, Sefra sternly announced, causing the mages in front of her to shout a slightly annoyed yes in response.

, whispered a voice next to Cale as the group walked back to the center.

, the man addressed replied.

, a third person interfered.

In the last few months, the number of people in Frignez had increased by a good fifty fold, so that the three tribes living separately now formed a large city that dug its way underground through the eternal ice. The worst seemed to be over, as refugees rarely appeared, so the people worked effectively on livelihood and defense.

, one of the three mages interjected, prompting the woman in the group to bang him on the head.

Cale distanced himself from the crowd and stayed a good distance away from the crowds as he aimed for the small hill where he met with William and Ben every night. They had combat classes further west, so they often didn't see each other all day. While the other mages climbed underground and clogged the hallways, Cale remained standing in the open, reaching out to carefully let mana leak from his palms.

, Sefra's voice rang out a few feet behind him, causing Cale to turn to her. Sometimes, when he waited for his friends, she stayed outside as well. She waited for Miguel Heriog to exchange information about their progress.

Sefra sighed at the statement and stood right next to Cale as she watched with wide eyes as Cale directed the mana.

, she remarked impressed, causing Cale to grin.

, Cale explained, laughing softly. His childhood in the orphanage seemed so distant that it seemed strange to think about it. Sometimes Cale wondered if it even stood after all these years.

, Cale declared indignantly, turning to the High-Magician with her hands outstretched, who fell silent for a moment.

, the 4th seat asked, visibly surprised, so Cale gave up trying to focus on other things during the conversation.

Quite a lot of mana he says"> Sefra repeated softly, shaking her head before adding.

, Cale only returned in surprise.

Quite a lot of mana he says, I can't believe it.">

Wordlessly, Cale stared at his teacher as snow accumulated on her shoulder. She didn't let it bother her and returned the gaze as if hoping for an interesting reaction.

, Cale countered dryly, causing Sefra to laugh out loud until tears came to her eyes.

, Cale stated matter-of-factly, noticing how Sefra fell silent and became serious.

, Cale replied with a satisfied smile on his face before burying his hands in his pockets and turning his eyes to the swordsmen who appeared behind the white curtain.

Seamless, Cale tied his next memory to this conversation and found himself in the twin mountains of Frignez. Like thousands of other people had, he found himself on the battlefield while desperately trying to fight off the creatures. He was thrown to the ground, causing him to groan softly and reach out his hand before squeezing a small amount of water flat and in the next moment separating the head of a large creature from its body. Panting, he straightened up and held his arm in front of his mouth to avoid breathing in too much cold air. William emerged beside him, covered in blood as he blocked an attack, performing an elegant spin and killing his opponent.

, the black-haired swordsman, whose hair had grown comparatively long in recent years, interjected.

, Cale grumbled softly, sensing a small group of creatures rapidly approaching his location. Instantly he made a two-meter high wall appear, which is why in the next second a few soldiers and mages joined behind it to avoid being overrun by the enemies. But instead of crashing against them the thick wall, they jumped over the mage's protection and continued their attack without any consideration.

, a strange voice spoke up, but William and Cale instantly ran after them. It was obvious that the creatures were trying to reach the city.

As if someone had read their minds, large black shapes suddenly appeared from the ground, moving like snakes above the snow and piercing the creature with pinpoint accuracy. Cale was not distracted by the sight for long and lifted William as well as himself into the air with the wind to launch a joint attack. Sword ahead, the swordsman aimed at the creatures below, propped to the ground and pierced its head. Cale, on the other hand, rained down tiny drops of water like single arrows, taking out several creatures he had never seen before in one fell swoop.

With a thud, he landed on the ground next to William as he spotted Ben in the corner of his eye, who was tearing off the head of a creature with his bare hands.

A loud bang sounded, instantly revealing to all present where Miguel Heriog was currently on the battlefield. With his flashes, he drew all the attention to himself, only to have the ice surface melt in the next few seconds. Like insects, the creatures were attracted to his light.

, William spoke up as Cale and Ben stepped up beside him and they formed a circle as a group, each defending one side.

, the broad swordsman spoke up and killed the creature in front of him, while Cale saved the life of an unknown soldier with his attack. At the same moment, an arrow shot past them, causing Cale to turn around, startled. Philippa was standing on the ledge in front of them, also trying to do something. Automatically, his eyes turned to the snowy mountain behind her, while William rejoined.

, Cale yelled between them, flinging his friends without warning toward Philippa, who looked just as surprised as the men.

, Ben and William gave voice in unison, following Cale's finger. They, too, spotted the rocky mountain range, which had neatly increased in fullness due to the massive snowstorm of the past few weeks.

, Philippa, who was originally responsible for her sector as a scout, interfered. But with all the chaos and casualties, people have spread out so much that there was no point in passing on information anymore.

On each side, people are fighting to the death.

Cale ran ahead and after a short hesitation the others followed him. Practiced, he slipped mana into his legs and climbed up the steep slope as the creatures continued to fight their way through the defensive line. In a matter of minutes, the four had covered a tremendous distance as the snow grew deeper.

Finally, Cale came to a stop and turned around as he exhaled in a long breath and looked over the battle zone.

, Ben muttered as he too could see the dimensions. They could no longer see their original post at all, so far had the creatures advanced. A few kilometers away, the ground was littered with huge holes, which must have come from the attacks of the 3rd Chiefs Clensen. Miguel was visible in the sky and on the other side of the battle Sefra could be clearly seen. With her Igrikum, she stood out completely from the white mass.

, William interjected, who was quite out of breath. He held onto the rock wall with one hand as he bent forward slightly to get some air.

, Ben interjected.

, Cale raised as he turned his gaze to the opponents and fell silent. Memory from his childhood and the attack from Groka suddenly appeared before his mind's eyes as he recognized the spikes of a large creature.

, he muttered, pointing his finger at the creature, of which he had only fragments in his memory. .

, Philippa completed the train of thought and instantly drew her bow.

, Ben spoke up.

, Cale replied, causing a large amount of water to appear, which he formed into a pointed spear and aimed at the creature as well.

, Philippa spoke up seconds later, which is why the two swordsmen immediately started moving to build distance.

Philippa and Cale released their attacks and seconds later hit the Novaren, but it did not respond.

, Cale gave voice and simultaneously with his words, the archer fired her weapon. This time the creature started moving and twisted a bit before suddenly digging into the ground. In the next instant, 6 spikes shot in its direction, so Cale immediately grabbed Philippa by the arm and climbed up.

A loud bang sounded and only a few meters behind them the spikes bored into the rock. Silently, the four Anuxers exchanged glances until suddenly the top layer of snow cracked, digging hundreds of feet to the left and right before the top layer began to slide.

, Cale yelled as loud as he could before his voice was drowned out by the masses of snow. He laboriously climbed up the snowy peak as the shaking ground brought him to his knees and Philippa yelled out in surprise behind him. That's when all the ground began to give way and Cale was swept away by the avalanche he himself had triggered.

He didn't know what happened to him. From one moment to the next, he was hurled down the slope and buried while he desperately tried to fight his way out. But the snow was too thick, so he put his arms protectively in front of his head, hoping he wouldn't be thrown against some rock. His heart raced and he closed his eyes until he completely lost his bearings.

After about 30 seconds of the noise, his body finally came to a stop, but he couldn't move. The snow was pressed so tightly against his body that it felt like he was encased in ice. Panicked, he began to breathe and searched for the surface, but it was pitch black.

Cale had been buried nearly six feet and his breathing was consuming what little oxygen he had. Instinctively, he tried to dig himself out with fire magic, but the resulting smoke deprived him of all oxygen, so he couldn't breathe. Fear overcame him as he tried to remember Sefra's lessons and an idea came to him that saved his life that day.