The situation threw Kazius into a mixture of panic and rage. He had no time to think, really. Because of this, he didn't even question or ponder the idea of whether or not The Shadows had actually responded to him this time around. For once, they had actually answered his questions, if he had given it any thought.

If that was truly the case... Well, that was certainly not a good sign… But at the moment there was a much more imminent danger. So the thought never crossed his mind.

Kazius had begun defensive preparations with the expectations of not needing such things until much much later. Egil had explained how afraid of the strange mountains in the area the Frost Giants nearby were… So he had not expected an issue with them, especially not so soon… For things to change the way they did... What had Luna done?

Then again, if she was capable of controlling the entire population of Vargstam… Something like this was not entirely unexpected. She was good at controlling people with Magic… And considering how she was never suspected of any wrongdoing, it showed if she chose diplomacy… She was just as capable of manipulation through words too.

‘Just how unhinged is she? She hates Damon that much? I thought she would not come back… I let her go and this is how she thanks us? I didn’t want to kill her since she is still Damon’s sister… But she is really not leaving me any choice…’

“Kazius!” Alice exclaimed in concern, demanding a response from him.

Kazius scowled, his brows furrowing. There was a dangerous glint in his red eyes for a second before he calmed down. He had to think of something… But first, he needed to see the situation for himself.

“There is an army currently making its way along the valley, they're heading straight here. Luna seems to be leading them here. The scouts I have patrolling that area are likely on their way to report it… Egil, you said you have seen Frost Giants before… How big of a threat do you deem them to be? How many Tribes people would it take to take down one?” Kazius questioned, not bothering with cushioning the blow of such a serious situation.

At his words, everyone in the room looked horrified. He was moving on after saying such a thing so quickly. It left everyone stunned.

Damon looked not only saddened but also genuinely scared. He still had such deep turmoil due to his sister. Confronting her was never easy for him. He had managed before, but this type of confrontation... The idea of him actually fighting her likely brought up a lot of bad memories of his father among other things.

“I should have known she would not give up… Luna... Luna never lets anything go...But... I never thought… For her to do something like this… She really wants us all dead. Even Caleb.” Damon stated in dismay.

“What a crazy bitch…” Azanor stated in shock, clearly not expecting Luna to do such a thing either. He seemed to mumble something to himself. Kazius did not hear most of it, but it was something about how she was worse than his brother… However, Kazius had little time to focus on asking about Azanor’s family when he had such a disaster on his hands.

“Frost Giants… How do you know? I apologize for asking such a thing, Chief, but if that is true… Then even Vind’s Mercy can’t save us.” Egil stated in absolute terror, his eyes growing wide. He looked like he truly hoped Kazius was mistaken. Normally the middle-aged man seemed to carry himself with confidence, but it seemed that at Kazius' words, all hope had been sucked out of him.

“It is a power I have. I can’t tell how many exactly, but I know they are coming. I don’t make mistakes when it comes to things like this… Now tell me, how bad is it. What are we dealing with?” Kazius told a half-truth before his tone grew demanding. He did not have the luxury to panic. Not if they wanted a chance to survive this…

“Frost Giants are as big as their name implies. You would have to probably stack 3 of Damon to reach around the height of one…” Egil muttered with a grimace.

Alice looked absolutely devastated to hear such a thing, her eyes growing wide at the hopelessness in Egil’s voice.

Damon was by no means a short man. Kazius was not sure if he would ever meet anyone taller than him who was not a giant. He was about 7ft (2.13 meters) after all! If what Egil said was true, that put a Frost Giant at around 20 to 21ft tall(6 to 6.4m). Maybe more than that.

They were not even dealing with one of them, but a whole army. This was bad… Really bad.

‘Do you see now? This is what mercy gets you…’ Kazius heard the distinct voice snicker at him. It had never made such a snide comment before, and it was definitely not helping.

‘SHUT UP!’ Kazius snapped back, not wanting to deal with The Shadows acting strange, not now. First, they didn’t warn him about Damon nearby and now they seemed to be much more talkative… Their conversation about Seselis had changed something, that much was certain, but Kazius could not care less about that right now. If there had been a new voice, he would have been more alarmed, but there was no such thing, thankfully.

Kazius was trying very hard to wrack his brain for a plan. After all, he would lose all of his efforts if Vargstam got destroyed… This was their new home, and he did not want to run either.

A fair one-on-one fight between the people of Vargstam and The Frost Giants was out of the question since there was nothing fair about such a battle. He needed a way to get rid of most of The Frost Giants to even stand a chance… But how could they even manage such a thing?

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Egil, I want you to gather anyone of fighting age. Have any mothers stay back with the children and move them somewhere safe. Go wake up Caleb and tell him to stay with them… If worst comes to worst, he should be able to keep them safe with Defense Magic.” Kazius commanded.

Of course, he could instruct Caleb to help fight, but where he was at skill wise… Kazius did not believe that he could be of much help, especially against an army. The kind of range and scale of an attack he would have to perform was just not possible for him yet.

“I will do what I can…” Egil stated, seeming to do his best to gather himself despite his lack of hope. He headed out immediately after.

“Scary people are coming?” Eve decided to ask, finally realizing the danger.

“Yes…” Azanor admitted with a sigh of dismay. Clearly, he was fed up with things always threatening their safety. Now he had to worry about keeping Eve safe during all of this.

“Maybe you should stay back… You know… With the-” Azanor began only to get a frown and glare.

“No! I am helping! I won’t let my best friend get hurt! Or any of my friends! You taught me Magic! I am strong!” Eve exclaimed with a determined look.

Azanor always looked so torn when Eve addressed him as her ‘best friend’… Then again, considering his situation, it was likely the best he could currently hope for.

“Alright… but don’t leave my side.” Azanor pleaded.

“I won’t! I promise!” Eve assured with a big and giddy smile despite the situation.

“What about us then?” Alice asked Kazius in concern, looking anxious, but clearly wanting to help.

Damon meanwhile was rather quiet. He looked ready to act, but the fact that Luna would go this far… She had hurt him deeply when she revealed what she had done… But to want to destroy Vargstam and kill everyone in the town along with him… That was a level of hatred that was unhinged and honestly terrifying… And it was coming from his own sister...

He had no choice but to fight her.

They let her go last time, but clearly, that was no longer an option.

Still, Kazius had no intention of making Damon kill his own sister. He would do so himself. He would get his hands as dirty as they had to get so that they would be safe.

“While Egil gathers everyone, I will take us to where they are coming from. I want to meet up with the scouts.” Kazius stated.

He actually had an idea about how to get there faster than on foot.

The way he had used shadows to engulf them back in Remus has allowed for some pretty swift movement. He hoped he could use that to travel around… If they could ambush the Frost Giants, then the element of surprise would at least be on their side.

The group seemed to be confused about how he would manage such a thing, but as shadows engulfed them, it began to make sense. Damon was a bit startled considering he had never seen Kazius do this before. At least not on himself and others without it being an attack.

As the shadows rose up and covered them in darkness, Kazius could hear the whispers of The Shadows calling for him from where the danger was. Following that sound, it was almost instant… A walk of several hours towards the mouth of the mountain valley… Done in an instant… The fact he had done it so fast surprised even Kazius… If he could do more things like this… Perhaps he would one day be able to use it more instinctually and use it more regularly… But for now, it was not only disorienting but also a tiring feat.

Kazius was panting from effort. Guiding others to travel through darkness was difficult... The last time he had done this, it was just 3, including himself, since Azanor had gone off on his own... And now it was 5. This time around it was almost like he had to assert dominance over The Shadows to keep them from taking the others... A Startling thought that he decided to think about later.

They were at the top of an elevated area full of foliage, thankfully providing them cover and a good view of the incoming army.

As the army approached, their steps echoed, booming as they got closer and closer. Despite Egil’s grim words… He had not done justice to how formidable the Frost Giants were… And there were many of them…. The army was about 1000 strong.

It was easy to say that if they did not try something, they were screwed. If they made it anywhere near the town, it was as good as gone. He knew little about the species other than their name, which implied they had Frost-related abilities and stood at 20 ft tall (6.1m). Their build also seemed tough, and their armor also certainly of good quality steel… The design featured a mix of Svinfant fur combined with metal. Their skin was a sickly-looking light blue as if they were dying from frostbite… But the last thing these soldiers looked was sickly. Their hair was as white as snow and it seemed like not a single one of them was without facial hair.

At the head of the army were two individuals of note. One was what had to be the tallest Frost Giant in the group… And he was talking to Luna. Even from this distance, he could clearly see how smug Luna looked. Her expression showed all the wicked delight and malice she felt… And the Frost Giant that she spoke to seemed almost as content. He was not only taller than the rest but also was better dressed…

‘Just who is that? The king? A prince?’

Kazius wasn’t sure, but regardless… It was clear Luna looked like she believed she already won. Kazius hoped that this would give them an opportunity… There was no sign of the scouts… Which meant they were likely dead… As tragic of a loss that was… That meant they did not know that they knew they were there.

A surprise attack would be effective and disorienting… But the amount of firepower they would need… Such an attack was beyond his strength… He wasn’t sure even a fortress with crossbows and other artillery could do anything against them. This challenge just seemed like the stuff they would need the power of a God for. If only Vind wasn’t so obnoxious and didn’t hate his guts…

Kazius studied his friends. All of them looked fearful … Their faces showed terror at the upcoming threat… He could not help but look them over.

He noticed how Alice clenched her fists, her expression also showing a hint of anger… While Damon just mostly looked saddened at the whole thing… Meanwhile, Azanor refused to look away from the upcoming army, his brows furrowed. Clearly, he also did not believe himself to have the power needed to do this. As for Eve, well… Eve was just being Eve and honestly just looked more confused, but was happy to be there with them.

‘Think… Kazius… Think…’

The Shadows offered up no aid and honestly, it was probably for the best they didn’t… Kazius was not desperate enough to compromise himself. At least he hoped that was the case, but as the panic set in, he was growing not so sure of that…

That was until he looked at Damon’s spear… Then at Azanor… Then at Alice… Then at Eve… The grin of someone who was bordering on insanity appeared on his face. His expression would make any mad alchemist or artificer proud. He clenched his hands into a fist, growing determined.

‘Yes… The power of a God… That could work…’

His friends looked at him, concerned, worried he had lost it due to their imminent death. Honestly, maybe he did… But that was not the point… His plan had only a small chance of working… But if it worked…

Kazius’ grin widened, satisfied.

‘No, this will work’ He assured himself.

“I have an idea.”