Aetherian(Part 1): A War Begins

Oscar

 The midday sun was almost a blessing against the freezing cold of the north. Oscar was allowed to rest after his test on the island with Major Lawson, but his eyes refused to close. There was a hearth in the barracks of Ice Spear, where he sat with Yazmin, Michael, Nick, and Hannah, who were trying to warm themselves along with him.

"I don't remember the last time I was able to sit around a fire with my friends," said Michael. "I'm glad it's you guys."

"You're telling me," agreed Nick. "Those tribesmen on the islands are monsters. They don't have any regard for other lives, and they... they..." His sister quickly put a hand on his shoulder as a tear escaped his eye. Something must have happened to them when they were younger for them to want to arrive at Ice Spear. Oscar's story was similar to theirs. The Bronze Mountains weren't the only place of torment for him, but they were the worst, and he was glad to be as far away from them as possible. Oscar loved the feel of the warmth after spending a long time in the cold, despite the beauty of the snow shining in the sunlight.

"I prefer the cold, to be honest," he said. "But I'm from the far south." He felt silly saying that. Ideally, northerners have a harder life in the frozen Snowlands, trying to find even the tiniest scrap of warmth to stay alive. Even Snowfall was regarded as one of the coldest cities, if not the coldest city in Aetherian. It must have taken House Vestarr a lot to bring the other lords of the frigid region to heel after they became Northern Kings. Of course, that was a long time ago, long before the Dragon War.

"Me, too," said Yazmin. "Not as far south, but usually, it doesn't get as cold as it does here where I'm from."

"And where are you from?" asked Hannah.

"Eastgate," answered Yazmin. "It's this little hamlet on the edge of the Giant's Scar. It's also on the gates of the road to Falcon's Reach."

"House Busch's place?" said Michael. "I thought that was Mistral."

"Falcon's Reach was their home before Mistral was," Yazmin corrected. "Eastgate must have been the one village Lord Busch protected the most, back when he was Lord Busch, anyway."

"You must miss that place," said Oscar.

"No, I don't," Yazmin chuckled. Suddenly, the wind blew through the doors of the barracks, and Major Lawson came through it.

"Oscar," he called. "Gear up."

"I'll see you guys later," said Oscar, as he went to his bunk to collect his assault rifle and glass training sword. He put the blade in the latch on his belt but was stopped from grabbing his assault rifle.

"You won't be needing that," said the Major.

"Are you sure?" asked Oscar, and Lawson nodded his head. Oscar left his assault rifle as he went out into the cold, stepping in knee-deep snow. "Where are we going?"

"A troll hunt," the Major answered.

"Trolls?" said Oscar.

"A troll," Major Lawson corrected. "Thank goodness. I've noticed that your skill with a rifle is hard to match, but your swordsmanship could use some work." What Lawson said didn't make sense to Oscar at first since he fended off what felt like a dozen icewalkers, northern tribesmen, and four bonewalkers that morning, but he decided to trust what he said.

"It could?" asked Oscar.

"Well, I've noticed that you have no problem fighting a few mildly fast contacts at once," said Major Lawson. "But what about a single strong one?"

"And a troll is one of those stronger ones?" said Oscar.

"They're also incredibly, hilariously, unbelievably stupid," the Major assured. "Perfect for a rookie's first monster hunt. There's one in a cave just a few miles to the south." They took a jeep south until they stopped at a hill of snow with a small opening in the bottom.

"A few tips for fighting one of these," advised Major Lawson, as they stood at the mouth of the cave. "If you try and cut off its head, it won't work at all. All that does is make it angry. Actually, it's wise to not cut off its head at all. The same goes for all of its limbs, but they actually grow back."

"So, how do I kill one of these?" asked Oscar.

"I feel very bad about this, but I can't tell you that," answered the Major. "If you're ever faced with a monster that you don't know how to kill, then you have to figure out how to kill it for yourself. That's how I learned how to kill a frost dryad."

"Right," Oscar sighed. It made sense, but he had no idea how to fight anything other than people, or things that resembled people, anyway. Bonewalkers and Icewalkers, for the most part, had the same fighting styles as loyalist swordsmen that fought against House Redwald.

"Another thing, trolls have an acute sense of smell, so as soon as you step in there, it'll know exactly where you are," said Lawson. "Which reminds me." He took a few steps back. "Just be patient and try to figure out how your enemy attacks, so you'll know what to do for your next move. And good luck in there."

Hope I make it out, Oscar thought to himself, as he drew his glass blade and went down into the cave. The walls were made up of snow that had frozen to them, and there was a foul smell that went through the tunnel. He pinched his nose shut as he came into a larger section of the cave, and found the source of the stench. There were big and small ribcages stripped clean of the flesh, and skulls from deer, elk, wolves, and people piled in a corner. The sight of it almost made Oscar want to throw up, but he needed to keep himself calm. Suddenly, he could hear the sound of a low growl and turned around to a terrifying sight. A monstrosity in the shape of a huge ape, with long claws on its fingers, a third eye in the crown of its head, with huge teeth, and covered with thick, white fur stood above Oscar at twenty feet tall. It wasn't what he expected from a northern troll, but worse. The troll reared up on its hind legs, opening its jaws, and unleashed a ground-shaking roar that echoed through the cave, making Oscar tremble.

"Show me what you got, monster," Oscar whispered, and the troll charged at him with all its strength. Oscar quickly dodged the charge with a roll to the side, but he wouldn't attack just yet. Following Major Lawson's advice, he lingered where he was for a bit, and let the troll charge again, this time, raising its arms and trying to bring its fists down on him. Oscar jumped to the side again, and now he had a good idea of how the troll would attack again, but not how to kill it. He couldn't take off its head, or dismember it because those parts would eventually grow back. The heart, though, was hopefully the one thing that the troll would die from losing. When the troll recklessly charged again, Oscar stood his ground, driving his glass blade through the troll's heart. When he pulled the sword from the monster's body, it dropped to the ground. Now, Oscar understood what Major Lawson meant. If an enemy was stronger, he needed to be smarter.