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Chapter Thirty-Three
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2022-01-15 08:24:48Alex collapsed into the snow, hanging onto his consciousness by a thin thread. His body felt as though it had been set on fire on the inside. His vision was blurred and his heart ached as it pounded heavily. Alex had been through a lot in the last two years, but he had never experienced anything like this before. It was as if his entire sense of logic had all but dissipated. It was difficult to think clearly as he struggled to lift himself up with shaky arms.
Alex was completely oblivious to his surroundings, so much so that he never considered he may not have been alone. A few meters behind him, amidst the cover of the trees, a tall, dark figure was standing in the shadows, as though it were watching him. The figure took a single step from the tree line, still shrouded in the darkness, but as it did, the air around it suddenly became motionless. In fact, the entire environment appeared to be still; the bo
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Ice Cold - Part Two: Winter's Bane Chapter Thirty-Four
“Where is she!?”Matheus hurried down the tunnel of the mine to where Rowan had made her encampment with her Domineer hostage, only now, the two of them were gone. He looked down at the Ravennite he had asked to keep an eye on her. He was still lying unconscious on the ground, and Matheus kicked him in the side to try to wake him. “Get up!”The Ravennite slowly but steadily came back to his senses. He sat up against the wall of the mine and groaned as he held his head. Matheus was growing impatient. “What happened?” he asked tensely. “Where’s Rowan?”“Rowan,” the man repeated in a murmur. His head was still aching, but it quickly made him realize what was going when he saw that Rowan was not around. “Rowan!” he exclaimed, his eyes opening
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What hour was it? For all Rowan knew, it could be nearly dawn by now. Her sense of time had been obscured after spending the past twenty-four hours inside the abandoned clay mines during the bone-chilling aftermath of the storm. She did not care. All her thought and focus was bent on tracking down Caine’s encampment.That name gnawed at her heart with a piercing strain; a young man she had once almost called a friend, whom her family always trusted, was now nothing more than a haunting demon she felt she had to face. Her blood ran hot with hatred, and her mind seemed to be blotting out any rational thoughts that might deter her from her reckless path.This powerful strain stayed with Rowan ever since she encountered Caine at the Iron Furnace. He tried to bring her over to his side by convincing her the last of the Ravennites would surely be destroye
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Just on the other side of the mountains, the Domineers were as restless as the Ravennites while they patrolled the borders of their encampment. Caine was becoming increasingly anxious, and that was never a good sign. Ever since the anticipation of the storm, Caine’s uneasiness continued to grow until it began to affect the rest of them as well. They never had so little contact with Ramon’s camp as they did the past few months, and the silence was deafening.Most of them were certain that the storm smply delayed the messengers they were expecting from Ramon, but Caine was fearful that his message was never received at all, and that the Ravennites would be on their doorstep before they knew it. He ordered the Domineers to patrol the woods surrounding the plain at all times, but beyond that, Caine seemed to keep to himself, as if there was something he was not telling the rest of them.
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“Take them out of here!” Caine shouted as he approached the rest of the Domineers crowded around the cluster of catapults. They only stared back at him curiously. “Did you not hear me?” he panted with anxious exhaustion.“What’s going on?” one of the Domineers stepped forward. “Is it the Ravennites?” His question suddenly caused the others to glance this way and that.“Just do as I say!” Caine fired back angrily. “Start moving the catapults. We’re taking them back to the camps.”“What?” the Domineer asked in confusion. “I thought we were supposed to stay here until Ramon’s men arrived, so we could lead the catapults over the mountains and to the Citadel. That was the plan.”
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The entire atmosphere went deathly silent as soon as her charge had ended. The disturbing sound of the tearing of flesh echoed briefly in Rowan’s ears, but it was not what she was expecting. Her jaw fell wide open as she stared at her victim in total shock. The very sight before her was unbelievable.Caine howled in both agony and anger. As soon as Rowan charged her sword at him, he instinctively raised his left hand to protect himself, and the tip of the blade pierced right through it. The Domineers looked on in horror and disbelief, unable to decide what to do at this point. The air was filled with his blood curdling screams as Caine tried desperately to suppress the pain.Rowan was too astonished to move. Eventually, Caine rose above the pain. He opened his eyes, which had gone bloodshot, and stared at Rowan with a crazed look of hate. She could not ba
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The atmosphere was becoming clouded with apprehension. Alex gazed around at the dozens of Domineers staring him down. He held his breath, waiting impatiently for the fight to begin, however short it might be.Alex turned to look back at Rowan, and the two managed to lock eyes. The last time they had seen each other, they were hanging precariously on a slope leading to the edge of a cliff with an avalanche right on their tails. Alex had no idea what was going to happen, or if they would ever see each other again after that. His memory had become so impaired after the events that followed, but she was here now, and as he looked down at her wounded form, he grew hot with rage when he thought about what the traitor had done to her.“Now!” Caine shouted at his men. The Domineers cried out as they charged at Alex. Putting aside his worries and his fears,
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Amidst the chaos, Caine watched as the fight continued to rage. It was clear that the Domineers were becoming less hopeful with each passing moment as the Ravennites, led by Darowe, proceeded to build their footing against them. He growled to himself, realizing there was nothing left to be done, save one thing. Caine quickly turned and headed briskly away toward his tent near the edge of the plain.Bringing himself back to the situation at hand, Alex stood to his feet and scanned around the battle. His head was pounding as he watched Darowe’s people continue to mow down the Domineers no matter how hard they fought back. He knew they could handle it. Right now, Alex had to get Rowan out of here. He had to get her back to the Citadel to get immediate medical attention. The only thing that worried him was the way that Delmar was bound to react when he saw his sister.
Last Updated : 2022-01-16Ice Cold - Part Two: Winter's Bane Chapter Forty-One
“Not again.”Alex could sense that he was slipping back into another one of his inexplicable visions. He was not sure how much longer he could stand these mysterious dreams invading his mind before he went completely insane.Just like the last time, Alex could hear many voices swarming around him, all speaking the same thing over and over again.“Winter’s Bane.”Amidst all the surrounding voices, Alex heard the voice of the young woman he kept seeing in the walls of an abandoned Citadel. “Do not stray from the path!” her voice echoed throughout his mind.Alex hissed as he clutched his head
Last Updated : 2022-01-16
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Ice Cold - Part Two: Winter's Bane Epilogue
Seven years laterFor seven years, the Ravennites worked to rebuild their lives after the devastating war with the Domineers, maintaining their distance from the world beyond their borders. No Outsider had entered the Dark Zone in all that time, until now.The Ravennites had all but abandoned the Citadel. Despite that, few Ravennite sentries remained posted atop the plateau at all times, as though they were guarding something.The sun was making its descent on a cool spring evening. After all this time, the walls of the Citadel remained standing, as well as the tower, but it was not enough to stop the dark figure ascending the steep plateau toward the fortress above. The Ravennites had long boasted of the impenetrability of the Citadel on all sides. The Domineers had been able to breach their walls only once, and near
Ice Cold - Part Two: Winter's Bane Chapter Sixty-Five
Alex was panting and sweating profusely in no time, but he could not let the exhaustion get to him. Walking beside the long road leading away from the mountains, he stopped periodically to rest for a moment and sip what water was left in his canteen. Every time he tasted the spring water, he felt instantly reinvigorated. Very few vehicles passed him along the way. He tried to flag a few of them down to ask for a ride, but nobody would stop for someone so ragged-looking. As Alex watched them go, it was almost as if he was on an alien planet. He had not seen one in so long, and he knew that readjusting to his old life was definitely going to take some time.Many miles later, Alex stopped to rest under the shade of a small cluster of trees along the side of the road. To his disdain, he emptied the last contents of his canteen into his dry mouth. His legs were aching and he was starting to become dehydrated, a
Ice Cold - Part Two: Winter's Bane Chapter Sixty-Four
Alex’s mind was made up. He had decided he would spend a final three days among the people of Ravenna before setting out for the Outside. This he felt would give him more than enough time to prepare himself to leave and, as a personal matter, a chance to spend the last of these days with his closest friend.Alex kindly requested of Delmar that word of his intentions to leave this time did not get out to the rest of the Ravennites, at least until he had gone. He thought it would be best for him to simply slip away as quietly as possible. The people had lessened their habits lately of referring to him by the name of Winter’s Bane, but their behavior around him never changed. They would salute him every time he stepped foot outside the cottage. Many of them seemed too nervous to make eye contact with him, and they almost always moved out of the way whenever they saw him coming. Alex was used
Ice Cold - Part Two: Winter's Bane Chapter Sixty-Three
Even Delmar knew it was not over yet. Despite the fall of Ramon Morenno and the total collapse of the Domineers, there were few who managed to escape the valley and had presumably gone into hiding. Delmar was not willing to let his guard down until he was certain that the mountains were safe once again.For the next few weeks following the battle in Ravenna, Delmar mobilized as many scouting parties as he could to comb the mountains and root out any and all Domineer stragglers. In time, many, if not all the Outsiders, were either found and captured or gave themselves up in fear, but Delmar ordered that they be brought back to the valley before exiling them back to the world from which they came.As Rowan observed her brother’s merciful actions toward them, she herself felt an unusual notion of pity. Thanks to Alex, she had more than enough faith to
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The cool gusts of wind flowed all around him as Alex slowly regained consciousness. As the light returned to his eyes, he found himself gazing up at the beautiful, green canvas of the springtime trees and the calming sound of flowing water filled his ears. He recognized the feeling of pure and intangible tranquility - he was lying in the Oasis.“This is not real,” he muttered quietly as he lay still upon the damp stone between the two flowing streams.“Of course it’s real. Why would you think that?”Alex sat up at the sound of her familiar voice. There, sitting on the edge of the cliff looking out at the mountains in the distance, was the young woman he had seen in his visions of the abandoned Citadel. Her hand was resting lightly in the stream as it flowe
Ice Cold - Part Two: Winter's Bane Chapter Sixty-One
Amidst the massive skirmish, Alex whipped around at the sound of the breaking catapult. Not only him, but the Domineers had been swayed by the commotion as well, and Alex noticed the Ravennites rushing to assault the last one standing.Alex took this brief opportunity to scan the battlefield. It seemed that the Ravennites were inadvertently dividing their efforts. The majority of the chaos was spread out across the center of the valley; those around him were engaging all enemies left and right with no intentions except to kill. Delmar and Ramon were locked in a hand to hand duel as they moved blindly around the field, all while the rest of the Ravennites were pushing their way toward the Domineers’ catapults with little resistance. Alex tensed himself as he realized the tide of the battle would almost certainly shift in favor of one of them at any moment, and it all depended on who made the daring mo
Ice Cold - Part Two: Winter's Bane Chapter Sixty
At Delmar’s command, the Ravennites retreating immediately released a series of battle cries before returning to the fight. Alex turned his head to see them charging forth. He could feel his head burning intensely amidst the raging ferocity of the battle. He glanced back around as the enemy was upon them. Their numbers were still too great.Malachai stood by his side as the Ravennites gathered. “Are you with me?” Alex said quietly. Malachai looked him in the eye with a serious expression. He said nothing, but gave a slight head nod as he seemed to understand what Alex was thinking. Without saying another word, Alex broke from the weak formation, with Malachai by his side, crying out as they charged and the Ravennites followed right behind them.There was no time between them anymore. The last of the two armies were upon each other immediately,
Ice Cold - Part Two: Winter's Bane Chapter Fifty-Nine
Rowan had been running through the woods and hills for hours. She stopped only to catch her breath, but as she made her way deeper into the northern territories of the mountains, she was all but exhausted. She could feel the cold sweat in her hair and the sting of the winter air in her throat with every breath she took.Rowan was not sure if this was fate or irony. She knew the path she was taking up the mountainside well, for she had been through it years ago when the last of her family escaped the onslaught in Ravenna. Now she was heading back the same way to fight beside her brother and her people in the battle that would end where it all began.As Rowan climbed to the peak of the snowy hills, she could not help but collapse to her hands and knees in exhaustion, dropping her spear into the snow. She could barely breathe; tears were forced out of her eyes by
Ice Cold - Part Two: Winter's Bane Chapter Fifty-Eight
Back at the edge of the valley, Ramon shook his head in frustration. The battle continued to proceed indecisively, but it was clear that the Ravennites were beginning to push his people back. The trees around him had soon been brought down, clearing the way for the Domineers to push the catapults into the valley. Ramon glanced back and forth between them and the battle ahead, his mind racing to come to a decision.He suddenly turned back to the Domineer by his side. “Send them in,” he commanded, gesturing to the catapults, “and run them down.”“Wait, what?” the man responded in curiosity. “But what about our men engaging the Ravennites?”Ramon only looked at him with anger growing in his eyes. “I said,” he growled viciously, “send in the catapults!&rd
