Chase was quietly walking with his team following close behind.
They had crossed most of the plains swiftly, and were slowly nearing a large river in the distant north.
His thoughts were silent. Yet his mind refused to allow him any peace as they neared something that would probably change many of them.
Or even get them killed.
Chase had very little room for error, he had studied the map countless times, and even done the math on multiple occasions on the exact time frames, and how they would match up with the days The Wendigo would head southwest.
There was one more thing sitting on the back of Chase's mind.
Leander had warned him of a recent prophecy that had been throne off as some old witch just trying to scare people.
But the old Headmaster would not have brought it to attention without good meaning.
'Eleven will venture north, three would remain, One would betray, and one would be hanged.'
Leander had followed those words with laughter as if he did not even believe it, but one part had been gnawing at his chest since they had departed.
'One would betray...'
He gazed at Onyx who was walking on the far right of the group, probably trying to avoid Summer of House Lavender, but could he truly trust the one member of the group who knew the most about him.
Why did Leander choose him of all people to accompany Task Force Unity into The Frozen Forest...
"You okay? You look worried..."
Summer asked from his close left.
The group had been quiet since they had left, few of them really wanted to make small talk when they were actively venturing into the lion's den.
"Yeah, fine."
Summer raised an eyebrow but had decided it was better to leave it at that.
Then she pointed at the distant river.
"We are crossing that... and heading where after?"
Chase had a very distinct plan laid out, but there were two different paths that they could take after they cross the river.
"If everything goes well, directly west, but if not there is a small town north of the river."
Summer tilted her head, and nearly tripped on a fallen branch.
"So, say we didn't make it to the river before sun down, then we would just stay at an inn in that town for a night then head west."
Summer nodded.
"How old are you? You seem quite young to be leading a team of soldiers into such a terrible place... No offense."
Chase shook his head.
"None taken, I'm fifteen... I think."
She seemed taken aback a bit, and questioned further.
"You think? What do you mean?"
He shrugged.
"I just haven't paid attention to my birthday for a couple years, and it just kinda slipped my mind, ya know."
He said carelessly, as he continued to gaze at the distant horizon.
"I see."
With that the conversation halted, and they continued silently on their journey north.
Chase did not believe in destiny, fate, or any actual religions. Even though the gods were a proven factor of their world he had chosen not to follow any of them.
He hated the thought of humans governed by a higher force, especially when those gods do not answer your prayers.
Granted, he still found himself praying in the most dire of times, which is why he could feel so hopeless, as to rely on something that has never once aided you before.
In the blink of an eye, time passed swiftly, and the team found themselves at the southern bay of the surprisingly large river.
Sure he had seen the same river before, but farther East it seemed that the river becomes much wider since that is where the ocean connects with the inner island.
The strange part about the river though, was that it was casted in a thick layer of ice that seemed unbreakable.
It was pretty weird to be standing in warm weather on side, but only ten meters or so in front of you being such a strong layer of ice.
Farther East, he could see the outline of a vast ocean that very few have ever dared to cross, and those who had tried it, had never returned.
"What's the plan?"
Michael asked, feeling a suspicion that they were not going to simply cross the iced over river.
Chase looked him dead in the eyes, and shrugged.
"We walk over it."
Michael seemed kind of disappointed that there was no grand plan for getting into a magical world governed by only the ice that seemed infinite.
Sometimes Chase forgot that Michael's family came from a branch of Frostfang's, and that he was related to some of the people that would be killed in the coming weeks.
But if Michael felt any certain way, Chase was sure that he would have stayed behind at Phoenix Academy.
Feeling a sense of dread as he got closer to the silent river, he took the first step before any of his teammates could.
His shoe gracefully pressed into the ice and thankfully there were no fateful surprises awaiting him, as he took a couple of steps out onto the river, and then looked back at his team, giving them a nod.
The eleven of them slowly walked across the frozen river, and everything was going great until they hit the halfway point.
The sun had already reached its halfway point in the sky, and he cursed himself for not accounting for the sheer size of the river they were destined to cross.
"Chase! I got a bad feeling about this..."
Onyx called out from a few meters behind him.
Gazing back quickly, he spotted Talon reluctant to go any further as he was the farthest behind them.
Then it happened... A terrible chill ran down Chase's back, and everyone seemed to have felt it because their slow and careful walked turned into a panicked sprint across the river.
But alas, it was no use, some things within the world they resided inside of were far to powerful to be governed by the natural law of things.
"Shit..."
The ice exploded around them, and a giant white figure shot into the sky, towering above them like the tallest section of Phoenix Academy.
"Oh no..."
Terror swelled up inside of Chase's soul, as the worst possible outcome played out before his very eyes.
'Frost serpent...'
It was truly impossible odds for the creature that only awakened during the harshest of winters to appear now of all times.
As the ice around them continued to shatter, Chase did the only thing that he found reasonable...
He drew Hero's Fang, and axis stepped across the river and directly at the enraged beast.
He could not see the face of the creature, but he could hear its monstrous roar from thousands of meters above him.
Drawing back his blade, he bit down on his tongue and summoned a good amount of flames in order to imbue it.
And he slashed at the monster's long serpentine body.