's canoe.

You may use paddles, physical strength, and limited cryomancy.

No weapons, no direct attacks on opponents.

This is about teamwork, control, and tactical thinking.

" His gaze swept over them, lingering momentarily on Thalia.

"The water is cold enough to kill, so if you fall in, remember your survival techniques. "

Calloway stepped forward. "Greenspire squad and Halloway squad, you're first. Take your positions."

Thalia turned to her team, keeping her voice low and steady. "Daniel, Felah, you'll take the middle positions — focus on paddling and balance. Rasmus, you're strongest in cryomancy, so you'll be our offensive at the bow. Sigrid, you'll handle defense mid-ship."

Sigrid's copper hair gleamed as she tilted her head, freckles stark against her pale skin. "And you, Southerner?"

"I'll guide from the stern," Thalia replied evenly, refusing to rise to the bait.

The words hung between them, heavy with unspoken challenge. Since their success in the Golem Fields, Rasmus and Sigrid had shown marginally more respect, but their obedience remained a brittle thing, ready to snap at the first sign of weakness.

"Let's go," Thalia said, moving toward their assigned canoe.

The war canoe was larger than she'd expected, a sleek vessel of lacquered wood reinforced with ice-metal bands along its hull.

It rocked gently as they climbed in, settling into their positions.

The wood beneath Thalia's fingers was smooth but cold, and she felt a flutter of apprehension as the vessel dipped under their combined weight.

Daniel's hands gripped his paddle with white-knuckled intensity. "I've never been in anything smaller than a river barge," he whispered, his bronze skin paling slightly. “This thing moves a lot, doesn’t it?”

"Just follow my lead," Thalia assured him, watching as Felah nervously adjusted her position, her slight frame almost lost in the fur-lined coat she wore.

Across the arena, Levi Halloway's team climbed into their canoe with practiced ease.

Levi sat at the stern, his posture relaxed, hands loose on his steering paddle.

Thalia frowned, remembering that Levi's father was a fisherman from Verdant Port.

Unlike her limited experience watching from shore, Levi had likely spent his childhood on boats, learning the rhythms of water and wind.

"He has the advantage here," she murmured to herself, gauging the challenge anew. On land, in the forge, even in the Golem Fields, she'd found her footing. But here, on water? This was Levi's domain.

The thought hardened her resolve. She'd overcome every obstacle Frostforge had thrown at her. Water would be no different.

"Canoes at ready!" Calloway's voice rang out. She stood on a raised platform at the arena's edge, one hand raised. "Begin on my mark!"

Thalia gripped her paddle, feeling the grain of the wood against her palms. She drew a deep breath of the cold, salt-tinged air.

"Mark!"

Paddles sliced into the water with a synchronized splash. Their canoe lurched forward, wobbling slightly before finding its rhythm. Thalia called cadence from the stern, guiding them with firm, measured commands.

"Steady pace! Rasmus, watch our angle — we'll approach from port side!"

Levi's team moved with fluid efficiency, their canoe cutting through the water like a blade. They curved in a wide arc, clearly aiming to flank Thalia's team.

"Hard to starboard!" Thalia commanded. "Sigrid, ready defense!"

The canoes closed on each other, the sound of paddles and the splash of water filling the air. As they neared Levi's vessel, Thalia saw the opening — a perfect chance to ram their bow into the opponent's mid-section.

"Rasmus, now! Ice spike the water to propel us forward!"

But Rasmus hesitated, his cryomancy a moment too late. The burst of ice beneath their canoe came weakly, pushing them forward but off-angle. The critical moment lost, Levi's team slipped past their bow, gaining position on their starboard side.

Thalia bit back a curse. "Reposition! Daniel, Felah, hard paddle starboard! Sigrid, defense ice wall, now!"

She wouldn't let Rasmus's failure derail them. A leader adapted, compensated, and kept moving forward — she'd learned that much in her years at Frostforge. No plan survived first contact with the enemy.

As she shifted her weight to adjust their course, Thalia felt a strange shudder through the hull.

Something cold and wet seeped through her fur-lined boot.

She glanced down, her heart sinking as she saw water pooling at her feet — not spray from their paddling, but a steady trickle coming from beneath.

A breach. Their canoe was taking on water.

Thalia's mind raced. Should she alert her team, potentially causing panic? Or keep it to herself and push for a quick victory? The water was rising slowly — they had time, but not much.

"Change of plans," she called, infusing her voice with calm authority. "We need to end this quickly. Daniel, Sigrid, block their approach on the starboard. Rasmus, prepare to freeze the water along their hull when I give the word. Felah, keep us balanced."

Felah turned, her eyes widening as she noticed the water now lapping around their ankles. "Thalia, we're taking on water."

"I know," Thalia cut her off with a nod. "We need to win before we sink. Can you slow the breach?"

Understanding dawned in Felah's eyes. With a determined nod, she shifted position, keeping one hand on her paddle while extending the other toward the leak. A faint blue glow emanated from her fingers as she applied cryomancy to the breach, temporarily stemming the flow.

"Good thinking," Thalia acknowledged, pride warming her chest despite the cold water seeping into her boots. "Everyone, on my count, we charge them bow-first. One strong hit should capsize them if we time it right."

She steered them in a wide arc, building momentum. Levi's team paddled hard to intercept, but Thalia had positioned them perfectly.

"Now!" she shouted.

Their canoe surged forward, ramming into the side of Levi's vessel with a resounding crack. The impact jolted through Thalia's body, nearly throwing her from her position. Both canoes rocked violently, water sloshing over their sides.

But Levi's canoe stayed upright, its crew recovering quickly from the blow. Water continued to rise inside Thalia's vessel, now halfway to their knees despite Felah's efforts.

"Circle back!" Thalia commanded, her voice sharp with urgency. "Sigrid, right us!"

Sigrid, to her credit, responded instantly, using cryomancy to stabilize their tilting canoe. As they turned for another pass, Thalia noticed Levi shouting commands to his team, repositioning for a counterattack.

"Felah, Rasmus, on my mark, freeze the water behind our canoe — give us a solid push forward!"

As they lined up for another charge, Thalia felt the cold embrace of the rising water around her calves, a constant reminder of their dwindling time. The canoe sat lower in the water now, sluggish in its response to their paddling.

"Mark!"

Twin bursts of cryomancy erupted from Felah and Rasmus, ice crystalizing beneath the water's surface, propelling them forward with sudden, violent force. The bow of their canoe slammed into Levi's vessel at precisely the right angle — just below the waterline, lifting its side.

For a breathless moment, both canoes teetered on the edge of capsizing. Then, with a groan of wood and a splash of water, Levi's canoe flipped, sending its occupants tumbling into the freezing fjord.

Cheers and gasps rose from the spectators as Levi and his first-years surfaced, spluttering and flailing. Instructor Marr threw buoys into the water, quickly towing the drenched students to safety.

"Well done, Greenspire squad," Calloway's voice rang out, her tone revealing nothing of approval or disappointment — merely acknowledgment.

But victory brought no relief. Their own canoe was sinking rapidly now, the breach widening as the stressed wood gave way.

"To the dock, quickly!" Thalia ordered, guiding their waterlogged vessel toward safety as water pooled around their thighs.

As they passed Levi's overturned canoe, something caught Thalia's eye — a jagged hole in its hull, positioned almost identically to their own breach. Not random damage from the combat, but something eerily similar, as if both canoes had been deliberately weakened in the same spot.

The coincidence sent a chill through her that had nothing to do with the icy water.

"Paddle harder!" she urged as their canoe dipped lower, water now rushing in faster than Felah could freeze it. "We're almost there!"

They reached the dock just as the canoe began to sink beneath them, water lapping at the gunwales.

Daniel and Felah scrambled out first, shivering violently, their soaked clothes already stiffening in the cold air.

Rasmus and Sigrid followed, their movements more controlled but their faces pinched with discomfort.

Thalia was last, her legs numb from the cold water as she pulled herself toward the edge of the dock. A hand appeared in her field of vision — strong, familiar, calloused with burn scars.

"Impressive work," Roran said, his eyes bright with undisguised pride as he helped her from the sinking canoe. His hand clasped hers firmly, lingering for several heartbeats longer than necessary once she stood safely on the dock.

Heat crept up Thalia's neck despite her sodden, freezing clothes. Roran's smile was warm, intimate in a way that made her pulse quicken. For a moment, she allowed herself to bask in his approval, in the connection that hummed between them whenever they were close.

Then something — instinct or memory — prompted her to scan the crowd.

Her eyes found Kaine immediately, as if drawn by an invisible thread.

He stood at the edge of the arena, arms crossed over his broad chest, his posture rigid.

Even from this distance, she could read the tension in his jaw, the intensity in his ice-blue eyes.

Jealousy. Raw and unmistakable.

Thalia's hand slipped from Roran's grasp, the warmth of his touch fading against the sudden awareness of being caught between two forces — like standing in the path of colliding storm fronts.