2412, Crescin 5, Reshpe

Nyxis was awakened by the scuffling sounds outside his room.

He shrugged. It shouldn't be a big deal to him. He's lived through much more. Then, he froze. Oh yeah, he was in the Ice Capital. He shouldn't be hearing noises outside his room because of the thickness of the ice walls.

But he could. By no means was it gentle.

Someone was shouting, bellowing words that sounded like orders. Nyxis couldn't make out the exact words but he could tell that it was important. Did something happen while he's sleeping? What's going on?

He rolled out of his mattress, wincing as his body slowly came to life along with his brain. Did it just get colder? In the Capital? He gritted his teeth as he exercised his arms that seemed to have frozen overnight. He grunted. Oh, that hurt. Remind him again what he was doing in this freezing place? Ah, he's here to get his throne.

Which Kennen Jarmez, who was apparently the Heir to the ice sprite throne, wouldn't agree to give to him. He tried for the past few days to at least hold it but the heir was adamant of not even letting him see the dark corridors leading to it.

Nyxis sighed. He stretched and rummaged around his bare room for a change of beige robes and trousers. He found his boots stashed by the shadow-leaden door.

Last night had been an endless day of training. Nyxis had been so tired he just threw his boots off and drifted to bed. And, really, the ice sprites weren't kidding when they said training. They meant training.

He finished dressing, grateful for the added warmth of the added layers in the form of a loosely-sleeved overcoat that hung to his knees. It's an ingenious thing, this robe.

His hands reached for a standing mirror conveniently placed at the table beside his bed. He winced as he slammed it down against the ice table's surface. He resisted the urge to check his hair on a mirror because that meant he's going to see the state of his face yet again. Denara might have given him a chiding of a lifetime—damn, he could still feel that slap—but that didn't mean he had accepted things the way they were. No. There's no way he's going to just go down quietly on this fight.

He sighed as he retrieved his satchel beside his bed. He rummaged inside it. Thank the gods he could remember where things were. Ever since he lost and regained his memories in Denara's cave, he had been too careful of checking whether he still had them every single morning he woke up. Call it paranoia but Nyxis liked to refer to it as keeping it safe.

Nyxis frowned when he took out a jar containing the cream he used to try and fade out scars. So far, it wasn't working. Every time he psyched himself to look into a mirror, he could see that not much had changed. His scar wasn't going away any time soon.

He bit his lip as he scooped an ungodly amount of the cream with two of his fingers and worked to spread it across his face. He had come to remember where his scar had curved and shot past due to the number of times he applied the cream into it. The mirror served no purpose now.

He stashed the jar back into his satchel, his fingers brushing Canelis's sword as he drew his hand back out. Lifeseeker. The infallible throne of the Pixies. Would Canelis kill him if he lost the sword in the depths of the ocean?

He hadn't seen the pixie for a long time. Let him hope she was fine. As for the reason why she left him her sword, Nyxis had to admit that he was still trying to figure that out. He shook his head and gripped the rim of his satchel. It's not going to help anyone because no one other than the Pixie heir could use the sword. He knew because he tried.

He shouldered his satchel and trudged to the door. The bruise on his arm from yesterday's training still hurt when it brushes against his sleeve. His magic wouldn't heal it due to it being inflicted without the use of magic. He couldn't use his medicines on it either because he's conserving his supply.

Diven and Flaron have fallen. The trade routes were locked. The merchants were compromised. He didn't know where he could replenish his stocks any time soon. He shouldn't be a baby and whine about things such as bruises. A small laugh shook his shoulders when his mind pictured Denara saying that.

Nyxis extended his hand towards the dark doorway and muttered the word taught to him by the ice sprites. It's a pretty handy way of doing doors. No one could enter without knowing the word and they were changed every other day.

Today's word arrived via a hole in the ice wall maintained by a team of ice sprites dedicated to keeping everyone informed. Nyxis took one look at it earlier and of course, it's a random Keijula word that he was sure he was going to fail to pronounce correctly.

Thankfully, the door swirled and glowed when he uttered the word. Unfortunately, what lay beyond the wall was utter chaos.

"Secure those ropes! Carry the load! Proceed to the upper floors!" a strong male voice yelled. It bounded off the walls making it seem louder and deeper. That would be General Sivery Craleth. Even back in training, he's known for his bellowing voice that could carry across floors.

A pained wince exploded into Nyxis's lips as his ears rang this early in the morning. He pushed past the crowd of ice sprites running with some already in metal armor. The sound of metal crunching against metal rang and reverberated in the air as ice sprites burst in and out of Nyxis's periphery.

Pointed icicles roped in bunches paraded through the hallway as the ice sprites carrying them bustled through with grim faces. Those looked heavy considering that they're made from pure ice but the ice sprites carrying them didn't seem to be bothered at all. Nyxis had to duck, swerve here and there, and sidestep to avoid being caught by the tips as he craned his neck up, searching for a familiar General known to be directing these floors.

"General!" Nyxis called to a man in ice-blue armor that glinted brighter, unlike the rest that flitted through his view. Was that a generals-only perk? "What is the update?"

Some of the ice sprites that heard him cleared the way as he jogged to where the General was talking to a group of ice sprites dressed in robes. He caught up to the General's place in the middle of the crowd and braced his hands on his knees to catch his breath. Damn, just moving like that made his lungs burn though at least, it drove some of the cold away.

The General regarded Nyxis like he's nothing but a piece of lint on his clothes. He turned to the crowd of people rushing west. What was due west, anyway? "The siege started," General Craleth said. His modulated voice was loads different than his commanding tone. So he could speak without screaming? Amazing. The General sniffed with disdain as he craned his head to the ceiling. "Not too long ago too. They have cleared the first five floors now."

Nyxis's heart leaped to his throat. Five floors already? How were they doing that?

"Do you need my help, General?" Nyxis asked. He wasn't feeling good about any of this. "What is with the icicles? Are we turning to the next plan already?"

Surprise colored the General's face. Nyxis resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course, Nyxis knew about the plans. He was there the day they were drafted. "No to both questions," the General averted his gaze towards a sheaf of parchment passed to him by one of the ice sprites in robes. "The Grand Marshal saw it best to combine two plans together. We've seen how powerful they were."

Dread made Nyxis's gut churn. "How many of each?"

A cloud of darkness passed through General Craleth's face. "Three thousand heads for Cardovia. A thousand for Synketros," he handed back the sheaf to the ice sprite after skimming a few pages. "They are a mixed army. We spied at least ten races present, half-bloods and humans included."

Bile rose to Nyxis's throat. Four thousand? In a way, it was a viable number considering the ice sprite forces number at least four to five. But they weren't fighting ice sprites. They were fighting people from all parts of the island. The training didn't prepare the soldiers for that.

A hand laid on Nyxis's shoulder. He traced the hand to General Craleth's face to find the ice sprite looking at him with gentle eyes. "Do not worry," he said. "Our forces are trained to handle each and every kind of synnavaim out there. Now, run along. Perhaps the other Generals can find a job for you."

Nyxis nodded before turning away. He sidestepped more ice sprites hauling bunches of pointed icicles two fairies long. Find the other generals. That much should be easy.