Page 18 of Frostforge: Passage Four
Felah wrapped her arms tighter around her thin frame, her dark curls whipping in the wind."They say these fields are haunted," she whispered, so softly Thalia almost missed it beneath the howl of the wind.
"Metal can't be haunted," Sigrid scoffed, but her copper hair couldn't hide the wariness in her eyes as she stared into the misty valley.
Thalia spotted movement below — other squads gathering in the distance, small dark figures against the white expanse."There they are.Let's move."She gestured toward the path that wound down the slope, treacherous with ice and hidden obstacles.
As they descended, the enormity of the Golem Fields became more apparent.What had seemed like distant shapes from above now revealed themselves as monstrous constructs — some standing nearly three times Thalia's height, others collapsed in pieces, their limbs scattered across acres of frozen ground.The snow muffled their footsteps, creating an eerie silence broken only by the occasional groan of metal contracting in the cold.
They joined the other squads at the valley's edge.Instructor Calloway paced before them, her back to the dangerous field, silver-streaked hair whipping around her sharp features.Her icy blue eyes swept over the assembled students, lingering briefly on Thalia's squad.
"Today's Command Challenge will test not only your combat abilities but your judgment," Calloway announced, her voice carrying across the wind."Fourth-years, you will lead your squads into the Golem Fields on a salvage mission.Your objective: recover a working golem heart — an intact core from a failed construct."
Murmurs rippled through the assembled students.Calloway raised a hand for silence.
"Some of these constructs retain power years after abandonment.This exercise is both training and a test.First-years, consider this your introduction to the Fields.In three months, you will face the Frost Walk alone."Her gaze hardened."Those who succeed today will have an advantage in understanding the terrain.Those who fail..."She let the implication hang in the air.
Thalia felt Felah trembling beside her and reached out to squeeze her shoulder."We'll be fine," she whispered."Stay close."
With her squad in formation — Rasmus and Sigrid flanking, Daniel and Felah behind — Thalia led them deeper into the Golem Fields.The snow crunched beneath their boots, sometimes giving way to reveal twisted metal below.The deeper they ventured, the more oppressive the silence became, as if even the wind feared to disturb the resting constructs.
Daniel's foot caught on something, and he stumbled with a yelp.Thalia turned to see him sprawled in the snow, a skeletal metal arm protruding from where he'd tripped.
"Southerners," Sigrid muttered under her breath.
Rasmus elbowed her sharply before Thalia could intervene."Shut up," he hissed."You want us to fail again?"
Thalia helped Daniel up, brushing snow from his leathers."Everyone, stay alert.Watch your footing."
They continued forward, weaving between the broken husks of abandoned golems.A massive torso loomed ahead, half-buried in snow, its head missing and one arm reaching skyward as if in a final plea.
"What happened to them all?"Felah asked, her voice barely audible.
Thalia paused, considering her answer."Many never worked to begin with.Improper forging, cryomancy that couldn't take hold."She ran a gloved hand along a frozen metal surface."Others had subtler deficiencies that made them dangerous, uncontrollable.They're brought here rather than destroyed completely — some parts can be salvaged."
"What does a golem core look like?"Rasmus asked, the first time either of the Northerners had deferred to her knowledge.
The question warmed her more than any fire could in this frozen wasteland."It's an orb of ice-metal, about this large," she explained, making a cupping gesture with her hands."Etched with intricate designs that facilitate the flow of cryomancy through the construct's body.You'll forge your own in second year."
She thought fondly of her own golem, Falchion, now stationed as part of the academy's guard.The bond between a creator and their construct was unlike any other — a connection of magic and metal, of will made manifest.She'd felt that bond at full strength during the second year of the Forge Gauntlet, but in the aftermath, all students' golems — at least, those that hadn't been destroyed — had been incorporated into the academy's defenses.
Despite the danger surrounding them, Thalia felt encouraged by her first-year's questions and their responses to her answers.Her squad was finally working together, watching each other's backs as they traversed the valley.Even Sigrid seemed less hostile, her eyes constantly scanning their surroundings for threats rather than opportunities to undermine Thalia's authority.
Then, abruptly, the ground trembled beneath their feet.
At first, Thalia thought it might be the shifting of ice — common in these parts — but then came a metallic groan that set her teeth on edge.From beneath a nearby drift, snow cascaded away as something massive began to rise.
An ice-iron golem lurched upright, its joints screeching in protest after years of disuse.Its eyes flickered with faint blue light — residual cryomancy still powering its core.Taller than any of them by half, its massive limbs moved with jerky precision as it oriented toward the nearest living thing — Daniel.
"Spread out!"Thalia shouted, her command instincts taking over."Keep low!Target the joint seams!"
Daniel froze in place, his eyes wide with terror, until Rasmus yanked him roughly aside as the golem's fist crashed into the spot where he'd stood.
"Ice-iron is brittle!"Thalia called out, circling to the construct's flank."It can't withstand concentrated force!"
To her shock and relief, Rasmus listened.The Northern boy raised his frost-gloved hands, performing basic cryomancy that sent a rime of ice creeping over the golem's breastplate.The metal, already weakened by years of exposure, became even more brittle as the ice expanded in its microscopic cracks.
Rasmus darted forward, striking the frosted area with the hilt of his blade rather than its edge.The breastplate cracked but held.
Understanding bloomed across Sigrid's face.She mimicked Rasmus's cryomancy, adding her own layer of frost to the golem's damaged chest."Daniel!Felah!Blunt force!"
