In the dark polar night that hung over the ancestral home city of the arctic elves: the central heart of the state of Ice Haven. As the Ice Bridge laid the path across the southern coastlines of the state, the once waves of monster attacks from the seas became an all-out assault as pours of monsters of all kinds aim to destroy the state of the reach. Entire communities from small rooks to the famous home of Icicle Shore fell in a matter of days. As the military scrambles to make a solid defense to buy time for the ‘Reach Wall’ to be constructed to withstand the hordes. All factions as the Silverdalean defenders and allies held onto the urban landscape and the forest.
As Marshal Gwynie Goldenheart herself rode across the landscape on her elk to fight off a furious pack of owlbears from the main avenue to protect a rescue mission of a few civilians, the miracle happened. A distant pillar of light that struck the sea, miles away from the city itself. A shriek of terror came from the monsters as they broke away as if the fury of the sun itself cast its judgment upon the wicked children of Garyx.
One of the penguin soldiers opened their beak at this moment and spoke up, “It’s a miracle! Praise the Sun! It's light from both Celestia and Solis! They answered our prayers. We’re saved!”
Gwynie struck down one of the great owlbears and glanced at the event. As she heard from a top secure channel from her earpiece, she looked in both awe and concern by this display of mass destruction. “Marshal Gwynie! We have a game-changer, but you need to keep this top secret! The Ice Bridge is destroyed by a powerful orbital LASER from Rohane Alista. Quick, try to secure the state at once! And don’t tell anyone that it is a laser.”
Gwynie sighed as she hated to lie and use this little misconception as to the correct divine intervention. This is not how Solis will behave that’d disrupt the balance of the sea and her sisters like this! No that won’t do. Still, as a principle of the law and a chance to seize the moment, they have to regain the land. It’d light up the morale.
“Solis blessed us and protected us from the hordes from the South Pole,” Gwynie told her forces and opened the common radio channels. “My friends, my soldiers, my children, this is the hour we change the frontline! At this moment, I am ordering all our forces to search and destroy. We shall push the monsters back to the seas and save Silverdale!”
“Hooray!”
As the north section of the ice bridge collapsed into great chunks of icebergs and floating platforms that floated eastward by the ocean current, the revirged defenders seized the opportunity to strike back. The determined army went forth to breach through the weakened packs of enemies, with bombardment from artillery and firebomb airstrikes to weed out the chaff. Even when the megafauna that survived multiple shots from gunships like the dreaded Tarn Linnorm, Gwynie rode forth to fight the great dragon beast.
It was easier to encircle the dragon and cut off from the little monsters that it ‘commanded’ in a loose sense in the south of Icicle Fall for the Silverdalean forces. Yet the corner beast thrash it away and destroys countless buildings with entrenched soldiers and melt away IFV support with its acid breath to break its containment. An entire company of android soldiers were destroyed from direct confrontation with the beast. Perhaps thousands of unprotected soldiers and vehicles will fall in an attempt to slay this one beast alone, even with the right equipment against it.
In such moments, the White Beret ‘Dragon Slayer’ Company and the Marshal herself rolled in to face the overgrown two headed snake. The nimble rider leaped through one of the linnorm’s breaths as the dragon slayer squads positioned themselves around the beast to fire overlarge coated bullets and missiles to pierce through its thicken scales. It was a risk as the marshal was the bait. Yet the grand elder knight commander Gwynie wasn’t afraid as she encircled the beast to slash it with her great sword.
The linnorm shirke was the greatsword blazed with holy light, cutting through its thick flesh! As the best retaliated and thrashed against the rider with its tail, the Elk was flung back into the ground. Yet Gwynie gasped as she made a careful landing on her feet, and whistled for the squads to open fire! A spell is cast, and she quickly dash away with a mere image as bullets strike at three sides! Confused, it went for the left to attack the fortified soldiers in one of the ruined buildings, but with little luck to get rid of the troopers than a powerful missile to hit its side!
As it bellowed in pain, Gwnyine’s feet swifty pursued towards the dragon, and with one great swing, she cutted the heads of both dragons! With one clean of her slash, one of the largest greats is gone. Now the payway to reclaim Icicle Shore and beyond is now set.
Garyx’s Prison
As the war went on, the expedition team sent by the First Order and Silverdale went beyond the boundaries of Silverdale into the territories of the south pole. Into its depths away from the coast where the divine prison was constructed by the seasonal deities. Built after their mythical war that transformed Arcadia into the icy wasteland that is now Antarctica stood. While a fantastic story, the prison itself was true.
An ever-shifting place where the monsters lurk and come, alongside all other forgotten deities and horrors placed by the gods themselves. A fate worse than any hell one may say. As one’s soul was said to be entrapped there. Although no one known in written record who visited and returned to tell the tale was able to verify such a claim. For the team who braved through its halls and slain such beings, what they can brag is that the Ice Cube, the federal prison inspired by this desolated icy prison, is far more humane and livable than this absolute zero jail.
Yet the danger and exploration met by the party are there to tell...
A quick majestic heal and confrontation from her rather curious alicorn, Garyx kept a keen eye on the events of Frozen Heart’s little showdown against silly elves, humans, Malgravean neko, goats, penguin, a frozen alicorn, and a lizard thing. She scoffed in annoyance that this was the best Avala can muster. Wannabe gods and mortals. Even the mortal kind had to result in a weapon of mass destruction, but this? This is child’s play. Didn’t her sister learn that mortals have no chance against her ages ago? Surely her-
“-My power is of an oracle, and I can slay Garyx if I want.” Frozen Heart boasted amid a heated conversation.
“Such hubris!? Another fool who wishes to control winter and rule? Well, time to dispose of this little pawn.”
As the dragon god strains what lingering powers bind her within the cell itself to strike her jaws and shatter the window of the adversary to bite Frozen Heart’s flanks! It was a big pain as she did so, but it was enough to weaken more of the barrier to escape! All alongside the futile attempt as the Alicorn blasts her ice magic at the group of heroes but is ultimately slain by the icy elf woman with her rapier.
The time has come. As the battles raged onwards, destroyed critical supports to hold what is left-back, and her minions failed her, this forsaken prison was unable to hold her for long. What adorable defenses and technologies the mortals have are no match for her claws and abilities to control the elements themselves. They won’t stand against the sundering that’ll come.
As the great dragon god tested her might and divine powers to break the boundaries and chains that kept her physical true body within, a prayer from a little faithful goat spoke up to the true seasonal goddess of winter. A prayer for intervention. One to stop the destruction of the cell to prevent Garyx’s freedom to unleash a nightmare that’d take unknown millions of lives and cities in Silverdale. Such a normal prayer can be easily ignored, but the light of a spell flared like a beacon to come and deliver a miracle.
As the ice quake from every inch of claw and magical power to break free from the weakened barrier and chains, a swirl of wind appeared in front of the dragoness. The small snow woman glared at the monstrous sister of Garyx who directed her thousand burning suns of a hateful gaze at her warden.
“Avala…” Garyx snorted as Avala approached.
“My dear sister… I know this is unusual to appear at this time… But perhaps you can reconsider.” Avala sighed as she looked at the monstrous form that her sister took to destroy the seal. A colossal dragon that dwarfed over the small goddess and feet that’d easily crush her. “To cease this revenge and destruction.”
"How fruitless of you Avala. Alone and without your sisters. To torment me once again with your frivolity!" Garyx shouted.
"I wish for you to one day see that there is no need for destruction for every stage of life to begin once again. This shortened length will bring only death to the end of life itself on the planet." Avala said.
"And you'd allow those foolish mortals to pollute and use all until they create their demise?" Garyx insulted.
"I do have faith this is not the case," Avala said.
Just as the two had a long staredown, the window from the observation point once again shattered after the ice repaired the damage, and one… snooping Malgravean neko named Rosario simply recorded the events with her little maltec device and interrupted the two goddesses.”
"It seems that they are rather ignorant of the environmental achievements of the Malgravean people," Rosario spoke as she whispered other gibberish, which was enough for the dragon deity to snap and direct her rage at the small cat.
"Your achievements mean nothing! One land while flourish, while another destroys by mortal folly and in return spreads a plague on Malgravean soil itself!" Garyx shouted.
“Those people may have just the right capability to change the land to benefit or damage its sister. An uncredited caretaker. But to destroy them while you wish to slay me? Well, this goes far enough.” Avala formed an icy glaive as Garyx stomped over towards her.
“Agreed. Now you die!” Garyx roared.
The two clashed as both the maw of a thousand swords and the drop of the glaive collided into each other, and the ice trembled before their feet. The frozen ground twist, reforge, and deformed as both stomps as magic was cast to pin down each other. Yet they’re the masters of the element of water, ever-fluid as an Avala dropped the glaive to create a pillar of an icy spike that crashed onto the ceiling to block an entire dragon’s breath!
Garyx’s roared as she smashed the pillar of ice with her tail and batted Avala aside! Yet the lady quickly rolled up and used her magic to make an ice slide to help recover upwards to blast a massive beam of ice at the dragon! The dragon’s eyes became icy as it blasted its polar eye beams at Avala’s beam to collide! The whole-cell shook from the great energy, and entire rifts cracked open in the far distance, consuming all monsters unfortunately to escape! The beams of ice formed into a spiky ball and exploded to injure both the goddess and those unprotected in the room!
As the walls of entire ice sheets began to collapse onto the warring deities, blazing light of chains and other bindings that arose from the observatory halted the debris. As a reversal of the destruction that’d destroy the whole fabric of the prison and allow Garyx to escape, the ice instead reforges back in place for the prison cell to be more stable. New energies of divine and light-filled the place. As a mere wish spell from a powerful ritual was cast from the heroes. One that’ll keep the binding for another millennium to keep the wrathful deity down.
As to protect the team from a strike of the dragon’s breath, Avala swung down her glaive to cast an ablaze of burning and cold polar energy at the underbelly of the dragoness! Almost as if to freeze the being! Yet the deity tested its strength and easily broke it with its sheer might and then stabbed Avala’s with the sheer edge of its claw.
“Argh!” Avala pitched as she felt her abilities begin to wane as dark veins appeared on her shoulder.
“A gift to you sister! One to end your foolish self.”
“Well, then I’ll make this quick,” Avala said.
The two charged forward one last strike, as both the breath of the dragon engulfed the goddess with the might of many blizzards! Yet with one fantasy dashed forward against Garyx’s side, massive icicles slashed across the underbelly and soon a whirlwind of ice to freeze the beast! Yet as Avala ice slides around Garyx’s legs, one powerful claw slash and smack the goddess flying off to the other side of the chamber to crash headfirst into the wall and land onto the ground. Garyx shrieked and shook the foundation of the prison itself, causing other distant cells to collapse as she temporarily froze in place.
Yet it was a momentary setback as the ice shook and her second humanoid form restored life to the colossal dragon. As soon as reinforcements from the team of warriors stepped forward, the ice prison erupted into battle once again, with Princess Tynah, Flora, and a high priestess Talva at the scene. The world shook as ice crumbled and the state of the entire prison shook and reforged as powerful magic was cast to change even the fabric of reality. At the end of this clash, it appeared one side was victorious.
The chain team
Hours later.
“Aye, and it appears some of the chains are restored.” Lux then nudged her sister. “I suppose a ritual to seal off the divine power of Garyx is in order.”
Nico was a little hesitant to agree with Vanilla as she moved closer at the fallen carcass and began to analyze the remains around here. There were very few outside those of academical and their questionable peer-review studies on this place who came closer to the truth. Yet for Nico, her mother did give her a ‘partial’ hint on how the prison structure truly works. The ice chamber was a mere cage for the physical and spiritual essence of Garyx. A cruel punishment to deny a deity of the world to go back to the lifestream. There might have been a reason why the four seasonal goddesses choose this method. Out of mercy perhaps.
Yet at the same time, traces of the soul were nowhere to be found. As induced by one of Nico’s little crystal prismatic scopes and detection spells to discover the answer. She looked a little confused as she turned to Lux. “Uh… we might have a small issue with that Lux.”
“Eh? C’mon, Garyx doesn’t have some crazy Ganon level of powers. A quick ritual and we’re done!” Lux winked.
“No stupid.” Nico then blushed. “I mean… Ugh, you can be such an airhead… Okay sorry but I think Garyx escaped. The physical dragon form that empowers her will to winter is gone, but the soul doesn’t linger around. Nor I don’t see any visible indications of the elven woman’s body. These implications are… worrisome.”
“Heh?” Vanilla leaned over and mused for a second. “Okay, so Glacia and the others slain the dragon form, but… Okay so like spare her or Garyx got away. We have to use Occam's Razor here folks.”
“Heheh, razor-” Lux's cheerful expression flatlined as she hardened a little. “I must consult with the goddesses on this matter and confront this foolish team myself.” She then turned around to whisper a few words and then open up a gateway to another lush world. She then stepped forth and disappeared.
“Oh no.” Nico shivered. “This is… a mystery I have to report to the president. Vanilla, you think Lila will be happy with what happened to her?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” Vanilla chuckled a little. “Although she’ll weigh in and probably mess with Brasa first to see if she had a hand in it. Although I will say that this war is likely over, oooh boy… Ahem, let’s not worry about it and do what we can here Nico.”
“Agreed,” Nico said.
Epilogue
With the defeat of Garyx and the instigators, Fimbulvetr dawns to a close. As the source of hatred fell, the divine power of the southern half of the great ice bridge shattered apart, and the monstrous hordes fell into disarray. The once mysterious beings of the snowmen, just as they appeared, vanished from sight amongst their creatures. What remains were isolated and mere beasts destined to be eliminated by the coalition.
The worst of winter has passed. All across Silverdale, the folks thank the rightful goddess Avala and the new ascended Talva for the coming restoration of the gentle snow to come. The civilian sector praises Miranda’s administration and her allies for the effective leadership to eliminate the threats from repeating the same devastating and long three-year war in the 40s. The opposition from the ring wing and old advisers criticized Operation Arden strategy to fall back to more dependable grounds left the Icy Coast state in a state of ruin. Alongside much devastation laid waste across six states at the southern coast of Silverdale.
In this dark hour where about a quarter of Silverdaleans are displaced from their homes to live as refugees, people began to discover a new meaning of hope. One of faith to a way of discovery. New religious movements to answer from the lack of faith to new truths spread as new proclaim deities emerge across the nation. A great awakening in the next cycle. While wolves amongst sheep lurk in the shadows, others from abroad came to popularity from the Ancestral Study across the nation and its refugees. Only the flowers of spring will tell the fruits of its labor.