Page 33 of Frostforge: Passage Two

"The heart is typically comprised of a single alloy," Wolfe continued."The exterior grooves you see here direct the flow of cryomantic energy and allow the core to be activated."

Basic information, taught to the advanced class weeks ago.Thalia watched the Southern students absorbing this knowledge for the first time and felt a twist of anger in her gut.By the time they mastered these fundamentals, the Northern students would be leagues ahead.When the Forge Gauntlet came, these second-years would enter at a deliberate disadvantage.

And that, she realized, was exactly the point.

Frostforge Academy didn't want Southern graduates returning home with equal knowledge and power.The North maintained its dominance by ensuring that recruits from the Southern Kingdoms received just enough education to be useful, but never enough to be threatening.

She turned back to her silver sphere, channeling her frustration into her work.The metal seemed to respond to her emotions, the grooves taking on a subtle glow as she completed them.This, at least, she could control.This, she could perfect.

Wolfe's voice continued in the background."Now, I'll demonstrate the proper installation of a heart into a prepared framework.Who has completed the preliminary assembly exercise from last week?"

A thin Southern boy with sandy hair raised his hand.There was tension in the movement, a visible strain that Thalia recognized immediately: the desperate desire to prove oneself.She'd felt it herself countless times.

"Bring your construct forward," Wolfe instructed.

The boy retrieved a small, humanoid framework from his workstation.It was crude compared to the advanced students' work, but solidly built.Thalia could see he'd taken care with the joints and articulation points.Not bad for a beginner.

"This will serve for our demonstration," Wolfe said, examining the framework critically."Though the balance is questionable, and the proportions are somewhat irregular."

The boy's face fell, and Thalia felt another spike of anger.The framework was more than adequate for a first attempt.Wolfe's criticism wasn't constructive; it was meant to diminish.

Wolfe placed the demonstration heart inside the chest cavity of the small golem, then guided the boy through the activation sequence."A properly installed heart will resonate with the surrounding ice-metal," she explained to the class."The animation process begins with a spark of intent from the crafter, followed by the autonomous circulation of energy through the prepared circuits."

The boy placed his hand on the golem's chest as instructed, his face a mask of concentration.For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the golem shuddered.

Thalia felt it before she saw it — a wrongness in the metal's song, a discordant note that didn't belong.She dropped her tools and stood just as the golem's limbs began to twitch violently.

"Step back," Wolfe ordered, but she was a moment too late.

The golem lurched upright, its movements jagged and unpredictable.Its head rotated a full circle, an impossible motion that snapped something in its neck.The boy backed away, confusion turning to fear as the construct staggered toward him, one arm windmilling outward with unnatural force.

"Stay away from it!"Wolfe shouted, lunging toward the construct.

But the golem moved with unexpected speed.Its arm connected with the boy's outstretched hand, then continued upward, crushing his forearm against his chest.The sound of breaking bone cut through the workshop like a knife.

The boy screamed, a high, thin sound that pierced Thalia to her core.She pushed through the panicking crowd, reaching for the broken golem with her magic rather than her hands.She could feel the discord in its heart, the wild, unpredictable surges of energy where there should have been controlled flow.

Chaos erupted.Students scattered, some frozen in horror, others rushing to help.Two of the advanced students vaulted over workbenches, trying to restrain the malfunctioning construct.Wolfe grabbed a heavy magnetic rod used for emergency deactivations and swung it toward the golem's chest.

To Thalia’s shock, the construct fought back.It caught the rod mid-swing, its fingers locking around the metal with a screech of strain.Sparks flew where the steel connected with iron.As it held the deactivation rod at bay, it turned its attention back to its injured creator, who was curled on the ground, cradling his broken arm.

It’s going to kill him,Thalia realized in a haze of panic.This student wouldn’t be as lucky as Einar, whose hostile construct had fallen apart before it could do any damage.The inferior metal used in this golem wasn’t just making its behavior erratic.It was making itviolent.

Wolfe seemed to come to the same horrifying conclusion.“Get him out of there!”she shouted, her voice sharp with urgency.Two Southern students surged forward, dragging the boy away just as the golem took another staggering step forward, its limbs jerking like a marionette in the hands of a drunk puppeteer.

Without hesitation, Wolfe pivoted and slammed the magnetic deactivation rod she already held against the golem’s chest.The instant the rod made contact with the iron-rich plating, it latched on with a sharpclack.A hum reverberated through the room like a struck bell.

With a final, violent convulsion, the golem collapsed into a heap of twitching metal.Wolfe straightened, breathing heavily, her composure barely intact.She looked up, her gaze seeking the injured boy.He was pale, his face contorted; Thalia could tell that he was trying to hide his pain, trying to appear strong, but failing miserably.She felt a twinge of sympathy for him.He had almost died.Any student with a broken bone would be in agony, but the Northerners in the room were already snickering, whispering to each other under their breaths.Within the next few days, Thalia was sure, their shape of their mockery would solidify, and the injured boy would become a laughingstock throughout the academy.

"Get him to the healers," Wolfe ordered."Everyone else, class dismissed.Clear the area immediately."

As students rushed to comply, Thalia approached the fallen golem.Despite Wolfe's instructions, she knelt beside it, examining the twisted metal limbs and the exposed heart.Up close, she could see what she'd suspected: the steel alloy used for the framework was flawed, riddled with impurities that disrupted the magical current.

She pried open the chest cavity and removed the heart.Unlike the framework, the copper core was perfect — standard academy issue, untainted.But it had been placed into a body that couldn't properly channel its energy, creating a feedback loop of increasingly chaotic instructions.

"Greenspire!I said clear the area," Wolfe snapped, striding toward her.

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