Kailen couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to hug his family, so he ran to the house. On the way, he encountered guards who tried to stop him because the Chief wanted to see him, but he ignored them. They wanted to run after him, but an icy stare stopped their efforts.
With quick steps he approached the house. Ingun, his wife, was outside with their son. He was already four years old and missed a lot of things. His son was the first to notice, smiling happily.
"Daddy!" he shouted and ran towards him. He looked funny in his warm clothes, shuffling his feet in a wide arc and trying to hold on.
Ingun, who was outside working on the wool, looked up and met Kailen's eyes. They showed the joy of their long-awaited meeting and the love between them. Asur ran to his father and clasped his leg. Kailen looked away from his wife and took his son in his arms and held him close. Ingun came up at the same time and hugged her husband.
"I'm so happy to be back," Kailen admitted. It was only now, standing and hugging his family, that he calmed down.
"My husband, and I'm glad you came back unharmed," Ingun replied. Despite Kailen's strength, she couldn't help but fear for his life.
"Father, tell me what you saw," Asur said. Each time his father told him stories of his travels. The son, listening to the stories, also dreamed of traveling and seeing the world.
"I'm sorry, I have no stories," Kailen said with bitterness in his voice. The death of a friend and the deaths of many good people, he certainly didn't want to talk about it.
"Is something wrong? - Ingun asked, noticing her husband's concern.
"Yes, hard times are coming and Drago has gone to the best of worlds," Kailen replied.
"Oh, may Anivia watch over his soul," Ingun said. She, too, had grown fond of the lumbering boar; she often rode him, fed him, and cared for him.
"Daddy, isn't Piggy coming back?" Asur asked sadly. Only he could call the huge beast that, Drago let him bully him, often his tail and ears suffered from it.
"Yes, don't worry, he's fine," Kailen said, seeing a tear form in his son's eye.
"Okay, I... will... miss you," a sniffling Asur replied.
As the family hugged each other tightly, the emissaries from the Head stood hesitantly nearby. They did not want to incur Kailen's wrath, but they also did not want to be reprimanded by the head, so they hesitated, unsure of what to do. The returning father of the family noticed them and realized he couldn't stay and had to go to the meeting. Afterwards, he could enjoy the family campaign.
"I have to go," he said. He pulled away from Ingun and handed his son to her.
"Don't be long," she said understandingly.
Nodding, Kailen headed for the Long House. The meeting place remained the same. All the warriors from the caravan were already here, as well as all the other warriors of the village. The meeting was already underway, and once inside, all the seats were taken, but as soon as he appeared, they immediately gave way to him.
"Now that we're all here, let's continue the discussion. They have declared war on us, and now we are fighting to the last man, where either we or they will die. They have already killed two parties of our hunters, and we can no longer get our own meat," the leader said. Although the village had a supply of food, if the meat supply disappeared, it would last for a few weeks at most.
"How did they manage to subdue the frost wolves? They can't be trained," said one of the warriors.
"Rumor has it that Volibir helped them," the chief stunned everyone.
"We're screwed."
"We have angered the gods."
"I told you this was a bad idea."
"Shut up, all of you," Torvind shouted.
"We can't say for sure, but yes, we have strayed from the traditions of God, but they were untenable. Killing others to survive... Have you forgotten the hardships we have endured and what life is like now?" Hrolf reminded everyone of the cold times. "Now all we have to do is fight for our future. Torvind, tell us about the balance of power."
"Yes, leader. We are opposed by eight clans and the Ursinus tribe. The number of riders is unknown, but our information is that they number about fifty. The total number of enemy troops is two hundred, we have about forty warriors. We can also use about thirty female archers, many of whom can hunt and are excellent with long-range weapons," Torvind said. Even a simple man can see that the odds are not in their favor.
"I'm sorry, Chief, but we won't be able to defeat such a large number of forces, it's hopeless," said one of the warriors.
"The balance of power is not in our favor, it's true. But we have the advantage that they have come to our lands, and no one knows them better than we do. Our village has become a fortress, and we can defend it against a superior enemy," Torvind said.
"I have a question: if Volibir is helping them, can he help them destroy us? - Kailen asked, rising from his chair.
"We don't know, but in the stories he has fought many times, even against humans," the head said sadly.
"How strong is he? - Kailen asked.
"No one knows, but he is said to be as big as a mountain, and the storm itself obeys him. His lightning can cut through space," Hrolf replied.
"So I'm to become the equal of a god?" Kailen asked.
"Look, we know that you're the strongest man in the world. Even the ice witch Lysandra may be your equal, but a god is another level. I will fight for our home, for my family, and for the future we can build. And even if the god decides to destroy us, I will die with my sword in my hand," he said, rising to his feet.
"YES!" Everyone supported him.
"Now we will prepare for war," the chief announced.
Though they all hoped to win, fear and despair settled in their hearts; they believed they could defeat a superior enemy, but if Volibir's wrath fell upon them, they would all perish.
Kailen left the meeting pensive, allowing himself the unaccountable luxury of relaxing and not giving his all to training. Perhaps if he dared to travel and find strong opponents, he would become much stronger and be able to reach the top and fight a god. Shaking his head, he dismissed the thought, because if he did that, he wouldn't have a son and he wouldn't have Ingun, which meant that he would do the impossible for their sake.
When he returned home, he saw that Ingun was already setting the table and cooking something in the oven. He took off his shoes and outer clothes, approached her and hugged her from behind. He enjoyed the smell of her hair.
"What was the meeting about?" Ingun asked.
"The war," Kailen answered briefly. He didn't want his family to worry about the coming threat because he was there to give his life if necessary.
"You won't be gone for long," Ingun asked the obvious.
"I probably won't be able to sit down and rest," Kailen explained.
"Your strength is so amazing, but there are moments when I think I'd rather not have it," Ingun said, turning around and looking into her husband's eyes.
"No, of all the choices I will choose to live with her," he replied. She had forgotten that without this power there would be no him.
As they stood looking at each other, Asur ran into the room and immediately grabbed his father's leg. Grinning, Kailen lifted him into his arms.
"Sit down at the table, dinner is almost ready," Ingun invited.
Kailen walked over to a chair and sat down next to his son. As soon as he sat down, his son started asking questions about his travels. He would not stop asking until his curiosity was satisfied. The hardest thing for him to talk about was how Drago had left, and he tried to avoid the topic. During the conversation Ingun put food on the table and sat down herself. In a warm atmosphere they started to eat.
When they finished, they sat down near the stove and played games with their son. Gradually he became tired and began to fall asleep, so they put Asur to bed and retired to another room. Kailen finally kissed his wife with pleasure and lifted her by her buttocks with his hands. Pulling her against him, they began to make up for the lack of love, eager to bring another child into the world. It wasn't until near midnight, when the moon in the center of the sky illuminated the earth, that they sated each other.
At night, the traveler could finally rest. No matter how soft a bed is, it is most uncomfortable for the soul to be away from home.
When he woke up this morning, he took his wife's hand away, although he wanted to stay with her. He can't rest and lie down, he has to build up his strength now, but he let himself go yesterday. Now he has to get up and regain his strength.
In his mind, he remembered the last technique he hadn't learned. It had been so deadly and unpleasant for Sab-Ziro's teacher that it was hard to even think about it. It was the next stage of ice mastery: you must surrender to the element, become the embodiment of cold, your thoughts no longer your own, only unbridled magic. At that fateful moment, the Teacher lost control of the element and froze the entire city, turning it into an ice prison. It was the first time he had lost control of his own powers.
Now Kailen decided to take a chance on that power, and the true ice crystal would help him do it. When he first decided to learn its secrets, the memories that had lain dormant for so long came flooding back.
He decided to go to the hiding place at the old spring. People had already stopped using it because they had managed to bring the water source directly to the village. He walked to the spot, a few steps from the water source, knelt down, and began to sort through the snow with his hands. Until he came upon ice, behind a layer of which was glowing real ice. It was as if he stuck his finger into the ice in mid-air and began to pull it apart, he obeyed and dug out the stored crystal.
"There is no fear, only the path to power," Kailen whispered and grabbed the crystal.
To avoid harming the village, he walked as far away as possible.
As soon as he stepped back, he assumed a meditation pose, his eyes glowing blue, and magic began to rage within him. Nature went wild again and a violent blizzard began, the crystal emitting a strong light and ice spreading from it.
"Stop, young Kailen!" A voice sounded as if a blizzard was speaking to him, and he tried to see where the voice came from.
"Who are you, show yourself!" he shouted and stood up. The blizzard began to grow over his emotions.
"I'm on your side," came a voice, already soft, so familiar. Two eyes appeared in the blizzard, staring at him piercingly, "I've always been there for you.
"Anivia," Kailen said. He had realized long ago that the nature that was so friendly to him was a manifestation of her powers.
"Yes, it's me," she replied, and the blizzard suddenly subsided, revealing the giant phoenix. Anivia was huge and made of pure ice. She flapped her wings wide, they were huge and covered the sun.
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"Please help us defeat Volibir," Kailen pleaded.
"I am no match for him, he is cruel and grows stronger with each battle," Anivia said.
"If even you are no match for him, how can we humans hope to defeat him? - Kailen asked, confused, "I need this power.
"If you give it up, you'll become something you never wanted to be. I feel so cold and horrible the power you can awaken in you. But fear not, child, Volibir will not fight, if he dares, Orn and I will stand in his way," Anivia replied.
"That's good news, but they outnumber us and they have the support of Ursinus. I need that power," Kailen said.
"I can help with that," the goddess urged, flapping her wings and lifting the snow into the air. A moment later, blue armor appeared on the ground. "This armor is for you. You will not fear injury with it, for it is stronger than any metal known to man. And these are for your tribesmen," she added with a wave of her hand, and the snow stirred again, revealing a great deal of armor and shields.
"Thank you," Kailen said, though he wasn't entirely happy that it only provided protection, but it was better than nothing.
"I believe in you. Defeat your enemies and unite the clans, then you can forget about wars," Anivia said, flying into the air and quickly disappearing.
Looking at the armor, Kailen immediately liked it. It seemed to be tailored to his size and vision, as if someone had read his mind. He threw off the extra clothes and started to put it on. The mask covered half of his face, and his hands had gauntlets with sharp spikes so he could take blows and counterattack.
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He created an ice blade and tried to pierce the cloth, but he couldn't even cut it, no matter how hard he tried. Realizing what a great gift he had been given, he checked the rest of his armor and shields as well. They were truly a divine gift that would allow them to cut their losses many times over. Their normal armor was made of animal hide, which provided minimal protection, but not enough. The use of steel was hampered by the lack of skilled blacksmiths, and buying steel armor would be too expensive and have a number of disadvantages that outweighed its advantages. You would freeze faster in steel, and the heavy weight would cause you to sink in the snow, reducing your speed. Such a fighter would be easy to kill. But these armors were perfect. It was strong and light, and the insulation helped keep him warm.
Kailen still had one big problem: how to carry all the things at once. He would have to hide them with his ice, and come back later, he would have to find Hrolf and tell him.
When they returned to the village, they didn't recognize him at first, because he was wearing completely different clothes. Only by the whites of his eyes could they recognize him as Kailen. The village was already awake, and the villagers were busy with their morning chores. As they walked through the streets, everyone looked back at him.
With a quick step he reached the long house, nodding to the guards he went inside. Only Hrolf and Torvind were in the hall, discussing supplies and other materials. When they saw him enter, they stopped talking.
"Kailen, what brings you here and where did you get that armor?" Hrolf asked.
"It's a gift from the goddess, she gave us many sets of armor and shields," Kailen replied.
"Are you telling the truth?" Torvind wondered.
"Yes, they're near the old spring, I've hidden them with ice, there are many of them," Kailen confirmed.
"Thank the gods that they helped us. I'll have the men look for them now," said Hrolf.
"Kailen, which god do we thank for such a precious gift?" Torvind asked.
"Anivia and apparently Ornu," Kailen replied.
"We will certainly bring gifts in their honor," Hrolf agreed.
They lost no time in following Kailen, with a troop and boars to carry everything. When they arrived and inspected the gifts, they were still surprised at the quality of them, they were made professionally and skillfully. After loading everything onto the boars and taking everything that didn't fit on them, they returned to the village. People had already heard about the divine gift, and everyone wanted to see what was there.
The warriors appreciated the protection and comfort of the armor. For now, they decided to modify the gifts a bit by marking them with the Bear Clan's insignia, because in battle it was important to distinguish between their own and strangers, and the symbols helped them do that much better. There were those who did not want to mar the armor with their drawings, but practicality won out.
Bear Fang was given hope and faith in victory, and sometimes that's enough to change the world.