"Fire Knights at the wall," said a Northman who stood in a watchtower near the Wall of Siegfrieda. "Send a pigeon to warn Chief Hagen. They are coming.”

The colors from the banners of Aachen reddened the horizon. Nobles from the Empire of the Holy Flame walked towards Edïm, the settlement were the Northmen had imprisoned Arnaud and his companions. Two dozen soldiers followed them.

"This place gives me the creeps," remarked a young Fire Knight as a thick fog embraced his group. Bodies hanged on trees and gave them cold stares. "D-Did we really have to come without our mounts?"

"Of course we had, are you stupido (stupid), Hans?" Asked Giovanni, Verano's talented architect friend. "Horses are the Fire Peoples' sign of war. We are just here to buy our friends back. Am I right," he glanced towards the tall men walking "marshall?"

"Shut your mouths." Replied the man as he pulled his hood down. He was Duke Arnaud de Sforza, the father to Marzia, Arnaud and Verano.

"I-I apologize!" Frowned Giovanni. “Damn it," he tightened his fists, "I ashamed myself in front of the--"

A warm hand reached his shoulder. He looked back and saw Marzia.

"Don't mind him," she whispered, "the Duke made a promise that he'd never ever return to this place. He's angry because my brothers made him come."

"I-I understand..." faltered Giovanni. He felt as birds flew in his stomach. Marzia's curly brown hair cupped her face like a piece of silk. She had blossomed even more since her siblings left the Duchy. Her beauty of the Middle Sea was undeniable. She looked like an angel that could fit in Giovanni’s art without raising suspicion. "Y-You, you a-re..."

"Something wrong?" She asked. Her eyebrows arched.

"N-N-No, sto bene (I'm fine!)" He blushed. "I-I was just wondering..."

"Wondering what?"

"What someone like you is doing in a dreadful place like this? I never saw you in Alba. I’d have noticed if there was someone like you in here, I mean…”

“What are you talking about?”

“N-N-Nothing! I-It’s that your accent..." He blushed like a strawberry. "Do you happen to come from the Duke's lands too?"

"Yes, I do."

"Wow, you've come so far! What brought you here must be really important, right?"

"You have no idea." She frowned as if the memories of her brothers weighed in her head. She heard Verano’s voice every night when she dreamed. "I'll just ask you to stay quiet, okay?” She narrowed her eyes at Giovanni. “Should the tribe's new chief find out that we are only here to buy back our friends, he'll certainly demand more gold."

"I-I'm sorry."

"It's okay. But whatever you do, don't call unneeded attention. Alright?"

Giovanni did not listen to what she said. Instead, he just delighted himself in the beauty of her voice. He wondered if he had ever seen a more beautiful woman than Marzia. She had to repeat herself:

"...Alright?"

"O-Oh yes, absolutely!" He bowed before her. "I'll do anything that you ask me and I promise that I'll keep these fools in che--"

He saw a Zigana's tail moving out of a soldier's back. Verano swallowed dry:

"Oh no, not her. Not now!"

Marzia rose her voice:

"What?"

"N-Nevermind."

The group reached the gates of Edïm as the Sun rose in the next morning. Faces curtained every window and balcony to watch them as they entered the settlement. Hagen stood at the tribe’s heart to welcome them warmly:

"The Scorpion, Duke Arnaud de Sforza! Ha-ha!” He laughed. “King Heinrich's powerful marshal! Have you come to surrender Alba already?"

"Where is Queen Thyra?" Asked the Duke.

"In Val-Hella, my good sire," Hagen smirked. "She fell victim to a Spirit. It seems to be the divine will that my offspring and I must lead this land. Now..." He narrowed his eyes at the Duke. "I assume you haven't come to congratulate me."

"I do not have time for the pathetic monkey politics of barbarians; I've come on behalf of King Heinrich to..."

"Buy your stupid sons back?"

The Duke growled. Veins covered his forehead like a spider web. Smoke left his mouth. Hagen continued with a grin sarcastic stamped on his face:

"You should tell your men to be silent. You know better than me about how silly it is to give up your goals to the enemy…”

Marzia shouted:

"Then spill it out! How much to you want?"

"Woah..." Recoiled Hagen. He swung his head left and right. "Who's talking--"

She pummeled a flame against his face. The chief ducked and grabbed her by the pulse. All his men pulled their weapons off their waists.

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"W-W-What are you?" Marzia recoiled as she saw the red water healing the burn wounds on his face. 

"Someone much stronger than you, little girl.”

"Stop." Said the Duke as he touched Marzia's shoulder. "Now is not the time to set fire to this hole." He glanced at Hagen's men. They vastly outnumbered the Fire Knights in his group. "Not yet."

She pulled her hand from the Northman's grip.

"How much?" Snorted Marzia. "How much do you want for the last raid's captives?"

"10000 kamaritan coins for every slave..."

The Fire Knights laughed at the absurd price. Yet Hagen continued:

"And 20000 for the Sforza prince."

Duke de Sforza groaned:

"You must think me for a jester, Hagen."

"I don't. This gold that I am charging you is only half of what my other buyer swore to pay.”

“I’m not giving 20 thousand units of anything for my son.”

“But marshal, he is your son…”

“I can make another.”

Duke Arnaud de Sforza’s men exchanged sights. Gossips roamed the crowd:

“Duke’s bluffing, right?” Asked a Fire Knight.

“Dunno, man,” replied another, “he sounds way too confident.”

Hagen continued his offer:

“Behold, Marshal," Hagen stepped aside and revealed two Northmen holding Arnaud by the arms, "this is your son Arnaud. Isn't he worth it some gold?"

"No--"

"Arnaud!" Cried Marzia as she embraced the boy with all her strength. Tears sprung off her eyes. "You..."

"Oh, sis..." Arnaud smiled. "I missed you too--"

"You idiots! Verano and you!" Cried Marzia as she punched Arnaud's chest. “How could you be such an idiot?”

"O-Ouch, Marzia, damn it--" Arnaud closed his eyes as she gently pummeled him "You’re hurting me, sis?”

"How you two dare to live me alone to live your stupid adventures! I'm gonna lock you in the dungeon forever, you hear me--" She froze. Her eyes searched left and right. "Wait," her heart tightened," where's Verano?"

Hagen glanced at her:

"Verano?"

"Tall, straight hair, tanned skin..." She explained. "There's no one quite like him. Where is he?"

Arnaud's eyes widened. A memory struck him and itched on his throat. He rose his voice:

"Dad, sis!” He spoke. "There something you must know about Verano. We think he is the--"

The Northmen closed his mouth with their hands.

“Where is Verano?” Sobbed Marzia. “He can’t be dead, is he? He can’t. I hear him every night. He talks about me—“

"Don't cry, little girl. No need for that.” Smirked Hagen. “Your brother Verano's body will soon be here. Some slaves escaped during a Dark Spirit's attack in the mountains. We captured them and they confessed that your brother is even dumber than you think…"

"W-What do you mean? He's not in danger, is he?"

"Perhaps. Your brother, instead of escaping with the other captives, decided to help Thyra and her men."

"W-W-Why? Isn’t that the witch who captured him--"

"Don't ask me why," chuckled Hagen, "all I know is that I've sent some men after them. If he's still alive, he'll be here by the end of the week. But why am I bothering telling this to you?" He narrowed his eyes at the Duke. "Your dad is unwilling to sacrifice gold for the sake of his own sons. It’s useless. Unless,” he blinked at Marzia, “unless we join forces and persuade him otherwise.”

The Northmen laughed as the girl gasped in anger.

"You are a scoundrel." She said.

"I'm not! I'm giving you a chance of a family reunion. If you still think I'm evil," he smirked, "wait and see what the kamaritans of Emir Al Portucal will do to your brothers when we sell them to him."

“The Kamaritans will buy them?” Marzia’s eyes widened. “No, it can’t be.”

“Yes, they will. They care more about your siblings than your father himself, ha-ha,” he chuckled at the Duke’s face and turned around.Hagen turned around. "You have until the end of the week to soften your dad's heart, Marzia," he said as he walked towards the chief’s mansion, "or else you'll never see your brothers again. One week!"

Giovanni gritted his teeth with the man's every step. He remarked:

"That's insane. The Duke does not have that much gold. He'd have to convince King Heinrich to help, but that's not happening--"

"Don't worry, pretty boy," said a soldier by his side. Fox ears and a tail sprung through the breaches of the helmet. It was Candorra. "A good song at the right time scares all the problems away." She said as she lifted her harp.

"Please no!” She held her.

Hagen watched from his balcony as Duke de Sforza left Edïm. Yet a voice bothered the Northman:

"You think he'll pay, boss?" Asked Svän, Hagen's second in command.

"Of course not!”

"Then why did you propose that?"

"That’s obvious: although the Duke is a cold man, his söt (sweet) daughter isn't." He bit his green apple. "She'll convince him to organize an invasion at the last second to rescue her family. Thyra and her pathetic ancestors have always failed because they insisted on fighting the Fire Knight's war machine where they are stronger. I'll bring the war to our home turf, ambush their army, cripple their forces; and then set sail to Alba and end this pestilential war. I'll take King William of Alba's filthy fingers off the Ring of Nibel that should belong to a Waterbender." He referred to one of the three rings that the Spirits of the Deep supposedly scattered across the North Sea so that the Northmen would learn how to sail.

"Wait, you want them to invade?” Svän recoiled. “W-What if they destroy us, boss? The men will not like fighting like that. One thing is assaulting the Fire Knights by surprise; another thing is fighting them for real..."

"My dumb Svän, listen: if they could destroy us, they'd have done that a long time ago. Now," he threw his apple away, "ignore that and update me about the situation of Verano and Thyra.”

"I-It’s going well, boss. Black Teeth's men must have reached the mountains by now. If Thyra and Verano are alive, he'll know."

"Did you give them my orders to kill Thyra upon sight?"

"Absolutely. Black Teeth was one of her closest men. He knows all her weak points. And she had a lot of them," he chuckled, "she must be dead by now."

Hagen's men followed footprints that led to a cave near the lake that Ness, the Sea Serpent, inhabited. The voice of Thyra echoed from inside:

"You dumb fire scum!" She punched Verano’s head. "What are you even doing? Water's not gonna move because you are angry with it!"

"Damn it--" Moaned the boy with his hands on his wound. 

"You've been here forever and this puddle is drying faster than you can bend the water out of it!"

"Of course!" Protested Verano. "You haven't taught me anything!"

"I don't know how to teach things, okay?"

"And that sums up the time that we've spent together."

"Wait," she held him by the shirt, "what did you say?"

"Nothing!" 

She dropped him and Verano fell on his backs.

"Is it normal for the White Wolf to have so much difficulty?”

“I don’t know, I…”

“You are sure that you are the White Wolf, right?" She questioned him. "The myths of my tribe are vague. It’s possible that the esoteric fools are mistaken.”

Verano frowned upon his reflection the puddle. He confessed:

“I have my doubts.”

“I see.” She crossed her arms.

"Honestly, I don’t think that I’m the Avatar.” He frowned morosely. “People tell me that I’m special because my eyes flashed a couple times but I don’t feel any different. I just want to free my friends and come back to Marzia and mom. I just know that they miss me and I must come back.”

Verano noticed the reflection of writings on the cave's wall. The image distracted him from his insecurities.

"Thyra, what is written there?" Asked Verano as he re rose his eyebrows towards the runes surrounding the images.

"That?” She walked towards the wall and squeezed her eyes to see the scriptures with clarity. “Wow, this is the story of my people!" She rose her head to observe her surroundings. "This place must be close to the beach where my ancestors first landed on Alba..."

Two of Hagen's subordinates listened to the conversation. One of them whispered at his companion's ear:

"Tell Black Teeth what we've found them. Today's the day that her lineage will end."